Chapter 48

To gain protection from abroad, one must inevitably pay a price.

The Great Eagle never does anything without benefit.

But once the Great Eagle spots a benefit, then Kudo will surely earn the title of "Guinea Pig."

Then, his personal safety can be basically guaranteed.

As for everything else, I'm afraid only safety remains.

"Hmm, Kudo shouldn't make such an outrageous choice; he should choose to stay."

"But whether Kudo thinks that way is another matter entirely."

In the original story, Kudo apparently didn't ponder such realistic issues; his decision was made simply because he didn't want to leave Mao Li Lan.

Driven by curiosity, he couldn't help but speed up his rice-eating.

After quickly returning the tray, he hurried to the principal's office door.

Ren Amamiya rested his hands on the window of the corridor outside the door, looking down, while a mist-formed eye slowly drifted into the principal's office.

There were three people inside in total.

Besides the principal, the other two were Kudo's parents.

The "eye" of the bracelet lacks the function of hearing sound, but that's no problem.

Ren Amamiya directly took out his diary; the diary's recording function primarily captures what the eye sees, and that recording function will also record sound.

Then he heard.

"... I express my condolences regarding the misfortune that befell student Kudo."

"???"

That opening line nearly stunned him.

Why offer condolences right from the start?

"Please, both of you, accept your grief."

"Accept your grief???"

"Did Kudo get knocked to death by a stick?"

"That's unrealistic."

This situation truly startled Ren Amamiya, who held the full picture of events.

He gently rubbed his forehead.

Recalling the situation he witnessed in the alley on Saturday.

He could confirm that Kudo Shinichi was alive at that time; if he had been knocked to death by a stick, the condition of his body shrinking would not have occurred afterward.

That stick caused unconsciousness, but absolutely not death.

Without paying attention to the situation inside, Ren Amamiya directly took out a common 500-yen coin and infused spiritual energy into it.

"Kudo Shinichi is not dead."

A very simple binary divination, and also a very simple method of divination.

The character side faced up, so the answer is "Yes."

To ensure the correctness of the answer, this divination was repeated four more times.

All five answers had the character side facing up, so the answer was very clear.

"Fake death."

"Did he directly arrange his own death fact for his parents? Kudo, you are truly ruthless."

"He has killed his own identity."

"He intends to fight the Brew to the death; he won't restore his identity as a Gao Zhongsheng detective until the Brew is destroyed."

The situation developing to this point is truly somewhat beyond imagination.

Kudo's making this choice obviously means he has already considered the situations he might face abroad; otherwise, he wouldn't have abandoned his past identity to remain in the Island Nation as a child.

Ren Amamiya greatly admired Kudo's decisiveness.

This is not a choice that can be made with half-hearted resolve.

"We also never expected such a thing to happen to Shinichi."

Kudo Yusaku's face showed visible exhaustion.

"..."

Kudo Yukiko's red eyes seemed as if they had lost all color.

The principal looked at this couple before him and could not utter any words of comfort.

He had never experienced the pain of losing a son; those words of comfort held no use whatsoever.

"Mr. Kudo."

"Don't worry, Principal; Yukiko and I will adjust our emotions."

"However, I hope news of Shinichi's death will not spread within the school for the time being."

"That is appropriate."

The principal agreed immediately without hesitation.

"I guarantee that not a single student will know about student Kudo's matter."

"But, might the media outside already know?"

"No."

Kudo Yusaku shook his head in denial, putting the principal at ease.

"I have already discussed Shinichi's matter with the Metropolitan Police Department; we will temporarily conceal news of Shinichi's death."

"Then I understand."

The principal nodded slightly.

Since Kudo's parents had already spoken with the Metropolitan Police Department, the school had no need to feel any Gu Ji about helping to cover it up.

"Then I'll trouble you."

"Yukiko and I will leave first; there are still some matters that need handling."

After exchanging a few polite words with the principal, the Kudo couple made some adjustments in the principal's office before departing.

The couple chose not to linger at the school, opting instead to leave quickly.

Only after getting into the car did the sorrowful expressions on the couple's faces come under some control.

"Huff~ The school matters are settled, then?"

"Mm, leaving traces at the school is enough."

"The Public Security Bureau has already arranged the transfer; not only were Shinichi's fingerprints and those of the other deceased person in the file transferred, but the DNA records were also altered."

"As for Shinichi's file, it has been placed under his new identity."

Kudo Yusaku had even thought ahead to the possibility of someone cross-checking Shinichi's blood type and fingerprints later; this was a complete identity swap.

"However, doing this means losing the possibility of turning back."

This was a choice with no return.

This was also why Kudo Yusaku only hoped Shinichi would go abroad to save his life.

No one can know when that Organization might be destroyed.

Once that time drags on indefinitely, the identity of "Kudo Shinichi" will never be able to be restored.

Kudo Yukiko sighed.

"That child is just too stubborn."

PS: Seeking data for the new book.