"What do you think about detective novels, Big Brother?"
"Me?"
Standing on the deck, Duanmu Huai admired the endless view of the sea while looking at Sakuya beside him.
"Why do you want to ask me that?"
"Because you used to be a detective, didn't you? Have you ever encountered a murder case like the ones in detective novels?"
"No."
Duanmu Huai shook his head decisively.
"I've never even seen anything like a locked-room murder."
Duanmu Huai wasn't lying. Although he had solved some ordinary murder cases when he was a detective, they had mostly been crimes of passion, along with a few carefully planned murders. However, in those cases, the criminals had generally focused on hiding the bodies. He had practically never encountered anyone claiming to have an alibi or committing a locked-room murder like in detective novels.
"That's what I thought... After all, it's too bizarre. Besides, the method behind a locked-room murder might not work. If it failed, wouldn't the culprit be exposed?"
"Is that what the novel you're reading is about?"
Duanmu Huai glanced at the novel in Sakuya's hand, and she nodded.
"Of course. It's not just me—Alice Phil and Miss Medea are reading them too."
As she spoke, Sakuya turned her head. Not far away on the deck, the two of them were lying on deck chairs beneath an umbrella, sipping drinks while reading detective novels.
Well, after coming to this world and learning Duanmu Huai's identity, they had both expressed their desire to help him become a good assistant... But Duanmu Huai felt that it didn't really matter whether they served as assistants or not. If they wanted to help him, instead of reading detective novels, they should read horror novels... No, they should read tabletop role-playing session logs.
"After all, things are