* * *

Knock, knock, knock.

“E-Excuse m-me…!”

A hesitant knock, and a faint, trembling voice, barely reached the inside of the reception room.

And then, the young woman who timidly entered the room, after the door was quietly opened, is the subject of the second interview.

It’s hard to tell because she’s hunching over with a lack of confidence, but… she’s a fairly tall woman.

But what draws the eye before her height are the dark brown, triangular ears extending from her head, and the bushy tail extending from her waist.

She’s a wolf beastman, relatively rare in this country.

Perhaps from nervousness, or perhaps for some other reason she’s afraid of detectives… her tail is completely limp, wrapped around her long legs.

“U-Um… is it… o-okay if I sit… h-here…?”

Even so, somehow, trembling, she managed to reach the guest chair and spoke to Akashiterika.

“Yes, please have a seat. You’re Kotsukotsu Plumuna-san, right? Please, don’t be so scared.”

“I-I-I’m s-sorry, I’ve always been timid and nervous, and even in my clan… Ah, well, that doesn’t matter, um… Ehehe.”

Although Akashiterika smiled gently and urged her to sit down, Kotsukotsu started making excuses rapidly.

But that seems to be a habit of hers, and it’s not the appropriate response in this situation.

She quickly realized that herself, and blushing from embarrassment and apology, she smiled ingratiatingly.

“Please, have a seat.”

And Kotsukotsu, urged to sit down again by Akashiterika, who smiled back at her, her entire face flushed red, finally sat down on the guest chair.

* * *

“Ah, ah, um! No, no, no, I’m not the culprit! I did work overnight here last night, but I was working on preparations for the special exhibition in the second exhibition room! Really! Please believe me, I’m not lying! I didn’t steal anything, I’m not a thief!”

And Kotsukotsu’s interview began with her insisting on her innocence, before even being asked any questions.

Since she didn’t even pause to breathe, her face gradually turned from red to blue.

“Please calm down, Kotsukotsu-san. Take a deep breath, a deep breath…”

“Suuuuu… Haaaaaa…”

Kotsukotsu, calming down after being gently told that by Akashiterika, and taking a deep breath… blushed again, thinking that she had made another blunder, and looked down, trembling.

“Were you working alone?”

“Y-Yes… Th-That’s right. It was my… responsibility… So, last night, um… I think the only ones in this museum were me… and the security guard… But, but that’s not it! I was in the second exhibition room the whole time! I didn’t go to the treasure vault! I only went to the bathroom once, I haven’t even changed my clothes since yesterday, I didn’t even go to the changing room, so it smells a little, see, see!?”

“Deep breaths, deep breaths…”

“Suuuuu… Haaaaaa…”

Akashiterika, pushing back Kotsukotsu, who was trying to make her smell her clothes, urged her to take another deep breath.

“Kotsukotsu-chaaan, are you the type who loses track of your surroundings when you’re focused?”

“Y-Yes, um… I’m often told that… Yesterday too, before I knew it… it was morning…”

Kotsukotsu, asked by Detective Munodes, who was munching on dried squid, looked down shyly, and quietly answered.

“By the way, you said you were preparing for the special exhibition last night, but what were you doing specifically?”

“Th-The arrangement of the exhibits, reviewing the explanatory texts, and other related tasks…”

Kotsukotsu started answering, without looking up at Akashiterika, who was asking questions, flipping through the documents in her hand.

“W-We’re planning to hold a special exhibition called ‘The Merits and Demerits of the Expanding Emperor’ in four days, and most of the preparations were complete, but… in yesterday’s meeting, um… it was suddenly suggested that we should change the arrangement…”

“…That’s certainly sudden.”

Akashiterika’s eyes, staring at Kotsukotsu, narrowed slightly.

But Kotsukotsu, not noticing that, continued.

“The Expanding Emperor, the man who waged war on neighboring countries, and continued to win, the man who expanded the territory of the Superbad Empire the most. It’s said that his treasure vault was overflowing with treasures from the countries he plundered. This special exhibition, ‘The Merits and Demerits of the Expanding Emperor’… is an exhibition of some of those treasures.”

“The Expanding Emperor… Emperor Raanbou Superbad, from about five hundred years ago.”

“Y-Yes. Originally, it was planned to roughly display the treasures in order of their fame… but yesterday, the idea of focusing on the ‘mirror’ came up…”

“Mirror?”

Akashiterika tilted her head.

Although she’s knowledgeable, and knows about the treasures passed down through the Superbad imperial family, she didn’t know about the existence of a treasure called a ‘mirror’.

Kotsukotsu, glancing at Akashiterika, and blushing happily, started talking excitedly.

“Yes! It’s the ‘mirror’ that Emperor Raanbou is said to have never let go of. Although its official name and history are completely unknown, and its artistic value isn’t that highly regarded, there’s a rather occult anecdote that ‘the emperor’s personality changed drastically after obtaining this mirror’, so it’s a rather infamous treasure! To trace the blood-soaked history of the Expanding Emperor, starting from this ‘mirror’! What do you think? It might sound a bit vulgar, but don’t you think it’s an interesting special exhibition!?”

Kotsukotsu, leaning forward, her eyes shining, continued, spitting as she spoke.

Her face… is turning from red to blue again!

“Kotsukotsu-san, deep breaths, deep breaths!”

“Suuuuu… Haaaaaa…”

“Anyway, I understand that you were the only one left in this museum last night, and why…”

Saying that, Akashiterika put her hand on her chin, and started thinking.

“Hey.”

The one who broke the silence was Emi, who hadn’t said anything until now.

“Did you go to the bathroom last night?”

“Y-Yes…”

“Did you feel anything… strange at that time? Any sounds, or strange gazes…?”

“N-No… I’m a wolf beastman, so I’m sensitive to sounds and smells… but… um… nothing… It was just like always…?”

“I see…”

Kotsukotsu, although feeling a strange sense of intimidation from the girl with the unidentifiable sunglasses, honestly answered.

And then—

Guuu.

A stomach growled.

…It’s not Emi’s, but Kotsukotsu’s.

It’s already night.

It’s almost dinner time, and she’s feeling a little hungry.

Kotsukotsu, blushing again, looked down, trembling with shame.

“Aahh! Kotsukotsu-chan, are you hungry!? Do you want some squid!?”

Detective Munodes, making a sympathetic face, took out some dried squid from his back pocket, and offered it to Kotsukotsu.

“U-Um! N-No thank you! I-I don’t have my wallet with me right now!”

Kotsukotsu, hurriedly shaking her head, refused the squid that came out of his back pocket, using the excuse that she doesn’t have any money!

“Ehhh, you don’t need money… But why don’t you have your wallet?”

“I-I hate the sound of coins jingling! That’s why I always keep my wallet in my locker!”

“Isn’t that careless?”

“It’s fine! Um… I-I always lock my locker!”

Saying that, Kotsukotsu frantically took out a small key from her pocket and showed it to Detective Munodes.

“…Lastly, I’d like to ask you a few questions. You’re the staff member who discovered that the treasure vault’s door was open this morning, right?”

Akashiterika, waiting for that farce to end, asked Kotsukotsu, giving her a sharp look.

“Y-Yes… I was on my way to the staff room from the second exhibition room, thinking it was almost time for the morning meeting… I immediately noticed that the door was open…”

“Were there any traces or anything strange lying around that could be a clue about the culprit…?”

Kotsukotsu, thinking for a bit at that question—

“N-No, nothing… There weren’t any strange smells either…”

She carefully testified, somehow recalling the scene.

“Smells?”

“Um, well, I’m a wolf beastman, so I’m sensitive to smells… but, um, there were only the usual smells…”

Kotsukotsu, tapping the tip of her nose with her index finger, clearly answered.

Akashiterika, letting out a small “Hmm,”—

“…By the way, can you disable the security system of that treasure vault…?”

—Asked the next question.

“A-A-Are you s-suspecting me!? That’s impossible, impossible, impossible! Certainly, relics of the Super-Ancient Magic Civilization are the subject of my research, but analyzing magic technology from that time is a different field, it’s absolutely impossible for me, I’m not the culprit, I swear on my ancestors that I would never steal anything, it’s true, please believe me!!”

“Deep breaths.”

“Suuuuu… Haaaaaa…”

Here, Akashiterika, after calming down the frantic Kotsukotsu, suddenly changed the subject.

“By the way, about making the ‘mirror’ the main focus of the exhibition… who came up with that idea?”

“…? I don’t think it was anyone in particular… It just came up in conversation between me, the deputy director… and our colleague, Yarkinek-san…”

“I see, I understand… That concludes the interview. Thank you for your cooperation.”

And then, smiling, she bowed her head.

Thus, the second interview ended.

【“Mirror”】

Now, it’s just an ordinary mirror.

Perhaps some higher being, now fallen, was communicating their will through that mirror, and manipulating the emperor.