But seeing Rika's eyes fixed firmly on him, her expression completely serious, Noma Keiji could only suppress his irritation and lowered his head.
"Yes!"
"How could I possibly look down on Superintendent Ikazuchi? And I would never bully Hikari-kun."
Only after hearing that did Ikazuchi Rika nod in satisfaction, "Hikari-kun, have a seat. Order whatever you'd like to drink, and let's go over today's investigation into the drug manufacturing group first. Oh, and today's bill is on Inspector Noma, right?"
Rika pulled Hikari over to sit beside her before turning to look at Noma Keiji.
Seeing Rika's gaze fall on him, Noma Keiji gritted his teeth and nodded, "Yes!"
He had indeed said he would treat Rika to coffee.
But he had never said he would also pay for Hikari's.
It wasn't that Noma Keiji was stingy, he had an ulterior motive for treating Rika.
But paying for a pretty-boy-looking high school student like Hikari really annoyed him.
Maybe it was because this high school student was far more handsome than he was.
Or maybe because Rika seemed even closer to Hikari than she was to him.
In any case, Noma Keiji really didn't like Hikari.
After ordering a cappuccino, Hikari began discussing the investigation into the drug manufacturing group with Rika.
"Sister Rika, have you already identified the people in that organization?", Hikari asked.
"Yes! We've roughly figured out some of the members. Today we're going to investigate and keep an eye on one of the leaders responsible for coordinating everyone and handling shipments," Rika nodded.
"I see..."
The two of them talked about the investigation for a while.
At that moment, Noma Keiji, who had mostly stayed silent because of his irritation, suddenly spoke up.
"Um... Senior Ikazuchi, is Hikari-kun going to be joining us in this investigation as well?", Noma Keiji asked, pointing at Hikari's younger and more handsome face.
"Yes. We already agreed on it. After all, many of the leads came from Hikari-kun, and he also said he wanted to participate. Is there a problem?", Rika looked up at Noma Keiji.
"I'm not targeting Hikari-kun. I'm just stating an objective fact. Hikari-kun looks very young. He's still a high school student, isn't he?", Noma Keiji looked at Hikari's still somewhat youthful face.
"That's right," Hikari nodded without trying to hide it.
Noma Keiji continued, "To be honest, Hikari-kun is simply too young. Young people don't understand many things yet, and they haven't gone through all kinds of training like we have. It'll be easy for him to make mistakes or expose himself during an investigation."
"So I think it would be better not to let Hikari-kun participate directly in the investigation."
Hearing his words, Rika hesitated.
What Noma Keiji had said was exactly what she had been thinking yesterday.
She had also worried that something might happen if Hikari directly took part in the investigation into the drug manufacturing group.
But when she met Hikari's faintly smiling gaze, she remembered what had happened yesterday.
Yesterday, in order to stop him from participating, she had fought him in an intense wrestling match.
In the end, she lost.
According to their agreement, she had to let Hikari join the operation.
Moreover, during that match, Hikari had demonstrated enough strength to completely lock her in a cross armlock.
So Rika said to the objecting Noma Keiji, "No. Don't underestimate Hikari-kun just because he's young. He's very capable."
"And a great deal of the intelligence about this drug manufacturing group was provided by him."
"So there's no problem with him joining us. In fact, it's necessary."
Hearing Rika say that, Noma Keiji was still unhappy and wanted to object, but there was nothing he could do against her firm attitude.
She was his direct superior.
Noma Keiji could only lower his head again, "Yes."
While Noma Keiji and Rika were arguing, Hikari, who had said very little, had been quietly observing the whole time.
He had already noticed that something was off about Noma Keiji's attitude toward him.
Noma Keiji seemed to harbor a strange and fairly strong hostility toward him.
And he also seemed to have some ulterior motive toward his superior, Rika.
Actually, considering Rika's looks, figure, and background, it was perfectly normal for a male subordinate like Noma Keiji to have feelings for her.
Among all the male detectives in the Investigation Division, as long as they were unmarried,nthey almost certainly had feelings for Rika.
After all, Rika was one of the few female detectives, she was beautiful, had an outstanding figure, and came from an extremely influential family.
If someone managed to win her over, it would practically be a shortcut to promotion.
Not only would the "little head" be satisfied, but the "big head" would be happy too.
So it was perfectly normal for Noma Keiji to have designs on Rika.
But Hikari felt that Noma Keiji's interest in Rika wasn't simply about dating his beautiful superior and becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
Although Noma Keiji worked for the Metropolitan Police Department, a profession that symbolized justice, based on Hikari's vague memories, Noma Keiji's identity didn't seem to be as simple as it appeared.
Hikari activated his Aura Observation Technique and glanced at the fortune above Noma Keiji's head.
That made him even more certain that Noma Keiji was no ordinary police inspector.
Because a large portion of Noma Keiji's fortune was pitch black, that alone clearly showed that Noma Keiji was definitely not an investigator who upheld justice.
Even an ordinary corrupt cop shouldn't have been this bad.
'Wearing the uniform while being this dark...'
'Is this respectable-looking Noma Keiji actually an undercover member of a criminal organization?'
Hikari looked at Noma Keiji's well-proportioned face with suspicion.
Noma Keiji, however, had no idea that Hikari had been secretly observing him.
After all, in his eyes, Hikari was just an annoying high school student.
Irritating, but insignificant.
With everyone thinking different things,
Hikari, Rika, and Noma Keiji formed a temporary investigation team to investigate the drug manufacturing organization.
The three of them discussed the details of the operation.
But halfway through the discussion, Noma Keiji suddenly frowned.
He covered his stomach, quickly stood up, and said awkwardly, "Senior Ikazuchi, my stomach hurts. I need to use the restroom."
Rika didn't think much of it. She waved her hand understandingly, "Go ahead. Hurry back, and don't forget to bring some toilet paper."
"Thanks for the reminder," Noma Keiji grabbed a stack of napkins from the table and quickly left the cafe, heading toward the public restroom across the street.
Rika didn't suspect anything about his request.
But Hikari raised an eyebrow.
Because he had been carefully observing Noma Keiji the whole time.
He had clearly noticed that when Noma Keiji claimed his stomach hurt, there was almost no change in his expression.
He looked just as calm as before he said it.
That kind of reaction was definitely an act.
He was obviously just looking for an excuse to leave.
So after watching Noma Keiji leave, Hikari also stood up, "Sister Rika, I'm going to use the restroom too."
Rika waved her hand, "Go ahead. What's with you men? Why do you always need to pee or poop so much? Don't tell me you'll need to go again once the operation starts."
"Definitely not," Hikari smiled, took a few napkins as well, and turned to leave.
After following Noma Keiji out of the cafe, Hikari had originally intended to follow him all the way and see what this Inspector Noma was really up to.
But before he had even left the cafe, he noticed that Noma Keiji was being extremely cautious.
As soon as he stepped outside, he kept looking back every few steps.
Even while crossing the street, he repeatedly glanced behind him.
Compared to the traffic, he seemed much more concerned about whether anyone was following him.
His vigilance was unusually high.
With him constantly looking back like that, he would be very difficult to tail.
When Hikari saw Noma Keiji deliberately take his phone out of his pocket and hold it in his hand, he guessed that the excuse about using the restroom was probably so he could call someone.
After thinking that through, Hikari stopped walking.
He showed no intention of continuing to follow.
After Noma Keiji crossed the street and entered the public restroom, Hikari walked into an empty alley beside the cafe.
"Record of the Strange Tales!"
After opening the system interface, Hikari silently activated one of its functions.
The Record of the Strange Tales was a special item function he had obtained from a previous lottery draw.
It could record the yokai, urban legends, and other supernatural beings he encountered.
Once one of these supernatural beings reached a certain level of goodwill toward him, he could add them to the Record of the Strange Tales.
Any supernatural being recorded in the Record of the Strange Tales would never betray him again.
Moreover, as the holder of the Chronicle, Hikari could borrow the various supernatural abilities of those recorded within it.
This time, he activated the Record of the Strange Tales specifically to borrow the power of one of the supernatural beings he had already recorded.
Hikari opened the Record of the Strange Tales and flipped through several pages.
He passed entries for the Snow Woman Yukino, the Oni Clan Kiriryuin Kaede, the urban legend Hasshaku-sama, and others.