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 Night at Rock Bottom ~Even So, You Will Find Me~
The twilight of Velcrain had a different color than usual.
The wind passing through the downtown bakery district clung to the skin, lukewarm and sticky. From between the cobblestones, the heat of the day still rose. In the distant market, merchants were beginning to prepare for closing. The sound of stacking wooden crates, the creak of cart wheels. All of it reached the depths of the ears, muffled and indistinct.
Shellin Burgundy gazed absently at that scenery from the window of an old two-story building.
Their wine-red hair was tied back in a single bundle as always. But today, two or three strands of bedhead stuck out. Their amber eyes traced the outline of the city without really looking at anything. The small tear mole beneath their left eye stood out starkly against their tired skin.
"…Aah. Zero requests again today."
On the desk lay a request notebook, open since morning. The blank white pages floated dimly in the pale light of the tourmaline lamp.
It had been quite a while since they'd touched the black rose in that garden and their body had become a girl's. They'd grown somewhat used to the feel of skirts, to their slender fingers, to the pitch of their voice. Used to it, and yet—
"I can't pay the rent this month either…"
Eight silver coins. The rent for the Tulip Squad office. For Shellin now, that was a distant number.
"Bro! The stream's ready, nya!"
A gray cat came bounding down the stairs. Fur that should have been brown had turned completely gray, and only the golden eyes remained as they were before. With a long tail held straight up, the cat rubbed against Shellin's feet.
Luca Stone. An eighteen-year-old beastfolk warrior. Even after being turned into a cat by the curse, their cheerfulness hadn't diminished by a single millimeter.
"You really are energetic. Doesn't the cat body tire you out?"
"Nyahaha! The cat body's actually not bad, nya! I can climb high places, and squeeze through tight spots!"
"…How is that fitting for a warrior?"
A low voice came from the back room.
Silver short hair. Narrow purple eyes. A silver flower earring glinted on only their left ear. A tall young man leaned against the wall with arms crossed.
Elise Nocturne. Twenty-two years old. A flower-song mage, and the Tulip Squad's strategist. Originally a woman with beautiful silver braids, but the curse had given them a man's body.
"…I'm still not used to this male body. My voice is too low—it feels like I'm not myself."
Elise touched their own throat. The gesture was strangely feminine, and yet their fingers were bony.
Shellin glanced sideways at Elise.
(…Elise must be suffering too, all this time.)
But they didn't say it aloud. If they did, Elise would worry more. That much, Shellin understood.
"…Alright. Let's stream. While there's still even one viewer."
Shellin reached for the streaming equipment on the desk.
Detective liver. In this world, it was a profession where you solved cases through streaming and lived off donations from viewers. You could only call yourself one after registering with the Velcrain Detective Association. Shellin's registration number was 21,842 out of 23,000.
In other words, near the very bottom.
"How about today's stream title: 'Cursed Flower Case — Progress Made!'?"
"…Was there progress? Neither yesterday nor the day before did we find anything."
"Don't sweat the details! Streaming is about momentum!"
Shellin flipped the switch on the streaming equipment.
The screen lit up. Viewer count—three.
"…Three, huh. Well, better than zero."
That was when it happened.
A voice came from outside the door.
"Is Shellin Burgundy here?"
A low, damp voice that clung to the ears.
All three of them froze at once.
Luca's tail puffed up with a start.
"…Bro, this smell."
"I know. …It's the smell of the cursed flower."
Shellin's fingers unconsciously searched for their loupe. But there was nothing on the desk. Only their heart began to pound like a bell.
"I'll open it."
Elise stepped forward as if to shield Shellin. In a man's body, and yet their back looked larger than usual.
The moment the door opened, a black shadow poured into the room.
No—not a shadow.
A black robe. A black mask. And countless black vines writhing around the body as if clinging to it.
The Black Rose Cursecaster.
"…At last we meet, Shellin Burgundy."
The cursecaster's voice was neither male nor female—a strange, echoing voice. Only the eyes behind the mask glinted sharply.
"…So you're the master of the garden."
Shellin stepped back, but still looked the cursecaster straight on.
"Master of the garden? Fufu, no. I am merely a gardener. Cultivating a beautiful flower—you."
"What are you saying?!"
Elise stood in front of Shellin.
"Oh? The flower spirit who became a boy. …Move aside. I have no business with you."
"I won't let you lay a finger on Shellin!"
Elise's fingertips began to glow faintly. Flower-song magic. A technique that manipulated magical power through song and plants. Elise was a practitioner of it.
And yet.
"…Futile."
The cursecaster snapped their fingers.
In that instant, from the floor, the walls, the ceiling—black vines burst out all at once.
"Whoa!"
Luca leaped aside. But the vines aimed precisely for the cat's limbs and entangled them.
"Nya! I can't move, nya!"
"Luca! …Kh!"
Elise too was caught by the vines. Their male body was pinned to the floor.
"Now then, Shellin Burgundy. I shall tell the whole city your secret."
The cursecaster drew a single black rose from their robe sleeve.
"…Stop!"
Shellin shouted.
But the cursecaster tossed the black rose toward the streaming equipment.
The rose burst in front of the screen.
Black petals danced through the room.
And then—the stream screen switched on its own.
'Within Shellin Burgundy's body dwells a Seed of Song.'
'That Seed of Song resonates with the night-blooming flower, amplifying the city's curse.'
'She is the source of the curse.'
The text spread across the entire screen.
"…Stop…Stop it…!"
Shellin's voice trembled.
Their secret. The most important secret they had never told anyone. And now it was being force-broadcast to every streaming terminal in the city.
"With this, every human in Velcrain will know your secret."
The cursecaster's voice stuck to the depths of the ears.
"…Why…Why would you do this to my secret…"
"Why, you ask? …To protect you."
"…What?"
"If you investigate no further, your comrades will be saved. But your very existence will destroy this city. …What will you do, Detective?"
Shellin couldn't move.
Their legs wouldn't move, as if glued to the floor.
(Because of me… Because I exist…)
Their mind went blank.
"Shellin! Pull yourself together!"
Elise's voice came from far away.
"Bro! We gotta run, nya!"
Luca's voice too was distant.
The cursecaster looked down at Shellin like that and smiled slowly.
"…What a face. A face of despair. It seems you've finally understood what you are."
The cursecaster swung the black vines once.
The window glass shattered.
From outside, angry shouts could be heard.
"You're the one who brought the curse here!"
"Give us our money back!"
"Get out of this city!"
Stones flew in. They hit the window frame, scattering glass shards.
"…See? The people of the city have come looking for you. Everyone is suffering because of you. You are the source of the curse."
"…No…I didn't spread the curse…"
Shellin's voice had already become faint.
"But the Seed of Song within you amplifies the curse. That is a fact. As long as you live, this city's curse will never end."
The cursecaster's words stabbed into Shellin's chest like a knife.
(Because I'm here… Because I exist…)
Tears spilled over.
Since becoming a girl's body, they'd become quick to cry. No—that wasn't it. This wasn't a problem of the body.
Their heart was on the verge of breaking.
"Get away from Shellin!"
At that moment, Elise tore free of the vines and stood up.
Their silver short hair, in a man's body, was disheveled. Their purple eyes burned with rage.
"…Oh? Still able to move."
"I decided I would protect Shellin. I will never—ever—lose to the likes of you!"
Elise began to sing.
Flower-song magic. A technique that manipulated magical power through song and plants. Elise's song was woven in a low, male voice.
"—Wind, flowers, answer my voice."
Silver light gathered around Elise.
"…I told you it was futile."
The cursecaster raised a hand.
Black vines flew in a straight line toward Elise's throat.
"Elise!"
Shellin screamed.
But Elise didn't dodge.
No—couldn't dodge.
The black vines wrapped around Elise's neck.
"…Guh…!"
Elise's song cut off.
Even so, Elise didn't stop singing.
"—My body, as a shield…!"
Elise's body was wrapped in light.
They were pushing the Seed of Song within them to its absolute limit.
"…Stop. Your Seed of Song will break."
"…Even so…I will…protect Shellin…!"
Elise's voice cracked apart.
"—Scatter!"
The final verse.
Silver light exploded.
The black vines were burned away.
"…Oh?"
The cursecaster stepped back.
And yet.
Blood gushed from Elise's throat.
"Elise!"
Shellin ran to Elise.
Elise collapsed on the spot.
"…Ah…aa…"
Elise's mouth moved.
But no voice came out.
"Elise…Elise…!"
Shellin held Elise close.
Elise's lips moved faintly.
'I'm glad I could protect you.'
A voiceless voice.
Words formed only by the shape of lips.
"…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…For my sake…For my sake…!"
The tears wouldn't stop.
"…What a waste. The flower spirit's Seed of Song will never weave flower-song magic again."
The cursecaster's voice echoed coldly.
"…You…I will never…forgive you…"
Shellin glared at the cursecaster.
"That look. …But it's too late. The people of the city are swarming here. You can no longer live in this city."
The cursecaster snapped their fingers.
New vines wrapped around Luca's limbs.
"Nya! Let go, nya!"
"You don't mind what happens to this cat? …If you behave, this cat lives."
"Let Luca go!"
"Then vanish from this city. Right now."
Shellin bit their lip.
They tasted blood.
(Elise lost their voice. Luca is captured. If I don't move…)
Shellin pulled Elise's hand.
"…Luca…I'm sorry…I'll definitely…I'll definitely come back for you…!"
"Bro! Don't worry about it! I'm fine, nya! Hurry and run, nya!"
Luca, in cat form, made the biggest smile they could.
Shellin, carrying Elise, leaped from the window.
Behind them, Luca's voice rang out.
"Bro! You better come back, nya!"
That voice stabbed into their chest.
They ran.
Carrying Elise on their back, they ran through the night city, just ran.
Turning down alleys, racing down stairs, through deserted back streets, until their breath ran out.
From all over the city, angry shouts could be heard.
"The source of the curse is the Tulip Squad!"
"Catch that detective!"
"Turn our bodies back!"
Stones flew.
One hit Shellin's shoulder.
It hurt.
But more than that, their heart hurt.
(Everyone thinks I'm the source of the curse.)
(That I destroyed the city.)
Tears flowed away into the night wind.
Eventually, Shellin reached a deserted back alley.
They laid Elise gently in the shadow of stacked wooden crates.
"…Elise…Rest here for a bit. I'm going to save Luca."
Elise gripped Shellin's hand.
No voice came.
But the strength in that hand was strong.
'Don't go.'
It seemed to say.
"…I'm sorry. But I have to go. I'm the one who left Luca behind."
Shellin gently pried Elise's hand away.
And then, alone, walked deeper into the back alley.
They sat down, hugging their knees.
On the cold cobblestones.
In a dark place where even moonlight didn't reach.
"…Would it have been better if I…if I didn't exist…?"
Their voice trembled.
A girl's body. A detective's heart.
Both were in tatters now.
"…Elise's voice…Luca's freedom…everyone's bodies…it's all because of me…"
The tears wouldn't stop.
The deepest despair of their life so far.
(If only I hadn't been born with a Seed of Song.)
(If only I hadn't gone to that garden.)
(I
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.