Bungo Stray Dogs Gaiden: Ayatsuji Yukito VS Kyougoku

Natsuhiko

Summary:

This story is about the "homicide detective" Yukito Ayatsuji and his assistant Mizuki Tsujimura
as they try and solve a mysterious murder case at the request of the government. Their search
eventually leads them to Yukito's old nemesis and public enemy Natsuhiko Kyougoku
Table of Contents:

Prologue - The Waterfall Spirit King’s Waterfall/ Evening/ Drizzle — 7

Chapter 1 - Old Chapel in the Mountains/ Noon/ Sunny — 16
Chapter 2 - In Front of the Special Division’s Secret Base/ Morning/ Sunny — 30
Chapter 3 - Marshlands/ Past Noon/ Overcast — 58
Interlude - Hell/ Ignorance/ Twilight — 113
Chapter 4 - Ministry of Justice Main Building/ Morning/ Sunny — 120
Chapter 5 - Inside the Passenger Train/ Before Noon/ Overcast — 183
Chapter 6 - Special Division’s Secret Base/ Morning/ Sunny — 250
Ending - Ayatsuji’s Detective Bureau/ Morning/ Clear Weather — 340
Afterword — 360
 “You must not have known, but it was I who had recently
caused all the trouble in the world. While I was still living, I
began to practice magic and brought about the disturbance of
Heiji. Now that I’ve died, I will put a curse on the imperial
family. Lo and behold! Before long I will throw the whole
nation into chaos…”

The Ghost of Emperor Sutoku

Ueda Akinari’s Tales of Moonlight and Rain―1776
The Waterfall Spirit King’s Waterfall/ Evening/ Drizzle

On a cliff atop a waterfall, there were two shadows.

One of the shadows was a tall, young man.

The other was a gray-haired old man.

The two shadows were facing each other. They were silent, but inside their gazes fireworks were
showering down.

Why, you might ask? That would be―because the two were longtime enemies. Both of them
understood that during this confrontation, while they were unyielding right in front of each other,
one of them was destined to die.

Furthermore, the two had already agreed that the fateful day would be today, at this place.
Without any prior acknowledgement or arrangement, the two had agreed.

And so―they were silent.

The waterfall thunderously roared. The faint light of the setting sun shone. The forest that
surrounded them, the wet surface of the rock, and the basin down below their feet were covered
in a light drizzle, making their appearances hazy.

Complete solitude.

With twilight setting in.

The greenery of the land acted as a boundary―somewhere between the world of the living and
the realm of the dead.

The tall, young man opened his mouth.

“From this moment forward, your death will come to greet you. Enjoy it, Kyougoku.”

The youth said in an icy, well-rounded voice that would make even a cold-blooded snake shiver.
He had a hunting cap that shielded his glasses and skin as white as the dead. The air surrounding
the man was chilled, as if even the drizzle wanted to avoid falling near him.

The gray-haired old man responded with the sound of laughter.

“Magnificent. How truly admirable, Ayatsuji-kun.”

He wore a sizable amount of shabby Japanese clothing, similar to that of a hermit. His mud-
colored eyes seemed to hold a thousand years worth of ingenuity. His cheeks were carved with
dimples that made you feel as if he were both evil and childish at the same time.

There wasn’t any anger in his voice, only an easygoing and cheerful middle-aged man. He was
like any old grandfather that you could find anywhere. However, the young man called Ayatsuji
narrowed his eyes in displeasure.

“Don’t laugh, you dirty old man. Your laughter is hard on my ears. ―Kyougoku. Do you even
remember the amount of crimes you’ve committed?”

“Hmm? Whatever do you mean? Isn’t it a bit rude to capture this cowardly and virtuous old man
and treat him like a sinner? Well, even so, I’m a law-abiding citizen. I always wait for the light to
turn green before crossing the street.”

The gray-haired man did not lose his easygoing tone of voice.

“What an interesting joke. Then let me remind you of your numerous crimes since you’re
playing stupid. ―38 cases of instigation of murder, 29 cases of extortion, theft, confinement, and
assault. Not including the several hundreds of attempts, felonies, and misdemeanors. But―not
once have you gotten your hands dirty. The Suhodo case, the Gozu Case. In all the cases that
shook the world, there was no evidence that you were the ringleader. Every single one of the
perpetrators knew they were being manipulated when they committed those crimes.”

The old man didn’t deny it, just deepened his smile.

After seeing that expression, Ayatsuji furrowed his eyebrows.

“The government couldn’t lay their hands on a guy that didn’t commit any crimes.”

Ayatsuji changed his cold demeanor and rolled up his sleeves

“But all that ends today.”

Ayatsuji’s hand sunk deep into his breast pocket and soon took out a copper coin.
“This is the evidence that you were behind the Museum Massacre, and that you were the
mastermind of them all.” Ayatsuji held the copper coin up for him to see. “Stuffing the coins on
display into a bag and beating the victim to death, then proudly displaying it afterwards―that
was the trick to hide the murder weapon. The victim’s bloodstain and your fingerprints were
found on this copper coin.”

The man called Kyougoku simply laughed with a slight tug on his lips.

Only his eyes showed no laughter. His mud colored eyes quietly glowed with an ingenious
scheme that only he could see.

“Remember this radiance, Kyougoku.” Ayatsuji pinched the coin and turned it around. It glowed,
so dull it was almost non-existent, as it reflected the twilight. “It’s about time you apologized to
the dead victims in the underworld.”

“The underworld, huh? I see. Hmm… By the way, I want to ask you something purely out of
interest Ayatsuji-kun. There are many things I wish to say about the underworld. If it’s Kojiki*
then it’s the Realm of the Dead or the Land of Roots. In Mahayana Buddhism it’s the lowest
layer of the ten spiritual realms, Naraka. In Nichiren it is Higen no Bodai, or if we’re talking
about the Old Testament, it’s Sheol. Or, in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke’s New
Testament―”

“Hades.” Ayatsuji interrupted. “No matter where it is, it’s all the same. The nature of it doesn’t
change.”

“Maybe to you it doesn’t, but I care about such things.”

“There’s no point in caring. In any case, you’ll know soon.”

From Ayatsuji’s mouth, he exhaled a breath as cold as the dead.

“You’ll be heading there very soon- in a matter of minutes, I’d say.”

For a moment, silence passed between the two.

The thunderous sound of the waterfall seemed to surround them only to dissolve into the drizzle.

“Ahh… That’s right.” Kyougoku said in an expressionless voice. “That’s the fate of anyone who
faces the detective Ayatsuji Yukito―a detective far more unsavory than any killer. How truly
terrifying.”
It was a sign of mockery from the old man.

The cold youth narrowed his eyes as this sign passed between them.

“Kyougoku, you and I have a lengthy past.” Ayatsuji opened his mouth first. “So I will tell you
the truth about today. In all honesty, I don’t care about what kind of schemes you come up with
or what kind of evil you do. I’m not interested. You can scheme and kill however much you
like.”

“‘If you meet the Buddha, kill him’. Have you heard of it?”

“People’s lives are not equal. The proof of that is everyone mourns the life of a good person, yet
rejoices at the death of a bad one. And to me, human life is equally worthless. I don’t have the
qualifications to talk about the preciousness of human life, nor the intentions to do so. But even
so―”

Ayatsuji flipped the copper coin.

The clear, metallic sound echoed between the mountain.

“―Even so, you’ve killed too many people.”

The copper coin flew and danced in midair, falling down to the bottom of the cliff before their
eyes.

Evidence that was supposed to condemn Kyougoku―condemn this high-profile criminal fell to
the bottom of the basin until it was completely out of sight.

Kyougoku followed the coin’s path with his narrowed eyes.

“Was that hard earned evidence not enough?”

“I won’t be needing it anymore. You should know that already.”

Kyougoku smiled through his mud colored eyes, giving no answer.

On the clifftop, one could feel the serenity of the dead.

Deep in the ravine connected this world and nirvana.

Ayatsuji took a step forward.

“I can foresee it.” Ayatsuji said in a voice similar to that of a whisper. “Death by falling. That
will be the cause of your death. You will accidentally fall from this cliff and die.”

As if prompted, Kyougoku looked to the basin at the end of the waterfall.

“Death by falling.” Kyougoku said to himself. “Death by falling, huh? Not bad.”

“You won’t be saved from this height.” Ayatsuji took one step further. “This cliff is a one way
road. The military police have already gathered around here. I imagine they’ll surround us any
minute now. There is no escape. This will be your demise.”

The detective’s expression didn’t fluctuate with that announcement.

He was simply stating the facts in a detached manner. In the same way he had to all the other
masterminds of a case countless times before.

“The famous detective’s predictions, huh? In that case, your reasoning is off.”

As if in response, Kyougoku took a step back.

His heel hit a pebble, causing it to fall to the bottom of the cliff.

“Our long, long battle will finally come to a close.”

“Indeed.” Kyougoku nodded. “This has truly been a fun showdown with you. But it’s too bad.
Compared to the ‘ceremony’ that’s about to begin, everything until now was simply a precursor.”

“What?”

Without answering Ayatsuji’s question, Kyougoku took another step backward until his heel was
just in front of the cliff.

He couldn’t go any further back.

“You can’t defeat me, homicide detective. It’s futile. This battle was doomed from the start! It’s
a mired retreat with no victor! Enjoy the path of a loser, Ayatsuji-kun.”
Ayatsuji couldn’t move.

In front of this small statured old man was a thin arm, and Ayatsuji couldn’t move a single one of
his fingers.

That was―

That was a sign to set Kyougoku free.

“This will be your last prediction. An accidental death? I won’t die in an accident. Look!”

Kyougoku laughed with excitement―

And hurled himself off the cliff.

The sound of the waterfall thundered below.

Far below, the man’s clothes fluttered.

In the basin of the waterfall, there was only laughter.

Beyond the drizzle, the far shore of nirvana―

“........”

Ayatsuji didn’t say anything, just continued to glare at the spot where Kyougoku disappeared.

With that posture, he quietly kept looking at the scenery where such a mysterious person
disappeared.

Before long the military police rushed over and asked what happened, but received no answer.

However, where his old enemy disappeared―....

Kyougoku Natsuhiko the Sorcerer.

Ayatsuji Yukito the Homicide Detective.

The two were ability users with ingenuity.

This is the story of a fight between enemies who use intellect as a spear and bear resourcefulness
as their fangs.
Old Chapel in the Mountains/ Noon/ Sunny

“The criminal is here.”

A cold voice echoed throughout the silent chapel.

Inside the chapel, pale figures were standing next to each other. Everyone held their breath as
they listened to his words, forgetting to breathe as he explained the situation they were in.

It was an old chapel.

The plaster walls had cracks running down the sides and in the main altar there was a thin veil of
dust that had settled, as if it wasn’t used often. The wooden floor was slick, reflecting the traffic
of people that came and went.

In total, there were 11 people in the room.

The color of exhaustion, or possibly anxiety, was seen on every face. The look on their faces was
what was left behind as a parting gift from this strange and gruesome murder.

They only gazed upon a single person; a person who had no impatience, suffering, or any other
expression on his face. A person who knew every truth.

“The culprit intentionally chose one of the 68 elementary schoolers and put poison in his
breakfast, causing him to die. A murderer with a clear motive.”

Only one person spoke in a quiet voice devoid of any emotion; a tall figure standing in the
middle of the chapel.

He wore light-shielding glasses made for hunting and had leather gloves wrapped around his
fingers. In his hands, he was twirling around a thin, unlit tobacco pipe.

“Death” and “killer”―it was as if his cold and unimpressed voice could make you not feel the
danger of those words. Only the eyes in the depths of his glasses persistently glared out around
him.

The detective’s name was Ayatsuji.

And the audience were teachers who were confused by the murder that took place at their school
in the middle of the forest, and those involved in the establishment.
The mystery of this strange murder case was certainly going to be solved soon by Ayatsuji’s
hands.

“But, Mr. Detective.”

One of the anxious-faced figures who had been listening to his talk took a step forward, unable to
resist.

It was a male teacher who had uttered that out. He appeared to not have been sleeping well, since
underneath his eyes were inflamed.

“The police’s statement said that the child victim had been killed by poison, but… wasn’t the
cause of death because of the poison covered needle, and not the meal? In fact, on the back of the
boy’s neck it looked like there was a needle-like wound…”

“It was a disguise.” Ayatsuji cut down the teacher’s statement and threw it away with just one
word. “Before his death… It seems that he was stabbed with a needle that the culprit prepared
while the victim was being looked after in his suffering. Because his symptoms were
quadriplegia accompanied with dilated pupils, dyspnea, and so forth, I am quite sure it was a
poison that attacked the nervous system. However, experts would have trouble distinguishing if
it was caused by an oral or wound infection. The criminal utilized this to make the police
misidentify the killing method.”

Ayatsuji’s voice was expressionless. It was like he was reading a formula page that only he could
see.

“B...But, the police have already inspected the food that was served! The meals were cooked in
the same pot, stored in the same cupboard, and the same tableware was used. In the same
cafeteria, the same kitchen, and by the same chef. Isn’t it impossible, say, to serve a poisonous
dish to only one student who was targeted?”

“Impossible, you say?” Ayatsuji looked towards the teacher. “Of course it’s possible.”

The female teacher with glasses took over the dialogue of the dismayed male teacher next to her.

“Then… No way… When we’re done setting the table and serving each person’s meal in front of
them―are you saying they were poisoned right before their meals were served?”

Ayatsuji shook his head side to side.

“No. There were too many children around the victim. It would be impossible to deceive all of
them and the victim himself that he was eating something poisonous.”

“Then how in the world did it happen?”

“Ahh… How, huh? I suppose it’s come to this, after all.”

Ayatsuji sighed as if he was talking to himself, then was silent.

Everyone in the room exchanged glances, anxious at the prospect of the detective’s strange
silence… Had they said something wrong?

“Well, whatever. Don’t worry about it. I already knew you guys didn’t have the brains to figure
it out. For some reason, the people involved in these cases seem to think that it’s the detective’s
natural duty to tell you gently and politely what’s going on, as if I’m a mother gently changing
the baby’s diaper. It’s really charming and innocent.”

All the people in the room stared at him blankly. They didn’t know if they should be hurt or not
from the detective’s words. They would probably be angry about it the next day.

The detective brought the tobacco pipe up to his lips, slowly exhaling a line of thin smoke.

He said, “Do you know of the word ‘Occam’s Razor’?”

“Razor…?”

They all looked at each other with strange looks at what the detective said.

“It’s a principle in logic construction. ‘When there are multiple theories, the one with the least
number of hypotheses is true’. In other words, it’s a guiding principle where the simplest theory
is closest to the truth.”

Ayatsuji looked at everyone’s expressions, then said, “Out of all the children that ate the dish,
only one of them was killed. If that’s the case, theorizing is easy. They put the same poison in
everyone’s breakfast, but used a poison that targeted only the victim. That’s the simplest
solution. Such a poison actually exists. It’s found fairly common in nature.”

“Eh….”
His audience started to murmur to one another.

Ayatsuji continued holding the tobacco pipe up to his lips, ignoring the commotion.

“The culprit tampered with the plates the night before, putting a miniscule amount of poison on
it, and the same amount on everyone’s plates. And… when everyone was having breakfast, they
decided that only the victim would be up from his seat.”

The teachers remembered. It was true, the boy was reprimanded for 20 minutes after they found
a teacher’s missing wallet in his bag shortly before the incident. However, it was ruled to have
nothing to do with the incident since everyone watched the scolding happen in the corner of the
cafeteria.

“So, in the meantime, the poison…?”

“It looks like none of you have even an ounce of ability to remember. I’m quite sure I said the
poison had already been smeared on.” Ayatsuji said with cold eyes. “It was applied to the plate
with the scrambled egg. And this poison is the strongest lethal poison found in nature, capable of
killing a million people with only a gram. Furthermore, the producers of this poison are
commonly found underground or at the bottom of a lake, and they explosively increase if they’re
put under certain conditions.”

“That’s right!” The faculty supervisor, who had been listening quietly, suddenly shouted.
“Botulin…!”

Ayatsuji nodded. “Botulinus, an anaerobic bacterium of Clostridium, produces the extremely

strong Botulinum toxin. It’s a deadly poison dangerous enough to be used as a biological weapon
by terrorists. This bacterium propagates explosively in an environment where it comes into
contact with food. The bacteria themselves are harmless because they do not produce toxins in
the body even when they’re eaten, but once they’re produced by food and eaten, a person will die
within 8 to 32 hours.”

Ayatsuji walked around the room as he slowly told the truth. Despite the old chapel, the
detective’s shoes didn’t cause the floorboards to creak at all.

“The culprit mixed the raw eggs and put it in everyone’s meal, but controlled the situation so that
only the victim was interrupted in his mealtime, allowing enough time for the bacteria to produce
it’s toxins. Specifically, when he was called to the corner of the cafeteria to receive some
lecturing for an extended period of time. There’s a procedure in place for when a student leaves
his seat for too long but, in turn, this would facilitate the growth of the anaerobic bacteria. In this
way, a special situation was created where only the victim was killed. After all, all of his other
classmates were given the same thing, there’s no way only his eggs would turn into a deadly
poison.”

“Then, the criminal is…”

Everyone in the room looked to one male teacher.

It was the head physical education teacher who had scolded the victim in the cafeteria corner on
the day of the incident.

“It… It wasn’t me! At that time, I was just…!”

“He’s not the culprit.” Ayatsuji interrupted. “Think carefully. The reason the criminal used
Botulinus was to make sure he had a solid alibi. A perfect alibi where he was nowhere near the
victim when he fell to the poison… To obtain that, he gave the physical education teacher false
information about a stolen wallet that was found in the boy’s bag.”

Ayatsuji pointed to one of the member’s of his audience.

“The owner of the stolen wallet―you are the culprit.”

The eyes of the audience all focused at one point.

“M...Me...?”

The person’s voice whom Ayatsuji pointed to seemed to vanish.

It was the teacher who had asked the detective earlier how the victim was killed. He was a
young, elementary school teacher who appeared rather plain with his black suit and glasses. With
a lighthearted attitude, he had an ordinary face that one may forget the next time they met him.

“No way…”

“Surely that teacher…”

The room started buzzing with chatter.

“H-How foolish! Me, killing a student?” The teacher who was denounced by the detective
smiled nervously. “Impossible! I’m just a language teacher, I have no knowledge of fungi…
First, where’s the proof that I killed him?!”

“Oh, there’s proof.”

Ayatsuji’s voice was low and quiet, as if he had predicted this would have happened.

“On the back of your shoe is a needle so small one wouldn’t notice it by looking at it. As you
know, I was requested to come here immediately. Sure enough, you had gone to the road along
the back of the mountain to bury evidence, the petri dish used to cultivate the bacteria. The thin
marks of the needle would tell me the path you took to get there. If I follow the marks and find
the petri dish, there would be no talking your way out of it.”

“Uh… Erm…”

The sudden change in air caused the teacher in the black suit to take a step back.

Until just a few seconds ago, anxiety, fear, and confusion had ruled the old chapel. However,
mayhem doesn’t rule over humans for long. Now, anger clearly dominated the room.

“Don’t even think of doing anything.” Ayatsuji said in a freezing voice. “Many criminals have
tried countless times to escape from my eyes, but not once have they been rewarded with that
luxury.”

The black suited teacher took another step back, as if he was scared.

At that time.

“Ayatsuji-sensei!” A woman’s voice was heard at the entrance of the chapel. “What are you
doing?! Gathering the staff in this kind of place―How many times do we have to tell you not to
accuse anybody of being a criminal unless we tell you to?!”

A slender woman came marching in with an angry voice. She had a suit and almond eyes that
radiated strength. However, compared to the black suited teacher, she was smaller than him.

“Oh, Tsujimura-kun.” The detective looked over at the woman with his cold eyes. “As usual, you
have the worst timing.”
At the same time, the male teacher in the black suit ran towards the entrance, as if a switch had
flipped.

Someone in the crowd shouted, “He’s running away!”

“Tsujimura-kun, that guy is the culprit. Catch him!”

“Eh...Eh?!”

The guy in the black suit rushed towards the entrance. The woman called Tsujimura-kun stood in
front of it.

The male teacher, who was seething in anger, kept his posture low as he ran towards Tsujimura.

The lower half of Tsujimura turned.

A moment later, the male teacher was kicked in the jaw so fast he couldn’t even see it. He flew
in the air then landed on the ground.

As they were passing each other, Tsujimura’s heel had turned like the wind and collided with the
teacher’s face, knocking him off his feet.

Tsujimura quickly grabbed the struggling teacher’s arm and twisted it up behind the middle of
his back.

“Don’t struggle.” The woman in the suit said while placing her knee in the middle of his back.
“You have the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer.”

“I see you still enjoy that kind of speech, Tsujimura-kun.”

“I mean… He does have the right to remain silent! Isn't it wrong if I don’t tell him that?”
Tsujimura said boldly.

“It’s too much like a movie.” Ayatsuji looked down at Tsujimura with his cold eyes. “First off, I
don’t think he has the time or privilege of using such rights.”

“That’s right!” Tsujimura glared up at Ayatsuji while she held down the criminal. “Ayatsuji-
sensei! I will report you for acting on your own! If you keep ignoring our orders and name
criminals without permission, then we will be forced to take the appropriate measures to stop
you!”
“What are you saying? It was you guys who asked for help with this case. I became an obedient
dog and followed your orders, gathering those involved and solving the case. Besides, earlier he
denied evidence. That guy had a list of names for students he wanted to kill. If you guys are
going to think of me as your pet dog, I at least want you to learn how to praise me when I’ve
finished.”

“Dammit! Why did I get caught?!” The male teacher screamed while on the ground. “To get
caught… That damn brat, calling me a fool every single day! I’ll make those shitty kids realize
what the world is like, and make them regret what they’ve done! Until then, I refuse to get
arrested…!”

“Arrested?” The detective narrowed his eyes from the back of his glasses. “There’s no need to
worry about that. You won’t be arrested. The place where the ‘homicide detective’ sees through
your crimes isn’t a prison, after all―Do you not know why I’m called the ‘homicide detective’?”

“Ayatsuji-sensei.” Tsujimura gave a short shout as a rebuke.

“Tsujimura-kun. Release that man.”

“But―!”

“You don’t want to get caught up in it, do you?”

In the time that Tsujimura was hesitating, the man jumped up. Tsujimura was blown away as he
ran towards the entrance. Tsujimura hit her back against the wall near the entrance. The air was
knocked out of her.

The culprit began to escape, but Ayatsuji didn’t say anything. He simply looked up at an area
over the entrance.

Above the entrance of the chapel sat old stained glass. Once, the chapel was used to gather
believers to pray to the gods above. But now that it’s ended its role, it was used as an assembly
hall for the school in the middle of the forest. Thanks to that, countless cracks ran up along the
wall, and film tape was used to repair the stained glass.

Tsujimura’s impact with the wall created a new crack all the way up to the stained glass.

That crack made a new crack until it spread throughout its entirety.
“This can’t be right!” The man shouted as he fled. “There must be some kind of mistake! I
wasn’t… That guy said I wouldn’t get caught no matter what!”

Midnight blue, azure emerald, and a brilliant scarlet―these hues together on the stained glass
depicted the ‘Chivalrous Knights and Our Lady’.

The beautiful glass craft, which continued to shine for hundreds of years, finished its long duty at
that moment as it poured incessantly down.

The light seemed to freeze in that multicolor glass pane.

―The heavy glass pane sliced the culprit in half through his shoulders and torso―

Fresh blood gushed out.

A whistle-like scream escaped from the throat of the man cut in half.

The wide pane amputated his ear and lodged itself into the base of his neck. It penetrated directly
through his chest with the force, tearing apart meat and flesh until it stopped at the base of his
stomach. From the cross-section of his internal organs, blood surged up like a geyser.

The scarlet blood made a circular pattern at the front of the chapel. On top of that, shards of the
brightly colored glass pane continued to rain down. And finally, the freshly made corpse that had
been sliced straight down the chest, fell forward.

And―silence.

“He…” One person from the audience mumbled. “He’s dead…?”

Everyone was dumbfounded. No one could even utter a scream. They were unable to
comprehend what had just happened.

Everyone was aware that the stained glass was old and cracked. But, the stained glass had been
repaired with the tape. It was an accident that should have happened years later, even if it fell
because of some kind of force, and had nothing to do with them.

This was a coincidence.

This timing was purely a coincidence―

The blood spurting from the torn shoulder eventually lost power and stopped gushing.

“The culprit… died in an accident…?”

Nobody said a word.

They had all misunderstood. A detective employed by the government. A detective who solves
homicide cases with a ruthless, but clear mind. ―Everyone knew that this detective who could
watch someone die in front of him without moving a single eyebrow was nicknamed the
‘homicide detective’.

However, everyone thought that had meant ‘a detective who solves homicide cases’. Up until
that moment.

“...Sensei.” Tsujimura said, standing up. Her voice was as low as the bottom of her teeth, as if
she had thoroughly thought about what had happened. “Ayatsuji-sensei. Did you―”

“This was a natural phenomenon.” There wasn’t the slightest change in Ayatsuji’s voice. “Just as
there is life next to death, night to come after dusk, this was an inevitable phenomenon that
happens regardless of my wishes or intentions. My will doesn’t exist there. ―When I expose a
criminal for their crimes, 100% of the time they will die an accidental death in some way or
another.”

They were cold words, similar to the dead.

The black shadow in front of them did not even feel like a human.

Special first-class dangerous ability user.

‘The homicide detective’.

That name did not mean ‘a detective who solves homicide cases’.

Tsujimura, who stood up, murmured in a voice that contained all the anger she felt that he had
killed yet again.

“You’re a detective who kills the criminal―”

In Front of the Special Division’s Secret Base/ Morning/ Sunny

I think bangs look good.

Looking in the car window, I pinched my own bangs and lifted them up. Meeting my eyes, I
suddenly gave myself a glare.

It’s fine. I’m perfect. No gifted criminal could ever stand up to such a scary agent. I’m perfect.

I was in the back parking lot of a library.

The parking lot was dead silent. There was no sign of any people, aside from an elderly shopper
here and there.

Naturally. This was a secret facility of the government. It’s an information gathering base under
the direct control of the Ministry of Home Affairs and for now, is the only place that could be
called my workplace. To the public it was just a library, but if you looked closely, you’d notice
that security here was as strict as it was in a nuclear facility and all the guards were secretly
armed at the waist with submachine guns.

I―Tsujimura, am a government worker who belongs to this facility, and also an agent for the
Special Abilities Department, a non-public organization of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

I used the key to unlock the car and got into the driver's seat. It was a silver Aston Martin,
something I took the time to order from the UK. It’s the perfect car for an agent. The lightweight
magnesium alloy body and the high power 12-cylinder engine gives off the impression that it
was just made for chasing. As an agent of a secret organization, I wanted a car that had
toughness and high horsepower―

―is what I thought when I bought it, but I haven’t had the opportunity for a car chase yet.

I turned the key and took the car out of the parking lot.

I thought about my situation as I drove down the road to the city.

My job was to monitor a detective.

This detective was a detective in title alone and his job was to mainly solve cases and problems.
More often than not, his job was to help people in need. In other words―on a general scale, you
could say he was closer to the good guys than the bad guys.
However, the government’s view was different. According to the government, this detective was
a nuclear warhead left on the corner of a street. The government must be 100% sure on where he
was, what he was doing, and what he was thinking. If he goes missing or goes on a rampage out
of the government’s jurisdiction, it would cause an uproar into the next city over. I can’t imagine
how many top brass’s necks would go flying.

He’s a regular on the top watchlist.

A Grade-A threat ability user.

“The homicide detective”.

That was the nickname given to this person, and also the name of the target I’m supposed to
monitor as an agent of the Special Abilities Department.

―Failure won’t be tolerated.

I still remember the cold gaze my senpai gave me when he gave me the order.

On the way there, I stopped at a coffee shop and bought a sugarless latte. I put the beverage in
the car’s drink holder and resumed my drive while occasionally taking sips of it.

Every time I stopped at a red light, I snuck a look at my rear-view mirror to check the car behind
me. Looks like I’m not being tailed today either. Since I work for the government, I can never be
too careful or too thorough. Especially for a new agent like me.

Then again, I haven’t had the experience of being followed.

However.

I’m an agent of a government organization. Even now, there are times when I can’t believe I’ve
become such a big thing just two years into my job. It’s as if I’m in a movie or a novel. Just a
few years ago, I was a college student who knew nothing. And now, I’m involved in a secret
mission where no matter how close a friend may be, I can only describe it to them as “internal
company affairs”.

Of course, I have confidence. I mean, I scored at the top of my class in marksmanship and hand-
to-hand combat. My motivation is second to none. That’s why I was designated for this job,
that’s why I’m doing this important mission. The higher-ups would never leave this kind of job
to someone who wasn’t qualified.

….I think. But whatever.

As I was thinking about it, the building in which I was meant to be monitoring came into view.

Ayatsuji Detective Agency.

It was an old brick building that faced the main street. On the first level, you could see a narrow
entrance.

At first glance, it was a plain building on a plain street corner. But the entire building, including
the top floor and adjacent offices, has been bought and was occupied by the government. This
was to ensure safety.

I drove the Aston Martin a little further down the road to a paid parking lot. While pretending to
check my make-up in the side-view mirror, I looked around for any suspicious figures.

After that, I took an earphone/microphone set out of my pocket, put it in my ear, and pressed the
call button.

“Call support team from group code 4048.”

The device immediately recognized my voice and connected me to the other party.

“This is sniper support team one.”

A boorish male voice answered.

“This is agent code 4048, Investigator Tsujimura. Ready to begin internal monitoring and
tracking.”

“Roger. We’ll shift to D2 and continue monitoring the building. The target is inside.”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

After I said that, the male voice on the other end of the speaker gave a small laugh.

“You’re late, Tsujimura. Did you get lectured by your boss again?”
“N-No I didn’t!”

“Your face tells me otherwise.”

From the other side of the road, I looked up to the building’s rooftop. For a moment, the
reflection of the lens flashed near the edge of the rooftop.

He was a part of the sniper team from the Special Abilities Department, who monitors the
Ayatsuji Detective Agency for 24 hours a day.

If Ayatsuji-sensei goes against the government’s wishes and shows his ability to the general
public without permission, the sniper team was ordered to shoot this “Grade-A threat ability
user” on the spot.

“I think you’re aware,” the sniper said from the communication device. “That this building is a
tiger’s cage. If the tiger goes out of control, it’s our job to shoot him down but, if possible, I’d
like to avoid that. You understand?”

“...It’ll be fine. I’m an agent, after all.”

“Ahh. In that case, good luck. Sniper team, out.”

With that said, the communication was cut off.

I took a deep breath, held it in, then exhaled.

―Bring it on.

It’s my daily routine to say this twice every night before going to bed.

As long as I’m here, no matter how fiendish the ability user may be, I will never let them have
their way.

I walked to the front of the building. Standing at the entrance, I swung the car key with my
fingertips, thrust it in my pocket, tilted my shoulders, and said.

“Your biggest mistake was being born in the same era as me.”
That’s a phrase from my favorite spy movie. It’s the coolest movie ever where a female spy goes
around in a biker jacket and sunglasses.

I have to hurry and catch up to that heroine as soon as possible.

I opened the door.

***

Inside the room was dim and there was a faint smell of tobacco in the air.

The ceiling was arched and there were amber-colored wisteria chairs lined up. In the office was a
bookshelf that reached the ceiling, towering over everything else. The ceiling fans were stirring
around lukewarm air. The western-style antique lamps illuminated the room in orange, giving the
room a somewhat languid atmosphere despite it being the morning.

Lying on the floor were two cats―a black cat and a calico cat. At the king’s feet, they yawned in
boredom. The black cat looked towards me and gave an indifferent meow.

It was more like a lounge room in a Western-styled house than a detective agency.

In the center of the room was the agency’s king, slowly swiveling in an armchair with a book in
one hand and a tobacco pipe in the other.

“...Hey, Tsujimura-kun. Good morning.”

He briefly glanced at me before turning back to his book.

Light colored skin. A dark purple hunting cap. Eyes so devoid of emotion that just his gaze was
enough to make the temperature drop.

―The Grade-A threat ability user.

The problem is… It may be because of his title or something else, but… This kind of appearance
was terribly suited for him. How should I put it… It’s like his aura was blowing the soul out of
my entire body.

“Ayatsuji-sensei.” I made my voice sound hard so he could not pick up on my inner timidness.
“What do you mean ‘good morning’? Isn’t there something you’d like to say to me first?”
“Hmm?” Ayatsuji-sensei turned the page over and said, “Is there?”

He didn’t look up from his book.

No. This… This is pointless. The me inside my head―the idealized me with the biker jacket and
sunglasses―whispered. What’s your job? An agent. And who is he? Your surveillance target.
Doesn’t that mean he needs to ask you to even raise or lower his arms? Is it right for him to look
down on you like that?

I made up my mind. This was unacceptable!

I took a couple long strides to approach Ayatsuji-sensei and snatched his book away.

“Don’t read books while people are talking with you!” I made my voice as cold as it could
possibly be. “I’m responsible for overseeing you, Ayatsuji-sensei. Depending on how you react,
I can shoot you at any time. I have that authority. Do you get what I’m saying?”

Ayatsuji absentmindedly looked up at the book I snatched away, and said.

“I see. A very effective threat.” Ayatsuji-sensei let the ash from his tobacco pipe fall. “Then let’s
do this. I will treat you with respect. But in return, you make me a cup of coffee.”

“What, that’s all?” I was disappointed. “Sure, I can do that much.”

“Two brown sugars, no milk.”

“Understood.”

I went to the kitchen, boiled some water, and put coffee grounds in the dripper. I slowly poured
the hot water over the grounds, waited for the froth to settle, then poured the rest of the hot water
over it. I checked the timing, quickly removed the dripper before an odd-taste could settle in, and
while I was checking the strength of the aroma, I noticed something strange. I shouted.

“I’m not your maid!”

“Took you long enough to notice.”

Ayatsuji-sensei said in his usual cold voice while reading the book.
“In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about what you said, but have no idea what you mean.
What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yesterday’s case!” I shouted while holding the coffee cup. “You ignored the Special Abilities
Department’s orders and acted on your own accord by solving the case of that elementary school
student killed in school! That’s a problem!”

“Why?”

Ayatsuji-sensei returned my attacks calmly.

Yesterday’s case―Over the course of 4 days and 3 nights, an elementary school student was
lodging at a facility located in the middle of a forest. During that time, he was killed. The case
was extremely urgent, so the Special Abilities Department requested Ayatsuji-sensei’s help.
Rumor has it that some students there were related to the government officials, so they took
special measures (it’s the same in any industry where they won’t bring such circumstances to the
scene of the crime).

Because of that, Ayatsuji-sensei, who was put on-site, was naturally under strict supervision.
After all, Ayatsuji-sensei was a hundred times more dangerous than the guy who killed the child.

But that moment, that one moment I took my eyes off of him―.

“Look here, Ayatsuji-sensei. It’s because of the kindness of the Special Abilities Department that
I’m coming and going to this agency to monitor you. I shouldn’t say this, but you were originally
supposed to be shoved in an iron-clad cell surrounded by machine-gun loving security guards,
right? You should be a little more grateful―”

“I am grateful. I’m especially grateful to have such a talented, easy to handle person like you as
my monitor.”

“Easy to handle?!”

Without thinking, I raised my right hand, but I was holding the coffee cup in it.

“Why don’t you set down the coffee that you went through great trouble to make?”

“Eh… Ah, yes.”

What he said was reasonable, so I put the coffee on the desk next to the detective.
He closed his book, tilted the coffee in a composed manner, and drank it at leisure.

“Hmm… Surprisingly, it’s not bad at all.”

“T...Thanks.”

I have been praised. Suddenly being praised, somehow…

Then I realized. This was wrong!

“You can’t fool me!” I shouted. “Ah, enough… First, what do you mean I’m easy to handle?!
Even though I’m an agent of a secret organization? Even though the people around me think I’m
a mysterious woman? Calling this elite go-getter easy to handle…”

“Before you came here, your boss scolded you.”

“Huh?”

“So you got yourself a latte to make yourself feel better. Then you took a route through an old
book town in 1-Chōme to get here.”

“H-Huh?”

“You contacted the sniper team outside the agency. They said they were switching their
surveillance to position D2 and would continue monitoring me… And finally, your habitual use
of that phrase. ‘Your biggest mistake was being born in the same era as me’, was it?”

“Wh… Huh?! How do you know that?! I… Sensei, how did you guess that?!”

“Calm down.”

I can’t just calm down.

In this job, the greatest armor that protects you is secrecy. Ambushes, surprise attacks, every
danger and misfortune awaits an agent who is predictable and transparent. Not to mention,
Ayatsuji-sensei is the target of my mission. If my actions have been leaked, this job’s success
rate will plummet.
But in fact, before I came here―At the library, one of our bases, I was reprimanded by my
mentor at the Special Abilities Department, Sakaguchi-senpai, for the outcome of yesterday’s
mission. And everything he pointed out, me buying the latte and going down the book town
route, was correct.

All the self-confidence I had before coming into the agency vanished like fireworks at a festival.

“Calm down, mysterious woman. You haven’t done anything wrong, we’ve just worked with
each other a lot. You’re right. It’s a miracle I haven’t been put behind bars already, with how
many people I’ve killed and how many people I can potentially kill. So why am I here, drinking
coffee like this in an agency? Because my deduction skills as a detective are useful to the
government. Like now.”

“...Deduction skills…”

Ayatsuji-sensei set the pipe down and sighed, as if explaining was bothersome.

“I figured your boss scolded you because you came here 15 minutes later than usual. You’re not
the type to be late for a set mission, and I heard your boss was quite prickly. I’ve heard a little bit
about the coffee shop you regularly go to, so I guessed you got a latte because your lipstick was a
little smudged. Then, the narrow roads of that book town are one-way, so there’s not a lot of
traffic. On those roads, you can check if anyone’s tailing you without losing much travel time.
You communicate with the sniper support team every day in front of the agency. And as for the
next surveillance point they moved to, well, I’m under watch 24 hours a day, so I can take a
rough guess.”

Deduction skills.

This is… a detective’s…

“B...But, but, but!” I pointed to the agency’s entrance with my finger. “That phrase from the
movie I said at the entrance! ‘Your biggest mistake was being born in the same era as me’...
How… How in the world did you know that?!”

Ayatsuji-sensei said, without changing his expression:

“If you don’t want me to hear it, then speak a little quieter.”

I covered my face and crouched down.

That was the most embarrassing moment in my life.

***

It’s a little late, but I should talk about the existence of ‘ability users’.

In our world, there are a small number of people who exist that have special abilities. Depending
on the type of ability, they can be dangerous and cause harm to society. To counter that, the
government has a secret organization, the Special Abilities Department, who continuously
monitors them.

Crimes among ability users are endless. Organized crime in particular was the biggest headache
for the Special Abilities Department.

But of course, not all ability users are bad people. Some gifted organizations even operate with
permission from the Special Abilities Division. Rumor has it that there’s a small scale detective
agency actively solving cases.

If I remember correctly, that agency was in Yokohama.

The exceptionally dangerous ability users must be managed, supervised, and in some cases
eliminated by the Special Abilities Department

The top ranker on that list is our “homicide detective”, Ayatsuji-sensei.

“The ability to cause an accidental death”. The ability to ignore karma or fate and kill 100% of
people who fulfill the qualifications.

There are more examples of powerful and dangerous abilities. Like ones that can blow people
away, ones that tear things apart, and ones that crush things. Those supernatural abilities are of
course dangerous and require monitoring.

However, you don’t become a “Grade-A threat ability user” just by having a powerfully
dangerous ability. Ayatsuji’s ability ignores all physical boundaries, twists the odds, and gives
his target an “accidental death”. It doesn’t matter if they’re on the other side of the globe or if
they’re the strongest ability user who’s on par with God.

It’s like some sort of “curse”. Suffocation, stroke, a fall, suicide, illness, heart attack… the cause
of death itself is unpredictable. It can’t be cancelled or prevented.
There is only one condition that needs to be filled for the ability to target people.

Being the culprit.

Or rather—it can be called a very detective like ability. He solves the case by deducing the truth.
Then, he identifies the criminal and blames the crime on them. Unless it goes through that
process, the ability will never activate.

That’s why the plan to “erase Ayatsuji Yukito” continues to be rejected despite constantly being
sent to the higher ups.

However, it’s unusual even in the Special Abilities Department to not have a defensive protocol
for ability users on the list, especially for something like a 100% killing ability. I’m not confident
that the Special Abilities Department can completely control someone like Ayatsuji-sensei, and I
think he knows that too.

And so, the plan to “erase the dangerous gifted Ayatsuji” continues to be submitted at least twice
or three times a week.

If only Ayatsuji had a more docile or easy to understand personality, then maybe this would be
easier—

“What, Tsujimura-kun? What are you looking at? Do you want to be a maid, after all? Then go
change your clothes over there.”

“No!”

For as you see, he has this kind of personality. There’s no way to tell what his true intentions are.

“Then why are you looking over here? I know you’re supposed to be monitoring me, but if
you’re just going to stare at me 24 hours a day, I think a surveillance camera would be much
better. Unlike you, they don’t need a pay while chattering pointlessly.”

“I know. But unlike me, security cameras can’t pester you to hurry and finish your report.”

“Is that all you’re good for?”

“Don’t worry about that, just be quiet and finish your report.”

“Dear me…”
Right now, Ayatsuji is writing a document at his desk. It’s a report summarizing the events of
yesterday’s incident. The details of the case, how he found the evidence, how he identified the
criminal and how he verified the evidence. In order to understand how he activates his ability
and the mechanics behind it, the Special Abilities Department needs even the most trivial pieces
of information. That’s why afterwards, it’s crucial he writes a report on his detective work.

Of course, it’s my job to compile it into one document that can be submitted. After each incident
I go around negotiating with the people involved behind the scenes, including the military and
city police, and collect confidentiality agreements from them. As Ayatsuji said, my job isn’t
limited to being a security camera. I monitor his work, drive and escort him around town when
he goes out, and in some cases act as his assistant to make sure everything goes well.

Even so, there’s no other person I can leave this task to. I have to do it.

I put the data into the computer. Official papers, surveillance, escorting, it’s all done by a top-
notch agent. I’m sure the heroine of that movie would say so.

By the way, as Ayatsuji said, there was a plan to install surveillance cameras in the building. Or
rather, it’s already been done before. But Ayatsuji would continuously make it look like the
cameras accidentally broke or found a blind spot and took advantage of it. That’s the impression
I got, anyways.

The calico cat rubbed against my ankle several times before moving on.

“Done.” Ayatsuji set down his fountain pen and stood up. He handed me a bundle of paper.

“Done?” I asked back. “Already? Did you write it properly?”

“It’s your job to check whether or not I wrote it properly, isn't it?”

I took the report from him. I flipped through the pages one by one, verifying its contents.

My finger stopped on one of the pages.

“Wait…” I said. “This last paragraph… What is this?”

The sentence was ominous. It tasted like a poisonous stinger had made its way into my mouth
without my knowledge.
“It’s exactly as I wrote it. What’s wrong? One of Agent Tsujimura’s strong points should be
reading different kanji.”

“I’ll punch you… But, this content…”

I pointed my finger to one of the lines in the document.

That guy said I wouldn’t get caught, no matter what!

“These were… the criminal’s last words?”

Ayatsuji-sensei took a breath from the tobacco pipe and slowly exhaled the smoke through the
crevice in his lips.

“You were there too, you know.” He said.

“Yeah, but during that time I was thrown against the wall… Now that you mention it, I do feel
like he was screaming something. But, this…”

It was a horrible premonition, the kind of feeling you got touching something rough with your
fingertips in the darkness. But whether that something was the skin of an elephant or the fangs of
a terrifying monster, I didn’t know.

“True, it was a little suggestive. So what?”

Ayatsuji had already gone back to reading.

“So… This means there was one other person who knew about this crime besides the criminal
himself, right?”

Ayatsuji didn’t answer. He quietly turned the page.

“Since then the police have raided his home, but it’s kind of strange. There was surprisingly little
trace of planning the crime. If you’re using bacteria for a murder, then usually you would
investigate beforehand and get some knowledge of it. But they couldn’t find any internet history
about it or records of going to the library. In fact-”

“After a certain date, all records of his private phone calls disappeared and not even a trace of
any detours from work remained.” Ayatsuji-sensei suddenly said. “Am I wrong?”
I felt my breathing slow down. That was exactly right.

“...Starting twelve days ago. Did you realize?”

“Botulinus is the most deadly poison in the natural world, but you need expert knowledge to
truly cultivate that invisible demon. There’s the problem of nurturing it, properly storing it, and
making sure you put the right amount of it on the plate so the poison doesn’t die. Besides, when
it comes to controlling the bacteria so that it gets a lethal dose in the raw eggs, it’s no longer at
the level of mere craftsmanship. It’s a killing method that can’t be thought up of by a language
teacher alone.”

Ayatsuji gave me a side glance. It was a look so cold and sharp that I felt like I was being
trapped in a lake from the ice age.

“So, what does the Special Abilities Department think?” Ayatsuji asked.

“Before that, Ayatsuji-sensei, please tell me your opinion.” I answered back.

Ayatsuji drank the rest of the coffee left in one sip, then said:

“No matter how you think about it, there was a collaborator—No, there was an ‘instigator’ who
taught him everything and led him down the wrong path.”

“An instigator?”

“He erased all traces of the crime and prevented any elements that could lead to suspicion or
accidentally reveal the plan, all while gently showing him the path to a perfect crime. An ‘evil
teacher’, so to speak. I don’t know who it is, but… we can guess based on the day he came in
contact with the perpetrator. Right?”

I met Ayatsuji’s gaze and answered almost immediately.

“Twelve days ago…”

“You should look into the culprit’s actions on that day. That is, if the Special Abilities
Department has a heart of justice.”

I began to think.
A murderer who committed the perfect crime using bacteria. As a result of the investigation, we
learned that the culprit’s motive was frustration from wanting to kill the cheeky student, but
being unable to raise a hand against him for fear of corporal punishment. A trivial resentment
found everywhere. It was a common motive that hardly turned into a poisoning.

Unless, someone teaches him how to do it.

While looking at the data on my laptop, I said:

“Twelve days ago… But almost nothing in his records changed. As usual, he came home from
work and ate dinner at a local cafeteria. We do know from his GPS records that he got a little bit
lost, but he only passed a country road outside the city with some barns and wells. I don’t think
anything happened. And after that day, he suddenly stopped using his car and phone.”

“That’s the Special Abilities Department for you. You work fast.”

“I suppose so.”

“I meant the other Special Abilities Department members work fast, not you.”

I’m automatically offended by his flat manner of speaking.

“Ayatsuji-sensei.”

“What?”

“Regarding the instigator… If you knew there was one, why didn’t you tell us?”

“True, that was very thoughtless of me. I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart.”
Ayatsuji said while shrugging. “By the way, the things you guys always say, was that just my
imagination? ‘Don’t do more than you’re instructed to do, don’t chase after any cases. Just sit
there like a chained dog and only take what the adults give you, quietly wagging your tail while
waiting for our next orders’—Yesterday I was given a case to solve a murder. I did just that and
solved the case, passing judgment with my ability. What more did you want? Besides—”

“Besides…?”

Ayatsuji-sensei sat still, glaring at the air as if he saw the words piling up on one another. He
gave no sign of saying anything. The ends of his words broke off and disappeared into thin air.
“Wait. Did you say ‘well’?”

“Huh?”

The meaning of his words didn’t sink in immediately.

“A well? Not a reservoir or a pit, but a well? That’s what you said earlier. On his way back home
he passed by a road with a well. That’s what you said, isn’t it?”

I was bewildered by Ayatsuji suddenly speaking fast.

“Y...Yes. Yes, that’s right, but, um… What?

Ayatsuji abruptly stood up and walked away without a single glance in my direction.

“Um, Sensei?”

“Be quiet.”

His words pierced me like an icicle. The words that I wanted to say were sucked back into the
bottom of my throat.

Ayatsuji walked with long strides to the door in the back of the agency.

His footsteps continued down a staircase.

“Wait, Sensei?”

I remembered. There was a basement in this agency that he must’ve been heading towards.

Whatever the reason, I can’t take my eyes off him so easily. Hiding my inner anxieties, I quickly
followed his trail.

In the room left behind, the black cat let out a “meow” in boredom.

***

This wasn’t the first time I’ve entered that basement. I know the entire layout of this building.
Like where the blind spots of the snipers are, where the thickest wall is in the unlikely event of
an attack, and where the shortest route to the back door is. I went to each and every room to
check it’s state with my own eyes. It’s a natural thing for a pro to do.

However, no matter how many times I come to the basement, this uncomfortable feeling doesn’t
change.

I went down the stairs, entering the basement. The chilly air swirled around my feet before
escaping.

The basement was dim with a low ceiling. Dolls of various sizes decorated the basement.

Antique dolls, replica dolls, ball-jointed dolls… Some were small dolls made of cloth and cotton,
while others were life-sized and so elaborate they looked as if they would start moving. All of
them had their eyes closed and were sitting on either the sofa or the frame of a showcase. A
couple Japanese-style dolls were displayed as well.

The lighting in the basement was quite dark, probably to prevent the dolls from getting
discolored. There wasn’t a single speck of dirt on the floor and cool air was flowing from
somewhere.

I’ve been at this job for a while, and quite frankly, I think this room is more suited for a bizarre
murder than any crime scene I’ve seen.

Ayatsuji was sitting in a chair in the midst of it. Upon the wooden chair, he put both of his hands
together, rested his chin on his thumbs, and closed his eyes.

When I approached him to try and talk to him, he raised one finger to stop me. It was a sign to
“be quiet”. It looked like he didn’t want his thoughts to be disturbed.

I briefly thought about complaining, but decided against it. It’s good to compromise every once
and awhile. I silently turned my back and gazed at the surrounding dolls.

Some of the dolls were beautiful girls, others were boys, and some were animals. There were
also strange dolls that looked like they were a mix between beasts and people.

This mass of dolls was Ayatsuji’s hobby. They had high antique value since they were hand-
crafted by puppet sculptors, with only a few existing in the entire world. Certainly, upon first
glance you could see that none of these dolls were mass produced in a factory. But, well, from
the perspective of coming in on a job, it was really creepy to have this kind of secret garden in
the basement of a private agency.
According to Ayatsuji, “Dolls are much more interesting than people and I never get tired of
them.”

Good grief.

“I remembered.” He said in an unexpectedly sharp voice.

His eyes were fixated on some point in the air.

“In the evening three days ago, in a back alley 2 blocks from here. There was a gossip magazine
lying in front of a dump site that faced a parking lot.”

“Dump site…? Gossip magazine?” I tilted my head. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Because of the ‘well’. Even you can understand that much.” Ayatsuji-sensei said in a cold
voice. “As I was passing by, I happened to glance at it. There was an article in the magazine. I
hardly paid any attention to it and I nearly forgot about it, but—”

“W-Wait a second!” I interrupted him. “It’s great and all to remember an article in a gossip
magazine that you glanced at- but before that! In the evening three days ago? Why were you
walking outside at that time?! The surveillance team should have been circling around the
building!”

“I wanted to go on a walk by myself, so I snuck out when they weren’t looking.” Ayatsuji said
without any hesitation. “Is there a problem?”

I was about to fall flat on my back.

Why did he think there was no problem? This settles it.

I’ve seen the list of dangerous ability users. Among them was a terrifying gifted who could cut
anything to pieces within several meters of himself by simply wishing for it, but he was a third
class dangerous ability user and only number 3 on the list. The “Grade-A threat ability user” that
Ayatsuji receives is far above that, literally above the clouds in terms of dangerous ability.

This dangerous ability user avoided the strict eyes of the surveillance team and casually went on
a walk?

How in the world—

“The Special Abilities Department’s surveillance team is incredible, but when the setting sun is
hitting a window and creating a reflection, the ground monitors tend to loosen up their
surveillance around that window. By placing another glass pane in front of the window to adjust
the reflection, you can easily leave through the window.”

I felt dizzy. If I honestly reported this, we would be up all night for three days drastically
reviewing our current monitoring system.

“How I got out doesn’t matter.” Ayatsuji promptly wrapped up the topic that didn’t matter to him
at all. “At any rate, the problem was the contents of the article. It talked about a certain ‘well’.”

“A well, huh… Was it really that special?”

Sure, wells are a rare sight around here. You wouldn’t really see them unless you go up to the
mountains where traditional, private houses remain. But I didn’t think the murderer passing by a
well held that much meaning.

Of course, his ability to remember a magazine article from three days ago that was only in his
field of vision was impressive, but why should we care so much about an article talking about a
‘well’ now?

“The magazine itself deals with vulgar rumors and urban legends, so it wasn’t worth reading—
but the article’s words stuck with me.”

Ayatsuji’s words sliced through, and after glaring at me to ascertain my inner thoughts, said:

“A well that turns you evil if you pray to it.” His eyes became keen. “Make a wish in front of it
and a natural evil will come down. No matter what kinds of evil deeds you do, you’ll never be
punished for them.”

“…Evil…?”

That couldn’t be true.

I tried to laugh it off. For one thing, the word “evil” felt unnatural, like something you’d find in a
fairy tail. Not to mention, it was strange and comical for somebody to willingly wish to become
an evil person.
But, I couldn’t laugh it off. I couldn’t even breathe. The air in the room was tense and before I
knew it, my dry throat was craving some water.

“Tsujimura-kun, if you want to know the truth behind this case,” said Ayatsuji-sensei while
sitting. There was nothing left in his eyes. “Get a request from the Special Abilities Department.
We’re looking for a well. And maybe—”

—Youkai will come out.

As he said that, Ayatsuji-sensei let out a thin laugh.

***

As it turned out, Ayatsuji-sensei’s words were 100% correct.

A well where if you prayed to it, you would become evil.

It was real. And the man who prayed to it actually became evil, and did evil things.

And there was one more thing Ayatsuji was right about. Upon investigating the well, the things
that came out of it were indescribable.

—It was Youkai.

The next day—the Ayatsuji Detective Agency was formally asked to solve the mystery
surrounding the well.