Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 9 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

  The bride and the Nightless Castle

Ten days after Scarlet’s challenge to the Federation Government, his undead army had conquered most of the Mizoev Federation’s territory in Alaska and was retrofitting a palace to use as its stronghold.

They called it “the Nightless Castle.”

Its master was Scarlet, King of the Vampires.

Typically, the undead revived with their instincts from their past life intact. The girl who had been Rill’s rival during her track days, for example, had come back to life to pole vault one last time. However, the undead who guarded the Nightless Castle all acted on Scarlet’s orders. Had he done the same thing as Elizabeth, or was he using some other special method?

Even then, the Mizoev Federation had sent only a small peacekeeping force to the area, which hadn’t done anything drastic. Shutting down the vampire rebellion had been the Ace Detective’s mission, but we received word that they’d canceled it on us.

According to the Oracle, this was “due to the sacred text’s prophecy about the vampire rebellion not foreseeing the situation up to this point.”

Mia had told us as much during a video chat about the incident the other day. Past Oracles had foretold certain parts of the vampire rebellion, but they hadn’t given many specifics. Scarlet’s intervention had raised the danger level significantly, and the Federation Government had changed their policy.

“Boss realized, though, didn’t she? That the Vampire would cause a rebellion someday.” Mia’s eyes had narrowed, as if she were remembering the distant past. By “Boss,” she meant Siesta. When we’d told Mia about how Scarlet had said his former bride candidate had suspected this, she’d initially been surprised, but it had gradually made a few things fall into place for her.

“I wish she’d at least left a hint, then,” I’d joked with Mia. Of course, I hadn’t been griping about it seriously; at the time, Siesta had been preparing to go up against Seed, a powerful and much more imminent threat.

“Still, Boss always does things for a reason,” Mia said with conviction. “There may be a reason behind why she did nothing about this. She may ultimately have been entrusting it to others.”

“You think? Entrusting it to who, or what?”

“To the vampire king’s choice. Either that, or to the results of his battle with the future detective. This isn’t a prophecy; it’s just a deduction.” Mia smiled wryly. “Just don’t get angry with me if I’m wrong. I’m an oracle, not a detective.” Then she’d ended the chat, saying she’d talk to us again soon.

If Mia’s theory was correct, what had Siesta seen and known about Scarlet that had made her decide to leave this to the future? No matter what it had been, we couldn’t just stand by and watch. Even if the Federation Government told us not to interfere, we had to get Siesta back.

Since Scarlet had carried her off, she was probably being held captive in the Nightless Castle. Scarlet’s undead army and the Federation Government’s peacekeeping force were still locked in a standoff there, and intense fighting could break out at any moment. Under the circumstances, it wouldn’t be easy for us to do anything without official permission.

Ten days into the incident, however, there was finally some progress, and Natsunagi and I went to visit the hospital where Siesta had been a patient. We’d been summoned by her attending physician.

When we opened the door to the room we’d been sent to, we found that one entire wall of the room was glass. It was an observation room where people could watch surgeries conducted in an OR on the floor below. An operation was currently in progress, observed by a doctor in a white lab coat standing in the room.

“My apologies, but I hope you don’t mind if I continue observing while we talk,” the doctor, Stephen Bluefield, said with his back to us. He always worked while we talked, so this wasn’t anything new.

“Is Drachma the one performing the surgery?”

“Yes, I’ve left certain areas of research to him. Regardless of his past, the man’s skills are solid.”

“…Research, huh? So it’s not a surgery.”

I glanced briefly through the glass wall. All I could see of the figure on the operating table was the shape of its body under a sheet.

“He’s investigating the supernaturals,” Stephen said, his eyes still focused on the operating room below. “Since that one came to me, he’s my patient. I need to investigate him in detail.”

“Don’t tell me—is that Greed?” Natsunagi asked.

Stephen nodded wordlessly.

Several months earlier, when we’d gotten pulled into the fight with the Seven Deadly Sins, Stephen had fought this supernatural to protect me and Natsunagi. I’d heard he’d defeated Greed, but apparently he’d turned him into a guinea pig instead.

“Anyway, let’s get down to business,” I said.

Natsunagi made eye contact with me, then turned to Stephen. “Is it true you have an update on Siesta’s condition?”

“Yes. One of the Men in Black who work for me managed to infiltrate the Nightless Castle.” As Stephen spoke, he kept his gaze fixed on the surgery below. “Of course, there is a limit to the duties of the Men in Black. They never actively resolve problems, for one, which is why he only surveyed the Nightless Castle. At the very least, though, the Ace Detective is alive. That much seems certain.”

The tension drained from my shoulders in a rush. Siesta was okay.

The fact that Scarlet had gone out of his way to abduct Siesta indicated that he didn’t intend to kill her. Still, not knowing Siesta’s physical condition meant we hadn’t been able to be optimistic, so Natsunagi and I had tried to find out whether she was safe as quickly as possible. Unexpectedly, the person who’d volunteered to help us had been Stephen.

“From my perspective, one of my patients has been kidnapped. As her doctor, I have a duty to ascertain her safety.”

And after hearing that from Stephen, Natsunagi and I had been told to wait. The site was a literal battlefield, and sentimentality would get you nowhere. I’d been reminded of something Ookami had said to me once: “Reckless courage is a sin.” So we’d let Stephen scout out the battlefield.

Now our biggest concern had been resolved, but there were still several unanswered questions.

“Why did Scarlet kidnap Siesta?”

Of course, part of it had probably been about using her as a hostage. Up on the hospital roof, Scarlet had been surrounded by the Men in Black… But was that really the only reason?

“It sounded as if Scarlet knew Elizabeth was planning to start a fight here at the hospital.” As Natsunagi spoke, she thought back to the battle ten days ago. “I think he chose to engage her here because this is a convenient battlefield for him as well. Not only that, I suspect carrying Siesta off in the confusion was his goal all along.”

We’d come up with that theory before we got here.

“I still don’t understand why, though. Why is Scarlet so fixated on Siesta? What is this ‘bride’ he keeps mentioning?”

We sunk into silence for a few moments, then Stephen began to speak. “He’s probably trying to break the curse of their short lives.”

“The curse of their short lives? You mean the vampires’ lifespans?”

The old vampire I’d run into during spring break had said something similar. So had Elizabeth. Vampires had been created as disposable weapons, and they were cursed with brief lives.

Scarlet was thirty; he’d nearly reached the end of his natural life. Was he trying to draw it out, just like the other two had?

“It isn’t something as simple as eating more human flesh and blood than he needs to survive. Scarlet is trying to break the curse on his entire race.”

“…What do you mean? He wants to extend the lifespan of all vampires, not just himself?”

Was Stephen saying that could be done? While I was still thinking, Natsunagi spoke. “If his goal is not just his own survival but the survival of his race, could he be trying to do something similar to what Seed did?”

Seed had acted in order to satisfy his survival instincts.

He’d attempted to secure a human vessel. Did that mean…

“His methods won’t be the same, but his goal is similar,” Stephen said, supporting Natsunagi’s theory. Then he expanded on it, as the expert on the subject. “In order to change their genes, which is what causes their short lifespans, his only option is to dilute the vampires’ blood. If humans and vampires mate repeatedly over the course of several generations, for example, the vampires’ genes will be rewritten slightly. It’s a plan on a massive scale, with no guarantees.”

“—Then Scarlet has no intention of extending his own lifespan?”

“No. In order to carry out such a plan on a large scale, he’ll eat enough of his comrades to prolong his life somewhat, during which time he’ll make as many children as possible and begin thinning the vampires’ blood. Considering the principles which have guided his actions up until now, that is the most appropriate theory.”

“In that case, you’re not saying—the partner he’s chosen to help him leave descendants is…”

“Most likely the one he calls his ‘bride.’”

He’d chosen Siesta for that? As the representative of the human race?

“…Right. Siesta is probably a much better candidate than ordinary people. Like me, she already has the foundations in place to accept other life-forms’ DNA.” Natsunagi pressed a hand to the left side of her chest. Long ago, she and Siesta had been experimented on to gradually transplant the primordial seed’s DNA into their bodies.

“Then for the survival of his species, Scarlet took Siesta so he could mate—mate with…” As I tried to process that idea, my head blew a fuse. “No way, no, just— No way in hell!”

“It’s okay. I know what you just imagined, Kimizuka, so calm down,” Natsunagi said, comforting me. Then she turned to Stephen again. “But Siesta’s still sleeping, right? I doubt he’ll be able to get her to go along with his plan that easily.”

“You are correct, which is why I think this plan is still in the preparatory phase. Scarlet is probably giving the Daydream transfusions of vampire blood. In general, it wouldn’t be possible to withstand something like that, but as you said, her physical makeup is special.”

…I see. So Scarlet wouldn’t be able to lay his hands on Siesta until he’d finished doing that. But…

“It’s going to be a while before you can examine Siesta again. Is that okay? What about the seed in her heart?”

“It’s actually possible that vampiric blood will act to keep the Daydream’s heart fresh.”

The heart would “stay fresh”? Was it not normally like that?

“The seed in the Daydream’s heart has been forcibly rendered dormant. This has restricted her organ function, and her cardiac cells are gradually undergoing necrosis. Human cells constantly die and regenerate; however, in her particular case, that regeneration will continue to slow.”

“—No!”

“As I told you, you will need to make a decision soon.” Stephen turned around, his cold eyes staring at me from behind his glasses. “I’m sorry, but I had best be off. It’s time for me to examine my next patient.”

White coat flaring behind him, Stephen walked out of the room, leaving behind one final remark.

“Whether the vampire makes the Daydream his bride or determines she won’t be useful and kills her, we still have time. However, be very conscious of the fact that that time is limited.”