Murder Case (5): The Inevitable Death

My mind went blank for a moment.

The Muksi Saengmyeongche from Woorim Group…!

Our agency's ace in information gathering, 'Twentieth Turtle Soup'-chan…!

Or Sbas-chan for short—she got eaten by Watson!

"Hey, Watson! Are you insane!? That was given to us by Woorim Group for the Ririri Detective Agency! Aigoo, Yuri…."

Baesena smacked Watson's back a few times, then scurried over and grabbed my hand tightly.

"I'm sorry, Yuri. It was our Special Task Force's mistake that got you into this mess…. I'll make sure to get compensation from the higher-ups once this case is over!"

"Detective, take the compensation? Then after this, Detective Assistant Watson lives with the detective?"

"You're going in special containment! You have no shame!"

Watson, acting like it was the most natural thing in the world to follow me around. Baesena yelling at her.

In the midst of all this bewilderment, one thought crossed my mind.

Watson, why is your affection toward me so high…?

'Was it like this in the game too…?'

I'd get it if she'd taken a cutegirl punch from me or something. But Watson was still in her monstrous form. It was utterly ridiculous.

As for losing Sbas-chan, maybe I should just think of it positively….

Separate from 'Twentieth Turtle Soup's solid performance, she was actually a monster with extremely limited uses.

Cases where uncovering the truth of an incident directly resolves the anomaly aren't that common.

No need to explain that, right…?

'King of Flies', 'Carnival Chef', 'One Person Factory Manager', 'Kunekune', 'Moon's Fall', 'Ambiguous Hairdresser', and so on….

We overcame them with physical solutions or gimmick clears, didn't we?

At best, during the 'Fox Possession' incident, Sbas-chan might've made things a bit easier.

That's about it. She's just not versatile enough for general use.

If we can make use of her somehow in this doppelganger case, hasn't she earned her keep?

Plus, like Baesena said, the Special Task Force will compensate us later.

Not a bad deal?

"Detective, detective. Detective Assistant Watson is ready."

"Ah, yeah…. Sorry to keep you waiting…. Before doing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Turtle Soup, can we confirm the conditions? Only 20 questions, right?"

"No, detective. Only 5."

What?

I blinked.

"Detective Assistant Watson has merged with 'Twentieth Turtle Soup'. But I can't draw out all its power, yep. Sorry for being an inadequate assistant, detective."

"…Uh, only 5, huh. If I don't get it in 5, I still suffer suicidal impulses?"

"No, detective. Even if you miss, the detective won't get suicidal impulses."

"?"

I tilted my head. Watson explained:

"The detective is solving the case. Detective Assistant Watson can't stand by and let the detective face danger while solving it, yep. So no suicidal impulses."

Apparently.

So, questions reduced from 20 to 5, but the risk is basically zero now.

Sounds good?

I can just go for it—no big loss if it fails.

"Got it, Watson. Let's start."

"Then I'll repeat the question, detective. Victim Information Chief Jeong Woo-gyeom was killed by the Muksi Saengmyeongche doppelganger. Guess the reason."

"Uh…?"

Isn't the question kinda weird?

Aren't we trying to find where the doppelganger fled and who it's mimicking?

But now it's asking for the 'reason' Jeong Woo-gyeom was killed?

'Did Watson misunderstand something…? No, doesn't seem likely.'

Finding the 'reason' Jeong Woo-gyeom was killed is probably the fastest way to identify the doppelganger.

But a reason? Wasn't it just an accident that let the doppelganger loose, and he happened to die because of it?

"First question. Was Jeong Woo-gyeom's death inevitable?"

"Yep, it was inevitable, detective."

"…Inevitable, huh."

I panicked at the unexpected answer.

Hold on….

"The containment breach wasn't caused by something related to Jeong Woo-gyeom, right?"

"Yep, correct."

"But in the first question, you said his death was inevitable…?"

"Yep."

That doesn't add up. If the breach wasn't targeting him, then he just happened to be checking the entities when it occurred, leading to his death. An accident.

But inevitable? By whose will? The doppelganger's? A third party's? Or Jeong Woo-gyeom's own?

"Third question. Did Jeong Woo-gyeom commit suicide?"

"Yep, that's the truth, detective."

"……."

The word "suicide" froze the air.

Nao doubted her ears with a "Eh?" Ari seemed oblivious as always, and even Lisa tilted her head in confusion.

Baesena was the most agitated.

"No way…. I've watched Woogyoem for a long time—he'd never suicide. Leave the doppelganger and kill himself? Sacrifice his life to it? Why…?"

Baesena stared at Watson, face full of disbelief.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The idea that Jeong Woo-gyeom attempted suicide was hard to grasp.

But if he truly planned it, some of his baffling actions suddenly made sense.

He checked Witch's Room 91, then went to Doppelganger's Room 96.

Logically, after 91 should've been Memory Loop in Room 92—much closer.

Meaning from the start, he intended to die to the doppelganger.

And knowing it'd happen at exactly 3 a.m.

"…Past regression."

I murmured unconsciously.

Room 92's Memory Loop. A time machine rewinding up to 10 minutes.

Jeong Woo-gyeom had experienced the breach at least once before.

If I were him: breach happens, time machine nearby. I'd go back to prevent it, right?

But could 10 minutes stop it…?

'If it was impossible…?'

The breach becomes inevitable. Facing it, he'd choose the best option.

And that best was suicide. Sigh….

'Guess I can't be a detective after all….'

No brilliant deduction skills, not super smart.

All I have: universe's top cuteness. Cute Girl Mod power, grit. And original knowledge—monster lore specifically.

Nothing on Jeong Woo-gyeom personally.

But I know the monsters.

"Fourth question, Watson."

"Yep, detective."

"…Jeong Woo-gyeom regressed because the doppelganger escaped?"

"Correct, detective."

The enemy who killed his daughter escaped.

Normally beyond Special Task Force's handling.

Yet he pushed to contain it using his position—because he wanted to kill the doppelganger himself.

Maybe sharing manuals at the demo was to find a way to kill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it.

I started walking.

"Yuri?"

"Seon-ah, follow me."

They contain monsters because it's the best option. No way to erase them.

No other choice.

Doppelganger not mimicking: impervious to bullets, bombs, magma.

So kill it while mimicking a human, he thought.

But would the doppelganger oblige?

If attacked while mimicking, just drop the mimicry.

Jeong Woo-gyeom's last option: one.

"Open it, Seon-ah."

I said. Room 91's door opened.

The witch still sat at her chair. Her table brimmed with goods.

"Back again? Something you wanna buy?"

"How much for the candy."

I asked. She tilted her head.

"Told you. Candy's free. Ask other Task Force guys if you don't believe me."

"I know everything. Tell me. How much did Jeong Woo-gyeom pay."

The witch sells items, takes lives instead of money.

A monster and urban legend by those rules.

Her goods worth the life cost.

She steals lives for eternal youth.

But if the buyer's goal wasn't the item—but the deal itself.

If they wanted to pay with their life from the start.

"Oops…. Busted on the deal, huh? Guess special containment for me…. Whatever."

She shrugged.

"He gave all but 5 minutes of his lifespan. Said I could just take it."

I said it was free, but he insisted on paying. Couldn't refuse, right? That monster said.

Jeong Woo-gyeom figured it out. Or maybe planned it long ago.

Can't kill doppelganger physically? Make it mimic a 'already dead human' and kill that.

Thus trapping the doppelganger in his own corpse.