Vol 2 Chapter 4: A Long Autumn Night

It was a very quiet Saturday evening at Kura. I was doing my usual odd jobs when Holmes casually said, as if it were no big deal:

“Aoi, would you be able to do an overnight trip?”

“Huh?”

Overnight? What does he mean by that? Is he really inviting me on a trip with him? Holmes asking me to go on a trip… What? Why? I was so confused I didn’t know what to say.

“Sorry, Aoi.” Holmes smiled apologetically. “It looks like I caused a misunderstanding.”

“Huh?” I squeaked.

“You see, I’m going to be appraising some antiques for Akihito’s aunt soon. They’re in an uninhabited house, and since there are so many of them, Akihito insisted that we stay the night. I’m quite opposed to the thought of spending a night alone with him, so I was wondering if you’d be willing to come too.”

I stared at him blankly. The context was so different from what I was imagining. He has to stay at Akihito’s relative’s empty house with him, so he invited me to come. Ahhh, I jumped to conclusions just because he called it an overnight trip! Of course there’s no way he’d invite me on a vacation. I-I’m so embarrassed. That said, going on an overnight trip with Holmes and Akihito does seem fun.

“Is that all right with you, Aoi? It’s next Saturday.”

I came back to my senses and nodded firmly. “Oh, yes. Please bring me with you. Where does Akihito’s aunt live?”

“He said it was near Tofuku-ji Temple. The house belongs to the older sister of the author Kajiwara. She apparently decided to sell the house after her husband passed away, but first, she wants to sell the things inside.”

I see; the house is probably too big to live in by herself. But still… “Are there so many antiques that you’d have to stay overnight?”

“Her late husband was a collector, and he said he didn’t mind if she sold his antiques after he passed. Well, I don’t think it’d require staying overnight, but Akihito probably wants to spend that day with us.”

“What do you mean?”

“The first episode of that TV program is airing that day.” Holmes grinned.

“Oh!” I clapped my hands. “The program about Kyoto!” I could imagine him wanting to watch it with Holmes.

The phone rang and Holmes quickly picked it up. “Hello, this is Kura.” After a moment, he nodded and said, “Yes, this is Kiyotaka Yagashira speaking.” I continued my usual cleaning, but couldn’t help but listen in. “No, it was nothing… Yes, that’s true.” He smiled. “Ah, all right. I understand. I’ll talk to you later, then. Bye.” He hung up and put the phone back.

Who was that? It didn’t seem like a customer.

“That was someone from Akihito’s agency,” Holmes answered, reading my mind as always.

“You mean the talent agency?” If I recall correctly, it was a famous one called AK Company.

“Yes. It was his manager who called.”

“Why would Akihito’s manager be looking for you?”

“Apparently, he was checking the first episode before it goes on air, and he was surprised at how well done it was. When he talked to Akihito about it, my name came up, so he called just to thank me.”

“Really? He must be a diligent person.”

“I think that diligence and thoroughness are necessary traits for working in that industry.”

Oh, that makes sense. I sometimes hear that even though entertainers act chaotic on TV, staff prefer to use the ones that are low-key and diligent behind the scenes.

“You said you’d talk to him, right? Is he going to call again?”

“Yes. He asked if he could call again tonight because he wanted to consult with me about Akihito. I’m expecting him to ask me to go with Akihito again before the next filming and give him advice.”

“Wow, the first episode must’ve been really good, then. I’m looking forward to watching it.”

“Indeed.”

We looked at each other and chuckled.