The room was practically built for a detective deducing his way through the island.
But unfortunately, the owner of the room barely qualified as a detective.
“Did you hear the radio broadcast, Sherlock Liverpool? A communal TV! I smell a case!”
A teardrop ran down Sherlock’s face.
“Eek! Wh-what’s wrong, Sherlock Liverpool?!” Cried Charlotte Liverpool, the self-proclaimed ace detective.
As Charlotte fretted, her young brother wiped his tear with an enlightened look.
“The fact that your thought process has devolved into complete non-sequiturs…it brought me to tears. I…I’m sorry, Charlotte. I thought I knew you well. I’m so sorry.”
“You’re apologizing to me, Sherlock Liverpool? Now this is a mystery! Let me try and fit this into Knox’s Decalogue. …But this isn’t good. There are so many Chinese people on this island that we won’t get a Knox-abiding mystery novel like this! …And come to think of it, Knox’s Decalogue is copyrighted, so you’ll get in trouble for reproducing it without permission. I smell a case!”
Knox’s Decalogue, written by Ronald Knox, was a list of rules to abide by when writing a mystery novel. One of the rules forbade the appearance of a ‘Chinaman’, which was supposedly a joke on his part that assumed Chinese people had magical powers.
But naturally, the decalogue had nothing to do with the communal TV or Sherlock’s tears.
“Wait a second. I’m not trying to write a mystery novel, am I? So where did I get Knox from? This is a mystery!”
“You’re hopeless, Charlotte. You always have been, and you always will be.”
After several minutes wiping his tears, Sherlock turned to his sister with his enlightened look.
“…So why do you smell a case from the communal TV? You’re not mistaking the smell of dust for mystery, are you?”
“Ever the comedian, Sherlock Liverpool. Dust doesn’t smell like…wait, does dust smell?”
“So what’s this about a case?” Sherlock said with an angelic smile, giving up on pointing out Charlotte’s contradictions.
“Umm… Oh! The communal TV! In Japan, it was supposedly popular in the aftermath of World War II! The Showa era! The Showa era isn’t far from the Taisho era. And when you think Taisho, you think of the novelist Ranpo Edogawa… and Kogoro Akechi, the ace detective! In other words, I smell a case in the Taisho era! Humanity is in danger!”
“Heh… The Taisho era must be a dark age for humanity in your imagination, Charlotte…”
“And when you think ‘communal TV’, the first thing that comes to your mind should be ‘pro wrestling’… They say a man called the Destroyer is exploring the limits of destruction. A serial destroyer enters the island! This calls for a detective!”
“I think it calls more for the police, really.”
Sherlock smiled pleasantly at his sister, having left behind his sanity beyond a proverbial field of flowers. Charlotte gave him a concerned look.
“What are you saying, Sherlock Liverpool? The police would never come to the island. I hope you haven’t been replaced by an impostor again—”
“Argh…no fair, Charlotte. Do you have to bring up that part of my life and come up with a clever retort at the same time?”
Veins popped over Sherlock’s saintly smile, threatening to make his countenance outright demonic.
“Oh. Umm…I’m sorry, Sherlock Liverpool. Was it something I said?”
“Keep apologizing obliviously like that, and my blood pressure’s going to skyrocket. Tee, hee, hee.” Sherlock said snidely. Charlotte felt a chill run down her spine—
But at that moment, the phone rang.
A distinctive sound rang from the old-fashioned rotary phone.
The phone was actually a joke item with real buttons and an LCD screen on the receiver, but ever since the siblings got a hold of it Charlotte had been enjoying her even more ‘authentic’ detective life to the fullest.
The telephone was also a prop of sorts for her role, but the sight of the phone often led clients to doubt her more than anything.
“Yes, hello? Thank you for calling Private Eye Lizard!”
Something was awkward about the greeting, but the client on the other end explained their situation anyway.
Charlotte nodded along affably. But Sherlock was struck by a sudden chill.
The only thing that would get her so pumped up was a new case.
Not many people came to their dubious little detective office, especially as money was crucial to survival on the island. So though a new job should have been cause for celebration, it only made Sherlock anxious.
Doing detective work on the island meant exposing themselves to danger.
In the past, doing an investigation made his heart feel like it would explode. But after a certain incident several months ago, he had come to trust his sister to a certain degree.
But that didn’t mean his fears were completely erased.
Sherlock wondered what commotion they would be embroiled in today. Charlotte, brimming with hope and pride, hung up.
“Heh heh heh…I’ve done it! This is incredible, Sherlock Liverpool! It was a client! A job!”
“Wow. Great.” Sherlock nodded sarcastically, but on the inside he was confused and panicking about the contents of the request.
Charlotte twirled around before her brother and held her head high.
“And it’s from a Western District executive! Can you believe it?”
“What?”
“The mysterious mainlanders wreaking havoc on the island must be part of a criminal organization! We must investigate them and reveal their identity to the public! That is our mission!”
The Case of Lihuang Ei - 1
A Chinese restaurant in the Western District.
The phone call came from Lihuang, the boss of the Western District. Taifei replied with the phone stuck between his shoulder and face, continuing to eat as he responded.
“Munch…pretty smoothly. We’re a little low on on-site info, but if I went in person I’d get chopped up and sold to a butcher. I love eating, but I’m not too enthusiastic about being eaten. That would hurt, and being hurt would make me hungry. …Munch…”
He heard an astonished sigh from the phone, but Taifei continued without a care.
“Anyway, I’ve taken some measures. You know how there are some detectives in our district? I sent them requests to look into the cases.”
<…Detectives…?>
For some reason, the voice on the phone sounded flustered.
“Munch…I know you don’t like relying on outside parties, but I said it was a personal request. Didn’t spill a thing about the group. A good intelligence officer knows when to rely on brokers… Munch… Although it does get bothersome trying to filter all the info.”
<…Which detectives did you hire?>
“Hm? Well, there were something like four of them… Ah. I hired her too. Remember the white girl who got caught up in the Ginga Kanashima mess half a year ago? She’s been getting on well with Lilei recently.”
<…>
“Mm…this Peking duck with curry is to die for. I thought it was just an unusual combination, but you can’t judge a book by its cover! …Hm? Hello? Hello?”
Lihuang had long since hung up. Taifei furrowed his brow.
But he was quickly distracted by the new foods served at his table. He resumed eating without a second thought.
Did Taifei realize how badly he had rattled the boss of the Western District? It was impossible to tell from the smile he wore as he dug into his food.
The Case of Nazuna Yukimura - 1
One day ago, at a martial arts dojo in the Eastern District.
There was a building in a corner of the Eastern District that was originally built as an all-in-one sports complex.
Why did an artificial island need a sports comp
lex? No one knew, but perhaps it was meant to serve as an accessory to the small marina on the island.
In a corner of the sports complex was a martial arts dojo, complete with traditional tatami and wooden floors.
Even now, when the island was a ruin, the dojo and its rows of rooms were neat and tidy. There wasn’t a patch of mold to be seen on the tatami mats.
The sun shone through the window and hit the board walls, filling the dojo with a warm but tense light.
Though it was only a part of the sports complex, the dojo was truly a home of martial arts—and it was one of the few calm places on the island.
That was when a man dressed in white—and splattered with human blood—appeared with an awkward smile.
“H-hey there. It’s been a while.”
When the man gave a clumsy wave, the woman standing before him—Nazuna Yukimura—sighed and smiled.
“C’mon, we just saw each other the day before yesterday.”
She had short, shimmery black hair. There was a katana at her side.
That alone made her a perfect fit for the dojo.
Nazuna was a member of the Eastern District’s Guard Team, but she spent most of her time off here. She had been training alone at the dojo today after work, when the man in white—Yakumo Amagiri—appeared.
In terms of appearance they had nothing in common. But they didn’t seem to dislike or feel uncomfortable with each other.
Yakumo wondered what he should do, before plunking down on the floor in a corner of the dojo.
“Umm…don’t mind me. Keep going.”
“Are you sure? You won’t get bored?”
Nazuna had been doing iaido practice for some time. She was worried that Yakumo would get bored watching someone as unskilled as her repeat the same motions over and over, but Yakumo shook his head rhythmically and smiled.
“Not at all. Your movements…are really amazing.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Nazuna laughed off the embarrassing comment.
“I don’t need to get anywhere. I’m still happy.”
Nazuna nodded at Yakumo, who was quite removed from reality, and returned to her training.
She elegantly swung her sword, again and again. The pale young man watched innocently.
It was quiet and calm.
Watching Nazuna in the evening sun, Yakumo raised his clock speed to its limit in the hopes that the moment could last forever.
That was when loud footsteps began to rumble in the distance. Several figures appeared in the corner of his vision. Disappointed, Yakumo slowly returned to normal.
“Oh! It’s Yakumo!”
“He’s back!”
Bursting into the room was a group of five or six girls. Some were as young as kindergarten-aged, while others could mingle with older elementary school children. When they spotted Yakumo and Nazuna, they ran over with glinting eyes.
“Ooh, you’re so lovey-dovey!”
“You should get married.”
“Ask her out! Confess!”
“Kiss! Kiss!”
“Do something sexy!”
As the girls chirped and chattered, Nazuna sheathed her sword with a wry smile.
“We’re not kissing yet. And Yakumo’s already confessed to me.”
“Y-you’re counting that?!”
“I don’t have an answer yet, though. We still don’t know each other very well.”
Yakumo’s pale cheeks turned beet red. He rolled around the floor in embarrassment.
The girls seemed amused by his actions. They surrounded him and began showering him with requests—”Dance, Yakumo! Dance!” “Show us the robot dance!”
This time, Nazuna smiled warmly.
She hadn’t regularly smiled like this until a few months ago, when Yakumo had begun visiting.
The girls at the dojo were orphans in Nazuna’s care.
At first they had been wary of Yakumo. But after he showed them some of his dance moves, they quickly warmed up to him.
‘Even I didn’t expect him to be such a good dancer.
‘But is it really normal to be friendly with a man covered in blood?’
On one hand, Nazuna worried about Yakumo’s potential influence on the girls. But she remembered that she herself was already on friendly terms with him, and reminded herself that she had no right to be worrying about the girls’ moral states.
Even as she thought, the orphans busily chattered with Yakumo.
“Hey Yakumo, aren’t you giving Nazuna any presents?”
“Presents…”
Yakumo trailed off, then looked up in surprise.
“Come to think of it, when is your birthday, Miss Nazuna?”
Yakumo despised himself for not asking such an important question earlier, but he did his best to not let it show.
But Nazuna’s answer surprised him.
“I don’t have one.”
“What?”
“Well, you see…I’m an orphan, too. The person who raised me wasn’t exactly the most responsible guardian. So I don’t have a birthday.”
Nazuna’s tone was nonchalant, but the content of her words justified a full 10 seconds of thought for Yakumo. It was a short time for most, but more than several minutes for him.
It was impossible to tell what he had meditated on and at what density, but after teaching the girls a few dance moves, he slowly headed for the doors.
“I’ll be going now. Can I come visit again sometime?” He asked timidly. Nazuna’s response was calm.
“Sure. But don’t pull something while I’m off-duty and lead Jun or Zhang to the dojo like last time. Then I’d be obligated to capture you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to lose them before I drop in,” Yakumo replied, missing Nazuna’s point. He turned.
Rather than correct him, Nazuna smiled bitterly and saw him off.
Once Yakumo was gone, the girls went up to Nazuna with mischief in their eyes.
“Hey Nazuna, do you like Yakumo?”
It was a straightforward question—perhaps too much so—but Nazuna did not seem to mind.
“Hm…I don’t know. I can’t say for sure yet.”
“But you’re almost never this friendly with a guy.”
“It’s true that I don’t dislike him,” Nazuna admitted. The girls squealed.
“Wow! What do you like about him? You never liked any guys before—how’s he different?!”
“What do I like about him? …That’s a hard question to answer.”
‘What do I like about him?’
Until the incident half a year ago, he had simply been her enemy.
But she came to understand him over the course of the incident, and he had eventually gone from ‘enemy’ to ‘friend’.
She sometimes heard that people turned down love confessions by asking to be friends. But when Nazuna said the same thing, she had meant it in an optimistic way.
However, she could not pinpoint exactly what about him it was that she liked.
‘Saying I just do…might be a bit mean to Yakumo.’
“C’mon, Nazuna! Tell us.”
The girls refused to back down. Nazuna thought seriously for some time.
And she finally gave a reply.
“…His face, maybe?”
It was an awkwardly realistic answer.
But ‘awkward’ was the perfect word to represent the state of their relationship.
The Case of Yakumo Amagiri - 1
Upon deliberation, I come to a conclusion.
I’ll give her a gift.
Tomorrow, I’ll give her a birthday present.
Then I’ll say this.
I’m giving you the gift of a birthday. Today is your birthday. Congratulations. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Mayday. Mayday.
…Perfect!
…Wait, what does ‘mayday’ mean again?
I’m pretty sure you say it to con
gratulate someone.
Now, I’m giving her the gift of a birthday to show her my love, but what should I give her as a birthday present?
What do you normally give someone on their birthday?
Clothes, maybe. But all the clothes on this island are pretty much the same.
When in doubt, ask someone.
I could consult my nap friend Lilei, but she lost a friend a few days ago. It would be rude to ask her something like this while she’s still in mourning.
Come to think of it, the reason I rushed to see Miss Nazuna in the first place was because I heard Fei was murdered. I was afraid for Miss Nazuna.
Miss Nazuna is strong, but just in case.
I may be the Killer Ghoul, but I was gripped by a sense of loss when I was faced with the death of someone I knew—even if I hadn’t known her for long.
I was scared of what might happen if Miss Nazuna was put in the same situation.
I was terrified.
And I was reminded of this:
I love Miss Nazuna. This is a reality, truth, and fact all in one.
So I want to choose her birthday present with the utmost care. Who can I ask for help?
I think to myself as I climb down from my napping spot. Then I spot a strange man loitering in front of the building. I also spot the Iizuka kids running off. It seems like they had led the man here.
He was trying to meet Lilei, he says. It seems like he’s relatively new to the island.
Perfect.
Someone who still thinks like a mainlander might know what kind of gift I should give to a girl. So I asked, and—
“I-I guess you could go for the classic. …Maybe handmade chocolate?”
…
Handmade chocolate.
What does that mean?
Chocolates. That’s Valentine’s Day. I thought that was when women gave chocolates to men to confess their feelings. But wait…come to think of it, when I was a kid, there was an event where men had to give chocolates to women in return for what they got on Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day… come to think of it, I think I got about 50 chocolates the year I won that dance contest. They were delicious.
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