"Huh? What? W-wife?!"
Kotomi Izumi's cheeks turned bright red at the sudden remark, leaving her montarily speechless.
Seeing Kotomi's flustered reaction, the girlfriend in the couple quickly apologized:
"Wait, are you not a couple? I'm so sorry if I got that wrong! It's just that you two seem so close and intimate, so I instinctively thought you were… well…"
The boyfriend also followed up with an apology: "Sorry about that! My girlfriend tends to assu any close pair of girls are in a relationship. I hope you don't mind."
"You didn't get it wrong! Isn't that right, darling~?" Iroha Isshiki said with a mischievous smile, tightening her grip on Kotomi's arm.
"You…" Kotomi sighed helplessly. This wasn't like the sukiyaki restaurant where posing as a couple got them discounts and free ice cream—why was Iroha playing this ga again?
And last ti, at least she just said "girlfriend." Why had it escalated to "wife" now?!
"W-wife? You an… you're already…?" The girlfriend's eyes sparkled with excitent.
"Yup, we're secretly married~," Iroha replied confidently.
The girlfriend's eyes lit up even more. "Wow!! Congratulations to both of you!"
The boyfriend raised his phone. "In that case, how about I take another photo for you two?"
"Sure!" Iroha leaned even closer to Kotomi.
"Haha…" Kotomi had given up trying to make sense of the situation.
After taking the photo and bidding farewell to the couple, the two of them continued on their way to the lighthouse.
On the way, Iroha's smile never wavered. "We were mistaken for a couple again."
Kotomi noted that every ti she looked at Iroha, the girl was always smiling. It made her wonder if Iroha even had any expression besides a cheerful grin.
"This is the second ti we've been mistaken for a couple while hanging out together."
"Senpai, you know what they say? People often mistake pairs for couples because they look like they belong together—like they were born to be lovers. It just proves we're a natural match!"
Iroha's bold declaration left Kotomi blushing, even though she already had a girlfriend.
Did this little devil even realize what she was saying?!
"Iroha…" Kotomi began, her face still red as she tried to respond.
Before she could finish, Iroha exclaid as if she had just discovered a treasure:
"Ah—!"
"What is it this ti?"
"Senpai, look, look! It's Kakigōri! Kakigōri!" Iroha tugged at Kotomi's shoulder excitedly.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Stop shaking , or I might end up throwing up my breakfast…" Kotomi pleaded, trying to steady herself.
"Senpai, let's go get so Kakigōri!"
Kakigōri—a fluffy crushed ice dessert topped with fruit and sweet beans—was the perfect way to survive a hot sumr day.
While Chiba City had plenty of shaved ice shops, there weren't many that sold Kakigōri. The two desserts were similar in appearance but distinctly different in flavor.
Finding a shop selling Kakigōri here in Fujisawa felt like stumbling across a rare gem. There was no way Iroha was going to miss this chance.
After buying two bowls, Iroha piled her Kakigōri high with strawberries, coconut jelly, raisins, sweet beans, and orange slices.
anwhile, Kotomi opted for waterlon chunks instead of strawberries. Being especially fond of sweet beans, she paid extra to get an additional serving of them.
"Wow, Senpai! You must be loaded to add waterlon chunks to your bowl!" Iroha exclaid in shock.
It wasn't surprising that she reacted this way. In Japan, fruits like waterlon and cantaloupe were considered luxury items.
Even though waterlon was an option at the ice porridge shop, few people actually added it due to the cost.
"Haha," Kotomi laughed sheepishly. It wasn't about being rich; she simply had a habit of adding waterlon to her ice porridge.
To Kotomi, ice porridge without waterlon just wasn't real ice porridge!
After choosing their toppings, they approached the counter to pay, as the shop owner wouldn't start preparing the bowls until paynt was made.
As Kotomi pulled out her wallet, she glanced subtly at Iroha, who was fumbling around for spare change. She rembered Iroha ntioning before that she loved waterlon…
Quietly, Kotomi took out an extra ¥1,000 bill and placed it underneath the amount needed for both bowls. The two bills stacked together looked like one as she slid them across the counter.
"Here's paynt for both of our bowls," Kotomi said.
"Alright! That'll be—wait a mont…"
The shop owner picked up the money and was about to place it in the register when she noticed the extra ¥1,000 bill underneath.
Thinking it was a mistake, the owner moved to return the extra bill but caught Kotomi's subtle glance. With a small smile, Kotomi motioned slightly toward Iroha.
The shop owner paused, quickly piecing together the situation. She recalled the girls' earlier conversation and understood that the extra bill was ant to cover an additional serving of waterlon.
"Got it," the owner thought with a knowing smile.
Midway through preparing the ice porridge, the shop owner called out with playful theatrics:
"Oh no! I accidentally made an extra serving of waterlon chunks! I can't put it back, and it would be such a waste to throw it away. Hey, how about I give this extra waterlon to the young lady here next to you? The bowls are already full, so there's no space for two servings anyway."
"Sure, that works," Kotomi replied casually, internally marveling at the owner's quick thinking.
She didn't expect the owner to grasp her silent signal so quickly. A true professional.
Completely oblivious, Iroha stood frozen in place before realizing what had happened. She grabbed Kotomi's arm, shaking it with excitent.
"Senpai! I got free waterlon chunks! Waterlon chunks! Waterlon chunks!"
"Yes, yes, congratulations," Kotomi said, clapping half-heartedly as Iroha continued to shake her arm. "Ugh… stop shaking ! I'm going to throw up my breakfast."
Once the bowls were ready, the two of them found a bench along a seaside road to sit and enjoy their icy treats before heading to the lighthouse.
"Ahhh! Even though it's a bit late to say this, sumr is all about eating ice porridge with lots of waterlon!"
"Agreed," Kotomi replied, unusually in sync with Iroha's enthusiasm for once.
"Senpai, you eat ice porridge so slowly!"
"Idiot. Do you even know the proper way to eat ice porridge? You have to eat it slowly so that so of the ice lts into water. That way, at the end, you get a bowl of refreshing fruit-flavored soup."
"Wow, I had no idea! From now on, for the rest of my life, I'll savor my ice porridge slowly," Iroha declared dramatically.
"Don't say it like so old countryside granny," Kotomi muttered, shaking her head.
After finishing their ice porridge, Kotomi and Iroha continued their journey toward the lighthouse. In the distance, they could already see its faint silhouette—Enoshima was close.
Kotomi reached into her pocket to grab her phone, intending to take a photo of the lighthouse from where they stood. However, because her phone was stored with her money, she felt an unusual texture while retrieving it.
A crisp ¥1,000 bill?
She froze for a mont, pulling out the money alongside her phone. Sure enough, there was an extra ¥1,000 bill in her pocket.
Kotomi instinctively glanced at Iroha, who stood beside her, smiling sweetly like a clever detective who had just solved a case.
"Fufu, Senpai, you thought your little stunt with the ice porridge shop owner went unnoticed, didn't you?"
Kotomi's expression stiffened slightly as Iroha continued:
"Gambling on the honor of my grandfather's na, I've unraveled this mystery!
"Here's what happened: you slipped an extra ¥1,000 bill beneath the original cash and handed it to the shop owner. Then, she pretended to have mistakenly prepared an extra serving of waterlon chunks and offered them to for free. It was all part of your sneaky plan to treat without letting know. How's that for deduction, Senpai?"
Kotomi's lips curved into a faint smile, unable to suppress her amusent.
"That line… were you imitating Kindaichi just now?"
Though she didn't explicitly confirm it, Kotomi's acknowledgnt hinted at the truth of Iroha's "deduction."
This little devil had gotten it right.
"Senpai, you like Kindaichi Case Files, too? My favorite case is the tragic love lake legend murder case."
"I enjoy most of the cases, but if I had to pick the most morable ones, it'd be the village of the haunted mansion murders and the opera house murders."
"Even though the opera house has hosted multiple murders across the series, I agree—the first one was definitely the scariest."
"Exactly. Oh, by the way, there's a particular female character I like from the series."
"Hmm? Which one, Senpai? Miyuki Nanase? Reika Hayami?"
"Neither. I like 'Thief Gentleman.'"
"Ohh~ so Senpai's into that type of woman, huh?"
"I wouldn't say I'm 'into' her. She's just… intriguing."
"Senpai, what do you think is the most interesting murder trick in the series?"
"The most interesting? That would have to be the one from Gokumon Juku..."
And so, Kotomi and Iroha delved into a shared passion for suspenseful mysteries, discussing everything from murder tricks to their favorite cases from Kindaichi Case Files.
Their conversation grew so animated that they completely lost track of their surroundings.
As other tourists and couples around them marveled at the scenic beauty, Kotomi and Iroha's spirited discussion of grueso murder thods cut through the ambiance like nails scraping a chalkboard.
Unbeknownst to them, their peculiar topic had started to attract attention.
Suddenly, a man and a woman stepped in front of them, blocking their path.
"Huh?"
Kotomi blinked, taken aback. The pair looked like ordinary tourists, but sothing about their deanor seed off—more serious, more official.
Wait a second… could they be—?!
A shocking thought flashed through Kotomi's mind, leaving her stunned.
The man and woman reached into their jackets and pulled out police badges.
"We're with the Kanagawa Prefectural Police," the man said in a low voice. "We'd like you both to co with us for questioning."
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