RH Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Broaden the Search

Resonance 3, Part 6

Novel Title: 共鳴発情 オメガバース (Resonance Heat: Omegaverse)

Author：岩本薫 (Iwamoto Kaoru)

Illustrator: 蓮川愛 (Hasukawa Ai)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 本浄天音 (Honjou Amane) & 苅谷煌騎 (Kariya Kouki) / 首藤煌騎 (Shutou Kouki)

*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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“You’re late!”

As soon as Kouki returned to the parking lot, Amane, leaning against the car, shouted at him. Kouki was getting used to these unreasonable tirades, but he insisted, “I handled it as quickly as I could.”

Clicking his tongue, Amane held out his hand. “Hand it over.”

Kouki took out his smartphone from his jacket pocket. He unlocked it to display the attached file from Sumire’s email and showed it to Amane.

“…Seven, huh?”

Peering at the list, Amane muttered to himself. The tone implied the number was higher than expected.

Given these were customers of an elite male escort, they could be assumed to be individuals of considerable status and wealth. Scheduling individual interviews with all seven would likely require a significant amount of effort and time.

Amane seemed to have the same thought, grimacing as he muttered, “Guess we’ll have to split up to save time.”

His expression betrayed his hesitation. Apparently, he had some concerns about entrusting the important witness interviews to the rookie Kouki.

“I can handle it,” Kouki said, meeting Amane’s gaze directly.

If dividing the work could save time, he had no choice but to take on his share.

After scrutinising Kouki’s face for a while, Amane finally emphasised, “Don’t just interview them superficially. Dig deeper.”

“Yes, Honjou-san!” Kouki responded eagerly.

“Find out the truth behind it properly.”

Savouring the trust his partner had placed in him by giving him this important task, Kouki nodded. “I understand, of course.”

***

Kouki took on 3 of the 7 names on the list, while Amane took 4. The uneven split was due to Kouki’s lack of experience.

“I’ll use taxis and public transportation, so you take the car. Wait here when you’re done,” Amane instructed, then left the parking lot.

Left alone in the car, Kouki called the 3 contacts under his responsibility, one by one. He asked the people he reached directly about their alibis for the estimated time of the incident, as they were visibly shocked to hear about Shou’s death.

As expected, Kouki’s 3 contacts were elite beta-class individuals of high social standing. They all agreed to meet, but seemed reluctant to be interviewed by the police regarding their involvement with a male escort. They requested to meet at cafes or coffee shops a bit distant from their workplaces. And without fail, they asked Kouki to keep their visits to the brothel hidden from their families and colleagues. Kouki promised the customer list would not be leaked outside.

In the end, all 3 claimed they were at home sleeping at the time. Kouki was able to verify their alibis by checking the security cameras at their high-end residences or condos.

Completing his quota, Kouki returned to the parking lot just after 11 PM. As he was summarising the interview notes on his laptop in the car, Amane returned.

Sliding into the passenger seat, Amane asked, “How did it go?”

“All three were cleared. I was able to verify their alibis,” Kouki reported.

“I see…”

“How about Honjou-san?”

“Cleared on this end too,” Amane replied, his voice sounding a bit weary as he lit a cigarette. He rolled down the window to let the smoke drift outside.

All seven people on the list were cleared. The possibility of identifying a suspect had crumbled to ashes. So the fatigue from running around all day weighed heavily on Kouki’s shoulders.

The victim’s own circle was unlikely. He wasn’t a customer either. And there were no witnesses. The trail for homicide had reached a complete dead end.

“So it was an accident after all. Or maybe suicide…”

“No,” Amane firmly denied.

Glancing at the man beside him, Amane said, “That boy wouldn’t have jumped. He had a dream – to break free from his cage.”

Gazing off into the distance, Amane’s low, muted tone still couldn’t conceal the underlying anger.

“Honjou-san, what kind of relationship did you have with that boy?”

Kouki knew Amane and Shou had been acquainted. But the extent of their relationship was still unclear.

After a stretch of silence, just as Kouki was about to resign himself to being ignored as usual, Amane spoke up.

“I only met him once, about half a year ago. I happened to be passing through a back alley in Deep Downtown when I stumbled upon him being assaulted. I took him to Kamokuriya on the way, and we talked a bit. We exchanged contact info before parting, and kept in touch by email occasionally.”

“I see.”

Even if it was only that one meeting, the half-year of email correspondence indicated Amane had some attachment to the deceased. But for some reason, Kouki felt Amane’s investment in this case went beyond just sentiment for the victim.

(I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.)

He scolded himself. Despite the strong impression Amane had made, Kouki still knew practically nothing about the man.

(His eyelashes are so long. His profile is perfect. Especially the line from his lips to his chin...)

“It wasn’t an accident,” Amane muttered, biting the cigarette filter.

“If it was an accident, what about those marks on his neck? Shou didn’t drink. He’d confided to me by email that he hated having to entertain clients. Yet a large amount of alcohol was detected in his body… Someone must have forced him to drink. Shou had slipped away from Kamokuriya to meet with… ‘that someone’. But who was it?”

Amane yanked the cigarette, half-smoked, from his lips, crushing it into the overflowing ashtray. As their eyes met, his shoulders shook.

“Ah…”

Reflected in those black, obsidian eyes was Kouki’s own expression, struck dumb.

Damn it. He’d been captivated again…

“…I’m sorry,” Kouki reflexively apologised.

Amane’s eyebrows furrowed. “Stop spacing out and start the car.”

“Where are we going?”

“His own circle is unlikely. This guy wasn’t a customer. So we need to broaden our search to find anyone else he had contact with.”

Now?

Kouki swallowed back the words that had almost slipped out. The day was about to change over. After running all over without rest or food, to dive right back in was an incredibly gruelling prospect.

But if that’s the case, Amane must have had an even harder time. After all, he had taken on one more person than Kouki. While Kouki could use the car, Amane had to rely on taxis, trains, buses, and the subway – he must have covered a much greater distance on foot.

Amane was more slender than Kouki. And his basic physical fitness was likely inferior to an alpha. 

Yet his eyes still burned with life. And the aura radiating from him had not diminished in the slightest.

Sensing Amane’s strong determination to uncover the truth of the case and vindicate Shou’s anguish, Kouki resolved to see this through to the end, for as long as his senior needed.

Setting aside the laptop beside him, Kouki gripped the steering wheel.

“Understood. I’ll start the car.”

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*Translator’s Note: Lol. Kariya-san is so damn captivated by Honjou-san. And yeah, there’s a deeper reason why Honjou-san couldn’t let go of Shou’s case. You’ll find out why in the second volume. I realised that Kariya-san was younger than Honjou-san but in this volume, the author didn’t state how far apart their ages are. I’m still reading volume 2. So far, I only found out that Kariya-san is 23 years old but I’m not sure about Honjou-san. If I had to guess, he’s probably 4 to 6 years older than Kariya-san, perhaps? -K

Next update: 2024.12.07

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