Faint but Sufficient
"Rumors about the hero?"
Serena, her earlier crumpled expression completely erased, fixed the customer seated before her with sharp eyes as she asked that question. The customer quietly nodded.
"Mm... which rumors about the hero are you referring to?"
Serena shot her a slight sideways glance before lowering her voice a touch and asking. The customer replied in a low tone.
"Just rumors about the hero."
"Just the hero... so excluding the 'Money Hero', and um..."
Serena's eyes widened as she rifled through the files stacked in front of her. Keeping her gaze fixed on them, she tossed out a casual question.
"Ah, but how do you know Perloché?"
"Is that really necessary?"
"Ahaha, sorry. Occupational hazard."
The customer stared at Serena and fired back boldly, prompting a smile from her as she replied. The customer hesitated, eyes wary, before speaking.
"We've met a few times at the hospital and orphanage."
"A few times? But if you got a letter of recommendation, there must've been some big incident that brought you close?"
Serena's eyes gleamed as she pressed in.
"Sorry. It's a personal matter between the Saintess and me, so I'd rather not share."
"...Ah."
Serena nodded with a hint of regret, but the customer drew a firm line. She glanced sidelong at Perloché's invitation letter beside her.
Recommendation(?) Letter!
I, Perloché, guarantee this child's divine word? And introduce her to the detective agency......
"I see..." Serena trailed off, murmuring as she eyed the letter.
"So, do you know the rumors?"
"Ah, yes, of course."
The customer eyed Serena dubiously and prodded. She propped her chin on her hand and spoke.
"It's a rumor spreading rapidly through the imperial family and church lately. All the high-ranking officials who need to know already do."
"Mm..."
"And you seem to know a fair bit yourself."
As Serena narrowed her eyes and stared, the customer quietly pulled her hood tighter.
"Fascinating magic. I can't even peer inside that robe. First time for everything..."
"Ahem."
Serena gazed at her curiously, but as the customer shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat, she turned back to her files.
"Do you want to share the rumors and info I know? Or commission further investigation?"
After rummaging through the files for a while, Serena peeked over them at the customer.
"Both."
"Hmm... got it."
Serena nodded, tidying the scattered files.
"But did you bring the fee?"
She tilted her head quizzically.
"Advances are needed for investigations, and info sharing is a transaction too, so..."
"Foolish human. You'll return it later anyway—why even ask?"
"...Shh."
Serena clamped Miho's mouth shut as she grumbled from the side.
"A sufficient amount is required... oh."
Her eyes widened at the pouches of gold coins on the desk.
"That looks plenty."
Serena quietly gathered the pouches, spread out her organized files, and began.
"First, do you know the prophecy from 1,000 years ago foretelling the hero's appearance, and the 'Commoner Dormitory Raid' that officially announced the Demon King's arrival?"
"Yes."
"Then you know about the 'Slave Market Raid' to some extent?"
The customer frowned briefly before replying curtly.
"Everything."
"Hmm."
Serena crossed her legs slightly, eyeing her.
"So why would someone so capable come to a detective agency and buy info?"
A faint smile played on her lips as she asked.
"Why indeed?"
The customer replied in her usual flat tone.
"To confirm with my own eyes if you actually have the skills and if you're trustworthy."
"........."
A brief silence fell over the reception room.
"Amusing... you."
Serena murmured with a smile more delighted than ever, staring piercingly at the customer's face, obscured by the faint leaking light.
"The hero first appeared at the slave market raid. He burst in wearing armor called the 'Hero's Armament'."
"Yes."
"He clashed with the Demon King's forces there, won, but for some reason didn't reveal his identity and vanished."
The customer frowned as Serena tapped her files and continued.
"That's the commonly known story. Though most commoners don't even realize it was the hero."
"You know the gist."
"...This is pretty high-level info, you know?"
The customer leaned forward.
"That's all?"
"No, there's more. After vanishing, the hero secretly contacted the imperial family and church somehow, proving he was the hero."
"Mm."
"No idea how, but the 'hero' is now somewhat recognized by the elite. Once the upcoming 'Verification Ceremony' ends, he'll be officially announced to the world."
Serena stared pointedly at the customer.
"So, that's it?"
"Pardon?"
"Is that all your info?"
The customer crossed her arms.
"...Pretty much?"
Serena shrugged. The customer sighed shortly, head bowed, muttering.
"Not as much as I hoped... What now? I have to protect the hero somehow..."
"Not info, but... I have a personal hunch."
"Pardon?"
Serena spoke softly to her.
"The hero active now is a fake."
Her voice carried near certainty as she watched the customer's reaction intently.
".....!"
A faint tremor caught Serena's eye.
"Hmph..."
Serena snorted knowingly.
"...How did you know?"
The customer asked in a trembling voice.
"D-did you deduce it? Another informant? Or..."
"Hehe, who knows."
Serena smiled quietly, thinking to herself.
'Among the people I know, there's one who will definitely awaken as the hero in the end.'
".....?"
'Probably.'
Her mind filled with the silhouette of the man she loved—the only one spared by her erased memories—until the customer's puzzled voice snapped her back.
"Excuse me?"
"Can we consider my skills proven?"
"Y-yes."
"Then, will you commission me?"
"Yes! I'll give you all my info—investigate everything about the 'hero'!"
Serena chuckled at the excited customer as she packed away the files.
"Anything else you want?"
"Ah, right."
The customer rummaged in her pouch.
"This... I want to find its owner. Possible?"
What she handed Serena was...
"This is..."
Shimmering buttons, shattered and attached to scraps of white fabric.
"Where'd you get this? And why find the owner?"
"Uh... hard to explain... um..."
The broken buttons bore the faint imprint of Sunrise Academy's seal—achingly familiar to Serena.
"This seems like an academy uniform..."
"Do you know the Money Hero by any chance?"
"Pardon?"
"I-I secretly tore his clothes... um, how to explain this?"
Serena stared harder at the mumbling, head-scratching customer, her expression sharpening.
"........."
Deep silence settled over the reception room for a time.
......
Time passed, evening arriving.
"Then, looking forward to working with you."
"Yes, take care."
Serena bid farewell to the customer leaving the reception room.
"Haa..."
She slumped onto the sofa, sighing deeply, and popped a stick candy into her mouth.
"Human, stop eating sweets. Your teeth'll rot."
"...Sweets are essential for brainwork."
Serena closed her eyes tightly, sucking on the candy.
"You were weird today."
"Pardon?"
"Why didn't you brag about deducing the client like usual?"
"......"
Miho tilted her head. Serena quietly removed the candy and fell silent.
"Couldn't figure out her identity this time? Even I couldn't—she was oddly hard to see..."
"...Didn't want to poke unnecessarily."
"...?"
Serena drummed her fingers on the desk, murmuring.
"Even you couldn't see through her—it's too suspicious."
"Bragging again, human."
"Couldn't analyze her with the detection spell Irina and I devised... what kind of person is she...?"
"....."
Ignoring Miho, Serena muttered. Miho stared, then tilted her head.
"So basically, you couldn't brag 'cause you couldn't deduce her?"
"...Couldn't deduce her? Not at all."
Serena frowned slightly.
"She's a short teenage girl, orphan who lived rough. But she has family to support—maybe a sibling—and a fiancé or someone equivalent. And that man is probably the Money Hero."
She popped the candy back in.
"Wh-what? How'd you get that?"
Miho, now trusting Serena's deductions after seeing clients' shocked reactions, asked.
"Hiding her build with the hood was smart. But she couldn't hide the worn creases and wrinkles from frequent use."
Serena crunched the candy and explained.
"Judging by the robe's shape, she's a skinny kid whose head reaches about my chest."
"Oh..."
"Voice muffled, but not perfectly. Tone and speech suggest post-puberty—teen at least."
"Really? I couldn't tell..."
Miho's eyes sparkled, then curiosity struck.
"So, the orphan part?"
"Simple. She took all the candies I set out as snacks. Someone that rich grabbing them all? Street kids always stockpile when they can."
"...But I grab them sometimes too?"
"Hint in the gold pouch too. Matches the ones the Money Hero gave street kids earlier this year."
As Miho tilted her head, Serena continued.
"Saved by the Money Hero, escaped poverty. Parents wouldn't let a kid carry that much cash, so no parents."
"But you said she has family to support?"
"She ate only unsweetened snacks, no sugar in the bitter tea. But took the candies—that means someone needs them."
"Could be a friend..."
"Street kids don't make friends easily, and sharing? Instinctively avoid it. Everyone's a rival for food."
Serena paused for breath, then resumed.
"Maybe different now, but grabbing all the candy was unconscious. That ingrained? Sick sibling or older sib fits."
"I-I don't get it. Head hurts."
"If picking one, younger sibling—higher priority. But that's probability; skip it."
Serena eyed Miho clutching her aching head and pressed on.
"Ring on left ring finger. Young, might not know meaning—but it's polished shiny, so she does."
"Left ring finger? Ring? Meaning?"
"Worn money pouch she still carries, trembling voice on Money Hero, crucially commissioning me to find him."
She snapped the candy stick.
"Her fiancé—or at least promised one—is the Money Hero."
"Ooh..."
Miho clapped, mouth agape at the conclusion.
"That's why I didn't show off—or deduce—in front of her."
"...Huh?"
"Most of it's sensitive family stuff..."
Serena's expression grew grave.
"...And she might be dangerous."
"Why?"
"A mid-teen orphan girl with that scary power? Obvious."
Miho finally grasped the gravity, looking uneasy. Serena's eyes flashed.
"But... maybe not danger. Could be hope."
"Wh-what?"
"...Nothing. Time to prep the investigation."
Serena stood abruptly.
"...So, what first?"
"Well..."
About to answer smoothly, she froze.
"Uh..."
"D-date... I wanna go on a date... Gotta use the 101 ways to turn a man's heart I read all month... and..."
"Haa..."
Miho sighed deeply at the stammering, timid Serena reverting to her crumpled self.
"...Humans are weird."
......
Meanwhile...
"Mm..."
Glare, emerging from the detective agency, murmured.
"So these buttons..."
Days ago, beside the collapsed Ruby, she'd targeted the Money Hero's robe as he rushed from the orphanage—accidentally ripping them off with her power.
She gazed at the shimmering buttons.
"...From a Sunrise Academy uniform?"
In the dim alley, she emitted a faint glow.
"How to get into the academy?"
Faint, but sufficient to drive back the alley's darkness.