This time, we went up the stairs to the surface level. A strangely bright light streamed down from above. We all acted like we were on the lookout as we ascended.
"Hohoh, so this is the Sirius Observatory," said Inuzuka, in admiration.
The first thing we laid eyes on was the dome-shaped ceiling. Looking from the inside, it was completely mirrored. So basically, we had a half-sphere concave mirror overhead. It was this mirror that was increasing the intensity of the light.
"What's all this? It feels like we got tossed into some freaky lab equipment," muttered Amino.
"It reminds me of Ranpo's 'Hell of Mirrors'. Though that was a full sphere that was all mirrored on the inside..." A smirk appeared on Inuzuka's face. "Did you know a concave lens is one of the integral parts of astronomical observation? Most larger telescopes use them."
Our distorted, enlarged reflections appeared on the ceiling. In the world of the concave mirror, we weren't just flipped left to right, but upside down as well. The uncanny face of my warped reflection looked down at me. It wasn't very comforting.
"Mirrors sure are strange. They're portals into another world just slightly off from the world we know, opened up right there in front of us. Goodness gracious, our good friend Ryuuichirou Kiba is quite the eccentric romantic."
Inuzuka seemed very moved, but according to my research, the concave mirroring on the ceiling was just aluminum paneling covering the interior of the dome to heighten insulation and illumination. Due to the structure of the building, there were no windows in the central hall.
That's why they needed something to brighten things up. There was no way of knowing whether or not the owner of the building was actually all that enamored with mirrors.
Once we had all finished climbing the stairs, we were finally able to survey the hall as a whole. It was in the shape of an equilateral, regular pentagon. Each side had a door in the middle that led to a guest room. Five doors in all, leading to five triangular guest rooms that formed the five points of the star.
In the center of the hall, there was a large, round table. Nearby was a small armchair. By "armchair", I mean a comfortable living chair with arms meant for one person to sit and relax on. There's a detective called the Armchair Detective that solves crimes right where he is without even going to the crime scene itself. The chair there before me looked perfect for a great detective just like that one to comfortably think things through, with its upholstery featuring an extremely cushy seat and backrest, supported by wooden legs.
That was everything in the hall. The telescope, which should have been the centerpiece of the whole thing, was nowhere to be seen.
"Huh...? There was a big telescope set up right here in the photos..." I said, crossing my arms.
"A year and three months ago, Ryuuichirou Kiba was taxed extra for tax evasion..." Enbi had suddenly opened his mouth. "He was overdue, so the telescope itself was collected as payment. They probably just cleaned out the whole area. That's the government for you. They're always like that. They don't give a crap about the places they visit..."
"H-How do you know that?" I asked in surprise.
"You'd know if you'd looked into it," he answered calmly. "Incidentally, the whole building was put up for sale two months ago. It was bought by a certain IT startup company. But it seems like that was just a shell corporation for some other enterprise. I wasn't able to dig up what they were hiding."
"Why are you only now mentioning this?" Amino cut in.
"Info is what we deal in, isn't it? What kind of idiot gives their merchandise out for free?" Enbi's voice cut like a switchblade, leaving Amino with no response.
"If Enbi-kun's telling the truth, that means Ryuuichirou Kiba's already given up the building," said Inuzuka, his face clouding over.
"So the Kiba guy's completely unrelated... I-In that case... Who exactly is our client?" asked a dismayed Amino.
No one could answer the question.