Case Files of Secret Society holoX (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 16: Confrontation

"Mysta Rias, a detective", the man introduced himself.

A detective? This was interesting. The only detective agency in Miyako was Master Shellin's Burgundy Detective Agency. From what I observed, it was hard to make detective work become something profitable. In fact, the Burgundy Detective Agency was barely keeping itself afloat because of the lack of clients.

Even though detective work got the spotlight thanks to Master Shellin's master, Ranpo Doyle, it was an unprofitable profession since everyone would trust the samurai regiment instead of private investigators. That was why any detective that was inspired by Ranpo Doyle either moved out of Miyako or chose a different job.

"That's an amazing deduction. You're pretty good... But is that all you can observe?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Mysta frowned.

"That samurai is holding a picture book that is commonly used as reading practice for toddlers learning how to read. While I can agree that the wife must've died from childbirth, don't you think it's too soon for that samurai to buy a book like that for a newborn baby?"

"I see. So he also has an older child."

Mysta looked out the window once more and clapped his hands after confirming what I said.

"Amazing. Who are you?" he asked.

"Rihito Sakasaki, a detective."

I couldn't help but smirk when giving out my identity. It was rare to meet another detective and it was fun to have a deduction battle. His observational skills were good but it just showed that I was paying more attention and observing things more closely.

"A detective? When I checked the guest list, I thought you were just Lui Takane's assistant. I wonder why a detective like you became an assistant", he said.

Ah.

"Lui Takane. She's an enigmatic woman. From what I've heard, she is a very successful businesswoman who had lots of stocks and assets. It could be said that her whims could affect the economy of the entire Yamato. I think I have an idea why a detective like you became her assistant", Mysta rubbed his chin.

"You can't bring food to the table by just waiting for clients. So I have to take a side gig", I replied.

"Understandable. I also had a hard time in Portia, my old city. The knight order just saw me as an annoying pest and since I couldn't make a living without having headaches, I decided to relocate to Yamato and open up my agency here."

"I see. That is unfortunate."

"Speaking of agencies, I heard about one strange event involving an agency called "Burgundy Detective Agency." It really raises some eyebrows."

"What do you mean?"

"Some time ago, there was a serial murderer on the loose. The case was resolved when the serial murderer was killed by a bounty hunter. And that's the strange part."

I could see where he was going with this and I hated how I couldn't get away from this conversation without raising any suspicions.

"Don't you think it's weird that a bounty was placed on a person despite it was never confirmed that he was a criminal? It only got accepted because when Haniwa Orewa died, the serial killings stopped so we could safely assume that he was the murderer. But if that wasn't the case, things would go downhill", he said.

"Yamato has a thing known as "Risk Bounties." They could put bounties on unknown criminals. Once it was confirmed that they killed the criminal, the bounty hunter would receive the money. If not, the bounty hunter will receive a punishment deemed appropriate by the court."