Chapter 208: Untrustworthy

Akikawa Kyousuke followed Sera Masumi to a café where there weren't many people.

"I'd like an iced Americano, medium cup, no sugar or milk," Sera Masumi said to the employee who came to take her order.

Her coffee-drinking habit originated from her older brother, Shuichi Akai.

Shuichi Akai preferred canned coffee with no additives, so Masumi Sera had developed the same habit.

"Iced latte, please," Akikawa Kyousuke also ordered, then heard Sera Masumi ask from across the table:

"Mr. Akikawa, would you like some cake? My treat."

"No, I can't eat much."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot about that."

Akikawa Kyousuke looked much better now compared to when he had been involved in the car accident, so Sera Masumi unconsciously thought that Akikawa Kyousuke wasn't any different from an ordinary person.

When she heard Akikawa Kyousuke say that, she remembered that he suffered from liver failure and had serious dietary restrictions.

Sera Masumi silently apologized in her heart and quickly offered an apology to Akikawa Kyousuke.

At the same time, a new question formed in her mind:

'Since Akikawa wasn't imprisoned by his mother as a child, where did his illness come from?'

'Could it be that he's naturally frail and sickly?'

Originally, she thought Akikawa Kyousuke's illnesses were caused by the imprisonment inflicted by his mother, Ryoko Akikawa, during his childhood.

Now, it seemed that wasn't the case.

---

After a while, an employee approached with coffee on a tray.

They placed two cups of coffee in front of Sera Masumi and Akikawa Kyousuke respectively, bowed slightly, and left.

Watching the employee leave, Masumi Sera directly asked:

"Since you came here with me, Mr. Akikawa, does that mean you accepted my reasoning earlier?"

The corners of Sera Masumi's lips lifted slightly, and she felt a bit proud inside.

She believed she was probably the only person who knew Akikawa Kyousuke's secret.

Her clear, dark green eyes looked curiously at Akikawa Kyousuke across from her, eager for his reaction.

---

"So, does the 'Miss' intend to send me to prison?"

Then Sera Masumi saw Akikawa Kyousuke pick up the plastic cup from the table and return her question with one of his own.

After saying this, Akikawa Kyousuke placed the straw in his mouth and sipped the coffee.

His words were equivalent to acknowledging Sera Masumi's reasoning, but what he said made Sera Masumi's heart skip a beat.

She hadn't expected Akikawa Kyousuke to give her such a cold response.

---

'What kind of image does he have of me?'

Sera Masumi thought to herself.

---

"No… Mr. Akikawa, how could you think of me that way?"

Akikawa Kyousuke's reaction was completely different from what she had expected, throwing off the script she had planned in her mind.

Sera Masumi's cheeks showed a slight hint of surprise as she slowly replied:

"I told you I came here to thank you, Mr. Akikawa.

"If you hadn't saved me, I would've been captured."

---

"But during the car accident case, Officer Nakajima also said he was there to help me."

Sera Masumi's heart sank instantly as she heard Akikawa Kyousuke's calm response.

It was then that she realized Akikawa Kyousuke still distrusted her because of the car accident incident.

At that time, a detective named Takuto Nakajima had tried to coerce Akikawa Kyousuke into confessing under the guise of helping him.

In the end, Nakajima even attempted to force Kyousuke to admit guilt.

Clearly, in Akikawa Kyousuke's eyes at that moment, there was no difference between her and Nakajima Takuto.

---

'Did Kyousuke choose to save me even though he trusted me so little?'

Sera Masumi thought to herself in utter astonishment.

Her gratitude towards Akikawa Kyousuke at that moment was completely genuine.

She was sincerely thankful for Akikawa Kyousuke saving her and driving away Vermouth and the others.

But now, learning about the strong distrust Akikawa Kyousuke harbored towards her, the warmth in her chest instantly cooled, as if doused with a bucket of ice water.

---

Sera Masumi felt a slight pressure in her chest and quickly explained:

"No, no, I'm not trying to deceive you, Mr. Akikawa.

"When I first suspected you, it was entirely because the evidence at the scene pointed to you as the killer.

"You understand this, don't you, Mr. Akikawa?

"When I saw the three insurance policies you purchased before, I confirmed that you weren't the real murderer.

"I've been investigating the original car accident case for over half a month and confirmed that the real culprit was Chianti."

---

"Who is this Chianti?"

Akikawa Kyousuke suddenly asked in a low voice.

"She's a core member of a transnational criminal organization. I don't know many details.

"I only know that the people targeted by that organization are individuals with exceptional skills in a certain field, political figures from various countries, or defectors from the organization."

Sera Masumi explained.

But then she realized something was wrong.

---

"Wait a moment, Mr. Akikawa. Are you saying you don't know the identity of Mrs. Ryoko's killer?"

"I have no idea."

---

"That's strange."

Sera Masumi frowned.

"Chianti concealed almost all of her facial features when she was at Kosen-an and wore a motorcycle helmet that completely covered her cheeks on the national highway.

"Mr. Akikawa, you didn't mention Chianti's appearance in your original confession. You shouldn't have seen Chianti.

"So how could you confirm she was Mrs. Ryoko's killer at Kosen-an?"

---

Sera Masumi felt that Akikawa Kyousuke was lying to her.

Although Chianti had revealed on the phone that she would be found even after ten years, logically speaking, that alone wouldn't allow Akikawa Kyousuke to identify her as the killer.

Especially since Vermouth, disguised at the time, was also in the room.

This made it even harder for Akikawa Kyousuke to pinpoint the true culprit.

---

This was one of the reasons Sera Masumi had sought out Akikawa Kyousuke today.

She believed that Akikawa Kyousuke's ability to recognize Chianti at a glance was due to some secret knowledge he had about the organization—knowledge he was hiding.

Sera Masumi wanted to take this opportunity to be honest with him and gain his trust while obtaining information about the organization.

---

"It's simple," Akikawa Kyousuke said calmly.

"Miss Sera, after you left the surveillance room that day, you came straight to ask if my mother and I were being pursued. I assumed you must have seen the killer in the surveillance footage.

"The person who killed Mr. Kawasaki was the one who struck a deal with Mr. Koizumi.

"I just needed to know that to confirm the true culprit's identity, even without seeing her face.

---

"The two women who broke into Kosen-an that night—one could disguise herself, and the other had her face covered.

"Even in this case, Miss Sera, you directly confirmed that the real culprit who killed my mother was among them.

"In other words, the true killer has features that allow you, Miss Sera, to identify her even when disguised or masked.

"So logically, the real culprit is the woman wearing a mask but with a distinctive tattoo on her left eye."

--

Under Sera Masumi's slightly wide-eyed gaze, Akikawa Kyousuke calmly explained how he had identified the real killer.

---

"This didn't require any special clues or evidence.

"I just needed to observe your reactions, Miss Sera, and that was enough."

(End of Chapter)