(thud)
It was a black disk with a white label pasted on it. The label bore words like "Top Secret" and "Strictly Forbidden to Remove."
Yesterday, on the bus, the old man who called himself "Shitara Jukichi" had quietly slipped it into Akai Shuichi's pocket.
"If I remembered correctly, Shitara Jukichi wanted to hire Jiang Xia yesterday, but happened to arrive when Jiang Xia wasn't there." Akai Shuichi pondered. "Maybe I can use this as an excuse to act together with Jiang Xia, then probe the mystery behind it?"
A moment later, though, he remembered something. "No, I nearly forgot—Jiang Xia is an organization member. Though he's only a Peripheral Member, and probably a very marginal one, if I appear beside him and he doesn't report it... that could bring him fatal danger."
"Come to think of it, he's clearly an organization member, yet he can freely work as a Detective and solve cases..."
Akai Shuichi first furrowed his brow, sensing something was off, but then quickly thought of Bourbon.
—If he remembered correctly, Jiang Xia belonged to the "Amuro Detective Agency." In that case, Bourbon should be his superior.
"Bourbon isn't a purely organization member. He's very likely with the police. And with him, the 'Detective Agency owner,' holding the line within the organization, Jiang Xia's current behavior makes perfect sense... In that regard, Bourbon is quite a decent person."
Akai Shuichi sorted out the connections and gave a slight nod to himself. "In that case, I'll approach Jiang Xia another way."
While Akai Shuichi prepared in secret.
Elsewhere, a reporter had published coverage of the Curry Murder Case in the woods on a dedicated webpage.
Unfortunately, compared with previous reports, this one was exceptionally vague, lacking the detailed thoroughness of a mystery novel.
[Heh heh, that's because