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 - Arisa arrives! It wasn't that the refrigerator's magic ran out!?
The cold air of the blue luminite chilled the kitchen.
Satou Pendragon sat staring at the notebook spread open on the table. He gripped his pencil, his short black hair swaying slightly. 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, analytical gleam of a former programmer.
"...That's strange."
Satou muttered.
On the notebook page were a drawing of the refrigerator and a floor plan of the mansion. Arrows pointed in every direction, and here and there the words "hypothesis" and "contradiction" were scribbled in the margins.
"The fridge's magic is working normally. Temperature's stable. All the window locks are engaged from the inside. And yet, only the sasakama is gone."
Satou set down his pencil and crossed his arms.
The sasakama that should have arrived from Solna Muno yesterday evening had vanished cleanly from the refrigerator. Sasakama was a specialty of Seryu City—a small river fish caught in the Sasa River. Salted and dried, it had a rich umami that made it perfect for simmered dishes. It spoiled quickly, so refrigerated storage was essential.
"Hypothesis one. The fridge's magic failed, the contents spoiled, and someone disposed of them."
Satou wrote "1" at the edge of the notebook.
"But the fridge's magic was working normally. Scratch that hypothesis."
"Hypothesis two. A third party broke in and stole the sasakama."
He wrote "2."
"But all the window locks were engaged from the inside. The front door lock showed no tampering when I opened it this morning."
"Hypothesis three. I put it somewhere else and forgot."
He wrote "3" and tilted his head.
"This seems the most likely, but... my memory's fuzzy. I can't be sure."
Satou sighed.
As a former programmer, it was in his nature to confront inexplicable phenomena with logic. But this time, none of his hypotheses had teeth. The fridge's magic was fine. The window locks were engaged. And yet only the sasakama had disappeared.
"It's as if the sasakama alone vanished from space itself."
Satou started to write "spatial transference?" on the notebook, then immediately erased it.
"No, wait. I probably just left it somewhere."
Just as he was about to settle on that conclusion, he heard a click from the direction of the front door.
"Satou, I'm home!"
A familiar voice. Arisa.
"Ah, welcome back."
Satou answered without turning around.
"What's with the serious face again?"
Arisa poked her head into the kitchen. Her long silver hair shimmered in the afternoon light pouring through the window. Her emerald-green eyes were sharp as always. Slightly pointed elf ears peeked through her hair. She was carrying shopping bags in both arms.
"The sasakama still hasn't turned up."
Satou showed her the notebook.
Arisa set the bags on the table and peered at the pages.
"...What's this. Playing detective again?"
"It's not playing. This is a serious investigation."
"Yeah, yeah."
Arisa glanced at the refrigerator. The blue luminite light quietly illuminated the interior.
"Isn't it just that you forgot to buy it?"
Satou looked up.
"Forgot to buy it? No, Solna was supposed to have delivered it."
"Did it actually arrive? Did you confirm that Orion actually brought it over?"
"...No, I didn't confirm. I just heard from Solna in a letter that she'd have Orion deliver it."
"Then just ask Solna and you'll have your answer in one shot."
Arisa said it flatly.
Satou was at a loss for words.
"...Well, that's true, but—"
"Why not just do it? You're taking the longest possible route."
"It's just—asking Solna feels like it'd be a bother, somehow."
"Why? You're just asking whether the sasakama arrived."
"I know, but... if it didn't arrive, it'd worry her. She'd go, 'Oh dear, it still hasn't gotten there?'"
Arisa stared at Satou's face.
"Satou, you're overthinking things in a weird way again."
"It's not weird. It's consideration for the other person."
"That's what's weird. Just ask her normally."
Satou fell silent.
Arisa sighed and started pulling vegetables out of the shopping bag.
"Fine. If the sasakama really did arrive, it's got to be somewhere in the mansion, right? Let's look together."
Satou looked surprised.
"You'll help me?"
"You're making such a serious face, I can't just leave you alone. Come on, hurry up."
Arisa started opening the kitchen cupboards.
Satou felt a small warmth spread through his chest.
(Arisa always puts up with my weird obsessions.)
"Thanks, Arisa."
"Save your thanks for when we find the sasakama."
Arisa answered without turning around.
The two of them took everything out of the refrigerator and checked the shelves one by one.
"Not here."
"Nope."
"We've checked all the kitchen cupboards too. Next is the storeroom."
"Got it."
They left the kitchen and walked down the hallway.
This mansion in the eastern district of Seryu City had originally been a nobleman's vacation home. It served as Team Pendragon's base, but it was large and quite old. The floorboards creaked with every step. The plaster on the walls was peeling in places, and some of the window locks were loose.
"I'm opening the storeroom."
Arisa pushed open the storeroom door.
Wooden crates and old furniture were piled in the dim room. Musty air drifted out, and Satou couldn't help coughing.
"*Cough.* ...This place hasn't been cleaned in a while."
"That's because you skip your cleaning duty."
"I don't skip. It's a matter of priorities."
"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's search."
They opened crates and peered behind furniture, searching for the sasakama.
"Not here."
"Nope."
"We checked the hallway closet too. Next is... the basement?"
"The basement. We hardly ever use it."
"But someone could have left it there by mistake."
"True. Let's go."
They headed for the stairs leading to the basement.
At the end of the hallway was an old wooden door. Beyond it, a staircase descended to the basement.
"Wait a second."
Arisa suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"What is it?"
"The kitchen window—wasn't it open?"
Satou tilted his head.
"The window? No, they were all closed. I checked this morning."
"But when we went back to the kitchen earlier, the window was open."
"Really?"
"Really. The curtain was swaying in the wind."
Satou's eyes lit up.
"...An outside job! So a third party did break in and steal the sasakama!"
"Wait, wait. The window lock was engaged from the inside."
Satou froze.
"...From the inside?"
"Right. So the culprit opened the window, then locked it from the inside before escaping? That's impossible."
"No, the culprit closed it. Before escaping, they shut the window and locked it—"
"Why would anyone go to that much trouble? Leaving it open and running would be more natural."
Satou was stuck for an answer.
"...That's true."
"Right? The window being open was just the wind, or someone opened it. That's all."
Satou crossed his arms and groaned.
"I see... No, wait. The window being open could mean the culprit who stole the sasakama used it as an escape route. Broke in through the window, escaped through the window. And forgot to lock it on the way out."
"It wasn't forgotten—it was locked from the start. From the inside."
"...The culprit probably locked it before escaping. If my deduction is correct."
Arisa heaved a deep sigh.
"Your deductions are usually wrong, so I'll try not to get my hopes up."
"How rude. Sometimes I'm right."
"Sometimes. Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's go to the basement."
Arisa opened the door and started down the stairs.
Satou followed.
The staircase was narrow and dark. Crystal-conduit lamps mounted on the wall cast a pale blue-white glow—lighting that used luminite as a catalyst. It was one of the crystal-conduit technologies invented about three hundred years ago by the dwarven engineer Gold Anvil, and now it could be found everywhere in this city.
"It's dark. Are the lamps actually on?"
"They're on. This staircase is just dim to begin with."
They descended carefully.
"...Huh."
Arisa suddenly stopped.
"What is it?"
"Look at the floor. There are drag marks."
Satou crouched down and stared at the floor.
On the landing partway down, there were marks as if something hard had scraped across the wood. And a faint line where dust had been wiped away led toward the basement door.
"...Is this a trail from someone dragging something?"
"Surely not."
Arisa murmured.
Satou stood up.
"So it really was a third party... No, wait. These marks might be from when the sasakama was carried down here. The sasakama is dried fish, so it must have been in a wooden crate or something. And the marks are from dragging that crate..."
"Satou, here you go with the deductions again."
"Not deductions. Hypotheses."
"Same thing. Come on, let's check the basement."
Arisa went down first.
Satou followed, his eyes fixed on the marks on the floor.
(These marks are definitely from something passing through. And recently, too. Could they be connected to the sasakama's disappearance?)
Something stirred in the back of Satou's mind.
They stood before the basement door.
It was an old wooden door with an iron handle. It wasn't locked.
"I'm opening it."
"Go ahead."
Arisa reached for the handle.
Just then, a cheerful voice echoed from the front door.
"I'm home, sir!"
"...Bad timing."
Arisa muttered.
"Welcome baaack—wait, huh? Is nobody here?"
A leisurely voice drifted down the hallway.
Satou held his head.
"Pochi and Tama... I have a feeling trouble's coming."
"Not a feeling—a certainty."
"True."
The two exchanged a look.
"What do we do? Save the basement for later?"
"No, we've come this far. Let's check inside. We can call Pochi and the others afterward."
"Got it. Opening it, then."
Arisa pushed the basement door open.
The old hinges creaked.
Cool air drifted out from the dim basement.
"Is someone there?"
Pochi's voice came from down the hallway.
"Later!"
Arisa shouted back.
"Later, sir? Understood, sir!"
"Pochi, I think Satou and the others are in the basement."
"The basement? Why are they in such a dark place?"
"Who knows? Exploring, maybe?"
"Exploring, sir! Pochi wants to go too, sir!"
"They said later, so let's go later."
"Right, sir. Later, sir."
Their voices grew steadily closer.
Satou sighed at the basement entrance.
"...Those two are definitely coming over here."
"They are. They won't be able to hold back."
"Yeah, probably."
Satou stepped into the basement.
Old furniture and wooden crates were stacked in the dim space. Shelves lined the walls, holding old tools and broken crystal-conduit lamps.
"...Still no sasakama here, as expected."
"Right. But those marks on the floor bother me."
"Yeah. Those marks show something was carried out of this basement. Maybe the sasakama..."
"Deductions again?"
"Not deductions. Hypotheses."
"Yeah, yeah."
Arisa walked around the basement, checking shelves and crates.
Satou followed.
"...Hm?"
Satou stopped.
Something was sitting against the far wall of the basement.
"Arisa, look at that."
"That?"
Arisa turned around.
A small wooden crate sat against the wall.
"I'll open it."
Arisa approached the crate and lifted the lid.
"...It's empty."
"Empty, huh."
"But there's evidence something was inside. Look, there's something like a fish scale at the bottom."
Satou peered into the crate.
A single small, silver-glinting scale lay at the bottom.
"...That's a sasakama scale."
"What?"
"No doubt about it. The sasakama is a river fish with fine silver scales. The size and color of this scale match the sasakama."
"So the sasakama was put in this crate and carried to the basement?"
"That's right. And then someone took the sasakama out of this crate and carried it somewhere. The marks on the floor are from that."
Satou crossed his arms and surveyed the basement.
"In other wor
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.