Chapter 211
Applying for a commendation for Samukawa Shinryu wasn't just Inspector Megure's random idea—it was genuinely feasible.
On his way here, he had received a call from above. Plamia being caught in Japan was great news. The higher-ups wanted to use this as a typical case to promote Japanese police capabilities worldwide.
In other words, the tone had been set and was not to be questioned. Even if violations were discovered along the way, as long as Plamia was the one who died, it didn't matter.
Minor violations couldn't compare to such a great opportunity to showcase how awesome Japanese police were. Problems had to become non-problems!
After all, Plamia had killed and set fires in other countries, and their police achieved nothing, but Japan caught her in one go. Didn't the comparison speak for itself?
Inspector Megure was actually somewhat speechless when he heard this.
Compared to those morally corrupt police higher-ups, he still held relatively simple moral values. Hearing such hints that he could falsify records for the greater good made him slightly uncomfortable—but only slightly, since it truly benefited all Japanese police.
In his view, since this matter was handled by Samukawa Shinryu, given Samukawa Shinryu's capabilities, even if there were real problems, the police investigation would find no issues. The surface would definitely be presentable.
After years of contact, Inspector Megure already felt that Samukawa Shinryu actually had little interest in "those things." Even taking it to the extreme, if Samukawa Shinryu really wanted to do something, he would never leave evidence behind. Anyway, it would be enough to satisfy the superiors.
On this foundation, just to dispel Samukawa Shinryu's thoughts of resignation, merely applying for a commendation—not just Criminal Investigation Division One, but the entire Criminal Division would have no objections.
Having temporarily appeased Samukawa Shinryu, Inspector Megure turned around and saw the sneaky Hagiwara Kenji, quickly waving him over: "Hagiwara-kun, perfect timing. Leave this to others—you and Samukawa-kun go back first."
Hagiwara Kenji: "...?"
Inspector Megure gave him a resolute look.
This was a major case with so many people here—they didn't need Hagiwara Kenji. Since they were partners, naturally he should comfort the survivor... uh, but the target was Samukawa Shinryu, so never mind that. Move directly to the next step—extract information!
Ask what exactly this guy was dissatisfied with about work that he insisted on resigning.
Usuha Izuki wasn't blind—he naturally saw the eye contact between these two, but having already read Inspector Megure's attitude, he stopped wasting words and remained silent.
Hagiwara Kenji sighed and walked to Usuha Izuki's side: "Anyway, let's go back to the Metropolitan Police first. Your clothes are dirty. I'll go tell little Jinpei and borrow his car..."
Usuha Izuki silently took Hagiwara Kenji's car keys from his pocket and handed them over.
Hagiwara Kenji: "..........."
He stared at the car keys for several seconds, then turned to look at the rubble around the exploded abandoned building: "Where did you park my car?"
"Safe zone."
Hagiwara Kenji: "..........."
Right, you knew this place would explode all along.
Hagiwara Kenji followed Usuha Izuki somewhat speechlessly to find his car and discovered it was indeed fine, completely unaffected.
Walking this distance, Hagiwara Kenji roughly recalled when his car keys had been taken. He wanted to say something but felt inexplicably tired, feeling that nothing he said would matter. In the end, he just sighed and got in the driver's seat.
"Let's go."
Usuha Izuki took the passenger seat.
The car began heading toward the Metropolitan Police. When they hit a red light, Hagiwara Kenji finally spoke: "Do you really have to resign this time?"
It wasn't the first time there had been such signs, but basically after some time off, things would settle down when he returned. This time felt like he wanted to give Criminal Investigation Division One a big gift and use it to secure his resignation—his determination seemed especially firm.
This made his original anger about little Shinryu acting alone again and putting himself in danger have to be postponed. Otherwise, if he got angry and little Shinryu took the opportunity to tell him to calm down, then directly blocked him and wouldn't answer his calls, what would he do? He felt this guy could do such a thing.
Usuha Izuki's expression was serious: "Kenji, if you also plan to persuade me not to resign, then let's cut ties."
Hagiwara Kenji was stunned: "That serious?"
Usuha Izuki was coldly ruthless: "Yes."
He did give preferential treatment to friends, but even friends couldn't stop him this time. This was a matter of principle!
Hagiwara Kenji pondered for several seconds: "Sorry, can I ask why? Asking this shouldn't also require cutting ties, right?"
"...I don't want to get up early every day anymore."
Hagiwara Kenji: "..........."
He wanted to say, just because of this?! But seeing the other's expression, Hagiwara Kenji shut up.
But while he couldn't ask, the system had no such concerns: [So it really is because of this. I could tell from how you kept making excuses to be late...]
Usuha Izuki: [...What kind of way is that to talk? Do I seem like that kind of person? The main reason is naturally that I can't farm much suspicion value at the Metropolitan Police anymore. Look at such a big thing I did—how many points did I earn? But I definitely can't tell Kenji that, so...]
This time the system had no doubts and trusted its own judgment completely, laughing coldly: [I won't be fooled by you anymore. What high-sounding excuse are you making? You just don't like getting up early...]
Usuha Izuki: [...]
Well, there was no helping it—he was naturally someone who was more energetic at night.
He couldn't sleep, just couldn't sleep, but had to get up on time in the morning... Only Samukawa Shinryu's physical condition could handle it. If it were Usuha Izuki's main body, he'd probably be thinking about resigning in half a year.
No matter how interesting the work, once it required getting up early, it became very unpleasant.
Now that he'd farmed most of the suspicion value at the Metropolitan Police and everyone seemed numb to it, wasn't it perfect timing to resign?
Although it was a bit regrettable to lose the suspicion value contributed by suspects and such at crime scenes, compared to the pain of getting up early, he'd rather give up that suspicion value!
As for Inspector Megure not agreeing...
If he didn't agree, so be it. Originally he had kindly provided a graceful exit for everyone to take together. Now that they didn't want this exit, don't blame him for being rude.
Plamia's death was a major event for the Metropolitan Police. Many people were called in for scene investigation and inquiries. Within a few days, the report was ready.
According to eyewitness descriptions, when the building exploded, the flames were purple-red, consistent with Plamia's usual bomb effects—Usuha Izuki had stayed up all night following Plamia, retrieved her bombs and letters, destroyed the letters, then installed the bombs in his hands while going upstairs to the destination the next day, waiting for Plamia to press the button herself. The bombs that should have been scattered across several locations exploded together. No matter who investigated, they were Plamia's own bombs.
The deceased didn't die from the explosion but from the fall. Her face was still identifiable and indeed matched Plamia.
Further investigation found the traffic officer who had encountered Plamia with Samukawa Shinryu when he was catching the fugitive. After inquiring in the area, they found her address and discovered her identity was fake...
In short, the report showed that although Samukawa Shinryu's individual heroism in facing criminals alone wasn't worth promoting, the result was good. His merits outweighed his faults—he was a great contributor. Inspector Megure's application for commendation could be discussed in a meeting.
Unfortunately, when this conclusion came out, Samukawa Shinryu had already been absent from work for three or four days.
He had placed a resignation letter on Inspector Megure's desk, then directly went missing! The kind even Hagiwara Kenji couldn't contact!
Inspector Megure finally came to settle accounts with an unpleasant expression: "Whoever wrote the resignation letter, come forward and claim responsibility."
After a moment of silence, someone tremblingly raised their hand: "Sorry, I helped Samukawa write it."
Everyone looked at him with heartbroken expressions and began denouncing him.
"Self-criticism reports were one thing, but you dared to ghostwrite this kind of thing?!"
"If you were going to write it, why didn't you tell us?"
"You little punk, you've lost your conscience!"
The person involved was also in pain: "I'm sorry! But I owed Samukawa so many favors. He said if I helped him write the resignation letter, we'd be even..."
"Can't you stop relying on Samukawa and stand upright?!"
"I think Samukawa was driven away by you people. You go ask him about every stupid question, so when we have real trouble, we can't find him..."
"Uh, they can't really be called stupid questions. Those codes were really difficult to solve, and Samukawa-kun could know the answer at a glance... This was also to save time..."
"What do we do now? We can't reach him by phone, and he reportedly hasn't even gone home!"
Hagiwara Kenji added: "He moved out completely."
Division Chief Odagiri Toshiro, who had been promoted to Criminal Division Chief, watched this scene of hundreds of ducks quacking together and his expression gradually darkened.
"Enough." Chief Odagiri's gaze swept around. "When I recommended Samukawa-kun to join Criminal Investigation Division One, my purpose wasn't to let you slack off, but to hope you could learn from excellent people... If Samukawa-kun returning to continue as a police officer would just let you continue slacking off, I'd rather he not come back!"
Inspector Megure wanted to speak but hesitated.
He felt this was going a bit too far.
Although many people often asked Samukawa Shinryu for help, and some individuals had lazy motivations, most people were still conscientious and responsible, only seeking help when they truly had no choice.
Especially with time-sensitive cases, veteran detectives having to seek help from Samukawa Shinryu meant swallowing their pride and bowing humbly. Afterward, they worked hard to improve their professional skills... If everyone was just looking to slack off by finding Samukawa-kun for help, Samukawa-kun definitely wouldn't have waited until now to submit his resignation.
However, Chief Odagiri was always as strict with others as with himself. What everyone had said earlier did sound somewhat improper, so having everyone tighten up and reflect wasn't necessarily bad...
Chief Odagiri then gave an impromptu speech about self-improvement that lasted five minutes but was packed with substance. Everyone looked enlightened and agreeable.
Feeling the atmosphere was no longer so frivolous, Chief Odagiri nodded to Inspector Megure, indicating he should follow him out.
In the Criminal Division Chief's office, Chief Odagiri sat down and asked: "What was Samukawa-kun's reason for resigning?"
"...Reportedly because he doesn't like desk work and doesn't like getting up early." Inspector Megure found it difficult to say.
Chief Odagiri nodded thoughtfully: "I see... So if we solve these problems, he'd be willing to return and continue as a police officer?"
Inspector Megure sighed: "Chief, he's often late and refuses overtime. He's already trampling on regulations. Everyone's willingness to tolerate and accommodate him was already special treatment... Although I very much hope Samukawa-kun can return, if the Metropolitan Police needs to make such huge concessions, I think it's somewhat inappropriate."
In such institutional departments, regulations were still very important. Setting precedents could easily lead to various troublesome consequences.
The always serious and meticulous Chief Odagiri naturally understood this as well.
So he nodded gently: "You make sense. However, if he's not continuing as a detective in Criminal Investigation Division One, then detective requirements can't be used to constrain him."
Inspector Megure was stunned: "You mean...?"
"A few years ago, didn't the department discuss whether to give Kudo Yusaku a Special Advisor position in the Criminal Division?"
Inspector Megure remembered: "Yes, there was such a thing."
After all, having a non-police outsider constantly solving cases made the police look too incompetent, so everyone discussed whether to bring him into the system.
But because the higher-ups traditionally insisted that even Special Advisors must have been police officers, plus Kudo Yusaku later went abroad directly, the matter eventually fell through.
Now that the chief was bringing this up, could he be thinking...
Chief Odagiri asked: "If we made Samukawa-kun this Special Advisor, do you think anyone would object?"