"...Explain. Quickly."
"Y-Yes, sir."
I could feel my subordinate watching me, gauging my mood.
Was I really that visibly irritated? But I didn’t have the luxury to care about that right now.
Something was definitely off.
That face. That smile.
It was the kind of smile someone makes when they’re absolutely certain they won’t get caught.
Most innocent suspects don’t act that bold in a situation like that.
People who’ve never experienced it might scoff and ask why they’d panic, but that’s just the bravado of the inexperienced.
In reality, if you’re falsely accused and treated as a suspect for something you didn’t do, you’d be overwhelmed with anxiety.
You’d show all kinds of signs of distress.
...But what about her?
Not a hint of unease—just a confident smile.
A voice filled with the certainty that no matter what, she wouldn’t be caught.
Of course, as I’d told my subordinate yesterday, it was possible she wasn’t the culprit.
But it was still suspicious. Far too suspicious.
That look of hers—like she already knew the criminal would be caught—kept circling in my mind.
"The suspect is a 38-year-old male, Erio Orland. His Ability is Replication. He can use any Ability he sees for a day."
"He copied her Ability with that?"
"Yes. It’s the perfect Ability for framing someone else."
If that man really was the culprit, then everything made sense.
It wouldn’t be a coincidence—it would be inevitable.
It wouldn’t be a random chance that the crimes happened where she was; he had arranged it that way.
Even the spider drawing could have been deliberately added to make the culprit easier to identify.
We’d have to investigate further to know his exact motives, but the case was essentially closed now. He’d already been caught.
It was logical. It fit.
And yet, a sense of unease washed over me. Even though I understood that it all added up.
"...Why didn’t you tell us?"
"Sir?"
"It was our case. Why did I have to find out through the news that the culprit was caught?"
"...Ah, well, he... he turned himself in."
"Turned himself in?"
"Yes. He said he was afraid of retaliation. That he’d rather take his chances in prison than disappear without a trace at the hands of the Webermensch."
"Ha. That’s rich."
Absolute nonsense.
After slaughtering that many villains, a death sentence was practically guaranteed.
Execution decisions do take public opinion into account, so maybe the fact that he killed villains would spare him from the death penalty.
After all, public sentiment might side with him for killing scum who deserved it.
...But would the victims’ allies really just let it slide?
There were countless cases of villain gang members ending up dead in prison after causing trouble.
Guards were supposed to prevent it, but prisons were essentially criminal dens.
No one really cared if a few inmates died—it just meant longer sentences for the killers, who were already criminals.
"You expect him to survive in prison after butchering that many? Ridiculous."
"...You’re right."
It would be a bloodbath of revenge.
Those guys were criminals, after all. Plenty of them wouldn’t hesitate to kill for the right price, even if it meant adding a few years to their sentence.
He’d be a cold corpse before long.
Did he not realize that? No, he had to know.
An organization that big would have members in every prison. Survival was impossible.
And that wasn’t even the only problem.
Even if I somehow managed to survive prison, if I had done nothing, Arte Isis would be the prime suspect.
So why did she turn herself in?
"Why are you acting like this? Normally, you’d ignore it and move on to the next case."
"…It’s just too suspicious. There’s definitely something off."
This was a case of a villain killing another villain.
If the culprit had been caught, I should’ve just accepted it and moved on.
But her face kept flashing in my mind.
"Didn’t I say that villains who enjoy self-aggrandizement disrupt investigations and take pleasure in it?"
"Yes, you did."
"Right. That’s exactly what they do."
There were too many oddities to count.
The way she spoke, her expression—it was as if she knew the culprit would be caught.
Her bizarre, almost chaotic behavior.
The case had been resolved without ever coming to us, the investigators.
And to top it off, the culprit had framed Arte Isis as the suspect before suddenly confessing?
…It was all too suspicious.
"Get me more information on Arte Isis."
"Huh? But the culprit already confessed… Do you think she’s the real criminal?"
"Yes. So get me more, now!"
"Ah, but we’ve already had our authority revoked. The investigation is over, so we can’t look into her anymore."
-BAM!
Frustration surged, and I slammed my fist down on the desk.
The subordinate flinched at the noise, and I felt a twinge of guilt. Had I hit it too hard?
"Then I’ll investigate her personally."
"Y-Yes…?! But—!"
"I know, it’s dangerous. But what can I do when it’s this suspicious?"
The thought lingered in my mind: someone had been forced to confess to throw the investigation off track.
"This is troublesome."
[Huh? What is?]
"That person from yesterday. You heard what the teacher said, right?"
[Ah, ah! That cool person!]
…So she thought he was cool.
Regardless of his appearance, he was just an annoying obstacle to me right now.
After class, the teacher had casually approached me and let me know:
She had asked to meet with me the next afternoon.
Given that the culprit had already been caught, her request to talk to me was obvious. She still suspected me.
If I refused, it would only make me look more suspicious, so I’d accepted… but.
Why? Why was she suspicious of me?
I’d clearly set someone up to take the fall. With the culprit already caught, was there any reason to still suspect me?
…Was it my appearance again? It always felt like I was the only one getting treated like a suspect.
"Sigh. I had other things I wanted to take care of in my free time."
[Other things?]
"The Weaver Menace. I need to thin their numbers a bit."
[Ah. Oh, right…?]
There were just too many of them.
Currently, there were 11 executives and roughly 2,200 members.
At this rate, the power inflation would be impossible to manage.
So before Yu Siwoo and the Weaver Menace clashed directly, I wanted to cull their numbers a little. But with this person sticking around, it was going to be a pain.
"Hmm, should I just kill him…?"
[No! An Academy professor and a handsome detective who’s an old friend? We can’t let someone like that go to waste!]
"Ugh…"
The problem was that the author seemed to like him.
She must’ve taken a liking to him the moment she saw him. She was absolutely opposed to killing him.
Even if I wanted to add some setting to prevent him from interfering, she’d object.
It seemed the idea of investigating the case had really captured the author’s interest.
"Sigh. I guess I have no choice."
-Clap, clap.
He clapped twice, fully embodying the author’s tastes.
Pulling on a leash isn’t stylish or whatever.
It was only poor Laira who had to suffer through listening for that tiny sound. Well, her hearing seemed good enough, so maybe it didn’t matter.
After a brief moment, Laira arrived, her purple hair flowing behind her.
"…What is it?"
"I have another small favor to ask."
"…?"
"Do you happen to be good at drawing? Actually, it doesn’t matter if you’re not. You’ll end up being good at it."
He flashed her a bright smile.
If throwing one person under the bus wasn’t enough to clear suspicion, then he’d just have to try another method.
"Hmm, do you need something from me again? I heard the culprit was already caught."
"No, I just came to apologize."
"Apologize?"
Apologize for what?
It was just an excuse, nothing more. If he had to apologize to every person under investigation, it would take far longer than this.
He was only testing her reaction. He didn’t feel even a shred of remorse.
"Yeah. Since the culprit’s been caught, I realized I might’ve been too harsh back then. So I came to apologize. Sorry."
"No, it’s fine. At the time, the culprit hadn’t been caught yet, so it was only natural for me to be suspected."
Suspecting people is part of the job, she added with a small smile.
"Arte… You really are such a considerate girl…! You’re as kind as you look."
Are your eyes broken?
He swallowed the words before they could escape.
Even if she was a friend, that remark was a bit…
If this woman looked kind, then everyone in the world must look like a saint.
Still, she sure had a soft spot for students, didn’t she?
She’s completely smitten.
"Right. That’s all I came to say. Thanks for understanding."
"Don’t mention it. I wasn’t the culprit, so it’s fine."
With that, the conversation ended.
…No real gains, huh. As expected, mere suspicion wasn’t enough.
A wasted trip?
As he let out a quiet sigh, his subordinate called.
"Ah, sorry. I need to take this."
"Go ahead. Take your time."
What now? He had definitely told them he was coming here.
Did something urgent come up?
He pressed the phone to his ear, and his subordinate’s frantic voice poured out.
[H-Ha-Yul nim! It’s an emergency!]
"What is it? Spill it. What happened?"
[A-Arachne! Arachne has appeared! Ten minutes ago, there was a report of a villain in an alley being torn apart! Just like before! A spider drawn in blood! And there were threads left behind!]
"What?"
[As expected of Ha-Yul nim! You knew the culprit hadn’t been caught!]
"…"
[The higher-ups are in chaos right now! U-What should we do?]
In that instant, his gaze snapped to her.
With her crimson eyes on full display, she wore a faint smile—one that almost seemed to mock him.
She clearly couldn’t have heard what they were talking about.
…And yet, that smile, as if everything had gone according to plan, gnawed at him.
"Wait. I’ll be there soon."
[Y-Yes!]
Ten minutes ago… That was right after Arte Isis had left here and started talking to him.
…No way.
"Seems like you have an emergency. Shouldn’t you go?"
"…Yeah, I need to hurry. Thanks for your consideration."
"Don’t mention it."
No, he should leave first.
Continuing this silent battle any longer seemed pointless.