While waiting for the meal, Minamoto Tamako brought up the murder case again, asking Fushimi Roku if he had any leads.

"Aren't you the captain? You must be smarter than us two vice-captains, right? I'm sure Captain Tamako already has some ideas. Come on, spill it, stop testing me." Fushimi Roku was too lazy to think. He quickly flipped through the menu to see if there was any dish that would take a long time to prepare.

If there was, he planned to dawdle there the whole afternoon.

"Well, I still want to hear your opinion first." Minamoto Tamako didn't have any ideas at all.

"I have no opinion, fully supporting Captain Tamako." Fushimi Roku raised his hand without lifting his head.

"No opinion at all, then what use are you?" Minamoto Tamako's temper flared up, unwilling to let Mr. Deer fool her: "I haven't settled the score with you for earlier. Did you often bully me because I was inexperienced, always calling me stupid, and couldn't see through such obvious things..."

"Did I?" Fushimi Roku pretended to think, "No, don't slander people."

Minamoto Tamako immediately gave an example: "How could you not? During police school, you played turtle soup with me and got someone to cheat, saying it was my first lesson. Weren't you just showing off your intelligence about things I didn't know..."

"How long ago was that, how do you still remember? You always say I'm petty, but I think your mind is even pettier than mine."

Just as Fushimi Roku finished speaking, the waiter brought over the coffee. He casually grabbed a straw and showed Minamoto Tamako the hole: "Look, it's about this big."

Minamoto Tamako was unhappy again, pouting her lips. She was about to criticize Mr. Deer, but then she thought, wouldn't she be acting just like her mom back then if she did?

That won't do! How could she become the person she disliked?

Minamoto Tamako tightened her lips and hummed through her little nose, expressing her displeasure indirectly by humming back and forth.

"Where's this little piglet coming from?" Fushimi Roku said with a smile.

Minamoto Tamako's face turned red. She thought no matter how she looked at this guy, he was infuriating. She couldn't blame her mom for being unable to hold back; sometimes your lover just deserves a beating!

She remembered Yasurou once said, some people get into relationships just to mess around... Maybe Mr. Deer was such a person!

Minamoto Tamako couldn't hold back any longer, clenched her little fists, and questioned, "Didn't Grandpa also entrust you with investigating the case? How will you explain it to him then?"

"The wise man has his ways." Fushimi Roku gave a mysterious smile.

"Huh?"

Minamoto Tamako's anger dissipated instantly. She gave a suspicious look, wondering if Fushimi Roku had already deduced the truth and was just holding back like he used to.

"How could I possibly do something so annoying?" Fushimi Roku shook his head, sipped the coffee, and burned his tongue. He coughed twice and put the coffee down again.

"How could you not? You've done it countless times!"

After saying that, Minamoto Tamako stood up and moved to sit beside Fushimi Roku, using her ultimate move—the 'Tang Seng's Scripture Reading Method' that Fushimi Roku absolutely loathed: "Please tell me... come on, tell me... won't you? Aren't we on the same team...?"

Fushimi Roku felt as if a thousand mosquitoes surrounded his ears. He knew very well that if he didn't say something valuable today, Minamoto Tamako would never let it go.

"Since you're sincerely asking me, I'll mercifully use my brain." He cleared his throat.

Minamoto Tamako raised her little eyebrows, feeling that this was quite annoying.

Who's asking you? What's so great about it...

If you're going to trick me with something I don't know again, I'll make you regret it!

Fushimi Roku ignored her little glances and rested his chin on his hand, thinking for a while and actually had a thought: "If my guess is correct, Ichikawa Akiyuki might have something on Kujo Hikari."

He was very sensitive to such things; he could almost accurately guess just by sensing it.

"Eh? Why do you say that?" Minamoto Tamako asked.

"No reason, just a guess," Fushimi Roku said, "If you need a reason, I could find some evidence."

"What evidence?" Minamoto Tamako eagerly asked.

Fushimi Roku countered, "Does the case file mention what Ichikawa Akiyuki's mother does for a living?"

Minamoto Tamako nodded, having memorized the case file so well that she could recite it backwards: "Yes, it says Ichikawa Riko is in poor health and currently unemployed at home."

"And what about Ichikawa Akiyuki?" Fushimi Roku continued to ask.

"Why would a mistress need a job? If she needs to work, why be someone else's mistress?" Minamoto Tamako thought this question was a bit silly.

"So, neither mother nor daughter works, yet they can live in the center of Sapporo City, Hokkaido, not in an apartment but a standalone house with a small yard. After Ichikawa Akiyuki died, her mother could still entertain guests with fruits, indicating they have a lot of savings..."

Fushimi Roku shook his head in disbelief: "That mistress job is too profitable, isn't it?"

Minamoto Tamako also realized: "Could it be that Ichikawa Akiyuki had blackmailed Kujo Hikari?"

Fushimi Roku took the stirring spoon out, licked off the residue with his tongue, confirmed it wasn't hot, then picked up the coffee again and sipped it, saying:

"Most likely, but don't rule out the possibility that Kujo Hikari simply likes to spend freely on women. Given the relationship, it's common to give expensive gifts to a lover, so it's just a guess."

Minamoto Tamako considered this as reasoning, and it seemed quite logical. She continued along this line of thought: "Now that Ichikawa Akiyuki has been dead for a month, if that standalone house with a small yard is rented, Ichikawa Riko should have moved out by now. There's no need to bear such costly rent... unless Ichikawa Akiyuki had bought that house!"

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