On Thursday night, Siesta Rei lied. Kimisaki Kaito dragged that with him through Friday, and Saturday morning arrived. Everyone gathered in the living room just after nine. It was rare. Usually Siesta would still be sleeping on the sofa, and Natsunagi would be dawdling in her room. But today, everyone was awake. There was one reason. Two days until the inspection. "[serious]As of now, Fiamma's case resolution count for this quarter falls three cases short of the requirement," Saiga opened his binder and read aloud. His posture was perfectly straight today as always. But his face was slightly more rigid than usual. "[serious]If we move today and tomorrow, it's not a number we can't make up. However——" "[sad]We can't start without requests coming in, right," Natsunagi pressed her orange hair down with both hands. She'd been a bit off since last night. Well, for Natsunagi, anyway. Kimisaki looked at the whiteboard. The correlation diagram from yesterday's pudding investigation was still there. No one had caught the right moment to erase it. "[serious]Waiting for walk-ins is a waste of time. Let's hit the shopping street," "[gentle]Requests come to us from the other side," Siesta said that from the sofa. Hugging a cushion, her face unchanged as always. But having seen her expression last night, Kimisaki could sense how much that "unchanged face" was a fabrication. "[sarcastic]That line doesn't work today," He answered curtly and picked up his wallet and keys. Saiga closed his binder and stood. Natsunagi untied her apron, then tried to untie it again——realized it was already off, and followed along anyway. Siesta rose quietly, a second behind. --- The Hanamichi Street shopping arcade smelled like Saturday morning. Sweet smoke from the taiyaki shop "Yamabuki," the oil from Delica Minato's croquettes frying, autumn sunlight hitting dry stone pavement. The four of them walked the shopping street from end to end. An hour later, Kimisaki found himself facing a small elementary school boy with a problem. "A cat's stuck on the fence and can't get down." The cat was indeed on the fence. White and small. From about three meters up, it stared down at them with round eyes. Afraid to jump, it kept crying. Natsunagi put her hands on her hips. "[excited]Leave it to me!" Before anyone could ask what she was doing, she jogged over to Yamabuki. She bought a red bean taiyaki and came back. She crouched at the base of the fence and wafted the taiyaki's smell right under the cat's nose. Five seconds later, the cat climbed down on its own. "[excited]We did it!" Natsunagi raised both hands. The boy hugged the cat. Problem solved. Kimisaki looked at Saiga with a complicated expression. "[serious]……Does this count as a case?" "[serious]……Don't ask," The second one came from a different child. An eraser had gone missing. When Kimisaki checked the backpack, it was caught in the corner of the bottom. Thirty seconds to solve. On the way back. The four of them walked side by side through the arcade. No one spoke. Only footsteps continued. "[excited]But the cat got saved! And we found the eraser! We did good work!" Only Natsunagi said it cheerfully. Saiga wrote something in his binder. Whether he wrote "Cat: Descent Support (Taiyaki Method)" or not, Kimisaki didn't know. He didn't ask. Siesta was walking slightly behind. Alone, at a different pace. --- When they returned to the apartment after noon, Natsunagi announced while tying her apron: "[excited]If everyone's feeling down, I'll cheer you up! I'm making the most delicious lunch!" Everyone's movements stopped. Saiga lowered his eyes. Kimisaki turned toward the window. Siesta pulled out a book from behind the sofa. All three of their gazes turned toward the memory of last week's omelet. The morning when eyebrows disappeared was still fresh in everyone's mind. But no one had the energy to stop her. Two days until inspection. Three cases short on results. The air wasn't right for anyone to tell Natsunagi "don't." They each waited in the living room or hallway. Three minutes later. White smoke began flowing slowly from the kitchen toward the ceiling. "[scared]I just left the pot! There's no fire! It's fine!" At the same moment as Natsunagi's voice, the fire alarm screamed. Kiiiiiiiin——!! A sharp, piercing sound spread through the entire apartment. Natsunagi ran around holding a frying pan. Kimisaki opened the windows. Saiga hit the ventilation switch. Siesta remained on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. Footsteps came from downstairs. Quiet, slow footsteps. The door was knocked. Three times. Kimisaki opened it. Moriya Take, the landlord, stood there. Seventy-two years old, former elementary school teacher. Usually the type to complain while still bringing snacks. But not today. Not an exasperated face. Not an angry one. A quiet, serious gaze. "[cold]……If this happens again, I'll ask you to move out for real," That was all. The door closed. The weight of "for real" lingered in the living room. No one said anything. The alarm was still ringing. The smoke thinned. Natsunagi gently placed the frying pan in the sink. Only that sound was heard. Saiga sat in a chair. He placed the binder on his lap but didn't open it. Natsunagi leaned against the hallway wall. Her golden eyes pointed at the floor. "[sad]……Sorry," A small voice. Not Natsunagi's usual voice. "It can't be helped," That was all Kimisaki said. It wasn't even a proper response. But no other words came. On top of the inspection anxiety, the possibility of losing their home had been added. The team's atmosphere had sunk completely to the bottom. --- Even as night fell, the apartment's air didn't change. Natsunagi retreated to her room early. Saiga opened a rulebook, but there was no sound of pages turning. Kimisaki sat alone in the living room, but had no energy to do anything. The sofa cushion. The pudding correlation diagram on the whiteboard. The inspection notice on the table. Everything was in the same place. Nothing had moved. He stood up. Without wallet or keys, he just threw on a jacket and left through the entrance. --- Hanamichi Street looked different at night than during the day. The arcade's lights changed to a warm color, reflecting off the shutters of closed shops. Only the convenience store's white light floated. Few people passed through. Kimisaki walked past Yamabuki. The place where Natsunagi had bought taiyaki during the day. The cat had been saved. The eraser had been found. But that didn't count as a Fiamma case. He walked to the end of the shopping street. He stopped to turn back. A figure emerged from the shadow of a streetlight. A person in a deep hood. Dark-colored jacket. Not particularly tall. Face invisible. Kimisaki tensed—— "[cold]You're Kimisaki Kaito, right," A low voice. They knew his name. "[serious]……Who are you," The figure didn't answer. Instead, with something like a laugh in their voice, they said: "[cold]Siesta's……caretaker?" The words pierced him. He couldn't say anything back. "[cold]How much do you really know about what she is?" Without waiting for an answer, they disappeared into the crowd. Beyond the arcade, into the flow of night people, and out of sight. Kimisaki leaned against the alley wall. Caretaker. The word repeated in his head. ——I thought we were partners. For two years, what had he been doing? Making breakfast. Brewing tea. Standing in line at the shopping street. Taking notes in front of clients. Just standing beside Siesta while she reasoned through cases. When the shopping street people cheered, they looked at Siesta. It was Siesta's name being called. Siesta solved the cases. He was just there beside her every time. Tonight, for the first time, he saw it in a different form. As a caretaker. With his back against the wall, he couldn't move for a while. Night wind passed through the alley. Somewhere distant, a bicycle bell rang. --- When he returned to the apartment, the living room lights were off. In the darkness, Siesta sat alone on the sofa. No cookies. No book. Just sitting, looking at the table. On the table was a pudding from Confiserie Luce. The one taken from the refrigerator. Caramel glistened with a few drops of water, sitting quietly on the table. Siesta stared at it intently. Without turning on the lights. Without hugging a cushion. Kimisaki stopped at the entrance for a while. Siesta's back looked different. Smaller. Not the usual relaxed, carefree back. A back carrying something heavy, yet refusing to move. Before he knew it, words came out. "[serious]……Siesta. Whose pudding is that really?" Siesta didn't turn around. The silence was long. Still staring at the pudding, saying nothing. Just as Kimisaki was about to say something—— Siesta slowly opened her mouth. "[gentle]……I'm watching you properly, Kimisaki-kun," That was all. She stood up. She took the pudding and returned it to the refrigerator. The door closed with a click. Toward the hallway. Not turning back. Footsteps fading. Her bedroom door closed quietly. Kimisaki was left alone in the dark living room. He couldn't tell which answer Siesta's words were. An answer about the pudding? An answer to the wound of being called a caretaker? Or something entirely different? It didn't make sense. But—— Something small, deep in his chest, grew a little warm. At the same time, it was frustrating. She explained nothing. She told him nothing. Just said she was watching him properly, and left. --- He sat at his desk and pulled out a leather-bound diary from the drawer. The one he'd bought at Calligraphy-do for eighteen hundred yen. He picked up a pen. He stopped for minutes. He tried to write the word "caretaker." He couldn't. He tried to write Siesta's words about watching him properly. He couldn't. He tried to write the hooded figure's question about what she really was. He couldn't. He couldn't organize any of it well enough to write in a diary. Kimisaki gently closed the notebook. The leather cover touched his fingertips. He placed it on the table and looked up at the ceiling. The inspection was the day after tomorrow. Three cases short on results. The hooded figure's identity and purpose unknown. Siesta was hiding something. And the pudding mystery remained. Everything piled up, and he couldn't move any of it, as tonight ended. The night in Tomami Ward was quiet.