"Red-Bearded Santa Claus?" Perhaps because the chibi illustration on the left was too cute, even the two high school girls did not seem particularly frightened by the Invitation Letter.
Suzuki Sonoko rubbed her chin and suddenly said gravely, "Something's not right."
Sato Miwako froze. Wasn't that supposed to be Jiang Xia's line? Yet Jiang Xia had not said anything, and Suzuki Sonoko had actually been the first to notice something wrong. Had this high school girl, who used to scream at the sight of a corpse, been subtly influenced into becoming a Detective after spending so much time with Jiang Xia?
Curious, she asked, "What did you find?"
"Huh? You didn't notice something so obvious?" Suzuki Sonoko proudly raised her head and suddenly pointed at the Christmas illustration on the left. "Look! It's signed 'Red-Bearded Santa Claus,' but the Santa Claus in this picture has a white beard. That's way too careless—completely unlike a murderer. Maybe this threatening letter was actually sent by someone from the theater troupe as a prop to build up the atmosphere."
Jiang Xia: "..." That made quite a bit of sense.
If not for the abundance of Killing Intent Clusters drifting around them, he might actually have believed it.
Still, classmates who wanted to become Detectives ought to be encouraged. Jiang Xia clapped. "That's a very original line of thinking."
Having received authoritative validation, Suzuki Sonoko's mood soared, and she raised her chin even higher.
Just then, a cold voice drifted over from nearby. "So this is how the High School Detective who came all the way from Tokyo solves cases?"
The group froze and turned to look, only to see a sharply dressed woman who had appeared beside them at some point.
She frowned at them with open disdain, her gaze finally settling on