The next day was still gloomy as the last. But that wasn't gonna bring the wannabe maid down!

Lambda searched the dormitory high and low looking for the detectives but couldn't find a trace of them. She came to a skidding halt at the front counter and smacked the wooden top repeatedly to get Yamiko's attention out of her magazine.

"Yamikoooooo, where is Hyde? Where is Mary? Where is anyone?!" She exclaimed.

Yamiko nearly groaned at Lambda's attempt at being an annoyance. She lowered her magazine "I wish I had the answer to that question."

Lambda turned around and crossed her arms "Don't tell me they up and left?" She then placed her hands on her hips"Did Midare scare them away? Was the pay not good enough? Maybe they're on a school field trip."

"Lambda…" Yamiko's frustration was a bit more visible now. Nonetheless she kept her professional appearance "A lot has happened. We're in a difficult spot as an agency at the moment. I need some time to think about where to go from here."

Lambda spun back around and swiped the magazine from her hands "You're not trying to look for them at all! Quit reading fashion magazines and help out a little." Before Yamiko could respond, Lambda dropped the magazine and ran toward the door, grabbing the skateboard she left by the entrance. She pointed to herself "I'm gonna look for everyone! You should help out too instead of sitting around."

Lambda slammed the door shut which woke Deadly sleeping by Yamiko's legs. The little girl just didn't get it. Her naivety, noー her ignorance towards the sorrow the agency was wallowing in was really something only a child would do. Flabbergasted Yamiko was, at her behavior… but she was a unique child, only Lambda would do this.

Yamiko stared at the magazine on the rug blankly. "..." Maybe Lambda had a point…

Mikael entered from upstairs to see what the commotion was all about. He let out a yawn and adjusted his hat before noticing the dropped magazine and asking Yamiko.

She sat back in her seat carelessly "Lambda's upset at the state of affairs. I am quite upset as well."

Mikael walked over to pick up the magazine. "We're all on edge after that case. Even I'm still questioning myself." he returned it to Yamiko's desk.

"You are?"

"Yeah… I don't know if I'm truly alive."

"Huh?"

Mikael took off his cowboy hat to inspect it. The very thing that was a connection and reminder of his past. Normally people would be ecstatic to have their past back but for him it was a burden of realization. Being compared to the evil of humanity wasn't something to be proud of and being allowed to live afterwards; was this just a stroke of luck or was the world trying to say something?

"These hands were meant to fight for justice, but how am I supposed to do that with a conscious mind when I'm just like them?"

"Because you're fighting for good now." Said Oscar who had also entered the lobby to see what all the fuss was about. Joining him was Hoka who stood beside him feeling the same as he did. "And you're a cowboy! Cowboys are supposed to enact justice as they see fit no matter what happened in their past."

He had a point but still, this wasn't a feeling Mikael could easily shake. "I'm not a brave cowboy. I'm like a… a brave coward. Always hiding behind others because They're a lot smarter than I am."

Yamiko chuckled at the term 'brave coward'. It was a spur of the moment word that he thought up on the spot, "You are still brave nonetheless."

Mikael placed his hat on "Yeah… I honestly don't know why I stayed. I felt like running like Hyde did but something was holding me back. Maybe it's because deep down in my heart I want to really be a brave cowboy."

"To me, you're already there!" Oscar proudly said with an innocent smile. "You saved not only me but a buncha other people as a detective. Stopping bad people who want to use magic for evil, that's what heroes do!"

"Heroes huh..?" The agency hasn't really been congratulated for stopping crime. Not formally anyway. There were tons of people who read the newspapers that told of their exploits, tons of people rooting for them even if they didn't know. "Hmm… people are counting on us. We can't let them down. They need us to solve these dangerous cases."

What mattered was the present they lived in, not the past that held them back. This was the key detail Hyde was missing, the reason he felt so lost.

Mikael tilted his hat downwards "It's not just Hyde who needs us but everyone. Maybe even… The entire world..?"

He decided to go to the cafe with Oscar and Hoka, this time with higher convictions.

────── 〔✿〕──────

The cafe was completely busy and short staffed with only Yulie and Shiki present to handle the majority work. Lloyd and Ibuki had gone off again to search for Hyde and Mikael who were still yet to be found. It was a pain in the ass for the two girls but much better than their old lives and being an investigator. It was nice to be a regular human for once. Stress, homework, school, the mundane aspects of life in a routine that wouldn't be broken lest they feel uncomfortable.

Shiki was on pace to deliver a cup of cappuccino to a customer then from out of nowhere tripped over the suitcase Midare dragged in a rush. The shattering of the cup made the cafe go completely silent for a brief moment while heads turned to see what occurred. Even Midare was startled by the sound from the accident she caused unknowingly.

Shiki growled and turned her head to Midare "Why are you carrying that stupid thing?!" she snapped.

Midare rolled her eyes "You wouldn't understand."

"You're doing this on purpose aren't you?" Shiki stood up glaring at Midare. The professional detective couldn't help but feel frustrated as well.

"Maybe you should've watched where you were going. I'm carrying very important detective tools in this suitcase and if they break then I can't conduct proper investigations. Then we'd be out of a job." Midare said sharply.

"Jeez, they're fighting again." A bystander said before sipping his drink. Their arguing grew louder until the ringing of the entrance bell drew their attention. A woman with light hair, Evelynn Inouye, entered while gasping for air and nearly breathless "Detectives… case…"

Putting aside the little quarrel, Midare tried to get the woman to calm down so she could speak properly.

"A suicide cult." Evelynn sighed "My daughter happened to join one and disappeared one night. I only found out when I opened her laptop in her room and saw the tabs about the cult still open. This is urgent, please save my daughter before it's too late."

A suicide case…

Those were exceptionally rare and a pain for a detective to solve. Nevertheless Midare refused much to Evelynn's dismay.

It brought tears to Evelynn's eyes but she held back from crying. "I...I understand." She turned around ready to leave until Mary stopped her, almost dropping the folder in her hand.

"We'll help you! Right now Midare is terribly busy. Er.. come to my office!" Mary led the way back upstairs to Midare's office which she was in charge of temporarily.

Meanwhile Shiki slowly shook her head. "Worthless…" she muttered while glaring at Midare.

Midare snapped her fingers at her maids "What are you staring for? Get to work!" She then kept moving down the hallway.

Mary dropped the files onto the desk nearly dropping it along with the other files she had stacked on Midare's desk in a disturbing mess of documents that made Evelynn wince watching Mary's efforts in trying to keep everything contained If a messy cafe and office represented Midare's mind then for Mary it would be a representation of her overwhelming stress, the stress she piled on herself by believing she could out do Midare at her own job.

Needless to say it was going terribly, Mary had 0 clue of where to start and was answering the many phone calls on the desk telephone that she eventually grew tired of because it was lying in the corner of the room. Slumping down in her chair then quickly sitting up, she looked at Evelynn with a wry smile, pen in hand. "The crime? The case?" her tongue twisted and she nearly bit it off asking for Evelynn to give the details of the suicide or soon to be suicide.

It was awkward even for Evelynn, thrown off by Mary's frantic outward look and tired eyes. Her sadness had faded for a moment but came back as she recalled the story, explaining how her daughter who she neglected for work eventually just one day said she was leaving forever. Evelynn thought she was being ridiculous until she heard the door slam shut and her daughter crying, running away as fast as she could. On her opened laptop was an online forum, a suicide cult forum she had been messaging for the initiation to join heaven.

"It's terrible! I can't fathom that people in the world would trick innocents into killing themselves!" Evelynn cried.

Mary stood up "Don't worry ma'am I'll try to stop her as soon as I can."

Evelynn bowed "Thank you so much. I wasn't expecting you to do this alone. What happened to your friends?"

Mary averted the sadness in her eyes "They...um…"

By fate or coincidence, Mikael followed by Ibuki and Lloyd entered the office perplexed as to why Mary took on the case by herself. And why Midare was being rather distant and rude.

"Did something happen between you and Midare?" Mikael questioned.

On the surface it didn't seem like a big dispute but deep down, Mary was frustrated that Midare kept treating her like a child. She always went on and on about how 'it was too dangerous' and 'too big a risk' despite them being put on the job for that. As detectives it was natural to risk their lives for the sake of peace, did Midare not understand that? All Midare cared about was trying to catch Soap which seemed like more an impossibility as time went on. At this point she was chasing ghosts. Mary shook her head not wanting to go on a rant that'll get her in trouble "It's… I just wanted to show her that we're capable of being detectives."

"Does she not trust us?" Lloyd frowned.

"I don't know." Mary replied with sadness leaving her tone. She straightened herself up but ultimately slouched her shoulders. "I just want her to see me as an adult for once…"

The following day wasn't any better. Mary still had to make the majority of decisions herself but Ibuki had stepped in to give assistance when needed.

Ring ring ring…

Class was over but what was the point of being happy to go home if he wasn't there..?

Mary made new friends but to her they were faceless people who only wanted something from her. Whether it be to sign her cast or ask if Hyde was gone because he dumped her, she couldn't be real around these people. They wouldn't understand her plight as a detective.

Her arm cast had signed names of a few individuals in her class. Small messengers that said 'Get well soon.' as well as hearts and a picture of a smiling cat. It was weird to feel so popular at this moment.

"Ah you're so careless Mary. I bet that break up was really severe. Don't tell me that Hyde boy was abusing you." A black haired girl with her hair tied in a ponytail teased.

Mary laughed at the idea "No no it's nothing like that. He just uh… took a vacation I guess."

"Hehehe, what if the murderer Soap got to him?" A girl with long dark hair and her bangs covering one eye turned from her drawing on the chalkboard and pointed the chalk at Mary "What if the murderer is after you next?"

Mary faked her surprised "T-that'd be really scary! But If Hyde was murdered then the detective agency would be on the case I'm sure of it."

The girl with the ponytail crossed her arms frowning "I heard Noble Third was disbanded for secretly committing homicide. The news said they linked the mass murder of an orphanage to them."

The second girl pulled out her phone to search for the article. "I heard about that too! I wonder if the lazy detective agency is doing the same thing and hasn't been caught yet."

"I hope not. If they're disbanded too then who will catch Soap?" Mary replied to entertain the thought a bit. But the two girls shrugged without having a very clear answer. It's possible for the TGA to dismantle the detective agency if it wanted to but they were too beneficial but that didn't mean the crimes Midare had stacked against her would be forgotten afterwards. Maybe Levin was right afterall...