The next day.
Senichi, dressed in a black suit, stood in front of the luxurious villa and rang the doorbell.
Soon, footsteps could be heard from inside, getting closer and closer.
Finally, the door opened, revealing the beautiful face of the villa's owner, with a smiling and charming countenance.
"Oh my, Senichi-san, I've been waiting for you."
Reika Akana opened the door and glanced around but didn't see anyone else. She couldn't help but smile and ask, "Miss Natasha didn't come along? You said on the phone that you had something important to discuss about the case, right?"
"Oh, I insisted on visiting alone."
Senichi smiled and said, "Although it's about the case, I don't want to make the atmosphere too serious during teatime, which is why I requested a private visit."
"You're quite easy-going, and I like that," Reika Akana said with a smile as she opened the door to welcome him. "The Imagawa-yaki is ready. Please come in."
"Thank you for your hospitality." Senichi nodded slightly and thanked her, then followed her inside the room and sat down at the dining table.
"It smells wonderful. Your cooking skills are indeed excellent, Mrs. Akana."
After sitting down, Senichi looked at the freshly baked Imagawa-yaki on the plate, smelling the unique aroma of pastry filling the air, and couldn't help but praise.
"Thank you for the compliment. Please enjoy it," Reika Akana said as she brought a teapot and prepared a cup of English black tea for Senichi, placing it by his side.
Then she extended her hand and introduced, "I made matcha flavor on this side, and red bean flavor on this side, just the way you like it, Senichi-san."
"Well, then I won't hold back." Senichi smiled and reached out to take a bite of the matcha flavor. His eyes lit up in delight. "It's delicious."
The freshly baked, crispy outer shell combined with the fragrance of the egg and milk, the refreshing matcha filling with a moderate sweetness and warmth – all three components blended perfectly, providing Senichi with an ultimate taste experience.
"Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you enjoyed it," Reika Akana smiled, sitting opposite Senichi. "So, what important thing do you have to tell me about the case?"
"It's about the information regarding the culprit who killed your husband."
Senichi looked at the woman in front of him, with a polite tone, and said, "Actually, I've already understood the whole case, so it's necessary for me to report it to you."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Reika Akana raised her elegant eyebrows. "Then, what's the result, Mr. "Famous police Detective" from Tokyo? Have you caught the culprit who killed my husband?"
"Not yet, but I'm in the process of catching them."
Senichi's face was filled with a smile, showing no signs of tension as if he was just casually joking with an old friend. "The culprit is you, Reika Akana. You poisoned the dessert."
Across the dining table, Senichi looked at Reika Akana without a hint of seriousness on his face. He spoke in a relaxed tone, "That's the answer I've obtained. So, would you like to hear my reasoning?"
"Oh? How intriguing. I'm all ears."
Even though she was being accused as the culprit, Reika Akana's beautiful face remained calm, wearing a composed smile, as if she was listening to a story completely unrelated to herself.
The story that Senichi told was not complicated; in fact, it was rather simple.
The day before the incident, her husband, a writer, informed her about the contents of his latest book, which was about a seven-year-long love affair between him and a widow, a true story adapted into a pure love novel. They had a big argument that day.
The next day, she poisoned the dessert, causing her husband's death.
"Is it really that simple?"
Reika Akana looked at Senichi with a smile. "Don't you think there should be some elaborate methods or tricks, like in many detective cases, where the culprit uses sophisticated tricks to deceive everyone?
Do you see me as someone so foolish that I can't come up with such cunning plans?"
"But in reality, you didn't come up with any complex tricks. If you had, it wouldn't have been such a headache for everyone."
Senichi shrugged, "The simplest methods are often the best, and the less complicated the affair, the less room for loopholes after it's done."
"If it's a truly complex case, often during its execution, there will be loopholes that even the culprit is unaware of."
"The more you do, the more traces you leave behind, right?"
Reika Akana smiled, no longer discussing the previous issue with Senichi, and then asked again, "So, why are you so sure that we had an argument?"
"Oh, that's a simple reason."
Senichi sipped his black tea and chuckled, "Because there wasn't a single photo in the room. It's likely that during the argument, you threw all the picture frames and destroyed the photos.
Otherwise, the house wouldn't have had zero pictures, right? After all, Miss Aissha found it hard to believe when she heard about Mr. Ace's short height. In general, she could have just looked at the photos to confirm."
Senichi raised an eyebrow, "How about it, Mrs. Akana, did my reasoning pass?"
"Well, let's consider it passed."
Reika Akana smiled and nodded, then looked at Senichi again, "However, I have some objections about the poisoning through the dessert."
Reika Akana picked up an Imagawa-yaki, took a small bite, and held it up, "You see, this is Imagawa-yaki. So, how did I poison it while ensuring I wouldn't be poisoned myself?"
She looked at Senichi playfully, "Don't forget, I also ate the dessert, and it was the half that my husband shared with me. How did I ensure that I wouldn't be poisoned by the poison in the dessert?"
"That's simple. If Imagawa-yaki never existed from the beginning, then everything would make sense, right?" Senichi replied nonchalantly.
"Didn't exist? How is that possible? Miss Aissha saw my husband eating it with her own eyes."
"Imagawa-yaki not existing doesn't mean the dessert didn't exist."
Senichi picked up an Imagawa-yaki, opened it, and tasted the unique sticky and sweet flavor of red bean, squinting with a smile, "People who have never been to Japan have never seen it, but it doesn't mean I haven't seen similar desserts.
Moreover, this one can perfectly replace Imagawa-yaki, and after it enters the stomach, you won't be able to detect the difference."
Looking at Reika Akana, who was no longer maintaining her smile, Senichi spoke slowly, "So, the dessert you handed to your husband was actually Taiyaki (fish-shaped cake) baked in advance, right?"
After all, besides their different shapes, Taiyaki and Imagawa-yaki are almost the same type of dessert.
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