When peace is disrupted

With my parents from this world dead, Gustav decided to take care of me by inviting me to live in his comfortable home. There, I lived with him and his wife Antoniette, who gave me all the love in the world that the noble Stilman family never did. It wasn’t the same as living in a mansion, but the atmosphere here was warmer, more like a true family. Antoniette cooked like a goddess—her homemade meals far surpassed the so-called high-class food, which tasted more like cardboard and plastic.

Gustav didn’t restrict me like my former parents did. He let me explore the town, visit the Lustasia precinct, and taught me how the police forces of this world worked.

To be honest, it was more peaceful than I expected, considering we were technically at war with the demons. It makes sense given that Lustasia was far from the combat zones. Still, there were reports of rogue demons reaching various parts of the kingdom, turning our nightmares into reality.

What do I think of that? It’s nonsense. My mother has proven how easy it is to deceive the authorities into believing that demons are to blame for everything. The sheer number of unsolved cases I found in the files is proof enough.

I tried to help Gustav solve some of them, but he told me that last time was an exception because he used my testimony as a witness. I couldn’t get involved in unrelated cases unless I had a license and training as a soldier from the capital of Glindelof. Only then would I be a proper detective, capable of uncovering the truth about this world.

Gustav gave me a recommendation, and I went to the academy to receive my training. At the same time, I decided to pursue another field of study: magic. Magic is the most powerful weapon in this world, and understanding it would give me a better insight into future investigations. Besides, you never know what dangers you might face or what weapons you might need.

Magic school was expensive, so I had to allocate half the money I inherited as a noble from my parents to finance my studies for the next four years. The other half I used to support Lustasia’s security, helping them improve their facilities and personnel—so that one day I wouldn’t have to work under such amateur conditions.

I was originally supposed to inherit the title of Lord of Lustasia, but I chose to abandon it and proposed to Gustav that we install a democracy—an unexplored concept in this world, which took some time for people to get used to. Since no one else ran for the position, the whole town voted for Gustav, as he was already the highest authority. Despite doubling his workload, he achieved better results than my father ever did and earned the people’s love.

Meanwhile, I continued my studies in the capital. In the mornings, I attended magic school. It didn’t go as well as I had hoped. Apparently, I wasn’t born for magic. My body wasn’t compatible with intermediate or advanced combat spells. I could only use basic magic, beginner combat magic and upgrade magic. That’s fine—if I could only use beginner combat magic, I’d become the best novice mage in history. With that goal, I mastered it quickly and even discovered new improvements. I found that I could store all my beginner attack spells at my fingertips and fire them with maximum power, creating powerful spells that could rival intermediate ones. Apparently, I was the first to attempt this, since no one thought beginner combat magic was worth developing.

Thanks to that, I made a new friend—a clumsy young man named Stan Vansoff, who couldn’t use any kind of magic, not even basic or attack spells. But my feats inspired him to learn every spell, tool, weapon, and magical enchantment. Thanks to that, we both graduated with honors.

At night, I studied at the soldier academy, where I came to understand this world’s weak laws and unjust system. Unfortunately, I had to adapt to it, but deep in my heart, I was determined to achieve the same changes I had made in Lustasia across the entire kingdom. Of course, I aimed to implement a better system than the one from my old world—one that would avoid corruption. Physical training was the hardest part, especially with the underdeveloped body of an eleven-year-old boy. But with willpower, I pushed through and used my intellect and strategy in every situation. That allowed me to earn my soldier’s license and become the youngest soldier in history at fifteen. Normally, I would have to start at the bottom as a foot soldier and be sent to the front lines against the demons. But since I had a recommendation from the captain of Lustasia’s security, I skipped those steps and returned as a detective to my hometown. Stan came with me as my magical assistant, as there was no other place where his knowledge could be better put to use.

With the will to uncover the truth behind all the disappearances and deaths blamed on demons, I returned to the precinct, which had since expanded its staff and defenses. Gustav welcomed us with open arms—but upon arrival, a sad truth was revealed to us.

The war with the demons was over.

A young hero, only eighteen years old, had defeated the demon king with the help of his brave party. Arthur Cless, a youth who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere with the strength of a dragon, had entered the demon kingdom and, within a single year, cut off the king’s head with his powerful sacred sword. 

That fact was already known to everyone, even to me. But what mattered was that all the unsolved case files had been erased and closed. With the presumed cause of the invasion—the demon king—dead, he was declared responsible for all the evil carried out by his minions, most of whom were either imprisoned, killed, or used for experiments by the kingdom of Glindelof. The rest were believed to have fled to neighboring lands.

I tried many times to go to the capital to get a confession from the imprisoned demons and confirm whether they were truly guilty. But the capital’s headquarters refused, saying the cases were closed and no contact with demons was allowed under any circumstances.

Once again, I was left with nothing to do. Someone had to right that injustice—but I was just the detective of a small town. The files had been confiscated by the capital, so I couldn’t even start a personal investigation.

Fortunately, I had Gustav and Stan to help lift me up and do the best I could to maintain peace in this world.

Five years passed. I was now twenty years old—already an adult on the inside and out.

The disappearances had ceased for some reason. Perhaps the demons were to blame after all, and only my mother had taken advantage of the chaos.

In a way, that was good—because peace had finally spread across the kingdom. But for a detective like me, it was so boring. There was nothing to do except help citizens with their everyday issues, like who stole Mrs. Criquem’s chicken, or chasing off teenage vandals from taverns. Not even the conflict with the elven tribe, the Greenites and the dwarves had flared up again.

Why did I even come to this world? There must be a reason why the greatest detective in history was brought to a fantasy world like this.

That day, I was at my desk doodling in my notebook, surrounded by other soldiers dressed in blue. They all wore long, buttoned medieval uniforms that reached their legs.

I always found them uncomfortable, so, as the detective I am, I asked the kingdom’s best tailor to make me the finest detective outfit he could—one that resembled the classic detectives I idolized from literature. It was a black suit with an elegant brown overcoat. I also wore custom-made brown gloves—something every proper detective should wear.

Gustav approached my desk that day, clearly angry.

“Michael, it’s your turn to stand guard today.”

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” I said, still doodling and avoiding eye contact.

“Let’s see what’s so important that it keeps you from doing your job,” he said as he snatched my notebook. “Michael!! How many times have I told you to stop obsessing over the demon cases?!”

“But Gustav, the numbers don’t add up." I tried to explain myself "The number of imprisoned demons doesn’t match the huge number of incidents across the kingdom. They never had the numbers or reach to pull it off.”

“Michael, how many times do I have to tell you that inside this precinct, you’re to call me Captain! And how many times must I repeat that the war is over, and with it, those cases! There’s no other possible culprit. Now get to work, dammit! Stan’s waiting for you!” he yelled, kicking me out of the precinct.

There was Stan, with a massive backpack nearly bigger than himself, filled with magical tools. He helped me up and brushed me off.

“Same as always?” he asked, concerned.

“Yeah, yeah. Dammit, wasn’t it Violet’s turn for guard duty today?” I asked, dusting off my coat.

“It’s her day off,” Stan clarified.

“Tch, we both know that workaholic loves standing guard even on her days off.”

“Well, if that’s the case, how about we head to our usual bar?” Stan said, eyes gleaming at the thought of a cold beer.

“You know I don’t drink. It’s one of my detective principles.”

“Then the usual patrol route?”

“Obviously.” I said as I started walking.

By “usual route,” he meant the path we took past the homes of the families of unresolved case victims. They were always willing to share new details. I had promised them I would find the truth—even if I had to go against the entire kingdom. But it was impossible under this system.

But then, a strange sound interrupted our patrol.

“Stop. Do you hear that?” I halted Stan with my hand.

He turned his head, trying to listen.

“No. Nothing strange,” he said, tilting his head.

I closed my eyes and recited an upgrade spell.

“Senses upgrade!”

My senses sharpened. I could hear every sound around us—the crowing roosters, laughter from the brothel, Gustav complaining about me in the precinct—but most importantly, a fast-moving object falling like a meteor toward the center of Lustasia.

“Stan!! Quickly, seal off the street!” My voice trembled with urgency.

“On it!”

Without hesitation, he grabbed a yellow ribbon from his backpack inscribed with magical runes. Stan used enchanted shoes that let him move faster for two minutes—enough time to tie the ribbon at both ends of the street. The ribbon bore a rune that barred entry to anyone who wasn’t police and prevented dangerous things from escaping.

I urged everyone inside the cordoned area to evacuate as quickly as possible.

With that done, Stan and I also moved back and waited for the object to crash.

When it did, smoke filled the area, and the entire sealed street was destroyed.

I slowly approached the dangerous object, with Stan trembling behind me.

As the smoke cleared, we finally saw the cause of the destruction.

Or rather—who.

A corpse lay on the ground.

A young man with blond hair in shining golden armor and a sharp sword. He was lying motionless, eyes closed, no sign of life.

His armor had a gaping hole in the chest—his heart pierced, and blood poured out all around him.

“Michael, that’s…” Stan said, swallowing hard.

“Yes. Arthur Cless, the man who killed the demon king. Call Gustav—we’ve got a murder case.”