The Elegant Dining Table of the Pendragon Family: Satou's Deduction Fails Again Today
Satou Pendragon, former programmer turned adventurer, prides himself on logic. So when the sasakama he *knows* was delivered vanishes from a perfectly functioning refrigerator—with every window locked from the inside—he does what any rational mind would do: he deduces.
Unfortunately for Satou, his deductions are wrong. Again.
Between a household of hungry companions, a fish that may or may not have ever arrived, and a so-called "presence" that turns out to be his own party member, Satou's dete
The Elegant Dining Table of the Pendragon Family: Satou's Deduction Fails Again Today - Sasakama Has Disappeared!? The Refrigerator's Magic Ran Out and a Totally Off-Base Deduction
The cold air of the blue luminite chilled the kitchen.
Satou Pendragon stood before the refrigerator, his short black hair swaying. His slender frame—barely five feet tall—was dressed as usual in a blue shirt and brown vest. His boyish face made him look younger than fifteen, but his eyes held the sharp, intellectual light of a former programmer.
"...It's not here."
Satou muttered, staring into the fridge.
He'd decided today's dinner would be a dish made with sasakama, a specialty of Seryu City. Sasakama was a small river fish caught in the Sasa River that ran through town. Salted and dried, it had a rich umami that was perfect for simmered dishes. Solna Muno was supposed to have asked her brother Orion to deliver some.
"I was sure I put it in here..."
The fridge shelf held only vegetables, milk, and yesterday's leftover stew. No sasakama anywhere.
Satou crossed his arms and checked the interior temperature. The blue luminite's glow was steady, and the cold air was flowing properly. This refrigerator—a product of crystal-conduction technology—was based on a mechanism invented some three hundred years ago by the dwarven engineer Gold Anvil. Crystal power was channeled through the luminite to cool the interior. The magic needed periodic mana replenishment or it would fail, but that didn't seem to be an issue now.
"No sign the fridge's magic gave out. Temperature's normal."
Satou closed the door and looked around the kitchen.
This mansion in Seryu City's eastern district had once been a noble's vacation home. It served as Team Pendragon's base, but it was large and rather old. The floorboards creaked with every step, and some of the window locks were loose.
(Could someone have broken in and stolen it?)
Satou approached the windows and checked the locks.
"...All locked from the inside."
Every window was properly secured. No footprints, no signs of a break-in. Only the sasakama had vanished into thin air.
"Strange. Only the sasakama disappearing."
Satou tilted his head.
As a former programmer, it was in his nature to tackle inexplicable phenomena with logic. First, let's organize the situation.
"Hypothesis one: the fridge's magic failed, the contents spoiled, and someone disposed of them."
But the fridge's magic was functioning normally. Hypothesis rejected.
"Hypothesis two: a third party broke in and stole the sasakama."
But all the window locks were secured from the inside. The front door lock had been fine when he'd opened it this morning.
"Hypothesis three: I put it somewhere else and forgot."
This seemed most likely. Satou retraced his memory. He'd received the sasakama from Solna three days ago. That day, he'd come home from shopping and gone straight to the kitchen...
"No, wait. That day, Mia greeted me at the entrance, and then..."
His memory was fuzzy.
Satou let out a small sigh.
"...Maybe I just don't remember where I put it."
Still, sasakama spoiled quickly. Fresh, it could be eaten as sashimi, but refrigeration was essential. If it had been left at room temperature, it might already be ruined.
(I can't let a specialty like that go to waste.)
Satou spread a notepad on the kitchen table. He sketched a rough diagram of the refrigerator and the mansion's floor plan.
"The fridge is here. The last time I saw the sasakama... was definitely here."
Pen moving, Satou continued his deduction.
"If I put it in the fridge, it should be here now. But it's not. Which means I didn't put it in the fridge. I put it somewhere else. But it's nowhere to be found."
He was going in circles.
Satou set down his pen and gazed out the window.
The evening shopping district was visible in the distance. Seryu City was a commercial hub where trade routes from the continent's center intersected. Humans, beastfolk, elves, dwarves—a free city where everyone came and went. The sign of Muno's General Store and the bustle of the market looked tiny from here.
(Peaceful town. Hard to believe sasakama could vanish in a place like this.)
As Satou gazed absently at the scenery, he sensed something approaching from the direction of the shopping district.
Even without beastfolk senses, it was a presence he could clearly detect.
"...Don't tell me. More trouble?"
Satou braced himself and grabbed a kitchen knife.
This presence, right after the sasakama vanished. It couldn't be a coincidence. Maybe the thief who stole the sasakama was approaching the mansion again.
(No, wait. The culprit is someone who'd steal sasakama, of all things?)
Satou gripped the knife and stared out the window.
The presence was growing stronger.
Footsteps. He could hear them.
One, two, three...
"...Here they come."
Satou reversed his grip on the knife.
Then, from the direction of the entrance, came a click.
"Satou, I'm home!"
It was a familiar voice.
Satou set the knife on the table and let his shoulders relax.
"...Oh. It's just Arisa."
"Just?! Were you forgetting about me?"
Arisa poked her head into the kitchen.
"I wasn't forgetting. Anyway, welcome back."
"Welcome back to you. Wait, Satou, why are you holding a knife?"
"Uh, no reason."
Satou set the knife in the sink.
"More importantly, Arisa—did you see the sasakama? Solna was supposed to have Orion deliver it."
"Sasakama? No idea. Didn't you put it in the fridge?"
"That's the thing. It's not in the fridge."
Arisa blinked.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I don't know either. I was just working through it."
Satou showed her the notepad.
"The fridge's magic is fine. The window locks are all secured from inside. No footprints. And yet only the sasakama is gone."
Arisa studied the notepad, then looked at Satou's face.
"...Satou, isn't that just something you forgot to buy?"
"Forgot to buy? No, Solna was supposed to deliver it."
"But did it actually arrive? Did you confirm Orion actually brought it?"
Satou was at a loss for words.
"...No, I didn't confirm. I just heard from Solna's letter that she'd have Orion deliver it."
"Then maybe it hasn't arrived yet? Orion has no sense of direction."
"I suppose... no, but wait. That day, I feel like I received something at the entrance..."
Satou searched his memory.
Three days ago. He'd come home from shopping and opened the front door. Mia had greeted him, and then...
"Oh."
Satou raised his voice.
"What is it?"
"No, nothing. Maybe I'm just misremembering after all."
Satou scratched his head.
"Forget it. I'll buy sasakama at the market tomorrow. I'll make something else tonight."
"Good idea. Enough with the detective games—hurry up and make dinner. I'm starving."
Arisa said that and left the kitchen.
Satou was left alone.
"...Detective games, huh."
Satou smiled wryly.
Arisa was right—he wasn't good at deduction. As a former programmer, he tried to think things through logically, but he always missed the mark. Arisa called him out on it constantly.
(But I really feel like I did receive that sasakama.)
Satou closed the notepad and opened the fridge once more.
The blue luminite's glow quietly illuminated the interior.
"...Well, I'll find out tomorrow."
Satou took vegetables from the fridge and placed them on the cutting board.
The mystery of the sasakama remained unsolved. But he had to make dinner.
He picked up the knife and began chopping.
A brisk tok-tok-tok echoed through the quiet kitchen.
Satou was most at ease when cooking. For a former programmer like him, cooking was a kind of programming. Given ingredients as input, he assembled a procedure—logic—to produce a delicious output. Everything was clear and predictable.
(Unlike deduction.)
Satou smiled wryly and lit the stove.
As he prepared dinner, Satou glanced out the window.
The lights of the shopping district were beginning to dot the evening gloom.
(Speaking of which, that presence earlier was Arisa.)
Satou recalled the moment as he worked the knife.
The presence approaching from the shopping district. A presence clear enough that even he, no beastfolk, could sense it. That had been Arisa.
(But for Arisa's presence, something felt a little off...)
Satou tilted his head.
Was he imagining things?
"...Well, whatever."
Satou put the vegetables in the pot and stirred.
Tonight's dinner would be vegetable stew. No sasakama, but there was bacon—that would add umami.
The pot bubbled and simmered.
A good stew aroma filled the kitchen.
Satou tasted it and nodded.
"All right, that's about right."
He lowered the heat and began setting out dishes.
The sasakama mystery still nagged at the back of his mind.
But now it was dinnertime.
A meal shared with everyone was better than any dish.
Satou pictured his companions' faces as he set the spoons on the table.
Pochi's delighted face. Tama's carefree eating. Liza's quiet smile. Mia's refined manners. Lulu's reserved demeanor. And Arisa's sharp comebacks.
(Tonight's table will be lively again.)
Satou chuckled softly and carried the pot of stew to the table.
"Everyone, dinner's ready!"
His voice echoed through the mansion.
The sasakama mystery wasn't over yet.
But that was fine.
After all, this was just a tiny incident in ordinary daily life.
Satou listened to the footsteps of his companions gathering as he watched the steam rise from the warm stew.
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