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 Pursuer of the Cursed Petals ~A Boy in Love and the Weight of Secrets~
Morning light filtered through the gaps in the old window frame.
Shellin Burgundy sat at the desk, still in a girl's body. Their wine-red hair was tied back in a single bundle. Their amber eyes stared fixedly at the stack of papers spread across the desk. The tear mole beneath their left eye cast a shadow on their exhausted expression.
It had been three days since the second letter arrived that night.
"Stop investigating any further"—the sender knew that the seed of song dwelled within Shellin's body. A secret they had never told anyone, their most precious secret. And now it was in the hands of an unknown someone.
Even so.
"…I can't just stop."
Shellin clenched their fist tightly. The girl's slender fingers turned white.
In the city, body swaps were causing utter chaos. The flower shop owner had become a young girl, the bakery's regular customer had become a large man, and even the city's hero—gender, age, and race, all thrown into disarray.
The curse was spreading.
"Bro! I bought breakfast, nya!"
A gray cat leaped in through the window. A small paper bag was clamped in its mouth. Its large golden eyes sparkled in the morning light. Its long tail swayed happily.
Luca Stone. An 18-year-old beastfolk warrior. Originally a cheerful boy with brown hair and dog ears, but now covered entirely in gray fur as a cat. Even so, their brightness hadn't faded.
"Luca, you're a cat and you can still go shopping?"
"Nyahaha! Auntie Marie at the bakery looked at my eyes and said 'Oh, it's Luca.' She can tell even with a cat, nya!"
Luca placed the paper bag on the desk. Still-warm Flower Song Bread peeked out from inside. A Verkline specialty—sweet bread kneaded with flower nectar. Three copper coins. Shellin's wallet could always barely afford this.
"Ahh. I can't even pay rent this month, and with the curse investigation, I can't deal with any of it."
Shellin sighed while biting into the bread.
"If you have time to complain, how about moving your hands instead?"
A low voice came from the back room.
A tall young man appeared, brushing up silver short hair with one hand. Sharp purple eyes. A silver flower earring on the left ear. Wearing a man's shirt, yet still carrying a somewhat androgynous air.
Elise Nocturne. Twenty-two years old. A Flower Song mage, and the Tulip Squad's strategist. A cool woman who once prided herself on her long silver braid, but now had a boy's body due to the curse.
"Elise, you're in a bad mood again this morning. Still not used to the guy's body?"
"…Of course I'm not used to it. My voice is low, my shoulders are broad, and my clothes don't fit."
Elise looked down at their own hands. A boy's large, bony hands. They should have been delicate fingertips that wove Flower Song magic, but now they took an unfamiliar shape.
"But it suits you. That voice, that face."
When Shellin said that, Elise's shoulders gave a small jolt.
"…None of your business. More importantly, what's today's plan?"
Elise turned their face away and looked out the window. The tips of their ears were just slightly red.
Shellin picked up the stack of papers on the desk.
"Today, we're going to the Verkline Detective Association headquarters. I'll ask them to let us look through past case files related to curse flowers."
"The Detective Association? You're registered, but you're an unknown liver with zero requests. Would they really grant you viewing permission that easily?"
"Making that happen is where a detective's skill comes in."
Shellin grinned mischievously. Smiling with a girl's face made them look somehow innocent.
"…That's the face you make when you're planning something reckless again. Fine. I'll come too. The name of the flower spirit lineage should be worth something."
Elise touched the silver flower earring. The Nocturne family was a distinguished lineage descended from flower spirits. In the world of Flower Song magic, that name carried a certain weight.
"I'm coming too, nya! A cat's sense of smell might be useful for something, nya!"
Luca leaped onto Shellin's shoulder. The gray fur tickled against their neck.
"Alright, the three of us will go. …Two people and one animal, huh."
Shellin stood up. The hem of their skirt swayed softly. Even after three days, they couldn't get used to this sensation.
The Verkline Detective Association headquarters was a stone building in the Central District.
Detective livers bustled in and out of the entrance. Everyone looked busy. Each carried request documents in hand, walking briskly. Some even giggled when they saw Shellin.
"Hey, isn't that the Tulip Squad's…" "The one with zero requests." "I heard they turned into a girl."
Whispers meant to be heard. Shellin bit their lip hard.
"Don't mind them. Those people don't understand your worth."
Elise stood in front of Shellin. With a boy's body, as if shielding Shellin.
"…Thanks, Elise."
Shellin smiled faintly and pushed open the door to the association headquarters.
Inside, the air was cool. High ceilings, polished stone floors. A long reception counter stood at the front.
Beyond the counter sat a woman.
Lina Cole. Twenty-eight years old. A woman who served as the receptionist for the Detective Association. Her chestnut hair was neatly gathered, and she had a serious-looking face. Her hands flipping through documents were efficient, suggesting years of experience in this work.
"…You're Shellin Burgundy of the Tulip Squad. What brings you here today?"
When Lina looked at Shellin, she furrowed her brow slightly. An expression that said—what business does an unknown detective liver have at the association headquarters?
"I'd like permission to view the case files related to curse flowers from the past five years."
Shellin said, straightening their posture.
"Viewing case files is limited to livers with an association rank of Silver or above. Your rank is… Bronze. And the lowest at that. I must decline."
Lina said flatly, without lifting her eyes from the documents.
"Please. The body swaps happening in the city right now—they're caused by curse flowers. If we don't investigate, the damage will spread further."
"For requests like that, please come back after following the proper procedures. An unknown like you coming here directly puts us in a difficult position."
Lina's voice was cold. But Shellin didn't back down.
"If we wait for proper procedures, it might be too late. Please. Just letting us view them is enough."
Shellin bowed deeply. Bowing with a girl's body, their wine-red hair slipped softly forward.
"…Bowing won't change the rules."
"Then how about under my name?"
Elise stepped forward.
"You are…?"
Lina raised her face for the first time.
"Elise Nocturne. A Flower Song mage of the Nocturne family. As one descended from flower spirits, I'm cooperating with this curse investigation. Can you grant viewing permission under my name?"
Elise touched the silver flower earring. That gesture alone conveyed that they were no ordinary person.
Lina's expression shifted slightly.
"The Nocturne family… I understand. Please wait a moment."
Lina disappeared into the back and returned after a while. In her hand, she held an old key.
"I'll make a special exception and permit you entry to the archives. However, viewing is for today only. Removal is prohibited. If violated, you will be banned from the association."
"Thank you very much!"
Shellin's face lit up brightly.
"…You know, you make surprisingly cute faces."
Lina relaxed her lips just a tiny bit.
"Huh?"
"It's nothing. The archives are in the basement. Please follow me."
Lina walked off briskly.
Elise whispered into Shellin's ear.
"Putting on charm with a girl's face does come in handy sometimes."
"…I wasn't putting on any charm."
"Bro, you just said 'I' like a guy, nya! Saying 'ore' with a girl's body is weird, nya!"
Luca laughed from atop Shellin's shoulder.
"Shut up. …It's 'I.' Just 'I.'"
Shellin corrected themselves, looking embarrassed.
The archives were a dim room in the basement.
Stacks of old documents lined the entire wall. A unique atmosphere mixed with a musty smell and the scent of paper. Magic light lamps hanging from the ceiling flickered faintly.
"Here are the case files related to curse flowers from the past five years. Thirty-seven cases in total. Reading them all will be tough."
Elise pointed at the stacks of documents.
"Leave it to me! This kind of steady work is my specialty."
Shellin rolled up their sleeves. The girl's slender arms floated white in the magic light.
Then, the three of them split the work and began reading the case files.
One page, then another.
Records of past curse flower victims. Name, age, gender, race. Date, place, and symptoms of the curse. And the aftermath.
"…Hey, look at this."
Shellin's hand stopped at a single document.
"What is it?"
"Look. This victim—a merchant cursed three years ago—visited the Nocturne Garden one week before. And that's not all. This victim too, and this one—"
Shellin spread out the documents one after another. Their amber eyes sparkled. When focused on deduction, the air tightened with a sharp tension.
"All of them…visited the Nocturne Garden."
"Exactly! Out of thirty-seven cases, twenty-nine have records. Every single one of them visited the Nocturne Garden within a year before being cursed. This isn't a coincidence. The curse is being intentionally spread from the garden as its point of origin."
Shellin rattled off rapidly.
"…In other words, the culprit is in the garden, casting curses on those who visit."
"That's right. The mystery is solved! This is getting interesting!"
Shellin unconsciously spun their magnifying glass around. The tear mole beneath their left eye was slightly red with excitement.
"Bro, amazing, nya! As expected of a genius detective, nya!"
Luca bounced at Shellin's feet.
"It's not confirmed yet. But it's a big lead. There's something deep in the garden. The source of the curse."
Shellin stared at the stack of documents.
"…The depths of the garden, huh."
Elise placed a hand on their own throat. Since becoming a boy, they couldn't weave the melodies of Flower Song magic properly. They couldn't produce high notes. When they tried to sing with a low voice, their throat tightened with pain.
(With this body, how far can I fight?)
Elise bit their lip.
They returned to the office late in the afternoon.
Shellin spread copies of the case files across the desk. Luca was curled up by the window. Elise was doing something in the back room.
"Alright, let's organize the information. The curse is spreading from the garden as its point of origin. But how? Who? For what purpose?"
Shellin began drawing a diagram on paper.
Just then, a faint singing voice came from the back room.
It was Elise's voice. Weaving the melody of Flower Song magic with a boy's low voice.
"♪——"
But the melody cut off midway.
"…Ngh, no good."
Elise's voice trembled painfully.
Shellin quietly peeked into the back room.
Elise was singing over and over toward a black petal placed on the desk. A cursed petal brought back from the Nocturne Garden. Elise, descended from flower spirits, was cultivating that petal with Flower Song magic to investigate the nature of the curse.
"Elise, are you okay?"
When Shellin called out, Elise's shoulders jolted.
"…Were you watching?"
"Just a little. You're hurting your throat, aren't you?"
Shellin sat down beside Elise.
"…Since getting this body, I can't produce high-note melodies properly. In Flower Song magic, the vocal range directly translates to magical output. With a boy's low voice, I can't control the delicate magic of flowers."
Elise touched their throat.
"Don't push yourself. Even without Flower Song magic, you're more than useful enough."
"…That's not the issue. I want to protect you. But with this body, I don't have enough power."
Elise's voice trembled faintly.
"Elise…"
"I feel like I'm not being useful as a Flower Song mage. Like I don't deserve
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