#### Noon, Tokyo, Metropolitan Police Department
Fujino, who had just acquired a golden item, was summoned to the Metropolitan Police Department by Inspector Megure Juzo.
Inside the police department's lounge.
"The bonus for assisting in solving the case a few days ago has been approved."
Megure Juzo took out a brown envelope with a cherry blossom emblem from his pocket and handed it to Fujino. "It's a total of 200,000 yen. Make sure you keep it safe, Fujino."
"200,000 yen?"
Fujino received the envelope and counted the money. After confirming the amount was correct, he put it away.
One has to admit, the efficiency of the police department is really poor. It's been days, and this small amount of money only just now arrived.
"By the way, Inspector Megure, about last night's incident…"
After putting away the envelope, Fujino looked at Megure Juzo with a sneaky expression.
Just last night, after the car accident, Fujino, who was feeling cautious, asked Megure Juzo to help investigate the truck driver's file. He even exaggerated it into a bizarre story involving a major serial murder case. Initially, Megure Juzo refused to be fooled. But for some reason, he agreed this morning and even planned to give him a copy of the file.
Maybe because Fujino is his good buddy? Who knows?
"This is the file of the truck driver involved in the accident last night."
Megure Juzo cleared his throat, took a file from his pocket, and handed it to Fujino. "The deceased's name was Miyamoto Nisaburo, aged 43, single, currently working in furniture installation and part-time delivery. He lived in Beika Town, Block 4."
"Did he have a happy family before?"
Fujino studied the file, pondering. "His wife died in a murder case ten years ago, the culprit was caught by a detective… and his only daughter passed away from illness two years ago according to medical records."
"A man who has no connections with others is the hardest to investigate."
Megure Juzo sighed. "From the file alone, nothing stands out."
As he finished speaking, he looked up to see Fujino with a strange expression.
"Fujino, do you know this person?"
"We met once."
Fujino shook his head while staring at the photo in the file. "He delivered furniture to my detective agency some time ago…"
He sighed. "I didn't expect to meet him again like this."
Yes, he remembered this person. When he was just setting up his detective agency, this man worked overtime to help install the furniture.
But why would this guy want to kill him? Was he instructed by someone? Fujino kept his doubts to himself.
"Fujino, although we can't protect you if it's ruled as an accident, call me if there's any threat."
At the lounge door, Megure Juzo patted Fujino's shoulder earnestly.
"Understood."
Fujino nodded, silently turned, and left.
It was already good enough that Megure Juzo gave him the deceased's file. He didn't expect police protection.
Anyone who could get a man with no attachments to carry out a suicidal assassination without leaving a trace must be beyond the police's reach. Better to rely on oneself than the police.
This is the principle Fujino understood upon arriving in this world.
#### Afternoon, Fujino's House
In a dimly lit room, Fujino stood in front of a wall filled with evidence connected by red strings.
Staring at the various pieces of evidence gathered by the original owner, he seemed lost in thought.
After a moment, he took a photo from his pocket. He pinned it to the wall and threaded it with red string, connecting it with other evidence.
The photo was from last night's accident scene.
"Why are they coming after me a year later?"
Fujino lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, staring at the wall full of red strings.
Initially, he thought his parents' assassination was due to the Fujino conglomerate. After they were murdered, the matter should have ended there. But now, it seemed far more complicated.
During his time as a detective, he hadn't offended anyone who wanted him dead. Even when interrogating Numa Eijiro, he wore a Batman mask and used a pseudonym.
So, this assassination must have another reason. It might even be linked to those who killed his parents a year ago.
But why wait a year to act?
It seemed unlikely that the mastermind suddenly remembered him out of nowhere.
Fujino sighed deeply and activated his detective intuition.
[Increase host's reasoning ability by 100%, remaining time: 59 seconds]
The moment his detective intuition activated, the world around him changed, and his thoughts became clearer.
"So this is how detectives see the world?"
Fujino pondered for a moment and sighed.
Then he began to reflect on what might have changed since his arrival.
If there was a difference, it was that the original owner died, and he crossed over. After crossing over, he earned a lot of money through the system and became a somewhat famous high school detective.
Yes, a somewhat famous detective!
Realizing this, Fujino suddenly understood.
It wasn't about the money, as he never flaunted his wealth. The change was his newfound fame.
"Could it be that my fame is the reason?"
"But what does my fame have to do with being assassinated…"
Fujino couldn't find a connection, still puzzled.
The evidence was too sparse to form a clear line.
The only clue now was that dump truck… but the driver was already dead.
"Dump truck?"
Fujino recalled that his enhanced vision glasses had a recording function. And he had activated it last night when the truck was about to hit him.
Putting his thoughts aside, Fujino retrieved the recording.
As the glasses' screen flickered, the scene from last night reappeared, as if time had turned back.
The dump truck was still tailing him.
He occasionally looked back to check the distance between the vehicles.
Then he slid his motorcycle to the side.
"Wait, something's not right."
Watching the recording of the truck about to hit, Fujino noticed something strange…
(End of Chapter)