Chapter 51 Old Fox?

"I really wouldn't have thought I'd get the chance so soon..."

Michiko Daimon chatted with Shiraishi while suturing the nearly bone-deep wound on his arm. Shiraishi had opted for local anesthesia, and... given this amount of blood loss, he certainly wasn't close to losing consciousness!

"Actually, I wasn't all that eager to give you the chance," Shiraishi said helplessly.

"Don't worry, I already have experience with your body. I shouldn't need to redo it this time!" The last time Daimon had to redo the procedure, it was actually to reconnect the nerves.

If it had been anyone else, there wouldn't even be any need for a "redo"—after a few redoes, recovery would be completely impossible!

"How much longer will it take?" Shiraishi asked.

"About half an hour." Daimon's surgical speed was absolute top-tier.

"Can I make a phone call?"

"No."

Daimon flatly rejected this unreasonable request.

Shiraishi had no choice but to wait until the suturing was finished, leaving the operating room with his arm bandaged, before askingaru—who was waiting outside—about the aftermath of the kidnapping case.

Yaru was stunned when he saw him—it might have been local anesthesia, but... good sir, you were just bitten by an orca, and you're just walking out under your own power?

"All the kidnappers have been captured. Mrs. Suzuki and Ayano Shigeno have also been checked at the hospital and only suffered superficial injuries. Considering their condition, they are currently having their statements recorded right here in the hospital," Yaru reported directly to Shiraishi.

"Good, take me there," Shiraishi nodded and said.

"Eh? Right..." Yaru was also left speechless by the superintendent's "dedication to work."

Anyone who didn't know better would think he'd just been bitten by a small dog!

That was a killer whale!

At that moment, Kuroki and Kanzaki, who were most familiar with the case, were "interrogating" Ayano Shigeno in an office borrowed from the hospital. In truth, Ayano's subjective criminal intent had basically been established, but lacking an arrest warrant and dealing with a minor, it was classified strictly as an "interrogation."

Outside the office, Shiraishi also saw the four members of the Suzuki family.

Of course, the Suzuki family had their own hospital, but...

Because Shiraishi had insisted on coming to Todo University Hospital earlier and had contacted the doctors himself, they had ended up here instead.

"Mom, you really don't need to rest a bit longer?"

"Tomoko, you can leave things here to me..."

"You three don't need to worry about me! A mere scratch, if it weren't for..."

Shiro, along with Ayano and Sonoko, was showing concern for Tomoko. Yet even though Tomoko was slightly battered with gauze taped to her forehead, she still maintained a stubborn front.

"If I hadn't stopped her, Mrs. Suzuki would have knocked the orca out cold herself," Shiraishi interjected at that moment.

Hearing Shiraishi's voice, Ayano hurriedly turned her head. "Kuro! How's your arm? It bled so much back then..."

"It's fine, it'll heal in a few days," Shiraishi said calmly.

Seeing her daughter's completely devoted expression, Tomoko still felt a wave of irritation, but...

Remembering that Shiraishi's arm was bitten by the orca precisely to save her, she temporarily swallowed her anger.

"The two of you are already aware of the situation regarding Ayano Shigeno, right?" Shiraishi asked Shiro and Tomoko.

"Ah! You mean the industrial accident at Suzuki Heavy Industries? I just looked into it. Indeed, the people at the lower levels handled this matter poorly..." Shiro said, shaking his head with a regretful expression.

If Tomoko had said something like that, Shiraishi would definitely have thrown out some sarcastic remarks about how "the upper management of the Suzuki Group always has good intentions, it's just the subordinate companies executing things poorly."

However, Shiro currently looked like a harmless old-good-guy, completely lacking Tomoko's overbearing attitude, which left Shiraishi with nothing sharp to say.

"This matter... we will take responsibility to the end. I see this whole thing as a misunderstanding, and Miss Shigeno was deceived by those bad people." Shiro had no intention of letting those biker thugs off the hook, but as for Ayano Shigeno, he hadn't planned on pursuing the matter too heavily either.

And Tomoko...

Surprisingly didn't object.

At that moment, the office door opened, and Kuroki and Kanzaki led Ayano Shigeno out.

Having listened to Kuroki earlier, Ayano had prepared to come out and apologize to the Suzuki couple first—a measure Kuroki suggested to help her secure leniency later.

However, upon catching sight of Shiraishi, Ayano hurriedly rushed over to thank him first. "Officer Shiraishi! Are you alright?"

"It's fine, just a small wound. How is your father doing?" Shiraishi asked specifically.

"My father is... out of danger." Ayano's expression dimmed at those words—he had been out of danger for a while, but... he had lost his capacity to work!

When Kuroki and Kanzaki had previously encountered Uncle Shigeno, he had briefly believed that his own uselessness was what brought this misfortune upon his daughter, even convincing himself that his daughter despised him.

In reality, Ayano had been running away from home to work precisely because she kept worrying about her father, and after finding Sonoko's student ID, she had ended up pulling off this entire stunt.

"Miss Shigeno, we've heard about your father's situation and verified it with Suzuki Heavy Industries. You can rest assured regarding financial matters from now on... Also, you should return to school to study afterward! From now on, the Suzuki family is your home as well!" Shiro said earnestly.

Only then did Ayano Shigeno snap back to reality and hurriedly apologize to the Suzuki couple once more. Although Tomoko wore a cold and proud expression, she still nodded and said, "Mm, from now on... you can attend Teitan High School as well, we will look after you somewhat. Regarding all this... Officer, she's a child after all, she can be released on bail, right? Have your legal department contact us later... Oh, that's right, Ayano, didn't you hire a legal consultant? Have him handle it, let's see what he's really made of."

"Of course it's best if you can all reach an agreement." Kuroki, having visited Shigeno's home earlier, didn't want to see her life ruined either.

Naturally, this was still a criminal case, and no matter how one looked at it, Ayano Shigeno could not be considered "innocent." It was simply that... with various parties coordinating, extenuating circumstances, her status as a minor, and genuine repentance, there was a strong hope of reducing her sentence down to probation without actual imprisonment.

...

The events of that day quickly made the headlines.

Both online and in physical newspapers, videos and photos of the "Mikaura Red-Haired" saving someone from the jaws of a shark were widely published. It reminded everyone that this was, after all, the same police hero who had "overturned" the former Minister of Justice just over a month ago, adding another surge of popularity to Shiraishi's dark reputation.

Sitting in his office—which also doubled as his private villa—Kogoro glanced at the newspaper spread before him and clicked his tongue. "Orcas, bull sharks... Has this guy really gone toe-to-toe with five hundred people single-handedly?"

Attorney Eri Kisaki had previously borrowed money from Kogoro to redeem her old family estate. Moreover, having recognized qualities she lacked within Kogoro, she was currently working for him partly to learn from him and partly to pay off her debt. Seeing the photograph in the newspaper featuring Shiro Suzuki alongside a young girl whose face was covered by a mosaic, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion...

"Still, Chairman Suzuki really is a good man. Word is he's even taking the young girl in as a goddaughter and cleaning up the loopholes in how his subsidiary companies handle work-related injuries and deaths."

Hearing this, Kogoro sneered dismissively. "As expected, naive people like you are the easiest to fool... A good man? He's the ultimate old fox! He managed to spin such an unfavorable situation into a favorable PR campaign... Tsk tsk, truly worthy of being the chairman of the Suzuki Group."

"Why are you so cynical? Can't you believe that light and..."

"Alright, morning drama heroine, we need to move!"

"Eh? Where to?"

"To work for the old fox..."