Chapter 143: Discovery

After bidding farewell to Yamakawa, the two of them got up and left.

Through the continuous investigation based on the clues, the life trajectory of Yukihiro Otsuka gradually became clear.

Yukihiro Otsuka had been working at a planning company, and he had become a regular employee. However, due to the company's poor performance, he was laid off.

Afterward, he moved out of his apartment and went to the construction company recommended by the company. However, due to the low wages and financial difficulties, he had a fight with his elder brother when he couldn't borrow money from him, and he cut off contact with his family.

But this didn't last long, and he lost that low-paying job as well. Consequently, without a place to live, Yukihiro Otsuka secretly rented a rental container and used it as a place to stay.

Later, he was reported, and he had to flee with a blanket. Eventually, it led to his death.

Although they hadn't yet investigated what happened to him after he left the container and where he went, Senichi clearly saw the tragedy of Yukihiro Otsuka.

Starting from a year ago, Yukihiro Otsuka's life gradually declined step by step. The closer they got to the present, the more difficult his days became.

Senichi seemed to see the epitome of the impoverished people of this era from Yukihiro Otsuka.

Sighing, Senichi stopped dwelling on it. What they needed to do now was help Yukihiro Otsuka find the person who killed him so that he could rest in peace.

As they discussed Yukihiro Otsuka's life trajectory, they walked towards the door.

However, just as they were about to leave, Senichi suddenly stepped back and noticed a built-in cabinet on his left.

Because of this, when Senichi and Officer Takagi came earlier, they only saw the wall and not the cabinet. Now that they were leaving, they happened to walk toward the cabinet.

"Do you think the last key might be for this?" Senichi looked at the cabinet in front of him, pulled out the key inserted in it, and compared it. He found that the teeth of the key were identical to the remaining one.

"It really is for this!" Takagi exclaimed, then immediately started searching the nearby cabinet where no key was inserted.

Meanwhile, Senichi put on a pair of white gloves, took the key out of the evidence bag, and started trying it repeatedly.

Fortunately, this was a public box, so most of the keys were there. After trying a few times, they found the target and directly opened the storage box.

Upon opening it,

They found many items piled up in the storage box, including some clothes.

There were brand new cheap underwear, white shirts, pants, and other daily necessities from a 100-yen store. However, these items didn't seem to be of much significance. After taking them out, Senichi immediately found a worn-out cellphone at the bottom.

It seemed that Yukihiro Otsuka used to live a well-off life, but step by step, he fell into a decline.

Senichi opened the phone and checked it. The call records had been deleted, presumably by Yukihiro Otsuka himself or someone else.

Taking out the remaining suit and the blanket, Senichi found a book about medical affairs, matching what Yamakawa had mentioned earlier.

Casually flipping through it, he could see notes and highlighted knowledge points made with a pen.

"Illegally claiming medical reimbursement..."

"Compensation for accidental death..."

"Similar titles are marked. It can be seen that Yukihiro Otsuka really studied diligently."

However, soon their attention was drawn to a marriage application form tucked inside the book.

"Is this a marriage certificate?" Officer Takagi exclaimed in surprise. "Otsuka-san was planning to get married to a woman named Shikimi Miyu."

"Is this a treasure hunt?" Senichi couldn't help but comment. "Following these few leads of investigation, we always find fragmented clues that lead to the next direction for clues..."

"Well, well... It's already good enough to have some gains," Officer Takagi chuckled helplessly. "Better than being completely clueless."

"Let's go. Let's visit this woman named Shikimi Miyu," Senichi said. "After all, she was the person Yukihiro Otsuka intended to marry before his death. She probably knows more than anyone else."

The address where the other person lived was listed on the marriage application form, so Senichi and Officer Takagi quickly found the address.

After presenting their identification and explaining their purpose, the two were invited into Shikimi Miyu's room.

Later on, Shikimi Miyu informed them about their relationship.

Although they no longer had any connection now, they were once in a relationship preparing for marriage.

But marriage naturally required a lot of considerations, and the key factor was money.

After all, in this era, many women quit their jobs and became housewives after getting married. If the man didn't have a stable job, the family would soon struggle to make ends meet.

Although Shikimi Miyu had no plans to quit her job after marriage, her salary alone was insufficient to support their lives.

So when Yukihiro Otsuka became a regular employee, she was very happy and signed the marriage application form, only waiting to submit it.

But just at that moment, tragedy struck.

Yukihiro Otsuka's regular job fell through, and he lost his job in the construction company as well. Even the job as a medical insurance claims officer, which he finally passed the interview for, ended in failure.

As a result, the marriage was postponed. During their final meeting, Yukihiro Otsuka wanted to get married, but Shikimi Miyu insisted on ensuring a stable life before tying the knot.

However, Yukihiro Otsuka gave up on himself, choosing to abandon the idea and bluntly telling Shikimi Miyu to find a regular employee to marry instead.

This deeply hurt Shikimi Miyu, and eventually, they parted ways and never saw each other again.

After finishing the story, Shikimi Miyu sat on the sofa and looked at the two with unease. She asked, "Detective... Have I done something wrong? What did he say... I don't know, but..."

"No, no, Shikimi-san, you don't need to worry. We came to find you not because of you, but because Otsuka-san passed away," Senichi reassured her.

Upon hearing Senichi's words, Shikimi Miyu looked at him in disbelief and said, "What... How could this happen..."

Although they had already broken up, they were about to get married, so it was impossible for there to be no emotions involved.

Upon hearing this news, Shikimi Miyu fell into a state of confusion, feeling a sense of absurdity, as if she couldn't accept this news.

"Unfortunately... that's the case."

Officer Takagi took out the marriage application form from the evidence bag and handed it to Shikimi Miyu. "We do not exclude the possibility that this is a criminal case, so we are investigating. Please cooperate with us."

Shikimi Miyu received the application form with a blank expression, simply staring at its contents, gently running her fingers over the surface, seemingly recalling their past together.

For a while, the room fell into silence.

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