Part 8: Episode 8: Captured! The Christmas Thieves Tell All
The Christmas Thieves had been caught, and they were currently being interrogated by Sakuya.
Accept your fate, Christmas Thieves! You’ve nowhere left to run. Now identify yourselves!
Merry Christmas…
You won’t get to go home any quicker by looking sad. What are your names?
Merry Christmas! Miru and Kaku… That’s all?
…… Why did you two do all this? Quite frankly, I don’t give a hoot about Christmas and as far as I’m concerned it’s just so much capitalist, commercialized rubbish. But there are plenty of birds who really care about it! It’s not nice to ruin their fun. Merry Christmas…
Merry Christmas… (Christmas is ingrained into Miru and Kaku’s very instincts…)
It’s too cruel, doctor! To create pitiful, hybrid beings in your mad scientist experiments and then to try to kill them… Maybe you felt your creation violated the laws of nature… But artificial creatures are still alive, just like us! They have the right to-- Please, do not misunderstand. I am not responsible for their creation.The music stops.
What? He’s not???
I thought I was being clever, but I think I’ve made a terrible mistake!
Merry Christmas! (Miru and Kaku’s daddy was a merry daddy! He liked parties!) Merry! Merry Christmas! (Daddy celebrated all through December! Especially Christmas!)They look excited to the point of getting their memories mixed up.
None of the researchers had expected their creation. At first, the new lifeforms were hoped to hold great scientific value, but they soon proved to be almost identical to existing birds. Once the investigation was complete, they were to be disposed of. But there was one researcher who acted irresponsibly. The researcher was charged with taking care of them.Well, even if he wasn’t the one trying to get rid of them, he certainly seems to be connected to Miru and Kaku somehow. Maybe he knows what should be done with them…
…… May I ask what you intend to do with them?
But they’re unidentified creatures, born of the excesses of modern science! Can they even have trials?
The law only covers humans and birds. Even if they look like birds, I don’t think they can. So then… They do not have the right to be tried by law. All they can do is wait to be culled. Agh…
They may have done some bad things, but nobirdie was badly injured. The worst was Yuuya’s burn! We can’t just kill them.The doctor seemed to be thinking hard for a minute, after which he turned to Sakuya.
I have a proposal, Mr. Shirogane. Yes, Dr. Iwamine?
You would…!? We can’t, Sakuya! Giving them to him is sending them to a fate worse than death, no matter how you look at it! Please, do not be so agitated. I have no intention of harming them… just yet.In other words, you probably will later!
But I don’t suppose there’s any better option for them… so I guess I can allow this.
If you are willing to take them in, sir, I have no objections. Be respectful towards Dr. Iwamine, you two rapscallions!
And make sure to tell us where you hid Mr. Urushihara’s Christmas tree, okay?
But why was the doctor so happy to help? He didn’t even ask for compensation.
Normally he would have asked for something…
That will be one leg, please.Maybe it was his idea of a Christmas present?
The music stops.
At the end of the interrogation, I checked my watch to see how long we’d been at this.
We got them to tell us where the stolen trees are, so I should go home to eat udon and sleep.
Merry Christmas! (Caretaker! Caretaker! Look!) Let me see… ……
You… Ugh. You never did leave anything behind but trouble.
The next day, Ryouta and I finally returned Mr. Urushihara’s tree to its rightful place.
Oh my, oh my. Thank you. It really is calming to look at, isn’t it? I’m so glad yours is intact! Sakuya’s was completely incinerated…
At least the big tree Sakuya had at home was saved… I guess that’s some sort of consolation. And… That’s the end of the investigation. I’m looking forward to working here over the break!
And with that, we had brought all of the stolen trees back. A job well done for the unstoppable detective duo!