I am in Mihua, and the ladies all like me

She repeated it one last time.

"……All right."

Serabelle responded, put another washed bowl on the dish rack, rinsed the foam off her hands with the tap, then bent down and kissed the British girl on the cheek.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Mary."

After doing all this, Serabelle went to the door, changed her shoes and went out.

In the kitchen, Akai Mary touched her belly, which still had a subtle feeling, and whispered, "No wonder."

On the other side, after leaving home, Serabelle quickly drove to the city center.

After parking the car in the underground garage of the commercial plaza and taking the elevator to the inside of the plaza above the ground, Serabelle easily found the meeting place agreed upon with the client.

It was a cafe on the second floor of a commercial plaza.

Perhaps because it was a weekday, there were not many people in the cafe. Serabell walked in and sat down at a window seat, then sent a message to the client who had called her before.

Because it is inside a commercial plaza, there is no way to have a clear view of the street outside like a roadside cafe.

But for Serabelle, it was enough to see the people coming and going in the corridor on the second floor of the commercial plaza.

What's more, he chose the location here not for his own convenience in recruiting people, but to make it easier for the client to find him.

Maybe just five minutes later, accompanied by the clear and pleasant sound of wind chimes coming from the door of the cafe, Serabell looked up.

The person who came in was a middle-aged woman in a kimono.

To be honest, this kind of dress is not common in modern Japanese society.

Here's a little-known fact: although a yukata and a kimono look similar at first glance, a yukata can be very cheap, while a kimono is usually very expensive.

Generally speaking, except for wealthy families, few ordinary Japanese people wear kimonos as daily wear.

The first reason is that kimonos are troublesome to wear and restrict movement. The second reason is still the price issue. Because they are very expensive, it will be very painful if they are accidentally snagged.

And although she is a middle-aged woman, she is very beautiful in both appearance and figure. Even though she is no longer in her prime, one can still imagine her radiant beauty when she was young at a glance.

In particular, her long, shiny black hair was neatly combed back her head. Her facial features were delicate and regular with a hint of nobility. Her eyes were slightly upturned, and her indigo pupils seemed to reflect the light of a sword.

It is easy to think of those TV dramas about the powerful hostesses in the homes of ancient Japanese dignitaries who seem to be virtuous wives and mothers but are actually very powerful and hidden.

Hiss, speaking of the hidden heroines in costume dramas...

Serabelle suddenly recalled the strange speaking habit of the client on the phone before. Generally speaking, women refer to themselves as "wadashi", but that client used "wadakshi".

He didn't know much about Japanese, just enough to use but not very deeply, so it felt like the two words had similar meanings, but gave people a more high-end feeling.

So, my client couldn't be the one who just walked in.

Before Serabel finished thinking in his mind, he saw the middle-aged woman who had just entered the coffee shop took out her mobile phone from her bag and looked at it, as if she confirmed something. Then she raised her head and looked straight at him. When she saw that there was someone sitting in the designated seat, she immediately smiled with joy.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Oh, I didn’t expect it to be true.

The middle-aged woman walked through the booths in small steps, leaving behind a series of crisp and pleasant sounds of wooden clogs along the way.

She came to the sofa opposite Serabelle and sat down. When she looked closely at the boy's face, she was slightly stunned, then quickly covered her mouth and smiled again.

"Excuse me, I didn't expect you to be unexpectedly young."

"Life is forced~"

Serabelle shrugged meaninglessly.

"Anyway, let's have something to drink first."

Just as he finished speaking, a waiter came over with a menu in his hand.

"Hello, what would you like to order?"

"Cappuccino, normal sugar," said Serabelle.

"I'll just have a glass of milk." The middle-aged woman nodded with a smile.

After a while, two drinks were served.

Serabelle took a sip of her coffee and said, "Okay, let's get back to the point. What should I call you?"

"Ikebo, my name is Ikebo Shizuka."

The middle-aged woman...oh no, it was Ikenami Shizuka. She smiled gently and modestly lifted her kimono sleeves to cover her mouth lightly.

"Actually, the main reason I came here this time is to ask Detective Sera to help me find someone."

"who?"

"A former high school classmate."

As she spoke, Ikenami Shizuka took out a photo that was a bit old from her bag. However, perhaps because it was well preserved, the old photo showed no signs of yellowing.

Serabelle took it carefully and looked at it. The photo seemed to be a group photo of a student club in a middle school. Several children who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old were standing together. In the middle was a boy with a buzz cut who was the tallest and looked like an older brother. On the right was a girl with a ponytail and facial features that were extremely similar to Ikenami Shizuka.

"Excuse me, could this girl standing on the right be..."

"Yes, this photo was taken thirty years ago. The girl is me when I was in middle school."

Ikenami Shizuka pointed her green index finger at the boy with a crew cut in the middle of the photo.

"And it is he I am looking for."

Chapter 305 The Beautiful Woman Who Lies

"name?"

"Shibata Shiro."

"Any idea where he lives or where he lived before?"

"This...is not very clear."

When the second question was asked, Ikeba Shizuka showed a little difficulty on her face.

As if feeling sorry, she glanced to the ground to the lower right to avoid the gaze from Serabelle, and raised her hand again to gently cover the corner of her mouth.

"Actually, I'm not that familiar with him. We were just in the same kendo club when we were in school."

"……All right."

Serabelle held her forehead slightly.

But think about it, after all, the person came to him for the commission just to find the other party, and obviously he didn't know where the other party was now. If he knew where the other party was, he would have found him himself long ago, so why would he need to entrust him with the commission?

Making a staff, making a staff...

Picking up the cup and taking a sip of coffee to calm herself down, Serabelle changed the subject.

"So, Ms. Ikenami, why did you want to find this middle school classmate?"

"Actually, I want him to return a photo to me." Ikeba Shizuka smiled helplessly.

"photo?"

Serabelle slowly typed a question mark.

Didn’t you just say you weren’t familiar with each other? Normally, would people who are not familiar with each other give photos to each other?

"This is what happened..."

When this topic was mentioned, the helplessness on Ikeba Shizuka's beautiful face became even more intense.

"I won second prize in a kendo competition when I was in middle school, but a few days ago my grandmother mistook my second prize medal for some garbage and threw it away. I should have let it go, but I suddenly remembered yesterday that I took a photo after winning the award."

"Then you gave the photo to Mr. Shibata?" Serabelle continued.

"It can't be considered a gift..." Ikenami Shizuka hesitated for a moment, "In fact, it should be considered my mistake. I once borrowed a book from Senior Shibata, and for convenience, I put the photo in the book as a bookmark. But when I returned it, I forgot to take it out, and I returned the book along with the photo inside."

"I had originally planned to leave it at that, but my grandmother lost the medal and the photo became my only souvenir, so I thought I'd see if I could get it back if I'm lucky."

"Oh~"

Serabelle drawled.

We were not familiar with each other one second, but borrowed books from each other the next. It was really mysterious.

After a pause, Serabelle set her eyes on the left hand of the beautiful woman in front of her.

To be honest, Ikeha Shizuka's hands are just like her appearance. Even though she is over 40, the skin on her hands is still maintained like that of a 28-year-old girl. Each of her fingers is slender and white, and the nails are neatly trimmed, looking warm and shiny.

Except… it was covered with Band-Aids.

Serabelle took a quick glance and saw three Band-Aids in total, one on the tip of the thumb, one on the tip of the index finger, and one on the back of the ring finger.

There is none on the right hand.

"By the way, Ms. Ikeba, why do you have so many band-aids on your hands?"

"Well?"

As if she didn't expect the other party to notice this, Ikenami Shizuka subconsciously retracted her hand into the sleeve of her kimono, but immediately took it out again, and raised it up embarrassedly with five fingers spread out to show it to the boy.

"It's a bit embarrassing to say this because I'm clumsy with my hands and have never been very good at cooking. I wanted to give it a try last night on a whim, but instead of cooking, I cut my hand three times."

Fuck, cutting your hand three times while cooking is a pretty impressive feat even in the world of hand-clumsiness...

Serabelle was in awe in her heart.

However, he quickly turned his attention back to the commission, as it seemed quite difficult to complete the commission at the moment.

Not to mention anything else, information gathering is a big problem. Up to now, we know nothing about him except his name and that he won a kendo competition in the second grade of junior high school. Any other detective would probably be at a loss if this task was given to him.

But Serabel always has a way.

After thinking for a moment, Serabelle took out her cell phone and dialed a number.

The call was connected after a few seconds, and Inspector Megure's voice came from the receiver. He seemed to be in the office, and the background was mixed with the sounds of various police officers communicating or reporting.

"Hello, who is this?"

"It's me, Serabelle. Are you busy right now, Inspector?"

Serabelle asked with caring concern.

Upon hearing this familiar voice, Inspector Megure said with sudden realization, "It turns out to be Brother Sera. I was writing materials just now and didn't have time to check the caller ID. But it's true. I'm busy here. There have been some difficult cases recently. My hands are broken from writing reports... Sorry, sorry, I complained to you too much. By the way, Brother Sera, is there anything going on over there?"

"more or less."

Serabelle looked at Ikenami Shizuka, who was sitting opposite her, then looked away and continued speaking.

"Another friend of mine is missing. His name is Shibata Shiro. Can you help me check him out?"

"Sure, that's no problem."

Inspector Megure agreed readily.

"But I also said that we have too much work to do recently. I will send you any information I find later. Brother Sera, you should look for it based on the intelligence first. I may not be able to send people to help immediately. Is that okay?"

"Of course, thank you, Chief."

After saying hello, Serabel waited for a few seconds to let Inspector Megure hang up the phone first.

Putting away his phone, he looked up at Ikeha Shizuka who was sitting opposite him.

"I called someone I know at the Metropolitan Police Department, and he will help investigate. But they are said to be very busy right now, so it will probably take a while for us to get news. I will go investigate as soon as I receive the news. So, Ms. Ikenami, are you planning to..."

"I will go with you, Detective Sera."

Ikenami Shizuka still used that methodical and unhurried tone, but gave people an irresistible feeling.

Serabelle was also a little surprised. His original intention was to let the beautiful woman in front of him go back first, and then inform her when he was done. This way it would be convenient for everyone.

As if she could see what the boy in front of her was thinking, Ikeba Shizuka covered her mouth and smiled again.

"I'm sorry, but I don't actually have a place to stay in Tokyo, so even if I go back I can only take the high-speed train back home, which is very troublesome, so it's better for me to work with Detective Sera. Maybe if I'm lucky I can get the photos back today."

"That's true."

Since she had nothing to do anyway, Serabelle just started chatting with the beautiful woman.

"But I remember that Japan's high-speed rail is quite convenient. Is Ms. Ikenami's hometown far away from here?"

"Hmm, about the same." Ikebo Shizuka thought seriously, "Has Detective Sera ever been to Hokkaido?"

"No, but I heard that it seems to be very cold there, the coldest place in Japan." Serabelle shook her head.