Kawai didn't reveal the riddle; she just tossed out a line, "You'll understand when the outcome is clear," and then turned to find Minamoto Tamako for a bath together.
Fushimi Roku really disliked riddlers. Kawai's threat went in through his left ear, slipped through his smooth brain, and drifted out his right ear.
"How clumsy," he thought.
Since Minamoto Tamako wanted the diary, there was no way her close friend Kawai would casually burn it. It was most likely just a scare tactic.
In the evening, Fushimi Roku 'voluntarily' ran a few laps on the field, checked in with the class monitor, then headed to the bathhouse. After showering, he returned to the dormitory to review legal statutes.
At 10 p.m., the dorm leader knocked on the door for roll call, and the busy, fulfilling day ended just like that.
He had to get up for inspection at 6:30 in the morning, so Fushimi Roku lay down early, planning to change his habit of staying up late. But once he closed his eyes, he couldn't sleep, and memories of his past life flooded his mind involuntarily.
"Only procedural justice can ensure universal substantive justice!"
"You're not defending murderers; you're defending the fairness of the legal system!"
"Looking like this now, can you still call yourself a lawyer? Have you forgotten your original intention?"
...
"Shut up!!"
Fushimi Roku abruptly sat up.
Outside the window came the shrill sound of the police alarm, the signal for assembly.
Shadows flickered through the dormitory door crack and footsteps sounded densely in the hallway.
He didn't have time to think. He quickly got up, changed into his uniform, folded his blanket in a minute, and hurriedly opened the dormitory door.
Quite a number of trainees were ready, hastening towards the field.
Hideo happened to pass by in front of him, and Fushimi Roku stopped him, asking what was happening.
"It's probably a night emergency assembly," Hideo said while walking: "I heard from seniors that the instructors wake up freshmen at midnight for combat training duties, it's kind of a tradition."
Fushimi Roku yawned, thinking that police academy training was really wearing, even more exhausting than being in the army.
When he arrived at the field, he found that it wasn't just the new students from classes A and B; even the soon-to-graduate senior students were present.
A whisper of complaints arose from the crowd, with many trainees grumbling.
"What's going on? Why do even the seniors have to assemble?"
"Exactly, last batch it was only the freshmen who had to train at night..."
"Did the rules change just for our batch?"
...
In less than ten minutes, the trainees assembled.
The instructors signaled the roll call, and the class monitor led with a shout:
"Call number!"
"Short of 2, exempt 1!"
"Salute to the on-duty instructor!"
"One absent! Exempt from roll call! No other exceptions!"
The trainees raised their hands in salute, and Instructor Sakurai, standing under the flag-raising platform in a blue and white uniform, returned a standard military salute.
Upon hearing 'one absent,' Fushimi Roku had an ominous feeling. He glanced at Class B from the corner of his eyes, but couldn't tell whether Kawai was there among the many trainees.
Instructor Sakurai, hands behind her back, lifted her head and asked, "Do you still remember what the principal said to you at the entrance ceremony?"
Before the trainees could answer, she climbed the steps, looking down at everyone, and admonished sternly, "Discipline is the lifeline of a police officer!"
Just from these opening words, Fushimi Roku knew someone was in trouble.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as police academy students, you bear the heavy responsibility of maintaining social order and ensuring national safety! The duty of a police officer is sacred; only by upholding justice, courage, and loyalty can you live up to the police badge you wear!"
"However, there are always some treacherous worms trying to tarnish this noble and sacred profession!"
At this point, Instructor Sakurai turned on a strong flashlight, a beam of light shot towards the platform below. Everyone turned their heads to see two instructors escorting a female trainee forward.
Fushimi Roku's ominous feeling turned out to be true.
The female trainee being escorted was none other than Nagono Kawai.
"This trainee seriously violated discipline by breaking into the instructor's dormitory at night trying to steal. She refused to cooperate when discovered, which is extremely egregious!"
Instructor Sakurai aimed the strong spotlight at Kawai's face, causing her to squint from the glare.
The crowd couldn't help but whisper, finding it bizarre from just the description. Why would any trainee try to steal from an instructor's room at the police academy? If one were to steal, it would be from the trainees' dormitory, right? Is this girl not thinking straight?
"Silence!"
Instructor Sakurai's stern shout made the field instantly silent.
She continued, "Now, I have sufficient reason to suspect that this kind of theft isn't happening for the first time, and that she has other accomplices. So, I am planning to use her as an example to give you all a practical lesson in interrogation."
Fushimi Roku thought, this isn't good, not because he feared that Kawai would confess, but because he was worried that Minamoto Tamako might proactively confess.
Under the gaze of all the trainees, the instructors set up a small wooden platform, with a desk and two chairs on it. Instructor Sakurai and Nagono Kawai sat on opposite sides of the long desk, and the desk lamp on the table was pointed at Kawai's face.
"During routine questioning, you can use strong lights to interfere with a suspect's vision so they can't observe the demeanor of the interrogator, causing significant psychological pressure,"
Instructor Sakurai explained while turning off the desk lamp: "But for suspects who are familiar with interrogation procedures, ordinary tricks often don't work. Like the 'good cop and bad cop' roleplay in the practical class or another officer coming in to whisper... using these little tricks is mostly futile."
"Therefore, when dealing with special felons, it's necessary to use some 'non-standard' interrogation techniques."
As she finished speaking, two instructors walked onto the stage with ice buckets and poured them over Nagono Kawai's head.
Ice scattered with icy water splashing, causing an uproar among the trainees.
Kawai's uniform got drenched, sticking to her skin and becoming semi-transparent.
She groaned, gritted her teeth, and couldn't stop shaking.
Hokkaido's latitude is similar to Longjiang Province in China, and the average temperature in April is 3°C to 12°C, with cold spring reminiscent of a bone-chilling blade.
When Fushimi Roku enrolled, he experienced the police academy's ice bucket challenge and was left struggling for three days. The instructors prettily called it a way to train trainees' resilience, and to enhance their physical fitness and immunity, but in truth, it was a form of corporal punishment and compliance testing in disguise.
"It's quite normal for a suspect to get wet in the rain," Instructor Sakurai stood upright, scanning the trainees with her eyes: "If there's no rain on that day, there are other unconventional interrogation methods."
Seeing the trainees silent and fearful, she turned back with satisfaction and looked at Nagono Kawai:
"You wouldn't want to try them all, would you? Just as long as you confess who the accomplice is, the school promises no criminal prosecution. Although, in the end, you will still be expelled, at least there won't be a criminal record..."
Minamoto Tamako lifted her head, her eyes clouded with mist.
She could hear the thumping of her own heartbeat, and at the moment the ice bucket was poured, a chill surged up her spine, giving her goosebumps.
Enough...
Don't go any further...
She took a deep breath and was about to speak, but then Kawai on the stage suddenly shouted:
"Don't make me look down on you!"
Huh?
Everyone's eyes widened, and anger appeared on Instructor Sakurai's face. Minamoto Tamako looked up at Kawai's face, which was rather assertive, reflecting in her pupils.
"Leave it to me!" she said with a smile, "Justice will prevail!"