Cherry blossom season has passed.

The lonely branches are gradually dyed with new green, although they are not as dazzling as the Yae cherry blossoms before the moon, but the green buds are also very interesting.

When Saotome Nao walked into the men's tennis court affiliated to Tachikai University in the cool spring breeze, Akaya Kirihara, who was practicing against his seniors, was suddenly stunned and smashed the ball on a bald head on the next court.

"Akaya-!!"

Two angry shouts rang out at the same time.

After a while, Kirihara who was remembered by the two seniors still didn't come back to his senses, staring at the straight girl in a daze, pointing at each other's arms and shaking.

"She, she, she, she, she can't be that super-famous Saotome Nao, right?!"

With a sudden, all kinds of eyes poked out of the field. The red-haired girl who instantly became the focus of everyone's attention couldn't help but twitch the corners of her eyes.

Due to the nationwide live press conference a year ago and the vigorous publicity of the Kanagawa Police Station's Minor Education Division later, Nao is no stranger to this kind of thing that is often poked by the eyes. Whether on campus, on the subway, in the supermarket, or on the road, there will be all kinds of people peeking at her and whispering, or simply running to shake hands and take photos with her...... She always had the illusion of joining an entertainment company.

But there's no way around it, Nao sighed to himself. After all, posters with her photo and the words "Sincerely invite teenagers and girls to join the Metropolitan Police Department's Junior Education Class" have been posted everywhere.

If it weren't for the future plan, she wouldn't have ......

Nao pouted her teeth and walked towards Nioh Masaharu with a playful smile on his face, slowly swaying towards her.

"Yo, big star~ Why do you have time to come to our small place today, don't you have to hold a press conference?"

Nioh smiled and compared with the direction of Akaya Hara with a tennis racket, "That kid - the newcomer to our department also seems to be your admirer, how about it, do you want to sign it?"

"Why can't even you...... Please, let me pause for a moment. Nao sighed with a headache, "The inspector is really, he has to let me come out in uniform." Thanks to him, I won't even have to buy casual clothes in the future. ”

"Poof! Of course, the spokesperson of the Metropolitan Police Department's Youth Education Section must wear a uniform at all times! Otherwise, how can others recognize you?" Nioh teased her, "and this situation is ...... Isn't this face that has raised the vigilance of criminals across the country exactly what you were hoping for?"

"That being said. ”

Nao chuckled self-deprecatingly, and looked at Kirihara Akaya, who was smashed in the head by Sanada Koichiro while bowing and apologizing not far away, and his pupils flashed with complicated feelings.

"But...... Thanks to it, it has also lost a lot of things that will never come back. ”

"That's not right-it's 'giving up' instead of 'losing', active and passive are completely different things~"

The silver-haired boy sat down on the steps inside the barbed wire with his back to Nao, and while grabbing the wire of his racket, he said seemingly nonchalantly, "Whether it is candy or ginger in your hand, you have to pick a box and reach out, right? ”

"Yes. When you get halfway through, you turn back, and in the end, you can't even eat ginger....... Listening to his words, Nao couldn't help but laugh, "But Werewolf-san, your metaphor of candy and ginger is too unique, isn't it?"

"You know what you mean, don't you. Nioh took the slap on his arm and stood up, turning his head sideways and grinning at Nao. The soft spring day is covered with a layer of fluffy gold edges on the boy's back-to-light figure.

"Miss Detective, who even dares to face monsters and beasts head-on, is she still afraid of eating a piece of ginger?"

Nao squinted his eyes and looked at the silver-haired boy who was already half a head taller than himself, and curled his lips and laughed.

"Yes. ”

The big deal is to drop the box and start over.

And, who can say that ginger is necessarily worse than candy?

A little bitterness may be more enlightening - just like the previous incident.

Although she was wounded, bleeding, and holding a lot of unclear threads in her hands, she also vaguely touched the core of the International Organization Crime Countermeasures Headquarters, which is the core of the Fourth Search Division of the Kanagawa Police Station. The death of his father, the identity of his grandmother, the disappearance of Kazumi Kurosawa, an unknown mysterious organization, and "those guys" in the mouth of Chief Sanada Police...... It seemed that with a slight flick of her wrist, the cloth covering these truths would fall, revealing the intricate nature of a spider's web.

At such a time, who cares about the pungency of ginger? Even if it burns the throat, it is sweet.

Saotome Nao raised her head, and under the thoughtful eyes of Nioh Masaharu, she showed a slightly crazy smile at Sanada Koichiro, who was running on the court.

Now, even if she can't immediately spell out a picture called the truth, she must be qualified to participate in it.

Not long ago, she had just applied to Sanada's grandfather, His Excellency Hirokazu Sanada Police, Inspector General of the Kanagawa Police Station, to join the daily investigation of the Fourth Search Division in the name of a study tour. Although the admirable old man didn't immediately agree, the wavering between his eyebrows did not escape Nao's eyes that were good at catching details. During the conversation, it can be seen that Superintendent Sanada does not object to her joining the Fourth Search Section, but what is the reason for his hesitation?

The only thing that can be imagined is that someone interfered with his decision.

can make a firm-minded and even somewhat stubborn high-level police officer hesitate so much, and the identity of the person who can have a huge impact on him is also about to come out.

In a certain incident in the past, he cooperated with the Fourth Division of the Search and was forced to leave the island to hide his traces for more than 30 years, and the former Yonehana Town Police Station was a police officer of the First Division of the Search Division and the Third Department of the Police Station - Saotome Sakurako.

Her grandmother.

Nao knew that the reason why her grandmother handed her over to Superintendent Sanada and asked her to train under his nose was to prevent her from coming into contact with the death of her father Kohei Saotome too early, and even from the conversation between the two, it can be deduced that the "guys" who forced her grandmother to leave Tokyo had some indirect hidden threads, even if they were not directly related to Kohei's death.

Do these hidden lines have anything to do with Kurosawa Kazumi who suddenly appeared next to her?

If not, why did she feel so inexplicably familiar with that woman, and if so, what role did Kurosawa and Mei play in those hidden lines?

Kazumi Kurosawa, Kuroza Wakazumi...... Who is she?

"She'll show up again. ”

At some point, Nioh Masaharu had already walked up to her. Nao suddenly realized that she had just said the words of her inner thoughts.

The silver-haired boy stood side by side with her behind the barbed wire, his green eyes sparkling in the setting sun, making it impossible to see the true mood.

"It doesn't matter who she is, if her target is still you, she'll reappear. ”

"She has no ill will towards me. ”

"Ah, I know. Nioh chuckled, "I saw it when I was in the Raven Mansion. That Kurosawa and Mei not only have no ill will towards you, but also attach great importance to you. When you were out of danger, she was greatly relieved~ The worry and anxiety in her eyes could be seen even by elementary school students - although there was no trace of it afterwards, and it was quite well concealed. ”

"Is there such a thing......??"

Nao muttered, and the woman's smile flashed in front of her, either sarcastic or charming, "I didn't even see it......"

"Well, I've said she's covered up pretty well, and she's back to normal by the time you wake up. Nioh shrugged his shoulders and suddenly laughed again, "But Kazumi...... The name Kazumi really has a variety of personalities! Not to mention the missing health teacher, the character of the 'wild boar' in your karate club is an eye-opener!"

"Do you mean Shumi Sakamoto? poof, indeed. ”

Thinking of the girl with her curly blond hair, Nao couldn't help but laugh out loud. Whether it's the way he looks alive after being ravaged in the karate club for a long time, or the way he yells with red eyes while pulling Hattori's collar afterwards, it's completely different from the calm and wise doctor.

Although their names are all the same pronunciation of "かずみ".

"But there are people who are close - like the man who is also named 'Masaji'. ”

"You're not talking about that famous actor, are you?" Nioh touched his chin with a smile, "Yes, yes, it turns out that I'm already handsome enough to be this kind of Cheng dù, it's really troublesome~"

"It's less smelly and beautiful. Nao said with a smile, "I'm talking about the 'Nabeshima Masaharu', the manga artist who is good at writing criminal investigation cases! With your personality, compared to that famous actor, it is closer to the Sakamoto ...... he plays."

The smiling voice stopped abruptly, and Nao's face suddenly turned pale.

"Sakamoto...... Ryoma ......"

Thin but powerful fingers suddenly grasped the barbed wire in front of him, and the great force even caused the diamond-shaped gap to gradually change shape. As if a thunderbolt had broken through her skull, the red-haired girl clung to the rattling metal grid, the soft light in her eyes fell silent drop by drop, and her hardly bent knuckles climbed into a pale white.

(Shumi Sakamoto, Kazumi Kurosawa, Ryoma Sakamoto, Otome Sakamoto...... yes, is that the truth about how you approach me?)

I see...... I see......

No wonder it approached suddenly, no wonder it showed a worried look, no wonder......

As if chewing ginger unintentionally, the sudden pungency in the calm made her eyes red, and even covered with bright red bloodshot in an instant.

"Kurosawa and Mi......!!!"

Nioh Masaharu looked at Nao, who was almost trembling all over her body, in shock. From her low voice, she felt the complexity and ...... of the turbulent tsunami Bitterness.

At the same time, far away in Matsuda's house in Kakutomachi, Tokyo, a pair of eyes full of fine lines but still sharp and calm eyes are staring at a letterhead as dark as night.

The pitch-black paper, the bold white font, like an ominous obituary, was frighteningly written.

To my dear Sakurako-sama Saotome......