Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 549 Rumor Monger

To find out who spread the rumors, we need to ask a reporter.

The first reporter that came to Minamoto no Tamako's mind was Yazaki Momo. They hadn't seen each other for a while, and it seemed a bit presumptuous to suddenly ask her out.

Holding her phone, she hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she should make the call, until Fushimi Shika said from the side, "Just think of it as investigating a case and questioning a suspect, then there's nothing to hesitate about, right?"

Upon hearing this, Minamoto no Tamako suddenly understood and immediately made a phone call to Yazaki Momo, asking her to provide the contact information of the person spreading the rumors.

"This one……"

Yazaki Momo sounded somewhat embarrassed on the phone: "It's like this, Ms. Tamako, perhaps you're not in the industry and don't quite understand the unspoken rules of newspapers and media..."

Yuan Yuzi's ahoge (antenna-shaped hair sticking up) stood up abruptly: "Are you trying to protect the rumor-mongers?"

“No, no, no, no,” Yazaki Momo knew who her mother was and quickly explained, “That’s not how it is. What I mean is that most newspapers probably don’t know who the rumor-monger is either.”

Next, Momo Yazaki explained the unspoken rules of Japanese news media, which are essentially similar to the one-click forwarding of later generations.

Basically, when a newspaper publishes a news article that sparks heated discussions in society, other newspapers will immediately follow suit and imitate it, finding similar reports or simply plagiarizing and republishing them, all in an effort to boost sales.

"So basically all the media outlets reporting on your unmarried status... uh, reporting on related rumors, are plagiarizing or imitating other people's press releases."

At this point, Momo Yazaki said with a hint of helplessness, "Everyone copies each other; it's become a habit."

Gen Tamako exclaimed "Ah!" She understood what Yazaki Momo meant: "So, as long as we find the first newspaper that spread the rumor, we can find the rumor-monger?"

“Yes,” Momoya said, “but it’s difficult because news is time-sensitive, so there’s a lot of copycat reporting, and there might be several companies releasing similar news on the same day.”

Yuan Yuzi is not afraid of difficulties. She is determined to refute the rumors and catch the villain behind the rumors!
If she doesn't refute the rumors, how will she live a normal life? What will her colleagues think? What will strangers she's only met once think of her? And her mother and grandfather—they'll be extremely worried when they find out!
Not to mention anything else, just this morning, when Yuan Yuzi went downstairs to buy a bento, the convenience store clerk rolled his eyes at her.

She left with her lunchbox, and could hear whispers behind her, saying things like, "That's the girl," and "She looks so cute, how can she have no shame?"

Minamoto no Tamako was holding a grudge. She took Fushimi Shika and the unemployed Moriki Masaaki and swept through all the newspapers and magazines, buying up all the newspapers published recently.

The three carried the cardboard box home and, after comparing the dates in the newspapers, spent a day and a night finally confirming that the rumor had first been published on November 7th.

"It's already November. Time flies," Fushimi Shika remarked.

"Pay attention!"

Yuan Yuzi spent another morning identifying the four companies featured in the day's reports.

“Daily Morning Reading, Tokyo Current Affairs, Asahi Shimbun, Housewife Report… Why is there a Housewife Report?” Minamoto Tamako frowned as she held a newspaper.

"Older women like to read this kind of news, like stories about cheating, rich kids, keeping mistresses, blah blah blah..." Senmu Yalan shrugged.

Minamoto no Tamako and Fushimi Shika both turned to look at her. Moriki Masahiro was taken aback for a moment, then said in despair, "Fine, I like watching it too."

But then she remembered her unemployment and felt that saying it made her life seem tragic, like a female loser, so she quickly added, "I only glance at it a few times when I go to the toilet, just to pass the time!" Yuan Yuzi didn't take it to heart. She discussed it with Fushimi Shika and Yalan for a while. Since the case hadn't been officially filed yet, if they investigated rashly, it would cause the media to continue spreading rumors. So they decided to investigate secretly—in other words, they would invite the reporters for drinks and try to get information out of them.

If a reporter lets something slip, Yuan Yuzi will jump out and detain them.

The best person to carry out this plan is Fushimi Shika. He is good at deceiving people and getting them to tell the truth. Most importantly, he has recently been enjoying a drink, so he is the perfect candidate for this task.

Before setting off, Gen Tamako was full of ambition. She glanced at the newspapers on the table and the floor, and the top page was full of false reports about her.

"Once I find the people spreading the rumors and the court delivers its verdict, all these newspapers will have to issue an apology!"

Gen Tamako paused for a moment, a little selfishly thinking to herself: "Heh heh, this way everyone will know that there is a detective named Gen Tamako who has been pursuing justice and the truth!"

Fushimi Shika glanced at her sideways, not shattering her dream of becoming a police inspector.

In a way, black and red are still red!
For example, everyone knows that Kogoro the Detective is a fraud, but that doesn't stop him from becoming a famous detective in the manga.

Minamoto no Tamako and Fushimi no Shika set off to capture the person, while Moriki Masaaki stayed at home to help take care of Hirai Sakurako.

Their first target was Housewives Report. This newspaper seemed utterly unprofessional; its very name screamed "rumor-monger."

Fushimi Shika used his shell financial company to approach a newspaper under the guise of a large-scale publicity campaign, and received the treatment of a client.

His money-grabbing scheme was in the newspapers a while ago, but the response was lukewarm; people weren't interested in a non-performing asset acquisition... But the journalists who covered it knew exactly how much money his company had made.

In order to secure this major client, the newspaper used public funds to invite Fushimi Shika to an izakaya (Japanese pub) for drinks and sent a specialist to listen to Fushimi Shika's requests.

Fushimi Shika rambled on for a while, promising ten million yen in publicity expenses. Finally, just before signing the contract, he casually mentioned, "By the way, have you heard? About that Sakai Mutsumi case from a while back..."

The newspaper reporter echoed his topic and continued the conversation, naturally leading to a discussion about the report on Minamoto no Tamako.

The newspaper's representative wanted to demonstrate professionalism to the client: "Oh! That report? We sent our most professional reporter..."

“I absolutely hate that report,” Fushimi Shika said, shaking his head and sighing as he held his wine glass. “Why do newspapers always focus on the private lives of the wealthy? Is there anything wrong with having money to support women? You wouldn’t be sending professional reporters to spy on the private lives of the rich, would you?”

The newspaper's reporter immediately changed his tune: "No, no, to be honest, we were imitating another report..."

Fushimi Shika immediately got up to take his leave, leaving the newspaper reporter completely bewildered.

He repeated the same question over and over: 'You haven't sent professional journalists to spy on the private lives of the wealthy, have you?'

Both Tokyo Jiji and Asahi Shimbun gave negative answers: "We were actually imitating another report..."

When he asked *Daily Morning Reading*, they gave a different explanation: "Of course not, we received a tip-off letter..."

(End of this chapter)