Jogakusei Tantei Volume 3 Chapter 2

Teniwoha’s novel for his Schoolgirl Detective Series, “The Schoolgirl Detective and Eccentric Author – Night Before The Murder Case at the Mansion of Antiquarian Books,” acts as a prequel to the first song in the series, “Murder Case at the Mansion of Antiquarian Books,” and follows the events between the schoolgirl detective who loves mystery novels, Hanamoto Hibari, and the extremely s.a.d.i.s.tic mystery novel writer, Kudou Renma.

The third part in this three-part novel is called: Murder Case at the Ryougoku Haunted Mansion.

“Hibari and Kudo head to Ryougoku on an errand for Kares.h.i.+ma, who runs an antique book store. Coincidentally, it’s also the Sumida River Fireworks Festival.
To Hibari, it almost feels as if they’re on a date, but when they reach their destination, they discover the corpse of a shooting incident….”

This part is further divided into three chapters, so here’s the second one! Masterpost with links to all the translated chapters can be found .

＊If you can, I highly encourage supporting the creators by buying the book for yourself at or !

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Chapter 2: It’s Reasoning! Reasoning!

I could hear the sound of camera shutters going off in the other room. People from the police department, most likely the forensics team, were probably taking pictures of the crime scene. Professor Nagao’s body must still be lying in that room.

Kudou-sensei and I sat in the room across from it, on the other side of that dimly-lit corridor, waiting for the detectives to arrive.

Even though we were in a different room now, I felt like the scent of blood was still in the air. No, actually, it felt like something else—

Was it those countless ghost pictures that made me feel this way? When I thought of it that way, I started to feel gooseb.u.mps on the nape of my neck.

Thankfully, there weren’t any ghost pictures in this room.

I was grateful for that fact. If possible, I didn’t want to see them now—

As I sat in a kneeling position on top of the seat cus.h.i.+on, I thought back to what had happened earlier.

“He’s dead.”

After Sensei had concluded that, he went to another room with Chigake-san, who was still very upset. Meanwhile, I borrowed their telephone and contacted the police.

When I returned to the room, Chigake-san seemed to have calmed down considerably, but her face was still pale.

After a while, several police officers and two detectives came, along with people from forensics. They took Sensei and I to the tatami room on the other side of the corridor and told us us to wait there while they investigated the body and the crime scene.

“To think that you’d call the police while I wasn’t looking. How unnecessary,”

Sensei sat with his legs sprawled out on the tatami and a very displeased look on his face. He made it sound as if he were the culprit here.

“Of course I’d call them. We might have a murder on our hands.”

“Couldn’t you have just solved it before calling the police? With those snappy, Schoolgirl Detective deduction skills of yours. Isn’t your mind just itching to get to the bottom of this?”

It clearly sounded like he was making fun of me.

I pouted and puffed out my cheeks. Seeing me make that face, Sensei laughed and said, “Look at Hibari’s beak!” But, it was just as he said.

I really was itching.

To tell the truth, I have a troubling bad habit.

I have a weird habit of sticking my nose in whenever I came across an inexplicable case. If it were just about taking a peek, then there was nothing wrong with that. Just mere curiosity. That would make me a nosy onlooker at best, something that most everyone must be guilty of being now and then.

However, in my case, I always end up getting deeply involved in the case, and become obsessed with finding the reasoning.

I fully understand that this habit of mine never earns me much praise, but whenever I’m faced by mysterious events, some indescribable sense of duty looms over me like a fluffy thunderhead, and before I know it, I’ve immersed myself in trying to solve the mystery.

Thanks to that habit, if I were to include even minor incidents, I’ve encountered and been involved in numerous different cases.

“Just like that Cultural Festival incident in May,” Sensei laughed while making a positively villainous face.

That’s right, it had been the same back then, as well. Due to some certain opportunities lining up just right, I had found myself with the pieces that would lead me to the truth, and as a result, I had wound up running about the school during the lively Akebi Festival in order to solve the mystery.

I personally think that this habit of mine developed as a result of all the mystery and detective novels that I’ve read since my childhood.

Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, John d.i.c.kson Carr, Ellery Queen, Yokomizo Seis.h.i.+, Unno Juza, Takagi Akimitsu. As well as Edogawa Ranpo.

I read each of their works obsessively, always regretting that I eventually had to sleep. I seriously hoped to meet Sherlock Holmes or Akechi Kogorou someday. I even wrote letters addressed to those great detectives. However, I had no idea where to address those letters, so I ended up sending them to my grandfather’s house in Kita-Kamakura. Back then, that was the only address I knew.

I feel so bad when I think about how bewildered my grandfather must have been, at first ecstatic to receive a letter from his granddaughter, only to find it addressed to “Mr. Holmes.”

“I received one of those letters, as well.”

“Ahhh! Throw that thing out right now! Burn it!”

In any case, that’s why I always ended up getting worked up whenever I encounter these kinds of cases.

Speaking of which, my father once told me,

“Your mother, Tsukino, was like that, too.”

Apparently my mother had had the same kind of weird habit. That would mean that it wasn’t due to reading too many detective novels, but simply some strange gene that I had inherited from my mother. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.

However, that didn’t seem to mean I was particularly skilled at reasoning, and would sometimes be off the mark at crucial moments. According to Sensei, however, it wasn’t just sometimes, but almost always.

Despite that, Sensei was very familiar with my tendency to engage in deductive reasoning, and would occasionally says things to incite me. But in reality, he had no expectations of me. He simply enjoyed watching me present the wrong answer after having struggled to come up with it.

“Go on then, tell us. Who could the culprit be?”

“Oh, please! How could we possibly know at this point?!”

“Oh? Are you saying we’ll know once we have the right information, then? So you really do intend to challenge this mystery.”

“Please don’t lead the conversation in that direction! Sensei, you’re always so…. Ah, my legs are numb!”

I tried to stand up, but I had trouble moving my legs.

“Ahaha!”

“You two seem to get along well.”

It was at that moment that Chikage-san appeared. She had a somewhat troubled-looking smile on her face.

“I’ve brought some refreshments.”

“My apologies, Hibari-kun has been no help at all.”

“Hold on, Sensei! What do you mean I…. Ah, but really, I feel like I should apologize, as well.”

I bowed my head in shame while I ma.s.saged my numb feet. Meanwhile, Sensei gulped down the barley tea that had been brought out.

After walking around all day, I was also feeling terribly thirsty, but I refrained from reaching for the tea.

Someone had just died in the other room. It didn’t feel like the right time to just be casually quenching our thirst.

Chikage-san appeared to have fully returned to her senses, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d suddenly lost her father. She was sure to still be in a lot of turmoil on the inside.

Unable to stand this any longer, I looked down, and just then, there was the sound of frantic footsteps coming from the corridor.

“Chikage! Is it true that he’s dead?!”

“Hey, what’s with all this commotion?”

The pair that entered the room was a middle-aged woman wearing a white blouse and a somewhat short skirt, and a young man wearing a yukata. The two of them crowded around where Chikage-san was sitting and demanded an explanation for what was going on.

“Mother, Tetsuta….”

“Sis, what’s going on?! What’re all those cops doing out front….?!”

“Both of you, please listen to me—Father is…. Father is….”

Pausing now and then, Chikage-san became desperate as she explained the situation to the two that had shown up. Even just listening from the sidelines, I could hear her voice filled with so much sorrow that it made my chest hurt.

The two were introduced after the brief explanation.

“I apologize for the late introductions. I’m Nagao’s wife, Otoe. And this is our eldest son, Tetsuta,”

The wife said politely, and wiped her face lightly with a handkerchief. As the scent of her perfume hung in the air, she wiped at the sweat on her forehead, as if to avoid ruining her thick makeup.

I corrected my seating posture and also introduced myself.

“Oh my, so you’re here on an errand for the owner of that antique bookshop? Kokuudou, wasn’t it? He’s always so charming and good at talking. I quite like him.”

“Right….”

It seemed she was talking about Kares.h.i.+ma-san.

“Um, I’m not quite sure what to say about what’s happened to your husband today…. But, I think we should be hearing more details from the police soon.”

“But he’s never even been sick before. Why, the neighborhood doctors even guaranteed how likely he was to live a long life…. How could this have happened….”

“More importantly, ma'am,”

While I had been careful with my words as I spoke, Sensei was just the opposite as he started speaking.

“It seems you were out of the house today due to work. Consulting on a new line of clothes you’re launching, I a.s.sume? And due to your time being taken up by work, you’ve been away from this house for quite a while now.”

“Y-yes, that’s right. I run a small business that deals with clothing. We were in the middle of negotiations today, but when I heard the news, I came home immediately.”

Sensei must have purposely brought up the topic of her work to cut off the wife’s gloomy talk. Judging from the wife’s tight-looking outfit that seemed ill-suited for summer, and the abnormal amount of clothes—far too many for a normal household—hanging in the corridors and corners of rooms, he must have a.s.sumed that her job had to be related to clothing.

“Came home immediately, huh? Are you sure about that? Weren’t you meeting with some bigshot client today?”

Her son next to her cut in teasingly.

“Well…. Yes, it was an important meeting, so I couldn’t leave right away….”

“Hmph. Whatever. I went to go see the fireworks with some guys, but I ran out of out cash so I came back home to get some more. And then I saw all those d.a.m.n cops around and almost s.h.i.+t myself,”

He said, even without being asked. He spoke like a delinquent, but there was an undeniable innocence in his eyes. It somehow sounded like he was purposely trying to speak roughly.

“Were you with that friend of yours again? I’ve heard some unpleasant rumors about that one. Are you sure it’s alright being around him? Oh, speaking of which, you look a bit like Alain Delon.”

In the middle of conversing with her son, this time, the wife started showing interest in Sensei.

“Or perhaps, Ichikawa Raizo? Are you an actor of some sorts? If you’re interested, would you like to model for our advertis.e.m.e.nts?”

“Model?!”

I was so shocked by her remark that I cried out.

“U-um! He’s….!”

I was too fl.u.s.tered to explain properly. However, Sensei responded without his smile wavering in the slightest.

“Thank you for the offer, ma'am. But I’m afraid I am but a faint-hearted man, and I suffer from a combination of palpitations, shortness of breath, and memory impairment when in front of large crowds of people. As such, normally I try to avoid the public eye as much as possible, but in spite of that, this unripe persimmon of a pigtailed girl, that’s not even good for nibbling on, insists on forcing me to go everywhere with her. This violation of my human rights has gotten to be too much recently, so I’m prepared to fight it legally in court this time.”

Unripe persimmon? Court? His story was just so ridiculous, I didn’t even have the energy to object.

“Anyway, what do we do now? I can’t believe he’s dead…. We never finished talking about the money for rebuilding the company….”

The wife had quickly abandoned the topic that she herself had brought up and begun worrying about something else.

“Seriously, Mom? You’re still worried about work at a time like this?”

“Now, I wouldn’t say that….”

From the sounds of it, it didn’t seem like the wife’s company was doing too well.

“Speaking of which, Chikage, have you contacted Kuromine-san yet?”

The wife seemed to have gotten uncomfortable, and forcefully changed the topic. However, Chikage-san was too busy staring at the closed sliding door to hear her.

“Chigake, I’m talking to you,” The wife called again, and finally, she looked this way.

“I’m sorry. I was distracted by the sound of the fireworks.”

It certainly seemed like the fireworks were flouris.h.i.+ng out front. Even for the people living in this town, was the sound really so distracting even after hearing them every year?

“If you mean Seiichi-san, then you don’t need to worry.”

“Seiichi-san?”

The wife casually answered my curiosity.

“My daughter’s fiance.”

As I reacted to hearing his name for the first time, the wife began talking happily, as if it were her own betrothed that she was speaking of.

“He’s a fine man that works at a newspaper company. My daughter was so excited to see the fireworks with him today while showing him around these parts. But after what’s just happened, I’m afraid that won’t be possible anymore.”

“It’s fine. Family is more important.”

“Oh, is that right? Yes, I suppose that’s true. You’re both still young, so you can always see the fireworks next year, and for many years more after that, too.”

Not long after that, two detectives noisily entered the room.

One was a middle-aged man with an stubble on his chin and a cigarette hanging from his mouth, as well as stern, piercing eyes that rivaled Sensei’s. The other detective looked much younger; he was tall and lanky, and seemed full of motivation, if nothing else, as he gripped a notepad and pen in his hands.

“I’m Innami from the Metropolitan Police’s First Investigation Division.”

The middle-aged man briefly showed us his police badge, if only for formality’s sake. His forearms showed slightly from his rolled-up sleeves.

Seeing Detective Innami take out his badge, the younger detective hurried to introduce himself, as well.

“I’m Kaburagi! I’m still new to the force, but I humbly ask—”

“What’s with all the ‘humble’ c.r.a.p, idiot. What are you, a salaryman?”

The rookie detective introduced himself energetically, but he wilted when his senior scolded him. However, he lifted his head up immediately afterwards and scribbled something in his notepad.

“‘I am not…. a salaryman,’”

He muttered as he wrote. Maybe every time his senior scolded him, he would record it in his notepad like so.

“Detective Guidelines” Number Sixty-Eight—I am not a salaryman. And so on.

“For the time being, we’ve done a brief survey of the scene of the crime as well as the area surrounding the mansion. Next, we’d like to interview the family members. Is everyone present?”

It looked like Detective Kaburagi was quick to recover. As soon as he finished speaking, Innami continued,

“I just want to make sure, but the first one to discover the scene was the daughter, correct?”

Chikage-san nodded silently to the question.

“You must be the eldest laughter, Nagao Chikage-san. Currently attending the local university,”

Detective Kaburagi added on next to him.

“And, the one who ran in after hearing her scream would be—”

“That was me, Hanamoto Hibari. I came to visit today on an errand.”

I unwrapped the bundle with the book to show them, and explained briefly to the detectives. Detective Kaburagi quickly jotted things down in his notepad. Detective Innami had been narrowing his eyes the entire time, but finally, he looked behind me.

“And who would that rude-looking, poor-mannered man over there be?”

I slowly turned around. Naturally, there was no one else but Sensei. Instead of sitting properly, he was leaning against a pillar with his legs thrown out in front of him.

Ah, he didn’t look happy at all.

Sensei hated being treated arrogantly by other people. It didn’t matter who.

“Are you talking about me, old dog of the police force?”

“Let me correct myself. Who the h.e.l.l is this rude-looking, poor-mannered, and foul-mouthed man?”

The atmosphere had suddenly turned hostile. I hurried to put myself between them.

“This is Kudou Renma-sensei! I know he seems to be just full of bad traits, but he’s a writer! He came here today as my chaperone, so he hasn’t done anything against the law! Probably!”

“My! So you’re a writer!”

The wife responded happily for some reason. It really didn’t seem like she had just lost her husband.

“A writer, huh?”

After giving Sensei a final look of disbelief, Detective Innami called to Detective Kaburagi.

“What’s the scene of the crime look like?”

“Ah, yessir! Let’s see, the one who died was the master of this house, Nagao Gensaku-san, aged fifty-four. He taught as a professor at Toyo University. The cause of death was brain damage due to a gunshot wound to the head. In other words, he was shot in the head with a bullet. According to the forensics team, the estimated time of death was somewhere between 6 to 7 PM.”

“Father was…. shot by someone?!”

“Chikage-san, were you at home during that time?”

“No, I had gone out for a bit. I believe I left around six. I got a caught up in a bit of small talk at a nearby friend’s house, and wound up staying longer than I had planned, so I hurried on my way home.”

“And that was when you discovered your father’s body.’”

“Yes…. Um, am I being considered as a suspect….?”

“Miss, please calm down. We’re just checking the facts to be sure,”

Detective Kaburagi spoke softly to Chikage-san as she started to get upset, and led her into another room. He must have realized it was cruel to keep asking her these questions so soon after the girl had lost her father.

Meanwhile, Detective Innami continued talking.

“When Professor Nagao was discovered, he was holding a rifle in his hand. Is that correct?”

I nodded in place of Chikage-san. The body had certainly been holding onto a rifle.

“It was a bolt-action rifle known as a Type 99 Rifle, the kind used by the army during the war. A 7.7mm caliber. The bullet that entered Professor Nagao’s temporal region exited from around the top of his head and fell onto the tatami mats. The impact of the shot must have forced his head to turn sideways. When we examined the bullet, we confirmed that it was also fired from a 7.7mm caliber rifle. A part of the bullet lost its shape after it was fired, so it might take some time to identify the ballistic markings on it, but considering the nature of the crime scene, that probably won’t be necessary. Now, about the rifle—”

Detective Innami looked over at the wife.

“Yes, that gun is from my husband’s collection. That’s always been a hobby of his. He’s collected several other guns, as well.”

“According to Chikage-san’s testimony, when she discovered the body, the room was mostly closed off, aside for one part of the sliding panels. The deceased was holding a gun from his own collection, and there were also traces of gunpowder residue found on his body. In other words—”

“It was most likely a suicide. Slim chance of it being murder.”

Sensei said, as if to steal the words right from the detective’s mouth. Detective Innami raised an eyebrow and made a blatantly displeased face.

“….Well, that’s what it is. He probably pulled the trigger at his own head while he was alone in that room.”

“Why…. To think that he would commit suicide….”

The wife dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

“That old man…. But Detective, my old man couldn’t have committed suicide. He didn’t have any reason to. He had guts, and he was immersed in his research. There’s no way he would just thrown away his life like that,”

Tetsuta-san insisted, but it wasn’t enough to make Detective Innami change his mind.

“Right now, there doesn’t seem to be any other possibility. But, we’ll try investigating a little more.”

A heavy atmosphere enveloped the room. Suddenly, Sensei stood up as if he had just thought of something. As everyone, myself included, looked up in wonder, Sensei began walking around opening all the doors as if to do away with the heavy, tepid atmosphere lingering in the room.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?! You can’t just—”

“Hot, it’s hot! It makes me hot being shut in like this. Moreover, it’s a shame to have the doors closed when there are such beautiful fireworks going off outside!”

Sensei continued opening doors until he reached the back of Professor Nagao’s room. Thankfully, the body had already been moved elsewhere, but there were still the fresh bloodstains on the tatami mats.

He opened the sliding panels facing the veranda, as well. Our field of vision widened, and beyond it, we could see the fireworks spreading out into the night sky.

Sensei stood at the veranda for a while, gazing outside. Had he really discovered a love for fireworks somewhere in his heart? No, it couldn’t be.

“That’s better.”

Finally seeming satisfied, he sat back down in his original spot.

But even the wind that blew into the room felt tepid. It had that distinct, summer evening dampness. Furthermore, because Sensei had opened up the panels leading to the back room, I could see those creepy ghost pictures again, which made me start to feel uncomfortable.

No matter where they were, all the ghosts seemed to be staring in our direction, giving me strange chills.

Detective Innami seemed unsettled by the ghost pictures as well, and avoided looking at them directly.

“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that people around here call this house a haunted mansion. Well, with all of those lined up there, I can see why—”

He relentlessly squashed a mosquito that had landed on his neck.

“It was another of my old man’s hobbies. And one in bad taste. He didn’t care at all about public appearances. Lately, there’ve even been people saying that real ghosts show up. It’s sickening!”

Tetsuta-san cursed as he answered. I see, the detective said before continuing.

“Your father’s hobby, huh? Well, that thing about real ghosts appearing is probably just an exaggerated rumor, but at this rate, it almost makes you think that there might actually be one….”

“Innami-san!”

Detective Kaburagi suddenly shouted from the room that the professor’s body had been in.

“What’s wrong?”

“We found it! From the chest in the room!”

“What did you find?”

“The suicide note!”

*

“This is my husband’s, Gensaku’s handwriting, without a doubt….”

The suicide note that was found had been written by Professor Nagao, and was extremely short and concise.

A heart that pursues mystery is what makes a heart truly human. The same can be said for this world and the next; there is nothing more mysterious in this world than humans. As I ponder over souls and the afterlife day in and day out, the more I long to see it for myself. My dearest wife, please forgive your husband for taking his own life and going on ahead. My dearest children, do not despair. Your father is going now to the endless world he years for. I will return to see the camellias in the garden again next year.

“He longed to see the afterlife….? What is this?”

Detective Innami said, but refrained from saying any more in respect for the bereaved family.

“Father was a bit strange,” Chikage-san spoke up as she returned from the other room.

“All he ever did was think about his research.”

“I heard about that earlier, too. About how he immersed himself in it. What kind of research did he do, anyway?”

“To put it simply, ‘ghosts.’”

“Ghosts….” Detective Innami repeated the word while making a face like he didn’t quite understand what that meant.

“Yes. Ghosts, souls, the afterlife, spiritual channeling, curses…. There were times when he was so devoted to his research, he would even forget to eat or sleep.”

“And was all this also a part of that?”

Detective Innami pointed out the ghost paintings on the walls.

“Our house has always been full of things like that. My late grandfather was a fan of antiques, so he collected various things over the years. Vases, musical instruments, swords, paintings…. Famous things, obscure things, strange things, things with a history behind them—he collected all sorts. And among them were those ghost paintings. Apparently, my father was very attracted to them as a child.”

He had already been drawn in by ghosts since a young age. If that was the case, it made sense why he had been so pa.s.sionate for his research on ghosts. The same could be said for his gun collection; his habit for collecting things had most likely been taken from his own father.

“After my grandfather pa.s.sed away, we let go of most of his antique collection, so not much of it remains—”

As she said this, she looked at Otoe-san. Naturally, everyone followed her gaze and focused on the wife. Having not expected this sudden attention, Otoe-san forced a laugh while hiding her mouth with her handkerchief.

“Y-yes, well, there were some necessary expenses in forming the company, you see. ….Hohoho.”

In other words, it looked like she had sold everything for finances to use for her own company.

“The ghost paintings were the only things my father refused to let go of. In fact, he kept collecting even more of them, no matter how much they cost. It was as if he was possessed by something.”

“By something….?”

Once again, I felt chills.

“By ghosts, of course,”

Sensei said while still facing the veranda. Detective Kaburagi rubbed his forearms as he looked around the room.

“You’re not saying he could have been killed by ghosts, are you….?”

“Idiot! And you still call yourself a detective?! And as for you, Mr. Writer, don’t just go running your mouth! Anyway, now that we’ve found the note written by the man himself, this is definitely suicide. Our job here is just about done.”

“No, they exist.”

“Huh? What exists? If you keep on spouting nonsense—”

“A culprit exists,”

Sensei said while staring blankly into s.p.a.ce. Everyone in the room could take a guess at what he was implying.

“I can see them. Even now, I see them. The culprit. Over there, and over here.”

“What, are you a spirit medium as well as a writer? Quit making things up in front of the bereaved!”

Detective Innami looked ready to lunge at Sensei at any moment now.

“He’s right, Sensei. Now isn’t the time to be joking around like that. There’s no such thing as….”

No such thing as ghosts. They couldn’t possibly exist.

But as soon as I glanced at the walls, they were all around us. Even now, they were looking at us. Watching us.

I’m scared. So scared. So scared.

“Oh, dear,”

Suddenly, Sensei began to pay close attention to his sleeve in a theatrical manner.

“I tried to be careful when I was checking the professor’s pulse, but it looks some blood has gotten on it. Hibari-kun, would hand was.h.i.+ng be enough to take out this stain?”

There was, indeed, a small red stain on his sleeve.

“Ah! You’re right! I’m the one that’s always doing the laundry, so please be more careful! In the first place, you’re always so careless, letting the laundry pile up like that, Sensei—”

Wait, no!

What was I saying in front of everyone? As I realized the situation, my face started heating up like a boiling kettle. I quickly got back on topic to cover up my embarra.s.sment.

“W-well, with all that blood, it would be hard not to get any of it on you, no matter how careful you are,”

As soon as I said this, I had a certain misgiving. Just like how the fireworks lit up the darkness, the fact that something was odd had come to my attention.

I rethought the situation with that in mind, and realized that several things didn’t line up.

Then, that would mean that this was—

“Hm? Hibari-kun, what’s the matter? Oh! Could it be?!”

“Hey, Writer, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?! What’s wrong with this girl now?”

“Shh! Be quiet. Look closely. Hibari-kun’s pigtails are standing on end! It’s a sign that she’s come up with some sort of idea.”

It was my first time hearing of that kind of sign. In the first place, it wasn’t possible for my pigtails to stand up on their own. I was about to protest against Sensei’s gibberish, but decided to focus on sorting out my own thoughts, first.

“Um, who is this girl, really?”

“I’m glad you asked, Newbie Kaburagi-kun. This girl here who seems to be hiding something—she may not look like it, but she’s the talented Schoolgirl Detective that’s everyone in Kanda has been going on about recently. Up until now, she’s solved a countless number of cases by correctly guessing the culprit each time. The number of men she’s turned down is also too many to count.”

“The Schoolgirl Detective?!”

The conversation was escalating by the moment, but right now, I had to concentrate—

“Reasoning comes first, seconds comes snacks. Thinking for three hours while surrounded by foes on all four sides, with all five senses mixed up in her sixth mystery-solving pilgrimage. Even if she falls down seven times while deducting, she gets up eight. And while pursuing the culprit, though nine may die, she alone survives. And at ten, she’s finally a ‘great’ detective! With today’s case, as well, she’s certain to uncover the truth without fail. A bull’s-eye, every time! Once she starts to focus like this, there’s no labyrinth she cannot escape. No culprit she cannot find!”

“Sensei, that’s enough praise, thank you!” I said, standing up to interrupt Sensei’s little play. Although, I had a feeling that most of that wasn’t actually praise.

“Well then, Great Detective, do you see some light of hope now?”

Everyone was looking at me with serious expressions on their faces. Behind them, only Sensei was smiling in amus.e.m.e.nt.

Fine, then. In that case, I’ll do it.

I’ll solve this mystery.

“The professor didn’t commit suicide. There’s definitely a culprit.”

Detective Kaburagi was the first to respond to my statement.

“What’s that? You said your name was Hibari-chan, wasn’t it? I don’t know if you’re actually a detective or not, but what you’re saying is—”

“The professor was killed by someone.”

“That can’t be—!”

This time it was Chikage-san who cried out in a hoa.r.s.e voice and staggered, knocking over the tea cup by her hand.

“Listen, didn’t you just see his suicide note for yourself?”

“Hold on, Kaburagi. Girly, you’ve gotta have some conclusive evidence for you to be claiming that, right?”

“Innami-san! You can’t possibly think that what this kid is saying is true!”

“I don’t, but she was one of the first people on the scene, after all, so I’ll hear what she has to say, at least. Well, Miss Schoolgirl Detective? What’s your reasoning here?”

“I haven’t solved all the mysteries here just yet, however, there’s something unusual about treating this as a suicide. For starters, his motive,”

I tried to speak slowly and clearly as I organized the thoughts in my head. I treaded carefully onwards, as if I was using a lamp to illuminate the dark path before me.

“The professor had been desperately waiting to get his hands on a certain book. That would be the book that I came here with today, ‘Study of Ghosts and Souls.’”

I undid the bundle I was holding again to show them the book.

“It would seem that he asked Kares.h.i.+ma-san, the owner of ‘Kokuudou,’ to sell him this book as soon as he had it in stock. And when Kares.h.i.+ma-san called him about it yesterday, he requested that it be brought to him as soon as possible. Would he really commit suicide, knowing that he was about to receive the book he had wanted for so long?”

Detective Innami said nothing in response to my question. He looked like he was still reserving judgement.

After a sufficient pause, I continued.

“Next, I’d like to talk about the type of gun he used. I’m not very well-informed on guns, but the gun he used wasn’t a pistol like you might see in Western movies, but a rifle, wasn’t it? The ones with a rather long barrel.”

“Yeah, Professor Nagao was holding a short rifle, but the entire length of the gun is still over a meter long.”

“a.s.suming he did commit suicide, why would he have chosen that gun?”

As I spoke, I moved to the professor’s room. Various types of guns adorned the walls. It was chilling to see all those guns lined up right next to the ghost paintings.

“Please take a look. Among the professor’s collection, there are small pistols here, as well. Using one of these would surely suffice for committing suicide, so why would he have specifically chosen a gun with such a long barrel? Wouldn’t it be more difficult to aim at his head and pull the trigger by himself?”

“Well…. I don’t know the reason, either, but…. When committing suicide with a rifle, there’s a way to point the muzzle at yourself while hooking your foot on the trigger. You’d pull the trigger with your toes. During the war, there were quite a few soldiers that killed themselves that way. So it wouldn’t be impossible to pull off.”

“You’re right, it wouldn’t be impossible. However, if he had shot himself using that method, the bullet would have gone into him from the front, wouldn’t it? However, the entry wound on the body was found on the temple. Isn’t he facing the wrong way to have shot himself? That seems kind of strange.”

“Maybe he was looking at the fireworks, or something,”

Detective Innami said, but I could tell right away that he wasn’t saying it seriously.

“The professor had to have been shot by someone else from the opposite direction. And he must have been caught by surprise.”

“Are you saying someone entered the house in the middle of this busy fireworks festival, shot him, and then disappeared like a fine mist?”

“If it was someone from within the house, that wouldn’t have been too difficult, I think.”

“So one of the family members is the culprit?”

Hearing these words, both the wife and Tetsuta-san gasped.

“It’s too early to conclude that, but…. First, let’s do a verification.”

“A verification?”

“Otoe-san, Tetsuta-san, what time did you two leave the house today?”

Instead of directly answering Detective Innami’s question, I asked the two of them a question of my own.

“You would suspect me, his wife?! Why, how absurd!”

The wife, Otoe, yelled with her face as red as a steamed apple.

“I’m sorry. It’s just part of the procedure.”

“Hmph! I left the house at around 7 AM to go to work! If you don’t believe me, you can ask the people at my company.”

“I waited for the rain to stop before heading to my friend’s place! That was probably a little after three. I’ll ask someone to come over and prove it if you don’t believe me!”

“Thank you for your cooperation. That means that while Chikage-san had gone out, the professor was the only one in this house. It lines up with his estimated time of death. If someone broke into the house during that time….”

As I spoke, I went out onto the veranda. It was opposite of the rear garden where Sensei was.

With that in mind, I looked around for Sensei, but he wasn’t where he had been a moment ago. He wasn’t anywhere within my field of vision. Where had he gone off to? As I thought this, Detective Innami came up to me.

“An intruder from outside?  But this house is surrounded by a garden. And as you can see, the ground’s all muddy because of the shower this afternoon. I had my subordinates do a thorough search, but they didn’t find any suspicious footprints. Actually, there weren’t any footprints in the garden at all. We only found Chikage-san’s footprints from when she went in and out of the back door. And also, the eldest son’s footprints leading to the front entrance. As well as yours and that writer’s, from when you came to visit, but that’s it.”

“….That means that no outsiders came into this house after it rained.”

“But everyone in the house has an alibi. Who could have possibly killed the professor, then? Are you trying to say that since it’s a haunted mansion, some obake appeared out of thin air to kill him, and then vanished without leaving a trace?”

“Um,”

Detective Kaburagi raised his hand.

“Aren’t there ways to break in without leaving any footprints? For example, what if they used the roof of the neighboring house?”

“If we were to investigate, I’m sure we would find other ways they could have broken in. However, we’re right next to the Sumida River, and today’s the Ryougoku River-Opening. The streets are flooded with people here to see the fireworks. If someone had tried to break in using atypical methods under these conditions, I think they would be noticed right away.”

“Ah…. You have a point.”

He turned downcast in disappointment, but straightened up almost immediately and looked up again.

“What if they prepared in advance the same type of footwear as someone who had left behind their footprints here, and entered the premises that way?”

“Prepared in advance? It wouldn’t have been possible to predict it would rain today, and especially right before the crime. It would have been easier to commit the crime on a day where it didn’t rain. There would be no footprints left behind, either.”

“I suppose…. that wouldn’t be very realistic.”

Once again, he slumped dejectedly. Just a moment ago, he had been insisting it was a suicide. Whose side was he on, really?

“Um…. But when I left my father behind and went out of the house, I made sure to lock up both the front and the back door,”

Chikage-san cut in to add.

“Although, as for the veranda, the sliding door had been closed, but not the gla.s.s door, so that was the only entrance that wasn’t locked.”

Naturally, there weren’t any locks on the paper sliding doors.

“The veranda…. The entrance facing the garden, then. But….”

Detective Kaburagi crossed his arms and didn’t say any more. It had been none other than the police who had confirmed that no footprints had been found in the garden.

“It’s unlikely that the they could have broken in through the veranda or anywhere else, isn’t it?”

I let out a huge sigh. At this rate, the possibility of an outsider breaking in had all but disappeared.

Detective Innami watched us in silence before clapping his hands a few times and speaking up.

“Alright, you get it now, don’t you? There was no outsider in this. Professor Nagao pulled the trigger on himself while he was alone in this house.”

His tone sounded urgent. He probably wanted to put an end to this case already.

“No, if there was no outsider, then that leaves only the family. On the contrary, we’ve narrowed down the suspects.”

“Hey, weren’t you the one that just confirmed their alibis?!”

“That was only their testimonies, rather than a confirmation. Also, that was a verification done before I had considered the possibility of an outsider. However, that possibility doesn’t seem very likely anymore.”

“Tch….”

Detective Innami was clearly annoyed. His lips were turned in a frown, and there were wrinkles at his forehead. However, I didn’t budge. I wasn’t looking at one of Sensei’s displeased faces, which was like a knife polished daily for the sake of appearances.

“Then, are you saying that one of the people who left behind footprints, Nagao Chikage or Tetsuta, is the culprit?”

“It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!”

Tetsuta-san shrunk back on himself as Innami glared at him.

“Tetsuta, since you’ve been doing nothing but fool around after dropping out of school, recently your father had been scolding you for stealing money from the house….”

As she spoke, the wife slowly walked a few steps away from her son.

“So you were at odds with your father over money issues?”

Meanwhile, Detective Kaburagi moved in closer to Tetsuta-san.

“Alright, so I did pester him a bit over cash. And my old man got p.i.s.sed at me because of it! But that doesn’t mean I’d take out my own parent just for that!”

“But that doesn’t mean you were completely without a motive, right?”

“O-oh, come on….”

Detective Kaburagi continued advancing blatantly on the eldest son.

“Hold on a minute, Detective. There’s still something I’d like to confirm with Chikage-san.”

“Huh? With Chikage-san?”

I looked over at her where she stood behind her mother and younger brother.

“Chikage-san, there’s been something on my mind since we met.”

“Y-yes?”

Hearing Chikage-san’s reply, the wife and Tetsuta-san moved to the side as if to open up a path leading to her. We heard several fireworks go off in succession from outside.

“That’s a very pretty yukata you’re wearing.”

“—Eh?”

Chikage-san looked down at the yukata she was wearing with a bewildered look on her face.

“Th-thank you very much.”

“Lily of the valley flowers against a white background. I think the design looks refres.h.i.+ng and suits you very much. Is it one of your favorite outfits?”

“Hey, what’s going on here?! Why are suddenly talking about yukata?! Is that all you wanted to ask?”

Detective Innami cut in, seemingly unable to contain himself. However, I ignored him and went on.

“But that color would make any stains really stand out, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s true. I try to be extra careful not to get it dirty.”

“Like, for instance, a red stain?”

“Eh—? Um…. I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“Hey, Pigtail Detective. Make it so the rest of us can understand, too. Just what are you getting at?”

Detective Innami started to pester me again.

“Detective, think about it. The first one to discover the professor’s body was his daughter, Chikage-san. After hearing her scream, Sensei and I ran into the room where the body was. And once we did, we saw her standing motionless next to the body. The sun was setting, and the sliding doors were shut, leaving the room in a dimly-lit state.”

“Yeah, I’ve already heard about this when I asked her how she found the body. What about it?”

“At the time, Sensei immediately went up to the body to check for a pulse. And that was when Chikage-san said this. ‘It was no use. Father is already dead….’”

“That was because he didn’t respond no matter how much I shook him, and I had already checked for a pulse, as well,”

Chikage-san said with a confused expression and looked away.

“After clinging desperately to your father, who was lying in a pool of blood, and checking for any signs of life, you already knew he was dead. That’s what you mean, correct?”

Chikage-san’s face was a mixture of confusion and annoyance at the way I spoke with emphasis.

“Yes, that’s what I’m trying to say.”

“Then why is it so clean? Why isn’t there any blood to be found anywhere on your yukata?”

“Th-that’s because—”

“If you found your father bleeding so much in that dimly-lit room, I think that normally, you would be in a state of panic, and it would be hard to keep your composure. It would be extremely difficult to remain calm.”

As I spoke, I tried imagining my own father in that situation, but it was clear that it darkened my mood, so I stopped.

“In reality, Chikage-san actually did scream loud enough to be heard throughout the mansion, so if she reacted normally enough to do so, she must have then rushed to her father’s side. And naturally, some part of her would get dirty with blood. Even Sensei got blood on his sleeve despite being so careful. Honestly, who does he think has to do the laundry—”

Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.

“That would especially be the case when you’re wearing a yukata. Unless you were extremely careful, the hem would almost definitely touch the blood that’s on the tatami mats. But despite this, there isn’t even a spot of blood on Chikage-san’s yukata. It’s completely clean.”

This time, everyone in the room focused their gazes on Chikage-san’s untainted, flower-patterned yukata.

“I…. I’m….!”

Chikage-san fell to her knees on the spot, trembling.

Feeling that the time for what needed to be said had finally come, I took a deep breath and stood proudly.

“Chikage-san, you didn’t even touch your father at the time. You had no need to touch him in order to check if he was still alive. The reason being that the one who killed him, is none other than you—”

That was when it happened.

“Indeed, it really is lively out there! You can just feel the excitement in the air!”

“None other than you…. yourself….”

It had happened completely out of nowhere. Of all people, Sensei had come bursting into the room. And he seemed to be in very good spirits, at that.

“j.a.panese people are usually so meek, but as soon as there’s a festival going on, they became so energetic it’s like they’ve become an entirely differently person. I wonder why that is! Do they become more easy-going when partying openly in a group? It might be embarra.s.sing to let loose on their own, but when everyone else around them is doing the same, then that’s no longer the case—that kind of late-blooming, j.a.panese-like chain reaction is like just being able to order anmitsu without feeling embarra.s.sed only because the man sitting next to you is eating it himself! Isn’t that exactly what’s going on with middle-aged salarymen rejoicing in chains of cafés?! What a racket they make!”

“Hold it, Sensei?! Where is this coming from all of a sudden?! What you’re saying isn’t even making sense anymore! No, that’s not what matters here—I was in the middle of something important—!”

And right at the climax, too! Why?! How could he?!

“Ahaha! Look, Hibari-kun’s precious pigtails are standing on end like a hedgehog!”

“Excuse me! Just now, I was about to say something very, very important as a detective…. It’s like if I was singing ‘Song of Apples’ and I was just about to get to the line, ‘Apples are cute~ What cute apples~’—In any case, I was getting to the most important part….!”

“Why, you’re still at it? You were talking for so long, I got bored. So I decided to go for a little stroll.”

“B-bored?! It’s reasoning! Reasoning! And first of all—”

Sensei, you were the one that pushed the role of a detective on me. Somehow, I refrained from saying this.

“Reasoning? Hibari-kun, there you go again, pulling your little pranks. To think that you would purposely say things that aren’t true in order to throw off the detectives.”

“Things that aren’t true….? What?! They’re aren’t?!”

I rushed up to Sensei to whisper to him,

“What do you mean?! C-could it be that…. my reasoning is wrong?!”

“Let’s see now, it’s as wrong as if you wanted to go to Tokyo Station but confidently got off at Yotsuya.”

In other words, it seemed that I had been completely off the mark.

“Kuuu….!”

“No need to sound like a puppy who’s run into a pole. You were headed in the right direction. All that’s left now is to keep stumbling forward,”

Sensei whispered, before letting me go.

Sensei’s intrusion had changed the entire atmosphere in an instant, leaving everyone present completely dumbfounded.

At last, Detective Kaburagi spoke up very carefully.

“Um, speaking of which, who might this be?”

He pointed to someone standing right beside Sensei.

That’s right, Sensei had brought with him a woman I had never seen before. She was a plump, healthy-looking woman in her mid-twenties. Sensei grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“This is Michiyo-chan.”

“….Who?”

“Like I said, Michiyo-chan, who lives in the neighborhood. Twenty-four years old and single. Works at a textile factory. And her favorite actor?”

“Tsuruta Kouji!”

“So it would seem.”

The woman called Michiyo-chan looked up at Sensei with a blus.h.i.+ng face. But Tsuruta Kouji and Sensei looked nothing alike.

“Michiyo-san is my conversation friend. She’s the daughter of the house I went to earlier this evening….”

Having finally calmed down, Chikage-san timidly introduced her.

“Earlier, Kudou-sensei asked who I got caught up chatting with, so I told him.”

“The police didn’t seem like they were going to investigate it, so I went myself to kill some time.”

Is that what he had been doing while I’d been presenting my reasoning?

“Michiyo-chan was kind enough to cooperate with me. Incidentally, her chatting session with Chikage-san went like so. Michiyo-san saw Chikage-san walking in front of her house in the evening and called out to her. They started engaging in small talk, and then went to sit at the veranda to talk at length. About the new movie premiering this month, and the young man from work that Michiyo-chan has been interested in lately, and so on.”

“Oh, Sudou-san, cut that out! You promised you wouldn’t tell!”

Michiyo-chan covered her face with both hands in embarra.s.sment. Wait, more importantly, who was Sudou-san? Well, it was probably Sensei, who had jokingly given some fake introduction.

“So then, Michiyo-chan, do you remember until what time you chatted with Chikage-san?”

“Yes, I met with Chikage-san a little after six. And after a while, the fireworks started going off, so we commented on how pretty they were again this year and talked a little longer. We parted ways after that. I never know when to stop talking once I get going—”

“What time do the fireworks start?”

Detective Innami stepped forward to interrupt Michiyo-chan, and asked this question while tapping his watch.

“Umm…. I believe they started at seven. It’s written on the flyers around town, too.”

She took a step back and answered. It seemed like she was a bit afraid of Detective Innami.

“Isn’t that right, Chikage-san? Wasn’t it at seven?”

“Yes. It was around seven twenty when I returned home.”

Sensei gave a small nod.

“And immediately after that would be when Hibari-kun nonchalantly came to visit this house. With that carefree face of hers all excited over the fireworks. All while humming something out-of-tune.”

“What do you mean nonchalantly?!”

“Um! But then wouldn’t this mean that Chikage-san….”

This time it was Detective Kaburagi who interrupted my protest by raising his hand. I pouted with my cheeks puffed out, but no one paid any attention to me. Hmph.

“Yes, Chikage-san had an alibi during the time of the crime. Michiyo-chan testified to that just now. This woman of affairs, Michiyo-chan just did!”

“I see. Which means?”

Detective Kaburagi listened to Sensei talk as he wrote in his notebook again. Maybe he was writing down something like, “Michiyo-chan—woman of affairs.”

“Well? What does that mean? Hibari-kun.”

Although it was Sensei who had been asked for the conclusion, he suddenly turned to me to ask for an answer. I panicked, as if I had been handed the pen in the middle of him writing a ma.n.u.script.

“I-it means…. Um, umm…. Oh, that’s right! It means that the culprit who murdered Professor Nagao is someone else!”

I declared proudly in continuation to what I’d been trying to say earlier. Everyone stared at me as if drawn in by my words. Somehow, I started to feel bad.

“Just who is the real culprit?! Please just tell us already!”

Detective Kaburagi came closer to me as if begging for forgiveness for something. For some reason, he’d even started speaking to me in formal language.

“Uhh….”

I was stumped. What was I supposed to say?

The fireworks would soon be reaching their climax, but as for my reasoning, it was going astray.

I had hit a dead end.

“Um, why don’t we take a break? I’ll go make a fresh brew of tea. Oh, that’s right, we have some delicious peaches, as well. Chikage, would you help peel them?”

It was then that the wife made a suggestion. To me, they sounded like words of salvation. The wife, Otoe, was a surprisingly positive and adaptable person; it almost made me feel a bit envious.

In any case, this bought me some time to think. I had to use this chance to find some kind of clue.

“Thank you for your help. Be careful not to be hit on by any of the fireworks spectators on your way back.”

“Oh, Sudou-san!”

Sensei was cheerfully waving his hand as he saw Michiyo-chan off at the back door.

I grabbed Sensei’s hand to pull him away to the end of the corridor.

“Why, a girl leading a man into a dark place like this? How disgraceful,”

Sensei said as he patted my head a few times.

“Be quiet! More importantly, Sensei, you really enjoyed misleading me again, didn’t you! I was almost about to treat Chikage-san like a criminal!”

“Then didn’t I come in at the perfect timing to prevent that from happening?”

I couldn’t deny that his timing had been impeccable.

The two detectives had sat down cross-legged on the floor, so Chikage-san was directing them to seat cus.h.i.+ons, instead. After being cleared from being a suspect at the last moment, it looked like she was finally able to attend to the guests again.

I’m sorry for suspecting you! I apologized repeatedly in my head while curling up like a pillbug.

“Now then, you’ve come this far. The truth is just a step away.”

“But…. I’ve come to a dead end. I can’t think of anyone else who could have done it….”

I had lost all the clues. I felt like a mountain climber surrounded by a thick fog.

“For a detective, the truth won’t always be somewhere immediately within reach,”

Sense said, before pus.h.i.+ng me in the back.

“But that aside, we finally have time for a break. Why not enjoy the fireworks from the veranda for a while?”

“….What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Somehow, everything you say right now sounds fishy, Sensei.”

“Ahaha,”

Even as he laughed, he kindly escorted me to the veranda. Being treated this way made me feel as if I might lose my mind.

Yes, from time to time, Sensei shows a caring side to him. And for some reason, it frustrates me.

There had been a time where I’d gone to deliver coffee beans to Sensei’s house as usual, but fallen and sprained my ankle on the way. That time, Sensei had actually carried me inside without making fun of me like he usually did. He even told me to rest for a while, and bandaged up my ankle for me.

Of course, all while he was carrying me, I had struggled violently like a wild fox caught in a foothold trap.

I remember screaming things like, “I bet you’re just going to ruthlessly drop me on the floor when I least expect it!” and “You’re planning on sc.r.a.ping my cheeks with your beard which you haven’t shaved since yesterday, aren’t you!”

However, in the end, he had let me rest without any malice or ulterior motive, leaving things feeling rather anticlimactic.

Afterwards, when I told Kares.h.i.+ma-san about this, he pitied me by saying, “Just how terribly does he treat you on a daily basis?”

I was fine with being pitied. Because in reality, he really did treat me terribly. I’d become immune to it after so many years of being together, but in any case, from an outsider’s point of view, the way Sensei treats me is unreasonably merciless.

Our relations.h.i.+p is that of a pitiful resident of h.e.l.l and its tormenting demon. On the other hand, it was completely natural that I was continually wary towards Sensei, much like a wild fox.

Despite all that, there were times where he would kindly hold out his hand to me like this. Just that alone was enough to make me forget about all the ways he’d bullied me up until now, and I wound up taking his hand.

“What a dirty way to pull a prank….!”

“What are you mumbling to yourself about? Did you drop a thousand grams of your brain somewhere?”

“That’s practically all of it!”

In the end, we went at it as we always did as we looked out at the garden from the veranda.

The forensics that had been searching the crime scene had left by now, and the Nagao household was somewhat quiet again.

Still, the Ryougoku River-Opening fireworks from outside were at their climax, and the air was filled with excitement, as if to convey that this was the epitome of a j.a.panese summer.

The camellia hedges just barely blocked out all of that excitement, protecting the calm atmosphere of the garden. The image of the hedges covered with winter flowers, looking up at the summer flowers in the sky was almost like something on a picture postcard.

“Huh? Only that part doesn’t seem to be doing so well.”

I saw that just one section of the hedges was in poor condition. Actually, it seemed on the verge of wilting. It was even shorter than I was. Seeing it standing there all spindly-looking and being looked down upon by the neighboring hedges made me feel a bit sympathetic.

Another firework exploded in the air.

“Poor Professor Nagao…. He must have died with so much regret,”

As I gazed up at the night sky, those words slipped out of my mouth.

“I mean, of course, I’m not trying to say I understand the deceased’s feelings, but to suddenly be murdered right before the start of this beautiful fireworks show…. And he was never able to obtain the book he wanted for so long, either….”

The book that I’d brought was sitting in the corner of room, wrapped up in its cloth. It felt a bit late to just be realizing it now, but it looked so lonely there that it made my chest hurt.

Sensei waited for a large firework to finish going off and disappear before he spoke.

“I can understand the pain of leaving this world before being able to read the book he yearned for so dearly, but I’m not sure I would say the same about the fireworks.”

“What do you mean?”

“Considering the estimated time of death, there’s a possibility that the professor managed to see the fireworks in his final moments. It isn’t certain that he was killed before they went off.”

“….Ah, then in that case, I guess that means he was able to see them for at least a little—”

I started to say, but then I paused.

“Wait, could the culprit have waited until the fireworks started because he took pity on him….?”

No, that kind of romantic culprit couldn’t possibly exist. Sensei would just make fun of me again for thinking something so naive. With that in mind, I looked up at him, but Sensei looked surprisingly impressed.

“Good observation. That’s right, he couldn’t do it before the fireworks went off. It would have been inconvenient for him if it was before.”

“He couldn’t do it before they went off? So he waited until the fireworks started…. Then, that means…. Ah!”

“Have you figured it out? It’s quite simple if you think about it.”

When I remembered the murder weapon, the reason really was quite simple.

“It was so he could cover up the sound of the gunshot! The culprit fired hoping that it would sound like the fireworks that were going off nearby!”

The fireworks were being set up right nearby. And ever since I had entered this house, I could physically feel the volume and intensity of the sound they gave off.

“Correct. The gunshot. The professor died from being shot in the head, without a doubt. And he was holding a gun. The bullet lines up with that, and gunpowder residue was found, as well. Also, the estimated time of death is rather solid. Because of those facts, no one thought much of it. The gunshot. Its whereabouts remained unknown. Where could the gunshot have disappeared to? Where was it hidden?”

“The gunshot was hidden by the fireworks.”

“That changes things, then. Now, you’re able to see things you weren’t able to before, and come up with new reasoning.”

I thought long and hard as I fiddled with my braids.

“If you only proceed in a straight line like a bullet from a pistol, you’ll soon hit a wall. Widen your field of vision and look at the case from another angle. You might be able to find another way through.”

Because of the timing, he was able to make the gunshot sound vanish. Then, that meant—

There was a pair of sandals on the stepping stone by the veranda. I called to Detective Innami from the other side of the room.

“Detective, is it alright to go into the garden now?”

“Yeah, we’ve already finished looking around, so as long as you don’t touch anything, it’s fine.”

“Thank you. Chikage-san, may I use these sandals?”

After hearing a reply from her, I stepped into the sandals and went down into the garden.

I could feel the muddiness of the ground through the shoes. I tiptoed over to the wilting camellia and stared at it intensely. I carefully took in what I could see beyond it, as well.

Afterwards, I hurried back inside the mansion, and called out to Detective Innami, who was sitting down and about to reach for the peaches that had been brought out.

“Where did everyone else go?”

“They went back to the kitchen.”

Full of motivation, I headed for the kitchen. There, the members of the Nagao family were talking with docile looks on their faces. It sounded like they were discussing about the funeral, about what would happen to the house from now on, and soon.

“Oh, would you like