Chapter 39
Amid the real-world silence and the system's frantic notifications of incoming suspicion values, Usuha Izuki continued speaking.
"To avoid detection, it's best to poison slowly, so this method is more suitable for use on cohabitants. Having stairs at home is even better—this way when tremor paralysis sets in, they might fall down the stairs, which is more concealed than directly using strong poison to cause immediate death. Over eighty percent of unnatural deaths in Japan are cremated with random causes of death assigned without autopsy, making the autopsy rate the lowest among developed countries. So as long as it looks like an accident..."
Hagiwara Kenji's smile gradually became forced: "Um... that's enough. Excellent answer—you don't need to do homework."
Giving Hagiwara Kenji face, Usuha Izuki reluctantly closed his mouth.
The students who had originally been enthusiastically and actively participating in the Q&A now fell into an eerie silence.
Although they knew this was just answering questions, and the previous people had also proposed many murder methods, how to put it... Samukawa Shinryu's answer had a completely different style from the others.
Other people's answers were limited to "methods of killing," most of which were very simple and brutal, like using knives to kill people.
But Samukawa Shinryu was different.
In this preset scenario with no ready-made poison, he extracted his own, even actually knowing the extraction method. After extraction, he thought of alibis that others hadn't considered, even factoring in Japan's autopsy rate for unnatural deaths, and even criticized it...
Just, too many elements, making people unable to help but wonder...
Why are you so skilled at this?!
Don't immerse yourself so deeply in the killer's perspective! You're a police officer!
Fortunately, the class was taught by Hagiwara Kenji, who was quite good at managing the atmosphere. He quickly and eloquently shifted the topic elsewhere, making everyone temporarily forget the earlier eerie atmosphere.
But after class, Hagiwara Kenji couldn't do much. When the students' attention shifted from the lesson content and they saw Usuha Izuki again, they quickly recalled his answer. People began exchanging glances, and the atmosphere became tense once more.
Sato Miwako couldn't stand watching this.
Speaking of which, Sato Miwako wasn't completely unaffected by the "Black Screen Aura," but compared to Samukawa Shinryu who looked like a dangerous element, she found those who only gossiped behind people's backs more annoying.
She was someone with a strong sense of justice. She felt that although Samukawa Shinryu looked somewhat dangerous, he had never actively bothered anyone and had just been answering questions normally. Everyone's wild speculation was really unnecessary.
Samukawa-kun was already being wronged enough!
So she took ice-breaking action.
After class, Sato Miwako directly approached Usuha Izuki and asked: "Samukawa-kun, could you recommend some books you think would be useful?"
Usuha Izuki was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly nodded: "I'll write you a book list."
"Thank you." Sato Miwako smiled at him openly. "You know so much—I want to learn more of this knowledge too. After all, if I want to be a detective, having broad knowledge is better."
In just a few sentences, Sato Miwako shifted the focus from "Samukawa Shinryu's thinking is scary" to "knowing these things makes a good detective—those who don't know should reflect instead."
People are always easily led by the mood, and with Sato Miwako taking the lead, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.
Miyamoto Yumi followed Sato Miwako to the library. After confirming no one could hear them, she couldn't help saying: "You're really brave. This is your second time actively talking to Samukawa-kun, right?"
"What's wrong with talking to him?" Sato Miwako didn't like the current class atmosphere, as if anyone who actively spoke to Samukawa Shinryu would die. "You saw it too—I've talked to him twice and nothing happened, so everyone doesn't need to be so afraid of him."
"The logic is that logic... but I just feel inexplicably scared. Samukawa-kun never smiles, which makes him feel very unapproachable."
Sato Miwako recalled: "He's not completely without smiles, right?"
"...Are you thinking of that time in shooting class when he made someone fire a gun? That was even more terrifying!"
Sato Miwako said calmly: "I think there's no need to overthink so much. As long as we don't offend him, he has no reason to randomly attack people, right?"
Miyamoto Yumi: "So you also think he'd attack if there was a reason?"
"That's not what I meant. It's just that he's going to be a police officer after all and will become our colleague in the future. Why assume he'll commit crimes... Having a colleague who's knowledgeable in this area would be more helpful for solving cases, wouldn't it?"
Sato Miwako clenched her fist: "If he ever betrays this uniform, I'll definitely find a way to arrest him! I'll keep watching him!"
"...You're also being suspicious!"
"No, it's just... sometimes I can't help thinking about this..." Sato Miwako said awkwardly. "Don't TV dramas often show police classmates going down the wrong path and becoming the protagonist's nemesis... I was influenced a bit. But I still believe in Samukawa-kun! This isn't a TV drama!"
Miyamoto Yumi sighed: "Ah, I understand—that feeling of wanting to trust but somehow unable to feel at ease..."
"Right, right, exactly!" Sato Miwako was relieved.
"Actually, when you mentioned TV dramas, I thought about it... Don't you think Samukawa-kun is more like a detective drama protagonist than someone who goes astray and becomes the protagonist's nemesis?"
Miyamoto Yumi pondered: "A smart and knowledgeable Police Academy honor student, constantly misunderstood but with outstanding professional abilities, making people simultaneously suspicious and dependent on him to solve cases... Wow, I can't wait for him to graduate and be assigned to the Criminal Investigation Department. I really want to see his colleagues' expressions."
"I think he'll be assigned to the Organized Crime Countermeasures Division." Sato Miwako thought. "He looks very suitable for undercover work."
Miyamoto Yumi shook her head: "If I were a supervisor, I wouldn't feel comfortable sending him undercover. It feels like instead of placing an informant with the enemy, we'd be giving them a great gift—like releasing a tiger back to the mountains with paranoid distrust... There's no point in sending an undercover agent you can't trust."
"Then Criminal Investigation Division 1 would be more suitable?" Sato Miwako sighed. "He'll definitely become an elite detective."
Regardless of any doubts about his character, at least in terms of ability, Samukawa Shinryu was deeply trusted.
Having witnessed Sato Miwako asking Usuha Izuki for a book list, Hagiwara Kenji asked with a smile during lunch: "Little Shinryu is gradually building good relationships with his classmates too."
"This doesn't count as building good relationships."
"How doesn't it count? Don't set your standards too high, Little Shinryu. If you're a bit more proactive, you could become friends."
Usuha Izuki said: "I don't think I could become friends with her."
Hagiwara Kenji stopped eating and propped his face up: "Then what kind of person do you think could become a friend?"
"...To become friends, you first need to understand each other, right? Otherwise, you're just acquaintances."
Usuha Izuki frowned slightly.
"I hate people who presumptuously assume what kind of person I am, presumptuously say they want to be friends, then when they discover I'm different from what they imagined, disappointedly say 'so you're this kind of person.'"
Hagiwara Kenji was stunned.
Samukawa Shinryu rarely showed such obvious emotions and rarely spoke with such clear emotional coloring. This forced Hagiwara Kenji to shift from a casual chat mindset to serious consideration.
No wonder Little Shinryu seemed uninterested in deep relationships with people... Was he worried about this?
...Actually, he felt Little Shinryu was overthinking it. People willing to be friends with him had obviously moved past the stage of judging by appearance.
However, Hagiwara Kenji didn't voice this criticism. Instead, he thought for a moment and said: "Then you also need to give people a chance to understand you."
"I know."
This kind of thing needed the right opportunity.
Usuha Izuki thought carelessly—hopefully that opportunity would come soon, or he'd have to think of other methods.
A week passed quickly, and Usuha Izuki went to submit another leave request.
Instructor Onizuka had been prepared, but seeing the reason for his application, his expression still couldn't hold: "What does 'to prevent criminals from successfully committing crimes, requesting leave to go out' mean..."
Usuha Izuki argued confidently: "Since I encounter cases every time I go out, what if because I don't go out this time, some criminal succeeds in committing a crime? I'd feel very guilty."
"Don't feel guilty about such things!" Instructor Onizuka couldn't help complaining. "No, rejected. I don't think there are so many cases for you to happen upon."
Usuha Izuki: "Since I won't encounter any cases, why not let me go out?"
Instructor Onizuka: "...You're waiting here for me, aren't you?"
The instructor slapped the application form aside and asked imposingly: "Do you have any extremely important business to handle?"
"No."
"Then your application is rejected. Before you come up with better reasons for leave, stay obediently at school." Instructor Onizuka didn't even look up. "You can go now."
Usuha Izuki: "..........."
Seeing that Instructor Onizuka's psychological trauma probably wouldn't disappear anytime soon, Usuha Izuki didn't insist. He took back his application form, planning to think of other methods.
If the worst came to worst, he'd skip this week. After all, when he called Vodka about his cozy vase, Vodka was evasive, saying something about still helping him piece it back together. He could wait until next week to meet and pressure him.
He just missed the opportunity to get fresh air. He'd barely spoken all week and worried he might accidentally break Samukawa Shinryu's character...
Having steeled his heart to refuse Usuha Izuki, Instructor Onizuka felt that at least this week, he shouldn't have to worry about retrieving his student from police stations or having his reputation damaged somewhere.
Unfortunately, this relaxed mindset lasted less than two hours.
Just as Instructor Onizuka finished his paperwork and was about to leave his office, Sato Miwako suddenly called him.
Since Sato Miwako was the daughter of Instructor Onizuka's senior and even had her car stored with him, having his private contact information was normal.
Instructor Onizuka also understood that unless it was very urgent, this senior's daughter would actually prefer to go through official channels rather than call him like this.
Therefore, from the moment he answered the phone, Instructor Onizuka was very nervous: "Hello?"
"Instructor! Something happened! Samukawa-kun he..."
Instructor Onizuka's heart immediately trembled: "What happened? Did Samukawa sneak out and cause trouble?"
Sato Miwako caught her breath.
"Samukawa-kun is still at school! But he was attacked by that guy who dropped out!"
Instructor Onizuka: "...?!?!?!"
—This time Samukawa really hadn't gotten involved in any cases outside... This was directly causing trouble within the Police Academy!