SCIAW: Chapter 296/297

Chapter 296: Long Reminder

The wounds on the victim's body were confirmed to have been made by an axe. The incision marks had been compared and verified—basically, the torso was cleaved at the waist.

But even with that conclusion, Megure Juzo's instincts told him that no normal person should possess such strength.

This created a frustrating loop in his thoughts.

The forensic analysis was solid. Seven or eight experts had reviewed the evidence repeatedly before delivering a unanimous conclusion.

As far as the scientific results went, everything had been confirmed with professional rigor.

But the most troubling part of the case wasn't just the wounds on the victims—it was the condition of the murderer.

When the murderer was apprehended, he was still gripping the axe with both hands but had collapsed face-down in an unconscious posture.

The strange part was that there were no signs of physical trauma. That is, the murderer hadn't been knocked out by external force.

This made his unconscious state all the more bizarre.

It was as if someone had instantly switched from combat mode to sleep mode—without any visible cause or injury.

Highly unnatural.

And aside from that, the murderer's physical state was equally strange.

At the time of arrest, the man's muscles had atrophied, and his entire body resembled that of a 60-year-old man. It was shocking.

But after further investigation, it was confirmed that the suspect was only 25 years old. Security footage from a convenience store even showed him entering the forest in a normal, healthy state.

Yet just a few hours later, his body looked like that of an elderly man.

That alone was bizarre to the extreme.

And to make matters more complicated, the four most "normal" people at the scene now seemed suspicious by contrast.

Of course, Megure Juzo understood this was mostly psychological bias.

"Inspector Megure~"

He turned to see a familiar subordinate.

"What's the situation?"

Chiba Kazunobu immediately stood at attention and reported.

"Based on the scene, the murderer split both victims in half and then decapitated them in a single strike. The blood patterns and body positions confirm this. Also, based on body temperature, time of death is within two hours."

"The murder occurred on a forest path. No signs of steel wires in the vicinity. We can basically rule out other murder methods."

"The search team recovered the bag used to store the axe, hidden in the woods. According to the forensic team, the bag is covered with the suspect's fingerprints. It's also confirmed that the axe was prepped in advance by the suspect."

"But aside from clues related to the victims and the suspect, no additional evidence has been found."

"There are some wheel marks—probably from luggage—but no tire tracks."

"Given how remote this place is, few people come here."

Listening to Chiba's report, Megure Juzo's face darkened. He knew that this essentially meant the case was being finalized.

Unlike unclear or ambiguous incidents, this case's facts were crystal clear—so much so that there was almost no room to suspect another culprit.

Despite the many oddities, Megure also understood the real gravity of the situation.

As a veteran officer of the Metropolitan Police Department, he knew some cases couldn't be explained with common sense.

And when that happened, the next step was clear.

"Detective Chiba, you and Takagi stay here."

"Yes, sir."

With that, Megure Juzo walked out of the villa.

Unlike Chiba, who seemed to understand what was happening, Takagi Wataru still looked confused. He had never encountered a case like this before.

"Chiba, what's Inspector Megure doing?"

Considering Takagi had never dealt with a case like this before, Chiba quietly explained:

"There's something unusual about this case. It's beyond our jurisdiction to handle. Higher-ups will have to make the call."

"This case has clear irregularities, and it's not something we can judge ourselves. Just keep your head down and be careful when we're working on cases like this. Don't say anything unnecessary. Got it?"

Takagi Wataru nodded, somewhat confused, but took the advice seriously and memorized it.

"And you remember what I told you last time, right?"

"Yeah…"

At the mention of that topic, Takagi looked embarrassed.

Chiba nodded slightly, but just to be safe, he emphasized again:

"There are at least 80 officers in the whole MPD who like Officer Sato. Inspector Megure is well aware of the internal competition, but he doesn't mind it too much."

"But romance is something for after work. Don't let it interfere with your job. That's what really matters for us detectives."

As a criminal investigator, doing your actual job was the most important thing.

Chiba stressed this because the idiot standing in front of him had already messed up many times, mostly due to carelessness and lack of professionalism.

A lot of it, of course, had to do with Officer Sato.

"There are plenty of people openly chasing Officer Sato in the MPD. Guys like Shiratori have both status and background. What do you have? Aside from being somewhat handsome?"

"…Nothing."

Takagi sighed, looking helpless. He also felt disheartened about his own mediocrity.

He was just a plain old detective—no strong backing, no special qualifications. His only experience came from being a traffic officer. He had practically no field experience with real cases.

By any metric, his credentials were currently bottom-tier.

Chiba was well aware of Takagi's situation. He wasn't trying to hurt his pride—he just wanted him to get real.

"So focus on doing your job. Build up experience. At the very least, try to handle serious cases. Otherwise, you think they'll let you near high-stakes investigations? You'll be stuck tailing me forever."

"Officer Sato is a known career-minded professional in the MPD. She usually works under Inspector Megure. Even though she's not in the professional track, she's already a Deputy Inspector. You think the gap between you two won't grow wider?"

Takagi didn't need to think hard to know the answer.

Of course, it would.

But in this moment, his expression turned serious.

"Don't worry, Chiba. I'll take my job seriously from now on!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 297: I Want to Know

At the same time, Sato Miwako was conducting an investigation inside the villa.

The guest rooms on the second floor were all unoccupied, but it seemed as if each room had been thoroughly cleaned just the day before.

Almost all the vacant rooms could be seen at a glance. There was essentially nowhere to hide anything.

She stepped out through the glass door and walked onto the second-floor balcony.

The balconies weren't shared between rooms, but each one offered a fairly good view. Still, the suspension bridge was a good two to three hundred meters away.

The area was densely forested, and the edge of the woods formed a ravine that completely cut off this place from the surrounding forest. Other than the suspension bridge, this place had essentially been isolated from the outside world.

Sato Miwako couldn't help but be puzzled. Why were the wealthy so fond of building villas in places like this?

The transportation was inconvenient, and travel itself posed safety risks.

It would be far too easy for someone with ill intent to destroy that old wooden bridge.

Looking out from the balcony, Miwako could see several members of the Forensics Department combing the area where the murderer had collapsed.

The suspension bridge could be clearly seen from the villa. There were no visual obstructions.

The straight-line distance between the woods and the bridge was over 50 meters, which meant there was almost nowhere to hide for anyone planning a surprise attack on the killer.

So how had he fainted?

This was a major question—one even Miwako couldn't wrap her head around.

And aside from that, the killer himself was a walking mystery.

How could a man with such visible muscle atrophy violently kill two people?

Just a few hours earlier, he had appeared in normal condition. But now, his body resembled that of an elderly man. It was anything but normal.

Sato Miwako had already pieced together the obvious inconsistencies.

She understood that while the murder itself was direct and clear, everything surrounding it was utterly absurd.

A seemingly straightforward case, yet full of incomprehensible elements.

And for some reason, the image of that boy flashed through her mind.

He knew something.

Thinking of that, Sato Miwako recalled what she had seen upon entering. All of the key witnesses seemed like they already understood everything.

No, not seemed. They did know.

Realizing this, Sato Miwako decided to start with the one person she had interacted with most—Ren.

She went downstairs and arrived at the room where the group was resting. She knocked gently on the door.

Knock knock knock!

"Come in."

A calm female voice responded.

Sato Miwako opened the door and stepped inside.

It was a small reception room, also used as a tea room. Four people were seated at a round table's four corners, enjoying cakes and black tea. It was a rare moment of peace after the chaos.

Miwako noticed that both Suzuki sisters looked a little pale, and Chikako—who was scribbling something with a pen—also seemed tense. Only Ren remained as calm as ever, like the surface of an ancient, undisturbed well. Not a single ripple.

"Apologies for interrupting your break. I still have a few questions regarding the case and need to ask that gentleman some routine inquiries."

"Why?"

Sonoko frowned. She didn't mind cooperating with the police, but the repeated questioning was beginning to wear on her nerves.

"Sonoko."

Ren cut her off gently, setting down his teacup and standing up.

"Since Officer Sato still has questions, it's only natural I cooperate with the investigation."

As he spoke, Ren also glanced at Ayako.

Ayako returned his gaze, then looked at Miwako and gave a small nod.

Ren then followed Miwako out of the room.

As the door closed behind them, Ayako's expression turned serious.

"…Looks like this case is just too unusual. That female detective seems to suspect us."

That immediately triggered a response from Sonoko.

"How could anyone think what that guy did was normal?"

Ayako and Chikako both let out soft sighs.

They had witnessed the murder firsthand. They knew better than anyone just how abnormal Takahashi Ryoichi had been. How could professional investigators not realize the same?

"I just hope Ren handles it well."

Sonoko wasn't really worried about what would come after. They hadn't participated in the murder. In fact, they were victims themselves, and had nothing to hide.

The second round of questioning from the detective was probably just an attempt to get closer to the truth.

Still, it all depended on how Ren responded.

After exiting the room, Ren followed Sato Miwako to a quieter room on the second floor.

No other detectives were investigating the villa at this point.

All the critical evidence was outside. The killer had been arrested at the suspension bridge. The crime had occurred along the forest trail across the bridge. There was nothing particularly valuable to find inside the villa itself.

That was why Miwako had brought him upstairs, away from the others.

"So, was it you?"

She wasted no time. Her directness was astonishing.

Ren simply shook his head.

"Detective, it should be clear this incident has nothing to do with us. No one wanted any of this to happen. And you're being a bit too forward. Why are the victims being treated like suspects in a murder case?"

"What do you think?"

Sato Miwako fixed her gaze on him.

"When you spoke to me earlier, you described the scene with such clarity. It's obvious you saw everything."

"I don't know whether you watched it through surveillance footage or something else, but it's clear that you're… very closely connected to this case."

She glanced out the glass door, toward the suspension bridge.

"And that killer, right after murdering two people, was in an extremely heightened emotional state. So how did he just faint, so close to the bridge?"

"And on top of that, he went from a healthy adult to someone with severe muscle atrophy in just a few hours. None of that is normal. At least, not something science can explain."

Ren gave a small nod, acknowledging her points.

"So then, Officer Sato, what exactly do you want?"

Sato Miwako took a deep breath. She knew this was where the real conversation would begin.

"I want to know—does this incident have anything to do with you?"

(To be continued.)