Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Battle of Nerves
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"...Quick, explain."
"Y-Yes, sir."
I could feel my subordinate glancing at me nervously.
Did I look that pissed off? But now wasn't the time to worry about that.
Something was definitely off.
That face back then. That smile.
It was the grin of someone utterly convinced they wouldn't get caught.
Most innocent suspects aren't that bold in a situation like that.
People who haven't been through it mock them for panicking, but that's just bravado from the inexperienced.
If you actually get dragged into a case you didn't commit and treated like a suspect, you panic hard.
You're prone to all sorts of anxiety symptoms.
...But what about her?
No anxiety—just a confident smile.
A voice brimming with certainty that no matter what, she wouldn't get caught.
Of course, like I told my subordinate yesterday, she might not be the culprit.
But she was suspicious. Way too suspicious.
That demeanor—like she knew the real criminal would get nabbed—kept circling in my mind.
"The suspect is a 38-year-old male, Erio Oland. His ability is Replication. He can use the ability of anyone he's seen for one day."
"And he copied her ability with that?"
"Yes. Perfect ability for framing someone else, huh?"
If that guy's the culprit, like my subordinate said...
Then everything fits.
It means none of it was coincidence—it was all deliberate.
Not that the crime happened to occur where she was by chance, but that he orchestrated it that way.
Even drawing the spider could be seen as intentional, to pinpoint the culprit easily.
I'd have to investigate the motive in detail, but further probing would be tough now that he's caught.
It made sense. It lined up perfectly.
But a sense of unease washed over me. Even though I understood it was the answer.
"...Why didn't they tell us?"
"Huh?"
"This was our case. Why did I have to find out from the news that the culprit was caught?"
"...Uh, well. He turned himself in..."
"Turned himself in?"
"Yes. Said he got scared of retaliation. Figured he'd rather survive in prison than vanish without a trace at the hands of Übermensch. That's his statement."
"Ha. Ridiculous."
What nonsense.
After butchering that many villains, the death penalty was a given.
Executions do factor in public opinion to some extent, so actually carrying it out might not happen since he killed villains.
Public sentiment would be that he deserved to kill those scumbags.
...But would the victims' side really do nothing?
There are countless cases of people who picked fights with villain organizations dying mysteriously in prison.
Wardens cover it up, but it's a den of criminals anyway.
A couple deaths? Just one crook killing another, adds to the sentence—nobody cares much.
"He butchered that many and thinks he'll survive in prison? No way."
"...You're right."
Blood feuds washing away blood would happen.
They're criminals anyway. Plenty don't care about extra time.
Those types would kill without hesitation if the precedent's there.
He'd be a cold corpse soon enough.
Doesn't he know? No, he must.
A big organization like that has members in every prison. Survival's impossible.
And that's not all.
Even if he somehow survives prison, if he'd stayed quiet, Arte Isis would've been the prime suspect.
Why turn himself in?
"What's wrong? Normally, you'd brush it off and move to the next case."
"...It's too suspicious. Something's up."
A villain killing villains.
Culprit caught? Should just move on.
But her face lingered in my mind.
"I told you—villains who love showing off thrive on throwing investigations into chaos and reveling in it, right?"
"Yes, you did."
"Yeah. They get off on that stuff."
The oddities weren't just one or two.
Her tone and expression—like she knew the culprit would get caught.
Suspicious to the point of confusion, confounding moves.
Case closed without coming to us investigators.
And the culprit framed Arte Isis... then suddenly surrenders?
...Too suspicious.
"Get me more on Arte Isis."
"Huh? But the culprit confessed... You think she's the real one?"
"Yeah. So get more, quick!"
"But... our authority's revoked. Investigation's over; we can't probe her."
-Thud!
Frustration boiled over; I slammed the desk hard.
Seeing my startled subordinate, I felt a twinge of guilt. Hit too hard?
"Fine. I'll investigate personally."
"Y-Yes...?! But...!"
"I know, it's dangerous. But what can you do about something this fishy?"
Someone surrendered to throw the investigation off.
That thought swirled in my head.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "This is a problem."
[Huh? What is?]
"That guy from yesterday. You heard Teacher, right?"
[Oh, oh! That cool guy!]
...Cool guy, huh.
Regardless of looks, he's just an annoying obstacle to me right now.
After class, Teacher slyly pulled me aside and told me.
He'd asked to meet me the next afternoon.
With the culprit already caught, wanting to talk means it's obvious. She still suspects me.
I accepted since refusing would've looked guilty...
Why? Why suspect me?
We tossed one guy to confess, didn't we? Culprit's out; what's left to suspect?
...It's my face again? Always feels like I'm the only suspicious one.
"Sigh. I had stuff I wanted to handle with all this free time."
[Stuff to handle?]
"Gotta trim down Übermensch numbers a bit."
[Oh. R-Really...?]
Too many.
Currently, 11 executives, roughly 2,200 members.
At this rate, power inflation will be unmanageable before Yoo Siu clashes with them directly.
So I wanted to cull them appropriately beforehand, but some weirdo latching on makes it a headache.
"Hmm... Should I just kill him...?"
[No way! Academy professor's old friend and a pretty detective? Can't miss out on someone like that!]
"Urgh..."
Problem is, Writer-nim likes him.
She saw something she fancied in her. Dead set against killing.
Even objected to slapping on settings to block interference.
Seems she loves that he's investigating the case.
"Sigh. No helping it."
-Clap clap.
I clapped twice in that refined style brimming with Writer-nim's tastes.
Leashes aren't stylish or whatever.
Poor Laira, conditioned to come at this sound. Well, her ears are sharp, so fine.
Moments later, Laira arrived, purple hair swaying.
"...What?"
"Got another little favor."
"...?"
"You any good at drawing? Nah, doesn't matter if not. You'll get good."
I flashed her a bright smile.
If tossing one guy doesn't clear suspicion, time for another method.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hmm, need something from me again? Heard the culprit's caught."
"Nah, just wanted to apologize."
"Apologize?"
Apologize my ass.
Just an excuse. Probing reactions. Not sorry at all.
"Yeah. Culprit's nabbed now. I was too aggressive back then, so came to say sorry."
"No, it's fine. Culprit wasn't caught yet; couldn't be helped if I was suspected."
She smiled brightly, adding, It's your job to suspect, after all.
"Arte... What a considerate girl... So kind, just like she looks."
Are your eyes okay?
I swallowed the urge to say it.
Friend or not, that was a bit much...
If she looks kind, everyone in the world does.
Typical—way too soft on students.
Love goggles on tight.
"Anyway, that's why I came today. Thanks for understanding."
"No problem. I'm not the culprit, after all."
Conversation over.
...No real gains. Heart alone has limits, as expected.
Bust, huh.
As I let out a small sigh, my phone rang—subordinate.
"Ah, sorry. Quick call."
"Sure, take your time."
Huh? I told them I was meeting here.
Emergency?
Holding the phone to my ear, my subordinate's panicked voice burst through.
[D-Detective Hayul! Big trouble!]
"What? Spit it out. What's up?"
[A-Arachne! Arachne struck! 10 minutes ago, report of a villain chopped up in an alley! Exact same—spider drawn in blood! Threads left behind!]
"What?"
[As expected of Hayul-nim! You knew the caught guy wasn't the real one!]
"..."
[Upper brass in chaos now! W-What do we do?]
My gaze flicked to her.
Red eyes bared, faint smile—like mocking me.
Obviously couldn't hear the call.
...Yet that grin, like everything's going to plan, grated.
"Hold on. Be there soon."
[Y-Yes!]
10 minutes ago—right after Arte Isis got here and we started talking.
...No way.
"Looks like trouble. Better head out."
"...Yeah, gotta go. Thanks for the understanding."
"No problem."
Nah, time to bail first.
No point dragging out this mind game.