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"What don't you get? I am not taking this case." The commitment in Heizou's voice could be heard even by an untrained ear.
"But it should be just what you-"
"No," he said with finality. "If you have any other cases, I will be happy to investigate. Otherwise, I will be taking my leave." He turned on his heel.
"Shikanoin Heizou." It was Sara's voice. His boss. Honestly, he probably wouldn't take this case even if she threatened to fire him. He was the best detective in the Comission, though. She wouldn't dare.
"Ooh, my full name. Must be serious," the detective said with palpable sarcasm. He continued walking.
"Why?" she asked simply. "Why would you, probably the greatest mortal mind in Inazuma and quite possibly all Teyvat, refuse what amounts to a connect-the-dots? This should be easy."
"Exactly." The sheer dullness of the case was only part of the reason why he wouldn't take it. Perhaps, if it were just a mildly underwhelming case, he would give in and begrudgingly take it. In truth, he had long ago solved the connect-the-dots, and just didn't want to look at the full picture. A stabbing. At a very specific annual festival. By a petty thief out of fear of being caught. The parallels were too simple to ignore. Probably intentional. Probably bait. Even if it wasn't, such a case would be liable to bring back more memories than he was comfortable dealing with right now.
He was not risking his safety for this, thank you very much.