'How?'
Alexi's brain scrambled to come up with logical reasons as to why he could see Cain in the third floor of the Night Singer's Dungeon.
'Two people can't be in the same scenario. That's the first rule I made when coming up with this entire situation. The second condition is that they're supposed to take up the role assigned to them by the master of the dungeon, and Morpheus didn't make more than 8 roles for this particular scenario. So how?'
It was absolute nonsense to Alexi. He'd carefully picked out these two rules for the dungeon to avoid certain plot complications down the line. Some readers dubbed him lazy for it, but he ignored them, well aware that a vocal minority would turn their backs on him down the line when plot holes came up.
'Does that mean Morpheus is waking up? No. That's not possible. Its too early.'
The dungeon was controlled by Morpheus' subconscious. The master of the dungeon technically never willingly controlled the dungeon. All of this was the result of Morhpheus' mana leaking out and doing it's own thing.
'In that case…', Only one name came to mind. 'Guise.'
Alexi's balled up fist trembled slightly. He looked to the ceiling almost as if he could see through it and into the heavens.
The image of Guise laughing at him entered his head.
'You lazy twat! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!'
"Um, chief?", The younger-looking officer whispered to his senior, nudging at him to act.
The chief's expression turned grim. He was unsure who exactly to throw his glares at and flitted between the two. Finally, the chief took out his bat and walked over to the centre of the room.
"You two.", He pointed at both detectives. "I am going to have to see some identification."
After being called, Alexi finally returned to reality. And now, an even more important question came up as he rummaged through all his pockets, searching for his ID.
'Of all the people, why Cain?'
He handed over his ID, as did Cain, who looked at the officer with a gentle smile. Alexi cringed at the obviously act.
'How did he get in here? Is Guise choosing to use him because he already has a vendetta against me? In that case she probably can she get any of the protagonists to come after me when she feels like it? Gaah, there's so much to consider in this situation. In the first place, I don't even know if Cain is after m-'
Just as he was considering it, Cain flashed him a violent glare that yelled "I'll kill you here, infernal scum!"
'Yep, he's after me.'
"Oi, Puck. Get over here.", The chief ordered, dragging his partner to his side. "Take a look at this."
He showed both IDs to his junior.
"Officers, I have something to say.", Cain finally spoke up, performing an innocent bit for the officers and crowd. "I've been investigating a case of a certain scammer pretending to be a detective in various towns and my search finally led me here, to this man here."
He pointed his finger at Alexi, causing a wide-eyed reaction from everyone in the hall, including Alexi. Except, his was for a different reason.
"A case of someone pretending to be a detective? Really? That's what you came up with, Cain?", He asked, a bit disappointed by the scheme.
"Why, what do you mean, sir?", Cain innocently asked.
The scene was so gross Alexi felt like barfing."
"I mean, if you're going to accuse me of something, come up with something better."
"Stop talking you two.", The chief interjected, calling for silence.
"What is the meaning of this!?", The master of the house roared, feebly standing up from his chair.
"Please calm down. The police will handle this.", The butler rushed over and forced the master back into his seat against his will.
"Let go of me Sebastian!"
"Not until you calm down, Lucas.", Sebastian said, resolute on his stance. He kept the master down until he finally calmed down.
The police chief, glared at the old man, but calmed down once his junior tapped him.
"These cards are legit. They are at the very least really well done."
"Ok, out with it. Both of you. What's your deal?"
The chief raised his bat to his chest, emphasising its presence to both detectives. It was an intimidation tactic that was entirely too amusing when one realised it was being used against two superpowered beings.
"Like I said, I've been searching for a criminal pretending to be a detective. While investigating, I came across a telegraph…", Cain pulled out a piece of paper from his bag, which he then presented to the officers. "… containing information that details this scammer's next heist. In there, it says he will be pulling off his greatest scam on the master of this mansion on this very night. This plan includes the murder of that boy right there."
He gestured with his chin at the woman holding the dead child.
The telegraph was a message from the scammer to the cook of the mansion, letting him know to kill the boy, woman and butler. He promised to pin the blame on the lord of the manor and get the cook a sizable sum of the lord's money in a legal case for compensation.
After hearing that, Alexi couldn't believe just how stupid Cain was.
"Cough, cough, weak. Cough, cough.", Alexi said, not even trying to fake a cough.
"Wise guy, huh?", The chief grabbed Alexi by the collar threateningly. "Let's see how many jokes you have left after I beat em outta ya!"
Just before the chief could hit him with the stick, Alexi raised his arms up.
"W-wait. Let me make my case first."
"Make it in the cellar, bub."
"Chief!", Puck called, trying to halt the chief's movements.
They both exchanged eye contact, before the chief finally let go of Alexi. He crossed his arms and let out a heavy sigh.
"Fine. Make your case. But if it's not convincing enough, you're going to the cellar."
Alexi straightened his clothes and smiled cockily. On the outside, he appeared nonchalant, but on the inside, he was about to blow a lid.
The fact that Cain came so well prepared meant he had some insight on this scenario. Either he possessed the ability to see into the future or was being helped by someone. Originally, he pitted the blame on Guise, but now he was starting to feel that wasn't the case.
'Guise has an obsession with keeping things the same except the conclusion, right? Then she wouldn't… no. That's a wrong way to look at things. She'll keep scenarios she likes the same and will try to force me to change some scenarios she doesn't. She must have hated this arc. Tch.'
Alexi after calming down, put his hands in his pockets.
"You know, I've had things easy ever since I could remember. Some people even called me a child genius if you'd believe me.", he said, marching past the cops slowly to not raise any alarm bells.
"But being that smart as a kid, you get attention from a lot of strange people. Eventually, I got sick and tired of meeting those kinds of people. What did I do? Played dumb. I started failing in interviews, getting average grades and speaking like kids "my age".
"Eventually, I got the quiet, average life I wanted. I made friends, played games and read "dumb" stories. This helped me learn a lot about myself. And amongst the things I found about myself, I learned things I hated. Those strange people I was talking about. I figured they were only present when I was popular as a kid, but no. They were hidden amongst the masses. In fact, there were a lot more of them than I was expecting."
"Where's this going?", Cain snappily asked, glaring daggers at Alexi.
"Oh. Detective, weren't you able to figure out what kinds of people I'm talking about? No? I mean, figures. You are one of them, after all.", Alexi pointed his finger at Cain, grinning madly.
"What?"
"Idiots who think they are far smarter than they actually are."
"Officers, please arrest this man already.", Cain, finally tired of Alexi's tirade, barked.
"Shut up!", Alexi ordered. As if to back up his authority, thunder roared, effectively garnering everyone's attention. "I will now be telling you who the murderer of this case is."
Alexi's eyes moved through those sitting in the room. They all flinched under his imposing gaze. Cain in particular had quite the reaction to the news.
From his pocket, Alexi pulled out the notebook, flipping through its pages before finally coming to the final page.
It was time to end the scenario.