CHAPTER 538: CHAPTER 377: ALL COLLECTED?!

Minamoto Tamako deeply regretted it; she wished she hadn’t opened the wardrobe.

Every time she felt she understood human nature, human nature would surprise her with another unexpected lesson.

"Why would someone... do something like this?"

Minamoto Tamako closed the cupboard door, left the apartment, and mulled over it for a moment, still unable to speak out.

Fushimi Roku shrugged, indicating that he didn’t know either. Compared to a real psychopath, he still seemed quite normal.

Minamoto Tamako called the police station, asking them to dispatch patrol officers to handle the situation. Before the patrol arrived, she and Fushimi Roku stayed at the apartment entrance, preserving the crime scene while discussing the inspection results.

"Hmm, following Doctor Arima’s theory, Matsuboto Miyaku was likely in a hypnotic state, following a suggestive command to believe he was a dog, hence stripping in public, urinating around, and barking madly at pedestrians, all mimicking dog behavior..."

Saying this, Minamoto Tamako turned and asked, "Do you think he was conscious while doing these things?"

This entered Fushimi Roku’s domain of ignorance, so he could only honestly say:

"I don’t know."

Professional matters should be left to professionals, and Minamoto Tamako didn’t plan to make blind guesses. She took out Arima Toshio’s business card, input the number, and after waiting for the dial tone to ring for over ten seconds, the line was answered:

"Hello, this is Arima Psychological Consultation Clinic, how may I assist you?"

Minamoto Tamako was taken aback, glanced down at her phone screen to confirm she hadn’t dialed the wrong number, then asked, "Doctor Miyazaki, is that you? Isn’t this Doctor Arima’s number?"

"This is the clinic’s general line, used for client reception," Miyazaki Shizuka seemed to be doubling as reception, "Is this Miss Tamako?"

"Yes, yes it’s me. Actually, I wanted to ask if Doctor Arima thinks Matsuboto Miyaku was conscious during the crime..."

"Oh, no need to trouble Mr. Arima, I can answer that — subjects under hypnosis are all in a state of active subconsciousness, simply put, it’s similar to sleepwalking."

Hearing this from Miyazaki Shizuka, Minamoto Tamako could understand.

She herself had dreamt strange dreams, like the other night dreaming she turned into a caterpillar, competing with a snail, and ended up crashing her head into the bed frame, probably akin to a sleepwalking state.

If she hadn’t stubbornly confronted the snail and chose to bypass it, she might have wriggled off the bed, crawled across the floor and shuffled around the living room.

Just the thought was embarrassing.

If the living room door wasn’t closed, perhaps she would’ve crawled outside, seen by passersby who would surely report it, leading to front-page news like "Police Department Criminal Police・Kujo Family’s Heiress does something like this in public"...

"But wouldn’t sleepwalking be interrupted?" Minamoto Tamako pursued, "Normally, if pain is felt, wouldn’t one wake up? Or be awakened by loud noises... Why can’t those ’random perpetrators in a trance’ regain consciousness themselves?"

She was still upset about the incident with the office worker biting faces, where patrol officers fired five shots and the worker acted unaffected, far from appearing to sleepwalk.

"Under usual circumstances, they would awaken, but there are exceptions, such as drug-induced hypnosis, or if the hypnotist possesses exceptional skills, imparting suggestive instructions that are difficult for the subject to shake off..."

Miyazaki Shizuka paused, then added, "It’s akin to sleep paralysis, where the person is conscious but can’t awaken, rather similar to lucid dreaming experiences you’ve had before."

Minamoto Tamako instinctually asked, "Does this mean, Doctor Miyazaki, you can also accomplish this?"

There was a momentary silence on the other end before Miyazaki Shizuka’s voice came through again: "Which task?"

Minamoto Tamako was not suspicious, and explained, "Like hypnotizing others, causing them to enter a sleepwalking state without waking... Can you do it?"

"Hmm, possibly? I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure..." Miyazaki Shizuka replied.

"Oh, really."

Minamoto Tamako felt a bit disappointed; if Doctor Miyazaki could achieve it, then perhaps she could make those ’trance perpetrators’ regain consciousness, potentially restoring their reputation in court, clearing their injustices.

She wasn’t discouraged, and asked again, "What about Doctor Arima? With his expertise, he must have a way to restore consciousness, right?"

Saying this, Minamoto Tamako smacked her forehead, feeling as if she’d become obsessed with investigating. She should’ve stopped Doctor Arima at that moment, let him diagnose Matsuboto Miyaku... He had figured out the ’cause of the illness,’ so knowing the reason would likely mean a solution.

Upon hearing this, Miyazaki Shizuka assisted with an explanation, stating that the suggestions imparted by a hypnotist can only be undone by that hypnotist, others can’t help, similar to a cipher book without the corresponding keys, leaving one unable to proceed.

Minamoto Tamako sighed inwardly, thanked Miyazaki Shizuka, and then hung up.

Fushimi Roku had been listening the whole time, noticed Minamoto Tamako’s defeated expression, and promptly asked, "Why the sigh?"

"All clues are interrupted now, with no idea how to proceed..." Minamoto Tamako suddenly realized something, her cowlick pointed upward, squinting while side-eyeing Fushimi Roku, wondering why Fujimura-kun asked that? Merely out of concern for her mood?

No, that’s not it.

Fujimura-kun was definitely about to flaunt his intelligence next.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Fushimi Roku showed contempt, a look of ’how could your intelligence decline so much’ on his face.