Case Files of Secret Society holoX (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 1: Taking over the agency

"Now then, Rihito. Take a look at these two pictures", a black-haired man told me.

He was wearing a black coat over a brown vest that covered a white long-sleeved polo. Black pants were on his legs and a monocle was in front of his right eye.

"What are those, Master Shellin?" I asked.

"This is your test for today. In a convenience store in this city, it has been reported that several items in Aisle 4 were missing and the sales don't add up. The owner believes that someone is shoplifting things and took pictures of the camera footage for the past six months. However, I'll just show you two relevant pictures and you'll have to deduce who is the criminal", he explained.

I looked at the two pictures and saw three people. The first one was a pregnant woman, the second was an old man, and the third was a high school student.

"These three people frequent that convenience store. The photos are six months apart. Now then, tell me your deduction", Master Shellin said.

Ah.This was very easy.

"The woman is the criminal", I said.

"Oh? Can you tell me your reasoning?" Master Shellin smiled.

"Judging from her appearance, she's a human. Her large belly showed that she must be either in her late second trimester or early third trimester in the first photo. A human will give birth around two to three months after the start of the third trimester but as we can see from the photo six months later, she's still pregnant. She's the most suspicious among the three."

"Correct! Good job, Rihito", Master Shellin clapped his hands.

It was only a few months after I became Master Shellin's student and I could already see my improvements. This was what I should expect from getting trained by a great detective like him.

"Another test for you. Take a look at these photos of a crime scene", he said.

Three photos showed the inside of a room. The glass window was smashed open, muddy footprints were on the carpet, and a glass case was in pieces. There was a photo revealing the outside of the window and showed a muddy puddle with glass shards.

"A museum curator in the Candy Kingdom reported that someone broke into the museum and stole a priceless gem. Will you believe his story?" Master Shellin asked.

I scoffed. The case was so simple that I immediately saw what was wrong.

"Of course not. This is just a fraud", I reasoned.

"And your reason is?"

"The point of interest is not the inside of the museum but the outside. Glass shards could be found in the muddy puddle outside. If someone broke in from the outside, then the glass shards should be on the inside. I'm guessing someone from inside the museum staged the robbery just to get the insurance from the gem while getting extra cash from selling it."

"Correct! I'm glad to know I'm not failing in training you. I believe Miyako will be in safe hands when I leave."

"Leave? Where are you going, Master Shellin?"

"Do you remember that letter I received from the Peafowl Kingdom a few days ago?"

I nodded as I remembered that one. It was funny that Master Shellin wasn't around when we received it. And when he finally learned of it, he was thrilled because we rarely get any cases in this city.

"The Peafowl Kingdom requested my services to investigate something the princess wanted to learn more about. They'll handle all of the expenses I'll make for the investigation. My service fees were also paid in advance."