Wanting to Become Light?

Hearing this, Kikuemon was also a bit dumbfounded, his head full of question marks.

He wondered to himself when on earth he had given the answer.

Had he really forgotten what he had just said out loud?

Could it be that he was coming down with Alzheimer's?

That shouldn't be the case; he had just gone to the hospital for a checkup not long ago...

Kikuemon scratched his bald head and asked somewhat perplexedly, "Detective Fujino, what do you mean by that?"

"Ahem, since that's the case, I shall elaborate."

Fujino gave a light cough, crossed his arms, and began, "Earlier, Mr. Kikuemon said, 'Bring out the set of teacups I use to treat distinguished guests.' The distinguished guests part is fine, after all, Mr. Kikuemon appreciates me quite a bit, but that set of teacups used for entertaining distinguished guests just seemed a bit abrupt."

"An ordinary household wouldn't have a set of teacups prepared exclusively for entertaining distinguished guests. A Ceramics Master like Mr. Kikuemon is an exemplary titan of the craft, even less likely to do something like dividing guests into different ranks."

"I figured the reason behind this was most likely that there was some trick to the teacups prepared in advance. After getting my hands on it, I didn't notice anything unusual about these teacups... but the color and fine craftsmanship of the teacup in my hand stood out from the rest. The tea within it appeared even clearer and brighter, and I assumed whoever could craft such a piece must be the same old gentleman Kikuemon of equal quality."

"Viewed this way, the teacup in my hand definitely has a story to it. Combined with what Mr. Seto mentioned earlier and the suggestion you only just made..."

He paused, lowering his voice, and continued