I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Usui briefly recounted the details of the case, as described in the urgent letter sent back by the head of the Koyanagi-cho unit, to Arima and Tojo.

The members of Ding and Lin Er Hui and their associates are all seasoned veterans who have been working their way up in the "Third Round" for many years.

As soon as Bo Jing began recounting the case, they all immediately realized how difficult it was to handle, and their gazes became slightly more serious.

"You've all probably figured it out by now—this case can't be handled carelessly." After recounting the general details of the case, Bo Jing said calmly, "Regardless of whether this case can be solved in the end, our Bureau must at least take it seriously and send out capable officers to handle it."

"Otherwise, we will repeat the same mistake that happened three years ago when the magistrate's office was attacked by townspeople who were dissatisfied with the handling of the case."

At this point, Bo Jing couldn't help but shrink his neck.

Three years ago, the scene of shouting "Red Bean Mud, Misty Masai" until he was hoarse uncontrollably flashed through his mind...

"So, I summoned you here to ask you—do you have any capable men under your command who can spare the time to handle this case?"

As soon as Bo Jing finished speaking, the two Yu Li who had returned immediately shook their heads, indicating that their subordinates were all busy and everyone had urgent cases to handle.

None of the members of Tongxin who had returned temporarily were available—something Bo Jing had anticipated.

As the "all-purpose brick" in the "three rounds," the members of the temporary rounds are basically treated like dogs.

Are the temporarily returned members of the same group just leisurely spending their days doing nothing? That's unlikely!

Seeing that the temporary comrades were no longer reliable as he had expected, Usui turned his gaze to the two members of the Sadamachi comrade-in-arms standing side by side—Arima and Tojo.

Whenever Arima and Toujou stand side by side, a humorous atmosphere emanates from the air between them.

Because the two are almost opposites in both appearance and temperament.

The former was impeccably clean and tidy, both in body and clothing, exuding an air of "rigor" from head to toe.

The latter, on the other hand, is extremely unkempt, openly and unabashedly displaying the word "loose" on his face.

The strong visual impact and contrast between these two completely opposite people standing side by side is so striking that it makes one want to laugh.

Meeting Usui's gaze, Arima pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then said:

"...My lord. As for me...Inoya and Tachibana are currently not on any missions."

Upon hearing Inoya and Tachibana from Arima's mouth... or more precisely, upon hearing the name "Tachibana," Usui's lips twitched slightly...

"Lord Magistrate," Arima said, straightening his expression and tone. "May I speak?"

“…Speak.”

"Just as you said, Lord Fengxing, this case cannot be handled simply."

"Therefore, I suggest that two officers be assigned to jointly handle this case."

"On my side, both Inoya and Tachibana happen to be free of missions, allowing them ample time and energy to work together on this case..."

Arima hadn't finished speaking yet—

"So—does Your Excellency mean to send Inoya and Tachibana to jointly handle this case?"

Usui interrupted Arima, then shrugged and adopted an impatient tone:

"Ibaraki is one thing, but sending Tachibana to handle this case? What kind of case can he solve?"

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Chapter 29 The Top Crime Solver of the Northern Bureau

"Arima, I know what you're thinking."

Usui placed his left hand on the table in front of him and tapped the surface rhythmically with his index finger.

"Let Inugani and Tachibana jointly handle this case. Firstly, Tachibana can learn case-handling skills from Inugani and gain experience in handling cases."

"Secondly, if they are lucky enough to successfully solve the case, Ju's current political achievements will be much more impressive, and he will have a better chance of passing the 'senior assessment' in one and a half months."

Having said that, Usui sighed softly.

"Arima, I know that you are always a person who cherishes your subordinates. You want to give your subordinates more opportunities to make contributions at this critical juncture when the 'Grand Boss Assessment' is just around the corner."

"But in these kinds of things, you have to be realistic about what you can do."

"With his current abilities, is Tachibana capable of handling such an important case?"

"As I just said, regardless of whether this case can be solved in the end, we at the institute must at least take it seriously."

"If we send Ju, and he causes a bunch of trouble again like before, how are we going to explain this to the people who have benefited from Granny Ping and her husband's kindness?"

"Even if Inugaya were to work with him on this case, I wouldn't feel comfortable handing it over to Tachibana!"

“We can consider sending Inugaya to handle this case, but sending Tachibana is absolutely out of the question.”

Usui's tone was full of unquestionable authority.

Arima pursed his lips and furrowed his brow, as if he was thinking and organizing his words to debate with Usui.

A brief silence fell over the office.

But soon—this silence was broken by a lazy, deep male voice:

"Ah... I remember now... Nishino is free right now."

The person who spoke was none other than Toujou, who had been standing side by side with Arima and had remained silent until now.

Dongcheng first let out a big yawn, then scratched his enormous belly before continuing unhurriedly:

"The case that Nishino was previously in charge of was successfully solved a few days ago."

"Now, he happens to have the time and energy to handle other cases."

"Oh? Is Nishino-kun free right now?"

Upon hearing the name "Nishino" from Tojo, Usui immediately displayed a completely different expression than when he had just heard Aoto's name.

His lips curled into a grin, and his eyes shone brightly.

Dongcheng nodded: "He should be patrolling his assigned area right now. I can call him back at any time."

Usui placed his right hand on the table in front of him again and raised his index finger to tap the table rhythmically.

"Hmm... since Nishino-kun happens to be available right now... let's assign him to handle this case!"

“We have already sent our top detective from the Kitaban-sho-cho district to handle this case. So even if the case is ultimately not solved, no one can criticize us for not taking our duties seriously like they did 3 years ago.”

"Understood," Dongcheng said calmly. "I'll go and summon Xiye back now."

When Arima saw that Usui had actually decided to send Nishino from the "Eastern Castle Group" to handle the case, he was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth:

"Lord Magistrate, please..."

"No need for further words, Arima," Usui said casually. "I've already said it to you once, and I don't want to repeat myself."

"I've made my decision. Nishino will be in charge of this case."

Arima hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered his head:

"...Yes. I understand."

……

……

Edo, Kourincho, the scene of Granny Hibiscus's murder—

—What is this idiot Deng doing...? Why is he staring at Grandma Ping's house like that?

Looking at Aoto, who had been staring thoughtfully at Granny Ping's house since earlier, Gray couldn't help but purse his lips.

As the head of the family who works in the Kokuyanagi-cho office, Hai Taro can be considered a semi-official.

Therefore, Gray Wolf had heard of the name "Daitou Deng" and the origin of the name.

What Gray Brother hates most are these incompetent officials who hold positions without doing their jobs.

As a commoner, he would never be able to obtain an official position in his lifetime unless he managed to obtain samurai status.

His social status and rank meant that he would be stuck in the position of "town servant" for the rest of his life.

These people, born to be warriors, possess things that commoners could never obtain even if they struggled their whole lives, yet they do not cherish them and waste their privileged birth!

As for this "dumbhead," Gray Wolf felt not only disgust but also disdain.

Being able to create so many laughable anecdotes such as "accidentally destroying the crime scene" and "mixing up the victim's information" within just six months of taking office is quite a talent.

"...Grey Dalang".

Hearing Qingdeng's sudden call, Hui Dalang quickly straightened his expression: "Ah? I'm here!"

Qingdeng shifted his gaze from Granny Ping's house to Gray Big Brother: "Could you please help me find Granny Ping's neighbors?"

"Grandma Ping's...neighbor?"

"Yes, I have some questions I'd like to ask them."

—Asking questions… What exactly is this “dumbhead” trying to do…?

Although he loathed and disdained Qing Deng, Gray Wolf dared not reveal his true feelings.

No matter how incompetent "Daitou Deng" may be, he is still a samurai, and he is the head of the town's security department, specifically responsible for maintaining order in this large area, including Koyanagi-cho.

Let alone a mere head of the family, even the head of their "townsmen's self-governing organization," Machi Nen-ki, would never dare to show any disrespect to Aoto.

Not daring to object to any of Qingdeng's requests, Hui Dalang smiled on the surface but inwardly cursed and respectfully replied "Yes," before sending someone to bring over Granny Ping's neighbors.

Before long, the officials of their own domain brought over a dozen people, including men, women, the old and the young.

Most of these people looked grief-stricken, and the children and women were all in tears.

After briefly asking where their homes were located, Qingdeng got straight to the point:

"Grandma Ping was perfectly fine yesterday during the day, wasn't she?"

“Yes…” A middle-aged man with thinning hair wiped his eyes and said weakly, his voice trembling with dejection, “Grandma Ping was fine yesterday. In the afternoon, she and my wife chatted for a while in front of my house…”