“Hey! Hairo! Who exactly killed Granny Apple?”

“Hairo! Has the constable in charge of this case arrived yet?”

“Hairo…”

…

Right now, Hairo felt like his head was about to explode from the endless calls of “Hairo.”

At this moment, the crowd outside Granny Apple’s house had grown steadily larger, nearly reaching two hundred people.

This made the already stressed Hairo, who was struggling to maintain order, feel even more pressure.

After all, with such a large number, if any accidents happened—like a stampede causing deaths or injuries—he, as the head of Kiyayanagi Town, would be held fully responsible.

Since earlier, he had already begun dispersing the crowd.

But there were simply too few people. Counting the clerks responsible for paperwork, each self-contained police station only had about a dozen officials at most.

Hairo had assigned nearly all his subordinates to block the crowd from getting closer to Granny Apple’s house, and there was no one left to further drive away the people.

Moreover, most of those gathered outside Granny Apple’s house were emotionally charged.

Among the crowd were many who had once received help from Granny Apple and her husband upon hearing the news of their benefactor’s death. They far outnumbered those who were merely there for curiosity.

They either cried and wailed or shouted angrily. No matter how much they were told to leave, they wouldn’t listen.

Hairo couldn’t afford to speak harshly or put on a sour face.

After all, many of these people were familiar faces living in or around Kiyayanagi Town.

The samurai of the “Three Squads” could afford to be rude to these people, but Hairo could not. As the head of Kiyayanagi Town, he saw these people daily, and if relations soured, his life in Kiyayanagi Town would become impossible—he would be met with scorn wherever he went.

—Sigh… where is that idiot Aoto? Why hasn’t he come out yet…

Frowning deeply, Hairo kept glancing unhappily at the door of Granny Apple’s house, from which Aoto had yet to appear.

He was very displeased with this “Idiot Aoto.”

What use is it to just stand at the crime scene? It would be better if he came out to help maintain order… Having a constable from the Teimachi Squad present could at least calm the situation somewhat…

While Hairo vented his dissatisfaction silently about Aoto, a clerk puffing and panting suddenly hurried up to him—

“Mr. Hairo! The constable dispatched from the Northern Police Headquarters to handle this case has arrived!”

“Oh?” Hairo’s eyes lit up as he quickly asked, “Who has come?”

“It’s Nishino Saijirou from the Tojo Group of the Teimachi Squad!”

Upon hearing this name, the light in Hairo’s eyes grew even brighter.

He was about to ask the clerk where Nishino was now—

“Hey! Another constable from the Magistrate’s Office has arrived!”

“Make way! Everyone, clear a path for the constable!”

“Ah! It’s Lord Nishino from the Northern Police Headquarters! Lord Nishino from the Northern Police Headquarters has arrived!”

…

Shouts echoed continuously from one end of the crowd outside the house.

Drawn by these cries, Hairo froze briefly, then quickly rose onto his toes and looked in the direction of the sound.

On one side at the far edge of the sea of people, a large “gap” was steadily expanding from the outside in.

The gap kept widening until it became a broad road leading directly to Granny Apple’s house.

Five figures strode boldly onto this road without hesitation.

Four of these five were dressed as okabiki, with jutte iron batons tucked at their waists. They took wide, strutting steps with a swagger, their faces full of confidence.

The fifth person… wore the standard double swords of a samurai on his left waist, a jutte with a red tassel on his right, and an inrō box tied to his belt marking his affiliation with the Magistrate’s Office. His lips were tightly pressed, his expression stern.

The four okabiki closely flanked this constable walking among them as they strode along the path cleared by the crowd toward Hairo and his men.

Seeing this, Hairo reacted almost instinctively—he quickly plastered a fully flattering smile onto his face and hurried forward to greet the constable leading the group of four okabiki.

Hairo’s demeanor now was completely different from when he had greeted Aoto just a moment ago.

Out of contempt for “Idiot Aoto,” his eyes had carried a trace of disdain when he welcomed Aoto.

But now, facing this stern-faced constable, Hairo’s face was filled with nothing but pure respect and eagerness to please.

“Ah! So it’s Lord Nishino who has arrived!” Hairo bowed so deeply it looked like he wanted to press his chest against his knees, his smile narrowing his eyes to mere slits, “I am Hairo, head of Kiyayanagi Town…”

“Spare me the introductions.”

Before Hairo could finish giving his name, the constable interrupted him in a tone completely devoid of emotion.

“The Magistrate dispatched me to take charge of this case.”

“Report the details of the case to me quickly, the more thorough the better.”

The constable was sparing with words, as if unwilling to say even one more than necessary to Hairo.

Faced with such cold indifference, Hairo was momentarily stunned.

But soon, as if not caring—or perhaps afraid to care—he resumed his overly ingratiating smile.

“Yes, yes, yes!”

“I was rude before!”

“Here’s what happened: About half an hour ago, a few families nearby discovered the body of the homeowner Granny Apple inside this house…”

While Hairo reported the general situation to the constable, he led him and his four okabiki through the “invisible barrier” formed by staffs held by the self-contained police officials to separate the crowd from the crime scene…

Hairo was quite articulate.

In just a few words, he relayed everything he knew to the constable.

Who the victim Granny Apple was, how her body was discovered, and the time of discovery…

After Hairo’s report finished, the constable lightly nodded:

“…Aside from those who discovered the victim’s body, has anyone else entered the house?”

“I took a look inside, but I didn’t touch anything! Then…” Hairo’s expression gradually grew strange, “Lord Tachibana, who is responsible for patrolling this area, just went inside…”

“Tachibana?” The constable was momentarily taken aback, then immediately frowned, “That Tachibana Aoto?”

Hairo quickly confirmed, “Yes.”

“…Tsk.” The constable clicked his tongue, a sneer twisting the corner of his mouth, “What is that idiot trying to do… Don’t cause trouble for me…”

With that, the constable brushed past Hairo and strode toward the door of Granny Apple’s house with his four okabiki.

“No one is allowed in without my order,” the constable told Hairo.

“Yes, sir!” Hairo respectfully bowed in response.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep