On the other side, the Edogawa kid began his move.
He agilely jumped down from the rooftop and approached Sato Miwako from behind, tapping her on the shoulder.
Sato Miwako turned her head in surprise. Upon seeing Edogawa, she was momentarily stunned, then took two steps back, feigning innocence, fear, and helplessness.
"You don't want to get hurt, do you?"
Edogawa walked forward slowly. "Hand over all the money you have… or else…"
But before he could finish his sentence, Sato kicked out with a swift strike.
Her roundhouse kick landed squarely on his abdomen.
The powerful force sent him stumbling backward.
The pain hit him hard, and he felt as if a polar bear had just slapped him in the stomach.
"Move in!"
With a loud shout, two or three figures suddenly appeared from the shadows.
They were dressed in sharp suits, likely detectives from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
"Damn it!"
Now clutching his stomach, Edogawa finally understood what had happened.
He had fallen into a trap!
Realizing this, he panicked and quickly used his agility to leap toward the rooftop.
"Don't run!"
Seeing this, Sato immediately leaped after him, climbing the wall and grabbing the eaves to chase him onto the roof.
Edogawa jumped to the roof of another house.
Sato Miwako followed closely, jumping after him.
Though she didn't have Edogawa's skill, her incredible leaping power brought her just a few centimeters from falling, and she managed to grab onto the eaves of another house. Using her arms, she hoisted herself up.
"Damn it..."
However, her technique wasn't fast enough, and she could only watch as Edogawa fled across the rooftops.
Just as she was about to give up, a white figure suddenly flashed past her.
"Is it him?"
Sato Miwako realized it was the same person who had toyed with her not long ago.
...
"What's up with that woman?"
Standing on the rooftop, Edogawa panted as he looked back in Sato's direction, recalling the moment she struck his abdomen. The memory still made him shudder.
"Running into Beika's wild woman on your first day here? You're really unlucky."
"Beika's wild woman?"
Edogawa turned around and saw someone dressed in a white robe and wearing a black mask standing behind him, speaking in a deep voice.
Being new to the area, Edogawa didn't recognize the Beika Batman. He was more shocked that this person had appeared behind him so silently, without him noticing.
Without thinking, Edogawa threw a punch.
The masked figure easily dodged, then moved forward and delivered a swift elbow strike!
Edogawa felt like he'd been hit by a speeding truck in the chest. His vision went black, and he fell from the rooftop, landing on the asphalt road outside the wall.
"Jeet Kune Do is always effective."
The masked figure, Fujino, retracted his elbow and glanced at Edogawa lying on the ground.
He leaped down lightly, landing like a feather.
Checking to see if Edogawa was still breathing, Fujino pulled a Batarang from his pouch and stabbed it into Edogawa's rear.
After taking an elbow like that, he likely wouldn't wake up for a while, but to be safe, a little extra caution didn't hurt.
As Fujino searched Edogawa's pockets, he found 500,000 yen in cash and some gold and silver jewelry. Just as he was about to leave, a sense of danger suddenly filled his mind.
It was the sixth sense of his hidden blade!
Reacting immediately, Fujino drew the blade and blocked.
*Clang!*
A crisp sound echoed.
Sato Miwako, who had somehow caught up, kicked the back of Fujino's blade.
The powerful force traveled up the blade, but Fujino was no longer the same as before.
[Detective Enhancement Activated]
Fujino pushed his blade forward, forcing Sato Miwako to retreat several steps under the sheer force.
"Didn't expect to meet you again," Sato Miwako said, adjusting her stance and gazing intently at Fujino.
"Fancy meeting you too, Miss Wild Woman of Beika."
Fujino silently sheathed his blade.
"Wild woman…?" Sato Miwako's expression darkened.
Why did all these criminals like calling her a wild woman?
At this rate, she might really get labeled as one by the entire police department!
"Alright, wild woman, I don't have time to spar with you today…"
Fujino gestured toward Edogawa. "This guy's all yours to handle. I've got other things to do."
Before Fujino could finish speaking, Sato Miwako lunged forward.
Fujino frowned. In his vision, Sato Miwako's next move became clear.
Combat insight had been triggered.
Timing it perfectly, Fujino stepped forward with his left foot and swept Sato's legs out from under her with his right.
Body check!
Sato Miwako lost her footing and was sent flying, landing hard on the ground with a painful thud.
Having knocked Sato down, Fujino didn't linger.
With a light push of his toes, he triggered his Soul Wing skill.
Like a hero from a martial arts novel, he leaped onto the nearby rooftop.
Sitting on the ground, Sato Miwako felt a sharp pain from her fall.
She stared blankly at the white figure disappearing into the night sky and mumbled to herself, "Was that... a woman?"
...
Elsewhere, Fujino returned home after flying with his Soul Wing, sitting up on his bed and rubbing his aching head. "Flying with the Soul Wing sure drains a lot of mental energy…"
Though the system had mentioned it would consume a lot of energy, Fujino hadn't expected it to be so much.
After today's test, he realized that if he stayed in the air too long, his energy would be depleted rapidly.
It seemed more efficient to use the Soul Wing for short bursts, like during jumps, to mimic martial arts-style leaps.
Luckily, with his academic background and the recovery bonus from the Flame Emblem, a good night's sleep would restore his mental energy.
"Quite the haul tonight..."
Lying down, Fujino opened his system interface, feeling satisfied as he looked at the 4.8 million yen in his balance.
He received a 1 million yen bounty for capturing Edogawa, found 500,000 yen on him, and made another 100,000 yen from stopping a criminal on his way back.
In total, he'd earned 1.6 million yen that night, plus some jewelry that he couldn't easily sell off.
Usually, he only expected to make 10,000 to 20,000 yen in a night, as most robbers didn't carry much cash.
...
The next morning, Fujino woke up to a package and a letter.
The package, signed by Shinami Kaori, contained the latest signed copy of her book *Halfway to the Top*.
The letter, from someone named Mamiya Takahito, mentioned that their family treasure was hidden in their castle, and if Fujino accepted the job, they'd pay him 1.5 million yen.
"New detective mission detected. Please check your notifications!"
Not long after Fujino finished reading, the system's notification rang in his ear.
[Detective Mission: Blue Castle Incident
Objective: Solve the mystery of the Blue Castle fire from four years ago and apprehend the culprit.
Reward: 2 million yen, 200 detective reputation, 1 skill point]
"The Blue Castle case, huh?"
Fujino recognized the case immediately. It was a classic.
"1.5 million yen… The Mamiya family sure is generous."
Fujino put the letter away and accepted the system mission.
With 1.5 million yen from the client and another 2 million from the system, the total reward would be 3.5 million yen. Not bad at all.
...
After accepting the mission, Fujino rode his motorcycle to the address listed in the letter.
Along the way, he mounted his phone on the handlebars and called Hiratsuka Shizuka, his teacher. After all, it was a school day, and he felt bad not letting her know.
"Taking a day off again?" Hiratsuka's voice was calm, as if she was used to Fujino's frequent absences.
"Yes, I just got a last-minute job this morning, so I won't be able to make it to school today."
"I see."
Hiratsuka sighed. "How many days this time?"
"Just one should be enough… Anyway, I'm driving, so I'll treat you to ramen next time."
With that, Fujino hung up.
Hiratsuka put her phone away, her expression growing more wistful.
Another ramen bribe. How could she refuse?
But come to think of it, Fujino had promised her ramen several times by now, and she had yet to see a single bowl.
That kid...
...
The address in the letter led to a remote forested area.
Riding along the narrow path, Fujino soon came upon an impressive structure.
It was a tall castle with blue rooftops and white walls. Several tall towers surrounded it, reminiscent of the towers where princesses are trapped in fairy tales.
One tower, however, had crumbled into gray ruins.
(End of Chapter)