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>>5022990

Information:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/QM91m
Discord: https://discord.gg/AmjbaTR
Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=do+your+best+quest (Rough Grammar ‘till half of the 9th Thread)
Incomplete Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-nIx_dvaNCPQ7zLg2BK_ucCyGNM741kAANxqXj7hdDs/edit?usp=sharing

Votes:

Votes are counted until 25 minutes have passed. This rule doesn't apply to the last reply of the day.
Votes that require a dice roll are counted until 15 minutes have passed, so we can speed up the process. Rolls are counted until 10 minutes have passed, so be prepared!

(NEW) Dice Mechanic:

We always roll 1d100s!
Since most people weren’t happy with the system of averaging top four rolls, we’re using best of 2/3/4 depending on the attribute a prompt requires. If Johnny is a genius and it’s a Knowledge based roll, he gets more rolls (Max. 7)! If he sucks, he gets less dice (Min. 2)!

When asked for rolls, I will specify how many you’re going to get. Rolling begins after it’s asked.

Rolling 100 is a critical and ignores all other rolls! In the same vein, rolling 1 means a critical failure (only for Very Hard rolls and above).

The difficulty of the roll is tied with the effectiveness of the action. In other words, the harder the option the better the result!

Don’t forget that at the end of the day, this is a story-driven quest! What the prompts are describing is more important than the difficulty of the rolls, for results in a fight.

Again, rolls are only counted when they are posted within ten minutes of being asked, so watch out!

>Lift the TV in the air!

>>5022990
>>Lift the TV in the air!

>>5022990
>Turn off the TV.

>>5022990
>Turn off the TV.
>Shove the TV onto his head when he tries to turn it back on.

>>5022990
>Lift the TV in the air!

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Subtle hints never ever work on someone dense, those kinds of people are simply the worst, and nobody should like them! That’s what Scarlet always says! Time to up your game so he gets it.

“Ugh…” Liam is looking around, thinking in what place he left some extra batteries.

You make your move and start lifting the TV ever so slightly, slowly rising! It’s heavy, but you’re Athletic enough to not be bothered that much, resulting in the desired effects… It needed to be a few inches in the air for Liam to catch on.

“…” Liam stares in disbelief, petrified without moving an inch. He closes his eyes for a bit, like praying inside for this imagery to end, but as he opens them, he realizes nothing is going to change!

Ehm… Yeah, he’s scared, he knows something spooky is going on, he doesn’t want to give you any other hints though.

What do you do?

>Put the TV back down. And act like nothing happened.
>“Liam… I know what you’ve done… Now you’ll have to confess…” Act like a vengeful spirit.
>Smash the TV on the ground!
>Write In.

>>5023071
>>“Liam… I know what you’ve done… Now you’ll have to confess…” Act like a vengeful spirit.

>>Put the TV back down. And act like nothing happened.

Maybe. Just Maybe this'll work

>>5023071
>>“Liam… I know what you’ve done… Now you’ll have to confess…” Act like a vengeful spirit.

>>5023071
>Put the TV back down. And act like nothing happened.
>...before going up behind him and saying “Liam… I know what you’ve done… Now you’ll have to confess…” in a low voice.

>>5023084
supporting

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You slowly put the TV back down… then carefully approach Liam, so you can be close enough to whisper:

“Liam… I know what you’ve done… Now you’ll have to confess…” The return of the unnamed vengeful spirit is back!

Liam, still looking like he's shitting bricks, doesn’t move an inch, until he slowly starts relaxing.

“So that’s how it is…” Liam starts bobbing his head. All of the sudden, he launches his remote towards where you were standing just seconds ago, and bolts away towards the main door as clumsily as his desperation shows, which is not as fast as he wishes, you can intercept him if you like.

Point is the sniveling rat is trying to get away! He doesn’t know ghost etiquette unlike your favorite minion Ronda!

What do you do?

>“One step out of this building and you’re dead.” Threaten.
>Use Philonune to catch him and drop him back onto the recliner.
>Get ahead of him and grab the handle, so he can’t open the door.
>Write In.

>>5023116
>>Use Philonune to catch him and drop him back onto the recliner.

>>5023116
>>“One step out of this building and you’re dead.” Threaten.
Shove tv off stand to show the seriousness of the threat.

>>5023116
>>Get ahead of him and grab the handle, so he can’t open the door.

>>5023116
>Use Philonune to catch him and drop him back onto the recliner.
>Have him slowly bring Liam back to his recliner.

If Liam still somehow escapes us, follow up with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMk-HPBF6Mw

>>5023116
>Use Philonune to catch him and drop him back onto the recliner.

>>5023125
I can dig it

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Welp, the nose man wants to nosedive away from here, so you must stop him in the spookiest way possible. You’ll bring Philonune out for the job! Yeah, you know he can’t see him, but it’s going to feel so distinct he’ll think it’s some paranormal stuff! It’s all in the little details.

Without much fanfare, you bring your partner in all of his glory, he quickly grabs Liam by the collar and drags him onto the recliner in no time. Now the guy is stunned on the chair, breathing heavily and erratically, he knows he’s in big trouble…

“W-What’s going on? What do you want from me? To confess? Why should I confess? What do I have to confess about? Confession means I have done something, right? That’s what confessions are all about, you feel me? You don’t? I haven’t done anything, that’s the point, and the set and the match. So forget about it. I’ll forgive you if you leave. Leave. Yeah, screw you, whatever you are, I’ve done nothing! You know what you’re going to get forcing me to chit-chat like a bimbo gal at the bingo hall? Compliance! Not the truth! Sweet words with bad taste! You’ll get nothing useful. Nothing at all. You should be ashamed of doing this to me. YOU should be the one repenting, not me. I’ll forgive you if you say sorry.” Liam keeps talking like there is no end, fast as a bullet, and he would be right, his bullshit seems to be limitless.

“…Enough.” You make Philonune press him towards the recliner, then turn him back into flame form.

“S-S-Sorry.” Liam smiles. Eugh.

What do you do now?

>“Confess all your sins, but don’t extrapolate.” You just want to hear a concise list of his misdemeanors.
>“If you think I’m mistaken, please inform me why I’m here then.” You don’t get the wrath of an evil spirit just by being a good citizen.
>“Who’s the person in the force working with the Orphanage of the Blue? Tell me now.” Just get to the point, he’s not worth the hassle.
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the Day, we continue tomorrow!)

>>5023220
>“If you think I’m mistaken, please inform me why I’m here then.” You don’t get the wrath of an evil spirit just by being a good citizen.

>>5023220
>>Make Philo slap him so his smile will vanish. Just a little, so it will sting.
>“If you think I’m mistaken, please inform me why I’m here then.” You don’t get the wrath of an evil spirit just by being a good citizen.
>>Every time he’s trying to bullshit us, slap him. You will know when it’s bullshit.

>>5023220
>>“If you think I’m mistaken, please inform me why I’m here then.” You don’t get the wrath of an evil spirit just by being a good citizen.

I want to see how complicated his mental and linguistic gymnastics can get

>>5023220
>>“If you think I’m mistaken, please inform me why I’m here then.” You don’t get the wrath of an evil spirit just by being a good citizen.

>>5023220
>“If you think I’m mistaken, please inform me why I’m here then.” You don’t get the wrath of an evil spirit just by being a good citizen.

>>5023220
>>“Confess all your sins, but don’t extrapolate.” You just want to hear a concise list of his misdemeanors.
Why even waste time on him?

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“If you think I’m mistaken, please inform me why I’m here then.” You deadpan, hoping the ironic tone isn’t lost on Liam. If a vengeful spirit is after your bum ass, it’s for a reason. Or not. Horror movies usually aren’t about bad people suffering, just random people. But you’re the one writing this script!

“O-Of course, you’re mistaken! Who hasn’t slept on the job and got one or two things wrong? To err is human. To nap freely is for the Gods. Can’t say how this saying works for you.” Liam is a full-blown windbag. “Why are you here? Simple. You know well enough, I'm an agent of righteousness, and you’re a tool who seeks justice. As a fellow egalitarian, you came here for my guideness.” Liam meant guidance there… “My reputation precedes me; I was so exceptional you couldn’t believe it! You had to test me. And evidently, I passed with flying colors! You’re here to become my tool to punish those my righteous judgment sees fit!” Liam is too full of himself…

“…” You really want to say something right now, but you’re waiting for the right moment.

“We have a lot of work to do, friend! I’m gonna call you Chuck; you don’t mind, right, Chuck? There are many undesirables out there that need to get their just desserts! Many cases that need to be solved! Many mysteries that need answers! And I’m going to do it.” Liam is excited. “I know where to start: There is this little devil that went missing, a high school girl from a foster home, it’s likely the lil’ leech is fooling around with a good boy from an honest household. Too dumb to realize now that this girl is nothing but trouble, but once he does, he’s gonna ditch her like everyone else does.” Liam chuckles like a creep. “But the lil’ devil is not what matters. It’s her pig caretaker who does. That woman is always looking down on people, on me, even after I’ve been so gentlemanly with her! Always respectful, I give you my word! I don’t know how she does it with her balloons in the way, I’m not complaining about those, but you feel me?”

“Anyway she’s a pig, you don’t get those that big without porking out every day, though when I felt her up, her bum was firm. She broke my fingers, but that’s when I knew she was no good. I need to get close to her, gain her trust, so I can stab her in the back. I’m tired of being nice to her, to hell with my orders. She’s a pinata waiting to be smashed in more ways than one. She’s a shady individual, I don’t have any evidence, but I’m not stupid, the signs are there. I take her down and I get promoted, and it’s life back in the city away from this dump! You feel me? Of course you do, Chuck. You’re smart, you’re with me.”

>>5024193


“I have no clue where the lil’ devil is, so maybe we can start with something else. This town is full of issues. The police station? It’s full of crooks. The school? Full of ‘em. Even the farmers are corrupt, I don’t even know how but it’s like they are growing bad weed on purpose. Honestly, you have great timing, Chuck. We’ll take over the world by storm.” Liam thinks he has spun this around…

How do you respond?

>“What’s wrong with the Police Station? And the school? And the town?” You wanna hear Liam’s point of view for some reason.
>“You admitted to a lot of misdemeanors by accident, but those don’t count as a confession. You better stop fooling around before I break every single one of your bones.” Threaten harshly.
>“So where do we begin?” Play along. Why? Who knows? Maybe betraying him later will be funny.
>Write In.

>>5024194
>>“You admitted to a lot of misdemeanors by accident, but those don’t count as a confession. You better stop fooling around before I break every single one of your bones.” Threaten harshly.

>>5024193
My man over here lookin like a tiny elvis with that hair

>>5024194

>“You admitted to a lot of misdemeanors by accident, but those don’t count as a confession. You better stop fooling around before I break every single one of your bones.” Threaten harshly.

>Write In.“What do you mean by orders? Are you saying there’s more little troublemakers besides you and that orphanage director?”

>>5024194
>“You admitted to a lot of misdemeanors by accident, but those don’t count as a confession. You better stop fooling around before I break every single one of your bones.” Threaten harshly.
>"And then I'll break your TV and radio, so you'll have no choice but to think about what you've ACTUALLY done. WITH NOTHING TO DISTRACT YOU. EXCEPT ME."

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“You admitted to a lot of misdemeanors by accident, but those don’t count as a confession. You better stop fooling around before I break every single one of your bones.” You threaten harshly! “And then I’ll break your TV and radio, so you’ll have no choice but to think about what you’ve actually done. With nothing to distract you, except me.”

“Y-You d-d-don’t have t-t-to do t-that.” Liam is frozen in fear.

“You’re giving me reasons to.” You point out.

“C-Calm down, C-Chuck.”

“Don’t call me Chuck.” You furrow your eyebrows. Liam can’t see it, but he can feel it! You have enough with being called Jonathan every now and then!

“I-I don’t know what to say. Confess what? You said I admitted something, but I-I haven’t done a thing. Use your brain, I-I told you, i-if you torture me you’re not going to get the truth b-but what you want to hear. And I swear bones breaking don’t create a nice melody!” Liam is too self-absorbed to know what he did wrong.

“You admitted to sexually harassing that woman you call a pig.” You point out.

“Don’t be so dramatic, it’s just a little touch. And a misunderstanding too. It was around the time we met, she leaned onto me saying stuff about needing protection, and how dangerous this place was, and how much she was counting on me to protect her. She wasn’t subtle about it. I’m not into hags like her, but pitied her and that’s what I got. We made up shortly after, we both misunderstood the situation. Life goes on, and all that.” Liam shrugs like he didn't do anything bad. “You can punch me right now, and I’ll change my story, but you’ll know deep down that ain’t what you want.”

“What do you mean by orders? Are you saying there’s more little troublemakers besides you and that orphanage director?” You’ll have to ask specific questions if you want information to arise.

“Orders as in actual orders by the station. My boss, that sweet Lt. van Zullekom wanted me to be that Pig’s lapdog. The Foster Home hag always went straight to her, ignoring everyone else like she immediately needed to talk to the manager. Boss was tired of her and ditched her over to me. I can tell that hag still resents me for being a straightforward casanova, but dealing with her earned me some favors with the higher-ups. Lieutenant always asks me about what’s going on with Ophelia, I mean, the Pig, I can tell that Kitty feels guilty about ditching her on me.” Liam doesn’t seem to be lying, at least, not on purpose – he’s only misrepresenting the events related to him as a person… “I swear on my badge that is the whole truth! Look, err, Mister. There are far more worse cops in the station than me that deserve some justice too, I could recommend you visit them instead, like right now, this slimeball Kobashi is just a piece of shit, perfect for this treatment.”

>>5024273

By the way Liam is saying it, this Lieutenant is the one Kobashi suspects of, but it doesn’t seem like she’s in cahoots with Ophelia. That's if you believe Liam, or believe that he’s not dumb enough to get tricked.

What do you do?

>Break Liam’s nose and leave. Your job here is done.
>“Liam, you need to confess everything. Just tell me about all the women you have improperly touched. Anyone you have taken advantage of. Anyone you failed to beat up after trying to act all tough. And start begging for mercy.” You need him to repent!
>“Tell me about what Ophelia asks out of you.” You need more clues!
>Write In.

>>5024276
>>“Tell me about what Ophelia asks out of you.” You need more clues!

>>5024276
>“Tell me about what Ophelia asks out of you.” You need more clues!

>>5024273
>“Tell me about what Ophelia asks out of you.” You need more clues!

>>5024276
>"You've forgotten about the school students you harassed and tried to harass.
>“Tell me about what Ophelia asks out of you.” You need more clues!

>>5024276
>“Tell me about what Ophelia asks out of you.” You need more clues!
>Write In.
Tell me a bit more about this, Lt. van Zullekom, has she giving you an other orders like keeping an eye on any of your colleagues.

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“Tell me about what Ophelia asks out of you.” You need to find more clues to make this worth it.

“That Dirty Pig? I haven’t been fully honest with you. But our relationship is more complicated than I let you know at first. She’s enthralled by my presence, throwing hints any chance she has, but stops herself before going too far. She knows she can’t give me an inch or else she’ll fall victim to her womanly desires. That little inch that’s going to be a reality once I find her little devil. I’m too much of a professional to take advantage of that though, no matter how diabolical she is, and deserves to be toyed with.” Liam’s world view is more skewed than many of the main characters in Nariko’s dramas. You saw these two interact, it was nothing like he says.

“That wasn’t the point of my question and you know it. Now stop lying.” You heckle Liam for being himself. Liam didn’t like his dream scenario to be cut off like that.

“S-S-Sorry… I’ll stay on topic, even if what I said is nothing more than the truth…” Even if he’s annoyed, Liam knows it’s not a good idea to cross you. “In my own opinion, she only talks about a bunch of rubbish. She was complaining to me about creeps walking around during the night, drunk guys, suspicious vehicles, finding cassette tapes on her property. Like, her husband likes gardening and they kept finding them. Before their stupid Foster Home was built, there was a tiny clandestine radio station that was demolished. Naturally, those tapes were buried by the guys who owned that place. Then she talks about the horoscope, I don’t follow that stuff, just ramblings about the position of the planets, the position of her tarot cards like the Silent angels, Blockhead Knights, Beak Peasants, Little Bishops, demons and I don’t know. Lt. van Zullekom is fascinated by eccentric people so she loves hearing about this idiocy, naturally she gives more importance to the hag’s actual complaints. But it’s all nonsense.” Liam really detests talking about this. “T-That’s all I know; I swear on my mom! I’m not trying to hide anything!”

“Tell me a bit more about this Lt. van Zullekom. Has she giving you other orders like keeping an eye on any of your colleagues?” You’ll follow this lead.

“Yeah, the guy I mentioned before, Kobashi. That pudding-head doesn’t have history, he has a criminal record, so to speak. I’m not aware of anyone but me that knows about this, I’m van Zullekom’s right hand man after all. He’s lucky I respect a fellow officer’s duty and throw him under the bus.” Liam really doesn’t like Kobashi one bit.

>>5024379

“And when it became apparent that he has ties with another coworker, I was supposed to check on her too. And I did check on her, if you know what I mean.” Liam wiggles his eyebrows in the creepiest fashion possible. “I think I’ve said enough, you don’t need her name, right? She’s another passerby in this big story. No one important. I said the station was crooked, but that’s everyone from the detective upwards. The ones in the field, we stick by each other. Except Kobashi, he’s too much of a handful, he was brought here to punish us for something van Zullekom must be hiding. I’m sure of it.”

“You didn’t actually say much about your lieutenant.” You point out.

“What is there to say about that Kitty?” Liam got all defensive all of the sudden. Like, he was all carefree before, but now he’s different... “Do you think she has ties with Ophelia?”

It seems Liam has realized that he was being used for something…

What do you do?

>Punch him in the nose and leave. You got enough information.
>“Tell me more about this van Zullekom now.” You think he’s hiding something.
>“If she does, what are you going to do about it?” By the sound of it, it is the case…
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the Day, we continue tomorrow!)

>>5024383
>“Tell me more about this van Zullekom now.” You think he’s hiding something.

>>5024383
>>“Tell me more about this van Zullekom now.” You think he’s hiding something.

>>5024383
>>“Tell me more about this van Zullekom now.” You think he’s hiding something.
>>“If she does, what are you going to do about it?” By the sound of it, it is the case…

>>5024816
+1

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“Tell me more about this van Zullekom now.” You think Liam must be hiding something.

“Y-You didn’t have to ignore me! I mean S-Sorry… I meant to say Y-Yes! F-Force of habit! Just don’t hurt me…” Liam is still afraid of his life to complain properly. “Really, t-there isn’t much about that Kitty, and even if there was, I-I’m her right-hand man, I won’t betray her.”

You smack his stupid glorified toupee to make your point.

“E-Easy with the hair, Jimbo! I’ll talk! I’ll talk! You only had to ASK!” Liam acts like you threatened his firstborn… “You want dirt on that muttonhead? Fine. She’s so incompetent she had it coming! Naïve kitties like her have no business bossing me around, this is all her fault…”

“Just talk...” You’re really losing your patience here.

“Talk about what? Her favorite food? Her loving lunatics? Her plain personality? Her incompetence in charge? Her terrible man management? Why she’s here working in a town nobody cares about? About her demotion? Her personal issues with the gluck-gluck-gluck?” Liam pretends to be drinking something. “Or more interesting stuff like her measurements? Those meaty thighs and the type of underwear she uses… Oh boy…” Liam gets all excited.

“You’re trying to distract me from something again, and I won’t have it. Now stop fooling around and use your brain, tell me what I want to know.” You stop his idiocy one last time before you retort to other methods.

“I-I didn’t want to o-offend you! M-My mistake! J-Just give me a moment…” Liam is thinking about where to start. “Yeah, I haven’t been completely honest with you again. I know this will come out as a surprise, but I haven’t always been one of the most reputable police officers around. Vanessa, that’s the kitty’s name, saved my career. I don’t think you like hearing me quack, so I’ll just say I was in deep trouble after a case went awry while I was working at the capital. I was going to lose my badge, but van Zullekom was visiting and attended my trial, and asked for me to be transferred to her station instead of throwing me to jail. She had some sway in the city after working as the Commander there for a while.” Liam looks away, he doesn’t sound too happy about this. “What’s important here is that Vanessa took the heat away from me. Any mistake I make from this point onwards, she’ll be held responsible too. Vanessa has a strong belief anyone can turn things around, that anyone can repent, and she’s willing to stick her head on the line for it. That’s what kind of person Vanessa is.” It appears that Liam has some loyalty towards van Zullekom.

“…” Again, you asked about van Zullekom specifically, not Liam’s life story, but it was connected somewhat this time.

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>>5025456

“…The kind of person who doesn’t see beyond her reach, the stupid bitch. I had a strong case in my favor, I wasn’t going to be punished. But instead of letting the trial continue, she spoke up and doomed me. A ghost like you doesn’t have a way to know, but moving to a little town is a death sentence to a policeman’s career. You never get noticed no matter how much work you do! All cases are unimportant to the Ministry of Justice! All bad apples are thrown to the countryside, it’s like purgatory! She had the best intentions but she brought me to hell with her.”

“Uhm…” You think with how self-centered Liam is, he didn’t have that much of a case…

“Who wants to be in this hellhole?! It’s all full of disgusting leeches! They flock around my dick the moment I even insinuate I’m a regular! It’s pathetic! Why would I settle with one of these dimwits?! They are not even that hot, not even close to the pieces of meat I can get in the city! And I have to be nice to these parasites, it’s nasty! I want to be around normal people again!” Liam acts all disgusted. “I live in this hut with barely any electricity, I have nothing to do, all I see is corn around me, it’s boring! And it’s all van Zullekom’s fault. And that muttonhead has the audacity to lecture me, guide me and act like my mentor! Trying to fix me. Treating me like I did something wrong. I’m 20 times the police officer she is! So I’ve been plotting, waiting for my moment, I have the means to make her do my bidding… I have pictures of her making an ass of herself, and said ass as well. I send them to my superiors and her life is over. It’s an eye for an eye world, and I just want justice for what she did to me. Like you, I wanted her to confess and repent, beg with her head down and apologize. But this bitch has the audacity, the hubris, to be actually nice to me… She’s so naïve it makes my blood boil! I just… I just can’t hurt that damn Kitty… She made me pop tarts, I-I can’t hate someone like that… But she has been using me, right? She’s working with this witch Ophelia, right?”

“If she does, what are you going to do about it?” You raise an eyebrow. Liam can’t see it obviously, but it’s the intention that matters.

“Well, duh, I’ll have my revenge! If she’s not evil I’ll see how much I can take before making a decision. But yes, revenge is still in the cards. You wanna know why I told you all that, you heard my story, my struggle, my unjust downfall. I know you want to take her down. You want to bring her punishment. Pain. Her just desserts, right? Do it. Impart righteous punishment Go! Don’t let me stop ya!” Liam opens his arms wide, smiling from ear to ear.

>>5025459


What do you do?

>Punch him in the nose, then beat him up. He wanted you to impart righteous punishment…
>Just leave, you don’t want to hear this lunatic anymore.
>“Why can’t you just admit it’s all your fault, you idiot?” Stop his horse properly.
>“You really don’t want to answer my god damn questions properly, huh?” You. Want. The. Info.
>“Where are you keeping these pictures of your boss?” Call Kobashi in, he can inspect the place to find Liam’s blackmailing weapons.
>Write In.


(Only reply of the day, I took way too long with this and I'm sorry for that. We'll continue tomorrow though!)

>>5025460
>>“Where are you keeping these pictures of your boss?” Call Kobashi in, he can inspect the place to find Liam’s blackmailing weapons.
>Punch him in the nose, then beat him up. He wanted you to impart righteous punishment…

>>5025460
>Knock him out. Violently.
>Find those photos and destroy them.

>>5025460
>“Where are you keeping these pictures of your boss?” Call Kobashi in, he can inspect the place to find Liam’s blackmailing weapons.
>Punch him in the nose, then beat him up. He wanted you to impart righteous punishment…
Make sure to Knock him out so Kobashi can search without being found out.

>>5025460 #
>“Where are you keeping these pictures of your boss?” Call Kobashi in, he can inspect the place to find Liam’s blackmailing weapons.
>Punch him in the nose, then beat him up. He wanted you to impart righteous punishment…

>>5025460
I don't think violence is the right way to go yet. I kind of suspect he might be luring us into beating him up, he's a scumbag...but a clever enough scumbag that he becomes a fairly high ranking policeman in Pokyo Lokyo later in life.

I think we've gotten as much info out of him as we're likely to get and now we should turn him towards our own ends.

For one thing, since we know that the officer that busts this case gets discriminated against Liam is an excellent candidate for that. He's greedy enough and wants to get back to the city so he'd love to do it as well. It'd be difficult to get him to do that if we beat him up right now though.

>>5025482
Changing
>“Where are you keeping these pictures of your boss?” Call Kobashi in, he can inspect the place to find Liam’s blackmailing weapons.
>Write In.
Give him a wet Willy make him believe it’s some sort of curse pact and say that Kobashi will be used to invoke justice while Liam can get all the credit by pretending to act the usual without mention of what occurred tonight otherwise the *curse* will activate.
Since of of what >>5025700
said

>>5025460
>“Where are you keeping these pictures of your boss?” Call Kobashi in, he can inspect the place to find Liam’s blackmailing weapons.
>Punch him in the nose, then beat him up. He wanted you to impart righteous punishment…

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“Where are you keeping these pictures of your boss?” You need to make sure this evidence isn’t in his hands anymore.

“Why do you need them? Isn’t my story enough? Do you think I’m making this up? Do you really need evidence to move on? How antiquated! Fellow soldiers of justice must believe in one another. Take my word and stop being so incredulous, you... whatever you are!” Liam says it with visible contempt for you.

“You’re right, I don’t know why I’m asking. I demand you to tell me where they are.” You’re not used to being bossy. You remember being pretty impolite when angered, you wonder what changed.

“R-R-R-R-Right! So-So-Sorry!” Liam remembers his place in this world. “I-I can’t show them even if I want to. Y-You’re the one keeping me here. N-Now, if you let me go…”

“Tell me where.” You stomp on the floor.

“AAAaacck! T-There is a l-loose plank under my b-bed! Remove it, and you’ll find what you’re looking for!” Liam puts his hands to protect his hair… “Then you’ll see that Liam Patel’s word is just as reliable as everyone says…! You’ll trust me! And then you’ll do it, right, Chuck? You’re going to show the world the true meaning of the word justice! Hyuck-hyahaha—! BLAH!!”

You punched Liam in the nose with enough force that when he impacts the recliner with his body, they both fall backwards.

“V-VHAT?! V-V-VHAT AVE YOU DOINV?!” Liam’s blood is plugging his nose, he’s crawling away, cleaning the blood with his t-shirt. He’s trying to make as much noise as he can, but he can’t scream that loudly with the blood pouring out. “VHY AVE YOU DOINV THIS?!!”

“Imparting righteous punishment.” You shrug as you kick his arm.

“BLAAAH…! V-V-VHAT DO YOU M-MEAV…? VHY?! VHY?! VHYYY?! D-DON’V HUVT ME!!” Liam is covering his hair again… “HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH…! bleh…….…”

You knock out the perverted cop with the Secret Spice Technique to render people unconscious without causing brain damage… no matter how much you dislike this guy. You prefer not listening to him anymore.

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>>5026440

“What’s going on?!” Suddenly, Kobashi bursts in somehow, flashlight on and surveying the interior! All the screaming might have set him off even if it was subdued a little by the circumstances…

You hide behind the recliner, take your invisibility veil off, and come out of nowhere.

“I-It’s me, calm down. I was about to call you in here anyway.” You raise your arms. “Don’t tell me you broke the door…”

“Huh? I did not. Don’t tell anybody, but the locks from all police officers’ houses are pretty similar. I just used my key.” Kobashi smiles like a dork. W-Why didn't he say that before? You were planning on sneaking in… “Hey, that’s not important! What happened here?!” Kobashi closes the door behind him.

“Long story short, I did it!” You give two big thumbs up towards Kobashi.

“You did what? Kill him?!” Kobashi puts the spotlight on Liam’s corpse.

“He’ll be fiiine.” Maybe violence for the sake of violence isn’t a great idea in a sneaking mission. “Check on him just in case.” You scratch your cheek. “But no, I got the information we wanted and a little more, and I need you to investigate that little more.”

“I stopped the bleeding.” Kobashi sits Liam’s corpse on the floor. Liam has like two large sockets on his nose holes… You wonder if Liam can breathe like that… You’ll trust Kobashi on this one. “What are you talking about? Investigate what?”

“Check under the bed, there must be a loose plank, look under it. You’ll understand once you see it.” You adjust your glasses. You’ll earn Kobashi’s trust with this again. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t die. And trust me, he’ll be out for a while, but nothing bad will happen to him.”

Kobashi drops Liam like a sack of potatoes and goes to check what you told him. Well, if Kobashi does something like that, something bad will happen to Liam… Not like you care that much.

“This is…” Kobashi moves the plank away and pulls something out from the hole. “His porn stash!”

“Eh…?” There are a bunch of posters like those around, why would he be hiding these?! Wait, that’s not the point! It’s not what you were talking about. “That’s not it. Please look carefully.”

“Just videotapes and magazines… Wait, under the cloth! There is a safe door buried in the ground.” Kobashi has detective abilities after all. “Is this it?”

“Yeah.” You know that’s where Liam is hiding his blackmailing pictures.

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>>5026442

“Where’s the key?” Kobashi asks for an important element of this puzzle.

“Ehm…” You have enough knowledge to put together a possibility. He’s vain, but… “He was always defending his hair, so…” You start looking inside Liam’s glorified toupee… And find a tiny key. “Here.” You throw it at Kobashi, he almost didn’t catch it…

“What the…” Kobashi takes many pictures from the safe.

“I’ll tell you everything when we’re back, but the gist of it is that he was planning on blackmailing your boss with those.” You got what you wanted.

“You’re right… the Lieutenant is here too…” Kobashi can’t believe his eyes.

“W-What do you mean too…?” You don’t wanna really hear it.

“There are more people than our boss here.” Kobashi is dead serious. “We’re taking him to the station, I need to lock him up. You’ll explain what happened on our way there.”

Maybe you were just a tiny bit too nice to Liam just now…

What do you do?

>“Sure. Let’s go.” You’ll follow his orders.
>“It’s going to be faster if we use the Camper.” It’s going to be strange that the Camper is taking prisoners, but hey, it’s faster.
>“Take him alone, it’ll be weird if I go along. I’ll wait in the camper.” You don’t need to overcomplicate things.
>Write In.

>>5026443
>>“Sure. Let’s go.” You’ll follow his orders.

>>5026443
>Consider pushing the TV off the stand onto Liam's nuts, before regretfully deciding that you don't have time.
>“Sure. Let’s go.” You’ll follow his orders.

>>5026443
>“Sure. Let’s go.” You’ll follow his orders.

>>5026443
>“Sure. Let’s go.” You’ll follow his orders.

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“Sure, let’s go.” For a second there, you considered pushing the TV off the stands right onto Liam’s nuts. Too bad you don’t have the time…

After Kobashi took the evidence, he handcuffed Liam, then you two had to carry him together to the bike. The logistics on how to take him to the station sparked an interesting discussion. You proposed to tie him up to the back, and drag him, but Kobashi said he had no rope. So, you put him in between Kobashi and yourself by the side… Yeah, it wasn’t that interesting, but you wanted to talk about your proposal.

On the way, you explained to Kobashi what happened with Liam and what you learned about him, von Zullekom and Ophelia. Your fellow cook didn’t know how to react to this new information, he wasn’t pleased, he even looked irritated, but he still thanked you for going through with this. In his words, you did everyone in the community a favor.

You two rushed inside the cell room as quickly as you could, and threw Liam inside, locking him up for good. You were noticed by the sole police officer in the station, poor guy is working late, and he didn’t seem that interested in asking what’s going on – despite looking a tiny bit surprised.

As Kobashi puts the evidence he took from Liam on his desk, before you can discuss what to do next, the other officer informs Kobashi that he called their Lieutenant van Zullekom to inform her about the arrest of one of her own officers, and she’s coming over immediately.

It seems something big is bound to happen at this station…

What do you do?

>Stay here and be there for Kobashi.
>Ask Kobashi where his Lieutenant’s home is so you can investigate it too.
>Say Goodbye to Kobashi, and tell him you’re going to meet tomorrow morning when he can.
>Write In.

>>5026522
>>Stay here and be there for Kobashi.

>>5026522
>Stay here and be there for Kobashi.
>Write In.
See if there are any pictures of interest that we should keep in our person incase the pics get confiscated, before the lieutenant arrives.

>>5026522
>Stay here and be there for Kobashi.

>>5026522
>Stay here and be there for Kobashi.

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And since something big is bound to happen, you’re going to stay here and witness it! But not just as a passerby, you’ll participate! After all, you need to support Kobashi in this. You’re surprised this Lieutenant is willing to deal with this at this hour at night, sounds like a committed lady to her job, or there might be other reasons…

You thought for a minute if you could see if there are any pictures of interest that you should take, in case they get all confiscated before the boss arrives, but if Kobashi doesn’t mention anything, and they seem to be lewd in nature, you don’t feel that comfortable doing it. You’ll be on your toes though if something happens to them to prevent it. It’s all evidence to take Liam down…

Minutes passed, and Kobashi offered you a cup of coffee, you declined it, you’re tired, not sleepy. The other officer seems a little annoyed that you’re staying; it doesn't help that he’s bothered that Kobashi is working this late too. The pastry cop pays no mind to him and keeps reviewing the evidence…

Lieutenant Vanessa van Zullekom has arrived after several minutes of waiting, Kobashi was about to stand up, but her boss raises her hand, asking him to wait for her. She approaches the other officer, the one who called her, he informs her again about what happened just now, everything single detail the guy can remember. With that done, Lt. van Zullekom approaches you two on her lonesome.

“Salutations, my dear fellows!” Lt. van Zullekom greets you two full of energy, arms open wide, like coming in for a hug… then immediately yawns and covers her mouth. “I’m so, so, so, sorry. I’m not used to being awake at these hours.”

“Sorry for bringing trouble this late!” Kobashi salutes apologetically.

“No, Kobashi! I know you must have good reasons!” Lt. van Zullekom raises both hands in front of her and acts surprised. She’s… odd. “You understand how severe it is to arrest another fellow law enforcer.” She nods to herself with a smile on her face. “And who’s this bright man?”

“I’m Phil Noon, I’m new in town, nice to meet you.” You’re polite, even if you don’t know if she’s part of Ophelia’s plotting or not.

“New in town? How come I didn’t know about this?!” Lt. van Zullekom raises both hands in front of her, acting surprised again. “A warm willkommen! I’m Vanessa van Zullekom, I’m the highest police authority in town. We’ll do everything in our power to keep you and our fellow townsfolk safe! But… why are you here?”

“He helped me with Officer Liam’s arrest, Lieutenant.” Kobashi informs, albeit not poorly.

“He did… Whaaat?!” Lt. van Zullekom is losing her marbles. She turns to you. “Tell… me… that… you like poptarts!”

“Huh, I do?” You think?

“Apology Poptarts are on the way!” Lt. van Zullekom is robotically bowing in shame.

>>5026522
>Stay here and be there for Kobashi.

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>>5026605

“I-It’s fine, I don’t want a midnight snack.” You scratch the back of your head.

“I’m so out of focus I’m offering to cook at these hours.” Lt. van Zullekom facepalms.

“Yeah, no offense, but I think you should worry about what happened with Liam instead…” You try not to sound rude.

“I’m so out of focus I forgot why I’m here in the first place.” Lt. van Zullekom facepalms again…

“Should I give you my report, ma’am?” Kobashi is ready to tackle this issue.

“In front of a civilian?” Lt. van Zullekom looks troubled. “And I thought I was the one out of focus!” She giggles.

“Phil should be considered a witness and vital participant in this arrest.” Kobashi gets all serious.

“You locked up Officer Patel, correct? Were you two tired of his tiny peccadillos?” Lt. van Zullekom is assuming it’s not a big deal. “I think waking up in that cell in his underwear tomorrow morning is punishment enough. It will give him the scare he needs to reconsider his actions.”

“He went farther than that.” Kobashi smashes his desk, scaring everyone in the room. He’s not playing around. “He’s a menace to our society.”

“Calm down, Officer. You’ve become agitated.” Lt. van Zullekom gets serious as well. “Don’t forget Officer Liam Patel is one of the most highly regarded members of this squad. We cannot allow the town’s public opinion to sway against us. We have worked a lot to regain our fellow townsmen’s trust after what the past leadership did to this town. Depending on your case, I’ll see if it’s necessary to relocate Officer Patel to another station or not. But he won’t stay in jail. We’ll discuss this matter tomorrow evening, understood?”

You feel like a civilian shouldn’t hear this… Maybe that’s what Kobashi tried to do? Put her on the spot? Kobashi doesn’t know how to respond, but you can tell he wants to push this issue now. And above all, you know Liam needs to stay in jail.

What do you do?

>“You're trying to hide your connection to Ophelia, aren’t you?” Unset the Lieutenant.
>“Listen, Ms. van Zullekom, I don’t think anyone actually likes the guy…” Convince her that Liam is not important!
>“You know I heard what you just said, and I can tell everyone that you’re trying to hide what he did, right?” You are right here…
>“I think you’re going to reconsider after seeing this!” Grab Lt. van Zullekom’s pic of her butt and show it to her!
>Maybe Lt. van Zullekom is right and it’s better to leave this for tomorrow. You need sleep!
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the Day, we continue tomorrow!)

>>5026607
>“Listen, Ms. van Zullekom, I don’t think anyone actually likes the guy…” Convince her that Liam is not important!

>>5026607
>“Listen, Ms. van Zullekom, I don’t think anyone actually likes the guy…” Convince her that Liam is not important!

>>5026607
>“I think you’re going to reconsider after seeing this!” Grab Lt. van Zullekom’s pic of her butt and show it to her!

>>5026607
>“You know I heard what you just said, and I can tell everyone that you’re trying to hide what he did, right?” You are right here…
>“I think you’re going to reconsider after seeing this!” Grab Lt. van Zullekom’s pic of her butt and show it to her!

>>5026608
>>5026615
I don't think she'll regard this as holding weight, coming from someone who just moved here. Also I suspect Liam was fairly well liked, among Regulars not CoTF.

>>5026607
>>5026605
I wonder if Liam's game was to get beaten up so that if Zullekom/Ophelia come out on top then he'd not catch much shit since he could claim having been coerced...

>>5026607
>>“I think you’re going to reconsider after seeing this!” Grab Lt. van Zullekom’s pic of her butt and show it to her!

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“Hold it, Lieutenant. I don’t think you can leave this issue for tomorrow.” It’s time for you to step up, you can’t let Liam be free after all he was plotting to do.

“Oh! You were listening?! I goofed up!” Lt. van Zullekom is discombobulated once again! “I’m so out of focus I forgot that you’re here, Mr. Noon!” She’s also so out of focus, she keeps repeating herself! “Pay no mind! This is no matter for a civvy to be concerned about! You’ve done a great service to this community, but please do not feel responsible to keep pursuing this issue any longer. We’re going to deal with it to the best of our abilities.” She salutes, and for some reason, Kobashi does as well, and for some reason, the other officer at his desk salutes as well…

“Please listen to what he has to say, Lieutenant. He has good reasons to speak up.” Kobashi has his trust in you as he keeps saluting. Damn, it’s a lot of pressure…

“Time and time again, you've proved yourself reliable, Kobashi, even if you misplace your trust every now and then. I’ll give our new neighbor one chance.” Lt. van Zullekom wants to be fair! She turns to you. “If you fail to convince me now, I invite you to our meeting tomorrow. I want you to witness our procedures, the last thing I want is for a good citizen to lose his trust in us. Time is of the essence, so be concise. Please, tell me the reason why you think this matter should be solved immediately? Why should I reconsider?”

“Well…” You grab the evidence Kobashi found in Liam’s safe! Kobashi realizes what you’re trying to do but it’s too late for him to stop you. “I think you’re going to reconsider after seeing this!” You show her the evidence! You drop the bombshell!

“W-Wait…!” Kobashi is in a state of shock.

“You put hers first, right?” You remember seeing Kobashi putting the pics you think are hers on top when you mentioned van Zullekom was going to be blackmailed with them. Despite him being petrified, he slowly nods… “Those were in Officer Liam’s possession.”

“…………………………………” the Lieutenant is redder than a tomato. Impressive. “I’m… so… so… so.. sorry… I’m not used to being awake... at these hou—"

Oh no, the Lieutenant is about to lose consciousness! You were quick enough to grab her before she collapsed, but she passed out in your arms! Hell, you were the only one who moved because Kobashi was still in shock, and the other officer wasn’t even paying attention. You’re getting good at carrying girls around...

“H-Hey, what happened?!” The other officer realizes something bad happened.

“She fainted; she was too exhausted, the stress must’ve gotten to her.” Kobashi improvises.

“Ugh, I told her not to come over…” The officer rolls his eyes. “Should I call an ambulance...?”

You’re kinda bothered he doesn’t seem to care that much…

>>5027328


What do you do?

>Take van Zullekom to her office.
>Call an Ambulance. Liam will stay in jail if she doesn’t say a peep anyway.
>Take her to the hospital yourselves.
>Let Kobashi handle this.
>Write In.

>>5027330
>>Take her to the hospital yourselves.

>>5027330
>Take her to the hospital yourselves

>>5027330
>Take van Zullekom to her office
Fainting like this really isn't anything to go to the hospital over.

>>5027330
>Take her to the hospital yourselves.

>>5027328
>Take van Zullekom to her office.

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“We can take her there, can’t we?” You propose instead of wasting taxpayers money. Her fainting like this isn’t that serious, right? You put the Blackmail evidence in your big hoodie pockets.

“We could…” Kobashi isn’t that sure if this is a good idea.

“Yeah, an ambulance causing a ruckus at these hours is going to bring unwanted attention.” Man, this officer couldn’t care less about his boss. “We don’t want the neighbors snooping around.”

“We’ll be taking her then.” Kobashi reluctantly agrees to do this. “Make sure Liam doesn’t leave that jail, you hear me?”

“Will you make some donuts tomorrow?” The officer is a living stereotype… from foreigner films! Why is he acting like this?

“Sure!” Kobashi loves cooking.

“Man is going nowhere.” The policeman winks. This is the type of corruption you hate to see…

Since you’re already carrying her, you both leave without a hitch with one destination in mind: the Hospital! Kobashi decided, since this is an emergency, to use one of the two police cars the station has to transport van Zullekom. You learned that Kobashi is as good a driver as Matilda, which is not good, but it’s fast. You’re in the back with the policewoman resting her head on your lap, holding her so she doesn’t fall. You arrive at the Hospital in no time. This medical facility is quite small, it’s like double the size of the original Calamity Clinic, and that's no good for a hospital. It’s a small town, but there is a somewhat decent-sized school nearby, so you expected better.

As soon as Kobashi parks, Lt. van Zullekom starts waking up…

“W-Where am I…?” Lt. van Zullekom is disoriented.

“You fainted, Lieutenant, we’re taking you to the hospital.” Officer Kobashi reports.

“I-I just felt lightheaded for a minute, I don’t need medical assistance!” The Policewoman manages to gracefully get up from her sleeping position without a problem in a wave-like movement. It was somewhat hypnotic to watch. “I greatly thank you for your concern and…” Lt. van Zullekom stops talking once she lays her eyes on you, it’s like some faint memories came back like an hour special in her head, turning red in the process.

“Hey.” You wave like a doofus.

“W-W-W-We have t-to r-return to the s-s-station, to my office, immediately, without a hitch, right now, in this instant, pronto, quick, fast, schnell!” Lt. van Zullekom looks overwhelmed.

What do you do?

>“Calm down or you’re going to faint again.” Remind van Zullekom about what just happened to her.
>“Take us back, I guess.” You hate going in circles.
>“A quick check up isn’t going to hurt you, y’know?” You think since you’re already here, a quick checkup won’t be bad.
>“We can talk in here, y’know?” It’s not like anyone can spy on you inside the car, right?
>Write In.

>>5027464
>“Calm down or you’re going to faint again.” Remind van Zullekom about what just happened to her.

>>5027464
>“Calm down or you’re going to faint again.” Remind van Zullekom about what just happened to her.
>Write In.
Perform the calming back rubs technique Johnny has acquired from this timeline.

>>5027464
>“Calm down or you’re going to faint again.” Remind van Zullekom about what just happened to her.

>>5027464
>>“A quick check up isn’t going to hurt you, y’know?” You think since you’re already here, a quick checkup won’t be bad.
I agree with her that it's not a big deal, but now I want to know if she's hiding something. Let's go invisible and monitor the checkup (tastefully) maybe?

>>5027464
>“Calm down or you’re going to faint again.” Remind van Zullekom about what just happened to her.

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Post will be delivered tomorrow! Sorry for the massive inconvenience!

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“Calm down or you’re going to faint again.” You remind van Zullekom that she just went unconscious due to the stress of this situation. “Here, some water.” You found a bottle around while waiting to get here.

“You’re too kind.” Lieutenant drinks some water. “Now drive us to my office, it’s an order.”

“Are you sure you’re fine? You look pale.” You wonder.

“He’s right, I’m not going anywhere yet until there is no doubt in our minds that you’re good.” Kobashi is one strict guy when he needs to be.

“I-I’m your superior! T-This is insubordination!” van Zullekom is in shock yet again! “And like I said many times, I’m an early bird and I’m not well-rested, but that’s the extent of it! I assure you I’m in good condition. We need to go back to the station.”

“Lieutenant. No, Vanessa. I’m not doing this as a police officer, but as your friend. I’m not taking your orders and that’s final.” Kobashi would’ve smashed his desk if it was here. “Besides, I’m off my shift.” Kobashi scratches the back of his head. You don’t use this word lightly, but Kobashi is a dork.

“Y-You, y-you, you, you, you remember what I’ve done for you?” Lt. van Zullekom can’t believe this! Her eyes are radiating hope. “You’re going to help me go through this? You have my back?”

“Yes, I always have.” Officer Kobashi nods.

“You feel loyalty to me, our comradery knows no bounds, right?” Lt. van Zullekom’s eyes continue to spark.

“I-I guess…” Kobashi isn’t as sure anymore. How fickle.

“Then we need to burn those pictures and kill Liam!” Lt. van Zullekom went from 0 to 100 way too fast.

“Like, metaphorically end his life?” Kobashi is uncomfortable.

“If anything about this comes to light, my life is over. Please, Kobashi!” Lt. van Zullekom is not kidding, it sounds like she is, but she’s not…

“Can you not discuss murder in front of me?” You scratch your cheek. You know about the brutality of Gordon Sr.’s government, but for the police to openly talk about killing someone is a new low you didn’t expect.

“Oh! I forgot again you were here! Thanks for the water!” van Zullekom gives you back the bottle. “If you promise you won’t tell a soul either, we can spare your handsome self.”

“I-I’m not murdering anyone.” Kobashi refuses the idea at last.

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>>5028085

“B-But I haven’t murdered anyone either, I don’t believe I’m capable of taking someone’s life for my own benefit! That leaves us…” van Zullekom turns to you. “Can you murder Officer Liam for us? You’ll be our accomplice, so this will be your secret as well, I promise you’ll be handsomely compensated. I’d love to have you on our side, civvy. I believe you have a remarkable future as a policeman.” What’s the difference between murdering him yourself or ordering someone else to do it?! She’s not capable of taking someone’s life, your ass!

“No, I don’t want to! S-Stop plotting murder! That’s not the solution! I don’t want to hear the word murder in this vehicle again, do you understand?” You’re not a cool assassin, you’re just a lame spy, and that’s on your good days!

“I-I’m sorry…! I c-can’t think clearly with so little sleep, I swear I’m not this idiotic all the time…” Lt. van Zullekom facepalms. “Please, everyone, forget this conversation ever happened.” van Zullekom gets all serious…

“That’s not going to work.” You don’t want to make promises. The policewoman is thunderstruck.

“Just let it go for now…” Kobashi is a little more willing to negotiate.

“The truth is… I’m at your mercy.” Lt. van Zullekom actually gets serious this time. “You’re in possession of those pictures, am I correct?”

“It’s evidence of Liam’s evildoings. This is proof that he wanted to blackmail you.” Kobashi puts it simply.

“That’s what I gathered before losing consciousness.” She might be silly, but Zullekom isn’t a hopeless idiot. “I can’t believe this…” Or maybe she is. “It’s so difficult to comprehend, I always looked out for Liam, even during the times nobody else did. He even had feelings for me. I never questioned his loyalty... Is it silly if I still believe this is just a misunderstanding?”

“Yes.” You deadpan.

“I need a drink.” Zullekom wants out.

“Not the time.” You shake your head. “Unless you want more water.” You show her the bottle again.

“My goodness! You’re really easy to talk to! You’re getting extra pop tarts if I don’t lose my life!” Lt. van Zullekom compliments you after your offer. “I’m sorry for ignoring you all the other times. I’ve been… a less than pleasant individual to you.”

“It’s fine.” You shrug.

There are many mysteries and unanswered questions surrounding Lt. van Zullekom! And it’s time you start unveiling them before you make a decision…

>>5028088

What do you do?

>Ask what the story is behind those pictures Liam has.
>Ask about Ophelia and what connection she has with her. And why Liam of all people is helping her out.
>Ask why she is pretending her life is at stake if you prosecute Liam.
>Ask her if she had something prepared in her office to take you two out.
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the Week, we’ll return next time (Monday) in this very thread! Thanks for playing!)

>>5028090
>Ask about Ophelia and what connection she has with her. And why Liam of all people is helping her out.
>Ask her if she had something prepared in her office to take you two out.

>>5028090
>>Ask about Ophelia and what connection she has with her. And why Liam of all people is helping her out.

>>5028090
>Ask about Ophelia and what connection she has with her. And why Liam of all people is helping her out.

>>5028090
>Ask about Ophelia and what connection she has with her. And why Liam of all people is helping her out.
>Ask why she is pretending her life is at stake if you prosecute Liam.

>>5028090
>>Ask about Ophelia and what connection she has with her. And why Liam of all people is helping her out.

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“What an agreeable human being you are!” Zullekom acts like it’s the most surprising thing in the world, you feel like this should offend you. “I could talk to you two all day!”

“In that case, I have a couple of questions to ask.” You adjust your glasses, now it’s the moment to get serious.

“I-I didn’t mean it literally, but go ahead!” Zullekom won’t stop you from inquiring, most likely because she doesn’t think she has any other option.

“I would like to know more about Ophelia. What’s your connection to her? And why is Liam of all people helping her out?” You go straight for the jugular.

“You know her already?!” Lt. van Zullekom is a deer in headlights yet again. “How can this be? Did you run into her? She’s not a sociable individual, so there’s no other explanation. Or…” Zullekom turns to Kobashi. “Is this reputable kid involved in your investigation? I told you to put it on hold.” Shouldn’t she be worried about involving a civilian in the first place…?

“Lieutenant, it’s better if you don’t mention anything of the sort in front of a civilian...” Kobashi pretends you’re not involved as he looks let down and nervous.

“Oh. Y-You’re quite correct! What am I thinking?” Zullekom is going to blame her lack of sleep again… “You must’ve run into something while collecting information to build your case against Liam, hence the question. Aside from those items…” Zullekom turns red thinking about the pictures…

“You’re really out of focus.” Kobashi’s patience has run out, so he’s starting to banter.

“So, Lieutenant?” You didn’t get your answer.

“Yes?” Zullekom absentmindedly looks through the window.

“Y-Your answer, please.” You remind her. She just promised to not ignore you again!

“Yes…” Lt. van Zullekom regains her composure. “Ophelia Bruun is the sole owner and the main caretaker of the only private foster home in town named ‘The Orphanage of the Blue’. She was part of the Ministry of Social Development and Housing, working in one of the highest positions, but resigned after all reforms she propelled to better the Children of the Future project were rejected over and over again. She’s adept, polite, committed and pleasant. I believe she’s married to Mr. Seib Bruun.” Would that make her Valdemar’s mother…?

“I see...” You don’t recall Ophelia ever being pleasant… “What’s your connection to her?”

“Connection? I apologize, but I’m no acquaintance of hers. We have talked a couple of times, but that’s the extent of it!” Lt. van Zullekom looks puzzled.

“You just said a bunch of stuff about her though.” You wonder who this policewoman is trying to fool…

>>5031967

“I get where you are going!” Zullekom has realized it! “But I can assure you I have her well documented on the basis that I find her rather… fascinating. Nothing else. To be blunt, I’m rather curious about oddities like her, or better said, about eccentric people and their eccentricities. As an immediate example, I’m utterly fascinated to know the reason why you use such ill-fitting garments! Is it in right now, so to speak? Either way, you don’t get far in the police without your curiosity always buzzing in your head, my appreciated fellow.”

“But why is Liam helping her?” The last question you have that has gone unanswered.

“That was my idea.” Zullekom owns it up. “The issue with my fascination is that… you’re dealing with weirdos, and sometimes, they’re quite clingy, pushy and downright troublesome. And Ophelia is quite overbearing. So I didn’t want to deal with her directly. The good perks of being the one in charge.”

“Lieutenant…” Kobashi sounds so disappointed…

But you feel like something doesn’t add up…

What do you do?

>Ask what the story is behind those pictures Liam has.
>Ask if van Zullekom is willing to lock up Liam forever now.
>Ask why Ophelia talked in code through Liam to her then.
>Write In.

>>5031970
>>Ask why Ophelia talked in code through Liam to her then.

>>5031970
>>Ask why Ophelia talked in code through Liam to her then.

>>5031970
>Ask why Ophelia talked in code through Liam to her then.
As much as I want to, let’s not talk about pictures of Lt. Dork doing something incredibly unsavory. It’s at least rude to talk about her doing some sexual favors.

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You think there is a tiny unaddressed element by the Lieutenant that is a glaring hole in her story. You feel like Kobashi might have his doubts, but they aren’t as concrete as yours, you think it’s because you have it well engraved in your mind since you were the one asking Liam questions.

“But… if that’s all of it. Why did Ophelia talk in code through Liam to you?” That wasn’t easy for you to say, but the question stands!

“Yeah!” Kobashi remembers now! A little slow…

“Whatever do you mean…?” Lt. van Zullekom plays dumb as she starts looking outside the window once again.

“Liam said Ophelia spoke only nonsense, and yet, despite that, you always loved hearing what she had to say.” You point out.

“Her astrology talk? Yes, that’s the type of eccentricity I love hearing about!” Lt. van Zullekom smiles. “If you’re interested, we could take a look at her readings in my office. I keep them well organized. They are quite amusing!”

“Astrology, horoscope and tarot readings. You know all about them, Lieutenant?” Kobashi starts wondering.

“In truth, I know very little. Curious or not, it’s out of my expertise.” Zullekom looks up, like doing her darndest to remember something. “I’m so out of focus I seem to just now realize what you meant! Are these readings supposed to be some sort of coded speech? I would’ve never put that together! If so, we should return to my office and investigate them at once!”

“Why would Ophelia send code messages to you, Lieutenant?” Kobashi points out.

“Perhaps, they were only meant for Liam, and I stumbled onto them without me noticing! This might be the breakthrough you need for your investigation, Kobashi! This might lead to solid evidence! There is no time to lose!” Lieutenant van Zullekom looks excited.

“Y-Yeah.” Kobashi doesn’t look as excited though…

What do you do?

>“Why would Ophelia send messages to two people that don’t get them?” Wonder out loud.
>“Let’s go, Kobashi! There is no time to lose!” Go to the Office!
>“You know the tarot cards, Lieutenant? Can you mention them to me?” You need to know what she knows about them.
>“So why do you keep track of every single reading?” You won’t buy that it’s just for curiosity’s sake…
>Write In.

>>5032039
>>“Why would Ophelia send messages to two people that don’t get them?” Wonder out loud.

>>5032039
>>“Why would Ophelia send messages to two people that don’t get them?” Wonder out loud.

>>5032046
Perhaps there's an actual spy that just overhears the conversations, and Ophelia just assumed it was Lt. Van Zullekom.

>>5032039
>“Why would Ophelia send messages to two people that don’t get them?” Wonder out loud.

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“Why would Ophelia send messages to two people that don’t get them?” You wonder out loud.

“You have no doubts about his statements, huh?” Kobashi is thinking this through.

“How can you be certain that Officer Liam didn’t understand them?” Lt. van Zullekom believes Liam is lying.

“He has no reason to lie.” You don’t have any evidence against his statements. Liam won’t risk his life to cover for Ophelia of all people.

“I certainly can attest that I’m not lying about what I said!” Lt. van Zullekom knows she’s the next one on the list of possible culprits. “Maybe there is someone else in the office we haven't taken into account!”

“It’s too convenient.” Kobashi rejects the notion immediately. “The truth is, Lieutenant, you’re the most suspicious one. Of the two, you were the only one who has always been in contact with Ophelia. You delegated him to Ophelia, and asked him to keep you informed, add to it that you’re keeping tabs about everything she’s saying. I know you have your quirks, but this is out of line.”

“Like I said, she was getting on my nerves, but I needed to satisfy my curiosity. It’s not complicated.” Lt. van Zullekom rejects the notion. “Are you accusing me of something, Officer Kobashi? I thought… I thought you were on my side.”

“Formally? Not yet, but I have my doubts.” Kobashi shakes his head.

“It’s Liam’s word against mine.” Lt. van Zullekom doesn’t want a cloud of doubt casted on her head.

“There’s Ophelia too, if we get to her, we’ll get her intentions, and no charades or pointing fingers is going to save the people involved.” Kobashi points out.

“Let’s investigate the readings then, you’ll know for certain I’m not involved in any way or form!” Lieutenant responds with determination.

“How can you be so certain those papers don’t incriminate you? Did you prepare them beforehand?” Kobashi finds that suspicious.

“Because I haven’t done anything wrong.” Lt. van Zullekom won’t back down. “Please… Believe me…”

What do you do?

>“Let’s pretend there is a 3rd party involved, who could it be?” Open the possibilities to find the truth.
>“Let’s ignore who is receiving these messages, but let’s ask why? Why does Ophelia need to talk to a police officer in code?” Change perspectives to find the truth.
>“Lieutenant, there is something really fishy about you, I’m not damning you of anything yet. But I would like to know if you were coerced into doing this, if you are, we can find another way.” You want to trust her!
>“Kobashi, I think I trust the lieutenant here.” Tell Kobashi to back down, this isn’t the point of this. You are here to lock up Liam!
>Write In.

>>5032086
>>“Let’s ignore who is receiving these messages, but let’s ask why? Why does Ophelia need to talk to a police officer in code?” Change perspectives to find the truth.

>>5032086
>“Let’s ignore who is receiving these messages, but let’s ask why? Why does Ophelia need to talk to a police officer in code?” Change perspectives to find the truth.

>>5032086
>“Let’s ignore who is receiving these messages, but let’s ask why? Why does Ophelia need to talk to a police officer in code?” Change perspectives to find the truth.

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“Let’s ignore who is receiving these messages, but let’s ask why? Why does Ophelia need to talk to a police officer in code?” You think changing the train of thought will help better to solve this than random accusations could.

“Lieutenant, I ask permission to unveil sensitive information about my investigation to Phil here. I need to speak freely to speculate.” Kobashi is doing everything he can to make you look like another uninvolved party.

“P-Permission granted, but—”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Now we’ll speak the truth.” Kobashi interrupts the confused van Zullekom, she must be wondering why he’s being all formal out of the blue. Whatever his reasons might be, you feel like they are bureaucratic… “The reason why is because Ophelia is covering her tracks from the investigation I’m carrying out. She has been adopting Children while bypassing legal procedures to expedite the process, even against the children’s will. She’s informing her accomplice of what evidence to get rid of, so I never get definitive evidence.”

That checks out with what you know from the future. The Bruuns are child traffickers...

“That seems to make sense, but I don’t think that’s all.” You wouldn’t go through the trouble of making Liam do all that if it’s only one thing the accomplice needed to do, right?

“If that’s not all, one should assume the accomplice is able to do more than just getting rid of evidence. Or maybe the accomplice is capable of doing it in a different, more reliable way.” Kobashi points out. “So, in both scenarios, this accomplice should hold an important position within the station.”

“You’re assuming too much.” You blurt that out. But hey, you’re no detective.

“Is that the reason you’re doubting me, Sergeant Kobashi? You’re just narrowing down the options?” Lt. van Zullekom looks through the window once again, evading Kobashi’s gaze. She didn’t call him an officer… “You think I would’ve let you carry out your investigation if there was a chance of incriminating myself? You’re no detective anymore, you’re on probation. There was no need for me to go through with it, my only wish is to see you rise again through the ranks.”

“Maybe you underestimated me, or thought I was under control. We lost key clues, not once, but thrice. And it was all under your supervision.” Kobashi is confident he’s seeing the culprit.

“I-I would’ve never ever underestimated your abilities, Sgt. Kobashi! Y-You’re a brilliant member of the police force that, at worst, is down on his luck!” Lt. van Zullekom is dumbfounded again.

“You’re not the best judge of character if I’m honest…” You remember she trusts Liam of all people…

“Huh? Whatever do you mean? Oh right! I goofed up about Liam!” At least the Lieutenant recognizes it now. “Thank you for the reminder!”

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>>5032251

“Here’s another. That promise we made was to keep the investigation between us.” Kobashi is not buying van Zullekom’s act. “You’re the only one that knows about it. You’re the only one with the influence and knowledge to work alongside Ophelia to stop it.”

“B-But I haven’t told a soul!” van Zullekom is getting nervous.

“Wait, we’re still ignoring an important piece of the puzzle.” Your turn to interrupt here. “A couple, even.” You rectify as you adjust your glasses. “One, we’re ignoring what the other function of the accomplice was, we did agree that getting rid of evidence isn’t everything.”

“That’s speculation on our part. In any case, I just said Vanessa is the highest ranked member of the station and has enough influence to get rid of the evidence and more. She’s the one the township looks to when in need.” Kobashi clearly points out. He hasn’t been acting like a goofball anymore for a while, huh? You feel a little surprised…

“…And two, why? Why would Lt. van Zullekom do all of this for Ophelia of all people?” You finish your thought, even if it’s ruined…

“That’s what I want to know…” Kobashi looks bummed out after all that bravado. He… really didn’t want to do this.

“B-But I haven’t done a thingy!” van Zullekom continues denying it! “Y-You’re free to investigate as much as you like, look through any place that you feel is necessary, we could even go to my office to look through those readings I mentioned before! I don’t know if you forgot, but you’re in possession of those pics! I have no way to deny any of your requests! But I assure you I'm innocent!”

No matter what, Lieutenant van Zullekom will deny everything! You don’t know what to think anymore…

What do you do?

>Propose to investigate her house.
>Propose to investigate her office.
>Propose to go to the Orphanage with Zullekom and call Ophelia out…
>Write In.

So is Zullekom the culprit?

>Yeah, Kobashi is right! Zullekom is helping Ophelia!
>No, Kobashi is wrong! Zullekom is just incompetent!
>Who knows? And does it matter what you think? You’re just a man with an oversized hoodie!
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the Day, we continue Saturday in this thread! If you find it weird, this was an extra session I wasn't planning on doing, really.)

>>5032254
>Propose to investigate her house.
>Write In.
Recall that somehow Chewnette had a direct contact line to a Captain van Zullekom in order to verify documents that Ophelia leave her about her son.

>>5032262
*gave
Don’t know why I typed leave

>>5032254
So I don't really know what to think either, but let's throw out another possibility that would explain this and make it where Zullekom is telling the truth.

>Ophelia has someone (or something) else at the station which can handle disposal of evidence
>That someone (or something, remember we're dealing with a spiritualist here) only reads or responds to the code she sends messages in, so no one else can accidentally trigger it
>Ophelia has organized all of this in this fashion because Zullekom is a threat to her, and she wants her gone in the event that anyone begins to seriously approach taking down the Orphanage

Zullekom is just too cooperative (and scatterbrained, honestly). She might be a very good actress but I'm not getting the criminal vibe off her. We should at least hold off judgment until we go to her office and examine her notes. You know, actually her continually wanting to go back to her office might be suspicious...but I don't think they would've anticipated us if there's a spirit lurking there.

>What do you do?
>Propose to investigate her office
But I think that before we, Phil Noon, enter her office we make an excuse and go in while invisible.

>So is Zullekom the culprit?
>Write in
There's a reason things aren't adding up, and Kobashi might be jumping right into a trap set by Ophelia by accusing Zullekom. Until we figure out what's really going on we should wait. We haven't even considered that perhaps there is...a geas or something on Zullekom like what the Orphanage was trying to do to Yareli. Let's go to her office.

>>5032254
>Propose to investigate her office.
I agree with >>5032393 that we should go in while invisible first

>No, Kobashi is wrong! Zullekom is just incompetent!
Heavy asterisk that she's only innocent until proven guilty. But right now she's still suspect #1 so we better still investigate her to make sure she's just dumb

>>5032262
Also mention this

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Lieutenant Vanessa van Zullekom is a difficult person to pin down, you feel like you don’t have enough information to determine her culpability in good conscience. That doesn’t mean you don’t have some suspicion, but she’s innocent until proven otherwise. And more information shall be your next objective!

Speaking of information, you recall that Chewnette had a direct contact line with Lt. van Zullekom in order to verify documents that Ophelia gave the garden shop owner about her son. A reunion you aren’t sure you made possible but hope you did!

“Since she’s offering, we should investigate her office.” You know what the next step should be.

“Good thinking, Mr. Noon! That’s what I’ve been saying from the beginning!” van Zullekom is surprised you picked up on that at last.

“Assure me you’re in good condition!” Kobashi remembers why you’re here to begin with.

“I am, Sergeant! Sure as my name is Vanessa van Zullekom!” Lieutenant swears she’s a noble policewoman and nothing more! “Otherwise, may lightning strike me down!” You hear a rock fall on the car… What a coincidence.

“T-To be frank, she mentioned it so much, I’m feeling jitters about going.” Despite that, Kobashi believes her, but not too much.

“I assure you there is nothing to fear!” van Zuspicious is adamant about the lack of danger.

“I’ll inspect it first; I have a trick under my sleeve, just keep her busy outside when I excuse myself to the bathroom. Trust me.” You get close to Kobashi and whisper.

“Right.” Kobashi has almost blind trust in you. You produced results after all, but…

It’s kinda suspicious that Kobashi is going along with you for everything. Maybe you’re getting really distrustful due to the circumstances. Or maybe there is something off here… Regardless, no man who feeds Tomatoes pudding can be truly evil, right?

Is it just you or are your thoughts sounding more and more senseless as the night goes on…?

You’ll have to keep your senseless thoughts in check because Kobashi is driving you two back to the Police Station. The ride back was mostly silent, only a little chatting about Zullekom’s current condition (she’s fine).

The other officer is gone, he left a note stating he was called to action somewhere in town, and that he’ll come back with sandwiches. Yummy…

Once van Zullekom unlocked the door to her office, you excused yourself to the bathroom, and asked them to wait outside before getting in. As soon as you were out of their eyesight, you turned invisible, and expertly managed to sneak inside the office without those two noticing since they were busy engaging in conversation about other subjects, pastry subjects…

Normally, someone would complain about the lights being off in here, but not you, you have Night vision! Night vision is awesome! Everyone loves Night vision.

>>5036544

This regular office is probably the best-looking place inside the police station, even if that’s not saying much, there are two couches in front of each other with a table in the middle, your typical desk with a plant behind it, two bookshelves at the back, some diplomas and newspaper cuts proudly being displayed.

You have to do this quickly and quietly, or else, you might raise van Zullekom’s suspicion.

What do you do?

>Investigate the Desk. Like, that’s a little obvious, isn’t it?
>Throw things around and act as a vengeful spirit! It’s time for part 3! You believe that, even if you had the pics, van Zullekom is willing to hide something. And only a supernatural being can get the truth out of her.
>Look around places people don’t usually investigate. Maybe you’ll find something you weren’t expecting to find!
>Write In.

>>5036546
>>Investigate the Desk. Like, that’s a little obvious, isn’t it?

>>5036546
>Investigate the Desk. Like, that’s a little obvious, isn’t it?

>>5036546
>>Write In.
Investigate the desk of the officer who went to get sammiches.

>>5036546

>Investigate the Desk. Like, that’s a little obvious, isn’t it?

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The desk is right there. And desks usually contain documents inside their drawers. It’s common sense, so you’ll do it. It’s not like Zullekom is a weirdo or anything!

…

With caution, you go around the desk, and try to open the drawers. Sadly, one is locked. But, the others are not, let’s see what the Lieutenant has in store for you.

Quick overview of what you found: There is a deck of cards, some coupons, a napkin, a knife, a crossword book, receipts, a notepad and some police files.

It’s a deck of cards with special designs, it’s animal based. You have birds, sheep, cows, pigs and more. Strangely, the aces, knights, queens and kings are human. The ace is a farmer.

The coupons get your attention because they are old and from stores you haven’t seen around town; you didn’t know Super Foods was this old! But it makes sense if you think about it, big stores don't usually come and go, the ones most likely to disappear are the little local shops! There is no way for a little shopkeeper to stand against such macro corporations, that’s just a pipe dream… Anyway, these are for fruit beverages.

A napkin with a cute design, looks like the shark doll you got from that arcade machine ages ago, you remember you took two out, one cat plushy as well that you gave to Nina. She probably threw it away… Still, just a random napkin.

That’s a knife… It’s not sharp. Of course not, it’s a butter knife. Nothing special… You feel like Zullekom forgot it here.

An old crossword book that has seen a lot of use, it’s from 20 years ago. Like, extra 20 years ago! It’s falling apart a little. You feel like you could find one of these inside the old bookstore near your apartment. You glance over it again to find a lot of annotations patched into the thing, Zullekom really wants to solve this one in its entirety. Maybe if she’s innocent you can help. Like here, Farm Animal that is usually depicted watching too much TV in fiction, the answer is Nariko. Okay, maybe not…

There are many handwritten receipts here, mostly related to booze. You imagine she got them not too long ago… You look into them to find some kind of clue, and you find some random letters behind them, some crossed out, some aren’t.

You give the notepad a quick look. It has some pages ripped out, it’s contents are all disjointed from each other, notes from meetings, stuff townsfolk have said to her to keep in mind, observations about her daily life, just random notes. If you had the time, you could’ve picked your favorites.

There are 3 police files, the codenames are acronyms with numbers that make little sense to you, without going into too depth because you’re lacking in time, the first one is about a murder case in the capital of Baochang, the second one is about one important jewel from a wealthy family that went missing, and last file is the one Kobashi made about the orphanage.

>>5036663

That locked drawer will probably hold some important secrets. If only you had the key…

Anyway, the longer you’re out, the more suspicious it is...

What do you do?

>You explored the place enough! Leave and pretend to come back from the bathroom.
>Look around for the Key! It must be somewhere here, right?
>Maybe van Zullekom has the key on herself, try to steal it from her somehow!
>Look into the Police Files more deeply.
>Kick the damn desk open!
>Write In.

>>5036665
>>You explored the place enough! Leave and pretend to come back from the bathroom.
We can ask her to open it and make sure she doesn't try anything funny since she's the main suspectm

>>5036665
>Look around for the Key! It must be somewhere here, right?

>>5036675
Forgot to add:
> Write down “Nariko” in a crossword anyway.

>>5036665
>You explored the place enough! Leave and pretend to come back from the bathroom.

>>5036665
>>You explored the place enough! Leave and pretend to come back from the bathroom.
Well let's just play the waiting game for now. We didn't see any spirits in here and that was my main worry.

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(I forgot to mention that there is a desk phone. It didn’t have anything of interest.)

A quick search is a quick search. If you stay longer here, they’ll probably think that you’re having stomach issues. You put everything where it was, and sneak out of the room by going through the door. Lt. van Zullekom noticed the door opening, but Kobashi dismissed Zullekom’s worries saying it was the wind. And like the wind, you left to where you were supposed to be…

Noticing the other officer hasn’t come back yet, you turn visible just out of sight of those two, and casually come back.

“Were you having issues or…?” Kobashi feels like he has to ask the question to not look suspicious.

“Officer Kobashi, you shouldn’t ask such kinds of questions!” Lt. Zullekom has some decency. “But did you wash your hands?”

“Yeah.” You aren’t an animal like the one in that crossword.

“We’re going to investigate your office now, Vanessa.” Kobashi gets all serious again.

“Yes, that I know, Officer Kobashi.” Zullekom slowly nods while looking away. “Should I lead you in?”

“Please.” Kobashi wants to show he still trusts her somehow. You’re glad you went inside first, if she pulls the butterknife out, you’ll know it’s no issue.

With a delicate nod, Lt. van Zullekom steps inside the office and turns the lights on, Kobashi steps in first after her and you trail behind. Place is just like you left it.

“It’s your investigation, officer and civvy.” van Zullekom turns back to you two and stands in the middle of the room, right next to the table and couches.

“Well then...” Kobashi starts walking around the room like mines were buried.

“I won’t move even a molecule from where I’m standing, I give you my word! I’m not that out of the loop to understand that I’ll appear threatening if I move more than what you estimate necessary.” Lt. van Zullekom tries to calm your supposed uneasiness.

“Hand me the key to your desk.” Kobashi immediately dives into where you were sealed from looking. “Just throw it.”

“Should I?” Zullekom pulls the key out from her back pocket. “I believe it’s quite discourteous.”

“D-Don’t make this difficult.” Kobashi raises an eyebrow.

“I-I apologize! I didn’t mean to cause any trouble!” Zullekom is surprised by Kobashi unwillingness to question his own methods.

Kobashi is the super sergeant police detective officer man. Maybe you should put your attention onto Zullekom…

What do you do?

>Tell Zullekom to open the desk herself. You’ll follow.
>Chat with the Lieutenant while Kobashi looks around. Maybe you can piece together some clues with her help. You have questions of your own.
>Grab one of the items you found earlier and show them to Zullekom. Ask for an explanation. (Write-In which one.)
>Write In.

(Last Reply of the Day, we continue tomorrow)

>>5036712
>>Chat with the Lieutenant while Kobashi looks around. Maybe you can piece together some clues with her help. You have questions of your own.

>>5036712
>Chat with the Lieutenant while Kobashi looks around. Maybe you can piece together some clues with her help. You have questions of your own.
She is a tough but to crack. But we will make her squeal, one way or another. Once we find Monster Condoms for our Magnum Dong, in more than one ways.

>>5036712
>Chat with the Lieutenant while Kobashi looks around. Maybe you can piece together some clues with her help. You have questions of your own.
>Write In.
Break the ice first with something casual like why she likes offering to make poptarts from what we heard from Liam and then when she meet us.

>>5036743
We shouldn't elaborate on our conversation with Liam, because we never had one. It was a mysterious vengeful ghost that had that conversation.

>>5036712
>Grab one of the items you found earlier and show them to Zullekom. Ask for an explanation. (Write-In which one.) [Butter knife]
"Threatening someone with this, were you? Poptarts don't necessitate a butter knife! Highly suspicious!"

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“Oh yes, I let that slip my mind! Another blunder of mine! Here they are!” Zullekom throws the keys with perfect precision into Kobashi’s hands. Making them fall onto the ground since Kobashi wasn’t expecting such accuracy. He picks them up...

“Thanks, Vanessa.” Kobashi is polite at odd times.

“Don’t mention it, officer! I appreciate your hard work!” Lt. van Zullekom is forgetting who he is investigating here…

“You good over there, Kobashi?” You ask without taking your eyes off the police woman.

“Yes, there are some files I need to check, might take a while.” Kobashi puts on the desk the police documents you already saw, and every other item too. He’ll dig deeper, he just needs time, so meanwhile…

“Can I ask you something Lieutenant?” You want to chat with her, one-on-one.

“As long as we don’t discuss classified information, feel free to ask whatever comes to mind, my bright fellow.” Lt. van Zullekom is quite friendly. “It’s such a bummer that your opinion of me is tainted due to these circumstances, I would’ve loved to have you as my acquaintance.”

“Never say never. As long as you’re innocent, that is.” It will be hard for you to forgive someone who’s an active accomplice of Ophelia. “I’m glad you have gotten a hold of yourself.”

“I’m in great turmoil, Mr. Noon. There is a bleak world awaiting me, and the sole reason I’m standing on my two feet is because I’m getting used to the idea.” Lt. van Zullekom has no pretenses that something good is going to come out of this for her.

“If you’re not feeling okay, Vanessa, I’m taking you to the hospital.” Kobashi is not playing games here.

“I won’t ever forgive you if you leave this investigation inconclusive, Sergeant. You must find the truth no matter what.” Lt. van Zullekom furrows her eyebrows, giving Kobashi a sharp look. “Now…” van Zullekom closes her eyes. “Mr. Noon, you were about to ask me something, weren’t you?”

“Oh yeah, what’s up with your preference on making pop tarts?” You think Liam mentioned them too when you talked.

“Huh?! Don’t tell me you don’t like them? I-I could’ve sworn you told me you did!” Zullekom is speechless!

“No, that’s not my point. I just wanna know why pop tarts of all things.” You scratch your cheek.
“There has to be a reason?” The Lieutenant tilts her head. “It’s just a recipe I know.”

“Oh.” You’re underwhelmed by her response. To be fair, you don’t ask yourself why you cook what you cook, Nariko always ended up liking it anyway.

“Did I underwhelm you?” Lt. van Zullekom read your mind. “You won’t be if I get the chance to prepare some for you.”

“It’s not that, but thanks.” You give her a thumbs up.

Ice has been broken! Now onto more important questions…

>>5038222


What do you do?

>“Threatening someone with this, were you? Poptarts don't necessitate a butter knife! Highly suspicious!” Grab the butter knife on the desk and show it to van Zuspicious!
>“So, lieutenant, how did these pictures come to be?” Tap your pocket. You haven’t seen them, but they must be pretty bad if she collapsed before because of them.
>“I heard you saved Liam’s job, why him of all people?” You wanna know what she saw in him.
>“Can you explain to me how you can verify the authenticity of secret government files? How does that work? I heard from a, err, big headed bird that you can.” Dig deeper from what Chewnette told you.
>Write In.

>>5038223
>“Can you explain to me how you can verify the authenticity of secret government files? How does that work? I heard from a, err, big headed bird that you can.” Dig deeper from what Chewnette told you.

>>5038223
>>“Can you explain to me how you can verify the authenticity of secret government files? How does that work? I heard from a, err, big headed bird that you can.” Dig deeper from what Chewnette told you.

>>5038223
>>“I heard you saved Liam’s job, why him of all people?” You wanna know what she saw in him.

>>5038223
>>“Threatening someone with this, were you? Poptarts don't necessitate a butter knife! Highly suspicious!” Grab the butter knife on the desk and show it to van Zuspicious!

>>5038223
>>“Can you explain to me how you can verify the authenticity of secret government files? How does that work? I heard from a, err, big headed bird that you can.” Dig deeper from what Chewnette told you.
This too though

File: 2974.png (266 KB, 800x640)

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(To those who sometimes binge read the last few threads. I made the mistake of calling van Zullekom a ‘he’ in Chewnette’s narration. Sorry.)

“Can I make a suggestion, Mr. Noon?” The well-mannered Lieutenant asks.

“Yes?” You’re all ears.

“Can we sit down?” van Zullekom stares at the couches next to you two. “I don’t mind standing if you prefer, but I would much prefer it if you were comfortable. I cannot help but think of you as my guest regardless of the situation.”

“Huh? Is that fine, Kobashi?” You need a second opinion. Maybe she has something up her long sleeves.

“Eh? Yeah! Just be careful with those couches, they make farting sounds.” Kobashi is really enjoying his seat in the big chair at the desk reviewing the items.

“H-Huh?! You never made a chirrup about it before!” Somehow, this is the first-time van Zullekom actually looks betrayed.

“As long as your farting couches are comfy, it’s fine.” You jump into one. Heh, the sound wasn’t that bad, it was more like a whimper. The police woman stares at her couch for a little bit before following your lead.

“Is this unmanageable? Should I think about changing them?” Lt. van Zullekom starts bouncing on her seat to determine how bothersome the noises they make are.

“The only thing we should change is topics.” You adjust your glasses as you make yourself more comfortable.

“I’m sorry! I-I’m being too absentminded! You’re so easy to get along with that my mind tends to drift away!” Lt. van Zullekom is startled once again.

“Then I’ll ask another question to keep it in the right direction.” You clear your throat. “Can you explain to me how you can verify the authenticity of secret government files? How does that work?” You don’t take your eyes off her to show your seriousness. “I heard that from a, err, big headed bird that you can.”

“Mr. Noon, I’m deeply sorry, but I believe I told you I can’t discuss classified information.” Lieutenant did mention that… “Is this even pertinent to the investigation you’re conducting? Regardless, I can’t be of help on this occasion.”

Lt. van Zullekom watches what Kobashi is doing...

How do you respond?

>“That’s fair. Sorry for asking, Lieutenant. Is there anything you want to talk about?” Maybe you should ask something else.
>“I believe it is, Lieutenant. You’re hiding something and I can prove it.” Show one of the items you inspected to her! That must be the key! (Write In which item.)
>“If we have to change topics. Let me think. Oh right! I haven’t seen your pics, hold on…” Take van Zullekom’s pics from your pocket like a bumbling idiot.
>“Just answer me this, a person from your position can verify these documents, yes or no?” You just need to find a branch to support your suspicions about van Zullekom to start with.
>Write In.

>>5038267
>>“Just answer me this, a person from your position can verify these documents, yes or no?” You just need to find a branch to support your suspicions about van Zullekom to start with.

>>5038267
>“Just answer me this, a person from your position can verify these documents, yes or no?” You just need to find a branch to support your suspicions about van Zullekom to start with.

>>5038267
>“Just answer me this, a person from your position can verify these documents, yes or no?” You just need to find a branch to support your suspicions about van Zullekom to start with.

File: 1634628536641.gif (2.1 MB, 360x360)

2.1 MB GIF

>>5038267
>The sound wasn't that bad, it was more like a whimper
Hmmm

>>5038267
Can we send Philo to check out the inside of the couch?

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“Just answer me this: A person from your position can verify these documents, yes or no?” You think answering this shouldn’t count as classified information, right?

“Make an educated guess. I'm the highest police authority in this town, if I couldn’t do it, who could? How would the police operate in this town otherwise? So, what do you think the answer is?” Lt. van Zullekom tries not to spell it out for you.

“I think you’re not giving me a straight answer.” You don’t call her van Zuspicious mentally for no reason.

“A-Am I not being clear? I’m sorry! But I don’t know any other way to spell it out for you without breaking the law!” van Zullekom thinks you’re stupid!

“I-It’s not about me not understanding, but me wanting you to say it.” You clarify. You’re not stupid!

“It’s prohibited for me to divulge those details, Mr. Noon! I’m deadly serious!” van Zullekom can’t believe you’re pushing the issue!

“I don’t think it is. Otherwise, my source wouldn’t have a way of knowing the veracity of those documents.” You point out. “And if what you said is true, you already broke the law.”

“Y-You’re accusing me of another misdemeanor?!” van Zullekom is thunderstruck!

“Nope, I don’t think you did anything illegal.” You shake your head.

“Then…?” van Zullekom tries to regain her composure.

“Well, Lieutenant, my source revealed that information so casually, it makes me believe it wasn’t a big deal for you.” You assume anyway. “So, answer my query, please.”

“You’re basing all of this on a hunch? Impressive!” van Zullekom gives you points for sticking with this despite the lack of tangible evidence. “My answer remains the same, Mr. Noon.”

Yep, van Zullekom is hiding something. But this didn’t lead you anywhere.

What do you do?

>“So you’ve changed your tune after listening to my reasoning! You think you don’t have to be worried anymore since I don’t have the evidence! Highly suspicious!” Adjust your glasses aggressively! She’s not tricking you anymore!
>“I’m going to poke you with a stick until you tell the truth.” Threaten.
>“I actually know the law very well, Lieutenant. I just wanted to see for how long you would stick to your lies. So, you’re hiding something from us!” Bluff! Bluff like you’re playing poker!
>“Kobashi, did you find something incriminating?” You need to move on from this.
>Write In.

>>5038313
She's really dancing around everything. I swear she's under some sort of compulsion. I can't tell whether she's on our side or not.

>“I’m going to poke you with a stick until you tell the truth.” Threaten.

>>5038316
>>5038313
Also send Philonune into the couch to check and see if there was a reason behind that whimper noise we heard when we sat down.

>>5038313
>>“I’m going to poke you with a stick until you tell the truth.” Threaten.

>>“I’m going to poke you with a stick until you tell the truth.” Threaten.

>>5038313
>“I actually know the law very well, Lieutenant. I just wanted to see for how long you would stick to your lies. So, you’re hiding something from us!” Bluff! Bluff like you’re playing poker!

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First, you sent Philonune into the couch to check and see if there is a reason behind the whimper noise you heard when you sat down. Philonune says there is some kind of rubber doll but it’s at the end of the couch, not where you sat, seems unimportant for now. You’re busy with what comes next.

You stare daggers at this Lieutenant. Your patience has run thin. If she’s going to keep dancing around the issues, you’ll bring a stick to the ballroom, and you mean it literally. The stick part, not the other bit. But before you turn this fantasy into action, you must put it out there…

“I’m going to poke you with a stick until you tell the truth.” You threaten. Screw the law, you’re a rogue element, you can do what you want.

“Ah…?” van Zullekom is dumbfounded for the right reasons for the first time in her life.

“I mean it.” You point at her.

“Y-You’re not being facetious?” van Zullekom can’t believe this!

“I meant every word. Now speak.” You keep pointing at her with sass.

“A-Are you saying this tongue-in-cheek, or with a truly underlying conviction?” Zullekom continues being in shock.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” You squint your eyes with both eyebrows furrowed.

“D-Do you even have a stick?” Lt. van Zullekom feels like she’s on a weird TV show now.

“Kobashi, hand me a stick.” You extend your arm to the trustworthy officer.

“What? I wasn’t paying attention.” Kobashi was busy reading the files.

“A stick, man. Hand me a stick.” You request again.

“What are you talking about?” Kobashi is confused.

“You know, the stick! The stick you police people always carry… ehm… The police baton! That’s it!” Good on you for having level 4 Knowledge.

“We don’t have those.” Kobashi doesn’t understand what you’re talking about. “Why do you even want one?”

“I need a stick to poke van Zullekom with.” You take your time to explain in detail.

“Are you pulling my leg…?” Kobashi isn’t sure that you’re not joking around. Lt. van Zullekom just shrugs nervously.

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>>5038358

“Would I have interrupted you if I was kidding?” You point out.

“…You’re right.” Kobashi is a man of culture. “Do you need an actual baton, or just a stick?”

“A stick is a stick, man.” You aren’t picky.

“Huh, here.” Kobashi throws you something that looks like a stick.

“T-That’s my Pointer for the briefings!” Lt. van Zullekom can’t believe she’s been betrayed by such a close friend… Not Kobashi, but her Pointing Stick.

“Now, Lieutenant, speak or else you’re going to get… it!” You wobble the pointer in front of her.

“Y-You wouldn’t dare, right? Y-You're a really friendly man, a good handsome man, a man of honor, Mr. Noon! Please, think this over! Y-You don’t have to do this!” van Zullekom is scared of the stick.

“Then answer my question.” You repeat yourself.

“N-No, I can’t! Kobashi, do something!” Lt. van Zullekom seeks help.

“…Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Kobashi was busy reading again.

“H-How could you? He’s threatening me!” Lt. van Zullekom reminds the blockhead cop she’s in great peril.

“Vanessa, it’s just a stick.” Kobashi shakes his head and continues reading.

“…” van Zullekom can’t believe she has been thrown aside like that. “P-Please, reconsider, Mr. Noon…”

What do you do?

>Poke her face.
>Poke her waist.
>“Fine, but please just answer me.” You’re going to be the boring good cop…
>Write In.

>>5038359
>>Poke her waist.

>>5038359
>>Poke her waist.

>>5038359
>Poke her breast

>>5038359
>>Poke her waist.

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“I treated you respectfully, I asked you nicely, yet you don’t repay my kindness, I only asked for mere honesty from you, and now look at us, look at what I have to resort to.” You wiggle the stick in front of her eyes once more. You didn’t want to do this, but you have to…

“Mr. Noon, please, this might be considered torture! You will break the Janeeva Convention! You mustn’t! Think about your humanity!” Lt. van Zullekom pleads.

“I’m just a civvy, Lieutenant. Those treaties can’t stop me.” You’re going to walk a dark path…

…

You poke Lieutenant Vanessa van Zullekom’s waist.

“Aw.” Lt. van Zullekom was mildly annoyed by that.

“Tell the truth.” You poke her again.

“Aw! Q-Quit it!” Lt. van Zullekom tries to swat away the pointer.

“No, not until you confess.” You poke.

“Aw! I already said everything I could! Aw. Aw.” Lt. van Zullekom won’t break easily.

“My question has a yes or a no answer, give me the answer. No more convoluted responses.” You poke.

“Aw. S-Stop. Aw. I-I said I c-can’t!” Lt. van Zullekom is covering her waist with both arms, you poke in the areas with the least defense. Her painful moaning has half chuckles in the midst of them. “Aw!”

“Yes or No.” You poke.

“P-Please, Mister— Aw! Mister— Aw! Mr. Noon! Aw, aw, aw! Please, listen…!” Zullekom pleads with you to stop, raising both hands.

“…?” You’re waiting for your answer.

“I-I cooperated as much as I co— Aw!” Zullekom gets interrupted by another poke. “P-Please, stop! Aw! Aw! Aw… Aw… I-I’ll forgive you if you stop no— aw! Aw! W-Why is this nece— aw! Please, I’ll give all the popta— aw! I-I really thought of you as fri— aw! Aw! I j-just want the best for the to— aw! K-Kobashi, you must do— aw! Mercy! Aw! Mer— aw! Y-You can’t keep going fore— aw!”

This is going to take a while…

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>>5038423

ONE AND HALF HOURS LATER

“N-No…!” Lt. van Zullekom shouts at last.

“No, what?” You raise an eyebrow and stop the poking.

“No… A lieutenant can’t verify those documents…! And you were right, it wasn’t illegal for me to disclose it! B-But I-I have good reasons!” van Zullekom sounds exhausted.

“Oh, good.” You stop poking for good.

“That’s it…? You’re not going to ask what this means…? How do I know…? A-Anything…?” van Zullekom pants as she stares at you dumbfounded.

“Nah. I wanted one answer and I got it.” You shrug.

“……………………………….” Lt. van Zullekom collapses again, all exhausted. “I... goofed… up… Please… no… more...” She falls asleep.

“I’m halfway done with the documents!” Kobashi announces with a smile. “D-Did Vanessa faint again?!”

“She was tired... I think I overdid it.” Your poking hand is tired too.

“W-What do we do?” Kobashi is so off-guard he doesn’t have a plan.

And neither do you. You only know that it’s really, really late…

What do you do?

>Throw some water at Zullekom to wake her up.
>Take Zullekom to her home.
>Take Zullekom hostage in your camper.
>Leave Zullekom and get out of here.
>Write In.


(Last Reply of the Day, we continue tomorrow!)

>>5038425
>>Take Zullekom hostage in your camper.
Take the stupid pointer too

>>5038425
>Take Zullekom to her home.

>>5038425
>Throw some water at Zullekom to wake her up
Now that she's tired and has been tortured she'll be more pliant. Also I don't want to leave Kobashi here examining documents alone.

Once she wakes up ask a couple questions
>Write In
"So are you under compulsion to not cooperate? Maybe it's blackmail? You're just not adding up, but while that makes you look suspicious to most people I've dealt with special situations a few times.

If you would just tell us everything you know then I promise I'll help it turn out alright for you. I can't do that unless you tell me everything you know so I can piece it together with what I already know though."

>>5038425
>Take Zullekom hostage in your camper.
Let her rest, it's way too late for this shit

>>5038874
>>5038426
What's your plan for when Zullekom sees Wilma? She's thus far been lawful rod-up-ass, and she's not explicitly on our side against the orphanage like Kobashi and Yareli are.

Are we just going to keep her hostage until we bust the Orphanage? I don't think we'll be able to pull that off before having kidnapped the Lt. of the local precinct causes problems.

>>5038945
We can hide Wilma if you think it's a problem, I don't think we're gonna get anything of value out of her in this state considering she literally just collapsed. Plus, it's very late right now so we should keep her close until she wakes up and tells us the truth (which she seemed willing to do) and then we can decide if she's on our side or not. It will be as much of a hostage situation as that last scene was "torture"

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“Sell me this idea.” Even Kobashi can have his doubts every now and then.

“It’s too late, she’s too tired to talk right now, and we need to keep an eye on her since we can’t trust her yet.” You back your plan.

“Your arguments sound reasonable…” Kobashi is still feeling hesitant about this. “But making the lieutenant disappear is not something we can take lightly.”

“She’ll be good to go in the morning, nobody will notice.” You are not really kidnapping her here. You just need to put on hold this conversation!

“Yeah! You’re right! You’re a smart guy, Phil.” Kobashi has no issues with this plan anymore!

“Thanks! You’re a reasonable guy, Kobashi!” You’re happy you two agreed on a plan!

That’s great news, you can finally move on! Kobashi packs the evidence he extracted from the desk into his bag, and both of you grab Lieutenant van Zullekom and take her out of here, carrying her the same way you carried Liam! The other officer isn’t back yet, everything is going on a roll!

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>>5039082

Outside the camper

“You two idiots, what do you think you are doing?” Matilda’s sweetness is nowhere to be found.

“We want a concise and well-thought explanation as quickly as possible.” Yareli isn’t playing around either, inexpressive as always…

Matilda and Yareli were waiting outside looking less than thrilled, that’s normal for both, but it’s no good news for you two. They probably saw both of you coming back with van Zullekom unconscious in your arms and decided to intercept you to understand why in hell you decided to bring her here.

“Is that really your boss?” Matilda asks Yareli as she facepalms.

“I told you I’m certain the moment I laid my eyes on her.” Yareli would look furious if she could.

“Speak.” Matilda glares at you.

“Well, uh, this Lieutenant van Zullekom, and she’s like, ehm, suspicious! Totally van Zuspicious! Worse than Liam!” You show the policewoman to the crowd.

“Y-Yeah, she might be the mole t-that works with Ophelia. We think? We, uh, haven’t confirmed it yet.” Kobashi adds to your story. “A-And we were investigating her, but it was late and...”

“And?” Yareli wants to hear more.

“We brought her here, so we can continue interrogating her tomorrow, so she doesn’t escape or something. She was so tired she collapsed, and we’re kinda sleepy too...” You nod.

“You’re lucky Wilma and Leo are sleeping right now, because they would be disappointed in both of you if they could see this right now.” Matilda shakes her head.

“Y-You know Leo is older than me, right?” You shake your head. You can’t be his role model…

“We’ll be happy to hear your explanations later, but we can’t hold the Lieutenant here.” Yareli is not trying to be troublesome for no reason.

“You can look happy…?” You mutter to yourself.

“Excuse me?” Yareli notices your mumbling.

“N-Nothing. I just said I brought her pointer.” You show the stick that betrayed the Pop tart woman.

“Nice pointer, isn’t it?” Kobashi smiles.

“It is a nice pointer…” Matilda grabs it from you and examines it… then pokes you with it!

“Hey!” You don’t like that! That was rude and unnecessary! Matilda just broke the Janeeva convention!

“D-Don’t do that, Sugar!” Kobashi gets poked too.

“We can give you a ride, but that’s the extent of it.” Matilda grumbles. “You two are so careless…”

It would’ve been a good idea if these two weren’t here… Okay, maybe not.

What do you do?

>Defy the ladies and keep Zullekom here.
>Take Zullekom to her home.
>Take Zullekom to Kobashi’s house.
>Drop Zullekom into a trash can.
>Write In.

>>5039083
>>Take Zullekom to her home.
Ok... let's just leave her there and hope that she'll do nothing, I guess...

>>5039083
>Take Zullekom to her home

>>5039083
>Take Zullekom to her home.

>>5039083
>Take Zullekom to her home.
I guess this is the least bad option. If we took her somewhere else and the police went looking for her then it'd be a very bad look.

>>5039083
>Take Zullekom to her home.

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“Drive us to her house.” Kobashi makes the decision for you this time around.

“But how are we going to make sure she doesn’t do anything?” You wonder, that’s the whole crux of this problem!

“I’ll stay the night there; her family knows me.” Kobashi is reliable.

“You mean her cat?” Yareli throws the illusion away. “I’m coming with you. I’m well rested. Better than you at least, I’m sure you won’t be able to stand up for long.”

“I don’t want you directly involved in this.” Kobashi refuses without hesitation.

“Lieutenant knows about our friendship; she’s not going to think much of it. Don’t be stubborn now.” Yareli will go. Oh man, no big pajama party tonight then…

“C’mon, Kobashi, we can’t let van Zullekom go.” You have a lead you can’t lose.

“Let’s move.” Matilda calls everyone to get inside the camper. Kobashi reluctantly accepts that his partner in justice is coming along.

With Kobashi’s help, Matilda finds the way to the van Zullekom household. It’s one of the nicest houses you’ve seen here – but like most things here, that’s not saying much. Just a well-built home, larger than the cabins that the other officers live in. Kobashi and Yareli take off carrying Zullekom but not without some words.

“Scatter away, you can’t be seen around here. Meet us at noon, Vanessa must be beat. Try not to come along in the Camper.” Yareli notices that van Zullekom is basically limp.

“All right!” You salute both.

“Oh, Phil, Sugar...” Yareli asks for your attention. “Thank you.”

“We aren’t done yet, kids!” Kobashi tries to sound serious, but yawns loudly like a doofus…

“You might be.” Matilda smirks, being all cheeky. Kobashi wanted to respond but the guy is beat…

This feels like it will mark the end of the second day here. The days in the past are long, almost like Nina’s classes…

Do you want to ask for Lt. van Zullekom’s documents?

>Yeah, you’ll check them yourself. Or, let Matilda check them!
>Nah, you’ll trust both Kobashi and Yareli will look into them.
>Write In.

What do you do first thing in the morning?

>Obviously, come back here to check on these guys! You can’t let van Zullekom feel safe.
>Watch some TV, because why not? You’re supposed to meet them at Noon!
>Explain shit to Matilda and Oliver! (Includes checking the documents if you chose to keep them.)
>One part of you feels like you won’t have much of a choice, that certain someone is going to show up again…
>Write In.

(Last reply of the day, we come back tomorrow!)

>>5039182
>>Yeah, you’ll check them yourself. Or, let Matilda check them!
>Watch some TV, because why not? You’re supposed to meet them at Noon!

>>5039182
>Yeah, you’ll check them yourself. Or, let Matilda check them!
>Explain shit to Matilda and Oliver! (Includes checking the documents if you chose to keep them.)

>>5039182

>Yeah, you’ll check them yourself. Or, let Matilda check them!
>Watch some TV, because why not? You’re supposed to meet them at Noon!

>>5039182
>>Yeah, you’ll check them yourself. Or, let Matilda check them!
>Explain shit to Matilda and Oliver! (Includes checking the documents if you chose to keep them.)
Why would we take the documents if we're not going check through them? If we wanna watch TV, why not leave it with Kobashi and Yareli?

>>5039182
>Yeah, you’ll check them yourself. Or, let Matilda check them!

>Explain shit to Matilda and Oliver! (Includes checking the documents if you chose to keep them.)

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Before they actually leave, you asked Kobashi if he could lend to you Lt. van Zullekom’s documents, since he read half of them, he didn’t mind handing them over. Without realizing it until now, they couldn’t move forward without contacting you, you have all the key information. Now the group finally breaks apart, you wave them goodbye one last time. They are probably the coolest police officers you know, sorry Roger, it’s nothing personal...

Matilda decided to drive to the same spot you started the day in, the empty lot nobody comes across often, you have no idea how she found the way there without directions but that’s Matilda for you. During the little trip you explained to her what the documents are and why they are special, Matilda seems intrigued to know more, but she knows that it's too late to look through them.

Sugartilda hands you a sleeping bag as she reveals the slim mattress on the ground of the camper you’ll use to sleep. Wilma and Oliver are hoarding the nice sleeping spots. Matilda felt like Oliver deserved a nice place to sleep after all he has gone through.

You’re a cocoon man now, strong, sturdy, and determined. Too bad action time is forgone at these hours, your armor isn’t needed, you better sleep. Another big day is coming tomorrow. As you were about to complain about your sleeping place, wishing for better conditions, the mattress turns soft as a cloud, or as soft as Nina. Naiad pulled one of her tricks! That fairy magic does come in handy more often than not. She prepares her own nest to sleep next to you as she makes her ship turn into a bed. You pet her head in gratitude. You didn’t ask how the research went while you were gone, but you’ll do it tomorrow… You close your eyes, and say goodbye to the second day in this old-timey reality.

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>>5039729

It's Morning! If you had to guess, it’s like between 8-9 AM, give or take. You need a clock… Matilda is up already, taking care of breakfast, she realized the only way she’s cooking is if you’re out of action. You have a big day today, Cult busting and a date, what an odd combination. You put your little sleeping camp away, so traversing the camper isn’t a chore. You join Matilda at the table, she hands you a cup of coffee and a healthy meal, works for you. Oliver sneaks in as well, looking drowsy. Best chance you’ll get to talk to them with Wilma sleeping, so you’ll take it.

You break the news about what happened yesterday with Liam, van Zullekom and the information you got. Upon hearing your words, Matilda apologizes for rushing to a decision with van Zullekom but still believing it was a bad idea to bring her here. You think that isn’t worth discussing anymore. Oliver wonders if Liam is going to be kept in jail, you think he’s going to, the only one who can say otherwise is van Zullekom, right? That reminds you, you still have her scandalous pics in your pocket. Matilda and Oliver appear to be more than satisfied by your efforts, so you’ll take it as a win. Of course, you’re going to sound competent if you don't specify your actions in excruciating detail… They don’t know you broke the Janeeva convention… That malice in your heart is better kept hidden.

You tell them that you better check on these documents, Matilda offers to do the job herself and give a briefing. She feels like she needs to contribute more. Oliver says that he’ll do it instead, saying that he’s an expert, accustomed to digging information. You feel like you could do it yourself…

What do you do?

>Read the documents. You can do all the work together!
>Talk to Naiad about the Escape Plan.
>Watch TV and relax. You used a lot of your powers yesterday.
>Walk around town, there are a couple of things you want to check. You need some resolutions!
>Write In.

>>5039731
> check the scandalous photos
>Watch TV and relax. You used a lot of your powers yesterday.

>>5039731
>Walk around town, there are a couple of things you want to check. You need some resolutions!
Wanna see if Chewnette and Cohen got their reunion

>>5039731
>Walk around town, there are a couple of things you want to check. You need some resolutions!

>>5039731
>>Walk around town, there are a couple of things you want to check. You need some resolutions!
>Talk to Naiad about the Escape Plan.
We can talk to Naiad while we walk

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“Do you guys mind if I go for a walk around town?” You think going out will relax you much better than staying here inside.

“You need fresh air?” Matilda finds this peculiar.

“You could say that.” You think a change of scenery will help. “I want to check on some people, maybe just walk around, whatever I feel like.”

“What about the files?” Oliver points that you haven’t solved that yet.

“We can figure it out on our own.” Matilda dismisses Oliver’s worries.

“You’re right, master.” Oliver doesn’t see a reason to keep bringing this up.

“So, can I?” You ask for permission again.

“I know how oppressive being stuck in one place is. All I’m going to ask is for you to be mindful about the time.” Matilda reminds you that you have a meeting later.

“Yeah, it’s not gonna take long.” You won’t break this promise!

“…Phil, good morning.” Neat hair Wilma has awoken! “Sugar and Leo, too.”

“Hey there!” You pat her head because why not?

“…Are you going somewhere?” Wilma can smell that you want out.

“Yeah, to town for a lil’ bit. What’s wrong?” You inform the tomato.

“…C-Can I go with you?” Wilma asks politely.

“Wilma, don’t forget you can’t be seen.” Matilda is being the harsh authority figure here.

“I-I c-can disguise myself… and I-I’ll be with Phil, I-It’s gonna be fine!” Wilma has a plan of her own!

“We can’t risk it.” Matilda denies once again.

“We haven’t seen the costume yet.” Oliver points out.

“Indeed, but it is still dangerous.” Matilda maintains a cool head.

“…Didn’t hurt to ask.” Wilma sits besides you, not really lamenting that her idea was turned down. She turns the TV on. “W-What’s for breakfast?” Wilma is easily getting accustomed to this… Like Nariko once did… Uh-oh…

“Hang on, I’ll hand you a plate.” Matilda stands up and goes to the kitchen.


Do you want someone to accompany you?

>Yes, Wilma! You’ll work on a great costume!
>Yes, Matilda! She needs a real break from being trapped in here!
>Yes, Oliver! Because why the hell not?
>No.
>Write In.

What do you do?

>Check the Marketplace. Check on Annette and Pascaline!
>Check the Garden Shop. Did Chewnette and Cohen reunite?
>Check the School. Maybe you’ll meet up with the Tomato Army!
>Check the School’s secret base. The Cookie factory...
>Check the Police Station. You have the hunch something is going on there.
>Find the scoundrel that stole your cheese. This is a detective mission now.
>Visit the Lake that’s been called a Pond for some reason. Just have a relaxing time.
>Write In.

>>5039812
>>Yes, Wilma! You’ll work on a great costume!
She could use some fresh air instead of being stuck inside
>Check the Garden Shop. Did Chewnette and Cohen reunite?
And if we have time...
>Find the scoundrel that stole your cheese. This is a detective mission now.

>>5039812
>Yes, Oliver! Because why the hell not?
>Check the Marketplace. Check on Annette and Pascaline!

>>5039812
>Yes, Wilma! You’ll work on a great costume!
>Check the Garden Shop. Did Chewnette and Cohen reunite?

>>5039812
>Yes, Wilma! You’ll work on a great costume!
>Check the Marketplace. Check on Annette and Pascaline!
>Check the Garden Shop. Did Chewnette and Cohen reunite?

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You notice that Yareli left her sunglasses here…

“Hold up, maybe Wilma coming along isn’t as far-fetched as you think it is, Sugar…” You have an idea.

“…!” Wilma appears excited!

“I never said it was far-fetched, I said it was dangerous.” Matilda halts the idea without hesitation.

“Listen to the man, Sugar.” Oliver puts his hand over Matilda’s hand with conviction without taking his eyes off you.

You grab the sunglasses and slowly put them on Wilma’s face… Now she’s Cooler Wilma! A redder cooler Wilma!

“Woah.” Oliver can’t barely recognize Wilma.

“You need to do better than that.” Matilda is the costume expert after all.

“I’m not done yet!” You take your stupidly long hoodie off.

“…?!!” Wilma gets all fidgety for some reason.

You put the hoodie on her and keep adding more items to her…

“Behold, Wilma’s disguise!” You wave your hands for enhancement! Nina would be proud of this costume… and that ain’t good…

“…H-How do I look?” Wilma is interested in second-opinions!

“Yeah…” Oliver nods with a smile on his face. “It’s awful.”

“…?!!!!” Wilma has lost hope.

“H-Hey, that ain’t true…” Your masterpiece is shit?! That’s impossible!

“She needs some little details covered. Let’s add some makeup.” Matilda puts some lipstick on Wilma. “There, perfect.”

“Nah, it’s still awful.” Oliver doesn’t think this is going to work.

“Wrong.” Matilda will defend this just because she’s part of it now. “You can go now, trust us.”

“I’m ready, let’s go, Wilma!” You put on another stupidly long hoodie.

“She needs a codename just in case.” Matilda points out.

“How about Wich?” Oliver remembers the Sandwich debacle from the OG world.

“No. We can come up with something better.” Matilda refuses to use that awful nickname.

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>>5039928

And you didn’t come up with something better. You left because you don’t want to keep wasting time on this! Time is of the essence and what not. You and Wich walked together towards the Shopping District, you want to visit the Garden Shop to check what happened to Chewnette and Cohen. Wilma took pleasure walking around and loved the fresh air hitting her face, neither of you said much, but despite that enjoyed each other's presence. You kept a low profile because you didn’t want anyone to interrupt you too, so you didn’t want to be loud anyway, and luckily, you weren’t spotted!

Coincidentally, inside the shop, you found Cohen near the cashier desk all on his lonesome, looking around and waiting for someone. That’s a great sign if you think about it! You approach him…

“Hey Cohen!” You act as friendly as you can.

“M-Mr. Noon, I-I mean, Phil! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in school?” Cohen is really taken by surprise by your presence.

“…Wait, shouldn’t you be in school too?” You glare back as you point at him. Megane brothers don’t call each other out like that...

“I-It’s a long story! I didn’t want to put you on the spot.” Cohen sounds apologetic. “Who’s your friend…?”

“This? She’s my friend, Wich.” You introduce Wilma. These two know each other, so this is the perfect test for the disguise!

“…Yo.” Wilma tries to act cool. Why the hell did Wilma say that?

“N-Nice to meet you, my name is Cohen, Phil and I are schoolmates.” Cohen bows respectfully. He didn’t recognize her! You high-five yourself mentally.

“…I know.” Wilma is trying to play some kind of act…

“Hehe…” Cohen finds this situation awkward.

What do you do?

>“So, why are you here? Don’t tell me you’re skipping school.” Play dumb. Let him tell the tale of reunion!
>“Waiting for the cashier too? We came to buy some things.” Pretend you’re a customer.
>“You seem happy, Cohen. Did something good happen?” Try to make him spill it out.
>Write In.

>>5039929
>>“You seem happy, Cohen. Did something good happen?” Try to make him spill it out.

>>5039929
>“You seem happy, Cohen. Did something good happen?” Try to make him spill it out.

>>5039929
>“You seem happy, Cohen. Did something good happen?” Try to make him spill it out.

>>5039929
>>“You seem happy, Cohen. Did something good happen?” Try to make him spill it out.

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“You seem happy, Cohen. Did something good happen?” You won’t make it obvious, but you won’t play around either, you’ll try to make him spill it out.

“…?” Wilma seems confused as to why you’re asking him this.

“Uhm, uh, the thing is…” Cohen tries to hide how happy he is. “I have a mom now! It all happened yesterday so fast! I-I still can’t believe it! I-It’s like it wasn’t supposed to happen…”

“Hey, that's great!” You smile back! Yeah, it worked! Maybe a little too fast! But you have little to no idea how this process works. “Congratulations!”

“…” Wilma acts like she’s happy for him too.

“T-Thank you! None of this feels real…” Cohen doesn’t hide his smile this time.

“That means you’re a regular now. Doesn’t it?” You say in a playful manner.

“H-Huh? I guess?” Cohen doesn’t care about that in the slightest.

From behind the counter, inside the storage room (the spooky zone), Chewnette appears with a smile from ear to ear too!

“I’m ready now, Cohen! I just needed to pay my respects! With everyone informed, the store is in good hands, we can go.” Chewnette is ready to leave. “Huh? Are these your friends?”

“Mhm, they are friends from school.” Cohen doesn’t attempt to explain that he just met Wich. Makes things easier.

“Huhuhuhu! Oh my! Kids these days are really quite something!” Chewnette gives you a weird look. “Nice to meet you two, I’m Cohen’s mother! Huhuhuhuhuhu!” She really loved saying that. “I’m Chewnette, the owner of this store.”

“Hello there, Ms. Chewnette.” You nod cordially. “I’m Phil and this is Wich.”

“No need to be so formal.” Chewnette waves you off.

“So, what were you doing back there? Paying respects to who?” You ask as Wilma attentively watches.

“My mom said a kind spirit in the storeroom led her to me!” Cohen lets you know. Chewnette feels overjoyed upon being called mom.

“N-No need to go into details, dear! We don’t want to come off as some sort of freak show to strangers… I just left a token of appreciation in the place where my fortune changed, nothing more!” Chewnette got a lil’ uneasy with how talkative Cohen is being.

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>>5040016

“That still sounds… odd.” You raise an eyebrow.

“T-The details don’t matter now. Keep it between us, you two, understand?” Chewnette waves your concerns off.

“Mom, don’t give them orders like that.” Cohen doesn’t appreciate Chewnette being bossy.

“I-I wasn’t being harsh this time!” Chewnette will be kept in check by Cohen.

“So, you reunited yesterday? Isn’t that way too quick for adoption?” You feel a plot hole brewing.

“Don’t let a word out, buuuut… Our dear Captain van Zullekom helped with the process immensely! We worked all evening to make the paperwork go smoothly and into effect! It was difficult to track, but we found the key documentation to prove Cohen is my son.” Chewnette moves her hands back and forth, from side to side, giggling. “We needed to get this done immediately! The moment I looked at him, I knew he was mine! He looks just like this father!” Chewnette grabs Cohen and starts kissing him on the top of his head.

“Yeah… exactly like his father…” You deadpan. These two have the exact same head shape for crying out loud!

“And while we’re talking about him! We need to go, Cohen! Your father is waiting!” Chewnette starts dragging Cohen out of the store! “It was a pleasure to meet you two! If you need to buy anything, a clerk will show up any moment now!”

“Goodbye, Phil, Wich! S-Sorry for leaving like this!” Cohen waves as both members of the family step out of the building.

“Don’t worry, man. Take care! And enjoy your family.” You wave off. You’re so happy that you didn’t make a mistake with them! Imagine how awkward it would’ve been if you got it wrong!

“…T-Take care!” Wich couldn’t help but to sound like Wilma… “…Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“…Were you the one who helped them?”

Sadly, your response will have to wait for next time! That’s all we have for this thread! Thanks for playing!

>>5040017
Glad to see the reunion went well! Thanks for running!

>>5040017
Tfr