Not good enough—too sloppy.
Watching Tsugawa Gosugi cower like a frightened quail, Hayato Masaki felt a pang of dissatisfaction.
But the fault was his own skill, not the tools.
Spider's gear was effective, nearly instantaneous, with no wind-up.
For Hayato to reduce Tsugawa to this state with a single phrase was, frankly, remarkable.
The problem was, this was hypnosis, not illusion.
Spider could ensnare thousands in a meticulously crafted fantasy, his movements subtle, the audience none the wiser.
Hayato doubted he could sway someone like Gin at this level, and Tsugawa's exaggerated panic didn't align with his original goal.
(Might as well use the chance to see how far this can go.)
"Calm down, Tsugawa Gosugi," Hayato said, his voice softening, deliberate and slow.
Books taught that hypnosis required a calm, relaxed state, with the practitioner's tone deepening the subject's immersion.
Tsugawa remained frantic.
"No need to fear. There are no police here. Your crimes are flawless—no one will find out."
"…"
"Can you settle down now?"
"…"
"Good. Steady your breathing… Can you tell me why you're so afraid?"
"I… killed someone," Tsugawa muttered.
"Could you elaborate?"
"I… got rid of him…"
As Tsugawa spoke, his face twisted with struggle.
Hayato's eyes narrowed.
Under his gaze, Tsugawa's surface consciousness flickered. His strained expression turned confused, then panicked as he looked at Hayato—
"You heard that!?"
What went wrong?
Hayato didn't answer, lost in thought.
Earlier, a single phrase had easily tapped Tsugawa's fear. Could it be tied to his recent state of mind?
He'd killed his employee just two days ago, and police had questioned him today. No way he wasn't rattled… Was the earlier success just perfect timing?
Tsugawa's face was ashen.
He'd recognized Hayato now, baffled by his return. But between his own words and the scattered drugs, his life was destined for prison.
No—he had to stop him!
Scrambling up, Tsugawa's face contorted stiffly. He lunged, hands outstretched to throttle Hayato's neck—
Thud!
Hayato's response was a swift kick.
His shoe slammed into Tsugawa's stomach, no restraint. Tsugawa crumpled, and Hayato stepped forward, planting a foot on his chest.
The heavy pressure pinned Tsugawa as he tried to rise.
"Let me go—!" Tsugawa gasped.
"I will, but wait a moment," Hayato said, pulling out his phone and dialing with a few quick taps.
Tsugawa knew he was calling the police. He thrashed to stop him, but the pain in his gut sapped his strength, and Hayato's foot showed no mercy.
"Hello?"
"It's me, Megure-keibu."
"That noise?"
"Oh, that's Tsugawa-san, the librarian."
"The missing employee, Tamada? Tsugawa killed him after he found out about his drug dealing."
"I've got him under control. Could you send a team to handle it?"
"Great, thanks."
"No trouble. Tsugawa-san's a simple man—no real threat."
On the other end, Megure Juuzo, alarmed to hear Tsugawa was a dealer, paused at Hayato's claim of him being "simple" and "no threat."
What did that mean?
Hayato hung up.
To him, Tsugawa's desperate lunge to strangle was indeed simple—nothing worth noting.
"It's 18:19 now."
"With rush hour, the police will take at least fifteen minutes from the station… Until then, mind helping with a few tests?"
Since the Death Note ensured Tsugawa wouldn't mention this timeframe, Hayato could experiment freely.
---
The police arrived three minutes later than expected.
Megure Juuzo stormed in with his team, only to find Hayato leisurely reading.
"Uh… Masaki-kun? Where's that dealer, Tsugawa?" Megure asked.
"Tsugawa-san's by the shelves over there," Hayato said, snapping shut a book titled Stress Relief Through Psychology.
"You're not hurt, are you, Masaki-san?" Satou Miwako stepped forward, her face stern. As a top officer in Criminal Affairs, she rarely missed a dangerous bust like this.
"I'm fine, no harm done," Hayato said, flashing a bright smile that effortlessly charmed. "Tsugawa-san's calm now. You can go right in."
"…"
Satou glanced at Megure, who nodded. She signaled her team. "Let's check it out."
"Also, for Tamada-san's body, try the elevator shaft," Hayato added.
Megure perked up. "You found it, Masaki-kun?"
"Didn't see it myself, but I'm pretty sure," Hayato said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Satou's team entered and found Tsugawa standing calmly. Seeing the police, he pointed to a box of books nearby.
"All the drugs I dealt are in there," he said.
"I killed Tamada, too."
"Take me to the station."
So cooperative.
Satou and her team exchanged stunned looks.
Finally, Satou stepped forward, cuffing Tsugawa's willingly extended hands.
What was going on?
She was baffled, while Megure's team retrieved Tamada's body from the elevator shaft.
***
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