(Note: Sachertorte is a chocolate sponge cake covered with chocolate glaze and filled with apricot jam.)
The London Scones Mystery | Contents
Table of Contents
1
It was during a June which saw little rain and was swelteringly hot, making it seem like we’d skipped the plum rains and gone straight to midsummer, when a strange rumor was spread in Funado High School.
Every year in the last third of June, a reputable alumnus is invited back to school to make a speech. Last year, it was the ex-president of a local textile company who lectured us about the importance of holding onto our dreams. This year, a sculptor by the name of Shima Taiga was invited. I assumed that he was selected because he’d received an award at the San Francisco Biennale, but Osanai-san held a differing opinion. She thought the gap in time between the award and speech to be too small.
“I think they’d already decided to invite him, and it’s just a coincidence that he received an award. Whoever made that decision must be patting themselves on the back.”
That might indeed be so.
The rumor was about Shima Taiga. Just like how it is with rumors in general, there were multiple versions of this rumor being whispered among students. Some of them were mild, some wild, some long, and some short. But to summarize what it was about:
– A threatening letter was sent, saying that the speech must be canceled.
– Because Shima Taiga was a thief, and was thus not worthy to be a speaker.
– And if the speech still went on, something terrible would happen.
The rumors diverged regarding what that terrible thing would be. There were many variations, like the school being set on fire, a bomb going off, students being attacked, Shima Taiga being assaulted.
I simply relished in the fact that such a rumor was being spread in school. Of course, it would be great if nothing happened, but…
At the same time, it would be fun if something did happen.
2
Two weeks before the speech, I was on class duty.
One boy and one girl was assigned for class duty on each day, going by our student numbers. Since the boy-girl split in my class was uneven, everyone would have a different partner every day of class duty. On that day, I was paired with Shimai Kyouka-san, whom I didn’t remember talking to before.
Normally, class duty involved clearing the blackboard for each class, and occasionally bringing in handouts. Special events like the student council election and sports festival preparation would be handled by the relevant people in charge, meaning that the ball should never be passed to those on class duty. However, on that day, Shimai-san and I were told to go to the staff room, and receive further instructions from the art teacher Koumura-sensei.
After the final lesson of the day, I struck up a conversation while we were heading to the staff room as ordered to.
“I’ve never heard of the students on class duty being told to do work after school hours. Have you?”
Shimai-san was fair-skinned, had a slender build, and tended to look down at the ground. In contrast to my remark which I wasn’t sure could be considered a conversation opener, she gave a concise answer in an unexpectedly clear voice.
“This sucks.”
I liked her response. It clearly stated her opinion, after all. Thus, I continued with another question.
“You know Koumura-sensei?”
“I know, I’m taking art. You’re not, right, Kobato? I don’t see you in our classes.”
“I chose music.”
I found it a little surprising that Shimai-san knew my name, and that she called me by my first name without hesitation.
The staff room was on the first floor. Shimai-san did not bring up another topic, so the conversation ended. I considered what Koumura-sensei could need us for as we went down the staircase.
I didn’t take his class, but I’d met and talked with him before. Speaking of which, Osanai-san had told me to be careful of Koumura-sensei because he hated us. Then again, there was no way he would suddenly pull out a knife and slash at me in the staff room, but something might happen. I was nervous, yet excited.
The door to the staff room was a sliding one, which Shimai-san opened without knocking. Smoking was prohibited on the school grounds as a matter of course, but there was a faint hint of cigarettes that was barely recognizable. Tables were arranged neatly, though there were hardly any teachers in the room. Perhaps they went home since lessons had ended, I initially thought… but no, they were probably in the midst of overseeing club activities. The sharp-eyed Shimai-san spotted Koumura-sensei, and walked towards him without a word.
Standing near Koumura-sensei was another boy-girl pair. I’d passed them in some corridor before, but I didn’t know their names. They must be the students on duty from some other class. Ignoring the two other students, Shimai-san stood in front of Koumura-sensei.
“Shimai from class A, here to see you, Koumura-sensei.”
Unfortunately, I was beaten to the punch. I stood next to Shimai-san.
“Kobato from class A, here.”
Koumura-sensei looked at me and frowned a little. As I’d thought, he apparently still remembered me. But he didn’t tell me to leave, instead running his gaze through the four of us while staying seated.
“Right, everyone’s here. I want you all to move a little something. It’s precious, so please be careful.”
So it was “precious” even though it was just “a little something”, huh. For some reason, a sense of foreboding washed over me. The teacher continued.
“What I want you to move is an objet made by Shima Taiga, an alumnus of the school. You know Shima Taiga, right?”
Shimai-san and I nodded, while the other girl answered, “Yes!” in a passionate manner. The remaining person kept quiet, seemingly not having heard the name before. Koumura-sensei sighed.
“What, Aotagawa, you don’t know Shima Taiga?”
The boy called Aotagawa sulkily replied.
“I don’t know.”
The girl next to Aotagawa opened her eyes wide in surprise.
“You’re kidding! Haven’t you heard the rumors?”
Koumura-sensei put on a wry smile.
“Sawami, please be quiet.”
So that was the girl’s name.
Sawami-san and Aotagawa-kun… those were names I recognized. They were Osanai-san’s classmates. I’d heard her talk about them before, but never thought that I would meet them in person.
Koumura-sensei educated Aotagawa-kun.
“Shima Taiga is a sculptor from our school. He lives in America, but came all the way back to Japan, and he’ll be giving a speech here two weeks from now.”
“Ah, okay.”
“You don’t sound very enthusiastic. Well, it is what it is.”
Koumura-sensei looked at us again.
“The other day, an objet was sent over by Shima Taiga in advance of his speech. It was made when he was in his twenties, and he wants his juniors to freely see it before his speech. He entrusted it to us, so we obviously can’t leave it lying around. We decided to place it at the Art Preparation Room, so I’d like you all to help move it there.”
Shimai-san asked a question, a strained expression on her face.
“Is it heavy?”
“The four of you should be able to handle it.”
“We will get in trouble if we break it, right?”
“It’ll be fine if you’re careful.”
Why do we have to bear such responsibility when we’re simply on class duty… I wanted to ask, but Koumura-sensei stood up, signaling that he would be taking no more questions.
“The objet is at the office. Let’s go.”
The office was next to the staff room, so we had no time to exchange words with each other. Two administrative clerks were in the room, and they said, “Thank you,” upon seeing Koumura-sensei. It seemed that they’d arranged for this beforehand.
There was something white in a corner of the office. Sawami-san openly showed her disgust.
“What the heck is that?”
Over there were some objects that certainly deserved that phrase.
One of them was a sphere. It was white, round and so big that one would barely be able to span their arms around it. A number of black lines were drawn on its surface. They extended radially from a point and seemed to converge at another point on the opposite side. If you likened the sphere to a globe, the lines would be the meridians since they went from pole to pole.
Sawami-san made a harsh remark.
“Isn’t that just trash?”
I didn’t think that way. Did it not look resplendent in its whiteness?
Near the sphere was a piece of wood lying horizontally. It was a thick tree branch with several thin branches extending from it. The branch had its bark peeled off, leaving only bare wood, and it was about the size of a shinai1. Shimai-san tilted her head in puzzlement.
“Is that driftwood?”
Now that she mentioned it, the object really did look like driftwood. It probably wasn’t crafted by a person, but a piece of wood picked up at a beach.
A white sphere and driftwood. That was certainly a somewhat meaningful combination. It could be a wake-up call regarding something about the Earth’s environment, or… something for doing something to something.
The two objects were placed on a platform which was also white. It was flat, oval-shaped and had no legs. The sphere didn’t seem to be falling off the platform, so I thought it must have been somehow secured there, but upon closer inspection the sphere sank a little into the platform. The platform probably had a depression to keep the sphere stable.
I asked a question of Koumura-sensei.
“Does this objet have a name?”
Koumura-sensei answered in a way that made it seem like he didn’t hold a grudge against me.
“I hear that it’s called ‘Gaze and Shell, or Green Ball’.”
Shima Taiga’s works all carried the name “Gaze and Shell”.
I observed the sphere, driftwood and platform in detail. All of them had a smooth, unblemished surface. Shimai-san asked a question, her voice betraying a hint of aversion.
“Kobato, you’re interested in things like this?”
Not at all, but it’s still good to take a close look at the objet. If it has any scratches at this point, we could be held responsible after moving it. – That was what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure if I should. I would have immediately said it if I was talking to Osanai-san, but I was hesitant to reveal my thoughts to Shimai-san, whom I’d never really interacted with until today.
While I was considering my options, Shimai-san spoke to the other two, apparently not waiting for me to respond.
“Let’s get this done quickly.”
Neither Sawami-san nor Aotagawa-kun seemed to have any objections. Done with my observations, I stood up.
Aotagawa-kun piped up.
“How do we move it?”
Carrying the entire thing along with the platform would probably be the normal approach, but I had a concern.
“Is the driftwood fixed to the platform?”
The other three students exchanged looks. Was I supposed to be the one to check since I brought it up? I didn’t really want to touch it, though… I would probably be asked for compensation if I dropped it…
As we kept a close eye on each other, Koumura-sensei readily lifted the piece of driftwood.
“It isn’t fixed. Let me carry this.”
That left the platform and sphere. Shimai-san poked the sphere, showing that it was, as expected, also not attached to the platform, so it was decided that each item would be handled by two people. Shimai-san and I would move the platform, while Sawami-san and Aotagawa-kun would move the sphere.
After lifting the sphere with Sawami-san, Aotagawa-kun put on a displeased look.
“It’s lighter than I thought. One person could easily handle this.”
In response, Sawami-san retorted coldly.
“We’re not having two people carry one item because they’re heavy, but because it might be unstable with only one person.”
On the other hand, the platform we were holding was not too much for us to handle, but was actually relatively heavy. I made a suggestion to Shimai-san.
“Perhaps this should be carried by two guys?”
Her answer was short.
“Why?”
Thus the five of us left the office. Sawami-san and Aotagawa-kun had their vision impeded by the sphere, so Shimai-san and I took the lead. Following behind us at the end of the line was Koumura-sensei, carrying the driftwood with two hands. His position was probably the most comfortable. The office was located at the first floor of the North Block while the Art Preparation Room was at the fourth floor of the South Block, so there was quite a distant journey ahead of us.
When we reached the staircase, Shimai-san went in front, while I was at the back, holding the platform tight as I bent my waist and ascended one step at a time. Despite its smooth appearance, the platform was actually not slippery to the touch, so while there were no handles to grip, it didn’t feel so precarious. We somehow made it to the second floor, then changed direction, instead heading towards a connecting passageway.
We didn’t talk much on the way, because we had nothing to talk about. On the other hand, Sawami-san and Aotagawa-kun chatted about this and that.
At one point, Sawami-san complained, “Sensei, this is slippery!” while Aotagawa-kun tapped the sphere and asked, “What is this made of?”
Koumura-sensei’s answer also reached my ears.
“What it’s made of, huh. That’s a good question. It’s important to know what was made and how it was made. This is plaster. Anyone can make it, although the quality would be another question.”
Koumura-sensei then added half-jokingly, “Keep your eyes in front. It’ll cost you an arm and a leg if you break it.”
So it was expensive, as I thought.
3
We went up the stairs at the South Block, and soon found ourselves in front of the Art Preparation Room on the fourth floor. Koumura-sensei, who had one free hand, unlocked the door, causing the smell of paint to waft out of the small, dimly-lit room.
The first thing to hit my eyes was a tall rack lined with busts made of plaster. They were modeled from distinct people, but I couldn’t recognize any of them. In front of them stood another rack that was about waist-high and contained dozens of peculiarly shallow drawers. Koumura-sensei pointed at that rack.
“Let’s put it on top of the art supply rack. Hold on for a moment.”
The rack’s surface was littered with pencil shavings, brushes and spray bottles. Koumura-sensei propped the piece of driftwood up against the rack before starting to tidy it up. We continued holding onto the objet during that time, causing my hands to go numb. When he was done, Koumura-sensei instructed us.
“First, put down the platform.”
We placed the platform onto the rack as we were told. Shimai-san’s hands must have been tired, for her fingers trembled for a while. After that, Sawami-san and Aotagawa-kun placed the sphere into the depression on the platform. Koumura-sensei was about to put down the driftwood as the final step, but a problem arose.
He muttered.
“Erm, which way was it supposed to be placed again?”
It certainly wasn’t difficult to imagine that the creator would be particular about the driftwood’s position and direction.
With an unexpectedly gleeful expression on her face, Sawami-san pointed at the sharp end of the driftwood.
“That was towards the back, I think.”
“Was it?”
Shimai-san also spoke up.
“It was placed quite far away from the sphere, I think.”
“I suppose…”
“Was a photo of the completed objet sent over?”
“No, there wasn’t one. So, it should be around here?”
Koumura-sensei tried to put down the driftwood, but the lack of space in the Art Preparation Room and the sphere taking up much of that space posed a hindrance to him testing out different positions.
“Aotagawa, could you remove the sphere for a while?”
Aotagawa-kun complied and picked the sphere up. Koumura-sensei folded his arms.
“It was arranged nicely, I believe…”
As this point, I didn’t want to butt in, if possible. I couldn’t help but enjoy being the first to solve difficult problems that others struggle with, then proudly saying, “How’s that?” Such bad attitude should be corrected. That aside, I didn’t want to be involved in the question of where the piece of driftwood was initially located, anyway.
After all, the very question of “how was the driftwood placed when we first saw it?” was clearly missing the point.
Koumura-sensei, Shimai-san and Sawami-san surrounded Shima Taiga’s objet, debating about the position of the driftwood and shifting it here and there. I watched them while standing a short distance away. A hollow sound caused me to whirl around, and it turned out that Aotagawa-kun, also apparently holding no interest in the objet’s correct arrangement, was listlessly stroking and tapping the white sphere. Perhaps I can secretly leave without being caught… as I had that thought, I heard something alarming from the discussion.
“By the way, this is the one, right? The work of Shima Taiga mentioned by the threatening letter, that would be destroyed if the speech goes on?”
That voice belonged to Shimai-san. Koumura-sensei frowned.
“What did you say? How did you know that?”
“There was a rumor. Everyone knows that a threatening letter was delivered.”
The part about canceling the speech was the same as the rumor I’d heard, but the part about destroying one of Shima Taiga’s artworks was new to me. It seemed that there were quite a few different versions of the rumor.
Sawami-san excitedly joined in on the conversation.
“Sensei, I have also heard about this! This rumor sure is famous!”
Koumura-sensei’s face turned sour.
“Don’t believe such nonsense. It’s already your second year here, you all really need to get your act together.”
The discussion was starting to go off course. The threatening letter sure was intriguing, but at this rate, I wouldn’t know when I would get to go home. Aotagawa-kun’s tapping was also gradually getting quicker. I made up my mind.
“Umm…”
The three people standing around the piece of driftwood turned to look at me. Now, I had to say it.
“Even if we remember how the driftwood was originally placed at the office, it is meaningless, in my opinion.”
A wry smile spread on Koumura-sensei’s face.
“Oh? Why do you think that?”
“Because Shima Taiga lives in America and did not bring over the objet himself. It was likely couriers who delivered it, and the ones to unpack it were administrative clerks from our school. If there were instructions for how to position the driftwood, the administratives clerks would know, and if not, the driftwood was simply placed arbitrarily, I think.”
The atmosphere in the Art Preparation Room turned cold… I knew this would happen. It usually does whenever I open my mouth unnecessarily.
Koumura-sensei muttered, “Right,” seemingly just as a formality, before putting the driftwood down at a random position on the platform. Perhaps thinking that I’d gotten the better of him, he deliberately ignored me and gave an order to Aotagawa-kun.
“Aotagawa, put down the sphere.”
Seemingly flustered by the sudden turn of events, Aotagawa-kun’s voice wavered.
“Ah, alright.”
He was still holding the sphere on his own. Just in case, I called out to him.
“Need any help?”
“Nah, just get out of the way.”
Well, if you say so… Thus, we watched Aotagawa-kun set the sphere back on the platform.
Looking at the white sphere and white driftwood on top of the white platform, Sawami-san mused.
“Seriously, what is this supposed to be?”
Paying no heed to Sawami-san’s thoughts, Shimai-san asked a question.
“Erm, students should be able to freely view this objet, right? Is it really fine to put it in a small room like this?”
“Yes, because it’d be bad if we put it in a place where everyone can see it, and something goes wrong. So, we’ll leave it here and lock the room.”
So the objet would be open to students at all times, but the room would be locked. It seemed like a satirical bit, or a joke. The teacher continued.
“If any students want to view the objet, they have to come to me in the staff room, and I’ll open the door. That should be made known to everyone tomorrow during homeroom.”
“So you’ll be viewing the objet with the students?”
“I’ll need to keep my eye on them, after all.”
I was impressed. Shima Taiga said that he wanted his juniors to freely see his objet. The philosophical question of what the word “freely” meant flashed through my mind.
Time to go.
“Um, is that all?”
“Oh, right. Thanks for your hard work. We’ll need to move this to the gymnasium on the day of the speech, so please gather at that time.”
Upon hearing Koumura-sensei’s offhand remark, a completely ticked-off look momentarily crossed Shimai-san’s visage. If I asked about her state of mind, she would probably reply with, “This sucks.”
Once again, I looked at Shima Taiga’s objet, “Gaze and Shell, or Green Ball”. I had no interest in the artistic meaning behind it, but things had taken an interesting turn regarding this artwork, and by extension, the speech.
Earlier, in response to the topic of the threatening letter, Koumura-sensei had said, “How did you know that?”
Meaning, a threatening letter had in fact been delivered to the school.
4
The rumor of the threatening letter took the school by storm – but saying that would be an overstatement. The rumor did not sow any panic or chaos, and all was quiet all the way until the speech. If you conducted a survey among the students and asked them “Do you think something will happen during the speech?”, responses of “I think so” and “I don’t think so” would be in the minority; the majority response would probably be something like “If I had to choose, I think so”.
During the sixth period on the day before the speech, I learnt about arithmetic mean and geometric mean in math class. I was taught that when A and B are positive numbers, the arithmetic mean is always greater than or equal to the geometric mean. Wondering if that would hold true even if A or B are less than 1, I was having some fun experimenting to see if the relationship is held by substituting A and B with small numbers.
At that time, the window pane rattled. That’s a P-wave, I spontaneously thought. It’s an earthquake, and a bigger tremor is coming soon… A wave of tension swept through the classroom, and then, the tremor struck.
The desks and chairs clattered. There was nothing hanging from the classroom ceiling that would sway around, and there were no cries of distress. The tremor was not strong enough to cause any panic, but it lasted for a long time. Class was suspended during the course of the earthquake, and when it finally ended, class resumed without any special mention to the occasion.
When the lesson ended, homeroom began. Our homeroom teacher made some announcements while looking at a clip board, before finally saying this:
“Kobato-kun and Shimai-kun, please see Koumura-sensei in the staff room after class. There are apparently preparations to be done for the speech tomorrow. Have you heard anything about it?”
Shimai-san and I were sitting far quite apart from each other, but we answered at the same time, with the same slightly annoyed tone of voice.
“Yes.”
After homeroom, I headed to the staff room with Shimai-san. On the way there, she spoke up.
“I heard that those on duty in other classes have to help with preparations for the speech at the gym and elsewhere.”
“So it’s not just us who are roped into it, huh.”
“Though I think it’s only us who have to do it twice.”
“You’re right.”
“This sucks.”
Practically speaking, the platform we had to carry was quite heavy. My hands had actually gone numb the other time while transporting it from the office to the Art Preparation Room. This time, we would be moving it to the gym, which was even further away, so we would need to get some rest midway. At least, it would be good if Koumura-sensei was aware of that.
Just like the other time, Sawami-san and Aotagawa-kun were already in the staff room. I raised my hand to greet them since we’d become acquaintances, but received nothing in response. When the four of us were gathered, Koumura-sensei spoke.
“Good, all of you are here. Shall we go?”
Only Sawami-san and Koumura-sensei talked on the way from the staff room to the Art Preparation Room.
Sawami-san said things like, “That earthquake earlier was quite scary, wasn’t it?” and “Will the speech be canceled at this point?”, bringing up various topics for small talk.
In contrast, Koumura-sensei only gave non-commital replies like “I suppose” and “I can’t say”. The rest of us quietly climbed up the stairs and proceeded down the corridors. As I walked on, I realized that I’d heard many versions of the rumor over the past two weeks, but never actually heard anyone say that they went to see Shima Taiga’s objet. Well, even if only one person went to see the objet and was deeply impressed by it – even if they thought something like, “I can make something like this too,” the exhibition would probably be considered a resounding success.
Koumura-sensei unlocked the door to the Art Preparation Room. Recalling the paint odor, I took a deep breath. The door opened. Sunlight streaming in from the windows at the back of the room caused a backlighting effect, making the room look dark.
The teacher entered the room, but froze in his tracks. Following him, Shimai-san gasped in surprise.
“Eh?”
What was that about?
I peered into the room over Shimai-san’s shoulder. There was the rack with plaster busts, the art supplies rack, the objet on top…
“Ah.”
I also let out a sound.
An enormous crack had appeared on a part of Shima Taiga’s objet, the white sphere.
Shima Taiga’s objet was damaged. Exactly as the threatening letter had warned… but was that really so? I didn’t know the exact contents of the letter, so I refrained from jumping to conclusions, and instead scanned the room’s interior.
There was a large crack at the top of the sphere. Looking at it closely, the crack started from the very top, where the damage was the most severe. There, the plaster was peeled away and a hole was opened up, revealing things resembling bamboo strips that formed the sphere. I’d been wondering how plaster could be used to construct a sphere, but it turned out to be made of bamboo strips. It was an unexpectedly uncomplicated method.
A plaster bust had fallen down onto the ground. It was of a bearded man I didn’t know the name of.
I reached out for the fallen bust, which was lying on its side. It had a pedestal that was quadrilateral and hefty. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that one of the corners had white powder that looked to be plaster. I lifted it up to find no scratches or chips on the sculpture itself, which was fortunate.
Behind me, Aotagawa-kun muttered.
“Did that fall off?”
I stood up while holding the plaster bust. Indeed, there was an unnatural-looking empty space at one corner of the rack of plaster busts at around the height of my eyes. I put the bust down there, and it was a perfect fit.
Shimai-san tilted her head.
“Could it be from the earthquake earlier?”
Sawami-san spoke in a trembling voice, unable to contain her shock.
“Eh… is that even possible?”
There was only one fallen plaster bust. If it was the case that only one fell, and it happened to strike the objet, that could only be described as a stroke of ill-fated misfortune.
I put my hands around the sphere and slowly lifted it up. Even Shimai-san couldn’t help but let out a frantic yelp.
“Kobato, what are you doing!”
“Just checking.”
After lifting up the sphere, I looked at its underside, as well as the platform’s depression. There was nothing particularly abnormal about them, so I carefully returned the sphere to its original position. That was when I noticed it. The piece of driftwood was gone.
“Sensei, the driftwood is missing.”
But Koumura-sensei did not look surprised.
“Oh, I’m holding onto that.”
“Huh? Why?”
“The branches are thin and look like they break easily, so I kept it away just in case.”
His manner of speaking exuded relief. He was probably thinking that the sphere might have been damaged, but he had at least managed to protect the driftwood.
Once again, I looked around the room.
The Art Preparation Room had one door facing the corridor, which was the one we’d entered from. There was another door at the far right end of the room, which was connected to the Art Room. I put my hand on that door.
I opened the door. It was not locked.
A few people were on the other side of the door, in the Art Room. Since it was after school, they were probably in the Art Club. They looked a little surprised to see me suddenly emerge from the door. I gave them a short bow, then closed the door.
This time, Koumura-sensei was flustered.
“It wasn’t locked? But it should have been…”
Above the door to the Art Room was a small sliding window, and it didn’t look like it had a lock. I reached out to touch it, and managed to smoothly open and close it. The window was roughly two meters high, but one could easily wiggle through using a chair or the like as a stepping platform.
Basically, the Art preparation Room was not a closed room.
What a shame.
Koumura-sensei gave us instructions in a collected voice.
“Ah, for now, bring just the platform to the gym. I’ll bring over the driftwood myself.”
As I was wondering who he was talking to, Shimai-san asked.
“What about the sphere?”
“I’ll deal with it. Don’t tell any other students about this.”
Naturally, he said that in a stern tone.
5
Since we’d been sworn to secrecy, the only people who knew that Shima Taiga’s objet had been damaged was me, Shimai-san, Sawami-san, Aotagawa-kun, and Koumura-sensei.
…is what I would like to say, but that wasn’t the case. Of course, Koumura-sensei would inform the school, and the rest of us, or at least I, was not someone capable of keeping such sensational news under wraps. That night, I sent a message to Osanai-san.
“Shima Taiga’s objet got damaged.”
She was slow to reply. A short message was delivered when I finished my bath and returned to my room.
“!?”
“There was a rack filled with plaster busts behind the objet. One of those busts was lying sideways on the ground, and the pedestal had white dust on one of its corners.”
This time, the reply came quickly.
“How badly was it damaged?”
“There was a hole at the very top, and a crack spread from there. I think there’s no doubt that the plaster bust’s pedestal struck it.”
“Why did it hit?”
“In our discussion, the theory was that it fell from the rack during the earthquake.”
A short pause ensued.
“Was the bust damaged?”
I smiled to myself. With a mystery being dangled right before our very eyes, even Osanai-san couldn’t help but act like a cat faced with a cat teaser, or like a wolf faced with a deer, and express her interest. As for whether the bust was damaged, that was precisely the big problem with this case. I lay down on my bed and typed out a message.
“Not a scratch.”
No sooner had I sent it than a reply arrived.
“Human-induced.”
As expected, Osanai-san was able to make that judgment without having been on the scene.
If the plaster statue fell and damaged the objet, it can be deduced that it was placed quite high up. It was strange that the bust fell from that height and broke the sphere, but was completely unharmed when it next fell to the ground.
Another message came in.
“I don’t know the situation, but it should have fallen head-first.”
That was also a point I could agree with. Assuming that the plaster bust shook and fell from the rack due to the earthquake, it looked like it would fall head-first rather than with the pedestal facing down. Yet it was a corner of the pedestal that had struck the objet.
In conclusion, the damage done to Shima Taiga’s objet was not caused by the earthquake. Someone had swung the plaster bust at the top of the sphere, then placed the bust horizontally on the ground.
It took a little while before Osanai-san’s next message.
“I’m going to sleep.”
We weren’t done with our conversation, but it was quite late at night.
“Good night.”
“Could we head home together tomorrow?”
I failed to grasp the meaning behind those words.
Osanai-san and I hardly interacted unless it was necessary to do so. Today’s series of messages was only due to the existence of a unique situation where we could catch a glimpse of someone’s intent behind an incident that was being kept under wraps. Getting asked to head home together for no particular purpose felt odd. Basically, Osanai-san must have some reason for that proposal.
“Why?”
But there was no response. I left the room to get ready for bed, and saw that a message had arrived when I returned.
“Because I’m being targeted by an evil organization.”
In other words, she had no intention of giving me a proper explanation.
The speech was scheduled to be in the afternoon.
Even with the threatening letter and the objet’s destruction, it would still be conducted. Well, Shima Taiga did come all the way back here from America to give the speech, so it wouldn’t be canceled so easily.
Predictions of what would happen flew around in my class. Strangely enough, everyone knew that Shima Taiga’s objet had been damaged. While the dominant view was the mild one that nothing would happen, there were all sorts of ideas thrown around, like the gym being set on fire, a terror group that criticizes modern art suddenly attacking the school, and Shima Taiga having an upset stomach. I liked the one that Shimai-san mentioned:
“Don’t you think the lighting will fall on Shima Taiga while he’s on the podium?”
Like in The Phantom of the Opera? But alas, chandeliers were not used as stage lighting in Funado High School.
Of course, we weren’t actually hoping that something would happen. While it would be interesting, we didn’t want anyone to get injured or killed. We were simply indulging in immoderate fantasies. When lunch break ended, each of my classmates headed towards the gym.
The gym had no air conditioning, so the air within was hot and humid, but since all the doors and windows were wide open, a cool breeze would occasionally blow in. Not that bad for June.
A navy blue was draped over the stage of the gymnasium, and a vertical banner with the words “Speech by Mr Shima Taiga” was hung at the side. Yesterday, some students on duty from other classes were apparently roped into helping with preparations for the speech. The vertical banner must have been hung up by some unlucky students.
The gym was abuzz with chatter. Third-year students were in the front, first-year students were at the back, and we second-year students were in between. As students who’d queued up for ten years since the start of our mandatory education, we were professionals at forming neat lines. My ears caught someone’s voice.
“Are they really doing this? The objet was destroyed, wasn’t it?”
I tried searching for the voice’s source, but I was unable to find them. A response to those questions also reached my ears.
“It was caused by the earthquake, so it was just an accident, right? There’s no helping it.”
“I wonder if the principal will get down on his knees and apologize.”
“Shouldn’t it be Koumura? He was the one in charge, right?”
I was quite astonished by how fast the rumor had spread. One of Shimai-san, Sawami-san or Aotagawa-kun must have made sure that everyone was informed by using their class’s mailing list.
A teacher I didn’t know the name of stood below the stage and barked an order while holding a microphone.
“All classes, sit down at your designated locations.”
I sat down. Though the air was hot, the ground was cool.
The entire school sat down, and the chatter died down. As a winch sounded, the stage curtain started to rise.
A lectern was set up on stage, with a folding table next to it, and on the table…
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
There was the sphere, in its immaculate whiteness. And next to it was the white piece of driftwood. Those two objects were placed on top of the white platform that we’d moved the day before.
A low murmur filled the air. Someone blurted out.
“Where’s the damage?”
But it wasn’t damaged. From what I could see, there was not even a scratch on the sphere.
At first, I wondered if the sphere was turned upside down to hide the damaged part. But that couldn’t be it. Sure, the damage at the top was so severe that a hole opened up, but there was also supposed to be an enormous crack from that hole. The platform’s depression was shallow and should not be able to hide that crack.
What if the sphere was rotated such that the broken parts were facing the back of the stage?
That would also be wrong.
The white ball had meridians extending from one pole to the other. But the sphere on stage looked to have the same lines as before. If the damaged parts had been turned to face the back, the lines would look different.
In other words, it wasn’t possible to hide the damage I’d seen the day before by utilizing some creative placement. Yet the objet on stage was unharmed.
Was it fixed? In just one night? As if that was possible!
I felt like I was being cheated. I even wondered if that was a hologram. How could an object that was destroyed the day before be restored to its original state in the next?
Even as I was unable to hide my agitation, the ceremony proceeded. A teacher read us Shima Taiga’s profile, then called the artist himself to the stage.
“Shima-sensei, please come up to the stage.”
A man appeared from the stage wing. He walked towards the podium at a measured pace. Shima Taiga was short, had messy hair and eyes that darted around. I assumed that he was the type to be uncomfortable at speaking in public, but he turned out to have a confident, clear voice.
“Hello, I’m Shima Taiga. I came back to Japan this morning. It’s great to see all of you juniors.”
The speech started. No matter how much I looked at Shima Taiga’s objet, I could not find a single scratch on it.
6
In his speech, Shima Taiga told us not to hold onto our dreams.
“I wanted to become a sculptor. For that end, I practiced, studied great works, and sought the tutelage of others. So, was I chasing a dream? No, I wasn’t. Would you call practicing for interviews over and over, filling out multiple application forms, and having a suit tailor made to look for jobs chasing a dream? I, too, was searching for a job. Now, I am a sculptor, but who can say that is not a job? What you should hold on to are not dreams, but goals, and steps taken in the right direction.”
It sounded profound, but I couldn’t understand why it was a problem to call the thought of wanting to take on some profession a dream. The objet “Gaze and Shell, or Green Ball” was not mentioned once during the speech.
When the speech ended, someone mused.
“In the end, nothing happened.”
Indeed, no sabotage had been done during the speech, contrary to what the rumors had claimed.
As expected, we didn’t end up having to tidy up after the speech. When homeroom ended, I stood up and met eyes with Shimai-san, who seemed to sheave a sigh of relief. I nodded at her, saw her off, then sent a message to Osanai-san.
“We’re done with homeroom.”
As always, her reply was short.
“Entranceway.”
School had ended, so students were either leaving or going for their club activities. The entranceway was a little crowded, but I instantly found Osanai-san. She was leaning against a wall and idly kicking out with one of her legs. Just like everyone else, she was clad in her summer uniform. When she spotted me, she released herself from the wall.
“You can go home already?”
“I’ve got nothing else to do.”
“Let’s go, then.”
After changing our shoes, we exited through the school gates side-by-side. It seemed that Osanai-san had not arrived by bicycle today.
It was an unusually cool day for June. The skies were clear, and the winds felt pleasant.
Cars would occasionally come and go on the two-lane road. A little later and the road would be filled with cars on their way home. Ahead of us on the pavement was another pair of students also wearing the Funado High School uniform. We walked slowly so that we wouldn’t catch up to them.
In school, Osanai-san and I acted as if we had feelings for each other. But walking out of school side-by-side for no particular reason was a fresh experience, and quite an awkward one. I knew that she wouldn’t give me a proper answer, but asked anyway.
“Why are we heading back together today?”
I’d assumed that it was because she wanted couple cakes that were limited to one per person, but Osanai-san replied with a light grin.
“I wrote the reason, didn’t I?”
“That you’re being targeted by an evil organization?”
“Yup.”
Osanai-san had been abducted once during her third year of middle school, and once during her first year of high school, due to slight misunderstandings and miscommunication. Based on that, it was probably a trivial petit bourgeois joke. Realizing that there would be no point in continuing to pursue the matter, I changed the subject.
“The speech ended peacefully.”
Osanai-san shot me a resentful look.
“You told me that the objet was damaged, but it wasn’t.”
“No, actually…”
“You tricked me?”
“No, it was damaged, but got fixed.”
We approached the bridge. As usual, it was slightly swaying. I’ve heard that it’s for the bridge’s structure to not get degraded by the vibrations caused by cars passing through. The wind blowing across the river felt a little cold.
Osanai-san tilted her head.
“It was fixed? Was the crack so small that it can be fixed just like that?”
“No, the plaster at the top of the sphere was broken such that there was a hole you can see through. Also, a large crack opened up.”
“There was no such crack in the objet I saw in the gym.”
“Therein lies the mystery.”
Osanai-san looked at my face, then frowned, apparently troubled.
“Kobato-kun, that line is usually followed by, ‘Though I have a hunch.’”
Come on, I didn’t even say that out loud. I look at Osanai-san square in her face. Before we knew it, we were walking up the bridge while staring at each other’s faces. The one who caved first was me. I averted my eyes with a smile and looked up at the pale blue sky.
“Fine, I’ll tell the truth. I do have a conjecture about the process in which the sphere got damaged and restored. However, no one asked me to solve the mystery, so I didn’t play the smart aleck. But Osanai-san, could you listen to what I have to say?”
Her answer was surprisingly straightforward.
“Sure.”
“Oh, really?”
She nodded amicably.
“We’re just walking, anyway. So, Kobato-kun, what did you figure out? And what’s the mystery in the first place?”
“The mystery is split into two big parts. The first is about the objet’s destruction, and the other is about its revival.”
Placing a hand on her mouth, Osanai-san chuckled to herself.
“Revival sounds like a bit of an overstatement.”
“I don’t know what I can call it besides that, though.”
“Hmm, me neither.”
“Yep. Anyway, I’ll start with the objet’s destruction.”
The objet appeared to be damaged as a result of the earthquake, but we’d come to the common understanding that that was not the case in last night’s exchange of messages. Meaning that the time-honored questions would prove to be useful.
“Who did it, and why and how was it destroyed?”
We finished crossing the bridge. A city-operated bus cruised past as we were stopped by the red pedestrian light.
Osanai-san spoke.
“If this is a fun story for the journey home, may I ask a question instead of you stating your preamble?”
“Go ahead.”
“I heard a rumor that a threatening letter was sent to the school, telling them to cancel the speech. I think everyone in my class knew that. Kobato-kun, do you know if it’s true?”
I nodded.
“One of my classmates mentioned the letter to Koumura-sensei, and he said, ‘How did you know that?’ I don’t know its exact contents, but it was undoubtedly delivered to the school.”
“Thanks. So, the person who broke the objet and the person who sent the threatening letter are separate people, right?”
“You’re right,” I was about to say, but swallowed my words. I actually hadn’t put any thought into whether they were the same person. So those two were different people? Again, I tried to say, “You’re right,” but couldn’t. If I pretended to know something in front of Osanai-san, I would lose the only person in the world I could talk to while being true to myself.
There was no choice but to admit it. I’d tried to boastfully lay out my theory, but now I’d taken a pre-emptive strike. A weird expression must have been on my face, for Osanai-san glanced up at me and giggled mirthfully. I put up both my hands in the air.
“You got me. Why do you say that?”
It seemed that Osanai-san held more interest in this series of events than I’d expected, and had probably been looking forward to this chat on the way home. She lifted an index finger and waved it around.
“Because destroying the objet would be meaningless if it wasn’t made clear that that action was a warning shot for what could happen if the letter is ignored. But judging by what you’ve told me, the person who destroyed the objet used a plaster bust from a nearby rack, then placed it on the ground, as if they were trying to get people to think that it was caused by the earthquake. There is a contradiction, so the extortioner and the vandal are two different people.”
Her logic made sense. Why had I not noticed that?
“True.”
“Now it’s your turn, Kobato-kun. Who destroyed the objet, why, and how did they do it?”
Before that, I had to inform Osanai-san that that the crime scene was not a closed room. So I told her about the entrances to the room.
The objet was placed in the Art Preparation Room.
The door from the Art Preparation Room to the corridor was locked.
And on top of the fact that the door to the Art Room was unlocked, the small window above that door had no lock.
The door from the Art Preparation Room to the Art Room had allegedly been locked, but it could be unlocked from the Art Preparation Room.
Osanai-san let out a troubled smile.
“How rigorous. Basically you’re saying that anyone who really wanted to get into Art Preparation Room could have done so, right?”
I also smiled wryly.
“Yeah, something like that. Anyone can go through the small window by stepping on a chair and enter the Art Preparation Room, though I suppose it might require a certain level of acrobatics. The culprit could use the same route to exit, but since the key knob is on the side of the Art Preparation Room, they would have just unlocked the door and walked out… but thinking about it now, that was a mistake on their part. If the culprit wanted to make it seem like it was caused by the earthquake, they should have left the door locked.”
“Perhaps there was nothing in the Art Preparation Room for them to step on?”
Hearing her mention that possibility, I thought back to what items there were in the Art Preparation Room. Plaster busts, a rack for art supplies… she was right, I had no memory of anything there that could be stepped on. In the first place, if the culprit had indeed stepped on something in the Art Preparation Room to get out, they would not be able to return it to its original position. In any case, if the culprit wanted to leave behind traces of the crime, it would be easier for them to simply open the door to exit the room.
I made a summary of the culprit’s movements.
“The earthquake struck during the sixth period. The culprit headed to the Art Room when lessons ended. They then entered the Art Preparation Room via the small window, and using a plaster bust, smashed the objet on the platform. They lay the bust horizontally on the ground to make it seem like it fell due to the earthquake.”
Osanai-san placed an index finger on her lip and gazed up at the sky.
“…It goes without saying that the earthquake was a coincidence. Isn’t it weird to link the crime to the earthquake?”
Of course. No one can plan around a natural disaster. Meaning…
“The culprit didn’t break the objet in anticipation of the earthquake. They went to do it because of the earthquake.”
“Ah, I see what you mean.”
Osanai-san immediately understood. If so, I didn’t have to continue with my reasoning, but I wanted to sort out the situation out loud.
“The culprit wanted to destroy the objet. After the earthquake happened, they thought that it might have been broken by chance, so they rushed to the Art Preparation Room to check. However, the objet was not damaged.”
“With a small earthquake like that, nothing would fall unless it was already quite unstable.”
“Exactly. The culprit was likely shocked to see that the objet was unharmed. ‘If only it was damaged…’ While having that thought, they had a realization. ‘What if I break it right now? Wouldn’t it look like it was caused by the earthquake?’”
In reality, it wouldn’t work that well. But the culprit didn’t rely on just the earthquake.
“This is probably what the culprit thought: ‘If it gets found out that it wasn’t the earthquake’s fault, won’t I get suspected? But some other unknown person sent a threatening letter, so… now’s my chance, right?’”
In the midst of the two-layered smokescreen of the earthquake and the extortioner, someone else brought the plaster bust down on the objet.
Before I knew it, there was no one in sight, in front or behind. We were walking in a quiet residential area. Osanai-san spoke while looking ahead.
“From a psychological perspective, that makes perfect sense. So there’s one thing I don’t get… Why did the culprit want to destroy the objet?”
“They were hoping that the speech would be canceled if the objet gets destroyed.”
Osanai-san looked up at me intently. But you know that isn’t true! Feeling such criticism from her eyes, I shrugged.
“…But that can’t be it. As you said, the extortioner and vandal are two different people. Also, this is in hindsight, but the speech was not canceled.”
“Actually, I think I kind of know why they did it.”
With respect, I gestured for her to go ahead. She didn’t beat around the bush.
“If you want to hide a stick, you’d hide it in the forest, right?”
It might be a cliché, but that proverb still holds value.
“I believe so too.”
If you want to hide a crack, hide it in a bigger crack.
Shima Taiga’s objet was already broken. It was not unavoidable, but was due to negligence. The culprit wanted to destroy the objet to hide the part that was already damaged.
“It was probably not just a tiny scratch. I think that the culprit had accidentally opened a hole in the objet.”
Though it had no direct connection to this case, Osanai-san and I had been involved in an incident where we learned that Shima Taiga’s objets were generally designed to be easily broken or destroyed. They were all made of plaster, so even gentle tapping could cause a hole to open up.
Osanai-san gave me a quizzical look.
“What if the crack was already there when it reached the school? Or if it formed when it was being displayed?”
I considered that for a short moment.
“In the case of the former, the couriers who delivered the objet would be the ones responsible. In the case of the latter, the students who went to view the objet would come under suspicion. But both of these cases are hard to imagine.”
“The idea that the couriers would consider breaking into the Art Preparation Room just to hide a crack is certainly a stretch.”
“Furthermore, I already checked beforehand that the objet had no scratches or cracks before moving it to the Art Preparation Room.”
A tolerant smile rose up onto Osanai-san’s face. Thankfully, she didn’t tell me that I should have mentioned that earlier.
“So why can we rule out the students who went to see the objet?”
“Because if a student wants to view the objet, they would have to express their interest to Koumura-sensei. He would then unlock the door to the Art Preparation Room and accompany the student during their viewing.”
“…Come to think of it, I heard something along those lines during homeroom.”
It seemed that she’d heard that announcement, but forgot about it. With a grin, I added.
“There’s one more thing that’s natural for you not to know. The school clerks received the objet as a package and left it in the office.”
Osanai-san immediately understood the situation with just that bit of information.
“So someone had to move it from the office to the Art Preparation Room, right?”
“It was me. Because I was on class duty that day, I was made to move it.”
Still walking, Osanai-san pointed at me.
“We’ve found the culprit.”
I’m innocent!
“There were four of us on class duty that day. Me, and Shimai-san from my class, as well as Sawami-san and Aotagawa-kun from your class. The culprit went to the Art Room and snuck into the Art Preparation Room as soon as the sixth period ended yesterday, so they weren’t in their own classroom. By the way, Shimai-san was in my classroom.”
Osanai-san nodded as if to say that it all made sense to her now.
“So that’s why you told me about it. It was so that you could ask me if there was anyone in my class missing during homeroom yesterday.”
“That wasn’t the only reason, I just wanted you to listen. But of course, I’d be even happier if you can provide testimony. Osanai-san, was there anyone not in homeroom after the sixth period ended?”
Frankly speaking, I didn’t need to hear her testimony, and I already knew who the culprit was.
The culprit had been listlessly tapping on the white sphere while Koumura-sensei and the others were discussing the proper location and direction of the objet. They’d also strongly declined my offer to help them move the sphere back onto the platform. By artfully placing it such that the crack was facing down, they’d managed to avoid being exposed as having damaged the objet.
Osanai-san replied.
“I didn’t notice that he was missing, but our homeroom teacher Hirata-sensei asked where Aotagawa-kun had gone to.”
The culprit who had smashed the objet with a plaster bust was Aotagawa-kun.
I actually sympathized with him.
He’d been roped into moving the objet simply because he was on class duty, even when it had nothing to do with him, and had tapped on the sphere out of boredom, causing a crack to appear. It would be easy to criticize reckless behavior, but breaking whatever that was supposed to be – something that we couldn’t imagine the value of – must have made his blood run cold.
In the two weeks leading up to the speech, Aotagawa-kun must have been on pins and needles, wondering if the crack would be discovered. After all, any students seeing the objet had to be accompanied by Koumura-sensei, so he couldn’t insist that one of those students did it. If the crack was discovered, it would only be a matter of time for Aotagawa-kun to be identified as the culprit.
When the earthquake struck during the sixth period yesterday, Aotagawa-kun must have had a glimmer of hope that the objet was destroyed by the earthquake. However, after seeing that the sphere had not suffered any damage, he must have thought that it was all over.
Simply imagining the despair he must have felt made me feel a little sorry for Aotagawa-kun.
7
I knew where Osanai-san’s house was, which was how I’d noticed a while ago that we were taking a detour. That was probably to secure enough time to complete our conversation.
As we were crossing a canal with a sluice gate, Osanai-san suddenly stopped. Placed at the entrance to a private house was what looked to be a small sign. We moved forward to get a closer look, to find that “Tea and Cakes” was written on it. I couldn’t tell if that was the shop’s name or if it was a description of their products. The text continued with, “Chocolate confectionery available.”
The sharp gleam of a hunter appeared in the eyes of Osanai-san, who had just been enjoying a lighthearted chat after school. She held her breath and ran her eyes intently along the storefront, not wanting to miss out a single detail to judge if we should enter the store. From what I could see, it was inhabiting a traditional Western-style house which had been remodeled to hold a shop. The appeal of being able to have cake there was quite understated, so I couldn’t feel that the owner was so desperate that their life would be over if their store didn’t quite catch on with the general public. I got the impression that it was opened by someone who was drawn to the charm of a traditional house and put flavor on the backburner, but I could also see it as a spot opened up by a seasoned veteran who retreated from the front lines for whatever reason, and now served up satisfying food to a small, select clientele.
Osanai-san murmured.
“June isn’t exactly the season for chocolate…”
Come to think of it, chocolate would be more fitting for winter. I thought that she would pass on it, but Osanai-san did not move from the storefront. Even though I already knew the answer, I asked, just in case.
“Have you ever been here?”
Osanai-san shook her head vigorously.
“No. I didn’t even know where we are.”
I certainly didn’t expect that we would be lost. In an offhand manner, I responded.
“So you might not be able to come here again, right?”
Osanai-san’s eyes flew wide open. My words must have struck a chord with her.
“Exactly, Kobato-kun. Every encounter in this world is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and should be treasured.”
She was definitely going into the store now.
“Should I go in too?”
“That’s for you to decide.”
She was absolutely right.
Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Our conversation surrounding Shima Taiga’s objet seemed like it would go on for a while more, and trudging around the city during that time would be quite dull. Thus I decided to accompany Osanai-san on her exploration and enter the shop, as thanks for her listening to me talk.
“You’ve never heard of this place, right? The cakes might not be very good, then.”
“If that’s true, we can say, ‘That tasted bad’ together.”
Osanai-san went ahead of me and opened the sliding door.
Compared to its exterior, the shop’s interior looked more like one. There was a cash register, and a display case lined with cakes. Some tables were placed near a bay window, probably for the sake of dine-in customers. I couldn’t see any store clerks at first, but one immediately appeared. It was a middle-aged woman.
“Welcome. Are you eating in or taking away?”
Osanai-san answered.
“I would like to eat in, please.”
“Alright. Sit anywhere you like.”
We took a spot that was lit by the sun. Osanai-san went over to the display case to take a look. Strangely enough, I’d gone into stores like this with Osanai-san multiple times already, even though I didn’t particularly enjoy sweet food. Eventually, she trotted back to our table, as if she was alerting me to an emergency.
“Kobato-kun, they have sachertorte!”
“That’s some kind of chocolate cake, right?”
Osanai-san was solemn.
“Sachertorte is the empress of sweets.”
Oh, really?
“I’ll order the sachertorte. You choose whatever you want, Kobato-kun. You don’t need to order cake if you don’t want to.”
I laughed.
“Well, if we’re in the presence of a queen, then there is no luxury of choice, right?”
Before long, two small slices of chocolate cake were brought to our table, along with our respective beverages. Osanai-san squinted as if she found her surroundings to be too dazzling, but the rays of early summer sunlight streaming in was probably not the only reason.
On the other hand, I was shocked by how unexpectedly plain the sachertorte looked, especially when Osanai-san had called it the empress. It was a wedge cut from a whole cake, and was coated in dark chocolate all around. Its surface was smooth and glossy, but lacking in decoration. While wondering if it was actually deserving of the title Osanai-san had given it, I picked up my fork and put it on the cake’s surface. When I exerted some energy, a crack appeared on the coating, and the fork sank down with only some slight resistance. Its base was also made of chocolate sponge. I cut one small piece and brought it to my mouth.
…How should I describe that taste?
I’d expected the flavor of chocolate to spread in my mouth, which was only natural, given the cake’s appearance. But actually, I was first hit by a surge of sweetness, which was followed by the aroma of cacao. If that were all, I would have thought that it wasn’t that much different from a regular bar of chocolate. However, they were clearly not the same. The sachertorte was sweet, fragrant, and had something hidden beneath the taste of chocolate. I carefully put another piece into my mouth.
It was sour. A hint of tartness was bringing together the chocolate coating and base into a single cake.
“There’s something spread in the cake.”
I muttered. Osanai-san stopped moving her fork and grinned.
“Amazing, you figured that out. In sachertorte, apricot jam is spread between the cake base and fondant2.”
So that tartness was from apricots, huh… Also, I now learned that the coating was called fondant.
Looking thoroughly satisfied, Osanai-san moved her fork.
“Delicious, so delicious.”
She was right, it was indeed delicious.
Osanai-san probably hadn’t intended to give me a lesson on sweets. As usual, she’d chosen one solely for her own enjoyment, but regardless of her intentions, I’d learned of a tasty dessert. Suddenly, I realized that she was sharing something precious with me. If so, it should be fine to say this to her, just this once.
“Thank you.”
Osanai-san looked bewildered.
“Eh? Erm, you’re welcome?”
Both of us had about half of our sachertorte left. Osanai-san put down her fork, as if reluctant to finish the cake in one go, then drank some of the hot milk she’d ordered. She closed her eyes to savor the aftertaste, before speaking.
“…Kobato-kun, you told me about how the objet was destroyed. I do think that is exactly what happened, but to me, it sounds like a story from a far-off country. After all, I’ve never seen the damaged objet.”
She then closed her eyes.
“So now, why don’t you tell me about the objet’s revival? How did it get restored before today’s speech, when it was damaged so badly yesterday after school? According to what you told me earlier, the ball seemed to be made of plaster. Did Shima Taiga-san fix it in one night?”
I wasn’t familiar with the physical properties of plaster. Perhaps it was an unexpectedly easy to use and popular material, such that it was possible to fill up that hole in one night. However, it was hard to believe that it was actually fixed overnight.
“At the start of his speech, Shima Taiga said that he only arrived in Japan this morning.”
“Ah, you’re right.”
“On top of that, the driftwood was not in the Art Preparation Room.”
Osanai-san frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“Shima Taiga’s objet is comprised of a white platform, a white sphere, and a white piece of driftwood. But only the platform and sphere were displayed in the Art Preparation Room, while the piece of driftwood was being kept by Koumura-sensei. He said that it was because there were many narrow branches that could easily break.”
I hadn’t said anything at the time, but I’d wondered if that was allowed. Shima Taiga had sent his objet to the school because he wanted to show it to his juniors. On the other hand, the school had placed the objet in a locked room, and only allowed students to view it under a teacher’s supervision. That was understandable, for security reasons. However, putting away the driftwood because it might break did not seem right.
Osanai-san’s eyes turned cold.
“The objet is a three-piece set, but he kept one part of it? Shima Taiga-san will be angry if he hears of it.”
“We have the right to be angry too. Shima Taiga wanted any student in our school to freely view the objet, but we could only see an incomplete version of it.”
After lifting her cup of milk to her mouth, Osanai-san looked at me.
“Was the person who decided to do that Koumura-sensei, or someone higher up? But I don’t see how that’s related to the objet’s revival.”
“I believe that the key point here is what the school thought about the objet and what they valued most.”
“What they valued most…?”
The reason for moving the driftwood to another location was probably not that the school wanted to humiliate Shima Taiga, or that they didn’t want to show modern art to students.
Osanai-san murmured.
“What the school valued most, huh… I suppose it was to return the objet safely. That was their top priority.”
“Exactly. In the unlikely event that an item in their care breaks, it becomes a matter of liability. They were already in a nerve-wracking situation, and with the threatening letter in the mix, they decided not to let the driftwood be accessible to the student population. If so, I wonder if it was alright for them not to do anything with the sphere as well.”
“If they even shifted the sphere away, only the platform would be left in the exhibit. That would definitely make Shima Taiga-san lose face.”
The concept of “losing face” never factored in my deductions. That was a difference in how Osanai-san and I viewed the world.
I nodded.
“They couldn’t only display the sphere. However, they definitely had to return the objet in a perfect state. I think there is a good way to handle this situation.”
It would be troubling for the actual objects to get damaged, yet they had to be displayed. This kind of dilemma was probably not all that uncommon. While poking at the chocolate fondant on her sachertorte with her fork, Osanai-san mused.
“So they have to balance exhibition with conservation of the objet…”
She continued, but didn’t seem very confident of herself.
“I think I know what you’re trying to say, Kobato-kun. But is there really something like that?”
“You were the one who said that returning the objet safely is the top priority. In other words, that must be done no matter what it takes.”
“The objet on display at the Art Preparation Room was a replica. That’s what you were trying to say, right?”
Exactly.
The objet that Shimai-san and I saw in the Art Preparation Room yesterday after school was a well-made replica. That would explain why the cracked sphere suddenly became unblemished in the next day. I could also understand why Koumura-sensei had sighed in relief after noticing the damage on the sphere, as if saying that at least the driftwood had not been harmed. He could simply discard the broken replica, and move the genuine articles out for the speech.
“Koumura-sensei mentioned that the sphere’s surface is plaster, and that anyone can make it, although the quality would be another question. He was probably the one who made the replica.”
I could think of two opportunities for the objet to be switched with its replica.
One was after we moved the real objet to the Art Preparation Room. He could have switched it after school, or some other time when there was no one else around. However, that would mean that Aotagawa-kun had damaged the actual objet.
Another point was before that. It was possible that the objet had already been switched when we went over to the office as porters. There was a stronger case for this compared to the former.
I’d unwittingly assumed that we moved the objet on the day it was delivered to the school, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. It would be smarter to think that the objet had been delivered way before that, and was kept in Koumura-sensei’s house or an empty classroom for his reference as he constructed a replica. When that was complete, he called for us to help set up the exhibition.
Osanai-san tilted her head.
“…I wonder if they got Shima Taiga-san’s permission.”
I pointed at my plate.
“I bet the rest of my sachertorte that they didn’t.”
If the replica had been made with the original creator’s permission, the school could have openly notified everyone about that fact. When we got flustered seeing the damaged objet the day before, Koumura-sensei could have told us not to worry since it was just a replica. But both of those things could not be done, because they hadn’t gotten permission to make a replica.
Osanai-san shut her eyes, a sense of deep regret washing over her face.
“What a wonderful idea, but I have no choice but to bet on the same side. I also think they didn’t get permission.”
It was actually a method that made sure no one got hurt. By producing a replica, Shima Taiga’s original work was protected, the school managed to avoid being held liable for any damages, and students were not embroiled in any incidents. It was certainly a thorough approach, excluding the legal problems revolving copyright, and the slight demerit of taking away the students’ chance to come into contact with the genuine objet d’art.
With this, I’d unraveled the mystery behind the objet’s destruction and revival. After taking a deep breath, I put my fork into the sachertorte which was sweet, sweet to its very core, and slightly sour. The early summer sunlight was pleasant, and the shop was quiet. The store clerk had disappeared, and the two of us were facing each other, savoring the same cake. Osanai-san had at some point in time become absorbed in her sachertorte, and was not looking in my direction. Then again, I, too was simply basking in the afterglow of having cracked the case.
Still, I asked just one question of Osanai-san.
“By the way, why did you call sachertorte the empress of sweets?”
Her head jolted up, then tilted in a confused manner.
“Because sachertorte is a confection from Vienna… or Austria. Austria gives off the impression of an empress, don’t you think?”
I could think of only one person that fit the bill.
“So, is there an emperor of desserts?”
“The emperor… has abdicated.”
“I hope he still has his head.”
“He’s fine, but was swept away to the Island of Elba.”
That was a riddle. Osanai-san must be in a great mood to pose a riddle to me. She’d probably enjoyed this shop’s sachertorte very much. I accepted the challenge, and started thinking of the answer.
The emperor related to the Island of Elba was obvious. All I had to do was link it to the name of a dessert.
I replied.
“His Imperial Majesty’s name is Napoleon Pie3, right?”
Osanai-san looked surprised, apparently having not expected me to get the answer. Eventually, she grinned, put down her fork, and gave me a small round of applause. Wondering how to react to a rare compliment, I let out an easygoing smile.
“That’s basic knowledge, isn’t it?”
Osanai-san did not reply, but fondly moved the final crumb of sachertorte into her mouth.
8
I was wrong.
Not that my entire theory was wrong, but there were some things I’d unknowingly ignored.
Just as a sachertorte looked like nothing more than a plain chocolate cake but actually had apricot jam spread between the base and fondant, a large mystery was linked to the destruction and revival of Shima Taiga’s objet, and I’d turned a blind eye to that.
Who was the extortioner?
What was their goal?
If I were to give an excuse, I would say that I hadn’t had a single chance to come in contact with the actual threatening letter. After being delivered to the school, it had probably been circulated to the principal, vice-principal, and year heads, and had not been made public to students. However, just because I didn’t have access to the clue didn’t mean that I should give up thinking about the extortioner. I’d simply turned my back from something that was out of my control. At some point in time, I should have at least had this doubt in my mind – if the school had concealed the threatening letter’s existence, why had the rumors spread?
I knew that no matter what I noticed or said, there was nothing I could do to change anything. I might not have even wanted to change anything. Simply put, I was left dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
In July, when the study period for end-of-term exams was about to begin, we were informed in homeroom that Koumura-sensei would be retiring at the end of the first trimester.
According to the rumors, he wasn’t leaving of his own volition, but was made to leave. The reason for that varied depending on the rumor, and all of them were completely unbelievable.
If he was indeed leaving the school, there was something I wanted to ask. With that thought, I headed to the staff room to visit Koumura-sensei after lessons ended. Hirata-sensei, who taught Japanese History, told me that Koumura-sensei should be in the Art Room.
The only person in the Art Room was Koumura-sensei.
During the exam study period, school lessons only lasted for half a day. After-school club activities were prohibited, so there were no Art Club members in the room. It was slightly before one in the afternoon, and with the Art Room being on the highest floor of the four-storey building, the heat from the sun beating down on the rooftop radiated through, making it unbearably hot. Koumura-sensei had opened all the windows of the Art Room and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. He was holding a clipboard and making some sort of list. When I said, “Excuse me,” and entered the Art Room, his eyes narrowed.
“Oh, it’s you. Did you forget something here?”
That was probably true, in another sense.
“I heard that you are leaving the school. Is that true?”
“So you came all the way here just to check? That’s conscientious of you, I suppose. It’s true. I’ve got some family matters to attend to.”
I couldn’t take those words at face value.
“…Were you made to take responsibility for making a replica of Shima Taiga’s objet without his permission?”
Koumura-sensei stopped moving his hands, and looked at me intently. I pressed on.
“Constructing the replica should not have been only your decision, Koumura-sensei. Is it not ridiculous that you had to take sole responsibility for that?”
The art teacher laughed quietly.
“I was wondering what you were going to say. But that’s impressive. No other student noticed that it was a replica.”
“I think that is only natural.”
“Not really. There was a world of difference between the original and the replica I made, whether you’re considering texture or transparency. To the trained eye, the sphere was of a blatantly lower quality. But you didn’t compare the replica you saw in the Art Preparation Room with the original, correct?”
I nodded, and Koumura-sensei placed his clipboard face down on the teacher’s desk.
“So you noticed after seeing that the objet that should have been damaged was fixed in one night? Did you tell any other student about this?”
I’d told Osanai-san, but answered in the contrary.
“No.”
“Good. Continue keeping it to yourself. Saying it out won’t benefit anyone, anyway.”
He then fell into thought for a short while.
“You thought I was unjustly dismissed, so you came over here to find out what happened. You didn’t seem like a student who would do such a thing, though.”
Now that he mentioned it, I myself didn’t really know why I’d taken this course of action. Perhaps it was simply because I didn’t like the string of events surrounding the speech coming to a close while there were things I didn’t fully understand.
Koumura-sensei rubbed his chin.
“Leaving the school is a private matter. But you having incomplete information could lead to some sort of misunderstanding. It’ll be troubling if any weird rumors about it spread, so fine, I’ll tell you. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, so you’ve noticed that there really was a threatening letter, right?”
I nodded. Koumura-sensei smiled as if to say, “Of course.”
“You knew because I misspoke at the Art Preparation Room. So, who do you think sent the letter?”
I likely didn’t have enough information on hand to identify the extortioner. However, at this point in time, there was a name I could bring up.
“…I think there is a possibility it was you, Koumura-sensei.”
He shrugged cheerfully.
“Why do you think that?”
“Earlier, the Newspaper Club found a painting drawn by Shima Taiga when he was a student. When suspicions about it being plagiarized came up, you did not try to clear his name. On top of that, you said something along the lines of him being able to handle his own problems as an adult, and you let news of the supposed plagiarism spread.”
The smile disappeared from Koumura-sensei’s face, as if it had been wiped clean off. After taking a small breath, I continued.
“I heard that you, Hirata-sensei and Shima Taiga were schoolmates from the same year. Koumura-sensei, you… you don’t think highly of Shima Taiga being a world-renowned sculptor.”
“So you’re saying that I was jealous, and that was why I sent the threatening letter?”
A word I never used came out of Koumura-sensei’s mouth. Though hesitant, I nodded. The teacher narrowed his eyes and stared at me.
“I see, that makes sense. Let me tell you just one thing.”
A wry smile played across Koumura-sensei’s lips.
“Shima’s life work, the ‘Gaze and Shell’ series, originated from me.”
I was at a loss for words. Koumura-sensei continued in a somehow cheery manner.
“The works of the ‘Gaze and Shell’ series share a common mechanism, something that no one notices, and exists purely for self-satisfaction. It is…”
Osanai-san and I had already ascertained that.
“All of them have something hidden within.”
Koumura-sensei stared at me with his mouth wide open, and I could feel my pride being slightly satisfied by that. Eventually, he praised me, seemingly not joking at all.
“Well done noticing that. It’s a shame you didn’t choose art as your elective. You’re completely right. The original source was a treasure box I made in high school just for fun. The box itself was designed to appeal to everyone, while the contents were designed to my personal taste. Shima was inspired by that, and copied that idea.”
That was not written in the magazine Osanai-san and I had found at the library. It had said that the first step to Shima Taiga discovering his theme was eating delicious fortune cookies in San Francisco when he was a kid, and meeting a chef who focused on improving the taste of the cookie even though everyone else only cared about the fortune inside.
I didn’t know which was true. But to Koumura-sensei, Shima Taiga copying him was an unshakable truth.
The art teacher let out a short sigh.
“Keeping that in mind, I want you to consider. Would I threaten my own workplace to cancel a speech due to jealousy towards a friend?”
I was unable to answer. Koumura-sensei looked at my face and smiled derisively.
“It seems that you’ve also noticed. This jealousy is a weak motive. My life isn’t so cheap for me to throw caution to the wind simply for a relationship from decades ago. Though it is demanding, being a civil servant is a stable job, and throwing that away for a momentary surge of emotions would be a waste. This momentary surge of emotions is not very vivid, anyway.”
After saying all that, Koumura-sensei abruptly lowered his tone.
“…But, it’s close. You’re on the right track.”
He looked at me with a probing gaze.
“Yes, for example…”
The art teacher seemed to be unsure if he should go on. All I could do was stand in silence.
Eventually, he appeared to make up his mind, but still spoke carefully.
“Let’s say there was a student who likes me, and let’s call them S-kun. They would strike up conversations with me, approach me whenever they get the chance, and send me letters, saying things like, ‘I’ll be making scones in class, so look forward to them.’ I don’t want to be rude to them, so I just brush them off casually. Near the speech, S-kun…”
Koumura-sensei brought his face closer to mine.
“Just like you, they are hypersensitive, so they sense the already faded emotion I have towards Shima, and overinterprets it. And then…”
I knew what happened without needing to hear him say it out loud. He spread out his arms in a joking manner.
“With the best of intentions, they send a letter saying that Shima Taiga is a plagiarist, and threatening the school to cancel his speech.”
“Sawami-san?”
“S-kun. Let’s call them S-kun.”
The penny dropped. Now, I understood better why a replica was made. I’d been thinking that making a replica just because of one threatening letter was a bit of an overreaction.
“Koumura-sensei, you made the replica because you thought S-san would really break the objet, is that correct?”
Koumura-sensei grinned, his silence taking the place of an affirmation. I asked another question.
“On the day of moving the objet, was it a coincidence that S-san was on class duty?”
“How would I know?”
I couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t a coincidence. It would have been a simple matter for Sawami-san to ask the actual person on duty to swap with her.
Sawami-san was probably also the one who had spread the rumor among the students. With that and the threatening letter itself, she’d wanted to put pressure on the school.
A damp breeze flew in through the big windows. I could feel sweat trickling down my temples. Koumura-sensei placed one hand on the teacher’s desk and spoke wearily.
“Think about it. A student likes me and is keeps aggressively making moves on me. How do you think I feel, with my back against the wall?”
I heard that love is a wonderful thing.
“…On top of the world?”
Koumura-sensei guffawed uproariously.
“Kobato-kun, are you bad at Japanese? Of course that’s not it! The correct answer is ‘like treading on thin ice’. Or ‘like carrying a ticking time bomb’! How ignorant are you to not know who will get criticized when word gets out that a student has a crush on a teacher!”
Even so, it didn’t really click for me.
“If that is the case, can you not just turn them down? Because you played along with them…”
His smile faded.
“Listen, Kobato-kun.”
The teacher took one breath, then slowed down his words, as if he were emphasizing important vocabulary that would often appear in a test.
“S-kun is also a student. A person who alienates a student due to personal reasons has no right standing in front of a classroom.”
I suddenly felt like I was the biggest idiot in the entire country.
But if so…
“…Koumura-sensei, why are you leaving?”
He replied quietly.
“Of course, I’ve reported to the school about S-kun. They also slightly suspect S-kun of being the one who sent the threatening letter. If no one claims responsibility for that, S-kun will face disciplinary action sooner or later. I do hope it stops at a suspension…”
Unexpectedly, a playful tone returned to Koumura-sensei’s voice.
“Kobato-kun, have you ever daydreamed of being attacked by suspicious individuals and criminals in school? Or have you ever imagined that while everyone else is running about aimlessly, only you are resolutely standing your ground?”
“No.”
Though I do always imagine that I solve mysteries faster than anyone else.
“I see. Never mind, then. Everyone has their own dreams, after all.”
Koumura-sensei’s smile deepened.
“And… it is the dream for a teacher to resign for the sake of protect a student.”
He peered at my face, and grinned kindly.
“You don’t have to make that face.”
“…”
“My family runs a furniture workshop. They told me before that I don’t have to succeed it, but my parents are getting old, and with their bodies growing weaker, they got scared and recently told me to come back if I can. Well, our furniture isn’t cheap. It’s made of 100% domestically produced lumber, and we only choose the best. Kobato-kun, become a good adult, and buy our furniture.”
At that moment, I realized that there was nothing more for me to ask. The questions of who sent the threatening letter, who destroyed the objet and who restored it had become crystal-clear. I took one step back and stood right in front of Koumura-sensei.
“Thank you very much. I will be heading home.”
He nodded.
“Be careful of cars on your way back. Focus on your studies during this test preparation period and don’t go out at night.”
“I will. Excuse me.”
I bowed, and added in a voice low enough that Koumura-sensei wouldn’t hear… Goodbye.
9
At night, I shared the details of the situation with Osanai-san. After a few hours, she sent over a reply that was longer than any other message I’d seen from her.
“Hotel Sacher and Cafe Demel fought over the right to use the dessert’s name. As a result of the legal ruling, Hotel Sacher won the right to use the name ‘Original Sachertorte’. Today, Demel has many branches around the world, and you can even buy Demel’s Sachertorte here in Japan. As for Hotel Sacher, there’s only one of it in Vienna, as it has been for a long time.”4
I read the message over and over.
Osanai-san was not saying that Demel’s expansion on the global market made it the winner, or that Hotel Sacher which was labeled the original but had nothing outside of Vienna was the loser. She was probably saying that people have their own paths.
That applies to teachers, sculptors, everyone.
It was hot. I opened a window to let it some night wind into my room.
A night festival was to be held at a nearby shrine on the next day. There would be yakisoba, baby castellas, and Tianjin sweet roasted chestnuts. The school had told us not to indulge in nights out, but perhaps I should go anyway, because to a petit bourgeois, “Rules are meant to be broken.”
After that, Osanai-san did not invite me to leave school with her. Her underground fight with the evil organization must have come to a close for now.
Summer break was coming soon.
If we were to meet at the night festival tomorrow, Osanai-san would definitely have a stick of fluffy cotton candy in her hand.
The London Scones Mystery | Contents
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Editors (Tier 2): Dedavond, Pearl H Nettle
Assistants (Tier 1) : Rolando Sanchez, Lilliam, Yousef, Maria C
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- Japanese sword typically made of bamboo used for practice and competition in kendō. It is about 110 to 120cm in length.
- Crystallized sugar icing that is more firm compared to ganache.
- More commonly known as mille-feuille, a French dessert made of puff pastry layered with pastry cream.
- If you’re interested, here’s a short article about it.