In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

"Who said we needed to confirm with him personally?"

"then you……"

"Hehe." Rikka put her hands on her hips, a mysterious smile on her face: "Do you remember what Chiya did first after he came back?"

"I picked you up and spun you around, then ruffled your hair into a mess."

Rikka: "..." (→_→)

Yinglili: "..." (←_←)

Rikka patted her head and said in a pitying tone, "Eriri, you really are a little idiot."

Eriri slapped her hand away in annoyance and returned the same gesture: "Yeah, otherwise how could I have chosen you in the vast sea of ​​people and become your good friend for so many years?"

"Isn't it because of Chiya?"

"Are you sure you want to talk like this?" Eriri stood up.

Rikka immediately lowered her head: "I'm sorry..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Half a minute later, Eriri was dragged to the washroom by Rikka.

Rikka locked the door from the inside, chuckled at Eriri, and then spoke to her in an educational tone,

"Eri, did you know that dogs can identify their owners by scent alone, even without seeing? With professional training, they can even track specific scents from tens of kilometers away. In fact, many skilled detectives can often use extremely subtle scent clues left at the scene to unravel the mystery and ultimately identify the culprit and solve strange cases!"

Eriri listened to this incoherent speech, and seeing Rikka's serious expression, she vaguely guessed what was going on. Her expression gradually became incredulous, and she began to look older: "Rikka, you don't mean you want to..."

“That’s right!” Rikka clapped her hands sharply, interrupting Eriri!

She strode forward and lifted the lid of the laundry basket.

Then, under Eriri's stunned gaze, an expression of immense pride appeared on her face. She reached out and held up the clothes that Minamoto Chiya had recently changed out of, and said in a resounding voice,

“A professional detective can use scent to unravel the mystery and pinpoint the culprit, and I, Rikka Takanashi! Today, based on the lingering scent on Chiya's clothes, I was able to deduce his general itinerary last night and who he might have met. That's no problem at all!”

"..."

Eriri had completely lost the ability to speak at this moment.

After a few seconds of deathly silence, Eriri finally made a move.

She stepped forward, reached out, and gently patted Rikka's shoulder. With her other hand, she slowly raised her thumb, forcing a complex smile on her face—a smile that was somewhere between "encouragement" and "care for the intellectually disabled."

then……

"You can continue playing your detective game. I won't tell anyone else. As for me... goodbye!"

…………

Volume 2: Chapter 125: The Second Miss's Thoughts (6k)

"Wait! Wait, Eriri! Listen to me—!"

Seeing that Eriri was really going to abandon her, Rikka reacted quickly, lunging from behind and hugging her waist tightly, hanging on her body and refusing to let her turn the doorknob.

"Let me go! I don't want to be complicit with you! It's too weird!"

Eriri has made up her mind to leave!

What a joke! She was already disturbed by Saeko's shocking words yesterday, and today Rikka is dragging her to experience this inexplicable and "perverted" development!

She just wanted to stay with Qianye peacefully while her parents were abroad, and at most... at most hoped to create some beautiful and pleasant memories! She had no intention of developing any strange or further relationship with him!

If this absurd situation continues... with Rikka's unreasonable demands and Saeko's words constantly echoing in my mind...

She was afraid that the thoughts she was desperately suppressing would actually surface!

"But, but if you leave, wouldn't it make me look like a complete pervert for doing this! A sister secretly smelling her brother's clothes... No matter how I explain it, no one will believe that I did it out of pure curiosity and a detective's spirit!"

"Since you already know, then don't do this kind of thing!" Eriri said irritably as she tried to pry open Rikka's clasped fingers in front of her, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

"But if you're with me, Eriri, then it's different! I can convince myself that I'm doing this for my best friend, that I'm assisting with the investigation, and that I'm doing this for you!"

"Huh—?" Eriri was so taken aback by Rikka's sophistry that she paused for a moment, then tried to break free even more forcefully, her tone full of disdain: "What you're saying is so nonsensical! The logic is completely flawed! Let go!"

"No, no! Let's try our best together!" The harder Eriri tried, the tighter Rikka clung to her, like a koala unwilling to leave its habitat: "Aren't you even a little bit curious about what Chiya did last night? Who was he with? What happened?"

"I don't want to know at all! And I don't want to know in this weird way you're doing!" Eriri retorted stubbornly, but her bright red ears betrayed her.

"Don't go, don't go! I know, I know! Then... you stay with me, don't make me look like a pervert. I'll try by myself, you just watch me from the side, okay?" Rikka hugged Eriri's leg tightly.

What's the point of me being here?!

"Of course it's meaningful! How can a super detective's brilliant reasoning and crime-solving scene be complete without a smart and beautiful audience to appreciate the brilliance of my wisdom?" Rikka said, trying her best to please everyone.

"..."

Eriri closed her eyes, clenched her fists, pursed her lips, and blushed, her heart in turmoil.

As Rikka continued to gently shake and plead, she finally gave up in resignation.

She turned around, but didn't face Rikka directly. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest, forcefully turning her flushed face to the other side, and mumbled in an almost inaudible voice, "...Let's make it clear beforehand, I...I absolutely won't do anything stupid with you. I'm just...just here with you, that's all!"

"No problem! That's enough!" Seeing that she had agreed, Rikka stood up straight in a second, full of energy.

Rikka deftly picked up the shirt that Minamoto Chiya had changed out of.

Eriri caught a glimpse of her movements out of the corner of her eye, and her already flushed face flushed even hotter, feeling like she was about to burst into flames.

What on earth is going on?!

It's not just Saeko who's become "abnormal," is Rikka completely like this now too?!

I used to tease Rikka about having brother complex traits occasionally, but it was all in jest. But now it seems so real!

Rikka, holding the clothes in her hand, was indeed a little embarrassed when it came to the actual practice, despite her confident words earlier.

After all, she usually sees herself as a cute and beautiful girl, and now she suddenly has to smell a boy's clothes that he has taken off, even if he is her sworn brother and they are actually very close, it is still very undignified.

She hesitated for a moment, then approached Eriri with the clothes in hand, slowly offering them to her: "Eriri, are you really not going to try them on?"

"Take it away!" Eriri recoiled as if burned, tilting her head back sharply and making a big "X" with her hands in front of her. Her tone was resolute, and her cheeks were flushed red.

"Don't be angry, it was just a joke. Besides, you know Qianye's personality. The clothes he wears out in the morning might not be that dirty when he comes back in the evening."

“That’s completely different!” Eriri emphasized, embarrassed and annoyed.

Is this a matter of cleanliness? Your current behavior is fundamentally problematic!

Seeing that Eriri's attitude on this matter was quite firm, Rikka also temporarily gave up the idea of ​​dragging her into being an accomplice.

She took a deep breath, as if making a decision, and suppressed the remaining shame in her heart. She slowly raised the T-shirt in her hand and brought it close to her nose.

She frowned slightly, her expression becoming unusually focused and serious, as if she were truly a famous detective examining crucial evidence.

Her delicate nostrils twitched slightly as she savored the moment with utmost care.

Eriri blushed as she watched her actions.

That dress… just minutes ago, was clinging tightly to Qianye's body… to that perfectly sculpted, sculpture-like body…

Eriri's upbringing taught her that this was something she couldn't bear to look at, but why... why did she feel so restless and uneasy?

"Hmm..." Rikka continued sniffing, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper, her face showing a mixture of confusion and seriousness.

Suddenly, her eyes widened as if she had instantly grasped some crucial clue, and she let out a short, startled cry: "Ah—!"

Upon seeing this, Eriri immediately asked anxiously, "What's wrong? What did you find?"

"Hmm!" Rikka nodded heavily and said solemnly, "I found that my brother's clothes, apart from the faint lavender scent of the laundry detergent at home, actually didn't have any other smells as expected."

Eriri almost raised her hand to hit her on the head, but thankfully she held back: "You're talking nonsense again!"

"That's not nonsense!" Rikka put on a "I think you don't understand at all" look and patiently explained, "Based on my experience watching detective anime and mystery manga lately, the truth is often hidden in those seemingly ordinary, unnoticed, and easily overlooked details! The more normal the situation seems, the more likely it is to hide the key to the final answer!"

"What exactly do you want to say?" Eriri had given up struggling, feeling utterly powerless.

She finally understood. Rikka was just too playful. She probably got carried away yesterday after seeing Yukino and that fat woman in black stockings having a detective guessing contest. Now that she had finally found an opportunity, she probably wouldn't stop until she was completely satisfied.

Forget it, I'll just treat it as coaxing a child. I'll transform into the so-called detective's assistant and play the straight man to get her to finish quickly and call it a day.

Rikka held up the clothes and began her reasoning: "Look, in the hot summer, there's not a trace of sweat on my brother's underwear. Don't you find that strange?"

"Yes, a little."

"Right! So from this we can make two preliminary inferences."

First, he had very little opportunity to be outdoors or stay in a cool, air-conditioned environment all day yesterday, so he didn't sweat much.

Secondly, this garment was likely off most of the time, for example... because it was taken off for some reason.

As Rikka spoke, she brought the clothes close to her little nose again.

"...Wait a minute, I overlooked something, there are other flavors too."

What does it taste like?

"Take a sniff. Besides the faint lavender scent, is there also a very, very faint hint of alcohol? Like red wine or champagne?"

Eriri's head tilted forward slightly involuntarily, following her words and movements, her nose almost touching the soft fabric—

Just a second before they were about to touch, she snapped back to reality, jerked backward as if electrocuted, creating a large gap between herself and her face, which flushed bright red instantly!

"Hehe." Rikka felt a little regretful, she almost managed to drag Eriri down with her.

She took the clothes back, sniffed them again as if to confirm, and then nodded seriously: "Hmm, that's right, there is a very faint smell of alcohol. My brother actually drank outside! He's really not learning good things. He's clearly not old enough to drink! Now I've caught him red-handed."

Eriri looked at her friend's childish expression, sighed, and couldn't help but complain, "Hey, Detective Rikka, is it possible that yesterday he had to attend some formal banquet or social event for work, and because other people were drinking and talking nearby, the smell of alcohol inevitably got on his clothes?"

This is a very reasonable and normal speculation.

Rikka blinked, her expression momentarily frozen: "Hmm... what you say makes sense, but following your line of thinking, I think there are other possibilities."

"...What are you trying to say now?" Eriri had a bad feeling.

“I’m thinking, is it possible that, considering how cheerful my brother was when he came back just now, he was out with some other girl we don’t know yesterday, and the smell on him is because someone got too close to him?”

As Rikka spoke, she lowered her head and sniffed the collar of her shirt again. Although she couldn't discern anything from it, her eyes still deliberately lit up slightly.

"There seems to be a faint but noticeable fragrance around the collar. Take a sniff!"

Eriri wasn't going to fall for her tricks this time. She pushed her away and stared at her silently, her expression saying, "Do you really think that's possible?"

Rikka chuckled sheepishly: "I was just making an assumption. The reason we haven't been able to get a detailed answer is, in my opinion, because we haven't obtained enough clues, and they're not comprehensive enough."