An hour later.
"Yay, I won!"
"Me too!"
Sonoko and Ran beamed, waving their lottery vouchers triumphantly.
Then, they both turned to watch Kurosawa Hoshino slowly withdraw his hand from the lottery box.
"Could my luck really be this bad?"
Seeing both girls had won, Hoshino unfolded his slip, glanced at it, and nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad. I won too."
Hearing this, a staff member stepped forward to announce that the day's vouchers were all claimed, apologizing to the remaining queue. As compensation, they offered discount coupons and drinks—a gesture that mollified the crowd enough to disperse.
"Handled pretty well," Hoshino remarked.
"Of course," Sonoko said proudly. "Fusae is one of the best-service brands lately. They cover both high and low ends, and their reputation is solid."
"Yeah, this brooch isn't expensive, but it's a limited edition. That's why we queued," Ran added, smiling at her voucher.
"Finished already?"
A smooth, melodic female voice sounded nearby.
They turned to see a tall, striking woman addressing a staff member. She had long blonde hair, a sun hat, and oversized sunglasses that hid half her face. Her lips were a vivid purple, matching her nail polish.
"Yes, miss, we're very sorry. But we can offer you a discount coupon and a drink. You…"
"Never mind."
The woman waved a dismissive hand. Her gaze swept past them, lingered for a moment, then settled on Hoshino and his group. She walked over.
"Hello."
Her eyes rested on Ran's face for a heartbeat before shifting to Hoshino. She stared at the voucher in his hand.
"Young man, would you consider transferring that voucher? I'll pay you for it."
Hoshino had already recognized her.
Sister Bei, it's you. Did you think covering half your face would work? You're way too recognizable.
So you're interested in this brand of brooches? Or are you really here to see Xiaolan?
His thoughts raced, but only for an instant.
Hoshino shrugged and handed over the voucher. "No need for payment, miss. Both my friends won. I'm not into brooches anyway—consider it a gift."
"How gentlemanly. Thank you." Vermouth accepted it with a teasing smile, nodded to the trio, and went to claim her brooch, betraying no trace of the excitement she felt upon seeing Ran.
"Hoshino, we'll go get ours too," Ran said, and she and Sonoko headed inside.
Hoshino took out his phone and settled onto a lobby sofa to wait, killing time.
He opened Miyano Shiho's messaging app again. Since their encounter at the café yesterday morning, she hadn't replied to his last messages.
After a moment's thought, he typed:
[I Really Didn't Cheat]: "Hey. What are you up to?"
A while later, a reply came.
[I Don't Drink Sherry]: "Just finished an autopsy."
"…"
Hoshino's lips twitched. He was fairly sure she wasn't lying. She really had just finished an autopsy.
He just didn't know if the subject was, like her profile picture, a white mouse. The odds were high.
[I Really Didn't Cheat]: "Why did you suddenly go off on me yesterday?"
[I Don't Drink Sherry]: "Can't I? What are you, barking like a dog?"
[I Really Didn't Cheat]: "Come on, can we talk normally?"
[I Don't Drink Sherry]: "I learned it from you. You're the one who posted stuff like that back then. And I think 'barking like a dog' fits you perfectly."
Hoshino's expression darkened. He sighed helplessly.
Miyano Shiho had always been sharp-tongued. Now she was even sharper.
It was his own fault. He shouldn't have posted those phrases from his past life—she'd learned them far too well.
They exchanged a few more minutes of banter before Hoshino heard Ran and the others returning.
Looking up, he saw Ran and Sonoko chatting with the sunglasses-wearing Vermouth. Each held a small gift bag—presumably containing their brooches.
"Hoshino, let me introduce you," Ran said cheerfully as they approached. "This is Miss Chris. We met inside."
"Thank you for the voucher, sir," Vermouth said with a slight, charming smile.
Your true colors are showing, aren't they? You really came for Ran. You, Vermouth…
Hoshino smiled outwardly. "Kurosawa Hoshino. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Chris."
"How about we find a café to sit down?" Sonoko suggested.
"Sure." Vermouth had only followed Ran out because she missed her. She wasn't about to refuse.
And so, the four of them left the store.
They hadn't taken two steps when they overheard two high school girls chatting by the roadside.
"Fuyumi, have you heard? There's a ghost story about the Medieval Art Museum. I heard the armor inside moves on its own."
"Really? I don't believe it."
"It's true! I heard it from someone else. It's been happening for days."
"I know that museum. Business isn't great. Maybe they're just spreading rumors to attract visitors."
"…That makes sense."
Listening, Ran gulped and unconsciously moved closer to Hoshino.
Sonoko glanced at her nervous best friend, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Ran, how about we check out that museum later?"
"N-no," Ran shook her head quickly. "I have to go back to make lunch for Dad."
"That's fine. We can go in the afternoon."
"…"
Ran fell silent.
Vermouth, seeing Ran so frightened by a mere rumor for the first time, felt a flicker of amusement. "I'm quite interested too. How about I join you this afternoon?"
"Great! Miss Chris, why don't you come to Ran's place first?" Sonoko offered.
Vermouth sighed softly. "I'm sorry, I was just planning to chat with you briefly before leaving. I have some business to attend to. I won't be free until this afternoon."
"Then what time should we meet?"
"Four o'clock. Right outside the Medieval Art Museum we just heard about."