Seraphim is a Bystander

“The Establishment of Minato Detective Agency”
 
 

A few days had passed since I saved onee-san and had her buy the building that would become my office.
Now, I was standing in front of a sparkling clean two-story building.
What once looked cold and plain when it was purchased had been softened a bit with the addition of some plants and the car I’d be using.
The interior had also become quite complete over the past few days—furnished with new furniture and a library my main body had personally come over to create.
I’d secured a base to live in, and with the money I’d made through stock trading, I had more than enough to live without working another day.
But honestly, just trading stocks and lazing around all day sounded way too boring.
So, I decided to start a new business.

…All the troublesome startup procedures for forming the company?
I dumped all of that on my main body.
“Okay, time to hang this up…”
Next to the entrance of the office space on the first floor, I put up a sign.
When I visited the local lumberyard, they introduced me to a sign maker who crafted this one for me.
It saved me the hassle of having my main body make one, and it turned out to be a pretty nice sign too. Lucky me.

“With this, it’s officially complete!”
Carved in bold, elegant brush strokes, the sign read:
“Minato Detective Agency.”
That’s right. The new business I’m starting is detective work.
It’s something I could begin without much capital, and with my skill set, working as a detective-slash-mercenary seemed like the perfect fit.
…Not to mention, if there are no clients, I can slack off as much as I want.

“Phew… Alright, guess I’ll take a break for today.”
Just as I was about to head back upstairs and rest, someone approached from behind. Judging by the footsteps…
“Onee-san? What’s up?”

“Wah! How did you know it was me? I didn’t even say anything!”
“Trade secret~”
When I turned and called out to onee-san sneaking up behind me, she looked startled but walked over.

“Wow, that’s a pretty nice sign. Are you really going to be a detective, Minato-chan?”
“Yup. I figured it suits my abilities. I’m planning to take it easy, though.”
“...I see. Well, good luck!”
She cheered me on with a somewhat complicated expression, still misunderstanding my situation.
It’s not like I have any dark, tragic backstory or anything though.

…Oh right. Why did she come here in the first place?
“By the way, why are you here, onee-san? It’s a weekday—shouldn’t you be in school?”
“Ah! Right, about that… It’s a bit of a long story. Can we talk inside?”

“Of course. You’ll be my first customer, onee-san.”
At that comment, onee-san’s eyes lit up like she just had a brilliant idea.
As we moved inside the office, she looked oddly excited and then spoke up cheerfully.
“That’s it! Let’s make it an official request to Minato-chan!”

“Huh? A request for what?”
I turned to her, puzzled, and she responded with a beaming smile.
“A request from me to the Minato Detective Agency! I want you to uncover the mastermind behind the attack on me a few days ago!”

…Ahh, I see.
That case does involve me too, after all.
Tracking down the ringleader of a group that attacked a major corporation’s heiress—this is more than enough for a debut case.
I decided to take the request, switched gears, and turned to face her seriously.
“Request accepted, Ms. Higashigata. I’ll uncover the mastermind, the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ mystery, and their motives—down to the last detail.”

As my thoughts began spinning up into high gear, I started combing through my memories of when I found her.
She watched me in silence, visibly taken aback and almost breathless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now then, allow me to suddenly break the fourth wall and speak directly to you.
Try not to be too surprised.
For someone like me, crossing worldlines is about as easy as poking a hole through paper.
As for why I’m addressing you like this—it’s simple.

Because this is where we say goodbye… not to Aoi, not to Seras, but to Futaba Minato’s story.
The reason is straightforward:
Minato’s upcoming story has little to do with the impending end of the world.
If, by chance, you still want to see how Minato’s story continues, you’ll just have to wait and hope that the eccentric person recording our lazy world-saving exploits decides to write about it on a whim.

You see, Futaba Minato has already been severed from me.
She lives on as Aoi and Seras—though I reluctantly refer to her as "she" now.
While I can still interfere in her story, it’s no longer my story.
Even though Aoi and Seras once shared the same origin as Minato, they’ve become distinct entities.
Her journey is no longer part of ours.
Still… her tale is being spun in the same world as ours.
So perhaps—someday—our paths may cross again.

In any case, we will keep moving forward with our story,
And she will continue on hers.
So stick around until the person documenting us gets bored.
Don’t worry—no matter what happens, or even if nothing happens,
I promise I’ll never let it end in a bad way.

…Well then, I don’t know if there will be a next time.
But until then—
See you.