Okamoto Peach Blossom 0.01

"That's right, it was me!"

Just as Fujino was about to make his move, Akio Yamada, who was locked in the cage, shouted, "I'm the one who killed Dad! Please don't hurt Mom anymore!"

"Akio! Do you know what you're saying?!"

Hearing this, Mrs. Yamada stopped and turned, shouting hysterically at Akio Yamada, "Don't talk nonsense, Akio! Just hold on a little longer, and the statute of limitations will pass!"

"I don't want to be like this anymore!"

Akio Yamada knelt on the ground, hands on his knees, sobbing, "I don't want to see you hurt because of me anymore, Mom!"

"Akio!"

Mrs. Yamada seemed to deflate like a leaky balloon, and the knife in her hand dropped to the floor.

Fujino breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, he had the illusion that he had become the main villain.

He coughed lightly, easing the damn awkwardness, before continuing to speak to Mrs. Yamada in a deep voice, "Don't you understand your son's feelings yet?"

"You shut up!"

Mrs. Yamada turned her head abruptly, "I just want to protect him! I can't just stand by and watch him go to prison and ruin the rest of his life!"

Fujino sighed.

He told himself in his heart that his debating skills weren't quite there yet, and then said sternly:

"Is it protecting him to lock him in a dark, damp cage and let him suffer the torment of his conscience every day?! Don't you think your so-called protection is crueler than sending him to prison?"

"That's not true! That's not true!!"

Mrs. Yamada collapsed, clutching her head. After a roar, she covered her face and burst into tears.

"Perhaps this is twisted maternal love…"

Fujino lowered his head slightly and sighed.

The sun was setting. Although it was already night, the mother and son, who had been in hiding for five years, finally returned to the sunlight today.

Fujino took them to the police station and then returned to his home in 5-chome.

He pushed open the door, and a hundred-square-meter room came into view.

Moonlight streamed in, illuminating the spacious room which was fully furnished, even with a nearly hundred-inch plasma TV hanging on the wall, yet it felt exceptionally desolate.

"I'm back."

Fujino subconsciously muttered to himself, then dragged his exhausted body onto the bed, enjoying the solitude that belonged only to him.

[Congratulations to the host for completing the Haunted House Murder Case mission, gaining fifty Detective Reputation points]

[System rewards have been issued, and the bounty has been issued]

[The system equipment gift pack has been delivered to the warehouse, please check it, host]

A prompt sounded in his ear, and Fujino slowly sat up.

With a thought, a transparent light screen appeared before him.

The screen was filled with grids, and within the grids were various items.

The system warehouse wasn't a system space that could randomly store and retrieve items; it was a one-way logistics warehouse from which items could only be taken out… Once an item was taken out, it could not be put back.

Fujino examined the system warehouse, his gaze drawn to an icon that looked like a gift box.

[System Initial Equipment Gift Pack: Randomly draw one initial equipment, guaranteed to be blue quality]

Fujino glanced at the item description and then opened the gift pack.

Suddenly, a stream of light flowed out of the gift pack.

After a moment of realistic cutscene animation, a wooden sword shimmering with blue light appeared before him.

"A wooden sword?"

Fujino exclaimed in surprise. His fingertip touched it, and the details of the wooden sword appeared:

[Okamoto Peach Blossom 0.01: A wooden sword made of black walnut, which has been blessed by a certain master. Therefore, although it is made of wood, it is indestructible.

Appearance: A black, one-meter-two-long wooden sword. In its normal state, it appears as a shrunken pendant, but it returns to its original form when used.

Abilities: Indestructible, but its damage-dealing capability is limited. Although it cannot cause physical damage to people, it can make people feel physical pain and suffer from the negative effects of partial injuries for a period of time. If the user's swordsmanship is excellent, it is highly possible to knock someone out with a single blow.]

Fujino took out the wooden sword and swung it a couple of times. The first sensation was that it was very light. Even with his unenhanced physique, he could wield it with ease.

Moreover, judging by the touch, it didn't feel like a wooden sword at all; it felt more like a steel sword forged from pure steel…

He swung it a few more times and almost smashed the plasma TV before Fujino put it away.

After being put away, the Okamoto Peach Blossom 0.01 shrank to the size of a thumb and fell from mid-air into Fujino's palm as a pendant.

There was even a woven red string tied at the hilt, which was quite thoughtful.

It was quite convenient.

"It kind of feels like my lucky zodiac year."

Fujino sighed and put the pendant around his neck.

Gurgle gurgle!

At that moment, his stomach growled uncontrollably, interrupting his thoughts.

He almost forgot, he hadn't eaten a single thing since he woke up that morning.

Man is iron, food is steel. He needed to eat first, and he could worry about other things later.

Fujino somehow pulled out a pack of instant noodles and lit the gas stove to boil water.

In just a moment, a bowl of plain instant noodles, which the system claimed would fill him up once eaten, was placed on the table by Fujino.

"Can this stuff really fill me up?"

Fujino muttered in doubt, but after he devoured the entire bowl of instant noodles... he didn't think that anymore.

Although the taste wasn't great, comparable to cheap rations, it was truly effective at satisfying hunger.

Just one bowl left him feeling an unprecedented sense of fullness.

"I wonder how the system got this stuff... This isn't scientific..."

Fujino mumbled to himself, but then he thought, with a system already in play, what was the point of being scientific? This wasn't scientific, it wasn't Conan-esque, it was pure mysticism.

Full and content, Fujino stretched out with a big yawn, his gaze drifting towards the street, his mind wandering.

Yeah, he was almost accustomed to life in this world now... and to this Conan-esque time flow where it might be the fifth today and the twentieth tomorrow.

Perhaps the only drawback was this body, which felt a bit weak due to overexertion.

During the day, because he hadn't adjusted yet, he'd blacked out after some strenuous activity and ended up in the infirmary.

When he woke up, he was also called over by that beautiful but fierce Japanese literature teacher, who bombarded him with a lot of confusing questions... Fortunately, Fujino managed to brush her off with a few evasive answers, and it was over.

"Dad! Did you go out drinking again?!"

Just then, a girl's sharp scolding suddenly rang out. She continued, her tone gradually becoming resentful, "If it weren't for you acting like this, why wouldn't any jobs come our way? Why would Mom be so upset and leave..."

"Wait, Ran, let me explain... Ah!"

That day, the miserable screams of a certain drunkard echoed throughout Beika Town, 5-chome.

When the storm subsided, Fujino stood by the balcony, looking at the Mori Detective Agency across the way, and remarked, "Another day in the Mouri household, still brimming with martial spirit..."