Chapter 100 - 2.4

Chapter 100: Chapter 2.4

And so the world turned

"Ace Detective Siesta. I apologize for my late arrival," Siesta said, bowing her head to the people seated at the long table. "You too, Kimi."

As prompted, I copied Siesta—Wait, we were late?

We seated ourselves in the chairs closest to us, sitting side by side.

Some of the faces in the row of Tuners were familiar, and naturally, there were others I'd never seen before. Unfortunately, even though he'd been the one we were counting on, the Vampire didn't seem to be present.

"I don't believe we've met, Ace Detective." The girl with the cane spoke politely, but her tone and her eyes were clearly hostile. She glared at Siesta, who was sitting directly across the table from her. Although her flashy outfit was very anime, her expression was cold and stern.

"You've violated the Federal Charter's rules a zillion times, you've been granted exceptions, and on top of that, you've literally come back from the dead... Just how much do you need the world to love you, anyway? Rill wishes you'd share some of that good luck with her."

The girl who called herself Rill pointed the cane in her right hand at Siesta, who didn't resist. I wasn't able to react fast enough, and my muscles tensed.

"Enough."

That said, everyone here was a seasoned veteran who'd put their life on the line to protect the world. Maybe I was too normal to keep up, but the redheaded Assassin already had her gun pointed at the girl.

"Weren't you just told to put down your weapon, Reloaded?"

"Violating the charter is a capital offense, remember? What's the problem?"

"Even if it is, you're not the one who dishes out the punishment," Ms.

Fuubi snapped.

"Fuubi. Neither are you."

The man in a suit who sat at the head of the row told Ms. Fuubi to put her gun away. Apparently his words carried the most weight with this crowd; both Ms. Fuubi and Reloaded obeyed, reluctantly stowing their weapons.

I had the feeling I'd seen that man's face somewhere before. His brown hair was combed back, and his eyes were deep green. His expensive suit fit him well; he seemed to be some sort of politician... "...Oh. Are you Fritz Stewart?" I asked.

The man let his icy mask drop and smiled with his public face. "Once again, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Fritz Stewart, mayor of New York City."

I knew it. His face was the same one I'd seen on TV.

Back when Siesta and I had spent time in this country, Fritz Stewart had already been a distinguished politician. He'd won support with his mild personality and solid track record, and he was still the acting mayor of New York. "I never thought someone like you would be a Tuner."

"Yes. I've been given the role of Revolutionary." Revolutionary... That was a Tuner position?

"I can't discuss the specifics, but slightly tilting the world from the shadows is the Revolutionary's mission. You might not think so, but much like children's seesaws, governments in every era are made up of balances."

"...Oh, yeah, I know what you mean."

Four years ago, they'd made me smuggle that musket just before I met Siesta at ten thousand meters. After that, they'd helped us out with jobs now and then, on Siesta's instructions. After death had temporarily separated me from Siesta, I'd relied on them personally a few times.

"That's right. The Men in Black are a replacement for a piece that went missing right before the completion of an enormous puzzle. They're the lubricant that helps rusted, immobilized gears turn again. They're the gods from the machine that appear to the characters of a certain story in order to hold the plot together."

This world was riddled with inconsistencies, but people still managed to live without any cognitive dissonance. It might be thanks to a single bullet that was fired from the darkness, invisible and unremembered.

"Am I next, then?" Another individual who'd been silent until now spoke. He sat diagonally opposite Fritz: an old man with white whiskers who wore a silk hat and a smile. "My name is Bruno. My job is to provide intelligence that's useful to the rest of you as the Information Broker." Bruno's gentle smile was exactly the kind Santa Claus would have worn if he'd really existed. "It's been quite some time since we last saw each other, Ace Detective."

"It really has. It's good to see you, Bruno." Siesta bowed her head to the elderly man with unexpected reverence. Apparently they were old friends.

"He helped you out as well, Kimi, although you didn't know it," Siesta whispered in my ear.

"During those three years, you mean?"

"Yes. A third of those incidents couldn't have been resolved without his knowledge and information."

I see. So the Tuners she'd mentioned before we got here, the ones I'd been involved with unaware, had been the Men in Black and the Information Broker.

"There's no mandatory retirement age for Tuners?" I whispered to Siesta, idly curious.

"No. And, Kimi, you say some pretty rude things without even blinking."

...It was rare for Siesta to get mad at me for a good reason. She was usually much more unfair.

"Ha-ha-ha!" Bruno sounded unexpectedly entertained. He'd heard my

comment loud and clear. "Oh, it doesn't bother me. No doubt you were concerned for my health." He smiled gently.

...On the other hand, somebody who was probably capable of killing people with one look glared at me. "Listen up, you damn brat." Sure, I count as a brat to somebody your age, Ms. Fuubi, I thought, but I didn't say it. "He's lived ten times as long as you have, and he's still performing his duties as the Information Broker. Don't you dare disrespect him."

...Ten times my age? Then Bruno was... No, but he only looked about seventy...

"It's thanks to a rather special drug. It hasn't made me quite immortal, but I will live a tad longer than the rest of you." Bruno toyed with his beard. "It's just that, since I've lived a slightly longer life, I know a few things. The Assassin and the Ace Detective always face the world's crises squarely, out on the front line, and I respect them." Bruno turned his gentle gaze on Ms. Fuubi, then Siesta.

"Let's move on, shall we?" Fritz's introductions finally shifted to the seventh Tuner. This last one was the problem kid who'd been arguing with Ms. Fuubi when we came in...

"So we finally get to talk." Switching from the stern expression she'd worn this whole time, the girl—Reloaded—smiled rather proudly, flashing white mini-fangs. Sweeping her orange hair back, she said:

"Kimihiko Kimizuka, you are in the presence of the great Magical Girl, Reloaded. How would you like to be her pet—um, familiar?"

Why are all the girls I run into such a pain in the butt?