Holmes of Kyoto: Volume 14 (eBook)

Mai Mochizuki (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7674-8 (ISBN)

Infos

A few days after Kiyotaka departs for Shanghai, Aoi goes to New York City with Rikyu and Yoshie. She was invited by world-famous curator Sally Barrymore as part of a training program for up-and-coming female curators, but what awaits her is an intense test. After making the cut and becoming one of Sally's honor students, she and two others are tasked with producing an exhibit of their own! It's a tough road ahead, but at least Rikyu is there to help. However, Aoi gradually becomes aware of an inner conflict she has regarding Kiyotaka...

Textauszug

Prologue: At a Loss

I’ve been really anguished lately, but I’m not quite sure why.

I, Aoi Mashiro, had been spacing out behind the counter at the antique store Kura, a book open in front of me, when the door chime rang.

“E-Excuse me,” said the visitor, my best friend Kaori Miyashita. She stepped inside and timidly looked around.

“Welcome, Kaori. I’m here by myself today.”

“That’s what I thought since I only saw you.” She sat at the counter and looked down at my book. Apparently she had only come in after checking the state of the store from outside. “Oh, are you studying English for your New York trip?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. I had been reading a book on conversational English. “Holmes got me a translation device, but I want to study a bit too.”

“How admirable.”

“It’s not that impressive. Even if I try now, I won’t be able to learn much. It’s more likely that it’ll end up being a waste of time.”

I’d been interested in foreign countries for a while now. You could even say I’d been longing to go abroad. Seeing Holmes go overseas with the owner made me think, “How nice.” So I’d been studying English to some extent, but I hadn’t made a serious attempt. If I’d known I was going to get this chance, I would’ve taken conversational English classes.

Kaori shook her head as I was reflecting on what I could’ve done better. “That’s not true,” she said.

“Huh?”

“It’s not a waste at all. If you learn one English word a day, that means you’ll master three hundred and sixty-five words in a year. I think it’s the gradual accumulation that matters. Like they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day.” She held up her index finger.

“Yeah, it’s not a waste.” I nodded.

Suddenly, I thought of Holmes. He may have been born with an extraordinary eye for observation and appraisal, but his wealth of knowledge had been accumulated ever since he was a child. You could say that Kiyotaka Yagashira wasn’t built in a day either. My face relaxed into a smile as I imagined him holding his index finger in front of his mouth and grinning somewhat proudly.

Kaori gave me a dubious look.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s nothing.”

Did my thoughts show on my face? I unconsciously rubbed my cheek and straightened my expression.

“I bet you’re excited since you’re leaving soon,” said Kaori.

“I am, but I’m also really nervous.”

“About English? You’ll manage somehow.”

English wasn’t the only concern on my mind, but it was certainly one of them.

“You’re good at English, so it doesn’t feel convincing coming from you,” I mumbled. English had been Kaori’s strong subject since high school, and in university, she was majoring in European and American linguistic cultures.

“I’m not good at it.”

“But your highest grades are in English, aren’t they?”

“Oh...” she murmured, placing a hand on her head. “That’s just because I like it. I became a fan of English because my favorite uncle lives in England.”

I’d heard this story before. Kaori didn’t get along well with her father, but she admired her kind and gentlemanly uncle.

“Since I like it, my studies are productive,” she continued. “I’d thought it would be helpful overseas since it’s my best subject, but when I actually went, it was no good at all.” She gave a dramatic shrug.

“Do you mean when you went to Australia?” I asked. Kaori had done a brief study program in Australia over the summer break.

“Yeah. I don’t know if it was a pronunciation issue, but people over there didn’t understand me at all. There were a lot of times when I spoke in Japanese on impulse and that got across better. So I don’t think you need to be so nervous,” she said with a cheerful smile.

“I see. I guess I shouldn’t feel bad if even your level isn’t enough to communicate with. Oh right. So, how was Australia?” I asked, suddenly remembering. We’d both been too busy to have a proper chat about her trip.

Kaori shut her eyes tightly and replied, “It was incredible.” The sheer passion in her words told me it had been a great experience, which made me feel happy too.

“So it was a nice place, then.”

“Yeah. My host family was really good to me, and they had a little boy and girl who were just adorable.” She took her phone out as she spoke and showed me a picture of a kind-looking Caucasian couple and a five- or six-year-old boy and girl, all smiling happily. Kaori was right in the middle of them. “I was born and raised here in cramped Kyoto, so Australia’s vastness felt really new. They had a huge yard with a handmade swing and a little swimming pool. We had barbecues, made a bonfire, and went to the beach. They took me horseback riding too.”

I nodded as I listened to her elated recollection. Japan was cramped to begin with, but Kyoto was especially known for its even smaller neighborhood layouts and narrower streets. Australia could be considered the exact opposite.

“Where in Australia did you go, by the way?” I asked.

“It was a place called Perth.”

“Perth?” I tilted my head at the unfamiliar name. I’d assumed she would’ve gone to Sydney, Canberra, or Melbourne. “Whereabouts is that?”

“Oh, it’s in the southwest part.” Kaori opened a map of Australia on her phone. Sure enough, Perth was located on the south side of the western coast. “It was a really nice place. It’s close to the ocean and it suddenly becomes really spacious once you leave the downtown area. I also got to go to Uluru, which is right in the middle of Australia. I only saw it from a distance, but it was really nice too.”

“Uluru is Ayers Rock, right?”

“Yep. It’s the landmark that people call a monolith.”

I vaguely imagined the scene in my mind. My impression of Uluru was a huge reddish-brown rock that was like a small mountain standing imposingly in the middle of an endless plain.

“I’ve seen it on TV and in books, but before going there myself, I thought, ‘It might be big, but it’s still just a rock,’” said Kaori.

“I know what you mean.” I nodded with a serious expression. Hearing the word “monolith” didn’t give me a sense of how great it was either. I just thought of it as a big rock.

“But when I saw it for myself, I was so moved. It was gigantic and the horizon went on forever. I really thought, ‘Wow, I am so small. I only know a tiny sliver of the world.’” Tears rose to her eyes as she recalled the emotional event.

“You really had a great experience, huh? I’m glad you got to go,” I said sincerely.

“Yeah,” Kaori replied shyly.

“I was surprised when you suddenly decided to study short-term in Australia, though.”

“Actually, Kohinata suggested it because I was feeling depressed about some things,” she said quietly, almost in a whisper.

“Huh?” My eyes widened. “Kohinata did?”

“Yeah.” Kaori gave an awkward nod.

Keigo Kohinata was Holmes’s former schoolmate. He was a charming young man with short hair and glasses, and he was currently a medical researcher at a graduate school.

“Before summer break, I was complaining to him that I wanted to go somewhere far away and look at the horizon. Then he suggested studying abroad. Even the host family I stayed with was introduced to me by someone he knew.” Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, as if she was embarrassed.

“I see...” So Kohinata was involved in her sudden decision to study abroad. “Are you going out with him now?” I hadn’t meant to ask that so bluntly, but the truth surprised me so much that I ended up doing it without thinking.

Kaori shook her head weakly. “He actually asked me out again when I came back to Japan.”

“Really?” I unconsciously leaned forward.

“Yeah, but I turned him down.”

“Oh...” I felt a little disappointed. Kohinata was a great, levelheaded person. I’d thought they might be a good match.

“Love is so complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“Yeah. Kohinata is really nice to me, and I’m grateful for and touched by how supportive he is. I even felt happy that he was trying to get closer to me.”

“Right.”

“But when he actually asks me out, I feel troubled. I admire him, but it doesn’t feel like love. He’s more like a dependable older brother. It’d be so much easier if I could just love him.”

I felt like I could understand her complex state of emotions. Love probably isn’t something that can be explained by logic. No matter how good the person is or how happy you are that they think of you that way, it’s possible that your heart won’t be swayed.

We both fell silent. After a little while, Kaori awkwardly began, “You might’ve noticed, Aoi...”

Sensing that it was a serious matter, I looked at her without saying anything.

“Not that long ago, and only for a little while, I was going out with the manager. Oh, but we didn’t go beyond holding hands,” she said in a hushed voice even...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 6.4.2023
• 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 • Drama • female protagonist • History • Japan • Light Novel • Slice of Life
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7674-X / 171837674X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7674-8 / 9781718376748