Two Sides of the Same Coin (探偵VS便利屋, Tantei vs. Benri-ya, lit. "Detective vs. Handyman") is the third chapter of Lost Judgment.
Plot[]
Following the previous chapter, Yagami is still waiting for Sawa near Seiryo High School's chairman office. Upon exiting the office, Sawa is shocked that Yagami is still here, and reluctantly agrees to have a word with him.
In front of the faculty room, Sawa asks Yagami why he didn't tell her that Mikoshiba was murdered which he answer that Mikoshiba's murder the isn't public information. Sawa asked Yagami to stay away from the school, telling him that he don't belong here; however, Yagami reveal to Sawa that he's recently appointed as the advisor of the school's Mystery Research Club thereby having a place within the school. During the exchange, Yagami learned that the police didn't mention any suspect about Mikoshiba's supposed murder, which leads him to suspect that the police hides Ehara's background as an active duty police officer. Continuing on the subject, Yagami mentions Akihiro Ehara, whom he suspects has a hand in Mikoshiba's murder, given that he knew Mikoshiba's corpse's exact location, which was revealed upon being sentenced. He also pointed out that Sawa didn't actually hold Mikoshiba in good regards and suspecting that she lied to him earlier that day, highlighting Mikoshiba's past as a bully. Yagami initially wanted to learn more from Sawa, but instead she told him to meet at 9 PM in a cafe named Plage on Isezaki Road for further talks.
Yagami informs Kaito, who has been visiting the bars if Ijincho, of this development. Kaito lets him know Tsukumo has been having issues with some of his gadgets, and hangs up after expressing his jealousy of Yagami going on what he presumes is a date with Sawa. At Yokohama 99, Yagami explains Ehara's possible involvement with Mikoshiba's death and Tsukumo states that Toshiro Ehara's death did not cause a large impact due to no evidence of bullying. When Yagami sees the article, he recognizes Toshiro's picture as the same one Sawa had in the frame on her desk. Ehara's case against the school was dragged out due to lacking evidence and only ended earlier in 2021.
Tsukumo installs the Buzz Researcher on Yagami's phone and hands him the Noise Amp, leading to the side case The Falling Man to promote Yokohama 99 to the locals.
Over at Plage, Yagami spotted Sawa, but his visit was interrupted by unknown masked assailants, forcing him to fight them. A man with a leather jacket exited the cafe and managed to disperse the assailants, enabling Yagami to check upstairs for Sawa, who abruptly cancelled the meeting after an unknown woman visited her and telling her and Yagami to stay away from the case or face dire consequences, as implied with a photo of a badly beaten Mikoshiba. Yagami inspects the photo and suspects that the one who gave the photo to Sawa must be involved with Mikoshiba's murder in some way, while also suspecting that the unknown assailants might be Mikoshiba's murderers, but still puzzled at why did they target him.
Outside Plage, Yagami takes a closer look at the acrylic mask, which the unknown man figured as Yokohama Liumang's mask. The man introduced himself as Kuwana the handyman, who feels disrespected upon knowing that Yagami is a detective from out of town who caused a scene, which leads to a fight between both men that is interrupted by Kaito and Sugiura.
Following the fight, the party heads somewhere else, where Sugiura told Yagami that Kuwana is their senpai in Ijincho who has good connections. They then switch topics to the recent assault, which was done by the White Masks, an assassins branch of Yokohama Liumang who might want to scare Yagami by assaulting him in public. They then split up, with Yagami returning to Yokohama 99 while Kaito, Sugiura, and Kuwana going to town to have some drinks. On the way, Yagami meets Iyama, leading to the side case Extracting the Past.
Back at Yokohama 99, Yagami has a chat with Tsukumo about Mikoshiba's photo. Yagami figured that the photo scared Sawa to silence and thinks that the lady who handed her the photo and the Liumang assailants might be connected to the case, as the threat is based on Sawa's thought that Mikoshiba bullied Toshiro Ehara back in the day, which led to the latter's death by suicide. He also figured that the Liumang assailants didn't expect him to delve deeper into the case while reminiscing about how Mikoshiba's murder went viral on the net.
Tasks[]
- Head to Yokohama 99
- Reward: ¥100 & 300 SP
- Hit the Town and Test the New Toy
- Reward: ¥1,000 & 3,000 SP
- Return to Yokohama 99
- Reward: ¥100 & 300 SP
- Go to Plage
- Reward: ¥100 & 300 SP
- Defeat the Masked Men
- Reward: ¥1,000 & 3,000 SP
- Defeat Kuwana
- Reward: ¥1,500 & 4,000 SP
Side Case: Extracting the Past
- Talk to Tsukumo
- Reward: ¥100 & 300 SP