Kirigiri Novel Book 1

Chapter 7-Part 3: Daily Life

Kirigiri nodded, and followed after me. We passed through the gate, and stepped out onto the street, wintry wind blowing. We walked together to the bus stop to wait for the bus.

"You don't live in the dorms, do you? Do you commute from your family's house?"

"Yes. Granddad has been looking after me."

"Huh? What about your mom and dad?"

"They're both gone," said Kirigiri, looking down the road.

"...Sorry for asking a weird question." Actually, didn't she have a complicated reaction to the subject of her grandfather before? Maybe I should just lay off on talking about her family.

The bus came, and just as we had done on the way there, we sat next to each other. Partway through, Kirigiri pressed the button to get off.

"The next stop is closest to me."

"Okay. I'll let you know right away if any of the Double Classes contact me." Kirigiri simply nodded once, not even saying goodbye before she got off the bus.

—What a difficult girl.

But she was a very honest girl, I thought. Her earnest singlemindedness towards the detective lifestyle couldn't be explained away by a mere sense of duty. She had a pure love for the job.

The view outside the window had already started to get dark. I got off the bus at the shopping district, and walked the rest of the way home. Scattered Christmas trees adorned the streets.

It was almost Christmas. And before that, the final exams for the semester. After that, it would be winter break.

Was I going to be eating chocolate cake by myself for Christmas this year, too?

The days passed, and winter break came without any response to our Detective Library note.

As soon as winter break came, the dorm became completely deserted. Everyone had gone back to their families. Winter break is relatively short, so plenty of girls went home the instant break started.

Personally, I didn't feel like going home. My parents both work, so it's not like a heartwarming family reunion would be awaiting me if I did. There wasn't really any reason for me to visit.

Christmas in the dorms again, huh—?

I lay in bed, staring up at the same old ceiling. And as I did, the face of Kyouko Kirigiri popped into my head.

I wonder what she's up to... I should have gotten her contact info. I wonder if she has a cellphone.

A sudden thought struck me. If I went to the Detective Library, wouldn't I be able to find her contact info? The newer the detective, the more likely they were to have that information listed in their file. They'd be able to take on jobs more easily that way, after all.

I rushed to the Detective Library.

The Detective Library was quiet as always, but there were more visitors than normal. Maybe more people had problems towards the end of the year?

"Do I have any messages?" I tried asking the person behind the counter, but I was out of luck.

So, I went to go check Kyouko Kirigiri's file. The Sirius Observatory was already here in her case record without any delay. A phone number was written on her résumé, so I copied it down and left the Library.

When I returned to the dorms, I gave her a call. I could hear an old man's voice through the receiver.

"Yes... Hello..."