Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

A new day begins.

When Masashi Akiyama woke up in bed, the dull ache from his hangover was pounding against his temples.

Last night's commotion ended with Shinji Ando and Mikoto Takagi drinking and laughing together.

Apart from Fukuda Runa, everyone else had a great time.

As for how he got back to this small apartment, his memory was completely blank.

[The world line of Fukuda Runa has been resolved]

[Reward: Improved physical fitness - Slightly distributed]

The light gray text flashed by at the edge of my field of vision.

Almost simultaneously, the fatigue from the hangover subsided like a receding tide.

The headache disappeared, and the heaviness in my body vanished.

Akiyama sat up in bed, feeling as light as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He tried clenching his fist—but didn't feel any significant increase in strength.

"After all, it's only a 'slight' improvement."

He got out of bed contentedly and drew back the curtains.

The morning sunlight slanted in, casting bright spots of light on the tatami mats.

Because of last night's team building activities, the firm allows everyone to arrive at work a little later today.

Akiyama leisurely washed up, shaved, and changed into a neatly ironed suit.

In the kitchen, the humming of the microwave heating leftover rice balls became the only background noise in the morning.

He ate a simple breakfast while opening his laptop.

The application to terminate my representation that I submitted to the Bar Association before leaving get off work yesterday has been approved this morning.

The efficiency is astonishing.

Meanwhile, two new emails were also in my inbox.

A letter from Rieko Uchida.

The attachment contains her compiled genuine student testimonies, which are clearly organized and highlighted with key parts.

The email body contained only a brief sentence: "Mr. Akiyama, the attachments have been prepared. I am available to testify in court if necessary."

Another letter came from Maki Suzuki.

She said the edited surveillance footage has been restored and she wants to meet as soon as possible to discuss it in detail.

Akiyama took a sip of instant coffee, the bitter liquid sliding down his throat.

It seems everyone is working very hard.

He glanced at his watch—it was still early.

So he replied to Maki Suzuki's email and arranged to meet at the same cafe where they first met an hour later.

As Akiyama pushed open the door, the wind chimes tinkled.

The shop was quiet in the morning, with only a few customers at a few tables.

Maki Suzuki was already sitting in her usual spot by the window.

She looked even more haggard than before—the dark circles under her eyes were deeper, her face was as pale as paper, and even her lips had lost their color.

But a certain flame burned in those eyes, so bright it was almost scorching.

"Mr. Akiyama".

Maki Suzuki pushed the USB drive on the table towards her.

"My brother... he was indeed framed." Her voice trembled slightly. "The surveillance footage shows that Fukuda Ayakako made multiple advances towards my brother. There was no seduction or coercion involved."

Akiyama sat down opposite her, took out his laptop from his briefcase, and inserted a USB drive.

The surveillance footage was long, but he only watched key clips—the school corridor, outside the music room, and the apartment entrance.

The timestamps are clear, and the visuals are continuous.

Indeed, as Maki Suzuki said, it was Ayaka Fukuda who took the initiative to approach him every time, while Kento Suzuki even deliberately avoided her.

"That completes most of the evidence chain." Akiyama closed his laptop and put the USB drive away.

The smile that had just begun to bloom on Suzuki Maki's face was interrupted by Akiyama's next words.

"But there's still one problem."

"What's the problem?" Her smile froze on her face.

"If Fukuda Ayakako wasn't forced by Suzuki Kento, then how did she get pregnant?"

Akiyama took Fukuda Ayakako's medical report out of his briefcase and pushed it in front of Suzuki Maki.

The paper made a slight rustling sound on the table.

"According to the medical examination report—and Ayaka Fukuda's own testimony—the period when she was pregnant coincided with the time she claimed to have been 'forced' by Kento Suzuki. Moreover, she visited Kento Suzuki's apartment multiple times around that time."

He raised his hand to stop Suzuki Maki from speaking and continued:

"You and I both know that this case itself is invalid. But we need to find out exactly why Ayaka Fukuda got pregnant. Whether it was her boyfriend, a friend, or someone else... we need evidence. Otherwise, as the defendant in court, we will be in a very passive position."

Maki Suzuki frowned.

She stared at the medical report, her fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the cup.

"But..." her voice trailed off, "If it were investigating sex scandals or gossip, I could find ways to do it. But investigating a high school student's past..."

Her expression was filled with deep pain.

The recovery of the surveillance footage gave her hope, but now that hope is overshadowed again.

The thought of the countless difficulties to face makes anxiety creep into my heart like vines.

Maki Suzuki made little attempt to hide her emotions. Akiyama knew this request was indeed difficult for her.

He took a ballpoint pen from his suit pocket, then pulled a napkin from the tissue box, wrote a few lines on it, and pushed it in front of her.

"Perhaps you could try asking here; you might find something useful."

Maki Suzuki took the tissue. On the pristine white paper, the black writing was clearly visible:

Ginza 8-chome, Evening Primrose Club, Ayaka Miura.

She stared at those words for a long time, then slowly raised her head.

"I understand." She carefully folded the tissue and put it into the lining of her wallet. "Thank you, Mr. Akiyama."

"It's my duty."

After saying goodbye to the revitalized Maki Suzuki, Akiyama left the cafe and headed towards his office.

The morning sun was shining brightly, and the ginkgo leaves lining both sides of the street were already turning yellow, swaying gently in the wind.

The next step is to submit the evidence for authentication, and time is still of the essence.

But when he reached the building where the law firm was located, he stopped in his tracks.

A group of reporters gathered outside the firm.

There were about a dozen people, carrying cameras and holding microphones, like a group of sharks that had smelled blood, pacing back and forth at the entrance.

As soon as Akiyama approached, they swarmed around him.

A barrage of cameras and microphones were instantly aimed at him, with flashes of light shoving into his face and cameras flashing wildly, blinding him.

"Mr. Akiyama! As the lawyer representing Fukuda in the case, you have already applied to terminate your representation, is that right? What made you make this decision?"

"Mr. Akiyama! We've received word that you're about to defend someone like Kento Suzuki? So, as a lawyer, do you support his actions?"

"Mr. Akiyama! Why did you reverse your engagement? Was it because of money? Do you think someone like you is suitable to be a lawyer who upholds justice?"

Questions came at him like a machine gun. Akiyama lowered his head, trying to squeeze through the crowd, but the reporters were packed in.

Then, a particularly sharp sound pierced through the noise:

"Mr. Akiyama! Ms. Ayakako Fukuda, the party involved in the Fukuda case, revealed to us that you wanted to destroy her out of anger and embarrassment after being rejected in your pursuit of her—is that right?"

Akiyama stopped in his tracks.

He looked up, searching through the crowd for the reporter who had asked the question.

He was a man in his thirties, wearing a wrinkled suit and a reporter's badge from an obscure tabloid hanging on his chest.

He was holding the microphone, squeezed to the front, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The smile was strange—it only lingered on the right corner of the lips, while the muscles on the left cheek remained completely still, as if pulled by invisible threads, extremely stiff.

Akiyama's gaze fell on his eyes.

The eyelids were slightly lowered, and a narrow strip of white was visible at the outer corner of the eye.

His pupils softened deliberately as he stared at Qiushan's brow, avoiding direct eye contact.

—A typical appearance of harboring malice but trying to hide it.

Masashi Akiyama stood still.

He adjusted his glasses, his gaze calmly sweeping over the newspaper logo on the reporter's chest before he spoke slowly.

"I cannot disclose details about the case. Ms. Fukuda and I have no romantic entanglement. As for why the case was reversed—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over all the reporters before finally settling on the face of the man who had asked the question.

"That's precisely because I want to be a righteous lawyer."

After saying that, he didn't linger. He turned around, pushed through the crowd, and walked straight towards the office door.

"Mr. Akiyama!"

"Please wait!"

"We still have questions—"

The reporters tried to catch up, but Akiyama had already pushed open the glass door and disappeared inside.