Chapter Three The Legendary Couple
When Minami went to the front door, Ayaka, Yukiko and Hiroko were carrying the bags.
“When I went shopping, I coincidentally met Ayaka and Yukiko on my way home, so I asked them to help me carry these bags,” said Hiroko.
Minami looked at Hiroko closely. Suddenly, she said, “Hiroko, you went to the Sill Garden right now, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?” Hiroko asked with wide eyes.
“You went shopping for only five minutes. Such supermarkets are very limited,” Minami said seriously, as if it were a case of murder.
“I can’t go and come back from Sill Garden in five minutes. I could have gone to the Silver Garden in five minutes, though.”
“You said you met Ayaka and Yukiko. Ayaka and Yukiko went walking in the opposite direction, so you couldn’t possibly have met them if you had gone to the Silver Garden. You were probably able to go to Sill Garden by running through the field that was under construction. Thinking about your personality, you probably went through, even though there was a board that said ‘No passing.’”
Hiroko’s face turned a little red.
“As evidence, there is wet cement on your shoes and your reaction tells me that I must be right.”
“Wow, Minami, your skill as a detective hasn’t declined.” Hiroko said impressively.
“Do you mean that Minami is a detective...”
“Yes, you’re right. Minami has been a girl detective from when she was small,” Hiroko boasted as if it were about herself.
“Wow, how great,” Yukiko said.
Ayaka and Minami went to the kitchen with Yukiko, to prepare for dinner.
The kitchen was also fancy, and from the large window, they could see the sea. As Minami watched the waves turning constantly, she felt very relaxed.
“It’s a wonderful view.”
“Yes, I always enjoy this scenery when I cook,” Yukiko said with a smile.
“How long have you been a housekeeper?” Minami asked.
“Well, for seven years, but I have been serving for Hiroko for about four years.”
“Really. What do housekeepers do?”
“Well, I do house chores and also drive Chiharu to her school.”
When Minami was making a strawberry cake, Hideki came into the kitchen. He stuck his finger into the cake.
“Hey, stop it!” Minami scolded. She put the cake in a safe spot. “You’re such a slob.”
“Humph! You didn’t make that cake, anyways.”
“Oh yes I did! Yukiko gave me advice.”
“Really!?” Hideki seemed astonished by that.
“What’s with that surprised face! Even if I’m bad at housework, I can-”
Yukiko suddenly chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” Minami asked.
“Oh I’m sorry. It’s just that the two of you are so similar to the legendary couple...”
“The legendary couple?”
“Oh, don’t you know? It’s very famous here.”
“What kind of story is it?”
“There used to be a detective in this house called Hikari Okita. She had very high detective skills. She always took actions quickly and defeated the criminals with her karate.”
“Oh I can do karate too!” Minami boasted. She was good at all martial arts.
“You see, you’re very alike. She had a wonderful boyfriend-”
“Hey, what are you guys talking about?” Naoko barged into the kitchen.
'It was such a wonderful part...' Minami glared at Naoko.
“I’ve always been wondering why Minami looks at me with such a scary face.” Naoko said, resting her hand on Hideki’s shoulder.
Although Minami felt anger inside, she didn’t show it. “Oh I didn’t mean to,” she said with an intimidating smile.
“Really. Okay then. Let’s go, Hideki.” Naoko tugged on Hideki’s arm.
Why doesn’t Hideki say anything? Minami thought as she watched Hideki leaving the room, obviously troubled. She didn’t feel like listening to the rest of Yukiko’s story anymore.
