Upright police officers don't tend to live long.

  Ren couldn't help but mutter this to himself.

  Sato Miwako—the Metropolitan Police Department's well-known heroine in more ways than one.

  She was a deeply principled polian, though her emotions ran high whenever she faced the murderer of her te father.

  But that was uandable.

  Revenge was a natural human instinct.

  The mhteous a police officer was, the more likely they were to act impulsively.

  Because the more they uood the depth of darkness, the more powerless they felt when trying to bat it.

  They saw how iy alone wasn't enough.

  The higher they climbed within the system, the more they had to navigate the greasy poles of politics.

  And oheir hands became slick with that grease, many simply stopped resisting.

  Sato Miwako's father had met the same fate, an unappreciated, fotten officer.

  And unfortunately, her own career trajectory seemed eerily simir.

  She wasn't suited for desk work.

  Her future would likely mirror her father's: a frontline ior, never promoted beyond a certain point.

  Ren wouldn't say these things out loud, of course.

  A person's nature couldn't be ged with a few passing ents.

  Sometimes, silence was the best approach.

  "Officer Sato, I won't take up any more of your time. I'll let you get back to work."

  "…Ah, wait a sed."

  Just as he was about to leave, Sato Miwako called out to him.

  She dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out a business card.

  "If you e across anything like this again, give me a call."

  "I work with Iure, so if it involves Tokyo, I'll ha."

  Ren took the card and exami.

  Her name, department, and work number were printed ly on the front.

  A private cellphone number was written on the back.

  "Officer Sato, you're surprisingly simir to Iure."

  "…?"

  "Your way of handling things, it feels very familiar."

  He left it at that.

  "Anyway, if I find anything suspicious, I'll let you know."

  "But fair warning, I might end up calling you a lot."

  "But if you want my help… I need one promise from you."

  Sato Miwako tilted her head slightly.

  "romise?"

  "I want a life that isn't stantly interrupted by cops asking me for help."

  "If you guarahat, I'll tact you whenever I discover something important."

  The straightforwardness of the request surprised her.

  But she smiled and nodded.

  "Of course. I promise, no one will disturb you."

  Her words were genuine, without a trace of official pretense.

  It was in moments like these that her righteous nature shohrough.

  "Good."

  "Then if I stumble upon anything strange, I'll reach out."

  "But you'll o keep my name off the reports."

  He extended his hand toward her.

  Sato Miaused for a sed, then shook it firmly.

  "It's a deal."

  "Yeah. Deal."

  After that brief handshake, they released each other's hands and parted ways.

  As Ren walked away, Sato Miwako couldn't help but feel that this high school boy was anything but ordinary.

  "Now that I think about it… the club he's in is mostly made up of elite young dies."

  She tapped her thoughtfully.

  "Mr. Mouri's daughter and that Suzuki girl are childhood friends, sure…"

  "But Amamiya Ren?"

  "A random boy with no visible background… in a club with some of the wealthiest and most iial high schoolers in Tokyo?"

  The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

  "And Ms. Suzuki seems pretty fond of him…"

  Her intuition as a detective kicked in.

  Something doesn't add up.

  ---

  Ba the Hotel

  Reuro the living room where everyone was gathered.

  Upoering, all eyes immediately shifted to him.

  "The situation is stable."

  "The police have captured the mastermind, and they're sweeping the back mountain for the remaining drug dealers."

  "Even if the drug dealers have illegal ons, the police are better trained and equipped."

  "The oute won't ge."

  He retrieved his tarot deck from Sefirah Castle and began shuffling the cards.

  After a moment, he drew three cards:

  The Star (Upright)

  Death (Upright)

  The World (Upright)

  The meanings were clear:

  Hope would prevail.

  Aable ending awaited the drug dealers.

  The situation would resolve in the police's favor.

  Everything roceeding as fate intended.

  The drug dealers' defeat was a fone clusion.

  Ren sighed softly.

  "I'm sorry, everyone."

  "I didn't expeething like this to happen during our first club activity."

  "Amamiya! Amamiya!"

  Before anyone could respond, Fujiwara shot up from her seat, her eyes sparkling.

  "Did you remember all of this?!"

  Amamiya bliaken aback.

  "…Remember?"

  "Yeah! This eory!"

  He thought about it for a moment.

  "Well… I do remember it pretty clearly."

  "So you didn't remember it before?"

  "Ren shook his head. "No. Not until now."

  Fujied her hands together excitedly.

  "Wait—so this story is different from what you knew?"

  "It is."

  "The story has… ged."

  "But holy, it feels more realistiow."

  Fujiwara's curiosity piqued.

  "What was the inal story?"

  Ren leaned back slightly and thought.

  "The story I know went like this: the vilge chief of Tsukikage Isnd partnered with some drug traffickers."

  "They used a middleman to hahe transas."

  "But eventually, that middleman grew a sd wanted out."

  "But… he koo much."

  Fujiwara frowned.

  "So the vilge chief killed him?"

  Ren nodded.

  "Yeah. They burned down his house with him and his wife and children inside."

  "But… one child survived."

  "The kid was sid had bee away for treatment."

  Fujiwara gasped.

  "So now that kid is back for revenge, right?"

  "Exactly."

  "Ugh! I k!"

  Fujiwara stomped her foot pyfully.

  "This is cssic reveory material!"

  "That's just how these plots always go!"

  "But wait… what happeo that surviving child?"

  Reated.

  "One sec."

  He focused his spiritual energy, f an image in the air.

  A ghostly, holographic figure appeared, depig a mature woman with a calm but cold expression.

  Fujiwara's eyes widened.

  "Wow… she's beautiful."

  But then she froze.

  Her mind repyed Amamiya's exact words:

  "The protagonist is 'he'… but the image is of a 'woman'?"

  She poi the floating image, her mouth falling open.

  "Wait… you said he was the one seeking revenge."

  Ren nodded.

  "Yeah."

  "But… that's a woman!"

  Her voice rose with disbelief.

  "Is that boy actually a… girl?!"

  ****

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