Not a detective

Page 177

Asakawa Riku wanted to add more details, but the tall, imposing male teacher said meaningfully:

"Asakawa-kun, sometimes life offers more than one choice. Don't feel there's anything wrong with finding a suitable partner or even depending on your other half."

I really don't know what he heard from Principal Xiao Gong.

Could it be that this is the path this guy is taking...? I wonder when he changed his name to "Teacher Xiao Gong", or is it just that he didn't change his surname at work?

Asakawa Riku knew only that he wouldn't marry into the Shinonome family. At least, the detective himself probably didn't want that surname.

She looked up and saw the building that belonged only to her.

Climbing the steps, he arrived at the office's sign. Asakawa Riku glanced inside and saw that the reception room was very clean today.

Xingyu stood at the front desk dressed in a business suit. It seemed to be her doing that she was able to turn such a decadent entertainment venue into this. This girl really is a top-notch maid.

As Asakawa Riku passed by, he whispered something to her:

"Why are you here too? Don't you have to go to school?"

"Hehe, attendance doesn't matter to me since I have good grades."

"Damn it... and you call yourself the student council president."

He dramatically swung his fist, but Xingyu dodged it with a grin as she twisted her waist.

She was stunned for a moment, then realized that Xingyu was not at the level of an ordinary human girl, but had the blood and body of a "half-demon", and naturally there were corresponding changes.

No wonder she was able to take down the Kyoto underworld before she even unlocked her "water control" ability; she definitely has some skill.

Asakawa Riku didn't think too much about it. After all, he had important business to attend to today, so he didn't continue chatting with her and pushed open the door to enter the room.

"……coming."

Dongyun Moyue's lazy voice arrived as scheduled.

She sat in the chair in a bizarre posture, like a curled-up mollusk, with her hands and feet in an unpredictable position. This girl could really be a yoga contortion master.

Whenever a guest comes (though it's an extremely rare occurrence), Hoshino forces Miss to wear normal clothes, at least so she won't be seen as an exhibitionist. So her current outfits aren't too outrageous, although they still somewhat ruin her pretty face, at least she won't be mistaken for a cross-dresser. The comical "detective" sign on the table probably has its purpose too.

As Asakawa Riku walked forward, he saw a girl sitting on a guest chair.

She was wearing a loose-fitting knitted cardigan with a fluffy scarf and thick trousers, seemingly very warm and cozy, as if she were afraid of the cold.

The weather was indeed quite cold today, around ten degrees Celsius, but it's only the end of October, and November is just around the corner. It's not winter yet, at least in Asakawa Riku, it feels no different from autumn. The pedestrians on the street weren't dressed like this, most of them were just wearing a jacket or coat.

So... that brown leather coat on the coat rack by the door must also be hers. Could she be someone even stranger than Higashion Suetsuki?

Asakawa Riku noticed that the girl was not only dressed strangely, but also seemed restless, and appeared surprised for a moment when she saw him arrive.

She seemed unsure whether she should stand up and greet them, and the words caught in her throat.

"Uh... ah..."

This is probably a sign that he hasn't spoken in a long time.

Judging from the commotion in the room just now, before Asakawa Riku arrived, Shinonome Suetsuki probably didn't say a word to this client, leaving her standing there.

And that guy was still playing with the Rubik's Cube as if nothing was wrong. I really don't know if he lacks emotional intelligence or is being unreasonable.

Asakawa Riku had no choice but to quickly put on a smile and play the role of this guy's guardian:

"I apologize for keeping you waiting. Miss Ezaki Yumiko... right? I'm the detective's assistant here, my name is Asakawa Riku, nice to meet you."

“…Hello.”

He reached out his hand, but the girl didn't take off her gloves. Instead, she touched him briefly with the fabric of her gloves and quickly let go.

Asakawa Riku didn't mind and acted as if nothing had happened, completing the handshake normally.

We can't let our guard down... What if she's in the same situation as Yukie back then, and has to maintain her body temperature, otherwise she'll summon a blizzard?

just kidding.

Riku Asakawa certainly knew what was going on and who the other party was: Yumiko Ezaki, the daughter of Ichiro Takagi and Chie Takagi.

Who are those two people? If they were just ordinary passersby, Asakawa Riku certainly wouldn't have the same good memory as Suezuki; he's quite forgetful. But these three are important figures.

It is related to the "murderous love letter incident".

Although this event cannot be accurately called that, Riku Asakawa frankly admitted that he still felt some nostalgia.

This was the first incident he encountered when he first entered the school a year and a half ago.

Because of this incident, he came into contact with the extraordinary world of monsters and superpowered individuals for the first time, transforming from an ordinary person who knew nothing into the busy person he is today.

It was because of this incident that he and Chizuko-senpai became entangled in an inexplicable and tragic relationship...

Getting back to the main point, Yumiko Ezaki is the victim of that student kidnapping incident. She was imprisoned in a cellar by the superpowered "Spider Woman" for a whole year, during which time she was injected with large amounts of anesthetic drugs and forced to switch bodies, using her identity to act as a virtual YouTuber "Orizaku Juju" online, until she was rescued a year later...

She was a pitiful, unfortunate victim.

Why? Why is she at Shinonome Suetsuki's detective agency today? Did something happen?

Has she recovered? Has she been discharged from the hospital? Has she returned to school?

Asakawa Riku had a lot of questions, which is why he was immediately drawn over by a name, but before he could ask them, he was struck by the other person's question first:

"How...how did you know my name! How did you know my name is Ezaki Yumiko..."

She belatedly realized what was happening, stood up in surprise, kicked over the chair behind her, and pointed at Asakawa Riku.

At the same time, Dongyun Suezuki, who seemed to thrive on chaos, slammed the perfectly solved Rubik's Cube onto the table with a "bang," and said in a mysterious tone:

“You’ve come to the right place, Ms. Hamasaki.”

"My assistant has the special ability of the Rinnegan. He can see through the past and the future and discover the secrets in anyone's heart!"

Winter of the Gods: Chapter Two Investigation Request

"What……!"

Asakawa Riku was about to say that this guy was talking nonsense again and not to believe her, but Ezaki's reaction was very strong, and she looked at him in surprise.

"Really...you...can you really see the past and predict the future?"

Dongyun Sueyue then added fuel to the fire: "Of course. If you don't believe me, you can have him talk about you. He'll know everything about your parents, your school, and your past experiences."

Seeing her eager eyes, Asakawa Riku felt embarrassed to spoil the mood, so he cleared his throat in a deliberately deep voice and said:

"I see... Your name is Ezaki Yumiko, your parents are Takagi Ichiro and Takagi Chie, they are the owner and president of a famous clothing company, inherited from the family business, you also have an older brother studying abroad, a little over a year ago, when you entered XX School, you joined the mystery club, but soon encountered an unfortunate accident and were kidnapped..."

"No...no need to say anymore! I believe you..."

Ezaki's expression was one of fear and uncertainty. Although half of his face was covered by a mask, one could still see the intense turmoil in his eyes.

She murmured, "Such people really exist... That's amazing. Looks like I made the right choice hiring a detective... How much... How much will it cost? I want to hire one!"

Asakawa Riku couldn't keep up the act any longer. He walked over and tapped Suezuki on the head: "Don't use such unscrupulous fraudulent methods to attract business."

"Ouch."

She exaggeratedly covered her head and screamed.

Asakawa Riku ignored it, since he hadn't exerted much force to begin with, and instead faced Ezaki Yumiko, saying:

"I'm sorry, we shouldn't have joked with our guests. Actually, I don't have any superpowers. What I just said was just information from prior research."

"...Pre-event investigation?"

Esaki was stunned.

Riku Asakawa suddenly realized that this was Shinonome Suetsuki's usual tactic. It had been the same before; he had been tricked into believing that she truly possessed the superpower of the Rinnegan. Only this time, she had placed a sacred aura on Riku Asakawa's side, thus transforming him into an incredible detective.

In fact, if someone suddenly reveals enough sensitive information, anyone will be startled and subconsciously follow their train of thought.

So-called reasoning is either about seizing the high ground of "information gap" or being an intelligence broker who sells "information".

Whether it's fortune telling or divination, they are all extensions of this method, and there's a reason why they have such a large audience from ancient times to the present.

"Yes, we investigated the student disappearance case a year ago, so we know the victim's name."

"But...! Our list was hidden... there's no way we could know!"

"That's the meaning of detectives' existence," Asakawa Riku said calmly, lying without batting an eye. "Otherwise, where would we get our jobs?"

He didn't want to let this hard-won case slip away, but he also couldn't reveal that he was the mysterious person who broke into the cellar and killed the Spider Woman.

Fortunately, Yumiko Ezaki didn't know him. In fact, she should be considered his senior, a year older than him. Although they were both in the mystery club, they were seniors and juniors who had never met.

Similarly, there were six other seniors he had never met.

Asakawa Riku was smarter today; he didn't come in his uniform but went home to change beforehand. So, in Ezaki Yumiko's eyes, he should just be an ordinary assistant.

"...Okay, fine."

Ezaki nodded with a hint of doubt, unsure whether she truly accepted the explanation or believed that Asakawa Riku was deliberately concealing his abilities.

She quickly replied, "Anyway... as long as you can resolve my case, that's fine. You should be able to do it. I heard about it from my mother; it seems like this firm is very powerful."

By the way, it was the same last year. Her mother, Ms. Takagi, came to the agency and, after being asked to conduct an "infidelity investigation," learned that Yumiko Ezaki was working as a Vtuber.

To be precise, she was controlled by the Spider Woman and became a virtual streamer with two masks, "Weaving Pearl".

Just then, Hoshino brought over some tea, and Asakawa Riku took the opportunity to lead Ezaki to the sofa, then took out his notebook and began to talk:

"Let's talk about the case then. It shouldn't be the incident from last year, right? Didn't the police already resolve it?"

"No, it's not."

Ezaki lowered his eyes for a moment, as if a shadow had passed over them, before he spoke: "It's something that happened recently. My request is for you to help me investigate a religion."

"……religion?"

This word alerted Asakawa Riku, and he unconsciously straightened his back.

Then, Ezaki began to tell the story:

"Last year... the incident you mentioned, after I was rescued, I didn't really remember much because I was still dazed and confused. I only knew that I went to the hospital and underwent a lot of tests. It was only afterward that someone told me that I and several other classmates had been injected with excessive amounts of anesthetic drugs for a long time, which caused many complications in my brain and mind, requiring long-term treatment and recuperation. My condition is relatively good. This spring, I was deemed normal and could be discharged from the hospital."

This spring, I spent a year in the hospital, which was really tough.

“Some of my classmates weren’t as lucky as me. They’re still in the hospital, receiving psychological treatment. A whole year of living in darkness was truly terrifying… I don’t want to think about it now. The doctors say some of them may not be able to recover and will have to rely on medication for the rest of their lives. To be honest, the doctors say I’ve recovered very well, and the psychiatric evaluation shows I’m normal, but I don’t think so. I still have those nightmares every day, being dragged back there… unable to escape…”

“After I got home, I found out that I had actually worked as a virtual streamer for a while... But I didn’t even know what that was. Watching the videos online and hearing my own voice, I felt disgusted and alienated. Did the murderer brainwash me? I asked many people but didn’t get any answers. I only saw those mocking comments and the expectant voices of ‘fans’ online, but that’s not me at all...! I didn’t say those things or do those things... So I didn’t dare to go out and could only hide at home.”

“I’m afraid of being recognized as ‘Weaving Beads,’ so I dare not show my face or make a sound. I’m even more afraid of being captured by the four-armed, four-legged monster again. Nowhere is safe…”

No wonder she didn't feel hot dressed like that; she covered herself up completely with a scarf, hat, mask, and gloves, practically a "woman in a shell."

It seems that her mental state is far from normal; she suffers from some degree of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as psychological trauma and PTSD...

Ezaki remained silent for a long time, seemingly trapped in fear, before finally speaking:

"Sorry, I've gone off on a tangent... My condition isn't quite right now, so I sometimes talk to myself. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I shouldn't complain too much, after all, some of my classmates are in much worse situations. I'm lucky that I can still walk and communicate normally..."

“I had already made up my mind to stay at home and hide in my room for the rest of my life. But recently, something happened that forced me to come out.”

Winter of the Gods: The Sequel to Chapter Three - The Spider

As she spoke, Yumiko Ezaki felt her mouth go dry.

She took off her mask to drink tea.

Asakawa Riku's first impression was that her face was terribly pale, like that of a seriously ill patient, with no sign of life, especially the heavy dark circles under her eyes, proof of long-term sleep deprivation.

You can see that Ezaki's face and features are excessively thin due to illness.

If she can return to normal, even if she can't compare to the two in the agency, she'll still be a cute high school girl.

But... can her shadow really be erased so easily? Perhaps it will take a long time to settle.

To have ruined such an ordinary high school student, along with six other high school students, and even worse ones... Thinking of this, Asakawa Riku clenched his fist.

As he listened, he felt more and more that his choice to kill the "Spider Woman" was not wrong.

The only mistake was letting her die too easily.

Asakawa Riku took the teapot from Hoshino and refilled Ezaki's cup before asking, "What's been going on lately?"

Due to psychological trauma, Yumiko Ezaki did not return to school after being discharged from the hospital, but instead hid at home and isolated herself.

She feared her other identity, "Zhuzhuo," would be exposed, and she loathed and severed ties with that identity. Although Vtubers don't appear in real life, and as long as one cares about their voice, they shouldn't be recognized in real life, she then thought that the media is a bunch of scavenging crows, and who knows, some unscrupulous reporter might expose the photos of the victims from back then...

From this perspective, whether hiding at home is effective or not, it is indeed a last resort. At least her mental state might be worse if she went to school.