Chapter 86 Child Emperor's Cunning
"King, Child Emperor is currently attending a banquet for an important figure and couldn't find the time to pick you up. He asked me to apologize on his behalf."
In the car, Maigret explained why he was the one picking King up, and not Child Emperor himself.
"It doesn't matter. As long as I get to my destination, it's all the same who comes."
King didn't mind. He was just here to assist Child Emperor with an experimental study. He would leave as soon as it was done; he had even bought a train ticket to Z City for that afternoon.
"Thank you for your understanding, King."
After expressing his thanks, Maigret fell silent. There was, after all, a barrier between the police and heroes. King, a shut-in who wasn't good at socializing, also remained quiet, gazing silently at the scenery flashing past the window.
For a time, the car was completely silent. The awkward atmosphere was only broken by the ringing of a telephone.
"Hello? Child Emperor? I've already picked up King, and we're on our way to the 'Elementary School Student' Research Institute... What? Mr. Robert has been murdered? Okay, I understand. I'll head over right away."
After hanging up, Maigret turned the car around with a grave expression. "King, something tricky has come up on Child Emperor's end. We need to get over there as quickly as possible to help resolve it."
"Whatever."
Since Child Emperor wasn't at the research institute anyway, there was no point in him going there. It was better to go to Child Emperor's location, help solve the trouble, and then return to the institute together to complete the experiment.
From what Maigret just said, it was clear that Child Emperor had encountered a murder case and needed the assistance of a police inspector like Maigret to investigate.
A hero and a police officer cooperating on an investigation? Interesting.
Whoosh—
Maigret pushed the car's speed to its limit, racing down the road like a rally car. He even ran several red lights, nearly causing an accident.
King looked at the grim-faced Maigret in surprise. "Is this Robert a very important person?" To make a police officer willing to break the law just to get to a crime scene as fast as possible, it was obvious the murdered man was no simple figure.
Maigret glanced at King's reflection in the rearview mirror and said slowly, "Robert is one of City Y's top tycoons and a global toy magnate. He is also the biggest investor in Child Emperor's 'Elementary School Student' Research Institute."
So he was Child Emperor's financial backer.
King became thoughtful. Among the S-Class heroes, Child Emperor was quite special. He was far too young; unlike a pseudo-loli like Tatsumaki, Child Emperor was a genuine little boy. Furthermore, his personal combat ability was perhaps the weakest among the S-Class heroes, yet his rank surpassed most of them, placing him firmly in the top five.
Child Emperor's position in the Hero Association is that of a think tank, relying on his intelligence rather than his technological prowess. Although he also engages in tech research, when the Hero Association has technological needs, they usually just look for Metal Knight. Child Emperor is rarely involved. Naturally, this meant the Association provided him with less research funding.
But research burns through an incredible amount of money, and the pittance from the Association was nowhere near enough for Child Emperor's expenses.
Under these circumstances, the technological creations Child Emperor invented were all very small-scale, like children's toys, completely lacking the grand and spectacular momentum of Metal Knight, who casually experimented with missile launches.
Toys?
A thought struck him. It seemed the toy magnate Robert had taken a fancy to Child Emperor's research and development capabilities, while Child Emperor had his eyes on Robert's wealth. It was a perfect partnership.
However, now that Robert was dead, Child Emperor must be quite frustrated.
He chuckled inwardly.
Thanks to Maigret's breakneck speed, they arrived at the location of Robert's banquet in just over ten minutes. It was a toy fortress built in the likeness of a Steel-Armored Warrior—the exterior looked like the upper half of the warrior, a unique way to display the owner's distinctiveness.
Wee-woo, wee-woo!
Several police cars were parked at the entrance to Robert's mansion. Evidently, other officers had arrived earlier.
"Inspector Maigret."
When Maigret appeared, the officers guarding the entrance immediately came forward to salute.
Maigret frowned. "What's the situation?"
Robert was a celebrity in City Y. Once news of his murder spread, it would surely cause a public uproar, and the police department would be under immense pressure.
"Reporting to Inspector Maigret, the scene has been sealed off. All guests who attended the banquet are being detained. We are currently taking their statements one by one. At the same time, we are photographing the crime scene to collect evidence..."
The officer reported a slew of basic procedures.
After listening, Maigret nodded slightly. "Very good. I'm going in to take a look." With that, he led King into Robert's home. At that moment, the dozen or so guests who attended Robert's private banquet and the servants of the household were all gathered in the living room. Police officers were meticulously questioning them for information about the murder.
After following Maigret into the living room, King's gaze, hidden under his peaked cap, swept over the anxious "suspects." He immediately spotted Child Emperor sitting on the sofa, a lollipop in his mouth and a small backpack on, seemingly doing his homework. However, he could clearly see Child Emperor's little ears pricked up, listening in on the statements of the various "suspects." The pen in his hand hadn't moved in a long time. It seemed doing homework was just a pretense; eavesdropping on the statements was the real goal.
"Inspector Maigret."
As soon as Maigret arrived, he became the person in charge of the murder case. All the officers came to him for instructions on the next steps.
King had no interest in listening to the police's tedious affairs. He turned to find a quiet place to wait until the matter was resolved before leaving with Child Emperor.
"King, long time no see."
Child Emperor noticed King, put away his "homework," and walked over to him. He licked the lollipop in his hand, his small eyes sparkling as he looked at King with a dazzling gaze.
"Yeah, it has been a while."
King gave a very casual nod.
Child Emperor came over and sat down beside King, whispering slyly, "King, Mr. Robert helped me out a lot in the past. Now that he has died so tragically, I can't just sit by and do nothing. The person who harmed him must be hiding among the crowd. Who... do you think is the killer?"
King replied flatly, "I don't know." He leaned back, adopting a lazy posture, showing no intention of getting involved in solving the case.
Child Emperor glanced at King and lowered his voice, a hint of challenge in his tone, "Mr. Robert wasn't just a simple tycoon, you know. He was also a director of the Hero Association. His death could have a certain impact on the Association's finances. King, as an S-Class hero of the Association, don't you want to help shoulder some of its burdens? Or is it that King is completely clueless when it comes to case deductions?"
*Heh, King, when it comes to strength, I'd definitely lose to you. But, as a fellow S-Class hero, I have my own strengths, you know. In terms of intelligence, I'm outstanding among the S-Class heroes. Especially when it comes to case deductions, I'm a top-tier reasoning expert on a global scale.*
King glanced sideways at the beaming Child Emperor and shook his head. "Not interested."
"Is that so? Well, alright then. I'll go scout out the situation first. King, just wait for us a bit. Once I've cracked the case, we'll head back to the research institute."
Child Emperor was slightly disappointed. He had wanted to compete with King in case-deducing abilities. Who would have thought it would end in failure?
*Continuing to cover my face, not because I'm ugly, but because I'm afraid people will recognize me and beat me up.*
(end of chapter)