Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

The small interruption and distraction hadn’t affected the subsequent work. The closed-door meeting continued normally under the leadership of the elderly man sitting opposite them, who was clearly the highest-ranking person present.

That uncomfortable feeling of not belonging surged through his heart again… Why am I even in a place like this? the Novelist thought. The atmosphere was completely at odds with what an ordinary male high school student should experience. Didn’t these people realize that? Though he hadn’t refused becoming a detective’s assistant, dealing with high-ranking police officials was something he’d rather be spared from.

Fortunately, the end result was that everyone ignored his existence, naturally skipping over him when asking for opinions, as if he were merely air surrounding Asami-san. This indicated these people weren’t completely thoughtless after all. The reason he was sitting here uncomfortably was undoubtedly because of his senpai’s stubborn insistence.

Under the long table, the Novelist, sitting close to Asami Yuko, reached out and gently patted the girl’s palm. Senpai’s cheeks were slightly puffed out, as if she were dissatisfied with Assistant-kun being ignored.

“I’m not dissatisfied at all? If anything, I’m quite relieved this way.”

—He tried hard to convey this sentiment.

But Asami-senpai still wore that expression of lingering discontent.

…Ah, how troublesome.

What should he do in this situation?

If only he were someone with extraordinary skills! That would come in handy for a performance right now. Like pulling out a knife and transforming into a murderer, or having a “demon horn” transplanted onto his arm, using a special finishing move that only protagonists possessed. If possible, he’d like to try that too!

“The most critical issue right now is that, even if as Asami-san suggests, our encounter with four confirmed mass suicide incidents isn’t coincidental but rather manipulated by a malicious criminal… we have absolutely no leads on this person, do we?”

The person speaking was the youngest-looking man among those present, aside from the teenage detective and her assistant. After Asami-senpai finished her statement, everyone was speaking in order according to their seating arrangement.

The young man wore a white suit, with an upright posture and a cold expression. Judging by his appearance alone, if he weren’t radiating an aura of “this guy is difficult to deal with,” he could be considered quite handsome.

The Novelist’s gaze fell on the man’s badge.

Like Kazuki-san, he also wore a name tag identifying his position. He was a representative from another department who had come to the Metropolitan Police Department to discuss cooperation after the joint investigation headquarters was established.

“Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, Intelligence Officer Norizuki Tenma.”

…

Within the limited knowledge of ordinary citizens, this department was Japan’s most representative official intelligence agency.

The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office reported directly to the Chief Cabinet Secretary and was accountable to the highest-ranking individuals in Japanese politics. Its members came from various government agencies, primarily elite personnel selected from the National Police Agency, Public Security Intelligence Agency, and Ministry of Defense. Additionally, there were members from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Japan Coast Guard, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and other institutions.

According to information previously obtained from Miyagi-san (Note 1), the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office had established a satellite intelligence collection center in recent years, with branches in Tomakomai in the north and Kagoshima in the south, using satellite technology to bring the entire Japanese archipelago under intelligence control and aerial surveillance.

(Note 1: First mentioned in Volume 2, Episode 19)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Crime Countermeasure Division, the Public Security Intelligence Agency’s Special Investigation Department, and the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office were the three major government agencies currently addressing the frequent occurrence of abnormal crimes within the country.

Their enemies were the malicious criminals manipulating heinous crime incidents from behind the scenes. These people could be from violent organizations, underground criminal groups, new religious cults… or terrorists.

Truly busy people.

They were all working desperately to maintain citizens’ safety and peaceful daily lives… Of course, it had nothing to do with him.

…Speaking of which.

The Novelist shifted his gaze.

Asami Yuko wore an identical name tag.

Perhaps because of Senpai’s well-endowed chest, the badge had been wedged in between, making its front side not very noticeable until now. That must be why he had overlooked it!

What was written on it was…

“Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Special Crime Countermeasure Division, Consultant.”

…

…

Haha, so Senpai was also one of them. How impressive, just like Kazuki-san and Norizuki-san, she was an expert maintaining the boundaries—

Wait, isn’t this really bad?! From an assistant’s perspective!

“Leave this part to me!”

Senpai, ignoring his internal monologue, declared with an expression full of confidence.

“But… although there’s no official assignment, Asami-san, you’ve been investigating this matter all along, haven’t you? Yet you still haven’t made any progress, correct?”

Norizuki Tenma used questioning grammar, but his tone was so flat it lacked any inflection, making it sound somewhat strange to others.

“Ugh…”

Asami-senpai’s momentum quickly weakened. Though the other party didn’t seem to be reprimanding her, but merely questioning. Was it because she hadn’t thought about how to answer?

The girl’s expression looked somewhat anxious.

She must have been lost in thought earlier, which was why she appeared so flustered now.

The Novelist rubbed his cheek.

This should be the moment for Assistant-kun to come in handy, right?

“…Ah, sorry, let me interrupt briefly.”

Then, displaying a professional smile, he responded on behalf of his senpai. Once again, he touched the girl’s palm resting under the table.

After receiving her nod, the Novelist smiled and began speaking.

“Regarding what you just said, there’s one point that needs correction. Senpai… Asami-san’s investigation hasn’t been without results.”

“…Oh?”

Norizuki-san’s gaze focused on him.

“It’s about the timing of the fourth incident.”

The Novelist spread his hands.

“I’m sure everyone has noticed. According to the criminal’s announcement, the incident was supposed to occur two days later. But now it’s been moved up by nearly 50 hours. With our current limited information, we can’t reach an accurate conclusion. However, I believe that since the perpetrator actively disrupted their planned actions, it was ‘out of necessity,’ indicating they believed that if they followed the original schedule, they might leave traces that could be caught. This person must have noticed that Asami-senpai’s actions were closing in on the truth, which is why they did this.”

“…Perhaps the suspect is using this method to deceive the police…”

“The premise for doing this is precisely because they value the police’s previous search operations. It shows that those efforts weren’t meaningless. Don’t you think so?”

After a long moment, Norizuki Tenma nodded.

“But whether it’s effective or not isn’t the key issue.”

He subsequently said.