And one day, we will become a star of the ‘respectable types’

Jōgoro Kobato and Yuki Osanai, two fifteen-year-olds in their first year of senior high school, are an unusual pair. After some unpleasant experiences at their previous school, linked to their proclivity for solving mysteries, they have agreed to adopt a new persona: that of ‘respectable types’ leading quiet, ordinary lives. However, term has barely started when a series of irresistible mysteries begin presenting themselves, and Kobato in particular can’t stop himself from solving them – especially with the help of his close friend Kengo. A missing handbag, a pair of identical paintings, a perfectly made cup of cocoa, and a mysterious shattered bottle all provide these reluctant detectives – and the reader – with plenty of mental exercise and entertainment. But when Osanai’s bicycle is stolen, along with the strawberry tart she left in its basket, the trail of clues leads the pair into unexpected danger...

Prologue

Jogoro Kobato is standing in a hall at Funado Senior High School, where the results of the entry exams have been posted. He has just learned that he has passed, and will be spending the next three years of his life at Funado. Joining him amid the crowds of hopeful candidates is his long-standing acquaintanceYuki Osanai, who has also managed to pass her exams. However, when a local news reporter approaches them for a comment, they escape into the crowd. After some tough experiences in junior high school, where they had a habit of solving mysteries together, Kobato and Osanai have sworn to adopt a new personality as they embark on this next stage in the life. From now on, they have decided, they will be ‘respectable types’ who keep to themselves in order to enjoy peaceful, ordinary lives. They have developed a ‘mutually beneficial’ relationship, agreeing that they will use each other as ‘cover’ when needed in order to avoid standing out too much at school. The two run into Kengo, Kobato’s friend from junior high school, and learn that he has also passed the exam and will be joining them at Funado High.

Chapter 1: In Sheep’s Clothing

It is mid-April, and Kobato and Osanai have begun successfully blending in at school. However, just when he is heading to meet Osanai at a pancake café after school, Kobato is summoned by his classmate Kengo to join two other boys in a search for a stolen handbag belonging to Yoshiguchi, a girl in their year. They are unable to find it after a thorough search of the school, and when Kengo suggests filing a report with the police, the situation looks like it may turn serious. However, Kobato notices that Yamada, one of the other boys recruited by Kengo, was acting strangely during the search, sending Kengo on a wild goose chase around the school buildings via phone calls before suddenly going outside and waving at them through the window.

Kobato meets up with Osanai, who has been waiting for him, and they discuss the ‘case’. Kobato had sworn to Osanai that he would give up his old ‘armchair detective’ habits, but he can’t help using his deductive skills to solve the case. It was raining during the search, but the boys looking for the handbag had no reason to leave the school building. Kobato realises that Yamada must have gone outside and waved at them in order to make it plausible for his tracksuit to be wet, when in fact he had gone outside earlier. The two go back to the school and find the handbag in an outbuilding not far from the school building. Inside, it turns out, is a love letter from Yamada to Yoshiguchi – he had taken the handbag in order to insert the letter, but then panicked and ended up hiding it instead. Discussing the case at the pancake café afterwards, Kobato and Osanai agree that such romantic actions have nothing to do with them – their relationship, after all, is purely one of mutual benefit.