Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

Tomorrow, Dad will be hearing the triplets out.

She felt that things were moving along quite quickly, but there was no way a certain monocle weirdo tactician would turn down Dads request.

Maomao, can you come along to transcribe the talks into notes for me?

it seems weird one will be there.

If well be with the weirdo tactician, Maomao shook her head.

You can rest easy, Rakan wont be coming.

Thats fine then, but what about Yao-san? Maomao glanced over.

I turned her down. It wont work out because she cant write in shorthand.

(I cant either)

Maomao stopped mid-sentence.

If she were to speak carelessly, Yao would probably insist on doing it, which Enen would wholeheartedly forbid. Theyd be at a stalemate.

If she were to know that its due to lack of skill, Yao would accept it even if she was vexed, so it would be wiser for Maomao to keep her mouth shut here.

For a while now, a frustrated Yao has been watching Maomao from behind a pillar. From behind her, Enen waved a cloth as if to say Please just leave already.

Since you understand, shall we get going?

The earlier they finish, the earlier they can return, Maomao thought.

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A military conference room had been arranged for them. It was neither spacious nor crampedrather than a conference room, its size was closer to that of an interrogation room.

Oh, youre here.

Coming to greet them in front of the room was the familiar large breed dog, no, Rihaku.

Ill leave it to you. Dad greeted him politely.

Yeah, as soon as anything happens, call for me. Theres also another person inside, a secretary, but hes only a civil official, so Rihaku thumped his muscular chest. His personality was refreshing as usual.

Why is Rihaku-sama here? Maomao asked, tilting her head.

Its an order from the higher ups. With the people in question being who they are, itll be troublesome if they raise a ruckus right? Youll need a strong guard. But you see, I am acquainted with the triplets and Boku, and moreover, I know you, which is why I was picked.

I see.

It was reasonable.

Occasionally, a job like this one is a good change of pace.

The ranking of the tassel on the waist of smiling, nice guy was different to last times.

You seem to be doing quite well in terms of promotion, she said.

Yeah, thanks to that, Ive been getting a lot of deskwork.

She wanted to ask how much higher his income is now, but that would be rude so lets not. Also, how long until Rihaku can redeem the owner of his heart, Pairin of Rokushoukan*?

(T/N: Taihakurou??? Totally a typo here. The author got mixed up with the brothel of another story she wrote (Zegenya Guen) xD)

Sorry, I know youre in the middle of a conversation, but can I ask a couple of questions? Dad looked at Rihaku.

Yeah, sorry. By all means.

You mentioned before that you were acquainted with the triplets, but do you know their individual personalities?

At Dads question, Rihaku placed his hand on his chin and tilted his head.

You can ask, but how do I put it? Those three, you can say that theyre sly. They look exactly the same and their voices are really similar. As for their personalities, can you really say theyre similar? I dont know them well enough to tell them apart.

Hoh. Dad nodded. Do they get along with one another?

No, I dont think so, Rihaku denied resolutely. In the past, when they messed up at work, I questioned them to see which one was responsible. However, the other two didnt even try to cover for the one who messed up. Instead, there was a dont smear my reputation kind of attitude.

This messing up at work incident, could they be doing it to avoid being caught or something?

Do you think they could do it? Put on an act before Raka no, the monocle old man? Rihaku, conscientious as he is, remembered what Maomao told him before.

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The weirdo tactician is a creature who amassed all the bad points of a human being, but he was a cut above the rest in Go and Shogi, as well as his character-seeing eyes.

It was amusing, that time. Ah, I remembered.

What?

I think, among the triplets, two of them spoke truthfully. Though they were self-indulgent and basked in their fathers power, they had no intention of shouldering the punishment themselves. As such, they didnt put on a show of covering up their own mistakes. Provided they dont have a guilty conscience, they probably wont lie.

Can I take your word for it? Dad asked for confirmation, squinting.

Even if I ask you to believe me, theres no guarantee Im correct, right? Well, as a tendency, please take it as that I dont think that they would lie to give themselves drawbacks by covering up for the others.

You are a very honest person.

D-do you think so?

Thank you. Well then, if anything happens, Ill have you rush over, Dad said and entered the room.

Maomao followed him.

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There was one other person inside the room, a man who appeared to be a civil official. He must be the secretary Rihaku mentioned.

When the secretary noticed Maomao and her dad, he stood up from his seat and bowed. They should be here very soon. Please sit here.

Excuse me. Dad sat down on the seat. There was a single sheet of document on the table.

(A threat?)

It contained information on the triplets official positions and their relations. It was prepared on the weirdo tacticians orders, but its presence seemed to say others dont have the authority to punish you.

Well then, what shall we do?

They will be hearing out the triplets one by one.

Anyway, the first person showed up, so they had to start the talks.

Maomao dipped the brush tip in ink in preparation to record the conversation to the best of her abilities.

There seems to be a misunderstanding, but I have nothing to do with Bokus younger sister.

Its unthinkable to make a move on a fourteen-year-old little girl. You cant suspect me without evidence though.

Hm? Where did I go yesterday?

About that, I was strolling idly around town when I finished work. Anyone can go for a drink at least, right?

Yesterday, I felt like gulping down some cheap wine, so I headed in a southerly direction.

I didnt go all the way to the pleasure district. That place isnt somewhere you can enjoy wine.

The thunderstorm? (T/N: Just so people know, in Japanese, , refers to both thunder and lightning. I tried to account for both contextually, but if it reads like someone got sound and light mixed up, Im accountable for it. Let me know if so.)

Ohh, are you referring to that blinding flash of light?

It seemed to have crashed down nearby. Not long after I felt the sky light up, there was a loud rumble. It gave me quite a shock.

When was it?

It was when the evening bell rang. Since the thunder was heard right after that.

Yes, thats why it has nothing to do with me,

The one responsible was one of my younger brothers. Do whatever you want.

But you know, you should have an inkling as to what will happen if you accuse one of us as the culprit based on guesswork and no evidence?

The first person was the eldest son.

His tone suggested that he didnt believe they knew the identity of the culprit.

Maomao wrote her notes with irritation.

Dad was stroking his chin in thought.

Even if Maomao and the secretary didnt note it down, if its Dad, he can probably memorise every single word without error. He was that capable a person.

Swapping over with the eldest son was another one with the same face. She looked at the documentthe second son was next. It seems they will be taking turns in an easily understood manner, starting from the oldest.

Its suuuch a bother. Calling me in while Im in the middle of work for an interrogation, really now. What are you going to do if Im not the culprit?

Well, Im certain of my own innocence, so let me go back as soon as were done with whatever there is to talk about.

Where I went yesterday? I was off-duty so I rode around lightly on horseback. I have work the day after so I came back during the evening after a day trip.

I was tired so I went to sleep as soon as I got back. You know where my place is, right? If you know who my dad is.

Is there anyone who can testify?

Even if you ask that, you wont believe my servants, right?

Thats how it is.

I dont think anyone noticed that I left my room.

What I was doing at the time of the evening bell?

Aah, that? When it thundered?

I was shocked. The sky lit up with the sound of the bell, followed by that violent roar of thunder.

The person ringing the bell was probably surprised as well. If you were standing in such a high place, it cant be helped if youre struck by lightning.

Unfortunately, it seems that the worry was unfounded.

Are we done?

Im going back to work.

Whether it was my older brother or my younger brother, please investigate properly, okay?

Well, of course, I would advise that you think very hard so you dont mess it up.

This one also spoke in a provocative manner.

Maomao recorded it on paper, eyes narrowed.

Dad was nodding as he stroked his chin again.

She wanted this farce to end soon.

Interrogation of the third and youngest brother began.

Needless to say, he had the same face, so she was somewhat tired of it, but bore with it nonetheless.

Why am I last?

You dont even have to see me if my older brothers already confessed.

Yeah, can we end this quickly?

My work has already ended for today.

Speaking of where I was yesterday, I was working the entire day.

Yeah, it was around the time I returned home, but some annoying task was forced onto me.

Something like fetching documents from the archivethey should have asked for a civil official. That weirdo tactician, gosh. No, its nothing. Anyway, I went to retrieve it, but there was a court lady who caught my eye, so I had some fun chatting with her.

Which archives, you ask?

The one on the west side. Military officials dont even go there. Well, shall I be thankful for the new encounter?

Well, after we did this and that, I ended up staying over time.

Yeah, I think I was at the archives when the evening bell rang.

I didnt hear the bell, but, it was probably around that time.

If its the thunder, I heard that.

I was holding a letter in both hands, and the sudden flash made me drop it in shock.

When I stooped down to pick it up, there was a sound like the earth was trembling. That had been really loud.

How long until I picked it back up?

I was a little disoriented, but it was at most four, to five seconds?

I want to go back quickly, so can we leave it at that?

Okay, then Im going back.

The three of them were hopeless.

Maomao got tired from just writing it all down.

Only Dad that was nodding, looking like he understood.

The secretary seemed to have more work still; he swiftly wrote a clean copy of his notes.

Maomao whispered to Dad so the secretary couldnt hear. Dad, do you understand?

More or less. I wonder if weve gathered all the evidence there is? he said indifferently.

A question mark hovered above Maomaos face.

She had intended to learn many things from Dad, but it would seem she still has a long way to go.

What is going on inside this old eunuchs head?

Well then, shall we organise all the information once we return? As he supported his unsteady body with a cane, Dad got up from the chair.

Once outside the room, she saw Rihaku who looked a little disappointed that he didnt get his turn.

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What Dad had asked for as soon as they returned to the medical office was a map of the capital and its surrounding regions.

Itd be better to borrow one from the archives, she thought, just as Court Physician Ryuu produced his own copy, which was good.

Dont dirty it, Court Physician Ryuu said.

Dad, who planned on writing on it, hid the brush.

Do we have something we can use instead? She looked around and brought back a few small multicoloured ceramic paperweights used to pin down medicine wrapping paper from flying away.

What are you doing? Yao and Enen showed up.

It was the end of the workday for the two of them. Court Physician Ryuu also said nothing.

I was thinking of sorting some of the information. Itd help if you two are also here.

Since he spoke with some anticipation, Yao turned a little red, turning away as if to say of course.

Enen carved her miladys actions deep into her heart.

First, this one. Dad set a red paperweight on the centre of the capital.

This is?

Is this where the evening bell was rung?

Definitely. Its stationed here so it could be heard all over the capital.

As the second son of the triplets had said, the bell was in a place resembling a sentry watchtower.

Next, Dad placed three navy blue paperweights down. This is where the eldest son claimed he was, this is the home the second son mentioned, and this is the third sons western archives.

So everyone claimed to be at different locations during the incident.

Thats right. From Bokus conversation, his younger sister had been around here. Dad pointed to the red paperweight. It was just at the row of shops.

Some eye-witnesses would be good, but none of the three have any. Do you know who is lying? Maomao made sure to speak with a little more politeness to Dad so she wouldnt get scolded this time.

Yeah. But before that, shall we organise some of the information Dad looked at the three court ladies. Does everyone remember the thunder from yesterday?

Yes, it was a dreadful sound, Yao said.

Since it was so close to the lodgings, Enen said.

The lodgings, located in the northwest of the capital, wasnt very far from the northwestern forest.

It was around here. Dad set a blue paperweight on the map.

And the place where the lightning struck was He set down a yellow paperweight.

knh v7c9 diagram

Maomao and the others blinked. They couldnt grasp what he was trying to do.

May I ask another question? Dad asked.

Go ahead.

The lightning, the thunder and the sound of the evening bell, do you know the order in which they took place?

Enen raised her hand energetically. First the sky lit up. Then, it thundered around three seconds after. I think the evening bell was around the same time. Since the earth rumbled at the same time the bell rang.

You have a good memory. Dad was in awe.

Maomao understood that Enens memory was vividly engraved with the sensation of Yao clinging to her.

That was all there was.

(Why did Dad ask about that?)