“Anyway, let’s take action first.”

Aoto slightly clenched his naturally hanging hands as he recited his favorite phrase in his heart.

Anyway, let’s take action first.

Due to insufficient technical conditions and various other reasons, serious cases like murders were difficult to solve.

Therefore, conversely: If one could solve a murder case, their political achievements would instantly shine brilliantly!

Finding ways to crack high-value major cases—this was the only method to pass the upcoming “Elder Council evaluation” in one and a half months.

Those high-value major cases might not necessarily fall into Aoto’s hands.

Aoto concluded: Even if Arima wanted to assign cases that could easily boost achievements to him, Usui probably wouldn’t agree.

After all, thanks to the “original Tachibana Aoto,” the nickname “Idiot Aoto” was truly notorious. If he were Usui, he wouldn’t want to entrust important cases to such an incompetent person either.

In that case, he could only take the initiative himself and actively strive for it.

And now, an excellent opportunity lay before him.

Kiyayanagi Town was one of the areas under his jurisdiction. Before the official Dōshin assigned by the magistrate’s office arrived to take charge of the case, he had every right to freely enter and exit the crime scene, and no one could criticize him afterward.

“I’m the Teimachi squad Dōshin responsible for maintaining order in this area. I’m going to check the crime scene—got a problem with that?”

Aoto’s plan was simple—enter the crime scene before the assigned Dōshin arrived, gather clues, attempt to solve the case, and instantly transform his currently dismal political achievements into something remarkable!

In his past life, he had genuinely graduated from police academy with outstanding grades.

Though he hadn’t had time to formally join the police force or pursue further studies before transmigrating here.

But the knowledge he had acquired at the academy and the countless cases he had studied were still stored in Aoto’s mind.

Although what he had learned in his past life might not necessarily help him solve the case—he might end up toiling in vain—

But—who cares!

Take action first!

After taking action, he could slowly consider whether it was possible or achievable.

“Lord Tachibana, are you going inside the house?” Hairo froze upon hearing Aoto’s words earlier.

“I am, after all, the Dōshin responsible for maintaining order in this area.” Aoto smiled faintly and casually replied. “With such a serious homicide occurring in my jurisdiction, it wouldn’t make sense if I didn’t go in to take a look.”

Upon hearing this, Hairo sneered inwardly:

—Give me a break… What can you, this Idiot Aoto, possibly accomplish even if you go in… What if you accidentally damage the crime scene like before…

Though filled with complaints, Hairo perfectly utilized the facial control skills honed over years of official duties as a town official—

Hairo: (ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ “Yes! I’ll ensure no unauthorized personnel approach the house!”

With an ingratiating smile plastered on his face, Hairo bowed respectfully to Aoto.

Who cares! Even if this Idiot Aoto messes up later, it’s none of my business!

In fact—Hairo rather hoped Aoto would quickly enter the crime scene. That way, he wouldn’t have to see this Idiot Aoto anymore or listen to his orders.

After instructing Hairo to strengthen the perimeter keeping bystanders away, Aoto took out a pair of gloves from his pocket.

These were the cold-proof gloves Kyūbei had given him this morning.

Since he felt the weather wasn’t particularly cold today, Aoto had kept them in his pocket unused.

Although in this era without fingerprint retrieval or other investigative techniques, wearing gloves seemed entirely unnecessary, Aoto still wanted to maintain this habit cultivated during his training at the police academy in his past life.

The Dōshin assigned to handle this case might already be on the way.

Time was tight—after putting on the gloves, Aoto pulled open the door to Granny Apple’s house without hesitation…

The smell of blood.

Upon entering, waves of nauseating blood odor assaulted Aoto’s nostrils.

Every part of this house, inside and out, could potentially hold important clues.

Therefore—after entering, Aoto’s gaze immediately began scanning everywhere.

Ceiling, floor, walls… He didn’t overlook anything visible.

In his past life, Aoto particularly admired a famous detective nicknamed “King of the Crime Scene” and “Modern Sherlock Holmes”—Henry Chang Lee—who once said:

There are seven ways to collect evidence: standing and looking, bending and looking, bending deeper and looking, squatting and looking, kneeling and looking, sitting and looking, and combining all methods to look.

He had always considered this saying an absolute truth.

Granny Apple’s house wasn’t large. Following the blood odor while observing his surroundings and slowly moving from the entrance to the interior, Aoto finally arrived at… the source of the smell—the living room.

As soon as he stood by the open living room door, the scene inside caused Aoto’s pupils to contract slightly.

In the small living room, an old woman lay face-up on the floor, her chest a bloody mess.

The blood flowing from her body had stained most of her figure and the tatami beneath her red.

Her wide-open eyes, though already lifeless, still faintly retained traces of terror deep within the pupils…

One couldn’t bear to imagine what horrifying experience the victim had endured at death…

After taking several deep breaths to adjust his emotions and state, Aoto stepped forward to Granny Apple’s remains and closed his eyes in silent mourning.

—May you rest in peace…

After mourning the unfortunate old woman for a moment, Aoto opened his eyes and briefly surveyed the living room.

The scene was far more intact than Aoto had imagined.

It seemed those who discovered Granny Apple’s remains hadn’t excessively disturbed the scene, and Hairo had afterward properly guarded the crime scene, preventing unauthorized access.

The scene being far better preserved than expected—this relieved Aoto somewhat.

Kneeling on the tatami, Aoto began examining Granny Apple’s remains, only for his brows to immediately furrow slightly.

He had learned some basic forensic knowledge. Based on his deduction, Granny Apple’s time of death could be confirmed as last night.

The murder weapon was a sharp blade. Granny Apple’s chest had been stabbed seven times, and aside from these wounds, no other injuries were visible on her body.

The seven stab wounds on Granny Apple’s chest were quite chaotic, with only one successfully hitting a vital spot—yet this single fatal wound had taken her life.

After carefully examining Granny Apple’s wounds for a while, Aoto shifted his gaze to… Granny Apple’s clothes.

Looking at the neatly worn everyday clothes on Granny Apple, Aoto’s frown deepened.

Granny Apple’s clothes had patches on the chest, sleeves, and waist.

It was evident she had worn this garment for a long time—the color had faded significantly from washing.

Suddenly, Aoto’s peripheral vision caught sight of—a small candlestick placed not far from the remains.

On the candlestick was a stub of candle burned down to thumb-height.

Aoto approached the candlestick and examined the small candle stub in detail.

The candle’s base had a large amount of solidified wax.

These solidified wax drippings… all appeared quite fresh, clearly having hardened not long ago.

After scrutinizing the candle stub for a while, Aoto raised his head and looked around.

Surveying the room, his gaze settled on an antique storage cabinet placed in one corner of the living room.

Quickly walking to the cabinet and pulling it open—Aoto immediately found what he sought: a rather ample supply of lamp oil.

“…This is going more smoothly than expected.”

Aoto exhaled deeply.

His sigh carried a note of relief.

“I already… know who the suspect is…”

*******

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep