The conclusion of the vicious serial murder case earned Ritsu official commendation from the Metropolitan Police Department.
On top of that, some ridiculously lucky reporter happened to be staking out police headquarters and captured footage of murderer Keisuke Nakano miserably kowtowing and begging for mercy, which forced Ritsu to accept an interview with Nichiuri TV.
The moment he saw that the interviewer was Mizunashi Rena, Ritsu couldn't help smiling bitterly inwardly.
Unfortunately for the CIA undercover agent, she still hadn't realized that Onizawa Takashi was actually Augier.
"Hello, Inspector Onizawa. I'm Mizunashi Rena from Nichiuri TV."
Seeing her take the initiative to extend her hand, Ritsu, dressed in police uniform, naturally returned the handshake lightly and replied in a gentle tone:
"Mizunashi-san, there's no need to use formal speech with me. We're probably around the same age, so just call me Onizawa."
Onizawa's identity had not falsified his age. He was only twenty-five this year, one year younger than Rena, so he wasn't used to her speaking to him so formally.
"It seems Onizawa-san already knows a little about me." Rena was clearly highly professional. After noticing the staff's signal, she abandoned the script and smoothly entered today's topic.
"Onizawa-san, I heard that you previously worked overseas as a criminal consultant and even solved several international criminal cases. Is that true?"
Hearing the question, Ritsu folded his hands over his knees and nodded with a smile.
"That's right. Occasionally, I also worked as a forensic examiner. Personally, I'm very interested in anything related to crime, so I tend to study such things on my own and seek guidance from professors in related fields."
"A criminal consultant and a forensic examiner. Onizawa-san really is multi-talented." Even Rena felt curious. Someone of his caliber should have departments everywhere competing to recruit him.
"There's one thing I'd like to ask. Overseas, you probably had even greater opportunities for advancement. Why did you choose to return to Japan?"
Ritsu awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and smiled somewhat shyly.
"This might sound a little arrogant but I felt the Metropolitan Police Department needed me, so I came back. Besides, no matter where I am, I'll do my utmost to capture criminals and straighten out this society."
As he said those words, Ritsu's emotions were complicated. He wondered whether any Organization members who knew his true identity might currently be watching the live broadcast.
What expressions would they make? Most likely they were praising his acting skills. Though part of that performance was genuine.
"I think you have every right to be confident, Onizawa-san. Judging from your case-solving record, you really are akin to a 'savior' to the Metropolitan Police Department."
"Next, let's move on to a few off-topic questions. These are things many viewers interested in you have been asking."
After seeing the first question, Rena couldn't help laughing.
"This first one is quite difficult. Onizawa-san, do you currently have a girlfriend? And if not, what is your ideal type?"
'Do people seriously have this much free time? What kind of question is that?'
Even though Ritsu was internally complaining, he maintained a polite smile as he answered somewhat awkwardly,
"I already have a girlfriend, so my ideal type would naturally be my girlfriend."
Back at the office, Hayasaka watched the live broadcast, immediately cursed with a laugh.
"What a shameless liar. A world-class fraud."
Takagi, who had been focused on writing reports, looked up in confusion. "Hayasaka-san, why did you say that?"
"Nothing. I was just criticizing a certain police officer for publicly lying during an interview."
Naturally, Ritsu had no idea someone back at the office was roasting him.
After giving several polished official answers and briefly sharing some thoughts about investigative work, he finally brought the half-hour-long torture session to an end.
Once the interview ended, the staff from Nichiuri TV enthusiastically invited him out for dinner afterward, but Ritsu quickly waved his hands and explained that he had other matters to handle that evening.
When he returned to the office, Miwako greeted him with a teasing smile.
"Shuten-doji is back!"
"Shuten-doji?" Ritsu pointed at himself in confusion. "Are you talking about me?"
Kazunobu Chiba, who was currently sitting at his desk unwrapping a hamburger, chimed in.
"Yeah, Inspector Onizawa, didn't you know? Right after your interview aired, your fans started calling you 'Shuten-doji.'"
"Huh? Why?"
"Doesn't your surname contain the character for 'oni' (demon)? Your fans think you're the king of a hundred demons. 'Demon Cop' sounded lame, so they named you after Shuten-doji, the king of demons!"
After explaining, Miwako covered her mouth and laughed, clearly finding it amusing that a police officer had ended up with such a nickname.
The corner of Ritsu's mouth twitched violently.
'What kind of cringe chuuni nickname was that?'
Absolutely not.
And since when did police officers even have fans in the first place? It was honestly ridiculous.
"Don't call me that." Ritsu walked over to his desk and tidied the documents on top of it before looking toward Hayasaka, who had not joined in the teasing.
"Hayasaka, I'm taking a few days off. Sorry to leave things to you during that time."
"Alright. Get some proper rest."
"Yeah."
Leaving police headquarters behind, Ritsu took a taxi back to his apartment in Mita Town, Minato Ward.
Stuffing his passport and visa into his travel bag, he hurried into the bathroom and picked up a specially made makeup remover.
Onizawa's appearance gradually disappeared, transforming back into Augier. The effect of the colored contacts faded at just the right moment, the crimson in his eyes slowly dissolving back into the familiar deep blue, like a blood moon sinking beneath the ocean.
Ritsu laid his phone flat on the sink counter, dialed a number, and switched the call to speaker mode.
The other side answered very quickly, and the woman's voice carried obvious amusement.
"Onizawa-san really is quite the symbol of justice~"
As expected, Vermouth simply could not speak properly for even a moment. Who would've thought she'd actually watch such a boring live broadcast?
"Vermouth, if you keep talking nonsense, I'm not going."
"My apologies. I shouldn't tease you."
Holding rose petals floating in the bathwater with one hand, Vermouth brushed aside the loose hair by her ear and asked,
"The FBI's little kittens are tailing me very closely. If I want to shake them off, I'll need your help. I imagine you're quite interested in the FBI, aren't you?"
'The FBI? Not really.'
Though there was one particular person within it who did interest him.
Standing bare-chested, Ritsu's body was covered in wounds of varying sizes. Aside from the blood-like scar extending from his heart to his left shoulder, the most striking injury was the gunshot scar on the left side of his abdomen.
His fingertips lightly brushed across it. The rough texture caused the corner of his lips to curl upward in a vague smile.
"Yes, I'm pretty interested. So, are you planning to hand over the little kitten to me?"
"Wildcats scratch painfully. Haven't you already experienced that yourself?"
"Yeah. It hurt quite a bit."
Ritsu slipped on a white dress shirt and calmly buttoned it up one button at a time before quietly adding,
"See you in New York. Let's hope neither of us ends up needing rabies shots."
"I wait for you. Goodbye, handsome guy."
"Almost forgot to remind you, taking baths doesn't cure insomnia."
As Vermouth heard those words just before the call disconnected, she helplessly shook her head.
So he had heard the sound of her lifting the rose petals from the water.
How frighteningly perceptive.
Turning her gaze toward the New York nightscape outside, she thought to herself, how could she not know that baths couldn't cure insomnia?
For seventeen whole years, she had searched for ways to ease it, yet nothing ever worked. Thinking back to the "gift" she had once given Ritsu a year ago, it had been the drug that transformed her into an ageless monster.
Just like her, Ritsu's age had frozen the instant he took it.
He had become her kind. Plagued by insomnia all the same. And yet, he never seemed to hate the people who created the drug.
Even now, Vermouth still clearly remembered the answer he had given her months ago.
—
"You don't hate the Miyano family? They created this drug. They're the reason we became like this."
"If it weren't for that drug, I'd already be dead, wouldn't I? Besides… is the root of this sin really the Miyano family? Vermouth, both of us know the answer."
—
Steam wrapped around her body as Vermouth casually picked up a clean bathrobe and draped it over her beautiful figure. Wearing soft cotton slippers, she walked outside and stopped before a full-length mirror, staring silently at her makeup-free reflection.
Without her usual queen-like aura, she instead appeared unexpectedly pure and youthful. After all, her age had stopped eighteen years ago at thirty-two.
Already youthful-looking by nature, once she removed her makeup, she resembled a university graduate barely twenty-three or twenty-four years old.
"You still don't understand me, Macallan."
The Miyanos were merely vessels for the hatred she carried.
Because the true root of sin, was someone she could never allow herself to hate.
----
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