"What the heck?"

Fushimi Roku was startled, afraid he had accidentally pressed some button. He quickly got up, lifted the mattress, and only then noticed a small iron box underneath.

Worried it might contain a bomb or poison gas that would trigger upon opening, he cautiously wrapped the iron box in the mattress, carried it all the way down to the apartment lawn, and placed it on the grass.

Better safe than sorry.

Fushimi Roku used a clothes-drying rod to nudge open the lid of the iron box. The anticipated explosion or poison gas didn't occur. From a distance, he stood on tiptoe to look inside and saw a card.

Fushimi Roku breathed a slight sigh of relief, leaned in closer to take a look, and found that the card was an Invitation Letter, with a string of gilded numbers printed in the center, likely coordinates, and a small line of text beneath:

"Looking forward to your visit again."

Oh right, he remembered now, Uesugi Shion wanted him to visit Cat Island, and this card was probably the coordinates to Cat Island.

Fushimi Roku clicked his tongue, went to the convenience store across the street to buy a lighter, and burned the card — he took care not to touch the card or the iron box directly with his skin, to avoid any potential poison on them.

The room couldn't be slept in tonight, it just couldn't be trusted.

After burning the card, Fushimi Roku returned to the apartment. Minamoto Tamako heard him downstairs and asked where he had gone. He lied, saying he felt like having a glass of milk before bed and went to the convenience store to buy a bottle, finished it right outside the store.

"Oh, I see, then sleep early." Minamoto Tamako didn't suspect anything.

Fushimi Roku muttered a few vague responses, pulled a dried sheet from the balcony, lay on the sofa sideways, covered himself with a thin blanket, planning to make do in the living room for the night and deal with his room tomorrow...

No, wait, he shouldn't clean it, it's best to just move out.

It felt like there were cameras all over this house, turning it into a sieve. No wonder rich people prefer standalone mansions, it's more reassuring to live in.

He put on an eye mask and fell into a deep sleep.

In the dead of night, when Minamoto Tamako was asleep, Taira Sakurako quietly slipped out of her room, intending to continue her gaming session in the living room.

She was just one level away from beating Demon City, and she felt restless without completing it.

But as soon as she opened the door, she saw Fushimi Roku lying on the living room sofa.

Even the slightest footstep startled Fushimi Roku awake. He immediately removed his eye mask, turned over to glance, and upon seeing it was Taira Sakurako, he relaxed his vigilance, frowning as he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Thirsty."

Taira Sakurako casually used an excuse and naturally walked past the living room to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and sneaked a half-bottle of soda.

Damn, is this guy purposely keeping watch here?

He's even forsaking the comfort of a bedroom bed to sleep in the living room and guard the gaming console!

Is it necessary, she just wants to game, not commit arson or murder...

Taira Sakurako felt indignant. As she returned to her room, she gave Fushimi Roku a glare. Unfortunately, being expressionless, she couldn't convey her anger, and with Fushimi Roku's adept social skills, he couldn't decipher what she was thinking.

With no choice, she could only obediently go to sleep.

The night passed without further incident.

The next day, Minamoto Tamako slept in for once. After staying up for a whole day and night, and a bit of lingering yesterday evening, it was inevitable she'd be exhausted. She ended up sleeping for eleven hours straight, waking only at eleven o'clock.

Luckily, she didn't have work to attend, so sleeping in was no issue.

Taira Sakurako, brimming with energy, got up early, turned on the gaming console, and didn't even sit on the sofa, squatting in front of the TV to play. Fushimi Roku saw this and couldn't be bothered to intervene, turning over to catch up on his sleep.

Minamoto Tamako finally finished brushing her teeth and washing her face by noon, changed into clean and neat clothes, called her mother, and then watched some news.

She still had a lot to do, the list in her notebook covered only one item: "Comfort Taira Sakurako"... It seemed that after sharing a bed last night, Taira Sakurako's mindset had returned to normal.

Today's tasks for Minamoto Tamako included: "Ensure Sakurako's future safety and security", "Arrange a proper funeral for Jun", and "Investigate the whereabouts of Miyazaki Shizuka".

Minamoto Tamako hurried downstairs to buy lunchboxes, called Fushimi Roku up to eat, and told Taira Sakurako to pause her game and come to the table — no eating while gaming.

Fushimi Roku didn't sleep well last night, feeling backache and fatigue. With a yawn and dark circles under his eyes, he wearily got out of bed, "What's the rush..."

"We have tons of stuff to do today, it's already noon, how can we not be in a hurry!"

Minamoto Tamako opened the lunchbox, gesturing for Fushimi Roku and Taira Sakurako to hurry and eat. While eating, she used her pink flip phone to text Senior Kazama.

Taira Sakurako was very displeased, why couldn't she game while eating when Minamoto Tamako could play on her phone while eating? It's unfair! Incredibly unfair!

Minamoto Tamako didn't notice her mood, busy negotiating with Senior Kazama, asking if he was willing and had the time to look after Taira Sakurako.

Currently, she felt uneasy about Taira Sakurako being home alone, so it seemed wise to ask a friend to help take care of her.

Kazama Tatsuya responded swiftly, agreeing readily, making Minamoto Tamako a bit embarrassed, messaging back: "Would it trouble you too much?"

"No, I'm free anyway," Kazama Tatsuya replied.

Come to think of it, Senior Kazama had already resigned...

Every time Minamoto Tamako thought of this, she felt a pang of sadness, remembering back in police academy, Senior Kazama led her on her first case investigation.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.