It was a site that explained how to tell male and female goldfish apart. If the anal vent seemed to stick out slightly when the fish was viewed from the side, it was a female—which meant the goldfish he was looking at was a girl.
No, but only the males develop pearl organs, and I know it had those before.
Did goldfish undergo sex changes from out of nowhere? Did they turn male again if you dumped hot water on them? Was this a good old anime from the ’90s?
As he was staring fixedly at that anal vent…
“So this is where you were.”
When he turned around, Beniko was standing there.
She was wearing her familiar red-and-black Japanese maid outfit and carrying a small mountain of laundry. Her voice was a little hoarse, but at first glance, she looked the way she always did. Only…
“Whoa, wait, is it okay for you to be up?”
After all, she’d been rejecting all treatment and visitors and had refused to come out of her room. Seiji had hung bags with packaged rice porridge and jelly drinks from the convenience store on her doorknob to make himself feel better; frankly, he’d been beside himself with worry that something awful might happen to Beniko as well.
“I’m sorry to have worried you. However, I mustn’t take to my bed when no one else has.”
“Still, I mean, you shouldn’t push yourself… Wait, isn’t that my down jacket?”
“It was terribly soiled, so I thought I would send it out for cleaning.”
“Yikes. Actually, yeah, that’s a lot of soot stains and scorch marks.”
Apparently, after seeing him go three days without noticing it was covered in ash, she’d snapped and collected it. At a glance, he didn’t just appear pseudo-homeless; he looked like an arsonist fleeing the scene of the crime.
“Um, if you like, I can take it to the cleaners—”
“No, don’t trouble yourself. More importantly, this was in the pocket.” Beniko held out a familiar pack of cigarettes. Now that she mentioned it, for the past three days, the idea of smoking had completely slipped his mind.
He assumed she was going to confiscate them and give him dried squid again instead, but…
“I thought I would return them, if you’d like.”
“Huh? It’s okay if I smoke?”
“Yes, if it will make you feel better.”
In her own way, Beniko was concerned about Seiji.
It made him feel self-conscious and also pathetic. Beniko’s shock had kept her bedridden until just a few minutes ago; Seiji’s anxiety couldn’t even be a tenth of what hers was, and yet…
“I’ll go outside.”
He gave her a quick bow, then started for the entryway. Thinking he’d cool his head while he was at it, he stepped through the open door without taking a jacket.
The great sacred anise tree was right there. It was an evergreen whose leaves never turned, but now that it was autumn, it had produced star-shaped fruits that resembled anise pods.
The tree’s other name meant “wicked fruit,” and true to this, the pods were extremely poisonous. So much so that, while this was considered a sacred tree that purified evil, it was simultaneously dreaded as a symbol of death itself.
Hunching against the chill autumn wind, Seiji sat down on the approach to the front door. In what was almost an unconscious habit, he smacked the pack lightly, planning to take the cigarette that popped out, but…
“Huh?”
…none did. Something seemed to be stuck in the carton. When Seiji peeked inside, he spotted a twist of paper in among the tightly packed cigarettes.
What’s this?
Pulling it out, he unfolded it. It was a scrap about the size of his palm, with a single line of writing across its center.
I’m alive, so please don’t worry. Ask Beniko for your next instructions.
The handwriting was Shiroshi’s.
“Huh?”
For a moment, Seiji was so startled that he stopped breathing. He caught himself looking around; naturally, Shiroshi was nowhere in sight.
He can’t have sneaked back home so quietly, we didn’t notice, right?
He hastily shook his head, canceling out the ridiculous idea. No, come on, no way. At the same time, he remembered something. Three days ago, when he’d last seen Shiroshi, he was pretty sure…
“Ah, you’ve dropped something.”
“Oh, thanks.”
During that exchange, Shiroshi had handed him this pack of cigarettes. He’d just assumed they’d fallen out of his pocket when he put on his jacket, but…
Maybe this note was already in there?
Thinking back, when Seiji had gotten lost and wandered into the storehouse, his down jacket had been in the cottage the whole time. If Shiroshi had taken the pack of cigarettes from his pocket and planted the note then…
Did he know things would end up like this all along?
And even with that knowledge, he’d been certain he could survive.
Meaning…
“…He’s alive?”
No, wait. Since Seiji had no idea how he’d escaped from that hell or where he was hiding now, blindly believing this was probably the height of foolishness.
Still, trusting Shiroshi was all he could do at this point.
“Beniko!”
When he burst into the study with a shout, Beniko turned, pressing a finger to her lips. “If that’s made you feel better, I’m glad.”
At that, Seiji was pretty sure he understood.
Beniko had read the note as well. Like Seiji, she was convinced that Shiroshi was alive—that must be what was going on. That was why she’d been able to get up, when she’d been practically dead to the world before.
But…
Um, if I’m not supposed to talk about it…does that mean someone’s listening to us?
That was probably what her gesture had meant. That “someone” might be the mastermind behind this string of incidents.
Come to think of it, if Beniko had found the letter first, she could have simply told Seiji about it. The fact that she’d gone to the trouble of sending it to him in his pack of cigarettes meant that the situation had compelled her to.
“Um, Beniko, I have a favor to ask.” Going to stand directly in front of her, Seiji drew a deep breath. “Tell me what I can do, please. Just a hint is fine. If there’s even one thing…”
Unintentionally, an urgent note crept into his voice. For a moment, Beniko’s black glass eyes wavered with unexpected intensity, then she quickly looked down. “Actually, Master Shiroshi asked me to relay a message to you if you returned from your journey alone.”
“Wh-what is it?”
“Please visit Odoro’s detective agency and stay there for as long as you can.”
“…What?”
This must be what it felt like to get tricked by a fox spirit. He understood what she was saying. It was coherent Japanese, but…
“Huh? He wants me to go harass Odoro?”
“No. In fact, he would like you to be his assistant for a few days.”
“Huh?!”
His voice cracked dramatically.
He would have been able to accept it more easily if she’d told him to go to Alaska and capture a grizzly. Not to mention that this mission was just about as dangerous.
“Wh-what on earth is the point?”
“I really couldn’t say. However, he said you were the only one he could ask, Seiji.”
…Maybe he should just pretend he hadn’t heard this.
Frankly, unless he covered his ears and made a run for it right now, there was no guarantee he’d survive.
But… Seiji swallowed hard. Somewhere in there, his lips had dried out and stuck together, and he forced them apart.
“Um. Where is the Rindou Detective Agency?”