* * *

‘Food Stall Park’.

Its official name is ‘Ruinomiyako Port Ruins Park’.

In short, it’s a park built on the site of an old port.

And although many areas of this park are lined with food stalls, there are also areas with playground equipment, like a park should have.

That area, where playground equipment modeled after marine life, such as a slide shaped like a giant sea serpent, are gathered, is called the ‘Marine Life Plaza’.

It’s a plaza where the landlocked Old Superbad Empire’s longing for the sea is condensed.

Now then, in a corner of that plaza, there was a Mount Fuji-shaped playground equipment, about as tall as an adult, with a vertical hole in the center.

Modeled after a dangerous sea creature… a giant barnacle, it was created for children to play hide-and-seek, using the vertical hole in the center.

However… the ones currently occupying that playground equipment… aren’t innocent children.

“Hey! Don’t come any closer! Don’t come near me! Do you want this to happen to her!? Heh, hehe!”

There’s a criminal, holding a woman hostage, a knife to her neck!

His face, peeking out from the top of the barnacle-shaped playground equipment, is bloodshot, clearly ferocious!

“Help! Help meeeeeeeee!!”

“Heh, hehe! Heheheeeeee!!”

The man, perhaps losing it, laughed hideously, his cheeks twitching, drooling, as he watched the hostage cry in his arms!

“D-Don’t do anything stupid!”

“Release the hostage and surrender peacefully!”

The ones calling out to the hostage-taker from outside the barnacle-shaped playground equipment are Old Imperial City police officers.

Clad in white helmets and blue armor made from blue dragon scales, they’re police officers patrolling the Old Imperial City in the morning, and also elite mages.

Small orbs of lightning are glowing in their hands, having already finished chanting, ready to attack.

But they can’t make a move because of the hostage…!

The crowd surrounded the hostage-taker and the police officers, watching their exchange with bated breath.

“Ah… That man…!!”

The one who pushed through the crowd, and shouted in surprise, seeing the hostage-taker’s face, is the beautiful girl detective, wearing a newsboy cap—Akashiterika!

She recognized the man.

“Isn’t that the snatcher from yesterday!?”

Yes… That man is the criminal Akashiterika subdued and captured yesterday!

He was handed over to the police yesterday, unconscious, and was safely imprisoned.

But this morning, he saw an opening and tried to escape!

But he was immediately found by the police, chased… and took a hostage, barricading himself in the barnacle-shaped playground equipment!

That’s what happened!

“Oh dear, this is bad.”

“!”

And then, Akashiterika, breaking out in a cold sweat at the volatile situation, heard a calm voice coming from behind her.

Glancing back, she saw a girl, wearing sunglasses and a knitted cap, walking towards her, eating hot porridge from a bowl—Emi.

“So, what are you going to do?”

Emi, unfazed by the situation where a person’s life is in danger, asked Akashiterika.

“I’ll… save the hostage.”

“How?”

“I’ll find a way!”

“Why?”

“‘Why’… you ask!? Because I am…!!”

Here, Akashiterika pushed through the crowd and appeared before the hostage-taker!

“The envoy of justice, who will not tolerate injustice! And the seeker of truth… who never overlooks wrongdoing!”

And then, moving her arms and legs briskly, changing her poses!

“The Beautiful Girl Detective! Akashiterika!! …That’s why!!”

Lastly, striking a pose with her arms crossed, she declared her name!

“I… HAVE TO…!!”

And then she shouted!

“…………!!”

The crowd was greatly surprised by the sudden appearance of Akashiterika, and there was a commotion.

And even Emi involuntarily held her breath, at Akashiterika’s intensity.

That was definitely a scream from the depths of her soul.

That was the way she lived, and the way she would die.

Yes, Emi had come to understand.

“A-… Aaaah! You’re that brat from yesterday!!”

And then the hostage-taker also noticed Akashiterika.

He opened his mouth in surprise, and then, his face contorted, he grinned…!

“Hey, police officers! Alright… I’ll release the hostage…”

And then he started saying that.

“R-Really!?”

“But!!”

The hostage-taker took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming, drooling, and glared at Akashiterika!

“In exchange for that brat in the newsboy cap’s life! I’ve had enough of this life! This is it! I’ll kill that hateful brat, and then I’ll die! Heh, hehe!”

Madness!

The hostage-taker’s face is completely filled with madness!

He’s cornered, desperate, and no longer capable of rational judgment!

“W-What are you talking about!? Don’t be ridiculous…”

One of the police officers was about to say something to the hostage-taker, but…

“Alright.”

Akashiterika, pushing him aside, stepped forward, and—

“If an innocent citizen’s life can be saved, I’ll gladly die! Now, release the hostage!”

She said that and smiled!

““Hieh… !?”””

That… that too, although in a different form, is definitely an expression of madness.

Even the two police officers, who should have immediately stopped such a foolish act, were overwhelmed by the madness hidden in the depths of Akashiterika’s soul, their faces pale, unable to move.

“Hehehe, alright! But I’m going to kill you first!”

The hostage-taker, saying that, crawled out of the barnacle-shaped playground equipment, still holding the knife to the hostage’s neck.

And then, the two faced each other.

The hostage-taker is a former adventurer.

His body is well-trained, and he’s well-built.

Akashiterika, on the other hand, is a girl.

Although she’s fairly tall, she’s still much shorter than the man she’s facing.

Inevitably, she has to look up at the hostage-taker.

But there’s no fear in her eyes.

She’s terrifyingly calm.

“Heh, hehe! Hey, brat, aren’t you scared?”

The hostage-taker, his actions controlled by madness, looked down at Akashiterika, and chuckled.

“I’m not afraid. This life itself is atonement, so… this kind of ending, is acceptable, I suppose.”

Akashiterika also smiled.

Calmly.

The hostage-taker, displeased by Akashiterika’s composure, frowned!

“Don’t say weird things…!!”

And then, quickly repositioning the knife he was holding to the hostage’s neck… he thrust it towards Akashiterika’s chest!

“DIEーーー!!”

It’s over!

Everyone present—the police officers, the crowd—thought so.

But.

The next moment—

Akashiterika… wasn’t dead.

The blade wasn’t stuck in her chest.

Because at a speed invisible to the eye, the girl wearing sunglasses—Emi—cut in between Akashiterika and the hostage-taker… and grabbed the hostage-taker’s knife-wielding arm!

“…You’re an idiot, aren’t you?”

Emi, after swallowing the porridge in her mouth, cursed Akashiterika angrily.

And then, she lightly squeezed his arm.

“Guh, gugyah!?”

Just from that, the bones in the hostage-taker’s arm shattered with a sickening sound.

The pain made the hostage-taker flinch, and his grip on the hostage loosened!

“…!”

Emi, not missing that opening, tackled the hostage… the force of the blow causing the two of them to fall to the ground, rolling.

The hostage is freed!

“Shi… !?”

Shit!!

He didn’t even have time to say that.

Because the next moment… Akashiterika jumped high…

“【The World Revolves Around the Emperor】!!”

…And unleashed a roundhouse kick at the hostage-taker’s face!

“BUGUEHーーー!?”

“W-We got him! 【Thunder Ball】!”

“Understood! 【Thunder Ball】!”

“Agagahーーー!?”

And then, the two police officers immediately fired their already-chanted lightning magic at the hostage-taker, who had been blown away!

Hit directly, the hostage-taker rolled his eyes and fainted, and magic handcuffs were placed on his wrists.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes… Th-Thank you…!”

The woman, who had been held hostage, although she has some minor scratches, doesn’t seem to be seriously injured.

Still pale, and trembling, she bowed deeply to Emi and Akashiterika, and then was taken away by the police officers to the hospital.

“Amazing! You’re amazing, girls!”

“Well done!”

“That was nerve-wracking!”

The crowd applauded and cheered!

Akashiterika, taking off her newsboy cap and bowing deeply, smiled.

“Everyone! If you’re in trouble! If you have a problem that needs to be investigated! If there’s a murder! Please, by all means, contact Akashiterika! The Akashiterika Detective Agency! I will never tolerate the injustice that assails you!”

She carried out PR activities for her own detective agency!

“…”

And then, Emi—

Silently approached Akashiterika, who was waving to the crowd, smiling…

PAAN—

…And slapped her cheek.

【Giant Sea Serpent】

A giant sea serpent that lives in the vast ocean.

Highly intelligent.

It cries like, “Pyururuuuuuu!”

Appeared in Arc 16.

【Giant Barnacle】

A very short-tempered, aggressive barnacle, which, not content with just filtering plankton for food, has become an active hunter.

Appeared in Arc 16.

【“-yasu” and “-gasu”】

A distinctive dialect.

They probably have close family ties.