CHAPTER 539: CHAPTER 377: ALL COLLECTED?! (PART 2)

"How did the clues suddenly break off? Wasn’t the investigation going well?"

Fushimi Roku’s old problem acted up again. He spoke halfway, saw the patrol police arrive, turned around and left, taking off his shoe covers full of dog poop as he walked.

Minamoto Tamako deliberately didn’t ask. She followed behind him, removed her shoe covers, and put them into a plastic bag. Japan has strict garbage classification rules; she couldn’t throw dog poop into the trash can.

After they walked for a while, with a clean ear, Fushimi Roku was surprised that Minamoto Tamako hadn’t bombarded him with questions.

He glanced back and saw Minamoto Tamako pressing her lips tightly, seeming to struggle hard, with a stubborn expression of ’if you don’t tell, I won’t ask.’

Hah, became smarter, huh.

Fushimi Roku was curious. He wanted to see how long Minamoto Tamako could hold back, so he counted silently in his heart as he walked. Just when he reached three, Minamoto Tamako’s voice came from behind: "How was it going smoothly? Did you deduce something?"

"Eh, so you didn’t think of it?" Fushimi Roku asked knowingly.

"Just tell me! Quickly, spill it!" Minamoto Tamako couldn’t stand it anymore and shook Fushimi Roku’s arm back and forth.

As the captain of the detective team, it was bad enough to be slower in reaction than her teammates but being deliberately teased by them was intolerable. If it weren’t for the investigation, she would’ve already bashed Fushimi-kun’s head in!

As for being gentle and feminine as a girlfriend, Minamoto Tamako threw those thoughts out the window.

In private, even if Fushimi-kun took advantage as a boyfriend, she wouldn’t nitpick with Fushimi Roku; but outside, in the work setting, if Fushimi-kun acted flippantly without seriously discussing the case, she had to seriously warn him as the detective team’s captain!

Fushimi Roku seized the opportunity again; this was his usual act. Whenever he had the chance, he asked Minamoto Tamako for a stamp, and this time was no exception.

"Not really inclined to say, unless you add a stamp for me."

Hearing this, Minamoto Tamako adeptly pulled out a little white book and deftly took a stamp from her pocket. She opened the cap, breathed on it, and was just about to stamp when she suddenly froze in mid-air.

She opened her eyes wide, carefully counting the stamps on the book one by one... and upon reaching the last one, Minamoto Tamako suddenly realized that Fushimi Roku only needed one more stamp to complete thirty consecutive days!

Whoa, how close!

Minamoto Tamako secretly rejoiced; fortunately, her reaction was quick enough, or the consequences of stamping now would be unthinkable.

Strange, have I stamped so many stamps?

Didn’t I reclaim many stamps before? How did they suddenly become so many... Were these stamps issued by me? Could it be that Fushimi-kun secretly forged them?

Minamoto Tamako flipped through the pages meticulously. She had recorded each stamp, and after carefully checking, found no errors — Fushimi-kun truly had quietly accumulated twenty-nine stamps!

Hiss, terrifyingly clever!

Fushimi Roku noticed Minamoto Tamako’s subtle movements. He stood in the hallway, leaning against the staircase railing, turned back to look at Minamoto Tamako, and asked, "What’s the matter? Any issues?"

Could it be that she noticed?

Judging by Minamoto Tamako’s expression, it was highly likely she had noticed...

Minamoto Tamako was reluctant to say it outright. She had copied Fushimi-kun’s rabbit currency and its reclaim mechanism. The unspoken rule was not to reveal that the ultimate prize couldn’t be redeemed; otherwise, the currency and stamps would lose their effectiveness.

But now she couldn’t let him collect it; who knows what Fushimi-kun would do once he completed the collection!

Minamoto Tamako was in a dilemma, stuck in a bind, caught between holding up the stamp.

"What’s wrong?" Fushimi Roku moved closer, staring at her profile, inching nearer like a wolf observing a husky: "Go ahead, what’s the hold-up?"

Minamoto Tamako snapped the little white book shut, turning her face aside unnaturally, chuckling awkwardly: "Uh, actually, I want to challenge myself a bit, can’t always rely on Fushimi-kun for deductions..."

"And so?" Fushimi Roku asked.

"So let’s leave it for now. If you perform well tomorrow, I’ll naturally stamp it."

Minamoto Tamako said that, but she was thinking of finding an excuse tonight to deduct some stamps hard.

Fushimi Roku saw through her thoughts, snorted coldly, turned his head downstairs, and said, "Do as you wish, time doesn’t wait for anyone. I’m not in a hurry; it’s time to go home for lunch now..."

"Just grab a bento to get by! If we delay any longer, what if we miss the golden investigation time?" Minamoto Tamako was a bit anxious, worried that Fushimi-kun might slack off.

"We’ve delayed so long anyway, another moment won’t hurt."

Fushimi Roku paused, adding mischievously: "If it later turns out that the delay was crucial, it won’t be my fault, but rather someone’s reluctance to stamp, which delayed investigation time and bears the main responsibility..."

"Clearly, it’s you wanting to slack off, why blame me?" Minamoto Tamako felt it was unfair.

"Because you’re the captain of the detective team!"

Fushimi Roku never really took the detective team seriously, but now he straightforwardly invoked his member status, righteously accusing Captain Minamoto Tamako: "As captain, shouldn’t you bear the main responsibility? Isn’t a captain’s duty to incentivize the team members? Have you ever considered why I’m lazy?"

After saying that, he poked Minamoto Tamako’s shoulder with his finger: "Finding faults within yourself is what makes a qualified captain!"

"..."

Minamoto Tamako felt his words were profound and reasonable.

She looked down at the little white book in her hand, internally torn, hesitating whether to stamp or not, to boost team morale; or perhaps wait a while, maybe she would figure out how to proceed with the investigation...

At that moment, Fushimi Roku caught her hesitation, seized the chance, leaned back, approached and mumbled: "Remember the patrol police whose face got mangled by a bite? I heard his most respected senior was you... Alas, too bad, disfigured so young, life’s going to be tough..."

Standing upright, he shook his head repeatedly: "If it were me, I would never let down the trust of my juniors, even if I had to sacrifice a hundred rabbit currencies, I’d think it’s worth it!"

The more Minamoto Tamako listened, the guiltier she felt, feeling she had let down her juniors while simultaneously ashamed of her stinginess.

Sure enough, Fushimi-kun’s rabbit currency was too malicious; even if she copied it, she couldn’t replicate its essence.

Minamoto Tamako conceded defeat, letting Fushimi-kun do as he pleased. For the case’s sake, she was willing to sacrifice, even if Fushimi-kun wanted her to be a foot massage slave, she’d agree!

Minamoto Tamako gritted her teeth, opened the little white book and firmly stamped it, afraid of regretting:

"Look! Stamped it, now you can finally share, right?!"

Fushimi Roku succeeded in his scheme, barely holding back a grin. Suppressing his triumph, he spoke calmly, "No rush; shouldn’t we tally the stamps first? If I recall correctly, it should already be thirty consecutive stamps by now, right?"

Minamoto Tamako looked down, pursing her lips, silently flipping pages, reluctantly saying: "Well, maybe..."

Before she finished speaking, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she pressed her finger on one page: "Wait!"

"What’s wrong?" Fushimi Roku frowned.

"Look, there’s a gap of one day!" Minamoto Tamako exclaimed.

As the saying goes, heaven always helps the righteous; she almost laughed out loud, her mouth forming a U-shape.

"Oh, let me make up the missed punch with rabbit currency then." Fushimi Roku took a self-made rabbit currency from his wallet and handed it over: "You mentioned before, right? Allowing no more than three interruptions, rabbit currency can make up for missed punches."

"No way, your rabbit currency can’t be exchanged equally for a redemption voucher! You didn’t make that clear before, so it doesn’t count!" Minamoto Tamako defended staunchly.

"Then I’ll use a redemption voucher to make up for it." Fushimi Roku took out a redemption voucher.

Seeing that he was about to complete the collection, he couldn’t resist getting excited. It’s just like the last hit on a bargain app; even if poisoned Einstein came back, he’d bite.

Minamoto Tamako was waiting for this line. She swiftly snatched the redemption voucher, her hand quick enough to leave an afterimage. Seeing this, Fushimi Roku suddenly realized, recalling the redemption vouchers he issued, and his expression changed suddenly!

Not good, she’s accumulated them!

Minamoto Tamako held the redemption voucher in both hands, bringing it to her nose, deeply inhaling:

"Hiss—hoo~"