One September afternoon, I, Aoi Mashiro, was absentmindedly gazing out the window while cleaning the store. There were uniformed middle schoolers outside, presumably on their way home. Today was probably the first day of their new semester. Meanwhile, as a university third-year, I was still on summer break.
“Aoi.”
I flinched in surprise at the sudden voice. Turning around, I saw Kiyotaka “Holmes” Yagashira smiling at me. As usual, he was wearing a black vest over a white shirt, black slacks, and sleeve garters. He was also holding a clipboard since he was in the middle of examining the wares.
“Sorry, I was spacing out,” I said.
“It’s fine. I noticed you were grinning. Did you see something funny outside?”
“Not funny, per se. I was just noticing that the new semester has already started. It’s finally autumn.”
“You’re a fan of autumn, aren’t you?”
“Yes!” I nodded energetically. “I came to love it after moving here. It’s the season when Kyoto truly shines.”
“That’s a good way of phrasing it.” He smiled.
Holmes was in a good mood these days. Well, technically, that was always the case since his outward emotions didn’t fluctuate much. But he seemed particularly happy as of late.
“Autumn would be nice too,” he murmured.
“Huh?”
“I was thinking May would be a good time for the ceremony because it’s your birth month, but autumn with its beautiful leaves is also a lovely option. And then there’s cherry blossom season... Oh, sorry. I got carried away again.”
“It’s okay,” I said shyly.
I’d proposed to him the other day, saying, “After I graduate, will you marry me?” and he’d been like this ever since.
“Apologies; my head’s been in the clouds. Please don’t mind my ramblings,” he said.
Behind the counter was a stack of wedding magazines filled with sticky notes. I was happy that he was looking forward to our special day, but I wished he would keep in mind that I’d said “after I graduate.” It wasn’t that I disliked his enthusiasm, but rather, it made me feel embarrassed, rushed, and overwhelmed. It was probably because I was still in my third year of university, so our wedding seemed a long way off to me.
“Ah, you may think I’m being hasty, but when it comes to marriage, it’s never too early to begin preparing,” he said, reading my mind as usual.
I coughed. What expression am I supposed to make here? I should just change the subject.
“Have you finished checking everything?” I asked.
“Yes,” Holmes said, showing me the clipboard. “I also performed an inventory audit while I was at it. Thankfully, we’ve had zero thefts. Everything matched the stock list.”
“That’s a relief,” I said, placing my hand on my chest.
Since Kura had a bit of an intimidating air to potential visitors, it was never crowded inside. That made it easy to keep an eye on what was going on.
One time, a few students had stepped inside, scanned the interior of the store, and turned to leave with dour looks on their faces. As I’d wondered why they’d left, Holmes had coldly explained, “They must have determined that theft would be impossible.” Those words had left an impression on me.
“Come to think of it, you always say ‘theft’ instead of ‘shoplifting,’” I remarked.
“Yes,” Holmes replied with a firm nod. “I don’t think it’s good to use softer words like ‘shoplifting.’ The same goes for ‘bullying.’ Crimes should be referred to as what they are: theft, assault, defamation, and so on.”
“I see. Phrasing is important, huh?”
“Exactly. Anyway, now I can go to my final apprenticeship with peace of mind.”
Starting next week, Holmes would be working at a tax consulting firm on Shijo Street for a year to obtain his tax accountant license. He already met the requirements to take the exam but wanted to gain more practical experience first. His work schedule was weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. After finishing there, he’d come to Kura and tend to the store.
“You’ll be working two jobs, right?” I murmured, concerned about his health.
“I’ll be fine. You’re juggling your work and studies too, aren’t you?”
I blinked and gave an awkward smile. “I think that’s a bit different...”
“It’s not. I’m more worried that Komatsu will request my assistance, and then I’ll be working three jobs.”
“You’re still a member of the Komatsu Detective Agency in spirit, huh?”
“It looks like I’ll be stuck with them for quite a while.”
As we were chatting, the door chime rang.
“Welcome,” I said, turning to face the door. “Oh!”
Standing there was a gorgeous woman with long black hair: Yilin Jing. She was the daughter of Zhifei Jing, a Shanghai-born businessman who was one of the richest people in the world. Her attire today was very casual, consisting of a T-shirt and jeans.
“Why, if it isn’t Yilin,” said Holmes. “Good afternoon.”
“Hello,” our guest said with a smile.
“Please have a seat,” I offered.
Yilin gave a cheerful bow and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the counter.
As Holmes served her coffee, she bashfully tucked her hair behind her ear and said, “I came here to let you two know that we’ll be seeing each other more often.”
On the opposite side of the counter, Holmes and I exchanged glances.
“What do you mean by that?” Holmes asked.
“I’ve enrolled in a master’s program at a Kyoto graduate school,” Yilin explained. “It begins in October.”
“Huh?” My eyes widened. “You’re doing a master’s at Kyoto University?!”
“No, not Kyoto University—it’s just a private university in Kyoto. And the program is only a year long...”
The school in question turned out to be quite a famous one.
“Is that so?” Holmes murmured, surprised. “Is it medicine-related?”
Yilin had studied medicine at a university in America.
“No.” She shook her head. “Meeting you two made me realize that I only chose medicine because I wanted my father to praise me. It wasn’t my true dream.” She clasped her hands atop the counter. “I gave it some serious thought and realized that as a member of the Jing family, what I really want is to help my father. So I enrolled in an economics program.”
Holmes hummed and folded his arms. “If you want to study economics, wouldn’t Penn or MIT be better?”
Yilin shrugged. “My father said the exact same thing. While I do want to be of use to him, I’m equally interested in experiencing a fun student life, which is something that can only be done right now. So I’m thinking of joining Aoi at KyoMore...”
KyoMore was short for the Make Kyoto More Beautiful Project, which was led by my university senior, Haruhiko Kajiwara, aka Akihito’s younger brother. We organized events and volunteer activities to brighten up the city of Kyoto, and membership extended beyond our school.
“Ooh, we welcome you with open arms,” I said excitedly. “That said, this part-time job keeps me busy, so I don’t participate very often.”
“Thanks. And, well, don’t worry about it. I have another, more personal, motive for coming to Kyoto...” Her cheeks and ears were slightly flushed.
I nearly gasped. Yilin chose to study in Japan because she wants to get closer to Ensho—real name Shinya Sugawara. It all makes sense now.
I immediately turned to look at Holmes and found him smiling in amusement. From the look of it, he’d already presumed as much when he’d questioned her choice of school. That’s Holmes for you—wicked as ever.
Yilin looked up at him and asked, “Would you be okay with having me here?”
“What do you mean?” Holmes tilted his head. At first glance, he seemed confused, but he undoubtedly knew exactly what she was getting at.
“I’d like to work here for a month until my program begins. I want to learn about art, and most of all, I want to get to know Aoi better. Since I only want to study, you don’t need to pay me.”
“Huh?” I blinked and placed my hand on my chest. “Me? Not Holmes?”
“Yes, I want to know more about you, Aoi.”
The look in her eyes was serious. What exactly was she so curious about?
“Very well.” Holmes nodded. “We happen to be short-staffed right now.”
He explained to her that not only would he be working at a tax consulting firm for the next year, but Rikyu was away in New York as well, leaving me and the manager to pick up the slack.
“So we’d be happy to have you work here until school begins,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you,” said Yilin. “I really appreciate it.”
“We’ll be paying you the standard part-time wage, though. It may be a trivial amount for you, but having someone work for free goes against our principles.”
Yilin stood up and bowed deeply. “I look forward to working with you.”
“Likewise,” I said, bowing back.
“You have a junior now, Aoi,” said Holmes.
“Huh?”
Yilin turned to me and bowed again. “I’m in your care, Miss Aoi.”
“Wait, what?”
Holmes grinned. “You really are her senior, Aoi.”
I’d never been in a mentoring position before. “I guess that’s technically true at Kura.”
“Yes, so please work me hard,” Yilin said with a smile.
My eyes widened. “I could never...”
Autumn was off to a happy start, but I couldn’t help but feel that, once again, something was going to happen.