Sensing that the officers had arrived prepared, Murakami felt a knot tighten in his gut, though he maintained a smiling facade. "Regarding these matters, I truly have no knowledge. Did such things actually happen?"
"Tell me, how can our company cooperate? Just let me know…" For the sake of the bigger picture, Murakami decided to placate the two detectives first. After some back and forth, Sawamura and Soeno had no choice but to temporarily take their leave.
Immediately after the two departed, the smile vanished from Murakami's face, replaced by a cold expression. He quickly summoned Smart Lady and snapped, "Didn't I have people suppress the investigation? Why are police still looking into this, and why did they trace it back to our company?"
"President, this appears to be a personal investigation by the officers themselves," Smart Lady replied.
Kyouji Murakami sighed, then took out his phone and made a call.
Meanwhile, Raven's café had been operating for several days. Raven decided to give Yuka and Saya a holiday to properly rest. He took them out for a trip.
Yuka and Saya were naturally excited. They both dressed beautifully and accompanied Raven to a nearby famous hot spring resort.
Upon checking into the hot spring hotel, they had a wonderful time, eating and drinking, all paid for by Raven. Later that night, they enjoyed soaking in a hot spring pool, separated by a partition. This was mainly to accommodate Saya's feelings. At first, Raven had worried that Saya would feel awkward, as his relationship with Yuka was already established, but Saya seemed happy the entire time. Moreover, like Yuka, she often engaged in intimate banter and affectionate teasing with him. Strangely, Yuka didn't seem jealous during any of this, seemingly accepting Saya's equivalent status beside Raven. Though he didn't understand the reason, Raven was happy to see the two of them getting along.
On the way back from the hot spring resort, Raven, Saya, and Yuka visited a department store. He bought the two women new clothes and high heels that particularly accentuated their charm, simply for the pleasure of seeing them dressed up daily.
Later, on the road home, several men on motorbikes sped past, then suddenly stopped and turned around ahead of them.
One man in a floral shirt said, "Did I see that right? Wasn't that Saya?"
These were another group of students from the Ryusei School: Ken Arai, Yuki Kawachi, Kyosuke Tokumoto, and others. They were the ones who had fought tooth and nail to claim the Delta Gear. They had learned that Saya was in Tokyo recently and had come searching. Since the Delta Gear was stolen by Saya and Aki Sawada, finding one of them would lead to the belt's location.
"You're right! It is her! Perfect!" Yuki Kawachi said excitedly.
"Guys, we agreed beforehand. Whoever gets it first keeps the belt, no hard feelings," Ken Arai said enthusiastically.
Without hesitation, the group quickly turned their bikes and pursued Saya and Raven.
Near the tunnel entrance under a large bridge, Raven, Saya, and Yuka were talking and laughing when Raven suddenly felt a roar approaching from behind.
Raven swiftly pulled Yuka into his arms, narrowly preventing the speeding motorcycles from clipping them. Yuka was startled, but she thoroughly enjoyed being held by the man she loved.
Raven's eyes, however, had gone cold.
Yuki Kawachi and the others removed their helmets and dismounted their bikes. Saya instantly tensed up, grabbing Raven's arm in confusion.
"Saya, we meet again so soon. Hand over the Delta Gear now," Yuki Kawachi demanded, stepping forward and reaching out, his eyes full of aggression.
"If you don't want to get hurt, hand over the belt," Ken Arai and Tokumoto backed him up from behind.
"The belt isn't with me," Saya quickly shook her head.
"You bitch! Don't lie to me! If you and that bastard Sawada hadn't tricked me, that belt wouldn't have left my hands!" Yuki Kawachi's rage flared. Ignoring Raven's presence, he lunged to strike Saya.
The next second, before he could even get close, Raven stepped forward, a cold look on his face, and delivered a sharp slap. Yuki Kawachi was utterly caught off guard, instantly stunned by the blow. He was sent flying sideways.
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