Holmes of Kyoto: Volume 7 (eBook)

Mai Mochizuki (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2021
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7660-1 (ISBN)

Infos

Aoi is now in her third year of high school, with entrance exams looming on the horizon. She and Kiyotaka are slowly and clumsily growing closer, but one day, Ensho-Kiyotaka's nemesis-shows up and asks him to appraise a white porcelain incense holder. However, when Kiyotaka claims that it's real, the counterfeiter denies it and leaves in an attempt to discredit him.

Some time later, Aoi is approached by Ensho after school. Kiyotaka arrives just in time to save her, but then he breaks up with her, sending her into the depths of despair. Two months later, Aoi receives a phone call from the manager. 'Kiyotaka came back from Hyogo,' he says. What will become of the two now?

Textauszug

Prologue

1

Kyoto, being the world-famous tourist destination that it is, sees several tourist seasons each year. The cherry blossoms in spring, Gozan no Okuribi in summer, and the autumn foliage all bring in crowds of people, but the busiest times are New Year’s, the Gion Festival, and Golden Week. Those are when you see long lines at the bus terminal in front of Kyoto Station, and the number of people walking from Shijo Street to Yasaka Shrine is twice as high as usual. Dealing with the crowds is a hassle, so I hole myself up at home during tourist season. Maybe that means I’ve truly become a Kyoto resident.

It was now mid-May, and Golden Week was over. The crowds were much smaller, but there were still quite a lot of tourists—probably ones who shifted their time off to not align with the Golden Week rush. At times like this, I always groaned and thought, “That’s Kyoto for you.”

I—third-year high schooler Aoi Mashiro—was marveling over the number of tourists in the shopping district as I walked from Oike Street to Teramachi Street. I soon spotted my workplace: the small antique shop, Kura. I stopped in front of it and opened the door, saying “Good morning” as the chime rang.

“Ah, good morning, Aoi,” said Kiyotaka “Holmes” Yagashira...or not. It was his father, Takeshi Yagashira, who we call Manager. They looked completely different but had the same gentle aura and voice, so I couldn’t help but be startled.

Holmes wasn’t in the store. On May 5th, two days after my birthday party, he’d gone overseas with the owner for work. The manager and I were watching the store in his stead.

I glanced at the counter where the manager was sitting. In front of him were his manuscript and crumpled-up balls of paper. He was an old-fashioned writer, so he still wrote his manuscripts by hand. Based on the state of the counter, he’d hit a block in his writing.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, looking relieved. “I was at my limit.” He hurriedly shoved the manuscript into his bag. “I hit a block, and it’s been torture ever since. I’m going for a quick walk. Please watch the store, Aoi, and feel free to do your homework at the same time.”

“Oh, okay. I figured that was the case.”

He quickly stood up and left the shop, almost as if running away. He was the type of author who drew inspiration from walking outside, seeing things, and experiencing different settings, so staying in one place for too long gave him writer’s block. It wasn’t unusual for him to rush out of the store like that the moment I arrived. And since I was used to watching the store, I didn’t mind being left alone.

“Okay, time to start cleaning,” I said enthusiastically to myself. I put on my apron and picked up the feather duster.

The manager gave me permission to study instead since I have entrance exams coming up, but I still have to earn my pay. Besides, with Holmes gone, the store gets slightly dirty when it’s normally perfectly clean. Since I’ve been tasked with watching the store, I have to prevent that from happening.

As I was diligently cleaning, the door chime rang.

“Heya!” came a lighthearted voice. It was Akihito Kajiwara, an up-and-coming actor. His attractive features, light-colored hair, and carefree personality were well-received by the public. His popularity was on the rise as one of the “hottest young actors.”

He doesn’t make my heart flutter, though.

We first met Akihito at a lodge in Kurama. His late father, Naotaka Kajiwara, was one of the manager’s author friends, so after he passed away, their family asked Holmes for advice on the artwork he’d left behind. Before we knew it, Akihito had become a very familiar face at Kura.

“Oh, Akihito! Thank you for coming the other day.” I bowed. Akihito had attended my birthday party.

“Yep, congrats again on turning eighteen. How was your Golden Week? Did you go on a trip with Holmes to celebrate becoming legal?” he asked as he sat down at the counter. Ever the cheeky one.

“Ugh, don’t call it that. And no, Holmes went abroad two days after the party.”

“Really? Why?”

“He’s accompanying the owner, who received an appraisal request from a museum overseas. Apparently, they were also asked to buy some artwork from various places.”

“Huh, I always wondered how this shop stayed afloat with no customers. So it has other sources of income too,” Akihito said, looking around the store. He seemed impressed.

I gave an awkward smile. I wasn’t going to say it, but I’d wondered the exact same thing.

“So, where’s Holmes?”

“He hasn’t come back yet.”

“Huh?” Akihito squeaked. “When’s he coming back?”

“Who knows?”

“Wait, you don’t know? Aren’t you his girlfriend?”

Last month, I’d started dating Kiyotaka Yagashira, the appraiser-in-training known as the “Holmes of Kyoto.”

“W-Well, yes. Before he left, he said, ‘I won’t be able to contact you because of the time difference, but I’ll be back in mid-May.’”

“The owner’s working him hard, huh?” Akihito gave a sympathetic shrug.

“Actually, he was excited because Yoshie is going with them this time, meaning his domestic work is halved.”

Yoshie Takiyama was the owner’s girlfriend, a woman in her forties who ran a consulting company in the art industry. They were over thirty years apart in age, but apparently, Yoshie was into older men.

“She is?” Akihito furrowed his brow, seemingly deep in thought.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, well, I mean... Are you okay, Aoi?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

“Yoshie’s going on that business trip with them. What if something happens between her and Holmes?” he asked with a straight face.

I burst out laughing. “What? What gave you that idea?” Yoshie and the owner had already been dating for ten years, and Holmes saw her as an aunt. Where did Akihito get that from?

“I mean, Yoshie’s gorgeous, and she looks so young you wouldn’t believe she’s over forty. I’d totally go for her.”

“Yeah, but...” Yoshie was beautiful, and she looked like she was in her early thirties. But still, she was the owner’s girlfriend, and Holmes...had me. “Holmes isn’t unfaithful.”

“I know he isn’t. But actually... Well, to be honest, I saw something happen after your birthday party.”

“Huh?” My birthday party had been held at the Yagashira estate near Ginkaku-ji Temple. Akihito was one of the many attendees.

“You went home around 11 p.m., right? Yoneyama gave you, Kaori, and Saori a ride.”

“Yes...” I had a bad feeling. My heart was beating restlessly. Like Akihito said, Yoneyama had driven the three of us home in his car. Originally, Holmes had said he’d drive me, but Ueda and the owner made him drink alcohol during the party. Since Yoneyama was a non-drinker, he’d already been expecting to give people rides.

“I was getting ready to leave too, and I went to look for Holmes to say bye. I saw him and Yoshie alone on the balcony.”

My heart palpitations got worse.

“Yoshie was crying and clinging to Holmes, and Holmes put his hands on her shoulders...”

I gasped, imagining the scene all too vividly.

“I couldn’t hear them that clearly, but Yoshie was saying stuff like, ‘Seeing you and Aoi made me realize how I felt’ and ‘But it would cause problems for you.’ Then Holmes said, ‘What do you mean? I don’t mind at all,’ took his handkerchief out of his pocket, and wiped her tears away. Isn’t that fishy?”

I looked down in silence. It is fishy. And since Akihito isn’t the type of person to lie, it’s probably true. Does that mean that when Holmes and I started going out, Yoshie didn’t see him as a child anymore...and realized she had romantic feelings for him? Holmes said, “I don’t mind at all.” Does that mean he accepted her feelings? Come to think of it, I assumed the owner went overseas with them, but what if Holmes and Yoshie went by themselves? No way, that can’t be true. What am I thinking? I shook my head.

Akihito hurriedly held up his hands to assuage me. “It’s okay, Aoi; calm down. Even if Holmes is cheating on you with Yoshie, there’s no need to be depressed. Men are faithless creatures, after all.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, yeah. Hey, you should just cheat too. With me, for example.” He touched my cheek and peered at my face. “How about it?”

“Um...what?” He’s never said anything like that to me before. Has he finally gone insane? I glared at him as coldly as I could.

“You’re eighteen now, right? That means you’re in my strike zone. Congrats!” He gave me a cheerful grin.

Ugh, this guy. Still, as exasperated as I was, I could tell that he realized he’d made me sad and was trying to take my mind off what he told me. He didn’t have to do it that way, though. I was about to brush him away when the door chime rang.

“Hey, coming in.”

It was Ueda, one of the regulars. He was one of the manager’s close...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 21.12.2021
• Reihe/Serie: Holmes of Kyoto
• Reihe/Serie: Holmes of Kyoto
• Übersetzer: Minna Lin
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror ► Krimi / Thriller
• Schlagworte: female protagonist • History • Kyoto • Light Novel • Mystery • Romance • Slice of Life
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7660-X / 171837660X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7660-1 / 9781718376601