The Detective is Already Dead

Chapter 31: Interlude 2

"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 glance. 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.

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Well, if it brought those two closer together, I supposed I'd just have to take a little undeserved blame... 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'd come 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. "Playing 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 year later, you will be placed 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— 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'd completely 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 that come true as well?

No, of course not. After all, while it hadn't come up in the video yet, ultimately, Hel had—

"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— and those girls—met our ends."