Sango nodded. "Yes. A very famous fairy tale in Inazuma. Long, long ago, there were two close friends. One was a Blue Oni, and the other was a Crimson Oni. The gentle Crimson Oni wanted to befriend humans, but people feared oni and refused to accept him. To help his friend, the Blue Oni went to human villages and caused trouble, allowing the Crimson Oni to roleplay as the good oni and drive him away. As expected, the Crimson Oni was accepted by humans. After doing all this for his friend, the Blue Oni packed his belongings and quietly left, so he would not become a burden…"
"And then?"
"That's the end. The original story stops there."
"I see."
"Is there anything else you need?"
"No. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Please come again."
Charlotte left the detective agency, deep in thought.
She had just read the file, which also described the recent robbery and abduction cases.
According to the witness statements, no one had clearly seen Arataki Itto. They only mentioned a masked figure with oni horns.
That was why the Tenryou Commission initially only suspected Arataki Itto and wanted to bring him in for questioning.
But no one expected him to directly confess and even attack officers in the line of duty. At that point, even if he were innocent, clearing his name would be extremely difficult.
Charlotte took out her phone and shared the fairy tale she had just heard from Sango in the group chat.
"Could the things that happened in fairy tales be real?"
Urakusai replied, "As far as the fate of the oni goes, the fairy tales are true. The Blue Oni chose self-exile, and only the Crimson Oni remained."
"But the rest has little to do with actual history. Fairy tales only tell beautiful stories. They cannot mention cruel truths."
"Long ago, Inazuma was a dangerous place. If the oni wanted the protection of the Raiden Shogun, they had to get along with humans."
"The oni are born proud. Asking others to accept them was not easy. Over time, the oni split into two factions."
"Those who were more amicable toward humans became the Crimson Oni. Those who were stubborn and unyielding became the Blue Oni."
Charlotte replied, "I always thought the Crimson Oni and Blue Oni were two different races. Turns out they're the same family…"
Urakusai answered, "There is almost no difference between oni. They simply painted their horns different colors to distinguish their stance."
Charlotte remembered that Arataki Itto's horns were red, but none of the witness statements mentioned the color of the culprit's horns.
Yoimiya asked in the chat, "Why did the Blue Oni have to sacrifice themselves?"
Urakusai replied, "Because at the time, humans were still very wary of oni. The Crimson Oni tried hard to find a way to coexist peacefully with humans, but the Blue Oni would occasionally clash with them. Humans did not care whether they were Crimson or Blue. They only saw oni as troublesome."
"If this continued, the oni would never be accepted. At that moment, the most respected leaders among both Crimson and Blue Oni stepped forward. They drank together and swore an oath. The Blue Oni would take on the role of villains to help the Crimson Oni integrate into human society, but the Blue Oni leader set two conditions."
"First, the oni must not harbor prejudice against humans. Before being accepted by humans, they must first accept humans in their hearts. They must not bully the weak with their strength, nor give up on themselves."
"Second, the Crimson Oni must integrate into human society, but not pander to humans. Oni should use their upright nature, boiling blood, and great strength to earn human respect."
"In other words, while continuing the oni bloodline, they must also preserve the oni's pride."
Urakusai paused after typing this.
He had already met that child, Arataki Itto, today. His personality was admittedly a bit unreliable, but with the pride of the oni, he should not be the kind to commit such crimes.
Urakusai continued in the chat. "I think… this was probably done by another oni. Arataki Itto likely knows the truth and chose to take the blame for them."
At that moment, Charlotte arrived at the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild and immediately noticed a commission posted there.
It was a commission just released by the Tenryou Commission.
Capture an oni named Arataki Itto.
The notice also specified that only veteran adventurers with a Vision, three stars or above, could accept it.
The reward was also one million Mora.
After reading it, Charlotte immediately took out her phone and made a call.
"Hello, Fischl? Hurry over. There's big money to be made!"
When Charlotte's call came in, Fischl was eating at the shrine cafeteria.
At first, she was a little stunned. After listening carefully, she finally understood.
One million Mora did not really matter. What mattered was that, as a legendary adventurer, she had a responsibility to society.
She quickly finished dinner and called Qiqi, Hanachirusato, and Mona to join her.
She did not call Yaoyao and the other two girls. They had been clearing monsters in Araumi during the day and were already exhausted. Letting them rest properly at night was better.
As Charlotte's roommate, Mona thoughtfully brought her a boxed meal.
The four of them left the shrine together, transformed into magical girls, and glided down Mt. Yougou on their wind gliders.
Before long, they arrived at Hanamizaka and found Charlotte near the Adventurers' Guild.
Charlotte smiled and greeted everyone.
Mona handed her the food box.
Charlotte was a little surprised. She smiled, thanked her, then squatted on the street and started eating.
"Mushroom stir-fried meat!"
"Mr. Xia picked the mushrooms from the mountain today. They're really fresh."
"It's delicious!"
While eating, Charlotte shared all the information she had gathered from the detective agency.
Mona looked at the thick stack of documents and said, "Honestly, was all this really necessary? Isn't that what I'm here for? If you're looking for someone, you could just have me divine it."
Charlotte froze for a moment. "That's true. I think all those detective novels I read before messed with my thinking. I even wanted to solve the case slowly like some great detective…"
Hanachirusato spoke seriously. "Other cases aside, robbery and abduction are far too severe. We should apprehend the criminals as soon as possible to prevent more innocent people from being harmed."
Charlotte nodded. "Mm."
Mona asked again, "How much did all this information cost you?"
"Ten thousand Mora for the consultation."
Mona clutched her chest in pain. "Ten thousand! I work so hard to write an article for your paper, and I only get paid that much! Next time you need information, don't go to some detective agency. Just come to me!"
Charlotte laughed. "Got it."
Qiqi looked at Mona and suddenly asked, "If we ask you, do we have to pay?"
Mona shook her head righteously. "Of course not. We're all magical girls. Helping each other is only natural. I just don't want to see Charlotte suffer unnecessary losses."
Even though the information was not that useful, Hanachirusato and Qiqi still took a look.
While Charlotte was still eating, Fischl ran over to the Adventurers' Guild and used her five-star Adventure Handbook to successfully accept the commission released by the Tenryou Commission to capture an oni youth named Arataki Itto.
Katheryne at the guild still remembered the eyepatch-wearing girl. Just a few days ago, she had completed a legendary commission.
By the time Fischl returned, Charlotte had already finished her meal.
Fischl was surprised. "You eat so fast!"
Charlotte smiled. "That's just how it is in journalism. Sometimes you have to chase big news while eating bread on the run."
Fischl sighed. "Being an adventurer feels a lot more relaxed."
Mona took out the Crystal Ball and divined Arataki Itto's current location. He was in some wilderness outside the city.
They immediately headed toward the target.
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