Nanahara Takeshi bowed his head in return, modestly saying, "It's nothing, I received compensation; it's all part of the job, please don't worry about it."
Okuno Yasuharu and Hidaka Tsukasa nodded repeatedly, feeling that not only was he exceptionally talented, but also modest and unassuming, outstanding to the point of incredibility, while Kiyomi Liuli's face turned beet red as she clenched her fists, barely holding back from exposing Nanahara Takeshi's true nature.
This guy is no spiritual medium, he relies on deduction, on deduction!
He's deceiving you all!
You're detectives, aren't you? How can you be so easily fooled?
Are you really just a bunch of good-for-nothings who only collect a paycheck? Hurry up and see through him!
...
"Nanahara, thank you once again," said Okuno through the car window, bidding farewell politely, "And Kiyomi, goodbye."
"Goodbye."
"Please be careful on your way home."
Nanahara Takeshi and Kiyomi Liuli stood by the roadside, one waving and the other bowing, as they watched Okuno drive away hastily in his old, smoke-belching car.
The body of Tominaga Yousuke had been found, the case classified as a "heinous home invasion robbery-murder," a large number of detectives rushed over to assist, and the Crime Lab began to examine the scene. It was becoming awkward for Nanahara Takeshi and Kiyomi Liuli to stay any longer, and since it was getting dark, Okuno Yasuharu decided to give them a ride back home first.
"I'm off as well, see you, Kiyomi," stretched Nanahara Takeshi, taking his backpack from Kiyomi Liuli and ambling back to his own home, already pondering what to have for dinner.
"Hey, wait!" Kiyomi Liuli caught hold of him, asking eagerly, "What time shall we meet tomorrow?"
Nanahara Takeshi turned to look at her, puzzled, "Why do we need to meet up tomorrow?"
"The case isn't solved yet!" said Kiyomi Liuli with a serious expression on her small face, "The criminal has committed a heinous act, and justice has not been served; of course we must continue to work hard!"
"Okuno and Hidaka came to me because they wanted to find a person. Now that the person has been found, my job is done, there's no need to do anything more," said Nanahara Takeshi indifferently, "The police will take care of tracking down the criminal, that's their job, no need for you to worry about it."
"But..."
"There are no buts; I'm hungry, and if you keep holding onto me, you're going to have to treat me to a meal!"
Nanahara Takeshi shook off Kiyomi Liuli's hand and entered his fenced yard, while Kiyomi Liuli still felt very unsatisfied, huffed, "Is this really the end of it?"
"Yes, this is the end," he replied.
Nanahara didn't pay her any more attention, walked into his house on his own, and Kiyomi Liuli, unable to do anything, aimed a frustrated kick at his retreating figure and cursed him in her mind before obediently heading home.
But she felt so unsatisfied about the end!
She sighed in her heart as she changed into slippers and shuffled back to her room, even when her mother, Kiyomi Koko, asked why she had come home so late, she only hummed in response.
Once in her room, she fell face down on the bed clutching a pillow in frustration. Then, turning over, she took out a hardcover notebook from her backpack and began to continue writing "The First Beauty Detective Liuli Morse Collection."
One night in Tokyo, a strange case occurred. A drunkard, on a whim, heard a faint scream. Out of curiosity, he climbed up a utility pole to look, and discovered...
Overall, it was very factual, except she reversed the roles between Nanahara Takeshi and her — just as Nanahara Takeshi had taunted her, Miss Liuli Morse in the book did the same to Nanahara Watson. Generally, it was still fairly reflective of reality, if one discounted that it was excessively Mary Sue, it could reluctantly be considered as documentary literature.
She wrote fervently, covering over half a chapter in one go, thoroughly introducing the characters involved, the background of the case, and how "she" "intuitively" found the "locked room," then she got stuck and began biting the end of her pen, deep in thought.
First, the person who reported the crime said he saw the victim, Tominaga Yousuke, tied to a chair and being beaten, but the scene was spotless, not a trace of blood, not even a teacup was broken, why was that? Was what the reporter saw even real?
Second, a crime must have a motive. What was the intruder after when they broke into the Tominaga Residence?
They didn't take the readily-available valuables, only the treasure from the safe? Exactly what treasure was hidden in the safe's secret chamber that was worth killing over? Now that Tominaga Yousuke is dead, how do we figure out what he had hidden before? Do the police have a direction for their investigation? If I were to investigate, how would I proceed?
Third...
I can't think of a third point for the moment, but this case is very peculiar.
Especially the first point, if the caller really did see the murderer, the killer could have simply killed Tominaga Yousuke and fled with the treasure. Why go through the trouble of hiding the body and painstakingly cleaning up the scene? Was it just to bet that the police couldn't find Tominaga Yousuke's body? Risking being caught red-handed, unafraid of being cornered by the patrolman inside the house?
And how did they clean the scene within seven or eight minutes so impeccably?
So strange, really so strange!
I'm dying to know what happens next...
As Kiyomi Liuli chewed on her pen, thinking more and more, she wanted to discuss with Nanahara Takeshi, but he had holed up at home, and she couldn't drag him out...
What is that kid doing now?
He lives alone, he must be bored, right? Could it be that, after being bored for a while, he has taken an interest in the case again?
Thinking this, Kiyomi Liuli hesitated for a moment, then snuck over to the window to secretly peer at Nanahara's house across the street. Unfortunately, it was already dark outside and the street between them made everything hazy and unclear.
She thought about it, then ran to the attic and dug out the telescope her dad had given her when she was a child.
She had no interest in stargazing, and it took up space in her room, so she banished it to the attic, where it had been for several years. Now, finally, it had a use.
She set up the telescope, and after a bit of adjustment, could indeed see through the window clear across to Nanahara's house—most of the living room on the first floor, a small part of the kitchen, and a corner of the second-floor study.
But where was that kid? Why couldn't she see him? Was he secretly hiding and up to no good?
Hmm, she wouldn't spy on Nanahara Takeshi's privacy, she wasn't that kind of person. She just really wanted to know if he was bored and wanted to discuss the case with him.
"Liuli, Mom is calling you down for dinner!"
She was carefully searching when suddenly the door burst open and in came a little girl wearing a homey floral yukata, her hair done up in a bun. But after she called out and saw Kiyomi Liuli perched over the telescope looking across the street, she asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
Kiyomi Liuli quickly stood up and sternly said, "How many times have I told you to knock before entering, and where are your manners? Don't call me by my name!"
"Okay, Liuli!" The bun-headed girl looked a lot like Kiyomi Liuli but appeared three times more endearing and cute due to her baby fat. "But are you peeping? It's like what the police auntie said when she came to our school, you're being a... ah, no, you're being a voyeur, right?"
"I'm observing the stars, not peeping!"
"Oh, so you're just watching the stars..."
"Yes, I am watching the stars."
"Okay, I understand now, Liuli."
The bun-headed girl nodded obediently and stepped out the door, only to pull out a bulky black walkie-talkie from who-knows-where. She turned it on with a "zzzt" noise, adjusted the frequency, and began to whisper, "Hello, hello, is this Tamamachi Police Box? Hi, hi, I'm a junior self-defense officer from Tama-yama Elementary School second grade, and I have important information regarding a perverse voyeur to report...
Yes, a very perverse voyeur, long-haired, about 1.61 meters tall, very fair-skinned, with big eyes and long eyelashes, and a red mole on the back of her neck, very aggressive, like a savage. You'll want to bring a police baton and dogs when you capture her... Ow! That hurts!"
She clutched her head, turned around, and saw that her older sister Kiyomi Liuli was now breathing out hot breaths through her nostrils, her expression...
Indeed very aggressive, indeed very much like a savage!