Chapter 747: Midnight Diner

"JK Exorcism Club, activate!" As Asuka cheered, she and Miyawaki Sakura immediately went to change clothes.

After all, they couldn't really go out on the streets in cosplay outfits; Asuka's little monster costume was still acceptable, but Miyawaki Sakura's "Thunder God General" outfit was truly unsuitable for going out—it wasn't warm, and her wooden clogs paired with stockings made her prone to slipping, not to mention her clothes kept falling off.

This is also the flaw of so-called two-dimensional clothing versus normal clothing: two-dimensional outfits are designed to look good without considering gravity, fabric sagging, or thigh-high stockings slipping down. The "Thunder God General" cosplay outfit is the epitome of all these inconveniences—practically, no one can wear it well.

"Shi Shi, you can't go." Uesugi Muneyuki smiled at Nagase Shi Shi, who was also planning to change clothes.

"Huh? Why???" Shi Shi had been excited about changing clothes, but Uesugi Muneyuki's words doused her like cold water, leaving her chilled to the bone, her spirits soaring.

"Because you're under 18." Uesugi Muneyuki retorted: "This is nightlife, and I'm not your guardian, so you can't go." Nagase Shi Shi's face turned pale, she despairingly closed her eyes, and let out a soft hum.

Japan has a very strict curfew tradition; Japanese law states that minors under 18 cannot be out between 11:00 PM and 4:00 AM, patrolling police will question them and cause unnecessary trouble, with the only exception being if they are accompanied by direct relatives (usually only parents or grandparents) acting as guardians.

Uesugi Muneyuki is obviously not Nagase Shi Shi's guardian.

So birds can go, Sakura can go, but Shi Shi cannot.

Shi Shi's face turned even paler; a girl like her who came to Tokyo alone, her schoolwork could hardly be good, especially since Asuka and Sakura, whom she hung around with, were not honor students either — Asuka's grades were originally just average, and Sakura focused entirely on idol life, so she was also just average level. The girl suddenly felt waves of coldness; the warmth and leisurely life of these past few months, the life that had only just stabilized, seemed like sand slipping through her fingertips, utterly impossible to hold onto, and she had no capability to maintain it.

Shi Shi's face turned even paler—this girl who had come alone to Tokyo struggled with her studies, especially hanging out with Asuka and Little Sakura, who weren't top students either; Asuka's grades were just average, and Little Sakura was entirely focused on her idol life, so she was also just average. The girl suddenly felt a chill; the warmth and comfort of these past months, the life she had finally stabilized, felt like sand slipping through her fingers—she couldn't hold on, and she had no ability to keep it going.

Happiness is like fireworks—fleeting and gone in an instant; under the unpredictability of fate, the Bodhi bell will one day ring, cherry blossoms brilliant yet vanishing in a moment. She saw with her own eyes that every other day, the Metropolitan Police Department would send people to deliver daily necessities and food to Hankyo Bridge; Asuka couldn't finish hers and would share some with her, and she personally saw Little Sakura buy cosmetics worth tens of thousands of yen, while National Actress Shirakawa Mai casually bought million-yen-level gifts for Sakura-sister.

"Alright, let's not talk about this today." Uesugi Muneyuki saw Shi Shi's panic, so he reached out and patted her head, laughing: "Wait until you turn 18 and become an adult, then we'll talk about it then."

"Alright, let's not talk about this today." Uesugi Muneyuki saw Shi Shi's anxiety, reached out, and rubbed her head, smiling: "Wait until you turn 18, then we'll talk."

"Yeah, Shi Shi-chan, next time for sure!" Asuka had already changed into a winter-style outfit, a heavy fur coat paired with a women's wool sweater, below a pleated skirt just past the knees paired with thick white velvet tights, and a pair of small exquisite round-toed Mary Janes, full of cuteness. Asuka even tiptoes on her white silk toes and lightly kissed Uesugi Muneyuki's lips, then domineeringly hooked his arm, just like Eirina.

"Yeah, Shi Shi-chan, next time for sure!" Asuka had already changed into a winter-style outfit: a heavy fur coat paired with a women's wool sweater, a knee-length pleated skirt with thick white velvet stockings, and a pair of small, delicate round-toed Mary Janes—utterly cute. Asuka even tiptoed on her white silk-covered feet and lightly kissed Uesugi Muneyuki's lips, then domineeringly hooked her arm around his, just like Eirina did.

Sakura changed into a heavy warm down jacket, inside a jacket and a tight-fitting pink shirt, the girl chose a very short plaid skirt, also paired with a pair of thick black velvet argyle tights, plus a pair of beautiful brown suede long boots, a little sexy. "Departure!" Asuka and Sakura shouted together, and left with Uesugi Muneyuki, leaving only Nagase Shishi in the room.

Little Sakura changed into a thick, warm down jacket, with a jacket and a snug pink shirt underneath; she chose a very short plaid tube skirt, paired with equally thick black velvet diamond-patterned stockings, and added a pair of lovely brown suede ankle boots—small and sexy. "Depart!" Asuka and Little Sakura shouted together, leaving with Uesugi Muneyuki, leaving only Nagase Shi Shi in the room.

Shi Shi looked at the messy living room still not cleaned up, and at a whole row of colorful, various-style stockings, and let out a soft sigh.

During this time, she had actually been secretly testing the waters in the matchmaking market.

And after spending so much time with Little Sakura, she had also absorbed Little Sakura's worldview.

Although I have no money, I am an invincible beautiful girl!

Although I have no talent, I am an invincible beautiful girl!

Although my housework skills are average and I don't really want to go out to work part-time, I am an invincible beautiful girl!

Looks are justice! Cuteness is the true path!

Women like her, 17 years old wanting to marry and become housewives, seem to be many in Tokyo, many many, so many it makes one's hair stand on end. And everyone's matchmaking requirements are very high; according to a Tokyo University social survey, 95% of women entering the matchmaking market consider annual income first, among them 50% of women explicitly require the partner's annual income above 6 million yen, the remaining 50% of women are too embarrassed to say it directly but hope the partner's annual income is above 6 million yen.

Women like her—17 years old, wanting to marry and become housewives—are everywhere in Tokyo, so many, so many, so many as to make one's hair stand on end. And everyone's matchmaking demands are high; according to the Tokyo University social survey, 95% of women entering the matchmaking market first consider annual income, with 50% explicitly requiring partners to earn over 6 million yen per year, while the remaining 50% won't say it outright but still hope for over 6 million yen.

Meanwhile, men earning under 4 million yen per year pass screening at a rate below 1% (i. e., retention rate in the matchmaking process). However, if limited to men under 35, even in Tokyo, only 20% can earn over 6 million yen. "Where is our Nohara Hiroshi?" This is the collective complaint of countless women entering the matchmaking market.

And Shi Shi is merely one of the countless unnoticed, even advantage-less members—after all, in the Tokyo matchmaking market, the vast majority of men clearly state they want women to work full-time before childbirth, and ideally full-time after childbirth too; even if they want to be housewives, they want part-time work, and they have many other demands as well.

"Where is our Nohara Miyabi?" This is the collective complaint of countless men entering the matchmaking market.

One's future... Shi Shi's eyes grew somewhat dim.

Could it really be that I can only be a concubine for Sakura-sister?

Sakura-sister is currently also serving as an outside consort to one of the Metropolitan Police Department's Absolute Dual Pride, Inspector Kashiwagi, living at his mother's place.

Hohoho~ hohohoho~

How dark is Tokyo?!!!!!!!!!!

Bunkyo Ward's late night has a disposition completely different from daytime. Those streets bustling with people during the day are now empty and quiet, only the occasional passing taxi and the warm light spilling from izakayas remind that this city is still awake.

In the late night of Bunkyo Ward, there is a quality utterly different from daytime. Those streets bustling with people during the day are now empty and quiet, only occasionally interrupted by passing taxis and the warm light leaking from izakayas, reminding us that this city is still awake.

After walking about seven or eight minutes, Uesugi Muneyuki stopped deep in a narrow alley.

The alley was so narrow that the shop signs on either side almost touched. Handwritten flyers were stuck on the utility poles, and a few pots of nearly dead green plants were piled in the corner.

The air carried the smoky aroma of grilled skewers and the steam of simmered dishes, faintly, with the light clinking of cups and bowls.

An old wooden sign, so worn the characters were almost illegible, reading "Nohara," hung above the door.

Uesugi Muneyuki pushed open the door.

The L-shaped bar counter occupies most of the space; behind the counter is a white-haired shopkeeper, wiping ceramic sake vessels with a towel. In front of the counter sit only three or four customers — a middle-aged salaryman in a Western suit and leather shoes but with a loose tie, an older fashionable woman in a down jacket drinking shochu alone, and an elderly couple chatting in low voices.

The L-shaped counter took up most of it; inside the counter sat the white-haired shopkeeper, wiping ceramic sake vessels with a towel. In front of the counter sat only three or four customers: one a middle-aged salaryman in a Western suit and leather shoes but with a loose tie, one an elderly fashionable woman in a down jacket drinking shochu alone, and one elderly couple chatting softly.

Warm yellow light, slightly aged wooden walls, with handwritten menus and a few faded travel postcards stuck on the wall.

The pot bubbled with Kantou-style stew, white radish and fish cake rolling in the soy-colored broth, filling the air with fragrance.

Little Sakura and Asuka had already arrived first, following Uesugi Muneyuki's design, pretending to be passersby, but the shopkeeper had already recognized them, knew they had just turned eighteen, and sternly said he wouldn't serve alcohol; the two girls laughed and said they understood, each ordering a bottle of ramune and six skewers of grilled food plus some snacks, saying they wouldn't eat much, after all, afraid of affecting their figures.

Uesugi Muneyuki smiled, told the shopkeeper he was waiting for someone, and first ordered a plate of edamame and a bottle of Suntory Kinmugi beer; the shopkeeper obviously recognized Uesugi Muneyuki, but that's just how Japan is—most people strictly uphold public morality, won't initiate conversation or pry into privacy, making it a paradise for introverts.

Japan considers 18 the age of adulthood, but drinking and smoking are only allowed from 20, and unlike other East Asian countries, Japanese people have almost no leniency here—any violation is seen as a serious social problem, the so-called "public morals."

Five minutes later, the door was pushed open.

Tanaka Naoki stood at the door, face weary, yet his eyes held a hint of complex anticipation.

He saw Uesugi Muneyuki in the corner, nodded slightly, walked over, and sat down.

"Sorry to disturb you." He said to the shopkeeper, his voice slightly hoarse.

The shopkeeper grunted, and passed over a hot towel.

Uesugi Muneyuki had already ordered: grilled bluefish, thick omelet, Kantou stew platter, plus two skewers of grilled chicken skin, two skewers of raised-lamp skewers, and two skewers of scallion-grilled chicken thigh meat.

He pushed the menu to Tanaka: "See if you want anything else."

Tanaka didn't look at the menu, just said: "Another bottle of hot sake, please."

The shopkeeper responded, turned, and went to prepare.

Hot sake arrived quickly, steaming faintly.

Uesugi Muneyuki poured himself a cup, and also poured one for Tanaka Laodeng.

【61】 "Have a drink first." He said: "Warm up your body."

Tanaka didn't decline, lifted his cup, and drank half of it in one gulp. The warm liquor slid down his throat, his brow relaxed for an instant, then furrowed again.

A few hours ago, the two of them were still together, but now they're sitting together again, their mindsets completely different.

"Uesugi-san." Tanaka Laodeng spoke wearily, voice low: "I really... I really don't know what to do." Uesugi Muneyuki didn't respond.

He picked up a piece of white radish from the oden with his chopsticks, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

The radish was cooked until translucent, the sauce flavor fully soaked in, melting upon entry.

"This place's oden is famous around here." He said: "The boss has been cooking it for over thirty years. He starts simmering the broth every afternoon, and keeps it going until midnight." Tanaka Laodeng stared blankly, not knowing why he suddenly said that.

Uesugi Muneyuki picked up another piece of fish cake.

"Lonely death," he said, tone very ordinary: "In this country, it's too common. Every year, thirty to forty thousand people die alone at home, only discovered days or even weeks later. Suzuki Tadahiko is just one of them. When I first started out, I spent all day conducting autopsies all over Tokyo Metropolis, many of them lonely deaths. You've gotten used to it, right?"

Tanaka Laodeng's hand tightened slightly.

"Yeah." He said, voice tinged with fatigue: "Too common. I've been a police officer for thirty-one years, seen too many cases like this. Elderly people, those living alone, those with little contact with the outside world... Sometimes neighbors smell something and find out, sometimes the mailbox is overflowing with letters, and the manager feels something's off. By the time we arrive, the person is already..."

Japan's aging and low birthrate began appearing twenty years ago; by this generation, over 35% of society is aged 65 or above, and Japanese culture dictates that a significant proportion of elderly people do not live with their children after marriage, and among those, a significant proportion have contact with their children less than once a month, making "lonely death" very common.

A major problem at local crematoriums is that nearly one-third of lonely-death elderly have absolutely no relatives, or relatives cannot be found at all, and a certain proportion have found relatives who are unable to pay funeral costs, so the state ends up footing the bill. Japanese youth are still dissatisfied with this—we pay taxes that go to old-timers' pensions, medical insurance, and child-rearing subsidies, and now even old-timers' funeral costs must be transferred? We didn't get the era's dividends, but taxes keep getting harsher! Damn your great undertaking! We want to join Biochem Stanford! "When I received that call, I didn't think much of it. Just routine duty—go to the scene one by one, inspect, register, hand over. This happens every week, nothing special."

Tanaka Laodeng set down his cup, his gaze falling on the steaming oden pot in the counter, bubbling away, yet he seemed to see nothing. "Then why did you stay at the scene so long alone?"

Uesugi Muneyuki's voice was soft, yet like a needle, precisely piercing some tender spot.

Tanaka Laodeng's shoulder tensed slightly.

Silence.

The shop owner served grilled bluefish, skin fried to golden yellow and crispy, squeezed with lemon juice, making a sizzling sound.

But neither of them moved their chopsticks.

After thinking for a while, Tanaka Laodeng finally spoke.

"Doctor Uesugi," his voice hoarse with bitterness: "My daughter... Shi, Tanaka Shizhi, you know her? Nineteen, about to enter university." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, he had heard Tanaka Laodeng speak of her before.

"She wants to study abroad." Tanaka Laodeng said: "University of Edinburgh. Not a Tokyo university, not Waseda or Keio—Britain, Edinburgh."

He paused.

"One year abroad, two years of online classes at home, and that one year abroad requires preparation of at least four million yen—tuition, living expenses, rent, insurance... I calculated it, and for one year, you need at least that much."

Uesugi Muneyuki listened silently.

A master's degree in Britain is easy, but that doesn't mean all British universities are easy; he remembered the University of Edinburgh was still decent.

The highest value is Nango Yui nearly attending LBS, i. e., London Business School, where graduation makes it easy to find work in London paying over 50,000 pounds annually, and also easy to obtain a work visa and then permanent residency green card.

However, as previously stated, London's city center industries have in recent years been almost entirely sold to oil barons, making it less suitable for living, so Nango Yui ultimately chose not to go.

"Moreover." Tanaka Laodeng's voice dropped even lower: "Shi... she vaguely indicated that after finishing studies, she might want to stay there. London, or Edinburgh, find a job, settle down."

He raised his head, looking at Uesugi Muneyuki.

"Doctor Uesugi, I only have this one daughter."

Uesugi Muneyuki's gaze fell on his face, without speaking.

"Her mom says she supports it on the surface but feels reluctant inside, and even says it's just right so she can return to the countryside for a while. I... I..."

Tanaka Laodeng lowered his head again, staring at the cup before him.

"I stood by that window, looking at the outside streets of Dazhuo, and suddenly thought—once Shi leaves, once her mom also leaves, only I remain, living in that house. Every day commuting to and from work, coming home to face an empty room, cooking one portion of rice, watching one portion of TV, getting sick with no one knowing, dying..."

His voice choked up.

"Died, and it would take over ten days before anyone noticed."

Silence.

The oden in the counter bubbled on, the neighboring office worker ordered another cup of shochu, the middle-aged female alcoholic already slumped on the table asleep, still muttering in her mouth about Paris, Eiffel Tower, Champs-Élysées, this life no regrets entering Tokyo, next life reborn as great Paris, etc. These ordinary late-night sounds now seemed separated by a thick layer of glass, distant and unreal.

Uesugi Muneyuki lifted his cup, slowly drank a mouthful.

"So." He set down the cup: "You stayed those extra fifteen minutes, thinking about these things?"

Tanaka Laodeng didn't answer, just nodded.

Uesugi Muneyuki remained silent for a long time.

He looked at this fifty-year-old man before him—thirty years of service, just promoted to the long-desired Police Inspector, supposed to be the peak of his life, yet sitting in the corner of a late-night cafeteria, speaking in the most ordinary tone about the deepest fear.

Lonely death.

In this country, these three words are too heavy. Heavy enough to make an old policeman stop during a scene investigation, gaze out the window in a daze. Heavy enough to make a person utter their deepest secret, just to make another believe that his thirteen million yen was truly not taken. The pressure and burden borne by traditional Showa-era men cannot be compared to those of the new era.

Uesugi Muneyuki picked up the grilled bluefish, put it in his mouth:

"I roughly understood."