Chapter 22: The Visit of Ikeda Erena

In the afternoon, Uesugi Muneyuki attempted to search for Kurosawa Shrine.

Sure enough, just as Ms. Kurosawa had said, Kurosawa Shrine had begun to decline ever since it lost its lineage of Shrine Maidens. Although Ms. Kurosawa had donated money to renovate the entire shrine, that was already over twenty years ago. Today, against the backdrop of overall urbanization and the hollowing out of rural areas, the entire Gunma Prefecture did not have much of a population, so Kurosawa Shrine had naturally fallen into ruin, and even the nearby village had few people living in it.

Very good, Uesugi Muneyuki nodded to himself; the entire village being deserted meant that there was very little human activity nearby, and very little human activity nearby meant that the danger level increased significantly, and the danger level increasing significantly meant that if Uesugi Muneyuki dared to go alone, it would be a pure suicide mission.

He mentally imagined the process.

A wild Inner World monster jumps out!

I choose you, ordinary Forensic Pathologist Uesugi Muneyuki-kun!

Uesugi Muneyuki, hurry and use 【Hardening】!

The monster used Savage Charge.

Pow, it's super effective.

Uesugi Muneyuki has fainted... Victory and defeat are common occurrences for a soldier, see you in the next life.

So, is there anything that can help me?

Uesugi Muneyuki then searched for what kind of self-defense equipment was legal.

Japan's gun control, compared to the China of his past life, was not that strict, but it was only not as strict as China. If China's gun control scale was 100 and the US was 0, then Japan's gun control level was 90—meaning only by spending a lot of money and putting in great effort, sparing no cost, could one barely manage to obtain an ordinary handgun or assemble one from simulated firearm components, such as a shotgun.

In the past, before the eighties and nineties, Japan still allowed hunters to possess hunting rifles, but after the year 2000, hunting licenses were no longer issued, and they tried every possible means to recall all existing hunting licenses. Today, the difficulty of obtaining a firearm is extremely high.

Moreover, according to old classical Chinese documents, the standard five-shot revolver or SIG carried by the police is not effective enough against Inner World creatures.

Therefore, Uesugi Muneyuki decisively ignored firearms and turned his gaze toward cold weapons.

First, he ruled out things like the Samurai Sword, which were flashy but impractical. The most important reason the Japanese Samurai Sword is world-famous is that it looks good, is cool, and has cultural value, not because it is truly strong in actual combat. In fact, this type of long-bladed weapon is not powerful in real combat. For example, in Chinese history, starting from the Han Dynasty, the Sword gradually became used only as a ceremonial weapon, and by the late Tang Dynasty, even the saber began to be marginalized, with the spear being the primary weapon of choice.

The best use for a Samurai Sword is cutting meat or suppressing unarmored cannon fodder like peasants and foot soldiers. In reality, as long as it hits bone, there is a high probability the edge will chip, and a small probability it will snap directly. In ancient Japan, an era where everyone was unarmored, it was a killing machine, but once the rate of wearing armor increased, it wasn't enough.

Uesugi Muneyuki looked at several types of weapons that could be reasonably equipped: Short Sword, Cane, Brass Knuckles, Anti-Wolf Spray... Uesugi Muneyuki looked through them one by one.

Crowbar... useless.

Copper-Headed Belt... useless.

Electric Prod... cool, but also useless.

After looking around, Uesugi Muneyuki discovered that the most useful tool was actually a Weeding Chainsaw; it could be legally possessed, had high mass-killing power, and was also extremely intimidating.

Ridiculous, he couldn't help but laugh a little.

Forget it.

He refocused his attention on external assistance. What legal organization could he seek help from that could legally possess heavy firepower and that he could actually contact?

The answer was simple: the Metropolitan Police Department.

But the secret that he was a holder of supernatural abilities had to be hidden, so seeking external help was temporarily impossible.

Sure enough, in the end, all he could do was seek more Dharma Images, more Incarnation Techniques, and more Soul, prioritizing the improvement of his own strength.

As for the Metropolitan Police Department, he definitely had to maintain a good relationship with them. Although he couldn't expose himself, if a similar situation occurred, or if he could use his connections with the Metropolitan Police Department to participate in the excavation of various ruins and the investigation of supernatural phenomena, or... the Metropolitan Police Department could also protect his safety.

It was happily decided just like that.

After thinking it through, Uesugi Muneyuki deleted all his browsing history, turned off the computer, and refocused his attention on the comprehensive book on dissection. As a full-time doctor in the Forensic Pathology Department, Uesugi Muneyuki did not teach classes, did not see patients, and almost never participated in scientific research or writing papers. His biggest and most important tasks were Autopsy and Dissection. Among them, he could cheat on Autopsies with his supernatural abilities, but the technique of Dissection was his greatest weakness.

Peering into life through death, having lived two lives, Uesugi Muneyuki had new insights into this job.

No matter how cruel the truth was, no matter how horrific the corpse was, Uesugi Muneyuki believed that he should witness and recount everything the deceased left behind. Life is hard-won; only by feeling sorrow can one feel joy. The work of a Forensic Pathologist is to listen to the voices of the dead, and Uesugi Muneyuki's mission is to make the facts clear.

If you do not know death, how can you know life?

The afternoon passed in a hurry. By around four o'clock, Professor Okochi suddenly knocked on the door of the Forensic Pathology Department; the old professor had returned from his class.

"Professor?" Uesugi Muneyuki stood up immediately.

"Uesugi-kun, there is a female Detective looking for you; she is right at the door." Professor Okochi's tone was slightly strange, but he didn't take it to heart.

"A female Detective?" Uesugi Muneyuki stood up.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw a pair of beautiful legs wrapped in women's suit trousers. Although the trousers were long enough to cover her ankles, the experienced Uesugi Muneyuki still judged the perfect shape of these one-meter-long legs. Looking up, the women's suit jacket blocked the view, but it couldn't block the proud mountains; the summer blazer couldn't hide the muscle lines on the woman's lower abdomen, and naturally, it couldn't hide the prominent curves either.

This scale—sure enough, one look and you know she's not Japanese!

The tall, curvaceous model-like beauty was looking coldly at the not-so-polite Uesugi Muneyuki. Her deep, exotic mixed-blood features combined the sunshine of the Iberian Peninsula and the heat of a sunflower, yet she was forced to put on an aloof and indifferent expression—what a pity.

Her features were too obvious; it was impossible for Uesugi Muneyuki not to recognize her.

"Ms. Ikeda?!"

"Hai~" Ikeda Erena responded softly. She was still very displeased with Uesugi Muneyuki's direct gaze, but she also noticed that Uesugi Muneyuki seemed to have started looking from her feet and then moved upward this time; this might be this man's habit of looking at people, rather than intentionally looking at that area.

Her round, plump legs stood straight, and she rubbed them a few times somewhat unnaturally. The Police Station had asked her to go alone to an unfamiliar place to find someone, and Ikeda Erena still had some opinions about it in her heart. But when she actually saw Uesugi Muneyuki, she still felt a sense of familiarity that dispelled the awkwardness of being a stranger, and the displeasure in her heart lessened.

This might just be an excuse she found for herself, but having found this excuse, Ikeda Erena felt a bit better.

"Hello, Mr. Uesugi Muneyuki, I am Ikeda Erena from Otsuka Station." Ikeda Erena suppressed her displeasure and bowed politely to greet him: "Excuse me, do you have a moment?"

"Huh? Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? I thought you were investigating with Tanaka Laodeng... the Assistant Police Inspector!" Uesugi Muneyuki was truly surprised; he didn't understand why Ikeda would come to him.

"Regarding this matter... this." Ikeda took a report out of her bag; it was the Forensic Autopsy Report written by Uesugi Muneyuki. Ikeda flipped randomly to the marked page and pointed to a sentence in the report: "Based on Ms. Yamada's past experience and educational level, it is inclined to believe that her modus operandi had guidance from others."

"You wrote this, right?" Ikeda said coldly.

Uesugi Muneyuki had a strange expression. He spread his hands and looked up at the department sign behind him: "This is the Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, and I am the full-time Forensic Pathologist here. Ms. Ikeda, this is a hallway, and this involves the details of a case. Can we talk somewhere else?"

Ikeda Erena then realized that her tone just now sounded like she was interrogating a criminal. Her light brown eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of her mouth turned down, and she nodded silently while trembling a little.

She might have offended this person just now, but Uesugi Muneyuki's way of reminding her was very tactful and appropriate; even she didn't feel uncomfortable.

This gave Ikeda a bit of confidence for the upcoming conversation.

This man, he seems a bit more normal...

At the same time, Uesugi Muneyuki was also secretly observing Ikeda Erena.

Even as a veteran in the field of romance, he had to admit that just as Tanaka Laodeng had said, the mixed-race female Detective was a true beauty, and the sharp temperament she possessed—which could never appear in a traditional Japanese woman—also made Uesugi Muneyuki feel that she had a unique charm.

Beauty also means trouble.

According to Tanaka Laodeng, Ikeda Erena was a woman who was always shrouded in rumors and held extreme vigilance toward the men around her. She had great combat skills, even to the point of arrogance, and also had strong initiative, which was why she looked down on the people around her.

But she seems to be very skilled in martial arts!

So, synthesizing Uesugi Muneyuki's experience, to approach a woman like this, he needed another method.

Professionalism.

Just as Tanaka Laodeng said, Ikeda Erena is not adept at specific criminal investigation or case analysis, so as long as Uesugi Muneyuki demonstrates his own professionalism, she should maintain basic respect and awe toward him.

Opening an empty research lab, mixed with the scent of formalin disinfectant, with only the ticking sound of instruments running in the surroundings, Uesugi Muneyuki pulled over a chair to signal Ikeda to sit, and took the report from her hands: "Yes, this is what I wrote, is there a problem?"

"……No problem, I have read your Forensic Autopsy Report, and it has also received unanimous affirmation from the Metropolitan Police Department Forensics Division and the University of Tokyo side." Ikeda Erena used her hand to tuck back her fresh and pretty tea-colored short hair by her ear somewhat unnaturally; she sat up straight, and in front of Uesugi Muneyuki, she had the illusion that she was a student attending a lecture: "It's just, the investigation this afternoon……"

"Assistant Police Inspector Tanaka only hopes to conduct a routine investigation and close the case, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki flipped through the Forensic Autopsy Report, and he shook his head with a smile that wasn't quite a smile: "And he also refused to go to Kabukicho to investigate with you, am I right?"

Ikeda Erena stopped talking.

"You suspect that this 'other person' mentioned in my report is the Host for whom Ms. Yamada opened a 500,000 yen Champagne Tower, and you think it is necessary to thoroughly investigate the suspicion of abetting a crime, but no one in the Criminal Investigation Division is willing to go with you, so you came to find me, both to verify your conjecture and to seek validation; after all…… the judgment and ability of this person, Uesugi Muneyuki, are still recognized by the Criminal Investigation Division from top to bottom, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki flipped through the report a few more times, confirming it was the one he wrote: "I am very happy that the Forensic Autopsy Report I wrote can receive your recognition."

Everything he said was spot on.

Ikeda Erena remained silent, quite unwillingly, which counted as tacitly agreeing with Uesugi Muneyuki's statement: "Mr. Uesugi, do you think so too? But the Police Station side…."

"This is understandable; Criminal Police emphasize a case clearance rate. Based on the current evidence, this case can already be closed, and there is no need to create trouble for oneself and escalate things." Uesugi Muneyuki said as a matter of course: "By my guess, Ms. Yamada must have taken all the blame upon herself, not only being impatient to plead guilty but also stating that she did it all herself. Let me guess again: Assistant Police Inspector Tanaka must have refused to go with you, and as for the attitude of the host club, first, they expressed shock and total ignorance; second, they expressed firm condemnation of Justice Cutter; third, they stated that it concerns customer privacy and is inconvenient to disclose, requiring you to apply for a high-level search warrant from the Public Prosecutors Office or the Metropolitan Police Department Investigation Division 2, right?"

"You……" Ikeda Erena's pupils dilated, and an incredible expression appeared on her deep, beautiful face.

Spot on again!

This young Forensic Pathologist, who was clearly about the same age as her, not only had extremely strong professional ability, but even understood the ins and outs of criminal investigation so clearly?

Ikeda Erena's hand loosened involuntarily.

He truly gave her a very special feeling; Uesugi Muneyuki spoke with clear organization, strong logic, and strong professionalism, and he could always give her a strong, reassuring sense of confidence.

She had finally met a normal man!

Thinking of this, Ikeda Erena was about to speak, but Uesugi Muneyuki reached out to stop her: "Alright, I'll go to Kabukicho with you."

"How did you know……" This was the third time Ikeda was shocked today.

"Because my judgment is the same as yours!" Uesugi Muneyuki's expression gradually became serious: "I also believe that Ms. Yamada's modus operandi was abetted by that Host! That's right, Ms. Yamada has pleaded guilty, and the Otsuka Station side also thinks the investigation should stop there, but whether it was abetting murder or not—for a Host who enjoyed the fruits of murder for money and hid behind the criminal to enjoy a 500,000 yen Champagne Tower, we have no reason not to keep investigating!"

"You came to find me precisely because you also think so, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki said softly: "So, let's go, I'll accompany you."

He and I, thinking the same thing?

That's right, if he didn't think the same as me, why would I have come to find him?

Thinking of this, Ikeda realized that she truly had no reason to refuse, and even the most difficult part of speaking up had been handled by Uesugi Muneyuki.

The strong confidence and easygoing nature revealed in Uesugi Muneyuki's tone shone like bright sunlight upon this tall beauty, Ikeda Erena.

Her expression softened significantly; she stood up, whispered a thank you, and intended to lead the way.

Uesugi Muneyuki, however, took the initiative to stop her: "Wait a moment, Ms. Ikeda, I heard some things about you from Assistant Police Inspector Tanaka, so before we act together, I need to set three rules with you."

Ikeda stopped her steps, neither agreeing nor disagreeing; the tall beauty's meaning was: you speak, I am listening.

"One, I really hate it when my partner kicks and punches me. If you have an opinion about me, you can go to the Police Station or the hospital to complain about me. If you lay a hand on me, then I will hit you back. I might not be able to beat you, but I will fight you with everything I've got."

Uesugi Muneyuki waved his fist in a pretentious manner.

Don't underestimate me, I can 【Hardening】, you know, become very hard!

Seeing this elite professional expert acting like this, Ikeda Erena rolled her eyes at him and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter: "You aren't a pervert, and you haven't committed a crime, so why would I hit you?"

"Very good. Second, don't bring work into life, and don't bring life into work. For me, forensic work is just a job to earn extra money and realize my self-worth. I don't know how you view your work, but I can only say that what I want to do is clarify the facts. As for whether the facts are what you want, I cannot guarantee."

Ikeda Erena's gaze lingered on Uesugi Muneyuki, her brown eyes quietly staring at him.

What about the next one?

"Third, please accept my apology. I'm sorry, Ms. Ikeda, I offended you last time." Uesugi Muneyuki knew that silence was the best dialogue, and he put on an awkward expression: "I apologize for my rudeness. I don't think there is anything to explain; this is not a misunderstanding, nor is it an excuse. If you must have an explanation, then I can only say that I am, after all, a normal man. Please understand."

"………" In the end, this topic was still brought up. Ikeda Erena was instinctively a bit annoyed, but she looked up and saw Uesugi Muneyuki's apologetic expression, and then thought about how he was willing to take the initiative to testify and accompany her to investigate, so the scolding words couldn't come out.

She, who was always strong, was actually stammering and didn't know how to answer. To forgive? She was unwilling. Not to forgive? That would be too lacking in manners.

She wasn't truly mentally twisted; she just always encountered……

Uesugi Muneyuki's bright eyes looked at her with spirit, and he said very politely once again: "Then, shall we note it down for now? After we finish our business and clarify the whole story of the incident, could Ms. Ikeda reluctantly forgive me once?"

"That depends on your performance." Ikeda found a way down and followed it, turning to leave: "Let's go."

As her body turned, the tall beauty let out a deep breath.

So hard, truly so hard. She had been to several police stations and hadn't seen a single normal man!

She had finally met one here at the hospital; otherwise, she would have started to doubt whether there was even one normal male in the entire Tokyo!

Japan's gun control is also very strict; the Metropolitan Police Department does a relatively good job in this regard.

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(End of this chapter)