"Yes, I wouldn't do that either. And he'd known for a long time what fate awaited him." Jiang Hang nodded. "What I want to ask about is the art museum."
He paused, his expression turning serious before he continued. "Although this may be somewhat disrespectful to the victim, I want to ask the Queen of Lawyers whether there's any way to preserve that art museum."
"Oh, so that's the commission?" Eri Kisaki did not seem particularly surprised, but she followed up with another question. "Ordinary detectives wouldn't have such thoughts. Can you tell me why?"
"There's no special reason, really. Maybe it's simply for my own sense of satisfaction." Jiang Hang honestly voiced his thoughts. "To be honest, I don't have much artistic sense. I took a walk around that museum, and at most, I thought some of the models inside looked pretty nice. If the museum really gets demolished and turned into a hotel, and its artworks are sold off, I might even buy a few pieces I like to display in my office as decoration..."
"But that museum, along with every piece of art inside it, was what an old man treasured most in his entire life. For those things, he committed the gravest mistake, one he would never have the chance to regret."
"I won't sympathize with him, but I felt the obsession in his heart. If I hadn't known, I could naturally have continued pretending not to know. But I saw everything at the scene. I feel like I can do something. Otherwise, I think this will remain a hurdle in my heart for a long time."
"But if I take action because of this, even if the final result doesn't change, then at most I'll only feel some regret. Sorry to say it, but this is merely my own self-satisfaction and self-consolation."
"I understand. 'Seeing it alive, one cannot bear to see it die; hearing its cry, one cannot bear to eat its flesh.' You saw that scene with your own eyes, so it's only natural that you would feel this way." Eri Kisaki nodded gently.
"I have another question." Eri Kisaki raised one finger.
"Even if the art museum is preserved, it will still face the same issue: too few visitors, leaving it unable to make ends meet. It might be able to hold on in the short term, but after enough time passes, this problem will certainly arise again. Have you considered that?"
"That's actually easier to solve. If it's just short on money, I'm also prepared to donate funds for the museum's daily maintenance expenses. Beika Art Museum isn't a large museum. Based on normal expenses, several tens of millions of yen a year should be enough to maintain ordinary operations and upkeep, right?"
"A donation? How much are you planning to donate?" Eri Kisaki's brows furrowed slightly. From that one remark, Jiang Hang's family background seemed far from ordinary.
"Fifty million yen to start. I don't know whether that'll be enough, but if it isn't, one hundred million yen won't be a problem. Of course, I'll need a lawyer to ensure that money isn't used elsewhere. I wouldn't dare trouble the Queen of Lawyers with something like this, but if you can recommend a suitable lawyer, I'd be deeply grateful."
The fifty million yen was the monetary reward Jiang Hang had received from the art museum murder case. It sounded like a lot, but converted into U.S. dollars, it was actually less than five hundred thousand. Even one hundred million yen was only a little over nine hundred thousand dollars.
Jiang Hang felt that asking Eri Kisaki to take action for such a small sum would be beneath her, so he straightforwardly asked her to recommend a suitable lawyer instead.
Jiang Hang could not help sighing that he had not done enough to promote positive energy. After taking commissions from the bulletin board for a week and relying on three cases, he had only barely saved up one hundred and fifty million yen. Thinking of Boss Wang's small goal of one hundred million, he could only barely reach it if it were converted into yen.
The system's compensation was still better. It could satisfy a small goal of one hundred million in one go. He wondered when the system would pull something again and hand out more compensation.
Hearing Jiang Hang casually mention fifty million and one hundred million yen, Eri Kisaki was still somewhat surprised.
Of course, one hundred million yen was nothing to a conglomerate. She had taken cases from some conglomerates before, and those started at the scale of tens or hundreds of billions.
But Jiang Hang was merely a young man in his early twenties, and he clearly had nothing to do with those major conglomerates. Being able to produce one hundred million yen without even batting an eye was already astonishing.
However, this was not the time to investigate his identity. Eri Kisaki made a mental note of it, then nodded.
"A museum like this costs roughly twenty to thirty million yen a year to operate and maintain. It also has other sources of income. If one hundred million yen is invested properly, combined with its other income, keeping the museum afloat for ten years generally won't be much of a problem. It seems you've given this some thought."
Ten years was already a long time. Jiang Hang had originally thought it would only last two or three years at most.
"In that case, I'll consider your commission. However, as a lawyer, I can't and won't make any guarantees before I give you a definite answer. I hope you understand. If you have any concerns, I can also introduce one of my juniors to you. She's an excellent lawyer as well."
Although Eri Kisaki had maintained an undefeated record so far, it was precisely this constant caution that had brought her to where she was today.
"I should be the one apologizing for troubling the Queen of Lawyers for my own self-satisfaction." Jiang Hang shook his head, indicating that he was in no hurry and could wait until Eri Kisaki made her decision.
Don't Raise a Justice Ally Flag for Me
After Jiang Hang left, Eri Kisaki called Inspector Megure.
"Inspector Megure, this is Eri Kisaki. May I ask whether I can meet the murderer from yesterday's art museum murder case?" She got straight to the point.
On the other end of the line, Inspector Megure's voice immediately became somewhat flustered. He had apparently not expected Eri Kisaki to have anything to do with the man.
Even if the man was a suspect with conclusive evidence against him, he was still only a suspect. With Eri Kisaki's methods, even if the police had ironclad evidence, there was still no guarantee what might happen in court.
That was the pressure brought by Eri Kisaki, the undefeated queen with a one-hundred-percent win rate.
Eri Kisaki naturally understood why Inspector Megure was nervous, and she offered an explanation in a casual tone.
Once he learned that she merely wanted to understand some details about the museum from the man rather than defend him, Inspector Megure breathed a sigh of relief and said he would arrange a visitation time for her.
After recording the meeting in her memo, Eri Kisaki picked up the business card on her desk.
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted..." That was a line written in Italian on Jiang Hang's business card.
Put more plainly, it meant that all things were false, and all things were permitted.
It was a phrase with rather philosophical implications, carrying a faint flavor of Nietzsche.
Was this his life motto? No... his conduct was completely unlike it. Was it a family creed, or some other warning...? And it was even written in Italian. He was clearly of Chinese descent, so wouldn't Chinese characters have been more natural?
Was there some reason behind this that she did not know?
That was what Eri Kisaki thought after looking up the meaning of the Italian phrase.
People like her always tried to analyze the minds of others, and Jiang Hang was no exception.
She had already asked someone to gather information on Jiang Hang. No matter what, he was definitely not a simple detective.
Eri Kisaki could not help thinking of that "third-rate detective" of hers who only knew how to make her angry. She sighed, then returned to her normal working state.
Of course, she would never know that Jiang Hang had simply thought it was interesting and deliberately put it there. He had chosen Italian because he thought that if people could not understand it, they would find it impressive. Chinese and English were both common, while fewer people knew Italian, so Jiang Hang had ultimately chosen Italian.
After all, the place he had originally been meant to transmigrate to was Italy, where he could have fun with Ezio Auditore. Now that he had ended up here, it was perfectly normal to write a creed in Italian as a keepsake.
So, never casually try to guess what an otaku was thinking, especially if you were a social elite who liked analyzing people and happened to be dealing with an otaku who had disguised his outward appearance well.
The things she wanted to investigate deeply were, to Jiang Hang, nothing more than random ideas born from interest.
Meanwhile, after leaving Eri Kisaki's office, Jiang Hang had Shizuka Sakaki drive herself back.
"Jiang Hang, do you still have something to do?"
"No. I'm just going to walk around and see whether there's anywhere that needs my help." Jiang Hang waved his hand. He had not completed today's daily check-in mission yet, nor had he promoted any positive energy. Besides, he would soon be bleeding money by donating one hundred million yen.
A daily commission only paid one million yen. If he did not work hard now, he would not even be able to scrape together three hundred million yen by the end of the month to buy his office.
Thinking of that, Jiang Hang felt quite pressured. At such a young age, he already had to run around everywhere for money. Life really was too hard.
Shizuka Sakaki's mouth twitched slightly. After spending several days with Jiang Hang, she had gained a rough understanding of his personality.
Personality-wise, he was an utter otaku. On rainy days or whenever there was nothing to do outside, he would stay cooped up in the office watching newly released anime.
One day, Shizuka Sakaki had secretly glanced over and discovered that Jiang Hang was watching the newest yuri loli anime. Whenever certain scenes came on, a strange smile would appear on his face. If someone saw that smile at night, they might find it rather creepy.
Yet Jiang Hang's actions were completely unlike those of an otaku.
No matter the weather, he exercised every day without fail. At the same time, he was extraordinarily helpful. Whether someone had dropped something, there was trouble somewhere, or even an old lady upstairs had run out of soy sauce while cooking, as long as Jiang Hang noticed, he would rush over to help without hesitation. It was impossible to understand what kind of person he really was.
Thinking of the one hundred million yen Jiang Hang was preparing to donate for that art museum in Eri Kisaki's office, Shizuka Sakaki knew it brought him no benefit at all. He had even plainly said that he had no interest in those artworks whatsoever. He was doing it only to satisfy himself.
But as for self-satisfaction... Shizuka Sakaki had not seen any sign of that from Jiang Hang. She did not understand such things very well. After learning about Director Ochiai, she only felt that Jiang Hang was truly a good person.
Being able to work at an office like this, for a boss like this, perhaps she was quite lucky as well.
Thinking of this, Shizuka Sakaki could not help saying to Jiang Hang, "Jiang Hang, I suddenly feel like you're one of those allies of justice from television dramas."
She felt that this should be a compliment, a way to express her admiration for Jiang Hang.
Who would have thought that Jiang Hang's expression would abruptly change the moment he heard it?
Seeing Jiang Hang like this, Shizuka Sakaki helplessly thought that another one of her director's unusual traits was about to appear.
For some reason, he was always unusually sensitive about strange things. For example, he would not let others call him "director" and instead made them call him by name. Then there was the time she had imitated an anime character's voice two mornings ago and told Jiang Hang, "Let's do our best today too, Mr. Detective," only for him to immediately tell her never to speak that way in front of him again.
"You can't casually say 'ally of justice.' Something terrible will happen," Jiang Hang warned Shizuka Sakaki with extreme vigilance.
"I know an ally of justice who killed his own father as a child, killed his own teacher after growing up, lost his wife after getting married, and eventually died himself. Before he died, he couldn't even see his daughter one last time. Do you know how miserable that was? He also had an adopted son who inherited his ideals, but his death was even worse. He had forty or fifty different ways to die. Tell me, how miserable is being an ally of justice?"
In all kinds of anime, an ally of justice was practically synonymous with the word "miserable."
Shizuka Sakaki's mouth twitched. At first, she thought Jiang Hang was seriously telling her about someone he knew, but when he mentioned forty or fifty ways to die, she realized something was off. How could anyone possibly have that many deaths?
"Jiang Hang, is that the plot of some anime or game again? How could something like that happen in real life...? Besides, isn't being an ally of justice pretty good?"
That 'isn't it pretty good' line is textbook losing-heroine dialogue. No wonder you couldn't make your debut for so long in the anime. If you hadn't met me, you'd probably have suffered until then.
Jiang Hang mocked her inwardly.
"Anyway, don't ever raise a justice ally flag for me again. Just think of me as an ordinary positive-energy detective." Jiang Hang spoke to Shizuka Sakaki with a solemn expression.
"Yes, yes, I understand, Director—ah, no, Jiang Hang." Shizuka Sakaki smiled at him.
She suddenly felt that Jiang Hang's deliberately "exasperated" expression was rather amusing too.
Jiang Hang's Ambition
Over the course of a single day, Jiang Hang successfully earned twenty million yen from the system through various trivial commissions and by completing his daily check-in reward.
After the check-in mission had continued for more than ten days, the reward had risen from the original one million yen to two million yen. He did not know how many more days it would take before the base reward increased again.
Then, at night, Jiang Hang stayed out until two in the morning before returning to the office, earning another ten million yen from exploration missions. However, in recent days, he had already explored nearly everywhere within a ten-kilometer radius centered on the office. The golden feather collection missions had temporarily hit a bottleneck, and simply going out to explore at night was no longer enough.
Therefore, while carrying out exploration missions, Jiang Hang also helped a few girls being harassed by drunks on the streets, then stopped a group of punks from extorting someone in a dark alley.
Tokyo's public safety in this world was not bad, but considering that this was a world filled with all sorts of famous detectives, it was not unusual for Jiang Hang, with Eagle Eye, to discover three or four such incidents in one night.
Of course, to avoid trouble coming to his door, Jiang Hang still gave himself a simple disguise whenever he did a good deed. With Eagle Eye constantly watching for anyone noticing him, no one would discover his identity.
If Jiang Hang had possessed more than Advanced Hidden Blade proficiency and basic fighting skills, he would have wanted to interfere directly with those more secretive illegal transactions.
However, Japan's yakuza were a massive force. Even though the lower levels of the yakuza had gradually declined in recent years, the major figures at the top had long since spread into every aspect of Japan. Their annual revenues exceeded tens of billions of dollars.
A single move could affect the whole body. Jiang Hang did not want to provoke such a giant yet.
When he established the office, he had even paid a so-called "protection contribution" to a certain group in Beika City on the recommendation of the real estate agent.
That was naturally illegal. But even though the yakuza were legal in Japan, could a truly legal yakuza still be called a "violent organization"? The big shots at the top might not care about something as basic as protection money, but the smaller organizations below, whose lives had grown increasingly difficult in recent years, were eager for it and naturally would not give it up.
Of course, he could choose not to pay this so-called contribution. But if they discovered he had no backing, their members might frequently come around to cause trouble in the future.
The detective business was a mixed bag. If you lacked ability, you had to rely on sufficient connections and relationships. Unless a detective was unbelievably capable, who would want to visit an agency where people frequently came to make trouble?
Of course, if he were that kind of famous detective, these people would absolutely not dare come and cause trouble. After all, arranging for a detective whom even the police had to curry favor with would be effortless for him.
But Jiang Hang was still far from becoming that kind of famous detective, so for now, he should act like an honest little detective on the surface. As for these yakuza gangs, all he could do for now was call the police anonymously. In short, let Japan's police worry about it.
Another two days passed. After Eri Kisaki went to meet Director Ochiai, Jiang Hang did not know what they had discussed. However, she formally accepted the commission and said over the phone that, barring any surprises, there would be results soon.
Jiang Hang continued keeping an eye on the matter.
Sure enough, after Eri Kisaki took action, public discussion surrounding the art museum quietly began rising without anyone noticing.
Over the past few days, online public opinion and even the old ladies on the shopping streets seemed to have started paying attention to the museum's impending demolition and conversion into a hotel. Television stations even interviewed passersby who had once visited Beika Art Museum, asking for their opinions.
Naturally, such interviews would not produce any particularly varied answers. They were nothing more than people saying it would be a shame, or recalling some beautiful memory they had made at the museum at some point in time.
Later, the television station interviewed the former owner of Beika Art Museum. He said he had not expected something like this to happen, expressed regret over selling the museum, and finally stated with a resolute expression that he would discuss with the victim Boss Manaka's company whether there was a plan to preserve the museum.
Gradually, opinions online began to converge.
Director Ochiai, who had committed murder, had broken the law and needed to be punished. But Beika Art Museum also held beautiful memories for two or three generations across fifty years, and it should not simply be demolished and rebuilt as a hotel.
Under such public opinion, some lawmakers who were worrying about where to demonstrate their presence would probably soon take notice. In the end, the authorities would step in and announce that the museum would be preserved.
Jiang Hang guessed at the possible developments. Naturally, Eri Kisaki would directly negotiate with the other party as well.
As for what the final result would be and what other plans Eri Kisaki had prepared, Jiang Hang patiently waited for the outcome.
The matter of the museum had finally reached a temporary conclusion. Because he had appeared in the newspapers due to the museum incident, he had gained a little fame as a "famous detective," and even the number of commissions suddenly increased.
The once-quiet office was suddenly flooded with all kinds of commissions and became exceptionally lively. As the matter continued to ferment, such days would likely continue for a while.
Koharu Yoshino and Shizuka Sakaki became busy, while Jiang Hang spent his entire day rushing through every corner of Tokyo to complete all sorts of commissions.
Eventually, Jiang Hang stopped accepting one-star commissions altogether and only considered commissions rated two stars or higher.
Watching his reputation and money rise rapidly, Jiang Hang suffered and enjoyed it at the same time.
However, even if a slacker had no choice but to become diligent, he would still seize every chance to slack off.
After maintaining full power for two days, Jiang Hang slightly reduced his workload and adjusted his working hours. After resolving three two-star lost-item commissions in succession one morning, he decisively chose to close early and planned to spend half the day being a slacker in his own office.
Sitting in his comfortable boss's chair, drinking ice-cold Sprite and happily finishing an episode of a new anime, Jiang Hang looked toward the two girls.
Koharu Yoshino was half-lying on the nearby sofa without the slightest ladylike grace, reading a collection of Agatha Christie's detective novels. She looked as though she might fall asleep at any moment.
For some reason, this girl became sleepy whenever she read detective novels. No matter how twisting and turning the plot was or how moving the theme, it was useless. Yet when she stayed up late reading pure romance novels, she was full of energy. Ahem... Jiang Hang stated that Koharu Yoshino had said that herself, and it had nothing to do with him.
As for Shizuka Sakaki, she had failed another audition yesterday and was currently in such low spirits that she did not want to speak.
Jiang Hang did not try particularly hard to comfort her. Anything comforting he said at a time like this would be fake. All he could do was treat them to a feast that evening and use appetite to overwhelm sadness.
But seeing her pitiful expression that said, I feel wronged, but I can't say it, Jiang Hang almost wanted to buy an animation company so Shizuka Sakaki could fulfill her wish of becoming a lead voice actress.
It was just that ordinary animation companies did not seem cheap either. With the money he currently had, buying an adult animation studio might be possible... Then he could have Shizuka Sakaki voice the lead role... That actually sounded pretty great.
Before you continue