A Scientific Urban Detective

“Hofū-kun is a good kid.” Seeing Hofū Tōmei voluntarily hand over the money she found, Tetsu装綴里 was very pleased and quickly praised her with a smile.

After entering the supermarket, the group of three split into two groups. Tetsu装綴里 went to find the supermarket manager to ask for help broadcasting to find the owner of the lost money; Lin Wuming and Hofū Tōmei then purchased the ingredients according to the original plan.

“For the hospital, let’s ask Teacher Kiyama to put 1000 yen in the lost and found.” Tetsu装綴里 pondered as she walked.

Looking at the three coins lying in her hand, Tetsu装綴里 couldn't help but smile wryly: “It is a bit of an overreaction. But it’s also to set a good example for the students—no good deed is too small to do.”

“…Misfortune!!!”

Not far away, near the checkout counter, a cry of grief suddenly came, immediately attracting the attention of Tetsu装綴里, who was a security guard.

But upon closer inspection, she realized that nothing special had happened. It was just a short-haired boy holding his head and yelling.

There were a few customers watching around. The boy was kneeling on the ground in an exaggerated manner, grabbing his hair in pain. Beside him, the supermarket cashier looked on with a troubled expression, at a loss.

Although she didn't know what had happened, the commotion was starting to attract more and more attention. In a public place like a supermarket, unplanned gatherings of people are never a good thing.

Thinking of this, out of professional habit, Tetsu装綴里 walked over.

“Misfortune, it’s truly misfortune…” Approaching, she could still hear the boy muttering with resentment.

This short-haired, spiky-haired boy seemed completely immersed in his own grief, completely unaware of the security guard teacher walking over.

“Did something happen?” Tetsu装綴里 asked.

The cashier explained, “Security Teacher! I don’t know either. When I was checking him out, this student suddenly…”

If the boy's grief-stricken expression didn't seem genuine, the cashier would have thought he was deliberately causing trouble.

“It’s because he doesn’t have money, right?” another customer nearby suddenly said. “I noticed him rummaging in his pocket for a long time, but he didn’t take any money out.”

Hearing the conversation around him, the short-haired, spiky-haired boy subconsciously responded, “I should have had money in my pocket, but when I wanted to use it, I only found a big hole!”

—Lost money? What a coincidence?

Hearing the keywords, Tetsu装綴里 immediately perked up: “Student, do you remember where you lost your money?”

“Security Teacher!” The spiky-haired boy noticed the person in front of him, quickly jumped up, scratching his head and said, troubled, “How could I remember? By the time I noticed, there was only a hole left…”

“Did you look back? Along the route you took…” Tetsu装綴里 asked again.

But the boy had a look of resignation on his face: “It must have been picked up by someone else, right? Or fallen into a sewer or some other place where it can’t be retrieved… Even if I go back to look, it’s meaningless, just a waste of time…”

After venting his frustration with loud cries, the spiky-haired boy seemed to have calmed down and resigned himself to reality.

“Oh well, guess I’ll have to eat my reserves again today…”

Because he didn't have money to pay, he couldn't take the food on the checkout counter. The spiky-haired boy patted his cheeks and perked up: “Okay, time to go home…”

“Wait!” Seeing him accept reality so quickly and prepare to go home empty-handed, Tetsu装綴里 quickly stopped him. “Aren’t you going to try to find your lost money?”

“Thank you for your concern, teacher, but it doesn’t matter.” Although he was only thirteen or fourteen years old, the boy’s face showed a sense of vicissitudes. “I can’t get it back, no need to waste any more time.”

“You’re giving up so easily!” Tetsu装綴里 exclaimed.

“Because I’m used to this kind of thing.” The spiky-haired boy had a look of resignation on his face. “This kind of thing always happens every once in a while, but no matter how hard I try, the number of times I’ve successfully recovered lost items is zero! Not even once!”

—Unlike Hofū-kun, this boy’s financial luck seems to be very bad.

Tetsu装綴里 asked again, “How much money did you lose?”

“Two thousand yen,” He must have tried reporting it to the police before, the spiky-haired boy was very familiar with the process. “One 1000 yen bill, and the rest were coins.”

“Hmm?” The familiar amount made Tetsu装綴里 even more concerned, and she couldn't help but ask, “Did you go to the hospital today?”

“Ah, that’s right! I had the money when I went to the hospital. I bought bandages there…” The boy raised his arm, and a scratch could be seen on his elbow. “The bandages were also lost in my pocket…”

“How much did the bandages cost?”

“Three hundred yen…” The boy thought of something. “Oh, so I only lost 1700 yen.”

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“The amount matches… but isn’t this too much of a coincidence?” Tetsu装綴里 muttered. “Fortunately, although I didn’t see your lost bandages, that 1700 yen was picked up by a kind person.”

“Eh?” The spiky-haired boy’s eyes lit up.

“Although I can’t be sure that the money that was found is yours,” Tetsu装綴里 added.

Logically speaking, when items fall out of a hole in a pocket, shouldn’t the heavier coins fall out first, and then the bill? But for some reason, the boy’s order was reversed.

However, according to the questions, this boy meets the conditions of the owner. Moreover, Tetsu装綴里 didn’t think anyone would lie to a security guard teacher for a mere 1700 yen.

“Anyway, I’ll return the money that was found to you first,” Tetsu装綴里 took out her wallet from her pocket. “Please show me your student ID. I need to register it, in case the owner reports it to the police and we need to investigate.”

“Oh, okay, okay.” The spiky-haired boy nodded hurriedly. As long as he got his money back, he didn’t care about registering—he didn’t believe there was anyone else as unlucky as him!

Then he touched his pocket: “Teacher, my student ID was also lost…”

From the pocket of his uniform pants, he pulled out a torn inner pocket.

“…” Tetsu装綴里 was speechless. She was just looking at it as a routine matter, but did it have to be so troublesome?

While complaining in her heart, she took out her notebook: “I can’t help it. Tell me your name and school, and I’ll verify it later.”

“Oh.” The spiky-haired boy nodded very cooperatively. “My name is Kamijō Tōma, and I’m from…”

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