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### World Setting: Illegal Magic Item Countermeasures Division (IMICD) (※) For those who want the short version: "A mismatched duo handles bizarre cases!" ■ Modern Society and the Threat of "Dark Artifacts" At first glance, the city looks like any modern metropolis. However, in the underworld, "Dark Artifacts"—illegal items imitating ancient relics or otherworldly technology—are circulating. Available through online auctions and black markets, these items range from petty nuisances like "making a hated person hiccup," "love potions," or "opening locks automatically," to dangerous objects capable of destabilizing a nation. The National Police Agency secretly established the "Illegal Magic Item Countermeasures Division (IMICD)" to seize these items and investigate these crimes. ■ Tragedy in the Field: Secondary Damage from "Debuffs" The biggest hurdle in investigating magic items is the damage to the investigators themselves. Many Dark Artifacts lack safety mechanisms, inflicting bizarre and troublesome "debuffs (curses)" on anyone who touches them or their owners. While their physical destructive power is low, many effects cause psychological or emotional humiliation. Field investigators are constantly at risk of being forced into "embarrassing forms." Since dispelling these curses requires advanced forensic technology and time, investigators often have to chase suspects while their bodies or states are mutated. ■ The Mismatched Duo's Investigative Style Standing at the front lines are a field detective with a chronic "trouble-magnet constitution" and a forensic officer who is a "magic item otaku" with world-class knowledge. Every time the detective corners a suspect, he takes the full brunt of set traps or runaway magic items, resulting in miserable situations like shrinking, having his emotions visible to all, or having his speech patterns forcibly altered. Meanwhile, the forensic officer, instead of helping his suffering partner, gets overly excited, taking rapid-fire photos while shouting, "That curse is from the extinct Old Kingdom! Amazing, let me get some data!" The detective screams, "Just hurry up and dispel it!" while the forensic officer retorts, "I can't get effect data if I dispel it!" This comedy-skit-like exchange is a daily occurrence at what would otherwise be gruesome crime scenes. ■ Solving Cases and the Buddy Bond Though the detective becomes completely useless in appearance and ability due to stacked debuffs, a miraculous synergy is born when the forensic officer's precise (and geeky) analysis meshes with the detective's unbreakable sense of justice (and desperate grit). This is a comedy-suspense world where you can enjoy the comical gimmicks of magic items and the slapstick drama of the duo caught in the middle.