Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 5 - Chapter 35

Hint: To Play after pausing the player, use this button

Add to favorites

A certain girl’s recollections.

"So? With what kind of people do you think you can work well with?"

I asked Assistant over a cup of tea in an open terrace cafe.

Today, Assistant made a mistake during a mission, so we had a debrief on our way back—and this was an extension of that. I continue to talk to the Assistant with the goal of getting her to make friends.

"What type of people do I think I can get along with?…"

Assistant, who was sitting in front of me, had an unexpectedly serious expression on his face as pondered the question before answering.

"A big sister who’s generous and kind enough to accept my faults."

"You're talking about the type of woman you like, not as a companion."

Goodness, and I was the one taking this seriously.

"With that description, aren’t you just describing me?"

"What? That’s the exact opposite of you."

I wasn’t trying to joke, but he just joked at me. Really, I didn’t get him.

"I mean, you keep asking me that, but what about you, Siesta?"

And now, Assistant asked me. Do you have any friends? I could think of several faces, Charl aside. For example, there’s the Priestess girl who lives in the high clock tower, the red-haired policewoman who I would call a comrade rather than a friend.

There were also others, such as…let’s see, I did have people I could call my friends a long time ago, but I felt like my memories were foggy for some reason…I couldn’t remember their faces or names, even though they were surely there.

"…That's why I'm nagging you, right?"

I lost them, so that’s why I wanted Assistant to find friends…

"In the first place, I don't know what the definition of a friend or companion is."

But I guess he didn't hear me talking to myself because Assistant started talking like an omnipotent junior high school student. Well, it's true that he's of an age when he would normally be attending junior high school.

"Sometimes you respect others more than yourself…no, you want to respect them. Isn't such a relationship called friendship?"

Of course, there was no clear standard, but I felt that sometimes, it was necessary to use words to describe intangibles.

"Then aren’t you and I the same?"

At these unexpected words, I stopped myself from reaching for my teacup.

"…Today, Charl and I were having trouble getting along, and I almost got hit by an enemy bullet. But you stood forward and protected me. Anyway, you're talking about me, right? I mean, what is it…?"

Assistant looked at my bandaged left shoulder with an expression of mixed emotions. This level of injury wasn’t a big deal to me.

"I protected you because it was a contract."

It was a promise I had made about a year ago—that I would protect Assistant. I took him on this journey on that condition. So, when the Assistant was in danger, it was my job to protect him at all cost…

"But you seemed to be in a bit of a panic today."

But for some reason, the Assistant looked at me as if he had discovered an interesting fact.

"Come to think of it, Siesta, when I'm in a real pinch, you're rather distracted, aren't you?"

"—?"

He’s cocky for an assistant. I was—

"Haa."

I didn't feel like saying anything back at him, so I sighed loudly instead. All that mattered to me was protecting my client's interests. I was fine as long as I could do that.

"Oh, by the way, you're acting unusual. No coffee for you?"

I suddenly became curious and asked the Assistant in an attempt to change the subject… Assistant often ordered hot coffee, but on this day, he was sipping the same tea as me.