The Eccentric, the Beauty, and the Detective: Kiriki Junka's Mystery Log Volume 2 Chapter 10

“Hey! That won't do, Kiriki-kun,” Kanechika Yuuko-sensei energetically warned amid the depressive atmosphere of many days of rain.

She didn't stand out, wasn't particularly refined, and really gave me the impression of an unpolished stone. Her eyes, however, behind her red rimmed glasses, shone beautifully in a way that fascinated many of the male students. She had fair skin, and even through her clothes, one could tell she had sizable breasts. Not only was her figure good, but she was also a little clumsy; she was a slightly unique, short teacher. Incidentally, she was 27 years old.

“Why is that, Sensei? I have yet to complete my portrait of Takada Nobuhiko,” came Junka's rebuttal.

“Today's theme is a sketch of Sakurabkun over on that pedestal over there.”

“Yeah, that's why Takada Nobuhiko's…”

“That's not it, Kiriki-kun.”

It appeared that Junka had mistaken the rather embarrassed looking Sakuraba Yuugo with Sakuraba Kazushi the wrestler, hence his portrayal of Takada Nobuhiko, Sakuraba Kazushi's head trainer. There's a limit to how much of a misunderstanding there could be, though, Junka.

Kanechiksensei took Junka's sketchbook and turned to a blank page.

“There isn't much time left, so be serious this time.”

Junka looked highly irritated, but he still picked up his pencil obediently, facing his easel. Junka wasn't particularly good at art, but that being said, it wasn't as if he was hopeless either. I could vaguely remember hearing him mention that he was more the type to appreciate fine art than to create it himself.

I, on the other hand, gave up on my poorly progressing work, and turned my gaze to Nao's. With precise strokes and finesse, Sakuraba could clearly be seen. I was impressed by her ability.

Junka returned to his portrait with zeal. This time he was drawing Sakuraba Kazushi's wrestling rival Wanderlei Cesar da Silva. I was amazed at his continued misunderstanding.

“Hey! Kiriki-kun, that's no better.”

I seriously wondered what was wrong with Junka when he got reprimanded again by Kanechiksensei.

Perhaps as expected, perhaps not, we were unable to gain a new member of the detective association. The previous cases of the rejected reality and the morning cigarette butts had been fairly well known, and yet we had not had a single hopeful applicant. Perhaps it was out of dislike for the eccentricities of Junka our chairman, or most likely it was a matter of not having the time. Everyone had either already joined clubs and were spending their time there, or they were in the going home club and had gotten used to prioritising their own time. It seemed like nobody was interested in joining the detective association's activities. At worst, we wouldn't see a new member until new students came through the school gates in April.

That day, we had a meeting of sorts in 1, 3 where the four of us, Junka, Nao, Hinata, and myself, gathered to discuss. While the topic changed two or three times, the underlying, and difficult matter was that of acquiring a new member.

Junka grabbed his pencil by the tip, and began to rapidly wave it up and down.

“It's wiggling! The pencil is wiggling Rouji-kun!”

Junka seemed to be as excited as if he had made a big discovery. What was he, a grade schooler?

Nao was drinking coffee from a box with a straw.

“How about we change the stupid name?”

“To?”

“Something like ‘Shibuyamadai High School Criminal Investigation Research Society' or something. Isn't that pretty good?”

Hinata folded her hands together, intertwining her fingers; apparently moved by Nao's suggestion.

“It sounds very cool! Let's go with that, Kiriki-san.”

Junka had stuffed the pencil in his mouth and was biting it, disappointed that it hadn't gone soft.

“No, the detective association is fine. Iidsan's suggestion is fine, but it's a bit too long. There's also to consider how our actions up until know are attributed to the detective association. There are significant risks in changing it at this point.”

I pulled a paper out of my bag. It was an A4 sized leaflet inviting people to join the detective association that I had taken down from a bulletin board.

“I think we'll have to adjust this, too, after all.”

The initial version was one of the handmade ones by Junka that advertised loads of beautiful women in swimsuits. That atrocious content had not sat well with Nao, and she'd really wanted to quit immediately.

What I held was the second edition. It was made on a computer, reading ‘Will you enter this world of mystery?' and subtitled with 'the detective association.' It had a picture of a yellowed detective's notebook and a fountain pen to draw interest. The first time he'd seen it, Junka found it so atrocious he hadn't found praise for it even once.

“It might lack impact, eh?”

She'd beaten me to the punch on that one. Looking at the leaflets I'd brought in, she sighed regretfully.

Hinata had her hands together.

“Shall I photograph something?”

A bulb went off in my head.

“I know, why don't you just shoot Junka! If it's blown up, that photo'll have massive impact.”

If we could reel in some new members with his face as bait…

Hinata blinked a few times.

“We've already published his photo in the June edition, you know.”

The remembrance doused my mood in cold water. Given nobody came upon seeing that, blowing one up wouldn't help much.

Junka, perhaps having thrown in the towel on the boring discussion, was drinking coffee and assuming the pose of The Thinker. He was waiting for an opportunity to butt in. Naturally, the three of us ignored him and continued our talk. He continued to slurp away even after his drink was done, and once he'd had enough, he returned to his original posture. That was when he remembered what shame was and blushed.

“It's gotten late, so we should head home soon.”

Nao brought the fruitless meeting to a close, and we all stood in agreement. It had started raining at some point, and we ceased to hear the knock of the baseball club and the cheer of the tennis club.

The rain, unceasing in its attack, struck the ground like a tsunami, creating a heavy mist.

“Oh my, that's some rain.”

The four of us gazed at the blanket of rain beyond the windows as we strolled down the dark hall.

“Hm?”

Hinata stopped. The rest of us stopped too, albeit a little late.

“What is it, Tatsuno-san?” asked Junka.

Hinata bent down and picked up a square object.

“Somebody dropped a student handbook.”

We gathered around her to look at the item in question. It was the handbook supplied to all Shibuyamadai High School students every spring.

“Let's see… 2, 5's… Kodaira Shinji, eh?”

There was a colour photo of a handsome young man. He seemed calm and mature, had imposing eyebrows, and the determined eyes of an adult. His hair was nicely done, and I could tell he had good taste.

“It's pretty late, so Kodairsenpai's probably gone home already,” I added my two cents of common sense, “Should we put it in the lost and found, or bring it to the staff room?”

“These are important, so let's take it to the staff room,” said Hinata.

Nao's response was that, “2, 5 doesn't exist.”

We turned to face her.

“Seriously?”

“There were 5 last year, but this year there were only enough students for 3. The 3rd years have five… well there weren't enough rooms, so there are only four classes.”

Translator's Note:

I'm always super unmotivated after one mystery is solved and before the next hook.

Editor's Note:

Putting these in is kind of fun, but it can be hard to come up with something to say. I like reading them, though, so I feel compelled to put it in for those who are like me. All y'all who ignore it don't get bothered by the inclusion after all. This is filler, the editor may remove it at any point.

Chapter end