The Unforgiven from Shinigami
As soon as the words left her mouth, Rangiku Matsumoto realized she had asked a stupid question.
Thinking about it carefully, even if a long-standing unsolved case remains unsolved, no one will say anything.
On the contrary, they could use the pretext of solving cases to openly travel around Seireitei and enjoy the scenery of each district.
In addition, it can establish a diligent image and avoid blatant exploitation that might provoke resentment from other Shinigami.
He gained both fame and fortune.
He's gone this far with his slacking off.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and for the first time, she felt that the man before her was so unfathomable.
She had never seen such a strong person in front of Moyu.
"I'm just concerned about my subordinates."
Shiraishi would never admit to wanting to slack off, and instead gave instructions. " Hitsugaya, you'll take three days off to get yourself back in shape. Rangiku, you'll be handling the clerical work these days."
I need to clean up the mess left by my exes.
"Wait a minute," Rangiku Matsumoto called out, smiling, "Then let Hitsugaya follow Captain Shiraishi around, let him learn a thing or two, and he can show you the way."
As expected, it couldn't be hidden...
Shiraishi muttered to himself.
Before taking office as the acting captain of the Tenth Division, he had envisioned a leisurely future where he could do whatever he wanted with Rangiku Rangiku.
It now seems completely impossible.
To curb Rangiku Matsumoto's instinct to slack off, it would probably require starting to train her right after graduation to even have a sliver of a chance.
" Hitsugaya, so let him relax."
"It's alright, I also have thoughts on those unsolved cases."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya truly lives up to his reputation as a workaholic in the industry; he'd rather forgo his vacation than miss work. "After I finish eating, I'll take you to the archives."
"Uh, okay." Shiraishi could only agree to go along with him.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya quickly finished his breakfast, then took the plate aside, washed it himself, and returned it, demonstrating his strong self-discipline.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Shiraishi's personality is the complete opposite of his—he would absolutely refuse to do anything if he could avoid it.
However, Shiraishi doesn't dislike self-disciplined people; it's just that such people often don't have much affection for him.
The two children, one adult and one child, went to the archives together.
The Tenth Division's archives are quite spacious, only one story high, and the windows are always closed.
Upon opening the door, a scholarly atmosphere greets you, followed by rows of tall bookshelves.
The further you go in, the deeper the feeling of time being sealed here becomes; the surroundings are very quiet.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya walked into the unsolved cases section. The solid wood floor was covered with footprints, and the bookshelves and files were covered with a layer of dust, probably because no one had cleaned it for a long time.
His face was gloomy; he usually buried himself in the documents submitted below and rarely went to the archives.
I never imagined that the management here was so lax; they don't even care about the dust on the ground.
" Ono!" he called out.
A bespectacled squad member rushed over and asked, " Third Seat Hitsugaya, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Who cleans this place? Make him sweep here for six months straight!"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya roared.
Upon hearing Ono, Ono's eyes instantly reddened as he said, "The person who was in charge of cleaning was Higashizawa. About half a month ago, he went out on duty and encountered Genjirō, and he never came back."
"..." Tōshirō Hitsugaya's tense expression suddenly relaxed, and he didn't blame him for not sweeping the floor.
Each Tenth Division has a clearly defined role, and there's no reason to force the other to also do cleaning. "You may leave."
"Hi." Ono bowed, turned and walked back to the front desk.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya composed himself, looked up, and said, "This is the unsolved case section. Where would you like to begin?"
Shiraishi glanced at it casually, reached out and pulled out the most recent file, and dust fell like rain.
The exterior is dusty, but the interior is still clean. It contains detailed records of a case that occurred in a certain place on a certain date.
Even at the end, a portrait of the victim is included.
"Like this..."
He sounded somewhat puzzled, as if he'd seen this woman somewhere before. After thinking for a moment, he finally recognized her. "Sister Kichō, so she was also in Seireitei back then."
Hitsugaya Toshiro asked doubtfully, "Do you know her?"
"Yes, she was Oda Nobunaga's old flame. She fell to her death; it seems she committed suicide for love."
Shiraishi closed the file and said, "What is love in this world that makes people willing to die for it? Alas."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya reached out and took the file; the cold case was now solved.
Shiraishi continued flipping through the new files, and what he found shocked him – the Seireitei was far more chaotic than he had imagined.
Brutal murders, fraud, theft, and intrigue among nobles.
It's even more bizarre than those novels, yet there's no protagonist like in novels to uphold justice.
Those cruel and cunning criminals remain hidden in the shadows, escaping justice.
"How could such a beast exist in this world?"
Shiraishi closed the Shiraishi, his heart still unsettled. All the evils of humanity resided within this enormous archive.
"They've been killing a beautiful woman every year for a hundred years, and the Tenth Division still hasn't caught the culprit?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya had also reviewed the case, and said with a helpless expression, "The murderer targets prostitutes, not nobles. In addition, the time of the crimes is unpredictable, and there is no residual Reiatsu at the scene. It will be very difficult to catch the perpetrator."
"In my opinion, those bosses should be arrested."
Shiraishi had read the records and found that the deaths of courtesans were not reported immediately, but rather after a long interval.
Most bosses, rather than seeking justice for the prostitutes, prefer to settle the matter quietly and dispose of the deceased prostitutes discreetly.
The case was discovered thanks to a Shinigami frequented such places and learned from the prostitutes that they had been murdered.
Upon closer investigation, the Tenth Division discovered that this was not an isolated incident.
This is a cold case accumulated from the previous Tenth Division, and it remains unsolved to this day.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya smiled wryly. Reality wasn't so simple and violent. " Central 46 Chambers wouldn't allow such behavior."
Shiraishi stroked his chin and said, "We haven't discovered any deaths this year, have we?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya spread his hands and said, "I don't know. We didn't have the capacity to deal with these kinds of cases before. Maybe it happened, maybe it didn't."
"Just ask around at the pleasure quarters."
Shiraishi's eyes darted around, and he asked, "Can investigations be reimbursed at public expense?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya nodded and said, "As long as the amount isn't too outrageous, the First Division usually passes."
Shiraishi frowned and asked, "Why do we still need to report this to them?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya truthfully stated, "All funds are approved by the First Division to prevent the captains from spending money recklessly."
"Tsk, the longer I'm in this captain's position, the less interesting it seems; I'm restricted in so many ways."
Shiraishi quipped, "Bring your wallet, let's go door-to-door."