You are Megumin, a detective living in Chicago. You have a pistol and a police badge. You enter the forest where you believe the criminal you're searching for fled to. Suddenly, you hear a gunshot coming from behind some trees.

"Shit!" you shout as you raise your gun.

>

 The man who just shot himself is lying on the ground with his head blown off.

The other man has managed to crawl away from the scene of the crime.

> chase the criminal

You quickly run after the two men. The two criminals are running away and hiding behind some nearby trees. They notice you approaching them and they both jump up to avoid being shot.

"Whoa! Hold on!"

> "freeze! you're under arrest!"

"Freeze! I'm not doing anything until we find out what happened here."

The criminals look at each other and then back at you.

> "who shot the guy?"

"I did," one says.
"What do you mean? Who shot him?"
"He was trying to rob me! He had a knife and he tried to stab me when I went into the woods!"

> "do you have any proof?"

"No! I don't have any proof!"
"Well, let's go get it."

You walk over to the two criminals and grab their arms.

> arrest the men

"We need to talk about this," you say.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the one says.
"Okay, but I want you guys to listen very carefully."

> take them to police station

You put the two criminals in handcuffs and lead them to the police station. You explain that you know something bad happened here and that you need their help.

They seem reluctant at first, but eventually agree to help.

> wonder why you are asking criminals help after they murdered the guy

You realize that you are asking criminals to help you after they killed someone. This could be construed as an attempt to cover up the crime or even worse, a confession.

> take suspects back to the crime scene and try to trick them confessing the murder

You decide to take the two criminals back to the crime scene and ask them if they really think it wasn't you who did it.

They both deny knowing anything about it.

> leave them to the woods until they decide to confess their crimes

You tell them that you will take them back to the crime scene where they can see for themselves. You also give them a few options of how to handle this situation.

> "if you guys don't admit the murder, I will leave you to be eaten by the local bear"

You tell them that if they don't admit the crime, you will leave them alone and not kill them. They both agree with this plan.

You return to the crime scene and wait for nightfall.

>

 You are ready to catch your prey.

You hear some noise from behind a tree so you run towards it. When you arrive, you find yourself face-to-face with two bears.

> try to calm down the two bears

You start to calm down the bears. The second one tries to attack you, but you manage to escape.

The next day, you come across another group of people.

> check out who they are

You walk around the area and look for any clues on who these people are. You do not find anything suspicious though.

After a couple days pass, you come across another group of people.

> "who are you guys?"

You stop talking and just stare at the two men. One of them is wearing a hooded cloak while the other one has his head covered.

You notice that he seems familiar.

> "I know you!"

You start to speak louder and more excitedly.

He turns around and looks at you and says "Who are you? Who are you?". He then starts to laugh loudly.

> "I'm megumin, the ace detective"

Megumin: The Ace Detective (メギン・ザ・アーカイディー)

You: Meギミン! (Meigin!)

Megumin: Ohh...

>

 (laughing)

You: And you're not...?

Megumin: No, I am not. (Laughing)

You: Well what's going on here!? What are you doing?!

> "I'm trying to solver a murder case, but the criminals didn't confess so I left them to the bears"

Megumin: So you want me to solve the crime?
You: Yes! Please help us! We need your help!
Megumin: Hahaha, no problem.

>

 You can count on me.
You: But why don't you tell me what's going on?

> "but I just did told you everything you need to know"

Megumin: It's fine. Just listen to me.
You: Okay...Okay...Alright! I'll listen to whatever you have to say!

> leave and go back to the criminals

Megumin: (Sigh) Alright, alright. I'll explain everything to you later. Now let's get this over with.
You: Wait! Why are we leaving now?

> "I have things to do and you're wasting my time"

Megumin: You know it's true, right? If you had any sense you'd be helping us out instead of being so stubborn. Besides, we still need to catch these bastards.

> "however, you can join my party and help out investigating this case"

Megumin: Really? That would be great! I mean I've never been part of a party before, but if you insist.
You: Okay! Let's do that!

> try to solve the case now that you have extra help

Megumin: Eh? You're serious about this? I thought you were joking when you said you wanted to help me out.
You: Of course I was kidding! This is really important!

> "joking about this case is really important to you?"

You: Yeah, well I guess I am. Anyway, let's start off by catching these guys.
Megumin: Oh yes, that will be easy enough.

>


 You: What do you mean?
Megumin: Well, we have some new members joining our group. They're a little strange looking though.

>

 I think they might be from another world. We haven't met yet, but they seem friendly enough.
You: How do you know all this? Are you their mother or something?

> "heck no"

Megumin: Heh heh, yeah I'm sure of it. So how do you know all this? Do you have magical powers like me?
You: No, not at all.

> "my magical power is awesome"

Megumin: Hahaha, okay then. But seriously, I don't have magical powers. My father was an idiot who died young."

You: "So what does that mean exactly?

>

 Do you have powers too?

>


Megumin: Uh...well I dunno, maybe. It depends on how much you want me to tell you though.

What do you mean? You can't just ask me anything!

>



Megumin: Look, if you're going to ask me questions, at least answer them. If you just keep asking stupid questions, I won't be able to give you any useful information. Alright then!

>

 Let's get started!"

You: "Okay, so where do we meet them?

> "at the park, middle in the woods"

Megumin: "The park, middle in the woods. That should work for everyone."

You: "Alright, alright, let's go!"

>



Megumin: "Yeah! Let's go!"

> go to the park

You walk towards the park with Megumin. She looks happy as usual. You feel a little bad about making her sad, but she doesn't seem to mind.

>



A few minutes later, you see two people walking towards the park. The man has long hair and wears glasses. He also carries a backpack.

> "hey there, who are you?"

You: "Hey there, who are you?"
Man: "I'm not sure yet. I don't think it will matter anyway since I haven't decided what to wear yet.

> "you could become a hipster or something"

Man: "Hipster? What the hell does that mean? Is this some sort of new age thing?"
You: "No, no, it means someone who is very into fashion. Someone like yourself."

>


Man: "What?! No way! This can't be true! How did you know all that stuff about me?!

> "I'm the ace detective and also a crimson mage"

Man: "Wait, you're the ace detective and also a crimson mage?!

> "yeah"

Man: "Yeah, I guess so."

You continue your conversation until you reach the park. After you get inside the park, you notice that it isn't empty. There are other people here too.

> "who are those people?"

You: "Those people are my friends. They came to play basketball."
Man: "Oh... Okay then, let's go."

After you leave the park, you hear more voices from outside.

> investigate the voices

You turn around and look out the window. You see several figures running away from the city. Some of them are wearing red clothing while others are dressed in black clothes.

> chase them

You run after the fleeing people. You manage to catch up with one of them, but he manages to escape again. Another catches you and another one escapes as well.

> keep chasing

You keep following the fleeing people, but they soon disappear from sight. Then suddenly you feel a pain in your chest and fall down on the ground. The person who caught you was none other than Megumin herself!

> "megumin, what are you doing?"

Megumin: "Ah, sorry for scaring you. I was just playing around with the boys."
You: "What do you mean? Are you a boy?"
Megumin: "Well... yeah..."

> "okay then"

Megumin: "Okay then."
You: "Are you really a girl?"
Megumin: "No, I'm not a girl!"
You: "Then what are you?!

>

 What are you doing?!"
Megumin: "Nothing much. It's been awhile since we've met, haven't it?"
You: "What did you want to talk about?"
Megumin: "

>

I wanted to ask you something."
You: "About what?"
Megumin: "About our pasts. About how we got together and became like this."
You: "...what?"
Megumin: "

>

We were born the same year. We grew up together. We had similar childhoods and lives before we even started dating each other. But that doesn't matter now, does it?"
You: "But...

>

But...we're different people now!"
Megumin: "Oh yes, we are indeed different people. But don't worry, we'll always be friends."

Megumin: "Look at me.

>

 Look at my eyes. They're still the same blue color as when we first met. Even if I change, you know what I will never lose? My love for you."

You: "Megumin...

>

You can't go back..."
Megumin: "Why would I ever want to? If anything, I'd rather stay the way we are now. Besides, you're my best friend too right?

>

 I wouldn't want to lose you either."

You: "Megumin..."
Megumin: "Yes? What is it?"

You: "I-It's nothing.

>

 Just a question of course."
Megumin: "Alright then. See ya later.

>

 Bye bye.

> "bye"

Megumin: "See ya later."
You leave her office. You feel sad about your situation.

>

 You think about how you'll probably never see her again. And that makes you sadder than if she was dead. The sadness gets worse when you realize that this is all your fault.

> "this isn't my fault"


>


But you don't know why. You just do. It's not like you had any choice in the matter anyway.

The next day, you get up early and head out to work.

>

 You walk down the street with your gun on your shoulder.

You pass by many people going about their daily lives.

>

 Some look at you suspiciously, but they don't stop or even acknowledge your presence. They seem to be too busy doing what they're doing.

Eventually, you reach the Detective Agency where Megumin works.

>

 She must've left earlier today.

You go inside and find that it's empty. You wonder if she went home already or something similar to it.

>



You enter the office and find that it's also empty. You wonder if she went home already or something similar to it.

You try calling her number, but there's no answer.

>



Maybe she didn't want to talk to you right now. Maybe she was waiting for someone else. Or maybe...

Suddenly, you hear a noise from outside the building.

> investigate the noise

You rush outside and see a man dressed in black running towards you. He looks very scared and runs away as fast as he can.

He says "I'm sorry! I-it's me!"

> "you're confessing the murder?"


"No! No, I wasn't! Please don't kill me!" he screams.

> "I'm not going to kill you"

"I'm not going to kill you." You say calmly.
"Please, please don't kill me!" he begs again.

>



You continue to ask him questions until he finally admits everything.

>



He says he was on his way to the police station when you came up behind him.

>

 He couldn't run fast enough since you were faster than him. The two of you fought and then after beating each other up, you took turns killing him by stabbing him repeatedly with your gun.

>



You nod at this confession and tell him to go back inside. You then call your partner who is currently out investigating the crime scene. She'll be here soon.

>



You head back into the office and sit down at your desk. You begin to think about what you should do next. What will it take to get her?

>

 Will you need to go find her yourself or will she come looking for you?

The only thing that comes to mind right now is getting rid of the body.

>

 If you can get rid of the body, then you'll be able to get rid of the killer.

>

 If you can't, then you might as well just leave town.

What would happen if you left? Would anyone notice something strange happening around here?

> wonder who is the murderer and why you should get rid of that body

You decide to investigate the murderer. It's not like you don't want to know who did this, but you're also curious as to how you could possibly solve this case without going through the trouble of finding them yourself.

> send watson to solve the murder case

You decide to send Watson to solve the case. He's got experience dealing with people who aren't exactly trustworthy. If anything goes wrong, he'll probably kill someone along the way.

>


You figure you can count on him.

Watson arrives at the location where the body was found. He finds a bloody knife lying nearby and some blood stains on the ground.

> go meet watson

You walk over to the location where the body was found. You see a man standing there holding a knife.

He looks up when he sees you approach, "Hello." He says in an annoyed tone.

> "who are you?"

"Who am I?" You ask.

He sighs, "I'm not sure yet."

You continue to press him further, "Why are you here?" You demand.

>


He shrugs his shoulders, "I dunno. I guess it doesn't matter."

>



You continue pressing him, "How do you know my name?" You ask.

He shakes his head, "I don't really." He continues to shake his head.

>



You keep pressing him for more information, "Is there something else you need from me?" You ask.

He sighs again, "No." He continues to shake his head.

>



You take out your gun and point it at him, "What do you want?" You ask.

He turns around slowly, "Just tell me what you want." He asks.

> "I want you to drop the knife and come with me to the station"

You raise your gun and fire several shots into the man's chest. The bullet hits him directly in the heart killing him instantly.
The man falls backwards onto the ground dead.

> reason that it was an accident

It is too early to be calling this an accident. It would seem that you were right about him being a serial killer after all.

You walk back home and find your mother weeping over her dead son.

>

 She tells you she knows who you are now.

You sit down on the couch and try to console her. You explain that it wasn't your fault, but she still cries anyway.

>

 She says she just wants you to get better soon so you can go back to school.

You decide that it will be best if you stay with your aunt and uncle until you're able to return to school.

>

 They live in a small town where most of the people are friendly towards you.

Your mom seems happy to see you though.

>

 She has always been supportive of you since day one.

After a few days, you feel like things are starting to get better and you begin to think about going back to school.

>



Your parents agree that you should go back to school, but they don't know how to help you. They suggest that you talk to the principal or someone at the highschool.

>



You look at them and nod. "Okay then I guess I'll go talk to Principal Goddard." You say.

They smile and hug you goodbye as you leave for the school.

>



When you arrive at the school, you head straight to the office. When you enter Goddard's office he smiles when he sees you.

>

 He asks what grade you're in and you tell him. He looks around his desk and notices your gun.
"Ah yes, I remember seeing it when you came into my class last year." He says.

>



"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." You say.

"No worries, it was an accident. Anyway, I need you to come with me."

> "where to?"

"Well, there is a park across the street from the school. It's called Prospect Park."

"What do you want me to do?" You ask.

"Just follow me."

>

 Goddard replies.

You walk down the sidewalk and Goddard leads you to a park across the street from the school.

> !suddenly megumin appears and call you his sister magumin

You see a girl walking towards you holding hands with another man. The other man is dressed in black clothing and carries a long sword. The two men are looking at you with curiosity, but not fear.

>



Megumin calls out to you. "Hey Suzy, can we talk for just a moment? Please?" She asks.

You turn around and see her standing before you.

>

 Her hair is now longer and she has grown horns on top of her head. She wears a red dress that reaches her mid-thighs. She also has two large horns growing from each side of her head.

>

 Her eyes are still green, but they seem much more alive than they did before. They glow with a strange light and she seems to radiate energy.

"Yes, please." You reply.

>



Megumin walks over to you and puts her arms around you. She hugs you tightly as if she were afraid that if she let go, then you would run away.

>



She looks up into your eyes and smiles. "I missed you so much!" She says.

"Yeah, I miss you too." You respond.

>



Megumin pulls back and kisses you on the lips. Then she grabs your hand and squeezes it tightly. "We're going to be late." She whispers in your ear.

>


>

You nod and smile. "Of course we will." You say.

As you walk along the street, you notice that most people aren't paying any attention to you or Megumin.

>

 Most of them are either talking on their cell phones or playing cards. It's almost like they don't even care about what you're doing.

Suddenly, you hear a loud noise coming from above you.

> look up


You quickly look up and see a giant rock falling down from the sky. The rock hits you directly in the face knocking you out cold. You fall to the ground unconscious.

>



The next day, you wake up in a hospital bed. A nurse comes in and checks your vitals. She then goes over to another table where several other doctors are examining you.

>

 They all look at you with interest.

"So, you survived this ordeal." One doctor says.

> "yeah"

"Yeah, you did." Another one adds.

You reply.

The doctor who said that nods his head in agreement.

>

 He then turns to the rest of the doctors. "Well, I guess we can start getting you set up right away."

"What?" You ask.

The doctor looks at you again.

>

 "I'm not exactly sure, but I think we should start setting you up immediately. We need to get you back home as soon as possible."

>



"But...but..." You begin to protest.

The doctor interrupts you.

>

 "Look, I know it's scary for you, but trust me; if we keep you here any longer than necessary, you'll die. Now let's get started."

>



You sit there in silence while they do their work. Eventually, they finish up and leave.

>

 The doctor stands up and walks towards the door. He opens it and leaves. You're left alone in the room.

>

 You close your eyes and try to calm yourself down. It won't be long now. The time will come when you'll see them again, and you'll make sure they don't regret leaving you behind.

>



Suddenly, you hear a voice from outside. "Hey! What are you doing out so late? Are you lost?" A man asks.

You open your eyes and look out the window.

>

 There is no one else around. You quickly turn your head to the side and see a dark figure standing near the edge of the roof.

> investigate the dark figure


You stand up slowly and walk over to the edge of the roof. You peer through the gap between two buildings.

>

 There is nothing on the other side of the gap except darkness.

You continue looking at the dark figure as you wait for him to move. Finally, he moves closer to you.

> run away


You run back inside and close the door. You lock it with a padlock and then hide under your bed. You wait until nightfall before you go to sleep.

>


A few days pass by and you still haven't heard anything from the hospital. You begin to worry that they've sent someone else here instead.

>

 Then, you get a knock on the door.
"Hello?" You answer.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you." The voice says. "It's been a rough week for all of us here."

>


"What do you mean?" You ask.
"Well, I was just wondering if there were any clues or anything about who did this."

> "that rock fell from nowhere"

"That rock fell from nowhere." You reply.
"Yeah, I know." The voice replies. "But we're not done yet, are we?"

>



"We don't have time for that." You say. "Let me out of here now!"
The voice sighs. "Fine, but only because I really need you alive right now."

>



You sit down on the floor and try to think of something to say. You remember what she said earlier: "I can't let you leave."

> try to escape

"No! I won't be able to escape." You shout.
"Maybe you can, maybe you can't." The voice says. "But I want to hear you scream so badly!"

> defend yourself

You grab your gun and shoot the man who just entered. He falls backwards and hits his head on the ground. Then, you rush over to Megumin. She is crying and holding her side.

> "what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" You ask.
"Nothing." She answers. "Just go away."

>


"Why would I do that? Why would you even care about me?"
"Because you're my friend." She answers. "And I love you."

You look at each other and embrace.

>

 You kiss her on the lips and then head back to work.

A few days later, you wake up with a headache. It doesn't feel like it should happen when you sleep, but it does.

>

 You get up and see that you got a call from the hospital. They want to talk to you immediately.

They tell you that they found the body of a girl who died after falling off a cliff.

>

 Her name was Megumin and she had been missing since yesterday afternoon. They also told you that there were no signs of foul play.

You are shocked by this news.

>



The next day, you receive another phone call. This time, it's from the police. They want to speak to you as well.

>



You decide to meet them. The police have some questions for you, but they don't seem too worried about the case. They think that you will probably be able to help them solve it.

>



As soon as you arrive at the station, you find out that the police chief has already called everyone together. He tells them all that he wants to speak with you right now.

>



He says that he is going to take you into custody if you refuse to cooperate with him. If you agree, then he will let you go. However, if not, then he will arrest you anyway.

> agree to help


You agree to help the police. The chief promises that you won't be harmed while helping them.

The chief takes you to his office where he explains everything to you.

> listen the explanation


The chief explains everything that happened yesterday. He mentions how he went to the park with his wife and daughter, but they didn't see anything suspicious.

>

 Then, he saw a shadow moving around near the lake. When he went over to investigate, he noticed something strange. A girl was floating down towards the water below.

> "that makes no sense... girls don't just float"

That makes no sense... girls don't just float!

The chief says that he tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't respond. She kept saying "I'm fine."

> "you're seeing things"

You say "you're seeing things!"

The chief says that he knows what you mean. He thinks you should come with him to check out this story.

> go with him

You agree to go with him. The chief leads you to the police station where you enter a room filled with bookshelves and desks. There are also several chairs arranged in a circle around the room.

>



The chief tells you that he needs your help on a case. He says that there is someone who looks very familiar in one of those chairs.

> investigate the familiar thing

You look at the chair closest to you. It's a woman's chair, so it would make sense that this person could be a woman. This isn't like you though.

>

 You know you shouldn't be looking for women, but you do anyway.

You find yourself staring into the eyes of a young woman sitting in the chair opposite from you.

>

 Her hair is auburn and her skin tone is light brown. She has long black hair tied up in two pigtails. She wears a blue dress with white trim and golden buttons along the front.

>

 Her face shows a hint of an accent.

She smiles at you as if she knew you were here. Then, she turns away from you and begins to walk towards the door.

>



You stare after her. You can't believe you're doing this. Why did you do this? What does it all mean? Did she really see something or was it just a dream?

>



You turn back to the chief. He seems disappointed by your actions. He asks you why you didn't tell him about your dreams earlier today.

>


>

Why did you not tell me about your dreams?

I'm sorry, Chief. I couldn't bring myself to say anything until now. They were too frightening. I had nightmares every night since I woke up.

>

 I thought they meant something bad was going to happen to me. But nothing happened. I don't think you want to hear my story right now, so let's go back to what we were talking about before.

>



The chief nods his head and tells you that he understands. He then says that you should come with him to the office where he will explain everything to you.

> go with him


You nod your head and follow the chief out of the room. As soon as you exit, you feel like someone is watching you. The chief walks ahead while keeping one step behind you.

> stay on alert

You remain vigilant. You keep yourself ready for any danger that may be lurking around.
When you reach the office, you find the chief sitting there waiting for you.

>

 He has a small notebook open on his lap.

What is this about? You ask.

He answers: "This is about our investigation into the death of Megumin.

>

 We need all the information we can get."

What do you mean?

"We found her body yesterday. She died from an unknown disease.

>

 We don't know how she contracted it or if it was contagious. If anyone knows anything, please contact us immediately."

Whoa! What?! You're surprised by the sudden announcement.

"

>

Megumin was a very close friend of mine. I never got to say goodbye to her after she left for work last night. We used to talk on the phone almost everyday when we lived together.

>

 I'm sure she would've been happy to hear from me.

"I understand your concern, but we need to take care of this first.

>

 Please tell me what happened to your sister?"

"She's dead."

"How did you know?"

"Because my brother-in-law found her body yesterday morning.

>

 He said he saw her fall down the stairs and then nothing. Then he heard some noise downstairs so he went to investigate. When he came back, she wasn't breathing anymore."

"So...what now?

>

 Is there something else we should know?"

"Yes, yes, just give me a moment...

>

Okay..."

The man looks at you with a serious face. He doesn't seem like he wants to be here right now.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you everything.

>

 My name is Isabella and I live in the apartment building next door to where your sister was found. She lived alone. Her name was Alice."

"Wait, that's not her real name!

>

 It's only given out at birth!"

"It is, but it isn't her real name either. She has several names. One of them is Alice."

"What does that mean exactly?

> "she legally changed her name to megumin"

"Her legal name is Megumin. It means 'the shining one'."

"That's ridiculous! Why would she do such a thing?!

> "I don't know"


"I don't know."

"Then why didn't you help her?!"

"I wanted to find out who killed her."

"Why didn't you?"

>



"Because I'm a detective and I can't help you if you're not willing to help yourself.

> "I'm also a detective, you know"


>


"Well then, what did you want from me?"

"I wanted to ask you about your sister. What happened after she died?"

You explain everything as best as you can.

>

 The last time you saw her, she was crying over something on the floor. You think maybe it was a picture or something. Then suddenly she just disappeared without saying anything more.

>

 You don't even remember seeing her get into the car with him. The police never looked for her, so you aren't sure how she got there.

>

 You wonder if she ever showed up at all.

Megumin says nothing for awhile. Her eyes seem to be looking somewhere else entirely. Finally, she speaks again "So...you're the one..."

>



"Yes, I am."

"But...why? Why did you kill her?"

You don't really know how to answer that question either.

>

 It's like she knows exactly what you've been thinking, but she doesn't want to hear it. She continues to stare off into space.

>



"Why did you do it?"

She seems to be getting angrier by the second. It makes you feel bad, because she probably is going through the same thing right now.

> "I didn't kill her"

"I didn't kill her!" you exclaim.

"What?!" she asks incredulously.

> "I was sleeping, how I would have killed her? she was my sister"


>


"No! No, no, no, no! I mean why would you do such a thing?"

> "but I didn't do such a thing"


"But you didn't do such a thing!" she insists.

"Because I love her, and I'm sorry for your loss.

>

 I just couldn't let her die. She had so much potential, and I can't even imagine what she'd have done with herself in life."

"

>

So you're saying you were jealous of me, huh?" she says.

"Well yes, but..." you begin to stutter before stopping yourself. "Look, I'm not trying to justify anything.

>

 Just... I don't know what else to tell you."

"Well then, I guess we'll never meet again.

>

 Goodbye.

>



You leave the police station and head home. You spend most of the day thinking about this, wondering if you should go back to work or stay at home.

> go to work

You decide that it's best to continue on as usual. You go back to work, and the next day, you get called into the chief's office. He looks up from his newspaper and asks "What happened?"

> "what do you mean?"

"Nothing really. It was just a weird feeling."
"Oh? Well maybe it is strange, but I think you need to talk to someone about this."
"Who?

>

 Who could help me?"
"Your sister. She might be able to give you some sort of insight into why this has been happening."
"

> "you mean my sister, megumin?"

"Yes, that's right."
"Why would she help me?"
"Because she wants to. She doesn't want you to worry anymore."

The chief nods and smiles.

>

 "Okay, well let's see who we can find."

You walk down the hallways and knock on every door you come across. Eventually you find your sister sitting in her chair reading a book.

>

 She notices you and smiles.

"Hey there! What brings you here?"

You smile back. "I came to see if you could help me with something."

> "what book were you reading?"

"Well, I was reading one about how to deal with ghosts."

You nod. "That sounds interesting. Do you know anything else about them?"

She thinks for a moment before replying.

>

 "No, not really. I've read books about them, but never actually met one."

You shrug. "So what did you want to talk about?"

She sighs and replies.

>


>

"It's just been getting worse lately. The more I try to investigate these things, the more they seem to get away from me. They're attacking people now instead of hiding."

> "who's attacking people?"


>


Megumin looks at you as if expecting an answer. "A group of them attacked my house yesterday, and it wasn't even their usual hauntings. It was like they knew where we lived."

> "you mean ghosts?"


"Yeah, I think so. They don't attack us anymore either."

You nod. "Do you know why?"


Megumin frowns.

>

 "What do you mean? Are you saying that they can tell your location by looking at your soul or something?"

You shake your head.

>

 "I'm not sure yet. I'll find out soon enough though, because right now I need you to go back home and keep watch over the neighborhood until I come back."

> "sure"


"Sure," you reply. "But how will you be able to do that when there are so many of them around?"

>



"They aren't really moving all that much, but they still move fast. That's what scares me the most about this whole thing."

You nod.

>

 "So you said."

Megumin sighs.

>

 "Okay, well I guess I should get going then. Good luck with that." She says and leaves you alone again.

>

 You sit down on a nearby bench and wait for her to return. Eventually she comes walking towards you. Her hair is slightly disheveled from yesterday's events, but otherwise looks fine.

>



"Good job today, I was worried about you." She says. "Come on let's go home."

> follow her home

You agree to follow her home. As you walk along the street, you notice that it isn't as crowded as it used to be. It seems like more people left than came here yesterday.

>



"Where are we going?" You ask.

"The same place where we were before yesterday." She replies. "It's a good idea to check up on things after all."

>



As you follow her to your house, you start noticing some changes. The houses are smaller now, and the streets seem cleaner too. There are also fewer cars driving by at high speed.

>



When you arrive at your house, you see a single door leading into the basement. A few of the windows are broken, but nothing else out of place.

> investigate the broken windows


You look around and find that there are several broken windows in this part of the house. Most of them aren't even cracked, they're just missing pieces.

>


>

"So what do you think happened?" You ask.

"I don't know, maybe someone broke in and stole something or tried to break into my room." She answers.