CHAPTER 431: CHAPTER 330: DIRTY MONEY

Minamoto Tamako repeatedly warned against smoking.

She passionately talked about the harms of smoking, stating that as a true friend, one should speak honestly, and the bad habit of smoking must be eradicated.

Fushimi Roku outwardly agreed and handed over the cigarette packs, but in reality, he spent a large sum of money to buy an air purifier and smoked secretly in his room.

Of course, he knew that smoking was harmful, but since he didn’t have much time left anyway, what was the big deal about smoking a cigarette? Before he got lung cancer, he would already be gone, so he might as well enjoy smoking a bit more.

In the following period, the Police Department was dealing with a courtroom incident. The negative impact of this case was too serious, and to prevent copycat crimes in society, the Police Department once again blocked the news.

Mr. Yoshikawa was sentenced to three years imprisonment, which was considered very light, even overly so. Director Fujiwara didn’t intend to be too harsh; he also attended the trial on the verdict day, and the Prosecutor watched him chat with Mr. Yoshikawa for a while without daring to stop them.

Meanwhile, Minamoto Tamako was investigating the origin of the mystery tape.

In her view, there was a small doubt in the case, just as Mr. Fu Jian had previously mentioned, how did Yoshikawa Ritsuo know her boyfriend’s death was related to Fujiwara Homare?

Regarding this, she visited Yoshikawa Ritsuo’s social circle, basically asked everyone, and no one had ever heard of Cat Island. By the way, she confirmed that Yoshikawa Ritsuo had never been missing, and her bank account didn’t have any large deposits.

The person who sent the tape was very smart; they filled in a public phone booth as the contact information and a public shelter as the address, specifically went to the courier station to send it rather than choosing home service, just to prevent being remembered by the courier.

Minamoto Tamako worked hard for two months, to no avail.

During this period, she didn’t stop gun training and also asked the Hokkaido Police Station to copy a file on a gunfight at the police academy, which she studied day and night trying to find some clues.

Taira Sakurako made new friends at school, often bringing friend Mayu-chan and Nine-tenths Elementary back home, with the three elementary students frequently gathering in the living room to play games, for which Fushimi Roku had to buy two more controllers.

It’s worth mentioning that April 16th was Minamoto Tamako’s birthday.

Fushimi Roku didn’t forget this. Since both he and Minamoto Tamako had birthdays in April, Minamoto Tamako gave him a belated birthday gift, so he naturally had to reciprocate. He specially prepared a small surprise for Minamoto Tamako, which later became the notorious Death Three-Piece Set criticized on some shopping sites: lipstick, a music box, and a photo album.

In his previous life, he never needed to think about gifts for his girlfriend, as she would subtly hint at what she wanted herself—luxury handbags, fancy restaurant dinners, huge bouquets, and bank transfers of things like 1314.

If he gave Minamoto Tamako these things, he wouldn’t be able to explain where the money came from, so he had to wrack his brains for something romantically frugal he could give, ultimately picking these three useless items from a gift shop.

Minamoto Tamako didn’t need lipstick; she wasn’t very good at makeup, nor did she need to put it on, at most a bit of eyeliner or eyebrow liner to make her eyes look bigger and softer.

She thought the music box was quite nice, turning it would play a single released by Chage and Aska, which was the theme song for the Japanese drama "The 101st Proposal," causing a sensation at the time and even coming out with a music box album "SAY YES ~ It’s Always Like Rain ASKA Hit Songs," which was very pleasant.

The photo album was also to her liking, because Sister Yalan gave her a Sony camera as a gift, so she could take some photos in her spare time, to put in the album for keepsakes.

The birthday gift from Watanabe Shun was also a camera, albeit a cheap polaroid, producing photos that looked like scenes from a horror movie or action film stills.

Kazama Tatsuya didn’t prepare any special gift, instead, he gave Minamoto Tamako a bullet necklace, which was actually just a bullet from the shooting range encased in an iron cross necklace groove.

Before they knew it, it was June, and summer arrived.

Early June was usually Tokyo’s rainy season, with sporadic heavy rain, making the air hot and humid. Every day Minamoto Tamako held a cheap 50-yen ice pop to cool down, which could also satisfy her cravings.

On this Saturday afternoon, taking advantage of the fact that both Sister Yalan and Senior Watanabe were on leave, Minamoto Tamako gathered everyone at her house to discuss the issue of the bank deposit.

Minamoto Tamako had been troubled by an unrighteous fund of over 20 million yen recently, she checked with the bank, and the fund was legitimate; then she followed the trail of the remittance, only to find out the sender was a large department store group, claiming Minamoto Tamako was their ten thousandth lucky customer, and the 25 million yen was a giveaway prize for the lucky customer.

Minamoto Tamako felt there was something fishy about this, wondering how could a company not seeking profit send money to consumers? Even as a consumer-stimulating gimmick, there was no advertisement made by this department store!

She pursued further, perhaps uncovering the mastermind behind Cat Island, only to find the department store was a foreign-funded enterprise. To thoroughly investigate it meant she had to go to the United States, an endeavor she neither had the time nor energy for, so she temporarily gave up.

"In summary, there’s no way to find the original owner of this money, and no solution on how to handle it..."

Minamoto Tamako, dressed in a white tank top, sat on the sofa with a fan blowing beside her, her hair fluttering, and everyone could see her troubled expression.

"I don’t get what you’re worried about," Watanabe Shun scratched his feet, though there was no injury, just an itchy spot made him do so: "Why not just keep it yourself? Isn’t that a good thing?"

Now his facial injuries had healed, and he could speak fluently.

"This money isn’t mine! Do you understand?" Minamoto Tamako slapped the tea table, looking to Sister Yalan and Senior Kazama successively, seeking their agreed response: "The important thing is, this money wasn’t earned by me... If I kept it, how different is that from stealing?"

"If you spent it, how different is it from finding it on the ground?" Watanabe Shun sniffed his fingers.

Sister Yalan and Senior Kazama both nodded in agreement, they knew the money came from Cat Island, yet it didn’t affect their belief that the money should be spent.

After all, when it comes to money, who cares if it’s dirty or not?

"Alright, let me give you an analogy," Minamoto Tamako tore open a pack of ice pops, and said: "Suppose I use this money to buy a really nice pair of shoes, do you know what I would hear with every step I take?"

She waved the popsicle like an orchestra conductor waving a baton, repeatedly chanting, "Thief! Thief! Thief! Thief! Thief..."

Fushimi Roku interrupted, "I get what you mean. If you despise this money, why not donate it to someone in need, like me..."

Seeing the immediate contempt in everyone’s eyes, he continued, "Or Kazama."

"I don’t need money," Kazama Tatsuya immediately retorted.

Minamoto Tamako thought donation was a good idea, and she asked everyone which charity platform was reliable; Kazama Tatsuya, being a pessimist, stated clearly that there were no reliable charity platforms in Japan, and as soon as Minamoto Tamako donated, the money would surely end up in the hands of fraudsters.

While everyone was chatting, Watanabe Shun noticed that at some point, Fushimi Roku had slumped over the back of the sofa, exposing only his butt to him, a particularly indecent posture.

Watanabe Shun, puzzled, reached out and tugged his pants: "What are you doing?"

Fushimi Roku turned around and sat back on the sofa, pursing his lips, uttering a "Hmm."

"Hmm what?"

Minamoto Tamako also found Fushimi Roku a bit inexplicable, with a bad premonition. She leaned in for a sniff and immediately got angry, clamping Fushimi Roku’s cheeks with both hands, causing a puff of white smoke to burst out from his mouth.

Moriyama Yasurou waved his hand in disdain, "Tch..."

Kazama Tatsuya also looked on with contempt, "Can’t even hold out for a bit, huh?"

Watanabe Shun expressed confusion, "There are still people who don’t smoke! Is there really a need to sneak a puff? You didn’t add anything extra in it, did you?"

"Who doesn’t smoke, anyway?" Fushimi Roku retorted.

Watanabe Shun looked around, and it seemed only Minamoto Tamako didn’t smoke: "That’s not a reason for you to smoke in a public place, is it?"

"What’s a public place, isn’t this my house?" Fushimi Roku, cigarette held between two fingers, looked unhappy, "Besides, what’s ’for a bit’? Do you know how long I’ve held out? I click my lighter once in my room, and someone in the living room can hear it, and I haven’t smoked in three days!"

"Then why don’t you just quit?" Moriyama Yasurou asked.

"Why don’t you quit?" Fushimi Roku snickered.

Seeing everyone accusing him, Minamoto Tamako got even more spirited, harshly criticizing Fushimi Roku for smoking and still being argumentative.

Everyone immediately rallied, demanding Fushimi Roku quit smoking for Sakurako’s health.

"You all can’t quit, so why should I?" Fushimi Roku was very annoyed, pressing Minamoto Tamako’s head with his left hand and holding his cigarette high with his right, blocking Minamoto Tamako from snatching it, resembling Shakyamuni pointing one finger to the sky and one to the ground.

"I’ve quit," Kazama Tatsuya said.

"You’re bluffing!"

Fushimi Roku didn’t believe it at all, thinking this guy had mild depression plus PTSD. Without the solace of cigarettes, how could his mind not collapse? Never heard of a depression patient successfully quitting smoking or drinking; if they do, they’re not far from death.

"I really quit."

Kazama Tatsuya turned his pockets inside out to prove he wasn’t carrying any cigarettes or lighter.

Fushimi Roku was shocked, suspecting that his mental state had worsened, turning into severe depression, finding no earthly pleasure, hence successfully quitting smoking...

Kazama Tatsuya knew what he was thinking and added, "I’ve been in a better mental state, been sleeping well lately."

"Did you eat the Immortal Pill?" Fushimi Roku looked him up and down.

Minamoto Tamako gave up trying to snatch the cigarette and turned to Kazama Tatsuya for advice. She wanted to know Kazama Tatsuya’s secret to quitting smoking, to help Fushimi Roku quit based on personal experience.

"Hold on."

Kazama Tatsuya stood up and went next door to fetch a cassette tape, handing it to Fushimi Roku, "This can help you quit smoking."

Fushimi Roku took the cassette, cigarette in mouth, slapped the tape against his arm, then let it slide to the floor: "This nicotine patch is useless."

Watanabe Shun was amused, letting out a couple silly chuckles, drawing the death stares of Kazama Tatsuya and Minamoto Tamako. He promptly shut his mouth, putting on a serious face.

"It’s a hypnosis tape," Kazama Tatsuya explained, "I listened for two months, and the symptoms completely vanished."

Others thought he meant withdrawal symptoms, but only Fushimi Roku and he knew that it referred to PTSD symptoms, as well as depression symptoms.

Quitting smoking was just a side effect.