The Eccentric, the Beauty, and the Detective: Kiriki Junka's Mystery Log Volume 2 Chapter 13

The next day at lunch, Junka, Nao, and I all turned our ears to the school broadcast. We'd met with Minami-senpai that morning, and handed over the MP3 from our recording session the other day in the karaoke box. It was about to play. The broadcast, however, wasn't getting to our main point very quickly, meandering, playing popular songs by idol groups.

There were 10 minutes remaining. Finally, the song came to an end and what we had been waiting for came pouring out into the room.

“The owner of the student handbook dropped on June 12th still has yet to come forward. So we will now hear a message from Kodaira Shinji-san, the previous owner of the handbook, who presently lives in Hakodate, Hokkaido. We have this because Kodairsan is on a short trip here to preview various universities.”

Nao in particular stopped eating and listened carefully. Kodairsenpai's voice began to resound.

“Long time no see, Shibuyamadai High School. This is Kodaira Shinji, former member of class 2, 5. I had given my handbook to a birdbrain kouhai. I'm currently staying nearby, and am sincerely concerned about you. Please identify yourself. I will leave the specifics to the underclassman Kiriki Junka of 1, 3. In closing: I am sincerely waiting.”

Kodairsenpai's dignified speech reached our ears, and once more the voice of the broadcast club returned.

“This concludes Kodairsenpai's direct message. Please provide at least contact information to Kiriki Junka of 1, 3, the chairman of the detective association. We shall conclude today's broadcast with the school anthem played by the wind instrument club.”

All we had to do was wait. This time we were sure to have the one who dropped it self identify. I wondered who it would be.

A single girl appeared after school, surrounded by a gaggle of students as if to ward off the gossip that had brewed all day.

“Are you Kiriki-kun?”

Junka had been busy trying to force a DVD copy of Rinco's Restaurant on me. I had no intentions of borrowing it, naturally, but Junka was pushing forcefully.

“Don't you know this is the final form of cinema? You can't afford to let it pass.”

Having just arrived, the girl was my ultimate savior from the precipice I had been backed up against. As one would expect, Junka's attention turned to her.

“Yes, I'm Kiriki Junka, and?”

“I have something to discuss about the case of Kodairsenpai's student handbook.”

“I'm sorry, but what is your name?”

“Sorry for introducing myself late. I'm Tajiri Mine.”

Tajiri-senpai was like a quiet flower that didn't stand out. Her eyes seemed to conceal any hint of self-assertion, but there remained the possibility of how beautiful she would become if she ever let it shine. That's how I saw her, at the very least.

Junka's decorum was appropriate, “Were you the one who lost this?”

He pulled the handbook from his pocket. Her expression lightened.

“Yes, yes, that's it. That's it.”

Tajiri-senpai seemed lured in to take it, but Junka pulled it back. Her expression stiffened.

“Kiriki-kun?”

“May I give you a little test?”

Junka faced the side with the picture to me.

“Please describe Kodairsenpai's face. If you are correct, I shall hand over the notebook.”

I raised an eyebrow. Was he accusing Tajiri-senpai of lying? In the first place, there was no reason for anybody unrelated to want the handbook.

Tajiri-senpai looked a little wounded, “Why is this necessary?”

Junka was going to see it through.

“It is a mere formality.”

He put a finger on the photo.

“First are the eyes. Please describe his eyes.”

Tajiri-senpai was silenced. After a few seconds of obvious silence: the response.

“He has pure eyes.”

“Single, or double lid?”

This time, her words caught, “S… single.”

That had been incorrect, Kodairsenpai had double lids, but regardless, Junka pressed on.

“How is his nose?”

Perhaps having felt she'd cleared the first hurdle, Tajiri-senpai relied on her conjecture.

“He has a strong, well defined nose.”

That was also wrong. His nose was very small.

Junka returned the handbook to his pocket and Tajiri-senpai went blue.

“Um, what are you doing? The notebook, please.”

Junka wagged his finger.

“No can do, Tajiri-senpai. You aren't the owner of Kodairsenpai's student handbook. Please step back.”

“That's…!”

Tajiri-senpai had failed, but unable to recognise it, she stood there without moving, looking at Junka.

“Please step back.”

After he repeated himself, she took a half step, resentfully running her eyes over his pocket, before eventually turning away.

When she was leaving, I asked Junka, “How did you notice she wasn't the owner?”

He scratched his head, “It's simple. Why would the owner suddenly appear now after ignoring the other broadcasts? That's what made me suspicious. Not that I ever expected an actual fake to appear.”

“So what now? We wait patiently for the real deal to show up?”

“No, we're going to make a move.”

He took up his bag.

“Rouji-kun, let's attend school early tomorrow. We're gathering intel, intel.”

“In the morning? Who from?”

“You again!?” Umitou Chiharu-senpai threw down her precious oboe as she shouted at us with a sharp gaze.

Yamagishi Ayano-senpai had frozen on her chair like a baby squirrel at the sudden loud noise. Her trumpet began to fall and she hurriedly clutched it to herself.

“Long time no see Umitou-senpai, Yamagishi-senpai. I just heard this from Hatanaka Sachiko-sensei, but you seem to have been in class 2, 2.”

Yamagishi-senpai nodded timidly.

“We haven't done anything bad.”

They were the two culprits from the case of the tears of blood —well, no matter how I looked at it, Umitou-senpai had been the one to plan and implement it— and they came to school early every day to practice by themselves in an empty room since their wind instrument club didn't have morning practice.

Umitou-senpai turned her voice to Junka coldly, and with animosity, “I have nothing to speak with you about. You're disrupting our practice. Go away.”

He shook his head.

“No, the one I want to speak to is Yamagishi-senpai.”

Surprised, she pointed at herself.

“Me?”

“Yes, it's about Tajiri Mine-senpai in your class.”

“Mine-chan? Did she do something?”

Umitou-senpai was watching over the situation with a sour expression.

“I'd like to know everything you know about Tajiri-senpai,” Junka continued, “Her relationships, how she thinks, everyday habits, that sort of thing.”

“Anything, eh?”

“That's stupid,” spat Umitou-senpai, “You like Tajiri, Junka?”

“Me? Perish the thought. It's just that Tajiri-senpai is a connection to a mystery, and I want to get to know her.”

“Oh.”

Umitou-senpai took her oboe and a chair to a corner of the room.

“Ask away. I'll be practicing since I'm in 2, 3, and I don't know Tajiri anyway.”

Junka bowed to her, apparently surprised.

“Thank you very much.”

“Hmph, there's no time, so hurry it up.”

So began Junka's interview with Yamagishi-senpai to the tune of a distant piano, and the recently resumed, not so distant oboe.

Translator's Note:

Honestly, does anybody really care about double eyelids? Maybe women might care because of makeup possibilities, or whatnot, but who cares when talking about men? I know I couldn't tell you about the eyelid status of any of my friends or family.

Editor's Note:

Formatting done, editing not done. I've got to say that the new wordpress block editing looks very slick. Here's hoping it works better than the older version. Thank goodness the people are doing something about this platform, and thank goodness it's free.

Chapter end