(1/3)
Looking through the gray fog, Ren saw a muscur, ht man pinning a woman with long brown hair to the ground.
The man's hands were ed tightly around the woman's neck, his expression twisted with anger, like he had a deep grudge against her.
Ren frowned.
"Tsk, what a pain."
Sheesh. He always said he wouldn't meddle in other people's affairs, yet here he was, already stepping out of his room.
The man was choking her in the hallway.
How impatient could he be?
"Why?! Why are you avoiding me?!"
The man's voice was crazed as he squeezed harder.
He looked like he had been abandoned or maybe eveed on.
Ren didn't bother thinking too much about it.
He took a few steps forward and kicked the man square in the face, sending him flying.
"Cough… cough…"
The woman, freed from the man's grasp, gasped violently, clutg at her throat.
She was in bad shape, the strangution had done some real damage.
She stared at the man who had just been kicked away, her face still filled with the lingering terror of nearly dying.
Even now, she could still feel the suffog grip around her neck.
But aside from the fear, there was also deep fusion.
She khe man who had attacked her.
What she didn't knohy.
"Are you okay?"
"…"
The womaated, then shook her head slightly.
"Call the police."
This wasn't just assault.
It was breaking aering.
It was attempted murder.
If she reported it, the man would definitely go to prison for years.
Ren carefully observed the woman's rea.
There was fusion. Sadness. And a bit of hesitation.
---
"…Alright. I'll call the police."
After a brief pause, the ulled out her phone and made the call.
The police would take some time to arrive.
For now, the man Ren had just kicked y unscious on the ground.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"…I'm fihank you."
The woman gingerly touched her throat. It still throbbed with pain, and even speaking made her voice hoarse.
After a moment, she slowly stood up.
She bowed slightly to Ren, a gesture of gratitude.
"Thank you. If you hadn't helped me, I might have…"
"o thank me."
Ren waved a hand dismissively.
At least she wasn't trying to frame him. That would've been annoying.
Now that he got a better look at her, the woman had slightly disheveled brown hair, but her delicate features were still noticeable.
Her clothes were thick, making it hard to tell much about her figure, but her silhouette was well-proportioned.
Well, it wasn't surprising that a woman like her would attract stalkers.
But somethi off.
This wasn't a random stalker attack.
This woman wasn't being followed she had been ambushed in her own home by someone she knew.
Ren was curious, but he didn't pry.
He simply stood beside the woman, waiting for the police to arrive.
Ten Minutes Later
Four officers arrived, one woman and three men.
The older, slightly chubby poli wearing a round hat took the lead.
He walked over to the unsan and checked his dition.
Seeing that the man was merely knocked out and didn't need emergency treatment, he immediately pulled out a pair of handcuffs and secured him.
"Alright, take him away."
The senior officer gave a silent signal to the female officer.
She nodded in uanding and turo the woman.
"Miss, are you feeling okay? I o ask you a few questions about what happened."
"…I'm fine."
The female officer led the woman io discuss the situation further.
Outside, the middle-aged poli in the round hat turned his attention to Ren.
"Sir, I ask what happened here?"
"I live door."
"I heard a woman scream, so I came to check."
"I saw a man strangling her, so I kicked him away. That's all."
The middle-aged offiodded.
"Don't worry. There won't be any legal issues on your end."
"In fao matter how you look at it, you stopped a crime in progress."
"Your intervention wasn't excessive, and you didn't cause unnecessary harm."
"…Are you still a student?"
"Yes."
"In that case, this case is pretty straightforward."
"If you're busy, you don't o go to the station to file a formal statement."
It wasirely by the book, but the situation was clear enough to make an exception. Ren uood.
---
"What's your name?"
"Megure Juzo. You call me Iure."
Megure Juzo.
Ren g the middle-aged, slightly ht polispector.
So this was Iure.
And that tall woman from earlier…
That robably Sato Miwako.
She had that sharp, professional look, a suit jacket, skirt, and an almost office-dy vibe.
If not for her ly cropped short hair, she wouldn't even look like a police officer.
Megure pulled out a business card.
"Here's my taformation."
"If you ever run into trouble, don't hesitate to call."
Ren took the card, gng at it thoughtfully.
"That guy tried to murder her."
"Is there any ce he'll be let out soon?"
"…Just in case."
Megure sighed.
"It depends on the victim's testimony."
"If the case shifts from criminal to civil, he won't be locked up as long."
Ren frowned.
"…If things go south, I might have to sider moving."
"Hah!"
Megure chuckled, l his hat as he patted Ren's shoulder.
"Don't worry, that's unlikely."
"If we firm this was trespassing, then this is attempted murder."
"That's a whole different situation, he won't be able to dodge jail time."
"…Alright. Got it."
"Go home a some rest."
"Thanks."
After thanking him, Ren turned and headed back to his apartment.
Megure watched him go, smiling faintly.
"Not many young people step in to help like that these days."
He had deliberately observed the situation.
This kid had ce.
Frankly, he'd make a det cop.
More reliable than Takagi, at least.
Speaking of Takagi… Megure sighed.
The guy had been iropolitan Police Department for years now, starting from a rookie officer, slowly w his .
Even after all that time, he still hadn't made any majress.
It was frustrating.
"Iure, I fihe preliminary questioning."
"Alright. What's the situation?"
"The victim and the suspect dated in high school."
"But they broke up after only a month."
"That was seven ht years ago."
"…That doesn't matter."
"Yes, sir."
"Then that settles it."
"This is attempted murder with trespassing."
"There's no way he's getting off easy."
Megure was fident, the nature of this case wasn't going to ge.
