stand-in creed

"detective?"

"At present, I am investigating the disappearance cases that have occurred in Duwang Town for more than ten years and the unsolved massacre in [-]. That's why I came here to investigate, but I didn't expect to meet It’s really lucky to be involved in the incident.”

"!"

"After all, even if it is a detective novel with superpowers, there are probably very few authors who dare to write a plot that skips the search for evidence, skips the screening of suspects, and directly tells the detective who the murderer is by the soul of the deceased."

"Well, although I am very happy that after so many years, the police or detectives finally showed up to investigate the incidents that have happened one after another over the years, but ah..."

Suzumi Sugimoto felt that there was something wrong with the reaction of the foreigner named Nero in front of her: "Shouldn't ordinary people be surprised or afraid when they see ghosts?"

Nero asked, "Why should I be afraid?"

"... Isn't it normal for people to be afraid of ghosts?"

"And you are not a ghost like Shanbao, Runu, or Yianti Mumian, you are just an ordinary ghost."

"...Why can't I be an evil ghost?"

"Because your dog came here just now to protect you-maybe a human being who is good at acting can fool me, but a dog can't fool me. Your dog thinks that an ordinary human like me is just approaching you. There is a possibility of hurting you, instead of watching the show obediently and waiting for you, an evil ghost, to dismember me and then divide it into a piece of meat."

"Wow, you are indeed a detective!"

"What's more." When Nero said this, his voice was slightly lowered, "Even if you are a ghost, the you I see now must be someone who some living people want to see but never see again, right?"

Hearing Nero's words, Suzumi Sugimoto was stunned.

Suzumi Sugimoto didn't speak, but Nero asked with a smile: "So Miss Sugimoto, is this alley where the ghost hits the wall your "stand-in" ability? "

"...a substitute?" Sugimoto Suzumi blinked her eyes, and immediately said, "No, no, no, although I don't know what the substitute you are talking about is, I didn't make this alley!"

"You didn't do it?"

Nero was stunned.

Could it be that there are other stand-in messengers hidden here?

However, Suzumi Suzumi's explanation made Nero a little confused.

"This is the junction of the "eternal world" and the "beyond world".And it is probably because the murderer 15 years ago has not been arrested so far, and I, with my obsession in my heart, became the earth-bound spirit of this alley. "

"The junction of the eternal world and the next world... Could it be that this alley is between the bardos?"

Nero's expression became more and more strange.

Is there something wrong with the painting style of Duwang Town?

Nero couldn't help asking: "That is to say, since August [-], you have been wandering in this alley?"

Suzumi Sugimoto nodded.

Nero looked a little cautiously: "Then how do you know that the murderer has not been arrested in the past 15 years? The expression you said just now, you never knew that the murderer was not arrested just because you knew I was here to investigate the case. But "before"..."

Did not wait for Nero to finish.

A screaming soul flew across the sky, and gradually shattered into pieces in the wind and flew into the distance.

"...is that why you know he hasn't been arrested yet?"

"That's right..."

Suzumi Sugimoto's face was a little depressed.

Nero took out his notebook and pointed to the bench beside the road.

"Miss Sugimoto, if you may—

"—Please tell me what happened that night 15 years ago."

Chapter 41 The Famous Detective Nero One

Group 4⑧87④97⑨9

Showa 58, August [-].

It was a dark and windy night.

At the age of 16, Suzumi Suzumi was sleeping in the dormitory as usual, but was awakened by the sound of something dripping from her parents' room.Suzumi Suzumi tried to call her father and mother outside the room, but she didn't get a response from her parents.

Although there was no response from her parents, Suzumi Sugimoto was not afraid because her pet dog was by her side.Even if you are in the dark, you only need to put your hand under the bed, and the pet dog will gently lick the girl's hand, and the girl gets a sense of peace of mind.

The drowsy girl continued to sleep, but the abnormal noise in the parents' room never stopped.

In the end, it was like a person who obviously felt the urge to urinate, but insisted on dragging on the bed for an hour before making up his mind to get up and go to the bathroom. Look.However, as soon as she got to the corridor, Suzumi Sugimoto saw a terrible scene——

The dog's neck was cut off, and the body was hung on a coat hanger like a piece of clothing.

The blood splashed and dripped on the ground, just like the sound a girl heard when her pet dog licked her little hand.

Wait, so who was the one who licked his hand just now? !

When Suzumi Suzumi finally realized something was wrong, the following words came from behind——

"Little girl, your bare hands are so cute, hehehe——"

"Your parents were also killed by me?"

At the same time as the voice fell, the girl was slashed in the back.

Enduring the pain, the girl rushed to another room as if fleeing, and sent the four-year-old boy Kishibe Rohan away from the window. However, after the boy escaped, the girl had no strength to climb over the window and was sneaked into the house. The murderer chased after him.

At this point, Suzumi Suzumi lost her life.

……

According to the script that Nero envisioned.

Now it should be 15 years ago, the ghost of the murder victim personally told Nero the information from hair to heels of the prisoner like the name of a dish, and then Nero found two or three helpers to set up a net in Duwang Town, The opponent was arrested and brought to justice.

However, something is not quite right.

Just like Morioh Town is not only haunted by stand-in messengers but also haunted by ghosts, Suzumi Sugimoto's answer is completely beyond Nero's expectations.

"...So, Ms. Suzumi, don't you know what the person who killed you looked like?"

Nero's mouth twitched slightly.

Is this reasonable?

This is outrageous.

Even Suzumi Suzumi knew that what she said was a bit outrageous.

"This, this can't be helped! Before I saw the murderer's face, the back was cut open by a knife. Besides, normal people's homes don't turn on the lights at night, right? The corridor is so dark, I have to work hard To run away, we have to find a way to send away little Luban who is boarding at our house..."

"...That's it."

Nero sighed helplessly.

Sugimoto Suzumi scratched her head in embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Mr. Detective, I never thought that I would become an earthbound spirit after death... If I knew, I would definitely write down his appearance seriously! "

"It's not your fault—there's no reason to blame the victims for this kind of thing."

Nero shook his head.

But at this time, Nero saw the wound on Sugimoto Suzumi's dog's neck and had an idea.

"Miss Suzumi, forgive me for asking... Do you still have the same wounds as your pet dog?"

"It's on my back, is there a problem?"

"If possible, I would like to be able to..."

Nero pondered for a moment, thinking about how to use words.

Then Nero found that the word that fit the scene best was this—

"... Autopsy?"

"???"

Suzumi Sugimoto was a little confused.

Not only that, Nero pointed to the house next to Suzumi Suzumi that said "Sugimoto".

It's not an old house located at 3-12 Kododai in Morioh Town, but a haunted house built in this haunted alley.

"Also, if possible, can you take me to the scene of the crime to take a look? I want to see if I can restore the scene and confirm how the criminal killed you "specifically". "

Nero spoke a little cautiously.

It's like in some games, the little monster who was still competing with you with a long spear and sword skills in the first second, and then turned into a tentacle monster with his head blown up in the next second, in case something is wrong, Sugimoto Suzumi It will be fun if this little girl changes stages.

"Wait, wait, wait! Wait for me! You can check the wound or something...

"But this is really strange! Although I am indeed dead, it is strange to think about being "post-mortem" when I can speak, sing, dance, and be conscious! "

Nero's expression is also very subtle: "So my Japanese is not good, what words should I use to describe this situation?"

"Ah this..."

Suzumi Sugimoto thought about it seriously, and then said with some uncertainty.

"Medical examination?"

"The physical examination also has specific items, such as liver function, blood sugar, blood lipids, kidney function...so what is our physical examination for?"

"Check my wounds and cause of death?"

"Check your wounds and cause of death through a physical examination... Isn't this just an autopsy?"

"..."

Suzumi Sugimoto's expression became more and more strange.

Nero sighed helplessly: "If something looks like an autopsy, it looks like an autopsy, and the final result is an autopsy report... Even if you can talk and dance now, it is an autopsy."

"Okay, okay."

Suzumi Sugimoto nodded.

Immediately Suzumi Suzumi pointed to the Sugimoto family, which still retains the scene from 15 years ago.

"Since you still want to check the scene, why don't you go to my room to check? It always feels a bit awkward to undress on the street."

"it is good."

The voice just fell.

The two fell into a delicate silence.

There seems to be something wrong with this statement.

"..." Suzumi Sugimoto.

"..." Nero Zeppelin.

There was silence for ten seconds.

It wasn't until the pet dog of the girl next to her tilted her head and gave a slight "bark" that the two of them came back to their senses.

"Uh cough cough cough! Please, Ms. Sugimoto."

"Miss Lingmei, who was clearly calling me just now, isn't it even weirder to suddenly change my surname now!"

"Sorry sorry... so, please?"

"Uh, um."

Suzumi Sugimoto pushed open the door of Sugimoto's house.

The yard was overgrown with weeds, the walls were mottled, and even the wooden door was not closed tightly and creaked.

Suzumi Sugimoto led Nero to the stairs, but Nero did not rush upstairs, but looked at something extending from the floor in front of a room on the first floor to the stairs——

Blood stains.

The blood that had already dried up.

"Your blood?"

"My blood."

"..."