"Huh? What is it?"
Yukiko asked, a little confused.
"Something that could affect Miss Yamahara's career."
Takato explained, "After all, it's not normal for an idol artist who used to be very active to now have even her makeup artist be a substitute from an outsourced studio."
"Are you saying Miss Yamahara has very few activities recently?"
Yukiko understood Takato's meaning.
"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, Miss Yamahara might only have this one commercial endorsement for 'Fusae' right now, so she absolutely cannot miss this opportunity. So, Yukiko... sister, have you found anything?"
Takato asked Yukiko, planning to consolidate their information.
"Oh, because Miss Yamahara was right there, I tried to sound out Ashikaga for a long time but couldn't get anything useful out of him. But if I had to say, I feel that the threatening letter was probably just someone's prank."
Yukiko said this, which made Takato a little confused, "Why do you think so?"
"If I had to say, it's probably intuition."
Yukiko said.
"What did Ms. Ashikaga say?"
"Well, ever since Miss Yamahara became the spokesperson for 'Fusae,' she has occasionally received such threatening letters, but nothing strange has happened afterward. And, I've also roughly guessed who sent the threatening letter."
Saying this, Yukiko revealed a bright smile, looking at Takato proudly.
"Huh?"
Takato was a little surprised.
"How about it? Do you want to ask me how I figured it out?"
Yukiko narrowed her eyes, smiling and waiting for Takato to ask.
"Uh... tell me, Sister Yukiko!"
Struggling, Takato asked in a tone that satisfied Yukiko's desire to show off at the moment.
"Oh, you went out just now and didn't examine the threatening letter carefully. Do you know, there's a faint smell of cheap tobacco on that letter paper?"
Seemingly very satisfied with Takato's response, Yukiko immediately gave the answer, but seeing Takato still looking confused, she couldn't help but tease him.
"Oh, did the Detective not notice?"
Takato could only helplessly express his confusion, so Yukiko laughed loudly and said, "It seems Little Takato still lacks experience. The young man we met right when we entered, he had that tobacco smell on him!"
Takato could only express his helplessness at this answer, because he had never been in close contact with the man named "Oyama," so how could he have noticed these things?
"So, the threatening letter might have been sent by that person?"
"That's right. And, the date this threatening letter was received was before the announcement of the new product launch. Only relevant staff could have known the news in advance and sent the threatening letter."
Yukiko added.
"Looking at it this way, it does make sense."
Takato said thoughtfully, but — was this really that simple?
Last night, Takato had specifically investigated information about Miss Yamahara Akisato online. Although he couldn't find any negative news, one thing was that Miss Yamahara Akisato's exposure had significantly decreased in the past six months. This could be explained by his judgment through the makeup artist, but was this related to the recent threatening letters?
At the same time, Hirota Masami and the short-haired girl with brown hair, having just finished shopping, were carrying large and small bags of items and arrived at the "Fusae" new product launch booth. Seeing that there were already quite a few people there, the two quickly walked up and secured two seats in the fourth row.
It was almost ten o'clock now, and several fashion magazine reporters were already on the side, holding cameras, waiting to capture first-hand information.
Looking at the crowd slowly filling up around them, Hirota Masami exclaimed, "Good thing we grabbed seats. If we had come a little later, we would have had to stand outside."
"It's okay, as long as we can buy the new bags."
The short-haired girl with brown hair said.
"Don't worry. Although there are so many people here, not many will actually buy it."
Hirota Masami said.
Just then, at ten o'clock sharp, the new product launch began. Horii Ryosuke, as the person in charge of the event, first took the stage, holding a microphone, and gave a brief introduction to the product. He explained that at ten-thirty, when the store opened, people could go in and buy the latest products. Then, he urged the audience to give a grand round of applause to invite Miss Miss Yamahara Akisato, the brand spokesperson, to give a detailed explanation of the product.
Below the stage, the short-haired girl with brown hair showed little interest after hearing Miss Yamahara Akisato's name.
"Why doesn't 'Fusae' change this spokesperson?"
The girl grumbled.
"What's wrong?"
Hirota Masami asked, puzzled.
"After all, she was exposed for having a messy private life."
The girl said, expressionless.
"Shiho, what kind of trashy fashion magazines have you been reading again? Just listen to such gossip and let it go."
Hirota Masami said, a little helplessly.
The girl didn't say anything more, but she still muttered in her heart: Although someone helped her suppress the news, her sharply decreased commercial endorsements in the past six months are very telling.
On stage, Miss Yamahara Akisato was introducing the design concept of the "Fusae" new product, explaining how the designer was inspired by champagne, and the design philosophy of the entire new product line.
Then, under Horii Ryosuke's moderation, a few audience members were invited up to share their impressions of the new product, and finally, Horii Ryosuke suggested that everyone enjoy a glass of champagne together.
So, the young man named "Oyama," under instruction, now walked onto the stage carrying a silver round tray. On the tray were about five glasses of champagne, placed without any particular order.
The few people on stage each took a glass, and under Horii Ryosuke's direction, they all drank simultaneously.
Miss Yamahara Akisato did not finish the wine in her glass. After drinking about one-third of it, she walked a few steps forward, stood at the most prominent position on the stage, struck a beautiful pose, and began to give her concluding remarks for the exhibition. The reporters present were all taking photos of this scene from below the stage.
Suddenly, the wine glass slipped from Miss Yamahara Akisato's hand, fell onto the stage, and shattered. Then Miss Yamahara Akisato herself suddenly collapsed, struggled a few times, and then became still.
For a moment, the scene fell into panic. The few audience members who had been called onto the stage were now pale with fright, looking at the wine glasses in their hands, standing frozen on the spot.
Oyama, who had brought the wine, was also at a loss. Only Horii Ryosuke quickly recovered from the shock and told everyone present not to panic.
However, the reporters on site, seeing this scene unfold, began to continuously photograph the stage.
Seeing this, Takato and Yukiko immediately rushed onto the stage.
Takato examined Miss Yamahara Akisato, while Yukiko maintained order on the scene and told Horii Ryosuke to call the police immediately.
Below the stage, the short-haired girl with brown hair saw the man in the blue trench coat who rushed onto the stage. After checking Miss Yamahara Akisato's pulse, he shook his head helplessly, understanding that Miss Yamahara Akisato was truly dead.
At such a result, the girl showed a solemn expression — the time from when she drank the champagne to her death was not long. Most poisons take time to be absorbed and enter the bloodstream to take effect, but if it were cyanide, the onset time would be too long.
Moreover, she had just randomly picked a glass!