I didn’t think I’d have to visit the beach again so soon. But Kiryu-san told me to meet him here, for some reason.
Ah, there you are, Tali.
You called, didn’t you?
I sure did.
Kiryu-san looked rather fixated on the ocean. Was he just meditating or something?
I called you here…because I think this is where our first lead is.
Our first lead?
Toward the seafood smuggling ring, duh.
Oh, right.
Let’s hear it straight from the witnesses here.
Two undines came towards us. The one on our left was our client from our last job, Iriemoto Tokyo—the foremost authority on Iriemoto-school martial arts, and Jin-yun’s sensei. The other undine, the one on our right, looked somewhat like a koi; Iriemoto-san’s pupil, I assumed.
Thank ya for comin’.
So this is where you saw it, huh?
That’s right.
What did you see, exactly?
I saw a strange person coming here and… I don’t know what they did to the water, but it definitely felt a lot lighter.
Undines, as spirits who can manipulate liquids, can sense what’s in the surrounding water. Their senses aren’t very acute, though, so the finer details tend to escape them.
A lot lighter, huh?
We’ve got reason ta believe that they might be illegally haulin’ sea life.
And you didn’t stop them?
I wanted to! But they knocked me out before I could even get a good look at their face…
That’s what ya get fer rushin’ in head-first, Kiyoshi-kun.
Kiyoshi seemed to grimace at Iriemoto-san.
What about you, Iriemoto-san?
I didn’t witness ‘em myself. I was trainin’ some of my pupils last night, and that’s when Kiyoshi noticed.
Kiyoshi, yeah? Did you at least see what this individual was doing?
Well… I saw them dipping a coffin-shaped object into the water…
A…coffin-shaped object?
It looked the same size as one too. There didn’t seem to be anything inside it, but…
I’m guessing it was a magnum opus.
A magnum opus, eh?
Yeah, one of the black ones that can manipulate organic matter. It makes sense for someone smuggling masses of organisms to use a compact object like that.
And that’s why you’re my partner, Tali! I didn’t consider that myself.
Besides, I have a feeling that they’d be using that magnum opus for something else.
Creating homunculi, right?
Right. So we have a lead.
There should be a database somewhere on the magna opera, and their wielders, in this general area.
So that’s what we need to look for, right?
Right. I’ll get one in a jiffy. See ya later, Tali!
Before I could even say anything, Kiryu hopped on his cloud-board and zoomed off into the distance.
Sheesh, he’s pretty gung-ho about this.
That’s Kiryu-han for ya. Always excited when he finds a new lead.
You know Kiryu-san?
Sure do. He was my pupil.
Your pupil? So you taught him how to fight?
That’s right. He’s an experienced Iriemoto-school martial artist.
I heard a familiar zooming sound. He was back already…and he had a book in his hand.
Alright, I got it: a database of every registered magnum opus in Shinjuku! This was pretty easy to get a hold of.
Let’s read through it, shall we?
Kiryu-san and I perused through the book, which detailed every magnum opus that was registered in the area, as well as the wielder of each of them. Each entry in the book came with pictures and rudimentary blueprints as to how they worked.
Despite the thorough nature of the book and our thorough reading, we didn’t catch a glance of a single magnum opus that could be considered “coffin-shaped,” let alone someone who wielded one. Kiryu-san closed the book and sighed.
I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
Huh?
Of course our culprit isn’t registered as a wielder here in Shinjuku. They’re breaking wielder jurisdiction here.
Considering their track record so far, it’s not that surprising…
And that means finding them isn’t gonna be any easier.
What do we do now, then?
Well, it’s back to the drawing board. In the meantime, you can probably find me at Sanshomon.
Sanshomon?
It’s a bar in Fuganecho. I come there every so often when I’m looking for leads.
Kiryu-san got on his cloud-board again and waved me goodbye.
Till next time, partner.
See ya, Kiryu-san!
And there he went. I was left to wonder what my next move was.
Sanshomon, huh…