Swordsman Soldier

Fujino grabbed his Wooden Sword, put on the Vision Enhancement Glasses, pushed open the car door, and followed the man who had taken Ogawa Yuta away.

Before coming here, he had made ample preparations for this operation.

Besides wearing the Vision Enhancement Glasses, he held a Strength Boost Card and a Perception Enhancement Card in each hand.

The park was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.

It was dusk, and there were hardly any people in the park. The surroundings were silent, making it a fine place for murder.

"Wow! Thank you, mister!"

Beside a bench in an open area of the park, little Yuta squatted on the ground as he opened the present before him, looking incredibly excited.

"You're welcome..."

The man named Ogino replied strangely.

Then he took off his trench coat, pulled a fruit knife from his pocket, and walked toward Ogawa Yuta with a vicious hatred in his eyes.

Tomoya, you must be lonely over there... Don't worry. I'll send this little friend to keep you company...

With that thought, he slowly raised the fruit knife in his hand.

"That's far enough!"

A figure suddenly stepped in front of him.

The man held a Wooden Sword and wore black-rimmed glasses, his gaze carrying a sharp edge.

But judging by his thin frame, he did not seem like much of a threat.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Ogino glared viciously at Fujino and shouted, "Get out of my way!"

Fujino raised the Wooden Sword in his hand, pointing its wooden blade at Ogino's face. In a low voice, he asked, "Are you really going to kill this innocent child?"

"I advise you not to meddle!"

Ogino threw the trench coat draped over his arm aside. "Otherwise, I'll kill you too!"

Then he raised the fruit knife high and charged straight at Fujino.

"If I'm not mistaken, you want to kill him to make his father pay for his debt in blood, right?"

Notice: Detective Time has been activated. Countdown: 0-0-59

The system notification suddenly rang out.

"What?!"

Ogino froze for a moment, stopping in his tracks as he looked at Fujino in astonishment.

"Two years ago, your son, Ogino Tomoya, died from untreated appendicitis. Unable to accept the grief of losing your child, you transferred all your hatred onto Doctor Ogawa."

The corner of Fujino's lips curved upward as he deduced, "From that time onward, you used the insurance payout from Ogino Tomoya's death, along with his toys, to send gifts to Doctor Ogawa's son, Ogawa Yuta... all so that, two years later, you could personally take Ogawa Yuta's life and make him experience the pain of losing a son when his child was five years old!"

"How do you know all that?"

Ogino exclaimed in shock before roaring, "Who the hell are you?!"

"My name is Fujino. I'm a detective!"

With that, Fujino activated the system enhancements and crushed the Perception Enhancement Card and Strength Enhancement Card he had been holding.

Detective Enhancement activated for host: 100%. Countdown: 0-1-59

Strength Boost activated for host: 100%. Countdown: 0-0-59

Perception Boost activated for host: 100%. Countdown: 0-0-59

"I don't care whether you're some detective or dog detective. Since you dared ruin my plans, die!"

Roaring, Ogino charged forward again, raised the fruit knife high, and thrust it directly at Fujino's chest.

"Still refusing to see reason."

Fujino snorted. His legs tensed as he assumed the stance of the Sword Flying Heaven Style. Facing the knife tip closing in step by step, his heart remained utterly calm.

After receiving the system's Perception Enhancement and the glasses' Perception Enhancement, the two effects doubled together.

Ogino's charging movements were now crystal clear in Fujino's eyes.

To him, those movements became a series of afterimages that gradually formed a trajectory.

That was his prediction of Ogino's movements.

He merely dodged to the side, and Ogino's strike missed completely.

Then, the Wooden Sword in his hand rose by the smallest margin.

It smashed directly into the weakest point of Ogino's wrist.

"Argh!"

Ogino clutched his wrist and let out a miserable scream.

Fujino did not dare relax. He spun around, and propelled by inertia, the Wooden Sword clenched in his hand swung like a meteor hammer toward Ogino's lower back.

Bang!

Ogino instinctively fell in the direction of the swing, hitting the ground and letting out waves of agonized cries.

"Don't bully the nice uncle!"

At that moment, a childish voice came from nearby.

"Huh?"

Fujino responded in surprise.

Turning around, he saw Ogawa Yuta standing not far away with his hands on his hips, shouting at him.

"Kid, that uncle over there is the bad guy!"

"Can't you see the knife in his hand?"

"Uncle gave me fun toys. How could he be a bad guy!"

The child's eyes shone with pure innocence.

For a moment, Fujino was left speechless.

Well, damn. He was the bad guy now...

"Tomoya..."

Seeing Ogawa Yuta defend him, tears welled up in Ogino's eyes.

In a daze, he seemed to see his son, who had died two years ago.

"Uncle! Why are you crying?"

As he spoke, Ogawa Yuta started walking toward Ogino.

"Don't go over there! It's dangerous!"

Fujino immediately picked Ogawa Yuta up, while the Wooden Sword in his hand remained pointed at Ogino.

"Bad big brother, stop bullying the nice uncle and let me go!"

Yuta struggled as he shouted loudly.

Fujino could not help feeling speechless.

Why couldn't this kid tell good from bad...

Did he really look that much like a bad guy?

"No!"

Ogino knelt on the ground, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes. "It was all Uncle's fault. Uncle is the bad guy..."

"Actually, I knew from the beginning that Tomoya didn't die because of the surgery..."

"It was just... I just..."

"You simply couldn't accept that cruel reality."

Fujino kicked the fruit knife aside and slowly walked over to Ogino. "Reality is like that—cruel and difficult to accept..."

As he spoke, he patted Ogino on the shoulder. "But that is not a reason to make other innocent people experience that same heart-wrenching pain."

As Ogino held his head and wept bitterly, the commission was successfully resolved.

In the end, Doctor Ogawa did not send Ogino, who had attempted to abduct his son, to prison.

Naturally, Fujino respected his client's wishes.

After all, he was merely a detective who worked for money.

The sun set in the west.

Having earned a commission fee of six hundred and fifty thousand, Fujino leaned against the Ford Taurus.

Looking at his handsome face in the rearview mirror, he muttered, "Do I really look that much like a bad guy?"

Shaking his head, he stopped dwelling on it.

Just then, a series of system notifications sounded beside his ear:

Host has completed a commission. System reward: 50 Detective Reputation points. Current Detective Reputation: 150. 50 Reputation points remain until advancement.

Swordsman level increased: Intermediate

Congratulations, host, for obtaining the Professional Swordsman skill: Swordsman Soldier

"The Professional Swordsman level went up?"

Listening to the system notifications by his ear, Fujino exclaimed in surprise.