Chapter Text
“Sonia Nevermind—the princess of Novoselic—is hosting a gala at her estate this weekend.”
“Novoselic? Isn’t that in Russia?” Kaito asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“That’s Novosibirsk , Kaito,” Shuichi clarifies. “But I’ve never heard of Novoselic before.”
“Well, it is pretty small,” Maki reasons. “About half the size of Luxembourg, located somewhere between Germany and Poland.”
“Right! Geography!” Kaito forces a laugh in a failed attempt at feigning confidence. Shuichi finds it somewhat amusing, though he decides it’s probably best that they move on to a more important point of discussion.
“So I’m guessing we’re going to be staging some sort of mystery at this gala?” Shuichi guesses. After getting a nod from Maki, he continues. “But how are we even going to get invited in the first place? I-I mean, this is a literal princess we’re talking about. The nightclub was a whole different situation.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Maki responds cooly, not hesitating for even a second. “I’ve already taken care of it.”
Shuichi and Kaito exchange a look, suddenly coming to the realization that Maki would’ve carried out the plan regardless of whether or not they agreed to it.
“Sonia is… a very unique kind of person,” Maki says. “She just-so-happened to be very interested in my past… excursions.”
With that, Kaito explodes into a panic, once again adhering to his routine of 'act first, think later.'
“W-WHAT?! You—you told her about
that?!
Why? She’s—MMPH!”
Fortunately for Shuichi’s eardrums, Kaito’s outburst is promptly interrupted by Maki’s hand being slapped over his mouth.
“It was a calculated decision,” Maki declares sharply, only removing her hand a few seconds later. “Criminals are like idols to her; researching them is a hobby. Plus, it’s not like I used my real name anyway.”
“T-There are really people who like that kind of stuff?” Shuichi asks, in half-disbelief (though he’s not nearly as vocal about it as Kaito.)
Maki shrugs. “Apparently. But that doesn’t matter, because she’s already invited me to the gala.”
Kaito grins. “Aw, sweet! Looks like you’re gonna have to do all the fieldwork this time!”
Maki shoots him a (literal) death glare. “Don’t get too excited. She also told me I'm welcome to bring a few plus-ones.”
Kaito seems to physically deflate with the delivery of that news. Meanwhile, Shuichi remains skeptical.
Sonia Nevermind… just what kind of person is she, inviting an assassin to a party? Is it some sort of trap? Are we going to get arrested the moment we set foot in her estate?
Also… why would she want Maki to bring along whoever she wants? Does she want to network with a bunch of criminals?
“Maki… I really don’t know about this plan,” Shuichi says, finally voicing his concerns. “It seems too risky.”
“What other choice do we have?” Maki points out. “You insisted that we capture that detective even though killing him is far more practical, and this is a perfect opportunity to do exactly that.”
“I’m gonna have to agree with Maki-roll on this one, partner. If we wait any longer, we’d just be giving him more time to look into our identities,” Kaito contends, sounding uncharacteristically rational.
Shuichi bites his lip, feeling like he’s been backed into a corner.
They’re right. There really is nothing else we can do, and…
I can’t kill him. I just can’t.
It would haunt me.
“Alright. I’m on board.”
Kokichi is in the process of shoving another jumbo-sized bag of gummy bears into his cart when a high-pitched voice interrupts him.
“Hey, pig-face! Have you heard the rumor?”
He turns around, a sharp retort on the tip of his tongue. Upon noticing who the person is, he lets the words fly out with no hesitation.
“I’m pretty sure your mom and I aren’t just a rumor anymore, midget!”
Hiyoko Saionji is probably the only other person in Jabberwock who can rival his devilishness, and also happens to frequent the Rocketpunch Market. She’s… a ‘friend’ of his, he supposes. You wouldn’t guess that by simply looking at the way they argue, though he mostly just thinks of her as the snarky younger sister he never had.
Hiyoko glares daggers at him. “You’re basically half a centimeter taller than me, genius!”
“Sure, but at least I’ve hit 5’0!”
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”
But now he simply can’t forget about the supposed rumor, so he gives in to his curiosity, though he tries to seem as nonchalant as possible.
“What’s the rumor about anyway?”
“Well, Mahiru told me that someone told her that an assassin is coming to Sonia Nevermind’s party!”
Nevermind, huh.
I vaguely remember her. Boy, was she an odd one!
She was really into that true crime thing, but I never would’ve guessed she’d go out and do something like this.
“She’s having a party?”
Hiyoko nods eagerly. “Yeah! It’s supposed to be super exclusive!”
He can feel it—he can’t lie to himself about that. He can feel his heartbeat quicken as the gears in his head begin to turn.
It’s just a rumor, right?
There… there isn’t actually going to be an assassin at the party, right?
It’s like an addiction, and he doesn’t just want to fuel it. He needs to.
A secret murderer among all the elites…
Could this be a mystery in the making?