Not a detective

Page 178

...Perhaps it would be better for their parents to send them abroad to study and have a different environment.

Asakawa Riku thought for a moment, but didn't say it immediately, because he had already vaguely guessed what had forced the patient to leave his room.

Ezaki once again endured a long silence, but no one urged her; instead, they waited patiently.

The only sound in the room was the clicking of the Rubik's Cube by Higashion Suezuki. So she was still there. I almost forgot. I wonder if she was listening to the details of the request.

After an unbearable silence, Ezaki finally spoke:

“My parents weren’t particularly happy with my behavior of locking myself in my room. Although they initially said, ‘It’s good that I’m back,’ ‘It’s good that I’m safe and healthy,’ and ‘It doesn’t matter how long I rest at home,’ they gradually became dissatisfied after a few months. My mother scolded me for not going to school yet, even though the doctor said I could go. She hoped I would become as outstanding as my brother, a successful career woman who could inherit the family business with him. She kept saying that I was almost eighteen and hadn’t graduated high school yet, and that I would be ruined if things continued like this. My father wasn’t as strict. Although he didn’t force me to go to school or scold me, his unspoken attitude hurt me even more. He was always drinking heavily, and when he was drunk, he would mutter complaints about why my illness hadn’t gotten better, whether he had done something wrong that was causing divine punishment, and he would pray and cry incessantly. I didn’t know what to do. My parents were always arguing about me at home, and you could hear them from across the floor, as if they were deliberately arguing for me to hear… I couldn’t take it anymore…”

"This is a detective agency."

Dongyun Sueyue suddenly interrupted her tearful words, even coldly interjecting, "This isn't an emotional counseling room; we can't resolve family disputes here."

To be honest, although her words were cold and detached from reality, they were indeed the truth.

Even if it were Riku Asakawa, how could he possibly save Ezaki from this situation? Her family situation—her father, mother, and even her daughter—was already a complete mess.

As for Shinonome Suetsuki herself, this amazing detective, she also failed to resolve her own family disputes.

Compared to the infighting and cutthroat relationships within the bizarre "Shinonome" zaibatsu family, Takagi's family business is child's play; it's not even on the same level of chaos.

"No, I'm sorry... I'm rambling again."

Jiang Qi realized he had gone off-topic, sighed, and got back to the point: "However, about a month ago, in September, the house suddenly became quiet. I thought I had finally made it through, but then I found that the atmosphere at home seemed a bit off. My parents rarely stayed at home anymore, but they weren't going to the company either. Apparently, their career had been neglected and they weren't managing it much. They seemed very strange at the dinner table every day, especially when they were reciting some strange prayers. I heard they were doing some kind of religious activity."

"A prayer?" Asakawa Riku became interested and asked, "Do you have a recording?"

"I...I didn't."

Can you repeat it?

"It was something like... the Supreme God... bestowing blessings of peace... eternal happiness, or something like that. I can't quite remember. I'm sorry, I'm so useless..."

"It's not that I'm blaming you, don't say things like that. What happens next, is there anything else unusual?"

"I... I also did some research."

Ezaki continued, "I inquired about those religions at home, and my parents kept talking to me. They looked so fanatical that it scared me. They seemed to want to pull me into that church, but of course I kept refusing. In the end, I only escaped because I was in a bad mental state and looked like I was about to have a seizure."

At this point, she hesitated, as if about to cry, and wrinkled her nose:

"But... how can I blame them? They only joined that cult to save me... Mom and Dad did that to help me get back to normal..."

Xingyu, ever considerate, came over and handed her a tissue.

While Ezaki was wiping away his tears, Asakawa Riku reviewed what he had just heard and roughly understood the situation.

In an attempt to cure her mental illness, Yumiko Ezaki's parents chose to believe in a cult and likely became fanatical followers, perhaps even throwing a considerable amount of money into it.

Looking back now, when Ms. Chie Takagi came here to request an investigation into her infidelity, she was already somewhat neurotic, and she knew nothing about cell phones or the internet. As a sheltered young lady, she was highly likely to be deceived. On the other hand, her husband, Mr. Ichiro Takagi, was no better. Although Riku Asakawa had never met him in person, the Mr. Takagi she saw in her dreams had given ten million yen to Chizuko's family shrine. It seems to be expected that such a superstitious and blindly faithful person would be bewitched by a cult.

But no matter what, the victim shouldn't be blamed for this. Besides, the parents were only in this dangerous situation because of their daughter.

Now, looking at Ezaki Yumiko, who is crying miserably in front of her...

For her parents' sake, the daughter overcame her own psychological barriers and forced herself to contact strangers for help.

The only ones who deserve to die are the perpetrators.

Although Asakawa Riku's eyes were calm, he had already made up his mind. He looked up and saw that Shinonome Suetsuki did not react, so he made his decision:

"Ms. Ezaki, we accept your request."

Winter of the Gods: Chapter Four - Request Conditions

"……Really!"

Ezaki was stunned for a moment at first, then looked up, her bright eyes shining.

Then her expression dimmed instantly: "But... I can't afford a high commission fee. I've prepared some pocket money... I don't know if it will be enough..."

Although Yumiko Ezaki comes from a well-off family, with her parents owning a famous clothing company, she should not be short of money.

But she was kidnapped for a period of time after all, and after she came back, she was locked at home, so she probably didn't have much pocket money.

Adding to the family tragedy, it's possible that the parents have already squandered a large sum of money on the cult's money pit... It's indeed very difficult to get them to come up with another sum of money now.

Asakawa Riku had already anticipated this, and smiled gently:

"It's okay, we offer discounts for minors. Just talk to this lady about the price, and she'll give you a reasonable commission fee."

"Yes, yes."

Xingyu immediately put on a show, laughing and saying, "Don't worry, we can also reduce the deposit. It's okay to pay after everything is settled."

The maid was kind and understanding, and immediately understood what Asakawa Riku meant.

Even if she couldn't decide which firm to work for, she would probably be willing to pay for the shortfall herself, since she's quite wealthy.

"You guys are so kind..."

Ezaki pursed her lips, touched. She didn't seem to recognize Hoshino either, perhaps because Asakawa Riku and Hoshino hadn't enrolled in school when she was kidnapped.

However, this senior student quickly became hesitant and uneasy again:

"However, I'm letting you do such dangerous things. No need for the discount... just let me pay later... I'll definitely pay it back slowly, I'll work..."

You can't work in this condition.

Asakawa Riku and Hoshino exchanged a glance, instantly confirming their consensus.

"How about this."

He turned to Ezaki and said, "How about we pay part of the commission fee in another way to offset part of it?"

"What payment method will you use?"

Ezaki shrank his neck.

“Use secrets,” Asakawa Riku said. “It’s like exchanging intelligence. We’ll tell you the truth about the cult, and you tell us the truth about the kidnapping incident a year ago.”

"Didn't you already know...about the kidnapping..."

The moment this was mentioned, Ezaki's face paled slightly, as if he didn't want to recall it.

"I didn't mean to reopen old wounds."

Asakawa Riku explained:

"After you were kidnapped, you were also drugged and don't remember, right? What I want to know is—before that, how you, the students of the mystery club, were targeted by the criminal."

This wasn't simply to relieve Ezaki's pressure; he was genuinely curious about the matter.

The original detective club consisted of seven members, all of whom were kidnapped by the "Spider Woman" and became victims of that incident.

But... why did it have to be a member of the mystery club? Why was Chizuko the only one who escaped? There are so many students in the school, and there's more than one school in Tokyo.

Spider Woman may not have made her choice blindly, but rather for some "reason".

However, because this topic is too sensitive, Asakawa Riku has not asked Chizuko-senpai about it for more than a year. Now that someone in the know has finally come, he might be able to get the information.

"Oh?" In that instant, it seemed that Dongyun Sueyue, who had been lying lazily, also opened her eyes and straightened her posture slightly.

Upon hearing this, Ezaki pondered for a moment:

“This… I remember, it was—”

"Don't tell me yet."

Asakawa Riku reached out to interrupt her, saying, "Let's keep it a little mysterious. That way, I'll be motivated to investigate. We'll exchange information one last time after the mission is over."

"No, no problem, I'll get it sorted out and give it to you!"

Jiang Qi breathed a sigh of relief, not letting her say it immediately, allowing her some time to pause: "Please, you absolutely must help me find my mom and dad...!"

...

After that, Hoshino invited Ezaki to another room to discuss the specifics of the commission.

Not only the commission fee, but also all the information that Ezaki remembered, information that could help the detective, were truthfully recorded by Hoshino.

Information about that cult, such as contact methods, meeting places, or possible members, is very important.

Because a follow-up investigation will require Xingyu to conduct an online search, this task will definitely be carried out by her.

Moreover, this maid was also very good at communication and administrative work. Through the glass, you could see that Ezaki's stiff expression relaxed a bit under her bright smile.

It seems like it might have some kind of "psychological therapeutic" effect...

Asakawa Riku withdrew his gaze. After all, he had accepted the commission, and he would need to see what information Hoshino had noted down to facilitate his investigation.

However, he now has some thoughts of his own.

The reason why Riku Asakawa accepted Ezaki's request so readily was not only out of sympathy, but also because he reacted to the word "cult".

What he can't forget is that island trip he experienced a few months ago this summer.

It was there that Riku Asakawa first realized just how terrifying the power of religion and faith could be.

A "deity" can be created by a group of just over a hundred students and teachers in a closed environment.

Moreover, this god can even give back to his believers, shaping them into "warriors capable of killing Asakawa Riku," which is already quite exaggerated.

Not to mention, this god can also reverse time, allowing time to cycle again and again, bringing the dead back to life, and starting the world anew, which is even more unimaginable.

How can such a small amount of faith be transformed into such terrifying power?

What if it were on a larger scale?

The "Red Ray" is still a relatively benevolent deity, appearing to save Xingyu. But what if this deity is more evil and more extreme?

Asakawa Riku couldn't imagine that this world was completely different from his original world; the matter of cults was definitely not that simple...

If not handled carefully, it can become a dangerous weapon.

He had always felt that the "Summer of Stingrays" incident must have been a "religious experiment" conducted by some group using that small island as a petri dish.

As he suspected, the crew members who were behind the scenes were also fanatics of a cult, attempting to sacrifice the students on board.

So... what exactly is that religion...?

Things seem to have come full circle again.

Riku Asakawa made up his mind that this request was not only for Yumiko Ezaki and her parents, but he would also investigate it to the end no matter what.

Winter of the Gods: Chapter Five - The Cult

After the incident in the summer, Asakawa Riku did investigate the whereabouts of that cult.

The problem was that the conversations we heard from those crew members were too fragmented; apart from a few words, there were no clues at all.

Not to mention, Asakawa Riku doesn't have the same good memory as Suetsuki, and his impressions have become somewhat blurred due to the repeated cycles of reincarnation.

I'm not entirely sure what the crew said at the time.

As for those people, they were also buried in the sea by the violent explosion. Their bodies were probably not even intact, and they could not be found.

Besides the reason of "too few clues", there is another important reason, which is "too much interference".

To put it bluntly, "There are just too many cults in Japan, too many to count."

In the mind of Riku Asakawa, who transmigrated from another era, a normal country would not allow the existence of cults.

What kind of hell on earth does a country become when it allows cults to exist legally?

And Japan is exactly like that.

After World War II, Japan was occupied by the United States and effectively became a U.S. colony. The Emperor's authority came to an abrupt end, and a vacuum of faith was created in Japanese society.

In an effort to suppress Japanese Bushido, the United States allowed various faiths to enter Japan, leading to a large number of religious groups entering Japan to preach, and various cults also took advantage of the situation.

These religious groups have a very obvious advantage over other organizations: they are exempt from taxes.

In Japan, religious organizations enjoy tax exemptions and can achieve a profit margin of 100%.

For example, if a church receives 100 million in donations in a year, the church can freely dispose of that 100 million without paying a single penny in taxes.

This is terrifying for a group with vested interests; how can its rampant expansion be contained?

The 2023 Japan Religious Yearbook published by the Religious Affairs Division of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan states that "in 2022, approximately 1.63 million people in Japan practiced some form of religion."

What does this mean? With a population of 1.25 million in Japan, this means that thirteen out of every ten people adhere to some kind of religion.