The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

Thanks for the Ko-fis, everyone! And a big shout out to my proofreader, Xercia, for catching a lot of the grammatical mistakes. There is some awkwardness in this chapter since cat’s eye is called that name in both English and Japanese, but hopefully it doesn’t take you out of it too much.

To Sprinlia: Sorry for the late reply. Yes, you have my permission to do so. In the future, please DM me on Discord about this since I can’t directly reply to you here.

Hajime-kun first selected a Baumkuchen cake. It was orange-flavored, limited to the summer season. When I asked if he was fine with that and the milk, Hajime wrinkled his brow and kept silent. He was really troubling over this. The teacakes shelf becoming a gathering place for the sweets of Tokyo was completely because of the tastes of the owner, but to think that it could be useful in this way.

“…I think I’ll have this one after all.”

What he ended up choosing were chocolate-covered pies that were tiered in a mille-feuille style. When I bowed and told him, “Very well, sir,” Hajime-kun looked a little happy. Now only the drink was left.

“You said you can’t have sugar added to your milk, is honey okay?”

“…I like honey milk.”

“Understood.”

I poured milk into a mug and placed it into the microwave. The white mug turned round and round.

“Oh, sir, you really saved us. We were in a pinch because I bought too much milk today.”

“If the assistant is careless, it would affect the work of the office. Please be careful.”

“Yes, I will do so.”

Office? Did someone in Hajime-kun’s family open an office that did some kind of work? Since his clothes and bag both looked well-made, and he had a gemstone on hand, it didn’t seem like he was badly off. Was it a law office? A real estate office?

While looking at the mug, Hajime-kun murmured something.

“…If only Milk was here, this kind of thing…”

“Milk?”

Hajime-kun’s face stiffened as though he hadn’t thought anyone would hear him. What was this about?

“It’s nothing.”

“Is Milk the name of a pet?”

“…It’s really nothing.”

“Is it a cat, by any chance?”

Hajime-kun started in surprise. This was bad. I couldn’t have him be wary of me.

“See, it’s because there was that cat-shaped reflective plate on your bag. I was wondering if you liked them. Also, that stone from before was a ‘cat’s eye.’ In English it—”

“It means ‘ neko no hitomi ‘, right? So silly. Even an elementary schooler knows that much.”

The little prince said coolly. My irritation came full circle and I felt sad. I was a bit regretful. It would be nice if I could do more Richard-like quick and witty responses like that, though. When I told him sorry with a worn-out face, he said, “You don’t have to worry about it.” I was surprised that a kid this young had the ability for “consideration.” When I was wondering if he would be tired from getting caught up in the circumstances of adults, he added that it couldn’t be helped since he was a comparatively smart kid. I see. An adult might be able to smartly get over difficulties using their own head.

“…Do you like cats, big brother?”

“I like all animals. But the home I lived in before didn’t allow pets, so I couldn’t keep one.”

The heating of the milk ended with a ding . I dribbled honey into the mug and mixed it in with a stir stick. Giving it to Hajime-kun after making sure it wasn’t too hot, his small head unexpectedly bowed. Did he open his heart to me a little?

When we returned to the reception room, Richard was still in the back room. I heard him talking to someone when I put my ear to the door. That was rare. He was in the middle of a long phone conversation. I didn’t know what type of language he was using.

“It seems like it will take a little longer for the preparation of the gemstones. I guess I’ll eat some sweets too.”

“Big brother, I think you shouldn’t eat while in the middle of work.”

“…Yes, I will do as you say.”

I bowed deeply, and Hajime-kun giggled. It was the first time I heard a cute sound from him.

“Big brother, even though you’re not a bad person, because you say weird things, isn’t it easy for you to get misunderstood as being not serious? What a waste. This honey milk is so tasty.”

“Really? Big brother gets happy when he gets praised, you know?”

“You said something weird again. You should be more attentative.”

“…I’ll be careful.”

Hajime-kun laughed again when I hung my head. It seemed as though he wanted a not-serious employee to be careful, but didn’t hate playing with a not-serious big brother. He didn’t get angry even when I sat next to him. Drinking one sip of honey milk from the mug, that looked quite big in his hand, Hajime-kun looked at the table.

The cat’s eye was left out in the open. It was polished into a circle, so it looked somewhat like a glossy acorn. It was about the size of my thumbnail. There was a single straight white line down the middle, so it was a stone that even an amateur like me recognized immediately.

While the shop owner was working hard on another case, the part-timer should also work hard in his own way, right?

“Hey, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but did the thing earlier about the cat have something to do with you coming here?”

“…”

I waited. My university friend, Tanimoto-san, had told me about it. Children were a lot calmer, smarter, and more observant than adults thought. If they thought an adult was likely to listen, they would confide their worries, and shut their mouths if they thought the adult couldn’t be trusted. She had laughed, saying “Remembering back to when we were that age, we were like that too, weren’t we?” That was why what I, the adult, could do would be to convey that I would listen to him properly. It was Richard’s signature move.

While staring at the white surface in his mug, Hajime-kun’s face turned a little grim, and he muttered, “If I don’t tell you, you’ll take me to the police box?”

“I won’t do anything like that.”

“Then, why…?”

“Because, when an important customer is troubled, I want to be helpful to them. Even though I’m an assistant, that doesn’t change the fact that I’m working in this store. That’s all.”

“…Is that so?”

After finishing up all three chocolate-covered pies on his plate, Hajime-kun started talking little by little. About the mysterious white cat, Milk.

Milk was originally a stray cat. It had made Hajime-kun’s neighborhood its stronghold, was of an unclear age, and was a warrior with a dignity like a boss cat. By the time he graduated from kindergarten to elementary school, it was basically treated like their own cat. A soft coat of fur, golden eyes like viscous honey, and refined movements.

More than anything, it possessed a strange power.

“When I was in first grade, there was something wrong with our car, so we sent it out for repairs. After it came back from the factory, when we all were about to go for a drive, Milk got on top of the car roof, growled, and wouldn’t come down at all. We had to stop the drive. Afterwards, someone from the shop came to our house in a panic and started bowing a lot. They said there was a mistake with our car at the shop and the problem with the brakes wasn’t fixed. Mom said, ‘Milk saved us.’ Even before that, Milk randomly bit Dad’s arm, and when he went to the hospital, it was right before he got a bad illness. Dad got cured with medicine, but he was very thankful to Milk.”

I listened attentively to him. It was like something out of a TV special about animals. A smart animal helping humans and predicting disasters. Because they were closer to the wild than humans, they might have mysterious powers. Hajime-kun’s little eyes were sparkling.

“Milk is amazing. If there’s anything wrong, he detects it. Milk has a habit, where before me or my family go out, he stares at us. Mom calls it ‘Milk’s charm.’”

The cat Milk was an existence like a specialized, appreciated guardian deity for Hajime-kun’s family. I nervously asked him what sort of connection did that have with the cat’s eye. For a moment, he looked pained, and then he began to talk with a grim face.

“Mom and Dad told me that they bought that stone after they discussed it. It’ll be mine one day…in place of Milk.”

In place of? Come to think of it, Hajime-kun said “If only Milk were here” in the kitchen.

“How is Milk doing now?”

“……”

Hajime-kun’s expression immediately turned somber. He took another sip of honey milk, and then began to talk as though spitting the words out.

“…Milk isn’t here now. Dad…”

“Your dad?”

Hajime-kun was evasive and did not answer.

What he talked about next was not the cat, but his father for some reason. He seemed to have a profession at an office somewhere, was very busy, and recently it wasn’t rare for him to come home late at night. When I asked him if he left Milk somewhere, Hajime-kun shook his head silently. His expression was dark. It didn’t seem like his dad told him where and why he took Milk away.

“So you were worried when Milk wasn’t there. What did your mom say?”

“Mom…is in the hospital. Because she’s having a baby.”

What? It appeared that Hajime-kun was going to be a big brother soon. This was a serious time. If his parents knew that their son went on a big expedition without permission at this time, they would surely be worried. Hajime-kun looked at me, whose brows were furrowed, like he was reproaching me with his eyes.

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how this is a difficult time.”

“It really is difficult. This is the time when we need our ‘charm’ the most. Milk not being here is…”

It seemed that Hajime-kun’s mother was admitted into the hospital immediately after Milk was gone. For Hajime-kun, with this type of timing, it wasn’t strange for him to think that his mother’s health broke down when Milk was gone.

“Did you try asking your dad why he took Milk away?”

“He’s busy, but I can’t ask something like that, can I? I hate that person!”

Hajime-kun, who lost his temper, noticed my shock and ashamedly said sorry in a small voice. This was probably the scariest and most worrying time in his life. His beloved cat, mother, and father were all not beside him. He must be feeling helpless every day. But how did that relate to coming to the store? Right after Hajime-kun came, he said “I want the same stone as this.” Why?

Hajime-kun’s face stiffened once again, and he looked at the window instead of me as he spoke.

“But, I can’t cry. I’m going to be a big brother, so I have to pull myself together.

“But, I can’t cry. I’m going to be a big brother, so I have to pull myself together. So I was thinking about it. Milk has two eyes. Just one can’t replace him, but I think two will be fine. Of course, it’s not like that’s written down anywhere, but…it’s necessary anyway! I’m not going to ask Dad for help. That’s why I came here. Is Mr. Owner ready yet?”

The sound of “I kept you waiting” probably came right on time. Richard, holding a velvet box, was leaning out from the door behind Hajime-kun. To tell the truth, Richard’s face was poking out from the opening of the door a few minutes ago, but I was pretending not to notice. This was what they called a combination play.

Richard replaced me in sitting next to Hajime-kun, and then snapped open the lid of the black Urashima’s casket. There were gemstones lined up in two rows inside. The first row had four cat’s eyes, somewhat small stones with none of them as big as Hajime-kun’s. Some had a yellowish coloring, and for the others, if pressed I would say they looked at most light green. The “cat eye” part, the line down the middle, were of various thicknesses. In the second row were green and black stones that could not be thought of as cat’s eyes no matter how you looked at it.

Their shapes were all in an identical cabochon cut; acorn shaped, without any edges.

Hajime-kun kept silent for a while, and then sullenly grumbled, “…I want the same stone.”

If following what he said before, then by the same stone, he meant a stone that would form a pair with the cat’s eye he had. Like the right and left eye of a cat. However, Richard looked like he didn’t know anything about what Hajime-kun talked about, and began his usual gemstone talk in front of the small-sized cat’s eyes.

“Dear customer, do you know the meaning of ‘cat’s eye’?”

“It’s neko no hitomi .”

“You are exactly right. Then, do you know why a cat’s eye-shaped line like this appeared in stones?”

“…I don’t know.”

“I am glad to hear that. I did not know what I would do if you said you did. When I was around your age, I was wondering if someone drew them in with a white pen.”

Hajime-kun smiled a little bit. I tried to imagine Richard at ten years old. He must have already been a beautiful boy who could overturn the heavens and earth. Did he have gemstones on hand at that age? Well, he didn’t give off the image of a son from an impoverished family.

Richard put the stone next to Hajime-kun on his palm and changed the inclination slightly. The store lights were reflected, the white line rose to the surface. The line was right in the middle no matter which angle you looked at it from.

“This stone is of a type of mineral called chrysoberyl, but another mineral called rutile is also mixed in a little. The rutile crystals are shaped like needles, but when light is reflected properly there, a cat’s-eye-like light is produced. This blue stone here is called an apatite cat’s eye, and this green stone is called a tourmaline cat’s eye. They are not chrysoberyls, but they are all called ‘cat’s eyes.’”

“…I’m not very good at science.”

“Then, how about you try imagining a ‘chocolate cake’? Eclairs, chocolate brownies, gateau au chocolat, and opera cakes* are all ‘chocolate cakes’ in the sense that their ingredients include chocolate, but no one thinks of those cakes all together when choosing a cake. The essence is not there.”

“Oh, so in this case, chocolate is that rutile mineral and the cake itself is the main stone…did I get it right, Richard?”

“That is exactly correct.”

Huh? So that meant “cat’s eye” isn’t the name of a stone?

When I timidly asked that, Richard nodded abruptly.

“It was unfortunate that the people who were expressing this stone with a Japanese name used the word ‘ nekomeishi ‘. As you can see, in addition to chrysoberyl, there are many other stones that have a chatoyancy effect—where a reflected light that looks like a cat’s eye appears—due to the rutile, but it is not uncommon to remember this stone with the name ‘cat’s eye.’ When it has spread so far, it would be difficult to say it was a mistake, but a cat’s eye is the general term for the light effect. If three lines intersect and it becomes like a star, then it is not called a cat’s eye, but a star, star ruby, or star sapphire.”

As I nodded noncommittally, I gestured for him to restrain himself. Hajime-kun’s face was stiff. The beautiful shop owner was skillful in the art of conversation, but it was not meant for elementary schoolers. Although it was also difficult for me.

That was what I thought, but Hajime-kun seemed to have grasped the gist of it.

“I get it. Chinchillas and Persian cats and other cats with white fur might be grouped together as ‘white cats,’ but the species of the cats are all completely different…is that what you meant?”

Richard smiled gently and gave him a bow.

“Wonderful. Thank you for your understanding. You are very intelligent, Hajime-sama.”

Hajime-kun blushed, but then he slowly looked anxious.

“…So cat’s eye…is not…the name of a stone. Then, that means the effect of this cat eye, has nothing to do with cats…? The power of the charm is…?”

“Does this stone not look exactly like the eye of a cat?”

“But, if it only looks like a cat’s eye because there’s something inside, then they aren’t connected to each other at all…”

“How did your parents explain this stone to you, Hajime-sama? Did they say it was the fossil of an eyeball of a cat from a long time ago, or something else to that effect?”

Hajime-kun shook his head and repeated that he was told that it was a charm, that it was a stone that would protect him. When I thought hard about it, those words did not make sense. It wasn’t a substitute for a personal alarm.

Richard smiled at an anxious-looking Hajime-kun.

“They were not wrong. The cat’s eye has been prized as a talisman stone since ancient times. Of course, whether a stone that looks like an eyeball is liked or disliked depends on the local culture and tastes of the people. In Europe, it was thought of as a stone of misfortune long ago, but in Asian countries, such as Japan, India, and China, it has been called a stone that summons fortune since ancient times. A very interesting difference.”

“…That’s so different…You know a lot of things, mister.”

Receiving a look of wonder, Richard bowed lightly. I felt moved at Hajime-kun’s capacity for learning. He was in elementary school, wasn’t he? I wouldn’t think it would be strange for him to throw out some “boring’s” and “don’t get it’s.”

However, if an adult turned to him and spoke to him seriously, then even a child might become serious like this. I hated being treated like a kid because of the reasoning that I was just a kid. When I was next to Richard, things that I had forgotten long ago often spilled out from the box of my heart in this way. What a deeply strange man.

“Hajime-sama, for you, is this stone a stone of misfortune? Or is it a stone of luck?”

“…A stone of luck. Because it’s supposed to protect my family.”

When Hajime-kun said that, the owner smiled faintly.

“A stone becomes what people hope for. It will become a mirror that reflects their wishes. No matter if there is one stone or two stones, if it grants you your wish, then are they not the same thing?”

Hajime-kun was a very smart kid. Richard’s words would normally be difficult to understand, but he had not given up. He listened carefully to what the blond owner was trying to say and tackled it with all he had.

Hajime-kun shook his head slightly.

“I don’t want a mirror. I want a stone that can protect my family…our cat Milk watched over my family with two eyes. One eye isn’t enough.”

“Pardon me for saying this, but it does not seem to me that the reason why you want two stones is because ‘cats have two eyes.’”

How do you think, the store owner pressed him for an answer.

Hajime-kun drew in a small breath and pressed his lips tightly together. He was hesitating over whether to speak or not. Richard waited. After a short silence, Hajime-kun told us as though he was shouting.

“Mom and Dad told me that one day this stone will be mine. But, one stone isn’t enough! My little brother won’t have one. I can’t cut the stone and split it… I’m going to be a big brother, so I want to do everything I can for my brother. They might get angry if I took the stone out, but I had to do it. Milk isn’t with us anymore, so I need a stone that will protect my brother.”

“What exactly is it that you want to protect your family from so much?”

“From all the bad things…like Milk did…”

“Is that something you must protect by yourself to the point where you are worrying over it so much?”

This time the silence was longer. Hajime-kun’s small hands were tightly clenched between his navy blue shorts and kneecaps. He looked like he was about to cry, but he gritted his teeth and resisted. It was a manly expression. He glared at Richard with red eyes.

“Because, Dad doesn’t understand…! He doesn’t understand at all! Because he took Milk away…!”

This again. What did his dad do with Milk? When I asked him what happened, Hajime-kun’s little eyes ignited with fury, and after hesitating for a little bit, he muttered, “…He kidnapped him.”

“Huh?”

“Dad kidnapped Milk! He locked him in a cage! And then took him somewhere I don’t know!”

This was what happened according to Hajime-kun. It was around six in the morning on a certain day. Hajime-kun became aware of a strange voice and woke up. His father, who was supposed to have been sleeping next to him, was gone, and the fierce yowling of a cat could be heard outside. While not waking his mother, Hajime-kun fearfully went outside, peeked out through the gap in the front door, and saw his father in the parking lot.

Milk, locked inside a white cage, was being stowed into the backseat.

Milk continued to yowl frantically, but his father did not seem to care.

While Hajime-kun was frozen with shock, the car headed off and went somewhere. After he went back to bed, without being able to fall back asleep, his father returned home around thirty minutes later. He pretended to have just woken up,  went down to the kitchen, looked around, tilted his head to the side in confusion, and asked if Milk wasn’t there.