The Detective Agency's New Faces
When a phrase straight out of a doomsday cultist's mouth suddenly flew from Seong-il's lips, Luphtesia stared back at him in open bewilderment. To calm him down, she pulled out the carrot and continued in a soothing tone.
"Ten times a month!!"
"...Huh?"
"Exactly what I said! Ten times per month. In other words, about a third of every month you sleep with me—no, you live with me!! You'll have to let me do every sexual play I want!! Only then will I accept this deal."
"......Oh my god."
"What??"
"That's seriously all you want?? You're not joking??"
"Nope. If I can make a beauty like you mine, that much risk seems worth considering, doesn't it?"
"Haha..... Our partner really is something else, aren't you?"
"So, are you accepting or not?"
"If those are the only conditions, why would I refuse? Even if you asked for more than half my entire fortune, I'd have no reason to say no."
"Good. Then starting from today—"
"No way!"
Luphtesia cut him off sharply, clearly refusing. At her words, Seong-il asked in a slightly irritated voice.
"Why? Didn't you just say I made a ton of concessions this time?"
She flashed him a bright smile and answered.
"A lady needs time to prepare herself, you know~ According to the deal, I'll basically be no different from Detective Seong-il's lover..."
"...And?"
"Let's do it after I move. Doing it in a dreary place like this would hurt my pride... Once I've completely decorated my room, I'll let you do whatever you want~"
"Hmm...."
"And!"
"?"
"On moving day~! After we're done moving, we'll use a date as an excuse to go rob the secret room together~!"
"No way....?!"
"That's right~ I left just enough wiggle room with Detective Charlotte so I could borrow Seong-il from her for exactly that reason~"
"You sneaky little—"
The realization that he'd been played made irritation flare up inside Seong-il again. Luphtesia gently stroked his cheek to soothe him.
"Oh my...? I'm basically your woman now, aren't I? Can't you do at least that much for your own girl...? Or do you mean to say...?"
"Uh...."
Seong-il was rendered speechless by her miraculous logic. Seeing his reaction, Luphtesia continued.
"Since things have come to this, why don't you treat me nicely~ Who knows? Maybe I'll reward you again like last time~?"
"What?! For real?!"
"Who knows~ Now, could you leave? I need to change clothes~"
With that, Luphtesia chased Seong-il out of the room and firmly shut the door behind him. The moment the door closed, Seong-il felt his head growing tangled with complications. He quietly descended to the first floor and approached Charlotte.
Just then.
"Hello there!!"
"Uh...?"
Unexpected visitors had arrived at their office.
"Inspector Lestrade?"
"Haha! Young Seong-il, how have you been?"
"Yes... And you, Inspector?"
"Of course! I've been doing splendidly as well."
While the three of them exchanged pleasantries, Charlotte came down to the reception room. The moment Inspector Lestrade spotted her, he quickly approached and greeted her enthusiastically.
"My goodness! If it isn't the great detective herself! How do you do!!"
"Oh...? Isn't this Inspector Lestrade!! What brings you all the way here...?"
"Haha! I heard that Detective Charlotte has become a special advisor to the Windom Metropolitan Police Department, so I stopped by the office to pay my respects!!"
"Aha!! I see!! But the person next to you is...?"
The constable standing quietly beside Inspector Lestrade, mouth firmly shut and shoulders slightly hunched. Noticing her, the inspector spoke up.
"Constable Irina! What are you doing? You've been completely silent since we arrived!!"
"Ah...! H-hello! I'm Constable Irina! It's an honor to meet you, Detective!!"
"Oho...! Constable Irina, is it...? The honor is all mine as well!!"
A cute beauty with striking red hair and freckles. She seemed so shy that she couldn't even make eye contact with them, keeping her head lowered and fidgeting in place.
'Irina? Who the hell is she...? She's a character I've never seen once in the original work...?'
Even though Seong-il normally lost his mind over beautiful women, the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar face made him tense up as he pondered.
"Anyway, what brings the two of you here today!!!"
When Charlotte boomed out the question, Inspector Lestrade smiled warmly and answered.
"Yes! Since Detective Moriarty has become our department's special advisor, we've come to introduce her liaison officer and establish a direct hotline. From now on, Constable Irina here will be the official contact for the Moriarty Detective Agency. We look forward to working closely with you!"
"Aha~! Nice to meet you!! Constable Irina!!"
While Charlotte greeted her warmly, Seong-il broke out in a cold sweat, his mind racing.
'Fuck... This is bad. In the original story, the liaison was definitely Detective Arthur Dane. Why the hell did it suddenly change to Constable Irina?'
Seong-il grew extremely tense at this abrupt change in personnel. Since he couldn't figure out why the game world had twisted like this, he continued sweating coldly while trying to make sense of it.
'This is weird. Yuna has no connection to the police department, so training her shouldn't have caused any problems!'
'Then... did what I did with Luphtesia at the Aibek family estate twist the game's story this badly?'
'No... That was still following the story's flow. There's no way that alone would cause this. It doesn't make any sense??'
As Seong-il stood there silently, his face growing pale, Inspector Lestrade approached him.
"Young Seong-il! Why are you standing there in a daze?"
"Ah...? Y-yes...?"
"The reason Constable Irina is here as the liaison is actually because of you, young Seong-il!! Hahaha!!"
"What?? Suddenly??"
At that, Constable Irina turned bright red and hung her head. While Seong-il stood there completely lost, Inspector Lestrade began to explain.
"Do you remember a few days ago, during the operation to stop the theft of the 'Delon's Eye' at the Aibek ducal estate, when Phantom Thief Luphtesia used a smoke bomb?"
"Yes? Y-yes..."
"At that time, one of our constables mistook you for Luphtesia and clung to you. Do you remember?!"
"Yes... There was one male constable who kept sticking to me persistently...."
"Um... The constable who clung to you wasn't a man. It was the young lady standing right here—Constable Irina!"
"....."
"It seems Constable Irina was deeply impressed by your martial prowess that day. She's quite well-known in the Windom Metropolitan Police for her hand-to-hand combat skills, but apparently getting knocked unconscious by a single punch from you during the 'Delon's Eye' defense operation left quite an impression!"
Seong-il felt goosebumps rise all over his body at the inspector's words. He looked at Constable Irina and tried to apologize.
"Hic...! I-I'm sorry..."
"Not at all! Assistant Detective Seong-il!! That intense strike I experienced that day!! As a martial artist before being a constable, I was truly moved!!"
"Ah... Yes..."
"So, um...."
With her face still flushed, Constable Irina kept her head down as she spoke to him.
"Yes?"
"If... if you have time later... could I possibly ask you for martial arts instruction or sparring...?"
"...."
"I-If it's inconvenient, you can refuse! If my request makes you uncomfortable, we can bring Detective Arthur Dane, who was originally supposed to be the hotline officer, so you can just forget I—"
"No, it's fine. I'll do it. It's not that difficult anyway.."
"Really?!"
Looking at Constable Irina as he nodded, Seong-il thought to himself.
'Fuck... Just because I smacked one person that day, the liaison officer changed. Should I consider this a good thing or a bad thing...?'
His reason urged him to change the liaison back to 'Detective Arthur Dane' to keep the story as close to the original as possible, just as he'd planned in reality, but...
'Goddamn it. That bastard Arthur Dane is the one who ends up fucking Charlotte during the "The Club" event later... There's no way in hell I'm letting that son of a bitch have her.'
'Besides, Irina here is seriously hot!!! That vivid red hair and those freckles are incredibly attractive...'
'Sigh..... Fuck it!!'
In the end... Seong-il ignored the signals from his brain and faithfully followed the instincts coming from between his legs.
"You're welcome to spar with me anytime! Constable Irina!! I'd love to experience the unique martial arts developed independently by the Metropolitan Police."
At his words, Irina's face turned even redder as pure joy spread across it. She nodded vigorously and answered.
"Thank you!! Thank you so much!! You promise, right?!"
"Yes, yes!!"
Watching the two of them, Inspector Lestrade gave a wry smile and spoke to Irina.
"Constable Irina! We're here on official business today!! No matter how interested you are in young Seong-il's martial arts, you mustn't forget your duty!!"
"Ah!! Yes sir!! I'm sorry, Inspector!!"
Charlotte stepped in to mediate as she watched them.
"Oh come now~ Don't be so strict!!! If Constable Irina can become an outstanding martial artist like Seong-il!! She'll become a valuable asset to Windom... no, to the entire kingdom!! Isn't that a good thing?!"
"Haha!! Indeed!! As expected of the great detective, your foresight is truly impressive!! Hahaha!!"
"You think so? Ohohohohohohohoh!!"
While Seong-il watched the pair with a dumbfounded expression, a lovely voice suddenly drew everyone's attention.
"Hello...?"
"...?"
The entire group turned toward the source of the beautiful voice at once. Before them stood a breathtakingly beautiful woman wearing a simple maid uniform.
"Oh... Pardon me, miss, but you are...?"
"Yes... My name is Elysia. Starting today, I'll be working at the Moriarty Agency as both a maid and an office assistant."
"Aha!! I see. I am Inspector Lestrade. This young lady beside me is Constable Irina!"
"Ah~ Are you perhaps related to the police hotline...?"
"Yes!! That's correct. How did you know...?"
"Hehe.. Because I'm actually the one in charge of the hotline..! Since both Detective Moriarty and Seong-il are often out in the field, they needed a stable point of contact with the Metropolitan Police. That's why I was hired this time."
"Ah, I see! It's an honor to meet you, mademoiselle~"
'Fucking sleazy bastard.'
At the word "mademoiselle," Seong-il nearly gagged and shot Inspector Lestrade a dirty look. Whether he noticed or not, the inspector put on his most charming expression and continued cozying up to her.
"Hehe...! Since you'll be in regular contact with our Windom Metropolitan Police from now on...! I must ask you to treat us well! If you ever have any problems, please don't hesitate to come find this Inspector Lestrade!!"
"Oh my~ Thank you! Inspector."
'That woman is the Phantom Thief Luphtesia who's made a fool of you dozens of times, you pathetic idiot...'
Seong-il sighed as he watched Inspector Lestrade fawn over his arch-nemesis with sleazy compliments. Noticing his expression, Luphtesia gave a small smile and smoothly changed the subject.
"Oh my~ Speaking of which, what kind of maid doesn't serve tea when guests arrive? If you'll all wait just a moment, I'd like to bring some tea and pie. How does that sound...?"
"It would be an honor! Mademoiselle."
'Fuck, she's young enough to be your daughter. Stop acting like such a creep, old man!'
Seong-il found Inspector Lestrade's behavior toward the beautiful Elysia utterly pathetic. Apparently Constable Irina felt the same, because she began tugging at the inspector's sleeve to stop him.
"Inspector..! Detective Moriarty is right here, so maybe you should..."
"Ah...!!"
Reminded of his original purpose by Irina's warning, Inspector Lestrade's face instantly turned red. He cleared his throat and turned back to Charlotte.
"Ahem, ahem... A-anyway. Since Constable Irina and I will be the hotline officers for the Moriarty Detective Agency, we look forward to continued communication and cooperation, Detective Moriarty."
"Ohohohoh!! Of course!! Don't you worry!! Inspector!!"
After spending quite some time flattering each other, they enjoyed the tea and pie that Elysia brought out, strengthened their new relationship, and finally returned to the police station.
"Whew... That was like a storm passing through."
"Ohohohoh!! It certainly was! Seong-il!!"
"Is this a good thing...?"
"Of course it is!! What could be better than the police department sending their liaison officers right after we establish the hotline!! Now!! Since today is such a happy occasion, how about we all go out for a meal? My treat!!"
At her words, Elysia smiled brightly.
"Wow~ Really? I want to eat something delicious!"
"Ohohohoh! Then today we'll go wherever Elysia wants to eat!!"
"Sia."
"Yes...?"
"I'd like it if you called me Sia~ Detective!"
"Ooh... A nickname? What a beautiful name!"
"Hehe..! Thank you~"
Watching the harmonious scene between Charlotte and Luphtesia, Seong-il thought to himself.
'Fuck.. Ever since Explosive Murim, it feels like my game world has been twisted beyond all recognition. Back in Explosive Murim it was a fake Taoist, the Lust Demon, and a bunch of demonic cultists... and now here it's double agents, an idiot detective, and a phantom thief crew...'