Drinng Drinnng!

  The ringing shattered my rest. I dragged myself out of bed, neck stiff and mind clouded. My desk was pure chaos: clipped newspapers, blurry photos, scribbled notes that all seemed useless. The more I tried to understand how the Heroes could claim to have captured the polymorph with such certainty, the more I felt like I was sinking into quicksand.

  How could they be so sure? Unless... unless the goal wasn't to catch the monster, but just to give the public a culprit.

  I shuffled to the entrance, eyes glazed over. Who the hell was coming to bother me at this hour? I finally reached the door and yanked it open, ready to bark at whatever solicitor was standing there.

  "Mr. Kenji! Good morning!"

  Okiku. Obviously. She was holding a paper bag that smelled like fresh pastries and wearing a smile far too radiant for my current mental health.

  "It's time for training, right?" she asked, peeking curiously over my shoulder. "Oh… what's all that paper on your wall? It looks like a serial killer's lair."

  "Don't ask too many questions and get in before I shut the door," I grumbled.

  She stepped inside with a beaming smile, but her eyes widened as she took in the room. It had become a true paranoiac's den, overflowing with paperwork.

  "Wow… you spent all day on this? That's incredible!"

  I didn't answer, too exhausted to string three coherent words together. She walked up to the wall, leaning in toward a clipped article.

  "So you've been doing research on the polymorph they caught…"

  "HE'S STILL OUT THERE!" I snapped suddenly, my voice louder than intended.

  Okiku jumped violently and spun toward me, completely confused. She finally noticed my face: I was pale as a corpse, with dark circles hollowed out down to my cheeks. I pressed my hand to my forehead, feeling a wave of vertigo wash over me.

  "Sorry, Okiku… the lack of sleep is catching up to me," I sighed.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  She looked at me with sincere concern, her smile vanishing completely.

  "Sir… you really need to rest. Let's skip the tests for today."

  Hearing those words, my brain didn't even try to protest. I accepted immediately, without another word. Pride, mentorship, all of that... it was secondary to the call of the floor.

  "Fine… then if you don't mind…"

  I let myself slide down and curled into a fetal position right there on the floorboards, closing my eyes before my head even touched the ground. I had spent my entire break yesterday investigating only to find absolutely nothing. Just emptiness and lies.

  But even with my eyelids shut, sleep wouldn't come. My brain was looping, unable to stop.

  "Hey, Okiku?"

  She turned her head toward me, surprised to see I was still awake.

  "Yes, sir?"

  "Do you really think the State captured that monster? That it's over?"

  She didn't answer right away. She took a long breath, searching for her words, and finally offered me a slightly sad smile.

  "After seeing everything on your walls... I guess I don't really know what to think anymore."

  I listened, surprised by her honesty.

  "Why do you say that?"

  "You know... I've always been naive. Since I was little, people have told me it's my greatest weakness. But this time, I'm trying to look further. I realized you don't believe a word of what the news says. And when I think back on everything... You protected me, you're keeping my clan's secret, you risked your life at the hospital... It's the first time I've met a police officer this brave. So, even if I don't understand it all, I choose to believe you. I'll support you in your investigation."

  A violent surge of guilt twisted my gut.

  I'm a fraud.

  She was the one who had saved herself. I should have died in that hospital with the schoolgirl if that hero or that guy in bandages hadn't intervened. And the monster? I had no proof, just the doubts of a paranoiac.

  I clenched my fists, my throat tight. I wanted to tell her everything, to shatter the image of the hero she had built in her mind. But her gaze... her gaze disarmed me. To her, I was the only truth in a world of lies.

  It was decided. I couldn't stay here moping anymore. If I wanted to save my grandfather's honor and the station he had cherished so much, I had to stop being a victim.

  I sprang up, ignoring the ache in my muscles. I marched with heavy steps to my bedroom and yanked open a drawer. I pulled out a small can of ultra-concentrated energy drink the kind that makes you feel like your heart is going to explode but keeps your eyes pinned open.

  "Sir?" Okiku asked, increasingly confused by my sudden shift in attitude.

  I snapped the tab and downed it in one go. The acidic liquid burned my throat, but the effect was immediate: the fog in my brain began to clear. I turned to her, a somewhat wild smile on my lips.

  "Let's go. We're moving."

  "What? But... where are we going?" she asked, almost stumbling to keep up as I grabbed my jacket.

  I stopped at the threshold and checked for my police badge in my pocket.

  "Don't worry. We're just taking a little trip to the Hero Association."

  Okiku's eyes lit up with a mix of fear and excitement. She knew this wasn't a social call. We were going to poke around the hornet's nest.