We departed from the building's entrance together, cutting across the campus to pass through the old school gates. We walked together silently, side by side, with nothing in particular worth talking about. Even the shopping district, with its Christmas music playing, was nothing more than an irrelevant backdrop to us.
We waited at the bus stop for the bus to come.
There was still some snow underfoot, which easily crumbled with the kick of a foot. I played around kicking the snow like that as I waited for the bus. Kirigiri didn't join in even once the whole time we were waiting.
The bus came. Kirigiri and I sat next to each other. Did the other passengers maybe see us as two schoolgirls who were good friends? I thought that I'd like them to.
"Has anything changed since then?" I asked.
"Changed?"
"I mean, it's not like we heard a bunch of secrets about the Victims' Catharsis Committee from Asakura-san or anything. Right? I don't really understand the whole thing, but maybe if we know secrets about a huge criminal organization, we might be in the crosshairs now... That's just what I've been thinking about.
"There have been no particular irregularities in my surroundings."
"Did your grandfather say anything? I want to hear what his opinion is on all this. You're like, apprenticed to him, right?"
"Grandfather is currently in Los Angeles. I told him about the case over the phone, but he didn't seem very concerned. So I can assume this incident wasn't dire enough to draw his attention."
"Hmmmm..."
Her grandfather was apparently a pretty big deal. Was this little girl going to grow up to be a famous globetrotting detective like him someday?
"But Grandfather did mention one point of interest."
"Aaand?"
"It seems he was involved in the founding of the Detective Library."
"Huhhh... That's pretty amazing, right? How big of a detective family are you guys?" I was surprised by her upbringing all over again. I already knew that her pride as a detective was completely out of the ordinary, but that was probably instilled in her by her family, wasn't it? Seriously—what kind of place was the Kirigiri household? "I mean, I'm from a completely ordinary family myself."
"Despite that, you still say you'd risk your life as a detective. Where did you get such resolve, I wonder?" Kirigiri watched me with eyes full of suspicion.
"Do you doubt me?"
"No, not really." She turned to look out the window.
"You're still mad I suspected you so much before, aren't you? I'm really sorry about that."
"I'm not really mad."
"Well, that would be nice if it were true..."
The view outside of the window gradually became a quiet, high-class residential area. There were large trees growing on the side of the road at regular intervals, and their barren, pointed branches reached up into the grey sky. It was a strangely deserted street.
"Next stop, Detective Library—Detective Library—" announced the bus.
"I'll let you press the button to let us get off, Kirigiri-chan."
"I never said I wanted to press it."
"I'm gonna press it then. Are you okay with that?"
"Go ahead."
"...No, let's press it together after all. On three—"
"Just hurry up and press it."
"Heheh, it was just a joke!" I leaned over her to press the button by the window.
The bus stopped soon after. We stepped out into the cold, peaceful breeze. Something was clearly off about the atmosphere in this town. A tall fence spread out before us, and past it I could see an old building that looked like a haunted house.
We walked along the fence towards the Detective Library entrance. At last, we reached the iron gate, supported by two exaggerated columns. The gate was slightly open, showing a Western-style front porch beyond it. We carefully walked up the stone steps, still covered in snow.
"Have you been here before?" I asked.
"No. This is my first time."
"You didn't come here when you enrolled?"
"Granddad took care of everything for me."
"Oh, I see. Well, the Detective Library might be like a place for you to hone your craft."
Kirigiri nodded. "At first, I myself wasn't sure what the point was in enrolling, but after listening to your explanation, I think I more or less understand."
"What do you mean?"
"If I want to be recognized as a detective, becoming Zero Class is the only way." Kirigiri's expression was stiff.
I finally felt like I understood her. She really isn't anything but a detective. I'm sure her circumstances must have something to do with her grand-scale home environment. And there's probably some reason for her strong wish to be recognized as a detective, too.
You are encouraged to comment and form theories on the mysteries,
