After listening to Kunikida, Shiraishi understood. So it wasn't that Kunikida had misunderstood and thought Shiraishi didn't trust him—it was that... he didn't trust himself!
However, seeing his [Principles] score of 98, Shiraishi could understand. It wasn't that Kunikida had any opinion of him; his principles were simply too rigid. The fact that he had specifically come to speak with Shiraishi alone instead of voicing his objections in front of others proved as much.
At the same time, Shiraishi noticed that while speaking, Kunikida had kept staring at his somewhat messy desk, his eyes flickering with disgust and... self-restraint!
His "cleanliness obsession" was probably about to flare up, and he was forcibly holding himself back from cleaning Shiraishi's desk.
Shiraishi also recalled why he had felt something was off when he had just been in the Criminal Affairs Division—it had been much tidier than usual, and... there hadn't been any cigarette smell!
At that moment, an idea suddenly struck Shiraishi. "Mm, that works. Also... the accident rate involving official vehicles at Beika Police Station has always remained high. This is especially true for the officers in the Criminal Affairs Division. Most of them are hot-blooded, and their assignments tend to be urgent, so a few bumps and scrapes are unavoidable. I'll need Section Chief Kunikida to put more effort into this going forward."
"Of course. That is my duty in the first place. I'll be going now, then. Please carry on with your work, Chief."
Kunikida hurriedly left—he couldn't stay in such a messy office for even one more second!
Shiraishi figured that under the constraints of [Principles: 98], Kunikida's investigative ability must have already been severely restricted, making it difficult for him to perform at his proper level. This was no longer simply a matter of following rules; it