The Yurodiviye Mystery (after battle)

We quickly moved our conversation into the hideout after defeating the Yurodiviye members.

Gah...!

Surrender and confess.

Starting to run low on patience. Might kill you soon.

<Ah, no... Looks like Ryōshū's getting tired of playing detective...>

We've surrendered already. Not sure what you want us to confess, either. What, would you like for us to confess that we're the Yurodiviye or something?

We hesitated, unsure if he really was clueless or not. That's when Rodya confidently strode forward and pointed an accusatory finger at the Yurodiviye Captain.

Right, questioning time! You've always hated this Nest's state of affairs, am I right?

… Must you really ask?

You like inventing stuff and not registering them to the Tech Agency, don'tcha?

Again... must you really inquire about something you could discern simply by looking around?

Ooh, mind if I take a gander at these inventions?

Wait, don't just go around touching -

Hm, I see. This hedgehog toy is a time bomb disguised as a stuffie. It scans the palm as soon as it enters within a certain proximity range, and if it doesn't recognize the palm as an authorized individual's, it'll shoot out its spines to penetrate the intruder.

But you've screwed the parts too tightly down here. You'll do well to remember that mechanical engineering isn't all about tightening the screws as hard as you can; sometimes you need a slightly loose screw or two to make things fit better. And another thing: if I were you, I would've made the spine holes hexagon-shaped, not circular.

... You could tell all that from a quick look? You are certainly no common employee.

Either way, most of those are experiments, incomplete products. In truth...

... In truth, ya like making more dangerous, destructive inventions too, right?

You really are a persistent one, aren't you? What are you getting at?

And I'm sure these violent inventions eventually led to something that can completely rip someone's time away.

Wait, I'm... what?

The culprit behind 'The Case of Timekilling Time'...

... it's you guys, right?

It's what you do, isn't it? Ya see something that rubs ya the wrong way, so you go ahead and smash it to bits.

That's a bit of a logical leap, isn't it? Who do you think we Yurodiviye are?

Sounds like this pal of yours in the Yurodiviye really messed up big time in the past, hmm? Did he do something drastically violent?

No, Sonya... he...

He always knew how to say the right things. Things to get people to agree with him, to convince them to join his cause.

His words filled me with this... confidence. That we could really change the world, that it really was as effortless as letting candy slowly melt away in my mouth.

But... what could he possibly do to change the world? He doesn't even do anything, not like these guys. I bet the T Corp. Yurodiviye are nothing more than knockoffs who just found themselves inspired by stories coming out of J Corp. Or -

It's absolutely baffling how you failed to correctly deduce a single thing. No, we're not 'knockoffs'. Besides, the Saint has already brought many changes to this world. Changes that you mere detectives can't even dream of.

The Saint...?

Indeed. Saint Sonya was the one who really sparked the fire of the Yurodiviye in every Nest. Well, that isn't the only reason they call him the Saint, but that's besides the point.

Yurodiviye... in every Nest...? Sonya did that?

…….

Since you claim to be Saint Sonya's friend, allow me to say it in no uncertain terms. The Yurodiviye has nothing to do with your case.

Sonya... he...

Hah, are we supposed to take you at your word?

First, we don't have this 'time killing' technology. We can steal time or timepieces, but it's practically impossible to kill time. Making something so absurd would surely catch the Tech Agency's attention.

And that is trouble that I am not willing to invite.

Why? You've certainly been causing a ruckus here. Isn't that what the Yurodiviye wants? Chaos?

Please, don't compare us to the likes of Backstreets gangs. Though there are those among us who want that chaos, of course.

One of our former members insisted that we must take the abundance of time in T Corp. for ourselves and have our comrades divide it equally among us.

But such drastic action would also hurt the have-nots, those who do not deserve such pain. So we must adhere to the Saint's teachings. To truly tear out the throats of the rich, we must wait for the right moment.

The right moment... haah, so it really was Sonya...

… So, I've been wondering. Are you really the Saint's friend?

Of course she is~ He even invited her to join his journey!

<Why don't we leave for now? We can always come back here once we uncover more evidence.>

Dante says "let's leave for now".

Hm? Are we not arresting them? Didn't one of you give me a whole lecture about how it's my job to arrest them?

…….

Rodya ignored the Assistant's question and turned around to leave the hideout, wearing a dark expression - something I had never seen from her before. The Assistant shrugged, and we were about to leave the hideout as well... but the Yurodiviye Captain stopped us.

Wait. If you really are a friend of the Saint, then I can't let you leave without giving you some advice as the more experienced detective. I was able to establish a few things from this conversation, so allow me to share them with you.

Ohh~ Right! You dabble in detective work from time to time as well, yes? Is this a common thing that you Yurodiviye get up to?

No, only the Yurodiviye branch in District 20 do. Anyway, if I were you... I would start by looking for a common thread that ties all victims together. Find out what they have in common.

... Why?

The T Corp. Collections Agency knows everything about time. Where it comes from, where it goes. But not with this case.

But... if they know everything about comings and goings of time, how are you avoiding their eyes?

... Not all of us do. I can't tell you more, however. Just know that we have an ace up our sleeve that lets us continue our guerilla activities in this Nest.

Anyways... does it not strike you as odd that, for someone with such impressive technology that can quite literally rip away time without a trace, the killer seems unusually passive?

This tells me that there is a condition they must first meet to use their powers. Another possibility is that they have a certain creed, or a belief system that they follow... but ideologically motivated culprits usually leave behind more obvious evidence that points to their beliefs.

Ooh... I think that adds up nicely! Wanna join our squad of ace detectives?

... Who the hell hired this bumbling team of amateur detective wannabes?

Haah... never mind. Now, would you kindly leave this place?

<Well, we now know where the Yurodiviye are. We can always come back here if we ever need anything else.>