Aoto carefully rummaged through the storage cabinet in the parlor for a while. Finally, in the corner of the bottom drawer, he found another item that could strongly support his earlier suspicion—several candles placed in the drawer’s corner.

After staring intently at those candles for some time, Aoto closed the drawer and slowly walked back to Granny Apple’s corpse, once again examining the body.

“The culprit covered the victim’s mouth with one hand while wielding a knife with the other to commit the crime…” Aoto closely studied the scratch marks around Granny Apple’s mouth.

Around Granny Apple’s mouth, which was smeared with blood foam and slightly open, there were numerous pressing marks as well as scratches made by fingernails.

Those pressing marks were clearly imprints left by the culprit’s hand pressing down on Granny Apple’s mouth to prevent her from screaming.

As for the scratches, they were likely caused by Granny Apple desperately trying to push away the hand pressing on her mouth.

—Scratch marks…

Aoto shifted his gaze to Granny Apple’s ten fingers on both hands, pondering deeply…

Clang…

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening interrupted Aoto’s observation and thoughts.

Sensing that more than one person had entered, Aoto raised his eyebrows slightly.

He stood up and stepped out of the parlor where Granny Apple had died. Just as he stepped onto the corridor outside the room, he saw five figures approaching him.

Among the five, the one at the forefront wore the same Dōshin attire as Aoto.

Looking at this leader of the five, his lips were somewhat thin, his height about 1.6 meters, much shorter than Aoto but still much taller compared to most people of this era. Aoto immediately furrowed his brows slightly and muttered, “Nishino…”

“Tsuru.” The young man slightly tilted his head upward, looking at Aoto through his nose. “What are you doing here?”

Nishino Saijirou—that was this Dōshin’s name.

Nishino Saijirou was a well-known figure in the Kita Bansho. Like Aoto, he was a celebrity within the Kita Bansho—but their fame pointed in completely opposite directions.

One phrase perfectly described him—the Kita Bansho’s “Three Squads” ace!

Regarding which team under the Kita Bansho’s Teimachi squad—the Arima Group or the Tojo Group—was stronger in solving cases and had more outstanding achievements, there was a widely accepted conclusion throughout the Kita Bansho: The Tojo Group’s performance far surpassed the Arima Group’s.

The reason for this was partly because the Arima Group had “Idiot Aoto” dragging them down, but the main reason was that Nishino was stationed with the Tojo Group.

If anyone was the strongest at solving cases within the Kita Bansho… it had to be Nishino—most officials at the Kita Bansho would say so.

Since joining the Kita Bansho’s Teimachi squad three years ago, Nishino had consistently demonstrated outstanding work capability.

Countless difficult or complicated cases that others struggled with were immediately resolved when handed over to Nishino.

Besides his incredible work skills, his swordsmanship was also exceptional.

The Hokushin Itto-ryu assessed its disciples with three ranks: “Cutting Paper,” “Directory,” and “License.”

At a young age, Nishino had already attained the second rank: Directory qualification.

Many predicted that if Nishino weren’t only twenty-five this year, his youth and lack of seniority wouldn’t prevent him from being promoted to the Rinjikai.

“This district is one of the areas I’m responsible for,” Aoto said. “A homicide occurred in my jurisdiction, so I came ahead to check the scene. Is there a problem with that?”

“…I see. Then you haven’t tampered with anything at the crime scene or damaged it, right?” Nishino’s expression and tone remained cold.

Aoto replied, “I haven’t touched a single thing that shouldn’t be disturbed.”

“Good. I’ll take your word that you didn’t mess up the crime scene.”

“Alright, you can leave now.” Nishino nodded toward the door behind him. “Magistrate Usui has assigned me full responsibility for this case.”

“Unauthorized personnel, without my permission, stay away from the crime scene.”

“Get out quickly.”

“Since this district is your jurisdiction, then go outside and maintain order. Help disperse those onlookers.”

“Maintaining order is the kind of job even someone like you should be capable of, right?”

When uttering “someone like you,” Nishino deliberately emphasized the words.

“Anyway, just don’t cause trouble or give me any headaches.”

In his previous life, Aoto knew of a famous sci-fi novel called The Three-Body Problem, although he had never read it. He remembered a famous line from it—the greatest respect one civilization can show another in the universe is to annihilate it completely; the greatest contempt is to ignore it.

Aoto had always thought this applied just as well to human interactions.

What is the greatest contempt between people? Is it exchanging insults? Putting on a mocking face and wielding the sharpest sarcasm?

No, it’s not.

The greatest contempt between people, like that between civilizations, is simply ignoring the other, not even bothering to glance at them.

That was exactly Nishino’s attitude toward Aoto now.

He didn’t speak with sarcasm or mockery.

Nor did he put on any irritating expression.

But anyone could feel the blatant contempt Nishino showed through his words.

Rank-wise, Nishino was the same level as Aoto—they were both Dōshin in the Teimachi squad. Except for ordering Aoto to leave the crime scene under his jurisdiction, he had no authority to command Aoto to do anything else.

Yet Nishino arrogantly ordered Aoto to maintain order outside the scene, speaking as if he were a superior.

With an air of disdain that didn’t even grant Aoto a proper glance or want to speak more than a word, Nishino acted as if he were on a high pedestal, demanding Aoto disappear from his sight immediately.

Feeling the intense scorn in Nishino’s words and posture, Aoto’s brows twitched slightly, and a faint displeasure stirred in his heart.

But just as this displeasure surfaced, Aoto suppressed it immediately.

Nishino was the Dōshin appointed by Magistrate Usui to take charge of this case. Since Nishino had already arrived at the crime scene, Aoto had no reason to linger here any longer.

Now Nishino was undoubtedly the highest authority at the scene. If Aoto got into any conflict with him, even just verbally, Aoto would be the one in the wrong and could face accusations.

Without a word to Nishino, Aoto silently passed by him and walked toward the door.

Nishino ignored Aoto completely—not even glancing at him. After passing Aoto, he led his okabiki briskly into the parlor where Granny Apple had died.

Just after leaving Granny Apple’s home, Aoto saw Hairo.

Hairo was momentarily stunned upon seeing Aoto but quickly forced a formal smile and greeted him.

“Ah, Lord Tsuru! You’re out!”

Before Hairo, Aoto’s demeanor was as usual—one thing on the surface, another in his heart.

—Heh heh…

Hairo kept snickering mockingly inside.

—You idiot… barged into the crime scene and got kicked out by Lord Nishino, right?

Just as Hairo was wildly mocking Aoto in his mind, he suddenly heard Aoto call out to him:

“Hairo.”

“Hmm? Yes.”

Although the Dōshin assigned to this case had arrived earlier than Aoto expected, fortunately, Aoto had already gathered enough clues at the scene.

Aoto calmly said:

“Hairo, could you help me summon Granny Apple’s neighbors and relatives again? I have a new question for them.”

“If luck is on our side, we might be able to catch the culprit soon.”

“Culprit…?” Hairo’s eyes widened, staring at Aoto in disbelief, then instinctively asked in a hushed voice, “Lord Tsuru, do you already know who the culprit is?”

“If my guess is correct… the culprit is male. Granny Apple likely died from a crime of passion. The culprit came to Granny Apple’s house last night. After chatting with her for a long time, he confessed his love but was rejected.”

“Enraged and humiliated, he pulled out a sharp blade to attack. But he wasn’t skilled with a knife, only managing to land one stab to a vital spot.”

“The culprit was a close friend of Granny Apple—possibly a childhood companion.”

“One of his hands should still bear scratch marks from Granny Apple’s grasp.”

“Crime of passion…?” Hairo’s mouth formed a perfect “O,” his expression stunned with shock.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep