Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 5 - Chapter 17

Those who protect the living. 

After that, I placed Siesta in a wheelchair and headed for the wardroom. The two of us went as representatives because we didn’t want everyone to gather. 

We walked down the old corridor of the small hospital, and when we opened the door to the room we were looking for—there was a girl asleep on a bed. 

"Natsunagi…" 

While pushing Siesta's wheelchair, I approached the girl—Nagisa Natsunagi. 

I dropped by this room so many times over the past week, but I’d yet to see Natsunagi smile like she used to. 

"It certainly seems like the conditions are right for Nagisa to wake up." 

Siesta remained in her wheelchair and analyzed the situation while staring at Natsunagi who was on the bed. 

"But there are also aspects that us laymen can’t realize. There’s still some serious damage accumulated inside her body, for example, and even if she does miraculously overcome her brain-dead state with that?nap?, the burden on her cerebrum is still unavoidable. She’s still in a vegetative state." 

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. I've been reading a lot of medical books this week, but I couldn't come up with much of a hypothesis as a layman. Besides, in a special case like Natsunagi's, we can't rely on past cases." 

That's why we need an expert at this time. A medical expert who once saved Natsunagi's life, and who might be able to help her regain consciousness again. 

"—Before you start worrying about others, you two should be aware that you are also seriously injured." 

And behind me was a man's voice. I turned my head around…but the man didn’t look at me as he went straight towards Natsunagi. 

"She's doing well. There didn't seem to be any problems while I was gone." 

The man in the white coat murmured in a flat voice and adjusts the IV connected to Natsunagi's arm. 

"Thanks for your help." 

I said, and the man finally turned around to look at me across the bed. 

He looked to be in his mid-thirties. He had bright blond hair, and contrary to that, dusky eyes peeping out from behind round glasses. He had a distinctive intelligent-looking face, and the white coat gave him the look of a doctor, and also a wise researcher. 

"Is it about this girl? Or are you talking about yourself? Certainly, I've taken care of countless patients, too many to mention." 

The man made a light-hearted remark with an indifferent expression on his face. After all, he wasn’t the type of person to make jokes. 

"Both. No, Siesta, Saikawa, and Charl…you’ve taken care of everyone. Thank you." 

And it's not just this time. Speaking for myself, this doctor treated my injuries after the first time I fought SEED and was brought here. And also, this man was the hospital director who I asked about Natsunagi's condition. 

According to what I've heard, this hospital wouldn't accept ordinary patients, and was a facility that would take in people in special situations like us. In the past three years of our travels, both Siesta and I have been saved many times by such back-alley doctors. 

"No, you don’t have to thank me. That's my job, and that's the role I have to play in this world." 

…There was a subtle disconnect between our conversations. It's as if he wouldn’t allow any alternate interpretation. It's as if he refuses to let us read between the lines, or even to interpret otherwise. 

"I’ve yet to tell you my name, no?" 

And without reading the mood, the man told us with the same blank expression as ever. 

"My name is Stephen Bluefield—the?Inventor?." 

—Inventor, the first thing that came to mind whenever that term popped up would be something akin to the world's greatest inventor, Thomas Edison. Or if we’re to go further back in time, Gennai Hiraga of Japan, inventor of the electric heater. Or perhaps this man wasn’t talking about such an ordinary Inventor. 

"A?Tuner?." 

Siesta, who had been watching from the sidelines up to this point, intervened, 

"He was involved in the creation of my?seven tools?, kept my body in a state of suspended animation through cryopreservation, and also created Noches with artificial intelligence—this is the back-alley doctor.” 

…So that's how it was. We missed the opportunity to meet each other at the?SPES?hideout two weeks ago, the unknown doctor who was based there was this Stephen. He is one of the twelve?Tuners?protecting the world, the?Inventor?. 

"It's been a long time, Stephen." 

Siesta, seated in her wheelchair, looked up at Stephen across from her. 

It seems that the?Tuners?, the protectors of the world, are well acquainted without my knowledge. 

"Ah yes, now that I see you actually moving and talking, I can see that the year-long therapy has been a success." 

Stephen then narrowed his eyes at the patient he had worked so hard on for so long. 

Siesta, on the other hand. 

"I owe my life to you and Nagisa. But, Stephen, if you consider it your mission to save people's lives, please. I want you to save Nagisa's life this time." 

Once again, she begged Stephen for help, wanting to repay the favor she had received from Natsunagi. She believed this man was the only one who knew how to wake up Nagisa Natsunagi. 

"Daydream." 

Stephen called Siesta by her common name as he stood up and wrote on a chart. 

"That's a gross underestimation of me as a doctor." 

The way he said it made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. 

Not an overestimation? 

He wasn’t being modest and going all 'I'm not that good'. 

"I always do my best to save my patients and clients, pouring my heart and soul into them, using all the knowledge and skills I have. I never regret whenever the subject still doesn’t wake up, for I’m proud that I've already done all I can do." 

There was no hint of anger or frustration in his voice. 

Siesta and I listened to Stephen, who was simply stating a stark fact. 

"So, at this moment, if there's anything I can still do for my patients, it proves that I had been slacking in the past, it's proof that I've been slacking in the past. My pride as a?Tuner?and a doctor shall deny that with all my pride as a Tuner and a doctor." 

Hearing Stephen's assertion, I understood why Fuubi-san had told me that day that "Nagisa Natsunagi is dead". It must have been because of her faith in the?Inventor?. 

Fuubi-san surely knew the philosophy of the?Inventor?Stephen Bluefield. Thus, she understood that if the result of Stephen's treatment was "brain death", there would be nothing left to do. 

"…That's why, even then." 

In hindsight, when I vowed to bring Siesta back to life a few weeks ago, Fuubi-san informed me about the existence of the?Priestess?Mia Whitlock as a possible hint. But normally, it would seem more natural to introduce Stephen, the?Inventor?, who was also involved in Siesta's treatment at the time. 

Fuubi-san didn't do so because she understood that there was nothing else to be done, since the?Inventor?had already done everything. But even so, the only existence back then that could somehow present itself to me, who believed in miracles, was probably the?Priestess?. 

"Therefore, there's nothing new I can do for Nagisa Natsunagi." 

This will be the last thing I shall do for her, and with that, Stephen put on his lab coat and left the wardroom briskly. Stephen had been gone for the past week, probably somewhere else…visiting patients with special needs. 

"Wait." 

Then on her own, Siesta moved her wheelchair and followed Stephen. I followed her into the hallway and saw the?Inventor?stand still with his back to Siesta's call. 

"I too know your philosophy." 

Siesta then spoke from behind Stephen's back. 

"There's another philosophy you have. It's that you never attempt an operation that's one hundred percent impossible. Paradoxically, as long as you're involved, there's always a chance that the patient will survive." 

That's another belief of Stephen the?Inventor?. Therefore, Siesta argued, there is still a 1% chance that Nagisa Natsunagi would wake up. 

"Nagisa was diagnosed as brain-dead and donated her heart to me according to her previously stated intentions. But you didn't stop there." 

Stephen then transplanted Alicia's heart into Natsunagi. Normally, a patient who's been deemed brain dead would never recover. But Stephen still went through with the second transplant because he saw a 1% chance of recovery. 

"Indeed." 

Stephen spoke up with his back turned on us. 

"That day, I transplanted a heart from the brain-dead Nagisa Natsunagi into you. And that was the end of my work as a doctor." 

But, Stephen continued. 

"After that, I decided to work as an Inventor." 

The blue eyes turned towards us, and he gave a wry smile. 

"I don't like unrepeatable miracles." 

However, Stephen's expression quickly returned to his original cold yet intelligent face. 

"I realized that normal people do not resurrect, but I also knew very well that your bodies were not normal." 

Saying that, Stephen stared at Siesta, or rather, at her left chest. 

"And I was also interested in the?Primordial Seed?that made you so." 

"…So that's why you've been using the?SPES?experimental facility as your base of operations?" 

That's what Noches had said when Natsunagi and I visited that place a couple of weeks ago, there Stephen had continued to treat Siesta while investigating the?Primordial Seed?. 

"Yes. In fact, when you died a year ago, Daydream, you were also successfully preserved by cryonics…but that wasn't a case of success due to me alone. Immediately after your death, you also unconsciously tried to preserve your life by using the?nap?." 

Stephen took one look at Siesta and added another reason for her resuscitation. 

"Then the other day, I realized something else while I was operating on Nagisa Natsunagi, as the only one fully compatible with the?Primordial Seed?, she could have intentionally placed herself in a state of suspended animation by means of?nap?." 

This was the reason why Stephen wanted to reach out to the supposedly dead Natsunagi once again. 

"So, after transplanting the heart from Nagisa Natsunagi into Daydream, I also transplanted the heart of a girl named Alicia into Nagisa Natsunagi. I had brought a spare heart from that facility in case Nagisa Natsunagi's heart was too damaged to be transplanted, and it worked out well." 

"So, Alicia's heart is here…" 

Siesta blurted out while still in the wheelchair. 

Natsunagi, Siesta, and Alicia all carry SEED-derived DNA from the medication experiments they underwent six years ago. That's why their hearts were compatible with each other, and why they were surgically matched. 

"The two surgeries were successful, and there were no issues with the transplants themselves. However, neither Daydream nor Nagisa Natsunagi woke up immediately. As for Nagisa Natsunagi in particular, there was no biological reaction that would overturn the diagnosis of brain death that I had once made, and she seemed to be approaching her limit." 

That's when you came to the hospital room that day, Stephen said. I recalled that scene from ten days ago when I took Natsunagi's hand that was getting colder. 

"That's why I didn't overturn the diagnosis of brain death, in fact, I thought the result was natural. If the dead could be brought back to life so easily, there would be no need for the profession of a doctor." 

…Ah, yes, that’s right. If we apply the logic of modern medicine, Natsunagi was indeed dead at that time. But Stephen, perhaps three days later, reversed his own view. On that day a week ago, Siesta woke up, and Natsunagi (Hel) came back to life later. Siesta's heart, which was originally hers, took three days to activate, and Natsunagi woke up from suspended animation by SEED's command. 

"I hate that shallow word 'miracle'." 

Stephen repeated the same words. 

"Why can't miracles happen every time? –How absurd that assumption is. I only believe in things that are repeatable. In that respect, the?Primordial Seed?, which brought two people back from the dead, should be called the Philosopher's Stone, because it is repeatable." 

"Then there's the miracle of waking up Natsunagi once again…" 

As I said this to myself, I immediately noticed a contradiction. 

The?Primordial Seed?had already been lost. After all— 

"Right now, there is not a single piece of?seed?left in Nagisa Natsunagi's body. I've already done all I can do for an ordinary person." 

Eventually, the discussion wound back to the beginning. As a doctor, as an Inventor, Stephen had already done his part. Now he was going to save another patient with special needs somewhere in this world. He would leave behind Natsunagi, who still hadn't woken up. 

"You used Alicia's life…!" 

The voice I eked echoed through the corridor. 

He used Alicia's heart, her life. 

There was no way that Natsunagi would go to that much trouble and never wake up again. 

"Assistant." 

Siesta gently tugged at my cuff. I clenched my fists, my nails unwittingly digging into my palms. Yes, there was another problem that came to my mind. 

I know that Stephen, as a doctor, used Alicia's heart to help Natsunagi. But of course, Alicia's will wasn’t involved in that. I didn’t know if that was really the right thing to do. 

"My job is not to speak for the dead." 

Stephen's voice echoed in the hallway and I looked up. 

"The words of the dead have already been lost. My mission is to save the lives that are right in front of me, to save people with science. Nothing more." 

I know. The dead wouldn’t tell us anything. It's arrogant of us, as the living, to speculate and hope that ‘he or she must have thought this'. 

However, there was once an idol that cut through such contradictions with beautiful things. She dressed up in beautiful dresses and sang songs to overcome their doubts. As to whether that’s the right thing to do, I don't know. 

—But, there were no prerequisites to ask of since the dead wouldn’t speak. Maybe there is no right answer to begin with. 

"Allow me to repeat myself again, Kimihiko Kimizuka." 

Stephen calls out my name when he shouldn't have. 

"I'll kill one to keep two alive. I will not save all three. I always think of the greatest happiness of the whole. Numbers are everything. The greater the number saved, the greater the justice. I don't have time to dwell on the wishes of the dead as I continue to save the living." 

The next patient is waiting, Stephen said as he left. I couldn't say anything back as I saw the smiles on the faces of…Alicia and Natsunagi. 

"Let's go back." 

Siesta gave me another small tug on my cuff. I nodded silently and went back to Natsunagi's wardroom, which I had left open. 

"I'm sorry, Natsunagi. I spoke such strange things to you." 

Then I spoke to Natsunagi, who was still asleep. I tried to take her hand…but somehow I was too afraid to do so. Now that I hadn't figured out how to wake Natsunagi up, I felt like I wasn't qualified to take her hand. 

"…Hm? What's this?" 

Suddenly, I noticed what looked like an old book on a nearby shelf. It was near where Stephen had been standing in the first place. 

"…That’s!" 

I handed the book to Siesta, whose blue eyes flickered. 

And when Siesta opened it…it looked like a child's picture diary. In it, a dark-haired girl was sitting on a bed, surrounded by a white-haired girl and a girl with peach-colored hair, and they were chatting away. 

"It's Alicia's diary." 

Siesta uttered and hugged the diary close to her chest. 

"…If you're looking for answers, you've already found them." 

I looked at Alicia's diary and Siesta's sidelong face and remembered. 

There was a point when Natsunagi's body was awakened by Alicia's heart. I saw three little girls standing side by side at that time. That’s the answer. Even if it was a selfish wish, I still wanted to believe in that scene, in Hel's words. 

"Wake up soon, Natsunagi." 

I called out to her while she remained sleeping in bed. 

And then we’d have our usual silly bickering, like we always do.