Volume 9 Chapter 1 Silent Shell
It's been about 2 weeks since I became a Cursed Equipment Investigator.
My main goal as an Investigator was to gather information, but since I've been getting more and more information about cursed equipment, my gathering skills have been improving.
"――Kukuku, who can catch this 'Phantom Thief Silence'?"
At night, in the city streets, I swiftly defeat a thief who called themselves 'Phantom Thief Silence' and stole their cursed equipment.
- Silent Shell
...A shell that eats sound. When you remove the cork, it creates a soundproof barrier around the shell, trying to eat the wearer's ears.
Rank: S
Type: Accessory
Effect: Soundproof Barrier (creates a soundproof barrier within a 3m radius)
Cost: When opened, it tries to eat the wearer's ears.
――Equipment acquisition, complete.
"Oh, it's been a while since I got an S-Rank."
This time, I got an accessory that looks like a shell. The part where the shell's mouth is has teeth growing out of it, and it has a cork stuck in it like a stopper.
It's like a pet frame equipment. It's so lovely.
'So, what's the effect?'
Juju came out of my waist pouch, looking a bit uneasy.
"It can create a soundproof barrier or something."
'A soundproof barrier? You mean like, even if you fart, nobody around you will hear it?'
"You, being a doll, fart?"
'I won't do it! Even if I pretend to, it'll smell like lavender or something!'
"Anyway, I'm not interested in your farting habits...but yeah, the effect is roughly like that."
The guy called Phantom Thief Silence, who was lurking around my feet, seemed to be able to steal things without making a sound.
So, this equipment must be for stealthy actions.
I tried removing the cork, and the shell started flailing around. Just like the equipment description said, it's trying to eat my ears.
It's stronger than I thought, and the shell flew out of my hand.
"Whoa!"
It flew straight towards my ear like an arrow.
I quickly transformed the Slime Shield's mask to cover my ear.
Almost simultaneously, "Clank!" and the Shell and Slime Shield collided.
"Dangerous..."
The Silent Shell had been biting into the Slime Shield for a while, but... it seemed to have given up.
With a thud sound, it fell into my hand, clicking its teeth in frustration.
Well, it's a pretty unreliable piece of equipment, but as long as I can defend my ears, it's not a problem.
"Is the Soundproof Barrier working?"
When I looked closely, I felt like a thin, transparent membrane had formed around me.
'Juju-sama, wasshoi!'
Juju suddenly shouted. Maybe she was confused.
'Yeah, my voices aren't echoing. With this, I can have karaoke anywhere, anytime!'
"I won't let that happen, though."
But still, it's been a while since I've had equipment that's actually useful.
I think it's been since Parasite Palace.
With this, I won't have to cover my ears every time Juju talks, and Senior Rikka won't have to make that sad face... which has been happening a lot lately, and it's been mentally tough.
"...Noaa! Where are youuu?"
And just as I said that, Senior Rikka's presence appeared.
The distinctive footsteps, "thud thud," were getting closer to the alleyway where I was.
I quickly put away the Disguise Set & Phantom Thief Silence in the Gluttony Mimic Bag.
"Senior, over here!"
"Ah, there you are!"
Senior Rikka suddenly appeared.
"Was there a phantom thief over there?"
"No, there wasn't. It seems to have escaped."
"Aww, what a waste! I finally had a 'hit'!"
Senior Rikka stomped her foot in frustration.
It seems that if she produces results as an Investigator, she'll have a chance to be promoted to Inquisitor, and Senior Rikka became an Investigator for that reason.
So, Senior is really enthusiastic about her work... except when it comes to ghosts.
"Come on! Noa, you should at least try! Don't make that bored face!"
"This is my real face. Sorry."
"Anyway, I'll catch that phantom thief no matter what Phantom Thief... Science!"
"That's a science-y thief, isn't it?"
She's the type who'd say something like, "This is the power of science!" and seem pretty cool.
For a while, I ran around the streets with Senior Rikka.
Of course, we didn't catch anything.
* * *
"Yeah... Phantom got ahead of us again."
After reporting to Miss Roreis,
Senior Rikka was kicking a small stone on the sidewalk, looking frustrated.
By the time we reported, it seemed that the phantom thief Silence had already been caught. We had left a trap for the guard, but it was collected by the Inquisitor sooner than we thought.
"Noa's always slacking off, that's the problem. You're always going to the bathroom, and then suddenly starts yelling in a weird voice..."
"Ha, haha... sorry"
"Don't give me that. Noa's always..."
Senior Rikka's lecture began.
Today, her lecture was longer than usual. It was quite a scolding.
I apologized while hanging my head, walking half a step behind her.
"But, you know..."
Perhaps it's a sign that the lecture is over, Senior Rikka's tone of voice changes a little.
"Phantom's been... lately, it's like they're only targeting the things we're investigating, right?"
"That's just a coincidence."
"Hmm, it's complicated."
"What do you mean by complicated?"
"It's like, even if Phantom gets the credit, I wouldn't get angry. You know, I'm a Phantom fan, right?"
"News to me."
Yeah, I remember Senior Rikka praising Phantom excessively before.
Senior Rikka said while fidgeting with her fingers.
"Phantom's... you know, it's like that, right? They're cool?"
"Are they cool?"
"Uh, yeah... they're really strong, and they bravely stand up against the evil 'curse holders' to protect many people, right? That's amazing, and I think it's cool... I want to be strong like that too..."
Her face was that of a lovestruck girl.
"I want to meet them once..."
"Yeah, that would be great..."
Let's just go with the flow. I don't want to get too worked up about the Phantom Talk.
For now, I'll just stroke her head and change the subject.
"Hey, why are you stroking my head?!"
"It's just interesting, that's all."
"Don't treat your seniors like toys!"
I got scolded by Senior Rikka and apologized.
The conversation naturally came to a halt there.
"Ah... I'm over here, by the way."
Senior Rikka stopped at the crossroads.
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, but tomorrow is a day off, so..."
"A day off? That's like an urban legend..."
It's true that the job posting said "120 days of annual leave!" and "only 20 hours of overtime per month!" or something like that.
"Well, I've been working too much lately, so... it's usually like this."
Senior Rikka stretched her small body to its limits,
expressing her excitement for the day off with all her might.
"...even if you stretch, you're still tiny."
"Huh?"
"Sorry, it's nothing."
"If you say that again, I'll headbutt you."
"It looks like I'm going to get a clean hit on my jaw."
I'm going to take a lot of damage.
"Well... tomorrow, I might do some family service for a change."
"Family service? What's that?"
"Uh, it's when you do something for the sake of your family... or something?"
"I see."
Doing something for the sake of your family, huh.
I didn't have a family, so I wasn't used to it, but I guess that's a thing.
I was impressed.
"Oh, by the way, Noa... I've been curious about that for a while now, but what's with that bracelet?"
"Huh?"
I realized that Senior Rikka's gaze was fixed on my left arm.
To be exact, the bracelet on my left arm ―― the Parasite Palace one.
"That's a really expensive-looking bracelet, isn't it? Did you buy it?"
"Ah, no, this is... a souvenir I brought back from the haunted mansion."
"Whoa!? What did you bring back?! "
Senior Rikka jumped back in surprise.
"Is it, like, cursed or something? That bracelet..."
――Kusukusukusu....
"Did you just laugh?"
"Huh..."
"You did, didn't you?! Absolutely!"
――Kusukusukusu....
"Look! You did it again!"
"...I can't hear it, huh?"
"What's with you!? "
Senior Rikka's eyes start to well up with tears.
"Am I the weird one...? "
"That's definitely the case, isn't it?"
"You're being too serious!? "
"You must be tired. Take a good rest tomorrow, okay?"
"...Got it."
Senior Rikka walks away, looking pale and unsteady.
I feel like I did something bad. I tap my wristband with my finger.
"Hey, Kuku. Don't tease senior too much, okay?"
"The one who gets teased is the one at fault. They should reflect on their actions."
"That's the bully's logic, isn't it?"
That's how it is. But what should I do tomorrow?
I didn't think it would be a holiday, so I didn't plan anything. I'm the type who needs to make a schedule the day before to feel at ease.
Maybe I'll go to the weapon shop or study at the library? I could also increase my daily sword training... Or maybe explore ways to use cursed equipment...
As I was thinking about these things,
I suddenly remembered Senior Rikka's words, "family service".
Family service. Doing something for the family's sake.
Well, it's not like we're family or anything... But Cirrul and the others have been through a lot with me too.
Maybe I should do something for their sake once in a while.
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