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 - Into the Cursed Flower Labyrinth — Even So, I Choose to Believe
The back alley had sunk to the bottom of the night.
Shellin Burgundy sat on the cobblestones, hugging their knees, staring only at the white of their own breath. Their wine-red hair clung to their cheeks, matted with sweat and tears. Their amber eyes wavered faintly in the darkness, untouched even by the streetlamps' glow.
"…Ahh. What am I even doing?"
The voice was a girl's. Thin, high—it didn't sound like their own.
It had been days since the curse had turned them into a girl. And still, every time they heard this voice, something stirred deep in their chest.
"Elise… Luca… everyone, it's all because of me."
They muttered, then buried their face in their knees again.
Elise had pushed flower-song magic to its limit and lost their voice. Luca was still caught in the cursed vines. Both of them had been left behind in the curse-caster's hideout.
(I have to go save them.)
Their head understood.
But their legs wouldn't move.
(Even if I go, what can I do?)
The curse-caster knew Shellin's secret. About the song-seed dwelling inside their body. About how it resonated with the night-blooming flowers. That person had scattered it all across the city.
"…No one will listen to me anymore."
Tears soaked their knees.
That was when it happened.
"Well, well. What a pitiful sight you make."
The voice dropped from directly above.
When Shellin looked up, a black silhouette stood atop the alley wall.
Long black hair with a white streak. Deep purple eyes. A white mask covering the upper half of the face. On the left ring finger, a ring with a black stone. A long cape fluttered though there was no wind.
The phantom thief, Noct Phantom.
"…What are you here for? If you came to laugh, I don't have the energy to deal with you right now."
"How cold. I came to talk to you. I thought I'd help tidy up that cute little head of yours."
Noct dropped soundlessly from the wall.
Not even the sound of footsteps on cobblestone.
"First, I want you to hear my story. About my master."
Noct fixed the eyes behind the mask straight on Shellin.
"…Your master?"
"Yes. The man who raised me as a phantom thief. Not just the art of stealing. The world's cruelty, its beauty, its ugliness—I learned it all from him. …Ten years ago, my master touched a cursed flower and died."
Noct's voice wasn't its usual flippant tone.
It was low, and dry.
"My master was chasing the secret of the cursed flowers. Why the night-blooming flowers exchange the vessels of people's souls. He truly believed that solving that mystery would let him touch the root of flower-song magic. And he reached it. The labyrinth of cursed flowers spreading beneath Nocturne Garden."
"…The labyrinth of cursed flowers?"
"Yes. Beneath Nocturne Garden lies a labyrinth made of cursed flowers. My master found something in its deepest part. And he was consumed by the curse. By the time I arrived, his body had already turned into flowers."
Shellin held their breath.
Noct's fingers gripped the black-stoned ring tightly.
"Since then, I've kept chasing the mystery of the cursed flowers. And one of the answers I arrived at is you. Shellin Burgundy. The song-seed dwelling in your body is nothing like those of ordinary flower-song users. It resonates with the night-blooming flowers with exceptional strength. You are the finest vessel for amplifying the curse."
"…A vessel…?"
"Yes. The Black Rose curse-caster intends to use your body to make cursed flowers bloom across the world. Your song-seed will become the seed that spreads the cursed flowers—on and on, without end."
Shellin's mind went blank.
Their secret had been exposed.
That wasn't all.
Their body would become a tool to spread the curse.
"…I… my body will be a tool for the curse…?"
The hands on their knees trembled faintly.
"But, Shellin. I didn't tell you this because I wanted you to despair. …The curse-caster is after you. But you still have the right to choose. What do you want to do?"
Noct's purple eyes pierced through Shellin from beneath the mask.
"…What I want to do…"
"Yes. Not for anyone else. What you want to do. Your comrades are right now in the curse-caster's hideout, bound by cursed vines. A flower-song user who lost their voice, and a beastfolk turned into a cat. If you don't go, those two may turn into flowers. And still—you'll sit here hugging your knees and crying?"
Shellin bit their lip.
They tasted blood.
(Elise. Luca.)
Their faces floated up.
Elise's silver hair. Cool purple eyes. But sometimes, a soft smile shown only to Shellin.
Luca's brown ears. Round golden eyes. Always running after Shellin, calling them "aniki, aniki."
"…I…"
Their voice trembled.
"I want to protect my comrades. I want to know the truth. I don't want to run from my own secret."
They wiped their tears with the back of their hand.
"…Noct. Take me to them. Please."
Noct twisted their lips.
Was it a smile, or a sneer?
"I like it. That face. You've finally got the face of a detective. …Now, stand up. Your comrades are waiting for you."
Noct extended a hand.
Shellin took it.
Their slender fingers touched Noct's black glove.
It was cold.
But the grip was strong.
"…Let's go."
The two broke into a run through the night alley.
Noct's cape melted into the darkness.
Shellin's heart was still pounding.
But their feet would not stop anymore.
The curse-caster's hideout was underground, in a district of abandoned houses on the outskirts of the lower town.
Noct opened a hidden door in the wall.
Damp air crawled up from the bottom of the stairs.
"Here. Your comrades are imprisoned in the room at the back. …However, I sense no sign of the curse-caster. It seems they've gone out somewhere. Now is our chance."
"Got it. …Noct, thank you."
"Save your thanks for after you come back alive."
Shellin ran down the stairs.
The basement smelled of mold and rotting flowers.
Black vines spread across the walls like blood vessels.
They forced open the door to the back room.
"Elise! Luca!"
The two were in the center of the room.
A young man with short silver hair was pinned to the wall, limbs bound by black vines.
Elise Nocturne.
Their purple eyes remained closed.
At their feet, a gray cat was trapped in a cage of vines.
Luca Stone.
The moment those golden eyes saw Shellin, they flew wide open.
"Meow… meow! Meow meow!"
Luca thrashed desperately inside the cage.
"Luca! Hang on, I'll get you out right now!"
Shellin lunged at the vine cage.
The black vines were slick and slimy—bare hands couldn't budge them.
"Damn… these vines…!"
That was when it happened.
"…She… llin…"
A hoarse voice.
Elise had opened their eyes a sliver.
"Elise! Thank goodness, you're alive!"
"…My voice won't come out. But… read my lips."
Elise's lips moved slowly.
'You're… safe.'
"Don't worry about me! I'm getting you two out of here!"
Shellin pulled at the vines with all their strength, trying to tear them off.
With a girl's slender arms, the vines only dug in deeper.
"Damn it… what do I do…"
Then.
Luca began sniffing at something inside the cage.
"Meow… meow meow! Meow meow meow!"
Luca's nose pointed insistently at the floor of the cage.
Shellin followed Luca's gaze.
On the floor, a single black flower bloomed.
"…This flower…?"
Noct spoke quietly from behind.
"That is the core of the cursed vines. Pluck that flower, and the vines lose their power. …You pluck it. Shellin. Your song-seed resonates with the cursed flowers. Only you can pluck it."
Shellin looked down at the black flower.
They were afraid to touch it.
Something might happen again.
Their body might change even more.
"…If I pluck it… the curse will…"
"It's all right. You are the vessel. You are not the one who receives the curse. You are the one who controls it. …Believe. You want to save your comrades, don't you?"
Shellin reached a trembling hand toward the black flower.
Their fingertip touched the petals.
In that instant.
The flower shone.
Black light poured from Shellin's finger, up their arm, to their shoulder, through their whole body.
"…Ngh!"
Deep inside, something awakened.
The song-seed pulsed.
It was resonating with the night-blooming flowers.
"…I'll pluck it…!"
Shellin pulled the black flower out with all their might.
Snap.
The root tore.
The flower crumbled into ash.
At the same moment, every black vine in the room let out a scream-like sound and began to shrivel.
The vines binding Elise came loose.
Luca's cage melted away.
"Meow! I'm out!"
Luca leaped at Shellin's feet.
"Luca! Thank goodness… really, thank goodness…"
Shellin scooped Luca up.
The gray fur grew wet with tears.
Elise staggered to their feet.
"…She… llin."
Their voice was still hoarse.
"Elise. Don't push yourself. …Thank you. For fighting for me, even losing your voice."
Elise shook their head.
Their lips moved.
'Wrong. Not for you. …Because you were there.'
"…Elise…"
Luca meowed and meowed in Shellin's arms.
"Aniki! You came back for us! I believed it! I knew you'd come to save us!"
Luca's tail wrapped tightly around Shellin's arm.
"…I'm sorry. I ran away alone. I left you two behind. …I'm sorry."
Still holding Luca, Shellin grasped Elise's hand.
Elise's hand was bony, but warm.
"…I won't leave you again. I'll protect all of you."
Elise's fingers squeezed back.
When they left the hideout, Noct popped out from the shadow of an abandoned house.
"Hey. Looks like you had a happy reunion. Good, good."
"…Noct. You're still here."
"I'm not free either, you know. But I was curious where you three would head next."
"Where we're headed… that's obvious. We're chasing the curse-caster."
"I see. Then I know a good place. Beneath Nocturne Garden lies the labyrinth of cursed flowers. The curse-caster is using it as a base. …Shall I guide you?"
Noct smiled beneath the mask.
"…You're a phantom thief. Why go this far to help?"
"Even a phantom thief has one or two grudges against cursed flowers. Besides, I want to watch the mystery of your secret from as close as possible. …Does that dissatisfy you?"
"…No. Right now, I need your help. Whether I trust you, I'll decide later."
"That'll do. Now, shall we go? To the garden before dawn breaks."
Nocturne Garden wore a completely different face from its daytime self.
A pale phosphorescence dimly lit the whole garden.
Flowers that bloomed only at night had opened their black petals all at once.
With every gust of wind, the petals rustled eerily.
"…Still a creepy place, as always."
"Meow… my nose is itching. The smell of curses here is really thick."
Luca sniffed from atop Shellin's shoulder.
Elise gazed silently at the depths of the garden.
"…Shellin. Behind that stone monument."
Elise's voice was still hoarse.
But clearer than before.
"The monument?"
Noct took the lead and started walking.
"The entrance to the labyrinth is beneath the stone monument at the garden's center. My illusion magic will deceive the guards' eyes. …Now, hurry."
Noct snapped their fingers.
The air warped for an instant.
"Now no one will find us for a while. Let's go."
The four went around behind the monument.
Ancient letters were carved into the stone.
"The vessel of the soul returns to the flower."
Noct pressed part of the monument.
Rumble…
The monument slid sideways.
A dark staircase leading underground appeared.
"…So this is the labyrinth of cursed flowers."
Shellin stared down the stairs.
Pitch black.
Cold wind blew up from below.
"Aniki! I'll go first! Cat eyes can see in the dark!"
Luca leaped down from Shellin's shoulder.
"I'm counting on you, Luca. …But it's dangerous, so only a little."
"Leave it to me!"
Luca ran down the stairs.
Shellin and the others followed.
The labyrinth was made of living plants.
Walls, ceiling, floor—all covered in black vines and pale flowers.
The flowers opened and closed slowly, as if breathing.
"…Be careful. Touching these flowers inflicts the soul-vessel exchange curse. …You may be fine, since you're the vessel,
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.