Chapter 20: The Special One

Chapter 20: The Special One

In fact, most cases without clear evidence or direction, the initial investigation often feels like a stone sinking into the sea, with little chance of breakthrough.

This incident was indeed like that.

Morita Chinatsu was not the type of police officer who had a strong obsessive mindset for high-difficulty cases.

Her interest lay elsewhere.

For example, in miraculous methods of committing crimes, or the shocking state of the scene.

What kind of person would commit this type of crime?

This investigation was also very difficult.

After all, it involved a school teacher with many private connections, but her intuition told her to start from the school first.

On the first day, she had almost eliminated all the teachers.

There was no clear motive, and Yamazaki Jihei had obvious backing. They had no reason to offend him. Moreover, most teachers at this school had good salaries. Destroying their lives for a weak motive was not worth it.

So she could only shift her focus to high school students, who were more impulsive and more likely to display genius.

She investigated few other classes, but after just a few students, she noticed something.

A senior, Ando Shunichi, told her that he had found a number of private inappropriate photos of women on Yamazaki Jihei’s phone, and even messages of threats to extort money.

This proved that Yamazaki Jihei was not a good teacher.

Thus, he could potentially target students.

Combined with rumors from his previous school, it was easy for Morita Chinatsu to obtain some clues she wanted.

For example, at this school, the ratio of female students was not low. As a young, handsome teacher, he did not make an effort to avoid suspicion. On the contrary, he dressed flamboyantly every day.

He also possessed some private contact information of students and appeared friendly with many girls.

To them, perhaps it seemed like the behavior of a considerate teacher.

But Morita Chinatsu naturally found this abnormal.

She also quickly learned that Yamazaki Jihei seemed to pay special attention to Kazama Sakura. He did not treat Yatsuno Gen, who ranked top in grades, favorably.

When she saw Kazama Sakura, she understood why Yamazaki Jihei could not resist.

After all, such a beautiful girl was especially attractive to a teacher who was not very good, and whose self-control was weak.

Had he not acted yet?

She needed to understand this situation.

Some simple techniques still allowed Kazama Sakura to reveal a lot.

For example, on the day Yamazaki Jihei had the accident, he had approached Kazama Sakura and hinted at certain things, using the school’s established scholarships as threats.

Of course, she had no ability to commit the crime herself. Neither her physical strength nor her academic performance suggested she could carry out such a case without leaving a trace.

However, Morita Chinatsu still noticed that she was hiding something.

It took a bit more time, but she managed to get her to speak, mainly because she could not use illegal methods and had to remain at the level of understanding the situation, which was somewhat troublesome.

The situation was that after she left the office, Yatsuno Gen entered and proactively spoke to Yamazaki Jihei about what had happened.

It was clear that Kazama Sakura was somewhat worried, perhaps suspecting this young man, and it was evident that her feelings toward Yatsuno Gen were special, at least unusual.

When Morita Chinatsu obtained Yatsuno Gen’s profile, she instantly had a strange intuition.

He had extremely strong independence, excellent grades, and was an orphan. Such a background was rare, since many people’s lives were largely determined from birth.

Initially, it was just a somewhat special identity to her, but after meeting him, the strange intuition became even more pronounced.

He was very calm, almost not like a high school student. His answers were very structured. Essentially, he answered whatever was asked, said no more, and did not provoke unnecessary trouble over trivial matters.

This piqued Morita Chinatsu’s strong interest.

So she blurted the question out directly, without preamble, even to a degree that could be misinterpreted.

She could not do anything excessive, whether due to school warnings or procedural pressure.

Yatsuno Gen was silent for a moment.

Then he asked with curiosity.

“Special... is it because I am an orphan?”

“Sorry, if this offends you, just forget I said it.”

Morita Chinatsu returned to a smile.

Yatsuno Gen shook his head.

“It’s all right. If you want to ask anything, I will answer what I know. And I never thought of hiding my orphan identity.”

“You really are a strong person. But you are so smart, have you ever thought about the possibility that Teacher Yamazaki’s accident was not an accident but deliberate murder?”

Yatsuno Gen answered, “I am not good at that, and I also do not know the specifics. Saying someone is suspicious could cause trouble for others, right? That would be irresponsible.”

Morita Chinatsu withdrew her hands, casually leaned back in her chair, and shifted her gaze to the sunlight peeking through the gap.

“Yatsuno, with such excellent grades, do you normally read books related to detective stories? Like Agatha Christie or Higashino Keigo?”

“I’ve read some, but I wouldn’t say I’m especially familiar. I read a wide variety of things.”

“I see. Have you read White Night?”

“I have some impression of it.”

“Mm. For the happiness of a girl, the male protagonist is willing to give everything, eliminate all obstacles around her, and all who persecute her. He becomes a shadow in the darkness, a black knight living in his own world. Do you think this is romantic?”

Morita Chinatsu asked carefully. Although intuition was sometimes very amazing, she could not rely on it entirely. Moreover, there was no need to lose her job because of a scumbag.

Yatsuno Gen shook his head.

“No matter whom you help, there should be boundaries. I do not agree with that kind of help. Perhaps such people just satisfy their own vanity or sense of accomplishment. It seems like the happiness of the other person is tied to their own sense of participation. I do not think that counts as pure affection.”

“Very well said. Then, do you like Classmate Kazama?”

When Morita Chinatsu asked this, Yatsuno Gen appeared slightly surprised. He even showed a bit of a shy smile.

But his answer was more direct than she expected.

“A girl like Classmate Kazama, it would be hard not to like her.”

“If someone tried to do something dangerous to her, even threaten her, would you help her?”

Morita Chinatsu narrowed her eyes.

Yatsuno Gen smiled.

“I would probably find Officer Morita and report it immediately. After all, I’m just a high school student and cannot do much.”

Morita Chinatsu was slightly surprised and clicked her tongue softly.

“Then let’s exchange contact information.”

“Can we?”

“Of course. With your appearance, Yatsuno, many women probably ask for your contact information already, right?”

“Indeed, some do. But there are almost none as beautiful as you, Officer Morita.”

Morita Chinatsu could not help but laugh. Her previously cold face became lively and vivid, even slightly charming.

It seemed commanding on the outside, but coquettish within.

“Yatsuno, you really know how to speak. But now that you have just met me, isn’t it a bit late?”

“Late? How is it late?”

The young man asked, confused.

Morita Chinatsu shook her head, then took out her phone and exchanged contact information with Yatsuno Gen.

After exchanging, she pushed back her chair and stood up. Her shoulders, as straight and sharp as right angles, bathed in golden sunlight.

Her smile now showed no trace of aggression. She said.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Yatsuno. It seems this incident is just a case of evil receiving its due. I hope it didn’t cause you any trouble.”

Yatsuno Gen’s expression was slightly puzzled.

“Evil receiving its due... there was no trouble. I’m honored to cooperate with your work.”

“If you need anything, you can call me. All right, you may leave.”

“Okay, goodbye, Officer Morita.”

Watching Yatsuno Gen leave the office, Morita Chinatsu gazed at his departing figure with a playful glint in her eyes.

“Truly a special person. If he really did it, that would be fascinating.”

Back in the classroom, Yatsuno Gen immediately saw Kazama Sakura looking toward him with a worried expression.

He smiled to reassure her and returned to his seat.

Miura Akihiko immediately leaned over.

“I heard that police officer was a woman? And really beautiful? Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true. Very elegant, and I even got her contact information.”

Miura Akihiko looked at Yatsuno Gen with disdain.

“You’re just bragging. A police officer would give her contact info to you? Even I have to admit you are somewhat good-looking, but don’t think you can act recklessly just because of your handsome face, second only to mine.”

“Hahaha, what a long and tedious sentence.”

“Sigh, I wonder who will be our homeroom teacher next. Please, a mature, beautiful, busty woman. Please!”

Yatsuno Gen ignored Miura Akihiko’s usual unrealistic fantasies.

Does he think life is like a youth anime? A beautiful stranger drops from the sky at every turn.

Reality is, there are no beautiful tsundere childhood friends, nor princesses who will save your miserable life no matter what.

There are only endless troubles and unexpected departures.

After school.

Beside him, a girl’s ponytail bounced lightly.

“I heard the school will assign a new teacher as our homeroom tomorrow. Not sure if they are transferring from another grade or newly hired.”

“Do you care about that?”

Yatsuno Gen asked.

Kazama Sakura blinked.

“Not really, just curious.”

In fact, she did not tell him that she was worried whether the scholarship list would change because of the new homeroom teacher.

She did not want to add the burden of her own life to him. She was just a high school student; how could she think of carrying someone else’s life? Even in anime or novels, that would be heavy.

“If you’re curious, you should try to improve your grades.”

“Didn’t you say you’d tutor me?”

“Did I say that?”

“I thought you did in your heart.”

Kazama Sakura smiled at Yatsuno Gen. Her pure face was clear and sweet.

Yatsuno Gen seemed helpless and shrugged.

“You’re really relying on me.”

“How can you say that? And having a beautiful girl like me rely on you, doesn’t that make you happy, Yatsuno? Brush brush~”

The girl boldly rubbed her shoulder against the boy’s arm.

Yatsuno Gen did not dodge.

He sighed.

“Then there’s nothing I can do. Looks like we’re performing a student-teacher play. Should I bring a pointer?”

“What a weird thing to say. You’re perverted!”

Kazama Sakura immediately dodged.

Her cheeks flushed, rosy and plump, looking like an apple you wanted to bite.

Suddenly, Yatsuno Gen stood at the intersection, under the red traffic light. The wind lifted his hair.

He revealed a face that would amaze anyone at any time.

He pointed toward the girl not far away, as if shouting with all his strength.

“Kazama Sakura! No matter what, I will do everything I can to make you the number one in the country! Believe me, and believe in yourself, you idiot!”

Not far away, Kazama Sakura’s eyes widened. She had already noticed the astonished gazes of the passersby.

Even terror.

She could not help covering her face and letting out a distressed cry.

“What are you suddenly fired up for? So over-the-top, idiot!!”

She wished the whole world would not recognize her. She really wanted to disappear from this school.

Not far away.

In a slowly passing car at the intersection, Morita Chinatsu, wearing sunglasses, could not help but laugh.

“Such youth, these boys.”