Killed Again, Mr. Detective Volume 1 Case 3 Chapter 1 part 1

Volume 1

Case 3: ?????????

Chapter 1 It is Undoubtedly Embarrassing (Part 1)

TLed by: TanoshiKara

"North......North......"

The torrential rain pelted on the dirty windows.

"North......Where's North? Do you know, Lilithea?"

"It is beside West"

"That's not what I mean"

We were at Little Clones, located in a certain tiny Chinatown street that borders the seas near Yokohama City, a roughly twenty-minute bike ride away from the Outsuki Detective Agency. Built by the oldcomers, the people who took up residence in this place even before the war, they share a tight-knit bond.

The development of the town was abandoned, leaving behind an antiquated scenery that remains to this very day, allowing for this antiquated townscape, unbelievable for one of Japan's, which spanned out before us.

Clones Hotel was built at the edge of such a town.

"Why worry about the cardinal direction of a deceased body? Isn't it a superstition that will never concern Sakuya-sama?"

After putting my baggage in my hotel room, the first thing I did was to find the cardinal directions.

"You know that I avoid standing cardinally North at home as well, right? I am bothered by such things. Ah, is it this direction!? But this sure is troubling... Guess I'll have no choice but to move the bed. Help me out, Lilithea!"

"According to one theory, Feng Shui studies indicate that facing North might even bring good lu......No, rather than that, please take a shower first, Sakuya-sama"

"You sure are bold Lilithea"

"Lilithea didn't say that with that sort of intention! Ahem......You might catch a cold, you know"

It is true that my body is cold as I got drenched in the rain.

"My bad. That was a joke. I thought I should liven things up a little as there has been nothing but bad stuff happening recently"

When I tried to joke with Lilithea, she gripped her skirt, a pained expression on her face.

Lilithea is usually ice-cold and fearless, but her emotions are clear as day depending on the topic. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that she has come to let them show.

She bit her lips, as if she wanted to say something. I felt sorry for her after seeing her like this. I put my hand on that dainty shoulder of hers.

"Don't make that face. Don't worry about me, I'm fine; Fine enough to think about troubling Lilithea with a ridiculous joke, and building the detective agency back up once again"

"Sakuya-sama......"

Lilithea put her hand over mine, a show of her gratitude. She then shut her eyes and rushed into the bathroom as if she wanted to escape this situation.

This was the first time I had seen her like this. However, I, too, have shown many sides I have never shown before during this one month period, so we are even in this regard.

Truly pathetic displays if I do say so myself.

The Undying Detective, Tatsuya Outsuki, has died. He was my dad; Was the president of the Outsuki Detective Agency; Was the world's most adept and leading detective, but—.

The hijacking and crashing of a passenger plane, which occurred in unison with the sinking of Queen Irie, both taking place a month prior, had been etched into the minds of the people as an unprecedented accident. The number of people found deceased continues to rise, and the media continues to cover it even now. The fuselage catching fire caused the identification of every one of the bodies to take time, and the families of the deceased are passing their days with frustration in their hearts.

It had just been a week since it was confirmed that the charred body found at the scene was my dad.

And so, the name Tatsuya Outsuki was officially added to the list of names for the deceased. At the same time, the other detectives who had been working for the agency had left without a word.

They had gathered under the Sun known as Tatsuya Outsuki, so they would leave when that very Sun had gone down. That is only natural. No one could blame any one of them.

And so, all of the detectives had vanished from the Outsuki Detective Agency. The only one left was me—Sakuya Outsuki, a half-baked person who is less than a detective.

Even so, despite that—Lilithea did not leave the agency. She had stayed by my side day after day.

Even after losing the backbone of the company, my dad, and the senior detectives, who were supposed to rejuvenate the agency with me leaving, Lilithea and I have still decided to be strong and live on. After falling into despair for three days, we gave up living with our heads down while grieving and being at a loss.

Half of the reason was that we had grown weary of despairing, the other half being that it was not like there was so little hope that we should despair.

"Do you think that dad of mine would actually die from just that alone?"

"I most certainly do not think so"

That was our common understanding.

The DNA of the charred body matches my dad's? The police's official statement? Those don't matter.

It is because I am his son that I know; Know that my dad is not dead. That is not my dad's dead body. It is something else that has been switched out with my dad's.

That is why I will give nothing up, not when nothing is set in stone. I will, in my own half-baked way, continue with my detective work; I will even protect the agency. That is the place my family will come back to after all.

"Let's do our best, Lilithea"

With a brand new determination in my heart, I called out to my assistant, who was in the bathroom. However, there was no reply.

"......Lilithea?"

I only heard the sound of the shower head and humming in response.

"What happened to that seemingly sorrowful look earlier?"

Also, didn't she say that I should take one first?

"That said, Sakuya-sama sure is amazing for knowing such a strange hotel" Lilithea said after enjoying a warm shower as she meticulously dried her hair by squeezing it between a towel.

Her slender waist, which matched her age, and her chest, which did not match up as they had seen unexpected growth, were clad in black underwear.

She sat on the bed and showed off that appearance of hers openly. A few water droplets, which had dripped from her hair, trickled down her supple and alluring thighs.

"I have an acquaintance who works here, and they said they'd let us stay here for cheap, even if it's sudden, after all. It's the first time I stayed here, though"

I assert, right here and now, that I do not have any obscene intentions at all. Those thighs are exquisite. Indeed, they truly are. Their glossiness, their softness, their maidenly plumpness, their shape, their stage of development—. They achieve an ideal balance in each one of these areas, forming a beautiful pentagon on the radar chart.

I am well aware of how wonderful they are, as they served as a lap pillow whenever I came back to life. I am repeating myself, but this is merely me praising their worth as a pillow; Merely praising.

I sat down in the chair by the window as I gazed at Lilithea. However, Lilithea did not tell me off. I, too, did not look away, nor did I blatantly cover my eyes.

Lilithea sees herself as my assistant. I now think the same as well. In other words, we are not in a sort of relationship where we should be embarrassed about it.

"Seems like this building has over eighty years of history. But this is not mentioned on the travel agency's pamphlet"

In the past, many people wandered here with knee injuries and stayed at this place. Perhaps that is why tourists do not stay over at this place for the most part.

"Indeed, it does have a certain charm to it. The volume of water coming out from the shower is inconsistent, and the rain pelting in from the window is a little"

"......I'll inform the employee acquaintance I know later"

Lilithea, who was changing clothes, had braided her silky hair. A hairstyle that can only be seen for a short while after she takes a bath.

"Still, the other places we could stay for cheap were fully booked. We just have to bear with it for today and tomorrow at most"

"Nothing good has happened recently. It is exactly as you say. To think that a water leakage would occur in the office"

"Right, right. Furthermore, it was a water leakage in this rain, a double whammy which sure was troublesome. From here on out, we should work to get the agency back up; It was just as I pumped my fist after saying that when water fell from the ceiling......"

After I had the vendor investigate the matter, it was found that the pipes on the floor above had burst.

Wonder if it was due to wear and tear.

The damage was severe, and it even extended to other areas, such as the furniture and documents, causing the office and my house to be in an unlivable state.

Of course, I did arrange for repairs immediately, but I was told that nothing could be done about it until tomorrow.

Just like this, with no place to go and Lilithea on the back of my bike, which I had just gotten the license for, I gunned the engine and we made our way here, Clones Hotel, while getting soaked in the intensifying rain.

The time now is two in the afternoon. Little Clone is blanketed in a shade of grey.

"By the way, Lilithea......"

"Yes"

"I have been thinking about it for some time now, but your thighs are plump, huh"

"......What is with you all of a sudden?"

"You know, you welcome me back with a lap pillow whenever I die, right? It's what I feel, but it also reminded me that I never thanked you. So thank you very much for what you do every time. Thank you for the plumpness. Whoa, hahah. Thinking about it again, doing this sure is embarrassing"

Those were words of thanks that I blurted out as I gazed at Lilithea's thighs for no particular reason.

However, Lilithea had an expression on her face like she was 'the person who had her pot of flowers by the window, that she had gone through great pains to have it bloom, swapped out with a pair of briefs from a middle-aged man'.

"That was the most off-putting thing you have said"

"Whaaaa!?"

Out of all the genres?

"It does not make me happy in the slightest that I was praised in such a weird way, and at such a weird time. By the way, Sakuya-sama, since you brought it up, I have one from my end as well......"

"Hm?"

"Why are you looking at me change from start to finish?"

"Haha. We are not in the sort of relationship where we should be embarrassed about that, right?"

"It is undoubtedly embarrassing. Being observed with such an odd expression on your face, with your face resting on your hand, and your legs crossed, that is"

When I took a closer look, I noticed that her face was flushed from embarrassment.

I guess Lilithea is an actual girl at heart.

"S-Sorry!"

Panicking, I looked outside the window.

"What a fool," Lilithea hit me with her signature spicy remark.

However, the reflection of her face on the window had an affectionate smile.

I was not sure whether she was actually angry or merely teasing me.

After we took turns freshening up using the shower, we decided to explore the hotel together. The first things we saw after we left our room were a red carpet and an old wallpaper. The wallpaper’s style is probably what I would call Chinese Gothic.

As we walked down the corridor, we were greeted by an open hall. The hall was octagonal in shape, and each floor had the very same octagonal corridor. This octagonal space formed a cylindrical shape that went all the way up to the ninth floor.

"Looks like this open hall is the central part of the hotel"

The four corridors of the hotel extend in the four cardinal directions, and the words North, South, East, and West were engraved, in large font, on each of its walls respectively. Every stairway had the same design. Down each corridor were the North, South, East, and West wings, respectively, and rooms, used for accommodation, lined each of them.

Only the North and West stairways were linked to every floor. They were quite old, creaking under the weight of several people, which was grating.

"Seems like there is a single elevator on the West side, but it is out of service due to wear and tear"

"The highest floor is the ninth floor, if I recall? So the people staying on that floor would have no choice but to use the stairs instead"

"Yeah, looks like that alone is enough to get some good exercise in"

I peered over the railing on the fourth floor at the lobby on the first floor, catching sight of a huge, menacing dragon sculpture as I did. It had a Chinese design and a large, wavy body.

It caught my eye while I was checking in as well.

The dragon sculpture was placed on the northern side of the lobby. By the way, there was also a huge taxidermized tiger at the back of the corridor on the first floor of the western wing.

I wonder just where they could have bought them from.

The oddities did not stop at the ornaments. There were various types of taxidermized animal heads, weapons such as an antiquated willow-leaf saber, and concealed weapons like a talon, displayed on the walls of the corridors.

"Such terrible taste......" Lilithea murmured after she saw them.

It seems like this interior design did not suit Lilithea's tastes. Even though she always conceals knives under the slit of her skirt.

However, I did understand how she felt quite well.

"It's true that this gives off the air that something might just occur"

"Something, you say?"

"You know, like being locked in this hotel due to some mistake; With contact to the outside world cut off"

"Just like the Closed Circle from a certain cruise ship some time ago?"

"Yeap, that one. And there would also be a serial killer hiding in the hotel for some reason...... Yeah, that's right. It would turn out that way anyway. The serial killer would, once again, definitely target me first this time and kill me in a revolutionary way—"

"Sakuya-sama, that is a bad habit of yours"

Being chided flat-out put a stop to my worst imagination. Seems like my bad habit had manifested itself despite myself.

"Where would you find a detective who fears for an incident that has yet to occur? Please get yourself together"

"Sorry, sorry. Couldn't help myself. Well, anyway, as you can see, it is hard to say that this hotel is pretty even as flattery, so let's just bear with it for now"

"Sakuya-sama is now the only breadwinner left in the agency. I won't ask for much"

"I'll have to ask that of you. I can't accept any requests while the agency is closed, and the amount on the repair bill cannot be scoffed at after all......"

Well, I didn't accept any requests in the first place, so I'm free until the agency is patched up. In other words, it's zero earnings for me. Man, I'm starting to tear up.

Just as I was lamenting, Lilithea leaned her body over the railing. It seems like she was observing the situation below.

"What's wrong?"

The toenails of the petite Lilithea were dangling slightly above the floor. This made me break into a cold sweat as I wondered if she would fall.

"The lobby seems to be quite noisy"

Now that she mentioned it, there were an awful lot of people there; Ten, no, twenty people. I wonder if it was due to a large group of tourists entering all of a sudden.

As if drawn to it, we went down the stairs. It was then that we found out who they were.

People who were focused on peeking into the viewfinder to check the cameras; Who had eyebags and were rushing from spot to spot carrying drinks; Who were carrying lighting equipment in their muscular arms.

In other words, it seems like they were a film crew.

"Some kind of filming session?"

Leaving Lilithea behind at the side of the stairway, I headed for the counter and talked to the girl who was there.

She was wearing the designated sailor uniform of the middle school in her hometown, an outfit unbefitting of a hotel receptionist.

Her name is Utaki Iriya. A staff member at this hotel and a part-timer.

Resting her chin on her palm, she gazed at the scene languidly. That was quite the attitude to take for a staff member, but according to the person herself, the owner liked her, so she would not get fired.

"Yeah. A movie, I hear. Mooovie," Utaki said.

"Hooo, did they get permission from the owner?"

She shook her head to refute.

"I convinced the owner. They pay well, after all"

How levelheaded.

"Won't be able to profit; If we don't do that, that is"

Utaki looked like a middle schooler from every angle, but she shows an oddly mature side from time to time.

It was not like I did not know her at all. Rather, she was the very person who welcomed our sudden stay and allowed us to stay for cheap.

A distant relative of the long-living elderly owner here, she lives in a room on the first floor. She commutes to her middle school from here. Due to certain circumstances, she left her parents and came to live with and depend on the long-living elderly owner here.

I got to know her in the middle of a certain request. Since then, we have been keeping in contact with each other somehow.

"What kind of movie?"

"I hear it's some huge Action, Mystery series"

"What kind of genre is that? Who's the lead? Might get their signature if they're famous!"

"Who knows? It was some actress I didn't know. See, it's that girl over there"

Just as I turned back after hearing that, I heard a familiar voice coming from that direction.

"Master~!"

The one and only Yuriu Haigamine ran up to me with open arms.

"Eh!? Yuriu-chan is the lead!? Does that mean you are filming your very first lead movie role, that you mentioned some time ago, here!?"

"That's right!" Yuriu replied with Lilithea beside her.

She had locked arms with Lilithea, who had a somewhat resigned expression on her face. Seems like this was the aftermath of being discovered and captured by Yuriu.

"Female High School Detective Uzura! Umm, but why is Master here? Eh? Eh? Don't tell me you came here to cheer me onnn?"

"Nope, it's a coincidence. Actually—"

I gave a brief explanation of how it came to this.

"That sure sounded awful! For Lilithea-san, too! But we were able to meet thanks to that~"

Lilithea had a slightly perplexed and embarrassed expression on her face after seeing Yuriu seemingly overjoyed from the bottom of her heart. She was probably not used to this level of enthusiasm.

That said, what an innocent smile she has. It's almost like I can see that she has a tail wagging vigorously from left to right. 

Yuriu playing around with Lilithea unreservedly was like a dog teasing a shy cat.

"To think we would be able to meet here! Ohhh, I'm so happy!"

That said, what is with her enthusiasm? It feels a little odd.

"You're overexaggerating. Didn't we just meet a week earlier in the office?"

Yuriu was also caught up in that disastrous passenger plane crash and Queen Irie sinking incident. It seems like Lilithea had pulled her hand just as the ship almost sank, and they got on a lifeboat, allowing them to escape from danger.

She acts bright and cheery, but it should have been burned in her eyes as well; The hellish scene from that day. Even so, Yuriu went out of her way to find the location of the Outsuki Detective Agency after the incident and visited to check on how we were doing.

Even though she probably had to work as an actress, take lessons, and study as well, she visited us whenever she found some time.

At that time, I, who was pathetically engulfed in flames after getting fired up and trying to save my dad, was dragged by the two girls in front of me, who then got me onboard the same lifeboat as them; Was something I only heard about later.

Man, what a competent assistant and disciple. Ones I'm undeserving of.

"By the way, Master, please listen to this......I'm about to start filming today, but I don't know a single person around me, which makes me feel uneasy...... And......"

"Oh? Is that guy over there Yuriu-chan's friend?"

A man emerged from the filming crew and approached us.

He was tall and had a handsome face, annoyingly so.

Just as I thought I had seen him before somewhere, I remembered that he was the actor, Reiichi Marugoshi. I have seen him before in a detergent commercial.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Marugoshi, who will be playing Yuriu-chan's partner. Ciao"

Ciao!; To think I would meet someone who uses that in this age. As expected of an actor.

With the most casual of mannerisms, he gestured for a handshake.

"Guess it's me and Yuriu-chan who are the stars this time"

"Ahaha......I will do my best to become a star. But I got overwhelmed by the atmosphere when I actually came here"

Yuriu, like the rookie she was, seemed nervous.

"It's true that this is one insane hotel. It has this intensity that discourages its use as a film location. Although, according to the director, a unique location fits the movie's image perfectly"

"Marugoshi-kun, can I have a moment of your time? It's about your lines"

As we were conversing, a man wearing sunglasses came over and casually put his hand on Marugoshi's shoulder.

"Oh, hey, just as we're talking about him. This is the director, Hiichi Toriho-san"

"I am Toriho. You are......"

After being introduced, Director Toriho's eyes stopped on me, shifting his sunglasses out of the way, he stared intently at me.

Now that I got a closer look at his eyes, he was probably younger than I had initially thought. He is probably in his thirties.

There was a unique smell of deodorant coming from Toriho.

"You're not going to tell me you're......Yuriu-chan's lover, right?"

It was as if he was saying that that is the one thing which would absolutely trouble him. It is true that every person related to the rookie actress would be greatly inconvenienced should it come to light that she had a lover during this vital period in her actress career.

"I am Sakuya Outsuki. I got to know Yuriu......Haigamine-san, through a little……"

"I see. Then, I'm sorry it's so sudden, but I guess I'll have you join the props division"

"What?"

"You'll know when you head there. They'll teach you a lot of things, so don't be nervous and—"

"Erm, I am just a hotel guest"

"Eh? Ah, is that so? I thought you were some ambitious young'un who took the plunge after dreaming about being involved in the world of films. You were saying something about Yuriu-chan"

"Unfortunately, you're mistaken. Our meeting today was a mere coincidence......"

"Director, Master is a detective, you know"

Just then, Yuriu got fired up and started introducing me to him.

She even said, "And I'm his disciple".

"A detective?"

"Yes. A Stella detective"

"Hm......? Now that you mentioned it, I do remember hearing about the Outsuki family name. If memory serves, isn't that the world-renowned detective?"

"Yes, indeed! Master is the son of that Tatsuya Outsuki! That's why, Director! You should absolutely request that of him!"

"Request? Yuriu-chan, what are you talking—"

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Feel free to comment/pm me if you find any mistakes. Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.