Chapter 1: Once in a Lifetime

1

At 8 a.m., I walk out into the beautiful garden and check to make sure that nothing is out of the ordinary. The area is the size of 1.5 Koshien Stadiums. The reason I don’t describe it in terms of the Tokyo Dome is because it’d become “approximately half a Tokyo Dome,” which sounds rather sad. Calling it 1.5 Koshien Stadiums gives it more prestige.

In the outer garden, which has around forty species of bamboo, there are three tearooms called Sho-in, Bai-in, and Chiku-in. There’s also a stone washbasin and the historic Ominaeshi Tomb. The flowers, bamboo, trees, and ponds are all beautifully arranged. To think that my job would be to check for issues while admiring all of this...

“Is this what it means to live in luxury?” Kiyotaka murmured as he strolled through the large garden.

“Kiyotaka!” came a man’s voice from behind him. He turned around and saw a bespectacled man in his late thirties running up to him with a good-natured smile on his face.

“Good morning, Igawa.”

“Morning, Kiyotaka. Oh, wait, I guess I should be calling you Yagashira. But saying that makes me think of your grandfather.” The man scratched his head. His name was Kyosuke Igawa, and he was one of the owner’s connections.

Kiyotaka smiled and said, “There aren’t any guests here right now, so I don’t mind being called Kiyotaka.”

“It’s hard to believe you’ve already graduated. The years go by so fast. When Mr. Yagashira said he was looking for a place to hire his grandson as a temp, I volunteered even without getting approval from the higher-ups.”

“Did they not scold you?”

“I got in a bit of trouble, but, well, Mr. Yagashira does help us out. The director seemed to want to make him owe us a favor, but I don’t think of it that way. I firmly believe that you’ll bring a breath of fresh air to Shokado Garden Art Museum. I have high hopes for you!” Igawa clenched his fist and put on a toothy grin.

“I’m glad you believe in me, but I’m not sure if I’ll be that much help.” Kiyotaka shrugged.

“No need to be humble.” Igawa patted him on the back. “People call you the Holmes of Kyoto, don’t they?”

“I don’t think that nickname has anything to do with Shokado Garden Art Museum.”

“You’re an art specialist who went to Kyoto University, and you have great looks. That’s more than enough to be helpful. By the way, Kiyotaka, you know what this is, right?”

He pointed at the stone washbasin. This type of basin was originally used to rinse one’s mouth and cleanse one’s hands before the gods, but it was later introduced into tea ceremonies as well. They were placed in teahouse gardens and built in a unique style called “tsukubai.”

“This is the Kinuta washbasin, which came from the residence of Tatsugoro Yodoya, a wealthy merchant in the Edo period,” Kiyotaka explained. “It’s said that his home was at the foot of Mount Otoko, and he used the elevation to draw water from up the mountain with a flume. He enjoyed the sound of stones dancing in the washbasin as he did, and since the sound resembled kinuta, a traditional ironing method where clothing was beaten on a smoothing stone, the washbasin was named after that.”

Igawa gaped. “I’m impressed. Did you study before coming here?”

“No, I just happened to know that.”

“I thought so. All right, you’re fine the way you are. All you have to do is answer the visitors’ questions like that. I’m counting on you!” He shook his hand firmly.

Kiyotaka’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, but he quickly bowed deeply and said, “Thank you. I’ll only be here for three months, but I look forward to working with you, Assistant Director Igawa.”

“Oh no, no need to be so formal. Anyway, have you found your way around the museum yet?”

“Yes, more or less.”

They began walking towards the building. Three days had passed since Kiyotaka had arrived at Shokado Garden Art Museum in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, as a temporary employee. There were many visitors these days because of the spring exhibition.

The museum was originally associated with Shojo Shokado, an early-Edo monk of Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine. The famous “Shokado bento box” was also named after Shojo Shokado.

“But you know, a lot of people ask who Shojo Shokado is,” Igawa said, slumping his shoulders.

“Ah. As a literary monk, he was one of the ‘Three Brushes of the Kan’ei Era,’ but he wasn’t as significant as the other two, Nobutada Konoe and Koetsu Hon’ami.”

“Right. Why do you think that is?”

“He may have been driven away by the Rinpa school’s momentum.”

“Oh, Rinpa...” Igawa gazed into the distance, squinting as if he were looking at something very bright.

“Isn’t it this museum’s job to make his name known to the world?”

“Yes, you’re right. Let’s do our best together for these next three months, Kiyotaka.” He shook Kiyotaka’s hand again.

“Of course.” Kiyotaka nodded.

2

“Oh, Holmes went to Shokado Museum?”

It was lunchtime, and as usual, Kaori and I had met up at the university cafeteria. I’d been telling her about how Holmes had gone to his first training place, Shokado Garden Art Museum in Yawata.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she said without inflection, “You called it a long-distance relationship, but Yawata is totally close. Just get on the Keihan Line and go.”

“Distance-wise it’s not far since it’s still in Kyoto Prefecture, but it doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to meet up much.” I sighed and bit into my sandwich.

“How come?”

“The museum is open on the weekends—it’s only closed on Mondays. Plus, Holmes got kicked out of the house. He’s living in a weekly rental apartment in Yawata.”

“Whaaat?! He even got kicked out from home? Seiji’s serious about this, huh? Was Holmes depressed?”

“He was actually the complete opposite. He was happy and said, ‘I’ve always wanted to live by myself. I’m finally free from the ghosts.’”

“Ghosts?” Kaori’s hand rose to her mouth. “So, why’d he go to that museum first?”

“Apparently, a lot of places wanted him, but that was one of the first to respond. He also said, ‘It’s neither hot nor cold right now—the perfect weather for working in that garden. I couldn’t be happier,’” I said, imitating his tone of voice and gestures.

Kaori laughed and said, “You sound like him.”

“If Holmes is that happy to work there, it must be a really nice garden,” I murmured.

Kaori looked at me, surprised. “You’ve never been there?”

“I’ve never even heard of it until now.”

“Oh, I went there when I was in middle school. My parents took us for Shokado’s tenth-anniversary exhibit. The garden really is great. Oh right, that’s where I became enlightened.”

“Enlightened?” Did I mishear her?

“Yep. At the time, I couldn’t decide what to do. The family business was doing badly, so I was agonizing over whether to continue on to a private high school or switch to a public one. I kept asking myself stuff like, ‘If I go from a private school to a public school, will people find out that our shop is in the red?’ ‘Will it be embarrassing?’ ‘Do I really have to consider all of this for my parents’ sake?’”

I completely understood the inner conflict she had faced at the time.

“But like, as I was walking around Shokado’s garden and thinking, the flowers and bamboo were so beautiful that they cleansed my heart. It made me realize, ‘I keep thinking it’s for my parents’ sake, but in reality, I want to switch to a public school because private schools don’t feel right for me.’ Once I realized I was only using my parents as an excuse, I decided to go to Oki High.”

“That really is enlightenment.” I nodded, impressed.

“Now I feel like going there again. You’re going to visit Shokado while Holmes is there, right?”

I smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to answer that.

“What, you aren’t?”

“I don’t know if it’s okay for me to go for fun when Holmes is there for training.”

No matter how excited he was, he had still been kicked out of his home. He was working and living in an unfamiliar city. He wasn’t there to play.

Kaori nodded. “Oh, I know!” She clapped her hands. “Why don’t we go in secret, then?”

“Secret?”

“We’ll check out the garden, sneak a peek inside the museum, and leave without saying hi to him. That would be fine, right?”

“That might work.”

“Let’s go on a weekend when you don’t have to be at the shop.”

“Okay. I might be able to take Saturday off, since the manager will be there.”

“We’ll make it Saturday, then.”

“Sounds good.”

We excitedly took out our phones and started looking up directions to the museum.

* * *

Though it was a museum, the office for desk work was no different from any other business. There were rows of desks with piles of papers and books on them.

“May I have everyone’s attention?” Igawa said upon entering the room. “We’re going to have a short meeting.”

“Sure,” responded the staff members.

“A meeting?” Kiyotaka, who had been perusing a list of past exhibitions, looked up and gave a small nod. As a temporary employee, he was always going to feel excluded. Still, if I do what I can to be of use...

Igawa came up behind him and put his hands on the young man’s shoulders. “The subject of the meeting is Kiyo—er, Yagashira here. As you’re all aware, he’s the grandson and apprentice of the famous nationally certified appraiser Seiji Yagashira. He’s also an elite, thoroughbred art specialist from Kyoto University’s graduate school. As you can see, he’s been blessed with handsome looks as well. However, he’ll only be with us for three months. What tasks do you think we should give him?”

Kiyotaka blinked. One of the female curators quickly raised her hand.

“Oh, that was fast,” Igawa said. “Go ahead, Suginami.”

The woman, who was in her mid-twenties, stood up and cleared her throat. She had medium-long black hair and a slender face. She introduced herself as Harumi Suginami and said, “Currently, we are working on an initiative to have curators give lectures at our museum. I’d love to ask Yagashira to give a lecture.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Yagashira has a lot of contacts in the art industry too, so I’m hoping he can help us pick out people who might be willing to lend us display pieces and negotiate with them,” added a male curator.

Igawa sighed. “He’s right. We’re a municipal museum with a limited budget. Whenever there’s an exhibition, we go to various museums and borrow pieces to display, but most of the time they only lend them to us out of goodwill. When we borrow from individuals, we really can’t repay them with anything other than gratitude. Mr. Yagashira lends us pieces and even says, ‘You can thank me with a Shokado bento,’ which we really appreciate.”

Other staff members added their input:

“Yeah, we have seasonal exhibitions, so if you could borrow display pieces that would make people want to come...”

“Our director’s running around every day trying to find things.”

“I see,” said Kiyotaka. “All right. I don’t know how much help I can be, but I’ll ask around. In the worst case, you can borrow some of our things.”

“Huh? Like what?”

“As far as centerpieces go, we have Chinese celadon ware and a Shino tea bowl. However, I would have to get my grandfather’s permission, so please don’t get your hopes up. He’s never lent out those two pieces before. If he says no, we have several Raku and Ninsei tea bowls as well as a cloisonne vase and a Taikan hanging scroll, among others.”

“Um, aren’t those all centerpiece-worthy?” Suginami murmured.

Everyone burst out laughing.

After the meeting, Kiyotaka left the office and noticed a crowd in the hall in front of the museum entrance. He frowned at the squealing girls. Is a celebrity here or something?

“Holmes! Hey, I finally found you!” came a familiar voice. Kiyotaka looked and saw Akihito Kajiwara blatantly pointing at him.

“Could you refrain from pointing at people?”

“I’m upset. I came all this way, looked all around the museum, and ran around the whole garden, but I couldn’t find you.”

“I was in the office like I was supposed to be.”

“I’m not upset because I couldn’t find you!”

“I have no idea what you’re trying to say. Could you organize your thoughts before speaking?”

“Yeah. Okay, I’m done. My question is, why are you here?”

“I see that your organization skills are messy,” Kiyotaka said, facepalming. “You should already know that my grandfather sent me away for training.”

“Yeah, of course. I stepped forward right away and said you could be my manager. I even got permission from my agency, but you turned down my offer.”

“Yes.” Kiyotaka nodded, expression unchanging.

“Why did you reject my job for this?!” Akihito exclaimed, holding his hands out.

Finally realizing what the young actor was getting at, Kiyotaka gave him an exasperated look. “Because working at this museum was several times—no, several hundreds of times—more appealing than being your manager.”

“Are you an idiot?”

“You’re the last person I want to hear calling me an idiot.”

“But I mean, you go to museums all the time. You should take this rare opportunity to experience different worlds. I doubt you’ll ever get the chance to be a celebrity’s manager again.”

“You’re actually making a bit of sense for once, but the issue here is a difference in values. I’m perfectly fine with never being your manager for the rest of my life.”

“What was that, you little punk?!”

“We’re in a museum. Please keep your voice down,” Kiyotaka said, raising his index finger. He looked around and apologized to the onlookers, who blushed, fascinated by the exchange.

Once their little dispute was over, the spectators timidly approached Akihito. The women in front asked:

“U-Um, you’re Akihito Kajiwara, right?”

“Can we take a picture?”

Akihito grinned and said, “Sure, as many as you want!” He quickly made a social media-style pose.

As the women squealed, Kiyotaka sighed and slumped his shoulders.

“K-Kiyotaka!” shouted Igawa and Suginami, running up to him with shocked looks on their faces.

“I’m very sorry. A loud person found his way in here, but I’ll have him leave right away.” He grabbed Akihito’s head and forced him to bow.

“That hurts, Holmes!”

Igawa and Suginami shook their heads and exclaimed, starry-eyed:

“You’re Akihito Kajiwara, the popular, handsome actor, right?!”

“Yes, the one on A Fine Day in Kyoto!”

“Yep, that’s me, Akihito Kajiwara. Thanks for looking after my best friend.” This time it was Akihito’s turn to grab Kiyotaka’s head and make him bow.

“B-Best friend?” Suginami put her hand over her mouth and blushed.

Akihito nodded firmly. “Yeah. This guy seems like he’s got his stuff together, but sometimes he’s pretty worrying.” He put his hand around Kiyotaka’s shoulder and pulled him close, eliciting high-pitched cheers from their audience.

Meanwhile, Kiyotaka’s expression was colder than it had ever been.

“This is the pride of Shokado Garden Art Museum, the garden associated with Shojo Shokado,” Kiyotaka explained in a cold, robotic manner.

“Ooh,” Akihito said, walking with his hands behind his head as usual.

A few minutes prior, Igawa had issued an executive order—“Kiyotaka! By all means, please give Kajiwara a tour of our museum!”—which Kiyotaka had begrudgingly obeyed.

“Who is Shojo Shokado, anyway?” Akihito asked, turning to look at him.

Kiyotaka sighed as if he’d seen this coming. “Do you know of Koetsu Hon’ami?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard the name. He’s the Rinpa guy, right?”

“Yes. Shokado was a literary monk on the same level as Koetsu Hon’ami.”

“A monk? Like, a Buddhist one?”

“Yes, he was a monk of Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine and the head of Takimotobo Temple.”

“Why did a shrine have a Buddhist monk?”

“Iwashimizu Hachimangu used to be a mixed shrine and temple, and before the Meiji period, it had a stronger Buddhist influence. It is now a shrine, though.”

“Oh.”

“Shokado was a calligrapher and showed excellent talent in a wide range of other fields, including painting, poetry, and the art of tea ceremony. During his final years of life, he built a tearoom hut and retired there, but...”

“Oh, and that’s where we are right now?”

“No, after centuries passed, the time came when it had to be taken down. Yawata’s culturists spent Meiji 24 to 31 moving the Shokado hut and the Izumibo study here in order to preserve them.”

“Ooh, good on them.”

“Indeed, I think they did a wonderful thing. And so this place was named Shokado Garden.”

Despite his initial reluctance, Kiyotaka soon returned to his usual state thanks to Akihito’s enthusiastic questions. They continued walking towards the three tearooms in the garden.

“Yagashira,” called out Suginami, who was jogging up to them.

The two young men stopped and turned around. Behind the out-of-breath curator were five men and women of varying ages. None of them looked familiar.

Kiyotaka gave them a slight bow and looked at Suginami. “Who are they?”

“Temporary volunteers,” she said with a smile before proceeding to introduce them.

First was Ryo Ishida, a second-year middle school student who was taking part in his school’s work experience program.

Next were Koichi Takeda and Rie Maeda, first-year university students who had come as part of their studies.

Then there was Yoriko Hosokawa, a housewife in her early thirties who lived in the neighborhood.

Last was Akio Hashimoto, who had just retired.

“They’ll be here for the next five days,” Suginami continued. “I was hoping you could accompany them as part of your training.”

The five people bowed.

“Sure, if you’re fine with me,” Kiyotaka said, smiling and placing his hand on his chest.

The women blushed. Akihito, wanting to be the center of attention, pushed him aside and stepped forward.

“All right, let’s all listen to Holmes’s lecture!”

“Um, you’re Akihito Kajiwara, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean by ‘Holmes’?”

Everyone looked bewildered and started asking questions like “Why is the famous actor Akihito Kajiwara here?” and “Why is Akihito Kajiwara calling this person Holmes?”

Kiyotaka immediately answered, “I was given the nickname ‘Holmes’ because my surname is Yagashira, written with the characters for ‘home’ and ‘head.’”

“And he really is amazing like Holmes,” Akihito added. “I’m here today because I’m his best friend.” He put his hand on Kiyotaka’s shoulder again.

The volunteers looked at each other with smiles on their faces, saying things like, “I think we got lucky today.”

“You don’t have to put your hand on my shoulder for every little thing,” Kiyotaka said, brushing Akihito’s hand away. “Anyway, let me show you all around. Please come this way.” He started walking towards the tearooms.

They toured the Bai-in, Sho-in, and Chiku-in tearooms. The one that received the biggest reaction was Sho-in, which was a recreation of Kan’unken, the tearoom that Enshu Kobori had built for Shojo Shokado. It consisted of an entranceway, an eight-tatami-mat reception hall, a four-tatami-mat tea ceremony room, and a kitchen. The view of the garden from the windows was especially beautiful. Everyone stood there in awe.

“Ahh, my heart is being soothed,” Akihito said, gazing at the garden and spreading out his arms. Everyone giggled at him. “But you know, if this was in the middle of Kyoto, I bet it’d be so crowded that you couldn’t get in.”

“You’re right,” Kiyotaka said. “It’s a little-known treasure. Even better, these three tearooms can be rented. The cost varies depending on the room, but I believe it ranges from fifteen to twenty-five thousand yen per day.”

“Huh?” Everyone blinked.

“Th-This place can be rented out?”

“It’s cheaper than I would’ve expected...”

“Yes,” Kiyotaka answered. “And if you’re only using it for three hours, the price is halved. You can rent it as a large group and have a tea ceremony, bring your ikebana club here, or even hold an engagement party.”

Murmurs of fascination came from the group as he continued to promote the tearooms.

After leaving the tearoom, they went to Shokado’s hut, followed by Izumibo’s reception hall, which was said to have been a donation from the great Hideaki Kobayakawa. Kiyotaka explained the story of the Kinuta washbasin to them, and after a walk around the outer garden, the tour was finished. Then, Igawa took the five volunteers to Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine for training. Kiyotaka was tasked with entertaining their guest, so he brought Akihito to the traditional Japanese restaurant adjacent to the museum, Kyoto Kitcho, where they could eat Shokado bento.

Akihito grinned once they were seated. “Thanks to me, you get to eat Shokado bento. Aren’t you glad?”

Kiyotaka sighed. “You’re being entertained as a guest, but I’m paying for my own share.”

“Wait, really?”

“This is a small municipal museum. Be grateful that they’re showing you this much hospitality at all. Well, even though I have to pay for myself, I am happy to be able to eat Shokado bento at Kitcho.” He smiled cheerfully as he looked out the window at the beautiful garden.

“Thinking about it that way, I’m surprised they’d hire you, even as a temp.”

“Indeed. I’ll have to make myself as useful as possible.”

“Like that tour just now?”

“That’s part of it, but I want to help improve their profits in a more definite way.”

“How’re you gonna do that?”

“The best way would be to borrow my grandfather’s prized celadon and Shino tea bowl.”

“That’s a piece of cake.”

“Not necessarily. My grandfather has never lent those pieces out before. If someone wants to see them, they have to come to Kura or the Yagashira estate. It became an even touchier subject after Ensho stole the tea bowl. He doesn’t even let my father borrow them anymore.”

“Huh, didn’t know that.”

As they were talking, their Shokado bento boxes were brought to them with a “Thank you for waiting.”

“Nice, they’re here. Come to think of it, I didn’t know until today that the Shokado bento was named after a monk called Shojo Shokado,” remarked Akihito.

“Apparently, Shojo Shokado originally used a farmer’s seed box as a tobacco tray and an accessory case for tea ceremonies. In the early Showa period, the founder of Kitcho, Teiichi Yuki, went to a tea ceremony at one of Shokado’s historic places. He saw the box in the corner of the room and thought, ‘What if I used this as a food container?’ After some design work, he came up with the Shokado bento.”

“Oh, so that’s why Kitcho is right next door.”

“Yes. Being able to eat a Shokado bento while admiring this view is true happiness.” Kiyotaka chuckled and opened the lid of his bento. The square, black-lacquered box was divided into four sections containing simmered vegetables, sashimi, grilled meat, and sesame tofu, respectively. On the side, there was rice, soup, and pickled vegetables.

“This is so fancy. I would’ve been totally fine with pork cutlet.”

“I suppose you’re too young to appreciate this.”

“What? I’m older than you.”

“I guess. At any rate, someone who wants to stuff his mouth with calorie-rich food won’t understand the appeal of Shokado bento. The delicate cut of the decorative knife, the careful arrangement, the presentation of the food, the way the ingredients’ natural flavors are leveraged, and the elegant, healthy seasoning—it’s all so moving. You’re meant to savor each and every piece while gazing at the beautiful garden.” Kiyotaka put his hands together, gave thanks for the meal, and took a bite of the sesame tofu.

“Huh. Well, guess I’ll get started too,” Akihito said, copying his best friend and starting with the sesame tofu. His eyes widened. “Oh, this really is good.”

“Right?” Kiyotaka nodded.

When they finished eating, Akihito murmured, “Shokado Museum and Shokado bento, huh? Not bad. I might suggest them.”

Kiyotaka looked up at him. “For A Fine Day in Kyoto?” That was the name of Akihito’s five-minute travel program, which was still airing after all this time. At first, Akihito had imitated Kiyotaka’s mannerisms for the show, but ever since his true nature had been exposed, he appeared on the program in his natural state. That had actually resulted in a bigger response from the viewers, and it had become quite a popular show. People joked about how the Akihito in episode one was a completely different person from the current Akihito.

“Yeah, they ask for my input a lot. Even though the show’s supposed to be based in the city, if I say I wanna present Kinosaki and Amanohashidate, they’ll go, ‘That sounds great!’ and set things up right away.”

“Yes, I do recall viewers being surprised that you suddenly went outside the prefecture—to northern Kansai, no less. I think introducing this place is a good idea. It’d be nice if more people knew the name of Shojo Shokado.”

“Right? People only know it as the name of a bento box.”

“When we’re finished here, I’ll show you around the museum. You can discuss the program with Igawa when he returns.”

“Sure.” Akihito leaned forward slightly. “So, how’re things with Aoi lately?”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s finally in university, which means you don’t have to hold back anymore, right? She just started school, so make sure not to get her pregnant.” He grinned mischievously.

Kiyotaka sighed. “I can’t believe you’re concerned about that.”

“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, but you’re a total mess when it comes to Aoi.”

“I won’t deny that, but there isn’t anything happening to warrant such a concern in the first place,” he said casually as he continued to eat.

Akihito froze. “Huh? You still haven’t done it?”

Kiyotaka remained silent.

“If you’re having physical problems at your age, you should see a doctor,” Akihito whispered in a sympathetic voice.

Kiyotaka choked. “No, that’s not it. If anything, it’s a mental problem.”

“It doesn’t work because you’re too nervous?”

“That’s not it either... Aoi is truly a wonderful woman, isn’t she?”

“S-Sure? I dunno. She’s okay in my eyes. A little above average.”

“She’s constantly improving herself, and she’s very accepting. It makes me wonder if it’s okay for me to touch such an amazing woman.” He sighed.

Akihito’s eyes widened. He wanted to say, “No, in my eyes, you’re way above her level,” but he kept his mouth shut. Everyone has different tastes. He nodded and instead said, “I get that you think she’s amazing, but why do you think so little of yourself?”

“Do you remember what I accidentally told you at Nanzen-ji Temple when we were looking at the aqueduct?”

“Oh, when you said you’d had your heart broken and started preferring ‘short-term relationships with people who wouldn’t try to get deeply involved’?”

“You remember it more precisely than I expected.”

“What can I say, it made a strong impact. Anyway, what about it?”

“I’m definitely a much worse man than Aoi thinks I am. I don’t know if I should advance our relationship while hiding that.”

“Then don’t hide it?”

“I’m sure she’ll hate me.” Kiyotaka lowered his eyes.

“You’re a real pain, you know that? First of all, men are made to prioritize their instincts. Even if girls think that’s disgusting, that’s just how we are. I don’t know what you got up to in the past, but it’s not like you’re betraying Aoi right now, so why do you care? Are you stupid?”

Akihito bit into his dessert, seeming genuinely exasperated. Kiyotaka blinked in surprise.

“What’s with that look?” Akihito asked.

“I was just thinking that you actually made a good point.”

“Well, we’re best friends, after all.”

Kiyotaka shrugged and said nothing.

“You know, you’ve stopped denying it when I call us best friends,” Akihito said with a grin.

Kiyotaka choked again.

3

“Huh?” Suginami blinked in surprise. “Kajiwara will be coming back?”

A few hours after Akihito left, Kiyotaka went to Suginami’s desk to inform her of the plan.

“Yes, he’s looking into having this place featured on A Fine Day in Kyoto. When we told Igawa, he asked if Iwashimizu Hachimangu could be included as well.”

Suginami nodded in agreement. “Yes, of course. We’re under their jurisdiction, and they provide us with a lot of help.”

“So then Igawa offered to give Akihito a tour of Iwashimizu Hachimangu, but Akihito had to take the evening shinkansen to Tokyo for work.”

“That’s the life of a celeb, huh?”

“However, he has a late-night radio show to attend in Osaka this Saturday, so he’ll be back in Kansai during the day. He’ll come by for the shrine tour then and then suggest it to the program staff.”

“Wow!” Suginami’s eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands together. “So if all goes well, Shokado and Hachimangu will be on A Fine Day in Kyoto? That show is popular with young people, so that’s great.”

“Yes, indeed.” Kiyotaka smiled. But I’ll have to work as that man’s manager for the whole day, and that makes me depressed.

“Kajiwara seems like a modern-day playboy, but he’s passionate about his work too, huh?”

“He is most certainly a modern-day playboy, but yes, he puts all of his effort into everything.”

Suginami laughed. “Oh, so you do acknowledge that side of him?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Kiyotaka replied with a forced smile.

She laughed again. “You’re such a tsundere.”

Kiyotaka tilted his head. “I wouldn’t say that either.”

Suginami smiled softly and rested her chin on her hand. “Igawa must be so excited.”

“Yes, he immediately ran to Hachimangu to let them know.”

“But he just got back from taking the volunteers there.” She giggled and remembered the five volunteers who were still sitting at a nearby table, making notes. “What did you think of Iwashimizu Hachimangu, everyone?”

The group hadn’t expected to be addressed, but their looks of surprise quickly turned to smiles.

“Oh, it was wonderful,” said Yoriko Hosokawa, the housewife.

The university students, Rie Maeda and Koichi Takeda, nodded, saying:

“Even though I’d read about it before, I was surprised by how much I could feel the history there after going in person.”

“Yeah, like the hallway Taira no Kiyomori used as a waiting room, and the gold rain gutter donated by Nobunaga.”

“Yes!”

Suginami smiled at the two and asked, “Hey, are you a couple?”

They looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Oh, no,” said Maeda.

“We’re in the same group at university,” Takeda explained.

“Yes, that’s all.”

“Which group?” asked Suginami.

“It’s a group that researches Japanese history and spiritual places.”

“We did choose to volunteer here to learn about Shojo Shokado, but another reason was that we’d receive training at Iwashimizu Hachimangu.”

“I see,” said Suginami. “May I ask why the rest of you chose us? What about you, Ishida? Why did you pick this place for your school’s work experience program?”

The youngest of the group, Ryo Ishida, was a shy second-year middle schooler. He immediately looked down and mumbled, “I’m in the art club and I like museums. Also, I was interested in training at Iwashimizu Hachimangu.” His voice was extremely soft but just barely audible.

“Ooh, I see.”

“I used to want to be a curator, but that dream never came true. Soon after getting married and moving to Yawata City, I found out this place was looking for volunteers and instinctively jumped at the chance,” said the housewife, Yoriko Hosokawa, with an energetic smile.

“My case is a little similar,” said Akio Hashimoto, the last person in the group. “I’ve always lived in Yawata, but after mandatory retirement, I had too much free time on my hands. I saw the recruitment and thought it’d be nice to work at a museum. I was also fond of Shokado Garden to begin with.”

Suginami bowed and said, “Thank you, everyone. I look forward to working with you this week.”

After that, Suginami left to look around the museum. Kiyotaka stood up and went to make coffee before getting started on the document filing he’d been tasked with. He also made coffee for the five volunteers while he was at it.

“Here you are,” he said, placing the cups in front of them.

Ishida, who was in the middle of drawing something, jolted up.

“Oh, sorry for startling you. You were concentrating, weren’t you?”

“Um, it’s okay.” The middle school student hid his work.

“What were you drawing?”

Ishida timidly showed Kiyotaka his sketchbook, which had a drawing of the Bai-in tearoom.

“You drew this based on memory? That’s impressive.”

“I-It’s not impressive.” The boy blushed and looked down.

“Yes, it is.”

“M-Mom tells me to stop drawing all the time, and dad says I’m weak because boys are supposed to play sports,” he muttered.

The other volunteers looked at him sympathetically, but Kiyotaka smiled and said, “Oh, that’s good.” Everyone widened their eyes.

“H-How come?”

“Perhaps it’d be ideal if they understood you and let you draw all you wanted, but being opposed and restrained isn’t as bad as you think it is. It enhances your desire to draw and further develops your talent. Try to draw with the limited time you have, and don’t waste any opportunities like this work experience. You really are impressive. One day, you might look back and be grateful that your parents held you back,” Kiyotaka explained with a smile.

Ishida was at a loss for words.

“Listen, Ishida,” Kiyotaka continued, peering into the boy’s face, “the trick is to use everything in your environment to your advantage. If you do that, your life will change in interesting ways.”

Ishida gaped at him.

“Uh, is it just me or did it get colder in here?” remarked Takeda.

“Y-Yeah, I feel like I just had a divine revelation,” replied Maeda, rubbing her arms. And it wasn’t from an angel.

“What have you two been so absorbed in?” Kiyotaka asked, turning to face the two university students.

“They’re just normal reports,” said Takeda, smiling.

“Yes, one about Shokado Garden and the art museum and one about Iwashimizu Hachimangu. The one about the shrine is separate because it’ll be published by our group,” said Maeda, showing Kiyotaka the notebook for the latter. It said “No. 8” on the cover and had tabs sticking out with the names of previously visited shrines on them: Tokiwa Shrine (Ibaraki), Biyo Shrine (Aichi), Nanryu Shrine (Mie), and Susa Shrine (Wakayama).

“Could you look over my notes too, Yagashira?” Hashimoto asked eagerly, opening his notebook.

What can we do to bring more tourism to Shokado Garden Art Museum, Iwashimizu Hachimangu, and Yawata City as a whole?

Have a citywide stamp rally

Allow more unrestricted photography in the museum to improve word-of-mouth on social media

Kiyotaka was impressed. The suggestions were quite novel for someone who was past retirement age. “These are interesting ideas,” he said.

“Yawata’s my hometown, but I worked in another prefecture in the tourism industry,” Hashimoto explained with a laugh. “Also, I was impressed when I saw that actor letting people take his photo. He didn’t seem annoyed at all. I looked on social media and saw that people posted the pictures, saying, ‘Akihito Kajiwara’s really good-looking, and he’s friendly and nice too.’ It’s amazing how fast news can travel. I wonder if that was his goal all along,” he murmured, looking down at his phone.

Kiyotaka shrugged. “He probably does it unconsciously.”

Hosokawa, the housewife, looked at her own notes dejectedly. “I’ve only written a summary of the training we received today.”

“Don’t worry, Hosokawa, that’s normal,” Hashimoto said, laughing.

After that, everyone went back to their work.

4

Kyoto Prefectural University was closer to my house than Oki High, so I continued to commute by bicycle. I didn’t go straight home after school, though. Instead, I biked south down Shimogamo Center Street, turned west onto Imadegawa Street, and then immediately turned south again onto Teramachi Street. I continued down, passing by the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden on my right and the Kyoto City Historical Museum on my left. Eventually I reached city hall, which was right by the entrance of the Teramachi Specialist Shops street. As usual, I parked my bike in the designated area on Oike Street and entered the shopping arcade on foot. Walking here and looking at the stationery shops, art galleries, and coffee shops soothed my heart. For some reason, it felt like I’d returned to my hometown.

Before long, I reached Kura. The “We buy and appraise” sign had been taken down for the time being. I understood why Holmes couldn’t be there, but it still felt a bit lonely. I sighed, pulled myself together, and opened the door. As usual, the chime rang.

Oddly enough, the owner was sitting at the counter. He was supposed to be taking care of the store in Holmes’s absence, but this was only the second time I had seen him here since Holmes had left.

I was about to greet him but stopped upon realizing that Holmes was sitting across from the owner. My heart leaped with joy, but before I could say anything, I noticed the serious looks on their faces.

“Is there no way to change your mind?” Holmes asked.

“I’m grateful that they were willing to hire you, but this is a separate issue. I ain’t lending them the celadon and Shino tea bowl. You know better than anyone that I’ve never lent them out anywhere.”

“Yes, because they’re the Yagashira family treasures. But it only needs to be for a day. I’ll guard them carefully.”

The owner shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything coming from someone who let a corrupt monk steal the tea bowl.”

Apparently, Holmes had come to negotiate with Kura as a museum employee. The unexpected tension had my heart beating fast.

“There’re other places with Shino tea bowls anyway,” continued the owner. “What’re you gonna get out of displaying it for a day?”

Holmes placed a brown envelope on the counter and stood up. “This is the plan I came up with. I’ll leave it here, so please consider it.”

“I don’t know what kind of plan this is, but you ain’t getting them. Anything else is fine.”

Holmes didn’t respond to that. He bowed, saying, “I’ll be taking my leave,” and turned around. At last, our eyes met. Knowing him, he’d probably realized that I’d entered the store even though his back was turned.

He smiled, and I could almost see flowers blooming around him. “Hello, Aoi. Sorry for burdening you with the store while I’m away.”

“It’s okay. You’re working hard, right?” He really looks like a working adult in that suit and tie.

“Aoi,” he said, extending a hand towards me.

“Did Shokado’s representative come here to play around?” snapped the owner.

Holmes quietly clicked his tongue and said to me, “We’ll talk next time. I’ll call you in the meantime.” He smiled, his eyes narrowing into arcs.

“Okay, I’ll wait.” I smiled back.

He clenched his fist. “You really are cute today, Aoi. Your smile heals my soul. Um, do you mind if I pet your head?”

“Get out already!” the owner shouted.

Holmes frowned and left the store. Once he was out of sight, the owner held up his hand and said, “Sorry about that, Aoi.”

“It’s okay.”

“I’m glad that maniac has someone like you in his life, but when I see him acting like some perv, it really grinds my gears. When a man’s crazy for a girl, he ain’t supposed to let it show like that. Ugh, it’s embarrassing to watch. Makes me wanna perform a purifying ritual.”

As usual, the owner was brutally honest. He also had an old-fashioned mindset. He picked up the envelope and took out Holmes’s proposal.

“Like I told him, there’re other places with Shino tea bowls. He just wants to take the easy way out by asking family,” he grumbled. But upon looking through the proposal, he closed his mouth and squinted. “Oh?”

What kind of plan is it? I wondered as I put on my apron.

The owner suddenly broke into a smile, seeming to have read my mind. “What a crafty man. Who does he take after?” Despite his words, he seemed happy, which put a smile on my face too.

“Who does he take after?”

“The craftiness comes from me. His looks are from Kiyomi. He’s the spitting image of her.”

“Kiyomi?”

“That’s his mother’s name. She was a really pretty lady.” He cast his eyes down with a glum look on his face.

Holmes’s mother had passed away when he was two years old. Knowing the owner, he had probably doted on his daughter-in-law very much. My heart ached seeing him like that.

Holmes is the spitting image of his mother... I wish I could’ve met her.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you sad,” he said.

I shook my head. “Um, so what’s his plan?” I asked hesitantly, not knowing if I was allowed to.

“Take a look.” He showed me the proposal.

“Oh, I see what you mean.” The first headline that jumped out at me told me everything I needed to know.

“Seriously, what a crafty man.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his dramatic shrug.

5

At last, it was Saturday. Kaori and I met up at Demachiyanagi Station so that we could take the Keihan Line to Kuzuha Station. The plan was to arrive at the museum at 10 a.m. Since Kaori lived in Nishijin, Demachiyanagi Station wasn’t close to her, but there was a reason she had chosen this station.

“I’ve always wanted to try riding in the premium car. Will you join me, Aoi?” she asked, blushing with her fists clenched.

“The premium car?” I tilted my head.

Kaori’s eyes widened. “You haven’t heard of it? It’s like the Keihan Line’s version of the shinkansen’s green car. From Demachiyanagi to Kuzuha, it’s only an extra four hundred yen. I really want to sit in that kind of special seat just once.” She clasped her hands together with a dreamy look on her face, then snapped back to reality and looked at me. “Oh, but if you don’t think it’s worth it, that’s fine.”

“No, I think an extra four hundred yen to experience a special-class seat is a good deal. Let’s do it.”

Holmes often says, “I’m willing to spend money for experiences that will benefit me,” and I guess that rubbed off on me.

“Thanks! Let’s buy the tickets now.” She smiled happily and set off for the ticketing area.

We boarded the premium car and sat down next to each other.

“Ooh, the seats really are comfy,” Kaori said, putting a hand over her mouth and giggling. “I could get used to this.”

“Wow, there are even power outlets and Wi-Fi here,” I remarked.

She nodded proudly. “Yep, and the seats recline. We’ll be living in luxury until Kuzuha Station.”

Seeing her this way made me smile. “You’re sort of reminding me of Holmes.”

“Uh, I don’t know how I feel about that,” she said with a genuinely conflicted expression. I couldn’t help but giggle.

We departed from Demachiyanagi Station at 9:08 a.m. and arrived at Kuzuha Station in under thirty minutes. Our “life of luxury” was short-lived but great nonetheless. We got off the train with smiles on our faces.

The closest stations to Shokado Garden Art Museum were Yawatashi Station and Kuzuha Station. We had chosen the latter because it was more accessible and had more buses.

“Oh, the bus is here,” I said. It had arrived just as we reached the stop.

“You’re right.”

We boarded the bus and reached Oshiba Shokadomae in about ten minutes. That was the closest stop to the museum.

“I’m glad the weather’s nice,” Kaori commented.

It was just past opening time, and the museum still seemed empty. Since Holmes wasn’t supposed to know we were there, I was wearing a hat pulled over my eyes and a wavy wig. Kaori had gone for a boyish look with fake glasses and all of her hair pulled up in a newsboy cap.

We decided to look at the garden first. On the way to the information desk, I glanced at a notice board and my eyes widened.

Learn From a Curator!

A lecture about Shojo Shokado will be presented by Kiyotaka Yagashira, Kyoto University graduate and grandson-apprentice of the nationally certified appraiser, Seiji Yagashira.

Time: 11:20 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.

Location: First floor training room

The poster even had a photo of Holmes on it.

“Holmes really is good-looking in this picture, huh? Did you know this was happening, Aoi?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You guys talk on the phone, don’t you?”

“We mostly talk about silly things, not his work.”

“Silly as in flirting?”

“Oh, no... It’s normal small talk.” I looked down to hide my flushed cheeks.

“Anyway, this is good timing, isn’t it? After we look around the garden, we can sneak into the lecture.”

“Yeah, let’s sit in the back and listen.”

We excitedly bought our tickets and went to the garden where Kaori had become enlightened in middle school. It was an elegant Japanese garden that was both beautiful and soothing. We visited the tearooms and talked about how nice it would be to drink tea or arrange flowers there. When we reached Ominaeshi Tomb, the setting of the tragic Noh play, Ominaeshi, we both put our hands together in prayer.

“Hey, do you know the story of Ominaeshi, Kaori?”

“If I remember correctly, it’s about a woman who comes here because she misses her lover, who she met in the city. She finds out that he’s already in a relationship with another woman, and she’s so shocked that she throws herself into the Namida River.”

“Oh, that’s terrible.”

“Then the man’s guilty conscience pushes him to kill himself too. It’s a tragic love story.”

“I’m...not sure how to feel about that.”

“Yeah.”

We left the tomb and went to the camellia garden on the west side. The camellias weren’t actually in bloom, but the bamboo thicket was breathtakingly beautiful.

“It feels so refreshing,” I said.

“Yeah, I think I feel enlightenment coming again.”

“What’s it about this time?”

“I was thinking it’d be nice to have a boyfriend and wondered if I should be more proactive in finding one.”

“Ooh.”

“But it’s telling me to stop pushing myself to be someone I’m not. I should enjoy my life as it is now.”

“Yeah, it’s not good to force it.”

“Right?”

We continued to chat as we walked, and before we knew it, it was almost time for Holmes’s lecture to begin. We hadn’t realized how much time had passed, so we hurriedly lowered our hats and sped to the first-floor training room.

* * *

Kiyotaka was sipping coffee while looking over his lecture notes in the office.

“It’s finally time,” said Igawa, anxiously pacing around the area. “A lot of people came for the lecture. Are you nervous?”

“Yes, I’m very nervous, but I’ll try my best.” Kiyotaka put his cup down and smiled.

He has to be lying, thought everyone else in the office, with the exception of Igawa, who said, “Right, of course you get nervous too. You also have to be Kajiwara’s manager in the afternoon, so you can take a break right after the lecture. Oh, here, take this water.” He handed over a bottle of mineral water.

“Thank you. I should get going now.” Kiyotaka stood up, notes and bottled water in hand.

“Oh, wait!” Suginami ran up to him. “I’m going to do an introductory speech first. Come out when I call for you, okay?”

Kiyotaka nodded. “All right.”

* * *

By the time Kaori and I got there, the room was already full. The white walls were decorated with calligraphy, folding screens, and hanging scrolls, perhaps specially for the lecture. There was a teacher’s desk at the front of the room, and behind it was a projector screen. A woman was checking that the mic was working. There wasn’t any sign of Holmes yet. Relieved, we stealthily sat down in the back row. Surely he wouldn’t notice us behind all of these people, especially when we were wearing disguises.

The attendees around us were whispering:

“The museum’s new employee is named Yagashira, huh?”

“Yeah, I heard he’s the grandson of that famous appraiser who was on TV before.”

“I had my eyes on him since he’s really good-looking, but I didn’t know he went to Kyoto University.”

Kaori and I exchanged looks and smiled.

“Holmes is already the center of attention, huh?” she murmured.

“Yeah,” I said quietly.

The man sitting next to Kaori looked at us, wide-eyed, and asked, “Do you two know Yagashira?” He looked like he was in his mid-twenties, and he had short black hair and glasses.

“Um, yes,” answered Kaori.

“My name’s Kohinata. I went to university with him.”

Since Holmes was known by his nickname at school too, Kohinata must’ve instantly figured out that we were acquainted with him.

“Nice to meet you,” he said with a smile. Kaori and I introduced ourselves as Miyashita and Mashiro.

“Are you friends with Holmes?” asked Kaori.

“I’m not sure. Yagashira gets along with everyone on a superficial level, but he doesn’t really get close to anyone. I get the feeling that even if I think of him as a friend, he doesn’t think of me that way.”

I nodded. Holmes does have that side to him.

“We’re not in the same department either. I only met him because of a group date our mutual friend set up.”

“Really?” We blinked.

“He was asked to join so that more people would show up. He’s really good-looking, after all. He was popular at school, but he was always dodging girls’ advances. At first I thought he wasn’t into women, but when I asked him about it indirectly, he said, ‘I’m not going to get involved with a girl from the same university if I’m not interested in a serious relationship. It’s only going to cause trouble later.’ It made me think, ‘He looks graceful on the outside, but he’s actually a pretty terrible guy.’ I started liking him a bit and we hung out every now and then,” he said with a laugh.

Kaori gaped while I facepalmed. Yeah, that’s definitely Holmes.

“You’re his fans too, aren’t you? He’s that kind of guy, so you should be careful around him,” he continued with an amused look in his eyes.

Kaori frowned. “We’re not fans. I don’t even like being around him.”

“Huh, really?”

“But more importantly, shouldn’t you figure out who you’re talking to before saying things like that? This girl is Holmes’s girlfriend. I’m sure you hurt her feelings with those thoughtless words.” She glared at him.

He looked at me with wide eyes. “Wait, you are? Come to think of it, I did hear a rumor that he got a girlfriend. That’s you? Really?”

Kaori’s frown grew. “What’s with that reaction? You’re so rude.”

Worried, I reached out to her and said, “Thanks, Kaori. Don’t worry, I’m completely fine.”

“Oh, uh, I guess that really was rude,” the man said. “I was just surprised that Yagashira would choose a cute, young girl like you, Mashiro. He seemed like the type to pick an older woman.”

Kaori and I nodded, now understanding why he was surprised.

“I’m so sorry, Mashiro. I haven’t talked to Yagashira much this past year, since we were both busy. I thought the rumor was fake.”

I shook my head. “It’s okay. I’m fine, really.”

The man looked relieved and turned to Kaori. “My name’s Keigo Kohinata. What’s your first name, Miyashita?”

“Uh, Kaori...”

“I’m continuing my research at Kyoto University, and I’m pretty serious about it.”

“Okay?”

“Do you want to get dinner sometime?”

“Why are you asking me that?” Kaori narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“Because I’m interested in you.”

“Well, I don’t have a good impression of you. Sorry, but I’ll pass.” She bowed and turned to face the front of the room.

“Whoa,” the man murmured, sounding impressed. “You’re really cool, Kaori.”

She blushed. “Seriously, what’s with you?” She turned her face away from him to hide her reddened cheeks.

Kaori was worried about me and scolded him for being rude, so I can understand why she doesn’t have a good impression of him...but he isn’t necessarily a bad person. I’m sure he thought we were just Holmes’s admirers, so he was warning us that Holmes isn’t as nice as he looks. And like he said, Holmes is quite a troublesome man, so...

As I was musing over all that, the lecture began. A woman stepped forward and gave an introductory speech.

“Thank you all for coming. I’m Suginami, a curator at this museum. Currently, we have Kiyotaka Yagashira—grandson and apprentice of Seiji Yagashira, the nationally certified appraiser—working here for a limited time as part of his training. We felt that we could not miss this opportunity, so we asked him to give a lecture. Please enjoy this presentation by a knowledgeable, stylish, and good-looking art specialist.”

The audience chuckled at the humorous speech.

“Now then, Yagashira, if you will.”

When prompted, Holmes came in. Everyone clapped, seeming to have high expectations. The young women squealed—well, maybe not only the young ones.

“As you’ve heard, my name is Kiyotaka Yagashira, and I’m an appraiser-in-training. It feels impudent of me to give a lecture in such a grand place while still being an apprentice, but I do have my curator certification, so you don’t have to worry about that. Thank you for having me today.” He placed a hand on his chest and smiled. “Now then, do you all know about Shojo Shokado?”

Everyone shrank back a little with sheepish looks on their faces. It appeared that most people didn’t know.

“What about Shokado bento boxes, then?” he continued.

This time, everyone’s faces brightened up and they nodded.

“Shojo Shokado is the person the Shokado bento got its name from. He was a Buddhist monk at this city’s Iwashimizu Hachimangu shrine.”

“A Buddhist monk at a shrine?” audience members murmured, tilting their heads.

“Both Shintoism and Buddhism were practiced on Mount Otoko until the late Edo period,” Holmes went on. Iwashimizu Hachimangu was located on the peak of Mount Otoko. “Shojo Shokado was so brilliant that he made it to the high rank of ajari. When you hear ‘ajari,’ you probably think of the famous dessert, but in Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, it’s a rank given to monks who act as role models for disciples.”

“Oh,” murmured the younger people in the audience, who had probably thought of Ajari mochi.

I’m sure the past me would’ve reacted the same way.

“Shojo Shokado was the type to hone multiple talents rather than focusing on only one. First, please look at the calligraphy on the wall to your left.” He gestured with his right hand. Then with his left, he pressed a button on the remote, displaying pieces of calligraphy written on red and blue paper on the projector. “They’re very lively and beautiful, aren’t they? Now, does anyone know what’s written on them?”

The audience squinted at the screen.

“It’s something you’re all familiar with,” he added. “Especially around New Year’s, and recently it has become a competition as well.”

A boy sitting in the front row said in a soft voice, “Hyakunin Isshu?”

“Correct, Ishida. Shojo Shokado wrote the poems from Fujiwara no Teika’s Ogura Hyakunin Isshu anthology on beautiful paper that was decorated according to the theme of each poem. The cover made use of gold and silver leaf, with paintings of plants added for color. The one hundred sheets of paper were designed so as not to be monotonous, and the writing itself was arranged in an easy-to-read way. From this, we can see that Shojo Shokado didn’t simply have an excellent sense of beauty—he was also a cultured man who remembered to entertain the viewer.”

After that, he showed us a subdued painting, explained that Shojo Shokado was one of the Three Brushes of the Kan’ei Era along with Nobutada Konoe and Koetsu Hon’ami, and told us some stories from the time when they were active. His simple explanations made for a fun, intriguing talk.

“I’m afraid we’re out of time now, so I’ll stop here. Thank you for listening to my humble presentation.”

Before I knew it, the lecture was over. Everyone reluctantly began to leave their seats, seeming like they were hoping to hear more. Kaori and I stood up too, wanting to leave the room before Holmes saw us. We’d made a lunch reservation at the adjacent restaurant, Kitcho, so that we could try the Shokado bento before going home.

I subtly glanced at Holmes.

“Well done, Yagashira,” said Suginami, running up to him. She was the curator who had given the introductory speech. “That was a great presentation.”

“Thank you. I can take my break now, right?”

“Yes, you deserve it.”

“In that case, I’ll be taking my break right now,” he repeated as if to emphasize the point.

The woman seemed confused but nodded and said, “Sure, take your time.”

Oh, Holmes is on break now... I turned to leave.

“Aoi!” came his voice from behind me.

I flinched and turned around to see that he was right in front of my face. Before I could even react, he took my hand and squeezed it in his.

“You came, Aoi! I’m so happy. Did you see the notice on Kura’s website?” he asked gleefully. Apparently, he had announced on Kura’s website that he was going to be giving a lecture here today. Kohinata must have come because he’d seen that.

“Oh, no, I didn’t—”

“I’m touched that you came. Ever since I started working here, you never once said that you’d visit, so I thought you didn’t want to.”

“No, it’s not that. You’re doing your training, so...” I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to visit.

“Yes, you’re right. That’s also why I couldn’t just ask you to come over. I was hoping you’d suggest it yourself, but it didn’t seem like you would, so I thought you weren’t interested in seeing me at my job.” His eyes teared up, and I panicked.

“That’s not true! I really did want to visit, and I’m glad that I got to hear your lecture today, even if it was only by coincidence. It was really interesting and easy to follow.”

“Aoi!” he squeezed my hand tighter.

“Holmes...”

I suddenly realized that everyone was staring at us, dumbfounded. They must have been surprised to see the elegant lecturer go through such a drastic change in personality.

“Huh, so Yagashira isn’t tsundere; he’s the infatuated type,” murmured Suginami.

The boy named Ishida, who had answered the question earlier, looked like he was in a state of shock. But the person with the most incredulous face of all was Kohinata. He was staring at us with his eyes and mouth as wide as they could be.

Holmes noticed the man’s gaze and smiled. “Oh, Kohinata. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Thanks for coming.”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that’s right.”

There was something strange about how many times he said “yeah.”

“Since you finished grad school, I was wondering if you’d taken over Kura yet, so I checked the site and found out about this. But, well, uh...sorry, Mashiro.” He suddenly looked at me and bowed.

“Huh?” I blinked, not understanding why he was apologizing.

“I didn’t really believe you were Yagashira’s girlfriend. Like, I didn’t think you were lying, but I thought you might’ve had the wrong idea.” Holmes must simply have struck Kohinata as someone who would never be in a relationship.

“Oh, it’s okay,” I replied.

Holmes sighed. “Kohinata.” He put his hand on the man’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Based on how Kohinata’s face immediately twitched, it was probably something along the lines of, “Don’t talk about my past.”

Holmes regained his composure and turned back to Kaori and me. “Hello, Kaori. Thank you for coming today.”

“No problem. I enjoyed your lecture too.”

“We’re going to have a Shokado bento now,” I mentioned.

“I see,” Holmes said with a gentle smile. “Please enjoy yourselves. If you’re free afterwards, stop by the office and I’ll give you some pamphlets.”

“Do you want to join us, Holmes?” Kaori asked considerately.

Holmes shook his head. “I made my own lunch, and I have to go to the office and check documents while I eat. Have fun on your girls’ day out.” He smiled, surely being considerate of Kaori and me as well.

We said goodbye and headed to Kyoto Kitcho, the Japanese restaurant next to the museum.

“I’m excited for this,” I said.

“Me too,” agreed Kaori. “I’m curious about the lunch Holmes made for himself, though.”

“Yeah, same.”

“I bet it has a good color scheme.”

As we giggled, we heard the sound of running footsteps behind us.

“Mashiro, Kaori!”

We turned around and saw Kohinata trying to catch his breath. Does he need something?

“I’m leaving now, but please take this,” he said, pulling a business card out of his pocket. Kaori accepted it, albeit confusedly. The man smiled happily and said, “Thanks. See you again.” Then he turned and left.

“He seriously only gave it to you, huh?” I laughed.

Kaori shrugged. “Holmes would’ve gotten angry if he gave one to you. I guarantee you that whisper earlier was something like, ‘Don’t you dare hit on my girlfriend.’”

“Wait, really? I thought Holmes was preventing him from talking about his past.”

“He doesn’t need to hide what you already know.”

We looked down at the business card.

Keigo Kohinata

Researcher

Hematology and Oncology

Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine

“Medicine? You’ve caught the attention of someone incredible, Kaori.”

“I’m sure he’s just teasing me.” Kaori sighed and put the business card in her bag.

* * *

When Kiyotaka entered the office, everyone looked at him in surprise.

“Yagashira, your break isn’t over yet,” said Suginami.

“Yes, I’m going to have lunch now,” Kiyotaka replied, sitting down at his desk and taking a bento box out of his bag.

“Oh, you brought lunch again.” Suginami wasn’t particularly surprised. Kiyotaka had been bringing his own homemade lunch every day. “Did those girls go to Kitcho?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you would’ve gone with them.”

“If we’d planned for it, I would’ve. But it’d be lacking in tact for a boyfriend to intrude on their girl time, wouldn’t it?”

Suginami chuckled and nodded. “You really understand. Yes, it’s fine if you were part of the original plan but joining in now would change the mood.”

“Exactly.”

“Still, I thought you’d be a tsundere to your girlfriend too, so that was surprising. I never would’ve dreamed you were the type to go running after her!” She laughed, and so did the volunteers who were sitting nearby.

Ishida, however, looked away and mumbled, “I thought you were a cooler person than that.” He was clearly disappointed.

Takeda, the university student, shook his head and said, “Nah, I’m relieved. Yagashira was always too perfect.”

“Yes,” agreed Hosokawa, the housewife. “It’s great to have that gap in personality. Just like Nobunaga Oda, right?”

The sudden mention of the Sengoku-era warrior threw everyone off.

“Nobunaga Oda?” someone asked.

Hosokawa panicked and held her hands out. “Oh, sorry. I’m a history fan, so I said that without thinking.”

Maeda’s eyes lit up. “Hosokawa, are you a history otaku? I am too!”

“I don’t think I know enough to be considered an otaku, but I did major in history.”

“Oh, same. I was showing Ishida my school’s history program just now.” She held up a brochure for a university in Kyoto Prefecture.

Hosokawa’s eyes widened. “That’s my alma mater.”

Maeda and Takeda’s eyes lit up.

“Really? That means you’re our senior,” said Takeda.

“It sure is a small world,” remarked Maeda.

“It might be smaller than you think,” Hosokawa said hesitantly. “I had a feeling when I saw your notes. I think I used to be part of the same group.”

“Huh?” The two university students froze.

“Assuming the name hasn’t changed, it’s ‘Birdie x2,’ isn’t it?”

“Y-Yes, it’s still called that,” said Maeda, gaping.

“Whoa, I’m getting goosebumps!” exclaimed Takeda, hugging himself.

“You said it was a group for researching Japanese history and spiritual places, right?” asked Hashimoto. “Why is it called ‘Birdie x2’?” He tilted his head.

Just then, assistant director Igawa walked in, talking on the phone. “Huh? Really? Oh, so it’s fine now. In that case, we’ll proceed as planned. I’ll bring Yagashira over when Kajiwara arrives. What? Oh, okay. We’ll see you later, then.” He hung up the call and put the phone on his desk.

“Did something happen, Igawa?” asked Suginami.

“Yes,” he said, putting his hand on the back of his head. “I got a call from Kojima.”

Kojima was a priest at Iwashimizu Hachimangu. Kiyotaka stopped eating and looked at Igawa.

“He said that a monkey appeared on the shrine grounds,” Igawa continued.

“Huh, I didn’t know there were monkeys on that mountain.”

“I’ve never seen one before either.”

“Did it cause any trouble?”

“Apparently it was docile. It didn’t cause any trouble, and it went away quickly, so it should be fine to go there with Kajiwara.”

“That’s good.” Suginami placed a hand on her chest, relieved.

“Kojima asked to send the volunteers over again, though. Could I get you guys to go to Hachimangu one more time? I’ll drive you there, of course.”

Ishida, Maeda, Takeda, Hosokawa, and Hashimoto looked at him as if to say, “Us?” and Igawa nodded.

6

After finishing our Shokado bento boxes at Kitcho, Kaori and I cheerfully left the restaurant to go back to the museum.

“Holmes really did pay for our lunch, huh?” remarked Kaori. “Not that I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Yeah...”

When we’d asked for the bill after eating, the waitress had said, “Yagashira has taken care of it.”

Kaori shrugged. “Is that okay? I feel kind of bad.”

“Yeah, I do too. But I think Holmes would be happier if we let him treat us.”

“Pretty much. It’s amazing, really. He’s like a guy from the economic bubble.”

“I think it’s because of the owner’s teachings: ‘Save when it’s time to save, spend when it’s time to spend. The wealthier you act, the wealthier you’ll become.’”

“Oh, my grandpa’s like that too. Now that I think about it, Miyashita Kimono Fabrics has had a harder time staying afloat ever since my dad took over, and he’s the shy type.”

“Isn’t part of that because the times are changing?”

“Yeah, but even when my sister was chosen as Saio-dai, dad was like, ‘But it’s going to be expensive.’ He changed his mind after grandpa yelled at him, ‘You’re going to let such a good chance go by?! Are you stupid?!’ I didn’t hear about it until after the whole ordeal, though.”

“Your grandpa really is similar to the owner.”

“Yep. But even though Holmes was taught by the owner, he doesn’t seem the same.”

“Yeah, he has the owner’s teachings wrapped in the manager’s stylishness.”

“He picked the best of both worlds, huh?”

“Exactly.”

We giggled as we entered the museum. Immediately, we heard girls squealing.

Is Holmes doing something again?

I followed their gazes to see Holmes—and the real target of their attention, Akihito.

“Akihito?” I blinked.

The actor looked at us and waved. “Hey there, Aoi and Kaori.”

His dazzling smile made Kaori blush and look down. Even though she was a self-proclaimed fan of good-looking guys, she always stiffened up when she was actually in their presence. I thought she would’ve been used to Akihito by now, but apparently she was nervous again since it had been a long time since she’d last seen him.

“Did you come to see Holmes too, Akihito?” I asked.

“Nah, I’m here for work today.”

“Work?”

Holmes was the one to answer my question. “He’s going to Iwashimizu Hachimangu to perform preliminary checks for A Fine Day in Kyoto. I’ll be going with him.”

Akihito put his arm around Holmes’s shoulder and said, “Holmes is gonna be my manager for the rest of the day.” He pulled his disgruntled friend closer and grinned, eliciting more squeals from the women around them.

“Please remove your arm,” Holmes said, brushing the other’s hand away as usual. “Anyway, we’ll be leaving now. Feel free to take your time looking around. I left the pamphlets on my desk in the office, so just ask someone for them before you leave and they’ll—”

“Hey, why don’t you two come with us?” Akihito interrupted, looking at Kaori and me.

“Huh?” murmured Holmes, eyes wide in surprise. “Can they?”

Unexpectedly, he was the one asking, not us. It sounded like he was trying to hold back his excitement.

“Yeah, it’ll be more fun with girls there, and besides, you’re in a better mood when Aoi’s around.”

“You’re a good person, Akihito. I’ll treat you to something sometime.” Holmes smiled broadly and placed his hand on Akihito’s shoulder.

“It’s kind of creepy how simpleminded you are when it comes to Aoi,” the actor said with a genuine frown.

Kaori and I laughed.

“Aoi, Kaori, would you like to come to Iwashimizu Hachimangu?” Holmes asked, beaming at us.

Kaori put her hand on her mouth, trying to hold back the urge to laugh more.

I’ve heard that Iwashimizu Hachimangu is famous for warding off evil, but I’ve never been there myself. I’d love nothing more than to go with them.

“Yes, we’d love to. Also, thank you for paying for our lunch today.”

Kaori bowed. “Yes, thank you. You even paid for mine.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Holmes shook his head. “Now then, shall we go?”

We exited the museum and went to the parking lot, where a group of people were getting into a van. There was a man with a nametag and five people of varying ages.

“Are we ready to leave, Igawa?” asked Holmes.

“Yeah.” The man nodded. “I’ll head over first with the volunteers. You take Kajiwara. Remember to be hospitable.” He got into the driver’s seat and drove out of the lot.

“Who were those five?” I asked. I’d noticed that one of them was Ishida, the middle schooler who was at Holmes’s lecture.

“Four of them are volunteers, and one of them is on a work experience program. They’re heading to Iwashimizu Hachimangu too,” Holmes answered, opening the sliding door of what seemed like a company van.

“Oh, I call shotgun,” Akihito said, quickly getting into the passenger seat.

“Aoi, Kaori, go ahead.” Holmes gestured at the back seats.

We nodded and got into the car.

“Those volunteers were all different ages, huh?” Akihito remarked while we were driving to the shrine.

“Yes, the only ones who are the same age are the two university students. There’s also a retired man, a housewife in her thirties, and a boy in middle school.”

“So the only thing they have in common is a love of art?”

“Yes. They also have different interests and beliefs, which I found quite interesting.”

Holmes told us what he knew about the five people.

7

After what felt like about fifteen minutes of driving, we arrived at the parking lot in front of Yawatashi Station and got out of the car. The entrance to the path leading to the shrine was right next to it.

“Is this Iwashimizu Hachimangu?” Akihito asked, turning around.

Holmes cleared his throat and said, “I must apologize, Akihito.”

“What?”

“It’s possible to drive higher and park near the shrine building, but most people would take the cable car from here.”

“Oh, so we’re gonna take the cable car. Works for me!”

“No, only Aoi and Kaori will be doing that. In your case, I’d like you to climb from the foot of the mountain to the top, so that you can learn everything about it.”

“How long does that take?”

“Around thirty minutes. If it’s just you and me, we might reach the top in twenty.”

“Whaaat?!” Akihito exclaimed, clearly unhappy. “Why do we have to walk?”

“There are many sights that can only be seen on foot. Since you’ll be presenting this place on TV, your words will carry more weight if you know everything about it.”

“Don’t worry, I’m confident in my persuasiveness.”

“By the way, this shrine excels at warding off evil and bringing guaranteed success. I’m sure it’ll grant you even better luck if you climb up on foot,” Holmes said, looking up at the faraway peak.

Akihito froze. “Well, guess I have no choice but to go. See you later, girls.” He waved at us.

Kaori and I looked at each other and said, “No.”

“We’ll climb with you,” I announced. “We’re wearing sneakers anyway.”

“It’ll be exercise that comes with good luck,” Kaori said.

Akihito brightened up at that. “Oh, going with everyone sounds like it could be fun. Let’s go, then!”

As Holmes had said, there were many sights that could only be seen on foot, including the sacred spring that had existed since before Hachiman had been enshrined there. While we walked, Holmes explained that to the northeast of Kyoto was the “demon gate” Mount Hiei, said to protect against evil influences because northeast was considered an unlucky direction. Mount Otoko, where we were now, was in the opposite direction—southwest—making it the “rear demon gate.” He also told us that Iwashimizu Hachimangu was considered one of the three most important shrines in Japan along with Ise Grand Shrine and Kamo Shrine.

“It’s up there with Ise and Kamo? I didn’t know that,” I said.

“Me neither,” Kaori concurred. “I only knew that this place warded off evil.”

Holmes shrugged and said, “Just like with Shojo Shokado, it’s a shame that this place’s magnificence isn’t well known. In the past, there was a monk at Ninna-ji Temple who longed to visit Iwashimizu Hachimangu once in his life.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it comes up in the essay collection Tsurezuregusa. The story goes that a monk from Ninna-ji Temple longed to visit this shrine. When he did, he saw Kora Shrine at the foot of the mountain, assumed it was Iwashimizu Hachimangu, and returned without ever going to the main shrine at the top of the mountain.”

We smiled at the story. In a time without cars or trains, it must’ve been difficult to come all the way here from Ninna-ji Temple, yet he mistook the shrine at the bottom for Hachimangu and left without seeing the main building.

“Poor guy,” Akihito said. “Kind of reminds me of your dad, the manager.”

“My father? Yes, I could see him doing that. The other day, he was brewing instant coffee in the coffee maker and said, ‘Kiyotaka, these beans completely disappeared. How strange.’”

It was an easy sight to imagine, and we all laughed.

Before long, the view of the town below faded and the third torii gate came into view. Once we passed through the south entrance, the road ahead of us became a flat, straight line leading to the main shrine building. Its vivid vermilion color made for a beautiful sight this high up the mountain.

“We’re finally here,” said Akihito.

We cleansed our hands and mouths with the purifying water.

“Kiyotaka, Kajiwara!” shouted Igawa, running up to us and waving.

“You made it, Igawa,” said Holmes.

“I should be the one saying that. You climbed up from the bottom, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I wanted him to get a good look at the shrine. Where are the volunteers?” Holmes craned his neck, looking for the five people.

“They’re in the break room, but first, let me introduce you to someone.” Igawa turned around to look at a man wearing a light blue priest’s outfit. “This is Kojima, the head priest here. He also handles publicity. I’m sure you’ve heard about him, but it’s your first time meeting him in person, right?”

The head priest, a man in his late thirties, said, “I’m Kojima. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about Yagashira, and I’ve seen Kajiwara’s program on TV.” He smiled gently and bowed.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Kiyotaka Yagashira,” Holmes said, returning the bow.

“Oh, this priest is kind of cool,” Kaori said, blushing and covering her mouth.

At roughly the same time, Akihito blurted out, “Huh, I assumed head priests were all old men, but you’re young and good-looking. What kind of stuff do you sing at karaoke?”

Holmes pinched Akihito’s cheek, looking exasperated. “What on earth are you asking him? That came out of nowhere.”

“O-Ow! Okay, but I mean, aren’t you interested in what a priest would sing if he went to karaoke?”

“No, I’m not. Don’t you have anything else to ask?”

“Stop pulling on my cheek! It hurts! You’re destroying my beautiful face!”

The head priest chuckled and said, “I’m not very good at singing, but in social settings, I go with Masaharu Fukuyama’s ‘Sakurazaka.’”

“Oh, for real? You even sing cool songs!” Akihito’s eyes lit up.

Holmes facepalmed. “I’m sorry that you had to answer that question, Kojima.”

“No worries. You two are very good friends, I see.” The head priest smiled in amusement. “Let me show you around.”

We followed him towards the shrine.

Akihito looked up at the vermilion building and squinted as if it were blinding him. “Man, it’s like a heavenly palace.”

“Indeed,” said the head priest. “This shrine was built at the beginning of the Heian period to protect Kyoto’s rear demon gate, and the great Hachiman came here from Buzen Province, which is now Oita Prefecture. As I’m sure you’re aware, Oita is near the sea, but this shrine is on top of a mountain. According to one theory, this shrine was built in the image of the Ryugu-jo undersea palace so that the god wouldn’t miss the ocean.”

“Ohhh,” we murmured, impressed.

Now that he’s mentioned it, it does remind me of Ryugu-jo but on top of a mountain instead of at the bottom of the sea. Maybe Akihito was right to call it a heavenly palace.

The head priest continued walking, leading us up the side stairs to the sanctum. “Here we are.”

We took off our shoes, put on slippers, and went inside.

“Iwashimizu Hachimangu was designated a national treasure in 2016,” explained the priest. “Throughout its long history, which dates back to the early Heian period, it has burned down and been repaired several times. It became what you see today around 370 years ago when it was rebuilt by Iemitsu Tokugawa. The main building is surrounded by a 180-meter-long corridor that’s integrated with the two-story gate, and it’s also connected to the outer building in front and the inner building in the back. This layout is called ‘Hachiman construction,’ and there are four shrines in the country that use it. Iwashimizu Hachimangu is the biggest and oldest.”

Holmes nodded along with his explanation. “I can understand why it was designated a national treasure.”

“Thank you, although it was only a recent endorsement. Over there, you can see the main shrine.”

The shrine was surrounded by a fence made up of vermilion frames and green lattice walls. I turned around and saw the two-story gate behind us. Below, people were facing in our direction and praying.

“This fence is called mizugaki. On the other side is the divine realm of the gods, and the side we’re standing on is the earthly realm. The main deity on the other side is Emperor Ojin. He is accompanied by his mother, Empress Jingu, and Himeo, which some speculate may be the true identity of Queen Himiko. These three gods are collectively called the ‘Hachiman deities.’”

We faced the gods and gently clapped our hands as we listened to the priest’s explanation.

“The carvings above the horizontal beams of the mizugaki are another highlight of this shrine.”

As he said, there were several richly colored carvings. The maiden, sun, and moon reminded me of Ryugu-jo, and there was also a crane, tortoise, and hare.

While I was admiring the amazing carvings, Holmes placed a hand on his chest and smiled. “Many of these are the work of Jingoro Hidari, a carver who was active in the Edo period. Their magnificence fills my heart with passion. I’ve heard that there are 150 of them, so you could even call this place his museum,” he said enthusiastically.

“You’re very knowledgeable,” the head priest said with a smile.

Akihito shrugged. “He’s always like this.”

“There are many emblems carved here,” continued the priest. “If you look up at the ceiling, you’ll see the Imperial chrysanthemum emblem, the prime minister’s paulownia emblem, and the similarly historic tachibana citrus emblem.”

We looked up at the emblems. Just as eye-catching as the chrysanthemum emblem was the mitsudomoe emblem that looked like three commas arranged in a circle.

“Mitsudomoe...” I murmured.

“Yes,” said the priest. “That is our shrine’s emblem, the left-flowing mitsudomoe.”

I suddenly remembered something. “Holmes, your family crest is a mitsudomoe too, right?”

“Yes, but ours is a right-flowing mitsudomoe. The symbols face the opposite direction to this one.”

I looked at the ceiling again. Sure enough, there were many left-flowing mitsudomoe. However, there was also one that was right-flowing.

“Oh, but that one’s right-flowing, isn’t it?” I pointed out.

“You’re right,” said Kaori.

“Huh, so there are both types,” said Akihito.

“It’s written in Tsurezuregusa that ‘a building begins to decay after it’s completed,’ so this building was supposedly given an incorrect emblem on purpose to make it seem unfinished,” explained the head priest.

“Oh!” Akihito clapped his hands. “I know about that. I was in a historical drama a while back and found out the Nikko Toshogu Shrine did the same thing. They flipped around one of the patterns on a pillar so that it wouldn’t be perfect.”

“Yes, Nikko Toshogu was also built by Iemitsu Tokugawa, so perhaps he was conscious of that belief.”

“Oh, so it was the same guy. But even though this place was built by Tokugawa, I don’t see the aoi emblem here,” Akihito said, searching the ceiling for the symbol of the Tokugawa clan.

The head priest chuckled and said, “You have a good eye. There is an aoi emblem, but it’s over here.” He turned around and gestured at the two-story gate.

“Huh? Where?” I squinted.

“There’s a single aoi emblem on the gold plate in the middle of the horizontal beam. When people pray at the shrine, the emblem is behind them, so they don’t see it.”

Squinting even harder, I was finally able to spot it.

“It’s said this was done to make Tokugawa’s presence less conspicuous, since this shrine has been a place of prayer for the Imperial Court since ancient times.”

“Huh, so the Tokugawa clan was being considerate,” remarked Akihito.

“Yeah,” said Kaori.

“Well, it’s certainly clever,” said Holmes with a faint laugh.

I wonder why he says that?

Next, we walked around the corridors that surrounded the main shrine in the shape of a square. These had been donated by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who had prayed for his mother’s illness to be cured.

“Next, this golden drain spout was donated by Nobunaga Oda,” the head priest said, looking up at the drain spout installed between two sections of the roof.

“Whoa, it really is gold,” Akihito remarked.

“It’s actually a bronze surface coated in gold leaf, but it’s said that Nobunaga’s instructions were for it to be sold and replaced in the event of wood rot, natural disaster, or any other emergency.”

“Huh, I thought Nobunaga Oda was a heartless ruler, but I guess he did have a considerate side,” Akihito said, sounding sincerely impressed.

“Well, he wouldn’t have gotten so far just by being heartless,” Holmes replied. “I think he was extremely proficient at using the carrot and stick approach.”

Kaori giggled. “The gap appeal, huh? Just like you.”

“I’m not heartless.”

“There’s a huge gap between your cold and soft sides, man,” said Akihito. “You’re seriously Aoi-obsessed.”

“That’s not a nice way to put it, so please say I’m ‘Aoi-infatuated.’”

“Hey, stop that!” I looked away, embarrassed, and started walking faster.

There was another row of carvings by Jingoro Hidari along the wall. All of them were colorful and elaborate.

“There are a lot of birds,” I murmured, looking at the carvings.

“Yes, Fushimi Grand Shrine has foxes as messengers, but here at Iwashimizu Hachimangu, pigeons are the messengers of the gods. That’s why there are so many birds, pigeons included.”

“That’s kind of cute.” I smiled, imagining a bird wearing messenger clothes like Sanjo Street’s mascot character.

“So do you use carrier pigeons here?” Akihito asked.

“No, we don’t.”

We continued down the corridor, and the head priest stopped to look up at the wall outside.

“Please look at the monkey carving over there, which is called the ‘pierced-eye monkey.’ This was the work of Jingoro Hidari too. Legend says that the carving was so elaborate that it came to life, went down the mountain, and started causing mischief in town. The people stuck a bamboo nail through its right eye to keep it in place, and it stopped appearing in town.”

As we listened to the story with smiles on our faces, we looked at the monkey carving.

“It sounds like a common folk tale so far, but there’s more,” he continued.

“Hm?” We turned around.

“When this shrine underwent major repairs in 2011, the pierced-eye monkey was removed from its spot for a period of time. Perhaps because the nail was taken out too, a monkey really did appear on the shrine grounds, which caused quite a stir. After the carving was put back in its place, the monkey stopped appearing.”

“Dang, the pierced-eye monkey’s pretty crazy. Right, Holmes?” Akihito looked at Holmes and frowned. “Huh?”

Holmes was standing perfectly still as if imitating the monkey carving.

“What’s wrong?” Akihito asked.

“Nothing. It’s just...Kojima, is the nail missing?” Holmes asked hesitantly.

The head priest put on a weak smile and said, “You have very good eyesight. Most people can’t tell with the naked eye. Please don’t tell anyone, but the truth is that someone took the bamboo nail out of the pierced-eye monkey.”

“Huh?” We blinked in surprise.

8

We were led to the guest room in the shrine office so that others wouldn’t overhear our conversation. Igawa and the five volunteers were in another room in the office.

“I’m ashamed to admit this, but we don’t know exactly when the nail was taken,” the head priest said with a bitter expression. “Since it’s so high up, it takes very good eyesight to be able to notice with the naked eye. However...” He opened the laptop on the table. “Four days ago, I was giving a tour to a group from Wakayama. One of them had a DSLR camera, and they posted a photo of the pierced-eye monkey to their social media. I know this because they specifically asked for permission to post it.”

He clicked the mouse, bringing up the person’s social media account, which was under their real name. There were several photos of Iwashimizu Hachimangu there, and one of them was of the pierced-eye monkey. Since it had been taken with a DSLR, it had come out beautifully, and we could clearly see the black bamboo nail stuck in the monkey’s eye. The photo seemed to have been taken at around 3 p.m. four days ago.

“The next tour I gave was the following day to a group of five volunteers who came from Shokado Garden Art Museum. There were no other tours between then and now,” he said, closing the laptop.

“So that’s why you called the volunteers back?” Holmes asked.

“Please don’t misunderstand—I’m not accusing the volunteers. I just wanted to see if any of them had taken a picture.”

“I see.” Holmes nodded.

The head priest sighed with a conflicted look on his face. “Then something even more bizarre happened.”

“A monkey appeared on the shrine grounds, right?”

“Yes, it’s as I told Igawa. I didn’t think that there were monkeys on Mount Otoko, and even if there were, they haven’t appeared in the past several years. In fact, this would be the first time since the 2011 incident I mentioned.”

Since the monkey carving was so elaborate, it escaped and caused mischief. The people sealed it in place by sticking a nail in its eye—but when that nail was removed, the monkey appeared again. Is that really possible?

Everyone fell silent. Then there was a knock on the door accompanied by a man’s voice.

“Kojima, do you have a minute?”

“Sorry, let me take care of this.” The head priest stood up and left the room.

“What a weird story,” Kaori murmured. “Why would someone do that?”

“Yeah, I dunno,” said Akihito. “What do you think, Holmes?”

Holmes gave a small shrug. “I don’t know.”

True, there isn’t enough information to go off on.

A while later, the head priest returned to the room and placed a brown envelope on the table. “This was found in the office mailbox,” he said, looking bemused.

“What’s inside?” Holmes asked.

The priest took out the contents: a black bamboo rod and a piece of printer paper folded into thirds. The paper said: Here is the pierced-eye monkey’s nail. I borrowed it out of curiosity. I’m very sorry for the trouble and I’m returning it now.

We looked down at it, confused.

“Wait, what?” Kaori asked. “So is the problem resolved?” She looked at Holmes and the head priest.

“I...suppose,” said the priest. “We don’t want to make it into a serious matter if the nail has been returned.”

“But this is kinda unsettling, isn’t it?” Akihito said what everyone was thinking. We nodded in agreement.

“May I have a look?” Holmes asked, taking his white gloves out of his inner pocket and putting them on.

“Yes, please do.”

Holmes looked closely at the envelope and the paper. There was no stamp or postmark on the envelope. The paper folded into thirds was creased in one place.

“The culprit most likely typed this message in a hurry,” Holmes murmured, staring at the paper.

“How can you tell?” asked Akihito.

“Normally when one wants to write an anonymous apology, they’ll try to use brand-new paper if possible, because a sheet that’s just lying around could have their fingerprints or traces of pen pressure. Printer paper is sold in sets of five hundred, so they would’ve taken one sheet out, and perhaps because they were hurrying, they caused this crease by grabbing too quickly. However, they weren’t thinking calmly enough to take a new piece of paper.” He placed the message back on the table.

“But what does that mean?” Akihito pressed. “Why were they in a hurry? Was someone about to catch them in the act?”

“That’s a good question,” Holmes said, steepling his hands in front of his chin. “Let’s assume that one of the volunteers is the culprit. Setting aside the means for now, if we believe what the letter says, they took the nail out of curiosity and put it in their pocket. The carving is very high up, so they may have believed that no one would notice for a while. However, they then heard about a certain event.”

“The monkey appearing on the shrine grounds?” I asked quietly.

“Yes, and then the shrine called for the five volunteers to come back.”

We nodded in understanding. After the thief had stolen the nail, a monkey had appeared and the shrine had called them back. It must’ve been terrifying. That was why the culprit had decided to return the nail before the situation blew up.

“So you suspect those five people, Yagashira?” asked the head priest.

“I think it’s quite telling that this apology was placed directly in the mailbox. However—”

“W-Wait!”

Suddenly, the door opened and Igawa came in with the five volunteers. They must have been listening from the hallway.

“Kojima, Kiyotaka, you think one of them took the nail?!” exclaimed Igawa, his eyes wide in surprise.

The five behind him all reacted differently. Ishida, the middle schooler, had an unhappy look on his face as if he were thinking, “I’ve encountered an annoying situation.” Maeda and Takeda, the university students, looked at each other, completely bewildered. Hosokawa, the housewife, frowned as if thinking, “I can’t believe this.”

Hashimoto, the old man, gave an exasperated shrug and said, “The pierced-eye monkey is so high up. How could anyone take out the nail? If we pulled out a ladder or something, someone would definitely notice.”

I nodded. “That’s true.”

The carving was so high up that you couldn’t even see its face clearly with the naked eye. It would be difficult to take out the nail without a ladder.

The others nodded in agreement.

“No,” said Holmes. “There are two pillars supporting the roof of the wall, though they are a bit far from the monkey. The front one seemed unstable, but the one in the back is sturdy enough to climb. You could then walk along the roof to get to the carving, although you’d have to be quite nimble.”

Akihito gaped. “You really are ‘Holmes,’ man.”

“Well, that means I’m innocent,” said Hashimoto, placing a hand on his chest in relief. “An elderly man can’t possibly do that.”

Akihito furrowed his brow. “Sorry, Holmes, I think I figured out the culprit,” he said with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed.

“Uh...”

“What’s with that reaction? You told us all about the volunteers on the car ride. I already found the answer.”

“Let’s hear your opinion, then,” Holmes said, glancing skeptically at the actor.

“You got it.” Akihito stood up and looked at the group. “First off, these five people all have different motives,” he began, trying to sound like a detective.

“Huh?” The volunteers blinked.

“Let’s start with the middle school boy. I heard that you want to become an artist so much that you practice drawing every chance you get. Four days ago, you encountered a monkey carving that was elaborate enough to come to life. There’s no way you didn’t want to see it up close. So you climbed up the pillar, walked along the top of the wall to the monkey, took the nail while you were at it—”

“What?” Ishida raised an eyebrow. “Are you stupid? Even if I wanted to see it, I wouldn’t climb up there, and besides, I’m not interested in the nail.”

“You’re the stupid one, interrupting me in the middle of my explanation. I considered the possibility, but figured it was too daring for a gloomy kid who cares about what adults think. So that option’s out.”

“Wait, you were just bad-mouthing me for no reason?!” Ishida’s face was bright red. I felt so bad for him.

“Next, the two university students who are interested in history and stuff. Obviously, the pierced-eye monkey piqued their curiosity. It’s conceivable that the girl said, ‘Hey, I want to see the nail in the monkey’s eye,’ and the guy said, ‘All right, I’ll go get it and nail your heart,’” Akihito said proudly, pacing around the room.

Holmes stroked his chin.

“Uh, we like history, but not so much that we’d take the nail,” said Takeda.

“Yeah,” agreed Maeda, exchanging looks with her fellow student.

“Well, yeah, I don’t think so either.” Akihito nodded and then looked at Hosokawa. “I heard that online auctions are popular with housewives right now. Have you used them, Hosokawa?”

“Y-Yes...”

“You might’ve stolen it, thinking that the nail from the pierced-eye monkey would fetch a high price. But selling it would expose yourself as the thief, so you held on to it, unable to do anything with it.”

Hosokawa’s eyes widened, then she burst out laughing. “I don’t think that reasoning is very believable.”

“Yeah, pretty much, so it’s not you either. That only leaves one person. It’s you, Hashimoto!” Akihito turned around and pointed at the old man in true detective fashion.

“Me?” Hashimoto pointed at himself, eyes wide in confusion.

“Yes.” Akihito nodded and ran his hand down the old man’s upper arm. “I knew it. You’ve got plenty of muscle. Don’t bother pretending to be an elderly man—you have the strength to climb the pillar.”

“No, I don’t think I can,” said Hashimoto. “Why would it be me anyway?”

“I heard that you were the one trying the hardest to come up with ideas for attracting more tourists to Iwashimizu Hachimangu, the museum, and Yawata City as a whole.”

“I guess.”

“If it became national news that a real monkey appeared in the shrine after the nail was removed from the pierced-eye monkey, wouldn’t that be awesome publicity even if it resulted from a crime?” Akihito’s eyes lit up.

Kaori and I looked at each other. It was certainly the most convincing of the motives so far.

Hashimoto had a troubled look on his face.

“Wow, Akihito’s amazing,” Kaori murmured in a very quiet voice.

“No, that’s not right,” declared Igawa. “After listening to Kajiwara’s deduction, I figured it out.”

“Huh? Figured out what?” asked Akihito.

“The true culprit, of course.” Igawa’s voice was trembling.

The true culprit?

Everyone gulped in anticipation.

“Who do you think it was?” Akihito asked.

“As you said, it would become quite the news story. The media might even cover the shrine in detail since it’s related to the legend of the pierced-eye monkey. I believe that this was the work of someone like Hashimoto, who wants more publicity for Yawata City.”

“So it was Hashimoto, then?”

“No. Hashimoto is spry enough that you wouldn’t think he’s past retirement age, but I really doubt he could climb the pillar. There’s one more person here—someone who knows the most about Iwashimizu Hachimangu and has a strong desire for more people to learn about it...” Igawa gulped and looked at the head priest. “It was you who took the nail...Kojima,” he declared.

The head priest’s eyes widened.

Kojima, the head priest of this shrine, took the nail. His motive was to create a news story to generate publicity. Was that really true?

The room fell silent. Perplexed, I glanced at the head priest, who looked dumbfounded. He then smiled and said smoothly, “Igawa.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You’re wrong. It wasn’t me.”

“What?!”

“Indeed,” agreed Holmes. “It wasn’t Kojima. If he were the culprit, he wouldn’t call the volunteers here.”

“Oh, right,” I said.

“You’re right that I always want more people to know about the shrine,” the head priest said. “But I wouldn’t go against the will of the gods.”

“Wait, I’m wrong? Really? Oh, that’s great. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you were the culprit. I’m so sorry.” Igawa hurriedly bowed.

“It’s all right. From now on, please do call me ‘Suspect Kojima,’” the head priest said with a smile.

Kaori and I held our hands in front of our mouths, trying not to laugh. Apparently, the man we’d thought was a charming priest had the same sense of humor as Holmes.

“Well, he’s a Kyoto man too,” Holmes murmured. I coughed, realizing that he’d read my mind again.

“Wait, so who did it?” asked Akihito. “Was it an outsider, then?” He pressed his temples.

“Well,” Holmes said, crossing his legs and resting his chin in his hand, “as you can see, the nail was returned, and Kojima said that he doesn’t wish to turn this into a serious matter. It may be better to close the case here, but would you mind if I offered my own opinion like Akihito did with his little skit?”

Everyone exchanged looks and nodded.

“Thank you. Please consider this nothing more than my imagination at work.” He slowly stood up. “Let’s say that the culprit is one of these five people. I believe this incident was impulsive rather than planned. They heard Kojima’s story about the pierced-eye monkey and wanted to test if it was true.”

Why did he say “test if it was true” instead of “see if it was true”?

Holmes noticed my frown but continued without addressing it. “I imagine that after the tour of the shrine, the volunteers walked around on their own.” He looked at the five as if asking for confirmation. They nodded. “The culprit found themselves in a situation where no one else was near the carving and thought, ‘I can do this.’ In that case, they must be a very agile person. Akihito was correct in saying that Hashimoto is spry for his age, but I doubt he’d be able to act so quickly. Besides, he’d already known about the monkey, so he wouldn’t be driven by impulse. That removes him from the list of suspects.”

He patted Hashimoto on the shoulder. The old man looked genuinely relieved.

“That leaves Ishida, Maeda, Takeda, and Hosokawa. Ishida may have wanted to see the monkey from up close so that he could use it as a drawing subject. However, even if he did climb up, he wouldn’t need to take the nail with him. He’s the type of person who can remember what he sees, so he wouldn’t be fixated on the nail enough to do such a daring thing. So Ishida is out too.”

He patted Ishida on the shoulder this time, then whirled around to face Maeda, Takeda, and Hosokawa.

“That leaves three people who have something in common. They’re all part of, or were part of, the same university group. It’s called Birdie x2, which is a sort of secret code.” Holmes smiled in amusement and held his index finger up to his mouth.

“A code?” I asked.

“Yes.” He nodded. “Birdie x2 is a reference to ‘Kagome Kagome,’ which begins with the line, ‘Kagome kagome, the bird in the basket.’”

“Kagome Kagome” is a famous children’s game and nursery rhyme song that most Japanese people know.

“Some believe that ‘Kagome Kagome’ contains a great meaning,” he continued. “It’s essentially an urban legend, but it’s said that the location of a treasure is hidden in the song. I suspect that finding this treasure is the goal of Birdie x2.”

“What kind of treasure is it?” Akihito asked, leaning forward.

“Like I said, it’s only an urban legend, but it’s said to be Tokugawa’s buried treasure.”

“T-Tokugawa’s buried treasure?!”

The uninvolved people all blinked in surprise. Meanwhile, Hosokawa, Takeda, and Maeda had sheepish looks on their faces. Since their group name was a code, their treasure-hunting activities probably weren’t public. Instead, they called themselves a group that researched history and spiritual places. In other words, they were that serious about the treasure.

“Maeda and Takeda’s notebook for their group was labeled with Tokiwa Shrine, Biyo Shrine, Nanryu Shrine, and Susa Shrine. All of those are related to the Tokugawa clan. Also, the notebook was labeled ‘No. 8.’ Perhaps the number one notebook would’ve covered famous places like Nikko Toshogu Shrine and Mount Akagi. When I saw that notebook and heard the name Birdie x2, I assumed the group was trying to find Tokugawa’s buried treasure.” Holmes smiled.

The three group members’ faces went pale.

“Despite existing since Hosokawa’s time in school, the group still hasn’t solved the mystery of the buried treasure. So they turned their attention to Iwashimizu Hachimangu, which the group must not have checked before, and found out that Shokado Garden Art Museum was recruiting volunteers. Takeda and Maeda signed up after hearing that they’d be able to receive training at Iwashimizu Hachimangu. As such, they would’ve been listening intently to Kojima’s explanations.”

“So those two are the culprits?” Akihito asked impatiently.

“Are they?” Holmes tilted his head. “As I said earlier, I feel that the theft was impulsive. Let’s say that a student who was passionate about their university group graduated and eventually got married and settled down. Then, by chance, they met their juniors from that very group and felt their youth come back. They were both surprised and thrilled by the memories of their past self. They also saw that their juniors were investigating Iwashimizu Hachimangu and thought, ‘Could it be?’”

He didn’t name any names, but it was clear that he was talking about Hosokawa.

The woman smiled dryly and said, “In that case, why would that person have to take the nail in the eye?”

“I’ve read about the ‘Kagome Kagome’ Tokugawa theory in a book before, though my memory of it is vague. First, please recall the lyrics.”

Kagome kagome, the bird in the basket

When, oh when will it come out

In the darkness of dawn, the crane and tortoise slipped

Who’s behind you?

“The word kagome refers to a basket woven from bamboo. In the book, it said something along the lines of ‘Since the bamboo-weaving pattern is a hexagram, you can connect the Tokugawa-related shrines to form a hexagram and Nikko Toshogu is at the center of it’...but I find that rather dubious. There are countless Tokugawa-related shrines, so I couldn’t imagine trying to connect them all.”

We quietly listened to Holmes’s explanation.

“Naturally, the members of Birdie x2 would’ve also been investigating the Tokugawa-related shrines as a hexagram, and that led them here. Upon arriving, they found that the lattice fence separating the divine realm from the earthly realm was just like woven bamboo. The song goes, ‘the bird in the basket,’ and here, birds are divine messengers. There are also carvings of a crane and a tortoise, and when you turn around, you see Tokugawa’s aoi emblem, which matches the final line, ‘Who’s behind you?’”

I felt chills run down my spine.

“Unlike the current group members, who had done some research before coming, the former member would’ve been shocked by the realization. ‘This must be the clue to Tokugawa’s buried treasure,’ they thought.”

Holmes paused for a moment. Hosokawa looked down and bit her lower lip.

“The song mentions the ‘darkness of dawn,’ which would appear to refer to the shadows cast by the morning sun. In that book, it said that it indicated the shadows cast by the crane and tortoise statues at Nikko Toshogu, but perhaps this person interpreted the black nail in the pierced-eye monkey as the darkness of dawn.”

Takeda and Maeda nodded in understanding.

“Perhaps they thought that that nail—or the eye itself—contained a major clue to the ultimate treasure. Naturally, they couldn’t help themself, could they?”

“Yeah,” Takeda and Maeda said sadly, seeming to sympathize.

“After that, as I said earlier, they panicked upon being called back to the shrine and returned the nail. That letter may have been simple, but I could tell that it was written by an adult, not a student.” Holmes sighed and looked up. “Well, this is all assuming that the culprit is one of the people here. Thank you for your time.” He finished with that and smiled cheerfully as if he’d been telling a make-believe story all along.

Meanwhile, the woman in question was trembling and looking down.

“Hosokawa, if he’s wrong, you can just say, ‘No, you little twerp!’” said Akihito. “He didn’t name names, but he was obviously talking about you.” He grabbed Holmes’s head, preparing to make him bow.

Hosokawa opened her mouth to say something but immediately closed it and looked back down. “I-I’m...very sorry...” she said, trembling and bowing deeply.

Holmes quickly stood up and opened the door. “The rest of us should leave.”

We nodded and exited the room, leaving only Hosokawa and the head priest inside.

9

“Man, I still can’t believe this was about Tokugawa’s buried treasure,” Akihito said after we left the office. He, Kaori, Holmes, and I were walking around the shrine grounds. “Yeah, I can see why that’d make someone want to take out the nail.”

Holmes chuckled and said, “Even if someone found the treasure, I doubt they’d be able to keep it.”

“It’s all about the thrill of treasure hunting, you know?”

“Yes, I can agree with that. I’m curious about what the treasure is too.” Holmes stroked his chin and smiled.

“Do you think Tokugawa’s buried treasure is here?” Kaori asked quietly.

Holmes tilted his head. “I’m not sure. I can imagine it being at Nikko Toshogu, but it wouldn’t be strange if it were here either.”

“Why wouldn’t it be strange?”

“Because ‘Kagome Kagome’ really did seem to be referring to this shrine. When it asks ‘When, oh when will the bird in the basket come out,’ that can be interpreted as asking when the gods inside the mizugaki fence will come out. ‘The darkness of dawn’ refers to ‘the night before dawn’—in other words, before the world changes. Since cranes and tortoises represent longevity and good fortune, the song becomes, ‘When fortune is lost, a new world will come, and the gods’ hidden treasure will come to light.’ If you’ll remember, Nobunaga Oda donated a golden drain spout to sell in case of emergency or disaster. Iemitsu may have been following in his footsteps by suggesting they use the treasure hidden here when the country is in crisis. It’s a little exciting when you think about it that way,” he explained with a chuckle.

The rest of us shivered.

“Whoa, I think I have goosebumps,” said Akihito.

“Me too,” said Kaori, hugging herself.

“Well, it’s all just speculation,” Holmes replied. “However, there certainly is a treasure here, though it’s not buried.” He looked up at the vermilion shrine building. “A palace atop a mountain that a monk longed to visit once in his lifetime. Is Iwashimizu Hachimangu itself not the treasure that Tokugawa built?”

We looked up and gazed at the building.

“Come to think of it, you said that Tokugawa’s hidden aoi emblem was clever,” I remarked. “What did you mean by that?”

“Ah, yes. Tokugawa was clever. He acted like it was out of consideration for the Imperial Court, but the fact is that he put his gold family crest right in front of the gods. He didn’t care about other people seeing it—he wanted the gods to. Despite that, to the public it seemed like he was being thoughtful. It was very well done.” Holmes sounded genuinely impressed.

The rest of us exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

“Is something the matter?” he asked.

“No, I was thinking that it’s just like you to say that,” I answered, giggling.

“Yeah,” agreed Kaori.

Holmes smiled and said, “Well then, shall we pray at the shrine and draw their famous pigeon fortunes?”

“Okay,” we said, following him to the shrine.

Apparently, Hosokawa apologized to Kojima, and in exchange for forgiving her crime, he told her to purify herself by spending a month cleaning the shrine grounds. The nail was returned to its place in the monkey’s eye, and mysteriously, the wild monkey stopped appearing in the shrine.

“All right, I’ll propose a plan to the program staff when I get back,” Akihito said enthusiastically, pumping his fist. We were in the car on the way back to the museum.

“I wouldn’t recommend talking about Tokugawa’s buried treasure,” Holmes warned him.

“Yeah, I know. First, I’ll have to sort out the pictures I took.”

I saw Holmes’s gentle smile in the mirror. “I’ll have to work on my project too,” he said.

“What project?” asked Akihito.

“It’s for the museum. I’ll be handling a one-day event.”

I remembered the proposal he’d given the owner and chuckled. “Did the owner approve?”

“Yes.”

“I knew you could pull it off.”

“Thank you.” He smiled happily.

After that, Akihito attracted public attention for Iwashimizu Hachimangu through his program, and Holmes held his event at Shokado Garden Art Museum. The event was called The Treasures of Legendary Appraiser Seiji Yagashira. It included an exhibition of the owner’s treasures and a lecture from the man himself. Surprisingly, the owner had never received such an offer before, so he had gladly agreed to do it.

Many important figures in the art industry were invited, and since they were going all the way to Yawata City, they visited Iwashimizu Hachimangu and Shokado Garden Art Museum while they were there. It was Holmes’s idea to hold the lecture in a tearoom so that the guests could eat Shokado bento while listening, which was very well received. All in all, the event was a huge success.

“Thank you for having me.”

During his three months of training at Shokado Garden Art Museum, Holmes had held several successful lectures and borrowed display pieces from various art collectors, including the owner’s rival, Yanagihara, and Rikyu’s grandfather, Ukon Saito. The museum staff were sad to see him go, and they held a grand farewell party for him.

“Thanks for all your help, Kiyotaka,” said Igawa.

“Please come back to visit us anytime,” Suginami added.

“Yes, of course.”

And with that, Holmes was off to his next placement...but that’s a story for next time.