On the sidewalk outside Sakuradamon Station, blue-green traffic lights lit up. People going to work crossed the road in a hurry like a tide, and then merged into the office buildings opposite.

This is where the core institutions of the country are located, and the building at the intersection is the office of the Metropolitan Police Department. After being transferred from Nishi Tokyo City to work in the Investigation Section 1, Ichiro Furuta spent one more time on the road every day than before.

It takes about an hour or so, but even so, he still likes the feeling of working here.

He swiped his card through the office area turnstile in the building and followed the flow of people into the elevator. Ichiro Furuta couldn't help but glance at the red coat of arms on the front of his suit.

"search one selected!"

It means the person selected by the search!

There are approximately 40,000 police officers under the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but among them, only a very small number of outstanding criminal police officers can enter the Investigation Division. It is these few outstanding police officers who are responsible for the most difficult problems in the city.

criminal cases.

"bite!"

As the elevator door slowly opened, Ichiro Furuta walked out of the elevator and walked towards the office. Just when he came to his desk, the department chief Shirakawa Police Department suddenly stopped him, and then

He ordered:

"That...newcomer!"

"Hey! Police Department, can you take a moment of your time... I have something important to report to you!"

"Ah... I'm not free right now! You first go to the forensics department and get the report on the Shinagawa Rail Bridge case!"

"Hey!"

Seeing that the department head was a little worried early in the morning, Ichiro Furuta could only swallow the rope thing back to his stomach. He stood up from his chair, then left the office and walked towards the laboratory of the forensics class.

go.

The so-called forensics section is a scientific investigation agency under the Ministry of Criminal Justice. It is mainly responsible for the collection and analysis of evidence at crime scenes. In total, Ichiro, who has been in the search section for nearly half a month, is the first time he has been to the forensics section.

"I'm sorry, please...can you give me the latest report on the Shinagawa Rail Bridge?"

"The Shinagawa Railway Bridge case? Mr. Maeda!"

"Hey!"

"A police officer from the First Investigation Division is asking you for the report on the Shinagawa Railway Bridge!"

"Got it! Invite him in!"

"Hi!"

The woman who received Ichiro heard the answer inside, and then motioned for Ichiro to walk in directly. When Ichiro saw him, he first saluted him gratefully, then walked through the outside room, opened the door and walked into the office inside.

…

"Everyone must know that the so-called Loyalty Store tells the story of the forty-seven righteous soldiers of Ako who killed the enemy of the lord. But why were only forty-seven of them going to take revenge? Where did the rest of them go? Of course.

Run away! This is how ordinary people should react! So, rakugo artists like me are responsible for telling the stories of these escapees... This is what rakugo is!"

Hearing a voice coming from the room, Ichiro, who had just entered the room, couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. A man with a slightly rich figure who was busy in the room heard the noise. He quickly turned around and then asked in surprise:

"Eh? I don't think I've seen you before!"

"Um... I am Ichiro Furuta, who has just been transferred to the Investigation Section 1 from Nishi-Tokyo Police Station. This is my first time meeting you. Please take care of me!"

"Ah... please take care of me! This is Maeda Shinpachi from the forensics department!"

"I'm here to get a report on the Shinagawa Rail Bridge case!"

"Ah...it's already printed, and it's on the table over there!"

After Maeda Shinpachi finished speaking, he picked up the remote control and turned off the CD player nearby. When Ichiro Furuta saw it, he felt that he seemed to have come in a little abruptly, so he asked casually:

"Excuse me... was that rakugo written by Tachikawa Aashi-sensei just now?"

"Does Mr. Furuta also like rakugo?"

"It's not that I know much about it, but when I lived in the country, this was the only thing on the radio! Alas... this is already a memory from nearly twenty years ago!"

When Maeda Shinpachi heard what Ichiro Furuta said, he suddenly stood up with a look of excitement, and then personally moved a chair for Ichiro.

"Ah...it's rare to meet a like-minded person like you! Please sit down for a moment. I have almost all of Tachikawa-sensei's recordings here, and one of them is an album he released when he was first promoted to Shinta!"

"Eh...really? It would be really hard to find it!"

"Look, this is it..."

"Ah...it's this part of "The Tale of Princess Kaguya"! It's so nostalgic!"

Ichiro took the CD handed over by Shinpachi, and a long-lost joy immediately appeared on his face. When Shinpachi saw this, he said as if he was offering a treasure:

"If you like it, you can take it back and listen to it!"

"Eh...is it really okay? This is too precious!"

"It's okay. If you want to hear anything in the future, you can come to me anytime! I'm a big fan of rakugo!"

"Then...I'm not welcome! Hehe!"

Unexpectedly, the first time he came to the forensic class, he encountered "Kaguya Princess" by Tachikawa Aishi. Furuta Ichiro was extremely happy. What was even more rare was that he actually met Maeda Shinpachi, a rakugo fan.

"Take it, but when you've heard enough, just remember to give it back to me!"

"I will keep it carefully!"

After Ichiro finished speaking, he thanked Maeda gratefully, and then picked up the report and CD to say goodbye. Just when he turned around and was about to leave, the question that stayed in his mind all night made him unable to help but ask more questions.

One sentence.

"Oh, by the way! Maeda-san! Excuse me... did you find anything about the rope used to bind the deceased?"

"Rope? That piece of rope is nothing, just the kind of ordinary rope you can see everywhere! However, I think... forget it, maybe I'm overthinking it!"

"Eh? Do you think there is anything wrong? Please tell me!"

"This... it's not a big deal. I just think it's a bit strange that the murderer used ropes to tie the victim's hands!"

"Strange? Is there something strange there?"

"Furuta-san, during the years I have been working in the forensics department, I have seen many situations like this where the victims' hands are tied behind their backs. However... in recent years, it has been rare to see people using ropes.

!”

"Eh? Then...what will they use?"

“In recent years, what I have seen most is the use of straps, which are long white plastic strips used to bundle network cables... Just pass it through the small hole at one end, and then pull it gently.

It can tie up a person's hands and make it almost impossible to break free. That kind of thing is much more convenient than a rope or something like that!"

"Tie straps?"
Chapter completed!