Killed Again, Mr. Detective Volume 1 Case 1 Chapter 2 part 1

Volume 1

Case 1: Queen Irie Class Murder Incident

Chapter 2 I’m telling you I no' wanna die (Part 1)

TLed by: TanoshiKara

After the circus performance finishes, the people exchange their own opinions on it as they head back into the ship.

As I looked to find out what Katsuragi was doing, he too was about to leave his seat.

At that time, Lilithea too leaves her seat.

"Well then, Lilithea, proceed as planned"

"Alright"

From here on, we will be splitting up temporarily.

Lilithea will, while pretending to be interested in the activities inside the ship, continue observing Katsuragi, and I will casually approach the people related to him to probe about what he is like every day and his disposition. Splitting up the task of information gathering, much like a detective and his assistant.

"Be sure not to lose yourself to the temptations of all the gaudy activities" I say half-jokingly.

"From the bottom of my heart, as well as from beyond, that is vexing" She replied as she narrowed her eyes.

From the bottom, or from beyond, which is it?1

"Certainly with activities such as shopping, movie watching, and gambling at the casino. The inside of the ship at night is full of entertainment, but those are merely for my camouflage. Lilithea will never lose to such temptations"

"Lilithea, that is an excellent attitude for an assistant. However, it would have been even better if you had not hidden that ship interior pamphlet, which has signs of being read until it is crumpled, behind your back while saying that"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Anyway, be careful" I nonchalantly say to her as we part ways.

"......Please be careful as well Sakuya" She replies in an unexpectedly straightforward way.

I could not laugh at such an uncharacteristic seriousness. That is because I cannot blame her for her choice of words when I look back at everything that happened up until now.

Exchanging looks with Lilithea, I part ways with her and head back inside the ship.

"Well then, I too should, before losing to the temptations, do my work, do my work......oh, before that......"

I turn right and enter the toilet nearby.

How do I put it, I need to be wary of drinking too much tropical juice.

"Phewww......"

A certain ‘tank’ of mine was actually reaching dangerous water levels around the middle of the circus performance so I am glad that I made it in time.

"If my dad were here, he would probably say something absurd like 'A detective should not take their eyes off their target even if they end up leaking everything'"

As the toilet had no prior 'guests', I was able to relax and concentrate on letting out a 'small one'.

"The detective trade is not easy as well......oh," I even mutter a meaningless statement to myself.

"Eek!"

And—, a cute voice resounded all of a sudden in such a place, made by men, that is for men.

I am still not finished with my business here. With my body posture as is, I slowly turn my head to find that a girl has fallen on the tile-covered floor.

"......Eh?"

In front of a person of a different gender, who has shown herself all of a sudden in a male toilet, I no longer had the time for my personal business.

When and where in the world did she appear from? Even though there was no one there several seconds ago. Teleportation? No, there is no way that this is the case. The ceiling had the answer I was looking for.

Right above the girl is a duct large enough for a person to fall through. The lid came off and fell on the floor.

"Kghhhh......! Owie, owie, owie......"

The girl I had not seen before fell from there. Seemingly slamming into the floor when she fell, she rubbed her rump with tears in her eyes.

"Uuu......I guess it does not go like how it is in the movies huh......Ah"

Our eyes met.

"Ah, sorry to intrude......Eerrmm......ummm.....where is this?"

"A male toilet"

"No wayyy!"

I do not quite understand but I am starting to involuntarily feel sorry for this girl.

Turning my back to her, I head for the wash basin and carefully wash my hands.

"Wa-wait! You have it all wrong! You are thinking of leaving this place without agitating anyone right!? I am not peeping! I am not a pervert either! There isss a reason for this......!"

"Calm down"

It is not like I had those thoughts that she was imagining. It is merely an issue regarding etiquette.

"Are you alright? Can you stand? Here, I did wash my hands as you can see"

"Erm......"

"Ahh, I am Sakuya Outsuki. I am not a suspicious person yes. Just a detec-......" I introduced myself in an attempt to ease her of her wariness, but stopped myself halfway through it. Due to the quirk of infidelity investigations, nothing is safer than to hide the fact that I am a detective while I am onboard this ship.

However, such a concern was meaningless.

"By Sakuya......Outsuki-san......are you......a detective?"

"H-how do you know that?"

She already knows of me.

"Just before I fell from above......While I was in that duct, I heard you talking to yourself......the detective trade is not easy as well you said"

"Ahh......"

They say walls have ears but ducts have ears as well.

"Well......if that is the case then that is also fine"

There is no predicting nor is there preventing this sort of incident. What has happened, has happened.

"E-erm......"

For a while, my hand was left there, lonely and outstretched, but the girl finally reached out to grasp it with such force that it was as if she was trying to cling to my hand.

"If that is the case! Are you accepting any job requests!?"

"Re-requests?"

"I would like you to find a cat!"

Another development that is impossible to predict or prevent.

A request? For me, whom she just met? Right in the middle of a male toilet? Amidst this confusion, I look at the girl's face from the front once again.

I came to a sudden realization.

"Huh? Are you not......"

"Please! Mr. Detective!"

I finally realized it.

The girl who grasped my hand was the actress, Yuriu Haigamine.

□

After hurriedly leaving the toilet with that girl, I sat the girl down on a sofa nearby.

"Yuriu Haigamine......san right? As in the actress"

Sitting beside her, I tried confirming once again and, the girl was, as expected and undoubtedly, the very actress Yuriu Haigamine.

"Eh!? Why do you know that!"

The light pink dress with few ornaments suits her well.

"A detective's insight......or so I joke. I have seen photos of you before"

"Wooowzers! For you to know a nameless rookie like me......! I am overjoyed...... Kyuuuun!”

She seems to be experiencing quite the joy.

"So why is someone like you in a duct?"

"I was looking for Lulu-chan...... As I heard a voice coming from the back......I did think that the crew would get mad at me but I went in on the spur of the moment...... But falling there was an accident! The lid fell out all of a sudden......and when I realized, a male toilet......was where I was at......Pft......Ha kek kek!" She started laughing while she was explaining.

"I am sorr......I started laughing when I tried recalling the situation I was in! Ahhhh......I apologize for my rudeness at that time......"

I see, or so I thought. Just then, she suddenly regains her modesty as she lowers her head. A rapid change of emotions.

It is fitting if this were in a Spy movie, but I am surprised that there is a person who would crawl through the ducts in real life

"Searching for a Lost Cat huh. That Lulu you were talking about, is that the name of your cat?"

"That is right. But that is not it"

"......What do you mean?"

"Its name is Lulu-chan but it is not my cat. Lulu-chan is the cat that the producer-san has been doting on. A female Calico cat and......"

"Uh, whose cat is it?" I said, raising my voice unknowingly.

This is quite an unexpected discovery.

"A producer by the name of Katsuragi-san. He is quite the huge cat-lover you know. And so it looks like he took them along for this cruise trip but it seems like one of them ran away"

"That is why you are cat-searching? Were you requested to by that Katsuragi-san?"

"Uh-uh. I just did it on my own"

"You entered the ducts even when you were not requested of? You, are a strange person I see"

"That is because I was worried you know"

The words get caught in my mouth when she says it like this, without any pretense whatsoever.

"But I am in a bind as I cannot find her at all...... That is why I thought to ask for your help. Sorry for the suddenness. Mr. Detective was there when I fell so I could not help my zeal!"

"Don’t request something with the same zeal as your fall" I retorted indifferently.

"Ha kek kek!" Yuriu, unexpectedly, laughed, seemingly enjoying herself.

She seems to be quite on board with this.

A sudden request that is literally as sudden as her fall from the duct, but swiftly finding the cat and bringing it to Katsuragi would allow me to instantly get in contact with him, and would, furthermore, allow me to rid him of his wariness; A necessity. The investigation thereafter will also be way smoother. Not bad at all.

"Alright, I understand. I shall accept that request. I just have to search for Lulu yes?"

"Thank you very much!"

"I will have you properly reward me of course"

All things are a give-and-take, or so I said matter-of-factly, to which her eyebrows drooped. If she were a dog, it would instead be both of her ears right about now.

"Reward......Is it money? Ah, erm......I have not been selling at all so I do not have much money on hand though......"

"That suree is troubling. That is right, then let us do it this way. If we manage to find the cat, then I will have you become my friend as my reward. How about it?"

"Oh? Will something like that be alright?"

"Uh-huh. This is my maximum compromise"

A lie of course. This reward was my aim from the start. If I get along well with Yuriu, I will also be able to ask her various things regarding Katsuragi.

"I will be happy to if that is the case!"

"The negotiation is a success. Well then, let us quickly search for the cat"

"Yes! I shall guide you to the place where I last saw Lulu-chan. Master! This way!"

"Yeah............no, wait a moment. What do you mean by Master?"

Well then, let us depart, or so I thought in my mind. However, the wind was taken out of my sails at that very moment.

"Ah, have you realized just as I expected?"

"I have no recollection of taking on a disciple like you though"

"Actually, ermmm, I......want to be a detective!"

"......Wanting a change of occupations? Because you have sensed the limits of your path as an actress this early on?"

"No, that's wrong! If anything, it's the opposite! I want to learn the trade for my acting"

"In all honesty, this is the first time I have been chosen to be the lead actress for a movie but......the role I am acting in is a detective"

"I see"

"Have you not heard this before? Uzura the Female High School Detective!"

First time hearing it. However, there sure is a weird name for a detective out there. Will that movie be fine?

"However everything was a first for me so I was troubled over how I should prepare for the role...... Even so, I still did not quite understand it in the end so I thought, 'What if I just acted like a detective in my everyday life?'"

"Acting like a detective to prepare for your role huh. Aha, that is why you adamantly went out of your way to search for the producer's cat"

"It is embarrassing......but, it is true that I am worried!"

"You got to know a detective at such a time so you enthusiastically volunteered to be a disciple?"

"Ug......is thatt......a no?"

Well, thinking about it, if it is searching for lost items inside the ship, it will be fine to leave it to the ship's crew and there is no need to search on your own. Even given that the person is kind, it is weird for the person to search for a cat, out of kindness alone, until they have spider webs all over.

"That movie is based on a deduction novel and, it seems like there are plans for a serialization if the ratings among watchers are good! But, they will not continue if it does not do well and......I think that surely a rookie like me, without any experience even in studying acting, will not be able to get an offer in the future. So......I absolutely want it to be successful! I will not get in your way. On the contrary, I will prove to be useful so!"

"Hmmmmm......"

Even if she said all those kinds of things all of a sudden, I am honestly at a loss. I have no courage to shoulder her life either.

However, I do not have the conviction to turn her down with, "Having a rookie hanging around will get in the way of my job. I do nottt need a burden", after being clung on this hard.

"Please!"

1 - In the earlier sentence, Lilithea says 'from the bottom of my heart' (心の底から) [ko|ko|ro| no |so|ko| ka|ra), 心 (ko|ko|ro) meaning heart and 底 (so|ko) meaning bottom in this context, which is pretty literal, and 'vexing' (心外 [shi|n|ga|i]), which is metaphorical in this context. As 心外 can also mean the exterior of the heart, the author is making a joke by using two words that refer to different places of the heart leading to this question here.

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Note that the copyright of the image in the chapter belongs to its respective owners and was uploaded to ensure that readers experience the translation as they would if they were reading the chapter in the book itself.

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Feel free to comment/pm me if you find any mistakes. Wishing everyone who is fasting all the best! Many thanks for reading, I hope that you enjoyed the 1st part of the 2nd chapter.