Not long ago, after Nakiri Erina left with the Sea King meat, Nakiri Senzaemon thanked Rowan once again and originally intended to leave as well.
But just then, Rowan stopped him and asked a question.
"Is there a police officer named Soichiro Yagami in Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department?"
Whether the Death Note had been fused into this world depended on whether Soichiro Yagami existed.
He was the father of the male protagonist, Light Yagami.
But Light Yagami himself was at most somewhat famous on campus. He and Nakiri Senzaemon were people from two completely different worlds.
Nakiri Senzaemon could not possibly know Light Yagami.
But Soichiro Yagami was different.
In the original story, Soichiro Yagami was not only a police officer in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but also held a fairly high position.
There was a chance Nakiri Senzaemon knew him.
Facing Rowan's question, Nakiri Senzaemon shook his head and said, "I do not know anyone named Soichiro Yagami, nor do I know whether such a person exists in the Metropolitan Police Department. However, I can ask some friends around me."
Rowan gave a hum and did not stop him.
Nakiri Senzaemon took out his phone, made several calls, and asked a few of his friends.
One of his friends quickly gave him a definite answer.
After hanging up, Nakiri Senzaemon said, "There is indeed a police officer named Soichiro Yagami in the Metropolitan Police Department. May I ask what relationship Lord Rowan has with this Soichiro Yagami?"
Rowan shook his head and said, "No relationship at all. I asked about him only to confirm something."
Since Soichiro Yagami existed, that meant Light Yagami was also here.
The Death Note really had been integrated into this crossover anime world.
In that case, the thing that caused Asuna and Nakiri Erina's deaths was very likely that notebook.
Rowan's eyes flickered. While Nakiri Erina and Gin Dojima were cooking the Sea King meat, he said to the Curse Homie sitting on his shoulder, "Take me to your true body."
The Curse Homie pointed toward the forest outside the window and said, "Yes, Master. Please go this way."
Rowan said to Cosette and Nero, "You two eat first. I'll be right back."
The next second, he disappeared from where he stood with a whoosh.
Care to learn about the Warp-Warp Fruit?
After switching the Copy-Copy Fruit's power to the Warp-Warp Fruit, Rowan followed the Curse Homie's guidance and moved rapidly.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
After teleporting more than ten times in a row, he landed on the rooftop of a high-rise building in Ginza, Tokyo.
The Curse Homie said, "My true body is inside the study on the top floor of this building."
Rowan gave a hum and switched the Warp-Warp Fruit to the Through-Through Fruit.
His body passed through the rooftop and descended into the building.
Under the Curse Homie's guidance, he entered the study effortlessly.
This study was decorated in an extremely imposing style. It occupied an entire half floor, with a high ceiling that created the sense of scale of a grand hall.
The floor was paved with imported Italian Calacatta marble, its delicate veins flowing quietly beneath his feet.
The wall directly opposite the entrance was not a solid wall, but a whole sheet of frameless ultra-clear glass, allowing an unobstructed view.
At this moment, the study was empty.
The Curse Homie jumped down from Rowan's shoulder and landed on a desk made of black walnut wood, pointing underneath it.
"It's here."
Rowan walked over and discovered that there was an exquisite safe beneath the desk.
But this could not stop him.
His right hand passed through the safe, and he opened the safe door from inside.
Inside the safe were large amounts of gold and documents.
But none of those were what Rowan was looking for.
What Rowan wanted was the notebook, but there was no small black-covered notebook inside.
Just then, the Curse Homie opened one of the documents and carefully pulled out a sheet of paper.
"It's here, Master."
It handed the paper to Rowan.
Rowan took the sheet and discovered several names written on it.
Third on the list was Nakiri Erina. Behind her name was written the cause of death…
Drowning.
Without question, this should be one of the pages of the notebook.
Although it had been torn from the notebook, the effect was the same. Even after leaving the notebook, the curse's power would not weaken in the slightest.
It could still kill people.
What surprised Rowan even more was that he did not see Asuna's name on this page.
What did that mean?
It meant the person who killed Asuna and the person who killed Nakiri Erina were very likely not the same person.
More importantly, aside from Nakiri Erina, Rowan found several familiar names on this sheet of paper.
Shinomiya Kaguya… death by electrocution.
Fujiwara Chika… death by traffic accident.
Ichijou Raku… death by falling.
Saeba Ryo… death by gunshot.
Seeing these names, Rowan's brow twitched wildly.
Good grief. He could only say good grief…
This list was way too heavyweight.
They were either male protagonists or female protagonists.
Shinomiya Kaguya was the heroine of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.
Fujiwara Chika was almost the same. Although she was not the heroine, she could be considered the second female lead, with a presence comparable to the heroine.
Ichijou Raku, if Rowan remembered correctly, was the male protagonist of Nisekoi.
As for Saeba Ryo, that went without saying. He was the male protagonist of City Hunter.
And now all of these people had been recorded in the notebook. By now, they might already be completely dead?
Uh…
For a moment, Rowan did not know how to comment.
Who exactly was the holder of this sheet of paper? What kind of hatred did they have with these people? Why did they want to kill them?
And they were all protagonists. Was this a coincidence, or…
Rowan instinctively felt that this matter was not simple.
Perhaps he had to talk with the owner of this sheet of paper.
Rowan's gaze fell on the desk. On one corner of the desk was an exquisite photo frame.
Inside the frame was a photo of a middle-aged man in a suit, looking full of vigor and ambition.
He picked up the frame and pushed open an air door.
Behind the door was the private room at Totsuki Resort.
Nakiri Senzaemon was still waiting. Seeing the sudden air door and Rowan standing in the doorway, he was greatly surprised.
"Lord Rowan, this is…"
Rowan held up the photo frame and showed Nakiri Senzaemon the picture inside.
"Do you know this guy?"
Nakiri Senzaemon recognized the man in the photo at a glance. His face darkened as he said, "This man is the chairman of Asahi Heavy Industries, Asahi Tanaka. Lord Rowan, could Erina's matter really be connected to him?"
Rowan gave a hum, casually tossed the photo onto the desk, and walked back with the paper recording the list. He closed the air door along the way.
"The cursed tool used to kill Erina has already been found. It's this."
Rowan placed the paper on the table.
"This is one page from the notebook. Someone tore it out and gave it to Asahi Tanaka."
Nakiri Senzaemon glanced at the list on the paper and immediately felt his heart race.
"Has Asahi Tanaka gone mad? How dare he?"
There were many names on this list that he did not recognize, but he did recognize the surnames Shinomiya and Fujiwara.
One was a massive conglomerate.
Compared with them, the Nakiri family was simply not on the same level.
The other was a prime minister's family, one with considerable influence in politics.
Asahi Tanaka actually dared to write these two names on this paper…
If this were discovered, even ten Asahi Heavy Industries would not be able to withstand the frenzied retaliation of those two.
But then again, if not for Lord Rowan, who could have imagined that their deaths were connected to Asahi Heavy Industries?
After all, both deaths would have seemed entirely accidental.
"Do you know where Asahi Tanaka is right now?"
Rowan asked. He really wanted to have a chat with this Asahi Tanaka.
Nakiri Senzaemon shook his head. He truly did not know where Asahi Tanaka was at the moment.
"Do you have Asahi Tanaka's phone number? Give me his number."
Nakiri Senzaemon really did have the guy's number. Although he did not think much of this upstart, he had not completely fallen out with him. He had once received the man's business card and saved his phone number.
Rowan took Nakiri Senzaemon's phone and called him.
Before long, the call connected.
A warm, enthusiastic voice came from the phone.
"So it's Lord Nakiri. May I ask why Lord Nakiri has suddenly called me? Could it be that you've thought things through and want to…"
"I'm not Nakiri Senzaemon."
Before the other party could finish, Rowan interrupted him.
The enthusiastic voice immediately froze.
A few seconds later, the voice sounded again, now carrying a bit more steadiness.
"And who might you be?"
"I suppose I'm the one here to take your life."
"Huh? Sir, are you joking with me?" Asahi Tanaka's voice grew deeper.
"Not at all. The paper inside the safe in your study—I took it."
"Paper? What paper?"
Asahi Tanaka's breathing became rapid, but he continued playing dumb.
"Shinomiya Kaguya, Fujiwara Chika, Ichijou Raku, Saeba Ryo… Do you want me to keep reading?"
This time, the voice on the other end of the phone disappeared completely.
Even the sound of breathing vanished.
Rowan was not in a hurry and waited slowly, because the one who was anxious now was not him.
It was the other party.
After quite a while, Asahi Tanaka's voice came from the phone again.
"Who exactly are you?"
"I said it. The person here to take your life."
"What kind of joke is this!!!"
Asahi Tanaka roared loudly, his anger carrying a trace of fear.
"You're afraid," Rowan said.
Asahi Tanaka forced himself to sound tough. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do. You're afraid I'll write your name on that paper. By the way, I've seen your photo. I know who you are. As long as I want to, I can write your name down at any time."
"Don't."
Asahi Tanaka blurted out, his voice trembling violently.
Rowan smiled.
"Looks like you really are afraid."
Asahi Tanaka said, "I'll give you money. I'll give you money. However much you want, I can give it to you. As long as you return that paper to me, I can give you everything."
Rowan shook his head.
"I'm not interested in money. I only want to know who gave you this paper."
Asahi Tanaka immediately fell silent.