After finishing the hot pot, Nanahara Takeshi opened the window to let in the cool breeze of mid to late April in Hokkaido. The temperature in the room dropped slightly, but Kiyomi Ruri didn't mind at all. She felt warm in her stomach and lazy in her body. She wished she could just lie down and close her eyes for a while.

However, it was really embarrassing for a girl to lie down and rub her belly in front of a boy right after eating. She couldn't accept it and could only sit there, secretly humming while holding the warm barley tea.

She didn't know why, but she really liked eating this kind of hot pot. The lamb was delicious and the dipping sauce was fragrant. It was simply unbeatable when combined!

She didn't know what those foodies in Japan were doing. Why weren't they promoting this kind of hot pot on a large scale? It was practically a crime. They should all be dragged to the crossroads.

Unfortunately, she met this bastard... No, it was unfortunate that she met him a little too late. If it was a snowy day and she could sit in a warm table kotatsu with him, enjoying hot pot together, it would definitely be more comfortable.

Hmm, she had to remember. When it snowed this year, she had to eat like this again.

Nanahara Takeshi also held a cup of barley tea to aid digestion. He had eaten too much because he was competing with her for food, which disrupted his health plan. He was hesitating whether to lower the level of his meals. If he continued to eat like this, not only would his health plan be ruined, but it seemed like his food budget would also exceed the limit. Tibetan Fox's appetite had increased too much. It was only half of what it is now on the first day. He used to think that the leftovers from dinner were enough for her, but he didn't expect that in just a short ten days, she had developed to the point of snatching food.

Of course, this was a small matter. He wasn't afraid of customers eating too much. But if he turned Tibetan Fox into a pig and had to carry a little pig around all day, it would be too much of a decline in style...

But he couldn't stand the taste of lowering the level of his meals. It was really difficult.

He thought for a while, gave up, and took out Kameda Atsushi's "password book" to flip through it. He imagined various possibilities and prepared to work hard to earn more money.

The room was silent for a while. Kiyomi Ruri secretly hummed for a while and looked up. She finally remembered the commission and the case. She had planned to discuss it with Nanahara Takeshi during dinner, but she was too comfortable just now. Nanahara Takeshi was also very protective of his food and didn't let her have any of his lamb. He was only focused on competing with her. She accidentally forgot about it.

Now she remembered and quickly moved closer to him to look together. After looking for a while, she curiously asked, "Can you decipher it?"

Nanahara Takeshi smelled the scent on her and suddenly felt that it was okay. At least she was qualified as an air freshener. It was better to fatten up a bit and have oil flowing when facing a knife than to bleed. But he remained calm and shook his head gently, "Not for now. This doesn't seem like a password. It should be a kind of mark that only Kameda knows."

Kiyomi Ruri also felt that it didn't seem like a password. Although there were many symbols on it, they were too simple and had a very high repetition rate. It would be difficult to convey complex information even with a password book. She couldn't help but be puzzled, "Isn't Kameda-san just an ordinary company employee? What kind of secret needs to be kept? I doubt if he can understand it himself after a long time. What is he guarding against?"

"Let's go to his house tomorrow and see. Maybe we can find something." Nanahara Takeshi turned to the two pages full of squares and recalled Kameda Atsushi's autopsy report. He had a vague guess, but it was somewhat unreasonable for a company employee in his forties. He could only seek more information tomorrow and then make a judgment.

But this business was indeed a loss. If he had known it would be so troublesome, he wouldn't have asked for a higher price just because it was recommended by an acquaintance.

Kiyomi Ruri hadn't given up yet. She stared at the two pages, hoping for a sudden inspiration that would give the detective a clue as the female lead. But before she could come up with any ideas, Nanahara Takeshi turned his head and reminded her, "You should go to work."

Ah, right. She came back late today and went straight to eat without dusting the room, wiping her shoes, washing the dishes, or tidying up the kitchen... But she didn't feel like moving after just eating. It would be great if she could just eat here and not have to work.

Of course, she knew it was impossible. If she really did that, she would feel embarrassed to eat dinner here. She was just daydreaming. She got up and obediently went to do her chores. After finishing the housework, Nanahara Takeshi immediately changed his tune and urged her to go home. She had no choice but to reluctantly pick up her bag, carry the box of miscellaneous items, and leave. Nanahara Takeshi's place was more fun anyway, and it was close to home. She wanted to play a little longer before going home, even if it was just to discuss what to do tomorrow. But he never agreed and always rushed her as soon as the chores were done.

This annoying guy, one day when you're bored, I won't talk to you either. I'll let you suffocate in silence!She complained in her heart that she had entered her own home in less than a minute. As usual, she called out "I'm back" and took off her shoes, carrying the box back to her room. In the living room, Kiyomi Kako was hugging her little daughter and watching an educational program required by the school. She glanced back at her and didn't bother to ask if she had eaten dinner. She turned her head back and continued watching TV.

Okay, I see that you, unlucky child, will not be far from living over there soon, and you came back nine minutes later than yesterday.

......

Kiyomi Ruri returned home, took a bath, changed clothes, and tied her hair in one go. Then she went to her father's study, searched for his tape recorder, and brought it back to her room. She randomly took a cassette tape from the miscellaneous box and looked at the cover called "Blue Tokyo" and put it into the tape recorder. Soon, the room was filled with the slow rhythm of folk songs, almost lulling her to sleep.

She listened to the song and wrote her homework haphazardly. Then she took out "The Case Files of Miss Ruri-mes, the World's Number One Beautiful Princess Detective" and carefully recorded what happened today, including Kameda Atsushi's "secret message" and the two pages of pictures. She roughly copied them from memory and then stared, deep in thought.

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Well, I still don't understand, but this is definitely not normal. Who would remember daily affairs like this?

Soon her mind turned to the "Murder Case in Midori Park" and the "Premonition Dream," and she began to ponder how these two were connected.

The premonition dream came before the murder case. Fumie couldn't see or hear the scene of the murder case, even if the murderer accidentally broadcasted it while rehearsing the murder scene in advance, and it happened to be heard by Fumie in a half-awake state, triggering a nightmare. It doesn't make much sense.

Yes, it doesn't make sense. Putting aside the usefulness of rehearsing a simple murder scene, even if the murderer was arrested that day and has been kept in custody, the old lady still had nightmares, and they occurred regularly every other day, becoming clearer each time. She even almost figured out what Kameda and Aibu were arguing about at the time. Who is still broadcasting the rehearsal?

Are they accomplices? Even if there are accomplices, the person is dead, so why would they keep rehearsing?

Are they reliving the excitement they felt at the time?

This logic doesn't make sense!

Looking at it from a different perspective, Kameda Atsushi is dead, so he can't keep rehearsing the broadcast. Moreover, he used his life to frame someone and spend several years in prison. It's really stupid, even if he succeeded, it's still a bit stupid. I can't think of a reason why he would do this.

The premonition dreams of Granny Aokawa are also strange. The first time can be explained as a supernatural phenomenon, but the second and third times are very strange. Is she repeatedly "predicting" things that have already happened? Shouldn't she be predicting the next victim? Especially since she has a dream every other day, it feels a bit too coincidental.

This mystery is likely the key point of this case, but no one can come up with a reasonable explanation. It's impossible to solve.

I can't wait to investigate tomorrow. What secrets are hidden in all of this? What kind of events must have happened for all of this to make sense?

Kiyomi Ruri sat at her desk, furrowing her brows and thinking hard for a long time, but she couldn't come up with anything. Unable to resist, she stood up and went to the window to see what Nanahara Takeshi was doing. Is he bored too? Is he also furrowing his brows in thought like her?

If he is, it would bring some psychological balance to her dedicated assistant.

But to her disappointment, Nanahara Takeshi was busy in the kitchen as if he had nothing to do. His figure appeared and disappeared, as if he was tinkering with his oven. He was wearing heat-resistant gloves and pulling out a tray, on which there seemed to be crispy golden biscuits, but she didn't know what they tasted like.

This guy is living so comfortably, he even bakes biscuits at home at night...

Kiyomi Ruri subconsciously sniffed, but it was too far away to smell anything, so she dared not look again. If she looked again, her stomach would growl, and she also noticed that the song had stopped playing at some point. She flipped the cassette over and continued playing it. She picked up a second-hand movie magazine and threw it onto the bed, randomly flipping through interviews and interesting anecdotes from decades ago. She then pondered the various possibilities of the mystery. It was this slow and hypnotic song that made her eyelids heavy. She fell asleep with her head tilted and hugging a pillow. Not long after, she murmured, "Why is that? It doesn't make sense..."

......

The next morning, Kiyomi Ruri heard her mother calling her to wake up. She rubbed her eyes and woke up, stretching lazily and showing off her beautiful figure. She felt very comfortable sleeping. After a moment, she remembered the experiment and glanced at the tape recorder. She found that the play button had already popped up on its own, and she didn't feel anything when the cassette finished playing.

As for the nightmare...She tried hard to recall for a while, but she had no impression of whether she had dreamed last night. She vaguely remembered that she had a dream, but it wasn't scary at all. It seemed like she and Nanahara Takeshi were chasing a little lamb together, with background music, a slow and slightly melancholic folk song...

It's strange, she couldn't remember clearly, but it was probably like that. Does it count as "thinking during the day and dreaming at night"?

She thought aimlessly while washing and getting dressed, then she stuffed the second-hand movie magazine into her backpack and went to school. During class, she secretly continued flipping through it, but she didn't feel anything after a whole day.

Then she endured until it was time to get off school. As soon as the dismissal bell rang, she rushed out of the door, eager to unravel all the mysteries and find a reasonable explanation for this strange incident. But this time, Sawada Yūko pulled her arm but failed to hold her back, and she watched helplessly as she disappeared like a flying bird. This made her so angry that she fiercely threw the party planning book onto the ground.

Damn it, enough is enough!

Are you two mentally ill? On one side, there's no way to get through to you, and on the other side, you act like you have manic disorder after school, impossible to hold back. How can we ever come together like this!

Do I have to beg you two to fall in love?

(End of this chapter)