A detective’s surprise client (Volume 4 Prologue)

Shellin Burgundy was reading some files on his computer. Thanks to his training under Ranpo Doyle, he could easily access restricted files as long as they were connected online. One could argue that it was illegal but Shellin believed that the path to the truth would require necessary sacrifices.

“Playing by the rules against someone who willingly breaks them is just simple inefficiency. When dealing with these scum of society, you don’t have to worry about honor”, he recited one of Ranpo’s lessons.

Of course, the interpretation was up to the person. Amelia wouldn’t resort to such tactics unless she had enough reason to believe that the person she was investigating was a criminal. Shellin, on the other hand, treated all of his suspects the same way he treated criminals. To him, innocence was something that should be proven.

There were many times that he and Amelia would clash because of their beliefs. It didn’t help that Ranpo didn’t take any sides since he would say that he wanted them to follow their own path without him influencing them.

However, Ranpo definitely influenced their love for justice and shaped them to be the great detectives they were right now. Even if he was no longer in this world, he could rest well knowing that his two successors would continue his fight for the truth.

His Excellular rang and he found out that Amelia was calling him.

“What do you want?” Shellin asked after picking it up.

“I need your help”, she told him.

“Oh? Is the great Amelia Watson seriously asking for help from me?”

“Yes.”

This was a rare occurrence for Shellin. Amelia rarely asked for help. While she would accept any help being offered to her and would request cooperation from people involved in her cases, she rarely showed any weakness in her skill as a detective.

“Alright. What do you need?” Shellin asked.

“I want to see what you learned so far from that organization.”

“... May I ask why you want to stick your head in this?”

“Because it involves a dear friend of mine.”

“I see. Wait for a few days. I’ll give you something.”

“Thanks, Shellin.”

“Stop it. You’re creeping me out.”

Shellin decided to hang up and proceeded to compile the information he learned about the Unkindness. He didn’t know why the Unkindness involved a “dear friend” of Amelia but he knew very well that it was serious enough to make her swallow her pride and ask him for help.

You might not be the smartest or the most skilled person in this city. But your desire to see the truth is a vital component to become a great detective. Of course, seeing the truth is not enough. You have to make sure that the way you handle the truth will be for the good of everyone, Ranpo’s words echoed in his mind.

“And as a detective, I’ll make sure that my actions will benefit everyone. And that includes Amelia's friend”, he muttered.