Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 4 - Chapter 2.1

Side Yui 

After Kimizuka-san and Nagisa-san left for London, Kase-san and Charl-san left the house. Bat-san and I stayed in Kase-san's apartment. 

I was going to be trained by Bat-san to awaken the ability of the "left eye". Yes, that was the plan… 

"Ahh, this one's of good quality too." 

After Kimizuka-san and Nagisa-san left for London, after Kase-san and Charl-san left the house. Bat-san and I stayed in Kase-san's apartment. 

Bat-san himself smiled contentedly while tasting fine red wine that he found in the cellar. I wonder what happened to training? 

"Won't Kase-san get angry at you for drinking her wine?" 

I ask while sitting opposite Bat-san. 

"It's fine. She really bound me well, you know? Don't you think this little bit of luxury is fine?" 

Bat-san said, gently shaking his wine glass. 

This kind of relaxed posture makes him appear to be a wild, handsome uncle. It's a mature man aura that Kimizuka-san can never match at all. 

"No, I won't be fooled by you! What happened to this special training!?" 

I questioned Bat-san, discarding my usual role as the joker. 

"Let's start the training! Which mountain are we staying at? When are we sitting under a waterfall? Do I need a bathing suit? Oh, but I can't appear in a gravure shoot because mom and dad in heaven won't agree to this!" 

"Where do I start commenting?" 

Oh? It seemed our roles were reversed somehow. 

"Don't rush. It's not too late to start after I finish this drink." 

Bat-san continued to drink the wine unhurriedly, as though he knew what would happen later on. 

"Then why did you take on the role of my mentor, Bat-san?" 

Since the training hadn't started yet anyway, we could chat. Yes, it's a rare chance, I want to chat about lots of things with this handsome uncle. 

"I thought I explained that we have a mutual interest to defeat ?SPES?, right?" 

…But Bat-san was a pretty boring person. 

It's funny, because if it was Kimizuka-san, he would have chatted with me endlessly until I got annoyed. Well, I don't care about someone who easily agrees to go overseas with another woman. 

"Well, since this is a good opportunity, I'd like to ask you one question too." 

This time, Bat-san put down his glass and asked me. 

"Are you sure you don't want to avenge your parents?" 

Maybe he drank a lot already, but it seemed he really wanted to know, not just because he was drunk. Or maybe he chose this place to ask me that question…I might be thinking too much. 

"Will you still pull the trigger if the enemy of your family or friends is in front of you?" 

Bat-san asked again. 

"Well, I don't know. I don 't have a direct hatred against Bat-san or Chameleon-san…in fact, I won't know until I actually experience it." 

I replied, remembering the incident on the roof of the TV station the other day. 

"I see. That's calm of you." 

"Really? I think the reason I can say that is because I don't have an enemy in front of me now. I may grab a microphone instead of a pistol, or vice versa, depending on the situation." 

"So you're saying you won't live for revenge, but you won't deny yourself the choice to avenge your  parents?" 

"Yes, I think in the end it's all about what I want to do." 

I remembered saying something like that to Kimizuka-san, but the truth is that I was still in doubt back then. After experiencing that incident though, and with Kimizuka-san's support, I could say this confidently. 

"Therefore, I won't live a life of revenge. I want to be the kind of person my parents would want me to be." 

"Isn't that the same as being bound to the dead?" 

"It's different." 

Yes, there's a difference. That was the one point I could lift my head up and declare proudly. 

"Because this is what I decided, since I live now!" 

So this is definitely my intention, my own thought. 

"—Is that so?" 

Bat-san muttered as if he was thinking about something, and gulped down the remaining wine in his glass. 

"Well, was that a good answer? I feel like I'm just talking to myself." 

I suddenly felt embarrassed, and asked Bat-san. 

"Yes, that can be taken into consideration. Now I understand you haven't left the embrace of your parents, Missy." 

"H-how did you come to such a conclusion? Did you really listen to what I said!?" 

"I meant it in a good way, don't worry about it." 

"You can't bluff me by saying 'in a good way'! My selling point is that I'm an adult-like character, so please don't give me a childish image!" 

Goodness, he's just a bad uncle. He's somehow as bad as Kimizuka-san, bullying such a naive and innocent girl. 

…It feels like I've been thinking of Kimizuka-san for quite a while. He's a guilty man, yes, right. I couldn't wait for him to come back. 

"Well then, now that the fun is over, let's get to training." 

I couldn't see if his face was red, but was he actually drunk? Bat-san was a little more cheerful, and finally got down to business. 

"Look, the first thing I'm going to teach you, little girl, is the basics of how the human body works…" 

"Ah, if it's going to be a long story, can we talk about it while I'm taking a half-body bath? I can hear you if you talk loudly from here!" 

"Such a brash demand coming from you." 

"Fufu, nice retort." 

That went well. It's great to have a slightly older friend. 

Surely Bat-san and I would continue to be friends for a long time to come—or at least I hoped we would be, and so I listened attentively. 

"Oh, by the way, what is your real name, Bat-san? There's an interesting game  about family names." 

"Well, it might be weird coming from me, but when can we start training?"