Chapter 94
Clop clop.
"Haa..."
"..."
Arriving in front of the office, I let out a big sigh loud enough for Sophia to hear.
"No Name, you worked hard today."
"Neigh."
I deliberately didn't go straight to Sophia even after seeing her, and put No Name in the stable first.
Then I went towards the office door, openly showing a bored face.
As I was about to pass by Sophia, who was standing firmly against the office wall, ignoring her...
Swish.
"...I have something to say for a moment."
"..."
Sophia stretched out her arm to block my path just before I opened the door.
"...Haa, I'm very tired. What is it?"
I was sleepy.
So sleepy.
I felt like I could sleep for two days straight if I collapsed on the bed right now.
I could lie down on the bed if I just opened this door and went inside, but...
Being blocked at the last moment made me unbearably irritated.
So I frowned and glared at Sophia, but Sophia also glared back at me as if she wouldn't back down and opened her mouth.
"...It's not too late even now. Quickly reveal the truth."
"...What truth are you talking about?"
"Don't pretend you don't know! Zodiac isn't Liese, it's Joe—!"
As expected, she came because of the Zodiac case.
Of course, for her, it would be unacceptable that Liese was identified as Zodiac instead of Joe when there was such clear evidence.
But why is she coming to me to argue about this?
"...I just told what I saw. If you want to argue, go argue with the Sheriff."
I had no strength at all because I was too tired.
Usually, I would have driven her away by sneering or winning a verbal fight, but...
I didn't even have the energy to explain at length, so I just listlessly gestured for Sophia to move.
But...
"You tell the Sheriff directly. That Zodiac is Joe."
"..."
Of course, Sophia didn't just move aside either.
"Tsk."
When she finally refused to move from in front of the office door, I decided to use force.
I grabbed Sophia's shoulder and pushed her to the side, but...
"I absolutely won't move until you tell the Sheriff."
"...Damn it, why are you like this?"
She also grabbed the door frame and grunted, absolutely refusing to back down.
This too, I would have easily pushed her away normally, but I didn't have the strength because I was tired.
Ah... I really want to shoot her.
Instead, if I held a gun and pulled the trigger, I could get rid of her very easily.
My desire for sleep stimulated my instincts and whispered to draw my gun, but I endured to the end and...
"Please go. Let me sleep."
"Ugh... Kyaa—!"
I used all my strength to push Sophia to the side.
Thud.
After knocking Sophia down, I opened the doorknob and the interior of the office, which seemed especially welcoming today, greeted me.
Among them, what I was especially glad to see was the bed.
Seeing the bed that looked so cozy and comfortable today, I smiled slightly and took a step inside.
But then...
Grab.
"...!"
"Where... are you going...!?"
There was a hand that dragged me back into the abyss of despair as I was heading towards the bed, full of joy.
It was Sophia, who had fallen down but grabbed my trouser leg.
"...Ah, let go of this."
"Ughh...."
Squeeze, squeeze.
I gently trampled on Sophia who was desperately trying to stop me.
Crunch.
From her face to her hands.
I stepped on Sophia quite excessively, but...
"No... way...."
Sophia finally overcame my kicks and got up again to block my path.
"Haa... really..."
Seeing Sophia, whose eyes showed determination, I sighed deeply and asked, "Detective, why are you going this far? Joe is already dead. Let's say Joe is Zodiac as you say. Then isn't it all over since Zodiac is dead? Why is it so important who Zodiac is?"
And...
"...Because I was put in charge of this case."
Hearing Sophia's answer to my question, I couldn't help but flinch for a moment.
"The victims of Zodiac are in the dozens, and if you count all the victims' families, it's over hundreds. It's my responsibility to clearly reveal who Zodiac is, and it's my duty to those people."
I thought she was just an arrogant rich girl, but has she grown since I first saw her?
Soon, Sophia's eyes began to fill with evil beyond determination.
"With great power comes great responsibility, right?"
"..."
"...That's what you said to me."
I had guessed that Sophia had noticed my true identity.
But this was the first time Sophia had openly hinted that I was Kid.
It was somewhat surprising, but I tried to pretend I didn't know for now.
"...Well, did I ever say such a thing to you, Detective? I don't remember."
"Don't pretend you don't know."
She pressed me as if she was about to draw her gun.
"You know that Joe is Zodiac, too. So why did you cover for Joe?"
"..."
"What's the identity of that TKK member who suddenly appeared? Does TKK still exist when I thought it had disbanded? What's the truth? Speak, tell me!"
Damn it, I'm too sleepy.
I felt like I couldn't maintain the thread of reason because I was too sleepy.
Meanwhile, Sophia's sharp voice shooting at me was quite irritating.
Moreover, Sophia was crossing the given line and pressing me assuming I was Kid.
How should I get past this situation?
How can I get past it?
How should I get past it to quietly send Sophia away and lie down on the bed?
"...I have no idea what you're talking about."
...I don't know.
For me, whose head had long stopped working, all I could do was consistently feign ignorance.
Seeing me like this, the expression gradually disappeared from Sophia's face.
At first, I thought Sophia's excitement was finally subsiding, but it wasn't.
"TKK."
Rather, Sophia seemed determined to go all the way today.
"Everyone fears just hearing that name, but most don't even know what it stands for."
"..."
"It took over 3 years just to figure out what the organization's name means."
Sophia's atmosphere changed.
But even with that sharp aura and gaze, my sleepiness didn't go away.
"To be precise, it wasn't TKK but T&KK."
"...I don't know why you're telling me about TKK, but it's quite interesting."
"Twin & Kid Klan. Abbreviated as TKK."
"..."
"TKK's 1st leader bounty $150,000. Identity unknown."
Whoosh.
Saying that, Sophia took out a $150,000 wanted poster from her pocket.
The wanted poster seemed to have been kept for a very long time and was quite dirty.
"Noah H. Bonnie Jr."
"..."
"You're TKK's 1st leader Kid, aren't you."
"Puhah."
"...You laugh?"
...Ah, I'm going crazy.
Is it because I'm too sleepy?
I ended up bursting into laughter seeing Sophia's very serious expression.
"...Ah, I'm sorry, Detective. Please excuse me, I'm not in my right mind right now."
Unable to hold back my sleepiness any longer, I looked down at Sophia with half-closed eyes and asked, "...So what's your evidence that I'm this Kid?"
My words were short because I was tired.
Does it matter?
Anyway, Sophia spoke informally to me first.
"...I don't have any."
"If you don't have any, could you move aside? I feel like I'm going to go crazy because I'm really too sleepy."
"...I don't have evidence now, but I'll definitely find it. I'll definitely find evidence that you're that Kid and reveal your crimes."
So she can't arrest me right now, right?
...But why are you blocking the door and holding out like this, it's so annoying.
I, whose patience had reached its limit and was about to burst, gestured for Sophia to move with the mindset of practicing asceticism.
"...Yes, good luck with that. Now please move aside, let me sleep, please."
"No, I absolutely won't move unless you reveal that Joe is Zodiac before that."
But the conversation returned to square one.
This wasn't even talking to a wall, Sophia spat out the same words as before.
"Why did you hide the fact that Joe is Zodiac?"
"..."
"Did you perhaps grow fond of that person Joe? So you wanted to prevent harm from coming to Joe's family?"
It was true that I wanted to prevent harm from coming to Joe's family, but...
Growing fond of Joe…?
This was a bit ambiguous.
I recalled my memories with Joe so far.
Most of them were memories of me riding Joe's carriage for free.
Joe complained but still gave me rides in his carriage... and always greeted me with a smile.
Seeing my expression as I reminisced about those memories, Sophia flinched and then shuddered as if disgusted.
"...It seems you really had grown fond of that coachman Joe. How dare you."
"...Why? Am I not allowed to grow fond of someone?"
"How many people have you killed so far to say that? You inhuman bastard!"
Sophia's face was filled with uncontrollable anger as she shouted like that.
And...
Twitch.
Something burst out in me too when I heard her words.
— You inhuman bastard!
As soon as I heard those words, my body, already ruled by instinct, almost drew my gun immediately.
I hurriedly took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed that intense impulse.
But even during that time, Sophia kept provoking me.
"Speak, Kid! Tell me who the real Zodiac is!!"
"..."
"Reveal who the real Zodiac is and what kind of existence you were in San Francisco...! Reveal all the crimes you committed, Kid!!!"
There was only one thing I could do now.
Somehow endure the anger and try to calm down the excited Sophia.
First, deny it and calm her down, then go to bed and sleep.
I decided what to say internally and opened my mouth, swallowing my irritation and anger as much as possible.
"...Ah, you're really fucking annoying with all your chattering."
But the words that actually came out of my mouth were quite different from what I had decided internally.
Ah, a mistake.
Tired and irritated.
All of that overlapped and I made a verbal mistake.
But even after realizing it was a mistake, my mouth wouldn't stop.
"That's right, I'm that Kid."
"..."
"So what are you going to do about it?"
At that moment, Sophia, who had been growling until just now, suddenly became quiet.
"If you wanted to live long, you should have gritted your teeth and pretended not to know. You stupid bitch."
Soon her face was colored with terror.
As if she had encountered a past memory she absolutely didn't want to recall.