Chapter 2: The Safe Left Open

CASE 1. The Blundering Detective (2)

I suddenly fell into an unfamiliar world.

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I had to crawl on the ground like a bug and struggle just to survive. However, it wasn’t long before I realized the “genre” of this world.

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The crime rate is abnormally high. Detectives are respected and treated with an unusual amount of deference. Bizarre cases that are hard to believe are reported in the newspapers every day. And above all, the culprit appears as a black silhouette.

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The genre of this world is mystery.

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I became a detective to survive and navigate this world that felt like a mystery manga.

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“Honey, what on earth is this man talking about? Me, the culprit?”

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The black shadow’s mouth moved rhythmically.

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To my eyes, it looked chillingly grotesque, but the man in the flat cap responded to his wife’s words as if nothing were wrong.

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“Don’t mind him. He’s just a delusional fool.”

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He spoke irritably.

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“I called him here thinking he was some great detective, but it seems he’s just a madman who thinks he’s one. His reasoning skills are pathetic, too.”

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“I understand it is difficult to believe.”

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I spoke as calmly as possible, yet with strength in my voice.

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“But unfortunately, the culprit of this theft is indeed your wife.”

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“Ah, stop talking nonsense and just get out of here. Before you get beaten up with that body that can’t even hold a cane properly.”

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I wasn’t discouraged at all by the client’s indifferent voice. Now that I had witnessed the culprit, I was certain that my words were the truth.

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“You must already have some inkling of this.”

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The man in the flat cap flinched at my assertion.

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“Did you really notice no signs at all? Even though your wife, who shares your house and your bed, was harboring other thoughts?”

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“……”

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“Honey? Are you actually doubting me?”

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The black shadow’s voice grew sharp.

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I quickly intervened.

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“I’m not asking you to judge right this moment. Show me the crime scene and tell me what you witnessed. In return, I will tell you the truth.”

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“Honey!”

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“…Evelyn, of course I don’t doubt you.”

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The man stammered an excuse.

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“But since we’ve already brought a detective here, let’s at least hear what this ridiculous fellow has to say.”

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Creak—.

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The closed door opened, and the muddy footprints that had stopped in front of the room continued inside.

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“Look. This is the crime scene. As you can see, the safe is wide open.”

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Just as he said, a small safe placed next to the couple’s bed was showing its empty interior.

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“What I witnessed wasn’t much. I came home from work and found it like this. I screamed immediately, and my wife, who happened to be returning from an outing, shouted from outside asking what was wrong. When I told her a thief had broken in, she rushed into the house, and soon the neighbors, hearing the commotion, gathered as well. One of them told me about a detective who arrived in town last night. So I went looking for you, and that’s all.”

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“The neighbors?”

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“They all came swarming in because there was a thief.”

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“I didn’t encounter a single person on my way here; where are those people now?”

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The black shadow’s mouth moved again.

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“Because a thief might have broken into other houses as well. They all went to check if anything was missing from their own homes.”

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“You were likely the one who suggested that, weren’t you? Since you would have wanted to get people away from the crime scene.”

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“Ha, why do you keep trying to frame me as the culprit?”

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As if offended, the shadow wavered violently.

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“Do you have any proof?”

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Proof? This appearance visible to my eyes was the most certain proof.

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‘If I actually said that, I’d just be hauled off to a mental hospital.’

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Since I couldn’t present evidence that only I could see, I had to guide others to derive the same answer I had.

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What that meant was:

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‘The culprit is already decided anyway, so I just have to keep cornering the opponent.’

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“Fine. Let’s go through it one by one, madam. First—”

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I pointed out the part that seemed most suspicious while listening to the testimony.

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“Where exactly did you spring up from?”

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“What?”

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“The client discovered the theft as soon as he returned home from work. Is that correct?”

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“Huh? Uh, yeah, that’s right. The safe door was open, so I thought it was a theft immediately.”

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“And so you screamed, and your wife responded from outside.”

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The story didn’t add up.

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“This house is at the end of a single path, isn’t it? It’s not like there’s another way, so how did your wife, who wasn’t seen at all during your commute home, appear from somewhere outside the moment you entered the house? Where did she spring up from?”

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The wife was the culprit.

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Therefore, the wife was lying.

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‘The wife was probably inside the house from the beginning.’

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Wouldn’t it be strange if a thief broke in while someone was clearly home? So she must have pretended to return from an outing later.

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“Now that you mention it, why didn’t I see Evelyn?”

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“Goodness! Honey, why is that so strange?”

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The culprit intervened.

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“You. Did you open the master bedroom door as soon as you got home?”

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“Eh? Uh, yeah. I did.”

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“Without even taking off your shoes?”

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“No, it’s not that, but…”

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“It was raining outside, so you must have been holding an umbrella, right? Didn’t you put that umbrella away? Didn’t you hang the coat you were wearing on the coat rack and your hat on the hat rack?”

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“Well… I don’t remember exactly, but I suppose I wouldn’t have skipped doing those things.”

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“That’s right. You just don’t remember because it’s a routine, but those trivial tasks take more time than you’d think. While you were dealing with all that, I was walking toward the house in a hurry. I mean, it was raining, so I had no choice but to quicken my pace. What’s so strange about me arriving near the house around the time you opened the bedroom door?”

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“It does sound plausible when you put it that way.”

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The client nodded.

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However, as long as I could see that black shadow, there was no way I would fall for such words.

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“Why did you assume he opened the bedroom door?”

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“What?”

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“The husband said he ‘discovered the theft as soon as he returned from work.’ Why did you think he could only discover the theft after opening the door?”

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“Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? The safe is in the master bedroom, so he would have discovered the theft after opening the bedroom door.”

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“But he said the safe door was open. If the safe was open, wouldn’t it be more natural to imagine that the bedroom door was also open?”

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This house had a very small and simple structure.

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If even the bedroom door had been open, the fact of the theft would have been discovered immediately upon entering the house.

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Thinking based on the man’s statement, wouldn’t that situation be more natural?

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‘Actually, the picture that came to my mind after hearing that testimony was something like that.’

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“Um… actually, it’s true that I discovered the theft after entering the bedroom.”

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The man, who had been listening quietly, cut in to speak.

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“The bedroom door was closed when I arrived.”

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“Is that so? That’s interesting. I couldn’t have guessed that before you told me, sir, so how did your wife know that in advance?”

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The wife had correctly identified the detail where the testimony and the crime scene didn’t align. How could she have done that?

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‘Because she’s the culprit, that’s why.’

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The black shadow reacted violently to the suspicious remark.

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“Eek! I could have just thought that unconsciously! It’s a trivial matter! Is it okay for someone calling himself a detective to pick on such a minor slip of the tongue? How pathetic!”

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Picking on a slip of the tongue, was it?

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‘That’s true.’

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I knew it as well. Even if there was a minor error in the wife’s words, it was far from decisive evidence, and it wasn’t even enough to be considered a suspicious circumstance.

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‘But what can I do? I can’t actually deduce things.’

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Since I didn’t have the confidence to make a plausible deduction, I had no choice but to pick on everything.

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‘And you are the culprit.’

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If the opponent is the culprit, they must be hiding something. If I keep nitpicking at the visible specks, the truth is bound to be revealed—!

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“Ah, come to think of it, when I rushed into the house, my husband was standing in front of the bedroom door. So I figured he must have discovered the theft after opening the bedroom door.”

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“……”

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“See? It’s natural, isn’t it? There’s no problem at all.”

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Since she put it that way, I had nothing to say.

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‘No, wait. That wasn’t the only strange thing I heard in the story!’

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There were still many things to nitpick.

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“Fine, let’s leave it at that. But isn’t it a very convenient coincidence?”

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“What now?”

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“The commute home that you claimed, madam.”

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The way the client and his wife returned home.

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The two were far enough apart that they didn’t see each other at all while returning. Yet they were close enough that the wife arrived near the house while the husband was doing a few trivial chores.

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“It’s quite amazing that you were both coming home side by side while maintaining such an exquisite distance.”

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“Don’t be sarcastic. That wasn’t a coincidence, you know? If you think about it, it was a very natural result.”

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The black shadow spoke as it extended a tentacle-like appendage from its body and attached it to the man’s hand.

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‘…Are they holding hands?’

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It might be romantic to them, but to my eyes, it was a chillingly gross sight as the shadow spoke.

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“I intended to be home before my husband finished work. But his work ended early, and that’s why we ended up arriving at similar times.”

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“Your husband finished work early?”

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That was information I couldn’t just ignore.

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“Client. Did you finish work earlier than usual today?”

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“I-I did, but…”

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When I pressed the client, he answered in confusion.

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“I had an important appointment tonight, so I left work about 30 minutes earlier than usual.”

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“Was it a pre-arranged schedule? In other words, would your wife have known you were leaving work early?”

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The man thought for a moment before shaking his head.

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“I wanted to leave early because of the appointment tonight, but whether I could actually do so depended on the situation, so I didn’t bother telling Evelyn.”

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The wife, who was the culprit, didn’t know the husband would finish work earlier than usual today?

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‘…!’

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“That’s why the safe door was open.”

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“Pardon?”

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Now I finally understood. The truly strange part of the story wasn’t that the bedroom door was closed, but that the safe door was open.

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I walked into the room and spoke while opening and closing the safe.

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“Look. This safe is perfectly fine for something a thief supposedly handled. There are no marks at all.”

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It was natural. Since the wife was the culprit, there was no need to force the safe open.

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“If she had just kept the safe closed, the theft of the money wouldn’t have been discovered immediately. For a thief, that’s more advantageous. Naturally, it should have been closed.”

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It wasn’t like it required a difficult maneuver. All she had to do was close it and lock it again.

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“But why wasn’t the safe closed?”

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The answer was simple.

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“The client didn’t arrive home after the money was stolen; he arrived while it was being stolen.”

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The wife tried to finish everything before her husband returned from work, but the husband had come home earlier than expected.

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“When the husband returned, the thief was still at the scene. But in this small house, there aren’t many places to hide. If she had stayed hidden, she would have been discovered before long.”

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The culprit knew this as well.

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That’s why the culprit made a bold move.

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“Rather than staying hidden and being caught, she chose to reveal herself and pretend to be a witness alongside him.”

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I declared once more.

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“Therefore, the culprit is indeed you. Mrs. Evelyn.”

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“Listen here, you really are—!”

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The black shadow spat out a sharp voice.

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“Honey! Are you going to believe such nonsense?”

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“Eh? Oh, no, but hearing it, it does seem somewhat plausible…”

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“You said it was nonsense with your own mouth earlier! Ugh, didn’t I tell you before? Your biggest flaw is how easily swayed you are! Are you going to be instigated by words without a single shred of evidence?”

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“E-evidence?”

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“Yes! Evidence! Look here, Mr. Self-Proclaimed Detective!”

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The shadow looked at me provocatively. Or rather, that was the feeling I got.

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“Would you stop scamming a gullible person with your strange delusions? The culprit not closing the safe door could have just been a mistake or an accident!”

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So said the culprit.

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“An accident?”

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“Yes. That safe was full of gold coins. So the culprit was so focused on moving the gold coins without spilling them that they simply forgot to close the safe door. Unlike a room door that can just be pushed shut with one’s body, closing and locking a safe door on the floor while holding an armful of gold coins is a very cumbersome task.”

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“That’s a very specific story. Is it from experience?”

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“It’s a deduction. A much more plausible deduction than yours. The culprit disappeared with the gold coins like that and just forgot about the open safe! That could happen! After all, their entire mind would have been focused on stealing the gold coins!”

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It wasn’t a completely illogical story.

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If I didn’t know who the culprit was, I would have had to consider such a possibility in my deduction.

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‘But as long as I know the culprit, I don’t have to think about that. There’s only one possibility.’

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I inserted the answer and derived the process.

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“Do you have proof? Evidence that I am the culprit!”

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“If it’s proof you want, it’s right here.”

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“What?”

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I raised my index finger and pointed down.

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“These muddy footprints here.”

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“Those are from after I discovered the incident—”

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“Yes. They are your footprints, madam. But madam, where exactly did you get this mud from?”

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A moment ago, the path I walked with the client was a slippery stone sidewalk.

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“On a rainy day, if you walked on a rain-soaked, slippery stone sidewalk, it’s normal for any existing mud to be washed away. Not for you to pick it up.”

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If there was a place around here where one could get mud on their shoes, only one place came to mind.

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“The moment the client returned home, you must have been in the yard.”

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A place where mud could get on shoes.

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A place where one could hide from the eyes of a returning husband and then pretend to have returned late.

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In this house, the yard was the only such place.

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To be more specific, even within the yard—.

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“Behind the large tree in the yard. That’s where you must have been.”

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There was no other place to hide in the yard.

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“Once we get this far, it becomes clear where you hid the money.”

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“What? You know where the money is hidden?”

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At the husband’s words, I shrugged as if it were obvious. It was a small revenge for being treated like an idiot earlier.

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“Otherwise, what else would she have done with that money?”

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When the husband arrived, the wife was in the middle of stealing the money and was near the large tree in the yard.

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Then there was no way the stolen money was far away.

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The wife had simply taken the money from the safe inside the house and moved it somewhere else within the property.

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“Th-then my money! Do you know where my money is, sir?”

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The husband asked, brightening up.

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“Yes, of course. Do you still not know?”

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If there was a place to hide money near the large tree in the yard, only one place came to mind.

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“Look inside that doghouse in the yard. The money will be inside it.”

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The husband rushed out.

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“Ha, haha! It’s true! The money is here! I’m saved!”

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Listening to the husband’s cheers from afar, I spoke one last time to the black shadow.

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“Now, give it up and admit it. The culprit is you. Mrs. Evelyn.”

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At this moment, when the culprit became undeniable with no room for rebuttal.

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Sshhh—.

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The black shadow dissolved into the air as if melting, and from within it, a middle-aged woman with a delicate appearance, looking very tired and exhausted, revealed herself.

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[Possession Perk: Mystery Manga Reader’s Vision]

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[The culprit’s appearance is obscured by a black silhouette until they are exposed.]

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As the culprit was revealed, all shadows were lifted, and her true form was shown.