“Why not? Someone else is going to buy it out from under you, you know!” Matsurika said, sweat beading all over her face. Kurumi rolled her eyes. “That is a fake.” “What…?” Matsurika said shrilly. “That is quite obviously not an Artifact. It’s mere clothing—a cosplay costume, to be more precise. You might be forgiven for wearing such a thing if you were a child. No older than a teen, however. Matsurika, are you saying that’s what you really want?” “W-well, I…” Even while Matsurika stammered and hesitated, the bidding kept steadily pushing the price higher and higher. “One point five.” “Two.” “Two point eight.” “Hngh…” Matsurika groaned in frustration. “Two point eight billion. Do we have any higher bids?” The woman in the mask scanned the room, looking for any sign of movement from the guests assembled before her. “Ngh… Nnngh! Hnnngh…” Matsurika looked back and forth between Kurumi and the item on the stage. “It seems there are no more bids,” the masked woman said. “The win—” “Th-three billion!” Matsurika threw her hand up into the air. “We have three billion!” The masked woman looked out at the audience once more. “And it seems that no one is willing to go higher. We have our winning bid.” The bunny girls clapped, and Matsurika lowered her hand as she took deep breaths to calm herself. “…Do you have something you perhaps wish to say to me, Kurumi?” she finally said. “No, nothing in particular. It’s your money, Matsurika,” Kurumi said skeptically. “If you want it that badly, I have no power to stop you.” The masked woman’s voice rang out from the stage again. “That concludes the Artifact auction. I’ll ask the winning bidders to please remain where you are, as there is some paperwork to take care of. You will be escorted to another room. As for our other guests, I’m afraid this is where we must bid you farewell. Please do take care—” “Please wait just a moment.” Kurumi raised her voice and cut off the masked woman. “Ah.” The masked woman looked at her, startled. “Is there something the matter? I do sincerely apologize, but bids may not be retracted.” “That isn’t my intention,” Kurumi replied, standing up. “I would like to ask for a moment of time with everyone gathered here now.” She walked toward the stage—a position that would allow her to look out over everyone in the room. Puzzled chatter broke out among the guests. “Wh-what…?” A shiver of fear colored Matsurika’s face. That was understandable, however. She had not been given advance notice of whatever performance Kurumi was about to put on. Kurumi now held the attention of all eyes in the venue, and she let her gaze wander over the faces. “Allow me to introduce myself,” she began. “My name is Kurumi Tokisaki. I specialize in Artifact crimes—well, let’s simply say that I am a detective of sorts.” The chatter in the venue grew louder. “Please do rest assured.” Kurumi giggled. “Even should you possess some Artifact, as long as you are not using them to commit crimes, I won’t be coming after you. Assuming those Artifacts are not stolen items themselves.” “Wh-what are you talking about…?” the masked woman asked, her confusion plain. Kurumi gave her an exaggerated nod before continuing. “A few months ago, the home of Matsurika Sukarabe, a descendant of magicians, was raided, and a great number of Artifacts were lost. I now know that the thief is here in this room.” “…!” The people in the venue gasped while Kurumi strolled deliberately across the stage. “The person who raided the Sukarabe storehouse and scattered the Artifacts was you…” She raised her hand with a theatrical gesture and pointed to the culprit. “Matsurika.” A hush fell over the venue. You could hear a pin drop. A few seconds later, Matsurika let out a dazed cry. “…Wh…what are you saying, Kurumi? Why on earth would I take my own Artifacts…?” “If you’ll recall, this has been the question right from the start, yes?” Kurumi responded smoothly. “Why would the perpetrator of the raid on the Sukarabe storehouse distribute those hard-won Artifacts to all those different people? During a conversation with a friend the other day, I was struck by a particular idea and thus took the liberty of examining the Sukarabe compound and the remains of the burned storehouse.” “Wha…?!” Matsurika gaped at her. “When did you…?” “Hee-hee-hee. You’ll have to excuse me. You happened to be out.” Kurumi gave a wide grin. “As a result, I arrived at a single possibility. What if the thief did not in fact obtain all those Artifacts in that raid?” “Wh-what do you mean…?” “The logic is simple. It was not the thief who disseminated the Artifacts but their true owner. To be more precise, the magical security put in place by that owner.” She paced the stage slowly and continued. “The Artifacts possess powers surpassing human knowledge. It would be quite serious if they were to fall into the hands of someone with rotten intentions. Thus, the true owner of the Artifacts set up a system to automatically send the tools to trusted acquaintances, should anyone force their way into the storehouse to try and steal them. No doubt they were packed for shipping when they were originally stored. The packaging and addressees we recovered from the homes of the culprits in the cases we solved thus far were all quite old. Ah, and perhaps it was not the thief, but the true owner of the Artifacts who set the warehouse on fire.” She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. “It would appear, however, that everything did not go according to plan. Trusted individuals, likely descendants of magicians themselves, had been selected as the place of refuge for the Artifacts, but over time, many of them had passed away. Then, without any knowledge of the situation or circumstances, their children or grandchildren happened upon the Artifact sent to their home and became entranced by the object’s magical powers, which led to their criminal acts. Is this not the case for every Artifact crime we’ve encountered thus far?” Kurumi tilted her head slowly and looked at Matsurika. “So if you were the thief, what would you do? The majority of the Artifacts you intended to acquire have been sent away, and there are scant clues as to where they have gone.” “…” Matsurika stared at her silently. “You would attempt to recover them, of course. You locked up the real Sukarabe heir and used an Artifact with the power of suggestion or something similar to take her place. In so doing, you were able to position yourself as the victim. And then you arranged for a collaborator—me, in this instance—and waited at the ready for the Artifact crimes which would eventually occur.” “…!” Matsurika had been listening to Kurumi’s explanation with a pale face, but now she shook her head vigorously. “E-even assuming the security system scattered the Artifacts, how does that make me the thief?!” she protested. “The Artifacts in the storehouse were handed down over generations. I would have had no way of knowing that my ancestors secretly set up such a system!” “Ah, yes.” Kurumi nodded slowly. “That’s true. Some of the addressees had in fact already died, so there is the possibility that your ancestors died as well without ever passing down knowledge of the distribution system.” “Y-you see? All of this is mere speculation!” Matsurika cried shrilly. “If you wish to make such wild claims, please do show me your evidence! Firm evidence that proves I’m the culprit!” Kurumi sighed. “You truly don’t know when to give up. You must have realized, have you not?” “R-realized what?” “The last item in the auction, the Spirit costume. I was that item’s original owner.” “…!” Matsurika gasped. “I did tell you I took the liberty of examining the Sukarabe compound while you were out,” Kurumi reminded her. “The costume was in a hidden room I found. Or did you perhaps think a garment of the exact same design just happened to be up for auction? Well, I couldn’t say with absolute certainty whether that’s possible. But this one is a replica patterned after the Astral Dress of a Spirit who once existed in this world.” Kurumi narrowed her eyes. “I was surprised, honestly. Did you know my true identity, Matsurika?” Matsurika was silent. But the sweat streaming down her face gave away her feelings far more eloquently than any words could have. “Well, that’s all right,” Kurumi said. “Regardless, onto that evidence you asked for.” She reached a hand toward the audience, beckoning someone. The girl with the night-colored hair immediately stood up from her chair on the left side of the room. The winning bidder for Urd’s Watch earlier. “What say you?” Kurumi asked. “Yes. There’s no mistake.” The girl nodded firmly and pointed at Matsurika. “That is the culprit.” “Wha…?” Matsurika blinked rapidly in total incomprehension. “What is this little act? Who is this person?” “You don’t know?” Kurumi asked, before giving the girl a signal with her eyes. The girl took off the glove on her left hand. Pale fingers appeared from inside, and on one of these was a ring with a design like fairy wings engraved on it. “…! Changeling. You can’t have—!” Seeing this, Matsurika at last understood. Her eyes grew wide, and she held her breath. With a slow movement, the girl removed the ring from her finger. As soon as it was off, her body shimmered briefly, and a few seconds later, her appearance changed completely. She was much smaller now, maybe elementary school age. She had glossy, silken hair and wore glasses that hid her eyes. “You’re…!” Matsurika’s voice shook. “Yes,” Kurumi said. “The real Sukarabe heir, the girl whose place you took. I rescued her from the hidden room together with the Spirit costume. Although the name Sukarabe itself was a fabrication on your part perhaps. “I had her use Changeling to temporarily take on a different appearance so she could see your face close up and confirm your identity, Matsurika. Considering the possibility that there might be violence, I borrowed the hair of my strongest friend.” Kurumi stared hard at Matsurika. “Now then, I believe that’s checkmate, Matsurika. Although if you have anything to say for yourself, I’d be willing to hear you out.” “Hngh…! Unnngh…!” Matsurika ran her hands through her hair and groaned in frustration. Eventually, that groan changed into loud laughter. “Heh… Hee-hee-hee! Ha-ha-ha! Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh!” She exhaled at length and pushed her hair back with a despairing hand. “Aaah, ah,” she said, a slight smirk on her lips. “I would expect nothing less of you, Kurumi. I was right to cast you in the role of detective.” “What are you after, Matsurika?” Kurumi demanded. “…I wasn’t lying when I said I descended from a line of magicians,” she said. “Although mine is not a famed house entrusted with a variety of Artifacts, like that of the young lady there.” “In other words, you stole the Artifacts to increase the power of your house?” Kurumi asked. “Is that it?” Matsurika laughed self-deprecatingly as her gaze grew distant. “That might have been the end result. That would have just been a bonus, though. What I wanted, Kurumi… I wanted to become you.” “…Meaning?” Kurumi said, furrowing her brow. Matsurika shrugged, amused. It was a distant memory. Still a small child, Matsurika was alone, trembling in a gloomy, abandoned factory. Actually, it would have been wrong to say she was alone. Surrounding her were the men who had brought her there. Indeed. Although Matsurika had lost essentially all the power of her magician ancestors, she had nevertheless been abducted. A company called DEM had been behind it. She didn’t know all the details, but she knew her father had refused to submit to DEM’s demands, so they had come after her. She would no doubt be killed if the negotiations broke down. The young Matsurika could only shiver in fear. Then a shadow covered the floor of the abandoned factory, and a girl crawled out from within it to drag the men down into the darkness. Huh? As the men screamed, Matsurika opened her eyes wide in surprise. The girl, wearing a red and black dress, turned a leisurely gaze on Matsurika. “Oh my, oh dear. And here I was wondering why DEM personnel would be here, of all places. Quite the adorable lost little girl we have, hmm?” A daring smile rose up on the girl’s face, as if she intended to threaten Matsurika. “Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Well, now you’ve seen my face. Whatever shall I do with you?” That was where Matsurika’s memory cut clean off. The next time she opened her eyes, she was in a hospital bed. “I’m sure you don’t remember any of it,” she said. “It was over ten years ago, after all. But for me, personally, that day changed my life. I could never forget it.” “…I don’t understand,” Kurumi said slowly. “What do you mean to say?” “Kurumi—no. The Spirit, Nightmare. I met you when you were a Spirit.” Kurumi’s eyes widened. Matsurika continued with a feverish air. “I was bewitched by that power. It was beyond the human domain. And your almost frightening beauty! I wanted to be just like you. From that day on, I poured my heart and soul into learning about Spirits and magic. I sought its secrets and wished to turn myself into a Spirit.” “… I see.” Kurumi sighed sadly and shook her head in exasperation. “I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but being a Spirit is not all sunshine and rainbows.” “Even so,” Matsurika replied. “The heart wants what it wants. If you wish to know more, please do feel free to investigate me yourself. It would be a simple task if you used Urd’s Watch, yes?” “Urd’s Watch? Ah…” Kurumi shrugged and rolled her eyes. “That’s a fake.” “…What?” Matsurika’s jaw dropped, and Kurumi burst out laughing. “If you could see the look on your face!” she cried. “It’s just as you anticipated. The one up for grabs here is a fake. Who knows if it even exists at all?” This seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle for Matsurika. She took a deep breath and shook her head slowly from side to side. “…I see. I have been completely and entirely deceived, then. This auction was your doing as well, then, Kurumi?” “Excellent work!” Kurumi praised her. “I requested the assistance of the real heir and some acquaintances of mine. All of the items for auction were cleverly fabricated fakes—window dressing to invite you to contradict yourself.” “Heh. Heh-heh-heh! My back is up against a wall indeed. Quite the show you put on,” Matsurika said, laughing. “But you can’t possibly think that this is the end, can you?” “What?” Kurumi frowned, and Matsurika smiled brightly. “This won’t do, Kurumi. You must render your opponent completely helpless before you call her out and reveal your reasoning. They might still have a trick up their sleeve, after all.” Matsurika pulled a ring from her pocket. There was no doubt this was some sort of Artifact. Kurumi’s expression grew wary. “Matsurika, you—” “Heh-heh-heh! Heh-heh-heh!” Matsurika grinned and slid the ring onto her finger. In the next instant, she shimmered and disappeared. Kurumi had seen this power and these features before. Scowling, she spat the words out. “The Ring of Gyges!” Indeed. It was one of the Artifacts listed in the Sukarabe inventory register, and it made the wearer invisible. Kurumi assumed it had been distributed with the rest of the Artifacts, but apparently, Matsurika had secretly been holding onto it, most likely as a precaution for this very possibility. “Take care, Kurumi. I have no doubt we will meet again. Next time, however, I shall be a Spirit.” Matsurika’s voice echoed from somewhere, but Kurumi could not pick up so much as a faint flicker of her being. She was going to get away. Even if Kurumi could have seen her, in her own current state, she would have had a hard time wrestling the other girl to the ground, given that Matsurika was the better fighter. And while Kurumi stood and fretted, Matsurika would slip out of the venue without a trace. But she did not panic. Her reasoning was twofold. One, she could not allow the others to see her panicking after she had stood before them all and declared herself a detective. Two, it was getting to be about that time. “This case has already been solved.” Kurumi raised her hand and held up her index finger and thumb, almost mimicking the shape of a gun. “I’m sorry, Matsurika. I was prepared to help you out if you confessed and turned yourself in quietly.” Kurumi made a gesture like she was firing a gun into the air. “Hngh…?! Gah. Ah…!” A cry of anguish came from somewhere in the venue, and blood began to drip from empty air. A dull thud echoed in the hall, like someone falling to the ground. “Wh…what…on…earth…is…?!” came Matsurika’s pained voice from the floor. Kurumi leisurely blew on the tip of her index finger, pointed up like the barrel of a gun. “You should have considered more seriously the fact that I had the time to set such a large stage as this. Doesn’t this performance seem familiar to you? You once acted out the very same, after all.” “You…couldn’t…have…” Matsurika gasped in sudden realization. Kurumi nodded theatrically. “This ending was decided thirty-three hours and forty minutes ago. The magic bullet. Once fired, it will not stop until it hits its target. Even if that target is on the other side of the world. Even if…that target is invisible.” “Wha…?!” Matsurika said, her voice hoarse. “The magic bullet…?! But when—?!” She gasped. She had likely remembered what she and Kurumi had been doing thirty-three hours and forty minutes ago. Indeed. The moment Matsurika was about to get into a car after leaving the Tokisaki Detective Agency, Kurumi had peered out of the second-floor window and called out to stop her. She had been holding a gun loaded with a magic bullet in her right hand, which was hidden by the wall. “You don’t mean the honking of the car horn was—?!” Matsurika cried. “Precisely.” Kurumi nodded theatrically once more. “I had the driver honk at the right moment to mask the sound of the gunshot.” “How did you know I had the Ring of Gyges?!” Matsurika whined as if none of this made any sense. “I overestimated you. As I am now, I cannot see the future. I simply played every card in my hand. And one of them led us here.” Kurumi walked toward the source of the voice. “You know, Matsurika…I would recommend you remove the Ring of Gyges before you lose consciousness. It was your right leg that I aimed for yesterday. While such an injury will likely not lead to your immediate loss of life, we also cannot treat it if we cannot see you.” “Hngh…” Matsurika grunted in frustration before appearing on the floor and promptly passing out. At last, the curtain had fallen on the case of the Sukarabe burglary. Given that Kurumi could not exactly reveal the existence of the Artifacts to the world, she couldn’t turn Matsurika over to the authorities, so she left her in the hands of people she could trust. Now that she had no patron, her long yet short days playing detective had also come to an end. She returned to her life as a regular university student and her “side job.” “…It has come time to part, at last. And yet I do find myself reluctant.” Kurumi sighed with deep emotion as she sat down in her chair in the office of the Tokisaki Detective Agency on the second floor of a mixed-use building in front of the station. There was no point in keeping the office now that the burglary had been solved and she had lost her sponsor. She had only come to remove her personal belongings and do a final sweep of the place. While she had been somewhat forced into starting the agency, she nevertheless felt a sort of attachment to this office welling up in her. She let her fingers walk across the desk and stared at the now-empty bookcase. “Haaah.” She sighed again. Her gaze wandered the room and then stopped abruptly when it landed on something toward the rear of the office. The final auction item, the Spirit garment, sat there silently imposing. Kurumi had returned the Artifacts to their real owner, but because the Spirit dress really was just clothing, she had kept it here. “…Honestly. What am I supposed to do with this?” She looked away, then glanced at the outfit again a moment later. “…” The dress had a brilliant majesty in the deserted office. It looked as though it had been dyed with shadow and blood. Kurumi felt an almost bittersweet tinge ripple across the surface of her heart. “…There’s no one around,” she murmured as an excuse. She kept an eye out, however, as she disrobed and put on the replica. “…Hmm.” She looked over, appraising herself. “They did use fairly decent fabric. The pleats are neatly done, and the design is more or less correct. Well, we were the most witnessed of all the Spirits. I imagine the descendant of a magician might well have managed to get at least one photo—” The office door opened abruptly. “Excuse me. I heard that I might find Miss Kurumi Tokisaki here.” Standing there was a girl of perhaps elementary school age wearing thick glasses. Kurumi recognized her—the descendant of magicians and the real owner of the Artifacts. She met Kurumi’s eyes, and they both cried out at the same time. “Ah!” “Ah!” After a moment of silence, the girl bowed her head apologetically. “…Please do excuse me. I will come another time.” “Please wait just a moment! This is not what it looks like!” Kurumi cried out shrilly, desperate to stop the girl on her way out. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve interrupted your leisure time. My issue can truly wait—” “No, that’s not it! This is… I just decided to try it on!” “But—” “It’s fine! Please come in!” Kurumi shouted in desperation and beckoned the girl into the office. She would have preferred to have changed clothes before sitting down with her, but there wasn’t much to be done about it now. Her face reddening, she turned toward the girl. “…What is it that you needed?” she asked. “Well.” The girl nodded firmly. “I actually came because I have a favor to ask, Kurumi.” “A favor? What is it?” “I want you to continue operating the Tokisaki Detective Agency.” “What?” Kurumi frowned dubiously. “Why? The thief Matsurika has been apprehended. My role here is finished, is it not?” “And I can never thank you enough for your help in that matter,” the girl told her. “But a large number of the Artifacts distributed from our storehouse are still out there. Naturally, we intend to search for and recover them, but given their number, there are certain to be some of unknown whereabouts. I also cannot deny the possibility that some of their receivers may refuse to return them. Nor the possibility that an Artifact crime might occur before I find them. In consideration of such scenarios, I would ask that you please continue on as a detective. Naturally, we will pay you an appropriate remuneration, and our family will shoulder any necessary expenses. Would you please consider it?” The girl bowed with a comportment older than her years. After listening to her plea with crossed arms, Kurumi said, “I see. That all makes a good deal of sense. It’s rational to maintain a base to handle the issue of unrecovered Artifacts so long as it exists. But whether I shall shoulder that responsibility is a separate matter, no?” “…That is correct,” the girl agreed, her shoulders slumping. She casually pulled her phone out of her pocket, turned the lens toward Kurumi, and tapped the screen. Snap! The sound of the camera shutter filled the office. “If you say you do not wish to continue, I cannot force you.” “Hold on just a second, please,” Kurumi demanded. “What did you just photograph?” “All I can do is ask you with my whole heart…,” the girl continued, a curious expression on her face as she turned the screen toward Kurumi. It showed an image of her, clad in the red and black dress. “You certainly have nerves of steel for someone still so young, hmm?” Kurumi sighed in exasperation, sweat trickling down her cheek. “…Please delete the photograph. I was simply being a bit contrary. Even without the use of such tactics, I would have accepted.” “…! Do you really mean it?” The girl’s face lit up. “I do.” Kurumi quietly gave her assent. “I intended to search for and recover the scattered Artifacts anyway.” “What?” “I was merely talking to myself,” Kurumi said and quietly extended her right hand, as if to change the subject. “Well then, I look forward to starting our relationship anew.” “Me too!” The girl grinned and took Kurumi’s hand. Kurumi’s cheeks softened abruptly. “Now then, shall we begin our investigation?”
Chapter 13
22 min read