…………………

I arrived at my lonely home, living alone at night, threw off my coat and took a seat in front of my PC desk.

“I get unusually tired from working seriously.”

It would feel so good to just throw myself onto the bed and sleep, but I couldn’t do that.

I drank up a bottle of milk tea that had been sitting around for quite some time, and pumped myself up.

I entered the data I had collected from my information gathering since morning.

I made full use of my connections and office resources, so the results for the day were more than satisfactory.

“It seems like the money obtained from the accident involving their parents was quite substantial. It was already a significant amount from their life insurance alone, and on top of that, there was a large sum of money coming from Mikishima Heito. They could easily live for about thirty years without worry if they didn’t live extravagantly.”

I read through the information that was recorded in my cell phone and notebook.

Their parents had not taken out a loan, but had paid for the house in full. If that was the case, I thought that they must have had a considerably high income, but their father was an ordinary salaryman, and their mother was a homemaker.

If they had taken out a loan, it would have been more understandable, but I couldn’t imagine how they could afford to pay for the house in full.

I had thought that maybe their grandparents on their mother’s side were wealthy and had given them some inheritance, but that wasn’t the case either. Their maternal grandmother had died young, and their grandfather was living in a nursing home.

Their paternal grandparents were running a small agricultural business in a rural village.

The reason for using past tense was because their paternal grandparents had already passed away.

If that was all, it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise, but…

“Their paternal grandparents died a few months before their parents’ accident, right? It was also due to a massive fire that destroyed the entire village. It may seem like it was just a coincidence that these tragedies overlapped, but…”

The fire had wiped out an entire village, which was where their paternal relatives lived, and all their relatives had died.

In less than a year, almost all of their paternal relatives had been wiped out.

Their maternal relatives, who were unnerved by this string of misfortunes, refused to take in Jin and Yae.

“Their response up until this point was questionable, but it gets even worse from here.”

However, once a certain truth came to light, the response of the relatives suddenly changed. The existence of a large life insurance payout and compensation from the Mikishima Heito triggered an ugly battle fueled by the greed of those who had shown their true colors. This led to a complete estrangement and left them alone in the world… or rather, just the two of them, the sister and the brother.

In addition to the chaos, Yaeko’s trust in humanity was shattered by the media’s response. The two of them went into hiding from society and lived in a villa that their parents had recently purchased… and they continue to live there to this day.

“We now know the reason why they live in that house and why they can afford to live without working, but are they really wealthy enough to spend ten million yen on frivolous things?”

Although the exact amount of money they received at that time is not clear, it is roughly understood.

If they currently have no source of income, it would be excessive to spend a large sum of 10 million yen on renovating their house.

“It would be reasonable to assume that they have some kind of income.”

However, there is no evidence that either Yaeko or Jin are working.

For Yae, the evidence lies in the fact that she is a shut-in and never leaves the house. She is so afraid of others that she cannot even have a conversation with her niece or show her face to her.

As for Jin, he regularly watches and post comments in real-time during his niece’s irregular live streaming sessions. This is something that a normal salaried worker would not be able to do. While there are many people who watch videos on their phones during work, it would be impossible for them to post comments almost every time.

There are also few indications that they have any passive income.

Furthermore, the entire village where their grandparents lived appears to have been rented land, and they were not enrolled in any kind of insurance. Therefore, the only remaining possibility is that the siblings are making money through at-home work…perhaps remote work, which is not unusual nowadays. However, neither of them has any experience or knowledge in such a profession.

Another possibility that could be surprising is that they might be writers. In that case, it would be possible for them to work from home without issue.

“If that’s the case, there should be some kind of evidence of their work in the house.”

Reference materials and books. Manga artists in particular should need a workspace.

I have heard that novelists and manga artists frequently receive packages. This is because manuscripts and books are sent from publishers.

Additionally, there are phone calls and contacts from the editorial department. Inspiration can also be found in daily life.

“Should I tell my niece to observe carefully? Ah, but then again… she has always been absent-minded.”

“During her idol days, she appeared once as a supporting actor in a drama, but her acting skills were terrible. I can’t imagine my niece being able to do well.”

“Should I wait to ask and not say anything unnecessary now?”

As for the results of the information obtained today, it’s about this much.

Assuming we continue from tomorrow, should we decide on a direction?

Do they have a source of income at the moment? If so, how are they earning it?

Also… we should investigate the accidents of both parents, grandparents, and relatives. This is just a hunch with no real certainty, but it feels like there might be something there.

If we pursue it, we may obtain interesting information.

…No, this is just a facade.

My true desire as a detective is that something actually happened.”