Holmes of Kyoto: Volume 11 (eBook)

Mai Mochizuki (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7668-7 (ISBN)

Infos

It's Aoi's second summer as a university student, and Kiyotaka has earned a short vacation before his next term after completing his training at Daimaru Kyoto. He decides to spend it at Kura, meaning the couple finally gets to work together again. During their time at the store, they're visited by an old classmate of Kiyotaka who recently quit his job. Kiyotaka takes him to Eikan-do Temple, which is famous for its fall foliage. It seems like a strange destination for the middle of summer, but turns out there's a good reason for it. And on top of everything else, Ensho's past is revealed!

Textauszug

Prologue

Summer this year was unusually hot. Day after day, the temperature exceeded thirty-five degrees Celsius, and the heat from the blazing sun was so extreme that the exaggerated term “scorching hell” felt like an apt description. The temperature dipping slightly below thirty-five was enough to make people say, “Oh, it’s not that hot today.”

The thought of becoming accustomed to this heat was terrifying, but at the same time, I was impressed by humanity’s ability to adapt. July’s stifling heat had made me fearful of August, the true height of summer. But when August came, the blaze began to subside. Temperatures were still over thirty degrees, but from time to time, a cool and pleasant breeze would blow through, making me feel that summer was already coming to an end.

“What a nice breeze,” I said, looking up and smiling as I wiped down one of the store’s front windows. “Okay, let’s finish this.” I diligently scrubbed the window with a washcloth.

I’d recently noticed that the display window had gotten a little dirty, but because of the heat, I’d turned a blind eye. Now that the weather had finally become bearable, I’d decided that today would be the day I dealt with it.

I polished all of the windows, including the display one. Is it clean now? I wiped the sweat from my brow and took a step back. I could see my reflection clearly in the display window.

“Okay, that’s good.”

I relaxed my shoulders and looked at the small, elegant store in front of me and its modest “Kura” sign. Having finished my work, I opened the door to go back inside. The chime rang, and I was greeted with the usual sight: a small chandelier, a grandfather clock, a sofa for visitors, and shelves of antiques and miscellany in the back. On the right side of the entrance was a staircase leading to the second floor, and on the left was a counter. The store always smelled like coffee, which gave many people the false impression that it was an antique cafe. But this wasn’t a cafe; it was the antique store Kura where I, Aoi Mashiro, worked part-time.

The first time I’d visited this store was when I was seventeen. At the time, I’d been surprised because the interior extended deeper than I had expected. Three years had passed since then, and now I was twenty and in my second year of university.

Time sure flies, I mused as I washed my hands and the cloth. I then picked up a feather duster. Since there were so many things on display, dust built up quickly if one wasn’t careful. If the antiques weren’t kept clean, the air in the store would stagnate. Thus, dusting was an important daily task.

I unconsciously looked out the windows as I dusted. Since I had cleaned them, the store interior was brighter than before, and I could see the people passing by outside more clearly than usual. I didn’t know if three years was considered long or short, but at any rate, the view from here never changed. Since it was summer vacation, the crowds were bigger than during the off-season, but more than half of them were probably tourists. Those people always passed by this store as if they didn’t even see it.

It’s a little sad when I think about it. Even if they aren’t going to buy anything, I’d still like them to come in and experience a bit of antique culture.

There was someone else I knew who often said he was happy just to have people seeing and learning about antiques: Kiyotaka “Holmes” Yagashira. Perhaps it was because of his influence that I had come to see it this way. I smiled, thinking of him.

Now then, what can we do to get people to stop and come in?

I walked to the front of the store and looked down at the tea utensils in the display window. They had designs with summery flowers like morning glories and irises. The display certainly wasn’t bad, but since it was a busy season, perhaps it would be better to use more eye-catching items.

As I was mulling it over, the door chime rang.

“Welcome,” I said, quickly smiling in its direction.

“Hey, Aoi.” Standing in front of the door was Akihito Kajiwara, grinning mischievously and holding up one hand. He was quite a popular actor these days.

“Oh, Akihito. It’s been a while.”

“Huh? Is Holmes not here?”

“He’s still in training, so no.”

“I know that, but his term at Daimaru is over, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, it was supposed to end yesterday, but he went there again today to take care of some leftover work.”

Holmes had been training at Daimaru Kyoto since spring, and his term had ended yesterday, August 11. I’d heard they had held a farewell party for him last night at a pub, but he still went into the office today.

“Aw man, but his best friend came all the way here to congratulate him on a job well done.”

Akihito was also a close friend of Holmes’s. He’d always been a self-proclaimed best friend, but at this point, Holmes seemed to recognize him as a close friend too.

The actor humphed and sat down in front of the counter.

“But Akihito, just because he’s done working at Daimaru doesn’t mean all of his training is over,” I said, walking around to the other side.

“Huh, there’s still more? Where’s he going next?”

“He said he’d be going to Komatsu’s agency.”

“Wait, isn’t that a detective agency? He’s seriously gonna be a detective? It’s too perfect for him. He’s gonna end up staying there forever.” Akihito lifted a hand to his mouth and snickered.

That would be a problem. “I’ll make coffee.”

I went to the kitchenette. The quiet jazz music was joined by the sound of dripping coffee, and a pleasant aroma filled the air. Preparing coffee always reminded me of how Holmes used to be the one doing it in this room, and it made me feel lonely. It used to be so normal for him to be here, but after he finished grad school, the owner ordered him to undergo training in various places. I hadn’t been too concerned at first, thinking he would be back soon, but past the one-year mark, I began to feel uneasy from time to time. As Akihito had just joked about, I couldn’t help but worry about what would happen if Holmes never came back to Kura, even though I knew that would never be the case.

Having finished preparing the coffee, I left the kitchenette just in time to hear the door chime ring again.

Before I could welcome the visitor, Akihito exclaimed, “Whoa!” in a weird voice.

Startled, I looked at the door and immediately understood. Standing there was Ensho with a mildly amused smile. The bald man was wearing a dark kimono and holding something wrapped in cloth. He hung his straw hat—which did wonders for making him look less like a monk—on the pole next to the door and grinned.

“Really now? ‘Whoa’? That’s a harsh reaction, Mr. Actor,” he said as he sat down next to Akihito.

“My bad. You kinda surprised me,” the actor replied without a hint of guilt.

Ensho shrugged lightly. “It’s fine.”

“Welcome, Ensho,” I said, placing cups in front of both of them. Since I had made extra coffee, it’d been easy to prepare Ensho’s portion.

“Thanks, Aoi. It sure has been a long time, eh?”

“Yes, it has.”

The last time I saw him would’ve been...spring? Before Holmes and I went on our trip, he left me with a warning: “I know it’s none of my business, but if you wanna stay on close terms with him, you shouldn’t go. If you’re dead set on going, you’d better be prepared.” I realized later that it was because he’d sensed Holmes’s nature.

I’d always thought of him as a scary person, but he’d mellowed out quite a bit after Shigetoshi Yanagihara took him under his wing. I often wondered if he was actually a kind person who was just very clumsy.

Ensho stared at me and frowned.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“No, nothing,” he replied.

“What’re you staring at her for? Are you admiring her?” Akihito teased, looking at me. “Hmm, well, she does seem prettier than before.”

“Jeez, don’t poke fun at me,” I said.

“No, I’m serious,” he insisted. “You’re definitely a university girl.”

I blushed and looked down.

“That guy really pisses me off,” Ensho muttered.

“Huh?” I looked up.

“Nothing.”

“Does Ensho come here a lot or something?” Akihito asked, resting his chin on his hand and looking at the other man.

Ensho didn’t say anything, so I answered for him, “He drops by sometimes when he’s in the area.”

Most of the time, he’d be on the way back from running errands for Yanagihara, carrying antiques. Yanagihara was a famous appraiser and an old friend of the owner. Ensho was currently training under him.

On one of his visits here, Ensho had told me that Yanagihara was quite fickle like the owner, and he sometimes found it bothersome to go out for appraisals. But he didn’t want people to come to his house either, so he often sent his apprentice to pick up the item in need of appraisal from the client. On the way back from those trips, Ensho would sometimes stop by Kura, and every time, he would show me the antique...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 6.10.2022
• Reihe/Serie: Holmes of Kyoto
• Reihe/Serie: Holmes of Kyoto
• Übersetzer: Minna Lin
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror ► Krimi / Thriller
• Schlagworte: Cozy Mystery • female protagonist • Light Novel • Slice of Life
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7668-5 / 1718376685
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7668-7 / 9781718376687