The San Francisco Cookie Mystery | Contents | The London Scones Mystery
Putting aside the issue of whether it was good or bad, Osanai-san and I encountered strange mysteries fairly often. Most of these mysteries were presented to us as “problems to be solved,” but there were also times when we were the first to notice something strange that no one else had caught on to. For example, in March, Osanai-san noticed something odd in a shopping mall: the depth at which chocolate spray sank into gelato inside a well-heated store.
To be honest, March wasn’t exactly the right time for gelato. Especially this year, when spring was late to arrive and winter winds kept blowing. Yet, there was definitely a reason why Osanai-san and I set out to taste gelato. It was because I owed Osanai-san a debt from last month. To be precise, Osanai-san owed me a favor, and while trying to pay it back, we got caught up in something unexpected and I ended up receiving too much. When I asked what I could do to make it up to her, Osanai-san thought for a moment and said this.
“Then, buy me gelato.”
We had this conversation during our walk home, while we were outdoors. Osanai-san was dressed in a fluffy padded coat, woolen gloves, a thick scarf, and even a plush pair of earmuffs on her neatly cut bob. I couldn’t take my eyes off her perfect winter outfit. Osanai-san was weak to the cold.
“Are you really okay with gelato?”
“Do you have any other ideas?”
That made me realize I didn’t have any other recommendations. The days were getting longer, and the sky was quickly darkening even at sunset, but Osanai-san let out a small sigh.
“My favorite gelato shop opened its second branch in a more convenient location than the original store, and I wanted to go there. I was planning to go on the last day of the final exams next week, but since you’re treating me to something, we might as well go there now.”
“It’s fine if you already had it in mind. So, where is it?”
“It’s in Lemora.”
The Lemora that Osanai-san mentioned was a massive shopping mall with parking for thousands of cars. Its name was derived from a legendary fish that stopped ships, and its mascot character Lemoran, that resembled a piranha, had gained popularity for being both cute and scary. I’d been there once, and in addition to grocery and clothing stores, there were pharmacies, art supply stores, bookstores, and even movie theaters, furniture and car dealerships. It was located quite far on the outskirts, which was probably why it was so spacious, making it quite a distance from both my house and Osanai-san’s.
I thought for a moment. I wasn’t necessarily against the idea just because it was far, but did I really need to go with Osanai-san just for her to eat gelato?
“Okay, then I’ll just give you some money for the gelato.”
Osanai-san raised her eyebrows sharply.
“That’s the worst suggestion, Kobato-kun.”
“Why?”
“It’s not that I particularly want to go to the gelato shop with you either. I just thought it would be a good opportunity since you wanted to make it up to me. But if you’re trying to solve it with money, then it looks like I was doing you a favor for the money.”
It sounded reasonable, but I still felt a bit uneasy, so I spoke my mind.
“Is it a sentimental thing?”
Osanai-san lightly shook her right hand that was tightly wrapped in a woolen glove.
“I’m going to be angry.”
“That’s a problem.”
“It’s not a sentimental issue. It’s just common sense, to the point of being a petit bourgeois.”
Hearing Osanai-san say that made me feel like I had done something wrong. In fact, I had never thought of wanting to receive cash as a reward for helping her.
I never expected to learn what it meant to be a petit bourgeois from Osanai-san, though.
“Ah, I see. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Osanai-san nodded generously. We decided to go to the gelato shop on the last day of our final exams. Which meant that the priority was to do well on the exams first. My first year of high school would be almost over after those exams. I wonder if we’d changed in any way.
If I’d voiced that question, Osanai-san would have surely replied like this.
“At least, it doesn’t seem like Kobato-kun has learned about people’s feelings in the past year.”
Of course, in that case, I would have retorted, “That goes for both of us.”
There were three subjects on the last day of the final exams, and the last Japanese exam ended at 11:40am.
The exam results were so-so. They weren’t completely disastrous, but weren’t exceptional either, just like always. Osanai-san and I went home separately to change clothes and have lunch, and we agreed to meet directly at two o’clock. To get to Lemora, I had to either ride a bicycle or take a bus, but considering that I was repaying my debt to Osanai-san, I naturally chose to ride my bike.
I thought it would take about thirty minutes to get there, but since it was my first time going that way, I left home at 1:15pm, taking into account the possibility of getting lost.
The weather was clear. Although spring was late, it was March, so when the sun shone, I hardly felt cold even while pedaling my bike against the wind. After pedaling for five to ten minutes, I warmed up, and was even starting to sweat a little. The streetscape gradually shifted from a dense urban residential area to the suburbs. Before long, a rural landscape began to spread out on both sides of the road. It was still too early to plant rice, so the paddy fields were filled with rice stubble. I also noticed some empty cans and cigarette butts scattered around, possibly left behind by people or cars passing by.
Every now and then, I would stop my bike to check my bearings. Looking closely, I realized that there were signs indicating the way to “Lemora” posted here and there, and as long as I followed those arrows, I wouldn’t get lost. Eventually beyond the open land mixed with houses and farmland, a massive shopping mall appeared. I remembered going to the prefectural stadium for a track and field competition in middle school – it was supposedly voluntary participation, but I remember being told to participate anyway. The 400-meter track was a proper stadium with a soccer field inside, and the stands could hold about 25,000 people. It was quite a large facility, but the area of “Lemora” seemed to be at least double that of the stadium.
Once I entered the premises, a vast parking lot lay before me. However, perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon, it was so empty that I worried if they were really doing business. At most, it was only about 10% full… But thinking about it, if parking lot that can hold thousands of cars is 10% full, hundreds of cars were parked there. My sense of scale was numbed by the size.
On the other hand, the bicycle parking area was cramped. It seemed that not many people came by bike.
When I checked my phone for the time, I found that I still had a little time before our appointment at two. Just as I was wondering what to do, a message from Osanai-san arrived on my phone.
“I’m going to be late because of an accident. I’m sorry.”
That wasn’t good. I immediately replied.
“Are you okay?”
A little later, another message arrived.
“I’m on a bus caught in a traffic jam due to an accident. They said a crepe got caught on the power line.”
A pretty peaceful accident, then.
As I had that thought, another message arrived.
“It’s not a crepe, it’s a crane. It’s because of auto correction.”
That would make it a pretty big accident.
There was no indication in Osanai-san’s message about how late she would be. She probably couldn’t predict how long the bus would take, so I had no choice but to enter Lemora first. The automatic door was wide open. That made it well-ventilated and open, but I was slightly worried about bugs getting in.
It was a two-story building, which featured an open atrium extending from the first floor to the ceiling. A sports car was on display right where I entered. I felt it was quite a flamboyant arrangement, but a building of this size would have multiple entrances, so I’d probably just entered right in front of the car dealership.
I was supposed to meet with Osanai-san at the bookstore. Looking at the guide map, it was on the second floor, so I headed to the nearest escalator. On the way, I saw a large clock installed on a golden pillar. For no particular reason, I looked at the clock face, and the hands showed that it was a little past twelve noon. Of course, it was almost two. It was such a fancy clock, but it was wrong. The lack of maintenance made me feel a twinge of unease for the future of Lemora.
The bookstore was quite bustling even at this hour. There were a few high school students in different uniforms than ours among the customers. Even if they were from different schools, their exam period probably were probably not that much different, so they must have come here after their exams like I had. Thinking that way made me feel a strange sense of camaraderie towards them.
While browsing the bookstore’s shelves, it suddenly occurred to me that our houses weren’t that far apart, so we could have come here together instead of meeting directly. I would have been stuck in traffic too, but at least I wouldn’t be wasting time like this. It hadn’t crossed my mind – after all, we didn’t see any meaning in doing things together.
Even after browsing through the paperback books and magazines, Osanai-san still hadn’t arrived. It seemed like the traffic jam was quite severe. I walked around the store once, bought a paperback book, and checked my phone, but there were no messages, so I walked around again. Feeling a bit restless, I picked up an art magazine and flipped through the pages to see if there was any articles about contemporary artists I knew only by name, but there wasn’t any. I put the magazine back on the shelf and looked around for something to pass the time when my hand bumped into someone else’s. Startled, I apologized.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
It was Osanai-san.
“Don’t stand behind someone without saying anything.”
Osanai-san obediently lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
“That took quite a while.”
“Right. I was thinking of running since the bus wasn’t moving.”
I checked the time on my phone, and it was almost 2:30. I thought I’d waited longer, but it hadn’t actually taken that much time.
“Shall we go, then?”
Osanai-san nodded.
Since the gelato store was one Osanai-san wanted to visit, I expected it to be very popular, and that it would be an independent store in a good location within Lemora.
But contrary to my expectations, Osanai-san took me to the food court on the first floor. In the large showcase next to the entrance, there were samples of pudding à la mode piled high with fruits and whipped cream, a parfait that was unbelievably tall, and ramen lifted up by chopsticks floating in the air. Not many customers were in the food court, probably because it was past mealtime. At a glance, I could see what looked like a preschool child and their parents, two girls in sailor uniforms occupying a two-seater, and a woman in a suit further into the food court. There was also a man in a shirt and tie who had spread out papers on the table and was talking to a boy who looked to be a high school student.
“It’s quite empty.”
I verbalized my thoughts. Osanai-san looked satisfied.
“That’s right. I’m glad.”
“I thought there would be more middle or high school students. There were a few in uniforms who looked like they came after the exam at the bookstore.”
Osanai-san, glancing around, replied with an attitude that seemed like her mind was elsewhere.
“There’s a McDonald’s in another place, and it was really crowded.”
Then she spotted the store she was aiming for and added while looking straight at it.
“This place is empty only now. Once it becomes more known that Abernetty’s is here, it’ll definitely become really crowded. The main store is always popular.”
Osanai-san approached Abernetty’s, raising her thumb. The store was wedged between two stalls named Sugake and Tacotaco Festa. On the sign were the words “Abernetty’s Gelato of Rome”1 in a stylish font. If Osanai-san hadn’t told me the name of the store, would I have been able to read it?
The first thing that caught my eye was a glass case serving as a freezer in front of the stall. Colorful gelato was lined up in metal containers, perfectly arranged – I guessed it was gelato since it was a gelato shop, but its appearance was indistinguishable from ice cream. At the bottom of the case, there was a purple panel with the letters “S.P.Q.R.” written in bold, heavy font.
“What does SPQR mean?”
As I muttered, Osanai-san replied without taking her eyes off the gelato.
“Senātus Populusque Rōmānus. In other words, it means the Roman Empire.”
“…Why do you know that?”
Osanai-san tilted her head without taking her eyes off the gelato.
“Why do you think?”
The wall behind the case had a large photo of wide stairs. The stairs were wide, and a building resembling a church with two towers was visible on top. It was definitely not a Japanese photo. It was probably somewhere in Rome. It looked like a scene I had seen somewhere. Standing between the case and the wall was an employee in an orange and white striped uniform, a bored expression on their face.
That didn’t seem particularly Roman.
Behind the employee, there was a sink, a refrigerator, and a narrow cooking area.
“Let’s make our order, then.”
Osanai-san grabbed me as I headed toward the store. In her hand was a plastic plate for indicating that the seat was in use.
“Kobato-kun. Securing a seat comes first.”
“It’s so empty here, though…”
“Securing a seat comes first.”
“Alright.”
Osanai-san looked around the food court. Following her gaze, I realized that it had a second level. Should it be called a loft, to be precise? Osanai-san pointed to that loft and said, “Let’s go there.”
Of course, we had to go up the stairs. I wasn’t reluctant to put in that much effort, but I asked anyway.
“Why?”
The answer came immediately.
“Warm air rises.”
Understood. As we climbed the stairs, we passed by a table occupied by a man wearing a tie and a high school student.
I heard the voice asking, “Do you have experience with takoyaki?” It seemed like a part-time job interview. A spring break part-time job… Should I think about getting one too?
We chose a suitable table on the loft, and Osanai-san placed the plastic plate on the table. It was indeed quite warm up here. I was impressed that it was as Osanai-san had predicted, but the person in question frowned slightly, took off her coat and started to loosen her scarf. It seemed that this temperature had exceeded her expectations. As Osanai-san was about to turn her body around, I asked her what I’d been a little curious about.
“So, is this Abernetty’s a famous place?”
I might have asked an unexpected question, but since Osanai-san liked talking about sweets almost as much as eating them, she properly informed me.
“It’s famous locally. One day, the store manager started selling gelato in a corner of the grocery store near the station in the next town. He entrusted the grocery business to his family and focused on gelato, and it gradually became a hot topic.”
Osanai-san pulled out a chair and sat down. She gestured for me to sit as well. I hadn’t expected such a long story.
“According to the town magazine Wakayu,” she clearly stated the source of information, then continued her story.
“The store manager sometimes goes to Europe for product purchases, and when he first went to Rome, he had another personal goal. He loved the movie Roman Holiday he saw in his youth, and he wanted to experience something like that as a youthful memory. In other words….”
“Batting a person with a guitar?”
Osanai-san ignored my words without even glancing at me.
“Eating gelato on the Spanish Steps.”
Oh, so that was what the stairs in the photo on the wall was about.
“But there were so many tourists that it might have been a nuisance to the locals, so food was prohibited in the Spanish Square, and the store manager’s dream couldn’t be realized. He was disappointed, but he thought he had to eat gelato anyway, so he went into any gelato shop… and the gelato he ate there changed his fate forever.”
That sounded like an exaggeration…
No, if he found his lifelong profession thanks to that, it couldn’t be considered an exaggeration.
“The store manager returned to Japan and researched gelato… He said in an interview that he opened up the store because he wanted to convey the taste that stirs the heart to many people. I went to the original store once, and there was a huge line of kids my age.”
Which meant that Abernetty’s was not a chain store backed by large amounts capital.
“It’s a bit harsh to say, but it’s surprising that such a privately-owned store would be in a food court. I thought specialty shops like these would avoid places like food courts.”
I muttered, and Osanai-san looked at me sharply with cold eyes.
“Kobato-kun. They say that a bad workman blames his tools.”
“I see. My thinking was too shallow.”
“And operating a business is about choosing a location.”
Which was it?
But Osanai-san was very serious.
“I thought the original store was really crowded and far away, so I couldn’t easily go there, but when I heard that the second branch opened in Lemora, I was really happy.”
“Then it would have been perfect for celebrating after the exam.”
“Indeed. I didn’t expect to be treated by Kobato-kun though.”
Was I being a hindrance? If not for my compensation, wouldn’t Osanai-san have wanted to come alone? As if reading my thoughts, Osanai-san added.
“It worked out well. If I’d been alone, I might have been mistaken for a middle school student and warned by the security guard.”
I wasn’t that thick-headed to not notice that she was trying to reassure me.
We went from the loft and faced the colorful gelato lined up in the case in front of Abernetty’s. There was milk, pistachio, hazelnut, mixed berry, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, coffee, rice… rice?
“Rice?”
I asked Osanai-san, but she didn’t answer as she was focused on the showcase. Maybe she didn’t want to explain the product in front of the staff. No, she was probably just too focused on choosing.
Among the eight flavors, only the coffee showed no signs of having been scooped. Had no one ordered it up till now? I felt sorry for it, so I ordered a coffee gelato. Osanai-san continued to stare at the flavors as if she had a grudge against gelato, but after a while, her expression softened, and she spoke in a calm voice.
“I’d like to have a milk gelato. Please add chocolate spray as topping.”
So there was topping? I hadn’t checked the menu properly. The staff wasn’t very friendly. Nodding silently, they used a metal spatula to scoop the flavors we’d ordered into purple paper cups printed with the store’s name. They then sprinkled chocolate spray on the milk-flavored gelato, stuck a wooden spoon into each cup, and placed them on a plastic tray. Those so-called spoons had no recess, so it might be more accurate to call it wooden chopsticks in the shape of a spoon.
“Coffee, and milk with chocolate spray topping.”
Before paying, Osanai-san grabbed two self-service wet-wipes and a few paper napkins. While paying, I had a realization. Compared to the desserts Osanai-san usually pursued, gelato was cheap.
Osanai-san carried the tray with the gelato. As we climbed the stairs to the loft, I asked her.
“Osanai-san, did you choose gelato to lighten the burden on me?”
Osanai-san seemed taken aback, as if I had suddenly spoken in a dialect.
“I don’t understand the intent of your question.”
I guess it was an excessive thought.
Returning to the table we’d secured, Osanai-san placed the gelato in front of each of us. I wiped my hands with a paper napkin and picked up the wooden spoon. Osanai-san placed a wet wipe under the cup, so I followed suit.
The coffee gelato was, as the name suggested, coffee-colored. It was generously filled and pressed into a triangular pyramid shape, with a sharp tip. I didn’t know as much about sweets as Osanai-san, but I’d eaten gelato before, so I had an image of what it would be like.
However, that image wavered the moment I stuck the spoon into the tip. I could feel the weight in my hands. It piqued my interest, so I lifted the spoon up, and the gelato stretched. It wasn’t as much as the Turkish ice cream I’d seen on TV, but this gelato left a trail as I pulled on it. While thinking that it was somewhat different, I put some coffee gelato into my mouth… it turned out to be incredibly bitter and sweet. The richness of flavor completely defied my expectations!
I had the impression that gelato was a low-fat version of ice cream. To be more precise, I thought it was a diet version of ice cream, something that people who want to eat ice cream but are concerned about calories would choose as a second option. That couldn’t be further from the truth. This gelato was not a substitute for something or a taste that was held back. The bold flavor spread in my mouth, and I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of my prejudice. Osanai-san would definitely like something like this.
“This is amazing.”
Osanai-san didn’t answer. Holding the spoon in her right hand, she was frozen like a statue, and was staring intently at the gelato with chocolate spray on it. Did she turn to stone from being so moved? As if unable to withstand the heat of Osanai-san’s gaze, the tip of the triangular pyramid-shaped gelato looked like it was about to collapse. I cautiously spoke up.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
Coming to her senses, Osanai-san grinned and silently stuck the spoon into the gelato. After taking a mouthful, she nodded so solemnly that I wondered if it was for the sake of decorum.
“Is it tasty?”
“It’s easy to eat.”
Good to hear that.
We could naturally see the floor below from the loft we’d occupied. At a table where takoyaki and pancakes were placed, parents were trying to stop a child who was jumping around on the sofa. Two people in sailor uniforms were sitting in front of empty glasses, seemingly discussing something seriously. And I noticed that the behavior of a certain customer – more precisely, the absence of action – was strange. I put a spoonful of gelato in my mouth and said.
“There’s a person in a suit over there.”
Osanai-san took a short glance.
There was a woman in a suit sitting at one of the inmost tables on the first floor. Her upper garment was a dark gray jacket, and her lower garment was a skirt of the same color. She was leaning on the table, staring at her phone screen. Right in front of her was a gelato. Osanai-san silently put the gelato in her mouth, as if to say, “So what?”. I moved my spoon and continued.
“That person was already here when we arrived. She hasn’t gotten up from her seat.”
“…Uh-huh.”
“So she must have ordered gelato before us… but why isn’t she eating?”
Osanai-san replied expressionlessly.
“That’s right, it’s a very big question. You might not know, Kobato-kun, but gelato melts.”
Saying that, Osanai-san pointed at my gelato. She probably meant to stop talking nonsense and eat quickly. Following her advice, I took another spoonful and put it in my mouth. The coffee aroma went up my nose. It didn’t have a scent when it was cold, but the moment I put it in my mouth and the gelato melted, a subtle fragrance wafted up. Seeing Osanai-san put a spoonful of gelato with some chocolate spray into her mouth, I spoke.
“The coffee aroma is amazing. Yours must be certainly incredibly milky too.”
“That’s a strange way to put it, but yes, it’s certainly incredibly milky. And it doesn’t feel cold on my teeth.”
Glad to hear that.
The woman in the suit still didn’t seem to want to eat the gelato. I took a sideward glance at her.
I could see the side of her face in my field of vision. She looked to be in her mid-20s. The suit doesn’t seem to fit her properly. Was she not used to wearing it? Her hair was semi-long, and the shirt she wore under her jacket was probably white, but it was hard to see due to the angle. Her legs were hidden by the table. On the table was only a white gelato in a purple paper cup, filled high and shaped like a triangular pyramid, just like ours. The paper cup had the store name printed on it, so it was definitely gelato from Abernetty’s.
As I turned around, I noticed that Osanai-san was staring intently at my coffee gelato. Even Osanai-san wouldn’t covet someone else’s food… but just in case, I asked.
“You want some?”
“Nope.”
Alright.
Osanai-san’s milk gelato had turned into an isolated island floating in a sea of gelato. In that sea, pellets of chocolate spray were slowly sinking.
“Is the chocolate spray good?”
Osanai-san answered while poking the gelato island with her spoon.
“Whether it’s delicious or not isn’t really important, but it makes my heart race.”
“I kind of get it.”
“Whenever it’s on the menu as a topping, I end up adding it…”
She muttered as if it was a weakness she had to overcome.
I glance at the woman in the suit again. She was engrossed in her phone and still hadn’t touched the gelato. I noticed another point of strangeness. She was sitting on a chair, and across the table was an empty sofa facing her. The first floor of the food court had sofas installed along the outer edge. In other words, the mysterious customer who wasn’t eating gelato was sitting alone facing the wall.
I scooped up some the coffee gelato. The wooden spoon scraped the bottom of the paper cup.
Osanai-san tilted her paper cup and tried to scoop up the melted gelato with her spoon. Having no depression, the spoon was not suitable for scooping liquids at all, so she was struggling.
“How about drinking from the cup?”
As I suggested that, Osanai-san frowned slightly.
“I feel like that would be losing.”
Who was she being challenged by?
“How was it?”
“It was smooth.”
I delivered the last spoonful of gelato to my mouth. It was my first experience intentionally coming to a specialty store to eat gelato. With an empty paper cup in front of me, I reflected on how rich it was, when I had a realization. The rich flavor didn’t linger on my tongue.
With soft serve ice cream or regular ice cream, you might end up wanting a sip of water or something after enjoying it. That’s because the sweetness or richness would linger on your tongue. But that was not the case for gelato, or at least for Abernetty’s gelato. It had a very deep flavor and intense aroma, but my mouth felt refreshed as if I had just drunk water.
There are so many surprises about this place. If this is gelato, what on earth have I been eating until now?
“It was delicious. Thanks for telling me about this place.”
But my heartfelt compliment was brushed off nonchalantly. Osanai-san was still struggling with the recessless spoon.
I looked over at the customer who wasn’t eating gelato.
It wasn’t exactly a storm of inhalation, but we’d eaten the gelato relatively quickly. As Osanai-san had pointed out, the gelato will melt if she didn’t hurry. But that woman seemed to have no intention of eating gelato at all. Looking that way, I casually said.
“That person is sitting at a four-person table.”
The two seats along the outer edge were sofas, and the two seats facing them were chairs. The customer who wasn’t eating gelato was sitting in a chair, with a bag on the chair next to her. It was a black bag that looks quite wide. Osanai-san put down her spoon and let out a small sigh. She looked up and glared at me.
“Why are you so curious, Kobato-kun?”
I waved my hand dismissively.
“Well, this gelato is delicious. Plus, I can’t believe she’s just letting it melt without even touching it. I think it’s natural to wonder if there’s some reason behind it.”
Osanai-san’s voice was cold.
“Of course. So whats the real reason?”
“That’s really all there is to it.”
I knew exactly what Osanai-san meant by that.
I had the terrible tendency of wanting to expose secrets that someone is hiding, or lies they don’t want to reveal, and show off my logic in front of others. Because of this bad personality, I’d hurt others, and myself. At the end of my embarrassing middle school days, Osanai-san and I made a promise. If I tried to show off my clumsy wisdom to others, Osanai-san would stop me, and I in turn would correct Osanai-san’s bad habits. This was the reciprocal relationship we had.
Right now, Osanai-san was restraining me according to that promise. I was grateful that she was trying to keep that promise. However, I had something to say about it.
“There’s no one else here. No matter what I think or say, no one gets hurt. I think it’s only natural to be forgiven for wondering about something strange, even in light of our promise.”
Osanai-san stared at me.
“I thought so too. So I didn’t say anything during the Paris Macaron incident. I thought that if we were just enjoying a modest intellectual game together, it wouldn’t be a crime. But Kobato-kun, do you remember how many things you’ve exposed since last year? If you had decided never to expose anything again during the San Francisco Cookie mystery, I wouldn’t have gotten involved at all.”
Since she brought up that case, I couldn’t say a word against that. But even so, Osanai-san’s words were too one-sided.
“I admit I was careless. If you say I was showing off, there’s a part of me that feels guilty. But Osanai-san, you also anticipated that and used me quite conveniently.”
Last autumn, Osanai-san made a friend. She was a middle school student living in Nagoya, and her father was a famous patissier. Because of this girl, Osanai-san had taken me out several times. On a few of those occasions, Osanai-san had probably factored in my personality of wanting to reveal someone’s secrets.
“It’s not very admirable to stay silent when it’s convenient and then lecture me when it’s over.”
In that moment, a gleam of joy passed through Osanai-san’s eyes.
She hardly ever wanted to admit it, but Osanai-san would have a slightly happy expression when faced with sweets or the appearance of an enemy – but the gleam in her eyes quickly faded.
“That… can’t be a separate issue, can it?”
“I don’t intend to unilaterally blame you since I jumped in excitedly too.”
Nodding, Osanai-san looked at the customer in suit who wasn’t eating gelato.
“It was hard to say it in front of you, Kobato-kun, but to be honest, I was curious about that person too. Ordering gelato and leaving it untouched is a serious insult. If there’s a reason to justify that kind of behavior, I want to know it.”
That statement was either a reconciliation or at least a temporary ceasefire request.
Osanai-san’s advice was certainly precious, and I might need to be a bit more cautious. The desire to become a petit bourgeois wasn’t just a passing thought, after all. But I couldn’t deny that I’d lost some restraint lately. At this rate, my bad habits would resurface, causing everyone to be hurt.
I’ll have to be careful starting tomorrow.
Now, for today, where should the train of logic start?
We were above and to the side of the customer not eating gelato. What we could see was her side profile and the table in front of her. The gelato was filled high in a purple paper cup, shaped into a triangle with a spatula. I could also see the wooden spoon stuck in it. The gelato was white in color.
“What kind of gelato do you think that is?”
Osanai-san stared at the gelato on the table for a moment and said, “Right now, Abernetty’s is selling two flavors that are white: milk and rice.”
She then continued speaking with a thoughtful expression.
“It certainly looks like she hasn’t touched the gelato at all. But for us, we can only see one side of the gelato. The woman in the suit might be eating from a side that we can’t see.”
Playing with her food… that possibility couldn’t be denied. I’d also tried to see how much I can eat a shortcake without toppling it.
Now, was it really possible that the woman was eating the gelato acrobatically, and it simply looked like it hadn’t decreased at all from our side?
“It’s interesting, but I don’t think so. I’ve been quite curious about that person, and she really hasn’t moved her spoon even once.”
“Right.”
“No objections?”
Osanai-san nodded.
“I don’t. I didn’t think that was true either.”
“Then why did you say that?”
“…Imagining a half-eaten gelato was kind of fun.”
I’m glad you had fun.
To clarify the premise of the story, I asked.
“It’s not about that person in particular, but in general, are there any reasons for not eating gelato in front of you?”
Osanai-san thought for a moment and answered.
“Yes.”
“Really? Tell me.”
After giving me a nod, Osanai-san took a breath and started speaking quickly.
“I realized after buying it that it contained allergens. I’m expressing my intention to complain about the quality. It was actually ordered by someone else. There were bugs on it, so I lost my appetite. I received an urgent call and mentally couldn’t handle it. I prefer to eat gelato when it’s melted. I lost my desire to eat after ordering incorrectly. The morning information program said today’s lucky item is melted gelato. I’m waiting for the drink I ordered to arrive. I was going to take a picture and post it online, but since I just changed my phone, I’m struggling with that. Harassment against the store. Actually, I only ordered gelato as a cooling agent for a burn. I’ve been suffering from sudden abdominal pain or toothache and can’t eat it. As a devout believer of the melted gelato cult, I believe melting gelato is a service to God. Having gelato in front of me is a signal to people watching from somewhere else. I thought sweets go into a separate stomach, but now that I have gelato in front of me, I’m so full that I don’t think I can eat it. And…”
“Okay, that’s enough, thank you.”
Amazing. While listing so many possibilities, Osanai-san never stuttered once.
“Is the truth within those possibilities?”
“What do you think, Kobato-kun?”
I tilted my head.
“None of them are 0% likely. However, I don’t think that any of them have any plausibility to provide a convincing answer. Some of them sound possible, like harassment or complaints against the store, or allergens being present, but even so, I don’t understand why the person in the suit is still sitting there.”
Osanai-san nodded.
“Yes. The strange thing is not that she doesn’t eat gelato, but that she doesn’t leave even when she’s not eating it.”
That was true. The problem was gradually being narrowed down.
“I was about to mention it earlier, but that person is sitting in a four-person table.”
Osanai-san tilted her head.
“I think three people can sit on the sofa without being forced to squeeze. So the store probably thinks that seat is for five people… By the way, I think I know what you want to say, Kobato-kun.”
There were no counter seats in this food court, but there were two-person tables. For example, the two people in sailor uniforms were using a two-person table. But since it was empty, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to use a four-person or five-person table alone.
However, using such a large space alone and sitting facing the wall seemed to indicate something. If one could choose between a chair and a sofa, wouldn’t they be more likely to choose the sofa? Especially if they placed their bag next to them.
Moreover, If they were sitting at a table by the wall, wouldn’t it be more common to sit with their back against the wall rather than facing it?
All of these strange points were not necessarily smoking guns. But there was something that could be said if they overlapped like this. Unexpectedly, both Osanai-san and I spoke it out loud at the same time.
“There must be someone with her.”
“I think there was someone else.”
If there was someone else on the sofa by the wall, the way the suited woman was sitting wouldn’t seem strange. The other person could be a friend, or if you think the woman had intentionally given up the sofa seat, you could think of them as a superior. And the woman was waiting for her companion to return, so she neither ate nor left the food court.
But two problems remained.
“Where did the person who came with her go?”
“…Are you asking me to list the possibilities like before?”
It was fun to listen to Osanai-san constantly saying this and that. I wanted to ask her once more, but… well, let’s not do that.
“I think she went to make a phone call, but it’s hard to be specific. Besides, no matter what, even if we know that the woman in the suit came with someone else…”
“More than two people came together.”
I got interrupted. She was right, it might not just be one person who left the seat.
“Even if we know that more than two people came together, that doesn’t mean it explains why that woman isn’t eating her gelato. If the other person is a superior or someone they feel hesitant around, they might hesitate to start eating. But could that really be the reason they’re not eating gelato?”
Osanai-san asserted strongly.
“No.”
…Her saying it so definitively made me rather doubtful about it.
The woman in the suit came to the food court with a superior, and for some reason, that superior left the seat, so she couldn’t eat alone and had no choice but to wait with a gelato in front of her… thinking in that vein didn’t seem to produce any major contradictions. Although I couldn’t help but feel that there was something missing, it wasn’t a bad conclusion that can be drawn from observation alone.
As I had that thought, Osanai-san continued.
“After all, there’s only one gelato on the table.”
For a moment, my logic got tangled. There was only one gelato on the table… Right. But what did that mean?
Osanai-san spoke sharply, as if annoyed by my dull senses.
“I think it’s quite possible that the woman came with a superior and that they left the seat. But in that situation, I can’t imagine that she would order gelato alone. She would either order together with her superior or not order at all.”
…That made sense.
But I still couldn’t swallow it down.
“It’s possible that the woman and her superior ordered gelato together, but the superior ate it first and then left the seat.”
Osanai-san immediately countered without hesitation.
“If that were the case, the suited woman wouldn’t need to feel hesitant. She would have already started eating.”
“The superior might not have had an appetite and told the suited woman that they were fine and to order what she liked.”
“Still, whether it’s tea, coffee, or water, there should be something else on the table. If not, the superior didn’t order anything while the suited woman ordered gelato alone, and she didn’t touch the gelato at all because the superior left… I can’t imagine a situation where this would happen.”
I couldn’t come up with a counterargument for that.
In front of the suited woman was white gelato.
There must have been someone else at the table she was using.
She wasn’t touching the gelato…
What could be the truth that integrates these three things? The case happening in front of us was much more bizarre than I’d thought, but I still didn’t think it was an unreasonable situation that couldn’t be explained. There must be a skewer that pierces through the three situations like a three-colored dango. I muttered.
“Maybe the premise was wrong.”
“The premise?”
“What I thought was obvious might be wrong. If not, I can’t understand the situation of not touching the gelato while waiting for someone.”
The only thing that came to mind was the interpretation that the gelato was ordered by the companion and not her.
Like Osanai-san had listed earlier, the thought that “it was actually ordered by someone else” might actually be correct. But at the spacious four or five-person table, the white gelato was clearly in front of the woman in the suit. Saying that it was not ordered by her would be too far-fetched.
“The premise is wrong… If it’s wrong, what could be wrong about it?”
Osanai-san put on a very serious expression.
“Actually, this reality is not real, but just your life flashing before your eyes, Kobato-kun.”
“I sincerely hope that’s not the case.”
“Actually, I’m not me, but just an imaginary being created by the lonely Kobato-kun.”
“An imaginary being doesn’t eat gelato with someone else’s money.”
“Actually, I’m not satisfied with the gelato from Abernetty’s.”
“I won’t stop you if you’re going to order another one.”
But that wasn’t it.
I stared intently at the woman again. The suit didn’t seem to fit her well. Late twenties, probably a woman. She kept fiddling with her phone, but it didn’t seem like she was writing anything. She just kept staring blankly at the screen.
“…That person is probably someone who works for a company.”
Osanai-san didn’t say anything.
“Today is an exam day, and we have no classes in the afternoon, so we’re here. Then why is that person in the shopping mall food court on a weekday afternoon?”
“There are all sorts of people. She could be taking a day off from work. She might be a student in the first place, or she might not be working right now. You can’t tell just by looking.”
That was true.
After a moment, Osanai-san added.
“…But generally speaking, that suit definitely looks like work attire.”
So she was a working adult. I checked my phone to see that it was 2:45pm. I didn’t know the general working system of the world in detail, but it would usually be too early to leave work at this time.
“I thought that the person in the suit came to the food court to eat gelato. But that assumption was a bit clumsy. Maybe that’s where it went wrong.”
Osanai-san had probably reached the same conclusion. She didn’t say anything, but quietly nodded.
“She came to work.”
She came to work, but since her business partner was absent, she couldn’t go back and thus ended up fiddling with her phone.
“If it’s work, shouldn’t they be talking in the office?”
Osanai-san retorted. It was a valid question, but we were witnessing evidence to the contrary.
“Earlier, there was a part-time job interview in the corner of the seating area. Since they were asking about takoyaki experience, I think it’s a part-time job interview for the takoyaki shop in this food court. If they’re interviewing on the floor instead of in an office, it means that either there’s no office available for the food court’s tenants, or if there is, it’s extremely small, or it’s shared among the tenants, making it difficult to use for their own store’s work. That’s what I think.”
Osanai-san tilted her head slightly but soon nodded.
“I’ve seen other stores conducting interviews on the seating area.”
“Me too. So, let’s assume this woman came here to work, but what could it mean to have gelato in front of her without even touching her spoon?”
I thought about it. Could not touching the spoon mean that the gelato shape shouldn’t be ruined? If so, there were indeed some things that came to mind.
“A magazine shoot perhaps?”
Osanai-san immediately replied.
“No pictures were taken.”
“Maybe a health inspection?”
“She didn’t check anything.”
“A mystery shopper?”
“She’s not wearing a disguise.”
Being a mystery shopper doesn’t necessarily mean that one has to be in disguise, I think. Probably.
I looked at the white gelato. If the woman in the suit came to work, I couldn’t imagine that the only gelato on the table was unrelated to her work. But if that was the case, she was too indifferent to the gelato. With no business partner in front of her, that gelato probably has no meaning.
What kind of work can be done by placing gelato in front of her on that four-person or five-person table?
I have a feeling that I’d seen something. In this food court, or even before that, I’d noticed something. Why wasn’t the suited woman eating gelato? Wasn’t that the answer I was looking for?
At last, I succeeded in doubting the premise.
“…Osanai-san.”
“Yes?”
“It might be too late to ask… but is that really gelato?”
Osanai-san looked at what is placed in front of the suited person. She did so intently, carefully.
“…It looks like gelato.”
“Right, it looks like gelato.”
Could bringing something that looks like gelato and showing it to someone lead to something?
It could.
I’d definitely seen it, at the entrance of the food court.
Pudding à la mode piled high with fruits and whipped cream.
A parfait that was unbelievably tall.
Ramen lifted up by chopsticks floating in the air.
I said, “That’s a food sample.”
“…Ah.”
Osanai-san’s eyes widened for a moment. It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t proud of reaching the conclusion a step ahead of her.
“Abernetty’s recently opened here, and they didn’t display samples at the entrance. The woman in the suit is from a food sample production company that brought a prototype. It’s natural that she isn’t eating gelato because that’s not gelato.”
“Then…”
While looking at the gelato, or rather, the gelato sample, Osanai-san muttered to herself.
“I wonder if her business partner was the manager of Abernetty’s.”
“Probably. I think there isn’t a dedicated sales… or marketing person for food samples at Abernetty’s. It’s likely the manager.”
“Now I get it. So that’s why the woman in the suit was made to wait.”
“Exactly,” I was about to say, but swallowed my words. Osanai-san’s statement seemed understandable, but iI actually couldn’t make sense of it.
The woman in the suit came here with Abernetty’s manager for a food sample contract, but since the manager left their seat, she was made to wait. Up to that point, I could think of it as reasonable. However, Osanai-san was saying that if the business partner of the woman was Abernetty’s manager, then it was made sense for her to be waiting. The logic didn’t really flow.
The only thing I could think of was that Osanai-san had a hunch about why Abernetty’s manager left their seat. Without even a clue for speculation, I reflexively asked.
“Why does she have to wait just because her business partner is the manager?”
Osanai-san said it as if it were obvious.
“There’ll be complaint calls, and countermeasures need to be devised. The manager is definitely in a hectic state right now.”
In my mind, I imagined Osanai-san dancing and singing busily. It might be the first time I’d heard someone use the phrase “in a hectic state” in a real conversation.
Putting that aside…
“What do you mean? Osanai-san, did you know something about why Abernetty’s would receive complaints?”
“Rather than knowing…”
As if she were told to explain the obvious again, Osanai-san’s expression changed to a troubled one.
“I feel like I’ve been talking about that.”
“That?”
“The reason for the complaints to Abernetty’s. Kobato-kun, do you remember what I said about this gelato?”
Hmm…
Osanai-san pressed on.
“One word is fine, do you remember?”
Yes, Osanai-san definitely said,
“Delicious.”
With a wry smile and a somewhat resigned expression, Osanai-san shook her head.
“That was what you said, Kobato-kun. That’s what I was wondering about, but I knew it… Kobato-kun, you weren’t listening to what I was saying.”
No way. I thought myself to be usually quite attentive to what people say. If it were like usual, I wouldn’t have missed Osanai-san’s words.
But, just for today…
I might have been a little distracted. I couldn’t think there was a background I didn’t know about in the way Osanai-san calmly ate gelato. I just thought she was eating it deliciously as she always did.
With a sigh, Osanai-san said.
“It started with the chocolate spray. When I came back to this seat, I doubted my eyes. The chocolate spray was settled in the gelato.”
That reminded me. Osanai-san also didn’t try to put the spoon in her gelato for a moment. I definitely saw that the chocolate spray was settled in the gelato. Then, what did Osanai-san say?
“I said something like this. This gelato is easy to eat. It doesn’t feel cold on my teeth. It’s smooth… I’m not satisfied with Abernetty’s gelato.”
I see.
“…Osanai-san, did you really say that?”
“Yup. That’s all I said.”
Putting her statements together, what she wanted to say was clear. I felt sorry for her.
“Your gelato was starting to melt.”
Osanai-san nodded and replied.
“In general, gelato is often stored at a higher temperature than ice cream. While ice cream is stored at -18 or -20 degrees Celsius, gelato can be stored at around -10 or -8 degrees Celsius. So when you put it in your mouth, it melts right away, giving a smooth texture. But my milk gelato was definitely not properly temperature-controlled…”
It started melting as soon as it was brought to the table. Indeed, compared to mine, which I’d enjoyed until the last bite, Osanai-san’s gelato had almost turned into a liquid state.
“I wish you’d told me.”
As I said that, Osanai-san opened her eyes wide in surprise and then smiled weakly.
“Right. I should have mentioned it.”
…I realized again that I’d made a mistake from that weak voice. Why had Osanai-san not verbally expressed that Abernetty’s gelato was not in an ideal state?
There was no need to think about it.
Because even though it was compensation, I’d paid for it. She couldn’t say it was bad in front of the person who was treating her to gelato.
As if trying to change the subject, Osanai-san turned her head. At the end of her gaze was the suited woman who was stretching her body, apparently tired of waiting.
“If they sold gelato at that temperature, they could expect complaints. If it’s eaten in the store, that’s one thing, but if it was takeout, they might hear complaints that the gelato was almost melted when the customer opens the box at home. In the first place, it would probably melt once and then re-cool, causing the air to escape and the flavor to deteriorate. It wouldn’t taste good. If it’s revealed that they sold gelato like that, the manager would be busy cleaning up… I knew Abernetty’s was in turmoil. So when Kobato-kun deduced that the suited woman’s business partner was from Abernetty’s, I understood why she was left unattended.”
Since Osanai-san had eaten it herself, it was true that the gelato was quick to melt. However, there’s something I didn’t quite understand.
“I don’t think the coffee gelato I ate started melting so quickly. I might not have noticed the abnormality because I’m not used to gelato, but…”
“I was confused about that too,” Osanai-san said.
“My gelato was melting. But Kobato-kun’s gelato didn’t have that issue, and the one in front of the suited woman was completely unmelted even when left unattended. I didn’t know what was going on. I thought maybe my milk gelato had some problem. But I couldn’t imagine a situation where only the milk gelato had an issue after being cooled in the same case. However, if the gelato in front of the suited woman is a sample, it can be ex plained.”
Osanai-san gazes into the air as if searching her memory.
“…The coffee gelato was almost full. That probably wasn’t because no one had ordered it since the morning, but because it had just arrived.”
“…Arrived?”
“<bernetty’s doesn’t make gelato here. You might have seen it earlier, but there’s not enough cooking space in Abernetty’s booth.”
“…I didn’t notice that at all.”
“Anyway, There wasn’t. There was only a sink and a refrigerator. Gelato doesn’t need a lot of cooking space, but that’s too small.”
She really took a good look…
“Then, the gelato sold at this second branch should be transported from the original store in front of the station. The coffee gelato just arrived. There are various reasons, such as whether it’s to replenish the sold-out stock or if the original store doesn’t have the capacity to make all kinds of gelato at once.”
If that explanation was correct, I was lucky. But it would have been better if Osanai-san was the lucky one. I wasn’t particularly obsessed with sweets, but Osanai-san was. Since it was a rare occasion, I wanted her to eat something delicious.
I whipped out a notebook and pen from my bag.
“Based on my sense that there was no problem with the quality of the coffee gelato, the order of events would be like this.”
- Abernetty’s failed to manage the gelato temperature. At least the milk flavor, and probably other gelatos, melted due to the rise in temperature.
- (Maybe someone bought gelato to go.)
- The woman in the suit came and started negotiations with the manager about food samples.
- The coffee gelato arrived from the main store.
- (Maybe they received a complaint about the quality of the takeout gelato.)
- The temperature management failure was discovered, and the manager became busy dealing with it. The woman in the suit was left unattended.
- Osanai-san and I visited Abernetty’s second branch.
Osanai-san solemnly read my notes several times before giving her approval.
“I think it happened like this.”
She then rested her chin on her hands and stared at the paper cup with the unsightly remaining chocolate spray.
“I was unlucky. Temperature management for gelato isn’t that difficult. To make delicious gelato, you need the skills of a gelatiere, but to store the made gelato, just setting the freezing temperature should be enough. But if the gelato melted, it might be… a machine malfunction.”
Osanai-san rests her chin on her hands and lowers her head.
“I’m sorry, Kobato-kun. You came all this way, and I couldn’t say it was delicious. I know no one is to blame, but it’s frustrating.”
Yes, Osanai-san. You were really unlucky. A machine malfunction, that’s really bad timing. Surely, there will be good things someday.
– That is what I should have said.
But I couldn’t.
The reason Osanai-san’s gelato didn’t taste good wasn’t just a machine malfunction.
I mean, in a broad sense, it could be called a machine malfunction, but there was a bigger cause. I was at a bit of a loss as for whether I should mention it.
As Osanai-san pointed out, I had been careless lately. There was certainly a time when I boasted my insignificant wisdom and revealed hidden truths faster than anyone else to show off my intelligence. If I were told I should be more humble, I wouldn’t have much to say. But my hesitation now wasn’t because it went against the petit pourgeois mindset I should have.
I could give a logical reason for Osanai-san’s “bad luck.” And… even if I kept my mouth shut here, Osanai-san would eventually find out the reason, whether early or late. But did that mean I should say it now?
And Osanai-san was not so dull that she wouldn’t notice my attitude when I was hiding something. Osanai-san glanced at me and asked a straightforward question.
“What are you spacing out for?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you spacing out?”
“What do you mean by why?”
Osanai-san narrowed her eyes slightly without uttering a word.
In other words, she was saying, “tell me.”
I scratched my head for no reason.
“…Why the gelato’s temperature rose.”
For a moment, silence flowed. Osanai-san muttered.
“We can’t know that. It was probably an unavoidable malfunction. It’s disappointing that the gelato I expected didn’t taste good, but since it’s a human job, I don’t think it would always be perfect.”
This time, I was silent. Of course, Osanai-san noticed.
“It wasn’t just a malfunction?”
“Maybe. Osanai-san, you saw the reason very closely, not me.”
“I…”
Osanai-san tilted her head.
“Are you saying I was watching the reason the gelato temperature rose? You don’t know what I was looking at, Kobato-kun.”
She was right, I didn’t know most of what she saw. But it wasn’t the case that I knew nothing at all. As expected, Osanai-san didn’t just let it go with “You don’t know.”
“That means the problem is what you know, Kobato-kun.”
I closed my eyes. If she knew that much, I didn’t need to say anything. She would soon reach the answer.
What was it that only Osanai-san saw? Why did I know what Osanai-san saw? Restructuring the question like that would make the answer become very clear. Of course, Osanai-san checked her phone to check what information she’d given me.
While looking at the phone screen, Osanai-san muttered.
“…Crepe.”
Of course, that was it.
Osanai-san put her phone back in her bag.
“Yes. That has to be it.”
I also told Osanai-san what I saw.
“I looked at the large clock when I came in earlier, and the time was wrong. It was two o’clock, but the clock was pointing to just after twelve. At first, I thought it wasn’t maintained well enough, but that wasn’t the case. Combining what we both thought up to here, you can figure out why the clock was almost two hours late.”
Osanai-san lowered her eyes. She was quietly brimming with rage, a state she would never show at school.
The reason Osanai-san was late for the two o’clock appointment was because the bus was stuck in traffic. Why was the road congested? Osanai-san sent a message saying it was because a crepe(crane) got caught on the power line.
Why was the time on the large clock wrong? Why did the gelato temperature rise? It was because a crepe, or rather, a crane got caught on the power line. Due to the accident, the transmission network was damaged, and the area including Lemora> was blacked out. Our house and school were far from Abernetty’s, which is a suburban facility, so we weren’t affected by the blackout. Since the exam ended in the morning and we moved under the March sunlight, we couldn’t know about the blackout from the presence or absence of city lights.
Come to think of it, the automatic door at the entrance of Lemora was probably wide open for the same reason. When the power went out, the automatic door didn’t move. If the door is closed, people wouldn’t be able to come and go, so it had to be fixed in an open state. I’d only had a naive thought that bugs might come in. Judging by the time indicated on the large clock, the blackout had probably occurred around twelve o’clock and was restored just before two o’clock.
We’d entered Lemora about 30 minutes after the area was restored from a large-scale blackout. I didn’t want to tell Osanai-san this fact. I didn’t want to let her, who was thinking the gelato didn’t taste good because of an unfortunate machine malfunction and that it wasn’t anyone’s fault, know this fact. But even if I kept my mouth shut, Osanai-san would soon find out the truth when she went home and saw the news.
Osanai-san’s voice even carried a slight smile.
“That means, Abernetty’s manager knew that there was a time period when the power was cut off… and that the gelato was melting, that it was losing its flavor, and yet… sold them to us.”
To be more precise, it was the employee who sold the melted gelato. But it’s also true that the manager hadn’t given instructions to not sell gelato once the power went out.
I’d only been trying to solve the mystery of suited woman who wasn’t eating gelato, but now an unexpected result popped out. I didn’t think this would happen. Now I had only one more thing I wanted to say.
“Osanai-san, I think… the person who was thrilled by the movie and met a gelato that could change their life in Rome and the manager of this second store are definitely different people. My coffee gelato was really delicious. Osanai-san, you said Abernetty’s started the store wanting to convey a taste that touches the heart. It really felt like that. If it were a shop owner who makes such delicious gelato, they wouldn’t sell gelato knowing the flavor had deteriorated.”
Osanai-san replied briefly.
“Do you think so?”
At that moment, a frivolous voice was heard. A man approached the suited woman who had been staring at her phone in front of the gelato.
“Sorry to keep you waiting! I was really stumped because of all that!”
At the loft, Osanai-san was looking at the man approaching the suited woman with emotionless eyes. Was he the shop owner who was featured in the town magazine, or someone else?
I didn’t want to know that.
The San Francisco Cookie Mystery | Contents | The London Scones Mystery