Chapter 9
DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES, Mira had the option not to capture Fuzzy Dice. Since Wolf and Julius didn’t have any issues with that, their conversation moved on to their plan for the date written on the calling card.
“Well, whether we decide to capture him or not, I wondered if—just this once—you could go along with our plan.” The chief detective had finished his chocolate parfait, and his eyes glinted as if to say the time had finally come.
Considering how much he’d told Mira, how much food he’d treated her to, and the little bit of guilt she still felt, there was no turning him down.
“Sure thing. I’ll help,” she agreed, after downing a last bite of crème brûlée.
“Thank you!” The chief detective beamed, then turned his wheelchair and added, “Well, let’s get a move on.” Apparently, it would be easiest to explain by simply going to the spot where the plan would take place.
“Hrmm, sure thing,” Mira replied, nodding.
She hastily followed the chief detective, who briskly sped ahead. Afterward, Julius—who’d gotten up a bit slowly—moved the empty parfait dish and spoon to where Mira had sat. Having hidden the evidence of Wolf’s dessert, so that none would be the wiser as to who ate it, Julius paid and went to rejoin the chief detective.
After they left the restaurant, Mira, Wolf, and Julius went down the main street running diagonally through the center of northeastern Haxthausen. Since there were mansions lined up as far as the eye could see, Mira presumed that this area was where the wealthiest townsfolk lived.
The chief detective led them to a large white mansion that sat among several other estates. In front of the mansion, guards stood on either side of a barred gate. As the chief detective approached, one guard moved to block his way.
“What’re you doing here this late at night?” he asked gruffly.
“Just having a look around. Don’t worry.” The chief detective gave a small, exasperated shrug at the guard’s surly attitude. “Look, this mansion belongs to a man who’s both the president of the Dorres Company and the accused. He was named on Fuzzy Dice’s calling card.”
Fuzzy Dice always targeted evildoers who’d engaged in shady activities behind the scenes. Thus, the chief detective grinned slightly as he referred to the company president as “the accused.” As he did, the guard turned and stared at him, his eyes bugging.
“Oh dear. I guess it’s a bit early to call him accused. Well, it’s just a matter of time.” Utterly unapologetic, Wolf returned the guard’s gaze with a look of complete indifference.
“Beat it. Nobody’s got time for some useless detective,” the guard barked.
As the two men glared fiercely at each other, Mira implored Julius to explain why they were suddenly at each other’s throats. Julius gave a brief explanation as Wolf and the guard stared each other down.
Apparently, the chief detective had had some kind of dispute with the Dorres Company. Without going into the details, the company president and chief detective really didn’t get along. Thus, guards sent Wolf packing if he even got near the mansion.
“But, I mean, does he have to argue with the guard…?”
“It’s a bad habit of his. My apologies.”
The chief detective seemingly had some childish bad habits left over from his days living in his comfort zone as an adventurer.
As she waited for the men’s argument to finish, Mira thought back on everything she’d heard about the Dorres Company. They were rumored to have links to Chimera Clausen, and from what she’d heard from Solomon, they were guilty of other crimes as well. According to royal sources, the company’s actions skirted the edges of the law. There was nothing anybody could do about that because they couldn’t find any evidence. But this time, Fuzzy Dice would dig up the proof that the president had kept hidden and expose it to the world—just like a true champion of justice would do.
What exactly was Fuzzy Dice’s objective in that? And what kind of place was the mansion where the battle would occur? As Mira pondered these questions, the detective’s argument with the guard ended.
“No one will count on a detective who’s failed every single time. Come back when you’ve got a win under your belt.”
“Hmph!”
The guard had evidently had the last word. According to Julius, the chief detective wasn’t much good at arguing, despite being quick to do so.
“Look. He’s coming over again.”
The guard flicked his hand as if to tell them to scram. Wolf scowled in response, his brow furrowing in frustration. The guard must’ve touched a nerve, but there was no more fighting it. All the vanquished could do was leave, so Julius spun the chief detective in the opposite direction.
“Let’s get out of here for now,” Wolf said, deflated, and began wheeling himself forward.
Before they left, Mira turned her gaze toward the mansion she’d been so curious about, which lay just on the other side of the barred gate. Perhaps due to the calling card Fuzzy Dice had sent, she saw plenty of security personnel on the grounds.
“Ah. I might’ve guessed. Several of them are armed with formidable spirit weapons. And one is using a yin spirit weapon,” Mira murmured to herself unintentionally.
Since the guards were clearly armed with powerful spirit weaponry, it wasn’t a surprise that the Dorres Company had links to Chimera Clausen.
“Wow. You can tell that just by looking?” the chief detective asked. “Hmm… They have spirit weapons, huh?”
He stopped moving, squinting to look at the other side of the gate the guard stood beside. The only thing he saw was armed men, and he apparently couldn’t determine whether they were armed with spirit weapons.
“That’s not difficult for a mage of my level.” A well-studied mage could visually identify both spirits and spirit weapons, so Mira perceived the power dwelling within the weapons easily. To her, it really was a piece of cake.
“I guess I should’ve expected as much of a mage they call the Spirit Queen.” The chief detective nodded in admiration, then shifted his gaze toward the guard and smirked. “I see. So…one of those guards has a yin spirit weapon. That reminds me—they say the spirit weapons Chimera Clausen peddles are all of the yin variety!” He purposely raised his voice to make his point.
Could that really be a coincidence? It seemed likely that the guards’ weapons had been made by the loathsome organization Chimera Clausen. The chief detective eyed the guard accusingly.
Maintaining his dour expression, the guard shrugged off the detective’s gaze with a look that seemed to say that coincidences happened, and that without evidence, the visitors had nothing.
“By the way, do you happen to know who in there is using a yin spirit weapon?” the chief detective asked, pointing inside the gate. His tone implied that this was the moment of truth.
“Who the yin-spirit-weapon users are, you mean?”
Listing off some telltale signs, Mira pointed out who she thought it was. Each time she indicated a yin weapon user, the chief detective’s smile widened, his lips curling into a victorious grin.
“I see. They all have quite a bit in common, don’t they?” Wolf smiled fearlessly, as if he knew something Mira didn’t. He took one more look at the dour-faced guard before signaling Julius and saying, “Let’s be off to our next destination.”
Julius gave a small nod and began pushing the wheelchair to leave.
The detective had seemingly said enough to silence the guard at the gate. Following the chief detective and his assistant away from the mansion, Mira glanced sideways; the seemingly frustrated guard was unable to offer any rebuttal.
Making their way to a spot where they could see the mansion from a distance, the three turned to face each other.
“The Dorres Company that Fuzzy Dice has targeted is about as shady as they come, as we might’ve expected of the phantom thief,” the chief detective murmured with satisfaction.
He looked toward the faint outline of the mansion’s gate. It seemed that all the guards that Mira had pointed out really did have something in common. Wolf having spotted that was apparently what had silenced the gatekeeper and reignited the detective’s confidence.
But what was it that those guards had in common? Mira asked the chief detective that very question.
He gleefully explained that both private soldiers and mercenaries had been guarding the mansion, and the ones wielding yin spirit weapons were all private soldiers.
Those weapons were from Chimera Clausen, beyond a shadow of a doubt, and it was hard to imagine the Dorres Company getting their hands on that many private soldiers armed with yin weapons without having ties to the group.
However, the detective went on, their presence wasn’t irrefutable proof of ties to Chimera Clausen. They could simply use the absurd excuse that weapons dealers linked to Chimera Clausen occasionally went around selling spirit weapons.
Punishment for such a thing would be carried out by, among others, the Cross-Border Judicial Force. They derived their authority from a church of the three great kingdoms, so they made even the royal family break out in a cold sweat.
Because they wielded so much authority, however, rock-solid evidence was a prerequisite to get them involved. As long as the evidence wasn’t completely clear, it didn’t matter how certain the accusers were, the judicial force wouldn’t take action.
“That doesn’t clear someone of suspicion. But so long as the evidence remains hidden, the judicial force can’t convict them of anything. After all, they don’t want to go around making enemies of those with money or power.” The chief detective heaved a sigh, lamenting that every case he’d encountered while chasing Fuzzy Dice had been like this.
Smiling bitterly, he added that that was precisely why everyone called Fuzzy Dice a hero. To most people, money and power were the roots of all evil.
“Well, since we couldn’t get inside, what’s the plan now?” Mira asked the chief detective, looking toward the Dorres Company president’s mansion.
From his behavior, the guard at the gate had clearly felt animosity toward the chief detective from the very beginning. But all in all, the goal of both Wolf and the guard was to capture Fuzzy Dice. Differences aside, it didn’t make sense that the guard wouldn’t cooperate at least perfunctorily.
Still, the reality was that they’d literally been turned away at the gate. Wolf had stated his intention to work alongside the guards to capture Fuzzy Dice, but he, Julius, and Mira hadn’t even been allowed onto the scene of the would-be crime. Mira was worried about what they’d do now.
She didn’t have to worry for long.
“Ah, not a problem,” Wolf replied. “I was just checking the heist’s starting point. I’ve focused on springing all my recent plans after Fuzzy Dice executes his heist.”
In short, the chief detective only put his plans into motion after Fuzzy Dice stole the evidence necessary to bring down the accused. Given that strategy, Mira presumed that Wolf wasn’t trying to keep the phantom thief away from his mark; he was solely focused on confronting Fuzzy Dice.
Wolf wasn’t about to stick out his neck for some villain. No, Fuzzy Dice had his full support in that regard.
The chief detective suddenly turned and shot Mira a challenging look. “Now, Miss Mira… Do you have any idea where Fuzzy Dice will go after he steals the evidence?”
It seemed to her that Wolf’s entire plan hinged on exactly that. And in noting what all Fuzzy Dice’s past heists had in common, the chief detective had given her a little hint.
“Where he’ll go? Hrmm. What you’re really asking is what he’ll do with the evidence, right?” Mira asked, resolved to tackle the chief detective’s challenge head-on.
She began using all the information she’d come across to find an answer. Where will he unveil the evidence? He’ll have to create some kind of scene where there’s plenty of people, so that large institutions—like the government—have no choice but to take action.
“A big public square…?” Mira guessed. It had to be a place full of people, so a plaza with abundant foot traffic and intersecting streets seemed reasonable.
“I see. That’s your conclusion?” The chief detective gazed at her searchingly.
From the look in his eyes, Mira sensed that he felt victorious. Or rather, she could tell because he just had a terrible poker face. It was like an open book—even she could read it.
“No! Wait!” Gathering from Wolf’s demeanor that she was wrong, Mira took back her answer and reconsidered.
Wanting to come up with the right answer, she carefully thought over all the information she had. She’d never racked her brain quite like this. That said, there wasn’t technically a right or wrong answer yet, so this also just felt like a waste of time. Still, with her pride as a man on the line, Mira was determined not to back down from Wolf’s challenge.
Where else could it be…?
Mira thought deeply. Then it came to her.
If Fuzzy Dice unveiled the evidence in a town square, how many people would see it? His MO was to sway public opinion so completely that even those operating behind the scenes couldn’t avoid scrutiny. But if he disseminated his evidence of wrongdoing to the populace themselves, would that be enough to penetrate to the great dark forces that lurked behind the scenes and in the shadows?
That wasn’t terribly likely, Mira concluded. Who really cared about public outcry from a single city? As she considered this, she suddenly remembered what they’d spoken of earlier; it was the answer she was looking for.
“The Cross-Border Judicial Force… The church!”
Given everything they’d spoken about, how had she not known sooner? Mira’s expression lit up as if someone had turned on a lightbulb.
The chief detective furrowed his eyebrows, slightly disappointed, which Mira didn’t miss. “That’s your conclusion?” he asked once more.
“Yes!” she fired back.
“You are…correct.”
The Church of the Trinity had locations all over the continent, as well as an extensive information network and broad public support. They were also equipped with the powerful Cross-Border Judicial Force. Once they knew someone had done wrong, the entire continent would hear about it.
“After stealing evidence, he heads to a church by rooftop. That’s what each of his crimes has had in common.”
As he spoke, the chief detective signaled Julius. The boy turned the wheelchair and began pushing it toward the city center. It seemed they’d visit the church next.
En route, the chief detective motioned toward the roofs of the nearby row houses; aloud, he predicted the route Fuzzy Dice would take. Apparently, the thief took the shortest route possible regardless of how high or narrow it was, gliding from rooftop to rooftop.
They continued following the route that way for about ten minutes before arriving in the center of town: the crossroads where the main streets intersected. It was crammed full of the positively swanky buildings one might expect at the center of a bustling city. There were inns, restaurants, shops offering weapons and magical tools, as well as many other establishments. Just looking at them, one could tell that they were all large-scale flagship locations.
“The phantom thief always leaves the evidence he stole at a church. Perhaps for that reason, he only carries out heists on the night of the seasonal liturgy, which is held every three months.”
The church was in the corner of the area, and its splendor stood out even amid the tightly packed shops. It was called Haxthausen Cathedral, and it was one of the most prominent churches in all Grimdart.
“The liturgy will be held tomorrow night. It won’t just be in the cathedral either—this whole area will be teeming with people. Not only that, the archbishop is sure to preside over the festivities himself. Any evidence Fuzzy Dice exposes, as well as the will of the masses, will most definitely reach those in even the upper echelons of the church.”
The chief detective laughed about how much backlash the evidence gathered during Fuzzy Dice’s heists usually provoked. Details of the evidence would make their way from one church to another. In turn, the evildoers Fuzzy Dice exposed would find themselves backed into a corner, beyond any hope of salvation. Ultimately, they’d be taken away without even resisting.
“Well, you reap what you sow,” Mira muttered bitterly as she looked up at the great cathedral meant to embody the glory of the gods.
Those evildoers had spent a very long time evading the law and taking advantage of others, so it was their just deserts.
“The people, on the other hand, will stand and clap as justice once again vanquishes evil,” Wolf predicted. “They’ll have seen it happen in front of their very own eyes, after all.”
To the public, the church was like the living embodiment of righteousness. Seeing evil stamped out like that would make the believers feel good. Therefore, they’d support Fuzzy Dice for his aid in delivering justice.
That wasn’t the only reason Fuzzy Dice was popular, however. What compelled people most was that his criminal behavior—namely, stealing—forced the church at the center of their faith to take action. That meant utilizing the protectors of law and order, those who brought down the sword of judgment in the name of the divine: the Cross-Border Judicial Force.
The phantom thief exposed evildoers’ crimes so that the Cross-Border Judicial Force could bring their might to bear. It was a classic hero-antihero partnership.
The unlikely alliance between the two further distinguished Fuzzy Dice’s deeds as an honorable thief, the chief detective added.
“I imagine an evildoer would find them quite a fearsome duo.”
The thief went in and stole the evidence necessary to bring down the full might of the law. That was completely against the church’s principles, but Fuzzy Dice had no affiliation with the church, which let him do it in their stead. And while he brought them evidence of his own accord, the church couldn’t very well ignore it, so they moved to enforce the law.
“From the church’s point of view, Fuzzy Dice is a criminal for his thefts. Yet they pretty much don’t even attempt to catch him.”
According to the chief detective, there actually was a task force pursuing Fuzzy Dice. The church, which administered the law, couldn’t very well let a prolific thief who robbed all over the continent go unchallenged. That said, everything he stole was useful to the church, so the “task force” wasn’t tasked with much.
Having finished explaining this, the chief detective looked toward one area of the church. “Wow—speak of the devil. There they are. Perhaps they’re meeting about the big day.”
Following Wolf’s gaze, Mira saw five figures in matching clothes atop a platform set up beside the church. They wore black robes with red-and-white accents a bit too light to be considered proper priests’ attire. That must’ve been the uniform of the Fuzzy Dice Task Force.
These five individuals always showed up to the church in whichever city Fuzzy Dice had sent a calling card, so the chief detective seemed to be acquainted with all of them.
“Make no mistake, they’re not discussing how to capture Fuzzy Dice,” Wolf added. “They’re discussing how best to collect all the evidence smoothly and how they’ll bust into the Dorres Company mansion.”
On one hand, Fuzzy Dice had no actual legal power. On the other hand, the church had that power, but certain criteria had to be met for them to flex their authority. By using each other, the thief and the church had brought down many villains. Thus, the job of the Fuzzy Dice Task Force was to appear to attempt to capture the phantom thief while arresting the real evildoers as members of the Cross-Border Judicial Force.
“I thought the church was rigid and uncompromising. They’re actually more easygoing than you’d think.”
Mira pictured them as an institution in which laws passed down from the gods were absolute, and which wouldn’t tolerate anyone breaking those laws under any circumstances. In reality, they were a bit more pragmatic than she’d thought.
It was that way in this world for a reason. “Well, the gods are most likely somewhat easygoing too,” Wolf replied. “The Oracles of the Trinity are said to receive messages from above occasionally. And apparently, the messages are most often about not becoming too rigidly fixated on the rules.”
“Again…I could’ve guessed as much.”
Mira frankly found the whole idea of receiving messages from a god very suspicious. That said, in a fantasy world full of angels, devils, spirits, and everything else, was it that farfetched for gods to exist?
And, while Mira wasn’t sure whether it really counted as proof, the progenitor spirit Martel said that Mira was a vessel for the coming advent of the gods. Moreover, Martel was on the level of a goddess, and Mira could talk with her as she would to a friend.
“I guess the gods have substantial dealings with people, huh?” Mira suddenly asked the Spirit King.
“Guidance has been handed down so that they don’t need to interfere unnecessarily. However, they supposedly do occasionally send their followers messages if they’re struggling with interpreting the gods’ teachings. After all, if they didn’t, those misconstruing the teachings would run wild and sow chaos,” he replied as if it were obvious.
No doubt about it, this was high fantasy: Objects of worship spoke to their followers personally. That explained why so many people were faithful.
“I see,” said Mira. “It’s reassuring to feel that the gods are always so close at hand, huh?”
People here weren’t worshiping statues of gods but the real things. Fantasy religions were sure different from the ones in the real world. Mira was impressed once again.
Perhaps because he hadn’t spoken to Mira in a long time, the Spirit King launched into a lesson on the Divine Trinity, although Mira hadn’t asked about them. He talked about each of their personalities, as well as mentioning things that bordered on personal information.
The Spirit King had evidently looked forward to sharing these facts with Mira. As she listened, she noted that his voice was taking on a slightly feverish tone. She snickered to herself at the thought that he might even give Chief Detective Wolf a run for his money when it came to telling stories.
“So now, they’re peacefully watching over the world from the moon.”
When the Spirit King casually let that incredible information slip, Mira had been thinking about how—despite being gods—the Trinity sure had a lot in common with humans. But those deities—who had the most followers in this entire world—lived on the moon?!
Immediately after the Spirit King finished speaking, Martel’s slightly shocked voice was audible. “Sym, was it really all right to share that with Mira?”
“Er…” the Spirit King continued, having seemingly just realized something. “Miss Mira, that’s beyond top secret. Please don’t—”
He’d apparently slipped up. “Hrmm… I didn’t hear a thing.”
So it was a big secret that the gods—who really existed—lived on same moon hanging in the sky. Mira smirked, not so much at the absurd idea of the gods living up there as at the Spirit King’s carelessness.
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