Not a detective

Page 200

Asakawa Riku sincerely explained, "I'm the one who needs to work the hardest. What have I been doing all this time?"

While it's not to say I've never felt happy in the mystery club, it's time to get serious and focused.

"But... I still want to participate in club activities with my older brother. It's the last year, is that not allowed?"

Yukie was unusually stubborn today.

Perhaps, as she said, it will be Asakawa Riku's turn to graduate next year, and this is indeed the last chance, so she will fight for it even if she is willful.

Asakawa Riku couldn't hold back any longer, pinched her face, and asked with a smile:

"Excuse me... do you actually like reading mystery novels?"

"Uh...haha."

Yukie was immediately embarrassed and could only offer the same smile.

Asakawa Riku hit the nail on the head. Perhaps it was because the two had lived together for two years that he could usually tell at a glance that Yukie didn't like reading mystery novels like her sister, and she wasn't interested in them. Her hobbies were more about cooking, baking, handicrafts, flower arranging, tea ceremony, and the like. He had never seen her read those mystery novels.

"Then why do you insist on joining the mystery club?"

"I... just want to spend more time with my brother and create more memories."

Yuki lowered her head, a shy blush creeping across her face.

"Your motives are impure."

Asakawa Riku reluctantly let go of her and said, "Besides, we usually live together, so we have plenty of time to spend together."

The two still live together in Riku Asakawa's house.

By the way, his parents have not returned and their whereabouts are unknown.

So, not only Yukie, but also a new person moved in, namely Ms. Kazamatsuri Chizuko.

This JD, who still looks like a middle school girl, is currently studying Shinto at Kokugakuin University, one of the two universities that can grant the rank of Shinto priest.

Kokugakuin University is located in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, so this guy could have easily studied locally and there was no need for him to go all the way to Ise.

Chizuko studies there and has access to regular student dormitories. If all else fails, she can rent a place nearby, which isn't difficult for her given her financial situation.

But this guy insisted on taking the long way to stay at Asakawa Riku's house, without paying a single penny of rent, and brazenly claimed that he was his senior...

What an insincere guy.

In short, the house is now quite lively. Yukie is usually a well-behaved and quiet child, but Chizuko is very noisy, even though she is a college student who is extremely idle.

Therefore, it was impossible to study properly at home. Asakawa Riku thought of using the time after class to enroll in a tutoring class or study in the school library.

However, looking at Yukie's pitiful pleading, Asakawa Riku couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.

He closed his eyes, thought for a while, and came up with a more comprehensive solution:

"Okay, I'll give you a condition. If you can meet it, I won't quit and I'll let you join too."

"Really……?"

Xuehui's eyes lit up, urging him to quickly state his conditions.

Asakawa Riku's conditions were also very simple: "Isn't it the beginning of the semester? There will be a placement test in a couple of days. If you can get first place in the test, then it's OK."

"Huh...?" Yukie paused, seemingly surprised by his question: "First in the grade?"

"First in the grade."

Asakawa Riku nodded.

"...But what does my grade have to do with my brother's exam?"

"It's very simple," he explained with a smile. "If your grades are good enough, you can tutor me."

Asakawa Riku's idea was simple: if Yuki had a strong learning ability, then he could just study in the mystery club and ask her if he didn't understand anything.

He has no concept of seniority or hierarchy. If the other person is more capable than him, it is normal for him to ask a first-year high school student for help.

"So, can you accept this bet?"

"...Okay, fine!"

Yukie clenched her fists and nodded earnestly: "I will try my best!"

Looking at the girl's unwavering determination, Asakawa Riku was slightly moved. For a moment, he felt that Yukie might actually be able to complete the task.

Although the original intention was only to set an overly high goal to discourage students from pursuing their studies, given that this school already has a high deviation rate and is full of hidden talents, getting first place in the grade is no easy feat.

But Yukie is quite smart. At least she was good at learning, judging from the fact that she never attended junior high school and was able to get into this school by studying at home.

It might really be possible... we'll just have to wait and see.

Asakawa Riku smiled and patted her head, no longer thinking about those things: "Okay, as long as you can finish it, I'll let you join the mystery club."

Just then, while the two were still talking, the door to the mystery club was suddenly pushed open.

A smiling young girl peeked out from outside the door; an uninvited stranger.

"Speaking of this condition..."

"Me too?"

Tamamo no Spring: Chapter Four - The Uninvited Guest

She was a girl I didn't know.

She was petite, but had a ramrod-like posture. She had neat, long, jet-black hair and thick, beautiful eyebrows that looked as if they had been trimmed with an eyebrow pencil. Her slightly narrowed, still somewhat childish eyes gave her a witch-like aura. Like Yukie, she wore the school's sailor uniform, appearing to be a first-year high school student, with a light blue jacket over it.

But it felt strangely familiar.

"Sister... Sister... No, I'm sorry!"

Yukie was also stunned. She blurted out the words subconsciously, but immediately covered her mouth.

Asakawa Riku was stunned. He knew that Yukie must have also made a mistake, which was inevitable.

Because this person looks so much like Chizuko.

With equally delicate features, white and even teeth, dark and bright eyes, and a petite and charming face, her fair and delicate skin was in no way inferior to Chizuko's; they seemed to have been sculpted from the same template. Although their hairstyles were slightly different, and this girl was a bit taller than Chizuko, at first glance, they felt very similar in aura, an inexplicable resemblance.

Even Yukie was thrown into confusion. Even though she and her sister were not related by blood, she couldn't tell who her sister was now.

Could it be that Brother Kazamatsuri is out there...? Well, let's not speculate.

"Sister? You can call me sister too."

She replied with a smile, "But we should be the same age, right?"

Surprisingly, she quickly noticed that Yuki's ribbon was the same color as hers, a detail that most freshmen would likely overlook.

Asakawa Riku asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Ah, Senior."

The girl, with her hands behind her back, noticed the high school seniors in the room: "I just wanted to join the mystery club. I heard it's going to disband, but it seems there are new requirements for joining?"

The condition... does it mean that getting first place in the entrance exam will allow you to join the mystery club?

Just as Asakawa Riku was about to say something, Yukie suddenly became unhappy, grabbed his sleeve, and pulled him back.

"...I will not lose."

"Oh, hahaha, let's go then."

The girl laughed cheerfully, her voice as melodious as silver bells, accompanied by the swaying of her hair, making her very cute: "Me? What I like most is challenges."

Leaving behind these few ambiguous words, the person vanished without a trace, leaving the activity room.

It was utterly baffling. In the end, Asakawa Riku could only stare at Yukie, wondering if it was a shared illusion between them.

Could it be that Chizuko deliberately disguised herself to amuse them?

That guy isn't that free, and from the conversation just now, I vaguely sensed that he wasn't the same person.

Although they look very similar, there are subtle differences in their tone of voice and actions.

Moreover, the one thing Asakawa Riku would never mistake was that the girl's hands and feet were natural and normal, without any disability or unnatural walking.

He turned to Yukie, who had an innocent look on her face:

"You too, all I had to do was explain that 'this condition only applies to you,' why did I have to involve irrelevant people?"

I don't know where Yukie got her competitive spirit from, but she suddenly agreed to a non-existent "bet".

Yuki-e simply stuck out her tongue and pretended to be clueless, saying, "Don't worry, brother, I won't lose!"

Then, she ran off in a flash, probably to prepare for her exams.

"Really..."

Only Asakawa Riku remained in the activity room, smiling helplessly.

It's a mess, I don't know if this mystery club can be shut down.

However, he wasn't too worried that Yuki would lose. Even if she couldn't necessarily take first place, he knew that she had always performed well and wouldn't be defeated by some random person.

To be honest, neither of them, Asakawa Riku, had high hopes. He had heard that this entrance exam was not like the one he took when he first entered the school, which was just a casual assessment. It was said that the school had designed the exam very carefully this time, and the results would affect class placement, comprehensive evaluation, and subsequent college admissions, so everyone was taking it very seriously.

I've even heard that some freshmen started reviewing before they even arrived, preparing diligently as if they were taking the college entrance exam...

This school was already a very strict college entrance exam preparation school, and its various systems even made him feel like he was back in his high school days in his previous life.

Therefore, Riku Asakawa knew this, which is why he deliberately chose this condition. Although it was a bit cruel, it was best if none of them succeeded, so that he could disband the mystery club with peace of mind.

The girl who appeared and disappeared mysteriously, and no one knows why she joined the mystery club.

Asakawa Lu Zong sensed something was amiss and was vaguely concerned...

It wasn't just because she looked a lot like my senior... I felt like there was something else etched that face into my mind...

Where have I seen this before?

"Speaking of which... I seem to have forgotten to ask her name..."

...

However, it wasn't long before Asakawa Riku learned her name.

A week later, the ranking of the entrance exam scores for the first-year high school students was posted on the school's bulletin board.

Perhaps as an incentive, the school created a separate list for the top ten students, complete with a beautifully decorated border and photos next to their names.

So Asakawa Riku noticed Yuki, who was in second place, at first glance.

Pity……

He immediately felt sorry for her, not expecting that Xuehui had worked so hard and actually made it to second place, which was a very difficult achievement.

"Ugh... why is it so difficult..."

"High school is so different...it's so strict..."

"It's completely different from what I imagined..."

"This is terrible..."

More and more people gathered around, all of them first-year high school students taking the exam, and they all looked worried and sighed.

Asakawa Riku had experienced this before; it's normal to feel down after exams because of the results. And as mentioned before, this entrance exam was quite important.

Although Yukie did very well, she was still about ten points behind first place. It seems I'll have to comfort her when we get back.

The crowd of students watching had become quite large, and Asakawa Riku, a senior high school student, stood out from the crowd and prepared to leave.

He had only glanced at it casually, but then his eyes widened in surprise.

He saw the photo of the first-place winner... and it was a very familiar face!

That's the mysterious girl who barged into the mystery club that day!

"What I like most is a challenge."

...How could this be...But that face is definitely hers. It can't be that Chizuko is going back to high school.

He left behind that statement and actually got first place in the grade? Just who is this guy?

Her score far surpassed everyone else's, with a significant gap except for Yuki, who came in second place.

Even if it were the previous "Hoshimi Kohaku", it probably wouldn't have achieved this effect.