Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 5 - Chapter 20

That’s how the world revolves. 

"?Famous Detective?Siesta, I apologize for my tardiness." 

Siesta apologized and bowed to the people at the long desk. 

"You too." 

At her urging, I followed Siesta's lead. Sorry for being late. 

We sat down side by side on the nearest chairs. 

The?Tuners?were lined up in a row, some familiar faces, others completely unfamiliar. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the vampire we were hoping for. 

"It's nice to see you again—famous detective." 

Then the girl with the stick glared at Siesta sitting before her. Her language was polite…but her tone and eyes were clearly hostile. She was dressed in a flamboyant outfit that looked like an anime costume, but her expression was cold and stern. 

"How many times have you broken the rules of the?Federal Charter?, allowed so many exceptions, and then come back to life from the other world… How much do you want the world to love you?" 

Rel probably wanted some of that good fortune. 

The girl who called herself Rel, once again pointed the stick in her right hand towards Siesta, who did not fight back. Things were going so fast for me, and my body froze involuntarily. 

"Stop!" 

But the people here are all fierce defenders of the world who have risked their lives to protect it. For example, while I couldn’t keep up with them, the red-haired?Assassin?was holding a gun to the girl's head right now. 

"Weren’t we told to put down our weapons? –Reloaded." 

"Isn't it customary that anyone who breaks the Articles of Confederation is guilty of death? What's the problem?" 

"Even if that's the case, the one who gets to do so isn’t you, Reloaded." 

With that, Fuubi-san and the girl called Reloaded snared at each other again. 

"—Fuubi, you too." 

A man in a suit sitting at the end of the table admonished Fuubi-san to put away her gun. Apparently, he has a particularly strong voice in this group. Fuubi-san and Reloaded reluctantly put away their weapons. 

However, this man seemed familiar to me. All back brown hair, deep green eyes, and the expensive suit he wore made him look like some kind of politician… 

"…I see. You're Flip Stuart." 

When I said this, the man lifted his icy mask and smiled. 

"Nice to meet you again, I'm Flip, the mayor of New York." 

Ah yes, I recognized that face from the TV screen. 

Flip Stuart—a politician who emerged during my time in this country with Siesta. His warm personality and solid track record won him support, and he continued to be on the stage as mayor of New York. 

"I didn't expect to find someone like you among the?Tuners?." 

"Yes, in this world, I have been given the title of?Revolutionary?." 

Revolutionary…in other words, a?Tuner?title? 

"I can't say much about the specifics, but the mission given to the?Revolutionary?is to lean this world slightly from the other side. In any age, the act of governance is to balance a seesaw the children are playing on.” 

To maintain and sometimes destroy the balance of the world for the sake of peace. The?Revolutionary?Flip Stuart was no beautiful woman who could charm the world on its heels, but he’s probably interfering in the world's politics and economy from behind the scenes. The world crises didn’t simply refer to aliens and otherworldly beings. The world too would soon be destroyed by the people running the countries. 

"Flip, are you the leader of the?Tuners??" 

I asked, based on Flip's behavior so far. 

"No, no, I'm just the moderator for this meeting." 

Flip, on the other hand, explained to me that he had no knowledge of this conference. 

"But, yes. If that's the case, didn't you know that we, the?Tuners?, are an organization directly under the Mizoef Federation?" 

"…Ahh, this business partner of mine won’t say anything until I ask her. Sometimes she doesn’t." 

I took a glance next to her, and to my surprise, Siesta was sipping tea by herself with the tea set she had set up. 

"But, well, it's something I've been expecting. Assuming that some country is taking the lead in organizing the?Tuners?, there are no other options than the United States, Russia, and China…" 

The six existing continents are Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Mizoev. It’s said that the Third World War, which was fought between continents over the?Akashic Records?, didn’t cause much damage to the countries, due to the?Silent Rule?of the Mizoef Federation. 

"Nevertheless, we are working as?Tuners?under the charge of the?Federal Government?, which includes some important people from other countries besides Mizoev. And among them, the?Revolutionary?has now been appointed as the moderator of the conference." 

And Flip concluded his answer to my first question. Flip's role as moderator seemed appropriate, as he was probably used to acting as a politician. 

"But this is your first time participating in the?Federation Conference?.” 

Flip looked at me again. 

"Of course, everyone here knows you, but the reverse is not necessarily true. So before we get to the main issue, let me introduce you to the members." 

…That's a scary thing to say. Why do all the?Tuners?know who I am, and why are they all staring at me like that? 

"Can you really spare time for me as an outsider?" 

"You and the?Famous Detective?are the stars of the day, after all." 

In response to my question, Flip continued, "In addition," he said. 

"All?Tuners?are allowed to have one person, with prior permission, attend the Federation Conference as their proxy or assistant. Just like her, you know." 

Flip's gaze then turned to the seat across from me. 

"So you and I are in a similar position, Olivia." 

It was Olivia—the Priestess' messenger. It seemed she was attending not as a flight attendant, but as a representative for her master, who too was a?Tuner?. 

"Yes. But by the way, the?Priestess?herself is also here." 

Olivia opened her laptop and turned it towards me...and there she was. 

"…What are you doing?" 

Mia, I wanted to call out her name, but I clammed up to protect her privacy. On the screen, however, was a girl dressed in a Priestess costume, clearly Mia Whitlock, wearing a fox mask. 

"I heard it was possible to participate online." 

We are in this era, right? Mia argues from within the screen. I never thought I'd see the day when a recluse would be ahead of the times. 

"—But I do not need this." 

And at that moment, Mia took off the mask she was wearing. Olivia and the rest of the?Tuners?stared at her, looking somewhat surprised. 

Until now, Mia has never shown her true identity, including her name and face, to anyone. We would never know what changed her mind until she told us. The only thing certain though was that the eyes of the current Mia were lit with a determination to get involved with this world. 

"I see, I guess it's just as well that you're acquainted with the?Priestess?." 

Flip then looked at me with some interest, and then wandered his gaze, "So you know him too?” Siesta, the famous detective, and Fuubi Kase, the assassin, turned their gaze to…a man in a dark suit sitting at the far end. 

"…………" 

But even though it was indoors, the sunglasses-wearing man remained motionless in his chair, his posture neat and clean. He looks like an elaborate android, and not a word is uttered from his ever-so-slightly relaxed mouth. 

I didn’t know this man. But this man had probably existed in my life so many times. 

"?Blackrobe?." 

Flip said the man’s title and not the name. 

"They're assigned to the?Tuners?as a single entity called the ?Blackrobe?, deployed around the world as handymen, so to speak." 

"…Yeah, that definitely rings a bell." 

For example, four years ago, I was forced by them to smuggle a musket and met Siesta 10,000 meters in the air. After that, they occasionally helped us with our work under Siesta's direction, and I personally relied on them after Siesta and I parted ways through death. 

"Yes. In other words,?Blackrobe?is a replacement for a piece of a huge puzzle that was lost near the time of its completion. A lubricant to get the rusty gears turning again. A deus ex machina that allows the characters the opportunity to make a story work. That's what they are." 

In this world full of contradictions, the reason why people could live without feeling any conflict might be thanks to, for example, a bullet fired from the darkness, invisible and unremembered. 

"So, I guess it's my turn now." 

At that moment, the other person, who had remained silent until now, spoke up for the first time. An old man with a white beard and a silk hat loosened his mouth. 

"My name is Bruno, the?Informant?, it is my job to provide you with useful information." 

The old man who called himself Bruno had a soft smile that made me wonder if Santa Claus would smile like this if he existed in this world. 

"It's been a long time since I've seen Miss?Famous Detective?, hasn't it?" 

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bruno." 

Siesta was surprisingly reverent and bowed to Bruno. It seems that the two were old acquaintances. 

"Actually, he took care of us without your knowledge." 

Siesta, sitting next to me, whispered in my ear. 

"You mean in those three years?" 

"Yeah, I'd say 30% of the cases we've had, we couldn't have solved without his knowledge and information." 

I see. Of the?Tuners?that Siesta had mentioned just before I left for this meeting, the?Blackrobe?and the?Informant?weren’t mentioned. 

"By the way, don't the?Tuners?have a retirement system?" 

Suddenly curious, I whispered to Siesta. 

"No, we don't. Also, you're surprisingly natural in how rude you are." 

…It's rare that Siesta got angry with me in a straightforward manner. Most of the time, I would get scolded for no reason. 

"Hahaha." 

Bruno laughs with unexpected bemusement. It seemed he heard exactly what I said. 

"No, I'm not worried about it. I'm sure I’ve been taking care of my body well." 

Bruno said, squinting softly at me…but on the other hand, there was someone else glaring at me, and she could have killed me with a look. 

"Listen here you little shit." 

I had to stop myself from saying that she’s a kid compared to the old man. 

"He's lived more than ten times as long as you have, and he's fulfilled his duties as an?Informant?. Don't ever forget to give him your respect." 

…Ten times my age? So Bruno’s…wait, he looked like he's in his seventies at most. 

"Thanks to a little special potion. It doesn't make me immortal, but it gives me a body that can live a little longer than most." 

Bruno then said to me, stroking his beard and mustache. 

"It's just that I've lived a little longer and know a little more about things. I have a lot of respect for the?assassin?and?famous detective?who are always on the front lines facing the?world crises?." 

With that, Bruno turned his kind eyes to Fuubi-san and then to Siesta. 

"Then I'd like to move on." 

And so the meeting that had begun at Flip's suggestion finally moved on to the seventh?Tuner?. The last one was a troubled girl who had been arguing with Fuubi-san before we entered the room. 

"I can finally talk to you." 

The girl—Reloaded, changed from her stiff expression, baring her white fangs proudly, and brushed her orange-red hair aside before saying to me. 

"Kimihiko Kimizuka—would you be interested in becoming the familiar (pet) of this?Magical Girl??" 

So why is it that all the girls around me are so annoying?