Tachihara Michizo had been feeling very uneasy lately.
It was probably because of the sudden arrival of his "cousin," Chizuru Yukino, a well-known inspector within the military, which made his undercover work in the Port Mafia feel like sitting on pins and needles. It was especially bad because she was also the instructor who had put him through special training.
Before officially applying to join the "Hound," Tachihara Michizo had heard rumors about the unit that sounded like ghost stories: anyone with even the slightest thought of betrayal would be killed on the spot.
The good news: the rumors were false.
The bad news: before the brief training ended, the instructor behind those ghost stories smiled as she patted him on the shoulder, just before he was sent on an undercover mission, and said something that gave him plenty to think about
"The Hound has never had a deserter, only soldiers who died in the line of duty."
"Do I need to remind you again?" his ordinary "cousin," who smiled beside him as warmly as a spring breeze, said. "The Hound has only deaths in the line of duty, never deserters~"
What made him even more uneasy was Mr. Chuuya, who was acting completely out of character and trying to pry information about his "cousin" from him. Don't tell him they were both about to be exposed? Wait, what did he mean by "Don't tell her about our work"? What are you talking about, Mr. Chuuya?!
By the time Tachihara saw those two start dating, half his heart was already dead.
The days that followed were nerve-racking, like walking on thin ice. He finally understood what it felt like to be a "double agent." It wasn't until the Decay of the Angel incident, when the Armed Detective Agency was branded a criminal organization and his senior took action, rounding up most of the Agency and Port Mafia in one fell swoop and racking up an impressive achievement, that he could finally return to his unit openly and with good reason... or so he thought?
The moment he saw the captain, Tachihara knew something was wrong.
He suddenly remembered that his senior was apparently the captain's adopted daughter?
Great. Now the heart he'd been holding in suspense was finally dead.
"Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, "
"Shocking?! Hero of the Far East Falls from Grace and Gets Scammed in His Old Age?"
"How Can I Save You, My Dear Old Dad?"
One-on-one pairing with Nakahara Chuuya
Theme: Prevent scams targeting the elderly and remain loyal to your work.