The Three Sided War

Ch.27 Great Detectives

I place the book on the ground in front of me. A second later, Ranpo and Yosano pop out.

"We're back." Ranpo announces.

Shocked, Poe replies.

"I-Impossible! You couldn't have solved that mystery!"

"Well, it was quite stimulating. But, you made one mistake... Challenging me."

"Y-You figured out who the killer was?"

"Of course. The murderer...was me."

Poe's eyes widen a bit as Ranpo explained.

"The locked room trick had nothing to do with it. The protagonist killed the victim, and the author deliberately omitted that part of the narration. But the innovation in this gimmick was the mechanism by which the murderer vanishes the moment I enter the novel. No matter how desperately I search, the murderer no longer exists."

"How did you find the truth?" Poe asks with disappointment in his voice.

"You went too far with the locked-room murder. It's one thing if you were going to lay blame on someone else, but the murderer had no reason to make such an inescapable room. So, I figured, the murderer and the author must be in cahoots."

Ranpo smiles.

"The proof was in the glove left under the brick wall, used for the murder. The one the victim pointed at right before he died."

"B-But the second murder... The murderer had already vanished by then, had he not?"

"That one's even simpler. You just used an automatic machine. You manipulated the magnetism in the room and threw a metal object at the victim."

"Do you think that's even possible?"

"Anything goes. That's the second misdirection, after all. There were hints everywhere. The suspiciously state-of-the-art medical tools. The characters, wearing clothes provided by the mansion rather than clothes of their own. And...the story is actually set in 2050."

...I just played with Karl as they talked. I didn't read much, so I have no idea what they're on about.

"The mansion is actually a rest house attached to a massive, tall space elevator. As complicated as a detective novel may get, once you figure out the author's ulterior motives, you've figured out half of it."

"Impossible..."

Poe was crushed.

"Six years of my life..."

Ranpo simply walks up to his desk and takes the files as he speaks.

"The intellectual devices were much more beautiful than before. But I think you've met your match."

"What? You...remember your battle against me?"

"Why would I forget about a mystery that I solved? This takes me back. We were here, pitting our minds against each other's. It was the only time another detective gave me chills. The first and the last."

Poe stares into the distance as he remembers the memory.

"I'm looking forward to your next challenge, too. I hope you work really hard to come up with something good for me."

While saying that, Ranpo and Yosano start heading towards the door. Karl jumps from my shoulders, to the desk, then to Poe's head.

"I'll work really hard."

I smile as I stand and pick up the book. I hug it to my chest as I look at Poe.

"Do you mind if I take this? I promise to give it back when I'm done reading it."

"You want to read it? But, you know how it works."

"So? A man once told me a good book is a good book, no matter how many times you read it. So, can I?"

Poe stares at me before nodding his head.

"Yay! Thank you, Poe-san!"

I walk around his desk and hug him.

"Make sure you write a book just for me. I want to try and figure it out on my own too. Got to go now. See ya later!"

I let go and quickly catch up with the others. They were waiting for me down the hall a bit.

"There you are." Yosano faces me.

Ranpo notices the book I'm hugging. He smiles as we start walking again.

"We'll need to hold a celebration for you when we get home, Ranpo-san." Yosano smiles.

"For what?"

"For the day the great detective learned the truth. The day you discover that you aren't gifted, but that you use your powers of observation and deduction to-"

"I'm gifted."

"You were laying out all your reasoning just now."

"I'm gifted. I'm not doing any actual detective work. I just got lucky this time. I mean..."

Ranpo stops walking, causing Yosano and I to stop and look at him.

"You mean, what?" Yosano asks.

With a serious face, Ranpo answers.

"I'd look stupid if I turned out to be normal now."

After a few seconds of silence, Yosano hides her smile behind the secret file as she giggles. I, on the other hand...

"Hahahaha!"

"No laughing." Ranpo orders us as he begins walking away.

"Fine, fine." Yosano replies as we follow him.

"Yes, Ranpo-san."

Ranpo suddenly raises his figure in the air.

"No "fine, fine" either!"