"The Chinese restaurant you went to this morning, Oreki."
"I see..."
"Yeah, I was reading upstairs at the time."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. A little noise now and then is fine. Besides, it wasn't a library. There was no rule that everyone had to be quiet."
"Shiina, you're just as kind as I'd heard."
Oreki sighed.
Where could he find another girl as kind as her?
There probably weren't many in the whole world.
If only Sakayanagi could learn from Shiina.
He thought.
Unfortunately...
With Sakayanagi Arisu's personality, she would never agree.
Still, maybe that was for the best.
If Sakayanagi suddenly became kind one day, Oreki might break into a cold sweat.
Either she was plotting something.
Or...
Best not to think about it.
"Ahem... About the art museum, how much do you know, Shiina?"
"Well, I only have some initial guesses."
"Could you tell me what you think?"
"Sure. For now, let's call the Class A driver 1, the Class D driver 2, and the sponsor's daughter 3."
"Okay."
"Based on the clues we have so far, we can deduce that 1 and 3 have known each other for a long time. They may have been classmates, or they may have been involved in an illicit relationship."
"What's the evidence?"
"3 specifically chose 1 as her personal driver."
"That's a bit of a stretch, but it does make sense."
"Next, there's the relationship between 1 and 2. If they were strangers, 2 probably wouldn't have taken revenge on 1."
"Why?"
"Because if someone doesn't know another person very well, then one day, when they hear that the other person has suddenly gotten lucky, they might complain to themselves a little. But they wouldn't do what 2 did and secretly tamper with 1's bus."
"True. But we can't rule out an extremist."
"If 2 were an extremist, tampering with the bus wouldn't be all they did."
"Fair enough..."
Oreki agreed with Shiina's reasoning.
If someone was an extremist, they'd have to do something more artistic than that.
Art was explosion...
"If they weren't strangers, then 1 and 2 must know each other."
"Friends? Or maybe..."
"They probably weren't ordinary friends."
"Right. They're afraid their brother will have a hard life, but even more afraid he'll get ahead... That's the idea, isn't it?"
"You're surprisingly funny, Oreki."
"Am I?"
"Yeah."
Shiina smiled and nodded.
Then she continued her reasoning:
"2 must have approached 1. The conversation probably went..."
"Something like asking 1 to get 3 to find 2 an easy job, too."
"Exactly. But that obviously wasn't likely to work out."
"Because 1 and 3's relationship wasn't as simple as 2 thought."
"Right. And when 3 offered to hire 1 as her personal driver, 1 may have been reluctant to accept."
"Reluctant?"
"Yes. Otherwise, 1 wouldn't have hesitated for so long."
"Now that you mention it, 1 didn't quit the job right away."
"Then 1 and 3 couldn't have been ordinary classmates or friends. It's difficult for someone from a lower social class to get to know someone from a higher one, let alone become friends."
"Right. So 1 and 3's relationship was something they had to keep secret."
"...Lovers on the side?"
"If possible, I'd rather not hear that phrase."
"Sorry."
"No, you didn't do anything wrong, Oreki."
Shiina Hiyori tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She held out her right hand to Oreki.
"You've seemed pretty tense this whole time, Oreki."
—What, what? What's happening?
Oreki was stunned.
The usually quiet Shiina Hiyori...
Was she really being this forward?
No, it definitely wasn't what he thought.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Oreki. I'm not like this with just anyone."
"I just feel..."
"We're alike."
Moved by Shiina Hiyori's words, Oreki found himself wanting to meet her expectations.
In the end, he took her right hand.
"How does that feel? A little more relaxed?"
"...Yeah."
"Your hands are surprisingly big, Oreki."
"Are they...?"
"Yeah, they make me feel safe."
—!!!
He couldn't take it anymore.
A girl who made the first move was even more powerful than Oreki had imagined.
Especially when she was usually quiet and seemed so reserved.
"Let's get back to the case."
"Sure."
"Where were we?"
"The relationship between 1 and 3."
"Right... In that case, it wouldn't be all that surprising if 3 had completely manipulated 1."
"Next, we should analyze the motive."
"Why did the culprit want to steal this painting?"
"Money. Or someone else ordered the culprit to do it."
"The second possibility seems unlikely."
"True. But... the culprit might also have wanted revenge."
"Revenge?"
"No, never mind."
Oreki withdrew his guess.
He didn't want to believe that was what had happened.
If that really was the truth, then...
It would be far too sad.
"Let's split up and investigate."
"I'll go to the art museum and check the visitor register."
"Shiina, could you ask the employees what they thought of the previous curator?"
Oreki quickly laid out a plan.
Shiina Hiyori readily agreed.
"Then remember to email me, Oreki."
She waved goodbye to Oreki.
Cute...
So cute...
Incredibly cute...
He'd surely be happy if he went out with her.
Oreki nodded.
Still, he ought to stop going off the deep end.
He began thinking about how to look at the visitor register.
He couldn't manage it on his own.
Even if he had money...
He'd still need to be able to pay enough.
Bribing the receptionist was unlikely to work.
After thinking it over...
There was really only one way that was both convenient and quick.
That was...
Oreki called Sakayanagi on his phone.
"Well, this is unusual. What do you need?"
"Could I borrow your beret?"
"?"
"Don't worry, I'll just use it."
"That explanation makes it sound even more suspicious. Oh, well... I suppose I have no choice."
"Thanks."
"You can skip the formalities. Where are you now?"
"Uh... a restau—"
"Hm? What restaurant?"
Oreki suddenly fell silent.
He realized he hadn't eaten lunch yet.
Neither had Shiina Hiyori.
They'd been so caught up in their deductions that they'd completely forgotten about it.
Just like Shiina Hiyori had said.
They really were alike.
"I'm at the Chinese restaurant near the library, Classmate Sakayanagi. The one you went to this morning."
"!?"
A sudden voice startled Oreki.
He turned around...
It was Shiina Hiyori.
But hadn't she already left?
Still, that wasn't the most serious problem now.
It was the person on the other end of the phone...
Sakayanagi Arisu.
"I see... You'd better tell me what's going on, Houtarou Oreki."
Before you continue