Holmes of Kyoto: Volume 12 (eBook)

Mai Mochizuki (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7670-0 (ISBN)

Infos

It's September, and summer break is now over. The last part of Kiyotaka's training brings him to Komatsu's detective agency, where everyone is surprised to find that his partner will be his longtime nemesis, Ensho. Their first request is a strange one: a client wants to know who 'killed' him. Meanwhile in Gion, a geisha is being stalked and ghost sightings are on the rise. These curious mysteries have the troubling trio-Komatsu, Ensho, and Kiyotaka-running through the narrow streets of Kyoto on the case!

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It's September, and summer break is now over. The last part of Kiyotaka's training brings him to Komatsu's detective agency, where everyone is surprised to find that his partner will be his longtime nemesis, Ensho. Their first request is a strange one: a client wants to know who "e;killed"e; him. Meanwhile in Gion, a geisha is being stalked and ghost sightings are on the rise. These curious mysteries have the troubling trio-Komatsu, Ensho, and Kiyotaka-running through the narrow streets of Kyoto on the case!

Textauszug

Chapter 2: A Symbol of Pride

1

After a long summer break, it was back to university life for me. My part-time job returned to its usual schedule: after school and on weekends when I didn’t have anything else planned.

Kura’s display window currently featured a flower vase by Yasuyuki Namikawa. It was an autumn-themed piece of cloisonné ware decorated with fall foliage. Born in Kyoto, Yasuyuki Namikawa was a leading cloisonné artist of the Meiji period. His works exhibited amazing technique. The beautiful, delicate design on this vase—which was smaller than a five-hundred-milliliter bottle of water—seemed to depict a vast, endless world. The details were so elaborate that you had to come quite close in order to truly notice them. Because of that, I tried something new for the display.

As I inspected the window, a couple of pedestrians happened to stop in front of it.

“Oh, this is nice. It says it’s by Yasuyuki Namikawa.”

“I’m impressed that he could put such a detailed design on such a small vase.”

“Oh, look, they put a magnifying glass here, so you can see it better from this angle.”

“You’re right; it looks bigger from here. How considerate of them.”

I secretly did a fist pump when I heard their conversation. They hadn’t entered the store, but I was glad that they’d taken an interest in my display.

Holmes, who was checking the inventory, turned around with a smile, clipboard in hand. The Komatsu Detective Agency was closed on weekends unless work came in, so he was at Kura on his days off.

“I’m happy for you, Aoi,” he said.

I coughed. “Seriously, stop reading my mind all the time.”

“It’s your fault for being too easy to read.”

“That’s not true,” I muttered, annoyed.

“By the way, what made you decide to display Yasuyuki Namikawa’s work in September?” he asked, looking at the window.

“When I heard that Ensho started training under you, I suddenly remembered Yasuyuki Namikawa because of the ‘two Namikawas.’”

“Ah, yes. Yasuyuki Namikawa of the west and Sosuke Namikawa of the east.”

“So I actually wanted to display Sosuke Namikawa’s work too, but we don’t have any here,” I explained, looking around the store.

“There might be one in the second-floor storeroom. I’ll check the next time I’m there.”

“Ooh, thanks,” I said before murmuring, “I kind of wanted Ensho to see those two artists’ work.”

Holmes hummed. “You really do have a natural, wonderful sense for these things,” he said with a serious face.

I blinked in surprise. “Huh? No, that’s not...”

“You gave me a very useful hint. You really are amazing, Aoi.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

Rikyu, who was sitting on the sofa and reading a book, gave us an annoyed glare. “Hey, could you stop flirting in the store?”

Ever since Holmes had left for his training, Rikyu had been helping out at the shop more. His shifts were mainly when I wasn’t around, though, so we rarely saw each other here.

“We’re not flirting,” I said hastily. “It’s a normal conversation.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He looked back down at his book.

“What are you reading, Rikyu?” Holmes asked.

“Great Architecture of Kyoto,” the boy replied with a smile, his expression completely different from the one he’d directed at me.

“Kingo Tatsuno’s Museum of Kyoto, Vories’s Bazaar Cafe, Goichi Takeda’s Fortune Garden Kyoto, D.C. Greene’s Doshisha Chapel, Shigemitsu Matsumuro’s Orthodox Church of Kyoto...all of them are brilliant.”

“Yeah. Out of those, I like the Museum of Kyoto the most.”

“Huh, so the architect behind the Museum of Kyoto was Japanese,” I remarked.

The museum was a brick building with a very British appearance. I was familiar with it because it was on Sanjo Street.

“Yeah, Kingo Tatsuno was Josiah Conder’s best apprentice,” said Rikyu.

“Josiah Conder was an architect from London,” Holmes added. “In Japan, he worked on buildings associated with the new government.”

“I see.” In addition to temples and shrines, Kyoto was home to many historic buildings with unique tastes. “Rikyu wants to become an architect, right?” He’d mentioned it before.

“Hmm...” He tilted his head. “I chose this university so that I could get a first-class architect license, but that doesn’t mean my goal is to become an architect. I still don’t know what I really want to do. Part of me wants to be like Kiyo, but that doesn’t mean I want to be an appraiser either.”

“Oh, I see.” I gave a small nod.

I could relate because I also looked up to Holmes and wanted to get a curator certification. But unlike Rikyu, I did want to become an appraiser like Holmes.

That raises the question of whether I want to try to work at a museum, but I don’t know yet. Helping all day at Kura while honing my appraisal skills sounds appealing, but I also want to go out and experience different things. What do I want to do in the future?

While I was lost in thought, the door chime rang.

Could it be the people who were looking at the display window earlier?

“Welcome,” I said with a smile, turning towards the door expectantly. “Oh, it’s you, Akihito.”

Akihito looked around, confused. “Huh? Why do you suddenly look so disappointed, Aoi?”

“No, I’m not disappointed.” I shook my head, flustered. Am I really that easy to read?

Behind me, Holmes and Rikyu chuckled in amusement.

“Oh, Rikyu’s here too,” remarked Akihito.

“Yeah. Long time no see, Akihito.” The boy raised a hand and went back to perusing his book.

“Welcome, Akihito,” said Holmes.

“Great; I was hoping you’d be here today, Holmes.”

Akihito quickly approached Holmes, who grimaced and pushed the man’s forehead away with the palm of his hand.

“You’re too close. I’ll make coffee, so have a seat,” Holmes said, walking behind the counter.

2

Once Holmes’s coffee had been distributed to everyone, Akihito spoke up with a meek look on his face. “I came to ask for advice, but first, hear me out, Holmes. It might be over for me.” He slumped down over the counter.

“What happened?”

“It’s about Local Rangers,” Akihito began, not bothering to lift his head.

Akihito starred in Local Rangers, the second season of which had aired from April to July. Thanks to its rising popularity, a third season had been announced as well.

“What about it? It seems to be doing quite well,” said Holmes.

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“The ratings are good, yeah. But you see, aside from me, the most popular rangers are Purple and Yellow.” Akihito raised his head and sighed.

The rangers from the first season were Hokkaido White, Tohoku Green, Kanto Blue, Chubu Purple, and Kansai Yellow. The second season had added Chugoku Red, Shikoku Orange, and Kyushu Pink. Despite the new members, Purple, the beauty from Nagoya, and Yellow, the attractive man from Osaka, remained as popular as ever.

At an event in Hirakata Park, it had been revealed to the public that Purple’s face without makeup was actually very plain. But after that, she was able to take advantage of it and even showed viewers the process behind her transformation. It was quite well received, leading to appearances in fashion magazines for young women and makeup lessons on TV. Meanwhile, Yellow was popular for being an over-the-top Kansai guy who was a good talker, funny, and cool.

Local Rangers’s success came from the main character, Blue (played by Akihito), with Purple and Yellow supporting him on both sides.

“But those super popular members are leaving...”

“Huh? But why?” I asked, bewildered. “Everyone loves them.”

“They weren’t dropped or anything. Both of them have been cast in separate prime time TV dramas, so they’re busier now...and they’ve both decided to move on from Local Rangers,” Akihito said, hanging his head.

If this were an idol group, it’d be like if three out of seven members were much more popular and propped up the group, but two of the main three announced that they were leaving to go solo. As a big fan of Local Rangers, the news came as a shock to me. I could totally understand why Akihito was depressed.

“That’s a little sad, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Holmes said nonchalantly.

“Ugh, you really are that kind of guy, huh?”

“‘That kind of guy’?” Holmes tilted his head.

“You’re so coldhearted even though Local Rangers is in a crisis. I bet you’re gonna say, ‘If it declines in popularity just because two people are gone, it wasn’t anything special to begin with,’ right?” Akihito grumbled, picking up his cup.

“I wouldn’t say that...”

“What’s going to happen with Chubu and Kansai, then?” I asked.

“They’re being replaced with new members....

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 21.11.2022
• 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 • History • Japan • Kyoto • Light Novel • Slice of Life
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7670-7 / 1718376707
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7670-0 / 9781718376700