Court

"It's all right. The more times like this, the more we need to proceed steadily. The prosecution will be able to hold out tomorrow," Shiraishi said calmly.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Shiraishi would not handle matters personally. Otherwise...

Every case had its own importance. If Shiraishi had to handle them all himself, when would the officers at the station ever grow?

If they were only given petty thefts to deal with, they would never unlock their potential even by retirement!

Unless Shiraishi felt that the culprit would truly get away with it if he did not step in, he would at most offer a reminder or two at critical moments.

As for now...

Didn't the prosecution have their "Cannon Fodder Witness"?

"Chief." Genjiro had just caught a nap in the break room, but the chief had called him over again.

"Mm. I'll have to trouble you again. Just proceed at your own pace," Shiraishi instructed.

[Genjiro (Beika Police Detective):

Age: 26.

Overall Rating: R.

Mind: Justice (70), Principles (66), Gentleness (90), Subjectivity (69), Passion (65), Resilience (67).

Body: Dry Eyes, Naturally Curly Hair, Healthy...

Skills: Interrogation (SR), Evidence Collection (N), Driving (N)...

Potential: Enormous, aptitude for interrogation.]

After three or four hours of sleep, Genjiro's "Listlessness" was gone, though his "Dry Eyes" remained!

Still, "Dry Eyes" did not affect [Interrogation]. It mainly affected [Shooting]. His [Shooting] had only been "N" to begin with—the level of "he could fire a gun, but even he didn't believe he could hit anything"—and there was no need for him to shoot now anyway.

Besides...

Even "Naturally Curly Hair" ranked ahead of "Healthy." It seemed he was not far from being in suboptimal health!

However, his [Interrogation] was a genuine SR. It was only because [Gentleness] in Genjiro's "Mind" was as high as 90 that...

His interrogations and questioning were exceptionally effective against people who responded to softness, even surpassing ordinary SR skills.

But once he encountered someone who only responded to force rather than persuasion, its effectiveness was somewhat weaker.

"Huh? So this time they've sent a handsome young man to keep this old lady company..."

"Not at all. Big sister, you still look very young!"

Inside the Soundproof Room, Genjiro had already begun...

However, Shiraishi did not remain outside the Interrogation Room afterward. After all... he had heard that Genjiro took a long time to get into the groove. On the first day, he basically just made small talk, so there was no need to keep listening.

Akasaka and Aoki also resumed investigating the other leads...

At that moment, the detectives of the Criminal Affairs Division once again sighed inwardly—if Shirai had not acted so recklessly, they would not be in such a passive position now!

Before the end of the workday, Shiraishi specifically went to find Ebihara...

"Chief Ebihara, I'll leave the station to you tomorrow. I'll be coming in later," Shiraishi specifically told him.

"Huh? Tomorrow... you're going to..." Ebihara immediately had a guess upon hearing that.

"Mm. I got an observer's pass. I'm going to court tomorrow to sit in on the hearing," Shiraishi admitted directly.

Things had reached a point where the investigation was extremely unfavorable for the police station—the prosecution had hidden the witness out of distrust, and the suspect, as the defendant, was ordinarily held in the detention center, beyond the station's reach.

Therefore, Shiraishi decided to take a look himself tomorrow...

Although he would only be observing and would have no chance to speak, at least he could watch their expressions and reactions. It was better than nothing!

Ebihara sighed, but he knew he could not dissuade Shiraishi. He merely told him not to worry about matters at the station.

Early the next morning, Shiraishi deliberately arrived at the Tokyo High Court even earlier to avoid the reporters, waiting in the lounge area.

Shiraishi was wearing a custom-made suit—he could not have bought one off the rack even if he wanted to! More than a month ago, when he had exchanged fire with those people, Shiraishi had specifically not worn a suit. After all... it was better to save where he could!

The lounge was filled with people who would later observe hearings in various courtrooms. Quite a few of them looked at Shiraishi in surprise, but there was no need to worry about reporters.

Anyone who knew Shiraishi could not possibly fail to recognize him from his build. Yet even if the reporters recognized him, they restrained themselves from coming over to interview him. At most, they noted down the news that "the Beika Police Chief had personally come to observe the hearing."

After all...

They could block people outside, but once they stepped into the courthouse, they could not throw their weight around just because they were reporters. If they disrupted order here, they would definitely be thrown out and miss the hearing afterward.

At that moment, a middle-aged man wearing glasses and sporting a textbook example of a "local support central" hairstyle approached him voluntarily. "You're Chief Shiraishi, correct?"

Though the other man was standing while Shiraishi sat on a sofa in the lounge, there was not much difference in their height...

Shiraishi also noticed that the man had an Autumn Frost Scorching Sun badge pinned to his suit lapel, marking his identity—a prosecutor.

"And you are...?"

"I am a First Class Prosecutor in the First Criminal Division of the Tokyo Prosecutor's Office... Yane Takefumi! I will uphold the Prosecutor's Office's 99.9% conviction rate and put this case back on the right track. Chief Shiraishi need only concern yourself with the police station's internal disciplinary matters," Yane Takefumi said smugly.

Although Shiraishi sensed the strong note of provocation, he merely nodded and said, "Mm. I hope Prosecutor Yane can uncover the truth."

Just then, Shiraishi spotted Komikado at the courthouse entrance, his hair parted nine-to-one, directing the young female lawyer to take interviews from the reporters and continue stirring up public opinion.

Meanwhile...

Komikado himself took advantage of the reporters' diverted attention and slipped inside.

It was clear that when it came to "stirring up public opinion," Komikado wholeheartedly embraced a "Victorious Mindset"!

Lawyers who liked to stir up public opinion generally had two motives: one was to win, while the other was to raise their own profile... Komikado belonged to the former. He had never been interested in cases for "the general public"; the clients he liked working with were "big fat sheep," so he did not particularly value fame among the masses.

Although Shiraishi usually had no favorable impression of either type of lawyer, to be fair... if he needed a lawyer himself, he would definitely choose someone like Komikado. At least Komikado was after "winning the case." He would never choose the kind who used him to generate publicity.

"Isn't this Prosecutor Yane? I didn't expect you to be my opponent again. I really hope you'll have a little more presence this time. Don't go speechless after just a few questions, and then end up unable to recognize an automatic door, hahahaha..." Komikado launched straight into a barrage of mockery at Yane Takefumi.

Then he noticed Shiraishi beside him and recognized who he was...

"You must be Chief Shiraishi, right? My apologies. I've always greatly admired Chief Shiraishi's accomplishments. You'd only just taken office when you encountered subordinates who refused to follow the rules. That must have put you in quite a difficult position, huh? Did you come in person this time to see whether your subordinate's actions had caused serious consequences? Don't worry. With me here, I won't let any innocent person be wronged. See you inside." Komikado rattled off a whole string of words in front of Shiraishi before turning and leaving.

Yane Takefumi was clearly an old acquaintance of Komikado's. He was so furious that he bit down on his handkerchief, looking helplessly enraged as he muttered, "This time, definitely... This time, I'll definitely make you pay..."

Once they were allowed into the courtroom, Shiraishi first approached a bailiff. "Hello..."

"Ah! H-Hello. Is there something you need?" The bailiff suddenly heard a voice coming from above and behind him. He turned around and jumped in fright.

"Could you find me a chair? Here's my spectator pass." Shiraishi looked at the courtroom gallery seating, which resembled a university classroom, and felt that he simply could not fit in!

"Sure, please wait... Chief Shiraishi." The bailiff gave Shiraishi another look, clearly having guessed who he was. The distinguishing features were simply too obvious.

Seated at the very back, Shiraishi saw that aside from the ordinary spectators, there were quite a few reporters in the courtroom, as well as... people holding signs reading "Support Tsubokura."

However, Shiraishi merely sat there with his arms folded, giving off an aloof, unapproachable air.

Dongdong: Prosecutor Yane Takefumi from Ace Attorney is making a guest appearance~

Also, today's updates are to push for the rankings: three consecutive updates at midnight. After that, updates will return to noon at 12.

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