Minamoto Tamako's first reaction was dissatisfaction.

She worked hard to mediate, and Fushimi Roku just dismissed all her efforts with a few words from the couch. How could she accept that?

"How did I mess it up?" Minamoto Tamako circled in front of Fushimi Roku, blocking his view of the TV.

Fushimi Roku stretched his neck, leaned sideways, half-lying on the sofa, looking past Minamoto Tamako, and casually stuffed chips into his mouth, "Think for yourself..."

"No way!" Minamoto Tamako slapped Fushimi Roku's face with both hands, pinning his head down and forcing him to look at her, "Explain yourself quickly!"

Fushimi Roku pursed his lips, still holding a chip, and asked, "If we were arguing and a third party said, 'Stop it, or I'll arrest you both'... how would you feel?"

Minamoto Tamako tilted her head and actually imagined it, "Why arrest me? I definitely didn't do anything wrong..."

"See, see!" Fushimi Roku pointed a chip at her nose, "That's the 'I'm not wrong' mindset. The Kuroda couple each thinks they're not wrong, just forced to stop temporarily under 'Tamako the Criminal Police's' pressure."

"What do you mean by my pressure, I was clearly reasoning with them!" Minamoto Tamako was even more upset, squeezing Fushimi Roku's cheeks so hard that they turned oval-shaped.

"Isn't it true?" Fushimi Roku mumbled unclear words with a pouting mouth, "Think carefully, at the time, weren't you using 'law' to force them to produce evidence against each other?"

Minamoto Tamako paused, released her hands, and realized Fushimi Roku might have a point.

Fushimi Roku continued, "Think about it, if you were the one being accused with evidence for mistakes you made, how would you feel?"

Minamoto Tamako felt a bit guilty, "I would be very angry..."

Fushimi Roku nodded while munching on chips, "Exactly, mutual accusations just heighten the conflict. You didn't stop them from arguing today, you just added fuel to the fire... They realized that the oil could explode on themselves, that's why they opted for a temporary truce."

"So, what should I do?" Minamoto Tamako was a bit stumped.

When it came to investigating cases, she could usually follow some leads; but dealing with marital issues was beyond her expertise... She wasn't even married yet, where would she get the experience to guide others on married life?

This was the perfect moment for Fushimi Roku, who'd handled over a hundred divorce cases, to step in. He said decisively, "Just let them divorce, what else?"

"Can't I persuade them? Isn't it bad to let them divorce just like that?" Minamoto Tamako felt a bit guilty, like she'd ruined a marriage.

"Isn't a marriage like that painful?" Fushimi Roku sat up straight, continuing to watch TV, "Letting them break up sooner might be a relief for them."

"Maybe I could change their minds, make them happy and fulfilled again?" Minamoto Tamako started fantasizing about TV plots.

Like in the evening family dramas, there are always plots where couples overcome crises and rediscover passion after a seven-year itch; or estranged couples find each other's shining qualities after a twist...

Even in detective mystery shows, couples reunited after life-threatening events.

"What dream are you having?" Fushimi Roku gave a harsh rebuttal, "Adults won't easily admit mistakes or change their views. Even if you tried for a million years, they'd remain the same."

"How do you know unless you try?"

Minamoto Tamako decided to visit and act as an emotional mediator, getting them to express their grievances one by one and solve the issues individually.

Fushimi Roku remained indifferent; he didn't care about such troublesome matters. Since Minamoto Tamako was willing to handle it, he saw no reason to stop her—it might just add to her life experience.

After discussing work, it was time to talk about personal matters.

Taira Sakurako recounted today's happenings at school, which sounded like a routine: attending classes, playing with Mai, bullying Shota together...

Minamoto Tamako reminded her several times not to bully others. But Taira Sakurako didn't see it as bullying, plus Shota, being a boy, often teased them, so they had to get revenge.

Fushimi Roku finished watching an episode of a TV show and got up to make dinner.

Seeing this, Minamoto Tamako habitually went to the living room to tidy up a bit. She looked around, exclaimed 'eh', propped her chin with her little hand, bent down to scrutinize the shiny floor, and asked, "Uh... did you mop the floor?"

"Yes," Fushimi Roku said, washing vegetables.

"Unbelievable!"

Minamoto Tamako widened her eyes, checked the sofa, found no food crumbs in the creases, no leftover snacks on the coffee table, and the trash bin was clean; the chip bags from earlier were neatly sorted in the non-recyclable trash bag.

"What's going on?" Minamoto Tamako had a bad feeling. Whenever Mr. Fushimi started doing good deeds, it meant he was preparing to make a big request.

"What's going on?" Fushimi Roku didn't turn his head as he peeled vegetables in the kitchen.

"Why the sudden housework enthusiasm?" Minamoto Tamako peeked around the kitchen door, "Did something happen? Are you after another stamp?"

"No, I just thought you usually handle the housework pretty tirelessly." Fushimi Roku said casually.

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