An infinite journey starting from paradise

But Saeki Kaori couldn't rest in peace at this moment—she urgently needed to review everything she had done while unconscious, especially matters related to the school: expenditures, personnel appointments and dismissals, and the status of students. However, she was too weak to do so, so she had to give up for the time being.

In the end, Kaori Saeki just called her cousin and assistant, the head teacher Tokisuke Saeki, to lead Naoto Hayashi to familiarize himself with the environment of the academy.

After checking the principal's office again and confirming that there were no other discoveries, Hayashi Naoto followed the somewhat gloomy-looking teacher Saeki Tokio to tour the entire campus.

They first visited the church in the center of the academy. This was where Lin Shangren would be working. He would manage church affairs: worship, hearing confessions, and explaining the Bible to students. Besides church-related duties, he would also serve as a history teacher, teaching world history to the second-year students.

While guiding Hayashi Naoto to familiarize himself with the church, Saeki Tokisuke explained his duties to him: "There are bedrooms in the church. Mr. Hayashi can live there if needed. The cleaning and tidying up of the church can be done by the students of the student union. Before the arrival of you, the new priest, the church was managed by the student union president, Tsukishima Orihime.

The work at the church isn't too much; the most important thing is Sunday worship. On weekdays, your main task is probably hearing students' confessions. Ordinary students are only allowed into the church during club activities from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m., so your off-duty time is an hour later than that of ordinary teachers who aren't serving as club advisors.

"Is there no evening self-study?" Lin Shangren asked.

"Evening self-study? Oh, we don't have evening self-study in our school. Our college is not a boarding school and it's a girls' school. We can't let students go home only at night, right? That would be too dangerous.

Actually…according to school regulations, students are not allowed to leave home after 8pm. Parents must comply with this rule, and I occasionally go to the shopping streets of Shinjuku or Ueno at night to patrol.

"Is this... too harsh?" Lin Shangren asked.

"Not at all, Teacher Lin, not at all. The world is not peaceful, and girls their age are most vulnerable to being victimized by hooligans, American soldiers, and those crazy people and perverts... If you're not careful, an irreparable tragedy could happen."

Having said this, Saeki Tokio's already gloomy expression became even darker.

Hayashi Naoto could roughly guess the reason why Saeki Toki was like this. His character description was [a poor man who was devastated by the pain of losing his daughter].

"Because your daughter met with an accident, you are almost paranoid about protecting your students?"

After getting familiar with the church environment, Tokio Saeki led Naoto Hayashi into the main school building.

The Sakura Girls' Academy building is a two-story building. The first floor houses first-year classrooms, teachers' offices, a health center, and a home education classroom, as well as several rooms for various club activities. The second floor houses second- and third-year classrooms, a library, and a science room.

"The one in front is the activity room of the art club, and I happen to be the consultant of the art club." Tokio Saeki introduced to Naoto Hayashi.

His originally gloomy expression finally brightened up when he mentioned the art department. He continued:

"If Mr. Lin still has the energy, you can also choose to serve as the instructor of a student club. Besides art, there are also cooking and tennis..."

"Is there an astronomy club or a literature club? I'm good at those two."

"Um...no. As for astronomy, the school hasn't purchased any related equipment. As for literature, school rules prohibit students from reading materials outside of the curriculum," Saeki Tokio replied. "Teacher Lin is more open-minded than I thought. I thought priests would denounce books other than religious classics as heresy."

"How could that be?" Lin Shangren said.

"After all, the Bible is filled with pornography: slavery, torture, murder, human sacrifice, donkeys having sex with women, copper smelting... you name it, and it's practically there. Compared to the Bible, pornographic films seem so refreshing, not to mention ordinary literature. If children are allowed to read the Bible, what else can't they read?"

Of course, Lin Shangren did not say this long complaint out loud.

"That's the health room. The teacher in charge is Kitami Reika. It seems she's on leave today..."

As he spoke, Saeki Tokio led Hayashi Naoto up to the second floor.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class, and the hallway gradually filled with people. However, despite the presence of people, there was no sound. It seemed like the students here, even after being freed from class, were still adhering to the strict school rules, which was frustrating.

Several female students passed by Lin Shangren and Saeki Tokio. They just nodded to them from a distance. Most of the female students just walked silently and didn't even feel curious about the unfamiliar face of Lin Shangren.

"This atmosphere is really depressing," Lin Shangren thought to himself. "However, at least the school rules allow students to go to the bathroom together... Although they are strict, they are still much better than the rules of those cerebral palsy schools in later generations."

Saeki Tokio asked, "Next... we still have the playground and the cafeteria to visit. Teacher Lin, shall we go there now?"

Lin Shangren looked at the watch on his wrist. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon, and there were still two hours before the meeting time agreed upon with Yuzumi Jiasan.

So he said, "No thanks. I have some personal matters to take care of this afternoon, so I have to rush over there now. My official start time is tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Lin, you must arrive at school before the morning meeting at 8 o'clock tomorrow. I will introduce you to all the students at that time."

"Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Saeki. I'll take my leave now."

After saying goodbye to Tokio Saeki, Naoto Hayashi drove to the commercial street near Kichijoji.

"Moon World Cafe?"

Starting from the north exit of Kichijoji and passing through the remains of the black market, Lin Shangren found the meeting place.

"Pure Tea? Moon World, that's where it is, right?"

Lin Shangren read the words on the sign.

This is a small shop on the edge of the commercial street. It doesn’t have a big storefront, but it is beautifully decorated.

When Lin Shangren pushed the door open and walked in, he heard a very pleasant "Welcome".

The speaker was a beautiful woman in her thirties, tall and well-proportioned. She wore a slim-fitting white shirt and trousers, with a black apron tied in front. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, and she gave off a fresh and capable look.

【Name: Hazuki Apricot】

[Race: Human female]

[Identity: Owner of Moon World Coffee Shop]

[Status: Peaceful]

[Note: A widow whose husband died young, she has a close relationship with Tokisaka Reito and Uozumi Kazuzo.]

"Aren't you a comrade in the organization?"

Thinking about it, Lin Shangren walked to the bar and looked at the menu hanging there.

"Is this your first time here, sir?" Ye Yue Xingzi said with a smile, "What would you like to order? How about a cream cake? I just baked a batch."

Lin Shangren rubbed his neck and said, "I want a cup of black coffee and a piece of cake. For the cake, add more cream and sugar."

"Huh? You want black coffee, but the cake needs more sugar."

"Is there anything wrong?" Lin Shangren asked.

"Ah, no. It's just your habit and one of my friends really wants it. Please take a seat. The coffee will be here shortly. The cake will take a little while."

Anzi Hazuki smiled and turned to get the coffee pot.

Lin Shangren found a place with a good view and sat down. He looked at his watch and it was exactly five o'clock.

"Awaited."

Anzi Yeyue brought a cup of steaming hot coffee to Lin Shangren.

"Please enjoy."

"Thank you."

Lin Shangren took a sip and found it tasted pretty good.

"It tastes good, right?" asked Anzi Yeyue.

Lin Shangren nodded.

"Is that so?" Ye Yuexing smiled. "Wait a moment, the cake will be ready soon."

At this moment, the door of the coffee shop was pushed open again.

"Oh, welcome, Uozumi-san." Anko Hazuki greeted the burly man at the door.

"Ah."

Yuzumi Jiasan responded softly and nodded.

Lin Shangren saw that Yu Zhujiasan seemed a little embarrassed.

"How about a cup of coffee?"

"Ah."

Anko Hazuki turned around, and Yuzumi stared blankly at the ends of her hair swaying behind her.

"Cough cough."

Lin Shangren coughed lightly and said, "Officer Yuzumi, you're here."

"Um...ah!"

Only then did Yuzumi Jiasan notice Lin Shangren sitting in front of him on the left.

"Mr. Lin, you are already here."

"I just arrived. Come and sit down."

Lin Shangren gestured to Yu Zhu Jia San to sit opposite him.

Hearing the conversation between Lin Shangren and the other, Ye Yue Xingzi turned around curiously: "So you two know each other, Yuzumi-san?"

"Um...yeah." Yuzumi Kazuzo replied, "Mr. Lin is the consultant of our police station."

"consultant?"

"Um... yes. Mr. Lin is a doctor. He will help our police station deal with some medical issues..."

"I see. Well then... please wait a moment, coffee and cake will be here shortly."

"Hmm... Yeah."

Looking at Yu Zhu Jia San's appearance of "not being able to speak or walk anymore", Lin Shangren roughly guessed the relationship between the two:

"Unrequited love~ It's the classic combination of a passionate police officer and a gentle widow."

However, Lin Shangren was not in the mood to sit back and watch the show at this time. He and Yu Zhu Jia San were not familiar enough to joke about emotional issues.

While Hazuki Anzi was away, Lin Shangren asked directly, "Officer Uozumi, what did the organization say about the transfer of the Tokisaka siblings?"

"I'm sorry, the Tokisaka siblings will have to trouble Mr. Lin to take care of them for a while longer..." Uozumi Kazuzo said awkwardly, "The organization is really short-handed right now. On the one hand, we have to prepare to impeach those bastards like Abe Keizo and Kishi Nobusuke, and the more serious problem is within the party... After Mr. Shida stepped down, the organization is also..."

"The party unites to attack the dissidents." Lin Shangren said calmly.

Lin Shangren had some knowledge of the various factional struggles within the Japanese Communist Party in his previous life, and he complained in his heart:

"They were unable to seek common ground while reserving differences and work together to resist the comprador bourgeoisie and American imperialism that loomed over them, but instead were constantly consumed by internal friction over disputes over policy lines. It's no wonder the Japanese Communist Party became what it did in later generations."

"Sorry..." Yuzumi Jiasan said again, "Sorry to bother you."

"It's okay, I'm just taking care of a pair of siblings. Speaking of which...is there any progress in the dismemberment case this morning?" Lin Shangren asked.

"Um... not really. But the identity of the woman who committed suicide has been found out, and it's basically confirmed that she committed suicide." Yuzumi Jiasan said, "She..."

"Here's the coffee, and this gentleman's cake. Sorry for the long wait."

With a click, a coffee cup and a plate with cake were placed in front of Lin Shangren and the other person.

"Um…"

"Thank you."

Ye Yue Xingzi smiled and said, "Enjoy your meal, both of you."

Yuzumi Jiasan took the sugar bowl and scooped several spoonfuls of sugar into the coffee. Although he couldn't be said to be a big sweet fan, he couldn't stand coffee without anything added.

Seeing Ye Yue Xingzi walk away, Yu Zui Jia San continued, "That woman owed a loan shark and couldn't afford the debt, so she chose to commit suicide by drowning..."

After that, Lin Shangren chatted with Yuzumi Jiasan for a while. After confirming the progress of the dismemberment case, giving Yuzumi Jiasan some investigation suggestions, and confirming the future contact information, Lin Shangren left the Moon World Coffee Shop.

After returning to the safe house and opening the door, Lin Shangren saw Tokisaka Yukari standing in the living room. She was wearing a loose white shirt. Lin Shangren recognized that it was the clothes in his closet.

"Ah, welcome back, Mr. Lin." Tokisaka Shizuka said, "I'm sorry... because my kimono was stained with your brother's blood, so I wore your clothes without your permission."

"That's okay. Here, a change of clothes. They should fit."

As he spoke, Lin Shangren handed a big bag to Tokisaka Zi, which he bought on the way back.

"If you need any other daily necessities, please let me know."

Tokisaka Shizuka took the bag, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Mr. Lin...my brother and I..."

"Something has happened with the organization, so you'll have to stay with me for a while."

"Well…"

Tokisaka Yukari lowered her head, but did not show any disappointment.

"Don't worry, I will protect your safety. Also, you don't have to worry about problems at school. I have some relationship with Principal Saeki of Sakuraha Girls' Academy, so you don't have to worry about being expelled even if you skip classes for a while." Lin Shangren said.

"Ah! Mr. Lin means, can I still go to school?!" Tokisaka Zi asked in surprise.

"Of course. Once I take care of some minor issues, you and your brother can return to your normal lives. Speaking of which, I've been wanting to ask you ever since a while ago, what smells so good? Is it something you did, Ms. Tokisaka?"

"Yeah! I made porridge for my brother, and there's miso soup cooking in the pot, and the pork chops are coated in flour... I've been waiting for you, Mr. Lin, to come back so we can prepare dinner."

"Thank you, Ms. Tokisaka. I'm hungry too. It's just right for me to finish dinner before going out."

"Mr. Lin, are you still going out?" asked Tokisaka Zi.

"Well, there are still some minor issues that need to be sorted out."