Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 5 - Chapter 16

Epilogue and Prologue 

"Yes, the world crisis is over." 

The girl on the phone breathes a sigh of relief. 

"Yeah. It's been a week since then, but there's no sign of SEED's seal being broken." 

I was in a small hospital, resting my back against the wall in the corridor. 

—A week ago, in a city ruled by plants, we took on the?world crisis?. Siesta and I, and then Hel, battled against the?Primordial Seed?. We were ultimately victorious, but the cost was great. 

Nagisa Natsunagi’s alter ego, Hel, imbued the remaining power of the?seed?in her body and her own consciousness into the red blade, and sealed herself together with SEED into the Great Tree. Even now, that tree stood tall in the city, looking down on us humans. 

"Good work, Kimihiko." 

The girl on the phone said to me."All of you chose a route to the future that even I could not foresee, and successfully saved the world crisis. As one of the ?Tuners?, I express my thanks." 

Thank you, so she said. 

I could tell that she was bowing on the other end of the phone, even though she’s 9,000 kilometers away. 

"…Nothing from me." 

Indeed, while a?world crisis?had passed, it wasn’t something I could have done on my own, but through the dedication of Siesta, Natsunagi, and many comrades. And finally, it was Hel—who inherited the passion of her Master, who put SEED to sleep. 

I wondered if Hel was able to meet a happy end as I looked at the big tree. The dead couldn’t talk, so the living should respect their silence and not speak for them. 

And yet, I thought, I couldn't help but wish that Hel, who had been seeking the bond of love, would rest in peace in that big dwelling tree…with SEED, who had finally realized its feelings. 

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Mia." 

I told Mia, wanting to change topics. 

The Priestess—Mia Whitlock is a?Tuner?tasked with predicting the?world crisis?. For many years, she fought SEED by assisting Siesta. They may have a longer history together than I do, but it’s all resolved now, so Mia was back at the clock tower in London. 

"That makes two of us. How are your injuries?" 

"Ah, I guess I’m fine enough to chat like this." 

In summary, SEED's?feeler?gouged me in the flank during that battle. Really, I would be on the verge of death…maybe the?seed?had consumed earlier still had some effect, and my wounds were almost completely healed thanks to this astonishing recovery. The?seed?had been removed by SEED, but its effects, for good or bad, might linger for some time to come. 

"If anything, Siesta’s the one who’s seriously injured." 

Siesta was bitten on the neck by?Uroboros?during the battle and suffered a severe wound. She was taken to this hospital…and finally recovered well enough that I could visit her. She should be more resilient than most people, but the wound must have been rather deep. 

 "Then, will she not heal until you go see her?’ 

With the power of love, Mia said teasingly. 

"Is that also a prophecy?" 

"A woman's intuition." 

…Ah yes. "See you later.", then I hung up. 

I reached the wardroom where Siesta was sleeping, stood in front of the door, then took a deep breath. 

I hadn't seen my old partner in a year. Back then, I couldn't even talk to her calmly because of the situation, but since I had calmed down, I wondered about what I should say, what I should tell her. Unable to think clearly, I still opened the door. 

"Hey, you doing okay?" 

It was a rather large private room. 

The famous detective, dressed in hospital clothes, was on a bed by the window with her upper body upright. 

"I guess I'm a little miffed that you recovered faster than I did." 

Siesta looked back at me. Her silvery hair was shining in the morning sun, and she smiled at me as she joked away. I didn’t know if I could say she was fine, but she seemed to have recovered enough to talk a little at least. 

"Oh, Charl's here too." 

I then spotted a blonde agent sitting on a chair near the bed, probably here to visit Siesta, but Charl herself was still bandaged up, all over her body. 

"…? What's wrong, Charl?" 

But Charl has been silent for a while now, glancing at Siesta and looking down at her hands. Charl, who had been so fond of Siesta, should have been happy to see her again after such a long time and should have hugged her. 

"Yes, that's what I expected initially." 

Siesta seemed to have read my question and explained on Charl's behalf. 

"She suddenly became embarrassed and didn't know how to treat me after a long time." 

"Ma-ma'am, please don't say that!" 

Charl continued to look down at her lap, her face blushing like an apple. 

"Charl, what kind of maiden in love are you?" 

"S-shut up. It can't be helped…" 

And it seems that her condition was rather serious since her vitriol remark was lacking. 

"…I never thought such a miracle would happen… No, of course, I believed in it, and I was going to do what I had to do. But now that it actually happened, I don't know what to do…" 

Charl clenched her fists and let out a little whimper. 

"—Come here." 

Siesta, who saw her dear disciple acting so, called out gently. Charl's shoulders jolted slightly, and she slowly raised her eyes. 

"I'm sorry for making you sad." 

Siesta apologized to Charl just as she did to me some time ago, and gently patted her head. 

"…Uuu…Ma'am, Ma'am…!" 

Then Charl opened his eyes wide, and soon tears welled in her eyes. She hugged Siesta, bawling a child. 

"Seriously, why couldn’t you just be honest from the start?" 

I watched the scene for a moment, then let out a wry smile as I replaced the flowers in the vase by the window. 

"…I don't want to hear these words from you of all people, Kimizuka." 

However, Charl, who overheard me talking to myself, popped up from Siesta's arms and glared at me. 

"You guys are still the same, aren't you? Can't you two get along a little better?" 

"There’s no future where Kimizuka and I will ever get along!" 

And Charl, now resting her head on Siesta's thigh, swore at me. 

"Here I thought we were starting to understand each other a little better." 

"There are things that you know in your head, but you can't physiologically handle, right?" 

"Siesta, I'm sorry. It seems nothing has changed since a year ago." 

Sitting on a round chair near the bed, I sighed, thinking that if we couldn't get along after this incident, we never would. 

"Fufu." 

Surprisingly, Siesta loosened her mouth and patted Charl's head on her lap as she said, 

"This is fine. It's been a while since I've seen you two continue your bickering act." 

""It's not an act!"" 

My voice overlapped with Charl's, and we glared at each other. 

And while we continued to argue away. 

"Please don't hold a fun party without me!" 

Yui Saikawa, an idol with pink and white mesh hair and an eye patch on her left, entered the wardroom. 

"Yui!" 

Charl woke up and looked relieved. 

But the position of her gaze on Saikawa was lower than usual. 

"Hey, are you okay?" 

"Yes, I'm fine! Not quite, but I'm fine!" 

Saikawa, who was in a wheelchair, turned her head. Her lower body was not badly injured, but she had not yet recovered enough strength to walk around. Pushing Saikawa's wheelchair was the former maid version of?Siesta?—Noches, who has been taking care of us all week. 

"You're still wearing the same maid outfit, aren't you?” 

"It is exactly how you see it, Kimihiko." 

Well, I could tell it's not a compliment. 

And while Noches and I were having a separate conversation. 

"This is the first time we've met face to face, Yui Saikawa." 

On the bed, Siesta smiles softly at Saikawa. 

"Nice to meet you, Siesta-san. I'm Yui Saikawa, the world's cutest idol!" 

The wheelchair-bound Saikawa did her best to appeal to the audience. They're meeting for the first time, although on her part, Siesta already recognized Saikawa, and had been working to protect the latter in the shadows. 

"I’ve caused you a lot of trouble even though I wasn’t aware of it. I'm sorry." 

Saikawa's smile faded, and she bowed to Siesta. Her parents used to fund the activities of?SPES?. 

"It's nothing for you to apologize for." 

Siesta then reached out and patted Saikawa on the head. 

"And thank you for staying by Assistant's side while I was gone." 

"Siesta-san…" 

Then they looked at each other… 

"Yes, it was a lot of work taking care of Kimizuka-san. I had to massage him, cook for him…and sometimes I had to hug him, he’s such a sweetheart…" 

"Don't make up stories." 

"Owie!" 

I slapped a karate chop onto Saikawa's head, "I wasn’t making them up though…" so she muttered something that I could hear. Siesta side-eyed me and muttered some four-letter katakana, but I couldn't hear it because of the construction noise outside. 

"But, I see." 

Siesta looked at me with the corner of her eyes lowered. 

"These are your friends now." 

In addition to Siesta, there were Saikawa, Charl, and Noches in the hospital room. There's also Mia, who was on the phone with me just now, and a red-haired detective, who I could call an ally. 

Compared to a few years ago, I've certainly made more friends and gained something important. I was supposed to be able to truly feel that way about it…but there’s still one person missing here. So I shook my head at Siesta's words. 

"There's another person who gets angrier than anyone else whenever she’s left out." 

Once I said this, Saikawa and Charl turned their heads. 

That girl's name was Nagisa Natsunagi. 

Alicia's heart transplant was a success, and she was awakened from her?nap?caused by the?Primordial Seed?.  In that final battle against SEED, Hel sealed her consciousness forever, so it should have been no surprise that Natsunagi's personality would awaken in her body. 

But it's been a week since then. Even after all the injuries were treated, she still hadn't woken up and was still sleeping alone in another wardroom. 

"Of course I haven't forgotten." 

How could I forget? Siesta said with her eyes closed. 

But when she opened her eyes, 

"So, Assistant, let's go on a journey to help our friend." 

Then she held out her left hand to me. 

"But, how?" 

Was there really anything we could do? 

As I hesitated, again and again, Siesta said, 

"We still have people we need to meet and talk to." 

…Oh, yeah. It's someone who had a lot to do with our current situation, but who hadn’t appeared on the stage until now. I had tried to contact him many times during the past week, but he had never shown himself to me. 

But if Siesta said so, then he's ready to face me. We had a lot to discuss with him. 

"Now then, shall we get ready to meet him?" 

Siesta, who was still on the hospital bed, got into a sitting position and said to me, 

"The back-alley doctor who saved our lives."