I practiced as a monk alone in Japan.

Chapter 12 Fervent Justice

Outside the ICU ward of the hospital.

Ken Matsumoto, the vice principal of Shōri Private High School, looked at his wife, who was almost crying her eyes out, with a dark cloud hanging over her face.

"Waaaaah, he's my only nephew, how could this happen? How could this happen?!"

"Hello, are you a family member of Yamazaki Jihei?"

Just then, two police officers in uniform, a man and a woman, walked up to Matsumoto Ken.

The man was probably in his thirties, with a calm and aloof expression and a square face.

The woman, however, caught Matsumoto Kento's eye; she was tall and slender, around 1.75 meters.

Her thick, long black hair was styled into a bun at the back of her head.

Although she was wearing a formal police uniform, not some kind of quirky modification, she still looked quite charming in it.

Especially that cold and alluring face, it's really a shame she's a police officer.

If it weren't for this moment, Matsumoto Ken would probably have already tried to get her contact information and used his power to gain the opportunity to get close to her as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, it happened at this time that his own nephew was the one who got into trouble.

Moreover, the other party was a police officer, and didn't seem to be of low rank, which would be troublesome. So, as soon as that thought crossed my mind, I immediately dismissed it.

“I am his uncle, Ken Matsumoto, the vice principal of Shōri Private High School.”

The man nodded. "We are police officers from the Zhaori District Police Station. My name is Shunichi Ando. This is Chinatsu Morita. We need to ask you some information about Jihei Yamazaki."

The woman who was sobbing in her seat suddenly looked up when she heard this and walked over.

She screamed hoarsely, "Please help us! My nephew would never have committed suicide, and it was definitely not an accident! Please, please catch the murderer! Someone must be trying to harm him! Waaah, how could this happen? He's such a good person, he's never done anything wrong, why would anyone want to harm him?!"

Shunichi Ando frowned. "Madam, do you have any evidence to support your claim?"

Upon seeing this, Matsumoto Ken immediately pulled his wife away and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, my wife is a little emotional right now. This is our only nephew. You can ask me anything; let's talk privately."

"it is good."

The three people arrived at the stairwell of the emergency exit.

Shunichi Ando began by asking about the other person's occupation, age, lifestyle, and daily interactions.

Kenichi Matsumoto answered truthfully.

Ando Shunichi then asked, "Your wife seems very certain that he was murdered. To be honest, according to our on-site investigation, he had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol before falling, and no other person's DNA was found at the scene. There also appears to be no sign of forced entry. Therefore, it is highly likely that he fell while intoxicated. Do you have any other clues to add?"

Matsumoto Ken hesitated for a moment, then took out a pack of cigarettes, intending to offer them to Ando Shunichi and Morita Chinatsu, who seemed to be observing coldly from the sidelines. However, they both refused.

He lit one of his cigarettes and started smoking it, then said...

"Well, actually my nephew is quite young, and still a bit hot-blooded. It's normal for him to have conflicts and disagreements with people in life and work. He's not perfect, but I know a bit about his habits, so it's unlikely he'd do something like that. Besides, you've seen his apartment, right? You know that even if he's drunk, unless he's insane, it's hard for him to climb over that balcony and jump, right?"

"And he doesn't have a habit of taking drugs, unless you find some other drugs in his body."

Shunichi Ando and Chinatsu Morita exchanged a glance.

Chinatsu Morita looked over indifferently.

"How did he become a teacher at Zhaori Private High School at such a young age?"

These words made Ken Matsumoto's hand tremble slightly, and then he smiled wryly, "My wife and I only have one daughter, and we treat her like our own son. So as the vice principal, I naturally hope that he can avoid some detours."

"So, given his qualifications, it would be very difficult for him to get into this top-ranked high school in the country with a strong faculty. And given his young age and good looks, haven't there been any rumors about him having affairs with students?"

I don't know if it was Chinatsu Morita's question that was too direct, or if her perspective was too sharp.

This left Matsumoto Ken speechless for a moment.

He took a few puffs of his cigarette before answering, "I don't think his professional ethics would lead him to do something like this."

Chinatsu Morita was about to ask another question, but Shunichi Ando coughed, interrupting her.

Then, looking at Ken Matsumoto, he said, "Of course, we won't jump to conclusions about whether it was an accident or not so quickly, and we can't determine it as homicide without evidence. So we still need to investigate. I hope you can provide me with a list, including his friends, colleagues, and people he's been in contact with recently. I also hope you won't mind if we investigate his phone and computer."

"Of course I can understand that; it's the school's responsibility."

"What's going on over there?"

"Well... to be honest, the school doesn't want to be involved in this matter. After all, in their view, my nephew fell from his home and ended up like this. They don't want any public opinion or conspiracy theories to affect the school's reputation, so I probably can't get the school to give the green light to your investigation."

Matsumoto Ken looked extremely troubled, even heartbroken.

A cold smile, unnoticed by anyone, curled up at the corner of Morita Chinatsu's lips.

Ando Shun nodded. "We understand the situation, but if there really is evidence pointing to homicide or murder, then whether or not to cooperate is not up to the school. Okay, I'll contact you again if there are any further problems. We'll be going now."

"I'm really sorry to trouble you two. Please make sure you find out the truth. Thank you."

The two police officers left the hospital.

Matsumoto Ken threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out. He tugged at his collar in frustration.

He stared menacingly at the sky outside the window.

"What an ungrateful wretch! He's not dead yet, and he's dragging me down with him! His whole family is a jinx!"

"Senior, do you think it was murder or an accident?"

I left the hospital and was downstairs.

Chinatsu Morita, holding a cup of cold brew iced coffee with a five-pointed star logo, asked indifferently.

Shunichi Ando shook his head. "I don't know. I checked, and he hasn't really had any conflicts with anyone recently. And it's very difficult to commit a crime without leaving any trace, not even a sign of breaking in. It's hard to define it as homicide."

Chinatsu Morita has the charisma and figure of a model. When she wears sunglasses, even in a police uniform, she is often mistaken for a movie star.

No matter where it stands, it seems to be a unique sight.

She whispered, "Don't you find it strange? Why did all the security cameras in Yamazaki Jihei's apartment malfunction that night and not record anything? And why did he open a brand new bottle of Yamazaki 12 and drink it alone on the balcony that day? He had even eaten ramen and drunk a bottle of beer before that."

"Did something happen that day that made him happy? Or something that bothered him?"

"Furthermore, I've investigated. Before coming to Zhaori Private High School, Yamazaki Jihei worked at a junior high school where a girl jumped off a building. That girl was one of his students. Although there's no evidence to suggest he was involved, there are many rumors circulating that Yamazaki Jihei had spoken and chatted with that girl alone."

Shunichi Ando couldn't help but laugh when he heard Chinatsu Morita say that.

"What kind of superhero story of fighting violence with violence is this? We don't have Batman here. This is Zhaori, not Gotham. Perhaps there are indeed so-called high-IQ criminals in this world. But it's impossible to leave no trace. Besides, his daily life involves teachers and students. Who do you think has that ability and mindset?"

"Maybe. After all, many detective novels have mentioned that people who are conventionally perceived as weak have a natural advantage in escaping legal punishment and attention if they become criminals. For example, those students."

Shunichi Ando frowned.

"You think the problem lies with the school?"

"An intuition."

"You can't rely on intuition when you're a police officer. Besides, those methods you used in the past could easily cause problems if used on students, you know?"

Chinatsu Morita gave a nonchalant, indifferent smile.

"Of course I know. But sometimes, for the sake of justice, we have to take special measures and think about special directions, right?"

When Shunichi Ando saw her smile, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

"If no evidence is found in the next few days, it can only be considered an accident. You do not have the authority to enter the school to investigate."

"I know, so we need to make the most of these next few days, right? Then please keep an eye on the on-site investigation, senior."

After saying that, Chinatsu Morita walked towards the car.

Shunichi Ando frowned. "Where are you going?"

"go to school."

"Start now?"

"Of course, time waits for no one."

Looking at the beautiful, yet unreal, smile on Morita Chinatsu's face.

Shunichi Ando thought for a moment and said, "It's good that young people are energetic, and it's fine to remain skeptical, but are you really doing this for so-called justice?"

Chinatsu Morita took off her sunglasses and looked at him strangely, "If you're not a police officer for justice, then what are you for?"

"Pay attention to the procedure, don't do anything reckless."

"Understood, goodbye, senior."

Cars roared down the road.

Shunichi Ando could no longer see the driver's seat.

The young policewoman, having removed her sunglasses, stared intently at the long road ahead; she wasn't just looking at the road.

His eyes held an indescribable fervor.

She muttered to herself, her tone rising faster and faster with the tachometer reading.

She has a strange intuition.

"I hope you are the kind of person I'm looking for."

Shunichi Ando was right to be uneasy.

She wasn't entirely acting out of a sense of justice; she simply wanted to smell the scent of her own kind.

……

(End of this chapter)