The woman was unsure of what she should do.
And now.
There was something she had to do, so she took action.
“…What did you just say, you bastard?”
The irritated woman spat the words at the man with annoyance.
“I surrender, I surrender. I give up, you’re too strong. So why don’t we make a deal instead?”
After knocking down the man who was trying to interfere with her mission, he said such a thing.
Despite likely having a few broken bones, the man just smiled dumbly.
“A deal, you say? What could I possibly gain from doing anything with the likes of you?”
“Well, you see. Doesn’t it seem like we’ve been chasing after the same case? So why not cooperate?”
“There’s no need for that. What makes you think I require assistance?”
The woman had absolute confidence in her own abilities.
She didn’t need to borrow anyone’s help.
She could solve the problem herself.
“Well, I’m not really worried about that part.”
“Are you sure you should just keep barreling forward like this?”
the man said with a smile.
“What are you getting at?”
The woman’s face contorted, and she nearly bit through the cigarette clenched in her teeth.
Should she really keep going like this?
Of course she should.
Pushing forward was her mission.
Or so it was supposed to be.
Irritated
at the person
“Well, you just seem kind of irritated and uncertain. I may not be as capable as you, but I have all sorts of information on people with special abilities like yourself.”
“More capable than me, you say?” Then the man smiled. “You think so, don’t you? I probably know more than you. So I can be of help.”
“Is that so…”
“I think I can assist you so you don’t lose sight of what you need to do.”
●
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Lonzder EnhanceDiah.
A tanned woman with a single red streak in her messy black bangs. Her asymmetrical hairstyle which reaches down to her chest looked self-cut but combined with her attractive features and defiant smile, it gave the illusion of an intentional style.
She wore a man’s shirt and pants held up by suspenders, with a jacket thrown over her shoulders instead of putting her arms through the sleeves.
The right pant leg was boldly cut off from the crotch down.
She wore her clothes with a bold, natural flair, like they were tailored perfectly for her form. Her legs were model-length, her waist curves inward, her ample chest demanded attention, and her straight posture was akin to a stage actress.
No matter where she was, it felt like she demanded to be the center of attention.
She naturally drew eyes and occasional applause, yet she never lent an ear to the voices around her.
An indomitable diamond that refused to bend, no matter what.
Upon seeing Norman, she opened with:
“Yo, Norman. Thought you’d be showing up soon. Mind sparingsparing a cigarette?”
She lounged in the middle of a couch that could probably seat three, propping her long legs up on the table in front of her.
On the low table was an overflowing ashtray piled with cigarette butts and some liquor bottles. There were also some familiar takeout boxes from a diner on Downey Street and scattered newspapers. The mess wasn’t limited to just the table either.
“………………”
Letting out a sigh, Norman placed a hand on his felt hat as he surveyed the scene.
Lonzder’s home was on the top floor of a three-story abandoned building.
It had originally been a combination warehouse and villa for a bootlegging gang, with an elaborately decorated interior.
About three months ago, Lonzder had singlehandedly raided and wiped out the gang, thereafter taking up residence there. She had set up the showers and toilets but if Norman hadn’t specially ordered replacements, the broken first and second floor windows would have remained shattered from her attack.
She was simply unkempt like that.
This was made evident by the fact that as Norman went around collecting trash in a thick burlap bag, Lonzder continued lounging on the couch smoking.
“Lonzder, I keep telling you to clean up a little yourself. It doesn’t look like you’ve tidied up at all since the last time I was here.”
“Hmph, what are you saying Norman?”
As Norman tossed bottles, paper scraps and other debris into the bag, Lonzder just waved her hand dismissively.
“If I did that, I’d be depriving you of your work. I understand the awkward feeling of being unemployed.”
“My job isn’t being a housekeeping service though.”
“So I’m not taking that from you then. My heart isn’t so narrow as to reject your love. It’s quite ample, in fact.”
“……”
“My chest is very ample.”
“Why did you rephrase it like that?”
Lonzder deliberately arched her chest as she knelt on the couch, causing Norman to sigh again.
With her shirt unbuttoned down to the third button, her tanned cleavage was peeking out.
Norman averted his gaze, not wanting to encourage her teasing antics, and continued collecting the garbage.
“I may lose out to some loyal hounds in certain ways. But don’t you think I come out on top in terms of perkiness and bounce?”
“If nothing else, you definitely outdo me in terms of fatigue-inducing.”
“Heh……”
“Please don’t take pride in that.”
Muttering complaints, Norman gathered up the visible trash and tossed it down the vertical shaft opening that led to the first floor.
The roughly two-meter wide hole was in the corner of the room, which was about the size of two modest living rooms.
He used thick burlap bags because the process involved dropping the trash down from the third floor first.
Afterwards, Norman would have to retrieve the bags, empty them properly, and then carry them back up – all part of his duties.
Once finished, he took a seat in the ornate chair across from Lonzder. Though showing its age, it was still rather luxurious – likely the chair the former gang boss used to sit in. But it was a bit too opulent, making it not quite comfortable to sit in.
Norman figured Lonzder probably chose the couch for that reason, among others.
“So, how have things been lately, Lonzder?”
“A colorful question. But I’ll indulge you. Last week I gambled away my entire fortune in a poker game. On the way home some punks tried to mug me, which pissed me off, so I took out their whole crew and robbed them, but I was still in the red overall. At least I got some booze and cigarettes out of it…Actually, no, even that was a wash since it was cheap swill. Pretty thin stuff.”
“Sounds like quite the eventful time.”
Her taking out muggers made her little better than them herself. With no stable job, most of her days were spent lounging in this room, drinking, smoking, gambling, or orchestrating her own muggings of street punks. Putting it that way, she sounded like a lost cause,
but Lonzder always carried an unflappable air of decadent beauty in her disheveled home.
Perhaps it was because she lacked any sense of desolation. There was an oddly aesthetic quality to her debauched lifestyle.
She just naturally exuded style in whatever state she was in.
“Well, if you’re going to drink rubbing alcohol straight from the bottle, any liquor is going to taste watered down.”
“That’s the only way to really catch a buzz anymore. Ah, but the cigarettes were good. They were actually handmaking their own batches. I liked ’em enough that I told them to give me one pack a week as a ‘tribute.’ Just finished off the latest pack, in fact.”
“I see. It’s rare for the heavy-smoking Lonzder to not properly ration her cigarettes.”
“Nah, I planned it out. I knew you were coming today.”
With a haughty “fufun”, she took a deep drag from the fresh cigarettes Norman had brought her.
Her gaze then turned to the stack of different newspapers lying on the table –
five different dates from this month alone.
“Four cases so far this month. And they’re all unsolved to boot. The cops may be incompetent but they’re not totally useless – for them to be stumped means these are cases that can’t be solved through normal investigation methods. And then yesterday, a notice for a fifth case arrived. Which naturally means you’d be called out to come see me.”
“…Impressive as always.”
“Elementary deduction, my dear assistant.”
“……….”
Norman couldn’t help but wonder if she had really needed to call him that.
“Well, that’s the situation. Seems like a job tailored for the Great Lonzder – phantom thief extraordinaire.”
“Hmph, what a ridiculous title.”
“Says the one with the ridiculous profession?”
“And? What of it?”
Prompted, Norman started to retrieve the case file from his coat draped over the chair.
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