"A perfectly good bowl of pork cutlet, with neither meat flavor nor curry flavor, failure!"

"The radishes weren't selected properly, too many bits, failure!"

"The pork skin is cooked too soft, no chewiness, failure!"

"The blood pudding is too loose, falls apart when picked up, the failure of all failures!"

"And the worst are these pickles, they weren't cleaned properly, there's even a bug in here, are you kidding me?"

Fushimi Roku shook his head while eating, and Minamoto Tamako suppressed her anger, waiting beside him for quite a while until Fushimi Roku was full. She then lightly coughed twice to remind Fushimi not to forget about the main matter.

"Why are you still here?" Fushimi Roku looked surprised, "Weren't we supposed to investigate the case?"

Minamoto Tamako couldn't hold back and spoke her mind: "Aren't you at least curious about the truth of that case?"

"Curious, but didn't you say to keep it a secret?" Fushimi Roku retorted.

"Secrecy is secrecy, but speaking of that again, um... it's possible to look at the files anonymously... Besides, you've already guessed which case it is, it seems there's nothing to keep secret about." Minamoto Tamako awkwardly admitted she just wanted to investigate the case together.

Fushimi Roku knew what Minamoto Tamako was thinking. He had planned to leave it and let Minamoto Tamako investigate last night, but Minamoto Tamako wanted to bring him along... Fushimi Roku thought that plans can't keep up with changes, and it's okay to go investigate together.

Well, there's nothing to do at home anyway, might as well go out with her and have some fun.

"Alright, then I have something to say too," Fushimi Roku used strategy to counter strategy: "Promise me you won't get mad."

Minamoto Tamako was stunned, showing suspicion: "What is it?"

Fushimi Roku emphasized: "Agree not to get angry first."

Minamoto Tamako didn't agree, so she guessed: "Did you cheat on me?"

"How could that be, what are you thinking?" Fushimi Roku looked utterly confused.

"Is it that you're in debt?" Minamoto Tamako asked again.

"No." Fushimi Roku replied blankly.

Minamoto Tamako went on with over ten guesses, including but not limited to 'you're gay', 'have a physical disease', 'Ye Tea hasn't cured you' and so on.

Fushimi Roku was numb, repeatedly saying 'no'.

"Alright, I can't guess it." Minamoto Tamako had to compromise: "I promise I won't get mad, just tell me."

"Your grandfather also commissioned me to investigate that case."

After saying that, Fushimi Roku set down his chopsticks and quickly went back to his room: "Since we're going out, I'll brush my teeth, wash my face, and change clothes first."

Minamoto Tamako was stunned and then furious: "You knew all along, didn't you?!"

Fushimi Roku pretended not to hear, went back to his room, and closed the door: "I'm taking my clothes off, don't come in, I'm changing clothes."

Minamoto Tamako knocked back and forth on the door panel, as if beating a drum before a court to redress a grievance: "You wretch, you said you heard rumors on the street, turns out you knew! The 'rumor deduction game' was fake, too, right? And, and..."

When she thought of her fears and hopes over the past two days, and how she had privately congratulated herself that Fushimi seemed like a fool at dinner, she felt a wave of shame, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

"Isn't this beside the point?"

Fushimi Roku changed clothes while trying to deflect the issue: "The point is your grandfather hid this from both of us, and had us investigate the case, does he have a special intention? Maybe he's testing our relationship!"

Minamoto Tamako was stunned again as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on her, and she calmed down.

That's right!

Only lovers who are honest with each other can pass such a test!

No wonder she's been angry these past two days, when she thought about it carefully, it seemed to be because of this case—having to hide it from Fushimi, and investigate it in secret, how is this different from having an affair?

It's a complete betrayal!

It's not just a betrayal of a lover, but a betrayal of the detective team!

The more Minamoto Tamako thought about it, the deeper she got. She felt her response at the time was wrong, and maybe she had already received a bad evaluation from her grandfather's perspective.

When her grandfather mentioned secrecy, she should have firmly refused, insisting there are no secrets between lovers and expressed her stance that she and Fushimi are one, that would have been the perfect answer!

How infuriating!

Never saw this coming!

Minamoto Tamako felt deeply frustrated, even doubting her feelings for Fushimi-kun at one point. But then she thought again, surely her grandfather wouldn't joke about his daughter-in-law's life, right?

Fushimi Roku changed his clothes, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and as soon as he stepped out, Minamoto Tamako caught him.

Minamoto Tamako expressed her thoughts. After Fushimi Roku listened, he added fuel to the fire, "Maybe he wants to uncover the truth while testing our relationship?"

Wow, two birds with one stone, what a strategy, worthy of the Family Head!

Minamoto Tamako took it seriously. She patted her chest and said, "Good thing I chose to tell the truth. It's not too late to say it now, right? After all, the case hasn't been solved yet!"

"Yeah, yeah," Fushimi Roku nodded, adding, "I chose to tell the truth as well."

Minamoto Tamako found it reasonable. Her anger and shame dissipated, she didn't hold it against him and stopped thinking about keeping secrets. She hurriedly took out the case files from the room for Fushimi-kun to take a look, striving to keep up with the investigation progress.

Fushimi Roku quickly scanned through it, finding it not too different from what he already knew. He handed back the files and asked, "What are you planning to investigate today?"

"Get in touch with the victim's family and friends again, maybe we'll uncover new clues."

Minamoto Tamako paused. Knowing Fushimi Roku's nature, she added, "No need to report to the police station. I've been fully entrusted with this case. We just need to work in the field."

"Oh, that good? I hope the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department can adopt the advanced investigative concepts of the Road Police," Fushimi Roku remarked.

Minamoto Tamako rolled her eyes and didn't respond.

As the two were set to head out, it was only natural to bring Taira Sakurako along to ensure she was safe and not left home alone.

At this point, the detective team was entirely mobilized!

The case files had statements attached, with the identities and detailed addresses of the providers. To avoid disturbing them, Minamoto Tamako called ahead to set appointments, planning to visit each for questioning.

The first person to be questioned was Kujo Yuka's close friend, named Owada Kaoru, who had studied abroad. The two met overseas and became friends, though they lost touch for a while.

After Kujo Yuka got married, they reconnected and frequently met up.

Minamoto Tamako arrived at the Owada house, and it was Owada's mother who opened the door, serving tea to the three of them. Ms. Kaoru was still putting on makeup, but she hurried over to cooperate with the questioning after doing so.

"Thank you both for coming," Owada Kaoru sat down in the living room and slightly bowed.

She appeared to be in her early thirties, with a finely done makeup, average to above-average appearance, currently facing the three of them, and her gaze fell on Taira Sakurako, "Is this your child? Being a police officer is really tough, hardly any time for family..."

Minamoto Tamako waved her hands continuously, blushing and said, "No, no... she's my boyfriend's sister. It's not safe for her to be home alone, so I brought her along. Please don't mind, Ms. Owada."

Having said this, Minamoto Tamako took out her notebook and pen, cleared her throat, adjusted her mood, preparing to start the formal questioning.

Owada Kaoru expressed no objection to the police, she earnestly hoped the police could uncover the truth for her friend, so even though the police disturbed her by asking questions again and again, she always cooperated, and this time was no exception.

Faced with Minamoto Tamako's questions, Owada Kaoru answered each one:

"Yuka mentioned that she planned to become a caregiver, she really was a very kind person..."

"But I think she was too soft-hearted, always saying she wanted a divorce, but she actually still loved that man. If one day Kujo Hikari had a change of heart, she might happily forgive and forget..."

"What do I think of Kujo Hikari? That man is indeed very handsome and has a magnetic voice, but he's very arrogant. I really dislike arrogant men; I never got along with him..."

"Who do I suspect? Well, I think it's one of Kujo Hikari's mistresses who wanted to rise in status, so they killed Yuka..."

"As for which mistress specifically, I'm not too sure. I just know Kujo Hikari was fooling around outside; Yuka told me that herself..."

"If there's anything unusual, Yuka complained to me that she hated autumn during that period..."

…

Owada Kaoru essentially answered every question. Minamoto Tamako noted down a lot, and after exhausting all questions, she got up to say goodbye.

Owada Kaoru escorted the three to the door. As Minamoto Tamako left, she looked back to see her bowing, "I hope you can catch the culprit soon, please."

"We'll do our utmost!"

Minamoto Tamako nodded solemnly.

After leaving the Owada house, the three of them got on a train heading towards the mistress's place to continue the questioning. It was lunchtime, and many office workers were around, so they didn't get seats. Minamoto Tamako and Taira Sakurako could only hold onto the rails while Fushimi Roku guarded below.

"What touching friendship," Minamoto Tamako reflected on the questioning process earlier, unable to hold back her sigh, "I can actually understand how she feels."

Fushimi Roku remained silent.

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