Chapter 300: Detective Lucifer and the Woman Without a Pipe
In the end, Clow Reed relented and told the woman about Natsume Takashi. After listening, she gave a slow nod, her expression shifting. A flicker of genuine interest now lit her eyes for the young man named Natsume.
People encounter far too much injustice and strangeness in this world. Those who can still choose to face it all with a gentle heart are, in themselves, truly remarkable.
Clow Reed was such a person, too, but the crucial difference was his overwhelming power. No matter how you looked at it, compared to Natsume, Clow Reed had always been the one who gained more than he lost.
The woman's gaze fell upon Clow, who was staring off at some unseen point in the distance. A hint of dark amusement touched her lips. "If that young man Natsume knew that you, his esteemed acquaintance, were already dead, I wonder how he would feel?"
"He would probably be sad," Clow mused, his tone light. "Ah, now that you mention it, that does sound rather cruel of me, doesn't it?"
The woman scoffed, her voice laced with annoyance. "When have you ever been merciful?"
Clow Reed paused, feigning deep thought for a moment. "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I believe I have always been a very merciful person. Still, I find myself truly looking forward to it. What, I wonder, should I start eating first?"
"You sound like a complete glutton."
"In every conceivable sense, I don't believe you have any right to say that to me," Clow countered smoothly. "You yourself are such an existence. Besides, enjoying delicious food is one of life's greatest pleasures. I doubt even you could refute that."
The woman shot him a sideways glance before waving a dismissive hand. "I can't shake the feeling that you're being unusually sincere today. I don't seem to be able to win a single point against you, and frankly, it's making me quite uncomfortable."
"Is that so? Well, if that's the case, I can rest a little easier."
Her eyes narrowed. "So you really are plotting something mischievous?"
"Please, don't paint me in such a dark light," he said, a picture of innocence. "While it's true I may have caused certain things to happen, I am still fundamentally a good person. A tragic one, at that."
The woman simply narrowed her eyes further, saying nothing more. In a way, Clow Reed's true nature was impossible to define.
Because of a single thought of his, everything had come into being. To call him the source of all calamity would not be an exaggeration. Yet, he was also the one who had nonchalantly left behind a method to fix it all, an extension of his own life, casting himself in the role of a hero destined to save the world. However, she, who understood him intimately, knew that even in death, he possessed the ability to control the entire situation from behind the scenes. He was the ultimate villain, the final boss.
The more she thought about it, the more the paradox solidified. Clow Reed was the genesis of all evil, the one who set the catastrophe in motion with a single mistake. But he was also the one determined to rectify it, all while secretly manipulating the pace of events from the shadows. It was the perfect portrait of a grand mastermind with the heart of a hero and the methods of a villain.
For some reason, as the woman studied Clow Reed's placid expression, she felt as if the man before her was slowly becoming her own personal, mischievous amusement. He truly was a manipulative creature.
"So, let me get this straight," Lucifer mused aloud. "Rindou, Sonoko, and Yumiko Fuji know the tennis players. Most of them also know the basketball players, and basically all of them know the fighters from the Kengan Matches. But they're unfamiliar with the people who live peaceful, ordinary lives. There's a pattern here, but it feels... skewed."
Cerberus scratched his head, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I dunno," he finally said. "But it really seems like that. They all just really like sports, I guess?"
Lucifer considered this for a moment before shaking her head. "No, definitely not. It's more likely that Ren met all of them during a specific period in his life, which is why he became familiar with that type of person."
Cerberus didn't quite grasp the logic, nor was he particularly shocked by it. He simply stared at Lucifer, a cascade of confused expressions flitting across his face. In that moment, he felt as if Lucifer had transformed into some legendary great detective, even if her deductions were ultimately useless.
Still, Cerberus chose not to voice his skepticism. Instead, he turned his attention back to chatting with the Electronic Empress. Perhaps it was some unspoken understanding between high-energy girls, an ability to gossip animatedly across different worlds. Lucifer, for her part, didn't find their conversation particularly engaging.
Meanwhile, Ren remained perfectly relaxed as he cooked. The dishes Clow Reed had chosen were, after all, exceedingly simple. The Boiled Chicken, in particular, was in some ways even less complex than Longjing Shrimp. At least with the shrimp, one had to pay close attention to prevent the delicate meat and tea leaves from burning.
'Hmm, I wonder what the inventor of this dish was thinking,'Ren thought, a small smile on his face.'It's so thoughtful in its simplicity. I can't help but feel the first person to make this must have been a little lazy, yet it somehow became a timeless delicacy.'
Outside, Clow Reed produced a notebook from somewhere and began writing in it with a pen. The woman beside him glanced at the book but said nothing. Her fingers subconsciously ghosted over her side, searching for the familiar, comforting weight of her pipe. Finding nothing, she let out an almost inaudible click of her tongue.
As Clow wrote, he spoke, his voice devoid of any discernible emotion. "Miss Lucifer."
"Hmm? What is it?" she replied from her corner.
"Nothing important. I was just wondering, does Shopkeeper Ren like women who smoke?"
Hearing this, the woman's eyebrow arched. She shot a sharp look at Clow, sensing the trap coiled within the seemingly innocent question. She remained silent, however, content to listen.
Lucifer paused to think. "Regarding that question... if I recall correctly, among my sisters and friends, there's someone named Soryuin Shion, and I believe she smokes..."
A playful, triumphant glint appeared in the woman's eyes as she looked at Clow. But before she could say a word, Lucifer continued with a hint of amusement in her own voice.
"But it seems Ren is very strict about controlling her smoking. So, I'd say he probably doesn't like it."
This time, it was Clow's turn to cast an amused look at the woman. The two of them were truly like a pair of sworn enemies.
A muscle in the woman's jaw twitched. Her mind raced. If she were to move in later and couldn't smoke... wouldn't that drive her mad? Would she have to resort to slipping into another dimension just for a quiet puff in the future? The thought felt so utterly undignified.
After a moment of internal struggle, she spoke, her voice soft. "So, that Soryuin Shion you mentioned... did she quit?"
"Akemi... ah, her younger sister, Soryuin Akemi, said she did," Lucifer answered. "But that look on her face clearly showed she was hiding something. It's not something you can just quit on a whim, right? I don't know much about it, but there's a demon in Hell who hasn't stopped smoking for a second. Looks to me like she can't quit."
The woman's mouth twitched again. A hint of confusion entered her voice as she asked, "Someone in Hell smokes? And hasn't stopped... Is that really possible with a demon's constitution?"
"Pretty much," Lucifer confirmed with a nod. "I should say, she has a great figure, but she's a total chain smoker. Hmm, is that a good way to describe her, Cerberus?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Cerberus chimed in enthusiastically. "And that smoke of hers is really weird!"
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