Chapter 24
Because Usuha Izuki's operation was so suffocating—like dancing on a grave, it was blatant provocation—Gin was actually amused by his anger.
"What are you wearing?"
Usuha Izuki looked down: "A wool sweater. What about it?"
You're still asking what about it?
Gin was too lazy to waste words with him and directly ordered: "Take it off."
"Why should I? Just because you gave me your bank card?"
Amuro Toru: "..."
What kind of conversation between a rigid father and rebellious teenage son is this...
Amuro Toru had been feeling down about getting drawn into such boring antics and seriously analyzing them for ages, but now seeing Usuha Izuki face off against Gin, his gossiping instincts kicked in. Those chaotic emotions instantly went to the back burner as he focused on trying to remember every word.
Usuha Izuki actually had Gin's bank card! Even though Gin seemed to particularly dislike Usuha Izuki, why would he give it to him?
Speaking of which, Usuha Izuki's position in the Organization was indeed somewhat strange. Calling him a newcomer, yet Gin showed him extra tolerance, while he himself was very arrogant—slacking off, causing trouble, constantly threatening to report to the Boss...
A guess suddenly popped into Amuro Toru's mind.
—Could it be that Usuha Izuki was actually the Boss's relative?!
The more Amuro Toru thought about it, the more it made sense.
Only someone with connections would be this arrogant, making even the Organization's backbone Gin avoid confrontation!
Moreover, as a connected person, he'd previously planned to be an ordinary citizen but was recently forced by family to join the Organization, so he counted as a newcomer while clearly having a transcendent status... This made sense!
Thinking this, Amuro Toru became nervous.
Hagiwara had once said that if everything goes too smoothly, it's fate reminding you that there's a cliff ahead and you should brake.
He hadn't expected to contact someone at this level of the Organization so quickly... For an undercover agent, this was somewhat too smooth...
While Amuro Toru was having his brainstorm, Usuha Izuki finally reached consensus with Gin through Vodka as mediator, letting that matter slide.
Vodka said with a headache: "Boss is also thinking of you. Even if you went to work at another company dressed like this, you'd be criticized. It's not targeting you... If you don't want to take it off, then don't, but ordinary people wouldn't wear such provocative clothing to work."
You couldn't blame Vodka for backing down. On one hand, he really couldn't control Usuha Izuki. On the other hand, Gin wasn't in the right, especially since the methods Gin could use on others couldn't be used on Usuha Izuki, which frustrated him too.
Although this shirt was indeed heartbreaking, although seeing it was indeed infuriating, although they clearly knew Usuha Izuki was deliberately provoking... they just didn't have the authority.
If Gin said this to other Organization members, they might remove it out of deference to Gin's long-standing reputation, adopting a "better safe than sorry" attitude—no wait, they wouldn't wear such clothing in the first place!
This was simply a case of being emboldened by favoritism.
This made the observing Amuro Toru even more convinced that this guy was probably a connected insider.
—He was indeed connected, but not through the Boss's relationship. Amuro Toru couldn't guess that far for now.
Since Vodka had backed down and Usuha Izuki had kept his shirt, he stopped dwelling on the topic and asked: "Speaking of which, is this mission Amuro's evaluation task? If he fails again, will he have to retake it?"
Amuro Toru: "...I suppose so."
Again...
At this moment, Amuro Toru finally remembered that his and Morofushi Hiromitsu's last evaluation mission had been ruined by this very person.
Right, where had he been smooth sailing? He didn't need to consider braking or anything—this guy had already created enough obstacles for him!
Usuha Izuki frowned upon hearing Amuro Toru's answer.
Amuro Toru's heart immediately tightened: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing much, I just advise you to hurry up if you're planning to make a move. If you don't leave soon, something's going to happen here."
Gin looked up at him: "What do you mean?"
"That server from earlier seemed like he really wanted to kill someone. His enemy should be here..."
Before Usuha Izuki finished speaking, Gin stood up and left.
Vodka quickly went to a corner to make a call, having the Organization's people here keep an eye on the server who'd just delivered juice.
If he hadn't acted yet, they should control him quickly to assess the situation and decide whether to voluntarily hand him over to police, preventing a major search operation after something happened.
Amuro Toru watched in amazement.
What? He hadn't noticed that person wanted to kill anyone. And Gin really planned to leave just based on that statement? Vodka was even seriously taking precautions?
Usuha Izuki moved to Amuro Toru's side and patted his shoulder: "You should hurry too, or Sakata Jiro might leave as well, and then you'll have to take a third evaluation."
Amuro Toru was silent for a moment, then slightly adjusted his attitude: "This was too rushed. I'll thank you properly after the mission is complete... Also, your music box—I'll bring it to you next time."
"Good brother!" Usuha Izuki was extremely enthusiastic. "Let's keep in touch more. Don't be like Vodka, so insincere with friends, always lying about not being nearby..."
Vodka, who had finished his call: "............"
Who's your friend?!
But he hadn't expected Usuha Izuki to have such skills—remembering random passersby so clearly... Such good ability shouldn't be wasted by just sitting unused. Defaulting to friendship, maybe he could find excuses to ask for help in the future. Let it be for now.
Soon, these people with missions left the private room, leaving only the idle Usuha Izuki, who said he'd leave after finishing his juice.
He actually had no interest in karaoke—he'd come purely to grind suspicion values and chat with people. As Samukawa Shinryu, a silent, steady guy, he really talked too little and felt very uncomfortable.
The suspicion values were indeed grinding well now. After he'd called Vodka, Gin and Vodka's suspicion values had skyrocketed. But the latter...
He felt somewhat unsatisfied, wanting to talk more, since chatting with the system in his mind felt different from actually speaking with his throat.
The system popped up: [I suggested before that you just buy a substitute doll, then you could operate on two fronts. Since Samukawa Shinryu doesn't talk much anyway, spacing out without speaking wouldn't matter—very suitable for someone with your terrible acting skills!]
Usuha Izuki naturally knew having a substitute doll would be more convenient, but...
[No money.] Usuha Izuki answered straightforwardly. [With all my current suspicion values, I only have enough to live for a month. Even if I planned to die tomorrow, I couldn't afford that substitute doll.]
The system was tempted: [You could get an installment loan—the interest is very low.]
Usuha Izuki: [I hate the feeling of being in debt. How about you make it cheaper?]
System: [...??? You're bargaining now? This is already rock bottom! Any lower and I'd be operating at a loss!]
[Do I look like a sucker to you? Anyway, if you don't make it cheaper, I won't buy anything. Maybe I'll draw one from a lucky bag someday!]
System: [The probability of drawing such high-level items is very low...]
Damn! They shouldn't have given him those lucky bags! Now even negotiations were difficult!
[Then we'll talk later.] Usuha Izuki was unmoved, firmly refusing to take a loss.
He finished his juice and slowly walked out of the private room.
Usuha Izuki had originally planned to use his original identity as a wealthy person who could spend freely to enjoy a good two days of vacation.
But as he left the karaoke place and headed toward a restaurant, he suddenly heard a phone ringing nearby.
He thought it was a passerby's phone, but the sound seemed off. Looking around, he discovered someone had somehow thrown their phone into the roadside flower bed.
Usuha Izuki stared at this persistently ringing phone for several seconds.
He wanted to just turn and walk away—after all, it had nothing to do with him. But at that moment, Instructor Onizuka's words from before he left school suddenly echoed in his mind.
"...Don't forget your identity when you're out..."
He wasn't sincerely trying to become a police officer anyway. Besides, he was using his original identity now—he shouldn't meddle in others' business and should just leave.
But Usuha Izuki stood there for a while, watching the unrelenting ringtone, and suddenly sighed.
System was speechless: [You're not actually a good person. Stop pretending.]
[I already told you I died doing the right thing. I'm originally a good person.]
System didn't believe it: [Was your heroic act sincere?]
[...From the results, I'm dead, so others should believe I was sincere, right?]
[I don't care what others think. I just want to know what you think.]
Usuha Izuki stopped responding to the system.
He observed that there were no cameras nearby, then slipped into an empty alley, switched to Samukawa Shinryu's account, and came out to answer the persistent phone call.
"Hello?"
The 'Black Screen Aura' effect was very comprehensive. Even though the other party only heard Samukawa Shinryu's voice, they felt it carried ice shards that chilled the listener's heart.
"...This is Miss Ohara's phone, right? Could you let Miss Ohara answer the phone?"
Usuha Izuki knew what was going on. He answered concisely: "No."
The other party: "............"
Half an hour later, Instructor Onizuka received a phone call.
"Hello, Instructor Onizuka? This is Komatsu from two classes ago! Do you still remember me?"
Instructor Onizuka was a bit surprised: "Oh, Komatsu, I remember you... What's the matter?"
Komatsu stammered: "Instructor, it's like this—I'm working at a neighborhood police box now. Today someone reported their daughter missing, possibly kidnapped. We caught a suspect, but he says he's a Police Academy student, one of your students... I don't really believe it, but I'm checking with you just in case..."
Instructor Onizuka immediately felt an ominous premonition: "Who?"
"Samukawa Shinryu."
Instructor Onizuka: "............"
Komatsu's tone was full of expectation and trust: "You don't know this person, right?"
Instructor Onizuka: "............"
"Instructor?"
Instructor Onizuka struggled to find his voice: "...He is indeed my student... I just approved his leave today..."
Hagiwara Kenji, sitting across from him and hearing something was wrong, looked up puzzledly: "What happened?"
"...Samukawa was arrested as a suspect. Go take a look and see what's going on."
Hagiwara Kenji: "............"
—His worst fear had come true! Little Shinryu!