"...Oh."
The room grew still as Shotou's quiet voice fell. His pale eyes sharpened like thin blades, his posture no longer slouched but carried with it a faint trace of authority.
The girl standing in the top-right chair nodded once, then spoke words that froze the air in place.
"A cat is lost."
The silence that followed was almost unbearable. The sound of the chandelier creaking faintly above was the only thing heard. Shotou blinked slowly, staring at her with a flat, unreadable expression. Beside him, Kasika tilted her head, lips curling into a dumb smile as if she was enjoying the absurdity.
"Hmm?" Kasika let out, amused.
The girl in the chair lowered her hood. A soft spill of brown hair fell to her shoulders, straight and neatly combed, framing a calm face. Her skin was fair, her expression serious, her lips pressed into a line that showed she wasn't joking. Her dark hazel eyes carried quiet resolve, watching Shotou as though daring him to dismiss her words. Around her neck hung an ID card, the letters printed clearly:
Name: Manaki Tsahiko
Class: 9-II
Class Monitor
Shotou's lips moved faintly, his voice barely more than a breath. "…Cat."
Manaki nodded. "Yes. We knew about it this morning and thought we'd recover it quickly. But the cat has vanished without a trace. Star-7 and Star-8 are currently at the site with the owner. They've searched nearly every corner, every alley, and still found nothing."
Shotou leaned back against the chair, closing his eyes. The faintest crease appeared between his brows.
'Is the Mysteries Club really here to find lost pets…?'
A quiet sigh lingered in his mind.
'Well… I can't blame them. We haven't had any real cases in a long time. This cruel world… it's grown too peaceful and simple.'
His lips parted, letting out a single word. "UnBright."
Kasika straightened immediately, her black hair brushing against her shoulders as her smile grew wider, almost too wide. "Yes, my lord."
"Details." Shotou's tone was low, sharp, leaving no room for play.
"Yes, as you wish." Kasika gave a small bow before walking to the side of the room. She reached for a thick, dark curtain that hung against the wall. With one swift pull, the cloth slid away, revealing a massive map pinned across the wall.
The map stretched nearly from floor to ceiling, painted in muted colors. The wide river that cut through the city was marked in pale blue, its bridges drawn in sharp black lines. Residential areas were shaded in gray blocks, while green patches showed scattered parks and empty lots. Thin red threads stretched from pin to pin, marking different locations, each connected back to a circle drawn in the center of the city like a web spun by careful hands.
Kasika stepped forward and tapped a spot with a long wooden pointer. "The missing cat belonged to a resident of the East District. It was last seen near the small park behind the shopping arcade. Star-7 and Star-8 reported that the leash had snapped, but no traces of pawprints were found beyond the grass line."
Her pointer moved to another circle. "They searched the alleys nearby, the drains, and even the rooftops, but there was no sign of fur, no sound, no sighting. Not even shopkeepers or bystanders saw the animal run past. It is as if the cat simply… disappeared."
She turned slightly, her lips curling into a sharper smile now. "Which means, Mr. Nobody… this is no ordinary 'lost pet' case. Either the cat was taken, or it never left on its own at all."
The quiet of the room deepened again, the weight of her words settling on everyone present.
Shotou sat unmoving, his pale gaze half-lidded, locked on the map pinned across the wall. The silence pressed against the room like fragile glass—one wrong sound and it would shatter.
"…A cat," he murmured again, his voice low.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, fingers loosely entwined. His mind began unraveling the pieces one by one.
'The leash snapped. Nylon. Not something that breaks easily—certainly not from a cat's teeth or by chance. Either it was weak at the clasp, or the owner didn't fasten it properly. Which means… the cat wasn't stolen. It broke free on its own.'
His brow tightened faintly.
'If it escaped, where would it go?'
He pictured the park: the benches, the patch of grass, the trees rustling in the wind, the open road just beyond.
'If it ran toward the main street, someone would've seen it. Too much noise, too many eyes. A scared cat doesn't run toward Traffic—it flees from it. That rules out the main road.'
His focus shifted to the narrow alleyways.
'Cats like shadows, quiet places to vanish. But Star-7 and Star-8 searched there. If it had been hiding under crates, in trash piles, or behind boxes, they'd have heard movement. Scratching. Rustling. And it wouldn't fall asleep after getting lost. Which means the alleys weren't it either.'
He scanned the map again, tracing invisible lines, then stopped at the park.
'No pawprints? Grass doesn't always leave any. Streets are paved. Looking for prints is useless. They weren't wrong. They were just looking in the wrong place.'
Kasika's lips curled faintly, amused at the way his eyes narrowed in thought. She didn't interrupt.
"…Not alleys. Not roads. Then where?" Shotou whispered.
The answer came swiftly, certain.
"Height."
He tapped a knuckle lightly against the wooden table.
"When startled, cats climb. Trees, ledges, rooftops. If the rooftops were empty, then it wasn't far. It would've chosen the closest, simplest option. Something right at the point of escape."
His eyes slid toward Manaki. "That park… does it have a vending machine?"
Manaki blinked, caught off guard. "Yes. I think behind the benches, near the bushes."
Shotou closed his eyes for a brief second. The picture formed clear as daylight.
"A vending machine hums, warm from the motor. The noise masks small sounds. And beneath it… there's a narrow gap. Just enough for a frightened cat to crawl into. Tight. Safe. Hidden. The perfect place."
When his eyes opened again, pale and sharp, the certainty in his voice filled the silence.
"The cat never left the park. It's under the vending machine."
The stillness cracked. Kasika's grin widened in astonishment, and Manaki gasped, her breath caught.
Shotou leaned back in the tall chair, resting his chin in his palm once again, his tone sinking to a whisper as if the matter bored him.
"…Case closed."
Manaki snapped out of her daze, bowing quickly. "Yes! I'll inform Star-7 and Star-8."
Moments later, her voice returned with the report. "They found it. The cat was hiding exactly as you said. It's already been returned to the owner."
---
two figures in black hoodies, their faces shadowed, badges of the moon with a halo on their chests. They crouched low, sliding a flashlight beneath the vending machine. At first glance, the space had seemed too narrow for anything larger than a rat. But behind the bench, where the concrete dipped, there was a wider hollow. And there, wide-eyed and trembling, the small cat crouched, tail wrapped tight around its body.
The owner, a middle-aged woman in a simple cardigan, knelt on the ground as one of them gently coaxed the cat out, her gloved hands steady. The moment the animal was placed back in its owner's arms, it purred weakly, pressing its face against her chest. Relief softened the woman's face as tears filled her eyes.
Another one straightened, brushing dust from her knees, her hood still covering her face. "That space was tiny. I thought even a kitten couldn't crawl under there. We missed the dip behind the bench. That's where it slipped in."
Back in the meeting room, the sound of clapping broke the air. Everyone around the table applauded softly, in a very small sound.
Kasika leaned closer to Shotou, her grin lingering. "You saved the day again, Mr. Nobody."
Shotou's gaze shifted toward her, expression flat. "That was just a cat. Nothing important. Anyone could've figured it out."
Kasika tilted her head, smile curling deeper, her voice like silk. "Yes… anyone who's Nobody."