Chapter 2 part 3

“Nishijin’s Miyashita Kimono Fabrics is a long-standing store with three hundred years of history, after all. You handle everything from kabuki and traditional Japanese dance costumes to kimono for influential enka singers,” the owner began talking as he sat down on the sofa.

I’d just brought the signboard in and was in the process of closing the door when his statement caught me by surprise. Wow, three hundred years! The oldest stores I’d seen in my hometown were only a hundred years old at most. That’s Kyoto for you; even their stores have impressive histories.

“It’s only because we’re old. Even though we opened a store in Roppongi, I wouldn’t say it’s gone the way we would’ve liked,” Miyashita’s mother said with a wry smile.

It seems that they opened a branch store in Roppongi. Still, Miyashita’s family must be amazing if they receive kimono orders from influential enka singers. I began cleaning, pretending not to listen in on their conversation.

“Miyashita Kimono Fabrics, was it? Congratulations,” Holmes said with a smile, bowing his head.

What was he congratulating them on?

“Why thank you. It’s always been my dream for my daughter to be the Saio-dai.” Miyashita’s mother gave a posh laugh, placing her hand on her cheek.

S-Saio-dai? Startled, I turned around and saw Miyashita’s older sister huddled up in embarrassment. Come to think of it, Mieko was saying that this year’s Saio-dai was the daughter of a long-standing kimono fabric store. It’s Miyashita’s older sister, then. I could see why Mieko was so worked up about her looks—she was an elegant beauty. Miyashita was also pretty with a nice face, but her sister was exceptionally eye-catching.

“So, your business today has to do with the Saio-dai. What might it be?” Holmes said with arms crossed. The three Miyashitas twitched in surprise.

“Kiyotaka. After the Saio-dai was announced, Saori began receiving suspicious mail,” the owner informed him in a low voice. Holmes frowned.

Saori, the older sister, shrank back. Seeing as how the younger sister’s name is “Kaori,” perhaps fabric stores are fond of using “ori,” which means “weave.”

“Suspicious mail, you said?” Holmes asked.

“Yes,” Saori answered with a slight nod, taking a brown envelope out of her handbag. “This is it.”

“Would you mind if I took a look at it?”

“No, please do.” Saori bowed.

Holmes put on his usual white gloves and picked up the envelope. He looked at it intently before taking out the white sheet of paper inside.

“You aren’t fit to be the Saio-dai. Announce your withdrawal immediately.”

“They cut out letters from a newspaper and glued them onto printer paper? This really is a stereotypical harassment note,” Holmes remarked, seeming slightly impressed. I stiffened up. Miyashita’s mother probably hadn’t noticed, but I could tell that Holmes was amused.

“Did you talk to anyone else about this?” continued Holmes.

Miyashita’s mother shook her head. “It’s too disturbing. Perhaps it would’ve been better to go to the police, but the sender didn’t write any threats, and we didn’t want to cause an incident right before such an important festival. I asked my husband, and he suggested talking to Seiji’s grandson.”

I see. So, the owner and Miyashita’s dad know each other. Maybe it’s because they’ve both done business in Kyoto for so long.

“U-Um, my father said that you’re very smart, and that people call you ‘Holmes,’” Saori suddenly spoke up enthusiastically. Her cheeks were flushed, which caught me by surprise. Holmes is a bit of a bully and a weirdo, but he has a refined aura and is extremely good-looking. Perhaps even this year’s Saio-dai was no match for his outward charms.

“Not at all. They only call me ‘Holmes’ because of my surname.” Holmes responded with his usual answer…even though it wasn’t the truth. “How did you receive this letter?”

“It was inside my bag.” Saori shrugged.

“Your bag?”

“Yes. I came home from university, and when I was emptying my bag, there was an unfamiliar envelope inside.”

“Did you stop by anywhere else?”

“My ikebana class.”

“Also, was this the only letter?”

“Oh, no.” Saori shook her head.

At the same time, their mother leaned in, saying, “When I first saw the letter, I was ever so disturbed—I didn’t know what to do. However, nothing came of it, so we thought it was simply someone being jealous. But then, we received another one.”

“This is it,” said Saori, this time bringing out a white sheet folded into four. Holmes took it and opened it with care.

“Hurry up and withdraw. You’re an eyesore.”

“This one is made with newspaper clippings too, I see. Did it not come in a brown envelope?” asked Holmes.

“No, it came as-is. It was placed inside my bag, too,” answered Saori.

“I see. From what I gather, you have an idea of who the culprit is, right?” Holmes asked, looking her in the eye.

Saori startled. “Wh-What makes you think that?”

“You seem remarkably calm despite receiving these letters, which wouldn’t be the case if you had no idea who the sender was. In your mind, you’re thinking, ‘It could be that person,’ right?” Holmes explained. That sounded right to me.

I could hear Saori gulp from all the way over here. She hesitated before saying, “Yes. There’s someone I think it might be.”

“My! Is that so? Why didn’t you tell me?” the mother exclaimed in surprise.

It was then that my schoolmate Kaori spoke up for the first time. She looked angry. “It’s because you make a big deal out of everything even when you don’t have proof. Remember when you went over to some girls’ houses and yelled at them just because Sis was being left out? That was so embarrassing. After that, she got picked on even more! You just don’t get it, Mom.”

“Kaori…” Their mother looked surprised, while Saori looked troubled.

“It’s fine, Kaori. Holmes, I actually think it might be that girl’s family who did it,” said Saori with a sad look. Holmes remained silent and waited for her to continue. “I was friends with two girls in high school. One of their families ran a small restaurant while the other ran a Japanese-style inn. Since they were both from well-known long-standing establishments as well, they went to the same ikebana school as me, and we were a friendly group of three. A minor thing led to me getting left out, and I was really worried about it… So I asked my mother for advice, but she got enraged, stormed over to both of their houses, and started screaming, ‘How dare you shun our Saori from your group! We’ll never do business with your store again, and we won’t refer customers to you, either!’”

I frowned as I listened to her story. Whoa, that’s some extreme helicopter parenting.

“It destroyed my friendship with them, but I couldn’t avoid them, because now we go to the same university and the same ikebana school,” she continued.

Now that’s a shame. I wouldn’t have been able to stand it.

“When I was selected as Saio-dai, I told my ikebana instructor. She was delighted for me and announced to everyone that someone in our class had been selected. I think those two girls misunderstood, because they looked really excited, as though they thought their own names might be called.”

Mieko’s words flashed through my head: “I heard that tea ceremony and ikebana teachers go around to their students.” That rumor might’ve given them the idea that the teacher was going to approach them.

“Right after that, she said, ‘It’s Saori Miyashita!’ and I’ll never forget the looks on their faces. Up until then, they’d simply been giving me the silent treatment, but now they’re being openly mean to me…” Saori cast her eyes down.

“I see,” Holmes said with a nod. “Would I be able to meet those two?”

Saori’s eyes widened. “Are you going to ask them directly?”

Holmes shook his head. “No, I’d like to meet them without revealing that I’m acquainted with you.”

“In that case…our ikebana class is presenting an exhibit this weekend. All of the students will be there.”

“That sounds great. I’ll be sure to drop by,” Holmes said with a smile.