When I got back to the hospital, it was nearly nine o'clock.

Although he finally solved the case of the "chokeholder" and cleanly avenged Natsu who was lying on the hospital bed, Nao was greeted not by the applause and praise he deserved, but by the dark faces of Sakurako Sakura and Matsuda Jinpei.

"Know you're back?"

The woman who had combed her hair meticulously sat upright in her chair, and although it was only a faint glance, it gave her an indescribable sense of oppression.

"Grandmother, grandmother, how are you ......?"

Looking at Sakurako's expression of joy and anger, Nao's good mood when she entered the door was shattered in an instant. It was only then that she suddenly remembered that she had sneaked out of the hospital and had not left any messages about her whereabouts. She looked at the black-haired young man on the side with a little confusion, but he stood silently, fiddling with his phone without even lifting his eyelids.

"Is the detective game fun?" Sakurako's grandmother squinted, looking at Nao, whose eyes kept drifting in the direction of the formation, and tapped her fingers on the armrest of the chair one by one, "Not only did she investigate the case without authorization and hide the evidence, but she also sneaked out when Aiko wasn't looking...... Saotome Nao, the old body remembers that I never taught you these things, huh? And Jinhei, you are obviously a police officer, and you are still messing around with her like this!"

"Ah, I'm sorry. Jinping didn't look up, and responded perfunctorily in a perfunctory tone, causing Sakurako to snort coldly.

"But the police didn't find that evidence at all! If Jinpei hadn't found out, how could he find out the truth so quickly?" Originally, Nao was still listening carefully to Sakurako's counting, but when she heard her dissatisfaction with Ping, a ball of anger suddenly erupted from her chest, "I know it's my fault for running out of the hospital, and it's also my fault for hiding the evidence, but this has nothing to do with Jinpei, it's what I want to do! And if I hadn't gone today, the child who was attacked would have died!"

"Is this the reason why you don't cooperate with the police?" Sakurako squeezed the handrail tightly, and a sharp eye knife shot out, "Have you ever thought about how much time you can save by looking for information if you had handed over the evidence to the police earlier? Maybe before the murderer can act, he will already be charged! Today's incident is the same, if it weren't for the action of the search lesson, what could you do alone?"

"I'm ......," Nao muttered, and Sakurako's words hit her head like a brick.

She knew that if it weren't for Sato, she might not even be able to see the suspect's face, and if it weren't for the intelligence from the search lesson, she would not have been able to save the child who had been attacked. She just took advantage of the Metropolitan Police Department's personnel and intelligence at a just right time to take advantage of it. Taking a step back, she would not have been able to take the first step in investigating the case without the evidence found by Jinpei, without Yagyu Hirus's observations, without Nioh's future information, and without Nioh Masaharu's disguise. She just used all her resources cunningly and put the word "solving the case" on her head.

She alone and can't do anything.

"Because Natsu was attacked...... So I ......" Nao bit her lip and bent over Sakurako, "I'm sorry!"

A faint silence melted through the air, and only the dripping of instruments and one's own breath could be heard in both ears. Nao stood in the middle of the room with her head down, unable to see Sakurako and Jinpei's slightly smiling eyes. For a long time, it seemed that she thought that she should reflect enough, or maybe Sakurako and Jinpei's eye contact was over, and finally someone spoke.

“…… Really, it's really worthy of the surname Saotome, how can both father and daughter have this kind of temperament. Sakurako looked at the deeper and deeper annoyance on Nao's face, sighed helplessly, and her expression softened, "I've heard Jinping say the specifics, although the method is not formal, but in terms of the ending, it is not a shame." ”

Nao hung her head and shook her head in frustration.

"Don't put on such an idiot look, I didn't say you did something wrong!" Sakurako frowned, picked up the ironwood cane and slammed it on the ground, "It's not wrong to want to solve the case and avenge your sister, but you used the wrong method." What is the purpose of the Metropolitan Police Department's Serious Crime Squad to crack such vicious cases? But you only care about your own investigation, and you don't provide clues when you find them, what do you think of the police? The Metropolitan Police Department has a huge database and investigation network, which is 10,000 times more efficient than the knowledge in your head and the gossip you hear from nowhere!"

"It's not that important evidence hasn't been found......" Nao listened to Sakurako's slightly impassioned remarks, pursed her lips disdainfully in her heart, and muttered. She didn't know about other incidents, just because of this "choking man" incident, the people from the Metropolitan Police Department made her too disappointed - she couldn't find important clues, and she couldn't pay attention to the key points of the case during the investigation, if it wasn't for the efforts of herself and Kudo Shinichi, they would have delayed the time to solve the case. This is especially true of the Crime Squad's best search lesson, not to mention the other officers. Although they have a large amount of information and security personnel, they are not as efficient in solving criminal cases as a good detective.

"Then do you think it's better to be a detective than a policeman?" Sakurako laughed when she heard Nao's broken thoughts, but Nao was heartbroken because she said that she was in her heart. She looked up at her grandmother and nodded softly when she saw that she showed no signs of anger.

"What an idea of personal heroism. Sakurako smiled and shook her head, "Sometimes, it is true that the police officers do not have a detective to shine, and I admit this, but the police have the discipline and restraint of the police, and they cannot investigate and act without an order." A good detective will be good at reasoning, so as to find the offender as quickly as possible, and indeed solve a case quickly, but he cannot guarantee the safety of the majority, while a good police officer will solve the case while calming the feelings of the rest of the people, alerting the prisoner's attack, and minimizing the damage and loss. This is also the difference between a detective and a police officer, that is, responsibility. ”

"Responsibility ......" Nao stared blankly at Sakurako, who had explained this to her for the first time, repeating her words like a parrot.

"Let's take Jinpei's security division for example......" Sakurako swept over Jinpei with a faint gaze, "What would they do if a bomb was found in a residential area, the bomb structure was very simple, but the time to defuse the bomb was not very large?"

Hearing this, Nao looked up at his uncle sharply, and worry was revealed in his gaze little by little, but Jinpei turned his face away from her before he could meet the golden green, and his black sunglasses covered his eyes, making it difficult to see his expression. Sakurako Sakurako took a qiē to the bottom of her eyes, but curved the corners of her mouth inexplicably.

"As police officers, they evacuate the crowd first, rather than immediately sending someone to defuse the bomb – even if the bomb defusal rate is more than 50 percent. Even if the danger of saving zài is only one percent, they will not gamble on the safety of the masses. Unlike detectives, who immediately rush in to defuse bombs, this is the responsibility of the police. Sakurako looked at Nao's increasingly clear and determined eyes, and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction, "Do you still think that the police are all incompetent, and only the detective is the hero?"

"But, but...... Why do so many people give up being a police officer and become a detective instead?" Nao asked in confusion as Kudo Shinichi's energetic "I want to be a detective" flashed past Moriran's father who turned his career as a detective.

"Heh, those are cowards. A real police officer wouldn't just pick up the cherry blossom badge on the □. Sakurako smiled faintly, "You will desperately investigate the case because Natsu has been harmed, but will you give up the investigation and investigate some completely unrelated cases when your family or friends are seriously injured and unconscious?—— it is the police who can do this, and the guy who can't stand it will give up his responsibility...... But if it's not cornered, who wants to take off the police badge that represents glory and splendor?"

Listening to Sakurako's words, Nao involuntarily cast her eyes on Matsuda Jinpei again. Before, she only cared about investigating the case by herself, and she didn't consider Jinping's thoughts at all...... His only friend was killed in the bombing, but just because he was a police officer and wore the insignia of cherry blossoms, he couldn't avenge his friend as much as he wanted. But in the past few years, Jinping, who has the ability to reason and can be a famous detective, has not given up his job, and still only spends his off-duty or weekend time investigating the events of three years ago. Nao couldn't help but think that if most people's interests were contrary to his own wishes, he would probably choose to give up revenge.

Just because, he's a police officer.

Sakurako took a sip from the teacup on the side, and raised her eyes to look at Nao's thoughtful expression, as if she understood something. She and Jinpei glanced at each other, put down the cup, and slowly opened her mouth.

"Nao, you've always been more mature than other children, and it's time to make a choice about some things. She stood up with her cane propped up and walked slowly to the window with her back to the two of them, "It's still a little early for a kid your age, but it's better to plan early than to waste it." ”

"Choice?what?" Nao couldn't accept her grandmother's leaping thoughts for a moment, and looked at Sakurako's back in a daze.

"Hey, Aunt Sakurako, doesn't it seem too early to ask these questions now?" Jinhei, who had been silent, finally opened his mouth and frowned under his sunglasses, "Xiao Nao is only thirteen years old now, no matter how mature she is, she is still a child, right?"

"I decided to become a police officer at this age. Sakurako turned around and glared at him, "No matter which path you choose, if you don't have enlightenment, you will relax, how can you succeed?"

"Slack?!" Jin Ping laughed, but his voice was a little cold, "She has pushed herself hard enough now, how can she be considered lax? Obviously she is a minor girl, but her daily entertainment is only to practice karate...... Isn't that enough?Aunt Sakurako, you're asking too much, aren't you?"

Sakurako narrowed her eyes a little displeased, but before she could speak, Nao interrupted.

"Wait, wait!" she opened her mouth, her eyes shining with an unknown light, "Grandmother used to be ...... Police?"

"No, girl......" Jinping's sudden anger was extinguished by Nao's shining eyes. He stretched out his palm and pressed it on Nao's head, and laughed out loud, "Auntie used to be a person of the year who searched for a lesson, but you didn't know?"

Nao shook his head against his palm, and his red hair suddenly became unkempt like a bird's nest.

"No wonder she, I've never told her before. Sakurako was very satisfied with Nao's reaction, and the corners of her mouth curled slightly, but she still couldn't hide the loneliness in her eyes, "...... It's all in the past. And a person who has given up his dreams has nothing to show off. That's how I am, that's why I don't want Nao to follow the same path as me. She needs to know what she wants, what she wants to become, and she can never give up, and she can't let boring feelings get through the gaps!"

"Grandmother ......"

Nao looked at Sakurako's determined eyes and slowly lowered her head.

Grandmother has come to say this today, and she has fully understood the meaning.

There is a limit to what each person can do, but even if you have a strong desire, you should not act recklessly without regard for the feelings of others. Detectives and police officers are two professions, but they also show two attitudes. If you want to simply seek the truth, you can choose to be a detective, and if you want to protect something and have the right to do it, only the police can do it.

This was the first time she knew that her grandmother had been a police officer. Her grandmother, who had always been a housewife, had suddenly become a police figure, and she was both proud and shocked. She didn't know what prompted her grandmother to choose to become a police officer, but she vaguely felt that her grandmother also chose such a path to protect her sister and family.

She stretched out her healthy wheat-colored, thin, almost transparent hand, and slowly pinched her fingers as she looked at the cyan lines that snaked on her palm.

Her hands are not big, but they are not small compared to Natsu. The joints of the fingers and the sides of the palms are already covered with calluses, and the joints in some places have protruded from the years of training, which is a little unsightly. It is such a pair of hands that she once dreamed of using to protect her sister and protect her family. But in recent events, she has seen clearly that if this continues, this dream will be just a delusion after all.

She needed a pathway, a path that would lead to someone who would allow her to be a person on her own, someone she could feel comfortable with and something she could rely on. Her background doomed her to not be willful and not to choose to live like an ordinary girl, but this is not a grievance, she enjoys it. Compared to Natsu, who has never seen her father, she is already very satisfied after enjoying a happy life for three years...... Only Natsu is her only motivation in the future.

Thinking of the handsome father in her childhood impression, Nao's expression softened - her father who put her around her neck to watch the sea, her father who carried a briefcase in a black suit, her father who rubbed her face and called "Xiao Mimi", and her father who touched his head and smirked...... But then, the smiling face of her father, which was fixed in her mind, overlapped with the cold photo on the mourning hall, and then, Saotome Harumi's red nose covered her father's portrait and all her sight. Thinking of this, the corners of her mouth twitched little by little, but her eyes narrowed dangerously, and her fists clenched tightly.

"Looks like you've already decided. Sakurako looked at her granddaughter, whose gaze was becoming more and more determined, and curled the corners of her mouth in relief.

"Yes, grandmother. Nao looked up, the same smile on her face as Sakurako, "But before I do, I need to know something. In addition to the fact that you were once a police officer, there must be one more thing that you didn't sue me. ”

"What's the matter?"

"My father he," Nao took a deep breath and retracted her smile, "how did he die." ”

The author has something to say: It's more than that~ I'm going out soon, put it up first, and I'll come back after the message comes back

I'm so busy!

PS: After the foreshadowing, I finally led to the main plot of this article, I can really be verbose, sigh!!