《The Detective is Already Dead》


 Chapter 1: Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 1: Prologue</h4>


    "Is there a detective on the ne?"


    ...I didn''t hear that right, I thought.


    You don''t often get that question on a passenger ne cruising at roughly ten thousand meters, after all. I must have misheard or misinterpreted somehow. Maybe it was the altitude?


    "Nah, probably not."


    I nixed my own idea and calmed down a little, then looked around and saw that a flustered cabin attendant was marching this way.


    "Is there a detective on the ne?" Apparently, I wasn''t imagining things. Geez, not again.


    For as long as I can remember, I''ve had an incredible knack for running into trouble. I guess you could say I was born for it.


    When I walk down major streets, I get stuck in the middle of sh mobs. When I take back alleys, I stumble onto transactions involving a suspicious white powder. I''ve run into the same cops at so many murder scenes that we know each other by sight, and I''m always a suspect. Today, as it happens, I was flying overseas with a really big attach¨¦ case, and I didn''t have a clue what was in it.


    And I was only in my second year of middle school. Maybe one day I''d be a spy or in the military.


    As if. I wanna work a desk job for the government and actually go home at closing time. Don''t expect any heroism from me, all right?


    And so:


    "Of course there isn''t."


    What was going on here anyway? Ordinarily, you''d expect them to ask for a doctor or nurse.


    We''ve all heard the line before, on TV or inics: Is there a doctor in the house? Right now, though, what they were asking for way up here in the sky was¡ªa detective? That made no sense.


    Exactly what kind of situation would require a detective on an airne in flight? Nope, no way. I refused to get dragged into even more trouble I didn''t need.


    Ignoring the iing cabin attendant, I shut my eyes tight. Right after that, it happened.


    "Yes, I''m a detective."


    The voice carried so well that my eyes opened on their own, just in time to see a girl about my age raise her hand from the seat on my right.


    Her bobbed hair was pale silver, and her enchanting blue eyes pulled you in. Her dress was a ttering color, apparently modeled on some country''s military uniform, and the glimpses of skin I caught beneath it were as clear as snow.


    She was so beautiful she could have been an angel incarnate. If you looked up beauty in the dictionary, her name was bound to be there. If you ran a search of her name online, you can bet the rted images would have been photos of flowers and birds and the moon.


    Which was why all my interest just then was focused on learning what her name actually was.


    Detective? Whatever, I don''t care. Who is this girl? That''s I want to know.


    "What''s your name?"


    So the next thing I knew, I''d asked her aloud.


    ...But even now, four yearster, I still don''t know what her name was. At least, not her real one. All she told me was her alias: "Siesta."


    She was a real detective who fought "the enemies of the world."


    After that, I became her assistant, and we set off on a journey together. "Ready?" she''d say. "While they''re filling you full of lead, I''ll go take


    down the enemy leader."


    "Hey, ace detective," I''d say, "you wanna make a n that gets both of us out alive?"


    "Don''t worry¡ªI''ll erase yourputer''s search history."


    "...Hold it. You looked at my history? You looked at my search history?!" Eventually, we were close enough that we could banter easily. We spent


    three full years on a kaleidoscopic adventure¡ª


    ¡ªand then death tore us apart.


    It''s been a year since then, so four years total.


    I''m the one who got to live. My name is Kimihiko Kimizuka, and at eighteen, I''m currently in myst year of high school. And my life is nowpletely, utterly normal. Tepid and routine.


    Am I okay with that, you ask?


    Sure. It''s not like I''m causing trouble for anybody. I mean, it''s true, isn''t it?


    The detective is already dead.

 Chapter 2 - 1.1

    <h4>Chapter 2: Chapter 1.1</h4>


    <strong>At the beginning of the mystery, cop a feel</strong>


    "You''re the ace detective?"


    ss was done for the day, and the sun was going down. In a ssroom, someone had hauled me up by my shirtfront and right out of my nap to interrogate me.


    My bleary eyes couldn''t really make out her face. I checked back through my memories, but I didn''t recognize her voice.


    Apparently, I was being threatened by some girl I didn''t know. I had no clue why.


    I''d spent the whole school day, from the morning bell until ss was over, facedown on my desk. This girl struck me as the type who''d run for student government; maybe she couldn''t stand seeing her ssmate sleep his life away and had done me the favor of waking me up but got a little rough...or something?


    No, if we were in the same ss, I would at least remember her voice. This girl really was a total stranger to me.


    Then what was this? Why was I being hauled up by my cor? And the progressive tense there is literal¡ªshe was still holding me.


    My sleep-addled brain wasn''t up to deducing much of anything. Of course it wasn''t; I''m no detective.


    Wait, detective?


    Didn''t this girl say "detective" a minute ago?


    "Don''t just stand there¡ªanswer me. Are you Kimihiko Kimizuka, the ace detective people are talking about?"


    It was the first time in a year that I''d heard that awful word. Detective.


    "You''ve got the wrong guy. Now, if you''ll excuse me..." "Wait."


    "Gweh," I wheezed. Humans normally aren''t supposed to make sounds like that.


    Impossible as it was to believe, she''d shoved her fingers into my mouth. "If you''re going to ignore my question, don''t expect mercy. I''ll touch the


    dangly thing at the back of your throat." "This''s...really unfair..."


    Finally, I got a clear look at her face.


    Strong-willed and sharp eyes. Long eyshes. A prominent nose and tense lips.


    A little of her long ck hair was pulled into a stylish ponytail high on the side of her head, like any contemporary high school girl.


    ...But I didn''t remember anyone like her going to my school. I can''t believe I didn''t even notice such a dangerous character. I guess I''m not as sharp as I used to be.


    "So you are Kimihiko Kimizuka, right?"


    Hearing my full name over and over felt weird. Reluctantly, I nodded. "Answer me properly. Use your words."


    "...Khah!"


    Her fingertips touched my uv, and bile welled up from the pit of my stomach.


    "Ugh, you''re the worst. Getting this much spit all over the fingers of a girl you''ve just met¡ªwhat is wrong with you?"


    I wanted to ask her who put the fingers in my mouth in the first ce, but they were still touching the back of my mouth, and her other hand was gripping my uniform shirt. It was practically a new type of torture.


    "Guh...ungh..."


    "Huh? Come on, you''re crying? A big boy of eighteen, and getting a girl''s fingers all sticky with your drool isn''t enough for you? You want to cry and throw a tantrum? You had other ways you wanted to y?"


    I could hear my dignity as a human being crashing down around me. I couldn''t blink back the tears or swallow the drool. What the hell? What did I do to deserve this?


    "Oh, I see. Yes, of course: You wanted me to hold you close, didn''t you?" She pressed my face to her chest.


    The marshmallowy softness and the sweet scent of her perfume threatened


    to dissolve my brain.


    And the sound of her heart¡ª That''s weird. For some reason, it seemed terribly familiar. Could I possibly be sensing something maternal in a girl my own age?


    ...Nope. No way. Not touching that.


    Caught between pleasure and agony, I yelled and wrenched myself free. "That''s too bad. I wouldn''t have minded ying with you for a bit longer." "......Hff...hff, don''t use your body to y games with people. Don''t


    push some stranger''s face into your boobs," I snapped


    For the first time, she smiled faintly. "I''m Nagisa Natsunagi," she said. The name was seasonally appropriate¡ªmeaning "calm summer shore"¡ªand she held out her right hand for me to shake.


    "...Go wash that first, all right?"


    <strong>Assistant and client; the detective is out</strong>


    "I''d like to ce a request."


    A few minutester, Natsunagi had returned from the bathroom and taken the seat in front of me so that we were facing each other.


    "Don''t you have something to say to me first?"


    "Yes, I''d like to request an apology for getting my fingers dirty." "I''m supposed to apologize?!"


    Again, she was being totally unfair. It was so unfair that you could pull together all the unfairness in the world and still not have enough to cover it.


    "Well, when you do something people don''t like, offering an apology is the natural course of action, isn''t it?"


    "It sure as hell is, so I could say the same to you!"


    "Oh,e on. Anyone would think I''d done something to you that you didn''t like."


    Yeah, actually¡ªthat''s exactly what I''ve been saying!


    What is her deal? Is this girl trying to improv aedy sketch with me a few minutes after we''ve just met?


    "You''re saying you wouldn''t mind if somebody pulled a stunt like that on you?" I asked.


    "Huh? ...Th-that''s a good question." Natsunagi''s gaze abruptly began to


    wander. "You''re right; I guess I wouldn''t want someone doing that to me. That''s normal. Yeah..."


    "Huh? Why are you blushing a little? What was thatst part supposed to mean?"


    Hey, her sadist character just evaporated. As a matter of fact, I was starting to wonder whether she waspensating.


    ...Maybe I should check.


    "Would you rather be loved, or...?" "Love."


    "Would you rather tie up someone else, or...?" "Be tied up."


    "Money''s tight this month, so..." "I''ll pay. How much do you need?" "Wow, you''re really a masochist."


    "Wha¡ª?!" Natsunagi''s lips trembled as if I''d just confronted her with a shocking revtion.


    Seriously, what happened to the girl I was talking to a few seconds ago?


    "I-I''m not! I don''t have...preferences like that! ...And hey, would you not derail the conversation? I''m here because I have a request for you!"


    Was it anger, embarrassment, or the sunset light creating the flush on her cheeks? Natsunagi smacked the desk and stood up. So her default is being aggressive, then.


    For a little while after that, her shoulders were heaving as she caught her breath.


    "I''m looking for someone," she said. Her eyes were incredibly serious. I see, a missing person. That''s why she wanted an ace detective, hmm? "You are Kimihiko Kimizuka...aren''t you?"


    ...Geez. She''s not going to let me go until she gets an answer.


    "Yes. I''ve been a Kimizuka since before I was born, and I''ve been a Kimihiko since the day of."


    "And you''re an ace detective?"


    "Unfortunately, you''ve got the wrong guy. I don''t have a granddad who was a detective, and I''ve never been force-fed a weird drug and ended up looking like a little kid."


    "The wrong guy?" Natsunagi''s eyebrows jumped. "But I saw it in the paper."


    "The paper?"


    When I heard that, I thought back...but I didn''t know what Natsunagi was referring to.


    "The evening edition three days ago, about an admirable high school boy who caught a bag snatcher."


    "Oh, that, huh?"


    "Yes¡ªbut if that was all, I wouldn''t be doing this." Then Natsunagi opened her school bag and upended it, dumping its contents all over the floor. "These are all articles about you."


    It was a massive number of newspaper clippings. "...You checked into me?"


    Each of the articles had my name and headshot... Well, that was part of why I asked; I hadn''t known which incident Natsunagi had seen in the paper.


    "Um, ''Super high school boy shuts down billing fraud before it happens!'' ''Finding pets is his specialty: Boy K. locates another lost kitten.'' ''Life-saving expert saves two lives on his way to school!'' ¡ªIf you insist you''re not an ace detective, what in the world are you?"


    This is what my routine looks like these days. I still get dragged into things constantly, and by now, I''mpletely used to it.


    I didn''t think that would necessarily make me an "ace detective," but... Well, I knew what she was trying to say.


    "You''re exaggerating. C''mon, don''t overestimate me."


    The fact that I run into incidents, and that I luck into resolving them, is all due to the way trouble always finds me. It''s not like I have any special skills.


    Way back when, those experiences did make me overconfident. However, a year ago, I was forced to see that they were absolutely worthless.


    So I don''t want anybody thinking I can do more than I can. Sorry, but I''m no detective. Right now, I''m pretty sure this tepid life suits me best.


    "How modest," Natsunagi said. "Gee, thanks."


    "That wasn''t apliment." "What, it wasn''t?!"


    "You can''t even see your own abilities right; why would Ipliment you?"


    Aha. Apparently, that had been her brand of sarcasm.


    "Well, if even I can''t see my own abilities right, what makes you think


    someone else can do better?"


    "You''re saying no one can know you better than you? Awfully full of yourself." Natsunagi crossed her arms, hugging her own chest, and gave a little snort. "Subjective opinions are the least reliable things in the world. What''s important is always objective fact. Am I wrong?" Natsunagi asked, yanking on my shirt again and pulling me toward her.


    Her moist lips were right there. Her breath was sweet and warm. Her ruby- red eyes were boring a hole right between mine.


    She continued. "The things you did are solid fact. That means how we praise those achievements, and how theypare with others, is entirely up to ''someone else.'' Don''t you think?"


    Her straightforward, haughty gaze reminded me very strongly of someone else. Someone who didn''t exist anymore.


    "...So you said you were looking for somebody?" Yeah, I''d had all I could take of being that close. I pushed Natsunagi''s shoulders away, and we stood facing each other.


    "Yes...?"


    I know; she got me good. But for the sake of my pride, let me stress that Natsunagi hadn''t argued me down or persuaded me in any particr way.


    It was just that now that I''d seen that shadow of someone else in her, it was all I could do.


    Geez. I''m well trained, huh?


    "You''ll ept the role of detective?" Suddenly, the emotion on Natsunagi''s face turned to shock. There was something unexpectedly childlike about the way her expression changed from moment to moment.


    "No, I can''t be a detective. But¡ª" "But?"


    "If you''ll settle for an assistant, I''ll take the job."


    Natsunagi gave a wry, chagrined smile. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    Sorry, but that''s been my position for four years. "And? Who are you looking for?" Just finding someone shouldn''t take all that long, I thought and stretched.


    With a perfectly straight face, Natsunagi replied, "Good question. I don''t know. I want you to find out who I''m looking for."


    Well, I suppose that tracked. For a girl who''d dered that subjective opinions were the least reliable things in the world, it was a very appropriate


    problem.


    <strong>Say, whose heart is this?</strong>


    "So then, what? You''re saying you''ve had this constant feeling that you''re forgetting someely, but you can''t remember who?"


    On the way home, after that conversation, Natsunagi and I had stopped in at a caf¨¦, and we were discussing her request again over coffee.


    "Right. There''s somebody I absolutely have to find and talk to, but I have no idea who they are. I couldn''t even begin to guess their age or gender, or where they live... Ooh, this is good."


    Smiling faintly, Natsunagi raised her mug to her lips. Even just caffeinating herself, she was as pretty as a picture. Lucky her.


    As for me, I have no idea how many times my old partner told me she''d forget my boring face if she didn''t see it for a couple of days.


    "...What? Why are you staring at me like that?" Natsunagi finally seemed to have registered my gaze; she pushed her chair back a bit. Stealing nces at me, she fidgeted with the hem of her short skirt.


    "You want to be watched?" "...¡ª!"


    Something whacked me over the head, like a paper fan from a pstick show.


    "...You''re being unfair."


    "You''ve been making a lot of weird assumptions for a while now, Kimizuka... And is ''unfair'' a speech tic of yours or something?"


    "When someone''s being unfair, I have to say so. That''s all."


    It''s why I was saying it for the first time in a year. I didn''t actually want to, you know.


    "All right, getting back on topic." I took a swallow of my coffee, too. "This mystery person you''re looking for¡ªlet''s call them ''X.'' You don''t have even the tiniest clue about X?"


    "Nope. I don''t even know why I''m so obsessed. It''s just...at random moments, I start wanting to see them. Even though I don''t know who they are." Natsunagi gazed out the window.


    "Roughly when did this start? Has it been this way for as long as you can


    remember, or since you started high school, or...?" "One year ago." She seemed very sure about that.


    Natsunagi said she didn''t know X''s gender or nationality or age, but apparently she was certain about when she''d started thinking about them.


    "What happened a year ago?"


    "I almost died, but I didn''t. Well, to be more specific, someone gave me my life."


    If she''d gone out of her way to rephrase, the point was significant.


    For some reason, Natsunagi''s life had been in peril, but this wasn''t thenguage you''d use to describe a narrow escape. In that case¡ª


    "The heartbeat I let you hear in the ssroom¡ªthat wasn''t mine." "¡ªAn organ transnt, huh?"


    Natsunagi gave a small nod. "I''ve had a heart ailment ever since I was little. While I waited for the day they could do the transnt, I was in and out of the hospital all the time... I couldn''t even go to school."


    "I see. No wonder I didn''t know you."


    "Right. After all, you couldn''t possibly have missed such an adorable girl otherwise."


    "Sorry, I''ve had this big chunk of earwax plugging my ear since yesterday, so I can''t hear... Ow, ow, ow, ow! Don''t grab my little finger! Stop squeezing¡ªyou''ll break it!"


    "Well, you''re the one who broke the conversation." "That argument makes zero sense!"


    You get to be a sadist or a masochist, not both. Don''t get greedy.


    I sighed, but Natsunagi ignored me and went on.


    "Then, one year ago, they found apatible donor, and I was finally able to receive a heart transnt. That''s when I started to get flickers of X''s presence in the back of my mind."


    "You mean you''ve already been looking for a year?"


    "No. I had to be on bed rest for a while after the transnt; even if I''d wanted to do something about it, I couldn''t. But I finally started going to school recently, and I''d read articles about you, Kimizuka."


    I see. I was finally getting a picture of the time line and the rough shape of events. We might be able to clear up this issue a lot sooner than I thought.


    "Memory transference," I said.


    Natsunagi tilted her head slightly. Apparently, it was a foreign concept to


    her.


    In that case, putting it like this might make it easier to understand.


    "This X you''re looking for¡ªthey''re someone the former owner of your heart wants to see."


    "...That''s the craziest thing I''ve ever..."


    "If you really think so, then why was your heart transnt the first thing you told me about?"


    Natsunagi fell silent.


    "You said you''d started to sense X''s shadow a year ago. When I asked what had happened back then, you said an organ transnt had saved your life. So you yourself just admitted that there''s a corrtion between X and your heart transnt. Am I wrong?"


    "...You''re kind of a jerk, Kimizuka."


    Natsunagi red at me from under half-lowered eyelids. Guess I was right. "The phenomenon of memory transference hasn''t been scientifically proved, but there have been multiple cases of it. In 1988, a Jewish woman named ire Sylvia received an organ transnt in America, and a few dayster, her eating habits changed drastically. She developed a taste for peppers, which she''d never liked, and for fast food, even though she was a ballet dancer who always used to avoid it. Later, when she talked to her donor''s


    family, she learned that those were things he''d liked." "That could have been coincidence, couldn''t it?"


    "That''s not all. In her dreams, ire saw her donor''s first name. She asked his family, and that was indeed his name. And that''s just one of many... Want more?"


    "...You''re kind of a jerk, Kimizuka."


    It didn''t matter what she thought of me; if she was convinced, that was fine.


    "So what? Does that mean this heart is the one who wants to meet X, not me?"


    "Probably. I''m guessing X is the donor''s family member, lover, or friend... Something along those lines."


    "I see..." Natsunagi slipped a hand over the left side of her chest, biting her lip softly.


    "Well, there you go: Congrattions. Problem solved."


    Well, I helped her out this far. She can pay me in coffee.


    On that thought, I got up, leaving the bill, but...


    "Huh? Where do you think you''re going?" Natsunagi was ring daggers at me. "If you say you''re leaving now, I''ll double-kill you."


    "That''s very...original. Geez, okay." Cowed by her hostility, I reluctantly returned to my chair. "I thought the conversation was over."


    "What gave you that idea? Weren''t you looking at a girl who''d put her hand on her chest, biting her lip forlornly?"


    "I thought you were just indulging in a sentimental epilogue." "You have no human feelings, do you?"


    Human feelings? Nah, I threw those away in a back alley somewhere a year ago. "Think what you want. Natsunagi, like I said, the owner of that heart is the one who wants to meet X, not you. It''s just a memory from when they were alive. This has nothing to do with you."


    "You''re wrong!" Natsunagi smacked the table and stood up. "That''s wrong. This isn''t just a memory¡ªit''s a regret. Even if their body is dead, they let me inherit their heart. That''s how badly they want to meet X. This heart gave me life, and I want to pay it back. It''s the least I can do. I want to help this heart find who it''s looking for."


    The way she spoke had changed from what it had been earlier. It was proof that she was saying what she really felt,pelled by her emotions.


    "So all this is really for yourself."


    "Sure, I''m doing it for myself. This heart is mine. That means I''m the one who wants to see X."


    "That''s not what you said before." "...Just shut up and help me."


    A moist towelette came flying across the table, thwacked me in the face, and clung there. It was indeed moist and really gross.


    "...I assume you''re going topensate me?"


    When I peeled the wet cloth off my face, my eyes met Natsunagi''s grumpy ones.


    "I paid you in advance by letting you touch my chest, remember?" "ssic extortion."


    "If that''s not enough for you, I''ll expose your weird habits to the entire student body."


    "And like I said, I could sure as hell say the same to you!" "Ngh... Listen, do you think I really am one of those people...?"


    "If you want someone to give you advice, that is the literal worst way to go about it."


    Nonsense aside...


    "Well, I did say I''d do it."


    I''d already agreed, and I couldn''t really go back on my word. "No matter what, the client''s interests must be protected." That''s something she used to tell me, over and over.


    "All right then, tomorrow. We''ll meet in front of the station at two in the afternoon."


    "Huh? Tomorrow?"


    "Yeah. It''s alreadyte today."


    Left with no choice, I took the check and got up, getting ready to leave. "You want to see X, right?"

 Chapter 3 - 1.2

    <h4>Chapter 3: Chapter 1.2</h4>


    <strong>This is not a date, of course...</strong>


    "Sorry to keep you waiting."


    It was the weekend, and I''d been standing in the shadow of a pir on the station-front za, checking my watch, when something thumped me lightly on the shoulder.


    When I turned around, there was Natsunagi, dressed in street clothes and swinging a small handbag around.


    Her off-the-shoulder blouse generously exposed her white corbones, and her denim shorts highlighted her long, slim legs. It was as if she''d dressed for the "summer" that was part of her name.


    "Can you stop eyeing up a female ssmate who isn''t even your girlfriend?"


    "Not sure I want to hear that from someone who shoved her boobs against a ssmate who wasn''t even her boyfriend."


    "You liked it, though." "..."


    Damn. She got me there.


    "Never mind that. Natsunagi, you''re ten minuteste. Be punctual." Since I couldn''t deny her usation, I changed the subject.


    "Girls need their time to get ready, no matter what they''re doing."


    Natsunagi pouted, and there was vivid lipstick on those lips.


    I see; that''s true. She looked about 30 percent more grown-up than she did the day before.


    "That so? Sorry."


    "You''re awfully cooperative now."


    "Well, I appreciate having a pretty girl next to me, too."


    "...Hmph. I don''t mind hearing that," Natsunagi murmured, looking up through hershes at me from about ten centimeters below.


    "...What?" "Nothing..." "Come on, what?!" "Nothiiing."


    No, seriously, what the heck?


    I looked down at Natsunagi, whose position made her boobs impossible to miss.


    "...Staring much?" Natsunagi red at me coldly, hugging herself. The tables had turned.


    "No, not your boobs. I was just, you know, observing your corbones." "Ew! At least check out my boobs like a normal person!"


    "You''ve got a fine pair for somebody your age."


    "What does age have to do with corbones?! Why are you talking like some corbone critic?! ...What even is a corbone critic anyway?!"


    "...Hmm. Have we had a conversation like this before?" I asked.


    "I sure hope not; once is way more than enough for me." Harried, Natsunagi pressed a hand against her forehead. "...Hey, when did I get cast as the character who makes all theebacks?"


    "It''s good to switch up the roles every once in a while." Well, to be honest, it''s not like I really wanted that position, either. "Okay, we should head out." I smacked Natsunagi on the shoulder and set off, taking the lead.


    "Where are you going? Listen, they''ll arrest you unless you put some clothes on."


    "Hey, if you want to steal the funny role back, you need more buildup."


    ...Still, this is weird.


    Oddly, when Natsunagi joked around, it struck a chord in me.


    After we''d walked for about ten minutes, our destination came into view. "Um, Kimizuka? I''m pretty sure I''ve got the wrong idea, but is that where


    we''re going?"


    "We''re looking for someone. So this isn''t all that weird."


    Even so, Natsunagi frowned, seeming unconvinced. "Are you nning to have them look for X?"


    "No, we''reying the groundwork. If you want to shoot the general, first shoot his horse."


    "The general is X... So the horse is...the heart?"


    "Right. First, we''re going to check into the donor who saved your life."


    This "X" that Natsunagi was looking for had to have been close to the heart''s former owner.


    In that case, pinpointing who the donor was would have toe first. "Then shouldn''t we be going to a hospital?"


    "I''d love to, but unfortunately, I don''t have any medical connections." "...That means you do know somebody here."


    "Well, don''t get so tense. C''mon, we''re going in."


    And so we stepped into the towering skyscraper that housed the Metropolitan Police Department.


    <strong>Blow your head off</strong>


    "Hey. It''s been a while, you damn kid. Finally decided to turn yourself in?"


    A woman finally entered the room where we were waiting and dropped heavily onto the sofa across from Natsunagi and me, kicking out her long legs in azy way.


    "Ms. Fuubi, I''m not sure women should sit with their legs spread like that." "Shove it. Gender''s got nothin'' to do with getting by here." As she spoke,


    she lit a fat cigar.


    Striking was one way to describe her face¡ªshy was another¡ªand she wore her uniform in an incredibly casual way. Her zing-red hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.


    Nobody who was seeing her for the first time would have believed it, but Fuubi Kase was a police inspector.


    Considering the fact that she''d been a beat cop when I first met her five or six years back, for somebody who was (probably) in herte twenties, she seemed to be making good progress in her career.


    "So what did you pull this time? Theft? Murder?"


    "I haven''t done anything. As a matter of fact, I recently got a publicmendation for catching another burr."


    "You''re the first one on the scene of a solid seventy percent of all the crimes in this district. You really can''t me us for suspecting you stage them."


    "It just happens. It''s how I''m wired."


    My bad luck with Ms. Fuubi began right when she became a police officer


    and started showing up at crime scenes.


    I must have left an impression in her mind as that suspicious kid who was almost always at a murder scene. I''d really love to clear up that misunderstanding, but she still seems to think I''m sketchy.


    "It is, huh? And you wired yourself up to a real detective?"


    "...No idea. If I had to say, it felt more like she drew me to her, twisted me tight around her little finger, and then went off somewhere far away by herself."


    That''s right: Extremely far away. Somewhere you couldn''t find on any map; a distant, unreachable¡ª


    "Hah! Well, that''s true." Smiling slightly, Ms. Fuubi gave a huskyugh. "And what about you? You workin'' solo now?"


    "...No, there''s nothing I can do on my own. Besides, it looks like I''m not even on their radar; things have been so peaceful it''s scary."


    "Well, damn. You''re pretty heartless. The dead tell no tales, huh?"


    I had no intention of saying that much. After all, she''d probably haunt me for it.


    "Ow!"


    Just then, a sharp pain ran through my foot. When I looked down, Natsunagi''s sneaker was stomping on it.


    "What was that for?"


    "Huh? Oh, um, just for...reasons? And hey, don''t shut me out like this." Don''t stomp a guy for "...reasons?" Seriously.


    "Uh, so, Ms. Fuubi. Getting down to business, I wanted to speak with you about this girl, my friend¡ª"


    "So your girlfriend?"


    "No, that''s why I said them separately."


    Ms. Fuubi''s eyes went to Natsunagi, seated beside me.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nagisa Natsunagi. I''m here on Mr. Kimizuka''s introduction."


    "Mr. Kimizuka"... That had a very different ring to it. And hey, Natsunagi can behave politely in public, huh?


    "So you just wanna ''speak with'' me and make an ''introduction,'' huh?


    Fine. Let''s hear it. Briefly," Ms. Fuubi said and lit her second cigar.


    A few minutester... "I see."


    When we''d finished our story, Ms. Fuubi exhaled onest, long puff of smoke, then stubbed out the butt in the ashtray.


    "I get what''s going on... But why''d youe here?" Narrowing her already sharp eyes even further, she red at us. "You want us to look for the person who donated her heart? You know we''re not doctors, right?"


    "Finding people is technically a job for the police." "Not finding organ donors."


    Obviously irritated, Ms. Fuubi crossed her legs.


    "There, what did I tell you? This was the wrong ce," Natsunagi whispered, jabbing me with her elbow. Well, just hang on a minute.


    "Police organizations aren''tpletely disconnected from these incidents. In fact, if the police aren''t present, they can''t even dere a potential donor brain-dead."


    Byw, all cases in which brain death is dered have to be reported to the First Investigation Division of the National Police Agency''s Criminal Affairs Bureau. Autopsies are also performed under the supervision and direction of the chief of the police station in each jurisdiction. That means, when I chose toe here, I wasn''t that far off base. And besides¡ª


    "I didn''te to the police. I came to you."


    Not just anyone would do. This was the kind of thing I could ask because it was Ms. Fuubi.


    "And what does that get you?"


    "Ms. Fuubi, you aren''t like ordinary police officers." "I''m not? How so?"


    "Your resolution."


    Or maybe it would be better to say her goals.


    This woman isn''t like the officers who want money and power. That''s why


    ¡ªand I mean this in the kindest way possible¡ªshe''s not really bound bymon sense.


    "There''s no way I can release a donor''s personal information to an average Joe."


    "I know."


    "Besides, I''m with a different jurisdiction, and my position doesn''te with the authority to disclose information."


    "I know that, too."


    "Then why did youe to me?"


    "Because I figured you''d manage anyway. Since it''s you." "...What''s wrong with you?"


    Looking a little embarrassed, Ms. Fuubi raked her fingers roughly through her red hair. "Look. You already know I want to get to the top here. That means I don''t want to run any risks that could trip me up."


    "Ha-ha, prettyte to pretend you havemon sense, don''t you think?" "I''m gonna blow your head off."


    She pointed her gun at my forehead.


    "...Um, I pretty sure this would count as a risk."


    I mean, take a look. Even Natsunagi is all tense.


    "Well, that''s how it is. Sorry, sweetheart, but go home, wouldja?" Holstering her gun, Ms. Fuubi stretched.


    "No... Please. No matter what it takes, I..."


    "You can ask as nicely as you want, but I can''t do what I can''t do." With that, she stood up, rolling her shoulders. "Besides, I''m busy. I''m scheduled to stop at the big house after this."


    Big house? ...Oh. I get it now.


    Natsunagi seemed confused, but the exnations would have to wait. "You''re going to meet somebody?"


    Ms. Fuubi stopped, one hand on the door. "Somebody you know real well.


    So, y''know, if you''re nning to follow me, it''s a free country."


    Bingo, huh? Geez, she''s the opposite of straightforward.


    "Just for the record, let me ask. Does this person have good ears?" At that, Ms. Fuubi turned back.


    "Yeah. He never forgets the sound of a heart once he''s heard it."


    <strong>No, not that kind of euphemism</strong>


    After the fifteen-minute drive from the Metropolitan Police Department to the big house, we followed Ms. Fuubi through heavy security, then headed down, deep underground.


    We went down stairs, then down more stairs. As we did, the number of lights decreased, and our footsteps echoed more.


    "You''ve only got until I finish my job upstairs. That''s about twenty minutes. Can you stick to that?" Ms. Fuubi tossed her question back at us over her shoulder.


    "Of course."


    Even though she''d shoved us away by pretending not to care what we did, she was showing us the way, which pushed her past "not straightforward" to "way too nice." I mean, she''d actually given us a ride over here in a police car.


    "You aren''t going to see him, Ms. Fuubi?"


    "Ha. No matter what I say, he won''t talk. It''s a waste of time." "If he''s giving you trouble, he must really be something else."


    "As if you''ve got nothing to do with him. You''re the one who brought him in."


    "I know nothing about that. Tell it to the deceased detective."


    "Don''t use your partner as a pardon," Ms. Fuubi said, giving my head a little shove. "There you go. We''re here."


    The air down here on this floor was even more stagnant than the rest of the dark interior. The smell of mold almost made me wrinkle my nose.


    "Twenty minutes, you hear? You''re not getting any more. You either, sweetheart; understand?"


    With that final warning, Ms. Fuubi lightly raised a hand, then started back up the stairs we''d juste down.


    The ones she left behind were me and¡ª


    "...Um, Kimizuka? Probably should''ve asked earlier, but weren''t we headed to someone''s house?"


    ¡ªNatsunagi, who was looking around a little restlessly. "Yeah. This is the house, Natsunagi."


    "Where, exactly?!"


    Where? If I had to say, well... "I mean, it is a prison."


    "I noticed that; I''m asking why!" Natsunagi pulled on my ear mercilessly. Apparently, she only yed innocent in public. "I was visualizing a log cabin¨Cstyle ce, and now we''re here in all this concrete with iron bars all over the ce."


    "Mm-hmm. Because it''s a prison." "What happened to the house, huh?"


    "It''s a euphemism." "A-a euphemism?" "...Now listen..."


    Why does she seem a little excited? She''s exactly what I thought she was.


    "It''s a ng term for ''prison.'' Sometimes they call it ''the big house'' instead. It''smon knowledge."


    "Common knowledge to who?"


    "Common knowledge if you''ve been flying overseas with attach¨¦ cases full of unknown contents since you were in middle school."


    "Boy, sure hope I never get to know anybody like that."


    You''re standing next to one right now.


    "So? Why are we here?"


    Natsunagi seemed to be more used to the ce now. She was looking around, trying to peer in through the iron bars.


    "Not over there. She said the one we''re here for is all the way at the end." I took the lead, walking in front of Natsunagi.


    "Who''s here?" "Some old guy." "Be serious."


    "Some old guy who gave up on being human."


    "Well, seeing how he''s down here, he might as well have given up his humanity, but..."


    "No, that''s not what I meant." This was an extremely serious fact, and an irreversible one. "The man we''re about to meet is literally not human."


    Say this daily routine of mine¡ªof ours¡ªand all the little bits and pieces that aren''t routine happened to be a story. If there were people who were hoping that story would be a genuine mystery, I''d like to take the opportunity to apologize. I don''t think this story will be what they''re here for.


    "Kimizuka, that man..." Natsunagi caught the edge of my sleeve hesitantly.


    In the very back of the basement, there was a small steel room that waspletely enclosed. When we looked in through the only window¡ªa small ss te in the door¡ªwe saw a seated man with chains wrapped around his arms.


    After a pause, the shutter door slid open with a dull creak. "Hey, it''s been a long time¡ªBat."


    At the sound of my voice, the man twitched. There was stubble on his chin, and his blond hair was messy. Atst, his face slowly, sluggishly turned toward us.


    "Now, there''s a sound that brings back memories¡ªace detective."

 Chapter 4 - 1.3

    <h4>Chapter 4: Chapter 1.3</h4>


    <strong>Heart, Bat, and pseudohuman</strong>


    I knew this particr jailbird.


    His name¡ªhis alias¡ªwas Bat. I never wanted to see this guy again if I could help it.


    But as Ms. Fuubi had hinted, he might be able to solve Natsunagi''s problem. Reminding myself that this was work, I faced Bat.


    "Unfortunately, I''m not an ace detective."


    Sorry, but the only ones here are the assistant and a client.


    "Hmm? ...Oh, you''re¡ª Yeah, I see. Watson, huh?" His unfocused eyes red at me, and then the corners of his lips quirked up slightly.


    "Your Japanese is as good as ever."


    "Ha-ha! It''s an essential skill for a guy like me. Besides, I''ve been living here for years now; I''ve forgotten my mother tongue."


    I''m pretty sure he was from northern Europe. However, those rare emerald eyes of his were dull and cloudy now.


    "Do your eyes still work?"


    "Nah, they''re useless at this point. It doesn''t really matter to me whether I''ve got eyes or not, though."


    "I hear it matters to most people."


    "We''ve got the same eyes now, Watson. Like a dead fish."


    "That''s the worst news I''ve heard this century. Also, I''d appreciate it if you didn''t call me that."


    "Ha-ha! What, you all done ying assistant?"


    ...Well, that was the n anyway. "I''m here because I wanted to talk to you, Bat."


    "Huh. I bet. Unless there were special circumstances, there''s no way you two woulde all the way down here to see me."


    You two, huh? True, when I first met this guy, I wasn''t alone. That was a long time ago, though.


    "Sure, go ahead and talk. Life in here is boring as hell. It''ll make for a good way to kill time." With a hint of life in his voice, Bat urged me to go on. "I see. In that case, I''ll introduce you right away. The girl next to me is


    Nagisa Natsunagi; she''s a ssmate of mine."


    "Nagisa...Natsunagi?" At that, Bat moved his head slightly, turning those cloudy eyes on the girl next to me.


    "...It''s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Natsunagi."


    She''d briefly flinched, but she promptly resumed her usual resolute expression, facing the prisoner in front of her squarely.


    "I came today because I wanted to ask you about my heart."


    A few minutester...


    "I see; so that''s what it was. No wonder."


    When Natsunagi had finished telling him about her problem, Bat cracked his neck audibly.


    "Long story short, you came to ask me if I had any idea who owned that heart."


    "Yes, that''s right... But..." Natsunagi leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Can he actually tell something like that?"


    Oh, right. Come to think of it, I hadn''t filled Natsunagi in on that part yet. "Uh, so, he''s..."


    "Hey, that was pretty rude, sweetheart."


    "Ack! He heard us." Natsunagi looked off into the distance, embarrassed. Well, of course he did. After all¡ª


    "Ha-ha! At this distance, I don''t even have to try. If I feel like it, I can hear people talking a hundred kilometers away."


    That''s where "Bat" got his code name.


    This guy wasn''t human. He was part of the group my old partner fought against right up until the moment she died: a pseudohuman.


    "Well, I lost my sight in exchange. Besides, my phenomenal ears aren''t any use in here. As long as the door to this cell is shut, this ce is soundproof. Wonder if this is what the undead feel like? Ha-ha!" Bat''s joke at his own expense wasn''t very funny. "Now that I can use my ears, though, picking up the sound of your heart is a cakewalk for me."


    "That''s crazy..."


    "Some things are, y''know. Big world out there." Bat smiled at Natsunagi.


    It sounded like a good argument, but it wasn''t. He was still as good as ever at messing with your head when you talked to him. That had to be why Ms. Fuubi had been so adamant about putting a time limit on our visit.


    "...Let''s say I believe you. What are you nning to do, after you listen to my heart?"


    Although she was still wary, Natsunagi prompted Bat to go on.


    "I''ve got a database of the hearts of all the people I''ve met over the past few decades. I''ll check it against that and see if I find any hits."


    "That''s the craziest thing I''ve ever¡ª! And what even are the chances that you just conveniently ran into the owner of this heart before...?"


    "No, Natsunagi. It may be safe to get our hopes up a little." "Kimizuka? What do you mean?"


    After all, this guy didn''t have an ordinary career. He was a pseudohuman who flew all over the world, following orders.


    It was possible he met the owner of Natsunagi''s heart while they were alive. And, using his augmented ears with their extraordinarily sharp hearing, he could even tell different heartbeats apart. That''s an ability he really has.


    "I wasn''t trying to hide it from you, Natsunagi, but I know this man well. I first met him four years ago¡ªabove the clouds, at ten thousand meters."


    That''s right. It was that day¡ªthe day I met the ace detective. This guy was a fellow passenger on that ne.


    "Ha-ha, has it been four years already? That takes me back... Hey, why don''t we reminisce for a bit?" Bat''s dull eyes gleamed slightly.


    "Sorry, but we don''t have that kind of time. Ms. Fuubi gave us a set visitation window."


    "Oh, the broad with an ass as big as her attitude? Eh, it''ll be fine. How about I slip you a little intel about us afterward? You''ll be able to put her in a good mood that way."


    "What are you trying to pull, Bat?"


    I know they say not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he was being way too cooperative. Even if banter was part of our rtionship, Bat and I were definitely not on the same team.


    "I''m not trying to pull anything. It''s just been a long time since I had guests, so my mood''s a bit better than normal."


    And I''m supposed to believe that?


    ...Still, if we put him in a bad mood at this point, we could end up wasting our hard-won hint.


    "Sorry, Natsunagi. This is going to take a little while."


    Geez. If that''s how it is, no way to go but forward.


    I thought back to what had happened on that day, four years ago.


    <strong>Is there a detective on the ne?</strong>


    "What am I doing on a beautiful day like this?!"


    The weather really didn''t have much to do with anything, but...as I gazed through the window at the clouds, ten thousand meters up, in my second year of middle school, all I could do was curse my own fate.


    The source of my worries was sitting in the luggagepartment above my seat. But there was no telling what would have happened to me if I''d refused a request from those men in ck.


    Man, if this isn''t rotten luck, then what is it?


    Just as I wasmenting my own fate¡ªI heard the sentence that would change my life.


    "Is there a detective on this ne?" At first, I thought I''d misheard it.


    After the second time, though, I epted the reality: Some sort of situation


    that required a detective was unfolding on this ne.


    I''ll be honest with you, though. This was far from my first run-in with mysterious problems. I wasn''t kidding when I said trouble always seems to find me.


    That being the case, I thought I''d probably be able to duck-and-weave my way out of this one, too. If I closed my eyes, the storm would blow over before I knew it.


    Naive, I know. I''ll admit it.


    However, what was different this time around... What made me open my eyes was...


    ...first and foremost, the fact that she was in the seat next to mine.


    "Yes, I''m a detective."


    That was how we met: me, Kimihiko Kimizuka¡ªand her, Siesta.


    Her hair and eye color made it unlikely she was Japanese, and her symmetrical features were as delicate as spun ss. Her dress''s unique design reminded me of a military uniform from some other country. All together, those elements gave her a beauty that was practically unreal.


    This miracle of a girl had been right next to me, and up till that very moment, I hadn''t even registered her existence. I couldn''t believe myself¡ª and I forgot everything, even the situation I was in.


    "What''s your name...?"


    However, this was a fateful encounter of a different sort. "Perfect timing. You¡ªbe my assistant."


    "Huh?"


    No sooner had she spoken than the girl caught my hand and stood up. "This way, please!"


    "We''ll be right there."


    The girl strode off, following the cabin attendant...and since she was pulling me by the hand, I followed her. Under the stunned, open-mouthed gazes of the other passengers, our weird procession advanced.


    What is this? What''s happening?


    ...Oh, right. A detective, huh?


    The girl''s vivid presence had almost erased it from my memory already¡ª right now, something was happening on this ne, and a detective was needed to resolve it. And she''d called me...her assistant?


    This beautiful girl who had me by the hand was a detective, and I was her assistant.


    I''d been born as a ma for unusual situations and had spent the past dozen or so years surviving all sorts of trouble, and even I was having a really hard time following this development.


    The girl didn''t notice my confusion and said, "Siesta." Just one word, and she didn''t even look back as she said it. "That''s my name."


    "...Kinda weird one," I finally managed to say. "It''s a code name."


    "A code name?"


    "People do have those, usually."


    "No they don''t, usually." They don''t, do they? Usually?


    "Then what''s your name?" "Kimihiko...Kimizuka."


    "I see. I''ll call you ''Kimi,'' then." "...Is that a nickname?"


    When I asked her that, for the first time, Siesta looked back at me. "Good question. What do you think it is?"


    The smile she shed me was a hundred million watts of adorable.


    But this was no time for romanticedy shenanigans.


    The cabin attendant led us to the cockpit, which was the worst possible ce to have problems on a ne.


    "I''ve brought a detective and the detective''s assistant."


    My title is spreading way too fast...


    I didn''t even have time to make a retort, though, as the situation was still evolving.


    When the attendant knocked on the door, I heard an electronic beep, followed by a lock disengaging, and then the heavy door opened.


    "Holy..." I couldn''t believe my eyes.


    Two men, the pilot and copilot, were sitting in the seats of the cramped cockpit.


    The older one¡ªprobably the pilot¡ªwas gripping the control stick, his face ashen. The younger man, the copilot, was doubled over and unconscious


    ¡ªwhile another man was sitting cross-legged on top of him. "Hey, you actually found a detective?"


    The man had striking blond hair and emerald eyes.


    He was speaking Japanese, but his features and the color of his skin suggested he was from northern Europe.


    From his spot on top of the copilot''s body, the man nced coolly from my face to Siesta''s and back.


    "You''re younger than I expected, but whatever. So. Which one''s supposed to be the detective?" he asked mockingly.


    Was he trying to intimidate us, to maintain as much of an advantage as he could?


    He hardly needed to, though; we were already in deep shit. Even I hadn''t run into a hijacker before, and my knees went weak despite my attempts to keep them steady.


    "First of all, what''s your name?" Siesta asked.


    The pilot was still pale, the copilot was still unconscious, and the flight attendant was so sweaty that her makeup was running, but she was the one person who hadn''t frozen up. Ignoring the incapacitated adults, this teenage girl barred the hijacker''s way, all alone.


    "Bat. It''s a code name," the man said.


    Siesta turned to me. "There, you see? Everybody has a code name." "Look, I don''t care!"


    I seriously could not care less about that! This really isn''t the time!


    For some reason, Siesta looked a little proud of herself, but I made her face forward again, toward Bat the hijacker.


    "I am Siesta, and this is my assistant, Watson. We grew up together on Baker Street." She lied like it was nothing. Her nerves were way too steady. "Well, Bat? What are you trying to do? Why have you called me, the ace detective, here?"


    Oh, right. Yeah.


    Thanks to Siesta''s carefree attitude, I''d almost forgotten the actual situation.


    "Ha-ha, ha-ha! You''re funny, girl. I like it; this might be fun." Batughed, then spoke from his spot on top of the copilot.


    "Deduce why I''ve hijacked this ne. If you get it right, I won''t snap the pilot''s neck."


    In that moment¡ªthe lives of six hundred passengers and crew members were entrusted to the skill of a single detective.

 Chapter 5 - 1.4

    <h4>Chapter 5: Chapter 1.4</h4>


    <strong>Hijacker vs. ace detective</strong>


    "The reason you hijacked this ne?"


    Siesta echoed his words, putting a finger to her delicate chin. "You called me here just to make me deduce that?"


    "Yeah, that''s right. I wanted to y a little game. A high-stakes game with


    the lives of all six hundred passengers in the bnce... Sound like fun?" Bat smirked, letting his gaze crawl all over us. Just looking at this guy made me feel sick. "All you two have to do to win is guess why I hijacked the ne. That''s it."


    "In other words, if we guess correctly, everyone''s lives will be spared, and if we get it wrong, they die?"


    "Right. Nice and simple."


    "Yes, it is. If we fail, though, you''ll meet the same fate we do." Siesta fixed piercing eyes on Bat.


    "...True. If I''m on a ne that''s going down, I''ve got no way to save myself."


    "Meaning you don''t value your life?"


    "If I don''t get my kicks somehow, I don''t feel like I''m really alive, et cetera, et cetera."


    "I see. You''re terribly bored, then."


    Siesta was surprisingly fearless as she spoke with the hijacker. It felt as if there were invisible des hidden in their joking exchange.


    Was this battle about to escte...?


    "Yeah, I''m bored. The boredom got so bad that I went and hijacked a flight in a distant foreign country."


    "All right, then that''s it." However, in the next instant¡ª


    "You hijacked the ne because you were desperately bored."


    ¡ªshe gave her final answer.


    Without so much as phoning a friend, Siesta yed her hand. "...Siesta, wait, just hang on a second. Are you serious?"


    His motive for the hijacking was¡ªboredom?


    That couldn''t be right. They''d just been teasing at this grand showdown between a hijacker and an ace detective; this was a punchline. We wouldn''t get away with this. The lives of the six hundred people on this ne were riding on that answer, remember?


    "Of course I''m serious. The man said so himself, didn''t he? He was bored, so very bored that he hijacked the ne."


    "...Yeah, but he was probably just messing with you, don''t you think?" "Oh? Then you''re saying he lied?"


    "Huh?"


    Siesta''s eyes turned from me to Bat. "The ace detective frightened him, and he identally let something slip. To cover for himself, he''ll say it was a lie to force me to admit a loss and end the game. Thus, we can infer that he''s a coward?"


    As she spoke, she didn''t show a flicker of fear.


    "¡ªHa-ha. Ha-ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Amazing! Ahhh, well done. Brilliant. That courage of yours is really something." Bat started tough. It was quiet at first, but gradually, as if he couldn''t fully contain it, he began to guffaw, holding his sides. "Ahhh, I can''t believe it. That''s just insane. Never thought someone would talk me into a corner like that. Well, you got me. I''m beat."


    Hey, whoa, are you kidding me?


    Had he genuinely hijacked the ne just because he was bored? Or had Siesta''s incredibly bold bluff wiped out his will to fight?


    "That ended faster than I thought it would, but you win some, you lose some. I''ve already achieved my objective, so I''ll bow out here."


    Bat got down from the copilot''s body and walked toward us.


    "Ah, don''t worry. That one''s only unconscious, not dead. I''ll probably get arrested once we reach the airport, but I haven''t killed anybody. If I move into the big house for a while, they''ll let me leave again eventually."


    Sighing, Bat sauntered past us, heading back to the seat he''d upied originally.


    "All right, wake me up when wend. Oh, and the media''ll be a pain in the ass, so get me a sweatshirt or something to hide my face, wouldja?"


    Then, just as he was about to make his exit...


    "My, you really are a liar." Siesta''s words held no emotion whatsoever. "...What are you talking about?" Bat stopped in his tracks.


    "Oh, nothing really."


    "¡ªListen here, Miss Detective. You''re right. The real reason I tried to hijack this ne is something else. Out of consideration for your bravery, I''m pretending I lost for you, see? C''mon, don''t make me say everything."


    So that really was the case, huh?


    I thought he''d backed down awfully fast, but apparently he just respected Siesta''s recklessness.


    If I''d said I wasn''t interested in knowing the truth, I would''ve been lying, but we could have the police figure that out after the ne was safely on the ground.


    Right now, the important thing was to make sure this guy didn''t change his mind. Let''s just let him return to his seat without disturbing him. That thought was why I was the assistant here.


    "He''s right, Siesta. He''s responding like an adult, so let''s take a page from his book and go back where we came fr¡ª"


    "No, that wasn''t the lie I was talking about."


    ...Oh, I see.


    I guess nobody who was capable of responding like an adult would be calling herself an ace detective in the first ce.


    "The part where you said you had no qualms about risking your own life in


    this hijacking. That was a lie, wasn''t it? You were actually scared of dying, weren''t you?" Siesta lit the fuse again.


    "...What are you saying?" Bat still had his back to us, but he wasn''t moving, and his voice was low.


    "You backed down too fast." "From what?"


    "When you admitted I''d won. Japan has a reputation for airline security; there''s no way a man who would hijack a Japanese ne all by himself, in this day and age, would withdraw so easily because of one girl."


    ...That had actually been bothering me as well.


    For having prepared such a huge prop, he''d given up far too easily. I''d been trying to convince myself that we were just lucky, but...Siesta hadn''t let it slip past her.


    "You were probably executing this hijack on instructions from someone else. In addition, you yourself were ordered to crash and die with the ne. Am I wrong?"


    "..."


    His silence indicated that she wasn''t.


    "But you don''t want to. You''re actually afraid to die, so you used us to give yourself an excuse that would let you survive. Correct?"


    A hijacker had been given orders to die by somebody else. He''d obeyed the order initially, but when it got down to the wire, he''d realized he valued his life.


    Thus, he''de up with the idea of calling a detective and staging a deduction game: By making us guess his reason for the hijack, then aborting the attempt, he''d saved his own life along with the lives of the passengers.


    "When we reach the airport, the cops will arrest me," Bat had said, sighing


    ¡ªbut that sigh had been one of relief, not regret.


    If the hijack ended in failure, Bat would be killed by whoever had ordered it. Which was why he''d decided to have the Japanese police protect him until the storm blew over.


    ...Meaning it hadn''t mattered what his reason was.


    Siesta could have said anything¡ªmoney, securing a prisoner''s release, a diplomatic issue, or any other reason¡ªand Bat would have thrown up a usible smoke screen to convince her she''d guessed right. After all, the one who''d most wanted this hijack to fail was Bat himself.


    ...Hmm. But in that case...


    "In that case, why did he go out of his way to y his game? If he started wanting to give up on the hijack, he could have just surrendered. He didn''t have to pull something like this, did he?"


    No need to go to the trouble of finding and summoning a detective. All he''d had to do was get off the ne on his own, then turn himself in.


    "His pride probably wouldn''t allow it," Siesta murmured. "You didn''t want to lose by default. You wanted to fight and be defeated. Even if it was only an act."


    Was that how it was?


    The man stood there, with his back to us, and he didn''t say a word. Not a single word.


    "Hey, tell me one thing before the end."


    As Siesta and I started back to our seats, Bat stopped us. "How did you know all that?"


    Finally, having been soundly beaten by the ace detective, the viin of this story asked her why he''d lost.


    "What gave it away? Was it really just because I backed down too fast, or


    ¡ª?"


    "Haaah. That was a factor as well, but..." Sounding unenthused, Siesta turned around. "I already knew about you."


    "...What do you mean?"


    "I knew you''d be on this ne today and that you were nning to hijack it. I know about yourpanions who ordered you to do it. Everything."


    ...Wait, what?


    Knowing all that, she''d boarded this flight anyway?


    Had she known how all this would y out from the very beginning?


    "First-rate detectives resolve incidents before they even ur, you see. I was just a bitte, since I let myself fall asleep." Siesta ran her fingers through her hair.


    Is that where she got her code name? She doesn''t look Hispanic.


    "...I see. So that''s what it was." With his back still turned to us, Bat responded to Siesta''s exnation impassively. "Well, I really am d I asked that one thing, just in case, before the end."


    "Assistant, get down," Siesta murmured from beside me.


    "The thing is, when first-rate agents find a young sprout, we mow it down before it can grow."


    The moment Bat said that, or maybe the moment before, a powerful shock ran through me.


    "Ow, ow, ow..."


    The next thing I knew, I was on my butt on the floor. Had something¡ª Had Siesta pushed me?


    "Hey, Siesta, what the heck was... Huh?"


    Siesta was right in front of me. Dark-red liquid was pulsing out of her shoulder and streaming down her clothes.


    Beyond her, Bat was standing still, raking his hair up with his fingers¡ªand from his head, or rather, from his ear, he''d sprouted something like a tentacle with a razor-sharp tip.


    "Change of ns. I''ll ughter you and leave the rest."


    <strong>Mystery meets sci-fi/fantasy</strong>


    "...Ghk."


    "Siesta!" I ran to the fallen detective¡ªfallen because she''d protected me. "Rgh, I shouldn''t have hired an assistant... You haven''t been any use at all


    so far..."


    "That''s not fair at all! You''re the one who press-ganged me, all right?!"


    She''s right about me being useless, though!


    No, but this was no time to be having a petty argument. "What is that thing...?"


    The tentacle from Bat''s right ear was twisting and writhing as if it had a mind of its own. It was a grotesque color, like what you''d get if you mixed dark green and purple. It seemed capable of stretching and contracting freely as well; there was no telling how wide its range was.


    "He''s a pseudohuman." Shakily, Siesta got to her feet, holding her wounded shoulder. "That man is a member of the ndestine organization SPES. They use powers beyond human understanding to create pseudohumans. They''re not publicly known, but they''re a threat to the world."


    "Pseudohumans...? That''s insane. Then he''s¡ª Bat isn''t...?"


    He''s not human? She''s saying he''s a monster?


    "With him, it''s still only his ear. He merely stole a prototype and forcibly attached it to himself. Basically, he''s a half pseudohuman."


    "Siesta, how do you know all this...?"


    "Then, because he''d betrayed the organization, he was assigned this task as punishment."


    "I asked you a question, Siesta! How do you know this stuff?!"


    Don''t tell me she''s from that other group, too?


    However, Bat''s deep voice erased that doubt.


    "You know your stuff, huh?! In that case, taking your corpse back to them as a little memento would be a better n!"


    The tentacle streaked toward us again. "Hang on, assistant."


    "Huh? ...Whoa!"


    I flew through the air¡ªor rather, Siesta had hugged me to her and leaped out of the way.


    Her snow-white hair stung my cheek.


    Her name was Siesta, a nap taken during the daytime¡ªand the sight really did seem as surreal as a daydream.


    "Are you human?"


    "Are you stupid, Kimi? Do I look like a monster?" "I''m just saying I wouldn''t be surprised if you were." "...I''d bet anything you don''t have a girlfriend, Kimi." But this wasn''t the time for a dumb conversation.


    With six hundred passengers on the ne, of course people had noticed the racket.


    "H-hey! Wh-wh-what the hell is that?!" "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!"


    It started with the people who''de up here to see what was going on, and a wave of screams and angry yelling began filling the ne.


    "Ldies and gentlemen! Please remain calm!"


    The cabin attendant, whose makeup waspletely ruined by now, hastily went to soothe the passengers. But the ne was already in pandemonium.


    "Argh, if this is how it''s gonna be, I don''t even care," Bat said. "I''ll just kill every human I don''t need."


    "¡ª! Wait, just think about this! If you do that, the ne will crash, and you''ll die, too!" I shouted.


    "Ha! I''ll let the pilot live. Wait, who are you again?" "I''m the ace detective''s assistant!"


    Goddammit, now she''s got me saying it. Behold the power of conditioning.


    "My, you called me an ace detective. What a model apprentice."


    "I just said what sounded good. Also, I''m your assistant, not your apprentice."


    Argh, really? I did it again. Damn, she''s good.


    "Seriously, though, what the heck is that thing?" I asked. "You said ''pseudohuman'' like it was nothing, but..."


    I was hanging on to Siesta as we evaded Bat''s attacks.


    "Pseudohumans are monsters created around a core consisting of a certain object. This one fights with his ear, but there are loads of others who fight with their eyes or nose or teeth."


    "¡ªYou fight these monsters, Siesta?"


    "Yes, although this is the first time I''ve ended up in actualbat with one. Kimi, you know nothing about the world, do you?"


    "Hey, now-abiding middle schooler would know that much about the underworld."


    "Perhaps, but you''re a middle schooler flying across the ocean with a mysterious attach¨¦ case."


    "Wait, how much do you know?!" She''d even had her eye on me?


    Plus, that attach¨¦ case has nothing to do with this business, does it? I swear, I genuinely don''t know anything, all right?


    "What are these jokers even after anyway? Were they nning to use the hijacking to dere war on Japan or something?"


    "In Latin, the word SPES means ''hope''¡ªand their goal is to grant ''salvation.'' " As Siesta exined, she took a great leap, still holding me.


    "Sounds like some sketchy religion..."


    In the next instant, Bat''s sharp tentacle plunged into the floor where we''d been just a moment ago.


    We were flying at ten thousand meters. If he put a hole in the body of the ne, this story was over.


    "I can''t believe a threat this huge to us was hiding out in Japan!" Bat


    ined.


    "Any detective worth her salt works in secret. As a matter of fact, none of yourpanions even knew I existed, did they?" Siesta taunted.


    She was projecting an aura of coolposure, but as close as we were, I could tell from the way she was breathing that she wasn''t in good shape.


    She''d burned through quite a lot of her energy. That was only natural. She was fighting while protecting me, and I was deadweight.


    "Ha-ha! In that case, all your sneaky secrets are gonna be pointless after today."


    "Oh? But you can''t go back to your organization, remember? You won''t be able to tip them off."


    "Well, I wouldn''t be so sure about that. If I bribe them with information about you, even that short-tempered bunch may have a change of heart."


    "You sure it''ll be that easy?" "Ha! You talk like you know."


    Once again, like a flying snake, the sharp, writhing tentacle darted toward Siesta.


    We were on an airne, with no possible ess to any effective weapons, which meant we had to stay on the defense. This was a battle of attrition that we were going to lose.


    "What''s the matter? You''re breathing pretty hard."


    "...I was being careful to hide that." For the first time, Siesta''s expression clouded over slightly.


    "Ha-ha, these ears are custom-made. The acoustic cells concentrated in the tip of this tentacle can even pick out the heartbeat of someone a hundred kilometers away."


    "...I should''ve gathered more intel. I suppose I really can''t disguise my heart rate."


    Even if she was an ace detective, she wasn''t all-knowing. Sweat broke out on Siesta''s forehead.


    Right now, though, there was nothing I could do. "If I just had a weapon or something..." Obviously, but we were ten thousand meters up.


    All we had avable was what was already here, and security wouldn''t even allow a knife onto a ne. None of the passengers could possibly have anything resembling a weapon in their luggage...


    No. There was one person. "Siesta, buy me thirty seconds." "Assistant?"


    "I''ve got an idea."


    Even at a time like this¡ªor maybe because it was a time like this¡ªmy mind was running on all cylinders.


    I''ve been getting dragged into trouble since I was born. Over the course of my life, I''ve survived more ugly situations than I''ve eaten slices of bread. My past experience was telling me this hunch had to be the best solution.


    "All right. You haven''t been doing anything, so noints here." "Just let me have my moment, wouldja?!"


    As we lobbed nonsense at each other, I ran hell-for-leather back to my seat. "Move it, move it! Out of the way!"


    Shoving my way through the passengers, who were clogging the aisles in confusion, I made it to my seat¡ªand hauled that attach¨¦ case out of the overhead luggagepartment.


    Naturally, I had no idea what was in it. I didn''t know whether it would be useful in this situation. Was the cat in the box alive or dead?


    However, during the carry-on luggage inspection at the airport, I''d noticed


    the personnel exchanging looks.


    I''d been concerned about the level of Japanese airport security...but thanks to that, I could take this gamble.


    "Siesta! Catch!"


    Running back would take too long; I threw the ridiculously big silver attach¨¦ case toward the battlefield with all my might.


    "Ghk! That''s not gonna happen!" Instead of targeting the bloodied Siesta this time, Bat redirected the tentacle and smashed the attach¨¦ case¡ªbut as a result, the contents ended up right in Siesta''s hands.


    And then¡ªSiesta shot the tentacle with her newly acquired musket. "Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"


    My bet had paid off.


    Spraying a grotesque fluid around, the tentacle slithered back into Bat''s ear.


    Siesta didn''t stop there. She closed the distance between herself and Bat all at once, wrestled him to the floor, shoved the gun against his throat, and¡ª


    "Bang!"


    ¡ªmimicked the sound of a gunshot.


    Bat was nonplussed, but Siesta was calm andposed. "There," she said. "As of now, you''re dead."


    Bat shot her a look, obviously wondering what she was talking about.


    I didn''t know what was going on here, either. So she wasn''t going to finish him off...?


    "Now yourrades won''te after you. After all, you''re only a corpse."


    "...You little rat. Are you mocking me?" Bat snarled as she withdrew the gun.


    "Well, you don''t want to die, correct?"


    "...Ha! After this, that''s off the table. I was going to use you as bait, and you beat me. They''ll bump me off for sure."


    "You don''t have to worry. I''ll have the media report that you died here." "Who exactly are you...?"


    "I''ll also have the Japanese police shelter you. It''s all right. I have a reliable connection."


    Batughed with disbelief... Frankly, I wanted to do the same.


    What on earth was this girl? The word detective was kind of underying this, I thought.


    "If you don''t kill me here, you''ll regret it." "Why?"


    "I''m vindictive. I swear I''ll get you back for making a fool of me."


    "You won''t be able to." Siesta got up, releasing Bat. "The red bullet I shot into you a minute ago was made from my blood, you see? Anyone who''s hit with that blood bes absolutely unable to defy their master. Meaning, your tentacle will never be able to attack me again."


    "...How the hell does that work?" "Trade secret."


    "Did somebody hire you for this, too?" Siesta smiled faintly.


    "No¡ªI was born to be an ace detective. It''s how I''m wired."


    I see. Apparently, there are people in the world with even worse DNA than


    mine.


    Still, that aside...


    "Sorry to interrupt while you''re putting a neat bow on everything, Siesta, but..."


    I had major questions about something in that conversation.


    "That ''red bullet'' you mentioned¡ªwhere did you find that sort of time?"


    I''d thrown the attach¨¦ case, Bat had destroyed it...and Siesta had caught the long-barreled gun as it fell, then fired at the tentacle. Was she saying she''d had time to make such a special bullet in those scant few seconds?


    No, that really wasn''t possible.


    Meaning the work had to have been done on the bullet already...and Siesta had to have known about it. I had a bad feeling about this.


    Nonchnt as ever, Siesta said, "I was the one who told them to have you bring that attach¨¦ case onto the ne in the first ce."


    "So you were pulling my strings all along?!"


    And that was how our dazzling three-year adventure began.

 Chapter 6 - 1.5

    <h4>Chapter 6: Chapter 1.5</h4>


    <strong>Even now, I remember</strong>


    "That was how I met Bat¡ªand the former ace detective."


    Lengthy as it was, I''d finally filled Natsunagi in on the old memory Bat and I shared. If I was telling stories from four years ago, there was no way to avoid the topic of my former partner.


    It had been a long time since I''d talked about her, and while not all the memories were good¡ªfor reasons iprehensible to me¡ªthey put a smile on my face.


    "I see... Okay. I understand your story, but, uh," Natsunagi said, surreptitiously sidling back, "doesn''t that mean he''s super-dangerous?"


    She backed up all the way to the opposite wall, trying to put some distance between herself and Bat.


    "Ah, hmm, well."


    "Is that all you have to say? You''re a pretty dangerous character yourself, Kimizuka."


    Come to think of it, I hadn''t filled Natsunagi in on my issues with getting


    dragged into stuff...but she really should have caught on back when she found out I knew people on the police force and in prison.


    "Also, I don''t want a guy like him listening to my heart..."


    Well, yes, she had a point. Having that nasty tentacle on her chest could be a devastatingly traumatic experience for an adolescent girl. I wouldn''t want it happening to me, either.


    "No, no. I can hear your heart just fine from here¡ªand in fact, sweetheart, I''ve already identified it."


    Bat guessed what Natsunagi and I were worried about and headed us off.


    ...But what had he said just now? Did he mean he already had an idea of who Natsunagi''s donor was?


    "Bat, are you saying you''ve met the owner of Natsunagi''s heart?" "Yeah. That was the point of that old story."


    It was?


    The guy was making as little sense as ever. What could that story have to do with Natsunagi''s heart? He wasn''t saying her donor had been in the story, on that ne four years ago, was he?


    "¡ªOh."


    Behind me, Natsunagi murmured quietly. "What is it? Did you figure something out?" "...Well, it''s just...I thought it was strange."


    If we were talking "strange," Natsunagi had been strange from the moment I met her...but cracking a joke right now would have felt wrong.


    "You see, I''m not actually the type who does that sort of thing."


    "What are you talking about, Natsunagi? You''ve been acting kind of weird for a while now."


    "You''re right. I am weird. Sometimes I don''t understand why I do certain things¡ªit''s like I stop being myself." Natsunagi''s usualposure had vanished, and she was hugging her shoulders slightly. "I mean, I''m not the type who''d do a thing like that to a boy I''d just met."


    Was she talking about what had happened in the ssroom the previous day? That she wasn''t actually that audacious?


    In that case, what had pushed her to do it? Well, I had talked to her about


    something simr the day before.


    "Memory transference¡ªthat''s what you said, Kimizuka. Remember? That means I wasn''t the one who did that. I bet the owner of this heart made me do it."


    By that logic, before they died, Natsunagi''s donor could do "that sort of thing."


    Someone who didn''t care about shame or their reputation or the means, as long as it was for an end they believed was right.


    I knew just one person who could pull off such a trick. And that person¡ªhad died exactly a year ago.


    ...No. Don''t tell me.


    A coincidence like that would never happen. That''s just ludicrous.


    Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. My hands and feet grew numb, and my teeth chattered.


    Stop it. Please stop. Don''t follow me anymore. I''m not your partner now.


    Isn''t that right?


    You''re already dead, aren''t you?


    "Denial isn''t a good look for you, Watson."


    When I looked up, Bat was gazing at me with those cloudy eyes. Like he was telling me not to close mine.


    "This is the answer."


    The sharp tentacle I''d seen that day emerged from Bat''s ear. Still that grotesque shade, as if someone had mixed dozens of paint colors together, and that sickening slug-like way of moving.


    "Don''t do it, Bat." "Do what?"


    "If you kill someone, you''ll hang for it."


    "Right. If," Bat said. "But you know I can''t kill her with this, don''t you?" "Stop!"


    The tentacle sharpened into a spike, took aim at Natsunagi''s heart, and¡ªa few centimeters before it touched her, the tip crumbled away.


    That phenomenon triggered a memory for me.


    It was something a certain someone had said, four years ago:


    "Your tentacle will never be able to attack me again."


    Anyone who was hit with that blood became absolutely unable to defy their master, she''d said.


    Bat''s tentacle hadn''t been able to attack Natsunagi...or to be precise, the heart that was inside her. That meant¡ª


    "Siesta, is it you?"


    The nostalgia I''d felt in that sunset ssroom, when Natsunagi had held me in her arms¡ªthe trigger had been the heartbeat of my worst and dearest former partner. I''d met her again for the first time in a year.


    "The moment you walked in, I had assumed that girl was your partner."


    Now that he mentioned it, when we''d shown up, Bat had gotten oddly nostalgic... Had it been because he''d heard the sound of his mortal enemy''s heart?


    Bat couldn''t see, so when he''d heard that heartbeat, he''d mistaken Natsunagi for Siesta. Was that why our conversation hadn''t gelled at the beginning?


    "When did that ace detective die?" Bat asked, narrowing his eyes. "...A year ago. On a faraway ind, in a distant ocean."


    "I see. Even if she was an enemy, that''s a shame." "Yeah. Out of nowhere, just like that, it was over."


    "''Just like that''? Don''t be an idiot. Even after she died, the detective hase back to you."


    For a moment, Bat''s words made my chest feel tight.


    Siesta hade back to me¡ªyeah. That would be poetic, wouldn''t it? If it was true.


    She''d be thest person to do a thing like that, though. She was a logical ace detective¡ªthis theory was too convenient, too trite, too emotional.


    ...Besides, I''d been a lousy assistant.


    Yeah, I admit it. I''dined constantly... But really, I knew how incredible Siesta was and how much I was her pr opposite.


    I was just her shadow, a dark shape following a beautiful girl dancing as


    lightly as a dream in the bright sunlight.


    That''s why... That''s why I knew saying that Siesta hade back to me definitely wasn''t right.


    After all, she would have forgotten me long before now.


    "It''s a coincidence," I murmured, but I wasn''t really talking to Bat. It was a reminder to myself. "Running into Natsunagi, and her having Siesta''s heart, is all just¡ª"


    That was when Natsunagi pped me across the face. "...Did the heart''s owner make you do that, too?" I asked. "No!"


    When I looked at her, she was crying. "I did that on my own! I hit you because I wanted to!"


    Her eyes were red, her face was crumpled, and she erupted at the top of her lungs.


    "Kimizuka, I dare you to say that one more time! This is coincidence? This reunion is coincidence?! Come on! Why are you being so irresponsible and fatalistic? This is a reunion; don''t brush it off! These are feelings! You were together for three years, and she wants to be with you even after she died! That''s the only wish this little heart has! I''ve been¡ª This heart has been looking for you this whole time, Kimihiko Kimizuka! So it could see you again... Just so it could see you! And then you try to shut it down with a word like coincidence! These feelings matter!"


    The next thing I knew, I''d run to her and pulled her slim body into my arms.


    I understand. I see it now.


    It was like I''d said¡ªthe heart inside Natsunagi was searching for someone. "X," the person Natsunagi had been trying to find for the past year, that


    Siesta had been trying to find, was...me.


    Siesta had wanted to see me? "Are you there?" I asked.


    There was no answer. Of course there wasn''t. The detective was already dead.


    But...


    "It''s been a long time, Siesta."


    ...the warmth of this chest was definitely hers. "Actually, I had a ton of things I wanted to say to you."


    How hard do you think life was for me after I became your assistant?


    I was forced to smuggle a gun, and we wound up in a paranormal battle with a shadowy organization, and our names spread through underworld society, and I ended up having to travel the world with you for three whole years while fleeing from our pursuers; we were t broke and living hand to mouth while fighting a bunch of pseudohumans, sleeping out in the open during hurricanes, and sometimes on days when we won big at a casino, we''d jump on the bed at a resort hotel together, and then the next day, we''d be penniless again. We traveled across deserts, and through jungles, and over mountains and oceans, and then, and then¡ª


    "¡ªWhy''d you go and die first, you moron?"


    I didn''t have feelings for you or anything. It was the same for you, wasn''t it?


    You and I weren''t lovers, and I''m sure we weren''t even really friends. We were detective and assistant¡ªjust business partners, in an odd way. But... But still...


    You recruited me, remember? You can''t just die and leave me after that. At least tell me good-bye before you go.


    "Is that why you came back?" To say good-bye?


    Or maybe...


    "I''m looking forward to continuing this rtionship."


    As Natsunagi spoke, she smoothly stepped away from me.


    Her face was¡ª No, I really must have been imagining it that time. But I could almost see a faintly familiar hundred-million-watt smile.


    <strong>The detective is already dead</strong>


    After that, Ms. Fuubi came to pick us up, and Natsunagi and I followed her out of the prison.


    "Did you get to ask your questions?" Hands on the police car''s steering wheel, Ms. Fuubi directed the question at us, in the back seat.


    "...Yes, more or less."


    Natsunagi''s eyes were still red, and I answered for her. "Wow. His lips have gotten surprisingly loose."


    "It probably depends on the topic. He won''t say a word about that other subject, will he?"


    "That other subject" was why Siesta had captured Bat alive on that ne. Ms. Fuubi had taken him into custody after that, but even four yearster, she apparently hadn''t managed to get any significant information out of him.


    Just so you know, ever since Siesta''s death, we''d been in a cease-fire with


    SPES. Or to be more urate, they''d stopped going out of their way to fight me. I guess it means I was only ever the ace detective''s flunky as far as they were concerned. Too bad.


    "Well, I''m d you two got what you wanted anyway. You''d better be damn grateful to me."


    Ms. Fuubi seemed to have forgotten that we had just followed her because she had business here. Either way, I really was damn grateful.


    There was just one thing, though. A question I couldn''t get out of my mind. "You knew everything to begin with, didn''t you, Ms. Fuubi?"


    "What''re you talking about?"


    "About who Natsunagi''s heart belonged to." "What makes you think that?"


    "That''s a good question, and I''m not sure how to answer it. Just a vague hunch."


    I had nothing solid to base it on. But after she''d brought us right to the man we needed to see, I couldn''t believe that it meant nothing.


    And if so, then maybe Ms. Fuubi''s objective was¡ª "Natsunagi."


    I was positive this was something I needed to say, right now. Still facing forward, I spoke to the girl sitting next to me.


    "No matter who that heart belongs to, it''s okay for you to live your own life. You don''t have to rece anyone."


    I saw Ms. Fuubi''s reflection dete in the rearview mirror.


    Sorry, but I''ll leave smiting the pseudohumans to you people. I''m not going to drag Natsunagi into this. I won''t let you make her Siesta''s recement.


    "Kimizuka..."


    When I nced to the side, Natsunagi was gazing at me, stunned. "What''s wrong?"


    "...Nothing."


    Before long, she shook her head slightly. "¡ªThanks!"


    She smiled, like a flower bursting into bloom.


    "Ahhh, well, that was a lot."


    After Ms. Fuubi had dropped us off outside the station, I stretched.


    I swear. My first proper job in a year...and to make matters worse, it unexpectedly dredged up a bunch of past trauma and random other stuff. I felt like I''d just gotten the beating of my life.


    "Is it my fault?" Natsunagi peered into my face, unusually apologetic. "I didn''t say that. As a matter of fact, I''m grateful to you."


    "Huh...?" Her alreadyrge eyes grew even wider. "Thanks to you, well, uh..."


    Hmm. Even I couldn''t put it into words very well. But when I met Natsunagi, then ended up facing my past again...


    "I started thinking it wasn''t okay to stay like this." Or at least, I think I did. I can''t say for sure just yet.


    "If so, then I¡ª" Natsunagi bit her lip. She seemed to be thinking hard. What was it? Was she still worried about something?


    I considered asking, but then¡ª "Thanks for today."


    ¡ªI turned to go, pretending I hadn''t noticed anything. After all, I''d already taken care of Natsunagi''s request.


    There was no need for me to be involved with her anymore. We should cut ties here and now.


    Needless to say, Natsunagi and I weren''t lovers, and I''m sure we weren''t even really friends.


    Detective (stand-in) and client¡ªthat was all our rtionship was. Now that the request was cleared up, we had no rtionship at all.


    Which meant I needed to leave Natsunagi quickly.


    She''d managed to get a new life. That meant she shouldn''t be bound by Siesta.


    And since I could be a trigger that made her think about Siesta, she shouldn''t get involved with me, either.


    "See you around." With those thoughts in my mind, I took a step toward the station''s ticket gate¡ª


    "Wait."


    ¡ªor tried to, until slim fingers caught my right hand. "...What''s the matter, Natsunagi?"


    "No, um..."


    Her fingers were still closed around mine. Her eyes were on the ground; she was opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then closing it again.


    I knew what she wanted to say, what she was trying to be kind enough to say.


    But I couldn''t let her.


    This was her life. I couldn''t make her shoulder someone else''s burden.


    Over our silent heads, an idol song was ring from the huge screen outside the station. It was probably some sort of promo video. A middle school girl was singing a pop song, winking flirtatiously at the camera. It was also making the silence about 20 percent more awkward.


    "If you don''t have anything to say, I''m leaving."


    "...You''re kind of a jerk, Kimizuka." That was the third time she''d said that to me.


    Yeah, I know. Something really glitched out when my personality was created. Sorry about that.


    Leaving Natsunagi behind, I made another attempt to head for the ticket gate, when¡ª


    "Excuse me!"


    ¡ªsomebody else showed up and stopped me again.


    I nced to the side. Natsunagi was there. She''d tilted her head in confusion. It hadn''t been her this time.


    I looked down slightly, and then the owner of the voice came into view.


    It was a middle school girl. Her face was half-hidden by a hood, but the eye that peeked out at me was shining a bit too brightly, and the aura around her couldn''t possibly belong to an ordinary person.


    Actually, I got the feeling I''d seen her somewhere before...


    Natsunagi and I both looked waaay up, and a very familiar-looking idol was still singing her song on the giant screen.


    "Um, actually, I''m an idol singer."


    Hey,e on, I just finished a job. Why are clients showing up back-to- back like this? ...Wait, if there is a reason...


    I looked over at Natsunagi¡ªat her heart.


    As it turned out, my sixth sense was right on the money. "I have a problem I''d like an ace detective to solve!" Goddammit. So I have to exin this whole thing again?


    "Sorry, I''m not actually a detective..." But then¡ª


    "Yes, I''m sorry; the cker here is only an assistant."


    ¡ªNatsunagi sent me a quiet, significant look. She was telling me, This is the path I''ve chosen.


    "Huh? Then..."


    "It''s all right, though."


    Natsunagi spoke to the bewildered idol. To her new client.


    "If you need a detective, you''ve found one. I''m the ace detective¡ªNagisa Natsunagi."


    The detective is already dead. But herst wish will never die.

 Chapter 7: A girl’s monologue 1

    <h4>Chapter 7: A girl¡¯s monologue 1</h4>


    I feel like I''ve been looking for someone for ages, before I even knew what I was doing. But really, it''s only been about a year...and to be honest, I feel like my "identity," if that''s the word for it, was established only recently.


    No, hold on. Don''t snark at me just yet.


    Ever since I was little, I was sick and bedridden. I didn''t really need a sense of self...well, to be more urate, I''m sure I was trying hard not to have one.


    I wanted to pull on a pair of running shoes and sprint around a track. I wanted to walk home from school with a big group of friends and stop for bubble tea together.


    That was never an option, though.


    And if wishing wouldn''t make it happen, then it was better not to wish at all. With that in mind, I constantly warned myself not to develop a self.


    I don''t have many old memories, really. Maybe some vague glimpses of being tucked into a small bed in a small room, but other than that, I can''t remember much. When I try, my head just starts to hurt¡ª


    But it was fine. Or that''s what I told myself.


    And then one day, I developed a wish I desperately wanted to fulfill. This chest, this heart, was screaming that it wanted to see someone. What should I do?


    I''d never wished for anything. I''d never thought I would get a chance to aplish anything.


    What could I do? Was I capable of granting this heart''s wish?


    ¡ªThe next thing I knew, I''d broken into a run.


    Now, I had legs that could hit the asphalt and shove it away from me. I had a storm of emotions that had been building for eighteen years. As long as I had those, I was invincible.


    "You''re the ace detective?"


    And then the hope I''d finally found was listless, unambitious, and resigned.


    He''d given up on almost everything. He reminded me of who I used to be.


    That meant I couldn''t just leave him like that. I ended up telling him off, and I identally let him see me cry. I...really didn''t mean for any of that to happen.


    And then I made another blunder and let him save me again.


    "No matter who that heart belongs to, it''s okay for you to live your own life, Natsunagi."


    That was what he told me. And so, I''m sure...


    ...today, here and now, my life is beginning again.

 Chapter 8: One day, two years ago

    <h4>Chapter 8: One day, two years ago</h4>


    "Hmm-hmm, hmm-hmmmm."


    Even under a zing sun, as we walked through a dense, overgrown forest, my partner was humming cheerfully.


    "You''re in an awfully good mood, Siesta."


    We were traveling again today, in pursuit of¡ªor possibly being pursued by


    ¡ªSPES. Nevertheless, it seemed the girl who called herself an ace detective wasn''t feeling the tension at all.


    "Well, any adult ought to know how to put herself in a good mood," Siesta said, breaking off mid-hum.


    Uh, you''re not actually an adult yet. I almost said it, but...I didn''t actually know how old she was. Apparently, a true ace detective doesn''t reveal her identity that easily. I mean, she still hadn''t even told me her real name.


    "What song was that?" I asked. Surely she''d tell me that, at least. "It''s an idol song from Jap¨®n."


    " ''Jap¨®n''? What country are you from?" Well, Siesta may not be Japanese at all.


    "Still, I didn''t know someone like you would be into idols."


    "Any detective worthy of the name has to be able to sing an idol''s popr songs, at least."


    "I''ve said this before: I really don''t get your concept of detectives."


    Hi, everybody! I''m a chart-topping ace detective! I sing, I dance, and sometimes I fight pseudohumans!


    ...That would break my brain.


    "That''s not what I meant. What I''m saying is that, if you want to be a detective, you have to see more of life. Literally. Of the five human senses, sight and hearing are especially important."


    See more of life...? Does she mean to constantly pay attention to the world around me? And then to collect information using my eyes and ears? Okay, got it.


    "Well, I''ve got no ns to be a detective, so not like I need to know any of that."


    "Haaah. You really aren''t cute at all."


    Shove it. I don''t need your pity, either.


    "I suppose you''re right. You really won''t ever be a detective." "Yeah, see?"


    "Yes. I''m sure you''ll always be somebody''s assistant instead." "...Hmm? Uh, yeah."


    For some reason, Siesta''s eyes turned vaguely lonely. However, that onlysted a moment before her usual cool expression returned. "Now, then! We''ve almost reached our destination." She pointed at a huge mansion that looked like an old castle.


    "You really think Medusa is there?"


    Medusa¡ªa monster said to turn anyone who saw her eyes into stone. We''d overheard a dubious rumor that this mansion was haunted by that monster, so we were checking into it.


    "I couldn''t say. If such a being really exists, it''ll be part of the executive ranks of SPES, but..."


    "Well, we won''t know until we see it."


    I''d gotten tired of sighing and rolling my eyes, so I gave a huge yawn instead...and Siesta, who was walking beside me, took a moment to study me.


    "What?" I said.


    "...No. I was just thinking you''d gotten pretty used to all this." "Not by choice."


    Whistling, we headed toward the European-style mansion, with a flock of crows wheeling overhead.


    "Well, well! Once again, thank you foring all this way."


    Siesta and I were seated in chairs facing the old master of the mansion, who wore a gentle smile.


    "It must have been hot outside. I must apologize; I''m afraid the air- conditioning isn''t working at the moment."


    "No, don''t worry about it."


    Siesta wasn''t sweating the tiniest bit, from the heat or from nerves. She was as formidable as ever. Personally, I was silently grousing that if he thought it was worth an apology, he could at least open a window.


    ...Still, we could probably count ourselves lucky that the worst-case scenario we''d been anticipating hadn''t actually happened.


    Frankly, we''d assumed the fighting might start the moment we knocked on the door¡ªbut instead, we''d been met with an unexpected wee. As you might have guessed from the earlier conversation, Siesta and I said we''de because of that rumor, and the man had introduced himself as the mansion''s master and dly invited us in.


    He''d shown us into the living room, and we''d gotten down to business right away, hoping to learn the truth of the "Medusa."


    "In that case, am I to assume you are aware of that particr rumor, sir?"


    As Siesta asked her question, both her expression and posture were resolute.


    "Yes, indeed I am. They speak of a Medusa who turns visitor after visitor here into stone... I believe they are speaking of my daughter. Adopted daughter, to be precise; we are not rted by blood." As he spoke, the man''s expression turned grim.


    "You''re not telling us she''s really¡ª?!"


    "No, it''s a misunderstanding!" The man rose to his feet, agitated by my question. "Two years ago, my daughter met with an ident. Fortunately, her life was spared, but...only her life!"


    "¡ªA persistent vegetative state," Siesta supplied.


    The man nodded, looking anguished. "My daughter is unconscious and incapable of moving. She does nothing but blink and breathe. In a way, she is stone! They have it the wrong way around! My daughter is not Medusa. She is a victim, turned to stone by that mythical monster!"


    "Then you''re saying that information was distorted, and that''s the rumor that spread?" I said.


    "I suppose that is the only exnation." The man nodded weakly, agreeing with my guess. After that, for a little while, silence fell in the room. "...Ah, I beg your pardon. What a disgrace; I let myself go to pieces. It really is rather humid, isn''t it? I''ll go get you something cold to drink."


    Finally, pulling himself together, the master withdrew for a moment. "Sounds like we struck out here."


    Apparently, SPES wasn''t involved in this incident. Heck, it wasn''t even an incident. Well, if extra trouble wasn''t going to break out, I wasn''t about toin. We''d just ept those cold drinks, then head back. The heat was


    really getting to me now, so I undid a couple of shirt buttons. "Why don''t you strip, too?" I teased.


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?" "Ow!"


    Still expressionless, Siesta stomped on my foot, hard. At least look at me, wouldja?


    "My apologies for the wait." The man returned, carrying a tray with sses on it. As I moved to take one¡ª


    "Ow!!!"


    ¡ªSiesta stomped on my foot again, and I pitched forward violently. Naturally, the contents of the sses sshed everywhere, soaking everything.


    "Siesta, you little¡ª!"


    "That was for sexually harassing me." "But you already stomped on me for that."


    Siesta didn''t even seem to hear myint. She went over to the man, whose clothes had gotten wet from the spill, and began to dry them with her handkerchief.


    "I''m terribly sorry. My assistant has made an awful blunder."


    What, like that was my fault? This is so unfair...


    "Ha-ha, it''s no trouble... But if I could burden you, would youe to meet my daughter? We don''t often have guests, and I''m sure she''ll be delighted."


    "Yes, of course."


    Siesta gave him her very best smile.


    "Mary, look. You have guests."


    The mansion''s master had led us to a third-floor room, where the girl, Mary,y in a canopy bed. She was delicate, with bright-blond hair, and her mechanically blinking eyes were jade green. I''d say she was as lovely as a doll¡ªbut she wasn''t. She was on a venttor, desperately struggling to live. Mary was no doll.


    Feeling an ufortable sense of regret, I looked away, leaving the situation in Siesta''s hands. Maybe it was the guilt, but it felt a little hard to breathe.


    "Oh, my poor Mary. You''re so very beautiful, and yet the people outside the forest call you a monster. It''s too much to bear."


    The man buried his face in his hands,menting the tragedy that had befallen his daughter.


    ...Oh. That could be why he''d weed us. An ace detective would understand that his daughter was no Medusa, no monster. He thought we''d set the record straight.


    "Yes," I said, "we''ll be sure to tell the people outside the forest that the rumor''s not¡ª"


    I tried to walk over to the man¡ªbut the next thing I knew, the floor was right in front of my face.


    ...The floor? Did I fall? Why?


    For some reason, my body felt weak.


    "It''s all right, Mary. I''m making more friends for you now."


    ...What was he saying?


    Shifting my head, which could still move a little, I looked up at the old man.


    The guy was smiling.


    "Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha. It''s all right; you don''t have to be frightened. It won''t hurt. There''s nothing to fear." He took a syringe out of the pocket of his trousers and jabbed the needle into¡ªhis own right arm. I had no idea what he was thinking.


    "Did you think I was going to stab you? Ha-ha. This is an antidote. After all, the poison''s been in this room all along."


    Wh...what? So the reason I''m going numb is...


    "Before long, your bodies will cease all physical activity. You''ll end up just like Mary¡ªunable to move a step, yet unable to die. You will suffer for eternity!"


    ...I...see. So that''s why all the windows were closed... Plus, he''d said the only thing Mary could do was breathe on her own. He''d put her on a venttor anyway, to protect her from the poison. I should''ve noticed that sooner.


    "Now, very soon, both you and the ace detective over there will be Mary''s panions..."


    That was when an abrupt change came over the man. His eyes flew open as if something had startled him...and then his knees buckled and sent him to


    the floor, face-first, just the way I had. "Wh-why...?"


    As he murmured in despair, the person who came over to him...was exactly who you''re thinking.


    "Behave."


    Restraining the man with the handcuffs she always carried, she took the musket she''d been hiding behind her back and shattered the window...which allowed the poison to diffuse outside.


    Once she''d taken care of that, the ace detective finally turned around and spoke to her assistant crawling across the floor.


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    I see. No wonder she''d stomped on my foot twice.


    "So you''d already figured out what he was after."


    We were on our way back from the mansion, after we''d filed all the proper reports and paperwork and everything had been dealt with. My body was still numb, so Sierra was carrying me piggyback.


    "Mm-hmm. I can''t believe you almost epted that drink; it was so obvious."


    "Look, I said I was sorry..."


    The drinks had probably been poisoned as well. Siesta had stomped on my foot to protect me... Wasn''t there a kinder, gentler way to do it?


    "Back then... While you were using that handkerchief to dry off his clothes, you switched out the syringe with the antidote?"


    "Exactly. Then I used it, so I was fine."


    As always, she''d just done what she wanted. She took care of jobs on her own, without consulting anybody else. Although the fact that I couldn''t keep up with her might be part of the problem.


    "Of course, all of that was merely circumstantial evidence. I wasn''t certain until I saw Mary''s eyes."


    "Her eyes? But wasn''t she unconscious?"


    "No, she was blinking desperately, pleading with us. That motion waspletely regr, not automatic... There was a will behind it. I''m sure she was trying to tell us about her adoptive father''s misdeeds."


    So in the grip of his insanity, the man hadn''t noticed his own daughter''s


    signal. That thought struck me as pathetic... Or maybe just sad. "Good job spotting that."


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    "That''s the third time today. This is so unfair..." Well, today I had no excuses to give.


    "Did you forget what I said on the way to that mansion? About seeing more of the world and the importance of honing your sight and hearing? You should be more sensitive to where others are looking, too."


    "I see. That''s why you''re the ace detective."


    In terms of self-defense, I guess that''s a skill I might needter on. "Hey, Siesta."


    "Hmm?"


    So first off, I''d start by doing as Siesta said and learn more about the world. "Would you tell me the name of the idol whose song you were humming today?"


    I could only see her face in profile, but she looked satisfied. "Her name is¡ª"

 Chapter 9 - 2.1

    <h4>Chapter 9: Chapter 2.1</h4>


    <strong>That''s right¡ªshe''s the self-proimed "cutest idol"</strong>


    "¡ªMy name is Yui Saikawa! I''m an idol singer!"


    It was just one damn thing after another.


    Detectives are mas for problems that need solving.


    It was evening on a weekend, in front of a train station. Apparently having heard the rumors about me, a new client introduced herself to Natsunagi and me.


    Yui Saikawa was a singing, dancing middle school idol who was currently attracting massive amounts of attention in Japan.


    From what I''d heard, she''d made her professional debut in sixth grade. Ever since then, people of all ages and genders had loved her for her exceptional gifts in singing and dance, and especially for her adorable face. Her album sales always topped the weekly charts, and thanks to her looks, you could catch her frequently on magazine covers and in TVmercials.


    ...Still. Yui Saikawa, huh?


    Hey, Siesta. Is this another coincidence? Or¡ª


    Even so, no one but Siesta herself could know about that conflict.


    Yui Saikawa sucked in a deep breath, then shouted at Natsunagi and me: "I want you to stop the theft of a sapphire that''s worth three billion yen!"


    I know I just said this, but this was a weekend evening in front of a train station.


    I''m pretty sure you can imagine what the crowds were like. If a middle school girl started yelling about a three-billion-yen sapphire getting stolen there, it was perfectly natural for all those eyes to end up on her.


    Consequently, it''s fair to say what I did next was also perfectly natural. "Yes, okay, shut up a second."


    I turned to this active idol, a middle school girl I''d only just met¡ªand smacked both my hands over her mouth.


    "Mmph! Mmmmmmmrrgh! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmph!" "Okay,e on. Easy, easy."


    As Saikawa struggled and kicked, I wrapped my arm around her, desperately trying to muffle her shouts.


    After all, I''d just finished a job. I was tired. I was very, very tired.


    Even if she was an idol, or a kid, now in Japan would punish me for blocking her little mouth with everything I had.


    "You didn''t say anything about three billion yen, right? Right? Ow¡ª Oh, hey, don''t run off!"


    She''d chomped down on my palm, then swiftly and agilely put some distance between us.


    "Wha, wha-wha-wha...?" she stammered. "Where did thate from?! Who¡ªwho do you think I am?! I''m the world''s cutest idol, Yui Saikawa! Do you know who you''re dealing with?!"


    "Calm down, Saikawa. Yes, my hands are all sticky with your incredibly cute saliva, but I''m not going to swab it and keep it forever or anything. I''m just tired and want you to shut up. That''s all."


    "Waaaaaaaaugh! I thought you were a detective, but you''re a pervert! ... Hah! Wait, are you the criminal who sent me that notice?! Waaaaaugh! You''re not just a pervert; you''re a thief! Somebody, get me a policeman! Please call the police!"


    "Ha-ha. Sorry, but the police and I are already on good terms."


    "N-no! Are you saying this country is already corrupt all the way down?! That the police and thewyers and the politicians are all on the side of the panty stealers?!"


    "Hey, whoa, hold on. Now you''rebining your ''pervert'' and ''thief'' usations into ''panty stealer''? That''s a crime that''ll get me in trouble with other prisoners after they throw me in jail, so don''t try to pin me with a lie! I''m not a pervert or a thief to begin with!"


    "Uh, no. You''ve got two thousand years of hardbor for the crime of wanton perversion." A stone-cold voice calmed me right down.


    At that point, I noticed that no one wasing within a set radius of us. "...Natsunagi, I''m not the bad guy here."


    "That''s what they all say."


    Apparently, my new partner was also a lot harsher than she looked.


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong>A simple job: Protect a three-billion-yen family treasure</strong>


    "Erm, ahem! I apologize for losing myposure yesterday!"


    We really had been tired that day, so Natsunagi and I hade to meet with our client¡ªYui Saikawa¡ªon another day. She''d invited us to her house, and we''d settled in, facing each other across a table.


    And yet...


    "Why are you so far away?! This table is a couple of yards long, at least!" "What, really?! I don''t think so!"


    "Then why are we shouting?!"


    "Because we couldn''t hear each other if we talked normally! Obviously!" "Which suggests that the problem is with your house!"


    Long story short, this was Yui Saikawa''s house¡ªalthough it would be better described as a mansion. Maybe even a castle.


    After we''d gone through the massive front gate, it was several kilometers before we reached the door of the actual house. Once we were inside, the foyer ceiling was at the top of a wellhole so high it might have breached the stratosphere, and the bathroom she let us use was so spacious that several big adults could have spent the night in there.


    That was how magnificent, glorious, and brilliant Yui Saikawa''s home was. In other words, she was one of your "rich young heiresses." She must have grown up pampered and doted on, so it made sense that she''d call herself "the cutest." ...Did it, actually?


    Well, never mind that. At any rate, the day after Natsunagi and I met her in front of the train station, we''d gone to her house to hear her request.


    However, before that...


    "Did you hurt your left eye?" I asked after we''d reseated ourselves across the table from each other instead of at the ends (should''ve done that in the first ce).


    Saikawa''s left eye was covered with an eye patch, as it had been the day before as well. Now that I thought about it, I remembered that even when she was on TV or gracing the covers of magazines, she wore a heart-shaped eye patch.


    "Oh, this is... Hmm, it''s like...part of my public persona? Or something like that." Saikawa smiled wryly. "It''s an idol-eat-idol world out there, you know."


    If she was keeping that up even out of public view, she must be a real professional.


    "Come to think of it, quite a while back, I had to wear an eye patch after an injury, too."


    "Well, shelving that topic for now."


    "Hey, if anyone''s gonna say that, I think it should be me."


    ...Eh, never mind. Let''s just get on with it.


    "I apologize for hastily calling out to you," Saikawa said. "You see, there isn''t much time left."


    "Oh, right, you were talking about a three-billion-yen diamond being stolen?" I replied, remembering what Saikawa had said in front of the station the day before.


    "It''s a sapphire, not a diamond... Um, were you listening?"


    Whoops¡ªshe caught me. Frankly, my fatigue had won out yesterday... well, more like I was still mostly in my own head. Either way, I hadn''t been very focused on her request.


    I was doing my best to stay calm in front of Natsunagi, but I''m only human.


    I''d thought my former partner was dead. Then I learned her heart, at least, was alive...and right now, it was beating right next to me.


    That fact alone was more than enough to process. Although, if I''d said anything that sentimental, my old partner probably would haveughed at me.


    "And you''re the assistant, aren''t you? My business is with the detective..." Harsh. But not wrong.


    For the past four years, I''ve never been anything more than the assistant, and even now, the detective is¡ª


    "¡ªHeh-heh! That''s right. You may entrust all your worries to this ace detective, Nagisa Natsunagi!"


    Natsunagi crossed her arms triumphantly, looking smug.


    Geez, where is this self-confidenceing from?


    "Now then, Miss Saikawa. Would you tell us about the matter in detail?"


    That said, if she was into it, there was no need for me to be a wet nket. I am just the assistant, after all.


    "Well, you see..."


    Then Saikawa began to tell us what had prompted her to bring her request to us.


    "I see."


    After we''d heard the whole story, Natsunagi nodded. ording to Saikawa, this was what had happened.


    One day, a letter had been delivered to this grand mansion, the Saikawa residence. "On the day of Yui Saikawa''s dome concert, I will relieve you of a sapphire whose market value is three billion yen."


    I didn''t know any thieves went out of their way to send calling cards nowadays, but here we were. We''d just have to roll with it.


    At any rate, this was a clear advance notice of a crime, and that crime would take ce on the day of active idol Yui Saikawa''s dome concert (which was scheduled to take ce in a week). She wanted us to head it off before it happened.


    Still, what had brought her to us, specifically? Was it my talent for getting into trouble, or had that heart summoned her?


    "Do you have any idea what that three-billion-yen sapphire might be?" "Yes. I''m certain it''s our family treasure, the Miracle Sapphire. It''s in the


    vault."


    Vault, family treasure, Miracle Sapphire. All those words were tailor-made for an incident like this one.


    "I have that big concert next Sunday, so no one will be home. I think they


    n to use that opportunity to steal the sapphire."


    ...For someone who''d made careful ns, the criminal seemed to have given them all away in that notice. Seemed counterintuitive.


    Or did it mean they were confident they''d be able to pull off the theft even if they sent advance notice? A thrill seeker might go for something like this.


    "But if you know when the crime''s going to take ce, couldn''t you just beef up security on that day? This house must have an army of private security."


    On the way to this very room, we''d seen brawny-looking men in suits all over the ce. If they were already taking care of it, we shouldn''t have toe into this at all.


    "No, as I said, that''s not possible. My concert is on the day of the crime." "Hmm? Oh, you mean your security personnel are going to be guarding


    you at the venue?"


    "Oh, no. They''re huge fans, so seeing me sing and dance is more important to them than protecting a three-billion-yen sapphire."


    "Then you should fire them all!"


    This was one heck of a request. It waspletely unfair. I stood up.


    "Wait, Kimizuka." Unexpectedly, it was Natsunagi who stopped me. "She''s been kind enough toe to us. Why don''t we hear her out a little longer?"


    "...What''s going on? You''re really taking the reins."


    Had just introducing herself as an ace detective made her bolder? Nothing''s wrong with being a go-getter, but... She didn''t have to get deeply involved in this case. There was no guarantee she wouldn''t regret it.


    I''d been getting dragged into things for eighteen years, and so I and the formerly invincible ace detective were one thing. On the other hand, Natsunagi was an ordinary person, and this job might end up being too much for her.


    Natsunagi put her lips close to my ear and whispered. "I mean, look. Look at her house. So if she has a request for us..."


    ...Oh. I get you. Well, yeah, the pay would probably be generous, but... "This isn''t a job you do for money, you know."


    "But we do need money, don''t we? There''s also no telling what jobs we''ll get after this."


    She had a definite point. After those three years of wandering, I probably understood the importance of money better than anyone.


    But did that mean...?


    Was Natsunagi prepared for that? For a life like the three years Siesta and I had spent together? She might be forfeiting her chance at a normal future¡ª


    "I want a new swimsuit..." "Hey."


    ...Well, never mind. Even if our goals were different, money actually was important.


    I sat down again¡ªand not because I wanted to see Natsunagi''s new swimsuit. No, really, it wasn''t.


    Besides...


    ...this was a request from none other than the "idol from Jap¨®n," Yui Saikawa.


    The tune Siesta had hummed two years ago seemed to stick in my ears. "Then is that what we''re talking about? On the day of the concert, you


    want Natsunagi and me to be here, guarding your vault?" "Oh, yes, something like that."


    Hey, you wanna give us something to work with? I finally got motivated and everything.


    "Actually, wouldn''t it be better to leave that to the police?"


    "I did speak with them about it, but all I had was the advance notice. They wouldn''t pay attention."


    ...I guess they wouldn''t. Ordinarily, the police only take action after something''s happened.


    On the other hand¡ªand I''ll admit this is a very mercenary perspective¡ª there was a lot of money in this situation. If she shed some of that, I get the feeling she could get them to reconsider.


    "Bribing the police. That''s certainly an idea I''d expect you to have, Mr.


    Pervert," said Saikawa.


    "I didn''t even say anything."


    "True, if one has no bread, she could just buy the baker." "Even Marie Antote would keel over at that one!"


    Her face was cute, but this girl had zero respect for the entire world.


    Smoothly picking her teacup up with her left hand, Saikawa elegantly sipped her tea. Although I hated to admit it, the gesture really suited her.


    "And so, I''d like to show you the vault now."


    Even as I wondered why she felt the need to say "and so," I knew that thread of conversation was a dead end, so I got up, following Saikawa''s lead.


    However, well, still...


    "Hey, Saikawa." If nothing else, it would be best to get this particr question cleared up right now. "Why is the child the one cing this request?"


    We were talking with Yui Saikawa¡ªnot her dad, and not her mom.


    The Saikawa family treasure was in danger of being stolen, so why were there no adults at this meeting?


    It was apletely natural question, and Saikawa exined:


    "My parents passed away three years ago. I am the current head of the Saikawa family."


    She gave the same smile she wore all the time on TV.


    I bet it sucks to be an idol singer, I thought.


    I won''t die


    After that, with Saikawa as our guide, we saw the vault, got a brief tour of the house, exchanged contact information, then adjourned for the day.


    On the way back from the Saikawa residence...


    "What did you think?" I asked Natsunagi as we walked side by side through the dusk.


    "About what?"


    "Do you think you''ll be able to resolve this request?"


    "If I said it wasn''t what I thought it would be, would you get mad?" she asked.


    "You think I''d be mad?"


    I''d told Natsunagi not to try to be anybody''s recement, and she''d still stepped up and taken the role of detective. I''m sure part of it was due to momentum. Part of it was also the heat of the moment.


    But this out-of-the-blue request wasn''t the type most ordinary detectives would have taken. No wonder she was bewildered.


    "I was kidding. Still, detectives have it rough, don''t they?"


    "Yeah, you may not be able to go back to your life as a normal high


    schooler."


    "I thought detectives only, you know...searched for runaway pet cats and that sort of thing."


    "I think you owe every detective in the country an apology." That said, she wasn''t entirely wrong.


    "Yesterday..." Natsunagi stopped under a streetlight. "I had a dream¡ª about Siesta. It was probably because of everything that just happened." She nced at me.


    "...I see. How was she doing?"


    "She was incredibly beautiful, for one thing. I was kinda blown away." "I know, right?"


    "Uh, I don''t get why you''re bragging about that, Kimizuka."


    By the way, Natsunagi had never met Siesta, so she probably heard what I was saying the previous day, formed a mental image of her, and dreamed about that version.


    "Did you two talk about anything?" "Um, actually, we fought like crazy..."


    "When you meet someone in a dream, you''re not supposed toe out swinging, y''know."


    Although, I''m pretty sure I get it.


    After all, Siesta and Natsunagi seem likeplete opposites: a logical type and an emotional type, I guess you''d call it. You could say they share ack ofmon sense, but anyway.


    "We had a vicious, no-holds-barred argument. Neither of us would back down, and things got...a little physical."


    "d I didn''t have to see that." "But in the end..."


    I heard Natsunagi inhale.


    "...she told me to take care of you."


    From under the streetlight, a steady gaze was focused on me. "...So, what, I caused that fight?"


    Vaguely embarrassed, I tried to say something random and stupid to move the conversation along, but then...


    "...! N-no, nuh-uh. We weren''t fighting over you or anything, Kimizuka." "Huh? What''s with that reaction? Now I''m even more worried..." "Aaaaaah, aaaaaaah! We are done talking about this!"


    ¡ªAnd with that, the topic was folded up and put away. Natsunagi fanned her face with her hands, although it was pretty cool at this hour. "Anyway! Let''s do this thing together. Me as the detective, and you as my assistant."


    "Yeah, yeah. You do have that swimsuit riding on this." "You want to see me wearing it, don''t you, Kimizuka?"


    "Yep. There is nothing I want more than to see you in a swimsuit."


    "Ugh, you could at least try to sound convincing." Natsunagi''s cold eyes peered into my face. "But I guess it''s all right."


    "It is?"


    "Yeah. If we manage toplete this request, wanna go to the beach together?"


    "Don''t jinx us. You''ll get yourself killed talking like that." "No, I won''t."


    Natsunagi trotted a few steps ahead, then turned back to face me.


    "I won''t die. Whatever happens, I won''t die and leave you behind."


    Natsunagi set her hand over the left side of her chest. "Cross my heart." "Okay."


    A crescent moon was floating in the pitch-ck sky ahead of us, far and distant as we walked forward.

 Chapter 10 - 2.2

    <h4>Chapter 10: Chapter 2.2</h4>


    <strong>The gossip doesn''t stop</strong>


    The next day, I went to a CD store in the big local shopping mall on my own. I was there for Yui Saikawa''s albums and DVDs of her concerts. A lot of the time, gathering information on clients turns out to be a necessary part ofpleting a job. Natsunagi could havee with me today, too, but... Well, these dull jobs belong to the assistant. At least they did for those three


    years.


    "She has quite a discography."


    Just inside the shop''s entrance, they''d set up a disy featuring Saikawa.


    All the CDs she''d released over the past few years were lined up there, and a monitor was showing her singing and dancing at one of her concerts.


    "I''m impressed she can dance with that eye patch on."


    What had she called it...part of her "public persona"? There was a heart- shaped patch covering Saikawa''s left eye, but from the way she was bounding around the stage, it didn''t seem to affect her at all.


    "¡ªKimizuka."


    "...!"


    Suddenly, someone spoke to me from behind, right next to my ear, and I flinched.


    "I see, I see. Kimizuka likes it when someone blows in his hear. Duly noted."


    "Don''t randomly make things up to randomly convince yourself¡ª Saikawa."


    When I turned around, the girl who was currently showing on the monitor was standing there, looking smug for some reason.


    "You sure you should be here without a disguise? You''ll set off a stampede."


    "I have my hood up. It''s fine. You wouldn''t think it, but people don''t notice," Saikawa said proudly. "So what brings you here, Kimizuka? Can''t stop thinking about me? Have you be a fan? Ooh, have you fallen for me? I''m sorry, but romance is off-limits for idols; please try again in the next world, okay?"


    "Don''t dump me when I haven''t even confessed. I''m just here to do field research."


    Apparently, the self-proimed cutest idol didn''t have a trace of doubt regarding her own cuteness.


    "Field research, hmm? I see, yes. You''re just like me, then." "You too, Saikawa?"


    "Yes, as a matter of fact, mytest single just came outst week. I was curious about how it was selling."


    What a pro. She might have nothing but contempt for the world, but she seemed serious about her job as an idol, at least.


    ...But why would she physicallye to the store to do field research in this day and age? I mean, what I was doing wasn''t much different, so I couldn''t really talk, but still.


    "You aren''t with the detective today."


    "Nope. There''s no rule that says detectives and assistants have to be together all the time."


    "Is that right?" Saikawa said,ing up to stand on my right. "She really is gorgeous, isn''t she?"


    "Well, on the outside, yeah. The jury''s still out on the rest." "Oh, Natsunagi is as well, but I was referring to myself." "You''ve got no qualms about blowing your own horn, huh?"


    Her confidence was so high it was actually refreshing. In fact, maybe any idol worth her salt should be a little like this.


    "Of course not. A girl needs at least this much faith in herself to survive the idol industry." Saikawa gave a world-weary shrug, turning both palms up. "Rivals sh up your costumes and hide tacks in your shoes on a daily basis."


    "I don''t need to know all the backstage drama, thanks."


    "And then, from what I''m told, those rivals will all vanish from public life by the next day."


    "That''s a coincidence, right? It''s gotta be."


    "Are you in favor of gun regtion in Japan, Kimizuka? Or against it?" "Don''t bring that debate into this particr discussion, all right?! You''re


    freaking me out! And it doesn''t matter whether I''m in favor or not; owning guns isn''t legal in Japan anyway."


    ...He says, turning a blind eye to his past.


    "Heh-heh. I like you, Kimizuka; your reactions are funny. I was joking. It was only a joke." Saikawa looked up at me with an affectionate smile.


    "I couldn''t quite tell where the joke started and ended." "The joke was the part where I said I like you."


    "Okay, okay. I know contempt when I see it."


    "Ah-ha-ha. What I said just now was the actual joke." Laughing, Saikawa reached out toward the disy in front of us.


    As always, this middle school kid was hard to pin down, and it wasn''t easy to tell what she really meant and what was just her public face. Watching Saikawa cheerfully test-listen to her own CD out of the corner of my eye, I thought that being an idol really was a tough job.


    "Probably should''ve asked before," I said, "but are you okay? With everything?"


    "Pardon? Is what okay?"


    "You''ve got that big concert on Sunday. And now you get a notice from a thief, and, you know... Mentally, how are you doing?"


    Saikawa''s parents were gone. This situation was so heavy for a girl who was still in middle school to carry on her own.


    "...I''m all right." Still facing forward, Saikawa softly put a hand to her left eye. "I''m not alone, you see."


    "...?"


    "Mama and Papa are always¡ª" She was letting me catch a glimpse of that slightly unusual side of herself, but not for long. "You''re kind, aren''t you, Kimizuka?" Spinning to face me, Saikawa peeked up into my face.


    "Kind? That''s not one I get very often."


    "It''s possible a human heart has begun to grow in you."


    "What am I, a robot? Just now learning these mysterious emotions after living with the professor?"


    "This is called ''joy.'' That''s called ''sorrow.'' Those tears are your ''heart.'' " "And now we''re in a tearjerker sci-fi movie."


    "And after all of it, you were built merely to sacrifice yourself to destroy our enemies."


    "Ouch, that was really unfair... Give me back my emotional character development."


    I poked her head lightly, and Saikawa giggled. "You really are funny, Kimizuka," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears, inside her hood. The way she intentionally used her opposite hand for the gesture, crossing herself, boosted her flirtatiousness by 20 percent.


    "I''m not falling for a cheap trick like that."


    "Heh-heh. I wonder if you''ll still be able to say that after you''ve watched DVDs bursting with my charms."


    "They''re just concert DVDs; don''t make it weird."


    Although, once she''d said that, I felt hesitant about buying them in front of her. I turned on my heel, nning to go somewhere else and try againter.


    "Well, I''m off."


    "All right. See youter. And thank you for taking my request," she said behind me. Still facing away from her, I raised a hand in response.


    After I left the store, I got out my phone and tapped my contacts list. "...This may be trickier than I thought."


    Finally, after one, two, three rings, she picked up.


    "Hello?"


    "Uh, do you have a minute¡ªMs. Fuubi?"


    <strong>That''s "Yui-nya Quality"</strong>


    A few dayster, it was Saturday, and Natsunagi and I had gone to the dome that was serving as the venue. Yui Saikawa''s concert was the following day.


    "Hurry up. The rehearsal''s gonna start."


    As we climbed the long stairway to the dome, I called back to Natsunagi, who was slumped wearily a dozen or so steps below me.


    "When you said you''de without so much as a towel or a glow stick, I thought it was bad, but I can''t believe you aren''t even trying to make it to the rehearsal before it starts... And you call yourself a fan?"


    "Uh, no. I don''t." Natsunagi heaved a big sigh. She was ring at me for some reason. "Come on, don''t you think you''re mixing business with pleasure?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "That!" Finally climbing the stairs, Natsunagi pointed sharply at my clothes. "What is this? Why are you wearing a Saikawa concert T-shirt? Why do you have several towels with venue-specific designs around your neck? What is that mass of penlights you''ve got tied around your waist? What about the wristbands? The hat? The sneakers?"


    Apparently, she had quite a fewints building up, and they all came out in a rush.


    "They''re all Yui-nya concert merch." " ''Yui-nya''?!"


    All her fans called her that, to show their affection.


    "Okay, what exactly did you do this past week? You didn''te to school, and you didn''t respond when I tried to get ahold of you. When you finally did reply, you just said we were going to see the rehearsal the day before the show..."


    "Uh, well, I was watching all the past episodes of TV programs Yui-nya


    had been in, and the next thing I knew, it was today¡ª" "Okay, I''m double-killing you."


    "Ghk, stop... Strangling me with my towels is¡ªagainst the rules...gweeeh..."


    I smacked Natsunagi''s shoulder in surrender.


    "Do you know what''s happening tomorrow?" Natsunagi looked up at me crankily from one step below me on the stairs.


    "Well, it''s Yui-nya''s concert, right?"


    "¡ª. That too, but... That isn''t why we''re here, remember? The crime is supposed to take ce then. We have to protect the Miracle Sapphire from the criminal. Am I wrong?"


    I see. Natsunagi was probably trying to say we were in the wrong ce, since this was the day before the theft.


    "I get what you''re saying, Natsunagi, but some truths only be apparent by learning the background of the client, right?"


    "Well..." She didn''t seempletely convinced yet. "Would you usually go this far, though? Begging Saikawa to let us watch a rehearsal...?"


    "Once you take a job, give it everything you have. Besides, we''ll have to guard Yui-nya''s house on the day of the concert. Let''s enjoy the heck out of today to make up for it."


    "Um, you said ''enjoy''..."


    I didn''t need all that "business or pleasure" and "separation of church and state" right now.


    "You were weirding her out; I know it."


    "I didn''t weird her out. She was flustered, but..." "Uh, that means the same thing."


    Really? Well, I still think we''re fine.


    Even a week ago, depending on how you looked at it, we''d been close enough to have a fun conversation... Depending on how you looked at it.


    "You can bet the opening number''s going to be ''Raspberry ¡Á Grizzly.'' " "Look, I don''t know her standard setlist."


    All right. The rehearsal was about to start.


    Tugging the perplexed Natsunagi by the hand, I hurried into the venue. "The Love Express just won''t stooop! ?"


    "Woo-woooooo!"


    "Wait for me at the end of the line, okay? ?" "Puff, puff!"


    "Speeding past the local trains! ?" "Don''t leave meee!"


    "No stalling allowed! ? On the Nine-Star! ?" "Yeah!!!!!!!"


    From a spot near the back of the stands, I waved a pink glow stick at the stage wildly.


    As enthusiastic as she was, you''d never think it was a rehearsal. I was putting more energy into my cheering, too. From the next seat over, Natsunagi was judging the hell out of me, but I couldn''t let that get me down. "Thank you very much! That was ''The Nine-Star Stops in November!''


    from my second album!"


    "Wait, why''s it''s stopping?" Next to me, Natsunagi muttered, straight- faced, "Didn''t she just say the Love Express won''t stop?"


    "Details, details. This is Yui-nya Quality." "Yui-nya Quality."


    I''d taken a full course in her songs over the past week, and most of them were like this.


    Catchy melodies and off-the-wall lyrics. The more you chewed them over, the more they numbed your taste buds while giving you the illusion of vor


    ¡ªthat was Yui-nya Quality.


    "You too, Pervert! Thank you!" Yui-nya waved enthusiastically from the stage toward the seats.


    "Hey, Natsunagi, she talked to you!"


    "She''s one thousand percent talking about you!" "Nah, you just couldn''t hide your vibes from her."


    "...! Hey, I''m not the one being weird here!" Natsunagi''s face was bright red, and she tried to kick me with her high heel.


    "Hey, why''d you wear heels to a concert? It''s gonna be hard to jump around in those."


    "I''m not jumping around! Your head is what''s jumping around!" Rude. I just wanted to enjoy the concert.


    "All right, and now for the next song!" Just then, Yui-nya signaled the sound crew with a nce.


    "Here ites." "What now?"


    "Hey,e on, Natsunagi, we just heard ''Eighty-One.'' That means the next song is...?"


    "I told you, I don''t know her setlist. And abbreviating ''The Nine-Star Stops in November!'' as ''Eighty-One'' is the geekiest thing I''ve ever heard. Nine times ''Novem'' equals eighty-one? Come on."


    Just what I''d expect from an ace detective¡ªshe understood instantly.


    "So next up is Yui-nya''s special song. We came here today so we could hear this, remember?"


    "That''s news to me."


    I see; I guess I hadn''t told Natsunagi yet.


    Actually, well...I hadn''t been nning to mention it in the first ce. Not to Natsunagi nor to anybody else. This way made things easier, now that I was a pitiful fanboy who''d identally gotten hooked on Yui-nya in the course of doing his job.


    Or at least, I was pretending to be...


    "Don''t you know? During this song, for just thest chorus, Yui-nya removes her seal."


    "Seal?"


    Yes. The seal Yui-nya¡ªor rather, Yui Saikawa¡ªced on herself. Her secret.


    "Now then, please listen¡ªto ''Sapphire Phantasm.'' "


    An up-tempo intro yed, and Saikawa began running through light-footed dance steps.


    "Like a mirror reflecting the blue Eaaarth... ?"


    For the past week, I''d listened to Saikawa''s songs constantly and, more importantly, pored over all the videos in which she appeared.


    As I did so, I''d discovered just one thing¡ªone big thing¡ªthat felt off.


    I''d sensed something was wrong the day I first met her, and it had only grown from there.


    Yui Saikawa is lying.


    I was here today to make sure.


    Before long, the A section ended, and the song reached the bridge. Just then¡ª


    "Huh? Kimizuka... Look."


    Next to me, Natsunagi leaned forward slightly.


    A man was standing on the left side of the stage, back in the wings. He was wearing sunsses and dressed all in ck. He didn''t look like a member of staff.


    "Isn''t that man kind of weird?"


    That''s a detective for you; she''s got good instincts. However... "Hmm? What''s up?"


    ...I pretended not to notice.


    Sorry, Natsunagi. Wait just a little longer.


    Then the B section ended, and just as the C section was beginning...the man in ck started walking toward Saikawa. And then¡ª


    "Huh?! ...Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" Saikawa''s scream echoed across the whole hall, amplified by her mic.


    "Hey, who''s that?! Get him!"


    Just in the nick of time, right before the man reached Saikawa, the security staff grabbed him.


    "...That''s what I thought." I''d been feeling that dissonance all week. Now that I''d seen this in person, I was sure. I was d I''de here today, even if I''d had to bull my way through.


    "Kimizuka! Hurry!" Natsunagi shouted.


    Saikawa was crouched down and looking dazed, while Natsunagi kicked off her heels and dashed to the stage, barefoot.


    It was a beautiful, and very human, reaction.


    Nevertheless, a detective has no use for those passionate feelings. Kindness and consideration can sometimese back to bite you¡ªalthough she didn''t know that yet.


    "Are you okay?" I asked the frightened Saikawa, following Natsunagi up onto the stage.


    "Oh, Mr. Pervert... Thank you."


    "Don''t keep calling me a pervert after what just happened."


    If she could crack jokes, though, that was a good sign. I didn''t want this to end up traumatizing her.


    "Still, you never know what might happen. Guarding the vault tomorrow is important, but I''d ramp up security here, too. Show us around backstageter."


    "All right..." Saikawa didn''t seem to have fully recovered from the shock


    yet. She nodded weakly.


    I did feel bad, but the things detectives do are always guided by logic. I want to make sure you understand that.


    ...Even if I am just the assistant.

 Chapter 11 - 2.3

    <h4>Chapter 11: Chapter 2.3</h4>


    <strong>Sunday showdown</strong>


    The next morning was Sunday¡ªthe day the Miracle Sapphire, the Saikawa family treasure, was scheduled to be stolen.


    At the request of Yui Saikawa, Natsunagi and I had agreed to guard her house.


    Right now, we were in a taxi, headed toward our destination.


    "Kimizuka... Is what you told me yesterday really true?" Natsunagi was sitting beside me in the back seat.


    The previous day, after the rehearsal was over, she and I had gone to the same caf¨¦ we''d visited before and discussed our game n for today. While we did that, I''d also shared with Natsunagi the secret Yui Saikawa was hiding.


    "Aren''t you here because you believed me?"


    "Technically, yes. But is the other ce going to be all right? We can''t just leave it empty..."


    "Yeah, I''ve got that covered, too. It sounds like Ms. Fuubi is going over there."


    "I''ve been meaning to ask you: Who exactly is she?" "She''s an army of one."


    "That sounds like an exnation, but it''s really not."


    Sorry, but it''s not like I know everything about her, either. Just that she''s someone you can count on.


    "Is something worrying you?" I asked.


    "Nothing really. I''m just kinda...notpletely satisfied with this." "With what?"


    "Ultimately, Kimizuka, you''re trying to resolve this incident. But I''m the detective." As she spoke, Natsunagi gazed out the window at the sun, which was just above the horizon.


    "That''s just how it happened this time."


    "Was it really?"


    "Yeah. I''m sure the day when you''re the one who saves me wille along pretty soon."


    If I had to say, I''ve always been in that position until now. If I don''t work a little every once in a while, that heart of yours is going to get mad at me.


    "It''s almost time for the show."


    I nced at my watch. Talking Ms. Fuubi and her crew around, and enlisting the help of a certain other individual, had taken up more time than I''d expected.


    "If we don''t make it there in time, this''ll go south real quick..." The first number of Yui Saikawa''s concert would be starting soon.


    "So you actually do care about it?" Natsunagi seemed to be satisfied regarding the previous subject; the corners of her mouth quirked up a little.


    "Only for the job. I don''t care about ''Raspberry ¡Á Grizzly.'' I told you back at the caf¨¦, remember?"


    "You did, but seriously, could you really do all that as an act? You really creeped me out yesterday, Kimizuka."


    "Don''t say it that way. Nothing hurts more than having a high school girl call you creepy."


    "I was just thinking maybe we were actually headed over there because of your hobby again."


    "Hey, that''s not fair. If it wasn''t for a job, I wouldn''t go near the dome." As we traded verbal jabs, we were racing toward our destination: Yui


    Saikawa''s dome concert.


    We already had measures in ce, but it would be pointless if we didn''t get there in time.


    "Hey, could you make it fast?" I told the taxi driver. "...Fasten your seatbelts."


    The hair under his cap was blond, and I could see his cloudy eyes nce at us in the rearview mirror.


    "I hope we make it in time for ''Eighty-One,'' " I said. "You sure you''re not just into her?"


    <strong>Sapphire Phantasm </strong>


    "...This is nothing like the rehearsal."


    When we reached the dome and opened the doors to the hall, overwhelming light and sound swept over us. Rainbow-colored spotlights scattered reflections everywhere, and the vibrations thudded heavily in the pit of my stomach.


    This was a different world, a circr hole cut out of the ordinary. The ruler of that world was the idol singer¡ªYui Saikawa.


    She was dressed in a frilly costume, and hundreds of shining glow sticks were being offered up to her. If I remembered right, the number she was singing in her irresistible voice was hertest single.


    We wereing up on the second half of the concert, so she was probably about to drop a hit medley on them.


    "Hey!"


    A tug on my sleeve brought my mind back to reality.


    "Where are our seats?!" Natsunagi was standing on tiptoe to yell into my ear. We couldn''t hear otherwise.


    "You know we don''t have any! We don''t even have tickets!" "Oh..."


    Then how had we managed to infiltrate this hall? We''d had the security staff go to sleep for a little while.


    "You think those people are all right?!"


    "They''re fine! He doesn''t want to do stuff like that anymore, and he wouldn''t get anything out of it!"


    Apparently, he''d struck a bargain with Ms. Fuubi regarding his future, among other things.


    Just then, the number ended, and after the apuse, silence fell for a moment. This was our chance.


    "Natsunagi, let''s go." Reverting to a whisper, I thumped Natsunagi on the shoulder.


    "Huh? Go where?"


    "We''ll get as close to the stage as we can."


    The previous day, thanks to my excuse of watching the rehearsal, I''d casually done a preliminary inspection of the arena.


    We crouched down and started moving as quickly as we could without drawing attention.


    "Hey, isn''t that bag in the way? You could have left it in the car."


    Natsunagi pointed at my clutch bag. "Oh, well, not really."


    "So what''s in there?"


    "Something I don''t want to use." Or to be more precise, something I hoped we wouldn''t be forced to use.


    "Huh. Well, it doesn''t really matter what it is... And? That one song''s still a ways away, isn''t it?"


    "Yeah, since ites after ''Eighty-One.'' "


    "Come to think of it, you''re right... So you actually were working at that rehearsal yesterday."


    "You''re too suspicious. Well, that''s not a bad thing for a detective." "Yes. Maybe so."


    The new song began.


    At the rehearsal, "Eighty-One" had been after this; if anything was going to happen, it would be during the number after that, "Sapphire Phantasm." We had about ten minutes left.


    We walked on quietly, being careful not to attract suspicion.


    "What''s the point of getting close to the stage, though?" Natsunagi asked, right by my ear.


    "Frankly, we''re gonna have to wing it. I don''t know what''s about to happen. Maybe nothing, and all our worries will be pointless. That means we''ll just have to do our best with what we''ve got."


    All we could do was keep our eyes peeled for that moment¡ªthat was it. To that end, we''d lurk as near Saikawa as possible right now.


    Just a little closer than they were, even if we didn''t even know where that was.


    "Thank you so much, all of you!"


    A cheer went up. The number was over.


    Next up was finally "Eighty-One"... Maybe we should pick up the pace.


    "Now that everyone''s all fired up, I think it''s about time we brought out the song you''ve been waiting for!"


    Saikawa gave a briefment from the stage, and then the song that began to y was¡ª


    "Without further ado¡ª''Sapphire Phantasm''!"


    What?!


    This wasn''t the order we''d heard at the rehearsal... Dammit. We''d used up


    too much time earlier. "N-no!"


    "Yeah, this is bad. Let''s hurry, Natsunagi."


    "You were looking forward to ''Eighty-One'' so much!" "I wasn''t looking forward to it!"


    This was no time for joking around. Of course Natsunagi knew that, too, as we headed toward the stage.


    "Like a mirror reflecting the blue Eaaarth... ?"


    The voltage in the venue spiked, the enthusiasm fueled by an explosion of noise and light.


    "Sapphire Phantasm" was idol singer Yui Saikawa''s biggest hit and her specialty. During this song, she always did something very special onstage.


    That was bound to be the trigger. Natsunagi and I hade here to stop it.


    "If the group you talked about are hiding, where would they be?"


    "No idea. They might be in the audience, or they could be hiding in the wings, like that man was yesterday."


    The previous day, I''d had Saikawa and the staff show us the backstage area and various facilities, but it had only given us more options. The two of us weren''t enough to cover all those possibilities on our own.


    That said, we couldn''t afford to take too much time on our end. After all, this was happening right on the heels of the day before, and they had to be incredibly busy on their end as well. We''d just have to make do with our limited personnel and limited time.


    "I hid it in my secret treasure chest... ?"


    She''d reached the C section already. It wouldn''t be long until thest chorus, the time when her seal was released. If anything was going to happen, it would be soon.


    "Okay, we''re here."


    We''d finally reached the stage-side aisle, beyond the arena seats.


    Where? Where were they?


    Straining my eyes, I searched for someone who might not even be there. But the rainbow spotlights made it hard to see, and the ring music from the nearby speakers chipped away at my concentration.


    "...!" Natsunagi was saying something, but the ce was so loud I couldn''t hear her at all.


    Dammit, this is even worse than I thought.


    They were probably around here, somewhere close. But there wasn''t much time left.


    I''d underestimated the challenges. I''d thought that if I strained my eyes and ears once I was there, I''d probably find them, but I''d put too much faith in my experience. So your brain shuts down this bad when your sight and hearing aren''t working properly?


    It was no good: The sound and the light were starting to give me a roaring headache. I was even getting nauseous.


    I wanted to enlist Natsunagi''s help, but thanks to the music, I wouldn''t even be able tomunicate urately.


    I needed a n, some kind of n...


    No, wait.


    Of course. Even in a situation like this, there might be one person¡ª "It''s me! Can you hear me?!"


    Holding my temples, I yelled at him, the one we''d hired as our chauffeur. He couldn''t see, but he''d said as long as he could hear, he could drive. Right now, after putting the security guards to sleep, he was probably having a smoke somewhere near the arena.


    Of course, he was several hundred meters away from us...but to him, a distance like that was nothing.


    Even in the midst of this ear-splitting noise, my voice was bound to reach him. In fact, he''d even be able to hear the heartbeat of our hidden enemy.


    "¡ªBat! Where''s the enemy?!" My pocket vibrated.


    The notification from my messaging app was just a single "¡ú."


    An arrow? Some sort of code?


    ...Oh! I got it!


    Sprinting away from the startled Natsunagi, I ran up onto the stage, where Saikawa was.


    During the final chorus, she removed the patch over her left eye.


    It was her biggest performance of the day, a special number where she gave her all.


    A cheer went up.


    This was Yui Saikawa''s seal. The secret she''d hidden from us.


    "¡ªThe Miracle Sapphire with a market value of three billion yen is Yui Saikawa''s left eye!"


    As I spoke, I pulled Saikawa to me, evading an iing crossbow bolt.


    <strong>Thus spoke the super-idol</strong>


    So. About this incident.


    Where should I start; what should I exin first to give you the most urate picture? Whose perspective should I tell it from, if I''m going to make it easy to understand?


    Unfortunately, I''m just an assistant, a student at most. Definitely not a novelist. Even if I was giving a full ount of this incident to somebody, I''m sure I''d be a terrible storyteller.


    There are just too many lies, secrets, and deceptions¡ªtoo much information hovering in the ether around this case. I''m sure the plot would make no sense.


    "No, that''s all my fault." After the concert, Saikawa had called Natsunagi and me to her dressing room. Kneeling formally in front of us, she looked down apologetically. "I should have told you everything from the beginning instead of going off on my own. That''s why things turned out this way. I''m afraid I''ve caused you both a lot of trouble. I''m sorry."


    With that, Saikawa bowed her head deeply.


    "...Um. I still don''tpletely understand this... Could you exin it?"


    Natsunagi raised a hand hesitantly. She must have been embarrassed by the fact that she didn''t know the truth of the matter, even though she was a detective.


    But I was in the same boat.


    My ideas about the truth of this incident, about how we''d ended up here, were still only theory. I''d been waiting this whole time for her to tell us herself.


    "Yes, you''re right. I should. This may end up being rather long, but please bear with me anyway."


    Once again, Saikawa removed her eye patch.


    That blue left eye, which reflected everything in the world, was as beautiful


    as a sapphire.


    "Now then, where should I begin my story? Er, yes, I suppose I should start at the beginning, shouldn''t I? All right, I''ll start with my left eye... Actually, that may end up being the beginning. I received this artificial blue eye as a birthday present from my parents, the year I turned eight...


    "...Yes, that''s right, Miss Detective. Although I believe you may have noticed it yourself, Mr. Assistant. This is a false eye, not heterochromia. I was born blind in my left eye. As a young child, I had aplex about it that made me very quiet and shy. I was my parents'' only daughter, and they got worried about me. They wanted me to have more hope in life, so they gave me an artificial eye the color of sapphire. Bluer than the sea.


    "Back then, I was entranced by how beautiful it was. Of course, I didn''t let anyone see it in public. Still, simply having this eye gave me confidence in myself, somehow. That was when I began my career as an idol. Mama and Papa were delighted to see that I''d cheered up, and that made me happy, so I put more and more effort into my lessons. Ah, I finally know what it means to be alive..., I thought. You mayugh and say I''m exaggerating, but it''s true.


    "I''m sorry; I''ve gotten a little off track.


    "Long story short, my life as an idol was going smoothly, but that life didn''tst long. Three years ago, when I was eleven, my parents died in an ident. They left me arge house, a vast fortune I had no use for, and...my left eye.


    "After that, my blue eye was more precious than anything to me. I wanted to keep it carefully hidden inside. That''s why I always wear an eye patch... But in my big shows, I decided I would reveal my left eye, just for a moment. If I didn''t, and my parents came from heaven to see one of my concerts, I felt like they might not realize it was me.


    "This beautiful blue jewel in my eye was the bond that connected me to my parents; I couldn''t just go around showing it to other people. That''s why I didn''t tell you about it.


    "I never dreamed that the criminal considered my eye a ''miracle sapphire.'' It just so happens that there is a sapphire worth three billion yen in the Saikawa family vault, so I assumed that was what they meant.


    "When I think of all the trouble I would have saved you if I''d told you the


    whole story... I''m truly sorry. And thank you. Thank you so much.


    "I was sure the two of you had gone to my house today, so I was a little surprised. I should have known better. You figured out my secret, picked up on the criminal''s true objective, and came running. You even pretended it was part of the stage show and kept from scaring the audience.


    "I''m so d I brought my request to you. "Really and truly¡ª


    "¡ªthank you so much."


    Once she hade to the end of her story, Saikawa bowed so low that her forehead practically touched the floor.


    And there you have it. As she''d said, the "sapphire worth three billion yen" in the advance notice had been not the family treasure, the jewel at the Saikawa residence, but Saikawa''s own artificial eye.


    The criminal had waited until Saikawa uncovered her shining-blue secret onstage, then attempted to snipe it from a distance.


    But as it turned out, the case¡ªthe story¡ªhad reached its end without any casualties, and the sapphire hadn''t been stolen, either. It was an undeniably happy ending.


    "It''s all right, so...get up, okay?" Natsunagi said.


    Saikawa slowly raised her head. Her expression held a mixture of gratitude and apology...and relief, as if she''d finally shaken off a heavy, tenacious burden.


    Now we''d settle the matter peacefully, and after exchanging a few words, we''d get a little reward¡ªand then Natsunagi would buy her new swimsuit, and we''d make that trip to the beach. Yes, this case had been safely closed.


    There had been some trouble and a few unexpected developments that had caught us off guard and worn us out a bit, but that was hardly anything. During those three years I''d spent with Siesta, my life had been far more risky and violent.


    All right¡ªit was time to head back to our peaceful routine. First, Natsunagi and I should probably discuss which beach to go to. That meant we''d be meeting at our usual caf¨¦.


    Just like that...


    Now, I could probably have put that whole incident behind me as if


    nothing had happened. As if I hadn''t noticed.


    A week ago, before I met Natsunagi and that heart, I''m sure I would have left the dressing room, pretending I knew nothing. That would have been easier, after all. If I did that, my peaceful routine would have been waiting for me.


    Unfortunately, though, I was through with ignoring the truth.


    Yes, Saikawa had revealed the secret she''d been hiding. But she hadn''t yet confessed her lie.


    "Listen, Saikawa."


    When I said her name, her face turned toward me. "Yes?"


    She tilted her head slightly, gazing at me nkly, innocently.


    She was an idol; she could put on any expression with perfect ease. She could smile or cry on demand.


    "Is the penalty going to give you any trouble? After all, Natsunagi and I are still alive."


    In that instant, all color vanished from Yui Saikawa''s face.

 Chapter 12 - 2.4

    <h4>Chapter 12: Chapter 2.4</h4>


    <strong>What that eye sees</strong>


    "Wow, geez! Where did thate from, Mr. Assistant?"


    Saikawa''s face was nk for only a moment before her usual idol smile returned.


    She was a real pro; even I was a little scared.


    "Are you saying I was trying to kill you two? Ah-ha-ha! I think ''mystery writer'' would be a more suitable profession for you, Mr. Assistant." Saikawa smiled. "Oooh, I''ve always wanted to say that."


    "Um, Kimizuka? Saikawa already confessed her secret to us, remember? You didn''t tell me any more than that." Of the three of us, Natsunagi was the one who seemed the most bewildered. "You said the criminal was after Saikawa''s left eye, not the sapphire. That''s why we went to the dome instead of guarding the vault. That''s all I heard..."


    Right: I hadn''t told Natsunagi the whole truth yet, either.


    I''d been hoping Saikawa would tell us about it herself, but apparently that was not to be.


    "As Natsunagi says, you did tell us about your secret, Saikawa... But you haven''t confessed your lie."


    "My lie? What do you mean?" Saikawa was listening to me carefully, still wearing that smile.


    "Yui Saikawa¡ªyou were working with the criminals from the beginning to kill Natsunagi and me. Isn''t that right?"


    "Huh?!" Natsunagi froze up.


    "Well, Natsunagi was an incidental target. The enemy was probably after me."


    "But...! Do you have any proof?" Detective Natsunagi was talking like the suspect, while Saikawa was as outwardly calm as ever.


    Trrrrrrrrrrrrrr¡ª


    Just then, the phone in my pocket rang.


    "Hello? Kimizuka speaking... Yeah, mm-hmm... Is that right? No, my apologies for the trouble... Thank you. All right, good-bye."


    Good. Things had gone well on that end, too. "Kimizuka, who was that?"


    "Oh, Ms. Fuubi. She said they''d just finished removing all the explosives rigged up in the vault at the Saikawa residence."


    Ms. Fuubi''s bomb disposal squad really knew their stuff. They''d gotten through the job without any trouble.


    "...! B-but the criminals were after Saikawa''s left eye, weren''t they? Why would they do that to her house?"


    "Like I said, they were after two things. One was Saikawa''s sapphire left eye, as I told you. The other...was the lives of the pair who were expected to guard the Saikawa residence. That would be us."


    "What does that mean? The criminals weren''t nning to go after the sapphire in the vault, but after us, while we were in there?"


    "That''s it."


    They''d probably nned to kill us with a time bomb when we waltzed in there all wide-eyed and clueless. As with that crossbow earlier, the enemy wasn''t nning to show themselves directly.


    "Basically, that was the lie Saikawa told us. She knew about the criminals'' n all along... Specifically, they gave her the details, and she was supposed


    to lure us into that vault."


    "But, no... What about the proof?" Natsunagi pressed me, as if she didn''t want to believe it.


    "Ms. Fuubi said she didn''t know." "Huh?"


    "She said no one had reported any calling cards sent to the Saikawa residence."


    "No... Didn''t she say she''d gone to the police, but they wouldn''t help? And that was why she''d gone to detectives like us..." Natsunagi looked at Saikawa.


    That blue eye didn''t waver at all.


    That was one of the things that had nagged at me the day I''d first met Saikawa.


    She had all that money. For better or worse, any police force that didn''t act when she shed that at them was no police force at all.


    After that, when I''d checked with Ms. Fuubi just to make sure, my hunch had been right on target. The police had no idea that a notice had been sent to the Saikawa residence.


    Meaning that right from the start, Saikawa had gone specifically to Natsunagi and me, instead of to the police. Which, in turn, meant she''d wanted something to do with us, specifically.


    True, at that point in time, I still couldn''t have said for sure that what she wanted was our lives. On the other hand, Natsunagi notwithstanding, there was a reason for people to go after my life. I also had an idea as to who the criminals¡ªour enemies¡ªmight be.


    "But that can''t be right. Saikawa is an idol singer; why would she...?


    Don''t tell me¡ª"


    Well, I wouldn''t tell her Saikawa was a member of SPES, if that''s what she was thinking.


    "They probably threatened her."


    For the first time, Saikawa''s petite shoulders trembled slightly.


    "They said, ''If you don''t want to lose that left eye, get rid of Kimihiko Kimizuka.'' "


    That was the condition they''d set. Saikawa''s left eye was more important to her than her own life, and she had sold us to the enemy for it.


    "Listen, Saikawa. They aren''t that soft. They tried to take both."


    Specifically, they might have been trying to destroy it, rather than steal it. That''s why they had shot at it with a crossbow. And their goal in doing so was¡ª


    "But why?" Natsunagi broke in. "The criminals¡ªthe organization you were talking about, Kimizuka¡ªwhy would they go after Saikawa''s artificial eye? It''s pretty, but why would they go that far?"


    "Because it''s way more than an artificial eye." "Huh?"


    There had to be a reason it was big enough to be a target.


    "Isn''t that right, Saikawa?" I said. "Tell me, right now, what can you see?" For just a moment, Saikawa nced at the clutch bag by my feet.


    "Is that for self-defense?" When she finally spoke, her voice was as gentle and sweet as ever.


    So I was right, huh?


    That''s an idol for you. She''d known what I had in my bag, and even then, she was managing to keep that smile on her face.


    "Self-defense?" I replied. "Yeah. See, I''ve been running into life- threatening situations for ages."


    Swiftly shoving a hand into the bag, I used my other hand to push Natsunagi behind me.


    I withdrew the handgun and aimed it straight ahead of me¡ª "I won''t give you people my left eye."


    ¡ªat Yui Saikawa, who was pointing a gun of her own at us.


    <strong>More than any idol</strong>


    Saikawa''s gun was aimed right between my eyes. "I see. So that''s how they threatened you, huh?"


    As far as Saikawa was concerned, Natsunagi and I were the enemies¡ªthe very people who were trying to steal her sapphire left eye, or so they''d led her to believe. Then they''d offered to help her dispose of us, and she''d epted.


    "Geez, they even gave you a gun?"


    "No, I bought it myself."


    "Idols shouldn''t have their own handguns." "What, isn''t it a normal girlish hobby?"


    "I can tell you categorically that it''s not."


    ...No, this was no time for a bantering contest.


    "Saikawa, we''re not the enemy. I know you know this. Did you forget we protected you a minute ago?"


    "That was... I mean, I''m sure you were only trying to make me lower my guard..."


    "There was no need for that. If I hadn''t run in right then, that crossbow bolt would have nailed your left eye. If I was really your enemy, would I go out of my way to make extra work for myself?"


    "That''s... That''s..."


    "Listen, Saikawa. Even if you kill us, it won''t do you any good. After we''re dead, the real enemy is going to take your left eye."


    "That''s not true!" Saikawa screamed, releasing her gun''s safety with her thumb. "It isn''t true. Otherwise¡ª Otherwise, I..."


    Her expression was resolute, but there was just a slight tremble in her voice.


    "Saikawa, you know that left eye isn''t just a prosthetic, don''t you?" Saikawa bit her lip. She didn''t answer my question.


    "What do you mean?" Behind me, I heard Natsunagi''s quivering voice. "It means SPES has a good reason to go after it."


    "You said something like that earlier, but... You mean..." "Right. In simple terms, Saikawa''s eye is like that guy''s ear."


    "Him? ...! So that''s what this is..." Natsunagi seemed to have reached the same conclusion I had, and words deserted her.


    "That left eye... That pseudoeye can see through physical objects. Isn''t that right, Saikawa?"


    That was why they were obsessed with it.


    I had no idea how Saikawa''s parents had gotten ahold of it...but however it happened, SPES couldn''t exactly ignore it.


    "...How did you know?"


    "Over the past week, I watched all your TV appearances, back to back to back. And in every one of them, you moved way too easily for a girl who wears an eye patch."


    Ordinarily, a person''s vision declines by more than 20 percent when they go from seeing out of two eyes to seeing out of one. It''s also harder to judge perspective. However, as I watched Saikawa sing and dance, I hadn''t seen the slightest suggestion of difficulty.


    That wasn''t all. On the day we''d gone to her house, she''d held her cup with her left hand as she drank her tea¡ªeven though her vision on that side should have been drastically reduced by her eye patch.


    When we''d run into each other at the CD store "coincidentally" (she''d probably been watching me), Saikawa had stood on my right. But she wasn''t supposed to be able to see out of her left eye, so that had been a really unnatural choice.


    In terms of the time line, those hints had started building up early on, and so I''d spent a week thoroughly investigating her.


    "Sorry. My old partner taught me to be extra-sensitive to what I saw and heard."


    I remembered how, two years ago, Siesta had resolved the Medusa incident at that European mansion in the forest with a gaze as her only hint.


    ...Yeah. It''s just like you said, Siesta. Only people with sharp eyes and ears survive in this business.


    "...I see. So you never trusted me in the first ce, then? Ah-ha-ha. I did wonder what had happened when you told me you desperately wanted to go to the rehearsal."


    "Did you think I''d turned into a Yui-nya fan?" "Yes, I just assumed you''d fallen under my spell." Yeah, Natsunagi was real suspicious about that, too.


    For a moment, Saikawa and I forgot we had each other at gunpoint and snickered a little.


    "That man in ck yesterday...," Saikawa said. "You engineered that as well, didn''t you, Mr. Assistant?"


    "You''ve got good intuition... And, uh, sorry."


    I''d wanted actual proof that Saikawa could see out of her left eye, so I''d set a trap at that rehearsal. When a crisis hits out of nowhere, people react on instinct.


    As the suspicious man had approached her from the left wing of the stage, even though her left eye was covered, Saikawa had seen him clearly.


    If she were calm, she might have thought, I''m not supposed to be able to


    see out of my left eye, and this man is approaching from my left. I shouldn''t notice him. ...Naturally, that wasn''t possible. As a result, Saikawa had screamed before the man managed to reach her, and she had escaped unharmed.


    By the way, that man in ck had been an acquaintance of mine. Four years ago, he was one of the guys who used to give me attach¨¦ cases.


    "Really, though, would you normally go to such lengths just to confirm that my left eye had this ability?"


    "No, I had one other objective. I wanted a tour of the dome, and the suspicious man provided the perfect excuse. I was hoping to get an idea of the ces they were likely to hide today."


    "...I think you may have been a little too well prepared." "It''s something my old partner taught me."


    What had it been? "First-rate detectives resolve incidents before they even ur"?


    Although, as the assistant, there was almost no chance I''d ever reach that level.


    "Is that about it? Have we both shown all our cards?"


    "Let''s see... Yes, you''ve seen all of mine." For the first time in a while, Saikawa gave a charming smile.


    Yeah, that''s Yui Saikawa, the idol I know.


    "All right, now that we''re square on that, I''m gonna ask... Would you lower that gun?"


    "That''s..."


    For a moment, Saikawa''s face twisted, and she looked down.


    "The truth is, I know now... I do. I know you two aren''t my enemy. I know you''re on my side; I know you''re trying to protect me. But."


    Again, Saikawa raised her head.


    She gave a sad smile, and a single tear traced a line from her right eye. "But then what am I supposed to do? How can I protect my left eye?" I see. So Saikawa knew, too.


    She was aware that killing us wouldn''t solve her problem. That the threat wouldn''t go away.


    After all, SPES wasn''t only after me. They''d been keeping Saikawa alive so that she could help get rid of me; now she was in danger as well. That crossbow bolt was incontrovertible proof.


    "...I just can''t. Mama and Papa are gone. My future is so dark. This eye can see even when there''s no light ahead...but without it, I won''t make it."


    That''s not true¡ªthat would be so easy to say.


    Spending several years in this line of work had given me a way with words. I already had a smooth reply: Maybe you can''t see what''s ahead of you in the darkness, but your fans will hold their glow sticks high and light the way


    for you. It would be the easiest thing in the world.


    But I knew a bit of wordy wouldn''t save Saikawa.


    It had been three years since her parents had died. For three years, she''d done everything she could to keep working as an idol and stay in front of her fans¡ªand still, here she was, holding a gun.


    Words weren''t what she needed. Then what did she need?


    What could save Saikawa?


    What did she want most, right now? It was... It was¡ª


    "Hey¡ªonce we got all this cleared up, the two of us were nning to go to the beach."


    The voice started behind me, but it gradually came up beside me. "Would you like toe with us?"


    The suggestion seemed like thest thing we''d need right now in the midst of this tension.


    Saikawa and I had guns pointed at each other''s foreheads. Who the hell would talk about going to the beach?


    What a detective needs is absolute logic, and asionally force.


    That was how Siesta and I had lived for those three years. We''d fought our way through.


    But Natsunagi wasn''t like that. Her essence was¡ªpassion.


    That was her only weapon¡ªbut it was also her strength.


    Saikawa stood there with her mouth open, having forgotten both that she was an idol and that she had a gun trained on someone, while Natsunagi went on.


    "What I mean is...would you be our friend? That''s what I''m trying to say."


    The brilliant smile Natsunagi gave to Saikawa would put any idol in the world to shame.


    "...How can you say that?" The muzzle of Saikawa''s pistol was trembling. "You do understand that I tried to kill both of you, don''t you?"


    "It''s all right," said Natsunagi. "We don''t die that easily." "And I was deceiving you the whole time...," said Saikawa. "Well, you''re an idol singer. Isn''t that your job?"


    "¡ª! That''s not a real argument."


    "You''re right. I tried to deceive you, too, just now. That means we''re even."


    "...You''re shameless."


    "I sure am. So would you ept my shamelessly selfish request?" Insisting that this was merely something she personally wanted, Natsunagi gently held out a hand to Saikawa.


    Neither I nor Siesta could ever have done it that way. "That''s weird, Miss Natsunagi... It''s¡ªit''s just..."


    "Really? I''m sure being friends with weird people is fun. I discovered that myself recently."


    Why did you look at me when you said that, Natsunagi? If anyone''s weird here, it''s you, all right?


    "Even... Even if we were friends...it wouldn''t fix anything. And I''d end up causing you all sorts of extra trouble."


    "I don''t think that''s true." "Huh? Oh¡ª"


    Saikawa''s trembling had given me a momentary opening, so I took the opportunity to snatch the gun out of her hand.


    "Saikawa. You said they were after you, but they''re after me, too. Don''t think of it as ''trouble.'' We''re both targets. It would be more convenient to team up."


    It was true. Natsunagi''s suggestion had sounded ridiculous at first, but I wouldn''t have reached that conclusion without her.


    If the three of us fought one another, we''d be ying right into the enemy''s hands. Instead, we should unite against ourmon enemy.


    I had those three years'' worth of experience, which had stuck with me whether I wanted it to or not; Natsunagi had her heart, with its ultimate courage and DNA; and Saikawa had a left eye that saw through everything. We could supplement one another in a lot of ways.


    "Then...you''ll help me?"


    "Yes, we will. So you help us, too, Saikawa."


    Sorry¡ªI didn''t see iting, but my life''s in danger, too.


    Just ten days ago, my life had been so tepid, and yet once I met Natsunagi...and reunited with my former partner...just look at the mess I was in. My trouble maism wasn''t improving; it was getting worse by the year.


    It looked as if I was going to have to fight SPES yet again.


    To do that, I needed more people and power than I had now. And so¡ª "Saikawa, I want you to join us."


    And in answer to our simple, in, naive, intuitive, instinctive attempt to talk her around, Saikawa said¡ª


    "¡ªYes. I''d love to."


    I''m positive that innocent smile didn''t belong to Yui Saikawa the idol. Right then, she was just a fourteen-year-old girl.


    <strong>Because you said "Let''s go to the beach"</strong>


    A little over a week after Saikawa''s big concert, school let out for summer vacation.


    The long (and timely) break was the perfect opportunity for making good on the promise I''d exchanged with Natsunagi and Saikawa. I assumed we''d be going to a beach somewhere nearby, but...


    "We''re off to the Aegean!" "That''s way too ambitious!"


    As the girls cheered and punched the air, psyching themselves up, I waspelled to point out how absurd this was.


    "Saikawa, look. Yes, Natsunagi and I suggested that the three of us go to the beach, but how did that turn into an eight-day trip on a boat? What exactly are you imagining when you talk about going to the beach?"


    In Japan, you''d usually think of Izu or Shounan or somewhere like that.


    Why had she jumped to Europe and the Mediterranean...?


    Meanwhile, Yui Saikawa¡ªwho was wearing a white dress and a big straw hat¡ªjust seemed puzzled.


    "Huh? But you said we should go, Kimizuka. Besides, the ship''s already sailed, so no need to keep harping on it, all right?"


    ...It was exactly as she said.


    We were already out on the ocean, rocked by the waves. The three of us were standing on the deck of a cruise ship, gazing at the receding Japanese archipgo.


    "Hear, hear. Nobody likes wishy-washy guys." Natsunagi slipped off her sunsses and shot me a belligerent look. She was wearing shorts and a baggy T-shirt. Were the spaghetti straps I could see on her shoulders underwear or a swimsuit? Either way, that look was perfect for her. "Anyway. I''ve never been on a cruise ship, either, so I''m really looking forward to this. Thanks, Yui."


    The smile Natsunagi gave Saikawa was the sort she only rarely gave me.


    After that incident, these two had gotten really close.


    "No, no, it''s the least I can do to, um, make amends. I can''t do much more than this."


    She wanted to make amends for putting our lives in danger. Of course, an all-expenses-paid invitation to an ocean voyage on a morous cruise ship wasn''t enough to make up for that. Saikawa knew it, too. And so¡ª


    "You''re going to fight SPES with us. As long as you do that, I''ll have noints."


    That had been the promise we''d made¡ªthe alliance we''d formed as people whose lives were under threat from the same group.


    "Yes, of course. I''ll do anything I can."


    It felt like both of Saikawa''s eyes were gazing right at me¡ªherrge, round ck one and the sapphire one under her eye patch.


    "What''s the matter, Kimizuka? Why are you staring at my eyes? ...Ohhh, I know. I''ve figured it out. Yui-nya''s got you for real this time, huh? Well, well, Kimizuka... Heh-heh!" Saikawa folded her arms, nodding away.


    Watching this so very genuine, so very simple girl¡ª "You sure are cute."


    ¡ªI went and said it.


    "Heh-heh! ...Heh-heh, heh...heh?"


    At that, Saikawa''s proud chuckling ground to a halt. Before long, the upturned corners of her mouth began to twitch uncertainly, and for some reason, her cheeks turned red.


    "...U-um. I¡ªI wish you''d be a little more subtle about these things, thank you..."


    "Hey, idol, your tolerance should be way higher than that."


    So she could dish it out, but she couldn''t take it. I''d gotten a glimpse of another side of her¡ªone I didn''t really need to know about.


    "Time out!"


    The next instant, a hand chopped down between Saikawa and me. "Watch it! Geez, Natsunagi, what was that for?"


    "...That was getting a little too rom-and for me." " ''Rom-and''?"


    "Never mind! I have something serious to discuss!" Giving a cute little snort of disdain, Natsunagi folded her arms over her chest. "Why did that SPES group make contact with Yui now? Seems a littlete for that, don''t you think?"


    "Oh, yes, true," said Saikawa. "That''s a good question."


    Natsunagi looked at Saikawa, and Saikawa looked at me, tilting her head.


    "Why now? Well, I mean..." I was about to say That''spletely obvious, then thought better of it.


    ...Yes,e to think of it, it was odd.


    Saikawa had said she''d gotten that left eye six years ago. If SPES''s goal had really been to destroy it, it wouldn''t have been strange for them to act sooner... So why had they chosen to do it now?


    And Saikawa wasn''t the only problem.


    Why had SPES waited to starting after me again?


    Over the past year, after Siesta''s death, they hadn''t shown the slightest bit of interest in me. They''d made the call that they had no time to bother with a lowly, nameless assistant (ouch), so why was I being targeted again now, a yearter?


    That train of thought naturally led me to a certain deduction. "...Oh!" Natsunagi gave a small cry, as if she''d realized something.


    She might havee to the same conclusion through the process of elimination.


    In which case...


    "I dunno. There''s no telling what goes on in the minds of those lunatics." Giving a faint smile, I punted Natsunagi''s unease off the field.


    "...You think?" "Yeah."


    After all, this was just a deduction¡ªno more than a theory. I was sure it wasn''t the truth.


    What if SPES''s true target wasn''t Saikawa or me, but Natsunagi, who had Siesta''s heart? Or what if they started getting worried after learning she''d made contact with Siesta''s former assistant?


    No, that couldn''t be it. It shouldn''t be.


    It was wrong for Natsunagi''s life to be destroyed over this.


    "Well, we''ll just have to ept that we have a big evil organization after us and figure out how to deal." That''s why I said something meaningless to end the conversation.


    But in point of fact, whatever the reason was, after the Saikawa incident, we were definitely even higher on the "wanted" list than before. The enemy hadn''t shown themselves directly; they''d probably still been watching and waiting¡ªbut the upshot was that we''d issued a full deration of war.


    The day when I''d have to haul myself out of my tepid life was here.


    "Um, so they''re hunting for us right now, and we''re taking aid-back cruise..." Natsunagi struck a yful pose. Guess my diplomacy was enough for her.


    "Don''t go there, Natsunagi."


    Still, I got the feeling this was actually the right move. After all, it had worked four years ago.


    Back then, Siesta and I had hightailed it out of Japan, leaving on an unforgettable journey with no clear destination. This was probably a reenactment of that day: preordained fate.


    "Well, ideally, nothing happens," I murmured, and the words drifted away on the sea wind.


    No, I know. Really. I know. After all these different coincidences piling up, something was going to happen. We couldn''t possibly get off this easy.


    Almost immediately, it became obvious that my premonition was correct. "¡ªKimizuka?"


    Suddenly, someone called to me, and I turned.


    Standing there was... "Charlie...?"


    Her natural blond hair streamed in the salt wind, and her neat, clearly European features made even her surprise look beautiful.


    "...It''s been a year, hasn''t it?" I said. "Yes. It has."


    We gazed at each other, our expressions hard.


    "Kimizuka, is this a friend of yours?" Natsunagi looked perplexed. "Yeah, Charlie is my...our oldrade."


    Charlotte Arisaka Anderson had worshipped the deceased Siesta¡ªand had been her apprentice.

 Chapter 13: A girl’s monologue 2

    <h4>Chapter 13: A girl¡¯s monologue 2</h4>


    Kimizuka had given me a new life as an ace detective.


    I was no ordinary detective, either. I would be fighting pseudohumans.


    ...Yet I think I was nervous, somewhere in my mind.


    Well, that''s no surprise. I was a nobody before this. I couldn''t possibly handle such a major role out of the blue. I needed someone else to acknowledge me as the detective, or I wouldn''t make it as this new me.


    The night I made my resolve to be reborn as someone new¡ªI dreamed about the person who''d once fought the enemies of the world as a real ace detective.


    In the dream, Siesta seemed to have a personality that was theplete opposite of mine.


    I don''t know whether she was really like that, but...from what Kimizuka had told me, I think it was probably about right.


    She was logical, and I''m an intuitive type. Pr opposites.


    In the dream, we had a huge fight, which turned physical, and it was a hideous, ugly mess.


    But I won, in the end. (Well, it''s technically possible that Siesta took the high road and withdrew, but I''m not going to try to find out. Mostly for the sake of my honor.) Ultimately, Siesta said she''d entrust Kimizuka to me. (I mean, it wasn''t like we were fighting over him, but I''m not going to get into the details. Mostly for the sake of Siesta''s honor.)


    I''m kinda making it into a joke, but it meant so much to me.


    Now I can be an ace detective in both name and fact. I can finally be somebody.


    ¡ªBut that also means I''m not allowed to fail.


    I hated being nobody. I don''t want to go back to when there was nothing. Anything but that darkness. Never again.

 Chapter 14: One day, one year ago

    <h4>Chapter 14: One day, one year ago</h4>


    "Ma''am! Why do I have to buddy up with a guy like him?!"


    The small rocking boat was already unpleasant, and her shrill voice was making my headache worse.


    There were three of us on deck.


    Me, Siesta, and Charlie, who''d been pestering and wailing like a little kid for a while now.


    We were crossing the ocean, on our way to aplish a certain objective...but we seemed to have hit a snag right off the bat.


    "I''d rather throw myself into the sea right this minute than work with Kimizuka as a partner!"


    She''s really running me down...but I''m used to it. I''ve literally never seen this girl in a good mood. "It''s just a temporary maneuver, Charlie," I said.


    Meanwhile, Siesta (or Ma''am, ording to Charlie) spoke as coolly as ever. "You''ve been on several simr maneuvers before, remember?"


    "Yeah, and I hated it every time!" "Is that right?"


    "Yes!"


    "I had no idea."


    As the rough sea rocked the boat, Siesta took a sip of her ck tea with a gentle tip of the cup. I was detecting a hint of mockery in the gesture.


    "Until he showed up, I was your partner, Ma''am." Charlie shot me a sharp re.


    Ooh, scary. I''m afraid.


    "Partners? She only assigned you jobs every so often, right?" I shot back. "Ngh..." Charlie looked down, embarrassed. "B-but still. I...was Ma''am''s


    first apprentice..." To show her respect, Charlie even used "Ma''am" in ce of Siesta''s name.


    Charlotte Arisaka Anderson was about my age, a girl with roots in both America and Japan.


    Charlie''s parents were in the army, and she''d been given a strict upbringing. She''d spent time in a variety of organizations, and even as young


    as she was, she''d alreadypleted multiple military missions. One of those had involvedbat with SPES, and she''d joined our team frequently, on Siesta''s request.


    Her position could have been "security," "spy," or "soldier."


    However, if you asked her, "Siesta''s apprentice" was the one that fit best. "Yes. You''re right, Charlie. You''ve saved me many times. Thank you for


    all you''ve done." "Ma''am...!" "Come here."


    Charlie ran up to Siesta''s knees and nuzzled against her like a puppy.


    Siesta stroked her blond hair gently,bing it with her fingers.


    "Heh-heh." Charlie looked bashful and contented. Gradually, her eyes turned toward me. "...Heh!"


    "Uh, I''m not jealous."


    Why was she looking so smug? What was wrong with her?


    "Well, it would certainly make my life easier if you two would get along a little better," Siesta murmured, smiling wryly, after she''d stroked Charlie''s head for a while.


    "Oh! That''s right!" Charlie sprang up from Siesta''sp. "I still haven''t agreed to work with Kimizuka!"


    Apparently, Siesta''s fingers on her hair had made her forget all about it. "Don''t give Siesta too much trouble, Charlie," I said. "We don''t have


    much time left."


    "...I''d appreciate it if you didn''t call me by my nickname."


    She cares about that now?


    I swear, she''s a total kid beneath that grown-up exterior. Does she resent me that much for taking Siesta from her? ...I mean, not that she''s actually mine or anything, but still.


    "Listen to me. Neither of you is perfect." Siesta admonished us, getting the situation under control again. "That''s why you need to work together andpensate for your individual weaknesses."


    "My weaknesses...? I can''t think of anything in particr." "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    There it was: the line Siesta said all the time when I did something wrong. "You can''t eat green peas, and you have a harder time waking up on winter


    mornings than I do. You always make a face when you take medicine, and you try to avoid roads that have pigeons or crows on them even if it means taking the long way around. Can you still say you have no weaknesses?"


    "...I don''t think I''ve ever told you anything about any of that."


    "I don''t need you to tell me to know that much. We''re together enough."


    Oh yeah? Well, stop there, all right? Charlie''s getting grumpy.


    "So? What does this have to do with role division?"


    "Yes. You''re clever, but if you got in a fight with a water flea, you''d probably lose. You''repletely unsuited tobat."


    "...I am, huh?"


    Getting a bad feeling, I nced over at Charlie. She was watching me and snickering.


    "Meanwhile, Charlie..." "Yes?!"


    "You have solid skills in battle, but you''re not the brightest bulb." "What?!"


    "Pfft! Snrk, snrk."


    "¡ªI heard thatugh, Kimizuka! You justughed at me, didn''t you?! I''ll kill you! I will shoot you dead right now!"


    "No fighting. You''re better than that." "Ow!"


    "Wah!"


    Siesta karate-chopped each of us on the head. Dammit, I''m not the bad guy here.


    "I want you to get through this maneuver by working together."


    "This maneuver" was the recovery of arade who was being held prisoner on a certain ind that was effectively under the control of SPES. Failure was definitely not an option.


    "But, Ma''am, that means you''ll be by yourself..." Charlie''s worry was only natural.


    If she and I buddied up, Siesta would be forced to act on her own.


    "Don''t underestimate me, please," Siesta replied. "I''m ten times the fighter


    you are, Charlie. I''m also a hundred times smarter than my assistant. There''s no call for you to worry about me."


    I got the feeling my evaluation had been unfairly low, but whatever. During this maneuver, I''d make it clear just how smart I was. She''d have to revise her opinion then.


    Maybe it was because I was making stupid ns instead of doing something more worthwhile.


    "That being the case, I want the two of you to get along with each other.


    Now, and from now on."


    That was the day the ace detective died.

 Chapter 15 - 3.1

    <h4>Chapter 15: Chapter 3.1</h4>


    <strong>Yesterday''s enemy is today''s enemy, too</strong>


    "I didn''t think we''d be seeing each other again after all this time, Kimizuka." We were on the deck of a luxury cruise ship.


    The individual who''d interrupted my conversation with Natsunagi and Saikawa was Charlotte Arisaka Anderson¡ªand it was the first time I''d seen her in a year, since the day Siesta died.


    "Yeah, it surprised me, too. How''ve you been?"


    "You have no reason to be concerned about my health." Oh yeah? Well, good to see you haven''t changed a bit. I thought I''d fire back with a lighthearted jab, but¡ª


    "...Really, what on earth have you been doing all this time?"


    Suddenly, Charlie''s tone came down a step, and there was a sharp light in herrge eyes.


    "''All this time''?"


    "Since she died." Charlie bit her lip. She was as beautiful as ever, but her expression was harder than it used to be.


    "What have I been doing...? Nothing, actually." Thinking back over this past year, I answered honestly.


    I could have said I''d done something, but only very recently. After I met Natsunagi.


    "Yes, I imagine not," Charlie answered derisively, as if she''d been expecting that answer. "You caught bag snatchers, went around searching for lost dogs and cats, receivedmendations from your local police... And you think that makes you a hero?"


    Oh, so she knew, huh? She knew about my tepid life. "Kimizuka¡ªdidn''t you have any intention of inheriting Ma''am''s job?"


    ...I see. So that was what she''d wanted to say all along, huh? She''d been checking into what I was doing this past year because she wanted to say that.


    I seemed to remember Ms. Fuubi saying something simr to me at one point.


    However, my answer to that was:


    "For those three years, I was just the assistant. All I can do is assist." And the one I was meant to assist was gone. I was powerless.


    "...That''s right. You were her assistant, Kimizuka. Her only assistant. So..." The sea wind carried her whisper far away. Charlie''s long eyshes came down slowly, as if she was thinking about something. "Well? What are you doing here, then? Changed your mind?"


    By the time Charlie asked me that question, she''d reverted to her usual firm expression.


    "What am I doing here? Uh, I''m on a cruise."


    "...I see. You don''t even know." Charlie gave a disgusted sigh. "So it''s only a coincidence that you''re on this ship."


    "...Is there something here?"


    I nced at Saikawa, but she shook her head emphatically. Apparently, she had no idea what this was about.


    "Ma''am''sst wish." "Huh?"


    "Just before she died, in order to bring down SPES, she left herst wish¡ª her legacy¡ªall over the world. One piece of it is dormant somewhere on this cruise ship. The analysis took time, but that information is sound," Charlie said. "Although the analysis team isn''t part of my organization."


    I remembered that part of the work wasn''t exactly her forte. Siesta had teased her about it quite a lot. Still¡ª


    "Siesta''s legacy is on this ship...?" And Charlie was here to search for it.


    And today, by coincidence, I just happened to be on the same boat.


    Coincidence? Really?


    "But since you have no intention of carrying out Ma''am''s dying wish, it''s none of your business. You can just rot in your tepid life forever." With that, Charlie turned to go.


    "No, hang on a second. Charlie..."


    "I''m not who I was a year ago," she said. "I''m not the girl who couldn''t save Ma''am."


    With that, Charlie told me good-bye...well, told her past self good-bye, in all likelihood.


    "I inherited thatst wish."


    The voice that rang out then was clear and carrying, the sort that traveled all the way to distant inds.


    Natsunagi stepped out in front of me, facing Charlie straight on. "And you are?"


    "I''m Nagisa Natsunagi¡ªthe ace detective."


    This was getting dangerous; I could almost see the sparks flying.


    "Nagisa Natsunagi...?" Charlie said quietly, putting a hand to her chin, and then¡ª


    "Oh, you''re the..."


    Her eyes went to Natsunagi''s heart. That had to be one of the most important items of information linked to Siesta. Had Charlie tracked that down as well?


    "I don''t suppose you''d want to y detective somewhere else, would you? I don''t want to see you using Ma''am''s life for a game of pretend," Charlie said frostily, with obvious irritation in her eyes.


    "I''m not ying!" Nagisa shot back, setting her hand over the left side of her chest. "I was given this life, and that has to mean something! Siesta entrusted it to me! And so, I''ll be the one to find that legacy¡ªI swear on this heart!"


    She''d snapped at me like this once, too; it was fierce and fiery, a deration of war.


    For a moment, Charlie''s eyes went wide, as if Natsunagi had overwhelmed her.


    "¡ªI see. Do whatever you want," she said, promptly turning on her heel. "There''s no way you could ever rece her. I''ll be the one to inherit herst wish."


    As I watched her receding back, I couldn''t think of anything to say.


    "Aw, she left..."


    Finally, Saikawa spoke up. Maybe she didn''t want the mood to get too heavy.


    "Um, I''m sorry," she continued. "If I hadn''t invited you two onto this ship, this would never have..."


    "No, it''s not your fault, Saikawa." I immediately rejected that idea. I couldn''t let my personal situation spoil Saikawa''s gesture of kindness. "It was more like, you know, a collision of really unfortunate coincidences," I said, partly to convince myself as well. "You too, Natsunagi. I''m sorry for pulling you into all that."


    "..." "...Natsunagi?"


    When I looked at her, her fists were clenched, her shoulders were trembling, and...


    "Nnnnnnnnggggghhhhhhh! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    ...her face turned bright red, and she started pounding her knees with her fists, again and again.


    "Kimizuka, do you think this is a greeting from abroad, perhaps?" "No idea... Makes me think of a gori more than anything, but..."


    "A gori, hmm? Did you know their official scientific name is Gori gori gori...?"


    "Yeah. And all of them have type B blood..." "Would you shut up about goris?!"


    Finally, the gori¡ªer, Natsunagi, whose face was as red as an apple,unched into an angry diatribe at someone who had already left.


    "Arrrrgh, what a jerk! I''m ying pretend, huh?! I... Just how does she think I felt when I...!"


    Yeah, I know. I know you''re serious.


    If anyone was wrong back there, it was me.


    I''d been Siesta''s only assistant, and I had failed to carry out my role. Not to mention I didn''t even want to inherit herst wish.


    No wonder Charlie''d had it with me. I was the one who deserved the me, not Natsunagi.


    "I am going to be the one who finds it. Her legacy. Count on it," Natsunagi said, as I''d suspected she would. Her eyes were narrowed, and her fists were tightly clenched.


    "I think you''re getting a little too worked up about this." "Huh...? You...think so...?"


    "Why don''t you go cool off in the pool? We''ve got time for that. Right, Saikawa?"


    "...! Yes! There''s even a waterslide!"


    Of course there was; this was a luxury cruise ship owned by the Saikawa family. Natsunagi''s swimsuit purchase was about to pay off.


    "Are youing, too, Kimizuka?"


    "Uh, I''m..." I gave it a little thought. "Sorry. There''s something I need to do."


    Yeah. The one who really needed to cool down was me.


    "...I see." Natsunagi''s shoulders drooped a little, but she didn''t try to get any details out of me. She signaled to Saikawa, and they both turned to go.


    "See youter, then."


    "All right, Kimizuka. I''m gonna burn the sight of Nagisa onto my retinas!" "...Yui, actually, maybe let''s not go into the pool together, okay?"


    <strong>Wee to hell, thend of dreams</strong>


    For a little while after Natsunagi and Saikawa had left for the pool, I stayed on deck, thinking.


    I met an enemy rade) of mine again after a year. It would have been easy to call this encounter a coincidence.


    But I knew we were in too deep for that.


    Natsunagi had taught me as much during the incident with her heart¡ªyou can''t just brush off people''s feelings or your reunions with them. The word coincidence is too irresponsible and fatalistic.


    I had to assume that every meeting and reunion in this recent chain of events meant something. Reaching that conclusion, I knew where I should be going next.


    After all, what I had to do now was talk things out with the right person. As for where I''d find her... Well, we''d known each other long enough that I could pretty much guess.


    I made my way through the vast ship, opened a door that wasrger than the rest, and¡ª


    "Ha-ha. Ah, memories."


    The first thing I saw was long rows of slot machines. Toward the rear, there were green tables where you could y roulette and barat, with dealers running the games.


    This ce was magnificent and debauched, a seething mass of human desires, a paradise of dreams, or hell itself¡ªa casino.


    Casinos were illegal in Japan, but once you were out on the ocean, thatw no longer applied.


    ...Still, this really did take me back.


    Las Vegas, Macao, Singapore¡ªa few years ago, when I''d been traveling all over the world with Siesta, I''d learned to gamble. On the asional days when we''d used what little money we had to win big, Siesta and I had lived it up.


    Speaking of "living it up," there was one day when we both drank liquor¡ª something neither of us did as a rule¡ªand got pretty drunk, and then... No, actually, I won''t tell that story. I''m sure it happened because we were, you know, young and thoughtless.


    Past stories aside, the important thing now was whether she was here, and...yep, there she was.


    "Ngh, why...? That''s my seventeenth loss in a row. Nobody else is losing..." She was slumped over a poker table, the blond hair she was so proud ofically disheveled. "Urgh, this just can''t be right. One more time... One more time!"


    Apparently having failed to learn her lesson, she took a twenty-dor bill out of her wallet, intending to have the dealer convert it into chips for her.


    "What are you doing, you moron?"


    Seriously, I can''t just stand by and watch this. Inded a karate chop on that blond head.


    "Wh-who''s there?" Her shoulders flinched, and then she turned awkwardly to look at me.


    "What kind of idiot gambles herself to tears?"


    Charlie was sitting there, her eyes watery and pained. "Nnnnngh!


    Kimizuka, I can''t win..."


    "What happened to all that spirit you had when you were picking a fight with us?"


    Well, Charlie always had been like this.


    When the talk turned to Siesta, she tended to forget herself, but generally, she acted her age... Actually, her mature looks only made her childish moments more prominent. Frankly, she was kinda unreliable¡ªand to borrow Siesta''s words, not the brightest bulb.


    ...I didn''t say it, all right? Siesta did.


    "Why are you messing around with poker?"


    "...Well, they say this is Ma''am''s legacy, so I thought if I kept winning at the casino, it might, you know, turn up as a prize or something..."


    "I see. Good to see you''re still dim as ever."


    Although, thanks to that, I did manage to guess where she''d be right away. "What''s that supposed to mean?!"


    "It means Siesta was really seeing you." "Huh?! Ma''am really saw me? ...Heh-heh."


    Don''t give me that "heh-heh" business. One second she''s crying, then she''s mad, then she''sughing... Seriously, there''s always something going on with her.


    "Switch with me a sec." "Huh?"


    I took Charlie''s ce in front of the young female dealer. "I''ll win back what you lost, at least."


    "...A-and what are you going to ask me for in return?" Charlie backed away, hugging herself. This is why people say you''re stupid.


    "I''ll settle for a conversation." "...Conversation?"


    "Later. We''ll go back out on deck." I handed the dealer a twenty. "Just watch. I''ve always had a knack for poker."


    I''ll show that ace detective, wherever she is, the difference between you and me.


    <strong>That''s why I can''t be a detective</strong>


    "¡ªI can''t believe you lost."


    As I stood on the deck, staring vacantly at the ocean, someone was snarking at me from the vicinity of my knees, in a tone that would ordinarily be unthinkable.


    Charlie leaned against the railing with her back to me. "What the heck was that? You stroll in like ''Oh, I''m so cool, I''ve always had a knack for poker'' and then you go and lose?" Charlie was sitting on the deck, hugging her knees. She looked up at me teasingly.


    "Oh, shut up. I just sort of thought I could pull it off, okay?" Long story short, I got destroyed at the casino.


    Humans have a hopeless tendency to see the past through rose-colored sses. When I thought back carefully, I remembered that it had been Siesta, not me, who''d won big at the casino with that knack for poker. I''d only been granted her leftovers... That''s one hell of a trap.


    "That is beyond pathetic. Not only that, but you got sucked in even worse than I did and blew all the money you had. Talk about stupid. Talk about sick."


    "I already feel terrible, so don''t pour salt in the wound, thanks."


    Haaaah. Maybe I''ll borrow money from Natsunagi when she gets back from the pool. Swallow my pride, et cetera.


    No, this was a time to ask Saikawa. Everybody should have a rich friend. "Heh-heh. But yes, you were right," Charlie said. "That was pretty funny." Was it actually a joke all along?


    Charlie gave a contrived-soundingugh. "Pfft! Snrk, snrk."


    Come to think of it, it was the first time in a year that I''d seen that smile. For a little while, weughed together quietly.


    "¡ªSo? What did you want to talk about?"


    The wind blew, changing the peaceful atmosphere.


    "Siesta." As I answered, I rested my arms on the boat''s railing and gazed out to sea.


    "...We already had that conversation. It''s over."


    "Says you. Communication is a game of catch, you know." Up till now, my conversations with Charlie had always been more like dodgeball.


    "What could I possibly have to talk about, a yearter, with Ma''am''s assistant, who didn''t try to carry out herst wish?" Charlie''s voice was cold again.


    Unsurprisingly, that was something she just couldn''tpromise on. I''d been chosen as Siesta''s assistant, and then after she''d died, I hadn''t tried to carry on her legacy. I''d averted my eyes from the beings I should have been fighting and stayed in my lukewarm life.


    And I was the one who hated myself the most for all of it. Yes. I bet that''s why Charlie was¡ª


    "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to worry you," I said.


    She''d been concerned about me, her enemy¡ªherrade¡ªall this time. "...I''d like it if you wouldn''t presume to know what I''m thinking."


    "You even read all those newspaper articles about me." "I¡ªI just happened to see them; that''s all."


    "And then you came all this way, just to see me." "I told you that was a coincidence!"


    "Ow!"


    Charlie''s fist sank into my lower thigh... I guess I teased her a little too much. But really, I probably had worried her. I did feel bad about that.


    "Still," she said, "since you did apologize, I''ll give you one chance." "Oh yeah?"


    Charlie got to her feet and came to stand beside me. "Why didn''t you try to be a detective in Ma''am''s ce?" Her eyes shone like emeralds, and they wouldn''t let me get away. It was toote to lie or pull a fast one.


    "...She... Siesta said something to me."


    I remembered what had happened on that day, four years ago. In the sky, at ten thousand meters.


    On the ne that Bat had hijacked, Siesta told me¡ª


    "You¡ªbe my assistant."


    That was what she''d said.


    "That''s why I can''t be a detective. I couldn''t four years ago. I can''t now that she''s dead, either. I''m sure I''ll never be able to. I''ll always be hers: the ace detective''s assistant."


    I can''t be her. But I can continue to live for her.


    "...Dummy." The corners of Charlie''s lips curved up in a way that looked a little sad. "You''re the one who''s stuck in the past with Ma''am, not me."


    Was that true? Maybe so.


    Even now, I''m sure. Siesta is my¡ª


    "Well, it doesn''t matter." Charlie smiled, then looked up ahead, far out to sea. "You should find Ma''am''s legacy, and your own answer, your way. Because I''m nning to do it my way." Charlie pressed her lips together tight.


    I swallowed the "Thank you" threating to escape me and went for a


    grateful-sounding "Sorry" instead. "Her legacy, huh...?" Once again, I started to think about what Siesta had apparently left on this ship. "If your team got that information, Charlie, the enemy might have it, too... You think it''s possible?"


    "You mean SPES?" "Yeah."


    When it came to information warfare, they gave as good as they got. On top of that, Siesta had been one of their greatest enemies. If they knew she''did the groundwork for something, they were bound to try to...


    "It is a definite possibility. Well, I do technically have an idea, but..." "A-an idea? You have an idea, Charlie...?"


    "...I see you''re desperate to fight me," Charlie said, shing the holster she wore on her hip.


    What did it mean that all the girls I''d mettely carried handguns?


    "I told you, remember? I''m not who I was a year ago." The way she was puffing up was still more or less the same, though. "Oh, speaking of that. Kimizuka, starting today, let me borrow your cabin."


    "Huh? Why? If you''re part of the tour, you''ve got your own."


    "I have nothing of the sort." Charlie tilted her head, straight-faced. "After all, I''m a stowaway."


    "Don''t give me that!"


    Come to think of it, she was particrly good at covert maneuvers...


    C''mon, just pay the money. Don''t use it to gamble.


    "Give me the key to your cabin."


    "That''s not fair at all. Actually, how did you get onto the boat? Did you use optical camouge?"


    "Heh-heh. Industry secret."


    For some reason, Charlie seemed extremely proud of this. She was puffing her chest out so far I wondered if her shirt would split open, so I wished she wouldn''t stop.


    "Optical camouge, hmm...?" Charlie put a hand to her chin and murmured softly. Thanks to her mature looks, the pensive expression really suited her. Although for as long as I could remember, that face usually meant she was thinking What should I have for dinner tonight...? or something along those lines, so it wasn''t much help.


    "Listen, Kimizuka?"


    Abruptly, Charlie looked up and asked:


    "Do you suppose there''s a way to get off this ship in the middle of the ocean?"

 Chapter 16 - 3.2

    <h4>Chapter 16: Chapter 3.2</h4>


    <strong>Cindere before midnight</strong>


    After I''d parted ways with Charlie and her iprehensible question, I met up with Natsunagi and Saikawa, who''d returned from the pool.


    After that, the three of us explored the vast ship together, searching for "Siesta''s legacy"...but we had no idea what we were even trying to find. Naturally, our search didn''t go well.


    While we were busy, the sun went down, so we decided to have dinner in the restaurant. The tour''s guest of honor, Saikawa, was busy making the rounds and greeting everyone, so Natsunagi and I were the only ones who got to eat.


    "This feels kind of weird." Natsunagi was using her knife and fork to cut up her salmon meuni¨¨re in the ship''s French restaurant.


    "What does?"


    "Sitting across from you and eating dinner together like this." "You don''t want to?"


    "You know I didn''t say that."


    Even filled with reproach, her eyes were remarkably cute. How nice it would be if her personality got just a little cuter, too.


    "Then what?" I said. "Are you saying that having dinner alone together is almost like a date?"


    "...It takes real guts to say that when you''re t broke." "I have no excuses to give there."


    If it hadn''t been for Saikawa''s kindness, I wouldn''t even have been able to pay for our meals here, and I''d probably have spent the rest of my life on this boat working off my debt. Gambling is a terrifying thing.


    Speaking of gambling, should I fill her in on what happened with Charlie earlier? This morning, the two of them ended up goading each other into a fight, but I should probably tell her Charlie isn''t really all that bad.


    "Natsunagi, do you have time after this?"


    "Huh? Um, I don''t have anything nned. I''m just gonna shower, then go to bed."


    "I see. In that case, there''s a little something I''d like to talk about." "Talk? We could just do that here..."


    "Uh, the subject''s a little hard to discuss in a ce like this." SPES woulde up as well, and we''d be touching on some sensitive stuff. I''d rather do that away from so many eyes. "There was a bar across the way, wasn''t there? Can I ask you to meet me there in an hour?"


    "Ummm... Me, by myself? Alone with you?" "Yeah."


    This was really something I should fill Saikawa in on, too, but she was busy being the guest of honor right now, so it would keep.


    "I¡ªI see. So you want to talk, alone with me, at a bar...and tell me something you don''t want other people to hear..." Natsunagi''s lips were moving; she was mumbling. She was looking down and, for some reason, blushing. "W-well, all right... Okay, so I''ll see you in an hour."


    She speared her remaining meuni¨¨re with her fork, crammed it into her


    mouth all at once, got up, and trotted away. What the hell was that about? "The main course isn''t even here yet," I called after her.


    I''d really rather have given the extra food to Charlie, but she was probably rxing in my cabin by now. She couldn''t actually have found a way off the ship.


    "Well, if we''d had dinner alone together, we''d have nothing to talk about." Over the course of an hour, I somehow managed to finish a multicourse meal for two by myself. Then I headed for the bar where we''d promised to


    meet.


    "...Sorry to keep you waiting."


    When I''d been sitting at the table for a little while, Natsunagi came in, right on time. To avoid being noticed, I''d chosen a spot away from the counter; we were in one of the booths in the back, facing each other across the table.


    ...Even so.


    "You changed clothes for this?"


    "Huh? Oh, no, it just, um, happened? After I took a shower, this was all I had to wear."


    Natsunagi''s outfit was a dramatic change from the casual clothes she''d been in before. She was wearing a low-cut dress, with a thin shawl around her shoulders.


    I mean, yeah, it was an appropriate way to dress for this ce... But she''d taken more care with her makeup than usual, and I caught the scent of perfume. Was this why she''d hurried back to her room like that? So she could get ready?


    "Haaah, well, you can wear whatever you want."


    "Whatever...?" Natsunagi pouted, looking a little cross. Had I said something wrong? "And? Um, the talk..."


    "Oh, right. Well, let''s drink while we talk."


    The drinks I''d ordered before Natsunagi got here had just arrived. "Is it alcoholic?" she asked.


    "No, Cindere." "Me?"


    "The drink."


    I''d ordered her a nonalcoholic cocktail by that name. For myself, I''d gotten a Shirley Temple, another famous virgin cocktail. I was sick of alcohol- fueled mistakes.


    "All right, just listen for a little while."


    After we drank a toast, I began to tell her about Charlie as a person, including how I''d met her.


    "This was not what I thought it was going to be." Once I''d finished my story, Natsunagi seemed to wilt a little. "...Well, I mean, this isn''t that... It''s just the influence of the heart''s owner, that''s all..."


    "What are you muttering about?"


    "¡ª! ...Huh? What?" she said, suddenly irritated. "Huh? Why did you just snap out of nowhere?" "I didn''t snap."


    "No, you totally did."


    "I''m telling you, I didn''t!" The toe of her high heel connected with my shin. "I''ll double-kill you!"


    "That''s not fair!"


    ¡ªGetting back on topic.


    "Anyway. I see what you mean. She''s not as awful as I thought she was." As Natsunagi spoke, she took a sip of her cocktail. "Siesta was always on her mind, and she still is, even now. She''s so genuine it''s a little inspiring."


    "Yeah. She''s genuinely dumb. Sometimes what she says and does is out there, but that might be one of the best things about her." Although I''d die before I told her that.


    "You''re right... To be honest, I knew it, too." "That Charlie wasn''t a bad person, you mean?"


    "That, too, but...the fact that I was in the wrong." With a troubled smile, Natsunagi went on. "The things she said were right on the mark."


    She must have been talking about their argument that morning. Charlie had told Natsunagi to quit ying detective. And Natsunagi had just admitted that she was doing just that.


    "I didn''t spend a long time with Siesta the way Charlie did, and I don''t have any strengths I''m really proud of. All I have is this heart...and the belief that I''ve inherited herst wish." Her voice dropped to a self-deprecating


    murmur in the quiet bar. "I do know that much."


    She was right. As Natsunagi herself admitted, she and Siesta were different in many ways.


    The color of their hair, of course. The way they spoke, their personalities, their principles, and even the way they carried themselves.


    Natsunagi could never be a Siesta doll. And yet¡ª "What made you decide you''d ept Siesta''s role?"


    That day¡ªthe day when we''d learned that Natsunagi''s transnted heart had belonged to Siesta¡ªNatsunagi had decided to be an ace detective. Even when I''d told her she didn''t have to rece anyone, she''d chosen to take that path.


    But I still hadn''t really heard her thoughts on the matter. I''d decided her silence was something I should respect, and I''d looked the other way. But it was probably time to wake up. For both of us.


    "The thing is¡ªI''ve had poor health ever since I was little." Natsunagi narrowed her eyes, remembering the distant past. "While everyone around me was going to school, I was stuck in bed, all alone. My only friends were some picture books and a little teddy bear. When I saw idols singing and dancing on TV, I was so, so jealous of them."


    In my mind''s eye, I saw a white hospital room, filled with the smell of chemicals, and a young girl with an IV drip in her thin arm.


    "I used to think, I''ll never go anywhere. I''ll never get to leave this room. I couldn''t study, couldn''t exercise. I was sure I''d never be anyone." Natsunagi smiled, but I could see a hint of tears in her eyes. "It was really scary. But time passed, and then I flew out of my cage. I was given a new life; after that, I had no choice but to test out my wings. Only...I didn''t know how to fly."


    "How to fly?"


    "Yeah... How to live. So I think I wanted an axis." An axis, to help her live her life.


    When Natsunagi said that word, I realized it was probably the core of our entire conversation.


    "I wasn''t anybody, and then all of a sudden, I had to be. So I relied on this heart... I decided to model my approach to life on hers."


    These were the true feelings she''d kept hidden inside.


    This was why she''d listened to the voice of that heart. She''d pursued the person the heart was looking for, "X"¡ªme¡ªand had taken up the role of ace


    detective.


    It had happened during the Saikawa incident as well. At first, I''d been nning on turning down the request, but Natsunagi had given a random reason to make us take it. Now I could understand the logic behind her unnatural proactiveness.


    Natsunagi could only find her way in life by using the ace detective¡ª Siesta¡ªas her axis. And that was just as true of me.


    "So it''s exactly as Charlie said. I''ve been ying detective this whole time. I know this is only make-believe."


    "Natsunagi..." I tried to say something to her, but the words wouldn''te out right.


    ...Because we were the same.


    I had the sameplex she did, and I didn''t know what I should do from here on out. Which meant that right now, I had no answers to give her.


    "I''m sorry. I''m going to call it a night." Draining the rest of her cocktail in one gulp, Natsunagi stood up.


    "Natsunagi, I..."


    "Good night. See you tomorrow, okay?" As Natsunagi waved at me, her expression was no different from usual. That was how I knew this conversation was over.


    "Yeah, see you tomorrow." All I could do was watch her small back get farther and farther away. " ''See you tomorrow,'' huh...?"


    That''s right¡ªthis isn''t over yet.


    I''d have to get my thoughts together and watch for a chance to talk about it again. For now, I decided to head back to my cabin...except Charlie took it over, didn''t she? If I tried quietly slipping into the bed with her, I''d probably wake up dead tomorrow.


    Well, that left only one option. I took out my phone. "Uh, hello, Saikawa?"


    "Yes, speaking... What is it? It''s kindate, isn''t it?"


    "Are you in your cabin already? Sorry, but could you let me stay there tonight?"


    While I was there, I''d tell her about Charlie and what I''d just discussed with Natsunagi.


    "...I''ll put on some cute undies while I''m waiting."


    "What is wrong with you?"


    <strong>The worst happens</strong>


    The next morning, themotion outside the cabin woke me up. "Urk, ngh... What''s going on...?"


    "Nnnnngh, be quiet...Kimizuka..." "...Nn. Hey, stop. Let go of me, Saikawa."


    Untangling myself from Saikawa, who was hugging my arm, I sluggishly sat up.


    "What the heck is all the noise about...?" Joints cracking and popping, I stepped into the corridor, and...


    "What the hell was that announcement?! Whose voice was that?!"


    "I don''t know! I don''t see any signs that someone got into the radio room, but..."


    For some reason, there were crew members running around in a panic. "Kimizukaaaa...?"


    "Hey, Saikawa, look alive. Something''s wrong."


    Saikawa came over to me, rubbing sleep-dazed eyes. I was urging her to go wash her face, when¡ª


    "Attention all passengers."


    ¡ªan announcement in a creepy, synthesized voice echoed through the ship''s corridors.


    "We have a girl with us in the lounge."


    Was this about a lost kid? Under most normal circumstances, that would have been the case. But from the way the crew members were reacting, this wasn''t an official broadcast.


    That meant¡ª


    "The girl''s name is¡ªNagisa Natsunagi."


    ""...!""


    Saikawa and I looked at each other. I had an awful feeling about this, and I knew it wasn''t just a feeling.


    "If this rings a bell with anyone, please hurry to the fifth-floor lounge."


    "Saikawa... This is what I think it is, isn''t it?" "...Yes. I think the worst is happening."


    "We have a girl with us."


    If this wasn''t about a lost child, I could think of only one possibility. That girl, Nagisa Natsunagi, had been kidnapped.


    "See you tomorrow": The words she''d said when we partedst night yed in my ears, over and over.


    First, Saikawa and I went to Natsunagi''s cabin and confirmed that it was empty, then headed for the lounge mentioned in the announcement, the one on the fifth-floor deck.


    When we got to the entrance, it had already been closed off by ship security, and an inspection was underway inside.


    "Was Miss Natsunagi there?" Saikawa asked a security guard. As the owner of this ship, she had the right to know everything.


    "No. Crew members came running immediately after the announcement, but they found nothing."


    The guard shot a nce at me, because I looked like an outsider, but Saikawa gave a small nod to indicate that I belonged.


    "...That being the case, we haven''t found anyone who appears to be the


    criminal yet, either."


    "I see..." Saikawa looked down, apparently thinking hard.


    ...Dammit, what''s going on?


    We''d followed instructions ande here, but we couldn''t even find Natsunagi, much less her kidnapper.


    "For now, go over the passenger list carefully. Then check all the cabins andpare the faces and names."


    "Understood, miss."


    Saikawa issued instructions to the security guard, searching for a clue that could get us somewhere.


    She was right. This was a cruise ship, out on the ocean. Even if there was a criminal, he couldn''t possibly have gone anywhere else. Natsunagi had to be on the ship somewhere.


    ...Hmm? A way to get off this ship...?


    "Hey, Saikawa." I waited until the security guard had left his post, then asked my host, "Is there any way to get off this boat in the middle of the cruise?" Excluding regrly scheduled ports of call, of course.


    "Huh? Charlie asked me that same question yesterday."


    "Yesterday? You talked with Charlie before I went to your cabinst night?"


    "Yes, in the evening. She came to see me."


    What? When did that happen...? "And? Did you tell her?" "Yes, well. I mentioned the lifeboats."


    I see. Of course the ship would have those. So had Charlie really left the ship? If so, don''t tell me... Did she take Natsunagi along?


    No, I had to be overthinking it. Charlie had absolutely no motive for grabbing Natsunagi and jumping ship.


    "...Actually, Saikawa, why did you help Charlie?" Speaking of motives, I couldn''t think of a single reason for Saikawa to side with her...


    "Heh-heh. Didn''t you know, Kimizuka? Looking through solid objects isn''t the only thing this eye can do." Saikawa touched the patch covering her left eye with her fingertips. At first nce, that didn''t seem to have anything to do with this situation, but...this definitely wasn''t idle rambling. "For one thing, it can also see whether someone is telling a lie or saying what they really feel."


    "It can...?"


    "Yes. Andst night, when Charlie came to see me, she didn''t tell a single lie. She said there was something she had to do, which was why she had to get off this ship immediately."


    That did sound like the sort of thing Charlie would say.


    "I''m nning to do it my way."


    It probably meant Charlie had an idea, and she had made a move before I had.


    "So I decided to help her just a little. After all, when a girl''s in trouble, I can''t just leave her there."


    I suspected this story might be a white lie on Saikawa''s part. I really couldn''t believe that her sapphire eye had the ability to read minds. But Saikawa was probably doing the job she believed was right, in her own way.


    "...Still, why didn''t you tell me about it? I don''t mind if you helped Charlie out, but you could have mentioned it to me, couldn''t you?" I even stayed in your roomst night because I thought Charlie had taken mine.


    "What? Well, I mean, if I''d told you, you wouldn''t have spent the night in my room, would you, Kimizuka?"


    "That was the goal there?!" No, seriously, what was she after...? "Heh-heh! Just kidding. Did I make your heart skip a beat?" Then she gave an exaggerated wink with her right eye.


    ...I swear. Unlike you, I don''t have the ability to detect lies. Gimme a break.


    But the tension had softened a bit. The next thing I knew, both my nervous sweat and the crease between my eyebrows had vanished. Maybe that was one of Yui Saikawa''s idol skills.


    "Miss Saikawa!" Just then, a security guard came running toward us from the lounge. "This was discovered on one of the counter seats inside."


    He was holding a book. The title was¡ª


    "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes," Saikawa murmured softly.


    I knew that book. It was a collection of short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, detailing the exploits of the legendary detective.


    I took the book from the security guard and flipped through the pages...and a bookmark fell out. The page it had been marking was in the short story "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott," a tale of the event that had led Holmes to be a detective. A ship had also sunk in that story.


    The bookmark had a message on it:


    At 8:00 PM,e to the main deck with the ace detective''s legacy.

 Chapter 17 - 3.3

    <h4>Chapter 17: Chapter 3.3</h4>


    <strong>How to use a three-billion-yen family treasure</strong>


    "Not here, either..."


    "Nope, guess not. Let''s move on."


    Feeling a little dejected, Saikawa and I left the sit-down restaurant we''d been searching and headed for the next location.


    At the moment, we were walking around the ship on a search. Instead of Siesta''s legacy, we were looking for Natsunagi herself.


    "Dammit. So cheating isn''t gonna cut it, huh?"


    "I''m using my left eye, so I really don''t think we could have missed anything, but..."


    "Yeah...you''re right." My fingernails bit into my palms. If the pain stimted my brain, so much the better.


    I was thinking about the message on that bookmark. The criminal had demanded that we give them Siesta''s legacy if we wanted to save Natsunagi''s life.


    But we had no idea what that legacy was. The previous day, Charlie had told us only that something along those lines apparently existed, and we didn''t yet know what it was, specifically. Charlie also hadn''t known...and I doubted the criminal did, either. That was why they''d taken Natsunagi hostage and was trying to make us find it for them.


    That said, we''d learned one thing from this situation.


    "The criminal behind this is definitely a member of SPES, correct?" Saikawa asked.


    "If they''re asking for the ace detective''s legacy, that''s plenty of circumstantial evidence."


    The day before, when I was talking with Charlie, she''d mentioned the possibility that SPES might be after Siesta''s legacy. After this kidnapping incident, I was sure of it.


    SPES was afraid of the seed Siesta had sown here, and they''d concealed themselves on this cruise ship to nip it in the bud. However, they hadn''t been able to find the actual object. Since we were also on board and connected to the affair, the enemy had lost patience and tried to shake us up.


    "Unfortunately, we don''t have a clue what it is, either..."


    So instead of searching for Siesta''s legacy, we''d switched to looking for Natsunagi instead. We went around every public facility in the ship, trying to locate her. We even used Saikawa''s left eye to search the cabins and other ces we couldn''t just walk into.


    "This is the next one, isn''t it?"


    Our next stop was a big theater. They were going to perform a musical there that evening, and at this hour of the afternoon, a rehearsal was underway. Technically, no one was allowed inside, but we managed to use Saikawa''s authority to get in anyway.


    "Well? See anything?"


    From her position in the veryst row of the theater, Saikawa scanned the whole ce. Her left eye could see through the eye patch, beneath the floor, and beyond the doors; it saw everything. If the criminal or Natsunagi happened to be in this theater, Saikawa would be able to find them instantly.


    And the result was¡ª


    "Nothing. Natsunagi isn''t here." "...Okay."


    If Saikawa said so, then that was that. There were still a lot of rooms we hadn''t searched, though. We had to act fast, before something happened that we couldn''t fix.


    "Saikawa, let''s go. We''re running out of time."


    "...Um, Kimizuka. Could you calm down a little, please?"


    "We can''t afford to rx. We have to find Natsunagi fast, or else¡ª" "Kimizuka!" As I tried to turn on my heel, Saikawa grabbed my right arm.


    "Kimizuka, that look in your eyes is scaring me." She was gazing at me.


    For the first time, I realized there was such a thing as a gentle wry smile. "I''m always like this," I retorted.


    "That''s a lie. You''re normally much kinder. Lies don''t work on me." Saikawa said, releasing me. "Besides, I''m sorry. Using my left eye takes... quite a bit out of me."


    "...It does? Sorry about that."


    That hadn''t even urred to me. If that was the case, I''d probably been pushing her a bit too hard. I closed my eyes and massaged the center of my brow, trying to reduce my anxiety.


    "It''s all right; calm down. Your hands squeeze. Your shoulders roll. Your breathing is rhythmic. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, then exhale. Your blood circtes. When you open your eyes, your cloudy vision will be clear."


    "What was that about?"


    "It''s like my magic charm. I use it to calm myself down before concerts, when I''m so nervous, I worry my heart will explode. Why don''t we sit down for a minute?"


    I agreed to Saikawa''s suggestion, and we lowered ourselves into seats in the empty house. On the stage, they were running a rehearsal for The Phantom of the Opera.


    "I''m sorry I''m causing so much trouble. Pathetic, huh?" I muttered. I wasn''t living up to my role as the older one here.


    "Pathetic? Did you mean you, Kimizuka?"


    "Well, I am, aren''t I? When I heard Natsunagi was gone, Ipletely lost it...and then I started working you like a dog. I didn''t even think about how it might affect you physically."


    If Siesta had been alive, she would have let me have it. Assistant fail. She


    probably would have fired me on the spot. I''d never be able to face her. "Heh-heh. You do say some funny things, Kimizuka."


    "...I''m pretty sure I''m not brave enough to crack jokes in a situation like this."


    But Saikawa was giggling, her petite body rocking with genuine amusement. "Kimizuka, you''re acting so apologetic for not meeting other people''s expectations, but¡ª"


    She broke off for a moment, drew a deep breath, and then:


    "¡ªI wasn''t expecting all that much from you in the first ce!" She pointed at me, looking triumphant.


    "...Did you just roast me?"


    That didn''t seem right. I''d thought Saikawa and I had a pretty good, trusting rtionship.


    "Oh, honestly! That''s not what I meant." Saikawa turned her palms up and shook her head dramatically. "That''s the trouble with you, Kimizuka. You don''t understand anything."


    She really is making fun of me, isn''t she?


    "Listen, when I said ''I wasn''t expecting all that much from you,'' I meant it in a good way."


    "Do you think you can get away with insulting people as long as you ''meant it in a good way''?"


    "Regardless."


    Hey, answer my question. Ugh, middle schoolers.


    "I was the same way, you see."


    "...The same?" I remembered my conversation with Natsunagi the day before.


    "Like you, I couldn''t live on my own, either."


    "I couldn''t live on my own." When I heard those words, something clicked in my mind.


    "For me, it was my parents, and for you, it was Siesta. We both had people we couldn''t afford to lose, no matter what."


    And then we did.


    "Once I lost the North Star of my life, I began to obsess over past promises...and then I very nearly did something I could never take back."


    Past promises; irredeemable mistakes.


    I couldn''t ignore how this was connected to me. If I''d been in her shoes,


    there was no telling what I would have done. That was how important Siesta had been to me.


    "But then I got a big shock. The one who saved me was you, someone who should''ve been like me...and Nagisa."


    "I see. So that''s why you..."


    "Yes. You and Nagisa, who were as iplete as I was, tried to save me. You put yourselves in my ce and encouraged me to move forward. That was why I was able to take your hands so easily."


    This was what had been going through her mind in her dressing room, after the attack at the concert¡ªwhen she''d made the choice to put down her gun and take our hands instead. I really didn''t know anything... I was an iplete person, and a disappointment besides.


    Apparently, my papier-mach¨¦ facade hadn''t worked on Saikawa''s left eye. "I am really sorry, but I don''t expect any more than I have to from you,


    Kimizuka. So please don''t be any more considerate of me than you have to be. After all, that''s the sort of friendship we have, isn''t it?"


    Gently, Saikawa removed the patch from her left eye. In that blue, there were no calctions, sympathy, or deceit¡ªno impurities at all. The color was endlessly deep and clear.


    "Yeah, that''s fine. It''s best that way."


    Inwardly, I sent apliment to Siesta, two years ago.


    The idol from Jap¨®n you had your eye on is here with us right now to protect yourst wish.


    "But if you''re the ace detective''s assistant, Kimizuka, then perhaps I wouldn''t mind being your assistant instead."


    "The assistant of the assistant of the ace detective?"


    "Yes, that''s right. Like a matryoshka doll or something." Saikawa giggled as she spoke. "I don''t know if I can ever be your right arm, but I believe I can be your left eye, at least."


    It was a reassuring promise.


    Even in a tunnel with no lights, I bet I''d be able to walk confidently, I thought.


    After that, we resumed our search of the ship, until we''d been through every room.


    "...We didn''t find her, did we?"


    The sun had set, and it wouldn''t be long until the appointed hour. In the end, we had no results to show for our efforts.


    "But, Kimizuka..." "Right."


    Theck of results was the result.


    That led us to just one answer.


    From here on out, no deductions or diplomacy would be necessary. "It''s all-out war, you bastard."


    <strong>Light in the midst of hope (despair)</strong>


    When eight PM came and I went out on deck, all I saw was an expanse of ck sky and ck sea. Right now, except for me, there wasn''t a soul around...or so it seemed.


    Our opponent was the one who''d set the time and ce, so they were bound to show. Actually, they might already be here.


    I strained my eyes in the darkness.


    I didn''t know where they were lurking. Even with Saikawa''s eye, we probably wouldn''t have been able to find them. After all, our opponent had a certain ability.


    During my conversation with Charlie, optical camouge had brieflye up. Even Saikawa''s left eye hadn''t been able to locate the enemy. In that case, it had to mean they were using that sort of technique, a skill that would make them impossible to see.


    And during those three years, I''d already met this guy.


    "Enough messing around. Just get out here already¡ªChameleon." I red at the invisible enemy.


    You''re going to give back Nagisa Natsunagi.


    "Ha-ha. Now there''s a fine greeting." Suddenly, a voice spoke from thin air. "I''m the one who''s been waiting for you, you know. I see no one''s taught you any manners since west met."


    He appeared at the very edge of the deck, with the ck ocean behind him.


    For a moment, the air warped and twisted, and then a human silhouette faded into view.


    The lights illuminated a slim, silver-haired man with Asian features. Like Bat, he had a tentacle-like appendage, this one sprouting from his mouth.


    This was Chameleon, Natsunagi''s kidnapper.


    His long tongue and his ability to blend in with the scenery around him and


    disappear really suited his code name.


    I''d fought this guy once before, during my three-year adventure.


    Back then, he hadn''t shown himself at all, only hinted at his presence with his voice. This was the first time I''d actually seen him.


    "As this is our first reunion in quite some time, I would love to exchange some witty repartee, but...you''ve kept me waiting a very long while, you see. Let''s cut to the chase, shall we?"


    As Chameleon spoke, a vague figure materialized in the coils of his tongue. "Natsunagi!" I tried to run to her, but the tentacle-like tongue tightened its


    grip and raised her high into the air. "Careful. Stay where you are." "Ghk..."


    The grotesque tongue, which looked as if it might be thirty meters long, carried Natsunagi over the side of the ship, holding her above the ocean.


    "Ngh..."


    Natsunagi seemed to be semiconscious; her eyes were closed, and she moaned as if she was in pain.


    "Just hang on. I''ll save you." I reached toward the holster at my waist. "Ha-ha. Perhaps you should calm down a little."


    "Shut up and get that nasty thing back in your mouth. You''re not a goddamn golden retriever. At least they''re cute when they do it."


    Hell, you shouldn''t even be intelligible with it sticking out like that.


    As my irritation grew, I drew my handgun and released the safety.


    "Oh-ho. You''ve grown quite spirited. Before, you were merely that ''ace detective''s'' shadow..."


    "Are you trying to give me shbacks or something? Who wanted to get down to business, again?"


    ...I was seething, and I needed to cool off. "What are you after?" I asked.


    Of course, I had to rescue Natsunagi fast...but I had another job to do, too. I needed to stall for time.


    Right now, the ship''s passengers were escaping into the ocean in the


    lifeboats, under Saikawa''s direction. This maneuver hinged on her charisma as the owner of the ship and as a top idol. However, it was going to take time to evacuate everyone. That was the ultimate mission I''d been assigned: Protect Natsunagi and buy enough time to evacuate all the passengers.


    "I believe I''ve already informed you of my objective. Several times. Hand over the ace detective''s legacy, if you would. Then, and only then, will I return this girl to you. No need for deadly toys," Chameleon sneered, his eyes on the gun in my right hand.


    As we''d thought, Chameleon''s goal¡ªor his objective as a member of SPES¡ªwas the legacy Siesta had supposedly left on this ship. It had to be a trump card that could bring SPES down.


    "I really wish I could, but unfortunately, we don''t have any idea what the legacy is, either."


    "Hmm. So that''s your approach, is it? ...Well, I did give you free rein all day and saw nothing to the contrary. I had hoped until just a moment ago that you would find it somehow. What a pity."


    So this whole time, Chameleon had been watching us from his undetectable camouge against the scenery nearby? In that case, he had to know we wouldn''t be able to trade Natsunagi''s life for Siesta''s legacy.


    "There you have it. So can you just give her back?" I lowered my pistol, attempting to negotiate.


    "I see. You do say such amusing things. Nheless, that would be no transaction at all. You need to offer something that will be worth my while."


    "Worth your while? Well, let''s see. How about this? If you release Natsunagi here and now, I won''t fill your ass full of lead, and you''ll be able to run back home to your mommy, safe and sound."


    "...Ha-ha. You''ve certainly grown cheeky, haven''t you?" Chameleon''s bearing was as infernally polite as ever, but his eyes were clearly annoyed, and his gaze bored into me. "You seem to misunderstand your position. You do not have the advantage in these negotiations."


    Chameleon''s tongue squeezed Natsunagi, hard. "Ngh...ghk...!"


    "Natsunagi!" "Kimi...zuka...?"


    In the coils of Chameleon''s tongue, Natsunagi opened her eyes. She looked around, and it didn''t take her long to understand her situation. But she still


    smiled.


    "...Ah-ha-ha. It looks like I blew it. I''m sorry," she murmured softly. If her smile was going to be so sad, I didn''t want to see it.


    "You didn''t find the ace detective''s legacy. Therefore, the first condition for exchange has been rendered invalid. We are in agreement there." Ignoring our exchange, Chameleon made a new proposal. "In that case, I offer you a choice between the life of this girl and the lives of the passengers and crew who are still on the ship."


    "...!"


    So he''d figured it out? He knew I was buying time and that we were still evacuating the passengers from the ship. Everything. But then why...?


    "What''s the point of killing the passengers? What''s ''worth your while'' about that?"


    "Ha-ha. Firing my own words back at me? In this case, the lives of the passengers and crew are rather incidental."


    "Incidental?"


    "Yes. My primary objective is merely to sink this ship. After all, the detective''s legacy is sleeping somewhere here," Chameleon said. "If we are unable to locate it, we can still ensure no one ever will. If we cannot obtain it, we have only to destroy it. It''s extremely simple."


    "...So you''re saying you''ll just kill the passengers while you sink the boat?"


    "Yes. It''s no more than an attendant result of achieving my objective."


    When I heard that, my grip tightened on the gun again. But I still had things to ask him, so I gritted my teeth and hung on.


    "Then what about Natsunagi?! What does killing her get you?!"


    It was the life of a single girl. For a terrorist organization that had even created pseudohumans like this guy, there was no point in going after¡ª


    "That is also simple: This girl has the blood of the ace detective in her." "...!"


    My mind reeled.


    Had I been right? Was it true?


    SPES''s main target wasn''t me or Saikawa¡ªit was Natsunagi. Not only that, but they were only after her because she had Siesta''s heart...


    "Don''t worry. I won''t kill her so easily."


    "You won''t kill her...easily?" That didn''t make me feel any better at all.


    "Yes. After all, she holds that ace detective''s heart. Human experimentation, I suppose you could call it. From the tips of her toes to each individual strand of her hair¡ªit is worth examining her in detail, don''t you think?"


    Chameleon''s eyes narrowed in a sly grin, and the tip of his grotesque tongue crawled over Natsunagi''s cheek.


    "¡ªNo!" Natsunagi arched backward, but the long, snakelike tongue wouldn''t let her go.


    I could see the agony on her face, above the dark ocean, in the grip of the tongue that stretched over the ship''s side.


    "Let her go, you bastard!"


    This time, I really did turn the gun on Chameleon. All I had to do was pull the trigger, and I''d put a bullet right between his eyes.


    "As I said, you should calm yourself a little. If you do, this girl will plunge headfirst into the ocean. It''s night. You''ll have no way to save her."


    "Rgh..."


    Yeah, I know. You don''t have to tell me.


    And yet my impulses wouldn''t stop trying to overrule my rational brain. I held down my right hand with my shaking left hand¡ªotherwise, it might just pull the trigger on its own.


    "Now then, make your choice, if you would. Will you save this girl''s life, or the lives of the many passengers on this ship? Those are your only options."


    The choices he presented me with were the ugliest ones in the world. If I rescued Natsunagi, so many other lives would be lost.


    If I saved them, Natsunagi would be experimented on, then killed.


    There''s no way I can make that choice.


    But unless I did, both worst-case scenarios were bound to be reality at once... Plus, I knew these guys. No matter which one I chose, there was no guarantee that they''d keep their end of the bargain. That was how it had been during Saikawa''s incident. That was the kind of group SPES was.


    Then, right from the start, my choices were¡ª "Kimizuka."


    Suddenly, a voice called to me. "Shoot me."


    Even in the darkness, her expression was as dignified as a solitary white


    flower blooming proudly on the brink of a cliff. "What are you talking about, Natsunagi?"


    In the coils of the tongue, Natsunagi could only take shallow breaths, but still, she kept her gaze fixed on me, trying to make sure I knew what she thought.


    "It''s easy, isn''t it? Think of the greater good. Or, what, have you lost your basic math skills?"


    "...Since when were you so utilitarian? That''s not like you."


    "Really? Maybe not. Still, under these circumstances, what we need isn''t my passion, but the ace detective''s logic."


    "You''re an ace detective, too, remember?" "No, I''m not. I''m nobody. I''m just a fake." "That''s not¡ª!"


    "Kimizuka." Natsunagi said my name again. "When you said I didn''t have to be anybody''s recement¡ªit made me happy. Thank you." She actually seemed to be smiling faintly.


    If I shot Natsunagi now, the enemy would lose his hostage. After that, he''d probably try to sink this ship, passengers and all, but I''d keep him from doing that, even if it killed me. As long as he wasn''t holding Natsunagi hostage, I could fire at will. Even if I couldn''t hope for total victory, I might be able to manage half a victory and take him out with me.


    That meant she was right.


    Natsunagi''s decision that I should shoot her was unassably correct. It was the right call.


    In that case. What I needed to do was¡ª "Kimizuka."


    Natsunagi called my name, one more time. "Shoot."


    In that moment...a long-ago memory flickered through my mind.


    It was the image of a white-haired girl, facing a vicious enemy all alone without telling me.


    She''d never hesitated to sacrifice herself. It hadn''t scared her. She was the sort of person who mistook self-sacrifice for the right choice. That''s why,


    back then, I''dpletely ripped her a new one. Even now, I had a vivid memory of her face. I''d never seen her look so stunned before.


    As I remembered that scene...I thought, Yeah, it''s the same.


    Right now, Natsunagi was exactly like she had been. And so I was sure, right now...


    In that moment, when I heard what Natsunagi said, I decided on the choice I should make.


    "¡ªI don''t care if it''s the right call."


    I could see Natsunagi''s eyes widen slightly.


    "Did you say you were nobody?" I took a step toward her.


    Naturally, Chameleon was wary, and he made a move as if he was initiating some sort of attack¡ªbut a moment sooner, I''d aimed my gun right between his eyes.


    "...Yes. All I can do is copy how some other person lived. I''m just a fake.


    I''m nobody."


    "Is that right? Then you should be d." I took one more step toward Natsunagi. "If you''re nobody yet, that means you can be anybody you want."


    If you don''t know how to fly, let someone teach you how to beat your wings.


    If you don''t know how to live, just walk beside someone.


    You spent almost eighteen years lying in bed. Running the hundred-meter dash will be way more exhrating for you than it is for most people. This world has so much for you to enjoy and discover. From now on, you can be anybody.


    "That''s why I''m doing this."


    I pointed the muzzle of my gun at Natsunagi.


    "...My, my, we can''t have that. I intend to take this girl back to our hideout and enlist her cooperation with our experiments, you know. I can''t have her getting killed yet."


    With a fake-looking smile on his face, Chameleon said his sickening nonsense.


    But this guy had made a huge miscalction. Not that he had any way of


    knowing.


    On that pitch-ck night, she''d made a promise to me. "Nagisa Natsunagi can''t die before I do."


    Sorry, but that was the deal.


    I took aim and shot clear through the tongue Chameleon had wrapped around Natsunagi.


    "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    Chameleon gave a snarling roar, and the tongue was sliced cleanly in two in a spray of blood.


    Natsunagi plunged toward the dark ocean¡ªbut... "Nagisaaaa!"


    ...just before she hit the ck water, a small boat with a mat in it slid under her.


    "Apologies for the dy!"


    Yes, Saikawa. That blue eye still shone in the darkness, and it was definitely worth three billion yen.

 Chapter 18 - 3.4

    <h4>Chapter 18: Chapter 3.4</h4>


    <strong>A golden banner flying in the night sky</strong>


    "You say I''m no detective, but..."


    I can''t remember when it was, but I''d told Siesta she was more like a special agent than a detective.


    "In my mind, the definition of a detective is always ''Someone who protects the interests of the client.'' I take pride in that work. That''s why I always have been, and always will be, a detective."


    Siesta had still insisted that that was what she was.


    I''m sure that when she said "client," she meant every other human on the.


    She''d said that being an ace detective was in her nature, and she''d smiled.


    That smile was almost too bright for me.


    "She''s all yours now!" I yelled to Saikawa as the distant sh of memory


    passed.


    Protect the client''s interests: no more, no less. If I could just do that, it would be enough.


    So what if you make a deduction? If you don''t use it to save people''s lives, there''s no point.


    Natsunagi had tried to save the people who were still on the ship at the cost of her own life. Saikawa had managed to rescue her in the nick of time. Without a doubt, they had both inherited the ace detective''sst wish.


    "They''re gone..."


    I watched the small boat race over the water; it had already carried the two girls far away.


    I couldn''t put either of them in any more danger. From here on, this was my job.


    "You''ve certainly sealed your fate."


    Chameleon''s tone was still polite, but his formerly expressionless face was suffused with anger.


    I''d seen the bullet cut off his "tongue," but he wiped the blood from his lips, then began extending that tongue again. It was like a lizard severing its own tail, then regenerating it.


    And reptilian was what he was. This guy hadpletely discarded his humanity.


    "I''ll show no mercy now. I won''t fail to do you the honor of killing you here."


    The next moment, Chameleon''s "tongue" came speeding toward me. Like Bat''s tentacle, its tip morphed into a sharp de.


    " !"


    Even if I''d seen simr movement before, it wasn''t an easy thing to dodge. I tumbled, evading, but it grazed my shoulder a bit. "Ghk! Ow..."


    Besides, four years ago, Siesta had been the one who''d dodged those attacks, not me. If this was how it was gonna be, maybe I really should have learned more self-defense.


    "Dammit!"


    In desperation, I fired at him.


    To be honest, from here on out, I was flying blind.


    It had been close, but I''d managed to rescue Natsunagi. And if Saikawa hade racing to us, that meant most of the other passengers must have


    been evacuated as well.


    In that case, it was okay now. I didn''t mind being the only one to go down with the ship.


    "...Whew."


    I was able to get to my feet somehow, then loaded more bullets into my gun. These six were thest ones.


    "Well, well. Such clear resolve in your eyes. Do you intend to die alone?"


    Temporarily retracting his tongue, Chameleon narrowed his eyes, shooting me a nce.


    "Sorry, but no. I''m taking you with me. Two guysmitting suicide together on the ocean isn''t the greatest ending, but that''s why nobody''s hired me to write their movie."


    "Even now, you can still express yourself so eloquently, hmm? I believe you may be more suited to the profession ofedian than scriptwriter. If you run a variety show in hell''s second district, no doubt your audience will be showering you with tips."


    Exchanging our unfunny gallows humor, we kept each other pinned down with our eyes.


    "Not that I have any intention of giving you my life in the first ce. In addition, those girls you believe you helped escape¡ªI''ll take their lives soon after I''ve taken yours." The way Chameleon licked his chops made my stomach turn.


    "Why would you go that far...?"


    Even if Natsunagi said she''d carry out Siesta''sst wish, she was just a high school girl. Why would he go after her so tenaciously?


    "It''s all because of that heart." Chameleon''s lip curled in exasperation. "I myself was only just informed of it, but¡ªit isn''t normal."


    It wasn''t...normal?


    Was he saying Siesta''s heart held some sort of secret?


    "Well, there''s no need for you to know. However, I will tell you that circumstances changed for us very recently."


    "...What are you talking about...?"


    "To my relief, apparently the situation is not as grave as we had feared. In addition, the legacy the ace detective is said to have left on this ship is about to sink with it. Victory is ours. Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha." Chameleon gave an unpleasant, mockingugh. "After I kill you, I''ll pursue those girls to the


    ends of the earth, the bottom of the sea, the heights of the sky. I''ll torture them again and again and again, constantly, ceaselessly, until they cry and plead with me to let them die. I won''t stop until the very end."


    I heard something inside me snap.


    "Oh dear, I fear I''ve spoken a bit too much. Let us finish this, shall we?"


    It didn''t even take me a second to realize I was going to ughter this guy. "Do you require time to say your prayers?"


    "No. Unfortunately, I''m an atheist."


    "Is that so? In that case¡ª" Chameleon closed his mouth.


    Sorry, but the end of that sentence is mine.


    "¡ªDie."


    The "tongue" flew toward me like a bullet, but I slid and evaded it, getting in close to the enemy.


    My self-control was gone. I jammed my gun against his jaw, but¡ª


    "How very naive." The tongue curled back in an instant like a whip, striking my hand.


    "Ghk...!" I nearly dropped the gun, and while I was struggling to hang on to it¡ª


    "You''re wide-open." "Ngh... Khak..."


    ¡ªthat long tongue sank into my torso, and I went flying as if I''d been hit with a metal bat.


    "Can''t¡ªbreathe..."


    I mmed into the deck, and my lungs stopped working properly. I''d probably busted a few ribs, too. I felt the blood retreating into the depths of my body, my temperature falling.


    If this keeps up, I''m gonna die.


    It was so abrupt. But this wasn''t a hunch¡ªit was a conviction.


    "You must know a mere boy could never win against a pseudohuman." Chameleon wasing closer. Somehow I managed to get to my feet, and


    I leveled my gun at him.


    ...But I could barely even see him.


    Maybe because I was breathing shallowly, I couldn''t line the sight up properly. My feet were very unsteady, too.


    "There, you see? You can''t protect anyone." "Just shut the fuck up!"


    I was firing at random. Most of the bullets missed their target, and the one that did fly straight at him, the guy deflected with his tongue.


    So he could change its hardness at will, too, not just its length?


    "You will perish here, and I will most assuredly kill the girls you helped escape with my own hands."


    "...Ghk... Fuck you! Shut up!"


    I set my finger on the trigger, one more time...but nothing happened. I was out of bullets.


    "Yes, everything you''ve done has been useless. You, and those you tried to protect, will all die. Just like that damnable ace detective."


    I''m going to die. That''s fine. After all, I should have died a year ago. In a way, I already have.


    Natsunagi, though. Saikawa.


    I have to protect them, at least.


    I have to protect the clients'' interests, their lives.


    I told Charlie I''m no detective, I''m just an assistant, but even if that''s all I am¡ª


    "The ace detective''sst wish...was passed to me." To my surprise, my legs actually moved.


    I remembered what Saikawa had said.


    My hands squeeze. My shoulders roll.


    My breathing is rhythmic. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, then exhale. My blood circtes. When I open my eyes, my cloudy vision will be clear.


    Maybe that sapphire eye hade to dwell in me. It couldn''t have, not really, but what about my ears? I pinned my hopes on my acoustic system.


    ¡ªAnd I heard it.


    I wasn''t the only one, either. Everyone heard that noise. "A helicopter?"


    When I looked up¡ªthere it was, in the pitch-ck sky. "Kimizuka! Get down!"


    The words were so distant I wasn''t sure if I''d heard them, and I threw myself onto the deck, taking cover.


    In the next instant¡ª


    "Eat lead, asshooooole!!!"


    Along with the ear-splitting roar of a strafe attack, a rain of bullets fell from the night sky, striking Chameleon.


    "Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" High in the sky, in the helicopter''s open hatch¡ª


    "I see you''re having some trouble with that fight, Kimizuka."


    ¡ªstood Charlotte Arisaka Anderson, long golden hair streaming in the night wind as she zed away with a machine gun.


    <strong>Buenos d¨ªas</strong>


    "Charlie..."


    Dazed, I looked up at the aircraft hovering in the dark sky.


    The rotor des of the armed helicopter created ring-shaped ripples on the ocean.


    In the open door, Charlie was holding a machine gun, and in the pilot''s seat was¡ª


    "Hey, it''s been a while, you damn kid! Finally decided to turn yourself in?!" Ms. Fuubi was using the helicopter''s loudspeaker to mock me.


    "Anybody with eyes can see I''m the victim here!"


    When I objected, Ms. Fuubi pointed at something on me.


    ...Oh. Fair.


    A vition of the Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law. For the first time, she''d caught me red-handed. Geez, she''s talking like she''s a proper police officer or something.


    But wasn''t she the one who just brought out a military helicopter? "It''s fine if I do it! I''m a cop!"


    I''m not so sure about that. Also, quit reading my mind.


    Seriously. Don''t make me smile. Don''t reassure me; don''t make me feel I''m not actually all alone yet.


    "Ghk... Damn, you..."


    I heard a growl that seemed toe from the depths of the earth.


    Still bleeding, Chameleon got to his feet unsteadily. His narrow eyes were bloodshot, and he was gazing at Charlie and the helicopter that hovered in the night sky.


    "It''s been a long time, pseudohuman. I never wanted to see you again." "Oh yeah, I recognize you...!" Chameleon''s manners were slipping. This


    was probably what he was actually like.


    "You too, Kimizuka. I thought I really wouldn''t be seeing you after this, but..."


    "...Tch. Were you nning this right from the beginning?"


    Wipe out the enemy with force. It was a pretty Charlie-esque way of doing things.


    Having sensed the enemy early on, Charlie had promptly gotten off the ship and returned with more firepower. Probably could''ve talked it over with me first, but... No, we''d never wasted time on that. Siesta used to give us hell for it, too.


    "...Still, I''m d you came, Charlie."


    Who''d have thought the day woulde when Charlie would rescue me, after all this time?


    "Hmph! You can''t possibly have expected me to just shut up after a little girl like her spoke to me like that."


    "Uh, you two are the same age."


    I see... So Natsunagi''s words lit a fire under Charlie as well. I bet even Natsunagi herself wasn''t aware of it, but there was something about her¡ª


    "Okay, Kimizuka, you stay back! It''s my turn now!" Charlie called. She leveled the machine gun that was mounted near the door, taking aim at the pseudohuman again.


    Too bad, huh, Chameleon? When that girl''s got a weapon, dragons and tigers are no match for her.


    "Go on, let''s see you dance!"


    With a one-liner like that, it was hard to tell who the viin was as Charlie began spraying the deck with bullets.


    "...Ghk!"


    Even with those injuries, Chameleon managed to dodge agilely. Every so often, he''d swing his hardened "tongue" and knock bullets away.


    "Rgh! You insolent¡ª"


    It was an air-to-ground battle.


    But Charlie had the stronger position.


    Chameleon had his hands full trying to block the bullets raining down on him, and all he could do with his unrivaled weapon¡ªhis tongue¡ªwas defend. Faced with a never-ending storm of lead, he had no choice but to desperately run around the deck.


    "Kimizuka!" Abruptly, Charlie shouted to me in a voice loud enough to be heard over the gunshots. "I hate you! I hate your guts!"


    Oh, you do, huh? Well, the feeling''s mutual. Sorry, but I''ve never even considered trying to get along with you.


    "But... But! You were the one Ma''am chose! It wasn''t me¡ªit was you! So as much as I hate you...I just have to leave it to you! If the woman I loved


    chose the guy I hate more than anyone, then¡ªI have no choice but to trust you, don''t I?!"


    Her scream was like a prayer.


    She didn''t let her tears show. Instead, a rain of bullets poured down from the sky.


    I was sure Charlie was trying to grant her teacher''s final wish. "Kimizuka! This time, let''s make this mission a sess together!" Yeah, I know. Trust me¡ªI know.


    I was nning to do that all along.


    "Rraaaaaaah!"


    Possibly because she didn''t want to waste the time it would take to reload, instead of relying on the door gun, Charlie picked up new weapons one after another, mounting an unbroken attack on Chameleon.


    If she kept pushing like this, we could win.


    As I stayed under cover, I was starting to believe, but¡ª "¡ªEnough."


    ¡ªwhen she changed weapons, there was a slight pause in the attack. Chameleon slumped, leaning forward¡ªand abruptly vanished. "Charlie! Watch out!"


    "Huh?!"


    The next instant, the helicopter tilted dramatically. "Ghk! He got us!"


    From what I could see, the rotors were fine...but something was leaking from the body.


    "...Fuel, huh?"


    A fluid that seemed to be gasoline was dripping from the vicinity of the engine, falling onto the deck where we stood.


    The helicopter was flying significantly lower than it had been earlier. If they didn''t get that altitude back, there was no telling when it might crash. However, Chameleon hadpletely camouged himself, and we couldn''t see him. If things were like this, then...


    "Rgh! I can''t even tell whether I''m hitting him or not!"


    Charlie kept attacking indiscriminately with the machine gun, but she didn''t seem to bending hits. In the cockpit, Ms. Fuubi was gripping the control stick, desperately trying to right the leaning helicopter.


    Dammit, once he gained the advantage by going invisible, we couldn''t


    even touch him.


    How were you supposed to fight someone you couldn''t see? If Siesta was here, what would she...?


    "Ha-ha. Now your attacks won''t hit me! Not even that ace detective could touch me!"


    The enemy was still invisible; his triumphant voice was the only sign of him.


    ...Never mind that¡ªwhat had he just said?


    Even the ace detective hadn''t been able to touch him?


    Had something like that happened? How did I not know about it?


    "I can see it in my mind''s eye even now¡ªthat damnable girl yielding to me in humiliation!"


    Oh. I see now.


    It was this guy.


    It was him. What happened to Siesta was because of him.


    I''d finally found her mortal enemy, in the truest sense of the word.


    And yet for some reason, my mind still felt calm. I had no emotions now. All I had was the mission to annihte SPES¡ªto annihte this monster. Until that was done, I wouldn''t stop moving.


    "...! You killed Ma''am!" Charlie''s angry shout echoed over the battlefield.


    Yeah, I get it. I know how you feel better than anybody. But, Charlie, right now, you need to look at me.


    I brought two fingers up to my lips, gesturing. "Kimizuka? ¡ªOkay. All right."


    I assume you understand that I wasn''t blowing a kiss.


    So. Let''s end this already. It''s time to y this monster.


    "I''ve also been thinking it''s about time this woman quit smoking." "...Yeesh. Fine, do what you gotta."


    Charlie ignited the cigarette lighter she''d taken from Ms. Fuubi, then let it fall.


    ...Onto the deck, which was covered in the leaked fuel from the helicopter. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"


    Fire zed up all at once, burning the whole area around Chameleon.


    Naturally, I was in range for some damage myself. But I''d always been nning on going down with this guy if I had to.


    "H-hot... G...gonna..."


    Apparently, his skin''s color-changing function didn''t work in that harsh environment, and Chameleon''s shape materialized again. He was surrounded by a pir of fire, and he''d fallen to his knees, his long tongue hanging loosely.


    "Time to die."


    Then there was one dull gunshot.


    With all her immeasurable emotions behind it, Charlie pulled the trigger.


    " ! Gaaah!"


    With an inarticte scream, Chameleon spat up blood.


    The bullet had pierced his hardened "tongue," and it fell to the deck with a clunk.


    However, I could see the torn-off tongue began regenerating from the root again, and I headed toward the raging mes. Then I picked up the "tongue," which had a tip as sharp as a de.


    "¡ª! Dammit, damn, I''ll¡ª"


    The reptile in front of me was saying something.


    "K...kill. You...too...shame...fully...like that...ace...detective..."


    Ah. As long as that tongue kept regenerating, this thing would keep talking, huh? In that case¡ª


    " ! Ghaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    I shed through Chameleon''s newly regenerated tongue, using the one I''d picked up.


    This is a de. A double-edged sword you grew yourself.


    I struck again and again, shouldering the thoughts of so many people: my former partner, herrades, the ones who''d inherited herst wish.


    "Stuh...stoooooooooooooooooop!"


    Ha, as if. Maybe you should have a taste of what you did to us.


    "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"


    If you''re going to regenerate over and over, I''ll just cut through it every time.


    Don''t ever speak again.


    "Aa... Aa, aaaah..."


    By now, the noises from the thing in front of me didn''t seem to mean anything anymore.


    But my right hand didn''t stop. I hadn''t done enough yet.


    Bleed more, more, more.


    Bleed enough for Charlie, for me, for Siesta. Please, I''m begging you. More, more¡ª "¡ªPlease just die already."


    I had no idea how many times I''d lopped off that tongue. Telling myself this was thest time, and praying that it would be, I raised the de high, and¡ª


    "...!"


    While the de was still above my head, the ship lurched violently, and in the next instant¡ª


    "Not...yet."


    By the time I noticed, it was toote. "...¡ª!"


    Chameleon''s long tongue was wrapped around my torso. I hadn''t cut through itpletely yet!


    "Change...of...venue."


    Then he mmed the long "tail" he''d grown into the deck. "Ghk...!"


    The burned, fragile nks fell away, and Chameleon dropped down to the deck below, dragging me with him.


    "Dam...mit!"


    Our midair battlested just a few seconds.


    I was still holding the remains of that hardened "tongue," and I shoved it into Chameleon''s mouth.


    "Ghuh, gah!"


    The tongue that had been strangling my abdomen loosened very slightly. Battered as I was, I managed to get Chameleon pinned under me somehow and let him hit the floor.


    "Ow, ow, ow. Dammit, I was so close..." Where was this? What had we fallen into?


    The ck smoke that billowed in through the hole in the ceiling made it hard to see, and I couldn''t make out anything clearly. I''d heard Ms. Fuubi and Charlie calling me as we fell, but I couldn''t hear them now.


    "First off, I need to regroup..."


    I had no weapon, and I didn''t know where I was. I couldn''t fight properly here.


    Dragging my leg, I put some distance between myself and Chameleon, who was just as beat up as I was.


    "...Wait, this looks a whole lot like I''m running away."


    As I mocked myself in my dimming mind, I tried to figure out why I was still trying to survive after all this.


    "...Natsunagi, huh?"


    "I won''t die. Whatever happens, I won''t die and leave you behind."


    Once again, I remembered what she''d said.


    That''s right. Since Natsunagi made that promise...I couldn''t die and leave her behind, either.


    After all, we hadn''t even said good-bye.


    When I finally reached the wall, I took another look around. "Ha-ha, nice. Well done."


    I''d been here just the day before. This ce was magnificent and debauched, a seething mass of human desires, a paradise of dreams, or hell¡ª a casino.


    A truly fitting location for a final showdown.


    " , ¡ªyou, ¡ªkill you."


    Chameleon had regained consciousness. He got to his feet, leaning forward.


    My enemy was also torn up, but my hands were empty. I didn''t even have a weapon.


    How was I going to fight?


    ...Not that I actually had any options.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" Chameleon roared, and the way he looked made me wonder if he even knew who he was anymore.


    Come on, bring it.


    I stepped forward with my left foot, pulling my right fist back.


    My weapon was my body. From this point on, it was mano a mano. "Wooooooooooooooooooooooooorgh!" Chameleon bellowed, and his


    long, bloodied tongue flew straight at me. "Rrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" I tensed my lower body and rotated


    my hips.


    Then, using my right arm, I wound up as far as I could, and¡ª "¡ªAre you stupid, Kimi?"


    I heard a voice.


    At least, I thought I had.


    But, I mean...there wasn''t anybody around to cut into this fight, was there? "Hand-to-handbat with a monster? That''s not just reckless. It''s


    insane."


    The next thing I heard was a gunshot¡ªand then Chameleon''s scream. I saw a pool of blood. His long tongue had been sliced cleanly in two. "There, now that tongue will never be able to attack me again."


    I''d heard something like that before.


    Then the owner of the voice leaped in through the hole in the ceiling andnded right in front of me.


    I recognized her back. There was no way I could have mistaken it for anyone else''s. Between this and that and the other, we''d barely been apart recently.


    Why was she here, though? She''d gotten away on that boat a minute ago with Saikawa. Hadn''t she?


    It was a natural question, but a certain theory made it vanish like mist. I was about to test that theory, but before I could, she turned around.


    Then she, Nagisa Natsunagi, said:


    "It''s been a long time, hasn''t it?"


    Ah. There it is.


    I''d know it anywhere. That hundred-million-watt smile was what I''d wanted to see for so long.


    "Yeah. Was that enough of a nap for you¡ªSiesta?"

 Chapter 19 - 3.5

    <h4>Chapter 19: Chapter 3.5</h4>


    <strong>Those unforgettable three years I spent with you</strong>


    were...


    The person standing in front of me was Nagisa Natsunagi. There was no doubt about that.


    But.


    "It''s been a year since I saw your face. Your eyes look a little meaner." What she said made it patently clear who she was on the inside.


    "If anyone looks different here, it''s you, Siesta."


    She looked like Natsunagi¡ªbut inside, she was Siesta.


    Ordinarily, that would have been impossible, but for some reason, I could tell this was that sort of thing.


    If there was a reason behind it...


    "So you were still in there. In that heart."


    Memory transference is a phenomenon in which the donor''s personality, interests, and preferences are reflected in the recipient after an organ transnt. While it hasn''t been scientifically proved yet, cases of memory transference have been observed all over the world, and Nagisa Natsunagi had experienced it as well after a heart transnt.


    Still, even if memory transference is a real thing, all the recipient usually picks up from the donor is their personality, their daily habits, and a few memories.


    Right now, though, Natsunagi hadn''t just inherited Siesta''s memories. Siesta herself had taken over. As if the master and servant had switched ces.


    "You look like you''re thinking something rude again, Kimi." Natsunagi¡ª or rather, Siesta¡ªfrowned just a little crossly. "I''m only borrowing this girl''s body for a little while. I''m not going to possess her."


    Siesta was speaking in Natsunagi''s voice, with Natsunagi''s face. It felt faintly strange, but even so, I said:


    "It''s great to see you, Siesta."


    No matter how it had happened, our first meeting in a year made my knees weak¡ªand I just dropped down onto my butt.


    "Did you always smile that way, Kimi?" Siesta''s eyes widened slightly.


    "I may have mellowed out a bit." I did think I had, in a vague kind of way.


    While we were focused on our reunion... "¡ªGguh, lwah."


    Farther back in the casino, Chameleon was bleeding from the mouth after Siesta''s shot, and he growled in a low voice. His eyes had rolled back, and the whites were bloodshot. Blue veins squirmed all through his skin. He was bending forward, tongue and tailshing. There wasn''t a trace of his human self left.


    "Siesta, that''s enough chitchat. We have to do something about that guy first."


    "Agreed. Well, that is why I''m here anyway."


    Although there was no telling where she''d gotten it, Siesta opened a silver attach¨¦ case. Inside, there was a gun for me. Then, extending her left hand to me, where I sat on the floor:


    "Kimi¡ªbe my assistant."


    When I heard her say it, my mind jumped back four years.


    It was the same. Just like the time we''d met, at ten thousand meters.


    Right now, the girl standing there was Nagisa Natsunagi¡ªbut my eyes saw Siesta as she''d been on that day, four years ago, clearly and vividly.


    ...In that case, this was never an actual choice.


    "As you wish¡ªace detective." I took Siesta''s hand and gave her my very best smile.


    "...That expression is straight out of a horror movie." "Leave me alone!"


    We split up, fanning out to trap Chameleon between us. "Gwoooooooourgh!!!"


    Chameleon red at us by turns, as if he was trying to warn us off. His tongue and tail writhed, attempting to catch their prey.


    "Be careful! He can change the length and hardness of those however he wants!" I circled around in front of the enemy, rying information to Siesta, who was on his other side.


    "Huh? You''re sure you want that side, Kimi?"


    "Mm? Is there a problem with it?"


    Even if this was Siesta, she was borrowing Natsunagi''s body. I should be the one who faced the enemy head-on.


    "His tongue can''t attack me anymore, so I think having me take the front would work better."


    "...I forgot."


    Dammit, so much for showing off.


    "I see you still haven''t learned to pay attention." "Shaddup."


    Dodging the enemy''s attacks, we switched ces.


    "Come to think of it, you always were like that." As Siesta battled the enemy''s tail with her gun, she sounded nostalgic. "You''d say ''Today I''ll put you up at this resort hotel'' and stride into a casino and blow all the money we had."


    "Ngh... Well, that was ''cause you''d cried so much the day before about how you were sick of taking dumps out in the open. I just had to; I was hoping to turn the tables with one decisive win..."


    "Don''t make up memories." The next instant, a bullet whizzed right past my face.


    "Watch it, Siesta!"


    "Would you quit trying to pin your crimes on other people? If this is about the time I identally saw you taking a du¡ª Doing your business outdoors, I apologize for wounding your pride, but¡ª"


    "We''re inbat right now! Don''t dredge up old memories!"


    I swear, this woman.


    She''s evading the enemy''s attacks like it''s easy and chatting about old times.


    ...


    ...That''s what the old times were, though.


    "Hey, Siesta, I''ve seen you embarrass yourself, too, remember?" "What are you talking about?"


    "You know¡ªthat one time? When we two lightweights drank enough liquor to fill a bathtub, and after that, we¡ª"


    "La, I can''t hear you."


    "I told you, don''t point your gun at me!"


    Whoa! Chameleon''s tail smashed up a nearby gaming table, and the shards


    flew our way.


    It was so weird.


    The situation had been incredibly tense. I''d wound myself up tight over the thought that this was the final showdown...and yet, somewhere along the way, my shoulders had rxed.


    Because Siesta was here. Just fighting alongside her made my body and heart so light, it felt like I had wings.


    "Kimi, did you forget we''re inbat right now? Don''t dredge up bad memories."


    "Didn''t I just say¡ª? Yeesh, you are so unfair." Siesta and I fired our guns in unison. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    A direct hit. Chameleon dropped heavily to his knees.


    I grabbed that opportunity to reload. "Ha-ha. That''s rare. You almost never get that upset."


    "My assistant is getting pretty full of himself. Since when were you the one teasing me?"


    "It''s like they always say: ''Give a guy three days to grow, and you might not recognize him at the end.'' "


    In our case, it had been a year.


    We joked around with each other enough to make up for that whole year we''d been apart¡ªor as much as we could manage anyway.


    "...And? What happened after that?" "What do you mean ''what''?"


    "You know. Um..." Siesta faltered, with Natsunagi''s face. "We drank liquor, we both got dead drunk, and after that, did we...y''know?"


    Her expression was uncharacteristically embarrassed, and I would have loved to see it on Siesta''s own face.


    "Didn''t you tell me not to dredge up memories?"


    "Well, actually, I was so worried about it, I couldn''t move on to the afterlife."


    "Can we go back to the tearful reunion?"


    Just then, with a growl, Chameleon got back up. "Gohgyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    It was a roar unlike any noise he''d made before, and it shook the whole room.


    As if in response, Chameleon''s body changed.


    His vivid bloodshot eyes bulged out even further, and something like hardened scales began to sprout all over his body. With a series of dull cracking sounds, he grew farrger than any human, and his clothes ripped to shreds that barely clung to him. As if his body could no longer support its own weight, he lowered himself until he was very nearly walking on all fours, like a lizard or a dinosaur. He looked like¡ª


    "A monster." I gulped loudly.


    "His ''seed'' haspletely taken over." Siesta came up beside me, exhaling.


    "Hey, ace detective, don''t bring out the jargon without exining it first." Geez. This was reminding me how rough those three years had been.


    How many times had I ended up in hot water because she refused to tell me any of the important stuff? And then she''d ride in to save me at the veryst minute, all proud of herself and demanding gratitude. Argh, just remembering it was pissing me off.


    "Heh-heh. So many memories of that exact look on your face." "You''re totally mocking me, aren''t you?"


    "They''re very fond memories, you know."


    ...Look, you can''t just say stuff like that. "¡ª! Gohgyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" The monster roared again.


    Yeah, I knew how he felt. He''d morphed into his ultimate form, and here we were, ignoring him. That''ll make you wanna scream, all right. Just direct yourints to the ace detective over here.


    Siesta and I got back into formation, pinning the enemy between us. "And? What did you reallye back to do?"


    "What? Do you want me to say I came to save you or something?" "Man, you are not cute."


    "Kidding."


    Flying bullets, the smell of gun smoke¡ªthe scene was as surreal as a dream in the daytime.


    Bleeding slightly from a cut on her cheek, Siesta, the daydream herself, leaped across the battlefield.


    Jumping onto Chameleon''s rampaging tongue, she leaped again,nding a ferocious kick on the enemy''s head.


    The ace detective did a single flip and touched down. "The truth is, she asked me to," she said as she turned around. "She said she wanted me to save you."


    "Natsunagi asked you?"


    "Yes. I''d nned to leave everything to her from now on, but if she was going to beg like that... You know?"


    What kind of exchange had those two had, sharing the same body? The only thing I knew was that Natsunagi''s words had moved Siesta.


    At the same time, that meant this was an exception. Meaning... "So this is thest time. It won''t happen again. All right?"


    I could almost see the shadow of Siesta in Natsunagi''s face. Her straightforward gaze was fixed on me.


    "Yeah, I know."


    This was our real good-bye. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    The fallen, monstrous Chameleon got back up and roared.


    In the next instant, he vanished. This had to be thest phase. "Siesta, be careful," I said to her, now that she was beside me again. "It''s fine. Hang on, assistant."


    "Huh? ...Whoa!"


    And I was flying through the air for the first time in four years. Siesta had saved me like this back then, too.


    Pulling me with her, Siesta used her sense of smell to evade the enemy''s invisible attacks.


    "Apparently, letting you yank me around is just about perfect for me." "...Where is thising from, assistant?"


    ......


    "Were you lonely?"


    You think I''m that pathetic? No way.


    "I''m sorry."


    Don''t apologize.


    "I''m sorry for dying first."


    I told you, quit apologizing.


    "To tell you the truth, I hadn''t actually nned to spend three whole years traveling with you."


    Hey, we can''t beat this guy and reminisce at the same time.


    "Coming to care for somebody would have been a foolish thing to do¡ªit would bind me to this world. I was sure it would be a fetter in the way of my work."


    Like I said, focus on the fight.


    There''s no telling when the mes are going to make it over here.


    "The next thing I knew, three years had passed. I must have taken more of a liking to you than I''d realized."


    What''s wrong with you?


    You and I weren''t lovers, and we weren''t even friends.


    We were detective and assistant¡ªjust business partners, in an odd way.


    "I know. You didn''t think of me in any special way, and I didn''t treat you like anyone special. However¡ª"


    Stop. It''s toote to say all that.


    I can say it; that''s fine. But you''re not allowed. Say I''m selfish if you want. But if you¡ª


    "Those unforgettable three years I spent with you are the best memories I have."


    If you say that to me, I''ll¡ª


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?" Siesta patted my head gently. "What''s the point of digging in your heels with a dead girl? You did really well on your own this past year."


    My throat stung, and my eyelids grew hot.


    What''s wrong with me? This isn''t... This isn''t like me at all.


    Seriously, gimme a break. If Saikawa and Charlie see me like this¡ªif Natsunagi sees me, once she''s back to normal¡ªthey''re gonnaugh.


    I stepped away from Siesta to stand beside her.


    "You''re asking if I''m lonely? Sorry, but the friends I''ve got now are so


    noisy that I don''t have time to think about all that." Several faces came to mind, and I gave a wry smile. "I''m not alone anymore."


    "I see. Make sure you y nice with them, then."


    We shifted to stand back-to-back, although it wasn''t clear which of us had moved first.


    It was Natsunagi''s body, but I felt Siesta''s warmth. When this fight was over, she would disappear.


    After she did, she''d probably never show up in Natsunagi''s body again.


    In that case... "Hey, Siesta."


    "What?"


    "Uh, the rest of that story from earlier. We both drank liquor for the first time and got drunk, and then you asked me what happened...?"


    I was pretty sure we shouldn''t be having a conversation like this in what was probably the final phase of the final showdown. In a way, though, that was us in a nutshell.


    We stood side by side, my outstretched right arm lined up with Siesta''s left arm, so close that they touched.


    "Unfortunately¡ªor maybe not, I dunno¡ªnothing happened." Then we both pointed our guns straight ahead.


    Our invisible enemy was bearing down on us. If we missed this shot, we were dead.


    But Siesta spoke. "It''s okay," she said. Meaning there was no reason to hesitate. Siesta had never been wrong. Not once.


    And in the next instant, a loud electronic noise rang out from the perfectly empty space right in front of us.


    "Assistant!" "Right!"


    Siesta and I both aimed at that spot, fired at the exact same time¡ª


    And then...


    ...a dull sound, and a brief wail, told us it was all over.


    "I see. To tell you the truth, I might have slept with you once. I considered it, at least."


    "Well, why didn''t you say so sooner? Next time, just tell me!" At the end, we burst outughing like a pair of idiots.

 Chapter 20: The girls’ dialogue

    <h4>Chapter 20: The girls¡¯ dialogue</h4>


    "You''re telling me to use your body?"


    The silver-haired ace detective looked bewildered.


    "Yes. That''s what I want in exchange for listening to your request." My voice was firm as I made my proposal.


    This was a special world where only she and I could interact.


    It was like a memory, or the consciousness that had been engraved on our heart, or a mere daydream¡ªbut it was true that I could meet her here. This was our second meeting, the first one since that fight.


    "Are you sure, though?"


    The ace detective looked at me steadily with those blue eyes of hers. "This body is yours and yours alone. He said so, too, remember?"


    "...Yes, you''re right. These are my hands and my feet. It''s all mine, from the ends of my hair to the tips of my toes. But..." I drew a deep breath. "The heart is different."


    She lowered her long eyshes.


    "The heart belongs to both of us," I continued. "That means we should be able to work together, toward the same goal."


    "...What do you want me to do?"


    "I want you to switch with me and go save Kimizuka. He''s fighting the enemy even as we speak."


    "You seem to think I want to save him just as much as you do."


    Urk. "¡ªYes, that''s what I''m saying."


    We had no time, but this was going nowhere. I could feel my blood pressure rising.


    "Don''t misunderstand. I''m already dead. I have no right to get involved with him."


    In that instant, the fuse inside me was lit. " such a pain in the butt!"


    ! Arrrrrrrgh, geez, you''re


    I raked my fingers through my hair so roughly that the scrunchie I''d used to tie up my side ponytail came loose and fell out.


    "P-pain in the butt...? Me?"


    I guess the ace detective had never dreamed anyone would say a thing like that to her; she blinked herrge eyes dramatically. Sorry, but I''m showing no mercy here.


    "You know it''s true! Even in that one dream where we fought, you said


    you were the best one to be your assistant''s partner, remember?!"


    "That was... Listen. The upshot of that discussion was that I left my assistant to you, remember?"


    "So¡ªwhat? You''re telling me you have no right to have anything to do with Kimizuka ever again, no matter what happens? You won''t even go save him? Excuse me? What are you, a little kid?"


    "...You are the first person who''s ever been this rude to me." She red at me, more irritated than I''d ever seen her.


    "Huh? So now you''re all fragile? Are you not used to people teasing you or something?"


    "I''m leaving." The ace detective turned on her heel.


    Hastily, I caught the cuff of her sleeve. "Argh, look, I''m sorry, okay? I''m sorry, so hurry up¡ªtake this body and go to him." As the mature one here, I reluctantly backed down and let her salvage her dignity.


    "...Are you sure?" "Like I said¡ª"


    I was about to tell her I really don''t care, but...


    "Will he...," she murmured. "Will my assistant think it''s a nuisance? It''s been so long; if I show up again now..." She seemed slightly torn. That emotion was so unlike the rational, intellectual ace detective.


    "Who knows?" I replied. "Just go see for yourself."


    Proof trumps argument. A perfectly apt phrase for an ace detective, I think. "...That''s just irresponsible."


    She still didn''t seem satisfied, and she gazed coldly at me... I hated to admit it, but that expression was cute, too. Kimizuka had acted like she hadn''t been special to him, but that had to be a lie. He couldn''t possibly have spent three years with an angel like this and not have developed any feelings for her. Then, what? If she was an angel, did that make me a devil? Ugh, shut up.


    "Well, I mean, you suddenly started acting all blushy." I''d gotten myself upset, so I said something that would push her away.


    "...I really don''t think we''re going to get along," said the angelic ace


    detective, ring at me again.


    Hrmm, I guess this turned into another fight after all. Well, this time, we shared the me at a ratio of sixty-forty or so. Although the "forty" was mine.


    "Haaah, fine, all right. All I have to do is go, correct? I just have to go." Atst, turning away in a vaguely childish huff, she grudgingly epted my proposal. "Just this once, though."


    "I know. Next time... When next timees, I''ll be able to save him myself."


    "...I see. All right, then." The ace detective gave a sudden smile, turned on her heel, and left.


    "Say..."


    As she went, I hesitated a little, but...in the end, I decided to tell her something I''d always wanted to say.


    "Thank you for giving me my life¡ªace detective." At that, she stopped for a moment.


    "You''re wee... But I should be telling you..."


    Her back was still turned toward me.


    "Thank you for using my life¡ªace detective."

 Chapter 21: Epilogue

    <h4>Chapter 21: Epilogue</h4>


    "Y-you saw Ma''am?!"


    On a cruise ship sailing over the blue ocean.


    On the deck, Charlie turned around, staring at me like she''d spotted a cryptid.


    "Yeah. If it hadn''t been for her, we''d be fish food right about now."


    Later, once we''d cleared up all of the previous day''s business, we''d switched to a new cruise ship the Saikawa family had procured for us and set sail for home.


    The tour had been canceled. After such a major ident¡ªmajor incident, really¡ªthat had been the natural decision. Fortunately, none of the crew members or passengers had been harmed. Charlie and Ms. Fuubi, who''d been in the helicopter, had managed to bail out just before it crashed, so everyone was on this ship, safe and sound.


    ...Almost everyone.


    Chameleon had sunk into the ocean, along with his sin of taking Siesta''s life.


    "I see... So Ma''am saved us again."


    Charlie''s golden hair streamed in the sea wind, but between the strands, I caught glimpses of her profile. She was wearing a sad little smile.


    "Maybe she...," she suddenly began, casually as she could. "Maybe she knew she was going to die that day."


    ...Yeah. Maybe she did.


    I could see that ace detective in my mind, her face cool as a cucumber: "I calcted everything, even my own death. Did you only just realize?"


    However, even if she had...


    "I wanted her to live." Charlie said the words I''d swallowed down, in a voice like water spilling out of a small vessel. "But Ma''am is inside that girl...?" Her tone rose a little.


    "Yeah... But she won''t show herself again." Never again. Siesta herself had said so.


    "...If I pointed a gun at you right now, Kimizuka, do you suppose Ma''am


    woulde running to save you?" "Don''t sacrifice my life to find out."


    "It was a joke. I''m joking." Her expression softening abruptly, Charlie stretched. Then she turned on her heel and started to leave the deck. "Did she say anything?" she asked over her shoulder.


    I couldn''t see her face. What expression was she wearing?


    "¡ªShe said she wanted us to get along," I said to the blond girl''s back. All I could do was ry Siesta''s words.


    "Oh," Charlie murmured quietly. Then, finally, she turned halfway around and spoke to me directly. "Would youe to a florist with me one of these days? I want you to help me choose what to buy."


    Right. I''d heard somewhere that they didn''t visit graves as often over in America.


    In that case, we''d go together, someday soon. Although I had no idea whether she was actually sleeping there.


    "See youter, then." "Yeah. Later."


    Yesterday''s enemy is today''s enemy, too.


    But tomorrow, just maybe... If that''s what Siesta wants.


    When night fell, I headed for the cruise ship''s bar.


    The ship was different, so of course this wasn''t the same bar, but the setup looked extremely simr. We wouldn''t be discussing anything all that private today, so I took a seat at the counter and ordered a drink.


    ...Then, after I''d waited a little while, the person I was meeting showed up. "Sorry to keep you waiting," said Nagisa Natsunagi, sitting down next to


    me.


    While she ordered her drink, I watched her out of the corner of my eye. She wasn''t dressed to the nines the way she had beenst time. Instead, she was wearing her usual baggy T-shirt and shorts.


    Well, thinking about it, I shouldn''t have been surprised. That low-cut dress was probably at the bottom of the ocean by now.


    Before long, our drinks arrived, and we clinked our sses together lightly. "And, um, what exactly are you wearing?"


    ...Dammit, she wasn''t gonna let it slide, huh? And here I''d avoided


    describing it.


    "We never seem to be quite in tune, do we?"


    I just assumed you''d be all dressed up again. "What''s with that jacket? It looks strange on you." "I had Saikawa buy it for me."


    "Wow, what a turnoff. Seriously, yikes."


    Hey, quit making valid points. You know I have noeback for that.


    ...Well, she was the same Natsunagi as always. By now, I couldn''t see a trace of Siesta in her.


    After that, once we''d defeated Chameleon...


    ...Siesta (Natsunagi) and I had thrown ourselves from the sinking ship into the ocean, barely escaping with our lives. We''d apparently clung to broken nks and drifted until a rescue boat picked us up.


    I say "apparently" because we''d both been unconscious when we were rescued, and by the time I woke up, we were already on this cruise ship.


    And when I''d opened my eyes, Natsunagi was already...Natsunagi.


    When I asked her, she said she didn''t have any memories from the time when Siesta''s personality had taken over. Siesta herself was taking another one of her famous naps.


    "Say, Natsunagi." "What?"


    There was no sense in dragging it out forever. Steeling myself, I brought up the reason I''d called her here.


    "Can I ask you to keep on being an ace detective?"


    Would she still carry out Siesta''sst wish for her, even after getting dragged into an incident like this one?


    Did she n to be an ace detective in the truest sense of the word, instead of just pretending?


    We would be fighting SPES more frequently from here on out.


    If she turned me down, I couldn''t me her for it. But I did have to know for sure.


    "...To be honest, I''m really not sure about this." Natsunagi traced the rim of her ss with a slim finger. "I was useless back there. As a matter of fact, I only made trouble for everybody, and you and Yui had to rescue me. In the end¡ªI leaned on this heart. On her." Her voice dropped to a murmur. "I knew it. I''m really not..." She forced a smile.


    "You know that''s not true." "...Kimizuka?"


    "That ringtonepletely saved our butts."


    During the fight with Chameleon, that electronic noise had ultimately told us where he was. The sound hade from Natsunagi''s phone; she''d slipped it into Chameleon''s clothes when he''d snatched her. It had been an impulsive idea, a way to fight an enemy when our eyes were useless.


    "...I see. That only worked because Yui and Charlie helped, though."


    From what I heardter, while Siesta and I were fighting Chameleon, Charlie had piloted a small boat carrying Yui, who had used her left eye to watch the battle unfold from out on the ocean. Then, when Chameleon disappeared, she''d called Natsunagi''s phone so that the ringtone could tell us where he was. Siesta had also anticipated everything¡ªwhich meant that, once again, I was the only one in the dark.


    ...Still, I guess that''s okay. I am the assistant, after all. The important thing was Natsunagi.


    Could she fill the shoes of the ace detective?


    "Besides, Natsunagi, Siesta herself told me you''d loaned her your body of your own volition. What you said was why Siesta acted, and that saved my life."


    Without that passion of hers, I would have died. It was Natsunagi who''d saved me.


    On top of that, she had a natural gift that even she hadn''t noticed.


    During that first incident with the heart, I''d had feelings I hadn''t acknowledged¡ªthat maybe I''d even repressed¡ªand Natsunagi had lit a fire under me, reminding me of the mission I needed to carry out.


    During the sapphire incident, Natsunagi saw what Saikawa actually wanted before I did, resolving the issue without resorting to force.


    Then, during this incident, she''d used her emotions and words to get Charlie and me, and even Siesta, to act. I was sure Natsunagi had the ability to say and do the things people wanted most at any given moment.


    In that case¡ª


    "Thank you. You make the best ace detective ever."


    After all, it''s true, isn''t it? Because detectives exist to fulfill their clients'' requests.


    "...That''s not fair," Natsunagi murmured softly.


    I didn''t know what exactly she was referring to, but from the way her lips curved slightly, we seemed to have avoided a breakdown of negotiations.


    "But... Yes. I''ll do it. Besides...," Natsunagi went on. "Someone asked me for a favor, too."


    "Someone? Don''t tell me¡ªSiesta?"


    "Yes. That was her condition for going back to work. Just this once."


    Then Natsunagi told me about the contract she''d secretly made with Siesta.


    "Nagisa Natsunagi, Yui Saikawa, Charlotte Arisaka Anderson, and Kimihiko Kimizuka¡ªI want the four of you to defeat SPES."


    "The four of you are the legacy I left¡ªand thest hope." "That''s what she told me," Natsunagi said, smiling softly. "I see," I said briefly and nodded.


    I was sure that, right now, in this instant...


    ...I''d finally taken up the ace detective''sst wish as well, in the truest sense of the word.


    "Well, that doesn''t change the fact that I''m not sure of myself." Smiling wryly, Natsunagi raised her ss to her lips.


    "It''s fine. Nobody''s got less confidence than I do."


    "What an awfulparison. Would anyone ever feel better after hearing that?"


    "Besides, you sound like you think Siesta''s this perfect superhuman, unlike you, but she''s actually not."


    "Really?"


    Yes, really. Sorry, Siesta. Dead men tell no tales.


    "She wasn''t a drinker, but this one time, she drank, like, a whole bathtub of liquor, got dead drunk, and then¡ª"


    That was when, out of nowhere, Natsunagi picked up her drink and chugged it, all at once.


    "Hmm? Hey, Natsunagi?"


    The lights in the bar were dim, but when I took a close look at her face, her cheeks seemed to be red.


    And then¡ª


    "This actually had alcohol in it, didn''t it?" she said.


    Suddenly, Natsunagi set a finger on my chin, tilting it up. I couldn''t fight back... It was as if she was reenacting the day we''d met, in the ssroom after school.


    "Ngh, ghk..."


    "So. You''reing to my room today, aren''t you?" "...Huh? What are you talking about?"


    ¡ªNo, wait. Could the real Natsunagi say that sort of thing?


    In that case, this was... No, but it couldn''t be... "Which do you think it is?"


    ...Haaah. That smile''spletely against the rules. As I was struggling toe up with an answer... "Erm, attention all passengers."


    It was a shipboard announcement.


    Unlike the earlier criminal statement, this one was apparently official, made by the captain.


    "While I can''t disclose the details...," the announcement began, very enigmatically.


    "...is there a detective on this ship?"


    I exchanged nces with her, the girl next to me, and we both nodded. It was still too soon for an epilogue.

 Chapter 22: Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 22: Prologue</h4>


    I was dreaming.


    It was a long, fantastical dream, almost like a fairy tale.


    Ten thousand meters above the earth, I met a girl, and for the next three years, we went on an unforgettable series of adventures.


    In Singapore, we gambled at casinos and yed on the beaches and searched for a legendary hidden treasure.


    In New York, we were watching a musical until terrorists got involved.


    In Venice, the City of Water, we pursued a notorious phantom thief who was trying to make a getaway in a dramatic boat chase through the canals.


    We trekked across deserts, forged through jungles, crossed mountains, sailed over oceans¡ªjourneyed all over the world.


    Finally, in London, we encountered a diabolical viin, whose secret base proved to be our final destination.


    The girl who was my partner confronted the viin.


    I was watching the scene y out from behind her, but all of a sudden my vision went blurry, and my hearing started to fade.


    I quickly tried to shout, but I couldn''t make a sound.


    This has to be a dream. Just a horrific nightmare.


    I knew it logically, and yet I couldn''t shake the fear.


    As I struggled with my thoughts, the enemy raised a huge de. It was going to strike my partner unless someone intervened.


    I screamed her name, or tried to, but my voice still wasn''t working.


    As despair welled up within me¡ªmy partner turned halfway back toward me.


    She was saying something. Telling me something.


    ...But I couldn''t hear her voice.


    Desperately, I tried to read her lips, but my vision was fading. A momentter, blood dyed the girl''s face.


    She was dead.


    However...I''d been able to make out one thing. Just one.


    Right before she died, my partner had looked at me with a lonely smile.


    That was the sort of dream I was having. "You''re the ace detective?"


    That ridiculous question was what pulled me out of my dream. The ssroom was empty, and the sun was going down outside.


    I must have dozed off at some point, and someone had been kind enough to wake me. Rubbing my bleary eyes, I raised my head.


    It was a girl in my grade, but I didn''t recognize her.


    Then, for some unfathomable reason, she hauled me up by the shirtfront and started threatening me in ways I didn''t really understand. My knack for getting dragged into trouble hadn''t gotten any better.


    "Oh, I see. Yes, of course: You wanted me to hold you close, didn''t you?"


    That wasn''t a thought I was having, but she pressed me to her chest anyway.


    The marshmallowy softness and the sweet scent of her perfume threatened to dissolve my brain.


    I could also hear her heart. Badmp, badmp.


    Badmp, badmp.


    The sound was so familiar. Why was that? Thinking it was odd, I asked the girl her name. And she told me it was¡ª


    "...Hmm?"


    A sweet scent and a springy sensation against my cheek woke me. Ah¡ªwaking up was part of the dream, too.


    The room was dark, and I couldn''t make out much. But the scent and the softness from the dream were definitely there. So what was this?


    "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"


    There was a scream, and a sharp pain ran through my cheek. Not fair... "¡ª! What the heck was that for, Natsunagi?"


    I red at the girl, the one I assumed had just pped me.


    "What the heck were you doing?! Don''t just grope your ssmate''s chest the second you wake up! Have some shame!"


    "The first time we met, I''m pretty sure you forced me to feel up your chest."


    "¡ª! I already told you, I wasn''t exactly myself when I did that!"


    The girl who was yelling was Nagisa Natsunagi. She was in my grade in high school, and she was an ace detective.


    We''d gotten to know each other when I''d taken a certain job. Then we got involved in a couple more cases, and along the way, she''d be the detective, I''d be her assistant, and we''d developed a sort of friendship that neither of us seemed able to shake. That said, I didn''t remember sleeping together being part of the arrangement...


    "So, where is this?" Natsunagi twisted around curiously. We were lying on a cold concrete floor. She didn''t recognize this ce any better than I did.


    "...Yeah, where are we?"


    I dredged my memory, which I should have done earlier. Why had Natsunagi been lying beside me when I woke up? What time was it, and what was this ce? What had I been doing yesterday...?


    "Uhnn... Would you two quiet down already?"


    I felt somethingnd on my knee with a light thunk. "That voice... Saikawa?"


    I didn''t recall making any indication that she had permission to use myp as a pillow... That aside, it definitely was her voice.


    Yui Saikawa was Japan''s top idol, and the first client Natsunagi and I had picked up. Ever since we''d solved her case, we''d been close enough to banter back and forth... But...


    "Saikawa, why are you here, too?"


    "Huh? Why am I sleeping with you, you mean? You''re asking me that?" "What''s with the suggestive phrasing? ...Wait, I didn''t bring you in here,


    did I?"


    "Hang on a second, is that what''s going on?" Natsunagi cried. "You brought Yui in here, and you pushed me down onto the hard floor, and tied me up, and then¡ª!"


    "Natsunagi, your fantasies might be affecting your memory. You''re not tied up, all right?"


    This was a disaster¡ªI was starting to think figuring out where we''d found


    ourselves would be more trouble than it was worth. But then:


    "If you''re going to y games, do you suppose you could save it forter, Kimizuka?"


    The voice was cold and cross, and the harshness toward me specifically told me instantly who she was.


    "So you''re here, too, huh, Charlie?"


    Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. She was another old connection I couldn''t seem to get rid of: a girl about my age with whom I''d worked frequently. After another recent case, we''d gradually made peace with each other...but clearly, she hadn''t softened her attitude toward me.


    "You people seriously don''t remember? We were on our way to visit Ma''am''s grave when somebody kidnapped us and brought us here."


    "...!"


    Oh, right. I remembered now. Yesterday, the four of us had been on our way to visit my former partner''s grave.


    It had started a few days earlier, when the cruise Saikawa was hosting had gotten seajacked. After we''d defeated the pseudohuman Chameleon, Charlie and I had reconciled by mutually taking up Siesta''sst wish, then promised to visit her grave.


    Of course, that would have been an extremely awkward trip with just the two of us, so yesterday Natsunagi and Saikawa had joined us on the visit to her grave... But on the way, someone had attacked us and brought us here.


    "I swear, you people are always so careless," Charlie sniffed, crossing her arms arrogantly (it was too dark to actually see her, but I''d bet you anything she did).


    "Uh, except you got kidnapped, too." "You''ve also been kidnapped, Charlie." "Weren''t you kidnapped as well, Charlie?"


    "...! Argh, fine, I''m sorry!" Charlie''s shrill voice echoed in the dark room. We weren''t acting nearly as worried as we should have been. Our captor''s probably wishing they hadn''t wasted their time kidnapping us right about


    now, I thought with a chagrined smirk¡ª


    "Ahh...!" Natsunagi held up a hand to shield her face from the sudden light.


    A screen at the front of the room hade on. "Dark cells and mysterious TV screens, hmm?"


    Several "death game"¨Ctype scenarios raced across my mind. For example, in a moment the kidnapper would appear on that screen, wearing a mask, andy out a set of fiendish rules.


    "Ghk! First they bound us hand and foot, and now what? What on earth will they...?"


    "Natsunagi, are you blushing?" I asked.


    "If I recall, Kimizuka, weren''t you nning to attend your little sister''s wedding once this battle was over?" Saikawa asked.


    "Don''t try to jinx me to give yourself a better chance of survival," I snapped back at her.


    "It''s all right, Kimizuka," Charlie said. "No matter what type of death game this is, with my brains, we''ll have no trouble."


    "Lucky us!" I crowed. "Charlie just out-jinxed everybody." "I wasn''t trying to be funny!"


    Come on, people, at least show a little fear. The poor kidnapper''s not gonna know how to make a grand entrance after this.


    Sheesh. Well, no matter what happens next or who shows up on that screen, I''m definitely not going to be too taken aback, I thought. That''s what we were all thinking.


    Which is why in the next instant...


    When we saw the individual who did appear on the screen, we couldn''t say anything.


    "If this footage is ying, it means that Kimihiko Kimizuka, Nagisa Natsunagi, Yui Saikawa, and Charlotte Arisaka Anderson are all present."


    It had been a year since I''d heard that voice¡ªcool as a cucumber and yet so warm.


    "Sies¡ª"


    "Ma''am!"


    "Gweh."


    I felt a sudden weight as Charlie climbed right onto my back for a better view of the screen.


    The girl on the disy had pale silver hair and blue eyes. It was my former partner, the deceased ace detective. Siesta.


    Charlie had been her apprentice at one point, and she wasn''t able to conceal her excitement at seeing Siesta again after a year apart. However...


    "Charlie, this is a recording." "Huh?!"


    We couldn''t let fleeting emotions trick us. Always stay calm and clever. There was no way Siesta could be here now. The detective was already dead.


    "It''s been a long time, Charlie, but I''m sorry. This is just a video; I recorded it a year ago, in anticipation of today."


    As if Siesta had seen even this little exchangeing, she smiled softly at Charlie.


    "Ma''am..." Charlie gazed sorrowfully through the screen at Siesta.


    "I''m sorry to ask when things are getting emotional, but please get off me before you have this conversation."


    Once again, the four of us turned toward the TV. "So she''s...," Natsunagi whispered.


    "That''s Siesta, then...," Saikawa said.


    This was probably the first time either of them had actually seen her.


    "Now then, there is a reason I''ve gathered you here," Siesta said, again as if she''d known exactly when the lull would be. "I think it''s about time you knew...about what happened to me, one year ago."


    One year ago¡ªwas the detective talking about the day she had died? The day she''d been killed by Chameleon?


    "Chameleon didn''t kill me."


    Once again, Siesta seemed to have read my mind. "No, but he said¡ª"


    I was sure Chameleon had said he''d killed her. Charlie sent a confused nce my way. She''d heard the same information straight from Chameleon as well, back during the battle on the ship.


    "Assistant, I want you to remember." Siesta gazed at me.


    "There''s something you want me to remember?" I was forgetting something? Forgetting what?


    "I''d also like the rest of you to know. Once you do¡ªI want you to decide." In the next moment, the screen cut to a different image. It was the interior


    of the airne where I''d met Siesta four years ago, at ten thousand meters. "What''s...?"


    "It''s a record of all I''ve seen up to this point. The three years I spent with you."


    ...! It couldn''t be. Was she nning to tell us about that record, those memories, right now? Was this supposed to help me remember whatever she needed me to?


    "All right, are you ready? We''ll start four years ago."


    No sooner had Siesta appeared on the monitor again than she told us:


    "I want you to watch this to the end. You''ll see what happened to us. The truth of my death. And myst fight¡ª"

 Chapter 23 - 1.1

    <h4>Chapter 23: Chapter 1.1</h4>


    <strong>Nothing beats a (mixed) bath after a hijacking</strong>


    "No way. I don''t want to be your assistant."


    In the bathroom of my run-down apartment, I squeezed my eyes shut to keep the shampoo out of them and once again vetoed the screwball proposal that had been pitched to me multiple times now.


    "Huh? What? I couldn''t hear you."


    However, this particr pitcher didn''t seem the least bit disturbed by my criticism. I suspected she wouldn''t give up until I said yes.


    "Yes, you definitely can," Iined to the person on the other side of the door, raising my volume a couple notches. My low voice bounced off the walls of the small room into a multyered echo.


    "Now, now, calm down. You''re supposed to rx in the bath, you know." "Yes, and I can''t, thanks to somebody." I finished rinsing off the shampoo,


    then got into the cramped bathtub. "Shall I wash your back for you?" "No thanks."


    "Maybe I''ll walk in there wearing nothing but a towel." "...No thanks."


    "Certainly took you a moment, though."


    Dammit, what kind of dastardly trap was she setting for a teenage guy?


    Actually, more importantly...


    "Why are you in my apartment¡ªSiesta?" I asked the girl standing in the dressing room.


    Her code name was Siesta¡ªa girl of indeterminate nationality, with pale silver hair and blue eyes.


    Just a week ago, I''d met her on a passenger jet at ten thousand meters. She''d called herself an "ace detective," and the two of us had resolved a certain incident together. But for me, the incident hadn''t ended there...


    "Listen, Siesta, you can''t just walk into people''s houses uninvited. And don''t try to get into the bathroom."


    "Well, you aren''t listening to what I have to say." There it was again.


    Immediately after the hijacking was over and done with, she''d started making ridiculous demands: "I want you to fly around the world with me as my assistant." I had no idea what was going through her mind.


    Of course, the proposal was absolute nonsense, and I''d turned her down. However, Siesta showed no sign of folding. We''d been at it for a week now.


    "You''re awfully stubborn. Breaking in was no walk in the park, all right?" "The hell? Why do you sound so proud of that? Am I the bad guy here?"


    "I am the hero, after all. Going against me automatically makes you the bad guy."


    What hero would use that ridiculous logic?


    "Actually, I distinctly remember locking the door, so...?"


    "Oh, that. I opened it with my master key. It''s one of my Seven Tools; there''s no lock this key can''t open."


    "Wow, almost sounds like it was a walk in the park." "Hmm, that''s rather annoying."


    "Not as annoying as invading my privacy." Seriously, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack when I heard her voice through my bathroom door out of nowhere.


    "So, we''d decided that I was going to wash your back, correct?"


    "Look, quit trying to get in the bath with me at every opportunity." We''d only met a week ago, and she was already in my face. The future was looking bleak indeed...


    "And? Why are you so against being my assistant?" Once again, Siesta asked me that question through the thin door. Good grief, she still wasn''t giving up.


    "''Cause I wanna be normal." In the narrow bathtub, I sshed hot water over my face. "I told you earlier, remember? I get dragged into stuff. It''s never brought me anything but trouble. All I want is to live in peace. Like a nice, tepid bath that won''t burn me."


    "And you''re saying you won''t be able to live that life if you''re with me?" "Well, not after you showed me a thing like that."


    I was thinking about the fight with the pseudohuman that had broken out at ten thousand meters.


    A in old hijacking wouldn''t have been so bad. I mean, it certainly


    wouldn''t have been good, but after what I''d seen, I wasn''t gonnain. But that thing was out of the question. If I got involved with whatever the hell that was, I wouldn''t survive it no matter how many lives I had.


    "But I''m the only one who can do this job," Siesta snapped. It was sharper than I''d ever heard her speak.


    "Is there any point in dragging me into something only you can do?" "Well... Oh, that''s right."


    "You''re literally making something up as we speak, aren''t you?" "The truth is, I fell in love with you at first sight, and¡ª"


    "Except the one time we actually agreed to meet up, you didn''t recognize me, remember?"


    "Your face is so nd that I forget it if I don''t see you for a couple of days.


    It''s perfect for undercover operations."


    "Enough with the backhandedpliments. And don''t give me jobs when I haven''t even agreed to assist you yet."


    "...You really won''t be my assistant?" Siesta''s voice suddenly lowered.


    Yeah. That''s what I''ve been telling you this whole time. Why do you sound kinda depressed about it?


    I swear. This was barely even a conversation, not that any of her attempts before were much better. It''s all because Siesta won''t say what she''s actually thinking. She tries to get her way without offering anything to persuade me, so these discussions alwayse to nothing.


    Even that hijacking. It had technically been resolved at one point, and yet Siesta had used her overwhelming fighting skills and dynamism to force the hijacker into submission. If that was how things were going to be, I saw no future in this.


    "If you''re trying to negotiate, start by telling me what''s in it for me," I said, handing hermonsense advice instead.


    ...Don''t get the wrong idea, though. I only did it so I could turn her down after we''d done the negotiations right. I didn''t want this to drag on and on.


    "Heh-heh! You''re nicer than I thought, Kimi."


    "You''re overestimating me, then. Don''t read between the lines."


    "Come to think of it, I ordered a pizza a few minutes back; was that all right?"


    "Don''t immediately take advantage of people''s kindness! Call in and cancel that right now!"


    "This is just a conjecture, but I get the feeling that a year from now, we''ll probably be getting along just fine like this."


    "What about this is ''getting along just fine''?! What about me? I''ve been stressed out this whole time!"


    I''m exhausted. Seriously, dealing with Siesta wears me out... It''s just as I thought: There is nothing she could offer me that would convince me to be her assistant.


    "Well?" she said. "Go on and talk."


    "No, I didn''t mean me. You were going to tell me what was in this for me, remember?"


    However, as always, Siesta was acting as though she''d seen through everything. "You''ve got something worrying you, don''t you?" she asked, through the door. "I can clear that up for you. That''s a service I can provide." "You''re telling me to be your assistant, and in exchange, you''ll solve


    my problem?"


    "I may have said that, yes."


    If I asked Siesta how she knew I was worrying about something, she probably wouldn''t tell me. She was an ace detective who was only interested in results.


    "...The thing is, there''s some trouble at my middle school right now." And so, after I got out of the bathtub, I said:


    "Apparently they''ve had a mass outbreak of Miss Hanakos of the Toilet."


    As I dried myself off with a towel, I told the detective about that weird school mystery.


    "I see. Sounds like I''ll need to listen to that story carefully, over pizza." "...Yeah. You can have pizza, so hurry up and shut that door again."


    <strong>Pizza, soda, foreign TV shows, and asionally Miss Hanako of the Toilet</strong>


    Miss Hanako of the Toilet is one of those "seven school wonders" that everyone''s heard about at least once.


    It goes like this: If you go into the girls'' bathroom on the third floor of the old school building at three in the morning and knock three times on the door of the third stall in, a girl in a red jumper skirt will appear and drag you into


    the toilet...or something to that effect. It''s the kind of outdated, garden- variety urban legend that wouldn''t normally even be worth talking about. However¡ª


    "You''re saying things are a little different at your school?" Siesta asked over her shoulder.


    When I got out of the bathroom, Siesta was stuffing her face with pizza in the cramped, traditional, nine-square-meter tatami living room, her eyes on the foreign drama that was ying on the little TV. At some point after breaking into my home, she''d changed into the T-shirt I usually wore around the house and shiftedpletely into rxation mode.


    "So you barge into the apartment of a guy you''ve just met, borrow his clothes, and watch foreign dramas while you eat pizza. What are you, my live-in girlfriend?"


    "Huh? Uh, no?"


    "I know you''re not. That''s why I''mining." With the towel still draped over my head, I sat down near Siesta and reached for the pizza.


    "Oh, the cheese half is mine, so don''t eat any of it." "You''re the one who ordered it! How is that fair?" "You can have the double-pickle kind."


    "Don''t make me dispose of your leftovers. Also, apologize to every pickle fan in the country."


    "I really appreciate the fact that you''re still eating it as you say that. You should continue to develop that trait."


    "What do you mean, ''continue to develop it''? Why are you trying to mentor me? Who do you think you are?"


    This was no good; the conversation was going nowhere. What had we been talking about, anyway?


    "Hanako, right?"


    "Oh yeah... But it''s Miss Hanako. She''s not your friend."


    "And? You''re saying this Miss Hanako is multiplying at your middle school?" Siesta reached for another piece of pizza.


    "Yeah. From what I hear, at my school, students who run into Miss Hanako


    end up bing Miss Hanakos themselves."


    "Ah. Like the way people who get bitten by zombies turn into zombies." "Exactly. It''s a rumor straight out of a B movie."


    "Except it isn''t just a rumor, and that''s why you''re telling me about it.


    Right?"


    ...Well, yes, that''s about the size of it. Although I don''t particrly want to admit it.


    "Right now, a bunch of students have suddenly stoppeding to school, mainly from the track team, and the number''s growing. The teachers won''t give us any details...but I hear some of them have actually run away, instead of just skipping school."


    One kid in my ss had started staying home, and I knew of at least twenty or so more as a whole. Several of those were runaways, so the police were already involved.


    "Has the track club had any internal trouble?"


    "No idea. There haven''t been any rumors of a falling out."


    "I see... It may be an external factor, then. The sort of thing that would have a big, chain-reaction effect on an entire group." Her expression grave, Siesta chewed her pizza, then swallowed. "But you''re saying the rumor at your school is that Miss Hanako may have dragged all the missing students into the girls'' toilet?"


    "Yeah. And since the number of missing kids is growing faster and faster, they''re wondering whether the number of Miss Hanakos is growing, too."


    That was why the mind-numbing rumor about a "mass outbreak of Miss Hanakos" was spreading through the school.


    "Do you believe it, too, Kimi?"


    "Hell no." I snorted, washing down my pickle-covered pizza with c. "Aw, look at you pretending to be omnipotent. ssic middle schooler." "Don''te for me like this." I got the feeling I''d never beat this detective


    in an argument as long as I lived.


    "...Still, they''ve stoppeding to school and gone missing, hmm?" Siesta said abruptly, her eyes still on the TV.


    The program was an overseas drama set in an academy. In the current scene, there was a kid who''d stoppeding to ss, and all of his ssmates had gone to his house to pick him up. Wouldn''t that make him want toe to school even less...?


    "You''re a nice person, aren''t you?" Siesta turned to look at me. "You''re still helping me pay for the pizza, all right?"


    "That''s not what I meant," she replied, then added, "And no, I''m not."


    No, seriously. You need to pay me back.


    "Naturally, the students who disappeared from school aren''t your friends, are they? And yet you''re worried about them enough to want to resolve the problem."


    "''Naturally''? What makes you so sure I don''t have friends?"


    "Maybe it''s because of that tendency to get dragged into things you mentioned. At the same time, saving people seems to be part of your DNA, too."


    ...Yet another type of DNA I don''t need. Well, anyway.


    "I like keeping my immediate surroundings peaceful and normal, you know? I mean, this is what my life is usually like," I said, smiling wryly as I looked around the apartment. "By the time I was old enough to notice, my parents had evaporated. I bounced around between different houses and care facilities for a while, and now, I''m living on my own at fourteen. That''ll make you want a peaceful, average, stable environment."


    Well, as long as I had this curse, I knew it wasn''t going to be easy. Still, trying to resolve as many problems as I was capable of handling on my own in my quest for a mediocre,monce routine couldn''t possibly be a crime.


    "I see, so that''s your¡ª" Siesta put a fingertip to her chin, as if she was thinking hard about something. "Mm-hmm. I understand everything."


    "But we''ve barely talked. That''s kinda freaky."


    "Yes, I see. You must be pretty lonely without any family or friends." "Look, did I ever say I didn''t have friends? Could you stop making random


    guesses?"


    But she was right that I didn''t have many. I also couldn''t remember thest time I''d talked with a ssmate. Still.


    "All right. This weekend, let''s go to that together."


    Siesta was pointing at the TV. On the screen, a girl who seemed to be the heroine was taking the truant boy to a school festival.


    "...Uh, what happened to the Miss Hanako thing?"


    <strong>And now for the teen rom shenanigans</strong>


    "I''m still kinda expecting this to turn into a mystery-horror story, all right?" Avoiding the weird middle schooler muttering to himself, students and


    visitors streamed through the school gate.


    It was some dayster, a Saturday, and I was waiting for someone at the gate of my middle school. Even though it was a weekend morning, the gate was quite busy because today was the school''s cultural festival...apparently.


    It was weird, though; I didn''t remember helping to get ready for it. With cultural festivals, didn''t the whole ss work together in advance to prepare their contribution? Had they gotten all that out of the way while I was too busy dealing with a string of problems toe to school? Why hadn''t anybody told me about it?


    "Haaah..." I sighed a lonely sigh for my dull and drab school life... "Sorry to keep you waiting," a girl said behind me.


    The person I''d been waiting for had arrived. Grumbling that she waste, I turned around.


    "You were the one who told me toe to this, and now you''re..." I froze.


    No, it wasn''t because I had the wrong person. The one in front of me was definitely the girl I''d made that promise with; there was no question about that. The issue was¡ª


    "Siesta, what are you wearing...?"


    What had arrested my attention was a bright white sailor uniform. She must have shortened the skirt somehow; it let me see her knees and a little more. She had a school bag slung over her shoulder, and anyone would''ve pegged her as one of our students... It was so different from the chic dress she usually wore, and between that and how good it looked, I just¡ª


    "? Why did you suddenly turn your back?" Siesta leaned over, peering into my face.


    "...Uh, no reason. Just, uh, had some trouble breathing..." "Does it hurt? Are you okay?"


    I''m fine. I''m fine, so don''t lean in so close, all right? And don''t rub my back.


    "...Why are you wearing our uniform?"


    After I''d finally managed to calm down a bit, I asked her about that, squinting.


    When I studied her more closely, I saw that she was wearing a red ribbon in her short, pale silver hair like a headband, as a fashion statement. Okay, if I''m not extremely careful, I might slip and say she''s cute or something, and


    that possibility is extremely...cute.


    "You know, your eyes are meaner than usual."


    Ignore it. I just need a little more courage before I can take in your entire sailor-suited self at once.


    Yeah, I actually hadn''t calmed down at all.


    To be fair, I wasn''t overreacting: All the people who passed us were slowing down, fascinated by Siesta.


    She was a beautiful girl with white hair and blue eyes in a sailor uniform. Ipletely understood why people would involuntarily whip out their cell phones... But the pictures''ll cost you two trillion yen.


    "I don''t normally dress like this, so I decided to throw in a ribbon, too.


    What do you think?"


    "If you want my impressions, I''ve already given enough to fill a page or so of a manuscript."


    "Huh? When? I didn''t hear it." "More important...ahem."


    "Oh, you mean why am I wearing a uniform?" Siesta twirled around once on her tiptoes. The wind made her skirt re out, baring her thighs for a moment. I stared in spite of myself as Siesta leaned forward slightly, batting hershes.


    "I mean, don''t you think a cultural festival date in school uniforms sounds like fun?"


    She turned that smile and its hundred million watts of adorable on me. "...Come to think of it, do I need a contract to be your assistant? Oh,


    and maybe a personal seal, to sign it..."


    "Easy there, slow down. I shouldn''t be the one saying this, but there are proper steps to follow. We still have some dialogue left when I''ll try to talk you around, so hold on for a little while."


    The school was bustling with local students, their parents and guardians, and students from other schools, and every ssroom had been turned into a mock shop that sold things like crepes or takoyaki.


    "All right, where should we start?" I asked Siesta for input, studying a flyer somebody in a full-body rabbit costume had handed me in the corridor. ording to the flyer, they had aarium and a haunted house in addition to the festival stalls. And the haunted house was big¡ªit took up a whole floor of the old school building, which wasn''t normally used. It seemed pretty promising.


    "That one''s a must," she said.


    "Yeah. We''ll have to keep an eye on the schedule, though."


    ording to the flyer, the haunted house shut down for fifteen minutes every hour, probably so the staff could take breaks.


    "Does that mean they won''t ept customers outside those times?" Siesta asked the kid in the rabbit suit, although the answer seemed pretty obvious.


    The bunny tilted its big head to the side, as if to say, "What are you even asking me?" I assumed it was trying to stay in character, which struck me as really professional. Well, the running shoes kinda killed the effect, but I guess it cared more about being able to walk easily.


    "Hey, Siesta. It''s written right here. They break for fifteen minutes." "But ording to the ideal route I just plotted in my head¡ª" "What, in that split second?"


    "I don''t think we''ll be able to get to the old school building during the times written on this flyer." Apparently, Siesta''s schedule had other priorities. "It would be better to fortify ourselves with some food first, you know?"


    "So that''s your goal, huh?"


    "Like an hour-long, gigantamongous-portion eating challenge, maybe." "Yeah, they''re not going to be doing anything like that at a middle school


    cultural festival."


    "And so," Siesta said, putting on her very best smile, "we''ll be visiting


    outside regr hours, but please amodate us anyway."


    That was an unreasonable request for the bunny-suited student.


    "Oh, there''s a crepe stand!" As if to say her business was finished, Siesta set off toward one of the stalls up ahead.


    "Siesta, listen, if you''re gonna be unfair and dump work on people, at least dump it on me." I sighed, even as I caught up with her and bought a banana crepe on the spot.


    "...? I didn''t say anything, and you bought it for me anyway." Siesta seemed bewildered, but when I held the crepe out, she took a petite little bite. "You got mad at me earlier when I ordered the pizza. What happened?"


    "Well, times change."


    "Huh? But it''s been barely any time at all. What''s changed?"


    Geez, she''s not going to get it if I don''t say it straight out, huh? Here goes nothing.


    I turned to Siesta, who was staring at me, and I told her:


    "I''ll take the cultural festival in front of me over a Miss Hanako who doesn''t even exist."


    Mystery-horror? That stuff''s not in style. The times call for¡ªteen romanticedy.


    I put on the coolest expression I''d ever worn in my life.


    "Haaah. Well, I''d never date you in a million years, so I''m not sure you could call this ''romanticedy,'' but..."


    However, Siesta was not reacting the way I expected at all... "Hmm?"


    "Hmm?"


    Although the school grounds were still bustling and lively, the world around me was suddenly very quiet. We stood there for a little while, gazing at each other, then tilted our heads in confusion.


    Ah. Okay. Yes, okay, I get it.


    "Huh? What? Kimi, you didn''t think ''date'' meant I was going to be your girlfriend, did you?"


    Nope, not at all. Not by a single millimeter. Not the tiniest bit. I didn''t, uh, think that. At all...


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    "...Can we just erase thest paragraph or so from history?"


    Hopefully I won''t have to watch this scene again in a few years¡ªI''d probably be writhing on the floor in embarrassment. Look, I''m a middle schooler, okay? Future me, have a heart and cut a guy some ck. Although I doubt that particr fear is something I''ll ever have to worry about.


    "Well, I prefer that version of you. It''s easier to work with." Polishing off the crepe I was still holding, she said, "Let''s go get some takoyaki next."


    Taking my hand, she started off through the crowd.


    "...You''re gonna give some people the wrong idea, you know." "Did you say something?"


    "I said don''t just walk into people''s bathrooms."


    "The only bathroom I invade without asking is yours."


    "You''re not gonna get me with that ''You''re the only person I show this side of myself to'' crap."

 Chapter 24 - 1.2

    <h4>Chapter 24: Chapter 1.2</h4>


    <strong>This is when even atheists start praying</strong>


    "Not fair."


    All by myself in a dark cubicle, I was holding my head...well, my stomach, to be precise. Wave after wave of pain swept over me. The fierce struggle had been going on for more than ten minutes already, and I wiped sweat off my forehead.


    "Dammit, this is all your fault, too, Siesta," Iined. She was probably chowing down on takoyaki again somewhere, right about now.


    Basically, I was currently in a bathroom stall, battling stomach cramps.


    The cause was clearly overeating, and that was entirely due to Siesta making me keep herpany while she bought and consumed a ridiculous amount of food. Not only that, but when I''d asked her to let me rest a little, she''d ignored my request and dragged me around the haunted house in the old school building, and that was when the cramps had hit.


    However, that wasn''t the only reason I was feeling lousy. It was because this bathroom was actually located inside the haunted house¡ªand the stall I was in was the one in the rumors: the third stall from the door in the girls''


    bathroom on the third floor of the old school building.


    ...No, wait, don''t jump to conclusions. That''s not it. This was the only stall that had been made avable to the staff, guys and girls alike. They''d just let me use it because this was an emergency. I absolutely did not sneak into the girls'' bathroom, all right?


    Naturally, the inside of the bathroom was gloomy, and I''d been hearing eerie sounds in the background the whole time. Frankly, I wanted to get out of there ASAP...but my stomach was sounding a squeaky, gurgling rm, as if warning me to stay on the john. To put it mildly:


    "I want to die." And so here I was.


    To make matters worse, the ominous atmosphere kept the rumor going through my mind despite my desire to keep it at bay.


    "I mean,e on, I''m in middle school. There''s no way ghosts and monsters still freak me out."


    "Who are you making excuses to?" "...!"


    A voice that wasn''t mine came from somewhere above me, and I froze... but it was a girl''s voice, one I''d heard somewhere before.


    "What, peeping at me in the bath wasn''t enough for you? Don''t peep while I''m on the toilet, Siesta."


    When I looked up, there she was. She''d climbed up on the stall door and was peering down at me. I thought she''d headed for the exit on her own, but no, she''de back. Sighing, I pulled up my pants. The darkness had worked in my favor; I was pretty sure she hadn''t quite managed to see anything.


    "You were taking so long, I got worried... And down we go." "What? No. Why did you get down?"


    "Was I supposed to stay up there forever?"


    "No, get down on the outside." Why had she gone out of her way to climb down in here with me?


    "There''s something I want to check... Mm, found it." Siesta bent down and retrieved something from the shadows around the toilet. It was a scrap of stic, maybe from a bag.


    "What do you think this is?"


    "Let''s see... Maybe it''s from a bag of cold medicine? Like, maybe


    somebody took it after they ate their lunch in here."


    "The fact that that''s the very first thing you thought of makes me feel pure sympathy for you. Don''t tell me this ''peaceful routine'' you want to protect involves you eating your lunch all by yourself in the bathroom."


    "As I told you, my parents are missing. Present progressive tense. So nobody''s ever made me lunch. The only lunch I eat in the bathroom is sweet rolls."


    "Okay, I really feel bad for you now. Shall I make you lunch every once in a while?"


    After dropping that on me as if it were nothing:


    "Hup."


    Reaching under her skirt, Siesta hooked her fingers onto something and started to pull down.


    "Siesta, wait! Can''t you see me here?! You know I can see you, right?!" "Huh? That''s a very dubious habit you''ve got, making a girl hold it when


    she needs to go."


    "I didn''t say that... I said absolutely nothing even remotely like that." "Anyway, I''m going to tinkle, so leave, Kimi."


    "Huh? You''re nning to toss me out into this creepy ce by myself?" "Weren''t you just telling yourself, ''I mean,e on, I''m in middle school.


    There''s no way ghosts and monsters still freak me out''? With your pants around your ankles?"


    "If you saw, then you should''ve reacted back then!"


    This couldn''t be right. We were in a teen rom at the cultural festival; how had we ended up acting out aedy routine in the bathroom of a haunted house? Although, if you took the words "haunted house" and edy routine" in istion, you could say we were still making the most of the cultural festival...


    I sighed, and that was when it happened. "Quiet." Siesta put a hand over my mouth.


    I strained my ears, wondering what was going on, and then¡ªtap-tap-tap. Somebody knocked on the door of our stall.


    No way, I thought. We were currently in the third stall from the door of the girls'' bathroom on the third floor of the old school building. It wasn''t three in the morning, but there were more than enough conditions in ce to remind me of that rumor.


    It happened again: tap-tap-tap.


    Whoever it was knocked a second time. Siesta and I nodded to each other.


    Slowly, we unlocked the door and pushed it open, and in the next instant¡ª "...! ...Hmm?"


    Outside the stall was a girl in a red jumper skirt¡ªer, scratch that.


    Somebody in a pink rabbit suit.


    "Weren''t you handing out flyers in the school?"


    No, wait, had that been a panda? I had seen multiple students in full-body character suits, handing out flyers or carrying directory signs around.


    Anyway, what was this rabbit doing here?


    Oh, were they a haunted house staff member? Maybe they''de because we''d been in here so long that they''d gotten worried. If so, I''d have to think up a good excuse. What kind of white lie would convince someone who''d just caught a girl and guy together in a bathroom stall¡ª?


    "I won''t let you get away."


    However, I promptly realized that I wouldn''t have time to think up any excuse, and that there wouldn''t have been any point anyway.


    The next thing I knew, the person in the bunny suit had turned tail and hared off¡ªand Siesta was pointing a gun at their back.


    "Hey, Siesta...?"


    With no clue what was going on, I just stood there, but Siestaunched into a run. As she took off, she called back to me:


    "That bunny is Miss Hanako of the Toilet."


    <strong>A pure-white dress and the flying bride</strong>


    "Hurry," Siesta called.


    Even though I still had no idea what was happening, I chased after the bunny suit, too. It didn''t have much of a lead on us yet. I''d assumed we''d catch it right away, but...


    "Who''d have thought they''d be this fast..."


    Come to think of it, I remembered that rabbit had been wearing high- performance athletic shoes. They couldn''t have factored this chase into their


    ns beforehand, could they? "Whoa!"


    To make matters worse, my foot caught on something and I stumbled. When I shone my phone screen on it to see what it was...it turned out to be a fake severed head. Ah, right¡ªthis entire floor was a haunted house. There wasn''t much light, and theplicated, maze-likeyout was slowing us down more than we''d anticipated.


    "Geez. This is kid stuff." Sighing, I straightened up. "So what do you mean, ''That bunny is Miss Hanako''?"


    "I''ll exinter. Right now, get moving as fast as you can."


    "It''s pretty hard to make myself chase somebody when I don''t understand why I''m doing it."


    "I''m telling you, we don''t have that kind of time. And why are you squeezing my hand?"


    Dammit. She caught me, huh? I thought I''d be okay if I did it casually.


    "What, do you like me, Kimi?" "Are you an idiot?"


    "Wow, that is incredibly irritating."


    "I just grabbed your hand involuntarily because that severed head on the ground scared me. Obviously."


    "That''s nothing to brag about. You''re being far more unfair than me right now."


    "Ha-ha! I win."


    During that stupid exchange, we got out of the haunted house. Then we crossed the long corridor that linked the old school building with the new one, which put us back among the mock shops. However...


    "This is, uh..."


    There, we found multiple people in bunny costumes, handing out flyers and balloons in the crowded corridor. It wasn''t possible to tell which was the real one at a nce.


    "No better ce to hide a tree than in the forest, hmm? ...Nom-nom." "Yeah, they lost us real good. Wait, are you eating?" When I looked over at


    Siesta, she was munching on a buttered baked potato. "Seriously? Now? You''re the one who started this whole chase; if anybody needs to keep their guard up, it''s you."


    "I can''t move unless I refuel. And they want three hundred yen for this."


    "You were gonna explode a few minutes ago. And don''t just send me the bill again."


    "Okay, you can have a bite, so let''s split the check." "Check-splitting. Wow. Oh, hey, isn''t that the one?"


    On the opposite side of the U-shaped school building, I''d spotted someone in a rabbit costume gazing at us from a distance, through the window. They darted off, as if they''d noticed me looking back.


    "That was dumb. If they had just yed it cool, we never would''ve guessed. All right, let''s go catch ''em."


    "I really like the way you eventually decided to just go with the flow.


    Continue to develop that trait."


    "I told you, that''s annoying. I have not agreed to an assistant training project."


    As we bantered with each other, we broke into a run again. And just then¡ª "This is the Costuming Club! Come try on costumes for free!" a girl called,


    trying to attract visitors.


    If we''d had time, I would have liked to enjoy the sight of Siesta as a cat- eared maid for a little while, but sadly, we didn''t.


    "Two, please."


    Or apparently we did.


    "No, we don''t! Seriously! They''re going to get away again!"


    Siesta was headed into the ssroom, and I caught the cuff of her sleeve. "This is our strategy. If our opponent is going to blend into a sea of


    character costumes, we''ll disguise ourselves with cosy."


    "Is that actually going to work? I get the feeling a cat-eared maid would draw a lot of attention."


    "Oh,e on, it''s fine... And why are you assuming I''d be a cat-eared maid? I''m not wearing that."


    Soon we were ushered into the ssroom, handed bags with costumes in them, then shown into simple changing rooms that had been partitioned off. Alone behind the curtain, I took my costume out of its bag.


    "...Uh..."


    Frankly, I wouldn''t exactly go out of my way to wear this... Any middle schooler would have found it a little embarrassing. Still, if the goal was to disguise ourselves, it had to be done. After hesitating a little, I pulled on the costume, steeled myself, and opened the curtain.


    "...And nobody''s even looking."


    This after I''d braced myself and everything. Jerks.


    So what were the Costuming Club members doing? For some reason, they were all gathered around the other changing room, squealing. The person inside was, naturally, the one who''de in with me.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting."


    When the curtain finally opened, there was Siesta in a pure-white wedding dress.


    "How is it?" Smiling, she tilted her head gently.


    "Oh, uh. Well... It looks good on you," I managed to say, tearing my eyes away.


    "...I didn''t think you''d actually tell me." "Well, I mean, there''s no point in lying."


    "You look good, too, Kimi... That tuxedo suits you." Siesta pointed at my outfit.


    "I-it does, huh?" "Yes..."


    We were both refusing to look at each other now. This was terribly awkward.


    "If you''d like, I''ll take a photo for you!" One of the Costuming Club girls held up a camera.


    "Well, I guess...?" "Since we''re here..."


    We nced at each other again, then epted the offer. "All right, are you ready? Say cheese!"


    Click.


    The traditional peace sign pose didn''t seem appropriate to our clothes, so the photo only showed Siesta and me, standing side by side. The girl sent it to each of our smartphones.


    "This will be a good memory, huh?" Siesta said bashfully, and I smiled faintly.


    Yeah, it really was¡ª "¡ªWait, no!!"


    I yelled.


    "The rabbit! We''re chasing the rabbit, remember?!"


    Why on earth had we let this cosy thing fry our brains? We''dpletely forgotten our main goal...


    "We identally used up too much of our runtime on the romanticedy, didn''t we? Let''s hurry."


    Finally, Siesta was back to her usual self, and she sprinted out of the ssroom, still wearing the wedding dress.


    "Hey! ...Argh, dammit. We''ll bring the costumes backter!" I called to the dazed Costuming Club members, then managed to catch up to Siesta somehow.


    "Not exactly made for running," she said.


    "You''re definitely the only person on the who''d y tag dressed like that."


    A girl and guy in a wedding dress and tuxedo dashed down the long corridor. Every student there whipped out their smartphone. Did they think we were doing a cosy event or something? If those photos ended up on social media, this was going to haunt me forever.


    "Hey..." Siesta was wearing a smile sunny enough to blow those gloomy clouds away. "This is fun, isn''t it, Assistant?"


    That smile she was giving me, right then, was exactly what people mean when they talk about the joy of youth.


    "Who are you calling your assistant?" "Oh, you caught that, huh?"


    Don''t give me that. And don''t flip right back to normal. Geez.


    "Assistant, over there." Siesta pointed toward the window. Beyond it, I saw...


    "It ran all that way?"


    The bunny suit was cutting straight across the schoolyard, through the teeming crowd.


    "They actually stayed in the bunny costume for us. What a conscientious fugitive."


    "You can''t get out of those by yourself."


    "Well, now I feel bad for it." Running full tilt in that costume at this time of year? It had to be sweating buckets.


    "That''s why we have to be humane and catch it fast," Siesta said as she


    flung open the window.


    "...Whoa, wait, I''ve got a really bad feeling about this. I''m pretty sure I''m wrong, but you''re not nning to jump from here, are you?"


    "No, I''m not."


    Okay. Phew.


    "It''s not just me. You''reing, too." "Huh?"


    "It''s fine. The shoes I''m wearing are one of those Seven Tools I was telling you about, meaning¡ª"


    No sooner had she spoken than Siesta scooped me up, set a foot on the windowsill, and¡ª


    "¡ªthey let me fly."


    That day, the photo of a girl in a wedding dress holding a guy in a tuxedo in her arms and leaping into the sky blew up on social media.


    <strong>And so the unforgettable adventure began</strong>


    "So that bunny really was one of the Miss Hanakos of the Toilet?" The next day, at a certain caf¨¦...


    Siesta and I were discussing the facts behind the recent incident.


    "That''s right. This is from the drugs the students who''d stoppeding to school were taking."


    After pausing for a sip of ck tea, Siesta took the transparent bag from the folds of her skirt and set it on the table. It was what she''d picked up in the girls'' bathroom on the third floor of the old school building yesterday.


    "It resembles a type of stimnt. It gives a temporary euphoric sensation and boosts your concentration. At this school, it looks as though it started with the track and field team, then spread."


    "I had no idea... Then you mean the students who are skipping were using that drug?"


    "Yes. After all, such a remarkable effectes with some pretty incredible side effects. Memory trouble, in particr. It''ll probably take quite a while for them to recoverpletely."


    "I see..."


    On the bright side, though, recovery was possible, through a regimen of careful treatments. You could probably call that the one silver lining here.


    "Then the fact that the Miss Hanakos were multiplying means..."


    "It was probably because the drug was highly habit-forming. In order to get the money to buy more, they started to sell it themselves... I think that''s how the Miss Hanakos multiplied more and more rapidly."


    An illegal drug that could only be bought at the third stall from the door of the girls'' bathroom on the third floor of the old school building. The rumor about Miss Hanako of the Toilet had been used as a code for those secret transactions. Of course, the number of students who''d known what it actually meant had probably been limited, but a few of them had been using that urban legend as a cover tomit crimes.


    "As a matter of fact, I hear that drug is based on a pollen-like substance produced by a certain nt."


    "So that''s why it was ''Miss Hanako,'' huh? ''Flower child.'' What a dumb joke."


    But that weak pun had created a shadow that had victimized multiple people.


    I hadn''t noticed the situation at all. I''d said that all I needed was for my days to be quiet and monotonous, and yet the flower-poison had already been eating away at that peaceful routine.


    "Wait, wasn''t Miss Hanako only supposed to appear at three in the morning? What was she doing at a cultural festival in broad daylight?"


    "It just goes to show how desperate they were. They were watching for a chance to steal a march on their rivals and spread their drug around."


    "I see. That rabbit was one of them, then?"


    Thanks to the guilt of using illegal drugs, the Miss Hanakos had found it hard to go out in public. However, at the cultural festival, they''d be able to blend into the crowd. Not only that, but they''d probably assumed they wouldn''t be noticed if they used full-body costumes to hide their identities.


    "Siesta, you knew something was off about that rabbit right from the start, didn''t you?"


    "Yes. After all, going out of their way to wear a character suit with running shoes was practically broadcasting their identity."


    Oh, right. I had heard that a lot of the Miss Hanakos were on the track


    team. So Siesta had known the bunny was actually a drug-pushing track team member the moment she ran into it? The running shoes they''d worn, just in case they needed to flee, had ended up working against them.


    "Then you slyly dropped a code word, established contact with the rabbit, and pretended you were a client."


    Come to think of it, when Siesta had first epted the flyer from the rabbit, she''d really emphasized being outside normal hours. She hadn''t been talking about the haunted house''s breaks. She''d meant a drug transaction at a time other than three in the morning. Then the rabbit hade straight to the site, but when they''d seen Siesta holding a gun, they''d realized it was a trap and bolted.


    "First-rate detectives resolve incidents before they even ur, you see." I''d heard that line before.


    As she sipped her tea, Siesta gave an elegant wink. "Well, I guess it wasn''t much of a case for you, huh?"


    After all, Siesta was an ace detective who fought in bitter,rge-scale battles with pseudohumans. She could probably handle illicit drug deals before breakfast...before her afternoon siesta.


    "However, I did hear that a certain organization was involved with the flower from this incident."


    "''A certain organization''? You can''t mean..." Wordlessly, Siesta nodded.


    The secret society SPES. Of course. Where there were drugs, there was a boss¡ªa mastermind. Before I''d even noticed, their shadows had stretched right into my neighborhood.


    "So?" Setting her cup down on its saucer, Siesta looked at me. "What are you going to do?"


    Her blue gaze caught me, and it wouldn''t let go. I didn''t have to ask what she meant.


    She wanted to know if I was prepared. If I was going to climb out of my lukewarm bath, which was stone-cold now, and throw myself intobat. That was the silent question in her eyes.


    In that case... "Siesta."


    ...I asked her a question of my own.


    "If I be your assistant, what''s in it for me? What can you provide?"


    That was the starting point of this discussion, which I''d suggested. But I knew it was pointless to ask that.


    I''d caught on now.


    Why are you insisting on me? Why am I the one who has to be your assistant? It''s because I get dragged into things. As long as you have that, incidents and trouble wille find you on their own.


    Siesta was pursuing cases¡ªor SPES, to be precise¡ªand to her, I was the best human resource ever. The ace detective didn''t want an assistant; she wanted cases.


    She wasn''t looking at me at all. Whatever she was about to offer me would be a bunch of random things she pulled out of the air. My questions had been asked with spiteful intentions, and I''d already decided to turn her down once I knew what the answers were.


    Siesta squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and then... "I''ll protect you."


    ...she opened them again, smiling softly as she went on.


    "No matter what kind of trouble finds you, I''ll protect you with my life.


    And so..." she said. "Kimi¡ª Be my assistant."


    Siesta held her left hand out to me, across the table. "...Look at you, trying to swindle me into this."


    Naturally, I wasn''t about to take her up on that all-surface, no-substance proposal¡ª


    "Well, if you''re going to go that far, I suppose I could go along with you."


    ¡ªor so I thought, but the next thing I knew, I''d taken her hand.


    Why, you ask? How the hell should I know? I''d like to ask somebody myself.


    But for some reason...no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn''t get that picture out of my mind¡ªthe sight of her leaping into the sky, wearing something she was ten years too young for.


    "After all thatining, now you''re suddenly warm to the idea. I''ve never seen such an obvious male tsundere in my life."


    "Don''t pigeonhole your assistant into a random category."


    "You''re already acknowledging yourself as my assistant." "¡ªGhk. Figure of speech."


    "Actually, we already had our answer when you showed up here, didn''t we?" Siesta fluttered two airline tickets at me.


    Yes, I should mention that the caf¨¦ we were sitting in was the airport lounge.


    "...And what is an assistant to you, anyway? You keep throwing the word around."


    "Hmm. How about you wake me up every morning, say, and make me brush my teeth, and dress me?"


    "......... That''s a hard no."


    "You thought about it for quite a while, though. Did you think you might like that life?"


    "Argh, shut up! I get it, all right?! As you wish: I''ll be your assistant!" Then I smacked the table, stood up, and¡ª


    "So stay with me as long as I live!"


    ¡ªlost control of my emotions and said what I was actually feeling. "Huh? Did you just propo¡ª?"


    "No! I take it back!"

 Chapter 25: Interlude 1

    <h4>Chapter 25: Interlude 1</h4>


    "...Uh, what exactly was that story for?"


    Hang on. Especially thatst bit; what was that?


    I''d thought she was starting pretty far back, and then she''d busted out an especially embarrassing episode for me. Weren''t these supposed to reveal the truth behind Siesta''s death? This one had just been a trap to humiliate me...


    "Oops, wrong one."


    "That was absolutely on purpose!"


    Siesta, who''d appeared on the screen again, lowered her head slightly. Her face was still expressionless.


    Seriously, don''t set up ways to mess with me a year in advance...


    ...That said, thinking back, that was how Siesta and I had decided that it was in both our best interests to stick together before we set off on our journey.


    "Rgh! Why did Ma''am choose an underhanded guy like Kimizuka instead of me?"


    "Calm down, Charlie. That was four years ago; what''s the point of getting jealous now? And don''t insult me just because you can."


    "Ghk! Howe the two of you had already promised to get married years ago...?"


    "Calm down, Natsunagi. Why would you be jealous, too?"


    "Haaah, you really are a child, Kimizuka," Saikawa said. "You don''t understand girls'' feelings."


    "Says the youngest one here."


    Come on, this is turning into a routine¡ªone person says something dumb, everybody starts in, and it doesn''t stop until they all run out of material? I don''t have the stamina to shut all of this down...


    "All right, I really am going to show you an important incident that connects to the truth of my death next, but¡ªbefore I do that, I''ll give the four of you a hint," Siesta exined to us. "Don''t misread individual pieces of information. Keep track of who''s saying what at the moment. And always doubt what you''re seeing. I want you to remember that from now on."


    "Doubt what we see..." Natsunagi murmured softly. Then she nced at me. "Huh? Maybe this isn''t really Kimizuka...?"


    "I know Siesta had that thing about forgetting what I look like if she hadn''t seen me for two days, but you can let that one lie. You don''t have to honor everything from herst wish."


    And that is absolutely not what she meant by that, all right?


    "Now that that''s out of the way, I''ll show the next clip," Siesta said. On the screen, the scene changed. "My assistant should still remember this part as well."


    The screen showed the streets of London. Siesta and I were just entering a brick building. "I''m pretty sure this is..."


    A little over a year ago. I recognized the building where we''d lived and had our office. And what had happened in this city¡ª


    "All right, here we go."


    Siesta signaled that the story was about to move forward. "From this point on, try to uncover the truth of my death."

 Chapter 26 - 2.1

    <h4>Chapter 26: Chapter 2.1</h4>


    <strong>And thus the dead rise again</strong>


    "Jack the Ripper is back from the dead. I want you to help us bring him in."


    London, Ennd.


    In the office where Siesta and I had taken up residence, Ms. Fuubi sat on the sofa opposite us, smoking.


    "...Ms. Fuubi, what are you doing in Ennd?"


    "Well, I hadn''t told you two, but they sent me here on loan. That contract ended yesterday, though; I''ll be heading back to Japan on the next flight."


    "I never heard they were reshuffling personnel that way..."


    Fuubi Kase was an acquaintance from Japan, a redheaded police officer. However, I hadn''t seen her in person for a bit under three years, not since I left Japan with Siesta.


    She''d shown up without an appointment just a few minutes ago, skipped the part where she said hello after so many years apart, and thrown a request at us about Jack the Ripper.


    "There''s no smoking here." "Shut up."


    So unfair.


    "So, I''m handing this case off to you two. Catch him, all right?" "You mean the, um..."


    Jack the Ripper, otherwise known as the Whitechapel Murderer, was the name of the culprit behind a series of murders that had taken ce in Ennd in 1888. The culprit had never been identified, and even now, a hundred yearster, the singrity of the incident still drew considerable interest.


    "Yeah, that''s the guy. There''ve been a lot of incidents using his M.O.tely, here in London. A corpse turned up today, even."


    The same M.O., huh? If I remembered right, Jack the Ripper had been famous for his grotesque methods, cutting his victims'' bodies apart and


    extracting their organs. That said¡ª


    "But the incident''s over a hundred years old, right? The guy''s dead." "Yeah, that''s why I said he''se back to life."


    "That''s just crazy."


    Dead people nevere back to life. Even grade school kids know that.


    ...In which case...


    "It''s a modern-day Jack the Ripper? A copycat?" I asked Ms. Fuubi, who was still blowing smoke through rouged lips.


    "You''re taking this so damn seriously. But yeah, that''s probably it." "Then just start with that, would you?"


    "The youngdy over there wouldn''t take an interest in it unless I put it the other way." Ms. Fuubi narrowed her eyes at the ace detective, who was conked out on her desk.


    "Hey, Siesta. She''s talking smack about you."


    Siesta was resting her forehead on the desk. I shook her a few times...but she didn''t even flinch. Now that she''d gotten started on a nap, I guessed that it would take more than this to wake her up. In that case¡ª


    "Dodge or die, Siesta." I got up, grabbed a carving knife from the kitchen behind us, and threw it at her.


    "...That''s not safe."


    Still with her face on the desk, Siesta caught the tip of the de between her fingers. Then she stretched melodramatically and sat up.


    "Are you wired to not wake up unless you''re in mortal danger?" I asked, plopping down on the sofa with exasperation.


    "It''s your fault for giving me the opportunity to nap."


    "This isn''t about opportunity. Sometimes you fall asleep when you''re eating. Are you an infant?"


    "Huh? You''re the baby, aren''t you, Kimi? That game you y, sometimes..."


    "We have a guest. Shut your mouth, right this second." Listen. Forget what we just said immediately. I mean it.


    "So, what was it again? Jack the Ripper has revived in the present?" Siesta gave a small, cat-like yawn, directing her question at me.


    "How did you manage to listen to that conversation in your sleep? Also, you''ve got marks on your forehead."


    "My acoustic cells are always working, even when I''m asleep... You''re


    kidding, where? Are they red?"


    "Ugh, you sound like Bat. Here, use your hand mirror and look."


    "At least I haven''t sprouted a creepy tentacle. Wow, it looks like a pattern."


    "Ha-ha! You look like a little kid when you push your hair up. Your forehead''s wider than I figured."


    "Oh, shut up. You''re one of those people who''s going to end up bald. Your hair is incredibly fine, too."


    "Hey! Don''t start touching it. Get off me... Take that!"


    "Ow! Well, you''ve certainly got guts. Flick my forehead, will you?" With a belligerent smile, Siesta lunged at me, and¡ª


    "So when did this kind of rtionship start?"


    Rolling her eyes, Ms. Fuubi blew cigarette smoke. She was watching me and Siesta, who was sitting on myp.


    "I don''t know what you mean by ''rtionship.''"


    "We''re just regr, um..." I looked at the girl on myp, and she looked back at me.


    ""Business partners,"" we said in unison. The facts were obvious.


    I mean, it''s me and Siesta, okay? We couldn''t possibly be anything else.


    Before long, Ms. Fuubi stood up, as if she''d lost interest in her own question. "Well, it''s not like I care," she said, stubbing out her cigarette. "Hurry up and go meet the victim."


    <strong>Mysteries really should be littered with corpses</strong>


    "This is the work of Cerberus."


    Siesta had crouched down and was gazing at a man''s bloodied corpse.


    We were inside a baroque church building¡ªthat was where the present- day Jack the Ripper hadmitted his murder. Ms. Fuubi hadn''te with us, but the police had made an exception for us, let us across the tape, and allowed us to examine the scene of the murder. However¡ª


    "Cerberus?" I asked, puzzled. That didn''t seem to fit with the situation. "Your voice sounds weird."


    "I''m not great with the smell of blood."


    "Why don''t you at least pick one? Either tilt your head or hold your nose," Siesta said. "Look." She held up one of the Seven Tools¡ªa small hand mirror¡ªwhich she wore at her waist.


    I see. Yes, the guy in the reflection was striking a very bizarre pose.


    Following Siesta''s advice, I switched to just holding my nose, then crouched down beside her.


    In the back of the chapel, beneath arge cross,y the body of a dead man who seemed to have been a member of the clergy.


    "Don''t touch it."


    "I know that. I won''t leave fingerprints." "Spoken like a criminal."


    "Then this case will be closed real quick." Even as I swapped jokes with her, I put my hands together.


    After a few seconds of silent prayer, I opened my eyes. No matter how many times you see corpses, you never get used to them. Over the past seventeen years of random trouble, I''d seen my fair share of death. Still, the stink of blood in the air and the clouded eyes of the dead always really messed with my head.


    "And? You''re saying this Cerberus is the real identity of the new Jack the Ripper?" I asked, squinting at the ghastly scene.


    Once again, I saw the corpse of a priest with a gaping hole in the left side of his chest.


    "Yes. That''s his code name. He''s the guard dog of Hades, and they say he


    devours human hearts." Siesta brushed her hair behind her ear, her expression as cool as always.


    "So you''re saying it''s them?"


    "I can''t be absolutely sure yet, but..." Siesta put a fingertip to her jaw. "I''ll admit, it might have been different a century ago¡ª When they''vemitted this many murders in a row, but the police still don''t have even a hint of a lead..."


    "Well, yeah, I can guess."


    As I''d thought, the enemy was SPES¡ª And if our suspect had a code name, he had to be a pseudohuman.


    "What''s the enemy''s objective? Why is Cerberus going around stealing hearts?"


    He couldn''t possibly just be imitating Jack the Ripper, could he?


    "It''s hard to imagine that he''s been doing this independently. He must be acting on orders from the top."


    Orders from the top... If I recalled, the hijacking incident where Siesta and I had met three years ago had also beenmitted on orders from Bat''s organization.


    "Well, we can make the enemy tell us all about their objective when we capture him."


    "Siesta, you look like you might torture him with a straight face."


    "Don''t say things that will make me look bad. Oh, or did you say that because you wanted me to do that to you?"


    "Yeah right. Is this your way of conditioning me?"


    Anyway, this wasn''t a conversation we should be having at a murder scene.


    "You said we could make him spill it when we captured him, but...do you have any idea how we''re going to do that?"


    He''d already killed several people. If even the police weren''t able to do anything, how was she nning to get him?


    "...What''s that thing you''ve got?" Instead of answering my question, Siesta nced at my hands.


    "Oh, this? Ms. Fuubi gave it to me to hang on to when we went our separate ways back there." I clicked the Zippo lighter I''d taken out of my pocket, fidgeting with it. "She said she was going to quit smoking, so I could have it."


    I didn''t know where the change of heart hade from, but it would be nice not to have to worry about her smoking in my house.


    "I see. So after years apart, she entrusted her most precious possession to a young man."


    "What sort of emotion is that supposed to be?"


    After all, as far as Ms. Fuubi''s concerned, I''m just a suspicious kid she keeps running into at murder scenes.


    ...And this wasn''t the time for a stupid conversation anyway. "Look, about capturing Cerberus. Do you have a n?"


    If we just stood by and watched, the victims would keep piling up. We had to act as soon as we possibly could.


    "As a matter of fact, I''ve been aware of the damage Cerberus is doing for a while now." Siesta crouched down again, looking at the corpse with the missing heart.


    "Well, there''s no way you''d miss an incident this big."


    Even if there was no job request involved, Siesta stuck to her mission and fought the "enemies of the world." That was just who she was. Which meant there had to be a reason she hadn''t been able to catch Cerberus so far.


    "The enemy seems to have a good nose. I''ve tried getting close several times, but he always slips away."


    "I see. That''s a dog for you, I guess."


    Just as Bat''s ears had been highly developed, most pseudohumans'' bodies were reinforced in one area or another. In Cerberus''s case, his nose was apparently his star feature.


    "And yet Cerberus is stillmitting his crimes, even though we''re here in London, too."


    "...You think it''s a trap?"


    "I was going to say it was a chance." The ace detective was as confident as always. "True, he could be plotting something. However, if we let this opportunity get away, we may never find another decent chance to capture him."


    "Okay, but how specifically do you n to go after him?"


    "You''ve got it backward." Siesta stood up. "We''re not going after Cerberus. Cerberus ising after us."


    She didn''t appear to be joking, but what she was saying didn''t make much sense.


    "Listen. From the enemy''s perspective, this is a chance to defeat us."


    "But Cerberus ran because he was scared of you, right? So¡ª" Suddenly, I had a sneaking suspicion I wouldn''t like where this was going. "Whoa, Siesta, you can''t mean..."


    "You''ve gotten pretty good at making deductions, too." Siesta grinned. "I''m the only one Cerberus is afraid of. Meaning if you''re on your own, the enemy will waltz right in to attack you."


    "So you really are nning to make me be a decoy?!"


    This detective wants to use me as bait for hell''s guard dog!


    "You must have known this time woulde at some point after you took this job."


    "I have no memory of bracing for death!"


    Dammit, what happened to the part where she said she''d protect me?! "Your time hase, Kimi. Now you will fight a mighty enemy, too." "Don''t set me up as some legendary hero."


    "No, I''m the legendary hero. At most, you''re the sword I use to sh apart my enemies...or maybe the owner of the smithy where it was forged... No, actually, the character who didn''t seed to that guy''s position and became a farmer instead, maybe?"


    "You are so unfair."


    What an awful way to treat her assistant, especially when he was about to confront a monstrous evil all by himself.


    "Well, we should get going. I''ve got everything I need from the scene." Without so much as ncing at me or the unhappy look on my face, Siesta spun to face the exit.


    "...Where are we going next?"


    "Hmm, maybe a preliminary meeting over afternoon tea?"


    "You are the only person on the who could go straight from a murder scene to afternoon tea."


    This ace detective was slim, but she ate as heartily as ever. In London, she was constantly polishing off Sunday roasts at restaurants. We had to work like crazy just to cover the food expenses.


    "...I''m constantly overworking my brain, so my three great drives are a bit stronger than most people''s." Siesta turned back to me and started speaking much faster than normal.


    It was rare to see her like this.


    Apparently, she was equipped with the same sensibilities as the average girl.


    "Is that why you''re always taking naps?" I asked. "Says the one who always wakes up cranky."


    Lobbing nonsense at each other, we put that ce behind us.


    "So, if your three great drives are stronger than other people''s..." "...I only meant hunger and sleep, actually."


    <strong>The ace detective doesn''t arrivete</strong>


    "All right, just rx in your room, Kimi. Eat pizza or something and enjoy what''s left of your lif¡ª I mean, leisure time."


    "You areing to save me, right? You''re gonnae to the rescue before he kills me, right?"


    I was in a hotel room Siesta had arranged for. We''d finished our afternoon tea meeting, then had dinner. Now that I''d parted with Siesta, I was lying on the bed by myself, talking to her on the phone. We were running through the final confirmation of our strategy: the one where I was going to be the bait for Cerberus.


    "It''s been almost three years since I started traveling the world with you. It went by so quickly..."


    "Don''t suddenly start waxing nostalgic about the past. We can do our reminiscing when we''re both a lot older."


    "At first, all we did was fight...and I suppose that hasn''t changed. Still, life was never boring with you around."


    "Stop acting like I''m gonna die!"


    I may be her assistant, but I''m not nning to donate my life, all right? "...And? Cerberus is actually going toe to this room, isn''t he?"


    Unfortunately, I''d signed on for this maneuver already, and I couldn''t back out now. Meaning I should probably switch gears and start getting ready, to raise our chances of sess.


    "It''ll be fine. If this goes the way I think it will, Cerberus will chew you up around midnight tonight."


    "So I am gonna die, huh?"


    Seriously,e save me. Please. Be punctual. Come early, even.


    "Well, uh, guess I''ve got less than three hours left to live, then."


    When I stole a nce out the window, it was alreadypletely dark outside.


    "To be honest, I''m not sure of the time, and I don''t even know whether it''s going to happen today."


    ...Yeah, I guess not. All we knew was that Cerberus would likelye after me, now that I''d split up with Siesta; it wasn''t like we had the date and time nailed down. I''d probably end up on standby in this hotel room until he showed up.


    "Are you checked into the room next door or something, Siesta?"


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    She didn''t have to say that. Unfair.


    "If I''m nearby, the enemy will be too wary to make a move."


    ...Oh yeah. Good point, actually.


    "Hang on. You mean I''m really, genuinely alone? You''re sure I''m not actually going to die today?"


    "It''s fine. I have technically taken steps, so there''s a minuscule chance you''ll be saved."


    "Just minuscule?"


    "I''m kidding. Geez."


    The trouble is, with you, it never sounds like a joke. "Haaah, I wish you were in the room with me..."


    Imagining the worst-case scenario, I sighed in spite of myself. At that¡ª


    "...Hmm?" The voice from the telephone took on a teasing quality. "So you wanted to spend the night with me."


    "¡ª! That''s not what I meant. Just in terms of physical safety."


    "You wanted to share a bed with me."


    "I told you, that''s not it. Besides, you sleep rough; just how many times do you think you''ve hit me with a back-fist?"


    "Then you wanted to take a bath together?"


    "Your bathsst forever. I can''t hang out with you that long." "You never say what you mean when ites to these things." Unfortunately, that is what I mean.


    "I kinda just don''t care anymore... Okay, I should go."


    The inane exchange had drained any motivation I had to care about this. I''d


    just gamble on those steps Siesta had said she''d taken. I started to hang up, but just then...


    "Siesta, are you outside?"


    From the receiver, I thought I''d heard a distant car horn.


    "Huh? Well, yes, but..."


    "Go back to the apartment before it gets toote. Cerberus isn''t the only dangerous type around."


    "..."


    For some reason, there was silence on the line. "Siesta?"


    "...Ah, sorry. It was just novel to have you treating me like a girl, so¡ª"


    "You were startled?"


    "Iughed."


    "Oh, you did, huh?"


    Well, don''t. Jerk.


    See what happens the moment I show her a little kindness? "All right, I''m hanging up."


    "I can''t go near you, but I''ll at least leave the line open, so you don''t get lonely."


    "I''m not lonely or anything... But, I mean, if you really, really want to keep the line open, then I guess I could¡ª"


    "Yes, okay, okay. You don''t have to say the rest; I get it."


    A few hours passed. The more unwee a hunch or prediction is, the more likely it is to be right on target. What exactly was that prediction, you ask? That would be the time we''d predicted Cerberus would attack.


    ¡ªI felt someone in the room with me.


    ording to my vague internal clock, it was a little past midnight.


    I should have been alone. Just now, though, I was sure I''d sensed something moving nearby.


    It had been several hours since that phone call. I''d been killing time by ordering room service and watching TV. Then I''d turned out the lights and gotten into bed, although I hadn''t changed out of my clothes. Pretending to be asleep, I''d waited, bracing myself for that extremely unlikely possibility... and apparently, I''d lucked out.


    The enemy was probably alone.


    I''d turned off all the lights, so it was very dark and very quiet. I couldn''t even hear the air conditioning. And then, just now, my ears had definitely caught the sound of a pistol''s safety being released. Somebody was making an attempt on my life. However¡ª


    "Sorry. I''m used to almost getting killed."


    To a certain extent, I could sense where my opponent was. Leaping up from the bed to catch them off guard, I trapped their gun arm between my legs in a cross lock.


    "...¡ª!"


    It was my life, and I''d defend it myself.


    Yes, I was counting on Siesta as ast resort, but I''d do what I could do on my own. Trouble had been finding me for as long as I could remember, so I''d acquired a certain level of proficiency in martial arts to deal with it. Lately, Siesta had trained me even more.


    "You''re gonna end up with a broken bone or two, all right?" Sorry, but I show no mercy to pseudohumans.


    "¡ª...!"


    The gun fell from the enemy''s hand, but I didn''t release my hold. Siesta wasn''t nearby, and I had to buy her enough time to get here.


    "Don''t move. You''ll only hurt... Uh, wha¡ª?"


    Suddenly, I couldn''t feel the upper arm in my hold anymore, and then¡ª "Ghk, hah...!"


    A sharp pain ran through my face. I bit my tongue, and the taste of iron immediately filled my mouth.


    "...What, you dislocated your own shoulder?"


    It was dark, so I couldn''t actually see them, but I was pretty sure I was right. They''d pulled their right arm out of its socket, then flipped their whole body tond a solid kick on my face. Not a move for your average human.


    "Ha-ha. I guess it wouldn''t be, huh?"


    No "average human" here. This was Cerberus, Hades'' heart-devouring guard dog¡ªand the revenant Jack the Ripper.


    "Well, Siesta, I bought you thirty seconds."


    Pinning my hopes on my partner, although I had no idea where she even was, I took a step, then swung my right leg. I was aiming for the gun the enemy had dropped. My leg cut through empty space; I''de so close, too.


    "Damn..."


    He''d picked it up first. Then I heard a gunshot and felt the bullet whiz right past my cheek.


    "So you don''t care how you kill me, huh, as long as the job gets done?" Was he nning to sh through my chest and take my heart afterward?


    I ducked down as low as I could, taking cover. I was at a disadvantage when it came to weapons, and without the ability to see, there was nothing else I could do. There had to be something I could do¡ª


    Oh. Guess I still had this.


    "That''s a police officer for you. It''s like she saw thising."


    I still had the Zippo in the right-hand pocket of my trousers. I pulled it out, lit it, and flung it onto the bed.


    "...!"


    The fire zed up, spreading in the blink of an eye...until the sprinklers in the ceiling came on.


    "Gotcha."


    "...!"


    The enemy had recoiled, startled by the jets of water, and I shoved him down onto the bed.


    "Game over."


    Sorry, Siesta. It looks like I won''t be needing you this time.


    "All right, let''s see who you really are."


    I reached for the light switch beside the bed, flipped it...and saw a girl in camo, her dripping blond hair clinging to her cheek.


    She''d been pinned by the prey she''d meant to hunt, and her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, or maybe fear. Her jewellike and very un- Japanese eyes were slightly damp and wavering.


    "You''re..."


    Then the girl told me who she was.


    "It''s me¡ªCharlotte Arisaka Anderson."

 Chapter 27 - 2.2

    <h4>Chapter 27: Chapter 2.2</h4>


    <strong>I can forgive everything but that triumphant look</strong>


    "Charlie?"


    I knew this girl.


    Charlotte Arisaka Anderson.


    She was sixteen, and although she was an American citizen, she had Japanese blood as well. She was an agent who flew all over the world on orders from the organization she belonged to, and on Siesta''s request, she''d worked with us a few times¡ªmeaning she knew me, too.


    "Are you okay?" I asked Charlie nervously. "...Yes, mostly."


    Holding her injured right shoulder, Charlie slowly sat up on the bed. I straightened up, too, stepping back.


    What was she doing here, though? Why had she sneaked into my room with a weapon...?


    "Oh, I see what''s going on. Siesta asked you to do this, didn''t she?"


    Was this the "step" Siesta had said she''d taken? I see... Yes, withbat skills like Charlie''s, we''d be able to fight the enemy on equal terms. Apparently, I''d jumped the gun, and now I was guilty of excessive self- defense.


    "...She sure did. I swear... You just lunged at me out of nowhere." "Look, I''m sorry, okay? But you dide in here with a gun." "Well, Cerberus might have gotten in ahead of me."


    I see. Yeah, that''s true. I might have been a little too wary myself. A little more of that, and I would have had Siestaughing at me for freaking out.


    "Hmm. Something smells." Charlie sniffed audibly. "Does it? Did you fart?"


    "Are you familiar with the word tact?"


    "Well, my ace detective partner sure isn''t." I went over to the window to air out the room for Charlie.


    "Still, you''re better than I thought you were, Kimizuka. Youpletely crushed me," she said behind me. "Even if you did use a trick, I never thought you''d manage to pin me..."


    "Yeah, I guess it really is the first time I''ve ever beaten you one-on-one."


    That training Siesta puts me through all the time must be paying off, I thought. I set a hand on the curtain, and just as I opened the window¡ª


    "No, really, could I actually beat Charlie?"


    It was apletely pathetic self-evaluation, a deduction with zero pride. The thing is, though, I knew.


    I knew how strong Charlotte Arisaka Anderson was. I also knew that Siesta was the first to acknowledge that strength. Charlotte would never lose to a guy like me.


    "...Uh, more important."


    I had a simpler theory, too.


    "That short-tempered sore loser would never admit she lost this easily." Especially not to me, her mortal enemy. Therefore¡ª


    "Who are you?"


    I turned around, directing my question at Charlie...or more precisely, at the individual who was passing as Charlotte Arisaka Anderson.


    "Ah¡ªyou''ve seen through my disguise, then?"


    The voice shifted from Charlie''s into a deep male voice. In the next moment, her face and body warped and changed into a sturdy middle-aged man in a ck robe.


    "Well, no matter. Either way, I shall take your heart." "...! So you really are Cerberus?"


    That ability to transform must be where he''d gotten his code name. The guard dog of Hades had three heads, a symbol of an ability to change into other people. If his nose was sharp, too, of course the police would have a hard time with him. No wonder they hadn''t managed to catch him yet.


    "Bad news, though. Your Jack the Ripper imitation ends today." I''d retrieved the Magnum during that fight, and I pointed it at his forehead.


    "You do seem quite capable. I thought you were that ace detective''sckey, but I shall have to revise that impression."


    As Cerberus spoke, he quietly closed his eyes and put his palms together in front of his chest. The gesture reminded me of a priest, although the impression was lessened somewhat by his pompous way of speaking and sturdy build. However, I was only able to think that for a moment, before¡ª


    "The moon is full tonight. It makes the blood sing."


    The next moment, Cerberus''s muscles began swelling up, and then thick fur spread over his body. He looked just like¡ª


    "Wait, you''re a werewolf...?"


    Aren''t you confusing Cerberus with something else? But this wasn''t really a situation for snappyebacks.


    "If you get shot, don''te crying to me."


    I squeezed the trigger, firing bullets¡ªbut... "Save those words until after you''ve hit me."


    With truly beast-like agility, Cerberus evaded them. "Ghk...!"


    Once he''d dodged all my attacks, the huge creature lunged at me.


    There were sharp ws right in front of my face, and I had no weapons. Realizing I was a moment away from tragedy, I squeezed my eyes shut¡ª


    "Get down."


    Hearing the voice from the phone receiver, at thest moment, I managed to drop into a crouch.


    "¡ªKhah, hah!"


    The next thing I heard was a gunshot and a low groan. When I opened my eyes, the beast-man was lying there, dark blood streaming from his shoulder.


    "...So opening the window saved my butt?"


    Remembering that I''d never ended that call, I put my phone to my ear and spoke to her.


    "Hey, why did you wait this long? You''d better not tell me you were sleeping."


    At that...


    "I did make it in time, so does it matter?"


    By then, I was hearing the voice from the phone and right behind me. Making the grumpiest face I could manage, I turned around¡ªand there,


    standing on the sill of therge window and looking very pleased with herself, was a white-haired girl.


    "Did you miss me?"


    <strong>The crimson devil, the ice queen</strong>


    "Well, now," said Siesta.


    She lunged at the fallen Cerberus, musket at the ready, then straddled him and jammed the muzzle against his skin.


    "Hmm, d¨¦j¨¤ vu."


    The scene from the ne, three years ago, shed through my mind''s eye. That time, too, Siesta had shoved her gun against Bat''s head to get the hijacking under control like an action movie heroine.


    "Why you...! When did you make your approach?" Cerberus growled from where she had him pinned; his expression was agonized. "My nose told me nothing of your presence...so why?"


    Yes, that had been Siesta''s n: use me as a solitary decoy, while she lurked somece beyond the range of Cerberus''s nose... But then she had stepped onto the battlefield unnoticed.


    "Apparently, there''s still a little of that smell left." Siesta sniffed. "It smells?"


    "Huh? Didn''t you notice before you opened the window, Kimi? Until a minute ago, this room was filled with a special type of gas."


    "Gas? Oh,e to think of it..."


    When Cerberus had still been disguised as Charlie, he''d been bothered by the smell in the room. It couldn''t be... But when had it happened?


    "Those." Siesta pointed up at the ceiling¡ªor to be more precise... "The sprinklers, huh?"


    That was probably the real "step" that Siesta had taken. She''d seen that I was carrying a Zippo lighter around, predicted the possibility that the sprinklers woulde on during this fight, and rigged up gas to apply along with the water. The gas had numbed Cerberus''s superhuman nose, and he''d failed to notice Siesta.


    "...As always, you''re way too prepared."


    It was as if Siesta had known everything that was going to happen before it happened.


    "The upshot is, I win. ept it."


    Siesta shoved the muzzle of her gun at Cerberus again. Thinking I''d contact Ms. Fuubi while I had the chance, I took out my smartphone¡ªand that''s when it happened.


    "I cannot allow myself to be apprehended yet."


    No sooner had Cerberus spoken than his body rapidly began to shrink. "¡ª! His transformation ability!"


    In a moment, Cerberus was as small as a child, and he slipped out of Siesta''s hold.


    "Assistant! Shut the window!"


    We''re not letting him get away...!


    Hastily turning to the window behind me, I tried to cut off Cerberus''s escape route, but...


    "Toote."


    By then, he''d already resumed his beast-man form and was leaping lightly over my head.


    "I have a mission. One more. I must obtain just one more fresh heart, and until then..."


    He leaned out the window, and¡ª "You can leave yours, Cerberus."


    A spray of blood.


    Then Cerberus''s head¡ªonly his head¡ªfell out of the window and down.


    After a moment, his decapitated body slowly toppled over backward. "...Huh?"


    My mind couldn''t process what I was seeing. Why was Cerberus dead? Who was it? Who''d done this?


    "Assistant!" That was Siesta. She sounded more flustered and tense than I''d ever heard her. "Be careful."


    She was pointing her musket at the window, but its muzzle seemed to be wavering slightly.


    "This is the first time we''ve met in person, isn''t it, ace detective," said a bitterly cold voice.


    The speaker, who was sitting on the windowsill, swung the saber she''d used to cut down Cerberus, shaking off the blood.


    "You''re..."


    A girl with short ck hair and red eyes. She wore a wine-red military uniform, and multiple sabers hung from her waist. She seemed to be about


    Siesta''s age. Between her service cap and her high cor, I couldn''t make out her face all that well.


    But the wless ace detective was wary of her. Who in the world was¡ª? "My name¡ªmy code name¡ªIs Hel," she droned from her perch in the


    window, cleaning the blood off her sword with a cloth. "Code name... So she''s another one?"


    "She''s one of SPES''s highest-ranking officers," murmured Siesta. She was standing next to me now, and her expression was grim. "In Norse mythology, Hel is the name of the queen who ruled Niflheim, the country of ice."


    "So there''s no system to their code names, huh?"


    At the very least, it was clear that she was in a different league from Bat and Cerberus.


    "Well, now."


    Hel descended from the windowsill and proceeded straight to Cerberus''s corpse, without so much as a nce at us. She crouched down¡ªand plunged her sword into the left side of his chest.


    "...Ughk." The gruesome sight made me feel sick.


    With a face that held no emotion, Hel stuck her arm into Cerberus''s chest...then pulled something out of the pooled blood.


    "Now we have the final piece." Hel''s gory right hand held what looked like a small lump of ck ore. "Now then, I''ll take this back with me andmence the operation..."


    "Do you think we''ll let you?" Siesta red sharply at Hel. The aim of the long-barreled gun was perfectly steady now.


    "Well, well." Hel returned Siesta''s gaze. "But you cannot shoot."


    "What are you talking ab...¡ª?"


    Abruptly, as if she''d noticed something, Siesta''s eyebrows rose.


    "And you cannot take a single step from that spot. You cannot speak." Hel''s bloodred eyes glinted ominously.


    Siesta''s eyes widened. Her mouth pped as if she were a fish who''d poked her head out of the water in search of food, but she didn''t say a word.


    "It can''t be¡ª A pseudohuman ability..."


    If Hel was also a member of SPES, then she would have had some sort of special power. If she could do this, was it an ability that controlled what others did...?


    I was in too much of a panic to think through it rationally, though. She had Siesta nailed down. In that case, our enemy''s next move was obvious.


    The girl in the red military uniform sprinted toward me. "Now, why don''t youe see hell with me?"


    In that moment, my mind lost its link to the world.

 Chapter 28 - 2.3

    <h4>Chapter 28: Chapter 2.3</h4>


    <strong>Toward the future, one year from now</strong>


    "Where...?"


    When I opened my eyes, my surroundings were dark and unfamiliar. "...!"


    My arms were handcuffed, and my legs were chained. The legs of the chair they''d put me in seemed to be bolted to the concrete floor, and the smell of mold stung my nostrils. My voice was echoing, too... Was I underground?


    "It looks like you''re awake."


    A figure emerged from the darkness.


    She wore a service cap, pulled down low, and a red military uniform with a stand-up cor. I could barely see her expression, but there was no mistaking her. It was the girl who''d abducted me and brought me here¡ª


    "Hel!"


    I''d met her at that hotel, and then...


    "Where is this ce? Are you nning to...kill me?"


    I gulped. Why had she gone to the trouble of separating me from Siesta then bringing me all the way here?


    "Would you join us?"


    I hadn''t been expecting that at all, and for a moment, my mind went nk. "What are you saying?"


    The next thing I knew, Hel was behind me.


    "Yes, that was a bit misleading, wasn''t it? ¡ªI want you to be my partner."


    The voice made me imagine her tongue on my ear, and goose bumps broke out all across my skin.


    "...I don''t get it. What would you get out of having me as a partner?" "You don''t think much of yourself, do you?"


    "I prefer to call it modesty."


    Even at a time like this, the nonsense just came naturally. In fact, maybe it was because I was in so much danger. If I didn''t have my snark, I''d have a hard time hanging on to my sanity. This girl, Hel, was menacing enough to make me shudder.


    "No, don''t misunderstand. This is the shaking of a warrior." "I didn''t say anything."


    "If you think I wet my pants, you''re free to check."


    "I see. So you two joke around like that all the time." Hel smiled thinly, then finally stepped away from my back.


    "...Didn''t know you knew how to smile."


    "Ah-ha-ha. That''s a mean thing to say. What do you think I am?" Footsteps clicking against the floor, Hel walked around my chair in a wide circle. "A devil without emotions? A monster who doesn''t speak yournguage? A viin you could never reach an understanding with? You really are unkind." Hel gave another thin smile. "After all, I''m just a girl."


    Hel crossed in front of me. She was holding a thick volume she''d picked up somewhere, her eyes on its pages.


    "I really doubt ''just a girl'' could kill arade in cold blood," I retorted, remembering what Hel had done to Cerberus at the hotel.


    "Comrade? Ah-ha-ha, no, no. That was nothing more than aponent, there to carry the n to a sessful conclusion." Helughed aloud, as if I''d told a really funny joke. The sound was carefree, easygoing, artless¡ªand cruel. Just like Hel herself, it seemed.


    "Are you nning to use me and throw me away, too? Plus, you''ve got


    nothing to gain by making me your partner."


    I couldn''t believe that was what she genuinely wanted. What was she plotting?


    "You''re asking what''s in it for me?" Hel looked down at the book. "Before any talk of pros and cons, what''s written in the sacred text is absolute, you know."


    "The sacred text?"


    Did she mean the book she was holding?


    "What I have here is only a portion of it. Several things that will happen to you in the future are written in it."


    "That''s just crazy¡ª"


    "¡ªAnd it couldn''t possibly happen? And yet they have. For example, this sacred text definitely predicted that Cerberus would die there, and you woulde here."


    That had to be a lie. She was just talking about things that had already happened as if they''d been prophesied long ago.


    "You don''t look as if you believe me."


    "Yeah, but don''t take it too hard. I don''t believe anyone but myself." "What a coincidence. I''m the same way."


    We might be able to get along pretty well, then. Not that I want to.


    "In that case, have you heard of the Leaves of Agastya?" Hel asked. The open book was still in her hands.


    "The Leaves of Agastya... I''m pretty sure it was a book of prophecies written by an Indian holy man, a few thousand years ago..."


    Siesta was always telling me misceneous information and trivia, and I got the feeling she had mentioned this to me. Long ago, the Indian sage Agastya had written revtions he''d received from the gods on palm leaves in ancient Tamil, or something to that effect. She''d also said that each person''s future had beenid out in detail.


    "This sacred text was created with the Leaves of Agastya as its foundation. Your future is written here as well." With her eyes on the open book, Hel walked around the spacious room. "For example, about one month from now, you''ll go back to that normal routine you''ve always longed for and live as an ordinary high schooler."


    "Not a chance. That ace detective would never let me go so easily."


    Of course, if she meant we''dpletely destroy SPES a month from now,


    get our happy ending, and then go back to our normal routines, I''d wee it, but...


    "One yearter, you will take up the mantle again, in a role that is closer to ''detective'' than ''assistant,'' and y an important role in resolving multiple cases."


    "That''s not happening, either. I''ve never been anything other than Siesta''s assistant."


    After all, there''s no way she''d yield her cushy position as the detective to me, is there?


    "A heart''s forgotten memories, a miraculous sapphire worth three billion yen, and the legacy left by the ace detective. If you happen to remember these words a year from now, you''ll be able to verify the answers for yourself."


    "Look, what is this about? What are you saying?"


    "What was it¡ªyour knack for being dragged into things?"


    Hel closed the book. I hadn''t told her about that. She couldn''t be implying that the Leaves of Agastya had covered that, too, could she?


    "I don''t think that''s quite it, though." "...What are you talking about?"


    "You don''t get dragged into things. You drag others in. You drag the whole world in," Hel said, pointedly spreading her arms wide. "That knack of yours is the power to transform everything and trigger incidents. You yourself are the center of the world. I''ll make you my partner so that you can save it alongside me."


    "I think you meant ''destroy it.''"


    "As far as I''m concerned, they''re one and the same."


    "You''re telling me that destroying the world will get you something you want?"


    "You could say that." "What if I refuse?"


    "Then you refuse." Hel spun around and started to walk away. "ording to the sacred text, you won''t be mine for a while yet. It''s only that getting things done ahead of schedule would make Father¡ª" She suddenly snapped her mouth shut.


    Father? Who was that?


    "It''s too bad, though. Being my partner woulde with a variety of perks," she went on. She was taking on a joking tone, as if she''d never made


    that earlier remark. "First and most important, you''d be paid for doing nothing."


    "Hell of a bargain to start with."


    I''d love for a certain ace detective who insists on working me like a dog to hear that.


    "You can y video games on a big-screen TV from morning to night if you want."


    "Are you an angel?"


    "You can have snacks and ice cream and cup ramen whenever you like, as much as you like."


    "Are you a goddess?"


    Hey, white-haired ace detective, did you hear that? A viin is promising to be my sugar mama. You''ve got two seconds before I flip.


    "So what do you say?"


    The girl in the military uniform held her right hand out to me, where I sat in the chair.


    "Kimi¡ª Be my partner."


    With an artless smile, she made me a very attractive offer. And my response was:


    "Yeah¡ªof course not."


    Sorry about that. I''ve always been a coward, and I base my decisions on what I have to lose, not what I have to gain.


    "After all, I''d be more scared to make an enemy of Siesta than of you." Smiling a little at the ironic choice I''d been given, I turned Hel''s proposal down point-nk. "You didn''t even think I''d take your hand, did you?"


    "Ah-ha-ha. You knew?" Hel grinned like a little kid whose prank had been discovered, turned, and walked away. While she had her back to me, I tried to figure out a way to get the handcuffs off.


    Honestly, I''m impressed she had the nerve to extend her hand to me, when she was the reason I literally couldn''t take it. She''d assumed all along that I was going to turn her down.


    "In exchange, then, there''s a little something I''d like you to watch."


    The next moment, the room got a bit brighter. Hel must have flipped a light


    switch or something. I looked around, and¡ª "What...the hell...?"


    For as far as I could see, there was something, hidden in the shadows.


    It was in an iron cage, and it reminded me of an enormous reptile. However, I''d never actually seen a creature like it before. The closest thing I could think of was that Alien monster I''d seen in some movie a while back.


    It looked close to four meters long. I didn''t see anything resembling eyes in its head, and fangs sprouted from its enormous jaw. A viscous liquid dribbled from its mouth at regr intervals, and while I did see minimal signs of life, it was very still. Asleep, maybe?


    "It''s a biological weapon," Hel told me, indifferently. "Its breath holds a toxin that readily binds with atmospheric oxygen."


    "...So you''re going to use that thing in a terrorist attack? Here in London?" "Exactly. That''s the history of the future, recorded in the sacred text. It''s


    God''s salvation."


    "In what religion...?"


    Rgh, pseudohumans hadn''t been enough for them? They''d had to make a thing like this? If they let this monster loose in a popted area... Actually, that reminds me¡ªwhere were we now? Where was she nning to unleash that monster? We didn''t seem to have left London, but...


    "Oh,e to think of it, you asked where we were. I haven''t told you yet."


    Hel put a hand into the iron cage, caressing the biological weapon''s head affectionately.


    "We''re under the building where the British houses of Parliament meet: the Pce of Westminster."


    <strong>It''s way toote to act cool</strong>


    "...If you have a facility like this directly under the nerve center of the country, it seems safe to assume you''ve got a significant number of coborators."


    For the past three years, Siesta and I had been fighting SPES constantly, and yet we hadn''t been able topletely stop their invasion. It had already progressed far beyond what we''d imagined.


    "It''s just as you say. We haverades all over the world, in politics, finance, the police, the clergy... It''s quite possible that someone right next to you is actually a member of SPES."


    "That''s one hell of a punchline," I snapped.


    While Hel''s attention was on the biological weapon, I used my teeth to take out the wire I always keep in my breast pocket. I pushed it into the lock on my handcuffs, then twisted it around at random, relying on instinct and long years of experience. I don''t say I''ve got a knack for getting dragged into trouble for nothing. I''m used to getting kidnapped and locked up.


    "Why would you tell me about that plot, though?" I stayed in the conversation, participating enough to keep her from getting suspicious. "What''s the point of showing me that monster? Are you nning to make me its first meal?"


    "Its meal, hmm?" Hel said.


    From behind her, I saw her stop moving. "...Well, uh, just as a figure of speech."


    I should not have said that. Whatever else they do to me, don''t let me get eaten by that disgusting thing...


    "You''re on the right track, although you guessed wrong."


    ...That was close. I''d had an actual brush with death there.


    Still, that "right track" Hel had mentioned was concerning. It couldn''t be¡ª "Are you nning to release that thing into the city and let it eat people?" "Oh, no, no. We''ve already given it plenty to eat."


    "You have? ...¡ª!"


    Was that what was going on...? The heart-hunt that had broken outtely, courtesy of Cerberus, centered on London. The true reason for those incidents had been¡ª


    "That monster eats human hearts?"


    That was its food, or possibly its source of power. The biological weapon ran on human flesh and blood.


    "Impressive. You really do have good instincts. I knew you''d be a fitting partner for me."


    "¡ªI told you I want none of that."


    Finally, the handcuffs came off, and I quickly freed my legs. I''d heard wind; I started to cut and run toward the source of the sound¡ª


    "Where are you nning to go?"


    She was onto me instantly. Well, if I''d run off, she would only have caught me anyway.


    "You will be my partner someday, and I want you to watch what''s about to happen, no matter what. Come, Betelgeuse." I assume that was the weapon''s name.


    Hel took something from the sleeve of her military uniform. "That ck rock..."


    I was pretty sure it was the object Hel had pulled out of Cerberus''s chest cavity. If human hearts were this living weapon''s energy source, this was probably the final key that would activate it.


    "Betelgeuse, it''s time to go to work."


    With that, Hel pushed the small stone into the left side of the biological weapon''s chest. And then...


    "¡ªgrr, ¡ªguh, ¡ª!, ghkgyaaaaaah!"


    A roar reverberated down the underground road. The bioweapon was awake.


    As if its restraints had suddenly broken, the enormous monster thrashed its whole body against the metal cage, venting its agitation. Then¡ª


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    In no time at all, with a ferocious crash, it burst out of the cage. Unable to control itself, the monster lunged at Hel, as if it meant to swallow her whole.


    "Goodness, you''re noisy." Hel''s red eyes pierced the monster. In the next instant...


    "¡ª! Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    In motions too fast for my eyes to follow, Hel drew several sabers, then plunged them into Betelgeuse, all over its body.


    "Settle down a little, all right?"


    Betelgeuse suddenly turned meek, crouching down like a giant pet. "You''re nning to let a monster like that loose? ...You''re insane." "It''s destiny. It''s my mission."


    "In that case, this ends here and now."


    "Oh, really? You''re going to stop me on your own?" Hel''s painted lips curved.


    "That''s a great smile."


    "Hmm? Are you hitting on me?"


    "I''m being diplomatic. Sorry, but there''s no way I''ll ever be your partner."


    After thatst casual exchange, we were both certain we''d be parting ways. "I see. That''s a pity. For now, then, watch this city crumble." Hel leaped onto Betelgeuse, straddling its neck. She was probably nning to head


    aboveground, then start by crushing the nerve center of the country.


    However, I''d already told her. "This ends now."


    "How, exactly? You don''t even have a weapon, so how on earth..." "You''ve got the wrong idea. When did I ever say I''d be the one to stop


    you?"


    Come on. You know there''s no way she''d let me steal the show. "¡ªAssistant!"


    Like a ray of light in the darkness, a warm voice filtered in to us from elsewhere in the facility.


    "Assistant... Where are you?!"


    It came closer and closer, until we were hearing it loud and clear from the left-hand wall.


    "Assistant...! Where is my assistant?! Assistant!"


    ...Yeah, you don''t have to yell it over and over like that. Calm down. I''m right here.


    "Hello?! Assistant... He''s not here... Where is he?! Where is my assistant?! Assistant... I can''t find¡ª Assistant...!"


    Um... No. This is, uh... Is she okay?


    Facing each other after this was going to be really awkward, wasn''t it? "...! Argh, this wall! It''s in the way! I don''t need this right now! Ugh, just


    break already! Get out of my way!"


    The next moment, there was an earsplitting crash, and¡ª "Assistant!"


    Siesta, piloting a giant robot, smashed through the wall. Part of the cockpit was transparent, and her expression was more anxious and panicked than I''d ever seen it. The pale silver hair she was so proud of waspletely disheveled.


    However, although Siesta was panting heavily, it didn''t take her long to notice me and assess that I was fine. We gazed at each other for a full ten seconds, and then¡ª


    "Whew. I swear, Assistant, you''re an awful lot of trouble." "You missed your chance to act cool a while back."

 Chapter 29 - 2.4

    <h4>Chapter 29: Chapter 2.4</h4>


    <strong>You''re an angel, I''m a monster</strong>


    Once again, I turned my attention to the humanoidbat weapon that Siesta had arrived in.


    Its armored shape was mostly white and about five meters tall¡ªslightlyrger than Hel''s biological weapon. An area near the head of the unit was ss, and I could see Siesta sitting inside. That was probably the cockpit.


    The machine could have stepped straight out of a robot anime. Its thick arms and legs were striking, but I spotted missile and bullet firing ports at its joints. It really was abat weapon.


    ...Which was why a question came to mind. "Siesta, where did you get that thing?"


    It probably hadn''t been more than a few hours since I''d been abducted.


    How had she managed to procure a mobile weapon in that brief time frame?


    In response to my perfectly natural question, Siesta said: "...Um, well, I found it...lying on the road?"


    She was refusing to look at me.


    "You are such a liar! You couldn''t have just found that thing by the road!" "...No, I mean it. What, you think I was so shaken by your abduction that I


    freaked out, negotiated with the British government, and borrowed the experimental military weapon Sirius? No way."


    "That was even more borate than I expected!"


    She just spilled all of it herself. She''s so bad at lying, it''s unreal. "Siesta, look, you were way too desperate to save me."


    "...! ...I''m telling you, that wasn''t it!" Siesta murmured. She had turned her face away, and I couldn''t see it clearly.


    "Honestly. You''ll make me jealous, having such a passionate exchange with my future partner," Hel remarked, without a hint of jealousy or even interest.


    "Hel."


    Siesta''s blue eyes red at Hel from the cockpit.


    Hel responded by preparing for battle, straddling Betelgeuse''s neck as it leaned forward.


    "I won''t let you have your way with this city anymore."


    "Do you seriously think you can stop me? Do you think you can stop destiny?"


    And with that, the battle was on.


    "¡ªGhkgyaaaaaaaaah!" The monster roared and lunged toward us on all fours.


    "Assistant!"


    Opening the hatch and leaning halfway out of the pilot''s seat, Siesta reached for me. I grabbed her hand, let her pull me up, and slid into the unit.


    "...This is cramped."


    "Well, it was built for one, you know."


    Pressed together in the tight cockpit, Siesta and I headed into battle with the monster.


    "I''ll control the right side, so you work the left side, Kimi."


    "Don''t just make me pilot this thing out of nowhere. I don''t even have a regr driver''s license."


    "Well, desperate times. I can''t reach over there with you in the way. Hurry up, here ites."


    Betelgeuse and Hel hadn''t wasted any time; they were leaping at us from the left.


    "...¡ª! Okay, fine!"


    This was no time to hesitate. I grabbed a lever on instinct, attempting to steer the unit...but¡ª


    "Whoaaaaa?!"


    The Sirius, with us in it, promptly lost its bnce and fell over. "Ow-ow-ow... What is this for, the leg?"


    Dammit. That was supposed to be an epic rocket punch.


    However, we were still okay. When its target had suddenly disappeared, Betelgeuse had overshot, tumbling behind us. We were fighting a monster that had just woken up. It had power, but not control. We were probably pretty evenly matched.


    "If you''ve got time to analyze the situation, could you use it to get off me?"


    "Hmm? ...Oh."


    I''d fallen over, and Siesta''s cold, irritated eyes were right below me. Apparently, my hand hadnded somewhere unfortunate, and I hastily pulled away. Although the cockpit was so small that there wasn''t much distance to take.


    "All right, this isn''t going to work. I suppose I''ll do the piloting after all." "But you can''t reach the levers if we''re sitting side-by-side, right?"


    "Not if we''re sitting side-by-side, no."


    ...Oh. Well, I guess it''s our only option.


    "¡ªGhkgyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    Behind us, the living weapon was roaring. We hastily got ourselves into position, worked the levers, and got the fallen unit back on its feet.


    "If you take advantage of this situation to touch me somewhere you shouldn''t, I''ll lose all respect for you."


    "Zero trust for your assistant, huh?" I sighed, fastening the seatbelt. "I''m joking. All right, here we go for real this time¡ª Sirius, move out."


    At that, Siesta gripped the control stick firmly from where she was sitting on myp.


    "Here we go." "Whoa...!"


    With a roar from the engine, the unit surged forward, straight toward the grotesque, four-legged monster. With that much propulsion, we closed the distance in no time.


    "Let''s go for the direct approach."


    Hel was right in front of us, on Betelgeuse''s neck. With a violent crash, the humanoid weapon and the biological weapon locked together.


    "I can''t believe you''d create a monster like that."


    As Siesta pushed the steering lever forward, she red through the ss at Hel, astride the monster.


    "You''re very much in the way." Hel turned her cold red eyes on Siesta. The easy indifference she''d had during our conversation had been reced by open hostility.


    "That''s my mission," Siesta said and set her fingertip on a button. A spot near the Sirius''s wrist fired a stream of bullets.


    " !"


    When Hel saw it, she lightly jabbed Betelgeuse''s back with a saber, using


    the pain to control its movements, and dodged our attack. She reminded me of a jockey expertly controlling her horse with a whip.


    But Hel didn''t seem to like her chances against us in a straight fight, so she ignored us and drove Betelgeuse up the underground road.


    "Siesta, don''t let her get away! Her only goal is to unleash that monster on this city!"


    As far as Hel was concerned, she didn''t necessarily have to fight us. The houses of the British Parliament met right above this underground road. All she had to do was hit them, and the damage would be immeasurable.


    "I know. Don''t start with exposition just because you don''t have anything to do."


    "Geez, you''re so unfair..."


    Shoving the control stick forward, Siesta went after Hel and Betelgeuse. "My, you''re stubborn."


    As we caught up again, Hel drew one of her many sabers from her waist and flung it at us.


    "...!"


    Undaunted, Siesta tried to intercept it with the unit''s machine gun¡ªbut even if our power was unmistakably greater, the monster had the upper hand in terms of mobility. It evaded all our bullets; all we hit was empty space.


    "Hel... Why would you carry out a terror attack like this?"


    As Siesta searched for a chance to win, she kept racing down the subterranean tunnel beside the enemy.


    "Why? Because it''s destiny." From her position astride Betelgeuse, Hel nced over at us. "My will has nothing to do with it. I''m only following the sacred text."


    "¡ªYeah, and you''ve been talking about nothing else this entire time." It was so impossible to get through to her that I was getting pissed off. At least Siesta seemed to feel the same way.


    "No, I''m asking about you. What exactly are you thinking in all this?"


    The Sirius''s right arm took a swing at Betelgeuse...but as before, the monster nimbly evaded.


    "Me? As I said, my intention is to bring about the future written in this sacred text. That is my only reason for existing. The only reason I was born."


    Hel stuck a sword into Betelgeuse''s back. With a little groan, the monster sped up, fleeing along the wall.


    "Siesta!"


    "It''s all right, I won''t let them get away. Hold on tight." "Yeah, I''m counting on you!"


    "I told you to hold on, but I didn''t expect you to hug me quite so hard." Well, there wasn''t anything else to hold on to. I didn''t have much choice.


    mes from the engine roared out of the Sirius''s legs, and once again, we closed the distance to Betelgeuse in a rush.


    "Earlier, you said that your mission was to get in our way, didn''t you?" Hel said, once we''d caught up to her again. She nced at us out of the corner of her eye.


    "In that case, why are you a detective? Why do you protect people? Because that''s what you were born to be, nothing more. I''m the same. Just as you were born to protect the world, I was born to destroy it. I came into the world bearing that role. Do you think I crave power? Destruction? I want none of those things. I''m merely obeying my natural instincts."


    In the next instant, Betelgeuse abruptly switched direction, mping its jaws around the Sirius''s throat. Its fangs sank into the armor, and a worrying metallic noise echoed in the tunnel.


    "...! So you''re saying we''re essentially the same? That there isn''t even a moral difference between us?"


    Siesta fought back in the Sirius, mming Betelgeuse into the walls and floor, over and over. The humanoid and biological weapons attacked each other again and again, jostling as they made their way toward the underground road''s exit.


    "There may be a moral difference. I don''t mind if there is."


    Hel jammed sabers into the Sirius''s knee joints. The unit tottered, and Betelgeuse seized the opportunity to climb. That proved we were near the exit to the surface...and Parliament. We weren''t going to be able to stop the monster while it was still underground...


    "Siesta!"


    "Engine at full throttle."


    I reached in from behind Siesta, setting my hands over hers, and we pushed the control stick forward. Large, mechanical wings sprouted from the Sirius''s


    back, the engine roared, and we rose into the air.


    In the time it took us to get airborne, the ceiling of the underground facility had opened to reveal ck space above us.


    "You are good, and I''m evil. That''s fine." Hel and Betelgeuse flew up into the outside world.


    "Wait...!"


    Weunched ourselves as well, chasing after them in the Sirius.


    The moon and countless stars shone in the dark sky. Betelgeuse was climbing up Big Ben, the enormous clock tower attached to Westminster Pce.


    "You are an angel; I am a monster. That''s fine. It''s what I''ve always wanted."


    Before long, Hel and Betelgeuse alighted on the top of the tower.


    The bioweapon''s mouth opened; that poisonous breath would bring death to anything living and cause a massive tragedy. SPES''s terror attack would beplete.


    But we could still catch up.


    Just a little farther; one more step.


    If we could only reach it...


    "Assistant," Siesta called to me without turning around. "You need to get away from this ce quickly. No matter what happens."


    ...What was she saying?


    But by the time I tried to ask, I''d already been flung out of the hatch into empty space.


    The world flipped end over end. Was I spinning, or was it everything else? My sense of direction waspletely scrambled¡ªbut before long, something yanked on my back, and the next thing I knew, I was drifting in the night sky with the help of a parachute.


    "Siesta, why...?"


    In the next instant¡ª


    At the top of the tower looming against the darkness, I saw the monster and robot sh¡ªand then they both plunged toward the ground.

 Chapter 30 - 2.5

    <h4>Chapter 30: Chapter 2.5</h4>


    <strong>Thank you for getting mad</strong>


    "Siesta!"


    A great column of me rose in the dark streets.


    That was where the Sirius and Betelgeuse hadnded, meaning their pilots also had to be there. As sirens wailed in the distance, I made it to ground zero a slight distance away.


    "Siesta... Hey, Siesta! Where are you, where did you go? ...Siesta!"


    Between the smoke and the hot wind, I couldn''t keep my eyes open. A nasty, scorched smell was making my head swim; my whole body was hot, and my knees were ready to give out at any moment. I stumbled forward through it, shielding my face with my arms, and then¡ª


    "...Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    My ears caught a warm voice I could never mistake for anyone else''s, even in the middle of the burning wreckage.


    "You''re hardly qualified to talk about other people. You don''t have to call me over and over like that; I can hear you."


    The wind blew, and the smoke cleared slightly to reveal Siesta.


    Her fair skin was smudged with soot, and she was bleeding so much that just seeing her brought me pain.


    "You''re the one who''s stupid." I ran up to her and pulled her petite body into a hug before I knew what I was doing. "Why would you do something that reckless? Why did you send me away by myself?"


    Siesta had probably been nning to evacuate me on my own all along. That unit was built for one, and it had only one ejection device. Back when she had me sit in that seat, this was the n.


    "...Only as ast resort. I had no intention of dying here, personally.


    However, if only one of us could survive, I¡ª" "Like hell!"


    The angry yell came from way down in the pit of my stomach, and Siesta''s blue eyes widened.


    Good. Widen your ears, too, and listen reeeeeally carefully.


    "Don''t go talking like some philosopher, okay? Look. Three years ago, on


    that ne, ten thousand meters up, you recruited me. You made that choice; you''d damn well better look after me until the very...very, very end. Listen, I''m sorry, but I know I can never really get away from SPES without you. I''d die without you, all right?! If you understand that, then do your damn job and keep me safe, goddammit!"


    My body was hot.


    Was it because there was a column of fire beside me?


    Or was it because I''d been shouting with everything I had?


    No, it was because I''d been yelling at her for the most pathetic reason: You have to stay alive so you can protect me. My breath came out ragged as I exhaled, and I was gushing sweat from every pore.


    "...No one''s ever scolded me so much in my entire life." Siesta stared up at me, a bit dazed. "I didn''t know you could get so angry. How do I put this¡ª"


    "Surprised?" "Amused."


    "Oh,e on."


    Look, I told you, don''tugh at me.


    "Heh-heh." True to her words, Siesta let a giggle slip. "You''d die without me, hmm?"


    "Hey, don''t take that out of context." "That was quite an impassioned proposal." "I''m not proposing!"


    "Well, try again after you turn eighteen." "I told you¡ª! Haaah, never mind..."


    "Heh-heh!" Every so often, that cool mask would crack, and she''dugh without a care in the world.


    Sheesh, this ace detective...


    "I promise you this."


    Siesta nced up, smoothly.


    "I won''t go off and die without telling you. ¡ªI swear I won''t. Thanks for yelling at me."


    With a light thump, Siesta let her forehead rest against my chest. That was when it happened.


    " ! Oww¡ª!"


    Something grazed my left eye. My vision went red... Had blood gotten in my eye? What was that? What had flown at me?!


    "Assistant!" Siesta''s eyes were wide and worried. Yeesh, that expression doesn''t suit you at all.


    "I''m fine. More important..."


    I directed Siesta''s attention straight ahead, to... "Hff... Hff, not yet. I can''t...die yet... Not here..."


    From beyond the zing mes, hell itself was bearing down on us, wrapped in ck smoke.


    "Hel..."


    She was back. And she was even more torn up than Siesta was, holding only one red sword.


    "You''re alive." Siesta took a step forward, shielding me. "Of...course. I''m not...destined...to die...here."


    She wasn''t holding the sacred text anymore; it must have burned up in the explosion. Even so, as if she was still trying to keep the promise, Hel mimed opening it.


    "I''m the one who''ll win in the end. If not, giving this to Father will have been meaningless...!"


    For the first time, Hel showed something resembling real emotion. "I see. You''re..."


    Siesta''s blue eyes widened in surprise. "Siesta?"


    Hey. What did you just realize?


    "Now...I can...end this."


    But before I could actually ask the question, Hel leveled her military sword.


    "You will be unable to move a step from that spot, and my sword will run you through!"


    Her red eyes shed the color of blood, and she charged at Siesta, who stood frozen.


    "Siesta, run!" I yelled without thinking...but Siesta didn''t budge. It was as


    if her feet had been glued to the asphalt. "Hel''s ability...!"


    It was mind control, or something like it. When those red eyes turned their gaze on you, you were possessed by thepulsion to do whatever Hel told you. Siesta had already fallen under their spell, and now she couldn''t move...!


    "Siesta!"


    The tip of Hel''s saber relentlessly rushed toward Siesta, and then¡ª "........... Huh?"


    Hel gasped.


    Her red eyes wandered, wavering. Then she looked down at herself. Hel had thrust the crimson de through her own chest.


    "Wh... Why...?"


    The next thing her dumbstruck eyes saw was the hand mirror Siesta wore at her waist, attached to a chain.


    Hel had been looking into her own red eyes as she said the words "My sword will run you through."


    "Checkmate," said Siesta.


    Hel crumpled to the ground at her feet. " !"


    Blood was dripping slowly from somewhere near her heart. Her eyes were filled with confusion.


    "How could I lose...? This...wasn''t supposed to... I have...a mission... I have a mission, and I fight... ...Mission? Why was... Why was I...born? Why did I..."


    "The answer..."


    Siesta pulled the sword from Hel''s chest, drawing a shriek and a spurt of blood from the girl.


    "The answer will be waiting for you in hell."


    Then Siesta swung the de down at her enemy''s drooping head. But it wasn''t over.


    "¡ªChameleon...!" Hel howled at the sky.


    "! Is she signaling for some kind of attack?!"


    Hastily, I scanned the area...but a momentter, I knew I''d guessed wrong. "...! Her body''s...disappeari..."


    Not Siesta''s¡ªHel''s body had begun to vanish, melting little by little into the darkness as if she were being hidden by a transparent cloak.


    "I won''t let you get away!"


    Leveling her musket, Siesta fired at the spot where Hel had been...but by then, there wasn''t a trace of the enemy left.


    "Siesta, is that Hel''s ability, too?"


    "No, probably not. It was one of herrades," Siesta coolly exined and lowered her gun.


    "Chameleon... That''s a SPES code name, huh?"


    With their ability, they could probably make themselves and whatever they touched vanish. If so, we couldn''t go after Hel.


    Just when we''d almost won, our worst enemy had slipped back into the darkness.


    "So this was a draw, and everyone took damage?"


    "Yes. Once we get home, we''ll have to discuss our next steps."


    Right. Hel was still alive somewhere. But she was also injured, which meant this could be our best chance. We needed to regroup, then go after her as soon as possible. Since we were in agreement on that, we were about to return to the hotel where we''d been earlier, when¡ª


    " !"


    Siesta took a step, and her face twisted. "Siesta?"


    "...Sorry."


    As the word left her mouth, her knees buckled, and she copsed.


    <strong>I''ll forgive everything but that misunderstanding</strong>


    "Aaaah."


    The open mouth looked like it belonged to a baby bird waiting for food, and I held out a slice of the apple I''d peeled.


    "...Nom... Mm...gulp... Hmm. This apple isn''t very juicy." "Don''tin when somebody''s feeding you."


    "Well, that''s not my fault. I''m injured." "Yeah¡ªin your legs! Your hands are fine!" In a room of our office-sh-living-space...


    Siesta, who wasid up in bed, didn''t flinch at my retort. Instead, she stretched mboyantly. Rarely for her, she was wearing a hoodie along with other extremely casual clothes. However, there was a reason for her non-bat fashion choices.


    "Did you already forget how you lectured an injured detective for ages?" "...You acted like you were fine, so I thought it wasn''t serious. Sorry." "Well, I was also running on adrenaline, and I''d forgotten I was hurt." "Then why am I the only one getting med?"


    During that near-deadly fight at Big Ben a few days back, Siesta''s legs had sustained injuries that would take two weeks to fully heal.


    Hel had escaped, and by rights, we should have gone after her as quickly as possible. With Siestaid up, though, that wasn''t happening. We''d decided to base ourselves in London again and wait until she was all healed.


    "Are you all right, Kimi?"


    "Enough to bust my butt taking care of my selfish, demanding partner." "I see. Good."


    "That was sarcastic, you know. Extremely sarcastic. Don''t ignore it." "After all, if anything happened to you, I couldn''t go on."


    "...Where did the sappy stuffe from? Now you''re just making it weird."


    Plus, I highly doubt she''s thinking anything that noble.


    "Never mind, just hurry up and get yourself healed. I suck at housework."


    I''d been traveling with Siesta for close to three years, and there had been quite a few times when we''d spent long stretches together under the same roof like this, but I''d left all the chores to her. I do feel bad about that, but it''s a question of appropriate division ofbor. Since she works me like a dog most of the time, I''d like to beg for a break of some kind, at least.


    "It''s cohabitation, the lifestyle you''ve always dreamed of. You could enjoy it just a little, couldn''t you?"


    "Don''t call it cohabitation. We''re strategic roommates."


    "Besides, you should work on your ability to live independently. What are you going to do if I''m not around anymore?"


    "...Hey. We''re not talking about that."


    "Oh, that''s right."


    "Don''t want to get in trouble again," Siesta said with a little smile. "I would at least like you to learn to doundry, though. Nobody likes grubby guys."


    "I''d really love to amodate you there, but... Well, you know. There are some, um..."


    "Hmm? Oh, my undies?"


    Hey, I was trying to be tactful. Don''t just say it.


    "If you''re going to wear them on your head, do it where I can''t see you," she said.


    "That thought has literally never crossed my mind." "Oh¡ªwell, if you''re a sniffer, I''d really rather you didn''t¡ª" "Like I said, don''t you have any faith in your assistant?" Seriously, what were these past three years, anyway? "...Haah."


    I swear, this partner of mine. I couldn''t even crack a wry smile as I unsteadily got to my feet.


    "Hmm? You''re going out?" "Huh? Yeah, to the supermarket."


    "? Didn''t you say you''d stocked up on everything we needed this morning?"


    Hey, Siesta,e on. Get it together.


    "You wanted sweeter, juicier ones, right?"


    Sheesh. You literally just said it; I can''t believe you forgot.


    At that, Siesta stared nkly back at me for a few seconds¡ªthen dissolved intoughter.


    "Wh-what? What''s so funny?"


    When Siestaughed that way, she was always teasing me. But I couldn''t think of any reason... What the heck had Siesta in stitches this time?


    "...¡ª, Kimi."


    Fighting backughter, Siesta finally managed to speak. "I suspect you like me far too much."


    ...?! ...??!?!?!?!?!!


    "Huh? You''re not making any sense. Huh? No, huh? The hell??????"


    What was she even talking about? Were her injuries getting to her? Was that why? Had she hit her head, too? She never would have said anything so ludicrous otherwise. I mean,e on. I was looking after a sick person. She said she wanted sweet apples, so I was just going to go buy some, that''s all... Or, I mean, okay, maybe it could seem a little like I was pampering her, or treasuring her too much, but that does not mean I think of Siesta as anybody special, and that misunderstanding is incredibly irritating, so yeah, basically


    ¡ª


    "Shaddup, stupid!"


    I got the feeling I was acting like a grade-schooler, but whatever. I needed to go outside and cool my head.


    Hmm? Weird. For some reason, the doorknob slipped, and I couldn''t seem to turn it.


    Was it out of order? Yeah. Probably. Definitely. I kicked the door open and left the room.


    "Dammit, I''m never coddling her again."


    ...Well, after this time. After all, she''s injured. Yeah, just this once. This is a one-time-only deal. Telling myself that, I headed for the supermarket.


    And on that shopping trip, in a back alley near the major thoroughfare known as Baker Street¡ªI picked up a lost girl.

 Chapter 31: Interlude 2

    <h4>Chapter 31: Interlude 2</h4>


    "All right. I think I''ll pause the film here for a moment." The picture cut out, and Siesta appeared again.


    "...Uh, that one really felt like you were trying to embarrass me, too." Natsunagi, who was next to me, shot me a cold nce. Don''t look at me;


    I''m not responsible for any of this, all right?


    "They were always like that, Ma''am and Kimizuka," said Charlie. "Isn''t it infuriating? Especially Kimizuka."


    "It certainly is," Natsunagi agreed. "I think we can afford to bully him a bit. It''s Kimizuka, after all."


    "Why are you two bonding over this? I didn''t think you got along."


    If I remembered right, they''d fought plenty on that ship after they met for the first time.


    "Mm, yes, what doesn''t kill you makes you stronger," Saikawa offered sagely, although I had no idea what she was trying to say.


    Well, if it brought those two closer together, I supposed I''d just have to take a little undeserved me... Did I, though?


    Agh. Anyway. "...Hel, huh?"


    She was the greatest enemy we''d encountered on that three-year journey. However, as that video had shown, Hel had summoned Chameleon and vanished into the darkness.


    "I never dreamed someone had disguised himself as me. That''s disgusting." Charlie scowled.


    Yeah, I''de pretty close to falling for Cerberus''s disguise myself back then.


    "Does that mean there might be a wolf here, pretending to be one of us?" Saikawa asked.


    It scared me more than I''d expected. "ying Werewolf with four people would be pretty tough. I doubt we''d be able to really get into it."


    Which was why I cracked a joke to hide it.


    "If there is a wolf here...there''s only one I can think of," Natsunagi said.


    She was staring at me, unimpressed. "True," said Charlie.


    "Yes," said Saikawa. "You''re right."


    "Don''t go agreeing with her. And don''t try to ruin my reputation."


    Even as we joked around with each other, though, there was something in that previous clip that I couldn''t get out of my mind. It was what Hel had said to me when she''d abducted me.


    "For example, about one month from now, you''ll go back to that normal routine you''ve always longed for and live as an ordinary high schooler."


    "Then, one yearter, you will be ced in a role that is closer to ''detective'' than ''assistant,'' and will steer a variety of issues to their resolutions."


    "A heart''s forgotten memories, a miraculous sapphire with a market value of three billion yen, and the legacy left by the ace detective¡ª If you happen to remember these words a year from now, you''ll be able to verify the answers."


    A year ago, I hadn''t paid any attention to any of that. A "sacred text" that told the future? No one would believe that garbage. As a matter of fact, until I saw this footage, I''dpletely forgotten about it.


    But now that I''d heard those words again, they described my recent situation perfectly. Did that mean this future had already been predicted a year ago? In that case, what about the other thing Hel had said? The one about how I''d be her partner someday... Could thate true as well?


    No, of course not. After all, while it hadn''te up in the video yet, ultimately, Hel had¡ª


    "Now then, shall we move on to the next clip?" Siesta interjected, and the picture on the screen changed again.


    I was just discovering a girl sleeping in a cardboard box in one of London''s back alleys.


    "I won''t stop the film again. Now then, watch for yourselves. See how I¡ª and those girls¡ªmet our ends."

 Chapter 32 - 3.1

    <h4>Chapter 32: Chapter 3.1</h4>


    <strong>I pick up a little girl. Then I get fired.</strong>


    In a narrowne with no foot traffic, a girl was asleep in a cardboard box someone had thrown away.


    Usually, it would be a kitten or a puppy, but this was a girl. She had long, coral-pink hair tied back in twin ponytails. When I pushed it out of the way with a fingertip, the face that appeared was young, breathing peacefully, and solidly in dreand.


    "...What do I do now?"


    Frankly, the situation screamed "trouble." First off, I''d only gone into thispletely deserted alley because an apple from my bag had rolled this way. Maybe you''re thinking, <i>What a total clich¨¦, that''s ridiculous...</i>, but that''s how it goes with me.


    "Well, it''s not like I can get out of it anyway."


    Experience had taught me that once I''d stumbled into trouble, that trouble wouldn''t go away until I resolved it. That meant the best n was to deal with it as quickly as possible.


    Besides, since I''d spent a lot of time overseas (partly because I''d had this annoying issue for ages), I could get around passably well in thenguages of several countries, so even at times like this, I was able to speak to strangers without hesitating.


    "Hey. You alive?" I poked at the girl''s cheek with a fingertip. It was soft, soft and supple and springy as mochi. "...Nn...uhn..."


    The girl squirmed, and the sheets of newspaper covering her rustled. I reached in from the side and poked her cheek again. <i>Rustle. Poke. Rustle.</i>


    <i>Poke. </i>After a few rounds of that... "Nn, who is it...?"


    Finally, the girl sat up, moving sluggishly and rubbing her eyes. Then she turned her head about ny degrees to the side, and our eyes met.


    Hers wererge and strong-willed, with long eyshes. She seemed to be


    about twelve or thirteen¡ªa cute little girl now, but I had the feeling she was going to be really beautiful someday.


    I was examining her closely, when¡ª "¡ªOh."


    Suddenly, as if she''d realized something, the girl squeezed her eyes shut. "I''m going to get assaulted."


    For some reason, I had an extremely bad feeling about this, but I asked her anyway.


    "By who?"


    "You!"


    The girl red at me sharply. She''d teared up a little.


    "Make no mistake¡ªno matter what you do to my body, you''ll never control my heart!"


    And now I was the target of a baseless suspicion... Not fair.


    "You even dragged me into a back alley... You''re the worst! You beast!"


    <i>You were sleeping here all on your own. Argh, my head hurts.</i>


    "Sorry, but I don''t have a thing for little kids." "¡ª! Wh-who are you calling a little kid?!" "You."


    The girl tried to grab me by the shirtfront, but she was way too short for it to work as a threat.


    "Ghk, take that! And that!"


    She bounced up and down, attempting to shove her index fingers at my face. Was she trying to blind me or something? This was one dangerous little girl.


    "I''m not <i>little</i>! I''m a <i>regr </i>girl!"


    "Yeah, okay, okay. I get it, just calm down."


    I caught the girl''s wrists, lifting her off the ground so that her feet dangled in midair.


    "When you meet someone new, you''re supposed to start with introductions. My name is Kimihiko Kimizuka. And you are...?"


    "I''m..."


    The girl frowned for a moment. "...Alicia?"


    "Why''d you say it like a question? Did youe from Wondend or something?"


    "I''m hungry."


    "This is barely a conversation."


    I handed her one of the apples I''d just bought. <i>Would this make her Snow White? </i>As Alicia nibbled on the crisp red fruit, she finally began looking around curiously.


    "So, where are we?"


    "What do you mean? Didn''t you pick this ce to sleep?" "..."


    Once again, I got a bad feeling¡ªand a few secondster, that feeling proved to be right on the money.


    "...I dunno."


    Figures. Apparently, she wasn''t just lost or a street kid. "Amnesia," I said.


    For the first time, the girl''s gaze wandered, uneasily.


    I asked about her parents'' names. Where she was from. Her birthday. Her friends. What she''d had for dinnerst night. I asked plenty of other questions, too, but the girl shook her head at everything.


    "All I remember is that I''m seventeen this year." "You''re definitely wrong about that, so forget it ASAP." "...Where are you looking?"


    "It''s all right. When the timees, they''ll grow."


    But this was no time for bantering. I needed to hurry up and get to work on this problem.


    "Once you''re done eating, we''re going to the police."


    Alicia reached for a third apple (guess she was really hungry), and just then


    ¡ª


    "Hey, c''mon, really? Just my luck."


    Although the sky had been clear just a minute ago, rain suddenly began pelting down. Great. Well, just gotta roll with it.


    "Let''s run."


    "Huh?"


    Pulling Alicia by the hand, I made for the apartment where Siesta was waiting.


    "Listen, keep it down, all right?"


    As I turned the doorknob, I gave Alicia a warning. "Is there somebody here besides you, Wolf?"


    "Don''t treat people like animals. I''m Kimizuka, Kimihiko Kimizuka."


    I had no idea what Siesta would say if she found out I''d picked up an unidentified little girl.


    For now, I''d let her shower, and I''d dry her wet clothes while she was in there. I could take her to the police after that. I tiptoed down the hall, showing Alicia to the bathroom.


    "Man, did we get soaked."


    "We certainly did. This is awful."


    In the changing room, I took off my shirt, and just as I was about to pull Alicia''s dress off over her head¡ª


    "??!! Why are you acting like you''reing in with me?!" "Are you dumb?! I told you not to yell."


    "Things were happening so naturally, I almost fell for it!" "I told you, I don''t mess around with little kids like you."


    "Wha¡ª...?!" Alicia''s face turned as red as a boiled octopus. "Assistant, are you back?"


    Just then, I heard Siesta''s voice from the living room. <i>Yeesh, I guess I should back down here.</i>


    "Okay, Alicia. Once you get out, change into some of the spare clothes over there."


    With that, I headed for the living room by myself, drying my head off with a towel as I went.


    "Wee back. It''s reallying down, isn''t it?" she said. "Yeah, it just hit out of nowhere... What are you doing?"


    In the kitchen, which opened onto the living room, Siesta was sitting in a wheelchair and mixing some sort of dough in a bowl. She was good at housework, but I''d almost never seen her cook before. That apron was a novel look on her.


    "I thought I''d make an apple pie. You''d said you were going to the trouble


    of buying some apples, so..." Siesta''s hands moved cheerfully. "...Oh."


    I''dpletely forgotten. I''d let Alicia eat all the apples. "Umm, look. Siesta, uh..."


    "Heh-heh! I mean, you know, you seem to have taken quite a liking to me, after all. I suppose this is my way of taking responsibility for being the object of someone''s affections; I thought I could do this much for you, at least."


    <i>Oh geez. It''s even harder to bring up now. Why does she seem genuinely happy, of all things? Ordinarily she gives me about as much thought as the average flea...</i>


    "But you came back at just the right time. Well? Where are the apples?" "Uh, the thing is..."


    "Kimizukaaaa."


    That was when the voice of a third party broke in. I could think of only one other person who was in this apartment.


    "Are there any small towels?" Alicia, wrapped in a bath towel, peeked in around the door frame.


    <i>I see. I see, I see.</i>


    I stole a nce at Siesta, and our eyes met. There was a silence that seemed to stretch on forever. Then, finally, she hit me with the four-letter word I''d been anticipating.


    "¡ªPedo."


    <i>Looks like this might be myst day as her assistant.</i>


    <i> </i>


    <strong>A new case opens with a scene straight from hell</strong>


    "I understand the situation."


    Siesta spoke from her perch on the bed, where she was sipping tea.


    However, even as she said it, she was eyeing me contemptuously. "Darjeeling, huh? That smells nice."


    "Mm-hmm. It goes very well with apple pie."


    I''d been trying to put her in a good mood, and instead I''d ended up digging


    my own grave. This was just not my day.


    "It''s safe to assume you''ll never see me in an apron again."


    "No way¡ªyou''ve got to be kidding me. That''s all I''ve been looking forward to my whole life. This is tragic."


    "...And now I''m quite angry. Apparently, even an individual of such noble character as myself has room to grow as a person."


    "One of an assistant''s jobs is fostering the emotional growth of his employer... Okay, okay, I overstepped, just please put that musket away! I''m sorry!"


    I knelt by the bed, swearing I''d make it up to her someday and bowing my head to the muzzle of the gun she''d shoved at me.


    "I didn''t realize you had a girlfriend, Kimizuka,"mented Alicia, the girl who''d caused all this trouble. Thanks for that.


    She was sitting at the table, munching on apple pie (without the apples).


    You think I''d date a girl who would turn a gun on me?


    "Actually, there was no need to be so roundabout. You should have just brought her to me in the first ce." Finally putting her weapon away, Siesta gestured for me to raise my head. "She''s a lost girl with amnesia. Doesn''t that sound like a job for a detective?"


    <i>...True. Now that she mentions it, she''s right.</i>


    "You said you were Alicia?" Siesta called from the bed to the girl at the table. "You really don''t know your actual name or anything?"


    "...Uh-uh. Just that I''m seventeen this year." "Seven, okay."


    "Seven<i>teen</i>!"


    Alicia smacked the table, standing up. She must have been at that age where she wanted to be seen as an adult.


    "Well, in reality, she''s probably about twelve or thirteen. You can tell from her calves."


    "Assistant, this isn''t the time to show off your peculiar habits. Normal people can''t tell how old a person is by the growth of their calves."


    "¡ª! So back there in the alley, you were looking at my calves, not my chest?!"


    "No, that time, it was your chest. I saw it and thought, ''Nah, there''s no way she''s seventeen.''"


    "O-oh, phew, you had me worried. My chest, huh? Thank goodness... ¡ª


    Wait, no, that''s not okay!"


    "Assistant, if you must sexually harass someone, limit yourself to Charlie, all right?"


    In a distant foreign country, I heard a beautiful blond girl deliver a very colorful retort.


    ...But now wasn''t the time for that.


    "Alicia, we''ll take on the task of identifying you." Resuming the main topic, Siesta turned to Alicia. "But not for free."


    "Hey, Siesta, you''re going to take money from a kid?"


    "What does her age have to do with it? Children are people, too," Siesta retorted. "Besides, I doubt there''s anything less trustworthy than good deeds done for free."


    ...She had a point. Human rtionships really were ny-nine percent trust and one percent self-interest. That was how Siesta and I had gotten by during our journey, too.


    "Then what do you want me to do?"


    Alicia probably couldn''t pay us with money. She didn''t even have food, clothing, or shelter. How could shepensate an ace detective?


    "I want you to be my proxy, Alicia. If you do, I promise to provide you with food, clothes, and a ce to stay."


    "So I''m gonna work as a detective...?" Alicia cocked her head somewhat melodramatically.


    "...Siesta, isn''t that going to be too much for her? I don''t see how this would work."


    "Yes, but..."


    Siesta pointed to her own injured legs. <i>Ah, right. The ace detective''s on leave right now, huh?</i>


    "In that case, wouldn''t it be better if I was the detective, and Alicia was my assistant?"


    "No, but, well... Oh, you know what I mean. You just <i>look </i>like an assistant."


    "That wasn''t fair."


    "You want me to be a detective out of nowhere?" said Alicia. "I''m not sure I even can..."


    "If you''re a detective, you''ll have my assistant at your beck and call." "Woohoo! I''ll do it! Sign me up!"


    "This transaction officially sucks."


    Correction: With Siesta and me, the rtionship is one percent trust and ny-nine percent self-interest.


    "So what should I do, specifically?" Alicia asked Siesta. And with perfect timing¡ª


    "Jack the Ripper has revived again."


    The voice of a third party broke in, and a chill ran through me. I hastily turned around, and¡ª


    "Ms. Fuubi? What''re you...? Didn''t you go back to Japan already?"


    Ms. Fuubi, our police officer acquaintance, was sitting on the sofa with a cigarette.


    "Oh, well, I remembered I had to see a man about a dog. Anyway, when did you two make a kid?" Ms. Fuubi nced between me and Siesta, then at Alicia.


    "Are you blind?" "You''re blind."


    Siesta and I retorted in unison. How could anybody possibly think Siesta and I were in that kind of rtionship? <i>Geez... And she hasn''t even quit smoking.</i>


    "So, what did you need? You said something about Jack the Rippering back to life."


    "Right. A new heart-hunt victim turned up yesterday. The M.O.''s simr to the earlier incidents."


    "That''s ridiculous..."


    I mean, it wasn''t even possible. After all, Hel had killed Cerberus¡ªthe real Jack the Ripper.


    "Hel." On the bed, Siesta narrowed her eyes. "Oh, that''s what''s going on..."


    Hel had taken up the heart-hunt in Cerberus''s ce. She was nning to revive that biological weapon again.


    "It looks like you''ve got an idea about what this is. Well, that''s perfect. I''ve actually got some information that might be useful in cornering our perp," said Ms. Fuubi. "This involves the youngdy over there, too."


    Maybe she''d heard us talking about letting Alicia handle the job. And then she''d brought us an incident that might end up being part of that job.


    "This is still just a rumor, but it sounds like there''s something here in London that may help us bring down SPES."


    <i>Oh-ho. Well, isn''t that convenient...? </i>My eyes met Siesta''s. Then, when we wordlessly signaled for Ms. Fuubi to go on, she told us what it was called.


    "From what I''m told, people call it ''the sapphire eye.''"

 Chapter 33 - 3.2

    <h4>Chapter 33: Chapter 3.2</h4>


    <strong>The daily routine of proxy detective Alicia</strong>


    The next day.


    "All right, let''s go!"


    A young girl pointed briskly down a broad downtown avenue, then set off.


    Meanwhile, I followed my new employer, my shoulders hunched from awkwardness.


    "Come on, step lively!" "You''re stepping too lively." "Huh?"


    <i>Don''t ''Huh?'' me. And don''t tilt your head and look adorably confused.</i>


    "That outfit."


    Alicia was dressed in a costume that screamed "ace detective": an austere trench coat and deerstalker hat. In addition, she had a traditional Japanese <i>kiseru </i>pipe between her lips...well, really a candy with a long, thin stick that she was using as a substitute.


    "I know they say to dress for the job you want, but this is ridiculous." "But these are hand-me-downs from Siesta."


    <i>Et tu, Siesta? Didn''t know the ace detective had a past.</i>


    "You''re really going for this proxy detective thing, huh?"


    "Of course!" Alicia nted her hands on her hips triumphantly.


    After we''d talked things over yesterday, Alicia had ultimately agreed to take over as detective for the injured Siesta in exchange for clothing, room, and board.


    For the moment, we were looking for the "sapphire eye" Ms. Fuubi had told us about. We didn''t know any of the details, but the two of us had decided to start by putting in some legwork and conducting a field


    investigation.


    "Let''s move out!" Alicia dered, then immediately vanished. "Huh? ...Hey, wait!"


    The next thing I knew, Alicia was sprinting over the pavement for all she was worth. I hastily took off after her and ended up running more than a hundred meters before I finally caught up with her.


    "...Hff...hff, why were you sprinting...?"


    Alicia didn''t care about my problems. "Running is fun!"


    She was as hyper as a kid on her first trip to the beach. Her smile was as dazzling as the summer sun, and that was great and all...but can''t she spare a thought for the guy who has to keep up with her?


    "Listen, you don''t even remember who you are. You''re basically from Wondend. Being curious is fine, but listen to what I tell you, too." I couldn''t even pretend to smile as I dropped a hand lightly onto Alicia''s head. "Besides, remember what that red-headed police officer said? This area isn''t very safe right now. No wandering around by yourself."


    ording to Siesta''s deduction, Hel was probably still here in London, covertly attacking its residents in Cerberus''s ce. There was no telling when she''d target Siesta and me again. If Alicia was going around with us, she needed to be careful.


    "All right, I get it! Don''t treat me like a kid."


    <i>That is exactly what a stereotypical kid would say. </i>"Okay. Good girl. Let''s go, then."


    "Uh-huh... Hey, why did you take my hand?! You were so smooth about it that you almost tricked me again!"


    "Come on, Alicia, raise your hand while we''re in the crosswalk."


    "What exactly do you picture when you think ''thirteen-year-old''?! I mean, seventeen! ...Probably." She sounded less and less certain, most likely because of the memory loss.


    "Hmm, I''m pretty sure I was about that age, but..."


    When we''d finished crossing at the light, Alicia ran up to a show window and examined her reflection in it. She pulled at her marshmallow-soft cheeks, then tilted her head in puzzlement.


    "C''mon, let''s go. If she finds out we''ve been dawdling, Siesta''s going to take my butt again and... Uh."


    "...What about your butt? ''Again''? What exactly do you two do,


    normally?"


    As we enjoyed our little conversation, the first destination we reached was, for some reason, a jewelry shop.


    It hadn''t been my idea, of course. ording to our new ace detective, this was the only possible ce to find sapphires. Elementary, indeed.


    The second we entered the shop, Alicia was off. The way she pounced on shiny things reminded me of a cat.


    "Kimizuka! I found it!" Alicia shouted to me excitedly. I really wished she wouldn''t; people were giggling at us.


    "...Oh. Yeah."


    The jewel, which shone as blue as the ocean, cost a whole two zeroes more than I''d thought it would.


    "Case closed!" Alicia shed a peace sign pose, then spoke to one of the clerks: "This one! Cash, one payment."


    "Whoa, whoa! Are you nning to make me buy that?!" "You won''t?"


    "I can''t!"


    "...Are you poor, Kimizuka?"


    <i>Shut up, all right? And don''t give me that pitying look.</i>


    "Besides, this is just a jewel. What we''re looking for is more... Probably something more ''underground,'' say."


    "Underground... Okay, got it!"


    Alicia flew out of the shop, pulling me by the hand.


    "You don''t get it! I''m positive you don''t get it, so stop, please..."


    After another round of involuntary sprinting (at least for me), we reached a shop that was literally underground, in the basement of an old mixed-use building that stood in an alley. I sensed something sketchy about the ce, but I pushed open the heavy door anyway. Inside, the store''s steel shelves held an array of <i>dried nts </i>and <i>colorful incense. </i>At the back of the store, a male clerk with several facial piercings was smoking a pipe.


    "This is the ce! There''s no mistake!" "Except for all the ones in your head."


    <i>...Seriously, why are you so energetic? Do you understand the situation you''re in?</i>


    <i>Yesterday, when you learned you''d lost your memory, you were shaken. That I can understand. But now you''re in full "ace detective" mode. You''ve</i>


    <i>thrown yourself into your new identity. I mean, maybe that''s better for your mental health than staying depressed, but still.</i>


    "Hmm, this looks sweet."


    "Are you an idiot?! You''ll never kick the habit!"


    Hastily, I pulled her out and back up to street level. Felt like we''d been holding hands this whole time...


    "Haaah, I''m exhausted."


    This wasn''t fieldwork; it was babysitting. But Alicia stalked forward confidently,pletely oblivious to the stress I was under.


    "You look like you''re having fun."


    "Yes, I am." She was beaming so bright that sarcasm seem pointless. "After all, it''s been a long time since I got to go outside."


    "Is that right?"


    <i>...A long time? What does she mean?</i>


    "Huh?" Alicia noticed the strangeness of her own remark and paused, frowning. "Wait, what made me think that?"


    "Did you spend a whole lot of time in a room somewhere? Don''t tell me it was a hospital..." Maybe she''d been hospitalized, then slipped out of her room and went wandering around the city until she copsed?


    If that was true, it would change the situation. <i>Should we take her to see a doctor after all?</i>


    "Mm, I don''t know... Whenever I try to think, my head starts to..."


    She didn''t seem to be lying. Maybe it would be better to just keep an eye on the situation for now.


    "You don''t have to force yourself to remember," I said.


    In some cases, time resolved this sort of thing naturally. Besides, once her injuries were healed, Siesta would probably do a little investigating anyway.


    "Oh!" Alicia trotted off to another point of interest, apparently headache- free again.


    "What''s up?"


    It seemed to be a street stall. There was a mat spread on the paving stones, with handmade essories disyed on it.


    "This."


    She was pointing at a ring set with a sapphire...well, a blue stone that loosely resembled one.


    "It looks simr, but it''s not quite the same thing."


    I couldn''t exactly say the word <i>fake </i>in front of the shop owner, so I vagued it up instead.


    "I see. So it''s not it..."


    Alicia''s shoulders drooped with obvious dejection. This girl didn''t just wear her heart on her sleeve; she waved it on a g.


    "Well, you don''t usually find these things right off the bat." I consoled her with a clich¨¦ remark.


    But it was probably true: We wouldn''t find the sapphire eye. More urately, we didn''t really need to find it in the first ce.


    Then why had Siesta assigned Alicia this job, you ask? <i>To build a rtionship based on that one percent of self-interest</i>. So that Alicia would be able to depend on us without feeling like she was imposing. She''d probably just used the information Ms. Fuubi had brought in order to set up <i>an equivalent exchange</i>: Alicia would be provided with food, clothing, and shelter in return for searching for the sapphire eye. Siesta seemed unsympathetic, but she was considerate of others.


    "We should probably head back soon... Wait, huh?"


    Yet again, Alicia had vanished as soon as I took my eye off her. "Forget the sapphire. Finding <i>her </i>is gonna be a job and a half..."


    When I nced at the shop owner questioningly, they pointed toward my left.


    "...Argh, I forgot."


    It was just one damn thing after another. Apparently, this busy day wasn''t over yet.


    <strong>Underage alcohol and tobo use is strictly prohibited byw</strong>


    "All right, a toast to Siesta''s full recovery. Cheers!"


    Siesta, Alicia, and I clinked our sses together in a pub full of lively music.


    It had already been two weeks since our battle with Hel and our meeting with Alicia. The casts had been removed from Siesta''s legs, and now, she could walk without any trouble. Today, we''d been partying since this afternoon, ostensibly to celebrate her recovery.


    "...I don''t even remember how many toasts that makes."


    I was pretty sure this was the fourth ce we''d been to since noon. My stomach was already filled to capacity, but the ace detectives still hadn''t had enough to eat and were scrutinizing the menu seriously. I''d just assumed we were on ourst drink, but maybe not.


    "There''s something I think you''d like, though, Kimi." "Oh yeah? Okay, just get me that, then."


    Without even ncing at the menu, I left my order to Siesta, who was sitting across from me.


    "Hmm, it''s already nine, though... Don''t get anything spicy, Siesta."


    "Oh, you''re right. Don''t want to give myself a stomachache so that I can''t sleep again."


    "Spicy stuff always gives you the runs about three hours after." "Huh, I never noticed until you mentioned it to me. That''s so weird." "Look, just take some antacids. You''re not done eating yet, right?" "All right. I''ll do that."


    Nodding in agreement, Siesta swallowed the medicine. In the meantime, I raised a hand, calling a waiter.


    "Um, you''re synched so well, it''s kinda scary." For reasons unknown, Alicia was glowering at me across the table. "What''s this telepathy thing you''ve got going? You let Siesta decide everything for you, and when you''re the one who tells her something, she listens..."


    I see. To a bystander, that exchange had looked peculiar. But I mean, we''d spent a full three years together. We naturally let the other person set the criteria for whether or not we were going to do something. In other words¡ª


    "We each trust the other more than we trust ourselves," I murmured absently.


    "...So basically, you''re one of those sappy coup¡ª" "Excuse me, I''d like to ce an additional order."


    Siesta pped a hand sharply over Alicia''s mouth. Alicia kept on mumbling unintelligibly (and in pain) while Siesta coolly told the waiter what she wanted. That''s an ace detective for you: Even with kids, she shows no mercy.


    Before long, Siesta finished her order and released Alicia.


    "Haah." Alicia panted. "That hurt... I thought I was going to die..." "It''s your own fault for making fun of adults."


    "For an adult, you''re really bad at adulting! ...Haah, I''m thirsty." Alicia drained the ss that was closest to her and opened the drink menu. Guess she was still thirsty. "Hey, Kimizuka? What''s this ''Cindere'' thing?"


    "Hmm? Oh, it''s a cocktail. It''s non-alcoholic, so even kids can have it." "Except I''m seventeen, not a kid."


    "Seventeen-year-olds aren''t allowed to drink, either."


    "Then I''ll have the Cindere! Excuse me!" Alicia called, waving a waiter over again... Sheesh, her emotions were a roller coaster.


    For the past two weeks, I''d gone all over London with proxy detective Alicia, taking a variety of cases. None of the incidents had been anything major, but I''d been partnered with Alicia, who did whatever her emotions dictated. The work had been littered with hardships that were nothing like what I ran into when Siesta was my partner. Looking back over these two weeks, it felt as if we''d spent every day causing a hundred issues in order to solve one problem.


    "What''s the matter?" Before long, Alicia noticed me watching her and tilted her head.


    "Nothing. I was just thinking how d I am we found you a ce to go home to for a bit."


    The trials and tribtions of these two weeks had not beenpletely fruitless¡ªwe''d decided that Alicia would leave the apartment where Siesta and I lived and stay at a certain church. The church ran a charity that took in orphans, and since Alicia had no rtives, they''d agreed to ept her.


    "Well, it''s only a temporary measure. Until we know about Alicia''s memories and identity, we haven''t fundamentally resolved the issue," said Siesta, her knife and fork pausing over her roast.


    Apparently the fact that she hadn''t actuallypleted the job yet bothered her, but she''d been too injured to do much. She''d negotiated with the church behind the scenes; that was more than enough.


    "I went to the church yesterday, and it was a lot of fun," Alicia said to Siesta, maybe sensing her difort. "I got to y with some other kids who didn''t have families there. It kinda felt like school." Alicia grinned and shed a peace sign at us.


    Apparently even Siesta couldn''t argue with a face like that; her lips softened. "School, huh? ...I haven''t been there in quite a while, either."


    Myst memory of it was that cultural festival, back in the second year of


    junior high. Come to think of it, Siesta had yanked me around quite a lot back then, too.


    "And why are you looking at me?" Siesta asked, narrowing her eyes unhappily. "The crepes and the takoyaki were delicious, weren''t they?"


    "All I remember is my stomachache."


    "Yes, you did hole up in the bathroom, didn''t you." "Come to think of it, you peeped on me..."


    "And you got scared in the haunted house."


    Some memories are better left buried, okay? Also, what was it... If I remembered right, we''d ended up cosying a wedding ceremony... No, that wasn''t something I wanted to actively remember, either. My dark past.


    "Well, the ribbon did look good on you, I guess." I recalled that red-ribbon headband and how it had looked on Siesta.


    "You certainly did seem captivated."


    "I wasn''t captivated. I was just...a little captivated, that''s all."


    "Assistant. English," Siesta retorted and dabbed at her lips briskly with a napkin.


    Hmm? Had I said something weird?


    "A ribbon. Lucky..." Alicia was swinging her legszily. Apparently, the girl from Wondend was at an age where she wanted to dress up.


    "I''ll give you er," said Siesta. "Really?! Yay!"


    Alicia kicked her legs harder, as if she couldn''t contain her excitement, and then¡ª


    "I want to wear that, too, and¡ª!" Her voice suddenly lowered. "...And go to a real school," she said with a lonely smile.


    Alicia imed she''d lost her old memories, but thatment sounded as if she was subconsciously aware that she''d never been to school at all.


    I couldn''t find anything tactful to say to her. Meanwhile, Siesta''s blue eyes were narrowed in thought.


    "Kidding." However, that shadow onlysted a moment before Alicia energetically drained the contents of her ss. "I don''t really care. I''ve got something else to do now."


    "You mean the detective job?"


    "Yeah. I don''t have time to go to school." Alicia nodded.


    "And yet I hear you haven''t found the sapphire eye yet," Siesta interjected


    with a slightly belligerent smile.


    She was right. Over the past two weeks, Alicia and I had pulled off really simple requests, such as finding lost pets, but we still hadn''t made any headway with the hunt for the sapphire eye.


    But Siesta probably wasn''t seriously trying to get Alicia to do anything about that. She''d only said that to lighten the mood before it could get too dark¡ªor so I''d thought, but...


    "¡ªI¡ªI know that. I just have to find it, right?" Alicia stood up, puffing out her cheeks indignantly. <i>What are you, an instant water heater?</i>


    "Hey, whoa, you''re heading out now?" "You don''t have toe, Kimizuka."


    "It''s dark outside. There''ll be monsters and stuff."


    "...Maybe I''ll go home first, then head out early tomorrow morning." Okay, that about-face was so quick that it was actually pretty cute. "...Ahem. Anyway, I am most definitely going to find it by tomorrow!"


    Alicia pointed sharply at Siesta and me, then turned on her heel and left. "She didn''t drink her cocktail."


    Well, there were bound to be all sorts of other opportunities. I finished what was left in my ss with some relief.


    "She''s a pretty tricky girl to deal with, isn''t she?" Siesta held a fresh ss out to me; no telling when she''d ordered it. "These past two weeks must have been rough."


    "You said it... Even if you maybe shouldn''t be the one saying it."


    Siesta and Alicia''s personalities and stances wereplete opposites, but they were definitely both tiring people to be with.


    "What are we going to do about her from now on, though?" Now that Alicia wasn''t here, I chose that moment to ask. I kept the wording vague, but I knew Siesta would understand.


    "Once I start a job, I never back out." "...I see."


    If Siesta''s injuries were healed, that meant we were ready to fight Hel again. In other words, parting ways with Alicia soon was inevitable.


    However, Siesta had shaken her head. She''d chosen to help a lone girl in distress over defeating a great evil.


    "I couldn''t possibly back down before we''ve managed to help her learn her age, or where she came from, or even what her real name is. No matter what,


    I won''t let a client''s request go unfulfilled." Siesta smiled.


    And so our hectic yet peaceful routine was going tost a little longer. "Then we''ll be staying in London for a while?"


    "Yes, probably. Just the two of us in the apartment again." Siesta lifted her ss to her lips and swallowed audibly, her white throat working. The motion was rather bewitching.


    "What?"


    "...Nothing. I was just thinking this was kinda peaceful."


    For close to three years, Siesta and I had lived through some turbulent times, pursuing SPES or being pursued by them. We''d walked through deserts without water, we''d slept out in the open during a hurricane, and I didn''t have enough fingers to count all the times we''d had to do our business in a field. It had been a dizzying three years, sometimes fighting with pseudohumans, sometimes fighting the limits of human dignity. For me, those days were so¡ª


    "You''re getting sentimental."


    Siesta poked my cheek with a fingertip. She was wearing that expression that said she''d found prey that was worth teasing... I swear, she was as much of a mind-reader as ever. <i>I really hate that side of you, you know.</i>


    "That''s not it." I chugged the contents of the ss Siesta had set in front of me, and then¡ª


    "Bfft! ¡ªThis is alcohol!"


    <i>Damn, it''s bitter... </i>That was the first liquor I''d ever had. "Hey, we''re minors!"


    "You think minors carry one of those around?" Siesta shot a nce at my waist.


    Well, if she was going to bring that up, I mean...


    "This is my party, remember? You''re going to keep mepany until I''m done," said Siesta, swirling her ss as if she''d been drinking red wine all her life.


    "That''s not something a minor should be saying." "What about you, Kimi? What are you having?" "No, I''m already..."


    "You''re going to make it up to me, aren''t you?" Siesta''s lips moved slightly.


    <i>Make what up to her? Is she talking about the apple pie incident?</i>


    "You''ll do what I say, won''t you?" Siesta tilted her head, delicately.


    Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were faintly moist¡ªmaybe it was the alcohol. Somehow, she looked younger than usual.


    "...Just one more drink."


    After all, I couldn''t say no to that, could I?

 Chapter 34 - 3.3

    <h4>Chapter 34: Chapter 3.3</h4>


    <strong>Later on, I''ll remember this day</strong>


    "And so theeen, I was still little, so I got really nervous when I swallowed the watermelon seed. I thought it might sprout in my stomach, and <i>then </i>what would I do?"


    After we''d returned from the pub, Siesta''s face was so red that her original skin tone waspletely lost. She was sitting on the bed with her legs syed out in an M-shape, bouncing up and down, even though she''d been injured just the other day. She was wearing a bathrobe, just like I was, and every time she bounced, certain <i>other </i>parts bounced dramatically, too.


    ...Or maybe they only seemed to because my head wasn''t really working, either.


    I didn''t know. I couldn''t seem to figure it out. After all, I was drunk, too.


    I was pretty sure that, at that restaurant with its view of the city lights, we''d promised "Just one more drink," then promised again... About ten times, I think. For thest one, we might have pinky-sworn, linked our arms, and drained our sses. <i>Urgh, I can''t remember...</i>


    "Assistant? Are you listening to me?"


    "Yeah, I''m listening. You were talking about whether a watermelon was a vegetable or a fruit, right?"


    "Mm-hmm. I asked for a melon, but then they brought me a <i>lemon</i>. I had no idea what was going on."


    Desperately forcing my sluggish brain to function, I sat in a chair facing Siesta, nodding along with her story.


    Our conversation had been barely functional for a while now, and I kinda suspected she''d been telling me an extremely tedious story, but there was just no way Siesta¡ªwless, calm, cool, and collected Siesta, the greatest ace detective in history¡ªwould dribble on about anything pointless.


    <i>Probably just too high-minded for me</i>, I thought, so I kept my eyes locked


    on hers and listened carefully. Siesta''s eyes drooped in a liquid, melting way, and there wasn''t a trace of her usual cool image to be seen.


    "Say, why have you been so far away all this time?" Siesta pouted sulkily, and I felt as if I was doing something bad somehow. "Come over here."


    "...Into bed?"


    "Yes. Let''s talk over here together, okay?" I...wasn''t sure about that idea.


    A young man and woman, getting into bed together... Couldn''t that, um, be a problem? In multiple ways?


    I tried to harness what little solid thoughts and reason I had left, but¡ª "Is it not okay?" she asked.


    "Nah, it''s fine."


    If that was the answer my brain had coughed up, then that was the answer I''d give. Obeying the results of my thought experiment, I slipped into the bed Siesta was sitting on.


    <i>...Did I actually need to get </i>into <i>bed? </i>The thought crossed my mind, and then it promptly vanished.


    "Heh-heh. This is the first time we''ve slept together like this, isn''t it?"


    Then Siesta got under the covers beside me, and there we were. In the same bed, under the same nkets.


    "You''re right here, Kimi. So close." Siesta rolled onto her side, gazing at me.


    The lights in the room were dim, but I could make out her face clearly. "If I went two days without seeing you, I really would forget your face." "So that doesn''t change even when you''re drunk, huh?"


    "Heh-heh. Well, picking on you is fun, Kimi." "There she is, the young sadist."


    "The truth is that you like it when I pick on you, though." "Don''t make up weird motivations for me!"


    "Then would you rather I never teased you again, as long as we live?" "..."


    "Should I just not talk to you?" "..."


    "You really are funny, Kimi." "...Shove it."


    "That crabby face is kinda cute."


    "That''s not apliment!"


    "Well, I''ll forget it in two days, though."


    "So now we''re back to that?!" I rolled over toward Siesta. "But..."


    What I saw was her profile; she was gazing at the ceiling. "I''ll never forget these three years I spent with you."


    I don''t think I''ll ever forget the bravery on her face as long as I live. "Heh-heh. Whoops, I got a little serious, there."


    However, Siesta promptly reverted to her blind drunk expression and rolled over toward me.


    "If they took seriousness away from you, what would you have left?" I asked.


    I''d missed my chance to revert to my former position, and Siesta and I ended up lying there face-to-face.


    "That''s so mean. Just what do you think I am anyway?"


    Logic incarnate? The cerebral ace detective or something? Was that what I should say?


    "Why don''t we..."


    Smoothly, Siesta closed the distance between us.


    Just a few more centimeters and our noses¡ªand possibly our lips¡ªwould touch. Our bodies were already almost pressed together, and from the swell of Siesta''s ample bosom, I could hear the sound of her leaping heart.


    "...do something silly for a change?" My whole body grew hot.


    Come to think of it, we''d discussed her three great drives at one point.


    "Siesta, I''m..." The next thing I knew, I was leaning over Siesta. "...Assistant." Siesta shut her eyes, tightly.


    Making up my mind, I brought my face, my lips, closer to her, closer¡ª


    <strong>Mostte-night moments of weakness make you</strong>


    <strong>want to die in the morning</strong>


    "Phew, someone kill me, please."


    When I woke up the next morning, after a minute or so of attempting to think, that was the firstment that came to mind.


    First things first¡ªmy head hurt like a bitch;st night''s alcohol was definitely still in my system. And that headache was figurative and literal, thanks to the ace detective fast asleep next to me, breathing peacefully.


    I''d heard that when you drank enough liquor to fill a bathtub, you forgot everything by the next morning...but unfortunately, my cerebral cortex remembered yesterday''s sorry disy with devastating rity.


    "Uu, ghk, kill me noooow..."


    My first-ever drinking binge hadbined with thete-night mood to create a mortifying exchange. What the hell had I been thinking yesterday?


    What had made me get into bed with Siesta? And after that... "Bluuurgh."


    Various emotions and the contents of my stomach forced their way up in a wave of nausea. pping a hand over my mouth, I started to get out of bed, and just then¡ª


    "..."


    Siesta''s eyes opened, and we made eye contact. We gazed at each other, blinking, for a moment that seemed to stretch on forever.


    "...Good morning." "..."


    I greeted her tentatively, but there was no response.


    Instead, Siesta ducked under the covers, checking on something. Then she poked her head out again. Her expression was unreadable. That part was fairly normal...but for some reason, I could nearly sense something like menace in it.


    "Good morning," Siesta answered after an eternity. Firmly securing her bathrobe around her, she took a small silver attach¨¦ case out of the suitcase she always used.


    I couldn''t see exactly what she was doing, since she was facing away, but I assumed she was taking something out of the case. Just as I thought that, Siesta turned back to me.


    "Assistant, I want you to hold out your arm."


    "Maybe after you put the huge needle away!"


    Siesta was holding a syringe in her right hand; there was liquid leaking out of its tip. "It''s fine. It''ll only hurt for a second."


    "Hell no! When I said I wanted to die, I wasn''t being serious!"


    "It won''t kill you. This injection temporarily erases human memories, that''s all."


    "You''re kidding, right?! Is that another one of your special Seven Tools?!" "No, it''s not. Come on, don''t you remember? At the cultural festival, where we caught the Miss Hanakos. This has just a little of the same


    ingredient that was in that <i>drug </i>mixed into it."


    Th-this couldn''t be worse... That stuff''s guaranteed to work...


    "It''s fine. I''ve run some experiments and made an improved version that won''t damage your health."


    "Wait just a minute, did you run those on me?! I thought I''d been more forgetful than usualtely; was that why?!"


    If it was, this was no joke. Still in my bathrobe, I tried to bolt out of the apartment, but¡ª


    "I won''t let you get away."


    "Ghk, hah." Siesta leaped onto my back, straddling me and pinning me to the floor.


    "Now put out your arm. You''re going to forget everything about yesterday... About <i>me </i>yesterday."


    I was no match for a ticked-off Siesta, and the syringe bore down on my right arm¡ª


    <i>Ding-dong. </i>At the veryst second, the doorbell rang, announcing a visitor. "...Somebody''s here."


    "..."


    "You''re sure you don''t need to get that?" "Tch!"


    "Don''t <i>tsk </i>at me; just...don''t." <i>It''s totally out of character for you.</i>


    Getting off me reluctantly, Siesta headed for the door. "Yes?"


    When she opened it, standing on the other side was... "It was really noisy in here. What were you doing?"


    ...Alicia, the proxy detective.


    "Well, not like I care." She put her hands on her hips and dered, "Mission aplished."


    Alicia surveyed us triumphantly. She was holding a small bag.


    Mission aplished? She couldn''t actually have found the sapphire eye after that, could she?


    Had Alicia¡ª<i>our </i>Alicia¡ªmanaged to find what Siesta had nearly given up on?


    "Here."


    Alicia held the bag out to me. Inside was¡ª "An eye patch?"


    It was a perfectly ordinary ck eye patch, something that made no sense in the context of the conversation.


    "The eye that''s actually important is that one, isn''t it?" Alicia boldly dered, pointing at my left eye. "Unless you wear an eye patch like you''re supposed to, <i>it won''t heal up.</i>"


    Standing on tiptoe, Alicia tied the eye patch on. "...So you noticed, huh?"


    "Well, we were together for two whole weeks."


    I hadn''t intentionally been hiding it from Alicia, but my left eye had been wounded in that fight with Hel. As far as day-to-day life was concerned, it wasn''t much of a problem, but my visual impairment had caused me to lose track of Alicia in town several times.


    "That phantom eye may not even exist¡ªinstead of relying on it, you should take good care of the one that''s already here."


    Apparently, I''d misread Alicia a bit as a person. The girl who openly expressed all her emotions was probably just the surface. Her true nature was bound to be¡ª


    "That''s my answer." Alicia nced at Siesta. "Is it <i>the right one</i>?"


    Was that what it had been? Had this been the problem Siesta had set for Alicia all along? Had she wanted to see what sort of answer the girl woulde up with, when given the impossible task of finding something that didn''t exist? After a short silence, Princess Kaguya of the Bamboo gave her long-awaited answer.


    "J-just as I''d nned."


    Siesta''s gaze was wandering so dramatically it beggared belief. "No, seriously, how bad at lying are you?"


    Even if it was only for a moment, the proxy had outmatched the ace.


    <strong>The turning point for everything</strong>


    "I''m not terribly good at being clever in the moment."


    Siesta was walking beside me, her expression unusually bitter.


    After the episode that morning, Siesta had apanied me to the supermarket to do some shopping now that her legs were fully healed.


    "I haven''t seen you like that in a long time," Imented.


    The ace detective seemed to be a perfect superhuman, but she had a surprising number of weak points.


    "...Shut up."


    It was unusual for her to be this cranky, too. It wasn''t bad to flip the power dynamic once in a while, was it?


    "Do you like your present from a girl that much?" Siesta shot a cold nce at the eye patch over my left eye.


    But before I could make some kind of objection¡ª


    "...No, sorry. That''s not what I meant." Siesta''s shoulders hunched just a little, and there was less confidence in her voice than usual. "I''m just embarrassed that I wasn''t as attentive about your eye."


    "Is that right?"


    For a moment, I wasn''t sure what to say.


    "Well, you know. You''re human, too, I guess." I chose something totally obvious. "I''m d you''re human enough to get yanked around by petty emotions like that."


    "...Really."


    She smiled faintly, then nodded quietly two or three times.


    After that, we walked on for a while, and then Siesta abruptly stopped. She was studying the sign for an underground live music venue. There was a poster for a performer pasted to the wall nearby¡ªand although it didn''t give their name, it advertised an uing guest from Japan.


    "Siesta?"


    "...It''s nothing." Siesta shook her head and started walking again. "Not yet."


    "...?"


    Just as I was about to ask her what she meant, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. ording to the screen, it was an international call. Wondering what was up, I hit the TALK button and heard a very familiar voice.


    <i>"Hey, you damn brat. It looks like you managed to survive somehow."</i>


    She talked like a middle-aged man, which was probably why guys tended to avoid such an attractive woman. Telling her so was guaranteed to get me drawn and quartered, though.


    "That''s what you should have said when we ran into each other earlier, Ms.


    Fuubi."


    <i>Plus, Siesta and I both sustained major injuries because of that Jack the Ripper case you brought us. Earlier, when you randomly appeared in our apartment, you didn''t mention that at all.</i>


    As I thought back, it struck me as incredibly unfair, and I was nning to continue with aint or three, when¡ª


    <i>"Huh? When did we run into each other?"</i>


    The voice from the phone wasn''t teasing. She sounded genuinely bewildered.


    "Come on, what are you talking about? It was two weeks ago. You dropped in unannounced and told us something about a sapphire eye, remember?"


    <i>"Huh? I only visited you once, to discuss the Jack the Ripper incident with you. You confuse me with somebody?"</i>


    I broke out in goose bumps all over.


    <i>"I just heard that you two had a hell of a fight after that; this is the first time I''ve called."</i>


    <i>Whoa, wait, you''re kidding me. </i>What was that, then? Two weeks ago, when we''d met Ms. Fuubi, or the individual who looked like her, for the second time¡ª No, that''s right. Come to think of it, there was something weird. When she''d shown up then, she''d had her Zippo lighter, even though she''d given it to me earlier.


    <i>"Hello? Kimizuka? Hellooooo?"</i>


    The voice on the other end of the phone seemed to be getting farther and farther away.


    My unpleasant hunch changed to certainty crawling all through me. "Assistant."


    Siesta must have figured out what this conversation was about already. She nodded quietly, her expression grim.


    The Ms. Fuubi we''d met in London that second time had been a fake.


    There was only one being who could pull off that trick: Cerberus, the shape-shifter.

 Chapter 35 - 3.4

    <h4>Chapter 35: Chapter 3.4</h4>


    <strong>Ace detective vs. ace detective</strong>


    It was the day after that phone call with <i>the real </i>Ms. Fuubi.


    "But Hel definitely killed Cerberus in front of us. Didn''t she?" I said. In a room of our detective office-and-residence...


    As Siesta and I poked at our curry, I was trying to get the situation straight in my mind.


    "The carrots are as hard as rocks," sheined. "Yeah, it was a mistake to make me cook, huh?" "Why do you sound almost proud?"


    "The thing is, I couldn''t find the usual kitchen knife anywhere."


    "...So that''s why the vegetables are in chunks. You broke them up with your hands."


    <i>Okay, this isn''t the time to be arguing about the curry.</i>


    "Anyway, you''re right. Cerberus died. I doubt there''s any mistake about that."


    "Then what was that fake Ms. Fuubi? If that was a transformation ability, then Cerberus really can''t be..."


    "Which view are you backing, Kimi?"


    ...Well, no matter which theory we went with, we''d have a contradiction on our hands. Cerberus had seemed to die right in front of us¡ªbut then there was no way to exin the fake Ms. Fuubi who''d shown up afterward.


    "That means they''re either both true or both false." "What is that, a Zen riddle?"


    "Don''t joke about this." Siesta shoved a spoon with a chunk of potato on it into my mouth. Okay, yeah: This dish was a fail.


    "What if our counterfeit cop was actually Hel?" "Hel? But she didn''t have a transformation ability¡ª"


    "Here''s the thing about pseudohumans," Siesta interrupted. "They''re created with a certain object as their core. If they inherit the core, they can inherit its special abilities as well."


    "Was that the ck rock thing that Hel pulled out of Cerberus''s chest?" "Exactly. It''s conceivable that she stealthily retrieved that and stole


    Cerberus''s abilities."


    "Then you''re saying Cerberus himself is already dead, and Hel inherited his ability, pretended to be Ms. Fuubi, and made contact with us?"


    That would exin why the heart hunt was still going on, even though Cerberus had died.


    In that case, why on earth had Hel visited us? It was a bold move,ing to talk to the two of us and Alicia.


    On top of that, she''d gone out of her way to talk about the serial murders she wasmitting and tell us about the existence of the sapphire eye. A taunt...? No¡ªfrom an ordinary perspective, it was more likely to have been a trap.


    "We still don''t know what the truth is. But what we need to do hasn''t changed. We''ll put an end to these murders."


    Yeah, she was right. We''d defeat Hel for sure this time, full stop.


    "By the way, do the victims of the current incidents have anything inmon? Or are they random, like Cerberus''s were?"


    "It looks as if they''re attacking passersby at random," said Siesta. "Number four was killedst night."


    "So is she going around stealing hearts to revive the biological weapon?" "I''m not sure. They might be for <i>herself.</i>"


    "For herself? ...Oh, I see."


    Right. In thatst one-on-one fight with Siesta, Hel had pierced her own heart with her de.


    "That being the case, Hel may be going around searching for a recement heart."


    "Can she pull off a dress-up doll trick like that one?"


    "She can," Siesta replied casually. "After all, the enemy is a pseudohuman."


    ...True. We''d been fighting monsters this whole time.


    "Still, I''m impressed you managed to find out that much in just a day."


    Yesterday, after I''d ended the phone call with Ms. Fuubi, Siesta had vanished into the city by herself. Finally, around dinnertime today, she''de back with all this information.


    "It wasn''t easy; they''ve muzzled the press. Besides, if I''d been at full capacity during those two weeks, I would have picked up on a few things sooner."


    "Don''t worry about it; rest while you''re injured, at least. If you don''t, I..."


    I broke off. Siesta stole a nce at me.


    "No, never mind." I shoveled the nasty curry into my mouth instead of finishing the thought.


    <i>Sometimes I worry you might break. </i>To her, my selfish worry would probably just be a nuisance.


    "Tomorrow''s gonna be a hell of a day," I said to bridge the gap in the conversation.


    "True. But in that case..." Unusually, Siesta hesitated. But she didn''t have to say it for me to understand.


    "Alicia, you mean?"


    We''d found a ce that would take Alicia in temporarily, but of course that didn''tpletely resolve the issue. If we threw ourselves into battle with Hel, we''d end up kicking Alicia''s problem farther down the road. Siesta was probably concerned about that.


    "If this is about me, I''m fine."


    Well, if Alicia said so, then we could probably keep our priorities the way they were, but...


    "...! A-Alicia, when did you¡ª!"


    The next thing I knew, Alicia was on my left, crunching away on the curry I''d made.


    "This is way too loud to be curry," shemented.


    That was when I finally remembered the eye patch over my left eye. Unless I thought about it, I forgot that my vision was limited.


    "Did you wash your hands?"


    "Don''t treat me like a child. I washed them until my fingerprints wore off." "What are you, a wanted criminal?"


    "Anyway." Alicia returned the conversation to the original topic. "You don''t have to worry about me. You should focus on the issue that''s killing people."


    With unexpected calm (although maybe that''s a rude way to put it), Alicia insisted that we should resolve the incidents that were urring in this city before we dealt with her problem.


    "Alicia, what''s your game here?" Siesta seemed vaguely skeptical as she observed Alicia. "You didn''t go to the trouble ofing here just to say something that sensible, did you?"


    ...Somehow, I felt like the temperature in the room had dropped a few


    degrees.


    Not to be outdone, Alicia leaned over the table, facing Siesta squarely. "I want you to let me help with this case, too."


    "I thought you''d say that. But no, absolutely not." "Why not?"


    "Because it''s dangerous. Four people have died already." "I solved cases with Kimizuka, too. For two whole weeks."


    "You mean finding cats and delivering wallets to police boxes?" "S-size doesn''t matter when ites to cases!"


    "That''s a bit of a stretch." "But it''s still an argument!"


    Their opinions stayed on parallel rails, never intersecting¡ªbut physically, the distance between their faces was closing, until they were so close that their noses nearly touched... Although Siesta hadn''t moved a millimeter from her original position.


    "Calm down a little." I caught Alicia''s small shoulder and returned her to her chair.


    "...I''m a detective, too." Alicia''s shoulders drooped conspicuously. She''d lost that round.


    "Alicia, at best, you were a proxy detective." However, Siesta didn''t ease up. She just stated the facts. "Now that I''ve recovered, you aren''t needed."


    "...Hey, Siesta. Don''t you think that''s a little harsh?"


    What she was saying was correct, but the correct answer wasn''t necessarily always the best solution.


    "What? You''re taking her side, Kimi?" "You know I didn''t say that."


    "Oh, so you really do like little girls... Huh, you''re right. The carving knife''s gone."


    "I told you, I don''t. Also, don''t go looking for sharp objects in the middle of this conversation."


    "Then what? You spent three years with me, and now you''d choose her after only two weeks <i>ying </i>detective..."


    She cut herself off, apparently realizing she really had said too much this time.


    "Siesta, what''s wrong?" She was acting weird today.


    ...No, it wasn''t just today. She might have been like that all the timetely. It was as if she was feeling anxious and impatient, for some reason. But then she''d abruptly turn open and honest, and start acting like she wanted me to baby her. Come to think of it, she''d been striking out on her own more oftentely, attempting to get things done without telling me. Was she hiding


    something from me?


    "It''s nothing. Nothing''s wrong," Siesta replied indifferently from the kitchen.


    She didn''t turn to look at me. And of course, she didn''t answer any of my questions... But that was the rtionship we''d built. She wouldn''t die without telling me. The simple fact that she''d made that promise to me back then was more than enough progress.


    "Fine, then." Alicia stood smoothly. She gazed at Siesta, and her eyes were determined. "I''ll do this my way."


    In a certain sense, that was her good-bye to Siesta; in another, it was the true birth of the new detective.


    "I swear I''ll be the one to solve this case. Once I do, I''ll¡ª" Alicia bit her lip.


    "Alicia?" I said.


    She shook her head. "Nothing." Why wouldn''t either detective answer questions from her assistant? "Still, that''s how it is. Starting tomorrow, I''ll be counting on you, Kimizuka."


    The request hade out of nowhere, and I had no idea what I''d be helping with, but my employer had put me through a strict daily training regimen¡ª


    "Yeah, sure. Roger that; I''m on it."


    And so on reflex, I gave a response that wasn''t likely to cause offense. "Hooray! You heard him: Kimizuka''s going to be my assistant from now


    on, too!"


    "......Huh?"


    The reaction hade from Siesta, who was turning back to look at me and Alicia.


    I mean, a mental "Huh?" had gone through my head, too, but the one who''d actually said it aloud was Siesta.


    "No, Assistant is my...my..."


    She couldn''t get out the rest of that sentence. Her lips just moved a little,


    uselessly.


    Right then... "Sirens?"


    A warning of major trouble passed the window.


    That sound meant Hel had stolen the heart of a fifth victim.


    <strong>People call it Jack the Devil</strong>


    Up until now, the press had been restricted due to fears that attracting more attention to the crimes might escte them. However, with the fifth victim in this chain of grotesque murders, the modern-day Jack the Ripper¡ªnow known as Jack the Devil¡ªwas finally exposed to the public eye.


    The reason was that, while the first four victims had been killedte at night, this murder had happened at a fairly early hour, in the presence of multiple witnesses. Most importantly, the fifth victim had been a young female member of Parliament who''d been famous in this district.


    A charismatic, beautiful politician had been murdered in a gruesome way


    ¡ªthe media was scrambling over itself to cover the sensational incident. "...And this is the result, huh?"


    We''de to therge house where that fifth victim was said to have lived with her mother, but it was already being mobbed by a throng of camera- wielding reporters. I knew I was here because I''d hoped to find a hint of some sort, too, but this was clearly crossing a line.


    "Right in the middle of a tragedy..."


    As she watched the mediapletely fail to consider the feelings of the victim''s bereaved family, Alicia clenched her small fists next to me.


    The crew members banged on the door and leaned on the doorbell so hard, it was a wonder it didn''t break. Finally, the door swung open, as if it hadn''t been able to take the beating anymore, and a haggard-looking woman of around sixty emerged. The reporters hastily surrounded her.


    "Kimizuka, that''s..."


    "Yeah, it''s probably her mother."


    The woman shrank back before the mob of cameras on her doorstep. "...I''m sorry. There''s nothing I can tell you..."


    But the reporters kept badgering her until the questions almost sounded


    usatory.


    "Kimizuka..." Alicia tugged on my sleeve gently. "Yeah, I know."


    Just as I was wondering if there was anything we could do to run that crowd off...


    <i>Bang! </i>In the distance, I heard the crack of a gunshot.


    After that, things moved fast. Scrambling over themselves again, the media crews dashed off in pursuit of fresher information. Less than a minuteter, everyone but us was gone.


    "Mercenary bunch, aren''t they?"


    They were like vermin lunging at scattered bait. tantly using the instincts of dumb animals¡ª<i>our ace detective </i>was a little different from the rest.


    "I''m impressed, Siesta."


    "Do you feel like returning to me now?" she asked,ing up next to me.


    She shot me a cold nce.


    <i>I don''t remember ever dissolving our partnership in the first ce, you know.</i>


    "...Thanks," Alicia said quietly, temporarily shelving the weird awkwardness in their rtionship.


    "It''s not as if I did it for anyone in particr." "Oh, just say what you mean."


    That, right there. Siesta always said that kind of thing to me. I never thought I''d see her on the receiving end.


    "Oh!"


    Alicia gave a brief cry, as if she''d noticed something. However, by the time I turned around, she was over by the front door, supporting the woman who''d been attacked by the media.


    "Hurry, you two!" Alicia called to us.


    The woman had nearly copsed from the sudden release of tension. Both Siesta and I let her lean on our shoulders as well, and together, we helped her into the house.


    "I''m sorry for the trouble I''ve caused you," the woman said.


    We were in the living room now, and resting a little seemed to have helped


    her.


    "I''ll go put on the kettle for¡ª"


    "No, please don''t bother." Shakily, she tried to rise from the sofa.


    "Are you okay?" Sitting next to her, Alicia slipped in to support her and lowered her to the sofa again. Siesta and I were sitting opposite them.


    "I''m so sorry. It was very sudden, and I''m still shaken..."


    The woman gazed at a framed photo that stood on a nearby shelf. In it, she and her daughter¡ªthe MP who''d died in this incident¡ªwere standing together and smiling.


    "My husband died young in an ident, and for so long, I was never able to give that girl anything more than hardship... And yet she told me that one day, she''d be rich enough for her mum to livefortably. And she did¡ªshe grew to be a splendid young woman, and she even built me this house. She was far too good for me, and I was so proud of¡ª"


    A sob escaped her, and Alicia rubbed her back gently.


    "I want to ask you about the day of the incident," Siesta interjected, even as the woman cried. "Did you notice anything unusual about your daughter?" Her phrasing was matter-of-fact, and her expression didn''t change in the slightest. As if she believed that was what she should be doing, Siesta did her <i>job</i>.


    "...Siesta, listen..."


    I saw how I''d misunderstood. She hadn''t gotten rid of the media in order to help this woman. She''d wanted to speak to her without anyone getting in the way.


    That was how Siesta did things; I''d known that. The intellectual ace detective didn''t let fleeting emotions sway her.


    "That day...? No. There was nothing particrly unusual before she left the house..."


    Dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief, the mother seemed to find answering the question painful.


    "In that case, when you saw your daughter''s body, was anything¡ª" "Siesta."


    I wouldn''t let her get any further. Siesta nced at me, then closed her mouth.


    "I wasn''t able to give her anything," the woman said softly. "I only took what she gave me, and I couldn''t give her anything in return. Who''d have


    thought it would hurt this much? I never dreamed..."


    The tears were streaming down her face now. There was nothing Siesta could say. I''d stopped her, but I couldn''t find anything to say, either.


    "That''s not true."


    The voice was so tearful that I thought it belonged to the woman at first, but no¡ªit hade from the person who was sitting beside her.


    "No one ever only takes, or only gives. No rtionship is that one-sided."


    Alicia stood up, tears trickling down her cheeks, and spoke to the woman earnestly.


    "If you ''only took'' something from your daughter¡ªI''m sure it''s because you''d given her so much in the past! Isn''t that right?! People''s feelings always go both ways. That''s how it should be."


    She had no proof, and possibly not even a persuasive argument¡ªbut Alicia used the steady passion that zed inside her to fuel her words.


    Alicia extended a hand to the person she hoped to save. She was the pr opposite of Siesta; I probably couldn''t have pulled it off, either.


    "...Thank you."


    The woman stood up, then gently pulled Alicia into an embrace. "Somehow, it feels as though my daughter is telling me those things."

 Chapter 36 - 3.5

    <h4>Chapter 36: Chapter 3.5</h4>


    <strong>For sure, from now on, forever</strong>


    "About earlier."


    We were on our way back home. After a long period of silence, Siesta spoke with some effort.


    "Why did you stop me?"


    She was probably asking why I''d interrupted her question. I was supposed to be her assistant, so why had I gotten in the way of her work?


    "For starters, these incidents are supposedly the work of a random attacker. Meaning it''s pointless to ask whether the victim did anything different beforehand."


    "We only know that was true of the first four incidents. There''s no guarantee that the fifth was the same. I had to ask that question to rule out the possibility that it was an exception."


    "Then why ask about the corpse? Asking if she''d noticed anything when she saw the body¡ªthat wasn''t..."


    "It''s the same thing. There might have been something besides the removal of the heart, something noteworthy that only family would notice. You blew our chance to verify that." The frustration in Siesta''s eyes was like a knife.


    What she was saying was logical, objective, and correct. However, "correct" was all it was. Sometimes just being right wasn''t enough to save someone.


    ...I mean, I wasn''t exactly thinking that in so many words. As a matter of fact, Siesta''s justice had saved me many times.


    However, I''d learned there was someone who thought that wasn''t everything. Someone who believed that being correct wasn''t always top priority.


    That had to be why I''d hesitated. Even if maybe I shouldn''t have.


    "I''ll do whatever it takes to defeat Hel. No matter what I have to do, I''ll bring her down. That''s what I think. But..." Suddenly, a hint of loneliness entered her voice. "I see you''re not the same."


    "Siesta, I''m..."


    "You were the one thing I believed in, you know." Her longshes were lowered, but I could see the uncertainty in her blue eyes beneath them.


    Her expression looked sad, and vaguely resigned.


    I wanted to tell her <i>No, that''s not what I meant... </i>But I couldn''t get the words out.


    "I''m going home for today." With that, Siesta trudged on ahead. "Siesta..."


    "I''ll see youter."


    My hand reached out after her, but touched nothing but empty air. Siesta returned to the apartment by herself.


    "......But we''re going back to the same ce." I sighed, alone in the sunset. Tonight was shaping up to be pretty ufortable. "Also, quit hiding ande out, Alicia."


    I called to the ace detective who was peeking out from the gap between two buildings. She was still very, very bad at tailing people.


    "Agh, you figured it out? Weird..." Alicia was seriously puzzled about it as we walked along, side by side.


    "Well, you know. That sort of thing happens a lot." Alicia had probably seen Siesta and me arguing, so I told her not to worry about it. "I mean, when you travel together for three years, it''s only natural to wind up fighting once or twice. Actually, it would be weirder not to. You know she and I havepletely different personalities and lifestyles. In fact, it''s pretty impressive that we''vested three whole years. She''s constantly napping, and then she scolds me for waking up cranky. We fight like this basically every day, and... Well, okay, this might actually be the first time it''s been this serious, but, um...oh, what''s the saying? ''What doesn''t kill you makes you stronger.'' Maybe we can take this opportunity to deepen our understanding of each other in multiple ways. Uh, I mean, not that I <i>want </i>to improve our mutual understanding, really, it''s just, like..."


    "Wow, you''re seriously worried about this." Alicia was staring at me like I''d grown another head. "You''ve got anxiety written all over your face. And if you were trying to hide your thoughts, it really didn''t work."


    "...Let''s not talk about this anymore, all right?"


    If I had Alicia looking at me like that, it waspletely hopeless. I''d wipe thest couple of minutes from my memory.


    "Oh,e to think of it..." Instead, I remembered something else and started rummaging in the pocket of my pants.


    "Yaugh."


    "Geez, it''s nothing weird. Here." I handed the object I''d taken out to Alicia.


    "Huh? Is this¡ª It''s the one from back then...?" Alicia carefully examined the ring in the palm of her hand.


    It was the ring with the blue stone that she''d found at that roadside stall that one time, while we were looking for the sapphire eye.


    "Well, you know. It''s not exactly a thank-you present for this, but anyway." I pointed at the patch over my left eye.


    The gift was basically just a toy, so I wasn''t expecting much of a reaction, but...


    "¡ªI''m happy." Alicia closed her eyes, squeezing the ring tightly in front of her chest.


    "...Alicia?"


    Her small body seemed to be trembling slightly. "It''s the first present anyone''s ever given me."


    "Alicia, don''t tell me¡ª Did your memory...?"


    But Alicia shook her head. "I get that feeling, though. I think...before I lost my memory, I must have been a bad kid." Alicia smiled thinly.


    She was ming herself, not her environment; she had looked inside herself for the reason she''d never been given a present.


    When I heard that self-deprecatingment, I almost reached a hand out toward her head...but at thest minute, I thought better of it.


    I wasn''t <i>qualified </i>to do that. So I bantered the way I always did, to camouge it. "You make it sound like you aren''t a bad kid now."


    "¡ªHuh?! I''m an incredibly good kid! I''m chipper and cute and honest and everybody loves me!"


    "You crack me up."


    "Well, don''t!" Alicia pummeled me with both hands, and I let them hit my chest, not even bothering to block them.


    She said she was seventeen. She looked thirteen. Emotionally, she was seven.


    I gazed at that odd ace detective with <i>a certain thought </i>in mind. "...Hey."


    Abruptly, the zero-damage attack stopped, and then a small, thin voice came from the vicinity of my chest.


    "Put the ring on," she coaxed, looking up at me.


    "Me?"


    "Yes, you."


    "On you?"


    "Yes, on me."


    ...I hadn''t foreseen that possibility. As I was scratching my head, trying to figure out what I should do, Alicia set the ring in my free hand, then stood in front of me and held out her hand, with its back facing me.


    "Why your left hand?"


    "If you put it on the wrong finger, I''ll get mad."


    <i>You''ve got to be kidding me. Why is this vaguely like a proposal?</i>


    "...This is just pretend, all right? Pretend."


    But I didn''t have a choice. I knelt, taking Alicia''s slim left hand. "Speak your vows."


    "Why are you being the pastor, too?" "Heh-heh!"


    <i>Don''t give me that cuteugh like this is normal. Geez.</i>


    I cleared my throat a couple of times, then said the vows, or whatever. "Well, uh, so, from here on out, or forever, or something... Looking


    forward to working with you, et cetera."


    What the hell was she making me do? This was like one of those games where if you think about it, you lose.


    "That was pretty sloppy." "Shut up. Don''t get greedy."


    I slipped the ring onto Alicia''s ring finger, and just then¡ª "I said too much back there."


    I heard a very, very familiar voice. When I turned to look, I saw the very familiar girl I''d expected¡ªand she started speaking rapidly, her eyes on the ground.


    "Well, of course I still don''t think my idea was wrong, and I also don''t think it''s okay to deviate from it that easily. But it''s only natural for you to have your own opinions about justice, same as me...and since we are working together as partners, um, sometimes it''s necessary for us topare and adjust our principles... Long story short, what I mean is that it wasn''t


    good for me to try to force you to conform to my own ideas. It was, um, improper, I think, to act like I was disappointed. That said, there really are some things you should reconsider... Um, I''m not trying to rehash the conversation, it''s just..."


    The girl, who was continuing to make a sorry disy of herself in a way that was reminiscent of someone else I knew, finally looked straight ahead, as if she''d made up her mind. I''m sure I don''t have to tell you what she saw.


    Atst, oveing a silence that had seemed likely to go on forever, she grinned and spoke.


    "I hope you''ll be very happy together."


    <i>Ah, so looks </i>can <i>kill</i>, I thought.


    "Kimizuka, thanks for everything you''ve done for me." "Agh, yeah, I''m gonna die, aren''t I?"


    <strong>I don''t understand you</strong>


    "Hey, Siesta. Can you hear me?" "......"


    The time was near midnight, and the room was dark.


    Siesta was in bed, and I was lying on the sofa. I knew she wasn''t asleep; the sheets kept rustling.


    "Can''t you hear me?" I said. "What, did I die and just not notice? Is that what this is?"


    "......"


    ...And so on and so forth.


    It had been three days since that sh, but Siesta''s mood still hadn''t improved. For those three days, we''d actedpletely independently, and we hadn''t talked at all. We''d pursued Hel, aka Jack the Devil¡ªSiesta by herself, and me with Alicia. Apparently she didn''t like the fact that I was still being Alicia''s assistant, either.


    "Are you a kid?" I grumbled, finally starting to get upset.


    "It''s hardly fair of you to insult me like that when you''re in love with a little kid, Kimi."


    ...Geez, finally. Apparently, I wasn''t a ghost after all.


    "I think an assistant who''s been unjustly ignored for three days deserves a little more pity, though."


    "No, I didn''t realize you were there. I just assumed you''d moved to a country that would let you marry thirteen-year-old girls."


    "Don''t give me the silent treatment for three whole days for the sake of a single joke. I thought you''d snapped for real."


    "Well, I did snap for real, though."


    <i>Well, don''t. And don''t just break character out of nowhere, either.</i>


    "Heh-heh. Now that I think back over it, it''s all starting to seem rather funny. Why were you proposing by the side of the road?"


    "It''s rude tough at a proposal. Not that that''s what it was." I''d told her and told her it was just a game.


    Once again, I exined the conversation I''d had with Alicia, and the circumstances.


    "No one had ever given her a present before."


    Alicia had been almost giddy to receive it. And so it had only been a game, and...actually, I wonder what she''d thought it was. For the past three days, the sight of Alicia''s smile as she held her left hand up at every opportunity had kept surfacing in my mind, then vanishing again.


    "Hey, Siesta. You still don''t know anything about Alicia, right?"


    True, we had our hands full with Hel right now, but maybe Siesta had found something.


    "Mm, I haven''t got a clue."


    For the ace detective, that was unusual. Maybe it was because she hadn''t fully thrown herself into the investigation yet.


    "But..." I could hear Siesta sitting up. "You know, Kimi, so that''s fine, isn''t it?"


    "What are you talking about?" I asked from the sofa.


    I closed my eyes, lest we somehow make eye contact even in the darkness. "Mm, I haven''t got a clue." Siesta repeated the exact same line she''d said


    earlier.


    Just then, my phone vibrated. I''d left it on the table, and I sprang up to check the screen.


    "Sorry, Siesta. I''m headed out for a bit." "It''ste. Where are you going?"


    I kicked the door open and said, "My fianc¨¦e''s in trouble."


    <strong>I don''t care if you make fun of me</strong>


    "Alicia!"


    What I saw when I reached my destination was exactly what I''d been afraid of, the worst-case scenario. In a dark alley, under a blinking streetlight, two figuresy on the ground. The one closer to me was Alicia.


    I ran to her. "...! Are you okay?!"


    She was lying facedown. When I helped her sit up, supporting her with my arm, I saw she was bleeding heavily from her right shoulder. However, I didn''t see any other wounds¡ª


    "...¡ªKimi...zuka."


    She was conscious, too. <i>Okay, she''ll live</i>, I thought, and immediately used my cell to call an ambnce.


    "What about...him...?" With a trembling hand, Alicia tried to point at something.


    Right, what about the other person on the ground...? "There''s a gash in the left side of his chest."


    When I moved toward him, Siesta was already performing first aid on the fallen man. She must have followed me here.


    "He''s unconscious, but I don''t think his life is in danger. He''s a police officer."


    I saw a gun and a knife on the ground nearby. Yeah, I guess a police officer would be wearing a knife-proof vest. It must have kept that wound from being lethal.


    "Hey, Assistant?"


    "Alicia''s safe, too. It was probably the work of Hel...Jack the Devil, but for now, no one''s dead. That''s good."


    "Assistant."


    "It looks like the ambnce is here. I''ll ride with Alicia, so... You go home and rest, all right?"


    Relieved by the sound of the approaching siren, I picked up Alicia''s petite body.


    "Assistant. Are you all right with that?" Siesta''s voice was vaguely sad, and for a moment, it stopped me in my tracks.


    However...


    "When we get back, let''s have apple pie. All three of us." That childish wish was the only thing I could say.


    "...Kimizuka?"


    After that, when she woke up in the hospital bed, Alicia rubbed her eyes and noticed my presence.


    "Hey, you''re awake. Does anything hurt?" Alicia shook her head. "Kimizuka, I..." "It''s fine."


    Alicia tried to sit up, but I held her back on the bed.


    "Who''d have thought you''d run into Jack the Devil, huh? From what the doctor says, though, if you rest for a while, you''ll heal up. That''s some constion anyway." I took a chilled apple out of the fridge, set a knife against the peel, and began turning it. "The police should be stopping by soon. You were a victim in this incident, so they''re probably going to ask you lots of things...but I''ll be here, so don''t worry. I''ll make sure nothing ugly happens."


    "Kimizuka."


    "Oh, and it sounds like the police officer who was on the ground with you is going to pull through. For the moment, that fifth victim is still thest one. So you just rest easy for a while, and¡ª"


    "Kimizuka!"


    Alicia grabbed my right arm. A thrill of tension ran through me, but... "You''re down to the core."


    "...Peeling apples is hard."


    I put the slices, which were now very small, on a te. "Aaaaaah."


    "What, you too?!"


    <i>Pretty sure I''ve seen this one before. </i>I speared an apple slice with a toothpick and brought it to Alicia''s lips.


    "Mm, it''s so sweet."


    "It''s great that you''re honest."


    "Did you say I was cute and honest?" "Hang on, I''ll go get you an ear pick."


    "Aren''t you being a little too harsh with somebody who''s injured?" "If you can joke around, you''re doing just fine."


    After that brief back-and-forth, we both cracked up a little. The same sort of conversation as usual. The same smiles.


    "Actually, Kimizuka, how did you find that ce so fast?"


    Slowly, Alicia sat up, and I sat down on the little round stool beside the bed.


    "Oh, I''d tagged you with a transmitter." "Oh, I see."


    "Want some more apple?"


    "Yes. Ah, I''ll eat on my own, though." Alicia picked up one of the remaining apple pieces, put it in her mouth, and... "...Bfft! Wait, did you think you could slip that past me?!"


    "Don''t spit out your food." Using a tissue, I wiped off the substance that had spattered my face. It smelled awful.


    "What transmitter?! That''s scary! Stalker!" Alicia was hugging her shoulders, her eyes teary.


    "No, you''ve got the wrong idea. You know how you always run off? It was a precaution."


    "Seriously, when did you do that?! Where did you put it?!" "Alicia, your underwear is surprisingly loud."


    "You''re awful! Of all the ces I can think of, that''s the very worst one!" Alicia covered her face and flopped over onto her side.


    "That''s why I managed to rescue you today, though." "...That''s not going to get you off the hook."


    "I''m sorry, all right?"


    Alicia pouted, sulking, and I stuck a piece of the small apple between her lips.


    "So, what were you doing? It''s reallyte," I said, gazing absently at the window of the hospital room.


    "...I didn''t want anyone else to go through anything that sad."


    She was probably talking about the fifth victim''s mother. Earlier, Alicia had saved the woman in a way neither Siesta nor I would have been able to.


    "Besides, that''s my job," she added. "...Why are you so determined, Alicia?"


    Why was she so set on bing a detective? It wasn''t as if she was


    obligated to do it, and neither of us was forcing her.


    Besides, Alicia should have been primarily focusing on reiming her memory. And yet she''d prioritized the role of detective that Siesta had assigned to her, not only during this Jack the Devil incident, but even back at the beginning... Even after Siesta had tried to stop her. What on earth was driving her?


    "I...," Alicia said softly. "I was always in a dark room somewhere. It was so, so dark... No light, no sound. Nothing."


    That was... But no, her memory probably hadn''te back. This was just what it had felt like, a subjective impression, and that was why it was the most important factor to her.


    "I didn''t know anything. I was nobody. Every day, all I could do was count down until it ended. It was so boring, so painful. But then..." Alicia went on. "One day, all of a sudden, I could see. Light streamed in, I heard sounds... And then I learned how sweet apples tasted."


    Alicia looked at the warped, peeled fruit on the te and smiled faintly. "So I thought maybe, just maybe, I could live my life over. A single thread


    had been lowered into that bottomless ckness. So I desperately reeled it in. I pulled and pulled... If I reached the end, if I could be someone new... if ''detective'' was the mission I was assigned, then I''d live for that," Alicia told me, her expression fearless. "That''s why."


    She really didn''t look seven, or thirteen. She looked like a woman, noble and beautiful enough to give Siesta a run for her money.


    "...I''m getting a little tired."


    However, thatsted for only a moment. Alicia''s wan smile was as childlike as she usually was.


    "I guess we chatted a bit too much." "Uh-huh... I''m kind of sleepy." "Well, it is the middle of the night."


    Rubbing her eyes, Alicia rustled her way back under the covers. "I''ll stay here until morning, so just rx and sleep."


    "Then..." Alicia slipped her left hand out from under the nkets. That ring was still on her finger. "Hold my hand."


    I tried to see her face as she said that, but unfortunately, she''d solidly blocked my view with herforter.


    "Are you sure? I''ll make fun of you for acting like a kid."


    "...I don''t care if you make fun of me. Just hold it." Her voice was sulky, but somehow persuasive.


    "If those are your orders, ace detective."


    I dimmed the lights, took Alicia''s small left hand¡ªand for just a little while, I slept, too.


    Barely an hourter, I regretted my foolishness.


    By the time the breeze from the window woke me, Alicia had vanished.

 Chapter 37 - 3.6

    <h4>Chapter 37: Chapter 3.6</h4>


    <strong>That''s why I wasn''t qualified to pat that head</strong>


    I ran through the dark streets.


    Fortunately, I knew where she was now. I was headed straight for the location on my phone.


    "Near here, huh?"


    Finally reaching my destination, I looked around. There wasn''t a soul in sight.


    Then I stepped into <i>a certain church </i>with a distinctive, towering steeple. "I can''t see a thing..."


    At this hour, of course, none of the lights were on. I headed into the depths, navigating by the glow of my smartphone.


    Then I entered the sanctuary, where I could sense a faint light. It wasing from the moon, its beams filtering through the stained ss windows and faintly illuminating my surroundings.


    <i>I have to find Alicia, fast</i>, I thought. I took a step forward, and just then¡ª I sensed something.


    It wasn''t close yet¡ªbut that thought didn''tst long. It was on me in an instant. I couldn''t fight when it was this dark. If my opponent had been hiding in here for a while, their eyes would already have adjusted. The enemy had the advantage.


    "Is that what you thought?" I shifted my eye patch to the right. <i>My left eye</i>


    <i>was already used to the dark. </i>Then I aimed my gun at the figure right in front of me.


    "¡ªI surrender."


    Caught off guard by my unexpected counterstrike, my opponent meekly raised both hands.


    "I never thought I''d see the day when I raised the white g to you. I may have gotten a little rusty."


    "Why don''t you just be happy about how much your assistant''s grown¡ª Siesta?"


    We traded verbal jabs, then shrugged at each other.


    I lowered the gun, shifting my eye patch back to its former position. My right eye had pretty much adjusted by now.


    "What were you doing here, Kimi?"


    "I could ask you the same thing. Why are you here?" I''d told her to go back home and sleep.


    "I''m clearing the ce out. I guessed Hel mighte here, so I had them evacuate the children."


    ...Ah, right. The clergymen weren''t the only ones at this church. There were a lot of orphans as well. This was the church that had taken Alicia in.


    "What made you think Hel woulde here?"


    "Hmm? You ask some very odd questions." Siesta tilted her head; her expression was the same as always. "I came here because I wanted to ask you that exact same thing."


    "I have severalints about all of this, but first off, how did you know where I was? Don''t tell me you tagged me with a transmitter or something."


    "You must be joking. I''m not you, all right? It''s instinct, born from long years," Siesta replied lightly. Personally, I found that much scarier than the alternative.


    "Okay, so, next..." "Listen."


    Just as I was getting a new retort ready... "How long do you n to keep postponing it?" Siesta''s blue eyes were gazing at me.


    She wasn''t angry¡ªshe just seemed sad, or maybe resigned.


    If I had to say, it was the same expression she''d worn a few days ago, when we''d fought.


    "You''ve already realized it, too, haven''t you, Kimi?"


    <i>Realized what? </i>I cocked my head, forcing a smile.


    I swear, she never justes out and says it. Or what? Was she secretly trying to get some sort of information out of me by asking leading questions? "Jack the Devil is looking for her lost heart. And she''s <i>only </i>going after


    hearts."


    That''s right. That''s why every victim up through the fifth had had their heart taken out, and why the police officer had very nearly be a victim today.


    "Exactly. That police officer was wounded on the left side of his chest. Without his protective gear, he might have died. He was definitely attacked by Hel. However...in that case, what about her?"


    The moonlight illuminated Siesta. Her blue eyes were still focused on me. "Why was Alicia''s right shoulder wounded? <i>Why did the police officer</i>


    <i>shoot her?</i>"


    Right,e to think of it, I seemed to remember the doctor saying something about how Alicia was bleeding after getting grazed by a bullet.


    But so what? Was that a problem?


    I didn''t get it. I didn''t really understand.


    More important, I needed to find Alicia. I knew she was around here somewhere.


    "Don''t you think he fired that shot in self-defense?" "Siesta, move, okay? I''m..."


    I put a hand on Siesta''s shoulder and pushed her away, advancing across the sanctuary''s red carpet.


    "And didn''t the knife that was on the ground with the gun seem familiar to you?"


    I didn''t know. I knew nothing about that. I hadn''t checked to see whether the knife from the crime scene <i>resembled the knife that had disappeared from our kitchen.</i>


    "Assistant, listen."


    "¡ªNever mind that, we have to find Alicia, fast!"


    I had to hurry and get out of here. I had to go somewhere Siesta''s words


    couldn''t reach me, or else...!


    "I know you knew, too, Kimi."


    The sorrow in her voice was too much for me, and I turned back.


    Behind Siesta, at the back of the inner sanctum, the Virgin Mary was watching me.


    "I mean, the real reason <i>you put a tracker in that ring </i>was¡ª"


    <i>"Stop!"</i>


    My scream echoed pathetically in the vast church.


    <i>Yeah, I know. I know.</i>


    <i> </i>


    I''d realized a long time ago that Hel and Alicia were the same person.


    <strong>Once again, we leave on a journey</strong>


    I''d suspected that Hel, or "Jack the Devil," was actually Alicia, and yet until the very, very end, I''d behaved as though I still had at least a tiny shred of belief in her. Had that been because of her mind control ability, or had I personally wanted to trust her? I didn''t know.


    The only certainty was that Alicia had been our enemy. "...But Siesta."


    Even now, I was trying to struggle against that incontrovertible fact.


    "If Hel and Alicia are the same person, then what about the fake Ms.


    Fuubi? Didn''t you say that was Hel at first?"


    Alicia had been there during that visit. If that fake had been Hel, then Alicia had to be unrted to this after all, and¡ª


    "No, Alicia was Hel; she''d used Cerberus''s ability to transform herself. We should assume that that fake was yet <i>another enemy.</i>"


    "No... You''re saying we''re up against two shapeshifters?"


    "That''s probably the most reasonable theory. <i>That one </i>may even be the more troublesome foe. Such as their <i>boss, </i>for example."


    ...! It couldn''t be. SPES had worse opponents than Hel?


    "Right now, though, <i>Hel </i>takes priority. We have to find her fast, or..." "You mean <i>Alicia!</i>" As Siesta began to turn, I caught her hand. "Not Hel,


    Alicia. She''s... She''s..."


    I knew. I knew, I knew. Logically anyway. But my heart hadn''t caught up.


    I still didn''t want to admit it.


    "During our fight, Hel''s heart was wounded. Immediately afterward, Jack the Devil began stealing human hearts, and right at the same time, an unidentified girl appeared on our doorstep. Listen, Assistant." Siesta turned back to me. "Are you saying all of that is one big coincidence?"


    I let go of her hand.


    "...Did you know the whole time?"


    "No. If I''d realized it sooner, there would have been fewer victims... But I just couldn''t bring myself to suspect her until thest minute."


    It probably had been her ability, then. Siesta never let her personal feelings affect what she did. When we''d looked into Hel''s¡ªinto Alicia''s¡ªeyes, and listened to what she said, we''d be absolutely incapable of doubting her.


    It was mind control. Both Siesta and I had been in the palm of Alicia''s hand the whole time.


    "That can''t be right." The quiet echo of my voice sounded pitiful in the church. "Then what? You''re saying that smile of hers, and her tears, her kindness, every little thing, was just a misunderstanding?"


    What about her scream?


    Those words that had saved the fifth victim''s mother¡ªhad they been a lie, too?


    "No, I think those were genuine." That was some small constion.


    "Alicia''s encouragement really did help her. She told us it was almost as if her own daughter was speaking to her, remember?"


    Yeah. She''d said it with tears on her face. She''d hugged Alicia to her, and


    ¡ª


    "...!" I broke out in goose bumps all over, and a choked noise escaped me. "Back then, Alicia had..."


    <i>The heart of that woman''s daughter inside her chest.</i>


    The mother had embraced the murderer who''d killed her own child as if that murderer were the daughter herself.


    That was just... There was no fixing this.


    We had to find Alicia quickly, quickly. We had to stop her, or else... "I''m sorry. I fail as an ace detective, don''t I?"


    We hadn''t even had to look for her: She came to us voluntarily. Alicia was standing in the door of the church with a sad smile.


    ...But as a matter of fact, we''d known she was going toe here.


    After Hel had lost her heart during that fight, she''d searched for a new one. She''d gone through five hearts, one after another, and had failed to take a sixth one earlier. She had to get a fresh heart as fast as she could¡ªand she''de to the church because she knew that, even at this hour, she would find people here. She''d been targeting the heart of one of the other orphans. One who should have been herpanion.


    "Alicia..."


    She wasing closer and closer, and I couldn''t move.


    Yet I didn''t sense any hostility from her. Siesta and I were standing side by side, and Alicia stopped in front of us.


    "There''s another me inside me, I think." Alicia set her hand over the left side of her chest. "Of the two of us, I''m sure I''m the ''shadow'' side. I think that''s why I don''t have any memories, why I don''t know who I am, and why I was always in the dark."


    Dissociative identity disorder, sometimes known as having multiple personalities.


    It was a type of defensive reaction. When someone went through pain or suffering too great for their mind to bear, they severed those memories and emotions from themselves and integrated them as a different personality, to reduce their physical and mental burden.


    For example, abuse inflicted by parents in childhood resulted in trauma, and in an effort to lessen the emotional damage, the child created another personality. A considerable number of cases like that had been reported, from countries all over the world.


    In this case, we could conjecture that Hel was the main personality, the one who''d existed first. During that battle, she''d sustained major damage; her mind had dissociated from the event, and Alicia''s personality had surfaced. That was why Alicia hadn''t known who she was, and why she''d had hardly any memories.


    "I did keep telling you, remember? I''m really seventeen." Alicia cracked a rather strained-sounding joke.


    "...Yeah, you did. Sorry for not believing you."


    Alicia''s appearance was probably something temporary that Hel had


    created using Cerberus''s ability. The real Alicia was seventeen, and her true form was that red-eyed girl in the military uniform.


    "I think even I''d realized it, really," Alicia murmured suddenly. "I just pretended I hadn''t, the whole time."


    "...Noticed what?"


    "That the other me was killing people while I was unconscious." Alicia clutched at her own chest, squeezing her hand into a fist. "It''s so strange, though. When I was investigating with Kimizuka, I thought maybe the culprit really was someone else. I really, really wanted it to be true."


    In that hospital bed, Alicia had told me about it¡ªhow she''d been in darkness for a long time, and how, all of a sudden, light had streamed in. How beyond it was a new self, and a new role, that she''d tried to hold on to. A swarm of hands had reached out for her from the pit of hell, and Alicia had fled from them as best she could.


    "Alicia, it''s not your fault." I gripped her shoulders. "Even if your hands killed people, <i>you yourself haven''t done anything!</i>"


    I mean, it was true, wasn''t it? Alicia hadn''t done anything bad.


    True, she was a little selfish, and she wasn''t exactly eager to do what she was told, and being with her had given me a lot of trouble¡ªbut she was kind, too. She could share others'' joy. She could have fun with them. She could get angry for their sake and cry for them.


    That wasn''t a misunderstanding or anything like it. No one had <i>made me think it</i>. These were just the impressions I''d built over those few weeks with her. I''d never let this disaster break them! This wasn''t Alicia''s fault. She hadn''t done a thing... Not one thing...


    "Kimizuka, I''m sorry. I guess I was <i>still a bad kid </i>after all." Alicia was crying.


    She bit her lip while round, jewellike tears fell from herrge eyes. "We never needed to go out and hunt for a devil, did we."


    One of those tears fell onto the ring finger of her left hand. "The devil was inside me all along."


    Alicia''s ring cracked audibly.


    The blue jewel shattered, and the transmitter I''d hidden in it flew apart in


    fragments. "Assistant!"


    Siesta shoved me out of the way, and I crashed into the ground. When I hastily looked up, Alicia''s left arm was frozen mid-swing. She was holding a knife, and Siesta had put her arms up, catching it with a cross block.


    She was holding the fruit knife I''d used to peel the apple in her hospital room.


    "Alicia..."


    Her eyes were nk¡ªshe was in a trance. Alicia''s mind wasn''t there anymore. Was this how she''d attacked those five people? ...But even if she could overpower ordinary civilians, she was no match for Siesta.


    "I''m sorry."


    Apologizing quietly, Siesta pinned Alicia to the floor and pushed the muzzle of a Magnum against the back of her skull.


    "Siesta, don''t!" The next thing I knew, I''d shoved her out of the way. "Are you stupid, Kimi?! If we don''t do this here¡ª!"


    "No, you can''t! If you solve this by killing her, Alicia won''t... She won''t...!"


    "Can''t you tell those emotions are going to skew vital decisions?!" "Didn''t you just learn that''s how people are?!"


    Siesta and I each trained our guns on the other''s forehead.


    For both of us, this was our line in the sand. We couldn''tpromise. "Well, well. Infighting?"


    I heard a voice from somewhere. I searched for it but couldn''t locate it... But we''d been through a simr experience a few weeks back.


    "Allow me to reim her."


    In that instant, Alicia''s prone body abruptly vanished. "...! Chameleon!"


    I red into empty space. Even if I couldn''t see him, I knew he had to be there.


    "I''ve had quite a time searching for her, you know. I took my eye off her for one moment, and then she was gone. Not only did she change her shape, but she''d even lost her memory."


    ...So it was true, then. After that first battle, Hel had used Cerberus''s ability to change into this form in order to hide from us. However, she''d taken a lot of damage both mentally and physically, and Alicia''s personality had identally surfaced. She''d been wandering the streets of London¡ª And that must have been when I''d found her, asleep in that cardboard box.


    "It seems she will require full-scale <i>treatment</i>. For now, I will take her back to <i>my abode</i>."


    "¡ªWhere are you going?!"


    "In the ocean approximately seven hundred nautical miles to the northwest, there is an isted ind that serves as our stronghold. What do you say? I believe it is about time, is it not? Once you''ve prepared yourselves, why note for a visit?"


    In a meticulously polite tone, Chameleon issued his deration of war. "Now then. We shall be waiting."


    That was thest thing he said, and then he was truly gone. The only ones left were Siesta and me.


    A hollow, heavy silence fell.


    I''d lost apanion, and the bond I''d spent that time cultivating. I couldn''t even look Siesta in the eye.


    After a few minutes, or maybe half an hour or more... "...¡ª!"


    A sharp pain ran through my back. "...I thought you''d shot me."


    When I twisted around from where I was sitting on the ground, Siesta had just finished whacking me on the back, hard.


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    <i>Yeah, that''s fine. You can call me as many names as you want. But¡ª</i>


    "I''m not apologizing."


    Instead of looking at Siesta, I let my back do the talking.


    "That''s all right. You don''t have to." To my surprise, Siesta sat down on the spot, back to back with me. "You were trying to do what was right, and so was I. So you don''t have to apologize. I won''t either. That''s just fine for us," Siesta said, behind me.


    "...What should we do now?" I asked pathetically. We''d lost everything.


    In response, Siesta said...


    "First, let''s go to the store together."


    She was perfectly calm, speaking to me in the same tone she always used. "Let''s buy the biggest, reddest, roundest apples we can find. Then we''ll


    make a delicious apple pie, and eat it, and brew some truly exceptional tea and drink it together. After that, well...if you insist, we can take a bath together... Although I will be wearing a bath towel, mind you. Then, when nightes, we could order pizza, and drink a toast with c, and watch rented movies all night long. We''ll fall asleep in the middle of one of them, and we''ll both be cranky when we wake up, and we''ll fight over petty things. Then we''ll spend the day the way we always do, and after that¡ª"


    The heat on my back disappeared, and I turned around.


    My partner was standing there, holding out her hand to me to pull me up from the floor.


    "Let''s set off on a journey to save our friend." I took her hand without hesitating.


    Maybe then the three of us could walk together again, one more time.

 Chapter 38 - 4.1

    <h4>Chapter 38: Chapter 4.1</h4>


    <strong>An ark of hope, bound for the end</strong>


    "Then Alicia is probably at thatboratory, or whatever it is?"


    In a small boat that was sailing over a rough ocean, I checked our game n with Siesta again.


    "Yes, that''s right. It sounds as if she''s trying to recover physically there," Siesta answered with a nod, taking a sip of ck tea from her favorite cup.


    The boat had been rocking violently for a while now, but she was elegantly enjoying her teatime and hadn''t spilled a drop. Considering the importance of the mission we were about to tackle, it couldn''t have been easy to act soidback...but that wasmon sense, and the ace detective was anything butmonsensical.


    It had been five days since the tragedy at the church.


    We were on our way to a certain remote ind that was under the effective control of SPES.


    Our goal was clear: subdue Hel and reim Alicia. Problem was, those two were the same person.


    Defeat Hel and rescue Alicia¡ªwas there a way to resolve that contradiction? I didn''t know. However...


    "It''s all right. I have a n," Siesta said calmly, as if to clear away my unease.


    She hadn''t told Charlie and me what the specific maneuver was, but that was how she always worked. Over the past three years, we''d gotten along like that just fine. I was sure that this time would be the same, so¡ª


    "I want you and Charlie to make for theboratory."


    "Me and Charlie, huh...? Well, okay¡ªfor now¡ªbut what are you going to do, Siesta?"


    "I''ll investigate this area. ording to the intel, there''s something like a military maneuver range here."


    Siesta unrolled a piece of paper that seemed to be a faded map.


    Apparently, she''d gotten this information out of Bat, who was back in


    Japan. The guy had originally been our enemy¡ªand of course he still was, but he still lent us a hand at times like this. He''d probably been charmed by the ace detective. Either way, this time, he''dpletely saved our butts.


    "Just wait, Alicia."


    Alicia, or Hel, was somewhere on this ind. Had she finished the treatment Chameleon had mentioned, or was she still unconscious? Either way, we had to find her ASAP.


    "Haaah. I''d rather go with you, Ma''am." Charlie puffed her cheeks out like a little kid.


    We''d had a bit of a scene over this particr problem a little while ago, but I''d thought we''d worked it out...


    "Hmm. I''d worry about leaving my assistant on his own, you see."


    Siesta reasoned with Charlie in a motherly way¡ªbut she didn''t have to directly imply that I wasn''t reliable. Harsh.


    "Ma''am, will you really be all right on your own?" Charlie''s eyes wavered uncertainly. She was probably worried that Hel might havepleted her treatment and regained her strength and personality. As a matter of fact, when we''d first fought Hel in London, she''d very nearly put Siesta''s back against the wall.


    But...


    "It''s fine." Siesta gave Charlie a serene smile. "Hel''s heart probably isn''t functioning right now."


    After being defeated by Siesta, Hel had stolen five people''s hearts as Jack the Devil. Why had she taken so many new hearts in rapid session? Probably because they hadn''t beenpatible with her body.


    That was only to be expected. Organ donations couldn''te from just anyone. This case was special, since Hel was a pseudohuman.


    Right now, Hel was burning through new hearts like batteries, one after another. She''d used up her fifth and had been about to try for a sixth when Siesta and I had found her.


    Meaning that right now, Hel''s body only had that fifth heart, and it was very nearly worn out. If she was that weak, Siesta would be able to beat her. Then, if there was a way to rescue Alicia''s consciousness on its own... No, Siesta must havee up with a n for that already.


    "So this is finally it, hmm?"


    It had been a month since we''d met Hel and Alicia.


    Three years since I''d started fighting SPES.


    This long journey was finally nearing its end. That thought made me stand straighter, whether I wanted to or not.


    "Are you nervous?" Siesta asked as she set down her teacup. "Excited. These are warrior shakes."


    "Oh, you really are trembling." "In a good way, though, all right?" "Pfft!"


    "Charlie, you shut up."


    "Assistant, shall I stroke your head?" "Ma''am, I''m scared..."


    "You''re a serious bootlicker, you know that?"


    Charlie ran up to Siesta''s knees. I''d already seen this happen way too often.


    "You''re sure you''re fine, Kimi?" asked Siesta, tilting her head as she stroked Charlie''s blond hair.


    "Don''t be dumb. I''m not gonna embarrass myself like that."


    There was no way I could act soidback right before we went into the final battle.


    "...Hmph."


    Although there was no telling what she was thinking, Charlie raised her head from Siesta''sp. "I''ll let you have my spot."


    <i>No, you totally don''t need to. Even if you set me up, I can''t¡ª</i>


    "Come on, then." Siesta spread her arms wide, and the corners of her lips rose slightly.


    "...That''s a pretty exaggerated pose for stroking somebody''s head." "I thought I''d take the opportunity to hug you."


    <i>Look, I told you, we''re supposed to be bracing for the battle.</i>


    ...No, maybe that''s why she was doing it: because I was tense. Still, nobody asked for that.


    "Hmm? You aren''ting to me."


    "If you wanna press your boobs against guys, at least have some shame about it."


    "You do use unique expressions. Well, never mind," Siesta said, lowering her arms. "Some other time, then."


    "Specifically, never."


    After that exchange, weughed a little. We were fine the way we were, Siesta and I.


    "Looks like it''s almost time."


    Siesta squinted out over the sea, at the final destination of our three-year journey.


    <strong>With the sound of the engine and the wind in my ears</strong>


    Very soon, we reached the ind''s port (which was practically just the shoreline) and disembarked, unloading our cargo.


    "All right, we''ll be back." "Please do be careful, Ma''am."


    Charlie exchanged a firm handshake with Siesta, and I...caved to Siesta''s wordless pressure and gave a light smack of a high five.


    "See youter."


    Then we threw ourselves into our final mission.


    "The wind feels good," Imented. Even with everything else going on, the sensation was so nice, I had to say something.


    The faint scent of the ocean drifted in the air.


    "So to get to the research facility, we just have to go straight this way, right?" Charlie asked, speaking louder than usual.


    "Yeah, from what I saw of the map, that should do it." I raised my voice a little, too.


    That was because we were currently riding double on a motorcycle toward our destination.


    The bike was big enough that it had only barely fit on the boat, but we''d needed it to execute the maneuver smoothly. This ind was SPES''s den; we couldn''t afford to take our time here.


    "...Actually, shouldn''t this be the other way around?" Charlie, who wasn''t wearing a helmet, shot a nce back at me.


    "What''s the other way around?" "Our positions!" she snapped.


    <i>That''s weird. I''m pretty sure I''m not doing anything wrong.</i>


    "Ordinarily, driving is the guy''s job for these things, isn''t it?!"


    Ah. Apparently she was unhappy about the fact that we were riding double, and I''d left the driving to her.


    "Well, I don''t have a license." "God, you''re pathetic!"


    "You''ve lived in America; it''s not a fairparison." It''s thew. Thews are different, okay?


    "...Also." "Also what?"


    "D-don''t hold on so hard," sheined, darting another look back at me.


    "I mean, it''s scary."


    "Riding double on a motorbike scares you? You''re a guy, aren''t you?" "Hugging your waist just makes me feel very secure."


    "If you wanted to sexually harass me, that was the worst attempt in the history of the world."


    While that pointless conversation was happening, we were racing down a natural trail.


    A wide in rolled away in all directions, with no sign of people anywhere. However, I could see a row of white wind lenses in the distance. The fact that there was an energy supply made it clear that there was human civilization here.


    "Back there," Charlie began without decelerating, "you should have let Ma''am hug you." Sheughed. "If you want to hold on to girls so badly."


    "Moron. You think I could do anything that pathetic?" "You''re currently doing something exactly that pathetic." "It''s more that I don''t care what you think of me, Charlie."


    "I''m gonna throw you off this bike," Charlie retorted. "...Although I''d fall off, too."


    <i>Then maybe don''t keep jerking the handlebars around? Quit it; you are actually going to kill me.</i>


    "You''ll regret it, though. If you''re always so stubborn..." Charlie suddenly admonished me. "Ma''am is all you have, after all."


    <i>Siesta is all I have?</i>


    <i>That''s not true¡ª </i>I tried to argue, but the words wouldn''te out how I wanted.


    <i>If Siesta went away...</i>


    I tried to think about that "if"...then stopped. I didn''t have to consider that particr possibility today, did I?


    Right now, I should just concentrate on the mission we were about to perform.


    "But it''s not like it goes both ways."


    ...And so I tried to evade her words with nonsense like that.


    "Siesta has you, Charlie. And her other allies, of course. It''s not like I''m her one-and-only anything..."


    "No, she doesn''t," Charlie said. Her voice was vaguely mncholy. "You''re all she has, too."


    I didn''t know how to respond to that, so I just listened to the engine and the wind.


    <strong>SPES</strong>


    Before long, we reached theboratory. It was dark inside, and we tried to proceed as quickly and carefully as we could.


    We didn''t have a map of the facility itself, so we had to make our way through it by feel. It wasn''t clear whether Alicia¡ªor Hel¡ªwas here at all; if our search didn''t turn up anything after a while, we''d need to hurry back and rendezvous with Siesta.


    "Nobody''s...here."


    We''d gone down a flight of stairs, and Charlie nced around.


    "Yeah. I figured we''d have to fight two or three battles at the very least." But if we''d managed to get in here this easily... Was it a dead end?


    If so, it was very likely that Siesta had drawn the lucky number. "Kimizuka." Charlie tugged on my cuff. "Over there." She was pointing at


    a freight elevator. When we approached, it seemed to be in working order. "Wanna give it a shot?" Charlie nodded, and we rode it down to the


    basement. When the elevator doors opened, the sight that met us was¡ª


    "...! What is...?" A sea of blood.


    The floor was littered with corpses that had been so badly mutted, I wanted to cover my eyes.


    "Ngh..."


    Even Charlie, who should have been used to scenes like this, pped a hand over her mouth. It was horrible.


    But that didn''t mean we could turn around and leave. A man was standing there, like the king of that mountain of corpses.


    "Are you Cerberus...?"


    The sturdy, middle-aged man wearing a ck robe looked exactly like the Cerberus I''d fought a month ago.


    "...No, that can''t be."


    I''d confirmed it with Siesta several times. Cerberus had been killed, right in front of us¡ªby Hel. In which case...


    "Are you thinking I am Hel, who has inherited Cerberus''s ability and used it to take his shape?" The man had virtually read my mind. "Unfortunately, you are wrong. I am neither Cerberus nor Hel."


    The man''s figure warped, then stabilized in the shape of¡ª "Ha-hah. Remember this one?"


    "...! Bat...!"


    "Hey, yeah. I like that reaction." He was talking like Bat now; with both this form and Cerberus, it was like speaking to the real deal.


    "¡ªThen who are you?!"


    Charlie drew her gun, pointing it at the man.


    That''s what I wanted to know. He could camouge himself as Cerberus and Bat, but who was this guy anyway?


    "Their parent."


    The man was still wearing Bat''s shape, but this time he responded in what was probably his own persona.


    "Parent...? You mean Cerberus''s, or Bat''s?"


    "Both of them." He surveyed the pile of corpses with those clouded emerald eyes.


    "...! Then¡ª No, you can''t mean..."


    The gun in Charlie''s hands wavered slightly.


    This masterful transformation ability. There was no doubt about it: This man was the true identity of the counterfeit Ms. Fuubi who''d visited Siesta, Alicia, and me earlier. And as Siesta had said¡ªthat counterfeit just might be the head of SPES.


    "We run into this thing the one time Siesta''s not here? Man, talk about shitty luck..."


    I guess it was par for the course for me. That''s exactly what my knack for getting dragged into things does. I had tough at myself¡ªor I''d never manage to stop shaking.


    "What, it''s okay for a parent to kill their kids?"


    Taking a cue from Charlie, I pointed my gun at the enemy boss, a few meters away.


    "What are you saying? My status as a parent is what gives me permission to kill my children."


    ...¡ª! This was awful. The guy was as hard to reach as Hel, maybe even worse. Actually, I didn''t want to be talking to him at all.


    "These are all my children. Offspring I bore. Thus, I am free to do as I please with them. Am I wrong?"


    The false Bat cocked his head, as if he really didn''t see the problem in what he was saying.


    "When''d I stumble into the world where men are the main childbearers?" I cracked a joke, buying time as I desperately tried to think of what we should do next¡ª But...


    "Do you intend to ce me in your human categories of male or female?" "What, are you saying you''re a monster instead?"


    "No."


    At that, our greatest enemy, the foe we had to defeat, told us directly what he was.


    "I am <i>a nt</i>."


    At that sudden bombshell, Charlie and I exchanged looks¡ªbut all we saw was bewilderment.


    What the hell was this guy saying?


    A nt? Had he just called himself a nt?


    "Of course, that''s only in rtion to the ssifications with which you are familiar. However, I am neither human nor monster. I am Seed, a nt who flew to this world from the depths of space."


    <i>Whoa, whoa, when did this story go intergctic? A nt from outer space? An invader?</i>


    <i>Gimme a break... What on earth have we been fighting all this time? </i>"...Then you''re saying the other pseudohumans are actually nts, too?" "''Pseudohuman'' is just the name you chose to give them. Both I and they


    have only ever been nts. Here, you''ve seen these before, haven''t you?" The next moment, a long, wriggling, tentacle-like thing sprouted from


    Seed''s right ear, exactly like the one Bat had on the ne three years ago. But now, what I''d thought was a tentacle <i>also looked like the thick root of a nt</i>.


    "¡ªWhat are you people trying to do? Why is SPESmitting terrorist attacks?" Charlie interrogated Seed, careful to keep her gun aimed at his root while she spoke.


    SPES: the secret organization Siesta had been pursuing, all this time. She''d said its name meant "hope" in Latin. But these guys had been sowing nothing but despair. They believed in some screwy book called the "sacred text,"mitted acts of terror, and killed innocent people.


    "Answer us, Seed. Is it world domination? Immortality? A desire for knowledge? It can''t be just the impulse to destroy stuff, can it? Or are you nning to im it''s your mission, the way Hel did? Come on, what exactly are you trying to aplish here? If you''re a nt who came from some other, what do you intend to do here on Earth?"


    <i>Come on, bring it. I just listed all the evil motives I can think of. But I don''t care what answer you give me; I''m going to fire back with sound arguments and bullets. </i>With newfound resolve, I squeezed the grip of my gun even tighter.


    "It''s in order to survive."


    For a moment, that perfectly straightforward answer took the wind out of my sails, and I almost dropped the gun.


    "...To survive?"


    "Yes. We have only one goal."


    There was no telling what he was thinking as Seed used the root that had sprouted from his ear to lop off his own right arm. Still, he kept talking.


    "Surface of the Exploding Seeds¡ª We will cover this world with our seeds."

 Chapter 39 - 4.2

    <h4>Chapter 39: Chapter 4.2</h4>


    <strong>A true fiend</strong>


    "That is the true meaning of SPES, and our real objective."


    As I stood there, stunned, the guy''s right arm began to regenerate from the wound in the blink of an eye, while a new body began to form from the severed arm on the ground. It wasn''t fully human-shaped, but it was rapidly acquiring all the bumps and hollows of a body.


    "It''s like a cutting..."


    "Yes. Exactly." Charlie nodded.


    "Charlie, I can still tell you don''t understand."


    "...Well, I thought I''d lighten the mood. It was getting too serious, you know?"


    <i>Don''t lie. Everybody already knows you''re kinda dumb.</i>


    "A cutting is when you clip a stalk off the parent nt, put it in the ground so it sprouts roots, and grow another nt from it. Basically¡ª"


    "It''s a nt...clone?"


    Exactly. That was what Seed had meant when he''d called himself a parent. All the members of SPES were his clones. Seed was the original pseudohuman.


    That was why he could take on Cerberus''s and Bat''s forms, and why he could use their powers. It was actually the other way around¡ªSeed had shared his abilities with them.


    "I am a nt that reached this world by ident¡ªa ''primordial seed,'' as it were. The most fundamental desire of all living things, nt or animal, is to leave descendants. I create clones from my own body, as I''ve demonstrated,


    then sow them across the''s surface in the hopes that they will find prosperity."


    "...Do you think that makes it okay to kill people who''ve done nothing wrong?"


    "What problem could there be with eliminating an invasive species that obstructs the spread of my seeds?"


    "¡ª<i>You''re </i>the invasive species!" My finger pulled the trigger and fired at the root that had grown from Seed¡ªbut it was a no-go.


    "Even minutes after its birth, its instinct to protect its parent seems to be functioning."


    The newborn pseudohuman from Seed''s severed right arm still looked like a mud doll, but it had unsteadily gotten to its feet and shielded him from the bullet. It crumpled to the ground, as if its strings had been cut.


    "...Doesn''t that make you feel sad at all?" I took in the sight of Seed''srades, whoy around him. He''d said he hoped for the prosperity of his seeds, but what he was doing was the exact opposite.


    "These were necessary sacrifices, to ensure the continued existence of my seeds. Don''t worry; their <i>seeds </i>haven''t been wasted."


    As he spoke, Seed took an object like a small, jet-ck rock from the clone that had just copsed. It was the same as the thing Hel had removed from Cerberus''s chest earlier.


    "A seed...? You mean that rock?"


    If I remembered right, Siesta had said those things were like cores that created pseudohumans. When Seed had called himself "the primordial seed," was that what he''d meant?


    "That''s right. Some of the seeds of our departedrades have been inherited by <i>her.</i>"


    "...! You mean Hel...?"


    That must have been the "treatment" Chameleon had mentioned. So they''d transnted seeds from Hel''srades into her? No wonder we hadn''t passed a single soul on our way here.


    "Where is Hel now?"


    From what I''d heard, Hel''s personality was probably in charge now. In that case, we had to find a way to defeat her and rescue Alicia as quickly as possible.


    "As she isn''t here, there is only one ce where she would conceivably be,


    correct?"


    <i>...! With Siesta?! </i>"Kimizuka! Ma''am is¡ª!" "Yeah, I know. Let''s hurry."


    Then, just as we''d turned to go¡ª


    "Do you imagine escaping will be that simple?"


    I heard a familiar, unpleasantly polite voice from some untraceable location.


    "Chameleon...!"


    The very guy who''d taken Alicia from right under our noses. He was probably using his ability to make himself invisible, but he was definitely in the room with us right now.


    "Ha-ha. It appears as though I''ll be able to entertain myself here as well."


    <i>Here as well? Don''t tell me...</i>


    "Kimizuka!"


    Keeping her gun trained on empty space, Charlie signaled at me with her eyes.


    "Yeah, I know."


    Chameleon was talking as if he''d already fought a battle somewhere¡ª meaning he had to have fought Siesta while she was off on her own mission. But Chameleon was here now, which meant... It couldn''t mean... But would Siesta lose to a guy like him?


    No, wait. Of course. If he''d been with Hel, who was back to her old self, then¡ª


    "Kimizuka, let me handle this." Charlie urged me to go to Siesta. "I''ll hold them here. Hurry¡ª"


    "I would prefer not to be ignored."


    Chameleon''s voice sounded as if it was moving all over the ce. Not only could we not finish him off, but there was no telling when an attack woulde flying at us. It was about ten meters to the door. How was I going to get that far¡ª?


    "You''ve interrupted your parent."


    And then, Seed vanished. "Ghaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    The next thing we heard was Chameleon''s scream.


    For the first time, I got a clear look at him. He had silver hair and rather nd Asian features. Seed had his right hand mped around his neck and was holding him suspended in midair.


    "I was talking just now. Why did you break in?" "...I''m...v-very...sorry..."


    Chameleon barely managed to get the words out. A colored fluid was welling from his mouth.


    "I am only letting you live so you can guard <i>that</i>. Don''t forget yourself," Seed hissed, then mmed Chameleon into the floor.


    He wouldn''t have done it to protect us. He''d only been punishing the guy for disrespecting his parent. However¡ª


    "Seed, why did you give us so much information about SPES?"


    <i>What were you even doing here? Why did you stay after you massacred yourrades in order to keep Hel alive? If you''re SPES''smander-in- chief, wouldn''t you normally be the one to go defeat Siesta?</i>


    In response to those natural questions, Seed said...


    "Because if I side with either of them, the n won''te together." With that enigmatic reply, he blinked out of sight.


    "Of course he can use Chameleon''s abilities too, huh...?"


    Where had he gone, though? I could only hope that it wasn''t wherever Siesta was.


    "Kimizuka, go now." Charlie pointed her gun at Chameleon, who''d copsed on the floor, and urged me to leave.


    "Damn... Dammit...!"


    However, Chameleon shakily got to his feet, clearly in agony. He cloaked himself again and attacked us from all sides. We couldn''t even see his shadow.


    "I''m sick of watching this same move over and over." Charlie fired <i>at empty space</i>.


    "...Ghk! You have fine instincts," I heard Chameleon say. Had that


    random shot grazed him?


    "Instincts? Huh. You tell funny jokes for a reptile," Charlie retorted. Urging me to go with a nce, she squeezed the trigger again. "The stench of your breath makes you obvious."


    If a girl said that to me, I''d never recover. Smiling wryly, I broke into a run, leaving the rest to Charlie, but then¡ª


    "Kimizuka!"


    Something flew through the air, and I caught it in my right hand. When I opened my fingers, it turned out to be a key.


    <i>I already told her I don''t have a license. </i>"Let me ride behind you someday." "...Yeah, I''ll practice."


    <i>And if I crash your beloved bike today...cut a guy some ck, all right?</i>


    <i> </i>


    <strong>If we meet again, away from this ind</strong>


    After that, I hopped on Charlie''s bike and headed for the opposite side of the ind, gunning the engine the whole way. There were no civilians here and no need to obey trafficws, so it didn''t matter if I''d never driven before. I just gripped the handlebars and thought only of getting to Siesta as fast as I possibly could.


    I couldn''t believe Siesta would lose to a guy on Chameleon''s level. But if Hel was with him, fully revived, then just maybe...


    "...Dammit."


    My thoughts went in the worst possible directions.


    But if something happened to Siesta, Charlie and I would be no match for Hel, which meant Alicia''s rescue would fail as well. And that meant Siesta''s safety was top priority¡ª


    "...No, that''s wrong."


    Even if Alicia wasn''t part of this at all, if Siesta was in trouble¡ªI would have gone to help her without hesitating.


    "She''s trained me really well."


    Praying that I''d make it in time, I roared along on Charlie''s beloved bike. "...! Siesta!"


    When I found her, roughly two hours after we''dst seen each other, she was lying facedown on the ground.


    Letting the bike tip over, I ran to my partner. "Siesta! Hey!" I picked up her prone body and rested her on my knees.


    Her small, pale face was covered with sand. As I brushed it off with my fingertips, I called her name over and over.


    "This isn''t funny! You promised you wouldn''t go off and die without telling me! Remember...?!"


    No, this wasn''t gonna work. I needed to calm down, now more than ever.


    Calm down and do what I could, take the steps I needed to save Siesta. "Gimme a break, all right?"


    I rolled up my sleeves,id Siesta back down on the ground, and put my hands against her chest.


    I set my right hand on top of my left one, straightened my elbows, and pushed with all my weight behind it.


    "¡ªFive centimeters."


    Chestpressions don''t work unless you press down that far into the rib cage. Strangely enough, this wasn''t my first time performing CPR. After all, I get dragged into this stuff all the time.


    I was grateful for that coincidence now as I pressed down on Siesta''s chest. She''d been so strong physically, and yet her body was so delicate that it felt like I could break it with far less pressure than this.


    "Don''t you dare¡ªdie...!"


    I kept onpressing Siesta''s chest to a regr rhythm. Ten times, twenty...thirty.


    Next, I had to give her two artificial breaths. I secured her airway, pinched her nose between my fingertips, then took a deep breath.


    "Forgive me."


    Keeping my eyes wide open so I wouldn''t miss, I leaned in toward Siesta''s lips, and just then¡ª


    "I hadn''t considered the possibility that you mighte here." Her blue eyes blinked open.


    "...Heeeeeeeey! You stu¡ª Y-you!" I leaned back so far that my legs gave


    out, and Siesta sat up.


    "Hmm. Who''d have thought you''de to me? That''s a problem. You''ve thrown off my n." While she was busy being confusing, she brushed the sand and dust off her dress. "Was it because your love for me was far more obsessive than I''d thought?"


    "...I don''t really know what''s happening, but I''m going to object to that analysis anyway."


    "And another thing, Kimi¡ªperforming CPR is fine, but you''re generally supposed to make sure the person isn''t breathing naturally first."


    I was still hugging the ground, and Siesta looked down at me coldly. "Wait, your heart was beating the whole time?"


    "Well, no, it wasn''t, but..."


    "So it stopped?!" <i>Then why are you yelling at me?</i>


    "Oh, no, no." Siesta waved a hand from side to side, dismissively. "My heart didn''t stop. I stopped it."


    "You...stopped it?"


    I was really lost now, so forck of anything better to do, I just took the hand she''d held out to me and got to my feet.


    "Well, an enemy who was a bit of a pain picked a fight with me, so I was ying dead."


    "...I''ve been asking you for three years: What the heck are you?"


    I wasn''t even surprised anymore. I was so appalled, my knees were trembling.


    <i>An enemy who was a bit of a pain... Ah, I think I get it. </i>Chameleon must have gotten the impression that he''d killed Siesta, and felt his job was done.


    "Well, ''a pain'' may not be the word. I''m oddly ipatible with that one." Siesta closed one blue eye in a deliberate wink.


    Still, could normal people literally y dead? "What kind of body do you have anyway? Geez."


    Smiling wryly, I was about to retaliate with a karate chop, when¡ª "Huh?"


    ¡ªthe next thing I knew, I was sitting on my butt on the ground. "What''s the matter?" she asked.


    "Uh, I just sort of..."


    Siesta gave me a nk look. And then...


    "Did the relief make your legs give out?" she asked with a little smile.


    "Because I was fine?"


    "¡ª. Quit smirking. Don''t let your lips wriggle like that, either." "May I be frank about what I''m feeling right now?"


    "No. Don''t. Don''t you dare. I''m not listening to anything you say." "I think you''re adorable, Kimi."


    "Aaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaah! I can''t heeeear youuuuu!"


    Dammit, why did I have to take this humiliation? All this after I''d driven here full-tilt on a bike I couldn''t even ride. After I''d actually attempted CPR.


    It was so weird. This was obviously weird...


    "What should I do? Shall I stroke your head after all?" "Absolutely not!"


    "How about a hug?" "No way in hell!"


    "Or to borrow your turn of phrase, ''press my boobs against you.''" "You can''t just <i>do </i>that. I mean it. To me or any guy."


    "Oh, but you already touched my chest a minute ago, didn''t you?" Siesta giggled. "Thirty times, even."


    "Not fair. Siesta, you''re trying to kill me, aren''t you? Socially." "Heh-heh. You really are fun to tease, Kimi. ¡ªIt really was fun." "...Siesta?"


    Suddenly, her smile grew slightly mncholy.


    When I saw her face, I knew everything. I''d been right next to her, watching her profile, for three years. No matter how little I wanted to, I knew what had happened, and what was about to happen.


    "Siesta."


    "What?"


    "Let me take you up on that hug after all, just once." I stood up and turned around.


    A lone girl stood there.


    "If we survive and meet again, away from this ind."

 Chapter 40 - 4.3

    <h4>Chapter 40: Chapter 4.3</h4>


    <strong>Rematch</strong>


    "So. Which one are you?" I asked the girl who''d been standing behind me. "You''d think you could tell by looking at me."


    She had red eyes, and a red military uniform. There were several sabers at her waist. She was obviously the one we''d fought to the death in London, and her name was¡ª


    "Hel..."


    She wasn''t Alicia. The girl who was standing here right now was Hel. The enemy we had to defeat.


    "I think we can assume that the treatment''s beenpleted¡ªusing yourpanions'' lives," Siesta said,ing up to stand beside me. She watched Hel with stern, piercing eyes. She must have heard about that earlier, maybe from Chameleon.


    "Companions? Who would those be?" Hel tilted her head, as if she genuinely didn''t understand what she was hearing.


    I''d seen that expression just a little while ago, when I asked Seed whether he felt guilty about killing his children.


    "Do you seriously not know?"


    Was that the difference between humans and nts? Did these guys give top priority to their seeds'' prosperity?


    "What about Chameleon, then? Even in London, you two were working together..."


    "I only used him because he was a perfect cover," Hel replied casually. "I imagine he thinks the same way. Chameleon has no interest in me as an individual. To him, I''m just a symbol, a red military uniform."


    ...Actually, when Alicia had been the dominant personality in Hel''s body, it had taken Chameleon several weeks to find her. With their sharp ears and noses, Bat and Cerberus might be different. Did these people not view each other as individuals normally?


    "Unlike you people, I have no interest in ying at beingrades." Hel sneered at Siesta and me with her frosty red eyes.


    "...That was a very significant way to put it." Siesta stepped in front of me, facing Hel a few meters away. "What is it that you really want to say?"


    "Oh, nothing. Only that you seemed to have been on very friendly terms with her."


    "Her"... She meant Alicia. That was why Hel had been talking about "ying at beingrades."


    "That''s right. That''s why we''re here to save Alicia." "I know. That''s why you''re going to kill me."


    The next instant, the ground bulged up, and <i>a tangle of thorny vines like bramble canes shot up from it.</i>


    "Meaning I''m allowed to kill you as well, aren''t I?" The bramble whips turned on Siesta and me.


    "What the heck are those?"


    "It means the enemy wasn''t stupid. I''m sure they''ve nted the entire ind with their seeds." Siesta analyzed the situation for me, using a term I''d heard only a short while ago.


    "...Okay. So we have to fight the whole ind, huh?"


    Right now, everything on this ind was preparing to attack us, with their survival instincts in high gear. Quite literally, the seeds had already been sown.


    And yet as she faced down the enemy of the world, the ace detective didn''t even flinch.


    "Actually, this is a very fitting ce for our final battle." "Isn''t it? For yourst moments, I mean."


    Siesta''s musket and Hel''s red sword took aim at each other, forming a straight line.


    "I''ll win. And I promise I''ll make Alicia''s wishe true." "No, you''re going to die here. You can''t save that girl."


    There was a single gunshot, and the sound of a sword slicing through the air.


    With that, their rematch was on.


    <strong>I only wanted to be loved</strong>


    Siesta and Hel''s fierce battle had alreadysted for more than ten minutes.


    When the bramble whips attacked her, Siesta''s musket shot them down with perfect precision¡ªand when Hel capitalized on those openings, holding her saber at waist-level and leaping at her, Siesta swung her musket like a sword to counter it. I hung back, attempting to provide cover fire, but¡ª


    "Assistant, you''re in the way." "Not fair..."


    With the help of her overwhelming experience and instincts, Siesta fought on equal terms¡ªor no, even better¡ªwith an ultimate foe who had thend itself on her side.


    "¡ªGoodness. You''re so desperate, it''s ridiculous." Hel had taken a big leap backward to put some distance between them. She was smiling with a frustration that didn''t match what she''d just said. "So you want to retake my master that badly, do you?" she sneered, then snorted contemptuously.


    More importantly... "...Your master?"


    That phrase tugged at me.


    From what Alicia had told us earlier, she''d been created inside Hel''s brutal personality. Hel was the dominant one, and Alicia was her shadow. But from what Hel had just said¡ª


    "¡ªAre you telling us you took over Alicia''s body?"


    Had Alicia really been the dominant one, and Hel the shadow? Had Hel forcibly flipped their power dynamic?


    "I didn''t take it over." Hel narrowed her red eyes. "I switched ces for her sake." She insisted that it had been a kindness. "This body is a little different from the other SPES officers, you see. Originally, she was a normal human."


    "What...?"


    ording to what I''d just heard at thatb, the members of SPES were all artificial beings who''d been cloned from Seed''s cuttings... No, wait. That was wrong. I knew a pseudohuman <i>who wasn''t like that</i>.


    "Bat..."


    The blond guy I''d met at ten thousand meters, three years ago, was a semi- pseudohuman who''d forcibly attached a SPES ability to his own body. Had Hel¡ªhad Alicia¡ªoriginally been human as well, like him?


    "However, because of that, they were always performing all sorts of experiments on this body."


    Experiments¡ªthe word sent goose bumps prickling across my skin.


    "She was always crying out from the pain and the heat. It sounds as though my master went through some truly torturous experiences. Then one day, when she finally couldn''t take the pain any longer¡ªI was born. My master created me."


    ...So that''s what had happened.


    It was a textbook case of dissociative identity disorder. After long-term emotional and physical agony, when she was unable to take it anymore, she''d created a different personality to reduce the psychological damage. Hel was a shadow personality that Alicia had made for herself.


    "That is how my master and I are connected. Our suffering halved, our sorrow halved as well. That is how we''ve lived so far."


    "In that case, I''ll end both the suffering and the sadness for you right now." A daydream raced across the battlefield; any further conversation was useless. Siestaunched herself off the ground, closing the distance between


    herself and the girl in the military uniform so fast, you could barely see her.


    Determined and resolute, she pointed her gun at her.


    "Oh, I forgot to mention one thing," Hel murmured softly without so much as flinching. "Suffering halved, sorrow halved¡ª And of course, we share pain equally as well."


    The next moment, Hel''s head abruptly fell forward, and then... "...What? Where am I?"


    She looked around nkly; the cruelty in her eyes nowhere to be seen. And then her eyesnded on¡ª


    "Huh? Kimizuka?"


    I was a short distance away, and she spotted me first thing, but she didn''t notice the other individual right in front of her or the gun turned on her. The muzzle fired a shot.


    "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" With a scream, the girl crumpled to the ground. The bullet seemed to have grazed her; dark red blood streamed from her right shoulder.


    "Alicia...!" I shouted. "Kimi...zuka..."


    ...! I''d been right. It really was her. Convinced, I tried to run to her, but¡ª "Don''te over here."


    But the one who''d shot Alicia warned me over her shoulder. "¡ªSiesta, that''s Alicia! We can''t..."


    "I know. That''s why I didn''t aim at anything vital." Siesta kept the gun trained on Alicia.


    "My, my. How kind of you. If you''d shot through her heart or her head, you two would have won."


    In the next instant, briars burst up right under Siesta''s feet. "...!"


    She instantly withdrew, retreating to stand beside me again. A few meters beyond the riot of brambles, the girl in the military uniform unsteadily got to her feet, holding her shoulder.


    "So my master is that important to you."


    The red eyes beneath her service cap had reverted to Hel''s cold ones. There was no doubt about it: Hel was in charge now, and she switched with Alicia''s personality whenever she wanted...!


    "However, I won''t lose to anyone who''s that na?ve. This time, I will carry out my mission as SPES."


    Hel''s red eyes opened wide, and she sprang on us with her sword. At the same time, a horde of brambles attacked us. If we tried to fight, Hel would probably flip back to Alicia. In that case, we wouldn''t be able toy a hand on her¡ª


    "Oh, it really was a lie." Quietly, Siesta murmured.


    It sounded a lot like what she''d said to Bat three years ago, on that hijacked


    airne. That sentence meant shit was about to get real.


    "What are you talking about?" Hel tilted her head, caught by surprise. However, the briars didn''t stop moving. They surrounded Siesta and me... and then withered away.


    A drop of water trickled down my cheek, and I looked up. "Rain?"


    There was a helicopter up there, high in the sky. Was it scattering some sort of liquid...?


    "Weed killer," Siesta said. "It''s a custom-made, super-fast-acting variety.


    Don''t worry; it has no effect on humans." "Always ready for anything, huh...?"


    It had been a counter for that biological weapon, a technique that killed nts and left humans alive. Ms. Fuubi was probably the one in that


    helicopter. "...!"


    Hel, still holding her military sword, attacked on her own, while Siesta swung her musket like a de again.


    "What? What about me is a lie?"


    However, Hel''s hands were trembling slightly around the grip of her saber.


    In response, Siesta said:


    "You have no real interest in SPES, do you." She spoke without mercy.


    "...I''ve told you over and over. I am obeying fate...and acting in ordance with the will of SPES. That''s why I''m¡ª!"


    Her red eyes were wavering. For the first time, Hel seemed genuinely off bnce¡ªand there was no way Siesta was going to let that opportunity slip past her.


    "You said so yourself," Siesta reminded her. Her expression remained steady.


    "You are apletely new being, created by Alicia''s defensive instincts. Meaning there''s no way instincts as a member of SPES could have taken root in you."


    ...! So that was what this was about... If what Hel had told us earlier was true, the one who''d had SPES abilities and instincts to begin with was Alicia. Hel was only an acquired personality Alicia had created in self-defense. By rights, Hel shouldn''t have instincts as SPES.


    "That means you''re just <i>a fake </i>who''s been desperately trying to get close to SPES."


    Hel was staring at the ground, and Siesta verbally cut right through her. "Then...," Hel murmured. When she raised her head, her face was suffused


    with anger. This was the second time I''d seen her this way. "Why would I do that?! What reason do I have to do all this for SPES...?!"


    That''s right; she''d been just as angry back then, too. Siesta must already have realized it, in that instant.


    Once again, the detective spoke to the girl in the military uniform, as if reasoning with her gently.


    "You probably wanted your father to love you."

 Chapter 41 - 4.4

    <h4>Chapter 41: Chapter 4.4</h4>


    <strong>The monster cries</strong>


    "¡ª!"


    "You just wanted love. You wanted someone to see and ept you. That''s all."


    "No!"


    Hel''s pupils had dted; she adjusted her grip on the hilt of her military sword and raised it high. The de closed in on Siesta''s throat¡ªbut Siesta dodged it lightly, and the tip sliced through empty air. Hel''s attacks didn''t seem as spirited as they had earlier. Siesta''s theory had been right on the money.


    "Then why are you so upset?"


    I fired at Hel''s feet to keep her at bay.


    "...!" Hel scowled a little, retreating temporarily.


    "Let me rephrase that. Why did you switch personalities with Alicia back there?" Siesta asked a second question as she kept her gun trained on Hel. "Because you actually hoped I wouldn''t aim at anything vital if you did? ... No. You just wanted to hurt her."


    "...Well, I won''t deny that. After all, I was born just to take on the pain of the dominant personality. Maybe I had some desire for revenge."


    "Yes. Yes, that''s right. You have emotions. You aren''t a nt...and you''re certainly not a monster," Siesta said. "However...you''re still lying."


    "...Lying..."


    "The real reason you''re forcing Alicia to take that pain isn''t a thirst for revenge. It''s jealousy."


    "¡ª! Silence!"


    Hel flew into a rage. By the time I realized what was happening, she''d leveled her sword and locked des with Siesta.


    "You were jealous of Alicia. She''d caused you all that suffering, and yet she''d foundpanions in myself and my assistant. You hated her so, so much...and you envied her."


    "No... No, no!"


    "I''m not wrong. You just wanted to be loved. You wanted friends." "Silence!" Hel''s red eyes glowed.


    "<i>You are going to kill yourself, here and now...!</i>"


    The next moment, Siesta had drawn her handgun from its holster and set it against her own temple.


    Hel had used her ability, that power to interfere with human consciousness and control actions.


    However¡ª


    "Siesta, you''re not going to die."


    When I spoke, Siesta promptly released the gun.


    "Wh-why...?" Hel stared at us, confused, and Siesta exined.


    "It''s simple. I trust my assistant more than anyone else¡ªeven myself." Siesta nced at me, then spoke to the ultimate enemy who dominated the field in front of her. "Even if my mind tries to embrace its own death, if he firmly denies it, then I''ll believe him without a second thought. That''s all it is."


    "...! Then..." Hel''s eyes turned to me. At that¡ª "Assistant, you won''t die, either," Siesta said to me. It was the spell that held our odd partnership together.


    We both trusted each other more than we trusted ourselves. That was all it was.


    Really, that was all.


    This one minor thing, unconsciously cultivated over those three years, made us invincible.


    And that was the one and only way to cancel out the brainwashing inflicted by those red eyes.


    She could say whatever she wanted to try to take control of my mind, but if someone I trusted more spoke to me, I would be free again.


    To me, that "someone" was Siesta¡ªand to Siesta, it was me.


    If you say that''s a deus ex machina development, well, at least call it the power of our bond, all right? It had taken three years to develop, too disgustingly stubborn for us to break even if we wanted to.


    "¡ª! A bond? That''s just¡ª That''s not...!"


    She didn''t want to admit it, but she couldn''t summon the words to deny it, either.


    Hel dropped her sword, holding her head. This was probably the n Siesta hade up with.


    If we were going to save Alicia, of course we couldn''t kill her body. We''d have to remove Hel''s personality¡ªand so Siesta had struck at Hel''s psychological contradiction, trying to destabilize her emotionally.


    "That''s right, Hel. You don''t have to obey that sacred text. You don''t have to kill anyone else. You can have friends without those things. You''ll create bonds, too."


    I could see what Siesta was trying to do. "You don''t have to force yourself to listen to what that Seed guy says..."


    But before I could continue¡ª


    "I can''t afford to lose." Hel retrieved the red-hilted military sword. When she raised her head, her eyes were zing red.


    "Hel, you''re..."


    "I admit it." As Hel turned to face Siesta, she wasn''t wavering the tiniest bit. "I wanted to be loved. I wanted to be needed. I wanted someone to say that my birth had meaning... But nobody would have done it. It isn''t that I wantedpanions, no matter who they were. I just wanted Father to love me. I wanted <i>him </i>to ept me."


    Hel pointed the tip of her de at Siesta.


    "And I''ll live, fight, and destroy the world for it. That is my survival instinct."


    It was somethingpletely unbreakable, an enormous evil¡ªa conviction. "That''s fine."


    The only one who could confront this enemy of the world was the ace detective. With her gun at the ready, Siesta epted the deration of war.


    "We''ve killed the nts. We''ve rendered your red eyes useless. All you


    have left is that sword. Let''s settle this, shall we?" "Getting cocky because this is gun versus de?" "No. It''s because this is me versus you."


    "You''re really irritating."


    "No matter how we met, I''m sure we never would have gotten along." "You''ve got that right. So let''s end it here." Hel lowered her center of


    gravity, poised to draw her sword.


    With lightning speed, she shed at Siesta¡ªand just then... "...! An earthquake...?"


    Out of nowhere, the ground bulged upward; with a roar, it began to crack.


    <i>Did we miss some of the roots? </i>I wondered, and I''d braced myself, when¡ª "Assistant! Look out!" Siesta shoved me hard, sending me flying.


    The next instant, the ground jolted up dramatically. Arge rift opened between me and Siesta¡ª<i>and something emerged from the ground.</i>


    It looked like a huge reptile, and its grotesque coloring seemed familiar. However, it was muchrger than it had been before, a full ten meters long now. As the earth rumbled, it bellowed¡ªand then it spotted its target.


    "Siesta...!"


    The biological weapon had been revived: Betelgeuse. Its eyeless head was turned toward Siesta and Hel. "¡ªOver here, monster...!"


    I squeezed the trigger of my Magnum until I was out of bullets...but Betelgeuse didn''t seem to care. It faced the others, ribbons of drool trickling from its enormous lower jaw.


    "Is it...hungry...?"


    Betelgeuse was a monster that ate human hearts.


    There were two people on the other side¡ªand a hungry monster was bound to prioritize numbers over anything else.


    "Siesta!"


    Beyond the huge monster, I caught a glimpse of a girl with pale silver hair. Immediately afterward, there was a howl like a whale''s moan¡ªand then arge burst of red like a flower.


    In thatst instant, my eyes met the girl''s, and she seemed to be smiling.


    <strong>To the most......person in the world</strong>


    "Bitten by my own hound."


    After the dust cleared, what I saw¡ªwas Betelgeuse''s enormous body. Even after its vicious rampage, it was lying on the ground, with Hel''s foot nted on its head.


    And¡ª "Siesta..."


    My partner was lying on her back. Red blood was dripping from the left side of her chest.


    "They were keeping it isted in theb, but maybe the smell of food drew it here," Helmented, then stabbed her sword into Betelgeuse''s neck. The monster seemed to be dead already.


    "Oh, <i>I want you to stay where you are for a bit. Don''t move.</i>"


    Her red eyes glowed...and I stopped in my tracks. Before I even knew what I was doing, my feet were trying to run toward Siesta.


    "I''ve lost a little too much blood..."


    Keeping me pinned with her ability, Hel walked right in front of me toward Siesta, her steps unsteady. Now that I was paying attention, I saw that the left side of Hel''s chest was also deeply wounded, and dark red blood was streaming down her front.


    "Now then." Hel reached down toward Siesta. "...! Don''t you touch her!"


    I tried to run toward Hel...but my body wouldn''t move. It was like I''d turned to stone. If I wanted to undo the brainwashing from those red eyes, someone I trusted from the bottom of my heart had to be there with me. And she was gone.


    "My heart''s been damaged again, you see. I need to trade it for a new one," Hel murmured.


    Of course. In London, as Jack the Devil, she''d stolen heart after heart. It had been trial and error, a search for the one that would be mostpatible with her body. Now, since Betelgeuse had attacked her heart and damaged it, she was trying to get a new one again¡ªfrom Siesta.


    "...! Stop! If you want a heart, I''ll give you mine! Just not her... Anyone but Siesta!"


    "I told you earlier, remember?" Hel briefly stopped moving and nced at me. "You''re going to be my partner one day. That means you have to take care of your life...doesn''t it?"


    Hel narrowed her red eyes¡ªthen plunged her right arm into Siesta''s bloodied chest.


    "Stop...!"


    But my body wouldn''t move. I couldn''t even blink as I watched the horrible scene y out.


    "I''ll take the ace detective''s heart. Now I''ll be unequaled." Hel drew her right hand out of Siesta''s lifeless body. A pulsing heart rested on her palm.


    "S-Siesta..."


    All I could do was stare in a daze. As I watched, Hel reached into the hole in the left side of her own chest, took out her own heart, and casually crushed it in her hand, then pushed Siesta''s heart against her chest. The heart slipped into her body, as if that was where it had always belonged.


    And it was over.


    In just a few motions, Hel had stolen Siesta''s heart.


    "Finally, I''ve found a heart good enough for me. Now I''m sure Father will...," Hel murmured with satisfaction. She didn''t spare a nce for Siesta''s corpse. She just looked at the sky behind her. A white moon was shining there.


    "Siesta..."


    Numb and drained, I stumbled over the broken ground to Siesta. Hel''s work was done; I''d been released. I tripped several times before I finally reached my partner''s body.


    "Siesta."


    Kneeling, I pulled her bloodied corpse into my arms. Her body was small and thin. I didn''t have to check her breathing to know she was dead. Her eyes were still open. I closed them with the palm of my hand, then wiped away the blood that had spattered her pale face with my fingers.


    "Siesta." I called to her, one more time. There was no answer. Of course there wasn''t. The detective was already dead.


    "...¡ª, ......¡ª!"


    I''d thought I wouldn''t cry. After all, she hadn''t been my lover or my friend. We were only business partners with amon interest. Siesta wasn''t special to me at all.


    And yet no matter how many times I wiped them away, drops of water kept falling onto her face.


    "...I''m sorry."


    With a trembling hand, I stroked her head, cradled in the crook of my arm. As before, Siesta still didn''t answer.


    "Give it back." Instead, I spoke to Hel.


    Gentlyying Siesta''s body back down on the ground, I used what strength


    I had left to stand up.


    "Give it back? Give what back?" Hel turned around, apparently mystified. "That heart belongs to Siesta. You''re going to give it back."


    "That''s out of the question. This is mine now." As Hel spoke, she set her hand over the left side of her chest.


    And something inside me snapped. "Don''t touch Siesta with that filthy hand!"


    The next thing I knew, my feet were moving. Everything in me wanted that thing dead¡ªmy body, my bones, my flesh, my blood. I drew my knife and lunged at Hel.


    "I don''t understand." Knocking my knife aside with the guard of her sword, Hel frowned. "The first time we met, you told me you didn''t trust anyone but yourself."


    I swung my de over and over...but before long, Hel gave me a look of disgust and shed my right arm. The knife fell to the ground. <i>Okay, then¡ª</i>, I thought, clenching my left hand into a fist.


    "...So it''se to this, then. <i>Your fist won''t reach me.</i>" Hel''s red eyes glowed, and my body froze up again. "But now, you''re bleeding out and yet you refuse to rx your fist. As you try to strike me, your bloodshot eyes are even redder than mine. Why?" she asked. "Where is that angering from? Is it because of what you mentioned earlier? That bond?" She wasn''t finished asking.


    "What were you? What were you to her?"


    My raised fist wouldn''t move. Maybe because of the blood I''d lost, my feet weren''t steady, either. Still, I flogged my stalled brain and thought.


    What had I been to Siesta?


    I didn''t need Hel to ask me that. I''d been thinking about it myself, all this


    time.


    How had she seen me?


    But it was toote to know now. The dead won''t tell you a thing. I didn''t know what Siesta had thought of me, and I''d lost all hope of ever finding out.


    <i>Still...</i>


    I thought with my unsteady brain. What if I turned the question around? What had I thought of Siesta?


    That day, we''d met in midair at ten thousand meters, and we''d traveled together for the past three years.


    ...Frankly speaking, I''d been sick of it.


    After all the crap I''d been dragged into before, I''d loved ordinary routine more than anybody, and I''d wanted to stay in that tepid bath forever. But she''d dragged me out of there¡ªand that leap out of the window at the cultural festival had ultimately been a leap into the extraordinary.


    I don''t know how many times I''d prayed to the gods, and to the ace detective, to give me a break.


    Listen, do you have any idea how many times I almost died?


    How many times did I get injured, or pulled into gunfights, or go for three days without food or water, or camp in bear-infested mountains, or chase murderers, or get kidnapped, or locked up, or fight pseudohumans and biological weapons, and get into unfair situations, and after all of it hear my partner say, "Are you stupid, Kimi?"¡ª


    Do you have any idea how many times I smiled?


    Siesta acts cool most of the time, but did you know it''s actually pretty easy to make herugh? She doesn''t like people seeing her be too genuine, so whenever she feels aughing on, she always turns away from me, takes half a minute to get her face back to normal, and then gives me an "Are you stupid, Kimi?" I crack up watching her, and Siesta gets cranky, and that''s the full routine.


    She''s more of a kid than you''d think.


    It''s fine for her to tease other people, but she won''t let anyone tease her. She''s bad at lying. She''s bad at being social, too. She can''t wake up in the


    mornings. She can''t even wake up at noon. She sleeps a lot, eats a lot. When I buy two kinds of cake, she gets mad if I try to pick one first. And then she eats them both. And enjoys the hell out of it. Then, when she sees me watching her andughing because she''spletely unbelievable, she takes her fork, scoops off the bit with the strawberry on it, and holds it out to me.


    That was what Siesta was like.


    You think she was an ace detective who fought the world''s enemies? That wasn''t what she really was.


    Yeah. I only stayed with Siesta because she was fun.


    Yes, I''d had way more than my fill of hardship and pain and bitterness over the past three years.


    But in a thousand unfair cases, I''d smiled ten thousand times. I''d smiled with her.


    "Just what kind of rtionship did Siesta and I have, you ask? How did I feel about her?"


    That''s beenpletely obvious right from the start.


    Strength flowed back into me¡ªor maybe it was an adrenaline rush. My bones creaked; my muscles shook; my blood boiled. I didn''t really care, though. This might just destroy my body, but it didn''t matter. As long as I took out Siesta''s enemy, that would be enough.


    "You broke the mind control..." I saw Hel, her red eyes wide.


    I raised my left arm, which was wet with blood, and yelled out my feelings for my partner, who would never hear them.


    "She''s the most precious person in the world to me!"


    My clenched fist bore down on Hel; her face was right in front of me.


    Just before I made contact¡ª


    "I''m incredibly grateful for that love confession, but are you nning to scar up your beloved''s face?"


    I heard some rather familiar snark.


    <strong>I''lle to see you, one more time</strong>


    For a moment, I didn''t know where the voice hade from. "...Huh?"


    Hel didn''t seem to know, either. She cocked her head, her face expressionless.


    This was extremely weird.


    The mystery voice I''d just heard had been exactly the same as the voice of the person standing in front of me.


    What the hell?


    As my mind jammed with question marks, the girl in the military uniform suddenly dropped the saber she''d been holding. Then she stared at the results of her own action in surprise. It was as if, for the past couple of minutes, another will had been controlling her movements and speech.


    "What... Hmm? ...This...is..."


    Hel''s face spasmed.


    Then, in the next instant, the color of her right eye changed from red to blue.


    "Siesta, is it you?"


    The left half of Hel''s face was astounded. The other half was watching me steadily.


    Now I was sure of it: Siesta was alive, inside Hel!


    "No, that... That''s¡ªridiculous..." Hel''s red left eye red at the blue one right beside it. "You won''t...get away with this... Taking...over my body...


    without...permission..."


    "Be quiet. I''m talking with him right now." The girl squeezed her eyes shut tightly. When she opened them again, both were blue.


    "Siesta, you..."


    "I went and made you cry, didn''t I?" There was no mistake. It was her.


    She was borrowing the body of Hel, her mortal enemy, but the one speaking to me was Siesta. That fact made my knees go weak, and my eyes grew hot again.


    Siesta was still alive. "Siesta, I''m..."


    "Assistant, there''s no time, so listen carefully." But Siesta didn''t bask in the joy of our reunion. She just kept on talking to me. "The thing is, my heart is <i>rather special. </i>For example, by moving my own consciousness into it, I''m able to hold on to my sense of self inside someone else''s body."


    "That''s..."


    Was it simr to the phenomenon of memory transference? There had been cases all over the world of organ transnt recipients inheriting the memories and preferences of their donors.


    Since Hel had stolen Siesta''s heart, Siesta''s memories and awareness had also been partially transnted into Hel. That was how Siesta was borrowing her body to speak¡ª


    "I came up with several different ns, but it really would have been difficult to defeat Hel in the truest sense of the word."


    "...! Siesta, are you saying you¡ª?!"


    "Yes, this was the only way. <i>I had to infiltrate Hel and repress her mind.</i>


    That was the only way to oppose her."


    ...! Meaning that back then, Siesta had intentionally... She''d known she was going to die!


    That wasn''t¡ª That was just ludicrous!


    "I told you, didn''t I? A real ace detective resolves the incident before it urs. I''d known for a long time that things would turn out like this."


    "No... That''s not fair... All along, you..."


    So she''d been able to see our destination right from the start?


    <i>In that case, why... Why?</i>


    "Because if I''d told you, you would have stopped me." Siesta, wearing


    Hel''s form, gave a rather lonely smile. "I have a favor to ask you, Kimi." "...No way."


    "Listen."


    "No."


    "Are you stupid, Kimi? This is no time to be stubborn and you know it," she said, putting out a hand and stroking my head. "I''ll infiltrate this body and keep Hel''s vicious personality in check. If I do, Alicia''s personality should wake up again."


    "...! She will?!"


    "Yes. After all, this body has Cerberus''s ability... You understand what that means, don''t you?"


    ...Ah, I get it. The three heads of Hades'' guard dog. She was saying this body could house up to three people. Alicia and Hel had already been there, and now Siesta had joined them.


    "She may have lost her memory again, but I want you to ask for her help¡ª and someday, I want you to defeat SPES."


    That had been Siesta''s true secret n.


    The one and only stratagem to defeat Hel and let Alicia live.


    "¡ª! But then what happens to you? If Alicia''s personality wakes up, then yours will disappear along with Hel, right?! Don''t you dare... I won''t let you!"


    Sacrifice Siesta to save Alicia? If that was the solution, I didn''t want it! It didn''t matter what form she took. We could even be enemies.


    <i>As long as you, your mind, is still alive somewhere, that''s enough for me.</i>


    <i>So I won''t let you do anything this selfish!</i>


    "I thought you''d say that." Siesta gave another ghost of a smile. "It''s going to be all right, though. Alicia has things I don''t. I''m sure you''ll be able to get along well with her. Remember those two weeks," she told me gently.


    "¡ªI told you, don''t act like this is decided! I haven''t agreed to..." Just then, the ground rocked under my feet.


    Had I lost too much blood? No, that wasn''t it... I smelled something sweet. In one buoyant moment, a euphoric and fuzzy feeling swept over my mind.


    Through dimming eyes, I saw that an enormous flower had bloomed from the corpse of the biological weapon.


    It was pollen.


    The sweet-smelling powder drifted to us on the wind.


    "...Maybe this is fate as well. It''s been three years since then." Siesta gave a troubled smile.


    Three years... Oh. The Miss Hanako incident at the cultural festival, three years ago. This pollen was the drug that had rampaged through my middle school.


    "So it came from a flower from this thing''s body, huh...?"


    I knew what these conditions meant, even though I desperately didn''t want to.


    "No... I don''t want to...forget..."


    The very first side effect of ingesting this pollen was memory trouble. Inhaling this much of it had to carry a substantial risk. I might forget these three years entirely, and all about Siesta, everything¡ª


    "It''s all right."


    Maybe Hel''s body had an immunity to the pollen; Siesta was still standing firm. As I swayed, she let me lean on her shoulder.


    "Well, you may forget a little. What happened here, for example, or the things I''ve told you. Still." She smiled. "You won''t forget me. You won''t abandon your mission. You''ll sigh and whine that it''s not fair, and you''ll keep working with Alicia for me."


    "That''s...not okay... I won''t..."


    By that point I couldn''t even stand, and I sank down right where I was. ck was creeping in at the corners of my vision, and it was getting harder to hear.


    "I''m...your assistant... I won''t...be...anybody else''s...partner..." "...Ha-ha. That''s a nice thing to hear, here at the end."


    I was sitting down. Putting a hand on my shoulder, she smiled softly at me. Was this another side effect of the pollen? Was I hallucinating? Hel was our mortal enemy, but right now, I could only see the partner I''d spent three


    years with.


    "I don''t...want to forget... You''ll... I''ll...always..."


    "I''m telling you, it''s all right. Remember what I said? This whole time, we''ve trusted each other more than we trust ourselves."


    "...So, I should...believe...what you say?" "Exactly. Have I ever been wrong?"


    ...No, she hadn''t. Not once.


    <i>You were always right. Way too right.</i>


    <i>Every once in a while¡ªI wanted you to be wrong.</i>


    But my throat wouldn''t let those words out.


    "The next time you wake up, I''m sure I won''t be there anymore, but..."


    <i>Live. And thrive.</i>


    Was it my imagination? Siesta looked like she was crying. She wouldn''t cry, though.


    Was it because she was in a different body?


    Withrge tears trickling down her cheeks, Siesta grabbed my shoulders and shouted.


    <i>"Listen to me!</i>


    <i>I won''t forget you, Kimi!</i>


    <i>Even if a ruthless enemy hijacks my mind, even if I forget everything else, I''ll remember you!</i>


    <i>It may take a while! A week, maybe!</i>


    <i>Or a month!</i>


    <i>Or a year!</i>


    <i>It may take a long time! Even so, I promise¡ª!</i>


    <i>This body wille to see you, one more time! I swear, I swear it will!"</i>


    <i> </i>


    After I heard all that, I slumped over onto the ground.


    In thest glimpse I caught of Siesta, she was smiling through her tears.

 Chapter 42: Side Siesta

    <h4>Chapter 42: Side Siesta</h4>


    I didn''t have much time left before my consciousness faded outpletely.


    I decided to spend it with my sleeping assistant''s head on my knees, stroking his hair. He was sleeping like a child, with tear tracks on his cheeks.


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    When I poked at his cheek, my index finger met with a springy resistance.


    Honestly, right now, he was more like a baby than a child. "...That''s why I intended to say good-bye on the boat." Because my assistant would cry. Because he''d cry for me.


    To be honest, I hadn''t meant to let him see me at the end. I''d meant for us to part for thest time on the way to the ind... And yet he''d chased me all the way out here. Hadn''t Charlie yelled at him?


    I swear¡ª


    "Kimi, I suspect you like me far too much." I''d made that joke before.


    I parted his bangs with the ball of my thumb. <i>Why does his face look so cute when he''s asleep? </i>An anger I didn''t really understand welled up in me, and Iughed a little.


    "I''m sorry."


    I knew he couldn''t hear me.


    "I''m sorry I ended up dying first." But I had to say it.


    "Actually, there''s one more reason I went with this reckless n."


    <i>It was during that party you held for me in London, to celebrate my recovery. Do you remember what Alicia said? She said she wanted to go to school someday.</i>


    And so I decided to grant that wish.


    "I could have just defeated her. Killing her would have been easy. But then...Alicia said that."


    She wanted to live. She wanted to go to school.


    I''d risked my life for that...and by tasting defeat, I''d won. This way, when Alicia wakes up in this body, I''ll be able to send her to school.


    <i>Huh? Why would I go that far, you ask? Well, I mean¡ª</i>


    "Because a detective''s job is to protect the client''s interests."


    I knew what my assistant would have asked if he''d been awake, so I answered him.


    "The thing is, it looks like that may take a little time."


    If I was going to make it so that Alicia could go to school or lead a normal life, I''d have to stabilize her mind first. Even if it was a different personality that had done the killing, the knowledge that people had died at her hands might be too much for her.


    I''d have to do some internal work and memory correction first, and also create a new identity for her. I''d already put that red-headed policewoman in charge of that. Right now, she was probably on her way to provide Charlie with backup, but it wouldn''t be long before she came to retrieve me and my assistant.


    "I''ve asked her to lie to you, too, but don''t be mad at her, all right?"


    <i>Specifically, she''s supposed to tell you that I defeated Hel and temporarily neutralized the threat of SPES, and that Alicia is safe and has been sent to live in a distant country. Otherwise, you know you''ll do something silly like try to take SPES on by yourself.</i>


    <i>So, until all the preparations are in ce... Even if it''s just for a little while, I want you to go back to your daily routine.</i>


    <i>I want you to live those average, uneventful, peaceful days you longed for.</i>


    "I''m sorry for yanking you around so much over these past three years." I stroked my assistant''s head again, and again, and again. <i>I''m sure this is thest time this will happen.</i>


    "I fought with you constantly, didn''t I?"


    As I thought back, what came to mind was Kimi''s profile as he muttered, "Not fair."


    Had I really been that unfair? Had I given him nothing but trouble? I''d gotten carried away a minute ago and said I suspected he liked me far too much, but had that beenpletely untrue? ...The idea made me a little nervous.


    "Still, I had fun, at least."


    <i>If I said that, would youugh? Or maybe you''d get mad and tell me not to break character... Well, this is thest time, so let me have this, all right?</i>


    <i>The apple pie I ate with you tasted sweeter than when I ate it alone.</i>


    <i>When we lived together in that cheap apartment, it felt almost as if we were a couple, didn''t it?</i>


    <i>The casino was fun, too... Oh, but I''m pretty sure you lost your shirt there.</i>


    <i>Come to think of it, every now and then, you still gaze at that photo of me in the wedding dress, don''t you?</i>


    <i>A few days ago, we drank alcohol for what was probably the first andst time. That did not end well...</i>


    <i>What time should we wake up tomorrow? What should we eat, and where should we go? Will we get a request for a new job? Finding a lost cat or something would be nice and easy. Oh, right: I spotted some good teacups at a shop I walked past a little while ago. I''ll buy them next time, so let''s brew some fancy tea and drink it together. Don''t worry, there''ll be enough time for a cuppa. And then the day after tomorrow, and a week after that, and a month after that¡ª</i>


    <i> </i>


    "I wanted to drink tea with you a month from now, too."


    <i>I wanted to see your profile as you said "Not fair" and sighed.</i>


    <i>And your smile... I don''t think I could ever have seen enough of your smile.</i>


    <i> </i>


    "I didn''t...want to die."


    <i>But my job is to protect. And I''ll protect you.</i>


    <i>That is my mission. After all, an ace detective is someone who protects the client''s interests.</i>


    <i>I promised back then, remember? I said I''d protect you. No matter what kind of trouble finds you, I said I''d protect you with my life.</i>


    <i>So rx and sleep, just like you''re doing now. Stay in your dream; sleep in that way I might have thought was a little bit cute. It''s all right. I''m sure someday, someone will wake you up.</i>


    <i> </i>


    <i>And </i>I know she''ll hold you close<i>, in my ce.</i>


    "I never did give this to you, did I? I''m sorry."


    Finally, I took out the red ribbon¡ªwhich I''d stealthily slipped into Hel''s military uniform during thatst fight¡ªand tied it around my head. <i>I wonder if she''ll still be wearing this a year from now.</i>


    "...That''s right. I''ll have to think of a name, too."


    That would be the final spell that kept Hel''s consciousness sealed. "Hel¡ª The name of a cold queen said to have ruled a country of ice."


    Her new name should be warmer, at least. Something to melt others'' hearts.


    A name that suited that smile of Alicia''s, as dazzling as the summer sun... "Listen, Assistant."


    I called to him, onest time.


    "Remember this. The name of the one who''ll wake you up someday is¡ª Nagisa. Nagisa Natsunagi."

 Chapter 43: 6 years ago, Nagisa

    <h4>Chapter 43: 6 years ago, Nagisa</h4>


    I was on the shore, listening to the ripples.


    <i>Plish, sh</i>¡ªlittle waves surged in, then retreated. My anxiety and pain faded, and my heart grew quiet. Listening to the ocean''s voice here at the waterline was the only thing I looked forward to.


    "What are you doing over there?"


    Out of nowhere, I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me. It was a girl''s voice¡ªcool and clear, but certainly not cold.


    "...Listening to the ocean," I answered, although I''d tensed up a little; I hadn''t expected to run into anyone else here.


    "Just listening? You''re not looking at it?" "Well, I mean, you can''t see it now."


    You really couldn''t; it was nighttime. During the day, the sea shone like emeralds, but the only light at this hour came from the stars, and the water was ck. That''s why I was just enjoying the murmur of the waves.


    "Couldn''t youe during the day, then?"


    I felt the girl sit down beside me. She''d struck me as kind of mature at first, but from the location of her voice, she seemed to be my height. Were we about the same age?


    "I''d like to. They''d notice if I did, though." I kept the conversation going, opening up to her a bit.


    "They''d notice? Who''s ''they''?"


    "...The thing is, I''m sick. I really should be in my hospital room. The bed is hard, and just lying there all the time hurts, so sometimes I sneak out here."


    These moments were my onlyfort, when I could escape for a little while from the painful treatments and endless boredom.


    "Never mind that. Who are you? I don''t think I recognize your voice." It was nice to get to talk with a girl my age, so I asked her a question of my own.


    "They brought me <i>here </i>recently. There was a bit of a situation."


    "...I see." When she said "here," she didn''t mean the hospital. This ce was an orphanage on a certain isted ind. "It''s okay, though. The people


    who live here are all kids like us."


    Kids who were as unlucky as we were. What part of that was "okay"? I knew the answer was "nothing," really; I just couldn''t think of anything better to say.


    "What''s your name?" the girl asked.


    "Number 602. That''s what the adults call me," I told her.


    It wasn''t just me. All the children here were treated that way... But I was sure this girl would get used to it before too long. Someday she''d also be¡ª


    "Nagisa."


    At first, I thought she was talking about the seashore, but no, she meant it as a name.


    "You like the ocean, so that''s what I''ll call you," she said with a quiet smile. Or at least it seemed as if she''d smiled.


    ...And so I echoed her question, sending it back to her. "What''s your name?"


    "I don''t have one. But..." " ''But''?"


    "I do have a code name, I think."


    Then she told me what it was, and I thought I''d never forget it as long as I lived.


    I didn''t want to forget.

 Chapter 44 - 1.1

    <h4>Chapter 44: Chapter 1.1</h4>


    <strong>To see you one more time</strong>


    "The name of the one who''ll wake you up someday is¡ªNagisa. Nagisa Natsunagi."


    That was thest thing Siesta said, and then the screen went dark.


    After the film ended, none of us¡ªme, Natsunagi, Saikawa, or Charlie¡ª could speak right away. Silent moments ticked past, and my mind buzzed with the memories of what I''d just seen, the three years I''d spent traveling with Siesta.


    We''d met on a hijacked airne at ten thousand meters. Then, after an incident at my middle school, I''d set off on a journey with her. Our lives had been one long, dazzling adventure¡ªand finally, our fight with the secret organization SPES had brought us to London, where we''d met a mysterious orphan named Alicia. She''d joined us as a proxy detective. However, Alicia had another personality, although she didn''t know it herself. That shadow personality''s name was Hel, and she was taking innocent lives on the streets of London.


    To save Alicia, we headed for the enemy''s hideout in pursuit of Hel. There we encountered the enemy leader, who told us what the group really was. Then Siesta plunged into her final battle with Hel.


    Yes, I''d finally remembered everything. What had happened on that ind a year ago. Why the detective was already dead.


    The one who''d taken Siesta''s life that day was¡ª "It''s me."


    Natsunagi murmured into the stillness. "Siesta... I''m the one who..." "No." I couldn''t let her finish. Reflexively, I cut her off. "You didn''t do


    anything, Natsunagi. Not personally. So..."


    That was something I''d told Alicia¡ªno, Natsunagi, when she''d used Cerberus''s seed to make herself look like Alicia. It was true, though:


    Natsunagi hadn''t done anything. Even if she''d physicallymitted a crime, the criminal was her other personality, Hel. Natsunagi had nothing to do with the heart-hunting incidents, or with killing Siesta. She hadn''t done a¡ª


    "I''m sorry."


    The lights in the room came up, and for some reason, Natsunagi turned to me and apologized. Her eyes were wet with tears.


    "I''m sorry I took someone so precious away from you, Kimizuka."


    Her fingers approached my face. I thought she might shove them into my mouth, the way she''d done that one time, but instead her slim fingertips wiped my eyes.


    "...Sorry."


    I was the one who''d been crying.


    I thought I''d gotten over most of this stuff, but apparently not. I had to admit it: I still hadn''t managed to shake my lingering attachment to Siesta.


    "So my memories were artificial," Natsunagi said softly, looking down. "Even my ''heart transnt'': I only stole Siesta''s heart. I bet those childhood memories of always being in the hospital were residual memories of my time as SPES''s prisoner. ¡ªAs a person, I was always empty."


    Natsunagi had said those things frequently: She was a fake. She couldn''t be anyone. She couldn''t escape her small birdcage and fly away.


    I''d heard Alicia put herself down that way, too. She''d talked about her amnesia like a dark room without light or sound.


    Now that I''d retrieved that year-old memory, when I looked at Natsunagi, her image and Alicia''s blurred together. The Alicia I''d met in Londonst year had gone on to be Nagisa Natsunagi.


    "Nagisa,e here and sit for a little while."


    Natsunagi''s shoulders were trembling. Saikawa called to her softly, and they sat down on the concrete floor together. As the older one, letting her do theforting wasn''t my finest moment, but right now, I was grateful.


    "You mean your memories were tampered with?" Charlie spoke up next. "Nagisa''s...and yours, Kimizuka." She nced at me. "In Nagisa''s case, we should probably assume they did it to soften the shock to her mind."


    I suspected Fuubi Kase, the redheaded detective, had been the one responsible. She must have done it on Siesta''s orders, to save Natsunagi.


    "And I <i>forgot</i>."


    The fact that I''d met Natsunagi before.


    The reason Siesta was dead.


    What "SPES" actually meant, and the identity of Seed, their leader. That pollen had taken my memories of those few hours on that ind. "But you remembered, didn''t you, Charlie?"


    Charlie and I hade face-to-face with Seedst year at the enemy''s hideout. He''d introduced himself as the parent of all pseudohumans and told us what SPES''s real objective was. He''d imed to be a literal seed who''d flown to this from outer space; he''d said his survival instincts were driving him to subjugate humanity. Then I''d gone to Siesta, but Charlie had stayed back at theb and kept the enemy pinned down. That meant she hadn''t gotten hit with the pollen, which meant she''d kept her memories.


    "Yes. I had no idea you didn''t remember, Kimizuka. After all, we weren''tparing notes on every little thing... Especially since it''s, you know, us." Charlieughed at herself a little.


    When Charlie and I met on that cruise, we hadn''t seen each other in a year. Then, on the deck of that luxury liner, we''d faced off against Chameleon, our sworn enemy. He''d told us he''d killed Siesta, but he was mistaken. Bet he''d never even suspected that Siesta had stopped her own heart.


    "Charlie, I¡ª" Natsunagi stood up suddenly, but...


    "Don''t say anything." Charlie didn''t even look at her. "I know it isn''t your fault. Really, I do. I just...haven''tpletelye to terms yet. Wait a little while."


    "...Okay."


    That made sense; Charlie had only just learned how Siesta had really died. The girl standing next to her had had a hand in the death of the teacher she loved and respected. There was no simple titude she could offer.


    Just what sort of <i>decision </i>were we supposed to make in a situation like this? Once again, heavy silence filled the unfamiliar room.


    "First of all..." After a brief pause, a girl''s clear, carrying voice spoke. "It''s all right, calm down. Your hands squeeze. Your shoulders roll. Your breathing is rhythmic. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, then exhale. Your blood circtes. When you open your eyes, your cloudy vision will be clear." The voice was Saikawa''s, and I''d heard her say those words before. It was her charm for relieving tension. "Once you''ve finished that, why don''t we have some tea?" The smile she gave us was as appealing as you''d expect an


    idol singer''s smile to be.


    "Geez. Seriously, why are you the most mature one here?"


    "Heh-heh! Because I''m far more <i>experienced </i>than you are, Kimizuka... Experienced."


    "Don''t try to suggest something with that. You''re an idol, Saikawa.


    Remember?"


    I swear, this middle schooler... Well, that had probably been better than letting the mood stay heavy. With that thought, I turned to leave¡ªand then, with a jolt, I remembered we were here because we''d been kidnapped.


    "So where''s the kidnapper?"


    I had a bad feeling about this, and I looked back.


    "<i>A tea party</i>, hm? That sounds nice. Do let me join you."


    The next instant, I sensed someone besides the four of us. "Who''s there?!"


    On reflex, I reached for the figure...but the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air. I saw the ceiling, and then¡ª "Ow!"


    My back crashed into the ground. Something like an electric shock raced through me, and my eyes squeezed shut.


    "Next time you attempt to touch this body, I''ll crush every bone in yours."


    <i>Not fair. </i>I slowly opened my eyes, nning to hit the culprit who''d thrown me with a few well-chosen words¡ªthen froze.


    "You''re..."


    The person in front of me was extremely familiar.


    She had pale silver hair. Features as beautiful as a sculpture. And she was wearing...a maid uniform? Her taste in clothing wasn''t quite what I remembered, but her appearance was definitely right. For three years, I''d spent every moment with this girl, whose name was¡ª


    "¡ªSiesta."


    There was no mistake. My former partner was standing right there.


    <strong> Because you said to wear a maid uniform</strong>


    "Please, go on. Order anything you like," said the white-haired girl in the maid uniform. We were all seated around a table.


    The five of us had relocated to a caf¨¦ for our tea party. It was roomy, but I


    didn''t see any other guests. Apparently, she''d reserved the whole ce.


    The person who''d brought us here said, "There''s no need to hold back on my ount. Kimihiko''s paying." She was elegantly sipping tea, a step ahead of the rest of us.


    "Well, you''re wee to hold back on <i>my </i>ount, SIESTA," I retorted at the girl who was sitting in <i>the guest of honor''s seat</i>.


    With that dazzling white hair and those blue eyes, she was undeniably my former partner. But...


    "You really do look just like Ma''am," Charlie murmured as she watched SIESTA drink her tea, then nod approvingly.


    This SIESTA <i>wasn''t the real thing</i>.


    Of course she wasn''t. The detective had been dead for a year. "Charlotte. As I told you, I''m merely <i>a robot</i>."


    She''d exined as much on our way here.


    This SIESTA was <i>a living android who had been created based on Siesta''s body, memories, and abilities</i>.


    "...You''re sure you''re not Siesta?" I asked. She lookedpletely human to me.


    "Yes. Unlike Mistress Siesta, I don''t call you Kimi."


    "I see. Well, you''re right, the real one wouldn''t have pulled a shoulder- throw on me. She would have let me rest my head on herp instead."


    "...I''ve run a database inquiry, and that never actually happened."


    "Hey, if you''re going to turn away, be more subtle about it. If you''re based on Siesta, you should be fonder of me."


    "I am contemptuous of you precisely because I am based on Mistress Siesta."


    "Okay, I want all my tears back."


    This was weird. The somber mood was vanishing like it never existed. "What, did you rehearse this? You sound like an elderly married couple." "Yui, don''tpare them to a married couple. At least make it a veteran


    edy duo."


    Saikawa and Charlie were sitting across from me. For some reason, they were both ring at me. <i>Gimme a break, this isn''t my fault. It''s all the detective''s fault... But this isn''t the time to be saying things like that.</i>


    "Since you kidnapped us, I assume you have some sort of business with us? Or did Siesta tell you to do this before she died?"


    SIESTA was the one who''d kidnapped us and shown us that record of the past. The room where she''d locked us up was part of the hideout where she lived.


    "Yes, Mistress Siesta made various preparations before that day arrived. Finding you was one of them; cing me here as backup was another. She instructed me to tell you the truth."


    "Would that normally take a kidnapping, though?" "I had to. I couldn''t have told you otherwise."


    Then SIESTA turned her eyes to the one person who''d been silent all this time.


    "Nagisa."


    That name was thest thing the detective had left behind.


    Next to me, Nagisa looked up and heard the ace detective''sst words. "Let me say this in Mistress Siesta''s stead: Thank you."


    The mood had been hazy all this time, but those words were like a wind that changed it once again. It felt as if SIESTA had appeared just to say this.


    The rest of us took those words to heart right along with Natsunagi.


    "Thanks to you, Mistress Siesta''s will has not vanished. In addition, preserving your life and sending you to school was her final wish¡ªand her job. Consequently, you have my gratitude. Thank you." SIESTA quietly bowed her head.


    Natsunagi faltered. "I''m..." Her gaze swam and her lips formed soundless sybles.


    We could say the "right" things all day, but there was no guarantee that they''d ease Natsunagi''s mind. Responsibility for the past seemed to weigh on her, and she looked down. Silence descended again.


    "Why don''t we have our tea while we talk? This ce has excellent apple pie," SIESTA said quietly, and I realized that pie and ck tea had appeared on our table.


    "...That takes me back," Natsunagi murmured, putting a small piece of pie crust in her mouth.


    I noticed she was noting the memories, not the vor.


    "...Anyway, SIESTA." I was speaking for all of us as I asked about the


    things we needed to know. "Why did you choose now to get us together and tell us about the past? Why hide the truth for so long?"


    One year. That was how long it had been since Siesta died. If SIESTA''s mission had been to tell us the truth, why hadn''t she made contact sooner?


    "There are several reasons." SIESTA began to exin, holding up fingers as she did so. "First, it took Mistress Siesta a long time to suppress Hel''s vicious personality, which lies dormant in that body, and stabilize Nagisa."


    That was something Siesta had said during ourst conversation¡ªshe''d mentioned that it might take a long time to seal Hel. Natsunagi herself had told me that she''d only recently been well enough to attend school. So it had taken a year to get all of that in ce, huh?


    "Second, I was waiting for the four of you to be on the same page emotionally."


    "Us?"


    "Yes, because that was Mistress Siesta''sst wish."


    Right. That was the message from Siesta that Natsunagi had given me: Natsunagi, Saikawa, Charlie, and I were her legacy.


    "But," Charlie broke in, "why ''the four of us''? Especially Kimizuka... Do we need him?"


    "Hey, Charlie. Why are you acting like that''s a natural question to have?" "It does seem as though she was torn about whether or not to include


    Kimihiko Kimizuka until the very end."


    "Why? I should be first! I was her assistant, remember?"


    "Kimizuka, you''re not going to tell us the events of those three years were all a lie, are you? Are we about to learn you were just her stalker the whole time?" Saikawa asked.


    "Saikawa, you have the best eyes here. What exactly did you see in those memories?"


    It was hopeless. The second the mood eases a bit, these peopleunch intoedy routines.


    "But..." As if she''d read my mind, Natsunagi gave SIESTA an earnest look. "You probably haven''t told us the most important reason yet, have you."


    Why had SIESTA assembled the four of us now? Why had she told us the truth? That''s what Natsunagi was asking.


    SIESTA''s eyes narrowed, and she mentioned someone I''d forgotten about until just now.


    It was the leader of SPES and, most likely, our greatest enemy.


    "Over the past year, Seed hasn''t done anything of note. Recently, though, the situation seems to be changing."


    She was right. Saikawa''s sapphire incident and Chameleon''s attack on the ship were probably cases in point. What had he been trying to do during that year?


    "Stopping him is your job, Nagisa." SIESTA set her cup back in its saucer. "My job..." The heavy role she''d been handed made Natsunagi lower her


    eyes. Usually, she would have thumped her chest, bursting with confidence, and epted. However, now that she''d found out what was in her past...


    "It''s not like she has to do this alone." I gulped down the rest of my tea withouting up for air, then turned to SIESTA. "Saikawa, Charlie, and I all agree that we have to take down SPES. Natsunagi shouldn''t have to feel any more responsible for it."


    Natsunagi might have voluntarily inherited the ace detective''s will, but Saikawa, Charlie, and I were also part of Siesta''s legacy. Defeating SPES was a goal we all had inmon.


    "Yes, that''s true. However, Nagisa''s role in this doesn''tpare to yours, Yui''s, or Charlotte''s. After all..." SIESTA drew a little breath. "Nagisa is <i>the ace detective</i>." As she spoke, she was clearly emphasizing the term.


    "What about it? If you mean it''s a little different from being a regr detective, Natsunagi gets that already."


    Siesta had also called herself the ace detective, but she''d had very little inmon with the normal concept of <i>detective</i>. Generally in a mystery, you''re not going to run into a detective who fights pseudohumans and aliens. Considering everything that had happened so far, Natsunagi had to be well aware of that already.


    "...I see. So Mistress Siesta didn''t even tell you that." SIESTA gave a pensive little nod. "The ace detective isn''t what you think it is, Kimihiko." She spoke as if she''d read my mind. "You''re correct that it isn''t someone who merely solves crimes in the ordinary way. However, when we use the term ''the ace detective,'' it generally means something different¡ª"


    "Wait."


    Just then, the table jolted noisily and Charlie stood up, spilling our tea. "If you say any more, you''ll be in vition of the <i>Federal Charter</i>." She leveled an using re at SIESTA. I had no idea what this Federal Charter was.


    "It doesn''t matter. They''re already involved." SIESTA looked around the table at us, then went on, her face still expressionless.


    "The ace detective is a position. It''s one of the twelve shields that protect the world¡ªthe Tuners."

 Chapter 45 - 1.2

    <h4>Chapter 45: Chapter 1.2</h4>


    <strong>The enemies of the world and the twelve shields</strong>


    "The Tuners... So that''s what this is about..."


    "Huh? You knew about this, too, Kimizuka?" Saikawa asked; she''d noticed my grave expression. "What on earth are the Tuners?"


    "No idea."


    "Don''t act as if you know anything ever again." The young idol was suddenly very cold.


    "This world is under near constant threat."


    Ignoring the witty repartee Saikawa and I had going, SIESTA went on with her exnation.


    "These crises strike regrly, and sometimes several happen at once. In an effort tobat them, an international organization has secretly appointed individuals known as ''Tuners.'' "


    Someone created to face the world''s crises... Now that she mentioned it, I got the feeling Siesta had said something like that once. Something about how she existed to protect the world. About having that sort of DNA.


    "There are twelve Tuners scattered across the globe. They are assigned various missions to handle global crises, and each upies a different position." As she counted, she folded her fingers down, one by one. "Phantom Thief, for example. Oracle. Assassin. I''m told there''s even a Magician and a Vampire."


    " ''Vampire''...?" <i>What kind of job is that? I can''t imagine what sort of work they''d do.</i>


    "Since they serve as a bulwark against threats to the world, many historical perils have been averted." SIESTA went on, exining clearly. "Nuclear war, climate change, pandemics, impact events. In some cases, humanity itself has been the source of the threat. In others, as with SPES, threats havee to this world from elsewhere. Either way, the Tuners have always fought these crises from the shadows."


    "Then without them, the world would have been destroyed and we just never knew?"


    "That''s right. It''s even said that one of the twelve held back <i>the King of Terror </i>who should have attacked in 1999." SIESTA listed a major prophecy by Nostradamus that had once rocked the world to its foundations, as if it was just one possibility among many. "The world line on which we''re living now may actually be a future that was rewritten by the Tuners."


    "Don''t tell me... Are you saying it''s actually possible to change history?" "Dering that what can''t be observed doesn''t exist is the height of


    arrogance. Besides, you know of <i>one such case </i>personally, don''t you, Kimihiko?"


    I searched my memory for something applicable and came up with... "¡ª The sacred text."


    It was the book Hel had told me about a year ago, <i>the one that held a record of the future</i>. Could its author have been someone who actually knew the future?


    ...No, I couldn''t afford to take things that far off topic right now. More importantly, now that I knew about the Tuners, I could put together one thing from what SIESTA had said so far with near certainty.


    "So Siesta was a Tuner, then."


    SIESTA affirmed my guess wordlessly, by taking a sip of tea.


    Siesta had been one of the twelve Tuners who saved the world¡ªand her position had been ace detective. Her mission had been to bring SPES to heel.


    She''d never said a word about it. However ... "..."


    Charlie was biting her lip, and one look at her profile told me it was true. Siesta had talked about fighting the enemies of the world almost as if it was a mission she''d been given, but there had been something muchrger behind it.


    "That said..." While I was still thinking, SIESTA went on. "Last year, when Mistress Siesta died, the seat of ace detective became vacant. Since then, no one has been in charge of subjugating SPES."


    "What are the other Tuners doing? They could take over for her."


    "It''s not like SPES is the only global crisis," Charlie said. "The other eleven Tuners have jobs of their own to do."


    "I see. So SPES isn''t the world''s only enemy..."


    Then even as we spoke, some other threat was heading for the...and someone else was fighting it?


    "Returning to the subject at hand...," SIESTA said, looking at Natsunagi. "If nothing changes, it''s likely that you will be named as the next ace detective."


    "...! I...will?"


    Natsunagi hadn''t been expecting that, and her eyes widened.


    "Nothing''s settled yet, of course. However, you do have the former ace detective''s heart, and you''ve taken up her will. You can also take full advantage of powers ordinary humans don''t have. Many will feel you have what it takes to fill the position."


    I see. So Natsunagi hadn''t just inherited Siesta''s heart and her will. They thought she had the capacity to make the most of her power as well. But...


    "Siesta won''t speak through Natsunagi anymore."


    During that battle with Chameleon on the ship, Siesta had borrowed Natsunagi''s body to appear to me¡ªand then she''d vanished. It hadn''t been a miracle or a deus ex machina development. She''d loved teasing me, and she''d shown me a transient daydream.


    "Yes, I''m aware of that. And so"¡ªSIESTA turned back to Natsunagi¡ª"in Mistress Siesta''s ce, let me ask you, one more time: Nagisa, do you really intend to inherit the ace detective''s will?" She was testing Natsunagi''s resolve.


    "I..." Natsunagi''s voice was trembling.


    "What if...," I cut in. I didn''t have a n or anything. It just seemed too mean to ask Natsunagi to make a decision like this right now. "Let''s say that, someday, Natsunagi takes over as ace detective. What would she have to do first?"


    It didn''t have to be right now. I was simply asking about a hypothetical future.


    "Let''s see...," SIESTA said. She sipped what was left of the tea in her cup, and her eyes scanned the four of us.


    "In that case, I would like you to <i>find the mistake </i>that was hidden in the past I showed you."


    <strong>upation: student, asional assistant</strong>


    The day after that, I was at school, sitting in ss.


    I''dpletely forgotten that summer break sses were a thing.


    This may seem like it''sing out of nowhere, but I''m a regr student before I''m a detective''s assistant, at least as far as society is concerned. The other day, I''d sauntered off on a cruise and gotten kidnapped et cetera on what was supposed to be my break, but...apparently students in theirst year of high school don''t even truly get respite during summer vacation.


    "It''s still only been fifteen minutes?" A nce at the clock on the wall plunged me into despair. This ss had begun in the morning as a "summer extracurricr," and it had been dragging so slowly that I suspected it mightst forever. There was still more than half an hour left before lunch.


    "Guess I''ll just sleep."


    Sleeping is a student''s duty. I''ve heard that sleeping children grow well. Perfect, I was just thinking I''d like to be three centimeters taller. Come to think of it, Siesta slept a lot too. Is that why she grew so well in all those intriguing ces?


    "...Huh?"


    Yikes, was that a shitty thing to think?


    I was tired. That had to be it. After all, way too much had happened yesterday.


    My seat was at the very back of the room, on the hall side. I slumped over my desk, shut my eyes, and got the inside of my head in order.


    Yesterday, SIESTA had told us that the world was protected by twelve Tuners, and that Natsunagi was about to be appointed to one of those positions: ace detective.


    If Natsunagi took that role, the first thing SIESTA said she''d have to do was <i>find the mistake</i>. Then she''d filled us in on the details. ording to her, there had been a certain <i>error </i>in the footage we''d been shown fromst year. If Natsunagi wasn''t sure whether to be the ace detective, she could work on finding that mistake first, and decideter. That was thest thing she''d said before she released us.


    In other words, what I¡ªor Natsunagi¡ªneeded to do now was find some sort of error hidden in the revtions aboutst year.


    "We don''t have any clues, though," I muttered, quietly enough that nobody would hear.


    ...The next thing I knew, the room had gotten kind of noisy. ss had


    ended while I wasn''t paying attention, and it was finally lunch. I just had to get through two more periods in the afternoon, and then today''s extracurricrs would be over. Figuring I''d go grab a convenience store bento the way I always did, I raised my head, and that''s when it happened.


    "Oh."


    I made eye contact with a girl in the corridor¡ªNagisa Natsunagi. She was probably headed to the cafeteria with some friends; she was with three or four other girls who all looked sort of trendy.


    Perfect timing. We needed to discuss our n of action. I stood up, meaning to set up a time to meet after school, but¡ª


    "..."


    She averted her eyes, avoiding me.


    Her friends giggled, whispering something to her. Natsunagi waved her hands and shook her head in emphatic denial, and they all walked off.


    <i>Is this hell? </i>Felt like every eye in the ssroom was on me. I dropped into my chair again and went back to sleep.


    "How long are you nning to nap?!" After ss, a joking voice woke me up.


    My eyes were blurry with sleep. I rubbed them, and a hazy figure came into focus. "Hey, I just resolved two incidents. I was finally settling down."


    I hadn''t been sleeping <i>all </i>that time. True to my status as a trouble ma, I''d just finished clearing up some minor issues my ssmates had brought to me after school.


    "And actually, I''m not talking to you anymore, Natsunagi." I red at her, remembering the way she''d treated me earlier.


    She was sitting sideways at the desk in front of mine, turned to face me. "Look, I''m sorry. Geez, you''ve got bedhead." Natsunagi marched right into my personal space,bing my hair with her fingers.


    "What are you, Siesta?"


    "Only half." In the dim orange light thatnced through the windows, she gave a faint smile.


    The sun was almost down, and the two of us were the only ones left in the ssroom.


    "And? What do you want, Natsunagi?" I smacked her hand away from my head.


    "What do you mean, ''what''? You sent me a signal at lunch, remember?" "And who was it that ignored it and went off somewhere?"


    Nothing hurts worse than knowing the girls at your school are whispering about you, all right?


    "...Well, they teased me." Natsunagi gave me a reproachful look. "They were, you know, asking if you and I were ''together like <i>that</i>.'' "


    "Don''t get embarrassed about that kind of gossip."


    "I didn''t mean it that way." Natsunagi puffed out her cheeks and tugged on my bangs, as if she was trying tomunicate something. Seriously, what?


    "Listen, you sleep too much. Just how many hours do you think I waited?" "Bold words from somebody with red marks on her face."


    "Hey, why didn''t you tell me sooner?!" "And you should wipe off your drool." "I''ll double-kill you!"


    Natsunagi pushed my head down onto my desk. Not fair...


    "...So? What did you need?" she asked again, after she''d finished wiping her face. Her eyes were on the setting sun outside the window. It was almost down.


    "...Right."


    I started to bring up what I''d been nning to talk about... But, for some reason, the words wouldn''te.


    It wasn''t just me. Natsunagi had to know what I wanted to talk about.


    When it came down to it, though, neither of us could broach that subject. "So you''ve got friends, huh?" I made random small talk instead.


    "What a sad thing to say..." Natsunagi gave me a pitying look. "How do you always spend your lunch breaks?"


    "I''ve got an extra special ce, so it''s fine." Although thanks to a certain somebody, I''d ended up identally sleeping through lunch today.


    "A ce where you''re likely to eat lunch alone all the time, Kimizuka? ... Like the bathroom?"


    "Do you get that you''re being seriously insulting right now?"


    I knew she inherited the detective''sst will, but she didn''t have to inherit the part where she constantly makes fun of me, too. With a sigh, I got up. "In that case,e on, I''ll show it to you right now."


    Natsunagi''s mouth dropped open.


    "Huh? You''re taking me to the bathroom? I, um, I don''t think that''s really..."


    "I never said that, and I definitely don''t need you getting bashful about it."


    <strong>A thousand nights, alone together</strong>


    "This way."


    Walking ahead of Natsunagi, I stepped over the DO NOT ENTER barrier and climbed a short flight of stairs. There was a padlocked metal door at the top.


    "Kimizuka, do you have the key?" "No. But there''s no lock I can''t open." "Ooh, aren''t you cool."


    "I''ve been kidnapped and locked up so much that I picked up the skill naturally."


    "I stand corrected. You aren''t cool at all." "There, got it."


    After a few seconds of twisting a special wire around, the lock clicked and came right off. I pushed the door open and stepped through¡ªinto the wind.


    "Wow..." Natsunagi sounded impressed as she followed me out.


    This was my extra special ce: the roof. The sun had set, and stars twinkled in the dark, cloudless sky.


    "What do you think? Even by yourself, this isn''t bad. Lunch tastes extra good when you eat it on the roof." I sat down with my back against the tall fence.


    "You don''t need to be alone, though, do you?" Natsunagi sat down beside me. She sounded a little exasperated. "Why don''t you make some friends?"


    "It''s not that I don''t make friends. More that I can''t." "Congrattions, you found the worst sentence to say aloud." That was a sucky award to have on my record.


    "Well, you could count me, you know. On your ''friends'' counter." Natsunagi stretched her legs straight out, fiddling with the hem of her short skirt. "I mean, we don''t have to be friends, specifically. There are, you know, all sorts of other rtionships..."


    "Like ''underling''?"


    "Let me ask again, just because. Exactly what were you to Siesta, Kimizuka?"


    The conversation wasn''t going in the direction I wanted it to.


    Meanwhile, Natsunagi''s shoulders slumped. "Well, I mean...it''s pretty nice to have a friend you can talk to about anything. Plus, I''m cute." She poked her index fingers into her own cheeks, mugging self-consciously.


    "I''ve never had a friend, so I wouldn''t know."


    "You''re messed up, you know that?" Natsunagi pouted, looking kind of appalled. "It''s amazing you managed to get along with Siesta when you''re like this."


    "...I don''t remember getting along all that well." I thought back over those hectic years. "We fought once every three days."


    "And then you''d apologize first?"


    "Most of the time, yeah. But sometimes I hung in there and ignored her for a week or so."


    "And then?"


    "She started to get incredibly fidgety and restless." "Geez, how cute is Siesta!"


    "Then, when I finally spoke to her, for a second she''d get all relieved, and then..."


    "She''d go back to looking cranky and say, ''Are you stupid, Kimi?'' "


    "Hey, got it in one. Way to go; you could get a Level 1 certification in Siesta Studies."


    We cracked up a little.


    "Still, we fought so much that one time we made up this rule." "So you wouldn''t fight?"


    "Yeah. The day after we fought, we had to go to an amusement park together."


    "Wh-what''s the point...?"


    "You know: Going to an amusement park together when your rtionship''s awkward is pretty hellish."


    "Ohhh, and since you didn''t want that, you figured you''d learn to get by without fighting... And? Did it work?"


    "Yeah. Thanks to that, we got into the habit of riding the teacups once every three days."


    "Thanks for that nonsensical joke. Extremely funny." Natsunagi raised both hands in an exaggerated shrug of boredom, palms up. These American- style jokes are fun. "And actually..." This time, she seemed to be testing me somehow. "You always seem to enjoy talking about Siesta, Kimizuka."


    That remark sounded rather pointed.


    "...Nah. I don''t want to talk about her. At this point, I have absolutely no interest in her."


    "Uh, seriously, it''s way toote for anyone to believe that now." Natsunagi waved a hand dismissively, straight-faced. <i>She''s got to be kidding. That can''t be right.</i>


    "Still."


    Natsunagi looked away.


    "As long as you had Siesta, you didn''t need anything else, did you?"


    She finally brought up the subject we''d both been unconsciously avoiding.


    Her profile looked a little lonely.


    "Don''t worry about it." I spoke carelessly, hoping to keep Natsunagi from saying what she was about to say next. "Before I met her, I was alone anyway."


    That meant it wasn''t Natsunagi''s fault. Nobody thought she''d taken everything. More importantly, I wouldn''t let anybody say a thing like that.


    "You''re nice, Kimizuka." Natsunagi''s voice sounded muffled. Before I knew it, she''d buried her face in her knees. "It''s no good, though. Even when I''m talking to my friends, or you''re trying to encourage me, I just can''t get that sight out of my head. Of me, taking Siesta''s heart¡ª"


    She broke off.


    The roof was deserted except for us. The only sound was the whisper of the night wind.


    Natsunagi''s hands had taken Siesta''s life.


    That was an incontrovertible fact. Even if it had been her other personality that had done it... Even if it had been what Siesta herself had wanted, that wouldn''t ease her feelings of guilt. That was what she thought, at least.


    "Besides, it wasn''t just Siesta. Those other people in London werepletely innocent, and I¡ª"


    That was another heavy curse that would bind her guilt to her permanently. No matter who tried to encourage her or what they said, she would never forgive herself.


    Under the circumstances, there was only one thing I could do. "Grumpy gills."


    I ran my index finger down Natsunagi''s sailor-suited back.


    "Yeek!" Natsunagi gave a cute little shriek that I had never heard from her before, then hastily pped a hand over her mouth. "Wha, what, wha-wha- wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha!" Her face went so red I could tell even in the darkness. She red at me, her lips trembling.


    "Haaah. Listen, Natsunagi." "I''m not done being mad yet!"


    "Huh? Wasn''t this one of your fetishes?" "D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-double-kill!" "There we go. That sounds like you."


    "Don''t use people''s catchphrases to gauge how they''re feeling!" Natsunagi pummeled my side. She really was feeling better.


    "A long time ago..." As I spoke, I was thinking about those memories fromst year. "Ages back, when I lost all hope and just curled up in a corner...Siesta encouraged me."


    "You mean..." Natsunagi stopped hitting me.


    <i>Yeah, you know about it too. </i>It was back when Chameleon had taken Alicia


    ¡ªin other words, Natsunagi¡ªto SPES''s hideout. I''dpletely given up, but Siesta had thumped me on the back and shown me what I needed to do again.


    "So I''ll thump you on the back or hold your hand whenever you need it, too."


    "...Except what you did was run a finger down my back."


    ...Well, it''s basically the same thing. Pretty much.


    "For now, you can be discouraged as long as you want." I moved away from the fence, theny down on my back, right there on the roof. All I could see was the starry sky. "You can order a bunch of takeout and stress eat, or watch sad movies and cry all your tears out at once. You can curse how unfair the world always is and scream a string of obscenities, or if you''re the type who blows off stress with karaoke, I''ll keep youpany till the sunes up. If none of that is enough to make you stop feeling guilty, then at least let me take half of it. It''s not like you''re the only one to me here. I couldn''t save Siesta either. So at least...let me carry some of that pain for you."


    "Kimizuka..."


    Natsunagi looked down at me, almost dazed.


    ...Hm. Had I made myself look too cool? In that case...


    "Well, you know. If I say this, it feels like I''m going to kinda screw myself here, but..." I hesitated, then finally made up my mind and told her. "I''m used to being abused by girls."


    That meant carrying Natsunagi''s pain for her was nothing. "...Pfft!"


    She burst outughing.


    "Ha-ha! Aaah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" "¡ªIt wasn''t <i>that </i>funny!"


    "Seriously, what?! Why did you start confessing your fetishes all of a sudden?"


    "...! Look, I was trying! To cheer you up! All right?!"


    <i>Rgh, why did it turn out like this? Not fair...</i>


    "So you cheered me up by confessing that you''re a masochist... Wow, that''s not good. You''re in even worse shape than I thought, Kimizuka."


    "Wha...! Quit! No moreughing! And you''re no different!"


    "Noooo, I don''t think that word means quite the same thing for you as it does for me."


    "¡ª! Haaah, I shouldn''t have said it... No, okay, that was a lie. I was just going for augh, to cheer you up; that''s not actually a thing for me..." I sat up, stumbling through a denial, but then¡ª


    "I swear, that''s so stupid."


    With a thump, Natsunagi buried her face in my chest. "Really, really stupid."


    Sheughed as she said it...and the next thing I knew, she was crying.


    She bit her lip, careful not to let any sobs escape, but my shirt was damp with tears.


    "Which of us is?"


    I knew even as I said it, though.


    Whether she was mad, or happy, orughing, or crying, she always did it with all her might. That was Nagisa Natsunagi''s true essence. Her passion.


    "You toughed it out really well." Gazing at the distant stars, I stroked her head.


    Natsunagi had the red ribbon Siesta had left to her in her hair. "...¡ª, ...¡ª!"


    On the roof that night, a torrent of passionate rain fell. Even so, the stars were infuriatingly pretty.

 Chapter 46 - 1.3

    <h4>Chapter 46: Chapter 1.3</h4>


    <strong>I swear to God, I didn''t...</strong>


    After that, we went back inside and walked through the shadowy building, lighting our way with our smartphones.


    The school was totally dark; at this hour, the trek was like some sort of test of courage.


    "All right. Now that you''ve stopped crying, Kimizuka, we''ll have to think about what to do next." Natsunagi, who was walking next to me, smacked her own cheeks sharply.


    "You are such a liar. My shirt is all soggy with your tears and your snot." On the roof, Natsunagi had cried on my chest for fifteen minutes or so. My school uniform had been nobly sacrificed in the service of helping her feel better.


    "Ngh... You said you''d take half of it!"


    "Now that I''ve calmed down, that''s way too embarrassing, so please quit." "¡ªMay I have half of your life?"


    "I swear on all that''s good and holy that I didn''t say that!" <i>Also, her impression sounds nothing like me. Geez. The minute she feels better, she starts in with this.</i>


    "You gave me a ring, too, though."


    "...That happened a year ago. Doesn''t count."


    That said, I''d held hands with Natsunagi like this when she was Alicia, too...


    "...Wh-why exactly did you just take my hand like it was natural?"


    <i>Now who''s on the defensive? </i>Natsunagi sounded a little flustered. Ordinarily she''s a total sadist with me, but even she''s weak to surprise attacks.


    "Just so you know, Natsunagi. Nobody in this world is more scared of ghosts than I am."


    "Um, I don''t think that''s the sort of thing you can brag about."


    "Besides, remember what I said on the roof? That I''d hold your hand whenever?"


    "That''s the most pathetic use of foreshadowing I''ve ever seen. And I''m getting d¨¦j¨¤ vu about this, too...," Natsunagi added quietly. Come to think of it, back when I''d only just met Siesta, we''d had a simr conversation in that haunted house at the cultural festival.


    "Actually, Kimizuka, your palms are really sweaty."


    "? I''m the type who stops sweating entirely when I''m scared." "..."


    "So, Natsunagi, why are <i>your </i>palms sweaty?" "...I hate you, Kimizuka."


    High school girls are hriously cute when they dig their own graves. "Listen... About the <i>finding the mistake </i>business SIESTA mentioned."


    Natsunagi seemed to have gotten her emotions figured out a little now; she brought up that topic herself. If she was going to take over as ace detective, she''d have to find the error in those memories we''d been shown.


    "Do you have any ideas, Kimizuka?" "No, nothing. Except..."


    "Except what?"


    I decided to tell Natsunagi about the one thing that had been tugging at me. "She went out of her way, over a full year, to tell us what really happened back then. Why would she put a <i>mistake </i>in that?"


    "...You mean this wasn''t something Siesta did intentionally?"


    Exactly. In life, Siesta had believed that version of the past was correct, and she had presented it to us as the truth. If there was an error in there anyway, that meant¡ª


    "Before she died, Siesta messed up."


    That was the only thing I could think of. There had been another secret behind that incidentst year. SIESTA was trying to get us to find it.


    "But would she really have made a mistake like that? Siesta, of all people..." Natsunagi frowned skeptically.


    I could understand why she''d be dubious. I''d spent three years with the ace detective, and I''d never seen her make any serious mistakes. Siesta was always right about literally everything. What could she have gotten wrong?


    "So there are things even you don''t know about Siesta, Kimizuka." Natsunagi tilted her head, as if it struck her as odd. "I just assumed you knew everything, right down to her bust-waist-hip measurements."


    "Oh, I do know those. Of course." We''d lived together for three years. It would have been weirder if I didn''t.


    "...No, there''s just no way. Opportunities to find those out don''te along often."


    "Really? But if you touch somebody, you get a general idea of...... Forget I said that."


    Natsunagi had cautiously shaken my hand off, so I hastily corrected myself. Just to be clear, I didn''t mean "touch" so much as...you know, "connect with" by ident. It was unavoidable. Right, that softness was unavoidable.


    Setting that aside.


    "If there was some sort of mistake in those memories, wouldn''t it be faster to talk to people who were involved?" I suggested.


    "Maybe so. From what SIESTA was saying, we can limit ourselves to the incidentst year, right?"


    "Yeah. The stuff I''d like to consign to oblivion at that cultural festival doesn''t count."


    <i>Or rather, I don''t want to dredge it up. Which is why we''re going to go grill some relevant parties in that whole chain of incidents in London and the SPES hideout.</i>


    "So, the people at the center of that are you, Siesta...and me. Right?" "Yeah. On the flip side, while it would be great if there was someone


    besides us that we could talk to, I dunno..."


    The first person who came to mind was Charlie. She''d been with us when we invaded SPES''s hideout. She hadn''t mentioned anything when the topic


    of finding the mistake first came up, though, which probably meant it hadn''t rung any bells for her.


    "Um, then, what about...the enemy leader?"


    "Seed, huh? He does seem like he''d know all our cards as well as his, but we don''t even know where he is right now."


    Still, she had a point. Our allies weren''t the only ones who could help us out here.


    "But as far as other enemies go..."


    Cerberus and Chameleon had both been involved in that incident, but they were already dead. There was one more left, though. <i>The most important person.</i>


    "Hel."


    When I said the name, Natsunagi''s eyes widened slightly. "But didn''t Siesta seal her inside me?"


    "Yeah. Sealed. It''s not like she''s gone."


    "So we''re going to summon her? But Siesta shut her away, so..."


    "One year," I reminded her. "Siesta¡ª<i>the </i>Siesta¡ªspent a year persuading her. I''m sure it''ll be fine."


    Besides, if this was a really bad move, Siesta would stop Natsunagi, even if it meant kicking up a fuss inside her. If she wasn''t doing that, then it couldn''t be a terrible idea. The problem was¡ª


    "How are we going to summon Hel?"


    Last time Siesta surfaced in Natsunagi''s body, she''d done it because I was in deep trouble, but...


    "If we go back up to the roof and I push you off, just maybe, in the nick of time..."


    "There is no nick of time. I''ll be one hundred percent dead."


    <i>Don''t put your fingertip to your chin and look all serious, as if you''re thinking </i>Would it work...? <i>Your assistant''s life deserves more care, doesn''t it?</i>


    "Besides, even if I was in danger, Hel wouldn''te save me." Then what should we do?


    Natsunagi and I kept on thinking anding up empty, and then... "I overheard."


    "...!"


    Out of nowhere, someone interrupted and stepped in front of us,


    illuminating her face with a shlight. "If you''d like to summon Hel, leave it to me."


    There in the darkness, the pale-faced SIESTA was standing there like a ghost.


    "Nagisa, would you help me? Kimihiko''s in a crisis."


    "I have never seen anyone''s legs give out that dramatically before, ever."


    <strong> The great evil returns</strong>


    Fifteen minutester, the three of us were in an apartment.


    Specifically my apartment. I was currently living on the money I''d stashed away while working as Siesta''s assistant.


    "A guy''s apartment..." Natsunagi was looking around the room. For some reason, she seemed fidgety. "Now that he has brought me into his home, oughtn''t I make him take responsibility?"


    "Natsunagi, I can hear your weirdly stilted-sounding thoughts from here." Although it did look like she''d cheered up a bit, so maybe I should call this a win. "And? Why are we at my house?" I asked SIESTA, who was walking all over my ce as if there was nothing wrong with that.


    "Because if we are going to make a lot of noise, this was the closest location where we could get away with it."


    "Myndlord hasn''t said a word about noise being okay."


    <i>The way she just keeps going without listening to people is apparently something she inherited from the original Siesta... Still, right now, more importantly...</i>


    "Is the detective supposed to get help from the client?"


    We were taking her up on her offer to summon Hel, but SIESTA was the one who''d made this request in the first ce. Was it okay for us to just take her help like that?


    "You really are stupid, aren''t you, Kimihiko." SIESTA nced at me. "I''m sure Mistress Siesta would have said she''d do anything, provided it was to protect the client''s interests."


    <i>...I see. She wouldn''t hesitate to borrow the client''s help if it meant fulfilling their wish, huh?</i>


    "Well? Can you actually summon Hel?"


    "Yes, of course," SIESTA said casually. "However, there are a few things I''ll need. Let''s see... First, is there a mirror in this apartment?"


    "A mirror? I''ve got a full-length mirror, but..."


    Although I didn''t know what she was nning to use it for, I hauled out the one I kept in my bedroom closet.


    "That''s a very big full-length mirror."


    "Yeah, I bought it so I''d be able to see the results of my daily strength training."


    "Hm. You seem to have shut it in the closet, though." "Anyway, what are you going to use this for?"


    "You redirected the conversation without giving me the slightest opportunity toment."


    I had no idea what she was talking about. I was just thinking of picking my strength training routine back up, starting today. Seriously, cross my heart.


    "We''re going to summon Hel into this mirror." What SIESTA said waspletely crazy.


    "Why so dubious?"


    "Well, if you''re going to bring up ult stuff out of nowhere..." "I think the scale is more modest than giant robots and aliens."


    "Yeah, but I''m more likely to believe in sci-fi than fantasy." <i>Does the ult count as fantasy?</i>


    "Conversely, then, does that mean you believe what you see?" Siesta detached an object from her waist and held it out to us.


    "A hand mirror?" Natsunagi looked at it, tilting her head.


    It did look like an ordinary round hand mirror, but it was probably... "One of Siesta''s Seven Tools, hm?"


    She''d had seven secret tools that she''d used to solve cases, way back when. There was the musket she always carried on her back and the shoes that let her move as though gravity didn''t exist. Had SIESTA inherited those, too?


    "This hand mirror can capture whatever is reflected in it, like a camera. I''ll retrieve that recording now," she said, and various scenes surfaced and vanished in the mirror, one after another. SIESTA had said "camera," but it seemed to be more like a video camera. It held footage of Siesta and me during our travels. The memories we''d been shown in the kidnapper''sir


    must have been edited from some of this.


    The images in the mirror zipped through in fast-forward, finally stopping on one particr scene.


    "That''s...London..."


    The mirror showed Hel. Her red eyes were wide with shock. When we''d first fought her in London, Siesta had used this mirror to take advantage of the brainwashing effect in Hel''s eyes. That was how we''d won.


    "This is me too, isn''t it?" Natsunagi murmured softly, watching the mirror. This was Hel, Natsunagi''s other form. I''d met herst year, naturally. Natsunagi wore her hair differently now, and everything else¡ªthe military cap and uniform, the way she spoke, her general vibe¡ªhad changed. As I looked from one to the other, the only thing that seemed the same was the


    color of their eyes.


    "I''ll have to admit it, though." Natsunagi gazed at the mirror, confronting the reality of her other self. "All right, SIESTA. How can I meet this other me?"


    "No, that''s really not gonna¡ª" I broke in. You can''t let a tiger out of a painting, and you can''t show a doppelganger in a mirror. However, with no hesitation, SIESTA said...


    "An infinity mirror."


    She went on. "Haven''t you ever heard the urban legends about those?" "Well, I hear a lot about how they''re unlucky," I replied.


    Natsunagi gave a little nod of agreement.


    "There are rumors about them. They say you can use them to summon devils. That they can show you the past and the future."


    "...!"


    Natsunagi and I exchanged wide-eyed looks. Both those rumors reminded us of someone.


    ...However, that didn''t change the fact that it seemed far too imusible. "Nagisa, stand in front of the mirror, please."


    SIESTA''s expression didn''t even flicker. She led Nagisa to a spot a few meters in front of the mirror. Then she gave her the hand mirror, creating an infinity mirror as both reflected Natsunagi''s face.


    "Let me finish getting everything ready." SIESTA took out a litntern and


    turned off the lights. It waste at night. The only light in the room was the orange me, and it flickered eerily. Was this a necessary part of the ceremony too?


    "Now let''s move back a little. Nagisa, you stay in front of the mirror. Gaze steadily at yourself."


    Leaving Natsunagi standing by the mirror, the two of us backed up a bit. Then we waited for several minutes.


    "Nothing''s happening."


    The big mirror showed Natsunagi''s reflection, but that was all. There wasn''t anything strange about it. Hel certainly didn''t appear in the ss, and she wasn''t going to. I was tired of waiting.


    "Hey, SIESTA, what''s the point of..." I''d just started to ask when SIESTA cut me off.


    "It appears we need one more push."


    She walked over to Natsunagi <i>and took the red ribbon out of her hair</i>. "...!"


    Instantly, the red eyes in the mirror widened dramatically.


    Now that <i>the restraint of Siesta''s ribbon </i>was gone, the figure reminded me of someone else. In the darkness, illuminated by the orange me, Natsunagi''s fingertips reached toward the mirror. "Another...me...?" she murmured. She sounded delirious.


    Her right palm touched the ss. She squeezed her red eyes shut for a few seconds, then opened them again.


    "Natsunagi?" I called, but she didn''t turn around.


    Instead¡ªthe Natsunagi in the mirror spoke to the one in front of us. "It''s been a long time, Master."


    <strong> An unknown tale of that day</strong>


    "Is that Hel?"


    The girl in the mirror had red eyes. Naturally, she still looked like Nagisa Natsunagi.


    However, the reflection had greeted the one in front of the mirror as "Master."


    That was what Hel had called Alicia¡ªNatsunagist year. Meaning this


    one, the one talking, was...


    "Is that the other me?" Natsunagi retreated a few steps, but she spoke to the mirror.


    "That''s right. I''m another you. My code name is Hel," the reflection told her. "Nothing but familiar faces here, I see." From beyond the ss, her gaze shifted to SIESTA and me, even though we were hanging back.


    "There, you see? It''s just like I told you. I said <i>you''d be my partner someday, Kimi</i>."


    She''d told me as much when she''d abducted me a year ago. Hel had imed that her sacred text recorded the future, and that it said she and I would be partners.


    Only¡ª


    "Sorry, but I''m your master''s partner, not yours." I had no intention of doing whatever that so-called sacred text says. I''d told her as much plenty of timesst year.


    "You''re as cold as ever." The figure in the mirror gave a faint smile.


    Was this really the Hel I knew...? I stole a nce at SIESTA, but she was gazing straight ahead, expressionless.


    "Well? You''ve gone to the trouble of summoning me after a year. What do you want?" The girl in the mirror narrowed her eyes. "Don''t tell me... Are you nning to make me suffer more?" she asked Natsunagi sarcastically.


    Hel was a second personality Natsunagi had created to escape the pain of SPES''s experiments. She''d told us so a year ago, during thatst fight. That was what had made her such a twisted, vicious person.


    "No." Impulsively, I broke into their conversation. "There''s something we want to ask you about what happenedst year. About Siesta."


    Hel had been a central figure in that string of Jack the Devil incidents, which meant she might have noticed something about Siesta''s mistake. Or so I hoped, but...


    "No idea." Hel shook her head in t denial. "Anyway, thanks to that ace detective, it''s impossible for me to get outside. She makes me utterly sick. Don''t say that name where I can hear it ever again."


    Hel red at the left side of Natsunagi''s chest with disgust.


    "...In that case." Natsunagi gazed back at her reflection. "I''d like you to tell me about yourself instead."


    Was this an attack from a different angle? First she''d encourage Hel to talk


    with her, then steer the conversation to that incident...or maybe to Siesta. "You want to know about me? Ha-ha! A bitte for that." Hel''s lips curled


    in a sneer, beyond the ss. "I don''t have to tell you anything. And even if I did, I already said plenty during that fight a year ago. And look where that got me¡ªsealed inside you... Or what? You want tough at me while I''m down?"


    "No!" Natsunagi shouted at the mirror. "That''s not what I''m talking about! I can''t really learn anything about you from your mission or why you fight."


    "...Then what about me do you want to know, Master?" Hel''s eyebrows drew together; she looked a little bewildered.


    "Um, well... Y-your hobbies, maybe?"


    <i>What is this, a marriage interview?</i>


    <i>There, see? Hel lookspletely appalled.</i>


    "¡ªI really mean it, though." Natsunagi didn''t back down. She gazed at the mirror, and her expression was serious again. "I want to know your favorite type of tea, for example, and whether you listen to pop music, and if you''re the sort that takes long baths. <i>That''s the you </i>I want to know. So..." She took a step toward to the mirror. "Tell me about yourself," she said. To her other self.


    <i>Oh, right. That''s the kind of person Natsunagi is.</i>


    It was her passion talking. She''d never had a strategy. She genuinely wanted to have an actual conversation with her other personality. Nothing more.


    "...Stupid." However, Hel promptly rejected Natsunagi''s enthusiasm. "Besides, you should be the one who knows me best anyway."


    "What do you mean?" Natsunagi tilted her head.


    "You''re the one who created me. Instead of asking me, it would be faster to just remember it."


    Remember¡ª Of course, Natsunagi might have seen those recorded memories fromst year, but that didn''t mean she''d reimed all eighteen years of her own memories. Up until now, she''d ceded lots of her memories and emotions to Hel, her other personality.


    "But there''s nothing Natsunagi can do about that now¡ª"


    "In that case..." Hel interrupted me. "If you''re going to insist, I''ll help you out a little. Let''s retake my memories, and yours, together."


    Then Hel''s <i>red eyes glowed</i>.


    "All right. <i>Go on and tell it in my ce. </i>Tell your own story."

 Chapter 47 - 1.4

    <h4>Chapter 47: Chapter 1.4</h4>


    <strong>Another past that must be told</strong>


    Every morning when I woke up, I thought <i>This bed is way too hard.</i>


    "My poor lower back..." I stretched, joints cracking and popping.


    It couldn''t be right to treat a growing girl like this. I couldn''t actuallyin, though. I had to be grateful that they were taking care of me at all.


    "I''d better take my temperature."


    That was the second thing I did every morning. As I slipped the thermometer into my pajama top, my eyes fell on the IV needle in my right hand. I was used to it, but seeing a needle sticking into me wasn''t pleasant.


    "So, 37.2 degrees Celsius."


    My temperature was about what it always was, basically normal. I wrote it down, then climbed back into the hard bed to wait for breakfast. I''d lived like this for twelve whole years, ever since I was born.


    I had a congenital heart disease, and I lived quietly in a hospital room. I couldn''t go out and y with friends, and the only people who came to visit me were doctors on their rounds.


    That was because I didn''t have parents. From what I heard, they''d abandoned me soon after I was born. Yes, I was a tragic heroine, saddled with a backstory that even tearjerker dramas would turn down these days. All alone in the world, with an incurable illness. Right now, I was in a sickroom in a facility that took in kids who''d been discarded by their parents.


    "Haaah, this sucks, huh?" I tried tofort myself. Why was I the only one who had to go through stuff like this? "Arrrrgh... Maybe a prince wille and take me away."


    Would he get me out of this hard bed and whisk me off to some distant country? ...And as fantasies went, was that one too cringey?


    "Since I''m not a prince, should Ie back some other time, Nagisa?"


    Without warning, somebody called my name. When I looked in that direction, I saw a shape in the window... And this room was on the third floor. I smiled wryly. <i>Geez. I can''t believe she does this every time.</i>


    "Why are you ignoring me, hm?"


    The figure slipped a strange tool in through the window, pried open the lock, and climbed into the room. Apparently I wasn''t going to be able to pretend I hadn''t noticed her.


    "What do you want, Siesta?"


    I shot the intruder a pointed re.


    "Here your friend''s gone out of her way to visit you, and you''re as cold as ever."


    Siesta brought a round stool over from the corner and sat down by the bed, as if she did this all the time. I said the only people who came to visit me were doctors, but I''d forgotten the <i>troublemaking friends </i>I''d madetely.


    One of them was Siesta. She had pale silver hair and blue eyes. I was one hundred percent Japanese, and I couldn''t have been more jealous of her looks.


    "Huh? Your face is kind of grubby."


    There was a smudge of ck soot on Siesta''s cheek. Normally, her skin was so fair it gave her hair a run for its money.


    "Oh, I was making a bomb and something went wrong, so I got dirty." "You say that like you were making mud balls." <i>C''mon, it''s still early in</i>


    <i>the morning. What is this kid doing? </i>"You shouldn''t make bombs anymore." I scolded Siesta with a sentence I was sure I''d never get to say again as long as I lived.


    "But I might want to blow something up one day. Like a corporation." "Well, you shouldn''t do that either. No matter what your reasons are." The


    st thing I wanted was a friend who got arrested for setting off a bomb at her office because she hated her job.


    "Well, <i>she''s </i>the one who first suggested building bombs." "Oh..."


    I knew where this was going, but I didn''t have to like it. "Use my name already!"


    Another girl, this one with long pink hair, poked her head through the window after Siesta. She was as cute as a doll...but as you can tell, my <i>second bad friend </i>wasn''t at alldylike.


    "...Haaah. So you''re here too, huh?"


    As I looked at the pair, my shoulders slumped. Frankly, when these two


    were in the same ce, it got as noisy as a house party of Americans who''d gotten together to watch football.


    "Hey, what''s that supposed to mean?! You''re mean, <i>Nana</i>!" She mbered down into the room and pummeled me lightly with her fists. Guess that really rubbed her the wrong way


    "The three of us are BFFs!" "...We were, weren''t we?"


    "We <i>are</i>! Present tense! I write down what we did in my diary every day!" "Yes, yes, all right, <i>Ali</i>."


    These two were my recently acquired "bad friends," and they were both really strange.


    All the kids at this facility were good about doing what the adults told them. I suspected it was because they had a nagging fear of being abandoned again. But these two were the odd ones out, making bombs and climbing the walls to get into my hospital room, which was technically off-limits. Seriously, they were shockingly weird.


    "And why are you looking at us like we wear you out, Nagisa?" Siesta shot me a cold, cross look.


    "Oh, I was just thinking that kids are cute when they''re a handful." "...Of the three of us, I think I''m the most mature, you know."


    "Nana, did you just say I was cute? Eh-heh-heh, lookit, look! This dress is handmade!"


    "I didn''t mean it like that, and don''t twirl around. I can see your panties." "Wow, you''re right. Then you twirl too, Sisi. We''ll beat Nana with


    numbers that way."


    "I want no part of that majority vote. And don''t call me Sisi."


    Our conversations always went like this. Somebody would say something dumb, and then somebody else would point out how dumb it was. Then we''d all crack up.


    To me, that daily routine was¡ª


    "Excuse me." Just then, there was a knock at the door, and a man in his sixties entered. He was wearing a whiteb coat. "How are you feeling... Well. You two are here too, I see."


    The man was a doctor, and the director of this orphanage. As he noticed the other two, he gave a wry smile, although he knew that getting mad at them wouldn''t do any good.


    "<i>They </i>sent you this." "...? Ooh!"


    He''d handed me a new teddy bear. As far as gifts went, it did seem a little childish for me, but honestly, it was really cute.


    "If I recall, they have a daughter who''s about three years younger than you girls, so they may have had that age in mind."


    The present was from a certain wealthy Japanese couple. From what I heard, they donatedrge amounts of money to this orphanage, and they also sent us gifts at regr intervals. I''d never met them, but the idea that they were thinking of us made me happy.


    "Well? What did you need?" Siesta asked the doctor, rather suddenly. She seemed to know he hadn''te here just to give me a present.


    "...I''m no match for you, am I." The doctor gave another bitter smile. "Actually, I''d like all three of you to give me a little help before breakfast today. It has to be done on an empty stomach."


    "I see. All right."


    Siesta nodded, without attempting to fight; it wouldn''t have done any good anyway.


    Ali nted her hands on her hips and said, "If I <i>must</i>," as if she was used to it. But as for me...


    "You look pretty reluctant." The doctor nced at me. He sounded troubled. We had this exchange every single time. But I didn''t care what he


    said to me; this was something I just couldn''t¡ª


    "This will benefit you kids as well, you know. You understand that, don''t you?"


    "...Yes."


    Oh, I understood, all right. In the end, I always had to do what the adults said.


    "Thank you for your cooperation¡ªNumber 602."


    With a satisfied smile at doing what he came to do, the doctor turned to leave the room. "You got it wrong," I called after him. I had to say something. "My name isn''t Number 602. It''s Nagisa."


    Nagisa. That was the name Siesta had given me.


    They only called me by a number here, but she''d given me a name. "...Yes, that''s right." The doctor looked back again, smiled gently, and


    left.


    "Nagisa..." Siesta was gazing at me as if she wanted to say something. "Yes, I know."


    Thinking of the painful hours thaty ahead, I nodded.


    The "help" the doctor was referring to had to do with the <i>medication trials</i>


    this facility conducted.


    The orphanage''s operating costs were covered by using the children as clinical trial subjects.


    <strong> Almost like a detective</strong>


    The medication trials were conducted once every two weeks or so.


    The facility''s several dozen children were the test subjects, and even though I had a weak heart, I wasn''t exempted. They made me participate every time. They said there was data they could get precisely because I wasn''t healthy, but that did mean the burden on me was greater than it was for the others.


    The trials had a lot of side effects; we''de down with fevers, throw up, or even develop burning pain all over. Still, our hard work helped keep the facility going...and the sense of mission, the idea that they were helping create medicines for unknown diseases, kept the children going.


    I had one more special reason to work hard: my troublemaking friends.


    First, there was Siesta. We''d made friends a few months ago; before that, I''d always been on my own. I didn''t know which facility had sent her here, or even what country she was from. I tended to get depressed, though, and she''de to y and talk with me almost every day.


    Then, through her, I''d met another friend.


    "I found something funny," Siesta had said when she brought Ali to me one day. Almost as if she were bringing me a new toy. She hadn''t been wrong, though: When I was with her, I really never got bored...and although I mightin, I always looked forward to the days when they came to visit.


    ¡ªAnd yet.


    "Why aren''t theying?"


    Thest time I''d seen them was on the day of the clinical trial. For one day, three days, a week after that, they hadn''te to my room at all. Had I made them mad somehow? Or had something happened to them?


    "...Where did they go?"


    All I could do was wait for them toe to my room again. I was lonely, but I''d just have to deal. I''d been on my own all along anyway.


    Besides, I''d fought with Siesta a lot. Maybe it was better this way. Yes, I was lonely, but there was no way around it.


    <i>...Am I lonely?</i>


    I was disgusted with myself for being so spoiled. I wanted to throw my whole revolting self away.


    <i>Arrrgh, I wish someone would just take over for me.</i>


    "Haaaaah." I heaved a big sigh that nobody else would ever hear.


    "People say that every time you sigh, it dys your marriage by a year." Siesta poked her head out from under my bed.


    "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!"


    On reflex, I hurled the teddy bear at her. "Hey, don''t yell. They''ll catch me."


    "Dangerous characters like you <i>should </i>get caught, and fast!"


    <i>Th-that scared me! </i>I thought my heart might stop. <i>Did she forget I''ve got a bad heart? I really wish she''d give me a break...</i>


    "Were you lonely?"


    "...Not particrly. I haven''t been alone in a long time. I was trying to enjoy it."


    I got back into bed, hoping to shut down any further questions from Siesta. Times like these, the best policy was to look at the patterns on the ceiling and ignore her.


    "Lying dys your marriage, you know."


    This time, a section of the ceiling opened up and Ali''s face appeared. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh! Are you actually trying to give me a heart


    attack?!"


    I also wished they''d stop spouting weird theories I''d never heard of. How long did they want to keep me single, anyway?


    "Actually, I had something kinda serious to discuss." Siesta crawled out from under the bed, then sat down on a stool at my bedside.


    "Huh? Where''s my chair?" Ali asked from the ceiling. "You just lie on your stomach up there and wait." "Sisi, you''re being so mean to me."


    Without sparing a nce for Ali, Siesta turned to me. "It''s been three months since I came to this facility, and I''m starting to get concerned about something." For some reason, she nced around the room. Then she picked up the teddy bear I''d hurled at her a minute ago. "I''ve been wondering why they have to run clinical trials when they get donations."


    She was getting suspicious of the exnation that the facility relied on money from the trials to cover its operating expenses. She had a point. If this ce was using its children as guinea pigs to earn extra money, that was a problem. We didn''t want to help with those trials. We only put up with them to protect the life we knew.


    "Besides, look."


    There was a zipper in the teddy bear''s back. Siesta unzipped it, and something fell out. My eyes widened.


    There was a little machine on the floor that looked like a round battery. "It''s a bug," Ali said from the ceiling, her chin resting in her hands. "The


    facility''s hiding something from us."


    "...! You mean they''re watching us? Then aren''t they listening to us right now...?" I worried.


    "It''s all right," Siesta told me. "I made sure they''ll hear a dummy audio track from this room, instead of what we say."


    "Wait just a minute! When did I wander into a spy movie?!"


    "That''s part of the reason we haven''te to visit for a week. We were


    getting ready. I''m sorry."


    "Getting ready for what?! And also how?!"


    <i>Haaah, I can''t findebacks fast enough. Couldn''t they be a little more considerate of my physical limitations here?</i>


    <i>...Hm? Be considerate of my limitations?</i>


    "Did you do this for me?"


    Why had Siesta developed suspicions about the facility and made her move now? Could it be because she''d seen how reluctant I was to help with that trial the other day?


    "I don''t know what you mean." Siesta got to her feet smoothly, acting as if she hadn''t noticed a thing. "I just want to find out what this ce is hiding." Her eyes seemed to be focused on something far away.


    "...Heh-heh." Iughed a little behind her.


    "I don''t recall saying anything funny." Siesta seemed to think I was mocking her, and she turned around with a sulky face I never saw from her.


    "No, that''s not it." I smiled and shook my head. It was just that, when I''d seen Siesta, I''d thought...


    "You seem like a detective." "All right, Sisi. Do it."


    "Copy that. Here we go!" Siesta pulled me onto her back for some


    unfathomable reason, following Ali''s instructions. "Huh? What?! What¡ªwhat¡ªwhat''s this...?"


    "Starting now, you''re going to be in on this with us, Nagisa." As usual, Siesta opened the window. Then she set a foot on the sill.


    "Whoa, wait-wait-wait! Wait, okay? What are you going to do?!" I had a really, truly, horribly bad feeling about this...but by then, I had no other options.


    Because, with me on her back, Siesta had already¡ªjumped. "It''s fine. My shoes can run through thin air."


    "That''s impossibleeeeeeeeee!"


    I squeezed my eyes shut, sure I was about to die.


    <strong>Girls dream of secret bases, too</strong>


    "Hm. It looks like she''s awake."


    That was Siesta''s voice. When I opened my eyes, her beautiful face was the first thing I saw.


    Had I passed out after that? I was lying on a sofa. When I sat up, I realized I was in an unfamiliar room.


    "Wee to our secret base!"


    That was Ali. When I turned toward her voice, she was standing there triumphantly, hands on her hips.


    "Secret base?"


    I looked around and noticed that the room was a little odd. "Is this all cardboard...?"


    The whole ce¡ªwalls, table, and even the sofa I was lying on¡ªwas made of cardboard. It was a cardboard house.


    It did seem about as secret-basey as it could possibly be. The question was what they did in it, and why they''d brought me here.


    "This is our strategy HQ." Siesta sat down on a cardboard chair. I noticed the plural, meaning our other troublemaking friend was involved. Of course.


    "She asked me to make this, so I did. Sisi, I swear... Once she sets her mind to something, she just doesn''t stop." Ali turned her palms to the ceiling in an exaggerated shrug of resignation.


    "...I really wish you wouldn''t call me by that silly nickname."


    Siesta looked away; she seemed unusually embarrassed. She always acted very grown-up, and it was a relief to see that she had a childish side as well.


    "So you said this was a strategy HQ?"


    "That''s right. We''ve made this the base for our resistance while we put together a strategy to strike back against the adults."


    Siesta opened the doors of a cardboard closet. Inside were... "What...are those...?"


    They were weapons. Lots of them. The sort I''d only seen in fiction. I didn''t know their technical names, but there were all kinds of guns and des of various shapes in there. <i>Don''t tell me these were the work of...</i>


    "Eh-heh-heh! I made them!" Ali shed me a peace sign.


    I''d expect no less from a little girl who made bombs for fun. Ali made all sorts of toys, calling them "inventions," so the other kids adored her. I''d never dreamed she''d made anything this crazy, though...


    "But do we really need things like this?" I eyed the weapons from a safe


    distance. I didn''t even have the courage to touch them. "If you have something this dangerous on hand, you mean you''re nning to fight the adults for real, right?"


    And really, was there any need to "resist" this much? What were the adults, and this facility, hiding from us?


    "Good question. We don''t know yet." Siesta shook her head quietly. "There''s no harm in being prepared for anything, though. We should try to resolve trouble before it evenes up."


    "...Y-you''re getting allplicated on me."


    <i>Is she really my age? Well, I mean, she''s never told me her actual age, but...</i>


    "So what do you think?" Siesta asked. "Will you fight alongside us, Nagisa?"


    To be honest, I was scared.


    Not of defying the adults, though¡ªof learning the truth. I was just scared that something was going to change irreversibly.


    It wasn''t that I was content with this ce, of course. If finding out the truth would free us from those awful clinical trials, I couldn''t even tell you how good it would be.


    But these past twelve years¡ªmy whole life¡ª I''d been here, in that hospital bed. No matter what I did, that time grabbed my legs and refused to let go.


    "I..."


    I couldn''t find an answer right away, and I lowered my eyes.


    Watching me, Siesta said, "Someday, let''s just walk out there and look at the ocean in broad daylight." That made me remember our first meeting. And then: "Let''s fix your heart, too. Then we''ll run around at the waterline all we want. But if we''re going to have a future like that¡ªsomething has to change." She held her left hand out to me.


    "...I guess it''s not much of a choice." Giving a weary, dramatic sigh, I said, "I''ll help you!" I took her hand and got to my feet.


    "...Hrm. Why are you two off in your own little world over there?"


    One of us seemed to be in a bad mood. Ali had her arms crossed and was standing tall¡ªwell, maybe not <i>that </i>tall¡ªwatching us.


    "Don''t be cranky. I''ll give you a big hugter. Or at least Nagisa will." "Sisi, you dummy! Naaaanaaaaa!"


    "Whoa, you smell like oil..."


    "I was just making an inveeentiooon!"


    As we watched Ali throw her tantrum, we bothughed.


    If it was the three of us. If it was us, we''d be able to get over any changes, any hardship.


    Somewhere along the way, all my reluctance had evaporated.


    "All right, once again..." I moved so that the three of us were standing in a circle. "Let''s uncover this facility''s secret together!" I held my right hand out toward the other two, palm down.


    "Huh? Oh. We''re doing this, hm?"


    "Ah-ha-ha! Nana, you''re more of a little kid than I thought." "Don''t yank the rug out from under me right at the end!"


    Weughed, and got mad, and cheered, and made our vow together. "...Geez." How could I have embarrassed myself like that? Unbelievable. I


    went back to the sofa by myself, propped my elbow on its arm, and rested my chin in my hand.


    "Hm?"


    When I took another look around the room, I realized there were a whole bunch of toys and stuffed animals over by the window. Were they the ones that couple always gave us? Even then, it seemed like too many for Ali to have gotten on her own.


    Well, about all I could say now was...


    "I think you''re a hundred times more of a kid than I am, Ali."

 Chapter 48 - 1.5

    <h4>Chapter 48: Chapter 1.5</h4>


    <strong>The real enemy</strong>


    Several weekster...


    "Ow! Siesta, you just stepped on my foot."


    Siesta and I were walking through a dark building, side by side. "Huh? No I didn''t."


    "...You''re kidding me. Then what just..."


    It was so dark. A sudden chill ran down my spine, and I caught Siesta''s arm.


    "Yes, I''m kidding."


    "That''s just mean! Why would you do that?!" I swear, this girl... You''d think she was born just to tease people. I really couldn''t handle her, and I


    prayed fervently that someday she''d find somebody who could take over for me.


    "And? Is the <i>enemy </i>really this way?" I asked, lowering my voice.


    "Yes, definitely. All the cameras in the building are currently under our control."


    We''d remotely hijacked the surveince cameras, and we knew exactly who was in the building and where. Ali was keeping an eye on the situation and giving us directions. She was back in the strategy HQ, watching over us to make sure nothing went wrong.


    "This is finally it," I said, psyching myself up.


    "This is our answer," said Siesta. "We won''t do as we''re told anymore." "...Right."


    For the past few weeks, we''d investigated this facility under Siesta''s leadership. We''d taken sneaky pictures, ced wiretaps, and done all kinds of recon. We''d used Ali''s inventions to gather information until finally we made our big discovery. Today, Siesta and I were going to confront the enemy with it.


    Of course, that was going to change the way we lived.


    Because I was physically fragile, I''d hardly ever yed with friends. Lately, though, I''d made two friends I could count as partners in crime. If we turned this facility against us, we might get split up. And I couldn''t deny that idea made me feel a little lonely.


    "Do you want to back out?" Siesta whispered sweetly, as if she''d read my mind.


    "You''re such a jerk." I let her have it. Really I just needed to get the thought out of my head.


    Yes, I''d hesitated. I''d thought maybe it would be better to leave this to the other two. If I ran now, though, I was sure I''d regret itter.


    <i>This is my chance</i>, I thought. My veryst chance to fly away from that hard bed. From this birdcage.


    And so I¡ª


    "I''m doing it. I won''t forgive you two if you leave me out of this."


    As I spoke, I slipped my hand into my pocket, and my fingers touched something hard. <i>I really hope I don''t have to use this.</i>


    "Honestly. You''re both such children." Siesta smiled gently.


    After we''d walked a little farther, we reached our destination. It was an elevator that led to the basement. We nodded to each other, stepped in, and went down.


    When the doors opened, the first thing we saw was several big tanks. They were filled with green liquid, and there was <i>something </i>inside them, hooked up to tubes.


    "Well, well. Visitors?"


    A voice spoke from somewhere near the back of the room. "It''s a little too soon for the experiment, though."


    The speaker stepped into view¡ªa bespectacled man in a whiteb coat: my doctor, and the director of the orphanage.


    "Are those <i>pseudohumans</i>?"


    Siesta pointed at the contents of the enormous tanks.


    "...Oh-ho. You''ve done your homework." The corners of his lips rose, silently acknowledging that Siesta''s hypothesis was correct.


    That was the secret of this facility.


    Those weren''t actually clinical trials. They were human experimentation.


    It was an attempt to grant extraordinary physical abilities by imnting a certain unknown energy source in human bodies. They were conducting this experiment on children who had no families, over and over, with the goal of eventually creating a "pseudohuman."


    "Is that what you are, too?" Siesta pressed the director. "I am Seed."


    Suddenly, the man''s tone changed. At the same time, his appearance shifted through several different stages. First he was a blond man with his hairbed back, and then his body distorted into a voluptuous woman with long hair. Then, finally¡ª


    "This is the form I''m most ustomed to now."


    He transformed into a slim young man with white hair.


    Well, I couldn''t tell whether he was actually male. His symmetrical features could have been feminine as well, if you wanted to see it that way... I''m not sure how to put it. There was something almost holy about thatck of gender, that total androgyny.


    "That said, it is just a temporary shape. The ones in there are also not the


    real thing." The youth who''d called himself Seed gazed at the contents of the tanks with clear eyes. "They''re copies I created from pieces of myself."


    "Then you''re trying to use the children to make a real pseudohuman?" "Well, for now, that''s urate in a general way," Seed replied. "Although


    I''m not partial to the word <i>pseudohuman</i>."


    "What for?" Without thinking, I broke into their conversation. "Is it for war? Money? ...Why did you have to sacrifice us?"


    I''d lived at the facility for twelve years, but there was something I''d never realized.


    Many of the children had disappeared.


    Kids who''d been right next to me during a clinical trial one day had been gone the next. They must have died during the experiments...and then our memories of them had been erased with some sort of drug.


    "Some try to use my power to gain money or military might. However, personally, I don''t have the slightest interest in them. The only thing that motivates me¡ªis a tenacious instinct for survival." Seed''s face was expressionless. Swaying lightly, he blocked our way. "Well? What now? You''ve learned the truth of this facility, and my objectives. What''s the point of confronting me?"


    "We''ll stop you, of course. No matter what it takes."


    In the next moment, Siesta had taken the musket from her back and pointed it at him. It was another of Ali''s inventions, naturally.


    "An empty threat?"


    "It''s real." As I spoke, I took a detonator switch out of my pocket.


    This facility stood on an isted ind, far out in the ocean. We knew we couldn''t run, so we''d have to fight. "All I have to do is push this button, and I''ll blow theboratory to bits."


    I moved my thumb toward the red button. If I pushed it, we wouldn''t escape unscathed either, but it should make for a decent negotiating tactic.


    "¡ªYou really are still green." Something like disappointment shed across Seed''s nk face. "The n begins now, though."


    "Wh-what are you talking about?!"


    He wasn''t taking us seriously at all. I held the switch out one more time, making sure he''d seen it.


    "You''d sacrifice yourself, hm? It''s no use. I can tell from one look at your trembling fingers that you aren''t brave enough to push it."


    "I¡ª!"


    Just as I was about to argue back... "Then <i>why not push it</i>?"


    ...Seed''s eyes red red. "...Huh?"


    For some reason, my thumb moved on its own. It was being drawn toward the button. "Wait, wait-wait! What?! No...!"


    My thumb was going to press the switch. And I knew this bomb was real... "¡ª!" Noticing the emergency, Siesta pointed her gun at Seed and pulled


    the trigger.


    "...? It...didn''t fire?"


    No bullet came from the muzzle. And in the meantime, my thumb had pressed the red button, but¡ª


    "Nothing''s happening?"


    At first nce, it looked as though we''d been saved, but it did mean we had another big problem.


    Both of Ali''s inventions were duds.


    Was it coincidence? Just bad luck? Or...


    "I''ve known of this future ever since the distant past," Seed murmured.


    And then...


    "Ooh, you two are being so bad." Someone else spoke behind us.


    Fearfully, I turned around to see a girl with pink hair. "You can''t point those weapons at my boss."


    <strong> Thest name I called was...</strong>


    "Ali...?"


    I couldn''t ept what I was seeing, and I fumbled and dropped the detonator switch. Ali passed right by me and went to stand beside Seed. She was smiling faintly.


    "Why are you...?"


    Next to me, Siesta was watching her too. Her expression was grim, and her eyes were narrowed. I was sure she was praying that the exnation she''d


    just thought of was incorrect.


    "Ah-ha-ha! So sorry. I''ve been on his side the whole time," Ali said, forcing us to face the cruel reality. "I''ve known kids were disappearing from the facility for ages."


    That was something we''d only found out recently¡ªthe deaths of the children involved in failed experiments and the drugs to erase them from our memories.


    But Ali said, "I''ve kept a journal for years and years; I''ve never missed a day. When Ipared my faulty memories to it, I realized that kids were vanishing and nobody knew."


    Come to think of it, Ali''s secret base had so many dolls and stuffed animals in it that I hadn''t been able to believe they were all hers. Had those belonged to the kids who''d died? Apparently, she really had known about the disappearances long before we found out.


    "...If you knew that, then why did you join them?" She should be able to see who the bad guys were here.


    "Well, it''s only natural to side with whoever''s strongest, isn''t it?" Ali had used simr reasoning to reach apletely different conclusion. "You have to live smart, you know." She gave us a teasing smile. "Anyway, these kids won''t do at all." Her attitude changed abruptly, and she pointed at Siesta and me as she advised Seed. "Any girl this easy to fool won''t be any use to you. Don''t waste seeds on them."


    <i>Seeds? </i>I hadn''t heard that term before.


    However, from what we''d learned so far and the direction the conversation was heading, I could guess. "Seeds" must be the unknown energy source that was supposed to turn children into pseudohumans. Ali was saying Siesta and I shouldn''t be allowed to have them.


    "You should give me one instead, please," she said, trying to persuade Seed that she was worthy. "As an inventor, I''m gonna be interested in pseudohumans. Obviously. Besides, I''ve given you all this help. Okay? C''mon, won''t you?"


    She sounded exactly like the childish Ali I knew as she pestered Seed for the seed like a spoiled little brat.


    ¡ªBut.


    "I think it''s too early for you." Seed rejected her proposal, still nk-faced. "It''s fine." I didn''t know why she was being so stubborn, but she doubled


    down on her request. "It''s fine, I know I can handle it. I''ll master the seed for sure."


    "Then what shall we do with these two?" Seed asked, almost as if he was testing her.


    "These two" were me and Siesta, of course. We''d learned the secret of this facility and what Seed really was, and he was asking <i>how to dispose of us</i>.


    "Just take some of their memories, the way you always do," Ali replied. "After that, you can let them go. I really don''t think they''ll be useful anyway." She kept on talking a blue streak, without sparing a nce for us. "Oh, right, make them forget me too, would you? Kinda gross to think about them remembering me the whole time."


    ...<i>Oh, is </i>that <i>what this is</i>, I thought. Ali was Ali after all.


    "Also, while we''re at it, I doubt we need the other kids either. I mean, you were using this ce to create a pseudohuman, right? If I be your first sess, you won''t need thisb anymore¡ª"


    While Ali was still chattering away, Siesta interrupted. "Are you really okay with that?"


    Her voice was very sharp.


    "To summarize what I just heard, you''re nning to sacrifice yourself to save us."


    "...!"


    For the first time, Ali''s face twisted.


    That''s right. I''d had the wrong idea. When something you believed in turns out to be wrong, you have to ask yourself what you''re going to believe in again. I should have trusted Ali''s emotions instead of her actions. I should have trusted her nature, the same way I always had.


    "...This is fine," Ali murmured quietly. "If somebody''s sacrificed, this experiment will end. If I master the seed properly, no one else has to go through this again! Isn''t that right?!"


    Ali had only been pretending to be Seed''s ally, in order to protect us. She''d picked up on the facility''s secret before anyone else, and I''m sure she''d initially nned to do something about it on her own...but then Siesta had begun doing the same thing.


    And Ali knew that once Siesta set her mind to something, she wouldn''t stop. She''d pulled us into this, but at the same time, she''d acted as a double agent to keep us safe.


    "So please..." Laying a hand on her chest, Ali shouted at Seed, "I''ll do it!


    I''ll inherit that seed for you! So these two can be¡ª"


    "Fine." Seed, whose face was still expressionless, epted her plea. The next moment, <i>a single, long tentacle sprouted </i>from his back.


    "...! I won''t let you do it!"


    Something supernatural was ying out right in front of me, and I almost cringed back. But the tip of that tentacle was sharp, and it was easy to imagine what was about to happen. Even though I had no weapon, I ran to Ali.


    "...!"


    But that was when a terrible pain shot through the left side of my chest. My heart... <i>Not now!</i>


    "Nagisa!"


    "G...go..." I''d crouched down. Siesta was focused on me, but with a nce, I told her to go to Ali.


    ¡ªBut then.


    "This is a prime opportunity for an experiment. We can''t have you obstructing it."


    Even though none of us had spoken, we heard a voice. "...!"


    Almost immediately, Siesta crashed to the floor. It was as if something had fallen on her.


    "Come on, no struggling."


    "! No... Don''t...!" Siesta''s back arched. Her voice was trembling.


    "Ha-ha! Do you like the feel of my tongue that much?" Unpleasantughter echoed from the empty air. Our opponent must have made himself invisible. Even Siesta hadn''t predicted a being who wouldn''t show up on a security camera.


    We were powerless. In front of us was an enormous enemy with a tentacle that moved as if it had a life of its own, and one solitary girl.


    "All right. Let us conduct thest experiment," Seed said evenly. "This is my seed. ept it."


    The pointed tentacle closed in on Ali''s chest, over her heart. It was the


    worst possible way this could end.


    She twisted halfway around, calling back to us. She was wearing her usual artless smile.


    "Hurry up and forget me."


    I don''t have any clear memories of what happened after that. Was the shock so great that I lost them?


    Or did I force that pain and suffering <i>onto someone else</i>?


    It was as if I''d been locked up in the dark. I lost all sense of myself as a person.


    At the end, I screamed a name.


    My friend wasn''tpatible with the seed. She died in a welter of blood right there in front of me. Only her name was etched in my mind forever.


    "¡ªAlicia!"


    <strong> Finding mistakes andparing answers</strong>


    "That''s right. Six years ago, the three of us fought SPES at that facility on the ind. The ace detective...well, Siesta, and me, and Alicia." Natsunagi said all of that in a rush, as if it was flooding back to her.


    One year ago, Charlie and I had encountered the enemy leader at aboratory. That had to be the test facility that hade up in the story. Six years ago, SPES had been attempting to create pseudohumans there, using children as guinea pigs.


    That story had given us two new pieces of information.


    The first was that Siesta and Natsunagi had known each other as kids.


    Siesta hadn''t initially given her the name "Nagisa"st year, just before she died, but six years ago. Had she given her that name again, five yearster, because she''d realized Hel was actually her former friend Nagisa?


    And the other fact was¡ª


    "Alicia actually existed. She wasn''t just part of Natsunagi."


    One year ago, when I''d met Alicia in London, I''d assumed that her appearance was <i>made up</i>, something Hel (or Natsunagi) had created with <i>Cerberus''s seed</i>. There had been a real Alicia, though¡ªa girl with pink hair. Natsunagi had met her at the facility six years ago. Then she''d seen her die.


    The image of her must have been indelibly imprinted on her mind, and when she used Cerberus''s seed several yearster, she''d unconsciously assumed her appearance. Then, even though she''d lost her memories, the name Alicia had still been somewhere in her mind.


    <i>"I never once called my master ''Alicia,'' you know." </i>In the mirror, Hel narrowed her eyes.


    She was right. Hel had kept all of Natsunagi''s memories in her ce. She had to have known that "Alicia" was someone else.


    "Still. I suppose you can''t even imagine it, but there was a time when that ace detective was young and inexperienced," Hel went on.


    Siesta had still been a child, and she''d gone up against Seed without a n. Chameleon alone had been too much for her. Maybe it was those experiences that had molded her into the wless ace detective I knew.


    Even so...


    "Byst year, Siesta wasn''t the type of person who''d fail easily. Why didn''t she notice that Natsunagi looked like Alicia in London? Why didn''t she notice something was off?"


    Siesta, Alicia, and Natsunagi had met six years ago. Five years couldn''t have been enough to make Siesta forget her friends. I really couldn''t imagine that she''d see those pink ponytails and not realize it was Alicia.


    "It''s simple," Hel said. "The ace detective was missing memories as well." "...! Siesta? Missing memories?"


    Well, actually, that made sense. Natsunagi had just told us about it herself: At that test facility, the children''s memories had been erased on a regr basis. After Alicia''s death, Siesta must have been forced to forget some of her memories from the facility, including SPES, Natsunagi, and Alicia.


    "What happened to Siesta after that?"


    "She fled the ind." Hel gave a cold smile. "Even after they''d partially erased her memories of SPES and her friends, that ace detective slipped out of the facility... She wasn''t running away, though. She did it to fight. She stole Seed''s seed, and one day, without warning, she was gone."


    "Siesta took a seed?"


    Maybe that shouldn''t have surprised me. Siesta''sbat abilities were superhuman. And then there was her heart...


    Just like Bat''s ears, Chameleon''s tongue, and Cerberus''s nose, Siesta''s heart had had a special ability. When Natsunagi had acquired the heart, she''d


    picked up her memories as well. Maybe that had been due to the seed''s power.


    "...Why?" I couldn''t wait for Hel to continue her exnation. "If Siesta''s memories had been erased, then why did she steal the seed and escape from the orphanage?"


    "You''re going to make me say it? Me, your enemy?" In the mirror, her lips twisted. "It''s simple. Even if she forgot why she was fighting, or who her enemy was, she remembered the mission she''d been given. That''s all," she said with a bitter, dissatisfied smile. "All right. I think I''ve told you most of what there is to know about the past. You certainly have it rough, dredging up stories that are over and done with from a year ago, or four years, or six."


    ...She had a point. Natsunagi, Siesta, and I had forgotten all sorts of things, and they were all vital memories. Lately we''d been spending most of our time gathering the fragments of them, one by one.


    This settling of ounts with the past must have started on that day.


    The day when Nagisa Natsunagi woke me up, in that ssroom after school.


    The day when she''d set this story in motion again after it should have ended.


    This story in which the detective was dead.


    "Nagisa." SIESTA took a step forward and finally spoke to Natsunagi''s back. "Are you sure it''s all right to end this story this way?"


    Those blue eyes were unwavering. Even as part of a mechanical doll, they hadn''t changed. I knew this gaze¡ªit was the one directed at me a year ago, when I''d guessed that Hel and Alicia were the same person and then tried to pretend it wasn''t true. She wouldn''t let you lie or run away.


    "Hel."


    Acknowledging those feelings, Natsunagi spoke to her reflection in the mirror.


    "What happened to me after that? After I saw Alicia die." Natsunagi''s story hadn''t ended yet.


    Alicia had died, Siesta had escaped from the facility...but what had


    happened to Nagisa Natsunagi?


    "That''s when I was born," Hel told her.


    This tale had begun when Natsunagi said she wanted to know more about Hel; it would end with her, too.


    "Well, my consciousness was already inside you, dormant. To be more urate, that was the first time I became your dominant personality, Master." And ever since then, Natsunagi''s body had been under Hel''s control? The shock of Alicia''s death had destabilized her memories and personality, and


    Hel had seized her chance.


    "After that, I became a formal member of SPES. I didn''t mind letting them experiment on me. The other children were in the way, and I ran them all out of the facility. After that, I was special to Father, his one and only."


    Was that what had happened...? Then Siesta and I had encountered Hel in Londonst year, after she''d risen through the ranks to be one of SPES''s officers.


    ...Still, there was something in that exnation that just didn''t ring true for me.


    "Why would you go that far for SPES? For Seed?"


    Seed had said it was his survival instinct that was making him attack humanity. Since SPES''s officers were all clones of him, they were cooperating because that was what their instincts demanded.


    Hel was different, though. She was human, and she was also an acquired personality that had grown in Natsunagi''s mind. There was no logical reason for her to align herself with Seed.


    "Heh. Are you a sadist?" The red eyes in the mirror narrowed. "Look, don''t make me embarrass myself over and over. ¡ªIt was love, all right? Love." The girl gave a self-deprecating smile. "That was the core I needed."


    "The core...?"


    "That''s right. You could call it a tether, there to keep me in this world.


    Without it, I felt as if I''d disappear. I am just a fake, after all."


    Oddly enough, her master Natsunagi had confessed to having the exact same worry. She''d been suffering after she''d lost her memories and identity too. However, the pain had been the same for Hel. As an alternate personality who had no physical body, she was an extremely vague concept.


    "Will youugh at me for seeking love for such a reason? For sidling up to Father and trying to win his affection because I didn''t want to disappear? For blindly believing in his love, and deceiving myrades, and tormenting innocents? For losing the battle and losing my power after all I''d done? ¡ª


    Will youugh?" she asked us, smiling. "No. I won''t," said Natsunagi.


    "How could I?" she continued. "More importantly, I''m sorry. And thank you."


    "...What are you saying?" Hel hadn''t been expecting to hear that from Natsunagi, and she grimaced.


    "First, the things I was never able to say to you directly. You shouldered all my pain and suffering, didn''t you? I''m sorry... I''m so sorry."


    Hel was an alternate personality Natsunagi had unknowingly created to help herself escape her pain. In a way, she''d been born just to take over someone else''s suffering. Now, Natsunagi was telling this other self what she felt for the very first time.


    " ''Thank you''? I¡ªI don''t want thanks from¡ª!"


    "Well, I mean..." Before Hel could work herself into a rage, Natsunagi spoke to her from the heart. "You protected me."


    "From pain and hardship, you mean? I really don''t want the person I had to shield thanking me."


    "No, not that." Rejecting Hel''s assumptions again, Natsunagi gazed into the mirror.


    "You became a member of SPES <i>in order to protect me</i>. Didn''t you?"

 Chapter 49 - 1.6

    <h4>Chapter 49: Chapter 1.6</h4>


    <strong>There are no monsters anymore</strong>


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about." Hel''s lip curled. "I joined SPES for your sake? That can''t possibly be¡ª"


    "I mean, if you hadn''t, they would have killed me." "...!"


    The reflection''s expression slipped¡ªmore like shattered, really.


    "Six years ago, we learned SPES''s secret. Alicia wasn''t able to take the seed, and she was killed. My body was too frail to be of use to SPES. They would have killed me too, before long. They should have. But then you appeared."


    Natsunagi looked steadily at her other self in the mirror.


    "Hel, by insisting that you could be useful to SPES, you kept them from


    disposing of me. When you swore loyalty to Seed, you were trying to save my life. It was all for my sake. In order to protect me, you became a devil."


    "...! You can''t prove any of that. What proof do you have that I''m that soft?" Hel was breathing roughly.


    "You said it yourself. <i>You let the facility''s children get away.</i>" Natsunagi hadn''t let a single word Hel said slip past her. She went on building her theory. "You said you intended to make yourself special to Seed, but that''s not convincing. You have a heart. You can feel sympathy for others."


    "A human heart? ...That''s impossible. You know how many innocent people I killed in London."


    "You''re right. And it''s not a minor crime. But you did that to save me, too."


    "...!" Hel''s red eyes widened.


    "One year ago, in the fight with Siesta, you lost your heart. That meant my body would die."


    It had happened right after the battle between the humanoid weapon and the biological weapon in London. Using her <i>hand mirror</i>, Siesta had turned Hel''s red eyes against her, and Hel had run her own heart through with her sword. Not only had it been a life-or-death crisis for Hel, but it should have meant death for her master. "After Cerberus died, you made it look as if you were continuing his Jack the Devil killings...but you were actually searching for apatible heart for me."


    "...! But the ace detective didn''t say a word about thatst year. She thought I''d just been running through hearts like batteries in an attempt to keep myself alive. Are you saying she was wrong, Master?" Hel pressed Natsunagi about her intentions, her eyes dark.


    "No. Siesta herself is saying that she came to the wrong conclusion." "...Oh," I murmured. That was the mistake SIESTA had asked us to find, the


    mistake Siesta had made a year ago.


    Siesta had misread Hel''s motives¡ª<i>misread her emotions</i>.


    "The ace detective said that? Don''t make meugh. When would she have


    ¡ª" Before she could finish her sentence, Hel froze.


    "You understand, don''t you? You''re me, after all," Natsunagi reasoned. "Siesta lives in me. Over this past year, she''s been talking with your personality in my subconscious. During that time, she came to the conclusion I just stated. She realized that as far as you''re concerned, I''m actually the


    most important thing in the world." "...!"


    The eyes of the girl in the mirror wavered as if she felt unsettled.


    "Hel. Most people would use you of being a devil who took innocent lives. I know, though. I''m the only one who does. Even if you are a devil... you''re definitely not <i>a monster with no feelings</i>." Natsunagi refused to ept Hel''s mocking self-evaluation. "You said you wanted to be loved, and maybe that''s true. But you didn''t just want to be loved. You loved me. You were kind enough to love me."


    "Stop...!" Hel''s heartrending scream echoed in the quiet room, where only the me of thentern flickered.


    Natsunagi didn''t stop. "Your sins are mine. I know I''ll pay for them someday."


    "Stop it... I don''t... I didn''t want that..."


    A single tear trickled down the face of the girl in the mirror. Was it Natsunagi''s, or...?


    As an outsider, I had no way of knowing. I had no right to make conjectures, either.


    ¡ªEven so.


    "No. I''ll help you carry your sins. We''ll spend our whole lives atoning for them. After all¡ª" Natsunagi held her palm up to the mirror.


    "There''s no such thing as only taking, or only giving. No rtionship is that one-sided. Am I wrong?"


    This was a mirror. An infinity mirror bringing two girls to face each other. Everything went both ways¡ªsins, love, tears, and even smiles.


    If Natsunagi believed in Hel, then I was sure¡ª


    "I swear¡ªyou''re such a fool, Master," the girl in the mirror whispered. In the next moment, I heard it. I saw it inly.


    The big mirror cracked loudly, and Hel leaped out of it. Natsunagi caught her and held her close.


    "Thank you."


    I''m sure that was the moment Nagisa Natsunagi graduated from her past.


    <strong>And so a new case file begins</strong>


    "So? Exactly what kind of story was that?"


    The conversation in front of the mirror was over, and SIESTA and I were talking in the living room.


    Immediately after that, Natsunagi had passed out; SIESTA had said it was probably a reaction to suddenly regaining her memories. Right now, she was resting in the bedroom.


    "What do you mean, ''what kind of story''?" SIESTA asked, elegantly sipping her tea. Apparently, androids needed to rehydrate too.


    "Don''t y dumb. When you said you''d summon Hel with an infinity mirror, you were lying, right?"


    I know those urban legends about infinity mirrors¡ªabout how you could summon devils with them, or see the past and the future. We''d summoned Natsunagi''s alternate personality into the mirror and asked her about the past, but I just couldn''t make it feel real.


    "You''re as hardheaded as ever, Kimihiko." She set her cup in its saucer. Her expression and posture were identical to the real detective''s. "Although you''re also correct."


    "I am, huh?"


    <i>Then why did you call me names?</i>


    "That said, Nagisa actually was talking with Hel."


    "You mean she was ying both roles in that conversation?"


    No, "role" probably wasn''t the right word here. It was more as if she''d been talking with herself, through the mirror.


    "I only prepared a ce where that could ur easily. After that, Nagisa summoned Hel from her subconscious and had a talk with her."


    "I see... So in a sense, Hel was actually there?" Two girls, separated by a mirror.


    Natsunagi and Hel had definitely met there, confronted each other, and talked things out.


    I was sure Natsunagi had regained all her memories now, in the truest sense. At this point, she''d be able to ept their reality and move forward.


    "By the way." I decided to ask about something that had been bothering me. "If Siesta realized she''d made a mistake during the past year, how did she tell you about it?"


    If SIESTA had asked us to find the error, Siesta must have told her about it somehow. However, Siesta had apparently noticed her mistake while talking with Hel inside Natsunagi''s body.


    Since Siesta''s own body was gone, how had she passed the message on to SIESTA?


    In response to these perfectly natural questions, SIESTA said, "It happened the one time Mistress Siesta borrowed Nagisa''s body." She began to talk aboutst week''s incident. "Immediately after your fight with Chameleon on that cruise ship, Mistress Siesta instructed me to contact your group."


    "...Ah. It happened while I was out cold, then."


    So that was when she''d done it. After she''d gotten all of her business out of the way, Siesta had gone back to sleep inside Natsunagi.


    "Still, who''d have thought Siesta would deduce wrong?"


    I wasn''t trying to criticize her. I was just genuinely startled.


    "That may have been due to her missing memories as well." SIESTA''s voice was quiet; she gazed into her cup. "Mistress Siesta had forgotten both Alicia and Nagisa. She didn''t remember how Hel''s personality had been created. However, if she''d sensed something odd in the fact that a friend who''d died six years ago had appeared in London...or if she''d registered Hel''s true feelings about Natsunagi... In either case, she might have found her way to the correct conclusion a year ago."


    ...I see. So Siesta had been just like me and Natsunagi.


    We''d all lost precious memories and made some misunderstanding, but now we were filling in the missing pieces one by one.


    "So even Siesta gets things wrong," I said, although it really didn''t need saying.


    "Yes, she''s human." SIESTA''s response was casual. "...Unlike me," she added, a little lonely.


    "Listen, SIESTA, you''re..."


    Just as I started to speak, it happened.


    "Your phone''s ringing," SIESTA pointed out, and I noticed that the smartphone I''d set on the table was vibrating. The screen read <i>Fuubi Kase</i>. Phone calls from her almost never meant good news; I had a bad feeling about this one as I pressed the TALK button.


    "I''ve got bad news and bad news. Which do you want first?"


    "That''s not even a choice..." I hung my head. Just what I was afraid of.


    On the other end of the line, I heard a long sigh, and I could imagine the smoke.


    "Ms. Fuubi, when are you actually going to quit smoking?"


    She''d dered she was quitting at least twice already. I''d been right there both times.


    "Well, I always want to quit. The damn things just won''t leave my lips alone."


    "Why don''t you find yourself a guy instead?" "I''ll hang up on you."


    <i>...Uh, you''re the one who called.</i>


    "So? What is this bad news?"


    I''d have preferred not to hear it, but since she''d called me, it probably involved me. In that case, it was better to find out fast.


    "Right. First off." Ms. Fuubi paused for a beat, then dropped a bomb: "¡ª Seed and Bat have teamed up."


    "So you really do know about Seed, Ms. Fuubi."


    In the past I''d forgotten, Ms. Fuubi had retrieved me from the ind after Siesta''s death. Apparently her ties to SPES ran deeper than I''d thought.


    "Yeah, I figured you''d be finding out soon." As if doing me one better, Ms. Fuubinguidly exhaled her cigarette smoke. "Anyways, I dunno what the deal is, but apparently Seed helped Bat pull off a jailbreak. You kids keep a sharp eye out, too."


    "Bat broke out of jail, and he''s with Seed..." But Bat had rebelled against SPES four years ago. As punishment, he''d been ordered to pull off that skyjack at ten thousand meters. Why would he team up with the leader of SPES now?


    "And then, the other bad news is..."


    Just as she was about to tell me the rest, my doorbell rang. "Visitor?" Ms. Fuubi''s tone was suddenly grim.


    At this point, I didn''t even have to ask what she was worried about, but... "I''m going to answer that."


    "Hey, I''m trying to tell you¡ª"


    "I know. I''ve got some insurance, though."


    In the unlikely event that the visitor was him, SIESTA was here. She and I exchanged nces, and I headed for the entryway.


    "Besides, he''s got no reason toe after me now."


    Grumbling¡ªand certain that Bat was standing right outside¡ªI turned the knob. "Still, he''s got pretty good manners if he''s ringing the door...bell?"


    When I opened the door and saw who was actually there, I was incredibly confused. "S-Saikawa?"


    Those pink hair streaks, and the eye patch over her left eye. By now, there


    was no way I could have mistaken her for anyone else. My visitor was the impudent Yui Saikawa, the world''s cutest idol.


    "Kimizuka, please be my producer!"


    She was looking up at me. As usual, shepletely failed to read the room.

 Chapter 50: 6 years ago, Yui

    <h4>Chapter 50: 6 years ago, Yui</h4>


    "No matter what happens, don''t ever let anyone separate you from that left eye."


    They''d done the surgery while I was sleeping. By the time I woke up, it was all over.


    I was lying in bed, and Mom was talking to me. "People may try to take it from you, but don''t listen to them. You have to protect it."


    Her voice and face were stricter than I''d ever heard or seen them, but the hand she held out was gentle. Softly, she touched the bandages over my left eye.


    "Do you mean I''m soooo cute that all the world''s kidnappers are after me?"


    "You may be my daughter, but you''re so tough no one would ever believe you''d juste out of surgery." Momid a hand on my forehead and sighed.


    What on earth was this about?


    "Dear, say something to her." She turned to my dad. "Just look how adorable my daughter is."


    "She grew up this way because of you, you know." Mom''s head drooped again.


    Yup, my dad spoils me rotten. If I say I want bread, he goes out and buys me an entire cake, and if I say I want a bicycle, he gives me a cruise ship. Thanks to that, I already know how to pilot a boat.


    Well, it''s a trade-off. I still can''t ride a bike.


    "But, Yui, you do know <i>things can''t go on like this</i>, don''t you?" Mom turned to me again. She didn''t look angry¡ªjust sort of sad and uneasy. "Someday, you''ll have to go outside."


    I may have been young, but I knew that when Mom said "outside," she didn''t mean it literally. It was a word she always used when she was trying to convince me.


    "You''ll need to make friends."


    I didn''t have a single friend. I hadn''t even spent much time in school.


    "...It''s fine. Talking with lots of people isn''t any fun." Kids always exclude anybody that isn''t like them.


    I was born blind in my left eye, so that was one thing that made me different. The fact that my family was rich might have been part of the problem too.


    There was always an invisible line between me and the rest of the group, and I wasn''t allowed to cross it. A wall of air barred my way.


    "As long as you and Dad are here, I don''t need anything else." I''d told her so before, and I said it again today. Then I pulled the covers up over my head. "We won''t be able to protect you forever, you know." Mom gave another big sigh; she sounded sort of tired. I''m smart, though; I know how to handle


    her at times like this.


    "...You''re going away?" I peeked out from under the futon, speaking in a little baby voice.


    "D-don''t turn those puppy eyes on me, Yui." Mom hugged me tightly.


    Yeah, my mom is actually the one who spoils me the most. Still, it''s hard to believe I could trick her this easily. I might have a knack for the idol life.


    "Yui," Dad said. Setting a hand on Mom''s shoulder, he separated us gently. "Let''s take that bandage off, all right?"


    I''d secretly been avoiding this, but he was sharp, and he''d seen right through me.


    "...Okay."


    I was a little tense, but his serious gaze pushed me to take the plunge. I reached up for the white fabric that was wrapped around my head, over my left eye, and slipped it off.


    "All right. Take a look."


    I peeked into the hand mirror my dad held out to me. "It''s so pretty..."


    The blue eye shone like a sapphire, and I caught myself sighing over it. My parents had gotten this false eye for me.


    "That eye suits you better than anyone else, Yui. We want you to wear lovely dresses and light up the world. You''ll shine like this jewel." As my father spoke, he looked more serious than I''d ever seen him. "That eye will light your way and help you find what matters most to you. And so..." He gazed at me. "No matter what, you must never let anyone separate you from it."


    He said the same thing Mom had.


    "...Dear, don''t steal the scene like that," Momined.


    "If I didn''t, I wouldn''t get to be the cool dad at all." He nodded away, straight-faced.


    My parents get along so well.


    Someday, it would be great if I found people I could have this much fun talking with...


    I''m kidding. That was a joke. These two are all I need. And so¡ª


    "No, you still weren''t very cool." " "Aww..." "


    ...I provided the punchline for them.


    Still... Even so, someday...


    If I take a flying leap into the outside world...if I find friends who''ll ept me as I am, and I don''t have to hide things or keep secrets...will life be more fun?


    Heh-heh. For some reason, seeing this blue eye made me feel like giving it a whirl.


    <i>I''ll go big this time.</i>


    <i>I only thought of it a minute ago, but maybe I will work toward bing an idol singer.</i>

 Chapter 51 - 2.1

    <h4>Chapter 51: Chapter 2.1</h4>


    <strong>Hmm. So you''re my producer, are you?</strong>


    "I smell another woman."


    Out of the frying pan, into the fire. We''d solved one case, but that didn''t mean all the trouble was over. Right after Natsunagi and Hel had resolved their business, Yui Saikawa the super idol had turned up on my doorstep with a new problem.


    This sort of thing had happened before, hadn''t it? Not only that, but due to a certain situation, she''d appointed me her producer.


    "Saikawa, don''t go around sniffing my apartment."


    Saikawa was making snuffling noises like a puppy, and I gave her a disapproving look. We''d just been talking about a serious issue, and now this? Maybe I shouldn''t have let her in?


    "Hm. I''m picking up a suspicious scent from this direction." "I told you, knock it off."


    Saikawa was just about to open the door to my bedroom, and I gave her a little shove.


    "Ow! Kimizuka, you''re the only person anywhere who''d hit the world''s most adorable super idol." Tears beaded in her eyes as she pressed a hand to her head.


    <i>"Adorably irritating" is a more urate descriptor than "adorable," </i>I thought as I told her off. "That''s my bedroom. No trespassing."


    "It''s fine. I took a shower before I came." "I don''t get why that would make it okay."


    Besides, more importantly... "Natsunagi''s sleeping in there. Don''t disturb her."


    Sharing her memories with Hel had been a stressful experience, and she still hadn''t woken up.


    "Oh-ho? Kimizuka, have you finally be a man?"


    "What is wrong with you? It''s aplicated situation, all right?" I wanted to fill her in on stuff, that situation included, so I wished she''d hurry up and


    get back to her seat.


    "I''m sorry to keep you waiting."


    Just then, SIESTA emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray with tea for three on it. Even though I knew she wasn''t the real one, the sight of Siesta in a maid outfit serving us from my kitchen was certainly a thing.


    "Unpleasant gaze detected. I will eliminate the source immediately." "Don''t go full android on me. Put that gun down right now."


    "Hmm. Your couples''edy routine is alive and well, I see. You''re making me a little jealous over here."


    "It''s not apetition, Saikawa. Let''s get back on topic." As we drank our tea, I shifted the conversation back to what we''d originally been talking about. "So, is it true? Your parents are <i>suspected of fraudulent ounting</i>?"


    That was what Saikawa had told me ten minutes earlier, when she''d stopped by out of the blue.


    Saikawa''s wealthy parents were suspected of having conducted some sort of illegal ounting. It was just nowing to light.


    "...Yes. Well, I don''t know the whole truth yet, but the news will probably be on TV and online tomorrow. The media are already swarming my house." Saikawa took a sip of her tea. She looked a little discouraged.


    "I see... And so you escaped over here in the middle of the night?" That had been Ms. Fuubi''s second piece of bad news.


    Bat''s jailbreak, and the scandal involving Saikawa''s parents: Both were problems I couldn''t afford to ignore.


    "Yes. I''m looking for a ce that will shelter me for a little while."


    I see. So this was a <i>request from a client</i>. But... "Wouldn''t it be better to ask Natsunagi about that?" If she was going to be a freeloader, staying with Natsunagi would be a more convenient option than staying with a guy. Besides, at this point, she''d dly lend Saikawa a hand as a detective.


    "Yes, you''re right. And so what I want you to do, Kimizuka, is be my producer," she said, finally getting back to the initial subject. "It''s going to be hard to go home or visit my agency for a while. I thought it might be faster to have you take over as producer."


    "Saikawa, are you trying to fob off an insane odd job on me?" I mean, I wasn''t trying to belittle the production industry by calling it an odd job, bute on.


    "Congrattions, Kimizuka. Starting today, you are both the ace


    detective''s assistant and an idol singer''s producer."


    "Yeah, I sure feel like a winner..." I slumped back in my chair, sighing. "I guess I could do it, though."


    "...Huh? You will? You stopped fighting that really fast."


    Yeah, because pacing is important with stuff like this. That was something Siesta had told me to "work on improving" multiple times way back when.


    "If I''m going to be your producer, then I''ll have to stick close to you, right? The security at this ce isn''t good enough to really protect you, though."


    After all, this building was thirty years old. It didn''t have automatic locks, and the toilets didn''t evene with the standard bidet function. My apartment was a cheap one-bedroom; the rent was only 36,000 yen.


    "In that case, you''re wee to use my house," SIESTA offered. "It has a decent number of rooms, plus a stock of groceries and daily necessities. The security is stricter than a downtown high-rise apartment building. It''s entirely underground, and I lived there in secret for close to a year without being detected."


    "I see. The room where you had us locked up, huh?"


    In terms of space and safety, that ce did sound as if it would fit the bill. Besides, there was one other thing I needed to be concerned about right now: Bat.


    Natsunagi and I were his enemies. Now that he''d broken out of jail, we should probably lie low until we knew what he was nning... I''d also just been thinking it would be nice to get a break from my summer sses, so this was perfect.


    "I see. So we''ll be <i>cohabiting</i>?" Saikawa murmured, putting a fingertip to her chin.


    Cohabiting¡ªSiesta had joked about that with me lots of times. For three whole years, it had been just the two of us on that dizzying journey with no clear destination. It was true that we''d spent several nights under one roof. She always got such a kick out of that. She''d smiled at me and called it "cohabiting." But I''d always responded the same way.


    "We''re just strategic roommates."


    "I heard everything!" Just then, with a click, the door behind us opened. "...Natsunagi, don''t interrupt me when I''m sounding cool."


    We''d been right in the middle of the scene where my mncholy,


    sentimental profile stole the spotlight.


    "I heard ''cohabitation,'' and it just happened. It''s a fun word." Natsunagi joined us at the kitchen table.


    <i>...Geez, she''s always like this. </i>She didn''t seem tense at all. "Is everything okay now?" I asked casually. I meant her health and the past she''d just learned about, plus her resolution to be the ace detective.


    "Yeah. It''s okay."


    It was just a brief exchange. However, from Natsunagi''s clear, determined profile, I could tell she wasn''t lying.


    She''d shouldered Siesta''s will...and probably Alicia''s as well. In front of that mirror, she''d settled ounts with her past.


    "Now then, to recap¡ªfor now, we''ll shelter Saikawa and move into SIESTA''s hideout. Any objections?" Attempting to wrap up the discussion, I checked with SIESTA, Natsunagi, and Saikawa.


    "Except for the fact that you''re taking charge of a discussion regarding the use of my house, I have noints."


    "As long as I ignore the fact that you''re acting like the protagonist even though I''m the detective, no objections here."


    "If I said I wasn''t afraid to live under the same roof as Kimizuka, I''d be lying, but I''ll put up with it!"


    "...Great. So we''re all agreed."


    And that''s how the four of us began strategically rooming together.


    "No, I have¡ª!!!"


    A sullen-looking blond agent burst in immediately afterward, but that''s another story.


    <strong> Use proper Japanese</strong>


    The next morning.


    "¡ª! I''m terribly sorry... I would¡ª Yes, I''d like to refrain from giving an official response regarding that matter... Yes, if you''ll excuse me."


    The producer''sckluster apology echoed in an underground room.


    The only thing I could really do was keep telling the unseen people on the other end of the line that I was sorry. I didn''t know if there was actually any point to this; I was acting on my employer''s orders... Seems like I''ve always


    been somebody''s employee.


    So, yesterday evening, I''d moved to SIESTA''s hideout. Early in the morning, after a nap, I''d started doing the work Saikawa had assigned to me. Every few minutes, somebody called the cell phone she''d given me with questions about the scandal or messages about jobs.


    As an aside, SIESTA, the master of this house, had been gone sincest night. She''d said she was concerned about Bat''s movements. I''d offered to help her, but she''d told me to "just concentrate on being Yui Saikawa''s producer," and so here I was.


    " ''Labor is evil,'' huh..." Finally managing to hang up, I sighed, gazing at the cell phone.


    There was no way I could have sessfully learned how to be an idol singer''s producer in a day. Without the magic words "my supervisor is currently absent," I would''ve snapped under the stress and smashed the phone on the floor by now.


    "...Man, this is ugly." I shot a sidelong nce at the variety show on the living room TV.


    As Saikawa had predicted yesterday, they were discussing her parents'' scandal. Amentator who wasn''t any sort of expert was throwing out all sorts of wild guesses and insisting that Saikawa herself had an obligation to exin.


    "Oh, shut up, dude. Don''t you talk about Saikawa." My irritation got the better of me; I yanked the cord out of the wall, and the TV went dark.


    "...Haaah. I guess I''d better go wake them up."


    When I looked at the clock, it was almost noon, but there was still no sign of the other three. For starters, I headed for the room where Natsunagi and Saikawa were sleeping.


    "Heeey, it''s almost...noon...?"


    The first thing I saw when I stepped inside was two girls lying in bed. The covers had slipped off just a bit to reveal Natsunagi hugging Saikawa to her like a stuffed animal. Both girls were in their pajamas. They were breathing peacefully, and their tranquil faces were so sacred I wanted to gaze at them forever¡ªbut that wasn''t why I was here.


    "C''mon. I''ll make breakfast for you, so get up already." They were both out cold, but I shook them awake.


    "Mm... Breeeakfast? I want Schau Essen sausageees..." Natsunagi finally


    made it back from dreand, rubbing her eyes.


    "We don''t have Schau Essen, but we''ve got regr wieners, so hurry and wake up."


    "Yaaawn... Mm, I want to eat thaaat... Kimizuka''s wieneeer..." "Natsunagi, go wash your face already. I''ll pretend I didn''t hear that." "Nooo, no, Natsunagiii... Kimizuka''s Kimizuka is more a fiiish sausage


    than a wieneeer..."


    "Saikawa, you can''t say stuff like that just because you''re half asleep, all right? Wait, this means you even make fun of me subconsciously."


    I yanked the covers off them, then turned the thermostat down to eighteen degrees Celsius and left the room.


    Charlie was next.


    Since there were only two bedrooms, we''d yed rock-paper-scissors to decide who''d sleep wherest night. Unfortunately, I''d ended up sharing with Charlie. She slept way rougher than I''d thought, and she''d kept waking me up. But now <i>she </i>was trying to sleep.


    As I was plotting the best way to get my revenge, I opened the bedroom door and saw¡ª


    "Charlie, what the heck are you doing?"


    Charlie had her face buried in a pillow and was sniffing it loudly. "That''s the pillow I was using..."


    "K-Kimizuka?! Oh¡ª Th-this isn''t what it looks like! You''ve got it all wrong!"


    "...Uh. Well, you know. Different people have different, uh, preferences, so, yeah..."


    "Hey, don''t take this so seriously! At least get mad! Hey! Look at me! Stop acting so ufortable!" Sweating bullets, Charlie desperately struggled to exin herself. "That wasn''t it! I thought I caught Ma''am''s scent on this pillow! That''s the only reason I was smelling it!"


    "...I think that might also be a problem."


    "¡ª! That does it! I''ll have to steal your memories!" With a wild gleam in her eyes, Charlie tried to shove me down onto the bed. "Sorry to do this when you just got your memories back, but I''m taking eighteen years'' worth of knowledge and experience!"


    "That''s too much! Are you nning to turn me into an adult-size baby?" "Don''t worry. I don''t know about Nagisa, but that''ll probably suit Yui''s


    tastes nicely."


    "Hey, what sort of tastes are you assigning your friends?"


    Charlie roughly pushed me down onto the bed. "Just give up." She leaned over me, her face red with anger and agitation, and just then¡ª


    "What are you two doing?"


    The door stood open. Saikawa was watching us coldly. "Are you one of those ''frenemy couples''?"


    " "No!" "


    We identally spoke in unison. We couldn''t afford to match up on anything else.


    "Saikawa, that''s not it. You''ve got it all wrong!"


    Then, as I was trying to fumble my way through an excuse... "¡ªDouble. Kill."


    Natsunagi looked down on us with eyes so frigid it made the air- conditioning seem lukewarm. Then she walked out, mming the door behind her.


    "Th-this isn''t that, Nagisa! It was an assident!" "You mean ''ident''!!!"


    <strong> Later on, the assistant ate and enjoyed it</strong>


    After the "rise and shine" mess was over... "I see it now."


    Natsunagi was standing in the kitchen wearing an apron. She was holding adle like a professional baseball yer predicting her home run, and her eyes were narrowed keenly. When I''d started getting ready to make breakfast after that earlier trouble, she''d insisted on taking over for me.


    She hadn''t been the only one.


    "Can you even cook, Nagisa?" Charlie goaded her, also wearing an apron. "Charlie...I''d never lose to you!"


    "Huh. Then should we settle our score here and now?"


    The two of them red daggers at each other in front of the sink.


    "Those two never seem to get along, do they?" Behind them, Saikawa murmured. She had her elbows propped on the table, with her chin resting in her hands. Natsunagi and Charlie had met about a week ago on that cruise and quarreled over Siesta.


    "Having a cooking showdown as a proxy battle seems like a weird idea, but..."


    I was at the table with Saikawa, watching the other two with a distant look in my eyes. They''d appointed us as judges for their contest... If their rtionship had progressed to the fighting stage, though, this couldn''t be all bad. It seemed a lot healthier than feeling awkward about things that had happened a year ago, anyway.


    "Well, I can''t imagine I''d lose to a girl like you, Nagisa." Charliebed her fingers through the blond hair she was so proud of.


    "¡ª! I''m the one who''s going to capture Kimizuka''s heart through his stomach!" Natsunagi retorted impulsively, but...


    "...? Huh? What kind of contest was this again?"


    "I was joking," she muttered quickly, then turned to face forward. "Kimizuka, can we get a quote about how incredibly cute Nagisa just


    was?"


    "I didn''t hear it. I couldn''t hear a thing." Instead, I turned to Natsunagi. "By the way, what are you making?"


    "A saut¨¦ of blue Breton lobster and seasonal vegetables with mousseline sauce, maybe?"


    "Are you nning to turn this into a cooking battle manga?"


    Ignoring me, Natsunagi got a red lobster out of the fridge. <i>Wait, she''s actually got the ingredients for that? Siesta eats way too well.</i>


    "...Um, so. Get good and hungry while you wait."


    Turning back around, Natsunagi winked and pointed thedle at me.


    "That''s weird."


    More than half an hourter, Natsunagi was floundering in the kitchen. She was watching the microwave. Inside it, <i>something that used to be food </i>was writhing like a ck monster, apparently trying to burst out through the door. It was a disaster.


    "But as long as I don''t open this door, we can''t say for sure that I messed it up, can we?"


    "This isn''t Schr?dinger''s cat. You''ve gotta open it sometime."


    <i>Is she nning to make it so we can never use the microwave again?</i>


    "Ngh, I always make my own lunches, even..." Natsunagi''s shoulders slumped with dejection.


    "Honestly! If you hadn''t tried to get so fancy out of nowhere, this wouldn''t have happened." Charlie gave a disgusted snort at the mess. "I''ll make you some regr fried rice, so just sit tight."


    She pointed the frying pan at us as if it were a gun, then twirled back to the stove.


    "That''s weird." Charlie stood in front of the stove, racking her brains.


    It had been another thirty minutes, and¡ªI can''t say I was surprised¡ªthere was a mound of scorched ck stuff in the frying pan.


    "Maybe it''s one of those things that looks unfortunate but tastes surprisingly good?"


    "If you really think that, eat it yourself. Don''t keep ncing at me."


    <i>Sorry, but I''mpletely sick of those two-panel, instant punchlineics.</i>


    "...I''m always busy, so I can''t cook for myself."


    Maybe living that way was part of being an agent. Charlie fidgeted with her hair, making excuses.


    "Geez. This is going nowhere." Just then, our savior arrived.


    "It''s lunchtime already. I''ll do it!" Rising from her judge''s chair, Saikawa tied on an apron and headed for the kitchen. "I''d like to have something ready to eat on hand too, so I''ll make curry. Nagisa, you cut up the meat. Charlie, steam another batch of rice, please." Saikawa began dicing vegetables with a practiced hand.


    "O-okay..." "Um, sure..."


    Shoulders hunched in embarrassment, Natsunagi and Charlie epted Saikawa''s orders.


    "Why is it that Saikawa always ends up being the most reliable one?" She was the only middle schooler in this group, too...


    Saikawa overheard my mutter. "Heh-heh! I''ve been through quite a lot, you know." She nced at me over her shoulder, smiling wryly, and kept right on cutting vegetables as she did it.


    Saikawa had lost her parents three years ago. I wondered suddenly if that was when she''d started cooking for herself.


    "So I''m two steps ahead of both of you¡ªyounger and better at


    housekeeping."


    However, that glimpse of what she''d been through onlysted a moment before Saikawa began taunting the older girls... I don''t even have to tell you what the results were.


    "Yui?"


    "Uh, Yui?"


    She was between two pairs of eyes ring daggers that could have killed a wild animal.


    "...K-Kimizuka. They''re scaring me..." "Yeah, that''s one hundred percent your fault."

 Chapter 52 - 2.2

    <h4>Chapter 52: Chapter 2.2</h4>


    <strong>It''s your story</strong>


    The morning had been one thing after another, so I figured the rest of the day would be rtively peaceful, but I was dead wrong.


    Saikawa''s work phone was ringing constantly, and it was all I could do to keep up. Meanwhile, Natsunagi, Saikawa, and Charlie had fun chatting and ying board games... <i>C''mon, you people do some work too.</i>


    In any case, I''d spent the whole day working, but now I was finally taking a nice, long bath.


    "...I''m beat."


    My voice echoed in the empty bathroom. Being alone made me remember that way too much had been happeningtely. There was the kidnapping Siesta had set up, where we''d learned the truth of her death. Then, with SIESTA''s help, Natsunagi had remembered more of her past and even reconciled with her other personality. After that, just as one problem had been solved, here came Bat''s jailbreak and Saikawa''s scandal. Saikawa, Natsunagi, Charlie, and I had been forced to move to SIESTA''s hideout. We were living the fugitive life now.


    "Yeesh. Not fair." As I sighed, the same old ugly phrase slipped out. But this was a huge situation, and it had only been a few days. Nobody could me me forining a little.


    "...Siesta."


    And nobody could me me for calling my old partner''s name, either.


    Yeah, it''s not as if I missed her or anythi... "Man, this is bad."


    When did I get so weak?


    I knew the answer to that right away. One year ago¡ªon that day¡ªSiesta had died, and now here I was. I shut my eyes to the truth, forgot my mission, fled into routine, and solved the little incidents I got dragged into. That was all I''d done, but I''d lied to myself and said I was carrying out the detective''sst wish.


    What about me had changed since then?


    I''d met Natsunagi, learned what Siesta felt, remembered my mission through Saikawa''s incident, and truly inherited the detective''s will after Charlie scolded me.


    Had I had the wrong idea about all of that, though?


    I hadn''t known Siesta''s past or Natsunagi''s. In the end, I was no different than I had been on that day. I was obliviously soaking in that same tepid water, just the way I''d¡ª


    "Guess I''ll get out."


    While I wasn''t paying attention, the bath had gone stone cold.


    <i>If I''d stayed in this water long enough, I bet I''d eventually have frozen to death</i>, I thought. My head had cooled.


    "Whoa. I may have to take back that ''fish sausage'' remark."


    Suddenly I realized that the bathroom door was open, and Saikawa was standing right in front of me.


    ...Saikawa was standing right in front of me?


    "Geez! What are you doing?!" I hastily ducked back down into the bath. "Well, you know. I''ve been causing a lot of trouble, so I thought I''d at


    least wash your back."


    "You''re causing trouble for me right this minute! Shut the door, now!" "Oh, honestly. If I must." Sounding resigned, Saikawa closed the bathroom


    door. "There we go."


    "...Why are you still in here?"


    "Huh? Taking a bath while chatting with a young girl was your greatest and only pleasure, wasn''t it?"


    "Saikawa, is trashing my reputation a hobby of yours? ...Besides, she was just really funny, that''s all." Come to think of it, something like that had happened with Siesta, way back when.


    "By the way, Kimizuka¡ªyou can shoo me out into the dressing room, but my left eye can see you naked through the door."


    "Turn around, right now. You''re only allowed to see me naked if you''re prepared to let me see you naked."


    "You''re acting like that''s a wittyment, but you really just want to take a bath with a girl, right?"


    <i>Man, Saikawa''sebacks are top of the line.</i>


    "Huh, I see... So you and Siesta did this, too. That''s informative."


    "Don''t literally take notes. That''s not going to be on any high school entrance exam," I told Saikawa through the bathroom door. "And, uh, I''d like to get out now."


    Then I chased Saikawa out of the dressing room and left the bathroom. "The thing is, I''ve realized I don''t know much about Siesta." Saikawa


    apparently wasn''t done with our conversation. This time, she talked to me through the dressing room door while I dried off. "Did you notice, Kimizuka? Siesta and I have no real connection to each other." Now that she mentioned it, that was true. "Natsunagi and Charlie''s ties to her are much firmer. Natsunagi has inherited Siesta''s heart, and Charlie is Siesta''s first apprentice."


    "Only ording to Charlie, but yeah."


    Still, I got what she was trying to say. Both Natsunagi and Charlie had met Siesta personally, a long time ago. Saikawa, though¡ª


    "Oh, but don''t think I''m trying to say I feel left out." On the other side of the door, Saikawa sounded flustered. "You see, I think it''s why I''m able to stay neutral, to a certain extent."


    "Neutral?"


    "Yes. For example, say the circumstances that surround us are a story. Who do you suppose is at the center of it?"


    That was a pretty abstract question. Even so, one person instantly came to mind.


    "That would be Siesta."


    I''d finished dressing, and I opened the door...but Saikawa wasn''t there. "Yes, I think so too."


    I heard her voice from the living room. Did she mean we were supposed to continue this conversation in there?


    "Well, without her, this story wouldn''t even have started."


    I''d been Siesta''s assistant for three years. Natsunagi was Siesta''s old friend, her mortal enemy¡ªand now the inheritor of her heart. Charlie had


    looked up to Siesta as a teacher, and she still did. We were currently dealing with SPES, the enemy Siesta had been ordered to defeat.


    The story that surrounded us was focused entirely on Siesta. She was the axis around which the world turned.


    "But while I''m part of all that, I''m distant from Siesta. I''m the only one who is."


    When I went back to the dining room, Saikawa was there. She was holding a mug in both hands and blowing on it. "It''s hot milk. Have some, Kimizuka."


    "It''s summer," I told her, but she already had some waiting for me, which made arguing sort of pointless. I sat down across from her.


    "That being the case, there may be something I in particr am allowed to say. Isn''t that right, Kimizuka?"


    I took another look at Saikawa. I''d been in such a hurry earlier that I hadn''t really seen her.


    She was wearing pink pajamas, and I could smell the sweet smell of someone who''d just gotten out of the bath. Her hair hung loose. She wasn''t wearing her eye patch, and her left eye was as beautiful as a blue jewel.


    "This is our story."


    She smiled. "It''s Natsunagi''s story, and Charlie''s, and yours, Kimizuka. It belongs to each of you. So all that matters is the question of what you want to do. I think that''s enough," she said. She took a long, luxurious sip of her hot milk.


    "Huh? Actually, no matter how you look at it, I''m the central figure in this incident. Why am I the one who''s helping you, instead of the other way around? Kimizuka, show a little more enthusiasm and lend me a hand, all right?"


    "That was the most unfair thing this century."


    <strong> Produce an idol: A simple, pain-in-the-butt job</strong>


    The next day...


    Saikawa and I left SIESTA''s residence in the morning by car. It was Yui Saikawa''s private car, and her private chauffeur was behind the wheel.


    "Still, we''re leaving really early. The program''s not till this evening, right?" I asked. Saikawa was sitting in the back seat next to me, gazing at her phone.


    Today, she was scheduled to perform in a live music program. We''d gone into hiding to protect Saikawa from the media, but they hadn''t been able to cancel that live broadcast. Now I was going with her.


    "I have a lot I need to do beforehand. After all, I am a super idol." Saikawa put her phone away, then gave a big, feline yawn.


    "You look really tired. Didn''t get much sleep yesterday?"


    "No. After you and I spoke, we girls talked far into the night." Saikawa let her head fall onto my shoulder and closed her eyes. <i>Man, this idol''s public and private faces are so different... Actually, I can''t believe how much she rxes around me.</i>


    "By the way, what were you girls talking about?" "Mm, how much you suck, mostly."


    "I shouldn''t have asked." Well, if they''d bonded with each other by tearing me down, that was fine... Maybe?


    "They couldn''te with us today, though?" Saikawa sat up. I wasn''t sure whether she was uneasy about having me be her only escort, or whether she was just curious.


    "Yeah. We have Bat to worry about too."


    With Seed''s help, Bat had broken out of jail. We didn''t know what he wanted, but there was a decent possibility that he''d go after Siesta''s will on Seed''s orders¡ªand after Natsunagi, who was seeding her as ace detective. Based on that assumption, I''d decided to keep Natsunagi in the safest ce possible and have Charlie guard her.


    "Um, Mr. Bat, wasn''t it? Isn''t SIESTA dealing with him now?"


    "Yeah, she should be, but..." As a matter of fact, I''d gotten a text from SIESTA early that morning. I read it to Saikawa.


    " ''Leave this to me. Kimihiko, you just watch over Yui Saikawa''s decision.'' End quote."


    I didn''t really understand what she was trying to say. Not "protect" her¡ª"watch over" her.


    Did it mean she didn''t expect anything from me in a fight? I mean, yeah, I hadn''t been able to do much over those three years, just watch over Siesta from the shadows, but...


    "I see. SIESTA knows you very well, doesn''t she?" Somewhere in there, Saikawa had gotten out her phone and was gazing at it again. "Watch over me. That''s perfect for a concert-lurker-wannabe-boyfriend-geek like you, Kimizuka."


    "Saikawa, you think I''ll forgive you no matter what you say to me, don''t you?"


    "Yes, I do."


    <i>Oh. She does? She doesn''t even sound sorry.</i>


    "After all, no matter what happens, I believe you''ll always be on my side." "You definitely put your foot in your mouth; don''t try to flip it around and


    act like that was a positive exchange."


    "Hey, it looks like we''re just about there." She forcibly derailed the conversation. That''s a move I use a lot too, though, so I couldn''t really call her on it.


    "Hm... We''re headed to the TV station, right?"


    I''d been distracted and hadn''t noticed until now, but when I nced out the window, I realized we''d left the city. As the car drove on, the clusters of buildings disappeared, and all I could see were old-fashioned houses and timeworn signs.


    "Kimizuka, we''re here."


    The car stopped, and on Saikawa''s instructions, I got out. "Where''s ''here''?"


    I shaded my eyes against the bright summer sun.


    Blue sky and a green ridgeline. There were cicadas crying in the trees right next to us, and the ce smelled like summer. Thisnd might as well have been untouched by civilization, there to make you forget all about the big city.


    "All right. Let''s go, then."


    Apparently, we still had to walk a bit. Sunlightnced through the white clouds as Saikawa marched down a country road, leading the way.


    "It looks like we''re heading for a hill. Is there something at the top?" "What? Oh, yes, a hot spring!"


    ...I totally wasn''t expecting that.


    "Heh-heh! An idol and her producer on a forbidden romantic escape!" "...You''d better not be serious."


    "No good? Eloping to a hidden rural bath... Oh, I like the way that


    sounded. I''ll put it in the lyrics for my next single." Ignoring me, Saikawa got out a notepad. I felt the birth of a famous¡ªor rather, infamous¡ªsonging on. But more importantly...


    "Saikawa. Are you afraid of the media?" I thought I saw her shoulders flinch.


    "What are you talking about, Kimizuka?" She kept walking without turning around.


    Saikawa didn''tin easily. She kept her idol smile pasted on her face, and she always hid her true feelings behind it.


    "I mean, if I''m wrong, that''s fine."


    We continued down the path, through lush greenery and the stifling scent of sunbaked grass.


    <strong> Scream at the unfairness of the world</strong>


    "Here we are. This is it."


    I''d picked up on the fact that she''d been lying about the hot spring, but I definitely hadn''t expected this destination.


    "This is where my mom and dad are." Gently, Saikawa knelt in front of the gravestone that stood at the top of the hill. "Actually, this whole area belongs to the Saikawa family. I had them buried here because the view is so good." As Saikawa spoke, she lit a stick of incense.


    "Can I pay my respects, too?"


    "Yes, thank you. I''m sure they''d both love that."


    I stood beside her, put my hands together, and closed my eyes.


    I''d never met Saikawa''s parents, of course. However, I did know how she felt, and I offered a silent prayer.


    "Thank you very much." A soft breeze blew, and Saikawa raised her head and smiled. "I think they''re both relieved that I''ve found a life partner."


    "You''ve gotta be kidding me. It''s already okay to joke around again?" "Yes. My parents liked never-endingedy routines even more than I


    do."


    "You inherited this from your parents. Unbelievable." We cracked up a little.


    "...Somehow, though, I still feel like I''m dreaming." "Dreaming?"


    "Yes. How should I put it...? It''s like it''s all one spectacr practical joke. Sometimes I think they''re both actually alive, and pretty soon they''ll jump out from behind something and give me a good scare."


    As she spoke, her profile looked lonelier than I''d ever seen it. It might have been three years, but for Saikawa, the reality of her parents'' death hadn''t faded... Just like one year hadn''t been enough for me.


    "In the end, being on my own makes me uneasy. I always want to have someone watching me."


    "Is that why you''re an idol?"


    "...Yes, that could be part of it," Saikawa responded absently. She was hugging her knees. "Besides, long ago, my dad told me he hoped I''d live my life wearing pretty dresses. He said he wanted me to light up the world. Mom was constantly telling me to run outside into the world and make friends. And so I¡ª" Saikawa appeared to be fondly remembering the past. "I may not be able to stay an idol forever, though. After all, a global crisis may be just around the corner."


    "Really? I think an idol who sings, dances, and sometimes fights pseudohumans would be pretty entertaining."


    Just as there used to be an ace detective who knew a whole bunch about idols from Jap¨®n.


    "...Heh-heh. Your persuasion tactics are as funny as ever, Kimizuka." Saikawa smiled, smoothly rising to her feet.


    "But sometimes¡ªI get a little tired."


    She murmured the words in a small voice, without looking at me. Then, surveying the scenery that spread out below us, she stretched luxuriously. "Nnnnnnn...! It really is nice to be out in nature, isn''t it!" Saikawa was still facing away from me, but her voice was as cheerful as could be. "What do you think? Should we pitch my job and everything else out the window and actually start a new life in the country together?"


    "I don''t think a sheltered rich girl from the city could manage that."


    "Oh, that''s not true. I can cook, and living off thend will be easy-peasy." "Maybe for a few days, but you''d be missing convenience stores and Wi-Fi


    before too long."


    "...You''re no fun." My reaction seemed to displease Saikawa; she took out


    her phone and started to fiddle with it. Definitely snubbing me. "Witty retorts are fine, but if you''re negative about everything, people won''t like you."


    "I see. You''ve got me there," I responded lightly, although I''d quietly gotten to my feet and was sneaking up behind Saikawa. "¡ªBut I don''t mind being disliked for now." I snatched her smartphone out of her hands.


    "Wha¡ª! G-give that back!" Saikawa jumped, trying to grab the phone as I held it high in the air. However, it''s not that easy to make up a height difference of twenty-plus centimeters. "Why are you picking on me?! Is it because I was ying with my phone while I talked about wanting to live in the country?! In that case¡ª"


    "No."


    <i>...Yeesh. Let me be a little nosy, at least. </i>Keeping Saikawa at bay, I showed her the phone''s screen. "It''s because you''ve been staring at this stuff all day."


    The screen showed the timeline of a certain socialworking site. It was filled with nastyments about Saikawa after that news report.


    Saikawa never showed weakness. Before she was an idol singer, though, she was a girl in herst year of middle school. The news over the past few days had to be getting to her.


    "...Give that back, please." "Mm. Sorry."


    Saikawa took the phone from me, then lowered her head guiltily. "I don''t care what they say about me." She bit her lip, turning off her phone. "But when they go after Mom and Dad...I just can''t take it."


    Saikawa''s parents were her guiding star. She couldn''t allow them to be tainted... That said, she didn''t have any significant way to turn the situation around right now. Her enemy was an enormous, shapeless cruelty. There had never been a way to fight that.


    ¡ªEven so, if there was one thing we could do now, it was... "Kimizuka?"


    I''d taken a few steps forward. Saikawa gazed at me, mystified.


    <i>...Sorry, Saikawa. This is about all I cane up with.</i>


    I sucked in a deep breath, and¡ª


    "Dammit, you can''t do this to meeeeeeee!"


    On the top of the hill, I screamed my guts out at thendscape below.


    "K-Kimizuka?"


    Saikawa''s gloomy expression had turned to shock. "Um, I mean, I''m very happy that you''re getting angry on my behalf, but it''s rather embarrassing..." "You can''t just go off and die a hero all by yourself! You''re so <i>stupid</i>,


    Siestaaaaaaaa!"


    "O-oh, was that what this was...!" Saikawa''s retort sounded unusually flustered.


    <i>Sorry. I identally let the scream of my soul slip out there.</i>


    But...


    "Okay, Saikawa." I turned to her, holding out a hand. "Go ahead and vent.


    Let it all out."


    If it wasn''t possible to change someone, or something, then it had to at least be okay to scream all the unfairness out.


    "...Are idols allowed to use dirty words?" "You aren''t on the clock yet anyway."


    Until that live broadcast started, Yui Saikawa was just a girl in her third year of middle school.


    She was allowed to say whatever she wanted. Here and now, at least.


    " ! Bastaaaaaards!"


    Beside me, Saikawa shouted with her entire body.


    Taking off her eye patch, she screamed at the reality that was hurting her, and at the unbearable unfairness of it all.


    "You assholes don''t know a thing!"


    "You assholes¡ª" "Y-you!"


    Then she sucked in a deep, deep breath, so big it seemed almost impossible, and¡ª


    "I love my mom and dad! Stop being mean to them and just shut uuuuuuuup!!!"


    Her scream carried so far, I thought it might make it clear to heaven. "...I wonder if they heard me."


    Then Saikawa took a breath, getting herself under control. Her blue eye turned toward me. She looked as if she''de back to her senses.


    Of course, that wouldn''t have resolved everything. At the very least, though, I had the feeling she''d sing her very best song after this.


    "Yeah, that was a good scream. The radio towers could''ve picked that one up."


    "Ah-ha-ha! It would be bad if my fans heard that, huh. But..." Saikawa looked up at me, sping her hands behind her. "If they start ming me, I''m counting on you to put out the fire. Okay, producer?"


    The smile she gave me was as pure and open as a flower.

 Chapter 53 - 2.3

    <h4>Chapter 53: Chapter 2.3</h4>


    Girls always want to wear pretty dresses


    After that, we headed for the TV station again. Once Saikawa left me to go to her dressing room, I took advantage of my position as producer to duck into the studio.


    This was the music program''s special summer vacation edition, and it was being broadcast during the evening prime-time window. Lots of lights and cameras surrounded the set, and on the other side, the audience seats were filled with spectators.


    "Performers on set."


    When the program''s start time came, a staff member called out, and the emcee, his assistant, and the featured artists walked in. The audience cheered. After several other performers, Saikawa entered, waving. In a sharp change from this morning, her makeup was wless, and she was dressed in a frilly costume. That was Yui Saikawa the idol, all right. Her aura was in a whole


    different league.


    But then something weird happened.


    "...So that''s really how it''s going to go, huh?"


    A slight stir ran through the audience. It was as if everyone had noticed something but was pretending they hadn''t. That was true of the other performers as well. It didn''t show on their faces, but somehow their smiles looked like an act.


    I''d seen thising, though. Saikawa was appearing on the show right in the middle of all that media coverage. It would have been weirder not to care about it. And yet when she realized the cameras were cutting her out, she smiled brightly and struck a pose. She was mugging for them.


    Near me, a backstage staff member murmured, "Doesn''t have much on her mind, does she?"


    Seriously? Did he think Saikawa hadn''t noticed the awkwardness? In that case, he''d flunk the Yui-nya Level 5 Certification exam.


    "Times like this are when she smiles the most."


    I folded my arms, watching over the broadcast from the back of the room.


    During the program, the emcee talked with each artist, and then the artist performed their song. There were fifteen featured acts. About two hours into the program, Saikawa''s turn came along.


    "Next up is Miss Yui Saikawa."


    As the emcee called her over, the camera zoomed in on Saikawa. "Helloooo, it''s Yui Saikawa! The world''s cutest idol!" Striking another


    pose, Saikawa walked onto the set and stood next to the emcee. Then they talked about hertest single and her work for a minute or two.


    So far, so good. But then...


    "It sounds like you''ve had quite a mess on your handstely," the emcee said, smiling thinly.


    "...!" Saikawa''s eyes flew open.


    "Oh,e on! What was the point of that advance meeting, then?!" I bit my lip.


    That morning, I''d discussed the flow for today''s interview with the program''s producer, and I''d specifically asked him¡ªpolitely¡ªnot to bring up the scandal during the broadcast. Were they trying to generate a buzz, to boost their ratings? They''d brought up something everybody wanted answers


    on but couldn''t ask about.


    "Even if it was your parents who were directly responsible, I''d imagine it isn''t possible to disassociate yourself from it," the man pressed. Saikawa had frozen up.


    "You slimy little¡ª" I almost stepped forward...but then my eyes met Saikawa''s. She shook her head slightly, then turned back to the emcee.


    "I''m sorry there''s been such amotion over my parents." She bowed her head meekly; she didn''t try to sidestep the question. That set the studio buzzing. "However..." Saikawa looked up. "I am myself. Today, this is my show. And so for now, I''d love it if everyone focused on me."


    She gave the emcee a goofy little smile.


    "She''s just trying to protect her image," somebody muttered.


    Was it a performer, someone in the audience, a staff member, or a nt to make the show more exciting? Whichever it was, the voice that echoed quietly through the studio was trying to hurt Saikawa as much as they could.


    "...You''re right. I may be."


    After a few seconds of silence, Saikawa nodded.


    But I knew she wasn''t the type of girl who''d let a thing like that end her. She''d gotten through her parents'' death, she''d fought the enemies of the world, she''d shaken off the countless unfair things that had showered down on her, and here she was.


    "Even so, I''m not going to stop. After all¡ª" Once again, Saikawa smiled.


    She beamed.


    "Idols always want to look pretty, you know."


    Without looking at the emcee, Saikawa winked at the viewers on the other side of the camera.


    The studio went very quiet.


    In the back, a crew member rolled his arms in a signal.


    "...And now it''s time for Miss Yui Saikawa''s performance." After a moment''s hesitation, the emcee hastily got the show back on track.


    However, <i>control </i>of the studio had already passed into the hands of one girl.


    This was Saikawa''s show, by Saikawa, for Saikawa''s fans. "Erm, the song is..."


    Saikawa grabbed the mic from the rattled emcee. "The song is¡ª''SapphirePhantasm''!"


    She shouted in a clear, carrying voice. A voice that might have reached the top of a hill out in the country.


    <strong> Thus the nightmare strikes</strong>


    After the program had ended without further incident, I was waiting for Saikawa in the TV station''s underground parking garage.


    "Damn, she''s good."


    While I waited, I''d been skimming social mediaments about the program on my phone. The ones I saw were critical of the emcee, and most of them supported Saikawa.


    Naturally, Saikawa''s parents hadn''t been cleared, and the prosecution would probably keep investigating. Still, Saikawa had taken the awkwardness in the studio and flipped it with just one song. No, she''d done better: she''d turned around the spite of the general public, which was a hell of a feat.


    "It was like SIESTA said."


    There had never been anything I could do. I''d only needed to watch Saikawa''s decision y out. Witnessing that had been my job this time around.


    Now all I had to do was take Saikawa back to SIESTA''s house. Except... "She sure is taking her time."


    All she''d had to do was go to her dressing room, change, ande back, but I''d already been waiting for over half an hour.


    "Hm?"


    Come to think of it, I''d called for the car, but it wasn''t here yet either.


    Actually, it had been a while since I''d seen anybody at all. This underground parking garage wouldn''t exactly be crowded...but still, in thest thirty minutes, not a single soul had passed by.


    Then, I thought I felt a tepid breeze. "...!"


    On top of that, all the lights in the garage began to flicker. There were irregr spells of darkness, and then the lights went outpletely.


    "Gimme a break."


    As I said, I''m bad with stuff like this. I took out my smartphone, using it as a shlight. If I turned around now, <i>something </i>was <i>bound to be right there</i>. I''d seen enough paranormal shows to know how this worked. I backed up against a column, squinting into the surrounding darkness.


    Now I had to make a phone call. If I was talking with somebody, no ghosts would show up. They''d covered that in <i>Shinken Zemi</i>. I punched in a number with a shaky fingertip. "C''mon, Natsunagi, pick up, Natsunagi, Natsunagi, Natsunagi Natsunagi Natsunagi Natsunagi Natsunagi Natsunagi Natsunagi Natsunagi." I called her over and over like a total stalker, but Natsunagi didn''t answer.


    <i>This can''t be because of the ghost too, could it? They mess with radio waves and stuff, right? </i>Just when I was working myself into a panic¡ª


    "Oh? They''re...on?"


    They weren''t as bright as they had been, but the lights had begun to glow, dimly.


    <i>...Geez. Don''t scare me like that.</i>


    I stepped away from the pir, ending the call.


    However, I''d forgotten the fear I''d had earlier. If <i>something was going to show up</i>, it would be now, when I''d rxed.


    "What an opportune ce to find prey."


    The next instant, a sharp pain ran through the back of my neck. "...!"


    I couldn''t even scream. The strength drained out of me, and I slumped to my knees.


    I didn''t understand what was going on, but a fear of death skittered around my mind¡ª


    "I suppose a tidbit will avert the crisis."


    Still, if my premonition was wrong, it was only because <i>it </i>had detached itself from my neck sooner than I''d expected.


    "...!"


    Copsing onto the asphalt, I looked up at the figure that had been standing behind me.


    <i>It </i>was a tall man, dressed in white from head to toe. His hair was silver, his


    eyes golden. His face was very handsome, but cruel and haughty. His lips were stained with my red blood.


    "Who are...?" I asked. My mind was hazy. "What''s wrong, human?"


    Then <i>he spread tworge, ck wings</i>. "Have you never seen a vampire before?"


    <strong> Mystery meets high fantasy</strong>


    The blustering night wind woke me up.


    <i>...Woke me up?</i>


    I looked around. I was on the roof of some building... Probably the TV station.


    And...


    "You''re awake, human?"


    <i>He </i>was sitting cleverly on top of the narrow fence around the roof. He had one knee up, and he was holding a winess full of...something.


    "What''s the matter? Entranced by the sight of <i>your own blood</i>...?"


    The silver-haired, golden-eyed man swirled the contents of therge ss.


    He was grinning boldly at me.


    The nightmare wasn''t over yet.


    "How did we get up here?" I asked, feeling the wound on my neck.


    "What a dull question." The man <i>drained the rest of my blood </i>in one gulp. "I held you to my breast and flew. Obviously." Once again, he spread those jet-ck wings.


    I''d been praying I''d seen wrong, but I''d have to admit it: This guy was not human. He was a vampire, a monster in human form found in folklore from all times and ces. Their kind drank human blood and enjoyed eternal life. They were spoken of in legend as immortal kings.


    Except...


    "...I think someone might take that the wrong way. Could you not?"


    This guy had already bitten my neck. I didn''t want him talking about breasts or whatever on top of it.


    "Have no fear. You need only to be still and offer yourself to me."


    "You''re doing this on purpose, right? You''re deliberately making this weird."


    "A noble vampire, and his human thrall. You know the rest, I trust?"


    "I sure as hell don''t! Are you calling me a sub?!" <i>Nobody said that. I need to calm down. </i>"Hey. Vampire. What the heck are¡ª?"


    "Scarlet." The vampire cut me off. "That is my name. The name of the king. Past, present, and forevermore. Imand all nights, control the ignorant, unwashed masses."


    It was a sharp change from the banter earlier. His golden eyes glowered, as if he were a huge snake that had spotted its prey. It made all my hair stand on end.


    There was no point in trying topete with this guy, or outwit him, or plot anything of the sort. I could tell even from a few meters away. No, <i>he was making me see it</i>. Vampire and human. Our level¡ªour <i>rank</i>¡ªas living beings was different.


    "Ha! Be at ease, human."


    Scarlet leaped down from the fence, his expression softening. He wasn''t smiling, of course; his face and attitude were still insolent, but the threatening aura of a second ago had lost its edge. "There''s no need to worry. I won''t drink your blood again. I am interested only in beautiful people."


    "Hold it. Did you just call me ugly?"


    <i>Even Siesta never said anything that mean to me, all right?</i>


    "Ha-ha. What''s this, human?" The next moment, Scarlet had closed the


    distance between us and appeared right in front of me. He put that extremely handsome face close to mine, set a fingertip against my chin, and whispered sweetly. "¡ªDo you desire my affection?"


    "...Why am I suddenly seeing rainbows?"


    "Sex and gender are trivial matters. Your values are out of date, human." Who''d have thought I''d be getting that lecture from a vampire?


    Scarlet snorted, instantly putting distance between us again.


    "Wait a second. You''re only interested in beautiful people, right? Then why did you take my blood?"


    "Hm? Ah, I''d neglected to eat for about two weeks. Truly careless of me. I was merely staving off an emergency. Had you not been there, I would have starved to death."


    "Hey, hold up, Scarlet. I saved your ass, and this is how you treat me?"


    How could he act like such a big shot? Why was he still raking up his silver hair like he was a magazine cover model?


    "Men''s blood really is revolting. If I hadn''t gone two weeks without sustenance, I would have vomited on the spot. Right on your face."


    "You almost kill me, and then you tell me that?!"


    If this guy had been a human like me, I would have been punching him right about now.


    Yeah, if we were equals. But this guy was¡ª "Scarlet, you''re a Tuner, aren''t you?"


    "Oh-ho." The silver-haired man narrowed his eyes.


    So I was right. The Tuners were twelve people who''d been given the mission of protecting the world from anything that endangered it. In that group, Scarlet''s role was¡ªVampire.


    When SIESTA had told us about them, I''d never even dreamed that the vampire was a real one. But here he was, right in front of me. I had to admit it.


    "I see. You know, then? <i>The Daydream </i>said she hadn''t spoken to you about it."


    The Daydream. That was probably Siesta. "You know Siesta?"


    "Hm? You''re inquiring about my rtionship with that woman? ...Let''s see." Scarlet looked thoughtful all of a sudden.


    <i>What''s this? Why doesn''t he have a ready answer? All he has to do is say</i>


    <i>what sort of rtionship they were in. Like casual acquaintances, say, or coworkers.</i>


    "Well, there''s no need to inform you."


    "...Wait. You''re not going to say? Or is it that you can''t say?"


    "Ha! Awfully curious about the rtions between a man and a woman.


    Vulgar creature, aren''t you?"


    "Did you just say ''rtions between a man and woman''? Are you intentionally being suggestive?" <i>You''ve got to be kidding me... No, he totally is. He''s lying. It''s obviously a lie. At least I really want it to be. During those three years, Siesta and I dressed, ate, and lived together. I''d never picked up on so much as a hint of another man. It''s all right, it''s okay...</i>


    "If suggestion is what you seek, the scent of that woman''s shampoo was


    ¡ª"


    "~~~~~~!"


    "You''re quite easy to read, human."


    My hand was raised to him, and Scarlet snorted at me.


    ...I prayed fervently that I wasn''t the first human in history to get teased by a vampire.


    "Hah! Have no fear. My rtionship with that woman was nothing like your baseless suspicions." As Scarlet spoke, there was a distant look in his eyes. "If she was a daydream, I was a nightmare. Day and night. We never mingled."


    Siesta the ace detective and Scarlet the Vampire.


    There did seem to be some deep connection there, something I wasn''t aware of.


    However...


    "Then I''m even more confused. Why did youe to me?" If he was trying to avoid Siesta, and I''d been her assistant...


    "There are several reasons. First, because I''d received a request." A request¡ªthat word reminded me of Siesta.


    "Well, in my case, I suppose it would be <i>a contract</i>. An equivalent trade where I grant a wish, and the other party pays me amensurate price."


    "A price... You mean money?"


    "In some cases, yes. I will ept anything I find satisfactory. Money, rank, the finest blood¡ªif they bring me something I will be content with, I will lend a hand to anyone. Even <i>the enemies of the world</i>."


    He smiled. Even though as a Tuner, he should have been one of the good guys.


    "...Then did youe to me because you''d made a contract with somebody? And the one who asked for the contract is the one who has business with me?"


    "You''re half correct. One of my reasons foring here was indeed the party I''ve contracted with. However, they have no business with you."


    "Huh? So you don''t need me for anything?"


    But he''d gone out of his way to make contact with me. He must have had business with someone in my circle who was nearby, which meant¡ª


    "Saikawa, huh?"


    Even if that was true, though, what would this guy want with her? And who the heck had made a contract with Scarlet?


    "If we''re talking about beings who serve vampires, there''s really only one."


    Suddenly, someone spoke over our heads.


    The owner of the voice touched down beside Scarlet. "Ha-ha. We meet again, huh, Watson."


    Heughed the way he always did, wriggling the tentacle that had sprouted from his ear at me.


    "Bat...!"


    Trapped in the coils of that tentacle, I saw Yui Saikawa''s wincing face.

 Chapter 54 - 2.4

    <h4>Chapter 54: Chapter 2.4</h4>


    The primordial seed, the girl of the vessel


    Bat was a former SPES officer, and Siesta and I had a fairly deep history with him.


    We''d met him four years ago, on a ne at ten thousand meters. Siesta had defeated him then, and he''d been in the custody of the Japanese police ever since.


    He''d broken out, though, and here he was. Right in front of me. And in the tentacle that grew from his ear was¡ª


    "Kimi...zuka..." Saikawa looked to me for help, her expression agonized. "...! SIESTA said she was going to deal with you."


    Yesterday, she''d gone out to do just that. Had he evaded her? ...SIESTA?


    Really? No, more importantly¡ª


    "Give back Saikawa, Bat." I took my gun from its back holster. "Ha-ha! You''re one dangerous producer."


    Bat seemed to have been using his augmented ears to listen in on our conversation. He smirked at me. "Eh, that''s fine. She''s weighing me down anyway."


    To my surprise, he released Saikawa without a fight.


    "Kimizuka!" Saikawa ran up to me, then ducked behind me to hide, clinging to my waist.


    "Are you okay?"


    "He said I was heavy! Shoot him dead! Now!" "Great, you sound fine."


    Patting Saikawa lightly on the head, I faced down the other two. A vampire and Bat¡ªthat was who we''d be fighting this time.


    "Bat, why are you with Scarlet? Didn''t you team up with Seed?" Fingers tightening on my gun, I looked from Bat to Scarlet and back. "Hey, c''mon, one question at a time." Bat gave his usual irritatingugh.


    "The substance matters not. Bat, I will leave the exnations to you." Scarlet cracked his neck. "I only just awakened," he said, and then he melted into the shadows.


    "Kimizuka, was that...?" Saikawa stared after him, wide-eyed.


    "He says he''s a vampire. It''s hard to believe, though." Except he''d left proof on my neck.


    "I see. Congrats on your graduation."


    "...I don''t want to ''graduate'' with a dude." Also, this wasn''t the time.


    "Bat, what''s your connection to Scarlet?" I pointed my gun at him again. "Originally, Seed asked Scarlet to bring me back," Bat said, revealing a


    further link. "Apparently, SPES is short-handed. I''d parted ways with Seed once, but he made contact with me through Scarlet."


    Right, this guy had left SPES on bad terms, and that was what had triggered the hijacking incident, four years ago. However, Seed had gotten Scarlet to contact Bat, acting like that whole past was water under the bridge. Then Scarlet had broken through the strict security and taken Bat out of jail... Out of the <i>big house</i>, the one I''d visited.


    "No way am I going back to SPES, though. Actually, <i>due to a certain reason</i>, my interests and Scarlet''s matched up, so we''re working together."


    "So you connected with me and Saikawa and left Seed out of it? It''s prettyte in the game for this; what do you need now? You helped us out during that sapphire incident, remember?"


    When SPES had gone after Saikawa''s left eye, we''d resolved the incident with an assist from Bat.


    "But now you''re after Saikawa? Why? Did you decide to take her left eye after all?"


    Saikawa caught the cuff of my sleeve and squeezed it. Her sapphire eye was a memento of her parents, and to her, it was more important than life itself.


    "Good guess, but I''ve mellowed out. I''m not nning anything that fancy," Bat muttered quietly. He gazed dully at Saikawa. "I''m just here to recruit you. Would you join me?"


    " "Huh?" " Saikawa and I said in unison. What the heck was this guy talking about?


    "It''s simple. I''m asking you to help me defeat SPES." "...Is that why you didn''t respond to Seed''s summons?"


    "Yup. Right now, I''m building up my forces. I''ve got my ears, and she''s got her eye." Bat''s cloudy eyes turned toward her. "So, Yui Saikawa. Come with me."


    He was trying to pull Saikawa onto his team with some kinda weak logic. "Do you think I''ll hand her over that easily?"


    "You heard him. Kimizuka is abnormally obsessed with me." "Saikawa, I know you''re trying to help, but you''re really not." Seriously, she never reads the room.


    "You and the new girl detective are free toe along, Watson. Bottom line is, I need to be stronger¡ªif I''m going to defeat that."


    Bat''s expression turned stern, and he brought up the name of the enemy leader who''d recently begun to move. "Why has Seed, and SPES, been so quiet over this past year? Have you thought about that?" he asked me.


    During the year I''d spent in my tepid life, it was true that SPES hadn''t tried to contact me in any way. I''d figured they just weren''t interested in me, since I was only Siesta''s shadow. But...


    "Is there a particr reason behind it?"


    "Let''s go back in time a bit." Bat took a cigarette out of his breast pocket and lit it. "Several decades ago, the big guy flew to this as a seed. He wasn''t able to adapt to its environmentpletely, though."


    "...!"


    This was new information. Seed''s body wasn''t built to live on this... Was that why he was so particr about his survival instincts?


    "So Seed''s been looking for a human vessel that will be able to survive on the surface."


    "A vessel... He''s nning to hijack someone else''s body?"


    Apparently he was trying to keep his own mind and powers, but he would switch them to another physical body.


    "That''s right. ''Vessel'' sounds pretty simple, but it''s not as if just any body will do. It has to bepatible with the seed, or Seed won''t be able to move in."


    "Compatible? ¡ªDon''t tell me... That facility..." "You put two and two together, huh?"


    Natsunagi had said that human experiments had been a significant part of her time at the orphanage six years ago with her friends. That had all been¡ª


    "Was that all to create apatible vessel for Seed?"


    Little kids had been collected at that orphanage and subjected to experiments just for that?


    "The experiments went even worse than he''d expected, though. Far too few of their specimens were able to withstand the seed."


    That had alsoe up in Natsunagi''s story. The "durable vessels" had been few and far between. Alicia had attempted the experiment, failed, and died.


    "On top of that, most of thepatible cases still had side effects." "Side effects? ...You mean like your eyes?"


    Bat snorted, exhaling a plume of smoke. He was a former human who''d forcibly attached a seed to himself; in exchange for gaining power as SPES, he''d lost his sight.


    "Right. The side effects take away some of the senses of humans, or even shorten their lives. Seed wanted a perfect vessel... And he finally found two candidates. They were¡ª"


    "Siesta and Hel, huh?"


    Seed had said something to mest year: "If I side with either of them, the


    n won''te together."


    Meaning he''d made Siesta and Hel fight each other, intending to use the winner as his vessel. He''d been trying to narrow his options from two to one.


    "However, Watson, you already know how that went." "...Yeah. Although I only just remembered."


    After Siesta and Hel''s fight to the death, Siesta''s vessel had been lost when her body died...while the other vessel held Hel, Natsunagi, and Siesta, and was already filled to capacity. If he''d tried to force it open, he probably would have broken it.


    In other words, whatever it may have meant for us, Siesta''s sacrifice had robbed Seed of both his intended vessels at a stroke.


    "Well, Seed spent a year waiting for the day when those two would split once again. When that time came, he''d move into the body of the survivor."


    "...But then it never did."


    When Seed observed Siesta and Chameleon''s fight on that cruise ship, he''d probably realized that Siesta had permanently attached herself to Natsunagi''s body.


    "That''s the size of it. Of course, Seed hasn''t been sitting on his hands for the past year. It''s just that every time he tried to use his followers to start something, somebody prevented him from getting the results he wanted. And so he decided to go through Scarlet, who outranks him, and make his next move."


    That was what SIESTA had told us about¡ªSeed had lost his most promising candidate vessel and was looking for a new one. In order to qualify, the person would have to be able to use the power of the seed effectively, and they couldn''t have developed any major side effects. If there was anyone like that near me, it was¡ª


    "Kimizuka..."


    I felt a small tug on my sleeve.


    Yeah, I know. I''de up with my theory ages ago. "Seed ns to make Yui Saikawa his vessel, huh?"


    <strong> The ugliest choice in the world</strong>


    Seed was nning to use Saikawa as a vessel.


    Several things hadn''t made sense to me earlier, but they all started clicking


    into ce once we had that theory.


    For example, in Londonst year, Seed had taken Ms. Fuubi''s shape and visited me, Siesta, and Natsunagi (in her Alicia appearance at the time). He''d told us to "search for the sapphire eye."


    Back then, I hadn''t known what "the sapphire eye" meant, but he''d probably been talking about Saikawa. So a year ago, Seed had already been trying to bring us into contact with Saikawa¡ªand keep her near Siesta as <i>a backup vessel</i>. Then he''d meant to size up Saikawa indirectly <i>and try to cultivate her</i>.


    However, Siesta''s decision had postponed that, and it had been a year before we''d met Saikawa in person. We''d been brought together by the advance notice SPES had sent to announce its crime: "I will relieve you of a sapphire worth three billion yen." That incident might have been an attempt toplete Saikawa as a vessel by putting her in danger.


    "...So you mean, after Siesta died, things have been going ording to Seed''s script anyway?"


    Seed had observed both the sapphire incident and the showdown with Chameleon on that luxury cruise liner. We''d thought we''d solved the problem, but we''d been in the palm of his hand the whole time.


    "Exactly. Now that his most promising candidates are gone, Seed''s going after that girl for sure. We should take steps to prevent it."


    Bat dropped his cigarette to the roof, then made another attempt to convince Saikawa to join the SPES suppression team. "Besides, that girl has a better reason than anyone to fight SPES." Grinding his cigarette out under his foot, Bat looked at Saikawa.


    "I do...?" Saikawa didn''t seem to know what he was talking about. She cocked her head.


    "Oh, I see. They didn''t tell you what went into getting that left eye of yours."


    Bat gave a little nod, as if something had just clicked into ce.


    I''d heard that Saikawa''s parents had given her that sapphire eye, since she''d been blind in her left eye from birth...


    "Think about it. Yeah, they may have been rich, they may have loved their only daughter, but do you think anyone would pay billions of yen <i>for a false eye that was just a pretty rock</i>?"


    "That''s..." Saikawa froze up.


    <i>Don''t tell me...</i>


    "Does it have some kind of secret Saikawa doesn''t know about?" I asked. "I only learned this the other day," Bat replied, "but soon after the sapphire


    girl was born, she developed a malignant tumor in her left eye." Cancer of the eye. I hadn''t heard of any cases of that before.


    "It''s a rare disease that mainly shows up in kids under five. This country has less than a hundred cases of it per year. If the disease progresses, it''s treated by surgically extracting the eyeball, but even then, you couldn''t call it a full cure."


    That was when I finally saw where he was going with this.


    They''d probably anticipated that Saikawa''s disease wouldn''t be cured by ordinary methods. Even so, her parents had wanted to heal their only daughter, <i>no matter what it took</i>.


    "So Saikawa''s parents turned to SPES?"


    In order to save their daughter''s life, they''d asked for help from a great evil.


    "No..."


    Saikawa''s hands trembled at the revtion. Her parents hadn''t told her.


    They probably hadn''t wanted to make her anxious.


    ...No, that wasn''t all of it. What they''d feared most was¡ªguilt.


    "They invested enormous sums in SPES''s experimental facility," Bat said, and all the possibilities clicked into ce.


    When Natsunagi had told us about her past, she''d mentioned a wealthy Japanese couple who''d regrly made big donations to the orphanage. Could they have been Saikawa''s parents?


    And then there were those reports about Saikawa''s parents and illegal ounting. Had they found the suspicious money stream from six years ago?


    If all those theories were correct, then... "...Just tell me one thing, please."


    Saikawa let go of my sleeve. With effort, she spoke to Bat calmly. "If a normal person formed a contract and learned SPES''s secret¡ªonce that contract came to an end, what would SPES <i>do with those people</i>?"


    I knew what her question meant instantly. Before I could stop him, though, Bat answered.


    "They''d kill them."


    This was the worst scenario I could think of: Saikawa''s parents hadn''t died in an ident. SPES had taken their lives.


    "That can''t... No..." "Saikawa!"


    Saikawa staggered, nearly falling, and I caught her from behind.


    ...Last night, Saikawa had told me she had next to no connection to either Siesta or to SPES, and so this was a story that belonged just to her. She''d taken pride in her own life.


    But now they''d all linked together anyway.


    She was right smack in the middle of this churning nightmare, and there was no way out.


    "That means you have a reason to fight, Yui Saikawa. You''re destined to take up arms against SPES." Bat drew the gun from his back and tossed it toward Saikawa.


    He was wordlessly telling her to take it and fight. "I''m..." Saikawa''s voice was trembling.


    Saikawa had only just learned everything¡ªthe truth behind her eye, and the truth of her parents'' death. She was nowhere near capable of making any choices right now.


    "Bat, now isn''t¡ª"


    Just as I tried to take a step forward in her ce... "For hell''s sake. Could you be any worse at this?"


    A figure welled up from the shadows near Bat, and I recognized those golden eyes and silver hair.


    It was Scarlet, the white-jacketed vampire, who''d just woken from his brief nap. He needled Bat irritably. "I''m appalled that you thought you could talk her around with that travesty of a negotiation, <i>mammal</i>. You stand down." Scarlet stepped out in front of Bat.


    "Ha! Vampire. Don''t get me wrong. I did ask for your help, but that doesn''t mean I''m bad at..."


    Just as Bat was about to snap at him¡ª "Don''t push your luck¡ªlower life-form."


    Scarlet''s gold eyes flickered like lightning. "...!"


    Suddenly, Bat fell to his knees. Then, as if he was moving against his will, he bowed to Scarlet.


    "...Damn...it."


    Bat was struggling, but his agonized face gradually slipped out of sight, until atst his head was pressed to the ground.


    "I will not permit a mere human to disrespect me. Grovel there for a while and allow me to show you how this is done."


    Was that another vampire power? After Scarlet had dominated Bat without even touching him, he turned to me and Saikawa again.


    "Now, then. I am sorry for the trouble you''ve been caused."


    <i>Well, that was a surprise.</i>


    "No, we''re..."


    "He must understand that any attempt to form a contract must be apanied by amensurate price." Ignoring my confusion, Scarlet steered the conversation off in another direction¡ªand it didn''t take me long to realize it was the worst one possible. "What do you say, sapphire girl? Should you ept his request and assist him in subjugating SPES, I will grant you one wish."


    "A wish...?"


    When she heard Scarlet''s proposal, Saikawa wavered.


    "That''s right. You can wish for anything you like. For example¡ª" The vampire whispered sweetly.


    "¡ªwhy don''t I bring your parents back to life?"


    <strong> What we the living can do</strong>


    "Bring Dad and Mom back to life...?"


    Saikawa''s right eye widened. It was as if she''d been offered a thread of possibility, a miracle she''d thought could never happen, and her heart swayed unsteadily. ¡ªBut.


    "That''s not even possible." I knew it was cruel, but I cut that sweet hope down. "When someone dies, they nevere back."


    Everybody knew that.


    The dead don''te back to life. What''s gone never returns to the way it was. That''s what makes us irreceable. We know this.


    "Yes, you are not wrong." In a t voice, Scarlet temporarily acknowledged what I was saying. But then... "However, I am a vampire¡ªan <i>immortal </i>king. Remember?"


    Still expressionless, the vampire bowed his head at a ny-degree angle¡ª and then he called toward hell.


    "Return, lizard."


    In the next instant, a human silhouette rose from Scarlet''s shadow. "Kimizuka, that''s..." Even the half-distracted Saikawa stared in


    astonishment.


    The figure was a slim man with silver hair and Asian features¡ªand <i>a long, reptilian tongue</i>.


    "Chameleon..."


    He was a SPES officer, and our old enemy. We''d first encountered him in London a year ago, but at the end of that recent showdown on the cruise ship, he''d been lost in the ocean¡ªor so I''d assumed.


    "Why are you alive?"


    Chameleon leaned forward limply, his long tongue hanging down. His shape was definitely the one I''d seen several times before in battle... But.


    "¡ªAh, ah, aaaah, aaaaaah."


    The sound seemed to echo from the depths of the earth. "What the hell is this?"


    Chameleon said nothing coherent, just kept making that awful noise. His eyes were unfocused, and he swayed on his feet in an anemic daze.


    Was this really Chameleon?


    "Put bluntly, he is what one would call a zombie." Scarlet shot a cold nce at Chameleon. "The immortal blood in my veins can resurrect the deceased as the undead."


    "...! So he''s a corpse puppet?"


    Scarlet walked around the three of us, smiling coldly. "Corpse puppet. I see. Yes, that''s good. It''s true that he cannot speak, nor can wemunicate with him. He has lost his sense of pain, and his remaining physical senses hardly function at all. In that sense, he really is no more than a living corpse. However..." Scarlet went on. "The undead I create by drinking blood return with their strongest <i>instinct </i>from life intact. Put another way, they can attain


    the <i>wishes </i>they harbored then. Well, human?" He turned to me.


    "If you could have your wish granted even after death, would that not be happiness?"


    Humans and vampires hadpletely different values¡ªand that was what separated us. Either that, or this messed-up thought experiment was what happened when vampires tried topromise their take on life and death with humans''.


    I knew what this man was saying was wrong, but I didn''t have an immediate response.


    "Well? What will you do, sapphire girl?"


    Scarlet''s focus shifted from me to Saikawa. Well, she was the one he''d offered this choice to in the first ce.


    "Have no fear. I don''t even need a corpse. If their bones, hair, or even DNA remains, I can resurrect your parents as undead."


    "..." Saikawa said nothing.


    A warped smile stole onto Scarlet''s lips. "Go on," he murmured. "Decide quickly, or <i>the bystander </i>won''t keep his silence."


    Just then...


    "¡ªAh, ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" The shriek was deafening.


    "Saikawa, look out!"


    Chameleon had flung his upper body back and screamed. He wasn''t conscious; he didn''t even know why he was standing here. He just howled, as if it was all he could do. Unsteady feet tangling, he lurched toward us in an attempt to attack.


    Chameleon''s instinct was to fight for survival.


    Even after he had died ande back to life, he kept up that meaningless struggle.


    ...Because that was his wish.


    "That''s not what you told me, vampire."


    Just as I heard that voice, Chameleon stopped moving.


    He''d been reaching out to grab us, his eyes rolled back into his skull...but there was a long tentacle wrapped around his body.


    "Oh-ho. You managed to move. Impressive, Bat."


    Still facing forward, Scarlet spoke to the man standing behind him. This was the first time he''d used Bat''s name.


    The tentacle from Bat''s left ear had reached out and restrained Chameleon.


    He''d protected me and Saikawa.


    "Hey, vampire. You didn''t mention that your undead were this half-assed." Without flinching, Bat snapped at Scarlet again. "I proposed a contract because I thought you could bring the dead back to something that resembled actual life."


    A contract with a vampire¡ªthat must have been the "interests matching up" that Bat had mentioned. He''d ced his hopes in Scarlet''s ability to bring the dead back to life and had offered suitable payment. But the power hadn''t been as almighty as he''d thought.


    "Nonsense." Scarlet turned back, tly dismissing Bat''s challenge. "How could there be a miracle without a price? Nothing can be gained without sacrifice: That is a natural principle. Or, what, did you seriously suppose that <i>your younger sister could be brought back as you once knew her from a single hair</i>?"


    "...! Shut up!" Bat was furious. He didn''t turn that anger on Scarlet, though. Instead, he tightened the tentacle that bound Chameleon, taking out his frustration on the iplete undead.


    "¡ªAh, aaah, ah!"


    Chameleon groaned in pain. He was no longer the enemy who''d given us so much trouble before.


    "Come, sapphire girl. Choose." One more time, Scarlet offered the choice to Saikawa. "It is true that the revenants are degraded, but there''s no need to fear. As I said before, the undead I create return with their strongest wish in life. Sapphire girl, what do you suppose your parents'' instinct was?" Scarlet asked Saikawa, before narrowing his golden eyes and answering his own question firmly. "Love for their child, freely given. Therefore, once returned, even if your parents are reduced to corpse puppets, no doubt they''ll never forget their love for their only daughter. Listen, sapphire girl," he said again. "Do you not wish to see them, one more time?"


    Saikawa''s only response as he made his case was silence. She stood very still, fists clenched tightly.


    However, right in front of her...


    "¡ªGah, ah! Aah!"


    Even wrapped in Bat''s tentacle, Chameleon kept wordlessly trying to attack us. Saikawa was standing beyond his outstretched hand. The gun Bat had thrown to her earliery at her feet.


    "Saikawa..."


    I started to say something to her¡ªthen changed my mind. This time, there was nothing I could do.


    After all, before we came here, SIESTA had told me to watch over Yui Saikawa''s decision. I had a hunch she''d meant this one as well.


    "All right, girl. What will you do?" Scarlet pressed her to make a decision.


    Chameleon had dragged himself right up to her. Saikawa had to do something now; she finally bent down and¡ª


    "You poor thing."


    Gently, she stroked Chameleon''s head. "..."


    Scarlet said nothing. Saikawa watched him out of the corner of her eye... and didn''t even nce at the gun by her feet. With a sad smile, she softly ran her hand over the groaning Chameleon''s silver hair.


    "You don''t have to do this anymore. A kind ace detective and her assistant already put an end to your fight. It''s all right now. Please rest."


    ...Of course. Chameleon had been created just to fight as Seed''s clone. In a way, he was a victim. His struggle had ended with that showdown on the cruise ship. Siesta had seen to that.


    "¡ªAh, ah, aaah." Chameleon howled, desperately wringing his voice from his throat. He might have been trying to tell us something. But the meaningless sounds only faded hollowly into the night sky.


    "He''s telling me to sing." Saikawa studied his face, as if she had managed to divine what he wanted.


    "...Really?"


    "I don''t know."


    "Hey."


    Despite the weight of the situation, the retort just came naturally.


    "Well, how could I? The dead don''t tell us anything." Saikawa straightened


    up.


    "Some people might say we''re full of ourselves, but I think all we can do is consider what that person would want, believe in it, and carry it out."


    Turning back, she smiled at me. That smile seemed fragile, and it was sadder than any expression I''d ever seen from her. The sincerest, too.


    "¡ªYeah, you''re right."


    What did the dead want from those they''d left behind? There was no way to truly know. How did Saikawa''s parents want their only daughter to live now? They''d never be able to tell us.


    But Saikawa still believed.


    She trusted that the path she''d chosen for herself was the future they''d wanted as well.


    "I''d always like to be someone that Dad and Mom would be proud of if they were alive. I was a wallflower with no friends, but now I''m singing, surrounded by a crowd of fans andpanions. I think that would make them both happy."


    That was what Yui Saikawa believed to be her parents''st wish.


    She wouldn''t be tainted by revenge. She''d just enjoy her time with her friends and continue her career as an idol.


    "So I''m sorry. I trust that this will make you happy as well."


    As Saikawa spoke, I saw a mic in her hand¡ªor imagined one, anyway. This was her requiem for Chameleon, and for her parents.


    And that was fine. That was how Yui Saikawa should be. Idol singers weren''t meant to hold a gun.


    Saikawa sang, whether or not the situation called for it, ignoring both the pseudohumans and the vampire.


    "All right, please listen. The song is¡ª" She''d sing, and sing, and sing.

 Chapter 55 - 2.5

    <h4>Chapter 55: Chapter 2.5</h4>


    That day''s regrets, someday''s promise


    "I''m worn out..."


    Later, back hunched and shoulders slumping, I trudged down the dark road that led back to the hideout.


    "Kimizuka, I was gonna say you look like an old man, but you''re more of a zombie now," Saikawa admonished me. She was walking beside me.


    "We had a vampire, a pseudohuman, and a corpse puppet all in one ce back there. Anybody would end up zombified."


    "Ah-ha-ha! It was an all-star assembly, wasn''t it?" Saikawa gave an easyugh.


    I almost told her, <i>Man, you don''t have a care in the world, do you... </i>But it was a relief to see she could smile like that after everything.


    "Seriously. I''m impressed we made it through."


    I thought back to the exchange on the roof, about half an hour ago¡ª


    "Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha!"


    Putting a hand to his forehead, Scarlet grinned broadly. He seemed to find this hrious.


    "What was that girl? One would think she no longer saw me at all."


    In the end, Saikawa hadn''t even given Scarlet''s offer a response. She''d finished one song in her rooftop recital, then hurried back to her dressing room to change by herself.


    From the way she was acting, though, her intentions were clear. Saikawa wouldn''t bring her parents back to life. Chameleon''s iplete resurrection had been enough to show her that they wouldn''t genuinelye back.


    And even if her parents weren''t here, Saikawa could get by on her own. That was what mattered. Her left eye would show her whaty ahead. This was her story, a life that was hers alone.


    "The world has some very entertaining humans in it," Scarletmented, approaching Chameleon''s corpse.


    After Saikawa had gone, I''d finished Chameleon off.


    This was the second time I''d killed him. I knew it was a weird thing to say to an enemy, but I silently prayed that he''d rest in peace.


    "By the way, Scarlet, why did you help Bat instead of Seed?"


    Bat had disappeared into the darkness ages ago, so the vampire and I were alone. It seemed like a good time to ask.


    "You could say it was a whim... However..." There was something oddly significant in Scarlet''s tone. "I wished to <i>see the ''singrity'' for myself</i>."


    What did he mean, singrity? He peered at me. "Besides." "?"


    "The price Seed initially offered to pay me <i>was abnormal</i>." Scarlet smiled thinly. "I thought it would be intriguing to go along with his caprice, so I epted. Still, it led me to an encounter with something fascinating. Now, I shall take my leave."


    Scarlet nimbly jumped up onto the fence. "What exactly did Seed try to pay you?"


    "Ha! Deduce it for yourself someday, human... If you are the man who stands beside the daydream, that is." Scarlet spoke over his shoulder to me. "Well, I suppose I''ll ask a question of my own while I have the chance to."


    Turning halfway around on his narrow perch, Scarlet said: "Is there no one you wish to bring back to life?"


    He looked down at me, his expression unreadable.


    Bringing the dead back to life was profane. If it was really possible, then I''d¡ª


    "Well, you needn''t answer now. In any event, this visit is merely my <i>debut</i>.


    My true entrance lies in the future. Find your way to it someday, human." Then Scarlet leaned backward, letting himself fall.


    When I saw that...


    "It''s Kimizuka. Kimihiko Kimizuka."


    Even I don''t know why I did it. Only that the next thing I knew, I''d given him my name.


    "Kimizuka? ...Kimizuka!"


    Somebody tugged at my sleeve. I nced over and found Saikawa looking up at me, perplexed.


    "We''re here."


    "Oh, sorry. I was thinking."


    While I was absorbed in the memory of thatst exchange with Scarlet on


    the roof, we''d made it back to SIESTA''s house.


    "Honestly! You''re the only one who''d let your mind wander while I''m talking to you!" Saikawa glowered at me, then turned away sulkily. Apparently, she''d been trying to strike up a conversation with me.


    "Sorry." I patted her lightly on the head, but she was still pouting. "Enough. I''m not talking to you anymore, Kimizuka."


    "Well, that''s just sad..."


    Is this how dads feel when their daughter goes through a rebellious phase? "I''m sorry." She''d smacked my hand away, and I lowered it with another


    apology.


    Saikawa was striding ahead, without waiting for me. "I told you¡ª" "I''m sorry I couldn''t do anything."


    "Huh?" She turned around.


    I really should have said all of this to her before I said anything else.


    "I''m sorry I couldn''t say anything to you. I''m sorry all I could do was watch. I''m sorry I couldn''t help. All I could do was wait for you to get through it on your own, Saikawa, and¡ª"


    Just as I was about to finish the sentence, something caught me around the waist.


    "I''m sorry," I said just one more time, and then I hugged Saikawa back.


    She''d flown into my arms.


    "...Three years." I heard Saikawa''s vaguely needy voice from a little ways below my chest. "It''s been three years since anyone hugged me."


    Three years. By now, I didn''t even have to ask what that number meant to Saikawa.


    I couldn''t take her parents'' ce, though. Nobody could. Nobody could rece anyone.


    <i>Still</i>, I thought. <i>Still.</i>


    I could walk with her. I could hold her hand and pat her head. I could also hold her close like I was doing now. In that case¡ª


    "I''ll let you cry on my shoulder anytime." I wanted to do for her what no one had done for me a year ago.


    "You too, Kimizuka." Saikawa looked up at me. "You can lean on me and be more demanding too." It was clear from her expression that she wasn''t joking. "It''s okay to do what <i>you </i>want to do."


    Saikawa had said this to me before.


    True to her words, she''d chosen her own path. She was sure her deceased parents would be proud of her as she pursued her career as an idol singer, surrounded by friends. She also knew it was what she personally wanted to do.


    Then what about me?


    I''d inherited the deceased ace detective''sst wish...but was that really what I wanted to do?


    What exactly was it that my heart wanted right now?


    Everything changes now


    "We''re hoooome!"


    Heading down the underground stairway, Saikawa opened the iron door. It had been a long day, but we''d finally made it back to SIESTA''s hideout.


    "Sorry we''reaaate," Saikawa called to Natsunagi and Charlie, who''d stayed here. After all that mess, the clock on the living room wall said it was past midnight.


    "I''ll just take a shower, then hit the sack." ...Or so I thought, but first I probably needed to fill the other two in on what had happened to me and Saikawa. Especially the part about Seed''s objective and what was going on with SPES, fast¡ª


    "Nagisa!" Saikawa shrieked. She was crouched down beside the dining table in the living room.


    "What''s wrong¡ª?!"


    Natsunagi was on the floor, unconscious.


    "Nagisa! Nagisa...!" Saikawa called, then started to shake her roughly.


    I stopped her, then put my hand by Natsunagi''s lips to see whether she was breathing... Okay, she was alive. Then, while we were doing that¡ª


    "...Kimi...zuka? Yui...?" Natsunagi''s eyes opened a little, and she registered me and Saikawa.


    "Are you okay?!" "Nagisa...!"


    We''d crouched down beside her. "R-run...," she croaked.


    In the next instant, I could feel something deadly behind us.


    "...!"


    Snatching the gun from my waist, I turned and pointed it at the figure that was standing a few meters away. My opponent was pointing <i>a slender sword </i>at me.


    "Why...?" Saikawa murmured in a tremulous voice when she saw the face of the person I was holding at gunpoint.


    ...Yeah. I knew how she felt. Even now that we''d taken aim at each other, I doubted my own brain. Maybe this was some sort of dream, or an illusion.


    At the same time, I was well aware that <i>this person </i>wasn''t the type to y practical jokes.


    So as for me, I chose to keep my tone as light as I always did with her.


    "Hey, c''mon. This is a pretty big personality shift¡ªCharlotte Arisaka Anderson."


    Between her flowing blond hair and emerald-green eyes, there was no mistaking her for anyone else. Just a day ago, we''d been close friends, living under the same roof. Now she was eyeing us coldly, as if we were prey she needed to hunt.


    "Run for it," I urged, stepping in front of Natsunagi and Saikawa to shield them. But Natsunagi was in no shape to go anywhere under her own power, and Saikawa was frozen with shock.


    "It''s no use." Charlie''s expression was heartless. "Even if I have to chase you to the ends of the earth¡ª<i>I will kill Yui Saikawa</i>."


    Not Natsunagi, not me. Less than an hour after Saikawa had just freed herself from a powerful set of shackles, Charlie was dering that she was the target she had to annihte.


    "Wh-why?" Saikawa sounded less shocked than genuinely perplexed. "We were together all day yesterday, and we chatted for so long..."


    "I have orders," Charlie told her briefly. "They came in just a little while ago. And so I''ll do it. There''s no other reason."


    Who would issue orders to kill Saikawa?


    SPES? No, it couldn''t be them. Bat had told us that SPES¡ªwell, Seed¡ª was trying to take Saikawa over and use her as a vessel. He couldn''t kill her.


    "It''s time." Without telling us anything else, Charlie leveled her saber. "If you get in my way, I''ll kill you, too. I won''t let you stall for time."


    In the next instant, she''d vanished.


    No¡ªit only looked that way. That was how fast she''d closed the distance between us.


    Charlie was taking this seriously. It wasn''t like she even needed to; I''d never managed to beat her inbat, period. If we were in a one-on-one fight now, I was already¡ª


    "I knew I was right to drink your blood."


    I''d heard that same mocking tone just a little while ago.


    The vampire stepped between Charlie and me, golden eyes gleaming, as red drops of blood danced around him. He was in control now.


    "...! Scarlet, you¡ª!"


    But that blood was his. Along with the bright blood, <i>Scarlet''s right arm was tumbling through the air</i>. Charlie''s sword had severed it.


    "Oh-ho. To think you''d lop off my arm." The sudden intruder had startled Charlie; meanwhile, Scarlet didn''t turn a hair. "Mypliments. You''re quite skilled...<i>for a human</i>."


    Catching his flying right arm in his teeth, Scarlet unleashed a high kick at her.


    "...!"


    But it was no ordinary kick¡ªhe was a monster, after all. There was a dull thud, and Charlie flew backward.


    "Ghk! Who...are you...?" Charlie had crumpled to the floor a good distance away. She looked up at Scarlet in obvious agony.


    "It appears you hadn''t factored my existence into your n." Scarlet pressed the arm against his bleeding right shoulder. The surfaces rapidly joined up again¡ªhe didn''t even have to stitch them together.


    "Scarlet, why are you here?"


    He''d hinted that we''d probably meet again someday, but I hadn''t expected to see him less than an hourter.


    "Oh, I''d forgotten something." Walking up to me, Scarlet slipped something into the breast pocket of my jacket. "This is the <i>price </i>I was going to receive from that mammal. Since our contract has been annulled, I thought to return it to him, but he told me to give it to you instead."


    "Bat did?"


    The object was small and hard. What in the world...?


    "It''s a stone that would let me walk under the light of the sun. ¡ªOr so he imed, but I couldn''t say whether it''s true. It was a truly appealing notion for a vampire, but..."


    Right, vampires can only go out at night. Bat had gotten something that useful for Scarlet to pay him for returning the dead to life?


    "And so, human, that concludes my errand. You''ve made extra work for me." After disrupting the situation as badly as possible, Scarlet prepared to make his exit. I turned to him.


    "Hey, vampire. Would you take those two and run away?" I asked him to get Natsunagi and Saikawa to safety.


    "Is that a formal contract? If so, then¡ª"


    "The price is my blood," I said, shutting him down in advance. He''d already taken that blood when we first met. If <i>the guy who''d saved his life </i>was asking him for a favor, he''d probably listen.


    "...I see. However." Scarlet narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you don''t want me to defeat that blond girl?" He gazed at Charlie, who was getting unsteadily to her feet.


    "Yeah, that''s fine. It would be hard to ask for too big a favor for <i>disgusting blood</i>."


    "Ha-ha! What an entertaining fellow you are."


    <i>Besides, I have to deck her at least once. </i>"That means I''ll take over here." As I spoke, my eyes were on the girl I could never seem to get along with or get rid of.


    Scarlet turned on his heel. "Very well. I ept your request. Next time,e to me bearing a new price¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka."


    Holding Natsunagi and Saikawa to his sides, Scarlet spread his ck wings and flew from the room.


    "Kimi...zuka..."


    "Kimizuka...! I promise, we''ll¡ª!"


    Natsunagi and Saikawa gazed at me, on the verge of tears.


    <i>Geez. Keep that up and you might make me think you like me. Gimme a break.</i>


    "All right. Now."


    The three of them were out of sight in no time, and then only Charlie and I were left.


    There was no way I could cut and run, not after I''d done all that posing. "Are you ready?" I watched Charlie steadily. She''d retrieved her sword. "...I should ask you the same thing."


    "Oh yeah? Well, whichever."


    <i>Let''s get started, here and now. We have a year''s worth of fighting to catch up on.</i>

 Chapter 56: 5 years ago, Charlotte

    <h4>Chapter 56: 5 years ago, Charlotte</h4>


    "...Ngh, guh..."


    I sat huddled against the wall inside an old, abandoned warehouse, sobbing.


    "They''re going to kill me..."


    I knew what failing toplete a mission meant for an agent. I hadn''t killed my target, and now my life was hanging by a thread.


    "Why? Why did this happen...?" All of this, every single thing, was... "Come on, stop crying already."


    ...the fault of my target, the white-haired girl next to me, who was casually holding out a handkerchief.


    "If it wasn''t for you¡ª!"


    Yeah¡ªshe was the target I was supposed to kill. Code name: Siesta.


    It was my first realbat experience since I''d joined the organization, and I''d been so nervous I''d thought my heart would burst. Even so, I''d cornered her in this abandoned warehouse, and I''d shot her in the left side of the chest...or so I''d thought. However, for some reason, she wasn''t even wounded, and the next thing I knew, she''d pinned me down instead. Then she''d made me <i>a certain offer</i>, and here we were.


    "I don''t mind if you cry and yell at me, but your face is a mess. Here, blow your nose."


    <i>...She has no idea how I feel. </i>Irritated, I snatched the white handkerchief she was holding and blew my nose on it as hard as I could. "epting mercy from my enemy. This is humiliating..."


    "Heh-heh. Well, you were up against the wrong person." Next to me, the enemy gave an elegant smile. She was gonna drive me crazy.


    "...! Fine already! Just do whatever you want with me."


    Now that I''d failed in my mission, the organization was bound to take me out anyway. Dying here would be better than that, but...


    "...But I don''t wanna dieeeee!"


    I was still only twelve. There were all sorts of things I hadn''t done yet. I wanted to wear trendy clothes and eat yummy food. Obviously I''d been prepared for a worst-case scenario in a job like this, but that didn''t mean I wanted to die.


    "I already told you." As I sat there hugging my knees, the white-haired girl made her offer again. "I''ll make it seem as if I died here. That way your organization won''t kill you."


    "...What''s in it for you?"


    Having an enemy help me was totally mortifying...but if I took her up on it, I just might survive this. The paradox was making it hard to answer.


    "Why are you doing this job?" my target asked me out of nowhere.


    "...My parents." I hadn''t found my answer yet, so I decided to go along with the conversation. "They''ve been soldiers and spies for ages. I don''t see them much anymore, but I''ve always respected them. Their names and faces are never made public. Some people say they''re horrible, awful people, and that the things they do are a crime against humanity. But they protect this world from <i>behind the scenes</i>. I''m proud of my parents...and of my job."


    And I meant it. This was my calling.


    I would protect this world ording to my own philosophy. "I see. You''re like me, then."


    As she spoke, my former target wasn''t looking at me.


    Come to think of it, I didn''t know much about her. Many spies and assassins research their targets thoroughly. Actually, I thought most of them did. This time, though, I hadn''t taken the risk. I didn''t want to start caring about her too much to pull the trigger.


    "I''m working toward a certain goal, too. That''s why I can''t let you kill me now."


    "Oh."


    "But if you''re doing the same thing, you shouldn''t die here." "...And so you''re rescuing me?"


    If so, she was the biggest pushover ever. Helping the person who''d tried to kill her...


    "Exactly. And after that, I''d like you to help me." "Huh?"


    "It''s the terms of the deal. I''ll save your life this time. In exchange, I''d like you to help me with my work once in a while. What do you think?" She


    leaned in to peek at my face, smiling. "...That''s not fair."


    Instinctively, I knew she didn''t actually need my help. She was just calling this an "exchange" so that I could ept her kindness freely.


    She hadn''t just won; she''d annihted me in every way. "...!"


    The tears I''d been holding back spilled over again.


    "Oh, honestly. I suppose I''d better...," she said. I think she just couldn''t stand to watch me break down. "Let me give you some advice, so that you won''t make the same mistake twice."


    She reached into her dress, fumbled for something, then brought it out. "It''s so pretty..."


    It was a pendant set with a blue jewel.


    The pattern from the refracted rays of light showed it waspletely wless.


    "This stone could take a hit from an artillery shell. I put it over my left breast, inside my bra. I have an acquaintance who''s very good at making these things," she told me casually. "I''d heard you were a good shot, so I was sure you''d strike my heart urately."


    "Then you knew the whole time...?" I murmured. I''d gone clear past surprise to amazement.


    "First-rate detectives resolve incidents before they even ur, you see."


    The smile she gave me would have captivated anyone who saw it. "...I''m no match for you."

 Chapter 57 - 3.1

    <h4>Chapter 57: Chapter 3.1</h4>


    <strong>Yesterday''s friend is today''s enemy</strong>


    The fact that Charlotte Arisaka Anderson and I didn''t get along was nothing new.


    We''d first met more than three years ago. I''d been Siesta''s assistant for about six months then, and I''d finally gotten used to this extraordinary life. Not that I was happy about it.


    "Kimi, there''s someone I want to introduce you to tomorrow."


    When Siesta told me that, I got all paranoid that I''d be meeting her boyfriend, and I was all anxious when I went to bed that night... Well, not really anxious. Just moody.


    The next day, Siesta introduced me to Charlotte Arisaka Anderson, a girl about my age. My memories of our first conversation are still vivid:


    "Who is this girl with the crazy dark circles?" "Who is this guy with the crazy dark circles?"


    It was less a conversation than a name-callingpetition, and we were both short on sleep. That day, Siesta said she needed more help with a mission than I could give her, so she''d called in Charlotte...but the fuss she put up waspletely abnormal.


    I didn''t know the details, but Siesta had be her teacher for some reason, and ever since, Charlotte had considered herself Siesta''s first apprentice... And then I''d shown up as her assistant. It must''ve been a pretty big shock.


    To no one''s surprise, Charlie and Ipletely blew the job that day. Siesta had told us to work together to capture a certain target, but our first meeting had gone terribly and torpedoed any chance we had at sessful teamwork.


    <i>"Charlotte! How long does it take to figure out you''re standing on my foot?!"</i>


    <i>"Oh, I''m sorry. I thought it was your face." "Then get off of it!"</i>


    We kept fighting, and since we prioritized showing off over the whole


    "working together" part, the target got clean away.


    After that, we met whenever Siesta needed it, which was often, and we fought every time. When Siesta died, our rtionship broke off temporarily...but here we were again. As a matter of fact, the rtionship might never have broken off in the first ce.


    After all¡ª


    "Kimizuka, you''ll never get married. There''s just no way."


    Even now, three years after we''d met, Charlotte was grousing at me. "Man, that''s not fair."


    About half an hour after I''d had Scarlet evacuate Natsunagi and Saikawa, Charlie was insulting me. We''d had a knock-down, drag-out fight, and now we were sprawled out next to each other on the floor of the half-demolished living room.


    "Well, I mean,e on. What kind of jerk hits a delicate girl in this day and age?"


    Ah. So she was annoyed that the punch I''d thrown at the end out of sheer stubbornness had hit home. If she was going to take that tack, though¡ª


    "My injuries are way worse, all right?" I retorted through the pain of the cuts in my mouth. I was all torn up.


    Even if that attack from Scarlet had weakened Charlie, there was no way I could win a straight fight against her. It was a miracle I wasn''t dead.


    "Haaah, my energy is gone. Help me up." Charlie sounded apathetic, as if the hostility from just a minute ago had never been. She raised both arms limply toward the ceiling.


    "What are you, Siesta?"


    "...I did not want to know that you and Ma''am did things like this."


    "It wasn''t because I wanted to. I had no choice." If I hadn''t done it, that nap-loving detective would never have gotten out of bed.


    "Haaah. Well, whatever." Charlie got up. "Here." She held out a hand to my ck-and-blue self.


    "Is that coated with poison or something?"


    "You seriously don''t trust me, do you?" Charlie started tough it off, but then¡ª "Well, you''ve got a point." With a self-mocking smile, she quietly withdrew her hand.


    After forcing my aching body to get up on its own, I faced Charlie. "Except you weren''t actually trying to kill me. Were you?"


    Charlie didn''t answer.


    However, in the earlier confusion, she''d said it herself: Her objective was to kill Yui Saikawa. Natsunagi and I just happened to be on the scene.


    Besides, it really didn''t seem as if she''d been giving everything she had in our subsequent fight. That hinted that there was still time to talk this over.


    "If you keep getting in my way, I''ll show you no mercy either," Charlie responded, although she looked away as she said it.


    "Charlotte, why are you trying to kill Saikawa? Weren''t you two friends?"


    Saikawa and Charlie had first met on that cruise, about ten days ago. It was true that they hadn''t known each other long, but we''d been living under the same roof for the past few days. It didn''t seem as if Charlie could actually hate Saikawa... So why?


    "Friends? Who are you talking about?" With a humorless smile, Charlie gave a t no. "I''ve never made one of those." There wasn''t the slightest hint of confusion in her expression, and she didn''t seem to be bluffing. She genuinely thought that. That was how she''d lived her life. "All I do is carry out the mission I''m given, as part of my organization. That''s my job, and it''s the only way I live. There''s no room for a fuzzy concept like ''friends'' in there."


    Charlotte Arisaka Anderson was a lone agent who''d undergone military training for the exceptionally talented since she was small, and she had belonged to a series of organizations on her own. As far as she was concerned, orders from her organization were everything. She''d never dream of disobeying them.


    "So you''re telling me your organization ordered you to assassinate Saikawa?"


    Charlie nodded wordlessly.


    Assassinate Saikawa¡ªthe first thing those words made me think of was SPES. After the earlier sapphire incident, that was where my mind inevitably went. But¡ª


    "Charlie, you''re not telling me you''ve got a connection to SPES, right?"


    Earlier, Bat had told me that Seed''s objective was to use Saikawa''s body as a vessel. SPES wasn''t trying to kill her. However, some organization had ordered Charlie to assassinate Saikawa. I couldn''t reconcile those two facts.


    "...Yes, that''s right. I haven''t sold you out and gone over to SPES. As a matter of fact," she said, "it''s the other way around. Both I and the person


    who issued my orders want to destroy SPES, just like you do." "In that case¡ª"


    "What''s different is the lengths we''re prepared to go to in order to do it." Charlie''s eyes were cold. She wouldn''t allow anypromises or bargaining. "You already get it, don''t you? Right now, Seed''s deteriorated to the point where he has to switch to another vessel. If we destroy that vessel, what do you suppose will happen to Seed?"


    "...! If the person he''s nning to take over is gone, then Seed will..."


    <i>Die.</i>


    We didn''t even have to fight Seed himself. If we just destroyed that vessel...


    If Yui Saikawa died, Seed wouldn''tst much longer.


    "...So you want to sacrifice Saikawa in order to take down Seed?" "I told you. We''re prepared to go to different lengths."


    "Who''s ''we''?" I said, still aching all over. "You''d better tell me that, at least. Listen, Charlie. If you''re an agent who obeys orders without question, then tell me: Who''s your boss? Who thought of this ridiculous idea?"


    "It''s me."


    A t, cold voice echoed in the room. It was enough to shut down my exasperation instantly. I turned toward the door, and...


    "I ordered her to liquidate Yui Saikawa."


    A redheadeddy detective who always looked good behind cigarette smoke was standing there.


    <strong> The enemy was there all along</strong>


    "Ms. Fuubi?"


    Someone who hadn''t even been on my radar had just walked in, and my thoughts froze up for a second.


    In the meantime, she ground out her cigarette under her foot, then stalked over to me. <i>What in the world is going on? </i>I was about to ask, but¡ª


    "Charlotte, why are you cking off?" Before I could, Ms. Fuubi decked Charlie.


    Charlie crashed to the floor, then curled up with a pathetic moan.


    "...! What the heck are you doing?!"


    Ms. Fuubi ignored me. She went over to Charlie and hauled her up by her blond hair.


    "Hey, Charlotte. I''m going to ask you one more time. What are you doing?"


    "I''m r-really...sorry..."


    "Huh? Look, I''m asking what you''re doing. I told you to kill Yui Saikawa here, didn''t I?" Ms. Fuubi pulled on Charlie''s hair even harder.


    "...! No, what are <i>you </i>doing?!" I couldn''t just stand by and watch this; I got between them.


    "Kimizuka, is this somebody you should be protecting?"


    ...Yeah, she had a point. Right now, Charlie was trying to kill one of my friends. But still. "She''s not somebody you should be hitting either, Ms. Fuubi."


    "...Huh. You''ve almost got a spine now."


    She stepped away from me and Charlie, although probably not because I''d convinced her.


    "Are you okay?" I turned to Charlie; she''d put a hand to her swollen cheek.


    She must have cut her mouth; there was blood leaking out of the corner. "I don''t need you worrying about me."


    "If you can manage insults, you''re fine." In that case, there was just one person here I should be focusing on. "Fuubi Kase. What are you?"


    She had Charlie working for her, and she''d ordered Saikawa''s death from the shadows. Who was she really?


    It was a perfectly natural question, and in response, she said: "I''m the Assassin."


    She made no attempt to hide it. "...You''re another of the Tuners?"


    "Oh, you know that word already, huh?"


    "Up until just now, I believed you were a kind policewoman, you know." "Ha! There''s no way a regrdy detective could be an assistant


    police inspector at this age." <i>Fuubi </i>lit another cigarette, then exhaled a big puff of smoke. " ''Police officer'' is just my cover. My role as a Tuner is Assassin: I hide myself, deceive everybody, and kill the enemy. That''s my job."


    "...So this time, your ''enemy'' is Saikawa?"


    "No." Fuubi narrowed her eyes. "My target is SPES. That''s all."


    ...That matched what Charlie had said.


    "Then you''re going to kill Saikawa as a way to defeat Seed?"


    Saikawa could be the vessel that would revive Seed. They thought that killing her would mean indirectly killing him.


    "That''s the one. Seed went out of his way to make contact with Scarlet. Then Scarlet started acting sketchy. Now Bat has too. We need to assume we''re out of time. That''s why I sent that girl in, undercover... I never thought she''d be so useless."


    Fuubi sneered cruelly down at Charlie. "..."


    Charlie looked away, biting her lip and probably ruing her own clumsiness. "If I hadn''t been tied up with that <i>robot</i>, I would have been able to give the


    order sooner. She screwed up my schedule, dammit."


    So SIESTA had been at Fuubi''s since yesterday, huh? She''d picked up on the fact that Fuubi was the one we needed to deal with, not Bat. Then she''d fought with her for over a day, keeping her pinned down.


    "So, Charlotte. Where are they now? You''d better at least know that


    much," Fuubi pressed. There was a threatening undercurrent to her voice. "...Heading for the airport, it looks like." Charlie was still shaky, but she


    got to her feet, using the table as a support.


    Had she put a transmitter on Saikawa? They''d been living together; she''d probably had plenty of chances.


    "I see. She is wealthy, after all. Is she nning to use a private jet? Well, that''s fine. I''ll have them lock down the airports right away. Let''s go."


    Fuubi turned on her heel, heading out of the house with Charlie. "You think I''m just going to let you go?"


    If they did, I was going to be seriously offended. Without waiting for them to answer, I pointed my gun at their backs.


    ¡ªBut.


    "Obstruction of justice."


    Right after I heard that voice, I was on the floor with the wind knocked out of me.


    For a second I thought I''d been shot, but I hadn''t heard a gun, and I wasn''t bleeding.


    Just one blow. She''d hit me once, on the chin. That was all.


    But my body wouldn''t move, and my vision was gradually tunneling. Ignoring me, the two of them left the house.


    "...Should''ve said ''illegal firearm'' first."


    And with that pointless rejoinder, I cked out.


    I don''t know how long I was unconscious.


    Out of nowhere, I thought I''d picked up a familiar scent. As if I was following it, I slowly opened my eyes.


    Someone was standing there, holding out a hand to me. "...Si...esta?"


    Without thinking, I said that familiar six-letter word.


    The figure gave a deep sigh. Then she red down at me in a way that seemed impossible for a machine.


    "Are you stupid, Kimihiko?"


    <strong>If you''ll be my assistant</strong>


    "You look pretty pathetic," SIESTA said as she helped me up, a little exasperated. "Not only that, but you''vepletely trashed my house. I''ll be sending you a bill for the repairster."


    "...Geez. Not fair."


    This ce had been hit by a whole string of enemy attacks. She should be thanking me for having protected it.


    "Actually, you look awful yourself."


    It was probably because she''d fought with Fuubi before she came here. Her clothes were ripped in ces, and the skin beneath had taken heavy damage as well.


    "I didn''t lose. I just made a temporary strategic retreat." "You''re as proud as the original Siesta."


    "And I only tore the maid uniform reluctantly, to suit your preferences." "You don''t have to copy the way she set me up as a pervert."


    <i>Get a load of this android. It isn''t just the way she looks; even her personality and the way she treats me are exactly like the original. Even though both Natsunagi and Saikawa have settled the score with their pasts, and I''m just about to move on from a few things myself... Seriously, gimme a break.</i>


    "Hey, what should I do?"


    <i>...That means if I slip up and ask her for help, well, there was no way around it. It''s not my fault. It''s society''s fault. It''s Siesta''s fault. </i>"You probably know already, but they''ve basically got us in checkmate."


    Charlie''s betrayal hade out of nowhere. If things went on like this, Saikawa was definitely going to get killed, and maybe Natsunagi would get killed trying to stop them. If Charlie got serious, there was no way I could win a fight with her, and we were also dealing with Fuubi. A Tuner.


    Besides, if I chose to help Saikawa, I might end up indirectly helping Seed revive¡ªbasically selling out the entire world.


    "Pathetic." SIESTA sighed again, as if she couldn''t stand to watch me stress out. "Kimihiko, your nature practically makes the entire world your enemy in the first ce."


    "Wow, I''m way too deep. What kind of humongous sin did Imit in my previous life, huh?"


    <i>Hey, even I''m not picking a fight with the entire world on purpose, okay?</i>


    <i>¡ªBesides.</i>


    "Even if that''s true, Siesta was there."


    The entire world might have been my enemy, but she''d stayed with me. She''d been frustrated with me; she''d say, "Are you stupid, Kimi?" but she''d still taken my hand and fought alongside me.


    While she was there, I hadn''t been alone.


    "As long as Siesta was around, that was all I needed," I muttered, remembering.


    "...Kimihiko, do you know you''re doing that?" I realized that SIESTA seemed upset.


    "Hm? Doing what?"


    SIESTA only muttered something at a volume I couldn''t quite catch: "...I wonder what stirred my maternal instincts¡ªthe discrepancy or the dejected expression."


    At times like this, she was usually saying something unttering about me, so it was probably wiser to pretend I hadn''t noticed... Kind of a sucky adage to live by, though.


    "Well, what are you going to do, Kimihiko?" SIESTA turned back toward me. "You''re facing arade''s betrayal. A friend in crisis. Multiple enemies who are far too big and powerful. And, ultimately, the possibility that you might make the world your enemy. What will you do?"


    SIESTA''s blue eyes were gazing straight at me. I really couldn''t believe that gaze was fake. It was exactly like it had been on that day. She was leaving the choice to me.


    Should I fail to save my friend, and save the world? Should I save my friend, and turn the world against me?


    The decision was too weighty for me to make. How could it not be? I''d spent all of my eighteen years getting pulled into stuff.


    Now, suddenly, the fate of the world was in my hands? How? "You don''t get dragged into things. You drag others in."


    ...Yeesh. If it was going to be like this, maybe Hel was onto something back then.


    In that case, though...there was only one thing I needed to do. Just one sentence I had to say.


    If I was really about to be a key figure dragging the world into peril,


    then there was one person I needed to pull in first.


    It didn''t matter if she wasn''t the real one. It was okay if it was just for now.


    ¡ªEven so.


    "Siesta¡ª Be my assistant."


    I had no idea what my face looked like right then.


    I just held out my left hand, wearing what I was pretty sure was an awkward smile.


    "Very well. Come this way."


    Siesta epted, but she didn''t take my hand. She just walked off, heading deeper into the house.


    "...Hey, SIESTA, I was pretty impressed with that one." <i>It''s going to be really embarrassing if she just ignores it. I mean, c''mon.</i>


    "We''ve used up too much time as it is. We need to hurry, or we won''t catch up with those two."


    "If you''re going to be sensible, I''ve got noebacks to make."


    "Also, for some reason, your attempts to make this a touching scene are incredibly irritating."


    "I wasn''t trying. That''s, like, the meanest thing you could have said after that." Even as Iined, I followed SIESTA down a corridor, and then¡ª


    "A wall?"


    At first nce, it looked like a dead end, but...


    "Open sesame." SIESTA chanted a spell that was way past its expiration date, and the wall rumbled and slid to one side, revealing a set of stairs.


    "Let''s go." SIESTA started down the stairs. "Weren''t there any better spells?"


    "The words of the spell don''t matter. It''s designed to recognize my voice." I see. This was SIESTA''s hideout, all right.


    "So if I screamed, for example, ''Kimihiko''s first love was Siesta,'' it would still open."


    "You have no proof. And this isn''t one of those security questions for when you forget your password."


    "We''re here."


    At the bottom of the stairs was a vast open area, like an airne hangar. A big motorcycle with vaguely familiar coloring sat inside it.


    "It''s the <i>Sirius Version Beta</i>." Siesta promptly climbed onto the white bike. "This is the vehicle mode of the humanoid weapon Sirius."


    "That thing we rode in London?"


    Right, Siesta had said she''d negotiated with the British government to borrow that. Now that I thought about it, that had only been possible because she was a Tuner and could formally negotiate with the army.


    "But will we be able to catch up to them on this now?" "We''ll take a shortcut through the tunnels."


    How far did this space go? <i>Don''t tell me it goes all the way to the tunnels in London. </i>I was about to ask when my gaze shifted from the bike to SIESTA. "...When did you change clothes?"


    She''d switched from the ragged maid outfit into the military dress the former ace detective had worn. "Quick-changes are a mandatory skill for detectives."


    "I think they''re more important for idol singers, really."


    <i>And also, don''t just change in front of a guy like that''s normal... Geez.</i>


    "All right, let''s get going. Hold on tight." "Yeah, yeah."


    Prompted by SIESTA, I straddled the bike and put my arms around her waist.


    Pale silver hair and a gray dress. This was the back I''d seen constantly for three years.


    "Please stop indulging in sentiment while hugging my waist." "Haaah. Your body sure is nice and warm."


    "That''s the grossest thing you''ve ever said. Actually, Kimihiko, you''re pretty free with sexual harassment, aren''t you?"


    "Because I''m constantly on the receiving end, yes. C''mon, once in a while is fine."


    "Of course it isn''t. Seriously." As SIESTA said that, <i>she smiled suddenly</i>. "Listen, SIESTA. You wouldn''t happen to be...?"


    "All right. In that case, let''s <i>go discipline the apprentice</i>."


    However, it onlysted for a moment. SIESTA''s expression turned serious again, and...


    "¡ªSirius, prepare forunch." With that, she revved the engine.


    "You didn''t think that was cool, did you?" "I''ll shake you off."

 Chapter 58 - 3.2

    <h4>Chapter 58: Chapter 3.2</h4>


    <strong>The detective is always right there</strong>


    About fifteen minutester...


    "ording to my calctions, we''ll overtake our target in approximately six minutes and twenty seconds," SIESTA murmured to me over her shoulder. We''d left the underground tunnel and were riding down a coastal road. There were no other people or vehicles in sight.


    "Once we catch up to them, we''ll be dealing with the Assassin and an agent, huh?"


    Of course we''d known that when we set off. Still, the thought of how tough the enemies up ahead were going to be made me tense. Especially Fuubi. As a Tuner, she''d be as powerful as Siesta and Scarlet.


    "There''s no need to get so worked up," SIESTA said, still gripping the handlebars. "All you''ll have to do is fight alongside Charlotte, Kimihiko."


    "? But Charlotte''s the one we''re fighting, right?"


    "Well, that''s true too, but..." SIESTA was being oddly evasive. Like the former ace detective, apparently this robot wouldn''t juste out and tell me the important stuff.


    "By the way, where''s that thing you''ve always got?" Since I was holding on to SIESTA''s waist, I''d noticed that something she ordinarily wore on her back wasn''t there.


    "Oh, that? I gave it to an acquaintance a little while ago."


    "Just like that? Do you know how important Siesta''s memento is?" "She really seemed to want it, so I thought it might be all right."


    "This acquaintance who ''really wanted'' a musket is a pretty dangerous character, too." I dunno who she was, but that''s not a friend I''d want.


    "But do you have any ideas about how to beat those two when we don''t even have a weapon?" I asked SIESTA, speaking over her shoulder.


    "Hm? Not really, no." "What, you don''t?!"


    She''d sounded so confident this whole time that I''d just assumed she had a n...


    "Only..."


    "Only what?"


    "You''ve got one, don''t you, Kimihiko?" As she spoke, SIESTA didn''t look back.


    "Well, sort of." It was too clumsy to qualify as a strategy; it was more like ast-ditch Hail Mary. And so¡ª


    "It doesn''t sound as though you''re going to tell me about it."


    And I didn''t. Besides, although I couldn''t pin down exactly why... I had the feeling she''d stop me if I did.


    A short whileter... "Kimihiko, over there."


    A road on the cliff''s edge, with the ocean visible below. A motorcycle was racing down the road ahead of us. SIESTA sped up, pulling closer, and then we could see familiar red and blond hair.


    "Kimizuka..."


    Charlie, who was riding in back, noticed us closing in behind them. "... Why did youe after us?" She narrowed her eyes slightly, her blond hair streaming in the night wind.


    "The truth is, I wanted to see you again."


    "Ugh, so pretentious. It''s been a year and you still haven''t gotten your driver''s license?"


    "SIESTA, feel free to ram her."


    "I was also wondering why you weren''t driving, Kimihiko, since you''re the man."


    "Hey, I''m not sexist."


    Even though itpletely wasn''t the time, we joked around with each other the way we always did. Meanwhile, our bike drew up alongside the other.


    "What, that <i>robot </i>still isn''t broken?" Fuubi nced back, mocking us. "Yes, I''m particrly good at ying dead." SIESTA responded with a joke


    she''d picked up directly from the original.


    "Ha! I guess I might as well make this into a car chase."


    With a roar, Fuubi gunned her engine. Undaunted, SIESTA sped up as well.


    ...Except just as our bike passed in front of a white lighthouse that stood on the cliff''s edge...


    "Do it."


    On Fuubi''s orders, Charlie turned back, took aim, and fired her gun. "...!"


    SIESTA leaned to tilt the bike; I copied her, and we managed to evade. "Now you''ve done it," SIESTA muttered, a little aggressively. And then¡ª "Launch missile."


    She pressed some sort of button near the bike''s hand grip. "...! Charlotte, bail!"


    "Huh?"


    The next instant, our motorcycle fired a small guided missile. The missile struck home, and it went up in mes. The st rocked our motorcycle, too; we skidded out and went tumbling over the asphalt.


    "That was overkill...!" Forcing my aching body to move, I grabbed the guardrail and pulled myself up.


    "That''s the Sirius Version Beta for you. Excellent firepower." "Look, maybe she got us once, but even for payback that was ugly."


    mes were zing out of control on the other side of the street. I could see Fuubi lying on the ground nearby. This hadn''t actually solved the problem, had it? With that thought, I started to go closer, and that''s when it happened.


    "Kimihiko!" A gunshot.


    SIESTA had shoved me out of the way, protecting me from the bullet. From beyond the ck smoke, the agent was closing in.


    "...!"


    As if she was cutting through the wind itself, Charlie shed at us with her saber.


    "I''ll do it. Get back, Kimihiko."


    Instead of her musket, SIESTA took a de that looked like a rapier from some hidden recess of her dress and prepared to fight back.


    "Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. I''ve heard you''re extremely skilled with a gun. Are you sure this is how you want to fight?"


    "Against you, this way is better." Charlie brandished her sword as if she knew bullets wouldn''t work on SIESTA.


    Under the lighthouse, out in the sea wind, the two struck at each other in a cacophony of metallic ngs, and the fight unfolded at a speed no normal human could process.


    "...! First that vampire, now you. There really are a lot of irregrs around here," Charlie spat out irritably.


    "Irregr? I''m not sure that''s the best way to think about it."


    "What, you''re nning to lecture me? Now, when you''re even dressed like Ma''am...!"


    "No. I don''t have that right. However, if this were Mistress Siesta..." As SIESTA spoke, she was facing down a de that wasrger and thicker than her own sword. "I don''t believe she would have looked outside herself for reasons something hadn''t gone her way."


    As she delivered that sound argument, she struck back.


    "...!" SIESTA''s sword skills forced Charlie to put some distance between them. "...You always were like that." Charlie bit her lip and spoke in a strangled voice, as if she was remembering someone else through SIESTA. "I first met Ma''am five years ago. At the time, I wasn''t working under Fuubi Kase yet, and a certain organization had ordered me¡ªto assassinate Siesta."


    This was something I hadn''t known about Charlie and Siesta. I had heard that she''d met Siesta before I had, but I''d never asked them for details.


    "I obeyed my orders and tried to kill her...but it didn''t work. I''d failed in my mission. Do you know what that means for an agent?" Charlie''s question wasn''t directed at anyone in particr.


    If I were going to answer...I would have said that an agent who failed to carry out an operation would be killed by their organization. Especially if they''d botched an assassination.


    "I knew what my fate would be. If my target didn''t kill me in retaliation, the organization certainly wouldn''t forgive my mistake. I thought my brief life was over. But..." Charlie hung her head. "As I started to lose hope, she told me, ''I''ll make it look as though I died here, so you''ll be all right.'' I was her enemy, but Ma''am protected me."


    <i>...Yeah, that sounds like Siesta.</i>


    Sometimes she''d just decide to protect people, to save them, independently of her role as a detective. It was as if she thought of everyone besides herself as a client.


    "She said, ''In exchange, I want you to help me out with jobs once in a while.'' To seal our contract, she gave me this blue pendant." Charlie squeezed the pendant that always hung around her neck.


    Siesta had probably asked for Charlie''s help in order to protect her. Siesta


    was a Tuner, and if Charlie was affiliated with her, nobody but the best of the best would have been able to touch her.


    "Ma''am was always like that. She protected me. Even when she diedst year, she''d already made arrangements for me to start working under another Tuner immediately. It was as if she''d known it was going to happen."


    "...And that Tuner was Fuubi Kase?" Charlie didn''t deny it.


    Even after death, Siesta was sheltering her.


    "That hasn''t changed. Even as an android, you haven''t changed a bit." Charlie''s voice was trembling slightly.


    It wasn''t because she was crying, though.


    "You''re still holding back when you fight so you won''t kill me!" When she raised her head, her face was suffused with anger.


    "Why?!" Tightening her grip on her saber, Charlie rushed at SIESTA. "Why are you holding back?! Why won''t you get serious?! Why are you still¡ª Why are you trying to protect me again?!"


    As SIESTA parried Charlie''s ridiculously fast swordy, her cool expression didn''t flicker. She didn''t strike back any more than she had to, though. She stayed on the defensive.


    "A year ago, I was so helpless. And so I swore...this time, I''d take SPES down in Ma''am''s ce. No matter what kind of unfair things happened to me under that other Tuner, I promised I''d be the one to avenge Ma''am... And yet¡ª" She took an aggressive step in. "I can''t even beat you, and you''re just a machine! Why?!"


    Charlie swung her sword to the side. However...


    "Your movements are hardly efficient. When you get emotional, you can''t exert even half your true strength." Bending backward, SIESTA evaded the de. Then, in an economical motion, she swung her rapier and knocked Charlie''s weapon out of her hands, sending it behind her.


    "...! In that case!"


    In the next instant, Charlie''s eyes were on me. "I''ll do anything to win."


    She drew her gun from the small of her back, taking aim at me. "Kimihiko!"


    Staying low, SIESTA got between me and Charlie and sent the gun flying with her rapier. But¡ª


    "I knew it. You really can''t kill me." Somewhere in there, a second gun had appeared in Charlie''s left hand. "It''s over."


    "..."


    SIESTA was on her knees. The muzzle of Charlie''s gun was pointed at her forehead.


    The situation was dire. Even SIESTA couldn''t turn this one around.


    And if that was how things stood... "Charlie, can you really shoot?"


    I hadn''t been any use at all so far, so it was probably about time I did something.


    "What do you mean? Do you think I''d hesitate after every¡ª" "Even if <i>that''s the real Siesta''s body</i>?"


    <strong> That''s why her will won''t ever die</strong>


    "The real...Ma''am...?"


    When Charlie heard that, she stopped moving.


    Her mind seemed to be racing. As she stared at SIESTA, her eyes were both steady and uncertain.


    "You''d figured it out?" The first one to move in that deadlocked situation was SIESTA. "Kimihiko, when did you notice?"


    She was still on her knees, and she didn''t turn to look at me as she spoke. From the way she phrased the question, though, she''d already admitted that my guess was correct.


    "I''m not sure when it was. The things that tipped me off were really vague, though."


    If they pressed me for a clear reason, I didn''t have one to give.


    It might have been the familiar scent I''d had near me for three years, or the warmth of her skin when we happened to touch. It could have been the thought that no mechanical doll could give a sudden, hundred-million-watt smile like that. In other words, I''d had the contradictory hunch that, <i>some way, somehow, this was absolutely Siesta</i>.


    "You''re correct," SIESTA told me quietly.


    I knew it. She really was the ace detective I''d spent those three years with, through good times and bad. However, her mind had stayed in her heart, and that had gone to Natsunagi. Only this body, her physical shell, was Siesta''s.


    "After that final battle with Hel, Mistress Siesta''s body was frozen," SIESTA told us quietly. "It was what she had wanted. In ordance with a promise they''d made in advance, <i>a certain individual </i>put it in cryo-storage. Then, using Mistress Siesta''s vast knowledge and memories as a database, they loaded an artificial intelligence into her brain and spinal cord, then equipped the body with an artificial heart. That is how I was born."


    "...So that''s what happened..." All I could do was nod.


    Even after death, Siesta found a way to be revived as an android and watched for an opportunity to contact us. She''d done it in order to pass the memories ofst year''s tragedy onto us and to help us wipe out SPES.


    "Somehow I thought that might be what it was," Charlie said. "I didn''t spend as much time with Ma''am as Kimizuka did, but even I remember her scent."


    Come to think of it, Charlie had sniffed a lot of pillows when we were living in the hideout. Had she picked up on the faint, lingering traces of Siesta?


    "¡ªStill," she went on. "So what? Even if your body is Ma''am''s, that doesn''t change my mission. I''ll defeat SPES in her ce."


    Charlie''s gun was still pointed at SIESTA''s forehead. However, a single tear trickled from her zing eyes. "I mean, look. Nagisa could never kill Yui. That means <i>I have to do it</i>. By defeating Seed, I''ll carry out Ma''am''sst wish¡ª"


    The muzzle of her gun was trembling slightly, as if to match the quiver in her voice.


    <i>I see. Yeah, Charlie, you really were that type of girl.</i>


    She''d said she didn''t need friends, and yet she''d continued to make Siesta her top priority... Then, somewhere along the way, Siesta''s influence had pulled her to protect other people.


    She was trying to carry out Siesta''sst wish, trying to keep Natsunagi from getting her hands dirty, and really worrying about Saikawa, her target. The disconnect between her mission and what she felt was messing her up to the point where she was even looking to me, her sworn enemy, for support.


    Geez. She was as clumsy as ever. She hadn''t changed a bit since our first meeting. She was just like she had been for those two and a half years, when we''d fought so much we got sick of it.


    Our stubborn bond had rotted to the point of snapping, but somehow it was


    still here. Sighing, I turned to Charlie just one more time. "Are you sure you''re okay with that?"


    "...! What do you know, anyway? You spent all that time just spacing out." "Yeah, you''re right. I''m sorry about that."


    The fact that I''d been missing memories was no excuse. After Siesta''s death, I''d spent a full year soaking in lukewarm water, savoring a counterfeit peace, and I really couldn''t talk.


    But... I said them anyway. Herst words.


    "The legacy Siesta left was me, Natsunagi, Saikawa, and you, Charlie. All four of us. If you want to carry out Siesta''sst wish¡ªSaikawa can''t die."


    It wasn''t just Saikawa, of course.


    We couldn''t lose me or Natsunagi or Charlie either. Not a single one of us. "...! But Ma''am is a Tuner. Her mission is to defeat SPES!"


    Yeah, that''s right. As the ace detective, Siesta had fought threats to the world. There was no doubt about that.


    But.


    "Charlie. Would the teacher you loved have prioritized protecting her mission, or her friends?"


    "...!" Charlie''s face crumpled.


    "Do you really think defeating SPES by sacrificing Saikawa is how Siesta wants this to end?"


    "Shut up...!"


    Charlie yanked the pendant from her neck, snapping the chain. It was almost like a symbolic gesture to help her look away from the past, and from Siesta. She flung the pendant to the ground¡ªbut the charm popped open, exposing the photograph inside.


    "...Why is she smiling like that?"


    The photo showed Charlie and Siesta, and they were both smiling. It was as if they had no missions, nothing tying them down. It was a peaceful photo, something they might have taken to post online on their way home from school.


    "This is, this is just¡ª!"


    Charlie shook her head. Acknowledging Siesta''s smile would put her


    current mission on shaky ground. It would mean denying Siesta''sst wish, the one she''d believed in all this time.


    And so, as if she was saying goodbye to the past and to Siesta, Charlie brought her foot down on the pendant.


    "...!"


    Or tried to.


    Before she could do it, SIESTA slid her right hand in between Charlie''s foot and the ground.


    "...Ow."


    "Oh¡ª I''m sor...ry..."


    SIESTA''s objection was so calm that Charlie apologized on reflex. SIESTA picked up the pendant, put her hands around Charlie''s neck, and tied the broken chain back together.


    "Why...?" Charlie stared at her, dumbfounded.


    Turning to face her again, Siesta sighed. "I swear..." Then she said it. "Are you stupid?"


    It was a phrase only the former ace detective had been allowed to say. Of course she wasn''t here, in SIESTA.


    Her mind was with her heart, in Natsunagi. Even so.


    Her body, or her brain, or her mouth, must have remembered those words. For three years, she''d said them practically every day, and now SIESTA had just¡ª


    "That''s the first time." Charlie lowered her head, as if she was struggling to contain some emotion. For a few seconds, she seemed to be thinking about it, and then¡ª "That''s the first time you ever said those words to me."


    When Charlie raised her head again, her tearful face was radiant. She looked like an apprentice who''d always longed for her teacher to get angry at her.


    As she watched Charlie, SIESTA''s expression softened into a wry smile. She spread her arms, and just as Charlie was about to dive into them¡ª


    "Charlotte. This is why I keep telling you you''re simple."


    What connected with SIESTA''s chest was not Charlie, but a bullet.


    "...!"


    "Ma''am!"


    SIESTA crumpled where she stood, and Charlie caught her in her arms. Beyond them stood the Assassin¡ªFuubi Kase.

 Chapter 59 - 3.3

    <h4>Chapter 59: Chapter 3.3</h4>


    <strong>The golden de that takes revenge on the world</strong>


    Gun in hand, Fuubi looked down on us from a short distance away. Her eyes were as cold as ice.


    "I thought you had a little more sense than that, Charlotte. I guess you''re no different from that brat over there."


    "...!" Charlie gave Fuubi a sharp re, then promptly returned her gaze to SIESTA. "Ma''am..."


    Dark blood was flowing steadily from the wound in the left side of SIESTA''s chest. Charlie ripped some fabric from her own clothes and tried to use it to stanch the flow.


    "...Really, Charlotte, are you stupid?" Weakly, SIESTA took Charlie''s hand. "I''m not your ''Ma''am.'' " She smiled faintly. Somewhere along the way, her tone had reverted to the one SIESTA used.


    "Never mind this. The person you two should be dealing with is over there." With a trembling hand, SIESTA pointed at the one standing beyond us.


    "But if it keeps..."


    "It''s fine. Emergency shutdown measures will be enough to deal with this." SIESTA smiled again. I didn''t know whether she was lying or not, but for now we''d just have to believe her.


    "¡ªWe''ll be right back."


    Exchanging small nods, Charlie and I gently carried SIESTA over to the guardrail. Then we turned to face our greatest enemy.


    "Ha! Look at you two. You were just pretending you didn''t get along, and now you''re trying to team up?" Fuubi sneered. She stuck a cigarette between her lips and lit it, shielding it from the wind with one hand.


    "You''re really sure about this, Charlie?" I checked in with Charlie, without taking my eyes off Fuubi. "You''ve got a lot to lose if you go against her."


    Due to her job, Charlie had made enemies of all sorts of people and organizations. Fuubi was the Tuner who''d picked her up after Siesta; without her support, Charlie''s current position would be majorly threatened. There


    might even be more attempts on her life.


    Most of all, she was voluntarily taking a stand against the mission she''d always believed in. Even if I was the one who''d talked her into it, I had to make sure this wouldn''t be too much.


    "It''s prettyte for that." Charlie spoke firmly; she didn''t look at me either. "Forget me, what about you? Are you prepared for this?"


    "Of course. If running for it would work, I''d love to."


    "...You call that ''prepared''? Are you sure you''re speaking proper Japanese? Intelligence was the only thing you had going for you, right?" Charlie put a hand to her chin.


    <i>Don''t worry about it. The fear''s just scrambled my brain a little, that''s all.</i>


    "Hey, Charlie, I just had a great idea about the fight we''re headed into." "That''s our resident brain, all right. What strategy did youe up with?" "If we survive this, let''s get married."


    "Huh? Ew, no."


    "No, no, that was a reverse death g." "I''m not so sure about that concept."


    "Before you head into a life-or-death crisis, you make a wish you''d never want toe true. Then you end up living and get what you asked for. It''s an exploit."


    "Our resident brain is an idiot." Next to me, Charlie clutched at her head. Sorry. At this point, no brain could be much use.


    "But..." Charlie raised her head and looked at me. "Apparently we''ve matured enough to attempt topromise and work together, at least." She smiled, and I was sure she was remembering our first disastrous attempt at teamwork.


    "Are you done with your strategy meeting?" Fuubi exhaled a big puff of smoke.


    She''d waited for us... Nah, probably not. She''d just wanted to have that cigarette. And now our time was up.


    "We''ll catch her between us! Charlie, you go in from the right!" "Okay!"


    Charlie and I split up, aiming our guns at our target from two angles. Fuubi was grinding her cigarette butt under her toe. <i>Sorry, but we can''t afford to wait for you to be ready.</i>


    I leveled my gun, turning it on Charlie, who was right in front of me¡ª


    "...Why am I seeing Charlie?"


    Charlie was looking back at me, eyes round. Fuubi had been between us. Where had she gone? "So you didn''t have a n, huh?"


    Right after we heard that voice¡ª "...!"


    First, I couldn''t breathe.


    Then I heard the sound of something sinking into bone.


    The pain came a few secondster, after I''d rolled several meters over the ground.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...!"


    The shock and pain made me scream pathetically.


    I didn''t even know what she''d done to me. Had she punched me? Kneed me? Something might already be broken. The pain was so bad I almost passed out.


    "One down."


    Promptly losing interest, Fuubi turned her back on me. "...!"


    Charlie pointed her gun at the other woman, warily putting a little more distance between them. While she was doing that, I managed to drag myself out of the way to the road''s shoulder.


    "What next? You''re on your own now." Charlie''s gun didn''t seem to concern Fuubi. "Are you going to keep up this pointless resistance and dy the resolution of the problem?"


    "..." Charlie listened to her, face stern, gun still leveled.


    "Listen, Charlotte. I''m going to ask you one more time: What is your job? Weren''t you going to take up the ace detective''sst wish? Don''t you care what happens to the world?"


    "...I do care. I just can''t believe doing things this way would make Ma''am happy."


    "Ha! Are you crazy? It doesn''t matter whether it makes her happy," Fuubi scoffed. "Can you save the world with ideals? No. All we have to do is kill Yui Saikawa, and there you go. World saved."


    "I''m sure Ma''am wouldn''t want to save the world by sacrificing somebody."


    "Oh really? If sacrificing herself would do the trick, I''m pretty sure she''d


    do it in a heartbeat."


    "What do you mean...?" Charlie''s eyebrows drew together, as if she didn''t know where Fuubi was going with this.


    "Don''t you get it? Here, let''s review. Originally, Seed considered people who had a seed and could make full use of its power candidate vessels."


    "Ma''am and Hel..."


    "Right. But the ace detective''s clever scheme shut that n down. <i>She lost her ability to be a vessel by throwing her own life away.</i>"


    Fuubi''s theory went like this: A year ago, Siesta had chosen to die. She''d said she''d done it to protect Natsunagi and make her wishe true...but there was another reason she''d kept hidden. In her final job as ace detective, Siesta had put together a n to defeat Seed.


    "Then you mean Ma''am had picked up on Seed''s true objective, and so she..."


    Siesta probably hadn''t told Charlie everything either. When she heard the deeper truth behind Siesta''s self-sacrifice, her gaze wavered uncertainly.


    "That''s right. In order to protect the world, the ace detective sacrificed herself without a second thought. And remember what she said? You four are her final legacy. Know what that means? ¡ªShe''s telling you, <i>You take up myst wish and die for the world''s sake, too.</i>"


    "...!" That interpretation of Siesta''s final words made Charlie''s eyes go wide.


    "Charlotte, you''re brilliant. Don''t let that lousy excuse for an assistant fool you. You need to understand the real meaning of the ace detective''sst words and carry out her will."


    "I..."


    "Frankly, Nagisa Natsunagi isn''t gonna cut it. She''s too weak. That means there''s nobody but you, Charlotte. You take up her legacy and be the ace detective, a Tuner." Fuubi''s expression suddenly softened. "It''s fine. If you''re nervous, I''ll train you again. You just carry out your mission. Kill Saikawa, defeat Seed. If you do that, you''ll be the ace detective in both name and deed. Lucky you." Fuubi stroked Charlie''s hair. "That was always your dream, right? Now it''lle true."


    "The ace detective? Me...?"


    "That''s right. So let''s go do thatst job." With that, Fuubi turned her back and went over to the motorcycle SIESTA and I had ridden here. She was


    nning to use it to go after Saikawa and the others.


    ¡ªBut.


    "What are you trying to pull, Charlotte?" Fuubi spoke without turning around.


    She could probably tell without looking, just from the aura of hostility: Charlotte had her sword leveled at her back.


    "Don''t you want to be the ace detective?"


    "...No. That was never my ambition." Charlie closed her eyes. Maybe she was reminding herself¡ªor maybe she was finally facing her true feelings.


    Thinking of the girl who''d been her teacher for five years, she squeezed the blue pendant that hung around her neck and shouted.


    "Siesta was a beautiful, strong woman! <i>She </i>was what I wanted to be!"


    Tightening her grip on her saber, Charlie shed at Fuubi''s back. "Boring." Fuubi still hadn''t turned around, but she dodged the attack


    lightly, without ncing at it. "...!"


    "You''re selling me short. Did you really think you could beat me one-on- one?" Before she''d even finished the sentence, Fuubi drew her gun from her back and pointed it at Charlie''s forehead. "ytime''s over."


    Charlie''s sword didn''t quite reach her, and she was forced to her knees. Fuubi wouldn''t hesitate to pull the trigger now. It also didn''t look as if


    Charlie had any chance of turning the tables on her own. We''d beenpletely checkmated.


    "You''re right. On my own, I can''t beat you." Charlie openly acknowledged her own defeat...or so it seemed. "But we haven''t lost yet."


    She looked up at Fuubi with zing eyes, and in the next moment¡ª "Shift right nine millimeters and down seven¡ª Now, Nagisa!"


    With a noise that reverberated in my stomach, a shot was fired from high altitude.


    "¡ª!"


    The bullet streaked out of the dark sky, knocking the gun from Fuubi''s hand. And the person who''d fired it¡ª


    "That''s one of Siesta''s Seven Tools, all right. It''s not shaky at all."


    A familiar musket was protruding from the open window of the cockpit of a small fighter jet.


    "...Well, look at that. You actually came back on your own."


    Fuubi red up at the fighter jet in the dark sky. "I guess that means you''re ready for this¡ªYui Saikawa and Nagisa Natsunagi."


    <strong> That was the final answer</strong>


    "Yui, Nagisa..."


    Charlie looked up at the fighter jet flying near the lighthouse. It was a two- seater; Saikawa was in the pilot''s seat, and Natsunagi sat behind her.


    "I heard you''d gone to the airport. So you went to get that?" As Fuubi gazed up at the sky, she looked thoroughly unamused. She rolled her neck, cracking it. "First you pilot a small boat, and now it''s a fighter jet. Compulsory education covers a heck of a lot these days."


    "Any well-rounded youngdy should be at least this capable... Or so I''d like to tell you, but it''s almost entirely on autopilot. <i>A certain someone with very good ears </i>is piloting it remotely, relying on my eye."


    Saikawa responded lightly to Fuubi''s sarcasm. Apparently that quasi- pseudohuman was keeping an eye on our fight from some distant location.


    "Ha! Are you two nning to side with this girl? She tried to kill you both, remember?" Fuubi snorted at Saikawa and Natsunagi.


    "...!" Charlie bit her lip. She understood the weight of what she''d tried to do better than anyone.


    But Saikawa said... "Yes, I''ll save her. After all, she''s my friend."


    Someone had tried to kill her, and she was still calling them a friend. She went on, speaking directly to a very stunned Charlie. "Then after that, we''ll have the fight to end all fights. You don''t mind, do you, Charlie?" Saikawa grinned down at her.


    "For your information, you won''t just be fighting Yui," Natsunagi said from the rear seat. Her expression was prim.


    Oh, right. Earlier, Charlie had hit Natsunagi with a devastating attack, too. Natsunagi''s voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Got that? When we fight,


    <i>we''ll double-kill you</i>: once for me, and once for Yui."


    Down on the ground, Charlie heard her out. "...Bring it anytime." Her eyes were just a little damp, but she was smiling.


    "Rx. That future''s never going toe."


    A cold voice. The Assassin sprinted through the dark, bent on destroying the future Charlotte wanted.


    "...!" Tightening her grip on her saber, Charlie faced down her iing enemy.


    Fuubi''s gun had been shot out of her hand, and she was using a short survival knife now. Naturally, Charlie''s weapon had a better reach, but Fuubi''s skill far exceeded hers. Fuubi''s oundish moves forced Charlie onto the defensive, and then¡ª


    "Too slow."


    ¡ªexploiting a vulnerability, she snapped the iron sword with a spin-kick, then knocked Charlie backward.


    "...!"


    There was a dull thud, and Charlie rolled across the asphalt. Immediately, Fuubi leaped to close the distance.


    "Nagisa, do it!"


    Just then, an airborne sniper targeted Fuubi. Saikawa used her eye to issue urate directions; with her help, Natsunagi aimed the musket without


    hesitation and fired. "Sorry, but I can''t afford warning shots." She kept firing at Fuubi; they''d brought the ne down a little to make it easier for her.


    "You''re in the way," Fuubi muttered, evading the bullets that struck the ground at her feet. And then...


    "Huh?" Looking up, Natsunagi saw¡ªa red-haired assassin leaping into the night sky. She''d caught the ne with a grappling hook and was holding on to a rope that hung from it. Fuubi jumped onto the cockpit, and then¡ª


    "...!"


    She flipped her knife in a reverse grip and took aim at the startled Saikawa. "No you don''t!"


    From behind Saikawa, Natsunagi fired at Fuubi. The bullet pierced her right shoulder, and the woman staggered back. ¡ªHowever ...


    "Pain? You''ll need a little more than that to keep me from fulfilling my mission." Fuubi''s expression didn''t change even as she fell from the ne, and she threw her knife into one of the engines on top of the main wings. There was a terrible <i>grunch </i>and a scorched smell. ck smoke billowed up, the ne listed to the left, and then they lost control.


    "...! Nagisa, hold on to something!" Saikawa gripped the control stick desperately, but the jet kept losing altitude until it scraped across the asphalt in an emergencynding. The ground jolted upward as if an earthquake had hit, knocking me off my feet.


    "...Yui..." "Na...gisa..."


    Natsunagi and Saikawa had gotten banged up pretty badly in thending. They were obviously in pain, but the ne was in danger of exploding, and they managed to crawl out.


    "So you finally came down here." Fuubi started toward the two girls, her movements smooth and menacing. Dark blood was streaming from the Assassin''s right shoulder, but she stillunched herself powerfully off the ground.


    "¡ªI can''t have you forgetting about me yet." A figure cut in between them. "I told you, remember? I''m not alone. That''s what lets memit myself to my job."


    "Charlotte, huh? But I''ve already destroyed your weapon."


    In the ck smoke, Fuubi pivoted on her right leg and raised her left leg high. But then¡ª


    "I''ll borrow your help too." The smoke cleared, and there was Charlie, holding SIESTA''s rapier.


    "...!" Fuubi couldn''t stop. Her left leg swung toward the sword Charlie had thrust out, but¡ª


    "Kkha, hah..."


    The agonized cry had been Charlie''s. Fuubi had kicked her again, knocking her back several meters.


    "Charlie!" Saikawa dragged herself toward the other girl. "Are...are you all...right?"


    "...Ghk. Yes... But one of my legs is out ofmission now."


    Charlie had gotten the wind knocked out of her, but even so, she managed a smile. "This is how I... How <i>we </i>do things. Even if we can''t win on our own, if we allbine our strength..."


    "You''re still ying friends? This is so pointless." Fuubi sneered.


    "It''s not...pointless...!" Natsunagi spread her arms. She stood as if to shield Saikawa and Charlie, who was on her knees. "We are...the final hope Siesta left. None of us will lose, and we won''t give up. We''ll all...win together...!"


    Fuubi spoke quietly, either to her, or maybe to Saikawa, or to Charlie. "What...are you people?"


    Her red hair hade loose, streaming in the night wind.


    "You talk aboutpanions, bonds, friendship, feelings, love, ties, connections¡ªast wish. What good is any of that to the world?" Fuubi''s voice grew rougher and angrier. "Yui Saikawa: Your death will save the world. Charlotte Arisaka Anderson: If you kill Yui Saikawa, you''ll save the world. Nagisa Natsunagi: If you were as strong as the former ace detective, you would save the world. So why don''t you do it? What, you can''t? Oh, well, I understand everything now. So just¡ª!" Like the zing mes, Fuubi screamed, her face filled with rage. "If you can''t do that! If you''re helpless...! Then at least be ashamed of yourselves. Don''t sabotage the people who are fighting to save it!"


    That scream might have been the first time I''d ever heard her say what she really felt.


    "You''re right." After a short silence, Natsunagi murmured, "I think what you''re saying is probably correct. You''re more right than I am, anyway. I''m sure there are people who would call that justice."


    "If you understand that, then¡ª"


    "But," Natsunagi interrupted Fuubi. "The detective was too right, and she died." Justice didn''t necessarily win. "So I want to choose something I know might be wrong. Even if it isn''t correct, even if justice doesn''t win, even then


    ¡ªI want to choose a future where the people who are precious to me are smiling next to me."


    <i>I don''t want to let anyone else die.</i>


    Natsunagi t-out rejected Fuubi, and maybe Siesta as well. "Then we''ll never see eye-to-eye."


    I was sure Fuubi''s fury hadn''t cooled¡ªbut she seemed to have given up on changing her mind. "That makes this easy. Thest one standing wins."


    It was the simplest conclusion, and the most brutal one.


    ...But that was the only method left.


    Actually, I don''t think talking was ever an option here. "Evil, meet your doom."


    The Assassin ran like the wind. Soundlessly, so fast you couldn''t even see her, she went to ensure justice was done.


    "Nagisa!"


    "Nagisa¡ª!"


    Natsunagi was still standing in the way, arms spread wide. Behind her, Charlie and Saikawa screamed.


    "It''s all right. Even if I can''t see her, she''s definitely watching me. She can hear my voice, too. Meaning¡ªthat ability will work."


    Then Nagisa Natsunagi''s <i>red eyes glowed</i>.


    "Fuubi Kase, <i>you can''t take a single step from that spot</i>." Fuubi stopped dead.


    "...!"


    She stood petrified, her eyes wide with astonishment.


    Just one more step¡ªher knife had frozen just before it plunged into Natsunagi''s chest.


    Natsunagi''s red eyes were using the mind control. When she talked to Hel, then epted her, she''d be able to use that ability.


    "...! This isn''t...enough to¡ª!"


    However, the Assassin wouldn''t stop until she''d destroyed her target.


    "Don''t think you can stop me with an ability you just picked up!" Slowly, bit by bit, breaking down the mind control through sheer force of will, the knife descended toward Natsunagi. "Don''t think nobodies like you three can stop me by yourse..."


    Fuubi''s eyes were wild with rage¡ªbut suddenly, her face went nk. "Wait a second... ''You three''? The robot''s out of the picture, but how long


    have I been fighting just the three of you?"


    Realizing she''d missed something, she spoke to her targets without really thinking it through.


    "Hey, where is he? <i>Where has Kimihiko Kimizuka been for the past few minutes?</i>"


    It definitely wasn''t arrogance. It was an urate self-assessment.


    Earlier, she''d disabled the powerless, lousy excuse for an assistant with one attack. She had me outssed in every way. Even if I''d eventually recovered, as long as she could see me, she''d be able to deal with me. On that note, Fuubi had focused exclusively on Charlotte, and on the neers, Natsunagi and Saikawa. Her decision hadn''t been a mistake.


    Except for one thing.


    If she''d made just one miscalction, it was that...


    "Kimihiko Kimizuka¡ª<i>you swallowed Chameleon''s seed, didn''t you</i>!"


    ...the risk in gaining a pseudohuman power hadn''t scared me one bit.


    "I don''t give a damn about side effects. You can take my senses or some years off my life, as much as you want of whatever you like. I''ll let you eat it all," I told the seed of the parasitic nt that had settled inside me. Meanwhile, I made myself invisible and raced up to Fuubi. Right now, all I wanted was to KO that disgusting police officer. She''d twisted my beloved partner''s justice, and as long as I could hit her for it, that was enough.


    <i>Are you sure it''s enough?</i>


    I felt as if someone, somewhere, had whispered those words to me.


    <i>It''s fine. It''s not like I''m causing trouble for anybody</i>, I told the speaker, clenching my fist.


    I mean, it''s true, isn''t it? "This is my story."


    Then I punched the justice of this world in the face and sent it flying.

 Chapter 60: Epilogue

    <h4>Chapter 60: Epilogue</h4>


    "You''ve got serious guts, arresting a police officer."


    Fuubi''s right cheek was red and swollen. One of her wrists was handcuffed, with the other cuff fastened to one of the guardrail posts. I had the feeling she wouldn''t have put up a fight at this point anyway...but just in case.


    "Still, I can''t believe you actually swallowed that seed." Fuubi gazed up at me, looking rather appalled.


    Chameleon''s seed granted the ability to turn invisible. After I''d taken that first heavy blow from Fuubi, I''d used it to erase myself from the battlefield.


    "You''re gonna die."


    Fuubi was watching me, her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I know."


    Since I hadn''t taken any precautions, I''d already known I''d be running that risk. That was why I hadn''t wanted to use this n if I could help it.


    The seed was what Scarlet had given me at SIESTA''s house. He''d extracted it from Chameleon''s body when he''d temporarily resurrected him.


    "Well, if my body breaks, it breaks." I might lose my sight, the way Bat had. It could even shorten my life... But. "I never was more than her shadow, so this ability''s a perfect fit for me." I''d keep on being a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, as an assistant to somebody or other.


    "Is that right? Fine. You hurry up and get over there too, then." Fuubi jerked her chin toward SIESTA.


    SIESTA was lying by the side of the road, surrounded by Natsunagi and the others. Charlie had given her first aid, but she''d been shot through the left side of her chest. This woman was the one who''d done it, and she was still telling me to go to her.


    "You''re still Ms. Fuubi after all."


    "What are you talking about? I''m your enemy." "...Sure."


    I had several questions, but I turned my back without asking any of them.


    First off: Siesta, the ace detective, was the one in charge of subjugating SPES. Why had Ms. Fuubi helped out with that job after Siesta died, when she held a different position?


    And another thing: the fact that SIESTA existed. She''d said that Siesta''s corpse had been frozen to prevent decay, then fitted with an artificial intelligence and reborn as a mechanical doll. Who had acted so quickly?


    If the person in question wasn''t talking about it, I couldn''t ask. If she couldn''t say, then I had to respect that.


    Turning my back on Ms. Fuubi, I went to SIESTA.


    SIESTA''s eyes were closed. Natsunagi and the other two were watching over her.


    "Ma''am." Charlie knelt, taking SIESTA''s hand.


    As if in response, her eyes opened slightly. "...As I told you, Charlotte, I''m not her."


    "...!"


    Charlotte was startled, and the robot squeezed her hand weakly. "SIESTA!"


    "Are you okay?!"


    Saikawa and Natsunagi hastily called to her. She looked at them, and¡ª "Heh-heh." She smiled, her shoulders shaking slightly. "Honestly. You


    people are as noisy as ever." Slowly, with Charlie''s help, SIESTA sat up. "I can''t take a nice long nap if you''re going to be like this." She cracked a special joke that no one else could get away with.


    "SIESTA, you''re all right?" I tried to check on her wound¡ªbut SIESTA shook her head.


    "I''ve more than aplished my mission," she said with another quiet smile.


    "What do you mean?" Charlie gazed at SIESTA uncertainly.


    "I''m no more than a program Mistress Siesta made to help settle her unfinished business."


    "Ma''am''s unfinished business?" Charlie tilted her head as if she had no idea what that might be.


    "That''s right. Mistress Siesta''s legacy was the fact that she''d left the four of you¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka, Nagisa Natsunagi, Yui Saikawa, and Charlotte Arisaka Anderson¡ªhere in this world. However, each of you had <i>tasks you</i>


    <i>still needed to ovee</i>."


    Tasks left to the four of us. True, over these past few days, it did feel as if we''d confronted an insane number of problems.


    "Nagisa Natsunagi had to learn who she really was, then face her past. Yui Saikawa had to ept the truth of her parents'' death and choose how to live her life. Charlotte Arisaka Anderson needed to free herself from the spell of her mission and find a will of her own. And Kimihiko Kimizuka¡ª"


    After gazing at the others in turn, SIESTA looked at me. "You had to move on from Mistress Siesta."


    She astutely pointed out something I''d been pretending not to see. "Mistress Siesta''s only worry, the one thing that troubled her, was the


    question of whether you would be able to solve these heavy, painful issues. That was why she made me."


    "...So that was, in the truest sense, Siesta''s final job," I murmured.


    SIESTA nodded quietly. "After all, her job was to protect the client''s interests. To protect herpanions." She quoted a phrase the ace detective always used to say. "Essentially, I was a maid who helped her in that endeavor."


    "Then I was right? The problems that kept cropping up over the past few days were all..."


    "Yes. They were tasks to help the four of you ovee the issues you harbored." SIESTA grinned like a little kid who''d pulled off a sessful prank.


    She''d encouraged Natsunagi to talk with Hel, opening the path for her to be the ace detective.


    She''d forced Saikawa to confront a painful truth but had me stay with her as a friend.


    She''d blocked Charlotte''s path like a wall but helped her find something really important.


    And she''d had me <i>assist </i>the other three in solving their problems so that I''d be able to apany someone who wasn''t Siesta as their <i>assistant</i>.


    It was as if she''d predicted not just what we''d do, but Seed, Scarlet, and Fuubi. On top of that, she seemed to have used them to help us grow. Ordinarily, it would have been an impossible feat.


    "First-rate detectives resolve incidents before they even ur, you see."


    Another of the ace detective''s signature phrases. SIESTA smiled as if she was rather proud of herself. "And so my role is at an end," she said with some relief.


    "But... I''m still not...!" Charlie hadn''t said all she wanted to say to SIESTA, and she wouldn''t let her go to sleep.


    "No, this is the end." SIESTA squeezed her hand gently, speaking softly. "I''vepleted my tasks. Mistress Siesta no longer has any regrets. The four of you will be able to live on and thrive. And so," she said, "smile and say good-bye to me."


    SIESTA smiled at us. Her expression was a lot more nuanced than it had been when we first met her.


    "I...see," I responded briefly.


    This had been Siesta''s final job: to help us, the legacy she''d left behind, to conquer our remaining problems. For Natsunagi, the past. For Saikawa, the truth. For Charlie, her mission. For me¡ªthe dead.


    We''d all faced these things¡ªand just now, we''d graduated. From the past, from the truth, from the mission, from the dead. And SIESTA, who''d helped us do it, had finallypleted her job.


    That meant you could probably call this a happy ending for all of us: Natsunagi, Saikawa, Charlie, me...and SIESTA.


    Every one of us had aplished something we''d needed to do. As a result, this was a beautiful ce to end the story. It had to be.


    Now, once SIESTA said her good-byes to each of us, we''d reach the moving climax. On that note, as the other three sniffled, I asked...


    "In that case, did Siesta get a happy ending?" It''s like I said before:


    It''s still too soon for an epi

 Chapter 61: The girls’ dialogue

    <h4>Chapter 61: The girls¡¯ dialogue</h4>


    It happened about ten days ago. In the ruined casino on the sinking cruise ship, after the battle with Chameleon...


    "I apologize for the dy," I said to the girl''s back. Her shoulders flinched. "...It''s you, hm?" The ck-haired girl turned to look at me. A little of her hair was tied up on the side with a red ribbon. She was sitting on the floor,


    and a sleeping boy in a suit jacket was resting his head on herp.


    "It''s been a very long time, Mistress Siesta." She didn''t look the same anymore due to certain circumstances, but this was <i>the mistress who had created me</i>.


    "By the way, what were you just about to do?"


    "What do you mean?" Mistress Siesta looked away from me pointedly. "It seemed as if you were leaning closer to that boy''s face."


    "...I don''t know what you''re talking about." "Nagisa will be angry with you."


    "¡ªLook, I told you, I don''t know what you''re talking about." My mistress ispletely adorable.


    "Still, this is strange. I''m right in front of me." Shifting the boy to the floor, Mistress Siesta got to her feet and studied me.


    To tell the truth, I currently have the exact same face as the real Mistress Siesta. I am a living android who''s borrowed her body.


    "That maid outfit looks good on you. I''m sure my assistant would fall for you in a heartbeat."


    "? That isn''t something I particrly want. Mistress Siesta, could it be that you want¡ª"


    "Now, about why I had youe here today." Yes, my mistress really is adorable.


    "I have another request regarding the n we discussed." Then Mistress Siesta told me why she''d summoned me.


    It was a certain program that she had left behind. A n to transnt part of her memories and abilities into me, then further develop the four people who would carry out herst will.


    "There''s just one small change. I''d like to add this." Mistress Siesta held an IC chip out to me. "It''s data about a mistake I once made."


    "...? It''s unusual for you to make mistakes, Mistress Siesta."


    "...You''re right. Apparently I really wasn''t good at reading human emotions." Mistress Siesta smiled wryly. "And so, for the specifics, I''d like you to install that and look over the contents. There are new instructions on it as well."


    "Understood, Mistress." That was how Mistress Siesta worked. She never told you everything on her own. I would go over this carefullyter.


    "Now my job really is over, isn''t it?" As Mistress Siesta murmured, her face seemed somehow radiant. She sat down right where she was and began gazing at the sleeping boy''s face again.


    Yes, this was Mistress Siesta''s final job, the one thing she''d said was still troubling her: watching over and raising <i>the four who were her legacy</i>. She''d entrusted that job to me, and now she would truly go to sleep.


    I looked at her. She''d aplished everything, her expression was peaceful, and¡ª


    "Mistress Siesta, a moment ago, you said you didn''t understand human emotions. Do you understand your own?"


    Mistress Siesta was still looking at the boy. Her shoulders flinched again. "You... Just...do what I''ve told you to do." That was all she said. She


    spoke without turning around.


    "Very well." I was only a maid, there to help and serve my mistress. I bowed, turned, and left.


    However, for just a moment, a thought skimmed through my mind.


    <i>If it is a maid''s duty to wish for her mistress''s happiness, then what should I actually do next?</i>

 Chapter 62: Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 62: Prologue</h4>


    "In that case, did Siesta get a happy ending?" SIESTA''s eyes widen slightly.


    But I mean, it''s a good question, isn''t it?


    Say Natsunagi and I, and Saikawa, and Charlie, had all moved on from our pasts and spells and things like that.


    Well, what about Siesta?


    Had she managed to get a genuine happy ending?


    "Kimihiko... That isn''t right." Although her body was weak and unsteady, SIESTA pushed herself to her feet. Natsunagi hastily put an arm around her shoulders, supporting her. "Mistress Siesta is satisfied with this ending. She''s left the four of you as her legacy and has resolved your problems. That means her job is¡ª"


    "No!" I shook my head, rejecting the answer she was trying to give me. "Because, I mean...she was crying."


    I thought back to the showdown with Hel at SPES''s ind hideout, a year ago. Siesta had chosen to seal the enemy by sacrificing herself, and our time together had ended. The pollen from that biological weapon had knocked me out, and I hadn''t even been able to see her through her final moments.


    But I remembered. Now, I remembered. She''d been... Siesta had been crying.


    She''d remembered how apple pie had tasted when she ate it with me. She''d reminisced about the time we lived in that cheap apartment. She''d looked back fondly on that photo we''d taken, with her in that wedding dress. She should have been with me the next day, and a week from then, a month from then, forever and always, and she hadn''t wanted us to part.


    She''d thought of those dazzling three years, and¡ª "Siesta cried and said she hadn''t wanted to die."


    And so, that''s right. This has to be...


    "Listen, SIESTA. When you kidnapped us and showed us those things fromst year... That part at the end. When you showed us that final scene, where


    Siesta cried, after I''d copsed from the pollen. Weren''t you the one who decided to do that?"


    After all, that stubborn ace detective almost never let people see her real smile. I couldn''t believe she''d let me see her cry that easily. In other words, I''d seen it because the maid <i>had betrayed her mistress</i>.


    So why had she done it? It had to be because¡ª


    "<i>That''s the real answer to your hunt for the mistake</i>, isn''t it?" Natsunagi and the others looked startled.


    That was the first problem SIESTA had set for me and Natsunagi: We were supposed to find a certain mistake Siesta had made a year ago. We''d found the one about Hel.


    However, I was sure that hadn''t been the only one. There had been another mistake, one even Siesta hadn''t noticed.


    That was why SIESTA had filed a <i>request </i>with me... Well, with Natsunagi, the ace detective. She''d asked the new detective to correct Siesta''s mistake.


    As a matter of fact, Natsunagi had already arrived at that answer herself. She''d screamed it during the fight with Fuubi¡ªSiesta shouldn''t have died.


    The correct future was the one that found her smiling with the people she loved.


    That meant that an ending where Siesta had to cry was¡ªwrong. "Kimihiko... What do you intend to do?"


    In the curve of Natsunagi''s supporting arm, SIESTA looked stunned.


    I caught her by the shoulders and <i>shouted through her, to the girl beyond her</i>.


    <i>"Listen up!</i>


    <i>I''m not giving up on you!</i>


    <i>Even if you''re satisfied with this ending, I''m not having any of it! Sure, maybe nobody will understand!</i>


    <i>Not Natsunagi! Not Saikawa!</i>


    <i>Not Charlotte!</i>


    <i>Maybe it goes against everything in naturalw! But I promise you this¡ª</i>


    Someday, I''ll bring you back to life!


    <i>I''ll do it, I swear I will!"</i>


    The next moment, Saikawa and Charlietched on to my arms. "You''re such a dummy, Kimizuka."


    "You''re stupid, Kimizuka."


    They were both crying as they held me up, big tears rolling down their cheeks.


    When I nced up, Natsunagi was gazing at me with a smile that was close to tears.


    "You''re so dumb, Kimizuka."


    She''d set a trembling hand over the left side of her chest. Had it gotten through to her?


    Had my voice reached the other one who had to be in there? "Honestly."


    I heard a small sigh. Then, with a smile as if she was looking at kids who were a real handful, SIESTA said...


    "Are you stupid? All of you."


    I was sure she was saying it in Siesta''s ce.


    A tear rolled down her face, and no one who saw it could have said she was a machine.


    Page 178 Goldenagato |


    "...The sun''s rising," she murmured quietly, looking to the side.


    Dawn was breaking on the coast road. Orange mingled with the deep blue of the sky. Out on the ocean beyond the white lighthouse, night came to an end, and the sun peeked over the distant horizon.


    "Yeah. This is where it begins."


    Starting here and now, we''d rebel against our world.


    The detective is already dead?


    ¡ªNo.


    This is the long, long, dizzying story of the time until I take the detective back.

 Chapter 63: Prologue, continued

    <h4>Chapter 63: Prologue, continued</h4>


    "The helicopter''s here!"


    On the coast road, the orange sun was beginning to rise.


    Spotting the aircraft in the sky, Charlie turned, shouting toward us.


    "Thank goodness. It made it in time..." Sighing with relief, Saikawa sank weakly to the ground next to me.


    "Natsunagi, gimme a hand!"


    "All right. On three: One, two, three!"


    Working in sync, Natsunagi and I gently picked up the wounded girl and moved her to an open space. The helicopter was here to transport her to a hospital.


    "¡ªOnce again, are you people stupid?"


    As Natsunagi and I carried her along, the girl in question looked at us coldly. "You''re worrying too much. I''m only a <i>robot</i>."


    The source of that flippantment was an ace detective with pale silver hair


    ¡ªor rather SIESTA, who''d been created by equipping the detective''s body with an AI.


    However, her artificial heart had just been badly damaged inbat, and we''d arranged to have her sent to a certain special facility in the hopes of repairing it. We''d managed that with the help of the redheaded policewoman currently in handcuffs.


    "You''ve got a hole in your heart. Just be quiet and do what we tell you."


    "Yes, but Kimihiko, when you manhandle me like this, I break out in goose bumps all¡ª"


    "Oh, hey, just listen to all that energy you''ve got! That''s great!"


    It''s seriously impressive that she can be this caustic with a straight face. <i>Now, I wonder which detective she takes after? </i>I made eye contact with Natsunagi, and we gently lowered SIESTA to the ground. We just had to wait for the helicopter tond.


    "Kimihiko, here," said SIESTA, whose head was resting on Natsunagi''sp. I crouched down, and she took an object out of the folds of her clothes, then


    slipped it into the breast pocket of my jacket.


    "SIESTA?" I pressed my hand to the pocket and felt something hard. What in the world¡ª?


    "It''s from Mistress Siesta." Her smile was so gentle you''d never have believed she was a robot. "She told me to give this to you once the four of you had aplished your tasks. I''m told everything you need to know at this point is in there." Softly, she put her hand out, cing her palm over my left breast pocket.


    "...I see. So this is still part of your job?"


    "Yes. And this is the end of the future Mistress Siesta predicted."


    Right, this was as far as it went. Up until now, we''d been on the route Siesta had envisioned.


    She would sacrifice herself to pin down a powerful enemy, then make those of us she''d left behind focus on the future by working through our issues. Yeah, that had been truly brilliant direction. It was just like her: the girl ready to resolve incidents before they even happened. But in that case...


    "From now on, we''ll do this our way."


    Sorry, but I''m pretty fed up with being manipted by Siesta all the time. "Kimizuka, your face looks really evil right now." Natsunagi smiled a little,


    while SIESTA rested in herp.


    "I seem to remember you saying you''d be my aplice."


    "...Ngh, well, I guess I can''t deny that." Natsunagi looked away. On her cheek, I could see the tracks of the tears she''d just shed.


    "SIESTA..."


    "It won''t be long now."


    Saikawa and Charlie came over to kneel beside us.


    "Yes, I''ll have myself repaired and return someday. More importantly..." As the girls watched her with worry, SIESTA looked straight at them. "Please take care of Mistress Siesta."


    That vow we''d made had been her wish as well. Even if, in a way, it meant betraying her mistress. "Yeah, leave it to us. Someday, I swear¡ª"


    "We''ll bring Siesta back to life." Natsunagi spoke over me firmly. "Yes. I leave it in your hands." SIESTA gave onest soft, relieved smile.


    I''ll say it again: The detective is already dead. I refuse to let it end there, though.


    This is the incredible tale of how we''ll transcend the detective''sst wish and


    overturn the future she nned.

 Chapter 64 - 1.1

    <h4>Chapter 64: Chapter 1.1</h4>


    <strong> Don''t listen to little girls</strong>


    Roughly half a day had passed since we made that vow.


    "And so I sentence you to twenty thousand years of penal servitude, you damn brat."


    The redheaded police officer leaned in toward me, a cigar mped between her teeth. She had an ogreish look on her face.


    The ogre''s name was Fuubi Kase.


    She''d called me, which was why I was in her condo on the top floor of a high- rise apartment building in the first ce, but...


    "...That''s not fair. I haven''t done anything."


    Exactly what crime was she bawling me out for? She''d driven me back to the big window, with its view out over the city lights, and I snapped at her like a noble Pomeranian confronting a lion.


    "You haven''t? Ha! Don''t make meugh." ...Except she wasn''t even smiling. "I hate to break it to you, Kimihiko Kimizuka, but you''re suspected of breaking the speed limit on a motorcycle, multiple vitions of the Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law, assault, bodily injury, and obstructing an officer in the performance of her duties."


    ring at me, she pointed at her own right cheek.


    Yesterday evening, for reasons I won''t get into, Ms. Fuubi and I had squared up and fought. During that fight, I''d decked her... It had been a while since then, but her cheek was apparently still swollen.


    "Maybe so, but you put me through quite a bit of hurt, too." "And yet you look like you feel great."


    Well, she had a point. Was it a knack for taking a lot of punishment, something I''d picked up because of that <i>predisposition of mine</i>? Even my ribs seemed to be fine, and I''d been sure they were broken.


    "It''s a full house of additional charges, which is why I''m putting you away for life."


    "Whoa, wait, call me awyer! I have rights!" Desperately, I looked around. I


    wasn''t the only one who''d been summoned to this room. I had three other trusty allies here. "Hey, Natsunagi! You tell her, too..."


    "Wow! The bath is huge! Check it out, it''s a Jacuzzi!"


    For reasons unknown, somewhere in the distance¡ªfrom the bathroom, specifically¡ªI heard gleeful voices.


    "Nagisa, soap up and rinse off first."


    Natsunagi was actually taking a bath. With Charlie.


    <i>You''ve gotta be kidding me. What kind of detective doesn''te running when her assistant''s in trouble? ...Although I guess there was another onest year who didn''t do that, either.</i>


    "Honestly. I suppose I have no choice."


    When God closes a door, he opens a window, as they say¡ªa girl threw me a lifeline.


    "Ms. Kase, could you find it in your heart to forgive Kimizuka?"


    It was Yui Saikawa, the super idol. She was sitting at the table by herself, sipping a mug of milk. Ordinarily, I didn''t get much respect from her. However, at least mentally, she was the oldest one here, and it looked like she was going to take my side just this once. "Yes, he decked you. But he didn''t have a choice. He did it for love."


    "Love?"


    Ms. Fuubi looked perplexed. So did I. "Yes, love!"


    Saikawa smacked the table and stood up.


    "To Kimizuka, Siesta is utterly irreceable. It doesn''t matter if you''re a detective or a Tuner, he''ll punch you into next week for her. After all, Kimizuka loves Siesta. He loves her from the bottom of his heart!"


    "You wanna die?!"


    "Eeeeek! Kimizuka, you''re scary!"


    I had to end that little girl, no matter what. As Saikawa fled, I swore to myself I''d pursue her to the far side of hell.


    "Hey, don''t y tag in other people''s apartments. Don''t just use me as a foil for youredy routine."


    "I called you people here to give you a warning."


    We''d probably gotten the serious bit and theedy bit out of order, but that''s how things generally go around here.


    The four of us were all seated at the table listening to Ms. Fuubi, who sat at


    the head.


    "Nagisa Natsunagi, Yui Saikawa, Charlotte Arisaka Anderson, and Kimihiko Kimizuka. You intend to defy the Tuners and find some other way to defeat Seed. You''re sure that''s what you want to do?"


    Her sharp eyes drilled into each of us, one after another.


    "Yes, it is," Natsunagi told her. She gazed straight at Ms. Fuubi without flinching. "We won''t let you kill anyone, and we won''t let anyone be sacrificed. We''ll all smile together, and in the end, we''ll win together. That''s our only goal and our condition for victory."


    Right. We''dunched our adventure that night in order to make that wishe true.


    "...Huh." Ms. Fuubi gave a dissatisfied snort.


    Our current enemy was SPES and its leader, Seed. Seed hadn''t been able topletely adapt to Earth''s environment, and he was looking for a human vessel to take over. The leading candidate was an individual who had the power of one of his "seeds," yet hadn''t developed any side effects from it: Yui Saikawa.


    As a Tuner who fought the world''s enemies, Ms. Fuubi had tried to indirectly defeat Seed by teaming up with her subordinate Charlie to destroy his vessel¡ªto kill Saikawa. When I''d found out what she was up to, I''d fought her. Natsunagi


    ¡ªandter Charlie, who''d had a change of heart¡ªhad teamed up with me.


    "Ten days." Ms. Fuubi''s eyes scanned our group. "I''ll give you a ten-day grace period. During that time, show me proof that you can take Seed down. That''s the best deal I can give you."


    "And if we can''t?"


    "Then I kill that girl." She looked down at Saikawa with cold eyes. "Kimizuka, I''m scared." Next to me, Saikawa squeezed the cuff of my sleeve.


    She was brave, but this open hostility from the Assassin seemed to have her intimidated.


    "It''ll be fine. We''ll protect you."


    "It must be because she''s jealous of my youth and how precious I am, don''t you think?"


    "Saikawa, I''m begging you, don''t say stuff that''s going to make it impossible to keep you safe."


    "And you, Ms. Kase. I hear you''re pushing thirty, but if you stick to a good daily skin care routine and reduce the stressors in your life, you''ll be able to hang onto your youth for quite a while longer! It''s all right, please don''t give up!"


    "Saikawaaaa!!!" I take it back.


    The veins in Ms. Fuubi''s temples seemed about to burst, and I pped a hand over Saikawa''s mouth.


    "Still, how are we going to defeat Seed with only four people?" Shifting us back to a more serious discussion, Charlie put a finger to her chin.


    We still knew almost nothing about the leader of SPES. He was a nt-like being who''d flown here from outer space, and he could create clones that had special abilities. That was all the info we had on him. ¡ªHowever.


    "Our best move is asking someone who knows a lot about him," I said, then suggested someone who was absent. "Siesta."


    Charlie''s eyes widened in surprise. Meanwhile, Ms. Fuubi''s narrowed, as if she was trying to read my intentions.


    "She was the type who always came up with ways to resolve incidents before they happened. She must have beenying her own ns to defeat Seed."


    Like the ace detective''s legacy, for example¡ªthe thing Charlie had been looking for on that cruise ship, ten days back. In the end, the "legacy" had been us, but the point was that Siesta had left us what we''d need in order to defeat SPES. Besides, she''d been a very careful person; I couldn''t see her expecting us to take down Seed and SPES without so much as a hint.


    "Then you think Ma''am left some other legacy somewhere? We don''t have any intel about that..." Charlie sounded dubious.


    In that case, I was the one who''d spent three whole years with her. Was there a hint that only I would pick up on? For example, we''d gone to Singapore and Hawaii together, hunting for legendary secret treasures.


    Or, more recently, there was another country I knew very well: Ennd. That was where we''d encountered Hel, a top-level SPES executive, and where we''d lived right up until we set off for our final showdown. Was there some sort of hint there, in the ce where I''d made my most vivid memories with Siesta...?


    "¡ªOh, is that what this meant?"


    I remembered the <i>object </i>in the left breast pocket of my jacket.


    "This one time, when Siesta and I were living in London, I saw her hastily hide something in a desk drawer."


    That drawer had a lock, and it was solid enough that my lock-picking skills couldn''t get it open. However, as I was trying this and that to find out what was in that drawer, Siesta had told me something.


    <i>"¡ªYou''ll have to steal this key from me someday." </i>With a belligerent smile,


    she''d held her master key¡ªone of her Seven Tools¡ªbetween her fingertips, waggling it at me.


    "Then yesterday, SIESTA gave me this."


    I took a small key out of my pocket, showing it to Ms. Fuubi and the others.


    It was what SIESTA had handed to me after yesterday''s battle, before the helicopter took her away for treatment. Natsunagi had inherited the musket from her, and I''d received one of the detective''s Seven Tools from SIESTA as well.


    Now that I''d gotten through my task, Siesta wanted me to take down SPES. If she''d chosen to give me this key now, maybe it meant there was some sort of hidden legacy that would help us defeat SPES and Seed.


    "You mean your ce in London is still just sitting there?" Ms. Fuubi seemed perplexed.


    "Well, yeah. They withdraw the rent every month. It''s killing my bank ount."


    "? Then why not move out?" "...Uh, well..."


    "Ms. Kase, please don''t ask him any more questions!" Saikawa stuck her oar in. "Kimizuka doesn''t want to lose the love nest he had with Siesta!"


    "Shut up! Saikawa, you''re cracking too many jokes!"


    "I''m not actually joking," Saikawa muttered, but I ignored her. "So, I''m thinking of heading over to London tomorrow."


    I''d decided to retrace Siesta''s footsteps, hoping to find a hint that would help us defeat¡ªor at least learn about¡ªSeed.


    "I''ll go, too, then," said Natsunagi, across the table from me. "After all, taking care of her assistant is part of a detective''s job." She sounded tired at the thought, but she still winked at me.


    "...Yeah, that would be a big help."


    With a little smile back, I took her up on her offer.


    "In that case, you two do that. As for you, Charlotte and Yui Saikawa¡ªyou''re going to pick up ways to fight Seed." Ms. Fuubi looked at Charlie, then at Saikawa.


    Skills that would let them go head-to-head with Seed... Come to think of it, during the past few days, Natsunagi had gotten Hel''s power, and I''d ended up with Chameleon''s. Ms. Fuubi was trying to give Charlie and Saikawa something simr, since they''d need those powers if they were going to fight.


    "First, Charlotte, there''s <i>a job I''d like you to do.</i>" She gave us a meaningful smile.


    "Br-bring it on?" For some reason, Charlie phrased it like a question. She looked at me, and her eyes were a little teary.


    ...<i>I get what you''re thinking, but my hands are tied. Sorry.</i>


    "So the problem is Yui Saikawa..." Ms. Fuubi''s eyes went to the other girl, and just then¡ª


    "Leave her to me."


    The next moment, the big window behind us shattered. A figure stepped out of the night, into the room. "Bat?"


    A blond man in a suit was standing there, grinning at us.

 Chapter 65 - 1.2

    <h4>Chapter 65: Chapter 1.2</h4>


    <strong> All ready for jointbat</strong>


    "How dare you show your face here."


    On her feet, Ms. Fuubi drew her handgun and pointed it at Bat.


    "Ha-ha! Police work sure could stand to be a little more imaginative," the intruder retortedzily, then plopped down onto the sofa. Just the other day, with Scarlet''s help, he''d slipped through Ms. Fuubi''s security and broken out of jail.


    "Did you forget why I had you paroled?" Ms. Fuubi gave Bat a sharp re. Come to think of it, they had made a deal like that way back during the Sapphire Eye incident. "I was going to have you keep an eye on Yui Saikawa, but you double-crossed me."


    Oh, so that was what she''d been after... But while Ms. Fuubi had tried to kill Saikawa for being Seed''s candidate vessel, Bat had gone behind her back and tried to make the girl his ally instead. That was what I''d seen y out on the roof of the TV station.


    "Hey, that''s why I''m here right now, offering to join your team." Bat didn''t even nce at the gun trained on him. "I''ll take care of the sapphire girl." As he made his proposal, his eyes were on Saikawa.


    "Me?" Saikawa stared nkly.


    "Bat, didn''t you give up on that?" I was pretty sure these negotiations had broken down the other day.


    "Ha-ha! My goal and yours were the same all along. And now you''re working with that scary cop, too, right? In that case, I think you could lemme in."


    He must have been listening in on our strategy meeting from a distance with <i>those special ears. </i>Bat had his own bone to pick with Seed, and he wanted to join the SPES subjugation team.


    "What can you do?" Ms. Fuubi asked, temporarily stowing her gun.


    <i>"Activate that left eye." </i>Bat narrowed his own cloudy eyes. "Like the sapphire girl, I''m a human with a seed. I can help her use that eye better."


    Bat had been an ordinary human until he''d affixed one of Seed''s seeds to himself. From what we''d heard, Saikawa had had a seed surgically imnted along with her left eye, so their circumstances were simr.


    "What do you say, sapphire girl? Even if revenge isn''t your thing, will you fight for your friends?" Bat asked, shifting the focus. That night, although she''d learned that SPES had taken the lives of her parents, Saikawa had chosen not to avenge them. Still, Bat knew herpanions meant more than anything to her now.


    "Yes, I will! All right, Bat, help me out!" Saikawa said, agreeing readily. "You''re really okay with that?" I was prepared for her tough at me for being


    overprotective, but I asked anyway.


    "Of course. I won''t just sit here and let others protect me. I want to be strong enough to protect you as well." Saikawa smiled, shing a peace sign at us.


    "¡ªYui, thank you." Charlie stood up and hugged Saikawa from behind. Earlier, she''d tried to kill the other girl on orders from Fuubi Kase, the


    Assassin. By now, though, the two of them looked like they''d made up. "Charlie..."


    "Yui..."


    "Would you rub my feet?" "¡ªOh, yes."


    Correction: Apparently it would take a lot more than that before Charlie could look Saikawa in the face.


    "Still, I guess we''ve got something like a n for now." Leaning back in my chair, I gave a long sigh.


    "Right," Natsunagi agreed. "You and I will go to London and look for the hint Siesta left about defeating Seed. Yui and Charlie will build up the strength to fight him."


    "¡ªJust for the record, Watson. Are you sure that''s what you should be doing?"


    I''d pretty much made up my mind, but not everyone agreed. Bat really seemed to be enjoying his cigarette as he went on. "I mean, look. I''m pretty sure I heard some protagonist screaming yesterday about how he was gonna bring the woman he loved back to life. I just figured that''s what you''d be trying to do next."


    "Ghk¡ª Don''t you start messing with me, too!"


    I bolted to my feet, thumping the table in protest... But he didn''t seem the least bit concerned. He just made himselffortable on the sofa. Dammit, had those ears of his really picked up everything I said yesterday?


    "Ha-ha! Don''t get me wrong. I''m asking if you''re sure you''ve got time to mess around with Seed. What you want most is to resurrect the Ace Detective, right?" Bat gave a crooked smile.


    ...He had a point.


    Honestly, in extreme terms, I didn''t care about Seed or SPES.


    But Siesta''s final wish had been a request to defeat SPES. She''d said we were herst hope, and I couldn''t ignore that. Besides¡ª


    "There''s not much point bringing Siesta back to life if shees back to a ruined world."


    And so I''d fight SPES. I''d take Seed down. That was all this was.


    "Plus, resurrecting Siesta is going to take a miracle. It''s not going to happen in just a day or two."


    Bringing the dead back to life was apletely ridiculous idea. Even so, I did think I could believe in it a little. The reason was Scarlet, the vampire I''d met yesterday. He was a real vampire, one with an ability that defied belief: He could breathe life back into humans who''d died.


    There was just one issue.


    "I figured you''d go for the vampire''s abilities, but I guess you''re not dumb enough to make a snap decision <i>after seeing that.</i>"


    Bat and I were probably thinking of the same thing. He grimaced a little.


    On the roof of the TV station, we''d seen Chameleon, back from hell. The "undead" the vampire created lost everything, with the exception of what had been their strongest instinct in life. Nobody wanted to resurrect Siesta in a state like that. Even if it took time, we had to find another way.


    "...Haaah. Maybe I shouldn''t be telling you this, but...," Ms. Fuubi interjected. She was scratching her head, looking awkward. "Since you''re nning to go to London, there''s <i>someone like us </i>there. If you take this issue to her, it might change something."


    "A Tuner?"


    The only Tuners I''d actually met were Siesta the Ace Detective, Scarlet the Vampire, and Fuubi Kase the Assassin. ording to what I''d been told earlier, there were twelve of them in all. Who was the Tuner in London?


    "The Oracle."


    Ms. Fuubi tossed a photograph to me.


    "That little girl knows every one of the world''s potential futures."


    <strong> At ten thousand meters again</strong>


    "Beef or fish?"


    We were up in the air, at ten thousand meters. In terms of phrases you were likely to run into near the front of books like <i>English in Five Minutes a Day</i>, the question I''d just heard was in second ce. (First ce goes to "Do you y tennis?") "Fish," I replied, ncing over at my travelingpanion. "What about you, Natsunagi?"


    She didn''t seem to have registered the flight attendant''s question. She had her earbuds in, and her eyes were glued to the movie on her seat''s private screen.


    "Sorry to interrupt when you''re busy blushing at one of those sudden love scenes foreign films always seem to have, but don''t ignore the cabin attendant."


    "Eep!"


    As I reached over and pulled out an earbud, Natsunagi flinched. "Wha...? I, I- I-I-I-I''ll double-kill you!"


    "That''s not on the menu." I modified the order to "Two fish," one for Natsunagi.


    "...Kimizuka, why are you such a jerk?" After she''d watched the flight attendant leave, Natsunagi shot me a resentful look.


    That''s weird. Here I''d been ying the bad guy because I''d assumed she was into that sort of thing.


    "Listen up, Natsunagi. You get tired of a saint in three days, but you can watch a viin your whole life and not get bored."


    "What, was that theory inspired by the ''one gets tired of a beauty in three days'' saying or something? Even if I don''t get bored, I''ll hate you, all right? I already do hate you, Kimizuka!"


    Natsunagi gave me a cold re.


    A little-known fact is that hardest type to get tired of is a beautiful and very difficult girl.


    Not that I''m going to say who it is, specifically.


    "In other words, the proverb implies the more righteous you are, the more damage you take," I said.


    "That''s one ugly proverb."


    "Oh, and in the movie you''re watching, the leadingdy who''s so devoted to that guy ends up shielding him from an enemy bullet and getting shot dead."


    "And you just hit me with the worst spoiler ever!" Natsunagi tugged at her hair. Then she heaved a big sigh and powered down the screen. "...I really do hate you, Kimizuka. There''s nothing fun about being with you." She turned her face away, tantly snubbing me.


    But.


    "You can say that, but we''re gonna be together for at least ten more hours," I told her. She was gazing out the window.


    We were at ten thousand meters, on an international flight to London. <i>Since we''d gotten pulled into a little trouble </i>on our way to the airport, we''d ended up missing our flight and taking the next one instead, but we were still making progress on our objective.


    "I know that. We''re not going back to Japan until we find Siesta''s legacy and see the Oracle."


    Exactly. The Oracle was one of the Tuners, and the only person who might have a clue about bringing Siesta back to life.


    I thought back over the exnation we''d been given yesterday.


    "An oracle?"


    My eyebrows drew together at Ms. Fuubi''s proposal. She''d mentioned this person while we were thinking of ways to bring Siesta back to life. However, I was pretty sure...


    "SIESTA mentioned her, didn''t she?" As the first one to remember, Saikawa spoke up before I could say any more.


    Yeah, when SIESTA first told us about the Tuners, "Oracle" had been one of the ones she mentioned, right along with positions like Vampire and Assassin.


    "Yeah, that''s right. I''ve never met her in person. I don''t even know her name.


    They say the Oracle foresees everything with her <i>precognition</i>, though."


    At this point, I''d already met pseudohumans and a vampire, so I couldn''t just say <i>That''s crazy </i>and kick the idea of irvoyance to the curb. Besides, I''d heard that the Tuners were people appointed to protect the world during crises. That meant the idea of a real Oracle who could see those crisesing made a lot of sense.


    "If there''s a future where the Ace Detectivees back to life, the Oracle may be able to show you how to get to it."


    "...I see. So we should ask her for help, hmm?"


    My eyes went to the picture again. The photo was a slightly blurry sneak shot.


    It showed a girl with pale blue hair and European features.


    If she was able to foresee every future possibility, she might be able to find a route where Siesta came back to life. A way to work a miracle, something besides the vampire''s method of resurrection.


    "So, if you''re going to London to look for the Ace Detective''s legacy, consider meeting her, too. The Oracle could be the key to reviving her," Ms. Fuubi said brusquely.


    Our trip had acquired a second objective.


    "Ooh, a trip all alone with Kimizuka... Doesn''t that mean he''s already locked into your route, Nagisa?" Saikawa teased.


    "Saikawa, don''tpare people''s lives to a dating sim."


    "Yui, no matter how many gs you nt, this guy doesn''t have that kind of courage. He just doesn''t."


    <i>Natsunagi, don''t put a hand to your heart and quietly shake your head. And get that seriously photogenic smile off your face.</i>


    "Well, whatever. Sorry, Saikawa, but you need to loan me the funds to get to London."


    "Huh? As if any girlfriend would loan you money when she knows you''re headed off to fool around with another woman."


    This idol singer, who was several years younger than me, suddenly scared me.


    And who is whose girlfriend?


    "Serves you right. You proposed to me yesterday, and now you go off with some other girl. You make me sick."


    "Charlie, don''t go saying things that''ll give people the wrong idea! When did I ever propose...to... I did, didn''t I? Come to think of it."


    Looking back, I did remember making a crazy remark like that during our fight with Ms. Fuubi. I hadn''t genuinely meant it, of course, but...


    "Wow! What is this? Incredible... My blood is actually boiling with indignation. That''s amazing!"


    "Natsunagi, the disconnect between your mood and what you''re saying is freaking me out."


    <i>I really hate this idea. I absolutely don''t want to be alone with Natsunagi when she''s like this.</i>


    "...So, how do we meet the Oracle?" I asked Ms. Fuubi, trying to get the conversation back on track.


    "Uh, about that." She looked unusually apologetic. "I''m not sure how to tell


    you this, after I made the suggestion myself, but...<i>it''s said that nobody can ever meet the Oracle.</i>"


    Oh, I see.


    It looks like the ending I''m working toward won''t just hand me a miracle.


    "¡ªThis really takes me back." On the ne, thement slipped out of me. "?"


    Natsunagi looked perplexed.


    "I just meant I was on a ne like this four years ago, too." All by myself, with a mysterious attach¨¦ case.


    However, at ten thousand meters, I¡ªno, <i>we</i>¡ªbecame a team.


    "I see. So this is where you and Siesta began," Natsunagi said. She was watching the white clouds drift by outside the window.


    "Yeah, just one heck of a coincidence... No, actually, I think it was inevitable."


    It had all been part of her n. That was how I''d beenunched into three years of dazzling adventure by the detective in the seat next to mine.


    "Oh, Kimizuka. That''s the look of a guy who''s reminiscing about his former girlfriend."


    "What do you mean? Cut it out. And don''t hold up a mirror."


    Maybe it was because I''d been indulging in memories of that distant day. The next moment¡ªit wasn''t my imagination.


    I genuinely heard a flight attendant who was making her way through the cabin say...


    "Is there a detective on the ne?"

 Chapter 66 - 1.3

    <h4>Chapter 66: Chapter 1.3</h4>


    <strong>There are no extras in this world</strong>


    When I heard that, my memories instantly snapped back to that day, four years ago.


    That incident, which would turn out to be a hijacking orchestrated by Bat, was the very thing that hadunched my journey through the extraordinary.


    "My knack for getting pulled into trouble is in fantastic form today."


    Who''d have believed I''d hear the same sentence I''d heard that day, under the same conditions? I couldn''t do anything as the past yed out again in front of me; I had no idea how to handle this.


    "Is there a detective on the ne?" I heard the flight attendant again, right


    next to me.


    <i>Man, I guess I can''t just ignore this</i>, I thought. I looked up¡ª "...Wait. Aren''t you...?"


    "It''s been a long time, sir. Thank you for your help before." Was a string of this many coincidences even possible?


    The woman who''d nodded to me was the very same flight attendant who''de to tell Siesta and me about the hijacking, four years ago.


    "We made it through that incident safely, and it was all thanks to you, the detective, and her assistant." The woman smiled; she seemed to be in herte twenties. "As a matter of fact, I was on my first flight that day. I''m afraid I made a terrible spectacle of myself..." She sounded apologetic.


    "Oh, uh, don''t worry about it."


    Come to think of it, she had panicked when Bat showed up. Well, new hire or veteran, it would have been weirder for any human to see a thing like that and not freak out.


    "But I should introduce myself. My name is Olivia. It''s a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Kimizuka," Olivia said formally.


    "Are you friends, Kimizuka? ...You''re friends with a cabin attendant?"


    Natsunagi, who''d never met the woman before, seemed perplexed. On top of that, the dubious look she directed at me seemed to imply something else.


    "Not ''friends,'' exactly. I just got <i>dragged into her problem </i>once, way back when. It''s not the sort of rtionship to get suspicious about."


    <i>And I have no idea why I need to justify myself at all.</i>


    "Now that you mention it, Mr. Kimizuka, you''re with a different detective this time."


    "Don''t you drag the conversation in random directions, too!" "Are you headed to London for your honeymoon?"


    "Do flight attendants always mess with people like this...?"


    <i>And why does Natsunagi look as if she wasn''t actually annoyed by thatment? Don''t give me that "Eh-heh-heh!" business.</i>


    "We''re headed to London to pick up a little something I forgot. There''s also a person we need to meet, no matter what... Although I don''t even know her name," I added, forcing a smile.


    "On your way to meet someone whose name you don''t know... You''re on yet another difficult mission, I see." Olivia smiled gently.


    "And? What''s going on?" I asked, thinking it was about time we got down to business.


    ording to Olivia, there was an incident in progress up here at ten thousand meters. And what they needed was a detective, not a doctor or the police. Had pseudohumans turned up? Or a vampire? Or was it an alien invasion?


    Aw man, there were so many more options now than there had been four years ago. I was waiting for her answer when...


    <i>"Paging Miss Mia Whitlock from seat A20. When you hear this announcement, please speak to the nearest cabin attendant."</i>


    The announcement was being made repeatedly, in both Japanese and English. It was the sort of thing you heard all the time in airports...but I''d never expected to hear it on a ne. Why bother with an announcement? Why not just go directly to that passenger''s seat?


    Or...don''t tell me. "Has she disappeared?"


    Olivia nodded. She was wearing a sardonic smile. "Yes. A passenger who was here when we took off has simply evaporated."


    That was the reason behind the bizarre onboard announcement: Mia Whitlock had vanished from a ne that was cruising at ten thousand meters.


    "Naturally, we always check the passenger list and make sure everyone is on board before we prepare for takeoff. However, when we were distributing the in- flight meals, it became apparent that one passenger was missing." Olivia put a hand to her forehead, as if she had no idea what to do with the situation.


    "Was Mia Whitlock traveling alone?" Natsunagi asked, leaning over my seat to speak to Olivia.


    "Don''t put your hand on my thigh, don''t put your head close to me, your hair is gonna get in my mouth..." Forced to inhale the sweet fragrance of Natsunagi''s perfume, I held still and listened to their exchange.


    "Yes, she seems to have been by herself. About an hour after takeoff, a crew member saw someone who matched her description walking away from her seat."


    <i>I see... Was she headed for the bathroom or something?</i>


    Then, instead of returning to her seat, she''d vanished.


    "Have you searched the ne?" I asked, pushing Natsunagi back into her seat. "Of course, we''ve looked everywhere we could. However, we haven''t been


    able to locate her."


    "And that''s why you''re asking for a detective?" Yeesh. It might not be as shy as having a pseudohuman turn up, but this still might get hairier than I''d


    thought. As I was sighing about that...


    "Yes. I saw your names on the passenger list, so..." Olivia''s rouged lips parted in a grin.


    "Hey. You had your sights set on us from the beginning."


    I slumped in my seat. Olivia had asked for a detective, but she''d been counting on us all along.


    <i>...Hmm? No, wait. </i>Something about that thought tugged at me.


    "Hey, what happens if you don''t find the missing passenger?" Before I could get my question answered, Natsunagi asked Olivia one of her own.


    Her response was, "Well, we''ll have to return to Japan." "Please don''t smile when you say that. Just don''t."


    Apparently, the first problem we''d have to tackle wasn''t finding Siesta''s legacy or meeting the Oracle. It was solving a locked-room mystery at ten thousand meters.


    <strong> A mystery clich¨¦</strong>


    "I smell a case," Natsunagi said, looking sharper than she really needed to. "We''re pretty likely to smell something, anyway." I grimaced.


    Natsunagi ignored me. She was taking a careful look around the cramped room.


    You guessed it; we were in an onboard bathroom... Not, of course, for any weird reasons. We were doing a field investigation.


    "Hmm. Still, I don''t see anything strange... Do you?" Natsunagi reached up, touching the ceiling, but it didn''t seem to have any removable sections.


    Of course, there was no guarantee that Mia Whitlock had vanished from this bathroom. There just weren''t many ces on the ne that an ordinary passenger had ess to, which made this one a strong candidate.


    "Maybe she got dragged into the toilet." I knew it wasn''t the right answer, but I was just saying whatever came to mind.


    Four years ago, an incident had urred at my middle school. They said that if you knocked three times on the third stall from the door at three in the morning, Miss Hanako would drag you into the toilet. However, Siesta had solved that incident brilliantly.


    "Okay, Kimizuka, bend over a second." Natsunagi pointed at the toilet, trying to turn me into one of Miss Hanako''s victims.


    "Natsunagi, don''t just use your assistant as a human sacrifice. I don''t have the


    guts to do my business in front of other people anyway." Unlike the former white-haired detective. "Actually, Natsunagi, that sort of bathroom y is your thing, isn''t it? I figured you were kinda into that stuff."


    "Don''t be so casual about my fetishes! ¡ªI mean, it''s not a fetish, but still!" "Oh, I see."


    "Don''t just give up on teasing me out of nowhere! I mean, it''s fine to stop, but even so!"


    Natsunagi was iling around wildly now. Ignoring her, I checked the room over thoroughly, but didn''t see anything that looked suspicious. This ce seemed to be a dead end.


    We left the bathroom and walked around the cabin, looking for some other hint. It wasn''t that big, though, and we couldn''t think of too many ces where an amateur could hide. nes built for long-distance flights had spaces for the crew to rest, but we didn''t see any sign that she''d crept in there.


    "Where else might she be able to hide...? The luggagepartments?"


    I walked along, looking up at the luggage rack above the seats. Four years ago, I''d hidden the musket Siesta had made me smuggle up there.


    "Actually, why did Mia Whitlock have to hide in the first ce?" Natsunagi asked out of nowhere. "We''ve been treating this as a voluntary disappearance, but couldn''t somebody have taken her against her will? For example¡ª"


    "She''s being held prisoner?" Natsunagi nodded.


    <i>The culprit </i>might be holding Mia Whitlock captive somewhere. We decided to keep that possibility in mind, too. Before we knew it, we''d reached the cockpit at the front of the ne.


    "This was where it happenedst time."


    On the other side of that heavy door, I''d met Bat, and my days of fighting SPES had begun.


    "Could SPES be involved this time, too?"


    "With this many <i>coincidences </i>in y already, we can''t exactly rule it out."


    I''d borrowed that line; it was actually something Natsunagi had said once. She''d told me not to be irresponsible and fatalistic calling things "coincidence." We had to think about what it meant that this had happened.


    There had to be more to this incident, something behind it all. Foreshadowing.


    As I mulled over what it could be, Natsunagi and I returned to our seats.


    "It does feel like the pieces are starting toe together, but..." I folded my arms, mentally organizing the information and clues we''d found so far.


    Siesta''s legacy. Our search for the Oracle. My journey with the detective. A flight attendant I''d run into again for the first time in four years. The missing passenger. A locked-room mystery at ten thousand meters. Confinement. SPES. Coincidence and inevitability. As far as other potential hints went, there was <i>that one remark she''d made...</i>


    "I don''t get it. I don''t get what I don''t get," I grumbled to myself, ncing at my in-flight meal. Our food had arrived while we were away from our seats.


    When I thought it over carefully, it had been a long time since I''d run into such a tough, ssic puzzle. Of course, when the likes of SPES were involved, nothing could be a mere game.


    Either way, my brain had lost its edge, and I didn''t feel anywhere near the right answer. Massaging my temples lightly, I nced to the side, and¡ª "... You''re sure enjoying that."


    Natsunagi was scarfing down the in-flight meal like a high school rugby yer. She was enjoying this trip with everything she had.


    "Kimizuka, you gonna eat yours?" Having polished off one meal, she started eyeing mine.


    <i>What, is there a rule that the Ace Detective has to be a big eater?</i>


    "If you say you just can''t handle another bite, I suppose I could make an exception and eat that for you."


    "Look, there''s nothing cute about ying hard to get that way." <i>You''re just a high school girl who''s highlighting her gluttony factor.</i>


    "Th-then you mean the other times I y hard to get <i>are </i>cute?"


    "If you''re aware you''re just ying hard to get, does that mean you''re admitting to getting all mushy about me sometimes, too?"


    "I¡ªI didn''t go that far! I didn''t say the earlier stuff, either!" Natsunagi was desperately trying to cover up her blunder. <i>Great, now the ying field''s even.</i>


    "Huh? What''s with the mini muscle pose?" I asked.


    "I''m usually the one who gets made fun of. You''re the only person I ever get to be superior to."


    "What, I''m at the very bottom?!"


    "Well, it''s more like you, me, and Charlie are having a long, messy contest for it."


    "Oh, and then Yui''s above us... What''s the deal with this power bnce?" "The problem may be that we''re all less mentally mature than a middle-school


    girl." However, that was a really tough problem, so I stopped thinking about it. "More importantly, what we really should be thinking about right now is the


    missing passenger."


    We''d found a certain number of hints, but the truth was still nowhere in sight. "Knox''s Ten Commandments," Natsunagi muttered, looking serious. She''d


    just finished wolfing down my in-flight meal.


    "Hey, don''t eat that. It''s mine." I didn''t know how she could keep such a straight face, but it wasn''t like she''d tell me anyway.


    "Knox''s Ten Commandments were proposed by a British mystery author named Ronald Knox in 1928. They''re a list of ten rules that must be followed when writing mysteries."


    "Oh yeah, I know those. The gist was that the solutions to mystery puzzles need to be fair to readers... What about them, though?"


    Granted, Knox himself went on to publish a book that broke those tenmandments; they''re only one standard. Still, why would she bring them up now?


    "Well, if we frame our current mystery in those terms, it might help us see something new."


    "...I dunno. It might work in a regr mystery novel, but I''m not sure those rules apply to the stuff we tend to get dragged into."


    For example, two of Knox''s rules are "All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out" and "You must not include an enigmatic figure with extraordinary physical abilities." We''re currently fighting pseudohumans, so unfortunately, those rules don''t cover us.


    "But it''s not a sure thing that SPES is involved this time, is it?"


    "Well... No, it''s not. So you''re saying we should think of rules we could use just this one time?"


    Of the ten, the one that seemed most likely to help us out with this locked room puzzle was¡ª


    " "Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable." " We identally said it in unison, then exchanged looks. "Okay, then if we flip that rule around..."


    "Yeah. Even in an airne, there could be <i>just one ce </i>where someone could hide."


    And that <i>secret room </i>had to be somewhere Natsunagi and I couldn''t ess easily.


    Of course, our hypothesis was based on the premise that this was a puzzle in a mystery novel. But if that premise was a clue that would solve this case¡ª


    "Kimizuka, I''ve got it," Natsunagi said. "Listen." She pointed at me.


    "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!"


    Delivering a line worthy of the great detective Holmes, she gave me a triumphant look.


    "By the way, Natsunagi, was that detective novel good? The one in the bag by your feet that you tagged all over with page markers."


    "...I hate you, Kimizuka."

 Chapter 67 - 1.4

    <h4>Chapter 67: Chapter 1.4</h4>


    <strong>That future was determined in the distant past</strong>


    "This is herbal tea. Be careful; it''s hot."


    With practiced movements, Olivia offered us cups. The seats Natsunagi and I were sitting in were as soft and fluffy as sofas.


    "So this is first ss..." I was used to traveling economy, and just from the cushiness of these seats, the difference between that and this was blindingly obvious.


    "Those seats were unupied to begin with, so do make yourselvesfortable." Smiling, Olivia stood in the aisle between us. There really didn''t seem to be any passengers besides Natsunagi and me in first ss.


    "Are you sure it''s okay for us to use them, though?" Looking apologetic, Natsunagi poured an expensive-looking drink into a chilled ss on the side table, then gulped it down. So much for her reservations about upgrading to first ss. <i>At least drink the herbal tea she just gave you.</i>


    "Yes, I asked permission. Besides, this may not be the sort of thing we can talk about in front of the passengers." Olivia gave us a wry smile. "Well? Is it true that you know where Miss Whitlock is?" Her eyes narrowed.


    After Natsunagi and I had realized the truth of the matter, we''d summoned Olivia, and she''d designated these seats as the venue for our talk.


    "Of course. That''s what we came here to tell you... But can you take over from here, Natsunagi?"


    "Mm-hmm, absolutely." Natsunagi drained a second ssful of her drink, and then:


    "It was you who <i>hid </i>Mia Whitlock, wasn''t it¡ªMs. Olivia?" That was one heck of an opener.


    "I see." Olivia gave a little nod. "I''d really like to argue against that assertion,


    but let''s hear your theory first. I imagine that''s the standard procedure." She prompted Natsunagi to go on, looking perfectlyposed. "What made you imagine that I had <i>imprisoned </i>Miss Whitlock?"


    "Because that was the only remaining possibility," Natsunagi said. It was something she''d already told me. "No matter where on the ne Kimizuka and I looked, we couldn''t find her. In that case, it''s logical to assume she was hidden in a location where <i>amateurs </i>like us would never find her, isn''t it?"


    "...Ah. So you think a <i>professional </i>had a hand in this."


    "Right. I''m confident that Mia Whitlock is being kept somewhere that isn''t essible to us. Like the cockpit, for example... Or maybe an in-flight meal cart." Natsunagi''s eyes darted to the silver service wagon beside Olivia.


    The cart was generally used to serve drinks and meals, but <i>one slim woman </i>could probably fit inside it. Of course, there was no guarantee that that was where she was, but Olivia was a member of the cabin crew. With her cooperation, that "single exit" from the locked room definitely existed on this ne.


    "Right now, Mia Whitlock is in your custody, Olivia. Isn''t that right?" Natsunagi confronted the guilty party with the evidence of her crime.


    As a matter of fact, this fit another of Knox''s Ten Commandments: "The culprit must be mentioned in the early part of the story." And all this began when Olivia asked whether there was a detective on the ne.


    "...Hmm. That''s an interesting theory." Olivia slowly closed her eyes, nodding quietly. "But what motive could I have for attempting such a thing? Why would I take Miss Mia Whitlock captive? She''s one of our passengers."


    She had a point. When solving mysteries, a deduction wasn''t enough. As she said, we couldn''t establish our theory if we couldn''t present a criminal motive.


    "Why did you imprison Mia Whitlock, an important passenger? That''s simple." I supplemented Natsunagi''s deduction, as an assistant should.


    "Um, it''s fine if I say that bit, too."


    "Natsunagi, let me show my stuff once in a while."


    Now that I''d (decided that I''d) gotten Natsunagi''s permission, I filled Olivia in.


    "Because Mia Whitlock is the Oracle, one of the twelve Tuners who protect the world."


    Olivia''s eyes narrowed. "''Oracle''? What are you talking about?" "It''s toote to y dumb. We know you''re <i>on this team.</i>"


    I thought back to my first conversation with Olivia today. She''d teased me about traveling with a different detective this time...and she''d also said she''d decided to count on us after seeing Natsunagi''s name on the passenger list. Olivia knowing me wasn''t strange, but it <i>was </i>weird for her to know Natsunagi. Not only that, but she''d immediately assumed that Natsunagi was a detective. In other words, <i>Olivia knew too much about us.</i>


    "But what makes you certain that Miss Mia Whitlock is this ''Oracle''?" "The fact that you set up this pain-in-the-butt riddle for us in the first ce."


    Olivia knew about us, and yet she''d pretended not to and brought us this problem. She clearly had a reason for this, and her goal was probably to keep us from meeting the Oracle and achieving ours.


    I remembered the remark Ms. Fuubi had made before we left Japan, about how nobody ever got to meet the Oracle. With that in mind, it wasn''t too much of a leap to link the vanished passenger with the Tuner.


    "You have some sort of mission, and you couldn''t let us meet Mia Whitlock.


    Meaning you hid her somewhere on this ne."


    It had to be a <i>coincidence </i>my knack for getting dragged into trouble had created for us. Since Natsunagi and I had missed our ne, we''d ended up on the same flight as the Oracle. However, the Oracle never met anyone else. There was a possibility that we''d recognize her, so she''d avoided us and hidden somewhere on this ne¡ªwith the help of Olivia, a cabin attendant.


    "I see, yes, that does sound usible. However..." Olivia wasn''t done fighting our deduction. "You must have realized that your theory includes one major inconsistency."


    <i>...Oh, she''d caught that, huh? </i>And that particr inconsistency could wreck the basic premise of our deduction. "If you don''t want us to meet the Oracle, why did you ask us to solve this mystery? That''s what you mean, right?"


    "Yes, exactly. If, as the detective ims, I am the one who caused this incident...I don''t believe it would be logical for me to ask you to solve it."


    Of course, as cabin attendant, it hadn''t been that strange for Olivia to exin the problem to us. However, if she was the <i>culprit</i>, we had a contradiction on our hands. It set up a bizarre situation, in which the criminal had actively asked the detective to solve the case.


    ¡ªThat said, the detective already had a theory that resolved that contradiction, and I let her be the one to tell it.


    "Because of your mission, you were doing your best to keep us from meeting the Oracle," said Natsunagi, as if Olivia''s true intentions were an open book to


    her.


    "Somewhere in your heart, you wanted to bring us into contact with the Oracle. Either that, or you posed this riddle to test us, <i>hoping that we would be worthy of meeting her</i>."


    That was why she had asked the detective to solve this case. It was like Bat''s hijacking: More than anyone else, the culprit herself had hoped the incident would be resolved.


    "...Brilliant work." Finally, with a faint smile, Olivia acknowledged our theory. "Correct. It was I who spirited away Miss Mia Whitlock. You urately deduced both my objective in causing this incident and the reason I asked you to solve it."


    "...Then who are you?" Natsunagi asked Olivia the one question our earlier detective work hadn''t been able to answer. "We understand that you didn''t want to let us meet the Oracle. But why are you helping her?"


    It was clear that Olivia had been the one behind this...but she was a flight attendant. Why had she done it?


    In response, the woman said, "I belong to a family that has served the Oracle for generations. In a way, I am her servant." She confessed her identity gracefully. "The Oracle does not actively meet anyone, even other Tuners. Thus, when someone requests an audience with her, I <i>screen </i>them beforehand."


    ...Thought so. Olivia had asked us to solve a puzzle she''d set up herself in order to judge whether Natsunagi and I were worthy of an audience with her mistress.


    The one who''d written the scenario for this mystery was Olivia herself, and she''d cast the two of us as readers who were supposed to solve it. That was why, just this once, applying Knox''s Ten Commandments had worked. If she was this levelheaded and rational, then her panic over seeing Bat had probably been an act.


    "So this was a test to see whether we could meet the Oracle."


    "Yes. Or maybe I simply hoped it would be." Borrowing the word Natsunagi had used, Olivia quietly closed her eyes.


    She must have meant she''d hoped we''d be worthy of meeting the Oracle. Her mistress was supposedly impossible to meet, and yet she''d wanted us to beat the odds.


    "Is there a future you''d like to change?" Natsunagi asked her.


    It sounded as if she''d realized something.


    She was asking if Olivia was attempting to betray her mistress, a girl who was said to know every possible future. Just like a certain white-haired maid who was willing to betray her mistress, as long as it was for that mistress''s sake.


    "¡ªWell, I''m afraid we''ve chatted a little too long. I need to return to my duties." Slowly opening her eyes again, Olivia turned to leave without answering Natsunagi''s question. "Please keep those seats. We''re still a long way from our destination."


    "Hold it. That''s a very kind offer, but more importantly¡ªdoes this mean we don''t get to meet the Oracle after all?" I''d just assumed we''d meet her now, since we''d passed the test.


    Olivia chuckled. "Personally, I would like you to, but...whether you''ll meet the Oracle or not, only God knows."


    Putting her face very close to mine, Olivia smiled a bewitching and very grown-up smile.


    <strong> Announcing the end of the ro</strong>


    Ten-odd hourster, our ne hadnded without further trouble, and we''d arrived at the London hotel where we''d be staying that night. We checked in, then took our luggage to our room.


    "And? Why are we at a hotel?" Far from celebrating our safe arrival, Natsunagi gave me a dissatisfied look. "Weren''t we going to your love nest with Siesta, Kimizuka?"


    Like I keep telling people, it wasn''t a love nest. Still, as Natsunagi said, we had originally nned to head for that apartment when we got to London. We would have saved on hotel costs that way. Problem was...


    "There wouldn''t be much point without the key." I pulled out the linings of my empty pockets.


    "Haaah. Things like that don''t normally get stolen, do they?" "I''m not normal; that''s probably why it happened."


    This is the curse I was born with. My knack for getting dragged into stuff.


    When we''d first left the airport, we''d set off for Siesta''s apartment. Partway there, though, I''d realized my wallet was missing. That all-important master key had been in it. After tripping at the starting line, we''d decided to temporarily base ourselves out of this hotel.


    "Still, whoever got it was pretty good. I''ve been running into pickpockets for


    ages, so it takes more than average skills to steal anything off me."


    "You sure are used to some unpleasant stuff... Well, what are we going to do now?"


    "We did file a police report, but I doubt they''ll find it anytime soon." "Then what do we do? Break down the door with a drill?"


    "Don''t just try to destroy our love nest!" "Geez, even you''re saying it now." <i>C''mon, I was kidding.</i>


    "We''ve got one other goal besides searching for Siesta''s legacy: meeting the Oracle. Why don''t we work on that one for now?"


    Of course, if it looked as though we wouldn''t find the master key, as Natsunagi said, we''d probably have to force our way into the house and break the lock on that drawer. My one worry was that Siesta might have rigged a bomb to go off if we didn''t unlock everything properly...


    "The Oracle, huh? She thinks she''s got us thoroughly licked, doesn''t she?" Natsunagi grumbled. Then, with a frustrated "Argh!" she dived onto the bed.


    "You''re telling me where you''d want to be licked by the person you like?" "It wasn''t a fetish thing!"


    It wasn''t, huh?


    On the bed, Natsunagiy on her stomach and kicked her legs petntly, venting her bad mood. I kept catching glimpses of her panties, but pointing this out would cause more trouble than it was worth, so I just kept quiet and ogled.


    "...Maybe on the neck."


    "Look, I have no idea how to react if you actually answer that question." Not only had the attack been extremely vivid, but dyed. She got me good. "¡ªYou''re the one who asked, Kimizuka."


    Natsunagi got up, sitting on the bed with her legs syed out in a V, and pouted at me. "That wasn''t it. What I was trying to say is that the Oracle mocked us, and I''m not okay with it."


    Yeah. First we''d had to y along with that riddle, and then we hadn''t been allowed to meet her anyway. Apparently Natsunagi hadn''t liked that at all... But.


    "Well, Ms. Fuubi''s a fellow Tuner, and even she hasn''t met her. It would have been weird if we''d connected with her that easily."


    Actually, you could say that connecting with her at all had been a good start.


    ...Although that hadn''t been a coincidence so much as the work of her servant Olivia. "For now, we''ll just have to take it one step at a time. We''ll get to the


    Oracle on our own next time, and we''ll have her find a future where Siestaes back to life."


    There was no telling whether that future existed, of course. My wish was too much to hope for, but I still said it firmly. Just as I''d sworn on that rising sun.


    "So help me out, Ace Detective. Keep helping me get Siesta back."


    "...I guess I''ll have to." Natsunagi seemed to have settled down a bit. She gave a faint smile.


    "If you''ll settle for a proxy detective, I''ll take the job."


    She seemed to be echoing the promise I''d made to her in that ssroom after school. Back then, I''d said I''d help her find her heart''s former owner as an assistant, not a detective. Right now, I was sure what Natsunagi wanted most wasn''t to be the Ace Detective, but to reim Siesta.


    "For now, want toe up with a way to see the Oracle?"


    "Sounds like a n. Oh, but first, I want to take a shower... Step outside for a bit." Natsunagi tried to shoo me out of the room.


    "Except this is my room, too."


    "Y-your room? Huh? Why?! You didn''t get us separate rooms?!"


    "All the other hotels were booked up. Even here, this was the only avable room. Tough it out, all right?"


    "¡ªIf it''s not at least a room with twin beds, I can''t!" "It''s fine; that sort of thing doesn''t really bother me." "It! Bothers! <i>Me!</i>"


    For some reason¡ªmost likely anger¡ªNatsunagi''s face turned bright red, and she somehow started bouncing on the little double bed, even though her legs were still syed out to the sides.


    "We were living under the same roof until just the other day." "That waspletely different! And it''s just the two of us now!"


    "Don''t worry, I won''t get up to anything like what you''re thinking."


    "! Wh-why are you sopletely determined not to let anything like that happen with me?!"


    "Would you decide whether you want something to happen or not?" "I''m annoyed that you don''t even see me as a girl!"


    Apparently the hearts of eighteen-year-old girls wereplicated. Natsunagi flopped over onto theforter, where I was going to be sleepingter. I wished she wouldn''t muss the covers up like that.


    "...What is this? Do you really and truly hate me or something, Kimizuka?"


    "Why are you asking questions that are going to get me decapitated if I answer them the tiniest bit wrong?"


    Had Natsunagi''s self-esteem always been this low? With a bemused smile, I opened the closet door so I could hang up my jacket. Then I spotted the book.


    "Oh... Is this why I can''t do it?" Natsunagi was murmuring. "I always get emotional right away. Siesta didn''t. The difference in affection means..."


    She seemed to be conducting some sort of mournful review session. I think that''s healthy.


    This was probably my chance to restore her morale, though.


    I was sure whatever future awaited us, we wouldn''t see iting.


    "Natsunagi, recognize this?" Taking the book out of the closet, I held it out to her.


    "Huh? That''s..." Natsunagi''s eyes went wide.


    She''d shared some memories with Hel, and she knew what this was, too. We''d fought over it in Londonst year.


    "Yeah, there''s no mistake. It''s the sacred text."

 Chapter 68: Side Charlotte

    <h4>Chapter 68: Side Charlotte</h4>


    "...! Haah. Four left now..."


    I leaned back against the alley wall, then slid down to sit against it, trying to get my breathing under control. A young guy with long hairy on the ground beside me. A surviving SPES member. If I''d given him even a tiny opening, I would have been the one lying there now.


    "So you finally cleared them away, huh?"


    I heard clicking footsteps, and a woman''s surprisingly husky voice came closer.


    "You could stand to fight more efficiently, though." As she smoked her cigarette, she started criticizing the fight I''d just had.


    "Then teach me how, Fuubi." Down on the concrete, hugging my knees, I red up at my extremely arrogant redheaded boss.


    Ever since Kimizuka and Nagisa left for London, I''d been putting in <i>livebat training </i>under her direction, but all she did was nitpick. She apparently wasn''t nning to give me any proper instruction.


    "Wait, didn''t you quit smoking?"


    "Quit? Oh yeah, sure did." Even as Fuubi said it, she was puffing away as brazenly as an old Japanese movie star<i>... That''s insanely annoying.</i>


    "At least help me out. Are you nning to just watch your subordinate get killed?" I demanded, getting to my feet and confiscating all her cigarettes.


    The SPES members we were fighting right now were like Bat: humans with imnted seeds. Of course, they weren''t as strong as a <i>purebred </i>like Chameleon, and Bat probably outssed them. Even so, they weren''t the kind of enemies I could get careless with.


    Fuubi gave me a sharp look. "What are you talking about, Charlotte? This has been your job <i>for the past year</i>."


    ...She was right. Taking down SPES survivors had been my mission for a year, ever since Ma''am died. It was the "role division" she''d talked about.


    Mybat skills were good, so I was in charge of the fighting. Kimizuka was clever, so he used knowledge and on-the-spot decisions to solve problems. Ma''am had always wanted us to work together that way.


    "And yet that guy..."


    Kimizuka had spent the entire year since we''d lost Ma''am in his tepid routine. Just remembering it was making me mad again... But I shook my head. This wasn''t the time.


    "Is there any point in hunting these survivors, though? Wouldn''t it be better to find a way to defeat Seed directly?"


    Of course, Nagisa and Kimizuka were probably looking for that very thing right now.


    "We''re snuffing out his other candidate vessels." Fuubi leaned back against the wall, folding her arms. "Yui Saikawa''s definitely at the top of his list, but we can''t guarantee he won''t burn through other seed-imnted humans as temporary vessels. It''s better to wipe them out now."


    I looked at the SPES member I''d just been fighting. So there was a risk that the guy on the ground would be used as one of Seed''s vessels, too. She was telling me it was my job to eliminate that possibility.


    ...True, that was something only I could do. Kimizuka was one thing, but both Nagisa and Yui were too kind. It was better if any direct killing was my job.


    "But then, is Kimizuka okay? He''s got a seed, too."


    He''d recklessly swallowed Chameleon''s seed, attaching it to himself by force. In that case, there was at least a possibility that he''d be chosen as Seed''s vessel.


    "Ha! He''d probably love to have you kill him," Fuubi murmured. I couldn''t tell whether she was joking or serious.


    ...But if Kimizuka were really chosen as a candidate vessel... Or if the seed took over his mind or his body and he turned into a monster, like Chameleon had... If that happened, I''d¡ª


    "That''s what I''m telling you, Charlotte Arisaka Anderson." The next instant, Fuubi''s dagger skimmed past my cheek.


    Hastily turning, I saw that a tentacle had grown from the back of the man I''d


    knocked out. The knife Fuubi had thrown sliced it clean in two. Then she walked up to the nameless SPES survivor and mercilessly shot him dead.


    "Did you sympathize with him? You''re supposed to destroy the enemy." She turned back, and her eyes were as sharp as a hawk''s. "Nobody needs that kindness. Get rid of it. Take your softness and trash it. Don''t let pity make you careless. Kimihiko Kimizuka, Nagisa Natsunagi, Yui Saikawa¡ªnone of them can do this. You do it. If you want to be part of their circle, then at least do what they can''t."


    ...She was right. That earlier incident certainly hadn''t earned Fuubi''s approval. It was likely that she''d never allow me to be naive.


    "If you pick up a gun, fire it. If you draw your sword, swing it. Once the battle starts, don''t consider it over until someone is dead. Be heartless about judging what you can and can''t protect. Even if it means you end up making the entire world your enemy." Fuubi narrowed her eyes.


    "So it''s not possible to protect everything?"


    "Say that after you''ve gotten strong enough to do it."


    ...Right again. I couldn''t even beat her in an argument.


    Still, her conviction was real. She''d sworn off cooperating, didn''t trust anyone, and lived only for the mission she believed in. Her role as Tuner was the Assassin, someone who nearly always worked alone, and she''d protected the world from the shadows for who knows how long.


    "Listen, why are you helping us take down SPES?"


    Since that was true, though, a question tugged at me. She never supported anyone, so why was she still helping with the job Ma''am had left undone?


    "Same as you." As Fuubi spoke, she lit a cigarette she''d managed to snitch back from me. "I wasn''t able to kill that thing, either."


    Then, exhaling smoke, she began to talk about her past with unexpected candor.


    The "thing" she''d mentioned had to be the former Ace Detective. Five years ago, the organization I''d been part of had ordered me to assassinate Ma''am.


    "At the time, she''d just run away from SPES''s facility. As the Assassin, I was ordered to dispose of her."


    "You mean it was a Tuner job? Why would the top brass make that call?"


    "We already knew the thing was one of Seed''s candidate vessels. They probably meant to defeat Seed indirectly by nipping that in the bud, as it were."


    ...I see. So they''d attempted the same sort of maneuver that they''d just tried with Yui on Ma''am.


    "But she survived." Fuubi watched the smoke from her cigarette climb into the sky. "I chased her to the ends of the earth, the bottom of the sea, the top of the sky, but she ran and ran,unched a few solid counterattacks, and got clean away. ''I don''t intend to die until Iplete my mission, even if I take a hit from a missile,'' she told me. She was wearing this really irritating smile."


    Even as she said that, the set of her own lips softened.


    "After her brilliant escape from the Assassin, she was made a Tuner, in part because they''d acknowledged her skills. After that, the task of taking down


    SPES was officially assigned to the Ace Detective." Fuubi''s tone changed again as she grumbled, "Steal other people''s jobs, will she." The grumpiness sounded manufactured.


    After hearing that story, I had one question. "Did you really give it everything you had and still fail to kill Ma''am?"


    Five years ago, I''d had far less experience than I had now, but she''d already been famous in the underworld as the Assassin. Had she genuinely failed in her mission again and again?


    Could this woman have picked up on <i>something </i>in Siesta, the way I had? Was that why she''d consistently let her live?


    When I asked, Fuubi said, "I''ll admit I thought <i>Huh! Interesting girl</i>." On that uncharacteristically light note, she wrapped up the conversation. "All right. We''ve wasted a little too much time on talk." She stubbed her cigarette out in her portable ashtray. "I need to step out and run an errand, but you stick with the job." <i>Keep taking down SPES survivors</i>, in other words. She turned to go.


    "Is that errand of yours a summons from the top? From the <i>Federal Council</i>?" On impulse, I called after her.


    It could be a reprimand, since subjugating SPES was the Ace Detective''s duty, and Fuubi was still helping without permission. Or it might be the other way around. Even as the Assassin, she might have been ordered to <i>clean up </i>the job the Ace Detective had left unfinished. They might cross-examine her for having failed in that mission, since she hadn''t killed Yui Saikawa.


    "A summons? No." Fuubi paused for a moment. "I''m just headed out for a little fight," she muttered belligerently, slinging her jacket over her right shoulder.

 Chapter 69 - 2.1

    <h4>Chapter 69: Chapter 2.1</h4>


    <strong>Mystery-solving with a side of fish and chips</strong>


    Natsunagi and I had relocated to a restaurant near the hotel for lunch, and we were facing each other across a table. It had been the Ace Detective''s suggestion not to solve mysteries on an empty stomach.


    "I never thought I''d see this thing again." I sighed, shooting a sidelong nce at the volume that sat on the table.


    The back cover had been removed, and most of the pages after a certain point had gone missing...but it was definitely the sacred text. When I opened it, I saw a written ount of some of the things Siesta and I had experienced during the past few years.


    "Another coincidence... No, there''s just no way, is there?" Natsunagi frowned, although she was still snacking on fries.


    I''d first seen the sacred text a year ago. The one who''d had it then was Hel, Nagisa Natsunagi''s shadow personality. The sacred text was said to contain written ounts of future events. Its actual owner was Seed, and Hel and the other SPES executives had been basing their invasion of Earth on its instructions.


    Now, roughly a yearter, here it was again. As Natsunagi said, we couldn''t brush it off as coincidence. Why had this booke to us? Could it be a trap set by Seed? Or maybe...


    "¡ªThe Oracle," I said.


    "I was thinking the same thing, actually," Natsunagi agreed. "The sacred text describes future events. In terms of who''s most likely to be writing something like that, I can''t think of anybody but the Oracle."


    Yeah, that was my theory, too. Of course, we couldn''tpletely rule out the possibility that Seed was irvoyant... But if I had to pick one, we had testimony about the Oracle from both Ms. Fuubi and Olivia, so she was probably the more credible option.


    "In other words, the most likely exnation may be that the Oracle is the real owner of the sacred text, and at some point, Seed managed to steal it from her."


    There was one other reason to assume the Oracle owned this book. I turned to what was currently thest page, since so many were missing. What it said was


    ¡ª


    "''The monster Medusa will attack the city of London,'' hmm?" Natsunagi narrowed her eyes at the page. It was dated one week ago.


    If that prophecy was true, the city was being threatened by the Medusa right this minute.


    "Meaning this is another test the Oracle''s people set up for us, to determine whether we''re really worth meeting."


    "That''s probably the most natural conclusion. This is a message from the Oracle: ''If thou wouldst meet me, thou must vanquish the dread Medusa, which hath plunged the city of London into terror most dire.''"


    "What was the creepy voice for? Don''t tell me you were imitating the Oracle." "Don''t call it creepy; I was just doing an impression! But I bet that''s what


    she''s like. Not that I''d know."


    She''d never even met us, but she had posed aggravating puzzles for us through her servants. I was sure she was a spoiled, stuck-up little girl lounging arrogantly on her throne. Again, not that I''d know.


    "But anyway, are you sure it''s okay to prioritize this?" Natsunagi asked. "We were supposed to go retrieve Siesta''s legacy first, and then we decided to look for the Oracle instead. But now we''re heading off on another trail. Aren''t we getting further and further from the answer?"


    ...Yeah, she definitely had a point.


    We had about ten more days until we hit the deadline Ms. Fuubi had set us for taking down Seed. In that time, I had to find the legacy Siesta had left and meet the Oracle who held the key to her resurrection. We might not actually have time to deal with an unidentified monster on foreign soil.


    "The thing is¡ªif I look away from a case that''s sitting right in front of me, I can''t go back to that apartment." I''d already gotten started. If I gave up on it and went home, Siesta would be mad at me. If somebody was being attacked by the Medusa as we spoke, I couldn''t ignore that.


    "...Okay," Natsunagi murmured, so quietly it almost sounded like an exhtion. "Well, if you''re fine with that, Kimizuka, then so am I, I guess." She was wearing a rather tired-looking smile. Apparently we''d reached a consensus about what to do.


    "Besides, I''ve already got an idea."


    Natsunagi looked puzzled, and I told her about a certain experience I''d had,


    way back when.


    "The thing is, two years ago, Siesta and I encountered a Medusa." Medusa was a monster whose gaze turned people to stone.


    However, the one we''d run into <i>hadn''t been a real monster</i>. In a certain European-style mansion, the Medusa we''d met was a pitiful man whose adopted daughter had been left in a persistent vegetative state because of an ident. He''d felt so sorry for her that he''d been using poison to do the same thing to other people.


    "I see... But you and Siesta already resolved that, didn''t you?" "Yeah. Or Siesta did, anyway. I was just deadweight."


    As Natsunagi said, Siesta had solved that particr incident brilliantly. That meant either this was a copycat crime...or it might be a real monster, someone with the power of one of SPES''s seeds. Either way, we''d have to check into it carefully.


    "Well, we''re done fueling up, so let''s get out there and do some field work."


    The detective and her assistant would have to do the kind of legwork detectives did back in the day. We should probably kick off our investigation by asking some questions. Howmon was public knowledge about this incident, anyway? What sort of damage had the Medusa specifically done? I started to get up, but then...


    "Kimizuka, listen. Are you feeling okay?" Natsunagi asked. She kept stealing nces at me. The question hade out of nowhere, and I wondered what was up. "I''ve been waiting for the right moment to ask for a while now." She was being unusually considerate.


    "Well, physically, I''ve got so much energy it''s kind of scary."


    Was she asking because of the fight with Ms. Fuubi two days back? True, I thought I''d broken a bone or two at the time, but...none of it was giving me trouble in my day-to-day life, aside from a few aches and pains.


    "Really? <i>No side effects either</i>?"


    ...Oh. That part, huh? When I saw the worry in Natsunagi''s eyes, it finally hit me.


    During the fight, I''d swallowed Chameleon''s seed to trick Fuubi. Those things were originally created by Seed. Although they gave whoever ingested them special powers, eating one without taking proper precautions meant you''d pay for it with various side effects. You might lose your sight, the way Bat had. I''d heard you could also lose a good chunk of your life span.


    But right now there were no signs of anything like that. I''m also not setting up any foreshadowing; I''m not gonna say, <i>I hadn''t been able to tell whether the fish and chips were good because I''d actually lost my sense of taste. </i>Of course, I might get hit with some plot twistter on, but at least for now, I was the picture of health.


    "What, you''ve been worried about me?" I teased Natsunagi.


    ¡ªBut.


    "Yes, I worry about you." Natsunagi turned to me, and her face was surprisingly serious. She gazed steadily into my eyes. "It isn''t just me. Yui and Charlie are both concerned, too. You''re important to us. We worry about you at least as much as you worry about us, Kimizuka. You see?"


    She told me there was no such thing as only taking, or only giving. Feelings always go both ways.


    Although I hated to admit it, the smile Natsunagi gave me then was so overwhelmingly cute it rivaled the former Ace Detective''s.


    "Did I just hear the sound of someone falling in love?" "Unfortunately, that was just the conversation falling t."


    <strong> Remembering a year ago, memories for two</strong>


    The next day...


    "What a great morning," I said to Natsunagi.


    We were sitting side by side on the top story of a double-decker bus, gazing out at the city streets.


    Yesterday, Natsunagi and I had gotten right to work investigating the Medusa. Asking around had yielded one clue, and now we were taking the bus to a certain destination. We weren''t in the mood for sightseeing, of course, but every glimpse of the city was bursting with local color. I wanted to share those sights with Natsunagi, only...


    "..."


    Natsunagi was gazing straight ahead; she seemed dazed. It was as if her mind wasn''t here.


    "Those clothes look good on you." Suspecting I''d done something wrong, Iplimented her and tried to put her in a good mood. I didn''t know too much about exact clothing types or what they were called, but she was wearing a ck dress-like thing. It was a little different from what she regrly wore, but it was perfect for the country we were in.


    "Kimizuka, in the extremely unlikely event that you ever get a girlfriend, I bet you start fighting in two seconds, then split up two seconds after that."


    "I''m going to ignore that second part and object to the idea that my chances of ever getting a girlfriend are that small."


    Apparently, she hadn''t been ignoring me intentionally. I finally had Natsunagi''s attention.


    "You''ve been spacing out. What''s the matter? Didn''t you get enough sleep?" "Oh. True, it was hard to drift off when you kept talking in your sleep. That


    was part of it."


    "...I don''t remember that at all." That''s one way to take damage from sleeping in the same bed. I hoped I hadn''t said stuff about Siesta.


    "You kept prostrating yourself and apologizing to Yui. Why, I don''t know." "That''s a hundred times worse than what I was thinking."


    Come to think of it, I''d fought with Saikawa before we left Japan. I wished I could hurry and make up with her.


    "And also..." Natsunagi gave a wry smile. "Last night, I dreamed about <i>her</i>."


    Natsunagi was probably referring to her alter, Hel.


    "It might be because we saw the sacred text yesterday. It made me think of her."


    <i>That''s right. Natsunagi dreams.</i>


    Earlier, she''d said she''d spoken with Siesta, who lives in her heart, in a


    <i>daydream</i>. They had another world that no one else could touch. "So what did you and Hel talk about?"


    "...She got really mad at me." Natsunagi puffed her cheeks out, looking cross.


    Yeesh. What happened to that conversation in front of the mirror? I''d just assumed they''d made up.


    "She told me not to take on burdens without asking." With a rather disgusted sigh, Natsunagi spoke on Hel''s behalf. "She told me she''d take responsibility for her own crimes."


    ...Ah. That did sound like her; she was stubborn. She''d epted the fierce emotions Natsunagi had shown in front of that mirror. This must be the answer she''de up with after that. Hel had taken innocent lives once and had resolved to face those crimes herself. That stubbornness was also her way of showingpassion toward her main personality.


    "Well, I wasn''t okay with that, myself. And then it turned into a fistfight."


    "That''s what happened with Siesta, too."


    Apparently, the three heads of the guard dog were still snarling and snapping at one another.


    "Still, I never thought I''d set foot in this country again."


    As I watched the scenery stream past, I was remembering thest time I was here, with Siesta. It had been a year or so since I''d seen these streets, but I''d lived here for several months, and everything was very familiar. Even the signs and streemps along the road had something nostalgic about them.


    "It''s been a long time for me, too." Natsunagi''s expression softened. "You and I walked down this street togetherst year, didn''t we, Kimizuka?" She seemed to be remembering something far in the past.


    She was right: Siesta and I weren''t the only ones who were here a year ago. Back then, Alicia¡ªor rather Natsunagi, who''d used the seed to assume Alicia''s form¡ªhad gone around with the two of us.


    "I know I''ve asked this before, but you only looked like Alicia back then, and you were Natsunagi on the inside. Right?"


    "Right. That was definitely me. Of course, I didn''t realize it myself until just recently," she said, giving a wry little smile.


    True, the girl I''d knownst year hadn''t used the formal pronoun the real Alicia had used, or Hel''s boyish one, but Natsunagi''s regr-girl pronoun. She might have looked like the pink-haired Alicia, but she''d been Nagisa Natsunagi on the inside.


    "I wonder, though. Alicia was twelve or thirteen; her apparent age may have affected the way I talked and acted a little. Even I''m not really sure." Natsunagi thought back.


    "You did seem kind of young... Although your mental age is still plenty young now, I guess."


    "Wow. This from a guy who kept trying to get Siesta to spoil him like a kid." "I don''t remember that, and nobody got it on tape."


    "I swear I''ll make her tell me all about it someday."


    ...Natsunagi had picked up a weird new motivation for getting the detective back.


    "Oh, look, that jewelry store. Isn''t that the one we went into?" Natsunagi was pointing at a ss-fronted shop that faced the road. She was right; it was the ce I''d visited with her during our hunt for the sapphire eye.


    "If I remember right, you had no money and couldn''t buy anything that time." "Yeah. I was poor then, and I''m poor now." It wouldn''t be a bad idea to have Natsunagi set up a detective agency one of these days, so I could pull in a daily


    wage.


    "Well, you gave me a ring you bought at a street stall instead, so it worked out." Natsunagi looked up at me through hershes, seeming rather happy.


    "...I forgot about that."


    "You said, ''From here on out, uh...looking forward to working with you,'' and slipped it onto my ring finger..."


    "¡ªYou made me say that! Forget it, right now!" "Noooo way."


    As we were talking about dumb stuff like that, the bus pulled up to our stop.


    From there, we walked a few more minutes until finally we reached¡ª "This is the ce," Natsunagi murmured, looking up at a white <i>hospital</i>.


    This was one of the things we''d learned from our inquiries yesterday¡ªone of the Medusa''s victims had been admitted to this ce.


    "Well, shall we go?"


    We walked into the building, then into the elevator that would take us to the hospital room we''d looked up.


    "Still, it doesn''t sound as if news of the incident has spread as far as we thought." Natsunagi was thinking back over yesterday''s investigation.


    As a matter of fact, although we''d asked quite a few people around town, not even one in twenty had said the word "Medusa." No rted keywords rang a bell for them, either.


    "Yeah. <i>If we hadn''t broken into that newspaper</i>, I bet we still wouldn''t know about this ce."


    The day before, Natsunagi hadined that we were getting nowhere and suggested a break-in. If she hadn''t, there was no way things would have gone this smoothly.


    "The media must have the intel. All we have to do is eavesdrop on them!" "Don''t say that so cheerfully. Eavesdropping isn''t something to be casual


    about."


    "Ah, well, it actually did work... Thanks to your ability, Kimizuka." "Yeah. It really is perfect for covert maneuvers, huh."


    Chameleon''s seed gave me the ability to turn invisible. As long as I could do that, sneaking up and listening in on conversations was easier than twisting a baby''s arm.


    "Now we''ll just have to hope you didn''t acquire a taste for invisibly sneaking into the women''s bath."


    "Quit imagining stuff that could actually happen. Seriously, knock it off.


    Don''t pray with a serious look on your face."


    While we were still talking, the elevator reached our floor. Then we walked to the room, steeled ourselves, stepped inside, and saw...


    "So this is the Medusa victim?"


    The patient was a man in his forties. Quietly, we went closer.


    The man on the bed was breathing on his own, and every so often, he blinked, but that was all. He didn''t speak, and he didn''t move so much as a finger. It really did seem as if he''d been <i>turned to stone</i>.


    "A persistent vegetative state, hmm?"


    From what I''d heard, the man had been hospitalized about a week ago. That matched the date the sacred text had given for the Medusa''s appearance. Was it possible that our mystery monster had petrified this man using a power of some sort? But who had done it, and why?


    As my thoughts ran around in circles¡ª


    "Say, Kimizuka?" Natsunagi was gazing at the face of the man on the bed. "Haven''t we seen him somewhere before?"


    Apparently, nobody''s just an extra in this world.


    <strong> At this point, the story splits in two</strong>


    After that, we continued our investigation.


    We got the details from the hospitalized man''s attending physician and saw other patients who''d been brought in with the same symptoms. Ordinarily, confidentiality issues would have made it almost impossible to get anyone to reveal those things. However, Natsunagi''s <i>red eyes </i>got the information easily.


    Based on the information and circumstantial evidence we''d gathered, Natsunagi and I talked it over and came up with a theory about the Medusa''s identity and motive. It was an answer we happened to reach only because it was the two of us. Then, partly because Natsunagi wanted to, we stopped by a second ce.


    "I finally made it here," she murmured.


    We were in the graveyard of a church on the outskirts of London. It was dusk, and gravestones stood in neat rows on the wide, grassy field.


    Natsunagi knelt in front of one of them. "I''m sorry it took me so long¡ª Daisy."


    Daisy Bet.


    She had been thest of the five victims in the Jack the Devil incident that had urred in London a year ago. Natsunagi had finished paying her respects to the other four, and now she offered flowers to the final one.


    "Natsunagi." Gently, I set a hand on her shoulder. "...Yes, I know."


    The criminal behind those serial murders had been Hel, Natsunagi''s other personality. Hel''s heart had been damaged during her first fight with Siesta; in order to survive, she''d taken the lives of five people, then used their hearts like batteries.


    That said, Hel hadmitted those crimes on her own initiative. Natsunagi hadn''t even known they were happening. In a way, she was a victim as well; her mind and personality had been stolen.


    "I''vee to terms with the past. Now I''ll do my best to atone."


    There was no grim resolution in Natsunagi''s profile. This wasn''t the only reason she''de here.


    "That means I''ll be fine. Go finish your job, Kimizuka." Natsunagi smiled at me.


    "Are you really sure? You won''t get lonely if I leave? You won''t cry at night?"


    "What am I, a kid? I''m not the one who went around searching the whole apartment because he didn''t see Siesta anywhere, Kimizuka."


    <i>Don''t talk like you saw that. That never happened... I''m pretty sure.</i>


    "Besides, we did find the key."


    "...Yeah. <i>Coincidentally. Right as we were doing this.</i>"


    Exactly. As we were on our way to this graveyard, I''d gotten a call saying that my stolen wallet and the master key had turned up. Natsunagi and I were being forced to temporarily part ways here <i>because somebody wanted it that way</i>. Sheesh. They had some nerve, splitting up a detective and her assistant.


    "You sure are a worrywart, Kimizuka." It must have shown on my face, although I hadn''t meant it to. Still hugging her knees, Natsunagi gazed at me with a wry smile. "I''ll be fine. After all, I''m not alone."


    "...Yeah, that''s true."


    It was. Even if I wasn''t there, Natsunagi wasn''t alone. There was <i>one other person </i>here who''d resolved to fight alongside her.


    "All right. If anything happens, call me. I''lle running in a giant robot." "Uh-huh. Please keep the scale of the worldview where it is, okay? Try to


    think on it and do better next time."


    She can say that, but this is a world where we have to fight aliens and vampires and monsters we hadn''t even seen yet, so let me have this once in a while. Just every so often.


    "Okay, see youter." "Mm-hmm,ter."


    We exchanged brief good-byes, and I walked away.


    I trusted that those girls would be able to make it through what was bound to happen next.

 Chapter 70 - 2.2

    <h4>Chapter 70: Chapter 2.2</h4>


    <strong> Narrator switch</strong>


    It happened about fifteen minutes after Kimizuka had left. "My. Are you a friend of my daughter?"


    A woman of about sixty came walking toward me, carrying flowers.


    I stood up, greeting her with a nod. "It''s been a long time, Rose Bet."


    This was the mother of Daisy, Jack the Devil''s fifth victim. Last year, while on the trail of the culprit, Kimizuka, Siesta, and I had paid a visit to her house.


    "We imposed on you at a really awful time earlier, and I apologize," I told her, bowing more deeply.


    On that visit, the strain of losing her daughter had taken its toll on her, and she''d copsed right in front of us.


    "...Have we met before, youngdy?" The woman gave a slightly troubled smile.


    Come to think of it, I should have expected that reaction. When I visited her, I''d been using Cerberus''s seed to make myself look like Alicia. No wonder she hadn''t connected that version with me. "...I guess it''s already been more than a year since that incident," I said, trying to cover for myself. As I spoke, I watched Rosey the flowers in front of the gravestone.


    "Time has wings, doesn''t it? Even those painful days are receding into the past." The woman''s smile had suffering etched into it. "At the time, while my grief was still raw, I was run ragged every day responding to the media about the affair."


    "Yes, so I''ve heard. I also heard <i>about that MP</i>." For a moment, Rose''s face tensed.


    I was talking about a man who''d stepped forward as a recement candidate for Daisy Bet, who''d been the local representative in parliament. He''d given tearful speeches about carrying on her legacy and had won by andslide... Except he''d only used those <i>performances </i>to climb thedder. Behind the scenes, he was getting rich off illegal contributions. He''d even mocked Daisy and called her "a good stepping stone."


    "...Yes, youngdy, that''s right. You know a lot about it. Where did you learn that? One would think you were a detective," Rose joked, straightening up. "It''s all right, though. Perhaps he regrets his actions; he seems to have been behaving himselftely."


    "I...see."


    "Oh, that''s right! Today happens to be my daughter''s birthday. I''m d there''s someone besides me who remembers her," Rose said, smiling tenderly. My nd response didn''t seem to have registered with her.


    "Yes, I know."


    Beforeing here, I''d done a little research and learned that today was


    Daisy Bet''s birthday. Unlike Japan, Ennd didn''t have a custom of visiting graves during a predetermined season like Obon, and they often brought flowers to the deceased on their birthdays.


    From that information, I''d known there was a good possibility that Rose Bet would visit her daughter''s grave today. Our meeting was no coincidence; I''de here specifically to see her.


    "Rose Bet, you''re the Medusa, aren''t you?" I hit her with that theory as a surprise.


    "...Heh-heh. What are you saying?" Smiling faintly, Rose denied my


    usation. "I know there are rumors about <i>such incidents </i>in the city, but what makes you think I''m this Medusa character?" It was a perfectly natural question. She was still wearing that smile.


    Why was I iming that Rose Bet was the monster? And if it was true, what had driven her to be a Medusa who turned people to stone?


    "It''s as you said earlier."


    Exactly. As Rose had just told me, the media and that MP had made her suffer, and they were the Medusa victims Kimizuka and I had seen in the hospital today. I''d remembered the reporter particrly well after seeing him in front of Rose''s house a year ago.


    In addition to those two, there were several other likely Medusa victims. Upon investigating, we''d learned that they''d all had some sort of quarrel with Daisy Bet. If there was anyone who''d have a grudge against those people, it was... "Rose. You became the Medusa in order to get revenge on your daughter''s


    enemies... On the people who tried to dishonor her."


    One day, without warning, she''d lost her only daughter. All she had left of her was a mute corpse. With nowhere else to direct her grief, she''d tried to punish those who''d attempted to hurt her little girl, even after her death. Her daughter had be as cold as stone, and so she''d tried to inflict the same suffering on them. That was what had created the Medusa.


    "Is that all?" Rose Bet''s smile had vanished during my exnation. She closed in on me, her face grim. "That''s nothing more than conjecture. You''ve merely set up a usible-sounding motive; you have no concrete evidence."


    "...You''re right. There''s no evidence here. But...," I went on. "If they search your house, they''re sure to find the poison."


    Beforeing to the graveyard, I''d had one of the hospital''s doctors tell me about the specific symptoms of the Medusa''s victims. My red eyes had helped


    tremendously, and the fact was that <i>a certain toxin </i>had been detected in all of them.


    ording to Kimizuka, it had the same constituents as the poison gas the owner of that European mansion in the forest had used two years ago.


    That made it clear that <i>the current Medusa </i>was also using a special toxin to damage her victims'' minds. Even if we didn''t track it down ourselves, material evidence was sure to turn up someday. And besides¡ª


    "Rose. I want to hear the truth straight from you."


    Kimizuka had suggested bringing evidence to the graveyard with us, but I''d rejected the idea. I''d chosen to persuade Rose Bet, no matter what.


    "...Well, really, how could I forgive them?" Rose smiled thinly. I was sure it wasn''t directed at me; she wasughing at herself. She didn''t need me to tell her that what she was doing was wrong. Even so¡ª "Yes, it''s me. I''m the monster you speak of. The Medusa."


    The mother couldn''t let it go after the disrespect they''d shown her daughter, and she''d repaid them with poison-inducedas.


    "How did you get that toxin?" I asked her. It wasn''t the sort of thing someone living a normal life would ever encounter.


    "When was it...? One day, it just turned up in the post," Rose murmured. Her eyes were vacant.


    So someone had intentionally set her on this path!


    "Tell me," the woman pleaded. "One day, my daughter suddenly dropped dead. She''s ashes now; she''ll never speak to me again. I want to hear her voice so badly, but I never will. Meanwhile, the people who disgraced her say whatever they please about her. Why? What on earth could be wrong with shutting their mouths?"


    She caught my shoulders...but almost immediately, she crumpled weakly to the ground.


    Rose Bet would never forgive those who''d desecrated her daughter''s death. Oblivious strangers wailed loudly for their own benefit, while the girl herself would be silent forever. In her efforts to change that, Rose had be a monster.


    What should I say to her?


    If I found the right words for the torrent of feelings inside me¡ªwhat Kimizuka kindly considered "passion"¡ªcould I save her? I''d managed to ept Yui when she held us at gunpoint. Could my words reach the woman on her


    knees and be a staff that would help her stand again?


    No. They couldn''t.


    After all, I''d failed to save Rose before. The intensity I''d shown when I was at her housest year hadn''t gotten through to her... But of course it hadn''t. I hadn''t looked like my true self then. I hadn''t even understood the crime I''dmitted. It was incredibly arrogant for someone like me to try to save her.


    Then what should I do?


    Whose words could save this woman? Who could dry the tears of a mother who''d copsed, weeping, in front of her daughter''s grave? ...There was only one answer.


    "Please lend me strength."


    Untying the red ribbon that bound my hair, I turned to my other partner for help.


    <strong> A message from Niflheim</strong>


    "That''s why I told you I''d do it to begin with."


    Squeezing the red ribbon in my hand, I grumbled to my master''s consciousness lying dormant somewhere in this body. Honestly, what had been the point of that fight? I couldn''t even sigh at my master''s passion¡ªwell, her stubbornness.


    "Who are you?" The woman who was crouched in front of the gravestone looked up at me.


    <i>Only the contents of this body were different</i>; my appearance hadn''t changed a bit. Maybe the sharp look in my eyes had clued her in.


    Still, who was I, really? <i>What </i>was I?


    It struck me as a very philosophical question. "I couldn''t tell you. I''m myself, that''s all."


    I looked down at the woman; I was responding to my master''s request. "What you were given was an <i>inferior product</i>. It is a toxin, but its effects are only temporary. The minds of those men may be clouded now, but they''ll wake up soon."


    A certain member of SPES, to whom Father had given a seed, had created that


    toxin inside his own body.


    That <i>pseudohuman''s </i>code name was "Jellyfish." Scientific name: Medusa.


    <i>Jellyfish poison </i>loses its effect after a certain amount of time has passed. The man had been making SPES''s lowest-ranking members sell it in order to earn a little cash.


    He''d probably capitalized on this woman''s weakness after the loss of her daughter. The poison might have appealed to her. I hoped he hadn''t billed her for it yet... No, I was in no position to worry about things like that.


    "¡ªCome any closer, and I''ll shoot!" Rose Bet took a handgun out of the purse by her feet.


    "I see. So they gave you that, too?"


    My entrance had only made the situation worse.


    Conversations with others are surprisingly difficult. <i>If this goes on</i>, I thought,


    <i>my master will scold me</i>. An awkward little smile escaped me. "...!"


    The smile may have been a poor move, though; Rose raised the gun, pointing it at me with trembling hands.


    To be honest, I thought it might be for the best if she shot me. She had the right to. If she was going to get her revenge, now was the time.


    ¡ªBut.


    <i>"That bullet won''t hit me."</i>


    She fired, but the bullet missed its target by a wide margin. The dry report and the smoke hung in the air.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t let my master die." "Stay back..."


    Rose''s legs had given out in terror, and she scooted away from me on her behind.


    Did she think I was going to kill her?


    ...Oh, that made sense, actually. Those of us in SPES had followed Father''s orders, obeyed our survival instincts, and used the special abilities granted by the seeds to kill this''s humans. If they instinctively feared us, that was only natural.


    "That isn''t why I''m here now."


    There''s no way my master would have called me to do a thing like that.


    The reason she''d called me here was for something she couldn''t do. A thing only I was capable of.


    My master hadn''tpletely mastered the use of this body''s seed yet. The red eyes were only a trigger; the seed''s real powery in this throat. In our voice.


    "The true shape of my ability is ''word-soul''¡ªit imbues the words I speak with power."


    The seeds Father created granted special powers to human organs. They were what the members of SPES had used to keep up their attacks on mankind, on his instructions.


    However, hypothetically...


    If there was another way to use this power, a way besides hurting people... If my word-soul ability had the power to save someone...


    "Stop, stay away from me...! Daisy!" I was right in front of Rose Bet now. As she looked up at me, she called her daughter''s name. I knelt gently, putting myself at her eye level.


    Oh, I see.


    This is human terror.


    Had her daughter feared me this way, a year ago?


    In London, I''d been in a trancelike state¡ªuntil I came to with a corpse in front of me. In order to save this body and my master''s life, I''d extracted the heart from that corpse. And then I''d done the same again, over and over. Had those five people been this terrified of me just before they died as well?


    "I''m sorry for frightening you," I told Rose Bet. She was trembling. The apology was also directed at those five people,st year.


    "...?"


    Rose probably didn''t understand, though. Even now, her eyes were darting around anxiously... These things really never go well.


    I wasn''t a logical hero who''d consistently turned out the best possible solutions based on knowledge and experience, nor was I an ace detective who tried to make her lofty ideals a reality with her intense emotions.


    In the end, I was only an imitation. A shapeless mass of consciousness that hade to dwell in a girl named Nagisa Natsunagi. My existence was so fragile that, if I hadn''t been bound by the desire to be needed, a gust of wind might have blown me away.


    "But now, I have a bond."


    I squeezed the red ribbon again. Right now, I was standing here because my master needed me.


    That''s right. I couldn''t imitate that white-haired detective, and I couldn''t be like my master, the one this ribbon suited. As I said earlier, I was only myself.


    And so, right now, I would do what only I could do.


    I was sure that was the one and only right given to me, as well as a duty I had to perform.


    "Rose Bet. This is a present not from me, but from her."


    My ability was word-soul¡ªthe ability to imbue words with powers. Which meant I could also exchange words with someone I''d exchanged blood with. One year ago, when I''d switched hearts, I''d also traded blood with Daisy Bet, <i>and so I remembered her final words</i>.


    "I''m sure she would have told you this."


    Under the sunset sky, before a gravestone on a grassy field, I knelt down and delivered Daisy Bet''sst words to her mother.


    "I love you, Mum." My name is Hel.


    Code name: Hell.


    My name belongs to the queen who rules thend of the dead¡ªthe link between the living and the departed.


    <strong> The name of that emotion is...</strong>


    My vision suddenly expanded. I saw the orange glow of the sunset. Insects were singing in the distance, and I realized that my consciousness was back in my body.


    "...Hel."


    My partner had finished her job without trouble and retreated to some shadowy corner of our body.


    "Whoops!"


    Just then, Rose Bet stumbled, falling weakly against my shoulder. Her eyes were closed. "Daisy...," she murmured. The name of her only daughter.


    Then, as if she''d fainted, she fell asleep in my arms. "I''m sorry."


    <i>I wish I could have saved you properly that time.</i>


    As I apologized, I was remembering that I''d held her like this a year ago, too.


    Just for a few moments, I leaned Rose against the gravestone and called a taxi on my cell. If I let her rest at home, I was sure she''d wake up soon.


    Speaking of waking up, Hel had told me the people left in vegetative states by


    the toxin would recover naturally with time. In other words, this incident was resolved.


    Just one more time, I gave a brief, silent prayer at the grave. "I can''t say I''ve done enough to atone..." The emotion in my voice was less apologetic and more resolved toward the future.


    There was no way this would absolve me of the crimes I''dmitted a year ago. Nothing ever would. All I could do was keep saving people, without letting the position of "detective" limit me.


    Right now, the jobs that took priority were defeating Seed and bringing Siesta back to life. Thatst one would take a miracle that would go above and beyond even the wless Ace Detective''s intentions. To make it a reality¡ª


    "I''m counting on you, Kimizuka."


    I was sure my strength alone wouldn''t be enough. I looked up at the sky, thinking of the partner who always had my back. At this very moment, he was busy collecting clues about those jobs.


    Kimihiko Kimizuka¡ªmy assistant and sidekick.


    I''d met him in a ssroom after school not too long ago, but for some reason, it hadn''t felt like the first time we''d spoken. Later on, I''d learned that the heart inside me had spent three whole years traveling with him.


    I''d been telling myself that that was why it beat faster whenever I saw him, that it had nothing to do with my own feelings. But it turned out I''d personally met Kimizuka a year ago, here in London. I''d been trapped in darkness then, and his words had saved me. Meaning the real reason my heart sped up when he was near me was...


    "...Nah."


    The answer was right there, but I decided not to reach for it. Doing that at this point felt like it would be breaking the rules.


    Everything would have to wait... "Until we bring Siesta back."


    On that note, I set off toward the ce where I knew Kimizuka would be.


    ¡ªAnd just then, I heard a faint explosion in the distance.

 Chapter 71: Side Yui

    <h4>Chapter 71: Side Yui</h4>


    After Kimizuka and Nagisa left for London and Ms. Kase and Charlie went out, Bat and I stayed on in Ms. Kase''s apartment.


    We were still there because Bat was going to put me through special training, hoping to awaken the ability of my left eye. That had been the n, but...


    "Ah, this one''s top-shelf, too."


    Bat had hauled expensive-looking red wines out of the wine cer and was having his own private tasting session, smiling in satisfaction. <i>What happened to the special training, hmm?</i>


    "Won''t Ms. Kase be angry if you open her wine without permission?" I asked, sitting down right in front of him.


    "Don''t care. That woman kept me cooped up for ages. Don''t you think I''ve earned a little luxury?" Bat gently swirled the wine in his ss.


    His rxed attitude made him seem like a rather uninhibited, stylish older man. He carried himself like a mature adult, something Kimizuka probably couldn''t do to save his life.


    "¡ªNo, no, you aren''t putting me off that easily! What about my special training, hmm?! Come on!" Abandoning my usual jokey role, I pressed Bat for answers. "Let''s get started on the training arc! Which mountain will we be retreating to?! When will I sit under a waterfall?! Will I need my swimsuit?! Oh, but pin-up photos would make my mother and father worry up in heaven, so those are out!"


    "There were so many problems with that monologue that I don''t even know where to begin." My, my. Somewhere in there, we seem to have swapped roles. "Don''t rush me, all right? I''ve got time to finish this ss."


    With theposure of a man who had aplete grasp of all future events, Bat slowly rolled the wine around his tongue.


    "Then why did you volunteer to be my instructor, Bat?" If he wasn''t going to start training me, it must be all right for us to chat in the meantime. Yes, this was a rare opportunity. I wanted to talk about all sorts of things with this stylish older man.


    "I already exined that we''ve got amon interest in defeating SPES."


    ...Bat was pretty cold, though.


    How strange. Kimizuka would have practically talked my ear off there. Not that I care about the sort of person who''d just take off on an overseas trip with another woman.


    "However, since we''re here...I''ve got a question of my own," Bat said, setting his ss down.


    "You really don''t want to avenge your parents?"


    He''d had quite a bit to drink already, but he hadn''t asked that question under the influence. He seemed as if he genuinely wanted to know. He might even have set up this situation specifically so that he could ask the question... <i>No, I''m overthinking.</i>


    "Even if a mortal enemy of your family or friends was right there in front of you, you wouldn''t pull the trigger?" Bat asked again.


    "Mm, I''m not sure. Last time, neither you nor Chameleon had hurt them directly, so... Unless it actually happened, I really couldn''t say." I was remembering the incident on the roof of the TV station the other day.


    "I see. Well, aren''t you cool?"


    "Am I really? I think I''m only able to say that because I''m not facing an enemy right now. I took up the mic instead of the pistol, but that doesn''t mean I won''t pick up the pistol again if I have to."


    "So you won''t live for revenge, but you''re not writing off the idea entirely?" "That''s right. In the end, I think it simplyes down to what I want to do." It was an arrogant thing to say; I had said something along those lines to


    Kimizuka, but I''d still been wavering at the time. Now that I''d made it through that incident and Kimizuka had given me his support, I was able to say it with confidence. "That''s why I won''t build my life around revenge. I want to live the way my parents hoped I would."


    "And that''s different from letting the dead tie you down?"


    "Yes, it is." <i>It really is. That''s the one thing I can say with pride. </i>"After all, that''s what I believe now!"


    <i>This is definitely my will, and a thought that belongs to me alone.</i>


    "¡ªI see," Bat murmured pensively. Then he drained the rest of his wine in one gulp.


    "Um, did that answer your question? I ended up just monologuing..." All of a sudden, I felt very awkward.


    "Yeah, that was really informative. It also told me you haven''t actually managed to cut the umbilical cord yet."


    "Wh-why would you think that?! Were you listening to me at all?!" "I meant it in a good way, so don''t worry about it."


    "Adding ''in a good way'' isn''t enough to convince me, you know! My selling point is that I''m the capable, mature character; don''t make me out to be a child!"


    I swear, what a mean old man. The idea of picking on a sweet young girl like me! He''s as much of a jerk as Kimizuka.


    ...You know, I keep mentioning Kimizuka, and he isn''t even here. The man is a rascal. I hope hees home soon.


    "Ha-ha! Well, now that we''ve got that pleasant chat out of the way, let''s get to the training," Bat said, a bit more jovial than before. At least we were getting to the main topic. "Listen, youngdy. The first thing I''m going to teach you is one of the basics of human movement..."


    "Oh, if this is likely to go on for a while, may I take a hip bath while you talk?


    If you stay here and speak loudly, I''ll be able to hear you!" "You''re so insolent, it''s kinda refreshing."


    "Hee-hee! That''s a goodeback!"


    This went well. It''s nice to have a friend from a different generation.


    I was sure this was the beginning of a long rtionship for Bat and me. Or... as I began to listen to what he said, I hoped it would be.


    "Oh, by the way, what is your real name, Bat? I know a fun game that uses your name to tell your fortune."


    "I''m not the one who should be saying this, but when are we going to get started on that special training?"

 Chapter 72 - 3.1

    <h4>Chapter 72: Chapter 3.1</h4>


    Guardian of the world


    After splitting up with Natsunagi, I went to a certain location to reim my stolen wallet and key. This was the address I''d been given over the phone, but...


    "I don''t have very good memories of this ce."


    The building in front of me wasn''t a police station. It was Westminster Pce, the nerve center of the United Kingdom. About a year ago, Hel had kidnapped me and held me prisoner under this building, then fought a ferocious battle around its clock tower with Siesta.


    "I guess I''ll have to go, though." I stepped inside.


    Right away, an English gentleman in a suit appeared and showed me to an area that was off-limits to the general public. After ushering me into a dedicated elevator, he bowed, then left. Apparently <i>the person who''d called me here </i>was at the top of Elizabeth Tower, the spire annexed to the pce.


    "Geez. Mia Whitlock sure is picky about presentation," I grumbled to myself as I rode the elevator up.


    It didn''t take any detective work to know who was waiting for me up here. In the first ce, I suspected that the one who''d stolen my wallet¡ªor rather, the key inside it¡ªhad been the cabin attendant, Olivia. She''d done it simply to determine whether we were worthy of meeting Mia.


    Olivia had taken my key on the ne, nudged us to do what we''d done after that, and ensured that we found the sacred text. Then she''d watched to see whether we''d resolve the Medusa incident. When Natsunagi and I had figured out the Medusa''s identity and were well on our way to shutting down the incident, she''d contacted me. Meaning the one waiting for me had to be the Oracle, Mia Whitlock.


    "That was some skilled maniption. It''s almost invigorating."


    But that ended now. I told myself I wouldn''t leave until my demands were epted, just as the elevator doors opened to reveal a spiral staircase.


    I climbed it, heading up and up through the gloom. And then...


    "This is it, huh?"


    There was a door in front of me. Steeling myself, I twisted the knob. "...!"


    I covered my face as a sudden gale howled and blustered around me.


    It didn''t take me long to realize it was just because we were a hundred meters up.


    Orange light struck my covered face and shone through my closed eyelids. "...Is this ce open to the outside?"


    As I gradually got used to the wind and the dazzling light, I finally opened my eyes. The ce looked like a hotel room. On the opposite side, there was a balcony. On that balcony, looking out over the streets of London, was a girl. She was dressed in the white robe and scarlet <i>hakama </i>trousers of a shrine maiden.


    Illuminated by thest rays of the setting sun, the Tuner protected the world from the top of the clock tower.


    "Who''s there?"


    Just then, the girl seemed to sense me and looked over her shoulder.


    Her pale blue hair swung, and her big, beautiful, doll-like eyes grew even wider.


    "So we finally meet, Mia Whitlock," I said, approaching the guardian of the world.


    "Tell me how to change the future."


    We would get the ending everyone wants. The one where we retake Siesta.


    <strong> The end of the world, prophecy of the <i>v?lva</i></strong>


    "It can''t be done."


    Once Mia Whitlock had changed from her shrine maiden outfit into street clothes, she answered me bluntly. At the moment, she was returning books to therge bookshelves that covered the room''s walls.


    People said she could see the future. Once I''d reached her, I''d waited until she''d finished her regr evening duties in the clock tower, and then she''d allowed me to meet with her in this room. At that point, I''d figured my goal was as good as achieved, but...


    "The future is changeless. We can fight it all we want, but the story''s ultimate ending won''t change." The girl''s voice was cool. She had her back to me and was standing on tiptoe to return a book to a high shelf.


    "Are you the only one here? I thought your servant would be with you." Reaching in from behind her, I snitched the book from her hand and put it back on the shelf for her. Olivia the flight attendant was the one who''d invited me here. Before anything else, I had to get my wallet and that key back...


    "She set me up." Mia''s sweet, doll-like face twisted in a grimace. She looked up at me from twenty centimeters below. "I''m not sure what she''s trying to aplish, but Olivia is trying to bring me and the two of you together."


    I see. True, even on the ne, Olivia had seemed to want us to meet Mia.


    "In other words, I have no business with you myself, and you don''t interest me. I''d prefer not to see your face, if I can manage it, and I don''t want to breathe the same air. Could you go home soon?"


    Slipping past me, Mia began sorting books again.


    <i>...I didn''t expect her to dislike me this much. Well, actually, it''s probably less that she hates me personally and more that she''s avoiding people in general. Yeah, that''s gotta be it.</i>


    "Sorry, but I can''t leave until I get what I came for."


    I picked up one of the books that were piled on the table. "Mia Whitlock. These are sacred texts, right?"


    All of them¡ªboth the books Mia and I were handling, and the ones already lining the walls.


    "Remind me why I have to answer that?"


    "My partner is solving a case right now, on instructions from Olivia."


    If that sacred text had been sent to us by someone in Mia Whitlock''s camp, then the fact that Natsunagi was solving the tough problem we''d found in it had to work to our advantage. Plus, I was helping her organize her library.


    "...I don''t think forcibly putting someone in your debt is always an effective technique."


    Even so, as if she was out of options, Mia gave a little sigh.


    "Yes, that''s right. There are 100,279 volumes. All the sacred texts here have beenpiled by previous Oracles, or by me."


    As she spoke, she quietly pointed to the bookshelves all around the room. "My ability to predict the future lets me foresee the world''s crises, although only in fragments. Because of that ability, I was made the Oracle and given the role of recording the end of the world, the Ragnarok, in these sacred texts."


    It was just as Ms. Fuubi had said, then; the Oracle did have the ability to see the future. Now it was clear that she had a power I''d need in order to achieve my goal.


    "But just knowing the future doesn''t mean it''s possible to change it. It doesn''t mean much to most people." Talking down her own ability, Mia swept her blue hair back.


    "Is there anyone else who has that sort of power?" I stopped working and leaned forward, pressing Mia for details.


    "Those who don''t work don''t eat. Didn''t you learn that in preschool?" Mia sat down in a tall chair, leaned back, and closed her eyes.


    "They don''t teach you that in preschool. Don''t overwork the three-year-olds."


    However, she probably meant that if I wanted an answer, I had to help her with this job. I couldn''t tell what her system was, but I kept shelving the books ording to her instructions.


    I was seeing a lot of ominous words on the spines of the volumes lining the shelves: "Viral Pandemic," "World War III," and even "Vampire Rebellion." Were these all global crises that the twelve Tuners had averted?


    "By the way, the sacred text is first-degree ssified material. You can read it,


    but be prepared to never sleep in a bed again." "You say that like it''s nothing..."


    Apparently, the day I opened one of these books without permission, somebody big would have me liquefied. Anxious now, I slid a sacred text titled "Alternate History" onto the shelf.


    "Only one person in the world ever has this power at a time. The moment that person dies, another person acquires the power¡ªas a divine blessing." While I worked, Mia answered my earlier question. "It began with a <i>v?lva</i>, one of the seeresses in Northern European myths. Starting with her, many Oracles have been born over the course of several millennia. There was one in your country as well. What was her name again? I think it actually had the word <i>miko </i>in it."


    Mia probably meant the queen who''d ruled Wakoku 1,800 years ago, a woman who''d used the power of divination. Was Agastya, the holy man Hel had once mentioned, one of the people who''d held the position?


    "When did you acquire your power, Mia?"


    "About ten years ago. One day, out of nowhere, I began murmuring that a certain natural disaster would ur soon, as if I were delirious... My parents heard me, and that''s what started it."


    In addition to filling me in on the details of her ability, Mia began to tell me about her past.


    "They were like prophecies; they just appeared in my mind, as images. I''d put them into words, almost unconsciously, or I''d write them down on paper. I began foretellingrge-scale acts of terror and times when the lives of important people would be in danger¡ªand before long, I was known as a child of God."


    "A child of God... So you caught somebody''s attention?"


    Mia gave a self-deprecating smile. "I did. My parents, to be specific. The ones closest to me. When they discovered my ability, they created a religious body, set me up as its founding figure¡ªand began to make money."


    A child of God who could see the future¡ªof course certain people would consider someone like that a money tree. Even more unfortunately for Mia, the ones who''d done it had been her family.


    "Sorry to interrupt, but... Mia, what should I do with this?" I''d picked up a bundle of a dozen or so sheets of parchment, tied with string. Unlike the other sacred texts, it didn''t have a cover, just the word <i>Singrity </i>scrawled on the first sheet.


    "That''s rubbish."


    ...It shouldn''t have been anything to do with me, but since I was holding it, it


    felt like she''d insulted me unfairly as well.


    "What''s written in there can''t be trusted anyway."


    So this wasn''t connected to the sacred texts? I''d heard that those only held futures that were determined. For now, following Mia''s orders, I put the bundle of parchment back.


    "However, the only thing my ability can do is foresee global crises. I couldn''t tell the futures of individual believers," Mia went on. Her parents had begun a religion around their daughter''s ability to tell the future. However...


    "Did that function as a religion, then? Weren''t the believers counting on prophecies from the child of God?"


    "Yes. And so my parents repeatedly made up divine revtions and used them to swindle money from the believers. They threatened them, implying that they''d receive divine punishment if they didn''t do what they said."


    It was your typical crooked cult. What Mia told me next was also really typical¡ªalthough it was the sort of tragic tale you wish would never happen anywhere.


    Mia''s parents had hit on the idea of making up prophecies and separating believers from their money. Mia, the central figure in all this, had objected again and again, but every time she did, the adults had hit her. "You can''t betray your believers now," they''d said.


    Mia was still a little kid, and she hadn''t been able to fight them. They''d shut her in a basement room, and after that, all she could do was watch her parents get their hands dirtier and dirtier... But then those days were blotted out by something even worse.


    One day, in an attempt at revenge, a believer who''d lost a fortune over a false prophecy set Mia''s house on fire. In the blink of an eye, those mes had enveloped her parents.


    "My mother had done bad things. My father had hit me many times. Even so, they were the only family I had¡ªso I tried to save them. I tried to use my irvoyance to find a way for them to escape the inferno."


    Mia had gone over to stand by the great window. The fading sun illuminated her fragile profile.


    "But no matter what I did, I couldn''t see a future where they survived. As far as the world was concerned, my parents weren''t important."


    Right, all Mia could see were things rted to global crises. Her parents were ordinary people. They didn''t count.


    "...And so only you were saved?"


    "The fire never reached that basement room. I didn''t even want divine protection or whatever it was, and yet..." Mia gave a self-mocking smile.


    "How did you go from there to being a Tuner?"


    Having lost her family, Mia Whitlock had been living on her own, without hope. How, and when, had she begun fighting the enemies of the world as the Oracle?


    "Four and a half years ago, the Ace Detective <i>stole me</i>," Mia said, turning back toward me.


    "...So Siesta was involved?"


    From context, "stole" probably meant "took into protective custody." Siesta had extended a helping hand to a girl who''d been all alone in the world.


    "Did Siesta take you as one of her Ace Detective jobs?"


    "I''m told the mission was originally assigned to the Phantom Thief. However, the Ace Detective stole me in his ce. She said ''That man''s thest person on the you should trust.''"


    During the three years I''d spent traveling with Siesta, we''d dealt with phantom thieves countless times. However, right now, Mia probably meant the Tuner. I was pretty sure "Phantom Thief" had been one of the positions SIESTA listed for us once. But...


    "What do you mean, the Phantom Thief can''t be trusted? He''s technically a hero, right?"


    The twelve Tuners had all been appointed to save the world in its time of need. I''d heard that Scarlet the Vampire was a ck sheep... Was the Phantom Thief another one?


    "The Phantom Thief is a traitor, the only one of the twelve Tuners to tantly vite the <i>Federal Charter</i>. He''s currently imprisoned deep underground formitting a serious crime. The Ace Detective is the one person who saw the danger he posed ahead of time. That''s why she rescued me herself, without relying on him."


    Was the Federal Charter Mia had mentioned the same thing Charlie had brought up earlier? From what I''d heard, its regtions held the group of Tuners together.


    "What was the Phantom Thief''s crime?" I knew the conversation was getting further and further off topic, but I asked anyway. How had a hero who should have been keeping the world peaceful gotten locked up like a criminal?


    "I''m the only one who''s allowed to touch the sacred texts, but he stole some


    of them."


    As Mia said that, for the first time, there was a hint of anger in her eyes. "Then he sold the sacred text that held prophecies about SPES to Seed...in exchange for a certain consideration."


    "So that''s where our stories link up, huh?"


    Seed had used the Phantom Thief to steal some of Mia''s sacred texts. The other day, too, he''d tried to team up with the Vampire to break Bat out of jail. Apparently, he''d been attempting to use the Tuners for a few years already.


    Once he''d gotten his hands on the sacred text and learned the future, Seed had been able to see dangering before it reached him. Siesta had repeatedly fought an opponent with such a massive advantage, until finally, she''d¡ª


    "I''d like your opinion." Suddenly, Mia turned and walked toward me. "Say a Tuner''s role is to risk everything to fight the enemies of the world, until they eventually meet the end one would expect. They may avert one crisis, but the enemies will keeping. The fight won''t ever end. Until the world is destroyed, they''ll just keep pretending to save it, using every trick in the book, <i>while only the people who fill those positions change</i>. Can you find any hope in a future like that?"


    Mia Whitlock''s lc eyes were right in front of me, wavering.


    This was her counterargument to the wish I''d brought her: "Can the future be changed?"


    Her answer was: <i>No matter which future you choose, it will end badly. With the end of the world.</i>


    She wasn''t exaggerating, though. Mia had been given the ability to see the future at a young age, and the people around her had seized the chance to use her. Siesta had saved her once, but then she''d sacrificed herself... And even that hadn''t been enough to destroy the world''s enemies. As the Oracle, Mia Whitlock would observe this hellish future for the rest of her life.


    "So until my life ends, or the world does, I''ll carry out my duties within the walls of this tower. I don''t have any expectations to speak of. I have no ambitions of changing anything. I don''t hope, I don''t wish, I don''t rely on anyone. I only do the job the Ace Detective gave me. I work quietly, and I work alone."


    Without waiting for me to respond, Mia Whitlock gave me her final answer. "...Okay. I finally understand your position on this," I told her, getting to my


    feet.


    It was just as she said: If that was the only sort of future waiting for us, any kind of action would be pointless. That was a normal perspective to take. Until the dark, inevitable day, Mia nned to stay holed up in this clock tower. How badly must she be hurting? I wondered. I really couldn''t tell her she was wrong.


    "Sorry, though. I may understand it, but I can''t sympathize."


    I scooped Mia up in what''s known as the "princess carry." "...Huh?"


    In my arms, Mia blinked at me rapidly.


    <i>What''s the matter? You sound kinda silly. You realize you''re breaking character, right?</i>


    She can''t actually have thought she''d convince me with that. "I''m going to show you just how uncertain the future really is."


    Right then¡ªan rm began to sound in the room, or maybe all through the building. Then the window Mia had just been leaning against shattered.


    "Wh-what? What''s happening?"


    Mia was flustered. Outside, something exploded, and the floor shook as if an earthquake had hit.


    <i>What? You didn''t see thising? ¡ªWell, too bad. </i>"Just who do you think you''re with right now?" Still carrying Mia, I headed for the exit.


    <i>"Don''t go underestimating my knack for getting dragged into things." If you''re a girl the gods loved, then I''m the guy they all abandoned.</i>


    <i>Sorry, but I''m about to drag you into more trouble than you can even imagine.</i>


    "Where are you taking me?!" Mia screamed as I booked it out of the wheel of fate, carrying her with me.

 Chapter 73 - 3.2

    <h4>Chapter 73: Chapter 3.2</h4>


    <strong> Looking for one solitary route</strong>


    Having escaped from the tower without incident, the two of us were walking through the streets of London. The sun was long down.


    "Wh-why is this happening...?" Mia Whitlock was looking around uneasily, following two steps behind me. Her cool attitude from earlier had vanished; her shoulders were hunched defensively, and she took short, quick steps. "What on earth was that?"


    An explosion had urred out of nowhere at the clock tower. As we''d fled the building, rms had been going off, and we''d passed dense areas of mes and smoke.


    "Search me. Terrorists, maybe?"


    "¡ªHow can you be so calm?!" Mia''s tone sharpened, and she came up beside me. "Ngh! Yelling made me dizzy..."


    As she finally let her emotions show through, Mia sank weakly to the pavement. Apparently, she really did nothing that required leaving her room.


    "Terrorist acts aren''t exactly unusual, you know." "They aren''t exactly ''usual,'' either."


    I held out my hand to Mia, and she took it to get to her feet again. "You should get a little more exercise. Go outside once in a while." "Ew, no. It makes me tired."


    "Don''t say that with a straight face. What are you, a NEET?" That seemed to make Mia a little ufortable. She started off briskly on her own. "You should branch out. Pick up a hobby. Just one friend can make your world a little


    brighter."


    "Even if it did, it''s going to end soon anyway."


    "You are so negative!" Although in her case, she wasn''t actually exaggerating, which made it kind of hard to put in a goodeback.


    "...Quiet down. You''ll startle me; don''t do that." Mia turned halfway back, gazing at me reproachfully.


    "Uh, sorry. I identally slipped into the way I talk with my usual crowd." "That''s the way you talk with them...? You all must have so much energy."


    <i>So somebody''s finally mentioning that, huh? Well, it''s not an issue I can do anything about on my own. Are you listening, Yui Saikawa andpany?</i>


    "...Haaah. Honestly, nothing good happens when you''re around." Mia heaved a deep sigh. "Things were hard a year ago as well." sping her hands behind her, she looked up at me coldly.


    "Oh, right. That happened at that clock tower, too, didn''t it?"


    A year ago, Siesta and Hel had fought here. Piloting a robot and a biological weapon, they''d gone on a full rampage at the tower. Back then, though, Mia had been inside. I was sure she''d watched the whole thing through the window.


    "Imagine being the person who has to clean up after that."


    I see. Even though they''d beenpletely out of control, we hadn''t drawn a single rubbernecker, and no media outlet had reported an ident. Someone very powerful must have been working in the background. I really wished she''d direct herints to the white-haired ace detective, though.


    "Let this be my apology, then." Mia was walking on the side nearest the buildings, and I caught her hand and pulled her to me.


    "Huh?" Her eyes widened, and then a broken flower pot smashed into the pavement right where she''d been standing.


    "Okay, let''s go." I released her hand and resumed my evening stroll.


    "...I knew it. I get nothing but trouble when I''m with you." Mia seemed to be fed up with my trouble-maism; the hunch in her back had gone from kitten to scared kitten. For the past little while, every move she''d made had reminded me of some forest critter.


    However, as far as I was concerned, this was peanuts. If I was going to show her that the future really could change, I''d need her to stick with me for a while longer.


    "Didn''t Siesta teach you things always change quickly?" I asked Mia. She was still just standing there.


    "What kind of lesson is that? Boss¡ª Ahem. The Ace Detective and I only


    gamed online together every once in a while."


    "How exactly do you Tuners rte to each other?" She''d just disclosed an unexpected "mentor/junior" rtionship. I was Siesta''s assistant, Charlie was her apprentice... In that case, had Mia been one of those cute junior members who was actually a surprising amount of trouble?


    As I was wondering about that, a tall red bus pulled up to a nearby stop. Great timing.


    "Listen up. In our world, factors likemon sense and feeling conflicted and stalemates tend to slow things down, so we just skip over those."


    "What''s ''our world''? What''s with the abrupt exnation?"


    "Never mind, just keep up. This story moves fast." <i>Nailed it</i>, I thought as I stepped onto the stairs of the bus.


    "I digress, but you don''t look like the type who has many friends." "If you''re going to digress, don''t be mean about it."


    "Then I''ll just move to the main topic: I can''t be your friend." "Yeah, just help me realize a stupid dream. That''ll be enough."


    We sat down next to each other in thest row of seats on the first floor of the bus.


    "¡ªSay, are you always like that?" Mia asked. She''d taken the window seat and was gazing out at the dark streets.


    "Like what? Dashing, considerate, and actually pretty cool?" "You don''t have to force yourself to y dumb."


    I wasn''t ying dumb.


    "I''m asking whether you always act without a n."


    Without a n, huh? True, even now, I had no idea where this bus was going. I didn''t know what stops we''d pass, or when, or what sort of people would board on the way. ¡ªHowever.


    "I''ve got an ultimate goal. Someday, I''ll bring Siesta back to life." That''s the only future I want, and the end of the story I''m aiming for.


    "And you really think that can be done?" Mia didn''t seem startled by my vow.


    She''d probably already known about it. Maybe that was why she''d gone so far to avoid Natsunagi and me; she''d realized it was an outrageous wish.


    "I really couldn''t tell you."


    <i>I don''t know. I think that''s why I came to see you. Because I don''t know.</i>


    But...


    "I think it would be all right to have at least one super-convenient route."


    I hoped it was. "..."


    Mia didn''t agree or disagree with what I''d said. She just kept looking out the window.


    Even if earning a perfect happy ending turned out to be too hard.


    Even if somebody had to put up with a little hardship here and there, and the little losses added up.


    Even so, they couldn''t all be cruel endings where everybody lost everything. "The future must branch into different routes. Our wills are going to determine


    which one."


    Olivia''s will had led me to that clock tower; my actions were pulling Mia into things she didn''t expect. Using our wills, our actions, we could change those future routes in all sorts of ways. In which case...


    "Don''t you think there could be a route where Siestaes back to life?"


    Once again, I hit Mia with the first and greatest reason I''de to see her. "¡ªYou are the only one allowed to say that," Mia murmured. I didn''t know


    what she meant.


    However, reality wasn''t kind enough to give me a chance to respond. "Sorry, but I guess we''re going to have to put this chat on hold." "Huh?"


    Just as Mia turned to look, a woman''s scream echoed through the bus. When I nced toward the front¡ªa man in camo was standing there, holding a rifle.


    "A busjack, huh?"


    My knack for getting dragged into stuff was at the top of its game.


    <strong> That leap will cross the world line</strong>


    "Th-this is why I didn''t want to go outside..."


    In the seat next to me, Mia was doing that forest critter thing again. She''d curled up into a little ball and was hugging her knees. Would it be rude to say she was cute? (Or pathetic, even?)


    "Well? Didn''t see this futureing, did you?"


    "How can you gloat at a time like this...?" Mia red at me resentfully. She''d finally started making eye contact. "My ability isn''t nearly as convenient as divination. If I want to make an intentional attempt to see a future that would dramatically affect the world, I need to set the stage to a certain extent... So I


    don''t know what''s going to happen next," she finished in a little voice.


    "¡ªFreeze! Don''t move a muscle¡ªI can''t guarantee what''ll happen to ya." The next moment, a shot rang out as the busjacker fired his rifle at the roof.


    Then he pointed the muzzle at the passengers, us included<i>... Geez. Apparently, we can''t afford to make any dumb moves.</i>


    "If ourrade is freed, you people will get to leave the bus. We''re all in the same boat ''ere. Ha-ha!" The man, who was dressed like a soldier,ughed a whole lot like Bat.


    Okay, so he was trying to get his jailedrade released. Was he nning to negotiate that with the police? This didn''t seem like a great approach to take.


    "What should we do?" Mia asked quietly.


    The mood was extremely tense, but fortunately, from our positions in the very back, we were able to get an urate picture of the situation. Including Mia and I, there were eleven regr passengers, the driver, and one criminal at the front with a gun. The enemy had a weapon, and there were lots of ordinary citizens around, so we couldn''t move carelessly.


    "Uh, actually, what do you think we should do?"


    "So you''re essentially useless when it really counts." Mia dropped her forehead into her hand. "Olivia...," she said, calling her attendant''s name. "Cute" and "pathetic" really were two sides of the same coin. "Enough. The world''s going to end soon anyway..."


    "Look, like I said, don''t be such a pessimist." It''s possible to be too much of a downer, all right? Not only that, but in her case, she was taking it way too seriously for it to even be funny. "Uh, listen. Even I can act, all right? As long as the detective tells me what to do."


    "<i>Please </i>have a little pride, okay?!"


    "Mia, is it okay if I hold your hand for a little bit?" "Were you listening to me?"


    I didn''t hear a no, so I gripped her small palm. She froze up.


    "...I''ve never held a man''s hand before," Mia muttered very fast, giving an excuse I hadn''t asked for. She sighed. Her hand was even colder than I''d expected it to be. "What would Boss have done at a time like this?"


    Maybe she was stretched too thin to keep up appearances; Mia was openly calling Siesta "Boss" now.


    "For starters, she''d either drink tea or tease me." "That was entirely unhelpful."


    Well, yeah. After all, she was the type who''d take a good, solid nap on a hijacked ne.


    "...I may be a Tuner, but I''m not very good with this sort of thing." Mia looked down, murmuring in a self-deprecating way.


    Yeah, it wasn''t as if all the Tuners had greatbat skills. It was only the three I''d happened to meet before.


    There might be some who only had an intellectual advantage, and others who''d been scouted for their abilities, like Mia. The bnce of those twelve kept the world in harmony.


    "I don''t have the Assassin''s irond sense of mission, or the Vampire''s world-destroying strength, or the Ace Detective''s courage to stare death in the face. That''s why I <i>wasn''t able to shut down Boss''s bet </i>back then."


    "Mia, you''re..."


    "¡ªWho is that?! Who''s talking?!"


    The next instant, the busjacker aimed his rifle at the passengers. Something must have gotten him worked up. He walked up to each passenger, one by one, pointing the rifle at them by turns...but before he got to the very back, he turned around and headed for the driver''s seat again. He hadn''t noticed us.


    "As you said, the future does change, sometimes." Mia spoke in an even softer voice than before. At that volume, the noise of the engine would probably cover it. "Two days ago, I went to Japan. The quality of a future I''d observed only recently had changed, and I wanted to find out why."


    "I see. So that''s why you were on that ne."


    Mia almost never left her tower, and yet she''d been on a flight from Japan to London. I was finally about to learn the reason.


    "I knew the future regarding SPES. It should have ended with the sapphire girl''s death at the hands of the Assassin and the loss of Seed''s vessel. That route had been averted, though. You and your friends were there, at the center of the change."


    ...Yeah, that''s right. We''d chosen to protect Saikawa, meaning Seed had survived. Technically, that choice could easily have made the world our enemy. As a Tuner, and as the Oracle, Mia had a duty to lead the world in the right direction, and she hadn''t foreseen that ending.


    "The future does change. But where it ends never does."


    The bus had stopped for a red light, and Mia looked out the window. Up at the front, the hijacker was yelling at the driver, "Don''t stop the bus!"


    "The Ace Detective genuinely did change the future. And then, that same day, she died." This was something Mia hadn''t told me about yet. <i>Siesta''s bet</i>, the one she''d started to talk about before. The one she hadn''t been able to stop. "Originally, in the sacred text written by the previous Oracle, the battle between SPES and the Ace Detective ended with thetter''s defeat."


    "You''re saying Siesta would have lost to Seed and Hel?"


    "Yes. Boss would die, and Seed would make Hel, the survivor, into his vessel. The oue in the sacred text was the worst one imaginable." Mia told me it had probably been written roughly a decade ago. "But four years ago, Boss met you. Then, little by little, the two of you began to change that future."


    ...I hadn''t done a thing. Back then, Siesta must have been trying to twist destiny itself.


    "I felt as though maybe, if this went on, we might avoid Boss''s death. About eighteen months ago, I read the future regarding SPES again. And the ending¡ª" "¡ªWas that Siesta and Hel would take each other out, and Seed would lose


    his vessel, huh?" As I said it, Mia squeezed my hand tightly.


    That was what had actually happened to usst year. Even if the future had changed slightly, the ultimate endpoint¡ªthe bad ending where Siesta died¡ª hadn''t changed even with all our efforts.


    "Of course I didn''t want to give up. I''d destroyed my family with my own two hands. I hadn''t been able to save my parents. Even so, I owed Boss for what she did for me, and if nothing else, I wanted to avert the future where she was sacrificed... I think she must already have been prepared for it herself, though."


    ...Yeah, that was the kind of person she was. She knew what her fate would be, and even then, she''d stood by her principles as a detective. Even at the cost of her life, she was determined to seal a great evil and save her friend, Natsunagi. She''d make her client''s wishe true.


    "And unlike me, Boss had been fighting SPES directly. She realized that Seed wanted the sacred text, and at the same time, she''d been preparing for the Phantom Thief''s betrayal. She came to me and proposed using those things against them."


    "So she let Seed and the rest steal the sacred text on purpose? When she knew the future it predicted wasn''t urate...?"


    That had been Siesta''s secret n. A trap, really. The original ending in the sacred text was that Siesta would be defeated, and Hel, the survivor, would be Seed''s vessel. Once she knew that that future would no longere to pass, she''d intentionally let the sacred text fall into Seed''s hands.


    Seed had seen that false future and felt reassured. He hadn''t picked up on Siesta''s bet. That was why his ns had gone off the rails, and why Seed was currently trying to use Yui Saikawa as his vessel, when she''d only been intended as insurance.


    "As you say, it is possible to change the future. However, the final oue doesn''t change," Mia said again, in a voice that held no emotion.


    "True, lives have been saved by that changed future. Wishes have been granted. That said, other lives were lost. I...I know this is selfish, but...I would have preferred a future where the person who was precious to me had survived." That had to be the regret the Oracle couldn''t shake. She hadn''t been able to save the benefactor who''d rescued her from hell. Mia had single-mindedly sought a future where Siesta would survive...but in the end, Siesta''s determination as the detective had won out. When it came, the ending had been


    the same worst-case scenario for Mia.


    And so Mia didn''t act. She didn''t try to change the future. She simply... observed. Just as she''d watched Siesta and Hel''s fight unfold from the tallest clock tower in Londonst year. Mia Whitlock would carry out her duty, writing down the futures she saw, until the day the world met its end. If there was anything I could say to her, it was¡ª


    "We''re nning to transcend Siesta''s will, too." Mia''s eyes widened.


    Was it because of what I''d said, or because I''d gotten to my feet as I said it?


    "¡ªWho is that?! Who keeps talking?!"


    The busjacker pointed his rifle at me, but the muzzle wavered uncertainly. Of course it did: <i>The guy couldn''t see me</i>.


    "Telling us not to chat during a busjack? You''ve got that backward." Holding Mia''s hand, I crouched down low.


    "Don''t pull a busjack during an important conversation."


    Apparently, we had an extra on this stage. There were ten meters or so between the NPC and me. Assuming my random trouble didn''t re up on the way, this fight would be over in seconds.


    "Wait, what are you doing?!"


    "Don''t worry, he can''t see you, either." That was the power I''d gained when I swallowed Chameleon''s seed. It was why I''d been holding Mia''s hand this whole time. "I''ll bring her back to life, and then I''m gonna tell her ''Take <i>that</i>.''"


    <i>Don''t think I''ll let you manipte me forever. Maybe you think you died alone and made yourself look all cool, but I''ll flip that ending on you. I''ll change the future; I''ll show you.</i>


    "...Are you serious?"


    "If I wasn''t, I wouldn''t havee all the way overseas."


    Just then, the busjacker guessed our position from our voices and fired at us.


    The passengers'' screams filled the bus.


    Mia and I dodged the bullet by sliding into some empty seats.


    "So please. Help me find a future where Siestaes back to life." "...Do you really think it exists?"


    "If it doesn''t, I''ll make it. This time, I''ll be the one <i>to drag the world in with me</i>."


    I grabbed Mia''s hand again and set off running. The busjacker was right in front of us now.


    "I can''t run...that fast...!"


    After years cooped up in her room, Mia tripped over her legs. She was gasping for breath.


    <i>...Oh, I see. She hasn''t noticed yet, huh?</i>


    "Mia, take a good look at your feet."


    Just as I said that, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a gleaming ck handgun. A second busjacker had been pretending to be a passenger. Come to think of it, the military-type guy had said "our" back at the beginning. Sheesh. Maybe I shouldn''t have thought about random trouble causing problems.


    "Kimihiko!" Mia screamed my name. "You handle that one, Mia."


    I dropped her hand and tackled the second busjacker, who''d gotten up from his seat. When the man took a blow to the gut from something he couldn''t see, he gave a sharp shriek and dropped his weapon. ¡ªExcept I''d let go of Mia, so she was visible now.


    "¡ª! Where''d the kide from?!"


    When the girl suddenly materialized right in front of him, the guy in camo looked shocked. However, his confusion gave us a brief opening.


    "Mia! Even if you don''t want to change the future, it''s already toote! You know what I''m talking about! <i>Think about what it means that you''re wearing those shoes right now!</i>"


    The moment I said it, Mia''s lc eyes went very wide.


    Yeah, there you go. Those must have been a present from the Ace Detective.


    A gift for her high-maintenance junior who wouldn''t leave her tower. At this point, Siesta''s thoughts couldn''t reach her, but they''d taken solid shape and made Mia take a big step forward.


    "Dammit, you little¡ª!" The busjacker fired at Mia without bothering to aim. But it was toote. Those bullets streaked through empty space.


    Why, you ask?


    If you want to know, look up. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    Ah, I guess it''s toote for that, too.


    Right then¡ªthe toes of the girl who''d jumped high in the air kicked the camo guy''s head for a home run.


    Yeah, I''d known about those for four years.

 Chapter 74 - 3.3

    <h4>Chapter 74: Chapter 3.3</h4>


    <strong>Foreshadowing the distant future</strong>


    "I''m exhausted... I''m never going outside again as long as I live..."


    Mia was trudging down the dark street, her shoulders slumped so dramatically you could practically hear the aura of gloom around her.


    Thanks to her gravity-defying stunt, we''d managed to subdue the busjackers, and now we were on our way back to the tower. I hoped the uproar over the terrorist incident would be winding down by now.


    "Why do all these bizarre things happen when I''m with you?" Mia, who was walking next to me, sent me a reproachful re.


    "Hmm? Was that my fault?"


    "...You really are a jerk. I''m being sarcastic, of course." Mia sighed for the umpteenth time.


    "I guess your luck ran out when we just happened to end up on the same ne."


    Come to think of it, that must have been when Mia Whitlock''s trials began. "...That''s right. I had to spend hours crammed in a meal cart thanks to you." Hey, so we''d deduced that part correctly, too? Yeah, that must''ve been rough. "And why were you two on that flight anyway? I''d intentionally tried to take


    the flight after yours..."


    She must have had Olivia make the arrangements. However, at thest minute, my talent for getting dragged into things had kicked in and changed the future.


    "Well, I was saving this cat that was stuck up a tree, and we ended up missing


    our first flight. That''s all." "That''s all?!"


    "What do you mean? Cats matter. If you act like they don''t, Siesta will get mad at you."


    There was a time when we got hired to look for this lost cat, and when we found it, the cat was so cute that she kept insisting she wanted one, too.


    "So it''s because the Ace Detective conditioned you?" "...You''re not entirely wrong, but watch your wording."


    That said, the fact that I turned out the way I am was due to this troublesome predisposition of mine. The days I spent before meeting Siesta must have affected me, too.


    "But in that case¡ª" Out of nowhere, I felt a soft tug on my jacket sleeve. "It''s your fault this happened to me," Mia whispered, half a step behind me.


    In the moonlight, on a sidewalk illuminated by streemps, I turned back. Our eyes met.


    "I''ll say it as often as I have to: It was your fault I left my room. It''s your fault that I got pulled into all this awful trouble. And also...it''s your fault that I''ve started wanting, just a little, to change the future. All of it. It''s all your fault. And so..."


    Mia Whitlock looked up at me. "Take responsibility, all right?"


    Her expression was troubled, and yet it also seemed somehow hopeful. It was the most human look I''d seen on her face all day. It actually struck me as beautiful.


    "Yeah. I''ll take responsibility. Whenever you want, as often as it takes." Now we were aplices.


    The guy the gods had abandoned at birth and the girl who kept getting unwanted blessings from them¡ªhad just joined forces.


    The enemy we were out to take down was¡ª Sure, I''ll be a little melodramatic about it: <i>the future the gods had ordained</i>. As opponents went, that was plenty.


    For the first time, we smiled at each other, then shook hands.


    "Well, there are a few women I''ve promised to marry, so you''ll probably end up waiting a while."


    "...That ispletely not what I meant, I''m positive you''re lying, and that is not what I meant. That <i>really </i>isn''t what I meant, all right?!"


    While we were still busy with that entertaining conversation, we made it back to the clock tower. We rode the dedicated elevator up, and when we opened the door to Mia''s room¡ª


    "Oh, Kimizuka. Wee back."


    Somebody I hadn''t expected was waiting inside.


    "Huh. You''ve got another cute girl with you. What, is she one of your potential brides, too?"


    "What do you mean ''too''? What''s that about?" I joked with the detective. She''d nced at Mia, then pinned me with a cold look. "It looks you got everything sorted out on your end, Natsunagi."


    Natsunagi was sitting at a table, all by herself, sipping tea. "Yes. Thanks to her."


    A few hours ago, I''d split up with the detective at a graveyard. Apparently, her other partner had helped resolve the Medusa incident.


    "Wee back, Madam Oracle."


    There was another person in the room as well. Olivia bowed to Mia respectfully; she was wearing a ssic maid uniform. "Today deviated slightly from your usual routine. How did you like it?"


    "Olivia, you dummy." With a light <i>thump</i>, Mia buried her face in Olivia''s chest. That gesture described their rtionship eloquently.


    "And you, Mr. Kimizuka. I''ve caused you rather a lot of trouble." "You sure have."


    Olivia was wearing a salesman''s smile. Taking out my wallet, she handed it to me. When I checked the contents, the master key was in there as well. Geez. In terms of these past few days, it looked as if the Oracle''s attendant had been the brains of the operation, rather than the Oracle herself.


    "So now everyone''s here." Smiling, Olivia poured tea for Mia and me, then motioned for us to sit. "Ignore me, if you would. Please discuss the matter at hand." She took a step back, then stood there quietly.


    The matter at hand would be the reason Natsunagi and I hade to see the Oracle. We were here to have Mia observe a future where Siesta came back to life. At this point, I knew Mia''s ability only worked for phenomena big enough to seriously affect the world, but Siesta was a Tuner, one of the world''s guardians. Her life or death would probably count.


    "Let me ask you again." The Oracle herself was the first to speak. "The two of you truly intend to reim the Ace Detective, correct?"


    Mia, who''d seated herself at the head of the table, looked straight at Natsunagi


    and me.


    Did we really have that sort of determination?


    Did we intend to forge our way through conflict after conflict in order to work a near-sphemous miracle?


    She was asking us about our resolution, in her capacity as a Tuner. In response, I said, "If there really is no such route in the futures you observe, then we''ll give up."


    ¡ªStill.


    "If there''s even one solitary route on the far side of an infinite stretch of hell, we''ll clear away every obstacle to it with our own hands. That''s our ambition."


    Even as I said it, I thought I sounded way too cool. But it was all papier-mach¨¦.


    I needed to bluff, but I was sure we''d never have a chance. And that was why I issued a deration to one of the world''s enforcers, as if I were the protagonist of this story or something.


    "We won''t just wish. Today, starting now, we''ll take action." Natsunagi made her own oath to the Oracle with no hesitation, even though she''d never seen her before this evening.


    "No matter what it costs you?"


    "Yes. Unfortunately, we''ve alreadye too far to turn back," I said. Right. I''d already paid the price when I swallowed the seed that day.


    I didn''t n to tell Natsunagi or anybody else straight-out, but I was prepared to offer anything¡ªone of my five senses, or even my life¡ªto the nt that had made its home inside me. Unless I put that much on the line, I knew this wish of mine would nevere true.


    I''d conveyed my determination to Mia without putting it into words, and she focused her eyes on me. "Vampires may exist here, but it''s still impossible for humans who''ve died toe back to life just as they were. That means I can''t observe the future of the deceased, and there''s no point in attempting it. However..."


    There was a rather ephemeral beauty in her smile.


    "Kimihiko Kimizuka¡ªif you really desire to be the world''s singrity, then perhaps..."

 Chapter 75 - 3.4

    <h4>Chapter 75: Chapter 3.4</h4>


    <strong> A letter from the Ace Detective</strong>


    "Not fair."


    Walking down Baker Street at night by myself, I sighed.


    At the end of our meeting with Mia Whitlock in the clock tower, she''d said, "I have something important to discuss with my fellow Tuner." As the new candidate for Ace Detective, Natsunagi had stayed, and they''d chased me out.


    In the end, Mia hadn''t given us a definite answer about whether or not there was a future where Siesta came back to life. At the very least, though, negotiations hadn''t broken down.


    "I''ll have to ask Natsunagi about it when she gets back."


    I was sure that was what they were talking about at this very moment. Forcing myself to be content with that idea, I headed home on my own. I wasn''t bound for the hotel, though.


    I was on my way to achieve the trip''s original objective. "¡ªWow, that takes me back."


    I''d walked down this street a year ago, too. Only back then, someone else had been there with me.


    We''d looked at the clothes in the shop windows. We''d gone shopping for dinner fixings at the supermarket. We''d had tea at her favorite caf¨¦. Everywhere I looked, I saw traces of her on this street.


    As I walked through those familiar sights, an old mixed-use building came into view on a street corner. Siesta and I had used one of its apartments as our office and living quarters. The building had no elevator, so I took the stairs up to the third floor. A little hesitantly, I pushed the key in and turned the doorknob.


    "I''m home."


    I knew no one was there.


    Even so, out of habit, I told the empty room I was back.


    When I opened the curtains, moonlight shone in, illuminating the room. The dining table, the sofa, and all the rest of the furniture was right where we''d left it. Just the way it had been a year ago, when we''d left for SPES''s hideout to rescue Natsunagi. When I''d lost Siesta that day, I''d gone straight back to Japan. It was like I was running away.


    "This ce is really tidy."


    I''d thought the room would be dirtier, but there wasn''t a speck of dust anywhere. There were no empty pizza boxes, no snack bags scattered around. Our matching teacups had been put away in the dish cupboard, where they belonged. Siesta must have cleaned it thoroughlyst year before we left. She''d known we wouldn''t being back.


    I headed for the bedroom. That had been Siesta''s room, and there was a bed


    and a small study in there. The desk had a little locked drawer. "That''s right. This is it."


    I remembered the conversation I''d had with Siesta about that drawer, a bit over a year ago.


    I''d gone into her study on an errand, and I had seen her sneaking something into that drawer. Then, she''d promptly locked it and tried to make me deduce what was inside¡ª


    <i>"If you want to know what''s in here so badly, why don''t you try making a deduction for once? If you can, that is."</i>


    <i>"If you''d go that far to avoid telling me, then it''s gotta be you-know-what. I heard rumors your three great drives are stronger than other people''s, Siesta, so it''s a fairly hard-core porn magazine..."</i>


    <i>"Are you stupid, Kimi?" "Man, that''s not fair." "I''m not you, all right?"</i>


    <i>"Ouch. You didn''t have to hit back that hard."</i>


    <i>"This isn''t like the hidden folders on yourputer, okay?" "Hey, how much do you know?!"</i>


    <i>"You really shouldn''t rename your folders with the titles ofplicated- sounding English dissertations. It''s really shortsighted."</i>


    <i>"Yeah, let''s not talk about this. I''d really prefer we stopped talking about this right now."</i>


    <i>"It might work with other people, but it won''t work on me. I just thought it looked interesting, and I peeked inside."</i>


    <i>"So I should have named it something that wouldn''t grab your interest...?</i>


    <i>Like ''100 of the Latest Hot Instagram Spots'' or something?" "What I am trying to say is..."</i>


    <i>"?"</i>


    <i>"...Don''t spring those vivid images on me like that.''"</i>


    Siesta had murmured the words very fast. Unusually for her, she''d blushed and looked away.


    "...Okay, that''s not even relevant. I need to stop reminiscing."


    Mentally changing gears, I took out the master key I''d inherited from Siesta and turned on the orange fluorescent light. The key was one of Siesta''s Seven Tools; I''d heard it would open any lock easily. She''d used it to get into my apartment, back when we''d first met.


    "Don''t let me down, Siesta," I prayed, then stuck the key into the lock. There was a good possibility that she''d left a hint regarding the fight with SPES here, as her legacy. However, the past Siesta probably hadn''t known everything about SPES, either.


    Even Mia''s irvoyance, which Siesta had counted on, wasn''t perfect. Mia had said as much herself. That was why Siesta had taken that risk. In order to keep me from realizing how it would end, she must have avoided telling me anything important during those three years. Now that I''d finished the homework she''d given me, though, I was sure she''d cooperate. On that thought, I turned the key, opened the drawer, and¡ª


    "A letter?"


    The drawer held a single letter.


    The envelope was sealed with sealing wax. I opened it with a letter opener, then took out the stationery.


    It was a letter to me, and it began with "To my assistant."


    <i>"Are you stupid, Kimi?"</i>


    "...Not fair."


    For some unfathomable reason, she''d yelled at me in the very first line. What had I done, huh? Pulling myself together, I let my eyes go to the second line.


    <i>"Trying to uncover a girl''s secrets? That''s a huge turnoff, frankly. Even now, as you''re reading this¡ªwhat sort of methods did you use? Just imagining it is scary."</i>


    "What''s wrong with you? I was legit about this."


    <i>Because you used that maid to give me the key, all right?</i>


    <i>"That said, I think the fact that you found this means you wanted to get your hands on ''that information,'' even if it meant going this far."</i>


    <i>There we go, this is it. Yes, you called it. I want to know the information on SPES that you left behind, and how to defeat Seed.</i>


    Getting my hopes up, I read the next line.


    <i>"Of the two, I prefer strawberry shortcake to Mont nc."</i>


    "Ipletely could not care less!"


    I came really close to flinging the letter across the room. Seriously, what was wrong with her? There was no way I''de to London just to learn a thing like that after all this time<i>... And I seem to recall, Siesta, when you made me go buy those two desserts, you ate both of them. Mine included.</i>


    <i>"Jokes aside..."</i>


    "I didn''te here to do aedy routine across space-time with you, either, all right?"


    <i>"...I''ll set down my observations on SPES and its leader Seed here."</i>


    Finally, she got to the main topic.


    The letter continued on the second sheet of stationery.


    <i>"When you''re reading this letter, I presume you''ll have a certain amount of knowledge regarding SPES. Therefore, I''ll omit the details about that. My hand would get tired otherwise."</i>


    ...Setting aside that grade schooler¨Clevel excuse, Siesta''s presumption was correct. Now that I''d recovered my memories of meeting Seed and had learned about the Tuners, I''d be able to follow her story to a certain extent.


    <i>"First, the premise: Seed is the progenitor of all of SPES. I believe that if we defeat him, the production of pseudohuman clones will cease, which will propel SPES toward destruction. Therefore, our goal must be to defeat Seed."</i>


    Good, that matched up with what we were trying to do.


    That''s why we''de here looking for information about Seed.


    <i>"However, at present, Seed doesn''t seem inclined to show himself. We can conjecture that he doesn''t want to make any eye-catching moves, and that he doesn''t desire war. His wish is simply to satisfy his survival instinct, and only his subordinates aremitting acts of terror."</i>


    When Ipared that supposition against what I''d learned so far, it made plenty of sense. Seed hadn''t personally taken action. Instead, he''d made Hel and the other executives do all the conspicuous stuff¡ªand it had all been designed to get Siesta, his candidate vessel, onto the battlefield.


    He''d cultivated Siesta through battle...or maybe he''d boosted the survival instinct of the seed that was sprouting inside her by making herpete with Hel. That had been what would synchronize her with him, the primordial seed.


    <i>"Since Seed can''t adapt to Earth''s environment, he''s seeking a human vessel. Hel and I are at the top of his list... But what prevents him from adapting to Earth, specifically? If we can determine that, it could prove to be his Achilles'' heel."</i>


    ...I see. Yes, that was true. Exactly what about this was so hard on Seed? That would be the key to taking him down.


    <i>"It could be water, for example, or some element of the air, nitrogen or oxygen. Can we assume that his weakness is something Earth has in abundance, but which didn''t exist on his home or in outer space?"</i>


    Siesta''s observations continued on a third sheet of stationery.


    <i>"The Vampire seemed to have some sort of hint, but when we negotiated, I wasn''t able to pay the price he requested, so I was ultimately unable to get it out of him. You be careful of that man, too."</i>


    So Scarlet really had been involved. What would that narcissistic vampire have asked for? He''d better not have told Siesta to offer herself. If he did, next time I see him, I''ll ughter him in his sleep.


    <i>"One more important thing: I said that Seed tended not to show himself, but I did fight him once. It was four years ago, on that ind."</i>


    Four years ago. But this letter had been written a year ago, which would make it five years before now. Siesta had been at the SPES facility six years ago. Had she attempted another attack on Seed, one yearter?


    <i>"However, you couldn''t really call that a fight. Seed''s strength was overwhelming. In terms of raw strength in a fight, he''s probably equal to the Vampire or the Assassin; he may even surpass them. I was utterly defeated, and I fled from that ce."</i>


    Seed was at least as strong as a Tuner. Back then, Siesta had still been a kid; she could never have been a match for an opponent like that. Seed had probably only let her escape because she was a candidate vessel. He''d been counting on her growth.


    <i>"A little while after that, I met a girl named Mia Whitlock who could see the future. Mia became a Tuner, and she looked up to me as one with more experience. She worried about me, and one day, she made an exception and showed me what was written about SPES in the sacred text."</i>


    And what had Siesta seen there...? It must have been what Mia had told me about on the bus. At first, the sacred text had told of a future in which Siesta was defeated by SPES, and Hel became Seed''s vessel.


    <i>"That experience showed me that overturning the future and defeating Seed would require extremely careful nning. I knew I would need more information about SPES. That''s why I spoke to you that day, up in the air."</i>


    That had been four years ago¡ªfar overhead, at ten thousand meters.


    Siesta, who''d made me carry her gun onto the ne, had intended to make me her assistant all along.


    I was sure there was just one reason: <i>this predisposition </i>of mine. With me around, incidents¡ªand SPES¡ªwoulde to her.


    <i>"Then I got a little careless and took a nap, so I wasn''t able to exin the n properly."</i>


    <i>Look... Do you have any idea how freaked out I was back then? First, I got</i>


    <i>pulled into a hijacking out of nowhere, and then I ended up in a fight with a pseudohuman.</i>


    <i>"But you managed to follow me just fine. You did even better than I thought you would, actually. More than anything..."</i>


    I turned to the fourth sheet.


    <i>"...talking to you was fun."</i>


    "Are you a moron?" I caught myself retorting out loud.


    <i>"The next thing I knew, I''d ended up dragging you all over the ce with me for three whole years. I''m sorry."</i>


    I''d heard that apology before, when Siesta temporarily took control of Natsunagi''s body.


    ...Sheesh. I''d told her not to say she was sorry.


    <i>"It''s likely that I''m still causing problems for you. If you need this letter, it means that I''ve failed to kill Seed. I think I''m causing a great deal of trouble for you, and probably for your currentpanions as well. As the Ace Detective, and as a Tuner, the fact that I wasn''t able to ensure that justice was served is more shameful than anything. At the same time, I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart to you who were left behind."</i>


    The letter was four pages in all. This was how she ended it.


    <i>"Finally, while I''d like to outline specifically what you should do next, even I can''t urately predict the future a year from now. In particr, due to that predisposition of yours, the environment that surrounds you changes by the day. It''s very likely to be doing something even the Oracle can''t predict. That being the case, as I close this letter, I''ll ce the faintest of expectations on you. I look forward to seeing you choose a future that would never ur to me."</i>


    That was the end of the letter. It was just like Siesta to finish that way. By saying she couldn''t begin to predict what I''d do, she left things up in the air, and yet she did seem to have realized that whatever future we chose would be pretty wild.


    "Too bad, though. Of all the unexpected futures, the route where youe back to life must be the one you expect least."


    With a littleugh, I dropped onto Siesta''s bed, theny there on my back. Come to think of it, I''d spent the night with her one time, when she''d gotten drunk. And after that, we''d had that huge fight... Geez.


    "Hurry and wake up, Siesta."


    <i>Then let''s fight again, and feel all awkward, and one of us will give an embarrassed apology, and we''ll eat pizza and cake, and drink tea, and have really dumb conversations. </i>As I thought about that... I felt as if, right now, I might be able to dream about it.


    There on the bed, I softly closed my eyes.


    <strong> On a moonlit night, you vow</strong>


    Something smelled sweet.


    It was a fragrance like rose perfume, somethingforting and reassuring. "Oh, you''re awake."


    When I woke from a world of darkness, I saw a girl''s face right next to me. "...What are you doing, Natsunagi?"


    I''d only meant to close my eyes for a minute, but apparently, I''d conked out. "Watching you. You were snoozing as peacefully as a baby."


    "Don''t just get into a bed where a guy''s sleeping." "Did it make your heart skip a beat?"


    "Well, being in Siesta''s bed with you is making me sweat, but not for the reasons you might be thinking."


    Siesta would probably belt me one without saying a word. In a dream, for example.


    "And? Why are you here, Natsunagi?" Had she and Mia finished their talk? "Actually, how did you get here? Did you take a taxi? It''s not safe to walk around by yourself toote at night."


    "...Huh! So you''re worried about me."


    The room was gloomy, but I could tell she was smiling at me. <i>Fine, I get it, just quit smirking.</i>


    "Well? Did you find what you were looking for?" she prompted.


    "Yeah, Siesta left us a letter with a hint. Starting tomorrow, it looks like we''ll be adjusting the n a little."


    That said, our n still wasn''t clear. To be honest, I wanted to get Natsunagi''s input, too. However, right now... "How did things go on your end?"


    I propped myself up on one elbow. She was lying next to me. While I''d been here, reading the letter, Natsunagi had been discussing the possibility of bringing Siesta back to life with the Oracle.


    "Mm-hmm. It''s all right."


    Natsunagi nodded. Her expression was sincere. "The Oracle said that that future, or the possibility of it, definitely exists."


    "¡ªSeriously?! ...Then why did she make me leave by myself back there?" Deep down, I''d been worried that no such route existed, and she''d told me to go because she hadn''t had the heart to tell me that.


    "Oh, that was, um... She said she had to dress formally and make preparations in order to see the future. I bet she was embarrassed about the idea of you seeing her change."


    <i>What''s with that girly reason...? </i>Well, it didn''t matter, as long as it wasn''t the worst-case scenario I''d been imagining.


    "That said, it sounds like she still needs some time to think about specifically what needs to be done in order to make that future happen."


    "I see... Still, just learning it''s possible is an achievement all by itself."


    I''d never thought this wish woulde true in a day or two. We''d probably have to sit down with Mia and talk things over thoroughly. All that aside... "There''s a way to reim Siesta, then? Really...?"


    In that dawn, I''d screamed it.


    I''d sworn at the top of my lungs that I''d bring the detective back to life.


    Part of it must have been delirium. I hadn''t had one single idea about concrete ways to bring that sphemous miracle about.


    ...But there really was a way to reim Siesta? Would I get to see her again someday?


    "Say, Kimizuka." Natsunagi spoke lightly. "Do you want to bring Siesta back to life?"


    "Yeah, of course."


    "Then you really did like her?"


    "I don''t get the connection between those statements." <i>What''s that "then" about, huh? Geez... </i>"She wasn''t my lover, and we weren''t even friends. She was just a business partner."


    "I see. So your love was unrequited." "Hey, don''t make things up."


    "Oh, it''s fine. Treat this like the night of a school trip. Wanna talk romance?


    C''mon!"


    "Why are you so hyper, huh? Knock it off. And I don''t think guys and girls talk about this stuff togeth¡ª Okay, I get it. I get it! Quit poking me all over the ce!" <i>She''s weirdly persistent today. Actually... </i>"Natsunagi, wait... Are you drunk?" I''d thought that scent earlier was perfume, but could it have been


    liquor? Sure, the legal drinking age in Ennd was eighteen, but... "Who knows? All girls have secrets."


    <i>Oh, is that right? </i>Well, she could be hyper if she wanted, but would she do something she might regretter? Would she be tearing her hair out over this tomorrow? (I sure had back then.)


    "And? And? Be honest. What did you really think of Siesta, Kimizuka?


    C''mon, c''mon, I''m the only one who''s listening." Still, Natsunagi kept getting in my face.


    Apparently, she wasn''t going to let me go that easily<i>... Man, I guess I''ve got no choice. </i>"I said she was just a business partner. Let me correct that." I turned my face away from Natsunagi, looking up at the ceiling.


    "What was she <i>really</i>...?"


    "...A business partner who was just a little bit special." "Yowza!"


    "You <i>are </i>making fun of me, aren''t you!"


    I flipped over and unleashed a ferocious attack on Natsunagi''s forehead. "Ow! Kimizuka, your forehead flicks seriously hurt, all right?!" she


    yelled. I could hear the beginnings of tears in her voice.


    <i>How''s that? Did it sober you up a bit? </i>"What, I thought you liked pain!" "I hate pain with no love behind it!"


    "Ever the proper masochist..."


    <i>I''m begging you, in the future, don''t get stuck with a violent dude or some good-for-nothing guy you need to bankroll.</i>


    "...Haaah. Well, as long as I managed to get those words out of you, I guess it''s okay." Natsunagi seemed to have calmed down a little after all. Murmuring to herself, she sat up.


    "Natsunagi?"


    Sitting on the bed, she gazed at me steadily.


    "Just leave it to me," she said firmly, there in the moonlight.


    "I''ll get Siesta back, no matter what I have to do. I swear on the name of the proxy detective."


    Natsunagi smiled at me.


    Those words seemed so reliable that I thought I wouldn''t mind leaving my entire destiny in her hands.


    Her smile was so beautiful that I wanted to stay right there, watching it, until the end of the world.

 Chapter 76: A certain girl’s recollections

    <h4>Chapter 76: A certain girl¡¯s recollections</h4>


    How many months had it been since the fire?


    "¡ªWhere was this ce again?" I murmured to myself. The room around me waspletely white and empty.


    My parents had died, and the religious group they''d formed around me had broken up. After that, since I had no rtives, some organization that imed to take in orphans had brought me to this facility. Did the significant echo to my voice mean that <i>this was another </i>basement room?


    "I wonder if they''re going to kill me."


    I had the vague idea that they might. For example, maybe they said nice- sounding things about taking care of orphans, but they were actually monitoring me because of my special abilities, and they nned to get rid of me once they''d observed me enough. Either that, or this ce might belong to a different religious group, or I might have been kidnapped and locked up by a criminal syndicate.


    At this point, though, that didn''t matter. My power hadn''t been able to save the people who were close to me. On the contrary, many people''s lives had been ruined because of me. In that case, it was only natural that I be punished.


    If I''d had a solid sense of mission...if I''d had strength, or courage... Would it have changed the oue? If so, I was sure God had given this ability to the wrong person.


    "¡ªIntruder! She went that way!"


    Suddenly, in the distance, I heard an anxious shout. Was it one of the adults who''d brought me here?


    "Sorry, but I can''t leave her to you people."


    Then footsteps and another voice, a girl''s voice, came closer to my room. I heard gunshots. Apparently, the girl was the intruder. Could this girl be a grim reaper who''de to take my life? ...I hoped she was, really. After all...


    "There''s nothing I can do anymore."


    All my ability did was steal others'' futures, their potential. It just broke them. In that case¡ª


    "In that case, want to try using that ability to protect the world instead?"


    Just then, a clear voice suggested the exact opposite of what I''d had in mind. Then she destroyed the wall of that white room with a single gunshot, stepped in, and held out a hand to me.


    "Mia Whitlock¡ªI want you toe fight the enemies of the world with me." That was how I met Boss.


    "Nobody told me I''d be this busy..."


    Finally finished with my <i>duties </i>for the day, I slumped on the room''s sofa.


    By then, that other day felt like the distant past. On that day, the Ace Detective had taken me from the mysterious facility where I''d been kept under house arrest. Now I was living in a room in the tallest clock tower in Ennd.


    "How many more books do I have to write anyway?"


    I''d been moving my right hand practically involuntarily for hours and hours. It felt hot, and it throbbed with a pain like tendinitis.


    Here, my job was to use my ability to prophesy global crises, then write them all down in books known as "sacred texts." From what I''d been told, generations of people who held the post of "Oracle" had been doing this job since antiquity. Now it was my job, and I was carrying out my duties, although I wasn''t used to them yet.


    <i>"You sound pretty tired."</i>


    I wasn''t sure if that was meant to be gratitude or a dig at me as it came from the cell phone I''d tossed aside. It was a scheduled contact from the individual who''d set me up with this job.


    "Yes, as a matter of fact, I''m incredibly tired. Thanks to you, Boss."


    "<i>My, my. Such sarcasm toward your seniors</i>," my caller said, teasing. She''d only been a Tuner six months longer than I had, but she''d told me she was my mentor, and she''d looked so proud of it that I''d given in and called her that.


    <i>"Once again, how is everything? Have you gotten used to your new life?"</i>


    "...Yes, finally, after close to half a year," I told her, heading out onto the balcony with my phone.


    <i>"Are you dissatisfied? I thought you might be."</i>


    "Did I sound like I was?"


    Well, this job was rougher than I''d expected it to be. Sometimes, I got so tired


    I wanted to pitch the whole thing...


    "<i>Still, it''s a great help to me that you epted the position</i>," Boss said with surprising candor. <i>"Remember that global crisis involving SPES that you made an exception and told me about? I can infer the links between the fragmented facts in the sacred text and keep the damage to a minimum. That means you''re definitely carrying out your duty of protecting the world." </i>Her voice was kind. Even though ording to the sacred text, the fate she bore was harsher than anyone''s.


    "...I see." Boss''s straightforward words made me feel awkward and shy...but even so. "Yes. I think this life is a hundred thousand times better than my old one, too."


    I didn''t have to be stubborn with someone who was several thousand miles away.


    "This job will make the best use of my ability. I''ll be able to use it to benefit people. Someday, I might even be able to save the world. And so..." I drew a deep breath, gazing out over the panoramic view from a hundred meters up. The city seemed to be dissolving in the evening light. It was a sight I never could have seen when I''d been shut up in those underground rooms, and I tried to take it in now so I''d never forget. "Thank you for giving me this view," I told the screen.


    I was a little embarrassed, but it was the sort of thing I''d be able to say now, when I couldn''t see her face.


    <i>"That smile ispletely against the rules, so be responsible showing it to boys, all right?"</i>


    "...H-how do I shut this camera off?"


    I''d thought those busy, fulfilling, peaceful days would go on forever.


    One day, though, after my life as the Oracle had continued for another two and a half years...


    "As I''ve told you over and over, I''m against this." I was talking to the usual person, and there was just a little anger in my voice. "I was all right with deliberately letting the enemy steal the sacred text. But so what if it is a chance to trick Seed? Do you intend to sacrifice yourself, Siesta?"


    It was a trap Boss had suggested one day, a way to suppress an enemy of the world known as Seed. Lately, she''d been doggedly trying to persuade me to help


    with that n. Although, the future had been taking a turn for the better, ever since she''d met him...


    <i>"I''m not basing the whole thing on self-sacrifice. That part is just insurance.</i>


    <i>Call it ast resort." </i>Boss gave a light smile, deflecting my sharp questions. "...Then you really don''t intend to die?"


    <i>"I''m a detective. I''m merely assuming various possibilities and acting on them, in preparation for the future you see, Mia." </i>She admonished me, but her tone was mild.


    "But did you tell him about this maneuver?"


    <i>"Who''s ''him''?"</i>


    ...Was I seriously hearing that from the Ace Detective?


    "Come on, you''re always talking about him. The boy you said you''re traveling with."


    <i>"Oh, my assistant? I don''t think I talk about him all that much."</i>


    "Yes, you do, every time you call. What you and your assistant talked about today, and where you went, and what you ate together, and what games you yed. You go on and on about all sorts of things when I haven''t even asked."


    Every time, I''d wondered exactly what sort of report she was giving me, and here she hadn''t even been aware of it?


    <i>"...Is that right?" </i>Abruptly, Boss''s voice went quiet. I thought it was kinda cute; does that mean I lose? <i>"Well, regardless, my assistant has nothing to do with this." </i>Boss had cleared her throat a little, but she''d still decided not to tell the boy about the maneuver.


    "If it has nothing to do with him, why won''t you tell him?"


    <i>"......"</i>


    She wouldn''t answer that one. Even if she didn''t say, though, I could guess. If she was honest with him, she knew he''d try to stop her. Boss knew better than anyone that no one else would ept her resolution.


    <i>"But I am the Ace Detective, so..."</i>


    She wouldn''t yield that point. She couldn''t. As long as she was a Tuner, with DNA that helped her fight the enemies of the world, it didn''t matter how hard I tried to persuade her. I was sure she''d never change her mind. And really¡ªI''d known that since the first time she had made this suggestion to me.


    "Promise me, then," I told her. "Promise you''ll fight all the way to the end.


    That you won''t give up."


    My voice might have been trembling. This should go without saying, but I didn''t want Boss to die. Still...I just couldn''t treat her resolution as a Tuner with


    disdain. And so at the very least, even if she did put that n into action, I didn''t want her to give up on living. It was a selfish wish, but I left it in her hands.


    <i>"¡ªYes, I promise." </i>Boss nodded, lightly but firmly. <i>"Didn''t you know? You wouldn''t think it, but I like perfectly happy endings."</i>


    With a cheerful smile, she told me to keep that in mind.


    "Liar."


    Six months after that, I flopped down onto the sofa face-first and snapped at my now-deceased benefactor.


    "I thought you liked happy endings."


    I would never get another scheduled phone call from her, I knew¡ªand yet my phone was in my hand.


    "Madam Mia, it''s time."


    I heard a knock; my attendant Olivia was calling me. "...I know. I was just checking the time."


    Yes, even if someone close to me died or the world was ending tomorrow, I had to perform my duties. <i>I''m sure the girl who gave me this job would have wanted me to. </i>I silently answered my own question as Olivia helped me change into my costume.


    I only saw the future as it was, then silently wrote it down in the sacred text.


    That was the one routine permitted to me, and the duty I must carry out. "I''ll be back."


    After I''d changed, I made my way to the tower''s balustrade in order toplete my task.


    Bathed in the light of the setting sun, I closed my eyes and cleared my mind of distractions¡ªfuture possibilities that couldn''t really exist.


    It was true that I''d failed. I hadn''t been able to save my precious benefactor. I hadn''t managed to change the future. But if there was just one person in the world who was allowed tomit a taboo like that, it was¡ª


    "The Singrity."


    He dragged the entire world into things. Would he be able to change whaty beyond the future?

 Chapter 77 - 4.1

    <h4>Chapter 77: Chapter 4.1</h4>


    <strong> A journey to take back what we forgot</strong>


    Having gotten results of a sort, Natsunagi and I had left London and were on our way to our next destination, hoping to find a way to subjugate SPES.


    "Ngh, I feel sick...," Natsunagi muttered, pping a hand over her mouth. However, she definitely (probably) wasn''t running me down. She was seasick.


    Out on the rolling waves, Natsunagi clung desperately to the gunwale of a small boat, already groggy.


    I rubbed her back for her. "Are you okay? Do you need to throw up? I''ll pretend I didn''t see it, so don''t worry about that."


    "Throwing up here might ruin my appeal as a heroine, so I''ll hold it..." "You''re hrious."


    I''d been on a boat with Natsunagi before, but it had been a big cruise ship, so she''d been fine that time.


    "I can see the ind already. It''ll be over soon."


    That''s right: We were currently bound for the ind SPES had used as its secret hideout, way back then. We were headed there just to learn more about our enemy Seed. A year ago, thatpletely unforeseen encounter with him had kept us from investigating properly. This time, we might find something useful.


    On that thought, we''d decided to leave Ennd and make for this ind, and so here we were. A certain someone had been kind enough to bring us all the way out here.


    "We should arrive in another fifteen minutes. Detective and Assistant, get ready, please." Olivia, the Oracle''s servant, emerged from the pilothouse. She hadn''t just arranged a flight from London for us; she''d piloted the boat all this way.


    "I had no idea you could sail."


    "Yes. If I apply myself, I can fly a fighter jet as well."


    At that level, I get the feeling she should switch careers from cabin attendant to pilot.


    "Still, I really can''t thank you enough for doing this for us," Natsunagi said,


    even though her face was still pale.


    "It''s all right. Serving my mistress has ustomed me to fielding self- indulgent requests." Smiling quietly, Olivia started back to the pilothouse. However, she soon came to a halt, and she spoke to us without turning around.


    "Besides, I believe you two will create the future Madam Mia hopes for."


    A little while after that, we said a temporary good-bye to Olivia and stepped onto the ind.


    I hadn''t seen this in a year: a small, remote, deste ind that seemedpletely uninhabited. But we headed ind in search of the research facility we knew was there.


    "Walking is tough..." Last year, I''d made this trip on the back of a motorcycle Charlie had ridden like a pro. "What do you say, Natsunagi? Don''t you think it''s about time you got your driver''s license?"


    "Uh, don''t rely on me for that. It''s really more your job, Kimizuka." Natsunagi eyed me with disdain, now that her seasickness had worn off. "Hmm... A guy who''s not interested in cars... I see no future here..."


    "Why are you thinking about a future with me, Natsunagi?" Personally, I''d like to spend my future in the passenger seat of a capable woman''s car. Since I am the assistant and all.


    "Actually, it''s prettyte to bring this up, but," Natsunagi went on, changing the subject beside me, "do you think there''s any new information about SPES left on this ind? I mean, it just seems as if Charlie or somebody like that would already have checked."


    She had a point... Really, I didn''t even have to ask Charlie to know she''d probably made a trip out here. In fact, while I''d spent the past year doing nothing, she''d been hunting for Siesta''s legacy and gearing up to subjugate SPES.


    "Charlie''s not suited to brainwork, though."


    "If she were here right now, she would end you for that."


    ...Well, those were the roles Charlie and I had always yed.


    "Besides, I thought there might be something only we could pick up on."


    I''d lost Siesta on this ind a year ago. I had history here. Meanwhile, Natsunagi had spent her childhood at the SPES testing facility. Considering we both had missing memories, we might pick up on some new fact.


    "I...see." Natsunagi put a fingertip to her chin, thinking. "In that case, before we go to the research facility, there''s somewhere I''d like to stop first."


    She named a certain spot she hadn''t visited in a long time.


    The first trio


    "Is this the ce you told us about earlier?"


    "Yes. It hasn''t changed in six years... Although the ceiling feels a little lower, I think," Natsunagi said, exploring the room.


    We were in the little cardboard secret base she''d known so well six years ago. "This is where the three of us put together our battle n for defeating the


    pseudohumans," she said, picking up one of the stuffed animals that sat by the window.


    The "three" she meant had been Natsunagi, Siesta, and Alicia. She''d said so herself, during the conversation she''d had in the mirror with Hel the other day. The rebellion against SPES had begun here, with those three.


    "Ali had always been suspicious about this facility, and she checked into various things on her own." Natsunagi took a thick file folder off a shelf. The forms inside it were filled with what looked like personal information for the children who''d been raised at this facility. As Natsunagi flipped through them, I glimpsed a photo of a young girl with beautiful blond hair. Had a little kid like her been put through Seed''s vessel experiments, too?


    "Six years ago, though, Ali¡ªAlicia¡ªdied. Then Siesta diedst year. I''m the only one left." Natsunagi bit her lip.


    She had a past she''d forgotten, a mission she hadn''t been able to carry out. I''d steeled myself the same way she had, but I couldn''t easily guess the pressure resting on Nagisa Natsunagi''s small shoulders.


    "I''m sorry for taking up time like this."


    Natsunagi put the folder back on the shelf, then gave her cheeks a sharp smack, pulling herself together. Renewing her resolution was probably part of the reason she''d wanted toe here, to a ce filled with memories of Alicia and Siesta.


    "No problem." I opened the closest cardboard box.


    I''d vaguely guessed I might find a clue in there, but all I found were a few of the small guns Alicia had made.


    "Come to think of it, Alicia made the basic model for Siesta''s musket, didn''t she?"


    "Yes, Ali really could make anything. It was like magic." Natsunagi smiled, remembering.


    She''d been such a noble, courageous girl that just hearing about her made me wish I could have met her myself.


    "Oh, there''s a bomb here. Want to take it along?"


    "...Did your friend have proper certification for handling dangerous substances?"

 Chapter 78 - 4.2

    <h4>Chapter 78: Chapter 4.2</h4>


    <strong>Cross my heart and hope to die</strong>


    Shortly after that, we reached SPES''s test facility. Since this had been their base of operations, I thought information about Seed might still be here, but...


    "Want to walk around a bit?"


    Natsunagi and I explored the building, which looked a bit like a hospital. Not much sunlight made it inside. The rooms were gloomy, and the ce felt deserted. Once I started to think we were wasting time just wandering around aimlessly like this, I was about to head for that other location, when...


    "Natsunagi?"


    ...I realized she was pinching my sleeve between her fingertips.


    "...I''m sorry." There was a shadow in her eyes, and a barely perceptible tremble in her hands.


    ...Oh, right. What sort of ce had this research facility been to her? How had they made her feel here? It was no wonder Natsunagi was like this.


    "It''s okay," I told her. "There are no enemies here to hurt you now."


    A year ago, SPES had already almost abandoned this ce. Then, as Natsunagi herself had said, Charlie must havee here to investigate. We didn''t need to be that wary anymore; it wasn''t that dangerous.


    "...Yes, I know. Logically, I understand that." But Natsunagi couldn''t get her feet to move.


    She knew this ce was safe as well as I did. However, the pain and fear she''d experienced here long ago had left an indelible mark on her. That was why Natsunagi had unconsciously created Hel: to carry that pain and those memories for her.


    ¡ªIn that case...


    "Here." I turned my back to Natsunagi, then put my hands behind me. "Um... Piggyback?" Natsunagi sounded bewildered.


    Yeesh. Having her spell it out like that was embarrassing. "Well, you know. I can''t give you a ride on the back of a motorcycle, but you can ride me." I prompted Natsunagi to climb onto my back.


    "...Pfft!"


    "Hey, stop. Why are you cracking up?"


    Had she noticed my failed attempt to look cool? <i>Well, I wish you hadn''t. And even if you do notice, don''tugh at people''s failures.</i>


    "Heh-heh, no... I just thought that line couldn''t have sounded more like you.


    Not that that''s apliment."


    "What, it''s not?! Why not?!" <i>Never mind that, hurry and get on. Just standing here like this is embarrassing.</i>


    "If you say I''m heavy or something, I''ll double-kill you." "I do have that much tact."


    "Then okay, I guess... Thanks," Natsunagi murmured in a little voice. Then she jumped onto my back.


    "Huh. You''re in better shape than I expected."


    The whisper hade from right behind my ear. "¡ªHel, huh?"


    The voice was pitched a little lower than Natsunagi''s, and then there was the way she phrased herself. I apparently had Natsunagi''s second personality on my back now.


    "Why are you here? You can juste out on your own like that?"


    "This is a special case. As you know, this ce is a little <i>difficult </i>for my master."


    Had Hel emerged because she''d picked up on Natsunagi''s fear? Just as she''d always taken on her pain and suffering for her?


    "I thought I''d gotten her calmed down pretty nicely."


    "No, have somemon sense. Piggybacks won''t work. Reallyme. My master is kind, so she went along with you so she wouldn''t hurt your feelings, that''s all."


    She''d just dropped aplete bomb. She had to be kidding. Was Natsunagi always looking out for my feelings like that? I''d thought we''d been having fun conversations; had it all just been in my head? Girls'' mental ages might be higher than they looked...with the exception of Charlotte Arisaka Anderson...


    "No, wait. In that case, why are you still on my back, Hel?" I thought piggybacks wereme.


    "Oh, I just didn''t want to go to the trouble of getting down. Besides..." Hel gave a wry smile. "I thought it might be all right to act as your partner, just this once."


    Come to think of it, I remembered she''d tried to get me to be her partner at one point...although I couldn''t imagine the words in the sacred text had been written with this situation in mind.


    "And you helped Natsunagi out yesterday, too, didn''t you?"


    She''d told me that Hel was the real reason the Medusa incident had been resolved. Over my shoulder, I thanked her for giving my partner a hand.


    "I swear. You have two Ace Detectives, and yet you lean on me." Right by my ear, Hel gave a faint, resigned chuckle. "I don''t have a powerful sense of justice or strong passions that aren''t swayed by circumstance, the way those two did. However, there are apparently ces where devils can prove valuable by being themselves."


    Her self-deprecation wasn''t genuine self-loathing. Hel had once called herself a monster, but she''d been saved through her conversation in the mirror with Natsunagi. Natsunagi had told her that she certainly wasn''t a monster or devil¡ª she had always been particr about love. That being yanked around by trivial emotions proved that she was human.


    "Well, I don''t think it''s the sort of move we could use again and again. In any case, my master is quite strong now, even without me there," Hel told me.


    "If you can surface in Natsunagi''s body, then what about Siesta? Could shee out anytime she wanted to?" I asked as I walked along, piggybacking Hel.


    "That Ace Detective and I have different <i>origins</i>, so it''s hard to say for certain," Hel hedged. "Even so, I can''t see her taking control of this body again. She probably decided it was all right to loosen my <i>bindings </i>to a certain extent, and the relief sent her into a deeper sleep. Besides..." She drew a small breath, right next to my ear.


    "Hel?"


    "...Oh, it''s nothing. I just thought that the Ace Detective really is the only thing you think about, in any situation," Hel whispered, making fun of me. Geez, that''s extremely unfair.


    "What, are you jealous?" "I''ll drop you into hell."


    "Why are you harsher than the detectives...?" Her threats made "stupid" and "double-kill" seem cute.


    "Since you''re a human who''s been kind enough to get close to my master, I''m simply trying to secure you as her partner. I personally have no interest in you."


    "I''m calling BS. You fought over me with Siesta."


    "Why are you the princess?" Hel exhaled, sounding rather appalled. She''s able


    to show all kinds of different emotions now, huh. "As a matter of fact, I''m intensely irritated with you right now." This time, her voice was cold. "You''re free to love that Ace Detective, but¡ª"


    "I don''t love her."


    "¡ª<i>But</i>," Hel repeated firmly, cutting me off.


    "If you make my master cry, there will be consequences."


    Those were Hel''s unwavering feelings toward Natsunagi. Even if it meant getting her own hands dirty, she''d try to protect her master''s life. To her, it was an absolutely changeless vow.


    "Yeah, I know." I nodded without hesitating. I did it for Nagisa Natsunagi''s sake, of course.


    Either that, or for Hel, who might have be my real partner on one of those countless potential routes.


    "That''s a promise, then," Hel said. She put her lips right up next to my ear. "If you lie¡ªI''ll double-kill you."


    In a voice that numbed my brain, she made a promise for two people with me. "...Huh...? I..."


    The next moment, the voice I was used to came back.


    "Are you okay, Natsunagi? We''re almost there," I said over my shoulder. "Ah... Oh, yes... I see."


    She must have realized why her memories of the past minute or so were missing¡ªbut her sigh carried a hint of relief.


    "Oh, sorry. You''ve been carrying me this whole time."


    "Don''t worry about it. Your boobs are touching me more than I figured they would, though."


    "Didn''t you say you had tact?!"


    Forging ahead with Natsunagi still on my back¡ªwhile she hollered at me to put her down¡ªI stepped into the elevator that went underground.


    "Does this thing still work?"


    "I dunno. It didst year, but..."


    This was the elevator Charlie and I had taken to the basement a year ago.


    Down there, we''d encountered Seed, the leader of SPES. "Hmm?"


    However, the instant the elevator doors shut, it was obvious that this time would be different. Orange light streaked across the inside of the mechanical box


    in a mazelike pattern¡ªand then the floor buttons stood out like 3D images. "...So we''ve got two options, huh?"


    Only two floor numbers were disyed: B1 and B2. I didn''t know why this system had activated, but...I didn''t think the B2 option had been therest time.


    Thinking I''d go with the safer option first, I pressed B1¡ªand, with a dull


    <i>clunk</i>, the elevator began descending.


    "Listen, if this still has power, isn''t there a chance that someone''s here?" Natsunagi whispered uneasily in my ear.


    Yeah, it might be a good idea to prepare for that contingency. But we''d only brought the bare minimum of weapons with us. Natsunagi had left the musket on the boat. The tension around us was rising.


    "Natsunagi, can you walk on your own?"


    "Yes, we''ll have to be ready to run, just in case." "Yeah. Also, you are getting a little heavy." "You know, I may actually hate you, Kimizuka."


    While we were talking, the elevator reached the first basement.


    This was the research facility''s core, and the ce where we''d both encountered Seed: six years ago for Natsunagi, one year ago for me. Although there shouldn''t have been any members of SPES here, what we found was¡ª


    "...! Why are you here?"


    The room held rows of culture tanks, and inside one of them was¡ªthe body of a familiar white-haired detective.

 Chapter 79 - 4.3

    <h4>Chapter 79: Chapter 4.3</h4>


    <strong>She''s there, beside me, always</strong>


    "Siesta!"


    Without stopping to think, I ran to her.


    The contents of most of the cylindrical culture tanks weren''t visible from the outside. However, one tank was filled with white smoke, and in it, I''d glimpsed a face I knew and loved.


    Pale silver hair. Long eyshes, made obvious by her closed eyes. And beauty that could only belong to one person. I was positive: Her name was¡ª


    "No, don''t look!"


    "Ow-ow-ow-ow! Your finger! It''s digging into my eye!"


    Natsunagi had covered my eyes tightly from behind, and it felt like she was trying to crush my eyeballs.


    "What the hell are you doing?!"


    "Siesta''s not wearing anything! Don''t look!"


    ...Ah, I see. I hadn''t noticed at first nce because of the smoke, but apparently, she was naked.


    "What''s she doing here, though?"


    Putting a little distance between myself and the tank, I thought.


    Siesta had died a year ago. However, her body had been put in frozen storage, then equipped with an artificial intelligence and reborn as SIESTA the maid. SIESTA''s artificial heart had been damaged inbat the other day, and she''d been transported to a hospital.


    "She''s supposed to be in treatment now..." Just as I was wondering about that¡ª


    <i>"Yes, and this is the hospital, Kimihiko."</i>


    A third party had spoken.


    Involuntarily, I looked at Natsunagi. Her eyes had widened, too, and she was looking around the room.


    <i>Don''t tell me¡ª </i>As I turned back to take another look at the girl who was asleep in the tank...


    <i>"Where are you looking? I''m here. Right here."</i>


    The voice wasing from the breast pocket of my jacket. My smartphone was in there. I took it out a little apprehensively, and...


    <i>"Are you stupid, Kimihiko?"</i>


    There was a girl in a maid uniform on the screen, and the first thing she did was call me names.


    "...What are you doing, SIESTA?"


    The white-haired girl was elegantly drinking tea, as if she was living there inside the phone.


    <i>"Why so surprised? I am merely an artificial intelligence, so I''m able to migrate myself to digital devices."</i>


    "When did you hack my phone...?"


    <i>"I haven''t. I''m just sending my data to it via Bluetooth."</i>


    "Easiest move ever!"


    Had I enabled the connection by entering the room where her main unit was? "Huh... Then if I sent an email to one of the facility''sputers, could you


    read it, SIESTA?"


    <i>"Yes. By all means, Nagisa, let''s discuss topics like ''What''s the fifty-third thing you can''t stand about Kimihiko?''ter on. I think it will be fun."</i>


    "Don''t hostedy events with terrible themes, and don''t think of fifty things you can''t stand about me!" ...Yeesh. I never thought I''d be forced to dish outebacks in a ce like this. "By the way, where did you get that tea you''ve been drinking?"


    <i>"Virtual goods purchase function. You''ll be billed for it at the end of the month along with your phone charges, so there''s no need to worry."</i>


    "How does that even work...? Haaah. You look like you''re doing well, anyway. That''s great."


    <i>"Yes, thankfully."</i>


    In my hand, SIESTA smiled. Siesta''s physical body was apparently still in treatment, but at the very least, SIESTA the AI was fine.


    "But SIESTA, did you say this was a hospital?" Natsunagi set a hand on my shoulder, peeking in at the smartphone.


    <i>"That''s right. The physician who''s treating me is currently living here."</i>


    Here, at SPES''s former hideout? That seemed incredibly careless.


    <i>"This facility, or hospital, is particrly well-suited to treating irregr entities such as myself. After all, pseudohumans were developed here."</i>


    ...I see. Then it was the perfect ce to treat her. It looked like her doctor was out at the moment, though.


    <i>"By the way, did that key prove useful?" </i>Out of nowhere, SIESTA asked about the master key. The journey we''d been on for the past few days had begun when she''d given it to me.


    "Yeah, it gave us a hint. We still have problems left to field, though." As I spoke, I waved the key at her.


    <i>"I''m d to hear it. In that case, return that key via the tray over there."</i>


    "Could you be any less emotional...? Well, we probably won''t need to use it again anyway."


    Now that Siesta wasn''t going to use it to break into my house, it was probably fine to give it back.


    <i>"And? It''s ratherte to ask, but what brings you two here?" </i>On the screen, SIESTA cocked her head. Come to think of it, we hadn''t exined that yet.


    "Kimizuka and I are traveling the globe in search of information about how to defeat Seed...or something like that." Natsunagi spread her hands in a weary, exaggerated shrug. She''d seemed to be enjoying herself pretty well so far, or had that been my imagination?


    <i>"Oh? Just you and Kimihiko, alone together, hmm?" </i>The corners of SIESTA''s lips curved up slightly, and she gazed out of the screen at Natsunagi.


    "...So, since it doesn''t look like there''s anything else in here, we''ll need to move on." Natsunagi looked away pointedly, scanning the room.


    Yes, the best way to handle the white-haired maid''s teasing was to ignore it.


    There''s no telling who she learned it from, but she''ll mess with you for ages.


    "Yeah, let''s go down one more floor. I want you toe, too, SIESTA."


    Whatever that change on the elevator was¡ªmy gut was telling me that it might lead us to the answer we were looking for. Quietly, I clenched my fists.


    <i>"Yes, that''s fine. However, more importantly, the physical distance between you and Nagisa is even smaller than before. Is it because something happened on this trip, while you were alone together?"</i>


    "You don''t have to tack on a joke now! Go on, focus on Kimizuka! He''s gazing at the elevator and looking resolute, all right?! He has his game face on!"


    "Natsunagi, don''t use my game face as a punch line."


    <strong> And so the enemy of the world was born</strong>


    "So this is their central nervous system, huh...?"


    Gazing at the enormous mechanical system several meters ahead, I sighed.


    Several huge monitors sat in a row against the wall, withputer keyboards and control panels that would have looked at home in a jet cockpit in front of them. We''d gotten back into the elevator and taken it down here, to the second basement. This seemed to be one of the facility''s vital points.


    <i>"I had no idea this existed. Could it be a SPES database?" </i>SIESTA, who was still in my smartphone, gazed at those enigmatic machines with deep interest. It was still only a possibility, but the information about Seed that we needed just might be in there.


    "How do we use these, though? I can''t even tell where the power source is." Natsunagi looked puzzled. Yeah, we''d have to boot up the system before we did anything.


    "¡ªBiometric authentication," I said. Natsunagi''s eyes widened slightly. "I think the mechanism that woke up in the elevator back there might have been triggered by the same sort of authentication system."


    I''d ridden that elevator a year ago, and one thing was different now: I had that seed. The elevator''s authentication system might have mistaken me for Chameleon, a SPES executive.


    "That means there''s a good possibility that we''ll be able to get in that way as well." I walked over to stand in front of the machines.


    I was about to trick the system. "......"


    No response. Okay. Just as an experiment, then, I typed randomly on a keyboard, finishing off with a hard, shy <i>ck! </i>Only the dry keystrokes echoed


    in the silence.


    "...Nothing''s happening."


    I waited another ten seconds, but the machines just sat there.


    <i>"Well, when Kimihiko starts trying to look cool, it rarely ends well. This isn''t surprising."</i>


    "¡ªWhy am I the only one who never gets to be an MVP?!"


    <i>"I''m about...to trick the system."</i>


    "Stop imitating me, stop reading my mind, and stop making fun of all my embarrassing moments!" I said all in a rush at the annoying white-haired maid on my screen.


    "Kimizuka, could you scoot over a second?" Natsunagi waved her hand at me, shooing me away, and took my spot in front of the machines.


    And the moment she did¡ª "...! It...turned on...?"


    For a moment, that orange light flowed through the enormous, keyboard-type control panel, and then countless lines of text began to stream across the disys above it. The biometric authentication had worked...but for Natsunagi? Why? She''d only inherited a seed, like I had... Oh, wait. I get it. She''s not like me. She''s not like any of the other SPES executives, either.


    "It''s Hel. She was the only executive Seed trusted."


    <i>Trust. </i>Since Seed had been nning to use Hel as his vessel, I didn''t think that five-letter word urately described their rtionship. But Natsunagi had used it. It had to be because she knew Hel had wanted Seed to love her.


    "Well, that activated it. SIESTA, can I leave the rest to you?"


    <i>"Yes, now that we''re through the first barrier, I should be able to infiltrate the database."</i>


    Taking the baton from Natsunagi, SIESTA vanished from my smartphone. A momentter, she''d taken up residence in the disy in front of us.


    <i>"It looks as if I can ess a list of the seeds Seed has, the experiment data from the children who were candidate vessels, and various other pieces of information about SPES. Is there anything you''re particrly interested in?" </i>She was shuttling back and forth between multiple screens, pulling out files. It looked like she was physically hacking in.


    "Right now, our main objective is finding out about Seed''s weaknesses." I remembered the letter Siesta had left me in London, the one I''d read beforeing to this ind.


    Siesta had been looking for the specific reason Seed couldn''t adapt to Earth''s


    environment. That should be the key to subjugating him, and it was what we most needed to know right now.


    <i>"I''ll try essing Seed''s personal information."</i>


    With that, SIESTA temporarily winked out of sight. Before long, a 3D model with a geometric pattern on it popped up on the ck screen.


    "¡ªThe primordial seed, huh?"


    That seed was Seed''s main body, and the progenitor of all the clones.


    However, as I watched the model revolve, I could see that the primordial seed was a little different from Chameleon''s seed. There was an outer shell around the main part. What was that shell protecting it from?


    "Seed is nning to take the form of this seed, get inside a human body, then take over and use it as his vessel." Natsunagi looked up at the screen, narrowing her eyes. "He''s tried that and failed many times before. That''s the whole reason he made this research facility: to raise a sturdy vessel that could withstand his seed." She bit her lip. She was remembering her past self, and the friends who''d fallen victim to him.


    As she said, human bodies didn''t adapt to the primordial seed easily. Bat hadn''t even been able topletely adjust to an ordinary seed, and he had lost his sight as a side effect. The primordial seed would probably demand a much greater price, and a massive amount of nutrients, from the body that became its vessel. That meant Seed was constantly searching for a human vessel that wouldn''t let him overpower it, one that wouldn''t wither.


    <i>"It''s likely that Seed became even more powerful in the process." </i>Suddenly, we heard SIESTA''s voice from inside the machine. <i>"I believe that, as he was entering the bodies of living creatures in his seed form, he learned about theirposition on a cellr level...and eventually, he acquired the ability to take on human form. That''s also why he can create clones that have special organs."</i>


    ...I see. Seed had been constantly evolving ever since he reached this.


    That had to be out of obedience to his survival instinct as well. "Even so, he must have a weakness."


    If he didn''t, he wouldn''t want a human vessel badly enough to do something this big. Whatever kept him from adapting to Earth''s environment would be his weak spot.


    <i>"Yes. However, at this point in time, I don''t see any data that fits that description." </i>SIESTA, who''d returned to my phone, shook her head.


    Well, it was never going to be that simple. In that case... "SIESTA, can you check into the past movements of Seed and his clones?"


    Even if the exact information we wanted wasn''t there, with a vast database like this, there had to be something we could pick up on indirectly. If Seed had been using the sacred text to issue orders to his subordinates, it wouldn''t be odd for him to have left a certain amount of detailed data behind.


    <i>"It does appear to be possible...but it''s a bit frightening to hear you say that, Kimihiko. Rather stalkerish, really."</i>


    "Who''d stalk the enemy? Going through the trash of a girl in your grade is one thing, but..."


    "Um, no, it''s really not. And you seem like you just might do that, Kimizuka, so it''s scarier." Natsunagi hugged her shoulders and leaped backward. That''s weird. Why would she be so afraid of me? "...Oh, but wait. If you were stalking someone and going through her trash, would it be because you just couldn''t get her out of your head? Because she was the focus of incredibly intense, hopeless love? ...If so, then...maybe?"


    "No. And I was ying dumb; don''t waste it."


    Even during that pointless exchange, SIESTA had been analyzing the data, and a detailed record of the actions of Seed and the other members of SPES had begun scrolling across the screens.


    "¡ªIt''s Hel." Natsunagi had spotted the name of her other self.


    "She did more than anybody else, huh," I murmured. The screen was filled with Hel''s past actions over the span of several years.


    As a SPES executive, as Seed''s right hand, she''d carried out her work more faithfully than anyone else. She couldn''t have known she was fated to be consumed as Seed''s vessel one day.


    "The other executives don''t seem to have done anything too attention- grabbing, though." As she examined the data, Natsunagi seemed to have picked up on something. She sounded mystified.


    "Cerberus and Chameleon, you mean? Well, they did seem less like the cautious types and more the sort that lurked in the shadows and worked undercover, but... No, hang on." Just then, an idea had run through my brain like a jolt of electricity. "Is that what it is?"


    Looking at the monitors, I double-checked the clones'' action patterns. "SIESTA, look into the histories of Seed and his clones again...and get times, ces, and what the weather was like that day."


    <i>"Understood. I''ll work enough to pay for my virtual goods." </i>SIESTA went back into the database and began essing information.


    "Kimizuka, you can''t mean..." Natsunagi''s red eyes were wide. Apparently,


    she''de to the same conclusion I had.


    "Yeah. We may have found Seed''s weakness."


    Of course, a theory was just a theory. Without sufficient examples and solid evidence, it would probably end as a fantasy. Even so, I''d seen a glimmer of hope. If we could organize the data, deduce and deduce again, then verify it, I was sure¡ª


    "<i>Kimihiko, I''m sorry. I can continue extracting data, but we may not have that much time</i>," SIESTA said from my smartphone. The next moment, I got a call from an unfamiliar number.


    "...With this timing, I think you''d better pick up," Natsunagi prompted me.


    She looked grave.


    I hit the TALK button. "Hello?"


    From the receiver, I heard "<i>Kimihiko? Listen carefully.</i>"


    It was the voice of a girl I''d spoken with just recently. She sounded as if she was trying not to panic.


    <i>"Return home immediately. Within the next twenty-four hours, Seed is going to attack Japan."</i>


    It was the Oracle, Mia Whitlock, prophesying a global crisis.

 Chapter 80: A certain man’s tale

    <h4>Chapter 80: A certain man¡¯s tale</h4>


    "I-I''m exhausted..."


    Sounding faint, the girl sank down right where she was.


    She sang and danced to exhaustion on a regr basis, so she had to be stronger than the average person. If she was whining this much, she really must be close to her limit. In that case, I didn''t have much choice.


    "Let''s go for another hour, then take a break." "How much stamina do you have?!"


    Shaking her streaked hair until it was aplete mess, Yui Saikawa howled like a dog. "Break! Break! We''re taking a break right now! I''m exercising my authority as the family head!"


    Then she sprawled on the floor of the dojo, kicking and iling with every ounce of energy in her little body. Apparently, she was determined not to move from that spot.


    "I''ll wait five minutes, then."


    We''d left Fuubi Kase''s condo, then met up at the martial arts gym at the Saikawa residence the next day. We were now on our third day of special training to awaken Saikawa''s left eye. She hadn''t improved enough yet, though. As things stood, she really wouldn''t be able to go toe-to-toe with Seed.


    "Listen, the amount of visual information you get from that left eye is astronomically greater than normal humans. Use that to watch your opponent''s movements and¡ª"


    "No lectures during breaks! You rest, too, Bat!"


    Getting scolded by a little girl is a pretty rare experience. Savoring the novelty, I retracted my tentacle into my right ear. At the very least, I had to train that left eye until she couldpletely avoid my attacks.


    "I just assumed you''d train me to produce one of those," Yui said, sitting up. "You know, since there''s a seed in me as well. I thought maybe a tentacle would sprout from my left eye... Although that would be a little grotesque," she murmured, looking rather repulsed.


    "Ha-ha! You don''t need to be able to sprout one of these. In fact, you probably shouldn''t."


    Laughing at myself, I started to exin how mine worked. "It may look like a tentacle, but it''s more like a fully grown shoot that sprouted from the seed. I can change its hardness and flexibility at will, and no matter how many times it''s cut off, it''ll grow back. As a weapon, it''s definitely handy."


    "In that case¡ª"


    "Problem is," I interrupted, "if there''s a sprout, it''s proof that the seed''s taken your whole body as nourishment."


    Yeah. These seeds gave humans astounding physical abilities and healing capacity, and some sort of superpower, but in exchange, they demanded a vast quantity of nutrients from their hosts. You gained something, you lost something; Seed''s seeds were a double-edged sword.


    "So that''s why your eyes..."


    That''s right. The seed had taken my sight as the price for my bat ears. There had been others in SPES who''d be <i>half-pseudohumans </i>like me, lost most of their life spans to nourish the seed, and had withered away and died... Really, dying normally might not be the worst option. If the seed ate through its entire food source, and even then, your body couldn''t die...


    "But in your case, youngdy, I doubt you''ll have to worry about that." I wasn''t saying it tofort her. It was unrelenting fact, and that''s how I delivered it. "For better or for worse, Seed singled you out as a candidate vessel. Before that seed¡ªyour left eye¡ªwas nted in you, proper steps were taken to head off side effects. It''s hard to imagine that thing could sprout after this long." The eye disease she''d suffered from when she was tiny had beenpletely healed by the astonishing powers of recovery the seed had given her. The possibility that she''d develop side effects from it at this point was nearly


    nonexistent.


    "...I see. So that''s why Siesta and Hel couldn''t produce tentacles, either, even though they had seeds."


    "Yeah, you could say that''s a condition for being a candidate vessel: whether or not you can keep the seed from going out of control and avoid side effects."


    Meaning when the seed sprouted, you''d get some sort of side effect. Or maybe that was the sign that you already had one.


    "I wonder if Kimizuka will be all right," Yui said in a little voice. He wasn''t even here.


    "He probably had a wish he wanted granted so badly that the risk didn''t bother him."


    In that case, there was no room for other people to butt in. And even if he was


    on a path leading straight through hell, he wasn''t allowed to stop. Not as long as that was the future he''d chosen.


    "Right now, worry about yourself." I''d said she didn''t need to stress about side effects, but that also meant Seed would keep targeting her as a vessel. Until we took him down, her safety would never be guaranteed.


    "Heh. You''re surprisingly overprotective, Bat." For some reason, the sapphire girl smiled at me. "Oh, but no matter how important I am, you shouldn''t fall in love with an idol. After all, you''re not Kimizuka."


    <i>What the heck is she saying? Don''t talk to me like you''d talk to your friends.</i>


    "Ha! You keep bringing him up." However, the next thing I knew, I was teasing her, too.


    "...Don''t hit me where it hurts, please. I specialize in ying dumb, attacking, and joking around."


    I see. Communicating is hard. During the years I''d spent in the vi, I''dpletely forgotten how it was done... Nah, I guess I''ve been like this since I was born. Ha-ha.


    "Still, why are you so protective of me?" she asked, abruptly changing gears.


    That''s a subject I don''t want people looking at too closely, but if I had to say...


    "You probably seem a little like her," I murmured.


    ...It''s not so bad I need to avoid it, either. I was remembering how she''d looked, so long ago.


    "Huh? But I''m Japanese."


    She probably understood who I was talking about.


    Yui had mentioned that because she''d realized she didn''t physically resemble my sister.


    "Right. Of your friends, the agent girl probablyes closest in appearance.


    She has blond hair and emerald green eyes, right?"


    "Oh, yes, you mean Charlie... I see. So your sister''s eyes and hair were the same color as yours."


    Yeah. It had been a cesspool of a family, just rotten all around. In the midst of all that, though, that little kid''s blond hair had shone in the sunlight, and her eyes had sparkled like jewels when she smiled. And she''d smiled at me. ¡ªThat was more than twenty years ago.


    "So you mean I resemble your sister on the inside?"


    "Yeah, that''s about the size of it." As I spoke, I was retracing old memories. "You''re both really brazen, for example."


    "We don''t resemble each other at all, then!"


    "What are you talking about? You''re identical." Including her genuine puzzlement at that remark. "She was impudent and spoiled, and she knew I had a soft spot for her smile¡ª But deep down, she was straightforward and kind, a strong girl who knew how to care about others."


    Because she''d been that sort of little sister, I''d¡ª "Okay, break''s over."


    Before any more little revtions could escape me, I pushed her to get back to training.


    I hadn''t meant to ramble on like that. However, I still had a ton of things I needed to teach the sapphire girl if we were going to be squaring up with Seed before too long. I reluctantly got to my feet¡ªand just then...


    "Bat," Yui called to me. "Is it all right if I talk about him just one more time?" "...What''s up?"


    What she told me next determined our fate.


    "Kimizuka sent a text. Seed''s going toe to us soon."

 Chapter 81 - 5.1

    <h4>Chapter 81: Chapter 5.1</h4>


    <strong>Another storyteller</strong>


    Somewhere in Japan, in a certain abandoned factory... "Bat, are you okay?!"


    As rain drummed on the factory roof, the sapphire girl called my name. She didn''t have to shout it; I could hear her just fine, but apparently my wounds looked ugly enough to really shake her up.


    "...Ha! This is nothing."


    That said, I was practically blind, so it wasn''t like I could see them.


    We''d fled into this abandoned factory, and I leaned against a rusted pir, grinning. We''d left the Saikawa residence and had been on the run from the enemy for more than half a day.


    They''d struck out of nowhere. Seed seemed to want his new vessel more urgently than we''d figured. That said, the guy hadn''t shown himself yet. I''d gotten messed up this bad by a lowly SPES survivor. Apparently, my time in the big house had done a number on my skills.


    "People don''t bleed that much when it''s nothing!" For some reason, the sapphire girl was yelling at me. She''d found a spot where the bleeding was particrly heavy and was trying to stanch the flow with her handkerchief.


    "Which of us is overprotective?" I joked. It was so awkward being taken care of by a girl who was twenty-odd years younger than me.


    "You can''t call this ''overprotective.'' If you were Kimizuka, I''d have to hold you close and pat your head to keep you from bawling."


    What does that guy <i>do </i>with his time?


    "Well, to be honest, having my right ear out ofmission actually is a problem."


    That ear was where the seed was attached. If it was busted, I couldn''t use my bat-like hearing. When the enemy attacked, I would be none the wiser.


    "I guess that''s just what I get for letting that guy get away back then. I waszy. What goes aroundes around."


    The SPES survivor who was chasing us was the man who''d tried to attack the


    sapphire girl with a crossbow at the concert. If I''d had time for a smoke, I guess I should have used it to go after him.


    "Is he a pseudohuman, too? When we were running, I saw something that looked like a tentacle."


    "He''s a half-pseudohuman like me; he just forcibly attached a seed to himself.


    Back when I was still in the organization, I heard his ability was using poison." The arrow that had grazed my right ear had been coated with something toxic.


    What a typically crooked, "survivors on the run" type of move. I couldn''t remember if the guy''s code name had been <i>Jellyfish Man </i>or something a little cooler, but either way, his role in this story was tiny. So maybe that meant I wasn''t wrong to have a smoke instead of chasing him. Ha-ha!


    "I hope Kimizuka gets here soon...," the sapphire girl murmured in a small voice as she patched me up. The text had given us an early warning about the enemy''s attack, at least.


    "You''re awfully honest about your feelings when he isn''t around."


    "...You aren''t allowed to mess with me. You''re a cool older man; you should know these things." Speaking rapidly, she bound my wound tightly with her handkerchief. She''s an open book.


    "Do you really think he''s gonnae back with a way to beat Seed?" I wanted to know if the girl trusted him that much.


    "Yes, I trust him," she said immediately. "That''s why I took the mic instead of the pistol. Because I believed him."


    "...Oh, that''s right." She could say that because she''d resolved to walk alongside her friends, instead of living for revenge. She could smile now because she hadn''t resented, hadn''t doubted. She''d forgiven, believed, and left her hesitation behind. People would probably roll their eyes at that and say she was all talk, but Yui Saikawa would shut them all up with a single mic. She had the strength for it. And I''d definitely never had that.


    "Saikawa! You okay?!"


    Just then, the factory''s heavy door opened. "Kimizuka!"


    The timing was like a reminder that those who had faith would be saved. Although the sapphire girl didn''t stop treating me and run to him, she shouted excitedly at the messiah who''d just walked in. "I''ve been waiting for you for ages... Honestly! We haven''t been able to talk for three days, so I intend to have you thoroughly spoil me. And the fight¡ª I''ll overlook it."


    "Ha-ha. Sorry about that."


    "? Kimizuka, you''re being genuine... I suppose that does happen sometimes." The sapphire girl looked bewildered, but her friend''s return had relieved her.


    Wow, she trusts the guy that much? Should I be jealous about this? "Huh? Where''s Nagisa?"


    "Oh, she''s running a bit behind. She''ll be hereter." As he spoke, I could hear Kimihiko Kimizuka''s voiceing closer. Without my sight or my right ear to help me, it was hard to judge the distance.


    "Sorry. It feels like the handkerchief around my wound ising undone," I told the sapphire girl, indirectly asking her to retie it.


    "Huh? Oh, honestly. You''re a lot of trouble, too, aren''t you, Bat?" ...But for some reason, as she came over to me, her voice was light and happy.


    <i>Sorry, but I''m not giving you this girl</i>, I silently told the guy who was standing in front of us.


    "Bat, thank you for protecting Saikawa all this time."


    "Ha-ha! Hey, I didn''t do it for you." It sounded like a fight over a girl, peppered with jokes. <i>Geez, why do I have to do this? </i>I thought, but I yed my part. "We''ve been enemies since we met, you and I. There''s no way I''d do anything to help you."


    I''d never side with this guy, and vice versa. That''s how it''s always been.


    "But you''ve cut your ties to SPES, haven''t you, Bat? In that case...," Yui said. "Ha! I only joined SPES because there was something I had to do anyway." Let me confess, once again, that I never felt anything like loyalty to SPES. "Long ago, I had a sister who was much younger than I was. The family we


    were born into was <i>the pits</i>, so the day she turned six, she was sent to a certain orphanage so there''d be one less mouth to feed at home. When you live in the slums, it''s amon story."


    As I spoke about the past, I lit myst remaining cigarette, working by feel.


    "I was so green back then, though. I seriously thought I was gonna get out of that dump of a world one day and go get my sister. I didn''t even go to school; I just worked. When I was thirteen, I started doing business under the table, too, so I could make more money faster. Then, while I was working as a mule¡ªI learned about SPES."


    I tipped my head back, blowing a tall column of smoke.


    "Before too long, I figured out that those guys ran the orphanage where my sister was. Thought it was fishy, so I wormed my way into SPES."


    "And that''s why you joined..."


    "Right. However, the more checking around I did, the surer I was that my sister was in danger, and I didn''t have a moment to lose. So I resorted to a forbidden method."


    "You stole one of Seed''s seeds?" This time, the question was in Kimihiko Kimizuka''s voice.


    "Yeah. I figured if I had ears that could hear voices a hundred kilometers away, I''d find my sister again someday. As a matter of fact, I used those to steal information and locate the orphanage...but she wasn''t there anymore. But I believed that if I followed orders and kept flying around the world, I was bound to see her again someday. After more than ten years had gone by¡ª"


    My sister had died.


    "Or actually, I should say she''d been dead all along. I spent more than a decade collecting information, and in the end, I learned that my sister had died in an experiment ages back. That was also when they tumbled to my plot and decided to punish me, ten years after the fact."


    The result had been that hijacking, four years ago. That was how SPES and I had parted ways in earnest.


    "Even then, I didn''t give up. I''d sworn to myself that I wouldn''t die until I''d seen my sister again. See, as I was zipping all over the world as a SPES member, I''d heard a certain rumor."


    "¡ªThe vampire," Yui murmured quietly. She''d seen him, too.


    "Yeah, that''s right. They said he had the ability to bring the dead back to life.


    If that turned out to be true, I''d be able to see my sister again." "But that ability isn''t..."


    "Right. His ability to resurrect the dead wasn''t what I was hoping for."


    Scarlet''s "undead" had lost everything but the strongest instinct they''d had in life. They were nothing but zombies. I couldn''t genuinely get my wish that way.


    "And so my dream finally copsed. It''ll nevere true."


    "So instead, you said you''d cooperate with us?" Kimizuka''s voice asked.


    If my own wish wouldn''te true, had I at least tried to help someone else out?


    "Ha-ha! Hey, c''mon. You think I''m that noble?"


    I''d never taken him for the type to make crappy jokes. I stubbed my cigarette out on the concrete floor.


    "I''ve been wrung out like a dishrag. This is all that''s left of me¡ªmy stubborn mulishness. I wouldn''t even call it a will, really. If I had to give it a name, what''s driving me now is an inner impulse, the petty <i>desire for revenge¡ª</i>"


    My body had recovered a little, and I forced myself to my feet. "Bat...?"


    "Stay behind me."


    I sheltered Yui Saikawa, who''d sounded mystified, behind my back. "The one thing I still had to do was¡ª"


    I pointed my gun at <i>the man who''d been pretending to be Kimihiko Kimizuka</i>


    all this time.


    "...kill you with my own two hands¡ªSeed."


    <strong> Viin</strong>


    I fired with no hesitation, and the bullet punched right through Seed''s forehead.


    ¡ªExcept...


    "I see. So you caught on," he said calmly. He barely even reacted to it. Apparently, just putting a hole in his skull wasn''t enough to stop this enemy from moving.


    However, the tone of his voice and the way he spoke werepletely different from what they''d been before. My blind eyes couldn''t see him, but he''d probably shed Kimihiko Kimizuka''s shape and resumed his own form. I was pretty sure his default had been a youngish white-haired guy.


    "No..." Beside me, Yui sounded dazed.


    Her excellent vision had made it easier to get tricked. The man in front of us was Seed: the father of all the pseudohumans, and our greatest enemy. He could change his shape at will, and he''de to steal Yui Saikawa, his vessel, while pretending he was here to save a friend.


    "How did you know?" Seed asked quietly. My gun was still trained on him. "Yeah, I can''t hear sounds a hundred kilometers away anymore. I shouldn''t


    really have been able to unmask you at this point."


    <i>But too bad, Seed. You''re special.</i>


    "Every cell in my body, every drop of blood, has been yelling all this time. It would never let me miss the heartbeat of my sworn enemy. Even if you run to the far side of hell, this surge won''t stop."


    I fired again, aiming for the spot where I sensed the enemy. "And why would I need to run?"


    There was no sense that I''d hit anything, though. All that came back to me was a cold, emotionless voice. And then¡ª


    "Look out!"


    A light impact ran through my lower abdomen. It wasn''t an enemy attack, though... The sapphire girl? I let her knock me over.


    "...I pushed down an adult."


    "No, that was a good call. You saved me." Patting her head carelessly, I got back up.


    "I see. So the girl has also begun to use <i>my seed </i>properly?"


    I could hear something whirring, cutting through the air. Seed was probably whipping his tentacles around. The sapphire girl had detected the attack before I did, and her quick thinking had kept me from taking a fatal injury.


    "It''s thanks to Bat''s special training, not you," Yui told Seed. "My left eye can read your movements perfectly now...!"


    That was the new way Yui had learned to use her left eye. Ordinarily, when people begin to move, they use muscles in other areas of their body first. The sapphire eye can register these <i>warnings</i>, these little warm-ups, a few seconds early. It''s a feat she can pull off because she''s capable of seeing each individual fiber of her opponent''s muscles. Of course, she hadn''t had enough training yet to use the full extent of her ability.


    "With this power, I can evade any attack. You may be a pseudohuman or an alien, but we''ll never lose to you."


    Even so, Yui bluffed and dered her intention to fight alongside me. And what did I say to that trusty ally?


    "No, you cut and run, right now." I told her, briefly, that fleeing before the enemy was the best move. "I''ll buy time. I can put in that much work. Which means, littledy, you better¡ª"


    "¡ªNo!"


    She must have known I''d say that, too. Even without using that left eye. "What is this? Don''t tell me it''s the ''You go on ahead, I''ll handle this''


    routine? That''s such a clich¨¦ these days," Yui snapped, as if some sort of dam had burst inside her. "It doesn''t suit you, Bat. You sound like a poser. The only people allowed to say that stuff are, like, high school seniors who have that protagonist type of personality: a guy who feels omnipotent to the point where it''s rather cringey, but is oblivious about that. You, Bat, are a cool, older hard- liner who was once our enemy but has been kind enough to take our side, and people like you aren''t supposed to say things like that. Because, I mean¡ª"


    "Get down!"


    Apparently, just this once, my intuition had beaten that left eye. As I shielded Yui Saikawa, the tentacle told me as much by stabbing into my back.


    "I mean, it makes it sound like you''ve decided this is where you''ll die, you know?"


    Yui seemed to be crying.


    That''s strange. I always thought people were happier about it when you saved their lives.


    "Everybody''s got a role to y." The severe pain was trying to make my mind shut down, but I did my best to speak calmly. "Nagisa Natsunagi inherited the previous Ace Detective''s wish and is taking down the world''s enemies. Yui Saikawa, you shouldered your parents'' feelings and keep singing. And I have a mission to be thest one on the battlefield."


    "That''s just... All that, just to protect me...?"


    "...Ha-ha! Don''t get the wrong idea. It''s not to protect you, littledy."


    I straightened up, turning my back on Yui. "I''m staying here for one reason only: to ughter that guy with my own two hands."


    I wasn''t sacrificing myself in order to save somebody. My role was to end my sworn enemy personally, right here.


    "¡ªI see. So you''re a defective variety as well?"


    The next moment, Seed started radiating a miasma-like aura so intense that I didn''t need eyes to sense it. I guessed that countless tentacles were heading my way.


    "Then, as your parent, I must prune you from the vine."


    The tips of those sharp tentacles streaked toward me like whips. ¡ªHowever. "You''re the one who should be cut down, Seed."


    I heard something like spraying body fluid. A sharp de had severed the tentacles with a single stroke.


    "Charlie...!" As herpanion arrived, Yui seemed relieved.


    "I''m sorry. An enemy attack held me up." The blond girl swung her sword, shaking Seed''s fluids off its de. "In exchange, I hunted down all the survivors."


    I see. So she''d dealt with the guy who''d rotted my ear, too. Her arrival was going to make my wishe true now.


    "Can I count on you?"


    "...You mean that''s <i>my role </i>in this situation, don''t you?"


    It''s great that she''s so quick on the uptake. That nasty cop turns out some pretty good agents.


    "...! Charlie, why?!" As her friend picked her up, Yui cried out, bewildered. "I''m sorry, Yui. You can hit me as many times as you wantter." With that,


    carrying Yui Saikawa, the girl who''d showed up to help turned her back on me. "I hope you safely carry out your mission."


    With that ssic agent line, she took off.


    The only sound that still lingered in my ears was the sobs of a young girl. "Is this the development you were hoping for?"


    I thought I could hear something scorching¡ªbut that was a sound I knew meant Seed''s tentacles were regrowing.


    "If so, it was a poor move. If you let the vessel escape when she''s on the brink of death, the survival instincts of the seed inside her will grow stronger, and she''ll be morepatible as my vessel."


    Yeah, probably. The attack on Yui at her dome concert the other day had only been a threat. By exposing her to mortal danger, he''d boosted her survival instincts, making her a more durable vessel. However, that had no bearing whatsoever on this situation.


    "Ha-ha! How many times are you going to make me say it? I stayed here for one reason: to kill you myself."


    <i>I turned the tip of the tentacle that grew from my right ear on Seed.</i>


    "Ah. So that seed isn''tpletely dead yet?"


    No matter how hopeless my position might get, I still had this. A kid killing his parent¡ªthat''s an oddly amusing development, don''t you think?


    ...Ha-ha. Nice. At the very, very end, this got entertaining. At least until the curtain came down, it could be fun to make like the protagonist of this story and act like a hero.


    "Obey thews of nature and breathe yourst." Seed''s countless sharp tentacles sped toward me.


    And, with myst fight staring me in the face, what did I say? "Ha-ha! You''re the one who''s gonna die!"


    Hmm, yeah.


    Apparently, once you''ve been a viin, it''s a pretty hard role to shake.

 Chapter 82 - 5.2

    <h4>Chapter 82: Chapter 5.2</h4>


    <strong> Thest remaining survival instinct</strong>


    Our tentacles struck at each other, their tips aiming for our opponent''s heart, throat, head. I heard spraying fluids and smelled the blood. The fact that my


    tentacle was the same type as Seed''s kept me from falling too far behind. Seed was the original, though, the progenitor of all pseudohumans, and he had every special organ and ability that Chameleon and the other clones had.


    I''d spent twenty years constantly honing my bat ears, but faced with an overwhelming monster like that, I was just a former human. How many minutes


    ¡ªhow many <i>seconds</i>¡ªhad I managed to stay on my feet? "It''s useless. You won''tst much longer."


    Seed''s emotionless voice sounded far away.


    That wasn''t because he actually was, though. My consciousness was fading. I was on my knees, and I tried to get back on my feet by pushing myself up with my right arm. Then I remembered I''d lost that arm already.


    "...Ha-ha! Harsh..."


    Seed''s tentacle had lopped my right arm off at the shoulder. Even as I felt thick, lukewarm blood dripping from the stump, I managed to get up.


    "...<i>But I took your right ear.</i>"


    My tentacle had cut off one of Seed''s ears, and I tossed it aside. I knew it would grow back pretty fast, of course. Even so, the ability that matched mine was the one that would give me the most trouble, so I''d had to take it.


    "Why would you go this far in order to fight?" Seed asked impassively.


    I couldn''t see, there was a hole in my gut, and I''d lost an arm...but I was still on my feet again. He sounded truly, utterly mystified, from the bottom of his heart.


    ...Nah, it wasn''t like he had a heart in the first ce. He was just a seed that had flown here from outer space. There wasn''t much point in trying to have a conversation with him.


    "This thirst for revenge is my ''survival instinct.'' It''s what''s keeping me alive right now," I replied.


    I thought about what those words meant¡ªrevenge, retaliation, vengeance.


    Was there any meaning in those things, really?


    ...I''d thought there was.


    That was why I''d brought them up with the sapphire girl. I''d told her to shoot the enemy who''d killed her parents with a bullet of vengeance. To exorcise her parents'' regrets.


    But she hadn''t. Instead of a pistol, she''d chosen a microphone. I mean, I wasn''t saying she was wrong now, of all times. I didn''t even have the right to.


    The problem was what did that mean for me? What should I do? Right. That''s all this was about.


    "What did you find amusing?" Seed asked, out of nowhere. Oh. Was I smiling?


    The excruciating pain was making my mind hazy, so I hadn''t noticed. "Oh, you know. I was just remembering a line I''d heard somewhere." Revenge produces nothing. Nobody wants revenge.


    Hate only begets more hate.


    I''d wanted to knock down any hypocrite who tried to feed me a line like that. The dead don''t want revenge?


    Who do you think you are, huh? Why are you speaking for the dead? If the dead don''t talk, then don''t you talk, either.


    I''d carry out my long-cherished ambition without taking orders from anybody. "I see. Shall we continue until you meet your end?" Seed murmured, sounding


    faintly disappointed. He''d probably seen the tentacle regrow from my right ear.


    I hadn''t managed to give him the answer he was looking for. Still, talking had never been what I wanted. I wanted mortalbat. It wouldn''t be long before that was over, too.


    "Yeah, but don''t be in such a hurry. You''re meeting your end right along with me, Seed."


    The cell phone inside my breast pocket vibrated, telling me <i>the preparations </i>wereplete. I took out the detonator I''d been hiding and hit the switch. Instantly, the thing that was buried right under Seed''s feet blew up, enveloping the enemy in mes before I could blink.


    You guessed it: I hadn''t run into this abandoned factory because I was losing.


    I''d done my homework andid a trap here to corner Seed.


    "¡ªA bomb, hmm? Yes, if I had been human, that wouldn''t have been a bad move."


    However, Seed''s low voice spoke from the raging mes. And then¡ª "...! Ha..."


    A burning tentacle shot out of the fire, piercing my chest. It seared my windpipe, and breathing got a whole lot harder. I didn''t even know how many holes I had in me.


    "...I guess I really am no match for you." The voice was so hoarse it didn''t seem like mine. Even so, I set my left hand on the tentacle Seed had impaled me with and dug my fingers into it. "On my own, I can''t kill you. I can''t burn you with these mes."


    The primordial seed wasn''t just a nt, and fire that wasn''t at least two thousand degrees Celsius couldn''t burn him.


    That was why <i>we </i>hade up with a certain n.


    It was our first andst team y: We''d use this trap to defeat an enormous evil.


    The tentacle from my right earshed out to bind Seed, zing mes and all. "Bat, do you intend to die here as well?"


    "I almost lost this life four years ago anyway."


    But if this ended up granting the wish I''d harbored for so long...would it mean that white-haired ace detective had fulfilled my request, too? <i>If so, that''s a hell of an ironic twist</i>, I thought,ughing to myself.


    "Sorry, Seed. What''s going to kill you isn''t me or the mes from that bomb." The next moment, the time bomb I''d rigged up to the factory''s ceiling exploded, blowing the metal roof off. And peeking in through that mutted roof


    and the billowing ck smoke was... "What''s going to burn you is¡ªthe sun."


    <strong> Mic and pistol</strong>


    "What is this...?"


    When I reached the abandoned factory Saikawa had told me about, what I saw left me speechless. Except for a few pirs, the building had been demolished, reduced to a pile of rubble.


    "He blew it up... The whole factory..." Natsunagi barely managed to get the words out. She was standing next to me, shielding her eyes from the thick smoke.


    At SPES''s research facility, we''de up with the <i>theory that Seed''s weakness was the sun</i>, and before we''d reached this factory, we''d put together a n. We''d lure Seed to a specific ce, and while Bat was keeping him pinned down, Natsunagi and I would blow the roof off with a bomb, drenching him with sunlight.


    However, to make sure the n seeded, and in order to verify our theory, Bat had acted alone and blown up the entire factory. By now, the fight seemed to be over. The victor was¡ª


    "Bat...?"


    In the midst of the smoke and the flickering mes, a man in a torn-up suit was standing with his back to us. When I looked closer, I realized that his right arm was gone.


    "...!"


    I took an impulsive step toward him, but¡ª "That''s not Bat anymore."


    A girl''s voice stopped me. Right in front of me, blond hair streamed in the wind, and a slim golden sword cut down the tentacle that had reached out for me.


    "Charlie...?"


    Charlotte Arisaka Anderson, agent extraordinaire, held her de at the ready and red at her target. "He''s been taken over by the primordial seed. We blew it. I knew Yui wasn''t the only one Seed could use as a vessel, and yet..."


    "...! Seed''s using Bat as a temporary vessel?" Why? Simple: <i>To protect himself from the sun</i>.


    Just the other day, Seed had plotted to spring Bat from prison and keep him nearby. This might have been what he was after. To Seed, Bat had been <i>emergency rations</i>.


    "Bat..."


    My former rival turned around, his head cocked at an unnatural angle, and fixed unfocused purple eyes on me. Our n, and Bat''s gamble, hadn''t quite managed to finish off the enemy.


    "...! Kimizuka, Nagisa, get back!" Even before Charlie screamed at us, the tentacle that had sprouted from Bat''s¡ªno, Seed''s¡ªback had split into three and attacked all of us.


    "I don''t recall saying I would never hold a pistol again." Just then, a shot rang out.


    There was a short howl, and Seed spat out red blood.


    Slowly, he turned around. Yui Saikawa stood there. Instead of a mic, she was holding a pistol with both hands.


    "I''ll avenge him."


    She gave a sad little smile.


    I was sure the emotion wasn''t simple enough for the word <i>revenge </i>to cover. As she''d sworn on that night, she wouldn''t let grudges or hatred hold her down anymore. Even so, Saikawa had fired a bullet full of determination for herpanions who walked beside her, in order to link our story to the future.


    "¡ªUnless I make time to recover, this is going to be difficult."


    As Seed murmured, he was looking at the new bullet hole in his stomach. Before Bat had be his vessel, had he been able to inflict even a few


    moments'' worth of sun damage on him? Using his tentacles as springs, Seed shot up into the sky. Then he disappeared, his figure melting into the surrounding air. Just like Chameleon.


    Once he was gone, the four of us slowly gathered on a corner of the former battlefield.


    "Is everyone all right?" Charlie asked.


    We hadn''t seen one another for a few days, but we were all so ragged we might have been fighting for years.


    "Yeah, we''re alive."


    ¡ªBut.


    "Just surviving wasn''t the goal, though." What we really wanted was to defeat Seed.


    Yes, the enemy had attacked suddenly, but we''d meant to catch him off guard and defeat him here. We hadn''t been thorough enough. We''d fallen a step short, and our worst enemy was on the loose again. My head began to hang in disappointment.


    "¡ªStill, we are alive."


    I looked up. Was it Natsunagi''s "word-soul" ability?


    No, I was sure that wasn''t it. This was the character she, and only she, possessed.


    "As long as we''re alive, we can keep trying. We''ll fight as often as it takes. We can get back up, over and over and over." Natsunagi was wearing a rather impish smile.


    It was a total clich¨¦. If I''d said something like that, I bet people would have told me it was corny, buting from her, it couldn''t have sounded better. That bothered me, but there it was. Hearing her voice, her words¡ªit turned our focus to the future in a way I didn''t really understand. It had nothing to do with her red eyes or word-soul ability. It was Natsunagi''s passion and her powerful, powerful will.


    "So the sun is definitely Seed''s weakness?" Charlie asked. She wanted to know what had been behind this maneuver.


    "Yeah, Natsunagi and I based that theory on data we found at SPES''s test facility...and Bat put his life on the line to prove it."


    With SIESTA''s help, we''d checked into the movements of Seed and his clones. We''d discovered that any obvious moves they made always happened at night, or during bad weather.


    When I thought back carefully, in London a year ago, Cerberus had attacked


    people for their hearts under the cover of darkness. He''d tried to kill mete at night as well. Later on, I remembered there''d been a sudden downpour on the day Seed had visited our apartment disguised as Ms. Fuubi. And then a month ago, on that cruise ship, Chameleon hadn''t shown himself to us until after sundown, even though he''d kidnapped Natsunagi earlier.


    All these things suggested that Seed and his clones were avoiding the sun. They probably couldn''t live in sunlight. No matter where you went on Earth, the sun was the one thing you couldn''t escape.


    That was why Seed had created SPES, and why he''d had Bat and Hel do the bulk of the work: Their original bodies were human, and the sun didn''t bother them. Then he''d worked on developing human vessels so that he''d be able to conquer the sun himself one day.


    However, this had been no more than a theory.


    ...Until just now, when Bat had risked his life to demonstrate it. "What a pretty blue sky." Saikawa looked up, pensively.


    The rain from earlier that morning had clearedpletely.


    This was a man-made sun break, though. We''d created it to help our maneuver seed. Seed was a cautious enemy; he wouldn''t show himself to us easily. He''d attacked in an attempt to secure Saikawa today, even though it was morning, because thick rain clouds had blocked the sun. However¡ª


    "Yeah, because a thousand missiles erased the clouds."


    It was a technique adapted from cloud seeding, one that had already entered practical use in Russia and several other countries. Military nes were used to scatter liquid nitrogen, dispersing the clouds, while missiles packed with silver iodide destroyed active rain clouds. The redheaded police officer had arranged all that; I''d have to thank herter.


    "Honestly, Kimizuka. You never care about the mood." Gazing at me coldly, Saikawa heaved a big sigh.


    Man, that''s not fair.


    However, I hadn''t seen that expression in ages, and it did make me smile. "We''ve got another reason to fight now," I said, looking at the cigarette butt thaty on the concrete.


    "Bat protected me to the end." Saikawa was gazing at the distant sky again. "I lost sight of the enemy, but my left eye knows which way he went."


    We didn''t need to ask her what she meant. The next thing I knew, Natsunagi and Charlie were both looking in the same direction, at the summer sky.


    Yeah, I know.


    This story began four years ago for me¡ªand now I would end it. "Today, the four of us will defeat Seed."

 Chapter 83 - 5.3

    <h4>Chapter 83: Chapter 5.3</h4>


    <strong>If you swear not to die</strong>


    A sedan was traveling down a coastal road.


    "Charlie, turn left at the next corner, then go straight for a while." "Thanks, Yui. I''m going to speed a bit."


    Charlie was at the wheel, with Saikawa riding shotgun and navigating. Clouds had blocked the sun again, and it had started to rain. The four of us were driving in the direction Seed had gone.


    "We''re really doing this? All on our own?" Charlie nced at me in the rearview mirror.


    "Yeah. There''s no telling what Seed''s next move will be, or what he might pull. Since we know he''s taken at least a little damage, now''s our chance to take him down."


    Ms. Fuubi wasn''t here, and naturally, Siesta hadn''te back to life. To make matters worse, we''d lost Bat, our new ally. However, if we tried to make careful ns, Seed woulde up with another scheme, and any damage we''d managed to do today would be wasted.


    "We''ll finish Seed by ourselves. We''ll wipe out SPES. We''ll end it all today." Siesta had said we were herst hope. We had to do this.


    Today was going to be our final showdown with SPES.


    "That''s okay...right?" I turned to the other three. Come to think of it, I hadn''t checked in with them about this.


    "Of course." Saikawa twisted around, looking into the back seat. "As I said before, Kimizuka, I''m not your right arm, I''m your left eye! I''m sure the next thing this eye sees will be a perfect happy ending!"


    "...That''s great to hear."


    Saikawa might be the youngest one here, but she was the most mature, and she always stuck with me. After learning what had happened between her parents and SPES, she''d ovee her inner conflict, choosing the future over the past. If that future was going to be a bright one, we couldn''t afford to lose this fight.


    "I was nning to do that all along anyway," Charlie said, without looking back at us. "That''s why I came in a car I''d loaded up with weapons."


    "Talk about well-prepared. You must''ve gotten that from Siesta."


    When Charlie said she''d been nning to do this all along, she definitely


    didn''t mean she''d always been on my side. For Charlie and me, though, that was fine. We never got along, but even if we stayed on parallel rails the whole time, as long as we were heading in the same direction, that was enough. As progress went, it was plenty.


    "What about you? Are you okay with this?" Finally, I turned to Natsunagi, who was with me in the back seat.


    "Hmm, well, let''s see..."


    ...I hadn''t been expecting that reaction. Natsunagi stretched, seeming to think for a while.


    "As long as you swear not to die, I guess it''s fine." She turned an oddly mature smile on me.


    "All right. In exchange, if I make it through this alive, you have to do what I


    tell you one time," I joked. The death g was intentional. When they''re this obvious, they do a quick-change into survival gs.


    "Coming from you, that''s scary, Kimizuka... What exactly are you nning to demand?"


    "''NC-17'' is too tame. Brace yourself for ''NC-70'' or so."


    "What kind of adult fun time isn''t allowed until you''re seventy?!"


    "A game of shogi and drinking tea on the veranda while surrounded by your grandkids, maybe?"


    "That...actually <i>is </i>an adult game you can only y after you''re seventy. ... Huh? Wait, so you want us to be together even when we''re old? Was that an indirect proposal...?"


    "Marry you, Natsunagi?.............. Yeah, no."


    "It''s even worse when you refuse after thinking about it! I wasn''t even asking for you to propose in the first ce!" Natsunagi shrieked, pummeling my shoulder.


    Then I realized that Saikawa was staring dully at us in the rearview mirror. "Hmm? This lovers'' spat is even more rehearsed than your earlier ones. Something must have happened in London. Have you made each other into adults?"


    "Seriously. What were you doing while we were working our butts off?" Even Charlie turned cold eyes on us.


    ...Sheesh. They don''t have a clue. We had it rough, too.


    "Actually, forcing me to drive while you two make out back there is extremely annoying."


    "Haaah. Charlie, it looks as if you and I were never on Kimizuka''s list of targets to romance. We''re just sub-heroines."


    "Uh, I never wanted to be Kimizuka''s heroine in the first ce." Charlie rejected that idea firmly, with a straight face. "And I''ll defend that statement to the death."


    "Oh yes,e to think of it, that is true for you, Charlie. You and Nagisa are rather simr¡ªthe way you''re both aggressive, but a little weak when pushed¡ª the difference is that you can''t stand Kimizuka, while Nagisa really loves him. Remembering that makes it nice and simple."


    "Yui, every so often you fling these incredible bombs without hesitating. I''m too scared to look at the backseat right now. I don''t even want to imagine what that remark did to the mood."


    "It''s fine, Charlie. When you''re in a ro phase, the protagonists tend to develop hearing issues, so I''m sure they didn''t hear that remark, either."


    "Kimizuka! Your smartphone rm is going off! It''s loud!"


    "Oh, it''s still set to London time. Sorry... By the way, Saikawa, did you just try to tell us something?"


    "No, nothing."


    "That was magnificent."


    For some reason, Saikawa and Charlie really seemed to be hitting it off, but that rm had been so loud I couldn''t hear them. What had they been talking about, anyway?


    "Are you sure it''s all right to be this rxed, though?" Charlie sighed. She was probably concerned that we were acting so normal when we were headed into our final showdown.


    "It''s fine. It was like thisst time, too."


    This is probably the best approach for us. After all, before Siesta headed into her final battle a year ago, she thoroughly enjoyed her tea, the way she always did.


    "Well, if you''re okay with it, then all right." Charlie gave a fleeting, wry smile. "From this point on, though, no more jokes."


    The tension in her voice changed the mood.


    ording to Saikawa, Seed''s jump should have taken him to this area.


    "Over there!" Saikawa said, pointing. A big bridge crossed the ocean, and on it was a pileup involving several cars. Beyond the ck smoke, right in the middle of the span, stood a swaying figure.


    "Bat..."


    The shape on the other side of the thick smoke belonged to a blond man in a suit. However, Seed was the one inside it...or so I thought. Then again, it was hard to imagine that Seed would wait for us here, without a n. It was more likely that he''d discarded Bat, his temporary, nearly broken vessel.


    "! What should we do? Yui, is Seed nearby?"


    "At the moment, even my left eye can''t see Seed. But he may have turned invisible, so I can''t guarantee..." Saikawa''s expression was grim.


    "Let''s get out. Charlie, stop the car."


    Either way, we couldn''t ignore Bat when he was like this. We got out of the car about ten meters in front of him. There was no one else on the bridge; maybe the monster had scared them off.


    "Bat..."


    I went closer, loading my gun on the way.


    His right arm had been severed at the shoulder, and there were puncture wounds in his chest and stomach from Seed''s tentacles. He was managing to stay on his feet somehow, but he staggered dramatically. His head was down. He didn''t look at us.


    "Kimizuka, be careful! Bat''s not¡ª!" Saikawa screamed. As she''d anticipated, the tentacle emerged from his right ear.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"


    Bat bent backward, howling.


    It was probably the seed going out of control; I''d seen this happen with Chameleon before, during the battle on the cruise ship.


    Not only was he bloodied and bruised all over, but his body had beenmandeered as Seed''s vessel and sshed with a lot of Seed''s blood. As a result, the seed was devouring him from the inside out.


    "I''ll end it now." I walked toward Bat, keeping my eyes on him. "Kimizuka." Natsunagi was watching me with worry.


    <i>Hey, it''s fine.</i>


    <i>Anyway, I have to be the one to do this. It''s not coincidence.</i>


    <i>It''s just that the word </i>destiny <i>doesn''t suit whatever''s between me and this guy. So, yeah. This is probably just¡ªhistory.</i>


    "This is the second time we''ve fought, Bat."


    Then I turned my gun on the man who''d been my sworn enemy for four years.


    <strong>Albert Coleman</strong>


    <i>This is going to be one hell of a fight.</i>


    That was what I thought when I first took aim at my target. Except... "Bat, you..."


    Bat was no longer in any shape to actually fight. That missing arm made it hard to keep his bnce, and he kept falling over. The tentacle that had grown from his earshed around weakly, but even without Charlie''s agility, I managed to avoid it without trouble.


    As a matter of fact, it actually made me hesitate to attack. The fight was so one-sided that I wondered whether I should just finish him off and be done with it. He''d already lost all sense of self. As my former enemy raged feebly, he seemed like one of Scarlet''s undead.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"


    However, even that faltering battle was finallying to an end.


    Bat''s eyes had rolled back in his head, and as he howled, rampaging tentacles burst out of <i>both his ears</i>. The sprouts swelled, their sharp points turning on me. All his remaining strength had to be concentrated in those. That meant this was the end. I fired bullets into the tentacles bearing down on me.


    "...Gakh, ah!"


    They burst, spraying fluid. With a short scream, Bat crumpled to his knees.


    Had I managed to destroy the seed inside him, too?


    "Forgive me, Bat." I pointed my gun at the fallen man''s head. My former sworn enemy, whom I hadn''t seen in four years.


    In a way, the hijacking Bat had pulled that day was what hadunched my journey through the extraordinary. If I was going to call meeting Siesta "destiny," then I really should call meeting him a "fateful connection."


    However, that would end today, too.


    I was going to end it with my own hands.


    All I had to do was put a few hundred more grams of pressure behind this trigger¡ª


    "...Ha-ha. This''s ironic." "...!"


    Just then, Bat slowly lifted his head. Destroying the seed seemed to have restored his awareness. He looked up at me with those sightless eyes, smiling faintly.


    "Bat! Hang on, we''ll get you treated¡ª"


    "Hey, whoa, we were fighting to the death a second ago. Don''t go saying that now. You know there''s no way I''m surviving this," Bat said, ncing at his bloodied body. He gave a sardonic smile. Cracks were beginning to appear in him here and there, as the price of being used as Seed''s vessel.


    "I swear... I thought I''d died at the factory and made myself look awesome as hell, and here I am, a total train wreck."


    As Batughed at himself, I helped him over to the bridge railing and leaned him against it.


    "! It''s okay, you don''t have to talk anymore."


    "Ha-ha! I''m on my way out. Let me talk all I want." Even at a time like this, Bat joked around with that dark smile of his. "That said, my head''s not working so great. I''m pretty sure there was something I was supposed to tell you, but..." His body was crumbling away, starting from the cracks. "Ah, I would''ve liked a smoke before I died... Guess that''s not happening."


    With shaking fingertips, Bat tossed a bloody cigarette away. It must have gotten soaked during the fight. He''d never get that thing lit.


    "Take this."


    Slim fingers held a cigarette out to him.


    It was Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. She and the other two girls had watched our fight y out, and they''de over to us before I noticed them.


    "It belonged to that woman, though."


    I see. She''d swiped it from Ms. Fuubi. Yeah, I was just thinking she needed to knock off her "I''m quitting" scam.


    "Well, that makes it even better. Ha-ha! I''ll smoke it for her." Bat put the cigarette between his lips, and Charlie lit it for him.


    "¡ªThat''s good stuff," he murmured, sounding as if he''d lost himself in it. He exhaled a big puff of smoke.


    "There was something I wanted to make sure I told you." Natsunagi stepped in closer.


    "Thank you for telling me who owned my heart."


    It had happened about a month ago, when Natsunagi and I had gone to the prison where Bat was being held. He''d used his augmented ears to uncover the fact that Natsunagi''s heart donor had been Siesta.


    "On that day, my life began to move again. If I''d never learned about that, I couldn''t have faced my past. I wouldn''t have remembered anything. And so...


    Thank you," Natsunagi said again.


    "Ha-ha! I don''t remember living a life worthy of gratitude from anybody. Doesn''t feel too bad, though." Bat''s eyes were vacant, but he gazed in Natsunagi''s direction anyway. "You and that heart carry out your mission," he said, encouraging her in a steady, straightforward voice.


    Natsunagi smiled back softly, then yielded her spot to me.


    "...Oh, hey, that reminded me of what I needed to say." Bat grabbed my shoulder with his one remaining hand. "Don''t you give up."


    He spoke as if he were entrusting something personal to me.


    "I blew it. You can still make it, though. No matter what you sacrifice, no matter what price you pay, keep working to get that wish of yours. Don''t stop thinking. People are gonna warn you off, telling you not to go after forbidden fruit. They''llugh at you for taking the road through hell. But if that wish churning inside you is the real thing, if it''s something you want no matter what you have to put on the line¡ªthen cling to it. Grab it and hold on tight, Kimihiko Kimizuka."


    It was the first time Bat had ever said my name. "¡ªYeah, I will."


    When he heard that, Bat grinned.


    "Well, now. While we''ve been chatting, it looks like my time''s run out." The cigarette slipped from Bat''s fingers. "I can''t tell whether I''m hot or cold, and it''s getting hard to hear. So this is death, huh?"


    "! Bat. I... We swear we''ll take Seed down. So¡ª"


    "''So rest in peace''? Wow, all this mercy from an enemy. Some top-ss agent I am. Ha-ha!" Batughed the way he always did.


    A girl knelt beside him.


    "Bat..." Yui Saikawa squeezed Bat''s hand. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Ha! What are you crying for, sapphire girl?"


    "This happened because you protected me... Besides, there are things I still want you to teach me!"


    "How many times are you gonna make me say it?" Although Bat''s words were harsh, he seemed to want Saikawa to understand. "I was just doing what I wanted to back there."


    This was a story I didn''t know, one that belonged to Bat and Saikawa alone. I was sure it was because they''d both been wrestling with the issue of revenge. Even if they''de up with different answers, there was something the two of


    them had been able to share.


    "One more piece of advice. When you point a gun at your enemy, don''t hesitate. Shoot them in the head. That''s an irond rule. Let''s see... When you get home today, I rmend eating pizza and watching a ton of zombie movies."


    Saikawa''s face had crumpled, and Bat gave her a little smile.


    "I''ll remember...!" There were big tears running down Saikawa''s face now, and her voice was rising.


    "Yeah, that''s right. All it takes tond you in big trouble is a moment''s hesitation, one little slip..."


    "Not that! I meant <i>you</i>, Bat! I''ll always remember you!" Saikawa screamed. Bat''s sightless eyes widened.


    "Just like you remembered your little sister for twenty years, without forgetting her for a moment! Like I remember my parents every time I close my eyes! I''ll never forget you! My left eye will always, always remember what you looked like! And¡ª I''ll¡ª All four of us! We''ll always remember what you wanted to protect! And so¡ª"


    Saikawa''s face was blotchy and swollen with tears, but even so, at the end, she smiled.


    "And so please don''t worry¡ªAlbert." It was probably Bat''s real name.


    "¡ªI see," Bat murmured, his voiceing out like a trickle now. Leaning


    against the railing, he raised a trembling hand to the sun. "So feelings don''t vanish?"


    That''s right. Even if your body gets destroyed, your feelings don''t disappear. As long as somebody remembers it, yourst wish will never die.


    "Ha-ha. I didn''t...know that. I''m d I found out, before the end," he said. His smile seemed boyish, as if thest twenty years had fallen away from him.


    Then, drenched in sunlight, as if he could see someone beyond that light¡ªBat murmured hisst words.


    "I missed you, Ellie."

 Chapter 84 - 6.1

    <h4>Chapter 84: Chapter 6.1</h4>


    The final showdown


    After we''d said our goodbyes to Bat, we got back into the car, and Charlie drove off in pursuit of Seed. We focused our search on ces he was likely to flee to, such as buildings where the sun wouldn''t reach him, then used Saikawa''s left eye to efficiently eliminate possibilities.


    Finally we reached a big, ruined shopping mall in the suburbs. They hadn''t started demolishing it yet; the whole building was covered with vines, and it was dark enough inside that we had to use shlights, even in the daytime. We walked through the structure, and finally, on the third floor of the parking garage


    ¡ªwe found our target. "...Kimizuka, be careful."


    "I know. Natsunagi, you take care of Saikawa."


    Since Saikawa was being targeted as Seed''s vessel, I had her and Natsunagi fall back.


    "Kimizuka... Let''s watch zombie movies together after this, all right?"


    "Yeah, sign me up for a Prime membership while we''re here," I said, bantering with Saikawa.


    ...Then Charlie and I exchanged nces, and we turned to face Seed. "So you''re here."


    The garage was littered with abandoned cars, and the enemy stood at the very back of it, a dozen meters ahead of us.


    His long hair was a color that was hard to define, somewhere between gray and silver. His characterless, expressionless face seemed to transcend nationality and even gender; there was something that provoked awe about it, something almost holy.


    The primordial seed could mimic the structure of the human body, and he seemed to be capable of replicating other organic matter to some extent: He''d cloaked himself in a substance that resembled thin armor. I could see cracks in his neck, though. They might be the aftereffects of his brief exposure to sunlight. His right ear was missing as well. Was there other damage hidden beneath that


    armor?


    "Why do you expend this much energy in order to fight?"


    I''d begun to reach toward my hip, but Seed''s dark purple eyes pierced me. "What reason is there for conflict? Think about it. Is it because I am what you


    refer to as your sworn enemy? Past enmity? The death of a member of your species? Because this is a suitable ce to vent your grudge? Do you intend to take up weapons for such sentimental reasons? It''s beyondprehension," Seed said, in a voice that held no emotion at all.


    "Then you''re saying you don''t want to fight?" Charlie narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what the enemy was after. She kept her guard up, and her hand stayed on her sword''s sheath.


    "I never have. There''s nothing more pointless than expending energy in futile conflict."


    Siesta had written about that in her letter. Seed wasn''t actively fond of fighting; he''d only used his subordinates to cause trouble in order to carry out his n.


    "Seed, what exactly are you?" I asked. It was an abstract question, but that had to be something we''d need to know. "All I know about you is that you''re the seed of a nt that came from outer space, that sunlight is your mortal enemy, and that you''re raising human vessels in order to eliminate its threat to you. That''s all. What are you really, and why are you so fixated on your survival instinct that you''d invade us?"


    I''m sure he was wondering why I was asking now, after all this. Even so, Seed said, "I made a forcednding on Earth a little more than fifty years ago."


    Without showing any hostility, he began to rte his own history.


    It was as if he was the one who was trying to settle things peacefully.


    "As the primordial seed, I''d drifted through space in an outer shell capable of withstanding temperatures from absolute zero to ten thousand degrees Fahrenheit. At one point, a supernova urred in a gxy several tens of thousands of light-years away. The shock wave badly disrupted my control, and I crashed onto this."


    "So you were like a meteorite...?" I remembered the model of the primordial seed at the SPESb. It had only been the size of a pebble. That was how this global crisis from outer space had descended to Earth, with nobody the wiser.


    "I''dnded in a dark, cold, barrennd that resembled a desert. It wasn''t long before a cold sensation told me that my outer shell had been damaged. It


    probably happened in thending," Seed went on. "Even so, I kept moving, drifting on the wind. Gradually, the temperature rose, my surroundings grew brighter¡ªand that was when the trouble began."


    "The sun," Charlie murmured quietly.


    "I could feel my seeds rapidly withering. However, I was sure that if I could escape that barrennd, I would be able to get away from the heat source, which was now high overhead. Shielding myself with what little remained of my outer shell, I rode the wind around the world."


    "...And then you realized there was nowhere on the to run?"


    I was sure that was when his survival instinct had truly established itself.


    "! Kimizuka, look," Charlie said sharply. When I hastily focused on the enemy, I saw that the right ear Bat had risked his life to slice off was swelling back up, like bubbles rising to the surface of the water. Were his cells dividing and beginning to regenerate?


    "Before long, I learned that the name of my enemy was ''the sun.'' Little by little, I learned the mechanisms of this. The fact that it had ''day'' and ''night.'' That it was home to many diverse life-forms, such as wolves, bats, and chameleons. And that ''humans'' stood at the apex of the ecosystem, as the rulers of this."


    ...The rest probably matched what I''d read in Siesta''s letter, and what I''d seen and heard at theb.


    Seed had infiltrated the bodies of humans and animals, studying their structures. Then, as he collected samples, he''d learned to disguise himself as those creatures. That technique had led to the discovery of seeds that could enhance organs. He''d created clones from cuttings of himself. Humans had gathered, seeking the power of those seeds, and he''d consolidated both groups to form SPES.


    Although Seed had hoped to conquer the sun by using a human body as a vessel, the primordial seed consumed the humans'' nutrients, and his vessels promptly withered. In order to cultivate a vessel that waspatible with the seed, he created a test facility, disguising it as an orphanage, and had attempted to locate children like Natsunagi (Hel), Siesta, and Alicia.


    "It has taken fifty years, but I thought I was about to fulfill my survival instinct atst," Seed murmured quietly, turning his eyes to some point in the distance. "However, for some reason, the future I thought I knew did not arrive. Two vessels were lost simultaneously, before my very eyes."


    That was the plot Siesta hadid. She and Mia had set a trap and tricked him.


    "So now let me ask you this." The enemy''s eyes returned to us.


    "Why? Why would you go so far to obstruct me? What justifiable reason do you have to prevent me from following my instinct to survive? It isn''t as if I intend to destroy the human race. Those who are unable to serve as my vessels may simply live on in areas where they don''t get in my way. We should be able to segregate sufficiently... And yet you attempt to fight me. Why?"


    Seed didn''t necessarily want a war and was trying to find apromise. That actually worked in our favor. Even if our opponent was damaged, and even if we had the advantage of numbers, this was someone that many Tuners had been unable to handle. If we fought him, there was no guarantee that we''d win.


    "I understand what you''re saying," I told Seed. I hadn''t drawn my weapon. "We won''t kill you. We won''t even attack you. We don''t n to condemn your survival instinct, and if there''s something you need to live, we''ll help you as much as we can. However¡ª"


    For just a moment, I turned back, ncing at the girls who stood there. "We''re not giving you Yui Saikawa. We won''t let you sacrifice a single one of our friends."


    <i>Siesta, Natsunagi, Charlie, or anybody else¡ªI won''t let you use any of them as your vessel. </i>Whatever happened, I couldn''t allow anyone to be sacrificed for the life of another. I wanted to tell the deceased Ace Detective the exact same thing.


    "Oh, is that what this is about?" Seed murmured.


    "I finally understand why such a fatal disconnect has urred between myself and you humans."


    "...What do you mean? What are you trying to say?"


    I had a bad feeling about this. Some sixth sense told me that the next thing he said would cause a decisive break between us. It was toote to head it off, though, as Seed plunged on.


    "You humans fell from the apex of the ecosystem long ago, and yet you refuse to serve as the foundation of a higher species. That runs counter to thews of the natural world."


    Seed was saying that just as mankind had survived by eating other animals, he''d satisfy his survival instinct by using humans as his vessels. His im was that this was a new naturalw.


    "Do humans feel guilt when you eat a cow or pig or bird? Do you develop special feelings for each individual life-form? This is no different. I feel nothing about using your bodies as vessels."


    "...!" Charlie sent him a sharp re, and her hand tensed on her sword''s sheath.


    "You''re saying you don''t even feel grateful to those who will make you what you are? You don''t care who they are or what they''re like?"


    "Can you humans tell the face of one cow or pig from another?"


    With his eyes wide open, Seed tilted his head in an exaggerated way. His neck cracked audibly.


    "...Oh, I see." Finally, I understood.


    Seed wasn''t talking to individuals, to Kimihiko Kimizuka and Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. Just as humans couldn''t tell the ants who swarmed at their feet apart, Seed was aware of us only as "humans" in general.


    For example, when Hel had run awayst year in London, the clone Chameleon had a hard time finding her. Although they''d worked together closely for years as members of SPES, when he''d met Natsunagi again on that cruise ship, he hadn''t realized who she was.


    Unsurprisingly, his parent Seed didn''t normally see humans as individuals,


    either. The only thing he paid attention to was whether the subject in front of him was a defective variant in terms of bing his vessel.


    "Now do you understand, humans?" Without even blinking, Seed <i>gazed at the four of us as a unit</i>. "This isn''t a matter of good or evil. It''s a logical conclusion about the shape nature should take."


    In the truest sense of the word, Seed wasn''t looking at anyone.


    I asked him one final question. "What if we say we''ll resist anyway?" "Humans show their livestock no mercy, either."


    He''s right. I can''t deny that.


    I drew my Magnum, pointing it at the enemy. "I see. Here''s the thing, though: Humans are really bad at knowing when to give up."

 Chapter 85 - 6.2

    <h4>Chapter 85: Chapter 6.2</h4>


    <strong>The end of Route X</strong>


    Tentacles sprouted from Seed''s back, their pointed tips turned toward us.


    Our enemy''s face was still nk. As he''d said, he wouldn''t waste energy attacking first. When it came to striking back, though, I was sure he wouldn''t hesitate.


    "Natsunagi and Saikawa, shelter behind the pirs!" I called over my shoulder. Then Charlie and I stepped forward.


    "What''s our n?" Charlie nced at me. "Same as always."


    "Meaning we don''t have one. Right."


    Even as we prepared for battle, we joked with each other. Except for that nk year, this was how we''d always done things.


    "Do you think she''ll say I did well?" Charlie''s murmur sounded just a little younger than usual.


    I didn''t have to ask who "she" was. Charlie was always focused on the great Ace Detective, a girl who''d let her back do all the talking.


    "I think I was jealous of you, Kimizuka." Without sparing me so much as a look, Charlie darted toward the enemy. I tightened my grip on my gun and we split up, running at Seed from different directions.


    "I ran after Ma''am, and you walked beside her, Kimizuka," said Charlie. "I got the feeling we''d never be equal as long as I lived...and I envied you. But...I realized it was all right that way. After all..." The agent sprinted across the battlefield, evading the tentacles that closed in on her, her blond ponytail flying. "As long as I was a step behind Ma''am, I could guard her back!" she shouted.


    Then her golden sword shed through the iing tentacles. She took a big step toward the enemy, and¡ª


    "¡ª! Stop!"


    Behind us, Saikawa screamed. Her left eye must have picked up on something.


    Just then, a violent tremor hit, jolting us vertically and side to side all at once. "...! An earthquake?" Charlie stopped in her tracks.


    No. This was no earthquake. This was¡ª


    "Surface of the Exploding Seeds¡ª My seeds have already been sown across this world."


    As Seed spoke, countless <i>briars </i>grew out of the floor and walls of the parking garage. The building had been under his control all along.


    "...Dammit!"


    The brambles tangled around me. I shot through them, but there was no end to them. Swarms of briars were targeting Saikawa and Natsunagi as well. Natsunagi had her musket, and she was managing to deal with them somehow. Saikawa wasn''t good with weapons, though, and the thorny nts surrounded her easily.


    "Yui!"


    Charlie, who''d freed herself faster than any of us, headed to Saikawa. Her golden sword mowed down briars right and left, almost in a dance; when she''d cut them all down, Charlie reached in to help the other girl¡ªbut that''s when it happened.


    "! No, Charlie, don''t!"


    Saikawa had seen something else with that left eye and shoved Charlie away.


    And then.


    " !"


    One of Seed''s tentacles darted out of a blind spot and grazed her neck. "Saikawa!"


    From this distance, I couldn''t tell how deep that wound was, but its location couldn''t have been worse. Bright blood flowed from the right side of her neck.


    "...Huh? That''s weird. I managed to save Bat that way once." Saikawa had a hand to her neck. Her face was pale, but she still tried to force a smile. Her left eye could readbat better than any of us...but that didn''t mean she could physically keep up.


    "Yui...!"


    Just as Charlie tried to run to her again, the floor around Saikawa crumbled


    away. A massive tangle of briars shot up from the floor below, swallowing her, and she vanished before she could say a word.


    "Saikawa...!" "Yui!"


    My voice and Natsunagi''s ovepped...but there was no way for us to reach our friend now.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    Charlie was the first one to act. She ran at Seed, her blond hair disheveled.


    "You said that vessel was your friend? It''s incredible that you''d call yourselves ''friends'' when you can''t protect her properly."


    Apparently, Seed hadn''t intended to hurt Saikawa, either. He turned cold eyes on Charlie. Then a tentacle that grew from a spot near his spine turned silver, like steel, and countered the golden de Charlie swung at him. The result was


    ¡ª


    "......Oh."


    The next thing I knew, Charlie was in the air.


    I heard her sword snap, and then a duller crunch. A brief sob escaped her, the steel tentacle wrapped around her waist like a whip, and¡ª


    "Humans really are fragile."


    He flung her through the nts that covered the building and out of the parking garage.


    "...How far is it from here to the ground?" I felt myself break out in full-body goose bumps as my blood ran cold.


    If she mmed into the ground from a height like this, while she couldn''t even attempt to break her fall, Charlie would¡ª


    "Natsunagi! Go after her!"


    The only words that came out of my mouth were predictable. I didn''t even know whether I was talking about Saikawa or Charlie. I just tagged the Ace Detective with the simple, all-important request to save our friends. In exchange


    ¡ª


    "Seed!"


    Without waiting for Natsunagi''s response, I charged Seed alone, Magnum in hand. Thanks to Charlie, all the briars that had blocked the way were gone.


    "Two to go, hmm?"


    Tentacles swarmed from Seed''s back, reaching for me.


    <i>Draw on all your past experience, limit yourself to lethal attacks, drill the enemy in the throat with your bullets. </i>That was all I needed to do right now.


    I felt no pain. Compared to the pain of losing somebody precious, this was nothing. With Seed right in front of me and my ck gun in my right hand, I¡ª


    "Yes. That is what it means to hone one''s survival instinct."


    By the time I heard the enemy say that, I was already lying on cold concrete. Wait, was it the floor that was cold, or was it me? I must have taken a solid hit from one of those tentacles; my body wasn''t moving well. Had he hit me in a bad spot, or was it because I''d lost too much blood?


    "It doesn''t matter."


    Nothing was going to happen if I didn''t get back on my feet. Then I had to take another run at the primordial seed and destroy it. Even if my body was heavy as lead, I had to move, right now.


    "¡ªMove." I knew that.


    I <i>knew</i>, but my body wouldn''t listen to me anymore. I didn''t even feel anxious about it now. That was how hazy my mind had gone.


    This was where my story would end.


    I wouldn''t defeat Seed and wipe out SPES, and I''d never find a future where I reimed my dearest partner. I didn''t have the strength left to flip this reality in my favor.


    "¡ªSo this is it, huh?"


    Realizing I was about to die, <i>I got back up</i>.


    For the first time, Seed''s expression twisted slightly.


    How was I still able to stand? Even I didn''t know. Had swallowing that seed given me astonishing physical powers and recovery abilities? Or had standing on the brink of death simply flooded me with adrenaline?


    Or maybe...


    "Is it because Siesta promised?"


    She''d never let me see her cry. Even so, with tears streaming down her face, she''d sworn she''de see me again someday. Until I truly reunited with Siesta, I wasn''t allowed to die.


    "That''s my survival instinct."


    With trembling hands, I aimed my gun at the enemy.


    "It''s all right."


    Just then, a gentle sensation enfolded my back.


    I didn''t even need to look to know it was Natsunagi. Nagisa Natsunagi was hugging me from behind.


    "There''s something you have to do, Kimizuka. Remember? So <i>sleep for a little while</i>."


    Her soft voice soaked into my brain like hypnosis. I struggled to respond, but my eyelids were growing heavy, and they wouldn''t let me.


    "Natsu...nagi..."


    I crumpled to the pavement. Just before I fell asleep¡ªI heard the girl with zing red eyes make a deration to the superviin.


    "I, the Ace Detective, will defeat this enemy of the world."


    <strong> Proxy detective: Nagisa Natsunagi</strong>


    "That personality is able to make full use of my seed?"


    Seed, who was standing just up ahead, looked down at me coldly. He''d realized I''d used Hel''s word-soul power.


    "So you can tell <i>me </i>apart, then."


    Was it because this body was a vessel he''d put a lot of personal time and effort into raising? In that case, he might really resent me for being defective... Well. Not that that had anything to do with anything at this point. I''d be fighting this man either way. After one final look at Kimizuka''s sleeping face, I turned my back on him and straightened up.


    "Where did you take Yui?"


    "Making her into a proper vessel will require preparations."


    Seed didn''t give me a direct answer. However, it did sound as if Yui was still alive somewhere. If Seed nned to use her as his vessel, he couldn''t let her body die¡ªwhich meant we could still save her.


    "Do you intend to obstruct me as well?" Seed asked dispassionately. He''d seen my grip tighten on the musket. "I''m aware that two additional identities sleep inside you. Do you mean to fight without their aid?"


    He meant Hel and Siesta. Those two had originally been Seed''s best candidate vessels. However, their minds had been condensed into one body, thanks to Siesta¡ªand Seed had lost both of them at once.


    Since Hel and Siesta''s strong personalities alreadyy dormant in this body, if he tried to take it by force, <i>I</i>¡ªthe outer vessel¡ªwould probably shatter. Knowing this, Seed had given up on making this body his vessel. Which was why¡ª


    "Yes, I''ll be the one to fight you. After all, if I switched with Hel now, you''d try to take this body again, wouldn''t you?"


    The fact that Hel and Siesta''s powerful minds were dormant inside me was what made it possible to keep Seed out. I was sure I wouldn''t be able to fill that role. I''d just have to protect this body <i>from the outside</i>.


    "Even if it gives you a disadvantage inbat, even if you risk death, you''ll never be my vessel. Is that what you''re saying?"


    No matter what, we couldn''t let Seed acquire a vessel. If he conquered the sun, the one weakness we knew about, our chances of defeating him would be nearly nonexistent. That meant I couldn''t let him steal this body here. ¡ªBut.


    "You have the wrong idea about one thing." As I spoke, I smiled.


    Even at a time like this, that was what the Ace Detective would have done.


    "I won''t let you make me your vessel, but I don''t have the slightest intention of dying, either."


    Then I pointed my musket at Seed and pulled the trigger. Predictably, the enemy''s tentacles blocked the bullet before it reached him. ¡ªBut that was exactly what I''d wanted.


    "<i>Now your tentacles can never attack me again.</i>"


    It was the <i>red bullet </i>Siesta had used long ago, the type she''d put her blood into. Anyone shot with those was unable to defy their master. Now Seed couldn''t attack me¡ªor Siesta''s heart inside me.


    "I see. After I defeated that creature, it learned a trick like that?" Seed temporarily lowered the tentacles that extended from his back. "However, I originally created that system by rbining gics, in order to prevent conflict with my own kind. There are any number of ways to counter it."


    Seed sent a tentacle speeding <i>toward a spot above my head</i>. "...!"


    The attack struck the ceiling, and a big fluorescent light fell toward me. I managed to dodge it, but shards of broken ss stabbed my legs.


    "...So you''ll just aim at other objects, not at me." Seed was nning to attack me indirectly.


    "As a rule, I prefer not to waste energy. However, I''ve just secured a new vessel. I''ll do my duty as a parent and prune the defective variants before I go," he said indifferently.


    Then he sprouted four tentacles from his back. They struck at the walls and ceiling around me, undting as if they had wills of their own.


    "¡ªJust you try and hit me," I hissed, dodging falling fluorescent lights and flying pir fragments. Maybe it was because Hel had used this body for several years, or maybe she was fighting alongside me even now; I kept evading the enemy''s attacks with moves I was sure no normal human could pull off.


    "This is for Charlie."


    Using the clouds of dust as cover, I slipped through his attacks and fired a bullet. It struck Seed''s shoulder squarely, and a green fluid spurted out... But even then, his expression didn''t flicker. He tilted his head at an unnatural angle.


    "You''re avenging the death of your fellow human?"


    "It would take more than that to kill Charlie." I leaned against a pir, catching my breath. "Speaking of vengeance, though..."


    I loaded the next attack into the musket; it had been modified to be easier to load than normal. "I''ll give you back the pain Alicia felt."


    Crouching low again, I raced toward the enemy. "Fundamentally, then, your actions are based in sentiment?" "...Ow...!"


    The next thing I knew, <i>briars </i>had grown thickly under me, their thorns stabbing into my feet. While I was pinned down, the enemy''s tentacles grabbed a nearby abandoned car and hurled it at me.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    I shot through the brambles at my feet, freeing myself, and then¡ª "<i>Move, feet!</i>"


    Using word-soul to give myself an order, I forced my bloody feet into motion.


    The enormous hunk of metal missed me by a hair.


    Immediately after that, there was an explosion. The car had been dashed into the wall, and as it crumpled, gasoline leaked out and ignited. The parking garage was overgrown with nts, and in moments, the whole ce was in mes.


    "...! Who cares?" I wiped away the sweat and blood that ran down my forehead, then loaded my gun again. These were thest of my bullets.


    How could I beat him? Up until now, I''d used the surge of passion inside me as my weapon. Kimizuka had counted on my emotions, too. It wouldn''t matter what sort of appeal I made to this enemy, though. He didn''t even understand the concept of feelings. What could I do against an opponent like that?


    "Let me ask you one more time." Just then, as if he''d read my mind, Seed spoke to me coldly on that fiery battlefield. "Why do you humans put so much stock in emotions? Sometimes you choose actions based in emotion over your own survival instinct, even though that should be the most fundamental desire of any living creature."


    He didn''t even blink, and he wasn''t asking out of idle curiosity. Seed was asking me, a human, a question he must have had ever since he fell to this.


    "¡ªSo you didn''t notice."


    Even though he''d had loads of chances.


    I bit my lip, standing in the mes, and then I shouted at Seed. "Alicia tried to protect Siesta and me, ignoring the danger to herself¡ªthat''s friendship! Hel


    always stayed close to you and did her very best at everything¡ªthat''s sadness! Yui thought of her parents, and her parents constantly put their only daughter first¡ªthat''s love! Charlie inherited Siesta''sst wish after she died and kept carrying out missions all on her own¡ªthat''s dedication! Albert risked every facet of his own life to save his little sister¡ªthat''s devotion! Siesta died, entrusting everything to Kimizuka, to me, and to her friends¡ªthat''s passion! All of that¡ª They''re all human emotions. Having them is what makes us human!"


    Right now, that was the very best answer I could give.


    "I see. I didn''t understand that in the slightest. It''s probably simr to the way humans can''t perceive insect calls as intelligible speech."


    In the midst of the mes, Seed''s expression didn''t change.


    "All right. <i>I''ve finished rbining my genes. </i>I should be able to attack you now."


    Even as we fought, Seed had been manipting his DNA. The tips of his tentacles turned toward me again. Right behind me, Kimizukay on the floor, fast asleep. I couldn''t run.


    "...!"


    A minute ago, there was just one person I hadn''t told Seed about. My partner and assistant¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka.


    Siesta was more precious to him than anyone else, and he was trying to get her back, even if it meant walking into territory that was taboo to humans. It hadn''t seemed right for me to say what sort of emotion that was, here and now. The word that best describes it may not even exist.


    That meant Kimizuka would have to find the answer on his own someday. He might resort to forbidden methods and make the whole world his enemy, maybe even end up fighting the Tuners¡ªbut he would regain Siesta. He''d get her back someday for sure. I knew he would. After all, <i>I''d already found the route that led to that future</i>.


    <i>"Are you sure that''s okay?"</i>


    Out of nowhere, I felt as if a voice had echoed in my mind.


    It was the question I''d been asked two days ago, at the top of the highest clock tower in Ennd, by a girl who could see the future.


    After she''d made Kimizuka leave and it was just the two of us, she told me about the <i>distortion </i>that would result if we overturned a predetermined future, attempting the taboo of resurrecting the dead.


    Just as there could only ever be one person in the world with the gifts of an


    Oracle, it was possible that the world would only allow one Ace Detective. So if we created a future where Siesta came back to life, I''d be¡ª


    "Yes, it''s fine."


    Back then, I hadn''t been able to respond to the question immediately, but I had an answer now.


    "I mean, it''s true, isn''t it?" The role I''d been given.


    The mission I had to carry out here and now. "¡ªI''m the proxy detective."


    I''d decided as much a year ago. "............. !"


    The next moment, Seed''s tentacle ran through my stomach. ".........gk, ah,........ kh!"


    Pain fiercer than anything I''d ever felt broke over me, and I almost cked out. When the tentacle retracted, deep-red blood fell inrge, noisy spatters. That wound was probably going to be fatal.


    ¡ªEven so. "<i>Run,</i><i> legs!</i>"


    Using my word-soul power one more time, I gave myself a firm order. Run, run.


    The pain doesn''t matter. Forget about everything except going forward. "Maybe I''m no match for you!"


    I''d spent all my time in a hospital bed, and I hadn''t even been able to sprint a hundred meters. Now I had legs that could run, and a reason I needed to. I wouldn''t stop.


    "But someday, someone will cut you down!"


    Facing forward, mustering myst strength, I swore that oath to the enemy of the world. Then, hiding myself in the ck smoke and the mes, I crept up on him. I was holding not the musket, but <i>my other weapon</i>.


    "Maybe the idol from Jap¨®n will talk you down with a song, or the blond agent will dominate you with her fighting skills!"


    It was one of my other partner''s favorite swords; I''d found it at the test facility


    just before we left the SPES hideout yesterday. <i>Lend me strength</i>, I prayed, then squeezed its hilt tightly.


    "Or maybe a nd-looking boy in a jacket will change your mind with his clumsy words, or maybe a white-haired Ace Detective will demolish you with an ingenious scheme no one else could ever think up!"


    Two meters left between me and the enemy. As I burst out of the ck smoke with Hel''s borrowed strength¡ªI swung the red saber at my enemy''s neck.


    "I won''t get to see that future y out¡ªbut I can say this much! There will never be a future where you rule this and conquer mankind!"


    At the end of my final battle, what I''d aplished was... "...Not enough, huh?"


    With just a few centimeters left before it severed my enemy''s head, the red saber had been blocked by a tentacle shaped like a sword. ¡ªAnd then.


    "You too, Hel?"


    As my consciousness faded, I heard Seed whisper those words, very faintly. "We''re about to be interrupted," he said. Almost immediately, I caught the


    distant pulse of a helicopter. It was reinforcements¡ªand, since Seed had already achieved his main objective and secured a vessel, he simply vanished.


    "...I guess this is it."


    Apparently, I couldn''t trick my brain with word-soul any longer. I tottered, then crumpled to the ground.


    "Kimi...zuka..."


    In the midst of the zing mes, I crawled toward Kimizuka''s prone body.


    There wasn''t much oxygen. I''d lost too much blood. My grip on my consciousness was slipping, and I couldn''t seem to get enough air. Even so, I stretched my hand, my fingertips, toward him.


    "Tha...nk..."


    I couldn''t finish the sentence.


    However, at the end, I''d managed to do what I''d always dreamed of: I''d be somebody. Feeling just a little satisfied, I fell asleep.


    My name is Nagisa.


    Nagisa Natsunagi, proxy detective.


    Myst wish kept the detective''s mission from dying out, and it will be


    inherited by the next person to fight.

 Chapter 86: Epilogue

    <h4>Chapter 86: Epilogue</h4>


    When I opened my eyes, I saw a white ceiling.


    My nose caught the smell of chemicals. I ached all over. It didn''t take me long to register that this was a hospital.


    "So you''re awake, huh?"


    A little ways from the bed, I heard a woman''s low voice. When I turned my head, my eyes found a familiar redheaded police officer. Fuubi Kase was peeling a piece of fruit.


    "Want an apple?"


    "...That''s an assassin for you. Put a knife in your hand and the results are first-ss," I muttered. I was gazing at the extraordinarily thin ribbon of skin from that perfectly peeled apple. "And? How long was I out?"


    I couldn''t see any sunlight around the edges of the curtain. That meant it had been at least half a day.


    "Mm, about forty hours," Ms. Fuubi said, ncing at her watch. Apparently, I''d cked off even longer than I''d figured.


    "Well, you woke up earlier than the former Ace Detective," she said, then admonished me to stay in bed.


    "...So, Ms. Fuubi. Why are you here?"


    She started to get out a cigarette...then put it back in the carton. Was she hesitant to smoke in a hospital room, or was this...?


    "There are three things I need to tell you."


    I could feel Ms. Fuubi''s eyes on me, but as she began to fill me in, I gazed at the ceiling.


    "First: Charlotte Arisaka Anderson is in the ICU, unconscious."


    During that showdown at the abandoned building, Seed had hurled Charlie out of a three-story parking garage. She probably hadn''t been conscious when she hit the ground; she couldn''t do anything to break her fall. The fact that she was alive at all was practically a miracle.


    "What''s her current condition?"


    "No idea. I''m not a doctor," Ms. Fuubi said. I''d heard her say that before. "Now everything depends on how strong her will is."


    She didn''t rify what she meant by "will." When I thought of what Charlie wanted most right now, though, I didn''t even need to ask.


    "Second: We believe Seed has Yui Saikawa."


    During that showdown, briars had attacked out of nowhere. They''d swallowed Saikawa, and she''d vanished.


    "Is she all right? Where is she now?"


    Seed was nning to use Saikawa as his vessel. That meant he wouldn''t kill her. But if he''d already taken over her body...


    "I''m using everything I''ve got to search for her. At this point, though, Seed isn''t making any obvious moves."


    "...On the other hand, that''s no guarantee that Saikawa is safe."


    We had to figure out a way to rescue her, fast, before it really was toote. "So, Ms. Fuubi." I sat up in bed.


    "Where is Natsunagi?"


    She''d told me about Charlotte and Saikawa, so Natsunagi was the only one left.


    She had gone into battle against Seed on her own, in my ce¡ª "I was wrong. She was a detective," Ms. Fuubi murmured.


    "She was willing to make any sacrifice to carry out her duty. She inherited that <i>spirit of self-sacrifice </i>from the former Ace Detective. In both name and deed, she was¡ª"


    The next moment, Ms. Fuubi''s face was right in front of me. "What''s the point of hitting me?" she asked.


    I''d thrown off the covers and grabbed her before I was even aware of it. I knew.


    I didn''t need anybody to tell me it was pointless.


    I just didn''t want to hear <i>that one final word </i>from anybody. "Save that punch for the person you really need to give it to."


    Gently, Ms. Fuubi removed my hand from her shirtfront. Then she walked out of the hospital room without another word.


    I just stood there.


    I knew already, really.


    I was just scared to admit it. "Natsunagi is..."


    The detective was already dead.

 Chapter 87: Re:boot

    <h4>Chapter 87: Re:boot</h4>


    Three dayster.


    My injuries had healed up unusually quickly, just like before, and the hospital had discharged me early.


    Still, my left leg wasn''t doing great, and I couldn''t handle much walking around. Once I got back to my apartment, I didn''t do anything in particr. I''d left my futon out, and I justy on it, aimlessly staring at the TV. At school, summer term would be underway, but of course I didn''t feel like going.


    "This again, huh?"


    D¨¦j¨¤ vu. One year ago, just after I''d lost Siesta, the days had bled away like this. After a week, or maybe a month, I''d gone back to school, and my life had fallen into its tepid routine.


    Right now, I couldn''t even soak in that lukewarm water. I felt like I was lying in an ice-cold bath. Some foreign drama had been on the TV for a while now, but my brain wasn''t picking up any of the plot. What time slot did they show foreign dramas in anyway, and on what day?


    The curtains were closed, so my sense of time was totally shot. It felt like it had been three days since I had learned what I had learned, but I wasn''t sure. I''d dozed briefly three times since I''de home, that was all.


    "¡ªMy phone."


    I''d left it by my pillow. I tried to check the time on it, but the battery was dead. Ms. Fuubi was supposed to send word if anything happened with Charlie or Saikawa, but so far, no one had called.


    In search of another way to locate Saikawa, I''d gotten in touch with a certain person...but there hadn''t been any good news from that quarter, either.


    In other words, I''d failed at everything.


    Charlie was hanging between life and death because of me, and I hadn''t been able to protect Saikawa from the enemy. I''d broken that promise I''d made with Hel, the one about not making Natsunagi cry, and I...


    "I''m hungry."


    The fact that my stomach could still growl at a time like this seemed like a


    design w. I unsteadily got to my feet. Come to think of it, aside from water, I hadn''t put a thing in my mouth since I got back.


    I opened the fridge; it was empty. I wasn''t up to going out, either mentally or physically, so I checked the entryway mailbox, hoping for some takeout flyers.


    Inside, I found the usual:


    Several notices about unpaid utility bills.


    The exact sort of pizza delivery flyer I was after. And¡ªone letter with no address.


    Sender unknown.


    I had no idea what this was, but since someone had put it in my mailbox, it seemed safe to assume it was for me.


    Strangely, before paying my electricity bill, before calling in a pizza order, I felt like I had to read that letter. When I opened the envelope, I found two small sheets of paper.


    "This...is..."


    The letter began with "To Kimizuka."


    <i>"If you''re reading this letter, it means I''m not with you anymore."</i>


    <i>"¡ªThat sounds like a movie clich¨¦. I never thought I''d be saying something like that. The thing is, I''ve got a bit of a hunch... Well, to be more precise, I''ve made up my mind. Siesta left you a letter, too; I''m not trying to copy her, but I''m also writing this at the apartment in London, while I watch you sleep. I do need just a little courage, so to tell you the truth, I had a bit to drink before I came here... I wonder if you noticed."</i>


    <i>"So, I''m nning to give this letter to a certain cabin attendant, with instructions to give it to you if anything happens to me. Did you get it? Oh, but if you''re reading it now, it must''ve worked out. Okay, good."</i>


    <i>"I''ve never written a letter before, so I''m not actually sure what I should write first. To start with, I guess I''ll make like a detective and do a little deducing."</i>


    <i>"¡ªRight now, Kimizuka, you''re starving!" "Well? I''m right, aren''t I?"</i>


    <i>"ording to my eerily urate deduction, our sudden parting has left you</i>


    <i>massively depressed. You''ve been holed up in your apartment for days, all alone, but you''re going to have to eat something soon...and so you were dragging yourself outside when you noticed this letter. Yes, that feels like a solid prediction... What? You say you aren''t that depressed?"</i>


    <i>"That''s incredibly annoying! Double-kill!" "...Kidding. Actually, I''m a little uneasy."</i>


    <i>"I mean, it seems like Siesta''s really all you see. It makes me wonder if you might not feel all that sad no matter what happens to me. Well, I''ll never know what happened now... Even so, I think I''d like it if you cried a little."</i>


    <i>"Um, actually, let me take that back. I just sounded super needy. ''As long as you''re fine, Kimizuka, that''s enough for me!'' Yes, that should do nicely."</i>


    <i>"Getting down to business, then." "First, I have a request for you."</i>


    <i>"If you haven''t managed to defeat Seed by the time you read this letter¡ªI want you to personally take him down someday. No matter what. To tell you the truth, I''ve got a secret n of my own...but there''s no guarantee we''ll be able to win that way. Even if I''m not there, you have lots of other friends you can count on, so I''m counting on you!"</i>


    <i>"Next, an apology."</i>


    <i>"It''s been a while now, but do you remember that promise I made you?" "I said no matter what happened, I wouldn''t die and leave you behind." "I''m sorry. I wasn''t able to keep that promise... Are you mad?"</i>


    <i>"I hope so... Just kidding."</i>


    <i>"Finally, thank you."</i>


    <i>"Thanks for all the times you helped me."</i>


    <i>"A year ago, in London. Thank you for being kind to me, when I''d lost my memories. Thank you for putting that ring on my finger. Thank you foring to save me, even when I''d been taken to the enemy''s hideout."</i>


    <i>"There''s a whole lot more. You found the owner of my heart for me. You told me it was okay to live my own life. You rescued me from the enemy on that cruise ship. You forgave the crimes I''dmitted. You encouraged me up on the roof that night. You said you''d have my back, and you''ve stayed with me all this time. Thank you."</i>


    <i>"You gave me so much. Have I managed to repay even a little of it? I''m sure I''ve barely scratched the surface... I really would have liked to stay with you a bit longer. Not that I''m confessing my love for you or anything. Seriously, Kimizuka, you don''t mean a thing to me."</i>


    <i>"...That said, I don''t know what you thought of me, but I didn''t dislike you. There was no way I could. If this turns out to be goodbye, it''s going to make me a little sad. ¡ªStill, as the detective, I''llplete my final job."</i>


    <i>"When I do, I hope you''ll praise me a little."</i>


    That was where the letter ended. "...What the hell."


    It was all wrong.


    Everything Natsunagi had said was wrong.


    <i>I won''t get depressed if you''re not there?</i>


    <i>I haven''t been able to move for three days. Just look at me.</i>


    I didn''t have the energy to eat, I hadn''t bathed, and my facial hair was growing in. Even now, I didn''t want anything. I was just sitting there, on the floor, reading that letter. Why hadn''t that gotten through to her?


    <i>One month ago¡ªyou''re the one who pulled me out of that tepid routine. You held me close. When I tried to ignore Siesta''s feelings, you scolded me. You cried in my ce. On that pitch-ck night, you swore you wouldn''t leave me and die on your own. On the school roof, you said you''d be my friend. You stayed with me, all this time. I''m so¡ª</i>


    "Didn''t I tell her any of that?"


    I''d never properly thanked Natsunagi.


    She''d thanked me¡ªclumsily, sometimes blushing, sometimes getting mad¡ª but I hadn''t.


    In the truest sense of the word, I hadn''t managed to tell her a thing. "Did I make the same mistake again?"


    A year ago, death had parted me from Siesta before I could tell her anything. "I <i>am </i>stupid."


    That same self-hatingment was an echo ofst year. I was foolish. Pathetic. No matter how much I regretted it, though, it was toote. The detective was already¡ª


    "...gk!"


    My hands clenched on the letter, crumpling it.


    Then I realized there was something written on the back of the second sheet. When I turned it over, it said "P.S." and then:


    <i>"I forgot one thing! Don''t think I''m the sort of girl who''d die for nothing, all right?"</i>


    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    I couldn''t figure that line out, and as I puzzled over it¡ªa soft wind suddenly blew.


    When had I opened a window?


    I turned, trying to see where the breeze wasing from.


    "This key is one of my Seven Tools. There''s no lock it can''t open." I should have been alone in the room, but a girl''s voice spoke.


    I''d heard that line before.


    She''d gotten into my apartment without permission, then watched a foreign drama and eaten pizza as if she owned the ce.


    She was here now, right in front of me.


    Her bobbed hair was pale silver, and her blue eyes pulled you right in. Her dress was a ttering color, apparently modeled on some country''s military uniform, and the glimpses of skin I caught beneath it were as clear as snow.


    She was as beautiful as an angel incarnate. If you looked up <i>beauty </i>in the dictionary, her name was bound to be there. If you ran a search of her name online, you can bet the rted images would have been photos of flowers and birds and the moon.


    Which was why all my interest just then was focused on her name. Unlike four years ago, though, I knew that name¡ªher code name. "...Hey, that''s trespassing."


    "Calm down. The only apartment I invade without asking is yours, Kimi." As she joked with me, just as she''d done on another day, she came closer. "Say, Assistant."


    With a smile that was a hundred million watts of adorable, the white-haired girl softly held out her left hand to me.


    "Let''s go on a journey to save our friends again."

 Chapter 88: 6 years ago, Nagisa

    <h4>Chapter 88: 6 years ago, Nagisa</h4>


    For us, it was a routine sight.


    "¡ªNana! I brought lots. Which one do you want?" Afternoon sunlight streamed into the hospital room.


    The pink-haired girl who''d called me by my nickname dumped an armful of picture books onto my bed, then started lining them up. She was trying to choose one to read aloud.


    "Um, Ali? I''m already twelve. You really don''t need to read to me..."


    I knew she was doing it to be nice, because I was physically weak and couldn''t go outside. I appreciated the thought, of course, but...


    "This one, then!"


    Yeah, she wasn''t listening. She never did.


    Instead of her usual diary, which she''d been writing in just a minute ago, she opened a picture book and started reading it, enthusiastically and loudly.


    She had an energetic, charming voice.


    I got the feeling that just listening to her voice might cure me. ...Though being read to was still a bit too childish.


    Gazing fondly at Ali, I spoke to the other girl in the room. "What are you reading, Siesta?"


    A girl with white hair was sitting in a chair in the corner with a book. For some reason, she had a code name, "Siesta," and she seemed rather mysterious. She had to be about the same age as Ali and me, but she seemed more mature than you''d expect. She had what I guess you''d call a philosophical air about her; I thought it wouldn''t hurt for her to be a little


    more childlike and honest...even though I was a kid myself.


    "It''s the tale of a prince who was both happy and unhappy," Siesta said. I assumed that was a description of the story rather than its title.


    A prince who was unhappy but happy... What did that mean? "What''s it about?"


    Ali had stopped reading the picture book and joined our conversation. Absolutely everything interested her, but she also got bored with things twice as fast as the average person. In a good way, we could probably stand to learn from her free-spirited behavior.


    "It''s about a statue of a kind-hearted prince who shares his treasures with the poor people of his city." Siesta closed the book gently, then closed her eyes just as softly.


    "What a nice guy!" Ali sat down in a chair near me and started swinging her feet back and forth.


    So it was a story about apassionate, wealthy prince helping his citizens? ...So where did the "unhappy" bite from?


    "The thing is..." Siesta opened her eyes, and they were rather sad as she told us the rest of it. "The treasures he gave them were pieces of himself."


    "What do you mean?" Ali asked. "He didn''t have a lot of money and watches and things?"


    "No. The kind statue was covered in gold leaf and decorated with jewels.


    He gives his own body away to the poor, bit by bit." "...He loses parts of himself ?"


    The thought of that prince''s devotion, his literal self-sacrifice, gave me an indescribable feeling. My chest grew tight.


    "A ruby sword. Sapphire eyes. The gold leaf that covered his body. When the statue of the prince had given all these things away to the townspeople, he looked very shabby. All he had left was his heart, which was made of lead."


    As she said that, Siesta gently ced her hand on the left side of her chest. "That poor statue!" Ali cried out. Even if it was just a story, she felt


    genuinely sorry for that prince.


    Trying to save somebody, even if it meant sacrificing yourself¡ªit was a noble act, but it also seemed terribly sad.


    "But that''s not where this story ends."


    I raised my head, as if Siesta''s voice had pulled me out of sleep. "This statue had someone precious who understood him."


    ""He did?"" Ali and I asked in unison.


    "That''s why the title of this book is what it is, too."


    Then Siesta began to tell us about the lone swallow who remained with the statue.


    The tale of a small ck bird who stayed by the side of the one he loved to the very end, even though no one could see why.

 Chapter 89 - 1.1

    <h4>Chapter 89: Chapter 1.1</h4>


    <strong> One yearter, the adventure resumes</strong>


    "Have you calmed down a little?" Siesta asked outside the bathroom. "...Yeah."


    In the bathtub, I gave a small sigh of relief.


    While lecturing me about how I couldn''t have a healthy mind in an unhealthy body, Siesta had half forced me into the bath. She was right; my physical and mental strain had eased, and my brain fog was slowly clearing.


    "Shave your stubble while you''re at it." "Yeah."


    "Can you wash your back by yourself ?" "Yeah."


    "And don''t pee in the tub."


    "...What am I, a kid?" I smiled wryly. How old did she think I was anyway?


    "Well, I don''t know how much you''ve grown." Siesta sat down; I could see her back through the frosted-ss door. "''Give a guy three days to grow, and you might not recognize him at the end.''... Remember? You''re the one who said it," she told me.


    I''d forgotten until she mentioned it. "Yeah, I guess that''s true." In our case, it had been way more than three days.


    Today, Siesta and I had truly reunited for the first time in a year. "I never dreamed you''d still be living in this apartment, though." Siesta''s lightugh drifted to me from the changing room.


    She''d used the master key, one of her Seven Tools, and walked into my ce like she owned it. Just like before.


    "...The ''I never dreamed'' bit is my line."


    At dawn on the day I''d fought Ms. Fuubi, I''d sworn I''d get Siesta back someday.


    Of course, I''d known it wasn''t going to be easy. That was why I''d been


    prepared to put everything I had on the line. But right now, that wish had really¡ª


    "You''re...not SIESTA, right?"


    A memory of the maid flickered through my mind, and I asked without really thinking. After all, you couldn''t tell the two of them apart just by their appearances.


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?" That old familiar line zinged back at me from the changing room. "We''ve talked for this long and you still aren''t sure?"


    "...Yeah, good point."


    <i>Only one person in the world scolds me that way¡ªand it''s you, Siesta.</i>


    That meant I''d gotten my wish.


    Even so, I couldn''t be 100 percent delighted about it. I''d lost something irreceable in exchange.


    "But it sounds as though she did make contact with you."


    Just when my eyes were threatening to go misty again, Siesta''s voice broke in. From the gist of the conversation so far, I assumed she was talking about SIESTA the maid.


    "Yeah. I got through that problem you assigned me."


    Through the maid, Siesta had given each of us a task to handle and had shown us the way to resolve our worries and problems. Her one miscalction had been that the future we''d chosen was different from the ending she''d imagined.


    "Where is she now?" I asked the original Siesta. When I''d run into SIESTA at the former SPES facility a few days ago, she''d been living inside aputer terminal, but...


    "Carrying out a different task. She''s the one who gave me the master key before I came here."


    Come to think of it, I''d returned the key to her at theb. Did that mean she''d guessed Siesta would wake up all along?


    "Siesta..." <i>How in the world did you wake up? </i>I was about to ask the question, but I swallowed it back down.


    I didn''t have to ask. I knew.


    Siesta was probably aware as well. That was why she was here.


    "What I need to do now is rescue our friends. That''s one more reason to defeat Seed as soon as possible." That had to have been Siesta''s dearest wish for four years¡ªfor six. Before she met me, she''d encountered Seed on that


    ind. He''d defeated her and stolen all her memories of the facility, his organization, and herpanions. Even so, she hadn''t forgotten her mission; she pursued Seed, and had spent three whole years fighting SPES with me.


    At the end of that story, Siesta had lost her life. However, she''d managed to transfer her heart and mind into the body of her enemy Hel¡ªaka Natsunagi. After that, Siesta and Hel had consolidated their memories, and Siesta had reimed the ones she''d lost.


    "I''d forgotten some important things," Siesta said quietly on the other side of the thin door. "The fact that I met Nagisa six years ago. The fact that I lost Alicia. That past was thest thing I could afford to lose, and still..." Her voice was subdued.


    Still, I knew better than anyone that Siesta wouldn''t back down.


    "I won''t forget any more. I won''t let them steal anything else from me. I won''t hesitate. I won''t lose. So, Kimi..." Siesta''s intense voice seemed to pierce through the door and echo in the bathroom. "I want you to be my assistant, just one more time."


    I could see a familiar silhouette on the other side of the frosted-ss door. We''d had a simr conversation here four years ago. I''d turned her down that time. I sshed hot water over my cheeks, then gave my answer. "¡ªYeah. Make me your assistant again."


    It was about time I got out of this tepid water.


    "So please, Siesta. Help me find a way to save Saikawa."


    A few days earlier, Seed had taken Saikawa to use as a potential vessel for the primordial seed. However, if he was nning to use her that way, he wouldn''t kill her.


    "Yes. Seed has always wanted a perfect vessel. Hel and I were his top candidates, though. If he''s going to use Yui Saikawa instead, it''s probably going to require some prep work. I''m sure we still have a chance to save her."


    "! So then¡ª"


    "It''s all right. We''ll save Yui too, of course," Siesta dered firmly. But... "Saikawa ''too''?"


    Something about the way she''d said it seemed odd to me. It was as if she thought there was somebody besides Saikawa who needed saving... Was she talking about Charlie? But Charlie was in the ICU, and as frustrating as it was, there wasn''t anything we could do for her.


    "You can''t mean..."


    My heart was pounding loudly. I shook my head; it couldn''t be that. If it was, though... If something like that was really possible... It was a ray of hope, and I wanted to grab it in spite of myself. After a seemingly endless silence, Siesta said¡ª


    "I''m not giving up on Nagisa Natsunagi."


    <strong> Cold memories</strong>


    "Siesta, what''s this about?"


    Soon after, I''d gotten out of the bath, then found Siesta in the living room.


    I wanted to know what she''d meant by not giving up on Natsunagi.


    But all she said was, "If you don''t dry your hair, you''re going to catch a cold." She patted a nearby floor cushion, motioning for me to sit down. "Here, give me your towel."


    I sat cross-legged on the cushion, and Siesta got behind me and rumpled my hair with the towel, drying it off. When I looked at the low table, there was a pizza delivery box on top. Siesta must have made the order while I was in the bath.


    "You can''t have sound thoughts with an unsound body, after all."


    So now that I''d washed up, we were going to eat? Remembering I hadn''t eaten a thing for the past three days, I opened the box. "...Were pizzas always shaped like Pac-Man?"


    "I couldn''t quite wait until you were out of the bath." When I took a closer look at Siesta, I saw a piece of cheese stuck to the corner of her mouth.


    She hadn''t changed. I gave a wry little smile, and then we sat across the table from each other and started on the pizza. It was the first time in a year that we''d had a meal together.


    "...This''s great," I said.


    Thefort food was especially delicious to my tired body. I''d had pizza with Siesta at my ce four years ago, too. After that, I''d left on an adventure with her, and we''d spent three dazzling, extraordinary years together.


    Whenever we''d gotten through one of our many fights with pseudohumans or survived unforeseen incidents, we''d toasted with Coke and stuffed


    ourselves silly.


    <i>...This is everything I wanted</i>, I thought. Taking a bath, eating and talking with somebody who was important to me. But those were privileges exclusive to those of us who were alive. As for those who weren''t... Natsunagi¡ª


    "Assistant."


    The next thing I knew, Siesta was gently drying my eyes with her fingertips.


    Had I always been this weak? "...Sorry."


    "This is nothing new."


    Siesta and I both smiled wryly at each other.


    "I know everything about you, Kimi, weaknesses included. It''s fine," she said. She was acting like she was my new parent.


    "You don''t know about this past year, though." "True. But..."


    At that, Siesta''s smile grew troubled.


    "I do know you were trying to bring me back to life."


    Oh, right. At dawn, just after I''d fought Ms. Fuubi, about ten days ago, I''d dered an oath to SIESTA and to Natsunagi''s heart. It must have reached her.


    "You''re not going to say it?" I asked. "Say what?"


    "The usual."


    She could easily call me stupid for it. I thought she should, really.


    Considering what that wish had ended up doing¡ª


    "I won''t say it," Siesta told me. I couldn''t look her in the face. "I shouldn''t."


    That made me raise my head. Siesta was looking straight at me. Maybe it was my imagination, but her eyes seemed just a little wet.


    "...I didn''t think I had the right to say this now." Saying nothing would be the same as lying, though, so I told Siesta the words I''d been keeping in. "I''m d I got to see you again."


    "So am I."


    Siesta epted the thought with a smile, without teasing me the way she


    used to. Neither of us could be thrilled with the situation in the truest sense of the word, though. Yes, I''d gotten my wish, but this wasn''t the ending I''d wanted. I really couldn''t call this oue a "happy" one.


    So I asked her one more time: "Hey, Siesta. What do you mean, you''re not giving up on Natsunagi?"


    "I can''t say anything for certain yet, but has anybody actually seen her body?"


    Was that what this was? So Siesta didn''t know about that yet... The momentary glimmer of hope was snuffed out.


    "¡ªI did. I held her hand and felt it growing colder."


    What I''d seen three days ago came to mind. Something sour worked its way up from the pit of my stomach.


    On that day, lying in a hospital bed, I''d heard about Natsunagi''s death from Ms. Fuubi. I hadn''t wanted to believe it. Setting my feelings aside, believing it seemed wrong somehow.


    After all, a year ago, I''d made a big mistake regarding Siesta''s death. At the time, I''d lost some of my memories to Betelgeuse''s pollen; Ms. Fuubi had told me about her deathter on, but what I''d heard hadn''t been the truth. Because of that, I''d decided I couldn''t take Ms. Fuubi''s statement at face value and had bolted out of my hospital room. ...Then I''d run into a doctor.


    The man had said he was the director of the hospital and shown me to a certain room. And there...


    "Natsunagi was lying on a bed, unconscious, hooked up to a venttor."


    There were all sorts of tubes connected to her body. It was like every avable scientific technology was trying to preserve this one girl''s life.


    "Then Nagisa really is still..." "Alive? That''s what I thought, too."


    True, there was no way to know how the situation would progress, but Natsunagi wasn''t dead. There had to be a possibility of saving her. ...Or so I''d hoped, until the doctor kept talking.


    <i>"Nagisa Natsunagi is brain-dead."</i>


    The term meant exactly what you''d expect. The brain had lost all function, and the possibility of recovery was zero. The patient would never wake up again. In most countries around the world, a person was considered officially dead when their brain died.


    Thanks to the venttor and medication, her EKG was still undting


    quietly, but even that wouldn''tst long. As Natsunagi didn''t have any rtives, there was no one to make the decision to take her off the venttor, so she''d simply been kept on.


    Her condition had changed suddenly, and they''d closed her room to visitors. Just before, I''d held her hand for thest time. It had been as cold as ice, which wasn''t right for a girl with such a summery name.


    "I see..." After she''d heard the story, Siesta lowered her eyes in thought. "So we can''t confirm Nagisa''s current condition."


    Exactly. As I''d said a minute ago, no one was allowed to visit her at this point. In fact, if you thought about it in terms of what turning away visitors meant, I could guess what had happened to her. Natsunagi really was¡ª


    "We don''t know what her condition is." As I responded to Siesta, I erased the conclusion my mind had already drawn. "I do know someone who might know how she ended up like this, though."


    "You mean..." Siesta seemed to have thought of the same person. Her eyebrows furrowed.


    "That''s right. Your junior¡ªMia Whitlock."

 Chapter 90 - 1.2

    <h4>Chapter 90: Chapter 1.2</h4>


    <strong>The maid dances in the dead of night</strong>


    "I see. So you met Mia, too."


    Siesta and I were in the back seat of a car, on our way to a certain


    <i>destination</i>.


    Mia Whitlock was the Oracle, one of the twelve Tuners who protected the world. She had the ability to foresee major turning points in history. About a week ago, in search of a way to bring Siesta back to life, Natsunagi and I had flown to London to see her.


    "Yeah, we talked about you a lot."


    I remembered the conversation I''d had with Mia, who was apparently Siesta''s junior, that day. How SPES hade to possess the sacred text and the resolution Siesta had made behind the scenes¡ª


    "Are you angry?" Siesta asked without looking at me. "I hid so much from you during those three years."


    ...She really had. She''d hidden the true nature of the enemy we were fighting, for example. She''d called herself the Ace Detective but hadn''t


    exined what it meant. Her friendships, too. She''d never told me any of the important stuff.


    "If there was a reason you needed to keep it a secret, then I could never be mad. But..." I could feel Siesta turn to look at me. "Sacrificing yourself¡ª that''s the one thing I can''t let go."


    I wanted to tell that to both detectives, not just this one.


    "...You''re right," Siesta said quietly, and returned to gazing out the window at the setting sun. "Still, who''d have thought Mia would be in Japan?" Shifting gears, she smiled. "I haven''t seen her in a year."


    Last time a future she''d predicted had changed, Mia had visited Japan to confirm it in person. This time, the Ace Detective hade back to life, and the world had reached a major turning point; there was no way the Oracle wouldn''te to observe it.


    "And you think Mia may be able to exin Natsunagi''s current state?" "Yeah. At the very least, she should know what''s happening that I don''t


    know."


    That was why we were on our way to talk to her. About a week ago, on top of that clock tower in London, Mia and Natsunagi had a secret conversation. We were in a car bound for <i>a certain location </i>where we might find Mia and learn what they''d discussed.


    "But, Siesta, are you okay?"


    Siesta cocked her head as if she didn''t know what I meant.


    "I mean, you did just wake up, and we''re already on the move..."


    I''d realized quitete I''d brought Siesta out here without giving any thought to her physical health.


    "I haven''t deteriorated so badly that I need you worrying about me, Kimi," she murmured with her eyes closed. Apparently I''d been worried for nothing. "Besides, there isn''t much time."


    "True." It couldn''t be much longer before Seed made Saikawa his vessel. "Can we go a little faster, SIESTA?" I asked our driver.


    The girl sitting behind the wheel shot me a nce in the rearview mirror. "I don''t appreciate being ordered around by you, Kimihiko."


    It was the former maid-type SIESTA; she''de back with the original Ace Detective. Her body had been returned to Siesta, though, which meant this one was brand new...


    "What''s the matter? Have you been captivated by the new me?" SIESTA


    asked with a straight face, registering my gaze.


    "I mean, you can tell yourself that, but you don''t look any different."


    The girl was still identical to Siesta. The only differences were the maid uniform and the fact that she wasn''t wearing a hair clip.


    "Yes, because this is ''me.''"


    Up until a little while ago, a mysterious doctor, based in SPES''sboratory, had been repairing SIESTA. Did that mean he was the one who''d made this body?


    "Unfortunately, my current design isn''t meant forbat. However, now that both my body and heart are mechanical, I wouldn''t have minded being a fighting maid robot," SIESTA went on. As she spoke, her expression in the rearview mirror didn''t change.


    "The ''mechanical heart'' bit doesn''t make sense to me," I told her. "All else aside, there''s no way anyone who can make a wish for somebody else is just a machine."


    She''d wanted to save her mistress, even if it meant going against orders. If her heart was capable of a contradiction like that, then it was definitely the real thing.


    "Right, Siesta?"


    "...Yes. I never thought you two would surprise me so much." Coming from her, that was a frank admission of total defeat, but she seemed to be smiling as she said that. "We''ll have to think of a name for you, then."


    Siesta''s eyes focused on the driver''s seat. True, SIESTA should probably have a new name, both to celebrate her new life and to make it easier to tell the two of them apart.


    "You''ll name me?"


    Stopping the car at a red light, SIESTA blinked at us in the rearview mirror.


    Siesta leaned forward from the back seat and slipped a moon-shaped hairpin into SIESTA''s pale silver hair. "Your name is Noches," she told her.


    For a girl who''d been weighed down with a daytime moniker up until now, that did seem like an apt new name.


    <strong> The truth of that day, thest wish</strong>


    "It''s been a week, huh, Mia?"


    The person we''d hoped to find was there when we reached our destination, and I heaved a sigh of relief.


    "You really have no manners, do you? Telling me you want to see me out of nowhere like that..." Sweeping her pale blue hair back with one hand, Mia Whitlock nced at me. She was wearing the shrine maiden outfit she always wore when performing her duties. "I believe we''d agreed that I would contact you if there were any developments."


    Along with the matter of Natsunagi, I''d asked Mia for a certain favor. I wanted her to keep an eye out for the world''s next crisis...for Seed''s appearance. I knew it wouldn''t be that easy, but I''d turned to her anyway, trusting that it would help me find Saikawa.


    "Sorry. The situation''s changed a bit."


    With a few meters between us, I faced Mia. Behind her, Japan''s capital city spread out as far as the eye could see. This was the observation deck of the nation''s tallest radio tower; just like her clock tower in London, Mia Whitlock had been conducting her duties in a ce where she could look out over the city.


    "...It''s just you?" As Mia spoke, she gazed out the windows at the urbanndscape bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun.


    She and I were the only ones here, and there wasn''t a single person in the gallery, either... In other words: "If you''re looking for Siesta, she''s not here now."


    When I said that, her shoulders flinched a little. I knew even without asking that had been her biggest reason foring to Japan.


    "We got <i>dragged into </i>a little incident on our way here. Siesta''s getting it sorted out."


    "So, nothing''s changed there." With a small sigh, Mia turned back to me. "And? <i>Why are you actually here?</i>" Her straightforward lc eyes bored into me. From this point on, lies and evasions wouldn''t be tolerated. That was just how I wanted it, though.


    "Well, there was something I wanted to check on." I took a few steady breaths then asked my question:


    "Natsunagi''s heart is what brought Siesta back to life, right?"


    Siesta and I hade to that conclusion without even talking about it. One


    year ago, when Siesta had lost her heart and her life, her body had been put in cold storage and preserved in suspended animation. That meant just one piece was needed in order to truly bring her back to life: her heart.


    Siesta had used the power of her "seed" to transfer her own consciousness to her heart. So if it were to be returned to her body... If her body and spirit were linked again, then Siesta woulde back to life. The idea itself was simple enough.


    However, there was one major issue: The all-important heart was in Natsunagi''s body. When Natsunagi had fought with Siesta as Hel, her heart had sustained damage, and she''d attacked people indiscriminately in London, trying to find a recement for it. The heart she''d finally found had been Siesta''s. If Natsunagi were to lose it again, she''d¡ª


    "That''s right." Mia looked at me. There was no change in her expression. "Nagisa Natsunagi picked up on that possibility. She asked me, if she died and the heart <i>were returned to its owner</i>, whether the Ace Detective woulde back to life."


    Then I''d guessed right. Back then, Natsunagi had already braced herself. She''d thought that her death might revive Siesta.


    That was why she''d made that promise to mest week in London: "I''ll get Siesta back, no matter what I have to do."


    No matter what she had to do. Even if that meant sacrificing herself.


    "And you didn''t stop her, Mia?" I squeezed my fists until I felt my nails dig into my palms.


    "No."


    "¡ªWhy not...?!"


    "Well, I mean¡ª!" Mia''s protest echoed in the observation deck. "That''s what happens when you change the future!"


    Her shoulders were quaking. She was angrier than she''d ever been, and she was crying harder than I''d ever seen her. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she raged at me, or maybe at herself. "No matter how hard the choice is, if there''s a wish we really and truly want, we¡ª"


    ...Oh, I see. That was what I''d asked Mia to do. I''d asked her to help me revive Siesta, to help me find a new route that would make it possible. And these were the consequences.


    A year ago, Siesta had died, and her heart had kept Natsunagi alive. Now Natsunagi was dead, and her heart had brought Siesta back to life.


    Route X had been the only one that could bring about the miracle I''d wanted, and this was how it ended.


    "I guess I made you do it."


    That was true for both Mia and Natsunagi. There was no way I could me either of them.


    "No matter what you sacrifice, no matter what price you pay, keep working to get that wish of yours." Those had been Bat''sst words to me.


    I''d thought I''d braced for the worst long ago, but what I''d resolved to do was swallow that seed. To offer myself, basically. Even if the seed took part of my body or a few years of my life, if it made it possible to revive Siesta, I would''ve been d to make the sacrifice.


    ...But I hadn''t realized Natsunagi probably thought the same way. I hadn''t noticed just how badly she wanted Siesta back, nor did I pick up on her passion.


    Natsunagi had met Siesta six years ago, long before I had. Then Seed had stolen both their memories, they''d encountered each other as enemies, and finally, they had parted in death.


    However, that separation had been a result of Siesta''s devotion to Natsunagi. Natsunagi had wanted to relive her life, to experience going to school, and Siesta had used her own heart to make that wishe true. When Natsunagi retrieved her memories of the incident, she''d resolved to save Siesta even if it meant sacrificing herself. There was nothing unnatural about it.


    "Nagisa smiled. She seemed relieved," Mia told me, wiping her tears away again and again. "She wasn''t originally intending to die, of course. Even so, she said she''d finally be able to do the job she needed to do as a detective. That she''d be able to repay her debt to both you and Siesta."


    "...!"


    That wasn''t right. Natsunagi wasn''t the one who hadn''t repaid her debt. It was me.


    "I asked Nagisa if she wasn''t afraid, if she was really all right with this. And she said..." Mia gazed out the window, into the distance. "She said she was only returning what she''d borrowed. That this was the correct route."


    "That can''t be. Why the hell would I want that future?"


    "Yes. I didn''t think it was correct, either. How could I?" With her eyes on the sunset, Mia spoke quietly. "That choice couldn''t be the right one. At the


    very least, I knew that it wouldn''t be the future you wanted, Kimihiko Kimizuka. You''d tried so hard to persuade me, and and you did. I wanted to help you... And if this was the result, after all that, I wouldn''t me you if you wanted to hit me. And yet," she went on, "I couldn''t deny Nagisa''s choice. Her passion."


    A single tear rolled down Mia''s cheek.


    Had she cried like this a year and a half ago, when she''d failed to stop Siesta''s gamble?


    "I don''t know how to face Boss. I betrayed her wish and prioritized Nagisa''s. And so¡ª"


    "¡ªThat''s wrong."


    Just then, a voice that didn''t belong to either of us echoed throughout the observation deck. Mia turned around. Her gaze focused on a spot right beside me.


    "It''s been a long time, Mia."


    The two heroes, the Oracle and the Ace Detective, reunited for the first time in a year.

 Chapter 91 - 1.3

    <h4>Chapter 91: Chapter 1.3</h4>


    <strong>The Ace Detective swears a second oath</strong>


    "Boss..."


    Mia Whitlock stared at the white-haired ace detective, stunned.


    She''d known that Siesta hade back to life, or at least that the possibility existed. However, she''d only understood it in a logical, factual way.


    This reunion really should have been impossible, and Mia stood frozen, tears streaming down her face.


    "You''re still a crybaby, I see." Beside me, Siesta was smiling.


    "...I don''t recall crying that often in front of you, Boss." Mia looked away apologetically.


    Siesta watched her. Then, for some reason, she sighed and red at me. "Kimi, I do think you should stop trying to make girls cry. It''s a bad habit."


    "Who''d do that on purpose? No one wants to see that." "Granted, the fact that you haven''t changed is a bit of a relief..."


    "That''s a terrible thing to be relieved about." Although, since that


    predisposition of mine hadn''t changed either, I had to admit I''d caused her trouble just a minute ago.


    "Besides, it''s my cue at times like these." Siesta took a step toward Mia.


    "...!"


    Mia''s face twisted. She believed she didn''t have the right to see Siesta now. "I rejected the future you wanted to protect, Boss. The new route I found took another life. I knew nobody would be happy that way, and I still..."


    Mia didn''t think this oue was the right one, either. Back then, though, she''d had no choice. She hadn''t been able to ignore Natsunagi''s feelings and had gotten the opportunity to clear her regrets over having been unable to save her benefactor...but another detective had paid the price.


    One week ago in London, Mia had taken a step forward. However, she hadn''t necessarily been heading toward the future she''d hoped for.


    "I''m sorry." Mia spoke from the heart. Her eyes were red, and her head was facing down. "Once again, I failed to stop the Ace Detective''s gamble. I knew it might be a mistake, but I couldn''t do a thing. I''m... I''m..."


    "That''s not it." Interrupting Mia, Siesta pulled her into a hug. I could see Mia''s startled face within Siesta''s arms. "First of all, I''m the one who needs to apologize. I''m sorry, Mia."


    "Boss, why should you...?" Mia didn''t seem to understand what Siesta was trying to get at. Her round, lc-colored eyes wavered.


    "I made you go along with my selfish request, and you got hurt. I want to give you a proper apology for that."


    A year and a half ago, Siesta hade up with a n to make the enemy steal the sacred text, one that incorporated the possibility that she''d be sacrificed. In order to put that n into action, she''d enlisted Mia''s help.


    "...You were only trying toplete your mission as a Tuner, Boss. I just wasn''t prepared," Mia murmured. She was crying in Siesta''s arms. "And this time, again, I..."


    "As I said, you''ve got that wrong, too." Siesta held both her shoulders, speaking firmly. "This isn''t over yet."


    Mia''s eyes widened.


    "It''s true that Nagisa''s sacrifice brought me back to life. However, <i>who decided this was where we''d end?</i>"


    Mia and I trembled at her words. Just as I''d sworn not to let the story end until I''d brought Siesta back to life, even in this desperate situation, Siesta wasn''t giving up on Natsunagi.


    "Listen to me, Mia." On that observation deck, in the heart of Japan, Siesta issued a deration. "I swear I''ll save Nagisa Natsunagi. After all, she didn''t give up on me."


    Siesta was swearing that oath to the two of us, and maybe to herself. "...Really?" The Oracle''s voice sounded very childlike.


    As she dried Mia''s tears, Siesta smiled. "Yes. I prefer stories with happy endings."


    <strong> The order rings out</strong>


    "I''m sorry."


    A little while after that, Mia bowed her head to us again.


    It wasn''t a continuation of that earlier conversation, though.


    "No matter what I do, I can''t see the future that''s affected by the primordial seed."


    I''d wanted Mia to take a look at the future that revolved around Seed, but it hadn''t worked. "That can''t be helped. I know you can''t just see what you want to see."


    "That''s true as well, but..." Mia kept darting nces at me, as if she had something else she wanted to say.


    "What? Is it hard to talk about?"


    Not that any of the people around me are shy.


    "I think she''s trying to say it''s your fault, Kimi."


    ...The first and finest example being the white-haired girl next to me.


    "You''re saying I''m the reason Mia can''t see the future? That''s crazy talk." But when I looked at Mia, she averted her eyes ufortably. <i>...Wait, seriously? </i>"What did I do?"


    "You changed the future," Siesta said briefly. "In the one I had in mind, you and Nagisa, Charlie and Yui would have defeated SPES. Or Seed, rather. Granted, that was only what I hoped would happen, but even so."


    That had been Siesta''sst wish, and Natsunagi, Charlie, Saikawa, and I were the legacy she''d left behind.


    "But from there, you started down a path even I hadn''t envisioned."


    ...Yeah, that''s right. I hadn''t been able to give up on her, and I''d started searching for options with Natsunagi and the others. Neither the Oracle nor the great detective had seen thating.


    That hadnded us where we were now: Natsunagi was dead, Saikawa had been taken captive by the enemy, and Charlie was in critical condition. This route couldn''t have been further from what Siesta had hoped for, or from my own ideal.


    "The future is incredibly unstable right now." Mia had been listening to us with her eyes closed; as she spoke, she opened them again slowly. "Because of your actions, there is no set route regarding the battle with Seed any longer. There''s nothing I can observe now, including who will win or how it will happen."


    That was the conclusion Mia Whitlock the Oracle hade to. Even the Tuner who saw the future couldn''t see how this story would end.¡ªBut...


    "Our loss isn''t set in stone, either." True, this was nothing like how I''d visualized it would be. I''d lost three precious friends. But ourst hope was still standing next to me. "Isn''t that right, Siesta?"


    I gazed at that "hope," the Ace Detective.


    If the future was undecided, then we''d defeat the world''s enemy with our own hands and rescue all our friends. That was the ending Siesta was aiming for.


    "Yes. That''s why I came back."


    Siesta''s fleeting smile wasn''t confident, like one a hero of a story would have worn. Right now, though, when we couldn''t see the light, just having her with me made me believe I could still make it until tomorrow.


    "Assistant." Siesta pointed at my chest, and I realized my phone was vibrating in my jacket''s inner pocket. I checked the name on the disy, then


    picked up.


    "Hey, you damn brat. Finally got out of bed, huh?"


    I heard someone blow cigarette smoke on the other end of the line.


    It was Fuubi Kase, the person who''d first told me Nagisa Natsunagi was dead.


    "Ms. Fuubi. It''s like I thought¡ªwe can''t give up on Natsunagi..." "Kimihiko Kimizuka," an ice-cold voice said from the receiver. "If you''ve


    got time to cling to hope, then pick up your weapon."


    ...Yeah. That was the sort of person Fuubi Kase was.


    She''d been assigned the role of Assassin, an ally of justice¡ªno, an enemy of evil¡ªwho eradicated the world''s crises. She didn''t cling to temporary emotions or 1 percent chance of hope. She believed in nothing but solid logic and the strength she herself had built up, and she used those things to defeat the enemies of the world. It wasn''t long before I realized a situation where we''d need them was bearing down on us.


    " !"


    The crisis began with a sudden ringing in my ears.


    It felt as if an enormous bell was nging right next to me. My head throbbed, and I felt sick to my stomach. The phone fell from my hand, and I dropped to my knees.


    "Kimihiko? ...Boss!" Mia ran to me, but her eyes promptly turned to Siesta. Apparently Siesta and I were the only ones this mystery phenomenon was affecting.


    "What''s...this...?" Like me, Siesta was kneeling on the floor. She grimaced, holding her chest.


    "The enemy''s attacking," Ms. Fuubi said from my dropped smartphone. Just then, I heard a distant explosion.


    "What now...?" The headache and nausea had finally receded a little, so I got to my feet and looked outside. "What''s...happening?"


    From above, at a height of four hundred and fifty meters, I saw enormous tentacles attacking a cluster of skyscrapers.


    <strong> nt City 20XX</strong>


    "What the heck is this?"


    Once Siesta and I had recovered from the mysterious bouts of nausea, we''d left the radio tower and raced to the scene. However, the sight before us was so bizarre that I stopped in my tracks.


    The sun was down. Long, thick roots, which looked like enormous tentacles, were coiling around the cluster of skyscrapers. An astronomical number of vines had wrapped around an elevated railway line, trapping a train. The streets were inplete pandemonium. People panicking ran this way and that, idents were breaking out everywhere¡ªsmoke permeating as mes shot up.


    "Assistant!"


    Just then, a powerful shock ran through me. "...?!"


    The next thing I knew, I was lying on the asphalt, and Siesta was covering me.


    A momentter, a pedestrian signal crashed down right beside us. The weird nts were tangled around its support pole. I should have given a little more thought to why there were so many traffic idents.


    "What''s going on?"


    Taking Siesta''s hand and getting to my feet, I looked around again. The ground had split, and roots choked the buildings. Traffic signals and signs had been destroyed, and many people had already abandoned their cars. This city was in the process of being conquered by nts... Or, actually, by the primordial seed.


    "Assistant, look." Siesta pointed urgently. A tentacle had attacked a young man who hadn''t evacuated fast enough. It coiled around and around him, then carried him off.


    "Siesta, we''re going after it!"


    What was the enemy nning to do with kidnapped civilians thiste in the game? Seed''s main objective wasn''t to attack the human race...


    "We''ll never make it in time if we just chase it." Pulling me by the hand, Siesta dashed up the fire escape of a nearby building. From that high vantage point, she watched to see where the tentacle went.


    "That''s..."


    A distantmercial-use building that was taller than the rest had been punctured throughout by an enormous tree. In the crown of that tree, I could see what appeared to be a <i>big, ripe, swollen fruit</i>.


    "Yui Saikawa is there." Siesta was peering through a pair of binocrs. She pointed at the upper floors of the building. "She and several civilians are trapped inside that giant fruit."


    "Is she okay?!"


    "She looks limp. She may be unconscious."


    ¡ªStill, now we knew where we had to go.


    "Those trapped civilians are probably serving as <i>nourishment</i>. Nutrients are being drained away from them and used to cultivate Saikawa, the vessel."


    I see. Cultivating the vessel...or maybe repairing it.


    During the fight a few days earlier, Saikawa had sustained injuries even Seed hadn''t seening. He was probably trying to heal her damaged body, to restore her strength as a vessel. At this point, the process was most likely in its final phase.


    "Siesta, let''s hurry." We''d learned the enemy''s objective and where our friend was. In that case, we didn''t have time to hang out on these stairs and watch. "We need to get to Saikawa fast¡ª"


    Before the words were out of my mouth, <i>my body rose into the air</i>. "Assistant!" Siesta screamed; she was peering down at me. It wasn''t until


    then that I realized I was falling. In the same moment, a vine had stretched up from the ground and destroyed the stairway.


    " !"


    Even if I managed tond using proper form, I was plunging toward concrete from ten meters high. Wasnding safely even possible? Hoping that the seed I''d swallowed had made my body a bit sturdier, I kept falling¡ª


    "Hm?"


    A few secondster, I collided with something, but the impact was nowhere near what I''d expected. When I dubiously opened my eyes, I saw...


    "Hey, you damn brat. Now you''re indebted to me for life."


    The irritating redheaded policewoman was cradling me in her arms, looking triumphant.


    "...How many kilograms of force do you think that was? Hundreds?" Staring at Ms. Fuubi''s face at close range, I forced a smile. I weighed a shade under sixty kilos. Not only that, but when you considered how far I''d fallen straight down...


    "Don''t underestimate the police. I can carry an African elephant in one hand."


    ...That''s really scary. I don''t think I''ll be defying her again, ever. "Assistant!"


    Siesta made a cleannding on the asphalt. She might be a littlete, but she''d just casually pulled off a superhuman feat of her own.


    "It''s been a while, Ace Detective." Ms. Fuubi grinned. She didn''t seem startled to see her. It was as if she''d already known Siesta hade back to life.


    "I do feel bad for having caused trouble for you after my death." Siesta gave an apology that only someone who''d been resurrected could give. "I''m also grateful that you protected the others, Charlie included." But even as she spoke to Ms. Fuubi, her eyes were cold.


    "Hm? Oh, yeah, I''ll give him back." Joking around, Ms. Fuubi lowered me to the ground.


    "And? What''s the situation?" Siesta asked. Since Ms. Fuubi had called us about this, she had to know something.


    "From what I hear, it all came out of nowhere. A huge tree grew up through a building that was smack in the middle of town; then the ground fissured and nts started attacking people. Right now, even the police are panicking." Ms. Fuubi sighed.


    "And Seed is nearby, too?" I asked. If our enemy had triggered a situation this massive, I couldn''t imagine that he wasn''t here.


    "Good question. I dunno what he looks like."


    "I don''t suppose you''re Seed, are you?" Siesta inquired casually. Come to think of it, about a year ago in London, Seed had made contact with us disguised as Ms. Fuubi.


    "Ha! <i>Did your deductive skills dull while you were dead?</i>" Ms. Fuubi dismissed Siesta''s question with augh. "If I were the enemy, I would have killed that brat a second ago."


    Oh, yeah, probably. So this was the genuine Fuubi Kase, then.


    "In that case, are you sure you''re okay with this?" Siesta watched Ms. Fuubi dubiously. "The mission of defeating SPES was assigned to me, the Ace Detective. You''re the Assassin; ordinarily, you wouldn''t be allowed to help me with this."


    That was a rule set by something called the Federal Charter. Since there were countless global crises, they were each handled by a predetermined Tuner. Seed''s attack had been assigned to the Ace Detective.


    "Help you? Nah. I was just cleaning up after you people." Ms. Fuubi gave us a mean little smile. "For now, I''m taking a temporary break from my Assassin work. I''ll evacuate the civilians; you focus on rescuing Yui Saikawa and defeating the enemy."


    Then she tossed her survival knife to me. "I''m off to do my duty as a police officer," she told me, red ponytail swaying. Her expression was bursting with confidence.


    "Let''s go, Assistant," Siesta said, and the two of us started toward Saikawa again. We were headed for the retail building we''d seen from the stairs, the one that had fused with the huge tree. Pushing upstream against the fleeing crowd, we raced to the scene.


    "How are we going to rescue Saikawa?"


    "I suppose we''ll just have to climb up the side of the building¡ªWait, remind me: Can you do things like that?"


    "I''m surprised you thought there was even a one percent chance that I could."


    "Hmm. Maybe I should have stolen that spider-fellow''s ability," Siesta said. She was talking about a pseudohuman we''d defeated ages back.


    Come to think of it, did Siesta know I''d swallowed Chameleon''s seed? The seed was a double-edged sword; it gave you special abilities, but in exchange, you had to sacrifice one of your senses or some years of your life. If Siesta knew I''d eaten it so I could get her back, what would she say? Would she be worried for me, or¡ª?


    "Assistant?"


    My silence seemed to strike Siesta as odd. She turned back, staring at me. "No, it''s nothing. Let''s hurry," I said, making a run for my friend.


    "Yes. Seriously, do hurry. I''ve been matching your pace all this time." "...I''m starting to think it would be faster if you carried me piggyback."

 Chapter 92 - 1.4

    <h4>Chapter 92: Chapter 1.4</h4>


    <strong>That was how we did things</strong>


    From the scramble intersection, we looked up at the eight-story shopping mall. A huge tree grew straight up through its center, and thick branches had broken through windows and walls.


    "Saikawa..."


    In the crown of the tree, which was practically part of the structure now, we could see a fruit-like object. Saikawa and other regr citizens were trapped inside its eye-catching ripe skin.


    "It doesn''t look like scaling the outside is going to work." "Then we''ll just have to go through the inside, huh?"


    That enormous tree had suddenly sprouted and impaled the building. There was no telling what the inside would look like. Even if we made it up to the fruit, we wouldn''t be able to rescue everybody at once. If we could retrieve Saikawa, though, the flow of nutrients should stop, and that would save the civilians.


    As I was thinking, I looked up at the building again and spotted a helicopter in the dark sky. Were they taking an aerial survey of the damage?


    "...Hm?"


    Just then, a long, thin tentacle stretched up out of nowhere and grabbed <i>the helicopter''s tail rotor</i>. There was only one way I could see that ying out.


    "Assistant!"


    Even before I could move, Siesta''s sharp voice hit me, followed by the rest of her: She''d tackled me, pushing me to the ground to protect me. The next instant, an explosion pierced my ears.


    "...! Siesta!"


    We were a good distance from the crash, but even then, an intense st of heat hit us. The ck smoke was so thick, I couldn''t open my eyes. I called out to the detective...but there was no answer. I couldn''t even sense her presence. <i>No way... </i>I raised my head, and just then, a gunshot rang out. The bullet split the wind, cutting through the smoke.


    "It''s a hundred years too early for you to worry about me."


    Siesta stood in front of me, musket at the ready. She knew I''d never catch up to her.


    Beyond the distant mes from the explosion, I spotted the silhouette of an enemy I''d seen just the other day.


    "¡ªIt''s been a long time, but I see you haven''t changed." Out of the gradually clearing smoke, Seed spoke to Siesta. He normally couldn''t tell humans apart, but Siesta had been a candidate vessel, so perhaps she was a special case.


    "You, on the other hand, take on a different shape every time I see you." Siesta was expressionless. She must have been watching her enemy transform


    ever since their first encounter six years ago.


    However, Seed looked nearly the same as he had when I''d met him a week ago. His long white hair was mixed with strands of gray, and he wore armor that came up to his neck. His face seemed lifeless, his features androgynous. He had the eyes of a creature that had abandoned all emotions and everything else. As if he''d cut them off and thrown them away.


    "I do think you used to be a bit more human, though," Siesta said unexpectedly. Even if Seed was a nt that had flown here from outer space, Siesta seemed to imply that he''d once resembled us.


    "What are you getting at?" Granted, Seed didn''t seem able to understand human words. He cocked his head, mystified.


    He wasn''t ying dumb. He also wasn''t doing what Hel did when she''d been pretending not to notice her feelings of love. The fact that Natsunagi had bombarded him with her strong emotions and still hadn''t managed to defeat him was proof: The primordial seed had nothing resembling feelings.


    "Enough arguing. I''ve already issued <i>the order</i>." Four tentacles stretched from Seed''s back, and thick briars grew from the cracked ground. The seeds he''d sown all over the world were ready to sprout.


    "The vessel will beplete soon. For now, I''ll eliminate the enemies who threaten my survival instinct."


    Then Seed''s tentacles and the tips of all the nts under his control streaked toward us. As he said, there would be no resolving this through debate. We were heading into the genuine final showdown.


    Still, even if he''d taken damage the other day, would we have a fair fighting chance against him? It was nighttime, so we couldn''t expect any help from the sunlight that made him weak.


    "What do we do, Siesta?" I asked,ing up to stand beside the world''s most reliable partner.


    "It''s fine. I''ve got an idea."


    Yeah, that''s it. This reassuring feeling. She''d always protected me this way, with that big metaphorical umbre of hers. Yes, she''d picked me up just like this, and...


    "...Hm?"


    Throwing me over her shoulder, Siesta started forward and skillfully dodged tentacles as they stabbed into the ground. Then, leaping as if she were taking flight, Siesta <i>threw me past Seed</i>.


    "Not fair!"


    I tumbled right into the entryway of a building. The exact one we were here for, so¡ª


    "Take care of Yui."


    "...For once, could you exin what you''re doing before you do it?"


    <strong> To all living creatures</strong>


    Looking back, whenever Siesta said she had a good idea, it was usually a bad one for me. I didn''t have time toin right now, though.


    "I''ll be back in ten minutes."


    Turning away from the battlefield, I set off to rescue Saikawa.


    Ten minutes. Would Siesta be able to withstand the enemy''s attacks that long? For now, I had to believe in her. She''d chosen to send me, and I needed to respect her choice. Besides...at this point, I couldn''t see her choosing to sacrifice herself.


    I made my way through the mall, the former heart of a space for teenagers. Just a few hours ago, it must have been bustling with people, but now it was changed beyond recognition.


    "So I can''t use the esctors or the elevators."


    The building''s power was out, and it was dark. The huge tree stretched up through the center of the floors, and viny nts grew thickly all over the ce. Pushing my way through them, I spotted a stairway.


    I was pretty sure this building had eight floors. From there, I''d have to get up to the roof, then jump down onto that big fruit. I had a mental image of how it should go, but would it really be that easy to rescue Saikawa? ...There was so much to think about that it was giving me a headache.


    Siesta was fighting with Seed, and Saikawa had been captured. Charlie was still in the hospital in critical condition, and Natsunagi¡ª


    "......!"


    As a rule, nothing I did could change their fates, and I knew there was no point in thinking about it now. Even so, as I ran up the stairs two at a time, the girls'' faces came to mind.


    I''d been alone. The next thing I knew, though, they were with me, by my side. I''d gained so many things that were important to me, without even


    meaning to. When people found something more precious than themselves, I was sure they¡ª


    "!"


    I saw a figure huddled on thending between the fourth and fifth floors. "Are you okay?"


    Was it a shopper who hadn''t gotten away in time, or a civilian who''d been snatched by a tentacle? I couldn''t see that well in the dark, but I reached out toward the hunched back.


    "¡ªGah, aaaaaaaaah!"


    The huddled figure gave a piercing shriek, then whipped around and leaped at me.


    Like a zombie, it made a grab for me. It wasn''t as strong as I''d thought, though. I swept its feet out from under it, pinned it, and held a gun to its head.


    "You''re..."


    My gun was trained on an enemy I''d met on the battlefield many times: Chameleon.


    "...No."


    It didn''t take me long to realize this wasn''t the actual Chameleon I''d fought. <i>It was a doll. </i>When I''d encountered Seed at the SPESboratory a year ago, he''d been cutting off bits of his own body and making temporary clones. This doll was probably something simr; it didn''t have as much strength as a pseudohuman, and it was hard to define it as either animal or nt.


    "Forgive me."


    Even so, I murmured to it briefly, then shot through its head. The Chameleon doll shriveled up; it was like watching a nt die in fast-forward.


    "¡ªI, w¡ª"


    Atst, with a strangled whimper, the doll vanished.


    <i>Ow?</i>


    I thought about what that expression of pain meant.


    Was the impulse to scream from pain different from "emotion"? Seed had no emotions whatsoever. In that case, the clones he''d created¡ª


    "Complete the mission," said a voice behind me.


    When I turned, there were enormous, razor-sharp ws right in my face. "¡ª!" I lost my bnce but managed to dodge, then got a good look at my


    attacker. "You''re as huge as ever, Cerberus."


    The pseudohuman Cerberus was a hulking, priestlike man who was around two meters tall. Just as he''d done during our previous encounter, he had transformed fully into a beast-man.


    "Sorry, but I don''t have time to deal with you, either." With no hesitation, I pulled the trigger, finishing the enemy with three shots.


    "¡ªI, wa¡ª" Cerberus cried in a thin voice. This was another hastily made nt doll. It would have taken a lot more than that to stop the real Cerberus, but with those three shots, he toppled toward me, apparently dead.


    He was two meters tall, and yet, as his body fell against me, he seemed to weigh practically nothing. He began to dry up and crumble away. At the very end, the proud wolf murmured something in my ear.


    "¡ªI want to live."


    <i>I want to live.</i>


    Not <i>Ow</i>. They''d been saying they wanted to live.


    Both Chameleon and Cerberus. All living creatures. They all want to survive, to live. Just as I''d wanted to bring Siesta back from the dead and had wanted Natsunagi to live.


    "Everybody''s like that."


    Btedly, I understood. The fear of death was a basic emotion, an instinct nobody could deny. Dolls, nts, pseudohumans... When I let those words affect me, I almost forgot.


    Hel and Bat, of course, but also Chameleon and Cerberus, and the clones I''d fought all this time¡ªThey feared death just as ordinary humans did. They got angry and asionally showed other emotions.


    The <i>loyalty </i>Cerberus felt toward Seed, the <i>sadism </i>Chameleon inflicted on Natsunagi, and the <i>hostility </i>he''d showed me. Those were all clear examples of feelings. That''s right: Unlike the primordial seed, the clones had unmistakable emotio¡ª


    "¡ªNo, that''s wrong."


    Like a jolt of electricity, one theory raced through my brain. Maybe I''d¡ª maybe <i>we''d</i>¡ªhad the wrong idea all this time.


    "That''s why you..."


    Just then, a tremor made me stumble. There was a fierce battle going on outside, and I had no time to stand still. I hurried for the roof.

 Chapter 93 - 1.5

    <h4>Chapter 93: Chapter 1.5</h4>


    Until we take them all home someday


    I raced up the stairs and finally reached the door at the top. I shot out the lock, then kicked the door down and stepped outside.


    "¡ª! Here too?"


    The crown of the great tree had burst out onto the roof, covering the whole space with thick branches and leaves. Pushing my way through them, I made for the edge.


    "Saikawa!"


    When I looked down, I saw the enormous fruit clinging to the wall of the building a few meters below. From a distance, it had looked like a distorted semicircle, but from this angle, it was closer to a cross-section of a pomegranate. Saikawa and the other sleeping figures were surrounded by globules of dark red pulp.


    Steeling myself, I jumped down onto the fruit¡ªand luckily, it was sturdy enough to hold the weight of another human, because I managed tond safely.


    "If I cut these stems..."


    Thick nt stems were tangled around Saikawa and the bodies of several civilians; they seemed to be transporting nutrients, as if they were pipes. Pulling out the survival knife Ms. Fuubi had loaned me, I began to cut through them one by one. However, it was a process of trial and error¡ª


    "Give me a break already!"


    A tentacle that had prated through the wall of the building reached toward me. It seemed to have grown out of the great tree that pierced the mall, and I guessed this was a defense system, meant to drive away <i>undesirables</i>.


    "¡ª!"


    There was a total of three tentacles now. Hastily leveling my gun, I fired one shot, two...and realized I was out of bullets. I had no way to avoid the third tentacle. <i>Not good</i>, I thought¡ªbut then I noticed I had an iing call.


    "¡ªYou saved my butt, Charlotte."


    A third bullet sliced through the wind and blew thest tentacle away. "As expected of you. You''ve got to be five hundred meters from here."


    Guessing where she was from the angle of the shot, I spoke to her through my wireless earphone, keeping my eyes fixed on the distant building.


    "That was nothing," she responded after a few seconds. "A first-ss sniper can kill an enemy from two kilometers away."


    She was tough on herself, as you''d expect from an agent who was training under the world''s toughest boss.


    "Charlie, are you okay? Ms. Fuubi didn''t say a thing..."


    It had been three days since I''d first heard that Charlie was in aa, and Ms. Fuubi was supposed to call me if her condition changed.


    "Do you think that woman would take care of me for three whole days?"


    ...That was disturbingly convincing.


    "I''m not okay just yet, so this is the best I can do." She wasughing at herself. She still couldn''t move as well as she wanted to.


    "That was plenty helpful. But how did you get from the hospital to that building?"


    "She brought me here."


    Charlie was referring to Noches, who must have told her about Natsunagi and Siesta, too.


    "I see. Okay, Charlie, you head somewhere safe as well."


    "Kimizuka." Just as I was about to hang up, she said my name. "Take care of ourpanion."


    It was a prettymon line. For anyone who worked as part of a unit or team, it would have been a totally natural exchange. However,ing from Charlotte Arisaka Anderson, the words probably carried several times more weight than usual.


    "Yeah, I know." So, as I ended the call, I made sure my short reply had years'' worth of feelings in it, too.


    "Saikawa, it''s time to wake up."


    I cut thest stalk, the one that connected Saikawa to the fruit itself, and shook her awake.


    "...Kimi...zuka...?"


    Saikawa''s eyes opened a bit. She wasn''t wearing her eye patch, and I caught a glimpse of that distinct ocean blue.


    "Yep, I''m one of the Kimizukas. Kimihiko, to be exact." I scooped Saikawa into my arms, princess-style.


    "You came...to rescue me?"


    "While getting rescued myself, yeah."


    Ms. Fuubi and Siesta had both saved me from deep trouble. So had Charlie, just before. I still wasn''t strong enough to protect everything that was important to me all on my own. Even now, I''d just happened to score the chance to y hero.


    "...You haven''t changed at all, Kimizuka." Saikawa gave a wry, mildly chagrined smile. "It''s all right. You don''t always need to have a punchline ready."


    "You''re saying it''s okay to y the dashing hero every once in a while?" It had been a few days since thest time we bantered. We''d have to finish up this routine after we got down, though... After everything was over. Holding Saikawa, I prepared to jump.


    "Yes, but you don''t have to act." Saikawa clung to me, and... "You''ve been dashing as long as I''ve known you, Kimizuka." She murmured something in a tiny voice, but the wind carried it away.


    <strong> The primordial wish</strong>


    "Siesta!"


    When I returned to the battlefield, I found Siesta a little ways from the building. She had shallow cuts on her forehead and shoulders, but she was steady on her feet.


    "That didn''t take as long as I expected. I''d assumed you wouldn''t be back for another two hours." ...As always, her opinion of me was way too low. I was maybe two minuteste. "And? What about Yui?"


    "She''s safe. ...We sort of fought at the end, though."


    Ultimately, I''d abandoned the idea of gantly jumping off the building,


    choosing to y it safe and climb back in through a window instead. Apparently her judgment of me had taken a steep dive. So unfair.


    "Ms. Fuubi''s taking care of her now, so she''s in good hands."


    On my way down with Saikawa on my back, I''d run into the redheaded policewoman, who''d attached an anchor-like tool onto the building''s exterior wall. She''d asked me to rescue the other people who were trapped in the fruit, and she was currently making arrangements to evacuate Saikawa and the rest.


    "So, Siesta. What''s the situation here?" I took another look around. Most of the buildings were half-demolished and covered in vines, and the cracks in the ground had gotten worse. This ce had lost all function as a city.


    "I''d say we''re headed into Round Two." Suddenly, Siesta sent a sharp look at one of the destroyed buildings. Soon, from the clouds of dust, someone appeared¡ª


    "Seed..."


    Seed was swaying on his feet, and part of his armor had crumbled away. The Ace Detective and the enemy of the world must have been equally matched for those ten minutes.


    "We rescued Saikawa," I told Seed,ing up to stand beside Siesta. "We''ll never let you touch her again. There are no pseudohumans to help you out now. Seed, your ns end here."


    I pointed my Magnum at the enemy. In the same moment, Siesta aimed her musket straight at him.


    "¡ªYes, I know. And so I retrieved that seed a short while ago."


    For a fraction of a second, I thought I saw a blue re in the depths of Seed''s colorless eyes. ...He couldn''t mean he''d used the fruit of the huge tree to extract the seed from Saikawa, could he?


    "The vessel this body originally wanted is here."


    Eight tentacles stretched from Seed''s back, all reaching for Siesta. There were too many of them to repel with bullets, and on top of that, they regenerated fast. We hid in the shadow of a demolished building, riding out the enemy''s attack.


    "So that''s how it is." Wiping sweat and blood from her forehead, Siesta added to Seed''s remark. "He''s taking another shot at what he triedst year. My heart is inside me now, and my body is undamaged. Seed''s trying to secure me as a vessel."


    "I see..."


    One year ago, Siesta had died and lost her right to be Seed''s vessel.


    However, now that <i>she''de back to life</i>, she was qualified again.


    "You don''t have to worry, though. I won''t be a vessel." Siesta spoke firmly, and her expression was dauntless. "While you were gone, Kimi, I realized something."


    "You did, huh? What a coincidence. So did I."


    We looked at each other, then exchanged nods. I didn''t know if we were both assuming the same thing, but we couldn''t be too far off.


    "Assistant."


    Siesta pushed my head down just as one of the enemy''s tentacles pulverized the exterior wall of our building. Using the clouds of dust as cover, Siesta sprinted toward the enemy.


    "¡ªI''d predicted that attack already."


    Seed''s eight tentacles writhed like snakes, trying to catch Siesta in the billowing dust, but she <i>leapt from one to the next, racing through the air </i>and closing in on the enemy.


    "Siesta!"


    Just as she reached the spot directly above Seed, the tentacles formed the shape of an open-mouthed carnivorous nt and attempted to devour this <i>foreign invader</i>. Surrounded by a solid wall of feelers, Siesta said¡ª


    "I''m too strong for you now."


    She shot her way out, scattering fragments of tentacle in all directions. Plunging straight down into the enemy, Siesta sted a bullet into Seed''s neck.


    " !"


    Maybe even Seed could feel pain: His face twisted slightly. The neck armor Siesta had fired at fell apart, exposing the skin underneath. In addition to the gunshot wound on the enemy''s neck, there was a gash as if he''d been shed with arge de.


    "You''re losing your ability to regenerate," Siesta said. She bounced back, light-footed in spite of the broken ground. "I heard you took a dose of full sunlight and sustained a mortal injury during your fight with Bat. It damaged your cells'' capacity for regeneration. Moreover," she continued, revealing another conjecture she''d thought of during this battle, "<i>in the process of sharing abilities with yourpanions, you''ve been weakening yourself</i>."


    It wasn''t clear whether Seed was listening to her or not. His neck was oozing a thick, viscous fluid, and he staggered.


    "So although he was creating clones, he wasn''t simply replicating," I said.


    Siesta nodded. "That''s right. Seed makes clones by distributing his seeds with them. That means the more clones he makes, the more power he loses."


    Seed had simply been <i>transferring his power</i>. As he shared his abilities with his subordinates and scattered seeds across the world, he''d been growing weaker. Siesta had noticed because she''d fought him several years ago, and then again here and now.


    Even so, he should have been far stronger than the average pseudohuman, but that''s where Bat''s desperate gambit hade in: After getting hit with sunlight, Seed''s body was having trouble regenerating. Now that the Ace Detective had resurrected, she could fight him as an equal.


    "¡ªI don''t understand," Seed said. He bent his back forward, his face turned toward the ground. "Why must my power be taken from me and given to my clones?"


    He wasn''t trying to pull one over on us, and he wasn''t ying dumb. He genuinely didn''t understand.


    "Because that''s what you wanted, right?" I''d reminded him of the wish he''d forgotten. "Seed, your wish. That survival instinct¡ª"


    Then I gave him the hypothesis I''d formed inside that building. "Its real purpose was to help your descendants survive, wasn''t it?"


    Seed''s tentacle flew at me. "...!"


    Siesta stepped forward and blocked it, swinging her musket at it like a sword.


    I couldn''t see any anger on Seed''s face. That attack had seemed more of a defensive reaction, though, suggesting I''d hit the nail on the head.


    "You mean to say this survival instinct doesn''t exist for my sake? That I have it merely so that <i>those things </i>will live?" Seed asked, temporarily breaking off his attack.


    He was talking about Cerberus and Chameleon. He was asking himself whether creating those clones and leaving them on this had always


    been his ultimate wish.


    "And that''s why I unintentionally shared my power with them? You''re saying I did so with the knowledge that it would age me? Such self-sacrifice could never¡ª"


    "What''s so strange about that? I mean..." I answered Seed''s question for him. "You''re their parent, right?" At that, Seed''s unfocused eyes widened. "That''s why you shared your strength <i>and your emotions </i>with your children." All this time, we''d had the wrong idea. It was true that Seed had no emotions now, but that didn''t necessarily mean he''d always been like that. Seed had made an emergencynding on Earth fifty years ago and had subsequently infiltrated human bodies, studying their structure. Since he''d learned how to disguise himself as a human, it wouldn''t have been odd if


    he''d acquired human emotions as well.


    As a matter of fact, I''d seen signs of it. A year ago, when I''d encountered Seed at SPES''s hideout on that deserted ind, he''d flown into a rage at Chameleon for interrupting his conversation. It had been a small thing, but it was proof that Seed did feel anger. Besides...


    "Chameleon and Cerberus were born from you, Seed. If they had emotions, it''s obviously due to their parent''s influence."


    Essentially, we''d been looking at it the wrong way. Pseudohumans didn''t acquire feelings or personalities as they grew. They inherited them from Seed, their parent.


    Now that I thought about it, Seed''s tone and expressions really were tter than they had been a year ago. Every time he''d given power to his children, he''d been cutting away his emotions. He''d sacrificed those parts of himself for just one reason.


    "You didn''t want to ensure your survival. You only wanted to leave your seeds behind."


    For living creatures, that was a natural instinct. It was a primitive, inexorable emotion they developed: the desire to leave descendants superseded their desire to survive. However, Seed hadn''t noticed that... Or rather, he''d forgotten. A year ago, at thatboratory, Seed had dered that he was going to bury this in his seeds, and he''d called it "our objective."


    As he made more clones, he''d continued to lose his power and his feelings, and finally he''d even lost sight of his original goal. His bleached-out hair,


    those eyes that held no hint of emotion¡ªbefore he''d even noticed, Seed had lost his humanity.


    "That''s why, Seed," I continued. "You don''t want self-preservation. You only want your children, your seeds, to survive on this."


    That was the final deduction Siesta and I had reached for the story of SPES.


    "I see," Seed said quietly. He was standing far away from us. "So that is my ambition. The goal I''d forgotten. My reason for living. The meaning of sowing seeds. My survival instinct¡ªI see, so that''s it. I understand everything."


    Now, when it was toote, he understood. If Seed had enough emotion left to be self-deprecating, he would probably have spat out the words with a sad smile.


    He''d just proved our hypothesis. For the first time, humans and the primordial seed shared amon awareness. We''d reached a mutual understanding. Even so, I quickly learned that this temporary stillness didn''t signal the end of the battle.


    "If this body''s mission is to leave descendants, then I must not die here."


    Sprouting one thick tentacle from his back, <i>Seed stabbed it into his own abdomen</i>. He immediately gave a brief howl but stood firm.


    "Rise again, myrade."


    The fluid that spilled from Seed''s stomach spread over a wide patch of cracked ground, soaking in. And then...


    "¡ªGugyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    As if the gates of hell were rumbling open, disaster emerged from the depths of the earth. At first, the stuff seeping out appeared to be liquid, but it gradually assumed the shape of an enormous four-legged beast.


    A huge ck body: the biological weapon Betelgeuse.


    The creature had nothing resembling eyes, but as it gave a loud roar, it definitely <i>looked </i>at us. My feet froze in ce, but not because I was scared of this monster. Memories of a year ago were flooding my brain, and I couldn''t stop them. On that ind, this monster had taken Siesta and¡ª


    "Assistant!"


    The voice that pulled me back to the present was real, not part of that distant memory.


    "...! Sorry."


    I looked up at the monster again. It was even bigger than it had beenst time, and its body was covered with ck scales I hadn''t seen before.


    "¡ªGaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    The beast had to be at least ten meters long. It mowed down a frozen traffic light, crushed an abandoned car underfoot, and charged straight at us.


    "...!"


    It really wasn''t the sort of opponent we could ward off with guns. Siesta and I sprinted out of its way; unable to stop, Betelgeuse plowed into the building behind us. However, it promptly turned back and zeroed in on us again, as if it had picked up the scent of blood. If this kept up, it would wear us down.


    "Assistant."


    Just then, Siesta pointed up.


    I heard the sound of enginesing from the sky. Reinforcements. Had Ms. Fuubi arranged for them, or was it the official military? A swarm ofbat drones appeared from the far side of the moon, preparing tounch missiles.


    "That''s really nice of them, but..." "They''ll take us out, too."


    Siesta and I exchanged nods, then booked it out of there.


    Within moments, we heard explosions rain down behind us and felt the heat of the mes. I smelled something burning. Then...


    "Gugyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    The roar was so loud that it would have ruptured our eardrums if we hadn''t plugged our ears. However, it was proof that the missiles had struck the monster. We dove into a mountain of rubble, shielding ourselves from the hot wind, and watched the thick smoke clear, but...


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    In moments, the monster was howling again. Maybe those ck scales prevented any attacks from going through. Ignoring the vortex of mes, Betelgeuse shot out <i>dozens of tentacles </i>from all over its body, striking at the unmanned aircraft.


    "If any of those crash over here, we''ll be in trouble..."


    Betelgeuse''s tentacles pursued the fleeing drones through the night sky, smacking one then another into the distance.


    "Now''s my chance." Beside me, Siesta moved. "If I can just get this bullet


    to prate it..."


    A red bullet. It was the weapon Siesta had used against Bat four years ago. If that were to hit its target, Betelgeuse''s tentacles wouldn''t be able to attack her anymore.


    While those tentacles were battling thest remaining drone, she ran toward the enemy again.


    "¡ªSiesta!"


    Just then, though, I felt Betelgeuse''s nonexistent eyes turn our way. Its tentacles automatically homed in... The beast''s attention had been focused on us all along.


    "...!"


    Deciding not to run away, Siesta shot the red bullet at the enormous enemy.


    However, the monster''s scales repelled it. "Siesta!"


    My feet were moving before I could think.


    Or rather, by the time I yelled her name, I was already right next to her. "...!"


    I covered Siesta, but there was no way I''d be able to shield her from the attackpletely. I was ready to die when¡ª


    <i>Skash.</i>


    It sounded like a big de shing something apart. I didn''t feel any pain, though. That meant it hadn''t been the monster''s ws gouging my back. In that case¡ª


    "Don''t you think you should be my partner after all?"


    A girl in a ck overcoat swept a glowing red saber to the side.


    Her long hair streamed in the wind. Through it, I caught glimpses of her profile. It was the face of a girl I would have risked anything to see again.


    "Yeah, that wouldn''t be so bad¡ªHel."

 Chapter 94 - 1.7

    <h4>Chapter 94: Chapter 1.7</h4>


    <strong>The three warriors</strong>


    With a yelp of pain, Betelgeuse retreated. There was arge wound in its right front leg; Hel''s red saber had shattered its scales.


    "This sword was specifically designed to destroy cells replicated by the


    primordial seed."


    On that battlefield of scorched earth, the girl turned back, lowering the tip of her saber. Her long hair was glossy ck, and her crimson eyes zed. She wore a military-style ck-and-red coat, just as she had when I''d encountered her a year ago.


    "Come to think of it, you used that sword on Cerberus before..."


    I remembered something that had happened the night I first met Hel. Back then, she''d beheaded the pseudohuman Cerberus with one stroke of her sword.


    "Yes, and on my own heart," Hel said,ughing at herself. On the day when Siesta had used her brainwashing ability against the ck-haired girl, Hel had lost her heart to her own de.


    "Originally, <i>Father </i>gave it to me to prevent a rebellion among our kind." Hel looked past the giant monster to where Seed stood limply, a hole in his abdomen, unconscious on his feet. Her eyes narrowed sadly. "I never thought I''d end up using it against him."


    The armor over Seed''s neck was broken, and there was therge unhealed cut. Who on earth had done that to him, and when...? At this point, I didn''t even need to ask.


    A few days earlier, in an abandoned building, one girl had risked her life to fight Seed while I was unconscious. This girl in the military uniform was more than just a reinforcement¡ªshe was a ray of hope.


    "You didn''t die, huh, Natsunagi?"


    My voice was trembling. Actually, it wasn''t just my voice; my legs were shaking so badly that I wasn''t sure I''d be able to stay on my feet, and I dropped to one knee.


    Nagisa Natsunagi was alive. She''d survived.


    "Don''t be relieved just yet." The girl in the military uniform sheathed her sword and came closer. "I''m only myself, not Nagisa Natsunagi."


    Narrowing her red eyes, she stated the facts calmly. Natsunagi hadn''te back from the dead.


    "Besides. It''s fine to think of my master, but right now, I wish you''d look at me." Kneeling, Hel ced a finger under my chin, gazing into my eyes from a few centimeters away.


    "¡ªHel," the white-haired detective said. She''d been watching the exchange from nearby.


    "Hello there. It''s been a long time, Detective." Hel rose to her feet, and she and Siesta red at each other.


    A year ago, these two had fought each other in mortalbat, and now here they were, face-to-face.


    "Hel, why are you here?" Siesta asked about her motive for helping us¡ª No, that wasn''t all. She was asking what miracle had let her survive.


    "I received Father''s <i>order </i>as well. I believe you two know what I''m talking about."


    "...! That ringing in the ears?"


    I remembered the noise I''d heard on the radio tower, like the sound of an


    echoing bell. Why hadn''t Mia felt anything weird? Why had Siesta and I been the only ones who heard the ringing? It must have been because we both had a seed inside us.


    "My master sustained a lethal wound, so her body temporarily went


    <i>dormant</i>. Father''s seed reacted in self-defense." "Dormant nts... I see..."


    Information I''d read somewhere before swirled around inside my head. Such states were a defense system used by nts and other living creatures to keep energy consumption as low as possible while sustaining the bare minimum of biological activity. For example, just as bears and moles hibernate for the winter, living creatures will try to get through abrupt, life- threatening changes to their environments by going to sleep for a while.


    That system must have taken root in Natsunagi as well, since she had Seed''s survival instinct in the form of his seed. When he lethally injured her, she''d probably unconsciously stopped most of her physical functions, including her brain stem, in an attempt to preserve her life by lowering her energy consumption to the absolute minimum.


    "Come to think of it, Siesta also..."


    A year ago, Siesta had stopped her own pulse and put herself in suspended animation to ride out Chameleon''s attack. Had she been using the same system in her own way?


    "When it received that order from Father, the seed in this body began to wake up again," Hel told us, cing a hand on her chest.


    The primordial seed''s <i>order </i>had resonated with every seed he''d sown across the. Hel had been no exception: The seed inside her had set her body in motion again, urging her to the battlefield.


    ¡ªExcept...


    "But right now, your heart is..." Siesta gazed at the left side of Hel''s chest; her expression was full of pain.


    She was right. Even if she''d managed to hold on to a faint trace of life by going dormant, and even if the seed had astonishing powers of recovery, right now, Hel''s heart wasn''t¡ª


    "Before I answer that, we''ll need to do something about this." Hel''s eyes were on the monster. That grave wound had threatened its survival instinct, and it was trembling with rage. Betelgeuse gave a low growl, drooling, and fixed its invisible eyes on the three of us.


    "If you want that red bullet to sink in, you''ll need to destroy those scales first. ...So? What do you want to do, Miss Ace Detective?" Hel asked Siesta.


    "I really don''t think I''ll ever be friends with you." Without even ncing at her, Siesta heaved a sigh. "Please, Hel. I want you to open a path for me," she said, turning to a previous enemy for help.


    For a moment, Hel''s eyes widened in surprise¡ªbut just for a moment. "I knew it. Having you ask me for favors is quite gratifying." The corners of her mouth rose in a satisfied smile.


    "...Don''t get the wrong idea. I have no intention of getting along with you."


    These two hadn''t reconciled, and they certainly weren''tpanions.


    <i>The enemy of my enemy is my friend¡ª </i>The white- and ck-haired girls, who''d once fought each other with sword and musket, confronted the monster together.


    "So what am I supposed to do?" I called out to them. It would be all right for me to join the conversation now.


    "Hm? Well, of course, Kimi¡ª"


    "You stay where you are, out of the way." Oof. Totally not fair. "¡ªGugyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    Just then, apparently tired of waiting, Betelgeuse gave a roar and charged despite its wounded front leg. Every step made the ground shake.


    "Honestly. And I spent so much time training it..." Sighing, Hel had a hand on her saber¡ªthen vanished. The very next instant, the red de shed at the monster''s other front leg.


    "What happened to fighting alongside each other?" Siesta grumbled. It would be great if she took this opportunity to understand how I felt.


    "If it frustrates you, try to keep up." Hel nced back at Siesta and smiled. "...Maybe I''ll take you down first after all." But even as she said it, Siesta


    sprang forward and fired a bullet into the patch of missing scales. "With that huge body, one shot won''t do a thing."


    "I don''t need you to tell me that."


    Sniping at each other, the two of them threw themselves into the battle against the monster. From the sidelines, it almost looked like a fight between sisters. Since they''d inherited DNA from the same parent through their seeds, the two could count as siblings.


    "¡ªThe same DNA, huh?"


    Out of nowhere, I remembered the showdown they''d had on that isted indst year. At the end of it, Hel had stolen Siesta''s heart and transnted it into her own body. However, Natsunagi''s n had returned it to Siesta. In that case...whose heart was Hel using now?


    " ! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" The monster''s scream was high


    and scratchy.


    Dodging and weaving through its multitude of tentacles, Hel and Siesta continued inflicting irreparable damage on Betelgeuse as if this was some sort ofpetition.


    "So, Hel. How exactly are you moving right now?" Keeping her musket trained on the enemy, Siesta nced at Hel''s chest. It was as if she were trying to see the new heart that had to be in there and identify its donor.


    "I''m¡ªwe''re¡ªborrowing <i>that girl''s </i>life."


    "...That girl?" Siesta furrowed her brows. Leaving her behind, Hel darted in close to the enemy.


    "¡ªIs that what it is?"


    I''d thought of one possibility for the identity of "that girl." She''d undergone clinical trials at SPES''sb, and so she''d acquired the same DNA from Seed as Natsunagi had...


    "Will it be a bit quieter now?"


    Using sh attacks no ordinary eye could follow, Hel finally brought the monster down. When she returned to stand next to me, my eyes traveled to the left side of her chest. I had a hunch.


    "Hel. The heart you have now is Alicia''s, isn''t it?" Even before Hel reacted, Siesta''s eyes went wide.


    Hel blinked slowly, and when her red eyes opened, they were burning with


    quiet me. "Yes. Right now, her pulse is what''s keeping us alive." "...Why?" Siesta''s blue eyes wavered. "Why Alicia''s heart? Six years ago,


    she¡ª"


    Alicia had died protecting Natsunagi and Siesta at the SPESboratory. ... So what was her heart doing inside Hel?


    "She was originally one of Father''s vessel candidates as well. As a result,


    <i>when that happened</i>, special measures were taken." Hel ryed information


    from six years ago, facts she''d learned during her time as a SPES executive. "That day, her body rejected Father''s seed and died. However, since she had been a vessel candidate, her <i>organs </i>were valuable specimens. Just as your body survived through cryonics, they preserved her heart in a special environment."


    When I heard that, I remembered my visit to thatboratory a few days ago. Siesta hadn''t been the only one there; Alicia''s will had been sleeping there as well.


    "Alicia''s heart has Seed''s DNA. I guess that''s why it was a match for you."


    Six years ago, at the SPESb, Siesta, Natsunagi, and Alicia had been told they were participating in clinical trials and given medication. The goal was clear: to prevent their bodies from rejecting Seed if they became his vessel someday. They might have had his cells imnted in them to act as antibodies.


    "Yes, exactly. This heart belonged to a twelve-year-old, though. It isn''t fully grown yet, which means I can''t push myself too much."


    ...Except Hel had just finished a very dynamic fight.


    "As a result, I don''t have as much power at my disposal as I used to, but..." Hel was about to continue when her eyes suddenly widened in surprise. She was looking at Siesta, who was crying.


    "I''m sorry, Alicia." A single tear trickled from the detective''s blue eyes. "Six years ago, I couldn''t save you..."


    It had happened before she became the Ace Detective. It was her one regret, the one thing she couldn''t undo. That day was what had pushed Siesta to start her journey in fighting against the world''s enemies.


    "I was weak back then. I couldn''t protect you¡ªBut..." Even though tears were still rolling down her cheeks, Siesta''s voice was dignified. "That''s not true anymore. I won''t let anyone take anything else that''s precious to me. I want you to fight beside me again."


    The detective extended her left hand to thepanion in her distant memories.


    "My name is Hel. Code name: Hel. I tell you these words as the queen who rules thend of the dead." Hel looked straight at Siesta. "Thank you for remembering me."


    It was the reverse of Alicia''s final wish. But I knew Hel had picked up on


    the voice in her heart and ryed it to Siesta.


    Immediately after that, the monster howled again. As if preparing for its final attack, the dozens of tentacles on its backshed wildly. They''d been shot with the red bullet, though, and they only struck at empty space: Siesta was standing in front of us, and they couldn''t attack her.


    "This six-year story is about to reach its climax." "Yes. Let''s all end it together."


    The white- and ck-haired girls stood side by side, one gripping her musket and the other her sword.


    It might have been my imagination, but I thought I saw another, smaller form standing between them.

 Chapter 95 - 1.8

    <h4>Chapter 95: Chapter 1.8</h4>


    <strong>The future entrusted to a neighbor</strong>


    The fight seemed tost an eternity; we couldn''t let our guards down for a moment. In terms of actual time, though, the battle didn''t evenst a few minutes. Finally, with a brief howl from the monster, it was over.


    "Did that do it?"


    Siesta and Hel were panting, shoulders heaving. As I watched their backs, I uncurled my clenched fists.


    "...Hff...hff... Your pet is...far too...undisciplined."


    "...! ...Hff. They do say little ones that cause you the most trouble are the cutest."


    As they bantered, their eyes were fixed on the shopping mall, which had fused with the huge tree. Betelgeuse was lying at its foot. Siesta''s bullets and Hel''s shes had finally made the walking disaster stop moving.


    "I was impressed you slid right up to the enemy and hit it with a bullet at the end there."


    "Well, I didn''t want you to get all the glory." "You always did hate to lose, hero."


    Even as Hel and Siesta argued they exchanged a low-five without turning to face each other. They weren''t enemies, and they weren''t allies. They''d only shared amon goal temporarily, and their united front had seeded. But now...


    "Be careful," I told them, moving closer. What would happen now that


    they''d defeated the biological weapon? I knew better than anyone: I''d <i>taken damage </i>from it before.


    "The pollen."


    Siesta narrowed her eyes, gazing into the distance. Large flower buds had begun to sprout from Betelgeuse''s corpse. A year ago, after the fight with Hel, I''d been hit by the pollen from those flowers and lost my memories of the previous few hours. I''d forgotten the truth of Siesta''s death and the feelings she''d entrusted to me and spent a year soaking in tepid routine.


    The same thing was about to happen now. We had to cut down those buds before they opened¡ª


    "Something''s wrong."


    Just as I was about to move, Hel stopped me. The next instant, the buds that had sprouted all over Betelgeuse <i>began wilting en masse</i>.


    At first, I thought Siesta and Hel had beat Betelgeuse so thoroughly that it no longer had the strength to make them bloom. But when I considered who''d made Betelgeuse in the first ce, the answer was obvious.


    "¡ªSeed."


    Beneath the great tree, an unsteady humanoid silhouette appeared beside the fallen monster.


    It was Seed, the parent of all the clones.


    The hole in his abdomen was closing, as if the cells were regenerating. A few of his tentacles had crawled over the ground and absorbed energy from Betelgeuse. Seed could share his own power with the pseudohumans, and he could also take it back.


    "Father," Hel murmured. Her ck hair fluttered in the wind, and I couldn''t see her face.


    "¡ªWhy?" Seed''s voice sounded staticky. "Hel, why are you on their side? What''s be of your mission? Do you intend to wipe out our seeds?" Seed was seeing his former right-hand woman again for the first time in a year, but he felt nothing. He only spoke to her coldly. "Come fight for me once more." "That was my n all along. ...At least, I wish I could tell you it was." Hel took a few steps toward Seed. "Unfortunately, I can''t beat this ace detective. I got a good look at her during the fight, and I''m sure of it. As I am now, I


    can''t inflict a single lethal wound on her."


    As Hel coolly analyzed the difference in strength between herself and Siesta, her expression softened. She knew better than anyone that she was


    currently injured.


    "Father, we lose." With that, Hel announced the final result of the long battle between SPES and the Ace Detective. She''d determined that Seed couldn''t beat Siesta at this point, either.


    "¡ªIn that case, Hel, be my vessel." But the answer Seed found was different. For a moment, all three of us froze up.


    "That is your mission and your reason for existing."


    ...He was right. Hel had originally been a candidate vessel for Seed. Until now, Siesta had been inside her, keeping Seed out, but now that the two of them had separated, Seed would be able to use either one.


    "Me, be your vessel, Father...?" Hel''s red eyes wavered. Ever since birth


    ¡ªever since she''de into being as a new personality inside Natsunagi¡ª Seed''s orders had been her only guiding star. To Hel, they had been an absolute, unchanging spell that had bound her. All of her personal principles had been influenced by him.


    Now, after a full year, she''d received another mission from Seed. In theory, fighting Siesta and winning was impossible, and she could refuse. However, it was possible for her to serve as Seed''s foundation. So the idea of Hel rejecting Seed''s order was¡ª


    "I refuse."


    Hel wasn''t the one who had answered.


    Startled, she turned and looked at the white-haired detective.


    "Why would you...?" Hel didn''t know why Siesta was protecting her. What situation would make shielding her former enemy worth it? "No idea." Unusually, Siesta''s tone was rather childish.


    "I don''t want that. That''s all."


    The Siesta who''d operated on logic would have considered that conclusion unreasonable.


    But Siesta was familiar with human emotions now.


    It had to be because she''d spent the past year in the mind of a girl whose feelings were more passionate than anyone else''s.


    "¡ªI see."


    When Hel heard that, <i>she smiled</i>. It wasn''t the conniving smile of one


    forming a plot. Her face was bright, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.


    "I''m sorry, Father. Seed, I mean."


    Then Hel gave a response to the mission that had been inside her all these years.


    "I''m choosing a future in which the people around me will smile." The saber in Hel''s right hand turned toward Seed.


    This was the conclusion she''de to. She''d once agonized over the fact


    that she was no one, asking herself why she''d been born, but now¡ªin entrusting the proof of her existence to others, she''d found her answer.


    To Hel, those "others" were mirrors who would look at the self she wasn''t able to see, viewing her from another perspective.


    Just as Siesta had tried to protect her from the enemy. Just as Natsunagi had taught her about the passion she''d been unconsciously harboring. Hel had entrusted her course of action to her friends who understood her better than she knew herself.


    "Seed. With the sword you gave me, I''ll put an end to you."


    Hel''s red eyes shed, and those words acquired a soul. It had nothing to do with her seed''s ability, though. Hel had vowed to steer this story to its conclusion.


    "¡ªSo it is as I thought."


    Beside Betelgeuse''s withering body, Seed took Hel''s defection quietly. There was no longer anyone on the battlefield to help him. And yet he was still here. Seed''s instinct was to bear descendants; what future would he choose on this battlefield?


    "If the parent dies, he can''t leave any children." Seed''s lightless eyes began to glow dark violet.


    "Assistant, are you ready?" "Yeah. Have been for a year."


    It was the beginning of the final battle between SPES and the Ace Detective.


    <strong>The unhappy prince</strong>


    Seed had dered his intent to fight again, to protect his instinct to leave descendants. He seemed to have finished absorbing the biological weapon''s energy; his body bulked up, and thick blood vessels pulsed. Enormous tentacles grew from his shoulders; he reminded me of a Chinese dragon.


    "Siesta!" Watching the enemy prepare for war, I gripped my gun. We were past the point where I could afford to be dead weight.


    "Yes, let''s go."


    Siesta and I attacked from his right, while Hel dashed in from the left, holding her saber at waist level. Right now, dealing with those tentacles came first. Splitting up, we each targeted one, and¡ª


    "I don''t need this right ear anymore."


    In the next instant, <i>Seed''s right ear flew off</i>.


    For a brief moment, the sight stopped us in our tracks, but then¡ª "I won''t let you do it."


    Realizing what was happening, Siesta fired at Seed.


    "That ear had already fulfilled its purpose. It''s better to use its energy for other things."


    Before Seed had finished speaking, the tentacle growing from his right shoulder morphed into an enormous silver sword and repelled Siesta''s bullet.


    "Then take this!"


    With a loud metallic crash, Hel''s red saber knocked the tentacle away. That was all it did, though; she couldn''t sever it.


    "...!"


    The tentacle was even harder than Betelgeuse''s scales, and Hel was forced into a one-sided defensive battle.


    "Next, my left eye. I don''t need it, either." As Seed spoke, the light vanished from his purple eye. "It lost its power seven years ago, in any case."


    Then the tentacle on his left shoulder split into a dozen feelers. As if they had wills of their own, they lunged at Siesta.


    "¡ª! There''s too many of them!"


    Siesta tried to fight back with her musket, but even when she shot them off, the countless thin limbs started regenerating in seconds. Like Hel, she was forced to concentrate on defense.


    "...So it''s down to me, huh?"


    With Hel and Siesta pinned, I was the only one left in this fight. Using Chameleon''s transformation ability, I blended into the scenery. Seed''s right


    ear had had extremely sharp hearing, just like Bat''s. Now that he''d lost that, he wouldn''t be able to find me easily. Invisible, I raced toward the enemy.


    "And my right eye. I''ll discard that as well," Seed murmured while his tentacles kept up their attack. The purple light vanished from his right eye, and¡ª


    "...?!"


    Just then, the ground jolted under me. <i>A fissure? </i>Maybe the seeds he''d sown had sprouted again; I tripped over the cracked ground, and then...


    "...! Ghk¡ªOw..."


    A thin briar had sprung up and skewered my right foot. "Assistant!"


    Siesta tried to run to me, but a massive wave of tentacles attacked, blocking her way. Like me, Hel had been trapped by the cracked ground, and she was desperately fighting the silver tentacle.


    "...So he doesn''t need sight or hearing, huh?"


    Using my knife, I cut through the briar, then managed to get back on my feet somehow. In that case... "It''s all on you, Siesta."


    After all this time, we didn''t need words. I just made eye contact with her, then <iunched myself </i>off the asphalt toward a tentacle.


    "...!"


    A sharp pain ran through my wounded right foot. It didn''t matter. Natsunagi must have felt the same fierce agony when she''d faced this enormous evil all by herself.


    I pushed through the pain and kept going, using the countless tentacles as footholds. Traveling along a path of tentacles Siesta had made that led to the enemy, I¡ª


    "I can catch the scent of human blood no matter where it is."


    Just before I reached Seed, a tentacle dug into my side. He''d lost his sight, but Seed''s sense of smell was as sharp as Cerberus''s, and he''d used that to locate me.


    "You are not the one I gave <i>this </i>to. I''m reiming it." "....! Gahk¡ªHah..."


    Seed''s thin tentacle raked through my insides and pulled <i>something </i>out. I spat up dark red blood; my guts were shredded.


    "Chameleon''s...seed..."


    Extracting the ck lump that had been buried in me, Seed absorbed it into


    his own body through his tentacle. I copsed before I even reached him. "...! Assistant!"


    It was Siesta''s voice. She rushed toward me, weaving through the horde of tentacles.


    "D-don''t."


    It was too convenient¡ªmy crisis galvanizing Siesta and helping her knock all the tentacles away. If the enemy''s attacks had thinned out at a time like this, it meant...


    "...Oh."


    Maybe it was the effect of the reptile''s seed, which he''d taken from me and absorbed. Seed''s tentacles hadbined into one, and it transformed into a huge snake, sprang at Siesta from behind, and bit her on the neck.


    "S-Siesta..."


    She copsed beside me, bleeding all the way from her neck to her shoulders. "...It looks like...I blew it."


    "I told you...you freak out too much when I''m in trouble..."


    Back when Hel had kidnapped me, Siesta hadpletely fallen to pieces as she raced to the rescue. The ace detective is usually cool and collected, but whenever this happens, all that goes out the window. Man, I swear...


    "...I suspect you like me way too much." "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    Even as we swapped jokes, wey on the asphalt, our faces twisted in pain. "¡ªI knew it." My vision was blurry, but I could see Seed looking down at us with blind eyes. "Because of your emotions, you humans expose yourselves to mortal danger. They threaten your survival instinct. How foolish," he said. There wasn''t a trace of anger or pity in his voice. He just


    spoke coldly, as if he were stating a simple fact.


    "You had emotions once too, remember?" I was gritting my teeth so hard I thought they''d shatter as I tried to get up. "You just gave them all away as you made descendants, and then you forgot. Way back when, even you¡ª"


    "Yes, that''s right. And so the primordial seed <i>evolved</i>."


    "...?" My mind was bing hazy from the pain in my side, and I couldn''t follow what he was saying.


    "When ites to protecting one''s survival instinct, emotions are unnecessary. They are counterproductive, in fact. That is why this body discarded them in the course of its evolution."


    ...So that was how Seed saw it. Instinct and emotions were different. In fact, emotions threatened the survival instinct, the thing that was most important to Seed... Or to any living creature, actually. As far as he was concerned, losing them was a step in the right direction.


    I had no words that could convince him otherwise. If I hadn''t been bleeding, if my body had still done what I''d told it to, would I have managed to argue back? ...No, maybe nothing I came up with logically would have worked. What would that girl have done at a time like this? Nagisa Natsunagi, who''d always fought with passion¡ª


    "¡ªYou haven''t lost your emotions yet."


    A sharp voice split the air. Still on my knees, I turned to look back. The girl who stood there shared a face with the person I''d been thinking of. She''d stabbed her red sword into the ground and had both hands sped around its hilt.


    "You have one left. Just one."


    The uniformed girl was covered in cuts, but she confronted the world''s enemy with dignity. Beside hery the silver tentacle, finally broken.


    "What are you talking about?" Seed''s blind eyes gazed at Hel.


    Biting her lip, Hel spoke about what had happened back then, telling him things even I hadn''t known about. "That day, when Nagisa Natsunagi shed you, you said, ''You too, Hel?'' Meaning..." She squeezed the hilt of the saber, the same de Natsunagi had used that day, and stated her conclusion:


    "You were caught off guard by my rebellion, and it made you sad."


    The moment Hel said that, Seed''s nts all began to wither at once. His sightless eyes widened.


    "Our rtionship was built onmands. You gave them; I took them. That was all it was." Quietly, Hel described the connection she and Seed had formed over the course of several years. It was simr to the way Siesta and I hadn''t been lovers or friends, just odd business partners. "As far as you were concerned, I was a convenient pawn. You didn''t tell me what the sacred text really was. I didn''t even know you nned to use me as your vessel."


    ...She was right. When I''d met Hel a year ago, she''d had a blind belief in Seed. As a separate personality that dwelled inside Natsunagi, she''d had no choice. If she hadn''t created some sort of bond, she wouldn''t have been able


    to find any meaning in her own existence.


    However, when Natsunagi had acquired Siesta''s heart, the unconscious Hel had shared memories with Siesta, and she''d realized that Seed had been using her all along.


    "I was angry, and I felt betrayed. Maybe that''s why I didn''t put up much of a fight even after the detective sealed me inside Natsunagi, and why I''m turning my de on you now that I''m finally free. However..." Hel lowered her saber. "I realized that you and I were the same. I tried to win your trust so that I would have some bond connecting me to this world. In the same way, you really just wanted someone to stay with you."


    It had to have been a miscalction on Seed''s part: In order to survive on this, he''d gotten too close to mankind. He''d identally acquired human emotions, even though they shed with his survival instinct. But then, in the process of creating pseudohumans, Seed had gradually lost both his power and those feelings.


    The emptiness he felt at that loss was far greater than when he''d had nothing to lose. It was like when I''d lost my memories of how Siesta had really died. Or when Siesta had forgotten she''d known Alicia and Natsunagi. Or the way Natsunagi had gone so long without knowing who she was.


    Seed was like us. Every time he created a child, he''d lost emotions, and the widening hole in his heart had shocked him more than anyone.


    "Father."


    Hel called Seed by that name again.


    Letting go of her weapon, she took a step closer to him, then another. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying as she shouted, "You trusted me, so I''ll say it in your ce: Father, you''re no monster! <i>You wanted to be human</i>; you couldn''t possibly be a monster! You''ve lost your sight, your strength, you''ve whittled down your life, all to protect your children. The emotion that drove you is called¡ª"


    Just then, a tentacle that was no longer silver shot from Seed''s right shoulder and pierced Hel''s left one.


    " !"


    Hel had on a pained expression, but she picked up her saber and cut the tentacle away. "Fa...ther..."


    "Don''t. That''s <i>no longer Seed</i>." Siesta squeezed the words out, her hands covering her wounded neck. "His mind has been taken over...by that


    Ouroboros."


    Siesta looked up at the "snake" that had grown from Seed''s left shoulder. "Right ear, left eye, right eye, and then...your mind."


    In a voice like low static, the <i>serpent spoke</i>. It was as if it had erased what little awareness and emotions Seed had left and now was in control. "Ouroboros" was the name of Seed''s survival instinct itself.


    "¡ªBlood. There''s not enough blood."


    Seed''s head hung limply. In his ce, Ouroboros''s golden eyes turned to re at us.


    "Assistant..." "Siesta..."


    Siesta and I reached out for each other. Neither of us was able to stand yet. "...Ghk."


    Hel stood in front, shielding us. Ouroboros sprang at her, baring its huge poisonous fangs¡ªand just as my hazy eyes saw a spray of blood, I cked out.

 Chapter 96 - 1.9

    <h4>Chapter 96: Chapter 1.9</h4>


    <strong>The tale of the happy swallow</strong>


    I was deep, deep in the light.


    I turned my face away, squeezed my eyes shut, but the light was so bright, it seemed to prate through my eyelids.


    I was born as a terribly nebulous being: the second personality of a girl. That girl¡ªmy master¡ªhad been physically frail since she was small and had created me in an attempt to escape the pain of her medical treatments.


    As I shared my master''s suffering, I hugged my knees, locked away in a world that held no one but me. Still, what I found hardest to bear was the "light" the girl radiated.


    That smile, bright as the summer sun. The only reason she could smile like that was because I was bearing half her pain for her, but as she talked cheerfully with her friends, she had no idea. I couldn''t have hated her more.


    We were two sides of the same coin, though, and one day, we finally switched ces.


    <i>"Your name is Hel. Code name: Hel."</i>


    When I opened my eyes, the first voice I heard was Seed''s. My name was Hel.


    Code name: Hel.


    When he called my name¡ªwhen I, who was no one, had my existence recognized¡ªit felt as if a ray of darkness had appeared in the light. I couldn''t imagine anything more pleasant than the chill of that darkness.


    "You have a mission. In order to protect yourrades, destroy the world." With that, Seed had handed me a book.


    "Destroying the world is my duty?" "Destroying the world is our method."


    I cocked my head, puzzled, and Seed¡ªFather¡ªwent on.


    "You have only one duty. No matter what happens, your duty is to survive."


    Looking back, maybe Father only said that in order to make his n a reality. A usible white lie so that he''d be able to use me as his vessel someday.


    Still, when he said them, a certain emotion settled within me. I''d acquired a bond that let me experience a desire to live. As a result, I began to destroy the world in ordance with the book. Later on, I would learn that it was a book of prophecies known as "the sacred text."


    "I know this isn''t right."


    Even as I told myself that, I swung the red sword Father had given me.


    I thought things were best this way. A single ck drop had fallen into that dazzling light, and I clung to the stain. If doing so would get this world, and Father, to acknowledge me... If my mission was to be the world''s enemy, then I''d live for that alone.


    If I''d made one miscalction, it was this: Although I''d hated that light and my master more than anything, somewhere along the way, I''d begun to treasure them. That hesitation and weakness <i>had created this battlefield</i>, and the thought made me smile bitterly at my own pathetic weakness.


    "¡ªNo. It wasn''t ''somewhere along the way.''"


    It had been like that all along. Nagisa and I were two sides of the same coin, a reflection in a mirror.


    My envy had belied my affection.


    "Are you still alive?"


    I''d fallen to my knees. Far overhead, the golden eyes of Ouroboros looked down at me. This was Father''s survival instinct, its physical manifestation. Did this mean I would have to cut off its head before anything I said could reach him?


    "Will you get up again? Will you give me more blood?"


    The snake coiled in midair, and its red tongue flicked. My blood contained Father''s DNA; it probably wanted to absorb it and build up its strength.


    "Don''t misunderstand, all right?"


    Stabbing my saber into the ground to use as a support, I got to my feet. How could I go back intobat against it? How could I stand up again? Apparently, the snake didn''t know. Well, it was only instinct, with no memories or emotions, so there was probably no help for that.


    That person had definitely said it, though:


    "Father ordered me to live, no matter what."


    <i>Sorry, but I promised. </i>Leveling the red sword Father had given me, I charged at the enemy dominating the space under the great tree.


    "Don''t worry, Father. You don''t have to do this anymore. Your first survival instinct has already been satisfied."


    shing through the briars that sprang up from the ground to attack me, I ran toward him.


    He was still unconscious on his feet. Most of his armor had crumbled, and there were cracks in his body. His eyes were blind, and I didn''t know whether his remaining ear could hear. He''d lost his awareness and his emotions. He was simply waiting to dry up and wither away. Even so, I shouted at him.


    "What you wanted to leave behind is alive on this! The sapphire eye, the ruby sword, a heart of lead¡ªAll of them are here!"


    Pseudohumans weren''t the only things Father had left in this world. A sapphire eye that could see through anything, even human hearts. A ruby-colored sword lit with the mes of passion.


    A heart of lead that hadn''t broken, even after death. Father must have wanted to protect all those things, really.


    "¡ªThe ears that could have heard you are already gone."


    The tail of Ouroboros whipped toward me, slicing through the wind. I was sure I saw the snake smirk at me, but in the next moment, its golden eyes widened in surprise.


    That attack had been aimed at my heart, but it stopped dead just before it reached my chest.


    Why hadn''t the de touched me? <i>Exactly who had stopped it? </i>I didn''t even have to exin.


    "The survival instinct you always prioritized will remain on this as your undying legacy: the <i>love </i>that protected your children to the end! Thatst wish will never die!"


    That had to be the true essence of the primordial seed''s first survival instinct.


    The name of the emotion that Father had lost long ago.


    "...! You stay out of this...!"


    Ouroboros red at its host. I was only a few meters away by then, and it struck at me with its enormous fangs. I parried with my saber, and the blow knocked me back a good distance.


    "...Maybe I pushed myself a bit too hard."


    I''d been thrown onto the concrete. When I tried to get up, my strength failed me, and I dropped to my knees. I hadn''t had Alicia''s heart for very long¡ªand only a few days ago, this body had basically been dead. The fact that I''d gotten back up at all should have counted as a miracle.


    "¡ªHa...ha-ha." The snakeughed, as if it were eating away at the faint traces of emotion it had absorbed from Father. "Those who''ve vited the principles of life have no right to live again¡ªor to defy this survival instinct."


    Then Ouroboros gave a great howl. It attacked with its poisonous fangs again, and again I was thrown back.


    "Sorry, Hel. I overslept."


    ...But it was the detective''s assistant who''d thrown me off this time. "That''s just what I''d expect from my partner. You came to save me." With


    an intentionally fake smile, I let him help me up.


    Then I heard a gunshot. The detective had also woken from her nap and


    was battling Ouroboros with her musket.


    "Sheesh. You two aren''t exactly unscathed either, you know." I sighed, looking at the boy; he was bleeding from his forehead and stomach.


    "Yeah. Well, you know, I couldn''t keep that promise." He bit his lip. Promise. No doubt he meant the one he''d made to me a few days earlier,


    while he was carrying Nagisa Natsunagi piggyback at theboratory. If he did anything to make my master cry¡ªI''d kill him twice.


    Did that mean he was trying to protect her through me now? If so... "That promise will never expire. Stay by my master from now on." I gripped my red sword again, turning to look at the enemy.


    "¡ªYou''re going?" Realizing what I was about to attempt, the boy held me back for a moment.


    "Yes. You should go to your partner, too. I''m sure she could use some help."


    "...Yeah. But you''re..."


    His eyes were damp, to my surprise.


    He couldn''t be feeling sympathy for <i>me, the enemy</i>, could he? If he was, I felt like I mightugh just a little... But no, it wasn''t funny. I hoped his indecisiveness wouldn''t hold him back... But we could deal with that by having his <i>partner </i>train him properly. I started toward the primordial seed again and turned back to the boy one more time.


    "I''m d I was born."


    When I said it, for a moment, his eyes widened in surprise. Then he gave a soft smile.


    Why had I wanted to tell him that now? I wasn''t sure, but my heart was calm.


    "Take care of my master, Kimihiko Kimizuka." With his name as my final words, I ran like the wind.


    On the way, my eyes met the white-haired girl''s blue ones.


    A year ago, I''d asked the pair of enemies who stood in my way how they could trust each other so much. I''d been sealed within my master''s body before I''d managed to understand their rtionship. Now, though, I understood. No... They''d told me as much back then.


    "It was their bond."


    Ouroboros''s tail was right in front of me, and as I murmured those words to myself, I unconsciously cut it off with the <i>shining red sword</i>. Exchanging onest, wordless look with the Ace Detective, Iunched myself off the ground.


    "This is how she and I should be."


    <i>Maybe it''s another sort of bond¡ªalthough that would be wrapping things up too neatly</i>, I thought, smiling wryly.


    In the end, at the very least, I''d formed a bond with Nagisa Natsunagi.


    Now I had to tell Father about it. That was my final mission.


    <i>"My legs will not stop."</i>


    Using my word-soul ability, I gave myself an order. In response, the sword in my hands zed red. I''d channeled all of my seed''s power, and even my own mind, into that red sword. Then I''d use it to destroy the primordial seed itself¡ªthe Ouroboros was bound to die as well. I ran toward Seed on legs that would never stop.


    Father was at the foot of the building that had been pierced by the tree. That tree had grown even bigger; by now, it had almost swallowed the fifty- meter building.


    "I will take responsibility for all our crimes."


    The wounds we''d inflicted on this world would never fully heal.


    Shouldering all the sins, the bloodshed, and the weight of life, I ran across the battlefield.


    All the cells in my body. The power of the seed engraved in each cell. My own consciousness. I focused all of these in the palm of my hand, channeling them into the ruby sword.


    "I believe that this was love."


    And then... "Hel...!"


    With Kimihiko Kimizuka yelling behind me, I ran my sword through the primordial seed''s stomach.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" What was this emotion?


    It wasn''t anger or sadness¡ªbut I had to scream. I couldn''t help it.


    With the strength that could have shattered all the bones in my body, I impaled Seed with my sword and pinned him to the towering tree.


    " ! Hah..."


    A small groan escaped Father''s lips, just above my head.


    At the same time, I heard the monster''s dying shrieks behind me. Our final enemy had just perished.


    "¡ªH...Hel?"


    I heard a familiar, beloved voice.


    It was the voice that had given me my name six years ago.


    "Yes. Code name: Hel. I''m right here." I responded just as I had on that day, but the answer I gave was different. "Father, let''s go home. Back to the world where we belong."


    When I looked up¡ªWas it my imagination? I thought his lips held the faint suggestion of a smile.


    "...Yes. I am a little tired."


    Father sounded almost like an ordinary human, and his words were thest thing I heard. Falling against his chest, I slowly, slowly closed my eyes.

 Chapter 97 - 2.1

    <h4>Chapter 97: Chapter 2.1</h4>


    <strong>Epilogue and Prologue</strong>


    <i>"I see. So one global crisis has ended."</i>


    On the other end of the line, the girl gave a relieved sigh.


    "Yeah. It''s been a week, but apparently the seal on Seed is holding." In the corridor of a certain small hospital, I leaned against the wall.


    One week ago, we''d tackled a worldwide cmity in that city taken over by nts. Siesta, Hel, and I had fought Seed; we''d ultimately won but at a heavy cost.


    Hel, Nagisa Natsunagi''s second personality, had infused the red sword with her own mind and the power of the seed inside her and sealed them into the tree with Seed. That tree still towered there, like a watchtower over mankind.


    "<i>Excellent work, Kimihiko</i>," said the girl on the phone. <i>"You chose a route for the future that even I couldn''t foresee, and you saved the world magnificently. As a Tuner, you have my gratitude. Thank you."</i>


    Even through the call, and the nine thousand kilometers between us, I could tell she was bowing.


    "...I didn''t do anything."


    It was true that one global crisis was over, but I hadn''t been the one to end it. The sacrifices of Siesta, Natsunagi, and many of ourrades had done that. And finally, it had been Hel who''d put Seed to sleep with the passion she''d inherited from her master.


    Had she been happy in the end? I thought about it as I gazed at the great tree. The dead can''t talk, which is why the living should respect that silence. We shouldn''t speak on their behalf.


    <i>Even so</i>, I thought in spite of myself. Hel''s life had been a constant search for love. I couldn''t help but hope she''d sleep peacefully in the shelter of that tree with Seed, who had finally learned¡ªor rather, remembered¡ªwhat it meant to feel emotion.


    "You''re the one who really had it rough, Mia," I said, shifting the topic to something else.


    As the Oracle, Mia''s Tuner role was to foresee the world''s crises, and she''d helped Siesta fight against Seed for years. She might have even more


    history with him than I did. Now that their score was finally settled, she''d returned to that clock tower in London.


    <i>"So did you. And? How are your injuries?"</i>


    "Oh, I''m well enough to talk on the phone."


    That said, Seed''s tentacle had ripped into my side. I could easily still have been hovering between life and death. The effects of the seed I''d swallowed seemed to have lingered, though. Thanks to its astonishing powers of recovery, the wound had almost healed over. Seed might have extracted it, but, for better or for worse, maybe some of its effects would stick around.


    More importantly, right now...


    "If I had to say, Siesta took more damage."


    On the battlefield, Ouroboros had bitten Siesta''s neck and inflicted arge wound. She''d been transported to this hospital, and as of today, she''d finally recovered enough to be allowed to have visitors. The fact that it required some time to heal despite Siesta''s unusually strong powers of recovery showed how bad the bite had actually been.


    "<i>I imagine she''ll heal more quickly if you pay her a visit, then. Through the power of love, you know</i>," Mia joked.


    "Is that another prophecy?"


    <i>"Women''s intuition."</i>


    ...Oh, is that right? Telling her I''d see herter, I hung up.


    When I reached Siesta''s hospital room, I took a deep breath outside the door.


    I''d just reunited with my former partner after a year apart, and due to the situation, we hadn''t been able to really talk before. Now that we did have the time, what should we talk about? What should I tell her? I couldn''t gather my thoughts properly, but I opened the door anyway.


    "Hey, how are you feeling?"


    For a private room, it was pretty big.


    The Ace Detective was sitting up in the bed by the window, dressed in a hospital gown.


    "I can''t believe you recovered first. I must be losing my touch." Siesta turned to look at me. The morning sun''s light shone against her pale silver hair, and she had on a yful smile. I didn''t know if you could call this "fine," but she was feeling well enough to kid around, at least.


    "Charlie''s here too, huh?" I spotted the blond agent in a chair near the bed.


    She must havee to visit Siesta, but she was heavily bandaged herself. "...? What''s up, Charlie?"


    Charlie still hadn''t spoken. She seemed restless; she kept stealing nces at Siesta, then letting her gaze fall to her hands. She''d always been really attached to the detective. I wouldn''t have been surprised if she threw her arms around Siesta in joy, but...


    "Yes, that''s what I expected too at first." Realizing what I was actually asking, Siesta answered for Charlie. "Apparently seeing me again for the first time in so long has made her shy, and she doesn''t know how she should act around me."


    "M-Ma''am! Please don''t say it!" Charlie kept her eyes riveted on her knees, but her face flushed apple red.


    "Charlie, are you a lovestruck maiden or something?"


    "Sh-shut up. You know I can''t help it." Whatever this was, she had it bad. Even when she snapped at me, her heart wasn''t in it. "I mean, I had no idea a miracle like this could happen. ...Well, of course I believed, and I nned to do what had to be done. Now that it''s actuallye true, though, I don''t know what to do...," she murmured softly, clenching her fists.


    "Come here."


    Watching her beloved apprentice, Siesta spoke to her gently. Charlie''s shoulders flinched, and she slowly looked up.


    "I''m sorry for making you sad." Apologizing to Charlie the same way she''d apologized to me, she gently stroked her head.


    "...Mgh. Ma''am, Ma''am...!"


    Charlie''s eyes opened wide, filled with tears. She clung to Siesta, crying like a child.


    "Yeesh. Just be honest about this stuff to begin with, wouldja?" After I''d watched them for a little while, I smiled wryly and went to change the flowers in the vase by the window.


    "...You''re thest person I want to hear that from, Kimizuka." Charlie''s sharp ears had caught my murmur; she poked her head out from within Siesta''s arms and red at me.


    "You two haven''t changed a bit. Can''t you get along a little better than that?"


    "There will never be a day when Kimizuka and I get along!" Resting her head on Siesta''sp, Charlie started insulting me.


    "I thought we''d started to understand each other a little."


    "It''s possible to understand something logically and still be physically unable to stomach it."


    "Sorry, Siesta. I guess we''re exactly where we were a year ago."


    If this incident hadn''t been enough to bring us closer, it was never gonna happen. Sighing, I sat down on a stool near the bed.


    "Heh-heh!" Unexpectedly, Siesta''s lips softened into a smile. She stroked Charlie''s hair. "It''s okay. It''s been a long time since I got to see both of you doing your banter routine."


    ""It''s not a routine, Ma''am!""


    Charlie and I spoke in unison, then red at each other.


    In the middle of our mudslinging contest...


    "I really wish you wouldn''t hold these fun little parties without me!"


    It was an idol with pink and white streaks in her hair and an eye patch over her left eye: Yui Saikawa had arrived.


    "Yui!" Charlie sat up with relief. ...But her gaze was focused on Saikawa at a lower angle than usual.


    "Hey there. You okay now?"


    "I''m just perfect! ...Actually, that would be a bit of an overstatement, but I''m doing well!" <i>From her wheelchair</i>, Saikawa shed us a peace sign. Her legs were fine, but she wasn''t strong enough to walk yet. Noches, the maid formerly known as SIESTA, was pushing the wheelchair. She''d been taking care of everyone for the past week.


    "You always look so at home in that maid uniform." "And you always notice the same things, Kimihiko." I see. I knew she wasn''tplimenting me.


    While Noches and I were talking...


    "This is the first time we''ve met in person, isn''t it?" From the bed, Siesta gave Saikawa a gentle smile.


    "It''s nice to meet you, Siesta. I''m Yui Saikawa, the world''s cutest idol!"


    From her wheelchair, Saikawa gave her very best elevator pitch. Siesta had known about Saikawa and had been working to protect her from the shadows, but this was their first time meeting each other in person.


    "I''m told I caused you a lot of trouble. I''m sorry." A slight shadow fell across Saikawa''s smile, and she bowed her head. Saikawa''s parents had once funded SPES''s activities.


    "It''s nothing you need to apologize for, Yui." Siesta stroked Saikawa''s hair. "And thank you for staying with my assistant while I was gone."


    "Siesta..." The two of them locked eyes, and then... "Yes, honestly, taking care of Kimizuka was an awful lot of work. I massaged him, I cooked for him... He may not look it, but he can be quite a baby. There were times when I had to hold him tightly..."


    "Quit making stuff up." "Ow!"


    I karate chopped Saikawa''s head. Her eyes teared up. "But I wasn''t..." Her mumbling didn''t make much sense to me, though. Siesta gave me a cold look, and I got the feeling she''d muttered a certain word starting with "p," but since there was some conveniently loud construction work going on outside, I didn''t catch it.


    "Still, I see." Siesta''s eyes softened, and she looked at me. "So these are your currentpanions, Kimi."


    In addition to Siesta, there was Saikawa, Charlie, and Noches present in the room. And although they weren''t physically here, Mia and the redheaded policewoman probably counted, too.


    Compared to a few years ago, I definitely had more friends and gained more precious things. Right now, I''m able to think that from the bottom of my heart...or I should have been. However, there was one person who wasn''t here, so I shook my head.


    "There''s one more. If we left her out, she''d be madder than anyone." When


    they heard that, Saikawa and Charlie both looked down.


    Nagisa Natsunagi.


    Alicia''s heart had been transnted sessfully, and the primordial seed''s order had brought her out of her dormant state. Then, during that final showdown, Hel had permanently sealed her own mind. It wouldn''t have been odd for Natsunagi''s personality to wake up and take her ce.


    But a week had passed, her injuries had been thoroughly treated, and she still wouldn''t wake up. She was asleep in a different hospital room all by herself.


    "I haven''t forgotten her, of course. I couldn''t possibly forget," Siesta said.


    Her eyes were closed.


    However, when she opened them, she said:


    "And so, Assistant, let''s go on a journey to save our friend." She held out her left hand to me.


    "But how?" Was there anything we could do?


    As I hesitated, Siesta said, "There''s someone we still need to meet and talk to."


    ...Oh, right. That individual was deeply involved with our current situation, but he hadn''t yet made an appearance. Over the past week, I''d tried to make contact with him several times, but he''d never shown himself.


    From the way Siesta was talking, though, a meeting had been arranged.


    There were a ton of things we''d have to discuss with him.


    "In that case, if you''re ready, shall we go see him?" Even though Siesta was still on bed rest, she sat up as she spoke. "...The underground doctor who saved all our lives."

 Chapter 98 - 2.2

    <h4>Chapter 98: Chapter 2.2</h4>


    <strong>He who protects the living</strong>


    After I''d helped Siesta into a wheelchair, we headed for another hospital room. We hadn''t wanted to barge in as a crowd, so the two of us went on behalf of our group.


    We made our way down the dingy corridor of the little hospital, and when we opened the door of that room¡ªwe saw a girl lying on the only bed.


    "Natsunagi..."


    Pushing Siesta''s wheelchair, I went closer.


    I''d visited this room several times in the past week, but I still hadn''t gotten to see Natsunagi smile like she used to.


    "The conditions for Nagisa to awaken seem to be in ce." From the wheelchair, Siesta gazed at her, analyzing the situation. "All that''s left are the things we <i>amateurs </i>can''t pick up on. Whether there''s serious internal damage, for example. Say she managed to miraculously ovee brain death by going dormant. It''s still possible that it put too much stress on her cerebrum, and she''s fallen into a vegetative state."


    "Yeah, that''s about all I can think of, too. I spent the past week reading through all the medical journals I could find, but an amateur who''s studying this stuff on the fly was never going toe up with a great theory anyway. Besides, since Natsunagi''s a special case, previous case studies probably won''t be much help."


    That was exactly why we needed a <i>specialist </i>right now. This medical expert had saved Natsunagi''s life once; he might know what it would take to wake her up again.


    "Before you worry about others, you should remember that you''re badly injured yourselves."


    A man spoke behind us. I turned around...but he didn''t even nce at me.


    Instead, he walked straight to Natsunagi.


    "She''s making good progress. It appears there were no real problems while I was away," the man murmured in a rather monotone voice, adjusting the IV drip in Natsunagi''s arm.


    "Thanks for all your help," I told him, and he finally turned to look at us across the bed. He seemed to be in his midthirties. He had bright blond hair, but the eyes behind his round sses were of a subdued color. Even at a nce, you could see his intelligence in his features, and in hisb coat, he looked like a knowledgeable researcher as well as a doctor.


    "Do you mean with this girl? Or are you referring to yourself ? I''ve taken care of more patients than I can count, so there are far too many cases you could be referring to."


    It sounded like a joke, but the man spoke in a matter-of-fact way, and his expression didn''t change. I guess I should''ve known he wouldn''t be the type


    to crack jokes.


    "I meant both of us. And Siesta, Saikawa, and Charlie, too, actually... You helped all of them as well. I''m grateful."


    I didn''t just mean this time, either. I''d been brought here when I was wounded in our previous battle with Seed, and this doctor had treated me then, too. He was the director of the hospital and the man I''d asked about Natsunagi''s condition.


    From what I''d heard, this hospital didn''t take ordinary patients. It existed to treat people in special situations like ours. During the three years we''d spent traveling, both Siesta and I had been saved by back-alley doctors like this one time and time again.


    "No, there''s no need for gratitude. It''s my job¡ªand the duty I must fulfill in this world."


    ...The conversation was oddly failing to connect. It was as if none of his words were allowed to leave any room for interpretation. He seemed to be refusing to read between the lines, or to let us do it.


    "I suppose I haven''t introduced myself." The man didn''t bother to read the mood or pick the correct moment, and his face stayed nk.


    "I am Stephen Bluefield¡ªthe Inventor."


    <i>The Inventor. </i>When I heard that, the first thing I thought of was Thomas Edison, the world-famous king of inventions. If you went back in time a bit, there was also Hiraga Gennai of Japan, inventor of the electrostatic generator. However, the man probably wasn''t talking about <i>ordinary inventors like those</i>.


    "He''s a Tuner," Siesta chimed in; she''d been listening quietly up till now. "He was involved in the manufacture of my Seven Tools as well. He preserved my body cryogenically in suspended animation, and he also equipped it with an AI and created Noches¡ªHe''s the Inventor, an underground doctor."


    ...So I''d been right about that. Two weeks ago, I''d had missed the chance to meet him at the SPES hideout. Although I hadn''t seen him then, this guy was the unknown doctor who''d based himself within theb. He was a Tuner, one of the world''s twelve guardians.


    "It''s been a long time, Stephen." Siesta looked up at him from her


    wheelchair.


    These Tuners seemed to have a lot of shared history I didn''t know about. "Yes. Seeing you moving and talking this way makes it clear that the


    yearlong course of experimental treatment was a sess." Gazing at the patient for whom he''d done so much for so long, Stephen smiled a little.


    Siesta told him, "You and Nagisa saved my life. But, Stephen, if you consider it your mission to save lives, then please: I want you to save Nagisa this time."


    She was asking Stephen for help again, in order to repay the debt she owed Natsunagi. She believed this man was the only one who could possibly know how to wake her up.


    "Daydream." Stephen called Siesta by her nickname as he entered notes into a patient chart. "You''re drastically <i>underestimating </i>my skills as a physician."


    That didn''t seem right. Shouldn''t it have been "overestimating"?


    He wasn''t being modest and telling her he didn''t have that kind of power. "In order to save my patients¡ªmy <i>clients</i>¡ªI always do everything I can. I


    pour my heart''s blood into the work and call upon all the knowledge and technical skill I possess. If the patient fails to wake up even then, I never me myself. I''m aware that I''ve already done all that could be done."


    There was no anger or dissatisfaction in his voice. He was just telling us the cold, hard facts, and Siesta and I listened.


    "If there was anything I could still do for a patient, it would be proof that I had previously cut corners. As a Tuner and a doctor, I take pride in my principles, so I assure you, I''ve done everything I could."


    At that point, I understood why Ms. Fuubi had told me <i>"Nagisa Natsunagi is dead" </i>that day. She made that statement due to the trust she ced in the Inventor.


    Ms. Fuubi had to be familiar with Stephen Bluefield''s personal philosophy. When he''d performed treatment and gave the diagnosis of brain death, she''d understood there was nothing more that could be done.


    "That other time, too. So that''s why..."


    Come to think of it, when I''d sworn to bring Siesta back to life a few weeks ago, Fuubi had hinted at a possibility by telling me about Mia Whitlock, the Oracle. Putting us in contact with Stephen should have been the more natural thing to do, since the Inventor had been involved in Siesta''s


    treatment.


    But Ms. Fuubi hadn''t done that. She knew that the Inventor had already done his best, so there was nothing left for him to do. Still, I believed in miracles, and so she''d introduced me to the Oracle; she hadn''t had any other leads.


    "Therefore, there''s nothing else I can do for Nagisa Natsunagi." Telling us bluntly that the current treatment was the final option, Stephen briskly turned and left the hospital room, white coat ring behind him. He''d been gone this whole week; he might be on his way to see another patient with special circumstances.


    "Wait." Siesta rolled her wheelchair after Stephen. Following them out to the corridor, I saw the Inventor had stopped. He still had his back to her.


    "I know about your philosophies, too," Siesta told him. "You have another one: You refuse to attempt surgeries that are one hundred percent impossible. Meaning that if you were to get involved, there''s a definite chance that that patient will be saved."


    It was the Inventor''s second conviction. Siesta was insisting since that was the case, there must still be at least a 1 percent chance that Natsunagi would wake up.


    "You diagnosed Nagisa as brain-dead, and you donated her heart to me in ordance with her wishes. But you didn''t stop there."


    She was right: Stephen had transnted Alicia''s heart into Natsunagi. Ordinarily, brain-dead patients had no chance of recovery. Even so, Stephen had conducted the second transnt; that had to mean he''d seen a possibility of at least 1 percent.


    "On that day," Stephen began, still with his back to us, "after Nagisa was dered brain-dead, I did transnt her heart into you. As a doctor, it was my job to do so. However..." He turned to face us. "After that, I did my job as an inventor."


    The hint of a smile in his blue eyes was unsettling. "I hate miracles that can''t be reproduced."


    His expression promptly reverted to the chilly, intelligent one he''d worn earlier.


    "Ordinary humans don''te back to life. I''m aware of that. Still, I was


    exceedingly conscious of the fact that your bodies are not normal." As Stephen spoke, he was gazing at Siesta¡ªor possibly at the left side of her chest. "I was also intrigued by the primordial seed that made you this way."


    "Is that why you worked out of the SPESb for so long?"


    When Natsunagi and I visited the ce two weeks ago, Noches had mentioned that Stephen was researching the primordial seed there while he continued Siesta''s treatment.


    "That''s right. As a matter of fact, when the Daydream died a year ago, I preserved her body with cryonics...but the operation didn''t seed through my skill alone. Immediately after death, she made an involuntary attempt to preserve her life by going dormant."


    ncing at Siesta, he gave us additional information about how she''d resurrected.


    "Then, as I was performing Nagisa''s surgery, I had a sudden revtion: As the sole fullypatible host for the primordial seed, she might have done the same and intentionally put herself into suspended animation."


    That was what had led Stephen to help Natsunagi a second time, even though she was supposed to be dead.


    "That is why, after I had transnted her heart into you, I transnted the girl Alicia''s heart into her. I was concerned Nagisa''s heart might be too damaged for the procedure, so I had brought a spare from theboratory¡ª and it proved to be the right choice."


    "So that''s why Alicia''s heart was here...," Siesta murmured.


    The medication trials she, Natsunagi, and Alicia had undergone six years ago had given them DNA from Seed. That was why their three hearts were <i>interchangeable </i>and why the surgeries had been a sess.


    "Both operations, including the transnts themselves, seeded without incident. However, neither you nor Nagisa awakened immediately. In particr, Nagisa showed no vital reactions that would overturn my diagnosis of brain death, and the limit seemed to be drawing near. That was when you happened to visit her hospital room," Stephen told me. I remembered taking Natsunagi''s steadily cooling hand about ten days ago.


    "Therefore, I did not retract my diagnosis of brain death, and I felt that was the natural result. If this was a world where the dead could be revived so easily, there would be no need for doctors."


    He had a point. In terms of modern medicine, Natsunagi had died then.


    However, three days after that, Stephen had changed his opinion. On that day, one week ago, Siesta had awakened, and Hel hade back to life soon after. Over the course of three days, the heart that had been Siesta''s to begin with had settled into her body, and Seed''s order had awakened Natsunagi from suspended animation.


    "I hate thoughtless words like ''miracle,''" Stephen said again. "Why don''t miracles ur consistently? It''s illogical. I only believe in things that can be repeated. On that point, since the primordial seed has brought two humans back from the dead, it should be referred to as a reproducible <i>philosopher''s stone</i>."


    "Then there could be a miracle that would wake Natsunagi again..." But even as I said it, I spotted the problem.


    The primordial seed himself was already lost. Besides¡ª


    "There isn''t a fragment of the seed left in Nagisa''s body. I''ve done all I can for <i>an ordinary human</i>."


    The argument hade full circle: Both as a doctor and an inventor, Stephen had already performed his duty to the best of his abilities. Now he was off to save some other patient with special circumstances somewhere else¡ªleaving Natsunagi behind.


    "You used Alicia''s life...!"


    My strangled voice echoed in the corridor. He''d used Alicia''s heart, her life.


    What if, after all that, Natsunagi never woke up? That couldn''t possibly be okay.


    "Assistant." Siesta gently tugged the cuff of my sleeve. My fists were clenched, and my nails were biting into my palms. One other problem had crossed my mind.


    ...I knew Stephen had used Alicia''s heart to save Natsunagi, as a doctor. But naturally, Alicia''s will hadn''t been involved. Had it really been the right thing to do? I couldn''t¡ª


    "It isn''t my job to speak for the dead." At the sound of Stephen''s voice, I looked up. "The dead cannot speak for themselves. That being the case, my mission is to save the life in front of me. To help people through science. There can''t be anything more to it."


    I knew that. Just guessing what someone would have wanted and then actually wishing for it on their behalf would be arrogance on the part of the living.


    However, an idol had curtailed the debate with pretty words once; she''d worn a nice dress and argued against the skepticism with a song. I didn''t know whether that had been right or not.


    ¡ªStill. If the dead can''t talk, it means the question doesn''t exist, either. If there''s no question, then maybe there never was a correct answer.


    "Let me make this clear, Kimihiko Kimizuka." Stephen said my full name, even though I''d never told him what it was. "If it means I will save two people, I will kill one. I can''t save all three. Always think of the whole, the greatest good. Numbers are everything. Whatever saves the greatest number of people is the right thing to do. I work to save the living, and I have no time to consider thest wishes of the dead. My next patient is waiting." With that, Stephen left.


    In response...Alicia''s and Natsunagi''s smiling faces came to mind, and I couldn''t respond at all.


    "Let''s go back." Siesta tugged gently on my cuff again. I nodded wordlessly, then returned to the door of Natsunagi''s room, which we''d left standing open.


    "Sorry to make you listen to all that, Natsunagi," I told her sleeping form. I reached for her hand...but somehow I couldn''t bring myself to take it. I felt as if I didn''t have the right, considering how we still haven''t found a way to wake her up.


    "...Hm? What''s this?"


    I noticed there was something that looked like an old book sitting on a nearby shelf. It was close to the spot where Stephen had first stood.


    "...! That''s¡ª" Siesta''s blue eyes wavered, and I handed her the book. When she opened it...the inside seemed to be a child''s picture journal. In the photo, a girl with ck hair was sitting on a bed, chatting with a girl with white hair and another with pink hair who stood near her.


    "It''s Alicia''s diary," Siesta murmured. She gently hugged the book to her chest as if it were precious.


    "...So we already had our answer." When I saw Alicia''s journal and Siesta''s profile, I remembered.


    Alicia''s heart had awakened Natsunagi''s body once. I''d seen the three


    young girls standing side by side. That was the answer. Even if it was a selfish wish, I decided to believe in that sight and in the words Hel had left behind.


    "Hurry and wake up, Natsunagi," I told the girl on the bed.


    <i>And then let''s have another stupid fight, like we always do.</i>

 Chapter 99 - 2.3

    <h4>Chapter 99: Chapter 2.3</h4>


    <strong>A journey to foretell the world</strong>


    Three days passed. During that time, Siesta, Saikawa, Charlie, and I all brainstormed ways to wake Natsunagi up.


    Stephen, her attending physician, had already washed his hands of the matter. He''d said something to the effect that there was nothing else he could do, but that didn''t necessarily mean there was actually nothing that could be done, period.


    Working on that assumption, Siesta named an expert who could step in for the Inventor, and we decided that she and I would go find him right away.


    However...


    "Say, can I order a snack?" Next to me, Siesta was holding an in-flight menu.


    I never imagined she''d drag me onto an airne the day after we got discharged from the hospital...


    "They''re expensive, so no. I told you to buy something at the kiosk, remember?"


    "What could I do? That trouble on the train made us get there at the veryst minute. And it was mostly your fault, Kimi."


    Siesta''s apathetic eyes fixed on me. <i>Sorry, but if you''re going to hang out with me, you''re going to get dragged into random trouble. Did she forget about that?</i>


    "Still." Siesta gazed at me and shifted the conversation to something else. "It''s been a long time since the two of us were on a ne together, hasn''t it?"


    We were currently cruising at ten thousand meters aboveground. This was how I''d met Siesta on that fateful day four years ago.


    "Yeah. There''s no telling how many nes I rode with you after that." "We racked up an unbelievable number of frequent-flyer miles, didn''t


    we?"


    Remembering those three years, we bothughed a little.


    Today, we were bound for New York. In order to meet a certain person, and attend <i>a certain council</i>, we were globe-trotting for the first time in a year.


    "Are you really okay to travel, though?" I asked her again. She''d been injured worse than I had, but she''d left the hospital and boarded the ne as soon as she was able to walk.


    "Yes, I''d like to hurry a bit."


    "Yeah. Both for Natsunagi and that council." I followed up with a question about one of our objectives. "And? What is this Federal Council, exactly?"


    The Federal Council¡ªSiesta had asked me to apany her to a meeting of all the world''s Tuners. The council was apparently held at random locations as needed; it would be in New York this time, and since the Ace Detective was a Tuner, Siesta had an obligation to attend.


    "In simple terms, it''s a ce where the twelve Tuners meet and talk whenever the world has reached a major turning point." As Siesta answered, she was nibbling on a long, thin chocte snack. When had she bought those? "When a new global crisis is looming, they decide who''s going to handle it. Since the ''primordial seed'' crisis has passed this time, I suppose there''ll be a postmortem report on that as well."


    "I see. So you''ll be reporting your achievements as the Ace Detective, huh?" From what I was hearing, it sounded as if we''d be the highlight of this conference, in a way. ...Still, meeting in person in this day and age made them seem like a pretty old-fashioned crowd.


    "Are you nervous?"


    "I''m shaking from excitement." "Literally, it appears."


    <i>You try getting dumped straight into a massively important discussion that''s going to determine the future.</i>


    "Well, there''ll be plenty of people you know there. Like her, for example." "Oh, Ms. Fuubi? Yeah, I''d wondered how you two knew each other. I


    never figured it''d be this, though."


    After the hijacking four years ago, Siesta had handed Bat over to Ms. Fuubi. They''d been connected before I was even aware of it,rades who protected the world from the shadows.


    "So will Mia be there, too?"


    "That''s a good question. She''s never attended before."


    True, it was hard to picture a homebody like Mia attending such a tense meeting. Come to think of it, Ms. Fuubi had said she''d never met the Oracle.


    "Then you mean people are allowed to skip this thing?" A council that predicted the way of the world seemed like it would be pretty uptight, but...


    "All the Tuners besides me have a quirk or two. Not many of them are good at getting along with others."


    "You make it sound like you''re normal or something."


    Siesta only sipped her tea, acting as if she had no idea what I was talking about. <i>You just brought your own teacup on board like it''s nothing.</i>


    "Still, the one we''re going to meet is probably the most troublesome member of the group."


    ...Right. There was another reason we were headed to New York and attending the council.


    "The Vampire¡ªScarlet," I muttered.


    Siesta gave a small nod. "You know him already, don''t you?" "Not that I particrly want to see him..."


    Even among the Tuners, the Vampire was a heretic. I''d sensed something fathomless in his sharp eyes, which seemed to take the measure of everything. He''d also hinted that there was something between him and Siesta...


    "You''re acting as if something unpleasant happened. Did he pick on you?" "...He was just sort of creepy. Never mind that; you really think Scarlet


    knows how to wake Natsunagi up?"


    The Vampire was the person Siesta had said we''d need in order to awaken Natsunagi. Pinning our hopes on him, the two of us had set off for the Federal Council, which he''d be attending along with the other Tuners.


    "It''s just that there''s a possibility. However, while he may not look it, he is <i>an expert on life and death</i>, so he''ll have some personal views on human consciousness."


    "...I...see?"


    The Vampire had a technique that could resurrect the dead, although his revenants were only able to follow their most powerful instincts from their past life. He probably did have an insight into human life and death, their consciousness and souls, but...


    "Can we count on a fantasy creature like a vampire?"


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?" "You''re so unfair."


    It had been a while since west ran through that exchange.


    "Vampires aren''t the fanciful beings that folklore describes, and they didn''t just spontaneously appear somewhere." Siesta took another sip of tea. "Everything happens for a reason. There has to be a cause. You mustn''t shut your eyes to those things and rely on convenient words like ''impossible'' or ''coincidence.''"


    As she told me something vaguely familiar, her profile reminded me of the person I most wanted to meet right now.


    "To begin with, vampires originated..." But just as Siesta was about to tell me about vampires, she cut herself off. "Oh,e to think of it, did you see today''s astrology column? Taurus was in the lowest position."


    "Geez, could you find a clumsier way to change the subject?" <i>And don''t give me information I don''t need. I''m gonna feel bummed all day now. </i>"Look, don''t hide important stuff for no reason, all right? Just give me the information I need to know now."


    "Well, it''s fun to watch you il around when you don''t know anything." "That''s the worst reason ever."


    <strong> Two detectives, twelve justices</strong>


    After a twelve-hour flight, Siesta and I arrived in New York. After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we headed straight to the Federal Council venue. "There''s shuttle service and everything. They''re really giving us VIP treatment," I said to Siesta. We were in the back seat of the ck car that had been waiting for us as soon as we stepped out of the hotel. From the fact that Siesta had climbed in without hesitating, it would probably take us to our


    destination.


    "They may be treating us like VIPs now, but we might not even be alive in a few hours," Siesta said. I didn''t like the sound of that.


    "Wasn''t the Ace Detective supposed to be the star of this show?" "Subjugating the primordial seed took far longer than it was supposed to.


    Besides, we also deviated from the future the Oracle foretold."


    "...I see. You mean we drastically changed the route, and they may hold us


    responsible?"


    In the sacred text, the original future that revolved around Seed had ended with Siesta losing to Hel, and Hel bing Seed''s vessel. To head that off, Siesta had appointed me and my knack for getting dragged into stuff as her assistant. Little by little, that move had changed the future.


    However, the altered route was what we''d lived throughst year: Siesta and Hel had taken each other out, Seed had lost both of his candidate vessels, and only Hel''s main personality¡ªNatsunagi¡ªhad survived.


    Siesta had intended for me, Natsunagi, Saikawa, and Charlie to defeat Seed. I''d rejected that ending as well, though. I''d sworn to bring Siesta back to life, and now¡ªNatsunagi had sacrificed herself to aplish that goal, and after all our trials and tribtions, we''d ultimately managed to seal the primordial seed.


    ...Now that I thought about it, I really had been reckless. As Tuners, no wonder Ms. Fuubi had flipped her lid and Mia had cried. I''d destabilized the world for the sake of my own wish. I''d warped the future, and now Natsunagi was¡ª


    "You''re as easy to read as ever." Siesta gave a small sigh. "It''s all right. Nagisa''s going to wake up." She smiled softly. "She may have fallen into a long sleep, assuming she''s fulfilled her role. But you know that''s not true, don''t you? Nagisa Natsunagi isn''t a proxy detective; nothing like it. She''s not a stand-in for anyone. She''s your one and only partner."


    As if trying to convey the emotions in her words physically, she squeezed my hand, held it for a few moments, then released it.


    "...I see. Yeah, you''re right."


    Natsunagi had lost her memories, forgotten how to live, and had been tormented by herck of identity. However, she''d only just epted her entire past, learned where to head, and finally discovered who she was. And now she was going to fall asleep forever? Even if Natsunagi was okay with that, I wasn''t. I''d kill her twice, once for me and again for Hel.


    "I''ve got one correction, though." Siesta looked puzzled. I gazed at her but turned to face forward before I spoke. "You''re my partner, too."


    She''d said Natsunagi was my only partner. But to me, Siesta was also¡ª "¡ªI see." Like me, Siesta turned to face forward. As she spoke, we didn''t


    look at each other. "We''re almost there, Assistant."


    She didn''t say anything more. From the fact that she''d called me by my job


    title, though, our rtionship was the same as it had always been.


    Before long, the car slowly came to a stop. The rear doors opened, and I climbed out after Siesta.


    "This is it, huh...?"


    A grand, ptial building stood on the other side of an expansive garden. So this was where the Federal Council would convene. "Is it okay to have a top-secret meeting at such an eye-catching venue?"


    "It''s fine. Civilians never notice this ce." Siesta strode toward the building.


    "What, is it behind a magic barrier or something?" Three paces behind her, I stepped into the pce''s spacious front hall.


    "Twelve Tuners in total... Right now, I know about half of them."


    As I climbed a long staircase, I counted the Tuners I''d met so far. There was Siesta, the Ace Detective; Ms. Fuubi, the Assassin; Scarlet, the Vampire; and Mia Whitlock, the Oracle. Plus Stephen Bluefield, the Inventor, the one I''d just met. Also, although I only knew of him, the Phantom Thief; he''d stolen Mia''s sacred text and was now doing time deep underground somewhere.


    "You''ve been involved with other Tuners, too," Siesta said, ncing back briefly.


    "What do you mean? Is this going to be one of those <i>Saikawa was actually ''the Idol,'' a Tuner </i>kind of punch lines?"


    "From the fact that Yui''s the only acquaintance you can think of, you obviously don''t have many friends."


    <i>Hey, mind your own business. Charlie counts, too.</i>


    "Well, it''s more that you were involved without being aware of it. You''ll meet them right after this," Siesta told me, opting not to exin any further now. "More importantly, maybe I should tell you about a few of the members you should watch out for."


    "Yeah, it would be nice if I could brace myself." I''d had way too many heart-attack-inducing surprises during that three-year journey, so I was grateful for the offer.


    "Right. The particrly dangerous ones are the Magician and the Enforcer." We''d reached the top of the stairs and were walking down a long, red-carpeted hallway. Siesta continued her exnation. "The Magician is a witchlike old woman who almost never leaves the forest. They say she once


    used a certain secret art to destroy a whole vige. But that power is the reason they made her a Tuner."


    "So it''s possible to be a defender of justice even if you''vemitted crimes?" They''d probably decided her secret art would be useful in protecting the world, but...


    "That''s a tough one... Still. From the perspective of what ''crime'' means, the Enforcer has definitely killed more people than any other Tuner."


    "That''s pretty unsettling. The Tuners are the world''s guardians, right?" As Ms. Fuubi and Scarlet had demonstrated, apparently you couldn''t just call these people "heroes" and leave it at that.


    "It depends on how you define ''justice.'' In fact, the job assigned to the Enforcer is <i>the execution of criminals who can''t be judged in the outside world</i>."


    "...So, a ''necessary evil,'' huh?"


    It was true that there were cases that thew couldn''t settle adequately. Apparently, the Enforcer was an antihero who <i>cleaned up the aftermath </i>from the shadows.


    "Right. He lurked in the shadows, carrying nothing but an enormous sickle, which he used to cut down criminals. In terms of purebat skills, he''s up there with the Assassin and even the Vampire."


    "The Magician and the Enforcer, hm? I''d rather avoid getting dragged into any unnecessary... Whoops."


    <i>Nope. If I say any more than that, I''ll jinx myself.</i>


    As I hastily pped a hand over my mouth, we came to a set of doors that wasrger than the others.


    "Listen, Assistant." Siesta shot me a nce. "From this point on, don''t think themon sense that has worked for you before will still apply."


    Yeah. I could see that from what she''d just said and from the Tuners I''d met so far.


    We exchanged nods. Then she pushed the doors open with both hands¡ª and in therge room beyond them, we saw...


    "What Rill is trying to say is¡ªhowe the Ace Detective is allowed to do whatever she wants when the rest of us can''t?"


    "Huh? So you''re jealous of her, and you''re pitching a fit because you want to get your way all the time, too?"


    A girl had jumped up onto a long table. She was holding a ck cane like a weapon...and ring at Fuubi Kase. The redheaded policewoman was slouched in a chair, smoking a cigarette and gave an equally intense scowl.


    The girl on the table looked quite a bit younger than the Magician, and the weapon she was holding didn''t seem to be the Enforcer''s sickle. In that case, this thoroughly unreasonable kid was¡ª


    "Who do you suppose she is?" Siesta looked puzzled.


    <i>What, you don''t know, either?</i>


    Then she really wasn''t the Magician or the Enforcer? "¡ªThis is sacred ground. Lower your weapon."


    Just then, a chill that made my insides feel airborne assailed me. It felt as if someone''s hand was raking the pit of my stomach.


    Siesta and I, and the pair who were arguing, all looked toward the owner of the voice. A middle-aged man was sitting on a dais in the depths of the room. He didn''t blink at all as he spoke. "The day''s leading yers have arrived. Come, let the council begin."


    With onest re at Ms. Fuubi, the girl on the table returned to her chair. "Come on, Assistant."


    Aside from us, there were six heroes at the long table.


    The council to determine the world''s future was about to begin.

 Chapter 100 - 2.4

    <h4>Chapter 100: Chapter 2.4</h4>


    <strong>And so the world turned</strong>


    "Ace Detective Siesta. I apologize for myte arrival," Siesta said, bowing her head to the people seated at the long table. "You too, Kimi."


    As prompted, I copied Siesta¡ªWait, we werete?


    We seated ourselves in the chairs closest to us, sitting side by side.


    Some of the faces in the row of Tuners were familiar, and naturally, there were others I''d never seen before. Unfortunately, even though he''d been the one we were counting on, the Vampire didn''t seem to be present.


    "I don''t believe we''ve met, Ace Detective." The girl with the cane spoke politely, but her tone and her eyes were clearly hostile. She red at Siesta, who was sitting directly across the table from her. Although her shy outfit was very anime, her expression was cold and stern.


    "You''ve vited the Federal Charter''s rules a zillion times, you''ve been granted exceptions, and on top of that, you''ve literallye back from the dead... Just how much do you need the world to love you, anyway? Rill wishes you''d share some of that good luck with her."


    The girl who called herself Rill pointed the cane in her right hand at Siesta, who didn''t resist. I wasn''t able to react fast enough, and my muscles tensed.


    "Enough."


    That said, everyone here was a seasoned veteran who''d put their life on the line to protect the world. Maybe I was too normal to keep up, but the redheaded Assassin already had her gun pointed at the girl.


    "Weren''t you just told to put down your weapon, Reloaded?"


    "Viting the charter is a capital offense, remember? What''s the problem?"


    "Even if it is, you''re not the one who dishes out the punishment," Ms.


    Fuubi snapped.


    "Fuubi. Neither are you."


    The man in a suit who sat at the head of the row told Ms. Fuubi to put her gun away. Apparently his words carried the most weight with this crowd; both Ms. Fuubi and Reloaded obeyed, reluctantly stowing their weapons.


    I had the feeling I''d seen that man''s face somewhere before. His brown hair wasbed back, and his eyes were deep green. His expensive suit fit him well; he seemed to be some sort of politician... "...Oh. Are you Fritz Stewart?" I asked.


    The man let his icy mask drop and smiled with his <i>public face</i>. "Once again, it''s a pleasure to meet you. I''m Fritz Stewart, mayor of New York City."


    I knew it. His face was the same one I''d seen on TV.


    Back when Siesta and I had spent time in this country, Fritz Stewart had already been a distinguished politician. He''d won support with his mild personality and solid track record, and he was still the acting mayor of New York. "I never thought someone like you would be a Tuner."


    "Yes. I''ve been given the role of Revolutionary." Revolutionary... That was a Tuner position?


    "I can''t discuss the specifics, but <i>slightly tilting the world from the shadows </i>is the Revolutionary''s mission. You might not think so, but much like children''s seesaws, governments in every era are made up of bnces."


    For the sake of peace, the world''s bnce was preserved, or sometimes broken. While he wasn''t a femme fatale who seduced kings and toppled nations, Fritz Stewart the Revolutionary probably didn''t limit his activities to this city. From behind the scenes, he interfered with politics and economics around the world. "Global crisis" didn''t always mean aliens or the denizens of parallel worlds. People whomanded nations could destroy the easily.


    "Fritz, are you the leader of the Tuners?" I made guess based on what I''d seen so far.


    "No, no. I''m only the <i>moderator </i>for this particr session." Since I didn''t know anything about this council, Fritz exined for my benefit. "Perhaps you weren''t informed that we Tuners are an organization under the direct control of the Mizoev Federation, either?"


    "...That''s right. My business partner won''t tell me anything unless I ask her. And when I do, she still won''t tell me." I shot Siesta a look, but as usual, she acted as if it had nothing to do with her. She''d made ck tea at some point and was elegantly enjoying a cup by herself.


    "It is something I''d vaguely expected, though. If some country had taken the initiative and organized the Tuners, it had to be America, Russia, China... There weren''t too many other alternatives."


    At present, there were six continents: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Mizoev. When the continents had fought each other over the Akashic records in World War III, no country had sustained heavy damage; I''d heard that was due to the Mizoev Federation''s "Silent Rule."


    "That said, the Federation Union includes several important figures from countries besides Mizoev, and that is the entity that appoints us as Tuners. Among our group, I have been charged with moderating this council," Fritz said, wrapping up his answer to my first question. He had to be used to moderating already due to his work in politics; as far as I was concerned, he was the right guy for the job.


    "Still, this is your first time taking part in a Federal Council," Fritz said, focusing on me again. "Everyone here knows about you, of course, but the reverse isn''t necessarily true. Before we get into the main topic, why don''t we introduce ourselves?"


    ...He''d just said something really scary in passing. Why did all the Tuners


    know about me? And why were they all watching me? "You''re sure it''s okay to use up time on an outsider?"


    "You and the Ace Detective are today''s guests of honor," Fritz responded. "Besides, if they obtain permission in advance, all Tuners are allowed to bring one assistant to the Federal Council, or send one proxy for themselves. Just as she''s done." Fritz''s gaze went to the chair diagonally opposite mine.


    "Come to think of it, our positions are simr, huh, Olivia?"


    The Oracle''s messenger wasn''t a flight attendant today. She was attending as her Tuner''s assistant and proxy.


    "Yes. Although, the Oracle is here as well." Opening herptop, Olivia turned it to face me¡ªand there...


    "...What are you doing?" I almost said <i>Mia</i>, but mmed up to protect her privacy. Still, the girl on the screen, who was clearly Mia Whitlock, was dressed in a shrine maiden''s costume...and wearing a fox mask.


    "I heard it was possible to attend online. Quite modern, don''t you think?" Mia said, justifying her choice. I never thought I''d see the day when shut-ins were ahead of the times.


    "¡ªI don''t need this, though," she told us, removing her mask. Olivia and the other Tuners stared at her, caught off guard.


    Mia had never revealed anything about her identity before, not even her face or her name. Unless she filled us in, there was no way to know what had brought on this change of heart. Even so, her eyes were glowing with a determination to be involved with the world.


    "I see. So you''re already acquainted with the Oracle. I suppose I should have expected no less." Fritz watched me, intrigued. "Do you know him too, then?" He let his eyes wander, skimming over the Ace Detective and the Assassin, until they came to rest on a man in a dark suit at the very end.


    "......"


    Even though we were inside, the man wore sunsses, and he sat with good posture without moving a muscle. He looked almost like an exquisitely made android; he had a stern face, and he didn''t say a word.


    I didn''t know him. But I''d been involved with <i>these guys </i>lots of times. "The Man in ck." Fritz introduced the man by his position, not his


    name. "Their organization, the Men in ck, has been collectively appointed as a Tuner. They''re stationed all over the world as what you might call handymen."


    "...Oh, yeah, I know what you mean."


    Four years ago, they''d made me smuggle that musket just before I met Siesta at ten thousand meters. After that, they''d helped us out with jobs now and then, on Siesta''s instructions. After death had temporarily separated me from Siesta, I''d relied on them personally a few times.


    "That''s right. The Men in ck are a recement for a piece that went missing right before thepletion of an enormous puzzle. They''re the lubricant that helps rusted, immobilized gears turn again. They''re the gods from the machine that appear to the characters of a certain story in order to hold the plot together."


    This world was riddled with inconsistencies, but people still managed to live without any cognitive dissonance. It might be thanks to a single bullet that was fired from the darkness, invisible and unremembered.


    "Am I next, then?" Another individual who''d been silent until now spoke. He sat diagonally opposite Fritz: an old man with white whiskers who wore a silk hat and a smile. "My name is Bruno. My job is to provide intelligence that''s useful to the rest of you as the Information Broker." Bruno''s gentle smile was exactly the kind Santa us would have worn if he''d really existed. "It''s been quite some time since west saw each other, Ace Detective."


    "It really has. It''s good to see you, Bruno." Siesta bowed her head to the elderly man with unexpected reverence. Apparently they were old friends.


    "He helped you out as well, Kimi, although you didn''t know it," Siesta whispered in my ear.


    "During those three years, you mean?"


    "Yes. A third of those incidents couldn''t have been resolved without his knowledge and information."


    I see. So the Tuners she''d mentioned before we got here, the ones I''d been involved with unaware, had been the Men in ck and the Information Broker.


    "There''s no mandatory retirement age for Tuners?" I whispered to Siesta, idly curious.


    "No. And, Kimi, you say some pretty rude things without even blinking."


    ...It was rare for Siesta to get mad at me for a good reason. She was usually much more unfair.


    "Ha-ha-ha!" Bruno sounded unexpectedly entertained. He''d heard my


    ment loud and clear. "Oh, it doesn''t bother me. No doubt you were concerned for my health." He smiled gently.


    ...On the other hand, somebody who was probably capable of killing people with one look red at me. "Listen up, you damn brat." <i>Sure, I count as a brat to somebody your age, Ms. Fuubi</i>, I thought, but I didn''t say it. "He''s lived ten times as long as you have, and he''s still performing his duties as the Information Broker. Don''t you dare disrespect him."


    ...Ten times my age? Then Bruno was... No, but he only looked about seventy...


    "It''s thanks to a rather special drug. It hasn''t made me quite immortal, but I will live a tad longer than the rest of you." Bruno toyed with his beard. "It''s just that, since I''ve lived a slightly longer life, I know a few things. The Assassin and the Ace Detective always face the world''s crises squarely, out on the front line, and I respect them." Bruno turned his gentle gaze on Ms. Fuubi, then Siesta.


    "Let''s move on, shall we?" Fritz''s introductions finally shifted to the seventh Tuner. Thisst one was the problem kid who''d been arguing with Ms. Fuubi when we came in...


    "So we finally get to talk." Switching from the stern expression she''d worn this whole time, the girl¡ªReloaded¡ªsmiled rather proudly, shing white mini-fangs. Sweeping her orange hair back, she said:


    "Kimihiko Kimizuka, you are in the presence of the great Magical Girl, Reloaded. How would you like to be her pet¡ªum, familiar?"


    Why are all the girls I run into such a pain in the butt?

 Chapter 101 - 2.5

    <h4>Chapter 101: Chapter 2.5</h4>


    <strong>The scales of justice</strong>


    Once the introductions were over, the positions held by the seven attending Tuners were clear. Fritz Stewart the Revolutionary, Bruno the Information Broker, the Man in ck (name unknown), Siesta the Ace Detective, Ms. Fuubi the Assassin, Mia Whitlock the Oracle. And¡ª


    "Um, excuse me? Why is Rill the only one who just got ignored?"


    The girl with vivid orange hair was still calling herself by her nickname. Thumping the table, she stood up. The jolt knocked her ck cane over.


    "Rill''s saying it one more time, Kimihiko Kimizuka: Be her familiar."


    This was the seventh Tuner, Reloaded the Magical Girl. She was probably about the same age as Siesta and me, but what she was wearing looked exactly like the sort of magical girl costume you''d see in an anime. It really suited the cute expression she''d shown for a fraction of a second earlier.


    However, nothing she''d said or done this whole time had been cute at all. I guessed "familiar" was a magical girl term, and she was actually telling me to be her errand boy. Meaning...


    "...I really doubt there''s anything in it for me."


    "Oh, no, that''s not true. You must be getting tired of being the Ace Detective''s assistant. Being a cute magical girl''s dog is bound to be more fun."


    "You totally just said ''dog.'' ...And anyway, why me?" I didn''t even have to think about it; I knew for a fact that I was meeting this girl for the first time. Why was she trying to make me her dog...or, uh, her assistant?


    "Isn''t it obvious? Kimihiko Kimizuka, you are this world''s¡ª"


    "¡ªSorry, but my assistant''s never going to be yours," Siesta cut in. Reloaded had been picking a fight with her since before the council began, and Siesta finally looked ready to take her up on it. She didn''t go for her weapon, but a cold war was starting across the table.


    "What? You''re nning to monopolize him? Nobody likes jealous women, you know."


    "It''s not a question of petty emotions. It''s a contractual issue."


    "A contract? After three or four years, they generally get renewed."


    "Nice try, but no. The contract was for lifetime employment. He doesn''t have time to be your partner."


    ...I seemed to have found myself in some sort of mystery pact with Siesta.


    Did "lifetime employment" mean I''d be with her until I died? That the rest of my life would be full of unfairness?....................... Yeah, I should turn that


    down. No reason to hesitate there.


    "Are you nning to <i>cheat</i>, all by yourself ?" Reloaded snapped at Siesta again. "If Rill could just use the Singrity, she could do her job more efficiently..."


    "Reloaded, you always manage your duties as the Magician quite well," Fritz said, attempting to defuse the situation with apliment.


    "I told you, Rill is the Magical Girl, not the Magician. She <i>did you the</i>


    <i>favor </i>of bing a Tuner, so you said you''d change the position''s name." Reloaded propped her chin in her hands, scowling at Fritz.


    Apparently, Reloaded had taken over the position of Magician from the old woman Siesta had told me about on our way here. I''d just been told there was no mandatory retirement age for Tuners, so why had the previous Magician decided to step down? The mysteries and questions kept piling up, and nobody¡ªincluding the prim-faced Ace Detective next to me¡ªwas providing any answers.


    "¡ªNow then. Let''s begin our discussion on the main topic," Fritz said in a voice that seemed to sink into the pits of our stomachs. We were finally getting down to business. I''d heard that a report on the subjugation of the primordial seed was on the meeting''s agenda, and sure enough...


    "All right. We''re running behind schedule, but once again, <i>Daydream</i>: Thanks to you, the crisis of the primordial seed has passed." Turning to Siesta, Fritz congratted her on her work as the Ace Detective. "The secret society SPES should be wiped out soon, including its coborators around the world. It has also been decided that the remote ind they had illegally upied will be a Mizoev Federation territory. The ''primordial seed'' crisis has beenpletely resolved. Well done."


    Several people apuded. Mia (on the screen), Olivia, Fritz, and Bruno all congratted Siesta onpleting her great mission.


    "I..." But Siesta''s face was far from cheerful.


    Six years ago, she''d encountered the primordial seed. Four years ago, she''d left on a journey to battle SPES with me. If you added up all the things she''d lost along the way, she couldn''t possibly put on a smile here. It wasn''t the kind of girl she was.


    "She didn''t exactly do a praiseworthy job, though." The self-dered Magical Girl gave Siesta a cold look; her chin was still propped on her hands. "And several other Tuners broke the rules." She widened her attack to include people besides Siesta.


    I''d already guessed who she was talking about.


    "Fritz, you already know, don''t you? The Assassin and Oracle overstepped their authority."


    ...I knew it. She was right: Those two had helped subjugate Seed, even though the job had been assigned to Siesta. Mia had shown Siesta the sacred text, although no one but the Oracle was allowed to view those books. After


    Siesta''s death, Ms. Fuubi had helped Charlie and me fight SPES. Reloaded was suggesting that they''d vited the Federal Charter.


    "...! It isn''t Boss''s fault," said the girl in theputer. "I acted of my own ord, so Boss isn''t..."


    "Huh? So what? You''re not refuting anything, you know." "...Olivia, how do you shut off this call screen?"


    Mia wasn''t used to fighting¡ªshe wasn''t even used to talking to people. Shrinking under the pressure, she dejectedly tried to retreat. Pathetic, but also cute.


    "Let me exin." Bruno the Information Broker raised his gloved right hand. "Truth be told, I received a proposal from the Assassin about this earlier. Certainly, the Federal Charter stiptes that one Tuner is to deal with each global crisis. However..." Bruno thumped the floor with his cane. "The Assassin asked whether it would be eptable to assist another Tuner, provided she was <i>on top of </i>her own mission. In fact, while it is part of my duty, I myself assist other Tuners. I understood her argument quite well."


    In response to Bruno''sment, all eyes turned to Ms. Fuubi.


    So, knowing that her actions would cause a problem someday, Ms. Fuubi had gone to the Information Broker about it in advance, since he was both the oldest member and the one most likely to understand what the job entailed.


    "See, when a police officer notices someone in trouble, it''s only natural to help them." Even with all that attention on her, Ms. Fuubi stayed cool andposed enough to crack jokes. Not only that, but... "Well, that might be too much to process for a little kid who''s struggling so much with her own mission that she can''t afford to be considerate of other people." She snorted, clearly mocking a certain someone.


    "Are you talking about Rill?"


    "Oh, so you knew you were like that?" "Huhn?"


    "Uhn?"


    <i>...Ms. Fuubi, you suck at interacting with people.</i>


    "I see. I understand the situation." For now, with no change in his expression, Fritz epted Ms. Fuubi and Bruno''s ims. "It''s true that the threat from the primordial seed was on a level not often seen in recent years. We should be able to allow a few irregrities."


    "¡ªYou''re just a mediator. You don''t have the authority to make that decision." Unable to ept the decision, Reloaded snapped at Fritz.


    "Correct. If ites down to officially changing the rules, the Federation Government will make the ultimate decision. That said..." Fritz''s tone changed again. "I handed down that judgment on the understanding that, right now, our top priority should be the smooth progression of this meeting. Are there any objections?"


    He spoke in a voice that chilled me to the bone, and I felt a phantom pain run through my heart. Even though she''d acted so arrogant, Reloaded flinched, then backed down.


    "That appears to be settled, then." Bruno''s hoarse voice broke the silence; he''d chosen to ignore the tension. "A new age calls for new rules and values. I am proud of young people who don''t fear such changes. ...Or perhaps this senile old codger is simply desperate to keep up with the times." He gently stroked his cane with his fingertips.


    "Thank you for your consideration." Ms. Fuubi bowed her head to the Information Broker. Like Siesta, she seemed to have a genuine respect for Bruno.


    "Ha-ha-ha. It was a request from a cute girl, after all."


    "...Thank you for your consideration." After a brief pause, Ms. Fuubi responded with the exact same line she''d said before. Uncharacteristically,


    she didn''t seem to know how to react, and augh escaped me¡ªalmost. Man, that was close.


    "All right, <i>shall we discuss the main topic?</i>"


    ¡ªFritz''s cold eyes turned toward me.


    <i>Oh, I get it. </i>That was when it hit me: The council''s objective wasn''t to hear a simple report about the primordial seed''s subjugation. This was...


    "The future written in the sacred text has changed. What are your views on that?"


    Its goal was to denounce me for messing with the future Mia had prophesied and searched for the brand-new Route X.


    "I heard Daydream should have died. The next Ace Detective would have been the one to defeat the primordial seed. You rejected that and twisted the narrative¡ªand as a result, Daydream returned to life. However, we lost Nagisa Natsunagi, the next candidate for Ace Detective. At least, I''m told she''s currentlyatose." Fritz looked at me, one eyebrow raised. "Was this truly what you... No, what Daydream wanted?" Fritz was asking me and only me. This was an interrogation. Did I think Siesta had wanted to trade Natsunagi''s life for her own? I couldn''t reply. I was all too aware of the answer.


    "The Singrity."


    As Fritz said that word, he looked at me, and the eyes of the other Tuners all focused on me as well.


    "When an era begins to experience dramatic changes, <i>it </i>inevitably appears. It overturns the future the Oracle foretells, transforming the world''s set path. An irregr element¡ªthat''s you," Fritz stated.


    The Singrity. A while back, Scarlet had mentioned that word once. I also got the feeling Mia had said something simr, and that she''d been watching me when she said it.


    An irregr entity capable of changing the future, of setting the world in motion... That was me, Kimihiko Kimizuka. <i>That''s not even funny. There''s no way something that ridiculous could be true. </i>Internally, Iughed the idea off, but signs of subtle foreshadowing in my past flickered through my mind.


    There was my irritating tendency to get dragged into things. Could that actually be because I was the Singrity, and my nature kept setting off


    unexpected trouble around me? Come to think of it, Hel had once told me that my predisposition was the type that transformed things and triggered incidents, and that I was the center of the world. Not to mention how a certain ace detective had taken me ten thousand meters into the sky because she''d needed me to help her change a disastrous future.


    What if I assumed that all those things had been because I was this "Singrity"? That was why incidents happened around me, why I attracted detectives and enemies of the world, and had even overturned the Oracle''s prophesied future. The real reason I''d managed to pull off a taboo like resurrecting the dead was¡ª


    "Let me ask you this, Singrity. How will you involve yourself with the world from now on?" Fritz asked me. "It''s true that this time, partly due to the cooperation of other Tuners, Daydream returned to life as you had nned. The elimination of the primordial seed also <i>happened </i>to go well, but that won''t always be the case. To me, results aren''t everything."


    I was silent. Keeping his eyes on me, Fritz Stewartced his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table. Ms. Fuubi and Mia couldn''t argue, either. Even if they didn''te out and say what they''d done was wrong, they had to know it hadn''t been right.


    I knew that better than anyone, though. I''d made Ms. Fuubi mad, I''d made Mia cry, but I''d still convinced both of them. I''d deceived them. In that case, I''d have to be the one to say it.


    "Assistant?"


    I''d abruptly stood up, and Siesta stared at me, startled.


    Until now, I''d relied exclusively on the detective. For those three years, I''d been with Siesta all the time. I''d been too quick to rely on her, to believe that as long as she was there, the cases would be solved and our wishes woulde true. ...And I''d paid for that when I lost her. Unable to forget her, I''d spent a whole year doing nothing, and then I''d met a new detective.


    It was fine for Natsunagi to live her own life. I''d told her so myself, and yet in the end, I''d asked her to continue being a detective. Once again, I''de to rely on herpletely. During those three years, and that year of tepid idleness, and these past few months when I''d gotten back on my feet,


    I''d constantly clung to and been saved by a detective. But... "It''s probably about time we switched ces, huh?"


    That had to be why I was standing here today.


    My legs had been weirdly shaky for the past few minutes, but hey, I wasn''t going to worry about it. It was just fatigue from sitting for a long time without shifting positions¡ªNo, I was quivering from the adrenaline.


    "Fritz. You''re saying it''s a problem that we tried to bring Siesta back to life, right?" I looked at the Revolutionary, then let my gaze travel across the other attendees. I was a regr guy, surrounded by Tuners; technically, it was presumptuous of me even to speak here. What on earth could I say, with the eyes of all these global heroes on me?


    "Simply put, yes, that is what I''m saying," Fritz answered for the group, without turning a hair. He spoke, not with his public politician''s face, but as the Revolutionary who pulled the strings of the underworld. "In the original route, the Ace Detective would have been sacrificed to save the world."


    This representative of the world''s guardians had determined that the detective should have died.


    When I heard that, my mind grew oddly calm. The Tuners'' rules, the story recorded in the sacred text, whether or not I was the Singrity¡ªnone of that had anything to do with this. There was only one thing that really mattered. I already knew what I had to say.


    "I see. So Siesta shouldn''t havee back to life, huh? Do you seriously think that? If so, <i>you people should quit this job right now</i>."


    I mean, if they couldn''t understand something so simple... People like that weren''t qualified to protect the world, were they?


    "Losing Siesta is a loss for all of humanity, the whole world, the entire universe."


    Ever since the day when I''d met the detective at ten thousand meters, she


    ¡ªno, both of them¡ªhad held out their hands to me. All this time, they''d saved me. From now on, though, it would be the other way around. It didn''t matter whether I was the Singrity. I didn''t care about the world. The only thing I couldn''t give up was...


    Siesta. Natsunagi.


    I wasn''t letting the detectives die. "... "


    Silence fell. In the stillness, all I could hear was my own heartbeat. Of the seven Tuners, some red at me, others wore intrigued smiles or gazed


    indifferently into space. After the seemingly endless silence had stretched on for thirty seconds or so...


    "...Well, that''s what I think, but let''s leave the actual decision to the higher-ups."


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    Unable to take the silence any longer, I returned dejectedly to my seat. As expected, Siesta gave me a cold, mmy look. Before long, she heaved a big sigh.


    "Still¡ªthank you."


    She seemed vaguely troubled, but she had on a faint smile. "I suppose I can''t make my assistant work that hard and then say nothing myself." As if taking my ce, Siesta rose to her feet. "Naturally, I''m prepared to take responsibility for this incident."


    Scanning every face in the room, she spoke calmly.


    "I hereby dere my resignation as a Tuner. I would like to officially nominate Nagisa Natsunagi as the next Ace Detective."

 Chapter 102 - 2.6

    <h4>Chapter 102: Chapter 2.6</h4>


    <strong>The detective, beaten hollow</strong>


    After the Federal Council, Siesta and I went to a trendy cafeteria near our hotel for a light dinner. We got ourselves some pasta and scones and other things, and then we nned for the fallout of that council.


    "What''s this about, Siesta?" I asked. She was twisting up neat forkfuls of pasta. "Are you seriously stepping down as Ace Detective?"


    At the Federal Council about an hour ago, Siesta had dered that she was leaving the position of Ace Detective, and had nominated Natsunagi to rece her. However, the other Tuners (except for Mia) had seemed perfectly unruffled by her announcement.


    "Oh, that? I just assumed you were going to ask about the Singrity." As primly as ever, Siesta dabbed at her lips with a napkin.


    "If I said I wasn''t curious, I''d be lying...but there''s something else I need to prioritize now."


    "I see. I thought you''d yell at me for not telling you about important things like that beforehand." From the way she was talking, Siesta had been aware that I was <i>that sort of thing. </i>At least for now, though, that information was


    rtively unimportant to me. "Let''s say I really do have some sort of effect on the world. <i>That won''t influence what I do.</i>"


    I''d had this insanely troublesome knack for getting dragged into stuff my whole life. At this point, giving it a different definition wasn''t going to change anything about how I thought or lived. There was just one thing I needed to do, one wish I want granted.


    "...I see. Heh-heh. You really have grown, Kimi." Seeming to have convinced herself of something, Siesta resumed her meal.


    "And? I''m asking why you suddenly said you were quitting as the Ace Detective."


    She''d wrapped things up in a vague sort of way with a good story, but Siesta had a particr talent for glossing over the important details.


    "My mission as Ace Detective was to annihte SPES, nothing more. Now that I''ve done that, I don''t think it''s odd for me to resign from the position."


    "...Didn''t you tell me you were born to be a detective?" As I asked her that, I was studying the ss near my hand. I could see my own warped reflection in the water.


    "That''s right. And so, now that I''ve defeated my mortal enemy, I''ll <i>go back to being an ordinary detective</i>. That''s all." Watching me, Siesta smiled. "From now on, this is your story." Her manner was mild, but the way she spoke left me no room to argue.


    "I see..." She was right, though. Even if Siesta stopped fighting the enemies of the world, she''d still be tackling the mysteries and evils that lurked in everyday life. She might have quit being the Ace Detective, but that didn''t mean she''dpletely vanish from my life¡ª


    "Assistant?" Immediately, I realized Siesta was peering at my face.


    "...No, it''s nothing." I''d decided to quit relying on the detectives for everything, and yet here I was, taking it for granted that Siesta would be with me. It surprised me, and I cleared my throat before I continued. "So you''re appointing Natsunagi to take over?"


    "Right. It''s all thanks to Nagisa that I''m able to move like this, and that we managed to defeat Seed. I''m sure she''ll be a better Ace Detective than me... No, Nagisa was better suited to it all along. She''s beaten me hollow." Siesta leaned against her chair. It was as if she was admitting defeat to the Alicia version of Natsunagi we''d met in London a year ago. "Of course, that''s assuming she still wants to be the Ace Detective. She may have lost the


    power of that seed and gone back to being an ordinary girl." "...Yeah. We''ll just have to ask her about that."


    We exchanged nods, then went over our game n. No matter how much Siesta wanted Natsunagi to take over as Ace Detective, it wasn''t going to happen unless Natsunagi woke up.


    "That''s true. We don''t have much time, but we''ll wake Nagisa up for sure."


    At the Federal Council, we had been told that Siesta''s intention to resign would be officiallymunicated to the <i>higher-ups </i>on the condition that we summoned Nagisa Natsunagi to the council. In other words, unless Natsunagi woke up and agreed to inherit Siesta''s will, Siesta would stay the Ace Detective.


    "We didn''t get to see Scarlet, though."


    Siesta had nned to get a hint about how to wake Natsunagi up from the vampire, but unfortunately, he''d never showed.


    "It might still have been too early. He should be fine indoors, but..."


    The vampire only came out at night. Like Seed, he didn''t get along with the sun. "Still, only seven Tuners attended."


    The ones who hadn''te were the Vampire, the Inventor, the Phantom Thief (whom I still hadn''t seen), and two more... Oh, one of those would have to be the Enforcer that Siesta had mentioned, huh?


    "It''s actually unusual for more than half to turn up. We were lucky we got to see the new Tuner, the Magical Girl," Siesta murmured, relieving her dry throat with a sip of tea. Saying this after the other girl had ripped her a new one¡ªtalk about imperturbable.


    "She said she''d taken over for the Magician? Do positions really switch out that easily?" Although in this case, she might just have changed the name of the role.


    "Oh, yes. It happens a lot. There have been more than twelve Tuner positions before, and they''re tailored to their particr eras. I seem to recall that there were Exorcist and Master Swordsman positions once, long ago."


    "So there''s a lot of turnover."


    "That''s what happens when you fight the enemies of the world," Siesta said with a sad smile.


    I''d only been talking about the fact that the positions changed, but Siesta had probably taken it another way. There were new Tuners on a regr basis


    because they were killed in the line of duty.


    "As a matter of fact, it sounds as if the Enforcer I knew also disappeared during the past year."


    ...I see. So it wasn''t just that he''d skipped the council. Does that mean another person had already taken over the Enforcer role, or had the whole position been switched out for another one?


    For those three years, while Siesta had fought the enemies of the world, she''d known what was going to happen to her someday. I''d been right next to her the whole time, and I''d never picked up on her resolution.


    "More importantly, we need to think about Nagisa right now." As always, Siesta got the conversation back on topic as if she''d read my mind. "I mentioned it earlier, but I think her consciousness has fallen into a deep sleep." Putting a fingertip to her chin, she began considering Natsunagi''s current condition. "She thinks she''s fulfilled her role. Once she came to terms with that, she felt relieved and fell asleep. That''s what I did, too," she said; she was speaking from experience.


    Siesta had also left her mind to live on in Natsunagi''s heart and gone to sleep.


    "...Hm? Then how did you do it that one time?" "What one time?" Siesta tilted her head slightly.


    "You know, on that luxury cruise ship. When I was fighting Chameleon after he lost control, you borrowed Natsunagi''s body and came to help me, remember?"


    At the very least, Siesta had awakened and came running to me then. "...Did that happen?"


    "Look, there''s no way you can y dumb about it."


    But for some reason, Siesta averted her eyes, apparently puzzled.


    "Oh, I see." Just then, a certain possibility urred to me. After being her assistant for so many years, I''d picked up some deductive skills, too. "You mean since I was in deep trouble, you panicked and woke up because you couldn''t bear to just stand by and do nothing."


    "..."


    "On an unconscious level, you were worried sick about me." ".............. "


    Siesta was doing her best to hang on to herposure, but even so, her eyebrows twitched.


    When I remembered the way she''d rushed to the scene in a mecha when I''d been kidnapped, that actually didn''t strike me as out of character. In other words¡ª


    "Siesta, you like me that much, huh?"


    A whole yearter, I''d been given the opportunity to get her back. ".............. Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    I was rewarded with the weakest put-down I''d ever heard from her. "...Haaah." Siesta heaved a long sigh. "Should you really be having


    conversations like this with me, Kimi? If Nagisa heard you, I think she''d be very angry." She stared at me, looking rather disgusted.


    Now that I''d reunited with my partner after a year apart, she seemed to be more expressive than before. It was probably because she''d spent that year in constant contact with a girl who always held strong emotions. On that thought, I told her, "Yeah, I bet she would be."


    ¡ªThat''s why.


    "That''s why I want her to wake up and scold me already." That was my only wish right now.


    "...Kimi, I suspect you like Nagisa far too much." Siesta smirked.


    I had no idea how to respond to that prompt retort, and as I was racking my brain...


    "¡ªNobody move!"


    A man''s voice and a gunshot suddenly echoed throughout the caf¨¦. Wondering what happened, I turned to look and saw several masked men pointing their guns at staff members and customers.


    Apparently, we had yet another <i>incident </i>on our hands. Geez. Talk about destroying the mood. Biting back a wry smile, I waited for the detective''s instructions.


    "Assistant. Seriously, could you do something about that predisposition of yours?"


    "Yeah. That''s actually the second-biggest wish I''ve got right now."


    <strong>The enemy''s name is Arsene</strong>


    The next day.


    Having received a summons from a certain individual, Siesta and I were visiting the New York City Police.


    "Hey, did you enjoy yourselvesst night?"


    We were shown into a reception room where a female police officer sat on a sofa as if she owned it, a cigarette in one hand. With a line that reminded me of a certain famous RPG, Fuubi Kase smirked at Siesta and me.


    "I don''t get what you mean by ''enjoy ourselves.''" ying dumb, I sat down on the sofa across from Ms. Fuubi, next to Siesta.


    "Oh, you know. The youngdy over there looks sleepy. I thought maybe you''d kept her up all night."


    "...This ace detective always looks sleepy." I nced over at Siesta. She was rubbing her eyes; it wasn''t clear whether she was listening to me and Ms. Fuubi. Now that I thought about it, she did seem to be having a harder time waking up than usual...but I swear to God we hadn''t done anythingst night. Not that I should even have to point that out.


    "Actually, Ms. Fuubi, why are you sofortable at the NYPD?"


    A rank-and-file Japanese police officer had upied this room as if she was the boss and was puffing away on a cigarette. And I thought she''d said she''d quit smoking.


    "Oh, this? I''d love to kick the habit right this minute, but..." Ms. Fuubi smiled thinly. "I figured I''d smoke enough for that guy too for a while."


    I hadn''t expected that. In her own way, she was paying her tribute to her deceased enemy.


    "...And? You wanted to talk about yesterday''s incident?" I meant the masked mystery men who''d attacked the caf¨¦ where we''d had dinner the night before. Unfortunately for them, one of the diners had been the Ace Detective. In the end, Siesta subdued them before I could even attempt to do something cool, and we''d handed them over to the police.


    Since we''d at least partiallypleted our objectives, we''d been thinking about heading back to Japan today. Right before we did, though, Ms. Fuubi had contacted us about the incident, and so here we were.


    "Yeah. We got the crew you hauled in yesterday to cough up their motive for that attack. And, y''know, they said something kinda interesting."


    Anything Ms. Fuubi said was "interesting" was definitely going to be a pain in the butt for us. Drooping in resignation, I listened to what she had to say¡ª


    "They said, ''Free Arsene.''"


    The moment Siesta heard that, she flinched. So much for the sleepiness from earlier. Then she put a fingertip to her chin, looking grim. I didn''t yet know why, though. Arsene? Who was that?


    "He''s the Phantom Thief."


    "...! The Phantom Thief ? You can''t mean..."


    Siesta nodded. "That''s right. One of the twelve Tuners¡ªthe traitor, Phantom Thief Arsene. Although I''m told that isn''t his real name," she added. She seemed conflicted.


    <i>The traitorous </i>Phantom Thief Arsene. The Oracle, Mia Whitlock, had exined the reasons behind that modifier to us earlier.


    The Phantom Thief had made some sort of deal with Seed and stolen the sacred text from Mia. Tuners were supposed to be allies of justice, of course, and this had been a tant breach of faith. As a result, he''d been confined in an underground prison.


    "They tell me there''ve been frequent acts of terror here in New Yorktely, with the goal of setting him free. That Fritz louse is hard-pressed to deal with them all." Exhaling a puff of smoke, Ms. Fuubi brought up the name of the Revolutionary, who worked as a politician.


    "It isn''t just New York, either. We''re getting scattered reports of simr urrences from around the world. What do you think? Ring any bells?" Ms. Fuubi''s sharp eyes turned to me.


    "Don''t tell me... Was that busjacking in London part of this?" It had happened about three weeks ago, when I was taking a bus through London with Mia. I was pretty sure the man with a gun had demanded that the police "free hisrade." By rade," he''d meant Phantom Thief Arsene?


    "Does the Phantom Thief have that many friends?" Companions who''d hijack buses or barricade themselves into buildings in New York, London, and all around the world in attempts to rescue him...


    "I had heard he had a lot of <i>coborators</i>," Siesta responded. "But I doubt..."


    "Yeah, the people working to get him released definitely aren''t his friends." Ms. Fuubi finished Siesta''s thought for her. "They didn''t know anything specific about the Phantom Thief other than his false name, Arsene."


    Ms. Fuubi seemed sure about that, so the men probably weren''t lying to


    protect the Phantom Thief. If so... "You''re saying they were just disposable pawns of his?"


    "That, or..." Ms. Fuubi stubbed out her cigarette in an ashtray, cutting me off. "Arsene may be <i>controlling them however he wants</i>."


    Ordering people around the world, individuals he''d never seen, to break him out of prison.


    "...Is that even possible?" Did Arsene have a technique that let him useplete strangers like puppets?


    "I don''t know how he does it specifically. But..." Siesta''s expression was unusually grim. "He is the Phantom Thief: <i>He can steal anything, even human hearts and wills.</i>"


    "...! But if Arsene is plotting to break out of jail, can''t we stop it somehow?"


    I''d been told he was locked up deep underground in some unknown country. In that case, if we took proper steps before he made any further moves¡ª


    "Yeah. <i>It would have been great if we''d done that, but...</i>" Ms. Fuubi answered in Siesta''s ce, blowing smoke toward the ceiling. "ording to the ipetent higher-ups, Phantom Thief Arsene has already escaped."

 Chapter 103 - 2.7

    <h4>Chapter 103: Chapter 2.7</h4>


    <strong>The buzzer''s sure to sound three times</strong>


    After leaving the police station, we discussed Phantom Thief Arsene... Or that''s what I figured we''d do, but Siesta betrayed my expectations.


    "These two should be ours."


    Siesta and I lowered ourselves into a pair of theater seats. For some reason, we were at a Broadway theater to catch a musical.


    "Now really isn''t the time for stuff like this."


    "Hurrying won''t necessarily help us find the answer we''re looking for," Siesta dered calmly, looking down at the pamphlet in her hands. There had to be some kind of logic behind this decision of hers, right? "Still, it''s been a long time since we did this. Two years ago, wasn''t it?" she asked, reminiscing. We''d visited this theater before, on her suggestion. "Last time, there was a terrorist incident during the show, so we weren''t able to enjoy it properly."


    "So this is a redo, huh? ...Actually, it seems like all we do is get dragged into stuff like that."


    "Mostly because of you, Kimi."


    We spent the time before the curtain went up bantering. It had been two years.


    Back then, I seemed to remember talking about making it upter. However, a year after that, I''d realized that was a promise we wouldn''t get to keep. Who''d have thought it would happen now...?


    "Well? Over the past year, have you matured into a man who looks good at musicals and other stylish cultural scenes?"


    "Well, I am eighteen and all. Formal situations don''t make me nervous, and escorting women is my specialty," I told her, dodging her probing question. "During the past year, not only have I gone shopping with them and had dinner with them, but I''ve hung out with them at pools and casinos while on vacation. I can even invite them to bars."


    "...I see. Not that it has anything to do with me if you grow up and get along well with other women."


    I''d managed to step on some sort ofndmine. Siesta''s mood had obviously soured.


    "I''m kidding. All those women were either Natsunagi, Saikawa, or Charlie."


    Not only that, but it had all happened over the past couple of months. From Siesta''s death until I met Natsunagi, I''d done nothing but soak in tepid routine.


    "It is true that I''ve gained more experience with a lot of stuff, though," I told her. Siesta looked at me, perplexed. "Well, you know. First, let''s wake up Natsunagi. After that, once things calm down¡ª"


    As we talked, we were dreaming of a day somewhere in the future. "Want to go somewhere together?"


    "¡ªYes, that sounds good." The opening buzzer sounded.


    "There''s nothing like a Broadway musical on actual Broadway, is there?"


    Three hourster, as we walked back to our hotel, Siesta stretched. Her hands reached up toward the sky and the crescent moon far overhead.


    "The funniest part was when the two leads started making out and you got


    really ufortable."


    "Don''t enjoy it in ways that make no sense. Watch the show, not me."


    "Oh, then I guessed right? It was so dark, I couldn''t actually see your face."


    That was a dirty trick...


    The corners of Siesta''s lips curved up slightly. Then she took three steps ahead of me. "We should be getting back to Japan, though."


    "...Yeah, I''m worried about Natsunagi."


    In the end, we hadn''t managed to see Scarlet and currently had no clues on how to wake Natsunagi. There was no point in staying here any longer. As Siesta said, we should return to Japan as soon as possible.


    "......"


    "Assistant?" The next thing I knew, Siesta was standing in front of me, looking into my face. "Were you thinking about the Phantom Thief ?"


    ...This ace detective really did see everything. What Ms. Fuubi had told us was still bothering me. "Yeah. I was wondering how a jailbird turned people around the world into terrorists."


    Even if Phantom Thief Arsene did have a way to control others like Ms. Fuubi and Siesta said, it seemed like it would be tough to pull off from inside a cell.


    "Good point. If he''d manipted a prison guard, for example, it would have been easy for him to break out himself. I can''t think of a reason for him to do that to total strangers all over the world."


    Exactly. The tactic Arsene had used seemed like an extremely roundabout way of doing things. If breaking out of prison had been his first and only goal, there had to have been a more efficient method. There was a major contradiction between what Arsene was capable of and the results of his actions. That seemed to be the biggest mystery here.


    "Do you know anything else about the Phantom Thief, Siesta?" Up until now, she''d never gone out of her way to tell me things. However, since I''d learned about the Tuners and gotten closer to the world''s darker side, she probably wouldn''t hide information without a good reason now.


    "Arsene always was a mysterious figure. Even I don''t know much about him, besides his abilities as a phantom thief. However, one thing I do know is that..."


    With that preface, Siesta gave me new information on the Phantom Thief.


    "<i>If Arsene steals from someone, that person will never notice.</i>"


    ording to Siesta, he''d been given the position of Phantom Thief in recognition of those overwhelming skills.


    The victim would never realize something went missing, much less that it had been stolen. The old me would probably have wondered if that was possible; I wouldn''t have been convinced. However, I''d forgotten the truth of Siesta''s death once, because of that pollen. Siesta had also had her memories of meeting Natsunagi and Alicia stolen.


    Things that were lost this way were washed out to sea and over the horizon by fuzzy, pixted waves, without their owner ever noticing they''d vanished. Could Phantom Thief Arsene steal wills and hearts that deftly, too? And his victims would never even know he''d done it...


    "Still." As I stood silent, Siesta continued. "You''re actively trying to solve this incident. Even though you used to look so put out whenever I brought in a job... You''ve grown." Stretching a little, Siesta patted my head. "Physically too, at some point." For some reason, her smile looked lonely.


    "...Quit it." I reached up to knock her hand away, but my regrets raced through my mind, and I ended up lowering my arm again.


    As Siesta said, we didn''t necessarily have to be the ones to solve this problem. Ms. Fuubi might have gone out of her way to bring it up to us because she was hoping for something from the Ace Detective, but even then, no one was forcing us. Still, I''d stuck my nose into this case because¡ª


    "If I seem enthusiastic, it''s because this job is special." "Special?" Siesta tousled my hair, looking perplexed.


    <i>...If I don''t make her stop soon, my hair will be too messy to be seen in public at all.</i>


    "Yeah. ording to what Mia told me, the Phantom Thief asked Seed for something as a condition for stealing the sacred text. If what he asked for was one of his seeds, I thought it might be the key to solving this case."


    In other words, I''d thought this might be an <i>extra inning </i>of the primordial seed crisis. If so, then the Ace Detective and her assistant should deal with this as well.


    "¡ªI see." Seeming satisfied, Siesta removed her hand from my head. "Even so, wasn''t there anything they could have done before he escaped?"


    Why should we have to scramble like this now? I grumbled about the other Tuners and the group above them. "And they didn''t strip the position of Phantom Thief from Arsene? Why not? If he stole the sacred text, it wouldn''t have been a crazy thing to do."


    "I don''t know much about what''s happened during the past year, but the selection of Tuners is ultimately the decision of the top brass. They may have had a reason to let Arsene stay the Phantom Thief and to lock him up instead of killing him. Apart from whether or not that was the right move..." Siesta wrapped up her speech.


    "But, yes." She gave me two light pats on the shoulder. "You''re able to view things from multiple angles now. Continue to develop that trait."


    "...I haven''t heard that irritatingpliment in quite a while."


    "And so..." Siesta fixed her straightforward blue eyes on me. "I want you to stay by Nagisa''s side and support her." As she said it, she took her left hand from my shoulder. Just as I was about to respond¡ª"Assistant, it looks like it''s about time."


    "Time? ...!"


    The alley was dark; the sun had gone downpletely.


    As if seeping out of the darkness, or from the shadows of the electric lights, the white demon appeared.


    One of the twelve shields that protected the world¡ªthe Vampire, Scarlet.


    His ring golden eyes were fixed on the person next to me, as if he were sizing up his prey. When he spoke, I saw red blood on his teeth.


    "It''s been a long time¡ªDaydream."


    <strong> The white demon and the whereabouts of the soul</strong>


    His white suit seemed to float in the darkness, and his red necktie reminded me of blood.


    This man''s name was Scarlet¡ªand he was an actual <i>vampire</i>.


    I''d first encountered him a few weeks ago, in the parking garage under a TV station. Ever since then, it had been really hard to say whether we were enemies or allies.


    "We finally meet," Siesta said. Smiling a little, she gazed at the vampire


    who was leaning against the wall.


    Apparently she''d <i>adjusted our schedule </i>so that we''d meet him here. The vampire never appeared outside while the sun was up. Siesta hadn''t gone to that musical just for fun.


    "Ha! I see, I see. You missed me so much that you returned from the dead, hm? What an admirable woman." Scarlet nodded to himself with apparent satisfaction.


    "Um, no. I came to see you because I just happened to have business with you, that''s all."


    "There''s no need to be embarrassed. Not as my former bride candidate." "Scarlet, what did you just say? ''Bride''? Siesta is? Whose?"


    "Assistant, don''t make the conversation moreplicated. And don''t draw your gun over a thing like this."


    ...She could say that, but from the way Scarlet had talked before, there was definitely some sort of deep history between these two. There was a decent possibility that he had something on Siesta and was threatening her, for example. If so, as her assistant, wasn''t there, you know, something I should do?


    "And we''ve met again sooner than I expected, human." As I was thinking, Scarlet''s eyes had turned to me.


    "...Yeah. We came to pick your brain about something." I had plenty of other things to discuss with this guy right now besides his rtionship with Siesta. The ace detective and I exchanged looks, then got down to business.


    "Scarlet." Siesta took half a step toward the vampire. "Do you know how to return consciousness to a human who won''t wake up?"


    That was why she''de to consult the Vampire after the Inventor.


    As a vampire, Scarlet could raise the dead. Those he revived came back empty of everything except the strongest instinct they''d developed while they were alive. In other words, we thought he might be able to draw human instincts or awareness to the surface. Siesta was asking Scarlet how to wake up our sleeping friend.


    "Where do you suppose human souls dwell?" Scarlet asked us instead of answering. "In the brain, or <i>there</i>?" His golden eyes looked down at the left side of Siesta''s chest.


    Where in the body was the human "heart," or soul, located? Even if I got a little more specific and reced those terms with "consciousness"¡ªeven


    then, philosophy, psychology, medicine, and the other sciences would each give different answers. Philosophy put more weight on thought. Psychology emphasized sensation. Medicine made distinctions based on stimulus and response. There were infinite ways to interpret human consciousness.


    In Siesta''s case, possibly due to the effects of the seed, her consciousness had been in her physical heart. Meanwhile, since Hel was Natsunagi''s second personality, she''d probably slept in her mind, as a backup of sorts. Since Natsunagi was the main personality, was her awareness also generated by her brain? In scientific terms, that might be the case.


    "......"


    I realized that Scarlet was gazing at me, a faint, cold smile on his face. "The whereabouts of human consciousness... Well, I don''t know the answer to that myself." He looked as if he were showing off.


    <i>What, you act all mysterious, and then you don''t know, either?</i>


    "That was the world''s biggest waste of time..."


    "And he acts so proud of it." Siesta gave Scarlet a disgusted look.


    "There''s no help for that. The Undead I create <i>arbitrarily </i></dive back with an instinct intact. My will has nothing to do with it."


    "You mean it doesn''t happen because you want it to?"


    "No, just as I''m not living like this because I want to." Scarlet''s response was inscrutable. I wanted to ask what he meant, but his beautiful, terrible profile gave me pause.


    "The one thing I can say is this," he told us. "Even if it''s only a strand of their hair or a bit of a tooth, as long as I have a physical piece of them, the dead wille back. In that sense, human instinct, or consciousness, must dwell in every fragment of their DNA." By the time Scarlet finished that sentence, he''d resumed his usual aloof expression.


    Human consciousness ran through the entire body, from the tips of our toes to the crowns of our heads, circting like blood. It was as if an inexhaustible will lived in the eyes that existed to see tomorrow, in the hands that took up a sword to protect someone, in the heart that didn''t stop beating even after death.


    "Bat''s dead."


    Then, I''d remembered one of our mortal enemies, and I told Scarlet about him.


    Scarlet had been with Bat on the night I met him; he''d said their interests


    had aligned. One thing led to another, and Bat had eventually sided with me and Saikawa instead of Scarlet. Achieving a long-cherished ambition, he''d finally fought Seed and had fallen in battle.


    "I see," Scarlet murmured. He didn''t seem to feel anything in particr about the news. "If you bring me <i>a piece </i>of him, I can revive him."


    He probably wasn''t trying to be a jerk. As a vampire, he was just making the suggestion as a matter of course.


    "No, it''s fine." I didn''t even have to speak for the dead. I knew full well Bat would never want that. After all... "He already got his wish."


    He didn''t need to fight anymore. I wanted him to rest in peace.


    "I see. I don''t understand it myself, but no doubt that''s a good thing." Scarlet gazed into the distance. The night wind toyed with his silver hair.


    "There''s one other thing I want to ask you," Siesta said. "Do you know what sort of deal Arsene struck with Seed long ago?"


    That was the second issue we had on our hands right now: What had Arsene gotten from Seed in exchange for the sacred text? That might be the hint to solving the mystery behind this chain of incidents.


    "Who knows? I haven''t been to that wearisome council in ages, so I know nothing about that sort of thing." Scarlet shrugged, refusing to give us the answer we were looking for again. "Besides, the only things that interest me are my enemies."


    Did he mean the world''s enemies, as a Tuner? Or¡ª "Scarlet, what are you fighting against?"


    The vampire didn''t answer. His golden eyes gazed at the faraway moon as if it dazzled him.


    "Ah, but there was one thing I needed to tell you." Remembering something, Scarlet turned to look at us again. "While I have no way of knowing about the Phantom Thief, I can provide information about the deceased primordial seed. As a reward for defeating him, you see." His smile was as arrogant as ever. "When I negotiated with Seed, he asked if I would help him extinguish the sun."


    That had probably been what Scarlet had mentioned earlier, the "united front" Seed had proposed. I''d asked him what sort of negotiations they''d had before, but he''d evaded the question that time, pretending not to hear.


    "So that''s what it was, huh?" Frankly, when we''d learned that Seed''s weakness was the sun, I''d had an idea that that might have been it. Scarlet


    was just as bad with sunlight as Seed was; that was why Seed had negotiated with him.


    "Why did you turn him down, though? That was a pretty good offer for a vampire, wasn''t it?"


    "Yes. It was an entertaining suggestion, and I thought it would be amusing to go along with him. However..." Scarlet''s gaze shifted from me to Siesta. "It would have meant my former bride candidate could no longer nap in the sunlight, and I took pity on her." His expression softened.


    "...Well. If we''reparing the number of times we''ve seen Siesta''s sleeping face, then I''ve¡ª"


    "Assistant, I don''t see the point ofpeting with him on that." I wasn''tpeting. I was just stating facts.


    Still, at this point we''d asked Scarlet everything we needed to. We probably wouldn''t make any more progress regarding Natsunagi''s consciousness or the Phantom Thief. On that thought, I signaled to Siesta that we should probably be going.


    "There''s no telling what the Phantom Thief may do. You be careful as well," Siesta told Scarlet as we turned to leave.


    "You''re very considerate toward your husband," the guy murmured, sounding satisfied.


    <i>Who''s "Siesta''s husband," huh? I''ll kick your ass.</i>


    "But it''s true that there has been suspicious movementtely." Scarlet''s golden eyes narrowed. "About a month ago, I received the corpse of a certain man. The sender asked <i>if I would purchase it for a million dors</i>."


    It sounded almost like the organ trade¡ªalthough the act of buying and selling human corpses was probably significant to a vampire who could raise the dead.


    "So the corpse didn''t belong to an ordinary human?" I asked, picking up on the direction of the conversation.


    "Correct. I did not purchase it, but no doubt it was a fair price for the individual."


    Then Scarlet told us about the dead man he''d seen a month ago. "It was the corpse of Fritz Stewart, the Revolutionary."

 Chapter 104 - 2.7

    <h4>Chapter 104: Chapter 2.7</h4>


    <strong>The curtain rises on the next story</strong>


    The next day, Siesta and I were in a room of a certain building.


    It was past four in the afternoon.


    We sat side by side on a sofa meant for visitors, waiting for <i>the person we were meeting </i>to arrive.


    "Your deduction skills have improved," Siesta told me. She''d put the tea set she''d brought with her to work and was enjoying a cup of tea.


    After parting with Scarlet the night before, I''d put together a hypothesis about the chain of incidents centered around the Phantom Thief, and once we returned to the hotel, I''d spent the entire night discussing it with Siesta. Having reached a certain conclusion, we''de to visit this person in order to confirm our answers.


    "I could sense that you''d grownst night as we walked down the street. Who''d have guessed you were the type who''d evolve even further inbat?" Siesta was talking as if I were the hero of an action manga. "You''ve grown up while I wasn''t looking. The days when I changed your diapers are just a fond memory now."


    "That definitely never happened. If anyone''s a baby here, it''s you. Just howte do you think you slept in today anyway?"


    In a repeat of yesterday, Siesta hadn''t woken this morning and slept until noon. In the evening, after I''d shaken her over and over, she''d finally crawled out of bed.


    "It''s all right once in a while, isn''t it?" Siesta primly shrugged off my sarcasm.


    <i>I''m saying it''s a problem because it''s not "once in a while," okay? </i>"Besides, <i>the other party </i>is also busy. This was the only time avable." "Well, we did get here by the appointed time, but still..."


    In the middle of our conversation, the door abruptly opened, and someone walked in. He hadn''t knocked. That was only natural: He was <i>the owner of this office</i>.


    "Did I keep you waiting?"


    The man''s name was Fritz Stewart.


    He was wearing an expensive suit and a business smile. Instead of sitting


    down across from us, he took a seat at his desk in the back of the room. We hadn''t seen him since the Federal Council two days ago.


    "I''m sorry; work''s piled up. Do forgive me if I take care of some of it while we talk."


    Fritz¡ªwho was the mayor of New York City, as well as a Tuner¡ªopened up hisputer and began typing busily.


    "Is this cleanup from all those incidents?"


    "...Yes. That''s right, Fuubi Kase told me you''d resolved one just the other day." ncing over at us for a moment, Fritz smiled. "I appreciate your help."


    We were talking about the terrorist incidents that had urred here in the city with the goal of having the Phantom Thief released. As the mayor, Fritz was having a tough time dealing with all of them.


    "She''s as much of a busybody as ever." Smiling wryly, he took a gentle dig at Ms. Fuubi. It hade up at the Federal Council, too; Ms. Fuubi had overstepped the boundaries of her job to help the Ace Detective, and now she was pursuing the Phantom Thief on her own.


    "And?" Fritz asked, his pen kept skimming over the documents in front of him. "I was told you''d made a discovery in this string of Phantom Thief¨C rted incidents."


    Exactly: That was why we were here to see him. "Yeah, actually. We know where he is."


    The moment I said it, Fritz''s hand stopped moving. He looked up, frowning while seeming perplexed. "You already know where the escaped Phantom Thief is?"


    "Hey, don''t underestimate the Ace Detective and her assistant." ... Although it had taken a hint from another Tuner for us to reach that answer.


    "Tell me, then." Fritz''s emerald eyes were focused on us. "Where is Phantom Thief Arsene now?"


    "Right here," I told him bluntly.


    Siesta was holding up a small round hand mirror. The mirror reflected a man whose eyes were as cold as ice, something even he probably hadn''t been aware of.


    "¡ªI''m the Phantom Thief ? That''s quite the joke." Averting his eyes from his reflection, Fritz went back to typing. "I introduced myself just the other day. My name is Fritz, and my position is Revolutionary."


    He rejected our conclusion without even meeting our eyes.


    "No, you aren''t Fritz Stewart. After all..." Siesta put the mirror away. "Fritz Stewart <i>is dead</i>. You, the Phantom Thief, have taken the deceased Revolutionary''s ce."


    Fritz Stewart the Revolutionary was dead. Scarlet had told us as muchst night. Then, who was the guy we''d met at the council two days ago? The vampire was a rogue who generally steered clear of the mundane world and didn''t put in appearances at Federal Councils, and apparently, he hadn''t known there was an impostor around.


    Still, one thing was certain: <i>Somebody </i>had assumed the Revolutionary''s identity and attended the council.


    "In that case, hypothetically, let''s say Fritz Stewart is a <i>fake</i>." Fritz¡ªor rather, the man who''d called himself by that name¡ªstopped typing entirely. "How can you be sure his true identity is the Phantom Thief ?"


    That was a perfectly natural question. If I said, "Because it would be easiest for a fellow Tuner to take his ce," nobody would buy it. However, there was a reason that sort of switch would be easy for the Phantom Thief.


    "Because the Phantom Thief can take on Fritz''s shape using a seed."


    That was what I''d guessed Seed had paid Arsene for stealing the sacred text. Then Arsene had taken the form of Fritz, his fellow Tuner, and had <i>stolen the position </i>of Revolutionary.


    "Not only that, but the fact that none of the other Tuners have noticed the switch is proof in and of itself." Siesta gave another reason to believe that the fake Fritz was actually Arsene. "You''ve passed yourself off as Fritz Stewart for an entire month. You''ve attended the Federal Council, an assembly of Tuners, and boldly acted as mediator. Even so, none of the others¡ªmyself included¡ªnoticed that the Revolutionary was an impostor. <i>The only conceivable exnation is because of your transcendental ability as the Phantom Thief.</i>"


    Siesta wasn''t being overconfident in her own powers of observation or in those of the other Tuners. The group had dealt with many, many global crises, and their skills were definitely up to the task. Even then, not one of them had suspected that the Revolutionary''s position had been stolen¡ª because they''d been up against the Phantom Thief.


    <i>"If Arsene steals from someone, that person will never notice."</i>


    It was just as Siesta had saidst night.


    "I see. And you noticed it because you were the Singrity¡ªor perhaps that would be a bit too simplistic."


    The man was still seated at his desk. Assuming a faint, somewhatposed smile, he went on.


    "Then, why do you suppose I needed to take over Fritz''s identity?"


    His tone was soft. Mellow, warm, and pleasant. That gentle voice enveloped me, and for a moment, I didn''t even register the change in the way he spoke. It waspletely different from the cold tone I''d heard several times at the council. This was his real voice.


    "¡ªAssistant."


    I snapped back to reality with the force of a bursting water balloon.


    My partner was right next to me, and I remembered what I needed to do. Right: This guy had just confessed that he was Phantom Thief Arsene. ...And yet he was still calmly trying to get us to tell him <i>his motive for switching</i>.


    "Phantom Thief Arsene," Siesta said, although the man still wore Fritz''s shape. "You changed your form and took over Fritz Stewart''s identity¡ªso that you could use the media to brainwash people around the world."


    That might only be a theory. However, it was true that Arsene had a special skill that let him control people. Meaning it wasn''t a stretch to assume he''d taken over Fritz''s life in order to spread his voice around the world and exercise that power to its maximum potential.


    "¡ªI see," Arsene murmured, although it almost sounded like a sigh. Then silence fell.


    "Let me rify just one thing to avoid any misunderstandings." Arsene was the one who broke that silence. He ced both elbows on the desk, steepling his fingers in front of his chin. "I had absolutely no part in Fritz Stewart''s death. He <i>just happened to die at a convenient time</i>, so I took his ce, that''s all." His voice was like being surrounded by soft ripples as he insisted he hadn''t been involved in the man''s death.


    "Then, what are you after?" Siesta rose from her seat and stood in front of him. This time, she wasn''t asking why the Phantom Thief had taken the Revolutionary''s ce. We''d deduced that correctly. "Fritz Stewart died a month ago, but he seems to have been making consistent media appearances still. Meaning you must have broken out of jail at least a month ago and have


    been living as the Revolutionary ever since. ...So, why?" she asked. "You''ve been free all this time. Why have you been maniptingplete strangers into attempting to release you?"


    That was the question we''d shot down as impossible while we were outst night. If he''d been able to escape whenever he wanted, then there was no point in going out of his way to choose coborators outside prison.


    However, not only had Arsene been able to flee at any time; he''d already been aboveground and free a month ago. So why had he been making people in London and New York try to break him out of prison for no reason whatsoever?


    In response to thatpletely natural question, Arsene said, "The fact that there is no point is, to me, the greatest point there is."


    His answer was iprehensible; it sounded like a Zen koan. Siesta and I both looked confused. Arsene watched us. "Don''t you understand?"


    "It''s an experiment. To what extent are people able to do meaningless things on someone else''s orders?"


    It was a thought experiment that seemed to exist beyond the realm of reason. To Siesta, whose ideas were underpinned by solid experience and logic, that sort of thing was anathema. The phantom thief and the detective: Like spear and shield, they''d been at odds with each other since time immemorial and were destined to fight.


    "Do you think we''re going to let you continue that experiment?"


    In that rtionship, the detective was sometimes the one who took the offensive. Siesta, who''d risen to her feet along with me, pointed her familiar musket at the enemy.


    "Rest assured." Paying no attention to the muzzle that was pointed at him, Arsene continued in a leisurely voice. "The experiment is over; I''ve collected sufficient statistics. I''m sure they''ll get me through to the next stage."


    "Look, there is no ''next''¡ª"


    "Besides..." Arsene got to his feet, cutting me off. "What the primordial seed gave me was only <i>a fragment </i>of a seed. I''m unlikely to develop unwanted side effects, but in exchange, its function is limited. That means, as it stands, I won''t be able to maintain this shape. I''ll have to go soon."


    "...A fragment of a seed? You broke the Federal Charter and stole the


    sacred text for that?"


    For some reason, Arsene seemed disappointed with my question. "I never let those I steal from realize what I''ve taken, yet you know I stole the primordial seed''s sacred text. Doesn''t that strike you as odd? You two were just telling me about this," Arsene scolded us.


    He was right. We did know Arsene had stolen the text. However, that was because Siesta and Mia had set up the theft beforehand, so it hadn''t seemed particrly strange...


    "Don''t tell me¡ªare you saying the sacred text wasn''t all you stole that day?" Still holding Arsene at gunpoint, Siesta cross-examined him, keeping him pinned down.


    "...I see. So you had another objective?"


    Siesta and Mia had realized Arsene was nning to steal the sacred text. They were on high alert. Even so, he had slipped through their guard and stolen <i>something else</i>¡ªwithout letting them catch on.


    "Then, all along, your real aim was..."


    Siesta''s blue eyes narrowed. She''d finally realized. She and Mia had thought they were using Arsene, but they were the ones who''d been used.


    "Idly epting what I''m owed isn''t in my nature. When I really want something, I steal it myself."


    Then he walked right past us.


    "You think you can escape?" Copying Siesta, I pointed my gun at the enemy.


    "Escape? I''ve never considered ''escaping'' from anyone. Not even once." I heard an unsettling <i>click </i>right by my ear. "It''s just that no one ever manages to catch up to me."


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw shiny ck guns. Men had appeared out of nowhere, and both Siesta and I had guns pointed at the backs of our heads. We had no choice but to put our hands up.


    "...Are you manipting these guys, too?" From the way they were dressed, they seemed to be city employees. Arsene was probably controlling them with his ability¡ª


    "No." Arsene stopped walking for a moment. "They''re all helping me of their own free will."


    Leaving that screwy exnation behind, he headed for the door.


    "I''m fairly sure you heard me earlier." However, a lone girl stopped him.


    Men in suits had her at gunpoint, but Siesta spoke over her shoulder to our departing enemy.


    "A new Ace Detective will be taking over for me soon. Her passion is bound to capture you someday. Nagisa Natsunagi would never lose to the sort of enemy who uses human hearts."


    In response to the Ace Detective''s deration of war, the Phantom Thief said...


    "I''ll look forward to stealing that passion."


    He delivered that final remark with excitement, and then he was gone.

 Chapter 105 - 2.8

    <h4>Chapter 105: Chapter 2.8</h4>


    <strong>Those dazzling three years I spent with her</strong>


    After our showdown with the Phantom Thief, Siesta and I stopped by a restaurant instead of heading straight back to our hotel. We''d nned to hold a review meeting about our failure to capture Arsene over dinner, but...


    "Take it easy, Siesta."


    Where in that thin body of hers did all the food she ate go? Siesta cleaned te after te with lovely table manners but at dizzying speed. We had no time to talk about Arsene.


    "But, you know, I need to eat while I can."


    "What was the ''you know'' for? You can eat again whenever you want."


    Siesta wasn''t listening. She was scanning the menu again. I was slightly exasperated...but it did also strike me as sort of nostalgic.


    Back when we were together constantly, we''d eaten at the same table like this all the time, discussing cases or making ns for future work or talking about nothing in particr... Anyway, the sight I remembered most from those three years might have been Siesta blissfully enjoying her food, the same way she was doing that now.


    "Come to think of it, what''s your favorite food, Kimi?" she asked out of nowhere while we were waiting for our next order to arrive.


    "Uh, what? Is there a reason you''re talking like we just met?"


    "No, it just urred to me that we''d never discussed things like that."


    I see. Come to think of it, she was right. It felt like we''d never talked about stuff like that or covered any of the basic topics; we''d just bantered.


    "Actually, I don''t even know your real name or age or where you''re from." "If you put it that way, I''ve practically never heard what you really think,


    Kimi."


    Yeah, she wasn''t wrong about that. Even if we hadn''t asked those questions, though, we''d walked together and sometimes stood back-to-back, and we''d understood each other. I''d also never considered whether that had been right or wrong.


    "Basically, I like anything that has a deep, rich vor."


    That wasn''t why I said it, and it seemed kind ofte, but I answered Siesta''s question anyway.


    "Deep, rich-tasting foods? That''s not even a type."


    "The thing is, as long as it has a definite taste, it satisfies me."


    Especially during those three years, almost everything I ate had been pizza or some other kind of junk food. ...Maybe that was why. My strong memories with Siesta had been the only ones I''d remembered, as if they were linked to those vivid vors.


    "What about you, Siesta?"


    "Mm, that''s a tough one. There''s nothing I dislike."


    As she answered, Siesta paused in the act of reaching for her ss. Thinking back, I did get the feeling she found everything she ate delicious. The only time she''d grimaced was when I''d made that lousy curry... Maybe she really didn''t have any favorites.


    "If I were having my veryst supper, though..." Siesta responded to my inquiry with a hypothetical. "I think I''d like to eat it with the person I most enjoy spending time with." Smiling faintly, she gave an answer that didn''t quite match the original question.


    "...I ate too much."


    Still fully dressed, I copsed onto the hotel bed.


    "Heh-heh. Yes, your stomach''s definitely sticking out."


    Siesta had cleared more tes than I had, but it was like everything she''d eaten had evaporated or something. She sat down in a chair by the window, wearing a cool smile. We''d finally finished our long dinner and returned to our hotel. ...Speaking of <i>finally</i>, there was one more thing.


    "Still, that wasn''t like you. You never back down that easily." On the bed, gazing at the ceiling, I brought up the Arsene incident again. A few hours


    ago, surrounded by those men in that office, Siesta and I had ended up letting the Phantom Thief get away.


    "I didn''t know how Arsene had gotten those men to obey him. I couldn''t use force."


    ...Oh, I see. If we hadn''t withdrawn, there was no telling what <i>order </i>he would have given them. To ensure the safety of everyone present, she''d had to pretend she was helpless.


    "Besides, even if I lost, <i>the Ace Detective hasn''t</i>," Siesta said firmly. "Someday, Nagisa''s bound to defeat the Phantom Thief."


    "...Yeah. Now we''ve got another reason we have to wake her up." There was no way she''d let an enemy who plotted to control others'' hearts get away.


    Nagisa Natsunagi. With her passion, I was sure...


    "But as far as you''re concerned, Kimi, that''s not the biggest reason." I heard the bed creak. Straddling me, Siesta peered into my face. "You just want to wake Nagisa up because you want to see her again."


    "...Don''t just say people''s thoughts aloud. At least ask first." "I''m right, though, aren''t I?"


    The room was dim. The moonlight that filtered in through the curtains made Siesta''s smile even more alluring.


    "...Dunno." I knew there was no need to put her off. Even so, it was awkward to be seen so thoroughly, and I found myself looking away.


    "Male <i>tsunderes </i>aren''t popr, you know." "Mind your own business."


    Today, though, Siesta wouldn''t let up. "Tell me one thing you like about her, then."


    <i>What''s the "then" for, huh? </i>Actually, something like this happened just three weeks ago. ...In which case, it wouldn''t be fair if I didn''t answer this time, too.


    "...Natsunagi, right. Well, you know. She''s, uh...cute, isn''t she?" "......"


    Why did she m up? Should I have mentioned her personality first or something?


    "Oh, it''s just that hearing the word ''cute''e out of your mouth gave me a nasty chill."


    "Not fair." <i>That''s not a reason to get goosebumps. </i>I plucked up my


    courage and said something I don''t normally say. <i>Praise me for it, would ya?</i>


    "Heh-heh. Still, this is getting entertaining."


    "Don''t tease me for your own amusement. Whatever it is, it''s obviously not going to be any fun for me."


    "Well, it means that even when Nagisa called you names or brushed you off, in your heart, you were thinking, <i>My partner is way too cute</i>, right?"


    "Quit analyzing it so calmly! And I didn''t make that ''cool guy'' face!"


    <i>...Dammit, Natsunagi. Thanks to you, I''m getting humiliated here.</i>


    "Yes, right there, that''s the one I meant." "Like I said, quit reading my mind."


    <i>And you. Hurry up and get off me already. </i>I pointed at the bed next to mine, instructing Siesta to move. <i>Man, I''m d we reserved a twin room.</i>


    "...Uh, you''re interpreting that gesture wrong." For some reason, instead of going to the next bed, the ace detective had stretched out next to me. Had she always been this slow on the uptake?


    "Oh, of course. I didn''t realize."


    Yeah, right. She''d clearly done it on purpose.


    Speaking in a nonchnt monotone, Siesta gazed at my profile. Her face softened.


    "What are you after?" I asked.


    "You wouldn''t stop talking about Nagisa, so I got jealous... Would that do?"


    "If you''d put more emotion into it, I might have hugged you out of nowhere."


    "You didn''t put any emotion into that either, Kimi." We argued a little, thenughed.


    "We haven''t changed, have we?"


    "Nope. We''re just like we were a year ago."


    The lights in the room were out. On the narrow bed, Siesta and I gazed at each other.


    "Well, your drive for sleep and food have been satisfied, so if we''re being honest, I''m concerned you might hit me up for <i>thest one</i>."


    "I told you, I''ve only got two great motivations. And what do you mean, ''concerned''?" Siesta narrowed her eyes as if she had a bone to pick with me.


    "You say that now, but that''s not what you said before." "When?"


    It had been a month ago already. When we fought Chameleon on that cruise ship, and Siesta had borrowed Natsunagi''s body, she''d told me...


    "You said, ''To tell you the truth, I might have slept with you once. I considered it, at least.''"


    "......" For a moment, Siesta looked rather guilty. "...Well, you said to tell you that sooner, didn''t you? Really, it sounded as if you were the one who was interested."


    She hit me with an impossible instant retort.


    <i>Well, back then, I had no idea I''d get to see you again like this.</i>


    "And so, if I had to say, I thought <i>you </i>might not be able to control your emotions seeing me again after a year apart, and you''d throw your arms around me or something." Somehow having gotten the upper hand, Siesta reproached me. ...Sheesh.


    "Get over yourself." She was lying next to me, and I geared up to flick her forehead.


    "Well, I mean..." Suddenly, Siesta''s expression turned lonely. "You pushed yourself much too hard for my sake." She gently touched my cheek.


    ...Oh. So she had known about that seed, huh?


    "Even if the seed''s been extracted, you might still end up suffering side effects from it one of these days." Was it my imagination? Siesta''s eyes seemed wet. "You may lose the ability to see your beloved Nagisa or hear your cherished Yui sing. You may lose your voice; you might not be able to fight with your rival Charlie. Even so, you¡ª"


    "I don''t care," I said, hugging her tightly. "I knew I wouldn''t. That''s why I chose the future that might have you in it." No matter what I lost because of it, I''d wanted to see Siesta again. "Sorry. I just said I hadn''t changed, but I''ve learned how to be honest about stuff like that."


    I''d failed to do it twice, and I had regretted it both times.


    "...Are you stupid, Kimi?" I could hear Siesta''s weak voice from the vicinity of my chest. "That almost sounds as if you..."


    But she didn''t say the rest of it. She just squirmed a little in my arms...then heaved a big sigh. "I suspect somebody''s going to stab you one day."


    "Where the heck did thate from?" Even if I am a trouble ma, I never want to get dragged into that kind of mess.


    "Listen." Siesta poked her head up out of my arms. There was no sadness in her face now. "Come to think of it, I didn''t ask youst time. I think you''d


    probably tell me now." With that preface, Siesta asked me, "What did you think of those three years?"


    That was another thing that had happened on the cruise ship a month ago. While Siesta was protecting me from the enemy''s attacks, she''d told me, <i>"Those unforgettable three years I spent with you are the best memories I have."</i>


    At the time, I hadn''t been able to respond. Since she''d asked me again, I had a chance to tell her. In that case...


    "Do you even need to ask?"


    Knowing it was too dark for her to really see it anyway, I gave her my biggest smile.


    "I had so much fun, it''s kind of frustrating."


    When she heard that, Siesta murmured, "I see." She sounded somewhat relieved. She put her arms around me, hugging me back. "Thank you."


    Yeah, that''s right.


    That was the promise we''d made a year ago: If we survived and met again, I''d take her up on that hug.


    Right now, one yearter, that wish hade true.


    "What''s that ''Thank you'' supposed to mean?" But as I joked around with her like usual, Siesta''s warmth enfolded me. My eyelids grew heavy, and I didn''t fight them. I fell into a deep sleep.


    ¡ªThe next morning...


    When I woke up, I was alone.

 Chapter 106 - 3.1

    <h4>Chapter 106: Chapter 3.1</h4>


    The true conclusion of Route X


    "What do you mean, Ma''am''s gone?!"


    Furious, Charlie grabbed my shirtfront. Her blond hair was disheveled, and her sharp, angry eyes drilled into me.


    "...It''s just like I said." I didn''t try to resist. I simply told her the facts. "Siesta left a letter saying she won''t being back to us."


    I thought back to yesterday morning. The moment I woke up, I''d realized Siesta wasn''t lying next to me. Instead, there was a letter on the desk. It consisted of her usual banter, a simple thank-you for everything, and a goodbye.


    Even though she''d spent day after day sleeping like a log until evening, when she vanished, it happened in the blink of an eye. I''d found a familiar musket leaning against the wall beside the bed. It was as if she was saying she wouldn''t need it anymore.


    Siesta''s letter hadn''t mentioned the most important thing: her reasons for leaving. ...No, technically, there had been something like that. She''d said since she was retiring as the Ace Detective and bing a regr detective again, she was nning to do some solo traveling. I''d grown enough as an assistant, so she wanted me to support Natsunagi, who would be the new Ace Detective someday. The things she''d said were sound, difficult to argue with, <i>and that was why I instinctively felt they weren''t true</i>. It wasn''t just my gut; it was experience. The three years I''d spent with her were telling me so.


    However, it was an undeniable fact that Siesta was no longer nearby. I''d returned to Japan before the day was up, taking only her musket with me, and today I''d gathered Charlie and the others so I could report the situation.


    "¡ªSo you just looked at that letter and shuffled back home by yourself, when you didn''t even understand what Ma''am really wanted? Then you haven''t changed at all in the past year, Kimizuka!"


    "Please calm down, Charlie!" A girl came between us, attempting to


    mediate. "Kimizuka, tell us one more time. Did Siesta really leave you...? Leave us?"


    Saikawa turned her wavering eyes on me. We were in a certain room of her mansion.


    "You''re walking again. That''s great."


    Saikawa had been in a wheelchair until just the other day, but now she was standing firmly on her own two feet.


    "Don''t try to change the subject. Never mind me. About Siesta..." Saikawa put a little anger into her words, most likely gearing up to scold me...but then she didn''t. "Kimizuka, you look terrible."


    "Ha-ha. You''re insulting me now?"


    "You don''t need to force yourself to joke. Please sit down." Saikawa motioned for me to have a seat.


    "...Come to think of it, there were vague signs hinting this would happen." Lowering myself weakly into the chair, I told them about the things I''d thought on the way here. About how what Siesta had said and dely had seemed a little off somehow.


    For example, even though she''de back to life, she kept saying things like "There''s no time." She might have meant something besides needing to defeat Seed quickly or wake up Natsunagi.


    Then, although she''d been expressing her anxieties to me, Siesta had taken me to a distant country, had put me in contact with new Tuners, invited me to musicals, and started reminiscing... I''d experienced a simr <i>contradiction </i>between her words and her actions a year ago, too.


    Most of all, she''d stepped down from her position and nominated Natsunagi as the new Ace Detective. She''d said that even if she didn''t hold that title anymore, she''d keep working as an ordinary detective; however, if this was how things stood, her retirement took on a different meaning.


    "Siesta might be¡ª"


    " ! That can''t be right!" After she''d heard me out, Charlie looked down


    and screamed. "Ma''am really came back to life! We finally defeated Seed! Nagisa will wake up after this, and then we''ll finally make it to that happy ending you were talking about, you know?! And now Ma''am... Ma''am disappears again, all by herself ?! That can''t be...!"


    "Your deduction may be correct, Kimihiko."


    Just then, someone else came in. It was Noches, the former maid-type


    SIESTA; she''d had business to take care of, and she apologized for beingte. Then she began to rte a story that seemed to reinforce my theory. "As Charlotte says, the primordial seed has been destroyed. However, the <i>fragments of his seed </i>are still here¡ªIncluding inside Mistress Siesta''s chest."


    ...She was right. Saikawa, Natsunagi, and I had all had our seeds extracted during that battle with Seed the other day, but Siesta''s was still in her heart. Up until now, she''d benefited from the power it gave her, fighting the enemies of the world using physical abilities no average person had.


    "However, those seeds are double-edged swords. As nourishment, they take the sight or hearing, or part of the life, from anyone who ingests one. And eventually¡ª"


    "Wait!" Saikawa hastily cut Noches off. "We know the rest. Albert told us what happens to humans who''ve been eroded by a seed. But Siesta was originally Seed''s candidate vessel, wasn''t she? Then¡ª"


    "...I see. So Siesta wasn''t fullypatible," I said. Noches nodded quietly.


    Before Siesta and Mia plotted to deceive Seed, the sacred text had originally foretold a future in which Siesta lost to Hel. That told us one thing: As a vessel for the primordial seed, Hel had been a little better than Siesta.


    "As the sole fullypatible host for the primordial seed, Nagisa Natsunagi might have¡ª"


    A remark Stephen the Inventor had made in passing a week ago ran through my mind. Natsunagi had been the one best suited to be Seed''s vessel, while Siesta''s body was doomed to be eaten away by the seed in her heart¡ª


    "Don''t tell me Ma''am is..." Charlie cut to the heart of it.


    "Is she trying to disappear before she turns into a monster?"


    People whose bodies werepletely devoured by their seeds <i>degraded</i>. Like Chameleon, who''d lost control when we fought him on the cruise ship, or Betelgeuse, who''d been created as a biological weapon to begin with. That was how those who were controlled by the seeds ended up.


    Siesta had known it would happen to her one day, and so she''d left us before she ran out of time.


    "Wait just a minute. If Ma''am knows she''ll be a monster someday...


    If it''s true..."


    She didn''t have to say what Siesta would do. Before that could happen, she''d¡ª


    "...!"


    Charlie bolted for the door. "Where are you going?"


    "You have to ask?! I''m going to find Ma''am!"


    "She''s¡ª!" I''d shouted, although I hadn''t meant to, and Charlie''s shoulders jumped. "She understood all of that, and she chose to do this."


    "But even so! Just because she knows she''ll be a monster someday,


    <i>suicide isn''t the</i>¡ª!"


    "Not that," I said to Charlie but kept my eyes fixed on the floor. "Siesta knows how much we cared about her and how happy it made us to see her again. And <i>knowing all of that</i>, she still chose this."


    "...!"


    That meant we were dealing with an entirely different situation now.


    True, we''d brought Siesta back by superseding her will and her intentions. However, Siesta knew about our feelings this time. On top of that, she''d decided that this was the only way and had distanced herself from us. We couldn''t just ignore her silent wish.


    "It''s all right. For now, calm down." My hand felt something warm.


    "Your hands squeeze. Your shoulders roll. Your breathing is rhythmic. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, then exhale. Your blood circtes. When you open your eyes, your cloudy vision will be clear."


    It was Saikawa''s usual charm. My hand hung limply, and she took it gently. "Siesta has made her decision. Now it''s your turn to choose, Kimizuka."


    She''d removed her eye patch, and the eyes she fixed on me were two different colors.


    "...It''s still okay for me to choose?"


    "Of course. It''s your life, after all." For some reason, Saikawa''s smile seemed ready to dissolve into tears.


    Still, considering the fact that my ego had created this situation, I couldn''t answer so easily.


    "We were always like this, weren''t we?" Charlie looked away, murmuring


    sadly. "In battle we''d argue, and so of course we''d fail, and then we''d get along worse and do the whole thing over again."


    She was right. Every time that happened, Siesta would scold us, sighing and asking if we were stupid. Even so, in the end, she''d smile and point us in the right direction. ...But Siesta wasn''t here anymore. All because of my selfish wish.


    "Sorry, Charlotte."


    The one who''d pointed us toward tomorrow was no longer¡ª


    "We still have a detective!" Angrily, or possibly through tears, Charlie stomped over to me. Setting her hands on my shoulders, she shouted, "We have another friend who''s a detective! She said so herself that day. She said she was the ace detective who''d inherited Ma''am''sst wish!"


    What I''d seen on that cruise ship shed through my mind. At the time, Charlie had adamantly refused to acknowledge Natsunagi as the ace detective. She''d thought she was the most suitable one to inherit Siesta''sst wish.


    Just now, though, Charlie had entrusted it to her. She''d entrusted our future


    ¡ªSiesta''s future¡ªto the other ace detective. The one who was still asleep. "Kimihiko," Noches called. She was holding a car key.


    Would I find the answer in the ce where Natsunagi slept? Wouldn''t we juste up against another harsh reality¡ª? I didn''t know.


    "If you don''t know, then let''s go."


    Noches, whose consciousness had once been housed in Siesta''s body, spoke to me over her shoulder. I sensed the shadow of the ace detective in her, and before I knew it, I''d stepped forward.


    Client and proxy detective


    When I opened the door of the hospital room, the girl was lying on the bed, just as she had been before.


    "I''m back," I told her, gazing at her sleeping face.


    It had been two weeks since the final battle with Seed, and Nagisa Natsunagi still showed no sign of waking.


    "I guess it wasn''t going to be this convenient, huh...?"


    Saikawa and Charlie had encouraged me toe here, but Natsunagi still


    hadn''t awakened. No miracles had urred. Even so, I wanted to talk to her about this, so I sat down in a nearby chair.


    It had been four days since myst visit. I hade to this hospital room several times before I left for New York, and during those visits, I''d <i>scolded </i>her a lot. She''d tried to sacrifice herself in Siesta''s ce, and as her assistant, I¡ªand no one else¡ªhad to yell at her for it.


    "Do you get it, Natsunagi?"


    Looking at her still face made me think of it again, and I couldn''t help butin to her. <i>I said I wanted to revive Siesta, but you know it''s not okay for you to be gone instead.</i>


    My anger didn''t faze her, though. Natsunagi kept on sleeping and breathing peacefully.


    "...Natsunagi, what do you think I should do?"


    A sigh escaped me. The red ribbon beside her pillow caught my eye.


    Siesta hade back to life, and in her ce, Natsunagi had died. Even so, Natsunagi had inherited Alicia''s and Hel''s lives and wills and returned to us once¡ªbut now here she was again, asleep. Meanwhile, Siesta had left us and was probably attempting to disappear from the world entirely.


    "What is it with you people?"


    Why did they y with my heart like this? Why make me worry?


    Why couldn''t they both just stay safe? Why couldn''t they just smile and be well and happy?


    <i>You ace detectives are always¡ª</i>


    "¡ªNo, I know. I know I''m in the wrong here."


    The whole reason Natsunagi had ended up like this was because I''d misjudged her determination. I''d wanted to bring Siesta back to life no matter what it would have cost me, and Natsunagi had wanted the exact same thing...and yet...


    Then there was Siesta. She''d had that seed inside her, but I hadn''t thought about what that might mean for her. I''d brought her back to life due to my own selfish thoughts, and this was the result. She was trying to disappear before she could turn into a monster.


    "Just two weeks."


    That was the amount of time I''d managed to spend with her. Even then, we''d hardly gotten to talk during the first week, since we''d spent it in the hospital recovering after our fight with Seed. Ultimately, what I''d gained


    from sacrificing all those things was a few days'' worth of memories to ease my regrets and the sorrow of a second parting.


    "What should I do, Natsunagi?"


    I knew she wouldn''t answer, but I asked again anyway. I''d been able to tell Siesta things I hadn''t managed to tell her before, and she''d epted my feelings...but she still chose to leave us.


    Saikawa had told me that if that was Siesta''s choice, it was fine for me to make choices of my own. ...But was it really? Not that I thought Saikawa''s advice was wrong, but...


    I was just hesitant to second-guess Siesta again. Sure, I''d stuck to my guns and superseded her intentions once. But if this was the result, I had to admit it, no matter how reluctantly: Her call had been better than mine.


    "I guess I''ve already got my answer, don''t I?"


    The mental back-and-forth I''d just had with myself helped everything fall into ce. I''d been wrong, and Siesta had been right. I didn''t even have to think about it. During those three years, not once had she been wrong.


    ...But on the day Siesta died a year ago, I''d had a thought. I wasn''t proud of it; just this time, I''d wanted her to have been mistaken. Of course, that had been childish. I didn''t need anybody to tell me that.


    "¡ªBut I still want Siesta to live...!"


    I knew full well that it was a mistake, that my wish was pure arrogance. It was as clear as it could be, but I couldn''t think of any way to make it happen now. I bit my lip. My nails dug into my palms. There was still nothing we could do about the current situation, and my vision went ck.


    "...What should I do, Ace Detective?"


    If biting my lip wasn''t going to change anything, I needed to at least ask the question.


    That''s right. I''d been devastated before I came here, but Charlie had told me off for it and encouraged me. She''d said if I couldn''t find the answer, I should rely on the other ace detective.


    That''s why I was clinging to her, even though I knew I wasn''t right. If digging my fingernails into my palms wouldn''t change anything, then at least


    ¡ª


    "Please, Ace Detective. Save Siesta."


    Releasing my clenched, rigid fists, I squeezed Natsunagi''s left hand.


    "If you''ll settle for a proxy detective, I''ll take the job."


    Out of nowhere, I heard a familiar voice.


    It sounded like the exchange we''d had that one time, in that ssroom bathed in the light from the sunset.


    Actually, maybe I''d been the one who''d said it or something like it. The hand I was holding squeezed mine back.


    "You held my hand like this before, didn''t you?"


    When I lifted my head, the girl was gazing at me. She smiled with relief.


    Those words reminded me of another day. I''d held her hand that night in the hospital, over a year ago, when she still looked like Alicia.


    "Natsu...nagi...?" My voice was hoarse, but I managed to say her name somehow.


    Looking up at me from the bed, Natsunagi gave a wry smile. "You sure are dumb, Kimizuka."


    Slowly releasing my hand, she flicked my forehead with her middle finger. "Don''t visit me in the hospital, then spend the whole time talking about some other girl."

 Chapter 107 - 3.2

    <h4>Chapter 107: Chapter 3.2</h4>


    <strong>Setting Nagisa in motion</strong>


    "Natsunagi..."


    Dazed, I called her name again.


    Nagisa Natsunagi¡ªa girl in my grade and my partner. Death had separated us once, or so I''d thought. Then she''d spent almost an eternity asleep. And now here she was, blinking right in front of me.


    "Yes, my name is Nagisa Natsunagi. ...Heh-heh. It''s been a while, huh?" Slowly sitting up, she shed a goofy smile and a peace sign at me. "...Huh? Kimizuka, are you crying? Ah-ha-ha! I guess you reeeeally wanted to see me, didn''t¡ª?"


    I hugged her as hard as I could.


    "Wait, what? ...Huh? K-Kimizuka...?"


    Natsunagi''s flustered voice was right by my ear, but I couldn''t afford to nce at her face or ask how she was doing. I wanted to stay like this forever, if she''d let me.


    "Wow, I really didn''t expect this... Um, Kimizuka? ...What in the...?"


    Bewildered, Natsunagi became stiff and awkward. "Listen, I think you''re breaking character. You''re not normally the type for this sort of thing, are you?"


    "...Shut up."


    It was no good. Speaking made my nose feel stuffy. I hugged her tightly, so she couldn''t see my face.


    "...Oh, geez. Honestly. What are we going to do with you?" A soft warmth enfolded my back.


    Natsunagi was hugging me too.


    "Oh, I see. Yes, of course. This was what you wanted, wasn''t it?"


    It was like a reenactment of the time I''d met Natsunagi in that ssroom. Back then, she''d been hoping I''d step into the role of detective and find the owner of her heart. As a matter of fact, though, that heart had already gotten its wish, and Natsunagi had done what it wanted and held me close.


    "Um, what was it again? Seriously, you''re all tearstained and covered in snot, and you still want to cry and throw a tantrum? You had other ways you wanted to y? ...I think that''s how it went."


    "...! You don''t have to reenact that part!" I shook free of her arms, and we finally managed to look each other in the face.


    "Pfft!"


    "Heh."


    Then we both burst outughing.


    How long had it been since I saw Natsunagi smile like this?


    "Kimizuka, you look awful." She pointed at my red eyes. "You wanted to see me that bad, huh?" she teased.


    "Yeah. I did," I replied. I told her how I genuinely felt. "I wanted to see you and make you bawl."


    "...Mgh." Natsunagi must have known why already. She averted her eyes, looking guilty.


    If Natsunagi woke up, I''d meant to scold her first thing. There was no way sacrificing her own life to save her friends was the right answer. That could never be the future everyone wanted. ...But...


    "It turns out I''m not in any position to lecture you." When I said that, Natsunagi looked at me again.


    I couldn''t deny that I might have done the same thing if I''d been in her shoes. As a matter of fact, I''d swallowed that seed, and I''d been prepared to sacrifice myself when I did it.


    "I was so happy you were alive that I didn''t feel like getting mad." "...What''s that supposed to mean?" Natsunagi gave an appalled little


    ugh. Then she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips.


    "But, Natsunagi, why did you suddenly wake up?" I had zeroints, of course, but we couldn''t justbel this <i>coincidence </i>and be done with it. I asked her how this miracle had urred.


    "I wonder." Natsunagi looked away, gazing out the hospital room window. "The whole time I was unconscious, I was on a lovely shore. It wasn''t dark, the way it used to be, and I wasn''t in a birdcage that kept me from going anywhere. It was just the clear, blue ocean and the sort of white, sandy beach that makes you want to run down it barefoot. I stayed at the waterline, staring at the ocean."


    It had to have been the world of Natsunagi''s subconscious. Unlike the times when Hel had been in control of her mind, she must have felt she''dpleted her mission. That beach was her mental image of her goal.


    "But as I was staring at the ocean, a little hand thumped me on the back." Natsunagi ced her hand on the left side of her chest. "When I turned around, I saw a cute, doll-like girl who looked like she''d jumped straight out of Wondend. She was desperately trying to tell me something, but for some reason, I couldn''t hear her voice."


    As Natsunagi remembered, she squeezed her hand into a tight fist over her chest and the heart inside it.


    She must have known who was in there.


    "Then, I heard <i>another girl''s voice </i>from her mouth. That voice was also terribly familiar, an indivisible part of me...and the next thing I knew, I''d obeyed it and started to move."


    ...Yeah, that was how we''d always been. Both as our enemy and our ally, her voice had always set us in motion. <i>She</i>, the one who bore the name of the queen of the dead, had tried to push Natsunagi back to this world. Her <i>word- soul </i>power had spoken for the voiceless girl with pink hair.


    "What did she say?" I asked. Natsunagi raised her head.


    "¡ªShe told me to start running."


    Natsunagi''s dignified expression wasn''t one I''d ever seen her wear before. Her heart and memories and consciousness were home to many other people. I was sure that wholeheartedly epting their wills had given her new life. The girl who''d agonized over herck of identity was no longer there.


    "After that, things seemed to happen so fast." Her expression softened. "Every cell in this body was screaming that it wanted to see you. So I ran across that shore, ran and ran, until I caught up...to you." Natsunagi bumped her fist lightly against my chest.


    "Why me?"


    "Well, you were hopelessly depressed. Even in my sleep, I could tell." Natsunagi smiled wryly.


    "That''s why you..."


    I remembered what Scarlet had said that night: That human instinct was found in DNA all through the body, circting like blood. That the dead he resurrected came back with that instinct intact.


    I didn''t know where in Natsunagi''s body her mind or soul or consciousness slept, whether it was her brain or her heart or every single one of her cells. I did know exactly what her instinct was, though: her passion as a detective.


    For ages, she hadn''t been anyone. Then one day, when she''d inherited the role of detective, she''d found the path she was meant to walk. Sometimes she''d followed Siesta, and at others, she''d chosen a different course, but she''d never lost sight of her pride as a detective.


    So when I, her client, had called out to her, Natsunagi the detective had responded by waking up. It was just like when we''d fought Chameleon on the ship. Siesta''s mind had been dormant inside Natsunagi, but since I was in trouble, she''d awakened and stepped up. This time, Natsunagi had¡ª


    "I suspect you two like me far too much," I joked, feeling as if a great weight had lifted from my shoulders.


    "So, about your current problem." "...Hey."


    Natsunagi chuckled, pulling the covers up to hide the lower half of her face. "Unfortunately, I don''t like you or anything, Kimizuka."


    <i>Yeah, I know that. It''s mutual. I don''t like you or Siesta one tiny bit, either. </i>"But if you need us, we''ll run to you, no matter where you are." Natsunagi looked at me with those ruby eyes of hers. "We''ll ignoremon sense, we''ll color outside the lines, we''ll rece the term <i>deus ex machina </i>with


    <i>miracle</i>, and we''ll go to see you. ...If that''s what you want."


    Natsunagi spoke for the other detective, too¡ªthe one who wasn''t with us. "...Say, Natsunagi?"


    "Hm?" She gazed at me kindly.


    "Then, if I said I wanted to see Siesta one more time..."


    "Of course!" Still sitting up in bed, she confidently nted her hands on her hips. "That''s why you came here, isn''t it?"


    "...You knew, huh?"


    That''s just like an ace detective, I guess. Natsunagi said, "Pacing is important with stuff like this," echoing a line I''d heard somewhere before.


    "Actually, I heard you when you were talking to yourself earlier." "...Then wake up sooner." I''d gone and looked like a coward for nothing.


    "Basically, Kimizuka, you''re not sure whether it''s okay to reject Siesta''s answer again, right?"


    Yeah, that''s the one. Siesta knew everything regarding how we felt and what we wished for. Was it okay to overrule the decision she''d made, even then, for the sake of my own selfish wish?


    "In that case..." Natsunagi''s voice cut through my hesitation. "Why not just stop relying on uncertain things like feelings and wishes?"


    Voluntarily discarding her passion, her greatest weapon, she said:


    "Let''s work together and supersede Siesta one more time. Not just with emotion¡ªbut with genuine skill."


    Thus our war council for transcending the ace detective began.


    <strong> Where this muzzle points</strong>


    After the discussion with Natsunagi, I''d done all I could to get ready¡ªand the next day, I left for a certain neighborhood.


    "It''s hardly changed at all."


    Stepping over the yellow police tape, I entered the abandoned town. I walked along, careful not to trip on the cracked ground, until finally I saw a great tree,rger than the rest. It was the one that had swallowed up the shopping mall.


    This was the city that had been overrun by nts, the one where we''d


    fought Seed two weeks ago. Many of the buildings had copsed, and there was DO NOT CROSS tape all over the ce; normal civilians weren''t allowed to enter. I was there for just one reason.


    "Hey, what a coincidence," I shouted.


    I''d spoken to a lone girl who had her back to me.


    She was standing there, looking up at that huge tree. Short, pale silver hair, and a dress inspired by a military uniform. Everything about her was unmistakable: The girl''s name was¡ª


    "What are you doing, Siesta?"


    Apparently, she''d had time to prepare because when she turned back, she was wearing her usualposed smile. "I didn''t think we''d meet again, Assistant."


    Code name: Siesta.


    My partner had disappeared and turned up again. "Geez. What are you, a cat?"


    They say a pet cat who senses its death approaching will leave its owner before it dies.


    "And who exactly is iming to own me?" Siesta responded with a cold, hard stare. Then she gave a dissatisfied sigh. "It appears someone set me up."


    Tilting her head back to look up at the towering tree, she murmured, "I heard that the seal on the primordial seed wasing undone."


    That had been one of the things I''d done in preparation. If I was going to talk Siesta around, I had to find her first, but I knew there was no point in calling and asking to see her. In that case, I thought, <i>it would be better to summon the Ace Detective </i>instead of Siesta.


    Natsunagi hadn''t taken over that position yet. That meant Siesta was still the Ace Detective, and thest thing she''d ever do was abandon a job. So I''d made Mia Whitlock the Oracle <i>lie </i>that there were signs that Seed''s seal was breaking, which would lure her to this ce.


    "They do say it could happen someday."


    "Then, at the very least, it''s not an immediate danger."


    "Right. As a matter of fact, it may end up being indispensable to mankind." I told her what I''d just heard from Ms. Fuubi the night before. "They tell me that tree is emitting unidentified atoms that don''t appear in the periodic table. They''re going to be real busy analyzing those."


    That was the main reason this area had been cordoned off. What would this


    great tree, the primordial seed''s seal, mean for humanity''s future?


    "I see. Then there''s nothing for me to do here. That''s good," Siesta said, attempting to end this conversation. This story.


    "What''s ''good,'' huh?" As she turned to go, I called after her. "Are you nning to die?"


    She stopped in her tracks.


    "In the not-so-distant future, I''ll turn into a monster."


    Siesta turned around to face me. Her smile looked a little lonely.


    "I first realized I might not be the primordial seed''s mostpatible vessel when I saw a sacred text that had been written long ago. I understood that the seed lying dormant inside me might begin to eat away at me one day."


    "...You''re telling me that for those three years we traveled together, you were holding that bomb all by yourself ?"


    "My seed is in my heart. Maybe that''s why I''m vaguely aware of its <i>time limit</i>. <i>For now</i>, I''m still okay, but <i>that day </i>is inevitable." Siesta ced her hand on the left side of her chest. "In the near future¡ªI''ll stop being able to see or hear you. Even though you''ve been beside me the whole time. I''ll lose the voice I''d need to fight with you. I''ll forget you, and...someday, I''ll kill you. And so..." Even at a time like this, Siesta''s smile was beautiful. "I''m going to leave this world before that happens."


    That was my assumption. I didn''t need to be right. I hadn''t wanted it to be.


    But Siesta''s own words had just erased all doubt.


    "Your feelings really did make me happy." As I stood there, silent, Siesta went on eloquently. "The only words I can find are simple ones, but I was happy. You got angry for my sake. You cried for me. And so I''m sure...I was happy."


    An ace detective was brilliant, calm, cool, and collected. As such, Siesta sometimes prioritized logic over emotion. She emptied her heart, exclusively pursuing results. I was aware of that, so what she''d just said sounded like her genuine, unexaggerated feelings.


    "Then are you saying you have no regrets?"


    It was an incredibly cruel question, but I asked it anyway.


    "I might have had somest year." Siesta''s pale silver hair fluttered in the wind. She gave a small, crooked smile. "I still had things I wanted to ask you


    then. But..." She tucked her hair behind her ears. "I know you consider me precious now. I know you enjoyed those three years. Then, even though I never expected to, I got to go to your apartment again and have pizza with you...and then fight the enemy, travel by air, and solve a case, and see a musical, and hold you close. I have no more regrets."


    Siesta spoke firmly. I saw no hesitation in her face. In that case, my answer was¡ª


    "So why are you trying to stop me?"


    <i>I''d drawn my gun</i>, and Siesta gave me a piercing, cold stare. "Sorry for being an assistant who doesn''t do what you want."


    <i>I came here to stop you. Not to kill you or hurt you. </i>I was pointing my gun at Siesta in order to protect her, to keep her alive.


    "Who says I have to y along with you?"


    Siesta turned a deaf ear to my resolution. That was only natural. Why should she go out of her way to deal with my rebellion? There was nothing in it for her. If I lowered my gun, or if the conversation trailed off, Siesta would leave us forever¡ªeven so...


    "There''s no point in running. I''ll chase after you no matter what it takes, even if it means using the Saikawa family fortune or borrowing help from Charlie''s old unit. The ends of the earth, the depths of the ocean, ten thousand meters up¡ªI''ll follow you everywhere."


    After all, the Ace Detective hated to give up¡ªbut I could give her a run for her money.


    "And if that sounds like too much trouble, I should fight you here?" Gazing down the barrel of my gun, Siesta guessed at what I was implying.


    "That''s right. We''ll settle everything here. If you win, I won''t mess with you anymore."


    "There''s no way you and I could have anything resembling an actual fight, and you know it. Besides¡ª" Siesta turned her back to me, calling my bluff. "You and your friends can pursue me all you want, but you''ll never catch me. I''ll find a deserted ce and time, and I''llplete my story by myself." After giving that remark, she started to leave.


    Where had Siesta''s story as the ace detective begun? Had it been when she was born, or was it at thatboratory six years ago, when her battle with the


    primordial seed was established? I was only her assistant, and I didn''t know. But when had <i>my </i>story as her assistant begun? Or what about our story,


    Siesta''s and mine? ...I knew that one for sure. It was that day. That one day, four years ago.


    "Oh, I see. Siesta, you..."


    What I had to say here and now had been determined back then.


    "You got scared of me, your assistant. You''re pretending the match has already been settled without a fight, so you can force me to admit a loss and end the game. In other words¡ªyou''re afraid."


    The moment I said it, Siesta stopped in her tracks. There was no way she''d forgotten whose taunt that had originally been and when it was from.


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    She reproached me the way she always did.


    But on this battlefield, her voice seemed just a little energized. "It''s a thousand years too early for you to provoke me."


    When she turned back to face me, she was holding a small pistol in her left hand. "Come to think of it, we''ve never really tried to kill each other before, have we?"


    "No, although you single-handedly almost killed me."


    Even under these circumstances¡ªno, because of them¡ªSiesta and I smiled at each other.


    "¡ªNow then."


    But almost immediately, our eyes turned cold.


    "Are you ready for this, Siesta?"


    "I could ask you the same, Assistant."


    Then, at the foot of the great tree towering over all mankind, Siesta and I pointed our guns at each other.


    It was the first¡ªandst¡ªbig fight we ever had.

 Chapter 108 - 3.3

    <h4>Chapter 108: Chapter 3.3</h4>


    <strong>The name of this feeling</strong>


    "In that case, I won''t hold back."


    No sooner had Siesta murmured those words than she <i>vanished</i>. "...!"


    I knew better than anyone on the how strong she was. Siesta ran so fast, she might as well have been teleporting. Choosing a random direction, I dodged, and almost immediately, a gunshot rang out right next to me.


    "I guess it''s not going to be possible to end you with just one shot."


    I had the devil''s luck and had won out this time; I might be rolling on the ground, but I''d dodged that bullet. I took cover behind an abandoned bus. "Couldn''t you have given me a bit of a head start?"


    "There is no ''time out'' in war. Never mind that. What do I have to do to win this fight?"


    "Look, don''t fire, and then confirm things afterward. ...You win if I admit I lost."


    "I see. Then we''ll call it a battle against time. Considering your personality, though, I get the feeling this may drag on for quite a while."


    Siesta wasn''t even entertaining the possibility she might lose. Not only that, but she''d tacitly managed to insult me for not knowing when to quit.


    "Sorry, but I''m flipping our power dynamic today." I fired from behind the bus...but Siesta evaded with an acrobatic leap.


    "Aiming for my legs. That''s kind of you."


    "No, it''s just not normal to aim for my head first thing like you did." "But you won''t admit defeat unless I inflict a lethal injury, will you?"


    Even as we traded thisbat-specific banter, I got my breathing under control behind the bus, working out a strategy. This ce had been messed up nicely during the fight with Seed two weeks ago, so at least I''d secured cover.


    "Do you think you can beat me like that?" "...!"


    I''d just tripped my own death g. I heard the Ace Detective''s voice above me. Siesta had gotten up onto the bus''s roof and jumped off with no


    hesitation, kicking my right arm hard and knocking the pistol out of my hand. "...! As a matter of fact, I did supersede your intentions once, remember?"


    Without even ncing at the gun I''d dropped, I ducked under the bus.


    "In terms of feelings, yes. Unless you can beat me with actual skill right now, there''s no point."


    Right again. I''d known that too, I''d stressed about it, and I''d still stepped onto this battlefield. There was no way I could just back down after that.


    "...!"


    Spotting Siesta''s legs from below the bus, I burst out from under the vehicle, drew and leveled my second gun, and fired. But...


    "...I seriously almost died."


    As if she''d predicted my move, Siesta had also fired, and the bullet had zipped right past my head. No, maybe it had grazed it for a few millimeters¡ª a small trickle of blood ran down my cheek.


    "Do you want to die?" Siesta tilted her head in a show of innocence.


    Still cool as a cucumber, huh? In that case... "Well, you said so yourself¡ª this is war."


    Without hesitating or really aiming, I fired a series of shots at Siesta. I wasn''t nning to kill her, of course; that would have defeated the whole purpose of this fight. My attacks were based in my trust that <i>Siesta would evade. </i>But if even one of those shots managed to graze her, the way hers had against my cheek¡ª


    "I see."


    Siesta dodged the rain of bullets using moves that would have done an action-movie star proud. Then she took a leap so high, you''d think sheunched herself with a trampoline,nding on top of a mound of rubble that was several meters tall. She looked down at me, her face expressionless.


    "<i>Are there tranquilizers </i>in those bullets of yours?" She''d seen right through my n.


    "...!"


    "Your expression is always so easy to read." With aid-back suggestion that I should work on my poker face, Siesta evaded another of my bullets by jumping down. "Your conditions for victory don''t include killing me. You''re only trying to temporarily immobilize me."


    ...Had she picked up on my scheme when I got impatient and fired at random? Still... "Yeah, all the weapons I''m using have that drug in them.


    Even 0.01 milligram of this stuff will stop an African elephant or a blue whale. In other words, <i>if even one shot grazes you, I win</i>."


    Forget lethal injury: She couldn''t even afford to get a scratch. On a battlefield, that restriction would inflict the greatest pressure imaginable. She may have read my hand, but I could use that against her.


    "I never nned to let any of your attacks touch me in the first ce."


    In the next moment, I felt a human presence right behind me. By the time I realized it was Siesta, she''d already kicked my right arm up again, knocking my gun far away.


    "...! Look what you did! We''re just getting started, and now my right arm''s out ofmission." With my left hand, I promptly pulled a knife out of my jacket and pointed it at her.


    "Is the tip of that coated with the tranquilizer, too?"


    Siesta''s fist flew at my face; she was holding a ballpoint pen. I knocked it away with the knife, but this time shended a powerful roundhouse kick to my side.


    "...! ...Hff." She''d knocked the wind out of me, and I rolled across the asphalt ording to thews of physics. Needless to say, my entire body hurt. But that pain was no match for my stubborn refusal to quit. I reached for the gun I''d dropped¡ª


    "Annnd you''re dead."


    At the same time... No, Siesta had leveled her gun a moment faster than I had, and she spoke from above me, stopping me. When I slowly raised my head, Siesta had her gun trained on me. She was holding it in her left hand.


    "If I pull this trigger now, you''ll die. <i>But I won''t do it. </i>I don''t think you''re that dumb to not understand what that means, Kimi."


    Slowly, Siesta narrowed her blue eyes. Just as I''d begun this fight based on that hijacking incident, Siesta was trying to make me admit I''d lost by re- creating the way she''d pinned Bat down.


    "...You call me stupid all the time, but you''re ending with that?"


    It was like she said, though: If I didn''t want to get hurt, if I didn''t want to end up with a lethal injury, I needed to back down here. But Siesta was holding that gun in her left hand, and as I gazed at her, a conversation we''d once had came to mind.


    It had been an ordinary day. As usual, we were broke, and we were sitting at the dinner table in a cheap apartment in some foreign country. Like the


    majority of Japanese people, Siesta was poking at the side dishes with chopsticks she held in her right hand, and I''d asked her, "Siesta, weren''t you left-handed?"


    It was prettyte for that question, and she''d looked perplexed. Well, sure. She ate her meals like that all the time, and when she fought, she held her gun in her right hand. Even so, I''d gotten the impression that she was left-handed because that was the hand she''d used to pull me into this world.


    "Let''s go on a journey," she''d said. She always held her left hand out to me, smiling that hundred-million-watt smile. That''s why I''d gotten the wrong idea.


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?" Siesta had said, the way she always did. "I hold my gun in my right hand."


    "I think you were trying for <i>chopsticks </i>there."


    After we''d lobbed jokes at each other, for some reason, Siesta had smiled. "That''s why my left hand is the only one I''ll ever hold out to you."


    It was Siesta''s philosophy; I sort of got it and sort of didn''t. If I tried to exin it, I would probably reduce it to something trite. As long as I kept the answer hidden inside myself, though, I''d be able to keep taking the left hand she held out to me. So, on that day, I hadn''t asked her to borate.


    If there was just one thing I understood now, it was that Siesta was standing here with a gun in the hand she should have been holding out to me. To borrow her words: I was no longer too dumb to understand what that meant.


    "...Yeah, you''re right. I lose."


    On my knees, with Siesta holding me at gunpoint, I pathetically admitted defeat.


    ¡ªBut...


    "So can I say onest thing?"


    In the center of a clear, obstacle-free scramble intersection, raising both hands to show I was done resisting, I slowly got to my feet.


    "Begging for your life?"


    "Don''t go killing me after I''ve admitted I lost."


    I nced at Siesta''s eyes; they still looked dangerous. I sighed. "No, that''s not it. I just realized you''d asked why I was trying to stop you, and I hadn''t told you."


    It was the question Siesta had asked right before we''dunched into this


    fight. Why wouldn''t I let her die if she was going to turn into a monster someday? Why did I follow her so persistently, trying to stay involved? In my head, the answer was far too obvious, but I hadn''t put it into words for Siesta.


    Now that I thought about it, we''d always been like that. We never told each other the important stuff; we''d both assumed the other knew, and we''d always ended up just missing each other. We''d believed in our invisible bond


    ¡ªno, we''d definitely had one of those. It was just that, somewhere along the way, we''d started to rely on it too much.


    We''d never confirmed our bond in words, though. We''d thought we didn''t need to. We''d figured that when we stood back-to-back in the middle of a firefight, the other person would just get it.


    "Thoughts transcend words. When you put it that way, yeah, it sounds good."


    Without flinching from the gun that was trained on me, I took one step toward Siesta, then another.


    "¡ªWhat are you...?" Siesta couldn''t tell what I was trying to do. She tightened her grip on the gun.


    "I figured I''d demonstrate that you need words to properly convey some things."


    We''d had three whole years. We''d done all that bantering. Yet we''d somehow skipped this sort of thing a little too often.


    "Why did I want to bring you back to life? Why did I think those three years of constant trouble were fun? You know there''s only one answer to that."


    They were such simple words, and yet I''d never said them. Saying them out loud would''ve sounded clich¨¦, at least to me.


    "It''s because I love you."


    When I said that, Siesta''s blue eyes widened.


    I wasn''t going to exin whether that "love" was romantic love or family love or neighborly love. I hadn''t managed to put a name to it yet, either. Even so, this feeling had been with me all through those three years without changing a bit, and that was the inest, clearest term for it.


    "That''s... What do I even say? I didn''t expect that."


    Siesta had lowered her gun, although she probably didn''t realize it. She sounded rather dazed.


    "You went all this time without noticing a thing like that? The Ace Detective herself ?"


    "...The problem is that your <i>tsundere </i>behavior is beyond normal." We joked around with each other, and then we both smiled a little. My words really had gotten through to her that time.


    "¡ªExcept..." But just then, blue mes flickered in Siesta''s eyes again. "Some problems can''t be ovee with feelings alone."


    A gunshot rang out. The bullet whizzed right past my cheek.


    "You knew that, too. Getting a romantic confession from you won''t be enough to persuade me now."


    "I don''t recall confessing that." "Oh, I see. So you were proposing?"


    Why were those my only options? Smiling halfheartedly, I obediently put my hands up again. I''d already admitted defeat. My weapons weren''t nearby, so I couldn''t afford to resist anyway.


    "I knew I''d be no match for you."


    That was something I''d known right from the start¡ªAnd so... "From here on out, <i>we''ll </i>take you on."


    The next instant, there was an earsplitting explosion, and ck smoke rose. "¡ª! A grenade!"


    Registering an intruder, Siesta took a huge leap backward to create some distance.


    However, a girl interrupted our battle, cutting through the smoke in pursuit of Siesta.


    "Not even meeting your maid onest time, after all the trouble you''ve caused her? That''s rather heartless, don''t you think?"


    The maid revolted against her mistress, holding a rapier. A gust of wind ruffled her pale silver hair. Then¡ª


    <i>"Charlie! Now!"</i>


    From the phone in my breast pocket, a girl''s voice echoed across the battlefield. Then I heard a gunshot. It was the sound of a lone agent sniping the Ace Detective from a distant rooftop.


    "...! So that''s...what it was."


    At thest second, Siesta managed to dodge the tranquilizer bullet, and it


    took a divot out of the asphalt instead. However, she''d caught on to my¡ªor rather, our¡ªn, and she grimaced.


    "Sorry, Siesta. The real final showdown starts now." Until we saved the Ace Detective, we would never stop.


    <strong> A certain boy''s recollection</strong>


    "Why are you so bad at being a team yer?"


    The sun was almost set, and Siesta stalked down thene ahead of me, sighing. In terms of walking speed, neither of us was amodating the other...but that probably wasn''t what she meant.


    We were on our way home after safely <i>failing </i>a certain mission. It had failed for one clear reason: my hopeless inability to get along with Charlotte Arisaka Anderson, who''d joined us for the maneuver. No matter how often we got scolded for making the same mistake, there was no hope for improvement until the cause was removed.


    "I''ve never teamed up with anybody before, ever. You can ask me to match somebody''s pace now, but that hurdle''s too high."


    Siesta and I had set off on our travels around the world about a year ago. Even before that¡ªI should probably say <i>unfortunately</i>¡ªI hadn''t had a single person I could call a friend. It was due to my annoying, innate predisposition for getting dragged into trouble. People wanted to avoid it, so they ended up avoiding me. Before I knew it, fifteen years had passed.


    "Are you all right with that?"


    "What I want has nothing to do with it," I said tly. I''d thought about trying to change several times, though. Even at fifteen, I sometimes sighed and wondered whether there wasn''t a slightly better way to live. Still, as long as I had this predisposition, I wouldn''t be able to team up with anyone, and nobody would be able to match my pace.


    "Well, I''m used to it." Forcing a smile, I walked over the asphalt. Forget friends, I''d never even had parents. That meant I''d had the skills it took to live alone from the time I was a kid.


    "There are some things you can''t deal with on your own, though. Like today, for example."


    Over her shoulder, Siesta seemed to be implying that I should make some


    friends. Because I hadn''t been able to get along with Charlie today, I''de close to taking an enemy bullet. Even so, Siesta had ultimately stepped in and rescued me.


    "I may not always be around, you know."


    ...The woman had dragged me on this journey, and now she was making irresponsiblements out of nowhere.


    "That said, if I findpanions, I might end up putting them in danger instead."


    Considering my knack for attracting trouble, the possibility was pretty high. Those were the stars Kimihiko Kimizuka had been born under. Rather than saying I''d resigned myself to that fate, I''d reached enlightenment instead. I didn''t need friends who''d walk with me.


    "Where are you going?"


    The next thing I knew, I heard Siesta''s voice behind me. "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    Then it came up beside me, on my left.


    "That''s how easy it is to walk with somebody."


    The setting sun dyed the pavement orange, and two ck shadows stretched across it.


    "Of course I''m not your lover, and I''m sure I''m not even your friend. I don''t even know whether you could call me apanion. But..." Siesta faced forward as she spoke. "Right now, I''m standing next to you."


    The orange light shone gently on her pale silver hair. When I stole a nce at her profile, it seemed more dignified and beautiful than any famous painting or sculpture.


    "You''ll haverades too someday." Looking over at me, Siesta gave a soft smile. "And I''m sure you''llbine your strengths to aplish something."


    <i>...I dunno about that. I can''t really picture it. </i>Then there was that predisposition of mine. Even if Siesta was right, those futurerades might all be weirdos.


    "Well, if it ever happens, I''ll introduce you." "Yes, I''ll be looking forward to it."


    Treading on our long shadows, we started down the sunsetne, side by side.

 Chapter 109 - 3.4

    <h4>Chapter 109: Chapter 3.4</h4>


    <strong>A nk shot of an oath, told at ten thousand meters</strong>


    The grenade had shrouded the battlefield in thick ck smoke. A lone girl leaped through it, her maid uniform fluttering in the wind.


    "We''re counting on you, Noches."


    Holding my useless right arm, I slipped into the shadow of some rubble. "I see. So these are yourpanions now."


    Just before I made it, though¡ªfor just a moment, Siesta''s blue eyes found me through a gap in the windblown smoke.


    The wish to stop her from dying <i>belonged to all of us</i>. If you defined <ipanions </i>as people who shared amon goal, then the girl who was sprinting with a sword in one hand definitely counted.


    "Still, I never dreamed you''d rebel against me."


    Siesta leveled her gun at Noches, preparing to fight back...but the weapon flew out of her hand, sniped from a distance.


    "Charlotte, Yui. You too?"


    Siesta nced at a building in the direction from the bullet but promptly returned her gaze to her immediate opponent. "Noches. I don''t believe you were made forbat," she grumbled at her former maid, dodging a one- handed sword thrust.


    "Mm, yes. I anticipated this situation and bluffed."


    "You''re telling me youid the groundwork two full weeks ago to make me let my guard down? Those are some extremely thorough preparations."


    Siesta''s response was cool; she probably hadn''t taken Noches seriously.


    Had she realized we''d borrowed the power of a certain Inventor again?


    "My former mistress taught me to prepare to resolve an incident before it urred, you see." Noches crouched down, then closed the distance between them in a rush.


    "Is that sword coated with tranquilizer as well?"


    It was. If it so much as grazed Siesta, we''d win this fight on the spot.


    "...! I may be an android, but I think you''re more overpowered than I am, Mistress."


    Siesta had pulled out that ballpoint pen again and used it to knock the sword out of Noches''s hand.


    "Oh? They do say the pen is mightier than the sword, though." "...You''ve got aeback for everything, don''t you?"


    At that, Noches drew a pair of pistols. Firing two shots in a magnificent disy of ambidexterity, she nailed her earthbound target... Or she would have if the target had been anybody else.


    "¡ªNot one of your attacks will ever work on me."


    Launching herself off the ground, Siesta flung herself backward as if she were performing a Fosbury flop. The bullets cut through space beneath her.


    "Then we''ll just keep going until one does."


    Noches kept up a barrage of bullets as if our lives depended on it. She took an endless series of heavy weaponry out of her maid uniform. As I took in the situation, I thought about what I should be doing, then attempted to relocate.


    "An endurance contest? That''s not very smart."


    Meanwhile, Siesta kept evading Noches''s bullets with peerless uracy. She jumped up from the asphalt, ran across walls of buildings, sprinted over roofs, leaped into empty space, and finally reached the elevated train tracks. The primordial seed''s attack had left them thickly covered with vines, and no trains ran on the deserted rails.


    "I won''t let you escape."


    Noches went after Siesta, bounding off of abandoned cars and telephone poles as footholds.


    "...They''repletely ignoring me."


    That was convenient, though. I couldn''t take the shortest possible route to the tracks the way they were doing. I ran through the empty, ruined city for several minutes, finally managing to make it to the station.


    I jumped the unmanned ticket gate, dashed up the stairs without pausing for breath, then sprinted all the way to the end of the tform, stumbling as I went. Then I gazed down the tracks with misty eyes¡ªand saw Noches, down on one knee; Siesta had her at gunpoint. She must have taken her guns, and she had Noches pinned.


    <i>"Charlie! The wind died!"</i>


    Just then¡ªthe voice of a certain idol filtered onto the battlefield from the wireless earphone Noches had happened to drop. A bullet fired from nowhere in particr skimmed past, below Siesta.


    The sniper had fired from a building several hundred meters away. With Saikawa''s left eye reading the wind currents for her, Charlotte Arisaka


    Anderson''s sniping was even more urate.


    True, Seed had retrieved Saikawa''s seed, but the ability that dwelled in her left eye had remained. It was as if Seed had been trying to leave that sapphire eye in this world on its own.


    Now, if only the pressure of theirbo attack slowed Siesta down¡ª "¡ªThat''s twice. That attack won''t work, either."


    But my hopes were immediately shattered. First, Siesta kicked Noches out of her way. Then she turned back, pointing her gun at <i>the blond agent who''d been sneaking up on her from behind</i>.


    "...Ma''am. You weren''t surprised." Charlie froze. She was holding a dagger at the ready.


    Since Charlie had been sniping from a distant building, there was no way Siesta could have anticipated that she''d climb up onto the tracks. However


    ¡ª"I knew my assistant and Noches <i>were letting me hear Yui''s voice on purpose</i>. The instructions she was giving you were a bluff. You were actually lurking nearby the whole time, waiting for a chance."


    ¡ªShe''d caught on.


    Staring down the barrel of the gun, Charlie bit her lip and tossed her knife away.


    "I never thought you''d turn on me too, Charlie." "Apprentices always surpass their masters eventually."


    Just then, another gunshot echoed, and a bullet skimmed beneath Siesta. "I''m impressed she can do all that with only her left eye as a guide."


    The bullet struck the rails with a fierce metallic ng, momentarily diverting Siesta''s attention. Charlie grabbed the chance to back up, putting some distance between them. Then she drew her gun and pointed it at Siesta.


    "You thought you could beat me with a quick draw?" Siesta extended her right arm too, aiming her own gun at Charlie.


    "...You''re right. I might not be able to beat you yet, Ma''am. But..." Charlie''s voice grew stronger. "Maybe <i>we </i>can."


    That was the signal.


    "Why did I get this job when I don''t have a license?"


    Straddling the bike we''d prepared, I shook my head and cranked the elerator. As the engine roared, I jumped down from the tform onto the tracks. And then...


    "...! Why do you have that, Kimi?"


    Charlie threw herself off the tracks. In her ce, I charged at Siesta, holding the Ace Detective''s musket at the ready.


    "...I don''t believe I gave that to you." "Nope. I''m just here to give it back."


    <i>Ever since that day four years ago, as your assistant, it''s been my job to give this to you.</i>


    "But first..." My target was twenty meters away. Steering the bike with my knees, I held the musket with both hands and fired.


    "I see. I really wasn''t expecting that one. ...Still." Siesta''s blue eyes turned toward me as I drove down the deserted tracks on the motorcycle.


    "¡ªThat''s three. I believed you''d team up."


    Siesta pulled the trigger of the gun in her left hand. The shot was so urate, it could have passed through the eye of a needle; the bullets we''d fired collided in midair with a bang, canceling each other out.


    By the time it happened, though, my motorcycle was right in front of Siesta. If I used the momentum to crash into her...


    "...Dammit!"


    Yanking the handlebars to the side, I threw my weight to the right in an attempt to avoid the collision. Of course, I was flung off into empty space¡ª


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?"


    I felt as if I''d heard a voice scolding me for being reckless. Then, for just a moment, my body seemed to pause, hovering lightly in midair.


    "...O."


    Right after that, though, I rolled onto the tracks. I felt as if I''d gotten a full- bodyshing with a whip. But there was no time to groan in pain or catch my breath. Lifting my face from the gravel, I checked on the situation¡ªand what I saw was...


    "This is a battlefield, Charlotte."


    " !"


    Siesta''s bullet grazed Charlie''s right shoulder. That shot was probably an indispensable courtesy for an agent who risked her life in battle.


    "...Not yet. Ma''am...I still..." Charlie got back up. Her shoulder was bleeding, yet she still gripped her gun, trying to correct her teacher''s error. As Siesta looked at her apprentice, for just a moment, the muzzle of her gun seemed to waver. Was she thinking of where she should shoot in order to be sure she''d immobilized her target, or¡ª


    "...! Charlie!" Just then, a girl''s shadow appeared. The voice belonged to a certain idol, the one I''d been hearing over the phone a moment ago. Right now, I was hearing the real thing from ten meters away.


    Siesta sighed, then murmured, "¡ªFourth time. I knew about that dedication, too."


    She must have been paying attention to the intervals between the gunshots and the impacts and realized the sniper was graduallying closer. Saikawa stepped in front of Charlie, gun in hand. Siesta pointed her own gun at her.


    "I won''t let you."


    Just then, Noches slipped in like the wind and kicked Siesta''s right hand up. Her gun flew high in the air.


    "Sorry, but your timing is perfect."


    Instead of flinching back, Siestanded a precise kick to Noches''s abdomen.


    " !"


    Someone shrieked, but I couldn''t tell who. Noches went flying. She collided with Saikawa and Charlie, taking them out with her, and all three of them rolled onto the gravel bast between the rails. Finally, no one was blocking Siesta''s way.


    "Are we done now?"


    Siesta closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. When plenty of time passed, she opened her eyes again. I couldn''t read any emotion in them. The Ace Detective was her usual self.


    "Nagisa is still asleep; she can''te here. In that case, who''s next? The Oracle or the Assassin...? The Vampire? Well, it doesn''t matter who it is; I won''t lose."


    Using her left hand, Siesta picked up the musket I''d dropped onto the rails, then loudly fired it into the sky.


    "To protect the world, I will kill myself. To achieve that, I will defeat you. By defeating you, I can protect you. This is my final job as the Ace Detective."


    Siesta was a Tuner, one of the guardians of the world, and this was a hero''s oath. A seed that could destroy the worldy asleep inside her. To keep it from sprouting, she would end her story with her own hands.


    "And so you are my final enemy¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka."


    Siesta pointed her musket at me. I was back on my feet.


    "Geez. You say my actual name for the first time ever, and it''s in a situation like this?" Smiling with chagrin, I trained my own gun on Siesta.


    Still, for the wless ace detective, this was unusual¡ªthat oath of hers needed two corrections. The first was...


    "...Yourpanions never learn, do they?"


    Three figures had gotten to their feet behind me, and Siesta sighed. It wasn''t just me. Nobody here had given up on standing in her way. She''d also gotten one other thing wrong.


    "Siesta, we won''t let youplete that final job." I''d already seen a way to win this.


    <strong> A certain girl''s recollection</strong>


    "And? What sort of partner do you think you could make it work with?" I asked my assistant.


    We were sipping ck tea in an open-air terrace caf¨¦. That day, he''d messed up during a certain mission, and we''d held a postmortem session about it on the way home. In fact, we weren''t finished yet. I went on, turning the conversation his way, hoping to convince him to make some friends.


    "What type of person could I get along with...?" Across the table from me, my assistant mulled it over, unexpectedly serious. "A kind, big-sister type who can tolerantly embrace all my ws," he answered finally.


    "You''re talking about your taste in girls, not apanion." Honestly. And here I was attempting to have a serious conversation. "Not only that, but you just described me to a tee."


    "How, exactly? You''re the pr opposite of that."


    I hadn''t been ying dumb, but he hit me with aeback anyway. I don''t understand this boy.


    "You keep focusing on me, but what about you, Siesta?" he asked. "Do you have anypanions?"


    Several faces rose in my mind, including Charlie''s, of course. The Oracle in her high clock tower, for example. The red-haired police officer¡ªor was she more of arade than a friend?


    In addition...I had the feeling there had been others. I''d definitely had


    people I could callpanions, long ago. My memory of them was oddly hazy, though, as if someone had sealed it... I knew they''d been there, but I could no longer recall the girls'' names or their faces.


    "...Maybe that''s why I keep pestering you about them."


    Because I''d lost mine. In exchange, I wanted my assistant to have them.


    "I don''t get what you mean by ''friend'' or panion'' in the first ce." My assistant didn''t seem to have heard me. He was sounding like a middle schooler with delusions of omnipotence. Although at his age, he technically should have been attending middle school.


    "You put the other person first sometimes... You want to. I think that sort of rtionship counts as ''friends'' or panions,'' don''t you?"


    There were no clear standards, of course. Still, I felt it was necessary to attempt to put formless concepts into words once in a while.


    "Isn''t that what we are, then?"


    I hadn''t been expecting that remark, and my hand froze partway to my teacup.


    "...When I couldn''t make it work with Charlie today and almost got myself shot, you put yourself on the line to protect me. That means you think of me as, uh... I mean, you know..."


    My assistant''s eyes went to my bandaged left shoulder; his expression was aplicated mix of emotions. Even though, to me, a wound of this level was nothing to write home about.


    "I protected you because of our contract."


    It was a promise I''d made to my assistant a year ago. I''d told him I would protect him. I''d taken him on this journey on that condition. That meant it was simply my job to put myself on the line when he was in danger...


    "For all that, you looked pretty panicked today." For some reason, my assistant was gazing me, as if he''d stumbled onto something entertaining. "Actually, Siesta, you tend to get pretty rattled when I''m really in trouble."


    " !"


    <i>He''s awfully impertinent for an assistant. I just¡ªI only¡ª</i>


    "Haah..."


    I couldn''t work up the energy to respond. Instead, I heaved a rather weighty sigh. The important thing to me was protecting my clients'' interests. As long as I could do that, I was satisfied.


    "Come to think of it, Kimi, you didn''t order coffee. That''s unusual."


    Suddenly curious¡ªeager to change the subject, really¡ªI pointed this out to my assistant. He generally did order hot coffee, but this time he was drinking tea, like me.


    "It''s just a ck tea kinda day." "¡ªI see."


    We sat on the terrace, sipping the same tea and gazing at the same setting sun.

 Chapter 110 - 3.5

    <h4>Chapter 110: Chapter 3.5</h4>


    That''s how I define "living"


    "Siesta, we won''t let youplete that final job."


    On top of the long elevated track, my assistant pointed his gun at me. Taking a cue from him, the other three surrounded me. The four of them formed a hollow square, positioning themselves at diagonals to each other, apparently determined not to let me get away.


    "...Are you people stupid?"


    If you do this, even if you get your wish, the seed will eat away at me until I be a monster. There''s no stopping that.


    "Can''t you understand that disappearing is thest job I''m capable of ?"


    My final duty. To tell the truth, this should have been over and done with long ago. Last year, to be exact: when I''d died in order to seal Hel. I''d entrusted myst wish to my assistant, Nagisa, Yui, and Charlie. Through Noches, I''d set them free of the problems and curses that bound them. Once that was done, my job should have beenplete.


    But my assistant and Nagisa had overruled the future I''d visualized. The result had been several kinds of chaos, and Nagisa had fallen victim to the distortion. And yet, although I''d meant to seal Hel as my final job, she had defeated the primordial seed and ended the story in a new way.


    That meant the fact that I was still here was just an extension of that battle. It was redundant. This was an epilogue that had never needed to be written.


    ...Even so. I was on this battlefield, I had taken up this gun again, and so... "I will never abandon my job. I''lly my life on the line and fulfill the duty


    of the Ace Detective."


    Several gunshots echoed, and the final battle began in earnest. "¡ªI was already sick of seeing bullets about four years ago."


    Bullets flew at me from four directions, but if one grasps the angle of the muzzle down to the millimeter, it''s possible to be faster than a gun. The bullets ended up striking the gravel bast or nothing at all, and I ran with the wind to leave them behind.


    I was up against four enemies, but they were all injured already. If I picked them off one by one, they wouldn''t be a problem. First, my apologies, but¡ª


    "Yui Saikawa. Your left eye is trouble." "...!"


    That eye''s kic vision was far beyond what ordinary humans could achieve. Inbat, it was bound to be more useful than any heavy weaponry. nning to take that power away from them, I ran up to Yui. She looked startled.


    I had no intention of killing her, of course, or of damaging that blue eye. My assistant had brought the musket I was holding. That meant it was most likely loaded with tranquilizer bullets. ...No, he might have assumed that I''d steal the gun, in which case it was possible that only the first bullet was a tranquilizer. I''d just have to test it. I''d graze Yui with a bullet, and if all went well, she''d sleep for a little while. Rapidlying to that conclusion, I began to squeeze the trigger¡ª


    " !"


    Right then, Charlie took cover behind Yui. At this angle, I''d shoot her¡ª and I''d hit her in the head. The shoulder would have been eptable, but a head wound could end up being fatal.


    "...That''s not like you at all, Charlie."


    Grumbling over my apprentice''s bad judgment call, I temporarily lowered my weapon and put some distance between us.


    "Mistress Siesta. This is a battlefield. We deal in lives here, correct?" Suddenly, I sensed someoneing in for a fatal blow. I twisted away, and


    Noches''s sword swept through the spot where I''d been standing a moment earlier. The de was coated with tranquilizer; if it grazed me, I''d be finished. The sheer number of restrictions was maddening, and I brought my gun to bear on her. Her body was mechanical, and with a few exceptions, she''d be fine no matter where I shot her. So this time, I rxed and¡ª


    "Noches!"


    As if to shield the maid, my assistant darted out in front of her. "...! Are you stupid, Kimi?!"


    At the veryst second, I fired into empty space. There was no telling what my assistant might do, and if I hit him in the wrong ce, I could kill him.


    "Your instincts are as bad as ever, Kimi."


    In terms of recent events, I remembered his battle with Chameleon on the cruise ship. He''d put himself in the wrong ce that time too and had ended up taking the enemy''s attack. No matter how you looked at it, I¡ªor in this case, Noches¡ªwas better at absorbing enemy attacks than he was, and yet¡ª


    "...Is that what this is?"


    Just then, a terrible hunch ran through my mind. At the same time, a bullet streaked right past my face.


    "I''m sorry, Charlie. Siesta seems to have caught on more quickly than we expected."


    "Well, she is the first and only teacher I decided to respect until I died."


    A few meters ahead, Charlie was smiling proudly. She pointed her gun at me again.


    "If you don''t dodge, I''ll hit you."


    It was immediately clear that she wasn''t talking to me. "Yeah. It''ll probably be okay, though."


    " !"


    <i>Bang! </i>My assistant was standing behind me. Just as the gunshot rang out, I grabbed his shirtfront, and we fell together, evading Charlie''s bullet.


    "Because Siesta''s going to save me. See?"


    t on the ground, my assistant broke into a smile. Then he sat up and pointed his gun at me.


    "Is everyst one of you that stupid...?!" I whirled around, scanning my four enemies. "So this is your final ploy for cornering me?"


    If I tried to attack one of them, someone else would step in to shield them. Yet they''d pull their triggers with no hesitation, even if there was a risk of hitting one of theirpanions. It was a foolish n, riddled with contradictions. Did they want to protect each other, or was stopping me their top priority? At a nce, I couldn''t tell which it was. However, if there was an answer that would resolve those inconsistencies¡ª


    "Yeah, Siesta. <i>There''s absolutely no way you can kill us.</i>"


    The next moment, Noches''s bullet bore down on me...and on my assistant behind me.


    "...!"


    Sweeping my musket to the side, I knocked it away. Meanwhile, Yui took aim at Charlie, who was on my other side.


    "I told you¡ª!"


    There wasn''t even time to talk. As Yui fired, I pressed my trigger as well; our shots collided in midair, and the one that was headed for Charlie was knocked off course.


    Although I''d said this was a war, I''d been maneuvering around so that the others wouldn''t die. Sooner orter, the countless bullets that were flying every which way would mortally wound them. I''d been instinctively avoiding that oue. However, the four of them were taking advantage of my hesitation by intentionally putting themselves in danger, trying to confuse me and restrict my movements.


    "You were particrly hesitant when you attacked Saikawa, who''s not used to fighting, and when I almost passed out on the motorcycle, you saved me on reflex. You''re a softie. Not being able to kill yourpanions is your strength and your one weakness."


    ...The old me wouldn''t have hesitated at a time like this. I''d prioritized executing my duties, believing I''d bring about happiness for the greatest number of people that way. As a matter of fact, I was confident that doing so had protected many of my clients'' interests.


    As a result, the old me had considered that sort of hesitation self- indulgence. And yet as far as one person was concerned, it was kindness, and to another, it even counted as passion. Before I knew it, I''d learned these things. That hesitation was the reason my heart was still pounding. At this point, it was part of my heart itself.


    "...What a cowardly move. Don''t you think you''re treating your lives too lightly?"


    "First of all, Ma''am, your life is riding on this battle. It would be rude of us not to stake ours," Charlie dered bravely. She sounded like a true agent. Operating on the same logic, I''d shot her in the shoulder once, and I couldn''t think of a response for her. In that case, what I needed to do now was¡ª


    "I won''t let you get away!"


    Yui''s left eye had seen what I was about to do. Just as I was about to jump off the elevated track¡ªa loud boom distracted me. The ground under my feet shook violently. Then, with a sustained rumble, it crumbled away.


    "...! Explosives."


    Had Noches set them up? I didn''t have time to check, and there would have been no point anyway. The elevated track I''d been standing on a moment ago had turned into rubble, and I was tossed into the air, joining a rain of gravel and scrap iron.


    " !"


    The free fallsted for about ten meters. There were no obstacles; if I''d been prepared to jump, I could havended without trouble. I''d been caught by surprise, though, and I''d also been swallowed up in an avnche of gravel. While I did manage to make the safest possiblending, I banged myself up royally on the asphalt.


    The strategy they''d put together must have been based on trust that I''d survive something like this. ...But even if I was spared, they''d be¡ª


    "...Assistant!"


    "I swear... You never think about yourself first."


    I aimed my musket toward the voice and saw my assistant standing beyond the clouds of dust, a gun in his left hand. By this point, I lost count of how many times I''d seen this configuration. Behind him, the other three climbed out of the rubble. I guessed Noches had protected my assistant, while Charlie had kept Yui safe.


    "Haah...! You look...awful..."


    My assistant''s right arm hung limply, and he was bleeding from his head.


    The ck jacket he was so proud of was all ragged. "...Haah... So...do you."


    Didn''t he know there were things you should never say to a girl? Honestly! "...! ...Haah."


    I couldn''t hide my rough breathing or my heart rate, though.


    The worst part was that I''d sprained my leg. Now I wouldn''t be able to make a clean escape either way.


    "...Why did it end up like this?"


    It shouldn''t have been this way. Why did my assistant and I have to hold each other at gunpoint in the first ce? This story should have ended when the primordial seed was sealed. But I didn''t want Nagisa to remain unconscious, and I''d decided to watch the story just a little longer. To see it until the end of my assistant''s Route X.


    I''d boarded a ne with him for what I''d decided would be thest time. We''d traveled overseas, got caught up in an unexpected incident, and


    encountered a new enemy. My assistant considered the fight with the Phantom Thief an extension of the primordial seed crisis. Therefore, I would remain the detective, Kimihiko Kimizuka would remain my assistant, and the two of us would continue to fight the world''s enemies, Phantom Thief included... If I''d said I hadn''t imagined that future for even a moment, I would have been lying.


    However, I''d been right the first time: I couldn''t go any further than this. I couldn''t spend forever soaking in that tepid epilogue. I would simply carry out my role as a yer on Route X, in my position as the Ace Detective. Technically, I should have died a year ago. The fact that I''d been involved in this at all was a miracle in and of itself.


    And so, now I confronted Kimihiko Kimizuka, my final enemy¡ªno, the protagonist. I had no intention of losing. Of course I didn''t. Losing would mean <i>that I''d be saved by the protagonist</i>. I couldn''t allow such a lukewarm story to y out this way.


    "You are justice, and I''m evil. That''s fine. It''s what I''ve always wanted."


    Using just my good leg, Iunched myself off the ground. This battle would be over soon. Gun in hand, I raced toward myst opponent.


    "Kimizuka, go right!"


    That was Yui''s voice. Following her instructions from a distance, my assistant flung himself to the side, evading my bullet.


    "...! Are you seriously okay with that?!" Even as he rolled on the ground, he fired at me. I dodged, moving only my upper body. "Siesta, tell me. What''s your wish?"


    I heard more gunshots, this time from Noches and Charlie, far behind me.


    If they so much as grazed me, I''d lose.


    "I only have one wish: I want you to live. All of you."


    That was why I turned my long-barreled gun on the girls: to fire the bullets that would let them live.


    "That can''t be it!"


    ! Stubborn. My assistant had blocked my path again, and my hands started to tremble slightly. My heart pounded loudly, and my shallow breathing made my vision go hazy.


    "¡ªHow would you know?!"


    "You said so yourself!" he shouted. The grief in his expression was intense. He said it had happened a year ago, after the fight with Hel, when the pollen had put him to sleep. Thement must have slipped out just before my consciousness vanished. A wisp of thought I''d never meant for him to hear.


    "I don''t remember anything of the sort," I told him, firing to shake off my hesitation. I hadn''t taken aim, and I missed him by a mile. I''d strengthened my resolve, though. Evading the bullets Charlie and the others fired from far away, I began my final shootout with my assistant.


    "What, you''re saying you don''t remember something you said yourself ?" He couldn''t possibly have time for idle chatter, but as he fired, he kept talking. "If you won''t say it, I will."


    ...


    "You don''t want to die, do you?"


    Impossible. A wish like that, <i>now of all times?</i>


    "We''ll figure it out somehow."


    <i>You can''t.</i>


    "I''ll find a way to let you live!"


    <i>Listen, I told you that''s not possible.</i>


    "You always wished happiness for your clients, and those clients are all the people on this. How could you be the only one who doesn''t count? That can''t be right!"


    <i>You''re wrong. I was happy.</i>


    I was quite content¡ªor I should have been.


    And yet...


    "Siesta, I want you to live."


    <i>If you say a thing like that to me, I''ll¡ª</i>


    " !"


    My assistant fired at my left arm; it was a shot meant to keep me alive. On reflex, I moved my arm, sweeping my musket sideways and knocking the bullet out of the air. ...Even so, my contradictory thoughts asked my mind the same question.


    <i>What is your real wish?</i>


    "¡ªI..."


    I asked myself one more time. I''d already died once. There was no need to keep up appearances; I didn''t need pride. I''d throw away shame and my reputation, get rid of all calctions and deception.


    For now, I''d forget my role and the position I was in, pretend my history and the things I''d said had never happened. There was no point in thinking about some nebulous future. Just for now, I''d pretend not to see my responsibility toward this world.


    Say I was the only one who existed here, in this moment. What would I wish for? What dream would I want toe true? Right now, it didn''t matter whether it was possible or impossible. This wasn''t about whether it was reckless or unachievable. If there was just one thing I wanted¡ª


    The answer was simple.


    "¡ªI want to drink tea with you again." I wanted to live.


    "Right. Wish epted."


    My assistant pointed his gun at my face.


    <i>I see. So that''s the way you smile now.</i>


    "You talk like a detective," I responded lightly.


    If I did nothing, his shot would just barely graze my cheek. If it did, I''d get my wish.


    My dearest partner, the protagonist, would save me.


    That had to be the happy ending everyone was hoping for.


    With the bullet that would end everything right in front of me, I told him: "But a detective mustn''t lose to her assistant."


    I''d never show him my back.


    It wasn''t right to let the assistant see his detective admit defeat.


    I dodged the bullet, then turned the musket I''d had for my whole life as the Ace Detective on him.


    "Yeah, that''s right. I really am no match for you. That''s why..." My assistant''s lips moved.


    "She''s going to take over that wish of yours for me, Siesta."


    In the next moment, sensing someone behind me, I turned and readied my musket.


    "...Why are you here?" My eyes widened.


    "¡ªAs the queen of thend of the dead, I forbid you toe to this world."


    I was facing a girl with short ck hair, dressed in a military uniform. "Why are you...? Hel?"


    The next moment...


    The girl in the uniform threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. "Tricked you. I''m sorry. It''s me, Nagisa."

 Chapter 111 - 3.6

    <h4>Chapter 111: Chapter 3.6</h4>


    <strong>Buenas noches</strong>


    "Wh-why...?" I murmured.


    However, I''d actually anticipated that Nagisa woulde here.


    I''d borrowed her body once, awakening in order to help my assistant. In the same way, if it was for his sake, Nagisa woulde running no matter where he was. People might call it "improbably convenient" andugh, but <i>that was how we were wired</i>.


    "It''s been a long time, Siesta."


    Her arms gently released their hold on me.


    Nagisa''s soft smile was right in front of me. She''d chopped off her long hair.


    She got me good. Who''d have thought she''d appear disguised as Hel? "You haven''t changed, Nagisa," Imented, a bit spitefully. I was


    somewhat chagrined that she''d outfoxed me.


    "Really? I think I changed my look pretty drastically."


    "I meant on the inside. And what is this anyway? Did you get your heart broken or something?"


    "...I really wish you wouldn''t just decide I''m the losing heroine." Nagisa gave me a long look with narrowed eyes, and then we smiled at each other¡ª


    But...


    "...Hm? Huh?"


    For some reason, I felt weak all of a sudden, and my knees buckled. "Whoops!" Nagisa hugged me again, this time to keep me from falling. I


    didn''t recall getting hit with a tranquilizer bullet, but...for some reason, I was suddenly sleepy.


    "I''m sorry," Nagisa apologized in a small voice, right in my ear. I really couldn''t stay on my feet, and I dropped to my knees, still leaning against her.


    "What on earth...?"


    Come to think of it, I could feel a tiny prickle of pain on my left upper arm. I forced my heavy eyelids open and examined that spot. There was no blood. When Nagisa had first hugged me, something had¡ª


    "¡ªIt''s a tranquilizer."


    That was my assistant''s voice.


    He came toward us, still in his ragged jacket, leaning on Noches for support. "It''s a special drug <i>a certain underground doctor </ipounded for us. I hear it''s based on the pollen that put me to sleep."


    "...So that''s what it was."


    The weapons my assistant and the others used must have been covered in it. The Inventor had left us a week ago, but apparently he''d returned. He''d probably heard that Nagisa had awakened and wanted to keep an eye on her progress. Then my assistant had proposed this n, and he''d helped out.


    "But what then? What are you nning to do to me once I''m asleep and unable to resist?" Frustrated that I''d fallen for his scheme, I teased my assistant, resting my head on Nagisa''sp.


    "Don''t be an idiot. All this time, and still no trust?" Yes, that''s the face I wanted to see.


    When I smiled, my assistant sighed and did the same. But then, as he exined their reasons for putting me to sleep, his face grew serious again. "This way, we should be able to temporarily stop the seed in your heart from growing."


    <i>Oh, I knew it. </i>Closing my eyes, I listened to my assistant. He had a tone that was brusque yet somehow gentle.


    "After Natsunagi woke up yesterday, when she and I were brainstorming ways to save you, we picked up on something weird. While you were asleep in Natsunagi''s heart, when Chameleon almost killed me, you came to save me just once."


    It had happened more than a month ago. On arge cruise ship, I''d borrowed Nagisa''s body and fought Chameleon alongside my assistant. Nagisa had talked me into using her body.


    "The problem was that ''just once'' bit." Sounding rather sad, my assistant exined, "Why did you only wake up that one time? Why didn''t you even try...? It was all to avoid activating the seed that had taken root in your heart. Meaning as long as you''re asleep, as long as you stay unconscious, that seed won''t grow."


    He was right.


    Had Nagisa been the one who''d realized it? No, it might have been my assistant, since he''d spent the past few days with me. On our trip to New York, I''d slept even longer than I used to. It had been a defensive reaction, an unconscious attempt to protect myself.


    "But Assistant...you''ve also realized there''s no point to this, haven''t you?" Opening my heavy eyelids, I saw that Noches, Charlie, and Yui had joined Nagisa and my assistant. They were all watching me, and it was a little embarrassing. ...Still, I understood. These were my assistant''s current


    panions.


    <i>It''s all right. He''s all right now.</i>


    Relieved, I told him he didn''t have to do this. "Putting me to sleep is only a stopgap measure. Besides, there''s no guarantee that this will arrest the seed''s growth entirely. A few years down the road, the seed that will destroy the world may sprout and turn me into a monster. I may kill all of you someday. And so, really¡ª"


    "<i>We </i>knew that when <i>we </i>chose this." My assistant knelt next to me and continued. "Anyway, Stephen''s the one who gave me this tranquilizer. You know what that means, right?"


    "...I see. You really don''t cut corners anymore, do you?"


    The Inventor, Stephen Bluefield, refused to work on hopeless cases. That let him focus his efforts on lives that could still be saved. Since he''d


    prescribed this drug to me, I must still have a chance. He wouldn''t forgive me for giving up on life. After all, I''d been the one to quote his philosophy at him earlier.


    "¡ªIt looks like I''ve been utterly defeated."


    Detectives must protect their clients'' interests and grant their wishes.


    Nagisa had made both our wishes¡ªfor the other to livee true at the same time.


    That was something the old me hadn''t been able to do. I''d only been able to make it happen with my own death. However, Nagisa had once made the same mistake as I had¡ªand then she''d found this answer. She''d definitely beaten me.


    "Ma''am! Ma''am...!"


    My right hand was warm with tears and another''s body heat¡ªCharlie had taken my hand in both of hers, and she couldn''t keep from crying any longer. No matter how much time passed, my first apprentice was always adorable.


    "...Heh-heh. I see. In the end, you two surpassed me as well."


    The drug was really taking hold on me now, and my eyelids grew heavier. Still, pretending to gaze up at the sky, I peeked at my assistant''s and Charlie''s faces. <i>Have you two started getting along a little better? </i>I didn''t know, but there was one thing I was sure of.


    "You''ve gotten stronger, haven''t you?" Strong enough to surpass me.


    The remark seemed to startle my assistant; his eyes went wide. Then his expression softened. "Yeah, actually, Charlie and I were faking like we didn''t get along. All part of the n. We''re actually a great team and best buds. Right?"


    "Um, huh? ...Yes, that''s right! I¡ªI love Kimizuka!" In response to my assistant''s forced setup line, Charlie gave an extremely stiff smile.


    "...Heh, heh-heh. I see. That''s good."


    I''d never dreamed I''d get to see these two with their arms around each other''s shoulders, even if it was just an act. Iughed in spite of myself.


    "You''ve got it rough too, Nagisa. All these rivals." "Aaaaah! Aaaaah! I can''t heaaar yooou!"


    When I teased her, Nagisa pped her hands over her ears in an exaggerated gesture... Then, like my assistant, she grinned. "Hey, Siesta?"


    "Hm?"


    The wind ruffled Nagisa''s short hair.


    "Thank you for giving me a ce to belong, Ace Detective," she said, smiling through her tears. Now that sounded familiar.


    "You took the words right out of my mouth." Reaching out with some difficulty, I wiped her tears away with my fingertips. "Thank you for teaching me about emotions, Ace Detective."


    Because Nagisa was there... <i>I''m sure I''m able to smile now, surrounded by this irreceable happiness, because of your passion.</i>


    "Siesta." At Yui and Noches''s gentle encouragement, my assistant took my left hand.


    "Assistant." Squeezing his hand back, I said the words that suddenly came to mind. "If you ever lose your energy, the first thing you need to do is get a lot of sleep."


    That seemed to puzzle him; still, as I blinked slowly, he watched me.


    There were a fewst things I wanted to make sure I told him. I wasn''t able to handleplicated thoughts at this point, so I just drew on my recent memories. "And then bathe, all right? Cleanse your body, cleanse your mind. Then eat lots of food."


    "...Right, like earlier."


    "Don''t just eat pizza, though. Try to strike a healthy bnce and get moderate exercise. And then... That''s right. You have lots ofpanions, so if you''re ever worried about something, talk it over with them right away. You tend to hold everything in."


    "Hey, you have no right to tell me that." My assistant geared up to flick my forehead with his middle finger, the way he had earlier¡ªbut then he gently brushed my bangs aside with his fingertip. "You''re talking about nothing but me again."


    "Am I? I''m sleepy. I can''t really tell."


    However, in terms of regrets, that was about all I had left. As long as my assistant ate plenty of food, andughed with his friends, <i>and lived through mediocre, peaceful, extraordinary days</i>, that was enough for me.


    "Haaah. Good grief." From the look in his eyes, he seemed to be testing me. "You really like me far too much, don''t you?" he asked, trying to hit me with an extrarge helping of payback.


    "Yes, you''re right. I like you."


    "...Don''t just give it to me straight like that."


    Mm-hmm. As the Ace Detective, I can''t let my assistant have the upper hand. With Nagisa''s help, I sat up next to him. He heaved a big sigh, then smiled wryly.


    "Are you stupid or what, Siesta?" My response was obvious. "Geez. That''s not fair."


    We both cracked up, and then Nagisa, Charlie, Yui, and Noches were allughing. Even as tears stained their cheeks.


    "Someday, I''ll...no, <i>we''ll </i>wake you up. I swear we will. And so, until then


    ¡ª"


    My assistant squeezed my left hand. "Good night, Ace Detective."


    * * *


    That was thest thing my assistant whispered to me, the girl who loved her naps.


    A ray of sunlight shone through the thick clouds, illuminating us warmly. "Yes, I''ll be waiting."


    Once again, someday.


    In the sky, at ten thousand meters.

 Chapter 112: Epilogue

    <h4>Chapter 112: Epilogue</h4>


    A week had passed.


    By school standards, summer vacation was long over, and ss¡ªwhich I''d skipped as a matter of course¡ªhad begun as usual. As far as the calendar was concerned, it was autumn.


    That said, the light that shone through the window was still hot, and the afternoon sun was bright, so I closed the hospital room''s thin curtains.


    "Hey, are you listening?" said a woman''s husky voice from the telephone.


    Of course it was the red-haired policewoman, Fuubi Kase. It felt like she''d been calling an awful lottely. Maybe she''d fallen for me.


    "Yeah, I''m listening. You were talking about how the police had amendation for me, the super high school kid who saved the world."


    "That''s not even a thing." No, huh?


    "It''s about Seed." Sighing in mild disgust, Ms. Fuubi brought up the enemy of the world we''d defeated a few weeks back. "That huge tree where <i>he''s </i>sleeping really is a bit special."


    She was talking about the huge tree that had swallowed the shopping mall in the heart of the city. Earlier, she''d mentioned that the tree where Seed was sealed held atoms that humanity had never encountered before. Apparently that investigation had made some progress.


    The subject was way out of my league, though, but the Ace Detective had spent years fighting the primordial seed, so it wasn''t unrted to her. I had a hunch we weren''t going to be able to ignore it forever.


    "Yggdrasil." Ms. Fuubi pulled a foreign-sounding word out of nowhere. "What brought that on?"


    "It''s what they named the tree. Since it''s under observation and all." I heard her exhale cigarette smoke on the other end of the line.


    Yggdrasil. Also known as the world tree in Scandinavian mythology, the enormous tree was said to epass nine worlds, one of which was ours. Would humanity end up coexisting with that thing forever? And how would


    it affect us...?


    "Sorry, Ms. Fuubi. My friends will be arriving soon."


    That question didn''t have a quick or easy answer. ncing at the clock, I got ready to hang up.


    "Ha! Now, there''s a word I never thought I''d hear you say."


    "Well, people change," I told her, and heard an unusually cheerful sigh in response. "Okay, so, see you around."


    "Yeah. Give my regards to the ace detective." Without specifying which one, Ms. Fuubi hung up.


    And with perfect timing, the door to the hospital room rattled open. "Siestaaaa! We came to visit you... Oh, you''re here too, Kimizuka. I thought you would be."


    The girl who came in was Yui Saikawa, the world''s cutest idol. With a small smile, she looked from the girl who slept on the bed to me, who was standing beside it.


    This was the hospital run by Stephen the Inventor. I''d been here since this morning, visiting Siesta.


    "He always is. No matter when I visit, that guy is here, too." The blond girl who''d entered after Saikawa folded her arms and sighed, looking at me. That''s weird; after a certain recent situation, I''d assumed we were best buds.


    "¡ªWhoops! Whoa. Sorry, you two, lemme through! I''m just going to set this on the side table!"


    Nagisa Natsunagi was thest one in; she was carrying a basket piled high with fruit. She''d been officially discharged from the hospital, and now she was the one visiting a friend there.


    "Thanks, you three," I told them. Natsunagi was going to school, Saikawa was working as an idol, and Charlie had various jobs to do. Whenever they had time, though, they came to visit Siesta.


    "Um...?" However, Saikawa tilted her head curiously. For some reason, all three of them seemed either bewildered or put off.


    "Why are you thanking us just foring to visit Ma''am, Kimizuka?


    Exactly what are you to her, huh?" Charlie gave me a mmy look.


    "You haven''t been to school at all, Kimizuka. You''re aaalways here with Siesta," Natsunagi said.


    Saikawa and the others pointed at me,ining.


    Yeesh. What were they mad about? "Taking care of my partner is part of


    my job, isn''t it?" As I said it, I was looking at Siesta.


    She''d been asleep for the past week. So far, there hadn''t been any drastic changes, and the seed''s growth seemed to be suppressed. Someday we''d destroy that seed without harming the rest of her, or find some other way to wake her up safely. That was my wish and the goal of our current story.


    "Your partner, hm?" The next thing I knew, Natsunagi was looking at my face.


    "What?"


    "Ohhh, nothing." Geez. Not fair.


    "...Heh-heh." I hadn''t said it aloud, but she''d probably guessed what I was thinking. Smiling, she gazed at me for a long time. Then, finally, she tucked her short hair behind her ears and looked away.


    This had been our daily routine ever since Siesta fell asleep. That day, something had decisively changed. However, there were other things that hadn''t. I probably had one foot in this new routine, which wasn''t like tepid water at all.


    "Still, we''re pretty short on time. We''ll need to leave soon." Charlie checked her watch.


    After this, we were headed out on a journey to a certain destination.


    "All four of us, traveling together! I can''t wait!" Saikawa twirled in ce, giddy with the idea of our impending three-day trip.


    "We''re not going for fun, you know..."


    We were responding to a summons from the Federation Government. They were holding an advisory council regarding Natsunagi''s decision to inherit the position of Ace Detective, and the rest of us were going with her, timing our trip for the long September holiday. The venue for this one was in Singapore.


    "I wonder if I''ll get the chance to wear my new swimsuit..."


    "You''re the central figure here, but you''re having the most fun with it." Natsunagi was giving me serious d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    "You want to see my swimsuit too, right, Kimizuka?" I hadn''t gotten to see it on the cruise ship, after all.


    ...In that case, yeah.


    "Well, I guess we could get away with blowing one day on fun stuff." When I said that, a smile like summer sunshine lit up her face.


    "All right, shall we go?" Saikawa stretched her arms toward the ceiling. "We''ll be back, Siesta!" Waving energetically, she left the hospital room.


    And then...


    "Ma''am, I''lle again as soon as we get home, I promise! What kind of souvenir would you like? Meat? Okay, I''ll buy you lots of meat!"


    Charlie spoke to Siesta in the same tone she always used...but then, with a smile that was just a little sad, she kissed Siesta''s right hand, then left the room.


    "In the end, I''m the only one who barely got to see her," Natsunagi murmured, gazing at Siesta''s face. "There was so much I wanted to tell her and fight with her over..." The only time Natsunagi had gotten to meet Siesta was on that final battlefield. Having two ace detectives in the world at the same time was apparently even tougher than I''d imagined.


    "Still, we''ll meet again someday." Natsunagi pressed her lips together with determination.


    Siesta and Natsunagi had met six years ago, and then against year. I hoped from the bottom of my heart that I''d get to see the two of them reunite one day.


    "I''ll... No, we''ll find a way to wake you up, I swear. Wait for us. Until then, you can leave the Ace Detective''s will to me," she promised Siesta. Then, with a nce at me, she left the room.


    "Singapore, huh? We went there together, way back when."


    I recalled those distant memories. We''d yed on the beach and yed in the casinos...but as usual, we''d gotten pulled into crazy incidents, too. It was the same old trouble-ridden adventure tale. It was sort of nostalgic and, at the same time, something I never wanted to do again.


    "...Still. One of these days, one more time..." We''d go somewhere, just the two of us. I remembered making that promise in New York while we watched the musical.


    "Okay, I''ll be back." I was thest one in the room. Gazing at Siesta''s peaceful face, I told her, "I guess it''ll be four days before we see each other again." I was a little reluctant to leave her.


    There was no answer. Of course there wasn''t. The detective was already¡ª


    ¡ªNo, she wasn''t.


    That''s right. There''s really no need to feel sad or uneasy. After all, the detective''s not dead anymore.


    She''s just settled down for a long, long nap.

 Chapter 113: 7 years ago, Kimihiko

    <h4>Chapter 113: 7 years ago, Kimihiko</h4>


    <strong> </strong>


    "So you''re pleading ''not guilty'' again this time?"


    I was at my regr police station, watching an officer with grizzled hair organize his report. He was wearing a grim smile. Even I thought I probably looked exhausted.


    "Like I said, I didn''t do it." Seriously, what fifth grader would snatch a bag from a randomdy on the street?


    "Hmm. I wouldn''t put it past you, though." "You''re overestimating me, mister."


    Wait, should that have been "underestimating"? I heaved a big sigh. This police station felt asforting to me as my own home.


    Do people be "regrs" at police stations, you ask? They do if they''re me. As a matter of fact, this is the third time this week that I''ve met this officer (who''s apparently in charge around here). That''s more times than I''ve been to school.


    What? I''m skipping too much for a grade schooler? Well, what am I supposed to do? Say I see an olddy with a cane trying to get across a crosswalk while I''m on my way to school. I help her, and then I find out that she''s a victim of a bank transfer scam. Before you know it, I''ve been pulled into a scuffle with an enormous organized fraud ring. I''ve had a knack for getting dragged into trouble since I was born, and that''s just how it is. There was no time to sit around in school.


    Today, for example, I''d been caught up in a bag-snatching incident on my way to ss, then was suspected of perpetrating it. Now here I was, fighting a pointless battle at the police station with its chief.


    "You had nothing on me yesterday, you''ve got nothing today, and you won''t have anything on me tomorrow, either. I mean, I''m innocent."


    "Not guilty" sometimes carries a different nuance. It''s the term they use when they can''t charge you with a crime due to insanity orck of evidence. In my case, though, I really didn''t snatch that bag, nor was I involved with the bank transfer scam. I''m not just "not guilty," I straight up didn''t do it. I remember checking in a dictionary when I was bored in Modern Japanese ss once.


    "You sure know a lot for a kid your age," the chief drawled. Even then, he kept scrutinizing my face. "I''m almost at retirement age, see. I was nning to take it easy at a police station for myst few years on duty, but thanks to you, I''m busier than I''ve ever been in my whole career. ...Granted, I haven''t been bored," he added with a grin.


    If he''s close to retiring, is somebody else going to be in charge of this police station someday? Since I can''t change this annoying predisposition of mine, I''m definitely going to keep ending up here. Here''s hoping that the next guy is moreidback.


    "Can I go home? You must know by now that I didn''t do anything."


    A surveince camera near the crime scene had caught a man who seemed to be the fleeing bag-snatcher. Our heights were totally different, so I''d been told I was off the suspect list. Saved by my youth, although I hope I get taller eventually.


    "Besides, I''ve got a curfew." I got up from the metal folding chair.


    I didn''t mean I had a strict dad and mom waiting for me at home. What was waiting for me were <i>the facility''s rules</i>. I couldn''t remember ever having a family. I was an orphan. As far as I was concerned, just having a ce that guaranteed my right to live was a great thing.


    "Hang out just a little longer. I hear they''re sending someone to pick you up today," the chief said.


    Someone to pick me up? What was that about? Ever since the woman who was in charge of the children''s home picked up on this knack of mine, for better or worse, she acted like any trouble I caused wasn''t her problem. I really couldn''t see hering to a police station to pick me up...


    "See? Speak of the devil." The director''s eyes focused on something behind me. "He''s your guarantor. So even you have family, huh?"


    That made me turn around.


    A middle-aged man in a suit was standing there, a top hat pulled down low over his eyes. He looked well-dressed at first, but on closer inspection, his suit


    and shirt were shabby, and his worn-out leather shoes had mud on them. His eyes were shadowed, but they were sharp as an animal''s.


    "Who are you?" I asked.


    With a big, wolfish grin, the man introduced himself. "¡ªDanny. Danny Bryant."


    That was how I met my "teacher."


    Danny took me to a run-down apartment building that had to be forty years old. After you came through the front door, a second interior door opened into a traditional Japanese-style room that was about thirteen square meters. I shouldn''t have been familiar with the scent of tatami, but it struck me as weirdly nostalgic. Maybe that just came with being Japanese.


    "What are you standing there and spacing out for?" the man asked behind me. As he walked past me, he said, "Starting today, this is your home." Then he plopped down on the floor in front of the low table.


    Right off the bat, he opened a can of beer. He''d picked it up at a convenience store on our way back from the police station.


    "I mean, even if you suddenly tell me to live here..." Bewildered, I looked around. The walls were decorated with strange items that seemed to be souvenirs from overseas, and antiques and pieces of fine art were littered here and there around the room.


    Was he into traveling, or was he a hoarder? The idea of living here with this total stranger was starting to make my head hurt.


    "Ha-ha. Don''t overthink it, grade-schooler," the man said, calling me by a random title. Or maybe it was more of a category. "Don''t get attached to ideas like ''home'' or ''ces to belong.'' You''re in elementary school, so just think of it as...a secret base here. Yeah. That''s true for me, too," Danny added.


    Apparently, he had several ces, and this apartment was just one of them. Judging from all the souvenirs lying around, it looked like he really did spend most of his time traveling.


    "Then you''re not always going to be here?" I pulled a floor cushion over and sat down a little ways from him.


    "That''s right. Don''t expect me to take care of you, got it?"


    "...So first you introduce yourself as family, and then you say that?" Was this any better than the strict group living situation at the facility?


    "Well, if you insist. I''ll pay the rent, the electricity bill, and the water bill. I am the adult here, after all."


    "That''s not a very mature way to put it. ...What about living expenses?" "You''re going to earn those yourself. Oh, I''m not telling you to go get a job.


    I''ll bring work home, and you''ll help me out with it. It''ll bepensation," Danny said, knocking back his beer.


    "...I''m still in grade school, remember?"


    "In this world, there are tons of eleven-year-olds who work. Don''t assume yourmon sense is gonna be normal everywhere."


    <i>You talk like you''ve seen it</i>. I almost said it aloud, sarcastically, then realized he actually might have. What had this guy seen in his travels around the globe?


    "Let''s set some house rules."


    As if the man had just read my mind, he made a proposal:


    "While we''re both using this as a home base, let''s not pry into each other''s affairs."


    Saying that was the only rule, Danny told me to promise. He looked serious. "If it''s important enough to be your only rule, I''m guessing you have some


    sort of <i>secret </i>you really don''t want strangers to know?"


    "Ha-ha! You''re sharp, kid!" The manughed off my amateur deduction like it was straight out of aedy movie.


    We''d only met half an hour ago, but my first impression of him had been that he was going to be tiring to be around. He had yet to prove me wrong.


    "There''s one more thing I want to ask." He''d just made me promise not to pry, but he was the one who dragged me here today unwarranted. I should be allowed at least one more question, so I asked: "Why did you take me in?"


    He''d said he was family, but that had to be a lie. In this instance, what benefit was there in taking me in?


    No, if he''d been after physicalbor, there were better candidates out there. Was he just helping a kid who''d drawn a bad lot in life? Since the police had acknowledged him, was this a legal, legitimate foster arrangement? But nobody had said anything about it to me...


    "You always look for the reasons behind everything. You''re a smart kid." The man gazed at me and narrowed his eyes. And then: "Remember that mindset,


    and someday, try to solve that mystery."


    He grinned, shing his white teeth. In the end, he never answered my question.


    "Sorry. It''s an adults-only sort of thing." "...That''s my least favorite phrase ever."


    "Ha-ha! I see. Then as an apology, we''ll get whatever you want for dinner. What sounds good?" The man crushed his empty beer can in his hand and reached for another one.


    Something urred to me as I watched him. "I always wanted to order a pizza," I said.


    When I told him to make it arge, the man said, "I figured you''d say that, so I ordered it already. It''ll be here in five." Heughed, cell phone in hand.


    That was how my strange life with Danny began.

 Chapter 114: A certain boy’s tale 1

    <h4>Chapter 114: A certain boy¡¯s tale 1</h4>


    <strong> </strong>


    Singapore: a hot, humid country where it feels like summer all year round. Right now, the four of us were in one of itsmuter towns.


    "My, that looks delicious!"


    We were sitting in an eatery that faced the street, and a pleasant wind was blowing through. Across from me, Saikawa energetically pped her hands together over her lunch. "Thanks for the food!"


    From what I heard, it had won a star in a world-famous restaurant guidebook, but it was in a ce resembling a food court on the first floor of an apartment building. Apparently, that was reallymon here. It reminded me how different cultures could be.


    "Haaaah. Lunch. Finally." Charlie shot me a cranky look across the table. "It''s incredible how just having a certain someone around can ruin our ns."


    Grumbling about how it was a total nuisance, she started slurping her pork noodles.


    She seemed to have a problem with the fact that I''d identally caught a


    <i>pickpocket </i>on our way to the eatery, and dealing with it had taken up time. "Easy, easy. We''re still ahead of schedule. No harm done." From the seat next


    to mine, Natsunagi tried to calm Charlie down. She was smiling a bit awkwardly.


    The reason we''de to Singapore was because of a conference with high- ranking officials from the Federation Government that was scheduled to take ce at six o''clock that evening. There, they would address Nagisa Natsunagi''s appointment as a Tuner. They were going to hand down a formal decision about whether it was appropriate to make her the new Ace Detective.


    "It could end up being a tough debate. Let''s recharge while we''ve got the chance." Telling myself that as much as the rest of them, I stabbed a big piece of chicken with my fork.


    "The Ace Detective, huh...?" Natsunagi gazed into the distance. She was probably mulling over the many nuances of that title. If a new Ace Detective was being appointed, it meant that someone else had stepped down from the position.


    The name of that person was Siesta.


    A month ago, Siesta had retaken her heart and joined our final battle against Seed, the world''s enemy. Ultimately, through the sacrifice of our former enemy Hel, Seed had been sealed within an enormous tree, and our long story hade to an end. ¡ªOr it should have, anyway.


    After that fight, <i>certain circumstances </i>had forced Siesta to fall asleep, and she''d been asleep ever since. Even now, she was in Japan, napping. We''d decided not to bring the curtain down on this tale until we found a way to wake her up.


    "We''re just getting started, aren''t we?" Next to me, Natsunagi pped her cheeks with her hands, psyching herself up.


    True, there were things that we''d lost, and things that had changed. But we''d managed to hold on to a few things, too.


    "Kimizuka? Is something wrong?" Natsunagi tilted her head, looking puzzled.


    The wind blew, ruffling her hair softly. She had cut her hair short.


    I felt as if I''d caught a glimpse of her other face, the one that had once lived inside her.


    "Nah, I was just thinking beautiful girls look great with any haircut."


    "...Have you always been the type to say things like that without blushing, Kimizuka?" she asked in a small, weak voice.


    "I figured out that everything goes more smoothly when I''m honest."


    The former Ace Detective was the one who taught me that pacing was important. Anybody could see that exacerbating problems by saying things I didn''t actually think, or not saying what I did think, would just make people hate me. Most of all, it wouldn''t help anyone who was involved. I''d learned as much over the past several months, through several various incidents.


    "In that case, Kimizuka,pliment me, too!" Saikawa said, raising her hand and butting into our conversation.


    "I don''t get what ''in that case'' means here."


    "Oh,e on, Kimizuka. Idols are constantly hungry for approval."


    "They shouldn''t say things like that with a straight face."


    Well, never mind. Pacing matters here, too.


    Gazing steadily across the table at Saikawa, Iplimented her on everything I could think of: the nails she''d clearly put a ton of work into, the hairstyle she''d tried out for the first time, her new shampoo, and the scent of her perfume.


    "...Oh, yes, I see. U-um, thank you very much..."


    "Hey, Saikawa. Why did your face tense up? And why did you scoot your chair back a bit?"


    That''s weird. Iplimented her because she told me to. This is way too unf


    ¡ª


    "No, getting turned off by that ispletely appropriate," Natsunagi said with a look of disgust before I could give my usual sigh. "That''s just freaky. A girl gets scared when you''re paying that close attention."


    "But a detective''s assistant has to be able to observe people, right?" "We''re telling you not to do that with girls!"


    Natsunagi and Saikawa clung to each other, saying "That''s really scary," and shooting me cold looks.


    What did I do to deserve this treatment, huh?


    "Sheesh. Charlie, it looks like it''s two against two here." "Why are you assuming I''m on your side, Kimizuka?"


    Even the blond agent, the member of this group I''d known the longest, stared at me in disgust.


    "You know, Charlie, your birthday''sing up. Is there anything you want?" "And now you''re trying to win me over with presents?! ...Actually, why do


    you know when my birthday is, Kimizuka?"


    It didn''t really mean anything. I was partnered with a detective who was really big on celebrating anniversaries, that''s all.


    "K-Kimizuka actually knows when my birthday is... Wait, why am I kind of happy about that? It''s such a stupid little..."


    "Yui! Quit doing stupid voice-overs for me!" Using her hands, Charlie messed up Saikawa''s hair.


    "Sorry~~," Saikawa said, but she was wearing a joyful smile.


    I bet watching a peaceful scene like this when you''re eating makes it taste 20 percent better.


    "You didn''t give me a present." Ignoring the two of them, Natsunagi looked at me as if to say something more.


    If I recalled, her birthday was¡ªJune 7.


    That had been right before she and I met in that ssroom after school, and


    she''d asked me to find the original owner of her heart. "Yours will have to wait until next year."


    "You mean we''ll be together next year, too?" For some reason, Natsunagi seemed happy. She tucked her hair behind her ears.


    Next year. If all went well, we would have graduated high school by then.


    What would our lives be like? Would all our wishes havee true?


    "Mine is in December, so you have plenty of time!" Saikawa, who''d apparently been eavesdropping, announced in hope for a birthday present next.


    "Do you even have anything else you want, Saikawa?"


    Just looking at her mansion, you''d figure she already had everything.


    "That may be true for physical things, but in exchange, there''s, um, something I want to do..." Uncharacteristically, she faltered. Then she nced up at us. "I''d like to have a birthday party with all of you."


    Saikawa hadn''t grown up taking that sort of thing for granted, and she said her wish timidly.


    "We''ll do it! We''re absolutely having one!" Jumping up with a tter, Natsunagi reached across the table and hugged Saikawa.


    For a moment, Saikawa seemed startled, then relieved.


    One thing had led to another and another and another, but through it all, Natsunagi and Saikawa had be fast friends as well.


    "You don''t need in on that?"


    The awkward blond girl was watching those two from up close, and she kept putting out her hand, hesitating, then retracting it. She didn''t seem to have the courage to jump into that circle just yet.


    "I''m fine," Charlie murmured softly, as if she''d given up. Even so, she took out a notebook and started to write something into her schedule for some future date.


    "...What?"


    Oh, nothing. I just thought <i>She sure isn''t honest, huh. </i>She''s a lot like I used to be.


    "Come to think of it, has your birthday passed already, Kimizuka? I would have wanted to celebrate that as well," Saikawa said.


    "Kimizuka''s is May fifth." "Charlie, why did you answer that?" <i>And, what, you know my birthday?</i>


    "Huh. That''s Children''s Day." Saikawa raised her iced tea to her lips. And then... "By the way, what were you like as a child, Kimizuka?"


    That question made the other two look toward me again.


    Natsunagi in particr seemed suddenly interested. "Actually, yes, I''m a bit curious about that, too. I only know what you were like after you met Siesta, Kimizuka."


    "Yeah, I guess I hadn''t talked about my past that much."


    My childhood before I left on that journey with Siesta, and my memories from my birthdays¡ªa few fragmented episodes that I''d shut away in the depths of my mind resurfaced for the first time in ages.


    "The thing is, I don''t have any interesting stories."


    Those memories weren''t important enough to tell anyone about, which meant that I wasn''t going to say anything until someone asked.


    "We''re not looking for something ''interesting.''" Unexpectedly, Charlie averted her eyes and lowered the bar for me.


    She wasn''t the only one.


    "We just want to know more about you, Kimizuka." I was drawn to Natsunagi''s smile and what she said. ...Yeah, that''s right. It was the same when I first met her, in that ssroom after school.


    "So tell us." She smiled at me gently.


    Now that she''d said that, I had to do it. Hel''s "word-soul"¡ªno, Natsunagi''s heartfelt words¡ªwould inexorably spur me on until I copsed.


    "The story may be a little long, is that okay?"


    It just so happened that we had plenty of time before the next item on our agenda.


    So, what should I start with?


    I began by remembering things that had happened a few years back, one by one.

 Chapter 115: A certain girl’s tale 1

    <h4>Chapter 115: A certain girl¡¯s tale 1</h4>


    <strong> </strong>


    "Good morning, Mistress Siesta."


    After changing the water and refilling the vase with fresh water for the flowers, I set the vase down near the window, then turned to the individual who was snoozing away peacefully on the bed. The girl, <i>whose face was identical to my own</i>, was napping in the afternoon sunlight with a smile on her face.


    She didn''t respond to my voice. She didn''t wake up. Her name¡ªor code name, rather¡ªwas Siesta. The detective who''d saved the world.


    "The calendar says it''s autumn, but the days are still hot," I said. I gazed out the window, thinking of the great tree that towered somewhere, far away. Was the lingering heat of this September sun pouring down over the man and woman who''d once detested light?


    Exposure to sunlight had destroyed both Seed''s cells and Hel, Nagisa Natsunagi''s alter who had shone brilliantly herself. The idea that those two were now in the trunk of a tree reaching up into the sky, with dazzling sunlight pouring down around them, struck me as rather ironic and sad.


    They must have made peace with the sun by now, though. If they hadn''t, that tree would never have grown so big. The prince and the swallow must be sleeping peacefully in the warm sunlight.


    Just as Mistress Siesta was now. "............. "


    I sat down in a nearby chair and looked at the white-haired girl on the bed.


    After that final battle a month ago, Mistress Siesta should have reached her <i>happy ending</i>. The heart that Hel had once stolen from her had been returned, and Stephen Bluefield the Inventor had saved both her life and Nagisa''s. Then,


    with Kimihiko resuming his ce as her assistant, she would have embarked on a new adventure.


    That was the ending everyone had wanted, but one solitary thing had prevented it: the "seed" buried in her heart. Seed had given it to her, and it would continue growing as long as she was conscious. Eventually it would sprout, take over her body, and turn her into a monster.


    The seed had already sunk its roots deep into her heart, and even Stephen hadn''t been able to extract it. The only way to keep Mistress Siesta alive had been to render her unconscious. It was a stopgap measure, but if the seed only grew while she was awake, then we simply had to make sure she stayed asleep.


    Of course, it doesn''t solve the main problem. We might only be postponing an inevitable good-bye.


    ...<i>Even so</i>, I thought. Someday, we might find a way to remove that seed. The one who could do it might be an idol singer somewhere, or an agent, or the new detective, or her assistant. Someday, somebody might wake Mistress Siesta from her deep afternoon nap.


    As I daydreamed about that "someday," I''d spent yet another day changing the water in the vase and gazing at Mistress Siesta''s sleeping face. Our features might be identical, but my mistress''s expression was far gentler than mine.


    "Yes, for a little while, I''ll have that sleeping face all to myself."


    At present, Kimihiko Kimizuka, Nagisa Natsunagi, Yui Saikawa, and Charlotte Arisaka Anderson had left Japan for a certain country in Southeast Asia. They''d been summoned by the Federation Government, to determine whether Nagisa would be allowed to be the new Ace Detective.


    The group was scheduled to return soon, provided everything went smoothly. For the past few days, as Mistress Siesta''s former maid, I had been taking care of her for them.


    ...I''d never dreamed that I''d still be at Mistress Siesta''s side at this point. "I didn''t think I would live this long, either."


    I had originally been an artificial intelligence created by Stephen the Inventor, who had installed me in Siesta''s borrowed body. My only reason for existing had been to convey herst wish to Kimihiko and the other three, and to help them resolve their lingering issues and grow.


    However, the next thing I knew, Kimihiko had dered his intent to break a taboo: He would bring Mistress Siesta back to life. Then, although it had required many sacrifices, he''d actually done it. Somewhere along the way, I had been pulled into his n. I had unintentionally acquired a new body, and now


    here I was, gazing at my mistress''s quiet face.


    "Was this part of your n as well, Mistress Siesta?"


    Naturally, she couldn''t have predicted a future in which she would be brought back to life. Even so, I had been created solely to help with her mission; it wouldn''t have been odd for her to extend a helping hand out of concern for me. After all, that was the sort of detective she had been.


    In addition, while the Ace Detective kept a variety of futures in mind, she treasured the past as well.


    I nced at the clock on the wall. Once I was sure that it wasn''t yet time for the regr contact from Kimihiko''s group, I picked up a certain journal. Mistress Siesta had given it to me earlier, through Stephen.


    Information about her past was stored in my database. However, it was nice to pick up the physical book sometimes, letting my thoughts travel back in time through the blurred strokes of the ballpoint pen.


    "Forgive me, Mistress Siesta. I won''t show it to anyone else." This was a memory, a record, between the two of us.


    The detective''s secret tale that even the assistant who''d traveled with her for three years didn''t know about.


    The journal began on a certain date, four years ago.

 Chapter 116 - 1.1

    <h4>Chapter 116: Chapter 1.1</h4>


    <strong>April 24 Siesta</strong>


    "Code name: Siesta. I see you''vee."


    That day, in response to a summons from the Federation Government, I was visiting the Mizoev Federation''s embassy in Ennd. They''d brought me to arge room, and now I was gazing at a projected image.


    Since they''d gone to the trouble of summoning me, I''d thought the individual might be here in person. However, as usual, <i>she </i>was sending this transmission from a distant foreign country. The high-ranking government official was dressed in a kimono, and she wore a mask that hid her face. "We haven''t spoken face-to-face since you were appointed Ace Detective. Have you been well since then?"


    Fine words from someone who wouldn''t show her face. She also didn''t sound particrly concerned about me. Still, that was how it always went between <i>my group </i>and <i>her group</i>. Tuners and the Federation Government had a business rtionship with each other: Our greatest and only goal was to protect the world from crises.


    "Yes, Ice Doll, it''s been a long time," I said, responding with her code name. I hadn''t taken a seat. "It''s been a year since you and your people gave me the position of Ace Detective. However, understand that no matter what title I bear, it won''t change what I do."


    My response to her tedious greeting made the woman on the screen give a little snort. What did her face look like under that mask? Her voice made her seem fairly old, but I sensed craftiness in it, too.


    "Seed''s subjugation. We also pray that you will seed in that endeavor, as the Ace Detective. Still, what is the reason for this preupation of yours?" Ice Doll asked.


    That''s right: I''d been pursuing the primordial seed longer than I''d been a Tuner. The title of Ace Detective had nothing to do with it. My mission, which I''d set for myself, was to take down Seed and his pseudohumans.


    However, securing a position as a Tuner had widened my horizons considerably. I wouldn''t have been able to openly own a gun otherwise. Hence, I


    didn''t find it to be a hardship to work with the Federation Government.


    "Do you have some sort of personal score to settle with the primordial seed?" I''d fallen silent, and Ice Doll pressed me for an answer.


    "...I couldn''t say. However, it''s my mission to defeat him. It''s engraved in my DNA. That''s all."


    Why was I so obsessed with Seed? To tell the truth, even I didn''t know. However, I was missing several months'' worth of memories from a certain year. I thought there must be some secret hidden within them, but those lost memories showed no sign of returning.


    Even so, my instincts remembered the enemy''s ominous presence. I pursued Seed, or found myself pursued by various groups for unfathomable reasons, and somewhere along the way¡ªwas it because I kept solving cases wherever I went?


    ¡ªI''d been given the title of Tuner and officially tasked with defeating Seed. "And? What did you need today?" I asked, prodding Ice Doll to get to the


    point. I hadn''t made any progress to speak of in subjugating Seed. I also hadn''t been told that I was obligated to report in.


    As a matter of fact, from what I''d heard, Tuners didn''t have much direct contact with the Federation Government. As a rule, members of the government didn''t even put in appearances at Federal Councils, the gatherings of Tuners. We Tuners were a very independent group.


    "Yes. About that, Siesta." Ice Doll said. "I would like you to travel to Japan." "...Japan? Why me?"


    How was that Asian ind nation rted? I hadn''t heard anything about Seed lurking there.


    "There''s a man we would like the Ace Detective to catch," Ice Doll said, and the screen changed. It now showed a photo of a man with wavy hair and a beard; he seemed to be in histe thirties. His shoes were dirty, his shirt was wrinkled, and he wore a top hat pulled down low. In the brief glimpses of his eyes, I caught sight of something like amusement. I thought back, but I couldn''t remember seeing him before.


    "Danny Bryant." Ice Doll''s face returned, although she kept the man''s photo in a corner of the screen. "He worked for the government once and is now suspected of being a spy. A year ago, he took ssified information regarding the Federation Government and fled. Thest ce he was sighted was..."


    "Japan?"


    Ice Doll gave a small nod. "That''s right. For the past year, we''ve continued searching for him using various methods, but we''ve run out of leads. Which is


    why we''re requesting your help."


    Indeed, depending on what information Danny had taken, this might count as a "global crisis," a job for the Tuners. But...


    "When you appointed me as a Tunerst year, you told me that each great crisis was always handled by a single Tuner."


    The world was constantly facing crises, and as a rule, Tuners focused on the one that had been assigned to them. Some¡ªsuch as the Information Broker¡ª supported other Tuners, but in broad terms, you could say that they also had a single job to focus on.


    The role currently assigned to me as the Ace Detective was to destroy the primordial seed. And yet now, someone from the government was giving me apletely different job: apprehend a spy who had fled to Japan. Was that all right?


    "As I said, this is a personal request." Ice Doll''s voice hinted at a smile. "<i>Detective Siesta</i>, I would like you to ept this job for me."


    ...<i>I see. </i>In spite of myself, I was impressed by her approach.


    For more than a year, I''d made a living by working as an ordinary detective while I pursued Seed. That was probably part of the reason they''d chosen me to be the Ace Detective. That said...


    "You''re going to rely on a kid? Aren''t you embarrassed?"


    In some countries, I was still young enough that I''d have to be in school. How stubborn would this crafty old official be with a <i>little girl </i>like me?


    "You, a child? Those who''ve lived a life ten times more eventful than others can''t be measured by the same yardstick as regr boys and girls."


    "I know you''re talking about mental age, but don''t make me over a hundred, all right?"


    "Before long, you''ll understand how marvelous aging is."


    I didn''t really trust the person who''d said that, so I couldn''t just easily agree.


    If the Information Broker had made that remark, for example, would I have believed it? If I recalled correctly, he''d lived twice as long as the average human. As a matter of fact, since I was still young, the world was probably bursting with things I hadn''t seen yet.


    "...All right. I''ll ept the request."


    I wasn''t entirely convinced, but if she was asking for my help as a detective, I didn''t really have a choice. Besides, finding people is what detectives do best. Imitted Danny''s face to memory. She didn''t even have to send me the data; I could remember that much.


    "I thought you would."


    There she went again. I had a hunch I''d been cleverly tricked, but either way, I''d wanted to visit Japan. This might be a perfect opportunity.


    "...Why did I want to go to Japan?"


    Out of nowhere, that question crossed my mind. I had vaguely felt that I''d always wanted to, but now that I was thinking about it, I had no idea why. Why did something about that country strike me as nostalgic?


    "We''ll book a flight for the day after tomorrow. Can you be ready by then?"


    Ice Doll didn''t seem to have heard me talking to myself. On the other side of the screen, she''d begun typing on a keyboard.


    "No, make it the first flight tomorrow," I said, and the woman''s hands paused. "I only have one trunk. I''m always ready to go anywhere, at any time."


    "...How reassuring."


    I had thought about going to that clock tower in London this evening, though. I wouldn''t be seeing the younger Tuner who lived there for a while. In this day and age, there were countless ways to get in touch long-distance, but I thought I''d at least have a farewell party before I left. ...Although I suspect she''d probably cry a whole lot.


    Actually, would she have predicted this already? Assuming my departure counted as a global crisis to her, that is.


    "By the way, may I ask one thing?" On the screen, the official was preparing to leave the room when I spoke. "What sort of ssified information did this Danny Bryant fellow steal?"


    There was silence for a few seconds.


    If a high-ranking government official was willing to make a <i>personal request </i>to find him, what sort of important Federation Government secrets had this spy gotten his hands on? Since I''d taken the job, I wanted her to tell me at least that much. However...Ice Doll said nothing.


    "...So you can''t tell me at this point?" Her silence was my answer.


    "In that case, if I manage to bring him here, tell me then," I said, adding that would be mypensation for taking on her request.


    Considering the size of the job, they should let me get away with being a little underhanded.


    "You really aren''t a child." Ice Doll smiled coldly.


    "No, I''m still young enough to enjoy ying make-believe, ma''am." Being carefully polite, I turned on my heel and started to leave. "By the way..." I


    began, assuming the official was still ring at me on the screen behind me. "How is life in the Mizoev Federation?"


    Silence fell again. There was no answer.


    In that case, I didn''t have time to waste on this. Keeping my back to the screen, I began to walk away.


    "Well, it''s marvelous, simply wonderful," she said casually. "I''d like to invite you here as well someday."


    I was sure she didn''t mean a word of it.


    After that, I visited the clock tower where my dear prot¨¦g¨¦ lived. After I told her I''d be leaving the country for a while (She cried, as I''d thought she would. It was adorable), I returned to my apartment and packed.


    It was a furnished apartment with its own appliances, so it didn''t take me long to get ready to leave. I simply packed my personal belongings into my trunk, and that was that. Now all I''d have to do tomorrow morning was leave for the airport.


    "I guess I won''t be seeing this town again for a while."


    I opened the window and looked out at the street, which was illuminated by a bright full moon. I felt a little guilty about leaving my precious prot¨¦g¨¦ by herself, but... Either way, since I''d be fighting SPES in earnest from now on, this secondment might be a perfect opportunity.


    "It''s cold."


    In Ennd, the night wind was still chilly at this time of year. I closed the window and drew the curtains.


    It was about time I went to bed. If I waste for my flight after boldly dering I was ready to go, I''d tarnish the name of the Ace Detective. With that thought in mind, I walked toward my bed¡ª And just then, I felt a breeze on my back. Even though I''d closed the window.


    "Lock up carefully. The wolvese out at night."


    Had I forgotten to lock it? No, things like that were probably useless in <i>his</i>


    case. Sighing, I made my way to my bed and crawled under the covers. "Ignoring me? How cruel. Or are you implying that you want the wolf to


    attack you?"


    The man was as talkative as ever.


    Reluctantly, I sat up in bed. "You''re not a werewolf, Scarlet. You''re a


    vampire."


    A man in a white suit was leaning against the wall in a dark corner of the room. Blood stained the corners of his lips.


    "Hm? Oh, excuse me. I haven''t killed anyone, mind you." Registering my gaze, Scarlet wiped the blood away with his handkerchief and defended himself. "Someone only shared a little blood with me. If that was forbidden, too, I wouldn''t be able to survive in this world." Pointing out that he didn''t have much choice, Scarlet tried to justify his actions. I knew he didn''t choose to live this way because he wanted to, but I wasn''t in any position to decide whether it was right or wrong to begin with.


    "And? What do you need? It''ste," I said, giving a little yawn. Granted, he only ever appeared at night anyway.


    "Does a husband need a reason to visit his wife?"


    There he went again. I''d first met Scarlet a year ago, at my first-ever Federal Council. He''d been a Tuner much, much longer than I had. Ever since he firstid eyes on me, he''d taken every chance he could find to talk to me, and at this point he was shamelessly stalking me. I''d heard that he was based in London now. It couldn''t be because I was there, could it?


    "How old are you? People are going to start calling you a pedophile."


    I wasn''t old enough to get married yet anyway. ...Although that might not be true in some countries.


    "To vampires, all humans are babes in arms." Scarlet gave a smug smile. That''s one of his specialties: smiling pretentiously despite beingpletely uncool. "Any bride of mine must be strong. That''s an absolute requirement. And you meet it."


    I wasn''t so sure. In terms of female Tuners, Fuubi was definitely better than me.


    "What do you say? If you''ll be my woman, I''ll give you half the world." "You''ve yed too many RPGs," I said by way of refusal.


    Scarlet gave another littleugh and went over to the window. Then... "I hear the higher-ups said something to you."


    His tone had changed slightly. He meant my exchange with Ice Doll.


    Apparently, that was the reason behind his visit. "Were you lurking in a shadow to eavesdrop?"


    "Ha! If only." Scarlet gave a thin smile. "If I could travel between shadows like the vampires found in fiction, I''d have it much easier." He can make it look like he''s melting into the shadows, but he can''t make it happen for real.


    The wings he usually kept inside his body created those illusions. They can generate several hundred million patterns of light and darkness, bending light at will and tricking the human eye into believing that Scarlet has emerged from the shadows, or vanished into them. The unreality of vampires is a product of science. Yes, his kind was originally created by¡ª


    "We are not their ves."


    Standing under the window and its moonlit view, Scarlet gazed at me. By "their," he probably meant the Federation Government officials. Had he been listening from the other side of the door? Or had he intercepted the transmission? He didn''t seem happy about the conversation I''d had with Ice Doll. "The Federation Government and the Tuners are supposed to be equal, independent organizations. If they are giving you orders, there must be something behind it."


    No, it wasn''t dissatisfaction. It was more like... "If they''re unjustly making you obey, I''ll¡ª"


    "It''s all right." I rejected the proposal before Scarlet finished. "I epted this job of my own free will, as a detective."


    Not as the Ace Detective.


    "Detectives are earnest in every age, I see." Scarlet gave a pointed shrug.


    Seeing him do things like this made me think he was no different from humans. ...Although I had no idea whether a vampire would be happy to hear that.


    "Don''t overwork or overestimate yourself. There are countless heroes in this world, far more than just the Tuners. If one of us cuts corners, it won''t be much of an issue."


    It sounded as if Scarlet hadn''t really understood what I meant. I wasn''t acting as a Tuner at all; my actions were driven by my own personal sense of mission.


    ...Or maybe he was trying to tell me that I didn''t need to be bound by that type of justice, either. In any case...


    "Thank you for worrying about me."


    I seemed to have caught Scarlet by surprise. His golden eyes widened slightly. "Letting you go really would be a waste." His surprise softened into an expression of regret.


    <i>It''s not as if you ever caught me in the first ce.</i>


    Then, with his usual smug smile, Scarlet sprouted ck wings.


    "You''re going already?" I asked, guessing the vampire had said all he''de to say.


    "I''m off to kill my people again."


    That was the mission Scarlet had been assigned. "It''s for the sake of a noble cause."


    Why had Scarlet, who didn''t like the humans of the Federation Government and the same man who''d told me there was no need to be bound by justice, epted the duty of killing his fellow vampires on the pretext of "a noble cause"?


    How many people actually knew the answer to that? "Who does this ''noble cause'' of yours really benefit?" At this point, the vampire''srge back told me nothing.


    He''d told me about <i>his n </i>once, though, and I did know a few things. One: No living human could be the "bride" he spoke of.


    Two: When he said, "I''ll give you half the world," he''d beenpletely serious.


    Three: The fact that he would be an enemy of the world was already written in the sacred text.


    The rest was my own deduction.


    If I defeated Seed someday, the next mission the Ace Detective was assigned would probably be¡ª


    "The world''s orbit is out of alignment¡ªbut a day wille when it is corrected."


    Setting his hand on the window, Scarlet looked back.


    "On that day, I would like my precious bride to watch and see which of us disappears, at least."

 Chapter 117 - 1.2

    <h4>Chapter 117: Chapter 1.2</h4>


    <strong>April 26 Siesta</strong>


    In the arrivals lobby of the airport after my flight from Ennd, the first thing I had to do¡ªwith my carry-on bag in one hand¡ªwas answer the phone nonstop. "All right. ...Yes. Yes, okay, go ahead and rent the shop."


    I''d just finished a twelve-hour flight, and now I had to return all the calls that hade in while I was on the ne. That had been thest of them, though. I''d probably be in Japan for a while, so I''d just arranged for a ce to stay.


    "¡ªIt''s Japan."


    Once I''d ended the call, I started to hear the noises of the crowd around me. Naturally, everyone was speaking Japanese, and I felt a twinge of nostalgia¡ª


    although I couldn''t say why. It was true that I''d visited Japan a few times before, but had any of those memories been vivid enough to make me homesick?


    I was thinking about it rather absently, when¡ª "Bwuff!"


    <i>Bwuff?</i>


    Looking down, I saw the face of a little girl near my stomach. She''d been running around, and she''d crashed into me before she could stop.


    "Are you all right? It''s okay. You''re fine, it doesn''t hurt," I said. I crouched down to be at the same eye level as her.


    She looked about five years old, and her flushed cheeks were as soft as mochi.


    <i>Oh, she is going to cry</i>, I thought immediately. "...Daddy''s gone."


    Ah, so she was lost. That''s why she''d been running around in a panic. Her voice was hoarse, and somehow, just taking her to the information center didn''t feel right.


    "Why don''t youe over here with me?"


    The airport lobby was crowded. Holding the little girl''s hand, I found an empty bench, had her sit down, then handed her a drink I''d bought from a vending machine. Her eyes lit up, and she started to gulp it down, holding the can with both hands. She must have been really thirsty; she was swallowing noisily.


    Just as I was about to ask if it tasted good, it hit me: For the past few minutes, I''d been speaking Japanese quite naturally.


    ...That''s right. I''d spoken Japanese with a friend like this, long ago. Maybe that exined the nostalgia.


    "...A friend?"


    A friend who spoke Japanese. Who on earth had it been?


    When had I had friends?


    "Lady? Are you okay? It''s okay." The little girl was watching me in confusion.


    Good grief. Now I''d made a lost child worry about me. Pathetic.


    "Where did you lose your dad?" I asked as gently as I could, trying my best not to sound like I was interrogating her.


    "Near the souvenir shop," she answered. "Daddy''s always wandering off." She insisted that her father was the one who''d strayed away. "When I asked the people in the store, they said he''d left his wallet at the cash register."


    That was her story, and she was sticking to it.


    However, in the wallet the girl had shown me, I found a note with an address and telephone number. What a practical parent. In that case, calling the phone number would probably solve this. I took out my smartphone, but...


    "He isn''t picking up."


    Was he looking for his daughter so frantically that he hadn''t noticed the call?


    I really wished the human race would hurry up and evolve the power of telepathy.


    "Do you think he''s okay?" The girl was starting to look uneasy again. She was holding a pack of candy and had chocte smeared around her mouth. Had she lost sight of her father while she was sampling it, or in the middle of buying souvenirs?


    "Shall we go look for the souvenir shop?"


    I''d just taken the girl''s hand and gotten to my feet when¡ª "Oh! Mommy!"


    Slipping free from my fingers, the girl ran toward a woman. So her mom had been here, too.


    It seems there wouldn''t be any need for a detective this time. Well, that was fine. With a small sigh of relief, I started to walk away.


    "I found Daddy," the girl''s mother said.


    My legs froze. When I looked back, a man who didn''t seem much older than forty had joined the two of them. "Sorry for the trouble," he said, smiling wryly.


    <i>Early-onset dementia.</i>


    The little girl''s father really had been the one who was lost. The mother had found him somewhere and brought him back.


    The note with the address and phone number had been in the wallet as a safeguard for an individual with dementia, just in case they wandered off. Since I''d heard the story from a child, I''d ignored her ims and thought of a situation that worked using my ownmon sense instead.


    "That was a terrible mistake to make as a detective, wasn''t it?" Yeah, I''d flunked this one.


    I still had a long way to go. I was nowhere near perfect. My hands couldn''t quite pull a client back to safety from the edge of a cliff. My eyes weren''t trained enough to spot people buried under rubble.


    At this point, I needed to doubt my ownmon sense.


    Or rather, maybe because it wasmon sense, the idea of doubting it hadn''t even urred to me.


    Then what should I do? Think. Think. Think,e up with a hypothesis, test it, fail again probably, and finally find the answer. I''d keep improving myself, day after day, and be a detective who could protect her clients'' interests. One who could make wishese true.


    "Right now, I have a job to do."


    After I''d watched the family leave, I took out my phone again. Now that I''dnded in Japan, I''d been tasked with finding a man named Danny Bryant who''d disappeared a year ago.


    At present, I had no clues whatsoever. I needed a lead. On that thought, I called a certain acquaintance.


    "Hello. Would you like to have tea with me?''


    An hourter.


    Once I''d taken a taxi to my next destination, I promptly met up with the person I''d just called, and the two of us had tea together like old friends. ...Or that was how it should have gone.


    "I''m impressed you had the nerve to walk through that door."


    We were in a reception room at the police station. The other guest at my tea party was sitting across from me, drumming her fingers on the table in an irritated manner.


    "Don''t be so cold. The two of us go way back."


    "Yeah, we''ve tried to kill each other and everything." The woman¡ªa redheaded police officer¡ªabruptly pulled a gun and pointed it at me.


    Now and even back then, I''ve always been the one who seemed likely to get killed. "If you''re going to draw a weapon, shouldn''t you consider where you are first?"


    "Conveniently, this room has no security cameras." "They''ll figure it out from the noise."


    "I''ve got a silencer. It won''t be a problem."


    "Isn''t the fact that you''ve modified a department-issued gun enough of a problem already?"


    She was still scowling, but she settled back into her seat. This officer, who wasn''t behaving like a police officer at all, was Fuubi Kase.


    Publicly, she was a Japanese policewoman, but she had a second, private identity as the globe-trotting Assassin. Like me, Fuubi Kase was a Tuner.


    As the Assassin, most of her jobs consisted of killing targets on orders from the Federation Government. As one of those targets, I''d spent my days fleeing


    from her.


    Personally, I considered our past to be water under the bridge. I wanted to cooperate and get along as work colleagues, but Fuubi seemed to still have beef with me. "First you slipped through my fingers, and now you''re a fellow Tuner. What are the higher-ups thinking?"


    The focus of her annoyance shifted; the government officials who''d ordered my assassination had turned around and made me one of their pawns, and she didn''t like that, either. With an aggressive flick of her lighter, she lit a cigar. "And you¡ªhow are you okay with this? You''re getting worked like a dog by the same people who ordered a hit on you."


    Good point. If that were the whole picture, I seemed like an incredibly amodating person. But...


    "The fact that they were after my life helped mee up with a big theory about a possibility that had always worried me."


    Fuubi gazed steadily at me, as if she was trying to figure out what I was after. "When you and your people started targeting me, I was hunting Seed for


    personal reasons. That should have been considered the right thing to do, yet there you were, the symbol of justice, trying to kill me. I couldn''t understand it.


    ...Not at first." I took a sip of my tea. "After thinking it through, I deduced it must be because my survival would benefit Seed. I could be a vessel that would help him survive. You were trying to kill me before that happened."


    I was missing several months'' worth of memories. They were probably memories of the days I''d spent with Seed, at that facility his people had built. However, it wasn''t until Fuubi started trying to kill me that I realized I might have been cultivated as Seed''s vessel.


    "As a result, I''m actually grateful to you. Because you attempted to eliminate me, I managed to puzzle out my own identity."


    The Federation Government had tried to wither Seed indirectly by killing me. However, when I kept defying their expectations and escaping from the Assassin, they''d decided to make me a Tuner and send me to subjugate Seed instead. If you looked at it that way, there was nothing inconsistent about it.


    "Well, aren''t you mature." Fuubi dully exhaled a puff of smoke.


    In that case, everything from this point on would be childish nonsense. "There''s just one thing that bothers me," I said. Fuubi turned to look at me.


    "Our superiors ordered you to assassinate me because I was Seed''s vessel. How do you suppose they knew that?"


    They had the Oracles'' sacred text, which foretold all threats to the world. I''d heard it was hard for even the government''s people to get a look at it, though.


    The other day, Ice Doll didn''t seem to be aware of the history Seed and I shared. Had that only been an act? Or did someone else know the truth, and they simply hadn''t told her?


    "Don''t tell me you''re asking me to look into all of that for you. Is that why you came here?" Fuubi seemed extremely annoyed at the prospect.


    "No, I know this isn''t the time to obsess over something like that." My main objective was defeating Seed, nothing more.


    And my current job was... "Danny Bryant."


    When she heard that name, Fuubi froze for a second. Then she stubbed out her cigar in the ashtray.


    "You heard of him?" I asked, although I hardly needed to.


    He was a former Federation Government spy who''d abruptly disappeared in Japan a year ago. Fuubi was a Tuner who worked in Japan as a police officer. There was no way she didn''t know about him.


    "So they gifted you with that pain in the butt, too, huh?" Fuubi sighed heavily. "...Meaning they''ve sent the job to you before?"


    "Yeah, well. I told them I was busy and bowed out partway through."


    "I see. So then it was my turn." So this woman was part of the reason I''d been sent all the way to Japan. "What do you know about Danny?" If this had been her job previously, she had to have at least some information.


    "He came to Japan about three years ago. Then,st year, he vanished."


    "What did he do in the meantime? I don''t mean as a spy; what was his cover story?"


    "From what I hear, he was a private detective of sorts. Like you." Fuubi smiled. She told me he''d worked as a detective and had been covertly doing something for the government on the side.


    Did hee to Japan because of his second job? That part was probably ssified; even Ice Doll wouldn''t tell me about it.


    "It seemed he didn''t have a permanent office. It''s not clear how he got work." "Where did he live, then? He must have slept somewhere." ...Although I


    frequently didn''t have a fixed address myself.


    "He wandered here, there, and everywhere. We''ve traced him to ces all around Japan. Every single one of ''em is deserted now, but he stayed in this city, too."


    Taking out aptop, Fuubi showed me a list of ces where Danny Bryant had lived temporarily. They ranged from Okinawa all the way up to Hokkaido. At least for the two years he''d spent in Japan, he never had a fixed address.


    As a matter of fact, both of Danny''s jobs had probably demanded that sort of flexibility. In spite of his long, shaggy hair, worn-out shirt, and loosened tie¡ªfor some reason, he still had that gleam of amusement in his eyes. Wondering if he''d been a freewheeling character from the beginning, I caught myself putting together a profile for this target I''d never even met.


    "¡ªNo, that''s justmon sense." I promptly shook my head. I couldn''t let myself be limited by that again.


    A free spirit who didn''t care about his appearance, whose upation was


    unknown and had no permanent address. That wasn''t necessarily his true nature. There was a decent possibility that <i>he was just making it look that way. </i>And... although he seemed to be a free spirit, he might not have been a lone wolf.


    "Did Danny Bryant have family?"


    Maybe he was a spy, and maybe he had no fixed address. Even so, deciding that he had no family based on those things would have been premature.


    "As far as I know, this guy had no rtives during the time he lived in Japan. But..." Fuubi''s nose wrinkled as she told me about <i>a certain boy </i>Danny had been looking after. "From what I hear, Danny Bryant used to live here in town with this one problem kid. You wouldn''t even believe the amount of trouble he causes for me... Well, perfect timing: You should know it, too. That damn brat''s name is¡ª"

 Chapter 118 - 1.3

    <h4>Chapter 118: Chapter 1.3</h4>


    <strong>April 27 Kimihiko Kimizuka</strong>


    That day, as usual, I''d gotten dragged into a car chase. "Whoa...!"


    It might have been "the usual" for me, but no matter how used to something your brain is, it doesn''t necessarily mean your body can keep up.


    It was a scene straight out of an action movie: The sports car''s windshield was already smashed, and I was clinging to the grab handle as the car whipped around, jostling me back and forth in the passenger seat.


    "Ha-ha! Other cars are stopping to watch. Am I in the zone or what?"


    Even in this situation, there was one guy who refused to remember where we were. He was next to me, behind the steering wheel,ughing as we pulled ahead of our pursuers.


    "They''re stunned because we''re driving the wrong way!"


    He was ignoring traffic lights and viting the speed limit. We hadn''t hit any actual people, but our car was flying down a major street; the only phrase for what we were doing was "reckless endangerment."


    "The wrong way? In the country I''m from, cars drive on the right." "This is Japan! Would you get that through your head alr¡ª"


    Just then, our car whipped around a hundred and eighty degrees. "¡ª! I almost bit my tongue!"


    "Ha-ha! You did, huh?! You should grab yourself a spare for next time."


    "And you should quit running your mouth off, Danny!" I shot a resentful look at the man in the driver''s seat.


    The man''s name was Danny Bryant.


    He was my guarantor, the one who''d showed up abruptly one day a few years back and imed to be my rtive.


    He''d pulled me out of the children''s home and brought me to his apartment, but he took off on his own all the time. He was an enigmatic wanderer who''de back once or twice a month with all these weird souvenirs. The only things I knew about him were that he was originally from America, and that he was around forty.


    ording to Danny, he was a "jack of all trades." He''d take on any job, from finding a neighbor''s lost cat to a cold murder case the police had given up on. I didn''t know how much of this was true, but he said his policy was to dash over to anywhere that wanted him and do whatever they needed. As a result, he had ces all over Japan¡ªor actually, all over the world¡ªand he had me live at one of them.


    I had no idea why Danny had approached me, but I''d used him to get by, earning a living by helping out with the jobs he brought in from time to time.


    I did have one big gripe about him, though. In summer, he''d take me to a deserted ind and give a flowery spiel about the secrets of survival, and in winter, we''d climb a snow-covered mountain and he''d drum into me the powerlessness of humans. Every time he did this stuff, he''d talk about his personal philosophy, but frankly, it never made much of an impression on me. Danny Bryant was a sketchy guy with a penchant for carelessness.


    "Damn, they sure are stubborn." ncing at our pursuers in the rearview mirror, Danny pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette. "They were sitting on a fortune. All we did was help ourselves to a little of it, and the whole office is chasing after us." Danny sighed. "Are they bored, or do they just really like money?"


    "That''s not a line thieves should be saying."


    "Ha-ha! I was hired to redistribute wealth, that''s all."


    All these shiny ck cars were chasing us because Danny had stolen money from them. ...Not that he''d done it for personal gain. These guys were loan sharks, and some of their victims had hired Danny to steal back the money they''d been scammed out of. If you were to put a positive spin on it, you could have called him a modern-day Robin Hood, I guess. But...


    "Wasn''t there a slightly smoother way to take the money back? Like quietly cracking their safe, maybe?"


    Our actual approach had been to have me visit the loan sharks'' office,


    pretending to be a client. As the sharks were taking the money out of the safe, Danny had thrown up a smoke screen, charged in, and robbed them.


    "The safe was opened. That''s good enough, isn''t it? What matters is what actually happened and the oue," Danny said,ughing it off. "Most of the time, the key to resolving problems isn''t something you''ve personally got."


    "You leave all the important stuff to somebody else, huh." "Ha-ha. I just believe in people, that''s all."


    ...There he goes again, wrapping things up in random ways.


    And the "oue" had been this hour-long car chase. Danny was always getting on somebody''s bad side and chased like this, while I usually got dragged into the mess.


    "If somebody''s chasing you, it means you''re somebody worth chasing." Danny grinned proudly for no apparent reason, stroking his beard with his fingers.


    "Nope. Your sayings are shallower than a mud puddle."


    "Ha-ha! Well, they''re just words. If there was a saying with the fathomless depths of a swamp, letting it tie you down would be a whole lot dumber. Don''t trust what people say," he said bluntly.


    As always, the guy had a pat response for everything.


    "You really never smile, kid," Danny griped, still looking ahead with his hands on the wheel. "Have you ever grinned for real, even once?"


    "Leave me alone. This is just how I look."


    "Ha! You''re sure you''re not just imagining that?" Cutting the wheel, he veered off the broad avenue onto a side street. "Nobody knows what their genuine self is like. The real you might actually be a friendly, smiley kid."


    Who knows? The dark humor in my favorite gangster movie leaves me in stitches every time I see it, but that''s about it.


    "As long as you''re yanking me around and dragging me into trouble, you''re only ever going to see smiles of pain."


    "Ha-ha. For an apprentice, you sure aren''t cute!" "Who''s your apprentice, and when did that happen?" "Hm? Oh, right. Are you my son, then?"


    "That''s even less likely. Are you telling me my name''s actually Kimihiko Bryant Kimizuka?"


    I was born with ck hair and Japanese features, and I looked nothing like this sketchy guy. Why had he even said he was a rtive?


    "True, we''re not rted by blood, but I''m your father figure. ...Uh, actually,


    maybe ''teacher'' sounds cooler." Danny smiled cheerfully.


    Okay, the happy-go-lucky thing is great, but are we going to be able to lose those guys?


    "Don''t worry. You''ve got me on your team now." He grinned, trying to reassure me.


    Should I tell him <i>That''s why I''m worried: because you''re here</i>?


    "Listen up, kid." Without waiting for my retort, Danny spoke calmly, one hand on the wheel. "You''re bound to run into all sorts of enemies in life: gangsters and spies, sickening criminals, and great evils you can''t even begin to imagine."


    "Enemies? What kind of life am I going to have?"


    "Hey, you''re young, and it''s already like this. Action movies are only the beginning."


    <i>Yeah, that doesn''t bode well. </i>I gave my usual forced smile.


    Getting pulled into an incident like this one right before my birthday seemed pretty unnecessary.


    "Still, don''t worry," Danny repeated. "You''ll get dragged into all manner of trouble, run into all kinds of enemies, ande up against all sorts of danger, but whenever it happens, someone''s guaranteed to show up and go through it with you. That''s what''s been decided."


    After that, we managed to get ourselves out of that problem. Now our car was parked beside a certain house.


    "So this is the client''s ce...?" I looked at the house through the passenger- side window. It seemed old.


    Part of the money Danny had retrieved from the loan sharks had been paid in by the family that lived here. They''d lost three million yen to illegal interest. The cash we''d stolen from the moneylenders'' office was in an attach¨¦ case in the back seat.


    Of course, no matter how you tried to whitewash it, this money game was a crime. If we got caught, we were finished. At the very least, we couldn''t let anybody find out about the connection between Danny and the client. Danny always said he was the only one whose job description included getting caught by the yakuza and the cops. ...Although, ording to him, neither had ever caught him yet.


    "I wish you''d quit using me as a body double," I grumbled quietly.


    Enemies who''d been after Danny had gone after me when I was alone several


    times before. Worried that this might end up being one of those asions, I looked at the driver''s seat.


    ¡ªHowever.


    "Shh." Danny looked more serious than I''d ever seen him.


    When I hastily strained my ears, I heard something in the distance. It wasing from that house. A woman''s shrill, angry voice, and the sound of dishes shattering. Then a child crying.


    "Domestic trouble, huh?"


    I understood right away. This sort of thing happened when families were poverty stricken. The facility where I''d lived had taken in kids from homes like that pretty frequently.


    "It''s daytime, but they''ve shut those thick curtains. There must be something in there that they don''t want people seeing." Next to me, Danny analyzed the family''s situation. "They haven''t been taking care of their yard, either. That''s proof they don''t have that kind of time or emotional energy. When the parents are in that state, guess who they take it out on."


    He didn''t have to say more than that.


    I started to ask him what we were going to do, but then I broke off.


    Next to me, his profile was suffused with anger. "Kids can''t choose their parents." Danny was ring at something, or someone, that wasn''t there. "Parents are all kids have. And yet..." He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.


    Those words sounded simple, but when I really thought about them, they were true. Parents were active members of society, so they had a world outside their home and connections to other people. Children only had their parents. All they could do as they grew up was follow behind and watch. All kids... All <i>we </i>could count on were our parents.


    "And yet I¡ª" Danny was gazing into the distance. Every so often, every once in a while, he would do that. I''d never asked him why.


    "What should we do? Should we call the police?"


    Right now, there was nothing for it but to do what we had to do.


    I took out my phone. Would this go faster if I called my usual police station? "No, a visit from the cops would just be a temporary fix. What actually solves


    problems is always <i>this</i>."


    Danny seemed to have calmed down a little, or maybe he''d given up. Rubbing his fingers together in the gesture for "money," he gave a world-weary smile.


    And then... "What do you think? Do I look like awyer?" Stroking his whiskers, Danny checked his reflection in the rearview mirror. Apparently, he was nning to pass himself off as one when he gave them the money.


    "If you''re trying to look like the manager of aw office that''s always in the red, I think you can probably skate by." If he wanted to look like a decentwyer, he''d need to shine his shoes and buy a new suit, to start with.


    "Is it really okay to give them this money, though? What if the loan sharks track us here?"


    These people were already having trouble at home. What would happen to them then? I had a bad feeling, and I didn''t think it was just paranoia.


    "No need to worry about that. I''ll have a guard here for a while." Danny pointed at a young man in a dark suit who was just walking past the house. "Passerby A, who walks in front of this house every hour. That''s <i>their </i>job, this time around."


    Giving me an exnation that didn''t make much sense, Danny grabbed the attach¨¦ case from the back seat. "Besides, clearing up the trouble that''s right under our noseses first." He reached for the door handle. "Kids have a future, and their lives take priority every time." Turning halfway back, he gave me a smile. It looked as if he wanted to say something.


    "What about me, then?"


    <i>I''m a kid, and the loan sharks might hunt me down because of this, you know?</i>


    "Ha-ha! Call it proof that I trust you. You won''t die that easy." With that optimistic deration, Danny headed to work.


    Yeah. Thanks to that, he always lets me do whatever I want.

 Chapter 119 - 1.4

    <h4>Chapter 119: Chapter 1.4</h4>


    <strong> April 28 Siesta</strong>


    "Nice. This came out even better than I expected."


    Having put on a certain item that had been delivered that morning, I examined myself in the bathroom mirror and sighed with amazement.


    My face had been my constantpanion for over a decade. Who would have thought it could look so different without stic surgery?


    Right now, I was the very image of a Japanese woman in herte twenties. Once I changed out of my usual dress, it was likely that even people who knew me wouldn''t recognize me.


    "That''s <i>the Inventor </i>for you. He does good work."


    I stroked my face¡ªwell, the <i>mask </i>that clung to my skin¡ªwith my fingertips.


    The mask fit the contours of my face so well it didn''t even feel like I was wearing anything. It was as if I''d applied the sort of special effects makeup they use in movies.


    Currently, I was a detective on a mission to find a spy who''d fled to this country. That meant it was necessary to act covertly, so I''d had an acquaintance prepare a mask for me.


    The Inventor had made several handy items for me before. At this rate, I might be able to get a full set of seven tools, like a real detective.


    "What else would be good? A gun, maybe?"


    An ordinary firearm would be pointless. I''d also prefer something that looked cooler than what I was using now. If I left its performance to the Inventor, I was sure I wouldn''t end up with something weird.


    "Could I use boots with hidden shoe lifts to change my height?"


    This mask couldn''t change my figure, but I could probably manage something with essories. With a voice changer, I could make my voice do anything I wanted. Now I could finally get down to business. Stepping away from the sink in high spirits, I went back into the <i>shop</i>.


    "I may have gone overboard in assembling my collection."


    The small, old shop was packed with antiques and pieces of fine art I''d picked up over the past few days. I''d learned that the spy I was after, Danny Bryant, tended to collect those kinds of things. Maybe it was a hobby.


    Naturally, this was just to help my mood. I wasn''t seriously hoping that he might stop by one day if I pretended to run an antique store. However, I did think that putting myself in the target''s shoes might let me see things I hadn''t been able to see before. So I''d rented a shop in the city where Danny had once lived, and I nned to treat it as my base of operations while I was living in Japan.


    "Now then, what should I do next?"


    All I''d done over the past few days was make basic preparations. My investigation was about to begin in earnest. Should I start with Kimihiko Kimizuka, the boy I''d heard about?


    Danny Bryant had been looking after "Boy K.," and coincidentally, the kid still lived in town. I called Fuubi again, hoping for more information on him.


    "Hello? About that boy you mentioned earlier, the one who always gets dragged into things..."


    "I''m busy. Hanging up," a cranky voice said three seconds into the call. Then she hung up.


    And then she called me right back.


    "Never talk about that guy where I can hear you."


    "If you''re going that far, now I''m really curious." I wanted to see him today, right away.


    "Ha! If you want to meet that damn brat, you don''t even have to try. Just walk around town and you''ll run into him."


    Fuubi was probably referring to what she''d said earlier: Boy K. had <i>a knack for getting dragged into trouble. </i>If there was an incident, he was sure to turn up.


    That said, could I count on an incident happening so conveniently? Fuubi seemed to know what I was thinking. "Stuff happens so often there''s no time to sleep." She sighed, then listed several cases she was currently working on. "So, like I said, I''m busy. Go see the rest for yourself." She hung up wearily.


    What did you have to do to get a police officer to hate you this much? I smiled with some chagrin. I''d never met Boy K., but he was sounding more and more intriguing.


    That said, if I couldn''t rely on a real policewoman any longer¡ª "I''ll just have to count on a fake one."


    An hourter...


    "Mm-hmm. That went well."


    I''d gotten Boy K.''s current address from city hall in record time, and I was in a good mood as I walked through town.


    As I passed by an elderly woman, she said, "Thank you for your service."


    It was the clothes. Right now, no matter who saw me, I looked like a <i>police officer. </i>I''d used that mask to change my face, while the odds and ends I was always collecting for undercover investigations hade in handy for my uniform.


    My strategy had been simple: I''d visited city hall disguised as a police officer and told them I needed Boy K.''s personal information for an investigation. A certain notebook had alsoe in handy. It had been issued by the Federation Government, and it gave me all sorts of credentials to get into ces the average person wasn''t allowed to go, and public institutions provided me with information more easily. If I wanted to conduct detective work using the shortest possible route, this was an essential item.


    "What''s that you say? Why cosy as a police officer, then? Oh, this is fan service," I said, in response to a question no one had actually asked, and then I reached the apartment building.


    I climbed the rusty stairs and rang the doorbell of Boy K.''s apartment...but there was no answer.


    "And of course it''s locked."


    I twisted the knob, just to check, but the door didn''t open. The electrical meter was turning, but only very slowly; apparently, he wasn''t just pretending to not be home. That said, there wasn''t a buildup of flyers in the mailbox, which meant the apartment''s resident came home regrly.


    "I see. School, huh?"


    It was a weekday. I didn''t go to school, so I''d forgotten about it. In that case, would it be faster to visit the schools in this district? ...But I''de all the way here; it felt like a waste. All of a detective''s actions should have meaning.


    When you''re reading a mystery novel and an important-looking character or item shows up but is never exined, it''s a letdown. In the same way, I wanted to be responsible and make sure everything I did meant something. Because, yes


    ¡ªI am a detective.


    "And so, excuse the intrusion."


    Using <i>a certain special key</i>, I boldly let myself into Boy K.''s apartment.


    It was a master key the Inventor had given me, just after I''d been appointed Ace Detective. With the exception of electronic locks, there''s no door it can''t open. From what I''d been told, it was the custom for this key to be handed down from Ace Detective to Ace Detective.


    "Everything from this point on is typical detective work."


    The Ace Detective and the Assassin stood on the front line with support from other Tuners. That was how our roles were divided. ...Although what I was about to do was nothing that grand.


    And so, while the tenant was away, I went in to look for any traces Danny Bryant might have left behind.


    In the kitchen, I found an unwashed cup, plus thest two slices of a loaf of bread sitting on top of the microwave. The living room was littered with clothes. The ce felt lived-in; I could tell someone was here most of the time, and they''d just stepped out temporarily.


    One other thing about the apartment caught my attention: The rather small living room held a whole lot of antiques and souvenirs from around the country. The carved wooden bear on the shelf, for example. That probably wasn''t Boy K.''s taste. Danny Bryant couldn''t still be living here, could he? If he was, I couldn''t imagine Fuubi not noticing it, but...


    At the very least, these things were probably supporting evidence that he''d


    been here once. On that thought, I inspected the room carefully. Assuming Boy


    wasn''t a juvenile delinquent, one empty beer can or cigarette butt might prove that Danny Bryant was still here... But nothing turned up even after going through the trash bins.


    Parenthetically, I did find magazines with lots of pictures of swimsuit-d women in the closet, but I had a hunch that those probably were Boy K.''s, so I lined them up on the bookshelf for him.


    "I guess that''s all I''m going to find here." There was no material evidence.


    In that case, I should get some witness testimonies next. I left the apartment and set off to find Boy K.


    "If this is his address, then first..."


    I didn''t know whether Boy K. went to a public school or a private one, so I decided to try them all, starting with the closest one. This uniform and my notebook would let me gather information more efficiently.


    <i>The incident </i>happened while I was on my way to the closest middle school, with those thoughts still running through my head.


    "Whoa!"


    A figure dashed out of a mixed-use building and almost ran straight into me.


    It was a young man in a tacky, expensive suit. His head was shaved, and his wide-open cor exposed tattooed skin. Usually, when a guy like that sees a police officer, he would quietly look away. ¡ªBut.


    "Are you a cop?! Somebody''s dead in there!"


    Unexpectedly, the man clung to me. Wide-eyed, he pointed at a room in the mixed-use building, his hand shaking. Its curtains were open. Apparently, the incident took ce on the third floor.


    Without waiting for the man to show me the way, I dashed into the building. I ran upstairs, taking the steps two at a time, and opened the door to a ce that looked like a consumer loan office.


    " !"


    In the back of the room, a big man who had to be one hundred and ny centimeters tall was lying on the ground, bleeding from his chest.


    Beside him stood a boy with a slight build. He was holding a knife, and his expression seemed rather lonely and mncholy. ...Or maybe resigned. As if he''d given up entirely.


    "Kid. What''s your name?"


    Even I don''t know why that was the first question I asked him.


    He looked as if he''d been left behind, all alone in the world. His profile was so sad, and yet somehow, I couldn''t take my eyes off him. I may have just wanted to know his name more than anything else.


    "I''m¡ª"


    In the next moment, I remembered what that redheaded policewoman had said.


    <i>If you want to meet him, just walk around town.</i>


    <i> </i>


    "Kimihiko Kimizuka." That was how I met Boy K.

 Chapter 120: A certain boy’s tale 2

    <h4>Chapter 120: A certain boy¡¯s tale 2</h4>


    "So you had a surrogate dad, Kimizuka..."


    We were still in that restaurant, with the summer wind blowing through. When my story reached a stopping point, Natsunagi exhaled. I guess she wasn''t expecting that.


    I''d told them about a certain day a few years back, when Danny and I had been in a car chase, up until we gave the client the money we''d retrieved from the loan sharks. And in order to tell that story, I''d also had to tell them about how I''d met Danny and what he was like.


    I''d never mentioned him to Natsunagi before, though. Saikawa and Charlie hadn''t heard about him either, and the story seemed to catch them off guard.


    "Kimizuka, you were reckless even before you met Ma''am." Charlie narrowed her eyes at me.


    Well, I''m pretty sure Charlie and I weren''t much different there.


    "me it on my predisposition; it didn''t start with Siesta. I''ve been involved in this stuff since I was born." I didn''t want to write that off with a simple, <i>So I''m used to it</i>, though.


    "They say the gods don''t give people trials they can''t ovee, right? That''s what this is," Charlie said. She primly sipped her drink. "Better tell them thank you."


    "If that''s true, then the gods of this world are total sadists, don''t you think?" "That doesn''t get me excited. I''m not Nagisa."


    "Wh-who did you say was such a masochist that she wanted the person she liked to yell at her for hours and hours?!"


    "Nobody went that far." Charlie scolded Natsunagi, sounding as if she was


    genuinely worried. "You shouldn''t say those things in front of men." This was definitely the scene I''d least wanted to witness this year.


    "I see. So you''ve had it rough for quite a long time, Kimizuka." Saikawa gazed at me, getting the conversation back on topic. "If you had such an unusual experience, why haven''t you ever mentioned it to us?" Something about it seemed to tug at the idol singer; she tilted her head. "I mean, your stories are always pretty weak, you know. You should share the ones about car chases and things first."


    "Saikawa, when you give advice, try to do it without hurting people." What if I stopped being able to speak in public because I was traumatized by thatment? "I''m pretty sure you''ve always listened to me with a smile."


    "Oh, I was practicing being sweet for fans at handshake events!" "I just learned something ugly about idols..."


    Still, as her producer, if my noble sacrifice made the idol Yui-nya shine brighter, maybe there was no greater joy.


    ...As her producer?


    "Still, I didn''t expect that." Natsunagi turned to me. She and Charlie seemed to have wrapped up theiredy skit.


    "What? You realized my side profile was unexpectedly attractive?"


    "No, that wasn''t unexpected; it happens all the time¡ªer, no, I mean ''never,'' or not."


    Not? I don''t really get what "not" means in this case.


    "I meant that first story. The one about Danny Bryant. He doesn''t seem to be associated with you now, or... Hmm. I''m not sure how to phrase it." Natsunagi put a finger to her chin, thinking. "Does that mean the apartment you live in now used to be Danny''s ce?" she asked, turning back to me.


    Saikawa and Charlie seemed curious about that, too. Like Natsunagi, they gazed at me intently.


    "If you had a bird''s-eye view of us right now, it would look like I had a harem." I smiled wryly, taking a sip of my extremely sweet coffee.


    "That doesn''t sound like you, Kimizuka." "Yes, I second that."


    For some reason, Charlie and Saikawa didn''t seem happy about that.


    "That bit about your side profile a minute ago, too. You don''t usually act narcissistic like that." Even Natsunagi was eyeing me dubiously.


    Sheesh. When did they make such a detailed profile of me?


    "You were trying to change the subject, weren''t you?" Natsunagi leaned in,


    getting straight to the point.


    I hadn''t been trying to hide anything... But it was true that I didn''t think my old stories were that interesting, and I''d hesitated a little.


    It seems the high school girl, idol, and agent had all inherited the former Ace Detective''s observational skills.


    "And? It''s the part thates next that''s important, right?" Charlie asked, urging me to continue.


    I''d started sharing this story because we were talking about birthdays. As Charlie had guessed, the story would go on for a while: until <i>my birthday that one year</i>, on May 5. At the very least, it wouldn''t end until we''d reached some sort of conclusion.


    "Tell us a sidesplitting, hrious story that will have us rolling in the aisles, Kimizuka!" Saikawa''s eyes sparkled.


    Raising the bar like that makes it a whole lot harder for me...but I guess that''s nothing new, either.


    We''d finished lunch, but there was still plenty of time before the next thing on our schedule. Figuring we''d stay here and talk for a while longer, I geared up to resume my story.


    "In that case, I''ll go get us more drinks!"


    <i>...Hey. You were the one who wanted to hear it, Natsunagi</i>, I retorted in my mind as I watched her leave.


    "...Um. Kimizuka? Would youe help me?" Natsunagi turned back, scratching at her cheek in embarrassment.


    It appears my story was going to have to wait until we picked up those drinks.

 Chapter 121 - 2.1

    <h4>Chapter 121: Chapter 2.1</h4>


    <strong>April 28 Siesta</strong>


    "See? What did I tell you? Just wander around town and you''ll run into that kid, up to his ears in some incident or other."


    I''d visited this police station just two days before. In one of its hallways, Fuubi Kase was smiling at me triumphantly for some reason. "He didn''t just get pulled in this time, he was actually involved."


    About an hour earlier, a murder had urred in a mixed-use building. The victim was a man in his forties who ran a consumer financepany; he''d been stabbed in the chest and had died from blood loss. I''d seen Boy K. at the scene, holding a knife that appeared to be the murder weapon, and had called it in. From the look of the situation, he clearly knew something.


    However, no matter what I''d asked him, he didn''t respond. The only thing he''d told me was his name. He''d stayed silent in the police car on the way to the police station, too. And now here we were... In an interview room near the hall where Fuubi and I were talking, Boy K. was being questioned as a suspect.


    "But he''s not fourteen yet, is he? Under thews of Japan, youth offenders can''t be punished. You can''t even conduct a criminal investigation on them, correct?"


    "Right, which is why this isn''t an investigation. It''s just an <i>inquiry. </i>We''ve contacted the children''s welfare center. Nobody''s going to care if we talk to him until theye pick him up." Fuubi leaned back against the wall.


    "Does Boy K. have any family? Aside from Danny Bryant, I mean." "It''s prettyte for that question, isn''t it? You know he''s on his own." It seems she found out I''d infiltrated city hall. Not that it mattered.


    "Geez. Who''s the spy here? Even I didn''t recognize you for a minute." I was blending into the scene in my disguise as a police officer. Fuubi shot me a look, then sighed.


    "Then while I''m here, let me handle Boy K.''s questioning, too. You''re having trouble with him, aren''t you?"


    From what I''d heard, even in the interview room, he still wasn''t talking.


    "The detective should stay out of this until we''ve got a closed circle mystery


    on our hands, don''t you think?" Fuubi narrowed her eyes at me, clearly not happy with my suggestion.


    "But I saw the crime scene up close."


    "How am I supposed to exin it to the higher-ups?"


    "Just get orders from above them." If the orders came from somebody who worked for the world itself, someone who vastly outranked a mere civil servant, then...


    "As if those guys would lift a finger over a murder in this backwater." "Then you can grant permission."


    "Kid, you''ve been treating me like a handymantely." Fuubi scratched her head irritably, but then, she said, "...Finish up in fifteen." She used her inte to contact somebody.


    Had she left this to me, even though she griped about it, because she''d seen time and time again how much trouble Boy K. was? Or was it because she knew I never backed down at times like this? Either way, I was grateful. It was my belief that if detectives and the police teamed up, the world''s mystery novels could cut their page counts in half.


    A little while after that, I was ready. Still in my police officer disguise, I stepped into the interview room where Boy K. waited. "We meet again, kid."


    The room was cold and spare; except for the table and chairs in its center, it was empty. Boy K. was sitting in one of the chairs. He nced at me, then looked down at his hands again.


    He''d been wearing a jacket at the crime scene, but he''d undergone a body search and was now in a in T-shirt. Although he still looked young, he had a rather mncholic expression. I would describe him as more mature than resigned.


    "There are surveince cameras in here, so people can see us," I said as I took a seat across the table from the boy. He still wouldn''t meet my eyes. "So you don''t have to worry, I won''t use force to interrogate you illegally, and the ''right to remain silent'' you''ve been exercising is still guaranteed. You also have the right to legal representation; if you need it, I can make the arrangements." At that point, Boy K. finally looked my way. "I''m definitely not your ally, but I''m not your enemy, either. I''m... Oh, of course, I haven''t introduced myself yet, have I?"


    Since I was disguised as a police officer, I was hesitant to use my code name or bynames. Instead, I held out my fake police notebook. "My name is Gekka. Gekka Shirogane."


    The name stemmed from my actual hair color, and on the <i>gekka bijin</i>, or "moonlight beauty," a white flower that only bloomed at night.


    "And your name is¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka, correct? What should I call you?" As I tried to establish a connection, I narrowed my focus to winning his trust.


    I kept watching him steadily, and the boy finally caved. "Kimizuka or Kimihiko. Call me whatever you want."


    "Thank you. Okay then, kid..." "What, you''re not using my name?"


    That was a surprisingly snappyeback. You''d never think he''d just killed a guy. Well, maybe he hadn''t.


    "Oh, I see. Did you want <i>your big sister here </i>to call you by your name?" My actual age might be one thing, but in terms of apparent age, I had ten years on him at the moment.


    Boy K. looked away defiantly. "Don''t treat me like a child. I''m an adult." "Only kids ever say that."


    "If you round up a bit, I''m hundred and sixty centimeters tall."


    "It''s all right. At your age, boys have sudden growth spurts." At present, he was a little shorter than average. Just a little. "They''ve told me a bit about you. I hear you''re always getting caught up in crazy incidents?"


    "...It''s how I''m wired. Thanks to that, nobodyes near me."


    "It sounds like you''re really popr with the police, though." As I said it, I was thinking of the redheaded policewoman''s aggrieved face.


    "You said you were Ms. Gekka? <i>What are you trying to pull here?</i>" Boy K. red at me, as if he were sizing me up. "Are you starting with random chitchat to get me to lower my guard? Is that your n? You''re a good negotiator." He didn''t sound amused.


    "You''re not cute, are you, kid?"


    "Nobody wants the police to think they''re cute."


    Really? That fiend of a policewoman might be one thing, but being doted on by me seemed like it would be more of a reward than anything else.


    "If you insist, then: Let''s get down to business." Fuubi had given me fifteen minutes. I couldn''t really afford to take my time anyway. "So? What were you doing in a ce like that?"


    The room where I''d found Boy K. holding that knife had been a loan shark''s office. Normally, a kid his age wouldn''t have any opportunity to visit a ce like that. If Boy K. had actuallymitted a murder there, what had brought him to the office in the first ce?


    After I asked him about it, Boy K.''s eyes widened slightly, as if I''d surprised him somehow. Not by my question, though¡ªI''d shown him a note, positioning it so that the surveince camera couldn''t see it.


    <i>I''d like you to answer the questions I write down, not the ones I ask aloud.</i>


    This message was written on the note.


    I really did intend to solve this incident. However, my original goal, the real reason I''d been looking for Boy K., was something else. The boy pressed his lips together, carefully considering my intentions, and I stealthily showed him another note.


    The boy''s expression briefly changed. "...I dunno," he answered. He wasn''t responding to my question of "what he''d been doing in a ce like that." The second note had said, <i>Do you know a man named Danny Bryant?</i>


    That was why I was sticking close to Boy K. If the children''s welfare center took custody of him temporarily, I might lose this tenuous lead on Danny. A member of the Federation Government had entrusted me with this case, and she''d gone so far as to personally request it. Learning Danny Bryant''s true identity would be highly significant for me as well.


    "Did you stab that loan shark?"


    I asked about the murder aloud, but my note read, <i>Do you know where Danny is?</i>


    "..."


    The boy didn''t answer. However, from his earlier reaction, it was clear that he had some sort of connection to the man. I drew random strokes in my notepad, then held it out to the boy. "I''ve drawn a rough map of the crime scene, but there are a few things I can''t remember about theyout. Can you fill those in?"


    Now he could write down his answers to my real questions without arousing suspicion.


    With a small sigh, the boy picked up the notepad. "Is this good enough?" I''d asked him where Danny Bryant was, and as his response, he''d written:


    <i>If you prove I''m innocent, I don''t mind telling you where Danny''s hiding.</i>


    <i> </i>


    "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let''s continue on, shall we?"


    I''d temporarily stepped out of the interrogation room, then returned to face Boy K. again.


    "I figured evidence that proved my innocence had turned up and I''d been acquitted." The boy shrugged and epted the fact that I''d resumed my seat.


    Was he soposed because he wasn''t nervous anymore, or was it because


    he''d grown ustomed to these situations? Or¡ªhad that deal with me helped him decide where he stood? Whichever it was, it made it easier for me to work.


    "I wanted to have our interview time extended a little. I stepped out to ask about that, and I''ve also had them temporarily shut off the surveince cameras in here."


    "I''m pretty sure you said something about how those cameras ensured my safety. You''d better not be nning to use a truth serum on me."


    "Conversing in writing the whole time was going to be a pain, that''s all.


    Besides, when I get serious, I don''t waste time with trivialities."


    "You''re saying you''ve got an attack that could do more than break my skull?" Boy K.''s face tensed up, and he pushed his chair back.


    "It destroys human dignity."


    "That''s not something a cop should be saying..." I''m actually a detective, so it''s not a problem.


    "Still, now I can talk to you without worrying about anyone listening in."


    What I needed to do now was prove Boy K.''s innocence, then get him to tell me where Danny Bryant was. It was simple enough.


    The only thing I was concerned about was whether Boy K. was actually innocent. In terms of circumstantial evidence, he was the biggest suspect. I couldn''t possibly bend the truth for the sake of my own objective.


    I couldn''t falsify the evidence so that it would work in our favor, and I couldn''t file an insanity plea and have Boy K. dered not guilty. I had to prove he hadn''t done it. That said, I couldn''t rush this. I''d learned just recently that building a theory to fit a certain conclusion was about the dumbest move there was. Reining myself in, I took a different approach. "To start with, let''s talk a little more about ourselves, shall we?"


    The boy gave a thin smile. "Negotiating again?"


    "I wouldn''t go to so much trouble when you''ve already seen all my cards. It''s just my policy. If I''m going to ask somebody to talk about themselves, I need to tell them something about myself as well."


    Of course, that wasn''t actually my policy. I wasn''t even a cop. Right now, though, more than anything, I needed him to trust me.


    "That''s a weird thing to be so conscientious about," the boy said with a frankness I wasn''t expecting. "Okay."


    I told him a bit about where I''d been born and raised, what had made me decide to join the police force, and a few of the cases I''d been involved in previously. Naturally, most of what I said was a lie, but making all of it up


    would have made it less believable.


    ...And so I mixed in a few truths. For example, some of the "previous cases I''d been in charge of" were incidents I''d actually solved as a detective. As I told the boy about those, I mentioned that Danny Bryant was suspected of a certain theft, which was why I was pursuing him. As a matter of fact, I''d heard from Fuubi that Danny might havemitted a few petty crimes like that.


    "I see. Well, there are probably a zillion reasons for the cops to be after that guy." Boy K. smiled wryly. Then he began to tell me about Danny''s character. He told me that the man had shown up one day, iming to be a rtive, and had taken him in, but just kept wandering off and hadn''t really looked after him. That when he came home every so often, his clothes were always torn up for some reason, but he''d still be smiling cheerfully. And how he often acted as a sort of Robin Hood, which meant he made enemies easily. That Danny Bryant had constantly made Boy K.''s life difficult. He gave specific examples along with his exnation, too.


    "Well, as I said, it''s not like I''m with him all the time. We''re each doing our own thing right now," he exined.


    "And you say that while you were doing your own thing, you got dragged into this incident?"


    "Yeah. It was a coincidence. When I went to that office for, uh, reasons," the boy said,menting his misfortune with exaggerated gestures. If that was true, I had to clear up this incident for him as quickly as possible.


    I shifted the conversation back to the main topic. "In that case, let me ask you again. You said ''for reasons''; can we go into the specifics there?" I asked again, thinking he might tell me the truth now that we were on the same page. "It''s not the sort of ce kids usually visit."


    "I''m living on my own, so I need money. I didn''t think the ce was that sketchy," he replied.


    Boy K. had said that Danny Bryant wasn''t actively taking care of him. Did that mean he wasn''t making sure he had money, either?


    "Let''s say I believe you. You went to that office to borrow money, and then what happened?"


    "When I got there, that yakuza guy was already bleeding on the floor."


    "I see. Well, an ordinary person probably wouldn''t believe that." As expected, he was nning to keep pleading innocent.


    Now that I was facing Boy K., even I was having a hard time imagining him as the killer. It was the number of times he blinked, the movements of his eyes,


    the depth of his breathing; the sort of things I could see even without a polygraph.


    What concerned me wasn''t the question of whether he was lying or not, but the fact that Boy K. seemed to be gazing into the distance. It was as if he felt his battlefield was somewhere else.


    "Then what about that knife you had?"


    Even so, our objectives really had lined up. I searched the conversation for evidence that would prove Boy K.''s innocence.


    "It was on the floor to begin with. I guessed it might be the murder weapon and picked it up without thinking; that''s when you saw me."


    "It doesn''t really get worse than that, does it?"


    Was this the power of Boy K.''s knack for getting dragged into things?


    To summarize his story, he''d visited the consumer loan office to borrow money, discovered a yakuza member covered in blood, and carelessly picked up the knife used in the attack when I''d walked in and saw him.


    It sounded like an improbably convenient testimony. He was the person in question, of course, so that was only to be expected. All that really mattered was objective proof.


    Unfortunately, the office''s security camera had been destroyed. That had to have been the work of the criminal. Either way, nothing that proved Boy K.''s innocence had been found yet.


    "So you think the true culprit, the murderer, was somebody else."


    "Yeah, <i>somebody </i>who stopped by before I did. Not that I can prove it," the boy said,ughing at himself. There were no security cameras near the alley where the building was located, and we hadn''t yet figured out the foot traffic in that area.


    At the moment, the police probably assumed the situation was something like this: Boy K., who was living in poverty, had unwisely gotten involved with a loan shark. Trouble had broken out at the office, and he''d killed his creditor. If Boy K. really was innocent, how were we going to turn this around?


    "I''m used to being a suspect, though." The boy looked away, smiling a little. He seemed to have epted his fate as inevitable, so I hesitated topliment his courage.


    "It''s all right. Fortunately, I hear they''ve found multiple footprints at the crime scene. They haven''t decided that you''re the one who did it..."


    Just then, Fuubi Kase contacted me on my inte. The forensic results for the fingerprints on the murder weapon hade back. I listened intently.


    "I see. All right, kid, we''ve got new information." I shared what I''d learned from Fuubi: "The only fingerprints on the knife used in the murder were yours."


    "I see. I''m the perpetrator, then, huh." "You certainly are."


    We exchanged wry smiles.


    It was too soon to give up, though. The real criminal might have worn gloves. "You believe me?"


    "I don''t believe people." There were plenty of things more worthy of belief than people. "I want to know where Danny Bryant is. That means if you''re not innocent, I''ll have a problem on my hands."


    "What if I actually am the murderer?" Boy K. asked without turning a hair.


    True, I''d have to keep that possibility in mind as well. What if he was lying to me, made everything worse, and didn''t even give me any information about Danny?


    "Right. If so, rest assured you''ll lose your dignity as a human being for all eternity." I smiled at him as calmly as possible, so he wouldn''t be scared of me.


    "...Seriously, Ms. Gekka, who are you?"


    <i>A detective, just a detective.</i>


    <i>Not that I''m telling you that yet.</i>


    "That said, the fact of the matter is that this just seems weird. Could a kid really stab a yakuza member to death? I suspect there''s someone else behind this."


    The truth was still eluding me. But if I gathered a bit more information, or maybe revisited the crime scene armed with the facts I''d learned, I should be able to uncover something new there.


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure you''ll be home in time for dinner."


    Boy K.''s only response was a subdued "Yeah." He was gazing into the distance.


    After that, having determined that I wouldn''t be able to get anything else out of Boy K. at this point, I went to take a look at the evidence that had been collected from the crime scene.


    In addition to the knife believed to be the murder weapon, there was a list of debtors and other rted documents, the victim''s cell phone, and the officeputer. I set to work analyzing all of them. As usual, Fuubi grumbled, but I pointed out¡ªagain¡ªthat I''d taken over the search for Danny. She must have felt a little indebted to me, because she grudgingly gave her consent.


    Before I knew it, while I was analyzing the new data I''d gleaned from the evidence, the sun had set. Even then, I still had a lot left to do. By the time I went to see Boy K., who''d been moved to the children''s welfare center, it was quitete.


    When I reached the center, I headed for the room where they were keeping him. I used my master key to unlock the door, and there was Boy K., lying on his side with his face to the wall.


    "Good morning, kid," I whispered, putting my lips close to his ear.


    "¡ª! You scared me..." He bolted up after I''d startled him; maybe he''d been asleep.


    "Do you have sensitive ears?"


    "You wanna show me a person who doesn''t?"


    I don''t. At the very least, having somebody blow into my ears doesn''t faze me. ...Although I doubt I''ll have the opportunity to prove it.


    "I''m sorry I''m sote. It''s past dinnertime, isn''t it?"


    It had taken me longer than I thought to weigh the evidence, and I''d ended up breaking my promise.


    "What time is it?" Flustered, the boy reached for his pocket, then realized they''d confiscated his smartphone.


    "It''s past eleven."


    I wanted to let him have breakfast at his apartment tomorrow morning, at least. Come to think of it, I wondered if that bread was still good.


    "...I see. Eleven." Boy K. wiped the sweat off his forehead and sighed. "So what do you need? From your face, I''m guessing my innocence hasn''t been proven yet."


    "It hasn''t. I do think incidents should be solved at the scene of the crime, though. And so..."


    "...What?" The boy cocked his head, mystified.


    I extended my left hand to him. "Let''s sneak out of here together." With that, we ran away from the children''s welfare center.


    Fuubi Kase had nothing to do with this, of course. It was entirely my own decision.


    "If she finds out, she might actually kill me this time. She''s merciless." Remembering the battles I''d once fought with the Assassin, I pedaled faster.


    Racing through the dark streets on a bicycle made me feel like I was wrapped in stars and the wind. It wasn''t bad.


    "Don''t you usually use police cars for this sort of thing?" Boy K. whined from


    behind me. Unfortunately, I wasn''t old enough to drive yet. Not that he knew that.


    Well, I would if I had to. I''d like to learn how to drive a tank one of these days, just in case. You can never be too prepared. Especially when you''re a detective.


    "My first time riding double with somebody, and it''s a cop. This sucks." Boy


    had simultaneously mocked himself and insulted me.


    The kid might look resigned to his fate at all times, but he was cheeky. "It''s a good life experience, isn''t it? It depends on how you look at it."


    "And every way I look at this, it''s bad. One ssic teenage rite of passage, down the drain."


    "I''m surprised you''re interested in stuff like this. Your expression always looks so dead."


    "Mind your own business. <i>Just because you''re all dried up</i>, that doesn''t mean other people¡ª Whoa!"


    I mmed on the brakes, and Boy K. hastily threw his arms around my waist, hanging on.


    "Oh, sorry. A cat ran out in front of us. I couldn''t help it."


    "...! Ms. Gekka, maybe you don''t look like it, but you''re a little brat on the inside, aren''t you?"


    "An excellent question," I demurred, and we hurried to the scene of the crime.


    About twenty minutester...


    "Okay, go on in. Just try not to leave fingerprints, and don''t move things."


    When we reached the mixed-use building, we crossed the police tape, then stepped into the consumer loan office where the incident had happened.


    Wearing gloves, I flipped on the light switch. No one was there. The corpse had been taken away, of course, and nobody was around except Boy K. and me.


    "And? Why bring me here?" The kid stayed near the door, without venturing any farther into the room. An unsurprising decision at the scene of a murder.


    "I thought you might notice something new if you took another look at the crime scene. Come here." When I beckoned him, the boy steeled himself and came in. "The stars are very clear tonight, aren''t they?" I said, looking at them through the big window.


    "Is that a new pickup line?"


    "Unfortunately, I''m only interested in older men." Wait, this isn''t the conversation we should be having. "That curtain was open, wasn''t it?"


    The boy looked a little perplexed, as if he wasn''t sure what I was getting at.


    "When I first came here this afternoon, that curtain was open. If this murder was premeditated, that would have been really careless of the murderer, don''t you think?"


    "...Oh, actually, yeah. Normally you''d close the curtains so people wouldn''t see."


    "Right. So I think this was a crime of passion."


    As a matter of fact, a staff member from this office was actually a witness: the man with the shaved head who''d almost run into me. The killer had been careless. I couldn''t believe they''d had the murder nned out from the beginning.


    "Yeah, but it''s not like every murderer in the world tries tomit the perfect crime. Maybe whoever it was had an intense grudge against the victim and wanted to kill him so badly he didn''t care whether people found out. The guy who got killed would''ve had a lot of enemies," Boy K. said.


    Yes, in his line of work, he''d probably had a lot of people out for his blood. "Still, the suspect is on the run. That means they didn''t want their crime to be


    discovered."


    That would still have been true even if Boy K. had been responsible, since he was denying the crime. Either way, our culprit wanted to run from the murder they''d spontaneouslymitted.


    "I see. I guess the security camera was broken, huh." "Right. And the fingerprints were wiped off the weapon."


    "If we assume the criminal isn''t me, anyway," the boy said, shrugging.


    We weren''t "assuming" anymore, though. I was sure that whoever had erased the proof was the true culprit.


    "This was a ce of business, no matter how unscrupulous it was. As such, I thought they''d have a list of scheduled visits. I checked into it."


    "...! Theputer, huh?" Boy K. snapped his fingers, as if it suddenly made sense.


    "Good job remembering that. It isn''t even here now." "...Yeah. They probably took it in as evidence."


    Should Ipliment him on his familiarity with incidents like this?


    "So what did you find? Was anybody besides me scheduled to visit today?" "I looked at the schedule, but unfortunately, there weren''t any appointments."


    When I told him the other days had been full, Boy K. looked away. "Bad luck," he said regretfully.


    "In exchange, though, I got this." I took certain documents out of the bag I''d


    brought along. "They''re written debt acknowledgments from the borrowers. The due dates are on here as well. If one of these matched up, I thought we might have a likely suspect, but..."


    "But there was nobody suspicious there, either, huh?" The kid finished my sentence for me.


    "Right. Not in the office''s <i>physical files</i>." From the boy''s reaction, he hadn''t been expecting that. "The borrowers'' data was on theputer as well. Technically, part of it had been deleted¡ªbut I recovered it."


    Boy K. listened to me in silence.


    "I noticed data seemed to be missing from several ces, including the scheduling tool. It took time, but when I restored the deleted data, a certain borrower came up. Not only that, but strangely, his was the only name not on the debtor list in the office."


    It almost seemed like an attempt to let that borrower slip away from the crime scene. I didn''t know whether he''d been the one who''d destroyed the evidence or whether he''d had help.


    "Then you think the borrower who disappeared is the culprit?" Boy K. looked away; his expression was grim.


    "I thought there was a good possibility. I called the phone number that was in the recovered data, but naturally, no one answered. However..." The boy looked at me. "As a matter of fact, you''ve already been released, kid. In exchange, a warrant''s been issued for that borrower."


    "...! Is there any definite proof?" Boy K. took a step closer to me; he seemed anxious.


    "You''re asking me that? You''re finally being cleared of a false charge." "..."


    "Is there a reason you don''t want him to be caught?" "..."


    If someone was protecting the borrower who was considered the real culprit... If that someone was this boy, Kimihiko Kimizuka...


    Then who was he trying to protect? "¡ªHey, what are you two doing?"


    Just then, a frustrated-sounding voice echoed through the crime scene. Our escape had been discovered.


    "I''m sorry. I wanted to do a little nighttime cycling."


    Fuubi Kase hade running with several police officers. I gave her an exaggerated wink, but it seemed to rub her the wrong way. "First you shove


    work onto people, then you pull selfish crap like this..." She shot me a murderous look.


    "I didn''t force it onto you. I''m relying on you." "Ha! You always were a glib talker if nothing else." How rude. My sniping skills are pretty decent, too. "Let''s cut to the chase, then."


    Now it was time to solve the case. There were two of us, a detective and a police officer, so we''d wrap this up twice as fast.


    "Let''s clear this up, starting with the false charge on this kid," I said.


    Fuubi returned my look wordlessly, agreeing to let me have the floor for now. Boy K. also stayed where he was. He watched me steadily, waiting to see what I''d do.


    "First, let me preface this by saying I never thought the boymitted the murder in the first ce. He had no motive for doing something that outrageous."


    In the interview room, Boy K. had said something like "I visited that ce for the first time." From what I''d seen of the loan office''s list of customers, he''d been telling the truth. Coming up with a reason for a middle-school boy to kill a yakuza member he''d just met was nearly impossible.


    "We''ve got material evidence, though." Fuubi interrupted earlier than I''d thought she would. She probably meant the fingerprints on the knife. "You can''t just rely on motives. There''s no telling what any human is thinking anyway. Objective evidence is the only thing you can trust," she said, ring at Boy K.


    "Ms. Fuubi, I figured you''d still be suspecting me."


    "Ha! See, I never trusted you in the first ce. The issue''s more basic than whether I suspect you or not."


    Boy K. and Fuubi exchanged res.


    "I sure miss thatidback police station chief."


    "Now that he doesn''t have to deal with you anymore, I bet he''s kicking back and ying Go on the veranda with his grandkids."


    ...If I let these two get started, they''d probably keep fighting forever. I got us back on topic. "Yes, the forensic results showed the kid''s fingerprints are on the knife." When I spoke again, both the boy and Fuubi looked my way. "That doesn''t prove he actuallymitted the murder."


    Fuubi was a police officer; she had to know this already.


    "I saw the aftermath of the crime up close, and there wasn''t a drop of blood on the boy''s skin or clothes. It''s impossible to believe that he''d just stabbed


    somebody."


    When he''d stood there holding the knife, his profile had seemed mncholy and resigned. However, for some reason¡ªhe''d struck me as beautiful.


    Well, that was just my subjective impression, but still. If he''d stabbed someone, it was very unlikely that he wouldn''t have any blood on him. Therefore, as Boy K. had said, it seemed probable that he''d just picked up the murder weapon and had gotten his fingerprints on it then.


    "And one more thing. The kid is <i>just a little too short </i>to have killed the victim."


    Boy K. was about a hundred and sixty centimeters tall. The victim had been a big man, over a hundred and ny centimeters, but he''d been stabbed in the chest.


    Of course, even with a thirty-centimeter height difference, it wouldn''t have been impossible for the boy''s hand to reach the victim''s chest. If he''d held the knife in a reverse grip and raised his arm high, then brought it down, even he could have performed the stabbing without trouble.


    However, from examining the stab wound, we knew that the knife had been held nearly horizontally. If a hundred-and-sixty-centimeter-tall boy had stabbed someone who was thirty centimeters taller than him, it wouldn''t have left the wound it did.


    "So if I hadn''t gone and touched the knife, I never even would have been a suspect?" The boyughed at himself. "It''s like I''m cursed. I get dragged into crap like this every time."


    "Yes, I couldn''t agree more," I said, sincerely sympathizing with the boy''s remark. "Because of your predisposition, you keep encountering situations like this one. However, <i>just this once, you were truly careless.</i>"


    The boy watched me silently.


    "You''re used to this sort of incident. They really should be routine for you.


    And yet you picked up that knife. Why?"


    He had to have known that touching the weapon would make him a suspect. Boy K. should have understood that better than anyone... "You knew this would happen all along. You picked up the knife on purpose, didn''t you?" In doing so, he had the police focus their attention on him as the prime suspect. He''d had all of us in the palm of his hand.


    "Why would I do that?" Boy K. cocked his head and smiled, but it wasn''t real. "In order to protect someone."


    Someone. The real killer.


    Boy K. had kept insisting he was innocent, and yet he''d intentionally done something that would make him a suspect.


    "Someone? Who would that even be? I''m always alone. You know that."


    Indeed, we had talked about that at the station. Boy K. had no friends. I''d done some independent investigation, and from what I''d found, he had neither parents nor siblings. That meant there was no one who he would risk his life for. ¡ªWas there?


    "Gekka," he said, dropping the "Ms." "You''re saying the person who visited the office before I did is the criminal, right? Then what are they to me? Are they a friend who''s so close I''d take a murder rap for them? Are they family? Or¡ª"


    I made eye contact with Fuubi. From here on out, this was her job. "No. The real perpetrator is a total stranger to you."


    <i>Oh. Really?</i>


    I hadn''t known that until she said it. I''d thought <i>the other possibility </i>had a higher chance, but maybe the truth tends to work that way.


    "The suspect''s a man in his forties who ran up a big debt with this office. His name is¡ª"


    Fuubi gave a name that matched one of the people on the list of customers.


    The name was the one I''d expected, at least.


    "A minute ago, he called and confessed to the crime. His loan was due today, but he hadn''t been able to get the money together. He''d gone to the office to ask them to wait, and negotiations broke down. The victim pulled a knife on him as a threat, they struggled, and we all know how that ended up. Whether or not they ept it as legitimate self-defense depends on how good hiswyer is." Fuubi sighed.


    As incidents went, it was a reallymon one. The odd part was what came next.


    "Then right after the incident, you happened to stop by the scene. For some reason, you took responsibility for the crime, and the suspect fled."


    In other words, Boy K. had taken the fall for a murdermitted by a stranger he''d just met.


    "I took on a crime for some guy I don''t even know? What would I get out of that?" The boy sounded shocked. It was a perfectly natural question.


    But right after that...


    "Still, I guess my job''s over now." Boy K.''s expression softened just a little;


    he seemed relieved. It was as if he felt there was no point in resisting any longer. Either that, or he''d already done what he''d set out to do. "Yeah, it''s just like you said. I was covering for the real criminal."


    "Why? You had nothing to do with this."


    Now it was my turn to ask questions. If the person Boy K. was protecting had been <i>the man I was pursuing</i>, I would have understood his actions. This time, though, it had been the other possibility.


    "When I ran into the culprit here, he told me something. He seemed to be panicking." The boy started to speak, quietly. "He said his daughter was having surgery soon. She had a severe illness, and this was a major surgery that would determine whether she''ll live or die. If he got caught, he might never see her again¡ªso he begged me to let him go, <i>just for today</i>, so he could see his daughter. That''s why I pretended I was the criminal for a day," Boy K. said. He looked out the window at the night sky.


    "I see. So you wanted to give him onest day with his daughter..." It made sense. All the pieces fell into ce.


    Although he''d been trying to protect the criminal, several footprints had been left at the scene, theputer''s data hadn''t beenpletely erased, and the issue involving the height difference hadn''t been resolved. I''d chalked all those things up to Boy K.''s inexperience.


    At the same time, I''d thought maybe that was inevitable. No ordinary middle schooler couldpletely destroy evidence that easily.


    But I''d been wrong. He''d left patchy evidence simply because he''d only had to y this role for a day. He hadn''t left any proof that would truly implicate him; he''d stuck to being a twenty-four-hour-long scapegoat.


    <i>Wow. He''s even smarter than I imagined. </i>That had to be a byproduct of the experiences his predisposition had put him through.


    "If the criminal confessed, though, then he already saw his daughter. That means my job is done."


    The boy wasn''t smiling. He only looked a little tired, as if the fact that he''d finished helping someone was sinking in.


    I''ll say it again: He was clever. Really clever. At the same time, I had to admit he was naive.


    "Even if it was just for a day, why take such a huge risk?"


    The boy had made this sacrifice in an attempt to grant someone''s wish, but had he gained anything worth the dangers?


    "This guy told me before¡ªhe said to at least help the people in front of me."


    "The only people who can say things like that are the ones with enough resolution and strength to save anyone. That isn''t you."


    "¡ªExcept I did pull it off this time. But, yeah, helping a criminal avoid arrest is a crime. I''ll take the rap for that one."


    "Did you really think that was the right thing to do? Overlooking a crime?


    Really?"


    "...I don''t know. I think that''s probably why I picked up that knife before I realized what I was doing: because I didn''t know the answer."


    A father had saddled himself with debt,mitted a crime, and had wanted to see his daughter one more time¡ªthe boy didn''t have a family, so he didn''t understand why. He told us so, as if he were talking to himself.


    "Yeah, you really are a damn brat." Fuubi red at the boy. Her eyes were full of disgust¡ªcold as ice, really. "Here, I''ll tell you that answer: There never was any surgery."


    "...!" The kid''s eyes widened. "That''s...not even... He didn''t look like he was lying..."


    "The killer probably wasn''t the one who lied. Isn''t that right?" I looked at Fuubi.


    She nodded. "The liar was the yakuza who got bumped off. He said he''d use his connections to hook the guy up with a doctor who''d take on his daughter''s tough surgery; then he gave him a high-interest loan, telling him it was his fee for the introduction. Except he never had any connections, and the scheduled surgery was a fake."


    Fuubi''s investigations had uncovered the truth, and her lips were pressed together in a thin line, her face expressionless. There was no outward change from her usual demeanor, but she was definitely furious on the inside. That was the impression I got, anyway.


    "He told a lie like that, just to swindle him out of money...?" That seemed to shock the boy; he bit his lip hard.


    The criminal had probably also learned everything immediately before the incident, which was why he''d finally turned himself in.


    "Listen, kid..."


    What should I say at a time like this? Comforting someone wasn''t part of a detective''s job. I knew that. But even so.


    "You can''t look for the answers you want in other people." Those words weren''t based in anything I''d been thinking. They''d just left my mouth before I knew them. "If you want an answer, you have to find it on your own."


    I was sure that was true for me as well. I was speaking both to the boy and to myself.


    I was missing some memories. I had an enemy I needed to defeat. There were things I had to reim. And so I...


    "It''s all right. Leave it to me." When he heard that, the boy finally looked up. "I know where to find a skilled doctor. He''ll save the life of the girl you and the culprit were trying to protect."


    "...Really?"


    Yes, because he was born to save others.


    And so, for now...


    "Just rx and impose on the officer here for a while."


    Boy K. seemed like I caught him off guard. Then he gave a littleugh, acknowledging his defeat.

 Chapter 122 - 2.2

    <h4>Chapter 122: Chapter 2.2</h4>


    <strong>April 29 Kimihiko Kimizuka</strong>


    That day, when I finally dragged myself home, I found a guy lounging around the Japanese-style room as if he owned the ce. "Hey, you''rete. Does your school have ss for nine periods? Japanese students must work real hard." The man nced at me; he was smirking. He knew roughly what I''d been going through before I made it home, and he was still acting this way.


    "I got pulled into a little trouble, as usual."


    "I see. You could have had Danny Bryant the handyman here clear that up for you, you know."


    "I figured you''d charge some ridiculous retaining fee, so I decided not to," I said bluntly.


    Danny gave a dry, cheerfulugh.


    Still, who''d have thought I''d get pulled into another incident right on the heels of that car chase two days ago? Heaving a big sigh, I lowered my battered self onto a floor cushion.


    There was pizza on the low table; Danny had probably ordered it. There was only a quarter left.


    "Smoking too much will take years off your life," I warned Danny, pouring myself a ss of soda. On the other side of the table, he was about to light a cigarette.


    "Oh-ho. You''re saying you want me to live for a long time?" "It was just a generalment. I won''t say it again."


    "Ha-ha! It may be poison for the body, but it''s medicine for the spirit, see." Joking around, Danny exhaled a generous puff of white smoke. The guy was always so easygoing; even he needed medicine for his spirit sometimes? ...I couldn''t ask him, so the question was pointless to consider.


    "Once you''re done eating, we''re headed to work." Still smoking, Danny pulled a document out of his beat-up bag. It was a long list of names and phone numbers.


    "Just call all the numbers on that list."


    Every so often, Danny woulde back to the apartment and have me help out with jobs like this. He paid me for it, and I''d been saving up so that I could live on my own someday, but...


    "This isn''t fraud, right?" I asked, suddenly uneasy.


    Exactly what kind of list had Danny brought me? He''d better not be nning to make me call people and say, "I messed up and embezzledpany funds..." or something.


    "Ha-ha. Your voice is a bit too high for impersonating a blundering office worker."


    He was right. My voice wasn''t done changing yet. "Then what do you want me to do?"


    "Just call those numbers and ask if their kid cane over and y."


    "That makes no sense..." <i>What is this, a volunteer effort to help me make friends? </i>"How does this job get us any money?"


    "The world isn''t that simple," Danny lectured me. "It''s like they say: ''When the wind blows, barrel makers get rich.'' At the very end, when everythinges full circle, sometimes the results aren''t what you''d expect."


    He''d told me he was from America, but he knew his Japanese proverbs pretty well.


    Was he trying to tell me that it would make sense to me someday? I felt like the saying he''d used to illustrate that didn''t quite convey what he wanted, but whatever.


    "You could also call it the butterfly effect. When a butterfly ps its wings in your backyard,ter on, after all sorts of twists and turns, it''ll cause a hurricane in some distant country." Danny set a bottle of beer on the table and gazed out the window; the curtains were open.


    There was a magnificent full moon tonight.


    "That said, it''s a fact that I''m short on money. I''ll have to do a big job soon." Apparently, the job he''d just brought in really wasn''t going to earn us any


    money. Even so, Danny gave a big yawn. He didn''t seem stressed.


    "If you''re short on money, then don''t go out and buy stuff you don''t need. How much did that picture cost?" I pointed at andscape painting by an unknown artist that Danny had brought back one time as a "souvenir."


    It was a bad habit of his. There were lots of simr works of art in the apartment.


    "Oh, I happened to run into a young woman who said she was an art dealer on the street near here. It sounded like she was having a hard time making ends meet, so I bought it at her asking price."


    ...So he''d actually picked up his "souvenir" in town? Geez. "You sure she didn''t just trick you?"


    "What? Is it not okay to get tricked?" With a straight face, Danny tilted his head. "Even if I was, the woman who was down on her luck was able to earn money. Now she''ll be able to have bread and yogurt for breakfast tomorrow. Was what I did wrong, in human terms? If you don''t at least help the people you can see, what''s the point?" he asked glibly. He said that all the time.


    Even if he had been scammed, his loss would be someone else''s gain. It wasn''t as if happiness was lost; the wealth had just shifted from the haves to the have-nots. Even if someone called that hypocrisy, Danny would probably stick to his convictions.


    "You mean getting conned is better than doubting somebody, huh? That sounds like you."


    I didn''t actually know what sort of person Danny was. It wasn''t like we''d been together constantly for the past few years. But that was sort of how I viewed him.


    "You still have a ton of growing up to do, kid."


    I thought I''d wrapped the conversation up nicely, but for some reason, Danny got mad at me. Why, though?


    "''Even if you get conned, it''s better than doubting somebody''? Ha-ha. Okay then: Say you fall for a scam, and they take your money. Where does that money go? For the most part, fraudsters like that have a boss. Your stolen money ends up funding more organized crime. Could you still say that line then?" Danny asked.


    Was it fair to say that getting scammed was worth it as long as it made someone happy?


    "Falling for a grift is basicallymitting a crime," Danny concluded, staring at me sternly.


    "Say that in the first ce, then."


    Danny had a point, though. "Getting conned is better than doubting somebody" really might be just a shallow idea that sounded nice.


    "...Wait, but that makes it worse. Why''d you buy that painting?" He had to have known it could''ve been a scam, right?


    "Because sometimes I want to prioritize pretty titudes, even if it meansmitting a crime. After all, I''m human." Dannyughed. "Besides, if you ever need money, try putting that painting up for sale. I bet it''ll save your butt."


    Sheesh. So was the painting worth anything or not?


    "Everything is case-by-case. The world''s not just ck and white. There''s pink and gold and sapphire, too. Sometimes you''ll have to use your eyes and ears, experience, and sixth sense to make a call on something," Danny muttered, more to himself than to me. Then he drained the rest of his beer, drinking it right from the bottle.


    What he was saying sounded like a bit too much to ask from a kid like me. "The one thing I''m sure of here seems to be that you have no money."


    "Ha-ha! You got that right." Dannyughed, theny down on the floor. The beer might have been getting to him; he closed his eyes.


    Maybe he really was going to sleep here tonight.


    "So, since I''ve got no money, I can''t pay your wages for a while." "Um, they''re going to shut off the water soon."


    "And that''s when you start drinkin''."


    <i>This guy is an idiot.</i>


    Danny was falling asleep, so I ced a thin nket over him. "There may be somebody after me again."


    Danny murmured out of nowhere. His eyes were still closed.


    He probably meant somebody besides the guys from the car chase. "If you run into them..."


    "I''ll say I don''t know where you are. Right?" That was our promise.


    "Yup. If somebody sketchy makes contact with you, go ahead and lie. That''s how you''ll get ahead in life," Danny advised me from his spot on the floor.


    "You''re telling me to be a con man?"


    "Given your little predisposition there, if you''re going to take on the cops and detectives, you''re gonna have to be either a con man or a phantom thief."


    "...So we''re assuming I''ll be dealing with cops and detectives, huh?" "Ha-ha. It''s your destiny. Suck it up."


    If that were true, being a corporate drone who had to work around the clock would be a hundred times better.


    "Oh, right. While I''m at it, I need to tell you one more thing."


    <i>Sheesh. I wish he''d decide whether he''s going to sleep or continue talking.</i>


    "I''ll be traveling again for a while. Watch the ce while I''m gone."


    "You don''t need to tell me to watch the ce by now. Where are you going?" I wasn''t that interested, but the conversation was naturally heading in that direction.


    "To see the Sea of Japan," Danny responded.


    It was a pretty abstract answer, but if that was what he wanted, I guessed he''d be headed for the Hokuriku region.


    That said, sightseeing was never Danny''s main objective.


    "This job''s going to be kind of a hairy one. Don''t worry about it, though; you just do your thing and keep getting pulled into bank robberies and bus hijacks."


    Danny had disappeared on a moment''s notice before, multiple times. He''d never lived in this apartment regrly. I just responded with a brief "I see."


    "I''m going to do what I want. That''s what I''ve always done, and I don''t intend to stop now. So do whatever you want, too. You''re not even my kid, and I''m not your dad. I''ve got no ns to tie you down."


    I seemed to recall him saying something about being my father figure just a little while back, but apparently, that had been an offhand joke.


    "That''s what humans are like, though, right? Yeah, and that''s how it should be. If I gave you any big-headed lectures today, yesterday, or in the past, just ignore ''em all. If you start listening to a rapper tomorrow and decide to make life choices based on the lyrics, then that''s one way to live."


    "Your convictions are about as firm as a marshmallow."


    "Ha-ha! Well, if your convictions are as solid as iron, you''ll have one hell of a time when they break." Resting his head on his arm, Danny smiled with his eyes closed. "The stuff you like is a series of coincidences, and the way you live should be, too. I told you to be a phantom thief or a con man, but you could be a police officer or a detective if you want. The important thing is what you personally want to do in the moment, and that''s it."


    "Normally only kids can get away with that kind of selfishness."


    "Ha-ha! Yeah, maybe. Maybe so." Danny sat up, gazing at me with a small smile. "But don''t forget: You are a kid. Pester more, want more, be self-


    centered. That''s a special privilege reserved for those your age. It''s the cost of not smoking or drinking."


    "...Even if I cause trouble for other people, you mean?"


    "Humans cause trouble for someone or other just by being alive, whether they want to or not. If you can''t live clean, then at least live selfishly before you die. That''s what being human is all about."


    As Danny Bryant said that, his eyes seemed to be fixed on a view I couldn''t see.

 Chapter 123 - 2.3

    <h4>Chapter 123: Chapter 2.3</h4>


    <strong>April 30 Siesta</strong>


    "I see. So the kid was acquitted."


    In the antique shop where I''d been living since I arrived in Japan, I was swaying back and forth in a rocking chair and talking to Fuubi on the phone.


    It was a little past two in the afternoon. Not one person hade in since I''d opened the shop, and the soft afternoon sunlight that streamed in was making me deliciously drowsy.


    "Yeah, it''s a cryin'' shame." Fuubi sighed heavily. "I didn''t get to arrest the damn brat this time, either," she said. It was an uncharacteristically tantint.


    "I think you dislike him a bit too much, don''t you? It''s not like he killed your parents."


    "If that was his only offense, he wouldn''t get under my skin like this."


    While I''d love to think that had been an <i>assassin joke</i>, if he caused incidents as nasty as that one on a frequent basis, her reaction might actually be warranted. Take that murder at the consumer loan office the day before yesterday, for example. At first, Boy K. had been a suspect, but we''d found out that he was only covering for the real murderer, due to some convoluted circumstances. That would have counted as helping a criminal avoid arrest, and he would have been


    charged with that instead.


    However, that night, the criminal had confessed. When the details of the incident came to light, we''d learned that the man responsible had broken the office''s security camera and erased the data on theputer. Meaning all Boy


    had done was <i>identally </i>pick up a knife from the floor. We''d had no way to charge him for a crime, and no evidence to use against him. In that sense, that lone kid had beaten both the police and the detective hollow.


    "He got you, too, huh," Fuubi said, sympathizing with me. "You thought the


    criminal he was covering for might be Danny Bryant, right?"


    She was right. At first, I''d thought that was the most likely possibility. Boy K. had no friends or family, so if he was going to voluntarily take the fall for someone, I''d thought it might be the man iming to be his rtive.


    However, I''d been wrong. Boy K. had been covering for a man he''d just met. He seemed to be at a crossroads, wrestling with a major question, and he''d done what he did in an attempt to find the answer to it.


    "It''s true that I couldn''t find Danny this time, but I think I''ll make progress before too long," I said. That wasn''t my intuition talking. I felt quite certain about it.


    "Oh-ho. Do you have any grounds for that statement?" Yes, I sure did. However, the surest thing was¡ª


    "Sorry, it looks like I''ve got a customer. See you," I told Fuubi, then hung up.


    Right after that...


    "You look a lot different than thest time I saw you, Gekka Shirogane."


    The boy, Kimihiko Kimizuka, was the first customer of the day. He gazed at me dubiously. My ss change from police officer to antique store owner seemed to have perplexed him to no end.


    "I thought you''de."


    I invited him toe inside and take a load off in front of the counter.


    Boy K. sat down in an antique chair and was staring at me so hard it seemed like he might burn a hole in my face. He''d been carrying a bundle under his arm and set it down gently on the floor. "Let me ask you one more time: Are you really Gekka?"


    Two nights ago, after the incident had technically been resolved, I''d told Boy


    this address and my actual identity. Except...


    "I notice you''ve casually dropped the ''Ms.'' when you address me."


    I still looked like a woman in my twenties, but he''d dispensed with the formalities.


    "I spent a while mulling things over, and not being so formal with you just felt like right thing to do."


    The kid was shockingly self-centered. Well, considering our actual ages, it was fine if he wanted to skip the honorifics. Even so, it was a pretty unique way of shrinking interpersonal distance.


    Since he didn''t have any friends, I''d assumed he''d struggle with conversation,


    but he was the opposite: He stuck to his guns no matter who he was talking to. It might be a little simr to the way I lived.


    "That aside, that''s one heck of a transformation. How did you do that?" The boy stared at my toes, then his eyes gradually traveled up.


    "You focused on my chest for quite a while." "...I bet you were imagining that."


    "Kid, do you know what the world calls rtionships between a woman and a younger boy?"


    "Anyway, let''s get down to business!"


    His childlike flushed cheeks seemed like the real deal. If I picked on him anymore, though, I''d end up stalling the conversation, so I controlled myself.


    "I''m a hero who lives in the criminal underworld: <i>The Fiend with Twenty Faces</i>."


    Once again, I told him my true identity that I''d revealed to him two nights ago.


    "...But everything about you is different from before. Even your height." "I''m wearing a special mask and using shoe lifts to add to my height." "What''s your real age?"


    "Never ask women that question."


    I gave a thin smile, and the boy stared dully back in an open disy of boredom. Yes, that''s a good face.


    "Come to think of it, there was something I wanted to ask you, kid." There was one thing I hadn''t checked on after the incident the other day. "You said you got dragged into that mess because you went to the consumer loan office to borrow money. That was a lie, wasn''t it?"


    The boy blinked. "You figured that out, too, huh?" He smiled thinly. I couldn''t visualize someone as clever as him to be visiting a ce like that without knowing what it was.


    "Were you just passing by? Or did they call you into the office because you had some previous history with them?" With his knack for getting dragged into trouble, that was usible.


    "...Thetter. Back then, I thought being honest about that might have implicated me."


    I see. Yes, that really might have tipped the scales. Even if the truth had been bound toe out sooner orter.


    "There was no record of any contact with you in the call history on the victim''s cell phone, though."


    Naturally, I''d assumed some of it might have been erased, so I had restored that data as well.


    "Right, because he called this phone instead." The boy took out a cell phone and showed it to me. "It''s one Danny was using. He had several that he used for different purposes; this is one of the phones he left behind."


    He''d left it behind¡ªmeaning Danny Bryant really wasn''t anywhere near Boy


    at the moment.


    "And is <i>that </i>why you came here today?"


    Now we were getting to the point. My eyes traveled to the square, cloth- wrapped bundle that Boy K. had brought in.


    "I came to pay back that favor today." The boy undid the cloth, revealing several works of art. They were all pastoralndscapes. "These are all the paintings Danny had."


    True, I had heard that Danny Bryant had collected antiques and art before his disappearance. That was why I was pretending to run an antique shop.


    "You''re saying that these paintings show where he is?" "That''s my suspicion, anyway."


    My deal with Boy K. had been that, in exchange for proving his innocence, he''d tell me where Danny was.


    "I actually don''t know where he is right now, either, so I brought these instead."


    "So you''re looking for him, too?"


    "Yeah. In other words, our interests are aligned." But as he said it, the boy averted his eyes.


    My intuition told me he was hiding something. There was no sense in pointing that out right now, though. Besides... "Why would thesendscape paintings show us where Danny is?"


    There had to still be information I could get out of the boy. It should be all right to let him do as he pleased for a little while.


    "Danny said that if he disappeared, I should sell them. He might just have meant for me to use the money to cover my living expenses, but I... I couldn''t see it that way." He met my eyes as he spoke. For some reason, he really did seem to think these oil paintings were connected to Danny Bryant''s whereabouts.


    Once again, I studied the paintings the boy had brought in. <i>The paintings I''d</i>


    <i>just seen at his apartment two days ago.</i>


    "I see."


    The boy had probably brought these without knowing I''d broken in and seen them already. However, now that they were here, the pictures took on a different significance. Boy K., who had spent several years building a rtionship with Danny Bryant, was convinced that there was more to them.


    "I thought you might know something about what they meant."


    Boy K. must still have a secret he couldn''t tell me. He was hiding something. But I could tell there was something he wanted to know, too. He was looking for answers. Was this about the familial love he''d mentioned that night at the crime scene? Or was it Danny Bryant''s whereabouts? ¡ªEither way...


    "Client requests must be granted," I said, reminding myself.


    That was the beginning of our journey in search of Danny Bryant.

 Chapter 124: A certain girl’s tale 2

    <h4>Chapter 124: A certain girl¡¯s tale 2</h4>


    When I''d read up to that point, I looked up. "So this was your real first meeting with Kimihiko, Mistress Siesta."


    Mistress Siesta was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. I wondered what she was dreaming about. Was it Kimihiko, whom she was still calling "Boy K." at this point in her journal? He appeared and vanished unexpectedly at crime scenes, so I imagined it wouldn''t be odd for him to turn up in others'' dreams as well.


    "What did you think of Kimihiko back then, Mistress Siesta?" I knew she wouldn''t answer, but I asked her anyway.


    From Mistress Siesta''s journal, the impression I got of Kimihiko was that he


    was a very clever and interesting person. Or maybe she''d thought of him as a mysterious boy who was rather lonely and fragile. A boy with many secrets as well.


    Either way, she probably hadn''t been thinking of making him her assistant yet...


    Still, the environment in which he''d been raised and his way of connecting with others were simr to hers. Mistress Siesta must have found him intriguing. Meanwhile, what had Kimihiko thought of Mistress Siesta¡ªor rather, the mysterious Fiend with Twenty Faces? I didn''t have ess to his journal, so I had no way of knowing. In any case, their interests werepatible, and they


    were about to embark on a journey in pursuit of Danny Bryant.


    Had this been the first time Mistress Siesta and Kimihiko worked together?


    The world''s Ace Detective and her trouble-ma assistant¡ªif those two were together, something was bound to happen. Mistress Siesta must have known that as well.


    And perhaps she had already suspected <i>a certain truth </i>at this point in time... but maybe I was jumping to conclusions there.


    In any case, the tale of those past few days¡ªwhich I was about to resume reading¡ªhadn''t been pointless for the two of them.


    After all, their three-year adventure had its beginnings here.

 Chapter 125 - 3.1

    <h4>Chapter 125: Chapter 3.1</h4>


    <strong>May 1 Siesta</strong>


    I was aware that I was dreaming.


    "Seed, what are you trying to aplish?"


    After all, the one who said that was <i>the past me</i>, while <i>the current me </i>was gazing at this scene, floating in midair.


    A year ago, I''d chased and chased a certain enemy until I''d reached a vast limestone cavern. The great evil lurked there, too deep for sunlight to reach. Multiple writhing tentacles sprouted from the white-haired young man''s back.


    "Something humanity could never understand," the enemy of the world said.


    He''d already defeated me. I was no match for him, in wits or in strength. I might as well have been an infant as far as he was concerned, and I knelt before him, bleeding.


    <i>This is a dream</i>, I remembered.


    This was the memory of a defeat¡ªof humiliation I''d lived through a year ago. "Someday, I swear I''ll defeat you."


    At the time, it was all I could do to make that deration. For some reason, the enemy hadn''t finished me off.


    "Will you sacrifice yourpanions again?" Seed asked, even though I''d gone into this battle alone. Something simr to disappointment surfaced in his eyes. He transformed, shape-shifting through a series of young boys and girls, but still, he didn''t attack.


    "...What are you trying to say?"


    Thest shape Seed assumed belonged to a girl with ck hair and red eyes. He didn''t answer my question. I didn''t recognize the girl. After he''d watched my reaction, he faded and vanished, like Chameleon.


    "Companions? I don''t have..."


    I was missing memories of a certain time period.


    If what the enemy was saying was true, had I stood by and watched mypanions die, even if I no longer knew it?


    At this point, those memories had vanished over the horizon. What had I done in the past? What had I lost?


    I... I was¡ª


    " !"


    The rm echoed through the room, pulling me out of the dream.


    Even though it wasn''t summer, my forehead and neck were covered in sweat, and my drenched pajamas clung to my skin. As I took several deep breaths, I sat up and reached for the phone by my pillow.


    "...Somebody''s calling?"


    I''d thought it was my rm, but the phone had been ringing. The name on the disy was¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka.


    Oh, right¡ªwe''d arranged to meet up this afternoon.


    I checked the time. It was 2 PM. We''d nned to meet at one o''clock, but apparently, that had been a bit too early for me.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting. Have you been here long?"


    An hourter, I spotted a familiar silhouette at our designated meeting spot in front of the train station and called out to him.


    "People who are five minuteste could say that, but you''re two hourste.


    Who the heck do you think you¡ª"


    Grumbling, Boy K.¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka¡ªturned around. "... "


    However, as soon as he saw me, he averted his eyes.


    "The Fiend with Twenty Faces goes through disguises like nobody''s business."


    I wasn''t the police officer or the antique shop manager today. I wore a new mask and costume.


    "Since I''m not on duty, I went with a casual outfit. What do you think?" I lifted my skirt slightly. Granted, his initial reaction had already clued me in.


    "It''s a bit too short. Also, sweaters make, um, certain things...more obvious," the kid mumbled, still focused on some point across the station.


    "I thought I''d show you that the Fiend with Twenty Faces can change her face, her voice, and her cup size at will."


    "If I ran into you in another disguise on the street, I wouldn''t recognize you." "Shall we set up a password, then?"


    The boy finally turned to look at me.


    "If you say, ''You sure are a beauty,'' I''ll say, ''Of course. I''m Ms. Gekka.''"


    "I just realized your name is fake, too. What, you took it from the flower?" Boy K. smiled wryly. He knows a lot; that''s good. "And? Do you have any ideas


    about those paintings?"


    He meant the Danny Bryant pictures he''d brought over the day before. ording to the kid, Danny had bought them from a mysterious art dealer, and it was possible that they could help us discover Danny''s whereabouts. Today, we were nning to follow that lead to a certain location.


    "Yes. Well, to be urate, I have an idea of someone who may have an idea." "...That''s a pretty roundabout way of putting it. I just assumed we''d be going


    to the ces shown in the pictures."


    The paintings he''d brought yesterday had shown certain pastoralndscapes. "You think Danny Bryant would be there? That''s a little too simplistic." As a


    matter of fact, I had an idea of where thendscapes were as well, but there was something else I wanted to check. "Let''s go see the artist behind those paintings."


    That had been our ultimate goal.


    "The thing is, we aren''t quite <i>ready</i>. Shall we wander around town until then?


    I just moved here, you see," I said, beginning to walk away.


    "So you want me to show you around? Unfortunately, there isn''t much to this ce. The town''s not that interesting." With a small sigh, he came up beside me and began to walk me through this working-ss neighborhood, a stone''s throw away from the big city.


    "I rmend that pain de mie shop. They''ll be all sold out by now, though." The boy pointed at a bakery across the street. There was a big, eye-catching sign with the shop name on it: La Rollebarca. ...Instead of "barcarolle"?


    "That''s a great name, if I do say so myself." "Why are you talking up the name of the bakery?"


    I wish he wouldn''t just hand out that sort of information so easily.


    "A while back, a robber forced his way into that ce. Stuff happened, I resolved the incident, and they gave me the right to name their bakery," Boy K. exined.


    "You said there''s nothing to say about this town, and then you have a story like that? That''s impressive." <i>Also, I want the details on the stuff that happened.</i>


    "Oh, and that penny-candy store over there."


    Rudely ignoring myeback, the boy pointed out an old-time candy store. At the back of the shop, in a small, raised area floored with tatami mats, the elderlydy who ran it was drinking tea.


    "That old hag..."


    "You''re suddenly being awfully rude."


    "Even if you get a winning wrapper, she says her vision''s all blurry and she can''t read it, so she won''t let you trade it in for your prize."


    "Oh, she is rotten and a hag."


    I felt sharp eyes zero in on us from within the shop, and the boy and I set off like a pair of racewalkers. <i>This is a fun town</i>.


    "Oh, right. Gekka. Want to talk to your future self?"


    "No, no, this is an everyday small talk conversation; don''t start introducing a plot hook."


    Nah, I wanted him to keep going. This was getting more and more entertaining. The kid''s daily routine might have been more adventurous than mine.


    "There''s this rumor that if you use the phone booth under that pedestrian bridge, you can talk with yourself from five minutes in the future."


    "If that''s true, then I''d like to ask if that future me is still getting along with a boy by the name of Kimihiko Kimizuka."


    "I interest you that much?"


    "As a subject of observation, yes."


    While we were having that delightful conversation...


    "Dine and dash! Catch him!" a man roared behind us. We turned around, and


    ¡ª


    "Oww..."


    Boy K. groaned. The young man who''de running up behind us had shoved him out of the way.


    "You really do have it rough, don''t you?"


    Even as I sympathized with the kid on the pavement, I turned my back to him and went after the fleeing diner. A few secondster, I''d caught him.


    "...Great. All ording to n." Still sitting on his butt on the sidewalk, Boy


    shed me a thumbs-up.


    "You know, we just might make a good team." He''d attract the incidents, and I''d resolve them in the blink of an eye.


    If we did that, though, I suspected he''d find twice as much trouble.


    After Boy K. and I had strolled around town a little more, I got a text. The sender was one of those people who were vital to my work: a Man in ck. I''d had them investigating <i>all sorts of backroom business deals </i>that had been conducted in this town over the past three years. These were the various incidents Fuubi had told me about on the phone earlier: drug deals, political


    bribes, reselling goods to evade taxes, etc. Danny Bryant had mentioned buying paintings from a certain female art dealer; he clearly hadn''t bought them through regr channels, and I''d focused on that.


    I''d asked the Men in ck to research underground sales routes for me. Although they held one of the twelve Tuner positions, they were also an organization with countless members around the world. They acted as our hands and feet, our eyes and ears, and took on missions for which they received no fame or credit.


    "This is the ce. <i>She''s </i>in here."


    Boy K. and I were outside the art gallery the Man in ck had just told me about. It was close to the penny-candy store we had seen earlier, on the second floor of a building in a web of back alleys. Still, it was the sort of ce you wouldn''t just stumble onto.


    ording to Boy K., Danny Bryant had said something about buying the paintings from a female art dealer he''d just happened to run into in town, but I''d started to doubt that statement.


    "Why here, though?"


    Boy K. didn''t have a handle on the situation yet, and before we walked into the gallery, he was watching me dubiously.


    "I''m told the owner of this ce is suspected of tax evasion. I thought there were simrities with the art dealer who sold Danny Bryant those paintings illegally." I exined my theory but kept quiet about the Men in ck.


    Needless to say, Fuubi also had this information. However, as a cop, she couldn''t act unless she had clear evidence. I was here to conduct an illegal raid.


    "So the Fiend with Twenty Faces can transform into a tax official now? ... Well, it does sound like it''s worth checking."


    I could if I wanted to. Although I''d asked the Men in ck to handle it this time.


    "I''ll tell you the details once we''re inside."


    We exchanged looks, then opened the door to the art gallery.


    Bright lights illuminated the room, and the gallery''s white walls were covered with framed pictures.


    "Oh, wee."


    A pale woman stepped out of a room in the back and saw us. She seemed to be in her early thirties; her smile was beautiful, but friendly. "I''m afraid I was nning to close in a few minutes," she said. She was the gallery''s owner, Krone, and most likely the one who sold those paintings to Danny.


    "You were? I''m d we made it; I wanted to visit this ce today, no matter what," I said, ying innocent. I''d assumed the conversation would go more smoothly if we visited when no one was there, so I''d killed quite a bit of time with Boy K. And it seems we''d timed it just right: We were the only ones in the gallery. Once I''d made sure of that, I got down to business. "I wanted to discuss the <i>counterfeits </i>you sell here."


    Krone''s gentle smile vanished. She walked briskly to the entrance, hung up the CLOSED sign, and came back.


    "If you''re going to be that obvious, I won''t have any questions left to ask." Of course, I''d already felt certain when I first decided toe here.


    "...Who are you? Not the police, surely." Grim-faced, Krone surveyed me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.


    <i>Not at the moment, anyway.</i>


    "You sold counterfeits to a rtive of ours. Your gallery handles these, doesn''t it?"


    I showed her photos I''d saved on my phone of the oil paintings Danny Bryant had collected.


    "...I know nothing about those."


    She certainly didn''t look like she knew nothing, but we''d ignore that for now. "So Danny really did end up buying fakes?" Boy K. shrugged in apparent


    disappointment. "Well, I doubt he''d regret it anyway." He gave a weak smile. "But how did you know the paintings were counterfeits, Gekka? You''re not really..."


    It''s true that while I was passing myself off as the owner of an antique shop, I couldn''t actually tell fake antiques and pieces of fine art from real ones. Even so...


    "It''s simple. If those paintings were real, no ordinary person would have been able to afford them."


    All the pictures Danny Bryant had would have cost upward of fifty million yen each, <i>if they''d been real</i>. I couldn''t appraise the paintings themselves, but I knew roughly how much fine art would cost.


    "...I see. There''s no way he could have just picked these up, then. He''s always short on money." Boy K. nodded, smirking. "Are all the paintings here like that?"


    He didn''t seem to know much about art; he scanned the gallery, maybe wondering whether the paintings on the walls were fake as well.


    "No, probably not."


    I was hardly an expert myself, so it was hard to say for sure. Still, I had memorized information on paintings above a certain price level, in conjunction with their artist profiles, and not one of the paintings here was a match in that database. All of these had to be originals, drawn by artists who weren''t widely known yet. There was no point in counterfeiting works of art that weren''t famous.


    "Still, they''re pretty expensive." The boy frowned, reading the price tags below the paintings. I knew how he felt, but the boy could be quite tactless.


    "Well, quality is expensive." Krone finally broke her ufortable silence.


    She could probably tell that we weren''t going anywhere until she talked to us. "Of course, that isn''t to say they''ll sell," she murmured with a self-deprecating


    smile. If there was a reason to sell these paintings at high prices when their artists weren''t famous, it was...


    "You''re not doing this for the money, are you?" I asked. Krone flinched, freezing up.


    She''d said so herself, just a moment ago: quality is expensive. In other words, what she was after was...


    "You''re not selling, you''re buying. As far as you''re concerned, that''s your job. Isn''t that right?"


    There was a brief silence.


    "In the end, art is business, you see." Krone sighed; she looked almost resigned. "It has nothing to do with how well the picture was painted. Fine art is a business, and the <i>self-proimed experts </i>deliberately create new stars on a daily basis. Someone decides that <i>a particr painting will be considered outstanding</i>. There''s nothing genuine there."


    I see. It sounded simr to how the fashion world worked. It wasn''t that what was selling became popr; it was made popr so that it would sell. Someone decided that a certain thing would be "in" this year, and that was all it took.


    Krone was asking the world if it was really okay with that.


    "I don''t buy artists'' names. I buy their skill. I want to pursue ''the real thing'' in art as well."


    As she spoke, she gazed at the paintings by unknown artists that hung in the gallery. The experts hadn''t discovered these artists yet, so their pictures didn''t stand out on the market. Even so, there was solid talent behind them, and Krone purchased them at high prices.


    "If that''s your ambition, then why did you sell counterfeits?" Boy K. asked, pointing out the apparent contradiction in her behavior.


    "That''s also an outgrowth of my ideals," Krone told him. "The paintings you showed me really were replicas. I''ve been in this business for more than ten years, but even I couldn''t tell at first. I knew, logically, that those paintings shouldn''t be in Japan. That was how I managed to identify them as counterfeits; it wasn''t the result of a formal appraisal."


    She''d identified them the same way I had. However, unlike me, her knowledge of fine art was deep and detailed, and even she hadn''t immediately been able to identify those paintings as fakes. That was how polished the copies were.


    "I set a price not on the paintings themselves, but on the skills of the painter who''d made such perfect imitations."


    "Wait, did Danny buy them from you for the same reason?"


    "No. As a matter of fact, he asked me to do this." Atst, Krone gave us the information we wanted. "He said he knew an artist with extraordinary skills. He''d never seen anything like it before. He asked if I could visit them and buy their artwork."


    It seems Danny''s story about coincidentally running into Krone and buying those pictures really had been a lie. Had the two of them been business acquaintances all along? Then why had he kept quiet about it? He hadn''t even told the kid...


    "If he wanted the pictures that badly, why not just go get them himself? Why was he so roundabout?" The idea seemed to mystify the boy.


    "I couldn''t say. I only knew him through our business deals, and he never let others know what he was really thinking." Krone gazed at the one nk space on the white wall. "I think he must have had some lofty goal. ...That said¡ªand you may be angry with me for saying this¡ªhis eyes seemed to be focused on something in the distance, and it frightened me a little."


    Danny Bryant had always had several faces.


    A former Federation Government spy, and a traitor to the group. A private detective, and an enigmatic wandering handyman.


    A surrogate dad for Boy K., whom he''d taken from the children''s home. Which one was real, and what had he been trying to aplish? If I met him,


    would I have figured it out?


    "Still, who would have thought he had someone like you?" Krone turned back, gazing at Boy K. Then she gave a sudden smile. "Now, what''s next? Have you


    finished your business here? It''s true that I sold illegal counterfeits, so if you n to turn me in, I''ll have no choice but toply." Jokingly, Krone held out her hands as if she were waiting to be cuffed.


    "No, that isn''t my job. More importantly, there was onest thing I wanted to know." I asked her my most pressing question. "Where can we find the person who painted those counterfeits?"


    After leaving the gallery, Boy K. and I headed straight for the train station.


    We were bound for the Hokuriku region. Apparently, that was where the artist lived. Krone had given us their address, and now we were a little closer to our goal.


    Why had Danny Bryant cared so much about an artist who copied paintings? Why had he entrusted those pictures to Boy K. and disappeared? In search of the answers to those questions, Boy K. and I boarded thest bullet train of the day and headed for the Hokuriku region.


    When we reached our destination, it was near midnight, and we decided to spend the night at a business hotel that was directly connected to the station. Postponing our visit to the artist until the next morning, we checked in right away and took our luggage to our room.


    "Mm, a freshly washed pillow and coverlet. Paradise." I flopped face down onto the fluffy mattress. Just getting to sleep on a soft bed was a luxury. Once I begin fighting the world''s enemies in earnest, I doubted I''d get to indulge in these luxuries, and so I made up my mind to savor this everyday happiness while I could.


    "Come on, you, too. Aren''t you going to bounce on the bed?" "What am I, a kid?"


    "Yes. <i>You </i>are."


    The boy pouted back at me. It was pretty cute.


    He sat down on the other bed. "I''m used to spending the night away from home, and it''s not the first time I''ve been to this area. There''s really nothing to be so excited about," he said bluntly.


    "Huh. When were you here before? On a school trip? Did you manage to enjoy it, even though you ended up by yourself?"


    "I was here a year ago, it wasn''t a school trip, and don''t make random guesses and start feeling sorry for me over them."


    "Lucky you. This time you got toe here with a gorgeous older woman." "Except your personality sucks, so I basically break even."


    "Ah, so even with a wed personality, I''m so beautiful that it bnces out." "Quit with the optimism gymnastics. Your face is pretty much special effects


    makeup anyway, right?" The boy looked at me closely.


    What a shame I can''t show him my real face. Should I let him see it at one point and call it one of my disguises, and watch how he reacts?


    "And hey, howe we''re sharing a room?" It seemed a bitte toin about that, but he averted his eyes.


    "Because we have to; they only had one vacancy. Oh, is this due to that odd predisposition of yours, too? What if you''re actually the one who caused this sleepover?"


    "I didn''t cause it, I just got dragged into it. By you." This time, the boy looked me in the eye as he spoke.


    "Well, should we y cards all night?" "No. I''m going to sleep."


    "In mysteries, that means you''re the next to die. It''s all right, though: The detective will protect you."


    "You''re going to act as a detective now? You''re one strange ''fiend.''" The boy looked exasperated, but he was definitely smiling.


    The first time I saw him, he''d appeared to have given up on everything. Back then, somehow, his profile had struck me as beautiful. When I saw him smile, though, I liked it even more. ...For no particr reason.


    "It was cold out there; I''d like to soak in the bath and warm up. Want toe in with me?"


    "...No. There''s no reason to do that." "What about saving water?"


    "We don''t need to worry about saving water at a hotel." "When you turned me down a second ago, you hesitated a bit."


    "If you''re gonna pretend to let it go, don''t bring it upter!" The boy sighed, shoulders slumping.


    But then...


    "Can we be serious for a minute?" He lifted his head, gazing at me. Apparently, ytime was over for the moment. I motioned for him to go on. "Gekka¡ªwho are you?" Boy K. was moving toward the truth of the Fiend


    with Twenty Faces. "That guy, Danny... He never told me anything. Not what he was thinking, or what job he was working on, or who he really was."


    "So you''re asking me instead?"


    "I know it''s kinda weird," the boy admitted. "But... Somehow, you two seem


    sort of simr to me."


    I hadn''t been expecting that.


    I''d never met Danny Bryant. I knew he''d been employed by the Federation Government before, that he was a handyman and Boy K.''s father figure, and a treacherous spy¡ªbut these titles were all I knew about him. What about Danny had reminded Boy K. of me?


    "Then what is it that you want to know about me?"


    I couldn''t reveal that I was the Ace Detective without viting Federation Government rules. Even so, if I didn''t tell him anything important, I might lose his trust. That was why I decided to give him a tiny peek behind the curtain.


    Boy K. immediately started asking question after question. "Why are you looking for information on Danny? Is it because you want to, or are you following orders from somebody else?"


    I see. So that had been on his mind. Since we''d been after the same things until now, he hadn''t pushed for details about it. If we were going to stay together for a while, though, he''d probably decided we needed to be on the same page.


    "At first, you said Danny was suspected of a theft. That''s a fairly petty crime, though; you''re going to great lengths just to catch a thief."


    The boy''s sharp eyes focused on me.


    I''d known I wouldn''t be able to put him off forever. Considering what I''d been doingtely, it was no wonder he''d be suspicious and doubtful. In a move to regain his trust, I began to tell him about my job, sticking to things that wouldn''t get me in trouble.


    "I have only one answer to both of your questions: I''m investigating Danny Bryant because I was ordered to."


    "So you don''t have any personal business with him?" I shook my head.


    To be honest, I was curious about the whole situation. The fact that Ice Doll seemed almost too concerned about Danny was strange, and the way Boy K. was trying to hide something about him tugged at me as well. However, those concerns were secondary; my orders were toe first.


    "Who ordered you?"


    "I can''t tell you that. Even if I did, I doubt you''d be able to understand right now. It''s an adults-only sort of thing," I said, and the boy rolled his eyes. And then...


    "In that case, as far as Danny and I are concerned, are they an enemy? Or are they on our side?"


    <i>Oh. That, huh? </i>I thought. Boy K. must have wanted to know about this the most.


    He must be extra sensitive to crises that threatened Danny Bryant. Either that, or he''d picked up on the presence of an enemy and was trying to figure out who they were. The only thing I could say now, and do for him, was...


    "I promise you one thing." The boy turned back to face me. "As long as I''m standing between you and them, I won''t let them be outright hostile toward you. I''ll work to guarantee that both sides benefit as much as possible."


    "...So you''re a negotiator?"


    "My job title doesn''t matter." One thing was certain, though. "As long as you assist me, I''ll reward you. If you ask me for help, I''ll always respond. And then for the first time, we''ll be equals." I held out my hand. The boy gave it a long, steady look. Then, as if he''d made up his mind, he grasped it and squeezed back.


    "I get the feeling there''s too much emphasis on protecting me, though." "Well, I''m older, so there is a bit of that."


    We''d just reached a formal agreement.


    "All right, I''m going to go take that bath. What about you, kid?" "Morning''s going toe early, so I''m hitting the sack."


    Wow, he''s not cute at all.

 Chapter 126 - 3.2

    <h4>Chapter 126: Chapter 3.2</h4>


    <strong>May 2 Kimihiko Kimizuka</strong>


    Just after midnight, I was lying on the hotel bed, half asleep, when the phone by my pillow alerted me to a call.


    The caller was¡ªDanny Bryant.


    With a small gasp, I went over to the window, then tapped the TALK button. "Hey there. You''re <i>over here</i>, aren''t you?" The voice from the receiver


    sounded more appalled than angry. As I hesitated, not sure how to answer, I heard a heavy sigh. "There''s nobody nearby, right? You''re alone?"


    I looked around to make sure. "Yeah. I''ve been alone since I was born, including now."


    "Ha-ha. Good answer. I give it sixty points." Dannyughed. He''s a pretty tough grader. "¡ªSo? Why did youe out here, too?" His voice suddenly dipped. He was slightly angry after all. "I''m pretty sure I told you to watch the fort."


    I remembered what Danny had said three nights ago, that he was headed out to do a hairy job, so he wouldn''t be home for a while.


    I''d spent the next day as usual, just as he''d told me...but then I''d reconsidered and tried to follow him as best I could.


    "Geez, brat. Do as you''re told, wouldja?" Well, I hadn''t. On the other end of the line, I could tell Danny was stumped.


    "I''m here by coincidence. I got this intense craving for some Toyama ck ramen."


    "Sure. Well, there''s a ton of instant ramen in the cupboard. Go right back home and boil some water. I rmend letting it sit for two and a half minutes; the noodles are nice and chewy then."


    Okay. So he wasn''t going to truly respond until I was honest with him. "You were the one who said I''d have to be a con man who could fool cops and detectives."


    I thought I heard a little gasp on the other end of the line. "I''m not the police, kid."


    "It''s just a metaphor. Whatever you are, it doesn''t matter to me. I just..." I couldn''t seem to get the words out. "Where are you right now?" I asked instead. I knew he had to be close, but where was he exactly? And also... "What''s this hairy job of yours? Does it have something to do with whoever''s been after youtely?"


    I fired one question after another at Danny.


    He stayed silent, and then... "Why are you asking me all that now?" His voice was perfectly calm. "We''ve never had a serious conversation before. We''ve never meddled in each other''s business. Those were the rules. Why would you break them?" He wanted to know what was behind my change of heart, but he''d just said it himself.


    "You''re always wandering off, and I never know what you''re doing. Even when you went somewhere for a job, you didn''t go out of your way to tell me. And yet this time, you said the job was going to be tricky...and you also said you wouldn''t be back for a while. Why?"


    Maybe it was just a hunch, something I couldn''t trust. Back then, though, Danny had sounded like he was steeling himself for something. "I''m going to ask you one more time, Danny Bryant. Where are you? I''ll meet up with you right away," I added.


    "What can you do?"


    "I dunno. Maybe nothing."


    "Then why would youe here?" Danny sighed, sounding irritated.


    I gave it a little thought. "You''re the reason I''m like this, and I want to know


    what''s happening to you." I also wanted to see it through to the end. That was all.


    After half a minute of silence...


    "...We''ll meet up in twenty hours. I''ll contact you with the locationter," Danny said. I''d worn him down. "You''re even more of a pain now than you were when I first met you." He seemed fondly exasperated now.


    "Is it okay if I take that as apliment?"


    "Go study Japanese, read some books, and underline all the characters'' feelings."


    "What do I do when the narrator''s unreliable? The protagonist might be a con man."


    "Ha-ha. You''ll just have to read between the lines. Brush up yourmunication skills and work on reading emotions."


    Hm. After so many years living alone, this could be the highest hurdle I''d faced yet.


    "If you can''t do that, then gather evidence."


    "Evidence? You''re telling me to look beyond what they''re saying?"


    "Right. If you don''t know what a guy is thinking, start by observing. Look, listen, talk, and collect information. He''ll probably lie sometimes; people do that. So don''t go taking everything at face value. Weigh objective testimony, evidence, and facts."


    Danny''s words gradually grew more intense.


    "Analysis, theory, and thought: Those are always important. Think of what that person has done. Think about what it really means. Don''t get stuck on words; don''t be fooled. If you don''t understand the human heart, then trust what you see. What you should believe is reality. Learn about people that way," he finished.


    "If I do, will I understand them someday?" I was sure I still didn''t understand half of what Danny just said. I asked anyway, in case.


    "Yeah, I think you will," Danny said, showing a strong amount of confidence in his theory. "But. If you ever find yourself in a situation you really can''t handle, I bet you''ll run into somebody who''ll give you a better answer."


    "What, so you''re just passing the buck in the end? Again?" I broke into a joyless smile.


    "Ha-ha. Well, don''t stress out about it. For now, just tuck the idea away in a corner of your mind." His tone grew uncharacteristically soft. "Don''t worry. Whenever you''re driven by necessity, you''ll meet the people you need to meet.


    That''s true now and forever."


    It almost sounded as if Danny was trying to give my problematic predisposition new meaning. "I''ll call you again," he said, and hung up.


    <strong> May 2 Siesta</strong>


    Early the next morning, we left the hotel and headed for the ce where Krone had told us the artist lived.


    It took us a bit over two hours after transferring between trains and buses. The ce was located well outside the city, and as we made our way toward it on foot, a white building that looked like a church came into view on the other side of the grassy in.


    "It''s a children''s home," Boy K. muttered behind me. "I can hear kids'' voices.


    It doesn''t seem like a regr school, though."


    I''d heard that he''d lived at a facility before Danny Bryant took him in. That was why he had jumped straight to that possibility. We had that inmon; I''d once lived in a facility with other kids my age, too. During my days there, I''d¡ª


    "Gekka, what''s wrong?"


    The next thing I knew, the boy hade up beside me and was staring at my face, seeming puzzled. "Do you feel sick? Did you eat too much?"


    Somehow, he''d picked up on the fact that I wasn''t feeling well. He was worried, but I wasn''t happy that he immediately jumped to overeating.


    "I don''t believe my disguise is so flimsy that you could pick up on changes in myplexion."


    "You slowed down a bit. I thought maybe you''d eaten too much, and it was weighing you down. Or maybe..." the boy said, walking slowly beside me. "Is there a reason you don''t want to reach that building?"


    I didn''t think there was. ...But could I be forgetting something? Was I frightened of this shelter for children? ¡ªWhy would I be? "Let''s go."


    I didn''t know. Which was why there was nothing for it but to press forward. I''d solve the mysteries in my life by myself.


    "That has to be why I became a detective," I murmured, too softly for anyone else to hear.


    When we reached the white building, there was a man in a wheelchair out in the front yard, watering the flowers. I called out to him. "Excuse me. Can we have a moment?"


    The man slowly turned around, wheelchair and all.


    His features seemed European, and he might have been in his seventies. He had a dignified appearance, and his white hair had been carefully styled. Thebination made him seem very refined. I could easily imagine him getting up out of that chair at any moment and drawing himself up to his full height, even if I knew he couldn''t now.


    "We''re¡ª"


    "I thought you mighte someday."


    Boy K. and I exchanged looks. The kid shook his head; he didn''t know this man, either.


    Even so, the two of us gave our names, and the old man introduced himself as Jekyll. "Well,e in," he said with a gentle smile. He turned and propelled his chair toward the front entrance, which was flush with the ground. He seemed to know why we were there.


    "You think it''s a trap?" the boy whispered to me. "I''d say the odds are fifty-fifty."


    "Great. Okay, what do we do?"


    "There''s a fifty percent chance that we''ll get results ande out of this unscathed, and a fifty percent chance that we''ll get injured but still obtain results."


    "...So you''ve already decided we''re going." Exactly. I really like sharp kids.


    Jekyll led us down a long corridor to a great hall of some kind. About a dozen children were inside, drawing pictures or putting puzzles together.


    "Gekka, look." Boy K. pointed at a spot high on the wall. Watercolors and oil paintings ofndscapes and everyday objects hung there. The art styles were all different, but the motley look of the techniques made me think of the person we were searching for.


    "Do Grete''s paintings interest you fine people?" Jekyll spoke to us politely, even though we were far younger than he was. "Grete" was the name of the artist we were looking for.


    "Is she one of the children who live here?"


    "She is indeed. Her parents abandoned her, although I won''t divulge the specifics. She''s been here since she was small."


    I could think of a few reasons parents might abandon a child, from their financial circumstances to an unwanted pregnancy. Either way, although Grete''s parents should have loved her unconditionally, they''d abandoned her at this


    facility.


    "She has incredible skill, doesn''t she?"


    Thepliment I blurted out was a verymon one. As a matter of fact, her pictures were so beautiful that her family and the circumstances she''d been born into just didn''t seem important.


    "Well, ording to Grete, those are originals and still quite unpolished." Smiling a little, the old man gazed up at thendscapes on the wall. "Creating meticulously urate copies is where her skills really shine. I doubt even the most keen-eyed art dealer could tell her paintings were a fake."


    That was exactly what we''d seen happen.


    Jekyll continued. "Human faces are constantly changing, so she isn''t good at capturing them on canvas. On the other hand, when she uses a static model, she can re-create it perfectly. That''s her specialty."


    "...At that level, it''s basically a superpower," Boy K. said, unsure what to believe. And then...


    "Yes, most of these children have simr special abilities or skills. Are you familiar with the word <i>gifted</i>? It refers to individuals who are born with advanced intelligence, artistic ability, or creativity."


    From his wheelchair, Jekyll gazed at the children who were ying in therge room.


    "Here at Sun House, we protect and foster children like that. I have the honor of serving as the facility''s representative. ...Although, really, I''m just an old, retired soldier." Jekyll smiled self-deprecatingly.


    "You say ''special ability,'' but you don''t mean things like teleportation or shooting mes from their palms, do you?" I asked.


    Jekyll nodded quietly. "That''s correct. <i>It''s all within the realm ofmon sense. </i>Acquiring and using multiplenguages in a short amount of time, or being able to instantly and urately remember what they''ve seen... There are also children who excel at reading others'' mental states, or who can have lucid dreams voluntarily."


    "That seems plenty umon to me," Boy K. retorted.


    Still smiling, Jekyll borated. "No, they''re all quite real. The ability to read human emotions can be exined with psychology, and science is working to prove lucid dreams as we speak."


    "Then what about Grete?" I asked. How was she able to make counterfeits so perfect that even the experts were fooled?


    "She has a rare gift for spatial awareness, and a superior talent for art.


    Together, they make it possible for her to re-create paintings perfectly. Grete perceives things as detailed schematics," Jekyll exined.


    I took another look at therge room, and the children who were in it. Their ages ranged from three to twelve or thirteen. From what we''d just heard, most of them had some sort of special ability, and this facility existed to protect them.


    The average person probably would have had a hard time believing that. Even Boy K. was perplexed, with good reason, and he was constantly getting pulled into all sorts of odd things. However, I knew people like the children in this facility... People who were even more gifted, in fact. For example, there was a girl who foresaw events rted to global crises. She had once been the prisoner of a certain organization. Did this facility have some other secret as well?


    "Would it be possible for us to meet Grete?"


    ording to Krone, Danny Bryant had discovered the girl''s special ability. What was her connection to him? Grete might have information about Danny that we couldn''t learn from anyone else. On that thought, I¡ª


    "Jekyll! Look at this!" A lively voice interrupted our conversation.


    I turned around. A red-haired girl in a white dress wasing toward us, practically dancing. She looked around eleven or twelve. Then she noticed Boy


    and I. "Oh, visitors...?" she said, and slowed down, seeming a little embarrassed.


    "You''ve drawn a new picture?" Jekyll gave her a soft smile.


    "Uh-huh! I drew Natalie''s portrait today!" Grete cheerfully showed Jekyll a picture of a friend who lived at the facility. It was an original painting of a girl''s smiling face. "I wonder if I could draw Danny now, too," Grete murmured a little shyly.


    So she really did know him.


    "What''s your connection to Danny?" Boy K. asked.


    For just a moment, Grete froze. Then she realized we were Danny''s friends, too. "Um..." she faltered, lifting the canvas so that it hid the lower half of her face. She seemed bashful by nature.


    "Danny Bryant is the one who encouraged Grete to polish her art skills," Jekyll exined.


    "He worked to protect those like Grete, children with special circumstances. Since getting by in the regr world was going to be difficult for them, he taught them skills that would help them live independently once they left Sun


    House."


    I see: ways to earn money. It all made sense now. Danny must have bought Grete''s paintings in order to show her that her ability to create perfect counterfeits could help her earn a living. He''d had Krone, a real art dealer, serve as the middleman so that Grete wouldn''t think he was just being kind because he knew her.


    "When do you suppose Danny''sing back?" Grete looked down, her expression lonely. "Maybe he''s busy with work." From what Ice Doll and Fuubi had said, Danny had disappeared a year ago. Hadn''t he visited Sun House since then, either?


    "Well, that''s a good question." Jekyll looked at us. ...Or rather, at Boy K. "He might know."


    All our eyes focused on him.


    "Do you know what Danny''s doing?" Grete asked Boy K. timidly, oveing her shyness.


    "Kid," I said. He shot me a brief nce. "I think it''s about time you told me the truth, too, isn''t it?"


    This was the ck box Boy K. had been hiding all this time. I''d been dimly aware that he had some big secret, but I''d been waiting for it toe to the surface.


    "You know where Danny Bryant is, don''t you?"


    I wasn''t positive. I''d spent the past few days with him, however, and considering how he''d acted, it was a pretty solid guess.


    Jekyll, Grete, and I were all watching him, but Boy K. didn''t turn a hair. He just drew one small breath, then filled us in.


    "Yeah. Danny''s been dead for a year."


    <strong> May 2 Kimihiko Kimizuka</strong>


    "Danny, where are you?!" I yelled into the phone when the call finally went through.


    It waste at night. Except for me, there was nobody outside. "...Hey, you sound pretty stressed."


    On the other end of the line, Danny sounded like his usual easygoing self, but his breathing seemed a little ragged.


    We''d talked before, just after midnight, and had nned to meet up that


    evening. I waited and waited, but Danny never showed up. I''d called his phone again and again, and this was the first time he''d picked up.


    "¡ª! What are you doing?! Why didn''t youe?!"


    "Ha-ha. I warned you. You can''t let con men fool you, Detective."


    <i>Who''s a detective?! </i>I wanted to shout back at him. My fingers tightened around my phone.


    Every so often, I heard something that sounded like a groan. Was he hurt? "I''ll be right there. Danny, where are you?" Even as I asked, I was racing toward the spot on the coast where we''d nned to meet earlier. The ck ocean spread out in front of me, unchanging and endless.


    "...There''s one thing I need to tell you."


    "The only thing you need to tell me is where you are right now!"


    "There''s bound toe a day when you wonder why life refuses to go your way, why it''s so cruel. You''ll lose hope." Danny didn''t answer my question. He seemed to be speaking from experience. "It won''t matter how happy you were up till then. Maybe you had the best horoscope in the paper that day; maybe you were just picking out a cake for a beloved member of your family. None of that will matter. The devil of misfortune never gives a shit about how it''s supposed to go."


    "...I didn''t know you''d been married." "Ha-ha. You never asked."


    <i>It''s not like you would have told me if I had.</i>


    "¡ª! When despaires on the heels of tepid happiness, it hurts like hell."


    Danny''s voice was trembling, but not from emotion. There was something physically wrong with him. Even so, he kept talking.


    "You''ll think, ''I didn''t know life could get so ugly.'' You won''t feel anything as simple as anger or sadness. All you''ll feel is...futility. Emptiness with nowhere to go."


    I''d been running without a break, and my chest was starting to hurt. My legs were still moving, and I could still swing my arms, but my heart and lungs couldn''t keep up, and each breath was a choking gasp.


    "Humans are funny, though. When night falls, we get sleepy, and then we wake up in the morning with our stomachs growling. We think, ''So, what, was that despair even real? Was I just faking? Huh. My body''s still trying to live.'' It''ll make you think survival instincts are a royal pain in the butt. Even so," Danny went on. "That''s what humans are. No matter how reality refuses to go your way, you''ve gotta keep on living."


    His rant might have been directed at himself or at the world, but in the next moment, his usual dauntless optimism was back.


    "Even if you''ve lost one way of life, you can choose a new one. We have to.


    That''s how we keep living. You get it, don''cha?" He sounded as if he were lecturing a kid.


    "...No, I don''t. I don''t get it." I was out of breath. My feet caught on the sand, and I finally copsed.


    "Ha-ha. Well, you don''t have to understand right away. Remember what I told you earlier, though. Someday, you''ll¡ª"


    Just then, I heard other voices on his end of the line. One woman, and a man who wasn''t Danny. Who was it? Who was there with him?


    "...Sorry. Time''s up, I guess."


    "What are you talking about?! Danny!"


    "Listen up, Kimihiko." For the first time I could remember, Danny said my name. And then...


    "You...live on."


    <i>Live on.</i>


    Right after that, a gunshot rang out.


    That was thest time I heard Danny''s real voice. Three days before my birthday.

 Chapter 127 - 3.3

    <h4>Chapter 127: Chapter 3.3</h4>


    <strong>May 2 Siesta</strong>


    "And that''s how I lost Dannyst year."


    That was the secret Boy K. had kept hidden all this time¡ªa full year, to the day.


    What had happened to him then¡ªor rather, to Danny Bryant?


    The truth behind Danny''s disappearance was the worst one possible: He was already dead.


    "He won''t being back here. He''s gone."


    When Jekyll heard that, he silently closed his eyes. Grete looked stunned, unable to process what she''d just learned. I was the only one who managed to speak.


    "Who did it?"


    ording to the kid, Danny had spoken as if he knew he''d reached the end of his life, and he''d heard other voices and a gunshot. It was only natural to assume that someone had shot and killed Danny.


    "I have no clue. ...Some of the jobs he did would have made him enemies. It''s highly likely that one of them decided to settle their score with him."


    It made sense. He was a former Federation Government spy; had someone been after him because of that? Maybe he''d been on an undercover mission, and his cover had gotten blown, so they''d executed him. Or it might have been some anti-government group who''d wanted to pry ssified information out of him¡ª


    "So that''s why you kept asking whether I was Danny Bryant''s enemy."


    Danny was already dead. Boy K. had no idea who''d killed him. Since I was still pursuing him, he''d been trying to gather information while pretending to help me.


    Thinking back, I realized that the boy''s attitude toward me had clearly warmed the moment I brought Danny up at the police station. He might already have been weighing the possibility that I was <i>worth using</i>.


    In other words, our interests had lined up. We''d been using each other: Me in an attempt to find Danny Bryant, and Boy K. in an attempt to uncover the truth behind his death.


    "In that case, I really wish you''d told me the truth a bit sooner."


    We''d acted as if we were cooperating for the sake of our own goals, but I''d suspected Boy K. was hiding something. I never would have guessed it was Danny Bryant''s death, though.


    "Yeah, I feel bad about that. Still..." Boy K. gave a crooked smile. "Danny told me to be a con man so that I could fool cops and detectives."


    Goosebumps ran across my skin.


    Cops and detectives¡ªhe had to have picked those words by coincidence. Even so, it felt as if he''d figured out what I really was, and I felt a weird sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach.


    But there was no way the kid could have unmasked me so easily.


    ...Actually, in this case, he wouldn''t have been the one who''d seen through me, would he?


    "No, not possible."


    A certain theory crossed my mind, and I shook my head, hastily getting rid of


    it.


    There was one more thing that kept tugging at me, though.


    "Kid? Is Danny Bryant really...?" I didn''t say <i>dead</i>. I didn''t have to.


    "...Good question. I dunno." The boy didn''t deny the possibility he was


    wrong. He hadn''t actually seen Danny''s body after all. He only had indirect evidence.


    "I was hoping you might turn something up, Gekka. I thought Danny was dead, and here was this mysterious police officer who was looking for him... And then you were actually the Fiend with Twenty Faces, acting on orders from some organization. I thought you might know a few secrets."


    But as it turned out, I hadn''t known the truth about Danny''s death. Maybe the boy was disappointed in me.


    "If you''re confessing this now, though..."


    "Yeah. I thought if I showed my cards, new information might turn up."


    As a matter of fact, bying here, we''d learned that Danny had been involved with Sun House, a facility that sheltered children with special circumstances. Some of his secrets must still be hidden, and they were probably linked to the truth behind his death. That meant we still had to¡ª


    "That can''t be true!" the girl with us shrieked.


    Grete shook her head again and again, denying what we''d said. "I mean, he promised! Danny... Danny''s not¡ª!" She wiped her tears away. Then she turned her back to us and ran.


    The children who''d been ying in the big room all looked over, startled. "Nice. You made a girl cry." I sighed.


    "It''s that guy''s fault for vanishing on everybody," Boy K. said.


    Still, I''d seen his expression as he murmured those words, and I really couldn''t scold him.


    "May I ask you to...?" Jekyll gave us an awkward smile. The kid and I exchanged looks, then went after Grete.


    Not even five minutester, we spotted the girl''s small back. She was outside, on a cape with a view of the ocean, watching the waves roll in. "Grete," I called out to her.


    Her shoulders flinched. Then she sniffled. "I can''t draw Danny''s face."


    She was talking about her pictures. Grete always drew by making perfect copies of subjects. However...


    "Because you''re bad with expressions and other moving things?"


    The old man had told us that was why she only made copies of existing drawings.


    "Jekyll always glosses it over like that, but that''s not actually why. <i>I can''t see people''s faces.</i>"


    <i>Face blindness. </i>The condition came to mind right away.


    It was a type of neurological disorder: the inability to recognize human faces. A sufferer could perceive eyes, noses, and other features separately, but they


    couldn''t see them as a single integrated "face."


    This meant that people with face blindness couldn''t pick up on changes in human expressions, and they were unable to tell others apart, even if they were close friends. That was why Grete¡ª


    "And so you always drew things that didn''t change."


    "Funny, huh?" the girl said,ughing at herself. "All I can do is see people''s eyes, noses, and mouths as symbols and paint them that way. If that''s enough, I can sort of paint people; it''s just like making a copy. But..." She turned around. Herrge eyes were filled with tears. "When I finish a picture like that, <i>I can''t tell if it''s really finished</i>. I still don''t know what the face of the person I love looks like."


    At this point, we hardly needed to ask who that person was.


    "I promised. I said I''d beat this thing someday, and I''d paint Danny''s portrait. Then I''d show it to him and have him tell me whether it really looked like him, <i>whether I''d gotten it right or not.</i>"


    That was the promise Grete had made with Danny. Now that dream would nevere true. What she''d heard from Boy K. had dashed her hopes.


    "Still, somewhere in my heart, I think I knew. This whole year, I waited and waited. I did think Danny might nevere back. But..." Grete wiped her tears away with her palms, again and again, and managed to say the rest of her sentence. "I wanted him to be safe and happy somewhere...!"


    Even if their promise never came true¡ªas long as Danny had been alive somewhere, that would have been enough.


    I was an outsider, and I had no idea how close the two of them had been. It would have been presumptuous of me to assume that they must have been like father and daughter. The tale they''d woven was theirs alone.


    And so I couldn''t take that step forward. I couldn''t reach out and wipe Grete''s tears away. It probably wasn''t my job, or a job for any detective. You can''t use egocentric kindness and thoughtfulness to save people. In that case, I''d keep doing things my way and¡ª


    "I don''t know Danny''s face, either."


    The kidcked the kindness and thoughtfulness I had¡ªbut he went up to Grete without hesitating and spoke to her before I could. "He never genuinelyughed around me; he didn''t cry, and he didn''t get mad. That guy never showed me who he really was."


    Right: This wasn''t kindness or thoughtfulness. It was objective fact, based in two years'' worth of Boy K.''s experiences.


    Speaking gently, he offered Grete what sympathy he could. "So I don''t know what he looks like, either. I still remember lots of things about him, though. His voice was hoarse from liquor and cigarettes, and his hair pomade had this really cloying smell. Oh yeah, and he was always going up and patting people''s shoulders. His hands were really rough. I''m sure I never knew his true self, but even after a year, I remember his voice and that smell and the way his hands felt. You do, too, don''t you?"


    "...Uh-huh. I do, too." On the other side of the boy, Grete smiled just a little, although her eyes were red.


    "Besides, when Danny looked at your paintings, he seemed happy. He said he wanted to treasure those beautiful pictures of yours more than any sound argument or his own philosophy."


    When Grete heard that, her eyes widened, and she teared up again. "...I see. I know it''ste to do it now, but I do want to draw his portrait."


    The wind blew, softly ruffling her red hair.


    "Yeah. I''m sure he''s waiting for that, too," the boy said, encouraging her gently.


    From where I stood, I couldn''t see his face. "¡ªI''m tired."


    I''d taken off my mask, and as I was gazing at my face in the hotel washroom''s mirror, the words slipped out.


    This was my own face, no makeup. Pale skin and blue eyes. My face might seem grown-uppared to other kids my age, but objectively speaking, my youth was obvious.


    With a small sigh, I stripped off my clothes, then left the washroom. There was no one else in the room.


    Boy K. and I had parted ways at the children''s home. He''d had something he wanted to think about on his own, and when Jekyll had generously offered to let him stay the night, he''d epted.


    Meanwhile, I''d ridden buses and trains back the way we''de, returning to our hotel. I had several jobs to do.


    "It''s been a while since I was alone."


    I toppled over onto the bed in my underwear.


    Now that no one was here to see, it should be okay to be this sloppy. Curling up within the sheets when I was practically naked was oddly soothing. Was this what being in the womb felt like?


    "I''d better call in."


    I couldn''t justze around. I had new information about Danny Bryant, and that meant I had a report to make. I picked up my phone and considered calling Ice Doll, the Federation Government official. First, I''d tell her that Danny had been sheltering children with special abilities.


    "I wonder if she knew."


    I got the feeling that Danny''s involvement with the kids hadn''t been connected to the spy work he''d done for the Federation Government.


    In that case, had it been a personal job? It was also likely that job had somehow gotten Danny killed. That much was clear from the fact that it had happened while he was working nearby.


    In that case, had the enemy¡ªthe killer¡ªbeen trying to keep Danny from helping those kids? But why?


    "Maybe it''s still a little too early to report this to the higher-ups."


    I went over what I needed to do. First, I wanted to figure out who Danny had


    been up againstst year. In order to do that, I''d probably have to leave the area. There was one more thing I wanted to think about carefully before I contacted


    Ice Doll: Danny Bryant''s death itself.


    Of course, the possibility of his death had crossed my mind. It was the first exnation that should have urred to me, really.


    Even so, because of Boy K., I''d begun to eliminate that possibility. He and Danny had been practically family, and although he''d known the truth, he hadn''t let anything slip.


    It had seemed as if he''dpletely forgotten about Danny''s death and was working with me to find out the truth. The reality was different: He''d known that Danny was dead and used me in an attempt to learn more about it.


    "<i>Clever </i>isn''t quite the word."


    When I''d first met Boy K., and when I''d learned that he was pretending to be the culprit behind that murder incident, I''d thought he was a very crafty kid. He wasn''t afraid to sacrifice himself in order to reach his goals, and he was able to carry out meticulous ns.


    That might not have been the case, though. He could feel genuine fear. He was scared of losing something. And yet <i>he was able to hide itpletely.</i>


    At first, I''d thought he was a perfectly ordinary boy, then I''d learned he was very clever, and now he frightened me a little.


    I''d thought we were alike. Neither of us was temperamental, and we kept a simr distance between ourselves and others. ...But he wasn''t like me.


    He did have strong emotions, impulses, and wishes, but for the sake of his goal, he could stifle them all. He could pretend to be a delightful, engaging person. The mask of the Fiend with Twenty Faces had nothing on his.


    "Which face is your real one?"


    I stretched my hand out toward the ceiling. This hand wasn''t capable of stripping off his mask yet, most likely.


    "...What am I thinking?" Suddenly, I realized I was nning to keep him in my life. Was it for the sake of the mission? Or was it¡ª


    "I guess I really am tired."


    I let my hand fall to my forehead.


    Desperately, I banished that second possibility from my mind. "Will you sacrifice yourpanions again?"


    The voice of the great evil echoed in my head.


    <i>I know.</i>


    <i>I know, so get out of here</i>. I brushed the illusion away with my right hand.


    "¡ªOh, you finally picked up."


    Just then, a girl''s voice spoke from the smartphone by my pillow.


    Apparently, a call hade in, and I''d unintentionally hit the TALK button. ... In video call mode, too.


    "Oh, Mia. It''s been a while, huh." Collecting myself, I responded. I''d said "It''s been a while" on instinct, but it had only been a week or so since thest time we''d talked. I''d met Mia Whitlock in London, right before I left for Japan.


    "Yes, it''s been a week... Wha¡ª B-Boss? What are you wearing?"


    I waszing around on the bed, holding the phone up high, when Mia started panicking. Oh, right, I was still in my underwear.


    "You''re a guardian of the world. Get it together, would you?"


    Mia blushed, partially covering her face with her hands, peeking through her fingers. <i>What is she trying to do?</i>


    "Sorry, sorry. You caught me in the middle of changing." Telling a small white lie, I set down my phone and put on a nearby bathrobe. "And? What did you need?"


    Mia was the Oracle, a Tuner like me. Since we traded information about Seed on a regr basis, we often talked like this, but today hadn''t been one of our scheduled meetings.


    "Well, I may have finally found something that could change the future recorded in the sacred text." Mia''s voice sounded serious.


    The sacred text was a book of prophecies about global crises, written by a series of Oracles. At present, it foretold my defeat at the hands of one of Seed''s executives. We''d been spending our days working out a strategy that would change that future.


    "A possibility? Don''t tell me¡ªis this about the Singrity?" I asked, picking up my phone again. The Singrity was the one thing that could change the future as it was written. Mia had once exined that the future branched out in many directions, with that individual as the point of origin.


    However, knowing when and where the Singrity would be born was nearly impossible. Even the Oracle had to wait until she <i>just happened </i>to spot them. ... But I''d definitely heard Mia say she might have found a way to change the future.


    My heart was pounding, whether I wanted it to or not.


    And then Mia told me the identity of the Singrity she''d seen.


    "...Boss?"


    After a short silence, she called out to me, worried. "No, it''s all right. It''s just..."


    <i>I really have been hearing that name an awful lottely</i>, I thought.

 Chapter 128: A certain girl’s tale 3

    <h4>Chapter 128: A certain girl¡¯s tale 3</h4>


    "And that''s where the story links up. I see."


    I closed the journal for a moment, and a sigh escaped me.


    The truth behind Danny Bryant''s disappearance had been revealed. Then there was the darkness, and the secrets, that Kimihiko harbored. No doubt Mistress Siesta would go on to confront these issues.


    "I wonder who he actually is," I murmured to Mistress Siesta, who was asleep on the bed.


    Boy K.: Kimihiko Kimizuka. Up until now, the version of him in her journal hadn''t been much different from the one I knew.


    To put it nicely, he was cool. To put it less nicely, he was blunt. He did have a sense of humor, though, and he was kind andpassionate when it really mattered. He seemed unapproachable at first, but when you talked to him, he was unexpectedly interesting. He was constantly trying to put on a good front, but sometimes he did really dumb things, and that was rather cute.


    Each of us felt that we might be the only one who really understood him in the whole world.


    We were <i>made </i>to feel that way. "But by whom?"


    Suddenly, although I couldn''t say why, I felt just a tiny bit afraid of Boy K. Even though I''m only an artificial intelligence. How funny.


    "Still, Mistress Siesta picked up on his peculiarity."


    At this point, she alone had registered the fact that Kimihiko was¡ª intentionally or unconsciously¡ªwearing a mask.


    He took his emotions and what he really felt, along with his goals and his


    wishes, shut them all up in a box, and then chained it shut. At first nce, he seemed apathetic and emotionless, but when you got to know him, he was surprisingly funny¡ªand yet nothing was that straightforward with him. It was all just an act.


    In that case, now that the Ace Detective had seen through him, what would her next move be?


    "...My."


    Wondering what would happen next, I opened the journal again¡ªonly to find that Mistress Siesta had written no more entries.


    How had she dealt with Kimihiko after that?


    Was the current Kimihiko Kimizuka still Boy K., still wearing that mask?


    I flipped through the journal, searching for answers, but found only nk pages. Mistress Siesta''s entries never resumed.


    Could it be a sign? Was she telling me to stop prying into her private life?


    Still, there was no doubt that their story had continued through those nk days.


    "Isn''t that right, Kimihiko?" I asked him, even though he wasn''t here.


    <i>Come now, tell me.</i>


    <i>What sort of dazzling adventure did you and Mistress Siesta have next?</i>

 Chapter 129 - 4.1

    <h4>Chapter 129: Chapter 4.1</h4>


    <strong>May 3 Kimihiko Kimizuka</strong>


    When I opened my eyes that morning, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.


    ...Which isn''t to say I''d copsed at some point and ended up in the hospital. "Oh, right. I spent the night here."


    This was Sun House, the children''s home that looked like a church. Jekyll, the old man in a wheelchair who was in charge of the ce, had arranged for me to stay the night.


    I''d been given a private room. When I got out of bed, my head felt sort of hazy. I was pretty sure I''d gotten enough sleep, but I still felt tired.


    It was probably because of the dream I''d been having¡ªabout a house on fire.


    Inside, a child was wailing.


    The fire truck wasn''t there yet. I''d just happened to be passing by, and like the other onlookers, I stood there helplessly.


    "Okay, well, I''ll be right back."


    Only one person in that crowd chose to take action. Just that man. He dumped a bucket of water over his head, then headed into the zing house.


    "Ha-ha. Can''t keep that kid waiting, can I?"


    I''d probably tried to stop him, but I didn''t really remember. It was all a dream, after all.


    But Danny had definitely smiled. He''d started toward the fiery vortex, all alone.


    I''d reached for him as he walked away, but it was toote. "Just a nightmare."


    Right as I finished reviewing that painful dream, the phone rang. I checked the name on the disy, drew a deep breath, then pressed the TALK button.


    "Good morning. Did you manage to sleep without me there?" said a voice I didn''t recognize.


    The name disyed hadn''t been wrong, though.


    "Yeah, I was fine. I was just thinking I missed your snores, Gekka."


    "I don''t snore, all right? ...I don''t think," she muttered. She sounded cross, but not quite sure of herself. "I swear. And here I was worried about you."


    It seems I''d been on her mind because of what had happened yesterday.


    After our visit, Gekka had said she had work to do and went back to the hotel by herself. So I was the only one who''d stayed at Sun Housest night, and apparently, she''d been worried enough to call me.


    "That''s very kind of you," I said diplomatically.


    "Well, I am an adult," she responded, sounding like a kid. She might not actually be that much older than me after all. "What?"


    "Nothing."


    Still, what made Gekka want to change up her appearance every time? She seemed to be using a voice changer again today; her voice had been different yesterday. She must have wanted to conceal her identity at all costs.


    Was that her work style, or was it the policy of the organization that sent her on missions? Either way, she was probably still hiding a lot from me.


    At this point, though, I wasn''t nning to get to the bottom of it. Assuming it wasn''t rted to Danny''s death, anyway.


    "Well, Gekka-the-adult? What are you cosying as today?" Switching gears, I started joking around with her.


    "I just got out of the shower, so I''m naked. Stark naked." "Put on some clothes before you use the phone."


    That''s no good. Even if she was actually an adult, she was a hopeless one. "Kid, what sort of cosys do you like?"


    It''s way too early in the day for this sort of conversation.


    "If we don''t discuss what I''ll be wearing, you won''t recognize me the next time we meet, remember?"


    Ah, I see. So we were making arrangements for next time. ...Meaning there was going to be a next time? I didn''t know what business she was being called out on, but I thought about it carefully before I answered. "A nurse, or a cheerleader."


    "Huh! So that''s what you''re int¡ª"


    "Only ayman would answer with either of those." "Ayman...," Gekka echoed, sounding mystified. "For an expert..."


    "What?"


    "It''s gotta be family restaurant uniforms." "... "


    Silence.


    "Then uniforms from convenience stores or fast-food joints." "... "


    There seemed to be poor connection. Was it because my smartphone was two generations old?


    "When did the signal cut out?" "It didn''t. I heard all of that."


    "I see. Then let''s move on to the main topic."


    Life is short. After having a pointless conversation, you have to work faster than usual.


    What was Gekka actually calling about?


    "Yes, well..." She was still a little evasive. "It''s important, so maybe we should meet in person. My business will be wrapped up before the end of the day."


    So we really would be seeing each other again.


    "Yeah, okay. Where and when do you want to meet? I was nning to head back home after this." I thought I''d done everything I needed to do at this facility. Yesterday had tired me out, so I''d rested for a night, but I meant to go home today.


    "Actually, I may not be able to answer the phone for a little while. I''ll call you againter."


    "You sure are busy."


    "Yes, because I''m Ms. Gekka."


    I didn''t get the connection there. We both said "See you" and hung up.


    The conversation had been nothing but banter, and now the room was quiet again.


    Silently, I went over what Gekka had said. "Is it about Danny, or...?"


    She''d mentioned something important. Usingmon sense, it would probably be him. Yesterday, after we''d split up, I''d spent some time thinking about Danny.


    Really, though, I shouldn''t have needed to. I''d alreadye to terms with the fact that Danny was dead. Meeting Gekka just made me think about him again, though, and I''d uncovered one new piece of information.


    Danny had been sheltering children with special circumstances here in the Hokuriku region. It sounded like something he''d do, and I''m sure it was because of his own philosophy, not because he hoped to get anything out of it.


    "Then what about me?"


    He must not have thought I was somebody he needed to protect. If he had, he wouldn''t have left me behind in that apartment by myself. It was just like that dream: I''d reached out with everything I had, but Danny had run into that inferno, and he''d never looked back.


    "It''s fine that way."


    Danny wasn''t my dad, and I wasn''t his kid. We weren''t family. I wasn''t sulking about it, and I wasn''t being sarcastic.


    It was just a fact. That was our rtionship. Just then, someone knocked twice.


    "Come in," I said, and Grete opened the door. "Um, w-would you like to eat breakfast with us?"


    She still seemed a little embarrassed, but she smiled at me bashfully. It was as if she were weing me into their circle...to the family Danny Bryant had made. What was the right way to react to that? I didn''t know, but I nodded. "I''ll be right there."


    As always, fake smiles were handy.


    I hadn''t expected the breakfast invitation. On top of that, it had been a long time since I sat at a table with other people, let alone a group thisrge.


    Feeling a little bewildered, I kept working on my stew and bread. Before long, Grete sat down beside me and talked to me about this and that. More than half the conversation was about Danny. Still, the man in her memories was a little different from the one in mine.


    From what she told me, Danny had brought a present for each of the kids whenever he''d visited the facility. He''d smiled andplimented them on their special skills and quirks and helped them grow, acting just like a real dad.


    "...What''s with that difference in treatment?" I griped at my deceased self- proimed teacher. No matter how far back I went, I couldn''t remember him everplimenting me. He''d certainly never given me presents. <i>He was the sort of guy who''d die three days before my birthday. </i>Geez. He could have at least paid the apartment''s electricity bill before he went.


    Silently grumbling about that, I finished breakfast, then headed for Jekyll''s room. I was an outsider, but apparently, he had something important to tell me.


    Come to think of it, when Gekka and I hade to the facility yesterday, Jekyll had looked at us and said, "I thought you''de someday." What had that been about? Still wondering about that, I knocked on the door of the room where Jekyll was waiting.


    "I''m d you''re here."


    When I opened the door and walked in, the old man weed me from his wheelchair. The room was set up like an office, and Jekyll was in front of a bookshelf that stood against the wall. He was holding a book. "I asked you toe because I needed help to move this shelf."


    Yeesh. Apparently, I''d been called in as a handyman. Hadn''t he had something important to discuss with me? ...I did owe him for my room and board, though. Sighing inwardly, I headed toward the bookshelf. "Which way do you want me to move it? Left or right?"


    I switched ces with Jekyll in front of the shelf. There were several hundred books on it. Would I have to empty it first? Just as I''d started to wonder about that...


    "Could you push it back?" Jekyll asked. He wanted me to push the shelf, not left or right, but back.


    The big shelf was set right up against the wall. Pushing it back seemed pretty pointless. However¡ª


    "...Is this a ninja house?"


    Just to see, I did as Jekyll had instructed, and what had looked like a bookshelf swung back like a door and beckoned me into unknown territory.


    "I guess not going home yesterday was the right move." Although I didn''t know what was waiting for me there yet.


    Jekyll was wearing a small smile. I made eye contact with him, then we both passed through the door. As we continued down a chilly corridor, Jekyll wheeling his chair by himself, he began to exin.


    "This facility, and particrly this space, was originally a safe house for Danny Bryant. The man really was quite reckless, so he had many enemies."


    Most of that wasn''t news to me. Danny had spent a lot of time away from the apartment where we lived; during some of those trips, he must have been lying low here. It would have been partly in order to get away from his enemies, but he''d probably also wanted to shower the kids here with affection.


    "I only know bits and pieces about the sort of work he did, and how he came to create this facility. He almost seemed to be trying to erase any traces that he''d lived at all. But..." Jekyll stopped in front of a wall.


    No, what I''d thought was a wall was actually an enormous safe.


    "Inside this safe is ssified information about a certain job, something Danny kept hidden until his death. He gave me this message: ''Someday, children capable of opening this Pandora''s box will appear.''"


    Jekyll looked up at me from his wheelchair.


    His gaze seemed different from the gentle one I''d seen before.


    "Last year, soon after his disappearance, a sealed letter arrived at Sun House. It held strings of numbers that appeared to be a code; once we''d decoded it, we were left with a number that we believed was the key to this safe."


    "...You decoded it? It was that easy to figure out?" What was the point of a cipher anyone could break?


    "Yes, a quantumputer could have broken it easily, given a few years." You wouldn''t think it by looking at him, but apparently, this old man cracked jokes. "However, there''s a child at this facility who''s <i>rather clever with numbers</i>. Thanks to him, we solved the riddle in a matter of days."


    "...I guess AI and robots aren''t quite ready to outshine humans."


    Jekyll was probably talking about a <i>gifted </i>kid like Grete, someone with extraordinary skills. Danny must have had some sort of reason for housing those kids here.


    "However, simply turning the dial didn''t open the safe. You see, this enormous ck box has one other small lock." Narrowing his eyes, Jekyll gazed at a little keyhole near the dial. Without that key, it wouldn''t open. "I imagine you understand what I''m getting at?" he asked, without even ncing at me.


    "...This is bizarre." I couldn''t even manage a self-deprecating smile. I sighed. "I wasn''t his family. There''s no way he''d leave something that important with me."


    Who, or what, had Danny been protecting this safe from? He hadn''t even told me that. Of course I didn''t have the key.


    "Using your emotions to determine anything is a very difficult task," Jekyll said, with his mild voice. I turned around. He was watching me with kind eyes. "People often say that life is a series of choices, but I believe that basing those choices on your own emotions is a risky endeavor. Joy, anger, and sadness can re up inside us, but we can''t sustain the intensity of the moment when they do. However, when pressed to make a significant decision, we invariably rely on those intense, fluctuating feelings. Even I still do it, at my age," he said ruefully. "In the midst of that chaotic torrent of emotions, we''re subject to the passion that holds the most color in that moment. We yield to it, even though we''ll already be a different person by tomorrow''s first light."


    What was Jekyll trying to say? What was he telling me? I didn''t even have to ask. But then what should I do? If he was saying not to rely on my feelings, what should I rely on?


    "¡ªMemories, huh?"


    The things that had happened to me. Objective facts that I''d actually experienced.


    That''s right. That''s what I''d told Grete yesterday.


    When your heart wavers, when you hesitate over a decision, you can rely on the memories that have been etched into you.


    What had I heard from Danny, over those two years? What had he shown me?


    What had he entrusted to me? What on earth had he¡ª


    "I take it you''ve thought of something?" When Jekyll spoke, I turned to look at him, startled. He was smiling again. "I won''t ask for that answer now. Just keep it deep within you, and do what you need to do."


    Jekyll was encouraging me. He''d left this in my hands¡ªthe key to open this enormous Pandora''s box, and the right to do it.


    "Uncovering the secrets hidden at the end of a grand adventure is a mission that''s always given to young people. Old soldiers can only watch over you." Jekyll sounded self-deprecating, but he blinked in a slow, satisfied way.


    Then he went on: "This may sound melodramatic to you now, but that''s all right. Someday, old as I am, I would like you to tell me a tale in which you turn the world upside down, forging even intense emotions into a weapon."

 Chapter 130 - 4.2

    <h4>Chapter 130: Chapter 4.2</h4>


    May 3 Siesta


    Yesterday, I''d left Boy K. at Sun House and spent a night at the hotel. Today I headed farther north, toward Hokkaido. I wasn''t going for fun or sightseeing, of course; it was a business trip. Detectives are always expected to be light on their feet.


    "Mm, yum... This is in a league of its own."


    The calendar said it was early summer, but it was still chilly up here. That didn''t mean I would miss out on the local delicacies. Licking a soft serve, I strode along under a clear blue sky.


    I''d bought the ice cream at a popr local convenience store, and it tastedpletely different from the stuff that was sold at the nationwide chain stores. All the different ice creams I''d bought here had been delicious.


    "Um, not that I''m here for fun, of course."


    All of a detective''s actions have meaning. Once I''d finished my ice cream, I started craving something spicy, so I stopped by a ramen shop at the edge of town.


    This ce wasn''t famous enough to appear in magazines. It seemed like a hideaway known only to a select few, and even after I''d stepped inside, I didn''t see any other customers.


    I ordered a miso ramen with extra corn from the meal ticket machine, then waited at the counter for three minutes. "Order up!" The manager shouted energetically, and a bowl of ramen piled high with corn and bean sprouts arrived.


    The aroma whetted my appetite. I took a mouthful of the soup first¡ªdelicious. I had the feeling that was all I''d been saying for a while now, but I wasn''t a food writer or anything. Exactly: I was a detective, nothing more.


    I slurped the noodles, ate the corn and bean sprouts, slurped more noodles, and finished the whole bowl in five minutes. As I was wiping my mouth on a paper napkin, the manager smiled. "We can throw in some rice to round out the meal," he said.


    What a luxurious offer. I responded gratefully: "In that case, make it curry rice."


    The manager''s expression froze for a moment. Then he asked, "How spicy?" Oh, good. <i>I''d gotten through</i>.


    "A seven on that famous one-to-ten scale."


    "Understood," the manager said, and withdrew into the kitchen. That exchange was the password.


    I left my chair and opened the door to the bathroom at the back of the shop, even though the sign said FOR EMPLOYEES ONLY. There was no toilet in there, just a small open space, and another door.


    Without hesitating, I opened it¡ªand this time, I found myself in apact bar.


    "Found you." The person I''de to see was sitting at the counter. "Hello, Bruno."


    The white-whiskered old gentleman lightly raised his ss to me. "Could I trouble you to put all your belongings in there?"


    I realized that a man in a dark suit was standing behind me. A Man in ck. I dropped my smartphone into the basket he held out.


    "I apologize for being cautious. It isn''t that I don''t trust you."


    "No, considering your position, it''s only natural. I''m happy to cooperate."


    If I wanted to meet him one-on-one, this was an absolute requirement: I wasn''t allowed to bring in any sort of device that could carry information. Considering his role, that was how it had to be. Bruno''s Tuner position was Information


    Broker, and all information leaks were prohibited. "I''m sorry to ask you toe so far north."


    "No, I was lucky you were in the country at all. The world is veryrge," I said, and Bruno chuckled.


    He was a wanderer who flew around the world, constantly ruing knowledge like a database. That was how the Information Broker lived, and the intelligence he collected was used by other Tuners as they battled global crises.


    "Well, what is it? You said you had a question for me, Ace Detective," Bruno prompted, sipping his wine.


    I''d contacted him yesterday, and since he''d happened to be in Japan, we''d arranged to meet.


    Right now, there was just one thing I wanted to ask him. "It''s about Danny Bryant."


    Bruno silently tilted his ss, motioning for me to go on.


    "A year ago, someone killed him. Can you tell me who it was?"


    I assumed Bruno already knew Danny and was aware that he was dead. After all, he knew more about the world than anybody, even the Federation Government officials.


    Still, Ice Doll would never ask the Information Broker for Danny''s whereabouts. More urately, she couldn''t. Bruno Belmondo''s philosophy was <i>to never share intelligence he held with others, except for the sake of a mission</i>. As someone who knew everything in the world, it was a principle he had to live by.


    "Information is a weapon," Bruno said, setting his ss down. "It''s more dreadful than any virus or any nuclear bomb. Those who possess it must be conscious of their responsibility, and they must handle it with the utmost care."


    "I understand. It''s necessary to limit the number of people who have it. I''d imagine that''s why even high-ranking government officials aren''t allowed to read the Oracle''s sacred text."


    In the past, letting one spy get their hands on a single piece of information had ruined entire nations. Human knowledge can sometimes destroy the world.


    "And then there''s <i>that capsule bomb imnt of yours</i>, Bruno. I know why the Men in ck have the detonator."


    Bruno always had the Men in ck around the world monitor his location. If an organization captured and tortured him, the Men in ck would detonate the bomb before his enemies pried anything out of him. That was how the one who shouldered the world''s knowledge lived.


    "You know that, <i>Daydream</i>, and you''re asking me for information?" Bruno said, using my byname. He wasn''t ring at me or eyeing me with cold contempt. He simply asked me: Was I prepared to learn something, knowing that it might destabilize the world?


    "Yes. I''ve decided this is something I need to hear, even if it means going that far." I answered without hesitation. If I hadn''t been prepared, I wouldn''t have been here. "I don''t expect you to tell me everything, of course. I just want to know who Danny Bryant was fighting, even if you can only give me the basics." "As the Ace Detective, I do think you''ll find that answer on your own


    someday." Bruno narrowed his eyes, gazing up at me.


    "...True. Someday. However, I think something irreversible may happen if I don''t learn this right now."


    Bruno shook his head. "That isn''t a given. Besides, even if the situation is


    irreversible, global affairs are always apanied by sacrifices. If that is what the world has chosen, sometimes we must allow it. We have no choice. Our mission is merely to fix the world''s bnce when it may veer too far. You understand that, don''t you?" Although his voice was gentle, he lectured me sternly. Coming from him, the Tuner who''d held his position the longest, those words carried a lot of weight. This wasn''t a conversation for pat answers.


    We can''t save all mankind. We can''t prevent everyone from getting hurt. The Assassin, the Inventor, and the Vampire would all have said the same thing. I couldn''t deny it, either. Doing so would have been the ultimate insult to previous guardians of the world.


    I knew this, and even so... "If I learn this information now, I guarantee it will preserve the world''s bnce someday. Please, tell me who killed Danny Bryant." I bowed.


    "You say that information will help save the world one day? What makes you think so?"


    Instinctively, I knew that was his final question. Everything hung on my next answer. I needed one that would convince him.


    What could I say to persuade the sum of the world''s knowledge? What did I have? As a detective, as a human being, what did I¡ª


    No, that wasn''t right: <i>What didn''t I have?</i>


    "I''ve never asked you for the information I most want to know." Head still bowed, I began to speak. "Even so, <i>I am humbling myself to you, not for my usual duties, but for the sake of a boy I just met</i>. The resolution I''ve shown in doing so is the only answer I can give."


    I didn''t have much.


    I had nothing that would make me a match for someone who''d lived ten times as long as I had and knew everything in the world.


    It was the truth, so I turned what I didn''t have into my weapon. Those lost memories of mine.


    I was always searching for them; they were something I''d always wanted to know.


    But I''d find those on my own someday. I would deliver my answer as a detective.


    "In sharing that knowledge with me, you''ll be saving that boy. Someday, he''ll be the singrity who will shift the world''s axis."


    And so, this time. Just this once¡ª


    "There was a certain vignte group that imed justice was on their side,"


    Bruno began. "They used the names of the world''s currencies as code names, and I''m told they came together to defeat a great evil."


    With a soft clink, he set his winess down on the bar. "The name of that great evil was Danny Bryant."

 Chapter 131 - 4.3

    <h4>Chapter 131: Chapter 4.3</h4>


    <strong>May 3 Kimihiko Kimizuka</strong>


    After hearing about the safe Danny Bryant had left at Sun House, I headed back home. I transferred from bus to train to the bullet train, then to another train. After a ten-minute walk from the closest station, my boring old apartment came into view.


    "I was nning toe back here anyway," I muttered to no one in particr.


    I''d found out the truth behind those pictures Danny had taken such good care of. That alone was worth that visit to the facility. I wasing home with results, which was why I wasn''t seriously hoping that the key to the safe <i>might be at my ce</i>.


    That was what I told myself, at any rate.


    I climbed the familiar metal stairs, turned the doorknob¡ªand there was the apartment, just as it had been when I left it.


    That wasn''t something I could take for granted, though. Just the other day, a sneaky, mysterious thief had broken in. The apartment''s windows were reinforced ss¡ªDanny had been oddly insistent about that¡ªso I had no clue how the prowler had gotten in.


    "...Come to think of it, that break-in happened around the time I met Gekka."


    As far as damage went, nothing had been stolen. Several magazines that I''d had in the closet had been set out on the bookshelf, and that was it.


    "Don''t tell me that bizarre break-in was her doing."


    Gekka had been after Danny at the time. It wouldn''t have been strange for her to do something like that and call it a background check. Next time I saw her, I''d give her an interrogation.


    With a small sigh, I headed for the closet. I didn''t check it much, and when I opened the door, it smelled musty. There was a ton of junk inside. It wasn''t my childhood toys or anything¡ªjust souvenirs that Danny had picked up while traveling.


    In that mountain of junk, I found a <i>magic wishing mallet </i>made out of ceramic. At a nce, it was just a normal regional craft. If there was one thing that made


    it special, it was the fact that it had arrived in the mail a year ago, three days after Danny Bryant disappeared in the Hokuriku region.


    This apartment was bursting with antiques and art objects that weren''t my thing. Danny had bought all of them. That said, he hadn''t umted all this stuff because he blew through his money, had a mania for collecting, or because he was a pushover.


    For example, those oil paintings by <i>an unknown artist </i>had been the product of a job he''d performed with particr care and persistence. He''d sent this knickknack to the apartment from the ce where he''d ended up dying. If I assumed it meant something, too...


    "¡ªFound it."


    I''d smashed the mallet on the floor.


    Among the broken ceramic shards, there was a key.


    I hardly need to tell you what it was. On the other hand, I had no idea what sort of secrets this key would retrieve from that ck box.


    Who had Danny been, anyway? Why had he been running a facility that cared for children with special abilities? Who had he fought a year ago, and who had he been running from? What sort of face had he hidden behind his mask?


    All that aside, for now...


    Just for now, I closed my hand tightly around the object Danny had left me.


    The key he''d sent to this address, right on May 5. A present for me. "I guess I should report in first."


    Taking out my smartphone with a sweaty hand, I searched for Gekka''s number in my call history. I had to tell her I''d found the key... Actually, I hadn''t even told her about the safe yet. As I waited, I was putting the conversation together in my mind, but she didn''t answer her phone.


    "...Come to think of it, she did say she wouldn''t be able to use her phone for a while."


    I remembered her mentioning it this morning. She''d said she''d call me when she''d finished her job.


    "Way to jump the gun." Iughed at myself.


    What was I hoping for? This was such a small thing. The mere possibility that Danny Bryant might have entrusted something to me was¡ª


    Just then, the phone vibrated in my hand. Thinking Gekka had finished her


    errand and was calling me back, I picked up on reflex.


    But the caller was...


    "Oh, hello? Am I speaking with Mister Kimizuka?"


    Gekka didn''t call me that. In which case...


    "...Are you the art dealer from the other day?" I asked.


    "Oh, good," she said, sounding relieved. "Yes, this is Krone. It was good to meet you."


    Come to think of it, we''d exchanged contact information when we''d left the art gallery two days ago. She''d said she might have more information about Danny for meter on.


    "I was wondering how your visit had gone. ...I wasn''t exactly uninvolved, you know."


    She was right. Krone was the one who''d connected Danny and Grete, and thanks to the information she gave us, Gekka and I were able to find Sun House. I''d learned about the work Danny had been doing, but I''d forgotten to fill her in.


    I told her what we''d learned, about the safe, and the key I''d just picked up.


    Since Krone had done business with Danny, I thought she might have some new information for me, but...


    "So that''s what it was," Krone murmured pensively. "I''m sorry. I had no idea." I could tell she was shaking her head on the other end of the line.


    "I see... No, it''s fine. I''m about to head over to Sun House again."


    Everything would have to wait until after I''d tried using this key, and we''d uncovered Danny''s final secret. Was it ssified information from his job, or was it about the people he''d been fighting? Either way, I needed to know. As the one Danny had entrusted this key to, I''d see his final wish fulfilled. That was probably thest thing I''d be able to do for¡ª


    "So, Krone, I''ll call you againter." Even as I said it, I was heading for the front entrance and slipping on my leather shoes.


    If I left right now and hurried, I should make thest train.


    Working out the shortest route to Sun House in my head, I turned the doorknob.


    "You won''t have to."


    When I opened the door, a woman was standing there. Krone.


    "I was just about to head over there myself."


    The woman''s witchy rouged lips curled up. Then everything went ck.


    How many hours had passed?


    When I opened my eyes, all I saw was darkness. "...gk. What''s...going...?"


    I didn''t understand what had just happened. I was lying on a hard floor, and when I sat up, a twinge of pain ran down my back.


    It was simr to the pain I experienced after having been stuffed into a small space for a long time. And why did that example have to be the first thing I thought of? Because of my trouble-ma predisposition...


    However, while I was thinking, my eyes became used to the dark. Faint moonlight shone into the room, and I recognized it.


    "¡ªSun House."


    This was the great hall. Why, though? I''d left this morning after my conversation with Jekyll about the safe. Then I''d returned home, found the key, and then...


    "Dammit. Is that what this is?"


    I''d just remembered thest thing I''d seen before passing out.


    <i>She''d </i>kidnapped me and brought me back here. "What are you after, Krone?" I asked.


    A shadow writhed in the darkness. In the depths of the big room, a woman in an elegant gown stepped into the moonlight. "I apologize for being so rough," she said, gazing at me.


    "...! Krone. What are <i>you</i>?" Moving unsteadily, I got to my feet.


    She definitely wasn''t just an art dealer. The only other thing I knew about her was that she and Danny had been business partners. At this point, I didn''t even know if that was true.


    "Me?" Krone said. "I''m simply <i>on the side of justice.</i>" She began pacing back and forth, high heels clicking.


    "So in this day and age, allies of justice kidnap middle-schoolers? The world''s going to the dogs."


    "Lately, antiheroes get starring roles, too. Are movies not your thing?" she asked.


    No, they''re my one and only hobby.


    "If you''re an antihero, there had better be one heck of a viin somewhere." Unless the enemy she was up against was so unspeakably cruel they made


    kidnapping helpless middle-schoolers seem like nothing, I wasn''t buying it. "Yes, that''s right," Krone murmured, gazing into the distance. "To me, that''s


    definitely what he was."


    <i>He. </i>Who did she mean? Krone didn''t tell me. "Why did you kidnap me?" I tried again.


    "When you don''t know something, you shouldn''t immediately ask someone else for the answer. People who cut corners like that are easily tricked," she responded.


    ...Yeah, she had a point. That was probably why she''d managed to get me this time.


    But why had she kidnapped me? I couldn''t possibly be the viin she meant.


    Then, who did she have business with? I''d been on the phone with her right before she captured me. What had she asked me? What had I told her?


    She''d wanted to know about... "The key?"


    Inevitably, I''d reached the answer. Why had she wanted it? To open the safe, of course, but did that mean she knew what was inside and wanted it?


    "That''s right. For the past year, I''ve had a vested interest in the secret Danny Bryant hid in that safe," Krone finally answered. "However, it wasn''t possible to steal a safe thatrge, and it was rigged to explode if anyone tried to forcibly break it. All I could do was wait for the key that opened it."


    Krone had said she''d visited this facility before, to buy Grete''s paintings at Danny''s request. Was that when she''d investigated the safe?


    But she''d just said "for the past year." She might have learned about the safe on that day after Danny''s death. Either way, Krone had won a certain degree of trust due to her connection with Grete, so it probably hadn''t been too hard for her to infiltrate the facility.


    "I waited and waited for such a long time, and then you appeared. You weren''t connected to this facility, but you''d been involved with Danny. He was a cautious man; I thought there was a strong possibility that he''d left the key with someone on the outside. I was surprised when you came to visit the other day," she said, looking at me.


    We''d met for the first time that day. Had that been when she''d decided to keep an eye on me? If so, had she been setting a trap when she took the risk of giving us information on Danny, and pointed us toward Sun House and the safe?


    "I''d bugged the room with the safe while the old gentleman in the wheelchair was away. Thanks to that, I knew about your ns."


    ...I see. So she''d known I was going back to the apartment to get the key today, and she''d circled around ahead of me.


    "So what the heck was in the safe?"


    "I really should have been able to show it to you at this point, but..." Krone sounded rather sad.


    As it turned out, however, that emotion was actually disappointment.


    <i>"The key you had was a fake."</i>


    She told me it hadn''t opened the safe.


    "It wouldn''t even fit into the keyhole, let alone turn. I imagine it was just a dummy meant to fool any enemies who were after the safe."


    Krone kept talking, but her words weren''t reaching me at the moment.


    I''d assumed wrong. The thought that Danny might have entrusted me with something special on my birthday had been a convenient delusion on my part.


    I''d known that. I''d also known why I hadn''t been summoned to Sun House, and why he''d left me all alone in that apartment. As far as he was concerned, I wasn''t part of his family.


    "Do you have any other ideas?"


    For the first time, Krone asked me a proper question. She wanted to know where the real key was. Had she brought me along as insurance? Just in case the key was fake?


    Too bad for her, though; I had no way to know. Danny hadn''t left me a thing. "What now? You don''t need me anymore."


    "...True. Neither you nor the children at this facility had the real key. Or rather, <i>that''s how it appears</i>." Krone resumed pacing, her heels clicking on the floor. "However, Danny Bryant must have left some hint with the children. Even if they haven''t noticed it, I''m sure a memory of the key is lying dormant in their brains, somewhere in the hippocampus."


    They may have been enemies, but apparently, Krone really trusted Danny.


    "So what? Even if the kids do subconsciously know where the key is, how are you people going to get that information? Are you going to cut open their brains and check or something?"


    Even as a joke, that was in pretty poor taste. I''d said it on purpose, to see how Krone reacted.


    "Yes, that wouldn''t be a bad idea." She didn''t even turn a hair, and the words I''d nned to say next vanished. "Ultimately, I think we''ll sail to a certain desert ind. Apanion of ours is there," Krone said, although I really didn''t need the information. "He''s a doctor who''s researching the human brain. He can


    interfere with specific memory sectors, erasing them or drawing them out." "...! So you''re going to abduct all the children and take them there? That''s


    crazy. You''d do something that ridiculous just to search for a memory that might not even exist?"


    "We do have one more objective." Krone abruptly stopped pacing. "A certain clinical trial is being conducted on that ind. Ourpanion is the physician in charge, and the children at this facility are special samples. I''m sure they''ll make good vessels."


    Vessels? What was she talking about now?


    I racked my brain, but Krone only smiled thinly.


    Working from what she''d said so far, I''de up with a theory I was pretty confident in.


    I had no idea what Danny had left in that safe. However, Krone wanted it, and she was putting together a huge n in an attempt to get it.


    Danny still had secrets I didn''t know about. Krone knew what they were, at least. There was even more history between the two of them than I''d imagined. That meant Krone''s enemy was almost certainly Danny Bryant. And he''d died a year ago. In other words¡ª


    "You''re the ones who killed Danny, aren''t you?" Krone nodded quietly; her eyes still lowered. "Yes." "...! Damn...it..."


    I took a run at her. I meant to throw a punch, but the next thing I knew, I was


    on the floor. For a second, I thought I''d tripped over my own feet, but that probably wasn''t it.


    "I''m sorry. I took some precautionary measures."


    Step by step, Krone came closer. Maybe she''d drugged me with something; my legs felt weak and like jelly.


    "You''re a tough one. You woke up faster than I expected, and really, I wouldn''t have been surprised if you couldn''t move at all." Krone stopped a few meters away. "You''d better thank your mother for having a sturdy baby," she murmured.


    "Unfortunately, I''ve never even seen her."


    Besides, if I''m a bit tougher than average, it''s not because I was born that way. It''s because of that predisposition of mine. I''ve gotten pulled into gang


    wars before, and every so often I''d run into a mugger and take some hits. Weirdly enough, I''m used to physical pain and injuries.


    "Krone. Why did you guys kill Danny?" That was another gift from my predisposition: I didn''t know when to quit. Since I was going to get dragged into trouble anyway, I didn''t hold back and hung in there all the way to the end. That was the only way I could live.


    "You''re strong." Krone began walking around me. "Our rtionship with Danny was an extremely simple one: pursued and pursuers. He had a secret, and circumstances called for us to take action. We fought him constantly."


    Danny always used to say that someone was after him. There had probably been several someones, but I was sure Krone''s group had been the biggest one. She must have hidden her identity when she made contact with Danny.


    "He really was a tricky fellow," Krone reminisced. "No matter how many traps we set or how closely we cornered him, he always got away in the end."


    There was a distant look in her eyes, as if she were remembering battles from long ago. Even so, I knew how their fight had ended. All she could tell me now was what had led up to the tragedy.


    "All humans have weaknesses. Do you know what his was?" She was asking me what Danny had been afraid of.


    What normally scares people? The idea that what they hold dear may be destroyed.


    Then what do people hold dear? Their lives? Or maybe... "His family."


    The answer presented itself promptly, although it didn''t feel real to me. However, I''d seen what those emotions looked like recently. Besides,


    everyone knows that feeling.


    "But a family? Danny didn''t have¡ª" Just as I was about to finish my sentence, it hit me.


    He had. He''d definitely had a family: All the children who lived here.


    "That''s right. The children of this facility were Danny Bryant''s one weakness.


    When he asked me for that favor, I was sure of it."


    That favor¡ªshe had to mean when Danny had asked her to buy Grete''s paintings. That request had shown her that the children of Sun House were more important to Danny than anything else. And most likely, <i>she''d used that knowledge to her advantage.</i>


    "On that day, a year ago, we nted a bomb here." Krone was exining what had happened on the other end of the line during that phone callst year.


    "After we''d driven Danny to the edge of a cliff, we gave him two options." Krone put up two fingers.


    "Either see his precious children killed, or die and take that secret with him."


    ...Oh, so that was it. Krone''s group hadn''t wanted to learn the secret. They''d been trying to erase the people who knew it, so that it never got out. That was why they''d forced Danny to make that extreme choice.


    I already knew what he''d chosen. Not that I was happy about it. I remembered the gunshot I''d heard during ourst phone call.


    "...But Danny''s death didn''t solve your problem?" From her obsession with that safe, it clearly hadn''t.


    "No, we''d miscalcted. He had died and taken the secret with him, but we learned <i>afterward </i>that he''d left a hint in that safe that would lead others to it."


    "And that''s why you were looking for the key?"


    "Yes. If the secret itself had been in there, we could have simply blown the whole thing up. But that ck box held <i>a map that led to the secret</i>. We had to retrieve that map, find the secret he''d hidden somewhere in the world, and dispose of it with our own hands. Danny really was a cautious man," she said. She narrowed her eyes, remembering her sworn enemy.


    "He thought this through that far, and then he..."


    On that dayst year, he''d read their intentions, seen right through them, and died protecting what he''d chosen to protect.


    <i>But why? Why would Danny sacrifice his life for the children at the facility?</i>


    <i>They weren''t even rted...</i>


    I didn''t mean to say the words aloud, but they slipped out.


    "He must have seen them as a stand-in for his daughter," Krone said, lowering her voice just a little.


    "What are you talking about?"


    She gazed at me with pity in her eyes. "He didn''t even tell you that? ...He had a family of his own, ten years ago."


    Then Krone began to tell me about Danny''s past. Things I''d never known. "Ten years ago, Danny Bryant lived with his wife and daughter. Life


    happened, and they divorced; Danny took custody of his daughter and raised her with care as a single father."


    A year ago, during thatst phone call, Danny had talked like he''d had family. "Back then, he was working as a private detective of sorts. He''d take any


    request, from minor jobs like investigating cheating spouses to solving murder cases."


    That had been true when I knew him as well. He''d called himself a jack of all trades and traveled all over Japan¡ªall over the world¡ªcarrying out a variety of jobs.


    "One day, he arrested the founder of a cult. The man was a serial murderer who ughtered children on the pretext of exorcising demons."


    That incident was way too big for a private detective to handle. That said, intuition and experience told me that Danny just might do it.


    "As it turned out, however, the criminal''s family owned a huge financial group. They took extralegal measures, and in the end, thew failed to punish him."


    It was amon story, even though it should never happen at all. That''s what happens when you''re part of a privileged ss.


    "It would have been better if the story had ended there. But you see, the founder of that cult was very proud... Well, more like he took great stock in the teachings of his god. His god had not judged him, yet that detective had put him behind bars, if only temporarily. As far as he was concerned, the detective was the devil."


    "What a load of¡ª Wait, no, did he go after Danny?"


    "No. The criminal didn''t spare a nce for the devil. Instead, he felt he needed to <i>exorcise </i>the detective''s daughter."


    Meaning... No, he couldn''t have...


    "One day after work, Danny Bryant came home and discovered his daughter''s corpse."


    Krone told me he''d begun working to shelter disadvantaged children from around the world a year after that.


    He hadn''t told me any of this. Not one single thing. Not about his family, and not about his loss.


    I was sure he''d been ming himself since the day he lost his daughter, and working to save kids around the world had been his way of atoning. It was his job, and the way he lived. It had been a secret he''d kept from me and everybody else.


    So, of course, he''d never told anyone about it. And yet.


    "Why do you know about Danny''s past? You''re an outsider." I red at her. Krone didn''t mock me. She just quietly told me the truth.


    "Because it was one of mypanions who killed his daughter."


    Oh, I see. That must have been how their history with each other started. These guys, Krone''s group, had been behind all of it¡ª


    "Don''t worry. He''s no longer among the living..." "You can stop talking now."


    Mustering all the strength I could in my legs, I ran at Krone. Maybe because of the drug, I didn''t have much sensation in my arms. Even so, fueled by the uncontroble mass of emotion inside me, I raised my right arm high.


    "Oh, you poor thing."


    The voice came from behind me.


    Krone had somehow circled around behind my back before I noticed. She put her arms around me, pulling me close, and whispered in my ear: "Danny Bryant created a false family for himself, but you weren''t even part of that."


    <i>Stop it. Don''t pity me.</i>


    "That''s why you''re crying. You have nowhere to vent that impulsive anger, and it''s driving you forward."


    <i>I''m not mad, and I''m not crying!</i>


    <i>I just want to avenge him, at least...!</i>


    "That''s enough. You don''t need to worry. There''s something else I was supposed to tell you, but I''m sure <i>your heart can''t take </i>any more. We''ll put you out of your misery now. That''s our duty, as those who do what''s right in the world," Krone said.


    The hall''s big window shattered, and a figure stepped through it. They wore a hooded cloak and a monkey-like beast mask, and their right hand gripped a bloody ax.


    "Behead this poor littlemb, Baht."


    Was this another of Krone''s friends? One of the antihero posers who''d killed Danny¡ª


    " !"


    A rush of heat swept through me. It felt as if my blood were boiling, but my body couldn''t keep up with my emotions. My legs were numb, and my knees buckled under me.


    "It''s all right. Baht has dispatched that Fiend with Twenty Faces already. Evil has been vanquished," Krone told me.


    "...Gekka?"


    They''d even attacked her. Was that why my call hadn''t gotten through?


    Because the man in the beast mask had killed her? "Damn...it..."


    Following Krone''s instructions, the beast soldier was closing in, step by step. My legs wouldn''t move. I didn''t even have the strength left to scream <i>What do you mean, Gekka was evil?! </i>Just simple feelings and emotions wouldn''t help with the situation I was in.


    ...What was I supposed to prioritize over emotions at times like this? I closed my eyes, maybe because I was afraid of dying, and I kept them that way as I thought.


    Hadn''t somebody said something to me about this once? When you''re not sure, or when you''ve reached an impasse. When you''re in a situation where emotions can''t save you. What had he told me to consider? What had he told me to look at? ¡ªYeah, I had to at least look. I had to see what was happening.


    Just as I opened my eyes, wind rushed right past me. "Who''s that?!" Krone screamed.


    That invisible wind closed the distance in no time and <i>kicked Krone across the room.</i>


    It was the masked soldier in the cape.


    Krone was moaning in pain; she''d hit the hard floor and rolled. "Who...are you?" I asked the caped soldier.


    Facing away from me, the figure removed its hood, and long hair spilled out.


    I''d never seen that back before, but it belonged to a woman.


    She turned around, removing the beast mask, but I didn''t know her. This hero had appeared out of nowhere, and I didn''t recognize her face.


    Even so, the words that came out of my mouth weren''t "Thank you" or "Are you on my side?" but...


    "You sure are beautiful."


    The woman''s face had been expressionless, but finally, her lips curled up into a small smile.


    "Of course. I''m Ms. Gekka."


    "What are you doing here?!"


    On the floor a few meters away, Krone muttered, "¡ªBaht''s surprise attack failed?" Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away, slowly climbing to her feet.


    "He meant to catch me off guard, but <i>a certain well-informed individual </i>had told me the enemy''s location in advance," Gekka said. "By the time he reached for his weapon, I''d already secured my victory."


    While she was revealing what had happened with her, she came over to me. I still hadn''t managed to get up. "Sorry, kid. I know this wasn''t your preferred cosy," she joked, smiling faintly.


    "Well, if you dress up as a cat-eared maid sometime, it''ll work out."


    "That''s news to me," Gekka said. She continued, "Get back." Stepping in front of me, she faced Krone.


    "...The n''s gone off course." Krone''s expression was still grim, but her gaze was wandering restlessly. Had the unexpected intruder shocked her, or...?


    "Don''t move." Watching the enemy with something like pity, Gekka drew a pistol from inside her cloak.


    "White?"


    It wasn''t like the handgun the redheaded policewoman sometimes showed me.


    I''d never seen a gun that color or shape before.


    "This isn''t a finished product," Gekka told me, without turning around. "I''d really prefer a longer barrel. It would be much cooler that way."


    Krone took something out of her bodice, and Gekka shot her right arm. "Ghk! Aaaah!"


    The bullet grazed her shoulder, and Krone groaned in pain.


    That didn''t mean we''d won, though. In almost the same moment as the gunshot, there was an explosion so loud it nearly lifted me off the ground. The floor shook as if an earthquake had struck, and the hall''s right wall sted apart in an avnche of ck smoke and mes.


    What Krone had grabbed right before being shot was <i>a detonator switch</i>¡ªand mes were closing in on us from the demolished room next door. The smoke stung my eyes, and the air was so hot that my throat was burning with every breath.


    "Just surrender quietly! I don''t intend to kill you," Gekka said hastily. Even as she watched, the fire began to encircle Krone. However, those zing mes also shielded her from Gekka''s physical attacks.


    "Do you think this is all right?"


    The woman spoke from within the fire.


    Her eyes reflected the leaping mes. I was far away, still sitting on the floor,


    but those eyes were fixed on me.


    "Kimihiko Kimizuka. You''re the only one who can stop Danny Bryant now."


    Krone''s eyes stayed on me. It was as if she didn''t even see the mes around her or the barrel of Gekka''s gun, and her words snuck into my heart.


    "Everything I told you today was for a certain truth. The secret Danny Bryant hid was something that should never be exposed to the public eye. <i>Our vignte group </i>fought him in order to prevent that."


    "What are you...talking about?"


    I still didn''t know what sort of secret Danny had been hiding. I did know that having it had made Krone consider him her greatest enemy and pursue him. What on earth was it?


    "Danny Bryant wasn''t sheltering gifted kids and children with difficult family situations here. He didn''t get their parents'' consent. <i>He just kidnapped them.</i>"


    "Kid, you don''t need to listen to this!"


    A gunshot rang out, but the wavering heat mirages threw off her aim, and the bullet went wide.


    "Kimihiko Kimizuka, hadn''t you noticed that Danny was abnormally obsessed with children?"


    Her question brought memories to the surface. Danny was always cool andposed, but every so often, his emotions would get out of control.


    It was always when a child was caught up in domestic trouble. Kids couldn''t choose their parents, yet their parents were the only ones they could rely on. He''d held a deep sympathy for them, and I''d seen the sort of anger and mncholy he''d normally never shown.


    "Danny Bryant''s warped love for children eventually morphed into the idea that <i>only he could protect them</i>."


    Why had Danny paid so much attention to children, even total strangers, and eventually gotten attached to them? As Krone had said, it was because he''d thought of other kids as stand-ins for his murdered daughter¡ª


    "That wasn''t all Danny was plotting. He also bore a grudge against the ones who''d taken his daughter from him. The people who''d just let her die. His own country. He researched the families of the prosecutor and police officers who''d been in charge of the incident and selected their children as his next victims."


    "You can''t mean that Danny was trying to..."


    Danny had caught a murderer and incurred the man''s anger. As a result, his only daughter had been killed. ording to Krone, however, the one responsible had already died. That left only one target for his revenge: the


    country that hadn''t punished the murderer appropriately. And maybe, the means he''d chosen had been¡ª


    "That''s right. Danny was nning to kidnap innocent children, and that was <i>only the beginning</i>. Our vignte group was a necessary evil. We existed in order to put an end to his scheme." Krone imed that hounding Danny to his death a year ago had been justified. She called herself an antihero because she''d needed to be the lesser of two evils.


    "Kid, you don''t have to listen!" Gekka shouted again, but her words didn''t even sound like human speech to me. Before I knew it, Krone''s words had be the only thing I was listening to.


    "This Fiend with Twenty Faces was looking for <i>the list of their locations </i>Danny left behind, somewhere in the world. That was why she made contact with you after his death. It was all to get the key that would lead her to the list."


    Yeah, that''s right. Gekka had mentioned that at one point. She''d said she was looking for Danny, tracing his footsteps, for the sake of a certain objective.


    "The Fiend with Twenty Faces was probably trying to find children who had special abilities or skills. Depending on how they were used, they could bring in plenty of money."


    A girl who could make perfect copies of world-famous masterpieces. A boy with a brain that could beat a quantumputer. There were plenty of kids like those two at this facility, and in other unknown ces around the world. Had Gekka been following Danny in order to find them?


    ...Right, someone had hired her to track him. Her goal really had been¡ª


    " ! !" Gekka had turned back and was desperately saying something.


    For some reason, though, her voice didn''t reach my ears, let alone my heart. She was probably lying anyway.


    She hadn''t even shown me her true self.


    That''s right: I didn''t know anything about Gekka. Not her real name, or her real face, or the real reason she''d approached me. Had the Fiend''s words been leading me astray this whole time?


    But right now, Danny was more important.


    "...! Why would Danny plot those kidnappings? Didn''t he treasure kids more than anybody?"


    Why would he direct his revenge at little kids who''d done nothing?


    Hadn''t he loved them like family, as much as he''d loved his own daughter? "Sometimes love gets warped," Krone said. "Danny Bryant lost his beloved


    daughter, and he changed the way he lived because of her. In the process, love


    and death began to blend into one thing inside him. Maybe he lost sight of which was the end and which was the means. However, he may not have seen any contradiction in defiling precious children with his own hands.


    "You''ve experienced something simr, haven''t you?" she asked, questioning my subconscious. "You looked up to Danny as a father, yet you bore a grudge against him. You wondered why he wouldn''t look at you. Why you, and only you, couldn''t be part of his family. Why he died and left you. Listen, kid." Just as someone else had, some other time, Krone whispered in my ear. Even though she couldn''t really have been there. "Check the inside pocket of your jacket."


    Like magic, her soft voice slipped into my ears and heart. Although Krone had to be in the midst of those zing mes, the next thing I knew, her voice had enfolded me, body and mind.


    "The detonator is in there. You can use that to end all of this."


    Krone was the enemy. She was evil. I knew that. It was an undeniable fact. However, Krone had caused that incidentst year fully aware that she was evil, and she was still standing against us. It was all to shut down a greater evil, Danny Bryant''s n.


    "The facility''s children have already been evacuated. The only things that would be lost in the explosion are our three lives, and the map that would lead us to Danny''s secret."


    I felt something hard in my inner pocket. Had she given me a detonator switch as insurance, just in case something happened to her?


    If I pressed this switch now, we''d blow up along with the safe. If that happened, the map to the secret would be gone, the ones who were trying to misuse that secret would be dead, and innocent children would probably be saved.


    Of course, Krone wouldn''t be able to dispose of the secret with her own hands, and someone else like Gekka mighte looking for it again. There was no sense in worrying about what might happenter, though. For now, I should


    ¡ª


    "You''re okay with dying?"


    "Yes. It''s the duty of an antihero." Krone''s illusion gently touched my hands.


    She was saying we should take down the enemy together. The next thing I knew, my fingertip was on the switch.


    "That man betrayed you. He didn''t make you part of his family. It''s frustrating, isn''t it? It''s sad." At the sight of my trembling fingers, tears rolled down Krone''s cheeks, as if her heart ached for me.


    "You couldn''t be Danny Bryant''s son. But there''s a mission you can carry out now."


    Oh, I see. Danny was gone, but I shouldn''t inherit hisst wish. I should make sure it never happened. I shouldn''t avenge him.


    The one I really needed to defeat was the ghost named Danny Bryant¡ª


    "Yes, that''s the only tie you can form with him: history. Detonating this bomb will be your final rebellion against that ghost."


    I''d destroy what Danny had left behind with my own hands. Justice and evil had nothing to do with it. Even if triggering this detonator was evil, being a viin didn''t scare me.


    I''d always been this way. I wasn''t scared of bing a murderer, or of turning the world against me. By pressing this switch, I''d destroy what that man had left behind, along with this building. Since I hadn''t been part of his family, I was the only one who could do it. In that case, I''d¡ª


    "I don''t understand human emotions that well."


    The voice wasn''t Krone''s, but all of a sudden, I could hear it. Probably because of the bullet that had shattered the window. My pitch-ck vision seemed to clear. When I turned, Gekka was standing there, facing me.


    "So all I can give you is a hypothesis based on objective facts."


    She was holding a gun. Using her free left hand, she slowly withdrew a USB drive from her cloak.


    "That''s...!"


    Beyond Gekka, surrounded by leaping mes, Krone screamed. Her gentle embrace had been nothing more than a con artist''s sweet illusion.


    "That''s right. This is what Danny hid in that ck box." Gekka turned toward Krone. "I opened the safe on my way here."


    "...You did, Gekka?" My mind still hadn''t clearedpletely, and I sounded delirious. How? Where had she found the real key?


    "It was the key to your apartment," Gekka said casually. "Or really, it''s more of a spare key. It''s the one I used when I first went to visit you. I had a hunch, and when I tried it on the safe, it turned out I was right."


    What did she mean, she was right? What''s this about? What was Gekka seeing? What had she noticed?


    My heart was racing. Was it anxiety, or...?


    "<i>Danny Bryant was waiting for this day all along. </i>Do you understand?"


    Gekka turned back to me. "One year ago, he knew death was closing in on him, and he was braced for it. He was sure someone would try to determine the truth behind his death, and that person was bound to make contact with you. He thought you''d probably be depressed after he died, but that person would help you find a reason to live again. Danny predicted all of that."


    <i>You mean...</i>


    As I made the connection internally, she said it aloud. "He rigged this Pandora''s box to open when you started to look toward the future. Listen, kid..." This time, Gekka was the one who said it. "He ced a lot of trust in you. I''m not going to let you tarnish hisst wish by misinterpreting it."


    Paying no heed to the mes that were enveloping the room, Gekka Shirogane, the Fiend with Twenty Faces, stood tall and asked me a question.


    "Do you really think Danny Bryant would have used children as tools for his revenge?"


    She''d said she didn''t understand human emotions, so she''d put together a hypothesis using nothing but objective facts.


    We were the same. She and I were the same.


    I didn''t understand human emotions. I didn''t have anyone to teach me about love.


    There was no point in pining over things I didn''t have, though. And that made me just like Gekka.


    I''d been wearing a transparent mask that let me avoid seeing things I didn''t want to see and avoid noticing what I didn''t want to notice. It also kept everyone from realizing I was doing that.


    At some point, however, a crack had formed in that mask. That was why, when I''d first met Gekka, I''d taken the fall for that man who''d wanted to see his daughter one more time. I''d wanted to know about parental love.


    I''d felt that maybe doing so would help me understand Danny''s true motives a little more. Maybe then I could understand the heart of a parent who was thinking of their child.


    "Give me that."


    Just then, beyond the zing mes, a shadow rose up.


    With a furious snarl, Krone caught Gekka off guard, shoving her to the floor.


    She was holding the ax Gekka had used when she pretended to be a soldier.


    "¡ª! I knew you weren''t really going to burn the contents of the safe." Even though Krone had her pinned, Gekka was interrogating the other woman. "Were you just nning to have the kid and me die in the explosion?"


    If I''d pressed that switch a minute ago...


    "Kid!" Gekka shouted. She threw the sh drive, and it slid right up to my feet. "Listen to me! <i>Don''t fall for con artists'' honeyed words! </i>If you''re like me, then use solid facts to decide what sort of person Danny was!" Krone tried to bring the ax down, but Gekka held her off desperately. "What did you see?! What sort of man was the Danny Bryant you knew?! What sort of jobs did you do together?!"


    What had I done with him?


    I remembered calling all the houses on a list. "<i>Ask if their kid cane over and y</i>," he''d said. The people I''d called had been skeptical, of course, since I hadn''t actually known their kids. Even so.


    "At this point, you understand what that was about, don''t you?" Yeah, I did. Danny had been protecting the kids.


    Those children had been exposed to abuse or trouble at home, and he was telling them they had an ally. He''d also made sure the parents knew someone was watching, so that they''d think twice before tormenting them further.


    <i>"Kids have a future, and their lives take priority every time."</i>


    Danny had said that, too.


    Afterward, he''d headed to a home that was in trouble to save a child he''d never seen.


    Kids with a future. Come to think of it, had he smiled at me as he said that? No, that didn''t matter now. Even if I''d misunderstood, it didn''t matter. The one sure thing, the one important thing, was the fact that Danny Bryant had put himself in danger to save children.


    I was sure he''d acted that way because of his regrets. When he''d said, "<i>Parents are all kids have,</i>" he''d been reminding himself.


    He''d been all his daughter had, and he hadn''t kept her safe. He''d let her die. It was his fault.


    When Danny had stared into the distance every so often, he was looking at a mirror that reflected his past.


    "Yeah, that''s the kind of guy you were."


    My father figure, my teacher¡ªit didn''t matter what I called him.


    Danny Bryant regretted his past. He couldn''t change how he''d lived. He loved every kid in the world as if they were his own daughter¡ªand this time, when he''d died, he''d protected them to the end.


    In that case.


    "This is my real answer."


    When she heard me, Krone turned, finally realizing I was holding what she was after.


    But by then it was toote.


    I''d thrown the sh drive into a particrly hot patch of mes.


    "What did you just¡ª!" Krone turned toward the fire, her expression a mixture of panic and despair.


    "Fantastic job, kid."


    Suddenly, real warmth enfolded me.


    Was this what it felt like when someone hugged you? I was still too drugged to be able to move, and Gekka had scooped me up in her arms. "Embarrassed?" she asked, running toward one of the zing room''s windows.


    Depending on how you looked at it, this probably did seem like a bridal carry. Under the circumstances, though, there was no point in trying to look cool. "Nah, not really. Besides¡ª"


    In the next moment, Gekka jumped out of the broken window, with me still in her arms.


    Almost immediately, there was a huge explosion behind us, and the hall we''d just been standing in was a sea of mes.


    Once we''d put more distance between ourselves and the building, we copsed like dead men.


    "...Are you okay?" Gekka asked. She was sprawled out beside me in the grass.


    I told her what I''d started to say earlier.


    "Yeah. Getting saved by an older woman isn''t bad."

 Chapter 132 - 4.4

    <h4>Chapter 132: Chapter 4.4</h4>


    <strong>May 4 ???</strong>


    Late at night, a lone woman was running through a dense forest. "...! Hff... Hff..."


    The st wave had scorched her skin, and she was covered in cuts and bruises. Even so, thanks to a certain drug, she managed to keep moving.


    The drug was a powerful substance created by one of herpanions, a doctor code-named "Drachma." Developed around a certain core, it greatly enhanced human physical abilities and improved their natural self-healing capacity. The drug was still in clinical trials, but she''d been taking it as part of her preparations for this mission, and it had paid off.


    There was another reason the woman¡ªKrone¡ªcouldn''t stop running.


    She''d just barely managed to protect the sh drive from the explosion, and she was on a mission to deliver it to a certain individual.


    "...! The contents haven''t been leaked yet."


    Panting as she ran, Krone gripped the sh drive tightly. While her <i>spur-of- the-moment lie </i>regarding its contents had been exposed for what it was, she''d heard the password required to view the information stored inside was difficult. Even the Fiend with Twenty Faces wouldn''t have had enough time to crack it.


    "The secret has been kept. Now I just have to give this to..."


    Nothing else mattered. Nothing even urred to her. Krone just raced through the trees, making for the car herpanions were waiting for her, in order to carry out the mission she''d been given.


    "Where are you going in such a hurry?"


    Out of nowhere, she heard a woman''s voice. There was no way anybody would be out in this forest at this hour. As she watched warily, a crimson figure emerged from the shadow of a great tree, bathed in moonlight. Krone didn''t recognize her.


    "...! Who are you?" She didn''t feel any particr urge to kill this person, but she held her survival knife at the ready.


    "I asked first. Where are you going with that <i>burned lump of ck</i>?" "...What are you talking about?"


    Krone looked at the knife in her left hand. The de wasn''t even chipped. If she shed at the woman''s throat, it was sure to produce a gout of fresh blood¡ª


    "Not that one. Your right hand." Krone opened her clenched fist.


    Something ck and burned rested in her palm.


    Before long, the wind eroded it into particles that sifted away and vanished. "Wh...what?"


    She''d thought she''d snatched the sh drive out of the mes, but it had already been destroyed.


    "Poor thing. The drug''s side effects are making you hallucinate, hm?"


    The red-haired woman was saying something, but Krone wasn''t able to process her words anymore. <i>Why am I here? What was I fighting, what do I want, and¡ª</i>


    <i> </i>


    "Krone. <i>Who ordered you to kill Danny Bryant?</i>"


    Yes, someone had... A year ago, someone had asked her to kill Danny, and


    she''d epted the job. Krone remembered that much, but she didn''t have enough brainpower left to recall the client''s identity.


    "We should have been...the real thing."


    One regret dominated Krone''s mind: They would have be true heroes the day shepleted this job.


    "''We,'' huh?" the redheaded woman muttered. Even in mid-confrontation, she lit a cigarette. "Your whole gang of evil vigntes grew up in the underworld. Your individual situations had made each of you hate the world, and you banded together to try to change it."


    Those words reminded Krone of her past.


    As a young child, she''d had nothing to eat. The only way she''d been able to keep herself alive was through <i>theft and scams. </i>Even so...at some point, she''d been struck by the beauty of a piece of street art that had appeared out of nowhere on a wall in town, drawn by some anonymous artist.


    What had happened after that, and who had she met? Had she resented the world once again, and banded together with like-mindedrades to try and improve it? She couldn''t remember. What had happened to <i>the others</i>? Krone tipped her head back to stare up at the sky, although it aplished nothing.


    "Ruble, the man who murdered Danny Bryant''s daughter, was shed to death by a certain man''s sickle five years ago. The one who carried out his sentence was the Enforcer," said the red-haired woman.


    From what she was told, this "Enforcer" executed criminals who couldn''t be brought to justice publicly. Kroneughed. <i>There''s an organization like us out there.</i>


    "Baht the mercenary lost to the Fiend with Twenty Faces... Or rather, to the Ace Detective."


    So the Fiend was a member of this organization as well. Krone then realized that they weren''t just simr to her group. They were a perfect recement, an improved version.


    <i>That''s it</i>, she thought. <i>I wanted to be someone like that¡ªsomeone with genuine strength.</i>


    <i>And yet...</i>


    She''d made so many mistakes she couldn''t even begin to identify where she''d gone wrong.


    "Are Dor and Real safe?" Krone blurted out the names of her remainingpanions.


    "If they trigger a global crisis, somebody will deal with them someday," the


    woman said bluntly, exhaling a white puff of smoke. "I see. And? Are you here to kill me?"


    The drug seemed to be working: Krone felt as if her body had grown lighter. It might just have meant she was closer to death, but to her, that was a minor issue now.


    "No, I can''t kill you. Not that I wouldn''t," the woman responded.


    She said that was the Assassin''s rule, and the difference between her and the Enforcer.


    "I can''t kill criminals. <i>I only kill innocents.</i>"


    There were cases when global peace could be maintained only by killing the innocent. The Assassin imed that those jobs fell onto her.


    "You''re a devil," Krone said, and smiled faintly.


    If Krone was a necessary evil, then this woman was an absolute evil. However, that difference in their resolutions was probably what made the other woman the real thing.


    "That''s fine." The Assassin stubbed out her cigarette in her portable ashtray. "So, since you''vemitted too many crimes to count, I can''t finish you off."


    That was when it happened.


    Krone heard an odd sound behind her. <i>Creeeeak, shwirr, shwirr</i>. When she turned, she saw another shape rise out of the darkness.


    "Aren''t you...?"


    The upant of the wheelchair was the elderly man who''d shown Krone around Sun House during her visit. What had his name been again?


    "<i>Which one </i>do you know? I wasn''t aware he was here until today," the Assassin said, as an aside, then went on. "Which of his faces did you meet? Jekyll, the kind old man who loves children? Or Hyde, who bes a demon to protect them?"


    Krone stared vacantly at <i>the old man, as he slowly rose from his wheelchair. </i>His eyes had rolled back into his head so that only their whites showed. He leveled a swordstick at her.


    "Don''t worry," the Assassin said.


    "I doubt you''ll have time to feel any pain. You''re about to die at the hands of the former Master Swordsman, after all."


    The Assassin hade to see the end of the job she hadn''t finished a year ago. Now she turned her back, entrusting the final move to her formerrade.


    Before she disappeared into the night, she asked Krone onest question. "I hear you were a scammer. How does it feel to be the one who got duped at the end?"


    It was Krone''s final look back over her life. "It feels fantastic."


    <strong> May 5 Siesta</strong>


    Two days had passed since then. Bruno Belmondo, the Information Broker, had told me about the fight with a certain vignte group who imed to be on the side of justice. I''d apprehended Baht the mercenary; then Boy K. and I had managed to defeat the con artist, Krone. Right now, I was still at Sun House.


    In the end, the home had escapedplete destruction, and the children were all safe. Jekyll, the head of the facility, had been found unconscious in the nearby woods. He had no injuries to speak of, but he was still sleeping in one of the facility''s beds. Had he been attacked by the vignte group''s remaining members? I hoped he''d recover soon.


    In any case, this string of incidents had been resolved. The threat to us had disappeared for now, and the children of Sun House would probably never be targeted again.


    I still had one job left to do, though. In the grassy field near Sun House, after I''d made sure there was no one around, I took a call from a certain individual.


    "Good work, Siesta. I expect you''re quite tired."


    The caller was Ice Doll, the Federation Government official who''d asked me to look into Danny Bryant. Since I''d resolved the incident, I''d emailed her a report of what I''d found. That seemed to be why she''d called.


    "If you understand that I''m tired, I wish you wouldn''t call me."


    I had hoped to finish the job over email. Talking to people is work. It''s even worse if the other person outranks you.


    "Yes, I did feel bad about that. However, it appears you''ve <i>failed to record an item</i>, and I wanted to confirm that." Ice Doll''s tone was perfectly serious, despite her apparently ying dumb.


    "Failed to record something? You wanted to know what had happened to Danny Bryant. I sent a detailed ount of that." If she was going to y dumb, then I would, too.


    "You did. You said that Danny Bryant had, unfortunately, met his demise a year ago. You also gave details regarding the background of the incident, along


    with usible theories. I appreciated your work ethic very much. However..." Ice Doll had finally reached the reason she''d gone to the trouble of calling. "You haven''t said what Danny left in the safe at the children''s home."


    <i>Oh, I was right</i>, I thought.


    That said, in my report, I''d told her that the safe''s contents had been a USB drive, and that it had identally been incinerated during my fight with Krone. It was all Boy K.''s fault for throwing it into the fire. I wasn''t to me, not at all. "I''m sorry. I had no idea your people considered the data on that sh drive so


    important," I responded.


    Ice Doll fell silent.


    One would almost think she''d known Danny Bryant was dead already¡ªand what she''d really wanted was the data he''d left behind. "But of course that''s not true, is it?" I asked.


    "As a spy who worked directly for the Federation Government, Danny Bryant knew far too much. We were concerned that the ssified information he''d taken might have been leaked, that''s all," Ice Doll responded, parrying my question with sound logic.


    "Then you''re saying it would be terribly inconvenient if whatever was on that sh drive became public?"


    "...You''re very insistent, aren''t you, Ace Detective?" Ice Doll''s tone grew as cold as her name. "Do you suspect us of something?"


    "No. Only..."


    I hesitated over whether to finish that sentence. Then I decided I needed to.


    "I thought Danny Bryant might have been investigating the Akashic records, which are in the Mizoev Federation''s possession. Was I overthinking it?"


    Had Ice Doll <i>mistakenly believed </i>that the results of his investigation were on that sh drive? At the very least, the secret couldn''t possibly be anything as tame as a list of children with special abilities. Krone had been lying to Boy K.


    On the other hand, the Akashic records <i>were the secrets of the world itself </i>and must be kept from getting out at any cost. I asked Ice Doll, point-nk, whether that was why the government had gotten agitated and had sent a Tuner on this investigation.


    "Ice Doll does not have the authority to answer questions about the Akashic


    records."


    I almost wondered if the voice was synthesized.


    However, it was definitely Ice Doll''s. She''d just positioned herself as a third party and refused to answer, in a tone that was ice cold and inorganic.


    She''d neither affirmed nor denied it. She wouldn''t even listen to the question itself. Ice Doll was telling me she didn''t have the right to.


    In that case, who had taken that right from her? No doubt she wouldn''t tell me that, either.


    "Then what about this?"


    As long as it wasn''t about the Akashic records themselves, it should be all right. On that thought, I asked Ice Doll one more thing I badly wanted to know.


    "Is there a reason you didn''t mention that Danny Bryant was the previous Ace Detective?"


    No one had told me. It was only a hunch. Even so, I had several reasons to believe that was the case.


    First, Ice Doll had sent Fuubi and me out to search for Danny, even though it had nothing to do with our actual missions. The only conceivable excuse was that Danny hade to possess taboo information, something on the level of the Akashic records. However, I didn''t think that would have been possible for a rank-and-file spy. If he''d been able to ess the Akashic records, he''d probably been a Tuner.


    If I assumed Danny Bryant had been the Ace Detective, several things made sense. For example, the fact that Bruno had been in Japan, <i>certainly not by coincidence</i>, and had taken my request. Could the real reason have been that the former Ace Detective had given him a message to pass on? And the final key that had opened Danny''s safe: The Inventor had presented it to me as something that was handed down from <i>one Ace Detective to the next</i>. That was supporting evidence as well.


    On top of that, it had been roughly a year since I was appointed Ace Detective. Who had held the post before that? Would it be so odd to think that a certain private detective who''d died a year ago had been <i>my predecessor</i>?


    "It''s likely that what you have in mind is true." Ice Doll''s tone had returned to normal, and she implicitly acknowledged Danny Bryant''s identity.


    Then she exined why she hadn''t told me that he was the former Ace


    Detective.


    "I merely thought knowing the Ace Detective before you had fallen in the line of duty would have been distressing."


    Ah, yes. <i>That struck me as a clever excuse.</i>


    "I see. Thank you for your consideration," I said, although I wasn''t actually grateful. I was good at saying things I didn''t mean. "There''s no need to worry, though. I won''t die."


    I could just as well have said I wasn''t afraid to die, but I thought that might make me sound like a child whose only virtue was recklessness. So I just promised not to.


    And, in order to achieve that objective, I¡ª "I''m about to acquire apanion."


    I hardly needed to say who it was. Of course, I had no idea whether <i>he''d </i>let himself be yanked around at my convenience. At the very least, not now... No, not right away.


    He needed time, too. I''d wait. If the time never came, then that was all right. This was my story, an adventure I''d begun. I would have preferred not to get him involved.


    There was one thing I knew for sure, though: A certain deceased detective had intentionally nned for Boy K. and me to cross paths.


    Danny had known that if he happened to die while holding the secret of the Akashic records, the Federation Government would never let it slide. The government was bound to dispatch a Tuner to retrieve the secrets he''d left behind¡ªand he''d deduced they were most likely to send the next Ace Detective. He''d assumed the <i>new </i>Ace Detective would make contact with Kimihiko Kimizuka, the person in Japan he''d spent the most time looking after.


    In that case, what had Danny been trying to aplish by bringing us together? If I assumed he''d understood the truth of that dubious talent of Boy K.''s, then I had my answer. In short, it was the kid''s special predisposition, what he called his "knack for getting dragged into things": the Singrity. Danny had seen that for what it was before anyone else did, and had protected Boy K. by keeping him close. Then he''d passed that mission on to me, his sessor.


    Danny couldn''t see the future like the Oracle. He didn''t know everything, like the Information Broker. I was sure he hadn''t been as strong as the Vampire in a fight. Still, the Ace Detective had the brains to foresee his own death¡ªand to read all the potential paths the world could follow from that point.


    And now, I had inherited that old detective''s mission. Through a vast power I


    shouldn''t dismiss with a simple word like <i>coincidence</i>, guided by that great detective, my fate had intersected with Boy K.''s. Therefore...


    "Someday, mypanion and I will reach that ce." The detective was already dead.


    But hisst wish would never die.


    I would take on that responsibility and carry it with me.


    "Apanion, hm?" When Ice Doll heard my deration, she gave a littleugh.


    True, when I thought it through, this might actually seem pretty childish. Still.


    "Did you know? In stories about saving the world, the protagonist is always a kid."

 Chapter 133 - 4.5

    <h4>Chapter 133: Chapter 4.5</h4>


    <strong>May 5 Kimihiko Kimizuka</strong>


    I''d been standing at the top of that cliff on the cape for more than half an hour. I wasn''t doing anything, just listening to the waves break on the rocks. Even so, to me, simply being here had meaning.


    There was a white cross beside me, nted in a spot with a view out over the ocean, with lots of flowersid out around it. It was the grave the facility''s children had made for Danny. I didn''t pray or anything, and I didn''t talk to anyone. I just stood there, with the wind whipping around me.


    Danny Bryant. Three years ago, he''d showed up out of nowhere and imed to be a rtive, then my father figure, then my teacher. I''d ended up spending two years with that enigmatic wanderer. We hadn''t spent all of that time together. He''d been away from that apartment more often than not.


    I''m not saying that''s why, but I didn''t have many memories of receiving or being given things from him. The pseudo-philosophical chats Danny usually tended tounch into hadn''t convinced mepletely. In the end, I didn''t know whether his way of life, or the way he''d died, had really been correct. I wasn''t in any position to make that call.


    ...But I was here anyway. What had Danny actually done, and what sort of secrets had he been hiding when he died? There was no way to know any of that now. And yet here I was, thinking about thest view he''d seen. It felt as if I didn''t have a choice.


    "What are you doing, kid?" a voice said behind me.


    It was Gekka. I answered without turning around. "I was thinking <i>Is that how he smiled?</i>"


    Among the flowers, a canvas stood near the white cross. Grete''s portrait of Danny.


    "We''ll have to put that away before it rains."


    I hadn''t noticed until Gekka mentioned it, but the sky was cloudy. It could start raining at any second.


    "If I said things were better this way, how would youfort me?" I asked casually. If she''d gone to the trouble ofing out here, she''d probably at least chat with me for a while.


    "If I said this was the way it had to be, it wouldn''t satisfy you."


    Apparently, my question had been a bit mean. When I nced back, Gekka was staring at the ground rather awkwardly.


    Right. Danny Bryant''s death couldn''t be undone. No matter how I tried to dress it up in words, the facts wouldn''t change.


    I started to apologize, but just then, she raised her eyes and met mine. "Instead, take this." Closing the distance between us, she handed me her smartphone. "The real data from that sh drive is on here. The one you threw into the mes earlier was a fake I''d brought along. There were video files on the real one," Gekka exined.


    "...Is it okay for me to watch these?"


    So it wasn''t a map that led to Danny''s secret? Even if Krone had been lying, Danny had indeed been hiding something, and he''d been on the run from his enemies. Had the contents of the safe beenpletely unrted?


    "Yes. Your identity makes it okay."


    Gekka exined there had been several pieces of data on the sh drive, and she''d only given me some of it. Each of the video files had been meant for one of the kids at Sun House, and he''d left one for me.


    I hesitated just a little, then tapped PLAY.


    Danny Bryant appeared on the screen, sitting on a sofa in a room somewhere. "Hey, it''s been forever. Can you see me okay?"


    It felt like a home video. In the next moment, though, the warm aura disappeared.


    "I know you''re expecting a sweet, emotional video letter. But ditch those expectations, stat."


    ...There it is, that perfect dose of irritation. This was so like him.


    I wanted to tell him I wasn''t expecting anything sweet or emotional from him.


    Too bad I couldn''t.


    "First, let me say this: I''ve got nothing to leave you, property included."


    He was talking like he was ready for the end, like this video message was his


    final good-bye. The contents were harsh, though.


    "That goes both ways: There''s nothing you can do for me. The living can''t do anything for the dead."


    For a moment, the brutal remark made my chest constrict, but I promptly thought better of it. He was right.


    We offer flowers to the dead. We talk to heaven. We tell ourselves that he or she is alive in our hearts, and we start to move on.


    But... Yeah. In the end, maybe those things aren''t for the dead. Maybe we do them tofort ourselves. Because in reality, those of us who are left behind can''t do anything for the dead. From here on out, I would be for Danny¡ª


    "And that''s just fine."


    My head had started to droop, but I lifted it up at those words.


    "I did everything I needed to do. That means I''m not leaving any souvenirs you don''t need, and you definitely don''t need to avenge me. I got it all done. You don''t need to be tied down by the gaze of the dead."


    From his spot on the sofa, he looked straight at the camera. As he spoke, his voice was gentle, but also powerful.


    "So, technically, I didn''t need to leave this video. I bet there''s someone next to you right now anyway. They''ll probably even teach you how to live from here on out. I have some memory space left, though, so...lemme just tell you a couple of things."


    Then Danny began to deliver hisst words. "¡ªNot having family is nothing special. "Not having friends is nothing special. "Living by yourself is nothing special. "Listen. Don''t let those things define you.


    "Don''t even tack them onto the end of your profile.


    "If somebody asks you about it someday, and you remember it like, ''Oh, yeah,e to think of it...'' That''s what I want for you.


    "Right, so there''s just one thing that''s important:


    "Who are you?"


    As Danny said that question was key, his voice grew more intense. "Ask yourself that. Keep on asking.


    "What do you want to do? What do you wish for?


    "What can you do to make that wish happen, and what can you afford to lose? "Hey, Kimihiko.


    "What do you want to do tomorrow?"


    With that final question, Danny Bryant smiled.


    It was definitely the same smile as the one in his portrait. "You''re saying that today?" I muttered at the dark screen.


    It was May 5. My fourteenth birthday. "That''s a terrible coincidence."


    I knew it wasn''t, but that was all I could say.


    I gave the smartphone back to Gekka, then looked up at the cloudy sky. The next thing I knew, a fine rain had begun to fall.


    "He really did get it all done, and then he died satisfied." I went closer to the cliff''s edge and looked down at the heaving ocean. "Still. He lost his only daughter, started working to protect unfortunate kids instead, and died protecting them¡ªwas that really okay? I mean, yeah, he''s probably satisfied. I doubt he regrets dying. Maybe he carried out his mission, made sure justice was done, and died happy."


    But.


    I gritted my teeth so hard I could hear them grinding. The rain was falling faster. Wishing it would wash everything away, I clenched my fists.


    "Then at the very least, somebody who isn''t him should be sad about his death, right?! If he doesn''t regret it, then I''ll regret it for him! I mean, it''s true, isn''t it? This is just way too... An ending like this is just¡ª"


    What words could express this feeling?


    This agony, the way the world refused to go my way, this overpowering sense of helplessness.


    The dead don''te back to life.


    There''s nothing the people left behind can do.


    Even so, this emotion was inexorable, a muddy torrent that was threatening to drag me under. If I was going to condense it into one word, just one, it would be


    ¡ª


    "Unfair...!"


    That clich¨¦d word was the answer I forced up from the pit of my stomach. Raindrops struck my cheeks, my shoulders, and the ground.


    Cold reality ran me through like a sword.


    "¡ªAre you stupid, kid?"


    Just then.


    Mingling with the sound of the rain, very faintly, I thought I''d heard the sort of words that would overturn that reality.


    "He won''t die. He won''t. Danny Bryant isn''t dead." It was Gekka.


    Behind me, she spoke quietly, but there was a definite passion to her voice. "As long as there''s someone who''s inherited hisst wish, he''ll...<i>we''ll </i>never


    die. Listen, kid," she said. "How will you live? Now that hisst wish is yours, what will you do with it now?"


    When Danny Bryant had lost his daughter, he''d chosen to protect kids around the world. What about me? Now that I''d lost my teacher, how would I live?


    "I''m... I can''t live the way he did; I know that much. I don''t have the sort of power that could save everyone."


    In that case, what should I do?


    I didn''t even understand myself, and I was still stubbornly chasing my master''s shadow.


    <i>"Nobody knows what their genuine self is like. The real you might actually be a friendly, smiley kid."</i>


    <i> </i>


    I remembered Danny had said that to me at some point. It was true: I didn''t know anything about myself.


    <i>In that case, should I do what you said and try to joke around and smile a little?</i>


    How long would I be able to hang on to that easygoing attitude when trouble always found me like a ma?


    <i>"Given your little predisposition there, if you''re going to take on the cops and detectives, you''re gonna have to be either a con man or a phantom thief."</i>


    <i> </i>


    Yeah, he''d said that, too.


    From this point on, I was sure I''d have to deal with more than just cops and detectives.


    I''d probably run into gangsters and spies, sickening criminals, and great evils I couldn''t even begin to imagine. How should I live a life like that?


    <i>"Don''t worry. Whenever you''re driven by necessity, you''ll meet the people you need to meet. That''s true now and forever."</i>


    <i> </i>


    So in the end, I should just rely on other people?


    ...No, that couldn''t be it. The time when I''m "driven by necessity" would probablye after I''d already done my best. No matter what sort of trouble I ran into, even if someone was right there with me when it happened, I''d have to keep doing what needed to be done until then.


    That''s right. This was the only way left for me to live. As I kept getting pulled into all these incidents, I''d end up shouldering people''s anger or sadness or pain with them. I''d see how it yed out from a front row seat. In that case...


    "I''ll at least reach out and help the people I can see. That''s the kind of person I''ll be."


    Still chasing my teacher''s shadow, I announced to Gekka how I would live with this predisposition.


    "I see. That''s good to hear." Smiling just a little, Gekka turned to leave. "You''re going?"


    I didn''t ask her where. I vaguely understood that she wasn''t just leaving Sun House. She was exiting from my life.


    "Yes, my next job is waiting." Gekka spoke with her back still to me, in a tone that betrayed none of her emotions.


    I wasn''t ready to say good-bye, and I found myself asking her, "Do you think we''ll meet again someday?"


    Even if we didn''t arrange it, maybe we''d be walking down a street somewhere and run into each other by chance. It wasn''t impossible, was it?


    "I really can''t say. It''s a big world." Gekka didn''t look at me, but I thought I heard a little smile in her voice. "Still, no matter how big the world is, thoughts inevitably intersect someday, somewhere. If you and I inherited the samest wish from the same person, then one of these days, just maybe..."


    That sounded like she was hinting at something. Then she started to walk away.


    "Gekka!" I called after the Fiend with Twenty Faces, just one more time. "I''ll return this favor someday."


    Saying "thank you" was too embarrassing, so I left it vague.


    Instead...


    "Just like you saved me, one of these days, <i>I''ll smash that mask of yours.</i>" Did she think I hadn''t noticed?


    Was she nning to walk off alone, acting all mature?


    "You''re like me. You don''t show other people who you really are. You don''t let yourself."


    She was holding herself back, ying the part of "Gekka Shirogane" behind a false face.


    Her "Fiend with Twenty Faces" mask wasn''t the only one she was wearing. What Gekka had always kept hidden was the thick armor she wore over her heart.


    "Wait just a little longer."


    <i>Someday I''ll break that mask, that armor. So, until then, this is good-bye.</i>


    Gekka gave the biggest sigh I''d heard since we met. Then, turning back, she gave me onest smile.


    "You''ve got a lot of nerve for a kid."

 Chapter 134: A certain boy’s tale 3

    <h4>Chapter 134: A certain boy¡¯s tale 3</h4>


    "Those are the memories I have of my birthdays."


    I''d finally wrapped up my old story about a certain guy. About how, five years ago, death had separated Danny Bryant and me. And how, four years ago, I''d learned the truth behind his death.


    Both of those things had happened on my birthday.


    After they''d heard everything, Natsunagi, Saikawa, and Charlie were quiet. "Sorry. I know it''s not a very interesting story."


    I thought of those old memories every year, when that day came around, but I''d never told anyone about them. I hadn''t needed to.


    Even if I didn''t, it wasn''t as if I''d forget. I couldn''t forget.


    Danny''s voice still lingered in my ears. The eyes of the dead were always watching me, a breath away. ...Not that it was scary or anything.


    It was just that on May 5, I remembered Danny Bryant''s words¡ªthe thoughts he left with me.


    But that didn''t mean this was a tragedy, far from it.


    I got past his death, learned hisst wish, and turned my focus toward the future.


    As a result, this was really the story of how I¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka¡ªcame to be.


    It wasn''t a sad story. At least, I didn''t think it was. Yet...


    "Why... Why?" In the silence, Saikawa was the first one to speak. "Why don''t you ever tell us these things, Kimizuka?!"


    Maybe it''s rude to say I wouldn''t have expected it, but I wouldn''t have: Saikawa was crying.


    "That''s not it! I''m angry!" She thumped the table and stood up, forcefully filing herint.


    I''d heard of tears of joy, but apparently, it was possible to cry with anger, too. If I told the idol that and joked around a little, would she be nice and stop crying?


    "Tell us more of these stories, please. Don''t just banter all the time. Tell us more, more... And don''t say we didn''t ask you. That''s no excuse." Saikawa gave me a resentful look.


    Saikawa had lived worrying about family twice as much as the average person


    ¡ªshe might have sympathized, and maybe she''d wanted to share these memories with me as well.


    "Sorry, Saikawa."


    She was wiping away her tears with her hands. I winced a little with guilt. "But listen, Saikawa. From my perspective, that wasn''t a special story."


    Danny had told me as much, way back when. Not having a family, not having friends.


    My background, how I grew up, and even losing him. He''d told me none of that was anything special.


    He''d said I didn''t even need to tack it onto the end of my profile. Because he''d said that to me, because I''d promised, I¡ª


    "...I still wish you''d told us sooner." Saikawa lowered her head, speaking in a small voice as she resumed her seat.


    With a small smile, Natsunagi gently stroked her hair. "You really are dumb." Charlie looked away, snubbing me.


    Of this group, she was the one I''d known the longest, but I''d never told her about my past, either. I wasn''t the only one who hadn''t shared much about themselves, though.


    "You never tell anyone about stuff, either, Charlie." Right. For example: "Your parents''..."


    "Now''s not the time for that story." The agent shut me down before I could finish. The wind blew, and her blond hair hid her profile.


    Yeah, I know.


    We''d still only taken the first step toward making a change.


    For Natsunagi, the past. For Saikawa, her parents. For Charlie, her mission, and for me¡ªthe dead. We''d all ovee the spells that bound us and started to move on. At this point, none of us had managed to fulfill the wishes thaty beyond that in the truest sense. Not yet.


    And so we''d start now. We were still just getting started. "Ms. Gekka, hm?" Natsunagi murmured the name quietly. Gekka Shirogane.


    More than four years ago, I''d spent a week working with the self-styled Fiend with Twenty Faces.


    Because she''d been there, I''d discovered the truth behind Danny Bryant''s death and received thest present he''d left for me.


    Where was she now, and what was she doing?


    "No, it couldn''t be..." Natsunagi seemed to have an idea, but then she shook her head. "Well, anyway. You''ve met all sorts of people, huh, Kimizuka."


    "Yeah. Not by coincidence."


    When I used that word, for a moment, Natsunagi''s eyes widened. Then she smiled.


    Danny had said something else once.


    He''d said I''d meet the people I needed to meet. He''d told me that was how I was wired.


    My encounter with him probably hadn''t been an exception.


    Seven years ago, a guy who called himself my teacher hade to a police station to pick me up.


    A year after he''d died, I''d met the Fiend with Twenty Faces.


    Soon after that, the white-haired Ace Detective had taken me along on her journey around the world.


    A year after her death, in a ssroom after school, a girl in my grade had woken me up.


    I was sure all of it had been inevitable for me.


    "But that''s not just true of you, Kimizuka. It works that way for all of us." Natsunagi gazed at me, then Saikawa, then Charlie. "We keep meeting people, forming a chain of intentions, wishes, and names as we go through life. It''s always been like that, and it always will be."


    Siesta, Alicia, and Hel. Nagisa Natsunagi had epted theirst wishes, her pulse had raced, and now here she was. As she looked up at the sky, her eyes were filled with dauntless determination.


    "Yeah, you''ve got that right." I looked up at the sky with her. That was where it had all started.


    Long ago, my dazzling adventure had begun in that blue sky, at ten thousand meters.


    If you wanted to fly, however, you had to have a runway. You needed enough


    room to build speed. Someone had given me the push I needed, and herst smile rose to the surface of my mind.


    Four and a half years ago, on the day I''d parted with Gekka Shirogane, there was one thing I''d forgotten to ask her.


    Two days before that, over the phone, Gekka had said she had something important to tell me. She''d wanted to meet and discuss it in person. But right after that, I''d gotten kidnapped by Krone and ended up in mortal danger. That incident had distracted us, and Gekka and I had lost our chance to have that important conversation.


    What had she been nning to tell me?


    What had she meant to say, before she chose to leave instead?


    The faceless, nameless Fiend. She''d never shown me her true face, and when I asked if we''d see each other again, she hadn''t given me a clear answer.


    I''d promised to break her mask, but I still hadn''t done it. It had been more than four years, and I hadn''t even managed to see her again.


    ...No, I doubt I would have recognized her even if we had met. Her face, her voice, her figure, and what she''d told me about herself had all been fake. We might have passed each other on the street, and I never would have known it was her.


    We did have that password, though.


    It might have been different before, but at this point... Now that I was able to use those words openly with Natsunagi, I might be able to use our password to find that other girl again. I didn''t have any real grounds for thinking so. But still. "It''s important to keep a promise," I murmured quietly. Natsunagi, Saikawa, and Charlie all gazed at me curiously. I shook my head. "It''s nothing. ...The


    weather''s great today, huh?"


    Until I meet her again, though, I''ll keep traveling with this noisy group of friends. As I looked at the blue sky, no trace of the rainclouds from that day, I just had that feeling.

 Chapter 135: Prologue, four years ago

    <h4>Chapter 135: Prologue, four years ago</h4>


    It had been about a month since the incident with Krone at Sun House. As the Ace Detective, I''d continued my investigation of Seed''s organization SPES and learned that their reach had finally extended to Japan.


    On that dayst month, Boy K. had said that he wanted to be the type of person who''d reach out to help those in front of him. However, the area he could reach was already being eroded by an invisible poison.


    His middle school was being flooded with a certain drug that was being backed by low-level SPES supporters. Back when I first had the Men in ck investigate this town, signs of that incident had already been showing.


    <i>It''s time</i>, I thought.


    Boy K. and I would change the future. The phrasing may have sounded grandiose, but it was true. This wasn''t an empty dream or a fairy tale.


    To us, this was indisputable reality.


    That was why <i>I was sitting here now</i>, waiting for something new to begin. What''s that? You''re asking where "here" was?


    Well¡ª


    "We are waiting for one final passenger on this flight."


    As the announcement indicated, this was a ne. If all went ording to schedule, <i>a certain incident would take ce </i>while we were at ten thousand meters in the air. I was sitting in this window seat so that I could resolve it, as a detective.


    The seat next to mine was empty.


    I was waiting for the person who was supposed to sit there.


    That said, we hadn''t arranged to meet. Even if <i>he </i>appeared on time, he probably wouldn''t notice me.


    Right now, I was my true self.


    I''d stripped off the mask of Gekka Shirogane and was there under my code name, Siesta.


    "I wonder what you''ll think when you see my real face," I murmured. It wasn''t the first time I''d had that thought.


    <i>Will he think I''m beautiful?</i>


    Never mind that. As long as he showed up, nothing else mattered. I''d see him again, and then, and then¡ª


    "..."


    I held my left hand down with my right.


    This wasn''t like me at all. My hand was trembling slightly. Would the kid reallye?


    This was him, after all. Had he gotten pulled into some other incident before he could get dragged into my n?


    It was entirely possible that he wouldn''te.


    Earlier, Mia had told me that he was the Singrity, the person who could change the future written in the sacred text. Due to his nature, no matter how much I wanted to meet him again or how hard I tried to be his partner, there was no telling whether it would actually happen. The Singrity couldn''t be reproduced. My deductions couldn''t predict his actions.


    <i>Still</i>, I thought. Maybe I shouldn''t have, but I did. If I managed to meet him, in spite of his predisposition...couldn''t I call it fate? Or was I thinking like this because I''d seen too many movies and TV dramas?


    "It''s your fault, though," I murmured, gazing absently out the window of the grounded ne.


    I''d originally decided to choose Boy K. as my partner simply because he was the Singrity. When I''d snapped at Ice Doll over the phone and told her I was about to acquire apanion, that was my reasoning. He could turn the tide for all sorts of global crises, and if I had him by my side, I''d be able to pull off even bigger jobs as the Ace Detective. ...That was what I''d had in mind, anyway.


    However...


    "It''s because you saw right through me." He''d said he''d break my mask someday.


    Kimihiko Kimizuka. At first, I would have said he seemed vaguely simr to


    me, but we were fundamentally a little different. I''d started wanting to know how that personality of his had been formed, and as I''d worked with him, I''d found the answer. Or that''s how it felt to me.


    The next thing I knew, his mask hade off, and he was gazing at me steadily. Then he''d sworn he''d break my mask next time. For some reason, that had made me...well, happy. So happy that the Singrity aspect <i>had stopped meaning anything to me.</i>


    And so¡ªactually, I wasn''t sure if "and so" was the right phrase to use.


    Even so, today, I was going to tell him what I hadn''t been able to sayst time. "<i>Be my assistant.</i>" Deep down, I was sure I''d always wanted to say that. Not


    as Gekka Shirogane, not as the Fiend with Twenty Faces, but as myself. "Even that may be selfish of me, though."


    I hadn''t made anypanions since bing the Ace Detective a year ago. Charlie and Mia were precious to me, of course. There was no mistake about that. However, I hadn''t wanted to bind them with the word <ipanions </i>and drag them into the reckless things I did. They were both important to me, but I did my best to keep a certain distance between us.


    When it came to the kid, though, I doubted that would work. While he was traveling with me, the chances were high that I''d end up dragging him into a whole lot of danger. Would he really go along with that adventure of mine, and was it okay to let him do it?


    It wasn''t the first time that question had raced around in my mind. But through all my contemtions, the answer had never presented itself. All I''de up with was apromise of sorts: I''d invite him to be my partner on this journey, and if he refused, I''d give up with grace.


    "I wonder if he''ll ept."


    I understood it wouldn''t be easy to ept an invitation like that, of course. Hence, I''d given myself a maximum of three recruitment attempts. "...Maybe I''ll make it five."


    Taking my own clumsiness into ount, I decided to give myself a bit of a margin of error.


    In exchange...even if he did ept, if I determined that the journey would only affect him negatively, I''d part ways with him at once. That alone was nonnegotiable.


    Coming to that decision, I waited quietly. My heart was pounding in my ears, and I tried to calm it down.


    "Say, kid."


    <i>What should I call you?</i>


    I got to work on the next tough question.


    If he dide to me, what should I call him? "Kid"? No, that would be weird; we were actually the same age.


    "Kimihiko," then? That sounded overly familiar.


    "Mr. Kimizuka"? It didn''t seem like something I''d say. "I wonder if he has a code name."


    If he did, it would be easier to just call him that... Now that I was thinking about it, this was surprisingly hard. Why did I have to stress out over this, of all things? I was getting increasingly annoyed.


    Actually, since I hadn''t seen himtely, I''d forgotten his face. What did he look like? I was pretty sure he''d had rtively normal features, but his eyes had seemed kind of spiritless and lonely, as if he''d given up on everything. That smile he shed sometimes was a little cute, except it was only one of his masks. I was sure thatst smile he''d shown me had been his real one, though.


    And then, that''s right¡ª


    That profile. The one that seemed specifically designed for sighing.


    The relief almost made my face rx into a smile. Desperately curbing that impulse, I pretended to be asleep.


    I couldn''t let him figure it out.


    He couldn''t know Gekka was here right now.


    I couldn''t let him notice this feeling, even if it was making me giddy enough to dance.


    With my eyes closed, listening to the sound of my own racing heart, I felt him there.


    It really was him. Someone like me was here, right now, right next to me. "Yeesh. Unfair," the boy grumbled. He was probably recalling the events that


    had brought him here.


    The word I''d heard on that earlier asion seemed to have be a habit for him.


    In that case, I''d keep using the simplest words to cancel out all the disasters that fell on him. I''d tell him this world, with all its unfairness, was ridiculous.


    Soon after that, with all of the flight''s passengers onboard, the ne closed its door and began to taxi down the runway.


    We would soar upward of ten thousand meters.


    Our¡ªno, the detective and her assistant''s¡ªdazzling adventure was about to begin.


    First...


    When I listened carefully, I heard a voice. "Is there a detective on the ne?"

 Chapter 136: Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 136: Prologue</h4>


    "Is there a detective on the ne?"


    That question had made me doubt my ears at first, but it had onceunched me into a dazzling adventure.


    It wasn''t a line you generally heard on passenger nes ten thousand meters in the air.


    In a situation like that, people would usually be asking for a doctor or a nurse.


    Who''d have believed they''d want a detective? I''d been born with a knack for getting dragged into stuff, so at the time, I''d wondered if it was my fault.


    "It''s not fair."


    In my seat on the ne, I''d heaved one of my usual sighs. However, that was when things had really started getting unusual.


    "Yes, I''m a detective."


    The girl who''d spoken had been sitting in the seat on my right.


    She had blue eyes and a pale silver bob. Her dress seemed to be modeled on a military uniform, and it red as she brandished her musket. Once she was on the scene, the incident was over.


    The consummately beautiful ace detective. Her code name was Siesta.


    What she wanted was to fulfill her clients'' requests and act in their best interests.


    For some reason, Siesta appointed me as her assistant. Together, we left on a three-year journey to defeat the enemies of the world¡ªand then death parted us.


    At the time, we were fighting an organization called SPES. A member of the enemy''s upper ranks, a girl named Hel, defeated Siesta and took her heart.


    And so my adventure was over... Or so I thought. "You''re the ace detective?"


    A yearter, a certain client came to me.


    She had red eyes and long, glossy ck hair. This high school girl, whose trademark was her red ribbon, pulled me from my tepid routine with her zing


    Page 1 Goldenagato |


    passion.


    She was both a client and a proxy detective¡ªher name was Nagisa Natsunagi. She wanted me to locate someone who''d saved her life.


    She pulled me back into the extraordinary, and soon I found myself with a wish: Someday, I''d take Siesta back.


    However, resurrecting the dead carried a heavy price. Natsunagi literally risked her life to let Siesta retake her heart.


    In the process, she also defeated Seed, our final enemy. This time, we''d won our happy ending.


    ...Or so it seemed. We''d made just one miscalction: the "seed" in Siesta''s heart.


    As long as that was there, someday she''d lose control and be a monster. The only way to treat it was for Siesta to stay asleep and prevent the seed from growing.


    When Siesta gave up on everything and tried to get rid of herself, I stood in her way. In the end, with the help of our other friends, I got her to take a long nap instead.


    On that day, the ace detective became a sleeping beauty, surrounded by the blissful scent of ck tea.


    That ended the first phase of our adventure. However, it really was too soon for an epilogue.


    So that I''d be able to wake Siesta up one day, I left on a journey withpanions who were hoping for the same thing.


    <i>"I''ll always be your right arm, Kimihiko, and I''ll be your left eye as well." "I''m your enemy, Kimizuka. When you take a wrong step, I''ll p you." "It''s okay, Kimizuka. Your wish and all of ours wille true."</i>


    <i>"Yeah. Let''s go on a journey to save our friend."</i>


    Then, after living out a dazzling adventure thatsted more than a year, we got through the mother of all disasters, which wouldtere to be known as "the Great Cataclysm"¡ª


    ¡ªand atst, we worked a miracle.


    It''s been a year since then, and seven years since it all began.


    I¡ªKimihiko Kimizuka¡ªam twenty now, a legal adult. I''m soaking from the


    top of my head to the tips of my toes in "the sequel," an ordinary life.


    Am I okay with that, you ask?


    Sure. It''s not like I''m causing trouble for anybody. I mean, it''s true, isn''t it?


    The detective is already¡ª

 Chapter 137 - 1.1

    <h4>Chapter 137: Chapter 1.1</h4>


    <strong>The mystery starts with a love scene</strong>


    "Look, look! The bath''s glowing!"


    A girl''s voice echoed from the bathroom.


    Considering what sort of hotel this was, it wasn''t odd for the bath to shimmer like an aurora or to spout bubbles.


    "Come on, aren''t you going toe look?"


    I was sitting on the double bed by myself in silence when she prompted me again.


    Yeesh. What is she trying to lure me into doing? "We didn''te here to y, Nagisa," I told the girl. Actually, she was old enough now that I should call her a woman.


    She poked her head out of the bathroom, then came over to me. For some reason, she was smiling faintly. "If we''re not ying, does that mean we''re serious?"


    The room was illuminated by indirect light.


    Sitting down on the bed next to me, she looked up at me with a mischievous smile. "I mean, we''re spending one of the first nights of a new year in a ce like this... You know?"


    Makeup suited her even better now than it had in high school. Her already well-defined features were even more attractive, and as I sat there with nothing to do, her rouged lips whispered sweetly to me.


    We were more grown-up than we''d been when we met.


    Of course we were. It had been more than two years since she''d hauled me up by my shirtfront in that ssroom after school. Both Nagisa and I were well past the legal age. We weren''t kids anymore.


    "I know. Want me to put my fingers in your mouth?" Gently, Nagisa pushed me down onto the bed. "You liked that, didn''t you, Kimihiko?"


    When had we started calling each other by our first names? We''d said and done so much together that I couldn''t remember those little details.


    "That''s a fetish of yours, isn''t it¡ªletting a girl slobber all over you." "That rumor isn''t just exaggerated; it was made up entirely."


    <i>What started it was your shoving your fingers down my throat in that ssroom after school.</i>


    "But they even call it the stabber finger."


    "Are you trying to run me through or something? It''s called the pointer finger. Because you use it to point at people." This was how our conversations usually went, and I gave a little sigh.


    "Your eyshes sure are long."


    Nagisa''s face suddenly got a lot closer. Her perfume was that familiar citrus scent. I thought its calming fragrance expressed Nagisa''s (surprisingly delicate) feelings really well.


    "Kimihiko."


    She was right in front of me now. Her figure had also matured quite a bit. "Nagisa."


    Our lips drew closer and closer. Nagisa shut her eyes. And then¡ª "Except we''re here for work."


    My eyes snapped open. I flung Nagisa onto the bed, then focused my ears on <i>the sounds from the next room over which wereing through my Bluetooth headset</i>.


    "...I mean, I knew that. I also figured this was where things were going and rolled with it, okay? Geez, who just throws girls onto beds like that, huh?"


    Nagisa was muttering something, but more importantly... "We''ve got a winner here. Definitely guilty."


    I handed the headset to Nagisa, who took it grudgingly. The audio from the next room over was...


    "Ohh, this is... Yes. Absolutely." Awkwardly, Nagisa averted her eyes. Considering what type of hotel this was, I doubt I need to tell you what was happening over there.


    "Huh? Oh, they''re really branching out. Hm, they''re putting that in there?


    Whoa..."


    "We didn''te here to find out what modern bugs are capable of, but we sure did anyway."


    We''d nted the bug in our target''s bag ahead of time. Now that we''d gotten this audio, we had solid proof.


    "I feel bad for the guy who hired us, but we''d better let him know about this."


    I took out my smartphone and started putting together a report on our infidelity investigation.


    We''d gotten this request at the end ofst year from an office drone who


    suspected his wife was cheating on him. The client''s wife was a model at the top of her field, and they''d gotten married a few months ago in a top secret ceremony. However...


    "His gorgeous model wife is cheating on him with a guy in her industry.


    That''s rough." Nagisa sighed ufortably.


    "Yeah, and the client is... Maybe it''s rude to say this, but he''s a nd office worker. If a male model steals his wife, the news might hit him extra hard."


    "Yeah, the guy she''s cheating with is superhot."


    "Yeah. By the way, Nagisa, you can take the headset off now." "...Wh-what are you talking about?"


    It seemed mean to interrupt when she was enjoying herself so much, but I took the headset back, then immediately texted the report to our client.


    "Still, how do you suppose an ordinary office worker managed to convince a model to marry him?"


    I''d been curious about that myself. Not only that, but here she was, cheating on him just a few months after their wedding. It was all pretty weird.


    "Well, anyway, we''ve got this one solved now, don''t we? Even if it''s left a bad taste in our mouths," Nagisa said, tucking her hair behind her ear.


    "Yeah. Want to stand by until the target leaves the room?" Figuring that would be about two hours from now, I checked my watch. We''d probably be home by dinnertime.


    "I see. What will we do while we''re waiting?" Nagisa asked. She was sitting with her legs kicked out to the sides in an M shape, and she looked up at me through hershes. The turtleneck she was wearing showed off her curves; she really had matured since high school, in several ways.


    "I know you''re not actually that dense, Kimihiko."


    The heater was on in here; the room was a little warm, and Nagisa''s cheeks were flushed.


    "...Well, I guess there are some things you have to face head-on."


    I needed a way to productively kill two whole hours, so I rummaged in my bag for a certain item. "I''m not done with any of my winter term homework. Help me out."


    I was lucky to have a brilliant friend in the same seminar. At this rate, I was perilously close to getting held back a year. Rolling my shoulders, I opened myptop.


    "I wish you''d get held back a year for your whole life."


    That sulky face of Nagisa''s was the only thing adulthood hadn''t changed.


    About two hourster, as predicted, there was motion from the room next door.


    "Great. Nagisa, let''s go." "How about a thank-you?"


    I saved the report, which I''d finished with Nagisa''s help, then we grabbed our stuff and went after the target. Once we''d seen the pair enter the elevator, we ran down the stairs. Fortunately, it wasn''t too many floors.


    "There they are. That pair in coats."


    Outside the hotel, in a gloomy alley with the sun almost below the horizon, Nagisa pointed at a couple in overcoats. They had their arms linkedpanionably. They probably had no idea their rendezvous had been witnessed.


    "What do you want to do? Should we keep following them?" I asked Nagisa.


    We already had proof of the affair. There didn''t seem to be much point in shadowing the couple any longer... But just as I was mulling over our options, it happened.


    About fifty meters ahead of us, the woman we were following gave a short scream.


    What had happened? What was going to happen?


    As we started running to catch up, we saw that a man had dashed out of an alley. He had a de in his hand, and he was shouting. "Traitor!"


    "¡ª! Is that our client?"


    In the distance, the woman''s lover held her close, protecting her. For a moment, the man with the knife hesitated, but then he screamed again and raised


    his weapon above his head.


    Nagisa and I wouldn''t make it in time. The man''s de began to descend toward the other man''s back.


    "Argh, not again."


    I sighed at my own ipetence, or maybe because <i>she''d </i>stolen yet another march on me. Next to me, Nagisa was probably feeling the same way. We stopped, weary but relieved, and exchanged looks.


    Did we have time for that, you ask? Sure. The incident was already over.


    "Nice try, but no. Put down the knife and surrender."


    A figure in white had appeared out of nowhere and pinned the man with the knife.


    The ace detective had probably been ready well in advance, then carelessly fallen asleep. But once again, she''d waltzed in to steal the best part.


    "Assistant, don''t just stand there. Hurry up and call the police."


    Her elegant dress hadn''t changed a bit, but she did look a little more grown-up than she had when we first met.


    She was the keenly intelligent, talented, beautiful, wless, and unimpeachable ace detective.


    The only reply I could offer her was one of my typical sarcastic ones: "Couldn''t you have helped us out a little sooner, Siesta?"

 Chapter 138 - 1.2

    <h4>Chapter 138: Chapter 1.2</h4>


    <strong>Detective, assistant, and chief</strong>


    The detective agency was on the second floor of a mixed-use building.


    "So, how did you make it work this time?" I asked Siesta. I was leaning back into a well-worn sofa, opening the box of pizza that had just been delivered.


    After the uproar near the hotel, the man with the knife had been safely handed over to the police. By the time we''d finally made it back here, it was well after sunset, and I still didn''t have aplete picture of the incident.


    "Oh, I want a slice with lots of shrimp."


    Siesta had been in her usual spot at the back of the office, typing on herputer. Now she was drifting over to the freshly baked pizza, like a butterfly drawn to a flower.


    "Siesta, are you listening to me?"


    "I''m always listening to the voice of your heart. Snarf-snarf."


    "If you''re gonna eat with sound effects, at least be cute about it, wouldja?" I shot back, and I meant it. Siesta had taken a seat across from me and was stuffing her face.


    "Once he knew for sure that she was cheating, the client flew into a rage and attacked his wife and her lover... Isn''t that what happened?" Nagisa asked. Bringing over three sses of soda, she set them on the table in front of us.


    "Well, one of our original assumptions was wrong." Now that she''d finished a slice of pizza, Siesta finally began answering our questions. "The man with the knife¡ªour client¡ªwasn''t married to that model."


    Nagisa and I exchanged looks. Neither of us had been expecting that one. "The client was <i>stalking </i>her. When he suspected she had a real partner, he


    hired a detective to find out for sure."


    ...I see. In that case, we''d basically aided and abetted a stalker.


    "But what about the copy of the family register he brought as proof that they were married?"


    "Probably a forgery. There are people who''ll take on under-the-table projects like that."


    "So you realized he was lying back then, Siesta?"


    "I didn''t find anything suspicious in the documents right away, but what he told us about his wife seemed rather unnatural."


    "How so?" Nagisa asked, sitting down beside her.


    "It was almost as if he''d memorized an online profile. Superficially, he knew a lot about his wife, but there was no substance to it." Siesta took a long swig of soda, then added, "For example, I know the things my assistantmonly says in his sleep, and that he likes his fried eggs with soy sauce, and I''ve seen him scrunch up his face when he takes powdered medicines. I know everything about him."


    "Huh? Are you trying to one-up me?"


    "That''s the sort of information you can''t know if you''ve never lived with your partner. The client didn''t have any of that."


    Oh. So the client¡ªor rather, the criminal¡ªmust''ve felt as if he knew the woman just from looking at her data. He''d probably started to think he was the only one who could understand her or something.


    "I see," said Nagisa. "You know, it did feel vaguely off to me, too."


    Now that she knew what had really been going on, Nagisa nodded as if everything made sense to her.


    She was right: Even in the hotel, she''d seemed to think there was something odd about the incident.


    "Hrmm. I''ve got to try harder. I''m already studying for school anyway," Nagisa told herself, smacking her cheeks sharply.


    Like me, Nagisa was majoring in psychology. ording to her, there was a motive behind every incident, and behind that motive was a human heart. In order to grow as a detective, she said she needed to better understand the mind.


    "So I was the only one who didn''t notice anything, then?" Geez. If Siesta had figured it out, she could have filled me in.


    "They say if you want to fool your enemies, first fool your friends, right?" "That''s not fair... Well, I''d like to say it''s not, but were you trying to


    aplish something by doing that?"


    "If we were all on the same page, we wouldn''t be able to handle unforeseen situations. It''s like the way the pilot and copilot eat different meals on a flight to avoid any possibility of food poisoning. It''s risk management¡ªwe should being at this from different angles."


    "You mean even if we all have the same basic goal, sometimes it''s effective to intentionally have individual perspectives and do different things?"


    I didn''t even have to think very hard to see we''d always worked that way. "Actually, I found this a little while ago. It''s a private ount." Siesta held up


    her phone, disying someone''s social media page.


    "Does this belong to that model?" Nagisa asked. In a post, the OP mentioned feeling like they were being followed. The woman must have noticed her stalker.


    "But it''s an anonymous ount. How did you find it?"


    "I just applied the same method I used to identify your ount way back when."


    "You tracked down my ount?"


    And apparently she wasn''t nning on telling me how. This sucks.


    "...Well, I''ll turn a blind eye to the past for now. Point is, you thought the woman might have a stalker, so you were on the scene again today."


    "Yes, although it was only a theory. I hadn''tpletely ruled out the possibility that the client might have married the model in secret."


    However, because Siesta had noticed all the possibilities, we''d avoided a worst-case scenario.


    "I used to be able to resolve these things a bit more neatly." She smiled faintly, remembering distant days.


    When she''d been a Tuner, Siesta had had <i>a certain special notebook </i>that


    granted its bearer every sort of qualification there was. If she''d used that, it would have been easy for her to check with the ward office and find out if the client and model really were married.


    However, at this point, she didn''t have that sort of authority. "I''m just a detective now."


    Right; she wasn''t a Tuner or the Ace Detective anymore.


    She was only a detective, and...


    "You''re also the chief here, remember?" I told her. Siesta smiled. "Oh, that''s right."


    She was the chief, Nagisa was the detective, and I was their assistant.


    About a year ago, peace had abruptlye to the world. The string of global crises that wouldter be known as "the Great Cataclysm" were resolved by the Ace Detective and many other heroes, and the world was saved.


    As proof that perpetual peace had arrived, the Oracle, Mia Whitlock, had lost her ability to see the future. That meant global crises were no longer being recorded in the sacred text.


    It had been a year since the Tuner system itself had been dissolved. Siesta had established this detective agency because she believed that, even in this peaceful world, somebody somewhere would still need justice. Nagisa and I had agreed, and we''d kept on working with her even as university students.


    "Well, I''m not very fond of the name you gave us, Kimi."


    For no apparent reason, Siesta started criticizing the agency''s name, even though we''d settled on it a whole year back. Sheesh. As always, she''d had me choose because she couldn''t be bothered, and now all she did wasin about it.


    "Hey, it''s a good name. The Shirogane Detective Agency."


    I''d borrowed the name of a certain benefactor of mine. I didn''t know why, but Siesta wasn''t happy about that.


    "Still, the year just started, and I''m already wiped out." I stretched, then rxed.


    This request hade in at the end of the year, and it had taken us until today, January 2, to solve it. I''d known there wouldn''t be holidays at any detective agency run by Siesta, but still.


    "Should we rx and make our first shrine visit of the year tomorrow?" Siesta suggested unexpectedly.


    Come to think of it, she''d always been the type to put seasonal events right up there with work.


    "Hooray! A chance to wear a kimono!" Nagisa agreed enthusiastically, flexing her muscles.


    It might be a break, but going anywhere with Siesta and Nagisa was bound to be a headache in one way or another. I felt I should replenish my energy stores while I could, which was why I bit into a slice of pizza. Just then...


    "It looks like we have a job," Siesta said. When I turned to look, she was opening the window. Cold night air blew in, and I put up the cor of my jacket. Then, with a rustle of wings, something flew into the agency.


    "Thank you. I''ll take this," Siesta told it, relieving our visitor (an owl) of the letter it held in its beak.


    "What are you, some kind of wizard?"


    "Don''t you know about carrier pigeons, Kimi? They can fly a thousand kilometers."


    Myment had been specifically because our visitor was an owl, not a pigeon, but more importantly... "Who''s the job request from?" I couldn''t tell from her expression.


    Nagisa watched her, too, waiting for an answer.


    Siesta''s eyes remained on the letter for a little while longer. Then, finally, she looked up.


    "For the first time in a year, we have a summons from the Federation Government."


    <strong> Proxy Ace Detectives</strong>


    Thanks to the Federation Government''s orders, the next evening found us in the city of a thousand temples¡ªKyoto. We''d spent a little over two hours on the bullet train, and no sooner had we reached our station than a shiny ck car had legally abducted us.


    "I wanted to have some dango or yatsuhashi first," Nagisa grumbled. She was kicking her feet like a kid, protesting the way we were being treated.


    "Yeah. I was just wishing they''d brought us over in first ss," I said, adding a gripe of my own.


    That said, these were demands for our employer.


    "We won''t necessarily be able to write it off as a work expense, so no." Gazing out the window, Siesta spoke like a business owner. "After all, we don''t know whether they''re going to be our client yet."


    By "they," she meant the Federation Government¡ªthe entity who''d sent the carrier owl.


    The letter hadn''t mentioned any specifics. They''d just told the three of us toe to this location, at this time, on this date.


    "Man. Not fair." The words were out of my mouth before I''d even thought about them.


    I hadn''t been saying that phrase muchtely. However, right now, those were the only appropriate words for the situation I¡ªwell, technically, the two girls¡ª had been ced in.


    What business could the Federation Government have with the former Ace Detectives, after all this time?


    We spent another forty minutes in the car before reaching our destination.


    Just as the sun was setting, we followed our driver-turned-guide up a gravel path. Before long, an enormous Buddhist temple came into view.


    "Isn''t this an important cultural asset?" Nagisa murmured. The building looked like something that would show up in a Japanese history reference book. I was pretty sure it was off-limits to the general public, but our guide gestured straight at the entrance, telling us to go in. Then I realized that all the pigeons on the temple grounds had turned to look at us.


    We took off our shoes and stepped into the main temple, where an expanse of hard wooden flooringy before us. Off to the sides, several dozen masked servants dressed in white stood in long rows.


    "...Why do they all have spears?" That seemed ominous. I swallowed hard. "Assistant, look." Siesta pointed at the back of the room.


    There was a dimly lit Buddha hall back there. The hall enshrined a huge Buddha, and someone was sitting in front of it. They wore the same mask as the servants, but their clothing resembled a courtdy''s twelveyered kimono. Between that and the long hair, it seemed safe to say that this was a woman.


    "A Federation Government dignitary, hm?"


    She was in apletely different ss from the servants who were waiting off to the sides. Even though we''d grumbled on the way here, we now straightened up, whether we felt like it or not. We seated ourselves in a row, kneeling formally, with Nagisa in the middle.


    "I apologize for summoning you so abruptly."


    For a moment, I didn''t know who had spoken. Then I realized that the dignitary was bowing so low that her forehead touched the floor. She was


    apologizing to us?


    "Nagisa, do you know that official?" I asked. Nagisa was kneeling formally beside me. This much humilitying from a representative of the Federation Government was extremely weird. All the dignitaries I''d ever dealt with had been much more overbearing, mechanical, and sort ofcking in humanity.


    "No, I don''t know her. I doubt Siesta does, either."


    On Nagisa''s other side, Siesta gazed at the dignitary dubiously, but she was the first to speak. "And? What did you want with us?"


    "First, take a look at this."


    The masked dignitary raised her head.


    In the next instant, a vivid image was projected onto the Buddha hall behind her. It was something like projection mapping that used the uneven background as a screen.


    However, what it showed made me want to cover my eyes.


    "The corpses of government officials?" I heard myself say. And I hadn''t meant "corpse," singr. The beheaded bodies of several masked dignitaries were projected on every surface of the Buddha hall as 3D images, one after another.


    "At present, Federation Government high officials are being assassinated all over the world."


    ...The Federation Government ruled the world from the shadows, and the murderer was only targeting them? If that was really happening, that would be...


    "So it''s a new global crisis?" Siesta asked, speaking for all of us.


    "Wait, though. Aren''t global crises a whole lot rarer these days?" Nagisa broke in. As she said, no new enemies of the world had appeared on Earth in the past year. As if to corroborate this, Mia''s irvoyance hadn''t activated even once. In that light, what sort of crisis could the killing of these dignitaries be?


    "We view them as an ''unknown crisis,'' which even the Oracle couldn''t detect."


    That was the name the masked dignitary across from us gave the situation. "We see the basic problem. Why did you summon Siesta and Nagisa for this,


    though?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.


    "I''ll speak inly: We would like the two former Ace Detectives to investigate."


    <i>Ridiculous. </i>Though this had nothing to do with me, I still almost said that out


    loud.


    And my emotions were justified. Their mission as Ace Detectives was over.


    Why should the Federation Government get to rope them into something now? "Take a close look at this," the official said, and the image zoomed in on a


    certain spot to reveal¡ª


    "<i>Those are tentacle fragments. </i>Not from just any tentacle, either. They''re fragments of the weapons wielded by the pseudohumans you once fought. We believe someone is misusing their power to kill these dignitaries."


    ...She was right. More than two years ago now, our group had fought Seed''s pseudohumans. But that battle was over, and so were the sacrifices made to end it.


    "Are you saying we haven''t finished cleaning up yet?" Nagisa asked. Was the mission still ongoing?


    "No. But given these facts, it is true that when we found these things at the scenes of the incidents, we wished to have the Ace Detective''s help once more. In other words, Miss Natsunagi and Miss Siesta, in ordance with a special measure outlined in the Federal Charter, we would like to temporarily appoint you as proxy Ace Detectives."


    Nagisa and Siesta exchanged looks. Both the reason for this summons and the substance of the request werepletely unexpected. Then, for some reason, the two of them turned to me.


    "Why do you look more irritated about this than anybody else, Kimihiko?" Nagisa asked.


    "...I didn''t know I did," I said.


    Siesta showed me her hand mirror. "See?"


    Oh yeah. My eyes looked about twenty percent meaner than usual. How did that happen? ...No, I actually knew the answer to that, too. I was just pretending not to.


    Even so, for now... "It''s not my decision anyway. What we do is up to you two."


    Siesta and Nagisa nodded, then turned back the official. "All right. I''ll take this Ace Detective job for you." "Mm, so will I. Just temporarily, though."


    Right. They wouldn''t leave a job half done. I''d known this was how it would go.


    "We appreciate your help. Take these." The woman took two notebooks out of her robes. I hadn''t seen those things in a while. Having them would make Siesta


    and Nagisa Tuners again. "I''ll get them."


    When the other two started to stand up, I stopped them and got to my feet instead.


    I respected their choice¡ªI couldn''t reject their work or how they felt. Even so, one thing just didn''t sit right with me.


    "Detectives always put their lives on the line in a fight. Show us you''re serious about this, too."


    <i>Don''t you run. Don''t just give them orders without even showing your face. I won''t allow it. </i>Walking up to the official, I reached for her mask.


    The masked servants who stood on either side of us all pointed their spears at me.


    "It''s fine." The official stopped them with two words. "I apologize for my rudeness."


    She removed her mask.


    "From now on, then, I will wear my true face with you. There is just a little more that I must tell you."


    Long gray hair spilled over her shoulders, and moss-green eyes gazed straight up at me. I couldn''t see any emotion in her expression, but it was full of dignity.


    She was a lovely girl whose face still held hints of childish softness.

 Chapter 139 - 1.3

    <h4>Chapter 139: Chapter 1.3</h4>


    The name of the messenger who announces peace is...


    "I deeply apologize for my repeated rudeness."


    Now unmasked, the young dignitary bowed her head.


    We''d relocated to what appeared to be a tatami-floored tea room next to the main hall.


    "It''s quitete for this, but please do enjoy."


    The girl offered me tea and sweets¡ªdango and yatsuhashi. Had someone told her about the conversation we''d had in the car? But the one who''d wanted to eat these had been Nagisa...


    "I''m terribly sorry. Miss Nagisa and Miss Siesta have various steps toplete..."


    She and I were the only ones here. Nagisa and Siesta were in another room, going through the procedures for gaining temporary authority as Tuners. Since there was nothing I could do about that, I took another bite of dango and studied the young dignitary.


    Although she''d removed her mask, she was still dressed in those kimono-like robes. Between her clothes and the quiet, tidy way she sat, she reminded me of a <i>hina </i>doll. Her features seemed more European than anything, though, and although she was still young, she was truly beautiful. This was the first time I''d ever seen a Federation Government dignitary''s real face. It made me conscious of the fact that there really had been living, breathing humans beneath those masks.


    "...The kimono as well?" Although the girl had remained expressionless all this time, her eyes now wavered slightly. "Shall I remove the kimono, as well as the mask?"


    Apparently she''d misinterpreted my attention. What an imagination she had. "You did say I should show my sincerity," she went on.


    "If that was what I''d meant, I''d be a failure of a human being," I replied. "My apologies. That was a dignitary joke."


    "I''ve never even heard of such a thing." How had she managed to say that with a straight face?


    "It''s a method ofmunication. In our advance investigations, we learned that you are very fond of ying around with women, Mr. Kimihiko."


    "Who told you that? At least call it something besides ''ying around.''"


    Geez. Her face was cool, but this was what she was really like? She didn''t seem like she was trying to do a bit with me. She was serious, humble, and capable of being considerate, but she marched to the beat of her own drum: These were my impressions of this girl.


    "What''s your name?"


    She''d somehow managed to take the wind out of my sails. Without really


    meaning to, I asked her for her name.


    "Noel de Lupwise," she said, looking me straight in the eye. "My code name as a government official is simply ''Lupwise.''"


    "If you''ve managed to be a Federation Government high official at that age, you''re really racing up thedder."


    "The Lupwise family is descended from the French aristocracy, and our position in the Federation Government is hereditary."


    Noel told me a little more about herself.


    She''d be a government official three years ago, when her older brother, who should have been the next head of the family, had vanished. While she hadn''t yet gotten many opportunities to handle important jobs, the Federation Government was currently short on people¡ªpartly due to the "unknown crisis" she''d just told us about¡ªso even neers like her were being put to work.


    "I understand the situation, sort of, but...if they''re focused on resolving this unknown crisis, and you''re new, wasn''t there someone who was more suited to the job?"


    For example, one of the dignitaries we''d dealt with before had been a crafty old woman code-named Ice Doll. A while back, she''d given the Ace Detective plenty of orders.


    "Yes. In fact, other officials are already working on it as well. However, they have anotherrge task to aplish right now. That was what I wanted to tell you about," Noel said. That was why she''d originally called me to this room; she''d said there was more to discuss.


    "It''s the Ritual of Sacred Return," she went on, using a phrase I''d never heard before. "Two weeks from now, a peace ceremony celebrating the one-year anniversary of the resolution of the Great Cataclysm will take ce, led by the Federation Government. Since the detectives and their assistant saved the world, we would like to have you participate in the ceremony."


    Noel held out an invitation.


    Apparently, all the former Tuners, any others who''d contributed to the resolution of the Great Cataclysm, and some global VIPs were being invited to this ceremony.


    "You''re holding it in France?"


    "Yes. I know it''s very far away, but do you think you could attend?"


    It was to be in two weeks. Winter break would be over by then, but it wasn''t like we weren''t allowed to take time off from university.


    "What''s going to happen during this ritual, specifically?"


    "I believe a simr concept from Japanese culture would be <i>Otakiage</i>," Noel answered.


    Otakiage. That''s the Shinto ritual where they burn old, used-up charms and things.


    "During the Ritual of Sacred Return, the sacred textspiled by the Oracles will be burned in order to purge past crises and pray for new peace."


    "...That sounds kind of religious. So you''re going to burn all the sacred texts?"


    Mia had shown them to me a few years ago, and I was pretty sure there had been more than a hundred thousand of them then. If they meant to burn those in some kind of order, wouldn''t it take them longer than three full days?


    "No, not all of them. However, we must burn the origin text, no matter what." "Origin text"? I''d never heard of that.


    "It is also referred to as the original sacred text. Possessing it serves as proof that one is the legitimate Oracle. It''s written in anguage only Oracles can read, and it''s said to hold rules regarding the sacred texts...but even I don''t know if that''s true."


    Even ordinary members of the Federation Government weren''t allowed to read the sacred texts, and apparently the origin text was even more restricted.


    "I''m told that the origin text has a certain special power. By burning it, the Oracle''s God-given abilities will be formally returned, which will serve as proof that no further crises will ur on Earth," Noel said. "...Although I''ve only heard that from others. The Oracle knows the details."


    "Then, once the Ritual of Sacred Return is over, Mia and the other Tuners will be officially discharged?"


    "In the final analysis, yes, that is what it would mean. At the very least, the Federation Government will no longer ask the former Tuners to resolve crises... I''m aware that the request I''ve just made seems to contradict this, and I do apologize for that."


    So the Federation Government nned to hold the Ritual of Sacred Return in order to set the Tuners free, but the "unknown crisis" of these dignitary killings had broken out right before it was to happen. The timing was incredibly bad, and Siesta and Nagisa had ended up getting the short end of the stick.


    "All right, I understand. I''ll fill the other two inter."


    The two detectives were the main invitees to the ritual. I was only their assistant, and I should respect their decision.


    Even so...


    "Noel, would you promise me something?" I bowed my head to the official from the world''s government. "If Siesta and Nagisa solve this case, and the Ritual of Sacred Return ends without incident, I want you to release them from their mission as Tuners entirely this time."


    I gazed at the tatami flooring, then closed my eyes.


    "Yes, I promise," she answered promptly. I opened my eyes again. "But why would you go that far, Mr. Kimihiko?"


    That was simple. I raised my head. "My wish is¡ª"


    <strong> A thousand worlds, one wish</strong>


    "Hurry up or I''ll leave you behind, Assistant."


    We were on a mountain path, long after sundown. Siesta was climbing the stone stairs ahead of me, but she turned halfway back to nce at me.


    The meeting with Noel de Lupwise had ended about two hours earlier. I''d met back up with the detectives, and now, for some reason, I was sweating my way through a nighttime hike. I hadn''t gotten much exercisetely, and it was hitting my legs and lower back pretty hard.


    "Why are we doing this, anyway?"


    "Well, we promised we''d make our first shrine visit of the year today, didn''t we?" Siesta said. She was wearing a formal kimono that was mostly white, and there was an ornamental hairpin in her pale silver hair instead of her usual clip.


    True, we''d made ns for a shrine visitst night at the detective agency. The Federation Government''s abrupt summons had changed those ns, but now we''d returned to our original goal. We''d just passed through the famous thousand torii gates and were heading for the shrine beyond them.


    "I wasn''t picturing anything this serious, though."


    If we were just paying a visit to a shrine, there was a perfectly fine hall of worship much closer to the entrance, but Siesta had said "That would be boring" and started climbing the mountain. In a formal kimono. Ignoring the cold.


    "Don''t assume I''m a normal woman." "Yeah, no normal woman would say that." Siesta smiled and started walking again. "Still, this ce is pretty creepy."


    I knew it was sacred ground, but all those torii gates and fox statues made it feel ominous. Granted, it would probably seem a bit different during the day.


    "People do say that torii gates might connect to eternity and the afterlife."


    I wasn''t able to immediately process the two words Siesta had said.


    "That''s this world and the next world. In other words, the realm of the dead might be just beyond those torii gates."


    "Give me a break. Horror''s not my thing."


    ... Besides. I didn''t really want to hear Siesta talk about that stuff.


    Siesta seemed to have figured that out from my expression; she smiled wryly and apologized. "Maybe it wasn''t the realm of the dead. Maybe it was some fantasy parallel universe. There are as many other worlds as there are torii gates."


    "That sounds like something from a picture book. Maybe I would''ve been able to enjoy it when I was a kid."


    As we were talking, soft footsteps padded up behind us. "Listen! I keep telling you to wait for me!"


    When I turned back, there was Nagisa. She was also wearing a formal kimono and traditional sandals, and her expression was half-angry, half-tearful. I''d been walking pretty slowly, but the distance between us kept widening.


    "Geez, it''s all red." Having managed to catch up to us, Nagisa sighed, rubbing the ce where the thong of her sandal ran between her toes.


    Walking was probably going to hurt her. Sighing, I offered Nagisa my back.


    We wouldn''t have to worry about how we looked to others here anyway. "Huh? You''ll carry me?"


    "I can manage three minutes max."


    "You''re a pretty unreliable hero." Laughing, Nagisa climbed onto my back, and I felt the softness and heat of her body. Once she was situated, I started walking slowly.


    "......"


    Someone was giving us a pointed look.


    "What''s the matter, Siesta? Aren''t you going to go?" "...Not that it matters or anything."


    Siesta''s answer didn''t quite match my question as she walked on ahead in a huff. Her shoulders slumped a little.


    "Siesta''s cute like that sometimes." Nagisa smiled next to my ear. I agreed with her just a bit, although I didn''t say so out loud.


    Taking breaks now and then, we kept passing through those endless torii gates until we finally reached our destination. There was a small shrine and yet another torii gate; the moonlight gave them a mystical feeling. From that open space, we could look out over the city.


    "Mm-hmm. I knew it. Even if we had to push it a bit, this was worth the climb." Tucking her hair behind her ear, Siesta smiled at the view.


    "It''s kind ofte for this, but I''m embarrassed that I took that piggyback offer now..." Nagisa mumbled, then went to stand beside her.


    An illuminated torii gate and two girls in formal kimonos at the peak of a small mountain, under a starry sky¡ªa scene out of a fantasy.


    I hung back slightly to take it in.


    ...No, it wasn''t the scene I was focused on. It was those two. I gazed at the backs of the girls who''d just agreed to be temporary Ace Detectives.


    A little whileter, Nagisa and Siesta seemed to notice that I was being oddly quiet. They turned around, almost in sync. I shook my head, telling them it was nothing.


    "You''re both nning to participate in the Ritual of Sacred Return, aren''t you?"


    I''d told them what I''d heard from Noel on our way up here, but apparently I hadn''t needed to. Someone had ryed that information to them while they were going through the procedures for bing proxy Ace Detectives.


    "Yes¡ªthere''s going to be a ball, isn''t there? We''ll get to wear evening dresses! I can''t wait," Nagisa said.


    And then there was Siesta. "I hear there''ll be a banquet after the ceremony. Of course I''ll go."


    "Your reasons for participating have nothing to do with the actual event."


    Of course, the main event was the burning of the origin text, but there would also be a ball and a banquet to entertain the guests. Apparently, the ceremony really was meant to celebrate the resolution of the Great Cataclysm as well.


    "Before that, though, we''ll have to resolve that ''unknown crisis.''" "Right. In just two weeks, hm...? We''re going to be busy."


    Siesta drew a quiet, deep breath, and Nagisa stretched emphatically.


    Ideally, we''d neutralize the threat before the Ritual of Sacred Return, which was meant to symbolize the achievement of peace. I''d promised Noel we''d contact her at our discretion whenever we made any progress.


    But was it going to be possible to get it under control in just two weeks? In all the previous global crises the Ace Detective had tackled, we''d had to fight for several years and make many sacrifices. Besides, the current detective hadn''t been involved with the world for quite a while. Would we be able to make up for that in such a short time frame?


    "Every building with a light on has someone in it, doesn''t it?" Nagisa said, out


    of nowhere. She was gazing at the city. "In every life, there will always be pain and sadness, and nights when people want to scream that they wish tomorrow wouldn''te, but...I''d like to be the sort of person who can reach out and help them through it. Because once, someone saved me that way," she said, reminiscing.


    "Yes, let''s do it. We''ll save people, towns, big cities, nations, and then¡ª someday, we''ll save the world again," Siesta dered, focusing on the distant future.


    The air was crystal clear here, at the top of a mountain on a winter night. As the two women looked at the lights of the town, the spotlights that shone on the torii gates dimly illuminated their shapes.


    "Oh, I see."


    It wasn''t like how it had been before. There were two of them here now.


    Two grown, living detectives were here. In that case, I was sure...


    After that, we made ate first shrine visit. We tossed coins into the offering box beyond the torii gate, bowing and pping twice before the altar. Then we put our hands together and prayed to the gods.


    Worries and prayers. Wishing "I don''t care how you do it, I want you to help me." Way back when, I''d only had one wish: I''d wanted to wake Siesta from her eternal slumber.


    In order to make that forbidden wish a reality, we''d left on a dazzling journey. We''d given up many things in exchange, and yet we''d made it through the Great Cataclysm to arrive at a miracle. The sleeping detective had awakened ande home to us.


    Now we had these peaceful days, where the world didn''t even need the Tuners anymore. We''d won. We''d ovee every sort of global crisis and injustice. So what was I wishing for now? Just one thing.


    <i>Let the detectives who saved the world live quietly and happily from now on.</i>


    That was thest thing I''d told Noel, and now I silently said it again as a prayer.


    The guard dog in the iron cage


    "Sorry to keep you waiting."


    It was the day after we got back from Kyoto.


    As I stood in front of the station, checking my watch, I heard a click and felt a


    gun muzzle shoved against the back of my neck.


    Actually, that was a misunderstanding: When I turned around, I saw that Siesta was merely making a "gun" gesture with her thumb and forefinger. She might have temporarily be the Ace Detective again, but she didn''t have her beloved musket back yet.


    "That''s a new look for you."


    We were about to head out on an errand, and instead of her usual dress or the formal kimono she''d worn yesterday, Sierra was in casual clothes: baggy jeans and a patterned jacket. The cap she wore gave her a boyish look¡ªor maybe it was closer to street style. Either way, she didn''t seem like her usual self at all, and I ended up looking her over carefully.


    "Ogling women like that usually gets you arrested." With a chilly sigh, Siesta returned my gaze.


    "Only ''usually''? Does that mean I''m safe this time?"


    "As long as I''m the one you''re ogling, yes," Siesta retorted, then resettled her cap on her head.


    "What happened to your regr clothes?"


    "I wanted to wear the outfit I bought when Nagisa and I went shopping." "You didn''t invite me to that party."


    "Why are you trying to crash a girls'' outing?" "I''m d you two get along so well."


    Siesta and Nagisa were more than work colleagues¡ªthey were best friends.


    A tragedy had torn them apart once, but now they''d finally managed to regain the friendship they''d had.


    "I do feel a little strange in clothes someone else picked out, though." Even as she spoke, Siesta was gazing at her outfit happily.


    <i>She''s changed a bit</i>, I thought.


    I didn''t know exactly which time topare to, but Siesta was clearly softer around the edges than she had been when I''d first met her, or when we''d traveled together. She''d started smiling.


    Of course, her old attitude¡ªindifferent, to the point of stoicism¡ªhad probably been her defining trait, but I''d wanted her to be more human, more susceptible to trivial emotions. And so this Siesta was the one I¡ª


    "Shall we go?"


    As I stood lost in thought, she held out her pale left hand to me. That hand was the one thing that hadn''t changed.


    It was the same at ten thousand meters, and also here, with our feet firmly


    nted on the ground, this close to each other.


    After that, Siesta and I climbed into a taxi and went to prison.


    By "prison," I mean exactly what it sounds like...but I wasn''t an iing convict. I''de to meet someone who was being held here.


    "Do you think we''ll really get to see her, though? I admit it''s going incredibly well so far, but..." I asked Siesta as we followed a corrections officer through the building.


    We''d tried to meet this prisoner many times before, but they''d never granted our requests for an interview.


    "Yes. As long as we''ve got this, it''s a sure thing." Siesta shed the notebook that marked her as a Tuner. The Federation Government had officially issued it yesterday.


    "...I see. This''ll be the first time in a year, then."


    We walked down some stairs, and down more stairs, until we finally reached the deepest part of the basement: a small,pletely sealed steel room.


    With a dull noise, a heavy shutter retracted to the side, revealing the figure behind the bars. A woman was sitting there with her chin in her hand. She had the eyes of someone who would kill anyone¡ªeven a god.


    "You''ve got fifteen minutes," the corrections officer said, then left us. Taking a deep breath, I called the name of the woman in the cage. "It''s been a long time, Ms. Fuubi."

 Chapter 140 - 1.4

    <h4>Chapter 140: Chapter 1.4</h4>


    <strong>Because everyone had their own justice</strong>


    "Hey, you damn kid, it''s been a while. Did they finally arrest you, too?"


    She looked at me with the hyper-focused eyes of a beast stalking its prey. Was her red hair colored like the blood of the criminals she had executed in the name of justice? She had several former titles.


    For example, former police officer, and former Assassin¡ªFuubi Kase. Now, she was incarcerated here as a criminal.


    "I didn''t get arrested. Sorry for never living up to your expectations," I said, bowing my head in a patently fake way.


    Ms. Fuubi narrowed her eyes, then gave a smile that didn''t go past her lips.


    Our positions and situations might have changed, but she definitely hadn''t. "Fuubi, what are you doing now?"


    When Siesta asked her about her lifestyle, Ms. Fuubi snorted. "What does it


    look like I''m doing? They even exempted me from prisonbor, so I''ve got nothing to do but strength training."


    So was that the reason behind the murderous hostility? Now that she mentioned it, Ms. Fuubi hadn''t be gaunt¡ªif anything, she was more toned than before. Although her abs were hidden beneath her clothes, I suspected she might have found a way to get the fabled twelve-pack.


    "So hey, you chose this one as your legal wife, huh?" Ms. Fuubi asked me, shooting Siesta a nce.


    "It''s not like that. Nagisa''s just busy with something else right now." "Uh, I didn''t mention her name, did I?"


    ...I''d fallen for the oldest trick in the book.


    "And? What brings you to this dump?" She raked her fingers through her hair, which was a whole lot longer now.


    "Well, actually..."


    I told Ms. Fuubi about the Federation Government official killings Noel had told us about yesterday. Siesta took a few reference documents out of her bag and passed them through the bars. They were copies of reports on the unknown crisis; the Federation Government had sent them over this morning.


    "Why would you people tell me about this?"


    Ms. Fuubi skimmed through them, getting the gist of things, then gave us a piercing look. <i>"Did you think this was my doing again?"</i>


    I didn''t have a prompt response for that. About fifteen seconds passed in silence.


    "Unfortunately, even I can''t kill people from a jail cell." Fuubi Kase broke the silence herself. "Maybe you were hoping I''d give you some sort of hint, either as a former cop or somebody who once pulled off something simr, but you''vee to the wrong person. You''re missing a lot of intel here."


    I should''ve known. Ms. Fuubi shoved the documents back at us. A whole lot of them had been redacted by the Federation Government.


    "Apparently the locations where the officials were killed are confidential, so they can''t tell us." Flipping through the documents, Siesta gave a little sigh.


    The ces where the incidents had urred, the times and dates, the code names of the murdered officials¡ªall of it was censored. The only thing we knew was that there had already been thirteen victims.


    The Federation Government ruled the world from the shadows, and I could understand why they''d keep such a tight lid on information. Even so, if they were going to make Siesta and Nagisa proxy Ace Detectives so they could investigate this, you''d think they''d be a little more cooperative.


    "It''s like they aren''t seriously nning to have you investigate it," I said. A little irritated, I thought back to yesterday. Unlike all the other officials we''d met, Noel had seemed reasonable.


    "Sorry I can''t help. Is that all you needed?" Ms. Fuubi stretchedzily, starting to retreat to the back of the cell.


    "No¡ªthere''s another reason we''re here." When I called her back, Ms. Fuubi stopped where she was, although she looked as if she probably had a few choice words for me.


    "I just wanted to see you, Ms. Fuubi." I''d been worried about her, all this time.


    She gazed back at me steadily. There was an emotion in her eyes that I couldn''t read.


    She''d been arrested about a year ago, right after the end of the Great Cataclysm.


    Since the world had attainedsting peace, the Federation Government had decided to dismantle the Tuner system. As the Assassin, Fuubi Kase had stained her hands with all sorts of dark deeds, and no sooner had she lost her privileged position than they''d decided to jail her.


    To put it bluntly, she''d been charged with treason. The pretext was that she''d killed a Federation Government official, but there was no telling whether that was actually true. In any case, the higher-ups had decided that Fuubi Kase''s excessive meting out of justice made her a dangerous element.


    "Are you okay with this?" Siesta asked her.


    Did she think it was fair that the government had decided to lock her up?


    "One era''s terrorist is another''s celebrated revolutionary. You hear that one all the time." Ms. Fuubi turned to face us. "What happened to me is the same thing


    ¡ªor the reverse, that''s all. I steeled myself for this to happen the day I took on the Assassin''s mission." Somehow, the look on her face seemed clear and refreshed. "I may not look like it, but I''m a cop before anything else. If the world is peaceful and its citizens are happy now, then that''s fine. I couldn''t ask for more." Her expression softened.


    "But Ms. Fuubi, didn''t you say you wanted to get to the top?" When I''d first heard her say that, I''d assumed she wanted to climb the ranks as a police officer. But when I thought about itter, I realized what she''d really meant was¡ª


    "Kimizuka." Ms. Fuubi almost never said my name. Quietly, she shook her head. "I already have my answer. I joined the force in order to get it. This peaceful world is enough for me."


    Come to think of it, when had it been? I''d asked Ms. Fuubi why she''d wanted to be a police officer before. Had it been a year ago? Right before the Great Cataclysm? ...What had that been about? That had been a pretty important conversation, I think.


    "Still, some mysterious enemy''s going around killing the ones who shoved me in here, huh? I see. That''s a nice, peaceful world."


    Ms. Fuubi smirked. Was she deliberately putting on an evil act? However, she''d said she had nothing to do with this incident.


    I believed her. I didn''t have a choice.


    "It''s kind of noisy." She looked absently up at the ceiling.


    Siesta seemed to have picked up on something as well; she cupped her ears, listening carefully. Was something happening above this underground cell, in the area where the regr prisoners were housed?


    "That knack of yours is still going strong." "It''s a coincidence, seriously."


    <i>Please let it be a coincidence. </i>Siesta and I exchanged looks, then turned on our heels. If the detective and her assistant were here, they couldn''t just ignore trouble.


    "You weren''t wrong," Siesta said, stopping for a moment. "The justice of Fuubi Kase, Assassin, wasn''t wrong, either."


    I couldn''t see her face as she said this, nor Ms. Fuubi''s. However, I knew the detective was right.


    <strong> That back, for the first time in seven years</strong>


    "...What is this?"


    When we''d climbed the stairs and opened the door leading up from the basement, what we saw stopped us in our tracks.


    The prison was built around a central well. On every floor¡ªfirst, second, and third¡ªall the barred cell doors stood open. The prisoners were loose. Men in dull-colored prison uniforms raced across catwalk-like corridors and hallways.


    "Assistant, hide," Siesta told me.


    Ducking behind an open cell door, we took in the situation. The prisoners definitely weren''t fleeing from the guards. After all, the guards were fleeing, too.


    Who were they running from? The answer to that one was obvious.


    It was the guy who was brandishing a snake-sword that whipped around like a living creature.


    "Where is he?! Where?!" the big guy screamed,shing out at everything in reach with that strange weapon.


    The sword writhed, growing and shrinking at will. It stretched to two meters, then three, shing through cell bars and destroying stone walls. Its twisting form was almost like...


    "¡ªA tentacle." The words were out of my mouth before I realized I was going to say them.


    "Look closer, Assistant. It''s not." Siesta pointed at the distant enemy.


    The snake-sword wasn''t growing from his ear or shoulder. While his sleeve hid it from view, he was probably holding it like a regr weapon.


    Maybe because we''d just heard about something simr from the Federation Government yesterday, I''d reflexively linked this to a past experience.


    "Does that mean we''ve already ruled him out as the culprit behind the government official killings?"


    "I...think so. I can''t swear that he has no connection to them, though."


    In other words, we''d coincidentally happened to run into a guy like this, now of all times...?


    "Still, this is perfect." Siesta sounded rather cheerful. "It''s a little like that other time. It''ll make for a greateback battle."


    When I nced at her, she was wearing her usual dress. "Hey, changing scenes are special. If you''re going to change, check with me first and do it right."


    "That''s the first setup joke you''ve fed me in a while. I was just thinking if ouredy skills got any rustier, we should probably disband."


    "Your definition of ''business partners'' is very broad... Forget that, Siesta, how are you going to stop that guy?"


    "I''d like to start by shutting down that odd snake-sword of his, but..."


    I could predict the rest of that sentence: We didn''t have any weapons that could do that.


    Now that Siesta was working as a proxy Ace Detective, she was licensed to carry a weapon. However, this was a prison. They hadn''t let us take guns to our interview with Ms. Fuubi.


    "Assistant, this way."


    Inching closer to the enemy, we sized up the situation.


    The prisoners were still running around and screaming, but the man with the snake-sword wasn''t going out of his way to chase them.


    "So he''s not attacking at random?"


    If this wasn''t indiscriminate ughter, the criminal had to have a clear objective.


    "I just had a great idea." Siesta smacked her palm with her fist.


    "You''re a detective, all right. I knew I could count on you. Specifically what will we be doing?"


    "First, you cling to that snake-sword and keep the guy from moving. Then I''ll get in close and punch him in the gut."


    "Don''t ever call yourself the Ace Detective again."


    Her instincts had gotten way too dull over the past year. Actually, no¡ªthis was basically how things had been before, too.


    "After giving it some serious thought, maybe we should ask the criminal what he wants first."


    "I wish you''d started with the serious thought, but yeah, I''m on board with that."


    Why had he broken into the prison and started swinging that weapon around?


    Before we even had to ask, he gave us the answer.


    "That bastard killed my little sister, and I''m gonna end him personally."


    ...I''d heard that one before. From Bat, a pseudohuman we''d fought ages ago. I remembered how he''d looked,shing that snakelike tentacle around at ten thousand meters.


    Either way, this criminal was out for revenge. That was why he was looking for his sworn enemy andpletely ignoring unrted prisoners.


    <i>In that case... </i>I made eye contact with Siesta, then picked up a uniform cap dropped by a fleeing guard and tugged it onto my head. I didn''t have time to actually change clothes, but maybe my suit would be enough to fool him.


    "You do have that nondescript face. It''s perfect for passing yourself off as


    somebody else."


    "Watch it. I''ll make you cool your heels in a disciplinary cell for two hours," I said, pretending to be a guard.


    I walked over to the big guy. He was still swinging his weapon around, but it didn''t take him long to notice me. He narrowed his eyes, watching to see what I''d do.


    I inhaled slightly, then got started. "The person you''re looking for isn''t here."


    The snake-sword paused in midair. However, the man''s eyes stayed locked on me. "No, he''s in here. He''s been here for the past ten years."


    "Yeah, I meant you''re a littlete." My mouth had gone dry, but I went on. "He got sick and died a month ago." The guy''s beast-like eyes widened. "That means your enemy''s not on this anymore. You can''t take him out with that weapon."


    I was making it all up, of course. In my heart, I begged the criminal the guy was targeting: <i>Please have made a run for it already. At least don''t be dumb enough to step forward and say it was you.</i>


    Wearing my best poker face, I waited for his decision.


    "That''s a lie." A few meters ahead of me, a dark light smoldered in the man''s eyes. "This ain''t logic. I can feel my enemy''s nearby, and I don''t need a special ability to do it. You''re not gonna make me doubt it with your words."


    In the next instant, the snake-sword stopped hesitating and flew straight at me. "...! What, you''ve decided I''m hostile now, too?"


    Just before that attack nailed me, though, something crashed into the enemy''s de and knocked it off course.


    "Yes, that really isn''t a pseudohuman." It was Siesta. She''d flung her ballpoint pen at him like a spear, blocking the attack. "That snake-sword isn''t physically part of him. It''s just a dangerous mechanical weapon."


    "Apparently. He seems really mad, though."


    The enemy red at us. Then his deshed out at us like a whip. "Assistant!"


    Siesta grabbed me and jumped. The snake-sword gouged a big chunk of concrete out of the floor, right where we''d been standing. One hit from that thing would take us out instantly.


    "That wasn''t a bad strategy."


    "Yeah, but it was a bit too simplistic. I guess nobody would give up a long- cherished ambition that easily."


    As we talked, we kept evading the enemy''s attacks.


    That said, Siesta was literally carrying my weight. I''d be an adult and grown a bit, but there was really no way around this. It was all about dividing thebor appropriately.


    "This takes me back," Siesta whispered. "It was like this seven years ago, too."


    Yeah, it had been. The first time I''d met Siesta, at ten thousand meters.


    That was where I''d learned that the world had some powerful enemies, and that there was a great detective who fought them. Come to think of it, we''d had a rough time against that enemy''s snakelike attacks, too, and then Siesta had said exactly what she was saying now:


    "If I just had a weapon or something..."


    Unfortunately, I didn''t have an attach¨¦ case on standby today. "Still, I guess we managed to buy some time."


    "We did. She''s right around the corner."


    When she reached a certain spot, Siesta set me down, then froze. Once again, the snake-sword closed in on us. We hadn''t given up, though.


    The detective was already fully prepared. "Siesta! Catch!"


    The musket Nagisa Natsunagi had thrown from the upper floornded right in Siesta''s hands.


    That had been the other detective''s job today. She was fully prepared, too: She''d gone to pick up this weapon from the former Men in ck.


    "Brilliant work, Nagisa."


    With a single bullet, the whole incident was over.


    That formidable back was proof that the Ace Detective had returned.

 Chapter 141 - 1.5

    <h4>Chapter 141: Chapter 1.5</h4>


    <strong> What I can do to end this story</strong>


    The next day, Noel de Lupwise visited the Shirogane Detective Agency as a client.


    We''d contacted her to tell her there''d been a development in the government official killings case the previous evening, and unexpectedly, she''de to see us in person.


    "Tell me at once, please: What new information have you found regarding the unknown crisis?"


    Siesta and Nagisa sat side by side on the sofa, while Noel sat across from them, gazing at them seriously.


    ...Where was I? Making tea for the three of them. That''s an assistant''s job, you know.


    "Before we get started on the main topic, Noel, may I ask you a question?" I set a cup of ck tea in front of her. "I''m really curious about your outfit. Are those your casual clothes?"


    "My outfit? Yes, I changed before I came. I didn''t want to seem discourteous."


    Noel was wearing an extremely ruffly, highly embellished ck dress. Was it one of those Gothic Lolita things? With her European features, it was a good look for her; she really did look like a doll. But what had brought this on?


    "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. You have a simr proverb in Japan, don''t you? I''ve studied Japanese fashion in addition to traditional Japanese dress."


    "Where did you study to end up with those results? Did you visit a subculture hotspot or something?"


    "At the caf¨¦ I visited yesterday, all the waitresses were dressed like this." "That''s just a themed caf¨¦. You picked a hyper-unique ce to visit."


    Geez, so she could have showed up as a maid or a ninja? Hermitment wasudable, but I was concerned that someday, she might be tricked when the stakes were higher.


    "Noel, are you wearing a different perfume this time?" Siesta asked abruptly. "I''m not wearing perfume. That''s odd..." Noel sniffed at her own arm, trying


    to pick up her scent. <i>She looks like a small animal</i>, I thought, gazing at her. I pulled a chair over and sat down.


    All right, that was enough small talk. On to the main topic. When I cleared my throat, Noel got the hint and asked her question again. "Could you tell me about the development in the case?"


    Siesta, Nagisa, and I exchanged looks. After that incident at the prison yesterday, the three of us had talked it over ande up with a certain theory.


    "Right up front, I should rify that the development wasn''t in regard to the case itself. It''s more fundamental than that," I said, speaking for the detectives.


    Noel cocked her head as if she didn''t understand. That was weird, though. She had to know.


    "When the Federation Government gave Siesta and Nagisa authority as Ace Detectives, <i>it wasn''t actually so they could investigate the government official</i>


    <i>killings, was it</i>?"


    Several things had made us suspect as much. The first had been those copied documents they''d sent us, which were supposed to provide details on the killings. No matter how hard we tried, there was no way to investigate using information that had been censored that heavily. They''d said the situation was urgent, but they really didn''t seem serious about their request.


    Second, the setup was just too neat. Yesterday, right as we were at the prison visiting Ms. Fuubi, an enemy who reminded us of a certain pseudohuman had attacked. In another bit of exquisite timing, Nagisa had picked up the musket from a nearby Man in ck, and Siesta had used it to take down the attacker,pleting a job that was a whole lot like what the Ace Detective used to do.


    It was all too perfect. We didn''t think the Federation Government had actually sent the guy with the snake-sword, but they might have known more or less what was going to happen around then, and also deduced that, if they gave us Tuner notebooks, the first thing we''d do was use that authority to get an interview with Fuubi Kase. The government had intentionally put us on a collision course with that man.


    "Why would we do that?" Noel asked, once I''d exined.


    "To make us Ace Detectives in both word and deed again, correct?" Siesta said. "Thanks to that, I''mpletely in the mood for it now." She gave a small sigh.


    This was how it had worked: Two days ago, they''d told us multiple government officials had been killed, and called this an unknown crisis. Then they''d given us information that suggested the incident was rted to a global crisis the Ace Detective had taken care of. That meant Siesta and Nagisa had practically been forced to agree to investigate, since it was portrayed as cleanup for an old crisis.


    At that point, Siesta and Nagisa had only been carrying out the Ace Detective''s work as temporary proxies, but then yesterday''s incident had happened. By making them encounter and resolve an incident simr to one they''d lived through previously, the Federation Government had attempted to reawaken Siesta and Nagisa''s instincts as Ace Detectives and bring back those old feelings.


    That meant the government official killings had only been bait to get the two of them interested in the role again. We didn''t know whether the crisis was entirely manufactured, but Siesta thought the elements Noel had told us about that sounded deliberate¡ªsuch as the "tentacle fragments"¡ªhad probably been


    falsified.


    "...In that case, why would the Federation Government wish to return the two of you to the post of Ace Detective? Are you saying we had a reason to go to such lengths?"


    "We called you here today to ask about that," Nagisa responded. "What is the job you really want us to do? Something''sing that will require an Ace Detective, isn''t there?"


    Silence fell. Siesta lifted her cup of tea to her lips, and the quiet <i>clink </i>when she returned it to its saucer was the only sound in the room. The ball was in Noel''s court now, and all we could do was wait.


    "<i>Corretto</i>. That''s right."


    But when the answer finally came, it wasn''t from Noel.


    A man had opened the agency door ande in. Raising his hat slightly, he gave us a smile that was framed by prominent white whiskers.


    "Oh, I knew it," Siesta murmured next to me, as if it all made sense now. "I had a feeling you were behind this, Bruno."


    "It''s been a long time, you three." Our visitor looked at each of us in turn, apparently pleased to see us.


    This was Bruno Belmondo, the former Information Broker. It was the first time we''d seen each other since the Great Cataclysmst year.


    "Bruno? Why are you...?" Unlike Siesta, Nagisa looked puzzled.


    Still smiling, the old man walked over with the aid of a cane and took a seat across from us, next to Noel. He gentlyid a hand on her head. "You''ve been a great help to my granddaughter."


    Noel''s expression softened slightly.


    "She''s your granddaughter? But yourst names..." Noel''sst name was Lupwise. Bruno''s was Belmondo.


    "Yes. As a matter of fact, I was adopted by the Belmondo family for a time," Noel exined. As she went on, she asionally exchanged nces with Bruno. "Due to a certain situation, that''s no longer true, but Grandfather raised me for quite a while. I only returned to my current family a year ago."


    In other words, Noel had been a Belmondo longer than she had been a Lupwise? This was apparently news to Siesta as well; she nodded slightly, watching the two of them. Still, why were we being introduced at a time like this?


    "Perhaps it''s my age. I''ve wanted to boast to you about my treasure for a


    while now."


    "Grandfather, are you drunk? That''s embarrassing; please don''t." Although Noel had always been calm and collected with us, her lips were moving slightly now in an awkward, restless way.


    Bruno grinned at his granddaughter. Then his eyes went to Siesta. "However, you seem to have realized that I was behind Noel."


    "I just had a feeling," Siesta told him. "Noel smelled a bit like you today. Cologne, brandy, and the smell of a wind that''s spent a hundred years traveling." Bruno''s eyebrows twitched as if she''d surprised him. Then heughed,


    stroking his chin. "Indeed, she wouldn''t have noticed that."


    That was just like the Ace Detective: She had a nose sharper than a wild Cerberus''s.


    "Well, Bruno? If you''re here, does that mean you''re nning to tell us what''s really going on?" I got the conversation back on topic. Why did the Federation Government want to make Siesta and Nagisa Ace Detectives again so badly that they''d sent us on this chase? If Bruno was the one behind Noel, exining this had to be his job.


    "First, about your premise." Bruno''s expression turned serious. "The theory you set out a moment ago is basically correct. The things that happened around you for the past few days were necessary in order to make the two detectives Tuners again. The unknown crisis wasn''t aplete fabrication, though. It will actually ur,ter on."


    "Do we know when?" Nagisa asked. Since he was the former Information Broker, she seemed to think he probably would.


    "On the day of the Ritual of Sacred Return."


    ...Oh, was that it? An asion that would attract the Federation Government, the former Tuners, and important people from around the world. If an unknown entity really did have a grudge against the world, striking on that day would be logical.


    "Is this ''unknown crisis'' a new enemy? What are they?"


    <i>"It refers to a messenger from a certain sanctuary." </i>Bruno narrowed his eyes, lowering his voice slightly. "That sanctuary is said to be an unknown nation or continent, or perhaps an unobserved satellite. It''s the one ce where the Federation Government can''t interfere. However, it asionally esses the Federation Government unterally, using a transmission method modern science can''t exin."


    Was he saying there was still an undiscovered nation somewhere on the


    ? Granted, since I knew of life-forms such as Seed, who had lived on an unobserved satellite, I couldn''t deny the possibility.


    "We call this undetectable territory ''Another Eden.''"


    Bruno coughed lightly a few times. "Grandfather," Noel said, gently rubbing his back.


    "...I''ve heard a little about that. I was told the sanctuary''s messengers have tried to attack the world several times before." Siesta thought hard, one finger on her chin. "Then you mean the next attack will ur on the day of the Ritual of Sacred Return? And that''s what you''re calling the ''unknown crisis''?"


    "That''s right, Miss Siesta." Bruno was still coughing, so Noel responded for him. "Just the other day, Another Eden made contact with us. During the transmission, they announced that they would attack on that day. They also said they would hear our answer at the Ritual."


    "Your answer? Are they negotiating with the Federation Government over something?"


    "Yes, Mr. Kimihiko. To put it simply, they wish to make a certain treaty with us. However..." Noel faltered. Apparently, the negotiations weren''t going well.


    As a result, the messengers of Another Eden had resorted to force, over and over. This time was no exception.


    "By the way, what is this treaty?" Nagisa asked. I''d been wondering about that myself. The Federation Government was secretive, and I suspected it wouldn''t be that easy to find out; however, Noel told us readily.


    In short, it was a peace treaty between the Federation Government and Another Eden. However, as a condition of the treaty, the sanctuary''s messengers had demanded the transfer of a certain thing in the possession of the Federation Government which had been dered a global ssified matter. The government had said they didn''t know what Another Eden was talking about and rejected the request, and as such, the treaty was still in limbo.


    "Therefore, right now, all we can do is prepare." Once he''d recovered from his coughing fit, Bruno spoke emphatically. "In roughly two weeks, the unknown crisis will ur at the Ritual of Sacred Return. In the time that remains, we would like you to learn as much as you can of the world, and to steel yourselves. Be ready to throw yourselves into the horrors of war once more."


    "And that''s why you want Siesta and Nagisa to be Ace Detectives again?" "Exactly. I am old, and what I can do is limited. I want to acquire as many


    rades as I can."


    I knew it. This was what the events of the past few days had meant. What did Siesta and Nagisa think of all this?


    "Let''s do it." Siesta answered before anyone else. I''d known she would agree, after I''d seen her with her musket yesterday.


    "Yes. After all, we''re detectives." Having known Nagisa since she was still a proxy detective, I knew full well how much pride she took in the job.


    I shot another nce at the two detectives. Their eyes were fixed on tomorrow. That meant there was only one answer I could give.


    "I''m your assistant. Take me wherever you want to go."


    <i>If the year after the cataclysm was a peaceful epilogue...</i>


    <i>Then let''s go find the future¡ªthe credits that will let us keep those ordinary days.</i>

 Chapter 142: A certain day at a certain detective agency

    <h4>Chapter 142: A certain day at a certain detective agency</h4>


    Nine in the morning.


    That was around the time days at the Shirogane Detective Agency began, at least when we didn''t have ss.


    The agency was on the second floor of a mixed-use building. When I unlocked the door and turned the knob, I was greeted by the familiar sight of the office.


    I opened the curtains, then booted up myputer. After taking a quick look to make sure none of the new emails were urgent, I started to do some basic cleaning.


    That said, since both the chief and the detective were neat people, the office stayed pretty clean anyway. I ran a broom over the floor, and I was starting to organize documents when the door opened.


    "Good morning. You''re early, Kimihiko." Nagisa Natsunagi came in, yawning a little. She hung her overcoat on the coat rack, then sat down at her desk and stretched.


    "Didn''t get enough sleep? I bet you spent all night watching foreign dramas again."


    "No, myb had a drinking party that wentte yesterday. The professor stayed, too, so it was hard to duck out early."


    "We''re in the sameb, right? Howe nobody invited me?"


    Did the grad students and the professor just not know I existed or something? Would I actually manage to graduate? A little uneasy, I sat down at my desk as well. "I guess I''ll get to work."


    Nine thirty AM.


    Now that two employees were present, we gradually got down to business...or that''s what should have happened.


    "Have we gotten any new cases?"


    "Just marketing emails from a printer rental ce."


    "So it''s the same as usual. I wonder if we''ll get paid this month..." Nagisa slumped apathetically.


    We hadn''t gotten any proper cases since that infidelity investigation, aka "the stalker incident." That was partly inevitable, though.


    The Shirogane Detective Agency didn''t have a website. The only way we advertised was by posting a flyer on the bulletin board at the train station, and most people probably didn''t even know we existed.


    "Well, if that''s the chief''s policy, we can''tin."


    ording to Siesta, the service industry was all about assigning the right jobs to the right people. There were already plenty of ces where regr people could ask for help and get it. She said our job was to be a ce that would help the irregr types.


    "I''ll think I''ll make a shopping run," Nagisa announced. "I''m bored. Do we need anything?"


    "Snacks to serve clients with tea, maybe? Although we''ll just end up eating them ourselves."


    "True," Nagisa said with augh. Standing up, she grabbed her coat. "Want me to go with? I can carry stuff."


    "Mm. If you''re there, something weird will happen to me, so no thanks." "Not fair."


    Nagisa left, and I was on my own again. The chief still hadn''te by yet. Ten AM.


    I made myself some coffee, and when I got back to my desk, an email hade in.


    It was from Noel de Lupwise, the Federation Government official. She hadn''t contacted us since her visit two days ago. The email had a link for a video chat, and I got my headset out and responded to the call.


    <i>"Good morning, Mr. Kimihiko."</i>


    On the screen, Noel was primly dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono. She nodded to me. She seemed to be in her room; I could see European-style furnishings behind her. Had she gone back home? (She''d said she was from France, right?) If so... "It''s the middle of the night over there, isn''t it? You''re sure this is an okay time for you?"


    <i>"Yes, I still have heaps of work to get through."</i>


    Apparently, the Federation Government was even harder on its staff than the detective agency was.


    "Well, what did you need? If you want to talk to the chief, I''ll go wake her up."


    Siesta was probably upstairs sleeping peacefully right about now.


    <i>"No, that''s all right. Grandfather told me how much the detective sleeps. He said she sleeps a lot, eats a lot, and she''s still growing like a weed."</i>


    "What is she, a kid?"


    While we were talking, a new email came in. This one had airne tickets to France attached to it. They were for the Ritual of Sacred Return, ten days from now. For the Federation Government, this was unusually generous.


    <i>"I would like you to read through this email. We''re also reserving a hotel for you. Do you have any requests regarding the type of room?"</i>


    "Nah, anything''s fine. We don''t care if you put all three of us in one room."


    Back when I was wandering around with Siesta, just having a ce where I could stretch my legs out and sleep was plenty.


    <i>"You three really are close, aren''t you? Which of the two are you courting, Mr. Kimihiko?"</i>


    "If I were dating one of them, we wouldn''t be sleeping three to a room. What kind of ethics do you think I have?"


    <i>"It''s all right. I''ll put together a list of countries and regions that allow polygamy for you right away."</i>


    "I know you''re a government official; you don''t have to show off," I retorted.


    Noel dropped her cool, nk expression in order to smile just a little. <i>"You three really do seem like family, though. I envy that."</i>


    "Like family, huh? As categories go, ''colleagues'' is still more urate."


    Besides, if we were talking about family, Noel also had... I was about to say it, but instead of finishing my sentence, I decided to go with something else. "What are your living arrangements like now?"


    <i>"I''ve reassumed the Lupwise family name, but I live alone... To be honest, my memories of that house aren''t very good ones."</i>


    "...I see. You still see Bruno, though, right?"


    <i>"Yes, we dine together and talk about unimportant things once a month, every month."</i>


    Considering their respective positions, they probably couldn''t talk about work most of the time. Bruno had been the Information Broker for much of his life,


    and he said he almost never shared his knowledge. Even members of the government or his family wouldn''t be exceptions to that rule.


    <i>"I don''t know whether Grandfather really enjoys those meals. We simply make small talk."</i>


    "I doubt Bruno would meet you every month if he wasn''t enjoying it, don''t you think?"


    <i>"I...hope that''s the case," </i>Noel said evasively, averting her eyes.


    "Still, yeah, you never do know what the other person''s feeling, do you?" Noel tilted her head slightly. <i>"You don''t either, Mr. Kimihiko?"</i>


    Nope. I didn''t know what Nagisa and Siesta were actually thinking now.


    "You can only vaguely guess what somebody else is feeling from memory and the time you''ve spent with them. No matter how much you think about it, you ultimately have to let your ego make the call."


    For example, <i>They must be thinking along these lines, so if I do this, it''ll probably make them happy. </i>People are self-centered creatures, and that''s the only way we can live. That''s why we at least need to build rtionships that can survive the shes of our egos.


    <i>"Yes, that''s right. I''m sorry; that was an odd thing to say." </i>Noel looked just a little happy. <i>"And thank you... If I''d had someone like you in my family, I think I could have held my head a bit higher."</i>


    "Is that a dignitary joke, too?" I asked.


    <i>"That''s a good question," </i>Noel said, smiling slightly.


    "I''m sure you''ve got a lot going on, but for now, we need to focus on the Ritual of Sacred Return and stay alert."


    We had ten days before the unknown crisis was supposed to ur. In the time we had left, we needed to figure out what we could do.


    "For starters, could you send us the guest list for the Ritual? We''d like to get a handle on who''s going to be attending, just in case. If you can''t reveal information about people connected to the Federation Government, then just information on the people who aren''t would be fine."


    <i>"Very well. I''ll send it right over. At the moment, we''re working to contact the other former Tuners. As Grandfather said, he wants to have as manyrades as possible."</i>


    Right¡ªthe more allies we had, the better we''d feel. After arranging to contact each other again, we ended our chat.


    "Huh. You worry about some surprisingly delicate things, Kimi."


    I''d thought I was alone in the room. But when I turned around, I saw Siesta


    standing there.


    "How much of that did you hear?" I asked.


    "I came in at the part where you were worrying about love." There hadn''t been any such scene. Probably.


    "If you''re wondering, I hear there are many polygamous nations in West Africa."


    "Huh. Is that right? What I am wondering is, when and why did you check into that?"


    "...I just know it as general knowledge." With a rather pointed cough, Siesta crossed to her own desk. As she booted up herputer, shemented, "I don''t think you''re wrong, Kimi."


    I knew we were on a different subject now, but I had no idea what she was trying to say. I waited for her next words, and then¡ª


    "After all, there''s a detective right here who was set in motion by one boy''s ego."


    Siesta''s expression didn''t change at all, but she was definitely looking at me. "I see," I murmured. I took another sip of my coffee, which hadn''t quite gone


    cold yet.


    "I''m hooome¡ª Oh, Siesta''s up." Just then, Nagisa came back, carrying a shopping bag.


    "I''ve been up for ages. I was justte because I took a shower and did some reading and had my tea and watched a movie."


    "Ah, mm-hmm, sure. Never mind the excuses." Parrying Siesta with well- practiced ease, Nagisa set the things she''d bought out on the desk. "I picked up some yummy-looking bread at the station. Want to split it three ways?"


    Ten thirty AM.


    It would be a while longer before we actually got down to business.

 Chapter 143 - 2.1

    <h4>Chapter 143: Chapter 2.1</h4>


    <strong> If that''s an idol''s job...</strong>


    Five days after Bruno and Noel''s visit, because school was still on winter break, Nagisa and I went to a certain artist''s concert.


    The venue was the National Stadium, which had been designed by a famous architect.


    The stadium was surrounded by trees, and it really felt as though we were in the middle of a forest: Nature and the artificial had been joined in perfect harmony. On that stage, Japan''s most famous idol was giving the final performance of her national tour.


    "Farther, farther, out beyond the skies, our hearts will always be our allies...


    ?"


    The concert was near its midpoint. The idol on the central stage was turning up the heat, whipping up the excitement of the audience. We stood at the back of the standing room section, waving back at her with a pink-colored light stick in each hand.


    "The sign is hope, shout out that motto louder, louder... ?" Thunderous cheers and shouts rocked the venue.


    However, I just kept silently offering my light sticks to the stage. Yelling wasn''t the only way to cheer someone on. As her fan, sometimes it was important to watch over her quietly from the back rows...


    "Y-you''re crying." Next to me, Nagisa was staring at me like I was a total weirdo. "That other time, you yelled like crazy. I think that might have been healthier, don''t you?"


    "Just look at Yui-nya, all grown up. Who wouldn''t cry?"


    "What exactly are you to Yui?" Nagisa sighed and rolled her eyes. I didn''t have time to bother with her now, though.


    "Thank you so much, everyone! That was <i>You-Colored Gimmick</i>!"


    Finishing her song, Yui-nya¡ªaka Saikawa¡ªwaved at her fans. I returned the gesture with a little wave of my own... Oh, hey! Our eyes just met!


    She was looking at me! I''m positive!


    "When Yui grew up, are you sure you didn''t switch ces with her and


    regress, Kimihiko?"


    Right after that, Saikawaunched into a talk segment, carrying herself with even more confidence than before.


    "Although I guess it does feel as if she''s gone somewhere out of reach." As Nagisa gazed at Yui, she seemed to be looking at something very far away.


    Yui Saikawa, idol and current high school student.


    She''d been in middle school when we met, and now she was in her second year of high school. Her poprity hadn''t suffered at all in the meantime; she was more sessful than ever now. She was working as an actress in the domestic film industry, too, and she was nailing overseas performances one after another.


    She was the idol whose tickets were hardest to get. Nagisa and I had only been amodated because we were connected. Siesta had wanted toe, but then she''d said she had work today and holed up at the agency instead.


    "Even for fan club members, the win rate for concert tickets is under five percent. It''s gotten even harder to see her in person."


    "Yes. More importantly, Kimihiko, I''d never heard that you were in Yui''s fan club."


    Hadn''t I mentioned that? I''ve been a member for three years. A group bulletin shows up every month.


    "Well then, we were really lucky to be invited today."


    "As a genuine fan, I do feel a little guilty for taking a shortcut."


    "I mean, it''s not like we came to the concert for fun in the first ce." Yeah, I know that. There''s a rather serious conversation waiting after this.


    But until then, at least, I thought I''d bask in Super Idol Saikawa''s catchy, crazy world.


    About two hourster, when we visited Yui Saikawa''s dressing room as scheduled, we found her drinking tea and taking a breather after a sessful concert.


    "Oh!" When she saw us, she jumped to her feet and ran over, her eyes sparkling. A little nervous, I spread my arms, bracing for her to fling herself into them¡ª


    "Nagisa, I missed you!"


    ¡ªbut Saikawa dived into Nagisa''s arms instead. "Yui, it''s been ages!"


    Next to me, Nagisa was hugging Saikawa close and spinning around and around.


    Yeah, this was about what I expected.


    "Oh, Kimizuka. Hello." Saikawa poked her head out of Nagisa''s arms.


    "That was on purpose, wasn''t it? You can''t have done that by ident." I gave her a look. Saikawa giggled.


    "Actually, Saikawa, why are you dressed for school?"


    Now that the concert was over, for some reason, she was wearing her high school uniform.


    "I hadn''t seen you in a long time, Kimizuka, so I was trying to think of the very best outfit for the asion, and this is what I came up with. How does it look?" Saikawa plucked her uniform ribbon up between her fingertips, showing it off.


    Yes, Saikawa in uniform was a novel sight, but... "So does that mean you were actually looking forward to seeing me, too?"


    "...Oh, shut up. I can''t stand people who can''t read the mood." Saikawa averted her face, snubbing me, and went back to Nagisa.


    Why is Nagisa getting all the attention? Should I have been born as a girl or something?


    "Honestly, you haven''t changed a bit." Someone in the dressing room was watching me coldly. "Nothing''s more unsightly than jealousy in a man, Kimihiko."


    The girl who''d spoken had been making tea for Saikawa, and she looked exactly like a younger Siesta.


    "Gender has nothing to do with how jealous people get, Noches."


    Noches gave a thin smile that didn''t make it past her lips. "Everyone says we should care less about gender, but it''s actually just getting stricter, isn''t it?"


    The girl in the ssic maid outfitmbasted social conditions with extremely unrobotic sarcasm. In another few years, the world might be wanting android- blindness, too.


    "So you''re with Saikawa when she''s away from home, too, huh?"


    "Yes. As the Saikawa household''s head maid, it''s only natural that I act as Miss Yui''s guard."


    Noches had begun working for the Saikawa family a year ago. While her former mistress Siesta slept, she''d been Siesta''s main caretaker. When Siesta woke up, Noches had been released from her mission, and now she was working as Saikawa''s head maid.


    "You''re keeping as busy as ever, then."


    "Yes, just tending to the mansion and the garden every day takes until sundown. Why do trees grow so quickly?" Noches said. "Granted, I am doing this because I want to." A year ago, the one who''d released her from her mission had been Siesta herself. Siesta had said Noches could live as she chose, but...


    "I really do like serving people."


    Noches was still working as a maid voluntarily. That had to be a good thing. "Not much has changed with you, either, I see." Noches was gazing at


    Saikawa and Nagisa, who were chatting animatedly. From what I heard, she and Siesta swapped information every so often, so she was very familiar with our everyday lives.


    "Siesta and Nagisa fight a lot, though."


    Then, thirty minutester, they''d be friends again and chatting up a storm, as if it was some sort of girls-only party. Thinking about those times made me sigh.


    "That sounds like fun," said Noches. "It''s tiring, that''s what it is."


    "I meant for you, Kimihiko." Unexpectedly, Noches gazed at me. "You sound as if you''re having fun."


    "...Yeah, I guess," I said, in a voice low enough that no one else could hear.


    You had to be pretty clever to hide anything from Noches.


    "Now then, shall we move on to the main topic?" Noches said, and Saikawa and Nagisa stopped chatting and came over to join us.


    "You have something to tell Miss Yui, don''t you?"


    I nodded, then gave a brief exnation of the unknown crisis. I''d spotted Saikawa''s name on the guest list for the Ritual of Sacred Return that Noel had


    sent over. Yui Saikawa had worked with us to stop the Great Cataclysm; that was probably what had earned her a ce at the ceremony.


    "I see. So that''s going to happen a week from now..." After I''d filled her in, Saikawa started thinking hard.


    "I hadn''t decided whether to attend the ceremony yet, actually. I have an overseas performance a week from now..."


    "I see. Right after the end of your national tour. That''s rough," Imiserated.


    "It''s fun, though," she said, shing her white teeth in a grin.


    For a little while, we were all silent. Saikawa was the one who started the conversation back up. "The rest of you are getting involved with the world again, aren''t you?"


    I almost told her, <i>You''re singing with the world as your stage, too</i>, then realized that wasn''t what she meant. When Saikawa said "the world," she meant all the extraordinary stuff we''d lived through earlier.


    The past year had beenparatively peaceful. However, if that unknown crisis did ur at the uing ceremony, we''d connect with the extraordinary again for the first time in ages.


    "...What do you think I should do?" Saikawa''s smile looked a little troubled. "Not long ago, the enemies on Earth were formidable. Everyone really thought we might be done for. However, Siesta and Nagisa are both here now, and we''re all happy and healthy. This past year has been so much fun that it''s felt like a dream."


    Saikawa had spent the entire yearpletely out of touch with the extraordinary. Her dreams for her career as an idol singer wereing true every day. That was probably why she was hesitating now.


    Personally, I was impressed that she''d stuck with us for as long as she had. Her left eye had been directly involved in the Seed incident, but she''d kept helping us try to resurrect Siesta even after we''d defeated him. And so...


    "I bet it was quite a burden to carry, wasn''t it?" Maybe I''d leaned too hard on her kindness.


    "A burden? Well..." Saikawa thought for a moment. "It was certainly heavy," she said, looking from me to Nagisa and back. For some reason, she seemed a little bashful. "As far as I''m concerned, the two of you have always, always been too heavy and important for me to carry, even if I use both hands."


    Her brilliant smile reminded me of something I''d seen before.


    It had happened during the Sapphire Eye incident, the case where we''d met


    Saikawa. On the day we''d solved it, we''d been in her dressing room after a concert, just as we were now. Back then, Nagisa''s intense passion had brought us together, joining us with a bond we couldn''t sever no matter what.


    "You really are an idol, Yui." Nagisa smiled gently at Saikawa. It sounded like she was stating the obvious, but that probably wasn''t quite it. "If you say the world now is like a dream, then I''d like you to protect everyone''s ordinary lives as an idol."


    Right. What Nagisa was trying to tell Yui was that...


    "After all, it''s an idol''s job to show everyone a dream, isn''t it?" Saikawa''s eyes widened.


    There was more than one way to be involved with the world.


    Those who predicted global crises, those who fought enormous evils, those who healed the wounded, and those who protected the ordinary lives everyone hoped to return to. There was more than one way to defend what was right. And so¡ª


    "Yes, dly!"


    As Saikawa said this, she was wearing her usual pure smile.


    The idol might have grown up a bit, but she was still Yui Saikawa, asrge as life.


    <strong> A beautiful, consummate kidnapping</strong>


    After that, we chatted with Saikawa and Noches for a bit, and then Nagisa and I left the stadium. Just as we were thinking about heading home for the day, I got a text from an unknown sender.


    It said, <i>I have your precious Ace Detective.</i>


    As soon as we saw it, Nagisa and I headed for the Shirogane Detective Agency.


    "Siesta!"


    We unlocked the door and burst into the office, but the white-haired detective wasn''t in her usual chair at the back of the room. Our ray of hope was gone.


    "...! No... Why?"


    Someone had snatched Siesta.


    We were toote. I dropped to my knees, and my vision went dark.


    "Oh,e on! What is this, a visual novel bad ending? Get up already!"


    Nagisa hauled me back to my feet. "Look at this." She showed me the notebook that had been sitting on the desk. Something was written on it.


    "''If you want your precious detective back,e to the top of themunications tower,'' it says. So it really is a kidnapping?" I said.


    "Mm... I don''t think Siesta would let herself be carried off that easily."


    She had a point. If anything, I could see her lethally injuring the kidnapper with a counterattack. "Then, what, somebody she knew did this?"


    "Right. And I bet Siesta knew she was being taken away. The kidnapper wrote this note with the ballpoint pen on the desk over there."


    "Oh, you''re right. You can sort of tell from the texture of the ink."


    That meant the kidnapper had written their challenge to us right here, in this office, probably in Siesta''s presence.


    "They put the pen back in the holder, though, and I don''t see any signs of a fight. That means this was premeditated, and Siesta agreed to it."


    I see. Which meant the threat level was pretty low.


    "Now that we know that, let''s go find our precious Ace Detective. Our


    <i>''precious Ace Detective.''</i>"


    "What''s that look for? I didn''t write this, okay?"


    I picked up the letter the kidnapper (?) had written. The top of themunications tower, huh? "Which one, though? Red or blue?"


    Japan had two famousmunications towers: a venerable old red one, and aparatively new blue one.


    "What are you saying? The other day, the blue one got, you know..." "Oh, right. So red, then."


    Leaving the agency, we grabbed a taxi and headed for what was formerly the nation''s tallestmunications tower. Siesta wasn''t there, though. Instead, taped to the ss on the observation deck, there was another note with the name of a new destination.


    We got shunted around from ce to ce¡ªcaf¨¦s, used bookstores, churches


    ¡ªuntil well after the sky had darkened and filled up with stars. Finally, Nagisa and I found ourselves at an old amusement park. It was closed for the day, and apart from us, there wasn''t a soul around.


    Of course, we weren''t there to have fun. In ordance with the letter''s instructions, we infiltrated the service area of one of the attractions. When we removed some of the floor tiles, we found adder leading down to a door.


    "Any day now." Weary in body and soul, I opened the iron door, and¡ª "Hold still, Charlie. You''ve got soot on your face."


    "Hee-hee! Ma''am, that tickles!"


    A woman in a tank top was inside, cheerfully letting Siesta clean her face with a towel.


    "What are you doing, Charlie?"


    "Oh, that didn''t take you as long as I expected."


    The woman''s name was Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. She was our formerpanion, an agent who was active worldwide. She used her assassination techniques to save people, and I didn''t even know how many scrapes she''d gotten me out of.


    Charlie had weaknesses, though. For one thing, battles of wits were definitely not her forte. For another, she liked Siesta so much she''d identally kidnapped her, among other things. (Don''t identally kidnap people.)


    "Oh, Assistant and Nagisa. You came." "...Sheesh. Well, I''m d you''re all right."


    Come to think of it, when Charlie had chosen the phrase "precious detective," had she been speaking from her own point of view? Talk about the world''s dumbest kidnapper.


    "You made us take the long way around on purpose. You wanted to enjoy your alone time with Siesta."


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about. I was just testing you, to see whether you''d lost your edge," Charlie said, brushing me off with a vague smile. She straightened up and took the long-barreled gun that had been leaning against the wall¡ªSiesta''s musket. She began polishing it with a cloth.


    "What is this ce? What were you doing here, Siesta?"


    My first impression of the room had been "somebody''s secret base." Multiple monitors showed security footage from inside the park, and there was a worktable littered with brushes and oilcans by the wall.


    "I''ve been having Charlie do maintenance on my gun. I''m considering having her decorate the barrel with a new floral pattern while I''m at it. What do you think?"


    "I couldn''t care less if I tried."

 Chapter 144 - 2.2

    <h4>Chapter 144: Chapter 2.2</h4>


    <strong>The agent''s two faces</strong>


    "Still, what''s a secret base doing here?" I asked Charlie, although my eyes stayed on the monitors. They showed Siesta and Nagisa, who''d gone off to y on the equipment. The detective had said she wanted to have some fun while she was here. I''m not saying which detective it was.


    "Nobody would ever think to look for it here. That''s the whole point," Charlie responded. She was cleaning up the worktable. "The enemy would never expect to find a hideout under a theme park, you know?"


    "''Enemy''? Who exactly are you fighting?"


    "Well, that''s a good question. I don''t get as many opportunities to use this ce these days."


    The way she phrased that made it sound as if she''d used lots of camouged hideouts in her work as an agent, way back when. Now she was using this one to do maintenance on Siesta''s gun, which Siesta hadn''t used for a while.


    "Wasn''t this sort of thing usually Stephen''s job, though?"


    Stephen Bluefield, the Inventor, was the one who''d originally made Siesta''s


    musket. I''d assumed maintaining it would be his job as well.


    "I hear he''s gone missing. He was a doctor to begin with, though; he might just be focusing on medical work somewhere."


    ...Ah. In that case, maybe Bruno hadn''t managed to get in contact with him, either.


    "So Ma''am is going to be the Ace Detective again," Charlie murmured, her hands falling still. Since Siesta had asked Charlie to work on her gun, she must have exined why it was necessary... Actually, even if Siesta hadn''t said anything, the agent would know about a situation like that.


    "Just as a temporary proxy, but yeah." That was what Noel had promised, at least. "Are you attending the Ritual of Sacred Return, too, Charlie?"


    Naturally, the agent''s name had been on the guest list. I''d assumed Charlie would make up her mind without any input from me, but since we''d run into each other, it wouldn''t hurt to discuss it.


    "A long time ago..." Instead of answering my question, Charlie began to tell an old story. "As an agent, I was given an assignment to protect a girl in a disputed area. Her parents were both high-ranking military officers. They were likely targets for the enemy, so they wanted me to keep their daughter safe."


    Charlie had never talked much about her work. She probably had a duty to keep things confidential, of course, but she also seemed to be holding back for her own reasons.


    "For three weeks after that, that girl and I lived in a war zone by ourselves, evading attacks."


    If Charlie felt the need to tell me about this, it was probably going somewhere.


    I listened quietly.


    "We huddled together in a simple dugout, listening to the sound of artillery fire. Our food ran low, so we shared water and crackers with each other and desperately talked about our dreams. We kept our eyes fixed on the future, and we survived."


    "That was your ''normal,'' wasn''t it, Charlie?" I wasn''t sympathizing with her


    ¡ªsympathy would have meant irresponsibly denying the way she''d chosen to live. It was thest thing I should do.


    "What do you think the hardest part of our escape was?"


    I tried to visualize her situation. The incessant gunfire, the hunger, the sanitation issues, the mortal danger... No, Charlie would have prioritized her young charge''s life over her own.


    "The hardest part was that the day after we started living that way, I was


    informed that the girl''s parents had died inbat. For the next three weeks, I kept that fact hidden from her."


    That answer would only make sense to those who''d stood on a real battlefield. Charlie had lied because the girl needed hope if she was going to survive. She couldn''t take that away.


    "Finally, there was a cease-fire. I evacuated the girl to the embassy, and once we were there, I told her the truth. ¡ªShe cried and called me a liar."


    Charlie had kept her voice cool up until this point, but I could see the uncertainty growing in her emerald eyes.


    <i>You weren''t wrong. </i>But I knew that sort of superficialfort was useless. I couldn''t sympathize, much less share her feelings. All I could do was listen.


    "Sorry for rambling on like this." Charlie seemed to be feeling chilly now; she shrugged into her jacket. "It''s just that, sometimes, the fact that those kinds of situations were routine to me scares me. I''m weak, aren''t I?" she murmured.


    "All people are," I told her, and she forced a smile.


    If she''d gone out of her way to tell me this, she probably wasn''t sure yet. She didn''t know whether she had the courage to live through any more days like that. If she attended the Ritual of Sacred Return, would it force her to deal with disasters again?


    "But you all are going anyway, right?"


    "Yeah. Both detectives say we are, so that''s that."


    "If you said you didn''t want to, I bet they''d stay home for you." "Why would I say that?" Iughed the suggestion off.


    Charlie gave me a long, pointed look. "You''re worried about them, aren''t you?"


    I didn''t answer. I was watching Siesta and Nagisa on the monitors. They wereughing as they rode the merry-go-round in that dark, deserted amusement park.


    "I can tell. I know what you''re thinking." That made me turn around.


    "When you really loathe somebody, you know exactly what makes them tick." Charlie gave me her biggest, brightest smile.


    Geez. Had there ever been a more irritating grin?


    "Lying to somebody you can''t stand is pretty pointless, isn''t it?"


    In other words, since there was no love lost between us anyway, Charlie was saying I should tell her what I really thought.


    "Yeah, I''m worried," I murmured, gazing at the monitors again. "They really seem to be enjoying themselves, and...frankly, the thought that they might end


    up in danger again scares me so much I can''t sleep. Really, it makes me wish they were there, sleeping next to me."


    "Okay, that''s creepy."


    "Don''t just cut me down like that." I cleared my throat, then tried again. "But I am uneasy. If we don''t attend the Ritual of Sacred Return, though, they''ll always be shackled to the Tuners. ¡ªThe story won''t be able toe to an end."


    That meant we didn''t have a choice. Not everyone gets the right to choose. We had to keep moving forward, believing that the path we walked would lead us to the credits we were hoping for.


    "I see. That''s all I''ve got to say, then," Charlie told me. "I guess I''ll go y, too," she added, starting to leave the hideout.


    "Just so you know, I didn''t tell you what I really thought because I hate you or anything," I called after her. Nor had it been because she didn''t matter. "I told you because we''rerades."


    Charlie''s eyes widened slightly. "I see." That was all she said as she turned away.


    In the moment she turned, I caught a glimpse of her profile. I thought I saw a vaguely happy smile there, but it had to have been my imagination. Right?


    <strong> A night sky at ten thousand meters</strong>


    When I opened my eyes, I was up on a roof at night.


    No... It wasn''t like I was waking up. It was more as if I''d been distracted and had just now noticed where I was.


    The roof didn''t belong to a building, a hotel, or any ce on my university campus. It was the roof of my high school, and once I figured that out, I knew this was a dream.


    I had no reason to sneak into the old school building. Either my high school days were still hanging around in the back of my mind and had made a random appearance in my dreams, or else...


    "It''s been a long time, my dear partner."


    Suddenly, I sensed someone beside me. She was sitting, hugging her knees the way I was, but the gesture seemed strangeing from someone wearing a military uniform. I knew this girl''s name.


    "Hel."


    Her red eyes smiled at me in a familiar, bewitching way. "Did you call me here?"


    Hel, who''d been Nagisa Natsunagi''s alternate personality, had also been a SPES executive. At the end of our final battle with Seed, she''d vanished. Did this mean she was still watching over us somewhere?


    "You''re having a very convenient dream," Hel said, without answering my question. Her eyes left me, facing forward.


    A convenient dream. So this was just a regr dream of talking with Hel on the roof at night, courtesy of my subconscious?


    "Come to think of it, I was ying the King Game with Saikawa and the others a minute ago. I''d just be the king, and I was about to have Saikawa wear a maid outfit and call me ''Master.'' Hurry up and send me back to reality."


    "Never say anything that dumb in your sleep again. You know, it''s been a week since you hung out with Yui Saikawa or Charlotte, and even if you did y the King Game, it''s your fate to be humiliated your entire life."


    Reality was way too unfair to me. Well, if that was how it was going to be, I''d soak in this dream Hel was showing me a while longer. "So how''ve you been, Hel? ...I guess that''s a weird thing to ask, huh?"


    "A bit. I''ve never had a physical body. I can''t truly live or die. Maybe that''s why I can still talk with you like this, Kimi." Hel stood up. "You seem to be doing extremely well and having a lot of fun, though."


    "Do I?"


    "Yes. You''re with your two beloved detectives."


    Describing them as "beloved" was uncalled for, but I couldn''t deny that my days were pretty enjoyable. Noches had picked up on that as well.


    "You can be proud of that. It''s happiness you brought about, something you won. Just a few years ago, you were up on this roofmenting the unfairness of the world."


    "You mean the time I spent here with Nagisa?"


    "That''s right. The night when my master remembered her origins. It caused her great pain."


    Yeah, the stars had been pretty then, too. Right after Nagisa had remembered who she really was and the crimes she''dmitted, I''d sat here with her as she sobbed, out in the night wind.


    I''d sworn to carry half the unfairness she bore, almost two years ago. But the Nagisa who''d cried back then didn''t exist anymore.


    "¡ªReally?" A sudden gust of wind blew, making Hel''s military uniform flutter wildly. "My master wasn''t the only one. Are there really no crying girls anywhere in the world anymore?"


    Hel''s red eyes gazed at me, her word-soul ability forcing me to think.


    A little under two decades of memories began to flow through my mind, as if my life were shing before my eyes.


    I had a nasty knack for attracting trouble. I''d seen enough heartrending tragedies to fill more than a couple of books, but the disasters had ceased a year ago. People''s lives were peaceful and ordinary again. They must be. And so¡ª


    "Since we''ve met like this, I want you to promise me something," Hel said, without waiting for my answer.


    "''Don''t make Nagisa cry,'' right?"


    I''d made that promise to Hel before, and she''d said that if I broke it, she''d kill me enough for two¡ªor, more concisely, double-kill me.


    "Yes. You''re an adult now, though, so I think I''ll ask you to grow up even more and take it further." Hel had been gazing at the distant stars, but now she turned back, wearing a peaceful smile. "Don''t make either of them cry¡ªNagisa Natsunagi, or the friend she holds dear."


    The friend Nagisa held dear? Who could that be? Several faces came to mind.


    I tried to respond, but then... "¡ªKimihiko. Hey, Kimihiko."


    Somebody called my name, and I awoke with a start. "You were having a bad dream. Are you okay?"


    A girl with red eyes and ck hair was watching me worriedly. Her long hair hung down near my face, and I absently caught a few strands of it between my fingertips. "Your hair''s grown."


    "Aspared to when? Are you still asleep?" She really did look just like that other girl, though.


    Instead of answering, I asked, "What time is it?" I''d slept a little too long; I rolled my shoulders and neck to loosen them up.


    "And hey, people, don''t y cards with me in the middle," I scolded. The detectives were sitting on either side of me, and their ying cards were scattered across my tray table.


    We were ten thousand meters up, in a passenger ne bound for France. I nced at my watch; about two hours had passed since takeoff.


    "It''s a trip, and you''re sleeping right through it, Kimihiko. That''s weirder."


    "I agree. Assistant, the true pleasure of a trip starts while you''re in transit.


    You''re not appreciating that."


    For some reason, both Nagisa and Siesta got mad at me instead. You''re kidding. I''m the bad guy here?


    "You two haven''t changed. You''re asid-back as ever, in a good way."


    Even if we were headed into danger, they were determined not to let the fun that was right in front of them go to waste. It had been like that both when I was traveling with Siesta, and when it was just Nagisa and me. They enjoyed every moment with everything they had.


    "Of course, if ites down to it, I''ll switch gears immediately. Especially considering what we''re dealing with this time," Siesta reassured me.


    We were on our way to attend the Ritual of Sacred Return, which was scheduled for tomorrow. However, ording to Noel and her people, the unknown crisis would be waiting for us there, too.


    Last week, Charlie had been particrly uneasy. She''d said that if I really tried to talk them out of it, Siesta and Nagisa would probably rethink their participation. I''d ended up ignoring her advice, though, and now here we were, on the ne. And there was one major reason for that.


    "Now that we know Bruno''s in danger, we can''t just let the situation y out," Nagisa murmured.


    A few days ago, an anonymous letter had arrived at the Shirogane Detective Agency.


    It had said, <i>The world''s wisdom is about to perish.</i>


    We didn''t know whether it was a warning from the messenger from Another Eden, or from someone else entirely. But either way...


    "Something''s going to happen to Bruno at this ceremony, but we''ll head it off.


    After all, we''re detectives," Siesta said.


    Over the past week, we''d done as much as we could. We''d imagined all sorts of situations and taken preventative measures. Even without a specific client, detectives were always there for the people.


    "The detectives and their assistant really haven''t changed," a voice said from above us, suddenly.


    A woman had been standing in the aisle, listening in. Now she smiled, filling a paper cup with coffee.


    "We have a hundred and twenty percent chance of running into you on nes, huh, Olivia?" I joked, epting my wake-up drink.


    Siesta and Nagisa greeted her with "It''s been a long time."


    Olivia wasn''t just a cabin attendant. She was the servant of the Oracle, one of the Tuners who protected the world, and we''d met several times before.


    "How''s Mia doing? Actually, is sheing to the ceremony?"


    The Oracle was a former shut-in, and I hadn''t seen hertely. That said, Siesta gamed with her online quite a lot, and I''d heard Mia over their voice chat every so often.


    "Yes, my mistress is looking forward to seeing the three of you. Just the other day, she was busy picking out a new dress so she could wear it when you met."


    "She did what?! Can she get any cuter?" Nagisa was smiling.


    Mia would be neen this year. I couldn''t wait to see her all grown up.


    "Is she there already?" Siesta asked. I''d heard that Mia was still living in that clock tower in London, but...


    "Madam Mia is currently carrying out her duties alone, in a certain country in northern Europe."


    "She went alone...?" I asked, in spite of myself. Knowing just how reluctant Mia had been to venture into the outside world, this change surprised me. And besides... "What duties? She doesn''t have that ability anymore, does she?"


    "That''s right. At present, Madam Mia no longer prophesies global crises. However, she still worries about the world. She takes frequent journeys so that she can see what''s happening with her own eyes. Just as you once did," Olivia said, gazing at us kindly. "In addition, something that will require us to act may happen soon."


    ...Oh, so Olivia and Mia knew the unknown crisis might ur at the ceremony, too? That was why Mia was still doing everything she could, even without her power.


    "If Mia''s traveling, does that mean you''re here for your regr job today?" "Yes, I''m performing my duties as cabin attendant as well, but..." Taking an


    attach¨¦ case from the service cart, Olivia showed us its contents. "Here. The origin text."


    The impossible appearance of this rare item made me freeze up. This was what Noel had told us about: the volume scheduled to make its first appearance at the Ritual of Sacred Return. The most important one. Why was it here?


    "The Oracle instructed me to give this to you, Mr. Kimizuka, no matter what rules were broken in the process."


    "...To me? I don''t get it. Does she want me to deliver it or something? That can''t be right."


    If Mia was going to attend the ceremony herself, she should have brought it with her, or at least had her servant Olivia handle it. Plus, Mia was the only one who was allowed to read the sacred texts at all. That had to be even more true of


    the origin text.


    "Even so, the Oracle has entrusted this to you. As for what she meant by it..." Olivia handed the origin text to me.


    "I believe that may be up to you, as '' .''"


    A vibration ran through the ne, drowning out the noise around us.


    Had we hit some major turbulence? For a moment, I felt as if I''d passed out.


    The next thing I knew, I was gripping the origin text tightly. "...! Olivia, are you okay?" I asked. My mouth had gone dry.


    "...? Yes. Never mind me, you''re the one who''s..." Olivia was gazing at me curiously.


    "Seriously, Kimihiko, what''s the matter? You''re sweating like crazy." Nagisa was also watching me, looking puzzled.


    I wiped my forehead. How was I sweating this much after such a brief moment? "...Yeah, I''m fine. Never mind that, what time is it?"


    "Huh? Didn''t you just ask me that?"


    I looked at the watch on my left wrist. It had only been a little over two hours since takeoff. The coffee sitting on the tray table was still hot.


    "Assistant?"


    When I tried to look out the window, I made eye contact with the other detective. Siesta was staring at me; she seemed mystified and just a little uneasy. "I''m fine," I said again.


    "That''s what people say when they aren''t fine."


    "The way the ne shook back there scared me, that''s all. I''ll calm down if you hold my hand or something."


    "Are you stupid, Kimi?" "Man, that''s not fair."


    It seemed like it had been a while since we''d had one of these exchanges. Maybe it was because there were fewer opportunities to feel the world was unfair these days¡ªso maybe it wasn''t such a bad thing. Actually, wasn''t it better not to have people calling me stupid? I was getting all mixed up.


    "Sorry. I really am fine now."


    That dumb little mental tangent had helped me to rx a bit.


    While I was reassuring Siesta, I stowed the origin text in my carry-on bag. After another ten-plus hours of flight time, we reached our destination.


    Then we waited to pick up our checked suitcases...but for some reason, mine never showed up.


    By the time I''d finally recovered my luggage, bemoaning my talent for inconvenient incidents, Nagisa and Siesta were already gone. They''d given up on me and headed for our hotel pretty fast.


    "Why are they both so mean? At least one of them should be nice."


    As I was walking through the airport, grumbling to myself, I spotted a tall man talking to a young girl. He was speaking French, and I couldn''t catch a lot of it, but he kept pointing to the camera he was holding. Was he telling the girl he wanted a photo?


    "Well, I get why he''d want her to model for him."


    The gray-haired girl had a cool, expressionless face, and she was wearing a particrly eye-catching Gothic Lolita dress. She was my friend... Well, maybe I wouldn''t go that far, but anyway, she was definitely Noel de Lupwise.


    Had shee to the airport to meet us? I decided to lend her a hand and headed over toward them. I thought about going full TV drama and saying, "What do you want with my girl?" but I wasn''t sure I really wanted to do that.


    Come to think of it, I remembered Noel mentioning something about how she wished I''d been part of her family. In that case...


    "Oh!" Noel had spotted me.


    Stepping in front of her, I faced the man with the camera and said, in clumsy French...


    "What do you want with my little sister?"

 Chapter 145 - 2.3

    <h4>Chapter 145: Chapter 2.3</h4>


    <strong> "Elder Brother" is tempting, too</strong>


    "Thanks for the ride," I told Noel, climbing into the waiting car.


    The interior of the shiny ck luxury car was roomy enough for me to stretch my legs out. They even had champagne back there, although since it was only ten minutes from here to the hotel, it wasn''t like we''d have time for a drink... Or so I thought, but Noel held out a ss to me and said, "Please have some." <i>I guess I''ll do that, then.</i>


    "Of course I''de to pick you up. You''re an important guest."


    Noel was as doll-like as ever, and her expression never changed much, but she was smiling gently. I wished the other government officials would take a page from her book. Siesta and Nagisa too, actually. They''d just straight-up left me.


    "Besides, I''m the one who''s grateful. Thank you very much for rescuing me¡ª


    Brother."


    I spit out my champagne.


    "Oh! Are you all right? I''m sorry. Did it not suit your preferences? Driver, take us to a vineyard at once¡ª"


    "It''s fine; just head for the hotel. You don''t have to harvest grapes or let them age or anything." I mopped up the spilled champagne with my handkerchief. "Did you call me your brother, Noel?"


    "Um, did I say something strange?"


    <i>Basically everything you said was strange, yeah.</i>


    I regretted impulsively running my mouth at the airport now. What scared me the most was that she might call me that in front of Siesta or Nagisa.


    "I seem to have offended you. I''m very sorry." Noel bowed her head respectfully. "Would this do, then?" She gazed into my eyes. "Bro."


    "Ngh." I had a heart attack and copsed.


    <i>"Are you stupid, Kimi?"</i>


    Even Siesta was showing up in my head. I was terminal.


    "Heh-heh. I''m sorry. That was a little sister joke. Forgive me, please." Noel did her best to keep her usual serious expression from slipping, but from time to time, she kicked her feet a little. She might not have known she was doing it.


    "Now then, Mr. Kimihiko."


    "You''re going back to calling me that already?"


    "Could we speak about that other matter for just a moment?"


    Apparently, we were done joking around. When I heard the phrase "that other matter," only one thing came to mind. "You mean Bruno?"


    That mystery letter which had been sent to our agency a few days earlier: <i>The world''s wisdom is about to perish. </i>We''d promptly shared that information with Noel, but we hadn''t discussed it in detail yet.


    "The thing is, we know almost nothing about it, either. We haven''t looked into it enough yet."


    "...I see. No, there''s no helping that. It isn''t technically a job for the Ace Detectives."


    Siesta and Nagisa''s initial orders had only been to get through the unknown crisis and make sure the Ritual of Sacred Return waspleted. This business with Bruno was a curveball.


    "If Bruno really is in danger at the ceremony, though, our detectives won''t just stand by. They won''t care about the specifics of their roles or missions." We''d just talked about their resolve in the ne on the way here. "What about you,


    Noel? Do you have any suggestions for ways to protect Bruno?"


    "Yes. Frankly, I think it would be safest to cancel the Ritual of Sacred Return entirely... But practically speaking, that would be difficult. The Federation Government wants to host the ritual, burn the origin text, and bring about world peace as soon as possible."


    Noel had told us as much the first time we''d met her: They nned to put a permanent end to the world''s disasters by burning the origin text and returning the Oracle''s power to the gods.


    "It''s really true? If weplete the Ritual of Sacred Return, global crises will never happen again?"


    That might be something Mia, who possessed the origin text, would understand instinctively. As someone who wasn''t directly involved, though, I could only take that statement as hearsay.


    "...Yes, there''s no mistake." Noel''s eyes wavered slightly. "It''s corroborated by several millennia of records. If the Ritual of Sacred Return ispleted, you and the detectives will never be dragged into global crises again."


    When I heard Noel''s words, I had the feeling I knew why she had hesitated.


    If it was "corroborated by several millennia of records," the Ritual of Sacred Return had been held before. If they were trying to hold it again anyway, that probably meant... No, that wasn''t important now. She''d told me what I wanted to know. For now, I just said, "I see," and went on. "Could we just have Bruno stay home, then?"


    People were attending the ritual by invitation, so he had to have the right to decline.


    "I really would have preferred that. However..."


    I knew where that sentence was going. Bruno must have refused.


    An understandable choice, given his position. He was the one who''d asked Siesta and Nagisa to fight the unknown crisis, so the danger to himself must not have been enough of a reason for him to leave the battlefield.


    "It would help a lot if the enemy''s demands were a bit easier to understand, at least." We would have had room to negotiate or put together a strategy, then. However, the messengers from Another Eden wanted something specific from the Federation Government, but we didn''t know what that thing was.


    "...As a matter of fact, I''ve heard a rumor about that." "Really?"


    "Yes. They say the officials of the Federation Government once hid <i>a certain important secret </i>in Pandora''s box. At this point, no one knows what it is...


    However, the messengers of Another Eden may have managed to find out."


    Noel told me it was a rumor she''d first heard only after she became a government official. The enemy had learned about an important secret the Federation Government had kept hidden for ages, and was threatening them.


    "What should I do? How can I protect both the world and Grandfather?" Noel murmured. There was something almost self-deprecating about the way she said it.


    That worry was based in herplicated position. First and foremost, as a Federation Government official, she needed to have Bruno¡ªa former Tuner¡ª fight the unknown crisis. After all, that was the system of justice they''d built for this world.


    However, Noel had another rtionship with Bruno. He was family. If she treasured that rtionship, of course she''d want him to stay away from the ceremony.


    "Bruno''s presence in your life is just that big, huh?"


    "...Yes. Grandfather was my only ally, and my only family."


    Then, quietly, Noel began to tell me about herself. Fifteen years ago, she''d been born into the Lupwise family, which was of French nobility, with ties to the Federation Government. However, the head of the family had fathered her with one of the maids. Noel''s mother was promptly run out of the mansion, and both her father and his legal wife had distanced themselves from Noel''s birth.


    "The Lupwise family always treated me as someone who didn''t exist. No one spoke to me or answered my questions. Not my grandparents, or my parents, or my older brother, or even the servants. In that house, I was invisible."


    "And Bruno saved you from that?"


    Noel gazed out the car window. "Yes," she said, smiling very slightly. "One day ten years ago, Grandfather rescued me from that house. I''d never spoken with anyone before, but he gave menguage, and taught me how to smile and how to get angry. I was invisible, but he made me human again."


    Noel and Bruno''s rtionship wasn''t something I could make sense of on my own. There was a decade-long bond between them that only they could understand, just like the one I had with the detectives.


    "However, I''ve been on my own again for the past year."


    Noel''s voice was low, but it reached me without being drowned out by the noise of the traffic.


    Three years ago, Noel had begun to work as a Federation Government official in ce of her older brother, who''d disappeared. Last year, Bruno had formally


    dissolved their rtionship, and she had left the Belmondo family entirely.


    "I''m sure the real reason he schedules dinners for the two of us every once in a while is that... Hm?"


    Noel''s cheeks deted, and her lips got narrower¡ªbecause I was pinching her cheek.


    "He taught you how to smile, didn''t he? You''re supposed to do what your parents taught you."


    "Mrph," Noel said.


    I pushed the corner of her mouth up. "Let''s try talking to Bruno one more time." When I let go, Noel stared at me, surprised. "There may still be something we can do. Some way to protect both the world and Bruno. We''ll think about it together a little more."


    Right now, Noel couldn''t afford to lose Bruno.


    As she wavered between her mission and self-interest, she seemed like a mirror reflecting a certain someone else.


    <strong> Mission Start</strong>


    Soon after that, the car reached our destination.


    I parted from Noel, walked into the hotel she''d reserved for us, and took the elevator up.


    It was a luxury resort hotel, the kind we''d never have been able to stay at as a rule. When I knocked on the door of a room on the thirty-fifth floor, Siesta opened it. "Oh, you''re finally here."


    "...You''re a heartless fiend."


    "I am not. I just believed that no matter what trouble you got into, you were bound toe out victorious, so I went on ahead to the hotel."


    Geez. It''s all in how you phrase things, isn''t it?


    I went inside, dragging my suitcase. Our room turned out to be a suite, with a living room that was separate from the bedroom. The detectives had been having their afternoon tea in there: Snacks and a teapot were set out on the table.


    "Huh? Are you staying here, too, Kimihiko?"


    When she saw me wearily grab a chair and sit down, Nagisa blinked at me. "Yeah. I told Noel it was fine to put us all in the same room."


    "Gosh, I feel threatened."


    "Don''t squirm when you say that." "I didn''t!"


    As we were having that fun conversation, Siesta brought me a cup. "You''re having tea, too, aren''t you, Kimi?"


    "Oh... Nah, water''s fine." I picked up a stic bottle of mineral water that was already sitting there.


    "...I see." For some reason, Siesta looked a little disappointed. She sat down next to me. "Kimi, have you been drinking? You smell like liquor."


    "I just had a ss in the car on the way here. Noel offered." "And you always tell me not to drink."


    That''s her own fault. After all, drinking has helped this detective blow it before.


    "Wait, you saw Noel? Does that mean you talked about the Bruno thing?" Nagisa asked, tossing a chocte into her mouth.


    "Yeah. She said he''s still nning to go to the ceremony."


    "...I see. Then we really will have to make thorough preparations before the Ritual of Sacred Return."


    "That''s probably the whole reason Noel came to us about this. It sounds like they haven''t been able to contact most of the other Tuners."


    As Siesta said, at this point, the Ace Detective was the only former Tuner who specialized inbat. And even that was only true of Siesta, not Nagisa.


    "Hm? What?" Siesta noticed my gaze and tilted her head. "I just sort of wished we at least had Charlie here." "She''s on a different mission right now."


    A week ago, Charlie had been on the fence about attending the Ritual of Sacred Return, and she''d ultimately decided not toe. Her reasons hadn''t been pessimistic, though: The agent had picked up another important mission.


    "What''s she up to now? Even you don''t know, do you, Siesta?"


    "Right, but that''s how it should be with Charlie," Siesta said, gazing into the distance. I sensed a little pride in her profile.


    Exactly. Charlotte wasn''t just an agent who tagged along after the detective anymore.


    "I wonder if Yui''s running around getting ready for her overseas performance," Nagisa murmured, checking her phone. Come to think of it, the concert was the day after tomorrow.


    "By the way, I just sent her a text asking ''What are you doing now?'', and she replied with ''Please don''t act like you''re my boyfriend.''"


    "Geez, Yui. Ouch."


    After we''d talked about that for a while...


    "So, Siesta. What are we going to do now? Either way, I think we should talk to Bruno a bit more."


    "At this stage, we should probably set up safeguards to minimize the damage in case there really is an attack during the Ritual of Sacred Return." Gazing at her smartphone, Siesta started to go over our course of action.


    "Huh? Wait, we haven''t filled our assistant in on this maneuver yet, have we?"


    "I have one other piece of insurance. Or maybe I should say I''m working on something, but...I guess it doesn''t have to be now."


    "Hey, you two. Quit messing around with your phones and let me in on this."


    Granted, there had been one very recent incident where everything had worked out much better because the whole team wasn''t on the same page, but...


    "Well, if ites to that, I''ve got an ace up my sleeve, too." "Oh, yay. I''m happy for you."


    <i>Siesta, it actually hurts kind of a lot when you dodge the subject like that.</i>


    "But listen, we may need to designate someone to call the shots," Nagisa said.


    True¡ªno matter how we strategized and nned, it would be pointless if we couldn''t make prompt decisions when it counted.


    "Why not our assistant?" Siesta suggested unexpectedly. Both Nagisa and I weren''t sure what she was getting at.


    "Nagisa, you and I were the ones who decided to reim our authority as Tuners, attend the Ritual of Sacred Return, and take on the unknown crisis. That means it''s Kimi''s turn. We''ll let him have the right to make the final decisions and give the orders," Siesta said, poking my cheek with her fingertip several times.


    "This is proof that you trust me, right?" I said. "You''re not just shoving all the responsibility onto me, are you?"


    As I tried to smile, several texts came in on my phone. "...Oh, I see."


    For a brief moment, I made eye contact with each detective. The mission was already underway.


    Eden''s messenger


    When the sun had descended another thirty degrees... "How pretty! It''s like we''re in a movie!"


    From the little boat that was sailing down the river, the townscape seemed to


    be dissolving into the sunset. Drinking in the view, Nagisa gave a blissful sigh. After rxing in our hotel room for a bit, the detectives and I had decided to see the sights of Paris on a cruise down the Seine.


    The excursion wouldn''t quite take an hour, and we''d be able to see the Eiffel Tower and the Pont Alexandre III from the water. However, due to a certain situation, the tour was due to be discontinued soon, and we''d just barely gotten to enjoy this cinematic scenery.


    "I''ve been through so much that could have been straight out of a movie¡ªI''m sort of sick of it," Siesta mused. She stood on the deck with us, a wine ss full of juice in one hand. As she''d said, we''d starred in all sorts of movies, from spy- action flicks to science fiction B movies, and of course detective films.


    "The only genre that never showed up was romance."


    "True. That might have been the leading actor''s fault, though." Both Nagisa and Siesta gave me significant looks.


    "Not fair." That seemed the best moment to lodge aint as I drank my wine. Its astringent taste made my mouth sting a bit; like coffee, the vor had a surprising depth to it.


    "You''re all quite grown-up, aren''t you?" Noel murmured, gazing at us. She was the one who''d arranged this exclusive tour. "It''s clear that you''ve experienced many things I couldn''t even imagine, gotten through them, and formed a special rtionship only the three of you can understand."


    The three of us looked at each other. We were all wearing different expressions. Siesta''s was prim, but there was pride there as well. Although Nagisa appeared satisfied, her smile wasn''t entirely joyful... I wondered what my face looked like to them.


    "I wonder what your rtionship would be called in Japanese. I don''t think it''s a ''three-way standoff''... Oh! A ''love triangle.''"


    "Let''s get down to business." Blocking out the ominous phrase Noel had just dropped, I turned to look at the other individual who was present. "You really won''t excuse yourself from tomorrow''s ceremony, Bruno?"


    The old gentleman was standing a little apart from our group, wine ss in hand, gazing out over the river. Noel had called him here as well.


    "Yes. You know I mustn''t make you stand on the battlefield while I sit reading in the shade." As we''d heard earlier, Bruno meant to prioritize his own mission. "If I yield to the enemy now, I''ll disgrace the name of justice. I will not submit to any threat."


    "Grandfather..." Noel gave Bruno a concerned look.


    "There''s no need to worry. Besides, if the messenger from Another Eden is targeting the Federation Government, then even you are in danger, Noel. Isn''t that right?"


    "Yes, but...the enemy has singled you out by name, Grandfather. I think you should be extremely cautious, and that finding out why they did that is an urgent matter."


    Bruno and Noel''s worry for each other was putting them in conflict, but nopromise presented itself.


    "I think Noel has a point, though." Nagisa broke into their conversation. "Why would the messenger from Another Eden be after Bruno in particr? He isn''t the only one who''s working with the Federation Government."


    She was right. If they were after people who were working with the government and trying to shut down the unknown crisis, the two detectives fit the description as well.


    "In the first ce, I really doubt your letter was sent by Another Eden''s messenger," Bruno said, overturning our premise. "I hear they''ve never tried to contact the Federation Government by mail. Am I right, Noel?"


    "...Yes. In simple terms, they use ''signals''¡ªin the electrical engineering sense¡ªto send their messages to electronic terminals in anguage we can understand. But no matter how we try, we haven''t been able to analyze that program."


    This was giving me a headache, but basically, they couldn''t trace the source of Another Eden''s transmissions through their logs. Come to think of it, I''d heard something about that earlier... At any rate, the residents of Another Eden had some seriously unfamiliar technology.


    "Then the letter was sent by someonepletely different." Siesta might have assumed there was a good chance of that all along; she nodded, seeming convinced.


    "Yes. However, it doesn''t matter who is targeting me. Even after the Great Cataclysm, I haven''t let my guard down in the slightest. The light of justice has never been extinguished. No matter what enormous evil presents itself, I''ll intercept it," Bruno said, gazing out at the majestic river. Several wild birds flew across the water.


    "It looks like rain," Siesta said casually, without even ncing at the sky. "Rain? The clouds don''t look that thick."


    "Did you see how close those birds were to the river''s surface? They were after the bugs; humidity weighs insects down."


    Siesta''s instincts were based in analysis, and they were usually right. If it was going to rain, it might be a good idea to finish the tour early.


    "And my old wound is hurting a little." Siesta pressed a hand to the left side of her chest.


    Right after I''d focused on her gesture, it happened. Something else arrived before the rain did.


    "¡ªWhy can you notprehend our demand?"


    The source of the voice was several meters above our heads, on the boat''s mast. Even though there was practically nothing to use as a foothold, a figure in a crow mask and a red robe was standing up there.


    "Kimihiko, that''s..." "...Yeah. Let''s back up."


    Realizing more or less what this was, Nagisa and I backed away.


    "Federation Government Tuners Respond."


    The thing twisted its head ny degrees. Its voice sounded mechanical, but it was capable ofmunicating verbally.


    "Who are you?" Siesta raised her musket. She wasn''t shaken or anxious. She meant to carry out her role, just as she''d always done. However, Bruno gently held up a hand in front of her, telling her to stand down.


    "Are you the messenger from Another Eden?" he asked the masked figure, as calmly as he could.


    "There is no meaning in your name for us." That sounded like a "yes." And then... "We only want the world''s secret."


    This messenger from an unknown world was attempting to negotiate with us in anguage we''d understand. "The world''s secret" had to be what they were demanding from the Federation Government. However...


    "You aren''t giving us enough information." Noel took a step forward. "The Federation Government isn''t rejecting you outright. We simply don''t know what you mean by ''the world''s secret.'' That leaves us with no way to negotiate."


    "Why?" The crow-mask bent its neck in the opposite direction. "Why don''t youprehend? Why did you forget?"


    The next instant, an unpleasant sound like broken-up static ran through my inner ears. My hands came up to cover them, and I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again, the surface of the water around the boat was littered with dead fish and birds.


    "Noel, get back." Siesta stepped in front of her, pointing her musket at the thing in the crow mask. "What do you mean, ''we forgot''? Maybe we never


    knew."


    "Just try and shoot."


    Siesta scowled, but she pulled the trigger. The bullet moved too fast to be seen, but just before it reached its target, it stopped¡ªand abruptly disappeared. It was as if it had been sucked through a dimensional crack.


    "Negotiations are canceled."


    With that mechanical deration, the denizen of Eden turned to go. "Wait," Siesta said sharply.


    The next thing I knew, a few scattered drops of rain had begun to fall.


    "Tell yourpanions that, as things stand, your request will not be granted.


    Tell them to consider their own goals first, then tell us what they are." She wasn''t holding her gun at the ready anymore.


    However, the detective''s words were more relentless and passionate than any weapon. "We aren''t currently fighting in the same ring, and we haven''t arrived at the same negotiation table. If you still try to hurt this world or mypanions, I''ll ignore the rule of nonaggression. I will march into Eden or hell, and I will fight. I swear it."


    The crow mask''s big, ck, hollow eyes were fixed on Siesta. However, no words issued from itsrge beak.

 Chapter 146 - 2.4

    <h4>Chapter 146: Chapter 2.4</h4>


    <strong>The ignorant king</strong>


    There was a certain custom that the detectives and I had followed for ages: When we resolved an incident, we''d reward ourselves with afternoon tea or a good dinner. We''d discuss the case, reflect on any errors, and learn what we could from it.


    Now that we were a bit older, the form of that ritual had changed slightly. Sometimes we had wine or cocktails after our meal instead of tea or coffee. Either way, it was an important part of our workmunication, and so we''d gone to a pub, but...


    "Haaah. What did that thing in the crow mask want, anyway?" Nagisa sighed, setting down her mug of beer.


    Two hours ago, the messenger from Another Eden had appeared on that small boat, then left just as abruptly. Since there was nothing we could do about it, our group had split up. Then, even though we hadn''t resolved the incident, Nagisa, Siesta, and I hade to this bar in the hopes of venting some of our frustration. And Nagisa and I weren''t the only ones drinking...


    "Some people say melons are vegetables, but I think they''re fruits, you know. A long time ago, a famousedian said that if something goes well with mayonnaise, it''s a vegetable, and if it doesn''t, it''s a fruit. So I tried putting mayonnaise on melon, and it was absolutely delish, so guess what? Melons are actually vegetables."


    The white-haired detective was babbling incoherently over a ss of red wine. Her skin was flushed, and her eyes were zed. As I''d anticipated, she was a little more wound-up than usual.


    This was how Siesta usually got when she drank, so I''d banned her from having alcohol...but Nagisa and I had looked away for a second, Siesta had gotten some wine into her system, and now here we were.


    "Heyyy, Assistant. Are you listening?" Siesta pouted, trying to pick a fight with me.


    "Yeah, you were listing your favorite fruits. Hurry up and tell me your top three." Casually fielding the drunk detective, I sipped water. If I drank too much myself, I might do something stupid.


    "...Somebody''s not really into this conversation. What, drinking with me isn''t fun for you?" Siesta red at me. "You''ve seemed bored this whole time. You''re barely reacting to anything I say."


    Yeesh. When Siesta had gotten drunk before, even brushing her off like that would have put a cheerful smile on her face. She must''ve built up a tolerance. I hadn''t thought I was being that openly critical of her behavior, but she''d picked up on it anyway.


    "About what happened on the cruise." Setting my ss down, I averted my eyes. "Why did you say that to the enemy, there at the end?"


    "...Say what? I don''t really remember."


    If she was ying dumb, that meant she remembered it clearly.


    Siesta had said she''d march into Eden and fight to protect the world or herpanions, even if it meant breaking a nonaggression pact. That remark of hers was the biggest reason for the frustration that was smoldering inside me.


    "The Ritual of Sacred Return is tomorrow. Once that''s over, you and Nagisa won''t be Tuners anymore. You won''t have to deal with Another Eden."


    "We don''t know whether they''ll manage toplete that ritual. Until we settle the unknown crisis the crow-masked messenger and its friends are plotting, I''ll keep fighting. Which part of that do you have a problem with, Kimi?"


    Siesta drained her mineral water. The ice in her ss clinked. Her head must have cooled down, too.


    "Why do you need to be the one who does that, Siesta?" "Because I''m the Ace Detective."


    "Technically, you''re still a proxy." "I''ll do it even if I''m just a detective." "¡ª! Why would you go that far...?"


    Our exchange was brief. Neither of us was drunk anymore, but our heated emotions hadn''t cooled.


    "Because you two did this for me." Siesta turned her blue eyes on me, then promptly averted them again. "Long ago, you risked your lives to save me, so I''ll do the same. This has nothing to do with jobs and missions. If anyone tries to hurt something that''s precious to me, I''ll fight with everything I have, and I''ll protect both of you."


    She snapped her mouth shut after that.


    The pub''s quiet background music and other customers'' conversations filled the silence between us. It had been a long time since I''d argued with Siesta like this.


    Nagisa was the one to break the silencepletely. "Okay, that''s enough." She pped her hands once, sharply, softening the tension. "And while I''m at it, hiyah!"


    There was a dull <i>thunk </i>as her fists connected with my head and Siesta''s. "Ow! Hey, Nagisa...!"


    "...That was mean. What was that for?"


    Siesta and I turned usatory looks on her, but she didn''t back down. Instead, she heaved a big sigh. "I''ll double-kill you both. Well? Did that calm you down a bit?"


    ...If that was what she''d been trying to do, the p at the beginning probably would''ve been enough. Sheesh.


    "Sorry. I guess I had a little too much to drink. me it on the alcohol, okay?" I apologized to Nagisa.


    "I''m sorry, too, Nagisa. me it on our assistant this time."


    She was so damn mean. I red at Siesta from under half-closed eyelids, and she snubbed me.


    Nagisa sighed again. "Haaah. Geez." And then... "But I guess that''s where it''s at for both of you," she murmured quietly, gazing at the ceiling. "C''mon, Siesta. Let''s head back to the hotel. Can you stand?" Nagisa helped Siesta up, and they turned to go.


    "So you''re just leaving me here?"


    "If you''re together, you two will just fight again, right? A little distance is a good thing sometimes. Besides," Nagisa added, "you have another job to do, right, Kimihiko?"


    ...Yeah, I did. It was a job Siesta had asked me to handle. In preparation, I relocated to a seat at the bar by myself. "Okay, Nagisa. Take care of Siesta."


    Siesta had her back to me. I could tell she''d heard me, but she left with Nagisa without giving me another look.


    "Even I''ve never seen Daydream like that before."


    How long had he been there, watching us? The old man was sitting three seats away, drinking whiskey, wearing the same suit he''d worn earlier.


    Bruno Belmondo. The person I was waiting for.


    "I arrived a little early. Your lively dinner was a nice show to go with my drink." Bruno smiled. I''d stayed behind because I needed to talk with him a little more. I never thought he''d been watching us the entire time, though.


    "Sorry you had to see that weird infighting."


    "No, no. It was novel to see her disy that sort of emotion. Still, I imagine she did it because it was an earnest exchange with someone who required honesty. I don''t think it was wrong."


    Bruno set his ss down on the bar. At some point, all the other customers had left the pub. The only sound was pleasant jazz ying softly in the background.


    "Now then, could you tell me why you called me here? You said this talk would be confidential." Bruno drained his whiskey, then looked over at me, a few seats away.


    "Yeah. Bruno, why are you so set on fighting this unknown crisis?" This was the same thing Siesta and I had just argued about.


    It might have seemed strange for me to ask him about that now. However, as the assistant, getting the answer out of him was my job.


    "Why would you bring that up now? Isn''t it a bitte for that?"


    "I thought it might be a hard question to answer if Noel was around."


    Because they were family. There are some things that are hard to say to someone precisely because you trust them. That''s how it works for me, anyway.


    "Because I am a Tuner. Because it''s a hero''s natural duty. Isn''t that answer enough?"


    "I''m not asking about your profile."


    During a job just the other day, I''d learned you can''t assume you know somebody just because you''re familiar with their social status, job title, and career.


    "¡ªLong ago, I traveled."


    Bruno seemed to have given in. Still facing forward, he began telling his story. "As a young reporter, I left on a rambling journey to learn about the world. In the midst of my travels, I was drawn to a certain country''s culture and ended up spending many years there."


    What I was hearing was the past of an extremely learned information broker who''d lived more than a century. I listened carefully.


    ording to Bruno, while the country was small, it had plentiful energy resources and was quite wealthy.


    "Its abundance was bait for invaders, however. Before long, the neighboring military states pressed the country to sign a series of unfair treaties. The country''s king epted all the terms they set. He believed he had no choice if he wanted to protect his people."


    Bruno had been against that policy, but at the time, he''d been a mere traveling journalist. He didn''t have the power to make a country do anything.


    "Contrary to my expectations, the country''s peace was preserved. It wasn''t as wealthy as it had once been, but at the very least, its people weren''t ravaged by war. The king''s wise decision had protected the country. I felt ashamed," Bruno murmured.


    He said it had been a mistake for him to weigh the country''s wealth against its citizens'' lives. That king was beloved by his people, and he''d lived out his life happily until his death from old age.


    "What country are we talking about?" I asked. His story had ended happily, and I was curious about what had happened after.


    "It doesn''t have a name," Bruno said simply. "In today''s world, it no longer exists. Fifteen years after that king passed away, the country''s economy copsed. It was carved up by the alliance and vanished off the map."


    Considering Bruno''s age, this had happened about a hundred years ago. There probably wasn''t anyone else on the who could give a firsthand ount of what had happened. It was a true story only Bruno could tell.


    "The great king died in ignorance. He passed away beloved by his people, unaware of his crime."


    Bruno''s eyes narrowed, as if he was faintly remembering a distant day. I didn''t know what to say.


    "The moral of this story isn''t that we must take up our weapons and fight; only that we must search for a way to protect the world, and that our efforts must be constant."


    I couldn''t find the words I needed to say. Even so, I could tell that Bruno''s philosophy wasn''t wrong.


    "If the world is approaching another turning point, we must act with purpose. At theing Ritual of Sacred Return, we must demonstrate our determination to protect the world, even if the unknown crisis is an attempt to get in our way."


    This was Bruno Belmondo''s resolution: a great will which had nothing to do with his title or profile, formed by the history he''d lived through.


    "Therefore, boy, I would like you to pay more attention to Noel than to me. Protect the young person who has a future rather than an old life that''s nearing its end, won''t you?"


    I wasn''t a detective, but I was human, and that meant I had to grant Bruno''s request. Except...


    "What if I save both of you? Won''t that work?"


    I knew it was an arrogant suggestion, but I made it anyway. That was what my partners would have said if they were here, I think.


    "You''re right. The Ritual of Sacred Return should take ce. The detectives and I will guarantee that it does, so would you let us handle things tomorrow and spend the day somewhere safe instead?" I took a certain object out of my bag. "This is the origin text, and I swear to take it to the ceremony."


    "...I see. Did the young Oracle entrust it to you?"


    Mia Whitlock, the Oracle who saw all futures, had handed me the reins of tomorrow''s fate.


    "The Oracle has already lost her power, though. There is no one in the world who can truly predict the future." Bruno shook his head, refusing to change his answer. "Can you bring about the tomorrow you wish for in the midst of such uncertainty?"


    "But instead of the future, you know everything about the world, right?" I pointed out.


    Silence fell for a moment... But only a moment.


    "Yes, that''s true. I know. I know everything. However, I merely know it. I can''t necessarily deduce the right answer. I may even give a wrong one."


    That was Bruno''s calm analysis of his own position and abilities. He said that simply knowing, simply having all the data, didn''t guarantee that people coulde up with the right answer on their own.


    In my case¡ªI''d always had someone who could show me whether I was right in those moments. If I went way back in time, the man who''d called himself my teacher had been that person. Then it had been Siesta. After she was gone, Nagisa hade along. Now I had lots of friends who would help me search for answers.


    But Bruno was supposed to be all-knowing. What if he got an answer wrong?


    If that day came, what then?


    "If I give a wrong answer someday, no doubt someone will appear to correct it. That is how the world is kept in tune." Bruno drained thest of his whiskey.


    "You really think someone who can correct the world''s wisdom wille along?"


    "Yes. What do you suppose a person like that would be called?" I didn''t have a clever answer for that question.


    With a merryugh, Bruno got to his feet. "Ha-ha. There''s no way I''d know.


    After all, such a person would be beyond me."


    Then, walking with the aid of his cane, Bruno left by himself. Liquor made us human again.


    Both the detective and the sage, the maiden and the old man. Everyone, equally.


    When everyone was gone, I stood up to leave, too. Just then, my phone, which was resting on the bar, lit up. It was a notification from my messaging app. I had a text from Nagisa.


    <i>"When you get back, want to talk for a bit?"</i>


    Just as I picked up my phone to respond, a call came in from a withheld number.


    "Coincidences never happen alone, huh?"


    Should I respond to Nagisa''s text or take the call? I hesitated, and then I¡ª


    <strong> Even if justice dies</strong>


    When I got out of the car that hade for me, I found myself at a temple, or maybe the site of a ruin.


    Bright moonlight streamed into the roofless building, and vines coiled around the structure here and there. Parts of the walls and pirs had crumbled, but I could still tell that this ce had once been majestic.


    The rain that had been falling since the evening had stopped at some point.


    In addition to the moonlight, minimal lighting had been installed on the ground, providing visibility even at night. As a result, I saw the person who''d summoned me here quite clearly.


    "It''s been a long time, Stephen."


    The man was wearing his familiar whiteb coat, and he was standing with his back to me. His hands were busy with something. "I''m sorry to ask this of you after calling you here, but wait just a few minutes," he said. The screen of the small monitor in front of him showed a pulsing red organ¡ªa throbbing heart. Then a hand holding a scalpel appeared on the screen, but that hand wasn''t human. It was a robotic arm.


    "Remote surgery?"


    The technology had be practical several years ago. At this point, it was possible for surgeons to perform operations from a different location by using a robot proxy.


    However, I''d heard that only a handful of doctors could conduct remote operations that required high-level skill and precision, such as heart surgery and live-donor liver transnts. They would have to be virtuoso doctors like Stephen Bluefield, the former Inventor.


    "They told me you were missing."


    I''d never dreamed I''d meet him here, of all ces.


    "As long as people live, there will always be work for doctors. Even now, people are screaming for help to save fading lives in the hidden corners of the world," Stephen said, without looking back.


    Surgery performed by moonlight. On the screen, the robotic arm followed the movements of his fingertips perfectly.


    "In many areas of the world, there are stillnd mines that were buried in wartime. Remote surgery is also useful in regions that aren''t easily essed."


    Maybe there were no more global crises, but it wasn''t as if war had disappeared entirely, and the aftermath of past disasters hadn''t beenpletely cleared away.


    Even now that Stephen was no longer the Inventor, he was still working as a doctor. It was simr to the way Siesta had continued working as a private eye, even though she wasn''t the Ace Detective anymore.


    "Thank you for waiting."


    Then Stephen powered down the monitor and turned to face me.


    The whole process struck me as remarkably fast, but apparently he''d just


    performed the steps only he was capable of, and doctors who were physically on-site were taking care of the rest. This was more efficient and let him help the maximum number of patients. He''d told me about his philosophy as a doctor before.


    "Thanks to you, both Nagisa and Siesta are doing great. Once again, I''m grateful."


    It had been about a year since I''dst spoken with Stephen.


    The former Inventor had saved the lives of both detectives multiple times, and a year ago, he''d had a hand in the event that had awakened Siesta.


    "No, I haven''t done a thing," Stephen said, gazing up at the night sky. He wasn''t trying to be modest.


    "So, Stephen. Is what you told me true?"


    At the bar where I''d talked with Bruno, I''d gotten a phone call. When I''d followed the instructions I was given and climbed into the car he''d sent for me, I''d ended up here.


    "If there really is a way to prevent the unknown crisis, then tell me about it."


    I hadn''t believed him right away. I''d decided to ept his invitation because if I didn''t hear him out, there''d be things I wouldn''t know.


    "It''s true. We''ve been searching for a method the entire time."


    <i>We? </i>Was there somebody else here? As I looked around, the room was flooded with bright light from the floor. Those shafts of light illuminated an enormous object that towered behind Stephen.


    "A gun turret?"


    The thing was like a monument, so tall I had to tilt my head back to see it. Now that I was paying attention, I saw that it was covered in vines. The iron cylinder towering into the sky really did look like a cannon.


    "This is an ancient relic. It isn''t used anymore," Stephen told me. His eyes were on the object, too. "Where do you suppose the muzzle is pointing?"


    In the next moment, I realized there were two silhouettes near the weapon. No, not just near it: One of them was actually sitting cross-legged on top of the enormous gun.


    "That''s..."


    The man was wearing a biker jacket and a robotic-looking mask that covered his whole head. His face, which was turned toward us, was blinking with a weird green light. I knew that guy. I''d first seen him ten years ago¡ªin a certain movie


    that had been shown all across the US and be an instant blockbuster.


    Full-Face, a former Tuner. His position was Hero.


    In the <i>Full-Face </i>action movie series, a man who wore a motorcycle helmet developed superhuman powers one day and fought an evil organization. Surprisingly, the starring actor was a hero in the real world as well. Just like in the movie, he used actual superhuman powers, and he''d defeated all sorts of dangerous enemies with his own hands.


    The other individual, who was standing near Stephen, was a tall, veiled woman in a dress with slits up the sides. Even though I couldn''t see her face, I could feel her aura as if it were an electrical current.


    She was the former Tuner Youkaki. Her position had been Revolutionary.


    She was so stunning that her beauty alone was said to be a weapon that could bring down nations. She''d inherited her position after the death of Fritz Stewart, the previous Revolutionary. How many countries had been destroyed as a result of her covert maneuvering? Although her peerless beauty was renowned, her face was always veiled, and regr people never got the chance to see it.


    "Stephen, are you telling me the three of you have been searching for a way to prevent the unknown crisis?" I asked. It was hard to believe. Both Full-Face and Youkaki preferred to work alone, and it was rare for them to show themselves like this. Besides...


    "If you''ve gotten this many former Tuners together, Bruno must have contacted you as well. Didn''t he ask you to prevent the unknown crisis with him?"


    "Yes, but I turned him down," Stephen said bluntly. "The Information Broker has his eyes on the same goal as us, but he''s far too unwilling topromise. If it''s for the sake of justice, he''s prepared to return his body to the dust this very moment. And I think that''s dangerous." He turned to me. "Kimihiko Kimizuka. I believe we feel the same way, correct?"


    I wanted to deny it.


    He''d seen right through me, though.


    After hearing about Bruno''s past at the bar, I had seen the upromising justice he envisioned, and I believed his philosophy wasn''t wrong. However, I hadn''t wanted it to be the right answer. Bruno''s concept of justice was so wless it scared me.


    After all, I''d had a partner like him. Someone who hadn''t hesitated toy down her own life.


    "We sensed the danger in that consummate justice, and so we began to search


    for a way to bring about a new peace through a different approach. The key is to find a point ofpromise. We''ll strike a bnce between justice and evil, order and chaos."


    That mindset was just what I''d have expected from the pragmatic Stephen. As a doctor, he ultimately wanted to save the greatest number of lives, which meant he wouldn''t touch patients if there was no hope of saving them.


    "What is this method? What do we have to do to end this without hurting anyone?" As I asked Stephen the question, I realized deep down that I''d been looking for such a method this whole time myself.


    It was like how Noel had prayed for Bruno''s safety even as she tried to prevent the unknown crisis. I''d known this event would ur, but I hadn''t really wanted Siesta and Nagisa to go back to being Ace Detectives.


    Ever since the end of the Great Cataclysm, I''d had just one wish¡ªfor both detectives to have peaceful, happy lives. That was all.


    "The only way to protect the world is this."


    As Stephen spoke, a new shadow crept up to him.


    "¡ªWe have only one request."


    It was the thing in the crow mask, the one we''d encountered on the cruise. It gazed at me with those hollow eyes, its red robe pping in the wind.


    "We struck an independent deal with the messenger from Another Eden. Of course, the Federation Government is not involved."


    "...A deal? What do they want?"


    Another Eden had originally been trying to nail down some sort of treaty with the Federation Government. So they''d approached Stephen''s group with a deal that would take the ce of that one?


    "<i>The origin text hidden in your jacket. </i>All we have to do is give them that, and this will be over." Stephen pointed at me, his keen eyes watching me from behind his sses.


    Had he known I possessed it when he called me here? "Why the origin text, though? What do they want it for?"


    "The origin text is supposed to have a special ability that will activate when it''s given to the person who should rightfully possess it. Another Eden fears that the power will be used against them."


    "The origin text wasn''t what they asked the Federation Government for, though. Why the sudden change of heart?"


    Even on the cruise ship today, the thing in the crow mask had asked for the world''s secret. That couldn''t actually be the text.


    "That was thepromise we reached after discussing the matter. They''ve promised that as long as they have the origin text, they''ll do no harm to the world."


    This was hard to believe.


    These were all just verbal promises. There was no guarantee they''d keep them.


    Besides...


    "If we give them the origin text now, the Ritual of Sacred Return won''t happen tomorrow. And then I won''t get what I''m after."


    If the ceremony wasn''t held, the promise Noel had made me about letting Siesta and Nagisa leave the Tuners would fall through.


    All I wanted was for the detectives'' peace to be guaranteed after we headed off the unknown crisis.


    "No¡ªthe Ritual of Sacred Return will proceed as nned. Use this." Stephen took a book from his bag.


    "A second origin text...?"


    No. This looked very simr, but it had to be a fake. "Will it fool Mia? Even if you made it?"


    "We won''t need to fool the Oracle herself. We simply need to trick everyone else, and only temporarily. Think about it," Stephen told me. "Mia Whitlock intentionally gave that to you. It means she won''t interfere with the choice you make."


    "...You mean even if she realizes this is a fake, she''ll ept it?" "Yes. She must know that''s her final job as the Oracle."


    While hearing him out, I searched for a solid reason to reject Stephen''s proposal.


    If I gave them this book, what would happen? I visualized the potential threats and risks. Were those risks enough of a reason to refuse their request? <i>¡ªThink. </i>I thought and thought, and finally, something I''d seen long ago crossed my mind.


    <i>"¡ªI want to drink tea with you again, Kimi."</i>


    <i> </i>


    It was something the detective had said once. It had been her way of saying <i>I want to live</i>.


    "Come to think of it, I haven''t had any tea for a while."


    Out of nowhere, I remembered that Siesta had looked a little lonely today.


    Once we''d cleared up this incident, the three of us should go have a leisurely afternoon tea somewhere.


    I heard a footstep. The thing in the crow mask had walked up to me. "You want this that badly?"


    My hand tightened on the origin text. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn''t find a decent reason to turn down Stephen''s proposal.


    "People may call this a makeshift justice, but..."


    Even so, if this made it possible to protect both the world and those two, then...


    "We have a deal."


    The turning point of fate left my hands.


    In the moonlit temple, I''d chosen a future.

 Chapter 147: Side Noel

    <h4>Chapter 147: Side Noel</h4>


    When the hands of the clock had nearly reached midnight, I knocked at the door of the mansion''s guest room. "Come in," said a familiar voice.


    "Excuse me."


    When I opened the door, Bruno Belmondo was waiting for me. Since Grandfather had been invited to the Ritual of Sacred Return as a guest, I was having him stay at my house, a mansion administered by the Federation Government.


    We''d lived as family, long ago, but now we were a host and her guest. The thought made an indescribable emotion threaten to well up inside me, and I gently pushed it down.


    "You were out quitete."


    Grandfather was just hanging up his overcoat. He smelled faintly of alcohol.


    Drinking was one of his many pastimes.


    "Yes, I was with an acquaintance. We had a pleasant time," he exined simply.


    He wouldn''t tell me who he''d met or what they''d talked about.


    It had always been that way. Grandfather never said much about himself. Was it due to his position as the Information Broker, or was it¡ª "Grandfather, what''s...?"


    I''d noticed something that concerned me. On the table beside Grandfather, there was a half-empty bottle of water and something that looked like a medicine packet.


    "Oh, it''s my blood pressure medication. It''s nothing to worry about." "Grandfather? Are you sure you should be drinking?"


    "...I''d rather you didn''t mention it to my doctor." A little ufortable,


    Grandfather lightly raised one hand in a gesture of refusal.


    It felt as if it had been a long time since I saw him do something that mischievous.


    "And? What did you need?" Grandfather asked, as I hesitated in the doorway. "Is it about the ceremony tomorrow? If so, I really do intend to¡ª"


    "No, I know. You''d never abandon your mission."


    Even if danger was bearing down on him, he''d prioritize the world''s stability. That was how Bruno Belmondo the Information Broker lived. I understood that better than anyone.


    "I''m sorry. I know I''m causing trouble for you," Grandfather said, giving me a faint smile.


    "No, it''s no trouble." <i>After all, you''re family</i>, I started to say, but I promptly realized I wasn''t qualified to anymore.


    Silence fell. There were other questions I should ask, really, but the words wouldn''te. Grandfather gestured to a nearby chair, encouraging me to sit.


    "...You know everything, Grandfather," I blurted out. It was just a fact. "You know about politics, finance, culture, and art. Sometimes you know futures even the Oracle can''t see."


    He probably knew things the Federation Government and I didn''t know. And so... "I suspect you know what''s going to happen tomorrow, don''t you?" I stared down at my hands. "It''s true, isn''t it? If you are the all-knowing Information Broker, you know which way the world will tilt. That isn''t all; you even know about those of us who will live in it..."


    "Noel."


    At the sound of my name, I looked up. Grandfather was smiling at me gently. He put his index finger to his lips. As I sat there, still and silent, he lowered himself into a chair at the table. The dim orange light threw shadows across his face.


    Finally, polishing his usual cane with a cloth, Grandfather began to speak quietly. "I journeyed for a hundred years. In the most remote deserts and snowy mountains, I lived through the idle rumors you hear at run-down taverns. I discovered the sunken ruins of an ancient city, then found that an identical city had already been depicted in a certain best-selling novel. Several unknown species I found in the heart of a jungle fifty years ago now appear in picture encyclopedias for elementary school students. Items of knowledge are isted points," he told me. "In the space of a century, those points formed a line, bing what the world considersmon knowledge."


    That was how he''d lived as the Information Broker, and how he''d interacted with the world as a Tuner. Long before I was sent to him to be fostered, Grandfather had been traveling the globe, umting knowledge, then returning that knowledge to the world as the asion arose.


    "I know things. I know everything¡ªbut within the boundaries the world has drawn up for me."


    I hadn''t been expecting that repudiation.


    Grandfather knew everything, but...


    "What humans know will never grow beyond what the world has established for them."


    Grandfather was aware that his wisdom had limits.


    "You mean there are things even the Information Broker doesn''t know?" I asked.


    He gazed into the distance¡ªout the window, beyond the pall of night, to bygone days. It was probably a view I knew nothing of. "Once, my travels took me to a forbidden territory. While there, I made a choice. Should I know ''the world,'' or everything else? I chose thetter."


    What he was saying seemed very abstract. However, if I could believe his words, Grandfather had once chosen to know about everything except the world. From another perspective, he was saying he''d given up on knowing the world.


    What "world" did he mean?


    "I may have said a bit too much. Liquor really should be taken in moderation."


    With a little smile, Grandfather wrapped up his story. He''d never actually told me if he knew what was going to happen at tomorrow''s ceremony.


    But his story was the answer to my question. He''d said that Bruno Belmondo didn''t know everything about the world.


    Why had he done that? If it had been the Ace Detective asking, what answer would he have given her? My fingers tightened around my phone.


    "Now then, children should be in bed around this time," Grandfather said, getting to his feet. He patted my head gently.


    "...Honestly. I''m not a child."


    He only did that at times like this¡ªno, Grandfather had always treated me like a child. I didn''t know whether that frustrated me or made me happy; I just stood there for a while, under his big palm.


    The coolness of the wet towel he''d ced on my forehead when I was in bed with a cold. Camera film with sights from around the world on it. The warm hand that had held mine and led me along busy streets when I was small.


    Remembering these traces of Grandfather, I squeezed my eyes shut.


    "I''m sorry to disturb you when you''re tired." Rising from my chair, I nodded to him, then turned to go.


    "Noel."


    Just as I reached the door, Grandfather called to me. "Do as you see fit. We are humans of flesh and blood."


    I didn''t have a good response for that. "Good night," I told him, then closed the door.

 Chapter 148 - 3.1

    <h4>Chapter 148: Chapter 3.1</h4>


    <strong>At this train''s final destination...</strong>


    When I woke up at the hotel the next morning, I was the only one in the room. "...Did they go out?"


    Nagisa and Siesta had upied those two empty beds when I went to sleep.


    Last night, after talking things over with Stephen, I''d given the origin text to the messenger from Another Eden. When I''d gotten back to the hotel, Siesta and Nagisa were already in bed. However, Nagisa had heard mee in; she''d sat up and asked how my talk with Bruno had gone.


    I told her I hadn''t been able to convince him to stay away from the ceremony. I thought maybe I should tell her about meeting Stephen, too...but I wasn''t sure I wanted to. In the end, I couldn''t bring it up. Nagisa had seemed like she still had something she wanted to say, but I''d climbed into my own bed and shut my eyes.


    "So this isn''t going to be one of those ''They weren''t actually all that mad'' things?"


    ...Probably not. Siesta and I still hadn''t made up over our argument at the bar yesterday. Nagisa had wanted to tell me something, but I hadn''t let her do it. Maybe I was lucky they''d gone out; the morning could have been pretty awkward otherwise.


    "Nah, I''ll hurry and go meet up with them."


    Then I''d tell them everything was all right now. That there was no need to worry about today.


    Deciding to get changed and go look for them, I got out of bed, but then¡ª "The two detectives have only gone to have themselves formally dressed."


    When I turned around, Noel de Lupwise was standing there. Instead of her earlier Gothic Lolita costume, she was dressed in an aristocratic gown, which was normal byparison.


    "That''s not your Federation Government uniform."


    "No. I''ve been tasked with running the ceremony and guiding people today."


    Ah. So that was why she''de to get me. "That aside, Noel, this is breaking and entering."


    "I''m sorry. I''d intended toe a little earlier and wake you, but..." That was not at all what she needed to apologize for.


    "I''d meant to give a perfect performance as an admirable little sister who gently wakes her brother, but..."


    Actually, I may be sorry I missed that.


    "Heh-heh. That was a little sister joke." Noel smiled faintly. So, she''d said Siesta and Nagisa had gone to get dressed up?


    "Since there is a ball before the Ritual of Sacred Return, the female guests must begin their preparations a little early."


    ...Oh, was that why? Then they hadn''t stormed out because they were furious with me?


    "By the way, when I came to fetch those two, Miss Siesta looked more out of sorts than I''ve ever seen her. Did something happen yesterday?"


    "So they''re mad after all."


    Damn. I was starting to want to see them less.


    As my mood deted, I sluggishly began getting ready to go out.


    "The day has finallye." Apparently, Noel was nning to wait in the room with me, although she did have her back turned toward me. "Did you sleep wellst night?"


    "After that cruise, I drank a bit, so I slept like a rock." "That''s good. You met Grandfather again, didn''t you?"


    "Yes, I had the honor of drinking one-on-one with someone with the world''s wisdom."


    "You tried to persuade him again, then. Thank you very much." Noel seemed to have a vague notion of what we''d talked about.


    Talking hadn''t changed anything, though: Bruno was still nning to attend the ceremony. That couldn''t be what Noel wanted. She gazed out at the distant scenery from our room on the thirty-fifth floor. Reflected in the window, her eyes wavered uneasily.


    "Mr. Kimihiko, if you knew there was a bomb on a train you were riding, would you stay on that train?"


    What an abstract question. I didn''t really get what she was trying to say, so I asked a few questions of my own.


    "There''s no telling when that bomb is going to explode?" "No."


    "Are we on that train of our own free will?" "Yes."


    "Is there a reason we absolutely have to reach our destination?" "Yes."


    In that case...


    "I''ve been riding trains like that for years now." Noel turned, waiting for me to go on.


    "The fuse on that bomb was still lit, too. I thought it had gone out¡ªor that I''d put it out¡ªseveral times. And yet the next thing I knew, the me was always right up close. There''s no avoiding that, though. That proves how big my wish was."


    I''d experienced trials, been tormented by its price, and even regretted making the wish at all¡ªbut that all meant the will behind it was strong.


    "Is it all right for us to have our own selfish wishes?"


    "Wishes can be more solid goals, and if you have one of those, you can take action. Without them, you can''t pull yourself out of your routine."


    It had been a long time ago now, but until I''d encountered Nagisa''s boiling passion, I''d spent the year after Siesta died soaking in tepid routine.


    "Then, wishing for something at the cost of something else isn''t a bad thing?" "It might not even have a shot ofing true until you''re bad enough that


    you''d sacrifice anything for it."


    A former enemy had told me as much before he died. He''d said if I didn''t care what my wish cost, then I should keep moving forward. So even if the world called that evil, we''d¡ª


    "Thank you." Letting a faint smile suffuse her usual doll-like expression, Noel bowed her head to me. "Now, shall we go? I''ll escort you to the venue."


    "Yeah, please do."


    Once I was dressed, I grabbed my bag, which had something precious in it.


    The ceremony, in which many different intentions were at work, was about to begin.


    Tonight, justice gathers here


    The venue for the ball turned out to be a magnificent, ptial building. From what Noel said, it was under the jurisdiction of the Federation Government, and Federal Councils sometimes took ce here.


    Inside, men in tuxedos and women in elegant gowns were already enjoying a buffet party. I spotted faces I thought I''d seen on TV in the crowd: politicians from somewhere or other, and members of industrial groups. If they''d been


    invited to this event, they must also be involved in the world''s hidden dealings as well.


    "Once again, the ball will begin at five o''clock, while the Ritual of Sacred Return will take ce at seven. The ceremony itself is scheduled to take approximately thirty minutes, with a formal dinner to follow."


    Handing me a wee drink, Noel went over the evening''s schedule with me.


    Apparently, attendance at the opening ball wasn''t mandatory. The main event was the Ritual of Safe Return.


    "The venue has a security system, but there''s no guarantee it will stop an attack by Another Eden. If it fails..."


    "You''d like the Ace Detectives to help out?" I asked. Noel nodded apologetically.


    However, that was the promise I''d initially made with her and Bruno. It was the reason Siesta and Nagisa had temporarily reimed their authority as Tuners.


    "Right. That''s not a decision I can make, but if it happens, I''m sure they''ll both give everything they''ve got to their missions."


    Even as I told her that, I was praying it wouldn''t happen... No, I trusted that it wouldn''t. That was what I''did the groundwork forst night.


    "...Thank you. All right, I''ll take my leave for now. I must begin preparing for the ceremony." Noel bowed respectfully, then left the room.


    In the hall, everyone was mingling and chatting. I was standing alone at loose ends. Weren''t Nagisa and Siesta here yet? I looked around restlessly.


    "¡ªYou''re still dependent on Boss, aren''t you, Kimihiko?" a voice behind me said.


    There weren''t too many people who called me by my first name¡ªI knew who it was immediately.


    "I like how you''re ignoring the fact that you''re the exact same way, Mia."


    When I turned around, Mia looked away in a huff, pretending she didn''t know what I meant.


    Mia Whitlock, the Oracle, was a former Tuner. In that morous purple dress, she looked far more grown-up than she had when she''d shut herself up in her clock tower.


    Somebody else looked up at me primly from the wheelchair Mia was pushing. "You''re pretty insolent for someone who''s just Rill''s pet. You should only have eyes for your master."


    This was another former Tuner: Reloaded, the Magical Girl. She wore a vivid


    orange gown that was a perfect match for her bright, cheerful personality. "It''s been a long time, Rill. I missed you."


    "...If you missed Rill, you could havee to see her."


    Possibly because I''d been more honest with her than she''d expected, Rill scratched at her cheek awkwardly.


    Yeesh. I''d thought she''d yell at me if I dropped in for a casual visit.


    "It''s just the two of you? What happened to Olivia?" I asked Mia. I''d assumed her servant would be attending the ceremony as well.


    "...Olivia left me to go greet everyone." Mia''s resentful gaze was fixed on the distant Olivia. So she''d been abandoned while she was far from home? Pathetic, but cute.


    "I''ve been trying to be one with the wall for a while now, but it''s difficult."


    Apparently, a couple years hadn''t improved hermunication skills any.


    That was actually a relief.


    "You''re seriously lucky Rill is here." Below Mia''s line of sight, Rill crossed her arms proudly. "Otherwise, you''d be so lonely. Be grateful."


    "Weren''t you looking for me? You seemed happy to see me." "Wha¡ª? How dare you talk to your senior like that!"


    "You may be older than me, but I''ve been a Tuner longer than you have." "Hey! Kimihiko! This girl is as insolent as theye!" For a second, I


    worried Rill''s head might actually start steaming. "She used to be so docile she couldn''t even answer back!"


    The two of them had been this ipatible since they''d first met. The one thing that had changed was that Mia now had no trouble talking back to Rill.


    However, being ipatible didn''t necessarily mean they didn''t get along. The fact that Reloaded had trusted Mia with her wheelchair, which was basically part of her, was the strongest proof of that there could be.


    "Did youe here by yourself, Rill?"


    "Yes. The higher-ups are heartless, aren''t they? They just sent Rill an invitation, then told her to get herself here," Rillined. Mia shrugged, agreeing with her. "In this era, though, Rill can go anywhere as long as she has this wheelchair. In that sense, she''s still free. Even if she does need a little help from other people."


    Back when I met her, Rill never would have said that.


    She''d changed. She''d fought many crises and found her own answer in the process.


    "That said, she''d heard that former Tuners could bring a servant, so she did consider bringing you...briefly." Rill looked up at me.


    I''d once worked as the Magical Girl''s servant.


    At the time, she''d needed me, and I''d needed her. "Wow, that''s a st from the past."


    "Yes... Now that Rill thinks about it, though, all she saw was the enemy." Reloaded began to talk about her past and our shared memories. Back then, the world still had enemies to be defeated and crises to ovee. "In those days, nothing scared her. Fear didn''t even exist for her. She took up her staff and fought giant monsters and mages, and she felt no pain."


    She''d been invincible, the Magical Girl said.


    She wasn''t exaggerating, either. How had Reloaded managed to be the brave, unrivaled Magical Girl? Because, back then, she¡ª No, now probably wasn''t the time to get into that.


    "Still, she really was a hero. Back then, Rill lived as a magical girl. Even now, she''s proud of that."


    "Yeah, me too."


    The days I''d spent as Reloaded''s partner had shaped me, the person known as Kimihiko Kimizuka. If, as they say, people always make the future pay for the past, then I''d at least like everything besides the cost to carry over to the future as well.


    "It''s hard to believe it''s already been a couple of years since then. Time flies." Comparing the past to the present again, Rill smiled.


    The crisis-riddled past and the tranquil present. "I''m d things are peaceful now."


    Watching the attendees enjoying the buffet party, Mia spoke quietly. "Still, it''s so peaceful that sometimes I wonder if it might not all be fake."


    I couldn''t find an appropriate response right away. "You saved the world, Mia."


    It hadn''t been just Mia and Rill. On that day, all the Tuners had¡ª


    "Yes, I know. I think I probably still can''t quite believe it. The fighting ended so suddenly, and I was freed from my mission. I''d assumed it wouldst forever," Mia said.


    Rill smiled; she seemed to have felt the same way.


    "Still, I''m sure what we need to do now hasn''t changed," Mia told us. By


    "we," she probably meant the people who protected the world.


    Olivia had mentioned this earlier. Although she''d been released from her mission as a Tuner, Mia was traveling the world, observing it with her own eyes, preparing for unseen crises.


    "My role may have ended, but my way of life hasn''t changed... I shouldn''t change it. It''s how Boss taught me to live." Mia seemed to be trying to remind herself.


    "Rill would like to say that''s true for her as well, but she''ll probably need to retire from being a hero." The former Magical Girl looked down at her legs, which no longer worked. "And so this time as well..." she murmured.


    She probably knew about the unknown crisis, but she wasn''t in any shape to be as reckless as she once was. That was the price she''d paid for staking her own pride and wish in the fight.


    "Well, sure. You''ve grown up," I told her.


    Rill tilted her head, puzzled. She hadn''t retired because of her injured legs. "Reloaded, you graduated from being a magical girl because you grew up."


    For a moment, Rill''s jewellike eyes wavered. And then... "Thank you." For the first time in ages, the master gave her familiar¡ªher pet¡ªa treat.


    Even I thought I had a talent for being a faithful dog. I smiled wryly. "What do you say? Want toe serve Rill again?"


    "Well, that''s a really tempting offer, but..."


    My attention had shifted to two figures beyond Mia and Rill. The girls noticed and both nced back, too.


    The two detectives were there, looking radiant in their sparkling gowns, dramatic makeup, and special hairstyles for the asion.


    "Boss!" Mia ran up to Siesta, who was wearing blue.


    "It''s been a long time. You really should dress up more often, Mia. It suits you."


    "...No, that''s you, Boss. You''re so cute." Mia was blushing faintly.


    "She''s acting totally different than she did with Rill." Rill was gazing at the two of them steadily.


    <i>Don''t let it get to you. Humans rte to each other in lots of different ways.</i>


    "It''s been ages, Rill," Nagisa said. She was dressed in red.


    Rill blinked several times, then smiled at her. "Well, if it isn''t Kimihiko''s ex- girlfriend."


    "~~~~~! He dumped you too, you know!" Are all the women I know spoiling for a fight?

 Chapter 149 - 3.2

    <h4>Chapter 149: Chapter 3.2</h4>


    <strong>Aplices in peace</strong>


    "Mia. Here."


    After that, while Siesta and Nagisa were chatting with Rill, I took a certain object from my bag.


    "...So you brought the origin text." Mia reached out with a hint of relief to take what I was holding.


    "Why did you give this to me?" Before I handed it to her, though, I had some questions.


    When Olivia had given me the origin text on the ne, she hadn''t said much about their reasons. Why had Mia entrusted it to me, when it was something ordinary people weren''t even allowed to touch?


    "If I said I''d seen it in a dream, would you be angry?" Mia looked up at me, forcing a smile. She wasn''t joking around, though, and she didn''t seem to be trying to dodge the question.


    "I can''t see the future or predict global crises now, but for some reason, I was sure I had to give that book to you. I woke up one morning and thought, ''If nothing else, I have to protect that future.''"


    Had it been a prophetic dream, or the Oracle''s sixth sense, or some inevitability based more in fact than either of those things? If Mia herself didn''t know, I couldn''t press the issue.


    However, I''d have to know the truth someday. This wasn''t a hunch; the thought was founded on a kind of certainty.


    "Mia, I''m sorry." I didn''t even know whether apologizing was the right thing to do.


    Mia looked puzzled, and I just handed her the book.


    "¡ªThis is..." The moment she took it, she gave me a startled look. She''d realized that it was a fake.


    I had to keep my eyes on her, at least. I waited for the Oracle''s verdict. "I see. So this is your answer, Kimihiko."


    Mia was the first to look away. She drew a deep breath, then hugged the false origin text to her chest and returned her gaze to me. "All right. If this is your choice, I''ll ept it."


    As Stephen had said, Mia had picked up on my plot, and chosen to ignore it.


    She wasn''t agreeing or disagreeing. She only seemed to be praying that this would be the correct future.


    "Have you mentioned anything to Boss?"


    "...No, not yet."


    I hadn''t intended to tell the detective about this wish, this secret, myself.


    "You should talk it over. Most trouble between a couple is due to insufficientmunication."


    "Since when are you a romance guru?" I retorted.


    Mia gave me a little smile. "Either way, I''ll respect your decision. Let''s make sure this ceremony seeds." She held out her hand for a handshake.


    As I reached for it, I realized that something was off.


    <i>Make sure this ceremony seeds. </i>Since the origin text was a fake, "sess" in the truest sense of the word wouldn''t be possible. Mia had to know that, so why...?


    "I''m like you. I prefer stories with happy endings." There was a hint of mncholy in Mia''s smile.


    "¡ªI see. You too."


    Did she know where the real origin text had gone?


    <i>Stephen already made contact with Mia... </i>Actually, he''d probably met with her before he''d seen me, and he''d tried to negotiate the transfer of the origin text at that time. Had Mia hesitated, then entrusted the origin text to me instead?


    The Oracle had weighed the options, too. wless justice that didn''t balk at waging war or making sacrifices, or peace based in apromise that allowed evil to exist: Which should the world choose?


    "Yeah, Mia. Let''s do this together." Mia and I shook hands.


    Why hadn''t I talked this over with the Ace Detectives? Because for all of us, it was something that went without saying.


    In this moment, we were aplices.


    Soon after that, Olivia came to pick up Mia, and the two of them and Rill went off to see another group of acquaintances. The former Tuner who''d traveled the world might not be a goodmunicator, but she seemed to know a lot of people anyway.


    Then Nagisa, Siesta, and I were the only ones there.


    When one of us seemed about to make eye contact with another, both would look away. We all knew we''d argued and failed to findmon ground; that was why the mood was so awkward. We also understood that this fight had been on a different level from our usual arguments.


    "Haaah. There''s just no helping us, is there? Geez." Nagisa cracked first.


    Sighing, she turned to me. "Kimihiko, what are you going to do about you- know-what?" Just in case, she lowered her voice, very conscious of the people around us.


    "You-know-what" was a maneuver the three of us had been setting up in secret ever since we''d arrived in France. After hesitating, I told her, "Let''s cancel it."


    Nagisa''s eyes widened a little. "If I asked you why, could you tell me here?" "...I don''t think so. I have an idea, though."


    She pressed her lips together, watching me steadily. It was as if she suspected I was trying to cover something up... No, I think she was worried by that possibility.


    "All right. That''s fine." Surprisingly, Siesta was next to speak. "Remember what I said at the hotel yesterday afternoon? We''re letting Kimi give the orders this time."


    "I thought the fightst night had reset all of that."


    "I''m not a child, you know. I don''t let my emotions control me. Are you stupid, Kimi?" Siesta pouted.


    "Huh? Am I remembering yesterday wrong? When we got back to the hotel from the bar, all the way until we went to bed, you kept fixating on the fact that you''d fought with Kimihiko and getting mad, then depressed, like a little kid."


    "Nagisa, that wasn''t necessary." Siesta gave Nagisa a long, even look, then turned back to me. "Let''s assume this conversation has evaporated from your memories, Assistant."


    "Yeah, it''s gone. I don''t remember a thing, so don''t worry," I joked. Siesta smiled. "I want to see the answer you''ve found for this story."


    She held out her left hand to me. Was this a "Let''s make up" handshake? If so, that really was way too childish. Ignoring her hand, I gave her a wry smile instead.


    "The ball''s about to start," Nagisa said, looking around. The tables had been cleared of their drinks and refreshments, and couples were standing here and there in the open space, chatting.


    "And? Which of us will you dance with, Kimihiko?" Nagisa asked, pressing me to choose.


    Would I dance with Siesta, or with Nagisa?


    "It''s not like I can''t dance with both of you, is it?" "But it matters whose hand you''ll take first."


    Geez, this was a tough one. As I was stressing out over the world''s hardest


    question...


    "Sorry. I have a previous engagement," Siesta said. She turned away, gown ring. As she did, she nced at me, and the corners of her lips rose very slightly. Maybe this was payback forst night.


    "She really is a kid." I shrugged, turning my back on Siesta. "...Oh, she''s dancing with Mia, huh?"


    "Lame. Don''t immediately check to see who she''s dancing with." Nagisa retorted, dragging my eyes back to her. "Were you worried her partner might be another guy?"


    "Not even possible. I''m not in middle school. I''m not even in high school anymore."


    "Hmm. Well, as long as you understand that."


    Yeah, we were all adults. When I looked at Nagisa, dressed to the nines, there was no way I could think otherwise.


    Then the music started, and the ball began.


    Nagisa and I gazed at each other. I gently took her hand. "We''re the only ones left. Want to dance?"


    "Hmm. By process of elimination?"


    "...Sorry; that was the wrong approach. May I have this dance, Nagisa?"


    Nagisa smiled, then leaned in toward me. "The other way''s fine, too." She was wearing heels, so her face was right in front of mine. Her beautiful red eyes watched me steadily. "As long as you''ll look at me. Even if it''s only for now, or when you''re not sure what to do."


    <strong>The result of searching for the credits</strong>


    After the ball ended, just before seven, we all relocated to the venue for the Ritual of Sacred Return.


    It was arge, oval hall with a retractable roof, built to amodate several thousand people. That and the screen at the front made it look like a concert venue.


    "Your seats are this way."


    The hall was about a third full.


    Noel led Nagisa, Siesta, and I to our seats in a row near the back.


    "I hope you enjoyed the ball." Noel took a seat beside me. From this point on, she''d just be attending the ceremony like the rest of us.


    "How does it look? Has anything weird happened?"


    "No, not particrly. Security is being kept very tight as well."


    "I see," I said, nodding. Everything was going smoothly so far. However, if something was going to happen...


    "The rest depends on the Ritual of Sacred Return, then," Siesta said, gazing at the stage at the front of the hall. There was arge, white pir on the stage, with firewood piled in front of it as if they were nning to have a bonfire. Was that going to be used in the ritual? It was almost like an altar.


    "It should begin in about five minutes," Noel told us, checking the time.


    When I looked out over the hall, I spotted Bruno sitting in a seat toward the front on the right, near a door. Troops under the directmand of the Federation Government¡ªa force known as the White Suits¡ªwere stationed around him. Although they weren''t Tuners, they were an elite group that had helped to resolve conflicts and incidents all over the world. They''d been stationed here to protect Bruno.


    <i>The world''s wisdom is about to perish. </i>We still didn''t know who had sent that letter. Either way, the unknown crisis wouldn''t happen here. I''d shut it down by making that contract yesterday.


    "Is that Mia sitting over there?" Nagisa pointed at a seat in the front, a special bench that stood out from the rest.


    I couldn''t see clearly from this angle, but I did make out something like the Oracle''s costume sticking out past the edge of the seat. There was a figure standing nearby; from its height, I assumed it was Olivia.


    "Yes. The Oracle has a special part to y in the ritual."


    "Oh, that''s right... Aside from us, though, there are hardly any Tuners here."


    As Nagisa said, the only other Tuner I saw was Rill, over in a reserved wheelchair space. Naturally, Fuubi Kase, the former Assassin, wasn''t here.


    "True. The Men in ck are guarding the venue and its perimeter, but no other former Tuners are in attendance."


    The Men in ck were arge organization, and they''d once worked as handymen for the other Tuners. They always wore dark suits and sunsses; even now, we didn''t know any of their real faces. However, the idea that they were protecting this ce made me feel a little safer.


    "Stephen really isn''t here, is he? There was something I wanted to talk to him about..." Siesta said.


    I actually knew where Stephen and quite a few other former Tuners had gone.


    I couldn''t say so here, though.


    After a couple more minutes, we heard the low sound of a bell.


    "It''s starting."


    Noel faced forward. That bell had signaled the beginning of the Ritual of Sacred Return. Over our heads, the roof opened to reveal a starry sky. Then, a dozen masked, costumed individuals filed in through two doors near the front of the hall.


    "Those are government dignitaries."


    It was impossible to tell their ages or genders. They seated themselves in a row at the very front, beside Mia.


    Technically, Noel''s title qualified her to be up there, too. However, she''d told us that she''d acquired her position suddenly through hereditary session, and due to herck of experience, she was only ever assigned servant-type work.


    Several of the officials rose to their feet. One blew an instrument that looked like a conch shell, while two others walked to the stage and lit the stack of firewood. In front of the pir, pale mes began to climb into the night sky.


    For a little while, the hall was silent. Then someone I knew very well stood up: Mia Whitlock, the girl in the Oracle''s costume. She and her servant Olivia ascended the stairs together, and she began feeding the sacred texts she was handed into the mes.


    "After this ritual, Mia will havepletely lost her abilities as the Oracle, correct?" said Nagisa. "...Will that really be enough to end all disasters? She''ll burn the origin text, returning her power. What if she does all that, and then there''s another global crisis? I''m not sure that doing this guarantees we''ll be all right."


    As she spoke, the mes crawled across several more volumes of the sacred text.


    "Yeah, the Ritual of Sacred Return has been performed several times throughout history, and the results have been self-evident," I answered for Noel. "Not that peace will be permanent," I added.


    Nagisa''s eyes widened.


    "...So you noticed, Mr. Kimihiko." Noel gave a small nod. She seemed vaguely resigned.


    Yesterday in the car, Noel had said that the effects of the Ritual of Safe Return were guaranteed by several millennia of records. If the ritual had been held in the past, the world should have been peaceful already, but we''d instead run into all those global crises.


    It was likely that this was a cycle, something that had been repeated for the past several thousand years. Why did they still need to hold this ritual? Why


    didn''t they learn? And if all of this was true, why had Noel been able to dere that our peace and safety would be guaranteed? It was because¡ª


    "There''s a limit to the peace the ritual brings, isn''t there?" I asked.


    "Two hundred years," Noel said, gazing at the distant white smoke. "After a Ritual of Sacred Return is held, there will be no global crises for at least two centuries."


    Two centuries. At the very least, the next disaster wouldn''t happen for another two hundred years.


    Essentially, <i>the safety of people living in this particr era was guaranteed</i>. "It may be a fleeting peace in the grand scheme of the world, but it is asting


    peace for humans."


    Another disaster was bound to ur someday, but not before the end of our natural lives. Had the world done this over and over for thousands of years?


    In that case...


    "That was the right choice."


    It didn''t matter whether we burned the real origin text or the false one. The world wouldn''t gainsting peace either way. My choice¡ªthe choice Stephen''s group had made¡ªcould prevent the unknown crisis now. It had been the right call.


    "There they go," Siesta murmured, watching the ritual.


    All the crises that had assailed the world were being consigned to the sacred mes, sublimated into smoke that rose high into the sky.


    In the meantime, one of the Federation Government officials rose from their seat and read from a scroll. It was a poem praising those who''d fought to protect the world, one that showed a determination to defend theing peace.


    It wasn''t that the words themselves had any value. The poem was in a foreignnguage, so I didn''t even understand all of it, but I closed my eyes and listened. It made me think of the past.


    We''d spent those days running desperately; we''d lost so much, but we''d kept reaching out for the wishes we''d wanted toe true. And we''d won. We''d reached our happy ending. All the fighting was over, and these days, no one cried.


    <i>"¡ªAre you sure?"</i>


    I thought I heard a voice.


    Who had whispered those words to me recently? "Kimihiko?" Nagisa was watching me worriedly.


    "It''s nothing," I said, shaking my head, and just then¡ª


    <i>Bang! </i>A gunshot echoed through the hall.


    Bright red blood spattered the white pir of the altar. "Madame Mia!"


    A frantic scream rang out¡ªit was Olivia.


    Up on the stage, she rushed toward the young Oracle, who crumpled into her arms.


    Justice had been defiled by an assassin''s bullet. "Enemy attack!"


    There was no telling who had been the first to scream those words. A secondter, confusion erupted in the hall. The one thing anyone knew for sure was that the Oracle had been shot.


    "...Mia."


    Up on the distant altar, Miay limp in Olivia''s embrace. Her shoulder was bleeding. In my mind''s eye, I saw the smile she''d given me before the ceremony when she''d told me she liked happy endings, too.


    "What''s going on?"


    Something was wrong. Why was this happening?


    My mind had gone into overdrive, but it wasn''t giving me any answers. The only words I could find were aint, one so stupid I would rather have died than said it aloud: <i>It wasn''t supposed to be like this.</i>


    "It can''t... That''s ridiculous..."


    No¡ªthe future I''d wished for hadn''t ended like this. The crises should have been gone.


    Who was it? Who had sold us out?


    Was it Stephen? That thing in the crow mask? Or had it been¡ª "Siesta, wait!" Nagisaunched herself into a run.


    Someone had started moving even before she did.


    As Nagisa reached out for her, the white-haired detective had taken off like a shot. Grabbing her musket from under the seats, she rushed toward Mia like a gust of wind.


    But Siesta hadn''t noticed that she was being targeted as well. "¡ªSiesta, watch out! Second-floor seats, opposite side!"


    The thing in the crow mask was up there, leveling a ck rifle. Siesta heard me through her earpiece, but by the time she saw the enemy and gasped, the shot had already been fired.


    A bullet moving faster than the speed of sound was headed straight for her.


    There was no time to dodge. In other words¡ª


    "Siesta...!"


    A spray of blood bloomed like a flower. Siesta staggered, then fell over without even trying to catch herself.


    "...!"


    The next thing I knew, I was in motion. I''d started running before I could put my feelings into words like <i>It''s toote. Even if I get there, there''s no point. </i>I was swimming upstream through the crowd, bumping into people. Everyone was screaming something, but weirdly, I couldn''t hear their voices.


    It was like the sound had cut out.


    I couldn''t see anything in color. Then, just as I hit the bottom of the stairs, my sense of bnce deserted me, and I copsed to the floor. I stretched out my hand, trying to reach Siesta''s distant, motionless shape.


    "Sie...sta..."


    I knew. I recognized this scene.


    That''s right. On that day, just like this, the detective had¡ª "Again...?"


    This ending was wrong. I''d been obsessed in my pursuit of a future where things didn''t turn out like this. Even so, it was my fault this had happened. I''d gotten something wrong. In that case, I¡ª


    " !"


    Just then, I saw someone run to Siesta, screaming.


    It was Nagisa. The other detective sprinted, driven by her passion. I watched her back until she reached Siesta, then cked out.

 Chapter 150: A certain young man’s choice

    <h4>Chapter 150: A certain young man¡¯s choice</h4>


    What had I gotten wrong?


    I didn''t even really have to ask. I already knew. However, I was reluctant to say it aloud, so I walked down the dark street in silence, all by myself.


    "A street at night?"


    Where was I? Where was I trying to go?


    I had to get back. I had to go to Siesta. What was I doing here¡ª? "You already know that, too, don''t you?" someone whispered.


    I looked down the street and saw a ck shadow stretching from beneath a streetlight.


    The person casting that shadow was the one who''d spoken. His name was... "¡ªScarlet."


    His yellow eyes glowed ominously in the dark. A pale devil who drank human blood¡ªa vampire. I hadn''t thought I''d ever see him again.


    "What''s this¡ªanother dream?"


    It wasn''t just any dream, either. It was a nightmare that would leave me feeling like shit when I woke up.


    "You''re that unhappy to see me, human?" Scarlet said, addressing me by the same carelessbel he''d always used.


    "If I told you I was d to see you, what would you do?"


    "I would determine that some scoundrel had assumed your identity and would immediately rip out his throat."


    "I''m d you didn''t get any weird ideas, then. Let''s keep this peaceful."


    For several seconds, Scarlet and I stayed silent, letting our eyes do the talking.


    We didn''t need words to discuss this reunion of ours. "And? Do you know where we are, Scarlet?"


    We were in a dark world, with one street reaching into the distance. Scarlet was leaning against a streemp, the only source of light. "I couldn''t say. However, even if I don''t know, you should."


    "Is that a Zen koan?"


    "That would do as well. Now, answer my question, human," Scarlet said. "Where did you go wrong? What mistake has left you stagnating here?"


    Oh, so that was what this was. He was going to keep mepany while I asked myself dumb questions. Had that been why Scarlet was waiting here? In that case...


    "I guess the world we live in won''t stand for anything that''s been done by half measures." I was talking as much to myself as to Scarlet. "It wouldn''t allow fleeting peace or counterfeit justice. It forced me to confront reality again. It won''t free the Tuners from their mission so easily. It won''t let them run from a fight."


    That was why I''d failed. I''d tried to get the Ace Detectives out of that brutal world, and some invisible demon''s hand had grabbed us by the ankles. We were left powerless. We''d never had a choice.


    "Having an enemy you must fight is a truly pleasant thing, isn''t it?" Scarlet looked up into the pitch-ck sky. "The more formidable that foe, the better. An evil so great that you can im your wishes will nevere true so long as it exists. If, as you say, the world itself is your enemy, nothing could be better."


    "...It''s the other way around. It''s not better if the wall between us and our wishes isrger."


    It sounded like he was saying that if I was going to climb a wall anyway, higher was better¡ªbut that couldn''t have been right.


    "No, I''m talking about humanity''s bad habit." Scarlet''s tone grew harsher. "When humans cause a problem, you always dream up some outside enemy and try to find the cause in them. Then you say, ''They''re to me. That enemy is the reason we''re suffering.'' Fighting a great foe really is the easiest option," Scarlet said. "People are intoxicated by the concept of themselves locked inbat with a mighty evil. Even if they yield to that evil, theyfort each other with loud derations that they fought well. If your wish doesn''te true because the world itself is your enemy, then you can be satisfied that another oue wasn''t possible."


    "Are you trying to say I''m actually satisfied with this? That I''ve epted it?


    A reality where Mia and Siesta get gunned down?"


    "No. You are not, and that is why you are here. Isn''t it?" Scarlet began to walk


    in a circle around me, his shoes clicking on the pavement. "While most humans are satisfied with their powerful enemies and meet with defeat, you are trying to deny that reality. You''vee here to redo a certain choice."


    ...He was right. I wanted to try again. I wanted to go back to before that tragedy urred and choose a different future, but that would mean...


    "Does that mean I have to reject a world where the Tuners live in peace?"


    If the events of that ceremony had happened because I''d wished for a world where they could be free of their missions, then changing that fate meant cing their heavy mission as Tuners on their shoulders again. Either way, Siesta and the rest would...


    "Kimihiko Kimizuka, you must have realized how fragile a fleeting peace is." Yeah, I had. Wishing for it was what had gotten us that terrible ending.


    "I just wanted Siesta and Nagisa to live in peace. That was the only wish I had.


    And so¡ª"


    "I do not believe that you are lying. However," Scarlet whispered in my ear, "remove your armor. No doubt there''s another emotion hidden inside it."


    I was taken aback.


    Scarletughed a little. "Do you think it''s odd for me to express my opinions on human emotions?"


    No, I didn''t.


    After all, I knew who had made him able to say those things.


    "Come, it''s time you woke from your nightmare." Scarlet thumped me lightly on the shoulder. "You know what you must do, correct?"


    "...Yeah. I do now."


    I was holding a certain book in my hand. <i>Just as I had that other time, I''d use the power hidden in this volume. </i>This time and ce had been here to make me remember that.


    "Scarlet." He''d already turned his back on me, but I called to him onest time. "I''ll believe in the world I managed to protect from you just a little longer."


    Scarletughed. "You have quite a mouth these days... Still, if you ever get truly disgusted with this world,e to hell anytime. And bring my bride with you."


    With that, the vampire melted into the darkness.


    "Sorry, but that day''s never gonnae," I murmured. My hands tightened on the origin text, and I set off again.


    ...Toward the future? No, not that way.


    The road I was walking led to the past. "I''m going to do it over, one more time."


    I''d start on the night I''d made that choice.


    And I''d make sure we ended up on the correct route this time.

 Chapter 151 - 4.1

    <h4>Chapter 151: Chapter 4.1</h4>


    <strong>The light of passion</strong>


    The first time I''d encountered the origin text''s special power had been yesterday, when Olivia had handed it to me on the ne.


    When I took it, <i>I''d been able to see the future</i>.


    It had felt like a really vivid dream, or an extremely specific sixth sense. Things that were probably going to happen had raced through my brain like a jolt of electricity.


    In that dream, I''d refused to take the origin text, believing someone like me shouldn''t ept it casually.


    Olivia had been perplexed, but she''d kept the book and returned to her normal duties... But then our ne hadn''t made it to France. Olivia had been attacked and wounded by somebody onboard, and we''d made an emergencynding at a nearby airport.


    And¡ªsomeone had stolen the origin text. "I was wrong."


    Not epting the origin text had been a mistake. I regretted it fiercely, and the next thing I knew, I was back on the ne. Olivia was standing in front of me, and once again, the origin text was firmly in my hands.


    At first, I hadn''t understood what had happened. I''d asked Olivia if she was all right, then checked the time with Nagisa, only to find out that no time had passed at all.


    <i>I''ve returned to the past</i>, I thought.


    When I thought it overter on, though, I realized I hadn''t time traveled¡ªI''d just seen the future.


    In other words, <i>when the origin text''s bearer wasn''t sure what to do about a major decision, it would show them the futures that would result from their various choices</i>. Since it was simr to the Oracle''s irvoyance, I deduced that I''d basically been borrowing Mia''s power.


    I immediately thought, <i>I shouldn''t tell anybody about this yet</i>. If it was information I should share with Siesta and Nagisa, Mia would have told me so to begin with, and she hadn''t. She hadn''t even told Olivia. She probably thought I


    should be the only one to know about this power. Therefore, since Mia was the text''s rightful owner, I respected her wishes.


    I had one other concern, though: It was possible that even Mia wasn''t aware of the origin text''s true power. If so, I wasn''t even sure I should ask her about it. As a result, I''d decided to take a little more time to observe the book closely.


    I''d walked around with it for a while, but nothing odd had happened. I''d experimented by hesitating over a minor choice, trying to see any futures rted to it, but the origin text''s power hadn''t activated. Either it would only show futures rted to major turning points, or I wouldn''t necessarily be able to use it whenever I wanted.


    The next time the origin text had shown me the future had beenst night, after I''d argued with Siesta and talked with Bruno. The turning point had been whether I would meet with Stephen or Nagisa. I''d chosen the former and let go of the origin text. I''d tried to protect the detectives'' ordinary lives by choosing a transient peace. I don''t have to tell you how that went.


    ¡ªAnd so...


    <i>"I''ll do it over."</i>


    On that dark road where I''d met Scarlet, in a gap in space-time, I made my decision. However, strictly speaking, I was returning from the future to the present. I''d cancel the potential future where Mia and Siesta were sniped by an assassin and choose another one.


    Right at my feet, the path forked in two. On one route, I met Stephen and gave the origin text to the messenger from Another Eden, but I''d already seen where that would end up. As a result, I now chose the route where I went to meet Nagisa instead. Besides, in that first future, Nagisa had told me something:


    <i>When you''re not sure what to do, look at me.</i>


    I''d put my trust in those words now. Nagisa had run to the fallen Siesta at the end of that future. This time, I''d chase after her.


    "I''ll start over from here."


    I started down the second route. Soon, light enveloped me, and the next thing I knew, I''d returned to the previous night.


    That means the story starting now happened right after I''d parted ways with Bruno at the pub.


    This is the world where I didn''t answer that call from Stephen, and chose to meet Nagisa instead.


    "...Sorry to keep you waiting. Brrrr, it''s cold."


    It was a starry winter night, and we were in a park with a view of the illuminated Eiffel Tower.


    Huddled up in her coat, Nagisa arrived at our meeting spot. I was waiting for her with my cor turned up against the cold.


    I told her I''d met Bruno and summarized what we''d talked about. From my perspective, this was the second time I''d done this, but that was inevitable. When she heard I hadn''t managed to persuade Bruno not to attend the ceremony, Nagisa sighed. "I see... Still, we could have talked about this at the hotel. It didn''t have to be here."


    "If I went back to the room now, Siesta would just be griping about me." "Huh? How did you know? ¡ªWait, ignore that, she''s not doing anything of


    the sort."


    Her eyes were darting around way too much. She''d been the one to tell me about that in the first ce.


    "Sure, she was a little angry, but I think she was more bewildered than anything." With a little smile, Nagisa told me what Siesta had been like right after we''d fought. "''Why won''t my assistant understand?'' she said. ''I''m only doing my job as the Ace Detective.''"


    "...True. She''s probably in the right, here. I''m wrong."


    "Wow, that''s unusual. Want to hurry back and apologize, then? I think she''ll forgive you pretty easily."


    "I can''t do that." Nagisa looked perplexed, so I exined. "I want her to get it wrong, too."


    Siesta''s sense of justice was too correct. She wouldn''t hesitate to keep fighting to protect the world and the people around her, no matter the personal cost. She''d tried to go to sleep forever once¡ªtwice¡ªto that end. Now that the disasters had finally ended, the chain of tragedies had halted, and the world was at peace, I wanted her to throw that approach away.


    "She was bing more and more like who she used to be, wasn''t she?"


    So Nagisa had noticed, too? My sigh came out misty white as I gazed at the distant tower.


    Two weeks ago, when the Federation Government had summoned us, and Noel had requested that she be a Tuner temporarily, Siesta had begun to revert to her old self.


    Once she''d learned about the unknown crisis, she''d agreed to be a proxy Ace Detective. After that, she''d met Ms. Fuubi, remembered events from when she was a Tuner, and encountered someone who resembled an enemy she''d once


    fought. Picking up her musket again had reminded her of the sensations of being on the battlefield, and she''d asked Charlotte to do maintenance on the weapon for her.


    The danger to Bruno had given Siesta an even greater sense of responsibility as the Ace Detective, and our encounter with Another Eden on the cruise ship had made her mission more real than ever... I couldn''t help but worry about that. The Ace Detective''s justice was too wless.


    "What about you? Did it make you remember old times, too, Nagisa?" Naturally, Siesta wasn''t the only one I was worried about.


    Nagisa Natsunagi, the other detective, had also sacrificed herself to save Siesta once. She''d tried to return her heart to its former owner, to revert the world to what it should have been. She''d said it was because she was only a proxy detective.


    "I never forgot."


    "...You mean you haven''t changed at all since then?" The proxy detective who''d sacrificed herself.


    "Yes. But listen, I haven''t forgotten how kind you were to me that time, either." Nagisa''s ruby eyes were zing brightly. "You got angry, and you cried. I believed I was doing the right thing, and you said I wasn''t. All of that makes me who I am now. That''s why I''ve never forgotten. I was right <i>and </i>wrong, both at once. I''m sure it''s the same for Siesta," she said.


    So my feelings had reached her? Did Siesta remember, too? That was why, like me, she wasn''t sure what to do.


    "You know, Kimihiko, you always did like the detective way too much. You still do." Smiling, Nagisa stepped in closer. For some reason, she put the muffler she''d been wearing around my neck. Then she tied it up and gave it a tug. "Take that!"


    "Hey, that hurts."


    "Our positions have been flipped pretty much all the timetely, so I thought I''d remind you who''s boss once in a while."


    "Yeah. Three years ago, just for that one moment, you were a total sadist."


    "J-just for that moment? Oh,e on... You make it sound like I''ve been a masochist the rest of the time."


    Nagisa looked unhappy with that, but it was way toote to correct the trajectory of her character now.


    "Say, Kimihiko?" Her tone turned a little serious again. "What did I look like before?"


    For a moment, I didn''t understand what she was asking.


    In another moment, I realized she meant the old stories I''d brought up earlier. "Your memories are precious to you, Kimihiko. How did Siesta and I smile in


    those memories? How did we look when we were angry, or when we cried? How did we shine?"


    Of course. The detectives hadn''t smiled all the time.


    Our journeys hadn''t been all fun and games. We''d gotten into plenty of dangerous scrapes, and we''d made it through life-or-death situations many times.


    And on the other side, the detectives'' faces had been flooded with fierce emotion; they''d looked...


    "Kimizuka." Natsunagi called me by the name she''d addressed me by back then. "Which versions of us did you like?"


    I''d... Back then, I''d¡ª


    "No, that''s not it." Nagisa put her index finger to my lips before I could speak. "Now isn''t the time or the ce. I''m not the one you should be saying that to, either."


    "...Yeah, you''re right. I''ll hang on to it for now." Nagisa smiled and gave a little nod.


    "Well, should we head back?"


    A look at the clock told me it was almost eleven. <i>Tomorrow''s a big day; we should probably hit the sack as early as possible</i>, I thought, turning around. Out of nowhere, someone caught my hand.


    Needless to say, it was Nagisa.


    "I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have talked like I knew everything." Her forehead thunked lightly against my back.


    "What are you talking about? You gave me plenty of strength," I told her. For as long as I''d known her, Nagisa had always said the words I wanted to hear. It was something she could do because she never let the fires of her passion die.


    "No. I was speaking as the detective earlier. I''m going to say what I really think now." She kept her forehead pressed against my back. "I''m sorry for always making you do the worst parts. I''m sorry for shoving the decisions onto you. Thank you for trying to give us peace."


    Her voice was slightly choked up.


    "There were things that scared me, really. Fighting with my life on the line, long ago. The Great Cataclysm. We''re on the cusp of getting involved in all this again now. And you''re trying to save me, so..."


    "...Stop it."


    I was in no position to have Nagisa thank me. How many times had her words saved me, spurred me to act, made me look forward? Wishing she and Siesta could live peaceful, ordinary lives wasn''t my repaying a favor. As a matter of fact, it was just my own ego. That meant Nagisa didn''t owe me any gratitude.


    "No, that won''t do. At least one person has to acknowledge you out loud, Kimihiko. I bet Siesta''s clumsy, so I''ll say it. Thank you. Thank you for being our assistant, and our greatest partner."


    Nagisa''s voice, and her forehead, grew warmer.


    Right now, those tears were what concerned me more than anything. "Yeesh. I promised I wouldn''t make you cry."


    Hel would yell at me in my next dream. Turning around, I unwrapped the muffler and rewound it around its owner''s neck. "I don''t need apologies or thanks. I want you and Siesta to live in peace because...I like you two way too much, that''s all. So don''t worry about it."


    I was aware I was saying one of "those" lines, but I told her anyway. That proved I''d grown up a bit.


    Nagisa looked at me, startled. Her mouth hung open slightly. Her fingers dug into the muffler a bit as she averted her flushed face and found something to criticize.


    "That was lousy." Apparently I needed more practice at putting mufflers on girls.


    Then, something bright caught my attention at the corner of my vision. "Hm. That''s pretty." The Eiffel Tower was lit up differently now. Come to think of it, I''d heard it shed like this every hour after sunset for just five minutes.


    "Well, Nagisa? Since you got to see this view, will you overlook the fact that I made youe out in the cold to meet me?" I joked, but just as I was about to turn back to her, something hot and soft touched my left cheek.


    Nagisa had kissed me.


    "...That''s appreciation for all your hard work, all right?" As her lips left my cheek, a hot sigh escaped them.


    "A gesture of gratitude from a detective to her assistant, who always does his best. That''s all it is. And so..." Nagisa covered her mouth with her muffler. "If you get the wrong idea, I''ll half-kill you."


    Compared to her usual counterstrikes, that one was pretty weak.

 Chapter 152 - 4.2

    <h4>Chapter 152: Chapter 4.2</h4>


    <strong>Because it was a fleeting dream</strong>


    When I woke up at the hotel the next morning, I was the only one in the room. I knew why the other two beds were empty, though, so I didn''t worry about it.


    After I''d talked with Nagisast night, the two of us had gone back to the hotel where we were staying. As a result, my covert meeting with Stephen and his group hadn''t happened.


    Even so, everything else was proceeding as it had before. Before long, Noel came to pick me up, and we headed for the pce where the ceremony would be held.


    Once again, I ran into Mia and Rill there, and we had the same lively conversation we''d had in the other future. It would have been great if I''d been able to say something more tactful to Rill, but I''d save that for our next meeting. I''d probably be seeing her again.


    The main thing after that was to return the origin text to Mia. Unlike in the other future, I hadn''t given it to the thing in the crow mask.


    I gave her the real origin text this time.


    While Siesta and Nagisa chatted with Rill, I had my conversation with Mia.


    "I see. So this is your answer, Kimihiko," Mia said. It was exactly what she''d said the other time. However, I was sure those words meant something different now.


    "Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked me, hugging the origin text to her chest. The fact that it had returned to her was proof positive that the deal with Another Eden had fallen through. It was true that she''d left the decision in my hands, but her heart had to have been leaning in one direction or the other.


    "wless justice and a transient peace," I murmured. Mia''s shoulders jumped slightly. "I don''t know which is the right choice, and which is the mistake. It''s not for me to know."


    I doubted I was qualified to decide a thing like that. Besides, even if an answer did turn up someday, that time would not be now.


    "The question should keep until this ceremony''s over, at least." Until then, I''d keep fighting for just a little longer.


    "...All right. I''ll help."


    We shook hands for the second time. This handshake meant something a bit different from our first, but I don''t think we could have gotten here without the other one.


    "Oh, right. Mia, I''ve got one other thing to tell you..."


    A little while after that, Mia and Rill left, and then Siesta, Nagisa, and I were on our own. It was the same situation that had happened in the other future. Once again, the atmosphere was awkward beyond words...but not everything was the same as before.


    "Siesta, please dance with me at the ball," I said, forestalling her right off the bat. We were still fighting. We hadn''t exchanged two words sincest night.


    Siesta looked dubious. "Why me? Besides, I promised Mia I''d dance with¡ª" "I had Mia bow out. Unfortunately, I''m the only partner you''ve got."


    "What''s with the weird advance arrangements? Actually¡ªNagisa, you''re


    okay with this?"


    "Oh, it''s fine. Kimihiko and I had fun in a parkst night."


    "Huh? Are you trying to one-up me? What were you people doing while I was asleep?" Siesta stared at Nagisa incredulously.


    However, Nagisa just gave a little smile, waved, and left. As she passed me, she whispered, "The rest is up to you."


    The music began. I held out a hand to Siesta, who was just standing there woodenly. Sighing, she took it.


    "Okay. Let''s go."


    sping Siesta''s hand, I put my other hand on her waist.


    It was the inverse of our usual situation. I wasn''t ordinarily the one who took her hand. After all, Siesta was always catching mine and pulling me along before I knew it.


    "Can you dance, Kimi?" "Do I look like I can?" "No, not at all."


    <i>Don''t say that with a straight face. </i>Letting the music carry me, I muddled through a few steps by mimicking other people. "...Actually, Siesta, you lead."


    The graceful dancing of everyone around us was making me wish I could disappear.


    "Haaah. If I must," Siesta sighed. Pulling my hand, she drew me in close. I was pressed against her curves, and I could feel her body heat. With her in the lead, I managed to find the natural movements for my feet.


    It wasn''t as if we''d swapped gender roles. To bystanders, it probably even looked as though I was leading her. Siesta and I twirled like a carousel through the waltz¡ªand then, out of nowhere, I felt eyes on me.


    "We''re being watched." Siesta gave an alluring smile. That low-cut gown, her elegant hairstyle, her formal makeup. She''d grown up, and just for the moment, I forgot everything else and danced with her.


    "Are you embarrassed to have all these people focused on you?" Not even possible.


    I was proud. Right now, she was the center of the world. "I''m sorry," I said, looking her in the eye.


    "What are you apologizing for?" Siesta averted her eyes slightly.


    "I''ve been remembering the past. Thinking about how we might have gotten our wires crossed like that." I didn''t answer her question right away. Instead, I looked for the words that would get me there. For detectives and their assistants,


    theories needed toe before conclusions.


    "Ever since we left on that first journey, we''ve fought quite a bit over quite a few things."


    "You''re reminiscing about our travels, and you start by remembering the fights?"


    Well, I didn''t feel great about that, either, but they were what came to mind first.


    "Still, you''re right. You always did things that made me mad. A simple week of sleeping outdoors left you grumpy, and when I suggested going to buy new weapons, you didn''t look like you were having fun. When I slept soundly until noon, you''d wake me up."


    "Those were brand-new hurdles for me, and you set them way too high." And thatst one waspletely not my fault. "The extraordinary stuff you brought into my life kept almost killing me."


    "Yes, and I protected you so that it wouldn''t happen. Over and over." "Yeah... And every time you did, you put yourself in danger."


    Siesta looked away again.


    Even as we danced, we remembered those relentless days.


    "Come to think of it, you got mad at me, too, Kimi. You said I''d damn well better look after you until the very, very, very end. You said that meant I couldn''t go off and die without telling you." With a self-mocking smile, Siesta looked up at me again. "Did you hate that side of me?"


    "Yeah, I did."


    That was why, when the seed had begun to eat away at her heart and she''d tried to disappear, we''d fought with each other again. I''d wanted her to be more selfish. More than the world, more than the rest of us, I''d wanted her to value herself.


    "I thought I''d gotten through to you that day, since you said you wanted to drink tea with me again."


    Since she''d said she wanted to live. "And so yesterday, you..."


    "Yeah. I believed this peaceful, ordinary year was what you wanted." Not just Siesta. Nagisa too.


    Now that the fighting was over and their missions had been carried out, I''d thought the detectives had finally gotten their happy ending. They''d given me so much. Maybe it was arrogant of me, but I hoped I''d managed to repay them.


    "I had the wrong idea, though."


    "...Assistant, that''s¡ª"


    "No, listen. I''m not disparaging myself." I just wanted to acknowledge my own mistake. It was something I''d realized after Nagisa had asked me that questionst night.


    <i>"Which versions of us did you like?"</i>


    It was time to answer that question.


    "A minute ago, I said I hated the part of you that doesn''t hesitate to sacrifice herself. But..."


    I didn''t know if I should say this next bit. Everything I''d done had been an attempt to deny this. Holding on to this wish was what had let me move forward and shown me the future. If I said this, I risked overturning all of that. It could put the life I wanted even further out of reach. Even so¡ª


    "I thought that ephemeral detective was beautiful, too."


    The detective who hadn''t hesitated to scatter herself like cherry blossoms, who''d swept away the darkness with a brief sh of light, who''d shone brighter than anyone. I''d loved that radiant detective.


    "So this is my apology." This had to be the first time I''d ever genuinely given one to Siesta. "I didn''t want to let you die, and I almost sullied the pride of the Ace Detective for the sake of my ego. I''m sorry. Forgive me."


    The music was still ying. I drew Siesta closer.


    "Did I look cool?" she asked, just a little uneasily. Her face was there in my arms, near my heart.


    "Yeah. You were beautiful and cool and dazzling. I think I took your hand that day because the invitation wasing from someone like that."


    We''d met in the sky at ten thousand meters. She''d barged into my house and my school, and she''d shown me the solutions to my problems. Then, as she was about to leave on her journey around the world, she''d held out a hand to me, and I''d taken it. I''d had the feeling that going with her would drastically change my life.


    "Is that why you said to stay with you as long as you lived, back then?"


    Smiling slightly, Siesta dredged up something from seven years ago. At the airport right before she''d left Japan, Siesta had invited me to be her assistant onest time, and my answer hade out like a proposal.


    "I seem to recall taking that back."


    "Oh, did you? I took it a little seriously and kept you with me for three years."


    We grinned at each other.


    The music swelled. It was almost time for the dance to end, and for couples to exchange partners.


    "All right, Siesta. I''m going to say it again." Siesta tilted her head slightly.


    "Stay with me as long as I live." Her blue eyes widened.


    "Don''t ever go away. Not for the rest of your life. Let me stay with you until we die."


    I''d seen Siesta leave the world many times before, and those scenes flickered through my mind.


    In this moment, I believed the souls of words had power¡ªand I used them to deny those memories.


    "No matter what happens, don''t disappear. Wherever you''re going, take me with you. I''ll go anywhere. Whatever unfairness we run into, I''ll get through it. And so¡ª"


    "I promise." Siesta''s radiant eyes gazed at me.


    I couldn''t hear the music anymore. The only thing I could hear was her voice.


    "I''ll always take you with me. I''ll protect you from unfairness forever. I''ll do dumb things with you until we die. And so¡ª"


    With a little <i>thunk</i>, Siesta let her forehead rest against my chest. "Make me happy as long as I live."


    We stopped dancing. Our breathing was rough, our bodies flushed. Once I''d calmed down a little, I began to hear the voices around me again. The music had ended. Siesta and I were still gazing at each other, but atst, we broke eye contact.


    "Did you mean ''as a detective''?"


    "You meant ''as an assistant,'' didn''t you, Kimi?"


    Our eyes locked again, and then we both startedughing. Unusually for Siesta, she wasughing so hard she had to wipe away tears, and her smile was the same million-watt one she''d worn on that day.


    "Now then, Assistant. What are we going to do next?"


    Switching emotional gears entirely, the detective asked her assistant for his decision.


    The main show began now.


    I drew a deep breath, then gave the answer I hadn''t chosen in the other future. "Siesta, let''s begin the maneuver."

 Chapter 153 - 4.3

    <h4>Chapter 153: Chapter 4.3</h4>


    <strong> March of evil</strong>


    After the ball, we relocated to the venue where the Ritual of Sacred Return would be held.


    It was just before seven. So far, events had yed out in roughly the same way as the other future. That was partly because I''d been careful to do the same things, though.


    If I changed our environment or what I did too drastically, I wouldn''t be able to count on the future I''d seen anymore. I''d been retracing my previous route as closely as I could, making only the changes that were absolutely necessary. This time, again, I did just one thing differently.


    "Will these seats do?" Noel asked.


    "Yes, here''s fine." I nodded, lowering myself into a seat at the front of the hall, on the left side of the first floor. There were only about twenty meters between us and the altar here.


    "Sorry to make you reseat us like this."


    "No, I understand why you would want to have as clear a view of the ritual as possible. This will be the Tuners'' final performance."


    ...Yeah, that''s right. Assuming they manage toplete the ceremony.


    "By the way, what happened to Siesta? She''s reallyte," I asked, turning to Nagisa. I hadn''t seen Siesta since the ball.


    "When girls leave their seats, don''t let the reasons concern you." "Oh, the bathroom, then?"


    "Did you abandon your tact by the side of the road?" Nagisa''s re was like an icy knife. What, was I rude?


    "It should begin in about five minutes," Noel said, just as she had the first time.


    I used that time to get my thoughts in order.


    At this point, things were going smoothly. I''d faced the detectives squarely, made sure the Oracle and I were on the same page about the situation, and made my own position firm. However, there were a lot of unknowns from here on out.


    During the ritual, someone would probably attempt to snipe Mia again. Why Mia, though? In the previous future, it had happened just as she was about to burn the origin text. They might have attacked so they could steal it.


    But that origin text had been a fake. Did the sniper not know? ...No, that wasn''t even possible. I''d definitely seen the thing in the crow mask holding a ck rifle in the hall. It knew everything. That meant it had sold us out on purpose.


    "So they have a goal besides stealing the origin text," I muttered, quietly enough that no one would hear me.


    I had no idea if "they" included Stephen and the other Tuners or not. However, the thing in the crow mask that hade from Another Eden was our enemy for sure. The unknown crisis was definitely going to ur. We had to shut it down.


    "We''re back where we started."


    On the day Noel had summoned Siesta and Nagisa, they''d retaken their authority as Tuners; then, on Bruno''s request, they had be Ace Detectives again. Now we''d fight the unknown crisis that was going to ur at this ceremony, as they''d originally discussed.


    Fate wouldn''t change easily, but we could change the way we fought. I was as ready for this as I''d ever be.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting." Just then, theter seated herself next to Nagisa.


    "You sure took your time, Siesta."


    "Yes, I was fixing my makeup. How does it look?" She tilted her head. "I almost didn''t recognize you. You look like a different person." "That''s surprisingly direct."


    During our casual exchange, a low bell rang from some untraceable location.


    And then...


    "Let us begin."


    At Noel''s signal, my second Ritual of Sacred Return began.


    The hall''s roof retracted, the masked dignitaries appeared, the conch shell sounded, and the kindling was lit. Everything I''d seen the first time was happening again.


    Then Mia took the stage. Olivia handed her a sacred text, and she tossed it into the mes, performing her role as the Oracle. White smoke climbed into the sky, and one of the dignitaries who surrounded the tform read a scroll in a foreign tongue. There were other things I needed to focus on right now, though.


    "Where is it?" I scanned the hall carefully. The thing in the crow mask had to be here. It was definitely lurking somewhere with that rifle, ready to attack the Oracle.


    In the first future, it had been in the seats on the second floor, on the opposite side. As far as I could see from where I was, it wasn''t there now. Had it picked up on the fact that I''d concentrated security there?


    "...Kimihiko, it''s almost time," Nagisa whispered in my ear. Mia would pick up the origin text soon. If something was going to happen, it would be then.


    I''d told the two detectives how events were likely to y out. Naturally, they''d been dubious, but they were going along with my n. I couldn''t afford to blow it now.


    Before long, the moment came: Olivia handed Mia the origin text. Mia epted it, then held it out to the zing mes.


    By the time I finally found the thing¡ªin the second-floor seats on the opposite side, just like before¡ªit was already pointing its rifle at Mia.


    "! How did it do that?"


    I was sure it hadn''t been there earlier. The thing in the crow mask had appeared all of a sudden, almost as if it had teleported.


    "Mia!" I shouted.


    Up on the tform, Mia''s eyes narrowed sharply. I''d told her about the attack in advance, too. Yelling her name now wouldn''t help her dodge a bullet traveling faster than the speed of sound, though.


    "It''s all right. If we know the future, we can respond before it happens," said the white-haired girl in the blue gown... Several seconds ago, actually.


    By the time I shouted Mia''s name, the girl in blue had already lunged for the tform.


    The gunshot rang out a secondter.


    As everyone else covered their eyes or their ears, I kept my eyes fixed on the stage.


    Mia had ducked and covered. Standing in front of her, the proxy Ace Detective had swung the musket in her right hand like a sword and knocked the assassin''s bullet away.


    "Enemy attack!" Bruno Belmondo shouted.


    This time, I was able to take a better look at what I hadn''t managed to see the first time.


    Bruno was sitting on the right-hand side near the front, opposite our group. He pointed at the red-robed figure in the crow mask, but the enemy responded by turning its gun on Bruno.


    "Grandfather!" Noel screamed.


    The contents of that letter raced through my mind as well. I''d nned for this, though. The White Suit soldiers who were stationed around Bruno fired first, and the thing in the crow mask dropped its rifle. It didn''t seem to like its chances against those numbers. It took a superhuman leap back, putting a lot of distance between them.


    "Nagisa, do it now." "I''m on it. Rill''s first."


    We exchanged nods, then started carrying out our n. Since we''d been expecting this, our top priority had to be getting people off the battlefield. When I scanned the venue, people had already begun to evacuate on their own, so we helped out. Starting with Rill, who couldn''t walk, Nagisa helped the other nobatants escape.


    "Siesta! Get Mia out!" The Oracle was the sniper''s target, and we had to make sure she got away as well. I watched the white-haired girl pick up Mia, then head for the exit along with Olivia. That meant we''d protected the origin text, too.


    "Now we need to get Bruno out of here..."


    When I looked back at the opposite side of the venue, I spotted a dozen White Suits surrounding the thing in the crow mask in an open space on the lower floor. In addition to their guns, the soldiers were leveling heavy weapons and swords in shapes I''d never seen before at the attacker.


    For some reason, the thing began to hop lightly.


    <i>Boing, boing, boing.</i>


    It bounced rhythmically several times, then winked out of sight. A few secondster, several human heads flew into the air at once. Blood sprayed, dyeing their pure white uniforms red.


    How had it beheaded the White Suits? The thing itself was the only one who knew. Then itnded on the floor, and its head turned toward the distant Information Broker.


    "Bruno!"


    As I shouted, the security team realized that the situation had gone south and rushed over to provide backup. They all fired at once, but the bullets vanished in thin air. This was the same thing crow-mask had done on the cruise. Then the thing made "gun" gestures with both hands.


    <i>Bang, bang, bang.</i>


    I hadn''t heard any real shots. However, every soldier those fingers pointed at copsed as if they''d actually been shot.


    But the soldiers had slowed down the enemy, and the time they''d bought would save the life of the world''s wisdom. As Bruno grimaced at the carnage in the hall, he made it through the exit with the help of his guards.


    "Noel, we should hurry, too." I grabbed Noel''s hand and we made for the nearest exit¡ªbut the figure in the crow mask appeared right in front of us. The ck mask was right in my face, and my legs locked up. It wasn''t just from fear. Before the malice of a superior being, my instincts wouldn''t let me move.


    " "


    Its ck, hollow eyes told me nothing. Just then, an ally''s bullet whizzed between us. With a superhuman acrobatic maneuver, the thing in the crow mask was gone. All it left behind was its bestial smell.


    "...! Mr. Kimihiko, this is..." Noel was looking around, wide-eyed.


    Maybe I''d let my guard down once that thing was gone. Before I knew it, a group of more than fifty new enemies had invaded the hall.


    The men wore gas masks and were dressed all in ck, and they carried rifles and machine guns at the ready. Falling into a predetermined formation in the blink of an eye, they surrounded the hall, which still held nearly three hundred people.


    "More residents of Another Eden...?"


    Naturally, our situation wasn''t good. The thing in the crow mask didn''t seem to be in the hall anymore, but it had taken out almost all of our armed allies.


    I wasn''t sure if this was good luck or bad, but as far as I could see, neither Ace Detective was in the hall. That meant they must have gotten away safely with the other hostages. On the other hand, it also meant they weren''t going to be able to help me. Mia, Rill, and Bruno were gone as well. The only people left were helpless, normal humans.


    "Mr. Kimihiko, we have to do something..."


    "It''s all right. The enemy doesn''t n to kill us right away, at least."


    This formation was meant to keep us from escaping. This was going to be a negotiation.


    The next moment, my guess turned out to be right.


    The roof closed, and an image appeared on the screen at the front of the hall.


    Once again, the being we saw was wearing a crow mask. Was it the one that had just been here, or was this someone else?


    I couldn''t even tell if it was a man or a woman. In a strange voice that sounded synthesized, it told us the motive behind their attack on justice.


    "Federation Government. Here and now, you will reveal the secret of the world which you have hidden."


    <strong> The masked dolls</strong>


    They gave us ten minutes to answer. If their demand wasn''t met by then, they would kill one hostage.


    Once the thing in the crow mask had told us the rules, the screen went dark.


    Afterward, those of us who had been left behind were thrown into confusion again.


    "...So the enemy really is Another Eden."


    The pain of my fingernails digging into my palms made me realize that I''d clenched my fists.


    As before, the messenger from Another Eden was demanding the secret of the world. That was the enemy''s greatest and only objective. When they told us they''d do nothing if we handed over the origin text, they''d been lying.


    Had Stephen tricked me on the other route? Or had he been tricked by the thing in the crow mask? Either way, one thing was clear: Until the Federation Government revealed this "secret of the world," the attacks wouldn''t stop. Negotiations and deals no longer meant anything.


    "Noel, can I ask onest question?" I spoke to her quietly, below the constant, confused murmuring that filled the hall. "Do you really not have any idea what


    they''re talking about?"


    "...I really don''t. Those who outrank me may know, but I''m new, and I don''t have the authority to learn about such things." Noel shook her head, biting her lip. She wasn''t lying. I could tell from herplexion, the movements of her eyes, and the quivering of her voice.


    "All right. In that case, I''m going to go ask someone who does know." "Mr. Kimihiko...?"


    I got to my feet, and Noel looked up at me. Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I walked toward the very front of the hall. The Federation Government dignitaries were still there, standing stiff and motionless. Either they hadn''t managed to flee in time, or they hadn''t intended to run in the first ce. I stopped in front of one of them.


    Although they were all wearing masks, the shapes and patterns of those masks differed, so it was possible to tell individuals apart. That meant I only had to look to know who this one was.


    "Ice Doll, I need to talk to you."


    Any of them would have been fine. However, this woman had been particrly involved with me and the Ace Detectives, so she was the one I went to.


    "What is this secret of the world that Another Eden wants?"


    The masked woman only stood there silently. Every eye in the hall was on us, but none of our enemies tried to interfere. That was fine with me.


    "If you people keep pretending you know nothing, one of these hostages will be killed. In fact, since you officials are directly connected to this, the odds that it''ll be one of you are good. If you know the answer, hurry up and spill it."


    As I reasoned with her, I stayed as calm as I could manage. After a little silence, she spoke. "Ice Doll does not have the authority to answer that question."


    The masked woman spoke mechanically, as if what was happening here had nothing to do with her.


    "So it''s just that you don''t have the authority to answer, not that you don''t know?"


    "Ice Doll does not have the authority to answer that question."


    "...People have died during the global crises before now. If you let Another Eden invade, the disasters will begin again."


    I wasn''t insisting that they ept all of Another Eden''s demands, but so far, the Federation Government''s policy had been to dy without a n. This


    unprecedented disaster was all thaty ahead of us. The world already had one foot in the door to that hell.


    "Isn''t it the Tuners'' mission to head off those disasters?"


    For the first time, Ice Doll said something that wasn''t a canned phrase. "...Yeah, it is."


    They didn''t need Ice Doll and the rest to give them orders. The Tuners'' missions were determined by their own free will. By their desire to save people. That was why my Ace Detectives had been peerlessly beautiful from moment to moment as they risked their lives. They weren''t wrong.


    "But you people just sit back on your thrones, so you don''t have the right to say that."


    Every time a disaster broke out, they assembled the Tuners and made them fight, either until the storm had passed or a Tuner lost their life. The Federation Government had devoured the lives of heroes for the sake of a temporary peace.


    They sat on their thrones, back where it was safe, while the Tuners bled. The Tuners would work themselves to the bone and die in battle, and then their shields of justice vanished without even leaving names behind.


    "Do you remember how their backs looked?" Ice Doll didn''t answer.


    "Where were you on the day the Ace Detective carried out her mission at the cost of her life? The day the Magical Girl epted that she''d never be able to walk again? Tell me, where were you? When the Vampire ended the way he did, where were you watching from?"


    I knew the masked official wouldn''t answer those questions.


    I wasn''t saying these things so someone would hear. It didn''t matter if they didn''t resonate with anybody. I just put that unfairness into words and got them out.


    "Ice Doll doesn''t have the authority to answer that question."


    By now, it didn''t even make me mad. I''d left anger behind long ago. What I was about to say had to do with the future.


    "Ice Doll¡ª No, Federation Government. Don''t think your way of doing things is going to work forever. One of these days, all your allies will desert you. As a matter of fact, I already know a few who are leaning that way."


    For example, the former Inventor, the former Revolutionary, and the former Hero were all about to abandon the Federation Government. The surge of rebellion was already building.


    Besides...


    "The detectives and I know <i>the truth about the Mizoev Federation</i>, which forms the nucleus of the Federation Government. If we spread that around, we can turn the world upside down whenever we want."


    The truth we''d identified probably rivaled "the secret of the world," whatever that was. At this point, the power dynamic between us and the Federation Government wasn''t one-sided by any means. We had our guns trained on each other at all times.


    "You can''t staycent and im not to have authority forever. Before long, you''ll take off those masks voluntarily and start talking. You''ll beg the detectives to save the world."


    Even after that, Ice Doll didn''t take off her mask.


    <i>Fine. At least for now, I''ll respect your stance. </i>I checked my watch. We were out of time. "Disappear as a voiceless doll."


    In the next instant, right in front of me, Ice Doll''s head flew off.


    One of the men in gas masks had done it. Ten minutes into the incident, Ice Doll was the first hostage killed.


    "...A doll?" someone murmured.


    After a short dy, Ice Doll''s body toppled over.


    Her severed head rolled across the ground nearby. However, there was no blood. All that was there was what I''d begun to anticipate partway through that conversation: a ruined doll.


    "Are the other government officials the same?"


    Even before the ceremony had begun, these people had been reced by dolls. No doubt the real people under the masks were watching all of this y out remotely. They''d evacuated somewhere safe and left the Tuners to handle the


    cleanup.


    "What a farce."


    I hadn''t managed to get that vital answer out of her, though. All my strength drained away, and I sank into a nearby seat.


    "Mr. Kimihiko..." Noel hade up to me, and now she reached out, sounding worried. However, before she could rub my back, she seemed to realize something and retracted her hand.


    "Let us move to the next phase."


    I heard the voice of the thing in the crow mask, although I couldn''t tell where it wasing from. Once again, an image appeared on the screen. This time, there were several hundred men and women in swallowtail coats and gowns.


    They were standing in the venue where the ball had been held.


    Every one of those people looked nervous. Just like us, they were being held captive by men in gas masks.


    "...! Grandfather...!"


    Noel had spotted Bruno in that image. Nagisa was beside him. In that case, had the Men in ck stationed at the pce been neutralized by the messenger''s group, too?


    "Even Miss Siesta...," Noel murmured.


    As far as I could see, the detective didn''t have her musket. Fighting all those armed enemies with nothing but her bare hands would be tough. And the sheer number of hostages made the situation a whole lot worse.


    "Next we will blow up this hall."


    After announcing what would happen in another ten minutes, the enemy cut the picture again.


    This time, it wouldn''t be just a single government official. Unless we exposed the secret of the world, everyone in that hall would die. The Ace Detectives, the Oracle, the Magical Girl, the Information Broker¡ªeverybody.


    "We''ve got no time to lose."


    This would probably be the only chance I''d get to y my remaining card.


    The girl beside me was staring at the ground. I spoke to her without turning to look. "I knew it. The view from the train that''s carrying a bomb isn''t a pretty one, Noel."

 Chapter 154 - 4.4

    <h4>Chapter 154: Chapter 4.4</h4>


    <strong>Pandora''s box and the world''s taboo</strong>


    "Next we will blow up this hall."


    The enemy''s eerie voice echoed throughout the venue.


    This statement set therge room buzzing, but the surrounding group in gas masks leveled their machine guns at us until we fell silent again.


    Fifteen minutes ago, a sniper had attacked the Oracle during the Ritual of Sacred Return. Most of the people attending the ceremony had run for it, but men in gas masks who''d been stationed throughout the pce had rounded us up and herded us into this hall. We were still there, under orders not to move,pletely hostage to the terrorists.


    I wasn''t near Mia, Rill, or Siesta. Kimihiko was probably still in the hall where the ceremony had been held. I had to do my part here. And so¡ª


    "I''m d you were close to me, Bruno," I said to the old gentleman beside


    me, softly enough that the men in gas masks wouldn''t hear.


    "No, I''m the one who feels safer here, young Miss Ace Detective." Bruno''s white whiskers shifted as he grinned. His all-epassing generosity soothed my nerves just a little.


    "I''m sorry," he went on gently. "I knew someone might be targeting me, yet my sense of duty kept me from backing out of the ceremony. I was unable toe up with any countermeasures, and now we''ve fallen into the enemy''s hands. It''s really deplorable."


    "Please don''t apologize. If you''re going to put it that way, Siesta and I are the Ace Detectives, and we couldn''t head off this crisis, either. We''re all responsible."


    This wasn''t anybody''s fault.


    We were all trying to do the right thing. Even now, we were struggling to get there. That was what this was about.


    For the sake of doing my own version of "the right thing," I asked Bruno a question. "So, Bruno. How much do you really know about Another Eden, or about the secret the Federation Government is hiding?"


    I swallowed hard, and there was a moment of silence.


    Had Bruno been defeated by the enemy? Had he failed to do anything at all? He was the world''s wisdom itself; did he really have no idea who the enemy actually was, or what secret the world held? That wasn''t possible.


    If there was a reason he was staying here quietly anyway, it must have been that...


    "Can you really not answer that? If it''s information that could destroy the bnce of the world..."


    Bruno Belmondo, the Information Broker, possessed knowledge that could be more of a threat than any weapon, and he never shared it with others.


    He was no longer a Tuner, but he still lived by that philosophy, even under these circumstances¡ªno, because of these circumstances. The Information Broker worked constantly to keep the scales bnced.


    "Bruno, please. The things you know could save lives."


    If Bruno Belmondo was still captive to the Tuner way of life, then I would be, too. One more time, as the Ace Detective, I''d talk the Information Broker around. Besides... "Weren''t you hoping we''d get it out of you anyway?"


    Bruno himself was the one who''d first tried to make me the Ace Detective again. Two weeks ago, when he''d visited the detective agency and told us he wanted us to return to the position of Ace Detective, he''d said that what he could


    do alone was limited, and he was trying to acquire morerades.


    "Once, there was a detective girl who asked me for a favor," Bruno said, sounding somehow nostalgic. "In this world, there''s something known as an absolute taboo. A Pandora''s box that must not be opened. A sealed coffin that will unleash disaster on the world. However, there was a time when I was desperate to learn about it. As the Information Broker who embodied the world''s wisdom, I felt I had no choice," he went on. "One day, someone with the same ambition appeared. As the Information Broker, I was merely a database, but he was someone who used that information to act¡ª"


    "¡ªThe Ace Detective?" I asked. Bruno nodded wordlessly.


    This interaction was how the roles of the Information Broker and the Ace Detective yed out.


    We''d tackled our missions together that way since time immemorial.


    "However, he forced Pandora''s box open, came into contact with the world''s taboo, and died."


    When Bruno said "he," he meant the former Ace Detective. The one who''de before Siesta and me.


    "And he told you about that taboo? About the answer?"


    Bruno didn''t answer that question, either. This time, maybe even the Information Broker really didn''t know.


    "The one thing I can say is that Pandora''s box still slumbers somewhere in the world."


    "Is what''s inside it the secret the messenger from Another Eden wants? Does the Federation Government have custody of it?"


    Bruno started to answer, but just then¡ª


    A man in a gas mask pushed the muzzle of a gun against his back. "Bruno...!"


    I was startled, but Bruno only held up his hands, demonstrating that he didn''t n to resist. Then he grinned and asked the man, "Did you need me for something?"


    <i>The world''s wisdom is about to perish.</i>


    The letter that had been sent to our agency flitted through my mind. Then the man in the gas mask marched Bruno away at gunpoint.


    "It''s all right." As he left, Bruno smiled at me. "In every era, I believe in the


    Ace Detective."


    <strong> The one thing we wanted to know</strong>


    The view from the train that''s carrying a bomb isn''t a pretty one.


    Noel didn''t pretend she didn''t know what I meant. She only pressed her lips together tightly, as if she''d been expecting this.


    "You knew this was going to happen, didn''t you, Noel?"


    "Yes. After all, we''d been warned that the messenger from Another Eden would attack. I also knew Grandfather might be caught up in it."


    That was true. Roughly two weeks ago, Noel and Bruno had alerted us to the crisis that could happen at the Ritual of Sacred Return. But...


    "After that, we got a letter saying, ''The world''s wisdom is about to perish.'' You sent that, didn''t you?"


    Silence fell between us.


    The hall was as noisy as ever, and I heard quite a few people denouncing the absent Federation Government officials. Nobody was listening in on our conversation.


    "That sounds as if it was written by a criminal. Why do you feel I''d send a letter like that to the Shirogane Detective Agency, Mr. Kimihiko?"


    "Suspecting someone who''s been watching you the whole time is a pretty natural reaction, isn''t it?"


    "......"


    My retort was blunt, but Noel''s expression didn''t flicker. That didn''t mean she was admitting to anything, though.


    "Noel, you''ve been watching us constantly since yesterday. You came to the airport to get me, you invited us on that cruise, and you kept tabs on our movements after that."


    "You were invited to the ceremony. As a member of the Federation Government, it was my job to attend you."


    "Rill and Mia told me nobody from the government attended them. When you contacted us, you had a reason of your own."


    "...As I told you, I wanted your advice regarding the threat to Grandfather." "Yeah, speaking of Bruno. Yesterday evening, he and I met up, just the two of


    <i>Who did you hear about that from?</i>"


    In the car today, on the way to the venue, Noel had started out by asking me if I''d slept well yesterday, and in the course of that conversation, she''d said: "You


    met Grandfather again, didn''t you?"


    I hadn''t told Noel about that. She shouldn''t have had that information. She couldn''t have gotten it without watching me or eavesdropping on us.


    "I heard about it from Grandfather yesterday. He said he''d talked with you." "Impossible. There''s no way the Information Broker would have broken a


    promise and leaked information that easily."


    Bruno wouldn''t slip up like that, not even with his granddaughter. I''d set that meeting up in secret. I''d specifically told him it might be harder to talk if Noel was there. There was no way he hadn''t understood me.


    "Noel. Look at this."


    That was when I got a text with an image attached, and the timing could not have been better.


    "It''s a photo of a bug. They found it in our hotel room."


    Of course, Noel had arranged for us to stay in that room. I could only think of one reason it would have a listening device in it.


    "...Why now?"


    "We would have preferred to look for it ourselves, but the room might have had hidden cameras, too. We couldn''t afford to search for bugs like that; it would''ve looked too sketchy."


    We''d finally managed to get proof, though: A certain idol had found this for us, using her impressive insight. I''d go along with all of her whims for as long as she wantedter. I was so d that her overseas performance tomorrow was right here in France.


    "Also, this. There was a miniature bug in the coat I worest night." I showed Noel the follow-up image Saikawa had sent. "That one was packed in my suitcase. They must have messed with it at the airport, huh?"


    That was why my luggage had been sote: because the trap was already being set.


    "...You picked up on that, and you still wore the coat?"


    "I only thought it was a possibility. When I was talking with Nagisa in the parkst night, though, I intentionally brought up Bruno. That''s how you knew, isn''t it?"


    Ever since Siesta, Nagisa, and I had arrived in France¡ª Actually, from the moment we''d boarded our flight, we''d suspected we might be under surveince. For that reason, I''d regrlyid traps for Noel in our conversations, and when the detectives and I held strategy meetings at the hotel, we''d conversed entirely by text, acting as if we were just messing around with


    our smartphones.


    "But this doesn''t hold together logically. You haven''t said what initially made you suspect I would watch you at all."


    "You weren''t the only one we suspected." Noel gulped, gazing into my face.


    "We don''t trust anybody. Even as we banter andugh together, we constantly doubt what''s happening right in front of us, investigate it minutely, and weigh it. That''s a detective''s job. It''s how we do things."


    There was a time when we''d thought that if the other option was doubting people, we''d rather just get tricked¡ªNagisa in particr. However, in the midst of all our cases and battles, we''d learned that that alone wouldn''t let us save people. Pure hearts weren''t what we needed.


    So now, this was how I thought: If the other option was believing people, it was better to trick them. When we wanted to save many things at once, we became scam artists as well as detectives.


    "Noel, be honest. Tell me what you''re hiding."


    I''d yed all my cards now. This was the only objective proof we had; Siesta had been the one to suggest it. Hopefully, it would be enough to make Noel fold. "Not yet." Noel shook her head slightly. "I admit I had you under surveince.


    But that doesn''t mean I sent that letter. Mr. Kimihiko, what makes you so certain I''m involved?"


    ...Right. After providing proof, we needed to demonstrate a motive. This time, I''d borrow Nagisa''s ability. Her words had power, and I was sure she''d argue Noel down. "Sorry we weren''t able to take your request."


    Noel''s eyes widened.


    "You thought if you told us ''The world''s wisdom is about to perish,'' the Ace Detectives would take action to protect Bruno, didn''t you?"


    That hadn''t been advance warning of a crime. It had been a request for the detectives to take a case. Noel had wanted us to protect the world''s wisdom from the hands of the enemy. She could have just asked us to protect Bruno directly, but she''d probably assumed her appeal would be more efficient if the situation seemed worse than it actually was.


    "You also guessed that the detectives were bound to <i>thoroughly investigate Bruno Belmondo, the person they were supposed to guard</i>. That was what you were really after."


    That was exactly right: Noel had sent us that letter because she''d wanted the detectives to investigate something about Bruno.


    "I don''t need to turn to a detective to learn about Grandfather. I know everything there is to¡ª"


    "No. There''s something even you don''t know about him."


    It was a question Noel had always kept locked away in the depths of her heart, but she''d finally touched that ck box.


    "You wanted to know why Bruno Belmondo adopted you, and why he dissolved your rtionship after more than ten years."


    Noel looked down. Her long gray hair fell like a screen to hide her face.


    From this point on, there was a chance that my subjective opinions would get mixed in with the facts. But I wanted her to hear this as a hypothesis. "Noel. Roughly two weeks ago, you learned that Another Eden was trying to disclose a secret that the Federation Government was protecting."


    Noel had probably picked up on the fact that they were holding on to top secret information long ago, though. She''d told me yesterday that there were rumors about it.


    "That was when you hit on a n. You''d use this situation to learn about that secret."


    "Whatever for? I inherited this position out of necessity, and I have no personal interest in secrets like that."


    She probably did mean that. I had never gotten the impression she took pride in fulfilling her duties as a government official, or in having returned to the noble Lupwise family.


    On the other hand, she had another emotion that was very hard for her to fight. "I doubt you can say that even Bruno doesn''t matter, though."


    She squeezed her eyes shut.


    "You''ve always had doubts about your monthly dinners with him. Why does he still meet with you, even though he isn''t fostering you anymore? Does he have some other reason? For example¡ª<i>trying to get information on the secret of the world out of you</i>?"


    Noel had guessed that the Belmondo and Lupwise families were bound to each other by that secret, and that it might have been why Bruno had adopted her. Since she had the potential to be a government official someday, he might have been attempting to get closer to the world''s secret by buying her affection.


    Noel was the child of a mistress, and her family had treated her coldly. If Bruno had said he wanted to adopt her, the Lupwises would have had no reason to refuse.


    In addition, Bruno had somehow known that the Lupwise family heir would


    vanish in the near future. As a result, the position of government official would go to Noel, putting her closer to the world''s secret.


    "...Are you implying that I always doubted Grandfather''s love?"


    I was. A girl had suddenly experienced love for the first time in her life, and she''d wanted to know why. She''d feared there might be some ulterior motive behind it. That was why, right now...


    "You used this convenient crisis. You thought if you could disclose the world''s secret, you''d be able to learn what Bruno really wanted."


    "That...isn''t... I didn''t want this, at least. That''s why I¡ª!" Noel was keeping her voice down, but her fervent emotions came through loud and clear.


    Gently, I squeezed her hand. "Yeah, so I''d like to apologize to you. You did want to resolve this sooner, didn''t you? After all, you kept asking us¡ªwell, the detectives¡ªto help you. You wanted us to investigate Bruno and protect him."


    Noel flinched.


    "I''m sorry we couldn''t help you."


    As far as Noel was concerned, she''d sown the seeds well in advance, and yet we hadn''t gotten any of the results she''d wanted. It must have been really irritating. Even keeping us under surveince after we arrived in France hadn''t gotten her the information she wanted.


    Today, she''d reluctantly resorted to entrusting her long-cherished wish to the mastermind.


    "Noel, please, help me. I promise we''ll grant your wishter. I want you to tell me anything else you know. You''ve figured out what''s really going on here, haven''t you?"


    We still hadn''t learned what the hidden secret was, or anything about Another Eden''s messengers. The origin text hadn''t shown me those answers.


    As a matter of fact, we''d hoped to find out the truth by keeping an eye on Noel. But she''d kept that information hidden, even after our failure to do what she wanted. What she''d gone that far to protect was¡ª


    "You win. I''ll tell you everything." Noel''s voice was slightly tearful. "I know who really orchestrated this crisis."


    Just then, the door at the front of the hall flew open with a loud <i>bang</i>, and two figures entered. One was an armed man in a gas mask. He was holding his gun to an elderly man''s back.


    "...Bruno?"


    As the two of them slowly climbed the steps to the stage, the Information Broker''s expression was tense. At the altar, they both turned to face forward.


    "I thought I gave you enough time, but no one hase forward with the answer."


    It wasn''t the man in the gas mask who spoke. That man had already lowered his gun and was waiting off to the side.


    "Please, Mr. Kimihiko," Noel begged in a trembling voice. "Stop Grandfather."


    Bruno Belmondo, Information Broker and the world''s wisdom, <i>took out a pistol and shot a nearby government official doll</i>.


    "Don''t you think it''s time humanity awoke from this transient peace?"

 Chapter 155 - 4.5

    <h4>Chapter 155: Chapter 4.5</h4>


    <strong>Rebellious tuning</strong>


    All the men in gas masks bowed in perfect sync to Bruno Belmondo, who stood in the center of the stage. By now, it was patently clear who was in control.


    "...I had a feeling you were behind this."


    When we''d realized Noel had been the one to send us that second wish¡ª"I want you to protect the world''s wisdom"¡ªwe''d also realized it was possible that Bruno was the mastermind.


    Basically, maybe Noel wasn''t asking us to keep Bruno from bing a victim, but rather to keep him from doing harm. We just hadn''t wanted to believe it.


    The hall was still buzzing over the entrance of this entirely unexpected mastermind. I was the only one who got to my feet.


    The closest enemy took aim at me, but at Bruno''s signal, he lowered his weapon. Apparently the Information Broker was willing to talk with me.


    "Bruno Belmondo. Who are you?"


    There were no detectives here. It was my job to ask the questions.


    "What are your ties to Another Eden? What are you hoping to aplish bymitting terrorism?"


    The crow-mask and the gas-masks had to be residents of Another Eden. If Bruno Belmondo was leading them, who was he?


    But I didn''t expect Bruno''s answer. "We do not belong to Eden."


    He imed that <i>no one </i>here had any connection to Another Eden. "What? Don''t tell me you made the ce up entirely."


    No, that couldn''t be. The Federation Government had said that Another Eden had been making contact with them since time immemorial. Siesta had


    mentioned hearing that story as well.


    "Another Eden does exist. Somewhere in this world, or perhaps somewhere in space. On this asion, we simply imitated them."


    "So you were just impersonating them? Why would you do that?"


    "I believe we''ve already exined our objective to you, many times over."


    ...Yeah, they had. They¡ªor at least Bruno¡ªwanted to learn the identity of something the Federation Government was hiding, then steal it.


    "Is that why you approached the Lupwise family ten years ago? For their strong ties to the Federation Government?"


    He''d adopted the five-year-old Noel because he''d foreseen that she would be a government official someday, and that this would bring him closer to the world''s secret.


    "A solid deduction." Bruno looked down at me from the stage, stroking his beard. Then his eyes went to Noel, who was sitting beside me. "I waited a long time for that girl to approach the core of the world. Three years ago, the time came. The head of the Lupwise family passed away suddenly, and his heir vanished. As I''d anticipated, the girl inherited the family''s seat in the Federation Government. However..." Bruno''s eyes grew disappointed. "After that, my ns went awry. She was only a makeshift sessor, and she showed no sign of being allowed near the core. I waited two years, but that time was wasted."


    Noel hung her head. Her shoulders seemed to be trembling. "And so you gave up on me a year ago, Grandfather, and..."


    No matter how little I wanted to, I knew what the rest of that sentence would be. Bruno''s hopes hadn''t yed out, so he''d dissolved his rtionship with Noel. If she''d never be in a position to learn the world''s secret, then he had no use for her.


    "A yearter, then, I decided to implement this n. At the Ritual of Sacred Return, where many people near the world''s core would assemble, I would ask the identity and location of the world''s secret. However, no one here seems to know the answer, either."


    Bruno''s disappointed gaze traveled around the hall again. He''d gathered and threatened Federation Government personnel, former Tuners, and international VIPs, but in the end, no one had been able to give him what he wanted.


    "It wasn''t entirely in vain, though. The masked dignitaries fled, using dolls as decoys. They do know the answer. Therefore, we will advance," Bruno said, as if he were dering war on the world.


    "You''re going to find Ice Doll and the others? And you''re going to keep up


    the terrorism until you get what you want? It won''t work. Now that you''ve gone this far, the Federation Government is going to view you as an enemy of the world. The world won''t let Bruno Belmondo get away."


    At the very least, the Ace Detectives would capture him. His ambition would never be realized.


    "I don''t need to be the one who reaches the answer." As Bruno spoke, he was gazing into the distance. "It''s enough if someone¡ªanyone¡ªdoes it. As long as the world remembers, that''s enough. Even if I fall here, the wave of rebellion has begun, and it won''t stop."


    Bruno was echoing the argument I''d made to the Federation Government. I''d told them that, while they sat on their thrones way back where it was safe, a spirit of rebellion was building. That the Inventor and the Revolutionary and the Hero were already on the verge of abandoning them.


    "...I see. So Stephen''s group were all yourrades, too?"


    They really had tricked me, in that other future. The thing in the crow mask, Stephen, and Bruno all wanted the same thing. Their attempt to steal the origin text and their attack on the Ritual of Sacred Return had both been part of a revolt against the organization and order of the Federation Government. But then... "What drove you that far? Why would you do all that to rebel against the Federation Government?"


    I resented Ice Doll and the other members of the government, too. I could understand feeling intolerable anger toward them. However, Bruno''s im had a different sort of heat to it.


    "Is it because you want to know this secret they''ve got? This can''t be your thirst for information as the former Information Broker. What''s the point?"


    He''d already retired from his position as the Information Broker. What was the secret he wanted to know badly enough to drag all these people into danger? What was Bruno Belmondo''s desire? What could he want so intensely that he''d be an enemy of the world, sacrificing everything¡ª


    "You''re still pretending you don''t know?" Bruno''s reaction wasn''t what I''d expected.


    He looked more angry than suspicious. It was as if he thought I was trying to misdirect him or give intentionally evasive answers.


    "Why does no one know? Why doesn''t anyone remember? Why has the world forgotten these words? What other ''secret of the world'' could there possibly be?"


    Bruno''s eyes flew open, and his hand tightened on his gun.


    "It''s what the Federation Government has kept hidden. What even I, the Information Broker, haven''t managed to reach. The world''s taboo¡ªthe Akashic records!"


    Complete silence fell in the hall.


    Everyone listened until Bruno stopped speaking, then considered his words.


    The time it took for me to say anything felt like an eternity. That was probably inevitable, though.


    "What the hell are the Akashic records?"


    The term was genuinely unfamiliar to me. Noel also shook her head. Technically, though, I did have a vague grasp of the concept.


    If I recalled, it was the memory of the world itself, recorded since Earth¡ªor possibly the universe¡ªbegan. I couldn''t visualize it in any concrete way, though.


    "You''re saying you did all this so you could find out what these Akashic records are?" I asked, watching Bruno''s face. I didn''t understand what he meant.


    Bruno wasn''t disgusted. He wasn''t surprised. The emotion in his face was despair.


    "Let me ask you again." Eyes still wide, Bruno doubled down on his question. "The Tuners are the shields who defend the world. How many of them are there?"


    "Eleven...right?"


    "Then have you ever heard the term ''the Singrity''?" "...? Isn''t that some kind of math term?"


    "I see. That''s enough."


    Bruno lowered his gun. He wasn''t looking at me anymore. "This really is as far as this world goes."


    Then what were his keen eyes fixed on now? The question suddenly scared me.


    "As you say, I''ll be punished soon. In that case, I''ll carry out my final mission here."


    After a short silence, Bruno''s eyes turned to me again. "The following is a warning."


    In the next instant, a new image shed onto the screen.


    The screen was split into sixteen sections. In each section, a world leader was being held at knife- or gunpoint by someone in a gas mask.


    "This world is not peaceful. The crises are still very much with us. Even so, humanity persists in the naive belief that peace will continue. Therefore, I make this deration to the entire human race."


    That''s right; he''d said this was a warning. "I am about to tune this world, as Evil."


    <strong> The will that seeks justice is...</strong>


    In the next instant, all the gas-masked men in the hall leveled their guns at us at once.


    "...Bruno. What the hell are you thinking?"


    Bruno had originally caused this incident to learn the world''s hidden secret, but no sooner had he seen that his wish wouldn''t be granted than he''d shifted to tant terrorism. If he''d had all those agents in position around the world already, had he predicted this would happen? Either way, what he was trying to do now was...


    "Do you really intend to be an enemy of the world?"


    As a Tuner, Bruno Belmondo''s top priority had been preserving the bnce of the world. Whenever the world was about to fall into the hands of some great evil, he''d always protected it as a hero. However, he''d just announced that he would tune this world as Evil.


    "Evil doesn''t necessarilye from outside the world." He gestured to the left side of his chest with his pistol. "Evil is always in here."


    I felt as if someone else had told me something simr, long ago. He''d been an enemy. A man I''d once fought with the detective.


    ¡ªA man? Who?


    "Let me ask you this. Is the world really peaceful?"


    The next thing I knew, the screen showed an image of a vast, burning forest. Had it been taken from a movie, or was it a past natural disaster? The image shifted to a slum. A small, painfully skinny girl was rummaging through a pile of garbage that spilled out into the street, searching for food.


    "These are crises that are happening to our neighbors at this very moment."


    The image on the screen changed again. The sound of tanks firing yed. In a war zone, soldiers were putting their lives on the line. These weren''t movies, nor were they footage from the past. This was really happening somewhere in the world, right now.


    "Compared to the disasters we Tuners dealt with, perhaps these aren''t serious


    enough to be called ''global crises.'' However, at the very least, I wouldn''t call this peace. These sparks are still smoldering, and one day, they will create a genuine global crisis."


    He was right. When it came to disasters, there was no "big" or "small." Even now, there were cmities and battles happening in our world.


    Stephen had said he was still working to save the wounded in war zones. The story Charlie had told me, that anecdote from her past, might actually have been recent. Then there was the question Hel had asked me: Were there really no crying girls in the world anymore?


    Bruno Belmondo, the man who knew the world, was giving us a warning. "We put our faith in a transient peace and surrendered our powers. In the near


    future, a real disaster will strike again. When it does, we will suffer defeat." That was why Bruno was voluntarily choosing evil.


    He had been a symbol of justice. By bing a great evil in the eyes of the world, he would maintain bnce. He would tune it.


    Humanity had soaked for too long in a tepid peace¡ªhe wouldn''t let them forget the existence of evil.


    "Is that why your group tried to shut down this ceremony of peace?"


    If the Ritual of Sacred Return had beenpleted, the Tuners would have been gone, even though we''d need them to fight the disaster. That was why Bruno and his people had attacked the ceremony and tried to steal the origin text. He hadn''t genuinely wanted the origin text itself. His goal had been to force the ritual to fail and keep the Tuners tied to their missions.


    "You''re saying you don''t mind defying justice for the sake of your goal?" "Only justice that runs counter to our ideals."


    ...So in the end, it came back to that, huh? wless justice and transient peace. Bruno believed in the former, while Mia and I had tried to rely on thetter. In order to make his unblemished justice a reality, he was barring our way as Evil.


    "Those who have special powers should use those powers for the good of the world. It isn''t a right. It''s a duty."


    "You''re telling the Tuners to keep carrying out their missions until they die?" "Yes. On that point alone, I''m in agreement with the Federation Government."


    Then, from this stage of justice, Bruno urged on hisrades around the world. "Rise up. Take up your swords, level your guns. Defeat evil, destroy me. Carry out justice until your lives run out."


    ¡ªHe wasn''t wrong about any of this.


    I sincerely thought that, as a Tuner, Bruno wasn''t wrong.


    It wasn''t that his speech had convinced me. I''d been familiar with that mindset for years. Someone close to me had given me a thorough education in the philosophy of justice.


    Siesta.


    Like Bruno, she''d been one of the shields of justice, and she''d been saying things like that since I met her. She''d said it was in her DNA to save people. Siesta had said she was born to be the Ace Detective. I was sure that was correct. For a Tuner who guarded the world, that was probably the ideal.


    Even so...


    "Why does making a peaceful world require sacrifices to justice?"


    Why was it always Siesta? Why always Nagisa? Why were the people who tried to stay true to justice the only ones who got unhappy endings? That was why I''d done that day over. I''d tried to overturn the future the sacred texts had determined. Even if it meant denying the Ace Detective''s justice, I''d looked for a different route.


    It was the same now. If there was a way to save the detectives, I''d use the origin text or whatever it took and do this over as often as I had to. I wasn''t asking for much. I just wanted an ordinary life where those two could drink tea and eat apple pie in peace.


    "Bruno. Don''t you think trying to satisfy your messiahplex with the feeling you''ve saved the world is basically abandoning justice entirely?"


    The sort of peace that was built on one person''s heroic sacrifice didn''t need to be glorified anywhere except picture books.


    "Will you keep soaking in this transient world, then? You''re wee to do so," Bruno murmured. His eyes were still filled with disappointment. "As long as you can stop evil with a false justice like that."


    He put down his pistol. In exchange, he brought out¡ªa red switch. Everyone in the hall knew what that meant.


    "Grandfather! Please don''t!" Noel''s face was anguished.


    The screen showed the hall where the ball had been held. There were several hundred hostages inside. Bruno was about to detonate the bomb he''d rigged up there.


    "Those who''ve refused to see an unbearable reality have no right to dream of happiness," Bruno said. His eyes were wide, his voice filled with passion. His finger reached for the switch.


    "Yeah, you''re right," I told him. "I was wrong."


    Bruno hesitated.


    I knew what my mistake had been. I''d tried to make Siesta and Nagisa graduate from being Tuners to satisfy my own ego. The result of that had been that first future. I was only their assistant; I didn''t have the right to do that.


    "Not getting things wrong is tough."


    This was no ce for self-mockery. I just let it sink in, as simple fact. Sometimes not getting things wrong was harder than doing what was right. That was true for everybody, though.


    Mia, Noel, Bruno... All of them had secrets, and they''d all made choices before heading into this ceremony. All of them had been correct, and they''d all been mistaken.


    Still, there was one thing I knew for sure.


    Even now, there was just one thing I could believe in. I used it to answer the question Bruno had posed.


    "If both you and I got it wrong, then let''s have the detectives set us straight." After all, that was what the world''s wisdom had wantedst night.


    "Bruno. I still don''t think your justice was a total mistake."


    The voice spoke from above us. When I looked up, I saw a sky full of stars.


    The roof of the hall had been opened again.


    The voice''s owner¡ªthe white-haired Ace Detective¡ªtouched down in front of me, facing away.


    "Why are you here...?" Bruno murmured in a daze, as if he were dreaming.


    It was no wonder he was surprised, or that he''d gotten careless. After all, the white-haired Ace Detective was visible in the image of the hall on the screen.


    "You didn''t notice? Between the ball and the ritual, <i>the detective and the maid who has her face switched ces</i>."


    The maid had escaped from this hall, but the real detective had stayed, watching the situation unfold from her hiding ce. She''did her ns carefully to bring all this to an end.


    "Noches. I''m borrowing what you left here."


    As Siesta broke into a run, I reached under the seats and grabbed what the white-haired maid had left us. And then¡ª


    "Siesta! Catch!"


    As Siesta ran, I threw the musket to her with all my might. "So this was the right move."


    No¡ªI''d hesitated just a little.


    <i>But Siesta, that gun really does suit you.</i>


    The detective who brushed happy dreams aside, who threw her peaceful life away, who lived from moment to moment like the wind¡ªshe was more noble than anyone, more fragile, and...more beautiful. And so...


    "Siesta, you should be the Ace Detective again."


    Siesta caught the gun and pointed it straight ahead. "Brilliant work, Assistant." Just now, I''d finally managed to choose a future.


    " !" Bruno''s face twisted slightly.


    The bullet Siesta fired knocked the switch out of his hand.


    "...I see, Ace Detective. So you''ll dance the waltz of death with me?" Siesta had leaped onto the stage, and Bruno held out his right hand to her.


    "Bruno?" Siesta frowned, as if she couldn''t read the intent behind his smile.


    Then it hit her. "Don''t let them press the switch!" she shouted, turning back.


    If she meant the bombs rigged to the venue, she''d already¡ª


    ¡ªOh. No, that wasn''t it. She meant <i>the bomb capsule imnted in Bruno himself</i>.


    Siesta had told me about it, a long time ago. A bomb had been embedded in the Information Broker''s body in order to protect what he knew, in case he was captured and tortured by a hostile organization. The switch was entrusted to someone else. And the ones who held that switch were¡ª


    "...I get it! <i>All these men in gas masks are former Men in ck, huh?!</i>"


    They were Bruno''srades, former fellow Tuners who still followed his principles.


    Every one of the men in the hall took a red switch out of his jacket. Bruno''s life wasn''t in the hands of just one person: the Men in ck were an organization. No matter what we did, we''d never be able to take all the detonator switches out of all of those hands at once.


    Bruno Belmondo was preparing toy down his life, as Evil. "Siesta, run!"


    That meant all I could do was try to get her out of there. But¡ª


    "Why? Why would you do that?"


    The perplexed, trembling voice belonged to Bruno himself.


    I couldn''t me him. Every Man in ck in the room had lowered his switch. "I see. They won''t take an order that would make you die like this." Siesta


    lowered her gun as well.


    "Impossible." Bruno wasn''t flustered now. He shook his head, denying what was happening. "Prioritizing their emotions over their mission? The proud members of the Men in ck would never..."


    "It isn''t that strange," Siesta said, and Bruno raised his head. "After all, we Tuners are human."


    Just then, there was a loud noise behind us.


    A riot squad had kicked the door open and rushed in to provide backup. At that, everyone in the hall scrambled for the exit. Nobody stopped them.


    "Oh, I see. Did that girl put you up to this?" As he realized what must have happened, Bruno''s eyes narrowed.


    "I''m not a big fan of the way you put that." Nagisa Natsunagi, the situation''s second key yer, walked toward us. "It''s simple, though. No one wanted you to die as a viin."


    As Nagisa came closer, she took off her earpiece. Had she been using that to talk to the Men in ck? Had she asked them whether they were really okay with letting the hero who''d been a Tuner longer than anyone else die as someone evil?


    "Two weeks ago, when I picked up the Ace Detective''s musket from the Men in ck, one of them made a formal request. He asked me to protect the Information Broker."


    Nagisa had already formed a pact with some of the Men in ck. She''d told me so yesterday, during the stealth strategy-meeting-by-text we''d had at the hotel.


    However, she''d said the Men in ck hadn''t told her the whole truth two weeks ago, either. She hadn''t known that Bruno was the mastermind behind these incidents. All the Men in ck had told her was that they wanted her to protect the Information Broker, and that they would assist her. At the veryst minute, the Men in ck had also been trying to bnce the scales of justice.


    Nagisa had picked up on their intentions during the ceremony today and worked to save Bruno.


    "You could never be a viin, Grandfather." One other person had believed in Nagisa''s passion: a girl who''d spent longer with Bruno than anyone else. His faded eyes fell to where she stood below the stage. "The right hand of Evil isn''t that soft. Your hands are for saving and guiding the weak."


    Noel reached for his hand, which she''d probably held countless times. She was remembering the warmth of her kind teacher.


    "It''s as you said¡ªeveryone''s heart has evil in it." Nagisa had reached us, and


    as she spoke to Bruno, she rubbed Noel''s shoulders. "As long as evil is rampant in us, wars will ur. Disasters will break out. Someday, an enormous crisis is bound to strike this world. It will hit when everyone''se to take peace for granted. I understand that." Nagisa bit her lip.


    "If you understand, then why?" Bruno had been stubbornly silent, but now he started to speak. "The world has no messengers of justice now. When we''re struck with an irreparable disaster one day, there will be no one to save us. That''s why I¡ª"


    Nagisa shook her head, climbing the steps to the stage. "Even if we don''t have our titles as Tuners, we seek justice, and our wills will never die." Siesta came to stand beside Nagisa, gently nestling close to her. "It''s all right. There are two detectives here. Just watch; we''ll save the world twice over."


    Bruno smiled, sending wrinkles across his cheeks. "<i>Corretto</i>. Good answer."


    And the hero crumpled to the floor like a dead man.

 Chapter 156 - 4.6

    <h4>Chapter 156: Chapter 4.6</h4>


    <strong>To the you and me who know nothing</strong>


    A few hours after that,te at night, Bruno Belmondo summoned me.


    In a room in the pce where the ball and the ceremony had taken ce, the elderly heroy on a bed, his face haggard.


    "I''m sorry. I know you must be tired," he said, the moment he saw me. It made the previous battle between us seem unreal.


    "I couldn''t sleep anyway," I told him, seating myself in a chair near the bed. There was an IV in Bruno''s right arm.


    A few hours earlier, the medic team Nagisa had called along with the riot squad had treated Bruno right there and then. They''d decided he wasn''t a flight risk, and now he was resting quietly. That said, I really doubted any public organization in existence was going to be able to properly investigate the former Tuner.


    "I''ve kept quiet about it, but for the past two years, my health hasn''t been good. I''ve been disguising it with medication, but it seems I''ve hit my limit."


    Had Bruno been pushing himself since he came to Japan with Noel two weeks ago?


    "I sort of suspected you were immortal."


    Bruno had already lived nearly twice as long as an ordinary person, so...


    "Ha-ha. All men are mortal, you know." Despite what he was saying, Bruno smiled merrily. "A life span is the only thing no doctor or inventor can fix. Last summer, Stephen told me I had about six months left."


    Half a year fromst summer.


    "Is that why you dissolved your foster rtionship with Noel?"


    Knowing he didn''t have much time left, Bruno had fixed his eyes on the future and tried to ensure Noel would stand on her own.


    "Bruno. What made you adopt Noel in the first ce?" There was no way he''d seriously seen her only as a pawn.


    "I''d had a business rtionship with the Lupwise family myself for years. Once, when I visited their residence for a conference, I happened to see her. Her eyes were the same as mine," he told me. "She longed to know the infinite outside world. I couldn''t help but identify with her."


    Noel''s family had treated her terribly, as she was the child of a mistress, and they''d almost never let her leave the house. Had he wanted to show her the outside world because he had spent a century traveling around it?


    "Besides, once I saw the family close-up, I knew they were headed for ruin in the near future. I couldn''t leave a child in that environment."


    "You also knew that Noel''s big brother vanished on purpose, right?"


    "Yes. I hear he wasn''t able to cope with the weight of shouldering the family responsibilities, and he left on a rambling journey in search of freedom. Apparently, the public was told that he''d died suddenly in an ident."


    ...I see. It wouldn''t have looked good for the family''s heir to have run away. That was why they''d pretended he''d died, and hastily installed his little sister Noel as the head of the family.


    "But in the end, I''m leaving her alone again." Bruno gazed up at the ceiling. "Please take care of Noel," he said in a choked voice.


    Now that I thought about it, had Bruno included this in his calctions as well? He was the one who''d originally put the detectives and me in contact with Noel in Japan. Since he knew he wouldn''t live much longer, he might have made sure she met us so that she wouldn''t be lonely once he was gone.


    "So, Bruno. Why did you call me here?"


    I already knew what answer I was expecting: I was hoping for the real motive behind Bruno''s crimes.


    At first, he''d only wanted to learn the secret the Federation Government was said to be hiding. As soon as he realized this wouldn''t happen, though, he''d imed that he wanted to awaken the world to the danger it was in by making himself a visible evil.


    I didn''t know why he''d called me here instead of Siesta or Nagisa, but I needed to find out his true motive.


    "The Information Broker could never die a peaceful death. None of the past heroes could, either," Bruno said quietly. "In the end, it''s just tragedy. In the past, most Tuners fell in the line of duty, and new messengers of justice were added to rece them, one after another. That was the history of heroes. After such a long life, I believed that as well, and it didn''t trouble me."


    Bruno wasn''t answering my question directly. Assuming this would


    eventually be relevant, I listened to him carefully.


    "What is this? Right now, I''m headed toward a peaceful death at the end of my natural life. I haven''t even been tortured. ¡ªUnbelievable." Bruno''s eyes widened, and he went on fiercely. "A peaceful death should have been impossible for me. If this old body of mine dies peacefully, it will prove that I was no hero... I realized a little while ago that I wasn''t all-knowing. I didn''t know that I knew nothing."


    Bruno''s throat worked dramatically, veins standing out. His thin arms stretched weakly toward the ceiling.


    "Perhaps I really know nothing still. Was I the same as that king who died, charmed by a fleeting peace? I know it was unbing for someone my age, but the realization left me unbearably frightened. That was why I came up with this n."


    Bruno finally confessed his fundamental motive. The reason the symbol of justice, the world''s wisdom, had attempted to be Evil.


    "As I stood there, I hoped that I would be judged evil in the end. I wanted the god known as ''justice'' to pass judgment on me."


    So that was it: Bruno had considered himself evil the whole time.


    That was why, two weeks ago, he''d impersonated a messenger from Another Eden and issued a deration of war to the Federation Government.


    It had been a battle to see whether the gods¡ªor the world¡ªcould stop him once he''d fallen from his seat of justice.


    "It was like standing on the scaffold." Bruno let his arms fall limply. "But my wish wasn''t granted. I wasn''t allowed to meet a violent death. I was saved¡ªand not by any god, but by the girl detectives."


    I''d seen it y out myself: Siesta''s cool thinking and Nagisa''s passion had saved Bruno Belmondo.


    "It sounds like a plot straight out of a television show." Bruno''s murmur echoed in the dimly lit room. "I''d nned to be evil, but I was saved by the shouts of the young protagonists, and now I''m about to meet a peaceful death. It''s like an idealized story that someone wished for," he said, and he looked straight at me as he said it. "In that case, who wrote this script?"


    "The script?" I asked. It was the first time I''d responded since Bruno began his tale.


    "A drama, a movie, a novel¡ªanything will do. Who is scripting this story? asionally there''s hurt, tears, anger, and loss, and yet we continue to look ahead. Things don''t always work out, but that slightly bitter taste lingers in our


    hearts once the tale is over."


    Bruno''s dry eyes were fixed on my face.


    "I''ve lived in this world a long time. It used to be far more unfair than it is now. When did that change? Whose dream is this? Whose story are we dreaming right now? Tell me!" Bruno was taken by a coughing fit. Pushing his gaunt frame up from the bed, he set a hand on my shoulder. "What is it that I''m forgetting? This world¡ª <i>It''s moving on, oblivious to the fact that it''s forgotten something as if it never was...but what?</i>"


    I couldn''t tell him.


    It wasn''t that I knew but couldn''t say. I was just a detective''s assistant: If the Information Broker didn''t know something, I certainly didn''t either.


    I responded with my own question: "Why would you tell me about this?"


    Bruno''s expression returned to the peaceful one I was used to seeing. "A girl came to me once and asked me to save you."


    "A girl?"


    Bruno nodded firmly, then tried with difficulty to lie back down. I reached over to help, supporting him.


    "She told me that, someday, Boy K. would be a singrity that would shift the world''s axis," he recalled.


    Boy K. And this girl had meant me? Who had she been, and when had this happened? I asked, but Bruno just smiled. "It''s nearly spring, is it?" he whispered instead, gazing out the window.


    Dawn hadn''t broken yet. The sky was still dark, and it wasn''t possible to see outside.


    "I''ve lived so long, but you know, I''ve never seen Japan''s cherry blossoms.


    That''s my one modest regret." He smiled a little.


    It wouldn''t be cherry blossom season for another two months. By the time those flowers bloomed, Bruno would be¡ª


    "We''ve got this saying in Japan: ''Dumplings before flowers.''" Bruno looked a little mystified.


    There was no way the Information Broker didn''t know his Japanese proverbs. Still, what I was trying to say was this: "We don''t actually pay much attention to the flowers. It''s more about who we see them with, who we eat with, who we talk to. That''s what matters."


    "...Yes, you''re right." Bruno nodded as if that made perfect sense.


    Convincing the world''s wisdom of something was probably the biggest honor there was.


    "You''re resembling that man more and more." "Which man?" I looked perplexed.


    Bruno wouldn''t tell me, but he did say, "You can''t have forgotten him. Never him."


    Then he fell silent. He''d told me everything he needed to say. I got to my feet. "You should go eat some good food with Noel again."


    Then I turned away from Bruno and twisted the doorknob.


    "Oh, yes. We hadn''t had the banquet yet, had we?" Bruno gave a little smile, then murmured to no one in particr. "Let''s all gather around the table tonight. After all, the world is at peace again today."


    As I stepped into the hall, softly closing the door behind me, I saw a figure standing a short distance away, its head bowed.


    Noel de Lupwise was still wearing her ball gown. When she noticed me, she raised her head and smiled slightly.


    "Did you hear us talking?"


    "...I''m sorry. I wasn''t very close, though, so I didn''t hear much."


    She didn''t have any reason to eavesdrop at this point. I shook my head. "Don''t worry about it."


    "I was vaguely aware of this." After a few seconds of silence, Noel spoke. "I could tell Grandfather wasn''t well. He seemed to think he was hiding it, but..."


    "I see. You''re family, all right."


    I said this on reflex. Noel seemed a little startled, but then she smiled faintly. "Yes, I know everything about Grandfather."


    I knew right away that she was probably making a dig at herself. However... "Bruno said he was ignorant. I don''t know whether that''s true or not. That means you should tell him, Noel."


    "...Me? Tell Grandfather?"


    "Yeah. I think you probably know the things he doesn''t."


    Yesterday at the bar, Bruno had told me he''d seen Siesta argue with me and was surprised to see her like that. If you asked me, Siesta and Bruno were the same. Even those who''d upied the seats of justice had sides they hid from others, even if they themselves didn''t realize it. They had to have people close enough to them to have seen those hidden sides.


    "So tell Bruno. Before he''s a Tuner, he''s just a regr old guy who knows quite a bit about some stuff and loves his liquor."


    That would probably be the best way to honor her foster father.


    I hadn''t been able to manage it, but Noel still had time. I thumped her lightly on the shoulder, then turned away. We didn''t really need good-byes.


    "Was I wrong?" she asked again, behind me. "Should I have stopped Grandfather sooner?"


    Because Noel had been Bruno''s family, she''d been close enough to him to realize what was really going on. Even so, she''d prioritized the wish she''d wanted to get no matter what she had to risk, and now she was asking me if she should regret it.


    "I don''t know. You''re the only one who knows about you, Noel."


    "...That''s true. I''m sorry. I''ll ept both the regrets and the responsibility." Noel sounded rather lonely, but she spoke bravely.


    Did it sound as if I were coldly pushing her away?


    "If you find the answer to that someday, I''d like you to tell me," I said without turning around. "It doesn''t have to be a ck-and-white, ''yes'' or ''no'' answer. It''s okay if you''ve only got part of it. It can be the wrong answer, and whenever is fine. Just tell me, please."


    That was when it happened.


    "Let''s forget about positions and titles and just go have fun."


    I felt some gentle contact at waist level. Noel was hugging me from behind. "You don''t know the real me yet, Mr. Kimihiko." There were tears in her


    voice. "Just as you were always wary around me, I wasn''t letting you see my true self. I kept it hidden. The real me is spoiled, childish, possessive, a terrible crybaby, and very, very annoying. But even if that''s who I am, if we meet again, will youe y with me?"


    "Of course I will." Turning around, I wiped Noel''s tears away with a finger. "The more trouble they cause you, the cuter little sisters are."


    For a moment, Noel stared nkly back at me. Then she smiled shyly at the joke.


    Her tears hadn''t dried yet. There was no need to dry them. Tears didn''t have to be hidden in front of family.


    One more time, I patted her on the shoulder. "Go on," I told her.


    Noel nodded decisively, then started for Bruno''s room. "I''ll be back." There would probably be a day when I could respond with "I''ll be waiting."

 Chapter 157: Epilogue

    <h4>Chapter 157: Epilogue</h4>


    Three dayster, after we''d returned to Japan, we received word that Bruno had died. When I got the phone call from Noel, I''d been prepared for it on some level, but it still took a while before I could speak.


    One of the seats of justice was gone.


    Noel said he''d breathed hisst quietly, while she was there with him. After the conversation I''d had with Bruno, part of me wasn''t sure whether that peaceful death had been the best oue for him.


    Still, Noel told me she thought he was happy. She''d spent far more time with Bruno than I had, so if she said as much, I''d try to believe it. After all, the dead couldn''t tell us themselves.


    That''s what I was thinking about as I walked through town in the dusk.


    The town was basically deserted. The district was blocked off with yellow "Caution" tape which people weren''t technically supposed to cross, which made it a perfect ce for thinking.


    "It''s still cold."


    It was still a little too early to count as spring. I pulled up the cor of my coat to shut out the wind.


    It had been a week since Noel called us with the news.


    I''d spent my days waking at noon and putting in an appearance at university, starting with my third-period lecture. Since I wasn''t in any clubs, I''d part ways with Nagisa and go back home to our apartment in the evenings.


    I''d been given some time off from my job as the detectives'' assistant.


    Since our representative had gone off somewhere, the agency wasn''t open. I''d texted and called, but she hadn''t responded once.


    Just as I was thinking about going to look for her at random, even though I had no leads, I''d finally gotten a response today. Apparently, she''d gone overseas on a whim. I still wished she''d reported it or checked in or talked it over with us first, but her position on this stuff hadn''t changed in the past seven years.


    "Huh? Are you working on your day off?" Finally, I heard a familiar voice behind me.


    "If the president takes time off, the employees have to pick up the ck, you know. Where have you been bumming around?"


    "I only stepped out for a bit. No one likes controlling people, you know.


    You''re not my boyfriend or anything."


    When I turned, there was the detective, messing with me as usual.


    "Still, why are we meeting here?" Siesta looked around, wondering about our designated meeting spot.


    The city was covered in greenery as far as the eye could see. Although it had once flourished as a popr ce for teenagers, you''d never think it now. The buildings full of fashion stores and caf¨¦s had all been engulfed by nts.


    The symbol of the whole ce was Yggdrasil, the great tree that towered behind us like a stronghold.


    To the two of us, this tree was the memory of a battle. It was the ce where we''d sealed Seed, one of the world''s enemies. It was also where Siesta had fallen into her long slumber.


    "I just had the feeling we shoulde here," I said, realizing I''d hesitated a little too long.


    I was struggling to find the right words. But this was a ce we couldn''t avoid, and it had seemed like a good spot to be as we faced the past and the future.


    "I see. Still, you do have that book." Siesta had noticed the origin text I was carrying under my arm.


    "Yeah. In the end, it''s safer to just keep it with me."


    About ten days ago, the origin text had changed our destinies in a major way. It had a special power, and there was no telling when the enemy would try to take it next. If they tried, I would use the text''s power to see the future and head the enemy off. However, the origin text hadn''t alerted me to any future crises since that time.


    "I never dreamed you''d seen the future back then." Remembering what had happened in France, Siesta gave me a slightly exasperated smile.


    "Yeah, if you want to fool the enemy, first fool your friends. That''s what you said, remember?" I retorted.


    Unusually for her, Siesta shrugged, admitting defeat. "And? What have you been doing for the past week, Kimi?"


    She wanted to know what I''d been up to while she was away from the agency. We''d technically been on vacation, but she seemed certain that I''d been working on something independently.


    "I visited the prison with Nagisa on the weekend. It turns out Ms. Fuubi escaped."


    She''d escaped quite a while ago, actually.


    "About ten days ago?" Siesta asked; she seemed to have picked up on something.


    "Right. It happened while we were in France."


    That couldn''t have been a coincidence. It had begun two weeks before that, when the man with the snake-sword had attacked the prison. Apparently, he''d inflicted heavy damage on the security system.


    As a result, they''d decided to transfer Ms. Fuubi to another prison...but while she was in transit, the transport van had been attacked by men wearing gas masks. Then Fuubi Kase had vanished.


    "So the Information Broker helped Fuubi Kase break out of prison?" That was Siesta''s theory, and I agreed. It had all started with that attack on the prison. That hadn''t happened just to convince Siesta to be the Ace Detective again. It had also been part of the n to break the Assassin out of jail. In that case, why had Bruno helped Ms. Fuubi escape?


    "She was hisrade," Siesta murmured, looking up at the orange sky. "It was the same with the Men in ck. Bruno built his group from people who shared his mindset, who sensed the same danger. They were working together to aplish something."


    Right¡ªthe chain of incidents that had happened at that ceremony. Bruno and his coborators had passed themselves off as messengers from Another Eden and menaced the world.


    Come to think of it... We''d heard Bruno''s group had essed the Federation Government in a way that was impossible to analyze; could Stephen the Inventor have been the one who''d done that? He''d probably provided other techniques and inventions for Bruno''s n, too. That odd weapon that had been used during the attack on the prison, for example, and the optical camouge robe that the figure in the crow mask must have been wearing. Thinking back, I seemed to see the Inventor''s shadow everywhere.


    "And? What about you, Siesta?"


    Where had she been during her week away from the agency, and what results had she gotten?


    "I was traveling the world," she said, as if it was nothing. "There was something I was curious about. I visited various ces around the globe."


    "Why didn''t you take me with you?" "You had school."


    <i>You promised to take me everywhere. What happened to that? </i>I swallowed the


    words down for now.


    "This past year went by so fast." Instead of telling me what she''d learned during her trip, Siesta began reminiscing. "On the day I woke up, you and Charlie cried and clung to me."


    "Hey, I didn''t cry."


    "When I set up the detective agency, you started working there as if it was a given, even though I hadn''t said a word about it."


    "Well, way back when, you told me to work on being independent."


    "Then Nagisa joined us and the three of us worked, and yed, and yed, and yed."


    "Lot of ying, there," I retorted, and Siesta broke into a grin.


    "I''m sure these are memories you and I have inmon. However, if there''s one thing we''ve learned, it''s this."


    I had the feeling I knew what she was about to say. "Human memories can''t be trusted."


    She was right. I''d lost important memories to pollen from a monster called Betelgeuse once. Long before that, SPES had taken some of Siesta''s and Nagisa''s memories. Those experiences had taught us just how fragile human memory was. Besides...


    "Bruno said something simr. He said to doubt ourselves, to know that we know nothing."


    So...


    "Are we forgetting something right now?" Or¡ª


    "Is the world forgetting something?"


    If so, when had history and memory diverged? What was fiction, and what was reality?


    It felt as if the things I believed in had beenpletely overturned without warning, and I staggered slightly.


    "It''s not a dream, is it?"


    <i>The fact that you''re here.</i>


    <i> </i>


    "It''s not a daydream or anything, right?" The fact that Siesta had woken up that day.


    I remembered the dream where I''d seen Hel.


    What she''d said to me, up there on the roof at night.


    <i>"You''re having a very convenient dream."</i>


    Hadn''t she been talking about the one I was having right then? If not, what dream had she meant¡ª


    "I''m here."


    A gentle touch came from behind me. "I''m right here."


    Siesta''s arms were around my waist. Their warmth traveled all through me.


    This wasn''t a lie. It wasn''t a dream. This was my beloved partner. We''d met seven years ago, then parted multiple times, but we''d really managed to meet again this time. She was really here.


    "Do you think I''m a fake?" "No."


    "Do you think this is a dream?" "I''m sorry I doubted it."


    "Then do you think my embracing you like we''re lovers is some kind of fantasy?"


    "Now I''m positive: You''re the only one who can mess with me like that, Siesta."


    We both smiled, and she finally released me.


    That had cleared up my biggest fear. Even so, there were a ton of things I had to think about and mentally organize. I drew a deep breath, and then...


    "Hey, Siesta? A year ago, how did you actually wake up¡ª?"


    Just as I was about to start a discussion that focused on the future...


    A gust of wind blew. I heard the sound of the air and of rustling leaves.


    Siesta and I looked up. An enormous tree filled our vision, soaring up and up into the sunset sky.


    "It''s all right," Siesta murmured. "We have Yggdrasil."


    Seed had once been our greatest enemy. However, even though Yggdrasil was technically the form he''d taken after our battle, it had brought great benefits to our world.


    The wind carried Yggdrasil''s seeds all over the globe. At first, we''d worried they might be dangerous, but research had shown they could regenerate and restore soil and air that had been rendered barren due to atmospheric pollution or radiation. Dry, deadnd grew green and sustained life again.


    "The old battlefields I visited look like this now." Siesta showed me photos of her solo trip. These ces had been devastated by war, and it had been said that vegetation wouldn''t grow there for a century. However, new nts were already beginning to sprout, and vines had twined around the crumbling buildings as if they were trying to support them.


    "Yeah, there aren''t many ces that haven''t felt Yggdrasil''s life-giving touch."


    That was true in Japan as well. The bluemunications tower, the nation''s tallest, had nearly been absorbed into the tree. Vegetation was beginning to reim the Japan National Stadium where Saikawa had held her concert, and it probably wouldn''t be usable for much longer.


    The cruising tour we''d taken on the Seine in Paris was also scheduled to end once the historic structures that were a part of it had be one with Yggdrasil. There was no way around that, though.


    "After all, this is the will of the world," Siesta said, looking up at the tree that towered into the red sky.


    She was right. This was to protect the world. The human race would need to give up civilization so that thend, our father, could survive. That was what "peace" was. It was the happy ending we''d reached.


    "..."


    The wind blew again. Somehow, the cold wind of winter seemed oddly lukewarm to me.


    "Siesta?" I said. Siesta tilted her head slightly, telling me to go on. "What do you suppose will happen if nts end up covering the whole world?"


    Even if the world was cleansed of pollution, if it was taken over by Yggdrasil and its seeds, like this city...what would happen to humans? Wouldn''t we run out of ces to live?


    "What are you saying, Assistant?" Siesta dismissed my doubts with augh.


    That''s right: When I''m worried over nothing, she always blows those worries away like the wind. That''s what lets me rest easy and keep talking about dumb stuff.


    "You know that''s what '' '' is for." Siesta had said something.


    I was sure she had; her lips had moved.


    I hadn''t managed to catch it, though. The wind had gusted through again; had that been why?


    I was about to ask her to say it again when Siesta cocked her head.


    It was almost as if she didn''t know what she''d said either. "¡ªAssistant."


    "Yeah."


    After a short silence, we exchanged nods.


    We didn''t need any special words. We were sure we were on the same page now.


    The detective is already dead. But herst wish will never die.


    That''s why it''s still too soon for an epilogue. And...


    Now the detective has been revived. That means our adventure isn''t over.


    This is Act Two, the sequel, and it''s going to overturn everything about the story so far.

 Chapter 158: Re:birth

    <h4>Chapter 158: Re:birth</h4>


    <strong>Side Charlotte</strong>


    "Lift your head, Charlotte."


    The moment I heard the voice, lightnced into my pitch-ck surroundings.


    <i>It''s bright</i>. How many hours¡ª No, how many days had I been blindfolded?


    If I hadn''t slept, I would have been able to tell from my internal clock, but they''d drugged me. When I came to, I found myself kneeling on a hard floor with my wrists and ankles bound.


    "Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. Can you hear me?"


    I could. I was just ignoring her. After all, I recognized that voice. Finally, my eyes got used to the light.


    I was in a vast, white space with seven chairs in it. They were upied by seven masked individuals in white. The woman in the center was probably the one who was speaking. Where was this? And...


    "What do you want with me, Ice Doll?"


    That was the code name of a Federation Government dignitary. Everyone here was either a government high official or the equivalent.


    A few days ago, instead of attending the Ritual of Sacred Return, I''d been pursuing a certain person. Of course I''d felt really uneasy about the ritual as well, but I knew it wasn''t the only threat. I didn''t dare take my eyes off my target¡ªFuubi Kase¡ªand so I''d been tracking her. I''d finally found a certain piece of information...and the next thing I knew, I''d been snatched by Ice Doll''s group.


    "I''d expect no less of you. You didn''t jump at the bait of the Ritual of Sacred


    Return."


    Ice Doll''s masked face turned toward me.


    ording to the report Kimizuka had texted to me, the former Information Broker had rebelled against the Federation Government at the ceremony. However, he''d said, the government officials hadn''t been there. They''d fled elsewhere. It couldn''t be...


    "Did you know Bruno Belmondo was going to revolt all along? Is that why you''re here?"


    There was a brief silence.


    "Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. We''re told that you''re brilliant." Instead of answering my question, Ice Doll started telling her own story. "As soldiers, your parents didn''t remain with one organization. Instead, they wandered the world, obeying their own ideas of justice. As an agent, you followed in their footsteps."


    So what? I didn''t know what Ice Doll was trying to aplish with this conversation.


    "You promptly lost sight of your parents'' backs, though. As your next goal, you chose the Ace Detective. When she disappeared, you apprenticed yourself to the Assassin, following in yet another person''s footsteps. You''ve always chased someone''s shadow, searching for a new ce to belong. Like a hermit crab."


    "Are you picking a fight with me?" I red at Ice Doll. Could I at least rip that mask off her face?


    "As I said, I am praising you. You can change the shape of your justice to suit the situation. What''s important to statesmen in this ever-shifting world isn''t rigid convictions, it''s flexible decisions. Your changing justice is exactly what''s needed."


    ...I didn''t have a ready retort for that. I was aware that Icked confidence in my justice. That was why the old me had put my faith in my parents'' justice, and the Ace Detective''s, and the Assassin''s. It had been the only way I could live.


    "Kidding. That''s all over now."


    I''d resolved that worry several years back. A boy who was constantly saying "Not fair" and hispanions had rescued me, and I''d changed. Provocation like that wasn''t enough to rattle me anymore.


    "Let me ask you again: What do you want with me?"


    "Just as the Information Broker carried out his private goal, our n has also made great progress." Ice Doll brought the conversation back to that topic. "In specific terms, we''ve identified the enemies of the Federation Government: the Inventor, the Hero, the Revolutionary, the Men in ck, and the Assassin.


    Because of Bruno Belmondo, they may all have regained their memories of the Akashic records."


    The Akashic records? What was she talking about?


    "Appropriate steps must be taken. You are indeed brilliant, so we would like you to assist us."


    ...She wasn''t telling me to kill them, was she? If so, she was overestimating me. Even I wasn''t reckless enough to take on the Tuners directly. However...


    "You''ve basically admitted that the Ritual of Sacred Return was a performance meant to smoke out those who would betray the Federation Government. That''s what this is about, isn''t it?"


    The Federation Government had been plotting to round up all the traitors, including Bruno.


    "We wouldn''t have minded if the Ritual of Sacred Return had gone smoothly.


    It is true that we wanted the Tuners to retire voluntarily."


    So they''d wanted to distance the Tuners from the world? Why?


    "That said, one of the ''specific threats'' we were concerned about, the King of Wisdom, has left the stage in a truly natural way. As draws go, it''s quite enough."


    "...What are you people nning?"


    "We aren''t ''nning'' anything. It''s already done."


    We weren''t on the same page in this conversation. I shook my head slightly. "Next question, Ice Doll. Where are we? If you don''t tell me, I''ll sh your throat," I said to one of the people who ruled the world. "That''s the ''changing justice'' you want, right?"


    Ice Doll seemed to smile thinly beneath her mask. "I just assumed you''d already picked up on it." Then, finally, she told me. "This is Mizoev."


    The Mizoev Federation. It was a great country¡ªan entire continent¡ªin the distant global south. It had diplomatic rtions with almost none of the United Nations'' members. For all practical purposes, it was isted. However, its independence made it a buffer zone for every other nation, and it had made great contributions to world peace for a very long time. ¡ªOr so most people thought.


    "How about that. I had no idea Mizoev actually existed," I said. This time, I was sure Ice Doll''s eyes narrowed behind her mask.


    "Most of the world thinks that Mizoev is the world''srgest federated nation, both in terms of poption andnd area. A huge, invisible shadow-nation. A country that''s rendered distinguished service to world peace. They say the Mizoev Federation has prevented many great wars. It''s not true, though."


    I''d said all that in a rush, and for some reason, my chest suddenly felt tight. Come to think of it, the area around my lungs had been hurting a little. But I had to get this said.


    "The Mizoev Federation <i>isn''t real</i>. No such nation exists anywhere in the world."


    In short, the Mizoev Federation was a convenient concept that was used to resolve international problems quickly. If backroom deals between nations and treaties conducted without the knowledge of their people were going to work, a nation that had absolute power was necessary.


    It was a clever way to make the world run smoothly: create a fictional nation with enough power to make humanity believe there was no sense fighting a decision made by Mizoev.


    "No, Mizoev does exist," Ice Doll said impassively. "See? It''s right here."


    In the next moment, light shone on the screen behind Ice Doll. The picture showed drone footage of a vast, icyndscape.


    "That''s where we are now?"


    My lungs hurt because it was cold. As soon as I realized that, I started to physically feel the cold as well.


    "Even as it is, it''s far more livable than it used to be."


    The picture shifted to another aerial shot that zoomed in on a certain point. On a vast in of floating ice, nts were growing. The screen switched again, showing a ptial structure that was clearly man-made. Was that where we were?


    "...You''re saying this is Mizoev?"


    I couldn''t see many people managing to live here. "Yes. Long ago, some people called it Antarctica."


    Ice Doll turned back, gazing at the screen. It showed a single flower blooming in a field of ice.


    "It''s all thanks to you and your friends."


    I had a feeling that she was about to say something crucial. "The seeds of Yggdrasil brought life even to this remote ce."


    I didn''t know why, but a terrible chill raced down my spine.


    "You aren''t used to the climate here; you must be cold. Bring her something


    to wear," Ice Doll ordered.


    Immediately, I felt a presence behind me.


    "¡ªI don''t need it!" With my arms bound behind me, I slowly crawled toward Ice Doll on my knees. "What are you people trying to aplish?! Why did you bring me here?!"


    Ice Doll didn''t turn a hair. Like an ice sculpture, like a doll, she didn''t move a step.


    The figure behind me tried to drape a coat over my shoulders again.


    "...! Like I said¡ª!" I whipped around, but when I saw him, my mind went nk.


    This man was dressed like the others, but he''d removed his mask. There was no way I could mistake his face for anyone else''s.


    It was my father.


    "Charlotte. Come join the Federation Government." He reached out, toward a changing justice.


    "Board the Ark with us, and let''s depart for Eden."


    Side Mia


    "Madam Mia, this is..."


    When Olivia and I reached our destination and stepped out of the helicopter, the sight that met us left us stunned. It was a city overgrown with nts that hade from Yggdrasil''s seeds. Humans had already left the area; there was no longer anything that could be called "civilization" here.


    "Is this it? Thendscape you keep seeing in your dreams?"


    That''s right. It was one of the dreams I''d been having a lot these days.


    In a vast jungle, I discovered an enormous monument, and I always felt a great pull toward disaster from it. I would sweat buckets, then wake up.


    After the Great Cataclysm a year ago, I''d lost the ability to see the future, but I still saw several strange dreams on a regr basis. The dream about the origin text had been one of them. And this time¡ª


    "This is it. The ce I always dream about."


    I looked up at the monument, which was several times taller than I was. It was an enormous, timeworn clock.


    The great clock was nearly falling to pieces. I didn''t know what it was, specifically.


    However, for some reason, I did know its name.


    "The Doomsday Clock."


    The hands were poised to strike midnight, and that would spell the end.


    "So the global crises really haven''t gone away?" Olivia''s gaze was unsteady, as if she couldn''t ept this as reality.


    I''d believed they were gone as well.


    And I wasn''t the only one. I was sure Boss had, too, and all the former heroes. "We may be forgetting something vital."


    I thought back to the Great Cataclysm.


    No, it had happened a little earlier than that¡ªwhen had it begun? "It started on that day."


    I retraced my memories, beginning with the day when the world had gone strange.


    The day the Vampire, who bore a grudge against the human race, had rebelled.


    A video chat notification came in on Siesta''sputer. When I picked up, the screen showed Mia dressed as a cat-eared maid.


    "It''s been a while, huh, Mia?" "...Boss sold me out."


    When she saw me, Mia froze up for a second, then slumped dramatically.


    From what she told me, Siesta had suggested a cosy party today. "She''s just gone shopping. She''ll be back soon."


    "Why are you picking up her calls anyway?"


    Well, because I thought it might make life interesting. "..."


    "Wh-why are you staring at me like that?"


    Blushing, Mia fidgeted with her special-asion costume and hair. "I thought you looked like you wanted to hear you were cute."


    "...! The thought hadn''t urred to me, but if you do think so, then say so!" That side of her really is cute.


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