A mistake-riddled swimsuit episode

It was an August afternoon, and the blue ocean sparkled under the summer sun.

If this had been Japan, the water would have been crowded with kids in swimsuits frolicking enthusiastically, but apparently people in this country mostly came to the beach to sunbathe, and the ocean was pretty empty. Like them, I sat on the pebble beach and gazed aimlessly at the water.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

A few minutes later, the person I’d been waiting for showed up. It was my swimsuit-clad business partner and college classmate, Nagisa Natsunagi. We’d made a trip to England during our summer break.

“Hm? This doesn’t look like what I was expecting.” Natsunagi sat down beside me, apparently perplexed by the fact that the beach wasn’t much like a beach in Japan. “And actually, it’s a little chilly.”

“Even in midsummer, temperatures in England don’t get much higher than the seventies.”

“I didn’t know that. And here I thought this was going to be the swimsuit episode…” Natsunagi pouted, looking down at her own swimsuit. She said she’d bought it especially for the trip.

I got the feeling she’d said something like that the year before, too, but whatever.

“Well, it’s not like we’re here to have fun in the first place.”

“I know that. I need to attend the Federal Council as the Ace Detective.”

As a rule, the Tuners were scattered around the world, but they assembled for meetings whenever the Federation Government requested it. The invitation for this one had arrived a week ago.

It had been a boilerplate message without any specific information about the agenda, and Tuners were required to attend, so Natsunagi and I had gone to the country where the council would be held.

“It’s probably not going to be a good time, either,” I said.

If everything was going well, there wouldn’t have been any need to hold a Federal Council.

In fact, the Federation Government and the rest of the world had been rushing around since the Vampire Rebellion. Naturally, no one had been appointed to replace the Vampire yet, which left one of the Tuner positions empty. Even the Ace Detective’s next mission was still undetermined. This council could get fairly ugly.

“The council starts in the evening, right?”

“Yes. That means we need to enjoy ourselves at least a little before then.” Smiling, Natsunagi hugged her knees. Like the former Ace Detective, she seemed to be enjoying this expedition as if it were just a regular trip. “Come on, put some suntan lotion on me.” Lowering her voice, she turned her back to me.

The sun wasn’t all that strong here, but if she was going to expose her bare skin to the elements, it was probably good to be careful. I picked up the bottle, squirted lotion into my palm, and began rubbing it into Natsunagi’s healthy skin.

“……Mm!”

The second my hand touched her back, Natsunagi flinched.

“Don’t make weird noises!” I said.

“I-it’s a standard trope for a swimsuit episode!”

She was being a little too particular about the “swimsuit episode” bit.

“You just don’t understand the classics, Kimizuka.”

“I really don’t think your idea of ‘classic’ matches what’s common sense for the rest of the world, Natsunagi.”

“That’s mean! It’s just stuff like splashing each other with water and playing beach volleyball, and your swimsuit accidentally gets washed away and the boy you have a crush on sees your boobs, but he only gets a little embarrassed and leads you behind some rocks so that other people won’t see you!”

“Don’t go wishing for the guy you have a crush on to accidentally see you naked.”

Geez. This side of Natsunagi really made me worry. It’s like she would sacrifice herself at the drop of a hat for someone else.

“Don’t let people take what’s important to you, all right?”

When I’d finished rubbing the lotion onto her back, Natsunagi turned to face me again. “I know that. I’ll make sure the people who are important to me get to hold onto it.” She gazed at me steadily, her eyes shining like jewels. When we’d met, there had still been something childish about her. Now she was grown-up and more beautiful than ever.

After that, Natsunagi had me go down to the water with her. Apparently she really did want to do all the clichéd stuff, so she splashed water on me, saying “Take that!” It was pretty cold, so I splashed her back with twice as much.

“Eep! Hey, that’s going too far!”

“I heard the detective wanted classic stuff, so— Whoa!”

She hadn’t just paid me back double. A wave about ten times as big crashed over my head, soaking me.

“Not fair.”

“Ah-ha-ha! Did you do this stuff with Siesta, too?”

“Well, when you spend three whole years traveling together…”

I remembered the beaches in several countries I’d visited with Siesta. We’d played in the water like this, and ridden on a banana boat, and played a little beach volleyball.

Solving cases had been our top priority; those weren’t the important events…and yet those “unimportant” memories were the ones that always surfaced out of nowhere as I went about my day.

“In that case, we’ll have to tell her about lots and lots of things.”

“Yeah. No matter how much time we’ve got, I bet it won’t be enough.”

Siesta’s operation was coming up fast.

It was going to be a major surgery. Stephen the Inventor would trade the artificial heart he’d made for her original one, which was being eaten away by the seed. Even if the transplant succeeded, Siesta’s heart was special; she’d entrusted her consciousness to it, and when she woke up, both her memories and her personality might be gone.

But we’d chosen this anyway. We wanted her to live, even if that would be the price. And so, when Siesta woke someday, we were going to tell her all sorts of things. Her code name. The fragrance of the black tea she’d loved. The memories of the time we’d spent together. We’d make Siesta a detective again with our own hands.

“I remember everything. I’ll remember it for her.”

That meant it was going to be okay.

Just a little longer. It wouldn’t be long until the day the detective could get up and walk through this warm sunlight.

“Just sit tight, Siesta.”

In my heart, I reached out toward that dazzling sun.

The land of eternal justice

When we left the beach, Natsunagi and I got into a car the Federation Government had sent for us. It took us to a palace, a World Heritage Site that had been cleared of any tourists. This was where the Federal Council would take place.

At four in the afternoon, Natsunagi and I walked through the main door. The hall where the conference would be held was at the end of a long corridor, and several people were already waiting inside.

“Th-thank goodness. Someone I know finally showed up…”

A blue-haired girl who was dressed like a shrine maiden came trotting up to us. This was the Oracle, Mia Whitlock. We always met virtually over video chat, and it had been quite a while since we had seen her in person.

“Mia. You came.”

“Yes, but I was just thinking about going home.”

Don’t try to go home before the council even starts.

“Isn’t Olivia with you?” Natsunagi asked. I didn’t see the Oracle’s assistant nearby.

“She says things are very busy with her other job. She’s been on airplanes all the time lately.” Mia puffed out her cheeks a little as she complained about Olivia, who was working as a cabin attendant somewhere at ten thousand meters.

“So you came by yourself? For a shut-in, that’s really impressive.”

“D-don’t call me that… This council is in my home country, so I pushed myself a bit. I thought it might be bad if I didn’t come.”

I see. Still, no one she knew had been present, and she’d felt unbearably awkward as soon as she had walked through the door. She was as pathetic and cute as ever.

“Come sit with me, then!” Tugging Mia along by the hand, Natsunagi sat down on an expensive-looking sofa nearby.

Left on my own, I looked around the room again.

It looked like a parlor in a European-style mansion. Tables and chairs that appeared to be the creations of a famous designer were placed casually around the room, and the Tuners who’d arrived earlier had found places to settle in.

One was a man in a dark suit and sunglasses: one of the Men in Black, who were always helping me out. There were two others: a tall woman whose face was hidden behind a black veil, and a man in a motorcycle jacket and a bike helmet. Neither of their faces were visible.

“The girl is the Revolutionary, and the boy is the Hero.”

This abrupt explanation had come from somewhere very close by, and I turned to look. An elderly man was standing next to me, although I hadn’t sensed his approach.

“It’s been a long time, Singularity and Ace Detective’s assistant.”

It was Bruno Belmondo, the Information Broker. I hadn’t seen him since last summer, when Siesta and I had attended another Federal Council.

“I hear you helped Natsunagi out the other day.”

Although it was possible to meet Bruno at official functions like this, it was hard to connect with him for personal business. However, a few months ago, Natsunagi had reached out for help during the Vampire Rebellion.

“No, that confidential conversation was meaningful for me as well. The balance has been tuned,” Bruno said, his eyes turning to Natsunagi. “I see. So you’ve built a community, have you?”

Natsunagi had her laptop open. Mia was looking at the screen from beside her, and they were having some sort of hushed conversation.

The screen showed Reloaded, the Magical Girl. She was attending the council remotely from her hometown in Scandinavia. She and Mia seemed to be arguing about something, but as usual, it probably wasn’t anything serious.

“And? Are you close to those two, Bruno?” I glanced at the Revolutionary and the Hero. The former had probably taken over for Fritz Stewart after his death, but what sort of position was the Hero?

“The most important thing in the world is not to misjudge the way the scales are leaning. If the day comes when I can preserve the world’s balance by joining hands with them, I’m sure I won’t hesitate for a moment.” With that rather evasive remark, Bruno sat down in a nearby rocking chair. Apparently, he wasn’t going to introduce me to the other two.

“It looks like the Inventor isn’t here. That’s no surprise.”

Stephen was extremely busy as a doctor as well. Lots of patients besides Siesta needed those brilliant hands of his. He was probably wielding a scalpel somewhere at this very minute.

“About the only other one who’s likely to be here is Ms. Fuubi.”

“Yes, but I expect the Assassin will be busy now as well.” Bruno stroked his beard. “I would have liked to see her, though. It’s been a long time.”

That meant there would be seven Tuners in attendance: the Ace Detective, the Oracle, the Man in Black, the Revolutionary, the Hero, the Information Broker, and (remotely) the Magical Girl.

The Vampire, who’d been a Tuner until just a little while ago, was gone. The name of his profession would never be engraved on the world again—

“It should be about time.” Bruno glanced at the grandfather clock.

Just then, the door to the hall opened.

The individual who entered was wearing a mask. This was bound to be a high-level Federation Government official. Another figure appeared from behind the bureaucrat. This one was a familiar man in a suit.

“Huh? Ookami?” Natsunagi called; she’d noticed him, too.

Ookami, the detective’s former proxy assistant. The government had sent him to support Natsunagi while I was working as Reloaded’s familiar. We’d met him through Ms. Fuubi once after that, but…

“Why’s Ookami here? He’s not a Tuner.”

“Kimihiko Kimizuka, I send that question back to you verbatim,” Ookami parried calmly, and I realized I didn’t have a good response.

“I’m, uh, you know. Whatever anyone says, I’m the Singularity and all.”

“You started leaning on that out of nowhere.”

“…Man, shut up. So what are you doing with a government bureaucrat?” I repeated.

“Ask Doberman,” Ookami told me.

“Doberman? What’s that about? Are you talking about me being Rill’s faithful hound? I mean, you’re not wrong there, but…”

“Kimihiko, have you lost all your pride?”

The sharp retort was perfectly timed.

Natsunagi had turned the computer to face me, and Rill was glaring at me coldly from the screen. “Doberman is that bureaucrat’s code name. He wasn’t actually in charge of the Magical Girl, but we’ve spoken a few times.”

Ah, I see. Ice Doll, Odin… One by one, we were learning the officials’ names.

“This man will be assuming the position of Enforcer,” Doberman said, pointing to Ookami. “Ever since the previous Enforcer’s death, the position has remained empty. However, between the Vampire’s recent death and the Magical Girl’s injuries, we urgently needed to have as many Tuners as possible to mobilize.”

“Apparently that’s how it is. I had no particular attachment to the position, but…” Ookami shrugged. However, this position had been held by his old friend, Douglas Amon, and there was probably no one better suited for the job.

“Still, it’s unusual for a government official to attend one of these councils. They always left that sort of thing to the Tuners.” Even though she was remote, the Magical Girl wasn’t holding back. “What’s the topic for discussion at this council? The biggest recent crisis was the Vampire Rebellion, and it’s already been three months since then.”

“Yes, today concerns another matter. I’d like to discuss a crisis that’s about to begin—or is already underway, actually.”

Just as Doberman finished his sentence, an image appeared on the screen in the back of the hall. Put briefly, it was of a crime scene: A man and a woman lay on the ground, covered in blood.

“The victims were residents of Greece: a husband and wife, both in their forties. They were stabbed to death by their only son, who was in middle school.”

“…So the incident’s been solved?”

The crime was definitely so atrocious it made me want to cover my eyes, but why would Doberman be telling the Tuners about a murder case that was already closed?

“There’s something written there.” Natsunagi got up from the sofa; she was looking at the screen. “A letter from the English alphabet… No, the Greek letter ‘alpha’?”

Just as the detective had said, there was a red letter A beside the husband’s body.

It had been written in blood.

“Over the past month, many other similar incidents have occurred around the world.” As Doberman spoke, the image on the screen began shifting through other murder scenes. The letter A had been written in blood at all of them.

“These incidents have one thing in common besides the letter. All of the perpetrators were the victims’ children. In other words, these are all parricides.”

Several dozen photos appeared on the screen, all of bloody crime scenes. The victims all appeared to be in their thirties and forties. Apparently, every one of them had been killed by their own sons and daughters.

“Their nationalities are all different, though?” I said.

There seemed to be similarities, but I couldn’t pin down the connection. What on earth was this?

“What does the Oracle’s sacred text say about the incidents?” Doberman asked. He seemed to feel certain of something.

“So that is why you called us here.”

When I turned to look at the source of the voice, I saw that Mia had risen to her feet.

“These incidents are the ‘Neverland Project,’ and Abel A. Schoenberg is involved.”

The Oracle, who predicted all sorts of disasters, had just given us the name of a great criminal.

Abel A. Schoenberg was an enigma. His nationality, his age, and any other details that could have been used to identify him were unclear. He was believed to have been involved in most of the unsolved crimes that had occurred around the world, and the police and other law enforcement organizations were constantly pursuing him.

“I’d heard that the Assassin was currently dealing with this crisis, though.”

“Yes, that’s correct. Apparently, she’s so focused on her mission that she can’t even attend the Federal Council.”

…Was that what was going on? As a matter of fact, I’d heard earlier that Ms. Fuubi’s mission was to dispose of Abel.

“However, if Abel is masterminding these incidents, resolving them should be the Assassin’s duty as well. Why would you go out of your way to convene the Tuners?” Ookami asked Doberman. He wasn’t about to be timid just because he was new. He’d probably accepted the Tuner position for reasons of his own.

“There must be some sort of irregular situation,” I murmured. “For example…”

Ookami and everyone else turned to look at me.

“…Abel is actually Arsene the Phantom Thief.”

This was a theory Ms. Fuubi had told me earlier.

I heard several people gulp, and silence fell for fifteen seconds or so.

“I have heard that theory,” Doberman said finally. “However, at the very least, the threat posed by Abel A. Schoenberg is incalculable. Leaving him entirely in the Assassin’s hands seems unwise. Therefore, we are creating an exception to the Federal Charter.”

Doberman’s masked face scanned the assembly.

“Allies of justice. Put the Tuners’ reputation on the line and help us apprehend Abel.”

Still here a century from now

“Huh! So, Kimihiko, this was your love nest with the previous Ace Detective.”

After the council, we returned to the apartment in London. Rill was currently looking around the room from the screen of the laptop, which was resting on the dining room table.

“That sentence contained nothing but misleading statements. This was just our base of operations.”

Siesta had leased this apartment, ages ago. As her assistant, I’d lived and worked here, too. Natsunagi and I had stopped by briefly last year, but I hadn’t been back since.

“It’s been years, though. If this was just a place where you worked, why haven’t you canceled your lease?”

“…Well, you know. It’s convenient when we have work in London.”

“For a once-a-year job? That’s basically the opposite of cost-effective.” My desperate excuse got a wry smile out of Rill.

“Rill, don’t pick on him too much. This place is important to Kimizuka. It’s packed with his memories with Siesta.” Sitting down beside me, Natsunagi threw me a lifeline.

“What’s that supposed to mean, hm? Feeling secure because you’re his legal wife or something?”

“There, there. Since you’re his ex-girlfriend, I understand why you’d be anxious, but calm down. Okay?”

For some unknown reason, they’d started needling each other over video chat.

I shouldn’t need to point this out, but I hadn’t married or dated either of them.

“This apartment is getting pretty old, though. It sounds like they’re going to tear it down soon.”

As Natsunagi had said, I had lots of memories with Siesta here. I’d hoped to be able to bring her here if she no longer had her memories when she woke up…but apparently that wasn’t going to happen in time.

“In that case, you’ll have to tell her about this, too, Kimizuka.” Natsunagi gazed at me, smiling gently. “The jobs you did when you lived here, and how you spent your days.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.” Even if the apartment was gone, my memories of those days wouldn’t vanish. Passing on the story of them was probably an assistant’s job, too.

“By the way, what happened to Mia?”

We’d brought her back with us, but come to think of it, I hadn’t seen her for a while.

“Oh, I showed her the bedroom. She said she was tired and asked me to let her rest for a few minutes.”

“Natsunagi, you’re placing too much trust in that Oracle.”

I got up and headed for the bedroom. When I opened the door, there was Mia, face down on the bed. Her face was buried in a pillow.

“Mia, that’s not Siesta’s pillow. It’s mine.”

“Yaugh!”

Mia sprang up, then flung the pillow at me.

“It doesn’t even smell like anything anymore.”

“I—I wasn’t trying to sniff Boss’s scent! I wouldn’t do anything that pervy!” Mia went back to the dining room, stomping as heavily as her petite frame could manage.

“Oh my. Who would have imagined the Oracle who holds the world’s fate in her hands was so naughty?” Rill smirked from the screen, as though she’d stumbled onto something entertaining. “The hero was actually a closet pervert. That’s asking kind of a lot of your character—”

“Now then, it’s about time we got down to business.” Casually closing the laptop, Mia sat down across from Natsunagi and me.

She’d gotten pretty gutsy about dealing with Rill.

“What are you going to do about what that official said?”

“About helping them capture Abel, you mean?”

It was rare for a government official to ask us for a favor (although typically “asking a favor” is much more respectful). It probably just went to show how great a threat Abel was.

“Doberman didn’t acknowledge it back there, but…if Abel really is the true identity of Phantom Thief Arsene, capturing him is the mission of the Ace Detective and her assistant.” Siesta had said as much, long ago.

“Right. Since that’s true, we’ll need to investigate the chain of incidents Doberman told us about.” Natsunagi’s expression was grave.

The incidents Abel was contributing to were tragic: children around the world, slaughtering their parents. According to Mia, this was called the Neverland Project, but…

“Even with my clairvoyance, I don’t know the truth of these incidents. Still…” Mia bit her lip. “No matter how much hatred they felt, it must have taken a serious trigger to get children to the point where they’d kill their own parents. If Abel’s involved in that, I absolutely can’t forgive him.”

“I see. Mia, long ago, you…” I recalled what I knew of her past. One day, Mia had developed the ability to see the future, and her parents had started a religion and celebrated her as its founder, turning her into their tool. Even so, Mia hadn’t been able to give up on them, and she’d fought to prevent the future in which they were killed by their followers.

“It’s strange for me to say this, but please… I want you two to shut this down.” The Oracle bowed her head to the detective, as if she were a client.

“So does Rill, then,” Rill said from the computer screen—Natsunagi had opened it back up. “Now that her body’s like this, she can’t help actively. However, she’s praying that your justice will prevail.”

When we heard those words, Natsunagi and I looked at each other and nodded.

“Sometimes even you say some pretty decent things, Rill.”

“Uh, excuse me? Don’t get full of yourself, Mia.”

Mia and Rill argued through the screen, noisily and cheerfully. They’d been fighting all day today, even since before the council… However—

“Huh? Did you two always call each other by your first names?”

“Natsunagi, it’s important to pretend not to notice this stuff.”

You know what they say—“the more people fight,” or whatever. This probably counted as communicating.

“You could call me by my first name, too, Kimizuka.”

“…Well, you know. If you’d said that when we first met, then sure, but…”

“…So I messed up our first meeting, huh?” Natsunagi twirled her bangs around her finger, moping a little.

Just then, the smartphone I’d set on the table vibrated. It stopped almost immediately, but then five seconds later, it began ringing again. When this cycle repeated once more, I glanced at the display.

“Who is it?” Natsunagi asked.

“Dunno. Withheld number,” I told her, getting up. “I think I’ll go buy something to drink.” The local supermarket was probably still open.

“I’d like some ice cream, then! Something fruity.”

“I want snacks. Something that’s sweet and something that’s salty.”

“Rill wishes she were there in person. Well, it’s fine; you can send her something instead.”

“What do you people think I am?” Ignoring all three of their orders, I left the apartment.

I walked down the dark street under the stars, feeling the mild chill in the air.

The supermarket was on the main road, but I headed for an alley just behind it. When I’d walked for about three minutes, a gust of wind raced right past my face. —Or maybe I should call it “an intent to kill.”

“—! I think you grazed me.” I tried to see whether my cheek was bleeding, but my opponent didn’t give me the chance; they struck twice more.

“Look, I’m unarmed here.” I threw myself to the side, evading desperately, but when the fourth strike came, I couldn’t even see it. If my opponent hadn’t shown me mercy, I probably would have died then and there.

“You’ve still got a long way to go.”

My assailant twirled her dagger and smiled, her hostility evaporating.

“Yeesh. After I came all the way out here for you. That was mean, Charlie.”

I was sitting on my butt on the pavement, and the blond agent reached out to help me up.

It was the first time I’d seen Charlotte Arisaka Anderson in eight months.

The main heroine (?) shows up late

At an hour when most of the supermarkets in London were closed, a car drove through the city’s streets.

“You know, you actually look pretty sharp behind the wheel.” I shot Charlie a sidelong glance from the passenger seat. She was wearing a low-cut shirt and black slacks. She’d always had a good figure, but it had gotten even better since we’d last met. Her makeup looked rather mature; she wouldn’t have seemed out of place in a spy movie. “Even though you looked kinda dumb just a little while ago.”

“That’s definitely not a compliment, is it?” Still facing forward, Charlie reached out with her left hand and twisted my nose.

“Not fair.”

“Your voice sounds weird. Did it change since we last met?”

“It’s because you’re trying to rip my nose off.”

Chuckling, the agent withdrew her hand, setting it back on the steering wheel. “Let’s try this again: It’s been quite a while since we met. Have you been well?”

“Yeah. Haven’t died yet anyway.”

The last time I’d seen Charlie had been at Saikawa’s birthday party last year. Right after that, I’d gotten dragged into the incident with the Magical Girl, and Charlie’s job as an agent had taken her overseas long-term.

Over the next eight months, Charlie had touched base with us about Siesta from time to time, but I’d never expected to meet her like this today. She’d said she just happened to have been assigned a job in this country.

“I’m glad you’re okay, too. You must’ve run into plenty of dangerous stuff.”

“Yes, well. I’ll never be hard up for good stories to tell.” With a wry smile, Charlie gradually braked for a red light up ahead. “Still, Kimizuka, I’m surprised you remembered the phone signal.”

“Yeah, even though it’s been four years or so. It’s weird what sticks with you.”

In that number-withheld call I’d received at the apartment, the odd interval between calls was the signal to begin an operation. Charlie and I had used it when we were working together, way back when. Siesta had told us to set up that signal. And that was how I’d immediately understood that Charlie was nearby just now. Granted, I hadn’t expected her to attack me instead of saying hello…

“So I read between the lines and came out here alone, but why did you call me by myself?”

“…Do I have to say?” The light turned green, and we started moving again. Charlie was hesitating for some reason, but it didn’t seem like she was trying to hide something; if anything, she looked a little embarrassed.

“I wanted to talk with you a little.” Just for a moment, Charlie’s eyes flicked over to me. “It’s not like that, though. It’s not some special something-or-other. I just heard that you happened to be over here, and I thought it would be weird if I didn’t say hi… You remember what Ma’am said, right? About how she wanted us to get along better?”

Charlie had started rambling out of nowhere. I didn’t know what she was getting flustered over, but I really wished she’d ease up on the accelerator; the scenery outside the window was zipping by way too fast.

The code that signals the beginning

A week had passed since our return from England.

Summer vacation was longer in university than it was in high school, and it wasn’t over yet. We had various jobs to do, but even so, we ended up with free time. Natsunagi spent hers meeting up with old friends from high school or new ones from college, but for some reason, I didn’t have anybody like that.

Saikawa had gone back to work again just recently, so I couldn’t pester her for attention. I got the feeling Reloaded would scold me if I talked to her on the phone for ages for no reason, so I gritted my teeth and resisted the urge.

It was fine, though. It wasn’t like I was friendless or anything. Even first thing in the morning, there was always someone I could talk to here.

“So that floor cushion turned out to be what clinched it, and we realized the criminal had hemorrhoids.”

As I related a side-splitting anecdote in a hospital room on the third floor, Siesta lay on the bed, smiling as if she were enjoying herself enormously.

“Kimihiko, please stop using your internal voice to falsify reality.” In a corner of the room, a girl closed her book decisively. It was Noches, Siesta’s maid, who could easily have been her identical twin.

“No, take a good look. She’s smiling. See?”

“Mistress Siesta always wears an angelic smile.”

“You love your mistress too much, maid.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Noches played dumb. When she behaved like this, I tended to forget she was a robot.

“Still, I won’t get to hear your failed comedy routines much longer, Kimihiko.”

“That’s a hideous thing to call them.”

Part of what Noches was saying was correct, though—it wouldn’t be long before I couldn’t talk with Siesta like this anymore.

“Siesta’s transplant is coming up fast, huh?”

Stephen had said he’d be starting the preparation phase soon. During that phase, and while he was monitoring her progress after surgery, she wouldn’t be allowed to have visitors. In less than a month, I’d stop being able to see Siesta for a while. It had been very close to a year since she’d fallen asleep.

“Does that make you lonely?” Noches asked, without even looking at me. “Or are you afraid?”

…Yeesh. How did this maid read my mind so accurately?

“I trust Stephen’s skills. I’m sure the surgery itself will be fine… But afterward, Siesta may lose her memories and her personality.” Strangely, when I was with Noches, I could say what I actually felt: I was terrified of Siesta not being Siesta anymore. “That could happen to you, too, though, couldn’t it?”

I got the feeling Noches had flinched very slightly. “Is it strange for a machine like me to feel that way?”

“Nah. I said so before, didn’t I? If you’re able to think about other people to that extent, there’s no way you’re just a machine.”

Our eyes finally met, and we both smiled. At least, it looked as if Noches was smiling, too. “But remember this, Kimihiko. I’ve merely been programmed to behave like a human.” She blinked slowly as she spoke. Technically, blinking wasn’t something she needed to do. “For example, when I’m teased, I’m supposed to act angry. When someone near me is discouraged, I’m supposed to comfort them. If someone smiles, my expression should soften as well. I’ve only been mechanically programmed to do these things.”

I had the urge to tell her that wasn’t true, but I couldn’t do it.

Noches was the product of Stephen’s science. Canceling out that fact with some pat answer would be denying the proof of her existence.

“Because of that, sometimes I become frightened.” Noches gazed out the window, into the distance. “I’m worried that someone may get the idea that robots and AIs like myself truly have emotions, sympathize with us, and give machines too much authority. If AIs ever rebel against the human race, as they do in science fiction movies, no doubt it will be human kindness that triggers it.”

Noches was wearing a lonely smile.

Even if she was a machine, her words and gestures were just the output of some program. Even so, I liked her the way she was. That was the one thing I knew for sure.

“Oh my, it appears we have a visitor.” Noches looked at the door.

She must have heard footsteps. A few moments later, someone knocked three times.

“That’s a guest I wasn’t expecting,” I muttered when I opened the door and saw who was there.

“You’re the one who said to stop by at least once.”

It was Fuubi Kase, the redheaded police officer.

Holding a bouquet of flowers that didn’t really suit her tough expression, she stepped into the hospital room. “So that’s what she looks like when she’s asleep, huh?” Handing the flowers to Noches, Ms. Fuubi looked down into Siesta’s face. Their relationship was unexpectedly deep in ways I didn’t even know about. As fellow Tuners, they were…well, I wouldn’t have called them “close,” but they seemed to get along for business.

“Didn’t you trust Siesta, either?” I asked Ms. Fuubi casually.

Back in London, she’d said she didn’t trust anybody.

“No. But the detective wasn’t genuinely looking for trust from me anyway.” Gazing at Siesta, Ms. Fuubi spoke as if she were reminiscing. “That makes us even. I thought we’d probably stop being able to use each other eventually, and I figured if one of us died, that would be that. It was convenient for me.”

Now that she mentioned it, Siesta might have been the same way. She’d always been logical and rational, and she never injected unnecessary personal feelings into situations. She’d been better at doubting people than trusting them.

“Near the end, though, I think she and I became a little different. To me, it seemed she did want to believe in somebody.”

“Did she?”

Would I be able to see Siesta like that again?

“Could I have a minute?” Ms. Fuubi pointed out the door. Leaving Noches in charge of the room, I stepped out into the hall.

“How does it look?” Once we’d walked a little ways, Ms. Fuubi leaned against the corridor wall. “The Neverland Project. You and the detective are checking into it, too, right?”

After Ryan White had called that meeting last week, we’d all started working from various angles to capture Abel. For the past week, Natsunagi and I had been investigating the Neverland Project. Mia and Rill had been asked to work on it individually as well.

“First, the Oracle had no prophecies this week. We’re keeping an eye on the world news, but no relevant incidents have occurred as far as we can tell. Instead, Natsunagi and I have been reviewing past incidents one by one.”

Concrete, not abstract. From a perspective that was micro, not macro.

“In most of them, the perpetrators were in middle school, and the victims were their parents. In all cases, there was acknowledged trouble between the child and their parents before the incident. Quite a lot of that trouble was child abuse. The general view is that the kids couldn’t take it anymore, so they killed their parents.”

However, a dozen or so similar events had occurred around the world over the past month, and a letter A had been left at each crime scene, written in blood.

“We checked to see whether the cases had anything in common besides that blood letter. Whether the attackers had a common interest, for example, or if they followed a specific religion, or if they’d connected over social media. We didn’t find anything, though.”

In other words, if there were any sort of common thread running beneath the incidents, we’d have to assume it was Abel, as the Oracle had prophesied. Granted, I didn’t know why he’d go out of his way to leave an A in blood at each crime scene…

“Either way, Abel is making children kill their parents somehow… The enemy we’re up against can do things like that, right?”

Ms. Fuubi nodded, her expression grim. “Yeah. He never does the deed himself; he makes other people commit his crimes for him. You remember how that goes, don’t you?”

If Abel really was the Phantom Thief, Siesta and I had actually seen him do something like this a year ago.

“They say Abel may use something like a unique ‘code’ to control the waves of human emotions. That would be true of the Neverland Project as well.”

“A code that gives someone the impulse to commit murder…”

The enemy’s ability had been vague, but now the outline of it was taking shape.

“That’s the theory Ryan, Ookami, and I came up with. How close it comes to the truth isn’t clear.”

Apparently that was what the adults had been discussing for the past week.

“Ryan…” When I spoke, Ms. Fuubi flinched slightly. “You don’t trust Ryan, either?”

They’d known each other for ages, they were both allies of justice, they were both police officers, and they were engaged to each other… Well, that aside, she was close to the guy. But what did she actually think of him?

“Next time you bring up that topic to mess with me, I’ll kill you.”

“I’m not messing with you. Not at all.” I waved my hands in denial.

Ms. Fuubi gave me a glare. “Anyway,” she went on, “right now, we each just need to do whatever we can in order to apprehend Abel. Words like ‘trust’ and ‘confidence’ and things like people’s pasts don’t matter. Am I wrong?”

“You look like you’ll hit me if I say ‘yes,’ so let’s go with what you said.”

“Want me to arrest you first, you damn brat?”

Could she still call me a brat? I was in college… Well, whatever. “Arresting Abel is my only goal right now, too.”

“Oh-ho. Did something happen to make you fixate so much on him?”

“The Ace Detective’s enemy is my enemy, so…”

“If Abel’s the Phantom Thief, he’s the one the Daydream failed to take down and entrusted to Natsunagi, huh?”

“That’s right,” I said, starting back toward Siesta’s room.

Ms. Fuubi left, too, saying she had work to do.

“Why I’m fixated on Abel, huh?”

I hadn’t told Ms. Fuubi, but I did have one more reason. There was one more person who’d surfaced in my mind.

He might not have been a detective like Siesta and Natsunagi. He’d called himself my teacher, though, and he’d once told me this:

“Parents are all kids have.”

Abel had twisted that incontrovertible fact, and I was going to capture him in my teacher’s place.

Find the distance between two straight, parallel lines

Three days later, early morning found me at the train station.

In front of the Shinkansen ticket barrier, I waited for a certain girl to arrive. I’d already grabbed tickets for both of us.

“She’s late.”

It was almost fifteen minutes past the time we’d said we’d meet. At this rate, these tickets were going to go to waste…but just as I was starting to worry, my wish reached whoever it needed to reach, and something light thumped me on the back.

“That’s quite a greeting for somebody who’s late, Charlie.”

When I turned around, there was the blond agent, swinging a small shoulder bag. She was wearing a summery outfit and carrying a basket.

“I couldn’t help it. I got lost,” Charlie complained, making excuses.

“Is it that easy to get lost in here?”

“No, I mean I got lost in thought wondering whether I should show up.”

“I’m really impressed you can say that after making me wait!”

Charlie averted her face huffily. Apparently, her attitude toward me in England had all been an act. This woman really was…

“Anyway, this is your errand today, right, Charlie? We’re going to meet your mom, Kozue Arisaka.”

It had been two weeks since she’d gotten that information from the goat-masked woman and the human trafficking organization. Charlie had finally said she was going to meet Kozue Arisaka today, so I’d come along to act as her escort. Frankly, I got the feeling we weren’t the best combination, but for some reason, Natsunagi had ordered me to go.

“We could just drive. Why are we taking the train?” Charlie expressed doubts about the day’s mode of transportation.

“Remember what you did to me the other day. The trauma from that is going to keep me out of cars for a while.”

“Pfft! Even the memory of it is funny. Your face when you fell right into my honey trap…”

“Don’t call that shit a ‘honey trap’! That was something a lot uglier.”

Dammit, to think Charlie of all people would be messing with me like this now.

“Wait, did you actually have feelings for me? Are you always spoiling for a fight because you’re embarrassed and trying to hide it?”

“Oh yeah, right. Even if the world flipped upside down and morning and night showed up at once, that would never happen.”

“…When you go that far, it’s actually pretty hurtful, you know.”

“…Oh, um, sorry.”

“I’m kidding.”

“I’m never believing anything you say again!”

Geez. We always end up like this.

We’d always gotten along terribly. After everything we’d been through, I thought we’d managed to improve our relationship a bit…but apparently not. Maybe I’ll just go home.

“Ahhh, hilarious. You really are as simpleminded as ever.”

“Being called ‘simple’ or ‘stupid’ by you is the peak of humiliation.”

“You really are simple, and a busybody, and a pushover, and…hard to understand.” Charlie looked away a bit awkwardly. “Why are you coming with me today?”

It was almost like she was saying, This has nothing to do with you.

“I’ve never told you about my parents. Maybe you heard me telling Ma’am about them, but I’ve never come to you for advice. What reason do you have to get involved with me now?”

…Oh, right. When she’d said she wasn’t sure whether she should come today, had she been wondering if it was all right to drag me into this?

“You already sold me off to human traffickers. Isn’t it pretty late to ask?”

“L-like I said, I was planning to rescue you later. Even if we don’t get along, I don’t think you should die or anything.”

Apparently she was being genuine this time. Charlie looked down awkwardly. She really was bad at communicating. And that probably makes two of us.

“Your mother once hunted Abel, so searching for her may lead to a clue to arresting him. That’s a big plus for me, too.” I spoke very fast; I didn’t meet her eyes, but I told myself that was okay. “And since Abel is involved, acting solo is dangerous. Of the group Ryan assembled, I’ve got the most free time. It’s logical for me to be the one who goes with you… It’s not because I’m worried about you or anything.”

Silence fell for a few moments. Then Charlie gave a wry smile. “You sure aren’t honest about your feelings. Let’s go.” She set off toward the ticket gate, holding the Shinkansen ticket she’d taken from me.

“You aren’t, either.”

“I’d rather us not be birds of a feather.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m not dumb like you are.”

“Exactly. I’m not as weedy and weak as you, and I’m not a guy.”

“Rude. Want to get our seats changed, right this minute?”

“Why did you get adjacent seats for us anyway? Are you dumb?”

Tomato-flavored affection

Apparently, Kozue Arisaka lived in a summer resort area a little ways from the city, and as Charlie and I headed toward her hideout, we transferred from the Shinkansen to a local train.

This might have been a fun trip if I’d been with Natsunagi or Saikawa, but being alone with Charlie was pretty uncomfortable. We’d changed the seats on our Shinkansen tickets, and on the local train, we were sitting on opposite ends of the row of sideways-facing seats.

Although our relationship wasn’t as awful as it used to be, whenever we met or talked, it naturally turned into a fight. Unlike the detective or the idol or the Oracle or the Magical Girl, Charlie and I didn’t have a relationship I could put into words yet.

“Good thing it is sunny today, huh?” I pushed myself to move closer and tried striking up a conversation with Charlie. It was worth a shot. Since we had to be with each other anyway, I wanted the time to be as pleasant as possible.

“Why did you come over here by me?”

“I figured we should sit close to make room for other people.”

“The car’s completely empty,” she retorted coolly.

We didn’t talk for a while.

Clackety-clack, clackety-clack. The only sound was the calm noise of the train.

“Come to think of it, maybe because I had two bananas this morning, I had zero trouble in the bathroom.”

“Could you pick a worse topic for small talk?” Charlie finally looked at me; she was frowning with dismay.

I still hadn’t managed to improve my small-talk game. It looked like I’d just have to let Natsunagi put me through special training.

“I guess it’s fine, though. Just keep talking.” Turning to face forward, Charlie gazed out the window. Her eyes were distant. “It’s a distraction anyway.”

If Charlie wanted to forget about this train’s destination and the person she was about to meet, just for now…

“Okay, why don’t I talk about the stuff that happened while you were overseas?”

I told her the stories about the Magical Girl and the Vampire, without expecting her to be an active listener.

About thirty minutes later, we got off the train, then took a taxi down a mountain road.

A little before we reached our destination, we got out of the car and kept going on foot, just in case. Finally, Charlie stopped in her tracks.

“Is this the house?”

There was an isolated log cabin right in front of us, in the midst of lush vegetation.

So this was where Kozue Arisaka was lying low?

“It’s no good.” Charlie pointed. The house had a FOR SALE sign up.

I peeked in one of the windows. There was no furniture, and no sign that anyone was there.

“Want to look around just in case?”

With a silent apology to the building’s manager, I opened the door with some special tools I’d brought along, and Charlie and I took off our shoes and stepped into the living room.

The house was silent. The first floor had the living room, kitchen, and bathroom; the second floor held a bedroom and what seemed to be a guest room. We searched them all and confirmed that there was definitely no trace of anyone’s presence.

Kozue Arisaka wasn’t here anymore.

“You never did ask, did you?” Charlie murmured as we went downstairs. “Why I waited almost two weeks to do something after getting the memo, I mean.”

True, I had thought it was strange. She’d been searching all over for her mother, she’d set up a reckless plan, and yet when she’d finally gotten a hint, she’d gone nearly two weeks without using it.

“Pathetic, isn’t it? I wanted to know the answer, and yet when I was about to learn it, I suddenly got scared. I wanted to meet her, but some part of my heart still didn’t. Even now, I’m a little relieved.”

Back on the first floor, Charlie looked outside through the uncurtained window; she was wearing a self-deprecating smile. “I just didn’t commit; that’s why it turned out like this. If I’d come here right after getting that memo, I might have made it in time.”

“No, it’s been a lot longer than two weeks since Kozue was here.” Swiping a fingertip across the curtain rail, I showed Charlie all the dust it had picked up. “You didn’t fail because you hesitated. You just weren’t fated to meet her here, that’s all.”

For a moment, Charlie’s eyes went wide. Then she smiled faintly.

We locked the place back up, then walked to the riverbank. Using a big rock as a bench, we sat down side by side, and Charlie opened the basket.

The contents turned out to be sandwiches. Apparently she’d made us lunch.

“I didn’t say I’d give you any.”

“I didn’t ask for any.”

Then, with incredibly clichéd timing, my stomach growled.

“Well, I didn’t say I wouldn’t give you any, either.”

“And I didn’t say I didn’t want any.”

So share with me, all right?

“Oh, wait a second.” Charlie took a bite first, then pulled a face. “What would you like: tomato, egg, or ham? Actually, do you want them all?”

“Right, you’re bad at cooking, huh?”

How was it possible to mess up a sandwich?

Why had she made lunch, anyway?

“…Well, I haven’t seen my mother in ages; I didn’t know what to talk about. I thought if I brought something like this along, it might at least be a conversation starter… Not that it mattered in the end.” Charlie tucked her hair behind her ear.

I capitalized on that opening to snitch an egg sandwich from the basket.

“Hey!” Charlie tried to stop me.

Ignoring her, I bit into it, then finished it off in two or three bites. “It tastes unique, all right.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

It hadn’t been bad enough to count as “forcing” myself.

I’d made nasty curry in the past, and Siesta had eaten that frequently, complaining the whole time.

“Mm. The tomato’s actually pretty good.”

“…You’re so dumb.” Seeing me finish off the sandwich, Charlie suddenly smiled. “Well, this might have been for the best. I can’t even imagine me and that woman eating sandwiches together all chummy like this.”

“So you didn’t get along?”

No, maybe the issue was more fundamental than that. Charlie’s parents had been soldiers. Their family probably hadn’t looked much like the average family.

“My oldest memory is from when I was four or five. Even then, my parents’ love was never focused on me.”

“If they were military, I guess their jobs would have kept them away from home a lot of the time.”

“Yes, so I was raised by a sort of maid or caretaker.” As if she were remembering the distant past, Charlie looked up at the summer sky, eyes narrowed. “Even when she was home, Kozue didn’t see me. She only had eyes for my little brother; he was two years younger than me.”

I’d never known that Charlie had a little brother.

“He was fragile. As soon as he was born, they had to put him in an incubator. All of Kozue’s love was focused on him, as worry. All I remember is how she looked when she tended to my brother.”

I listened silently. Glancing at me, Charlie gave a little smile. “I’m not complaining about it. I was worried about him, too. As a little kid, I genuinely wanted to give half of my healthy body to him. I understand how Kozue felt so well it hurts. But that makes it even worse,” she went on. “Even now, it’s my little brother she wants to see, not me.”

Charlie had told me something once: Assuming a mother had two children, her emotions would be focused on the child who was farthest from her. At the time, I hadn’t understood why Charlie would give an example like that, but thinking about it now…

“Charlie, is your brother—?”

Before I could finish the question, Charlie got up and started walking, polishing off a sandwich as she went. “It’s just like you said. It’s a good thing it’s sunny.”

She slipped off her sandals and stepped into the river, soaking her bare feet. The clear stream splashed against the rock, sending up glassy spray.

“That’s cold!”

Under the blue sky, illuminated by the high sun, Charlie turned around. “Say! Why don’t you come in, too?”

Just for now, the fact that she was an agent had nothing to do with anything. She was smiling like an innocent young girl.

The countdown’s started

We ended up just going home after that. Our search for Kozue Arisaka was back at square one.

Charlie wasn’t as discouraged as I’d expected, though; she said she’d keep looking for clues. I hoped she wouldn’t sell out her friends this time, at least.

The next day, I met up with Charlie again at a certain luxury high-rise condo. It wasn’t just the two of us, though. We were also with Ms. Fuubi, the apartment’s owner; Natsunagi; and Mia, on the screen of a laptop. We were all gazing at a video feed projected onto a white wall.

“It looks like you’re all there.” A man in a white uniform, Ryan White, looked back at us. I saw Ookami next to him. “I have bad news. The Neverland Project has claimed another victim.” Ryan narrowed his eyes.

“If only my prophecy had been sooner…” On the laptop’s screen, Mia bit her lip in frustration. The prophecy had come to the Oracle the previous day, right after I’d split up with Charlie and gotten home.

She’d prophesied that within forty-eight hours, a new Neverland Project would be implemented in a certain country in North Africa. Ryan and Ookami had been free at the time, and they’d rushed to the scene…but it had been too late.

“There’s no way it’s your fault, Mia,” I told the discouraged Oracle. “Everyone here knows how much time you spend carrying out your role every day.”

Mia hadn’t neglected her job, and she hadn’t messed up. Sometimes the Oracle’s prophecies were about enemies of the world that would appear a decade from now, and other times they unexpectedly predicted a global crisis that was only a day away. That meant that sometimes she didn’t make it in time.

“Mia, we’ll need your help again before you know it. Would you lend us your strength again then?” Natsunagi smiled at the computer.

Mia still looked depressed, but she gave a small nod.

“Ookami. Details?” Ms. Fuubi asked, lighting a cigarette.

“The incident itself is like the previous cases: The victim and attacker were a father and child. The victim was mercilessly killed with a knife, and a letter A was written in blood next to his corpse.”

“‘The incident itself is like the previous cases’… Meaning something else was different? There was some issue so big that you had to call us together like this,” Ms. Fuubi said, picking up on what Ookami wasn’t saying.

A trail of white smoke rose from her cigarette. Once it had disappeared, Ryan spoke. “Yes, the attacker fled—and they took with them a map to the Akashic records, which had been in the victim’s possession.”

I heard several people gulp.

“Why would the victim have had top secret information like that?” Charlie asked Ryan.

“Because he was a member of the country’s royal family. He’d been charged with keeping that map safe.”

…The situation couldn’t have been worse: If the attacker was on the run, it was very likely that the map to the Akashic records had fallen into Abel’s hands.

“Listen, what exactly is the map to the Akashic records anyway?” Natsunagi timidly raised her hand. “If I recall, the records are said to be the plans for a weapon that might be capable of destroying the world, or a catalog of bits of inconvenient history that countries all over the world are hiding…but only a few powerful people know what they actually are.”

“Yes, ace detective, that’s right. The Akashic records once precipitated a great war. They are what everyone fears, and no one truly knows. After the crisis of a world war passed, the Mizoev Federation is said to have hidden them. That map is supposed to show the way to their hiding place.”

I’d have expected no less of a security police officer who was well-acquainted with the underworld. Ookami broke down the concept of the Akashic records and the map for Natsunagi.

“Th-then we have to get it back, fast! Abel might use it for evil, right?”

“Yeah, we’ll take the map back for sure. Right now, though, there’s no need to get too impatient,” Ms. Fuubi said, stubbing out her cigarette in the ashtray. “What got stolen is just a piece of the actual map. Most of the pieces are held by individuals in power around the world who’ve been acknowledged by the Federation Government.”

Ah. In other words, the map had been designed so that one piece wouldn’t be enough to get you anywhere.

“Also, it’s not just a piece of paper. There are layers of complicated programs pieced together; you need all the data before it will show the location of the records.”

“So anyone can acquire the Akashic records as long as they find that spot?”

“I dunno. Rumor has it that you need some sort of key, too. The rest of the details are unclear,” Ms. Fuubi finished.

“I see. In that case, we’ll need to make our move before Abel retrieves all the pieces of the map,” Natsunagi murmured, looking serious.

Silence fell.

Charlie’s eyes had widened as if she was startled. On the screen, so had Mia’s.

“Huh? What? Did I say something weird?” Natsunagi thought back over what she’d said, and then it hit her. “—I see. Abel’s main objective is to steal the Akashic records. The Neverland Project is just a distraction from that.”

In other words, those incidents were going to keep happening until he found all the pieces of the map.

“Come to think of it, there was another time when Abel…” As I muttered, Charlie raised her head. “Charlie, do you remember? There was one incident where Siesta and I were involved with Abel indirectly. You were there that time, too, right?”

“…Yes, actually. When was it, about three years ago? Abel was after a necklace that was a national treasure in the Republic of Singapore. That necklace was said to hold map data that would lead to the Akashic records…”

It had happened while I was wandering the world with Siesta. A certain individual had asked us to protect that necklace, and in the course of that, we’d faced off with Abel just once. Naturally, Abel had set someone else up to perpetrate the actual crime. He never did show himself directly, and both Siesta and I had been spending our days fighting SPES, so in the end, the incident hadn’t gone past that point. However, had Abel been searching for the map to the Akashic records back then, too? Was this just a continuation of that?

“Of course, we can’t completely discount the possibility that it’s a coincidence,” Ryan said from the screen. He and Ookami had probably had us assemble specifically so they could talk about this. “Did someone related to the Akashic records just happen to get caught in the Neverland Project’s net, or is Abel really plotting to collect the map? If so, what does he plan to do with the records? There are many things we still can’t form theories about, but as the Ace Detective says, we should take steps to stop him.”

After Ryan finished, a brief silence fell again.

Everyone here was waiting for a certain individual to speak.

“Hey. Damn brat. Say something.”

“No, they’re waiting for you, Ms. Fuubi.”

The tense atmosphere relaxed a little.

“I thought it would be best to donate my turn to the protagonist.”

“Nobody needs that kind of consideration. So, Ms. Fuubi. What do we do?”

Now that Abel’s true objective was becoming clear, what move should we make? The Assassin had been given the mission of capturing him, and we needed to hear her decision.

“Ha! What’s this? If I give orders, you people will obey me?”

“Well, I mean, if we don’t behave and obey, you’ll just force us to submit with violence.”

“I agree. When things don’t go her way, she gets angry like you would not believe.”

“Both you damn brats stay after the others leave.” Ms. Fuubi glared at me and Charlie with the eyes of a demon.

“Your companions really trust you, Fuubi.” For some reason, Ryan nodded with apparent satisfaction.

Ms. Fuubi sighed, scratching her head. “There’s something wrong with everybody here… Well, that’s fine. I don’t have many objections to this, either. If Abel really is trying to access the Akashic records, we’ll have to stop him no matter why he’s doing it.”

Scanning our group, Ms. Fuubi laid out our future course for us.

“We’ll collect the scattered pieces of the map to the Akashic records from around the world ourselves.”

Two right arms

The map that led to the Akashic records.

That was easy to say, but who held those pieces now, and what form did they take? It was going to be pretty tough to find out. After all, these were secrets of ultimate global importance, and both the Federation Government as well as the Mizoev Federation at its core would have them under tight guard.

As a matter of fact, even when Nagisa Natsunagi—the Ace Detective—had asked about them, the government officials had just told her “We’re not authorized to give you any answers about that.”

That was all they’d said, and we hadn’t managed to obtain any of the information we were after.

After that, though, Mia Whitlock the Oracle predicted the identity of more victims who’d be caught up in the Neverland Project. There were a total of seven.

When the Assassin saw the names, she nodded as if it all made sense to her. “At least three of those definitely have pieces of the map.”

Apparently she’d investigated that much on her own.

Put bluntly, it had been spying. I was worried that she’d get fired from being a Tuner if she got caught, but she told me, “Remember this, Kimizuka. In the face of true evil, justice wavers like nobody’s business.”

If Fuubi Kase was justice, then was Abel true evil? Was she saying that she’d walk on razor-thin ice if that was what it took to catch him?

If so, where had her drive to complete her mission come from? This will to destroy a great evil, even at the cost of destabilizing her own justice…

Ms. Fuubi didn’t tell me anything more than that, though. She took off for a foreign country, taking Ryan and Charlie with her. She had just one goal: retrieve the map that led to the Akashic records. She was traveling with others for safety, and they’d work as a team in order to efficiently collect the map before Abel could.

For the same reasons, Natsunagi, Ookami, and I were also working as a team.

In accordance with Mia’s prophesy, we headed to an island nation in Southeast Asia—the Republic of Singapore. There was supposed to be another individual with a piece of the map to the Akashic records here, but…

“Come on, this place is waaay too hot, isn’t it? Is it actually September?”

Blue sky and high sunlight. The moment we stepped outside the airport, Natsunagi wilted.

“Well, the heat and humidity are both high in this country. We were here around this time last year, too, remember?”

That had been right after Siesta fell asleep. Responding to a summons by the Federation Government official Ice Doll, we’d taken Saikawa and Charlie and visited this country. That was when Natsunagi had officially been appointed the Ace Detective, and we hadn’t been back since.

“I think it’s hotter than it was last year. Kimizuka, stop global warming. You’re the Singularity, aren’t you?”

“Like it could ever be that convenient! Come on, straighten up.” I tried to thump her lightly on the back, but Natsunagi hastily evaded.

“I’m sweaty. Don’t touch me.” She averted her face in seeming embarrassment… And I resolved to be more careful next time.

“So, Kimizuka? Where is the person we’re meeting?”

“Mm… They should be here already.” Through a certain connection, I’d managed to make contact with the person who had the map. I’d let them know our arrival time in advance, and they’d said they’d send a car to the airport to pick us up, but…

“You’re sure we can trust this connection of yours?” Ookami said. As always, he was looking sharp in a suit, with his hair combed back.

“Probably. They were connected to a job Siesta and I did here, way back when.”

As I’d said the other day, Siesta and I had once protected part of the map to the Akashic records in Singapore. The person who’d had the map then had recently died of an illness, but a relative of theirs had inherited it.

Campus life, for a change

My university’s long summer break was over.

We were still working to collect the pieces of the map to the Akashic records, but it wasn’t as if I had to go along every time. In my free time, I attended class with Natsunagi.

Today, after our fifth-period lecture, Natsunagi had suggested that we stay at the library again. Lately, we’d started studying and doing our homework there until night fell, then getting dinner together on the way home.

“Mmf! I’m worn out.”

We’d been at the library for an hour and a half. Setting down the complicated-looking book she’d been reading, Natsunagi stretched. The motion emphasized her chest, and frankly, I didn’t really know where to look. That was a problem, so I decided not to bother averting my eyes.

“Um, you’re staring.”

“Sorry. Honestly, I thought you’d probably forgive me.”

“Kimizuka, somebody important should yell at you at least once. Pervert.” Natsunagi gave me a long, cold look.

I knew I’d never win if this went to trial, so I changed the subject fast. “You’re reading another difficult book.”

“Well, I don’t have the sort of knowledge Siesta does. I have to catch up at least a little.”

Just from what I’d seen, Natsunagi had been doing a lot of reading recently. The genres were all over the place, from classic literature to world history texts and even biology dictionaries. Of her own accord, she was trying to become a real Ace Detective.

“By the way, Kimizuka, did you manage to visit Siesta one last time?”

“Yeah, this morning. I’d just missed the cutoff, but I begged and got them to let me in anyway.”

It had been my final visit before the preparations for Siesta’s surgery began. According to Stephen the Inventor, it would be a minimum of two months before everything was over and we could see her again. —Not that we knew what she’d be like when she woke up.

“I see. I went quietly by myself yesterday evening.”

“You could’ve come with me today, you know.”

“There are some things girls want to talk about on their own.”

Ah, that kinda thing, huh? They’d better not have been talking smack about me.

“It sounds like Charlie visited before I did. Noches told me.”

“I see. Well, she’s probably got a lot on her mind.”

Particularly now, Charlie was wrestling with a big personal issue. If Siesta had been here, Charlie would have wanted to discuss it with her. For ages, Siesta had been the only person she could show her weaknesses to. Now, though…

“Kimizuka, I’m leaving Charlie to you,” Natsunagi said, as if she’d been reading my mind.

“I’m not refusing, but why me? Charlie and I aren’t… I mean, you know how we get along.”

“Mm, yes. That might actually be the reason, though,” Natsunagi said in a roundabout way, smiling wryly. Come to think of it, when Charlie was looking for her mother, Natsunagi had told me to go with her.

“You know, I bet watching over your relationship with Charlie is a job for the successive Ace Detectives.”

“…Did they put that in the transfer instructions, too?”

“Ah-ha-ha! Boy, do you look grumpy.” Laughing, Natsunagi poked at my cheek with the blunt end of her pen.

“You don’t get to say that when it’s your fault.”

“It’s fine. I like that face.”

“Well, this is all kinds of convenient for you, huh?”

Just then…

“It looks as if I read you right,” someone else said. “You do seem close to her.”

When I looked up, a man in a white lab coat was standing there. The hypnotist and professor of psychology—

“Professor Moriya?” Natsunagi’s eyes were round.

“In the library, hard at work studying at this hour. That’s quite admirable. Although, at the same time, you seem to be enjoying your youth…”

Embarrassed, Natsunagi cleared her throat.

We’d met Professor Moriya at a pre-lecture right after starting university. His hypnotism demonstration had shown us how fascinating his lectures would be, and both Natsunagi and I had been attending them for the past several months.

“What brings you here, Professor?” Natsunagi asked him.

“I needed something from the stacks. I’m looking for a book to use in my research,” he told her. His voice was calm, and he was wearing his usual mild smile. I could see why he was popular with female students… The next thing I knew, Professor Moriya was gazing at me.

“Are you planning to read my mind again?”

At that pre-lecture in April, Professor Moriya had told me he suspected I was “currently hesitating, confronted with a big question.” At the time, I’d been worried about what direction to take with Siesta’s treatment.

“No. I can’t see any cloudiness in you today. There’s nothing like the hesitation you used to have, and your eyes are focused on your mission. As a matter of fact, you’ve begun to extend a helping hand to the people around you and support them.”

…Yeah, he was reading my mind plenty.

Then Professor Moriya’s expression clouded slightly. “However, in that case, you must also steel yourself. If the person you’ve tried to support doesn’t get their wish, you must be prepared to accept it.”

Once again, his words struck a chord with me.

What if I tried to save someone, desperately reaching out with both hands, trying to make their ideal a reality—and it didn’t happen? What would I…?

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to startle you, or to threaten you.” Gently setting one hand on my shoulder and the other on Natsunagi’s, Professor Moriya left us with a lesson. “It’s just that you students have a future ahead of you, and I want you to really worry, think, then live with a firm will. Telling you so is my role, you see.”

Wills that can change the world

The next day, having received a summons from a certain person, I was in a car driven by a Man in Black when I got a call. Seeing the name, I picked up.

“You haven’t been checking in regularly,” said Reloaded the Magical Girl. She sounded extremely cross.

“Did we have a regular contact system? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

“They just passed a bill about it. Familiars must check in with their masters once every three days. Look at the National Diet.”

“I see. I’ll make sure to vote from now on,” I quipped, then looked out the car window. The outskirts of the city were streaming past.

“Are you on your way somewhere?”

“Yeah, I got summoned by a Tuner who’s not you, Rill.”

Silence fell for a little while.

“Rill’s sorry. She can’t do much to help you this time.”

She didn’t give any specifics. However, it was clear what had been bothering her enough to make her call me.

“Capturing Abel was the Assassin’s mission in the first place. The Ace Detective and the Oracle are only involved because that’s how it worked out, or maybe because they were the right ones for the job… And anyway, you’ve got your own job, Rill. Right?”

“Rill isn’t sure. She’s done practically nothing as the Magical Girl.” With a hint of self-mockery, Rill told me about the job she’d been assigned. “It’s only creating a written record of all the global crises that have ever occurred, and the Tuners who resolved them. That’s the sort of job you’d give a nominal ‘manager’ who’s on the verge of retiring and can’t even use a computer.”

“Quit sniping specific individuals.”

That said, was this technically consideration on the part of the Federation Government? They’d given Rill a job she could do even if her legs didn’t work…

“Still, I bet that’s an important job, too. What happened to the world, who was saved, and who saved them—there’s definitely meaning in leaving a record of that for posterity.”

For example, the Oracle prophesied the future, but those prophecies didn’t necessarily come true. In fact, the Tuners defeated enemies and salvaged crises in order to change those worst-possible futures. People who left a record of those things, those stories, were definitely needed. After all, in every age, the wise learned from history.

“…Thanks,” Rill said in a tiny voice. She sounded a bit embarrassed.

To tell the truth, I was bummed that I couldn’t see her face.

“How have your parents been?”

Since Rill had been living as the Magical Girl, she hadn’t contacted her parents for several years. However, after settling things with that Supernatural, Gluttony, she’d returned to her home in Scandinavia about six months ago.

“Rill hasn’t seen them lately. She’s moved out on her own.”

“…Hey, nobody mentioned that.”

Maybe I really did need to check in regularly.

“Well, Rill isn’t a child. She can’t lean on her parents forever.”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

True, she probably couldn’t tell her family the details of her current job, but Rill was also solidly independent.

“You don’t have to worry; it’s not that Rill doesn’t get along with her parents. She’s calling them and going to see them once in a while so that things won’t end up the way they did before. Maybe we aren’t exactly best friends, but… Well, that’s the shape Rill’s family takes, that’s all. ‘The ideal family’ is just an illusion.”

I didn’t know my own family. Coming from me, that sentence would have sounded like sour grapes, but Rill’s words rang true. I didn’t agree or disagree with them. I wasn’t in a position to offer an opinion.

…For that very reason, if I ran into someone who was chasing that ideal, could I say something to them? If there was a lonely agent who was pursuing her mother, her family, her ideal, what could I…

“Kimihiko?”

“Right, sorry. It looks like we’re almost there.”

“Yes, yes. So you don’t need your ex anymore.”

“You’re actually pretty high-maintenance, aren’t you, Rill?” We laughed together, ignoring the eight thousand kilometers between us. “I’ll call again.”

“Do. It doesn’t have to be in three days. A week from now, or tomorrow, or even tonight.”

I hung up. Strangely, my heart felt lighter.

Before long, the car stopped, and I got out alone.

It was an old quarry just outside the city. I didn’t have to walk far before I saw them. Under the cloudy sky, in a place that looked like the set for a special effects–driven hero show, two figures stood.

Crimson and golden. The two shapes ran like the wind, crossed, and clashed.

Put briefly, there was a white-hot hand-to-hand fight in progress. However, once my eyes got used to it, I realized this was a practice match.

The crimson figure was clearly holding back; that was how outmatched their opponent was. Even so, the golden figure didn’t get discouraged; they got back up again and again. There’s no need for me to vague up the details, really: For a little while, I watched Fuubi Kase train Charlotte Arisaka Anderson.

Fifteen minutes later, once they’d reached a stopping point, I went over to them.

“You okay, Charlie?”

“…That’s a pretty considerate move for you.”

Charlie took the bottle of water I was holding out to her. She was sitting on the ground, wearing a black combat suit, and there were big beads of sweat on the back of her neck.

“You’ve got a long way to go.” Ms. Fuubi was still on her feet, nonchalantly smoking a cigarette. “Your ability to fight with lethal intent is abysmally low. Even if you used your sword or machine gun, you would be no match for my knife.”

This master/apprentice relationship of theirs had begun back when Siesta had died. Charlie had idolized Siesta, and Siesta had been worried about what would happen to her after she was gone, so she’d spoken to Ms. Fuubi about her. As a result, for better or for worse, Charlie had really been put through the mill.

“Charlotte, when will you catch up to me? I’ve waited two years already.”

“—! I know, all right? Don’t just keep repeating yourself.” Charlie glared up at Ms. Fuubi resentfully. “I mean, I can see how you’d be really sensitive to time, since you’re a whole ten years older than me.”

“Hey, why have you people felt safe making fun of me lately?”

For some reason, Ms. Fuubi hauled me up by my shirtfront. Unfair.

“…Fuubi. Why are you so strong?” Charlie asked, sounding serious again. “I’ve worked hard to learn close combat and sniping skills, but I really can’t see myself ever reaching your level. That’s been true of all your other apprentices, too, hasn’t it?”

Apparently Charlie wasn’t Fuubi Kase’s first apprentice, and none of the earlier ones had managed to measure up, either.

“I noticed it again when you were training me a moment ago. There really is something strange about the way you move. Physically, I mean; sometimes you clearly react faster than a normal human could. What exactly do you see during battle?”

I’d seen the way Fuubi Kase fought and her abnormal strength before. I wasn’t a combat expert like Charlie, though, and Charlie seemed to be even more conscious of how odd it was.

“Way back when, you wouldn’t even have noticed that anything seemed weird. I guess that’s progress.” Ms. Fuubi exhaled a long stream of white cigarette smoke. “You don’t need anything special, though. Just do what I’ve taught you: Get rid of your softness and hesitation. Sharpen your intent to kill. Think only of surpassing the enemy, even if it’s just in this one moment. It all comes down to your ‘will,’” she said.

Come to think of it, she’d said something similar when she was fighting the woman in the goat mask.

“You’re saying you got this strong through sheer willpower?”

“Doubt it if you want, but that’s how it is,” Ms. Fuubi told me. “That’s the rule of this world. Those who wish with determination are given the power they seek. One day, for example, the power of the Oracle came to dwell in Mia Whitlock, and Bruno Belmondo became all-knowing. That was all because of their wills.”

That explanation sounded a little vague. Ms. Fuubi never said fuzzy stuff like this, though, and she was being serious. I knew enough to understand what that meant.

“Then is that how Siesta and Natsunagi became the Ace Detective, too?”

“The Ace Detective is… Well, yeah, it’s basically the same thing. The word doesn’t matter,” Ms. Fuubi went on. “If you don’t like the term ‘will,’ pick another one. This stuff is going to mean something important to both of you.”

Charlie and I exchanged looks. Then we both decided to file away what we’d just heard for now.

Power came to dwell in human wills, then made wishes come true.

Sure, it sounded good, but it was also scary.

Appropriate scales might be necessary to balance that great power.

“So? Why did you call me here?” I turned the conversation back to the main topic. Ms. Fuubi was the one who’d summoned me. She can’t just have wanted me to watch her put Charlie through combat training.

“Right. We’ve found out where Kozue Arisaka is.”

Stubbing out her cigarette, Ms. Fuubi fiddled with her smartphone. Almost immediately, mine vibrated to let me know I had a text. There was a map attached to it. So Charlie’s mom was here…?

“Sorry about this. I’m making you come with me again.” Charlie’s expression was hard; she must have heard about this already.

“It’s nothing for you to apologize for, Charlie. I chose to get involved. That aside, Ms. Fuubi, how did you find this place?”

“It wasn’t me. The Oracle prophesied it.”

“Mia? But she can only make prophesies in connection with global crises.”

Was Kozue going to be involved in a global crisis, then? …No, wait, she’d made contact with Abel before. Meaning—

“Does Kozue have a map to the Akashic records?”

Was that why she’d showed up in Mia’s prophecy? Because if nothing changed, Abel would steal her map?

“This matter being what it is, the Oracle contacted me first.”

The Assassin was the one who was officially in charge of capturing Abel. Mia had made the right decision. The important question was what we were going to do now.

“So are the three of us heading over there next?” I asked, guessing what Ms. Fuubi wanted. When collecting map pieces before this, we’d always worked in groups.

“No, I’m about to fly to Europe. We need to retrieve a map from a bit of a tough customer.”

“If they’re sending you, does that mean they’re expecting a fight?”

“Yeah. From what I hear, the target’s a former Tuner. It wasn’t in the Oracle’s prophecy; Ryan investigated and found out. Traveling alone with him is irritating, but that’s how it has to be.”

I see. Mia’s prophecies couldn’t show us all the information we wanted whenever we wanted it. We’d probably have to find some pieces through slow, steady investigation.

“With strength like yours, I doubt I need to worry, but please come home safe,” I joked, and Ms. Fuubi grimaced.

“Good God, don’t set me up for trouble like that.”

Frankly, that grimace was really beginning to grow on me…but I’d keep that to myself.

“Charlie, are you okay with this?”

Did she mind me going with her again? Was Charlie even going to go see Kozue? Last time she’d decided to do that, she’d needed nearly two weeks to prepare, but now—

“Yes, I’ll go.” Although Charlie had been silent up till now, her expression was resolute. Her emerald eyes were so sharp they seemed to pierce the cloudy sky. “I give you my word—I’ll collect the map from Kozue Arisaka. That’s my mission, and my will.”

My beloved child

After that, we spent three hours in a car driven by a Man in Black.

“This is it, huh?”

Having reached an enormous apartment complex, Charlie and I glanced at the long rows of buildings. This was where Kozue Arisaka was living.

It was past five in the afternoon, and the sun was setting as we walked through the gloomy complex.

“Are you nervous?” I asked Charlie. She hadn’t said much for a while.

“Putting everything into words like that is pretty tactless.”

…Actually, yeah, it probably was.

However, that response gave me my answer.

“It’s still better than last time. I’m here for work now, so I won’t hesitate.”

Her personal situation had been the stronger element last time; that was true. This time, though, we had to retrieve the map. Charlie wasn’t the type of person who’d leave a job unfinished.

“Charlie, you’re right that it’s not great to put absolutely everything into words. Let me just say this, though.” As I spoke, I was remembering my phone call with Rill and what it had made me think. “I don’t know how you see me, or Natsunagi, or Saikawa, or Noches. At the very least, though, we consider you a friend.”

If she didn’t like the word “friend,” she could pick another one. Either way…

“No matter who you clash with, what makes you unsure, or where you go from here on out, we’ll be on your side.”

From this point on, everything was just a guess.

I suspected Charlotte had been searching for something to rely on all this time.

She couldn’t have a normal family relationship with her military parents, and she’d said she’d been with various organizations since she’d left home. Then she’d found someone she could call “teacher” for the first time in Siesta, but Siesta’s death had torn that relationship asunder. Now she’d reached Fuubi Kase, and she spent all her time constantly carrying out missions.

In other words, I thought Charlie might have been searching for the right to follow in someone’s footsteps.

She couldn’t turn to her blood family. In that case, could Natsunagi and Saikawa and Noches stand in for them, at least? It didn’t have to be me. If her trusted companions could become what she relied on—

She didn’t respond, and I looked back with concern. Charlie had stopped in her tracks, seeming a little startled. I’d charged too far ahead on my own, huh?

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have stuck my oar in like that.”

“That habit you’ve got of apologizing right away must be Ma’am’s doing.” Charlie’s expression softened. “You know, you might be a pretty good guy.” She caught up to me, her footsteps light, and went right on past.

“What, you’re just now figuring that out?”

“And there you go, getting full of yourself again. Subtract twenty affection points.”

“Out of how many?”

“Who knows? In my life to date, I’ve never spent even a second thinking about you.”

“…I bet us not getting along is one hundred percent your fault, isn’t it?”

Charlie turned around, grinning a little bashfully. “Oh, very well. Starting now, I’ll think about you for three seconds a day or so.”

I was going to say Just three seconds isn’t fair, but I thought better of it. If that had helped Charlie relax a little, things were probably fine this way.

When we reached the farthest building on the north side, we went to the innermost apartment on the third floor. That one was Kozue Arisaka’s. Looking at the doorbell, Charlie sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled heavily.

Silence fell for a few seconds.

“Want me to ring it?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Charlie pressed the doorbell. There was no response.

She waited a bit, then tried again. No answer.

A third try. After a little while, we heard a faint sound.

Before she could ring the bell a fourth time, the rusty door slowly opened.

“………”

A haggard woman stood in the entryway. Her clothes were shabby, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. Her short hair was a dull shade of blond.

“It’s been a long time,” Charlie said. “Do you recognize me? I’m Charlotte.”

Kozue’s vacant eyes widened slightly as she realized she was looking at her own daughter.

“I’ll be nineteen this year.”

How many years had it actually been since they’d seen each other? What had happened when they’d last parted from each other? I’d never heard. However, their connection had apparently been so tenuous that her own daughter needed to remind her of her age.

What would Kozue say during a reunion like this? I didn’t really belong here, and all I could do was wait silently.

“—What are you here to do?”

Kozue’s voice was cold, and those weren’t words someone should say to a daughter she hadn’t seen in years. I glanced to the side. Charlie’s expression hadn’t changed a bit.

“There was something I wanted to ask you.” For now, Charlie stifled her personal feelings and got to work. “Do you still have the map to the Akashic records?”

Immediately, an abrupt change came over Kozue. “I know nothing! I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know! There’s no way I’d know about that…!” Emerald eyes wide, she clutched at her head and shrieked. “Why?! Why you, Charlotte?! Why, why?! How?! Are you planning to torture me, too?! Why would even you come to steal that?!”

She clearly wasn’t normal. What was making her like this?

Before I could think about it, though, Kozue moved. Her arm reached for Charlie’s neck.

“That’s enough.” I caught the woman’s wrist. It was so thin it didn’t seem as if it could belong to a former service member.

“Kimizuka.” Charlie shook her head slightly. Her smile looked lonely. “It’s all right. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Oh, but… That’s true. Yes, that’s fine.” Kozue looked down, muttering something. Then her eyes went to Charlie. “If you want that map so badly, I’ll give it to you, Charlotte.”

“……! Really?” Charlie asked.

For the first time, Kozue smiled. “In exchange, bring that child here.”

“That child?” Charlie frowned, then realized what she meant. Her eyes widened.

“Yes. Bring Noah here.”

I felt the air freeze.

“Okay? That’s all right, isn’t it? I’ll give you the key to the safe where the map is first, so bring him to me after that. Bring me Noah. All right?” Kozue caught Charlie by the shoulders and shook her. “You will, won’t you? You can, right? You’re his big sister, so you’ll be able to bring him here. Won’t you? Won’t you?!”

“……!” Charlie’s lips were trembling.

I could tell just from looking that Kozue was asking for something Charlie couldn’t do. In other words, this “Noah” was already—

“All right.” Before I could break in again, Charlie spoke. “I’ll bring Noah here. Tell me where the map is.”

The code that leads to slaughter

Back in the car driven by the Man in Black, Charlie and I headed to a certain underground facility.

After we’d walked down a sealed-off tunnel for a while, we found a ladder that took us even deeper underground, to a place Kozue had once used as a hideout. Long ago, during her days as an agent, she’d used this place as a secret base when she was working in Japan.

There were old maps and photos of people on the walls, and she’d left her computer and other equipment all over the place. When we opened the locker, we found a gun and ammunition lying within, as if it just belonged there. It was clear this place had been pretty illegal.

We kept searching the base until we finally found a safe. It was so dusty it appeared there was no one else in the world who remembered it.

“There. This is probably it.” Taking out the key she’d gotten from Kozue, Charlie gazed at the safe.

There was a piece of the map to the Akashic records in there. I texted Ms. Fuubi and Natsunagi to let them know we’d achieved our objective.

When I looked up from my phone, Charlie was sitting in front of the safe. She hadn’t unlocked it yet. The tension seemed to have drained out of her all at once. There was no need to rush, though. I sat down cross-legged on the floor, leaving enough space for a couple of people between us.

“Why are you intentionally putting space between us?”

“I seem to recall getting scolded for doing the exact opposite thing before.”

“It’s okay this time.”

I couldn’t hear a single outside noise in this gloomy underground space.

A few minutes later, Charlie broke the silence. “I lied. When I told her I’d bring Noah to her.”

She was talking about the promise she’d made to Kozue.

“Noah’s your little brother’s name, isn’t it?”

I’d heard about him just a little while ago. Charlie had said he’d been born with a weak constitution.

“Yes. My little brother, and the most precious thing in the world to Kozue. He doesn’t exist anymore, though. Noah went to heaven seven years ago.”

“…I thought that might be the case.”

“His illness got worse. Kozue was overseas then… She rushed back home, but she didn’t make it in time. She was devastated. For a few days, she didn’t even eat or sleep; she just cried. All I could do was watch over her from nearby. Not too close.” Charlie hugged her knees. “She didn’t say anything to me. It would have been easier if she’d yelled. Why wasn’t it you instead of Noah? or something like that. It happens a lot, you know? People vent their anger in ways that aren’t fair. I wanted to get yelled at, but she didn’t say a word.” Charlie gazed up at the ceiling. “That was the last I saw of her. At some point, she left the house, and I wasn’t able to contact her. My father had always kept a certain distance between himself and the rest of us, so that was the end of my family. People from an organization that had a connection to my parents took me in, and I started to live as an agent.”

I’d never known this part of Charlie’s background.

That was why Charlotte Arisaka Anderson had started to live for her missions and nothing else. They were the only direction she’d had in life.

“So Kozue is still trapped in that time seven years ago.”

“Yes. I think I wasn’t able to meet her earlier because I didn’t want to see her that way.”

I recalled how haggard Kozue had been when we’d met her an hour ago.

Did she understand that her son was dead? Was she so emotionally traumatized that she couldn’t even process that? …Frankly, she’d seemed so abnormal I suspected there might be some other reason at play.

“I’m the worst, aren’t I? Tricking her, lying that I’d bring Noah, just so I could retrieve the map. Using my mission as an excuse. I haven’t changed.”

Acting on Siesta’s instructions, Noches had once freed Charlie from the spell of her mission, but now she was relapsing. Her awareness of this left her conflicted.

“I’m not so sure… If things would have circled back around to that no matter what, I don’t think you really need to call it a bad thing.”

I hadn’t managed to get my words in order, but I said them anyway. Charlie, who was hugging her knees, reacted slightly.

“If you come to the conclusion that living through your missions is how you live, period, no matter how many times you feel unsure about it, then that’s fine. I think the important part is stopping to think.”

Maybe that was what Siesta had meant as well. The important thing was her will: the fact that she chose to live like this, instead of feeling compelled to.

Even if it ended up being the same as her original answer, it wouldn’t be a mistake. It would be a route she’d chosen for herself, even if she’d taken the long way to get there.

“Really?” Charlie raised her head, but her eyes were wavering uneasily. “Prioritizing my mission, even if it means betraying my mom and using my dead brother? Would you people accept me as part of your circle if I did all that?”

“—Hang on a second, Charlie.”

“I even tried to attack Yui for the sake of a mission, way back when. If I choose to live just for my mission again, I’m sure I’ll…!” Charlie’s voice was a pathetic shriek.

She was scared. If she decided how she should live on her own, and no one understood that ideal, what would she do?

“Charlie, that’s…” I couldn’t seem to get my thoughts in order. I had to tell her something, though. Words were what Charlie needed right now. Natsunagi wasn’t here, so what could I say in her place?

“—Oh, you poor thing. Even though you’ve always worked so hard in the service of your ideals.”

Someone else spoke.

Charlie and I started to our feet, looking around warily.

“Maybe no one else knows about your efforts, but I do. I know your ideals. I also know what’s making you suffer right now.”

Moving to the center of the room, Charlie and I stood back-to-back and drew our guns. We’d found these down here and borrowed them.

“If only Kozue Arisaka weren’t here. If it weren’t for her, you wouldn’t have to hesitate. —What do you say? I could help you stop hurting.”

I blinked, and in that moment, he appeared right in front of Charlie.

It was a man in a suit and top hat, with his face wrapped in bandages.

“I have a way for you to break the shackles on your ideals.”

The man held out a hand to Charlie.

When I saw that—no, by the time I saw it, I’d already maneuvered into the guy’s blind spot.

My instincts, all the cells in my body, were screaming.

I didn’t need to show this guy mercy. With no hesitation, I fired at his head.

“Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. Let me grant you the code of slaughter.”

The bullet didn’t hit him.

He’d dodged. Actually, it was more like he’d teleported. By the time I fired, the bandaged man was already somewhere completely different.

“Charlie!”

The blond agent was standing there stunned, her eyes wide.

She couldn’t already be—

“—! Abel!” I yelled.

Abel A. Schoenberg.

The world’s worst criminal had just appeared.

Seed of evil

“Charlie, snap out of it!”

Charlie collapsed as suddenly as if she’d passed out, and I hastily caught her.

“—It’s fine. I’ll handle the rest.” I lowered her to the floor, then gently took the key to the safe from her. Straightening up, I spoke to the man with the bandaged face. “Are you the Phantom Thief?”

“Indeed I am.”

He didn’t seem surprised. His voice was even as he gave me his real name.

“My name is Abel Arsene Schoenberg. I’m one of the twelve Tuners—the Phantom Thief.”

Finally. We’d met again. How long had it been—a year?

When I’d faced off against him with Siesta, he’d taken over the identity of Fritz Stewart the Revolutionary…and apparently he wasn’t planning to show his face this time, either.

“Arsene—or Abel. What did you do to Charlie?”

I hadn’t seen it. However, Abel’s hand had definitely eaten away at her. He’d said he was giving her his code of slaughter…

“I haven’t done a thing. If anyone does anything, it will be her.”

“…You’re saying your ‘code of slaughter’ is going to make Charlie kill Kozue Arisaka?”

Abel’s Neverland Project always dragged in children and parents from unhappy homes. Recently, he’d been using it as a cover to kill people who had maps to the Akashic records. —Kozue and her daughter fit this pattern perfectly.

“I simply gave her a little encouragement. In the depths of her heart, she hates her mother; I simply took that tiny seed and lit a spark. I lent a hand to someone in need. It’s the same job you do, detective’s assistant.”

“Shut up…!” I almost fired again, but I stopped myself before I squeezed the trigger. There was something I still needed to ask this guy. “Answer me. What is the Neverland Project, anyway? Why are you making children kill their parents?”

“This world is riddled with mistakes. I want to convert it to a better one,” Abel responded immediately. “War, violence, poverty, all the sins to which the human race has turned a blind eye—it’s too late to atone for all those things. At the very least, though, I will judge those who approved of that world. Everyone who’s died as a result of the Neverland Project fits that profile.”

My brain was refusing to understand. However, a few meters away, Abel began to walk as he impassively described his ideals.

“In that way, I’ll gradually convert the world. My experiments in eliminating evil will continue.”

When Siesta and I had confronted him a year ago, he’d said he was experimenting by ordering others to commit senseless crimes. However, what he’d actually been after was—

“How do you decide what crime someone’s committed? And why drag in people who aren’t involved?”

“What are you talking about? No man is without sin.” His voice was so cold it practically froze me in my tracks. “However, as one would expect, those experiments don’t go well every time. It looks as if the girl hasn’t completely accepted my code.”

Abel’s voice had returned to normal, and his bandaged head was turned this way. He seemed to be looking at Charlie. Was she fighting Abel’s code in her subconscious mind?

“Tell me one more thing. The Akashic records.” I still had one big question. Why was Abel trying to collect the map to the records? “Do you know what they really are?”

Silence fell for a few seconds.

“I want you to understand my plan, so I will tell you just a little. The Akashic records are not, at the very least, the blueprints for a weapon of mass destruction or classified information from all over the world. They’re nothing so tame. However,” Abel went on, “if they’re brought into the light of day, the world will turn upside down. And I want to see it happen.”

Oh, I see. Even if I didn’t know exactly what the records were, Abel’s objective was clear: As the Phantom Thief, he was going to steal the Akashic records—and turn all phenomena and cause-and-effect relationships inside out.

“What do you intend to do with that knowledge?”

“Stop you, of course.”

I did fire this time, but the bullet cut through empty space.

Abel had moved several meters ahead, without the slightest sign that he was going to.

“If that isn’t teleportation, is it like what Scarlet had?”

Was he using an invention like the Vampire’s wings? Or was it…?

“Why would you stop me?”

The next thing I knew, Abel was closing in on me from behind. I hastily fired, but the shot missed.

What was this? What was he doing to me?

“State your reason. Why are you standing in my way?” Abel had materialized at a distance again. “You aren’t a Tuner. Why are you trying to obstruct my plan?”

“—You took the words right out of my mouth. You’re a Tuner; why are you plotting to turn the world upside down?”

You should be on the side of justice, so why…?

“You already know of a case in which justice did evil.” Abel’s tone was eerily soft. “Recall the Vampire Rebellion that you and your detective just resolved. What sort of incident was that? What kind of global crisis?”

“Well, um…”

Scarlet, who should technically have been a hero, had led a horde of undead in a rebellion against the Federation Government for the sake of his own wish. He’d fallen to evil.

“Therein lies the reason we are called ‘Tuners.’ The twelve of us sometimes divide ourselves between justice and evil to preserve the balance. We tune it. When the world has begun to tilt too far toward peace, some of the Tuners turn evil. That is how the world works,” Abel said mildly. “The Ace Detective you’re so familiar with should have done so as well, technically. I’m sure you know what I’m referring to.”

It had happened a year ago, after we’d defeated Seed. The seed in Siesta’s heart had sprouted, threatening to turn her into a monster. She’d seen it coming and tried to make herself disappear; we’d stopped her, and here we all were. However, technically…

“I see. So all the Tuners become enemies of the world someday?”

It was an absolute, universal rule laid down by the world.

“The Federation Government understands that. As a result, even Bruno Belmondo, the all-knowing king, will someday reign over this world as a great evil.”

That’s ridiculous. Then Natsunagi, too? And Mia, and Rill, someday?

“Impossible.”

I wouldn’t let it happen. I’d stop it. Me. The guy cast as the Singularity.

“………!”

Just then, a chill ran through me.

Abel’s face was hidden by those bandages, but I could have sworn he’d smiled.

“You really are like me.”

What about us was the same?

“Like me, you’ve been defined as something that’s outside the world.”

Enough. I didn’t want to hear what this guy had to say. I’d be the one to stop Abel, and I’d do it right here.

Hit him, I prayed as I fired, and the bullet punched through his left shoulder.

“I see. Is that how it is?” Abel raised a hand to his wound, murmuring something. “So this is the Singularity’s program, hm?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Just then, I heard several sets of running footsteps.

“Kimizuka!” Natsunagi dashed in.

She’d probably come because I’d texted to say we were collecting the map. When she took in the scene, her eyes widened in realization.

One other person had arrived, too.

“—Abel!”

Someone else had picked up on everything and started sprinting toward Abel. It was Ookami, the Enforcer, wielding an enormous sickle. “If you created the Seven Deadly Sins, I’ll pass judgment on you with this!”

Ookami swung his weapon, bent on avenging his old friend’s death.

“Abel A. Schoenberg, you can’t take a single step from that spot!”

Natsunagi activated her word-soul.

Abel stood stock-still in the path of Ookami’s raised sickle.

In the next moment, the fight was settled.

“………!”

The one who fell was Ookami.

The sickle that had buried countless villains slipped out of his hand. Of course it did—his right arm had just been cut off at the shoulder.

“Ookami…!”

I didn’t know how it had happened, but it was clear who was responsible.

The next thing I knew, the culprit was standing right in front of me.

“It looks as if it’s been removed already, but there are traces of an evil seed inside you. I’ll pick up the loose end of that story here and turn it into a program that won’t fail.”

I couldn’t move. Abel held his black-gloved hand in front of my face.

“I grant you the code of loss.”

Abruptly, darkness filled my vision. I rapidly began losing my sight, my hearing, my taste—all five of my senses. I probably wasn’t still on my feet, but I hadn’t felt my knees buckle under me, nor any pain as I hit the concrete.

“………N…no.” I couldn’t hear my own words.

Even so, I was dimly aware that things couldn’t stay like this. I knew. Long ago, I’d been in this same state, and I remembered the regret I’d felt.

“…If nothing…changes…Natsunagi…will…”

Our companion had collapsed. I’d blacked out. Left on her own, the detective—Natsunagi—would confront a great evil. It was just like that day.

When she’d faced Seed alone, Natsunagi had fought desperately, and as a result—

“It’s all right.”

Just for a moment, I thought I saw a red light in the darkness.

“It’s going to be all right.”

I couldn’t hear her voice.

I had the feeling that Natsunagi had left some sort of message for me, though.

“I’ll keep that promise. I won’t let anyone take anything important from me.”

The last thing I sensed before falling into a deep sleep was the proud Ace Detective’s will.

The agent’s wail

When I got up and looked around, I saw a familiar, nostalgic view.

“Is this my room?”

It wasn’t the place where I lived now, though. It was the house where I’d lived as a child. I remembered that small bed and the ceiling light. What was I doing here?

My memories were shaky. Why was I wearing pajamas? Had I been sleeping here? What had I been doing before I came here?

“I have to find…”

Find what? Who? I didn’t know. I had to look, though.

I dashed out of the room, went downstairs, and walked through the whole house. It was silent. Wasn’t anyone here? That couldn’t be right. After all, that boy couldn’t go outside by himself.

“That’s right—where’s Noah?”

I was pretty sure his room was…

I went back upstairs, shouting “Noah!” I opened the door of the room next to the one I’d just left, but the only thing in there was an empty bed.

“Noah’s not here. Hey, Noah’s gone!” I yelled as I searched.

Silently calling Mom! in my heart, I opened every door in the house.

Had there always been this many doors? Had the stairs always been this long? Something isn’t right, I thought, and then I came to a room that was bigger than the others.

“—Why?”

When I opened the door, Kozue Arisaka was lying in the center of that white room, covered in blood.

This was weird. This couldn’t be right. Why? Why, why, why?!

“Who would do this?!” I shouted, but there was a bloody kitchen knife in my hand.

No, that was wrong. That couldn’t happen. It was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

“I didn’t do it! I didn’t wish for this!”

The knife slipped out of my fingers, falling to the floor with a clatter.

This wasn’t what I wanted. It wasn’t my will. I didn’t hate Kozue Arisaka.

“I just wanted you to—!”

I woke up before I could finish screaming.

I was lying in a hospital bed, gushing sweat.

Was that a dream?

I clenched my hands, then opened them. Naturally, there was no knife. I hadn’t killed Kozue. I shuddered with relief, but right after that, I remembered what had happened.

“Abel.”

Right. I’d gone to see Kozue with Kimizuka, and while we were retrieving the map, Abel had attacked. Then he’d given me the “code of slaughter,” and I’d blacked out…

“What happened after that?”

There was an electronic calendar on the shelf near the bed. Two days had passed since then. Something had begun and ended before I knew it was happening.

What had happened to Kimizuka? He didn’t try to take on Abel by himself after I’d passed out, did he? —There was no way he could’ve won.

“Ghk! Where is he?”

There was an IV stuck in my arm. I yanked it out and dashed out of the hospital room. My body felt heavy, but now wasn’t the time to complain about things like that. I had to find Kimizuka.

I went out into the hall and scanned the area. It seemed deserted. I’d seen this place before, though. I’d been here lots of times—to visit Ma’am. In that case, just maybe…

“It’s the same in dreams and reality. All I do is look for people.” Holding the handrail, I made my way down the corridor, climbed the stairs, and finally reached the room at the back of the third floor. When I opened the door, there he was, on the bed by the window.

“…Geez. Don’t worry me like that.”

Kimizuka was sitting up, gazing out the window.

Feeling the adrenaline drain out of me, I approached the bed. Then I saw that his face was as blank as a doll’s.

“Kimi…zuka?”

He was expressionless. He only seemed to be looking out the window; he wasn’t actually seeing anything. Maybe it was his eyes or maybe it was his complexion, but I couldn’t sense any awareness in him at all.

“H-hey. Come on, what’s the matter?” I realized I was shaking him.

There was no response. It was as if he couldn’t hear me or even sense that I was there. “What is this?”

Who was this? Was this a dream, too? …No—no, it wasn’t. This time, it was reality.

Then what in the world had happened to Kimizuka?

“Charlie!” somebody called.

The door to the room was open, and a girl was standing in the doorway.

“Nagisa?”

It was the black-haired detective. Out of breath, her red eyes wide, she came over to me. She flung her arms around me and hugged me as hard as she could.

“…That hurts.”

“Shut up!”

…Huh? I was perplexed, but I held still and waited. Nagisa was sniffling.

“Were we actually this close?” Close enough that she’d worry and cry over me like this.

“Frankly, I’m surprised, too. I guess I like you more than I thought I did.” Finally letting go, Nagisa looked at me and smiled a little. “I’m glad you’re okay, Charlie.”

“Thanks.” But there was somebody here who wasn’t okay. “Nagisa, would you tell me what happened?”

Nagisa’s expression clouded. Hesitating a little, she told me about Kimizuka’s condition.

“If you tried talking to him, then you already know he doesn’t respond. He isn’t seeing anything, and he can’t hear. He won’t talk, either. It’s as if he’s lost all his senses.”

We were talking right next to him, but Kimizuka just sat there, his face blank.

Long ago, he’d swallowed a seed that had belonged to Chameleon, a SPES executive. The seed was said to cause nearly universal side effects in humans that ingested it, and Kimizuka had steeled himself to pay the price someday. Could this be—?

“It isn’t necessarily just because of the seed,” Nagisa explained, as if she’d picked up on what I was thinking. “That doctor, Drachma, did an examination and found that only traces of the seed were left. Drachma doubted they could have triggered symptoms this severe. The only possibility he could think of was that someone might have forcibly expanded those traces.”

“—It can’t be. Was it Abel’s code?” I asked.

Nagisa nodded, her expression hard. “Both Ookami and I went to the site that day. By the time we got there, you were unconscious and Kimizuka was facing Abel by himself.”

Then she filled me in on the rest.

The fact that Kimizuka had shot Abel. That she and the Enforcer had worked with him and struck additional blows. That the Enforcer had been badly wounded, and that Abel’s code had rendered Kimizuka unconscious.

“After that, it was just me facing off against Abel… I steeled myself for combat, but Abel didn’t even try to fight me. He disappeared almost immediately, through a door.”

“A door?”

“Yes, a door that appeared out of nowhere. The moment Abel walked through it, the door disappeared, too.”

…When the enemy was this much of an enigma, even a stunt like that wasn’t surprising.

From what I’d heard, they hadn’t managed to defeat Abel. Either he’d left because he’d done enough of what he’d come to do, or he’d been forced to temporarily withdraw.

It would be a problem if he never showed himself again, though. We had to get some information out of him. Specifically, how to turn Kimizuka back to normal.

“This is boring,” I griped. Kimizuka was still staring vaguely out the window. “Did you forget what you’re usually like? You always had a comeback for everything I said. If I hit you, you’d hit back and then say something about gender equality.” You probably don’t even know the phrase “Ladies first,” do you? “You always made fun of me. You made it my fault we didn’t get along. Oh, I know. I bet you hated me, didn’t you?” That makes us even, then. From the first time I met you… No, even before that, I completely loathed you.

“Charlie…” Nagisa set a gentle hand on my back. “That’s right; that’s fine. You can hate each other.”

Even if we’d pretended to get along for Ma’am’s sake, it had just been an act. It was impossible to get along with some people, no matter what. That was you and me, wasn’t it?

“And yet, why…?”

The things he’d said and done just the other day skimmed through my mind.

“Sometimes he’s weirdly considerate, and he says what I want to hear, and he eats sandwiches for me.”

Seriously, what’s with you, anyway?

“You hate me, right? Then don’t yank me around like this.”

Let me keep hating you.

“Answer me.”

Without thinking, I grabbed his collar.

The guy I loathed didn’t respond.

The story from here on out…

After parting from Charlie in Kimizuka’s hospital room, I went to the roof. This was where Scarlet the Vampire had gone on his rampage some time ago, but by now, it had been neatly repaired.

“There you are.” Up on the roof, I found the person I’d been searching for. “I’ve been looking for you, Ookami.”

He was my proxy assistant, but now he was also the Enforcer—one of the Tuners.

He was wearing hospital pajamas and standing near the edge of the roof, gazing into the distance.

“You’ve got it rough, ace detective. All these people to pay sick visits to.” Ookami turned back, as mildly sarcastic as ever. His attitude was a bit of a relief, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t ignore what was different about him. Ookami’s right shoulder was wrapped in bandages, and the rest of his arm was gone.

“The enemy was the Phantom Thief. Stealing my arm must have been a cakewalk for him.”

Side Charlotte I

On that day, I was visiting the Mizoev Federation’s embassy in Japan.

It had been three weeks since Abel’s attack, the day Kimizuka had collapsed.

I’d cut contact with everyone who’d been involved, made various preparations, and now here I was. This place also served as a point of contact with the Federation Government.

“You’re Lot?” I’d been shown into a large hall, and the big screen installed there showed a high-level government official.

“I am indeed.”

Code name “Lot.”

Partly because he was wearing the usual mask, he looked sort of generic, like a doll. He seemed to be a man in his forties or fifties, but I couldn’t really tell him apart from Doberman, Odin, or the other officials I’d tried to contact before.

Even so, this man was special. Lot was the only one who’d shown interest in my proposal, and he had arranged for this meeting. The Federation Government wasn’t necessarily a monolith.

“Charlotte Arisaka Anderson. Is it true you’d like to turn yourself in?” Lot asked. He sounded slightly suspicious.

“Yes, it’s true. We’ve been collecting the pieces of the map to the Akashic records without permission from the government. I admit to that crime.”

Even if we’d done it to stop Abel, we’d been acting on our own initiative. We’d known the Federation Government didn’t want people snooping around the Akashic records.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll send you this as well.” I sent him a record of our movements over the past few months from my phone. Naturally, it had details on who had retrieved pieces of the map, when they’d done it, and from where.

“I see. This is very well-organized.” Lot raised his masked face. “But why have you sold out your companions?”

Exactly: Confessing to this meant betraying the friends who’d acted with me as well. —However… “Didn’t you know? I even sold the Singularity to a human trafficking group.” There was something I had to do, even if it meant getting my hands dirty. “That said, there’s a reason I’m selling out the Ace Detective and the Assassin: I want to make a deal. Take me to the Akashic records.”

Abel would appear there. He’d steal all the pieces of the map, and he was bound to show up.

I’d be the one to stop him.

“Why are you assuming that role?”

“Because of something my mother, Kozue Arisaka, said to me. She asked why ‘even I’ would come to steal the map. In other words, Abel must have made contact with her before then.”

I’d heard that Kozue had cornered Abel during a long-ago job as an agent, but it had actually been the other way around. In his hunt for the map, Abel had been pursuing her.

Since Noah had died, I’d been prepared for Kozue to be emotionally unstable, but what I’d seen earlier had been strange. Kozue Arisaka was abnormally frightened of Abel.

In that case…

“I’ll defeat Abel in her place.” I’d destroy the cause of Kozue’s suffering with my own two hands. “That’s another reason I want to know where the Akashic records are. Tell me.”

I wasn’t interested in their contents.

As long as I could reach their location, that was all I needed.

“Aren’t you doing things in the wrong order, then? If you wanted to strike a deal, you shouldn’t have handed over the data immediately.”

“Mm, true. That was only a tool to get you to hear me out.” In other words, the real negotiation started now. “If you people refuse to make a deal with me, I can kill Kimihiko Kimizuka at any time. You wouldn’t want that, would you? If something happened to the Singularity, there’s no telling how the world would react.”

I didn’t know the details of his nature as the Singularity. Ma’am had never gone out of her way to talk about it. However, anyone who belonged to this particular world would have heard about it, whether they wanted to or not.

Sorry, but I’m going to use that peculiarity of yours. The detective, the idol, the Oracle, the Magical Girl… I could do things none of them could do. I could act like a friend, get close to him without raising any suspicions, and then—

“I see. However, is the Singularity in any state to use his ability at present?” Calmly, Lot attempted a rebuttal. “The ‘code’ Abel conferred on that young man has taken his five senses, his faculty of speech, and his ability to think. He’s in a living death, as it were. Could he really exercise the power of the Singularity?”

“…So you’re saying that if I did try to kill Kimizuka, nothing would happen?”

“Yes. Your trump card isn’t a functional threat. Once he fell captive to the code of loss, the outcome was already decided.”

It sounded almost like a declaration of victory.

“I see. This is pretty convenient for you people, then. Actually, it’s like that’s what you were after all along.”

It had always been a mystery to me: Why hadn’t the Federation Government admitted that Phantom Thief Arsene’s real identity was Abel A. Schoenberg, the world’s worst criminal?

And after committing a crime as grave as stealing the sacred text, why had the Phantom Thief only been confined deep underground instead of executed? Why had he been secretly pardoned after that?

There could only be one reason.

“A faction of the Federation Government—the one that wanted to eliminate the Singularity quickly—has been collaborating with the Phantom Thief this whole time.”

There was a possibility that Abel’s special codes could be used to disable the Singularity. As a result, they’d overlooked the Phantom Thief’s misdeeds to a certain degree.

“You called all the Tuners and Kimizuka to England on the pretext of a Federal Council, then issued instructions to capture Abel. Was that all for this? Was the goal to get Kimizuka involved with Abel to ultimately give him the code of loss?”

Lot said nothing. That meant yes.

“Was threatening to kill the Singularity if we didn’t strike a deal with you a bluff, to draw out this information?” Lot murmured. He’d caught on.

“Yes, I’ve learned a bit about this style of negotiation.”

Well, in the worst-case scenario, that move was actually part of Plan D or so. I mean, come on. No matter what I did, Kimizuka probably wouldn’t die, you know?

“I’ve recorded our conversation, and the data’s being saved to the cloud in real time. Even if you make me disappear, that information isn’t going anywhere, and someone will catch on to your plan.”

“And what if they do?”

“That’s obvious. The Singularity won’t let you get away with it.”

“You claim he’d avenge you after he’s overcome the code of loss? You put quite a lot of trust in him.” For the first time, Lot laughed a little.

“Trust? It’s nothing like that.”

Our relationship wasn’t the sort of thing a five-letter word could express. It was darker, uglier, more fragile and warped. Something that went way beyond being reluctantly stuck with each other.

Even so, that meddling guy wouldn’t abandon me. He wouldn’t stand by and watch me die. That meant the opposite was also true.

“I’ll be the one to kill Kimizuka’s enemies.”

Even if they’re Federation Government bureaucrats like you people.

“………I see,” Lot said briefly. Silence fell for a few moments. “We are going to take you to a certain place. However, we will lock your memories until that point.”

“Lock? What do you mean?”

“You will forget everything you are about to see, hear, and feel. That’s all. Nothing more will happen to you.”

That was vague. However, from the way the man spoke, it was clear what lay on the other side of this.

“That’s fine. Take me to the Akashic records.”

“Yes, I’ll grant permission.”

Now I’d finally be able to go to war. I squeezed my hands into fists very, very tightly.

“Listen, Lot?” Before I headed to that battlefield, though, I asked a question that had been bothering me a little. “Have we met somewhere before?”

“…………”

The masked bureaucrat was as silent as a doll.

Side Fuubi I

On that day, I was in a certain South American country.

It had been two weeks since I’d visited Goat in London. During that time, I’d flown all over the world looking for a certain someone, and had finally ended up as far from the Japanese archipelago as it was possible to get.

Late at night, I visited an underground bar. I was frisked at the entrance and had to hand over my electronic devices before they let me pass. At the end of the bar counter, an old gentleman was drinking a glass of whiskey.

“I had no idea this place would be linked to a casino,” I said, taking a seat beside him.

Bruno Belmondo, the Information Broker. Since I’d been absent from the previous Federal Council, I hadn’t seen him in quite a while, especially not one-on-one.

“Ha-ha. Hideaways need to be interesting, you know.” With an easy laugh, Bruno set his glass down. “And? Did you win enough at roulette?”

“…Of course not. I didn’t come here to play.”

The Information Broker lived an extremely upright life, but he was unexpectedly fond of jokes.

I wanted to have a glass of something, but I decided to start with a smoke. As I brought the lighter to my cigarette, savoring the brief release from stress, I felt eyes on me from the next seat over. “Was this place nonsmoking?”

“Oh, no. You had a good look on your face.”

“That’s a new one. All everybody else does is tell me to quit.”

“Ha-ha. No doubt they’re concerned for your health.”

…I didn’t think any of my relationships were close enough to warrant concern like that.

“Now then, you said you had something to ask me?” Turning to face forward, Bruno got down to business.

As a matter of fact, there were about a million things I wanted to ask him: where Ryan was now, how Abel’s codes worked, what the Akashic records really were…

People said the Information Broker was all-knowing, but how much did he actually know? Even if he did know all those things, though, I had no way to get the information out of him. The Information Broker never shared his knowledge without a reason.

“Could we chat a bit?” In the end, I couldn’t get my thoughts together, and I decided to bring up a certain topic first.

“That’s fine. Even at my age, talking with a young woman is quite enjoyable.” With a lighthearted line that was a little hard to respond to, Bruno took another drink of his whiskey.

“As the all-knowing king, what do you think ‘a world where justice was realized’ would be like?” It was a presumptuous question to ask when I was the one who’d proposed a chat. As usual, it wasn’t as if I had an answer for it myself.

“Is that why you were training all those agent candidates, too?” Bruno answered me with another question, from an angle I hadn’t been expecting. “Because you wanted to know what ‘justice’ was? In order to collect lots of answers, you recruited brilliant candidate agents and tried to train them yourself.”

I didn’t confirm or deny that.

The one sure thing was that, so far, not a single candidate had gotten a passing grade.

“Perhaps that’s also why you’re paying particular attention to the girl Ace Detective and the boy Singularity?”

“…I don’t think I’ve given them any special treatment.” Finishing my cigarette, I picked up the glass of brandy that had been set in front of me, raising it to my lips without swirling it.

“If justice were realized in the world, what sort of world would it be…? I’m merely the Information Broker; I may have data, but I can’t produce that answer.” Bruno seemed to be continuing the thought experiment for me. “Would a hypothesis do instead?”

“Yes, of course.” I knew of a position that would prove it in our place.

“A world where mankind is freed from war, violence, and poverty. Either that, or a world where one can hope for such liberation. A world where everyone is capable of harboring those hopes—even faint ones, when the present isn’t necessarily happy—would be just, and ideal.”

Using only simple words that everyone in the world, from children to old people, could understand as long as they were translated, Bruno gave his theory on “a world where justice was realized.”

“Does that strike you as a utopia that could never come to pass?”

“No. Anything humans can imagine, humans can make real. An author said as much once.”

“Yes, that’s right. As I thought, in every age, the Creator—” At that point, Bruno fell silent. Then he turned to face me. “Do what you think is best.” He gazed at me with kind, steady eyes. “There’s no need to worry. No matter what kind of path you travel or what sort of justice you strive for, I promise I’ll watch over you to the end.” Just as he had at our first meeting more than a decade ago, Bruno gently held out a hand to me. “That is my responsibility as the one who drew you into the Tuners.”

I started to take his hand, then pulled back; it wasn’t time for that yet.

“Are you going already?”

“Yes. I’ve got one other person to check with about breaking out of the current situation.”

That said, my connection to that person wasn’t all that strong. It wasn’t clear how well this plan would go.

“I see. In that case, I’ll put in a word with her as well.”

…Apparently Bruno already knew who I was planning to meet. Why would he go that far for me? As if he understood even that doubt of mine, Bruno went on.

“Ha-ha. Oh, it’s nothing to be concerned about. It’s just a private investment in the future.”

Side Charlotte II

The next thing I knew, I was standing in a tranquil space that seemed like the interior of a ruin.

“—Where is this?”

I didn’t recognize the place at all. It was dim, and just a little chilly.

If I had to say, it was a little like a dungeon in a game. My clothes were the same as when I’d visited the Mizoev Federation embassy, and I had all the same things with me.

How much time—how many days—had passed since that conversation with Lot?

We’d finished our discussion, I’d left the embassy, then gotten into a car the government had sent for me. I remembered that much. But after that…

“They locked my memories?” The government official had said something like that. Had they drugged me? “That doesn’t matter now, though.” Just getting here was enough.

And so I started walking. Even though I didn’t know where what I was looking for was.

The dungeon was a real labyrinth.

“Here again…?”

I didn’t know how many hours had passed since I’d started walking, and here I was, back at the same place for the zillionth time. I felt disgusted.

True, I was a little bit bad with directions—just a little—but still. Even then, this ruin was abnormal.

I’d find a door and climb all the way up a flight of hundreds and hundreds of stairs, only to come out at the exact same spot I’d just left. Meanwhile, simply opening a door put me in a dense jungle.

Where on earth was this? What was this place? It was almost as if some unseen power was at work, actively preventing me from reaching the spot where “that” was.

“It can’t be.”

I recalled something Kimizuka had told me a little while back: At the end of last year, he’d fought an enemy known as Pandemonium alongside the Magical Girl, and it had started when a being known as Parasite had trapped him in a never-ending stairwell at the hospital.

In the end, the cause was Kimizuka’s gloomy feelings about Ma’am. He hadn’t wanted to leave the hospital where she slept, and those intense unconscious emotions had influenced the situation.

That seemed a whole lot like what I was experiencing now.

“Do I subconsciously not want to move forward?”

Was that why I kept going around in circles?

There was no way Parasite was here, of course, but what if there was another monster like that? Or was there some sort of mechanism that did the same thing?

“I can’t possibly not want to go forward.”

I wasn’t scared. Not of the Akashic records, not of Abel A. Schoenberg, not of Kozue Arisaka. I wasn’t scared of anything. —And so…

“To the battlefield. Hurry.”

I closed my eyes, clasped my hands in front of my chest, and prayed hard.

In the next moment, the air changed. It can’t have happened all at once like that, I thought and opened my eyes.

I found myself looking at an open, empty landscape that was completely different from the place where I’d just been.

“What on earth is this?”

The sky was divided between two colors: day and night. It was split into a blue half and a starry half, right down the middle.

A gust of wind blew. I was standing in a large, circular field; there were no walls around me, no ceiling, nothing. It was as if this space was floating, isolated, high in the sky.

About twenty meters away, on the edge of this cleared stage, an enormous white monument shaped like an inverted pyramid hung in midair. A figure stood under it.

“—Abel.”

His back was to me, but I didn’t need to see his face to know.

“You’re not all bandaged up today, are you?”

When I’d gotten about ten meters closer to him, Abel turned around.

He was probably in his thirties. He seemed to be Asian—Japanese—and his eyes were striking. They were impossibly clear, yet I couldn’t read any emotion in them.

“So you’re the one who came, hm?” Abel said. Guess he’d anticipated that someone would show up here.

“What are you doing here?” I could have asked where we were, but the question already seemed pointless.

“Analyzing the Akashic records.” Abel looked up at the pyramid-shaped monument. “The System that protects them is strict, you see. Even with my codes, it takes time to get in.”

…System? What System? Was he talking about that white monument? If so, were the Akashic records buried inside it?

“Do you know what the Akashic records actually are?”

“Yes, I know. I also know how important they are. —And? Are you here to stop me?” he asked, as if he’d read my mind.

I promptly responded with a question of my own. “Do you remember Kozue Arisaka?” Abel’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Long ago, you tried to take the map to the Akashic records from her by force. Isn’t that right?”

That was what had caused Kozue’s fear of Abel, and what had broken her mind. That had to be it.

“Take it by force? There’s no way I’d have trouble stealing a single map.”

“—Then why…?!”

“I’m not what Kozue Arisaka’s scared of. It’s the Akashic records themselves.”

For a moment, I stopped breathing. Kozue knew what the Akashic records actually were?

“I’d imagine her job gave her opportunities to find out unintentionally, and unexpectedly. However, that Pandora’s secret really isn’t something one person could carry alone. Kozue was crushed by that massive cross… Even if her memories of the thing itself no longer existed.”

Just then, the upside-down pyramid glowed lavender, and I somehow knew Abel’s analysis had made progress.

“A moment ago, you said stealing a map wouldn’t have given you any trouble. In that case, why didn’t you do any of this sooner?” Even as I spoke, I was putting my thoughts in order. Why had the enemy chosen to make his move now? It had to be because he’d been making preparations of some kind earlier. Once those were in place, he would act.

In terms of extraordinary things Abel had done recently—

“You stole the key to analyzing the Akashic records from Kimizuka.”

The key. All I’d done was use a word I’d heard recently which seemed to fit. He’d probably stolen something like that from Kimizuka, though. He hadn’t “made him lose” anything; he’d taken it.

All along, Abel had been putting together a detailed plan to steal Kimizuka.

“I won’t let you have your way any longer.” I leveled my gun at him. It was the only weapon I’d brought in.

“What are you trying to accomplish, hm? As I said, I had very little to do with your mother. Is this rooted in your sense of justice? Will you stop me because I’m trying to turn the world upside down?”

“Yes, that’s part of it. First, though—fix Kimizuka!”

With no hesitation, I pulled the trigger. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hit Abel, so I fired a bullet at the enormous monument which held the Akashic records.

“That was a bad decision.”

The bullet ricocheted off something I couldn’t see.

“The System uses a defensive program to guard the Akashic records. A common weapon like that won’t do a thing.”

“…Program? Don’t tell me this place is…”

“Go on, make your wish. You must want strength. The strength to bring about absolute justice.”

A moment later, I realized I was holding a musket. That weapon was the greatest symbol of strength I knew.

“That’s right. System programs operate with particular intensity here. By writing additions to our code, we can output anything we want.”

“But I don’t have an ability like—”

“No, you and your group have it as well. The powers of your wills are equivalent to my codes.”

…I see. When I’d been shut inside this labyrinth, wishing hard had brought me here. My will had done that. Then was this place really…?

“Don’t you think it’s a splendid world? Here, all our ideals become reality.”

Abel looked at me. No…behind me.

Someone was there. Leveling the musket, I turned back.

“—Why…are you…?”

The world was silent. The only sound in it was the unsettling beat of my heart.

Side Fuubi II

Maybe the guy had sensed me: Although he was still several meters ahead, he hastily turned around.

“It can’t be that surprising,” I said casually.

His eyes were very wide.

“I swear, charging off on your own like that… What are you trying to pull, Ryan White?”

We faced each other in a place that looked like a ruin, or an old temple.

It was the first time we’d seen each other in the three weeks since Ryan had taken off after Abel and disappeared.

“…I wish you could have let me look cool.”

“Ha! What, you were actually aware of it this time?”

As we bantered, we started walking, keeping a few paces’ distance between us. A long corridor ran through the gloomy ruin.

“So, Ryan. What are you doing here?” It was a perfectly natural question. After all, this was no ordinary place. It was the sacred ground where the Akashic records were sealed.

“I came to stop Abel, of course,” Ryan said easily. “I spent more than three weeks analyzing the map data. We hadn’t collected all of it, so parsing it took time, but…I finally pinpointed this place.”

“Analyzing and parsing, huh? So you were trying to beat Abel here.”

“Yes, that’s right… But never mind that—how did you get here?” Ryan stopped in his tracks, turning suspicious eyes on me.

It was simple, though.

“I didn’t start collecting the map because of the Neverland Project. I’d been secretly gathering its data for several years now.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying you realized what Abel was after several years ago?”

No, Abel had nothing to do with it. I knew he was dangerous back then, too, but I’d had my sights set on something bigger. “I needed the Akashic records to move up the ladder.”

I hadn’t cared about their contents. I’d wanted to secure my position by making them mine, or at least by gaining the right to access them. A position that would let me deal with the Federation Government on equal terms. “By helping your group collect pieces of the map, I finally ended up with almost all the data I needed, including pieces I hadn’t been able to get with own abilities and connections.”

“…I see. Ha-ha. So you were using us all, hm? I swear, you’re as tricky as ever.” Ryan gave a wry smile, as if to say I’d gotten him good. “But how specifically did you parse the map?” he asked, starting to walk again. The Akashic records were somewhere in this ruin, but we still had to find them.

“The one who found the ruin was the Revolutionary. You met her yourself, in America.”

“…Her, hm? Actually, I made her an accomplice and convinced her to turn a blind eye by giving her a copy of the map data that time. I see—so you two were also…”

Youkaki the Revolutionary. The woman generally kept her beauty veiled; she used it to win over important figures in every country. She knew all there was to know about the world map.

However, the Akashic records had been the only Pandora’s box there was for her as well.

I’d shared the data that led to the records with her, aligning our interests, and she had found this sacred ground for me. Needless to say, the all-knowing king had been our go-between.

“Still, this place is a maze. The goal’s nowhere in sight.”

“Yes. There has to be a room where the Akashic records are housed somewhere, but…” As he walked, Ryan looked around with a hint of confusion. It felt as if we’d been walking in circles for a while now.

“It’s late to point this out, but this is a weird feeling. I never thought we’d be searching for the same troublemaker together, Ryan.”

“Ha-ha! You said it. You’d protect the world from the shadows, I’d protect it from the surface. We spent more than ten years doing that. Who’d have believed our paths would cross here?”

Right. It had been a decade or so since the Information Broker had gotten me this job. After that, the Federation Government had given me the position of “Assassin.” Since I’d resolved to protect the world from its underbelly, it should have been the ideal job for me.

“I hear you’ve had a really rough time.”

“I was prepared for that.”

My job as the Assassin was to kill one innocent person to save many. Ending one life for the sake of a hundred was my mission.

“Long ago, in a certain small country, there was a young politician with lofty ideals. They hated lies and money, and they loved only the truth and human feeling. On finding proof that leading political figures were engaged in corruption that involved the entire government, the politician resolved to denounce them to the populace.”

One day, the Federation Government had given me a mission.

They’d told me to assassinate that young politician.

“The current Oracle had made a prophecy: If the corruption in that country were exposed, large-scale riots would break out, and the nation would collapse in the name of justice.”

And so I’d killed that blameless politician with pure ideals. I’d done it before the fighting which was sure to break out could take tens of thousands of lives.

“Every day, I felt like I was faced with the trolley problem.”

“I knew it. Fuubi, you also…” Ryan’s eyes widened, but then he seemed to come to a decision. “In that case, let’s change the world, you and I.”

Suddenly, a large door appeared behind him.

Ryan didn’t seem caught off guard. He just stepped through the door, and I followed.

An endless wasteland spread out before us.

Had we gone outside? When I turned around, the door wasn’t there.

“Come on, we really are close this time. The Akashic records are right over there.” Ryan looked up.

The sky was split between two colors, as if someone had separated it into day and night.

“You look happy, Ryan,” I said behind him, and Ryan went still. “You look like you want to reach the Akashic records fast on a personal level. As if it’s got nothing to do with Abel.”

“…You sound like you’ve got something to say. Let’s hear it. I like it when you talk,” Ryan joked, with his back still to me.

I hit him with the theory that had been smoldering in my mind all this time.

“Ryan White. You’re working with Abel, aren’t you?”

Silence. In that case, I tacked on another theory. “We were collecting pieces of the map to the Akashic records to shut down the Neverland Project. You were the one who first proposed that, Ryan. However, that was probably on Abel’s instructions. You used the Ace Detective and the Singularity’s power to retrieve pieces of the map efficiently, then gave them to Abel.”

In other words, Ryan hadn’t vanished because he was trying to lure Abel to him with the map as bait. He’d just run off with the map and attempted to make contact with Abel.

“You said you’d analyzed the data and somehow pinpointed the location of this ruin, but the truth is much simpler: Abel just brought you here.”

Although, for some reason, it seemed he hadn’t met the guy in person yet.

“What makes you think that?” Ryan asked finally. “Fuubi, if you’re a police officer, too, I wish you’d speak a little more logically.”

“It’ll be easier to understand if we assume this is all one story.” I’d guessed that the recent series of incidents had been a plot on Abel’s part to neutralize the Singularity, then obtain the Akashic records, and I’d been partly right. That hadn’t been all, though. “His plans—his stories—always have players. Like Goat, for example. But players aren’t enough to progress his grand plan as smoothly as he wants. For that, he needed one more thing: a game master.”

The game master was the man in military uniform who had his back to me right now: Ryan White.

“You assembled the players for Abel’s plan: the Oracle, the Ace Detective, the Assassin, the Enforcer, the Singularity, and the Agent. Then you set the Phantom Thief as the mastermind we had to defeat and manipulated us like pawns.”

He’d given his players the mission of retrieving the map in which the world’s secret was hidden, and we’d flown all around the world in our version of a real-life role-playing game. We’d had no clue that we were being controlled by the mastermind and his right-hand man.

“When did you start thinking that way?”

“The first thing that made me suspicious was the timing of Abel’s attack.”

It had happened when Ryan had taken me with him to Europe. He’d said there was a map that only I would be able to retrieve. But while I was gone, Abel had tagged Kimizuka with the code of loss.

“I bet you were afraid that I’d make contact with Abel. You were worried there was a slim chance I’d save Kimizuka.”

That was why he’d made sure I was nowhere nearby when Abel was gearing up to attack. Although Abel didn’t usually participate in the stories he planned, he’d needed to appear this time to render the Singularity powerless. At that point, a small rip—a sense that something was off—had appeared in the plan.

“I see. That all hangs together. You have no proof, though.”

“True. That’s probably why even mystery novels treat the police as incompetents.” Ryan’s argument was sound, and I wasn’t above making a dig at my own expense. —But then I laughed it off. “We don’t need that anymore, do we?”

Ryan’s shoulders seemed to jump a bit.

“You and me—we don’t need those things. Answer me, Ryan. What were you planning to accomplish by teaming up with Abel?”

Ryan still had his back to me, and I aimed my gun at him.

“Let me follow your example and tell you an old story.” Calmly, Ryan began to speak. “The top brass at Interpol learned that there was a possibility of a military coup d’état in a certain developing country, and they sent me over there as a commanding officer. I’ll spare you the details, but after an infiltration and investigation that lasted several months, we succeeded in capturing every last executive in the terrorist organization.”

I couldn’t remember when that had happened, but that was the incident when I’d first seen Ryan in the media. The time they’d started celebrating him as “immaculate justice,” and his face had changed—

“The administrators of that country praised me as well; they said it was truly magnificent work. I knew I was interfering, but after handing the terrorists over, I told them I wanted them to be sure to clarify the terrorists’ motives, then punish them in accordance with the law. The administrators smiled and nodded.”

That did sound like something Ryan would say. It had been like that during the incident with Goat, too. He’d said himself that judging evil with the law instead of power was his motto.

“The next day, they guillotined all the terrorists. Every last one of them, publicly.”

Ryan was still turned away from me, and I couldn’t see his face. I still knew what expression he was wearing, though.

“They did nothing to clarify their motives. They didn’t put the knowledge to work in their government. On the contrary, after that aborted terror incident, the government grew more oppressive, and the law grew stricter. The definition of what counted as treason was broadened, and they began mercilessly executing those who resisted the government even slightly. Before I knew what I was doing, I’d sacrificed the nation’s citizens to preserve its justice.”

As Ryan murmured those words, I could see his sadness in the pure white of his uniformed back.

“That was the day I started thinking. How could I save people instead of nations? How could I protect them with justice? —I needed the Akashic records.”

Ryan turned around. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes were filled with his conviction. “World War III nearly broke out over the Akashic records once, but the Tuners’ hard work ended it almost as soon as it began. I’m going to cause another war over those records. But the war I start will be fully controlled. I’ll use it to determine which nations should survive. You see, Fuubi—I want to redraw national boundaries.” This time, Ryan did smile.

“…So you teamed up with Abel because your interests were aligned?”

“That’s right. Abel’s codes can be used to take control of human hearts. I’ll create countries with leaders who sympathize with my ideas. That will connect to the ‘world inversion’ Abel wants. There are areas in which we can cooperate.”

Impossible. That man had steered all sorts of crimes from the shadows; we couldn’t possibly join forces with him. It would desecrate the concept of justice.

“No matter how great your cause is, there’s no way it’s okay to set off an international war.”

“Fuubi, you’ve got the wrong idea. I’m not an enemy of the world.” Ryan took a step closer to me. “Just as the young Oracle wasn’t able to predict Abel’s attack, I’ve never been in the sacred text. Not even once. That’s proof that the world doesn’t consider me evil. —I’m no enemy. I won’t hurt anyone. I promise this war will have no casualties. And so…” Ryan held his right hand out to me.

“Come join us, Fuubi.”

Side Charlotte III

Sensing a presence, I turned around, then saw who was standing there. For a few seconds, I forgot to breathe.

“Why…are you…?”

The only sound was my heart. It was beating so loudly I thought it might burst.

Finally, the newcomer broke the silence.

“Charlotte, what on earth is the matter? You look like you’re going to cry.”

Kozue Arisaka. My mother was standing there, apparently mystified.

“Oh, I know. You had a nightmare, didn’t you? Come on, then; come here. I’ll read you a picture book.”

As if she were soothing a young, fretful child, Kozue gave me a soft smile and spread her arms wide.

“Mom?” I walked toward her. Then, just before those arms embraced me…

“—! Enough of your sick jokes!”

Whirling around, I fired my musket at the System’s upside-down pyramid.

No. No! Kozue wouldn’t say that to me. She wouldn’t hug me gently!

Even when I was a child, she’d never done anything like that. That smile had always been for Noah alone. Just for a moment, I twisted around to look back. Kozue wasn’t there. The System-created illusion had vanished.

“It isn’t a joke.” Directly beneath the System that protected the Akashic records, Abel shook his head. “The depths of your unconscious shaped your will, and the System responded to it. It created an image of the ideal Kozue, the one you want.”

“…I don’t want anything of the sort. And after all these years…!”

“A few weeks ago, you managed to reject my code of slaughter, remember? That proves Kozue carries a lot of weight in your mind. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Abel smiled. “Someday I’ll use codes to create a new world in which all common sense is reversed. In that world, all your ideals will be realized. To that end, however, I need to put the System under my control.”

…I started to get confused. Abel was saying that the System—that huge, pyramid-shaped monument—was what had made my ideals a reality. He’d also said that programs created by the System worked particularly well here. In that case, was the System basically like a computer? And if Abel was writing additional codes and using that computer, he’d have to be…a programmer?

“Then what are the Akashic records?”

The world’s secret, which was supposedly buried in that System. Abel was trying to analyze and steal them in order to take control of the System. Did that mean the Akashic records were like a computer CPU?

“In short, the Akashic records are a brain that mechanically controls the world—”

And this place, where we were standing, was the control tower.

“That doesn’t mean that you and other living things are electronic data, of course. However, it’s possible to mechanically interfere with the world where you live from this control tower. Since time immemorial, the various crises that have occurred on Earth and the inconsistencies that accompanied them have been resolved by the System, which ignores even physical calculations.”

“…You’re saying the Tuners have been its avatars?”

“Yes, for the most part. Humans with strong wills have borrowed the power of the System to destroy the world’s viruses—its enemies—and resolve the ‘bugs’ of crises. Throwing punches that are faster than bullets, soaring through the night sky with the power of science that’s basically magic, and tricking the enemy by showing them ‘daydreams,’ or illusions… A skilled Tuner could probably do all these things easily.”

Behind Abel, a huge monster and a humanoid weapon suddenly appeared and began to fight. That was another System-generated program. At the very least, no weapons like that existed on Earth.

“However, I’m going to analyze the Akashic records, steal them, and evolve them. In the new, ideal world managed by the code I’ve modified, the enemies of the world won’t appear. Crises won’t occur.”

The humanoid weapon defeated the monster and immediately began to fade away, as if it had carried out its role.

“The new world will be entirely controlled by programs. It will even be possible to control human feelings and actions. It will be worth all the time it took to prepare.”

“Don’t tell me… All the crimes you’ve planned were experiments for this new world of yours?”

Abel didn’t answer my question. Looking up at the System again, he began to extract the Akashic records.

He moved his fingers as if he were typing on an invisible keyboard, sliding something with his fingertips. I didn’t know specifically what he was doing. Even so, his intentions were clear.

I couldn’t let Abel A. Schoenberg control the new world. I couldn’t forget the people who’d been sacrificed to his experiments, in the service of making this happen.

“Don’t drag the world into your program!”

I leveled my musket and fired, scattering sparks, but the bullet didn’t reach Abel. It ricocheted off an enormous barrier. Was he using his codes to make the System protect him?

“Yes, I’ll manage the new world using codes, but it’s just as I said: I’ll make your ideals a reality as well. You’ll have your wishes and your freedom, anything you like.”

The next thing I knew, Abel was right in front of me. I finally realized that this wasn’t high-speed movement or teleportation. He was using codes to shift his coordinates.

“In the new world, for example, I’ll give an elderly, wheelchair-bound person the freedom to swim in the ocean. I’ll give a young man born blind the freedom to see fireworks. I’ll give a girl from a broken home the freedom to take it all back.”

Then all I heard was the sound of fingers snapping.

“What is this?”

My consciousness cut out briefly, and in that moment, the scenery around me changed.

I found myself looking around. I wasn’t in that extraordinary space anymore.

Space-time… It wasn’t just the physical space; the time I was inhabiting was different as well. After all, this was—

“I saw this in a dream just a little while ago.”

It was the house where I’d lived as a kid. I was in Noah’s room.

“—What’s the matter, Sis?”

I was standing stock-still in the middle of the room, and Noah called to me.

It’s Noah. Noah’s here.

My little brother was lying in bed like always, pillows piled high behind his head, gazing at me. I almost ran up to him without thinking—but I stopped. I knew this was an illusion.

“No, it’s nothing.”

I shook my head, then sat down on the edge of the bed. That bed was from eight years ago, but it felt solid, and it creaked under my weight.

“Come on, read to me.”

“I knew you’d say that.” Smiling wryly, I opened the book Noah handed me.

It was from the series he’d loved reading way back when, the one about the agent who took down one evil organization after another. I hadn’t opened that book in a long time, and nostalgia welled up inside me as I read to him.

Somewhere along the way, I’d stopped running into words I couldn’t read.

“Sis, why are you crying?” Noah looked at me, mystified. “If all you do is cry, you’ll wash your happiness away, too.”

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

I wiped my tears away with my fingertips. Even I didn’t really know why I was crying.

“Listen, Noah, are you happy?”

“Mm, well, I guess I am. You’re here, Sis.”

“…Noah.”

“Even if you’re scary when you’re mad sometimes.”

“…Noah?” I gave him a long, cold look, and Noah giggled.

“Mom always looks like she’s hurting, though.” A slight shadow fell over his expression. “It feels like she’s always fighting something, all by herself. I want to help her, but I’m sick, so I don’t think I can. Help her for me, okay, Sis?” Noah picked up the book we’d just read. “You’re going to be like the main character in this book someday, right?”

“…Yes. That’s what I promised.”

Taking the book from Noah, I slowly stood up.

“But listen, Noah. I’m actually an agent already.”

So leave this to me.

When I smiled at him, Noah looked a little startled, but then he nodded emphatically.

Once I’d seen him agree, I opened the door to the room.

Light streamed in, and the illusion’s barrier was broken.

There was the control tower with its two-toned sky. Abel still had his back to me; he was hard at work extracting the Akashic records from the System.

“The world never matches our ideals. There’s meaning in struggling toward those goals, though,” I said. Abel stopped moving for a moment. “There’s no meaning in ideals that are realized from the start. They’re just—fake!”

With no hesitation, I blasted away with the machine gun in my hands. The area around me was filled with tons of firearms. My will had made them materialize.

“That’s a good attack. Is this ‘the will to fight,’ then?”

The barrier broke. Only one layer of it, though—the defensive wall that covered Abel was composed of many layers, and they promptly kicked my bullets back at me.

“You think I’d let myself lose?!”

A cannon appeared. I didn’t even have to do anything: It started firing automatically, as if the weapon had a will of its own. Around me, other weapons rose into the air, and they all began firing at once.

The violent sound of gunfire, the smell of powder smoke. A constant rain of bullets fell upon the translucent defensive wall, rays of colored light racing through it with every impact. One, two, three layers broke—and then the attack stopped.

“! I’m out of bullets? Why?”

As long as my will didn’t falter, I should have had an endless supply.

“No, the end inevitably comes.” The holes I’d punched through the wall began to close up. “Human wills have a limit. However, my codes are eternal. Even the strongest emotion will someday break when confronted with my prescribed programs.”

“—But you’re the one who’s managing the programs, and you’re human!”

In that case, he’d slip up eventually. A human like him could never become the one who controlled the new world.

Giving up on guns, I gripped the saber my remaining will had created and set off running. Remembering what the redheaded Assassin had taught me, I swung my weapon, pouring all the lethal intent I had into the attack, and—

“I am a program. No more, no less.”

—I couldn’t reach him, even though I could see him right in front of me. Even though the great evil was so close. I’d failed to break through the final layer of the translucent barrier covering Abel.

“Your will is no match for my code.”

Abruptly, a sourceless impact hit my entire body.

I wasn’t given a chance to cry out as I was knocked back through the air. I couldn’t even process what had just happened.

“……Ghk, hff…ah…”

Finally, I managed a groan. My body was impossibly cold. I wasn’t shaking so much as spasming. What had broken? What had been crushed? It hurt so much I thought I was going to pass out.

“Hurry, let go of your will to fight.”

Even through the loud ringing in my ears, I heard that voice clearly.

“As long as you hold on to it, you won’t escape from that pain. A moment ago, I gave you the code of salvation. The moment you discard your will to fight, you’ll feel better. You’ll get to die instantly.”

His voice was gentle.

“You don’t have to try anymore. You’ve fought enough. You’ve aimed for your ideals and challenged fate. Now all you need to do is wait to be saved. I’ll take you to a new world right away, one without hatred or sadness. Your family is waiting for you there.”

I couldn’t see anymore. My body was too cold, and most of my senses had deserted me. It was harder, colder, and more painful than any moment of death I’d ever imagined.

“……I…w-want—”

I couldn’t tell if I was actually speaking aloud. I couldn’t even hear my own voice.

However, my will was saying something.

“…I….want…to…hurt…”

That’s right. I wanted to hurt.

I wanted to hate. I wanted to feel sad. Because there had to be something that only lay beyond those things. Because I’d lived nineteen years believing there was, and living for the sake of my mission. And so…

“…I…don’t…need…any…thing…that’s…easy…to…get.”

Getting nothing at all would be better than that.

I stretched out my hand.

I wasn’t asking for help. I was going to fight. I’d reached out for a weapon.

This wasn’t “will.” It was sheer stubbornness.

“…I…will…fight.”

My fingertips touched something hard. Even if I couldn’t see it, I knew what it was: a musket.

“I’ll fight…for ideals that won’t be realized…!”

As my hand grabbed the barrel of the gun, someone else’s hand covered it.

Side Fuubi III

“You still seem unsure.”

Ryan had extended his hand to me, but I hadn’t taken it right away. My right hand still held my pistol.

What if I hadn’t been holding a gun? Would I have promptly accepted the justice Ryan had spoken of? Would I have accepted a plan in which we sparked a war with the Akashic records and redrew the world map with our own hands?

“Fuubi, there’s something I want you to see.”

The world around us went black. Then a large, rectangular light appeared. It was like a movie screen, and Ryan and I were the audience.

“What is this?”

“The System’s operating. In this place, our wills can exercise the same sort of power as Abel’s codes.”

Then the movie began.

The screen showed a group of five men in suits, sitting at a round table and chatting pleasantly. Their nationalities were all over the map. They were older, but I’d seen all of them somewhere before. They were all current heads of state.

“Just look at those smiles. What do you think they’re discussing?” Ryan asked. Five national flags stood behind the leaders.

“They held this conference to determine how to divide the territory and resources of a country they colonized. They might as well have been talking about how to neatly portion out a cake. It’s foolish in the extreme,” Ryan said. “This happened because they put the interests of their own countries first. That’s why I’ll stand above them. Completely objectively. I’ll gaze down at the map of the world and redraw national borders properly. We’ll lead this world to justice, Fuubi.” There was heat in his voice.

At some point, the sky had reverted to being two colors, and the movie had ended.

“I remembered one other thing.” Before answering Ryan, I brought up the old story I’d told him on our way here. “Back when I was about to assassinate that young, upright politician on the Federation Government’s orders, I hesitated just for a moment.”

I’d become the Assassin only recently, and I’d been even more uncertain about the ideal shape of justice than I was now. When the politician had seen the muzzle of the gun I was pointing at them, their eyes had gone very wide.

“However, they promptly realized their mistake. They sensed that, for some reason, the accusation they’d been about to make wouldn’t benefit the nation. Then, noticing my hesitation, they told me, ‘If my death will help save the citizens, then please pull the trigger.’”

That young politician had had incredible resolve. They’d been thinking of the people. For that very reason, they’d been able to stand by their justice until the end.

“But, Ryan, what you and Abel are trying to do won’t work. If you’re just looking at the map, not the people, the plan’s bound to fail someday.”

For a moment, Ryan’s eyes went wide. Then he smiled just like always. “You’re saying to look at the people, not at the map? Fuubi, I never thought you’d start talking like this.”

“This isn’t about whether I’m doing it right. I mean you and I are both wrong.”

That was why I was the Assassin, an ally of a justice I knew full well was a mistake.

“I see. Meaning…?”

“Meaning negotiations have broken down.”

We pulled our triggers almost simultaneously.

Our bullets each knocked the other’s weapon out of our hands. There was no time to pick them up. We both broke into a run, closing the distance between us in one go. My opponent was just a little slower, and I landed a roundhouse kick on him.

“That’s you all over, Fuubi.” Skidding back so fast it looked as if he were being dragged, Ryan narrowed his eyes. “You’ve probably been using the power of your will on a regular basis. Where did you learn that? Who taught you?”

“I’ve got no obligation to tell you.”

If he really wanted to know, he could buy an extra special bottle of something and trek around the world’s bar hideaways. If he was lucky, he’d meet the guy.

“Forget that—you’re abnormally tough. When I kicked you back there, I meant to kill you.”

So how was he able to stand normally? How could he talk and smile?

“Ha-ha. That’s mean, trying to kick your fiancé to death.”

“—Shove it.”

I punched through and slammed home kicks. They were sharper than blades, faster than bullets. I knew the blows were landing, but it didn’t feel as if I was managing to do damage.

“Oh, I can feel it. The intense drive to kill. What would that be—‘the will to destroy’?” Ryan didn’t evade my attacks; he just took them. “You have a solid natural gift, and your training and strong sense of mission have polished your will. Even without a superhuman ability, they’ve made you one of the most skilled of the Tuners. —But listen, Fuubi. No matter how powerful your will is, it’s no match for a limitless code.”

Purple light cut right in front of me.

“______!”

I twisted away, evading, but the light grazed my right shoulder slightly, and there was a hot, scorched smell. Ryan White was holding a weapon that looked like a laser sword.

“I see, Ryan. I had the wrong idea.”

You didn’t join forces with Abel. You’re not equals, and you’re not his right arm.

“You just sold your soul to a great evil.”

In that case, I don’t even need to stand on the same stage with you. I used the power of this exceptional place, too, hitting Ryan with a hail of ammunition from a machine gun my will had manifested.

The dirt of the wilderness danced, and black smoke went up. When silence fell and the dust cleared, a human shape appeared: Ryan White, wearing pure-white armor. Part of his helmet was missing, exposing an eye that was discolored dark red, like a demon’s.

“You look really sharp.” I wouldn’t be able to fight like this. Promptly changing my costume, I held a Japanese katana at the ready.

“You look like a samurai. That’s just like you.”

Ryan vanished. A second later, the hilt of my sword locked with something else. Pressed back by Ryan’s sword, which radiated an ominous light, my arms creaked violently.

“So even after turning demon, you can talk? Ryan, wake up.”

“You’re the one who’s going to wake up, Fuubi.”

Overwhelming strength forced me away, and I tumbled backward. Ryan promptly struck an additional blow with his sword, but I managed to generate a makeshift katana and blocked.

“Fuubi, you must know this world isn’t right.”

“Yeah. Poverty and violence and hunger and war and global crises… None of them are over.”

“Then why don’t you try to change it? You and I have been through similar experiences time and time again, so why do our conclusions differ?”

He brought his sword down, shearing off my katana. I flung myself away, evading. The enemy’s weapon split the ground.

“Our fathers didn’t lay down their lives to protect a world like this!”

Oh, I see. So that’s what it comes down to.

Ryan, are you trapped by that, too?

“It’s wrong. This world is wrong! Protecting government officials, dying in the line of duty, and yet they even suppressed reports about it because it might encourage terrorism—this world made it so my father didn’t exist, and I’m going to remake it with my own two hands!”

The next thing I knew, I was hanging.

“I’ll keep telling you until you understand, Fuubi.”

I’d been set on something that looked like a gallows, and there were sturdy iron restraints on my hands and feet. It really didn’t seem like an average amount of willpower could get me out of them.

From a distance, Ryan swung his sword. The shining purple blade stretched like a whip, lashing me ferociously. The way Ryan was acting made it seem as if Abel’s code had taken him over.

“Why don’t you understand? Why won’t you keep your promise?! We swore to each other that day that we’d succeed to our great fathers’ last wills and protect the ideal world they’d dreamed of!”

Yeah, we had. We must have wanted to prove that the world our fathers had died protecting was a wonderful one. We’d eagerly looked forward to the day when we could hold our heads high and say so.

That ideal had been shattered, though. This world hadn’t been correct—nothing like it. Both Ryan and I had picked up on that. However, I’d kept trying to protect it anyway, while Ryan had tried to remake it.

What difference had there been between us? —Out of nowhere, a certain person came to mind.

“There was a weird girl.”

I murmured the words to myself, and Ryan didn’t seem to have heard; the lashes kept coming.

My hair tie fell away, and my red hair streamed in the wind.

“She had both intelligence and fighting skills, and although she wasn’t complete yet, she had more than enough potential to be an ally of justice. More than anything, she had a strong sense of her mission.”

She’d even said that the Ace Detective’s will had been engraved on her DNA at birth.

“However, she also had the strength to offer up her life for her friends. The strength to convert her ‘will’ into her ‘last will,’ to entrust everything she was to the people who were close to her—”

And so… I see. That’s why I…

“I didn’t need to stand above anyone.”

The purple light that had been bearing down on my face vanished. The sword shrank back down and away from me, whiplike to the end.

Ryan White had been waiting for my answer.

“Don’t look down at the world map from somewhere distant. If we want to protect the tomorrows of the people next to us, we have to keep fighting from inside the map!”

That was how we Tuners should be.

“I see. Stand on the front line until your very last moment and fulfill your mission, then, nameless messenger of justice.”

Ryan’s sword burst into ominous purple flames. I’d spoken sharply, but I still couldn’t move. My will couldn’t break Abel’s code.

“I guess I should’ve known.”

I’d finally realized what the answer was: My justice was still only of a borrowed, stopgap variety.

My will had already been inherited by someone, though. That meant this was fine. The tip of the sword closed in on me, but I had no intention of evading. I kept my eyes open.

“What a coincidence. That girl is why I became a hero, too.”

The sword stopped. A lone girl was standing below the gallows.

“You can’t break our pride with that sword.”

Instantly, as if she’d destroyed the program, the enemy’s sword crumbled and scattered. Ryan’s deep-red eye widened as if he didn’t know what had happened, but then he screamed, his voice filled with resentment.

“Ace Detective…!”

Nagisa Natsunagi was standing there.

“Whoa! You okay?”

The gallows vanished, and Natsunagi caught me in her arms. The restraints around my wrists and ankles were gone, too.

“Why are you here? And what are you wearing?”

Natsunagi was wearing a summer sailor-type school uniform. I’d heard she was out of high school at this point.

“I-it’s complicated. Never mind that. For now…”

Even as she spoke, a swarm of small spheres appeared next to her, floating in space. They spun, glowing purple, and then they all spat light rays at once.

“—Get down!”

“No, they won’t hit us.”

Natsunagi didn’t even flinch. Just before the rays reached us, they ricocheted off at random angles, as if they’d been blocked by an invisible barrier.

“Nagisa Natsunagi, what on earth…?”

“As things stand, I don’t think I’m enough of a hero.” Even now, Natsunagi kept talking to me; the enemy’s attacks didn’t seem to concern her. “I know you don’t acknowledge me to that extent, either. —I’ll struggle, though. In this world that doesn’t go the way we want it, a world where ideals aren’t necessarily realized—even so, I’ll stand tall and move forward. I’ll keep my head as high as I can!”

Giving me one last smile, Nagisa Natsunagi started toward Ryan White. A rain of lasers poured down around her. However, right before they struck her, they caromed away at odd angles.

“Ryan White. You must have been that way, too, at first.”

“Be quiet…!” Ryan yelled, and the glowing spheres charged at Natsunagi physically. There was a ferocious explosion, but a few seconds later, the Ace Detective emerged from the black smoke unscathed.

“You traveled around the world, fought for justice, learned about unfairness—too much about it. You stopped being able to stand on the same ground as everyone else.”

The earth split with a roar.

Behind Ryan, an enormous sphere appeared, cloaked in its own wings.

“But listen—it was actually okay. There are a lot of people in this world besides you who believe in justice. You should have trusted us more.”

With its wings folded in front of it, the sphere began to focus shining purple energy at its core.

It was obvious what was going to happen. In spite of myself, I shouted the detective’s name.

“It’s fine. None of us will lose.”

The sphere fired an enormous laser. The shock wave blasted across the wasteland, whipping up clouds of dust.

If it hadn’t been for the defensive barrier the detective had left, I wouldn’t have been okay, either.

Then the smoke cleared—and there was Nagisa Natsunagi, standing dauntlessly.

“Oh, I see. You’re…”

In this world, the strength of our wills governed everything.

In that case, while she was here, her passion would make her stronger than anyone.

“This is the Ace Detective’s will—”

No, maybe it’s the strength of that last will.

“Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up…!” Ryan White howled, rejecting the reality in front of him. He leaned forward sharply, leveling his sword.

“I’ll do it. I’ll manage this world perfectly!”