Vol 2 Chapter 4 Part 3

Akihito’s aunt’s house was only a few minutes’ walk from Tofuku-ji Temple.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t been to my aunt’s place since I was a kid,” Akihito said quietly as we walked.

“What’s it like?” I asked.

“It’s a Western-style house.”

“Like Holmes’s?”

“It’s not that crazy. It’s a normal, cozy little house. It’s just around that corner.”

We turned the corner, and I was stunned when I saw the house. Size-wise it was “cozy,” but the exterior was covered in ivy to the point where you could barely see the walls. There’s no way this is “normal.”

“Umm, Akihito, it’s that house, right?”

“Y-Yeah, probably. Holmes’s car is there.” Indeed, the Yagashira family’s Jaguar was parked in front of it.

“‘Probably’? It’s your own aunt’s house, right?” I tilted my head.

Akihito’s face stiffened. “Uh, there wasn’t that much ivy before, so it seriously threw me off. I bet the kids in the neighborhood think it’s haunted.”

“It has a nice charm to it,” Holmes said. “The ivy prevents the walls from receiving direct sunlight, so it’ll be less hot inside in the summer.” He took the house key out of his inner pocket. It was the one he’d received from Akihito’s aunt beforehand.

“Um, does this house still have working gas and water?” I asked.

“Yes. It was lived in up until ten days ago, and there are still things to be moved. The gas and water will be running for the rest of the month,” Holmes answered as the door opened with a click.

The rather wide entrance area was dim, so I couldn’t see inside. Holmes quickly switched on the breaker near the ceiling. The foyer lit up, immediately revealing a row of three antique dolls on the shoe rack.

“Oh! That surprised me.”

“Y-Yeah, me too. Dolls, huh?”

“Ah, Jumeau bisque dolls.”

The dolls had porcelain skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, and bright red dresses. Holmes quickly put on a pair of black gloves. I could tell from the eagerness in his voice that he was excited.

“Jumeau?”

“A famous French atelier. I was surprised that they’d leave these right by the front door, but they’re in very good condition and have been treated well.” He took a notebook out of his pocket and started taking notes. He was probably writing down the prices that Akihito’s aunt would get for them. I took a peek and was shocked to see that he’d written: “Bisque doll at entrance, red dress: ¥1,500,000.”

“O-One-point-five million?”

“Yes. It appears to have been created in the late 1850s.”

“A-Are the other two also worth that much?” Akihito asked, leaning in excitedly.

Holmes shook his head. “No, the two beside it are replicas. Thirty thousand for both of them, perhaps.”

“Aw, so only one of them was worth a fortune.”

“That said, there seem to be more treasures hidden away here than I’d anticipated.” Holmes looked into the house from the foyer, his eyes gleaming enthusiastically.

Indeed, the house was crammed with old-looking things. The walls were covered in paintings, a porcelain flower vase sat atop an antique chest, and a small chandelier hung from the ceiling. It felt like the house belonged to the antiques now that the homeowner was no longer present.

“I’ll be appraising every last thing, so you two should tidy up the place to make it more comfortable,” Holmes declared.

“Okay!” Akihito and I answered in unison. That said, the house wasn’t messy; it just had a lot of things in it. Is it time for my specialty, dusting?

First, I opened the living room window to let in some fresh air. There was a garden outside—not big, but sizable enough that you could grow some vegetables.

Ahh, a garden. How nice. We lived in an apartment when we were in Saitama, and our current house can barely fit a parking space in front, so we’ve never had a garden. I’m not going to be envious of the ivy-covered walls because they look difficult to maintain, but it’d be nice to live in a house this size with a garden like this. It’s small, but it’d be like my own little castle. If I get married one day, I want to live in a house like this… The moment I thought that, Holmes appeared in my mind. I shook my head.

“Hey, Holmes!” Akihito shouted. “You said to clean up the living room, but it’s already clean.”

“In that case, please weed the yard.”

“Wh-What? Why do I have to do that?”

“I received permission from the homeowner to have a barbeque in the yard tonight.” Holmes grinned, notebook in hand.

“Oh!” Akihito and I exclaimed.

“Seriously? Aw yeah, leave the yard to me!” Akihito sprang towards the front door like a monkey. He’s probably too old to be frolicking like that, but I guess that’s how he always is.

“The barbeque supplies are in the car trunk, so please start setting up once you’ve taken care of the yard.”

“Will do!”

I couldn’t help but smile at how cute he was.

“Aoi, could you help me with appraising? There are more treasures than I thought.”

“Ah, okay.”

Holmes took a binder of lined paper out of his bag and handed it to me. “Sorry, but if you could take notes for me.”

“No problem.” I nodded and held my pen firmly.

“Now then, let’s begin.” Holmes, still wearing his gloves, touched an antique lamp on top of a chest. “This is the work of the Muller brothers, who were French glassmakers. It uses many layers of glass to form the gradation in color, and the bronze pedestal is wonderfully designed as well,” Holmes explained passionately.

I stared intently at the lily-shaped lamp. “It’s beautiful,” I said, my vocabulary as lacking as always. It was my honest opinion, though. It looked like a lamp you’d find in an elegant French hotel.

“Could you please write ‘Antique lamp, Muller, three hundred thousand’?”

“O-Okay.” Th-Three hundred thousand. I’ve somewhat gotten used to these numbers, but it’s still surprising.

“The lamp beside it is also beautiful, but it’s a modern work, so it doesn’t have any value as an antique. I don’t think that Akihito’s uncle was solely interested in collecting valuable antiques—instead, he collected works that he was drawn to. I think that’s a wonderful thing.”

It’s like we were saying earlier about temples and shrines: society places value on titles and standings, and people tend to think that expensive things are better. But I think it’s great to be able to obtain what appeals to you rather than being swayed by those considerations.

“Kura has a lot of East Asian antiques, so it feels kind of new seeing you appraise Western ones.”

“Indeed. Thanks to the owner’s preferences, I can’t call myself an expert on Western antiques.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes,” Holmes said, picking up a small object. “Western paintings are particularly difficult for me.”

“I didn’t know there were areas you struggled in,” I said bluntly.

“Of course. For three-dimensional works like vases and tea bowls, it’s easy to identify counterfeits because the deceitful lines are easy to spot. As for two-dimensional works, I grew up seeing genuine Japanese paintings and calligraphy, so I’m capable of sniffing out copies of those to some extent. But when it comes to Western paintings, not only am I lacking in experience, but the enemies are quite formidable. Back then…if Ensho had challenged me with a Western painting, I don’t know if I would’ve seen through it,” he murmured to himself.

My heart leapt. I’d heard about Ensho, the master counterfeiter they encountered at Nanzen-ji Temple. He was definitely going to challenge Holmes again.

“I need to study harder,” Holmes said quietly.

I didn’t know what to say. His voice was calm yet intense. I could tell that he didn’t want to lose to that counterfeiter, no matter what.

“By the way, Aoi…”

“Yes?”

“Do I look like a ‘sheltered boy’ to you?” he asked, his expression serious.

“What?” I squeaked. I never would’ve expected that question.

“Pfft!” came a voice from outside. Akihito, who was mowing the lawn, must’ve heard our conversation.

“Never mind. Next is a Copenhagen ornament…”

“Ah, okay.” What was that about?