I Have been Reincarnated As a Lazy, Arrogant Noble, but When I Destroyed The Scenario Through Effort, I Became The Most Powerful With Extraordinary Magical Power - 151

151 – Detective Cecil

“…I lost.”

“Hehe, you’ve become strong, Fancent-kun.”

“Hah, who said that? …and, a bow.”

At that moment, cheers erupted around.

“Whoa, seriously. Even Weiss can lose… Cecil is amazing!”

“Incredible. It might be the first time I’ve seen Weiss lose like this.”

“Weiss, you’re weak.”

“Shut up. Those who can’t beat me, trio, stay quiet.”

A massive play area, or rather, a long table. There, the Battle Universe tournament was taking place.

Cecil, as always, boasted unmatched strength.

I defeated Alan and Lilith, advancing to the semifinals, but was defeated.

In the finals…

“Cecil-dono, I won’t lose!”

“Oh my, please go easy on me.”

…Huh?

“Tula, …why are you strong?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s nothing, but…”

“I’ll win! Weiss-dono, watch me! Give me a reward if I win!”

“Don’t say more; I feel a chill.”

Tula is a lady. Unlike Alan and Duke, she doesn’t say harsh things, but in a way, she’s on our side… I thought.

But surprisingly, she had a good way of advancing her pieces. No, I see. To control magic with a sword, you need brains.

Instinct alone isn’t enough; she’s unexpectedly a logical type.

“Weiss-kun, don’t you know?”

“What do you mean, Carla?”

“Tula-san’s academic performance in lectures is as good as Cecil-san’s.”

…Seriously?

This is surprising. In the original work, detailed academic scores aren’t displayed. I thought she was improving rapidly, but I had only been looking at the overall points.

Unexpected talent. But it’s interesting to have such new discoveries.

Even though I was watching, Tula was quite committed…

“Well, I lost!”

“Thank you. Tula-san, you were really good. I feel bad for being superior, but would you like to play again?”

“Of course! Oh, it’s so much fun!”

Well, I felt like my Cecil was taken away just a bit.

“Weiss, what are you thinking?”

“There’s nothing, Cynthia.”

After that, we ate snacks, chatted, and basically passed the time like students.

I’m not striving to taste youth, but Milch-sensei says not to regret it later, so it’s part of training.

Well, this is also a part of training.

“Lord Weiss, it looks like you’re having fun.”

“Yes, I’ve been through a lot lately, so seeing smiles is a relief.”

It felt like Lilith and Cynthia were looking at me… or was it just my imagination?

Before going to bed, I returned to my room to prepare for a bath.

Hair cream, hair oil, face towel, all-in-one gel, Bohemian sauna hat (if necessary).

Hmm, perfect. The bath ritual has begun from this point.

I heard that this mansion is particular about baths.

Looking forward to it, when suddenly, a loud and undoubtedly brain-muscled voice echoed.

Hastening to the entrance, there Duke was lying.

“Duke, Duke!”

Alan hurriedly called out, but Duke didn’t move.

…Could it be the demons?

The group gathered one by one, and Cynthia quickly checked his pulse.

And…

“This… he’s asleep.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s a sleeping herb. He might not wake up until tomorrow morning.”

“What… so, he’s going to wake up covered in seawater, all sticky from not taking a bath, and even more sweaty? Is that it?”

“Yes. Unless someone cares for him in the bath…”

All eyes in the room turned towards Alan.

But even Alan, at this moment, turned away.

Ah, it’s troublesome, huh?

No, rather than that, what’s with this atmosphere, this vibe?

What’s going on?

Sleeping herbs are items that make you sleep deeply when you’re tired. They also support energy recovery.

But this is not something you want to take on such an enjoyable trip. Because it means passing up the most fun late-night activities and pillow-throwing events.

Unbelievable, but it’s actually happening.

“Don’t move.”

At that moment, Cecil said it. A different tone from usual, lifting his glasses, looking at Duke’s mouth.

“…This is an incident.”

“What do you mean?”

“Duke is all muscles, even in his brain. Muscular people have the nature of sleeping soundly. There’s no way he would accidentally drink sleep herb. So, this is likely a crime committed by someone who wanted to make the uproarious Duke sleep.”

“No, what are you talking about?”

Cecil paid no attention to my retort.

Then, Karta raised her voice.

“I-it’s not me! Sure, there are times when Duke seems energetic and loud, but I like that too!”

“…Hey, Alan, do you know anything?”

In response to Shari’s question, Alan showed a slightly defiant smile.

“…Not me. Sure, there are times when I want to sleep peacefully at night, but I wouldn’t do something like this.”

What on earth is happening?

Then, I suddenly remembered.

That’s right. There was supposed to be such a side story.

This is the force of Noblesse.

It was supposed to be an event that wouldn’t end until the culprit was found.

Originally, Alan was the detective, but it seems Cecil liked mysteries too much.

This is another modification I caused; I have to stick with it until the end.

“I-it’s not me!? I-I don’t know! I-I bathe alone!”

Saying that, Tula started shouting.

“Hey, Tula, wait, don’t go!”

No matter how much I desperately shouted against that cliché action, it didn’t reach her ears.

And a few seconds after she disappeared from sight, another scream.

Rushing over, Tula was sleeping with her thumb added.

And Cecil saw that.

“Chu-chu, I want a stuffed animal…”

“…This is bad. Let’s prepare a teddy bear and carry her to bed. Liris, can you help?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, wait.”

It can’t be helped; I have to go along with it until the end.

After carrying Tula and Duke to bed, Cecil was wandering around for some reason.

It’s that typical action when a detective is thinking, walking back and forth.

“Sleep herb takes time to take effect. From the simmering—curry is highly probable. And the culprit is among us.”

Dandan dandan dandan!

“What’s with this sound effect!?”

Karta “!?”

Cynthia “!?”

Lilith “!?”

Olin “!?”

Shari “!?”

Alan “!?”

For a moment, everyone’s faces seemed to be up close… or is it just my imagination?

Well, never mind, let’s quickly clear this and take a bath.

“Duke’s special curry is meat, but the curry with plenty of vegetables was made by… Alan, right?”

“I-it’s not me!? I can distinguish herbs too, you know!?”

“But, Alan did often complain that Duke was noisy. Sometimes he wants to sleep quietly.”

“Shari, why would you say that!?”

“If that’s the case, Alan is the culprit. Confess quickly. And take care of Duke.”

“No way!?”

To my answer, Cecil shook his head.

Stop with that proceeding-to-the-confession feeling.

“Alan is close to Duke, and he knows about the mountains. He wouldn’t make a mistake like putting in herbs. So, excluding him, Karta, during the curry, there was a moment when you left, right?”

“Uh, y-yes!? I was curious about the outside!? Well, it was because of the typhoon!?”

“What evidence supports that?”

“Oh, then, on my way to the bathroom, I saw Karta looking outside from the window.”

“S-see!?!”

“Yeah. Then, Karta, Olin is also excluded. If you don’t put it in before the curry is done, the sleep herb won’t dissolve.”

Remaining are Cynthia, Lilith, me, and Shari.

… I have a bad feeling about this.

“I was with Tula all the time.”

“Me too.”

“Shantiya, and Lilith are like that. So, the ones left are Fancent and Shari.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to them.

However, Shari raised her hand.

“I have no motive to target Duke or Tula. Duke is indeed noisy, but he’s in a separate room. Tula shares the same room with Karta, right?”

“That might be true. Going by process of elimination, Fancent…”

“Wait a moment, I haven’t done anything. Certainly, muscles can be loud, and I do want to sleep quietly. I was surprised by Tula’s unexpectedly strong Battle Universe, but I’m not jealous. Well, it’s a bit frustrating, though.”

“Weiss, occasionally, such times happen.”

“Lord Weiss, this isn’t unfair or anything. It’s just stress.”

“Hey Cynthia, Lilith, this is sudden. You usually always affirm everything.”

Damn, if I don’t finish this event soon, my position will be in jeopardy.

Come to think of it, there was supposed to be a game over in this side story.

This is bad.

“…Wait a minute. Isn’t Cecil suspicious too? Pointing fingers at us while staying in a safe zone.”

“W-what are you talking about!? There’s no way! I would never!”

“Why not? Explain.”

“W-well… I want to have a Battle Universe with everyone until midnight! I wouldn’t make a mistake like putting someone to sleep!”

Cecil suddenly blushed like a hug, and everyone laughed.

Certainly, that might be the case.

But the culprit… I remember at that moment.

“Devi.”

“Devivi!?”

“Wake them up.”

“Devi!”

Saying that, Devi was dispatched. I had completely forgotten about his expertise in dispelling sleep magic.

And Duke and Tula, who had awakened, came towards us with sleepy eyes.

“Uaaah, is it morning already?”

“Hey Duke, did you eat grass?”

“Grass?”

“Yeah, a weird-shaped grass.”

“Well, now that you mention it, I accidentally ate some on the way to the sea.”

“Th-that’s right! I did too!”

At that moment, everyone fell silent, looking at Cecil.

“Now, shall we go to the bath? It’s just about the right time.”

“Yes, if the result is good, then all is well.”

“Cynthia-san, let’s go!”

Unable to withstand the gaze, Cecil quickly disappeared.

At that moment, I felt a mysterious sound effect, “Pappapapalla.”

What’s this? Does it mean we’ve cleared it?

No, I didn’t hear it, but I felt like I did.

“Hey, let’s go to the bath! Weiss, Alan! …Olin too, right?”

“Huh!? Why am I the only one being excluded!?”

“It’s not like that, but… keep your clothes on.”

“W-why!?”

Please, no more mishaps.

◇

“…Fuga. Ah, the mansion! The mansion, Meril!”

“I’m dying… my throat is dry… I want water…”

“Meril, wake up! It’s the mansion!”

“I want something sweet to eat, I want to take a bath…”

“I might be able to take a bath with Cynthia-san!”

“What!? We need to hurry!?”