Chapter 154: Chapter 4.4
Pandora's box and the world's taboo
"Next we will blow up this hall."
The enemy's eerie voice echoed throughout the venue.
This statement set the large room buzzing, but the surrounding group in gas masks leveled their machine guns at us until we fell silent again.
Fifteen minutes ago, a sniper had attacked the Oracle during the Ritual of Sacred Return. Most of the people attending the ceremony had run for it, but men in gas masks who'd been stationed throughout the palace had rounded us up and herded us into this hall. We were still there, under orders not to move, completely hostage to the terrorists.
I wasn't near Mia, Rill, or Siesta. Kimihiko was probably still in the hall where the ceremony had been held. I had to do my part here. And so—
"I'm glad you were close to me, Bruno," I said to the old gentleman beside
me, softly enough that the men in gas masks wouldn't hear.
"No, I'm the one who feels safer here, young Miss Ace Detective." Bruno's white whiskers shifted as he grinned. His all-encompassing generosity soothed my nerves just a little.
"I'm sorry," he went on gently. "I knew someone might be targeting me, yet my sense of duty kept me from backing out of the ceremony. I was unable to come up with any countermeasures, and now we've fallen into the enemy's hands. It's really deplorable."
"Please don't apologize. If you're going to put it that way, Siesta and I are the Ace Detectives, and we couldn't head off this crisis, either. We're all responsible."
This wasn't anybody's fault.
We were all trying to do the right thing. Even now, we were struggling to get there. That was what this was about.
For the sake of doing my own version of "the right thing," I asked Bruno a question. "So, Bruno. How much do you really know about Another Eden, or about the secret the Federation Government is hiding?"
I swallowed hard, and there was a moment of silence.
Had Bruno been defeated by the enemy? Had he failed to do anything at all? He was the world's wisdom itself; did he really have no idea who the enemy actually was, or what secret the world held? That wasn't possible.
If there was a reason he was staying here quietly anyway, it must have been that...
"Can you really not answer that? If it's information that could destroy the balance of the world..."
Bruno Belmondo, the Information Broker, possessed knowledge that could be more of a threat than any weapon, and he never shared it with others.
He was no longer a Tuner, but he still lived by that philosophy, even under these circumstances—no, because of these circumstances. The Information Broker worked constantly to keep the scales balanced.
"Bruno, please. The things you know could save lives."
If Bruno Belmondo was still captive to the Tuner way of life, then I would be, too. One more time, as the Ace Detective, I'd talk the Information Broker around. Besides... "Weren't you hoping we'd get it out of you anyway?"
Bruno himself was the one who'd first tried to make me the Ace Detective again. Two weeks ago, when he'd visited the detective agency and told us he wanted us to return to the position of Ace Detective, he'd said that what he could
do alone was limited, and he was trying to acquire more comrades.
"Once, there was a detective girl who asked me for a favor," Bruno said, sounding somehow nostalgic. "In this world, there's something known as an absolute taboo. A Pandora's box that must not be opened. A sealed coffin that will unleash disaster on the world. However, there was a time when I was desperate to learn about it. As the Information Broker who embodied the world's wisdom, I felt I had no choice," he went on. "One day, someone with the same ambition appeared. As the Information Broker, I was merely a database, but he was someone who used that information to act—"
"—The Ace Detective?" I asked. Bruno nodded wordlessly.
This interaction was how the roles of the Information Broker and the Ace Detective played out.
We'd tackled our missions together that way since time immemorial.
"However, he forced Pandora's box open, came into contact with the world's taboo, and died."
When Bruno said "he," he meant the former Ace Detective. The one who'd come before Siesta and me.
"And he told you about that taboo? About the answer?"
Bruno didn't answer that question, either. This time, maybe even the Information Broker really didn't know.
"The one thing I can say is that Pandora's box still slumbers somewhere in the world."
"Is what's inside it the secret the messenger from Another Eden wants? Does the Federation Government have custody of it?"
Bruno started to answer, but just then—
A man in a gas mask pushed the muzzle of a gun against his back. "Bruno...!"
I was startled, but Bruno only held up his hands, demonstrating that he didn't plan to resist. Then he grinned and asked the man, "Did you need me for something?"
The world's wisdom is about to perish.
The letter that had been sent to our agency flitted through my mind. Then the man in the gas mask marched Bruno away at gunpoint.
"It's all right." As he left, Bruno smiled at me. "In every era, I believe in the
Ace Detective."
The one thing we wanted to know
The view from the train that's carrying a bomb isn't a pretty one.
Noel didn't pretend she didn't know what I meant. She only pressed her lips together tightly, as if she'd been expecting this.
"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you, Noel?"
"Yes. After all, we'd been warned that the messenger from Another Eden would attack. I also knew Grandfather might be caught up in it."
That was true. Roughly two weeks ago, Noel and Bruno had alerted us to the crisis that could happen at the Ritual of Sacred Return. But...
"After that, we got a letter saying, 'The world's wisdom is about to perish.' You sent that, didn't you?"
Silence fell between us.
The hall was as noisy as ever, and I heard quite a few people denouncing the absent Federation Government officials. Nobody was listening in on our conversation.
"That sounds as if it was written by a criminal. Why do you feel I'd send a letter like that to the Shirogane Detective Agency, Mr. Kimihiko?"
"Suspecting someone who's been watching you the whole time is a pretty natural reaction, isn't it?"
"......"
My retort was blunt, but Noel's expression didn't flicker. That didn't mean she was admitting to anything, though.
"Noel, you've been watching us constantly since yesterday. You came to the airport to get me, you invited us on that cruise, and you kept tabs on our movements after that."
"You were invited to the ceremony. As a member of the Federation Government, it was my job to attend you."
"Rill and Mia told me nobody from the government attended them. When you contacted us, you had a reason of your own."
"...As I told you, I wanted your advice regarding the threat to Grandfather." "Yeah, speaking of Bruno. Yesterday evening, he and I met up, just the two of
Who did you hear about that from?"
In the car today, on the way to the venue, Noel had started out by asking me if I'd slept well yesterday, and in the course of that conversation, she'd said: "You
met Grandfather again, didn't you?"
I hadn't told Noel about that. She shouldn't have had that information. She couldn't have gotten it without watching me or eavesdropping on us.
"I heard about it from Grandfather yesterday. He said he'd talked with you." "Impossible. There's no way the Information Broker would have broken a
promise and leaked information that easily."
Bruno wouldn't slip up like that, not even with his granddaughter. I'd set that meeting up in secret. I'd specifically told him it might be harder to talk if Noel was there. There was no way he hadn't understood me.
"Noel. Look at this."
That was when I got a text with an image attached, and the timing could not have been better.
"It's a photo of a bug. They found it in our hotel room."
Of course, Noel had arranged for us to stay in that room. I could only think of one reason it would have a listening device in it.
"...Why now?"
"We would have preferred to look for it ourselves, but the room might have had hidden cameras, too. We couldn't afford to search for bugs like that; it would've looked too sketchy."
We'd finally managed to get proof, though: A certain idol had found this for us, using her impressive insight. I'd go along with all of her whims for as long as she wanted later. I was so glad that her overseas performance tomorrow was right here in France.
"Also, this. There was a miniature bug in the coat I wore last night." I showed Noel the follow-up image Saikawa had sent. "That one was packed in my suitcase. They must have messed with it at the airport, huh?"
That was why my luggage had been so late: because the trap was already being set.
"...You picked up on that, and you still wore the coat?"
"I only thought it was a possibility. When I was talking with Nagisa in the park last night, though, I intentionally brought up Bruno. That's how you knew, isn't it?"
Ever since Siesta, Nagisa, and I had arrived in France— Actually, from the moment we'd boarded our flight, we'd suspected we might be under surveillance. For that reason, I'd regularly laid traps for Noel in our conversations, and when the detectives and I held strategy meetings at the hotel, we'd conversed entirely by text, acting as if we were just messing around with
our smartphones.
"But this doesn't hold together logically. You haven't said what initially made you suspect I would watch you at all."
"You weren't the only one we suspected." Noel gulped, gazing into my face.
"We don't trust anybody. Even as we banter and laugh together, we constantly doubt what's happening right in front of us, investigate it minutely, and weigh it. That's a detective's job. It's how we do things."
There was a time when we'd thought that if the other option was doubting people, we'd rather just get tricked—Nagisa in particular. However, in the midst of all our cases and battles, we'd learned that that alone wouldn't let us save people. Pure hearts weren't what we needed.
So now, this was how I thought: If the other option was believing people, it was better to trick them. When we wanted to save many things at once, we became scam artists as well as detectives.
"Noel, be honest. Tell me what you're hiding."
I'd played all my cards now. This was the only objective proof we had; Siesta had been the one to suggest it. Hopefully, it would be enough to make Noel fold. "Not yet." Noel shook her head slightly. "I admit I had you under surveillance.
But that doesn't mean I sent that letter. Mr. Kimihiko, what makes you so certain I'm involved?"
...Right. After providing proof, we needed to demonstrate a motive. This time, I'd borrow Nagisa's ability. Her words had power, and I was sure she'd argue Noel down. "Sorry we weren't able to take your request."
Noel's eyes widened.
"You thought if you told us 'The world's wisdom is about to perish,' the Ace Detectives would take action to protect Bruno, didn't you?"
That hadn't been advance warning of a crime. It had been a request for the detectives to take a case. Noel had wanted us to protect the world's wisdom from the hands of the enemy. She could have just asked us to protect Bruno directly, but she'd probably assumed her appeal would be more efficient if the situation seemed worse than it actually was.
"You also guessed that the detectives were bound to thoroughly investigate Bruno Belmondo, the person they were supposed to guard. That was what you were really after."
That was exactly right: Noel had sent us that letter because she'd wanted the detectives to investigate something about Bruno.
"I don't need to turn to a detective to learn about Grandfather. I know everything there is to—"
"No. There's something even you don't know about him."
It was a question Noel had always kept locked away in the depths of her heart, but she'd finally touched that black box.
"You wanted to know why Bruno Belmondo adopted you, and why he dissolved your relationship after more than ten years."
Noel looked down. Her long gray hair fell like a screen to hide her face.
From this point on, there was a chance that my subjective opinions would get mixed in with the facts. But I wanted her to hear this as a hypothesis. "Noel. Roughly two weeks ago, you learned that Another Eden was trying to disclose a secret that the Federation Government was protecting."
Noel had probably picked up on the fact that they were holding on to top secret information long ago, though. She'd told me yesterday that there were rumors about it.
"That was when you hit on a plan. You'd use this situation to learn about that secret."
"Whatever for? I inherited this position out of necessity, and I have no personal interest in secrets like that."
She probably did mean that. I had never gotten the impression she took pride in fulfilling her duties as a government official, or in having returned to the noble Lupwise family.
On the other hand, she had another emotion that was very hard for her to fight. "I doubt you can say that even Bruno doesn't matter, though."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"You've always had doubts about your monthly dinners with him. Why does he still meet with you, even though he isn't fostering you anymore? Does he have some other reason? For example—trying to get information on the secret of the world out of you?"
Noel had guessed that the Belmondo and Lupwise families were bound to each other by that secret, and that it might have been why Bruno had adopted her. Since she had the potential to become a government official someday, he might have been attempting to get closer to the world's secret by buying her affection.
Noel was the child of a mistress, and her family had treated her coldly. If Bruno had said he wanted to adopt her, the Lupwises would have had no reason to refuse.
In addition, Bruno had somehow known that the Lupwise family heir would
vanish in the near future. As a result, the position of government official would go to Noel, putting her closer to the world's secret.
"...Are you implying that I always doubted Grandfather's love?"
I was. A girl had suddenly experienced love for the first time in her life, and she'd wanted to know why. She'd feared there might be some ulterior motive behind it. That was why, right now...
"You used this convenient crisis. You thought if you could disclose the world's secret, you'd be able to learn what Bruno really wanted."
"That...isn't... I didn't want this, at least. That's why I—!" Noel was keeping her voice down, but her fervent emotions came through loud and clear.
Gently, I squeezed her hand. "Yeah, so I'd like to apologize to you. You did want to resolve this sooner, didn't you? After all, you kept asking us—well, the detectives—to help you. You wanted us to investigate Bruno and protect him."
Noel flinched.
"I'm sorry we couldn't help you."
As far as Noel was concerned, she'd sown the seeds well in advance, and yet we hadn't gotten any of the results she'd wanted. It must have been really irritating. Even keeping us under surveillance after we arrived in France hadn't gotten her the information she wanted.
Today, she'd reluctantly resorted to entrusting her long-cherished wish to the mastermind.
"Noel, please, help me. I promise we'll grant your wish later. I want you to tell me anything else you know. You've figured out what's really going on here, haven't you?"
We still hadn't learned what the hidden secret was, or anything about Another Eden's messengers. The origin text hadn't shown me those answers.
As a matter of fact, we'd hoped to find out the truth by keeping an eye on Noel. But she'd kept that information hidden, even after our failure to do what she wanted. What she'd gone that far to protect was—
"You win. I'll tell you everything." Noel's voice was slightly tearful. "I know who really orchestrated this crisis."
Just then, the door at the front of the hall flew open with a loud bang, and two figures entered. One was an armed man in a gas mask. He was holding his gun to an elderly man's back.
"...Bruno?"
As the two of them slowly climbed the steps to the stage, the Information Broker's expression was tense. At the altar, they both turned to face forward.
"I thought I gave you enough time, but no one has come forward with the answer."
It wasn't the man in the gas mask who spoke. That man had already lowered his gun and was waiting off to the side.
"Please, Mr. Kimihiko," Noel begged in a trembling voice. "Stop Grandfather."
Bruno Belmondo, Information Broker and the world's wisdom, took out a pistol and shot a nearby government official doll.
"Don't you think it's time humanity awoke from this transient peace?"
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