Inside a private room on the second floor of Beika Hotel, Ritsu had deliberately altered his appearance, wearing a white mask, black-framed glasses, and even styling his hair neatly to soften his look. The person he wanted to avoid wasn't Terumi, whom he had just met. It was the police who would soon arrive.
Ritsu skillfully put on a pair of white gloves and crouched beside the male victim, examining the head injuries. Meanwhile, Vodka had somehow produced a fake mustache and stuck it onto his face. His small eyes occasionally glanced toward the frightened Kaoru beside them, completely unbefitting of a proper "detective's assistant."
A woman in a gray business suit with a ponytail immediately raised her voice upon seeing them barge in.
"Hey! Who are you two? Who let you in? I've already called the police!"
Vodka quickly waved his hands with an awkward smile. "Ma'am, we're not suspicious people. He's Detective McAllen, and I'm his assistant, Adkov."
The corner of Ritsu's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected Vodka to be this clever, even thinking to use a variation of his codename as an alias.
"A detective?" The ponytailed woman clearly looked skeptical. She pointed at Ritsu and asked, "Then why is this detective wearing a mask? He looks very suspicious."
"Of course it's because he has a cold. It wouldn't be good if he spread it to everyone."
Ritsu cooperated, coughing twice and deliberately thickening his nasal tone.
"Sorry, I might've caught a chill in the hall earlier. My rhinitis is acting up."
Watching him from the side, Terumi couldn't help but think, 'He must be that annoying fake fan from earlier. So the 'friend' he mentioned is this strange mustached man?'
A detective and his assistant… it actually seemed kind of interesting. She chose not to expose that "McAllen" had given the name Kamijo Sota earlier.
As Ritsu continued examining the victim, he found no signs of restraint injuries on the limbs, nor any other wounds on the body.
There were three injuries to the head. The first heavy blow struck the jaw, knocking the victim unconscious. The second and third were concentrated on the temples, causing massive rupture of subcutaneous blood vessels and severe hemorrhaging.
After determining the cause, Ritsu spoke.
"The victim suffered heavy blows to the temples, leading to vascular rupture and massive bleeding. He is currently in brainstem death caused by traumatic brain injury."
He stood up and looked at the ponytailed woman.
"If you're willing to pay a high emergency fee, you could send him to the hospital for a symbolic twelve-hour resuscitation. So, did you call an ambulance?"
The woman froze for a moment, then shook her head.
"I checked his breathing earlier, he wasn't breathing… so I only called the police."
"It's understandable if you lack medical knowledge. Even if he were sent to the hospital, they could only maintain breathing with machines. It's humane, but medically meaningless."
It wasn't that Ritsu was cold, given brainstem death combined with massive internal and external bleeding, saving the victim was impossible by modern medical standards. There was no point in adding financial burden or prolonging meaningless suffering.
Vodka was amazed by Ritsu's professionalism. As expected of a core researcher in the organization, his brain really worked differently! If only he had half that intelligence… he might be as capable as Gin.
Terumi was also surprised. She hadn't expected this "annoying fake fan" to actually have real skills.
"Do you handle cases often? You seem very experienced."
Behind the mask, Ritsu's lips twitched slightly. He wanted to say, 'Because this used to be my job.'
But of course, he couldn't say that aloud.
All he wanted now was to solve the case quickly and leave. Looking up at the people present, he asked,
"What is your relationship with the victim? Could you explain?"
Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, Terumi answered first, clearly intrigued by him.
"He's a professional photographer. He was here today to take photos for our signing event. His name is Takahashi Shoichiro."
"I see, thank you."
Ritsu walked over to Vodka and whispered, "Vodka, check if there's any blunt object at the scene."
"Hm? You mean that's the murder weapon?"
"Yeah."
Vodka immediately put on gloves and began searching. Perhaps due to Ritsu's convincing professionalism, no one questioned his identity as a detective and simply allowed it.
After all, trying to stop him now would only increase suspicion, something the real culprit would avoid.
"May I ask, within the last thirty minutes, were all of you present here?" Ritsu asked.
Kaoru shook her head.
"No. Our break times are staggered. Terumi and I were on the same break, while Yoko and Yuki were on another."
"So the people who had the opportunity to kill Takahashi-san are the two of you, plus this lady whose name I don't yet know," Ritsu said, raising an eyebrow slightly.
He glanced at Vodka, who was diligently searching. So that's why he wanted him to clear Kaoru's name.
'But what if she's actually the culprit?'
"What's your name?" he asked.
The ponytailed woman replied, "I'm the manager of the Earth Ladies Team. My name is Mika Yamada. I did go in and out of the room as well."
"Who discovered the body first?"
"I did," Kaoru raised her hand. "I was so scared I screamed. Terumi came in right after, then Mika, and then Yoko and Yuki came when they heard the noise."
Ritsu felt a headache coming on. The first discoverer was always the most suspicious.
Just as he was about to search the victim's belongings, a commotion came from outside. The police had likely arrived.
"Inspector, the scene is inside."
"Understood. You all maintain order and make sure no bystanders cross the line. Move!"
"Yes, sir!"
As Inspector Megure entered the room, he immediately noticed the number of people inside—especially the masked man crouching beside the body, touching things.
"Hey! What are you doing? You can't just tamper with a crime scene!"
Vodka quickly turned around and explained, "Inspector, we're not suspicious people! He's Detective McAllen, and I'm his assistant."
"A detective?"
Detectives were a gray area, and as a police officer, Megure wasn't fond of them, especially unknown ones. If they contaminated the crime scene and hindered the investigation, it would be a disaster.
"You two, leave immediately. This is now under police jurisdiction."
Hearing that, Ritsu felt relieved.
Finally, he could leave.
However, what Vodka said next made him feel like his heart had been thrown straight into the icy waters of Tokyo Bay.
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Bonus chapter @100 PS