Chapter 52: Minor Injuries Won't Keep You Off the Front Line

On October 12, early in the morning, Kawai was yawning and wiping down the car in front of the Chome 5 police box just as her night shift was about to end, when suddenly...

Whoosh—

A massive figure flashed past right before her eyes.

Kawai: ???

"Chief Fuji! I think I... just saw the Chief!" Kawai quickly turned around and said to Fuji Seiko inside the police box.

"It's not the first time you've seen him, what's so strange about it?" Fuji was busy writing up last night's dispatch report and didn't even raise her head.

"But... didn't the Chief get bitten by a killer whale?" Kawai pondered—that only happened the day before yesterday, right? I remember correctly, don't I?

"Yeah, so... sigh, it won't be easy to take minor injury leave from now on!" Fuji complained at that moment.

With an injury like "being bitten by an killer whale" and needing "over seventy stitches," the Chief had actually only taken two days off—and that included the day he got injured. How was anyone else supposed to ask for time off in the future?

Kawai: ...

Sure enough, right at that moment, Chief Igasaki of the Chome 5 police box arrived for duty and reminded them: "Kawai, Fuji, remember to go to the precinct for the morning meeting after your shift ends later. I'll stay behind to man the station... The Chief is back from his injury leave today and will be speaking at the morning meeting, so don't be late."

...

At the morning meeting, Shiraishi personally and practically educated everyone on what it meant to "not leave the front line with minor injuries," and then began the day's work.

Not being able to move his left arm still had some impact, and the efficiency of "stamping documents" was noticeably slower—Shiraishi wasn't fully recovered yet, considering it hadn't even been forty-eight hours since he was bitten!

At this moment, Shiraishi's left arm was still wrapped in bandages...

Of course, taking half a month off just like that wouldn't have been a problem, and even if he returned to work after half a month, everyone would still marvel at how fast the Chief's injuries healed. However, considering that he had just taken office, and Chief Ebihara was set to retire in December, the current time was meant for Shiraishi to familiarize himself with the duties of the Chief.

Therefore, Shiraishi had only spent a day under observation at the hospital and was back to work as usual today.

After the morning meeting speech, Shiraishi didn't head to his Chief's office first; instead, he went straight to the Criminal Investigation Division.

It was both a belated welcome for Kunikida and a farewell to Shirai—over the past two days, Shirai had also completed the handover of his duties and authority.

"Chief Shiraishi, this time... thank you!" Shirai said sincerely.

"Alright, stop making such a gloomy face... You're going to the Public Relations Division from now on, look... Section Chief Kunikida looks very amiable right now!" Shiraishi joked.

That's right, Kunikida was quite familiar with the department Shirai was being transferred to, having spent six years in the Public Relations Division after all.

Compared to the fierce-looking Shirai, Kunikida indeed looked much more amiable. In fact, because of his classic "Mediterranean" hairstyle, he gave off the vibe of a greasy corporate middle-aged man, completely devoid of the hardened demeanor of a detective. Placed in the Criminal Investigation Division, he looked practically like one of the kindest-faced men around!

At this moment, Shiraishi could also see his attributes. Just like Gen, this Section Chief Kunikida's given name was also "Seiji."

[Kunimida Seiji (Beika Precinct Criminal Investigation Division Section Chief):
Age: 50 years old.
Overall Rating: SR.
Mind: Justice (55), Principle (98), Gentleness (60), Subjectivity (41), Passion (39), Resilience (89).
Body: Anxiety, Mysophobia, Baldness...
Skills: Deduction (SSR), Evidence Gathering (SR), Interrogation (SR), Inspection (SR)...
Potential: All attributes are difficult to improve.]

Although his potential wasn't high, his attributes... not only were their levels high, but he also possessed the high-tier trio of Deduction, Evidence Gathering, and Interrogation, making him a top-tier criminal investigation talent. In particular, "Deduction" had reached SSR, and "Inspection" had reached SR.

However, the problems were also glaringly obvious at a glance...

Both [Principle] and [Resilience] were somewhat abnormal!

[Principle] was actually as high as 98, which meant that under no circumstances would he ever compromise his principles. He would strongly resist even minor "tricks" and would never allow any flexibility.

Similarly, an excessively high [Resilience] meant that while he wasn't easily "broken," it also meant that once his psychological defense *was* breached, he would suffer extreme psychological problems and the impact would be devastating.

Conversely, people with low [Resilience] might get broken every day, but a big night of heavy drinking would set them right...

Moreover, Kunikida's [Passion] and [Subjectivity] were somewhat abnormally low for a veteran detective, and his primary health issue remained "anxiety."

Apart from his high skill levels, his entire body was basically a walking bundle of debuffs!

Connecting this to the information Iwata had previously given him, Shiraishi understood in his heart... It seemed this Section Chief Kunikida still hadn't walked out of the shadow of the case from six years ago!

Seeing that Shirai was still feeling awkward, Shiraishi specifically said, "It's good to spend more time in the Public Relations Division; your future grandchildren won't think you're fierce then."

"Section Chief Kunikida, I'll have to trouble you from now on! Cases in the Beika Precinct are never lacking, and... although it's not quite an order, I personally feel that our precinct should shoulder more responsibility, rather than dumping all slightly severe cases onto the Metropolitan Police Department." Shiraishi said as he shook hands with Kunikida, giving instructions at the same time.

"Don't worry, Chief; I treat all cases in our jurisdiction equally." Kunikida didn't flinch at all—after all, he used to be a Section Chief in Investigation Division One, so he didn't harbor any special awe toward major or high-profile cases.

"Hmm? That's right, I met Detective Kanzaki earlier... and Detective Kogure was transferred here too, right?" Shiraishi looked around the Criminal Investigation Division office, but didn't spot any unfamiliar faces.

Aside from Kunikida, another detective from the former Investigation Division One, Kogure Hajime, had also been transferred.

However, Shiraishi hadn't seen him, and at the same time... Shiraishi felt something was slightly off. Today, the Criminal Investigation Division seemed a bit different.

"Oh, Detective Kogure and Detective Hayatani are out on assignment. I'll have him report to the Chief's office as soon as they get back," Kunikida explained.

It seemed Kogure had been arranged to partner with Hayatani. Hayatani was already an ace in the Criminal Investigation Division, and paired with Kogure Hajime, this duo should be the precinct's sharpest blade.

"No need to go through all that trouble, just focus on handling the cases," Shiraishi shook his head.

Just as Shiraishi finished seeing Shirai off, he happened to find Kunikida waiting for him outside his office door.

"Section Chief Kunikida, what's wrong?" Seeing this, Shiraishi took a couple of quick steps forward and invited Kunikida inside.

"Nothing major, it's just... Chief, I noticed that the internal case-submittal procedure has been adjusted recently, and it's been changed to require your personal signature, right?" Kunikida confirmed with calm composure.

"That's right. It's not that I distrust anyone, but after what happened in the precinct previously..." Hearing this, Shiraishi thought Kunikida was dissatisfied with this "lack of trust," so he offered an explanation.

However, Kunikida shook his head and said, "No, I don't have any issue with the Chief wanting to sign personally. I also approve of the decision to make submittals more rigorous, but... according to regulations, case submittals require my signature as the Criminal Investigation Division Section Chief.

"I believe this step cannot be omitted. Our internal regulations can be stricter than the ones above us, but we cannot skip steps. From now on, let's both sign off before submitting cases."

Shiraishi: ...