Tokyoites don't have martial virtue

Realizing he had hurt the other person's pride, Kyushu Makoto temporarily shut up and did not continue speaking.

"I'm a bit full, how about we go for a drive?" Eliza didn't intend to continue the topic and casually suggested.

“No problem.” Kyushu Makoto agreed.

Tokyo was relatively empty late at night. The sports car sped along the elevated highway at a steady speed and eventually stopped at a pier in Odaiba, which is close to Tokyo Bay.

The two got out of the car and went to the beach. The night sea breeze caressed their faces, and occasionally the sound of a cruise ship's horn mingled with the sound of the waves.

Kyushu Makoto casually picked up a flat stone, spun it around, and threw it onto the water's surface.

"Clap~Clap~Clap~"

The stone splashed three times before finally sinking with a "plop".

Eliza raised an eyebrow, picked up a stone, and threw it into the water, just like Eliza did.

Sure enough, the stone sank into the water with a "plop," as if mocking her.

"Tch!" Eliza pouted and glared at the rippling water, as if blaming the stone.

“Let me teach you.” Kyushu Makoto picked up another flat stone and gave it to her.

"No need, this kind of game is for little kids." Eliza turned her head away with a hint of arrogance, pretending to be uninterested.

Kyushu Makoto had no choice but to throw the stone into the water, which splashed up three more water droplets, leaving her stunned.

The two stood on the pier for a moment, letting the sea breeze wash over their faces and minds.

Perhaps finding the atmosphere too boring, Makoto Kyushu started a conversation:

“Miss Kiyomiya, I’m curious why your name is Elizabeth? It doesn’t sound like the name of Wano Country.”

Although the two are of similar age and are colleagues who team up to do commissions, Makoto Kyushu knows very little about her.

Her background, her obsession with Onmyoji points, her family feuds, and her dream of becoming a manga artist are all intriguing and thought-provoking.

To be honest, their backgrounds are completely different. If we disregard their relationship as "colleagues in the Onmyoji Bureau," they would have no interaction whatsoever.

However, since they are now colleagues, it would be better for them to get to know each other better, as this would be beneficial for future cooperation.

"You find my name strange too?" Eliza, half-squatting by the sea, looked up and thought for a moment before saying:

“That’s right. My mother was a professional witcher from France, belonging to an organization called the ‘Hell Watchers.’ Elizabeth was her name.”

"She met my father eighteen years ago when she came to Wano Country on a mission, and together they defeated a Rank A Berserker. My father's first wife died in childbirth a few years ago, so the two of them felt a deep connection and, like dry wood meeting a raging fire, I was born~"

"I see." Kyushu Makoto was somewhat surprised. "Then what kind of person was your mother? Did she usually side with the Kiyomi family or with you?"

“Oh, she’s dead too,” Eliza said.

"Actually, she was cursed by that Class A Berserker when she destroyed it, and she wouldn't live much longer. That's why she was so eager to leave offspring, so she found her father."

"..." Kyushu Makoto was speechless for a moment, feeling guilty for bringing up the topic.

“It’s alright, it all happened a long time ago anyway, I don’t even remember what my mother looked like.” Eliza waved her hand, signaling him not to look so somber.

"You can only blame it on your father's fate of bringing misfortune to his wives. It's said that he never dared to marry a third wife and only dared to keep a mistress. It's quite funny."

Throughout, Eliza spoke in a relaxed tone, as if she were telling someone else's story in the third person.

"Since you've asked me so many questions, now it's my turn to ask you," Eliza asked.

“I’ve always been curious, where did you learn martial arts? The background check said you were just an ordinary high school student with no training background.”

“I once met a martial arts master from the Yellow Emperor who was traveling in Wano Country, and he gave me some pointers.” To this question, Kyushu Makoto was about to give a casual answer: “Later, I trained at home and that’s how I became like this.”

"Liar." Eliza chuckled dismissively. "That might have fooled me ten years ago."

"..." Kyushu Makoto frowned and insisted, "I'm telling the truth. Maybe I'm just more talented."

Kyushu Makoto felt that he couldn't reveal his time travel to her yet, otherwise it might cause unnecessary trouble.

"Fine, it's okay if you don't want to say. We're just teammates anyway. I'm the experienced one leading you, and you help me get points faster. It's a simple cooperative relationship." Eliza didn't seem to care much.

"Relationships between people are inherently full of lies. The reason you don't tell me the truth is simply because our relationship isn't good enough for you to share this secret, and our relationship doesn't need to be so good that we can talk about anything."

Eliza breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and walked towards the sports car.

"It's a bit cold, I have to go back now. I'll contact you again after my final exams."

"Oh, good luck on your exam." Kyushu Seiya waved goodbye, and the two parted ways in the night by the sea.

135. Final Exam Week and Review Meeting

The next day, Makoto Kyushu returned to the hospital and spoke with the four victims of the "Scissors Woman," while also conveying apologies on behalf of Suigin Yuuki.

"The police have caught the murderer, a killer who disguised himself as a female ghost, and is said to have a history of severe mental illness." Kyushu Makoto told them this:

"After being educated by the police, the murderer expressed remorse for his actions and wanted to apologize to you."

Upon hearing this, the three male victims breathed a sigh of relief and expressed their gratitude to Makoto Kyushu.

The fourth boy with the bowl cut, however, excitedly grasped Kyushu Makoto's hand and asked:

"The murderer wasn't actually caught by the police; it was all thanks to you and that pretty girl working together, right?"

Kyushu Makoto was taken aback for a moment, then quickly retorted, "How could that be? The criminal was caught by the police!"

Even the Yin-Yang Bureau (a secret society) values ​​personal relationships. Since they blame the Metropolitan Police Department when something goes wrong, they should also give credit to the Metropolitan Police Department when they solve the case.

This was done partly to make the Metropolitan Police Department a little happier so they would continue to willingly take the blame; and partly because the Yin-Yang Bureau was a secret organization and it was inconvenient for them to appear in public.

If the Yin-Yang Bureau insists on taking credit for the crime, does it expect the media to claim that the criminal was arrested by "several unnamed enthusiastic volunteers belonging to an unnamed volunteer organization"?

But the boy with the bowl cut clearly didn't believe this explanation. He took out his phone, opened the Tongda High School's school forum, and showed Kyushu Makoto several photos.

These photos appear to have been taken from a distance. In the images, Makoto Kyushu and Elizabeth stand side-by-side at the entrance of the teaching building, talking, before walking inside one after the other, like a pair of skilled partners working together to catch a criminal.

Someone secretly took pictures of us from a distance? But there was no one left at school at that time. Kyushu Makoto frowned and thought.

"The school doesn't allow us to disclose the details of this case to outsiders, but many students are discussing it on the school's internal forum." The boy with the bowl cut looked at Kyushu Makoto with admiration.

“A classmate returned to school in the evening to get something and happened to see you two walk into the school. The murderer was caught the next day! This can’t be a coincidence; it must have been you two who caught him, right?”

Kyushu Makoto was starting to have a headache because the other party was so certain of their claims.

Left with no other choice, he could only admit, "That's right, we've been amateur detective partners for many years. This time, we're the ones who helped the police catch the criminal."

"Detective." The boy with the bowl cut looked at her with growing admiration and leaned closer intently.

"It's incredible that someone so young can solve such a perplexing murder case! You wouldn't happen to be that 'High School Special Detective' specially recruited by Takamagahara Peak Academy, would you?!"

"Huh? What are you saying?" Kyushu Makoto looked confused and didn't understand at all: "I'm not a student of Takamagahara Peak."

"Oh, I see." The boy with the bowl cut was slightly disappointed, but still praised him endlessly:

"But you're really amazing too. In the end, the police are completely unreliable; we still need genius young detectives like you to solve cases!"

"Haha, the Tokyo police, their reputation is really beyond saving~" Kyushu Seiya simply gave up on defending those tax-paying good-for-nothings and laughed heartlessly.

After meeting the four victims, Makoto Kyushu went to see Kasumi Suzumiya one last time.

This time he did remember to bring gifts; anyway, he has money now, so buying some fruit and snacks won't cost much.

Momiji said she would be discharged from the hospital in mid-June, which would be around the time Kyushu Makoto finishes his final exams.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they parted ways, seemingly tacitly agreeing not to mention the events of that night again.

June brings the scorching summer sun and dry winds, along with the upcoming final exams.

"Kyushu, have you started reviewing?"

In the morning, Tang Zegui took the initiative to talk to Jiuzhou Cheng, looking a little tired.

The exam is in a week, and it is said that Tang Zegui will not only have to study himself, but also tutor the other two members of the delinquent group, trying his best to help them pass.

The chubby boy often complained that these two guys didn't study hard during normal times, but would rely on him at crucial moments. However, whenever an exam was approaching, he would always help them wholeheartedly and never abandon them.

"I've looked at some of the key points, and I should be able to review everything before the exam," Kyushu Makoto replied casually as he packed up his textbooks.

These days, he's practically a slacker when it comes to studying; he doesn't care about rankings, as long as his grades are passable.

Moreover, given his current financial situation, he no longer needs even the top student scholarship; he is fully capable of paying the full tuition.

He even planned to apply to the school to cancel his scholarship and leave the money for other poor students in need.

"Ding—" Suddenly, a bank transaction notification popped up on Kyushu Makoto's phone. He opened it casually and saw that several million yen had been deposited into his bank account, a huge sum that many ordinary people could not even imagine in their entire lives.

"Oh ho~" His eyelids twitched involuntarily, and his heart pounded wildly. He realized that the Yin-Yang Bureau hadn't lied to him after all.

"What's wrong? What's making you so happy?" Tang Zegui asked curiously as he leaned closer to look at the phone.

"It's nothing, the boss just gave me a little extra pay." Kyushu Makoto quickly turned off the screen to prevent him from seeing his huge sum of money and causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

"Oh, congratulations!" Tang Zegui congratulated him, then asked, "I'd like to hold a pre-exam review meeting. Should we invite everyone to come?"

"Review meeting?"

"It's more motivating to study together!" Tang Zegui whispered in his ear.

"Actually, every time I hold a review meeting for those two guys, they would throw down their textbooks and yell that they wanted to play games, which made me lose my motivation to study."

“I understand, you want me to supervise them?” Kyushu asked.

"That's roughly the gist of it. Kyushu-kun, can you help me?" Tang Ze Guijiang suddenly clasped his hands together, his attitude sincere.