Chapter 432: Can You At Least Have Some Shame?

"Tell me everything you know, Mr. Suga," Rinji said.

"This isn't some high school adventure game. The info matters to me."

His expression was firm—clearly not the kind of person chasing urban legends just for the thrill.

"...What exactly do you want to know?"

"Everything. All the information you've gathered and your sources. Tell me everything."

Standing directly in front of Keisuke, Rinji pressed.

Behind him, Natsumi glanced curiously at him, then leaned toward Chika and whispered, "Chika, you're classmates with this guy? He's kind of scary..."

"Really? I've never thought so," Chika replied with a smile. "Though yeah, lots of students are scared of him. He's done some pretty strange stuff at school."

Honestly, when it came to bizarre behavior, Rinji was no match for Fujiwara herself.

"All the actual investigation was done by Natsumi. I just handled the editing," Keisuke said helplessly. "Ask her."

"I can vouch for that."

Natsumi waved Rinji over.

"Keisuke-san's daily schedule consists of drinking and playing pachinko. Total slacker."

"You didn't have to say it like that..."

"So you're the one with all the intel?"

Rinji sat back down on the couch and pulled out a small notebook.

"Let's start with what you know about the weather maiden. And where exactly you went to investigate."

"Hmm... let me think."

Natsumi tapped her chin for a moment.

"Some high schoolers who posted videos on forums, a street corner fortune teller, and that weather shrine in Harajuku."

"You mean... the one with the mural on the ceiling?"

"Huh? You've been there too?"

"The shrine priest said a college-aged girl came to interview them. Must've been you."

"I basically just went wherever there might be clues. As for whether the info was real or not, I honestly didn't care." Natsumi shrugged. "Our magazine pieces are meant to tap into people's curiosity. If it's all true, it's boring."

"Got it. Then tell me everything besides what you got from the shrine."

"Sure."

She cleared her throat and pulled out her own little notebook.

"This one's from an old fortune-telling lady: Weather maidens exist, and so do rain maidens. The weather maiden is possessed by a natural spirit of the Inari lineage, while the rain maiden is possessed by a dragon god lineage spirit."

"...Did you just start reading light novel lore?"

"I'm just reading what I wrote down." Natsumi continued, "People of the dragon god lineage drink tons of beverages. Since they're dragons, they instinctively crave water. They're strong-willed, good under pressure, but tend to be sloppy and impulsive."

"..."

"People of the Inari lineage are diligent and successful in their careers, but also a bit soft and not great leaders. Oddly enough, they're often very attractive."

"Interesting..."

Fujiwara was totally engrossed, nodding repeatedly.

"Attractive, huh... Wait a minute?"

"What?"

Fujiwara looked at Rinji, then nervously pointed to herself.

"Isn't that describing me?"

"..."

"Don't tell me... I'm the weather maiden?"

"Can you have a shred of shame, Secretary Fujiwara?"

Natsumi went on reading from her notes.

"Those who use weather powers too much supposedly vanish without a trace, merging with Gaia. Because of this, weather maidens and rain maidens have statistically higher rates of debt, bankruptcy, and disappearance."

"Dragon gods, Gaia, myth fusion... This is like the Temu version of DC vs Marvel."

"Hey, I just read the notes. Like I said, I gather all kinds of info. I never said I care if it's true or not."

"Fantastic."

Rinji sighed. After all that, there still wasn't a single useful clue.

Though, the stuff about 'dragon lineage' and 'Inari lineage' did sound familiar. At least, Atenbo had mentioned it before...

"Alright, is that all?"

"That's all."

"Okay. Thank you very much for your cooperation."

Rinji stood up after speaking.

"By the way, your agency should stop writing articles about the Weather Maiden from now on."

"Huh? Why?"

"It involves some rather unpleasant matters. It's best if information about the Weather Maiden remains just an urban legend and is forgotten over time," said Rinji. "Please cooperate a little. If it causes financial losses, I'll compensate you according to market price."

"Is it really necessary to go that far?" Keisuke asked curiously. "Kid, you don't look like someone who's here out of idle curiosity. What are you really after, investigating these strange supernatural things?"

"…"

Seeing everyone's gaze fall on him, Rinji slowly spoke.

"I'm just doing this to protect those who should be protected."

———————————————————————————————

Standing on the street, Rinji held an umbrella.

The fierce wind and heavy rain tossed the umbrella around violently.

He had only spent a few minutes in the agency, but the rain outside had gotten even heavier.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

The agency door opened, and Fujiwara walked over holding her umbrella.

"I was talking with Natsumi about the past. It really makes me feel how complicated the adult world is compared to us students."

"I think even if you become an adult, you'd still be an optimist without many worries. That world probably wouldn't affect you much," said Rinji.

"You already know what we've been investigating. Don't you think it's time to head back to school?"

"What about you, Rinji-kun?"

"Of course I'm going to keep investigating."

"Then I'll keep investigating too." Fujiwara adjusted the deerstalker hat on her head. "A detective can't give up so easily, right?"

"You really have an odd obsession with urban legends."

"Hehe, it's a rare opportunity after all. Besides..."

Fujiwara smiled as she looked at Rinji.

"I feel like if I keep investigating with you, I might get to see a different side of you."