El segundo libro de la serie El mago de Oolong, titulado La mente normal

Capítulo 14

"No need to say anything more," Guoyou said with a smile. "She has already decided to go with us."

Although lunch break had passed, the underground area was still quite crowded. The guards and their comrades, led by a homeless man, hurried past, causing passersby to turn around and look at them curiously.

"Hi, 'King'," a guard asked during the journey, "Does Building M have a rear exit?"

"It's a ventilation opening in the subway station. You can easily open it by lifting the cover."

"Really? I hadn't noticed that before."

Yuriko felt like the protagonist in a novel or comic book, leading a group of homeless "emperors" to catch criminals. —Even though she wasn't a CM (commander), the feeling was "fantastic!"

"'Doctor,' was it originally a doctor?" Yuriko asked.

“I don’t know. Such things are irrelevant here, Miss,” the “King” replied calmly. “People who come here want to make peace with the past. So, we don’t ask each other’s names or backgrounds. We just give each other names based on our impressions and appearances.” Yuriko nodded.

"It's right here. — It's a little narrow." The king opened the passage next to the toilet and led everyone out of the place where the cleaning supplies were kept.

"Hey, doctor!" the "King" shouted. Someone collapsed to the ground, dressed in what was supposed to be white, but now almost black. It was indeed a man who looked like a doctor at first glance, lying exhausted on the ground.

"His head is bleeding." Guoyou stepped forward, knelt down, and examined him carefully. "—He was injured. He's still breathing. He's alright."

"You beast, don't run away!" The guard looked up at the ventilation shaft.

"Quickly, call an ambulance first," Guoyou said.

"Understood." The guard hurriedly ran out.

“He’s hopeless,” the “King” muttered to himself.

“But this isn’t your fault,” Yuriko said. “No matter how developed a country is, there will always be thieves.”

The "King" looked at Yuriko with a smile and nodded solemnly in greeting, and Yuriko nodded back in return.

"—Sister, why is it so late?" Zhu Mei complained from her hospital bed.

"I'm sorry. Something happened."

"Abandoning her sister's critical condition, she must have gone on a date with that police officer."

"Is there really such a healthy body?" Yuriko said with a smile.

"Thanks to you, I have to face all sorts of terrifying examinations by myself."

"Stop pretending. Okay, so what was the result?"

“No abnormalities.” With that, Zhu Mei threw off the blanket and jumped out of bed. She had already changed her clothes.

"What are you doing? Are you kidding me!"

"Oh, I'm hungry. I haven't had lunch yet."

"Are we allowed to go out now? Okay, let's eat out."

"My sister is treating."

"no."

"It's to celebrate recovery."

"No. Because I don't have a single penny, and I've already borrowed money."

"Why?"

"I was attacked by three men, and my bag was stolen."

Walking down the corridor, Zhu Mei blinked in surprise and exclaimed, "Stop lying!"

After paying the hospital fees with the money Joo-mi had, the two went into a restaurant across from the hospital. Joo-mi quickly finished a plate of spaghetti and then immediately ate the sandwich.

"You'll starve to death if you eat the hospital food."

"It was just one night yesterday. That's an exaggeration!"

After things calmed down a bit, Yuriko told Tamami about the murder of Katase Noriko and the events that had happened in the underground district that day.

"Wow! Is it true?"

"Could it be that my sister is untrustworthy?"

"I believe in money, you know." It's terrifying that someone could say something so seriously and bluntly. "So, sister, are you alright?"

"As you can see, I'm still alive."

"That's not what I meant. Weren't you violated by those three men? Hymen reconstruction surgery is very expensive, and it's not covered by insurance."

"Are you looking for a beating? Say that again!" Yuriko said, raising her fist.

"If you hit me, I won't pay!" The Finance Minister was definitely more powerful, so Yuriko reluctantly withdrew her fist. Tamami opened her schoolbag.

"Alright, let's verify the actual purpose first. Here's 1,000 yen for you."

"You cheapskate! Give me five thousand." The two continued negotiating nonchalantly under the watchful eyes of everyone, and finally settled on three thousand yen.

"Also, Zhumei, I have something else to tell you."

How much money?

2005-3-14 15:24:00

Yuriko ignored her and continued, "Your older sister seems a bit strange. I want you to keep a close eye on her."

"Is this just the adjustment period for new employees?"

"That's not how it is. I have a feeling... she seems to have fallen for Mr. Anton."

Tamami's eyes widened, then she couldn't help but laugh. "Ayako-neechan? How could that be!"

"I'm not joking. It just feels really strange. What's your opinion of Mr. Anton?"

"Anton isn't a bad person. He's kind and seems reliable. Someone in our class gave him chocolates for Valentine's Day in February."

"And you?"

“Like fools! This is the mission women are supposed to bear.” This was Zhu Mei’s philosophy. “Yes, to be honest, Mr. Anton is very popular. Even if my older sister is infatuated with him, there’s no need to make a fuss. We didn’t spend his money.”

"That would be good. But I'm still worried about Professor Anton's attitude."

"Impossible! He's with his wife."

"But his wife comes home very late, doesn't she?"

“Yes…” Zhu Mei said thoughtfully, “Oh dear, but it seems like they don’t have a nightlife at all.”

"How did you know about this?"

"Because I can hear Anton snoring. You only snore when you're asleep. I don't snore when I'm having nightlife with my wife."

"It could also be out of consideration for you."

"Impossible! No man could resist that."

I really don't know which of the two is the older sister.

"Anyway, you need to keep a close eye on the teacher and the older sister's situation. Is that alright? This is your mission."

“I hate working for free, but…” Tamami was intimidated by Yuriko’s fierce glare, “Oh well, I’ll just have to take the loss this time.”

"This is what you're supposed to do. Because I've encountered such bad luck."

"The murder of two people, forgery of documents, theft, and rape of women are escalating."

“It was attempted rape,” Yuriko corrected her.

"Yes, yes. -- Ah, right!" Tamami suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no!"

"What's the matter?"

"Mrs. Katase has passed away, hasn't she? We absolutely must attend her funeral, right?"

"Of course."

"How much should the condolence money be?"

Yuriko thought, having an overly shrewd and strong-willed younger sister is also a headache.

"—I cooked dinner tonight." Ayako seemed particularly energetic tonight.

Yuriko and Tamami looked at each other and then nodded to each other, both feeling that something was indeed wrong.

"Oh, thank you so much," Anton said as soon as he entered the restaurant. "It tastes like home cooking, it's been so long."

"Excuse me for a moment." Yuriko got up and went into the kitchen, lowering her voice as she said, "Big sister! Even your spirit is different! You're usually so clumsy, even when cutting fish cakes!"

"Okay. It's a ready-made meal." Ayako said, transferring the food from the supermarket bag to a plate.

Yuriko finally felt relieved. She had been anxious about what kind of disgusting food she would be eating.

"However, the teacher thought it was just ordinary home-cooked food."

“That works too. After all, it was bought from the ‘Home-Style Dishes’ counter.” Yuriko thought to herself, why do we sisters have absolutely no common ideas?

"But this won't do! I need to warm it up a bit."

"That's not good. Fish and the like will turn black if they're overcooked..."

"Here you go. Big sister, heat up the soup too."

“Yes. This is my specialty,” Ayako said happily.

"Delicious! It's amazing!" Anton exclaimed between bites. "With this, I can be a bride anytime!"

Ayako blushed and kept adding rice to Andong's bowl. Although she had never done such a thing, Yuriko was so shocked that she couldn't even speak.

"How's the search for the killer going?" Anton asked.

“Oh, right. I forgot,” Ayako said.

"What happened?"

"That's right, Ms. Kanda told me that at the company today."

"The Ms. Kanda you mentioned... is she the one who's very close to Junko Mizuguchi, right?"

“That’s right. She said she saw the man with Junko Mizuguchi in the hotel.”

Yuriko could hardly believe her ears. She'd seen "the man with her... So, she'd seen the murderer?"

"I don't know, I think I only saw his back. But he didn't sound like my dad, he seemed completely different."