Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

"Moshi moshi, okay, then we'll meet there."

Masashi Akiyama hung up the phone and turned to walk out of the glass door of the law firm.

It was late autumn, and the sycamore trees along the street were shedding their withered leaves, while the wind carried a cool breeze across the street corner.

Despite the cool breeze, Masashi Akiyama tightened his scarf, wrapping himself up completely, and hurried toward the agreed-upon café.

The person who asked to meet him was a strange woman. The voice on the other end of the phone was weak and hesitant, only saying that it was related to the case he was currently in charge of.

If it were a senior colleague at the law firm, they would probably just hang up on this kind of inexplicable call.

But Masashi Akiyama is different. Although he has officially become a clerk, strictly speaking, he is a law firm assistant lawyer who has only been doing odd jobs for half a year and has just landed his first case to be handled independently.

This case is the first stepping stone for him to start his formal legal career, and he cannot afford to be careless in the slightest.

Fortunately, the coffee shop was only a hundred meters away from the office.

Masashi Akiyama stood at the shop entrance, watching the warm yellow light spill out through the glass window, and reached out to push open the wooden door with the wind chimes hanging on it.

"jingle--"

The doorbell rang crisply and pleasantly. The warmth of the shop, carrying the rich aroma of coffee, wafted out, dispelling the chill that Masashi Akiyama felt.

Masashi Akiyama paused at the door to clear the fog from his glasses before taking off his coat and handing it to the waiter.

The interior is decorated in a warm-toned wooden style, and the window seats offer a view of pedestrians hurrying by on the street.

The classical jazz music hanging on the wall was playing softly; it was "Autumn Leaves".

He lowered his head and followed the grain of the wooden floorboards into the inner room.

The second to last seat in the innermost row by the window.

Masashi Akiyama counted three times in a low voice to make sure it was correct before pulling out a chair and sitting down.

He only ordered the cheapest mixed coffee and told the waiter, "Wait for someone."

The girl dressed as a maid blinked her round eyes, nodded understandingly, and turned to leave with the menu in her arms, leaving behind a light, fragrant breeze.

The steam from the coffee rose gently, blurring his vision. Masashi Akiyama rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at the falling leaves outside the window.

After an unknown amount of time, the shop door was pushed open again, and a hurried figure entered the shop amidst the sound of wind chimes.

The woman who came in was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and her face was so pale that it looked like she hadn't seen the light of day in a long time.

She wore a beige knit sweater and a dark brown long skirt, with an oversized canvas bag slung over her shoulder, creating a stark contrast with her slender figure.

She looked around the store, her gaze settling on Masashi Akiyama before she walked straight over.

"You must be Mr. Akiyama?"

The woman's voice was heavy with weariness, and Masashi Akiyama looked up.

The person who came was so pale that he was almost transparent, his eyes were red and swollen, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept for days.

Only after Masashi Akiyama nodded in confirmation did she seem to breathe a sigh of relief, and she slammed the large canvas bag on the corner of the table with a dull thud.

She sat in the chair opposite, her gaze falling on Masashi Akiyama's face, and sighed softly, "Mr. Akiyama, you're younger than I imagined."

Masashi Akiyama didn't bother with pleasantries. He picked up the cheap coffee on the table and sipped it slowly.

Seeing this, the woman also dropped her formalities, took a deep breath, and introduced herself in a trembling voice: "My name is Suzuki Maki. I'm sorry to have bothered to ask you out today, but it's about the case you're handling... There's something I'd like to ask for your help with."

"I know." Masashi Akiyama finally put down his coffee cup, his fingertips tracing the cool rim. "You're the defendant, Kento Suzuki's, older sister, right?"

"That's right!" Suzuki Maki suddenly looked up, her hands clasped tightly on the table, her knuckles white.

"Mr. Akiyama, this case is a complete misunderstanding! My brother has been framed! He would never do such a thing!"

"Excuse my bluntness," Akiyama Masashi's voice was cold, "Based on the evidence we have so far, the case couldn't be clearer. Your brother, Suzuki Kento, a teacher, forced a student into an inappropriate relationship, resulting in her pregnancy. According to the law, he should be sentenced to at least three to seven years in prison. Given the severity of the offense, a fine and the revocation of his teaching license are a foregone conclusion."

In Masashi Akiyama's view, this first case he took on was as simple as it could possibly be.

The testimony of the client, Ayaka Fukuda, is clear and unequivocal: Kento Suzuki used his position as a teacher to coerce and entice her into having a relationship with him, and even repeatedly assaulted her in the school's storage room and his apartment where he lived alone.

It wasn't until Ayaka Fukuda realized that Kento Suzuki was about to prey on her classmate that she finally couldn't bear it any longer and, with the help of her friends, told her parents.

Enraged, the parents went to the law firm where Masashi Akiyama worked, demanding that Kento Suzuki be brought to justice.

Forensic examination of the victim's injuries, joint testimony from classmates, surveillance footage from school corridors and apartment buildings...

Each and every one of these pieces of evidence irrefutably proves Kento Suzuki's crimes.

When Masashi Akiyama took over the case, it had reached its final stage, with less than a week left before the trial.

Kento Suzuki's family was in dire financial straits and he simply couldn't afford to hire a defense lawyer.

In the eyes of the senior lawyers at the firm, this so-called court hearing was nothing more than a formality.

They've even started urging Masashi Akiyama to prepare a victory celebration in advance, and to open a few bottles of champagne to celebrate properly.

After briefly recounting the case, Akiyama Masashi looked up at the woman across from him, who was on the verge of tears: "So, Suzuki-san, I really don't understand why you came to see me. As Suzuki Kento's sister, what you should be doing now is preparing his change of clothes for prison, not saying meaningless things here."

"It's not like that..." Suzuki Maki murmured, her voice barely audible.

Masashi Akiyama picked up his coffee and took another sip. The liquid, brewed from cheap coffee beans, had a bitter, burnt taste and was hardly delicious.

But right now, burdened by student loans, he can only afford coffee like this.

He was not born cold-blooded.

During my six-month internship at the law firm, I witnessed far too many people trying to exonerate criminals. The lies they told and the tricks they used were a hundred or a thousand times worse than Suzuki Maki's tearful pleas.

Someone like her can already be considered gentle and pure.

Masashi Akiyama put down his coffee cup, glanced at his watch, and finally lost his patience after waiting so long without the other person saying anything useful.

"If there's no new evidence," Masashi Akiyama stood up, pulled a few bills from his wallet and placed them under his coffee cup, "I'll take my leave now."

"Wait! Mr. Akiyama!"

Suzuki Maki suddenly reached out and gripped his wrist tightly. "I have evidence! I have evidence to prove that Kento was framed!"

She frantically unzipped the canvas bag and pulled out a crudely made plush bear doll.

With trembling fingertips, I pressed down on the bear's belly, and cheerful nursery rhyme immediately flowed out.

"This is a birthday present I gave to Kento," Maki Suzuki explained, her voice choked with emotion. "Press it once to play music, press it twice to record, and press it three times to play the recording..."

As she spoke, she pressed the bear's belly three times.

At first, there was a faint electrical hum, and then—

"Mr. Suzuki, I really like you. Can you be my boyfriend?"

A sticky, drawn-out female voice.

It's Ayakako Fukuda.

The high school junior who was playing with the ends of his hair in the firm's conference room while recounting his experiences.

Recording continues:

"I want to spend this graduation trip with you, you know what I mean, right, teacher?"

"Why don't you like me? Am I not cute enough? Or did the teacher see me hanging out with Sakamoto and the others? Oh dear, I actually like you the most!"

In the background, you can hear the rustling of clothes and a man's suppressed breathing.

"Fukuda-kun, please have some self-respect... put your clothes on..."

Finally, there was a sharp, cold laugh:

"Kento Suzuki! You will pay the price for your arrogance!"

The recording abruptly ended there.

Maki Suzuki's fingers were still pressed on the bear's belly, trembling slightly.

A brief silence fell over the café.

"Mr. Akiyama..." Suzuki Maki raised her red eyes, tears clinging to her long eyelashes, her voice humble to the point of pleading, "Is this evidence... enough?"

Masashi Akiyama fell silent.

enough.

This single recording is enough to overturn all previous testimonies. While it may not be able to exonerate Kento Suzuki, it can at least postpone the trial on the grounds that the case is controversial.

But he wasn't Kento Suzuki's defense lawyer; he was Ayaka Fukuda's lawyer.

"Mr. Akiyama..." Suzuki Maki wanted to say something more, but the wind chimes at the shop entrance suddenly started ringing again.

Masashi Akiyama immediately placed the doll in a hidden corner of his seat.

Suzuki Maki glanced at Akiyama Masashi with a puzzled look, just about to say something...

"Akiyama-san~ So you were here!"

A light and sweet voice came from the doorway.

Ayaka Fukuda wore a sailor-style school uniform jacket, and her slender legs, encased in black over-the-knee socks, were visible beneath her short skirt.

She skipped over, her chestnut hair tied into a high ponytail at the back of her head, swaying from side to side with her steps.

Upon seeing Maki Suzuki, Fukuda's smile froze for a moment, then blossomed even brighter.

She walked straight to Akiyama's side, sat down without any hesitation, and hugged his arm tightly.

"How scary," she said, pressing her face against Akiyama's shoulder, her voice soft and drawn out.

"Seeing anyone related to Suzuki-sensei reminds me of those terrible things. Hey, Akiyama-san, let's get out of here quickly, I need some comfort from a mature adult~"

"Mr. Akiyama! Please!" Suzuki Maki's voice was filled with despair as she stared intently at Akiyama Masashi, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, as if they were about to fall at any moment.

Ayaka Fukuda casually tugged at her collar.

The top two buttons of the school uniform shirt had been undone at some point, revealing a small patch of fair skin.

She proudly raised her chin, an angle that allowed Akiyama to clearly see her slender neck and delicate collarbone.

Akiyama didn't look at Fukuda or Suzuki.

His gaze fell upon the empty air before him.

There, a light gray screen of light was quietly suspended.

[The Villainess Worldline Convergence Project is underway]

[Monitoring in progress]

【…】

[Ayaka Fukuda: It's all that boring guy Kento Suzuki's fault! If he had fallen for me earlier, none of this would have happened. He had to pretend to uphold some so-called principles. So pointless! He made me lose face in front of Reiko! He's only got a few years in jail now, what a bargain! And his sister, she's really annoying, going after Akiyama-san. She's my next target, I absolutely can't let that old woman ruin my fun!]

[Can converge world lines]

[Fork in the road 1: As Ayaka Fukuda's lawyer, you naturally choose to protect her. So you ignore Maki Suzuki and drive away with Ayaka Fukuda.]

[Branch 2: Even as Ayaka Fukuda's lawyer, your heart still holds onto justice. You disregard Ayaka Fukuda and your own student loan debt of eight million yen, deciding to help Maki Suzuki. (Reward: Maki Suzuki is very grateful to you; you can develop a romantic relationship with her.)]

[Branch 3: As a lawyer, you have your own principles. But as a recent graduate with negative 8 million yen in student loans, you also have your own considerations. So you secretly accept that simple toy bear, pretend to accept Ayaka Fukuda's invitation, and plan to thoroughly tease her. (Reward: Psychological Insight - Perfect)]