The bastard who deserves to be burned by the fires of hell for a thousand years!
An hour later, Kiyomi Liuli, with her schoolbag on her shoulder, tipped her head back and gulped down the cherry-flavored cola in a single breath, but the ice-cold soda couldn't extinguish the flaming rage in her heart. As her skirt fluttered, she kicked a metal can with force, sending it flying into a trash bin with a resounding "thud." Her anger was about to reach its peak, ready to explode at any moment.
She had spent a great deal of time and energy preparing for the Deductive Reasoning Research Society's recruitment event, not only coming up with the plan but also inviting her best friend Sawada Yuko and Yuko's childhood friend Tsuda Yutaro to help. After all their hard work, pleading, deceiving, coaxing, and capturing to gather a roomful of people, everything was ruined before she could even show off the charm of deductive reason by Nanahara Takeshi's little trick!
The "murderer" was caught right away, which had nothing to do with deductive reasoning, leaving her unable to show anything. Even after Nanahara Takeshi left and the "corpse," Tsuda Yutaro, stood up to take over his role and start again, the immersion factor was severely compromised. Nobody believed that reasoning was the only way to find the culprit; they all started messing around with their own smart ideas, and in the end, the event was a complete failure. Not a single person agreed to join the promising Deductive Reasoning Research Society on the spot—all of them said they would "think about it."
"To think about it" meant there was no chance, and she had originally planned to get at least two signatures today!
This was a critical opportunity. Next week, all the school clubs would start recruiting new members full-scale. How could a new, obscure club compete with popular, established clubs for members? If things went poorly, they might not even gather enough signatures to apply for official club status. The club could end up being just an informal group without any funding for club activities from the student council, let alone a dedicated space for their events!
Damn it, half of my vibrant high school life has been ruined!
The more Kiyomi Liuli thought about it, the angrier she got, and the angrier she got, the more she thought; she was on the verge of having a cerebral hemorrhage when she suddenly saw someone pushing a flatbed cart from a distance—it was Nanahara Takeshi, who had spoiled her event more than an hour ago.
What is he doing here?
Why is he pushing so much stuff?
Could he be a thief?
Kiyomi Liuli instantly became vigilant. She slipped behind a utility pole, hiding her figure perfectly while closely observing Nanahara Takeshi and his cart.
On the cart were old tables and chairs, with two banners standing upright, looking like signs...
It didn't seem like theft, but more like setting up a stand. Could it be that this guy ruined my recruitment event just to rush back to prepare this junk for a street sale?
Curiosity piqued, Kiyomi Liuli tracked Nanahara Takeshi as he pushed the flatbed cart towards the small park in front of the train station. She couldn't help but turn around and follow him. When they got to the park, she found out she hadn't reasoned wrong. Nanahara Takeshi began unloading the cart and actually started setting up his stall.
What's he selling?
She couldn't resist circling to the front to glimpse Nanahara Takeshi's "sign," which read on the left in bold brush strokes, "Fortune-telling, Spiritual Communication, Matchmaking, Exorcism, Demon-Driving, Amulets, Feng Shui, People Finding, Item Searching, Puzzlement Solving, Questions Answering," and on the right, "Money talks, a professional spiritual medium, open for discussions about anything, grand opening discount, no charge if unsatisfied."
Kiyomi Liuli was dumbfounded by this haphazard mess.
"Oh, isn't this Kiyomi?" Nanahara Takeshi also noticed Kiyomi Liuli without any look of surprise, and with a smile, he waved and greeted her, "We meet again. Are you heading home?"
He knew Kiyomi Liuli was angry with him for ruining her recruitment event, but he didn't care. After all, he had made arrangements with the recycling station to buy some second-hand tables and chairs that afternoon, and he had asked them to clean and keep them ready. There was no backing out now—it involved his meal issue, a matter more important than anything else, and whether a little brat got mad or not was the least of his concerns!
Seeing Yutaro act as if nothing was wrong made Kiyomi Liuli feel even more frustrated inside. But she was not someone without manners or tact. She cursed in her stomach but would not verbally confront him with harsh words. She walked straight over, pointed at his stall, and asked with a serious face, "What are you doing here?"
Nanahara Takeshi leaned back in his chair and laughed, "I'm working. Working to earn a living. I need to eat, too."
"Working?"
Kiyomi Liuli was not surprised by the idea of a high school student working part-time since that was quite normal in Japan. Even she was planning to find a part-time job soon, like being a cashier at a convenience store or something. But Nanahara Takeshi's method of working was just too bizarre. A high school student setting up a stall to fortune-tell for people?
Was he trying to swindle money through crooked ways?
The disbelief and disdain in her eyes were so thick they seemed about to overflow. Nanahara Takeshi pretended not to see and made a sweeping gesture over his stall, laughing as he said, "Exactly, as you can see, I am a professional spiritual medium. This is how I work."
A spiritual medium? You?
Kiyomi Liuli curled her lip and said, "Even if you are a spiritual medium, you can't set up a stall here! This is a park, public land of the town district. Pack up your stall right now, or I'll tell the police box, and they'll confiscate all your junk!"
Nanahara Takeshi kept his smile and pulled out a document from his pocket to show her, "No need to worry, the Town District Autonomous Committee has agreed. The patrolling police have no jurisdiction over me."
Taking the document with a puzzled look, Kiyomi Liuli saw that it was a permission letter from the Town District Autonomous Committee. It allowed the holder to use the town district's public land within limits to set up a stall, provided it did not obstruct traffic, damage the environment or violate any business-related regulations. Logically, legally, and reasonably, the patrolling police could not take him to the police box for a reprimanding lesson.
She glanced at the familiar private seal below the permission letter and was certain it wasn't a forgery. She became even more puzzled and wondered, "How did you get the Autonomous Committee to agree? Before, people who wanted to rent space to set up stalls here were rejected. How could they possibly give it to a swindler for free?"
Nanahara Takeshi took back the permission letter and let out a laugh, "Ms. Kiyomi, mind your words, I'm not a swindler. I'm a spiritual medium, a professional spiritual medium!"
Kiyomi Liuli insisted, "There are no such things as ghosts, spirits, and souls in this world. If you say you're a spiritual medium, then that means you're deceiving people!"
"Think what you want, but could you please make way and not interfere with my business?" Nanahara Takeshi didn't care about Kiyomi's opinion. This little girl was not his target customer. He gently pushed her aside and called out to a female student passing by, "Excuse me, Miss, yes, you. Please, come over, my new shop is open for business today, come and have a seat!"
Being pushed aside like trash irritated Kiyomi Liuli a bit, but she did not leave.
She was a firm believer in science and reason and absolutely did not buy into any of this supernatural nonsense. She decided to stay and see how Nanahara Takeshi would deceive people—probably through some petty tricks, some talk, some chemical reactions to hoodwink the ignorant and foolish. But her, the daughter of a professor, a genius in deductive reasoning, the brainpower of Higashitama Town, and the future famous detective and police detective, would undoubtedly expose his trickery right on the spot!
The jerk, dare to ruin my recruitment event, and I'll smash your signboard. Let neither of us have a good day!