Chapter 53 Personal Experience

Listening to Kunikida’s words, Shiraishi finally understood. It turned out that Kunikida wasn’t under the misconception that Shiraishi didn’t trust him, but rather… that Kunikida didn’t trust himself!

However, judging by his exceptionally high [Principle] stat of 98 points, Shiraishi could understand. Kunikida didn’t harbor any personal grievances against him; it was simply that his sense of principle was overly rigid. This could also be seen from the fact that Kunikida had deliberately sought Shiraishi out in private rather than voicing his objections in front of others.

At the same time, Shiraishi noticed that while Kunikida was speaking, his gaze kept drifting toward Shiraishi’s somewhat cluttered desk, his eyes flashing with disgust and… intense self-restraint!

It was likely that his "germophobia" was about to flare up, and he was forcibly holding himself back from giving Shiraishi’s desk a thorough cleanup.

This also reminded Shiraishi of why, just a moment ago when he was down at the Criminal Investigation Division, he had felt a vague sense of discord—the place was much tidier than usual, and furthermore… there was no smell of cigarette smoke!

At that moment, an inspiration flashed through Shiraishi’s mind, and he said, "Well, that’s fine. Also… the accident rate of official vehicles at our Beika Precinct has always been stubbornly high, especially among the officers of the Criminal Investigation Division. Most of them are hot-headed and often handle urgent assignments, so bumps and scrapes are inevitable. I will have to ask Division Chief Kunikida to put in extra effort regarding this matter moving forward."

"Of course, that is inherently my duty. Then I will take my leave now, Chief. Please continue with your work."

Kunikida hurried away. He couldn't bear to stay in such a messy office for even a single second longer!

Shiraishi estimated that, constrained by his [Principle: 98] trait, Kunikida’s criminal investigation capabilities must have been severely restricted, making it difficult for him to perform at his proper standard. After all, this was no longer a matter of following the rules, but rather a completely inflexible numerical value. Fortunately, as the division chief, if he didn't want to, he wouldn't have to go out to crime scenes. However…

Utilizing his "germophobia" to first whip the internal affairs of the [Criminal Investigation Division] into shape would be beneficial. Who knows, it might even bring down the official vehicle accident rate. Calculated this way, having Division Chief Kunikida transferred over was truly "value for money"!

Right at that moment…

Ding—

[Achieved "Transfer (Shiroi Takeshi)" achievement—A subordinate has been transferred. Based on the positions before and after the transfer, 3 achievement points have been awarded.]

Shiraishi suddenly received a notification from the system…

Shiraishi was slightly stunned at first, but quickly understood—Shiroi must have already reported to the Public Relations Division by now!

As for this point reward…

It was indeed very little!

However, a wave of joy still welled up in Shiraishi’s heart…

The notification clearly stated that the reward was based on the "positions before and after the transfer." Shiraishi’s transfer wasn't just a lateral move of the same rank; it was also a demotion from a powerful division chief to a sinecure position, so it was completely normal for the reward to be low.

The reason Shiraishi was secretly pleased was because he had discovered this new channel for acquiring points.

"It seems that having subordinates transferred away can also grant point rewards. When someone like Shiraishi is transferred, the reward is just a fraction, but if it's a promotion-transfer, the reward should be much higher... As expected, talented individuals with high potential are the most important asset!" Shiraishi muttered to himself inwardly.

***

Seeing that it was almost noon, and with one arm being inconvenient, Shiraishi waited for a while, but none of the subordinates eager to advance themselves showed up to bring him lunch. In the end, he had no choice but to go downstairs himself to buy some bread to stave off his hunger.

Just as he was in the corridor, he saw Fuji and Kawai in a confrontation with a male citizen—how did he know he was a citizen? In a police precinct, if someone wasn't a police officer and wasn't wearing handcuffs, they were a citizen!

"I have nothing to say to you female officers… Get me a real cop!"

This man looked to be in his thirties and had a slovenly, delinquent air about him.

"Mister, we are official police officers!" Kawai retorted indignantly.

Fuji pulled her back, and at the same time said to the man, "Mr. Kato, this is already the second time this month your wife has come to the precinct to file a report. My colleagues in the Community Safety Division have already officially issued a restraining order. You…"

"What restraining order or whatever! Make that old woman come out right now! We taxpayers pay your salaries—is it just so you can pull this kind of stunt? Do you believe I’ll file a complaint against you?" the man said arrogantly.

While maintaining a smile on her face, Fuji had veins visibly throbbing on her forehead…

Shiraishi could tell that Fuji Seiko’s [Gentleness] stat wasn't very high to begin with, which was already on the lower side for a female detective, and right now she was merely putting on an act as a patrol officer dealing with the public.

Thwack—

At that moment, Shiraishi approached from behind and tapped this Mr. Kato on the shoulder.

"What do you want? Are you trying to—" Feeling the touch, Kato turned around with a fierce glare, and then…

Gulp—

Kato swallowed hard with great difficulty.

In truth, he wasn't very tall either; the top of his head didn't even reach Shiraishi’s chest, and looking straight ahead, all he could see was Shiraishi’s stomach.

Shiraishi deliberately stepped a bit closer at that moment, smiling as he… looked down at him from above.

"Mr. Kato, is it? I am the Chief of the Beika Precinct. If you wish to file a complaint against our officers, you can speak with me… However, I must remind you that during the period of a restraining order, if you continue to harass the protected person, even if your actions do not reach the level of a typical violent crime, you can still be sentenced to imprisonment of less than one year and a fine of up to one million yen."

Shiraishi was fulfilling the duties of a precinct chief, wearing a smile while popularizing the law for the citizen.

If Fuji had said those things, Kato would undoubtedly have hollered, "So you're going to arrest me, then?" or "Let's see how you tax-thieves abuse your authority!"…

Yet now that Shiraishi was standing right in front of him, he didn't dare let out even a single squeak.

"Actually, I believe that when husbands and wives have issues, they should still discuss them properly. For a grown man to raise his hand against his own wife, no matter how you look at it, is utterly disgraceful, isn't it?"

As Shiraishi spoke, his previously smiling expression fell, his face turning gloomy as he deliberately emitted a palpable, almost substantive aura of majesty!

Simultaneously, he opened his right hand and raised it slightly, blocking the other person's line of sight—specifically, just enough to obscure his vision while still allowing the man to see Shiraishi’s gaze through the gaps between his fingers. Because of the height difference, when Shiraishi reached out toward someone like this, to a third party, it merely looked like a standard "persuasive gesture" and didn't appear provocative at all.

"If your hands are truly feeling itchy, I know a martial arts dojo that I can recommend to you… As for your wife, you had best not disturb her for a while. After a few months, offer her a proper apology! I hope you can recognize your mistakes, and I also hope the two of you can reconcile," Shiraishi said calmly.

"Y-Yes, understood…" Kato stammered.

Although not a single word Shiraishi uttered was anything he wanted to hear, but…

Under the crushing pressure of Shiraishi’s intimidation, the words were instead deeply engraved into his brain!

In the future, whenever he felt the urge to act on impulse, he would likely immediately recall the shadowy, massive hand looming over him, and the faint, Hannya-like visage of Shiraishi peering through the gaps.

"I-I won't disturb you any further!" Kato fled in a cold sweat.

Watching his retreating figure, Kawai muttered indignantly, "What a wretched guy..."

"Does that lady have any intention of filing for a divorce?" Shiraishi asked Fuji Seiko out of mild curiosity.

"It doesn't look like it. She probably just wanted to hide out at her parents' house for a while," Fuji said with a helpless sigh.

"How could that be..." As a rookie and a young person, Kawai still didn't understand such matters.

"You just haven't seen enough yet... Every family has its own difficult scriptures to chant," Fuji said, having long since grown accustomed to it. If the parties involved refused to get a divorce, all the police precinct could do was issue a "restraining order."

"Are there really this many guys like that?" Kawai asked, still harboring rosy expectations of society and feeling somewhat unreconciled.

Shiraishi thought for a moment before replying, "Not really. The vast majority of people are quite amiable. Back when we were sweeping through violent organization offices in Kamurocho, most of them were actually quite polite."

Fuji: ……

That was undoubtedly purely Shiraishi’s own personal experience!