Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World

"Inspector Megure, you knew?"

Chiba looked at Megure in surprise.

"Isn't that obvious?"

Megure narrowed his eyes, feeling a little insulted.

He wasn't blind, nor was he oblivious to the atmosphere around him. He knew perfectly well how many men in the Metropolitan Police Department were interested in Sato Miwako.

"There are plenty of single officers in the department. Of course, I know how many have their eyes on Officer Sato."

"But at the end of the day, her personal life is her business."

"If those guys want to pursue her, that's their choice, as long as they do their jobs properly."

Megure had never opposed workplace relationships within the department.

In fact, the Metropolitan Police Department encouraged officers to date within the force, believing it helped with work-life balance.

So he was well aware of Sato's admirers and frankly, he didn't mind.

But in the end, Sato Miwako would make her own decisions.

As long as everyone was doing their jobs, he had no reason to interfere.

That said…

Takagi?

Could he even say he was doing his job properly?

Clearly not.

So Megure didn't feel the need to say anything else.

If Takagi couldn't even handle his own duties as an officer, then there was nothing to discuss.

He needed to focus on proving himself first.

And if he couldn't?

Then he'd be heading back to Traffic Division.

"Chiba, remind that idiot Takagi for me."

"Yes, I understand!"

As he turned to leave, Chiba wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Takagi… you better take this seriously this time.

As much as he got along with Takagi, work was work.

If Takagi couldn't adapt to Division One, then he would have to go back to Traffic.

Two hours later, as the sun slowly rose, the women at the hot spring inn began to wake up one by one.

"Ugh…"

Sato Miwako, who had been sleeping near the entrance, was the first to stir.

She sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes.

It took a moment for her mind to catch up with her surroundings.

"...Bedding?"

Her head was still hazy from sleep.

But then, a certain figure popped into her mind.

Was it him?

In this entire hot spring inn, aside from the security team, there was only one other person who could've carried her.

Amamiya Ren.

She exercised regularly and was fully aware of her own weight, she was heavier than most women her age due to her muscle mass.

Yet, he had carried her so effortlessly.

Sure enough, my instincts were right.

He gives off an older presence. Almost… like a father figure.

Sato pursed her lips.

Somehow, that makes it feel like he took advantage of me…

But at the same time…

Being taken care of like that wasn't a bad feeling.

Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts aside and sat up fully.

There was no time for distractions.

She needed to contact Inspector Megure and report in.

Pulling out her phone, she quickly dialed his number.

"Good morning, Inspector Megure."

"There were no issues at the hot spring inn last night. No attempted raids from the drug dealers."

Megure, who had been up all night, finally allowed himself to relax a little.

Good. At least the young ladies are safe.

With the drug cartel under control and no casualties on their side, this Tsukikage Island operation had been a success.

Now, they just needed to process the remaining criminals.

"Good work, Officer Sato."

"Yes, sir."

Miwako smiled slightly.

"Inspector, have all the drug dealers been captured?"

"The ringleaders from the community center have been arrested."

"Most of them have already confessed and provided details on their members. Right now, we're conducting blood tests on civilians to identify any remaining operatives."

Miwako nodded. "So the community center is secured… and what about the back mountain?"

A brief silence followed.

Then, Megure's voice came through, steady and deliberate.

"The back mountain… all the drug dealers there were eliminated."

"Our team is handling the cleanup."

Miwako paused, immediately understanding what he meant.

Megure was deliberately withholding details.

He wasn't doing it to deceive her, he just didn't want her to know.

And if that was the case…

Then it's something I shouldn't ask about.

She decided not to push further.

"Officer Sato, your assignment isn't over yet."

"You're still on guard duty until the operation is fully wrapped up."

"I'll have to trouble you to continue overseeing things on your end."

"Yes, sir."

As she ended the call, Miwako exhaled and lay back down for a moment.

Inspector Megure worked through the entire night…

And the back mountain…

If he was keeping it from her, that meant whatever had happened there was serious.

Something I'm better off not knowing.

Some things weren't meant to be dwelled on.

If she really wanted answers, she'd have to ask Megure directly when the time was right.

"You're awake?"

A familiar voice and the sound of approaching footsteps made her sit up.

Looking toward the source, Miwako's lips curled slightly.

Amamiya Ren.

She leaned on her hands and adjusted her position.

"Thanks for last night."

"Not last night," he corrected. "It was already morning."

He sat down next to her.

"We're heading back today."

"Tomorrow's Monday. Back to classes."

He glanced at her.

"Not exactly the weekend vacation you were expecting."

Miwako smirked.

"No kidding."

"Running into a bunch of drug dealers kind of ruins the whole 'relaxation' part of a hot spring trip."

Ren simply nodded.

This weekend had been anything but relaxing—drug dealers, supernatural entities, and constant danger.

But it hadn't been a waste.

In fact, Ren had gained quite a few benefits from this trip to Tsukikage Island.

He glanced at Sato Miwako.

"The Metropolitan Police Department won't have it easy for a while."

"The drug cartel was using Tsukikage Island as a gateway to Tokyo. Now that their operation has been exposed, law enforcement will likely start rooting out drug networks around the city one by one."

"And that kind of work… won't be resolved overnight. It's going to be a long-term effort."

"Right…"

Miwako shared the same thoughts.

She looked at the boy in front of her, recalling how Inspector Megure had deliberately concealed information earlier.

She hesitated for a moment but couldn't suppress her curiosity.

"…Do you know what really happened in the back mountain?"

***

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