“For instance, say you got a hundred points on a test, right? What would happen then?”
“Um, my mother would praise me?”
“…Please stay just the way you are.”
Naomi-san patted my head with pity? Did I say something strange?
“Now, what if it was actually cheating? And you got perfect scores in all subjects?”
“If, if that happened… even if I’m not smart, everyone would respect me, and I could get into a good school just with my grades… ah.”
Naomi-san snapped her fingers.
“Right, you could get into a good university just with your grades, couldn’t you? And if you cheated in university too and graduated as valedictorian, you could get into a major company, right? How about it? Don’t you think that’s wrong?”
Putting myself in that situation, I kind of understand—that would definitely be wrong.
“Certainly, everyone would pamper me, and my mother would give me fresh caramel for snacks—it would definitely be nothing but good things.”
“…You’re a cute one, but the world is full of villains. Especially when a company’s performance is good, something called stocks go up. Work increases and it’s all good things. Conversely, if you under-report, taxes become less too. accounting fraud is that kind of wrongdoing.”
Stocks, huh. I see, no wonder Koyomin was surprised.
“After stocks go up, there are also people who sell them to profit from the margin. It’s called insider trading.”
“In… cider?”
The somehow delicious-sounding name made me want to drink a carbonated beverage.
“Just so you know, it’s not a drink.”
“Wh-why did you figure that out?! Did you read my mind?”
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” said Koyomin. Well, being seen through by my beloved little sister is embarrassing.
Koyomin looked at me with cold eyes as I grinned and continued.
“…Setting aside this disgusting child, the police were pursuing Logic Consulting’s suspected accounting fraud, weren’t they?”
Naomi-san slowly shook her head.
“It’s a bit different. To be precise, Logic was on the side advising accounting fraud.”
“Eh?”
An unexpected statement. Naomi-san was laughing as if enjoying our expressions.
“Using their position as a consulting company, they were introducing ‘procedures for undetectable accounting fraud’ to their clients. Apparently, they’ve been using a combination of accounting fraud and insider trading to grow their company since way back.”
“Isn’t that being a major villain?”
After finishing the coffee that was prepared for her, Naomi-san began talking about the company called Logic Consulting.
“The previous president, Keitaro-shi, established a company during an era when accounting audits were lax, using every means and connection to recommend accounting fraud without getting caught—that’s Logic Consulting. Of course, they don’t recommend it to all companies, but apparently they’re still doing it.”
“Logic—the company that helps with sound profitable management” is their slogan, but this is fraud.
“S-so the police have been watching them all along?”
“Yeah! By the way, apparently some high-ranking police officials are also involved in insider trading and such, and because they interfere, the investigation has been difficult… oh, but this is off the record.”
“…Eh.”
She just casually drops bombshells like that—it really saves me the trouble of reading minds.
“Their stubborn reluctance to rely on the police might be because they’re more afraid of being punished by police executives if information leaks than of being exposed to the public… Anyway, please somehow get that will for the sake of my promotion. If I expose the misconduct of a major company and corrupt police executives, my evaluation will skyrocket.”
“Well, um, yes.”
How should I put it—she talks so honestly that I don’t even need to read her mind. This is also one of Naomi-san’s good points, though.
While I was exasperated, Naomi-san turned to face Koyomin.
“So, what’s the plan going forward, Koyomi?”
“Later, we’re planning to gather everyone who can open the safe for questioning.”
Naomi-san said “Nice!” and put her hand on Koyomin’s shoulder.
“Excellent! Normally, finding the culprit and breaking alibis would be difficult, but it’ll be easy for you, Kanako.”
“Ah, yes, if I can read minds, I should be able to figure out who the culprit is immediately, and by reading that person’s mind, I can find out where the will is… though it would be a bit troublesome if it was an external crime.”
“Well, these things are usually inside jobs—that’s the standard rule. Who stole it, what’s the purpose… I don’t know if they’ll use it for blackmail or sell it, but anyway, securing that will before the corrupt police executives or Eijiro-shi can cover it up is the top priority.”
When she mentioned covering it up, I pondered a bit.
“I see…”
“What’s wrong?”
When Koyomin asked, I decided to honestly share my thoughts.
“Um, President Eijiro… that person doesn’t seem like such a bad person to me.”
This was my honest impression from reading his mind. Rather…
“Gehehe, promotion, promotion!”
He seems more virtuous than this “terribly dangerous” Naomi-san.
Koyomin spoke to me as if to console my worries.
“Anyway, it seems to be a fact that they’re committing fraud. Let’s not think about difficult things and just find the will first.”
“Right, it’s simple since I just need to find it. I just need to read the culprit’s mind.”
Since I don’t need to search for flaws in tricks or evidence the culprit couldn’t know, it’s easier than murder cases—
I was being optimistic like that, but I had no idea that “such a thing” would happen.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Later, three people had gathered in Logic Consulting’s president’s office besides Akaji Eijiro-san.
One was a really strait-laced person.
Square black-rimmed glasses with center-parted hair, wearing a perfectly fitted suit. He was of medium height but had a solid, square, symmetrical build.
“I’m lawyer Arima.”
He smoothly offered his business card. Even that gesture was very precise.
Lawyer Arima Kakeru-san. Apparently, he was someone who had been managing the inheritance and will related to Keitaro-shi, and had been involved in various other practical matters.
Another person was a beautiful woman with an incredibly nice perfume scent wafting around her, holding what appeared to be a schedule and staring at it intently.
Her hair was done up, and her nape was truly alluring.
Brown hair with a striped shirt, her chest was emphasized and the buttons looked like they might pop. The scarf around her neck looked more like it was placed on her chest than around her neck. Enviable.
And this person understood—not a mini-skirt but slacks that connoisseurs would appreciate! The hip line was emphasized, making it more suggestive than showing bare legs.
The beautiful woman gracefully bowed with alluring charm.
“I’m Adeno Fujiko, the president’s secretary. I was the secretary to the former president, Akaji Keitaro-sama. Currently, I’m serving as Eijiro-sama’s secretary.”
The person with the risqué chest when she bowed was Adeno Fujiko-san. A president’s secretary—no wonder she can open the safe.
And the last person was…
“Hey there, little lady, I’m Mukashino Tomoki. I had a long relationship with former president Keitaro—we ran around fields together as kids. Please remember me.”
The dark-faced uncle who spoke to me familiarly like some drunk from Shinbashi was Mukashino Tomoki-san. He had a generally loose impression in his wrinkled suit.
He approached me as cheerfully and friendly as if he’d had a drink somewhere.
“My position is public relations. My job is to appeal Logic’s wonderfulness to the world with everything I’ve got. I’m the one who came up with the slogan ‘Logic—that is sound’ after staying up three nights straight. There’s only one thing I can say… sleep is important, especially for young ladies like you.”
“Ha, haa…”
“I used to work at a major advertising agency until recently, and was headhunted by Logic a few years ago. I’m the oldest here but I’m still a ‘newbie.’ Do you know why inexperienced people are called ‘newbies’? Well, if you’re curious, look it up online, nahaha.”
Mukashino-san weaving in witty self-introductions—his talk never stops.
“I’ve been into sake recently. On company trips, I keep recommending sake regions. Fujiko-chan, where was it this year?”
“A place famous for wine factories.”
“Wine, huh. Keitaro also liked wine, so it’s really unfortunate. I’ll drink plenty for his share too, however many gallons!”
His witty talk is truly befitting of a PR person—his tone and character are quite a colorful uncle.
“Tomoki-san, it’s about time. The detective is also troubled.”
“Don’t be so stiff, Eijiro-chan. Call me ‘Uncle Tomoki’ like always. Of course, you can add ‘handsome’ in front if you want… that’s fine too.”
Mukashino-san’s talk gives ten responses to one question. Just having this person here makes the spacious president’s office feel cramped.
After the introductions were finished, Eijiro-san brought up the main topic.
“Well, the reason I’ve gathered everyone is nothing else. My father’s will, which should have been in the safe, is missing.”
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