The Will o’ the wisp of Catacombs
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“Hyahaha! You got me, detective!”
The brown-skinned woman heard the shout from behind.
“Don’t forget! I’ll definitely—!”
“……Pathetic.”
Exhaling a plume of purple smoke, the woman spat the words dismissively.
The man being hauled away by the police was already part of her past.
“Magnificent work, Ms. Slaney.”
The next voice belonged to the lord of the Rubyvas territory.
A middle-aged man with the family’s signature golden hair and crimson eyes smiled gently.
“Just as the rumors said—your skills are impeccable. Entrusting this to you was the right decision.”
“It’s my job, after all.”
“Hahaha. ……By the way, there’s another matter I’d like to ask of you.”
“Hmm?”
Adjusting the cigarette between her lips, the woman furrowed her well-shaped brows.
She had just finished a direct request from the lord himself. During the investigation, she had looked into the incidents plaguing the city—yet there should have been no cases left that would require her involvement.
“Well… this is difficult to say, but… my daughter has run away from home.”
“Hah…… Hah? A runaway? So you mean—”
“Yes. I’d like you to find her and bring her back. It seems she’s left the city… and once that happens, even my household has its limits in tracking her down. The place she’s likely headed is… somewhat problematic.”
“……Hmm.”
After a brief pause, she responded:
“Fine. I don’t usually take missing person cases, but I owe you, Lord Rubyvas. So, what are your daughter’s distinguishing features? Red eyes and golden hair, I assume?”
“Yes. However…”
The lord hesitated for a moment.
“She’s already past twenty… but she’s short and has a childlike appearance.”
“I see? Her name was…?”
“Sheila. Sheila Rubyvas.”
“I’ll find her without fail. Now, what was this ‘problem’ you mentioned?”
“The place my daughter is likely headed is────Balldlum.”
●
“Goddammit! What the hell is wrong with this city?!”
The loud cursing that interrupted Norman’s leisurely time in the living room belonged to Lonzder.
The spacious living room of their shared lodging.
Seated on a single-person sofa, Norman had been reading a book.
A short distance away, on the carpet, Elteel was folding laundry, while in the corner of the room lay a motionless figure covered in black cloth.
It was just after breakfast.
Lonzder stormed in, kicking the door open with enough force to nearly break it, flung off her jacket, collapsed onto the sofa, and immediately lit a cigarette.
“……What’s wrong?”
“I am in an extremely foul mood right now. Elteel! Get me some tea too! With enough brandy to kill a man!”
“At that point, it’s brandy with a splash of tea, not the other way around.”
Elteel sighed but stood up anyway.
Her voluminous golden hair was tied into a ponytail for convenience while working. As usual, she wore a simple dress with a denim apron as she headed to the kitchen.
Norman watched her go before closing his book.
“Lonzder? What happened?”
“I’m broke.”
“Huh?”
“Went to play roulette. Started last night. Was winning at first, but by dawn, I was losing. Next thing I knew, I was cleaned out. Drank myself stupid at the bar, ran up a tab, got bored of drinking, and came back here.”
“Good grief…”
It was textbook self-destructive behavior.
“It’s weird. It’s definitely weird. If it was just bad luck, fine. But how the hell did I end up negative? It’s not just about luck anymore. Damn it… this city’s cursed.”
Lonzder crossed her long legs, shaking one impatiently as she continued ranting.
Norman frowned at her with concern.
“Gambling… maybe you should cut back a little?”
“Wise words, Norman. Very constructive. If only they weren’t completely impossible to follow.”
“You say that with such confidence…”
“Purely out of curiosity, Lonzder.”
Elteel returned from the kitchen with a teacup and handed it to her before asking:
“You’re a detective, right? So why are you so bad at gambling? Shouldn’t you be reading people’s tells and predicting their moves?”
“Tch… what a pointless question…”
Accepting the teacup, Lonzder paused mid-sentence and frowned.
“……Wait, this is too fast. This isn’t fresh, is it? And there’s no brandy in it?”
“It’s leftovers from breakfast. Why would I do that for you?”
“Norman, what kind of education are you giving your maid? Pre-made tea is an abomination.”
“Elteel is thoughtful like a maid, but she’s not actually one. And well, bad timing. If you’d come an hour earlier, it’d be fresh.”
“Tch… if it were Norman asking, you’d have brewed a new pot.”
“You are not Norman-sama.”
Lonzder grimaced as she sipped the lukewarm tea.
“Bleh…… Whatever. Anyway, Elteel. True, I’m a damn good detective. If I wanted to, I could read the dealer’s tells, predict the other gamblers’ moves, even guess what they had for breakfast.”
“Ah, so it’s just sore loser talk.”
“No. Listen.”
She puffed her chest out proudly.
“────What’s the point of gambling if you know you’re going to win?”
“And that’s why you’re broke.”
“It happens.”
Elteel gave her a deadpan look, but Lonzder ignored her, sipping the bitter tea while smoking.
“Anyway, when I gamble, I do it fairly—I deliberately seal away my reasoning skills. I clear my mind and avoid thinking too much. Got it? If you’d like, how about we go gambling together next time?”
“No, thank you. I don’t like gambling.”
With a heavy sigh, Elteel folded the laundry and turned away.
“Cold as ever, aren’t you? Well then, Norman, since I’m in a foul mood—got any interesting stories to cheer me up?”
“Well, ‘cheer up’ might be a stretch, but…”
“Hm?”
“It’s about a case. One for Lonzder-san. And… I’d like El to hear it too.”
“Me as well?”
El tilted her head in curiosity, while Lonzder crossed his legs and grinned fearlessly.
“A case involving jewels and a demon hound? Sounds good—this ought to be fun.”
●
“Ahem. So, it’s been about a month since this detective agency, [Elementary], was formed…”
“What kind of introduction is that? Is it necessary?”
“How dare you interrupt! Norman-sama, please continue! Even if you start recounting your first meeting with me from the very beginning, I shall listen with rapt attention!”
“Why is it specifically about you?”
“Uh… yeah. Anyway.”
Standing in the center of the living room, Norman faltered slightly before regaining his composure.
It had been about a month since the Jim Adamworth incident.
By now, the five of them had grown accustomed to living together.
During that time, while handling [Unlaws] cases as an agent of [Cartesius]—
“Norman, just to confirm—this is a [Cartesius] job, right? Another [Unlaws]? If this turns out to be another infidelity case, I’m gonna lose it.”
—the agency had also started receiving requests from the townspeople.
As Lonzder mentioned, they ranged from infidelity investigations to missing persons, lost cats, and background checks on daughters’ boyfriends.
Less “detective work” and more “odd jobs.”
These mundane cases didn’t seem to excite Lonzder much, so Norman handled most of them, with Elteel helping when free. Occasionally, Lonzder or Cklares joined in if they felt like it.
(Shizuku’s participation rate, however, remained firmly at zero.)
“Well… it is from [Cartesius], but it’s not an [Unlaws] case.”
“Huh?”
“That’s… unusual. Actually, I don’t think we’ve had one like this before.”
“Yeah. Neither have I.”
A year and a half had passed since Norman began handling [Unlaws] in Balldlum.
In that time, he, along with Shizuku, Elteel, Lonzder, and Cklares, had dealt with weekly [Unlaws] incidents under directives from [Cartesius]—specifically, his elder sister, Sphere.
[Unlaws].
Beings that defied the laws of this world.
Individuals with unique abilities, their powers varied and vast.
The only thing they had in common was that they were inexplicable.
They defied physics, existing beyond current scientific understanding.
Something that shouldn’t be—yet undeniably was. Monsters who had strayed from humanity.
But—
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
