Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 288 - 209

Chapter 288: Chapter 209

Taking the JR Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo, it only takes an hour to reach Shizuoka Prefecture.

To prevent the passive activation of the vehicle killer again, Minamoto Tamako chose to buy a ferry ticket early the next morning.

She felt that traveling by train was unsafe, and since high-speed trains were faster than regular trains, they were even less safe.

If the trip is for leisure, it doesn’t matter if you detour, as long as you can enjoy the scenery along the way, that’s what truly matters.

Minamoto Tamako made her travel plans that night: Depart at noon, arrive at the port by two o’clock, head to Atami Hot Spring Resort, and enjoy the pre-booked grilled eel lunch... She had heard that Hamanako in Shizuoka Prefecture is a famous eel farming area, where the eels are both plump and fresh, just thinking about it makes her drool.

Taira Sakurako was also prepared; the night before departure, she filled a cardboard box with search tools, such as a compass, a map of Shizuoka Prefecture, binoculars, a phone directory yellow pages... She had gathered information that Shizuoka Prefecture has about two to three million residents, and she had clues that could narrow the search scope, taking it one step at a time.

Fushimi Roku was also ready to go, he stayed up late sharpening his knives, carefully maintaining them with Dingzi oil, deoiled cotton, deer skin, wipe paper, and grinding powder. Senior Watanabe’s gift, the tanto with top-quality material that had sliced through so many bullets, just had some tiny nicks and felt it could still fight for another three years.

Their planned travel time was seven days, quite ample to thoroughly enjoy Shizuoka Prefecture.

The three of them changed into their travel-exclusive outfits; Fushimi Roku wore a navy blue anorak, hiking boots, and carried the pack containing Taira Sakurako, holding her designated cardboard box; Minamoto Tamako was in a white floral dress with a warm yellow knitted cardigan thrown over it... All set, they entrusted Ajun to Senior Kazama and boldly set out.

As soon as Fushimi Roku boarded the ferry, he received a call from Sazaki Gen, inviting him to dine at the Inakawa association. As they say, there’s no free meal, Fushimi Roku felt it couldn’t be anything good, so he politely declined, citing travel as an excuse.

This time he didn’t lie, but Sazaki Gen didn’t believe him, still persistently inviting him. Fushimi Roku could only lean against the side of the ship, raise his phone high and say, "Can you hear the sound of the waves? The signal on the ship is bad, I’m hanging up now..."

He could faintly hear Sazaki Gen’s shouting through the receiver before it was drowned in the sea breeze: "Wait——then make sure you call me when you get back——"

Beep!

Fushimi Roku pressed the hang-up button.

Minamoto Tamako also leaned against the railing, smoothing the stray hair blown by the sea breeze, and asked, "Who was that?"

"An insurance sales pitch," Fushimi Roku was too lazy to explain, casually brushing it off.

Minamoto Tamako’s expression was doubtful, clearly not convinced. She quietly turned around and pulled out a white notebook from her cardigan pocket, quickly jotting down with a soft-tipped pen:

"Calling an unidentified person at departure, suspected of avoiding involvement with a woman"

Minus five points.

This trip was named a vacation but in reality, it was Detective Tamako evaluating her partner.

As a future famous detective and police chief, her standards for a future partner were naturally very high, much higher than those of typical romance-minded girls.

Last night, Fushimi Roku withholding her redemption voucher snapped her into awareness, realizing she was too passive — this was akin to an interview, with Mr. Fu Jian as the applicant and her as the interviewer, not just anyone can qualify for the lover’s position!

If Mr. Fu Jian’s performance was not satisfactory, she would certainly pass him over.

Minamoto Tamako remained true to her original intentions; even in romance, her career could not be delayed. This evaluation was just a minor detour; regardless of success or failure, she felt she could accept it graciously — lifelong friends could also be an option, and relationships between men and women need not necessarily be bound by the conventional romantic entanglements.

For this, she prepared a scoring sheet, to add or deduct points according to Fushimi Roku’s performance.

The total was one hundred points; if it fell below sixty, it indicated Mr. Fu Jian was unsuitable as a lover, and she needed to stop the loss promptly, clearing her mind of inappropriate thoughts entirely!

At present, Minamoto Tamako shook her head secretly, thinking Mr. Fu Jian was really unpromising.

Things weren’t going well, just stepping out and already losing five points.

Fushimi Roku hadn’t noticed his act of losing points, but he could tell Minamoto Tamako was acting oddly, noticing she didn’t question his lie, instead turning to jot down furiously in her little notebook.

"I’ll go put away the luggage."

Fushimi Roku found an excuse, carrying Taira Sakurako back to the cabin. He intended to consult Sakurako, asking if she had any insights on Minamoto Tamako’s unusual behavior.

Unexpectedly, Minamoto Tamako immediately followed, like a ghost, clutching her little white notebook and tailing behind, cornering herself stealthily, resembling a rogue paparazzi.

Taira Sakurako glimpsed this through the backpack’s zipper, quietly reminded, "Be careful, she’s been acting unusually lately."

"I know," Fushimi Roku lowered his voice, raised a hand to slide the box onto a shelf, "Rather than worrying about me, worry about yourself. With her watching like this, how are you going to search for people?"

"She’s watching you, not me," Sakurako said.

"How can you search without me?" Fushimi Roku asked.

"I can do it myself."

Taira Sakurako’s words didn’t have much persuasive power, after all, she was still tucked inside a backpack, not willing to come out.

Fushimi Roku was skeptical, but since the quest to find someone was Sakurako’s task, he was happy to save the effort. Although Taira Sakurako never brought it up proactively, the two had already reached a tacit agreement, it was the kind of secret that didn’t need to be spoken aloud.

The journey went smoothly without any incidents. After the ferry docked, the three took a car to the resort, and unloaded their luggage.

The environment of the inn matched the promotional brochure; no disappointments. The inn was run by a local middle-aged couple with excellent culinary skills, who prepared meals in advance to welcome guests.

Minamoto Tamako’s stomach had long grumbled; she booked the afternoon ferry on purpose to keep her stomach empty and thoroughly enjoy the eel rice.

The landlady served two set meals, and when Taira Sakurako emerged from the backpack, she was surprised and added another meal. The three dined in the room, and Minamoto Tamako delightedly savored the wasabi pickles with grilled eel, it was so delicious that she squinted with enjoyment.

"Ah... so comfy."

Minamoto Tamako stretched her legs after the meal, sitting on the tatami, holding barley tea with one hand, gazing leisurely out the window.

The cloud on the horizon looked like a giant fluffy sheep, very beautiful.

She was about to call Mr. Fu Jian to join her in admiring it, but when she turned her head, she saw him and Sakurako simultaneously standing up, the siblings switching shoes at the entrance.

"Hey, where are you going?" Minamoto Tamako flipped over and asked.

"Just wandering around." They replied in unison.

Fushimi Roku planned to inquire about the location of the Aum Truth Sect headquarters, while Sakurako intended to investigate the identity of the person who issued the missing person notices in the local newspaper.