The Moonlight Sonata Plan

That afternoon, a ferry sailed through the mist on the sea towards Moon Shadow Island.

The foghorn blared. Fujino, dressed in a black vest and suit, stood at the bow of the ship, feeling the sea breeze and lost in thought.

Just at noon, when he accepted the mission, five hundred thousand Yen had suddenly appeared in his system account.

He didn't need to guess that it was the commission fee from the 'mysterious person' who had tasked him with investigating the truth behind Aso Keiji's death.

Originally, he had planned to head to Moon Shadow Island tomorrow.

However, upon arriving at the dock, Fujino learned from the ferryman that the ferry to Moon Shadow Island only ran once every two days. He hurried onto the ship.

After all, if he missed this one, he'd have to wait another two days.

The system mission specified three days. If he didn't board today, he'd only have one day left after two days, which wouldn't be enough time to complete the task.

As for school, he had already called Hiratsuka Shizuka to let her know he was safe.

While that woman could be a bit reckless and had a strong heart, she was undeniably considerate when it came to her students.

Upon learning that Fujino was taking leave, she had used her influence to coerce a school doctor into granting him an extended leave of absence, citing personal reasons.

He could return whenever he wanted, as long as it wasn't too excessive.

In terms of how she handled things, this woman was indeed quite similar to Fujino.

To be honest, Fujino felt a little touched by her thoughtfulness.

It was just that she was a bit too forceful.

Moon Shadow Island Village Police Station.

After disembarking, Fujino didn't rush to the village office to ask around like that clueless old detective Kogoro Mouri.

Instead, he went to the police station on the island and struck up a casual conversation with the only elderly police officer there.

While chatting, to avoid alerting anyone, Fujino presented himself as a music student visiting Moon Shadow Island for tourism, here to find traces of the renowned musician Aso Keiji.

Mentioning Aso Keiji, the former glory of Moon Shadow Island, even the elderly officer's head lifted with pride as he recounted the musician's past achievements.

Aso Keiji was born on Moon Shadow Island and rose to international fame. Before he was forty, he had become a leading performer, the pride of everyone on the island.

But twelve years ago, an accident suddenly occurred. Aso Keiji, who had returned to Moon Shadow Island to hold a concert, locked himself in his house after the concert and set himself on fire.

He first killed his family with a knife, then, appearing helpless, played piano pieces in the house until he burned to death, leaving behind only sheet music locked in a safe.

As he reached the end of his story, the pride in the old police officer's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a sigh of regret.

Just as Aso Keiji perished in the flames, the island's future also plunged into dark stagnation…

Upon hearing about the sheet music, Fujino's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately requested to see the sheet music of the deceased Aso Keiji.

The old police officer naturally agreed.

That afternoon, at a hotel on Moon Shadow Island.

"If that's the case, then things become easier…"

Fujino flipped through the sheet music he had photographed on his phone, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Although he couldn't understand the music notation, he was perfectly aware of the content.

This sheet music contained evidence of the drug trafficking ring on Moon Shadow Island from years ago, along with a list of its members.

The current village chief Kuroiwa Tatsuji, the island's richest man Kawashima Hideo, the former village chief Kameyama Isamu, and Nishimoto Ken from a once wealthy family were all key members of the criminal organization.

Furthermore, if Fujino remembered correctly, the current village chief's secretary, Hirata Kazuaki, was also a member of the criminal group, a henchman responsible for transporting narcotics from abroad to the island.

Calling him a henchman wasn't entirely accurate, as he was a combination of drug transporter and dealer, on equal footing with the island's drug lords.

"Sending drug lords and traffickers to prison is a bit troublesome."

Fujino put away his phone and walked to the window, gazing at the island's scenery, pondering silently.

This time, his mission was to solve the suicide case from twelve years ago.

That case was easy; a million Yen felt like picking up money.

The difficult part, however, was sending those drug lords to prison.

To report them to the police, he needed to gather sufficient evidence for conviction beforehand.

In other words, he would most likely have to confront the drug trafficking syndicate on Moon Shadow Island directly.

Fujino wasn't very confident about dealing with ruthless criminals.

Therefore, on his way here, he had been contemplating a plan to break them down one by one.

Only after obtaining the sheet music just now did he finalize this plan.

The plan was tentatively named: "Moonlight Sonata Plan."

That evening, Fujino began his operation.

He stealthily made his way to the community center via a small path and began staking out in the nearby grove.

If the intelligence he had gathered from the island's information network, namely the gossiping aunties sitting at the convenience store, was correct, Hirata Kazuaki should have just returned from abroad.

And according to Fujino's speculation, since Hirata Kazuaki had gone abroad, it was definitely to procure narcotics, and he would be coming for a transaction in the next couple of days.

The transaction location was the piano in the Kojima Community Center, specifically a hidden compartment created twelve years ago when Aso Keiji helped transport drugs from overseas.

Midnight struck, the moon was full, and the cicadas clinging to the large trees began their nightly chorus.

"Damn it, why isn't that guy here yet?"

Fujino, crouching in the woods, glanced at the time on his phone, a frown creasing his brow. He wondered aloud, "Could it be that he's not going to show up for the trade tonight?"

After waiting a while longer and seeing nothing happen, he sighed and decided to head back to bed.

But just as he was about to leave, a figure appeared in the distance.

Seeing this, Fujino quickly concealed himself and aimed his camera towards the figure not far away.

Under the faint moonlight, the figure gradually became clearer.

It was a middle-aged man in a beige suit, wearing frameless glasses, with an honest and simple appearance.

It was clear that this was Fujino's target for the night, Hirata Kazuaki.

Despite the man's honest demeanor.

He was actually a core member of the Kojima drug trafficking group.

After arriving at the community center, Hirata Kazuaki looked around first. Seeing no one, he entered the community center's piano room, took out a pack of pristine white powder from his inner pocket, and placed it into the piano's hidden compartment.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he then exited the community center.

After looking around and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he whistled nonchalantly and left the scene.

In the woods not far away, Fujino was holding his phone, silently recording everything.

Only after Hirata Kazuaki had left did he emerge, stroll into the community center, open the piano's compartment, and shove his phone's camera into the hidden space below, capturing all the White Powder placed inside the piano's secret compartment.

He turned off the phone's camera mode.

Fujino examined the perfectly gathered evidence, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Recommending a friend's book: A story about the Hyuga clan's training in Konoha as a DNF male monk. It's lighthearted, funny, and slice-of-life.