Not a detective

Page 69

"Gods are neither righteous nor evil. As the successor of the God, I was taught by my father from a young age that I cannot blindly believe, even in the gods we worship every day. We must treat gods as friends and tools. If we blindly submit, we will become slaves; if we blindly become arrogant, we will be punished. We must maintain an equal attitude and coexist in a mutually beneficial way."

Chizuko continued, "I did very well. In fact, I should be the most outstanding successor of the Kazamatsuri clan in hundreds of years."

"That's really awesome."

Riku Asakawa complimented.

“This is no exaggeration, Asakawa-kun. You’ve met my dad, right? He wears an eyepatch because his right eye was sacrificed.”

Chizuko seemed to be stroking her empty, non-existent right hand: "In the world of Onmyoji, the stronger the [price], the stronger the [power]. In previous years, most of the gods were only sacrificed a finger, or even less significant ones, such as hair, teeth, or nails. My father was already considered a very powerful Onmyoji. His eyes could see many things that ordinary people couldn't see, even dreams and barriers. But me? I had [half of my body] taken away."

Half a body... one hand and one foot, which means that half of the body has been cut off.

Such a cruel price to pay...

"So, from the moment I was born, I was designated as the successor. It's no exaggeration to say that I could become the greatest Onmyoji of modern times, and that's not an exaggeration."

Chizuko smiled and said, "So, Asakawa-kun, you're saying that I'm never sad because of my disability? It's because it's something I'm proud of. I've always been praised for it, so how could I be sad... I always felt the same way. I'm exceptionally talented, and being an Onmyoji is my dream. It's wonderful..."

She paused.

Asakawa Riku sensed her sadness; it came suddenly, and even with her back turned, he could feel it.

"Until I met you..."

She said softly, "I just realized that I don't dare let you see me like this."

Asakawa Riku reached out and wiped away the tears on her cheeks:

"It's okay, I won't hate you because of this. I'm still a member of the mystery club, I've signed a contract, I can't escape it."

"...Asakawa-kun is so mean. She's clearly very smart, but she always pretends to be stupid."

Chizuko didn't show him her tears, but suddenly changed the subject:

Do you know how to make chestnut dumplings?

"Hmm?" Asakawa Riku didn't know why she brought this up, the faint sweet scent still lingering in his mouth: "I don't know."

If he were to do it, he might poison both of them, which would then be a new murder case.

“Crush the cooked chestnuts and sieve them, add sugar, and cook over low heat. The chestnuts will become sticky only because of their own moisture. Use a tea towel to twist them into this shape.”

As Chizuko spoke, she put her prosthetic leg back on, twisting her arm in a gesture that resembled making a chestnut dumpling.

“You can’t understand it at all just by listening,” Asakawa Riku replied honestly.

"It's very simple. You can make it as long as you have chestnuts. There are no special ingredients. But I can't make it as delicious as Yukie."

"Maybe she has some secret recipe."

Do you know how to make vanilla-glazed chestnuts?

"What's new this time?"

To Riku Asakawa, the names of the desserts sounded like magic spells.

"...Let's just think of it as a Western version of chestnut dumplings. It's also a dessert made with chestnuts, but the way it's made is completely different."

"Oh."

"Asakawa-kun is really honest; she doesn't want to listen to topics she's not interested in at all."

"No... I just..."

"It's okay, I'll make it for you to try next time."

Chizuko-senpai stood up. It was incredible that she could walk even though her prosthetic leg had just been fitted.

The girl in the darkness turned her head, a smile on her lips: "Look forward to it, goodnight."

"OK, good night."

Asakawa Riku looked at her and smiled, adding, "See you tomorrow."

...

To make vanilla-glazed chestnuts, boil the chestnuts, peel them, and then soak them whole in syrup.

This way, the chestnuts will be coated with a layer of sugar.

That's not all. Next, it's placed in a slightly thicker syrup to continue soaking, and the surface of the sugar will be coated with sugar again.

Then add a thicker syrup... and repeat this process over and over again.

If Riku Asakawa heard this, he would probably say, "That's similar to candied hawthorn berries, right?" But they are actually different. Although both are coated with syrup, the key to making vanilla honey chestnut is "repetition." It's not just about coating it with syrup and letting it cool; it's about repeating the process over and over again.

In fact, the sugar film on the surface isn't that important; it's just sugar. But in this process—

The chestnuts will then become sweet.

Chestnuts have a very astringent taste, and although many people like them, making them sweet would better suit the general public's taste, like sugar-roasted chestnuts.

—Cooked, mashed, sieved, and then cooked with sugar, this is called chestnut dumpling.

—Gradually increase the concentration of the soaking syrup and repeatedly coat the chestnuts until the core becomes sweet; this is vanilla honey chestnut.

After Chizuko came out of the room, she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

The tears were real, the emotions were real, but...

She took out her notebook. Having learned her lesson last time, she was determined not to talk to herself in front of Asakawa.

The notebook contained the school's "Seven Wonders," which were being checked off one by one, as they had already been resolved.

Even the last item, "the super-strong boy in the first year of high school," was checked off. Although Asakawa complained that his report, which said "I hope everyone can be friends with him," sounded "a bit like a mother hen's tone," many people will probably change their opinion of Asakawa after the report is published. He should be able to make many true friends.

One of the plans was to help Asakawa-san get rid of that annoying rumor.

But Chizuko had another plan, one that was her own selfish desire.

On the next page, there is another strange tale.

That's for sure. The school's "Seven Mysteries" are ghost stories created by Aoandon.

The quantity is "seven", which is correct.

But the idea of ​​a "super strong boy in the first year of high school" is an unbelievable rumor. How could Asakawa's story be fabricated by Aoandon?

[Seventh, the super-strong boy in the first year of high school (fake).]

Legend has it that a new student with superhuman strength appeared in the first year of high school...

Seven is not enough; there should be a genuine one hidden beneath this disguise.

Unfortunately, Asakawa almost discovered it, but he didn't expect there was another layer hidden behind it.

Chizuko's notebook contained the following writing:

[Seventh, the Curse of the Seven Ghost Stories (True)]

[When someone hears all the true contents of the Seven Mysteries, that person will die.]

This is the real deal... This is in line with the style of ghost stories, this is the true power of the Blue Lantern.

In the Edo period's "Hyakumonogatari" (One Hundred Tales), when all the lanterns are blown out after the one hundredth story is told, something terrifying happens.

"Then, the conditions are all met."

Chizuko said calmly, then closed the notebook and put it away.

In the dark room, in an inconspicuous place, a faint, bluish mark appeared on the back of her right hand.

It was a floating lantern with flickering flames...

— Vanilla Honey Chestnut, behind the syrup, what exactly is the core that is peeled away layer by layer?

Winter of the Demons: Chapter One - A Detective's Request

"Kawasaki, I need to arrange a job for you."

The detective's voice came from behind the table.

Asakawa Riku had no choice but to pause the game, put down the controller, and stand up: "Wasn't I already working?"

Although it was winter, the indoor heating was on full blast, so he only needed to wear a cardigan, while his overcoat was hanging on the outside rack.

The detective himself was dressed in bizarre attire.

She looked like she had plunged headfirst into a green ball. The oversized, spherical pajamas made it hard to imagine the designer's mental state. The fluffy, cute style didn't suit her at all, making her look quite comical. If a guest were to walk in, they would definitely think that Halloween didn't happen last month. But unfortunately, this girl is just that strange.

Shinonome Sugetsuki, the owner of this detective agency and the boss who pays his salary, is an absolute oddball.

She often comes out wearing such strange clothes. In the summer, she is an exhibitionist, and in the winter, she is a cross-dresser. Asakawa Riku thinks that the reason why she gives people the impression of a "model" is not only because of her proud figure, height and beautiful face, but also because of her advanced fashion sense. It is a complete waste of her figure, which is also an important factor to consider.

Fortunately, she never goes out.

"Kawasaki, you don't understand. If it weren't so difficult to decide what to wear every day, I wouldn't have stopped going to school."

This is what Shinonome Suetsuki herself said about it.

Asakawa Riku heard that she was a college student, which suited her young face. However, he had never seen her attend any classes, so he was still wondering which university had accepted such a talent. This girl was a complete pampered young lady, whose basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter were all taken care of by her maid, "Hoshino." She lived a life of luxury that was the envy of many.

In case anyone forgets, Hoshino's full name is Hoshino Koyu. She's been following this troublesome young lady and is a hardworking, unfortunate person.

Since Asakawa Riku started working here, Hoshino has been given weekends off, and he has taken over the job.

Over the weekend, he took the train to Shibuya and arrived at the office at exactly 10 a.m. The detective was usually still asleep at this time, so he would make a cup of coffee (which shouldn't be considered cooking, so his finished product was pretty good). He would keep it warm until around 11 a.m. The detective would wake up, take a sip, and then crawl back to sleep like a zombie until midnight.

Lunch was a regular takeout meal. Asakawa Riku thought he would be enjoying some heavenly delicacies with the young lady, but unfortunately, her favorite food was a double cheeseburger.

So theoretically, his work doesn't officially begin until the afternoon.

...While described as a "detective's assistant," she didn't actually do much detective work. In the past year or so, aside from the initial seemingly legitimate "infidelity investigation," she had done two other things: finding a lost cat, helping lost children find their parents three times (without charging a fee), and more than thirty other things: chasing away those opportunists who wanted to curry favor with the Shinonome conglomerate.

Asakawa Riku is only in charge of weekends, so Hoshino's count might be higher?

But it doesn't seem like it. If someone could entrust this detective with something important, they must be a genius.

Since there's no job, this part-time job is basically just keeping the young lady company. After lunch, Shinonome Suetsuki would sit behind that impressive table and chat with him. The conversations were erratic, illogical, and completely nonsensical. Sometimes she would suddenly ask, "What is 165 multiplied by 3367?" and ask him to do the mental calculation. Sometimes she would suddenly say something like, "Only 7 is lonely in this world... maybe B and D are too," or she would suddenly bring up technical issues like, "What are the current problems with virtual reality technology?"

I don't know what her major was in college. Asakawa Riku feels that she lives like an artist. Perhaps only a life of abundance can make someone so innocent and carefree.

Fortunately, he earned a good amount of money, so he had no complaints.

Miss Detective would occasionally sit on the piano in the corner of the room and play. Her skills were excellent, not only compared to their school's music teacher, but even the strange player piano couldn't match her level. It felt like she had been learning since childhood, and she probably even had some kind of certificate.

If you're just a listener, it's quite enjoyable, but Riku Asakawa's job also includes picking up the bass provided here and improvising.

This really bothered him. He had actually lied during the interview... but it wasn't exactly a lie. He could indeed play bass, but that was something from his "past life".

Moreover, he was only at the amateur level, and by his senior year of high school, he had basically forgotten everything. So, all things considered, he hadn't touched a bass for almost eighteen years. The difficulty of this rehabilitation was extraordinary, as he had almost completely forgotten everything... Fortunately, his control over his body had improved, and his finger dexterity was more precise, so he was lucky that he didn't give himself away.

Asakawa Riku complained, "What kind of band is a piano and a bass?" But the other party was completely unmoved and enjoyed the music on his own.

He had no choice but to honestly handle the job.

Half a year passed in this way, during which the "Summer of the Snow Woman" and "Autumn of the Blue Lantern" events took place. Asakawa Riku felt like he was about to die from being so busy. Both his school and his life had undergone tremendous changes, but every time he stepped into this agency, it was as if he had returned to the very beginning. Nothing had changed here.

This place is different from the [Detective Club]. If the Detective Club is a safe house, this place is another world.

Shinonome Suetsuki is completely different from [Kazematsuri Chizuko]...

Asakawa Riku felt he couldn't continue like this, so this winter he applied to buy a PS5 Pro, and to his surprise, the detective readily agreed to reimburse him.

"Go ahead and buy it. You don't need to report this to me!"

His job suddenly changed. For example, today is Sunday, and he plays games here. Suddenly the time flies by... and then he leaves work on time at six o'clock.

It's so easy! Even he, who was just slacking off, couldn't help but think so. Only then did Asakawa Riku realize that Shinonome Suetsuki didn't have any malicious intent to boss people around, nor did she have any spoiled princess temperament. She was just playful and carefree. If placing a game console here could solve 90% of the problems, that would be great.

Let's leave the recollection here for now, because she started pointing and gesturing again:

"You're playing it wrong. You should have Gray Rain, the fastest character, start by getting three attack points, then have Juna use her all-out charged combination attack, then have Stroul add three layers of attack power, and finally have the main character get four more attack points. Skip Gray Rain and Juna's turns, and then use the charged Eight Jumps and King's Sword in sequence. I've calculated that we should be able to kill all the enemies in one turn."

"I'll do it again as you said later, let's not talk about this now."

Asakawa Riku sighed helplessly. He had to steer the conversation back to the main topic: "What is the work you wanted to commission me for?"

"Oh." Dongyun Sueyue nodded casually, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her: "I see that I might die in a few days, and you will be responsible for protecting me."

Winter of the Demons: Chapter Two really gave us too much.

"In three days, next Wednesday will be Christmas. Tonight I have to go to a place I have to go to, a banquet I have to attend. I anticipate that I might be murdered that day, but I don't know who the murderer is or what the method will be, so I need you to protect me. Ask Xingyu for the specific time and place."