Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 269, Section 4: "You mean the ratio of detectives to cases is completely unequal?"

"Ah~ Good morning, everyone."

Mami covered her mouth with her hand and swallowed a yawn. She looked only half awake, her eyes were blurry, and her upper eyelids seemed like they might close at any moment.

"Good morning, you...you didn't stay up late again, did you?"

Masumi looked at her disheveled light purple tank top and made a troubled sound.

Even in front of them, I hope she can pay more attention; a large area of ​​the Southern Hemisphere has already been exposed.

"The question is unnecessary. Haven't I always been a staunch advocate of staying up all night?"

After finishing her sentence, Mami suddenly sniffed.

"What's that smell? It smells so good!"

His eyes, which had been half-open, suddenly opened wide and became bright.

"What a sumptuous breakfast."

As soon as she saw the dishes on the table, her face lit up with a big smile.

"Salt-grilled saury, avocado salad, sweet potato spring rolls... Ah, there's even a simmered dish! Wow, is it really okay to eat something so luxurious first thing in the morning, Rinne?"

"In order to better protect the body from the cold winter, I think I should supplement my nutrition from time to time."

As Rinne ladled food from the stew pot for Mami, she explained slowly and deliberately.

"Agreed! I love seafood stew the most."

The moment the bowl was placed in front of her, Asami swallowed.

Her hand holding the disposable chopsticks trembled like someone on drug addiction. Her breathing was rapid, like a bloodthirsty, hungry monster.

The bowl on the table is filled with broth made from kelp, and the clear, delicious broth is filled with plump oysters.

For Asami, whose brain and body were deprived of nourishment due to long hours of staying up late, it was like a spring in the desert.

"I'm gonna start now!!"

As Mami declared this, the moment she bit into the oyster, the juice gushed out like water spraying out at a fire scene.

"Wow~ The sweet and savory juices of the oysters, cooked in broth, burst in your mouth~ The texture is so tender and melts in your mouth that you'll find yourself swallowing them without even realizing it!"

Just as Mami said, in the blink of an eye, almost all the food in the bowl had fallen into her stomach.

The silly beauty licked her lips with lingering satisfaction, then turned her gaze to Masumi, who was eating slowly and closest to her.

"Hey, Masumi-kun, can I have that oyster? I'll trade you this clam shell for it."

She picked up the empty clam shell and was about to put it into Masumi's bowl.

"Of course it's not good."

Upon seeing this, Masumi quickly moved her bowl away from Asami.

"Hey, I clearly offered you an equal exchange. Masumi-kun, your magnanimity as the young master and your broad-mindedness as a man are far too narrow!"

Mami protested, puffing out her cheeks.

"Which is an equal exchange: plump oysters or hard clam shells?"

Masumi sighed, "I think it's you who went too far..."

"—The villain dies from talking too much!"

Asami proudly stretched out her chopsticks toward Masumi's bowl.

"While Masumi-kun is complaining, I'll accept your food."

Clang!
Suddenly, the tip of the chopsticks seemed to hit something and was stopped.

To be precise, it's another pair of chopsticks.

"Huh?! Little Rinne?"

Mami followed the lines of the chopsticks to look at her owner.

"Ms. Mami..."

Rinne spoke in a cold voice, her face as indifferent as ever, no, even more so, as cold as polar ice.

When Mami saw that expression, she was so frightened that her hand holding the chopsticks began to tremble.

"You can't take away other people's nutrition."

Rinne stared directly at her with a strong and powerful gaze, her cold demeanor immediately reminding Mami of the strictest teacher in her class during her school days.

"Yes Yes……"

Mami responded in a soft voice, then immediately leaned back and hid behind Masumi, only peeking out slightly.

"Is this guy planning to use the people he just plundered as shields right now?" Masumi thought to herself.

That being said, faced with Mami's pitiful gaze fixed on his face...

No, he was staring at the last oyster in his hand, and drool was dripping from his mouth.

This guy.

Masumi proudly held up an oyster and put it in her mouth.

"Ah—! Oyster thief!"

"No, I never said I was going to give it to you."

"Ugh."

Miss Mami looked at the bottom of the bowl with regret, disappointed that her wish had not come true.

"Ah, we're done eating... The next time we'll eat should be in five or six days..."

"Where did that specific date come from?" Masumi wondered.

"Hmph~ That's all thanks to Detective Asami's keen insight."

Asami crossed her arms over her chest, striking a pose that emphasized her valley area.

"The so-called detective is not someone who is exceptionally intelligent, but someone who is better at observing than the average person. I have recently observed that since January, Rinne has been improving everyone's meals about once a week, making some oyster dishes and other energy-boosting ingredients."

"...Sister Mami is really observant."

Rinne spoke these words in a calm and even tone, yet somehow, there was a hint of guilt in them.

Masumi sighed quietly, and at the same time, the heiress also sighed.

"I really can't do anything with Asami-nee, so I'll share some of my food with you."

"Hooray! Rinne is the best."

Mami happily accepted Rinne's feeding.

That said, the point of energy is to use it, but this guy will probably just store it as fat.

Masumi silently observed Mami's figure growing proportionally with her appetite. Simply calling her by letters seemed a bit inadequate; should she describe it as "almost leaping off her skin"?
"Huh? What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that, Masumi-kun?"

Asami, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster, swallowed the food in her mouth, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

"Eh, my charm has become so great that I've captured Masumi-kun's attention."

"That's because you're the biggest of everyone..."

"Take a bite of my chopsticks!"

Breakfast was spent amidst all this shouting and yelling.

Masumi helped Rinne clear away the dishes and noticed that Mio was still sitting in her seat, seemingly distracted.

"Mio?"

I called her several times, but she seemed not to hear me, appearing completely distracted. Strange.

Helpless, Masumi gently placed her hand on Mio's shoulder. "Mio? Are you listening to me?"

"Ah!" Mio snapped out of her daze and couldn't help but scream in surprise, instinctively putting her hands behind her back, even though she had nothing in her hands.

"Ma-Masumi? What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing. I just wanted to remind Mio that breakfast is over. By the way... was it really necessary to be so alarmed?"

"Well."

Instead of giving a direct answer to the question, Mio suddenly stood up from her chair and said nervously.

"Uh, well, I'll go back to my room now."

"okay."

Masumi watched Mio flee in confusion, when suddenly she heard the voice of a third party.

"Mio...is very suspicious..."

"really."

Masumi subconsciously responded, then turned her head and saw Kaigetsu's face appear at extremely close range.

"Haiyue!? What's with this outfit?"

On that small, palm-sized face sat a pair of round-framed glasses that were clearly too big for her.

"The detective's...glasses..."

"Well, you're standing too close."

"Because... I'm wearing glasses... I can't see clearly..."

Masumi sighed, "Then take it off."

"No."

The jellyfish girl pressed her hands against the temples of her glasses.

"Wearing glasses...makes me smarter..."

"There's no such saying." Masumi sighed. "Never mind, just don't bump into the table."

"No..." Haiyue gently shook her head, "Because I'm very smart now..."

"Yeah."

The jellyfish girl nodded quietly and tried to take a step forward.

"Woo!"

Haiyue's calf suddenly slammed into the chair, and she squatted down in pain.

"...What are you two doing?"

Rinne, who was busy in the kitchen, came out when she heard the noise and frowned deeply when she saw Haiyue's swollen calves.

"What happened?"

"My glasses... I can't see clearly..."

"In that case, take it off."

Rinne looked troubled as she gazed at the swollen, red area on Kaigetsu's face.

"Could Masumi go to her room and get the first-aid kit?"

"I see."

Following Rinne's instructions, Masumi found the medicine box in her room and returned to the first floor.

Haiyue sat down in the chair and rolled up the cuffs of her pajamas.

Ignoring the redness and swelling around her shin, her calves looked like sculpted works of art, with every texture and curve perfectly conforming to aesthetic standards.

Rinne knelt down in front of her, reached into the box to open the medicine bottle, dipped a cotton swab in the medicine, and gently placed the swab on the red and swollen area.

"pain."

Haiyue gripped the seat cushion tightly, her body noticeably shrinking back, her dangling legs making a gesture as if she wanted to leave.

"It's your own fault for being careless."

Rinne sighed.

"Masumi, help me support her."

"Eh? Okay."

Masumi reached out and grabbed Kaizuki's ankle as she tried to escape, placing it on her knees as she squatted down.

The jellyfish girl's feet were soft and icy cold. Masumi was wearing thin casual pants, and he could clearly feel the warmth of her feet on his knees.

Even at such close range, you can clearly see Haiyue's clean toes; they're unpainted, and her small toenails have a faint cherry blossom pink hue.

"...Do all guys in a band stare at another girl's feet in front of her? Is that normal?"

“There are many things that are even worse than this.”

"Ok?"

Rinne glanced at her coldly.

"Sorry, I was just kidding."

Masumi raised the white flag and surrendered.

Haiyue suddenly raised her foot and touched Masumi's arm to show her dissatisfaction with Masumi's compromise.

No, why should I bear the dissatisfaction of two girls at the same time, when I haven't done anything?

Masumi was about to protest.

"—It's all taken care of now. Be careful from now on, and don't be so reckless again."

Rinne gently wiped the remaining medicine off Haiyue's calves with gauze and gave her instructions.

"Okay... Thank you Rinne... and Masumi..."

The jellyfish-like girl, who was causing concern, took off her glasses, held them in her hand, and staggered away.

"This child is really worrying."

Rinne sighed deeply.

"Actually, I wanted to say that before."

Masumi spoke as she helped Rinne pack her medicine kit.

"Rinne seems to be very good at treating these kinds of external injuries. Mio was the same when she first came. Is it because she often treats the wounds of the naughty children at the orphanage?"

"That's part of the reason, but..."

Rinne paused for a moment, took a breath, and squeezed out a bitter sound from her throat.

"The main reason probably stems from my childhood self who was always trying to be tough."

"Ok?"

"That was my second year living in the orphanage, in the forest school when I was in sixth grade."

Her eyes were fixed on the ground, blinking incessantly as if brushing away the dust that covered up past memories.

"I twisted my ankle while hiking. In order not to slow down the group, I didn't tell anyone. I endured the pain and forced myself to walk to the top of the mountain. It wasn't until night that I secretly took the medicine and hid in a corner to apply it myself... It was really stupid, right?"

Rinne curled her lips into a self-deprecating smile. Her attitude was so natural that Rinne probably genuinely believed she had been foolish back then.

Not only that, the heiress continued.

"Even if you want to tell yourself 'You are alone and can't rely on anyone,' you shouldn't use such an extreme method. Fortunately, there were no lasting effects, otherwise it would have been really troublesome."

Rinne sighed as if relieved.

"There were many more examples like this later on, and it wasn't until high school that my awkward personality improved."

As Rinne recounted her story, Masumi took a deep breath, feeling something hot stuck in her throat.

"...Rinne, you've worked so hard all this time."

He felt his mouth was dry and his voice was trembling.

"Where did you find it hard?"

Rinne forced out a hoarse voice from her vocal cords, the heat fading from her eyes, and buried her mouth in her knees.

"You've walked this far all by yourself, it must have been tough."

Words that slip out of Masumi's mouth without her thinking.

Rinne stared in disbelief, her almond-shaped eyes wide, before a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Compared to those in far worse circumstances, my hardships are nothing—"

The words stopped abruptly.

As if she had thought of something, Rinne suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence.

She stood up, looked down at Masumi who was still squatting, put on a gentle expression, and said condescendingly:

"You're such an annoying person."

The deliberately softened tone clearly indicated no blame.

A silvery laugh escaped her lips, tantalizing her eardrums, and the warmth in the black-haired girl's eyes left Masumi momentarily stunned.

"What's this?"

"nothing."

Rinne shook her head calmly, her expression returning to normal.

"Could you please put the first-aid kit back for me? I need to clean the dining area before we open for business."

"okay."

Masumi quickly stood up, carrying her medicine box, and stared straight at Rinne, her heart pounding. She was probably in a state of high excitement right now.

He observed himself from a detached perspective.

Although he wanted to say something, he didn't know how to organize his lines, so all he could do was stare straight at Rinne.

"what happened?"

The heiress tilted her head slightly, puzzled.

"No, it's nothing."

I accidentally went too far.

For a moment, Rinne seemed to misunderstand something, silently lowering her eyelashes and revealing her snow-white ears through the gaps in her black hair.

A faint blush rose to her ears, and her tightly clenched lips emitted a whisper as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"Could it be... that you're thinking about... that again?"

"Eh."

Masumi paused for a moment, then widened her eyes in astonishment and immediately denied it:
"Of course not! How could Rinne think that?!"

"Because...you kept staring at me with such intense eyes..."

Masumi was extremely embarrassed and frantically waved her hands in front of her face.

"No, well, anyway, I didn't have that kind of thought."

"oh oh……"

Rinne's face turned even redder than before, probably embarrassed by her misunderstanding. To change her mood, she said:
"Oh, by the way, the clothes in the washing machine upstairs should be washed by now, remember to take them."

"Well, I see."

After giving that answer, Masumi fled in embarrassment.

(End of this chapter)