Detective Shellin and the Curse of the Gender Swap: Tulip Squad's Mystery is Smelling Like Panic
Shellin Burgundy is a detective VTuber who chases mysteries around the world. Today, as always, he has zero clients. He's lazing around with his Tulip Squad buddies when a mysterious letter arrives at the office: 'Find the cursed flower.' No sender, but the reward is a hundred gold coins. Shellin's eyes light up. 'This might be the work of a phantom thief,' he says, and jumps at the case.
The letter leads to the Nocturne Garden on the edge of town, where a strange flower blooms only at night. S
Detective Shellin and the Curse of the Gender Swap: Tulip Squad's Mystery is Smelling Like Panic - The Cursed Flower and the Missing Client ~The Detective Turns Into a Girl~
"…So, what's today's request?"
Still slumped over the worn-out desk in the office, Shellin Burgundy asked their two partners. Their wine-red hair was tied back in a single bundle, but today the bedhead was especially bad. Their amber eyes were half-open, and the tear mole beneath their left eye made them look even more sleepy. They wore a tired white shirt with a black vest, and a brass loupe hung from their neck. The knees of their slacks were frayed.
This was the old two-story building behind the bakery district in the lower town of Velcrain. The Tulip Squad Detective Agency. Rent was eight silver coins a month. Cheap, but that came with rattles and creaks everywhere. The window frames were warped, and the floorboards groaned with every step.
"There isn't one. Nothing since yesterday's cat search."
Elise, her long silver hair braided, looked down at Shellin with narrow purple eyes. At 165 centimeters she was petite, but there was a dignified air in the way she sat with her back straight. As befitting a Flower Song mage, faintly glowing floral patterns floated at her fingertips.
Elise Nocturne. Twenty-two years old. The Tulip Squad's strategist—cool and theoretical. She rarely showed emotion, but when her comrades were in danger, she moved faster than anyone. It was usually her job to call out Shellin's reckless deductions.
"Bro! That cat from yesterday got back to its owner, right? I heard the old man was crying with joy!"
Luca leaned forward, brown hair bouncing with dog ears twitching. Their round golden eyes sparkled. Their 170-centimeter frame was full of youth and energy, and the way their tail wagged vigorously was exactly like a puppy.
Luca Stone. Eighteen years old. A beastfolk apprentice and the Tulip Squad's mood-maker. They faced discrimination often as a beastfolk, but used it as a springboard to try to be kinder than anyone. They looked up to Shellin as a big brother and respected Elise as a big sister.
"Yeah, well. The reward was ten copper coins. Three loaves of bread."
Shellin pulled yesterday's leftover Flower Song bread from a paper bag on the desk. It was a little hard, but still edible. Chewing on it, they gazed absently out the window. The smell of fresh baking drifted in from the bakery district, and despite it being midday, their stomach growled.
Detective streamer. A profession unique to this world. They conducted detective work through broadcasts, making a living from viewer donations and request fees. Registration with the Velcrain Detective Association was required, and working unregistered carried a fine of fifty silver coins.
Shellin had been doing this work for five years now.
And yet.
"Five years registered, zero requests, a handful of viewers… huh."
Muttering quietly, Shellin looked up at the ceiling. A single spiderweb swayed gently.
They had deductive ability. They thought so themselves. And yet, for some reason, requests never came. Even when they opened a stream, only a few viewers showed up. The comments were all "Who?" and "Who is this person." Top streamers supposedly earned over fifty gold coins a month, but their own income was about ten copper coins a month. They were on the verge of being able to afford bread or not.
"Don't worry about it. Your deductions are the real thing. Someday, a big request will definitely come."
Elise said quietly. Her purple eyes softened for just a moment. Shellin didn't notice that gaze and kept chewing their bread.
"That's right, bro! My nose guarantees it! You're an amazing detective!"
Luca shouted while wagging their tail. The cup on the desk rattled.
"Your nose is a dog's nose. It did help with the cat search, though."
"Nyahaha! True!"
The three laughed together. It was a lazy time, but not a bad one.
Suddenly, Luca's face turned serious.
"By the way, Flower Song magic is amazing, huh. You draw out magic power with singing, right? In the beastfolk community, there's a rumor that hearing a Flower Song mage's song heals wounds or makes crops grow."
Elise gave a small nod.
"Yes. Flower Song magic uses song and plants as its medium. To activate it, you must draw magic power from the 'Song Seed' dwelling inside your body and sing a specific melody. However, not just anyone can do it. A ritual to plant the Song Seed is required, and only about fifteen percent of the population has the aptitude… I am one of them."
Elise gathered light at her fingertips. Small petals danced, glowing faintly in the air. It was a basic form of Flower Song magic. Shellin stared at that light with a face that looked like they were about to remember something.
"…A Song Seed, huh."
Something pricked deep in their chest.
A memory of getting lost in the Nocturne Garden as a small child. A garden at night. Pale blue phosphorescence. Someone's singing voice. And—
A sharp pain stabbed the back of their head, and Shellin grimaced.
"What's wrong?"
"…No, it's nothing. Just a little headache."
Elise leaned forward with a worried look. The distance was close, and Shellin felt their heart beat just a little faster. …No, that was because of the headache. It had to be.
"More importantly, let me warn you about one thing. Never touch night-blooming flowers. According to old lore, those who touch flowers that bloom only at night have their 'vessels of the soul' swapped. It's a curse that scrambles gender, species, and age all together."
"Huh, interesting. So a man becomes a woman, or a cat?"
"It's not funny. The curse still hasn't been fully understood. No method of reversing it has been established."
At Elise's serious tone, Shellin gave a light shrug.
That was when it happened.
With a soft sliding sound, a white envelope slipped under the office door.
"…Hm?"
Shellin stood and picked up the envelope. Old paper. No wax seal, no sender's name. But it had a strange weight to it.
Opening it, Shellin's eyes went wide.
"A hundred gold coins!?"
"Whaaat!?"
"Let me see."
Elise peered at the letter. It read:
'I want you to investigate the cursed flower blooming in the Nocturne Garden. The reward is one hundred gold coins. If you succeed, I will prepare an additional reward. However, this request must not be spoken of to anyone. The truth of the curse sleeps within the one who touches the flower.'
A hundred gold coins. In Velcrain, that was enough to buy a house. Roughly three million yen equivalent. Shellin clutched the letter and trembled.
"This has to be Noct Phantom's doing! That phantom thief sent me a challenge letter!"
"Why would you jump to that? It's a request from an unknown sender. It's far too dangerous. A nighttime curfew is in effect for the Nocturne Garden. After sunset, the cursed flowers become active."
Elise objected flatly. But Shellin's amber eyes were already sparkling. As was their habit when thinking, they unconsciously began spinning the brass loupe at their neck.
"But hey, we might be able to help someone! And investigating a cursed flower? Way too interesting!"
"Bro's intuition is always right, nya! Let's go, sis!"
"…Sigh. You two really never learn."
Elise let out a deep sigh. But deep in those purple eyes, a faint light of expectation dwelled. Shellin didn't miss it.
Elise was always like that. Objecting with her words, but in the end, moving first. Shellin trusted that part of her more than anyone.
"It's settled. Tomorrow at dusk, we head to the Nocturne Garden."
They looked at the letter once more. The handwriting seemed strangely familiar.
…No, it was just their imagination.
Convincing themselves of that, Shellin placed the letter in the desk drawer.
The next day, dusk.
The three stepped into the Nocturne Garden at the edge of Velcrain. Away from the city's bustle, the garden sat at the border of the Silver Forest. During the day, it was said to be a peaceful flower field. But once the sun set, it transformed completely.
As the sky dyed indigo, the garden began to be wrapped in pale blue phosphorescence.
"Whoa… it's completely different from daytime."
The flowers blooming all around glowed faintly. White flowers, blue flowers, purple flowers. All of them were so beautiful they didn't seem real, and yet eerie. With every gust of wind, the petals rustled, and the light spread like waves.
"The magic here is dense. The flower spirit blood is stirring… be careful."
Elise's silver braid fluttered in the wind. She took a Flower Song magic stance and lit a light at her fingertips.
"My ears are picking up something weird… a really bad feeling."
Luca's dog ears stood straight up, and their golden eyes narrowed in caution. In the night garden, besides the three's footsteps, there was a presence of something stirring.
Nighttime curfew. Break it and you'd be detained. But there was no time to worry about that.
"This way. There are footprints. …These are traces of someone passing through recently."
Shellin spotted faint footprints left on the ground and spun their deductions. The way the grass was bent, the moisture of the soil, the angle of broken branches. Puzzle pieces clicked together in their head.
The three advanced deeper into the garden.
Eventually, under the moonlight, they found a single flower like a black rose in bloom.
It was clearly different from the surrounding flowers. The black petals absorbed light, and a red pulse leaked from its center. The air around the flower alone seemed distorted.
"So this is the cursed flower…"
As if drawn in, Shellin walked toward the flower.
"Wait! Don't touch it!"
"Bro! Stop!"
They couldn't hear the two's restraint. Shellin's hand touched the black petal.
In that instant.
A dazzling flash burst forth.
Their vision turned white, and a sound like a scream echoed through their head. The ground shook, and the flowers all rustled at once. Within the light, something pierced through the three's bodies.
"Whoa, what is this!?"
The light vanished.
Shellin had fallen onto the ground. They opened their eyes.
"…Huh?"
Their vision was different from usual. Their hair was long. Wine-red hair reaching their shoulders. Their limbs were slender and delicate. There was a strange sensation in their chest. The clothes were baggy, and a skirt—
No, wait.
A skirt?
"Uwaaaaaah!? What is this!? My voice is high!? The skirt is breezy!?"
The voice coming from their own mouth had become high-pitched, a girl's voice.
"Shellin… you, that form…"
Turning around, there stood an unfamiliar boy. Short silver hair. Narrow purple eyes. The pupils were vertical slits. Height was still 165 centimeters, but the build was clearly male.
"Elise!? You've become a guy!?"
"…!? W-what is this… why am I…"
Elise looked down at her own body and turned bright red. Even in a male body, her gestures and manner of speech remained feminine. The imbalance was strangely funny, and yet serious.
"Nyaa! Nyaa! Nyanyaa!?"
From their feet, a cat's meow was heard.
A gray cat was meowing desperately. Their round golden eyes had grown even rounder and bigger. The brown hair had become gray fur, dog ears had become cat ears. The tail was a cat's too.
"Luca!? You've become a cat!?"
"Nyaa! (Bro! Help me, nya! I've become a cat, nya!)"
To Shellin, Luca's words only sounded like "nyaa." But somehow, the meaning was understood. Was it the curse's effect, or the empathy ability between beastfolk?
"The cursed flower… it really was a curse that swaps the vessels of the soul."
Elise said in a trembling voice. Even in a male body, her silver hair was beautiful, and her purple eyes sharp.
Shellin looked down at their own body.
Long wine-red hair. Delicate shoulders. Slender fingers. And, beneath the clothes, soft swellings.
"…Seriously. I've really become a girl."
Their heart pounded loudly. Their mind was going blank.
But more than that.
A line from the letter resurfaced in Shellin's mind.
'I know your secret.'
—No. The letter hadn't said anything like that.
But there had definitely been faintly rising let
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