“Yuugo! Wake up, Yuugo!”
“Hna? Fuaaah…!”
It was the morning after the duel, and Yuugo, who was fast asleep on a bed for once, was shaken awake by Melt.
He was still not fully awake, probably because he was so comfortable, and Melt’s attention was taken by the way he let out a big yawn as soon as he sat up.
“Yuugo, Jinba is here. Get it together!”
“Really? Is it already that late…”
Yuugo checked the time, and saw he had been sleeping for longer than he thought.
He thought it was because he was sleeping on a bed for the first time in a while, but then remembered that the flaming armor put stress on his body as well. And with this on his mind, he got ready to go meet Jinba.
“Yuugo, your hair is a mess, you look half asleep, and your clothes are all sloppy. Come here, I’ll help you with the tie.”
“I-it’s fine, I’ll do it.”
Yuugo felt flustered and puffed his cheeks.
He would feel bad if he made her do that, and embarrassed. And just as he was fixing his hair and pulling himself together, the door opened and Phi walked in with Jinba.
“Hey Yuugo. Getting bossed around right from the start of the day, I see.”
“Don’t make fun of me too much. And sorry for having you come here right after you went out on another job.”
“It’s fine. I actually wanted to talk to you too.”
Other guards entered behind Jinba, and they took position around the still asleep Isaac.
Yuugo looked at them and assumed they were put in charge of watching Isaac, and when his eyes turned back to Jinba, he saw he had an expression on his face he had trouble parsing.
“…I heard about what happened yesterday from Melt and Phi. Another magic sword user appeared…”
“Yes. And he used the same technique as Cross. I can’t imagine it’s not related…”
“About that… Yuugo, I actually secured another magic sword.”
“Eh!?”
Yuugo’s face was painted with surprise, and so was Melt’s, who asked him a question.
“A new magic sword… So there are four…?”
“Apparently. I was investigating that case when you contacted me yesterday. Thankfully, that magic sword was retrieved before its owner did anything, but… What is most important is what I’m about to say.”
“Tell us, Jinba.”
“This magic sword I retrieved… Was made recently. Not even a few months ago, it’s weeks, maybe days old.”
Said Jinba quietly, and the others gulped.
What could this mean? Jinba continued, as if unraveling this and everything else.
“We have found four magic swords, with one of them being very new. Are they being made somewhere…?”
“I think the most likely candidate is this hooded person that gave Cross his… But it’s hard to think this one person is making them, selecting who will take them, and spreading them around. I think it’s likely this person is just the one giving them.”
“But who could it be? Both the black hood and the one making the magic swords…?”
Two incidents were started by people who got magic swords, but this was not over yet.
Someone who was leaving these dangerous items around the city lurked somewhere.
As long as they did not find the one behind it, there was no way of knowing when another person twisted by magic swords like Cross and Isaac would appear.
Jinba and the others had grave expressions on their faces, not wanting this city to turn into one filled with fear, and Yuugo thought about something with his hand on his chin.
“Someone making magic swords, a brand new one, a black hooded figure spreading them… Wait.”
“What is it, big brother?”
Yuugo’s head was operating at full capacity, and he raised his head when he reached a conclusion.
Phi looked on with a curious expression, while Yuugo asked Jinba a question.
“Were magic swords always dangerous items? I don’t mean in the way they twist people’s hearts, I mean in their pure performance as weapons.”
“Hm…? Hm… Well, probably. I never saw one directly, but the ones in the records were said to have unbelievable power.”
“Then… That’s it. The real culprit…!”
“Yuugo? What did you figure out?”
Asked Melt, and Yuugo turned to her quietly.
He tightened his loose necktie, and answered.
“It’s all connected. My brain cells are in top gear.”
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
Kamen rider reference: kamen rider drive, main rider is detective shinnosuke tomari, whenever he figured the case he would say “I’ve got it together. My brain cells are in Top Gear!”