“I’ll come straight to the point. I suspect you, Louis, might be Zodiac.”
“…”
“You’re not surprised at all. It’s like you expected me to say this.”
“Well, I have no reason to be surprised.”
Louis replied with a completely indifferent expression.
“Didn’t you suspect me from the first time we met, Alfa? Thinking about it now, this isn’t exactly new information.”
“Hehe, as always, Louis is sharp. You’ve grasped the situation perfectly without me needing to explain much.”
As she said this, Alfa raised the corner of her mouth into a sly grin.
“Your high intelligence and unparalleled brainpower… they remind me of Zodiac’s. Don’t you think so too?”
“…”
Even though Inspector, Louis’s father, was right there, Alfa made this bold accusation.
This implied that Alfa already considered Louis to be the notorious murderer ‘Zodiac.’
“Personally, I consider Louis a friend. I hope he isn’t Zodiac.”
“…So? What’s your point?”
“I want to use a certain magic on you.”
“Magic? What kind of magic?”
“Simple. A spell that detects if someone is lying or not.”
Alfa looked at Louis with an icy gaze, as if she had finally cornered him.
“Phew, Alfa really has Louis in checkmate this time!”
“Exactly! A lie-detecting spell—there seems to be no way out for Louis in this situation.”
The audience watching couldn’t help but gasp as they followed the plot.
Because even before, Alfa had been suspicious of Louis possibly being Zodiac, showing an almost obsessive interest in him.
“Still, Alfa is playing hardball. Using crime-investigation magic directly on Louis is practically declaring him as Zodiac already.”
“If Louis somehow gets out of this, Alfa’s credibility will take a serious hit.”
Of course, none of the characters except Alfa knew that the audience was fully aware Louis was indeed Zodiac.
Which meant that if Alfa’s ‘truth-or-lie’ magic worked correctly, Louis would surely get caught.
But most viewers believed Louis had some secret ace up his sleeve, even in this seemingly impossible situation.
Because he’d done it countless times before.
When nearly exposed by the Imperial Household investigator.
When Alfa bugged and surveilled his entire house.
Louis handled every crisis with surprising calmness and ingenuity.
Thus, expectations were high that Louis would once again surprise everyone and escape this predicament.
Even though Louis was technically the antagonist in “Book of Life and Death,” many viewers secretly rooted for him due to his clever maneuvers.
And true to form, Louis responded to their expectations.
“Fine. If that’s what it takes to satisfy you, go ahead.”
With complete confidence, Louis accepted Alfa’s proposal.
Seeing this, Alfa felt a twinge of unease.
“What are you thinking, Louis?”
By her calculations, Louis should have tried to avoid or reject the test.
Instead, he readily agreed to the lie-detection magic as if it were nothing.
Could Louis have anticipated this move and prepared some sort of trap?
Too late now to back down from her own suggestion.
In front of the Great Mage from the Imperial Household, the interrogation began with the truth-detection magic active.
“Alright, let’s begin. Louis, are you Zodiac?”
“No, I’m not Zodiac.”
“Have you used unknown methods to kill criminals across the continent?”
“No, never. I haven’t killed them.”
Louis lied calmly, without any change in expression.
“Wow, impressive. To tell lies with such composure…”
“One must admit, Louis’s mental fortitude is godlike.”
The audience couldn’t help but marvel at this display.
Then…
“…Impossible.”
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s no lie. His statements just now were all true.”
“…What?”
Hearing this from the Great Mage, Alfa’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“It can’t be! There must be some error, some hidden trick—”
“Alfa, I stake my reputation as a Great Mage on this.”
“There was no mistake in the magic I cast just now.”
“…This is absurd…”
Alfa’s face showed despair as Louis stood up and patted her shoulder.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Alfa.”
“But don’t be too disheartened. You’ll have plenty more chances to confront Zodiac.”
At that moment, Alfa noticed something.
For a brief second, Louis’s lips curved upward slightly.
As Louis walked past Alfa and exited the investigation office, the Shinigami who had been silently observing spoke up with amusement.
“Kukuku… interesting, Louis. Didn’t expect you to pull off such a cute trick.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb. The target of the mage’s spell wasn’t you.”
“Now I understand why you kept changing seats before the interrogation despite claiming discomfort.”
“From the start, you intended for the mage to cast the spell on me instead of you.”
“Ah, that’s why!”
“That’s why the spell didn’t work on Louis!”
The audience watching suddenly realized the truth.
Humans cannot perceive Shinigamis, but there’s a loophole.
While humans can’t see Shinigamis, nothing stops magic from affecting them.
Since Louis knew about the Book of Life and Death and its rules, he exploited this loophole.
“Humans tremble before Shinigamis, but rarely does one try to manipulate them. Though technically against the rules, I’ll let this slide since you entertained me.”
“Thanks. Now Alfa can no longer accuse me of being Zodiac.”
Louis smirked quietly to himself.
Only he could see the truth.
Recently, the veil between life and death had opened again.
Another Book of Life and Death had fallen into the human world.
“The second person to find the Book shares my ideals about eliminating criminals. They’re using it to clean up the trash.”
“This second Zodiac is both a powerful variable and potentially a useful tool.”
“I’ll control the second Zodiac to… finally eliminate Alfa this time.”
Louis’s chilling whisper marked the screen going dark.
The audience, who had been holding their breath throughout, clutched their hearts.
“Damn! Another amazing episode of ‘Book of Life and Death’!”
“‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ had some slow parts with Kai and the heroines, but ‘Book of Life and Death’ keeps moving forward relentlessly!”
“You’re calling the relationship scenes in ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ boring?”
“But this fast pace is slightly worrying, isn’t it?”
“What’s worrying?”
“If it keeps progressing this quickly, how will they sustain it?”
“In this pace, ‘Book of Life and Death’ could end within 10 episodes.”
At this statement, those around burst out laughing.
“You’re overthinking things. Remember ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ ran for 50 episodes?”
Realizing this, the concerned viewer scratched his head sheepishly.
“Right… probably just being paranoid…”
“Exactly! ‘Book of Life and Death’ will continue to deliver excitement for all 50 episodes!”
“Let’s make it to 50 episodes! No, we need a director’s cut and theatrical version too!”
*
“Ah, I almost forgot to mention something important.”
“What is it?”
“‘Book of Life and Death’ will conclude within the next 10 episodes. With Louis’s defeat and Alfa’s victory.”
“…”
Upon hearing this casual announcement, everyone present, including the production staff, gaped in shock.
“But… how…!”
Suddenly standing up, Karlreya grabbed my collar.
“What did you just say?!”
“While it’s disappointing, there’s nothing we can do. From the beginning, I planned to end the story here—”
“No, that’s not it!”
Crying out as if witnessing the collapse of the Empire, Karlreya exclaimed:
“Why did you spoil the ending of ‘Book of Life and Death’ right in front of us?! We were genuinely looking forward to how it would conclude!”
“…”
Oh, that’s what this is about.
Coming from a world where everyone knows the ending of ‘that series,’ I accidentally…
You know, when the final boss in Part 3 has reality-warping powers, it becomes common knowledge.
Anyway…
I sincerely apologize.
