Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 9 - Chapter 5.04

The king’s back

The vampire and his bride didn’t exchange words—rather, they couldn’t. Scarlet spoke to Marie, and Marie responded with gestures and expressions. It was their first conversation in fifteen years, held in a language only they could understand.

Natsunagi and I watched them from a little ways off. While we did, we checked to make sure we were both all right, though it seemed a bit late for that sort of thing.

“It’s amazing you managed to bring Marie all the way here, Natsunagi.”

The castle and its surroundings were a battlefield. The ground was probably seeded with explosives. Even with support from the Men in Black, pushing that wheelchair all the way here had to have been rough.

“I did get pretty dirty.” Natsunagi looked down at her muddy clothes with a wry smile.

They were a badge of honor, though. No matter how dirty they both got, the detective and the idol stayed as clean and pretty as ever.

“So where’s Siesta?”

“She’s asleep downstairs. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

“Thank goodness,” Natsunagi said, but her expression clouded over slightly. Her eyes were focused on Scarlet and Marie.

“I don’t think this was the best outcome.”

Natsunagi was probably talking about her choice to reveal the truth—a truth that nobody had hoped to hear. The detective had known it wasn’t the sort of choice that would save everyone, but she’d still decided to tell them.

After all, Marie had always wanted to know the truth. The only thing she’d been looking for was an answer. Natsunagi had identified with her client, and had granted her wish. There was no point in wondering what Siesta would have chosen, way back when. This was the choice the current detective had made.

“Good work, Ace Detective.”

That was all I could say, but it was what I felt I most wanted to convey.

Natsunagi’s shoulders flinched slightly. She was still frustrated, but she swallowed her regrets and smiled. “Thanks.”

“—Hmm?”

The floor had suddenly shaken beneath us. For a second, I thought, Earthquake? but the subsequent explosion immediately proved me wrong. The whole building rocked.

“Natsunagi!”

Natsunagi had lost her balance. I pulled her into my arms, and we both fell.

The shaking settled down almost immediately, but… Don’t tell me that was—

“The artillery? …Why?” Natsunagi looked confused.

There was no mistaking it: This castle was under attack, and the cause was all too clear.

“We’ve been played by the Federation Government.”

We’d asked the government to temporarily halt their attacks on the Nightless Castle and the surrounding war zone, promising that we’d use that time to incapacitate the undead and stop Scarlet. However, right now, they were…

“Ha! That sounds like the sort of thing they’d think of.” Scarlet had apparently realized what was going on, and he slowly rose to his feet. “Wait a moment.”

Then he vanished.

He’d flown toward the hole in the ceiling, the one that connected this room with the balcony. He returned thirty seconds later. “They have us surrounded.” Apparently, he’d taken a look at the situation from the balcony. “Not completely at this point, but combat vehicles are advancing on us from the horizon, traveling in formation. No doubt that explosion was one of their ballistic missiles.”

“…Dammit, this wasn’t the deal.” A thought flashed through my mind: They betrayed us. But then it hit me. We’d stopped the vampire rebellion. That was why the government had started attacking again—they were planning on wiping out Scarlet and all the remaining vampires.

“Scarlet, what do we do?”

“Ha! I may have other options, but the only thing you can do right now is flee. Or were you planning on challenging them all to hand-to-hand combat?”

I’d already realized that. The problem was how to make our escape.

“…Hang on. From the way you said that… Scarlet, do you…?”

“The higher-ups were only ever after the vampires. They don’t seriously intend to let the Singularity or the Ace Detective die. Run, before you get caught up in this.”

“We can’t do that. Besides, Marie’s also…” But as I started to say it, I realized Marie was looking at me. With a smile, she shook her head.

“Don’t make me say it,” Scarlet said.

Right: Marie was a vampire. The detective and I had just proved that ourselves. That meant she couldn’t run now. The Federation Government was planning to eradicate all vampires here.

“——! Another one…”

The floor rocked again, more forcefully than before. That missile must have struck closer.

“Go,” Scarlet ordered us. “Don’t get me wrong: I have no intention of dying here. I’ll engage the enemy.”

“…Can you win?”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Scarlet unfurled his one wing and smiled, golden eyes glittering dangerously. “I am the king of the vampires! I would never lose to mere humans!”

The king was more fearsome, more prideful and arrogant, and more utterly unyielding than I’d ever seen him.

“Let’s go,” I said to Natsunagi, who was still hesitating. I grabbed her hand. “We can’t make him say it twice.”

He’d told us to go.

It wasn’t fear or awe that made me decide to leave. I did it to show my respect.

“We need to stop downstairs first. I’ll carry Siesta on my back.”

Swallowing back tears, Natsunagi took one last look at Marie, then turned around.

So did I. I turned away from Scarlet’s back and started toward the exit.

At this point, it was all I could do.

I’d lost to Scarlet, as I’d already admitted.

“Kimihiko Kimizuka,” I heard him call out behind me.

“If you claim you are unable to choose between the world and a girl, then simply change the world itself. Rewrite the plot. Transcend your assigned role. The Singularity is what makes that possible.”

Those were the last words I ever heard him say.