On a night when the moon hung high in the sky.
After my shift at the barbecue restaurant, I was waiting for someone in the pond forest behind the old building.
The clock on my smartphone read 11:59:58, 59, 00.
Rustle-
Right at the stroke of midnight, I sensed a presence approaching.
I turned around and was slightly surprised. There was a ragged figure.
It was Soliette.
"…Ah, you startled me."
She looked around quickly, then removed her ragged hood. Her clear skin, gem-like eyes, and red hair were revealed in turn.
Although exposure is fairly common on the continent, Soliette and the Arkne family are a bit different. They are much more vivid and sparkling.
"From now on, we will communicate with this."
She handed me something. It looked like an ordinary notebook at first glance-
"It's a shared notebook."
"…A shared diary?"
"It's a shared notebook."
"It's a shared diary sold at the Artifact shop."
A shared diary. It's literally a diary that is shared, but it's a bit magical.
When you write in one diary, the same content appears in the other diary. They are interconnected.
"It's a shared notebook."
But Soliette was adamant.
From the beginning, she had crossed out 'Diary' on the cover labeled 'Shared Diary' and replaced it with 'Notebook'.
"…Alright. Shared notebook. Let's sit down for now."
I gestured to the stone seat across from me. It was a piece of furniture I had made myself for today's special guest. You could call it customer service.
As Soliette sat down, she asked.
"Did you bring the evidence?"
"Yes."
I took out a document envelope. Soliette's eyes were fixed on it.
"It's the file of a death case that occurred in the underworld."
"A case file… please explain in detail."
"Well, it's simple. If that bastard Knightmare hadn't died yet, I thought he would probably kill at least one more person in his lifetime?"
I plan to return to Soliette, the words she said before regression, to Soliette now.
"So, I conducted a full investigation of all death and murder cases from July 2011, when Knightmare was caught, to the present. There were a lot in the underworld."
This insane amount of grunt work, comparing, analyzing, and observing hundreds of thousands of cases one by one, was done by Soliette herself.
She gave up on college entrance exams and secluded herself, spending almost a year holed up in a small room to find the results.
"…Are you crazy? You're saying you investigated all of that by yourself?"
Soliette asked in a tone of horror. I couldn't help but laugh.
It seems even you think what you did is unbelievable.
"Yes. Among them, I found a case file suspected to be the work of Knightmare."
Soliette swallowed. Before she could say anything, her hand reached out.
"Is that it?"
"Yes. Read it."
I handed her the envelope. She quickly took it and tore it open, pulling out the file inside to read.
"73 different wounds… What does this mean?"
"Knightmare's 「Spectrum」 is metallic magic, specifically 'swords'. You know that, right?"
"Yes."
Soliette nodded.
Knightmare uses swords. But he has no foundation. There's no system to his swordsmanship.
This is a fairly well-known fact.
"He doesn't really need a sword. As long as he can concentrate his magic into a sharp form, it becomes a sword."
His magic is essentially no different from a sword. This is Knightmare's 「Spectrum」 , a very unique magical attribute on the continent.
"The victim in that case file suffered 73 different wounds. But each wound was different. It's as if they were torn apart by 73 different weapons. Yet, no weapon was found at the scene."
"…Ah!"
Soliette let out a loud exclamation. It was an unusually intense reaction for her.
"Yes. He just poured out his magic. He didn't swing it, he didn't cut with it, he just threw it all out like an object."
Knightmare had ejected his magic. Seventy-three bursts of metallic magic rushed in like a shower, and the victim was torn to shreds and died.
A unique death.
There is only one suspect on this continent.
"How about it?"
I looked at Soliette.
"…"
She said nothing. But the moonlight was reflected in her large eyes. A deep blush spread across her face.
If you listened closely, you could hear her heartbeat faintly in the quiet forest.
Thump. Thump.
I smiled faintly.
"Convincing evidence, isn't it?"
Soliette asked blankly.
"…Did you really find this all by yourself?"
"Yes. It was done alone."
It wasn't a lie.
'You' did it alone.
"…Yes. I've received the evidence."
She clutched the file to her side.
"Don't tell anyone yet."
"Of course. Do you think I'm an idiot...."
She seemed to feel something was missing, and she held the evidence file as if it were a newborn baby.
"Okay. Then."
I reached out my hand to her.
She blinked and looked at my hand.
"…"
For a moment, no, for quite a while, she seemed lost in thought, then she shook her head coolly.
"I can't."
She said. With a slightly angry tone.
I frowned.
"What can't you do?"
"Have you already forgotten the contents of the contract?"
"Would I forget?"
"If you haven't forgotten, then what the hell are you doing? If you think the contract only limits 'personal conversation', you're mistaken."
"Money."
"Also 'actions'...what did you say?"
"I said, give me money."
"…"
"Give me a monthly salary of 20,000 Ren."
Soliette's mouth closed. She must have mistaken my gesture for a handshake.
"Ahem-"
She coughed awkwardly. She seemed embarrassed and was unnecessarily touching the back of her neck, but she didn't hand over the money.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Don't tell me you didn't bring it?"
"…Please wait a moment."
"No, you're not trustworthy. Give that back."
I reached for the evidence envelope. Soliette hastily hid it behind her back.
"I'm still a student. Do you think it's easy to get 20,000 Ren in cash?"
"Did someone beg you? You said you'd give it. Did anyone threaten you with a knife?"
"…"
"You got a free ride last time. You're a repeat offender."
"No, that's not… that's…"
Soliette stuttered. Unable to say anything, she sighed with a slightly reddened face.
"Please give me just one more day."
"Pfft."
I couldn't hold back my laughter. Soliette glared at me with a narrowed eyes.
"Alright. Exactly 48 hours. Bring 20,000 Ren."
A monthly salary of 20,000 Ren would be difficult for her too. She wouldn't be able to receive any support from her family. She wouldn't even think about it.
I knew this, of course, but I wouldn't let her off. I'd drain Soliette to the bone.
"If you don't give it in 48 hours, I'll sue."
She needs to learn how to live diligently.
She needs to understand the value of life and money.
"…You're really ruthless. Alright."
Soliette nodded sullenly and stood up from her seat.
Thud, thud-
I watched her leave without looking back, and after a while, I stared at the landscape where she had disappeared.
______________________________________________________________________
A dark dwelling with no lights on. Soliette, who had returned to her dorm, checked her bank account on her laptop.
\[3,132,015ℓ\]
3 million Ren.
She had enough money, but if she withdrew money from this account, her family would inevitably interfere.
She couldn't let that happen. To her family, she had to be Soliette who was 'focusing on the college board', and the existence of Shion Ascal must not be discovered by them.
"…Ah."
Suddenly, as she was pressing her temples and thinking hard,
Zap-!
A spark of static electricity shot up.
She looked somewhere.
The dressing room was wide open. Inside, luxury items were overflowing.
She could count on one hand the number of clothes she had bought herself. Most of them were delivered on their own, asking her to 'please wear it just once'.
"Problem solved."
She could sell them second-hand at the store. If she sold just three, even if she only got a quarter of the original price, she would have 30,000 Ren.
The answer was surprisingly close. Soliette let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew…"
However, Soliette's worries did not end there.
She looked at the case file placed on her desk.
[UNON-2012-19281]
Shion Ascal. He had investigated all the murder case files for nearly two years. Including even the underworld, there must have been hundreds of thousands of cases.
He analyzed so many files alone and discovered a case where Knightmare's actions were likely.
It was a method that Soliette could not even dare to imagine.
Shion Ascal's obsession was that impressive.
However, Soliette's question here is not 'how'.
"…Why?"
It's 'why'.
It's too much trouble just for money. It's a task that requires too much time and too much effort.
Therefore, the only reason she could accept was this.
"Shion Ascal has also been chasing Knightmare until now…"
Then, does he also hold a grudge against Knightmare?
Like herself two years ago, did he also lose someone precious to him because of him?
"…"
Soliette silently looked out the window. The scene from the fog mountain last week hung in the night sky.
Shion Ascal, who had held her hand on the cliff.
There was no button on his sleeve.
The record of '683cm', which is still a topic in the community, is probably his.
Nevertheless, he is hiding himself. He is avoiding things that attract attention.
"Hmm…"
Soliette gently closed her eyes. She cut off the thoughts that were about to continue.
She shouldn't dig too deep. He is just a retainer hired by her, and she is just his client.
Just as he should not dig into her past, she should not arbitrarily cut into his past.
That's the relationship between a client and a retainer.
After sorting out her thoughts, Soliette opened her eyes. She logged onto the community site with her laptop.
Soon, the clicking sound of the mouse and the tapping sound of the keyboard quietly filled her room.