Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Detective Anis Strikes
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Han U-sol was originally a person with hardly any worries or concerns.
He was the type who took action to solve problems rather than stewing over them internally. That was why he rarely had any worries to begin with. He usually resolved them before they could even develop into full-blown issues.
However, over the past few months, there was one person who had given him a worry he couldn't resolve.
Anis Harper, the girl he had a crush on.
To him, she was a bundle of troubles that brought all sorts of concerns. Not just the light, ticklish worries from his one-sided love, but also heavy ones like the musty stench of magic beasts that came with her background.
Today was no different.
'...Anis is reading a book.'
Han U-sol stared at Anis with a serious expression. The soft rustle of turning pages echoed slowly.
'Why...'
If she were simply reading a book, Han U-sol might not have been fretting so gravely. No, he probably would have been staring at her in a daze, entranced. Sitting expressionless in a chair by the sunlit living room window, she looked noble and beautiful, like a painting come to life.
The problem was the book she was reading. That very book was Han U-sol's true source of worry.
[The Saintess's Milky Titty Jug]
'Why... is she reading something like that.'
Han U-sol was plunged into confusion as he watched her read a book with a vulgar title that clashed with the refined atmosphere.
He recalled the contents of the book he'd secretly glimpsed before. A feast of deviant fetishes that screamed, "How could it get any more depraved than this?"
Why was she rereading that book every single day? Did its contents hit her tastes so squarely and straight on?
—"Anis, were those novels lent to you by the principal?"
—"Yeah."
Why would the principal lend such books to a student? What kind of circumstance could make that possible? Was it normal for a man over seventy to exchange dirty novels with a seventeen-year-old girl?
—"Want to read them too?"
Why had Anis offered them to him so casually? Even if she liked those kinds of novels, a delicate girl like her should have been too embarrassed to show such crude smut to someone else, right?
"Anis, reading again?"
"Yeah. Bored."
And why did no one find it strange that she was openly reading smut in the living room?
He wanted to grab anyone and ask, but he didn't have the courage to say, "What do you think of The Saintess's Milky Titty Jug?"
'...Am I the weird one?'
Were all those deviant fetishes in that book actually normal, and it turned out he was the one with deviant tastes?
Now he was even starting to doubt himself, wondering if it was perfectly natural for a blooming seventeen-year-old girl to borrow trashy smut from the principal, and that he was the abnormal one.
"DJ, come here and read this. It's the highlight, the masterpiece scene of the novel."
"My mom used to do that a lot."
...He didn't know anymore. He really didn't know anymore.
"It's already time for patrol. Reisi, let's go."
"Okay! Give me a sec!"
Ten minutes later, Reisi finished preparing and stepped out of her room. Anis also stood up and walked with her to the entrance. Han U-sol followed them to see them off.
"...Have a safe trip."
"Yeah."
After the perfunctory goodbye, Anis and Reisi opened the front door and left. But as the door closed, Han U-sol overheard Anis's voice through the crack and froze like a statue.
"Let's stop by the brothel during patrol."
Clunk—the door shut, and Han U-sol's pupils shook violently.
'...No way.'
She must be stopping by to investigate Daniel's mother's escape. What other reason would two young girls have to visit a brothel?
No, still, maybe...
No. That couldn't be.
Today, too, Han U-sol's worries only deepened.
"Anis, but why the brothel?"
"To find Dimoney."
"Dimoney?"
"DJ's mom."
"Ah. But even if we go to the brothel, she's already run off, right?"
I shook my head at Reisi's words.
"Reisi, it seems you haven't read Detective Conan."
"What's that?"
"The essence of deduction in investigations, tracking the culprit, analyzing incidents, observation, discernment, and detection. It's a pioneering book containing all the fundamentals of detective work."
"Ooh. So was that the book you've been reading lately?"
"No, that's... ahem. Exactly! I've been honing my detective skills day and night for three days straight to find Dimoney!!"
"Ooooh! That's amazing, Anis!"
Reisi's eyes sparkled with admiration. Seeing that gaze full of respect, I figured it was okay to pass on a bit of my Detective Conan-trained detective prowess. It wasn't just anyone; our master-disciple bond through martial arts was already thick with trust. No big deal.
No helping it. Time to teach her a little. Concept: detective and assistant.
Concept ON.
"Reisi, no... Assistant. Ponder this deeply. Dimoney was nothing more than a destitute prostitute. A woman so precarious she had to rely on drugs."
"Right."
"Like a candle flickering in the wind, even if she fled her brothel, how long could she survive out there?"
"Hm...?"
The assistant tilted her head. The unparalleled genius detective, Anis Harper, sighed.
"Oh dear. Listen, Assistant. Consider this. Her nest was a mere two-pyeong single room, but to her, it was at least a safe haven. But the outside world? When the sun hangs half over the horizon and twilight drapes the land, petty criminals start slinking about. And that's not the end. Soon, darkness gathers from afar, swallowing even the twilight and pooling in your retinas, making the night streets far more perilous. Who knows, maybe vampires craving women's blood prowl for fresh prey."
"I see. But Anis, why's your speech suddenly so weird?"
"Hm. That's not a very good question. Detectives always speak like this."
"Uh... really?"
"Of course. Back to the tale. How long do you think a frail, powerless prostitute could endure streets like that?"
"Hm... Not long?"
"Precisely. After weathering that dangerous dawn and feeling her own helplessness acutely, she'd surely miss her cramped nest. Moreover, she's a weak-willed woman addicted to drugs. What choice would she make? I wager she couldn't last even a day and returned to the brothel. Shall we bet on it?"
"Ah!"
The assistant let out a short exclamation.
"Y-Yeah! Anis, you're incredible!"
"It wasn't particularly difficult."
The unparalleled genius detective, Anis Harper, curled the corner of her mouth upward.
Concept OFF.
"Did I look smart?"
"Anis, are you by any chance..."
"Yeah?"
"A genius?"
"Hehe."
Reisi usually went along with whatever I said, chiming in agreeably, but this time it was genuine praise from the heart. I felt inexplicably proud and let out a goofy laugh.
"The truth is always one!"
"Ooh!"
We headed to the brothel.
We arrived in front of the brothel where Dimoney worked. This body has arrived.
"Anis? Why are you so stiff?"
"Oh, no. First time in a place like this. You go in first."
Reisi opened the door and entered. I followed right behind her, tense as could be, peeking my head out to survey the interior.
I always shrank in the face of anything new and unfamiliar. The building was old and shabby, but the interior decor mixing red and white gave off a somehow lascivious vibe, enough to ramp up my tension.
"Hey! What are you kids doing here!"
A bald guy who looked like the brothel's guard yelled at us.
Wh-what do I do. What should I say...
He looked plenty menacing at first glance. The bald guy strode toward me and Reisi. Already on edge, his threatening attitude right upon entry turned my mind blank.
I figured I should say something, so I opened my mouth.
"Tw-two of us."
"...What?"
"Pardon?"
"These brats joking... Hm!?"
The bald guy's face twisted in a snarl, but he froze upon spotting the blue armbands on our arms.
"...Wh-what brings heroes like you here...?"
The bald guy's attitude turned meek in an instant. Seeing that eased my tension bit by bit, and the demon inside me began to awaken.
Strong-weak-weak-strong ON.
"What I mean is, the two of us are here. To catch the Dimoney you're hiding away."
"D-Dimoney? Who's that..."
"Don't play dumb when we know everything!!!!"
At my shout, sweat poured from the bald guy's face. Seeing that fueled my rage even more.
"Bring out Dimoney!!!"
"Th-there's no one by that name in our establishment...! At least tell us who she is...!"
"Shut up!!!!"
I cut off the bald guy's excuses and berated him loudly. It felt a bit excessive, but he was bald, so it was fine. I inherently despised bald guys.
Bald guys were either incredibly nice or total scum.
That was why I hated bald guys.
Really, truly hated them.