After that, the investigation of the case proceeded smoothly.

The detectives found the driver inside the overturned truck. He was trapped in the passenger seat and had not suffered fatal injuries. His thigh artery was cut open by the broken sheet metal of the truck, causing him to bleed to death due to being unable to escape.

The forensic examiner detected alcohol in his body, at a concentration sufficient to charge him with drunk driving. Based on this clue, it was determined that before getting in the truck, he had been heavily intoxicated at a nearby izakaya in the alley. His identity was also identified as a professional truck driver who had been divorced for many years, with his child living with the mother, who had remarried.

So, was this a case of a useless truck driver causing an accident while drunk driving?

None of the detectives who saw the scene would think so.

After examining the driver's and passenger's seats of the vehicle, the examiner concluded that the truck driver showed no signs of driving after leaving the izakaya, meaning that someone else was driving the vehicle.

This conclusion immediately led the detectives to consider the other victim at the scene, an unidentified foreigner.

Upon comparison, the detectives' speculation was immediately verified.

The person driving was this tall and thin foreigner who appeared to be from the Middle East. In other words, it was this foreigner who hit Koga and her daughter with the truck.

What was the relationship between this foreigner and the truck driver?

Was the accident accidental or deliberate?

Why did Watanabe Gengo appear here?

What was the poison that Watanabe Gengo and Koga Shiei were exposed to?

...

Questions arose one by one, and were answered one by one.

The toxin at the scene was found to be applied to a silver needle as a hidden weapon. Other residual poisoned needles and a blowpipe used as a launcher were found on the Middle Eastern foreigner.

As the doubts continued to be answered, the case became clearer.

This was a carefully planned murder, and the truck driver was an unrelated victim and scapegoat.

The reason for Watanabe Gengo's presence has not been determined yet. It could be coincidental or because he noticed something and came to stop it in time...

However, there was still one important thing that had not been determined.

That is the identity of the Middle Eastern man.

He was an undocumented individual.

In layman's terms, he was an illegal immigrant.

Coupled with the poison and assassination tools found on him, it could be determined that this Middle Eastern man was a professional assassin.

Assassins themselves are already troublesome, but with the addition of being an illegal immigrant, the difficulty of this case suddenly multiplied several times.

Since he was a professional assassin, there must be an employer behind him. Without catching the employer, the case cannot be considered closed.

The detectives could already foresee the difficult future ahead, causing them to unconsciously gather at the nearby smoking booth to smoke. Dojou Kazuaki also joined them, but instead of smoking, he chewed on candy to suppress his smoking addiction while chatting with them.

The scene had concluded, and on the other hand, Koga Mizuo, who had been taken to the hospital, had already regained consciousness. However...

Her mother, Koga Shiei, was still undergoing surgery in the operating room.

Powerless little Mizuo knelt outside the operating room, ignoring the staff's persuasion, praying for her mother's survival.

-Mom, I was looking forward to eating the curry you made tonight, no matter how bad it tasted, I would have said it was delicious and tried my best to finish it...