It's autumn now in Aquitaine. I'd better wear something lukewarm. If wear something too warm, I might end up suffocating myself.
Will there be a client today, I wonder? Hope it won't be a missing cat case or lover affair stuff. I'm so sick of those ridiculousnesses.
I've left my flat and go to the store immediately
"Hey, Boss! I'm here!" I notified: I look around noticing the boss's converse with someone with a long serpent tail. "Oh, we have a client? How fortunate."
"Hello, Bel. This is Ms Tazawa Inafune, Our today's client."
Ms Tazawa Inafune is an elegant-looking eastern gentlelady with the waist part below of a snake.
"Nice to meet you. You must be Ruby-San's assistant. Please, have a seat." She said politely: I sit down beside the boss " now, as I was saying, I'd agonise about this threatening letter. Therefore, I would like you to accompany me to Japan"
"I'm sorry, but can't do." I rejected
"My my, if it's about the travelling cost" She pulled out something from her sleeve" Here, first-class tickets for you both. And here, a million yen for your... pleasure while staying in Japan. Thereupon your request's fulfilled, I shall pay another 10000. I believe there won't be any objection?"
"No!......no, ma'am" I stuttered
"Very well, then please hurry up and prepare your luggage. We'll be leaving soon."
"What!?! Seriously?!?" I exclaimed
"By all means, yes. Our flight will depart at midday."
"But Ms Inafune, it's only just 8, we've got plenty of time. Besides, The airport isn't that distant. We can even walk there if we want to."
"No, she's right. We must leave shortly, or else we lose the plane"
"Wait! Boss.........darling......"
"My my, what a lover"
"You needn't be sarcastic. You just make me pitied myself even more"
"My! Pardon me, young man."
And so, our voyage has begun. We have accompanied Ms Inafune to Japan. The empire where the sun rises. The land of fish and samurai and the home of many great anime and manga. Oh, man! I'm so excited!!!
I wonder what souvenirs should I buy for everyone. Sis would probably like that extravagant kimono Ms Inafune wear. Think I'll consult her later. For Tina...... maybe some local fabric. Oh, I ought to try those gachapon machines too. Perhaps I could find one of those merchandises from 'The Great advocate' anime for Kazuma. He must be so fascinated. And last but not least, For Ms Mei.......... I'll just buy her some green tea.
Oh, and one more thing, I now understand why Ms Inafune told us to take off so early. It's because our flight was departed from Toulouse. Dear Venus......
Many hours later, We've arrived in Narita moving forward to Tsukuba. According to Ms Inafune, we're going to the house of the guy called Akira Momiji. He's a chairman of the National Association of literature. His job is to valorise the book and stuff.........I forgot.
He'll soon have a meeting with the famous writer, Atsushi Nakajima. the letter may not mention the target. However, Base on Ms Inafune's presumption, the victim could've possibly been Mr Nakajima or chairman Momiji. And that's where we come in, to prevent something bad from happening.
Sometimes passing by, We've reached umm......... some kinda weird place.
"Ms Inafune, what're we... She's gone?!!"
"She's over there." informed, the boss; pointing toward Ms Inafune and another lady: Ms Inafune brought the lady toward us.
"Gentlemen, this is Kashiko Iwamoto. She'll join us for our journey."
Ms Iwamoto has a quite unique skin and choice of fashion. Her skin is faintly blue and she is wearing something that should be wear in the summer. A short sleeve dress and sunglasses, Truly? In the autumn?
"Hello"
"Hi! I'm Ruby, nice to meet you."
"Belgrade Jansen, a pleasure"
"Likewise.... However, could you remind me again why do I have to go with you again, While you've already got these gentlemen. Huh, Tazawa?"
"For armed protection, of course. The 'Shishito' of yours would be helpful for Atsushi-Kun's protection."
"It's Shishio! Shishito is a pepper!" Fumed, Ms Iwamoto
"Whatever. Shall we move forward gentlemen? Let us begin our journey! Ohoho!" chortled, Ms Inafune
"Yeah, right..."
Without realisation of the house location, I've to lose my trainers to all the sludge and dirt on the mountain because, in fact, the house is on the mountain. No road, no pavement. So we've to hike to the bloody house. Dear God......
"Oh, God...finally!......"
"Gentlemen, Welcome to Momiji's"
The archaic Japanese manor nestle in the woods. A perfect place to murder someone, killed and dumped in the mountain. No one gonna notices anything, that's for sure. But whatever gonna happen here. The boss, me and my bat shall prevent it.
"お待ちしておりました、稲舟さん。" said altogether, a man in black and a woman in glasses
In the front of the house, there are a modest-looking man and short haired lady.
"英語がウラン語が話します。 彼らは日本語が話しません。" said, Ms Inafune
"ごめなさい、 でも、俺らは話せません。" said the man, bowing his head.
"Hmm...Now, what should we do"
How long this gonna take? Aw, My legs are sore... and please speak something we understand.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. Could you speak another language besides English and French?"
"Nope, sorry"
"I can speak Dutch."
"オランダ語か?"
" はい [ Welcome to Momiji's manor, Gentlemen. I'm a maid here, Nobuko Kurohana and this is my husband, Yamada. We're glad to have you here. May I take your luggage?]" welcomed, a woman in glasses
Wow! What an accent. She speaks like a native!
After we handed our luggage to Mrs Kurohana. Her husband led us to the library to meet with the famous author.
"淳くん、こんにちは。 元気ですか?"
"何故ここにいる!?!" Shocked, Assumed Mr Nakajima.
"My my, What a way to greet ladies. It's nice to see you again, Atsushi-Kun."
"No way! Iwamoto-sensei's here too."
"Hello, Nakajima-San. Have you been well?"
Mr Nakajima looks somehow exhausted. Judged from his face. He also has a remarkable cleopatra style fringe and shimmering silver hair. Poor man, I wonder what's wrong with him.
"Not quite well, 先生. The copycat problem just keep exacerbating more and more."
"Dear, they're still on loose. This time, you might want to ask for professional help."
"That's why we come, To lend you a hand. May I present you, Mr Ruby Wilcox and his assistant, Mr Belgrade Jansen. The great detective from the faraway land."
"Hello"
"Wait a sec! I don't remember...... Mmmmm!!!!" She used her gigantic tail to silent me tightly. Soon she'll probably crush my neck.
"As I was saying, I invite them from Aquitaine just for you. You ought to be thankful for this."
"I suppose, but I already have my own detective"
"If that so? Who is it then?"
"That would be me" a little boy jumped out of nowhere "Hey! What's up? Are you alright in here?" Asked, the boy; frolicking toward me who's about to die from suffocation.
"My, Pardon me."
"God......thought I ......wouldn't make it ........."
"Hey, you're Sofia Jansen's brother, Bella Donna, right?"
"It's Belgrade, dammit! Bella Donna is a poison!!!"
"My name's Edogawa. Nice to meetcha!" Introduce himself, the boy: reaching his hand for a handshake.
"How peculiar! I've never seen Edogawa-San being this polite before"
"You call this polite?!? My 2-year-old granddaughter could be politer than this."
"Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with you."
This Edogawa guy, he's got mischievous eyes. It feels like he's been plotting something. Good or bad, It's still vague but He's up to something. I'm sure of it. He is rather short. I could have used him as baseball bat...If I wasn't as tall as my bat, that is...
"Hellooo?!? You still there? Don't let me hanging here!"
"Oh......Sorry. nice to meet you." I shake his hand with scepticism on my mind.
Soon, Mrs Kurohana arrive serving us some tea and sweets. Such a delightful meal. But due to the limitations of the table, We've to split up. The boss's with the other while I stay with that Edogawa guy and before it gets apprehensive, I invite Mrs Kurohana to sit with us. So, I don't have to talk with him.
Yet, I was wrong. During our conversation, he was just tight-lipped at first, but when I initiate the topic of our threatening letter case. It ignited him somehow. All of the sudden, he just speaks Dutch to us like......... I don't know....... Someone please tell me what I suppose to feel about this. My brain is now a disaster.
"[Well, well, I'm still listening. What threatening letter are you talking about?]"
"Urgh! Now, what should I do? If Mrs Kurohana wasn't here, I'm gonna bash his head"
"I can speak English too, y'know"
Great, has he absorbed my sister's brain? Maybe I should study more language like sis said.
"[Mrs Kurohana...]"
"[Please called me 'Nobuko']"
"[Ok...Nobuko, Does Mr Momiji has any enemy?]"
"[I suppose not. He may be austere sometimes. But still, he's a very good man. I can guarantee that]"
"[Mr Detective, why does Tan-Chan have the letter? What does it say? I wanna know! Tell me!!]"
"[Yes, I do too]"
"[ it simply said: Something will happen at Momiji's. That's all. Said she received it from a hotel receptionist at the hotel she stayed.]"
"Hmmm...[That sound suspicious, don't you think? Why do they have to send it to her? The delivery cost is immensely severe. Why troubled? Moreover, why do they choose Tazawa-Sensei of all people? They could have sent it here instead as a warning or if they want to play a whodunit game like in the book. They could have sent it to someone like Dame Christie or Sir Doyle instead, wouldn't you agree, gentlemen?"
"[Wow! Way to go, Nobuko-Chan!! Great question!]"
"[Indeed! I never thought you possess such a talent. You might be better for this job than I am]"
"[Oh, no, I wouldn't. It's just that... I'm a fan of mystery novels, that's all.]"
"[I see, so do you have any favourites?]"
"[Yes, Boy detective club from 'him']"
"[him? Him! You mean this guy!?!]"
"[You don't know? He's an author. Doesn't the name Edogawa Rampo ring any bell?]"
"[Of course, but this guy? Really, Edogawa Rampo? More like an insufferable brat to me]"
"[I must say I concur.]"
"[Guys, I can hear you. You know.]"
"[Hmm... Will there be another visitor coming today?]"
"[Yes, but please keep this a secret especially from Nakajima-Sensei. Master's order.]"
"[My lip's sealed. And If this guy dares telling anyone, I will bash his head and let him keeping our secret to his grave.]"
"[Oww! How mean!]"
"[Very well, a man by the name of Rodion Ledyanov will be here. Master Akira strictly prohibits me not to spill the beans to anyone. Not even the other family members.]"
"[Pardon me, but who else lives in this place?]"
"[Excluded me and my husband, there will be Master Akira Momiji, the owner. Mistress Tome, his mother. Lady Momoko, his sister. Young master Kokoro, his son and the chef, Haruna Shiroaki-San]"
"[A chef? Can't you cook, Nobuko? I thought the maid must be capable of every type of housework.]"
"[In truth, I can. In fact, those tiny desserts you eating was made by me. However, Mistress Tome is very fond of European cuisine. That's why they hire Haruna-San for the job. Yet I still have to cook most of the meal since the others prefer Japanese food.]"
"[Could you tell me more about this chef?]"
"[Oh, Haruna-san. She's a Fushisake born in Japan but raised in Bulgaria. Her parents are both chefs mastered in European cuisine. That's all I...]"
"すみません、ロヂオンさんが来た。" interrupted, Mr Kurohana.
"привет."
"What the!?!" I exclaimed
"信じられない!!" Shocked?, Nobuko
"Wow!?!" Amazed, Edogawa Rampo
"Oh, goodness me! I don't know you have a twin, Atsushi-Kun."
"Of course not!!! I'm the only child."
The guy who was just come in.... white hair, Egyptian fringe, eye colours and body shape. Yeah, unquestionably, his father must have had an affair with another woman. Poor Mr Nakajima.
"Well, his appearance may verge on Mr Nakajima here. Though there's a minor disparity between them."
"Now that you've mentioned it. yes, there's really some. The eyes shape, the beauty mark under his right eye and the colour of his lips. Was it correct, Ruby-Sensei"
"There's still one left. Try looking again!"
"Hmm......Oh, the eyelashes?"
"Pingpong!"
Is this some kind of quiz show now?
"So where's the chairman?" Asked, Mr Ledyanov?
"Pardon me, Rodion-San but why are you here exactly?"
"I come to crush you, Asushi Nyakajima!"
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