Chapter 2

Well then, Gii and Yuki. Were there any strange things that happened when the sardines and the sock disappeared?

Not in particular. I tend to notice when someone comes into the kitchen, so I don’t think anyone came in.

By the way, Chief looked well today. It seems like they got a good sleep yesterday.

Hey! Bringing up Doudou out of nowhere like that almost feels like you're tryna throw off the investigation~!

However, that's how he normally behaves, even when things are calm.

What about Gii?

Same here. I even went all out doing radio calisthenics while waiting for the laundry to finish, but no one showed up.

……….

Nari~

What is it, Yowa-sama?

By some chance, would this case be solved if we just find a new pack of dried sardines and a matching single sock?

Yes. It would solve the problem, but the mystery itself would remain unsolved.

Soooomehow, the whole thing's starting to feel like a meaningless mystery~

(Detected a decline in Yowa-sama's whim. He seems to be losing interest in this case.)

(Are there any clues…)

! Please pay attention to that, Yowa-sama. There are bits of dried sardines lying in the hallway.

You’re right! Are those the traces to the culprit?

I have estimated there's over an 80% chance that it is. Let us trace the dried sardines and see where it leads.

…It’s Daa’s room, hm.

Could it be that Daa’s the culprit? Then is his motive–

To eat dried sardines while styling the lone sock?

At this point, we don't have enough information to draw any conclusions. Let us start by questioning the people involved first.

Nooooo way! If we keep dawdling around, all the dried sardines might get eaten! I'm invoking my detective's privilege, time to barge!

Please wait, Yowa-sama.

…This–

Meow~

Hey, PT. Where'd you get that sock from?

Meow.

There's dried sardines all over the floor... I gotta clean this up before Nayuki gets back.

Whameow?! So the culprit wasn't Daa... it was PT all along!

Culprit? No, why are you guys even here in the first place?

Such and so had happened. There was an incident.

Meoww–

*Sigh*, I get it. So this little rascal's the one who caused all that trouble.

My bad. PT's sorry too, so I hope you guys can let it slide. I'll make sure to apologize to Yukikaze and Nagi later, too.

Meow!

The secret of the case that left us no clues to follow... Was those paw pads, huh?

How meticulous of you, PT. It was a case that only we could uncover.

Well then, we're gonna do some examining of those soft, squishy pads–

Hisss!

Hoh?

Meow.

PT-sama has jumped into my arms.

The culprit has been taken into custody. During a situation like this… There, there… Is that to your satisfaction?

Nyaaaa!

Hmph~! I just don't get why animals run away from me!

Well, whatever. Anyways, case closed! We're a great pair, after all♪ Leave any mystery that needs to be solved to us!