Monday morning, when Saiga Shido appeared in the living room, something was already off. Both hands held Rulebook Version 47 and a binder with A4 files fastened inside. His spine was perfectly straight, his expression serious. Saiga, who usually updated the rules on Tuesday nights, had gathered everyone on Monday morning. That alone told them something heavy was coming. "[serious]Please allow me to hold an emergency meeting" On the living room sofa, Siesta sat vaguely with her silver hair swept to one side, while Natsunagi shook her orange bob as she ate yogurt. Kaito stood with his back against the wall, arms crossed. "[serious]There are 42 items we need to confirm before tomorrow's inspection. I'll read them now" The sound of the binder opening. "[serious]First——the inspector will initially check the activity log. This is based on Council Regulation Article 18——" One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Siesta quietly lay down. She pulled a cushion closer and closed her eyes. Before four minutes had passed, the sound of her breathing came. Saiga's hand turning pages stopped for a moment. Just stopped, then resumed reading. Natsunagi leaned in to look at the binder and started drawing something in the margins. Mushrooms. Carefully drawn mushrooms. "[serious]……Article Seven, regarding the organization of shared spaces——" He kept reading. Natsunagi's mushrooms multiplied. Siesta's breathing continued steadily. Only Kaito stood and listened to the end. All 42 pages. The binder closed with a soft pat. Saiga looked up. Siesta sleeping on the sofa. Natsunagi holding the binder now filled with a mushroom garden. Looking at them, he exhaled quietly. Not exasperation, not resignation to habit—just a quiet breath. "[serious]……There's one more agenda item" Kaito looked up. "[serious]I investigated the pudding matter" --- Saiga's story went like this. Confiserie Luce's Luce Classic Pudding——the manufacturer of that pudding sitting in the refrigerator——had stopped producing this item three months ago. When he checked with Super Maruhiro, their inventory had also run out at that time, and nothing had been restocked since. Which meant that pudding had been purchased at least three months ago. "[serious]Three months ago would be" Saiga paused for a beat. "[serious]The exact week of Fiamma's founding anniversary" Something moved slowly in Kaito's mind. The anniversary three months ago. That morning, Siesta had said she was going out alone, unusually. When she came back in the evening, she appeared empty-handed. But—— A memory surfaced from the corner of his mind: her silhouette quickly putting something away in front of the refrigerator. The rustling sound of a convenience store bag. He hadn't thought anything of it then. "[serious]……I understand. Thank you" He said only that. Saiga didn't ask anything back. He closed the binder and headed to his room. The living room was left with Siesta's breathing and Natsunagi's mushroom drawings. --- In the afternoon, Kaito headed to Super Maruhiro, tucked away in the back of Hanamichi Street shopping arcade. The autumn shopping arcade had few people even in daylight. Only the sweet smell of Yamabuki's taiyaki drifted through the arcade as always. The Super Maruhiro employee——a middle-aged man in an apron——listened carefully to Kaito's question, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, but without a point card number, I can't really access individual purchase records……" "[serious]I understand. Thank you" A dead end. Kaito left the store and stopped under the arcade. November's sky was visible in thin strips through the roof gaps. No evidence. No records. But certainty was building slowly, steadily. The reason Siesta had gone out alone on the anniversary three months ago. Her empty-handed return. Whatever she'd quickly put in the refrigerator. That word she'd said: "That pudding has meaning." Last night, that silhouette standing alone in the dark living room, gazing at the pudding. The words the caretaker——the food person——had said to him were still in his head. Kaito started walking. The stone pavement of the arcade made a dull sound under his shoes. --- The apartment in the evening was filled with the bustle of the night before inspection. Saiga spread documents across the dining table, methodically preparing files for submission. Council notification documents, activity records, team registration information. With each page turned, he checked something and ran his pen across it. Natsunagi said "I'll support you!" and placed tea next to Saiga, then was asleep in her room five minutes later. Siesta sat on the sofa reading a book while eating cookies. When Kaito passed through the hallway to get documents, Saiga said quietly: "[serious]I've submitted all the activity support fund applications and team registration documents" Kaito stopped. "[serious]But I don't think that's something to take for granted" He turned back. Saiga was closing the rulebook, looking at the documents on the table. "[serious]Even if no one reads the team's rules. The team still functions because someone gives it form" "……" Kaito couldn't say anything. He searched for words, but they wouldn't come. Saiga looked up and returned to his file work without another word. "[serious]Let's do our best tomorrow" That was all. Kaito stood in the hallway for a while. Someone gives it form. Those words from Saiga sounded like they were about Kaito himself. Making breakfast, brewing tea, taking notes in front of clients——none of it was meaningless. That's what it felt like he was being told. Not directly. But Saiga wasn't a direct person. This was his way of saying it, Kaito thought. --- Deep night. The living room lights went out. Saiga's door closed. Natsunagi was long asleep. Kaito left the leather-bound diary in the drawer and stood up. He walked down the hallway. Climbed the stairs at the end. The third-floor corridor was quiet, streetlight filtering vaguely through the window. He stopped in front of Siesta's door. He knocked. Three times. There was a pause. The door opened. Siesta stood there. Her silver hair was slightly disheveled, one blue ribbon half-undone. Her violet eyes looked at Kaito. "[gentle]……Kaito?" "[serious]Three months ago on the founding anniversary, you went out alone. The timing when pudding production stopped. The purchase record at the supermarket. It all connects" Siesta said nothing. "[serious]Tell me about the letter. About the pudding. Everything" He stepped forward. "[serious]I'm not a caretaker. I'm your partner" Siesta's eyes widened slightly. Not the slack smile, not the distant gaze while reading. Something else. An expression Kaito had never seen before. Then she laughed slowly. "[gentle]……Finally, you asked me yourself" "[sarcastic]Finally? Were you waiting this whole time" "[gentle]Yeah" She said it briefly, then opened the door wider. He entered the room. Siesta sat on the edge of the bed. Kaito remained standing against the wall, arms crossed. "[gentle]The person who sent the letter——I was involved with them in an incident three years ago. There's no immediate danger. But——they've started moving again" "[serious]What kind of incident" "[gentle]That's……there are things I still can't talk about. I'm sorry" "[serious]……I understand. I won't ask now" There was silence. The deep night quiet of Tomei Ward drifted in from the window. The sound of a distant car passing. The sound of wind hitting the streetlight. "[serious]About the pudding" Siesta's eyes lowered slightly. "[gentle]I bought it three months ago on the founding anniversary. For you" "[serious]……For me" "[gentle]Yeah. You like the bitter caramel kind, don't you, Kaito. I knew that, so" Kaito couldn't say anything. "[serious]Why didn't you give it to me" Siesta smiled a little. This time it was mischievous, a laugh that hid some embarrassment. "[gentle]I didn't know how to give it to you, so I just put it in the refrigerator. Then I missed my chance……I thought it would be more fun if you figured it out yourself" "[sarcastic]How is that fun" "[gentle]See, it's like being a detective" "[sarcastic]There's no detective who spends three months investigating one pudding" Siesta laughed softly. Her voice was genuinely delighted. Kaito pushed off from the wall and stepped forward slightly. "[serious]……Thank you" Siesta looked up. "[serious]You were watching out for me three months ago, and now too. I finally understand that" "[gentle]……Yeah" This time she answered briefly, quietly. The hallway light was leaking faintly. Siesta's silver hair floated in it. The undone blue ribbon had fallen slightly onto her shoulder. "[serious]There's an inspection tomorrow. Get some sleep" "[gentle]You too, Kaito" "[sarcastic]I'm going to sleep now" He left the room and closed the door. He stood alone in the hallway. He took a deep breath. The late-night air filled his lungs. He'd said it——not a caretaker. A partner. Siesta had laughed. That was all. That was everything. He descended the stairs to the first-floor hallway. Before opening his room door, he looked back at the third floor once. Siesta's light went out. Kaito entered his room and took the leather-bound diary from the drawer. He opened the page. He held his pen. Tonight, he could write. ——Tomorrow is the inspection. But tonight, I wanted to write this down properly. The pudding was for me, apparently. For three months it waited in the refrigerator. Kaito carefully recorded the story of the pudding and the person who bought it on the page. When he finished, he closed the notebook. Tomorrow, the inspection comes. And the identity of the letter's sender is still unknown. The words Siesta had said——"they've started moving again"——seemed to linger somewhere in the hallway.