731 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

"They tampered with evidence? I naturally thought it was the clever plan of a dying mistress." When Gil San heard the truth, he couldn't suppress a hollow laugh. "What I did was ultimately a mystery show, wasn't it? If you can create a gripping story that deceives everyone, isn't that enough?" As long as the criminal is caught, that's what matters. The issue wasn't how a detective could tamper with evidence, but how evidence could be manipulated convincingly enough to fool even the criminal. "Is that really acceptable...?" "Sometimes, fabricated lies are more necessary than harsh truths." His deduction seemed conclusive, but there was no evidence. "Judge Cho, why don't you go and use Jiggle, the greatest search tool in human history. If fire isn't enough, there's the bubbling power of water too. Quite cumbersome, isn't it?" If they had checked the answer sheet, any missing puzzle pieces could simply be created. A detective can't change the past, but a storyteller can revise it. He replayed the situation and found a moment even the culprit could believe. “Even after catching the criminal, I couldn't stop pretending to be unwell.” “In the end, I'm just a fake pretending to be a detective.” To others, he might have appeared to act out a perfect detective role, but to himself, it felt like a half-baked performance. In mystery stories, the detective finds evidence with perfect intuition and deduces the culprit with cold logic. On the other hand, he had to use even detective theater, a tool for catching criminals, to fulfill his role. If it were a constable who stops at nothing to catch the criminal, it would be understandable, but detective felt like too arrogant a title. It was when he looked back on today's detective drama with a bitter smile. "No." Ga-yeong grabbed his sleeve as he walked forward. "Huh? Ga-yeong?" She stared at him for a moment, then spoke with the impartiality of a judge rendering a verdict. "Master. You are not Jegal Seol-rok." Right. She had read Jegal Seol-rok too. Was she just agreeing with me? "That's what I'm saying. Just because it's marketed as being based on true stories, people keep thinking I'm the same as Jegal Seol-rok. I solved the Ghost Ship case, but I'm not Jegal Seol-rok, who solved the Ghost Ship case." When he complained, Ga-yeong slowly shook her head. "But you're not fake either." Her tone was firm. “……” "You are a detective." Even if he wasn't Jegal Seol-rok, he had the right to be called a detective. There was no fluctuation in her voice, but perhaps because of that, it carried more conviction. "Ga-yeong..." "You are the detective. I am the exclusive maid who assists you." Maybe she found satisfaction in helping with my deduction. Somehow, her face seemed to shine. "Yes, your help was crucial, Ga-yeong." "I only perfectly supported you as your assistant." Any words I spoke to credit her were swiftly dismissed, leaving me no choice but to smile wryly. "Miss Ga-yeong is right. A struggling detective who tells lies to catch the criminal is more persuasive than the harsh perfection of a novel's Jegal Seol-rok." "I don’t know." Using both spiritual power and evidence tampering to catch a criminal does qualify as detective work. Accepting or denying myself completely is a complex issue. "If you don't know, where are you heading, wandering like this?" Gil San sighed as he gazed at the unending mountain path stretching before him. "To pay the price for peeking at the answer sheet." The criminal was caught, but the situation wasn't fully resolved. "What are you talking about... Oh?!" At the end of the mountain path. A cliff that wouldn't just leave you injured if you threw yourself over it. "If you jump now, you're turning your sister's sacrifice, when she thought only of you until the end, into a worthless act." "How, how did you?!" The mistress's younger sister stood there. ―― The criminal might be caught, but the absence of the departed would leave scars on everyone. The owner of Hosanyakbang lost a cherished mistress, and the wife lost her confidante. The household's servants lost a friend and a channel to tactfully convey their grievances to their master. Time would heal most wounds, but for one person, the injury was truly difficult to recover from. "It's not your fault that the criminal killed your sister." The mistress’s younger sister. A woman who, through a moment of mistake, lost the only blood relative remaining in the world. "Do-don't come near me! It's because of me! It's because of me that my sister...!" "Who would think a household servant would kill the master’s mistress? Don't take the criminal’s sin upon yourself." He cautiously closed the distance between them step by step. "I dated a man my sister disapproved of...! I couldn't see the man's true colors...!" It's understandable to blame oneself. If she hadn't dated him in the first place, she wouldn't have lost her sister. It must be such a harrowing thought. "In the end, you followed your sister's words. Even if you were blinded temporarily by a man, you didn’t shut your ears to her. So it's not your fault." There might have been a lack of judgment. But she didn't do anything nearly grave enough to be solely blamed for all this misfortune. "And your sister? What did she do wrong then?" "Please, don't let your sister's sacrifice be in vain." "I know doing this won't bring her back! But I still feel guilty for her! I have to, even if it means dying, to apologize..." The only way to apologize was to meet in the afterlife. The younger sister seemed set on it as she peered below the cliff, but her eyes were still trembling. If I jump, she will certainly throw herself as well. But just because I reach out doesn't mean she will take my hand. What should I do? "She will return." The solution was simple. "What?" "You can apologize while living." "You're not joking, are you?" "I'm not joking either." Because there is a way to converse with her deceased sister. "What do you mean by that...?" "The events that unfold now are a secret." It was time to pay for the peek at the answer sheet. —— [Again! Again! Running away in a huff! And always running to the same place! Why not just ask to be found?] Eon Ga-yeong—or rather, the mistress using her body—crossed her arms and scolded her younger sister. "S-sister?" The younger sister's eyes widened at the all-too-familiar way of speaking, looking at the woman who wore her sister's expression but wasn't her. [Who else but your sister would tell you this?] "What on earth is this?" The bewilderment was palpable as the younger sister looked to me for an explanation. His personal maid has the ability to be possessed. It was a complex story to explain, but there was a simpler way to put it. "I brought the spirit practitioner of the Eon Family." "The spirit practitioners of the Eon Family rarely show themselves." "For a woman weighed down by guilt for a simple mistake, they'd gladly intervene." In the city where the Jinju Eon Family presides, where Elder Siwang resides and tales of jiangshi circulate, possession is not that hard to accept. "Truly, then..." [Are you not coming?] Her little sister hesitated to face her guilt, glancing at her sister. The mistress sighed, as if expecting this, and spoke to her sister. "The time she can remain in this world is short. Go have your final meeting." "Sister, is it truly you?" A small mistake might become a lifelong scar, eating away at one's life. Offering simple words of consolation to someone despairing over being left alone in this world is difficult. A chance perhaps never to be given again. A detective who has glanced at the answer sheet ought at least to grant small requests, however tedious they may be. [Your sister can't stay beside you always. You must set yourself straight.] "Sister... I... truly..." Her sister, her voice cracking under the strain of holding back sobs, looked to her sister. [Don't sniffle; listen carefully to what your sister has to say.] What advice could she give to her left-behind younger sister? Her sister wiped her brimming tears and nodded toward her sister. "Okay." [When choosing a man, don't look at the face.] Her sister's words were life-penetrating advice. "W-what, sister?" [You're drawn to men who look like slackers. That's a sure path to ruin.] "Sister, that's not the point of what I'm trying to say..." [Aren't you going to say you're sorry, and cry while whimpering?] The mistress shook her head, disinterested, looking at her sister. "It's my fault!" [Yes, it is. It's your fault.] "S-sister?" A refreshingly candid reply delivered with loving eyes. [So don't squander this chance your sister gave you.] "......!" [Look for a husband with a promising future. I don't mean a rich man, but one who wants to chase dreams, not just expect money to fall from the sky. Find a man whom you believe can make you feel secure even if you lose everything overnight. A man who can make you smile sometimes would be even better.] "Sister..." It was a piece of loving advice wishing that her left-behind sister would build a family and find someone precious, different from herself. [I'll always be watching. Even without me, you can do well, can't you?] "Sister! I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry..." Unable to control her emotions any longer, the sister hugged the mistress tightly. [Alright. If you make another mistake, then I'll come back as an avenging spirit.] "I will do my best. I'll live well." "So, not Jegal Seol-rok, but a detective..." As I watched the two sisters lovingly embrace each other, I quietly echoed Ga-yeong's words. Using every trick to solve a case, even if I wasn't the perfect detective I imagined, I was able to do something the perfect detective could not. Something like comforting wounds that might never heal. "Sister..." [Hm?] "It's strange because of how big your chest is." [We don't have those kinds of chests, remember. It's a reminder not to judge men by appearances.] "Wow, look at how fair her skin is. Like a baby's skin." [Later, ask her if there's a special skincare product when she leaves.] "I will." Their final scene together wasn't what I expected. Can I call myself a detective? While still unsure, listening to their everyday pre-injury sisterly banter, I felt like I could give myself a passing grade, at least for this case.