In Soul Society, I just want to retire

But if you put it in a bigger picture...killing nine generations of a clan is a small matter.

Think about what crime was committed in ancient times when the king was assassinated?

Yamabuki Ditang laughed so happily that he even raised his hand to make a "yeah" gesture.

Mako Hirako is also a very smart person. In an instant, he realized that this bastard must be trying to trick him.

Moreover, his captain is a stubborn person. If he doesn't handle the situation properly, he might even chop off his head.

"I know I was wrong and I won't dare to do it again next time." Hirako Mako lowered her head.

This is to give myself a warning.

Be a good boy and don’t cause trouble in the future!

Obana Danjiro turned to look at Yamabuki Detang and said, "You are the victim in this matter. How do you plan to deal with it?"

How did he become a victim? I'm the biggest victim, okay? Hirako Mako muttered to herself.

I chopped as hard as I could last night but couldn't hurt a single hair of his.

Now I have to apologize to you two here honestly.

Yamabuki Ditang showed a strange smile on his face: "They are all children, I am not angry. How about this, you lend me this child to play with for two days, let him work in the General Staff for three months, and then I will return him to you after three months!"

"make a deal."

Chapter 140: First Day on the Job

Wait, you two bastards, you just throw me around so casually, have you ever thought about how I feel? Hirako Mako complained silently in his heart.

Ah! What a hassle! This is a lesson learned. I promise this won't happen again.

Yamabuki Ditang smiled and handed over a bowl of iced wine: "Then please take good care of me from today on, Hirako Mako.

Mako Hirako had an embarrassed yet polite smile on his face. He had to bow his head under the eaves and could only take the wine and drink it. He had to admit that the taste was quite good, which made his eyes light up.

"Okay, it's almost time to go to work, let's go back!" Yamabuki Ditang grabbed the back of Hirako Mako's collar and pulled her away like a husky.

Mako Hirako also said goodbye to her captain: "Captain, I will be back in three months, please don't miss me!"

Obana Danjiro had a helpless smile on his face. Why are all my subordinates these people who make me uneasy? It was the same with Tsunayashiro Fuuka in the past and it is the same with Hirako Mako now. There is no one reliable person.

Maybe this is my fate!

Mako Hirako followed Yamabuki Detang to the General Staff Headquarters and found that the environment here was completely different from that of the 5th Division. Everyone was busy processing various documents, and no other sound could be heard except the rustling sound of turning pages.

Suddenly, Mako Hirako realized that it would be interesting to work here.

"Really? You clearly promised me last night not to tell the captain about that, why did you go back on your word this morning?" Hirako Mako muttered softly.

Yamabuki Ditang reached out and gently tapped Hirako Mako's forehead. "You believe the enemy's words? You're too naive! Learning to discern lies is essential for a job like this."

"Yes, yes, you are right. Then when do we start working?" Hirako Mako said listlessly.

Yamabuki Ditang unceremoniously placed a large pile of documents in Hirako Mako's hands and said with a bright smile, "I'll leave these tasks to you, Hirako!"

Hirako Mako's face froze, and he spoke in an uncertain tone, "Are you serious? I just started working here today. Didn't the General Staff have any training? Is it okay to just give me so much work?"

At the same time, Mako Hirako lowered her head slightly and saw that the top document was "Staffing Arrangement for the Hueco Mundo Suppression."

"Hey, hey, hey! This is a very important issue! Aren't you afraid that something might go wrong by leaving it to a newcomer like me?" Hirako Mako said in horror.

What if my mistakes at work lead to casualties in the Hueco Mundo expedition?

"If something goes wrong, I will of course hand you over without hesitation to take the blame! What else can I do?" Yamabuki Ditang said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Finally, Hirako Mako couldn't hold it in any longer: "Tell me the truth, you asked me to work in the General Staff, not because you want to be lazy?"

"How is that possible? I take my work very seriously!" Yamabuki Ditang said with a look of "surprise".

I don't believe you! Pingzi Mako angrily came to a vacant seat and looked at the documents in his hand.

Run...you can't run away anyway.

Hirako Mako raised her head again to confirm: "Since you don't take these tasks seriously, then I won't be polite. I don't care how it turns out in the end."

"Just do it with confidence. Anyway, the final decision is with me." Shanbuki Ditang said with a smile.

The documents that the General Staff has to deal with are divided into levels, representing the importance of different things. Regardless of whether the truly important documents have been processed or not, Yamabuki Ditang will personally review them. As for those unimportant documents, the results will not change much no matter how they are handled.

Mako Hirako tied a white cloth on her forehead, looking like the students who forgot to do their homework on the last day of summer vacation.

Originally, Mako Hirako was ready to work hard, but she never expected that it would get stuck when it came to the second file.

"This is..." Mako Hirako read the document carefully, and her expression gradually became solemn.

The document actually recorded a murder case, and two nobles were involved.

"Hey, can I handle such important things?" asked Mako Hirako. Human life is a magical thing. In troubled times, it is as worthless as dirt. It seems that no one takes human life seriously. Only in times of peace and prosperity, human rights are valued by people.

The current Soul Society can barely be considered a peaceful and prosperous age, so when it comes to "human lives", both the General Staff and the Central Forty-six take it very seriously.

If not handled properly, it is likely to cause a public opinion storm.

"Of course, since these documents are already in your hands, how you deal with them is your business. In addition, the documents in your hands are not the final judgment. After you have processed them, these documents must be submitted to the Central Office 46, and the people there will review them again. If any problems are found, these documents will be sent back for re-examination." Yamabuki Ditang explained.

"By the way, aren't you from Central Office 46? Are all the highest decisions of Central Office 46 in your hands? Can't you handle this kind of case yourself? Why do you have to hand it over to a layman like me?" Hirako Mako said with a face full of complaints, but even so, he continued to watch out of curiosity.

The deceased was a noblewoman, and the murderer turned out to be her husband? The cause was that the noblewoman was having an affair with another man, and her husband caught them and killed her directly, but the man she had an affair with escaped.

Now, both men have been arrested and are awaiting interrogation, but the most crucial thing is that their confessions are completely opposite, and both sides have people who can testify, making it difficult to tell who is lying.

There were no surveillance cameras in that era, so it was difficult to find evidence.

"How come I encounter such troubles on my first day at work? What I hate most is trouble." Mako Hirako said, rubbing his head.

If you want to figure out who is lying, you can only ask the two criminals in person.

"Um, can I go to the prison to question the prisoners?" asked Mako Hirako.

"Of course, take this." Yamabuki Ditang threw over a badge. This was the "work certificate" of the General Staff. Showing this badge in Soul Society would allow one to move freely.

Mako Hirako came all the way to the prison with her work ID. After showing her ID, she successfully entered the prison and met the prisoner.

Chapter 141: Three-party Testimony

The prison gate slowly opened, and Mako Hirako came to the depths of the prison and saw the man who killed his wife.

According to the information, the man's name was Ryunosuke Kusakawa, and he was a middle-class noble. At this time, the man looked haggard, his eyes were dull, and he sat blankly on the chair.

Hirako Mako frowned slightly and looked at the jailer next to him: "Have you tortured him?"

"No, sir, it is forbidden to use torture on prisoners now, in order to avoid forced confessions." said the jailer.

Hirako Mako pondered for a moment, then said to the jailer, "Okay, I understand. You can go out first! I will call you if there is anything."

The jailer bowed slightly and then quickly retreated. Now only Mako Hirako and Ryunosuke Kusakawa were left.

"Ryunosuke Kusakawa, right? I'm Mako Hirako from the General Staff. Regarding you and your case..." Before Mako Hirako could finish her words, Ryunosuke Kusakawa suddenly rushed over excitedly and grabbed the iron railings.

"Has the General Staff found the real murderer? Can the General Staff clear my name?" Ryunosuke Kusakawa asked hurriedly.

Mako Hirako immediately discovered the two most important words here: innocence.

Wasn't the man in front of him a murderer? Didn't he kill his wife in anger because she cheated on him? Why was he reacting so violently?

A flash of surprise flashed across Hirako Mako's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said calmly, "I'm here to investigate some matters. Please calm down."

Kusakawa Ryunosuke tried his best to calm himself down and opened his eyes with difficulty: "Okay, ask! I will definitely cooperate."

Mako Hirako took out a pen and paper, ready to record all of Kusakawa Ryunosuke's testimony.

Then Hirako Mako asked the first question: "Did you really kill your wife because she cheated on you?"

After hearing this, Kusakawa Ryunosuke was stunned for two or three seconds, and the next second he almost jumped up: "Are you kidding me? How could I kill my own wife? I have never killed anyone!"

Mako Hirako's pupils contracted. Why was the prisoner's confession different from what was recorded in the documents?

Hirako Mako took out a Zanpakutō from her hand. This Zanpakutō was covered in blood. She said coldly, "This should be your Zanpakutō, right? According to the autopsy report, your wife died with this sword, and when you were arrested, this sword was hanging on your waist. How do you explain this matter?"

Kusakawa Ryunosuke was suddenly speechless and his eyes began to flicker.

"You're lying." Hirako Mako said, "You should know the price of lying, right? If you really want me to help you, tell the truth."

"Actually... I don't remember much about what happened that night," Kusakawa Ryunosuke whispered. "I drank a lot that night and was completely blackout-ed! I don't even know how I got home. When I sobered up... I was surrounded by the Xing army."

Mako Hirako didn't expect that things would develop in such a strange direction. He didn't even know whether he had killed anyone or not. In this case, it would not be an exaggeration to sentence him to drunken murder.

"The document also says that your wife cheated on you. Is that true?" asked Mako Hirako.

"This is absolutely true," Kusakawa Ryunosuke shouted. "My wife has always been a fickle woman. She has been cheating on me all these years. I only felt the urge to kill her after I caught her in bed with her lover!"

Hirako Mako's face darkened: "Didn't you just say that you were drunk and couldn't remember anything?"

Ryunosuke Kusakawa was speechless again, his eyes were dazed, and he lowered his head, not daring to say anything more.

This person's testimony contradicted each other. So, there was a high possibility that what he just said was unreliable. Hirako Makoto thought to himself, "Trouble is this?" Why would such a troublesome thing happen to me? Hirako Makoto muttered to himself, then asked the final, crucial question: "How did you know your wife was cheating? Do you have any evidence?"

"Of course there is. Xing Jun found a badge used by nobles under my bed. That is the family badge of the Inuda family. Our family has never had any dealings with the Inuda family, so why are there other family badges under my bed? Later, I heard from my neighbors that when I was not at home, strange men often came to my house. Doesn't this explain the problem?" Ryunosuke Kusakawa shouted.

After recording these things, Mako Hirako left the cell without saying anything.

Looking at the transcript in her hand, Hirako Mako felt a headache. This Kusakawa Ryunosuke seemed to be trying hard to prove that his wife was cheating on him, because this would greatly reduce his guilt. No, from the initial situation, he did not think he had killed anyone.

If there are contradictions between previous and subsequent testimonies, the credibility of this testimony will become very low.

I'm just a newcomer, so why am I being assigned such a difficult task? Could it be that because I'm a newcomer, all the work that no one else wants to do is being pushed onto me? Hirako Mako wondered.

If you want to know whether Ryunosuke Kusakawa is lying, you can only ask the other suspect, Ranpo Inuda, who is flirting with someone else's wife.

According to the information provided by the General Staff, the tragedy occurred because Inuda Ranpo did something he shouldn't have done with Kusakawa Ryunosuke's wife and was bumped into by Kusakawa Ryunosuke.

But is this really the case?

Soon, Mako Hirako met Inuda Ranpo, whose eyes were bloodshot and looked very weak. When Mako Hirako explained her purpose, Inuda Ranpo said excitedly: "I am innocent, I am really innocent. I didn't kill anyone, nor did I cheat. All this is a frame-up."

Mako Hirako immediately found the key point in this sentence.

kill?

Aren't you just cheating on your wife? Why is it linked to murder?

Who wrote this General Staff document? It's full of loopholes, isn't it? The intelligence provided doesn't even match up with the two sides. It's just ridiculous!

"What did you do that night? If you want me to help you, just tell me the truth," said Mako Hirako.

Inuda Ranpo collapsed and said: "I didn't do anything that night. I stayed at home all night. My wife can testify to that."

Staying home all night?

Mako Hirako was even more confused. In the written documents, two criminals actually gave three different results. What was going on?

"Your wife, as someone close to you, cannot testify as a witness. You should know this!" Hirako Mako said, "Besides this, do you have any other evidence to prove that you were at home?"

Inuda Ranpo's face showed an even more painful expression, and he slowly shook his head.

Chapter 142: Brother, would you like to stay and eat stir-fried pork?

Mako Hirako is actually a little interested in this case now. The two suspects involved in the case have completely different opinions, even completely unrelated. The information in her hands has nothing to do with the case!

What secrets are involved here?

Mako Hirako asked a very crucial question.

"Since you said you never left home, then may I ask why your family emblem was left at the crime scene?" asked Mako Hirako.

"Can't you even see that? This is clearly a frame-up! Our two families have never been in contact, and we didn't even know each other before the incident. I'm also confused as to why the badge on my clothes was left at the crime scene. This is a clear frame-up." Inuda Ranpo shouted, his emotions extremely agitated. "Please believe me, I really was wrongly accused! My wife can really testify on my behalf that I did not leave the house that night."

Mako Hirako knew that she would not be able to get any information from the two suspects involved in the case.

In this case, we can only dig out more useful information from a third person.

That is Inuda Ranpo's wife.

Mako Hirako went directly to Inuda Ranpo's house and saw his wife Yumiko.

Although her husband was imprisoned for suspected murder and adultery, this woman looked very calm. She had a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye, and her temperament was like a needle hidden in a sponge. It looked soft, but it might prick you at any time, and it would hurt a lot!

Yumiko held a pipe in her hand. Even when she saw the people from the General Staff, she was not panicked at all. She took a puff of the cigarette as if no one was around, and then blew the sweet smoke on Hirako Mako's face.

"I don't want to inhale secondhand smoke. I'm here to ask you some questions. Please answer truthfully. These questions are related to whether your husband will be acquitted." Mako Hirako said, fanning the smoke in front of her with her hand.