Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 496, Asuka's Future

Tonight's dinner is Mediterranean cuisine, meticulously prepared by Asuka Saito.

The appetizer is Spanish ham with melon, a classic Italian appetizer. The salty and savory Iberian ham wraps around the sweet and juicy melon, creating a striking contrast in texture that immediately awakens the taste buds.

Then came lemon-herb olives.

The appetizers were Greek-style yogurt cucumber sauce with pita bread and vegetable sticks, followed by Spanish gazpacho.

The main course was a saffron seafood paella meticulously prepared by Asuka Saito. As Spain's "national dish," it was definitely the star and highlight of the meal.

When the girl brought a large pot of colorful and richly flavored seafood rice to the table, it drew gasps of amazement from the whole family.

"Asuka, your skills are getting better and better!" Minami exclaimed in amazement, thinking that she was almost catching up with her mother.

Minami's mother, Michiko Watanabe, has always been known as the queen of the culinary world in Tokyo's high society.

"It's really amazing." Reina Ikeda gave a fairly fair assessment. The tall beauty was also used to having delicious food waiting for her at home after she got back.

“Asuka is so outstanding, I’m relieved,” Uesugi Muneyuki said with a smile.

"Hehehe, not at all, I'm just happy that Mr. Uesugi likes it." The sweet and adorable girl lowered her head, her slight shyness making her even more charming: "Wait a moment, Mr. Uesugi, there's one more dish!"

"Provençal herb-roasted lamb chops!" The girl brought out the main dish she had prepared all day.

A whole row of roasted lamb ribs, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, was served and cut by Uesugi Muneyuki himself, which was very ceremonial. The lamb ribs were roasted with a blend of Provençal herbs.

Naturally, even for this most expensive dish, Uesugi Muneyuki didn't spend a single penny.

From lamb ribs to seasonings and various other items, everything was a gift from the Metropolitan Police Department and various connections. For example, the gifts sent by Acting Chief Yui Nango were bluefin tuna and New Zealand salmon, the price of which far exceeded his monthly salary.

Okada Masayoshi's father, Okada Masahiro, who was also the Director-General of the Financial Services Agency, sent venison, while Kai Toru's father, Kai Mineaki, who was also the Vice-Minister of Justice, sent wild boar meat from Nagano. They both thanked Uesugi for "taking care" of their children.

So although Uesugi Muneyuki's current annual income is only 940 million yen, it's really hard to say who has a higher quality of life compared to Miyawaki Sakura's 1700 million yen.

Speaking of which, YKC48 has really suffered a lot... Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly thought of Sakura.

Recently, only Sakura, a former national girl idol group, has remained popular on television.

It would have been natural for Uesugi Muneyuki to say something in defense of YKC48. After all, while the issue of pillow talk was undeniable, overall, YKC48 was actually dragged down by the Okada Masayoshi incident and the subsequent document loss incident, and it really had nothing to do with them.

However, Miyawaki Sakura's theft of the documents aroused Uesugi Muneyuki's suspicion.

It seems that this seemingly innocent Sakura isn't so simple after all... The question is, who exactly is she? Why did she steal that document? Was it voluntary or forced?

Uesugi Muneyuki did not act rashly at this time. He chose to remain silent, but simply informed YKC48 that Yamaguchi Maho was innocent and that they should stop bullying this poor person.

Maho Yamaguchi, surprisingly, made the same choice as Sakura Miyawaki, insisting on staying in the idol group, which earned her a lot of sympathy.

"Speaking of which, Asuka, you'll be graduating high school next year, right?" Miss Minami said with a smile. "Do you have any plans for the future? For example, which university do you want to go to? What kind of job do you want to do after that?"

"..." Upon hearing Minami say that, the girl's face visibly fell, and she muttered a few words under her breath.

"What?" Minami didn't hear clearly.

"I...I don't want to leave Mr. Uesugi's side." Asuka had to raise her voice a little, "I want to take care of Mr. Uesugi, and that's...that's what my sister wants too!"

"I didn't ask you not to take care of Zongxue, why are you so agitated?" Minami was amused by Asuka's attitude and casually said, "I'm asking you, what are your plans for further education? What are your plans for the future? Asuka, you don't really just want to be a housewife, do you?"

“Yes, what’s wrong with that?” Asuka asked, mustering her courage. Her cute little face turned to Uesugi Muneyuki, longing for his approval: “Mr. Uesugi, what… do you think?”

Uesugi Muneyuki frowned and said in a low voice, "You still have to study, Asuka. I told you, when you turn 18, I will give you a choice. Whether you want to stay or start a new life, it's up to you. But... maybe I'm being stubborn, but you still have to go to university."

As a Chinese person in his previous life, Uesugi Muneyuki still held onto the deep-seated ideology even though he understood it himself. Even though he knew that going to university might not be very useful and that the knowledge he gained might not be applicable, he still stubbornly believed that he should go to university no matter what.

There's no way around it; the traditional Chinese mindset is that everything else is inferior except for studying. His father in his previous life was considered quite enlightened and was one of the first to participate in foreign trade. He never believed in gods or Buddhas or practiced divination. However, when he traveled to Qufu, Shandong, he instinctively knelt down and prayed to the sage that his son would get good grades in the college entrance examination. He lit 888 incense sticks just to put his mind at ease.

Things that are deeply rooted in the core of a nation's culture are very difficult to change.

He is not short of money now. Of the 3800 million yen in compensation from Weekly Bunshun, he plans to take 3000 million yen as an education fund for Asuka, which will cover her tuition and living expenses when she goes to university.

"I..." Asuka's face showed bitterness.

"You guys probably haven't figured out the problem, have you?" Just then, Reina Ikeda spoke up. The tall beauty looked at Asuka's troubled expression and suddenly said, "Although I don't understand the deviation values ​​of various universities, judging from her expression, her grades probably aren't very good, right?"

Sure enough, as soon as Erena spoke, Asuka's face fell. She glared at Erena angrily and finally nodded bitterly.

Her grades at school aren't good, so it seems she won't be able to get into a good university.

When Erena saw Asuka's expression, she couldn't help but chuckle.

Uesugi and Minami were both high-achieving students, and they couldn't understand the embarrassment of being a poor student, but she did! When her path in judo and karate was cut off and she could only take the college entrance exam normally, her relatives asked her whether she planned to go to Kitakyushu University or Fukuoka University, and she could only show the same expression.

That expression... she knew it all too well!
"I see." Minami thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "In that case, Asuka, have you considered the Police Academy?"

"Huh? Police Academy? Me???" Asuka was shocked. Me, a police officer? Minami-neechan, are you serious?

“Yes, if it were me, arranging for you to be specially recruited into the Police Academy wouldn’t be a problem at all! And if you go to the Police Academy, you don’t need to consider anything else, just study the General Affairs Preparatory Department and take the administrative route! Perfect timing, I’m getting married to Muneyuki at the end of this year, so I’m no longer suitable to be the face of the Metropolitan Police Department, and I’m already considered a mid-level manager now…” Minami thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up: “When you enter the headquarters in your fourth year, you’ll become the next face of the Metropolitan Police Department! Our Asuka is so cute, she’s perfect for the Public Relations Department to be the face of the department and take promotional photos!”

"Besides, being an office clerk makes it easier for you to leave work early and take care of household chores! You're not a detective."

"Oh, really? Can I really do it?" Saito Asuka was attracted by Watanabe Minami's promise.

"Of course!" Watanabe Minami was secretly delighted to see that the girl was interested.

In this way, our position will be unshakeable! Kora!

Uesugi is surrounded by my people, how can Shirakawa Mai fight me?
Hey! Zong Xue, come to my bowl right now!

"You don't need to answer right away, Asuka. You have plenty of time to think it over." Uesugi Muneyuki didn't object and nodded with a smile.

And so, the family of four enjoyed a sumptuous meal. After they had eaten, Uesugi Muneyuki couldn’t wait to let Erina and Minami try on the police uniforms she had brought home.

As Minami said, Uesugi Muneyuki himself is indeed a strong uniform fetishist, and the place he lives in is indeed a uniform fetishist paradise in a certain sense—Mai-senpai's shrine maiden outfit, Erina Minami's police uniform, Mikoto's doctor's uniform, Asuka's JK uniform, and even, in a sense, Mrs. Kashiwagi's police uniform...

So, while Asuka was washing dishes and tidying up, a wonderful little drama unfolded in Uesugi's bedroom at the Uesugi residence in Sakata Bridge.

Elaiza Ikeda (Erina Ikeda), a tall and beautiful judo detective from the Metropolitan Police Department, goes undercover to investigate the private residence of a lecherous man in the department. She was initially very confident in her skills, but she didn't expect the lecherous man's cheat codes to be so sharp. The detective tried her best but couldn't defeat him, and finally let out a "Oh ho ho ho ho" sound, declaring her complete defeat.

When she noticed that her subordinate had not been heard from for a long time, Superintendent Hamabe Minami (played by Minami Watanabe), the face of a certain Metropolitan Police Department, decided to infiltrate the police station to investigate the mystery of her female subordinate's disappearance. She soon witnessed a hellish scene. Minami fought with all her might to defeat a lecherous man and rescued Ikeda, but unexpectedly, Ikeda turned around and grabbed her, suffering the most terrible betrayal. Ikeda said, "I'm sorry, Superintendent, I can't go back."

Ultimately, the US police were defeated in a flash and immediately begged for mercy.

The Metropolitan Police Department discovered the disappearance of Superintendent Minami and Investigator Ikeda, but after extensive investigations, they found nothing and were never seen again.

Complete failure
Congratulations! Congratulations!
........................

And so, with Professor Zaizen's passing, June officially began.

After Yui Nango joined, the Special Mission Unit continued to be active. Under the leadership of Muneyuki Uesugi, they solved a series of cases, including the disappearance and murder of the manager of a brothel in Ikebukuro, the arson case in an old apartment building in Adachi Ward, and the case of a suspicious body in Omeyama.

Thanks to the activities of the Special Missions Division, the Metropolitan Police Department's prestige among the public continued to rise, and its approval rating surpassed 80% for the first time since the Showa era.

Uesugi, the chief, is awesome!

Mid-June, 7:50 AM, Chiyoda, an office of a department within the Imperial Palace Household Agency.
The Imperial Household Agency office was, as always, filled with an almost sacred silence in the early morning, save for the low hum of the air conditioner and the soft rustling of papers. A male section chief, dressed in a standard dark suit and wearing an employee badge, was conducting the daily roll call. His voice was steady and rigid; each name was called out, followed by a "Hi!" in response.

"Ishimura."

"Hi, Yi."

"Matsuhara."

"Hi, Yi."

"Harada."

"Hi-ee~"

"Shixiang Temple".

"To!"

...

"Stone Chamber".

The section chief raised his voice slightly and called out again, "Ishimuro Akio?"

Still no response.

The section chief frowned and looked up, scanning the office. The window seat that belonged to Akio Ishimuro was empty, its desk unusually tidy. A subtle unease began to creep into his heart. Akio Ishimuro was not a lazy person; on the contrary, he was known for his meticulousness, even somewhat rigidity, and had never been late or absent without a valid reason.

"Does anyone know why Akio Ishimuro didn't come?" the section chief asked.

The other employees in the office looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Try making a call,” the section chief instructed a young employee beside him.

The young employee picked up the internal phone and dialed Akio Ishimuro's cell phone. A cold, mechanical voice came through the receiver: "The user you dialed is not in service or their phone is switched off..."

He then tried calling the registered residential phone number in the Stone Chamber, but no one answered.

That sense of unease began to spread through the office like ink dripping into water. His unexplained absence and inability to be contacted were highly unusual events in the strictly disciplined Imperial Household Agency.

The section chief's face darkened. He picked up the internal hotline and reported the situation to his superiors. Layer by layer, the news slowly and heavily passed through the lower levels of the Imperial Household Agency's bureaucracy. The initial assessment was that it might be a sudden illness or a family emergency, but an ominous premonition was already quietly growing.

(End of this chapter)