Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 5 - Chapter 19

Two detectives, twelve justices. 

After a twelve-hour flight, Siesta and I arrived safely in New York. We left our luggage at the hotel and headed for the Federation Conference before we had a chance to rest. 

"I guess we'll be treated like VIPs with transportation." 

I said to Siesta in the back seat of the black car. It was waiting for us the moment we left the hotel, and seeing how Siesta got into the car without any hesitation, it seems that we were headed to our destination. 

"Even if we get VIP treatment now, we might not be alive in a few hours." 

Siesta then says something disturbing. 

"Didn't you say that the?famous detective?is the main character?" 

"The defeat of the?Primordial Seed?took a lot longer than originally planned…also, there was a deviation from the future that the Priestess had originally indicated." 

"…I see. We may be held accountable for drastically altering the route that should have been taken." 

As originally written in the Bible, the future of the?Primordial Seed?was that Siesta would be defeated by Hel, and that Hel would become the vessel for SEED. In order to prevent this from happening, Siesta appointed me, a person with a tendency to get into trouble, as her assistant, and the future gradually changed as a result. 

However, the route that changed was the past we experienced a year ago when Siesta and Hel went mano a mano. SEED lost its candidate’s vessel, and only Natsunagi, Hel's main personality, survived. 

According to what Siesta saw of the future, SEED was supposed to be defeated by the surviving me, Natsunagi, Saikawa, and Charl. However, I rejected that ending as well, and swore to bring Siesta back to life, and in the present—Natsunagi sacrificed herself to bring Siesta back to life, before she finally managed to seal the?Primordial Seed?. 

…In hindsight, it was inevitable that Fuubi-san, who was in the position of the?Tuners?, would be angry with me, and Mia would cry as well. I disrupted the stability of the world for the sake of my own wish. I distorted the future, and as a result, Natsunagi— 

"As usual, you're easy to understand." 

Then Siesta let out a small sigh. 

"Don't worry, Nagisa will wake up." 

But the next moment, with a soft smile, Siesta said. 

"Maybe Nagisa is now in a long sleep, thinking that she has done all she can do. You know that’s not true though, don’t you? Nagisa Natsunagi is not a substitute detective. She's not a replacement for anyone else. She's your one and only partner." 

She squeezed my hand once as if to convey the feelings she had put into her words, and after a short pause, she let go of my hand. 

"…I see. That's right." 

Nagisa Natsunagi lost her memory, forgot how to live, and was tormented by the fact that she was nobody, but now she accepted her entire past, learned how to run, and finally understood who she is. 

She's not going to stay asleep forever. Even if she wanted to, I wouldn’t let her. I’ll kill her twice over, for myself and for Hel. 

"But I do have one correction." 

I saw Siesta's puzzled face, turned to look forward, and said. 

"Siesta, you're my partner too." 

Siesta told me that Nagisa Natsunagi was my one and only partner. 

But for me, Siesta is also, 

"—I see." 

And Siesta, like me, looked forward and spoke, but we didn’t look at each other. 

"We're almost there, Assistant." 

She didn’t say another word. As long as she called me by that title, our relationship naturally remained the same. 

Not long after that, the car came to a slow stop, as if it had reached its destination. The backseat door opened and I followed Siesta out of the car. 

"This is…" 

At the end of a large garden was a magnificent palace-like structure. It was the venue of the Federation Conference. 

"Is it okay to hold a secret meeting in such a public place?" 

"Don't worry, no civilians will notice this building." 

Siesta said and walked towards the palace without hesitation. 

"Is there a boundary or something or something…?" 

Walking three steps behind Siesta, I took a step through the palace's wide entrance. 

"There are twelve?Tuners?in total…and so far I only know about half of them." 

I climbed the long staircase and counted the number of?Tuners?I currently knew.?Famous Detective?Siesta,?Assassin?Fuubi Kase,?Vampire?Scarlet,?Priestess?Mia Whitlock, and?Inventor?Stephen Bluefield, whom I just met—and there’s also the?Phantom Thief?, whose existence I only learned of recently, was currently locked away somewhere deep underground for stealing Mia's?Bible?. 

"There are other?Tuners?who were involved with you as well." 

Siesta says, looking back at you for a moment. 

"What do you mean? Could it be that Saikawa is actually a?Tuner?as an?idol?or something?" 

"The fact that you can only think of Yui shows your lack of friendships." 

It's none of your business, and besides, there’s Charl too. 

"Well, I guess you're involved without even knowing it." 

You’ll meet them soon, so Siesta said, having decided not to explain further at this point. 

"For now, though, I think I'll tell you about some of the other members you should be aware of." 

"Yeah, nothing better than to be prepared." 

It was a welcomed suggestion to someone who had been subjected to too many nerve-wracking surprises during the past three years on the road. 

"Yes. The most dangerous ones are the?Mage?and the?Executioner?." 

Siesta continued talking as she finished climbing the stairs and walked down the long red-carpeted corridor. 

"The?Mage?is an old witch-like granny who never comes out of the forest…but she’s said to have once destroyed a village using a certain magic. Her power was recognized and she was appointed as a?Tuner?." 

"Can you be on the side of justice even if you committed a crime a long time ago?" 

Perhaps that secret art was judged to be useful in protecting the world. 

"That's a difficult question…but if we’re talking about the guilt aspect. In terms of the same crimes, the?Executioner?is inarguably the deadliest of the?Tuners?." 

"Well that escalated quickly. Aren’t the?Tuners?the ones who protect the world?" 

I guess like Fuubi-san and Scarlet, they’re not all on the side of justice after all. 

"I guess it depends on how you view justice. In fact, the job of the?Executioner?is to execute criminals who could not be judged by the outside world." 

"…So, a necessary evil." 

In this world, there certainly were cases that couldn't be judged by the law. The dark hero ?Executioner? was thus the one who would eliminate such persons from behind the scenes. 

"Yes. And with only a single scythe on the back, this?Executioner?mows down the criminals lurking in the shadows. In terms of pure combat skill, probably no worse than?Assassin?or even?Vampire?." 

"The ?Mage?and?Executioner?, huh? If possible, I don't want to get involved with them for no reason…" 

That was close. Any more words and I would have set off a flag. 

As I hurriedly covered my mouth, I arrived at a large door. 

"Ready, Assistant?" 

Siesta gave me a quick glance. 

"From here on out, don't expect conventional wisdom to apply." 

Yeah. I just need to remember what she said, and the other?Tuners?I had met. 

We nodded at each other, and Siesta opened the door with both hands, and the scene in the big room was, 

"So what Rel is trying to say is, why is it that only the?Famous Detective?is allowed to be so selfish?" 

"Oh? You’re jealous of the?Famous Detective?and you want to do the same?" 

A girl jumped up on a long desk, holding a black stick…exchanging glares with Fuubi Kase, a red-haired policewoman who was sitting deep in a chair, smoking a cigarette. 

The girl on the desk was much younger than the?Mage?I had heard of, and the weapon she held was different from the?Executioner?'s scythe. So who was this not-so-peaceful girl? 

"I wonder who that girl is." 

Siesta tilted her head. 

You don't know either? 

So she's neither the?Mage?nor the?Executioner?? 

"This is a sacred place. Lower your weapons." 

At that moment, a visceral coldness suddenly swept over my body. It was as if someone's hand was directly stirring the pit of my stomach. 

Siesta and I, as well as the two people who had been struggling, turned our attention to the source of the voice. Then, at the back of the room, an elderly man was seated at the top seat and said without blinking. 

"Here comes the star of the day. Now, let the meeting begin." 

Hearing this, the girl at the table glared at Fuubi-san one last time before finally returning to her chair. 

"Assistant, let's go." 

Excluding us, there were a total of six allies of justice lined up at the long desk. 

The meeting to decide the future of the world thus began.