Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

"..."

Turning the corner into the inner street, you'll find many cat-eared girls dressed as maids soliciting customers. As soon as they see a young man walking by, they'll approach him and use their cute voices to beckon him.

One of the main features of Akihabara is its maid cafes.

"Master, would you like to come to my shop for a meal?"

"Master, please come in and have a seat and a cup of tea~"

"Master, we have our loving magical omelet rice!"

They were all high school girls working during the summer vacation. Maid jobs were low-paying and high-volume, so many housewives went out to work as maids to earn some extra money.

As they crossed the street, Uesugi Kai glanced at Tsubokawa, who had been staring intently at someone's smiling face.

Have you ever been to a coffee shop like this before?

“Are you kidding me? Why would I go to a place like that?” Takahiro Tsubokawa said. “Isn’t it just a place where pretty maids make heart gestures and cast spells in front of you while serving you food and drinks in a pretty pink house? How could I possibly go to such a shameful place?”

Kai Uesugi was certain that he had been there.

GameCenter

As soon as you push open the glass door, all sorts of colorful claw machines come into view, and the sounds of game consoles can be heard from inside from time to time.

Uesugi originally had no interest in claw machines, but when he saw a cute little shark in the glass display case, he went over to it.

"Hey, weren't we going to play games? Why are we here catching plush toys?" Tsubokawa followed behind him.

At that moment, a man with a full-sleeve tattoo came in through the door, but he seemed to have only come to play games. He walked straight past the claw machine area and went inside.

"I want what's inside."

After glancing at the tattooed guy who had left, Uesugi Kai took two coins out of his bag, tossed them in, and then manipulated the joystick to grab the shark plush toy.

Seeing that he really wanted to grab the plush toy, Tsubokawa Takahiro closed his eyes and confidently pushed up his glasses with his index finger:

"Uesugi, as a regular customer, let me tell you, the mechanical claws in GameCenter are all tampered with by the owner; it's absolutely impossible—"

Kai Uesugi crouched down and took the short, fat shark out.

"Okay, never mind."

Uesugi: "What game consoles would you recommend for relaxing?"

Tsubokawa: "The dance machine is pretty good!"

At his recommendation, Uesugi Kai, holding the shark in both hands, was about to go inside when several policemen suddenly walked in through the door, including a young man wearing large sunglasses.

"Why are the police here?" Takahiro Tsubokawa wondered.

"Kai?" Hanamaru Yuzuki pulled down his sunglasses, revealing his eyes.

"Ah."

When did you get back?

Just two days ago.

"A couple of days ago."

Hanamaru Yuzuki exchanged a few glances with the three policemen, then gestured for them to go inside.

Takahiro Tsubokawa's curious gaze followed the three policemen as they disappeared around the corner into the inner room.

"What's going on?" Uesugi Kai thought they must be looking for the guy with the big tattoo from earlier.

“I’ll help my second brother out, help him catch some bad guys.” Hanamaru Yuzuki said casually, “That guy broke into a house to rob someone, and then used the money to play games here.”

"So, Kai, you come to the arcade now?"

Hanamaru Yuzuki saw the plush toy he had just grabbed and said, "But, of course, you should play the claw machine with Hanabi."

"She went to England."

"Little Fireworks went to England!? What's she doing there?"

"Studying abroad".

"My second brother didn't even tell me. I'm her uncle, after all. How long is she going to be gone?"

"More than two years."

Hanamaru Yuzuki held her forehead with her right hand, "My nephew-in-law, you shouldn't have let her go for over three years, you should know—"

Shouts and sounds of smashing could be heard coming from inside the arcade.

Hanamaru Yuzuki quickly went inside and told the two not to come in.

Tsubokawa curiously peeked out, then turned to Uesugi and asked, "What should we do now?"

"Wait, I haven't played the dance machine yet."

"Hey, is the dance machine the important thing?"

About three minutes later.

With a loud "bang!"

The man with the tattooed arm, his face bruised and swollen, burst out of the door and ran towards the exit without hesitation, forcefully pulling at the crowd who were still inside the claw machine area.

"Get out! Get out! Get out of my way!"

With such a menacing look, no one dared to stop him. Seeing that he was about to charge, Tsubokawa Takahiro quickly said to Uesugi:

"What do we do? It looks like that guy is trying to escape?"

"I haven't played my dance machine yet."

Inside the arcade, three policemen lay unconscious on the ground, chairs were overturned, and the surrounding customers huddled in far corners.

The screens of numerous game consoles around us were still flashing, and the sounds of various gun and racing effects were constantly ringing out.

Hanamaru Yuzuki, who had just been punched in the face, steadied himself and slapped his head hard to clear his head.

"Damn, he's pretty good. I'll definitely have to ask my second brother to treat me to a meal when we get back."

His dizziness subsided slightly, and he quickly chased after the fugitive, using his walkie-talkie to instruct the police downstairs to keep an eye out for him.

As he walked out of the game area and headed towards the door, he found the tattooed guy lying unconscious at Uesugi's feet.

The young otaku guests peered out curiously.

Hanamaru Yuzuki was somewhat surprised and walked up to Uesugi Kai, asking, "How did this guy suddenly collapse here?"

"I did it."

“Yes, yes, he did it.” Pingchuan nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"What did he do?" Hanamaru Yuzuki asked Tsubokawa, pointing at Uesugi Kai. This was a home invasion robber that three police officers had failed to deal with.

Takahiro Tsubokawa shook his head repeatedly.

"..."

Hanamaru Yuzuki, dressed casually, glanced at the guy lying on the ground, then at Uesugi Kai, and asked, "Come with me to the police station, is that alright?"

Kai Uesugi just wanted to relax today:

"What about my dance machine?"

"A dance machine?"

Hanamaru Yuzuki glanced back, then turned back and said with a smile:

"I'm good at this."

-----------

At the Shinjuku Police Station, Hanamaru Hiroki, leaning back in his chair, lightly scratched a ceramic teacup with his index finger.

"Three of them couldn't beat one, and he almost got away. In the end, Kai knocked him unconscious."

"Tell me, after graduating from police academy and collecting taxes for so many years, where have all your energy and brains gone?"

The three police officers, their faces bandaged, stood with their heads down at their desks, not daring to utter a word in the face of these lukewarm words.

Hanamaru Yuzuki quickly replied, "I resigned a long time ago and don't collect taxes."

"I wasn't talking about you."

Glancing at the identical bandage on his face, Hanamaru Hiroki waved his hand repeatedly, sending the three policemen away. "Alright, I didn't expect you to be that great anyway. Demote each of you, starting with the inspector."

Upon hearing that they were to be demoted, the police officers immediately panicked: "Superintendent!"

"Go down."

Hanamaru Hiroki only needed to say two more words before they instantly deflated, fell silent, bowed, closed the door, and left.

Only two people remained in the office.

Hanamaru Yuuki plopped down on the sofa on the right side of the room, turned her head to look at Hanamaru Yuuki, who was drinking tea behind his desk, and said:

"Second brother, there's no need for that, we just can't beat them."

"If you can't beat them once, do you want to lose a second time? If you don't put some pressure on them, they can only go to residential areas to help find cats. Nowadays, the police are too timid when arresting criminals."

Hiroki Hanamaru actually had something he didn't say. This relegation was just a trigger; what mattered more was their previous performance.

"Second brother, I heard that Xiaohuahuo went to England, is it true?"

“That’s right.” Hanamaru Hiroki stared at the reflection in the teacup in his hand.

"Why did you send her away? If you ask me, there's no point in sending her away."

"No meaning?" Hanamaru Hiroki put down his teacup. "It has a lot of meaning, and besides, it's not like I'm the one who's going to send her away."

"Second brother doesn't want your son-in-law anymore? I think it's great!" Hanamaru Yuzuki rested her hands on her knees.

"What nonsense are you making now?"

"Three years, huh? If you ask me, their circles have changed in three years, and they can't even cross paths anymore. How much of their friendship can they possibly have left?"

Hanamaru Hiroki remained calm as he continued to peruse the case files on the table. "Relationships aren't something I can decide; they're the ones who decide. I just told Hanabi about the good opportunity my family had given me."

"So, this was their own decision?"

Upon hearing this, Hanamaru Hiroki paused slightly, as if deep in thought, and after a long silence, continued: