Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 9 - Chapter 1.06

  Interlude of a pet and his owner

After a ten-hour flight, we reached our inbound airport. There hadn’t been any direct flights to Rill’s country, so this was just a layover; we’d have to switch planes here.

On top of that, due to the time of our arrival, we had to spend the night in a hotel near the airport. Considering Rill’s condition, though, taking a break here was probably a good idea anyway.

“This turned into an unexpectedly luxurious trip,” I said. We’d just checked in, and I was taking a breather looking around the opulent room we’d booked.

We had used Rill’s Tuner privileges to stay in a high-class hotel. I’d never stayed anywhere near this fancy during my broke travels with Siesta. Of course, if Siesta had disclosed the fact that she was the Ace Detective, we could have stayed in places like this, too.

“Sorry for the trouble,” Rill told me. I’d pushed her wheelchair on the trip from the airport to the hotel. We’d had a lot of help in both places, but I’d done as much as I could manage by myself.

“Well, I am your familiar, after all.”

“You really do have a talent for being used by other people, don’t you?”

I was pretty sure that wasn’t a compliment.

“Still, wouldn’t it have been easier for you to rely on the Men in Black in the first place?”

“It would be more convenient, but this time it’s just the two of us traveling together. I’d rather not let anybody else in on this.”

“…Um, what?” I asked. Rill had sounded a little exasperated, but she also seemed to be enjoying herself.

Putting one arm around Rill’s back and the other under her knees, I lifted her out of the wheelchair and headed for the soft sofa.

“You know the Men in Black are monitoring us anyway.”

“I guess I can’t try anything funny, then, huh?”

“If the Men in Black weren’t watching, would you make a move on Rill?”

“I would need to get permission from the detective, the idol, the agent, the oracle, and a crowd of other people first.”

“Being completely surrounded by girls isn’t all good, is it?”

With a wry grin, I lowered Rill to the bed.

“Weren’t you going to put Rill on the sofa?”

“My mistake. Well, don’t worry about it.”

I sat down next to her on the huge bed. Then Rill patted the spot in front of her. Was she telling me to come closer?

“Rill’s hands work just fine. She’ll rub your shoulders for you.”

Apparently, I was getting a precious treat from my master. Settling into the spot in front of Rill, I turned my back toward her.

“You must be tired. You basically carried Rill this whole time.”

“Nah, not really. You could stand to put on a little weight, even.”

Rill’s hands were small, but she skillfully worked the knots out of my shoulders. How long had it been since I got a massage? It was surprisingly nice.

“Wasn’t that embarrassing, though? Carrying Rill in public like that.”

“Nah, I’m used to carrying girls in public.” All of a sudden, the pressure on my shoulders got about five times stronger. Was she mad about something? “Are you the type who worries about being embarrassed, Rill?”

“Rill didn’t think she was. But…” Her tone grew subdued, and the pressure of her hands eased up. “When she reverted to being a normal civilian, she may have gone too far. Fighting as the Magical Girl, Rill never cared how she looked to others… Now, though, she’s started to worry about how people see her and whether they think she’s weak.”

The eyes of others, and how people objectively saw her. She’d never needed those things before, but now Rill found herself caring about them. In the aftermath of that big fight, she was trying to change the way she lived. In a way, this might have been a rite of passage for her.

“But yeah. Rill doesn’t intend to retire from being a hero yet, so she’ll try to fix that a little.”

“Don’t push yourself. I did ask you to help us out earlier, but you’re free to live your life any way you want.”

“—I know.” This trip was at least partly to help Rill make up her mind about that. “Anyway, it’s been far too long since Rill saw her family, and she has no idea what to talk about,” she joked, resuming the massage.

She’d apparently made an appointment to see her parents, but still…

“You said it’s been five years or so since you saw them?”

“Yes. Even as a child, though, Rill doesn’t remember her parents spoiling her much or taking her anywhere. This won’t be one of those touching reunions.”

“I see. In that case, it shouldn’t matter if it’s pretty casual, right? There’s a lot you can’t tell them about the underworld, but they’re still your family.” I didn’t know if it would help, but I gave her my general opinion on the matter. “At the very least, they let you do track and field, and fed you, and raised you until you were grown. Even if that’s all they did, it’s still—”

I suddenly realized I’d been talking too much. When I glanced back, Rill’s eyes were wide. I’d startled her slightly.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about someone else’s family.”

“It’s okay. Come to think of it, you… No, never mind,” she said, shaking her head. Did Rill know about my personal history? If she’d run a background check on me—including my being the Singularity—she might have learned a few other things. That was probably why she’d opted not to get into it now. “Well, Rill will just handle things with her fists, like she normally does. They should be easier to fight than the enemies of the world.”

“No doubt. I’ll be praying for your victory in combat.”

Rill and I bumped fists lightly.

“In that case, for today, let’s hurry and have dinner, shower, and go to bed.”

“Yeah. I’ll order room service, so you go ahead and take your bath first…” But even as I said that, it dawned on me.

Rill grinned. “You’ll help Rill bathe, too, won’t you, Kimihiko?”

……Just to be safe, I thought I’d better call Natsunagi and check on that.