" Figured I would find you here." Yosano walked into the room, and an axe propelled on her shoulder as she locked the door. Kath raised an eyebrow.
" It's a serial killer case, right?" She walked around the bed and sat beside her, dropping the axe on the ground and leaning on it. " I thought that if we waited alone, the culprit would come at us."
" Probably. Probably not if they think it was a trap."
" But we have to bet on this now." Yosano looked down at her and offered a smile as she patted her back. " You've always been like that. Whenever you feel like you did something wrong, you either hide under your desk or bolt yourself in my office. Wanna talk about it?"
" I yelled at Rampo-san…"
" Well, I'm surprised you held it on for that long."
" I told him to get over it."
" Those words were in their place."
" No, they weren't…" She raised two trembling hands. " As someone who can't get over her past, I have no right to shout those same words at someone else. I've sworn never to force anyone to do anything, but just then…"
" Kath, you did nothing wrong. You didn't force Rampo-san to do anything."
" Still…"
A clattering sound got her attention, and she looked back just as a flash of silver shone across the room. Kath moved fast, throwing her body before Yosano. Then it came, a white sharp pain cutting through her abdomen. A rapier, the one that was hanging moments ago on the wall as mere decoration, transfixed her.
" KATH!"
She didn't see anyone, didn't even hear them approach. Her eyelids grew heavier and she tumbled onto the floor, blood seeping through her red dress, darkening it and gathering into a pool beneath her. She couldn't breathe, it hurt every time she tried to suck in air.
When you die here… do you die in the real world too…
Another thud.
No… Not Yosano-san too…
Her eyes closed, and her consciousness slowly faded as her mind struggled to process the last feeds from her dying body. Worried mumbling, fast footsteps. Someone was talking in her ear, shouting her name. She wanted to open her eyes but she couldn't.
That's it then… the story ends here for me. She thought as the darkness swallowed her whole.
Her soul was being lifted, as though gently being carried up. A bright yellow light engulfed her, was she going to meet God finally?
But then, her feet touched something. She was standing on something. Does the afterlife have a ground? She always imagined it as a wide sky replica where souls floated around freely.
Her eyes opened, and there she was, back into the empty circular room, back into her usual outfit, and back with her two friends.
Her hand reached to her abdomen, checking the wound. It was gone. Not even the smallest scratch was left. " Rampo-san…"
" Well, it was quite stimulating," Rampo said placidly as he faced Poe. " You made only one mistake. Challenging me."
" Y-You figured out who the killer was?" Poe was beyond befuddled. He apparently had so much faith in his inescapable story that it came as a shock to see the three of them back in the room.
" Of course. The murderer was…" Kath held her breath, awaiting the moment of truth. " It was me."
"... Ha!" It was uttered louder than she had meant it to be that it echoed across the large empty room.
" The locked room trick had nothing to do with it. The protagonist killed the victim, and the author deliberately omitted that part of the narration. But the innovation in this gimmick was the mechanism by which the murderer vanishes the moment I enter the novel. No matter how desperately I search, the murderer no longer exists."
I see. And that way, anyone would be stuck there forever, trying to find the culprit since they don't know they themselves did it! An interesting twist! There was a sheen in Kath's eyes at the genius idea. But then something crossed her mind. She turned to Rampo just as he explained how he figured it.
" Then, what about the onslaught on us? It definitely wasn't you who attacked."
Rampo shook his finger as though telling her off for not noticing. " Kath, you did not in fact, see, hear, or even sense the culprit's presence, right?"
She and Yosano nodded in unison.
" It was simple. You just used an automatic machine. The rapier was left in the room deliberately, the axe was made of iron, as well as any other obtainable weapon, which makes them easily manipulated through the magnetism in the room."
" An automatic machine?" Katherine tilted her head. " But that place was…" Her eyes widened as she recalled something. The light lamps used in the lounge and the rooms, they seemed far more brighter than the ones depicted in the 19th century. The scalpel Yosano had used to threaten the woman shouldn't even have existed back then.
" True. That's the second misdirection, after all. There were hints everywhere. The story is set in 2050, in the future. Which makes it possible. The mansion is actually a rest house attached to a massive, tall space elevator. As complicated as a detective novel may get, once you figure out the author's ulterior motives, you've figured out half of it."
Kath's eyes went wide. He managed to see through all of that in a few seconds. Rampo-san's is really something else.
Poe kneeled in utter denial. Rampo walked past him to retrieve the documents. " The intellectual devices were much more beautiful than before. But I think you've found me your match."
" What? You remember your battle against me?"
" Why would I forget about a mystery that I solved?" He turned around with his broad proud smile. " This takes me back. We were here, pitting our minds against each other's. It was the only time another detective gave me chills. The first and the last."
The first and the last, huh? So he's more of a rival I see. Kath thought.
" I'm looking forward to your next challenge, too. I hope you work really hard to come up with something good for me." They walked out with Rampo waving at the man still sitting on the floor.
Whether it was a challenge or an encouragement, Kath could never tell.
" We'll need to hold a celebration for you when we get home," Yosano said as she confirmed the documents were there.
" For what?"
" For the day the great detective acknowledged the truth. The day you realized your true gift is beyond any of our reach. That your powers of observation and deduction to-"
" I'm gifted." Rampo blurted crossly.
Kath facepalmed. " Here we go again…"
" You were laying out all your reasoning just now."
" I'm gifted," he affirmed. " I'm not doing any actual detective work. I just got lucky this time."
His pace dropped until he stopped in his tracks. Kath and Yosano looked back, just to see him standing with his head hanging low. " I mean…"
" What?"
There was a small frown, making him almost look adorable. " I'd look stupid if I turned out to be normal."
Kath and Yosano exchanged a look before chuckling. Rampo's frown deepened as he held a finger high, as if ordering them. " Laughing is prohibited."
" Fine, fine." They didn't make any effort to quell their laughter and it made him all the more annoyed. He held his finger higher.
" 'Fine, fine' is too!"
But that made them double over with laughter, tears seeping from their eyes. Rampo was growing more and more annoyed.
" Okay, sorry, sorry…" Yosano was the first to get the laughter under control, though she seemed to struggle to do so.
" It's… it's just…" Kath managed to blink away her tears. " Rampo-san, what you're able to do is really great and awesome. If it was an ability for real, to be honest it would be a bit boring because it's just, you know, a super ability. For a great detective, I would frankly say it's a cheat code. But being able to do such deduction yourself, without any superpower in work, that's what I call cool."
" You're just saying that to make me feel better."
" And you're acting like a big kid right now." Kath shook her head.
" Am not."
" You are."
" Am not!"
" Right there. No fighting. You look like two siblings tugging at a poor plushie." Yosano interfered and they both stepped back.
Taking a deep breath, Kath calmed herself. It wasn't time to have a banter with Rampo, she needed to apologize. " Listen," she began as she turned to him. " Back in the novel I-"
" Nope! Not a word of that trash!"
" Ha!"
" I'm definitely not in the mood to deal with angst and drama. They're not my thing, so I'll pass," he said walking past her, his hands folded back behind his head.
" It's just a simple apology, damnit!"
" Like there is anything to apologize for." He looked back with his usual proud smile. " A great detective like me is not easily moved. I only do what I want to do."
Kath looked after his form for a moment before smiling ever so slightly. " Figured you would say so."
" I always do what I want. And right now, I want you to go back with me." He smiled as he extended a hand to her. " You can come with us."
" If you're lingering behind, we will leave you," Yosano called from beside Rampo. Kath hastened to catch up with them, her smile brightening.
" Listen, instead of the party, why don't I treat you to some exclusive snacks from across town, as thank you for saving us."
Rampo's ears perked up at the suggestion. " I'm game! Let's go!"