Chapter 113: There are Thirteen Targets
The repairs for our school building have finally finished and we can finally attend school in the proper place with the proper facilities for it. Winter vacation is fast approaching though so we won't have many classes left this year.
Even during school days I cannot escape paperwork. I have to work even at school. After finishing my paperwork (curse you main body for forcing all the tedious work on me!) I walked out of my office room which is assigned to me so I can quickly alternate between work and class.
As soon as I opened the door though…
"Lord Claude!"
"Lord Claaaude! Please accept my gift!"
"Lord Claude! I baked some cookies for you!"
"Lord Claude! You're as handsome as always!"
Curse you again main body for forcing me to deal with these sycophants. If only I am allowed to just slaughter them all. Luckily I assigned some Crimson Order members as guards and they are able to set up perimeter in order to separate me from the group of sycopha— fans.
They are still my fans, even if many of them approached me with ulterior motives, so I just smiled and waved at them. "Kyaaaah!" Some of them fainted when I did that. How pathetic.
I turned to walk away while accompanied by two bodyguards. Currently I have no class though so I just walk around aimlessly. Without a particular destination in mind, my feet brought me to the lab where I—where the main body used to guard Sherry. It seems that his memory of this place is very strong that it affects even me.
"Lord Claude. Do you have business in the lab?" Asked one of the bodyguards.
"Nothing. I just… find this place nostalgic."
"Ohh… I know! You were guarding that researcher here back during that terrorist attack!"
"Indeed." I confirmed as I opened the door and entered the room.
"Good morning, Mr. Claude! L-Let us both do our best today as well!"
"Huh!?" I was stunned when a memory flashed in my brain that for a second there that I thought I was greeted by a smiling Sherry.
Hmph. It seems that I—the main body missed her so much. Not the current her but the innocent little Sherry who gave him so much peace of mind. Her sweet smile, her cute and shy demeanour, how much fun he had interacting with her, how much her antics amused even his twisted mind…
I walked towards the desk she used to sit on. Of course the old desk has been burnt out so this is an entirely new table but it was placed in the same position. I rubbed my hand on the desk while reminiscing our- their time together.
"Did you know who the researcher he was guarding?"
"Only heard about her but I think she's a cute kid."
"Heh. I'd like to meet her then."
The bodyguards whispers behind me, getting me out of my trance.
"Let's go." I said as I left the lab with a slight frown. The bodyguards scrambled to follow me.
As I walked the corridors of the school, I caught sight of Alexia bothering her "Pooch" again in the cafetaria. I don't know what interest her in that mob besides as a toy. Shouldn't she be bored of him already? Weird.
He looks very annoyed while she looks amused. Oh? She actually held his hand? This is going to start some rumors. Whatever. It doesn't concern me so I ignored them and left.
I do notice one of the bodyguards giving a side eye on Alexia and her dog though, the same bodyguard who said he'd like to meet Sherry (I should pity you if you actually meet her but I won't). Is this bodyguard a Cult plant? If so I feel sorry for Cid. He may be targeted by the Cult in order to get to Alexia soon. But that doesn't concern a clone like me, whose artificial intelligence didn't allow for complicated planning like the main body could. I'll just leave the planning to the main body.
Last night was fruitful… but a bit disappointing. Seriously! I showed the clue to his face and he didn't even realize its meaning! I hope the investigators will realize something though. The money I stole was plentiful enough at least… though I have to generously donate some of it to the slums like Robin Hood in order to not taint my vigilante image. Letting people know that I'm in it for the money alone won't be cool, totally not a Shadowbroker thing to do.
It's break time now and I was sitting on the canteen table eating my lunch alone because my two mob friends are absent because they went to the school's Mitsugoshi store (It was built there as part of the deal with the royal family when they rebuilt the school) and they probably borrowed money (from Mitsugoshi) to spend there (back at Mitsugoshi). Brilliant, Gamma. Brilliant. Now you got yourself a new perpetual source of income… at least until their families went bankrupt from debt.
Because they are gone, I tried being a lonely mob sitting alone by his lonesome and ignored by everyone. But…
"Good day, Pooch!" Of course it is all ruined because I'm being bothered by the princess again. Now all the attention is on me again. With my enhanced hearing I can hear them whispering "Didn't they break up already?" and "Why is the princess visiting him again?" and "Ohh! I want the princess to talk to me too!" and "I'm so jealous! I'm gonna kill that nobody!"
Why is she still bothering a mob like me!? Shouldn't she be bored with me already? Can you stop putting me in the spotlight again please?
"Not you again." I muttered my honest feelings with a frown.
"Come now, Pooch. You can be honest with yourself and say you're glad to see me again!" The annoying princess said with a smug face. If she were to do the ojou-sama laugh I'd be impressed.
"O ho ho ho ho!" Oh no! She did it! She did the ojou-sama laugh! I stared at her dumbfounded.
"Ho ho ho… umm… That was… actually embarrassing." She stopped laughing and blushed as she got embarrassed.
"What were you doing?"
"Just imitating what Charlotte did sometimes. It was kinda funny when she did that."
"Well… I'm more surprised than amused that you did the ojou-sama laugh."
"Ojosama what?"
"Forget it."
"You're weird, Pooch."
"Says the one laughing ho ho ho."
"Oh shut it! Here's your pay and listen to me talking!" She said as she placed a gold coin on my open palm. The people around me gasped when they saw her do that… And not because they found out she's been paying me.
"Princess Alexia held his hand!"
"Seriously!? Does Princess Alexia actually like him!?"
"Impossible! I refuse to believe it!"
"I'm so jealous! I'm so gonna kill that guy!"
Haaah… I just sighed internally.
"You don't look happy, Pooch. Usually you'd be barking by now."
"It's too public to bark… and also too public for hand holding." I replied, making her realize her situation as she looked around her.
"Ohh… I see. You're just too shy to admit your feelings." She teased with a smirk. "As the generous princess I am, I'll provide a private place for the both of us! Come!" She said as she dragged me with her.
"What about my lunch?" I asked as I pointed at my unfinished lunch.
"I'll provide plenty of better food for my gluttonous Poochie. Don't you worry." She simply replied as she dragged me away from the cafeteria. I could've sworn I saw her blushing when she turned her face away.
"T-The princess dragged him to a place where they can be alone!"
"T-They're still dating after all!"
"A-Are they gonna d-do it!?"
"Ohhh! Spicy!"
"Ain't spicy at all!"
"It should've been me! Not him! It should've been ME!"
I heard some whispers, murmurs and even shouts. The shouts are audible from here even without enhanced hearing that I could've sworn she chuckled when she heard the jealous boys express their jealousy… even though I can't understand why they would be jealous.
We eventually reached her private office, which is quite spacious.
"Sit down, Pooch. I'll order the servants to bring us some food after we talked. We have plenty of time."
"But I'm gonna miss my cla-"
"Don't you worry about that, Poochie. I'm the princess and I'll tell the teacher to excuse you for your absence."
"Ughhh…." She's not gonna let me go under any circumstances, huh.
"Alright. So what is it you wanna talk about this time? That Don Jon guy is dead so you must have something else to complain about."
"Is that how you see me, Pooch? Oh! I'm hurt!" She said as she dramatically held her chest with one hand and clutched her forehead with the other while turning away.
"But yeah. I'm here to vent. I'm sorry but… I need this so you're gonna listen. I've paid you after all. Ahem!" She finally said something frankly before breathing in and out.
"Currently, the thing that's bothering me is the murder of Count Goethe Moono." Oh? I'm listening!
"Someone murdered him and we don't know the motive or the culprit. The only clue we got from the crime scene was the card he used to kill the Count and that the treasury has been robbed. At this rate we could probably rule out that murder as a common theft but the killer is too skilled for that kind of stuff. I mean, using the paper card as killing weapon and dispatching the Count's guards, who are strong Spellswords in their own right. Not to mention now our opposition is accusing us of hiring an assassin to kill him." Alexia continued ranting and I decided this is the perfect time to provide her with the clue that everyone else missed!
"Card? What card?" I asked by asking what card it was.
"A playing card. An Ace of Spades."
"Hmm…" I pretended to think with my fingers on my chin, the classic thinking pose.
"You don't have to worry about it, Pooch. Even we don't know what's with that card."
"No… I mean… Ace of Spades… Ace… Ace is the first number of the playing card." That got her to widen her eyes.
"What do you mean Pooch? Explain."
"There's thirteen cards in each four symbols. Ace, 2, 3 all the way to 10 followed by Jack, Queen and King. I wonder if… this means the killer left the card as a message that… there are thirteen targets." As soon as I said that, she was… flabbergasted.
"When did you become so smart, Pooch?"
"Hm? It's not… that hard?" When I said that, she frowned as if her intelligence is being insulted.
"Anyway… what you say has logic behind it. That means the killer is targeting the Thirteen Night Blades. That's why they went out of their way to use a playing card instead of a more efficient weapon." Yes! I resist the urge to make a victory pose and remained in my thinking pose.
"Anything else you can gleam from this case from your perspective, Pooch? Like… why did the killer empty the Count's treasury if it's not for robbery?" She asked as if expecting more wisdom.
"Uhh… This… Thirteen Night Blades people you're talking about. They some kind of bad guys, right?"
"In a way, yeah."
"Then perhaps the killer is targeting them to dispense justice… and about the money… maybe they gave it to the poor?"
"You're reading too much of Natsume's books, haven't you Pooch? Did you think the killer did what Raven Hood did?"
"The fact that you know means you also read it!"
"Hmph. Shut up."
"Well… Have you tried checking the slums? Maybe you can confirm whether that's true or not."
"Hmph. Yes I have." She walked to her desk and grabbed a newspaper and opens a page with news about the slums.
"Witnesses said a clown… appeared and threw gold coins around in the slums… on the night that Count Goethe is killed. Once again, you're spot on, Pooch." This part sounds like a test and… I feel like I shouldn't have let myself pass that test.
"Then we can assume that the clown is responsible for Count Goethe's murder." I said while pretending to not notice her intense stare.
"Hm… Indeed. This conversation turned out to be more fruitful than I thought. Thank you Pooch." She thanked me. How rare. But I know that face she's making. That damn smirk.
"Say… Pooch. You would be interested in joining my investigation team, wouldn't you?"
Oh boy. I knew I shouldn't have answered that question!
Author's Note:
Another Cid x Alexia moment. Since there are no mentions the other Thirteen Night Blades members in this chapter, I can release it faster than I said I would. Next chapters though, I may need to pick who gets killed and how.
borregodillon9: I hope iris gets a Somewhat happy ending
Answer: No promises.
HundredMasks: Claude getting a fight scene soon? also, Claude is sus to the current detectives, we're getting a political cooking a la author rn? and I'm excited for the Jack the Ripper Show, I'm actually very curious rn with if the two personas will meet, two serial killing extremists, very nice, and if PotO has to die, then will you have him act as if he's passing on the torch of extreme justice to rose? you can even take his vigilantism and make it more terrifying and heinous if he goes full Konrad Curze and starts flaying the people he deems corrupt, making him seem more extreme than Jack the ripper while intensifying his horror aspect, it can just be seen as him becoming more and more deranged as he goes on in his 'second crusade for justice', making him seem irredeemably villainous without sacrificing the core "Extreme vigilantism" aspect of his
Answer: Yes. Claude has been idle for so long (his other personas are the ones getting actions) he should have some action soon. Claude is being blamed by Gray as part of the narrative that the Thirteen Night Blade wants to spread.
I sort of don't want the Phantom of the Opera and Jack the Ripper to fight because that would be predictable. Maybe something else. The Phantom certainly has plans for Rose. You shall see.