Chapter 24
"Ah, and..."
Then, pointing to the bathroom in the corner, she listed a few inconveniences.
Hunt returned to his expressionless state, obediently taking notes, and said,
"It must be inconvenient."
I thought he was agreeing willingly for some reason...
"Depending on how cooperative Miss Kent is, the bed and the bathroom can change..."
See. It was just an interrogation tactic after all.
"You might even get to go home sooner than you think."
Hunt dangled a carrot before my eyes and began to pull out the whip.
Well, he didn't actually pull out a whip, but he opened the file folder containing my investigation records.
"Where the Scarlet Queen's Heart is."
At my casual remark, Hunt paused in flipping through the investigation records and looked up at me.
"If that's the kind of cooperation you're looking for, you've come to the wrong place."
Knowing exactly what he wanted, I struck first.
"As I've said until I'm blue in the face, I didn't steal the Scarlet Queen's Heart."
Hunt sighed as if to say, 'Here we go again.' Seemingly frustrated, he loosened his necktie knot. His posture, leaning back in the chair, was as crooked as the knot.
"Look. I want to cooperate too?"
Even if there was no hope, I wanted to avoid prison somehow.
"So ask me what I can cooperate with."
"Then at least tell me the whereabouts of the jewels you've stolen so far."
"I have them."
Hunt's eyes glinted.
He had probably searched my apartment top to bottom and was frustrated at finding no jewels.
"Where are they?"
"In a place only I can access."
"Then return them all. Your sentence will be significantly reduced."
"Then, would a suspended sentence be possible?"
"..."
Hunt stared at me with an expression that clearly said, 'What a brazen person.'
'It's not me who's brazen, it's the system that's cruel!'
I might die of injustice before reaching a Bad Ending.
"That would be difficult, but I'll do my best to try."
"Then I can't return them."
As Hunt's gaze turned menacing, I added,
"Not yet."
The game wasn't over yet.
If I returned all the jewels before the game ended, my Notoriety Points would be drastically reduced. That would lower my level, and skills and items only usable at certain levels would be locked.
If I returned all these jewels? It would mean I'd be back to being a complete newbie.
Since avoiding imprisonment, the first method, seemed hopeless, I had to try the second method. Challenging it at level 1 was suicidal.
"I will return all the jewels I stole when the time is right, but I can't do it now."
When Hunt asked why, I couldn't answer.
'Because of the wicked system. My Notoriety Points would drop?'
He'd think I was a crazy woman. A mental hospital ending was also a Bad Ending.
So, when I said I couldn't tell him the reason either, Hunt looked at me as if I were some alien he couldn't communicate with.
'I am an alien, aren't I? I came from another world.'
Giving up on prying for the reason, Hunt asked in a frustrated tone,
"Then what exactly do you intend to cooperate with? Someone who wants to reduce their sentence by cooperating..."
"No. I'm not trying to reduce my sentence, I'm trying to avoid imprisonment?"
"Ha..."
Hunt let out a short laugh, as if it were absurd. Then, looking at me like an alien again, he let out a long sigh.
"Avoiding prison is your goal..."
His fingers, rubbing his deeply furrowed brow, moved down and instantly unbuttoned two buttons of my shirt, which had been buttoned up to my neck.
"With the charges currently hanging over your head, you'll be rotting in prison for at least 10 years. But you want to avoid it altogether, not just reduce it?"
"My dream is big, isn't it?"
"Yes, excessively so."
"I know it sounds insane."
"Having big dreams isn't a mental illness. I also want to do my best to help Miss Kent achieve her grand dream."
"Really?"
"That's why I'm asking for your cooperation."
"And I told you to ask what I can cooperate with?"
"..."
Did Hunt think this was an excuse to avoid cooperating with the investigation?
"You don't want to go to prison, but you won't cooperate."
"I am cooperating!"
"Ah, now I get it."
Hunt slammed his pen down with a click and smiled crookedly.
"Mr. Hopeless promised to assign Eden City's best legal team to Miss Kent, didn't he? You're relying on that, aren't you?"
"What?"
What kind of nonsense was this?
"No, that guy still hasn't given up? Wow, he's persistent. No, he's disgusting."
At the word 'disgusting,' Hunt unconsciously nodded, then coughed into his fist.
"In any case, Mr. Hopeless seems to be the only one who can help you achieve your dream, so trying to get along with him might be one way."
"Are you mocking me right now?"
"It's advice. If your mind changes and you decide to accept his proposal, I'll gladly deliver the message."
"I'd rather go to prison than marry that man..."
No, going to prison is a Bad Ending.
"Wait a minute..."
Could that crazy guy be the key to escaping the Bad Ending Route? Should I meet him then?
"It seems your mind is already changing."
"It is not!"
Feeling pricked, I quickly lowered my voice, which had risen involuntarily.
"Anyway, it's a waste of your time dealing with me like this. You should go out and catch the real culprit."
"Ha... back to square one."
Hunt seemed extremely frustrated. His hands were busy throughout our bickering.
First, he unbuttoned his police jacket. Completely.
Still not cooling down, he suddenly took off his jacket. Then he unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves.
His forearms, revealed beneath the casually rolled-up sleeves, were well-defined.
However, the sharp, put-together Inspector Hunt from when he first entered was nowhere to be seen.
As he swallowed a sigh, his Adam's apple bulged, and his shirt collar gaped open, revealing the end of his collarbone.
His white shirt was slightly damp with sweat, subtly outlining his toned physique.
'Am I a sunshine girl?'
There's a saying that the wind couldn't strip a man's clothes, but sunshine could.
Every time I acted frustratingly, the Inspector revealed a little more of his skin. He'll end up taking it all off like this.
'If you're trying to use your looks, I'm very grateful, but unfortunately, I don't have what you want?'
Don't look at what you can't have. My gaze, which had been wandering over Hunt's body, fell back onto the investigation records in front of him.
'Wait a minute...'
I was starting to get excited. I don't know what kind of taste it is to have my heart race at letters rather than a man.
'I know what my final mission is!'
I opened the final mission message in the system window. Then I overlaid it with the text written on the paper, which listed my charges.
??? ???'s ??? was stolen.
Stole the Scarlet Queen's Heart
'Is this it? The number of letters matches perfectly.'
Come to think of it, the mission to steal the Scarlet Queen's Heart didn't appear in the regular missions. How could such an immense jewel not be given as a mission?
Was it because it was the final mission?
Clap! I clapped my hands.
'Yes, this is it! This was it!'
I was destined to steal the Scarlet Queen's Heart.
'But I gave it away to someone without knowing!'
I lowered my hands in dismay, then Clap! I clapped them together again.
'Wait. I know who that 'someone' is.'
Actually, I'm not sure. It's just circumstantial evidence for now...
When I raised my head, the man who had the power to turn circumstantial evidence into confirmation came into view. I grinned, and Hunt's sharp eyes narrowed further.
"Inspector Hunt."
Hunt, still in his observation pose with his arms crossed, raised one eyebrow in response.
"I know who stole the Scarlet Queen's Heart."
