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 - A detective who became a girl, and a shadow that spreads the curse
"…Why did it have to come to this?"
Shellin Burgundy sighed in front of the old mirror.
What reflected there was an unfamiliar face. The wine-red hair was still tied back in a single bundle, but the contours were rounder, and the skin was somehow paler. Only the amber eyes and the tear mole beneath the left eye were unmistakably their own.
Last night, the moment they touched the black rose in Nocturne Garden, their body had turned into a girl's. Their partner Elise had become a boy, and Luca had become a cat. All three of them had been hit with an outrageous curse.
"So skirts really are this uncomfortable…"
Shellin tugged at the baggy shirt and the hem of the skirt in front of the mirror. None of the clothes from when they were a man fit anymore. The skirt especially—the feeling of wind slipping in with every step was unpleasant.
"I think walking outside in that outfit is dangerous in all sorts of ways."
A low voice came from behind.
Turning around, there stood a tall young man brushing back short silver hair with his hand. Slender purple eyes. A silver flower earring on the left ear. Even though he wore a man's shirt, there was still something androgynous about him.
Elise Nocturne. A flower-song mage, and the Tulip Squad's strategist. Until last night, she had been a petite woman with long silver hair braided into a plait.
"…Sure enough, my own voice feels gross."
Elise pressed a hand to their throat and gave a small cough.
"Don't call it gross. It suits you, that voice."
"Flattery won't get you anything. …Besides, 'won't get you anything'—my sentence endings are all wrong. 'Won't get you anything' sounds strange coming from a man's body, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it is a bit weird."
Shellin laughed. Their own voice was much higher than it had been yesterday. When they laughed, it sounded like bells tumbling.
"Ahh. I can't even pay this month's rent, and now this."
Shellin looked up at the ceiling. The spiderweb was swaying in the same spot as yesterday.
This was the Tulip Squad Detective Agency, tucked behind the bakery street in the lower town of Velkrain. Rent was eight silver coins a month. An old two-story building, the floorboards creaking with every step.
Velkrain was a commercial city-state situated in the center of the Luminousfeld continent. After the Demon Beast War three hundred years ago, a cultural sphere where humans and beastfolk coexisted had taken shape. Magical technology was dominated by a plant-derived mana system called "flower-song magic," which drew out the mana dwelling in flowers and plants through song.
"Bro! Look at this, the top of the shelf feels amazing, nya!"
A gray cat called out from the very top of the bookshelf. Their big golden eyes were sparkling.
Luca Stone. An eighteen-year-old beastfolk warrior. They should have had brown hair and dog ears, but now they were a cat covered head to toe in gray fur. Their tail was long and supple, swaying with their emotions.
"Luca, you're a cat and you still like high places?"
"It's because I'm a cat, nya! And this body is so nimble and fun, nya! But it's a problem that words don't come out right, nya."
Luca rubbed their muzzle with a front paw. Apparently every time they tried to speak, a "nya" slipped in.
"It's all right. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to speak better."
"Sis, you're so kind, nya… But I still want to go back to my original body, nya."
Luca jumped down from the bookshelf and rubbed against Shellin's feet.
Shellin crouched down and stroked Luca's head. The fur was soft and warm.
"Yeah, we'll definitely change back. All three of us, to our original bodies."
Shellin stood up and stared at the letter left on the desk.
The envelope that had been slipped under the agency door last night. No sender, reward of one hundred gold coins. It was a request to find a cursed flower.
One hundred gold coins. In Velkrain, that was enough to buy a whole house. For someone registered as a detective for five years with zero requests, it was a dreamlike sum.
But that letter had been the beginning of everything.
"First, let's sort out the situation. What do we know right now, and what don't we know?"
Shellin sat down in a chair and spread paper across the desk.
"What we know is that touching the black rose in Nocturne Garden swapped our bodies. That flower is a type of 'night-blooming flower,' and it carries a curse that exchanges the soul-vessels of whoever touches it."
"Yes. Because I carry flower spirit blood, I could sense that flower's magic. It was a very old, very strong curse."
Elise sat on the opposite side of the desk. Crossing long legs, resting a hand on their chin. Even in a man's body, the gestures they made when thinking were the same.
Flower spirit. A race said to be born from plants, making up about five percent of the population. They gained nourishment through photosynthesis and had high aptitude for flower-song magic. Elise carried that blood.
"And then there's that letter. The sender knew my secret."
Shellin's voice dropped slightly.
"Secret? What secret, nya?"
Luca leaped onto the desk and tilted their head.
"…No, that's—I can't say it yet."
Shellin looked away.
That a song-seed dwelled within their body. That even though they weren't a flower-song mage, they were something impossible for an ordinary human.
That was a secret they couldn't tell anyone.
"I won't force you to tell me. But if you ever want to talk, I'll always listen."
Elise's purple eyes looked straight at Shellin.
That gaze made something deep in their chest tighten.
"…Thank you."
Shellin gave a small nod.
"Anyway, let's find a way to change back, nya! My nose will find us some kind of clue, nya!"
Luca's nose twitched.
"Right. First, let's go to my aunt's place. The bakery 'Song of Wheat.' She might know something."
Shellin stood up.
The hem of the skirt caught on the chair leg.
"Whoa!"
They lost their balance and nearly pitched forward.
"Watch out!"
Elise quickly reached out and grabbed Shellin's arm.
A man's hand. Large, bony, strong.
"Are you all right?"
"I-I'm fine. Thanks."
Shellin felt their face grow hot.
Elise's hand was still touching their arm.
"…If you're not used to skirts, why not wear trousers? My old clothes should fit you a little better, at least."
Elise let go and pointed to the closet at the back of the agency.
"Huh, you sure? Sorry for the trouble."
"It's fine. If you go down the stairs in that outfit, you'll definitely fall."
Elise pulled out an unbleached shirt and dark navy trousers from the closet.
"These should be easier to move in, right?"
"You're a lifesaver. …Though women's trousers do feel kind of strange."
Shellin took the clothes and changed in the back room.
Looking in the mirror, there stood a young girl wearing a man's shirt and trousers.
"…Yeah, the discomfort is intense."
Shellin gave a wry smile.
But it was far easier to move in than the skirt.
"Bro, I'm ready, nya! Let's go already, nya!"
Luca was waiting at the door with their tail raised.
"You're still impatient even as a cat."
The three of them left the agency.
Outside was filled with morning light. The scent of freshly baked bread drifted from the bakery street.
"Smells so good, nya! I'm hungry, nya!"
Luca leaped onto Shellin's shoulder.
"Maybe we can get something at my aunt's shop."
Shellin started walking toward the nostalgic scent.
The bakery "Song of Wheat" was a small shop on the corner of the bakery street. A brick building with a signboard painted with flowers.
When they reached the front of the shop, the aroma of freshly baked flower-song bread grew even stronger.
"Aunt Marie! You here?"
Shellin opened the shop door.
Jingle jingle, the bell rang.
"Yes, welcome… wait, huh?"
A woman in a white apron came out from the back of the shop.
Marie Burgundy. Fifty-two years old. Shellin's aunt and the owner of this shop. Plump in build, with brown hair tied back. A gentle face that narrowed its eyes when she laughed.
"You… Shellin?"
Marie's eyes went wide.
"Huh, how'd you know?"
Shellin was startled.
Their body had become a girl's. Their voice was high too. And yet, they'd been seen through in an instant.
"Of course I know. That bedhead of yours, and the tear mole under your left eye. And that sloppy way you walk. Who do you think I am?"
Marie put her hands on her hips and laughed out loud.
"Sloppy way of walking…"
Shellin's shoulders slumped.
"So, is that cat Luca? And the boy behind you… Elise dear?"
Marie looked back and forth between Luca on Shellin's shoulder and Elise standing behind.
"You can tell it's me too, nya?"
Luca's eyes went round.
"Of course. Those golden eyes of yours and that energetic voice haven't changed one bit, even as a cat."
"Marie, it's been a while. …As you can see, we've had a bit of a situation."
Elise scratched their head, looking a little embarrassed.
"It's a curse. A night-blooming flower's curse."
Marie's expression suddenly turned serious.
"You know about it?"
"Yeah. When I was young, something similar happened. People whose bodies got swapped after touching night-blooming flowers—there were quite a few in this town."
Marie brought three warm flower-song breads from the back of the shop.
"Here, eat first. We'll talk after."
The flower-song bread was fluffy and smelled faintly sweet.
"Looks delicious, nya! Thanks for the food, nya!"
Luca pounced on the bread.
"Even as a cat, your appetite hasn't changed."
Shellin bit into the bread too.
Warm. Soft. The sweetness of wheat and the fragrance of flowers spread through their mouth.
"…It's good."
Shellin felt a warmth welling up in their chest.
This taste hadn't changed since childhood.
"No matter who you are, you're my nephew. That won't change, no matter what happens to your body."
Marie gently stroked Shellin's head.
"…Auntie."
Shellin's vision suddenly blurred.
Tears threatened to spill.
"I was so scared, like I wasn't myself anymore."
Shellin spoke their honest feelings.
"It's all right. You are you. Nothing's changed."
Marie's hand was warm and kind.
Shellin wiped their tears and smiled.
"…Thanks, Auntie. I feel better now."
"There there. Now, about that curse."
Marie leaned her elbows on the counter.
"The strength of a night-blooming flower's curse depends on the type of flower. Black rose, white lily, crimson peony… all of them exchange the soul-vessels of whoever touches them. Sex, race, age—everything gets swapped."
"Soul-vessels… meaning, bodies."
"Right. The soul stays the same, only the vessel gets swapped. In your case, Shellin ended up in a girl's vessel, Elise dear in a boy's vessel, and Luca in a cat's vessel."
"Is there a way to change back?"
Elise leaned forward.
"…I don't know for certain either. But back when the curse spread through this town, I heard the flower-song mages all banded together and purified the source of the curse."
"The source of the curse…"
Shellin put a hand to their chin.
"Right. There's probably something like a boss flower deep in Nocturne Garden. That black rose you touched might be one of them."
"…I wandered into that garden once as a kid."
Shellin murmured suddenly.
"Huh? You did?"
"Yeah. When I was little, I got lost in the garden and touched a black rose. After that, I came down with a fever and was bedridden. …Auntie, don't you remember?"
"…Hmm, now that you mention it, maybe something like that happened, maybe not."
Marie tilted her head.
"I'm getting old too. I don't remember the details. Sorry."
"It's fine. I only remember it vaguely myself."
Shellin ate the last bite of bread.
"Anyway, it looks like we need to find the source of the curse. Elise, do you still have the petal you brought back from the garden?"
"Yes. Here."
Elise took a small cloth pouch from their chest pocket.
Inside was a s
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