Hikari didn't say much. He just gently patted Miyuri's back, soothing her sadness.
Under Hikari's comfort, Miyuri's sorrowful and grieving emotions gradually calmed down.
But she still couldn't help saying with a sob in her voice, "Hikari-kun, that Yoshizawa Eigen guy is way too vicious. He kills people just like that. What should we do?"
After seeing just how brutal and ruthless Yoshizawa Eigen was, Miyuri couldn't help but feel afraid.
Hikari gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and comforted her, "Don't worry. I'll protect you properly, Auntie. That arrogant guy will also pay the price he deserves."
Even though a high school student's promise didn't sound all that weighty, once it reached Miyuri's ears, she immediately felt at ease.
"Mm! Auntie believes in you, Hikari-kun! Thank you so much, Hikari-kun!", Miyuri couldn't help kissing Hikari on the face several times in a row, then nodded seriously.
Hikari had already saved her several times before, so at this moment, Miyuri trusted his words about protecting her without reservation.
Still, looking at the handsome young man beside her who made her feel extremely dependable, Miyuri couldn't help clinging to Hikari's arm and spoke with some worry, "Hikari-kun, I've heard the Yoshizawa family has a lot of influence. Not just in Ino Town, but even in several neighboring villages and towns, they have quite a bit of sway."
"Yoshizawa Eigen not only runs the biggest hospital, he also has quite a few other businesses. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to find so many hired thugs."
"Auntie feels… feels like it'll be really hard for us to fight against him."
"Oh, right! He hired people to kill others and murdered Akito and Kazuto. How about we report this to the police first?"
"Auntie absolutely can't accept anything happening to you, Hikari-kun. If something were to happen to you too, then Auntie... Auntie wouldn't want to live either," Miyuri hugged Hikari tightly, her tone filled with worry.
Seeing how extremely concerned she was, Hikari didn't refuse. He patted her head and agreed to her suggestion to go to the police.
Accompanied by Hikari, Miyuri went to the police office in Ino Town and reported what she had discovered after returning home.
But just as Hikari had expected, the response from the police office left Miyuri very dissatisfied.
Because after casually sending people over to do a simple investigation, the police office quickly gave a conclusion that left Miyuri speechless.
That was, the case Miyuri reported wasn't a homicide at all. It was most likely just a case of brothers turning on each other.
According to the investigation by the personnel they dispatched, it seemed that Natsuki Akito and Natsuki Kazuto had gotten into a verbal dispute at home, then fought violently, and ended up killing each other.
This was the conclusion given by the police office, saying it was judged based on fingerprints, weapons, and various traces at the scene.
They even visited the neighbors, who all said they had indeed heard intense arguing and fighting noises coming from the Natsuki household.
In short, the relevant personnel from the police office had already given a rough characterization.
Their expressionless demeanor also made it impossible to tell whether they truly hadn't found any problems, or had found something but didn't dare say it, or had been approached and warned long ago.
In any case, they only verbally comforted Miyuri a few times, saying they would continue the investigation and told her to go home and wait for news.
Faced with this kind of response from the police office, Miyuri was completely helpless.
She didn't know whether they were shirking responsibility and brushing her off, or whether Yoshizawa Eigen had already used his influence to grease the wheels. In any case, judging from their behavior, it could be said that relying on them was basically hopeless.
When she walked out of the police office in a daze, Miyuri's hands and feet felt icy cold.
As for the official forces of this 2D World, Hikari hadn't held much hope from the very beginning.
After all, even the much larger Metropolitan Police Department he encountered in Tokyo had been unreliable, let alone a place like this.
So Hikari hadn't expected anything from the start. Moreover, he had observed the scene earlier and noticed that the murder scene had already been staged, making it really look like Natsuki Akito and Natsuki Kazuto had killed each other.
Although if the investigation were to continue seriously, it wouldn't be impossible to uncover the inconsistencies and traces of human interference, but as he said, it was better not to place too much hope in the police of this 2D World.
The reason Hikari had agreed to come and file the report was only to put Miyuri's mind at ease.
Yet after getting the result, Miyuri felt even more stifled.
"Thankfully… I still have Hikari-kun," Miyuri clung tightly to Hikari's arm. Her bright and beautiful face looked somewhat haggard, pitiful and vulnerable.
Feeling her gripping his arm, Hikari patted her shoulder to reassure her.
"Auntie, I'll take you home first," Hikari said.
Originally, after being set up by Doctor Takamura and inhaling the mysterious smoke, her body had already been unwell. Then the process of Hikari helping her detox had been overwhelming, leaving her whole body sore. Even with his help, her body still needed some time to slowly recover.
And just after returning from the hospital, she ran into the deaths of the Natsuki brothers. Then the outcome of reporting the case to the police office was unsatisfactory.
This series of events left Miyuri both physically and mentally exhausted, and she was in very poor condition.
Hearing Hikari's caring tone, Miyuri naturally knew he was worried about her.
She immediately nodded lightly and said softly, "Mm, let's go home first."
This time, Miyuri wasn't returning to the large estate with two courtyards anymore. After all, two people had just died there today. Even if it had been cleaned, there would still be lingering bloody smells and the like.
She was also worried that Yoshizawa Eigen might send people there again.
So Miyuri had Hikari take her to a small residence she used to live in. The house was smaller and a bit old, but it was secluded and quiet, perfect for the currently exhausted Miyuri to rest.
Because she was mentally drained, under Hikari's soothing care, the utterly exhausted Miyuri soon fell asleep on the bed.
Hikari, who was sitting by the bedside, then stood up and walked out of the room.
After confirming that Miyuri was wearing the Pure Love talisman and various other protective items, and that the radar and warning paper cranes hadn't given any alerts, Hikari left the house and quickly headed in a certain direction.
He had previously forced information out of the black-clad thug leader at the hospital about the location of Yoshizawa Eigen's residence. This trip was meant to find Yoshizawa Eigen.
The other party had repeatedly tried to make a move on Miyuri. Even though, with the Pure Love radar and warning paper cranes, it would have been completely impossible to succeed, it was better to solve the problem once and for all.
After all, that guy really was ruthless, and he had both money and power.
———
However, when Hikari arrived at the luxurious large villa belonging to Yoshizawa Eigen, he discovered that the huge residence was already completely empty, as if everyone had long since fled.
In several hidden corners of the house, he also found quite a few miniature cameras.
It seemed that Yoshizawa Eigen, who had already fled, had anticipated that someone might come looking for him, and intended to capture the visitor's appearance to investigate their background. However, all these cameras were discovered early on by the vigilant Hikari and destroyed one by one.
After searching around, Hikari confirmed that there was indeed no one left in the entire residence.
It had to be said that this Yoshizawa Eigen, with his extensive assets, really did have some brains, especially his quick reactions.
He had actually fled in advance, before Hikari could come knocking to completely deal with him once and for all.
Judging by how the place had been packed up somewhat messily, but without leaving behind any useful clues, it was likely he had already been gone for some time.
———
Hikari didn't know where Yoshizawa Eigen had gone into hiding, so he could only leave the empty Yoshizawa residence for now.
According to what Hikari had learned, Yoshizawa Eigen had some assets and bases in several neighboring villages and towns.
So it wasn't impossible that he had directly fled Ino Village.
But judging from the personality he had shown, the possibility of him continuing to target Miyuri wasn't small either.
However, Hikari wasn't too worried about that. Now that Miyuri's relationship with him had deepened further, the Pure Love warning paper crane bound to Miyuri had been upgraded, and its warning effectiveness had improved quite a bit.
If Yoshizawa Eigen decided not to target Miyuri anymore, then fine. But if he still wanted to carry out some scheme against her, Hikari would be able to get information very quickly in advance and then eliminate him completely.
Based on his current understanding of Yoshizawa Eigen, Hikari guessed that the man wouldn't just swallow the loss and let it go.
Of course, if the other party really planned to hide and not act for a long time, Hikari had other ways to lock onto his whereabouts.
It would just be a bit more troublesome, that was all.
In any case, since he had already made a move, he would uproot everything sooner or later.
While Hikari was thinking, Sayoko called him and told him to come to the izakaya.
Hikari immediately headed toward the izakaya.
———
By the time Hikari arrived at the izakaya, it was already afternoon.
The "Open for Business" sign wasn't hung out, and the izakaya's entrance was closed.
Hikari took out the key Sayoko had given him earlier, opened the door, and walked inside.
At this moment, the izakaya was completely empty, with no one else around. Only a single slender figure in beautiful clothes was sitting alone at the bar.
This beautiful, mature woman was none other than the izakaya's owner, Sayoko.
Today, Sayoko was wearing a rose-red halter backless evening dress. Her rounded, fragrant shoulders and delicate collarbones were exposed to the air. Her back was held up by only two crossed straps, revealing a large expanse of fair, beautiful skin. As she leaned forward slightly, her fullness looked like it was about to spill onto the bar counter.
The slit of this rose-red dress was cut all the way up to the hip, exposing a large stretch of fair skin as her legs crossed. Her long, shapely legs were wrapped in a pair of black thigh-high stockings, which squeezed a ring of soft, pale flesh around her thighs. On her feet were black strappy high heels.
Although most of her butt was planted on the round stool in front of the bar, from behind, Hikari could still see the plump, perky curve shaped like a ripe peach.
It could be said that whether viewed from the side or the front, she was an extremely seductive, top-tier beauty that could make any man fall head over heels.
Seemingly hearing the sound of the door opening and footsteps, Sayoko turned her head and smiled at Hikari, "Hikari-kun, you're here!"
"Yeah, I was busy with something, so I'm a bit late."
Hikari walked over and sat beside Sayoko, picked up the cocktail she had mixed earlier, and downed it in one go, while his large hand unceremoniously landed on her black-stockinged thigh.
Feeling Hikari's mischievous hand, Sayoko shot him a reproachful glance, then asked curiously, "What were you busy with? Was it something serious?"
"How should I put it? Not exactly big, but not small either. In any case, Auntie Sayoko, you should be careful too…"
Hikari roughly told Sayoko about Yoshizawa Eigen's retaliation, and how Natsuki Akito and Natsuki Kazuto had been murdered.
After hearing Hikari's words, Sayoko's expression kept changing.
"That Yoshizawa Eigen is that vicious? To actually act so cruelly..."
"The Natsuki brothers are really pitiful. Miyuri is also quite unfortunate. She really needs to be careful."
After being shocked and sighing for a while, Sayoko couldn't help letting out a sigh, "What a troubled time"
After learning of Natsuki Akito's death, Sayoko didn't actually feel all that much, because right now she had given her whole body and heart to Hikari. She only worried about Hikari's safety.
On top of that, she had previously buried Sakai Yutaka's body together with Hikari, so she had developed a certain level of immunity to such things.
So after sighing a few times, Sayoko held Hikari's hand with concern and reminded him, "Hikari-kun, you must be careful too. You can't let those bad people hurt you."
Seeing Sayoko's sincere concern, Hikari lightly patted her smooth, beautiful back and nodded, "Mm, don't worry. I'll be fine. And I'll protect you too, Auntie Sayoko."
Hearing Hikari's words, Sayoko revealed a charming smile. Her rosy lips pouted slightly, and she gently kissed Hikari on the cheek before smiling and saying, "Mm, Auntie believes in you, Hikari-kun!"
Hikari's gaze followed the curve of Sayoko's rounded shoulders, and he noticed that the tables and chairs in the izakaya were still all put away, and the entrance was completely shut.
He immediately asked with some confusion, "Auntie Sayoko, is the izakaya not opening today?"
Sayoko nodded, "Mm."
Hikari asked curiously, "If it's not opening, then why are the lights at the bar still on, and why haven't the neon strips been turned off?"
Sayoko smiled, then suddenly loosened the straps of her dress. A mound of dazzling, pale softness swayed into view.
As she walked toward Hikari, she laughed lightly and said, "Today, Auntie is only open for business for you alone~"
———
In the western part of Ino Town, inside a clean house with front and back yards.
A mature, beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure and long, straight black hair slowly walked out of the house.
The black-haired beauty had very delicate features, and her skin was firm and fair. From her condition, it was impossible to tell that she was a woman who had given birth to two daughters. She looked just like a young, beautiful married woman in her twenties.
However, although her features were delicate and pleasing, the expression on her pretty face was very cold. Her overall temperament was serious and aloof, like a big block of ice, giving off an unapproachable vibe.
After putting on her shoes, the black-haired woman, Touka, stood up and lightly brushed the dust off the back of her jeans that were stretched tight by her plump hips. Then she turned her head toward her two daughters and said, "I'm going out. It could be half a day, a day, or maybe several days. You make your own meals while I'm gone. Suiren, take good care of your younger sister, Aoi."
After giving these brief instructions, Touka, with her indifferent expression, directly turned around and walked out the door.
"Understood, Mom!", The gentle and dignified eldest daughter, Suiren, bowed politely and saw her mother Touka off.
On the other side, the younger sister, Aoi, said nothing at all. She silently watched the two of them go out, like a mute.
After seeing her mother out the door, Suiren hurried back into the house.
But just as Suiren returned home, she noticed that her younger sister Aoi seemed like she was about to head out as well.
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