Apologies that it’s from Glasgow, but considering the tight schedule around this time of the year, it is better than an odd silence, yes?
–
“Oh, don’t be silly, Janus… it’s perfect. Thank you very much. I’ll thank you a little more personally later.”
Roses upon roses, red and lush and in full bloom, covers nearly every open surface of Hakuba’s room – from his desk to his bed and even parts of his floor.
999 of them.
And, on the floor, in the very middle, in a small, open space surrounded by the flowers, sits a small box. It’s white, wrapped with a bright blue ribbon and seated neatly on top of it is a simple little card.
Happy birthday, my dearest detective.
Perhaps I went a little overboard with the roses, but how was I supposed to resist? Not every day is your birthday, after all~
I hope you’ll enjoy your gift and, if you’re lucky, there might be a ‘special delivery’ arriving sometime before midnight just for you~
Happy birthday!
Within the box, resting gently on soft, white satin, is a pendant in gold and silver.
P.S. It was acquired through perfectly legal means.
–
“…I don’t even know what to say besides thank you, and I can’t wait for this ‘special delivery’ tonight. I hope that it will give me the opportunity to thank you in person.”
A plain rectangular box showed up at some unknown time of the day, labeled only with a sharpied “For Saguru Hakuba”. Inside was a hastily written note that described the other contents of the box:
“Today I was out to pick up a copy of one of these mystery-and-puzzle-genre games for myself, so I figured while I as at it, I would purchase the entire collection for you. Seven Ace Attorney (I have included funds to buy the single download-only game), six Layton (plus the movie), and the crossover game. I hope you like them; I’m no gamer but they are certainly enjoyable. Tell me what you think; I would love to hear some of your theories as you progress.”
The note abruptly stops there without the mention of a name. Even a “happy birthday” seems to have been forgotten in the rush. Really, the only things that seemed to receive any careful attention where the games themselves – all freshly purchased and still in their wrappers; both series in chronological order by release date, but with that special crossover separating the two franchises.
Thankfully, her handwriting has always been just a bit unique and identifiable (it probably helps that her gift from last year was scrawled in a similar manner), so it’s quite obvious who sent it.
–
"Oh dear… it would seem that my dear Beauty Detective has a bit of an addiction. I’ll be certain to keep you updated on my progress, yes, as soon as I have a chance to play. Thank you very much, Kirigiri-san~!”
Lying upon his desk would be three books stacked upon each other. The book on top was titled The Best English Detective Stories of 1928-1929, edited by Father Ronald Knox and H. Harrington and was approximately 420 pages in paperback. It was old and dilapidated, but the clearest dog-earing of a page would lead one to the preface of the book written by Father Ronald Knox, but across that first page of the preface was some writing in deep red ink and an impeccably immaculate penmanship: “Knox’s Decalogue—The ten commandments created by Ronald Arbuthnott Knox and used in heresy trials. Knox’s 1st: It is forbidden for the culprit to be anyone not mentioned in the early part of the story…”
The second book was heavier, bound in black leather with gilt-edging, and simply titled THE HOLY BIBLE: KNOX VERSION upon its front and spine. Glancing through the pages would reveal its odd format compared to most bibles; no subheads, no verse numbers at the beginning of sentences—the entirety of the scripture was written in chapters and paragraphs as it were an ordinary literary novel, with the verses in tiny numbers on the outside margin that would hardly distract. The third book was its partner: a paperback edition titled On Englishing the Bible which contained 72 pages of good monsignor Knox’s experiences of translating the aforementioned bible from Latin while consulting Greek and Hebrew texts.
Upon this all was a note gently pinned to the bible with a twin-keyed brooch dipped in gold. The contents of the note, written in the same penmanship of the scrawling in the first book, were the following:
I thought you might appreciate some light reading. I ask that you respect its teachings, bring honour to it by learning from them, and have compassion for those who bear a banner different from yours by passing what you have learned through the readings.
—-
“Hm! Now what is this~?”
“Miss Knox! This is so incredibly thoughtful of you. If I didn’t know any better, which I do, I’d think that you had a little crush on me. Really, though, yes; I’ll begin reading these over the break, beginning with the bible. It’s been a little while since I read it all the way through, and considering the time of year, it seems rather appropriate.”
“But for now, I must wrap your gift…”