After lunch, Heiji was practically hauled into the room next door for what could only be described as an interrogation.
Facing the four women seated across from him, Heiji let out a quiet sigh.
"Ms. Kisaki… why are you going along with this? This is a complete waste of time."
There was only one person who would organize something like this, and everyone knew it.
Eri Kisaki smiled gracefully. "I don't really have a choice. Besides—turning down a lady who came to you sincerely today… that's not very gentlemanly."
Her tone carried a hint of teasing.
Heiji stared at her. "Do personalities spread like germs?"
Yukiko sat back on the sofa in casual clothes, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
"Heiji, is that thing in your hand a globe?"
At her words, the others finally noticed the object Heiji had been holding.
"A spherical Rubik's Cube?" Eri looked closer, surprised. "And a 12th-order one… Heiji, you're practicing with that?"
"Ms. Kisaki, what does '12th-order' mean?" Kazuha asked, genuinely curious. "I only know the normal cube kind."
Sonoko—sitting right next to Heiji—reached over, took the puzzle from his hands, and turned it around to inspect it.
"As far as I know," Eri said thoughtfully, "there aren't any established solution formulas for something like this. Restoring it by rotation alone would be brutal. I didn't expect you to be interested in this."
Yukiko puffed her cheeks. "So this is the 'important thing' you said you were busy with?"
Heiji looked at her flatly. "If you have something to say, say it. I really don't have time."
There were only a few hours left until the deadline. He couldn't afford distractions.
"Hmph. Then tell us what you're busy with first, or I'm not saying anything."
Heiji's brow tightened. "Do I need to report my work to you?"
Eri, Kazuha, and Sonoko all frowned at the same time and glanced at Yukiko. Heiji's irritation was obvious.
Yukiko froze. After a moment, she lowered her gaze and nodded quietly. "...Fine. I understand."
The room went tense.
Trying to ease it, Sonoko lifted the puzzle again. "How much does something like this cost, anyway?"
"Probably tens of billions," Heiji said casually.
Sonoko's hands jerked.
The spherical puzzle slipped, hit the floor, and clattered loudly. Small square tiles popped loose and scattered across the ground.
"T-Tens of billions?!" Kazuha stared at Heiji, stunned.
Eri immediately stood up and crouched to gather the pieces, her expression tightening as she worked.
Even Yukiko forgot her sulk and stared at the mess.
Sonoko's fingers trembled as she tried to pick up a tile. Even with her family's wealth, that number felt unreal.
Heiji blinked, then reacted fast. Seeing Sonoko's pale face, he pulled her close and spoke quickly.
"Relax. I'm not saying this puzzle itself is worth tens of billions. It's just a clue."
Sonoko froze. "A clue?"
Heiji nodded.
Eri's eyes sharpened at once. "You mean this contains a clue related to the Yasakani no Magatama?"
Kazuha moved closer and gently held Sonoko's hand. "Heiji… have you been working on this case?"
"Yeah." Heiji's voice turned serious. "This was left by the Night Baron. The deadline is six o'clock this evening."
"This evening…?" Kazuha and Sonoko both looked at the time.
12:36 PM.
"That's still a little over five hours," Eri murmured, calculating.
Yukiko glanced at the clock too. Her shoulders lowered slightly, and her voice softened.
"Heiji… this time they made their own mess. Don't carry all that pressure by yourself."
Kazuha leaned in and gave him a quick kiss.
Sonoko followed immediately—arms around his neck—and kissed him firmly, then pulled back and glared at him.
"You almost scared me to death."
Eri finished collecting the loose tiles and stood, holding them out.
"Here."
Heiji's gaze locked onto the tiles in her hands, then flicked to the stripped core of the puzzle. His focus sharpened.
"Give them to me."
He reached out, took the tiles, and drew them into his hands in one smooth motion.
Eri instinctively pulled her hand back.
No one paid attention to that small moment, because—
"Heiji, why are you taking the whole thing apart?!" Sonoko blurted out.
Everyone stared.
Heiji moved quickly, removing the remaining tiles and sorting them by color into neat piles. Soon the spherical shell was nothing but a surface of recessed holes.
Kazuha blinked. "What are you doing?"
Sonoko peered into the hollow center. "There's nothing inside…"
Heiji smiled faintly. "Of course there isn't."
He picked up the first tile.
"The clue isn't inside the core," he said. "It's on the tiles."
All four women leaned in, watching closely.
"Kazuha," Heiji said, "can you find a city planning map of Osaka?"
"Huh?" Kazuha looked confused.
"I can't assemble this without a map."
Heiji sounded almost exasperated.
Yukiko snorted, unable to hold back a brief laugh, then shot him a look.
"I'll get it. I know where it is."
A moment later, she spread an Osaka planning map across the table.
Heiji gave her a quick nod. "Thanks."
Yukiko paused, then stepped back and fell quiet again.
Heiji studied the map for a long while. He closed his eyes as if fixing the layout into memory.
Then his eyes snapped open.
His hands moved—fast, precise.
Pick up. Place. Adjust.
Tile after tile clicked into the recessed holes in a blur.
Under the stunned stares of the four women, an image gradually formed across the sphere—lines, blocks, districts—until it became unmistakable.
An Osaka city planning map.
When the sphere turned in Heiji's hands, the map continued seamlessly around it, like a globe.
Kazuha and Sonoko stood there with their mouths slightly open.
Eri exhaled, impressed. "So that's the trick… It wasn't meant to be rotated into place. It was meant to be dismantled and rebuilt like a puzzle."
Yukiko looked dazed, as if she hadn't fully caught up.
Sonoko's eyes lit up. "That's incredible… You actually figured this out."
Heiji let out a quiet breath. "Honestly, it happened because of what you did."
Sonoko blinked. "Me?"
"If it hadn't fallen apart, I might not have thought of it," Heiji admitted. "I've been stuck on this for two days."
He didn't add what he kept to himself: the real problem wasn't solving it—it was finding a way to solve it without making it look suspicious.
"In any case," Sonoko said firmly, "you're amazing."