Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 4 - Chapter 3.1

A certain girl's recollection 

I wonder how many months have passed since the fire incident. 

"Where am I?" 

I mutter to myself in an empty white room. 

My parents had died and the cult I was the guru of had been dissolved. I was brought to this orphanage by some organization that claimed to protect orphans. I wonder if this place is also a basement because the voices echoed so loudly. 

"Am I going to be killed?" 

I  thought so for no reason. They claimed to protect orphans, but in fact, they were observing me since I had a special ability, and were ready to dispose of me thereafter. Or maybe it was a facility of another cult, or that I was abducted and confined by some criminal organization. 

—But at this point, it did not matter to me. This power of mine could not save the lives of those close to me. Rather, it was because of me that many lives were destroyed. It was thus natural that I should get what I deserved. 

If I had, say, a clear sense of mission. Or if I had the strength and…courage, would the outcome be different? If so, then God must have made a mistake in giving this ability to the wrong person. 

"—There's an intruder! Heading there!" 

I suddenly heard an anxious voice from afar. Perhaps it was one of the adults who had brought me here. 

"—But we can't leave her in your hands." 

Then I hear another girl's voice, her footsteps approaching the room. That was followed by gunshots. It seemed there was an intruder in the facility. If that was the case, perhaps she was the reaper who came to take my life? …Hopefully, might as well, because, 

"There is nothing more I can do." 

My ability can only take away…the possibility of a person's future, and destroy it. 

Then— 

"Then why don't you use your abilities to protect the world?" 

There was then a proposal that was the exact opposite of what I had been thinking, followed by a clear voice that echoed in my ears. A single bullet destroyed the white wall, and she entered, held out her hand to me, and said, 

"Mia Whitlock, I want you to fight the enemies of the world with me.” 

That was the first encounter between Senpai and me. 

"Why is it so tiring…?" 

I finally finished my duties for the day, lazed off on the sofa in my room. 

That day felt like an eternity ago—I was retrieved by the ?famous detective? from the mysterious facility where I was under house arrest and was living in the tallest clock tower in England. 

"How many more books do I have to write…?" 

My right hand, which I had been moving almost unconsciously for hours, was burning and tingling as though it was suffering from tendonitis. 

My work here was to use my ability of seeing the future to predict crises in the world and compile them into a book called ?Bible?. It seemed that many generations of ?Priestesses? took this role since ancient times, and though I was yet to be used to it, I did fulfil my task. 

“You look very tired.” 

It’s hard to hear if these words from the phone next to me were consoling me or sarcastic. It was a regular call from a certain person who arranged this job for me. 

"Yes, I am very tired. Thanks to you, Senpai." 

"Oh? You have a very sarcastic way of talking to your seniors.” 

The person on the other end of the call teased me so. She had only been a ?Tuner? for half a year more than me. 

“Well, I’m the senior after all.” 

But the way she proudly declared so meant that I had to call her ‘senpai’. 

“How do you feel? Have you gotten used to your new life?” 

"…After living here for almost half a year, somewhat." 

I answered as I went to the veranda with the phone in hand. 

"Still unhappy?” 

"Does it sound like it?" 

Well, it was true that the job was harder than I thought. Sometimes it was so exhausting that I just wanted to throw them aside. 

“But you really helped me out by taking on this job.” 

And then, unexpectedly, Senpai admitted so. 

"You made a special exception for me by telling me about the world crisis involving ?SPES?. I‘m able to connect the facts recorded in the ?Bible? through deduction and minimize the damage. So,” 

You're definitely doing your part to protect this world,  Senpai encouraged me gently, even though the ?Bible? stated that she would bear a fate worse than anyone else in this world. 

"…Yes." 

I felt a little tingly at Senpai’s honest words… But still, 

"Yes. I feel that I’m having a life a hundred thousand times better than before." 

Surely, there was no need to be stubborn with someone who was thousands of miles away. 

"This job does allow me to use my ability well, for others. Maybe it can even save the world. So," 

I took a deep breath and looked down at the streets basked under the setting sun, from a hundred meters above the ground… A view I never got to see when I was locked in the basement. 

"Thank you, for giving me this view." 

I was a little embarrassed, but I thought I could say it now that I couldn't see her face, so I said it to the screen. 

“That smile is illegal. Don’t show it to boys so easily.” 

 "…Ho-how do I switch off this camera?" 

I thought that these busy, yet fulfilling and peaceful days would last forever. 

But one day, after another two and a half years of living as a ?Priestess?. 

"As I have said many times before, I am against it." 

I told the caller, with a bit of anger in my voice. 

"Till this point, letting the enemy steal the ?Bible? is still fine. But even if it is for the chance of deceiving SEED, are you still going to be its victim? –Siesta.” 

That was the trap Senpai suggested one day to suppress SEED, the ?enemy of the world?. Recently, Senpai had been asking me to assist with this plan. Ever since she met him, the future had begun to improve. 

“It's not under the assumption that I will sacrifice myself. It's just an insurance policy, a last resort.” 

Then Senpai denied my question with a gentle smile. 

"… Are you sure you are not going to die?" 

"I’m a detective. I'm just running through all possibilities to prepare for what you see in the future, Mia.” 

She softly stated as a warning. 

"But did you tell him about this strategy?" 

"Who's he?” 

…I wonder if this famous detective was serious. 

"The one you have been talking about. That boy who you are travelling with." 

"Oh, Assistant. But have I always been talking about him to you, Mia?” 

"Yes, on every call. What you talked with Assistant today, where you went, what you ate together, what kind of games you played, even things I never heard of." 

I always wondered why such things were always reported to me, but I did not realize she was unaware of it… 

“…Is that so?” 

Senpai’s voice got a little softer midway through. Would I be overthinking it if I thought that was a little cute? 

“Well, then again, it doesn’t have anything to do with Assistant.” 

After a small coughing fit however, Senpai decided not to tell him about the plan. 

"If it's none of his business, why don't you tell him?" 

"…” 

She did not answer that question. Even if she did, the intentions were more than clear. She knew that if she was honest with him, he would stop her. Senpai understood better than anyone else that her decision would not be accepted. 

"Because I'm the ?famous detective?.” 

She would not compromise on that one point. Her DNA as a ?Tuner? would drive her to keep fighting the ?enemy of the world?, and no matter how much I tried to persuade her, she would never change her mind. In fact, I already knew this from the moment she first asked me. 

"Then, promise me." 

So I told Senpai. 

"That you never give up until the very end.” 

 My voice might have been trembling. Obviously, I did not want Senpai to die, but…I just could not ignore her resolve as a ?Tuner?. So, at the very least, even if she carried out her plan, I hoped that she would not give up on living until the end. That was the selfish wish I entrusted her with. 

"Yes, I promise.” 

Senpai told me softly, nodding hard. 

“Don’t you know that I'm surprisingly fond of a perfect happy ending?” 

Remember that , she said. 

When she said that, there was a delighted smile on her face. 

"Liar.” 

Half a year has passed since then. 

I laid on the sofa, and grumbled bitterly at the girl who had been my benefactor. 

"You said you liked happy endings." 

I never heard from her again. I knew that, but I found myself with my phone in my hand. 

"Master Mia, it's time." 

There was a knock on the door, and my servant—Olivia called for me. 

"… I know. Just checking the time." 

Yes, even if I lost someone close to me, even if the world ended the next day, I had to do this job. Surely she, who entrusted me with this task, would hope to do so. With Olivia’s help, I got changed, and said to myself in my heart. 

I only needed to look at the future as it was, and solemnly record them in the ?Bible?. Such was the duty I had to fulfill, the daily life I was allowed. 

"I shall begin." 

I finished dressing, and went to the parapet of the tower to perform my duties. 

I basked under the evening sun, and starting off, I closed my eyes to rid myself of unnecessary thoughts. 

Yes, thoughts—the future possibilities that would never happen. 

I failed. I could not save the benefactor important to me, and I could not change the future. If there was one person out there who could break this taboo—that would be, 

"The ?Singularity?." 

If he can get the world involved, can he also change the future?