Siesta's words from last night still lingered in Kimisaki Kaito's mind. "Finally, you asked me yourself." Kimisaki Kaito pushed the leather-bound diary deep into the drawer and faced Tuesday morning. Outside, it was still dim. The sky over Towami Ward was beginning to turn pale. Coming down to the living room, Saiga Shido was already standing in front of the dining table. He always kept his posture straight, but today it seemed even more rigid. The table was covered with stacks of documents, files for the council submission, and a thick binder—Inspection Response Manual, 47th Edition. Saiga's fingers traced the pages quietly. "[serious]We will conduct a final confirmation for today's inspection" "[serious]Understood" Natsunagi Haruka appeared in the living room with a sleepy face, pressing down her orange bob cut. Her golden eyes blinked open and closed. Then she looked at the sofa and tilted her head. Siesta was there. Not lying down hugging a cushion—unusually, she was sitting on the sofa with her back straight. Her silver long hair was tied to one side with a blue ribbon properly fastened. A book rested on her lap, but the pages hadn't been turned. Her violet eyes were fixed on a single point on the table. When Kimisaki Kaito looked over, Siesta's gaze flickered toward him. She said nothing. But her face was different from last night. Not hard, exactly. Just—tense. It's a face I've never seen before, Kimisaki Kaito thought. Natsunagi raised her hand. "[excited]Oh! If an inspector's coming, shouldn't we serve some tea and snacks? I'll bake them!" The moment she stood up to get an apron. "No." Kimisaki Kaito, Siesta, and Saiga all said it at almost the same time. Natsunagi stopped. Her large golden eyes looked at each of them in turn. "[surprised]Huh...? Why!? All three of you at the same time!?" Saiga immediately opened the binder. "[serious]Rulebook Article 88. Homemade dishes for guests require prior approval from all team members" "[surprised]There's a rule like that!?" "[serious]Everyone simply hasn't read it" He answered flatly and closed the binder. Natsunagi hummed "Uuuuh" for a while, then reluctantly sat down in a chair. Kimisaki Kaito let out a small breath. The tense air in the living room loosened slightly. Siesta gave a short laugh. "...Hehe." It was barely audible, but Kimisaki Kaito heard it. --- The intercom rang at exactly ten o'clock. Saiga headed to the entrance. Kimisaki Kaito stood in the living room, Natsunagi sat at the edge of the table, and Siesta remained on the sofa without moving. The door opened. Footsteps advanced down the hallway. A man in his fifties appeared. Black-rimmed glasses. Short hair with gray mixed in. A navy suit without a single wrinkle, the inner pocket of his jacket slightly bulging. A Veritas Detective Council inspector—the badge read Takayama. He took out a business card and handed it to Saiga. His expression didn't waver. His greeting was minimal. Kimisaki Kaito immediately understood: this was a man who confirmed before sitting in a chair. "[serious]I'll examine the documents" Saiga presented the prepared file. Takayama turned through each page. Silence continued. The clock in the living room ticked only its second hand. Finally, Takayama looked up. "[serious]The consistency is impeccable" Saiga answered quietly, "Thank you." "[serious]However, this period's case resolution count is barely meeting the requirement. Could I also confirm your actual investigative abilities?" Saiga's eyebrow twitched slightly. He'd thought the documents would be the end of it. Kimisaki Kaito had thought so too. There was a one-second pause. "[serious]Understood" Kimisaki Kaito answered. Before Saiga could. Takayama's eyes turned toward him. Kimisaki Kaito looked at Siesta. With just his gaze—he asked for her help. Siesta paused for a beat, then stood up from the sofa. "[gentle]Inspector, could you help us with something?" Her voice was quiet and composed. The tension from before had vanished somewhere. When Takayama turned to face her, Siesta walked slowly toward him. Observing eyes. Watching his right wristwatch. The wear on the tips of his shoes. The bulge in the left inner pocket of his jacket—slightly unnatural, heavy. "[gentle]This morning, you almost lost your keys at home" Takayama didn't move. "[gentle]You usually keep them in your right pocket, but today you put them somewhere else. You weren't certain where, so you came out a bit anxious—you still have two keys in your bag" Behind his glasses, Takayama's eyes narrowed slightly. Then, without a word, he reached into his inner pocket. Two keys. Long silence. "[cold]...Accurate" That was all. His expression didn't change. But the hand holding his pen added something more to his memo. "[excited]Wow! That was so cool!!" Natsunagi slapped the table. The solemn air shattered in an instant. Takayama's eyes turned to Natsunagi. She didn't notice, just kept repeating "Amazing, amazing!" Kimisaki Kaito looked up at the ceiling. Well, that's how it is. --- "[serious]Next, I'd like to observe the premises" "[excited]Leave it to me!!" Natsunagi stood up energetically. Takayama surveyed the living room as he spoke. "[serious]In this room, something has been moved recently. Can you identify it?" Natsunagi said "Alright" under her breath and began walking through the living room. She circled the sofa, moved to the window, stopped in front of the whiteboard, came back toward the kitchen—and after five minutes, knelt down beside the refrigerator. "[serious]The floor here has some scuff marks" She traced them with her finger. Then she stood up and looked at the refrigerator sideways. "[serious]The refrigerator... I think it moved about three centimeters recently!" Takayama pushed his glasses up. "[serious]What led you to that conclusion?" Natsunagi answered with a smile. "[excited]I don't know, but I'm totally sure!" All four team members' hands went to their faces at once. Kimisaki Kaito pressed his forehead. Saiga gave a small cough and stepped forward. "[serious]To clarify: Rulebook Article 101 states that refrigerator cleaning occurs once monthly, and we have records of last week's execution. It was moved at that time" He pulled out the record sheet from the binder and handed it to Takayama. Takayama compared the two papers. Natsunagi's "intuition" and Saiga's "records." Long silence. "[cold]...I see" This memo was slightly longer. --- Takayama looked at each of the four faces in turn. "[serious]One question. Who is the key to making this team function well?" Siesta looked at Natsunagi. Natsunagi looked at Saiga. Saiga started to say something, then stopped. And quietly shifted his gaze. All eyes converged on Kimisaki Kaito. "[serious]I'm not really—" "[gentle]Without Kimisaki-kun, today's inspection would have ended in the first five minutes" Her voice was quiet. But there was no hesitation. Different from last night. That night, in the dark living room, staring at the pudding, she'd spoken looking somewhere distant. Now she was facing him directly, speaking to him. Kimisaki Kaito couldn't say anything. Takayama moved his pen. The dry sound of a stamp on the document. "[cold]Approved. Activity support funds will be maintained" --- The front door closed. The four remaining in the living room stood in silence for a moment. Then all their strength drained away. Natsunagi collapsed to the floor. "I'm exhausted—" she shouted at the ceiling. Kimisaki Kaito leaned against the sofa armrest. Siesta sank into the sofa, pressing a cushion to her face. Only Saiga remained standing upright, holding the binder to his chest, making a quiet, small fist with his right hand. A victory pose where no one was watching. Natsunagi happened to see it. "Saiga-kun!?" she called out. Saiga's ears turned slightly red. --- Night fell. The arcade lights went out, and only indirect lighting illuminated the living room of Maison Flügel. Natsunagi sat on the floor hugging a cushion. Saiga sat in a dining chair with the rulebook open, but wasn't turning pages. Kimisaki Kaito sat at the edge of the sofa, vaguely staring at the pudding correlation diagram on the whiteboard. The refrigerator door opened. Without a word, Siesta reached into the back of the refrigerator and pulled out a pudding from Confiserie Luce. She placed it in the center of the table. Everyone silently looked at the pudding. "[gentle]I bought this for Kimisaki-kun" Natsunagi's large eyes grew even larger. "[surprised]Huh!? So it was yours!?" Saiga placed the rulebook on the table. "[serious]...Why did you leave it in the refrigerator for three months?" Siesta paused for a moment. "[gentle]I was looking for the right moment to give it to him. I thought maybe Kaito would notice it himself eventually" Saiga said quietly. "[serious]...Rulebook Article 58 states that all food items must be labeled. If that rule had simply been followed" Everyone's face said "That's certainly true." No one could argue. Kimisaki Kaito picked up the pudding. The bottom of the container was slightly cold. The Confiserie Luce logo was faintly visible. "[serious]...So I can eat it?" Siesta shrugged. "[gentle]The expiration date passed long ago though" Kimisaki Kaito silently put the pudding back on the table. Silence continued. All four of them stared at the pudding on the table. Then, without anyone starting it, they all laughed. Natsunagi shouted "No way!!" Saiga laughed out loud, rare for him. Siesta's shoulders shook as she covered her mouth with her hand. Kimisaki Kaito laughed too, looking at the pudding container. A pudding that had slept in the back of the refrigerator for three months, belonging to no one. The answer had been there all along, but no one had written the right name in the right place. Well, that's how it is. --- Late at night, Kimisaki Kaito opened his diary. The leather cover of the Calligraphy-do notebook felt familiar in his fingertips. He wrote about today. The inspection passed. Takayama's expressionless face. Natsunagi's "I'm totally sure!" Saiga's victory pose. The words Siesta had said herself—without Kimisaki-kun, it would have ended in the first five minutes. The mystery of the pudding and the punchline of the expired date. He turned a page and stopped his pen. The letter came back to the corner of his mind. What Siesta had said about "it starting to move again." The sender. Nothing happened today. The team had laughed. But that story hadn't disappeared. It was a quiet night. But on a night just as quiet, on Hanamichi Street, he'd been approached by someone in a hood. Kimisaki Kaito still remembered that night. He picked up his pen again and wrote just one final line. —The letter isn't finished yet. He closed the notebook. Outside the window, the night over Towami Ward was silent.