Mr. Detective...
Someone else told me earlier
that you could see through lies.
Generally speaking, elves are practiced liars.
Dwarves, on the other hand, are poor liars.
I've got dwarvish blood, so I don't lie.
It's true. Please believe me.
Don't arrest me. Arrest the guy who killed my wife!
Well, that's the common view.
By the way, I'd like to ask you something...
I reviewed your testimony.
You got home at 5:40 pm, discovered the body, and immediately reported it.
Is that correct?
Yes, that's right...
I mean, it's my civic duty, isn't it?
That's right, it is.
Normally, when someone finds a family member's body in their home,
they're late in reporting it.
They sense danger and freeze,
wonder if there could be an intruder in the house,
and then call an ambulance and the police.
That's how we can predict they'll act.
And yet, you made a report as soon as you got home,
within one minute of getting home and finding the body at 5:40.
Th-That's because... I could tell she was dead.
I knew right away.
That makes sense.
You have no training, but you knew she was dead without even touching her.
You did report that she was dead, after all.
I thought it was suicide.
Things... weren't going well for her at work.
Or at home, for that matter.
N-No... That's not...
Your wife was bringing her stress from work home with her.
Was there any domestic violence?
It looks like there was.
I-I didn't kill my wife!
You hired somebody to do it?
Shit!
This case is under our jurisdiction now. Pleasure to work with you.
Don't get cocky, Ichinose.
I'm never cocky.
What's with that guy?
Even if he knew the husband was behind it,
I can't believe he even got him to confess the hitman he hired...
That guy can read minds.
Is he psychic?
No idea.
He's got credentials in criminal kinesics or something.
I hear he even helped the FBI in his student days.
Wow.
What's someone that good doing in that garbage dump?
No clue. I wonder...
"Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit"
An update on the incident a few days ago
in which several armed men holed up in a Nihonbashi bank
--and stole money and goods. --Um... Excuse me,
what am I supposed to do here?
Oh, yes.
Do you know anything about Special 7, Nanatsuki?
No, nothing!
Definitely not any rumors about it being a bunch of good-for-nothings or a burden.
How depressing.
Listen, our section specializes in pursuing Nine-related crimes.
"Nine"? The terrorist organization?
They worship dragons,
the mystical beings that once ruled this world.
Dragons...
Since the dawn of history, many humans have revered and worshiped dragons.
Some have tried to gain power from them as well.
Many humans turn to crime to gain power.
Viewing them as a type of terrorist,
Special 7 was created to firmly oppose them.
But in the terrorist attack nine years ago, their leader was arrested, right?
That's right.
Warlock, their supposed leader, was arrested.
It took many sacrifices, but they were effectively destroyed.
A happy ending.
So, there's nothing for us to do...?
It's a real problem.
If there are no special crimes, we'll all be out of a job.
Should we really be hoping for crimes?
So, at the moment, we swipe a few cases from other sections
to get some results to our credit.
They can't be happy about that...
Well, that's about it for the section.
Let me re-introduce you to the other members.
I'll start with myself.
Sakon Zeroemon Kiryuin.
My code-name is Boss.
Code-name?
I've taken the liberty of giving each of us a code-name.
First, that dwarvish dandy sitting over there.
That's Rokusuke Endo. His code-name is Sniper.
Give it a rest with the code-name.
It's embarrassing.
But it's so cool...
Well, as you'd expect from the code-name Sniper, he's an expert marksman.
That was straightforward.
Pleased to meet you.
Hey there.
This elvish man is Kujaku Nijo.
His code-name is Analyzer.
Don't call me by my code-name.
Nijo, then.
Pleased to meet you.
If you want to know something, you should ask him.
He has all kinds of connections.
Yes, sir. Understood.
Please get in the habit of trying to do things yourself before you rely on others.
Akane Shikisai.
Her code-name is Samurai.
You can call me whatever you like.
Nice to meet you, new guy.
Um... Shikisai?
She may not look it, but she's a vampire. A real rarity.
A vampire samurai. Cool, right?
Vampires suck blood, right...?
I'm Bellemer Cinq.
My code-name is Ninja!
Um... Aren't you... a minor?
Age doesn't matter for homunculi.
We're considered adults the moment we're born.
Meaning that I'm your senior.
Got it?
I see...
And that goes double because...
I'm a ninja!
What can Ninja do?
She'll explain just about everything mechanical to you.
She's highly capable.
Yup.
Wow.
Drones are my specialty!
Whoa!
Pleased to meet you...
And finally,
there's Ichinose, who you already know.
His code-name is Charisma.
"Charisma"...?
Don't call me by that code-name. Only Boss does it.
And don't ask my first name, either.
Your first name...?
Don't. Ask.
All right, Seiji Nanatsuki,
your code-name is Rookie!
That's just awful!
What, you don't like it?
What's the big deal, Rookie ?
Oh, by the way, Charisma...
I mean Ichinose,
it looks like we might be able to get a case. I leave the rest to you.
You heard him, Rookie! Follow me.
No, I really don't want that code-name.
That's why I'm using it.
Hey there.
First time at a crime scene?
Yes.
I've been at the scenes of crashes when I was on traffic duty, but that's it.
The victim?
Name: Hyogo Arisawa, occupation: politician... right?
He was making a name for himself in the ruling party recently.
He lost in the last election, though.
So, an ex-politician?
A politician who loses an election is just a regular person.
But... it looks like he wanted to get re-elected.
How can you tell?
A daruma with one eye left blank.
Someone who quit politics wouldn't need it, right?
Oh...
Still, talk about bad taste.
Seriously.
The cause of death is, um...
One stab to the heart with a knife.
Doesn't look like suicide, then.
The first to discover the body was his secretary, Yosuke Kasuga.
Arisawa didn't show up to a meeting, so he got the landlord to let him in.
And they found the body, huh...?
No one else lives on this floor, right?
Not with the size of this place.
So, Ichinose,
where do we start our investigation?
I've got it.
The secretary did it.
I see.
Wait, you already figured it out?!
I was just thinking that would make our lives easier.
Oh, I see.
Belle? What's up?
You're at Mr. Arisawa's place, right?
That's right. Is something wrong?
Well, as a matter of fact, it seems like a report just came in
and there are three more bodies.
Three?!
And they're all politicians too.
What a shocker, huh?
So... four politicians were killed in one night.
That... sounds interesting.
Victim 1: Hyogo Arisawa, 37.
Former member of the Lower House for the ruling party.
Currently unemployed, but it looks like he was seeking re-election.
Cause of death is a single knife thrust to the heart.
Victim 2: Haruka Sakuma, 42.
Member of the Lower House for the ruling party.
Cause of death is the same as Hyogo Arisawa.
Victim 3: Kentaro Masuoka, 53.
Member of the Lower House for the opposition.
Same cause of death.
Victim 4: Toru Motoyama, 60.
Member of the House of Councilors for the ruling party.
Cause of death... You get the idea.
All the same, huh?
Well, I'm stumped. Do they have anything in common?
Currently under investigation.
So, what do we do?
Let's split up and figure something out.
Belle will stay behind and handle communications.
Shikisai, check each victim's election office.
Okay!
Understood.
Gramps will go to the coroner's and check on the cause of death and murder weapon.
You got it.
I will investigate the four politicians.
Rookie, we're going to examine the crime scenes.
Yes, sir!
Well then, Special 7,
all officers, move out!
I'm going to stay here, though.
Move out.
So, that was the last crime scene...
We looked as hard as we could,
but we didn't find a thing...
That's how investigations go.
Gramps reported back.
Like we thought, the weapons match.
The same weapon, huh?
So, our perp killed four people in one night?
Samurai got the four's schedules from their election offices. I've listed them up for you.
Wow. You sure are efficient.
I'm a ninja, after all.
Is Shikisai there?
Hi there. What is it?
Did you get alibis for everyone involved?
Yes. Nothing suspicious about the families' alibis.
Their secretaries have pretty clear alibis as well.
So it won't be that easy, huh?
That figures...
Did you learn anything about the victims?
Publically, they have nothing in common.
Their birthplaces and electoral districts are all different.
Their political ideologies?
Don't match.
They only agree on tax reduction.
Every politician says that.
If they all want to lower taxes, how come they keep raising them?
I assume they compartmentalize.
So, they had nothing in common at all?
No, there was one thing.
What?
All four appear on an online list of "The Top Politicians I Wish Would Die."
Politicians you wish would die...?
"The Top Politicians I Wish Would Die"
"Hyogo Arisawa: Abuse of Power" Let me see... They want them dead because
"Hyogo Arisawa: Abuse of Power" Hyogo Arisawa was accused of abusing power at work,
"Haruka Sakuma: Affair" Haruka Sakuma had an affair,
"Kentaro Masuoka: Drunk Driving" Kentaro Masuoka was suspected of drunk driving,
"Toru Motoyama: Admissions Bribery Middleman" and Toru Motoyama helped people buy their way into schools?
Isn't there anything more serious?
Like murder or something?
Nothing.
Public Safety is apparently acting on the theory that the killer was influenced by this blog.
What? Is this information even true?
They seem to be rumors from anonymous message boards
that this blog decided to pin on these politicians.
Huh? There are no other sources?
It seems not.
Someone believed those vague rumors and killed all four of them?
That's awful.
I've got a feeling that's not it.
I can dig a little deeper.
Could you and Belle investigate the blog itself as well?
Roger. Ending communication.
Man, that guy's so stiff.
Please take this seriously,
"Charisma" Ichinose!
I'll give it my best shot,
so don't call me "Charisma."
Good morning.
Got it!
Hm?
You figured it out?
Well, you see, starting with the conclusion,
this whole blog is a fake.
All of it?
Look, it has a comments section. See?
It does. So what?
Eighty-three out of 89 comments were submitted by the same provider.
So they're sock puppets?
It's more like the whole blog is a sham.
Even if you submit a comment, it just gets canceled.
It doesn't just take time to show up?
Nope.
Everything about this blog is managed and controlled by a single person.
Why would anyone do that? It sounds pointless.
To make a threat.
What do you mean?
This site's source of information is solid.
It looks like just a collection of rumors at first glance,
but it's more than that.
The scandals posted on the list
are false, but they're also true.
Hey, I don't get it. What's that mean?
The truth is worse.
They're written to sound harmless.
Take Hyogo Arisawa's abuse of power, for instance.
It's actually a labor issue involving corporations. There have even been deaths from overwork.
The families of the deceased tried to sue, but the suit was retracted at the last minute.
This love affair is the same.
It was actually child prostitution.
In other words, this blog isn't idle gossip;
it's written so that only the people concerned will realize the truth.
So, who runs this blog?
Mitsuru Suga. Ex-Public Safety.
Could he be the killer?
No one's stupid enough to cut off his own source of income.
Besides, even in terms of time,
there's no way he could have killed all four in one night by himself.
Then he's innocent?
No, he's not innocent.
I've got it.
Let's go solve this thing, Rookie!
You've actually figured something out this time?
Yeah, I have.
It wasn't me.
Yeah, I know.
I'm just going to run my mouth a bit.
If you disagree with anything I say, speak up.
You used your Public Safety connections to get a hold of scandals involving politicians.
But just using them to threaten politicians would be a crime.
You didn't want to take that risk.
So, you decided to leak the information in the form of a third party's blog.
Of course, it didn't matter if people who visited the site believed it.
What mattered was the politicians themselves seeing it.
It must have spooked them to see something so close to the truth
on a blog that looked like a bunch of baseless rumors.
Like the author knew, but was hiding it.
N-No. That blog is just baseless rumors!
I just got the wrong idea!
I suppose you'd have to claim that...
Yeah. For Public Safety's sake, too.
Don't worry, that has nothing to do with it.
But there were people working for the politicians who had access to you, right?
It was them.
The four secretaries knew about you,
and they knew the scandals were worse than anyone imagined.
So, the four of them secretly joined forces.
To put it simply, it was a relay murder.
They used the same weapon to make it look like the same killer
and arranged their schedules
to give each of them an alibi,
and also time to kill a politician they had nothing to do with.
Of course, they wanted someone to take the fall for it in their places.
Someone who killed their four bosses in a fit of righteous indignation.
A mystery killer concerned for the nation...
Who do you think would fit the bill?
M-Me...?
You got it.
At this rate, you're going to be the killer...
Are you okay with that?
I-It wasn't me! It wasn't!
Those four secretaries did come to see me!
They gave me money.
I secretly filmed the exchange!
Great. Give me that footage.
Didn't you say that it was impossible for one person to do in one night, Ichinose?
The end justifies the means, as they say. Besides, Suga didn't know that.
It was a bluff?
Now to arrest the other four simultaneously.
Why simultaneously?
They're close-knit enough to kill for each other.
They're comrades in arms, so to speak.
It's not only good guys who sacrifice themselves to let their comrades get away.
So, we arrest all the others at the same time...?
That's the idea.
We arrest them all in one fell swoop.
"Hyogo Arisawa for an Energetic Japan! Bittersweet Party"
Hey! Wait!
Huh? Why did he suddenly...?
Damn! Someone tipped him off!
Go, Rookie! Bow-wow!
What am I, a dog?!
I'm on it!
He's fast!
I forgot to mention it, but that secretary's ex-military.
Tell me these things sooner!
Also... where are you?!
Sorry, I'm not fast on my feet.
So I'm on my own, then! Roger!
Whoa.
You're under arrest.
Hey, stop!
Just turn yourself in!
We have a mission!
We must purge the filthy politicians
and enact pure, just government by our own hands!
They told us we were just!
--That our desire to kill was righteous! --"They"...?
Ow...!
Damn!
Oh, no...!
--Die! --Like hell I will!
The instant you killed someone, your anger...
...was neither pure nor just!
Good grief. Looks like I made it in time.
You okay, Rookie?
No, you totally weren't on time.
Good work.
You too.
How was it?
I'm glad we were able to solve the case.
Is that so? Glad to hear it.
Let's take care of one more job while we're at it.
One more?
The victims have families.
We have to report the arrests to them.
Oh...
The people who were killed may have been evil,
but sometimes people like that only show their families their good sides.
Then...
Reporting the truth will make us evil in the eyes of their families.
That must be tough.
When you can do this calmly, you graduate from being a rookie.
Some people never manage it.
Let's go, Rookie.
I asked you to stop calling me that.
What?
The diamond from that bank robbery case?
Doesn't the bank have it for safekeeping?
It was stolen?
"File.02" "The Two Investigate"
Next time: "The Threefold Trap."