Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 502, The Assassin in the Shadows!
Akio Ishimuro looks quite old. Although he is 49 years old, his hair is still black, and people would believe he is 59. Even a well-maintained 69-year-old would look younger than him.

After being awakened, the person appeared honest and somewhat timid.

According to Akio Ishimuro, he graduated from the University of Tsukuba and entered the Imperial Household Agency through the local civil service examination. He was assigned to the Imperial Archives Department to handle clerical work. He had a failed marriage, and because his wife was a housewife, he still has to pay a considerable amount of alimony.

There is a son, and the relationship between the son and the father is not good. The relationship between the father and son is maintained entirely by the alimony from the stone house. It seems that after the divorce, the mother kept nagging him, and the son was full of hatred for his father. He would only come to him when he needed money.

Of course, Akio Ishimuro himself is not entirely innocent. He is rather weak-willed and mediocre in ability. He is a typical test-taker who excels at exams and got into Tsukuba University and the Imperial Household Agency, but he is not good at specific tasks. The Imperial Household Agency, an extremely elitist place, looks down on people from telecommunications high schools. If Ishimuro himself were capable, it would be fine, but he is not. Therefore, he has always lived in a non-violent workplace bullying and all kinds of sarcastic remarks.

When they eat together, some people will jokingly praise him, saying things like, "You actually got into Tsukuba University from a telecommunications high school!" When it comes to work, his colleagues will refuse to let him take on tasks, saying, "You're not good at this," and dump some tedious, repetitive, and unskilled chores on him. They like to interrogate him about "what was it like going to a telecommunications high school?" And because his abilities are average, he is often lectured, "People with a telecommunications background probably struggle with these kinds of details, right?"

That's the environment in Japan. Once you're labeled, it's not impossible to remove the label, but it takes a thousand times the effort and is extremely difficult to succeed.

When you've had enough of the frustrations at work, you naturally want to vent at home. Honest men never beat or scold their wives and children, but they resort to emotional abuse and constantly emphasize how hard they work. Meanwhile, his wife constantly berates him for not using his "Imperial Household Agency status" to make money so their children could attend Gakushuin and their family could live a wealthy life. Ultimately, their relationship breaks down, and they divorce.

"That's strange. Since you're divorced, why is your household registration information listed as unmarried?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked.

"...Because the Imperial Household Agency's records only have two options: 'married' and 'unmarried.'" Akio Ishimuro said rather awkwardly, "So, if I'm not married, then I'm unmarried."

"Very good." Uesugi Muneyuki gestured for Ishimuro to continue.

However, it seemed that he had finally found someone to confide in. Ishimuro Akio had no desire for revenge or to prove his innocence. His only wish was to share his story with Uesugi Muneyuki!
Finally, someone's willing to listen to my rambling!
Uesugi-san, you must understand me, right? Right?!
Uesugi Soyuki: "…………"

Go ahead and talk. At least telling him will make him feel better, and once he's done, I can start asking him questions.

After the divorce, Ishimuro's life consisted solely of work. He no longer had a family, but he still had a weakness. To pay for his wife's alimony and maintain his relationship with his children, Ishimuro worked exceptionally hard. However, the Imperial Household Agency and the Imperial Palace often took advantage of this honest and hardworking man, frequently asking him to work overtime or on his days off. Ishimuro dared not resist. He even hypnotized himself by saying that his colleagues and superiors were also looking out for him, that he was rather mediocre, and that it was only right for him to do more work. He felt grateful for everyone's care.

Every day, the moment he opens his eyes, it's all about work—his wife's alimony and his children's tuition. He suffers from phone PTSD because every time the phone rings, it's either his children asking for money or him being assigned work, which makes him very weak.

This is a desperate middle-aged man, a typical test-taker, who never truly lives for himself.

Regardless, he has a son, and giving his son the money he earns to hear him call him "Dad" is one of the few comforts this middle-aged man has.

After saying all this, Ishimuro Akio burst into tears. Dead souls don't cry, but they can howl.

"You've worked hard." Uesugi Muneyuki patted Ishimuro on the shoulder with the image of Aizen Myōō. He was a typical corporate slave, and many Japanese men of this age in the previous era were like this. They had very low material desires and very strong endurance, and were bound by strong moral values, prioritizing family and duty. Terms like "nin-do" and "kindness" were popular at the time.

This is probably what is known as the "demographic dividend".

The next generation won't have this concept.

Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help but sigh. Many men really do spend their whole lives as tools, never having a day that belongs to them, and they don't know how to ask for what they deserve. Since they are willing to suffer, then they will suffer endlessly.

Akio Ishimuro was considered lucky; he finished his studies at the University of Tsukuba before the scholarship reform in Japan, when scholarships were not "student loans" and did not need to be repaid.

"So, what exactly happened last night?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked.

【I understand... Long live! ...I don't know.】Ishimuro Akio said with a wry smile: 【Actually, I don't even understand it myself!】

"Could you elaborate?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned.

"I'll tell you everything I know. It all started last night..." The miserable middle-aged man began to recount his experience in a low voice.

Naturally, it was him, the honest man, who was on duty again last night. Since he has no family now and is all alone, but has a weakness—he's afraid of losing his job—it's become a routine for him to be on duty in their classroom.

Similarly, the Imperial Palace also bullied him. Imperial Palace attendants asked him to inspect the Inner Palace Secretariat outside of working hours, as someone reportedly saw an unusual dark figure in the Inner Palace Secretariat.

"I hadn't had dinner yet, and I was starving and dizzy, but I couldn't refuse the Imperial Palace's demands. This was my only job! It was all I had!" Akio Ishimuro said, feeling wronged. "I had no choice but to go."

"You were murdered on the way?" Uesugi Muneyuki nodded.

"I...I don't know!" Akio Ishimuro said with a wry smile. "I should have told you that I love this job, and that I'm always on duty, right?"

"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Uesugi Muneyuki thought he was trying to take credit.

Indeed, for this middle-aged man, the greatest meaning of life is hearing "Thank you for your hard work" from his colleagues and superiors after he finishes his work, and hearing "I received the money, Dad" from his son after he gives him the money.

"No, what I mean is, because I'm always assigned to duty and night patrols, I know the area around the Imperial Palace intimately! Every blade of grass, every lamp, and every rooftop—I know it all!" Ishimuro said to Uesugi Muneyuki with a hint of pride. "That's why I noticed something amiss!" "There's a shadow in one spot that's not right! Others might not know, but how could I not?"

Based on the time and the angle of the nearby streetlights, there's absolutely no way there could be a single shadow in that spot!

So I switched my flashlight to high beam mode.

[And guess what, Uesugi-san?]

[Being illuminated by the strong beam of the flashlight, a person actually emerged from the shadows!]

people???
Uesugi Muneyuki's pupils suddenly contracted.

people!!!
Can a person emerge from the shadows?

Could it be the other world?!

An entity from the underworld has infiltrated the Imperial Palace?
The rest of the story is quite simple.

As a middle-aged man suffering from PTSD and physical decline, Ishimuro was already weak. He was called away without having eaten dinner and was so hungry that he was dizzy. He was easily subdued by this person and then thrown into the water, where he drowned.

What does the other person look like?

[I don't know, I didn't see clearly. He was quite strong, much stronger than me, and seemed to know some martial arts. He subdued me in an instant, locked me up, and threw me into the water.]

Aside from that, the stone chamber had nothing else of value to say.

Uesugi Muneyuki has already obtained some of the most crucial clues.

First of all, this person who broke into the Imperial Palace is definitely from the underworld!
Then, he himself is afraid of strong light. Ordinary light can't do anything to him, but when he encounters the special strong light of the palace patrol flashlights, he has no choice but to show himself.

Finally, this person was physically strong and had some fighting ability, easily subduing the weak Shi Shi. However, he clearly did not have the superpower to kill in secret; he simply threw him into the water to drown, pretending it was an accidental fall into the water and death.

However, the stone chamber was too weak, there was no fierce resistance, no external injuries, and the body was swollen from being soaked in water for a period of time. In addition, the palace police were not very good at autopsies (due to the long period of peace), so they could not tell anything at all.

But now, I'm here!
Uesugi Muneyuki nodded and activated his second ability.

Death flashback!

........................

Just as Uesugi Muneyuki and Ishihara Mikoto were performing the autopsy, in the Imperial Household Agency, a secret facility...

Upon hearing Uesugi Muneyuki's words, Maeda Toshiyuki, the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Household Agency, thought it over and over again and concluded that since it was Uesugi Muneyuki's judgment, there was no need for any further doubt.

problem occurs!
Something terrible has happened!!!

He immediately reported the murder of a Palace Household Agency employee inside the Imperial Palace to the Cabinet through the most confidential channels!

When Prime Minister Owada and Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda learned of this news, the two rulers of Nagata Town could not hide their shock and disbelief!
"What?! The Imperial Palace has been invaded?! Murder?!" Prime Minister Ōwada was so shocked that he dropped his pen. "Is His Majesty and his family alright?!"

"There's nothing to worry about for now." Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda, his forehead beaded with sweat, said in a low voice, "But the culprit might still be in the Imperial Palace! So, to prevent him from taking advantage of His Majesty... should we maintain the status quo for now?"

"Who? Who judged it to be a murder!" Prime Minister Ōwada finally breathed a sigh of relief. If the murderer had succeeded, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

“It’s Chief Medical Examiner Uesugi Muneyuki of the First Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda said.

"Was it Uesugi who made that judgment? Well, there's nothing we can do about it then." Upon hearing Uesugi Muneyuki's name, Prime Minister Ōwada hesitated for two seconds, then shook his head, followed by even greater anger: "What are the Imperial Household Agency and the Imperial Palace Police doing? Why did they let this happen?!"

"Immediately cancel all official business and convene a top-level emergency meeting, now!!!"

"Yes!" Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda responded immediately.

Cabinet Crisis Management Center activated!
(End of this chapter)