Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 522 Snatching Food from a Deer's Mouth
Kujo Mutsumi scribbled on documents written entirely in English. That's how it is when you're a zaibatsu in Japan; you can be bad at Japanese, but you have to be fluent in both English and Chinese.

He worked for about ten minutes, handed the documents to the butler, closed his pen, let out a long sigh, looked up at the two of them, and smiled, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Yuan Yuzi sat upright with her hands flat on her knees, looking like a model student waiting for praise.

Fushimi Shika's throat was a little dry. He looked around but didn't see any tea, so he silently gave it a bad review.

"Gentlemen, I won't beat around the bush," Kujo Mutsu said earnestly. "I'm very sorry, it wasn't my intention to have you two keep things from each other in the first place."

Minamoto no Tamako could understand; it was all to test her relationship with Fushimi-kun!
She nodded without saying anything, but Fushimi Shika interrupted, looking completely bewildered: "What do you mean? I don't understand at all. What do you mean by telling us to keep secrets from each other?"

After saying that, Fushimi Shika turned around with a shocked look and looked at Minamoto Tamako, saying in a rather exaggerated manner, "Masaka, are you also investigating the Kujo Hikaru murder case?"

"..." Yuan Yuzi didn't understand the situation.

"..." Kujo Mutsu maintained his smile, but there was a hint of embarrassment in his eyes. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, but rather that he felt embarrassed for Fushimi Shika.

After a few seconds of silence in the study, Kujo Mutsu cleared his throat and admitted, "Yes, I requested that Tamako also participate in the investigation and that she keep it a secret from you..."

"That's outrageous!" Fushimi Shika slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "We're a couple! How can we have secrets? Does that mean everything Mr. Kujo said before doesn't count?"

Gen Tamako was taken aback again and couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about? What counts?"

Kujo Mutsu suspected that this guy was doing it on purpose. He had heard his daughter mention that the man in front of him was a scoundrel.

At the time, he didn't take it seriously, thinking that after all, he was his granddaughter's boyfriend, and how shameless could he be in front of his grandfather... Now it seems that he was careless, and this guy's morals were even lower than he imagined.

If Fushimi Shika continued, things might go wrong today, so Kujo Mutsu quickly interrupted, "Of course it stands, I'm not one to go back on my word. Tamako, this matter has nothing to do with you, so let's not discuss it further for now. The important thing to talk about now is how to clean up the mess afterward..."

"Wait, what is it?" Gen Tamako interrupted.

She was very curious and quite competitive, thinking that at least the captain couldn't be weaker than the vice-captain—if the vice-captain got a small reward, then the captain should get one too!
Why didn't my grandfather promise me a reward back then? He even accused me of siding with outsiders...

The more Minamoto no Tamako thought about it, the more suspicious she became, her eyes darting back and forth between Fushimi Shika and Kujo Mutsuko's faces.

Kujo Mutsuya had also heard his daughter mention that his granddaughter was very curious, but he didn't take it seriously at the time, assuming it was just a child's curiosity or the curiosity of investigating a case.

Now it seems he was careless again; this granddaughter is not easy to fool.

Kujo Mutsu coughed lightly. What he said at the time was "a task assigned to the other party alone", "unrelated to love and marriage", and "the reward afterward is negotiable"... but he hadn't really thought about the specifics of how it would be negotiable.

Because he was only planning to make an empty promise.

Kujo Mutsumi said vaguely, "Well, this is a task I gave to Fushimi-kun, mainly to test his abilities. I won't go into the details, but I called you here because..."

"Wait, wasn't this supposed to be a test of our relationship?" Gen Tamako interrupted again, "So, Shika-kun really did get a reward?"

Kujo Mutsumi felt there was no escaping this, so he picked up his teacup, tactfully took a sip of water, and said bluntly, "There is indeed a reward, as I promised. The Kujo family will not mistreat those who have rendered meritorious service. Fushimi-kun, just name your price..."

"Ten billion," Fushimi Shika blurted out.

Kujo Mutsu almost spat out his water. He coughed twice, then turned to Minamoto Tamako, hoping his granddaughter would be reasonable and subtly remind her boyfriend not to make unreasonable demands that would embarrass everyone.

Yuan Yuzi didn't understand her grandfather's look; she simply criticized him based on common sense: "You've gone too far!"

Fushimi Shika leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense. Do you even know what bargaining is? You say a very high price, and then the other party says a very low price. You haggle in between, understand?"

Of course, Minamoto no Tamako knew what bargaining was. She tugged at Fushimi Shika's sleeve and whispered, "We're here to see Grandpa. We need to make a good impression on him. How can we be so mercenary? Talking about money is so vulgar!"

Fushimi Shika countered, "If he agrees to our relationship, he naturally won't fuss over such a small matter; if he doesn't agree, then we should ask for more money as leverage to force him to compromise on our relationship."

Before Minamoto no Tamako could reply, Fushimi Shika pressed his advantage, whispering devilishly in her ear, "I'm fighting for our happiness! On the surface, it's about bargaining, but actually, it's about fighting for the right to speak! Don't you want to be in control of your own love life?"

“I want to…” Minamoto Tamako muttered subconsciously, then realized something was off: “Hmm, that sounds familiar, didn’t Kujo Hikaru say something like that…”

"No, that's not the point."

Fushimi Shika's mouth was practically burrowing into Minamoto Tamako's ear, and she could feel his warm breath as he spoke: "Just think, if we had 10 billion yen, wouldn't we be able to buy a car to take Sakurako to and from school? If we had 10 billion yen, wouldn't we be able to buy a nicer detached house in Tokyo? If we had 10 billion yen, you could eat a different kind of fancy dessert every day..."

As Yuan Yuzi listened, she became genuinely tempted.

Kujo Mutsumi noticed the change in his granddaughter's gaze and quickly interrupted Fushimi Shika's spellcasting, shamelessly saying, "Ten billion is definitely unrealistic, and what you said before was fifty million captured alive and ten million killed..."

“But didn’t you just say ‘just name a number’?” Fushimi Shika interrupted. “Do you want me to take less and give you a friendly price? Or do you want to act like a big shot in front of your granddaughter and make me say the amount we agreed on earlier?”

Kujo Mutsu choked again, regretting that he hadn't pretended. He turned to look at Minamoto no Tamako, who lowered her head guiltily and clasped her hands together.

Seeing this, Kujo Mutsumi felt a chill run down her spine. She knew her granddaughter was unreliable, and now was not the time to save face. She could only resort to her old-fashioned skills: "What I'm saying is that cash is unrealistic. No company in Japan can come up with 10 billion yen in cash. But if Mr. Fushimi wants equivalent bonds or options, I can cash them out in installments..."

"How long will the installment plan last?" Fushimi Shika thought it was acceptable; a quick windfall was clearly not as good as a steady, long-term approach.

"That's uncertain; there will be significant fluctuations. The timeframe could be very long or very short," Kujo Mutsu said, uttering a seemingly pointless statement. Fushimi Shika immediately understood; this old man was trying to renege on his debt.

A reward of 10 billion yen, Kujo Mutsu could drag it out for 100 billion years, paying out 10 million yen a year, or even not paying a single yen, claiming that it would all be paid out next year, and then next year after next year, year after year... As a lawyer, he had seen too many of these petty tricks.

No wonder they are unscrupulous capitalists.

"How much cash can you come up with?" Fushimi Shika had no choice but to settle for second best and start bargaining: "I thought about it and felt a little embarrassed to bother you too much. I'm a rather shy person and I don't like to trouble people, so let's settle for cash."

Kujo Mutsu thought the question was shameless. What did he mean by "how much cash you can come up with"? Did he mean that you should take as much as you could?

He coughed lightly, ignoring the latter part of Fushimi Shika's words, and said, "The economy is bad right now, as you know. The social environment is not good, and companies are laying off employees. To be honest, the Kujo family's accounts don't look good either."

"So?" Fushimi Shika pretended not to understand. "Do you need me to lend you fifty yen?"

"..." Kujo Mutsu took another sip of tea, suppressing his anger, and said, "So I don't have much cash on hand, probably only one or two million."

"Tsk." Fushimi Shika made no attempt to hide his disgust.

“There was originally fifty million, but the document we just signed was for the allocation of funds,” Kujo Mutsu said without batting an eye, “but now it’s gone. It’s a pity, but the Kujo family never goes back on its word. The money will definitely be transferred to Fushimi-kun’s account in a while.”

Fushimi Shika made a huge contribution to the anti-drug operation some time ago, but at the cost of his finances becoming very tight. His original 25 million yen reward was wiped out in no time. During that period, he was buying up drugs on the streets every day and then having Watanabe Shun hand them over, which drove down the price of drugs.

So he still really wants to make some money to spend. If it weren't for that mess, he would be living in a mansion, driving luxury cars, and living the life of a superior person by now.

I finally managed to hook up with a rich woman, I can't let her make me poorer, can I?
Fushimi Shika could tell that Kujo Mutsumi's words were barbed; he was probably very dissatisfied with Fushimi's attitude and wanted to give him a piece of his mind.

He wasn't going to put up with the old man and immediately said, "Alright, then Yuzi and I will go back to the police station and continue working on the case. Don't worry, we will definitely write the case file carefully, handle public relations issues properly, and ensure that this case is handled fairly, justly, and transparently."

After saying that, Fushimi Shika reached out and tugged at Minamoto no Tamako's arm. The latter obediently got up, and before she could react, her little brain was already thinking about what she could buy with 50 million yen.

Kujo Mutsu remained silent until Fushimi Shika reached the door. Then he patted the table and said with a smile, "Don't worry, although there's no money in the company account, I still have some personal savings and can advance the payment."

"Okay, then just transfer it to my account."

Fushimi Shika didn't stop walking and reached out to push open the study door.

"Don't rush, we still have important matters to discuss." Kujo Mutsu had no choice but to stand up, quickly and gently pulling the two back to their seats. "We're all family, at least eat before you leave, okay? Don't let me, the host, fail to provide adequate hospitality."

Fushimi Shika, seizing the opportunity, led Minamoto no Tamako back to sit down and asked, "Is there anything else you need, Mr. Kujo?"

Kujo Mutsu thought the money issue was over. Although fifty million was a lot, he could afford it, and the money wasn't wasted. He could just consider it his granddaughter's dowry, a simple transfer from one hand to the other.

He placed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and said, "It's like this, regarding the handling of Kujou Hikari..."

"Cough cough!" Fushimi Shika coughed twice as if he had phlegm stuck in his throat, then interrupted, "Catching the culprit is not my achievement alone; it was mainly Tamako who deduced the truth."

"Huh? Huh?"

When Minamoto no Tamako heard Fushimi Shika mention her, she was caught off guard and momentarily stunned. She quickly recovered, straightened her chest, and nodded, saying, "That's right, I deduced it!"

Good, good! The vice-captain has become sensible! He knows to give all the credit to the leader! He must be well rewarded when we get back!
However, Fushimi Shika's next words revealed his true intentions: "So, Tamako should also receive a reward of fifty million, right?"

“…Huh?” Gen Tamako turned her head.

"..."

Kujo Mutsu, being a capitalist, was extremely adept at shifting blame. He said indifferently, "Fifty million is the total reward. No matter how many people complete the task, the final reward will be this amount... Since it is the work of two people, you can choose to split it equally."

Yuan Yuzi's eyes sparkled. She clenched her fists. She never expected that a trip back to her hometown would bring her a windfall of 25 million!
This 25 million is different from the 2500 on Cat Island. It came from a clean source and is a reward she deserves. She can spend it however she wants!
Fushimi Shika was unhappy. Half of the fifty million he had in his hands had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Wasn't this like snatching food from a deer's mouth?

He frowned and said, "This isn't right, is it? If the bounty was issued together, it would indeed be divided among us; but this task was assigned to both of us separately, which means that the reward is independent for each of us."

"A hundred million? That might take a while." Kujo Mutsu sighed and complained to Minamoto Tamako, "Grandpa is so old, it's really not easy for him to save up any money for his retirement..."

Upon hearing this, Minamoto no Tamako felt a pang of guilt. Embarrassed to ask for more money, she tugged at Fushimi Shika's sleeve again: "Fifty million yen should be enough, right? Even splitting it evenly isn't a small amount. One shouldn't be too greedy..."

Fushimi Shika was furious at his lack of ambition and was about to whisper something in the devil's ear when Kujo Mutsu coughed twice, sighing and looking like a down-on-his-luck old man, completely unlike the spirited head of the Kujo family.

Yuan Yuzi felt sorry for him; after all, he was her grandfather. Fifty million yen was a lot of money, and it was originally agreed upon that amount. Her grandfather hadn't gone back on his word, so it was really inappropriate for him to keep asking for more money.

"Alright, I'm the captain, what I say goes!" Yuan Yuzi made the final decision, and the reward was finally set at 25 million yen per person.

Since she was the one who solved the case, Fushimi Shika didn't say anything more, but secretly held a grudge.

—"In the autumn of 1991, Minamoto no Tamako owed me 25 million yen."

(End of this chapter)