Chapter 31: That Shapeshifter, Pressured

❦

If the one making the silent gun was a Japanese gunsmith and the one buying the gun was a Dutch merchant, then testing the weapon’s efficacy on a Dejima nightwatchman would make sense.

He was showing off his masterpiece to the client.

Only, the silent gun didn’t meet that person’s requirements, so the gunsmith continued working on it. That was why there were no other deaths until Nobuyuki’s.

At this time, Lord Terazawa came to Nagasaki to reinvestigate the deaths of the two samurai guards and began asking around about a silent gun. His project had been discovered, so there was no need to mask the death of his target practice anymore.

He probably also heard from his client that the bugyō also seemed to think the culprit was a Dutch merchant, which made him bold enough to test his weapon near the police headquarters.

Killing Nobuyuki right under their noses was a mistake, Rin decided. If the culprit thought he could brazenly continue his work and sell it to the Dutch for his own profit, he was sorely underestimating the shogun’s eyes and ears.

That’s right. Commissioner Inoue wasn’t just sent by the shogun to be her babysitter.

He was here to weed out the sinister foreigner who took the liberty of conducting this private trade right under the shogun’s nose.

Daan Vandervort’s words at their first meeting made sense now. ‘Perhaps your people might succeed before we do. We’ll be asking you for a favour then!’

The Dutch shapeshifter had known the situation all along and even ventured to give her and Yoka a hint.

On the other hand, she was here suspecting that he was the culprit.

Who is he? Why would he help us? She wanted to ask Yoka these questions, but Tsuguru was still here.

He didn’t know her maid was a shapeshifter and she wasn’t about to tell him about it now.

[Read the full story at novelconbini.com!]