Asai Makoto

Early morning, Moonlight Island Village Clinic.

"Cough, cough! So it really is a cold?"

Fujino complained as he tore off a piece of tissue from the roll by the bedside and blew his nose.

This body, already prone to chills and colds, really could not take much strain.

He had only exerted himself intensely for a bit, and he had caught a cold?

Fortunately, he had subdued those two before his body started giving out.

He had even taken the opportunity to copy the video evidence onto a tape at the hotel...

"Once I'm better, I really need to work out properly... I wonder if the system has anything good for strengthening the body."

As Fujino pondered, he shifted his gaze toward the female doctor some distance away.

The doctor wore a purple sweater, a short black skirt around her waist, and a white lab coat. A faint fragrance drifted from her body.

Generally speaking, a cute woman like this would be especially popular with men.

Yet Fujino could not muster the slightest interest in him.

Because he knew that this cute woman was actually a man.

The mysterious person who had hired him to investigate Aso Keiji this time was probably this doctor.

If he remembered correctly, the doctor's real name was Asai Narumi. He was the son of Aso Keiji, who had died in the fire twelve years ago. At the time, he had been receiving treatment in Tokyo, so he had not perished in that blaze.

After graduating from university, he had disguised himself as a woman and come to this island to become its village doctor, all to investigate the truth behind his family's deaths.

Heaven did not disappoint those who persevered. Two years ago, he had learned the truth from Kameyama Isamu.

From that moment on, he had waited for an opportunity, intending to kill the members of the drug trafficking ring who had murdered his father.

But his kind nature had tormented him over his Murder Plan.

With no other choice, he could only hire a detective in an attempt to stop his own plan.

Asai Narumi suddenly turned around.

When he saw Fujino studying him with an odd look, his face immediately reddened.

After coughing lightly, he picked up the metal tray holding the IV bottle and walked over to Fujino.

"By the way, you came from outside the island, didn't you?"

He set the tray on the bedside table and asked Fujino curiously, "After all, I've never seen you on this island before."

"That's right."

Fujino nodded, his voice slightly hoarse from the cold. "I came from Tokyo."

"Tokyo?"

Asai Narumi sounded surprised, then said with some excitement, "I'm from Tokyo too. Did you come here for sightseeing?"

"Yeah."

"I heard the scenery and air here are especially nice, so someone as frail as me thought I'd come and stay for a few days."

"That's true. This place is much better than Tokyo's concrete jungle. The air is fresh, and the environment is especially quiet."

Before he could finish speaking, the booming voice of a loudspeaker blared past from nearby. "To protect the rights and interests of the island's fisheries and fishermen, please support the people's representative, Shimizu Masato!"

"The recent village mayor election really has been fierce..."

Asai Narumi smiled awkwardly. "I wonder who will be elected in the end."

"Probably Shimizu Masato."

Fujino answered absentmindedly.

Kawashima Hideo had already been knocked out and thrown into the community center.

That guy Kuroiwa would probably be arrested before long as well.

Of the three candidates, only one remained. Who else could it be but Shimizu Masato?

"Why do you say that?"

Asai Narumi looked at Fujino in surprise, somewhat puzzled. "You only just arrived here, didn't you...?"

"The power of the people is always the strongest."

Fujino offered an explanation, then quickly changed the subject. "But anyway, Miss Doctor, what's your name?"

"My name is Asai Narumi. As you can see, I'm the village doctor on this island... And you?"

"Fujino Doji, a university student majoring in music."

"Fujino?"

Asai Narumi murmured as he hung the IV bottle beside the bed. "Your cold is rather serious, Fujino... I'll give you an injection first, then prescribe some cold medicine. You should recover in less than a week."

"A week?"

Fujino muttered at that. "That really is a long time..."

As he spoke, Asai Narumi reached for Fujino's left hand with one hand and held a thin syringe in the other. Smiling softly, he said, "It's just a minor cold. Endure it for a while, and it'll pass."

"Got it."

Fujino sighed and handed his hand over.

Then Asai Narumi tied a rubber band around Fujino's wrist and inserted the gleaming needle into a vein on the back of his hand.

Feeling a sharp sting, Fujino could not help frowning.

"Are you very afraid of pain, Fujino?"

Noticing Fujino's reaction, Asai Narumi chuckled.

Fujino rolled his eyes, clearly not wanting to answer that question.

Elsewhere, inside a patrol boat off the island's shore.

Matsumoto Kiyochika, dressed in a black suit and black tie, stood at the bow and addressed the detectives in matching suits inside the cabin.

"It is now 9:10 in the morning. Early today, we received intelligence that a vicious drug trafficking ring is entrenched on Moonlight Island."

"Our informant has currently been taken hostage."

"This time, the First Investigation Division will be responsible for sealing off the waters around the island and searching for criminals on the island."

"Once you find the drug ring's base, do not act rashly. Report back immediately. The Fourth Investigation Division and the Mobile Unit will be responsible for entering the island, rescuing the hostages, and destroying the drug den. Understood?!"

"Understood!"

Matsumoto Kiyochika nodded at the determined crowd, then called out, "Megure, you'll lead a team onto the island to locate the hostages. Remember, act immediately once you find them. If anything goes wrong, call for support... Everyone else will assist the coast guard in sealing off the island."

"Yes, Superintendent!"

Meanwhile, Fujino, still unaware that the police were about to launch a major operation, was receiving an IV drip and chatting with Asai Narumi.

"By the way, Doctor Asai, you should know about the murder case that happened on this island twelve years ago, right?"

"Twelve years ago..."

Asai Narumi seemed to lose focus for a moment. "That's right. A case did happen here twelve years ago..."

"The Aso Keiji self-immolation incident."

Before he could finish, Fujino suddenly chuckled. "Yesterday, I received a mysterious commission. After investigating it, I uncovered the full truth. That case from twelve years ago was not actually a suicide, but a deliberate massacre carried out by several people against an entire family."

"Aso Keiji was murdered because he no longer wanted to help the island's criminal ring transport drugs."

"Am I wrong?"

As he spoke, Fujino fixed his eyes on Asai Narumi's feminine face and said in a low voice, "Mr. Client?"

"Huh? You're a detective?"

Asai Narumi froze for a moment, then complained resentfully, "But what are you talking about, Fujino? That's very rude. I'm a woman..."