Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 388, I'll handle the exposé, you handle the investigation.
"Mai-senpai, what brings you here?" Uesugi Muneyuki was pleasantly surprised to see Mai-senpai enter the room. He did have a lot to say to Mai-senpai.

“You’ve already joined the University of Tokyo, and we’re alumni now, so why can’t I come?” Mai Shirakawa smiled, her outstanding beauty bathed in the warm winter sun, shrouded in an ethereal glow that blurred the surrounding scenery. She carried a box of wagashi (Japanese sweets): “Hey, these are wagashi from Echigoya. Congratulations, junior!”

After saying that, while Uesugi Muneyuki reached out to take the wagashi, Mai-senpai turned to Ishihara Mikoto, bowed very respectfully, her smile unchanged, but the temperature dropped sharply, "Ishihara-san is here too, it's really hard work, still working for Muneyuki at this time."

The atmosphere in the office froze subtly.

A hint of seriousness flashed across Mikoto Ishihara's foxy face. She instinctively glanced at Muneyuki Uesugi. Rumors about Muneyuki Uesugi and Mai Shirakawa had been circulating for a long time, even after their engagement. The relationship between the two of them... Moreover, strictly speaking, Mikoto had once served as the school doctor at Tokiwa Middle School in Gunma. Of course, she knew Mai Shirakawa, but she wasn't sure if Mai knew her.

"Oh, Mikoto-nee, this is Mai, my senior. You should know her." Uesugi Muneyuki introduced them. Looking at his goddess-like senior and the forensic beauty, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic for his time at Tokiwa Middle School.

“Mai-san, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Ishihara Mikoto could only reply immediately.

Mai-senpai seemed to be confirming something. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on the former school doctor, Uesugi Muneyuki's first owner, and a hint of jealousy flashed through her mind. Her tone naturally turned unpleasant: "Ishihara-san doesn't look too good, does he? It must be tough for you to handle your own work, assist your junior with such a heavy workload, and deal with all sorts of miscellaneous tasks. After all, not everyone can be as talented and hardworking as your junior. If you get too close, be careful not to get burned by his brilliance!"

After saying that, Mai-senpai exclaimed as if suddenly realizing something: "Oh, I forgot! As the school doctor, Ishihara-san, you've taken such good care of your junior! Not only have you been incredibly attentive to his campus life, but you've also made sure he's always thought of you. You've even taken care of him all the way from Gunma to Tokiwa, all the way to the University of Tokyo! What incredible willpower!"

Tsk! How did she know?
Ishihara Mikoto glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki again, but Uesugi Muneyuki gestured for her not to argue, so she could only say, "Ms. Shirakawa, you flatter me. It is my honor to learn from Uesugi and participate in his work."

"Okay, I'm glad you understand." Shirakawa Mai leaned slightly over Ishihara Mikoto's head, then turned to Uesugi Muneyuki and said, "Junior, can you come with me for a bit?"

"Well... Mikoto-nee, you can familiarize yourself with the environment and the lab first. I'll go with Mai." Uesugi Muneyuki was indeed in a hurry to talk to Shirakawa Mai, so he could only say this to Ishihara Mikoto, and then apologized apologetically.

Uesugi Shirama left, leaving Ishihara Mikoto alone in the office. She slowly sat down, still wondering why Shirakawa Mai would show such inexplicable hostility towards her.

Because of her special relationship with Uesugi Muneyuki? Impossible, if she's going to be jealous, her real fiancée, Minami, is the real enemy, isn't she?
Because of her relationship with Uesugi Muneyuki's assistant? Impossible, it's Ikeda Erena who's inseparable from Uesugi Muneyuki!
Moreover, she is relatively old and never competes or fights, so it's really hard to understand where Shirakawa Mai's inexplicable hostility comes from.

and many more!

After pondering in confusion for a while, Mikoto Ishihara suddenly made a bizarre discovery.

If there's anything special about her, it's that she has a very unique identity—Saito Asuka's mother in the legal sense!
It is said that Uesugi Muneyuki originally intended to arrange for Asuka to be taken care of by Shirakawa Mai, but the latter was too busy to take care of her. However, Shirakawa Mai herself was extremely fond of Saito Asuka and would send her gifts every few weeks, including various clothes, perfumes, skirts, socks, and little leather shoes. Asuka had so many Rena Bell dolls that she couldn't fit them all in.

Could it be that Mai Shirakawa is jealous that she became Asuka Saito's mother?

Is the nation's goddess secretly a super perverted lolicon? Does she just have a thing for Asuka's sweet and tender type?

Mikoto Ishihara realized that she might have discovered the truth.

The forensic expert clenched her fists tightly.

Don't be afraid, Asuka, Mom will protect you!
........................

Meanwhile, Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai strolled through the campus of the University of Tokyo. Naturally, they initially attracted a lot of attention, but as Mai-senpai released her ability, her calm confidence emanating from within created an almost cold aura that blended in with the rigorous academic atmosphere around her.

"I know you have a lot of questions for me." A playful look appeared on Mai's bright face. "I also know you want to know why I deliberately hid things from you, junior. I'll only ask you one question now: Have you learned it?"

“I’ve wasted my time.” Uesugi Muneyuki gave a helpless, bitter smile. “This is the first time I’ve seen the national machinery mobilized so quickly, just to protect one person. It was so fast I didn’t even have time to react.” “Pfft~” Mai-senpai chuckled, extending a jade-like foot clad in matte black silk, her white satin high heels dangling in front of Uesugi Muneyuki. She said rather teasingly, “That’s why I didn’t tell you. If you knew some things beforehand, the investigation wouldn’t be as effective. Also, if you don’t know some things, you won’t have to bear the moral pressure.”

"…………But I still want to know." Uesugi Muneyuki took Mai's hand and the two sat down on a bench on campus. He reached out and put his arm around the goddess's slender and soft waist, holding this goddess, who was admired by at least half of the men in Japan, on his lap.

He could understand why Mai-senpai did that—it was to avoid putting him in a difficult position and also to protect him.

This might be hard for some to understand, so here's a typical example—Guo Jing, the male protagonist of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

Guo Jing is the most perfect character designed by Jin Yong, and the one who best embodies the spirit of "the great hero serves the country and the people." Jin Yong has given him almost all the best qualities.

However, this character was quite difficult to write because he was perfect and positive. So when faced with many problems, Jin Yong had to "hide" this character.

For example, when evaluating the "Five Greats," Guo Jing's perfect character meant that it wouldn't be good for him to accept it readily (it would seem hypocritical), nor would it be good for him to be humble (his strength and reputation far exceeded his own, so if he didn't accept it, who would dare to?). Therefore, Jin Yong simply made him remain silent.

For example, when Mu Nianci and Cheng Yaojia were teased by Ouyang Ke using acupuncture, Guo Jing could either ruin his image by not going out or risk his death by rushing out. Jin Yong could only make him temporarily disappear by making him mute.

This kind of situation occurs frequently in The Condor Heroes and even The Return of the Condor Heroes. In order to maintain Guo Jing's perfect image, many of the bad things done to Yang Guo were arranged or indirectly influenced by Huang Rong, while Guo Jing remained hidden throughout until problems arose, at which point he would step out and play the good guy.

Mai-senpai also planned to do the same. Uesugi Muneyuki is a stubborn person with a strong personality, so it's better for him not to know some things.

She hoped that Uesugi Muneyuki could be the large, leafy tree on the ground, and that she would be the one to protect the tree, support it, and serve as the "root" of the tree.

"You want me to be a puppet, huh?" Uesugi Muneyuki understood Mai-senpai's care and attention towards him, but still complained unhappily, "You are the Cabinet Secretary Humphrey and Private Secretary Bernard, who are responsible for hiding in the shadows and controlling everything, while I am just Jim Hack who was inexplicably pushed into the position of Prime Minister?"

"If you're willing to understand it that way, then it's not entirely unacceptable?" Mai-senpai chuckled and put her arm around Uesugi Muneyuki's neck. "Being my puppet is something many people would kill for. Junior, you should be secretly thrilled... Hmm, wait, there's... Oh! Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho~~~ You actually~ Oh ho ho!!!"

The upperclassman in Uesugi Muneyuki's arms let out a strange battle cry, her eyes rolling back slightly: "Muneyuki! You bastard! You can't touch that! Not even a little bit! I'll short-circuit! I'll short-circuit!!!"

Uesugi Muneyuki then withdrew his finger, grinning mischievously, and said, "The tide has turned! Confess honestly!"

Beneath Shirakawa Ma's dress, her pair of black-stockinged feet were taut and straight, the insteps arched high and the toes instinctively hooked, the heels of her shoes even slipping off. She breathed heavily for a while before whispering, "13."

"Ok?"

“There are 13 similar places in Tokyo.” Mai-senpai leaned against Uesugi Muneyuki’s chest, listening to the man’s strong heartbeat, and said softly, “Dealing with one or two won’t help. In fact, I tried to destroy one of the bases before, but it was no use at all… So this time I tried to get the official forces involved, and as expected, it was still the same.”

"But it doesn't matter. The serious injury to the son of a congressman couldn't completely destroy this industry chain. Next time, I'll do something even more explosive, so explosive that everything has to be brought to the forefront, forcing the authorities to make a statement and forcing the entire police organization to stand up."

"Anyway, we have a clear division of labor: I'll be in charge of leaking information, and you'll be in charge of investigating!"

Let us join hands and utterly crush the darkness behind it!

(End of this chapter)