Not a detective

Page 18

...

After seeing the client off, Xingyu finally breathed a long sigh of relief and sat down at the reception table.

She said, "Oh dear, this job is really tricky. There are only two paintings, and the investigation doesn't even involve knowing the lover's name. No layman could do this, right?"

She even deliberately pulled down the corner of her eye and stuck her tongue out at Asakawa Riku.

Xingyu turned around: "Right, Miss?"

Shinonome Suetsuki woke up. She didn't know when she woke up, perhaps the moment the bored client left. Finally, she was able to breathe again and jumped up from the chair.

"Kawasaki, you're not planning to go to that address she gave you, are you?!"

Rather than answering Hoshino's question, it would be more accurate to say that she ignored the direct question posed by Asakawa Riku.

“Yes.” Asakawa Riku answered simply; of course he intended to do so.

If you're going to conduct an investigation into infidelity, how can you possibly find evidence without going to the scene and tracking things down in person?

The simplest method is to stake out their house, wait for Mr. Takagi Ichiro to sneak out for a rendezvous, and then secretly follow him until you can take intimate photos of him and his lover. It's more like being a paparazzi than a detective. In short, this is the job of a modern private detective.

Asakawa Riku felt this was not difficult at all. With his "not a leaf touching his body" movement technique and high-speed movement skills, he could silently track anyone without being detected.

Mo Yue lowered her eyebrows into a V-shape, revealing a pitying expression:

"Hmm, really? Then you're so stupid."

"what?"

"Nonsense! An idiot like you isn't qualified to be a detective, and not only that, you're not even qualified to be a vertebrate!"

They've actually started making personal attacks.

"Why?" Asakawa Riku was naturally unwilling to ask this question, but fortunately Hoshino was also puzzled.

Mo Yue looked down at her and said disdainfully, "Xing Yu, that's why you're so useless. Did you think I would explain something like this to you?"

"Oh……"

Xingyu, who was affected by the AOE, actually agreed with this and nodded.

"I'm not a fortune teller. How can I find evidence of her husband's infidelity without conducting an on-site investigation?"

Asakawa Riku frowned.

However, Suezuki said something unbelievable: "Listen carefully, the only people who can do on-site investigations are dogs, detectives, and perverts. There are absolutely no detectives."

Which category does Chizuko-senpai belong to?

Asakawa Riku almost burst out laughing. He hadn't expected to hear such diametrically opposed views on reasoning and detective work in just two days.

"Miss, that's because the matter is very complicated. I don't even understand it myself yet, right?"

Xingyu actually started speaking up for him.

Asakawa Riku wasn't quite at the point of "not understanding," but he had to admit that this infidelity investigation wasn't as simple as it seemed.

For example, why did Takagi Ichiro develop such a severe mental illness? Could their daughter Yumiko's kidnapping by Tsuchigumo be related to this? Why is there such a big difference in Takagi Ichiro's attitude towards his daughter and son? What is the true nature of their family relationship? Can we trust Ms. Takagi's side of the story? ...and so on.

Not to mention, the lack of evidence such as rings, love letters, and online romance has added a layer of mystery to the investigation, and solving it will not be something that can be accomplished in a day or two.

At that moment, Shinonome Suetsuki suddenly opened her half-closed eyes completely.

Her eyes were beautiful. Even though he had described them that way before, Asakawa Riku never felt he would tire of saying it. They were like glass beads, sparkling with the brilliance of countless stars.

"What's complicated about it? It's not complicated at all. Listen carefully, six months ago, this person cheated on his wife."

She picked up the photos on the table; they were photos of Mr. Takagi Ichiro during a media interview that she had just searched and printed out on her computer and posted online.

"Perhaps he's connected to that kidnapping case, but not to this one. I just wanted you to find him."

"Isn't that proof of his infidelity? See, it didn't even take twenty seconds."

"The client just wants to find someone, why did you listen to her crying and complaining about how hard she works? You idiot, it has nothing to do with her."

Xingyu paused for a moment, then said, "That's what she wanted to say herself."

Mo Yue sneered, "That's because you asked, that's why she'll talk. Whether the client is a vegetarian or a feminist, whether she liked Takuya Kimura or Masaharu Fukuyama when she was young, it has nothing to do with us. Detectives only need to ask about things related to the case. If a bathhouse made it so that you had to tell your story at the counter before you could get in, it would go out of business within three days!"

Hoshino seemed to mutter under her breath, "Miss, you've never been to a bathhouse before," while Asakawa Riku lowered his head thoughtfully.

He thought, "That's right. Perhaps this person is able to become a detective precisely because he can completely ignore these 'noises'."

But it's not easy for someone to live so freely and not care about other people's feelings. How exactly does one develop such an annoying personality?

Thinking of this, Asakawa Riku raised his head and looked at the woman before him, who was so beautiful she seemed unreal:

"Detective, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"oh……?"

Mo Yue smiled, perhaps because she always had a sour face, and even when she smiled, it was always sarcastic. This time, however, her smile was different.

She looked at Asakawa Riku in front of her and said, "Looks like you're not a complete idiot after all."

The man suddenly ran to the desk, took something out of the drawer, and looked like he was about to be given something, but it turned out to be a transparent medicine bottle.

The bottle was full of white pills. She poured out two or three, seemingly unconcerned about the quantity, and casually tossed them into her mouth before putting the bottle back in the drawer.

They didn't use any water to wash it down; they just chewed it raw and swallowed it.

Suezuki walked in and moved close to Asakawa Riku. The two were so close that Suezuki could almost feel her skin against Asakawa Riku's.

I heard whispers in my ear, and the crisp sound of pills being chewed.

"I mean... isn't all the evidence we need right here?"

Spring of the Earth Spider: Chapter Thirty-Two - The Adulterous Partner is an Unimaginable Person

After saying this ambiguous sentence, Shinonome Suetsuki leaped backward and turned away.

Her soft hair almost touched Asakawa Riku's face.

"Alright, let's finish this quickly. Two or three hours should be enough... I'm going back to sleep. Watch the house!"

After saying that, he walked into another room in the office, which seemed to be the bedroom.

"Eh……"

Xingyu looked at it with a puzzled expression.

She couldn't understand how it was possible to not allow tracking or investigation, and yet have to resolve the issue within two or three hours.

He looked at Asakawa Riku with sympathy: "Sorry... our young lady must be quite a headache."

To her surprise, the boy did not answer her question. Instead, he stood there, staring wide-eyed, muttering something to himself in a thoughtful manner.

"Could it be..."

He seemed to have discovered something.

Asakawa Riku quickened his pace, walked to the window, and pulled open a corner of the blinds. The car carrying Ms. Takagi had already driven away, and there was no time to catch up.

Then, he walked to the table and picked up the two pieces of paper... sketches drawn by Ms. Takagi.

It can be completed in two or three hours.

"I understand."

Yes, it can be done in two or three hours.

...

The bell rang, and when I looked up, it was already twelve o'clock.

Xingyu just pushed the door open and came in from the outside. She looked exhausted, as if she had just gone through a difficult battle.

Asakawa Riku kept track of the time; the phone call alone took almost an hour.

During this time, the girl spent a lot of time explaining herself into the receiver, arguing and explaining tirelessly.

"It must have been very difficult, right?"

Even he felt sympathy for this "competitor".

"Hmm... Ms. Takagi is a bit stubborn. No matter how I explain it to her, she won't believe me. Just explaining that concept... Good heavens, it took me quite a while."

She walked like a zombie, her hands and shoulders drooping, before finally collapsing onto the sofa with a helpless sigh.

"But, is the problem solved?"

"Yes, she said she would have a professional confirm it, and if it is confirmed that the person she cheated with is her, then she will contact us again to discuss the payment."

"That's fine."

Asakawa Lu smiled; he had already resolved the incident.

Without a doubt, the affair partner has been found... Although it's hard to say whether that person truly qualifies as a "lover," it's fair to say that the other party's request has been fulfilled.

To explain this reasoning, we need to start with the initial thought process.

This isn't meant to be suspenseful; the case is just too absurd. If I don't tell it in order, it'll sound like I'm talking nonsense.

How did Asakawa Riku discover this opportunity? It was from the clues left by Shinonome Suetsuki.

She said, "Isn't all the evidence we need right here?" That statement is the key to solving the problem.

The clues are those two sketches.

Asakawa Riku is troubled by the stereotype of "detective". He always believed that a detective should go to the field to investigate, follow, and collect evidence.

But this sentence gave him great inspiration. He had all the necessary clues in his hands, so why bother making another trip?

So he took a picture of the sketch of the ring with his phone and posted it online for image recognition.

My original intention was to find the product page to deduce the shop where Mr. Takagi Ichiro bought the ring, and then see if I could extract any customer information.

The search results that came up... startled him and Xingyu.

Both of them were stunned.

"real or fake……"

"Is this... could there be a mistake?"

This ring is actually a "merchandise," which is a derivative product of a two-dimensional IP commonly known as "Gu Zi," and is not jewelry in the ordinary sense.

If it's only this level, it's not enough to scare Asakawa Riku.

The problem is that this isn't just any ordinary anime or manga merchandise; it's a "Vtuber" product.

The webpage prominently displays the stunning product name: "An engagement ring for a lifetime with Zhuzhu," with a price tag of:

20000 yen.

One point to note is that the name written on the page is "Orizuki Chuchu," which is a very cute pronunciation. The rest of the name is written in kana, not in official kanji. Asakawa Riku is just using the more plausible phonetic transcription, "Orizuki Juju," to make it easier for himself to remember.

He had to open a new search page to confirm that Orizou Tama was indeed the name of that Vtuber, who was conducting live streams as a virtual avatar.

It doesn't seem to be live streaming right now. The reservation time is tomorrow night. You can see it by clicking on a few of the previous videos. It features a cute anime girl character.

The live streams consist mostly of chatting, occasionally interspersed with game gameplay and singing performances.

She has around 200,000 fans, which even someone like Asakawa Riku, who doesn't know much about VTubers, would probably consider her a very large VTuber.

Back on the product page, a ring for 20000 yen...

It's sold out, and the product page displays a message saying "Please wait for the second sale".

"They're selling for over 30,000 yuan on coal stoves now."

Xingyu opened the search page of the second-hand website and showed it to Asakawa Riku with an incredulous look.

"Um……"

He never expected that an ordinary silver ring could sell for such a price, and that people would keep buying it. It seems this is the power of the fan economy.

With the clue of the [ring], the mystery of the [love letter] was easily solved by following the clues.

Searching for keywords like "engagement ring with woven beads for a lifetime" on social media will reveal fans' shared experiences and photos.

That love letter was a bonus gift with the purchase of this ring; it was a handwritten letter from Weaving Beads herself.

The "TO: Mr. Takagi Ichiro" at the very beginning is a signed message. The phrases in the middle, such as "Please keep looking at me," "I have received your feelings," and "Let our relationship continue for a lifetime," are just standard thank-you messages like "Thank you for your support, please continue to support me, and I will love you too." That's all.

Other love letters from fans found online were in basically the same style and matched the sentences left by Ms. Takagi.