"I'm almost done with my share," Javier said with a sly grin, glancing at Alfred.
"Aaagh! That's not fair! How do you do that?" Alfred groaned dramatically.
"Trade secret, dear master detective," Javier mocked cheerfully.
"Ugh, I may be a detective, but going through all of this is exhausting! I'm already worn out from all the non-stop cases!" Alfred complained, flipping through papers.
It was noon. They had received a batch of files about an hour ago.
"...You haven't taken a case in a month," Javier said, coldly staring at him.
"Really!? I thought it had only been three days," Alfred replied, surprised.
"Do you count ten days as one? You're hopeless—"
Alfred cut off Javier mid-sentence, his face going pale at one of the papers that must have been accidentally mixed into the documents.
Job Application – Position: Homicide Detective – Name: Lilly Evansgourd – Age: 18The form bore the official seal of the Livery City Police Department—Alfred's own department.
"Please don't come here, please don't come here, please don't come here…" Alfred silently prayed with all his heart that she wouldn't be assigned to him. One Javier was enough… or maybe… too much.
"Excuse me…" As Alfred drowned in his desperate thoughts, he was shocked to see Lilly standing at the door.
"The form wasn't even submitted yet!" Alfred cried in despair.
"Oh, I made a mistake spelling my name on the old form, so I filled out a new one. That must be the discarded one. Sorry!" Lilly explained with a sheepish smile, scratching her chin.
"What's your name?" Javier asked calmly.
"It's Lilly, without the extra L. Nice to join you! I hope I won't be a burden and will do my best!" she said, bowing respectfully.
"Javier," he replied with a nod, then glanced at Alfred, who looked like his soul had just left his body. "...This is Alfred, the top detective in Inca Town," he added, every part of his being resisting saying it out loud.
"Really!? I'm so lucky! I'll work hard to meet your expectations!" Lilly said, beaming.
"Can you read files?" Alfred asked with a serious expression that even a veteran demon would envy for its cunning.
She nodded slowly. Alfred handed her half of his stack.
"Welcome to the team!" Alfred grinned.
Lilly didn't quite understand what just happened, but she was happy to be accepted.
As Lilly read through her papers, Alfred picked up an old newspaper from the previous month, his face darkening.
BREAKING: Hundreds of Innocent Citizens Slain by a Killer with Pale Yellow Hair! Crimson Feather Corporation Intervened to Stop Him! His Fate Remains Unknown.
Alfred hadn't slept that night. He had witnessed the massacre firsthand—himself, holding a golden-yellow sword, cutting people down like a madman.
He'd wanted to erase that memory by any means. The trauma was so deep that Diana and the department heads had withheld any assignments from him until he recovered mentally.
With time, Alfred stabilized and began receiving occasional missions again.
But every time he got assigned to a murder case, Lilly's expression darkened. Despite choosing this field and excelling in it, she clearly hated it. Alfred and Javier both found her behavior strange. And then… a year passed.
"Do you hate blood that much? You could've chosen another specialty," Alfred asked, puzzled.
"I can't. I have to work in homicide," Lilly replied firmly.
Javier asked, "Why are you so obsessed with this job? You always say the same thing and refuse to switch. If you don't give us a reason, you might get reassigned or dismissed."
His tone was harsh, but he meant well.
"No! Please don't! Fine… I'll talk!" A year of working with them had made her attached—like a child clinging to their parents.
"...I assume you've heard about 'Yellow Day'," Lilly said with a dark voice, stammering slightly.
Alfred's hand trembled. The newspaper was still in his desk drawer.
He still hadn't fully recovered from that trauma.
Javier noticed Alfred's frozen state. "What's with him?" he asked.
The day when hundreds were slaughtered by a man with pale yellow hair… was known as Yellow Day.
"My parents… died that day," Lilly said, trying to hold back her tears.
The words hit Alfred like a thunderbolt. That was the last thing he expected.
Even worse, he knew the identity of the killer—it was him.
"That's why… I joined the force. I want to find him. I chose homicide so I'd be selected for the mission if he ever appears again," she confessed, finally breaking down in tears.
Javier opened his mouth, but Alfred cut in.
"You idiot! You should've just said that from the start!"
Lilly looked up at him, tears flooding her face, shocked.
"As long as I'm alive—I won't rest until I help you find that monster!" Alfred declared.
Javier sighed as he looked at him.'Don't make promises you can't keep.'
Lilly wiped her tears and smiled. "I'm counting on you, master detective!"
"Alright then! First step—coffee!" Alfred cheered.
"Lower your voice, you lunatic!" Zarquil barked from the hallway.
"Tsk." Alfred rolled his eyes and continued. "To catch criminals, we need energy!"
"Are we catching him today?" Lilly asked, eyes sparkling.
"Well… no. Not without clues. But coffee is still a great start!"
'Liar!' Javier screamed internally.
"I'll go make coffee for all three of us!" Lilly said with a smile.
"That's the spirit!" Alfred shouted.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!!!"
The three of them burst into laughter as Lilly stood up to prepare the coffee.
"Oh—don't forget to close the door," Alfred added, his voice strangely different.
"Got it!" she chirped, closing the door behind her.
Javier turned and silently watched Alfred crying his heart out.
'This is why I told you not to make promises you can't keep…'
Alfred stayed silent, letting himself finally break down, releasing the pain he had buried deep inside.