The case was officially closed. Inspector Megure personally drove Hayashi Shuichi and the two girls back to their neighborhood.
Earlier, to spare Eri Kisaki and Reiko the sight of the gruesome glass jar, Shuichi had kept them out of the First Investigation Division's office, leaving them to wait in the hallway.
Once they were back at the tavern, Shuichi sat them down and recounted the full details of the investigation. As the story unfolded, Eri's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, her eyes flashing with a cocktail of disgust and disdain.
She held Ogasawara Yuto's twisted justifications in utter contempt, and by extension, she found herself repulsed by Ogasawara Mari, who seemingly harbored similarly inappropriate feelings for her own brother.
Reiko, however, was overcome with sympathy. Her small face was a mask of pity and regret. "Even if their blood relation meant they could never be together, they should have just talked it out. At the very least, if they had been honest with each other, there wouldn't have been such a horrible misunderstanding... and it wouldn't have ended like this."
"Talking it out would have just made it more sickening," Eri countered, glancing sideways at the young girl with a scoff. "In my opinion, if she truly cared for her brother's well-being, she should have left a long time ago. With enough distance and time, no matter how intense a feeling is, it eventually fades."
"Hmph!" Reiko glared at Eri, her hands on her hips as she huffed in protest. "They were siblings! Why should they have to be the ones to part? It's the outsiders who should have stayed away!"
"Do you even hear yourself?" Eri rolled her eyes dismissively. "The two of them staying together would have only led to a deeper, more irreversible mistake. Sometimes, people are simply incapable of distinguishing between familial affection and romantic love."
"How could anyone not tell the difference!?" Reiko's face flushed a deep red as she shouted back.
"And how could they possibly be expected to!?" Eri shot back, her voice rising to match the girl's volume as she locked eyes with her.
Sensing another explosive argument brewing, Hayashi Shuichi, seated between them, let out a weary sigh. He reached out and gently pushed them apart. "Alright, that's enough. The case is over. There's no point in arguing over the 'what-ifs' anymore."
Just then, the shop's landline phone began to ring.
Shuichi picked it up. It was Superintendent Samezaki calling from the Metropolitan Police Department.
"Ogasawara Yuto took advantage of a momentary lapse in the guards' attention and slammed his head into the wall," Samezaki's voice was low and somber. "He's been pronounced dead."
"I see," Shuichi replied with a slow nod. He wasn't entirely surprised; he had glimpsed the hollow, lifeless light in Yuto's eyes back at the station.
After hanging up, he relayed the news to the two girls.
"Perhaps... this is the best outcome for him," Reiko mused, her expression heavy with sentiment. "He killed himself, which in a way, is an act of atonement for his sister. If there really is an afterlife, maybe they can finally live together in peace."
"Hmph. He was nothing but a coward fleeing from his responsibilities," Eri muttered, her lip curling in a slight pout of disdain. "If he truly felt remorse for his sister's death, he should have accepted the judgment of the law and spent his life atoning in prison. Dying is the easy way out."
Seeing that the debate was about to reignite, Shuichi quickly cut in. "Let's move on. We haven't even had breakfast yet, have we? Reiko went to the trouble of cooking this morning; it would be a waste to let it sit."
"But I only made congeal and fried eggs," Reiko said, her eyes darting toward Shuichi. "After all, someone forgot to bring back the meat buns."
"Meat buns..."
At the mention of meat, Eri's mind involuntarily flashed back to the disfigured head in the freezer. Her face turned pale instantly, and a slight tremor ran through her shoulders.
"This is more than enough for a full meal!" Shuichi shot a warning look at his sister. "Don't overthink it, Eri."
"Mmm..." Eri, usually so assertive and strong, showed a rare moment of vulnerability. She leaned her head gently against Shuichi's shoulder. "Shuichi... am I useless? I've decided to become a lawyer in the future, yet I can't even handle something like this."
"Everything takes time to process," Shuichi said softly, looking at her with a gentle gaze. "I was exactly the same way back then..."
He stopped mid-sentence, realizing he had almost said too much.
"Back then?" Eri looked up at him, her eyes filled with curiosity. "We grew up together, Shuichi. Why is it that you're so... accustomed to these things?"
"...Maybe it's because I used to watch too many of those gritty movies," Shuichi laughed it off. "Anyway, let's get upstairs and eat. The congee is probably freezing by now."
Watching her brother help Eri up the stairs, Reiko stomped her foot in irritation.
Hmph! She's playing the "frail damsel" card to manipulate Onii-chan again!
After the meal, in an effort to distract Eri from the lingering shadows of the case, Shuichi broke out a deck of cards. The three of them sat down to play Daifugo (The Great Millionaire).
Even during a simple card game, the two girls were at each other's throats, competing fiercely.
This, ironically, worked in Shuichi's favor. After ten rounds, he had won eight or nine of them. Since Shuichi wasn't a fan of gambling, they didn't play for money. Instead, they used the classic "punishment" of sticking paper strips onto the loser's face.
By late afternoon, Shuichi only had three or four strips on his face, while Eri and Reiko were almost entirely covered, their skin barely visible beneath the white slips.
"Shall we keep going?" Shuichi asked, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was already past five.
"One last round!" Reiko puffed out a breath, sending the strips around her mouth fluttering. "Eri-姉 and I are tied at nineteen losses each. This final round will decide who is the ultimate loser!"
"Agreed," Eri nodded calmly. With the sheer amount of paper on her face, she looked like an old man with a long, white beard.
Shuichi shuffled the deck and dealt the cards.
Reiko looked at her hand—a collection of absolute rubbish—and her lower lip began to tremble with frustration. Eri, on the other hand, was wearing a faint, triumphant smile. It was clear she had been dealt a powerhouse of a hand.
Just as Shuichi was beginning to worry that a decisive victory for either side would result in another meltdown, a vibrant, high-energy shout erupted from downstairs.
"The great star, Fujimine Yukiko, has returned! Why aren't you all out here to welcome me!?"
"Yukiko-姉!?" Reiko's eyes lit up. She tossed her cards aside immediately and, without even stopping to put on her shoes, sprinted to the window.
Below, she saw Yukiko dragging a large suitcase toward the tavern's entrance.
"I'll go let her in," Shuichi said, setting his cards down and heading for the door.
"Hmph..."
Eri stared irritably at the departing pair, slamming her winning hand onto the table. She was guaranteed to win that round!
That cursed Yukiko... she didn't return early, she didn't return late, she returned at the exact moment I was about to win!
She and I truly are incompatible on a cosmic level!
Yukiko, bursting through the tavern doors with her usual whirlwind energy, stopped short when she saw Shuichi and Reiko coming down the stairs, their faces covered in paper strips.
"What on earth happened to you two...?"
"We were bored, so we played some cards at home," Shuichi stepped forward and took her luggage. "I thought filming wasn't supposed to end until the weekend? I was planning on coming to pick you up then."
(End of Chapter)
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