Uesugi Ryu was momentarily stunned, he'd only been joking. He hadn't expected Mado Akira to actually climb into the trunk! What a savage woman!
"Mado-san...?"
Uesugi Ryu turned to look at Mado Kureo in the passenger seat, hoping for a bit of guidance.
After all, it felt a little inappropriate to be playing around in front of someone's father.
Mado Kureo gave him a sideways glare but said nothing.
"She's not just a Mado... she's a real tiger."
Uesugi Ryu muttered inwardly.
With a sigh, he reached forward and pressed the trunk release. The rear of the sports car popped open slowly, revealing the cramped space inside.
The trunk wasn't particularly spacious to begin with, and now two large cases that Uesugi Ryu had stored inside were occupying nearly half of it.
Mado Akira carefully placed her own Quinque case into the remaining space, but it was clear at a glance: there wasn't enough room for her to fit comfortably.
Still, determined to participate in the operation, she didn't hesitate. Gritting her teeth, she curled her body and tried to force herself into the trunk.
That's when an awkward problem arose.
She was wearing a slim-fitting pencil skirt. When she twisted her body to squeeze in, the skirt was pulled taut, clearly struggling to hold up under the pressure. One more move and, rip.
Akira's face turned a faint red at the realization, but at this point, she had no other option.
Uesugi Ryu kept up his best act as a dignified gentleman, maintaining a "proper" gaze the whole time. Of course, his peripheral vision caught everything.
After a tremendous effort, Mado Akira finally managed to cram herself into the trunk. But just as she thought it was over, another issue emerged:
her elegant high heels were sticking out slightly, just enough to prevent her from lying down properly.
She tried shifting her legs but.. no good.
She tried to reach forward to pull them off, but couldn't get to them.
"Need a hand?"
Uesugi Ryu asked calmly, clearing his throat.
At that, Mado Akira turned beet red. Her voice was so small it was practically a whisper.
"Mm."
Uesugi Ryu leaned down and gently removed her heels. Her feet, wrapped in sheer black stockings, were suddenly exposed to the air.
In the process, their bodies unavoidably brushed against each other in several places.
Akira tensed, her toes curling, and tried to pull back slightly.
Uesugi Ryu carefully set the shoes aside and, unexpectedly, felt a wave of guilt wash over him.
"Sorry. It's really the car's fault. It's... too small."
He truly hadn't been trying to give her a hard time, the situation was what it was.
He closed the trunk and admired the smooth lines of the car's bodywork.
"Nice ride."
Then, with a somewhat weird posture, he slid back into the driver's seat.
Mado Kureo hadn't noticed any of the awkwardness behind him, he was too busy on the phone with the local police, coordinating to clear the roads.
At this hour, traffic was still heavy. Without police support, it would be impossible to get to the target location quickly.
"Let's go," Mado Kureo said as he fastened his seatbelt.
This Toyota Supra wasn't the highest-end performance car on the market, but it was Uesugi Ryu's first car, and he'd poured quite a bit of effort into modifying it after becoming an investigator.
Now, its 0–100 acceleration had been tuned down to just three seconds.
At Kureo's cue, Uesugi Ryu stomped on the accelerator.
The engine roared like a beast awakened from slumber, and the car bolted forward like an untamed stallion.
The metal beast screamed down the neon-lit avenues of the city, weaving through the glow of headlights and traffic lights, finally letting loose its full power.
What Mado Kureo and Mado Akira felt during that ride, Uesugi Ryu didn't know but he was loving every second of it.
From the time he received Amon's call to the moment they arrived at the scene, only seven minutes had passed.
Uesugi Ryu stepped out of the car with flair and strode straight toward Amon Koutarou.
"Amon, what's the situation?"
Amon pointed to two parked cars up ahead on the roadside and said in a low voice:
"One of them belongs to the victim. The body and the car have been left untouched. The ghoul should be somewhere below the cliff."
He paused, then added:
"Still... I didn't expect you guys to arrive so damn fast."
Uesugi Ryu absently turned the ring on his finger, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Mado Kureo remained calm, but Mado Akira's face was noticeably sour, after all, trunks don't come with seatbelts.
Her short blond hair, usually neat and crisp, was now tousled and puffed out like a frizzy bird nest from the bumpy ride.
...
Down below the cliff, Yomo Renji furrowed his brow.
In a place this remote, the sound of a sports car engine wasn't unheard of, street racers sometimes came through.
But this particular engine had come and gone in an instant... Something felt off.
He looked at the bag beside him and whispered to Kirishima Touka:
"Touka-chan, go on ahead. The Doves are here."
"What?" Touka's eyes widened, both anxious and angry as her fists clenched tightly.
"But we didn't kill anyone! Why... Why do they still come after us like this?!"
Renji's eyes darkened as he pulled a crow-shaped mask from his coat and placed it over his face.
"Go. I need to destroy the stuff in the car. I'll be right behind you. Don't take anything with you, it'll raise suspicion."
"But... Renji-san-"
"Go."
He said it again, this time with finality,leaving no further room for arguments.
Thick, ragged black wings burst from behind his shoulders as he leapt forward, disappearing into the shadows.
"Damn it!"
Touka cursed under her breath, yanked on her hood, and pulled a rabbit mask over her face. She vanished into the dense forest, swift and silent.
Meanwhile, Uesugi Ryu gently stroked the surface of the Quinque in his hand, his once-calm expression sharpening.
"...They're here."
He murmured under his breath.