A Rider Doesn't Need a Youth Romantic Comedy [34]

Under Dr. Seymour's arrangements, Katsuyama Denshin’s villa had become a literal dragnet.

Even the entity designated TN-349 couldn’t possibly leave unnoticed.

Unless it could teleport.

“JoJo, let me introduce you. This is Investigator Tom, a Class-A investigator from the Institute.”

Inside the conference room, Rōma introduced Joseph to the reinforcements sent by headquarters.

When the HQ received the Chiba branch’s request for assistance, they'd agreed without hesitation.

After all, for the Japan Branch, requesting backup was perfectly normal.

As a subordinate branch of the famously troublesome Embarrassing Branch, everyone had long grown tolerant of such matters.

“Uh...hello?”

Joseph tentatively greeted the cat before him, who stood upright with arms folded.

It wasn’t his fault he hesitated. The sight of a cat wearing a detective cape, holding a pipe, and walking on two legs truly created a surreal feeling.

But considering the Institute’s particular nature, maybe this wasn’t too strange after all?

“Investigator Tom, this is Joseph Joestar. He joined the Institute recently, but he excels at gathering intelligence.”

“He also shows some resistance to this anomaly’s effects.”

Waving a paw, Tom indicated he understood.

The faintly arrogant expression on his face wasn’t unpleasant—if anything, it made Joseph want to laugh.

Pulling a notepad and pen from under his tail, Tom scribbled a quick line:

[When do we set off?]

Clearly, the anomaly that had left the Chiba Institute branch completely helpless was nothing special in Tom’s eyes.

Anomaly?

Was it Jerry?

Because other than Jerry the mouse, nothing could escape Investigator Tom’s pursuit.

“Anytime is fine. Dr. Seymour has already approved this operation.”

Passing the operation approval to Tom, Rōma prepared to leave.

He didn’t plan to participate in this mission.

He'd once collaborated with Tom before, and after that incident, Rōma had resolved never to take a comedy character seriously again.

Because it truly was meaningless.

“You’re not coming along, Rōma?”

Joseph asked, slightly puzzled.

This mission was filled with uncertainty; theoretically, another combat-ready person meant another layer of safety.

Besides, Rōma didn't seem the type to slack off during missions.

“Nah, I’d be at a major disadvantage against anomalies like this. I’d just get in everyone’s way.”

Shaking his head, Rōma explained calmly.

He clearly understood that this containment operation wasn’t something brute force could solve.

Or rather, someone like him—a physical-enhancement-type combatant—wasn’t particularly useful this time.

He’d only be a burden to the others.

Rather than being dead weight, he'd see if there were other matters needing attention.

In that sense, Rōma always had a clear understanding of his own role.

“Is that so...?”

After hearing Rōma’s explanation, Joseph didn’t press further.

If Rōma himself was saying it, that meant he definitely wouldn’t—or at least didn't want to—take part in the operation.

Joseph turned to glance doubtfully at Tom, who sat on the sofa, puffing lightly on his pipe.

Could this cat—who looked straight out of a comedy series—really deal with such a strange anomaly?

It wasn’t that Joseph underestimated Tom, but Tom’s appearance was simply too harmless.

Compared to those bizarre anomalies, Tom was practically an idol-level beauty.

Tom naturally felt Joseph’s skepticism, but he wasn’t offended in the least.

He’d experienced this countless times. In the end, everyone always ended up submitting to Tom-sama’s brilliance anyway.

After leaving the conference room, Rōma headed toward the staff work area.

Apparently, after investigating Katsuyama Denshin, the team had found something noteworthy.

It might even involve supernatural abilities.

Regarding this matter, Rōma felt he might have some valuable input.

Asukai Kiki, huh—the girl whose tragic life story was practically fit for a novel heroine.

She’d done nothing wrong, yet her life had been nothing but disaster.

Misfortune and pain before adulthood, endless tragedy afterward.

And the one who’d created this tragedy...

If I’m not mistaken, it should be that Chief Director, huh.

In Rōma’s memory, Hayaseura Takuhiko was Chief Director of the Special Investigation Organization, “Kura”.

Ironically, that organization’s purpose was capturing serial killers.

Yet its very director was responsible for creating seven serial murderers.

And Narihisago Akihito was prepared by him as the eighth serial killer, meant to punish the previous seven.

It sounded like some kind of nesting doll scenario, but it was actually quite simple:

Narihisago Akihito was being turned from a police officer into a serial killer specialized in hunting other serial killers.

“Ah, Investigator Rōma.”

The researcher, who’d been sorting files at his desk, looked up and stretched his neck upon seeing Rōma walk into the office area.

He waved Rōma over enthusiastically, clearly eager to share something good.

“Any new discoveries?”

“Yes.”

Pulling a file from his stack, the investigator handed it over and began explaining:

“We discovered surveillance cameras installed in Katsuyama Denshin’s house—but they weren’t set up by Katsuyama himself.”

“Further investigation revealed they belong to Chief Inspector Hayaseura Takuhiko of the Metropolitan Police.”

“We’re not yet sure exactly why he placed those cameras, but it’s highly possible he’s aware of TN-349’s existence.”

After finishing, the investigator fixed his gaze on Rōma.

He was obviously waiting for Rōma’s response.

As one of the few externally assigned investigators at the Chiba branch possessing considerable combat capability, Rōma’s workload wasn’t exactly light.

School in the daytime, work after school—

In fact, Rōma probably had less free time than some students enrolled in intensive cram schools.

Yet Rōma held no dissatisfaction whatsoever about this arrangement.

After all, the Institute provided him a rather handsome salary.

Since he accepted the pay, he naturally had to do his job well.

“Should we bring him into the Institute?”

After some thought, Rōma asked.

Though he knew Hayaseura Takuhiko’s hidden identity—and understood the man’s goals—

The other party was still a Chief Inspector. Directly barging into his home for interrogation would seem rather rude.

Bringing him into the Institute would be a more appropriate course of action.

“Yes, that would be ideal. There are plenty of suspicious points about him, after all.”

The investigator nodded in agreement.

Picking up the folder, Rōma turned and left the office area.

The investigator watched Rōma leave, then lowered his head, continuing to sort through the files.

Within the office, many others like him were quietly engrossed in their work.

Everyone was busy handling their own tasks; Rōma’s brief visit had been like a drop of water into the sea.

Its ripple of influence vanished almost instantly.

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T/N: AHHH ITS TOM!!! bro this organization is almost unbeatable with tom on their side

This is a fan translation of 骑士不需要青春恋爱物语 by 青琮 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!