Chapter 232.1: Each Side's Righteousness (Part 1)

Thanks to the detective's story, the restaurant went from a quiet place to one filled with voices that made it hard to talk in. But there were still many things to discuss, so the group of three decided to move somewhere else after Mira finished her third plate of pancakes.

The next place they visited was a cafe, also within the hotel, which had a rather laid back vibe to it. Each table there was separated by walls, making them almost like private rooms, so they would be able to talk there without standing out too much.

「I have to say, that was a rather colorful retelling of events.」

Mira said that as she sat down and received the menu Julius passed her. Looking through it, her eyes quickly locked on the pudding soft serve ice cream, which was the cafe's most popular item.

「It was largely out of necessity. Having everyone antagonizing me makes it hard to work.」

The detective just shrugged his shoulders, not feeling an ounce of guilt.

While he appeared to be calm and collected, it was clear that standing at odds with someone as popular as Fuzzy Dice made it awkward to move around. But this time he had been able to paint a better image of himself in public, thanks to having someone like Mira who was there to listen to him.

「I can see that, considering all the fans he has...」

Mira recalled all the crowds of fans she had already seen in the city. The only reason why they had not banded together to attack the detective was because of his efforts to appear as a rival of Fuzzy Dice, and not a straight out enemy.

「But tell me, what happened really?」

Mira looked up from the menu, glancing at the detective who had a daring grin. His exaggerated story mentioned a fight between him and the thief, so Mira wanted to know how much of that was true and what was false.

In response, he said, 「Well, what we said to each other was actually true,」 his voice lowered, but without shame. 「Or wait no, the pancake thing was altered to fit the location better. What I actually said was to do it with a Gordon Beef meat pie next time.」

The detective corrected himself with a playful voice before he also looked through the menu, while commenting with a smile, 「Their ice cream is really good.」

「If only the conversation was true then it truly was an embellished story.」

Mira returned the menu to Julius while commenting on the detective's story. After a few more questions, it became clear that they did talk to each other for a bit, but the entire fight was a fabrication.

After they exchanged those words, Fuzzy Dice suddenly vanished. Then the detective felt something behind him, but when he turned around there was nothing there, and instead he was assaulted by a sudden drowsiness. The next time he opened his eyes he was on a bed receiving treatment.

「I didn't even last five seconds. I really was out of my depth there. To be honest, I don't think I'll ever be able to beat him no matter what I try.」

That was likely what he truly felt, as his voice was filled with resignation. But for some reason Mira still recognized a faint smile on his lips.

「Once again your words don't match your face.」

Mira pointed that out, which only made the detective look even more happy. Fuzzy Dice was really the ideal opponent he could only dream about.

「I've always been looking for something I didn't get to experience as an adventurer, a difficult challenge. But it's not something I can really look for at my age anymore. I've become rusty and clumsy compared to my heyday.」

In his days as an adventurer, falling down from a rooftop would not have fazed him. He pointed that out with a short laugh, before looking at his legs with disappointment.

「Well, have you picked something to order then?」

The detective raised his gaze to look at Mira as he asked that, before adding, 「I'm thinking of ordering the pudding soft serve.」

「Oh, that'd be a dupe then, I was also thinking of ordering that...」

There was nothing wrong with two people ordering the same thing, but Mira had a certain habit. She always enjoyed seeing what others were eating to have an idea if she would like it or not before ordering. That was especially useful in places she visited for the first time, but if her companion ordered the same thing as her, she would not be able to gain any advantage like that.

So she began to consider changing her order, but the detective noticed what she was thinking.

「In that case I can order the almond soft serve. Then we can share half-half and both enjoy two varieties. And if my assistant also joins in, we could try out three at once. That's actually genius.」

The detective said all of that with confidence, but that was a bit more extreme and was rejected instantly.

「Let's not, that sounds rather gross.」

While it was technically a good suggestion, Mira could not see herself sharing ice cream with a man, even if they were attractive like Julius. And that sentiment seemed to be shared with Julius.

「Maybe I'd consider doing that with Mira, but with the Chief...」

Julius looked at the detective for a bit, before saying, 「It's nothing serious though, we can always just order more.」

But those words would not reach the detective, who was still utterly crestfallen at Mira's wording, especially at her usage of gross.

(Maybe I should've worded it a bit better...)

Any man would feel icky at the thought of sharing ice cream with another man. That was Mira's intention when she spoke, and someone like Solomon or Luminaria would have agreed with her instantly.

But she was not amongst those close friends here, and regardless of how her mind worked, Mira looked like a cute young girl now, and anyone would feel devastated if a cute girl called them gross.

And so the detective received a terrible shock, leaving him feeling like a father that was pushed away by his daughter.

Mira and Julius could only look at each other wondering what to do though.

「Umm...I'm sorry.」

「I mean, it should've been obvious...」

After that short exchange they placed their orders, which ended up being three pudding soft serve ice creams.

Mira and Julius kept trying to cheer up the detective, and eventually he regained some life.

What did the trick was mentioning that they wanted to hear more stories from the detective's past. That quickly triggered his talkative side, which won over the depression.

「Alright, where did we leave off earlier?」

The detective asked that in a good mood, and Julius quickly answered that they were discussing how the detective wanted a challenge, but was already past his prime. They still had not heard how Fuzzy Dice became such an important goal for him though.

「Oh right, I remember now.」

The detective nodded a few times, then straightened his back.

「Right, so I became painfully aware of the limitations my age brought, but I still kept searching for a new challenge to overcome.」

He mentioned that he still felt that way, even after he had accepted that case involving Fuzzy Dice.

That was around the time when Fuzzy Dice was gaining a lot of popularity on an international level, and there were rumors that he would be appearing in the city where the detective lived. But soon the rumors also began to mention that the merchant had hired the detective to capture Fuzzy Dice.

「But well, the most annoying part was my employer. You get to hear all sorts of rumors and stories in my line of work, including the bad...bad rumors. It was also painful to actually see those who had suffered at his hands.」