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Chapter 185: The Department of Mysteries

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Ryo Otake remembered everything from the incident that happened seven years ago.

It was his first encounter with the supernatural. In the beginning, the police had assumed that it was just a plague or viral disease, or perhaps it was the work of a ruthless criminal.

It was not until the end that they found out it was a Tsukumogami that was killing those people.

The Tsukumogami had used its power to make people feel extraordinarily energized, so everyone in the village would start to expend their excess energy on manual labor. When people were working hard, and in high spirits, they would become the food of the Tsukumogami. In other words, the Tsukumogami fed on human vitality.

As Ryo Otake described the appearance of the dead bodies in his deep voice, Rei Takamori felt inexplicable chills crawling up his spine. He could not help but ask, “Was the case solved in the end?”

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“Yes...” Ryo Otake dragged out as he hesitated. “But I can’t tell you how it was solved.”

“The Department of Mysteries,” Kimura Kazuki said plainly as he looked at Ryo Otake. “The Department of Mysteries must have asked you to keep the existence of their department confidential.”

The ‘Department of Mysteries’ was just an abbreviation. In full, it was known as the ‘Department of Defense and Investigation of Mysteries and Supernatural Events.’ Every country had its own version of this department.

“That’s right!” Ryo Otake cried out in surprise. “Are you one of them?” After the case was concluded, the Department of Mysteries did, in fact, ask them to keep it confidential. These supernatural cases were one of the country’s most classified top secrets. He never mentioned this incident to anyone else, keeping it a secret to himself for the past seven years.

“No.” Kimura Kazuki shook his head, but he did not elaborate. “Nevertheless, I do know of them, so you don’t have to keep anything from me.”

The Department of Mysteries was actually made up of young Onmyojis and witches that were selected by the Deity Rising Palace to join the governing and enforcement body of the country, handling supernatural cases throughout the nation. It was a type of training for them, and only when there was a matter that could not be solved, only would they seek help from the Deity Rising Palace.

“Thank goodness you’re not one of them.” Ryo Otake let out a breath of relief. Everyone else stared at him in puzzlement as he said to Kimura Kazuki solemnly, “Kimura-Kun, may I hire you to help me solve this case? Naturally, you will be rewarded handsomely for your effort.”

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Rei Takamori was utterly perplexed. The Department of Mysteries was there to provide help, but it seemed like Ryo Otake was not planning to report the case. Could it be that he has something up his sleeves?

When he saw Kimura Kazuki’s questioning look, Ryo Otake explained in a low voice, “The chief inspector is retiring soon. If I were to stand a chance at being promoted, my qualifications and background wouldn’t be sufficient to back it up. Everyone has the same thing as I do. On the other hand, if I could solve a supernatural case, then I’ll have a far better chance at it...” He was only a deputy inspector right now. If he wanted a promotion, he would have to gain more experience to prove his worth.

As expected. Rei Takamori’s eyes flashed with understanding, as he had gotten the whole picture now.

So that was it. Kimura Kazuki nodded to himself. It seems like Ryo Otake was inflicted with empleomania. As an ordinary person, solving a supernatural case would prove that his abilities were extraordinary. If the Department of Mysteries got involved, then it would be their case, and it would have nothing to do with Ryo Otake anymore.

However, there was a question on Kimura Kazuki’s mind. “Inspector Otoke, how do you know for sure that this is a supernatural case?”

“Because we couldn’t find any leads at the crime scene.” Ryo Otake spoke seriously. “Reality isn’t like movies or novels. A person who commits a crime would always leave a trace. We had checked with Miss Mikami’s colleagues and found that they were all on good terms with her, so there was no motive for murder there. We also didn’t see anyone entering Miss Mikami’s room based on the surveillance footage from the hallway and outside the apartment. She stayed in room 1801, which meant that every possible angle that led into the room was covered by the cameras. To enter her room, the culprit has to take the elevator and walk through the hallway. Otherwise, how would they kill her?”

“Well, the culprit could have been hiding in Koto- I mean Mikami-san’s room before she came back.” Ikioi Ito sounded excited about the case. After all, it was about Kotone Mikami.

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Kimura Kazuki glanced at him. Judging from his expression, he gathered that Ikioi Ito had already accepted her death.

“Yes, we’ve thought of this possibility as well. But still, the culprit couldn’t have teleported straight into Miss Mikami’s room, right? If he wanted to hide in her room, firstly, he would still have to go through all the conditions that I’ve mentioned just now.” The surveillance cameras encompassed the entire hallway, all the way from the elevator to the entrance of her room. All the cameras that overlooked the Shihu neighborhood were also still intact and perfectly functional. However, despite reviewing all the available footage, they found that no one else had entered Miss Mikami’s room. Of course, they did search every corner of the room just to be sure, but they did not find any secret room or hidden passageway that could conceal a murderer.

After all, it was on the 18th floor. There were other tenants on both sides of her unit, and above and below it. No one could find an alternative route into her room.

In addition to his experience with the supernatural case from seven years ago, Ryo Otake had a hunch that this was not a straightforward case. It was the main reason why he invited Kimura Kazuki to the café and asked for help.

Ryo Otake was reasonably competent in Kendo, and he would often tune in to watch recordings of kendo competitions. Needless to say, he was watching the preliminary rounds of the Jade Dragon Flag Competition for the Tokyo district yesterday. As much as he was surprised at Ikioi Ito’s skill, he had also noticed the power behind Kimura Kazuki’s swordsmanship.

Despite Ikioi Ito’s strength, he was still defeated by Kimura Kazuki. From the looks of Kimura’s casual demeanor, it seemed like he had even held back his true ability.

As Ryo Otake looked at him expectantly, Kimura Kazuki did not hesitate as he nodded. “Alright.” He did not have any reason to reject the offer. Not only that, he was planning to locate the demon and solve the case anyway. Besides clearing himself of suspicion, he could also do with some more Reiki.

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Ryo Otake heaved a deep sigh of relief upon hearing that. Then, he started chatting casually with Kimura Kazuki with a big grin on his face, without neglecting the other two gentlemen.

He informed them that the Shirada Police Department would be following up on the case, and they would let Kimura Kazuki know if they happen across any further leads.

Half an hour later, they bid farewell to each other. Rei Takamori quickly returned to the Jinwen District. From his point of view, Kimura Kazuki’s main goal was to look for a specter. Based on the movies he had seen, if Kimura Kazuki failed to solve the case, then it was highly likely that he would end up dead. This was precisely why Rei Takamori was unwilling to get involved.

Although Kimura Kazuki was bemused at his reaction, he did not speak up. He had only asked Rei Takamori to be his witness after all, which was a task that he had fulfilled. Therefore, he did not urge Rei Takamori to stay. Instead, he would keep in mind what the other had done for him. It seemed like Kimura Kazuki owed him one. Meanwhile, Ikioi Ito kept tagging along with no signs of leaving. Kimura Kazuki looked at him, asking, “Do you need anything?”

“I can help!” Ikioi Ito looked hurt. “Didn’t I just say that? Maybe there’s something that I can help you with.”

Kimura Kazuki pondered for a while. Although he did remember him saying so, he had assumed that Ikioi Ito was just being nosey.

Anyway, Ryo Otake did not stop him from tagging along, mainly because Ikioi Ito had been standing next to Kimura Kazuki all along, which gave him the impression that they were friends.

“How can you help?”

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“Since you practice Kendo, and you’re fantastic at it, then you should know that the

The Ito family is well-connected with the Deity Rising Palace, right?”