They found it. And it's the two people I most feared would, at that. They found the bodies. Granted, the location of the System and thus the money stash is still safe, but it won't be for long. What do I do? Should I come clean to them and them alone? They have both been through their fair share of troubles and ordeals, so I assume they will understand at least to a degree why I did what I did... No. I can't tell anybody. There is a high chance that they will consider me a threat and take Nelly back to Cardina. I can't let that happen, because if I did... All of her progress thus far at the University will have been for nothing.

"Meil?" Lune waved his hand in front of my Eyes precisely 31 times by this point, "Yoohoo! You there, bud?"

"I am here." I nodded, "Apologies for ignoring you. It was not on purpose."

"Is it really so traumatizing for you?" Ed shrugged, "If you saw the bodies way even before us, then why is it shaking you to the core when we mentioned it?"

"War." I replied with a brief explanation, "I apparently got schizophrenia from it, so as you can imagine, I do not particularly appreciate recalling any and all dead bodies."

"Right, Lune's daughter said something about that before." Issei nodded, "That's the thing where you see things or beings that aren't there, right?"

"Among other things, yes." Ed added, "It's a very serious mental condition that could even turn deadly if not treated properly. Well, you can't treat it, though, but there exist pills or other medicines to remedy it at least."

"So what happens if Meil doesn't take those remedies?" Lune inquired.

Truth be told, I myself don't really remember the answer to that question. Of course, I remember the people around me telling me the story through their point of view, but... I would rather not have to remember the horrible things I did to Nelly. I-Instead, I think I will just keep it shallow and tell them what I can for now.

"Jelena told me once I came to later that I bit a police officer's ear off." I shrugged.

"...You what?"

"Nelly frequently got woken up in the middle of the night by my screaming." I added, "I would get a lot of night terrors, but that has since stopped after I began taking the pills."

"Geez, so you really do go crazy. Scary..." Issei gulped.

"I know, right?" Ed glanced at me, "He could've killed a man and never even remember doing it if his conditions that severe."

Is he... Does he know? Wait, it could very well be the case, since he has the Brown Iro's Ability - Analyze. Iro Abilities that are used on another can be blocked by averting your gaze from the Beholder or just closing your Eyes in the first place. He promised not to read Nelly's mind for the duration of their stay, but does the same rule extend to me? I don't see why it would, so for safe measure, I shall frequently blink to not seem suspicious, all the while "cutting off" contact with Ed's gaze. It is the most I can do, given the situation.

"Ed, shut up with the creepypastas." Issei daintily shoved him, "Come on, man. Making fun of a schizo is super messed up. Besides that, what kind of a doctor would ever make fun of someone suffering from a condition or illness?"

"The best one, that's who." He pointed to himself proudly, "Well, I don't usually make fun of them, but I know Meil's good. There's not a thing he won't solve on his own, much less with the help of Nelly and the others."

But then hold on. If Edward truly DID know about me being the killer, he would have said something by now... He has no reason to keep my role in this case a secret from anyone, which leads me to believe I am still in the clear. Alright, good!

"Right, Meil?" Ed asked.

"Hm? Yes, if course."

"You're not doing good, Meil. Go rest up, come on." Lune fretted, "We'll talk about this damned case in the morning. In reality, it shouldn't be anything too scary. I doubt we'll be seeing anything other than stupid Eye-witness report papers and such for the time being."

"Right, don't force yourself, dude." Ed added, "I heard the police are the ones that will be doing most of the on-site investigation and detective work. We're just kinda there because we were the ones that unearthed the damned corpses, otherwise we're mostly leaving the situation in their capable hands."

"Then..." I nodded before getting up from the table, "I will be going to bed, in that case."

"Yeah, good night." They waved.

"Good night."

For the entire duration of the day, from the very start, it should have been uneventful and boring the whole way through, but these guys just had to screw it all up at the very end. Now I understand what I must do - I need to find a way for the investigation to grow cold without outing myself to anybody. The consequences and risks of such a play will surely be immense, so I am just going for the safer route. Ugh, what did I do? Stupid Aguilar, why did you make me have to kill you and your gang...?

"Ah, Nelly." I moved my bedsheets away to see a sleeping princess nestled under the covers, "Once again, she fell asleep in my bed."

How odd, it is not even midnight. Back in Oden, I remember staying up for days on end just working and studying. Nelly doesn't do that, but her grades are still always top marks. Just how does she accomplish such a feat with seemingly too nonchalant of an attitude towards her studies. This isn't even me bragging when I say this, but I think she truly is the closest person in the entire world to my IQ. How she managed to skip rubbing off on her parents is a mystery that will sadly forever remain unsolved, though.

----------------------------------------

***

----------------------------------------

"Fuahh~!" Nelly rubbed her Eyes in the morning before greeting me with a bright smile, "Good morning, Meil! Did you...? O-Oi! Why aren't you in bed with me!?"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You seemed to be dreaming pretty well, so I let you be and slept on my chair."

"What? Dammit, you were supposed to hop in with me, you know." She sighed, "Ugh, now I feel bad for making you go through that..."

"It is quite alright. I am glad you slept well." I nodded, "Nelly."

"Hm?"

"If... If something were to come up in the near future..." I then stopped myself, "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

"Meil." She hopped out of bed, still clad in her pyjamas as she hugged me, "Even if the sky fell on us, I would be on your side."

"Nelly...?"

"I noticed it last night. Well, I noticed it way before, but still." She continued, "You're hiding something, something you don't want any one of us to find out, right? In that case, I'll try my best to help you keep mum about it."

"No, Nelly. I am afraid that will not be necessary. You see, your uncle Edward..."

"To hell with him!" She reassured me, "I'll tell him off whenever he tries Analyzing anyone so that he gets it through his thick skull that it's a breach of privacy, but even if he doesn't get the memo and uncovers your secret - I'll stand by your side. You can count on me!"

"Nelly..." I closed my tired Eyes, not even realizing I was already hugging her back by now, "Thank you."

"Ehe~, anything for you." She giggled to herself.

Right, how could I have forgotten? All this time I've been treating Nelly as "something to protect", but in truth, she's plenty capable of making her own rational decisions in life. If, no, when I eventually get outed as the one who killed Aguilar's group and took possession of all of their stolen money, I will most certainly face heavy scrutiny by the people close to me. Jail time in Simpleton's prisons means nothing to me after that hellish torture I had to endure back in the Carmen concentration camp with Issei and Lee. The main fear is losing the trust of my friends, but at the very least, if I tell Nelly, I'm sure she will understand. No, she has to!

"Nelly, the truth is!" I couldn't hold it in anymore, "I'm...!"

"A good morrow to you, ya' damned bastards." An unfamiliar voice could be heard at the front entrance, "You two, we investigated the place you described and did in fact find a dozen or so dead bodies all belonging to a group of young adults."

"That sounds like the investigator." Nelly made a difficult face for a second, "Anyways, what did you want to tell me?"

"Come on, get dressed." I shook my head before running downstairs, "Get down here when you do."

"Great, so now you believe us, Happy?" Lune chuckled at the plus-sized detective standing at our door.

"Great? What part of this is great, idiot?" The investigator named Happy scowled, "Ugh, anyways, the killer is someone pretty damned knowledgeable on the topic, it seems. I had my suspicions from your reports, but given the way they were buried, the depth as well as the endangered plant species atop their burial spots that were deeply rooted into the soil, we can properly assume that the culprit pulled out all the stops so as not to be found out."

"No shit he didn't wanna get found out, no one would in his situation." Edward rolled his Eyes, "But what we're asking is why he did all that?"

"I'm getting there, geez!" Happy yelled, "The depth to make it harder to find, the upright position to make anyone digging for them have a higher chance of missing them, and the flowers to make it illegal to dig up."

"Eh?" They both yelped, "I-Illegal?"

"Well yeah, they're endangered species." Happy flashed them a wicked smile as he held out a pair of cuffs, "Now then, two options - Spend a few nights in the jail cells or, heh, pay up."

"...Oh, is that the case." Lune then shrugged before turning to me all of a sudden, "Then Meil, you heard the man. Could you pay for us?"

"Sure, let me just grab my backpa-" I then realized, "Ah."

"Oh..." They too slumped forward when they recalled that they tossed all the money I had in the house into a smelter.

"What lousy friends you two are." Happy frowned before approaching me, "Nice to meet you, sir. Inspector Happy Bonnechance, at your service. I'm investigating the recent findings of these two imbeciles."

"Okay, that one was uncalled for!" They protested.

"...I am Meil Deram." I figured giving my name wouldn't hurt, "The pleasure is mine, and don't worry, they told me everything about the case."

"It's scary, isn't it? That bastard killed without remorse, it seems."

"You don't know that."

"Hm?" He glared back at that, "Just hand me the money so I don't have to take these two dweebs into custody, sir. I don't have time for your contrarian conspiracy bullshit."

"About that. I spent all the money recently." I explained.

"Then I guess these two are going to jail with me." The corner of his lips began rising as he cuffed both Edward and Lune, "Alright boys! Off we go!"

"S-Stop! How come we're the ones going to jail!?" Lune panicked.

"We couldn't have known it was illegal to investigate it, goddammit! Let go!" Edward too shouted.

And just like that, they had left the premises in a flash. And when I say in a flash, I mean it, as it was only after they had left that Nelly came down to see what the commotion was about.

"Where did everyone go?" She asked.

"...Sigh, I'll wait for Issei to wake up and go pick them up..." I slumped forward.

"Oh, that's gonna be a bit difficult, it seems." Nelly pointed to the second floor with an awkward chuckle and a flushed face, "I heard the guest room's bed creaking like crazy, so it's safe to assume those three are gonna take a while."

"Oh." I nodded before pausing for a short while, "Then, want me to brew us some coffee?"

"Sure." She smiled, "Don't add any milk this time, though. Adults don't drink coffee with milk."

"Haha, if you say so." I nodded.

It seems those two will have to wait a bit. I'm sure they won't mind, though.