Chapter 266: The Shadow’s Calling (1)

Casey Selmore’s last choice was to fall from the waterfall with Rudger.

The waterfall was so high that even if a knight were to jump from it he would surely die.

Casey jumped knowing that she would die but she thought that even if she died she would eradicate a great evil from the world at the price of her life.

That was the choice Casey Selmore made and Rudger graciously respected her choice.

“Good job.”

She couldn’t hear him because she had already fainted, but he couldn’t help but say this.

Rudger hugged Casey’s waist with his right arm, which was still in intense pain, and then extended his left arm toward the air.

The wire launcher mounted on his left arm shot and stuck in the cliff. The wire was pulled tight and the bodies of the two people, who had been falling endlessly, stopped suddenly.

* * *

Rudger, who safely came down to the bottom of the waterfall, settled in a suitable open space on one side of the forest and made a fire.

As he was recovering so near the fire, he felt a sign not far away.

“Are you Hans?”

“Brother.”

Hans, who followed him here after seeing the light, examined Rudger’s condition.

“You were safe.”

“Yes, I survived.”

“Nari, I’m glad you’re okay!”

Seridan was with Hans.

“Brother, what about the detective lady?”

“…….”

Rudger shrugged instead of answering. It was an unspoken act to ask no more questions.

Instead of inquiring further, Hans handed Rudger a blanket he had already packed.

“……Please use it.”

Hans examined Rudger’s condition. His expression was similar to usual, but behind it, the indisputable fatigue was clearly revealed. Not only that, but he didn’t look very well.

But what bothered Hans more was that Rudger was alone.

“What about that automaton?”

After he left with Seridan, the underground laboratory completely collapsed and based on Rudger’s condition, he’s probably…….

“Brother, cheer up.”

“…….”

Rudger stared at Hans as he suddenly expressed his consolation with a worried look. Hans must have misunderstood something.

The automaton boy with Arte’s soul was rescued safely, but Rudger was too tired to correct Hans.

Rudger agreed to explain it later and nodded instead.

“It’s a recovery medicine that I’ve prepared in advance.”

“Thank you.”

“Cops are coming in from far away. I think that they caught a tail, but I’ll try to draw their attention somehow, so you should take the opportunity to escape.”

“Yes, I understand. You should be careful, too.”

“Where should we meet?”

“My business in this country is over.”

Hans nodded with a heavy face and took Seridan with him.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? Hey, wait a minute! What about Nari?”

“He can get out of it on his own. We also have to earn him some time, so let’s move quickly.”

Seridan pouted her lips but did not refuse Hans’ touch. She waved to Rudger and left.

Rudger, who was left alone, stood up as the two left. He hugged Casey Selmore, who sat behind a nearby tree, like a princess, and laid her down on a blanket on the floor.

Then, after covering her with the rest of the blanket, Rudger slumped back down and stared at the burning bonfire.

From a distance, he could hear whistles and see lanterns carried by police.

Hans said that he would attract their attention, but it seems that it was impossible because there were too many.

“…….”

Rudger turned his back and looked at Casey lying still. He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he thought she just opened her eyes.

[Beep!]

Before he knew it, the sound of the whistle got quite close so Rudger rose from his seat.

Rudger checked his outfit after putting the recovery medicine handed over by Hans in his mouth and moved.

Not long after Rudger disappeared the police arrived at the place where Casey fainted.

“Here it is! I found Detective Casey Selmore!”

“What’s the status? First, move her to the emergency room! Medical team!”

“The rest search the surroundings more!”

The police were bustling around, scouring the perimeter, but no trace of James Moriarty was found.

* * *

When he arrived at the place where the capsule was hidden with trudging steps, someone greeted Rudger.

“Are you here?”

“Have you been waiting?”

“Yes, because you told me to wait here.”

The automaton responds as if he had just carried out the given command.

Rudger stared at the automaton. He had blonde hair and golden eyes, looking like a beautiful boy.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Are you curious about that?”

“Curious? Yes. Maybe I’m curious why my master looked at me like that.”

He seemed quite similar to Arte, who asked him something he didn’t know, so Rudger put a faint smile on his lips.

“Let’s walk and talk.”

“Yes.”

Rudger walked and the automaton boy followed.

Dawn began to break from beyond the forest and while walking in the direction of the sun, Rudger opened his mouth.

“First of all, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“You are an automaton. You know that, don’t you?”

The boy nodded.

“Yes. I don’t know why I was made, but I know the fact.”

“But you are not a doll who follows what someone tells you to do.”

“Do you mean me? I don’t understand. I exist to obey your orders.”

“Let me tell you one thing first. Don’t call me master.”

“Then what should I call you?”

Rudger almost said, “Call me a teacher” without realizing it, but he barely held it in.

“Boss, leader, captain, anything is fine as long as it’s not the word master.”

“Really? Yes, sir.”

“You thought you existed to obey someone’s orders?”

“Yes, I have been made for that purpose.”

“A purpose is just a purpose. What is your true heart?”

“Hmm……”

The boy tilted his head as if he didn’t understand his words well.

“Just take it easy. Are you sure you want to follow someone’s orders? What do you think?”

“……I don’t know.”

“That’s enough. Since you hesitated to answer, you already have a different mind.”

The boy nodded, saying, “It may be so.”

“You were born anew as a child who doesn’t know anything yet.”

“Yes.”

“So you have to learn a lot about the world.”

Arte wanted to learn, too.

“I have to learn. That’s good.”

“Do you like it?”

“I don’t know what I like. But it’s something……I think I’m happy.”

“……Is that so?”

Perhaps that reaction was influenced by the owner of the soul in his body.

“I’m sorry.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Just, everything.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, teacher.”

“…….”

Rudger’s steps stopped for a moment at the word teacher and the boy who was walking with him stopped accordingly.

“Did I say something wrong? If it’s because you’re called a teacher, I’ll call you by a different name.”

He tried to say that there was no need to change it, but Rudger hesitated to answer.

Did he deserve to be called teacher again?

He didn’t.

“……Yes.”

Rudger walked again and the boy moved with him.

The two men were out of the woods as a wide meadow spread out in the distance and dawn broke over the horizon.

James Moriarty was defeated last night, and Casey Selmore won therefore, the rising sun is surely a blessing to the people of this country.

The boy admired the rising sun as it pushed out the darkness of dawn.

“Wow. Are you saying that’s the sun? It’s very beautiful to see in person.”

“You’ll see it again and again.”

“Continuously?”

“Yes, go on.”

Rudger turned his head and stared at the boy.

“Come to think of it, I can’t just keep calling you, you.”

“Code name is Alpha. It doesn’t matter if you call me that.”

“Isn’t it empty?”

“Or will you give me a name?”

“Name…”

The word “name” reminded Rudger of Arte.

Is it right to use the name of the already dead child recklessly?

However, on the contrary, it was not right to bury the name in his memory.

Even if it was different, the soul that entered this automaton boy’s body belonged to Arte.

“Arpa.”

Rudger uttered the name as if he were convinced of it himself.

“From now on, your name will be Arpa.”

“Arpa, is it…….”

“Do you not like it? If you don’t like it, you can change it to a different name.”

The boy, Arpa, shook his head.

“No, I really like it. It’s kind of familiar.”

“Is that so?”

“Where are we going now?”

“I’m leaving for another country. There’s something I’m looking for there.”

“Do I go with you?”

“Unfortunately, we can’t be together.”

Arpa was sullen at the words, drooping his shoulders.

“Instead, I’ll recommend you a person.”

“A person?”

“It’s a little unusual to call him a person but……I’m sure there will be no problem staying together.”

“I’m curious to hear you say that.”

“Go around with him and look around this wide world.”

He must still be trying to catch a whale by holding a harpoon on the shore.

“Oh, and to be honest, that figure stands out too much.”

“Oh, this?”

Arpa looked all over his body.

Rudger said that his appearance was too noticeable, but Arpa himself must have cared about it.

“Your hair color is too bright and you can’t help but look like an aristocrat wherever you go. Your appearance stands out.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I can change this.”

“You can change it?”

The moment Rudger questioned, Arpa’s hair color changed.

His blond hair became dark brown and his impression also changed a little.

From the appearance of a noble aristocrat he became quite plain but he was still handsome.

“Wouldn’t I be less noticeable now?”

“……So that was possible.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess it’s just a matter of making some changes to the basic framework…and the voice, of course.”

The ability to change the appearance freely was a function installed to mix and infiltrate among ordinary people but Rudger didn’t bother to point that out.

“Yeah. It’s definitely a lot better than before.”

Arpa asked back happily.

“Really?”

“Arpa, would you like to smile?”

Arpa smiled at the remark. Not forced, but literally a natural smile.

“It’s definitely nice to see you smile.”

“If you say so, I’ll try to maintain it as much as I can.”

“If it’s hard, you don’t have to.”

“No, I’m not tired at all.”

Suddenly, Rudger felt that the conversation was familiar and memories of the past that he thought he would never get back flashed in his head.

“Arpa.”

“Yes, leader.”

Rudger smirked at the word of the leader and reached out his hand to him.

“Let’s go.”

To the wider world.

Although he did not say the last words, Arpa nodded with a smile as if he knew the meaning.

“Yes!”

The two walked slowly toward the rising sun.

* * *

What Casey Selmore saw when she opened her eyes was a bed in a white room. Soon after, a nurse who opened the door just in time approached her, who sprang up her upper body.

“Detective Casey! You’ve come to your senses!”

“Where are we?”

“This is the Delica Kingdom National Hospital.”

“……I see that. Do you happen to have a newspaper?”

“Yes, I thought you’d be curious when you wake up.”

Receiving the newspaper handed over by the nurse, Casey immediately looked at the front-page article.

[Detective Casey Selmore’s performance and crime godfather James Moriarty’s death!]

And, below it, there was an article about the last fight under the waterfall.

Casey stared at the article because she couldn’t understand it.

Then the nurse next to her laughed and said.

“Thank you very much, detective.”

Casey’s eyes turned to the nurse at the words of thanks. Her blue eyes were asking what the hell she was talking about.

“Thanks to you dealing with that heinous James Moriarty everyone is relieved.”

“I took him down?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that obvious?”

What do you mean it’s obvious?

Casey wanted to shout but she didn’t do that.

‘What about James Moriarty? Disappeared? Why am I alive? I jumped into the waterfall with the determination to die.’

Her head felt dizzy and her thoughts were scattered everywhere but she was sure of one thing.

‘If I survived, he survived too.’

“That’s right.”

In a vague dream, she remembers seeing the man. He hugged her gently and covered her with a blanket.

Casey crumpled the newspaper in her hand.

“Huh? Detective! Wait a minute! You just woke up, so you need to relax!”

Casey got out of bed, stood by the window in the hospital room and opened it wide.

“Look over there!”

“It’s Detective Casey Selmore!”

“Wow!!!”

Guests and journalists crowded outside the hospital, and the police who blocked them.

Casey couldn’t understand the sight of people cheering her.

Why are they cheering?

She lost her battle with James Moriarty. Nevertheless, people were busy praising her as a hero.

‘I’m…’

Her clenched fist trembled then Casey’s eyes reached the young children mixed in the crowd of citizens. The children, who appeared to be siblings, were smiling at Casey.

The moment she saw that Casey fist loosened and she raised her hand silently and waved to the citizens.

[Wahhhaha!]

As she did so there was a warm cheer but the cheers did not resonate with her in any way.