Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 8 - Chapter 3.0

Chapter 3

  A doll with no choices

It had been seven days since then.

In other words, one week had passed since Scarlet and Gluttony disappeared. Reloaded and even Ookami had taken off in pursuit of the enemy, leaving us behind. I hadn’t planned for a dull routine, but here I was.

I wasn’t going on Pandemonium patrols with Rill anymore. I went to school in the mornings, sat through test-prep lectures, and gave a little thought to my future. After class, as usual, I visited Siesta in the hospital and groused to her a little.

I told her we still didn’t know where Scarlet and the rest were, and that Rill was ignoring all my calls. I complained that we hadn’t managed to find her colleague Stephen. I even asked Siesta for advice: “If you were the detective, what would you have done?” I knew she wouldn’t respond.

Of course, in the meantime, I was also talking things over with Natsunagi and connecting with Mia. Since Mia was the Oracle, I’d secretly asked her if there was anything about the Seven Deadly Sins in the sacred text, but I didn’t learn anything Ookami hadn’t told me already.

According to Mia, the seven supernaturals had appeared several years ago and begun committing atrocities all over the world. Before too long, the Phantom Thief had killed three of them, and the rest had vanished.

“For some reason, I wasn’t able to predict Gluttony’s recent return,” Mia had said on a recent video call, biting her lip.

Even she didn’t seem to understand why the Oracle’s powers hadn’t worked on him. As a result, our leads on the enemy—the supernatural and Scarlet—were few, and we had no way to contact Rill and Stephen. The days slipped by, unchanging.

However, today, in the midst of that stagnant routine, I was headed somewhere different. It was a reception room in a certain building, deserted except for me, and I spoke to a screen on the wall.

“Do you have any developments for me—Ice Doll?”

The screen showed a masked elderly woman.

The Mizoev Federation embassy was located in the metro area. At night, a car driven by a Man in Black had stopped by my apartment and brought me here. Natsunagi would have been one thing, but what did the government top brass want with me?

“A lot is going on around you these days.”

Ice Doll was a high-level bureaucrat. We didn’t have the sort of relationship that would have let me joke about tests kicking my ass or whatever.

“Natsunagi’s not with me. Is that okay?”

“Yes. There was something I wanted to tell you today.”

Oh, I see. That could be an honor, and it could also be proof that I’d waded too far in to turn back. It gave me a weird, uneasy feeling.

“If possible, I would have preferred you to stay ignorant.”

Under her mask, Ice Doll’s expression seemed to twist. What on earth was she planning to talk about? I braced myself, waiting to see where this was going.

“However, it’s no longer possible to hide everything. Little by little, the world has begun to turn around you. You’ve connected with the Ace Detective, the Assassin, the Magical Girl, and now the Vampire, correct?”

“Come to think of it, the Tuners seem to be gathering in Japan, huh.”

I’d also been making pretty regular contact with Mia, actually.

“That is all because you are the Singularity.”

…Oh, was that what this was about? It was the first time I’d heard someone from the Federation Government use that word, though.

“Various global crises will continue to occur with you at their center. As they do, no doubt you’ll become involved with yet more Tuners.”

“If that’s true, I’m way too popular.” Although in Scarlet’s case, I was rejecting any affection now, thank you.

“As long as you live as the Singularity, the world’s chaos will be concentrated on one point.”

“That’s not something I’ve ever wanted.”

“That doesn’t matter. Just the result of it,” Ice Doll declared in a voice as cold as her name.

“As a matter of fact, based on that understanding, some among us thought it would be better to destroy you.”

What she’d said seemed so divorced from reality that I didn’t know who she was talking about for a second. A few moments later, I finally realized what she’d meant by “destroy.”

“That sounds…bad. Incidentally, which side of that are you on?” I asked as calmly as I could.

“Against, of course. I believe that the safety and peace of each individual life is connected to the stability of the world.”

“So the Federation Government isn’t a perfect monolith, either?” Not that I actually knew what sort of organization they were or even how many members they had.

“An organization with no dissenting opinions wouldn’t be healthy, would it?”

“…So what’s the point here? Specifically, what did you want to tell me?”

“As I mentioned, within the Federation Government, there is a movement to destroy you. That being the case, I would like to give you a word of advice.”

On the screen, Ice Doll gazed at me from beneath her mask.

“It’s all right to go back to the way you were.”

I hadn’t been expecting that one.

“There was a time before you knew the words Tuner or Singularity. You traveled with the white-haired girl you thought was simply a detective. Even before that—there was a time when you bore no heavy burdens. A time when both your hands were free. When you were free. You have the right to go back.”

Her words seemed to offer release from a massive spell. Her proposal would free me from the restraint of the Singularity, which forced me to be involved with the world.

“Even you don’t want to get dragged into the war over the Akashic records, do you?”

“…Yeah, I’m not interested. Being able to live in peace is more important to me.”

It was a well-known fact that a great intercontinental war had flared up over the Akashic records long ago. It was said that only a handful of VIPs in each country knew what those all-important records actually were, though.

“In that case, you really shouldn’t live as the world’s Singularity,” Ice Doll pressed.

I never asked to be the Singularity. It was a heavy burden.

Forgetting everything and going back to a time when I knew nothing did seem a lot easier.

However…

“Is this a threat? Quit involving yourself with the world, or else?” I asked as I pieced together what Ice Doll really meant. I already knew the Federation Government wasn’t an organization that would help citizens out of the goodness of its heart.

After a moment’s silence, Ice Doll began again. “The Singularity may be beneficial on occasion. For example, your greatest wish is for Daydream to return to life, and that wish has been partially granted. However, wishes that fly in the face of natural law will inevitably produce a distortion.”

As before, Ice Doll spoke of the Singularity’s advantages and disadvantages—and its danger.

“I’m prepared to accept the price.”

“Such statements are reserved for those who can take full responsibility. Resolve alone isn’t enough,” Ice Doll said. “Can you truly say you have paid?”

“I…”

The words wouldn’t come. A distortion created by resurrecting the dead—I didn’t know what it was, specifically.

In early autumn last year, Siesta had awakened temporarily because Natsunagi had offered up her own heart. In other words, the price of resurrecting Siesta had been the life of Natsunagi, another Ace Detective. However, Natsunagi had also miraculously awakened again, and now she was alive and working as my partner.

In that case, if my wish had warped the world, had that price not actually been paid yet? At the very least, I hadn’t sacrificed anything as the one who’d made the wish.

“Similar situations will continue to occur around you. You will become involved with the Ace Detective, the Magical Girl, the Oracle, and many other Tuners, continuously changing the world. And every time, you will generate a distortion. Those inconsistencies may manifest in ways you are unable to take responsibility for.”

“…And you’re saying the Federation Government is going to destroy me before that happens?”

“I am suggesting that, before it happens, it would be wise to consider your own future.”

And so the conversation circled back to Ice Doll’s earlier proposal.

Wouldn’t it be best if I forgot all about the Singularity concept? If I chose to live without getting involved with the Tuners, global crises, and the Akashic records?

“Do you want to make me stop being the detective’s assistant?”

“I believe someone has been sent as an alternative. If that day comes, preparations have been made.”

…Ookami, huh? My backup, the proxy assistant. If he was supposed to be my spare, he was a definite upgrade. Well, he already seemed to be prioritizing his private grudge and acting without permission right this minute, but…

“Choose any way you like. No one among us is capable of issuing orders to the Singularity.”

The choice Ice Doll had presented me with was a new path—one where I didn’t have to choose.

Should I help the Ace Detective or the Magical Girl? Should I defeat the vampires or the Seven Deadly Sins? Whose hand should I take? Whose wish should I grant? The Federation Government’s option would let me escape the tale that held those choices. They hadn’t been able to just stand by and watch this wreck of a Singularity. My hands were both full already; I couldn’t even take responsibility by myself.

“No matter what you choose, know that we are always watching you,” Ice Doll warned me when I still couldn’t give her an answer.

“What, you have the Men in Black keeping an eye on me or something?”

“No. There’s someone closer to you than that.”

Only one Tuner was closer to me than the Men in Black. Natsunagi.

“Technically, her power is insufficient for a Tuner. However, she is the one and only person who can rein you in.”

“…That’s why you made her the Ace Detective?”

They had calculated all of it. Oddly enough, that meant the suspicion Natsunagi had mentioned last year had been correct. She’d said the Federation Government must have given her the Ace Detective’s position for reasons of their own. In that case, though…

“It’s not gonna go the way you want.”

Natsunagi had picked up on the Federation Government’s plot, but she’d still held on to her pride and her wishes, and she was living as the detective who’d inherited Siesta’s will. And so…

“Don’t underestimate Natsunagi.”

Without waiting to hear her response, I walked away.