The Detective Is Already Dead, Vol. 1

“My weaknesses…? I can’t think of anything in particular.”

“Are you stupid, Kimi?”

There it was: the line Siesta said all the time when I did something wrong.

“You can’t eat green peas, and you have a harder time waking up on winter mornings than I do. You always make a face when you take medicine, and you try to avoid roads that have pigeons or crows on them even if it means taking the long way around. Can you still say you have no weaknesses?”

“…I don’t think I’ve ever told you anything about any of that.”

“I don’t need you to tell me to know that much. We’re together enough.”

Oh yeah? Well, stop there, all right? Charlie’s getting grumpy.

“So? What does this have to do with role division?”

“Yes. You’re clever, but if you got in a fight with a water flea, you’d probably lose. You’re completely unsuited to combat.”

“…I am, huh?”

Getting a bad feeling, I glanced over at Charlie. She was watching me and snickering.

“Meanwhile, Charlie…”

“Yes?!”

“You have solid skills in battle, but you’re not the brightest bulb.”

“What?!”

“Pfft! Snrk, snrk.”

“—I heard that laugh, Kimizuka! You just laughed at me, didn’t you?! I’ll kill you! I will shoot you dead right now!”

“No fighting. You’re better than that.”

“Ow!”

“Wah!”

Siesta karate-chopped each of us on the head. Dammit, I’m not the bad guy here.

“I want you to get through this maneuver by working together.”

“This maneuver” was the recovery of a comrade who was being held prisoner on a certain island that was effectively under the control of SPES. Failure was definitely not an option.

“But, Ma’am, that means you’ll be by yourself…” Charlie’s worry was only natural.

If she and I buddied up, Siesta would be forced to act on her own.

“Don’t underestimate me, please,” Siesta replied. “I’m ten times the fighter you are, Charlie. I’m also a hundred times smarter than my assistant. There’s no call for you to worry about me.”

I got the feeling my evaluation had been unfairly low, but whatever. During this maneuver, I’d make it clear just how smart I was. She’d have to revise her opinion then.

Maybe it was because I was making stupid plans instead of doing something more worthwhile.

“That being the case, I want the two of you to get along with each other. Now, and from now on.”

That was the day the ace detective died.