Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 109 - 31 This Age is the Perfect Time to Learn

Chapter 109: Chapter 31 This Age is the Perfect Time to Learn

Minamoto Tamako still thought Fushimi Roku was talking about that piece of watermelon rind and hurriedly explained that she had paid for it. Recently, she’s been struggling financially and couldn’t afford to visit fancy dessert shops, so she bought half a sweet watermelon as a substitute. After she finished eating, she felt that throwing away the rind was too wasteful, so she dried it and made it into a ’suspect-exclusive watermelon hat’—whoever wears it is the suspect.

Taira Sakurako understood this well and didn’t bother to explain. It was already agreed upon as a daily wage of five thousand yen, so what’s the problem with her using her own salary?

Fushimi Roku couldn’t very well lose his temper in front of Minamoto Tamako, so he hummed and hawed, saying a couple of perfunctory words and casually complimenting the creativity of the watermelon hat. Minamoto Tamako’s eyes lit up and she asked if he wanted to join them to play... no, to rehearse the murder scene.

"Play, play, play, that’s all you know how to do. At your age, how can you still be so idle?"

Fushimi Roku put on a stern face, put down his chopsticks, and scolded, "Especially you, Tamako, not to criticize you, but how can you not set a good example? Seven or eight is a crucial age in a child’s life to lay a good foundation for learning, so how can you lead her to be so slack?"

Minamoto Tamako felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She thought she’d been taking good enough care of Taira Sakurako, but she had still let Fushimi down... Come to think of it, at age seven, she was already in the second grade, with three tutoring lessons and one interest class after school, plus a review of etiquette before bed.

However, she didn’t want Taira Sakurako to bear such heavy academic pressure, so she muttered a quiet protest, "Sakurako is very smart, there’s no need for her to start learning so soon..."

"It’s precisely because she’s smart that she should work harder! How can you let her talents go to waste? Do you know how geniuses wither away? It’s because of idleness!" Fushimi Roku retorted.

Minamoto Tamako was left speechless, puffing her cheeks and stewing in silent anger.

Fushimi Roku stood up, returned to his room, and came back carrying a stack of legal texts, each as thick as a brick. Minamoto Tamako picked up two, with the Japan Criminal Code in her left hand and the Japanese Constitution in her right, feeling overwhelmed before she even started reading.

"Memorize them starting today! I’ve marked which laws and regulations are outdated and included annotations on the latest legislative changes; you must remember it all!"

Fushimi Roku sounded like a harsh teacher assigning homework to elementary students, continuing in a motivational tone, "To survive in this dog-eat-dog society, you must be familiar with the basic rules of society!"

Minamoto Tamako turned to whisper in Fushimi Roku’s ear, "Sakurako’s worldview is different from ours, don’t push her too hard! She’s already been through a lot..."

"It’s precisely so she doesn’t suffer in the future that she needs to adapt!"

Fushimi Roku didn’t give any ground. Since his little cash stash was involved, punishment was a must: "Besides, how is this forcing her? Everyone has different worldviews, and that’s why there are distinctions in personality."

He paused before adding, "Today, you must learn Article 235 of the Criminal Code. I’ll quiz you when I wake up—don’t blame me if I lose my temper."

After speaking, Fushimi Roku wiped his mouth and, without cleaning up the dishes, got up and headed back to his room, slamming the door shut heavily.

Minamoto Tamako blinked, feeling that his words were too harsh. She put down the two law texts and turned to see Taira Sakurako’s unchanged expression as she continued eating noodles. She probably felt deeply hurt inside!

Minamoto Tamako quietly comforted, "It’s okay, Fushimi is just a tsundere! He isn’t good at considering others’ feelings, but deep down he cares about you."

Seeing no response from Taira Sakurako, she began to worry that Sakurako was shutting down again, quickly bending down to lie on the tatami, turning her head to observe Sakurako’s expression, while continuing to ramble:

"He’s like an Irish Wolfhound in the European forests, seemingly imposing and fierce, but actually incredibly gentle..."

Taira Sakurako finished her noodles, wiped her mouth, and took off the watermelon hat, placing it on Minamoto Tamako’s head. Then, she hugged the heavy law text, first checking the retail price on the back before opening the cover to find Article 235 in the table of contents.

"The crime of theft occurs when one steals the property of another, with a punishment of imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of no more than 500,000 yen..."

Huh? Is she really going to study? So obedient? Minamoto Tamako felt a bit guilty upon catching sight of the paper toy gun tucked in her waist, feeling her face flush slightly.

"Well, Sakurako-chan, keep up the good work, study at your own pace, I won’t disturb you. Just call if you need anything."

Minamoto Tamako tidied up the dishes and, with the watermelon rind on her head, left the dorm. She didn’t want to disturb Taira Sakurako’s studies, so she tiptoed as she walked, just like a thief.

After closing the dorm door, she went to the washroom to clean the dishes. Don’t ask why she didn’t go to the third-floor kitchen; the answer is she didn’t dare. She felt the public kitchen design was just unreasonable and not convenient at all.

"Fushimi! Open the door, it’s me!"

Minamoto Tamako returned to the second floor, knocking on the door with her knuckles and whispering, afraid to make noise that would disturb Taira Sakurako memorizing.

Fushimi Roku was about to take a shower and sleep when he heard Tamako knocking and knew it wasn’t anything good. But he couldn’t refuse to open the door because she’d keep knocking.

"What’s up?" he asked, annoyed.

"Do you have money to rent a place? If money’s tight, I can lend you some..."

Before Minamoto Tamako could finish, Fushimi Roku interrupted, "Why would I rent?"

His original plan was to buy property; these days, apartments in Tokyo Koto District are about thirty-three thousand yen per square meter, and in the Toyota District a bit better, fluctuating between twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand. Ten million yen could cover a three-hundred-square-meter flat.

But to get Taira Sakurako nationality, he’d spent nearly two million yen, equivalent to a seventy-square-meter apartment. It wasn’t an issue—since it was basically free money he had, he wasn’t bothered about spending it—but the problem was that he’d lost his last chance to launder it—he couldn’t very well inherit his parents’ estate three times in a row.

Until he found a reliable money laundering channel, Fushimi Roku decided to put his moving plans on hold.

"Sakurako can’t stay in the same room as you, right?"

Minamoto Tamako squinted, eyeing him like a pervert.

"She can sleep with you," Fushimi said indifferently. "If you really care that much for her, pay next month’s partner fee in advance, and then maybe I could rent a single in town for her... don’t ask why not a two-room place, not enough money."

Minamoto Tamako’s first reaction was shock at him still charging her the partner fee—so heartless! Then came the realization that with just her fixed salary, she probably couldn’t pay next month’s partner fee, let alone lend money to Fushimi; surviving on her own already seemed like a stretch!

Seriously? Is earning money really this hard?!

Suddenly, she understood why those salarymen always looked so troubled; she could do without desserts, detective novels, or movies, but couldn’t accept that her earnings weren’t even enough to secure Taira Sakurako a place to stay.

What to do?

After a lot of deliberation, Minamoto Tamako realized she could only turn to Mama for help.

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