"Mr. Edward, we're with the League's Officer Jenny task force. We received a report claiming you're committing murder. Please cooperate with our investigation."
Edward stared at the group of Officer Jennys in front of him, dazed. What? Murder? Was this some kind of joke?
Just moments ago, he had been on set shooting his film Buried. He had just finished burying Daniel—of course, for the sake of realism, this filming method was ideal. It avoided many problems and had actually been requested by Daniel himself. Edward had been planning to take advantage of the momentum to shoot several more scenes and complete the film sooner.
But unexpectedly, he was called out by Zoroark, who told him that a squad of Officer Jennys had arrived. Edward didn't think much of it at first. He figured they might be here for something like a fire safety campaign—something the League regularly did.
What he didn't expect was that these Officer Jennys would immediately accuse him of committing a crime. It was unbelievable.
"I…" Edward didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Why would he kill someone? Most murders stemmed from crimes of passion, rooted in hate or money. But Edward had a happy life, a good family, and he was the heir to the Devon Corporation—a top-tier wealthy second-generation. He couldn't understand what the person who reported this was thinking.
But since the Officer Jennys were already here, Edward figured they must have found some kind of evidence. They wouldn't just act on a random tip. That made him even more curious—what kind of evidence did they have?
"Okay then… Who did I supposedly kill?" Edward asked, confused. Then, he saw two men—one tall and thin, the other short and chubby—step forward holding a phone. They played an audio recording.
It was a desperate plea—Daniel begging for his life.
As soon as Edward heard the voice, he understood what had happened. He was torn between amusement and anger.
Paparazzi.
Edward never imagined he'd be targeted by paparazzi. The most ridiculous part was that these guys had planted a listening device and overheard his rehearsal with Daniel. Now they thought they had discovered a murder plot and reported it to the Officer Jennys.
The Jennys, to their credit, had taken it seriously despite knowing Edward's identity and still came to investigate.
"This recording… I was rehearsing a script with my actor Daniel," Edward explained. "But I suppose you wouldn't believe me just from my word."
He sighed helplessly. It was the first time since arriving in the Pokémon world that someone accused him of murder. And to be fair, the out-of-context audio did sound pretty damning.
Edward shook his head, then called for Daniel. There was no solving this without his appearance. Just earlier, he had buried Daniel for a scene. Now he had to dig him back up.
Once Daniel appeared, the misunderstanding was quickly cleared up. But Edward turned a sharp gaze toward the two paparazzi. He didn't even know where to begin with these two.
Paparazzi were an unavoidable nuisance for directors and celebrities. Normally, they targeted actors—not directors—unless the director was particularly famous or prone to drama.
In general, stars were the primary targets, and paparazzi could be insanely persistent. Most celebrities hated them for a reason: they stalked, secretly photographed, and often harassed them, even when they were with family. They'd ask absurd questions or twist innocent conversations into controversial quotes. That's how they made money.
They'd camp out for weeks in one spot just to catch a scoop. When they got something, they'd either blackmail the celebrity for hush money or sell the information to tabloids.
Most celebs wouldn't dare call the cops or take them to court—it would just result in their scandals being made public. It was often better to pay up and move on.
Edward had once been a gossip-consuming bystander in his past life. But now, somehow, he was the headline.
"These two are... quite unique," Edward muttered.
What surprised him most was that, after supposedly uncovering "evidence" of Edward committing murder, they didn't blackmail him. Instead, they reported him to the authorities. That was… very un-paparazzi-like.
"So, the murder issue is resolved. But what about the fact that you planted a bug and spied on our set's confidential content?" Edward asked, half-smiling.
Q growled menacingly. Duskull silently emerged behind Edward, floating with a ghostly presence, silently watching the two men.
"I'll take responsibility. I planned this alone. My friend had nothing to do with it," the tall, thin man calmly stretched out his hand, ready for Officer Jenny to cuff him.
The short chubby man looked at him in shock, clearly wanting to say something, but a sharp glance from the tall man silenced him. He lowered his head in frustration.
Edward turned to Officer Jenny to ask how this would be handled. Zoroark, standing nearby, looked guilty—it hadn't even noticed the bug that was hidden on set. It felt like it had seriously failed.
"This case could be big or small—it depends on what you want to do," Officer Jenny said with a troubled expression.
At first, the situation was against Edward, but with the truth revealed, the focus now shifted to the two reporters. After all, illegal wiretapping and theft of proprietary information counted as commercial espionage. If Edward pressed charges, he'd definitely win.
They could be facing a decade-long prison sentence.
But if he chose to forgive them, then it could be resolved quietly. They'd just get a warning and some "educational" scolding. With Edward's wealth, there was no way these guys could afford top-tier lawyers. And let's face it—rich people don't become paparazzi.
Edward raised an eyebrow. "I'm curious… why didn't you blackmail me?"
The tall man replied calmly, "I used to be a real journalist. You could think of this as a reporter's desire to uncover the truth."
He didn't regret his decision—only that it had dragged his friend into trouble. His friend had always looked up to him, called him "big bro." Years ago, the tall man had insisted on exposing a major scandal, which angered powerful people and destroyed his career. That's how he ended up in the paparazzi game.
Now, he just hoped his confession would spare his friend from punishment.
Edward nodded thoughtfully. That actually made sense. In his past life, there were investigative journalists who risked their lives to expose hidden truths—real warriors in a dangerous field.
One famous case involved a reporter pretending to be mentally disabled to infiltrate an illegal brickyard. He exposed how they used disabled workers, paid nothing, and fed them terrible food. These reporters were unsung heroes, often masked in footage to avoid retaliation.
Edward decided to let them go—not out of kindness, but because they had not tried to blackmail him. Instead, they had tried to reveal the "truth," however mistaken. The world needed people like that. Plus, with clever handling, this incident could become a fantastic marketing opportunity.
"Zoroark, did you find the bug?" Edward asked.
The two reporters had been taken away by Officer Jenny. Though he signed a waiver and dropped charges, they still had to go in for questioning and to give statements.
"I found it. It was hidden in the seam of one of our props… I didn't notice it at all," Zoroark said with guilt.
Edward wasn't too upset. There were plenty of things even a Zoroark couldn't do. If Zoroark were perfect, it might as well be a Legendary Pokémon.
"It's fine. Just be more careful next time. Let's prep the whole set with scanning devices," Edward said.
This incident had made him more vigilant. He couldn't rule out the possibility of more paparazzi showing up. If any key footage—like a big plot twist or ending—got leaked, it would ruin the movie. It had even happened before where directors had to rewrite the ending because of leaks.
This was his first time dealing with such an issue, and he intended to learn from it.
"Got it. I'll order the equipment now," Zoroark said, hurrying off with its phone.
Edward shook his head with a sigh, then turned to the dirt-covered Daniel, who was waiting for him.
"Come on, Daniel. Let's continue shooting Buried," Edward said with a smile, leading Daniel back to the set. Daniel once again climbed into the wooden box, and they buried him with dirt.
Watching Daniel's stellar acting through the lens, Edward rubbed his chin. It looked like filming might go faster than expected—a pleasant surprise. The sooner they finished, the sooner post-production could begin.
"Boss, I have an idea," Daniel said suddenly.
Edward raised an eyebrow. What now?
"I still don't think it feels real enough. Can we try cutting off the oxygen supply? That way, I can really show the terror of suffocating!"
Edward's mouth twitched. This guy was crazier than he thought. Was he even human?
But after thinking it over, Edward realized it might be feasible. If they monitored the oxygen levels carefully and resumed the supply before it became dangerous, it could enhance realism while still being safe.
"I think it's doable," Edward nodded.
Daniel was thrilled. The props crew, on the other hand, was sweating bullets.
Were these two insane? How could they even suggest something this risky?
But neither the actor nor the director objected, so they had no choice. They cut off the oxygen supply.
Meanwhile, the Nurse Joys on site sat up straight. It was their first time encountering someone so intent on tempting fate. All they could do now was prepare biometric monitors to track his vital signs.
(End of Chapter)