Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 4 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue 

I opened my eyes, and a white ceiling entered my vision. 

The smell of medicine, the aching body, and then I realized it's the hospital. 

"You're awake?" 

I heard a deep female voice a little away from the bed. I turned around, found a familiar red-haired policewoman—Fuubi Kase was peeling fruit with a knife. 

"Want an apple?" 

"…As to be expected of an assassin, your knife skills are top-notch." 

I said as I looked at the finely peeled apple skin. 

"So, how long was I asleep?" 

The curtain blocked the incoming sunlight. It's been half a day since then, at least. 

"Hm, about 40 hours or so." 

Fuubi-san said as she glanced at the watch. It seemed I slacked off longer than expected. 

"Well, it's a lot less than that detective though." 

But she told me, "Continue to sleep." 

"…Anyway, Fuubi-san, why are you here?" 

I asked, and she was about to pull out a cigarette…only to put it back into the box. She probably hesitated about smoking in a wardroom after all. 

"Three things I have to tell you." 

Fuubi-san looked up at the ceiling while stating the reason why she was looking for me. 

"First of all—Charlotte Arisaka Anderson's in the ICU, unconscious." 

In that decisive battle in the dumps, SEED used the ?feeler? before my eyes and tossed Charlotte out from the third floor of the multi-story parking lot. She probably lost consciousness and was unable to adjust herself when she landed. It's a miracle that she was alive. 

"How's her situation now?" 

"Who knows? I'm not a doctor." 

Fuubi-san answered with a familiar-sounding line. 

"It all depends on how strong her will is." 

She didn't specify what that would be. Considering Charlotte's biggest wish though, there's no need to question further. 

"And second—Yui Saikawa's probably imprisoned by SEED." 

In the decisive battle against SEED, Saikawa was swallowed up by the building beams and disappeared before me. 

"Is she fine? Where is she…" 

SEED's aim was to use Yui Saikawa as the vessel and to possess the body, so Saikawa probably wouldn't die. If SEED had completely taken over Saikawa's body… 

"I'm preparing everything I have to search for her. We haven't found out if SEED did anything obvious." 

"…So that means you can't be sure if Saikawa's fine, right?" 

Well, we need to figure out how to save Saikawa while it's not too late. 

"And then, Fuubi-san." 

I sat up on the bed, and asked her, 

"Where's Natsunagi now?" 

I heard about Charlotte and Saikawa, so Natsunagi's left. 

She took my place to challenge SEED alone— 

"I was mistaken. She's the detective." 

Faced with my question, Fuubi-san muttered. 

"A detective would sacrifice anything to complete the mission. That sense of self-sacrifice too was inherited by the past ?famous detectives?, and truly she was—" 

And the next moment, before I knew it, I found the face of the red-haired policewoman before my eyes. 

"So what if you beat me up?" 

I had unwittingly pried the blanket aside and grabbed her by the collar. 

I knew. 

I knew how futile it was. Nobody had to remind me. 

But I couldn't allow for the fact that someone would say it so certainly. 

"That fist should go for the real enemy." 

Fuubi-san gently removed my hand on the shirt and left the wardroom silently. 

I was left alone and stood there. 

Yes, I already knew. 

But I was terrified of admitting that reality. 

"Natsunagi." 

The detective is already dead.