After the Undercover System Went Haywire, I Switched to Grinding Suspicion Points Chapter 41

When Usuha Izuki returned to his dormitory, he found Hagiwara Kenji waiting at the door.

He asked the system ntally: [Has he been giving suspicion values recently?]

The system quickly searched: [Yes, over 1000 values total in the past two hours.]

[...Hmph, I knew it.]

As expected, Usuha Izuki remained very calm and approached naturally: "How long have you been waiting?"

Hagiwara Kenji seed to have been lost in thought and only reacted when Usuha Izuki approached: "Not long. Where did you go? Why aren't you resting properly?"

"I wasn't injured." Usuha Izuki opened the dormitory door and let Hagiwara Kenji in. "The instructor called to discuss Narita's matter."

Hagiwara Kenji: "...It's Honda."

Previously called him Yamada, now it's Narita—either he completely doesn't care or it's deliberate!

Usuha Izuki went with the flow: "Right, Honda's matter."

"What did the instructor say?"

"Honda might try to use ntal illness as a defense. If I'm willing to forgive him, I'll get the best assignnt after graduation."

Hagiwara Kenji's eyes widened: "This is the instructor's idea? Asking you to forgive?"

"I suspect it's from higher up."

Usuha Izuki tossed a letter he'd been holding to Hagiwara Kenji: "After all, this counts as a Police Academy scandal. Even if the instructor wants to enforce justice impartially, the higher-ups still want to suppress it... If the instructor really wanted to forgive, he wouldn't have shown this."

Hagiwara Kenji frowned.

He was no longer a child and clearly understood that even the police profession had unfathomably dark aspects, with bureaucracy everywhere. He just hadn't expected to see it at this ti.

No, accurately speaking, when Honda fired the gun last ti and was only expelled, that was already seeing the signs.

With complex feelings, Hagiwara Kenji opened the letter Usuha Izuki had brought back.

This was an anonymous tip letter.

The letter reported that Honda had bullied a student to suicide during high school, but due to lack of evidence and the school's cold response claiming the student had poor psychological resilience, Honda and his followers received no punishnt. They only beca more restrained afterward, spending more ti studying—which actually helped him get into a good university and even want to beco a police officer.

"Since Honda had already been expelled when the letter was received, the instructor didn't pursue it. After this incident happened, he gave this letter." Usuha Izuki said thoughtfully. "Although I already knew he engaged in school bullying, I didn't expect it would go this far."

Hagiwara Kenji had been reading the letter with his head down, but hearing this, he looked up in surprise: "You already knew?"

"There were his neighbors and forr classmates in our class, so I heard so things."

Usuha Izuki said in a detached tone: "It's really great that this kind of person couldn't beco a police officer."

Hagiwara Kenji unconsciously crumpled the letter, then quickly smoothed it out.

Usuha Izuki naturally didn't miss his small action: "What about you? You ca here because you have sothing to tell , right?"

Hagiwara Kenji looked at him with complex emotions.

Having spent ti together, he understood Samukawa Shinryu more and more. Sotis comparing with his first impression, it felt like a lifeti ago.

When they first t, he felt the other had an aura extending two ters, was very unapproachable, and had a dangerous temperant. Looking now, that impression was really unreliable.

Samukawa Shinryu actually had a sowhat slender build—completely unclear where he got the strength to flip soone twice his weight. Moreover, carefully observing his appearance, he looked very young, and people would believe he was just starting university.

But sohow, once out of sight and relying only on mory, he could only imagine a tall, mature young man... completely first impression leading, an image deduced from temperant.

Now Samukawa Shinryu sat in the chair by his bed. Although talking to him, he looked down without making eye contact, just casually stroking his watch.

Originally Hagiwara Kenji felt heavy-hearted, but seeing Samukawa Shinryu like this, his emotions relaxed.

"Are you angry?" Hagiwara Kenji unconsciously asked.

Samukawa Shinryu still didn't look at him: "I'm not angry. You're the one who's angry."

"Hah..." Hagiwara Kenji sighed. "Indeed a bit angry, but I think my anger is justified. If I guessed wrong, I'll apologize... Were you deliberate?"

Samukawa Shinryu finally tilted his head slightly toward him: "What do you an?"

"Honda. Did you deliberately have his neighbor relay that ssage to provoke him into coming after you?"

Samukawa Shinryu finally looked directly at him, those ominous dark red eyes focusing on him as he answered calmly:

"Yes, I was deliberate."

With his guess confird, Hagiwara Kenji felt it was indeed so: "So you were dissatisfied that he was only expelled and wanted to use this thod..."

He pressed his knuckles against his brow in pain, breaking eye contact with Samukawa Shinryu.

"No wonder you said people who cross you would co find you themselves. I thought it was just an exaggeration, but it was actually true... This counts as entrapnt, doesn't it..."

"If you're dissatisfied, you can report and see how others would sentence ." Samukawa Shinryu's voice carried a hint of coldness.

"Huh?" Hagiwara Kenji lowered his hand and glared at Samukawa Shinryu. "I am indeed dissatisfied, but not because of that—what good does inciting others' hatred toward you do? Didn't you consider that he might bring sothing other than a knife, or even use covert thods like poison?"

Speaking, he reached out and grabbed Samukawa Shinryu's uniform, pointing at the torn area: "Here, if he had cut deeper, by the ti I arrived I'd only be able to try stuffing your intestines back in!"

"...He couldn't hurt ." Samukawa Shinryu, being grabbed by his clothes and unable to retreat, could only explain stiffly.

"I was just as confident when I took off my protective suit."

Hagiwara Kenji made a dark joke with no expression.

"You found him distasteful and were dissatisfied with the school's verdict, then said nothing and quietly entrapped him alone. If this ti still didn't send him to prison, would you plan to actually get injured next ti? Then when I rush over, I'd only see you lying in a pool of blood... Don't you think I should be angry?"

As he spoke, Hagiwara Kenji felt his temper rising again: "God, I never thought I'd suddenly understand why Matsuda beat up back then... I want to punch you too now."

Hagiwara Kenji angrily stood up and paced quickly around the dormitory, then suddenly spun around to look at Samukawa Shinryu: "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"...A bit surprised." Samukawa Shinryu said slowly. "I thought you were angry that I used such underhanded thods..."

"I know you had your reasons. If there were no cause, you'd actually be too lazy to bother with other people, let alone set up this kind of trap... If he had sincerely repented, none of this would have happened, regardless of what thod you used."

Hagiwara Kenji pointed out sharply: "As for his psychological trauma, if he hadn't done these things and had found you to apologize and seek forgiveness, he could have resolved the problem just the sa. But he chose to harm you—this was his nature guiding his fate."

"........"

Samukawa Shinryu said nothing, but Hagiwara Kenji, who had beco quite familiar with him, could feel the atmosphere around him beco much more relaxed.

Hagiwara Kenji asked: "Still angry?"

Samukawa Shinryu seed to be in a good mood: "I wasn't angry."

"Good." Hagiwara Kenji said. "But I'm still angry. What should we do about that?"

Samukawa Shinryu: "......"

Hagiwara Kenji showed a smile tinged with anger: "I just realized—those words you said the other day about 'I hate people who presumptuously assu what kind of person I am, presumptuously say they want to be friends, then when they discover I'm different from what they imagined, disappointedly say you're this kind of person.' I originally thought you were talking about Sato, but it seems like you were saying it for to hear?"

"......"

"You don't like deep relationships with people simply because you hate trouble. Your actions against Honda were more about finding him distasteful than avenging others, and since he had dirt on him, you had fewer qualms about acting."

Hagiwara Kenji suddenly began describing his understanding of Samukawa Shinryu: "You beca a police officer only because soone once said those words to you, making you sowhat concerned. You don't have much sense of justice yourself, but you don't mind following rules. When social rules conflict with your personal rules, you'll choose your own rules. Personally, I don't think you're a bad person—just sowhat willful. How's that? Am I presumptuously assuming what kind of person you are?"

"...No." Samukawa Shinryu answered. "You always surprise ."

"Surprise how? Surprised I didn't take you for a cold-exterior-warm-heart good person who's always misunderstood?"

Hagiwara Kenji said coldly: "As it turns out, you understand even less."

After speaking, Hagiwara Kenji turned and left.

The system was dumbfounded: [Huh? Huh? What happened? Did you fight? But why are you so happy?]

[Nothing.] Usuha Izuki was in a cheerful mood. [Killing three birds with one stone—of course I'm happy.]

[...Which three birds?]

[Got suspicion values, struck back at soone I found distasteful, and confird that Hagiwara Kenji really understands .]

[Even if he understands you, it's useless—he's angry. Aren't you going to stop him?]

Usuha Izuki: [No rush. Unlike , he's a genuinely good person. He'll get over it.]

System: [...I really don't understand you. Do you actually want to be friends with Hagiwara Kenji or not?]

[Of course I do. But if he only 'knows' Samukawa Shinryu, that wouldn't work. Although I don't know how he did it, he seems to have understood the real . Looks like my plan to have Honda attack was a bit unnecessary... Oh, but I got suspicion values, so never mind.]

The system couldn't help complaining: [How he did it—with your acting skills, spending ti with you and getting to know the real you is perfectly normal!]

Usuha Izuki was a bit unconvinced: [It's not that bad. I think I've improved...]

[Sigh... Is it necessary to make making friends this complicated? And I don't really understand why you chose Hagiwara Kenji. Just because he was the first to say he wanted to be friends with you...]

Usuha Izuki thought about it: [He takes good care of , and only he calls 'Little Shizu.' It feels very much like family.]

System: [...??? Why would it feel like family?]

[Because I was too noisy as a child, my family always told to 'be quiet.' I thought that was my na. Later my family just called 'Little Quiet'—it was like a nickna. When naming my cover identity, I directly used this familiar pronunciation.]

Usuha Izuki was very moved: [I didn't expect that with the Samukawa Shinryu cover, soone would still dare call that. It feels so familiar, and he takes care of like family too. So when he said he wanted to be friends, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. But I really hate those situations where people get all conflicted after discovering I'm not what they expected, so I set up a test...]

System: [...I think Hagiwara Kenji is a bit unlucky. Should this be said?]

[I also think he's a bit unlucky.] Usuha Izuki admitted. [But this is my first friend. I'll treat him well in the future! Whether you believe it or not, I believe it!]

System: [........]

—Making friends in such a bizarre way, no matter how you think about it, he's not a good person. I really want to send Hagiwara Kenji a dream warning him to "run quickly"...