Chapter 19
Matsuda Jinpei knew exactly what Hagiwara Kenji was doing at the Police Academy.
Since Matsuda Jinpei was also very concerned about whether Samukawa Shinryu could actually get into the Police Academy, he asked eagerly as soon as he saw Hagiwara Kenji.
"You're back? How did it go?"
As he spoke, Matsuda Jinpei looked over Hagiwara Kenji's expression.
Uh, his expression was very subtle and hard to read. After all, Samukawa Shinryu's impression on people would be worthy of subtlety whether he got into the Police Academy or not.
Hagiwara Kenji sat down with a grave expression and pondered for a while: "Mm... there's still quite a bit of hope."
Matsuda Jinpei was shocked: "Really? What exactly did the instructor say?"
"You remember Little Shinryu's answer about why he wanted to become a police officer, right?" Hagiwara Kenji asked.
Matsuda Jinpei nodded: "Unforgettable. Don't tell me the instructor was moved by this answer and developed a sense of responsibility and salvation toward young people who might go astray. This isn't a Japanese drama..."
"Uh, there might be a little bit of that reason, but the main reason is something else."
Hagiwara Kenji's expression became even stranger.
"The instructor is worried that if Samukawa really becomes a criminal later, when reporters interview him about why he turned to crime and he says he once wanted to be a police officer but wasn't admitted to Police Academy, the academy would face enormous public pressure and become a famous cautionary tale, ruining their reputation. So they're under a lot of pressure..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "...Aren't the instructors thinking a bit too far ahead and worrying unnecessarily?"
This was truly an unexpected reason that would never have occurred to Matsuda Jinpei no matter how hard he thought.
Was it necessary?! Even if Samukawa Shinryu really didn't look like a good person, he hadn't actually done anything bad. Were they already imagining the Police Academy's reputation after he was arrested for crimes?!
Even though Matsuda Jinpei was often influenced by the 'Black Screen Aura' and had some negative thoughts about Samukawa Shinryu, he still couldn't understand why the instructors thought so pessimistically.
The reason was actually quite simple. First, the instructors were meeting Samukawa Shinryu for the first time and had no preconceived good impressions of him, nor any resistance to the 'Black Screen Aura.'
Second, the instructors had to consider too many factors, and being police officers who encountered someone who made their DNA restless like a criminal reserve, they thought even more. The more they thought, the richer the 'Black Screen Aura' effects became...
Thinking that they bore the responsibility of whether the world might gain another criminal mastermind made them feel enormous pressure.
Fortunately, they didn't need to give an immediate conclusion on whether to admit him. They could still hold a meeting to discuss, finally giving them some buffer time.
Although Usuha Izuki didn't ask, he could roughly understand the instructors' struggle.
Because the system notifications kept flooding the screen...
To make a careful decision, the instructors even specifically investigated the heroic act mentioned in his resume—then discovered that the people saved were actually Hagiwara Kenji and his teammates.
Instructor Onizuka suddenly understood why Hagiwara Kenji had appeared at the Police Academy that day: "You were gathering information for him?"
Hagiwara Kenji showed embarrassment mixed with the relief of "confessing, not pretending anymore": "Yes, since he saved me... But I didn't do anything improper, just asking around. I didn't break any rules, right?"
Instructor Onizuka's gaze was subtle: "You indeed didn't break rules. You're much more obedient now—did being sent to train with the new recruits have an effect?"
"It definitely had an effect. I recognized my mistakes long ago, otherwise I wouldn't be able to return to my position now."
Hagiwara Kenji would absolutely never make the mistake of saying something like "wearing protective gear would at most leave a complete corpse" again, appearing especially well-behaved.
However, saying he'd returned to his position, compared to the important role he'd received right after graduation, was still lacking. Obviously the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit seniors still had some psychological trauma regarding him.
But having psychological trauma was actually good—when many people became their colleagues' psychological trauma, they were already gone. Only because Hagiwara Kenji was still alive could this strange treatment exist.
Instructor Onizuka spoke a few comforting words to Hagiwara Kenji, then sighed: "I know you're capable. Don't worry people too much. Perform well and you'll return to the front lines sooner or later."
Hagiwara Kenji readily agreed, then said: "But instructor, you didn't come here to see me this time, right?"
"...Right." Returning to the main topic, Instructor Onizuka's mood visibly became more oppressed. "Since you can gather information for Samukawa, you must know him quite well. What kind of person do you think he is?"
Hagiwara Kenji had prepared his answer long ago: "He's someone who's easily misunderstood. No matter how suspicious he looks, the fact is he has no criminal record. I'm willing to believe he's never done anything illegal, but I won't force others to believe the same."
Although he did have some negative associations due to Samukawa Shinryu's occasionally shocking statements, he was indeed willing to believe Samukawa Shinryu was a good person.
Samukawa Shinryu had been living with such prejudice all along. Hagiwara Kenji couldn't imagine what kind of life that was.
To escape the prejudice he'd always faced, Samukawa Shinryu was already trying to save himself! Working hard to get into the Police Academy! If they didn't help him now and he really went down the wrong path because he failed the public service exam, what then?! He'd regret it for life!
The instructor asked several more questions. After hearing that Samukawa Shinryu even needed Hagiwara Kenji, a police officer, to guarantee his apartment rental, he fell silent.
Sigh...
If renting was this difficult, finding work would be even harder. And he was an orphan with no family support.
Samukawa Shinryu had already failed the National Police Agency once. If he failed again, he'd probably really be out of savings. No one would lend him money—only loan sharks would dare, making things even worse.
Once someone runs out of money, they might do anything.
Knowing the other party was already in such difficulty, could they still make him break the law for survival?
Even people who'd been in prison could get chances to start over. Why couldn't they give Samukawa Shinryu a chance too?
Maybe Samukawa Shinryu would really become a good police officer.
So after the instructors went through intense internal struggles, mutual persuasion and counter-arguments, finally, Usuha Izuki received the admission notice from the Metropolitan Police Academy.
The system was even more nervous than Usuha Izuki and nearly wept with joy seeing the notice: [You actually succeeded without turning off the 'Black Screen Aura'!]
Usuha Izuki was also moved: [Indeed, there are more good people in the world. Thank goodness I'm not grinding their trust or favorability values, or I'd feel guilty.]
[You don't feel guilty grinding suspicion values...]
[Well, I still feel a little guilty.]
The system didn't quite believe it. It suspected Usuha Izuki wouldn't feel guilty grinding any values and would blame the system, claiming he was just an ordinary worker following orders.
Since discovering this guy probably wasn't ordinary even before, the system had become somewhat paranoid, often speculating about what he used to do, now leaning toward him not being a good person.
If the system weren't excluded from calculations, its contributed suspicion values could flood the notifications.
Regardless, Usuha Izuki had finally achieved his goal. He even invited Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei for a celebration dinner.
Due to guest etiquette, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei brought their own ingredients when visiting, and didn't let Usuha Izuki handle all the cooking alone. Instead, all three squeezed into the kitchen together like a team building exercise.
If there was anything worth noting, it was that neither of them would let Usuha Izuki handle knives.
Couldn't help it—although Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei both believed Usuha Izuki wouldn't kill anyone, seeing him with a knife made them inexplicably break into cold sweats and feel uncomfortable. For a harmonious atmosphere, they could only compete to do the cutting.
But Usuha Izuki still had to do the main cooking.
After eating Usuha Izuki's cooking last time, they'd been amazed. This time they were much more enthusiastic about freeloading.
"Little Shinryu is amazing." Hagiwara Kenji praised enthusiastically. "Even home cooking can be this excellent!"
Usuha Izuki calmly accepted the praise: "Practice makes perfect."
Hagiwara Kenji & Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
The two fell into strange silence, then became lively again.
They clearly understood that in friendships, as long as everyone got along happily, that was enough. If the other party didn't mind, their endless sympathy would seem unnecessary.
The system couldn't help saying: [So you cook this well, but during missions you insisted on letting Morofushi Hiromitsu cook without helping...]
[I was thinking of them too. Their nerves were already very tense then. Having Hiromitsu cook put everyone at ease. If I'd cooked too, they might have gotten stomach problems from stress. Besides, I said we could order takeout or eat out, but they insisted on staying in less for safety!]
System sarcastically: [How considerate of you.]
[Exactly. I really understand sustainability—there has to be relaxation time in a day!]
While eating, when Hagiwara Kenji mentioned Police Academy starting, he suddenly remembered something: "Speaking of which, people used to make little cookies and such for classmates..."
Matsuda Jinpei was torn between speaking and not.
Before Matsuda Jinpei could tactfully object, Usuha Izuki had already answered calmly.
"I'd like to, but I'm more worried they'd think I wanted to poison the Police Academy and wipe out all the police seedlings, causing a generational gap in the police force."
"...That's not necessary. What kind of inefficient poisoning would that be?" Hagiwara Kenji added, "Let's wait until you have classmates you get along with."
Samukawa Shinryu's self-awareness was painfully clear...
Soon, the day came for the Metropolitan Police Academy to begin.
On this day, countless Police Academy freshmen meeting Samukawa Shinryu for the first time experienced the same illusion.
"Yumi? What's wrong?" Sato Miwako looked strangely at Miyamoto Yumi blocking the doorway.
"Miwako..." Miyamoto Yumi murmured without turning around. "I might just be naturally suited to be a police officer..."
Sato Miwako was confused: "Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?"
Miyamoto Yumi was excited: "Because! The moment I saw someone, I got the feeling that he must be a criminal! This is the legendary sixth sense of elite detectives!"
"Huh? This is a Police Academy—where would criminals come from?"
Sato Miwako walked around Miyamoto Yumi in confusion and glanced inside.
Her gaze was instantly drawn to the young man with dark blue hair. She completely forgot what she'd just said to Miyamoto Yumi, with only one thought left in her mind.
...I might be a genius police officer too!!! I have this intuition too!!!