"This…" Rina Hase's face was filled with confusion. "Mika, your family's doing fine, so you don't need money, right?"
"I didn't steal the ring for money," Mika Hirata said blankly. "I didn't take it with me. I hid it under the mattress in your bedroom."
"Why?" Rina asked, stunned.
The others shared her confusion, unable to grasp Mika's motive.
"When you showed off the ring, you mentioned its curse," Mika sneered. "I wanted to see if the curse would work without the talisman—and if it could really kill you."
"You!" Rina's face paled. "I never wronged you, and you wanted me dead?"
"Never wronged me?" Mika laughed bitterly. "We're college classmates, 'good sisters,' on the surface, but is that how you really see me?"
"What do you mean?" Rina asked, a trace of guilt in her voice.
"I overheard your phone call with Saki last time," Mika said, clenching her fists, her face flushed with anger. "You said you only invited me because you three needed a follower."
"To you, I'm not a sister or a friend—just a servant you can boss around!"
"Mika, I…" Rina tried to explain, but Mika cut her off.
"I grew up in an ordinary family, plain-looking, quiet, with few friends. I was always alone," Mika said, gritting her teeth. "When I started university, I thought my lonely life would continue. Then I met you…"
"You called us good friends, sisters, and I believed it. Even when you ordered me around, I thought that's what friends do."
"But you said those things behind my back! Do you know how much that hurt?"
Rina was speechless. Keiko Kawamura and Saki Imagawa exchanged bewildered glances.
"But you saved Ms. Hase when she fell from the balcony," Inspector Megure said, puzzled. "Her nails scratched your hands, yet you held on."
"If you wanted her dead, why save her?"
"I… don't know," Mika said with a self-deprecating laugh. "When she fell, I just rushed over. Maybe deep down, I still saw her as a friend… a sister. Pathetic, right?"
…
As Mika said, the sapphire ring was found under the mattress in Rina's bedroom.
She'd hidden it to make Rina fall victim to the ring's curse.
Perhaps the curse did take effect. Within half an hour, Rina nearly fell to her death.
Yet at that critical moment, Mika saved her life.
Perhaps out of gratitude for being saved, or lingering sisterly affection, Rina chose not to press charges over the stolen ring.
If the victim doesn't report, the police don't pursue.
With the matter settled, Inspector Samezaki and the others from the Metropolitan Police Department were relieved.
…
On the streets of Beika Town, after resolving the ring theft, Hayashi Shuichi and Kogoro Mouri walked Eri Kisaki home.
"Friendship is so complicated," Kogoro sighed, then turned to his friends. "Do you two talk bad about me behind my back?"
He expected denials, but Shuichi and Eri answered in unison, "Yes."
"What?" Kogoro's face was full of disbelief. "What'd you say about me?"
"Idiot," Shuichi said.
"Fool," Eri added.
"Damn it!" Kogoro waved his arms, fuming. "We're done!"
"Didn't you talk about us behind our backs too?" Shuichi said, unimpressed. "Let's see… you called Eri a nerd who doesn't dress well, has no charm, and will never marry…"
"And you said," Eri continued, "Shuichi's an old man with no passion, a cold, ruthless villain, and…"
"Hey!" Kogoro cut them off. "I was just venting! I didn't mean it."
"So, are we still done?" Shuichi asked with a grin.
"We grew up together," Kogoro snorted, puffing out his chest. "I'll forgive you generously."
Eri shook her head, then said thoughtfully, "I wonder what'll happen to Ms. Hase and the others. Will they stay friends?"
"Just hearing about their drama gives me a headache," Kogoro grumbled. "After all that, they should cut ties and stop talking, right?"
"Not necessarily," Shuichi said with a smile. "In a few days, they might make up and be 'good sisters' again."
"No way!" Kogoro exclaimed. "After all that mess, they can still reconcile?"
"Women's minds work differently from men's," Shuichi said, patting Kogoro's shoulder. "Guys can never guess their thoughts."
"What ulterior motives do I have?" Eri said, annoyed.
"Shuichi's talking about women," Kogoro teased, feigning surprise. "Are you a woman?"
"Kogoro!" Eri clenched her fists. "Want another beating?"
"Sorry, my bad!" Kogoro dropped to his knees instantly, then muttered, "It's Shuichi's fault. He taught us both fighting, but went easy on you. Now I can't even beat you."
You can't win because you're too embarrassed to actually fight her, Shuichi thought, but didn't say it.
"By the way, didn't you go to the judo club today?" Eri asked curiously. "How was your first day?"
"Hard to say," Kogoro said, shaking his head. "The seniors were enthusiastic, but something felt off. Especially with the older members…"
"Is it because of this year's National High School Judo Tournament?" Eri mused. "Didn't you say Teitan did poorly and didn't even make the top 16?"
"That might be it," Kogoro said, scratching his head. "But it feels like more than that. The seniors seem to be hiding something."