Chapter 25: Swordsman Soldier

Fujino grabbed his wooden sword, put on his vision-enhancing glasses, and pushed open the car door, following the man who had taken Ogawa Yuta with him.

Before coming here, he had already made ample preparations for this operation.

Aside from wearing the vision-enhancing glasses, he was also clutching two enhancement cards in his hands—one for strength, and one for perception.

In the park, birds chirped, and flowers bloomed.

It was dusk, and there were very few people around. The area was silent—a perfect place for murder.

"Wow! Thank you, uncle!"

Next to a bench in an open space in the park, little Yuta squatted on the ground, happily unwrapping the gift in front of him, clearly excited.

"No need to thank me…"

The man named Ogino responded in an odd tone.

Then he took off his trench coat, pulled a fruit knife from his pocket, and with a trace of hatred and cruelty in his eyes, began walking toward Ogawa Yuta.

Tomoya, you must be lonely over there… Don't worry, I'll send this little one to keep you company…

As he thought this, he slowly raised the fruit knife in his hand.

"That's far enough!"

Suddenly, a figure stepped in front of him.

That person held a wooden sword, wore black-rimmed glasses, and a sharp glint flickered in his eyes.

But from his thin and weak frame, Ogino judged that this person wouldn't pose much of a threat.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Ogino glared viciously at Fujino and shouted, "Get the hell out of my way!"

Fujino raised the wooden sword in his hand, pointing its wooden blade directly at Ogino's face, and spoke in a low voice, "Are you going to kill this innocent child?"

"I'm warning you—stay out of this!"

Ogino shrugged off his trench coat and threw it aside. "Or I'll kill you too!"

He then raised the fruit knife high and charged straight at Fujino.

"If I'm not mistaken, the reason you want to kill him is to make his father pay in blood, right?"

[Notice: Detective Mode has been activated. Countdown: 0-0-59]

Suddenly, the system's notification sounded in his ears.

"What?!"

Ogino paused mid-stride, stunned, and looked at Fujino in surprise.

"Two years ago, your son—Ogino Tomoya—died from untreated appendicitis. Unable to bear the grief of your child's death, you directed all your hatred at Dr. Ogawa."

A faint smile curled at Fujino's lips as he continued deducing, "From that moment on, you began sending the insurance payout you received from Tomoya's death, along with his toys, to Dr. Ogawa's son, Yuta… all so that today, you could take Yuta's life with your own hands—when he's exactly five years old—making his father experience the pain of losing a child!"

"How do you know all this?!"

Ogino's face twisted in shock as he shouted hoarsely, "Who the hell are you?!"

"My name is Fujino. I'm a detective."

As he spoke, Fujino activated his system's enhancements, simultaneously crushing the perception enhancement card and the strength enhancement card in his hands.

[Detective Enhancement 100% Activated; Countdown: 0-1-59]

[Strength Amplification 100% Activated; Countdown: 0-0-59]

[Perception Amplification 100% Activated; Countdown: 0-0-59]

"I don't care if you're a detective or a damn bloodhound—since you dare to mess up my plans, then go die!"

With a roar, Ogino charged again, the fruit knife in his hand raised high, stabbing straight toward Fujino's chest.

"Stubborn fool."

Fujino let out a light scoff. His legs tensed as he assumed a stance from the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu sword style, his heart surprisingly calm even in the face of the approaching blade.

With the combined boosts from the system's perception enhancement and his glasses' visual augmentation—

To Fujino's eyes, Ogino's charging movements became crystal clear.

Those movements turned into one afterimage after another, gradually forming a visible trajectory.

That was his prediction of Ogino's attack path.

With just a slight sidestep, Ogino's strike missed entirely.

Then, with the smallest possible movement, Fujino raised his wooden sword—

And struck directly at the weakest part of Ogino's wrist.

"ARGH!"

Ogino let out a scream, clutching his wrist in pain,.

—

Fujino didn't dare let his guard down. With a swift turn, he swung the wooden sword in his hand like a meteor hammer, striking hard toward Ogino's lower back.

Bang!

Ogino instinctively stumbled in the direction of the swing and collapsed to the ground, letting out pained groans.

"Don't you dare bully the good uncle!"

Just then, a childish, high-pitched voice echoed from nearby.

"Huh?"

Fujino was momentarily stunned by the sudden shout.

Turning his head, he saw Ogawa Yuta standing not far away, hands on his hips, shouting defiantly at him.

"Kid, that guy over there is the bad one!"

"Didn't you see the knife in his hand?"

"But uncle gives me fun toys! How could he be a bad guy?!"

The boy's innocent eyes sparkled with pure sincerity.

For a moment, Fujino was at a complete loss for words.

Wonderful. Now I'm the villain…

"Tomoya…"

Looking at Ogawa Yuta standing up for him, Ogino's eyes welled up with tears.

In a daze, he seemed to see his son, who had died two years ago, standing before him.

"Uncle! Why are you crying?"

As he spoke, Yuta was about to walk toward Ogino.

"Don't go over there—it's dangerous!"

Fujino immediately scooped Yuta up into his arms, keeping his wooden sword pointed steadily at Ogino.

"Bad big brother! Let me go! You're bullying the good uncle!"

Yuta struggled in Fujino's arms, crying out loudly.

Fujino was speechless.

Why can't this kid tell good from bad…

Do I look like a bad guy?

"It's not like that!"

Ogino sat on the ground, tears flowing freely from his eyes. "It's all my fault. I'm the bad guy…"

"Actually… I knew from the start that Tomoya didn't die because of the surgery…"

"It's just… I just…"

"You just couldn't accept such a cruel reality."

Fujino kicked the fruit knife aside and slowly walked up to Ogino. "Reality is like this—cruel, unbearable…"

As he spoke, he gently patted Ogino's shoulder. "But that's no reason to make innocent people suffer the same heartbreaking pain."

With Ogino collapsing into sobs, this case came to an end.

In the end, Dr. Ogawa chose not to press charges or have Ogino sent to prison for attempting to abduct his son.

Naturally, Fujino respected his client's wishes.

After all, he was just a detective paid to get the job done.

As the sun set in the western sky—

Leaning against his Ford Taurus, Fujino looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror, murmuring to himself, "Do I look like a bad guy?"

Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside.

At that moment, a series of system notifications chimed in his ear:

[Detected: The host has completed a commission. Awarding 50 Detective Reputation Points. Current Reputation: 150. 50 more points are required to level up.]

[Swordsman Level Up: Intermediate]

[Congratulations to the host! You've obtained the swordsman skill: Blade Servant]

"My swordsman profession leveled up?"

Fujino raised an eyebrow in surprise upon hearing the notifications.

(End of this chapter)