Chapter 2 part 7

After returning to Kura, I impatiently exclaimed, “H-Holmes, do you really know who the culprit is?”

Holmes frowned. “Please don’t say the word ‘culprit’ so loudly. People will think this is a dangerous shop.”

I gasped and covered my mouth. The manager, who’d been watching the store, chuckled. “Ever the lively one, I see.” He smiled warmly as he wrote in his manuscript with his favorite pen.

Holmes and the manager really do resemble each other—you can tell that they’re father and son. The grandfather’s completely different…but let’s ignore that for now.

“I-I’m so sorry,” I said with a bow.

“Take a seat for now, and let’s have some coffee.” Holmes walked to the back room with light steps. Feeling restless, I sat down on the sofa.

“How was the exhibit?” the manager asked gently.

“Oh, it was wonderful. The students’ works were full of energy, and the teacher had a large arrangement at the entrance that blew me away,” I answered.

“I see. Perhaps I should have a look too.”

“Okura’s within walking distance, so that makes it easy.”

“After seeing the exhibit, I want to eat their famous cream-filled red bean buns before coming back.”

“Cream-filled red bean buns?”

“Yes. There’s a cafe connected to Okura that has them, although they’re dine-in only. The cream isn’t too sweet, and it complements the red bean paste superbly.”

“Wow, I guess they make a surprisingly good combination!”

As we were chatting, the smell of coffee tickled my nose. I looked up, and Holmes had arrived with a tray.

“Good work today, Aoi,” he said, placing the usual café au lait in front of me.

“Thank you.” I couldn’t help but grin—I love this café au lait so much.

Holmes set the rest of the cups down on the table and then sat down on the sofa.

“U-Um, can I come to Tadasu no Mori tomorrow, too? It’s like, I’ve already come this far, so I can’t help but be curious…” I asked, finding it difficult to explain the feeling.

Holmes nodded with a bright smile. “By all means. You’re already a full-fledged member of the investigation, after all.”

Phew. I really want to see the truth for myself.

I leaned in and asked in a quiet voice, “So, who do you think sent the harassment notes?”

Holmes took the letters out of his inner pocket again and laid them on the table. “Aoi, could you take a close look at these?”

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

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

They were both composed of newspaper clippings.

“Do you notice anything about them?” asked Holmes.

I stared at them intently for a bit, then said “Oh! There’s something different between them.” In the first one, each letter had been carefully cut out and pasted, but the second one was more sloppily put together.

“Do you feel anything when you see these?”

Holmes’s eyes lit up, but I didn’t know what to say.