Lawyer Tachibana looked down at what the woman had handed him, and his expression changed drastically—it was a battered envelope, sealed with a black-ink X. "T.K." was written in the lower-right corner.
"Someone sent this to the Detective Agency." The young woman in a business suit sighed. "I was worried that something might happen because you wouldn't receive this letter while you were on vacation, so I hurried over to deliver it."
Lawyer Tachibana gritted his teeth, grabbed the envelope, and stuffed it into his pocket. Remembering something, he turned to introduce Jiang Xia. "This is Miss Sugimura, the accountant at our law firm."
Following his gaze to Jiang Xia, the accountant froze for a moment. "Could you be that...?"
"That's right." Mrs. Tachibana held a glass of red wine and smiled. "He's the famous Jiang Xia. What do you think? He looks even better than he does on television, doesn't he? Since this is such a rare opportunity, why not sit down and have dinner with us?"
Suzuki Sonoko: ? Shouldn't you outsider fans be impressed by Jiang Xia's detective skills before anything else? What did his looks have to do with it? This woman clearly had ulterior motives—she had to be a fake fan!
Just as she thought that, the accountant smiled gratefully at Mrs. Tachibana. "Then I'll gladly accept your invitation."
Suzuki Sonoko: ??? What was going on? Was she a fake fan too?
The accountant failed to notice the scrutiny from a certain high school girl and happily took a seat. The elderly maid promptly set out another bowl and pair of chopsticks for her, then brought over more food.
Thus, the evening banquet, harmonious on the surface while everyone privately harbored their own thoughts, came to a seemingly peaceful end.
"What a luxurious house.