Vol 2 Chapter 3 (1/2)
3 - ”The Invisible Intrusion”
The next day
As I was rather reluctant to take action the previous day, I received a call fro It was prettyood reason to resist such a gently worded request, I ended up heading to school that day as well Well, it's not practical to jue, and I had no intention to
As I exited my house, I noticed an international letter had been delivered to our letterbox As it was addressed to my old man instead of me, I didn't bother to open it I didn't even need to see to guess who the sender was: Oreki Tomoe, my older sister
My sis was not content with just staying in the country, but desired to wander around the world She should be soot h those bothersos are on a coets me involved in But as the letter this time was not addressed to me, this probably means I'm more swayed by the frank and honest Chitanda than by
Or maybe not
Any coy Room
We didn't particularly do anything prior to Eba's arrival As per usual, I took a seat in the shade and started reading my paperback novel Just because I watched a o out of ht froular bookstore
Opposite me was Chitanda, who stood by the , unbothered by the scorching surounds below She must have a resistance to heat, as she doesn't see under the sun for so long She just stood there staring at the grounds below, or to be st the people preparing for the Cultural Festival But it was just her curious eyes sparkling,she too was bored
Ibara, on the other hand, was far from bored As the real person responsible for the co notes about it this ti when all that's left is just to publish thestare and said, ”If the ht away, there wouldn't be any need to edit it!”
Well, keep up the good work then
As for Satoshi+, he was reading a paperback novel just likethe book cover, I had no idea what he was reading Though s was his default expression, he doesn't do it when he's reading Having said that, it was strange to see such an expressionless Satoshi+ for once
As I was thinking that, his expression gradually returned to nor down his book, he lifted up his face and looked around
”Say, how uys ever read before?”
Ibara stopped writing upon hearing that question and turned her head around
”fuku-chan, what are you trying to say?”
”You know, after listening to Nakajou-seh his method of deduction was quite like those seen in detective novels, it was still way off the ht maybe I should read a few more detective novels to help us deduce this better”
H sounded innovative at first, after thinking about it overnight, it was no different froe detective show on TV It was not rare for Satoshi+ to est places
”Hmm, for me I've only read a normal amount of detective novels,”
”So how nor,” Satoshi+ said and smiled, to which Ibara also smiled bitterly
”Well, for atha Christie and Ellery Queen, I guess”
Was that norh I do know the authors' names at least Satoshi+ tilted his head as well
”Rather than nor should be considered expert Those areof the Classics Club, aren't they? Is that all? What about japanese authors?”
”Though there are many of them, it's not like I read much I read a few railroad mysteries, but that's about it While I may be somewhat interested in mystery novels, there are many authors whose works I can't seem to enjoy”
Well, it seems the more you read the more you're familiar with them, aren't you? You were the one who showed interest when you heard Class 2-F was st the four of us, Ibara was the most proficient in detective fiction
”What about you, Houtarou?”
I closed the book I was reading and replied, ”I don't read those,”
”Are you especially conscious about not reading detective stories in particular? You haven't gotmethods, you know?”
Oh, leave me alone
”I've read a few paperbacks with yellow book covers like this one, that's all”
Without being serious, I gave him a suitable response
”Ahh So that id, you know?”
He gave me an instant reply It seeh As always, Satoshi+ possesses a wide range of knowledge for no particular reason
Satoshi+ now turned to Chitanda, who shook her head slowly,
”I don't read any of those”
”Eh?”
He sounded surprised Though it was also surprising for me as well, as based on her tendency to seek out an answer for every riddle she encounters, I would expect her to be pretty interested in detective fiction Satoshi+ tried to make sure of that
”Not a single one?”
”I think I' some And it's been many years since I've touched one”
Rather than not having read any detective novels, she ended up rejecting the them To think that our lady would be weak at detective novels despite encountering situations not unlike those seen in detective novels Sounds pretty contradicting That would be like a business carefully, that isn't entirely strange
”Really? But Chi-chan, weren't you enjoying it yourself ere watching the Class 2-F mystery movie?”
Chitanda sently
”I was just happy that Irisu-san had invited us to show us so she and her friends hadmystery movies”
I see, that makes sense
Well, that means there's just one person left Everyone must be included, after all I asked Satoshi+, who looked as though he had understood everything and was nodding eagerly, ”So, what about you?”
”Me?”
”I presume you've read all the detective novels around the world, past and present?” I asked jokingly, to which Satoshi+ flatly denied, ”No, I haven't”
Hmm?
Ibara began to smile from the tip of her lips
”Oh, I knohat fuku-chan likes to read,”
Satoshi+ hung his head in embarrassment It would seem Chitanda's interest was piqued
”Eh? So what is it? fukube-san, it's not a secret, is it?”
In other words, if it's a secret, Chitanda would definitely not pursue it any further I know this based on experience, that our lady does have some restraint on her curiosity
Meanwhile, Satoshi+ was at a loss for words
”Well, I”
What? Just say it, already
As I thought that, Ibara quickly spilled the beans
”fuku-chan's an avid Sherlockian!”
Ah, I get it
A Sherlockian is a fan who is passionate about Sherlock Holmes While I'm not too sure of the details, I've heard these people have actually done research into the fate of the bulldog raised by Holmes' partner It was a serious interest that was not to be treated as h for Satoshi+, it was probably a bit of both
”What's a Sherlockian?”
”Um, you see,”
As Ibara was trying to explain to an oblivious Chitanda, Satoshi+ corrected her quietly
”An avid fan is not called a Sherlockian, it's Holmesian”
What's the difference anyway?
Just as ere teasing Satoshi+, Eba had arrived at the doorway and bowed her head courteously as usual
”I'm sorry to inform you that we could not secure an empty classroo take place at the classroom for Class 2-F, if it would not trouble you too ht be a bit messy”
I don't see why she finds the need to apologize for that
”Well then, let's head to Round Two of our Deduction Meeting then,”
Upon hearing Satoshi+'s intentionally cheerful voice, we proceeded to exit the classrooh I think it's a bit too
Activities from the various clubs were just as lively today, aswere heard The tune sounded fa of Mito Koant, but yet not quite
As alking, Eba gave us a briefing in advance
”The person you'll betoday is Haba Tomohiro, of the props division”
I looked at Satoshi+, who shook his head It would seem this Haba was hardly fa division, so today it's the props division, huh? We seeh he wasn't assigned any specific role to begin with, he had decided to barge actively involve hi else you would like to ask?”
Ibara, noticing so actively involving hined an acting role?”
Heh, I see Indeed, such a person should have been standing in front of a camera Eba turned to face Ibara and nodded
”He was passed over”
”That means,”
”The roles were decided by a count of hands He didn't get enough votes”
Now I get it I finally spoke
”And why are wethis person?”
In other words: Would soe actively involve himself in a project accept the opinion of us outsiders? Eba showed an unusually troubled expression
”I too have doubts about his selection but it was Irisu that chose him, so she must have her reasons If you askthe st the entire crew At least that's what he claims, himself”
As I could find no response, I decided to force a smile to her
Still, Satoshi+ had e people do her errands skillfully If he was correct, then it would be as Eba has said, that Irisu does have her reasons for picking Haba To begin with, this was just one of the otten us involved in, so it's not like we hadn't suspected such a ploy fro, Satoshi+ showed some dissatisfaction
”Just where on earth has Irisu-seone? She has totally not shown herself since”
Coht We haven't seen her since the day before yesterday Though Eba answered our question right away
”She said she would be looking for a replaceure out the 'correct deduction' She's also having some difficulty on her end”
We ca the Special Block with the General Block
Before we arrived at the Class 2-F classrooently
”Eba-san,”
”Yes?”
”Are you close to Hongou-san?”
Eba looked briefly confused Though she didn't look worried, I could feel she was struggling to find the right words to answer
”Why do you ask?”
”I was just curious,” Chitanda s about what the person rote the script was like She seemed like a very serious person,”
We now arrived before the Class 2-F classroom Eba stopped her footsteps, turned around, and slowly said, ”Hongou is a good friend of mine She's sincere, attentive, and has a stubbornly strong sense of responsibility, as well as being kind and tender But, is there so you this? Anyway, Haba is expecting you inside”
She then turned her back towards us and left without even introducing us to Haba
It was just as Eba had described it—the Class 2-F classroom was quite untidy There were the rucksacks seen in theeverywhere On the blackboard were so schedule, with a long sentence written across the top in yellow chalk that read ”Next Sunday = Absolute Ultimate Deadline!” The tables and chairs too were in disarray, and for the first ti with their project As I wondered whether this was also part of Irisu's sche us meet Haba here, we entered the messy classroom
In the corner of the classroom where the sun didn't shi+ne stood a male student Bespectacled, he was rather skinny for his size Upon seeing us, he raised his hands in a melodramatic way and said, ”So you're the observers sent by Irisu Pleased to meet you, my name is Haba Tomohiro”
Like yesterday, Chitanda once again introduced us starting with herself Haba repeated our naesturing us to take our seats
While I have no idea how Haba would have behaved norood mood today As he watched us take our seats with a satisfied expression, he nodded
”I hear you guys are quite good with mysteries, at least compared to our class, where there's hardly anyone that's good with them”
It would seem the people of Class 2-F have been misinformed Even Chitanda had noticed this and stated, ”We're with the Classics Club”
Haba's eyes widened
”Ah yes, the Classics Club So you e, then? Wow”
He seeain, as the Classics Club was a club engaged in unknown activities, it's not surprising that it would be mistaken as a club that is proficient with mystery novels
As Haba was still”Wow”, he took out a piece of A4 sized paper and placed it on the table before him It was the map of the theatre seen in the movie On it ritten the formal names for each room as well as the positions of all the s, and an unintelligible designer na like that Even the blocked passageell-marked
Satoshi+ raised his voice without even thinking
”Sempai, what is this!?”
”Hmm? Were you not shown this before?”
Without saying a word, Satoshi+ took out his own self-drawn map
Haba groaned, ”This s easier,”
”Uet thiswas built by the Furuoka Town government, after all, so I only needed to look it up in their town hall The deduction can only be done with this map,”
He then smiled
On Haba's map were marked the position of the body, as well as where everyone else was scattered before Hi, as I too would want to know such information
Haba looked even more excited as he went on, ”Still, for a mystery writer or reader, a ou wouldn't be enough to satisfy them,”
He sounded pretty confident Chitanda asked, ”Was Hongou-san not proficient with mystery stories?”
”Yup She had never read any before theof this movie”
”But I heard she did do some research,”
Haba raised the corners of his lips to form a smile
”They're all old stories Look over there, those are the things she went through overnight,”
He pointed to a corner of the classroo nulance at them showed they were all paperbacks Chitanda leaned over and asked, ”Umm, would you mind if we had a look at those?”
Haba looked troubled at Chitanda's interest being directed to such unexpected places I too ondering what she was up to, though our lady's curiosity was easy to read Without waiting for a reply, she got up out of her seat and went to pick up a book
Looking at the mountain of books beside the ued voice, ”Ahh, the nobahara translated version And it's the new edition as well”
They were the Sherlock Holo The covers ell e-like font printed on a white shi+ny paper, enticing the reader to start reading the Sherlock Holazed at the books and said coldly, ”So she only studied Holmes as research?”
Haba replied, ”Yup That's why I said she's an amateur”
So people who read Holmes are only a here And he's saying it in the presence of Satoshi+, a Sherlockian (though he prefers to call hi too bothered
”Well, I get that a lot”
Hmm
Taking the first book fro through the pages We really should be getting back on topic I had no idea whether she noticed my anxiety or not; most probably not Chitanda's hand stopped at one of the pages
”Oh,”
”What is it?”
”There are sos in here Look,”
She showed e she was on, and I instantly kneas the Table of Contents without even reading the words Indeed, there were h I did not think of those e” as Chitanda had
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
◯ A Scandal in Bohemia
△ The Adventure of the Red Headed League
X A Case of Identity
△ The Bosob Valley Mystery
X The Five Orange Pips
◎ The Man with the Twisted Lip
◯ The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
X The Adventure of the Speckled Band
X The Adventure of the noble Bachelor
△ The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
”And this one as well,”
The Case-Book of Sherlock Homes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
◯ The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
◎ The Adventure of the Blanched Sailor
△ The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone