And then what happened was:
“Moguri was incredible! The fighting spirit transmitted through the radio! Even I, who usually aim for long shots, went with Moguri for that race!”
“It was worth seeing in person. Diving into the pack of horses, then bursting out from the corner to the final stretch! Truly deserving of being called [The Turf Lurker].”
The moment Inspector Gori mentioned the horse’s name, the security guard became extremely talkative.
──Grinning broadly
Not just his mouth, but his facial expression had completely changed from the earlier blank look, now responding to the conversation with a beaming smile. I wonder what happened – it’s like he transformed from a security guard to a service counter receptionist.
“…There are people like that, who become talkative about things they like.”
“Even so, isn’t that too much of a character change? The on-off difference is so extreme that people around are rubbing their eyes.”
“Comments aside, please do your mind-reading job. Now’s the perfect chance to approach him.”
“Oh right, that’s true.”
Finally, the security guard was willing to listen, so now I can read what’s in his mind.
My second attempt of the day – I decided to time my approach and call out to him.
“Excuse me, I have a quick question~”
Seeing a high school girl pop out from behind Inspector Gori, he finally noticed my existence with an “Huh? Why is there a high school girl here?”… Come on, that’s way too late, isn’t it?
I greeted him properly once more.
“Um, hello, haven’t you heard about this from The President?”
“…Ah, um, could you possibly be the detective?”
Only now did he remember I was a detective – can he really handle security duties with this? I’m getting anxious about the security system.
Now that he finally recognized me, I decided to ask about all the things that had been piling up.
“Sorry for the sudden question, but there are a few things I’d like to ask.”
“Ah, officially I have [confidentiality obligations] and can’t easily answer. If you could go through the president…”
Koyomin gave me a look that said “Now you’re talking about that?” I get it – before confidentiality, he was neglecting his duties just moments ago.
Inspector Gori mediated between the security guard and me.
“Please, do us a favor. This girl has helped me out in various ways.”
Upon hearing this, the security guard smiled wryly with a “Well, well.”
“If it’s for Gori-san, I suppose I have no choice.”
(Already calling him Gori-san?! Even with the same hobby, isn’t the distance closing way too fast?)
Though bewildered, I decided to ask about the information I heard from Tsuya-no-san regarding his relationship with Lawyer Arima.
“Um, are you friends with Lawyer Arima?”
The security guard immediately answered upon hearing about the lawyer.
“Arima-doushi, you mean?”
“Doushi?”
Now it’s “doushi”… What a strange way of closing the distance… ah.
(Wait, could this be…?)
Even someone as dense as me could somewhat read the situation from this flow.
As if to confirm this, the security guard told me about his relationship with him.
“Well, Arima-doushi and I are horse racing buddies.”
(Horse racing after all?)
I see, no wonder he spoke with such a beaming smile.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, we hit it off at Fuchu Racecourse a little while ago. I knew he was a lawyer, but I never thought we’d meet again at work… I got so excited I forgot about my job and talked to him.”
You’ve been working for ten years but didn’t even remember the face of the consulting lawyer… I held back that comment and continued.
“But Arima-san gave you the cold shoulder.”
“Yes, he seemed annoyed during work hours, understandably. But our friendship as doushi is still strong. After that, we secretly had horse racing discussions in the security guard break room, and oh, it got really exciting.”
The security guard rubbed under his nose… wait, in the break room?!
This seems like pretty important information, so I decided to ask more deeply.
“By the way, did Lawyer Arima do anything to the surveillance cameras, or were there any suspicious points?”
The security guard answered with a serious expression.
“I’m sorry, but even I would notice if they were tampered with.”
[Because I covered them with cloth and moved them to the corner of the room so I wouldn’t spill tea on them and break them… Huh? Am I being suspected of something? I didn’t do anything.]
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
(So that’s why they started “freezing” frequently.)
Even someone as dense as me knows that covering them with cloth would trap heat and cause malfunctions.
(Anyway, he doesn’t seem to be an accomplice of Lawyer Arima. But somehow, he’s even more… I can’t even feel kinship with this level of incompetence. Well, whatever, let me ask what I most want to know.)
If they’re close, maybe he knows various things about Lawyer Arima. With such expectations, I investigated the mystery of the culprit.
“By the way, do you know where Lawyer Arima is from? Like if he’s from a foreign country…”
The security guard shook his head.
[“His origin? He wasn’t from a foreign country, I think. He said it was tough when he came to Tokyo from the Tohoku region.”]
“Then maybe he studied abroad, or his wife is from a foreign country?”
[“I haven’t heard about that either. He should be single.”]
He’s not lying. So he really was born in Japan? Then…
(What country and what language was that foreign language in his mind?)
With his Japanese origin now almost confirmed, the mystery of Lawyer Arima only deepened.
“Tohoku region? So he’s definitely from Japan.”
After leaving Logic’s main office and parting with Inspector Gori, I shared the information I’d gathered with Koyomin on our way home.
She listened to the story with a slightly puzzled expression.
“Hmm, the mystery only deepens.”
“That’s right, this is troubling.”
“…Was what was in Lawyer Arima’s mind really a foreign language in the first place? Could your mind-reading have been malfunctioning?”
“It functioned properly with the other three people. That was definitely far removed from Japanese.”
Koyomin frowned at my assertion that it wasn’t Japanese. Even her doubtful face is cute.
“If I could understand it to some degree, I could probably analyze it… Do you really have no idea at all?”
“Something like ‘Turu’ or something slimy… how should I put it, it felt like Japanese but not Japanese, somehow elusive.”
As I was using my brain like that…
Gugyuu-guru──
Hmm, my stomach started rumbling.
“I’m hungry and my thoughts aren’t coming together. Koyomin-kun~”
“Your thoughts are never together anyway, but we did miss our meal earlier.”
“That’s right, after meeting Inspector Gori… ah, since he won at horse racing, I should have asked him to treat us.”
“The twelve yen per gram meat – let’s mooch off the Inspector when he hits another big winner.”
And so we headed to our usual coffee shop.
“Master! Two Napolitan!”
“Extra powdered cheese and with Tabasco.”
With the appearance of the usual two customers, the master gave a cheerful “Coming right up!” and disappeared into the kitchen.
“He seems to be in a good mood today. Did he win at boat racing? Everyone around us are gamblers.”
“Ah, that’s because…”
“…That meaningful smile, what is it?”
I told Koyomin the reason why the master was “in a good mood.” I felt like a housewife at a neighborhood gossip session.
“I read his mind the other day, and it seems the master is doing well.”
“With what?”
“With his girlfriend.”
“…With that single-guy face?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the power word “single-guy face.” Indeed, if you asked passersby about that bald head, a hundred percent would think he’s single.
“Hmm, now that you mention it, the atmosphere of the shop does seem to have a woman’s touch somehow.”
That’s right. Before, it was overflowing with hard-boiled trinkets… mysterious license plates with Route 66 written on them and such, but now it’s houseplants, houseplants, and more houseplants.
“Well, the shop interior. It’s more accurate to say it’s being invaded by his girlfriend’s tastes.”
“Indeed, now that you mention it, the background music in the shop has become more stylish too.”
“Ah, that’s true. Usually he just played random music.”
Sometimes the hungover master would accidentally play the radio. He must have gotten a subscription service.
～♪ ～♪♪
Flowing foreign language entered my ears. I wonder what country’s music this is…
(…Huh?)
As I listened to that music, I was struck by a strange déjà vu, as if I’d heard it before. The smooth, fluent…
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