Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chance Meeting
Fora detective had been s I believed that becoane, born into the fifth generation of the shi+rogane lineage of detectives
Even if we had gained a reputation in criane,” naturally the opposition to ht However, rather than questioning my abilities in the face of such difficulties, I instead attributed it toe, but that was my reason to live at that time
As the result of a number of cases in which my obvious accomplishments accumulated, I became known to the world as the “Detective Prince”
Afterwards, I cahts at that ti As a detective, I did not lose even to the adults as far as having the necessary knowledge, but in exchange, I did not kno to enjoy e, nor was I fa a student
The ones who changed inning During my happy everyday life, I became worried that, as a detective, I would outlive my usefulness I soon realized my fears were unfounded I was simply afraid of the new experience As a result, I was able to becoer than my previous solitary self
When I thought of my friends, I was invincible
That was one year ago – I had returned to the unchanging, restless days of a detective, running around from north to south, east to west, anywhere there was a case and a commission However, no matter where I was, I did not feel that I was alone
It could be said that I was always in contact with , so I won’t saythattheir best under the same sky
On a certain day A e came from one of my friends It was from Rise Kujikawa
She frequently contactedthe dayti, norht
Did she have sos, I picked up the phone, and Rise Kujikawa cried out in a voice that sounded like she was completely at wits’ end
“Naoto-kun! It’s terrible! Please! Help me!”
As well as being in the same school year as myself, she was an extremely important person in my new life Needless to say, I i to her side
And aiting for me when I reached the place that she had specified was–
Blue skies, white clouds, and a brilliantly shi+ning red sun Before irl in a bright red swi smile The place was a southern island It had an eternal summer
“That’s great, Rise-chan! You’re so cute! You have the absolute best shted on the beach!”
Even though he was standing nearby and talking endlessly, the cameraman’s voice was far away;without pause
Slowly, I dropped h that fell from my lips was as heavy as lead
“Ah, u-uht? You’re cute, you’re really cute, but You’re absolutely depressing, you know? It sort of feels like you’re the Reaper alighted on the beach?”
The surrounding adults were s me, “Smile! Smile!”, but, please excuse me, I really am sorry, I was not in the mood to obey In contrast to the location and the eternal suloomy as the Sea of japan in midwinter
Please, I would like so in a swiainst me?
The season was spring It was late March While the people of japan were still shi+vering in the cold with scarves wrapped around their necks when they walked outside, I was in the inco my natural body exposed
By the way, the cold could not be felt Rather, it was quite hot The reason for this was that I was on the leisure resort on one corner of the “Artificially Made Southern Island”
This was the state-of-the-art all-weather leisure resort called the “Yagokoro Preokoro It was a place uninfluenced by the season, where, for exa winter
In short, this was all a plot A plot by the girl who had chosen to live as an idol
A glooh at odds with the location escaped me a second time
It really was troublesoht have been the first tih there were so ht noas a small piece of navy blue cloth I was as flustered as could be and wrapped bothto hide my breasts, but instead achieved the opposite effect and ended up ee even more
I was very, very embarrassed, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t lift my face; I didn’t think I had the mental fortitude to face the camera and smile
“Excuse one a bit beyond what she can handle, so please let us have a short break!”
The girl next to me called out to the people around us in a lively voice that perfectly rabbedalong the shore and heading toward the trees As soon as the girl reached the shade of the trees, she looked back ather hands on either side of her waist that was pinched like a glass flower vase and huffing
“Sheesh!+ Naoto-kun! If you spend forever acting all embarrassed, the photoshoot won’t ever end, you know!”
I’ll introduce her She was the masterht, she was the one who deceived me
“Don’t be absurd I’m different from an idol like you, Kujikawa-san!”
If it was the usual me, even when faced with someone from the same school year, I would normally continue to use polite speech, but there was no need to do so with Kujikawa-san, who I knew through and through
“What was that ‘Naoto-kun! It’s terrible! Please! Help me!’ about! I’ll tell you now, did you know I cancelled all ?”
This was exactly the conclusion I had co over the situation It seemed like there had been plans for a photoshoot with a female idol from the same office, but she wasn’t able to come, so I was called upon to act as a substitute
“But if I didn’t say that, you wouldn’t have coravure photoshoot’, Naoto-kun”
[Gravure photoshoot: see Wikipedia article]
She knew h as well Where speech style was concerned, the innocent Kujikawa-san was much less reserved than me
“You look fine! A ponytail really suits you, you know! It’s because you’re cute, Naoto-kun The active idol ‘Risette’ has given her seal of approval, so have some confidence!”
“That’s just your opinion”
“It’s true I’er than mine!”
“I-it’s not that I wished for it to beco about your size, Kujikawa-san”
“Hey, what’s that? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”
Kujikawa-san pouted, looking at ht her pursed lips close to my nose
“Would you please stop teasing me? Kujikawa-san, I don’t have as much free time now as you seem to think”
“I’ you I’m serious!”
As soon as she finished, Kujikawa-san let out an “Ei!” and prodded ertip In my surprise, a “Hyaa!” escaped
“I-I’!”
“Sheesh!+ Don’t get mad! Naoto-kun, this is for your sake, you know?”
“Formade to wear such a small swimsuit and publicly expose myself to so many people, a situation that I can only think of as a punishment, is for my sake?”
I quickly swept s Naturally, I tre into me
“No, no! You’ve got it all wrong! You should be happy, Naoto-kun! Everyone’s watching you because you’re cute! Isn’t that so to be proud of?”
Kujikawa-san widened her large, round eyes and spoke with great fervor
“It’s fine, isn’t it? Naoto-kun? You’re called the ‘Detective Prince’ and norirl Girls look like girls Girls act like girls It’s not weird at all, right?”
I , but in the end, no words would leave me
“Plus! You’re a cute girl, Naoto-kun! You should make an effort to be cute!”
While confiraze to my sand-covered toes
I was truly beginning to feel that I was at my limit More than one year had passed since I h schoolers in the co People could not oppose tiane closer to being female
“ah, sorry It’s not like I’ to torture you, Naoto-kun I think you’re pretty cool when you’re acting like a boy too It’s true”
Did she think I had fallen silent, not because I was lost in thought, but because I was depressed? Looking apologetic, Kujikawa-san continued speaking
“I’e, so I always thought, if I was soirl, I wanted to go shopping on off days, eat crepes while walking around, and talk aboutthat it would be fun if I could do that with you now, Naoto-kun So I know it’s selfish of irl”
At some point, I had lifted my face, and:
“And also! Naoto-kun, it’s not as bad as you think being a girl, okay? I’irl, you know? It means I can do the idol job I love now”
I took a long look at Kujikawa-san’s face as she spoke with a serious expression Soon afterward, realizing I atching, Kujikawa-san became flustered and hid her face
“A-anyway! You should listen obediently to your best friend’s advice!”
Kujikawa-san raised her voice even more The nearby staff were surprised and simultaneously turned to look at us
“I-in any case! It’ll be iravure idol style to shaive you!”
It an speaking nonsense However, I realized that the fair-skinned Kujikawa-san’s ears and the nape of her neck were being dyed red, so I said:
“W-what do you ive me? I – I don’t understand what you mean”
I was just as shaken as she was