stand-in creed

"So Kawajiri-san, did you encounter any difficulties when you came here to find me?"

"I……"

Kawajiri Hayato opened his mouth, but stopped again.

Nero was smiling, and his rippling right hand was gently stroking the hair on Iqi's body, which seemed to make Iqi very comfortable: "I don't know if I should say it or not?"

"No, it's just that I don't know where to start." Zao Ren said hastily.

Nero nodded: "Then let me ask the question, no problem?"

"……Um."

"Kawajiri Hayato, on a certain day in early June, you showed up at a certain apartment in Jozenji. Why did you go there?"

"Hey?!"

Zaoren's pupils shrank.

Jingchan Temple's apartment... Isn't that the place where he watched the man pretending to be his father blow up the man and woman to ashes with his wonderful ability!

Nero looked at Satoshi's expression that did not hide his thoughts at all, but smiled even more happily.

"When I mentioned the Jingchansi apartment, fear flashed in your eyes.

"Fear that transcends all.

"There is no doubt that it is possible to show such a frightened expression only after seeing the "crime scene" like that man.Who is that man?What kind of form is it wandering in this world, a ghost or a body, what kind of face does the body have?Even... why are you still alive?

"Can you answer my confusion one by one, Sato-kun!"

Early people did not understand.

He himself didn't know how to explain to the detective in front of him the scene where people were suddenly blown up and disappeared, and he didn't know how to convince the detective to believe such nonsense, but now it seems... this detective already knew ? !

"You, are you also a person with "ability"?Like that evil spirit that took over Dad's body! "

"Huh?"

Nero raised an eyebrow.

Even Izzy, who was in Nero's arms, raised his head.

Hit the jackpot!

Immediately, Nero smiled and said to Zao Human.

"Come, come, sir.

"Although I spilled a lot, there's still half of the hot chocolate left in the cup. Drink it up and be shocked. It shouldn't be hot now."

"..."

It was already dry in one gulp.

Immediately, Zao Cai narrated what happened to Nero tremblingly.

One day, the father who suddenly changed.

One day, after meeting a mysterious detective, he decided to follow his father on a whim.

And on the same day, I watched my father blow up the couple to the sky.

"He, he said...he is invincible!

"—"No matter who it is, as long as they try to investigate my whereabouts, they will be hunted down endlessly by Killer Queen's third bomb, Miracle Swan Song" is what he said! "Not only that, but he also said that the corresponding keyword must be triggered in his heart. That keyword is his real name! So I can be safe while following him!"

"Floating... this guy."

Noticing that Izzy and the early man were still here, Nero swallowed the names he almost blurted out.

Immediately Nero smiled and looked at the early man.

"Swansong of Miracles, what a good name.

"Then Kawajiri Hayato, let me introduce myself to you again.

"My name is Nero Zeppelin, I am a new detective, and the evil spirit that resides in your father's body is the prisoner I am hunting down. Although as you can see, my friend and I This excellent Izzy has already investigated you, but I still appreciate you taking this brave step and coming to me for help."

It is clear.

Yoshikage Kira's current identity is Kosaku Kawajiri.

Thinking of this, Nero gently picked up Iqi from his lap and placed it on the table.

"You've worked hard these past few days, Izzy.

"Just rest in the hotel and leave the rest to me."

"Wang!"

Izzy nodded.

But the early man was surprised: "Wait, wait!"

"Ok?"

"You, aren't you afraid?" Zao Ren asked.

"……Fear?"

Nero froze for a moment.

Scared?

Is there anything scary about it?

But soon, Nero figured it out: "Are you worried about me, Sato-kun? You are a gentle child. But don't worry, Sato-kun. Why do you think the person possessing your father is a ghost? Not a living person? The one who turned him into a ghost is me."

"……Hey?"

Early people are dumbfounded.

Nero just looked at his watch.

"At this point, your father... I mean, the person who looks like your father should be home soon, right?"

"Ah."

"No matter how busy he is, he will definitely be home before eight o'clock every night!"

"It's still the same as before, that guy."

Nero shook his head, recalling that wonderful self-introduction by Yoshikage Kira that day.

Immediately, Nero looked at the pupil again.

"Early people."

"I'm here!"

"Just stay in my room tonight, don't go anywhere, don't go home, think about how to comfort your mother when you get home.

"Before you said that the relationship between your father and your mother was very bad, and it didn't improve until recently, even like a lover in a passionate love period, right? I don't know if Kawajiri Kosaku's soul is still there. After all, I just If you are a detective instead of an onmyoji, it is very likely that only your father's body will be left behind after the end."

"..."

The early people were stunned.

But after a while, the lost Zaoren clenched his fists.

"I, I get it, but at least my mother is still there, our home is still here..."

"It would be nice if you could think so."

After leaving this sentence, Nero opened the window and left with the wind.

Leaving the hotel, went straight to Kawajiri's house.

You don't even need to ask for the address, after all, I have been there once with Dongfang Liangping.But when flying in the air, Nero looked at the sky.

It's a bit cloudy.

"Speaking of which, today's weather forecast says rain, right?

"The sky is already cloudy. If this trend continues, it won't be long before it rains. Hey, the heavy rain at this critical moment is really annoying. It makes people think of the heavy rain in Cairo that year.

"Get rid of Yoshikage Kira before it rains?

"It seems that there is not enough time, but the weather forecast says light rain, so... let's talk to Suzumi first.

"When the rain stops at Suzumi's place, Yoshikage Kira will die!"

Chapter 8.9 Angel

?No.1: Sugimoto Suzumi

Tell me a little bit about my story.

My name is Sugimoto Suzumi, born in [-] in Kododai, Morio Town, M County, S City, Japan, an ordinary female high school student that can be seen everywhere in Japan.

Ordinary going to school, entering a higher school, discussing horoscopes with girls in the class, discussing love divination, discussing favorite songs and stars, discussing what kind of boy will be chosen as a boyfriend in the future...except for the inherent pink hair and pink pupils Besides, everything is so ordinary.

Although I don’t remember which book I read, everyone is different, and everyone’s experience is a unique book, but if you think about it carefully, does being unique really mean being unique?

It seems not.

It's a bit funny to say, but when I think about Suzumi Sugimoto's 16 years of life, it seems that only the story of the day of my death is worthy of careful appreciation as a story.And I did the same. In the 15 years after my death, whenever I met people who strayed into the alleys of no return, I would tell those people about the past when I died in the form of horror stories.

Those terrified expressions are one of the few joys I have had in the past 15 years.

But what I want is not fun.

After 15 years of repeating the same story over and over again, no matter how interesting and good the story itself is, it will only make the storyteller feel bored and uninteresting.

The reason why I confide to these lost people over and over again is that I hope to meet a hero who can liberate me from the curse of the earth-bound spirit and become a Buddha, who can kill the cruel man who killed my whole family and died at 15 The hero who brought the murderer who continued to commit crimes over the years to justice.

Time passes day by day.

I also gradually became numb, and gradually began to despair, just mechanically repeating the day after day in the alley.

Until that day comes——

May [-], [-].

On that day, a lost person ushered in the alley as in the past, a tall and handsome foreigner nearly two meters tall.And just as I was about to tell him the corny horror story that had lasted 15 years and lead him out of the alley, the foreigner said that.

"Are you... Suzumi Sugimoto?"

Hey?

This foreigner knows me?

I don't remember having such a relative in my family at all, not to mention he only looks in his 20s, so how old was he 15 years ago?

While thinking like this, the foreigner approached me unknowingly.

"There is no breathing sound, so what about the beating sound of the heart?"

After saying such words, I watched helplessly as the foreigner lowered his head and listened to his chest.

are you crazy!

The heart that hadn't beat for 15 years finally felt a wave of waves at this moment.

And after that, I finally knew his name.

"My name is Nero Zeppelin--

"—is a detective."

detective.

Not just the detectives, but the detectives investigating my incident? !

It finally appeared.

The long wait of 15 years was finally not in vain.

And this is also the day I met Nero.

After that, Nero came to the alley from time to time, came to my house and chatted with me.Although it is nominally to report the progress of the incident investigation to my client, I can understand it. From his eyes, I can see what he is thinking.

pity.

He must be sympathizing with me, right?