"Hmm-hmm, hmm-hmmmm."
Even under a blazing sun, as we walked through a dense, overgrown forest, my partner was humming cheerfully.
"You're in an awfully good mood, Siesta."
We were traveling again today, in pursuit of—or possibly being pursued by
—SPES. Nevertheless, it seemed the girl who called herself an ace detective wasn't feeling the tension at all.
"Well, any adult ought to know how to put herself in a good mood," Siesta said, breaking off mid-hum.
Uh, you're not actually an adult yet. I almost said it, but…I didn't actually know how old she was. Apparently, a true ace detective doesn't reveal her identity that easily. I mean, she still hadn't even told me her real name.
"What song was that?" I asked. Surely she'd tell me that, at least. "It's an idol song from Japón."
" 'Japón'? What country are you from?" Well, Siesta may not be Japanese at all.
"Still, I didn't know someone like you would be into idols."
"Any detective worthy of the name has to be able to sing an idol's popular songs, at least."
"I've said this before: I really don't get your concept of detectives."
Hi, everybody! I'm a chart-topping ace detective! I sing, I dance, and sometimes I fight pseudohumans!
…That would break my brain.
"That's not what I meant. What I'm saying is that, if you want to become a detective, you have to see more of life. Literally. Of the five human senses, sight and hearing are especially important."
See more of life…? Does she mean to constantly pay attention to the world around me? And then to collect information using my eyes and ears? Okay, got it.
"Well, I've got no plans to become a detective, so not like I need to know any of that."
"Haaah. You really aren't cute at all."
Shove it. I don't need your pity, either.
"I suppose you're right. You really won't ever be a detective." "Yeah, see?"
"Yes. I'm sure you'll always be somebody's assistant instead." "…Hmm? Uh, yeah."
For some reason, Siesta's eyes turned vaguely lonely. However, that only lasted a moment before her usual cool expression returned. "Now, then! We've almost reached our destination." She pointed at a huge mansion that looked like an old castle.
"You really think Medusa is there?"
Medusa—a monster said to turn anyone who saw her eyes into stone. We'd overheard a dubious rumor that this mansion was haunted by that monster, so we were checking into it.
"I couldn't say. If such a being really exists, it'll be part of the executive ranks of SPES, but…"
"Well, we won't know until we see it."
I'd gotten tired of sighing and rolling my eyes, so I gave a huge yawn instead…and Siesta, who was walking beside me, took a moment to study me.
"What?" I said.
"…No. I was just thinking you'd gotten pretty used to all this." "Not by choice."
Whistling, we headed toward the European-style mansion, with a flock of crows wheeling overhead.
"Well, well! Once again, thank you for coming all this way."
Siesta and I were seated in chairs facing the old master of the mansion, who wore a gentle smile.
"It must have been hot outside. I must apologize; I'm afraid the air- conditioning isn't working at the moment."
"No, don't worry about it."
Siesta wasn't sweating the tiniest bit, from the heat or from nerves. She was as formidable as ever. Personally, I was silently grousing that if he thought it was worth an apology, he could at least open a window.
…Still, we could probably count ourselves lucky that the worst-case scenario we'd been anticipating hadn't actually happened.
Frankly, we'd assumed the fighting might start the moment we knocked on the door—but instead, we'd been met with an unexpected welcome. As you might have guessed from the earlier conversation, Siesta and I said we'd come because of that rumor, and the man had introduced himself as the mansion's master and gladly invited us in.
He'd shown us into the living room, and we'd gotten down to business right away, hoping to learn the truth of the "Medusa."
"In that case, am I to assume you are aware of that particular rumor, sir?"
As Siesta asked her question, both her expression and posture were resolute.
"Yes, indeed I am. They speak of a Medusa who turns visitor after visitor here into stone… I believe they are speaking of my daughter. Adopted daughter, to be precise; we are not related by blood." As he spoke, the man's expression turned grim.
"You're not telling us she's really—?!"
"No, it's a misunderstanding!" The man rose to his feet, agitated by my question. "Two years ago, my daughter met with an accident. Fortunately, her life was spared, but…only her life!"
"—A persistent vegetative state," Siesta supplied.
The man nodded, looking anguished. "My daughter is unconscious and incapable of moving. She does nothing but blink and breathe. In a way, she is stone! They have it the wrong way around! My daughter is not Medusa. She is a victim, turned to stone by that mythical monster!"
"Then you're saying that information was distorted, and that's the rumor that spread?" I said.
"I suppose that is the only explanation." The man nodded weakly, agreeing with my guess. After that, for a little while, silence fell in the room. "…Ah, I beg your pardon. What a disgrace; I let myself go to pieces. It really is rather humid, isn't it? I'll go get you something cold to drink."
Finally, pulling himself together, the master withdrew for a moment. "Sounds like we struck out here."
Apparently, SPES wasn't involved in this incident. Heck, it wasn't even an incident. Well, if extra trouble wasn't going to break out, I wasn't about to complain. We'd just accept those cold drinks, then head back. The heat was
really getting to me now, so I undid a couple of shirt buttons. "Why don't you strip, too?" I teased.
"Are you stupid, Kimi?" "Ow!"
Still expressionless, Siesta stomped on my foot, hard. At least look at me, wouldja?
"My apologies for the wait." The man returned, carrying a tray with glasses on it. As I moved to take one—
"Ow!!!"
—Siesta stomped on my foot again, and I pitched forward violently. Naturally, the contents of the glasses splashed everywhere, soaking everything.
"Siesta, you little—!"
"That was for sexually harassing me." "But you already stomped on me for that."
Siesta didn't even seem to hear my complaint. She went over to the man, whose clothes had gotten wet from the spill, and began to dry them with her handkerchief.
"I'm terribly sorry. My assistant has made an awful blunder."
What, like that was my fault? This is so unfair…
"Ha-ha, it's no trouble… But if I could burden you, would you come to meet my daughter? We don't often have guests, and I'm sure she'll be delighted."
"Yes, of course."
Siesta gave him her very best smile.
"Mary, look. You have guests."
The mansion's master had led us to a third-floor room, where the girl, Mary, lay in a canopy bed. She was delicate, with bright-blond hair, and her mechanically blinking eyes were jade green. I'd say she was as lovely as a doll—but she wasn't. She was on a ventilator, desperately struggling to live. Mary was no doll.
Feeling an uncomfortable sense of regret, I looked away, leaving the situation in Siesta's hands. Maybe it was the guilt, but it felt a little hard to breathe.
"Oh, my poor Mary. You're so very beautiful, and yet the people outside the forest call you a monster. It's too much to bear."
The man buried his face in his hands, lamenting the tragedy that had befallen his daughter.
…Oh. That could be why he'd welcomed us. An ace detective would understand that his daughter was no Medusa, no monster. He thought we'd set the record straight.
"Yes," I said, "we'll be sure to tell the people outside the forest that the rumor's not—"
I tried to walk over to the man—but the next thing I knew, the floor was right in front of my face.
…The floor? Did I fall? Why?
For some reason, my body felt weak.
"It's all right, Mary. I'm making more friends for you now."
…What was he saying?
Shifting my head, which could still move a little, I looked up at the old man.
The guy was smiling.
"Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha. It's all right; you don't have to be frightened. It won't hurt. There's nothing to fear." He took a syringe out of the pocket of his trousers and jabbed the needle into—his own right arm. I had no idea what he was thinking.
"Did you think I was going to stab you? Ha-ha. This is an antidote. After all, the poison's been in this room all along."
Wh…what? So the reason I'm going numb is…
"Before long, your bodies will cease all physical activity. You'll end up just like Mary—unable to move a step, yet unable to die. You will suffer for eternity!"
…I…see. So that's why all the windows were closed… Plus, he'd said the only thing Mary could do was breathe on her own. He'd put her on a ventilator anyway, to protect her from the poison. I should've noticed that sooner.
"Now, very soon, both you and the ace detective over there will become Mary's companions…her…companions…"
That was when an abrupt change came over the man. His eyes flew open as if something had startled him…and then his knees buckled and sent him to
the floor, face-first, just the way I had. "Wh-why…?"
As he murmured in despair, the person who came over to him…was exactly who you're thinking.
"Behave."
Restraining the man with the handcuffs she always carried, she took the musket she'd been hiding behind her back and shattered the window…which allowed the poison to diffuse outside.
Once she'd taken care of that, the ace detective finally turned around and spoke to her assistant crawling across the floor.
"Are you stupid, Kimi?"
I see. No wonder she'd stomped on my foot twice.
"So you'd already figured out what he was after."
We were on our way back from the mansion, after we'd filed all the proper reports and paperwork and everything had been dealt with. My body was still numb, so Sierra was carrying me piggyback.
"Mm-hmm. I can't believe you almost accepted that drink; it was so obvious."
"Look, I said I was sorry…"
The drinks had probably been poisoned as well. Siesta had stomped on my foot to protect me… Wasn't there a kinder, gentler way to do it?
"Back then… While you were using that handkerchief to dry off his clothes, you switched out the syringe with the antidote?"
"Exactly. Then I used it, so I was fine."
As always, she'd just done what she wanted. She took care of jobs on her own, without consulting anybody else. Although the fact that I couldn't keep up with her might be part of the problem.
"Of course, all of that was merely circumstantial evidence. I wasn't certain until I saw Mary's eyes."
"Her eyes? But wasn't she unconscious?"
"No, she was blinking desperately, pleading with us. That motion was completely regular, not automatic… There was a will behind it. I'm sure she was trying to tell us about her adoptive father's misdeeds."
So in the grip of his insanity, the man hadn't noticed his own daughter's
signal. That thought struck me as pathetic… Or maybe just sad. "Good job spotting that."
"Are you stupid, Kimi?"
"That's the third time today. This is so unfair…" Well, today I had no excuses to give.
"Did you forget what I said on the way to that mansion? About seeing more of the world and the importance of honing your sight and hearing? You should be more sensitive to where others are looking, too."
"I see. That's why you're the ace detective."
In terms of self-defense, I guess that's a skill I might need later on. "Hey, Siesta."
"Hmm?"
So first off, I'd start by doing as Siesta said and learn more about the world. "Would you tell me the name of the idol whose song you were humming today?"
I could only see her face in profile, but she looked satisfied. "Her name is—"