Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 136 - 58: The Dagger is Revealed When the Map Is Exhausted

Chapter 136: Chapter 58: The Dagger is Revealed When the Map Is Exhausted

Fushimi Roku observed the reactions of the two, and before anyone else could speak, he laughed heartily and said, "Just a joke! Why so serious? Just trying to lighten the mood."

The others couldn’t laugh, Minamoto Tamako’s face was pale, and she suddenly realized that "fragrant meat" was actually dog meat... Such adorable dogs, both obedient and lively, some even serve as police dogs or guide dogs, and she had eaten humanity’s best friend!

But it tasted really good...

The complex feeling of being both sad and finding it delicious was indescribable. Minamoto Tamako silently mourned the dog in the hot pot for three seconds and felt an inexplicable strong sense of guilt.

Kazama Tatsuya and Kamei Yuusaku had different concerns. After trying a bite, they guessed what kind of meat it was—for people like them, it didn’t matter if it was dog meat, as long as it tasted good.

"Come, let’s have a drink."

Fushimi Roku raised his glass, and the others followed with a clink, "It’s just a conversation, don’t keep a straight face. I heard this restaurant specially raises meat dogs; eating them strengthens the kidneys, invigorates the yang, warms the stomach, and strengthens the spleen..."

Everyone drank it all in one go, and the atmosphere eased slightly. Minamoto Tamako’s face was serious, with a half-circle of milk residue left on her upper lip.

Kazama Tatsuya set down the wine glass, pursed his lips, picked up his chopsticks, and asked, "Why did Mr. Fushimi suddenly think of coming to a Chinese restaurant to eat dog meat?"

"Don’t look at me like this, actually, I’ve studied Chinese culture quite deeply." Fushimi Roku also set down his glass. Generally speaking, after toasting, it’s time for boasting.

"Oh? I’m quite interested as well," Kamei Yuusaku was intrigued, leaning slightly forward, "Does Mr. Fushimi speak Chinese?"

"A little bit."

Fushimi Roku cleared his throat, placed his elbow on the table, and said, "There’s an old saying in China, ’Yet those tethered at the toes weep when cut; those branched from the hand cry when gnawed’ which is from ’Zhuangzi · Horsetail’"

"Eh——" Minamoto Tamako elongated her tone, thinking Fushimi Roku was only interested in cases and law; she didn’t expect him to study Chinese classics behind her back.

"We agreed to work hard together, why are you secretly studying alone?"

Minamoto Tamako felt discontent but said nothing more, out of curiosity, she asked, "What does that saying mean?"

"Don’t rush; there’s more to it," Fushimi Roku paused, then looked at Kamei Yuusaku, "The two, either more than number, or less than number, are uniformly worrying."

Kamei Yuusaku smiled and said, "Mr. Fushimi’s pronunciation is quite standard."

Kazama Tatsuya cast a sidelong glance and asked, "Can you understand?"

Kamei Yuusaku replied calmly, "If translated from the original text, it roughly means, ’Moreover, those conglomerated toes, when cut, cry; those clustered fingers, when gnawed, wail. These two cases, whether having more or less than the normal number of fingers, cause the same worry’..."

After he explained, "I’m quite interested in folk customs from various places, so I know a bit."

"Since you have a common topic, you should get along well," Kazama Tatsuya said with implications.

"Don’t say that, any topic can be discussed among all," Fushimi Roku’s smile didn’t fade.

"I’m not in the same league as you guys." Kazama Tatsuya drank alone, the strong alcohol burned his throat, and he let out a low sigh.

"Eh, really not?" Kamei Yuusaku leaned back and sighed, "What a shame, I’ve always considered Mr. Tatsuya a confidant."

"Right? I also share common interests with Senior Kazama," Fushimi Roku ladled a piece of dog meat for Kazama Tatsuya with a spoon, "Everyone has the same taste, we all love eating dog meat, isn’t that great? Why start disliking each other?"

Kazama Tatsuya slapped the table; the quality of the square table was so good that it numbed his hand. He kept a straight face and borrowed Fushimi Roku’s previous words, "One thing at a time."

Everyone’s expressions varied, Minamoto Tamako looked around, completely not understanding what they were talking about.

"It’s fine, let’s keep things separate," Kamei Yuusaku turned his head and asked with a smile, "Actually, I wanted to ask since I came in: how did Mr. Tatsuya and Mr. Fushimi meet?"

"Ah, that’s quite a long story." Fushimi Roku poured him a drink, and he promptly held the glass with both hands in a posture of a junior listening to a senior’s teachings.

"Yes, it really is a long story." Kazama Tatsuya turned his head and asked Minamoto Tamako, "Right? It’s actually quite complicated when you get into it."

Minamoto Tamako was listening eagerly, not expecting the topic to suddenly shift to her. Unable to react, she said subconsciously, "Uh, yes, it was because of the Heavenly Punishment case at the time..."

"Cough!" Fushimi Roku gave a dry cough, interrupting Minamoto Tamako. She wanted to continue but Fushimi Roku had already changed the topic, "Let’s go back to the case of the fall. It’s like this, both Minamoto Tamako and I have seen that dog, but now the dog is missing. What do you think happened?"

Kamei Yuusaku shrugged, "I don’t know, and I don’t quite understand why Mr. Fushimi is so concerned about a pet dog... What does Marujiro have to do with my father’s fall?"

Fushimi Roku assumed a professional demeanor and said, "We suspect someone stole Marujiro, enticing Riko to kill Kamei Yuuta."

"Sounds far-fetched, how could that be done?" Kamei Yuusaku asked, snacking on peanuts, "Even if there was such a pet dog, how could the murderer determine that after the pet dog disappeared, my mother would push my father off the roof?"

Involving theories of professional deduction, Minamoto Tamako’s ahoge stood up, and she interjected, "Actually, it’s possible."

The three turned to Minamoto Tamako, and she seriously explained, "Mrs. Kamei had a habit of videotaping her beloved dog. On the day of the incident, in the video she took, she said, ’I heard it, it’s Marujiro’s bark,’ and then ran out of the house."

"If the murderer stole the dog, didn’t go far, but used its bark to lure Mrs. Kamei to the rooftop, threatening the victim with the dog’s life... Mrs. Kamei, in an emotional state, could indeed have pushed her husband off the roof."

Saying this, Minamoto Tamako realized something was amiss.

——How would the court judge this situation?

Before she could think further, Fushimi Roku continued, "In summary, the dog is now a key piece of evidence."

"I see, but my family hasn’t had a dog in the past six months." Kamei Yuusaku reiterated.

Minamoto Tamako couldn’t help but say, "But I clearly saw Mrs. Kamei walking a dog that night..."

"That doesn’t prove the dog belonged to my family, right? Maybe my mother was helping a neighbor walk their dog, or perhaps it was a stray dog on the street hoping for food."

Kamei Yuusaku’s intrigue was revealed, "Even if Officer Tamako’s deduction is correct, how can I prosecute the murderer? Theft? But the pet dog legally no longer exists, how can I charge the murderer for stealing something nonexistent? Or is it murder? Stealing a dog doesn’t constitute murder, right?"

Minamoto Tamako turned her head to look at Fushimi Roku, thinking to herself, isn’t this your specialty? Hurry up and explain it.

Fushimi Roku gave a wry, insincere smile, moved the bottle aside, looked at Kamei Yuusaku, and surprisingly nodded, "Indeed, which is why I didn’t want to investigate from the start."

"Eh?" Minamoto Tamako widened her eyes, "Can’t Mrs. Kamei identify the murderer?"

"Ha!"

Fushimi Roku let out a dry laugh, as if he had heard a joke.