CHAPTER 68: 63. YOU CAN’T GRADUATE IN A CEMETERY!

Adachi Ward.

Located in Northern Tokyo, far from the city center.

Starting from Asakusa, the further north you go, the lower the buildings on both sides of the national highway become. The road surface is very dry, and whenever a truck speeds by, the dust it kicks up makes people frown and rub their eyes.

Honda Shorou drove into a nearly abandoned industrial area, where most of the factory buildings had their doors and windows shut tight, walls covered in ivy, and the safety stairs rusting away.

"What are we doing here, Senpai?" Kasahara Asuka curiously surveyed the surroundings.

"To collect some things," Fujiwara Reya looked ahead, "Miss Hasegawa, who was murdered earlier, was an orphan since childhood with no one to take care of her affairs. I asked Ikeda Aoshu to prepare a plot for her burial. But since her body is missing, I can only come here to organize some of her belongings to be buried in its place."

"Ah, I see..." Kasahara Asuka’s tone was somewhat bored.

The scooter cut through the factory district, at the end of the weed-infested road were several buildings meant for employee housing.

Inspector Suzuki, who was waiting downstairs, greeted Fujiwara Reya as soon as he saw him.

"This way, little wizards." As he led the way, he introduced diligently, "These buildings nearby were originally meant for workers, but most of the factories here have nearly all closed down, and workers without any special skills have all become unemployed. Many people chose to stay here, and many left. Miss Hasegawa was one who left."

"Was she kept?" Kasahara Asuka asked.

Inspector Suzuki nodded, "Yes, she spent most of her time with Kitahara Takashi, only occasionally returning here."

As they spoke, the three of them walked through the corridors between the buildings and arrived at an open door.

Behind the door was a room that appeared dark even during the day, with an old electric light flickering weakly and the air predictably filled with a dusty smell.

As soon as Kasahara Asuka entered, she wrinkled her nose.

It was clear she didn’t like the smell, covering her nose as she quickly walked through the small living room to breathe by the window.

Fujiwara Reya looked around.

An ordinary employee suite: a bedroom, a small kitchen, a bathroom. The walls were thin, the floor creaked noisily, probably shaking incessantly once the upstairs toilet was flushed. The sink was piled with dishes, the floor littered with empty drink bottles, open magazines, tulips past their bloom, long socks draped over the chair backs covered in dust, and a month-old newspaper and some remittance slips spread over the dining table.

"This woman really doesn’t take care of herself," Kasahara Asuka said, breathing in the fresh air from outside and speaking to Fujiwara Reya, "Senpai, you’re way too kind for your own good, doing such things. She’s not worth it, and no one thinks fondly of your kindness anyway."

Fujiwara Reya wanted to say something, but realizing she was just a kid not yet hardened by society, he thought she wouldn’t understand and decided to drop it.

"Little wizard, things have been almost packed..." Inspector Suzuki came out of the bedroom holding a cardboard box, placing it on the table.

"Thanks for your effort."

Fujiwara Reya opened the box and looked inside.

There were high school textbooks and notebooks, a sewing box and art supply case, sketchbooks, a craft knife; framed high school graduation albums, school trip postcards, Sakai Kurumi’s CDs, and more.

"Not a single thing related to Kitahara Takashi." Inspector Suzuki patted the dust off his hands, looking a bit bitter, "After all, the Kitahara Family didn’t acknowledge her, so this could be considered equal retribution."

As Fujiwara Reya carried the box, the corner of his eye caught the remittance slips on the table, noticing all were made to the same orphanage.

The amounts ranged from tens of thousands, with remittance dates on the first of each month, and a quick glance showed that not a single month was missed in this stack of slips.

"That’s the orphanage she grew up in." Inspector Suzuki noticed his gaze and explained.

"Take these too." Fujiwara Reya tucked the remittance slips into the box and shouted toward the girl by the window, "Let’s go."

"Eh, wait, let me look a bit more," Kasahara Asuka excitedly pointed out the window, "There are sheep there, such cute little sheep."

Fujiwara Reya glanced outside.

Behind the employee residences lay a train track, the empty spaces on both sides overgrown with wild grass, giving a sense of the wilderness. Someone was herding a flock of sheep along the track, the lambs munching on the grass as they went.

"We need to go. Ikeda is waiting for us."

"No way, it’s the first time Asuka has seen live sheep, just a little longer."

"I said, Ikeda is waiting for us!" Fujiwara Reya’s tone was a tad harsher.

"Eh?"

Kasahara Asuka was taken aback.

"You can stay and watch if you want." Fujiwara Reya turned his face away and walked out the door.

"Wait for me!" Kasahara Asuka hurried to catch up.

Once she caught up, she pouted, her little hand clinging tightly to the hem of his jacket, with a face expressing, "Why are you being mean to me?"

"I’ve said, someone’s waiting for me, I don’t have time to play around with you." Fujiwara Reya glanced down at her, his expression stern, "And also, please close your mouth, maintain the respect you ought to show to the deceased."

"...Okay." Kasahara Asuka pouted, puffing her cheeks.

Clearly, she hadn’t taken his words to heart.

Fujiwara Reya stopped, looking into her bright, clear eyes.

When their gazes met, Kasahara Asuka’s little face uncontrollably broke into a mischievous grin, like someone who knew full well that Fujiwara Reya wouldn’t really do anything to her.

"No matter how you see Miss Hasegawa in your heart, I want you to remember something from now on." Fujiwara Reya gazed into that innocent face, seemingly untouched by hardship or bullying, and said slowly, "Whenever you open your mouth to criticize someone else, first think — not everyone in this world has the privileges you possess."