Chapter 1825: Confession

Once Larissa got Waveshot’s confession, everyone finally understood what had happened.

Waveshot had been young when his home was raided and burned down. His mother had been with him, holding him even as flames took over everything. He didn’t remember much from back then, only that the ghoul had been there and had confessed to his mother that he was the reason behind it all.

As such, the young man had left that day, thinking that the fire that had killed his mother had all been the work of the ghoul.

He hated the man, but he had believed him to have died, so there had been nothing he could do. As he aged, he also pulled himself away from the shadow of his father, making a good man out of himself.

However, when he had seen the man recently, all the past memories had flooded back, and he wanted revenge for what his mother had gone through.

He had made a meticulous plan and successfully attacked the old man, but when he finally got the old man to confess, something entirely different had come out.

The old man confessed that he loved Waveshot’s mother and that she loved him back. Waveshot’s father had been a monster, so the only way to get her away from his hands had been to betray the family. However, he hadn’t expected the situation to get so drastic, and she had lost her life in the fire.

The old man regretted losing her still and hadn’t found another woman since. He knew about Waveshot as well and was quite proud of him. He had newspaper clippings that he kept as a show of his pride.

Realizing the truth, Waveshot had left the old man unconscious and taken away the newspaper clippings. He hadn’t even thought to make it look like a robbery. He didn’t really know why he took them at all.

However, after hours of looking through them, the truth had become obvious. As such, he had gone to the hospital the next day to see how the old man was.

He hadn’t been there to kill him, but to make sure that he hadn’t been truly hurt.

Once the confession was fully received, the man was taken away. Larissa handed the report to the chief, who took off to inform the mayor of the situation.

Larissa watched as Waveshot was taken away, complicated emotions in her eyes.

Ning leaned on a desk next to her. "Do you think he deserves leniency?" he asked.

Larissa turned toward him. "You don’t?" she asked.

"I don’t have any particular thoughts," Ning said. "I might have considered it fair had the old man actually been responsible for his mother’s death, and while one could argue it’s his fault, I think he was blameless. He couldn’t have foreseen that."

"I suppose," Larissa said. "I feel bad for the man, but it’s hard to argue he didn’t harm someone innocent. At this point, I just feel bad for the old man. He’s still in a coma."

"I don’t think he’ll be in one for long," he said.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"Oh, uhh... that’s what those doctors in the hospital said. People wake up from these sorts of physical trauma-induced comas quite quickly," Ning said. "And since the old man is a ghoul, he has a sturdier physique than most."

Larissa thought for a bit and nodded. "Let’s just hope that’s true."

There was a bit of silence between them that grew uncomfortable.

"I think I should thank you."

"Remember how stupid you were, thinking it was a racial crime?"

Both froze, each for entirely different reasons.

Larissa’s thankful expression vanished as sharp eyes glared at Ning. "What did you say?"

Ning smiled a little, realizing he had said the wrong thing. "Oh, look. It’s getting dark. Isn’t it time we leave? I think it’s time we leave," he said as he quickly walked away.

"And where will you go without me?" Larissa asked, reminding Ning that she was his chauffeur for the time being.

Ning grimaced harder as he realized his situation and sighed as he returned to take on the onslaught of Larissa’s curses. In a way, he deserved it.

Mira finished her work and left by herself, while John had more work, so he stayed behind. As a Dragonborn, he could go on much longer without sleep, so he was mostly fine working for longer.

It had been a long day for Larissa as well, so she left for home, Ning tagging along.

The evening sky had grown dark as the sun had long since set, even the pink and orange hues long since disappearing. A crescent moon had appeared in the western sky with faintly glimmering stars beside it.

Ning sat quietly in the van for a while, as they were both too tired to talk. After a while, Ning pulled out something from his pocket, which Larissa caught a glance of.

"What’s that?" she asked.

Ning turned it toward her. "A business card. From that lawyer, Melly Orston."

"Huh? What does she want?" Larissa asked.

"To represent me, I believe," Ning said. "Her agency, I mean. The Star Hero Agency."

Larissa got quiet for a moment before blurting out a loud, "What?!"

Ning turned. "What?" he asked.

"She thinks you’re going to be a hero?" Larissa asked.

Ning grinned. "I did take down the 22nd Hero, didn’t I?" he asked.

"Yes, but..." Larissa tried to find something to say, but she failed to come up with anything viable. It was true that Ning had caught the hero all by himself.

"What about the job?" she asked after a while.

"Being a detective?" he asked.

She nodded. "As much as I hate the fact that I have to babysit you around, it’s no secret that you’re an impressive detective. It will be a loss for the force if you don’t come back."

Ning thought for a bit. "Well, I guess I have a few things to consider."