Karin Detective Agency
Terastial Academy’s Superior Dorm, Superior Hall main lobby. A group of rather special people had gathered here for various reasons.
“Alright, is everyone here?”
“Yes, Detective Junior.”
Seong Hyun-jin adjusted some mystery glasses he’d procured from who-knows-where and spoke like he was a full-fledged detective. Yeonhui played along with amusement from beside him, puffing up his shoulders with pride.
Serena eyed him with a mix of exasperation before turning to Yeonhui, who had joined them at some point. “…But why are you here, Senior Yeonhui?”
“Junior Hyun-jin said he was going to solve another case, so I wanted to help.”
“I told you to just call me ‘junior,’ but you’re doing the ‘Junior-nim’ thing again.”
“I meant to, but this just feels more natural. Calling you by name makes it feel friendlier, don’t you think?”
“Well, yeah, I guess.”
Seong Hyun-jin looked convinced, and Yeonhui beamed at him. Serena pouted a little at the sight and pointed to another female student nearby instead of Yeonhui.
“Then why’d you bring Clarice Levatein along?”
“Venue provider. Needed a spot for the detective agency.”
It was Clarice Levatein. She shot back at Seong Hyun-jin’s words.
“Not a detective agency—that’s my room.”
“You’re trying to barge into another girl’s room without permission!?”
“Barge? I got explicit permission. Saying it like that makes me sound like some intruder planning to do something shady to Clarice.”
“…I didn’t say it that harshly.”
Serena turned to Clarice. “Why’d you allow it?”
“Didn’t Seong Hyun-jin help me out? I’m grateful, so I permitted it.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Of course, Serena Eldark, I’m deeply grateful to you as well. Without you, not just me, but my entire family would have faced far greater peril.”
“Ah, no…I wasn’t asking for thanks from you too.”
As Serena looked a bit troubled, Clarice affirmed it simply.
“I know. I know you’re not the type. This is just my feeling.”
“W-well, if that’s the case…”
“Nice to see the assistants getting along.”
“…Assistants?”
Seong Hyun-jin nodded. “That’s right. Assistants to this great Seong Hyun-jin Detective.”
“Isn’t that kinda childish…?”
“We’re actually trying to solve a case, so it’s pretty detective-like, right?”
“Exactly, so we should just do whatever Junior wants.”
Yeonhui had been infinitely affirmative to everything Seong Hyun-jin said lately. Serena stared at her, wondering why she was like that, but couldn’t figure it out.
No matter what Serena thought, Seong Hyun-jin declared,
“From now on, this place will be called the ‘Karin Detective Agency.’”
“Why use your master’s name when she’s not even here…”
“Turning my room into a detective agency is one thing, but that name sounds excellent.”
“As expected of Assistant Clarice—you get it!”
Serena realized, watching them, a fact she’d momentarily forgotten. Clarice Levatein was also a fervent admirer of the Sword Star, if not quite to Seong Hyun-jin’s level.
“Then the name’s settled!”
“……But is the name even important? Can’t we just find the culprit?”
“Ahem, a group’s name is crucial for building solidarity.”
“Ah, yes…”
Serena lacked the energy to argue further. Is this what it feels like to talk to an idiot? Of course, Seong Hyun-jin wasn’t actually an idiot, but…
…Is he?
Seong Hyun-jin smirked at her expression. “Shall we drop the jokes here?”
“…So you knew it was a joke?”
“Obviously.”
He took off the glasses. Serena felt oddly disappointed and said,
“You could keep the glasses on a bit longer.”
“Really?”
“…Just because.”
“They suit me?”
“Well, they’re…refreshingly different, I guess.”
As Serena spoke, Yeonhui chimed in from the side. “They suit you well, Junior. You look more intellectual, a nice change from usual—and I like it.”
“Really?”
Seong Hyun-jin took Yeonhui’s words as casual praise, but Serena, overhearing, was shocked—more than a little.
‘A nice change from usual…?’
Did that mean she liked him usually too? Serena couldn’t tell if her thoughts were overblown delusions or if Yeonhui truly meant that. Unaware of her turmoil, Seong Hyun-jin put the glasses back on and got to the point.
“Anyway, to business: we’re catching the perp who’s been ambushing second-years.”
“Ah, I heard about that.”
Clarice recalled the announcement from the acting chief instructor, filling in for the vacant head instructor.
“At first, hearing the description, I thought it was you, Seong Hyun-jin.”
“Yeah, I figured everyone would misunderstand.”
“Our department’s students already think you’re the culprit.”
“……Could you set them straight?”
Seong Hyun-jin let out a disbelieving chuckle. “Why the hell would I suddenly ambush second-years and beat them all down?”
“True enough. So there’s a separate culprit.”
“Obviously…Wait, that sounds like you believed it too?”
“Ahem, no.”
Clarice claimed she’d trusted him from the start.
“I believed you were innocent, Seong Hyun-jin.”
“…Lie without spitting first.”
“……It’s just too similar to you. Impossible not to suspect.”
“Yeah, Serena jumped to conclusions right away too.”
“W-why bring that up!?”
Serena protested, blushing slightly, but Seong Hyun-jin just shrugged like it was fact. Then Yeonhui spoke up.
“I knew from the start it wasn’t you, Junior.”
“As expected of Senior Yeonhui…”
Seong Hyun-jin started to praise her kind heart but paused, sensing something off in her nuance. It wasn’t “believed”—it was “knew”?
“You knew?”
“Ah, yes. I went to the scene.”
“Really?”
Yeonhui nodded. “One of the first incident’s victims is a sister who prays often at the chapel I manage. I heard from her and checked it out.”
“Impressive initiative. So how’d you know it wasn’t me?”
“The perp uses a sword, but the style’s completely different from yours, Junior. I could tell from the sword marks left behind.”
Seong Hyun-jin saw this as an unexpected windfall.
“There were sword marks?”
“Means they had no intention of cleaning up.”
“Yeah, probably the same at other scenes.”
Serena added curiously, “If they don’t want to get caught, they’d clean up, right? Leaving without doing that…”
“Two possibilities: they don’t care if caught, or they’re confident they won’t be.”
Clarice and Serena nodded at that.
“And the attack spots are all over: Academy City, academy walkways, behind buildings, etc.”
“Roaming freely like that means they know the academy layout inside out.”
“Right. First-years still adjusting wouldn’t pull it off. Second reason you’re not the perp, Junior.”
“…I’m really not.”
“Ahaha, I know, Junior. Slipped while explaining.”
Yeonhui laughed it off lightly, but a mischievous glint in her smile tipped Seong Hyun-jin that she was teasing him.
She likes pranks more than I thought.
Cute, so I’ll let it slide.
“Second- or third-year…or maybe staff.”
“Instructors would be recognized immediately. Low chance.”
“Even a student—someone would’ve noticed?”
“An outsider…?”
Putting it all together, Seong Hyun-jin grinned lightly. “Whoever it is, they’ve got guts.”
He shot to his feet and addressed the three. “Now, time to assign missions to my assistants!”
“I thought the detective agency was a joke?”
Serena objected, but Seong Hyun-jin ignored her and issued orders.
“Assistant Serena Eldark, after classes, patrol from the student cafeteria through the boys’ dorm walkway to the girls’ dorm! Time’s flexible, but until curfew!”
“Huh? That’ll take forever!”
“I know you’ve got no friends and just hole up in your room anyway!”
“I do have friends…!?”
Serena denied it vehemently—which basically confirmed it. Clarice and Yeonhui looked at her with pity.
“D-don’t look at me like that!”
Ignoring her, Seong Hyun-jin continued. “Assistant Clarice Levatein, patrol from Superior Hall to Terra Hall. If you spot a suspicious person, don’t engage—report to us immediately.”
Serena, listening, asked, “Seong Hyun-jin, what’s a ‘suspicious actor’?”
“Someone acting shady. Exactly what it sounds like.”
“Oh…got it.”
“This is why you’re illiterate.”
“?”
Serena stared, confused, but Seong Hyun-jin ignored her and turned to Clarice. “Got it, Assistant Clarice Levatein?”
“Understood.”
“Assistant Yeonhui, you’re with me patrolling Academy City.”
“Hold on—why does Senior Yeonhui get to go with you?”
“City’s huge. I don’t know the layout well, but you go to the chapel often, so you do.”
“Hehe, you bet I do.”
Yeonhui nodded, and Seong Hyun-jin declared no take-backs. “It’s decided. No complaints, assistants!”
“……Sigh, one question before we start.”
“What?”
“Like last time, why not ask Senior Ciela for help? She’s not here, so you didn’t tell her?”
Seong Hyun-jin broke into a cold sweat at Serena’s question. Truth was, he wanted to. Her prophecy powers would pinpoint the culprit easily. He’d even gone to her before coming here.
—Senior Ciela, I need a small favor.
—S-sorry, Junior! Busy now—talk later!
—Huh? Classes are over—what’s—
—B-busy!!
Maybe because of that dean’s office incident days ago, Ciela was deliberately avoiding him.
…Was I too intense back then?
He’d shown his affection for his master a bit too openly. At least he realized it himself. Playing it cool, he deflected.
“She said she’s busy.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, so it’s just us…”
Seong Hyun-jin adjusted his glasses. “Hope you all perform your duties well!”
“What’s with that gesture you keep doing…?”
“Don’t detectives do this?”
“?”
Regardless of the process, the so-called Karin Detective Agency’s first operation began. Serena and Clarice started their patrols as planned, while Seong Hyun-jin headed to Academy City with Yeonhui.
“Senior Yeonhui, let’s focus on the city attack sites.”
“Already looked into it. Three incidents in the city so far: the first, second, and most recent.”
“Thorough as always.”
Seong Hyun-jin praised her preparedness, and Yeonhui smiled happily.
“I know the way—follow me.”
“Got it, Senior.”
As Yeonhui said, Seong Hyun-jin trailed after her. After a while, entering a quieter alley, she spoke.
“Boring walk—wanna hear a fun story?”
“What kind?”
“About a girl.”
“Ooh, intriguing.”
Seong Hyun-jin perked up. A girl’s story? Sounded promising, whoever it was about.
“There was a girl forced to leave her hometown far behind. She missed it terribly but could never return.”
“Did beasts destroy it or something?”
Yeonhui smiled lightly instead of answering directly. Seong Hyun-jin took it as a yes.
“She thought she’d never meet anyone from her homeland. Couldn’t even imagine it. With no way home or kin left, she felt so alone.”
“Yeah…”
If beasts wiped it out, survivors would be few—reunion odds slim. Maybe she was the sole survivor.
“But lo and behold, she met a compatriot in the unlikeliest place. Totally unexpected. Who’d think someone to share hometown memories with would appear!”
“Ooh.”
“From that day, the girl overcame her loneliness and found happiness. Luckily, he was a great guy who humored her even when she got clingy. She eased her homesickness and shared long-buried memories—pure joy.”
“Happy ending?”
“Not sure yet. Her story’s ongoing.”
“Huh?”
Seong Hyun-jin eyed her curiously. She smiled prettily in response.
“That’s it?”
“Yep. Boring?”
“Nah…but feels like quitting a game mid-ending.”
“Ahaha…”
Yeonhui chuckled and suggested, “Then why not see the ending yourself?”
“Huh?”
“We’re here, Junior Hyun-jin.”
Before he could ask, Yeonhui announced arrival.
“…Right.”
Something nagged at him, but he focused on the scene. Police tape blocked entry, but viewing from outside sufficed. Sword marks remained for preservation.
“What do you think?”
“Skilled. Uses a katana…same as me.”
“Resembles you a lot. But the style’s quite different, right?”
“Yeah. Heard the perp’s build matches mine…”
Seong Hyun-jin studied the marks, visualizing the swings in his head, then commented briefly.
“For this build, it suits better than my style.”
“Huh?”
“No misunderstanding—it’s not better than Master’s. Just fits this physique more.”
Surprising part: the basics resemble mine closely.
No one learned from his master, so self-taught or from elsewhere—coincidental similarity.
Interesting.
Curiosity about the perp grew.
“So, highly skilled.”
“Explains why second-years got wrecked without a fight.”
Seong Hyun-jin pondered, then murmured to Yeonhui, “One thing’s clear: better catch ’em quick.”
“To minimize victims…”
“Dunno about that—keep this up, more people’ll suspect me.”
“Huh?”
As Yeonhui blinked in confusion, two figures grabbed Seong Hyun-jin’s arms from behind.
“There’s the perp! Culprits always return to the scene!”
“Citizen’s arrest! Comply or we’ll subdue you—come quietly!”
City police. Yeonhui jumped in shock.
“…J-Junior Hyun-jin!?”
“See?”
Seong Hyun-jin smirked at the misunderstanding cops. “Told you I’d keep getting blamed.”