Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 7 - Chapter 4.4

 The masked dolls

They gave us ten minutes to answer. If their demand wasn’t met by then, they would kill one hostage.

Once the thing in the crow mask had told us the rules, the screen went dark.

Afterward, those of us who had been left behind were thrown into confusion again.

“…So the enemy really is Another Eden.”

The pain of my fingernails digging into my palms made me realize that I’d clenched my fists.

As before, the messenger from Another Eden was demanding the secret of the world. That was the enemy’s greatest and only objective. When they told us they’d do nothing if we handed over the origin text, they’d been lying.

Had Stephen tricked me on the other route? Or had he been tricked by the thing in the crow mask? Either way, one thing was clear: Until the Federation Government revealed this “secret of the world,” the attacks wouldn’t stop. Negotiations and deals no longer meant anything.

“Noel, can I ask one last question?” I spoke to her quietly, below the constant, confused murmuring that filled the hall. “Do you really not have any idea what they’re talking about?”

“…I really don’t. Those who outrank me may know, but I’m new, and I don’t have the authority to learn about such things.” Noel shook her head, biting her lip. She wasn’t lying. I could tell from her complexion, the movements of her eyes, and the quivering of her voice.

“All right. In that case, I’m going to go ask someone who does know.”

“Mr. Kimihiko…?”

I got to my feet, and Noel looked up at me. Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I walked toward the very front of the hall. The Federation Government dignitaries were still there, standing stiff and motionless. Either they hadn’t managed to flee in time, or they hadn’t intended to run in the first place. I stopped in front of one of them.

Although they were all wearing masks, the shapes and patterns of those masks differed, so it was possible to tell individuals apart. That meant I only had to look to know who this one was.

“Ice Doll, I need to talk to you.”

Any of them would have been fine. However, this woman had been particularly involved with me and the Ace Detectives, so she was the one I went to.

“What is this secret of the world that Another Eden wants?”

The masked woman only stood there silently. Every eye in the hall was on us, but none of our enemies tried to interfere. That was fine with me.

“If you people keep pretending you know nothing, one of these hostages will be killed. In fact, since you officials are directly connected to this, the odds that it’ll be one of you are good. If you know the answer, hurry up and spill it.”

As I reasoned with her, I stayed as calm as I could manage. After a little silence, she spoke. “Ice Doll does not have the authority to answer that question.”

The masked woman spoke mechanically, as if what was happening here had nothing to do with her.

“So it’s just that you don’t have the authority to answer, not that you don’t know?”

“Ice Doll does not have the authority to answer that question.”

“…People have died during the global crises before now. If you let Another Eden invade, the disasters will begin again.”

I wasn’t insisting that they accept all of Another Eden’s demands, but so far, the Federation Government’s policy had been to delay without a plan. This unprecedented disaster was all that lay ahead of us. The world already had one foot in the door to that hell.

“Isn’t it the Tuners’ mission to head off those disasters?”

For the first time, Ice Doll said something that wasn’t a canned phrase.

“…Yeah, it is.”

They didn’t need Ice Doll and the rest to give them orders. The Tuners’ missions were determined by their own free will. By their desire to save people. That was why my Ace Detectives had been peerlessly beautiful from moment to moment as they risked their lives. They weren’t wrong.

“But you people just sit back on your thrones, so you don’t have the right to say that.”

Every time a disaster broke out, they assembled the Tuners and made them fight, either until the storm had passed or a Tuner lost their life. The Federation Government had devoured the lives of heroes for the sake of a temporary peace.

They sat on their thrones, back where it was safe, while the Tuners bled. The Tuners would work themselves to the bone and die in battle, and then their shields of justice vanished without even leaving names behind.

“Do you remember how their backs looked?”

Ice Doll didn’t answer.

“Where were you on the day the Ace Detective carried out her mission at the cost of her life? The day the Magical Girl accepted that she’d never be able to walk again? Tell me, where were you? When the Vampire ended the way he did, where were you watching from?”

I knew the masked official wouldn’t answer those questions.

I wasn’t saying these things so someone would hear. It didn’t matter if they didn’t resonate with anybody. I just put that unfairness into words and got them out.

“Ice Doll doesn’t have the authority to answer that question.”

By now, it didn’t even make me mad. I’d left anger behind long ago.

What I was about to say had to do with the future.

“Ice Doll— No, Federation Government. Don’t think your way of doing things is going to work forever. One of these days, all your allies will desert you. As a matter of fact, I already know a few who are leaning that way.”

For example, the former Inventor, the former Revolutionary, and the former Hero were all about to abandon the Federation Government. The surge of rebellion was already building.

Besides…

“The detectives and I know the truth about the Mizoev Federation, which forms the nucleus of the Federation Government. If we spread that around, we can turn the world upside down whenever we want.”

The truth we’d identified probably rivaled “the secret of the world,” whatever that was. At this point, the power dynamic between us and the Federation Government wasn’t one-sided by any means. We had our guns trained on each other at all times.

“You can’t stay complacent and claim not to have authority forever. Before long, you’ll take off those masks voluntarily and start talking. You’ll beg the detectives to save the world.”

Even after that, Ice Doll didn’t take off her mask.

Fine. At least for now, I’ll respect your stance.

I checked my watch. We were out of time.

“Disappear as a voiceless doll.”

In the next instant, right in front of me, Ice Doll’s head flew off.

One of the men in gas masks had done it. Ten minutes into the incident, Ice Doll was the first hostage killed.

“…A doll?” someone murmured.

After a short delay, Ice Doll’s body toppled over.

Her severed head rolled across the ground nearby. However, there was no blood. All that was there was what I’d begun to anticipate partway through that conversation: a ruined doll.

“Are the other government officials the same?”

Even before the ceremony had begun, these people had been replaced by dolls.

No doubt the real people under the masks were watching all of this play out remotely. They’d evacuated somewhere safe and left the Tuners to handle the cleanup.

“What a farce.”

I hadn’t managed to get that vital answer out of her, though.

All my strength drained away, and I sank into a nearby seat.

“Mr. Kimihiko…” Noel had come up to me, and now she reached out, sounding worried. However, before she could rub my back, she seemed to realize something and retracted her hand.

“Let us move to the next phase.”

I heard the voice of the thing in the crow mask, although I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Once again, an image appeared on the screen. This time, there were several hundred men and women in swallowtail coats and gowns. They were standing in the venue where the ball had been held.

Every one of those people looked nervous. Just like us, they were being held captive by men in gas masks.

“…! Grandfather…!”

Noel had spotted Bruno in that image. Nagisa was beside him. In that case, had the Men in Black stationed at the palace been neutralized by the messenger’s group, too?

“Even Miss Siesta…,” Noel murmured.

As far as I could see, the detective didn’t have her musket. Fighting all those armed enemies with nothing but her bare hands would be tough. And the sheer number of hostages made the situation a whole lot worse.

“Next we will blow up this hall.”

After announcing what would happen in another ten minutes, the enemy cut the picture again.

This time, it wouldn’t be just a single government official. Unless we exposed the secret of the world, everyone in that hall would die. The Ace Detectives, the Oracle, the Magical Girl, the Information Broker—everybody.

“We’ve got no time to lose.”

This would probably be the only chance I’d get to play my remaining card.

The girl beside me was staring at the ground. I spoke to her without turning to look. “I knew it. The view from the train that’s carrying a bomb isn’t a pretty one, Noel.”