A Scientific Urban Detective

"That's strange, Munen..." Kiyama Harumi muttered, then immediately remembered that she seemed to vaguely hear Munen say something about going out to buy groceries in her sleep.

In other words, Munen wasn't home right now.

"Oh dear!" Kiyama Harumi suddenly woke up. "Sorry, sorry, I'll open the door right away!"

Apologizing, she jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put on her slippers, and hurriedly ran to open the door.

--Anyway, it's just a girl, no need to worry too much about my appearance.

Besides, last night, or rather, early this morning, I slept in my clothes without changing into pajamas, so I don't have to bother changing now.

"Sorry, sorry," Kiyama Harumi didn't act like a teacher or an elder at all, and knowing she was in the wrong, she kept apologizing. "I was sleeping too soundly and forgot that Komori-san was coming."

"Not at all, I'm the one who's intruding, Kiyama-sensei." Komori Kimika, refreshed and renewed, also showed considerable patience and politeness.

After entering the room, she observed the scene in the apartment: "Sensei, has Munen not returned yet?"

"Not yet," Kiyama Harumi said naturally after looking at the time, "He's probably lost again, right?"

"Eh?"

"Don't worry," Kiyama Harumi waved her hand. "Getting lost is normal for Munen-kun, there's nothing to worry about, it just takes a little time."

Using this as a topic, Kiyama Harumi also briefly introduced the story of Munen getting lost inside the apartment building before.

Inviting Komori Kimika to sit down, Kiyama Harumi quickly took the opportunity to go to the washroom to wash up, and then went to the kitchen to prepare tea, snacks, and other refreshments for her guest.

But after a while, she had to awkwardly take out two boxes of milk.

"...No wonder Munen was in a hurry to go to the supermarket to buy groceries, there's really no food at home..." Kiyama Harumi muttered.

Of course, there was Munen's kneaded dough and simmered broth in the kitchen, but since a guest had come to visit, she couldn't just offer them a bowl of ramen, right?

Besides, Kiyama Harumi didn't even know how to make ramen.

Seeing Kiyama Harumi's embarrassment, Komori Kimika didn't mind, and instead placed the container she brought onto the table.

"I made strawberry cake, it can be used as a snack."

The reason she specifically brought such a large container today was because there were many strawberry cakes.

"I made this myself, the taste may not be as good as the ones sold in stores, please try it if you don't mind," Komori Kimika said.

It was because the strawberry cakes sold in limited quantities at the cake shop every day were too hard to get, so Komori Kimika decided to make them herself--so she could eat as much as she wanted.

After all, the last time she visited Munen, only having one strawberry cake was too embarrassing.

Komori Kimika had always been concerned about this; now it was fine, she made a whole twenty-four cakes, even if the three of them ate together, they could eat their fill.

"That's great!" Kiyama Harumi smiled, her eyes narrowed. "I haven't had breakfast yet."

Because she had personally told Munen not to make breakfast, there was no breakfast prepared for her in the kitchen.

--Now that there was no other food that could be eaten directly at home, if it weren't for the cake that Komori Kimika brought, she would have to go hungry.

But then again, if Komori Kimika hadn't come to visit, Kiyama Harumi wouldn't have woken up so early, right?

The cake, refrigerated with dry ice, was at its best flavor, and Kiyama Harumi praised it while eating happily.

"These kids nowadays are amazing, their cooking skills are better than each other!" The useless adult exclaimed sincerely.

"Eh? Can Munen also make cakes?"

"I haven't seen him make one," Kiyama Harumi said. "But Munen-kun said that as long as he has the recipe, ingredients, and cooking utensils, he can make any kind of dish."

"Is he really that amazing?" Komori Kimika's tone was somewhat disbelieving.

To complete this strawberry cake, she had specifically infiltrated a cake shop to work and spent a week secretly learning how to make it.

"I'm not exaggerating," Kiyama Harumi said triumphantly. "Now Munen-kun takes care of all the meals, even snacks and late-night snacks."

Komori Kimika frowned, feeling that something was strange.

Kiyama Harumi didn't stand on ceremony and ate three cakes with milk, which temporarily filled her stomach.

Komori Kimika wasn't hungry yet, so she just picked off the strawberries on top of the cake and ate them. The twenty-four cakes were divided equally among the three, with eight for each person. After eating her eight strawberries, Komori Kimika wasn't satisfied, hesitated, and then reached out to Munen's share.

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"Who told you not to be here? Strawberries are the crown jewels of the cake!"

After replenishing enough calories, Kiyama Harumi finally broke free from her half-asleep state.

Because there was nothing else to entertain with besides milk, Kiyama Harumi shamelessly went to a junior on the same floor and borrowed a lot of snacks.

Unfortunately, because they were all adults and usually drinking buddies, the snacks were all suitable for drinking with alcohol, and she didn't know if they would suit the tastes of young girls today.

Fortunately, Komori Kimika wasn't picky about food, she just had a particular fondness for sweets, but other types, as long as they weren't particularly unpalatable, she could eat without changing her expression.

Secretly relieved, Kiyama Harumi suggested, "Let's play games!"

Besides this, she couldn't seem to find any other better way to pass the time in this house.

At this moment, Kiyama Harumi completely forgot her identity as a "teacher"--perhaps because she felt relaxed in her own home, or perhaps because she was mentally exhausted and not in the right state, at this moment she didn't seem like a "security guard" or a "teacher", but rather like an older sister with a very similar temperament and personality, enthusiastically entertaining the girl who came to visit.

In fact, Kiyama Harumi also knew that the purpose of Komori Kimika's special visit was probably not for her, the teacher.

Munen, a peer, was her real visitation object.

In Kiyama Harumi's view, Munen and Komori Kimika had a good relationship, although Komori Kimika had accidentally injured Munen in the previous hospital murder case, after apologies and forgiveness, the two had "turned enemies into friends."

During the subsequent hospitalization, Komori Kimika would often visit Munen.

--In that case, before Munen came home, she could only try to entertain this little guest first.

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