Chapter 28: You Know What I Mean, Right?

Half a foot in the grave, hair completely white, thin, and frail.

That was Fujino's impression of Curator Ochiai…

But now, seeing the eerie figure before him clad in medieval armor and effortlessly swinging an iron sword weighing one or two kilograms—Fujino's worldview was shattered.

This old man… seriously?

His combat strength had to be at least B-rank!

Staring at that figure lurking in the shadows, Fujino couldn't help but gulp.

With a combat ability seemingly at B-level, under normal circumstances, this would be a very difficult fight for him.

However, as the saying goes: what makes you strong will also be your downfall.

Armor may be sturdy—but it comes at the cost of flexibility.

And as for that sword… with the aid of his enhanced vision glasses, Fujino quickly noticed some critical details.

The iron sword wasn't even drawn from its scabbard, meaning that when wielded, its balance was completely off.

Swinging a sheathed sword? It's basically like fighting with a large stick… honestly, not even as practical as a fire poker.

With the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū sword style combined with his mobility, he had a shot at finishing this quickly.

Countless images flashed through Fujino's mind. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he activated his enhancement cards and charged forward, wooden sword in hand.

Clang!

The Swordsman's Warrior skill activated, producing a crisp metallic sound.

The wooden sword struck directly against the helmet of the medieval armor, leaving a visible dent in the back of the iron helmet.

Boosted by C-level strength, the armored knight staggered backward several steps from the sheer force of the impact before finally turning his head toward Fujino in confusion.

Not giving the curator in armor time to react, Fujino shifted his weight, planted his left foot forward, pushed off with his right, and launched forward like an arrow.

Holding the wooden sword in a guard stance, he used his right hand to slam the handle forward, driving the tip directly into the knight's chest plate.

Bang!

With a sharp metallic noise, the iron armor was actually punctured slightly by the wooden blade, producing a small dent and even throwing off a brief burst of sparks at the point of impact.

Although the sword Okamoto Peach Blossom 0.01 was wooden, its hardness surpassed even steel.

Previously, he'd only used the sword to smack people, so its durability wasn't so obvious.

But against solid armor—the sword's formidable hardness was now clear for all to see.

Driven back by sheer momentum, the knight in armor stumbled several steps before managing to steady himself.

Finally recovering from his daze, he did what any true knight would do: reached for his sword and pulled it free from its scabbard…

Only to find that he had been holding the scabbard the whole time.

The heavy iron blade clattered to the ground, ringing out with a metallic clang.

Still wielding the scabbard, the armored Curator Ochiai trudged forward, steps heavy, charging toward Fujino.

"Just as I thought…"

Watching his opponent's movements, Fujino's lips curled into a faint smile.

The reason Curator Ochiai had been practicing with the sword still sheathed must've been because he didn't want to accidentally damage any of the surrounding exhibits.

And the fact that he just discarded the sword entirely was proof of that.

There was also probably some consideration that since Fujino was only wielding a wooden sword, Ochiai didn't want to seriously injure him either.

Facing the charging knight-curator, Fujino remained calm, his opponent's movements broken down into overlapping afterimages before his eyes.

Lowering his stance, Fujino brought the wooden sword to his left side and steadied it with his left hand.

Then, stepping out boldly with his right foot, his left followed quickly, closing the distance to just two meters between him and the armored Ochiai.

Finally, his right foot surged forward again, as he explosively drew the wooden blade upward toward the knight's helmet with all his might.

"Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki!" (Heaven's Soaring Dragon Flash)

—

A heavy crashing sound echoed as the iron helmet spun twice in midair before falling straight to the floor of the exhibit, producing a solid bang.

With wrinkles on his face and graying hair, Director Ochiai's face was revealed after the helmet was knocked off.

"Who exactly are you…?"

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

Fujino spun the wooden sword in his hand and pressed it against Ochiai's neck, speaking in a low voice, "You must be Director Ochiai, right?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the reason you've been wearing this knight's armor and practicing here every night… is because you plan to kill Mr. Manaka, the one who's about to buy out this museum, isn't it?"

"How… how do you know that?!"

Hearing this, Director Ochiai showed a look of shock. The sword scabbard in his hand slipped to the floor with a crisp clang.

"Let's just say… you were making too much noise."

Seeing that the threat was now eliminated, Fujino removed the wooden sword from his neck.

Then he kicked the scabbard aside and continued, "This morning, I noticed that the newspapers were talking about strange rumors at the Medieval Art Museum. Out of curiosity, I looked into the museum's situation. Based on what I found, I suspected that the moving armor at night was being impersonated by someone…"

"And just now, when I saw your face under the helmet, all the clues came together."

"I didn't expect my late-night training to be analyzed by you to this extent…"

Director Ochiai let out a long, exhausted sigh and sat weakly on the ground. "That's right… I was going to kill Manaka… Even if it meant staining my hands with blood, I couldn't let that guy turn the museum into a restaurant!"

"If it's not Manaka, there will be another Manaka."

Fujino looked into Ochiai's cloudy eyes and said seriously, "Even if you kill one Manaka, do you think you can kill all of them?"

"But… I don't have any other way…"

Ochiai's old face was filled with desolation.

"You're right. After all, no one would willingly keep a museum like this running… Even if they did, it would only be for the land it's sitting on…"

Fujino nodded slightly, murmuring to himself.

Suddenly, as if something came to mind, he asked Ochiai, "By the way, when that guy first took over the museum, didn't you two sign some kind of agreement that said the museum must continue operations?"

"I think… we did…"

Ochiai's eyes suddenly widened at the realization, but after a moment, they dimmed again. "But their acquisition process has already started… Even if we went to court now, the chances of winning are slim."

"Do you have money?"

At that moment, Fujino suddenly spoke.

"Money?"

Director Ochiai was a bit surprised.

"I know a lawyer who's never lost a case. I'm not very close with her, but I might be able to introduce you…"

After thinking for a moment, Fujino added, "She might be able to point you in the right direction… but I have to warn you, she charges quite a bit."

"The price doesn't matter!"

Director Ochiai seemed to grasp onto a sliver of hope. "Although my retirement savings aren't enough to keep the museum running, hiring a lawyer… I can afford that!"

"In that case, this just got a lot easier."

Fujino nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll be coming here with two girls… One of them is quite good-looking, and her hair curls up slightly at the ends. Her mother is that very lawyer… You understand what I mean, right?"

"I understand! I understand!"

Director Ochiai nodded vigorously, his gaze toward Fujino filled with deep meaning.

(End of this chapter