Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 5 - Chapter 3

The maid dancing in the night. 

"I see, so you met Mia too." 

Siesta, seated next to me in the back seat of the car on the way to our destination, told me so. 

The Priestess, Mia Whitlock is one of the twelve?Tuners?who protect the world. She has the ability to foresee major turning points in the world, and about a week ago, Natsunagi and I flew to London to look for Mia—looking for any clue that could bring Siesta back to life. 

"Yeah, we talked about you a lot." 

I remembered the conversation I had with Mia, who was apparently Siesta's junior, that day in London. We talked about how Siesta had been involved with the?Primordial Seed?before she met me, how the?Bible?ended up in the hands of?SPES?, and what Siesta had been preparing behind the scenes. 

"Are you angry?" 

Siesta asked without looking at me. 

"That I kept so much from you for those three years." 

…I guess. That would include the identity of the enemy we're fighting, the true meaning of Siesta's name, the?famous detective?, and her friendships. Siesta had always kept me in the dark about the most important things. 

"I won't get angry if there's a reason why you had to hide them…but," 

I realized that Siesta turned to look at me as I said this. 

"I just don't approve of the way you sacrifice yourself." 

That was something I wanted to say to both detectives, not just Siesta. 

"I…suppose." 

Siesta looked out the car window amidst the setting sun and let out a small sigh. 

"But I didn't expect Mia to be in Japan." 

Then, as if changing the conversation, "It's been a year since we last saw each other," and Siesta said with a smile on her cheeks. 

Mia wasn't in London, but here in Japan. The last time she visited Japan was to confirm in person a changed version of the future she had predicted. This time, the world had reached a critical turning point when the?famous detective?came back to life, but there was no way that the?Priestess?would not come to observe this. 

"And Mia might know what happened to Nagisa," 

"Yeah, at least she knows something behind the scenes that I don't." 

That's why we're going to visit Mia. About a week ago, Mia and Natsunagi had a secret meeting at the clock tower in London. We're on our way to the place where Mia was supposed to be right now to find out what was going on behind the scenes. 

"But Siesta, are you okay?" 

I asked, and Siesta nodded her head as if she didn't understand my intentions. 

"Well, you just woke up, and now you're moving." 

In other words, after so long, I was concerned that I had taken Siesta outside without paying attention to her body. 

"I'm not so far gone that you have to worry about me." 

But perhaps that was an unfounded fear, Siesta mumbled to herself as she closed her eyes. 

"Besides, we don't have much time." 

"Yeah, I guess so." 

It wouldn't be long before SEED takes Saikawa as its vessel. With that in mind, I gave a little holler to the driver. 

"Can you hurry up a little,?Siesta??" 

She glanced at me through the rearview mirror as she gripped the steering wheel. 

"You know, it's really annoying to be instructed by you, Kimihiko." 

Right over there was the old maid version of?Siesta?—who had returned along with the original famous detective. However, her body was returned to the real Siesta, and now she has a completely new body… 

"What's the matter? Have you fallen in love with the new me?" 

Perhaps she noticed my gaze since?Siesta?asked me with a straight face. 

"Even if you say it's a new me…isn't it still the same appearance?" 

In other words, there was a girl there with a body that looked exactly like Siesta. The only differences between her and the original are that she's wearing a maid's uniform and that she doesn't have a hair clip. 

"Yes, because this is?me?." 

Just a while ago,?Siesta?was repaired by a mysterious doctor based in the research facility of?SPES?. If that's the case, then perhaps her new body was also created by that doctor. 

"But unfortunately, I am not optimized for combat. My body and mind have become machines and I could have become a fighting maid robot." 

Siesta?noted, her expression not changing in the rearview mirror. 

"A machine's heart? That doesn't sound right to me." 

And then I complained to her. 

"Someone who can wish for someone else can't be just a machine." 

She disobeyed her master's orders for the sake of saving the latter…given this contradiction, her heart is definitely real. 

"Isn't that right, Siesta?" 

"…Yes. I never thought I'd see the day when the lot of you would surprise me so much." 

It was a line of dialogue in which she honestly admitted defeat, but her mouth seemed to loosen up. 

"Then we'll have to come up with a name for you." 

Siesta then turned her attention to the driver's seat. It was true that?Siesta?should be given a new name, both in the sense of distinguishing the two of them and also to grant her a new lease of life. 

"You will give me a name?" 

The car stopped at a red light and?Siesta?blinked in the mirror. 

Then Siesta leaned forward in the back seat, put a moon-shaped hairpin in the driver's silvery-white hair, and said, 

"Your name is Noches." 

Well, that's certainly a fitting name for the girl who bore the name of midday until now.