Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: It's an Incident—You Have to Solve It
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It's an incident. You have to solve it.
Inciting incident. Senyora hears the commotion on the street and takes an interest in it.
And there, a red-haired woman was pleading her innocence to a policeman.
Senyora has to get involved in this situation.
But Senyora is the type who avoids friction with others—not just conflicts, but meetings altogether.
「'So many people... Time to slip away...'」
With a personality like that, would she really volunteer to resolve the incident herself?
「'Ughhh... No way...'」
Of course not. That would break her character.
I need to create a reason for her to intervene without clashing with her personality.
「'...What's that?'」
Make a blatantly suspicious figure visible only to Senyora.
How suspicious? Starting with the outfit.
They were wearing huge, pitch-black clothes that didn't match the weather at all.
As if trying to completely hide their appearance.
「'Isn't that my style...?'」
Yeah, it is. Come to think of it, I gave Senyora a robe and such because she hates drawing attention.
「'That person's a beastkin, huh.'」
Um, no. That person's the real culprit in this incident. That's how I set it up.
「'Beastkin life, fighting...!'」
You can't cheer for that. You might become an accomplice.
Describe them even more suspiciously. Make it obvious they're the culprit.
They weren't just hiding in a dark alley—they were leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
If they slipped even once, it was a height that would almost certainly kill them.
Obviously, there's some reason they're acting so desperate.
To escape quickly. And to avoid being seen.
Even though Senyora occasionally hops over walls or roofs, she doesn't go that far.
So, seeing that would naturally make her suspicious, right?
「'Should I move like that from now on...? That looks good?'」
That's not it... Putting in that quirky trait for Senyora is biting me here.
Just give an obvious hint. That they're the culprit.
What they stole was actually a magic tool, and as they fled, it activated, leaking light.
「'Ehh...?'」
Feels right. Just make it blatant.
「'I-Is that... Light...?'」
She wanted to brush it off as no big deal.
But in her eyes, she could see powerful currents of electricity flowing around him.
"Gyaak...!"
Senyora, who had suddenly stared at the flash with the naked eye, let out a dying scream.
Perfect. Senyora has clearly witnessed the real culprit in this incident.
「'What do I do...?'」
She'd agonize over it. It's a confusing situation all around.
「'Maybe they were just testing a spell on the way-!'」
No way.
「'-Yeah, probably not...'」
First comes denial of reality.
Next, try drawing others' attention.
Tell them the culprit's over there.
「'W-Woah...!'」
"Whoa, you scared me."
"What...?"
"...Ahem."
But the voice that came out of her mouth was trembling badly.
And by then, the culprit had already shrunk to a tiny speck in the distance.
The reactions from the others weren't great either, so she pretended to gaze off into the distance, spacing out.
In the end, her final choice was...
「'...This has nothing to do with me.'」
To look the other way. No harm to her, so pretend it didn't happen.
「'...」
But Senyora is ultimately a good person at heart.
Her conscience couldn't ignore someone falsely accused.
She glanced back one last time.
Thinking she'd take one final look before turning away.
...And what Senyora would see?
A sight that poked at a corner of her heart, stirring a sense of kinship.
"It's really a misunderstanding...! I can show you everything I have on me right now!"
"I understand you must be flustered. But we're detecting a massive amount of mana from you."
"That's...!"
"So I just want to run a quick check. For your own sake, to prove your innocence."
The policeman's words made sense.
His reasons for suspecting her were justified, and his attitude wasn't rude at all.
If she was truly innocent, a short investigation of just a few hours would clear her.
Even so, even if there was nothing to find, being suspected was unpleasant.
So she tried to argue back and plead her case again.
...She couldn't.
As she opened her mouth once more, she saw the gazes pouring toward her.
Gazes that treated her dire situation like mere entertainment.
And hostile glares already assuming she was guilty.
They came at her from all sides. So heavily.
In the end, she had no choice but to shut her mouth.
Head bowed, she could only hope to escape this situation.
「"Ahh..."」
Senyora couldn't just stand by and watch.
Because she'd been through it herself. Because it had hurt so much back then.
Because this was the last time she could help.
She turned her steps around again. And walked forward.
To do what needed to be done.
"Phew..."
Done. The most important part is finished.
Now, what next? Senyora takes the lead, guiding Karen and the police to investigate.
No need to show the process in detail.
Just skip ahead appropriately.
Show a bit of the chase, but more importantly, the reactions from those around.
First, Karen's wary reaction toward Senyora.
「"Um... Could I maybe get checked out now, at least?"」
And the policeman... Hmm... Let's name him.
Your name is John from now on. He was supposed to take Karen's place originally.
John will just be a good guy. Mental support role.
「"No. If we've found the culprit, we have to check it out first."」
And now, during the investigation, show more of Karen's charm and have her open up to Senyora—that episode...!
This is tough. My head's starting to hurt...
"Stop... Stop...!"
I've done enough! Time to rest!
I'll write more later or tomorrow—stopping here for now!
"Ranyori!!"
"Nyaaang...?!"
I burst out the door. Headed to the living room.
Target: Ranyori.
Since I'd been holed up in my room writing, Ranyori was lounging on the sofa with a sulky expression.
...Until just now, that is.
As I charged toward her at full speed, Ranyori's face lit up with surprise.
She tried to jump up, but I got there first.
"What what what! What's thisss!"
I grabbed her under both arms and hoisted her up.
You know that famous photo? The one where you lift a cat by putting your hands under its armpits(?).
I did that, but spun her around to face me. Ranyori dangled in midair.
Not a cat, but a cat beastkin—it came out looking pretty similar.
She didn't stretch like taffy, but kinda drooped long and limp.
Her tail was thrashing wildly. Cute.
"Let's play...!"
"Huh? Huh?! What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"I wanna rest! I don't wanna stay cooped up in my room anymore!"
"Ooooh...! What's this, what's this!"
Ranyori's eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation.
"What're we gonna play?"
"Anything! Let's do something!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
"...Really?"
"No, not anything."
"Why change your mind?"
"Guess I lost my mind for a sec."
"I'm super disappointed in you now, Aren...!"
"Spare me."
That was close. Saying "anything" is dangerous...
Managed to cling to my sanity. I set Ranyori back down.
And she still looks mad...
"Aren, you've been messing with me nonstop lately, huh?"
"Why?"
"You started it! I was holding back!"
"Can't you just keep holding back?"
"Till when! How long!"
"Usually you hold back all the way."
"Nyaaak!"
"Calm down, calm down."
I urgently prescribed some head pats with her lying on my lap, and only then did Ranyori finally settle.
"Uhheum~"
"Feels good...?"
"Yeah!"
"Don't most people hate getting their hair messed up?"
"Why? Ranyori doesn't know about that."
"Like, it gets all tangled."
"Don't get clever—just pet me."
"Got it."
"Heheeng~"
She likes it. Every time my fingers brushed her ears, she giggled like it tickled.
...Come to think of it, she said her ears were sensitive before?
Good chance to observe. Could be useful material.
"...Ugh, I just got chills for some reason."
"Cold?"
"Not that... Did you just have a weird thought, Aren?"
"No way."
"I feel a creepy stare..."
"I'm just looking straight ahead?"
"Your hand movements feel weird now-"
"Now you're making it sound like I'm doing something shady."
I think I've seen heroines in rom-coms say lines like that during massages.
But what we're doing is totally all-ages.
"Hmph... For real? You promise?"
"I swear on the heavens."
"...Okay!"
My heavens came crashing down today.
Oh! This'll make great material!
I'll use it in the novel later!
「"Heaven's wrath...! Please!!"」
"So, what now?"
"Haven't thought of anything."
"I didn't expect you out this soon either, so no plans."
"Then let's head out. Staying home's getting boring."
"Never thought I'd hear that from you, Aren! Awesome!"
We went outside. Strolled around slowly.
Ranyori seemed thrilled to be out with me after so long, frolicking about.
She'd dart off here and there, then come back to me walking leisurely, repeating the cycle.
I figured we'd spend the day quietly like this.
And reality always subtly defies expectations.
"Ah, ow ow..."
"You okay?"
"Sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Watch where you're going...!"
Right now, before my eyes: Ranyori sweating bullets and apologizing profusely.
And on the ground, a silver-haired girl who had fallen.
The notable thing? The girl's ears were pointed.
An elf.