I was really confused by this at first and was going to ask, but I think I figured it out. One of the definitions of 養子 is son-in-law, so I think essentially Nogami is saying here “Oh, so [you are from the family who lives here and your husband joined you here] …” At first I thought he was still asking to speak to the Man of the house, but that makes no sense if he’s making the assumption that the spouse who came to live here didn’t experience the landslide, which definitely seems to be the case when he is talking to the woman … Anyway, that was rambly, but hopefully understandable.
The main point is that I originally thought he suddenly and inexplicably brought up an adopted child (which was then never mentioned again), but I’m fairly certain that’s not the case.
I took that as the guy laughing as a signal that he doesn’t actually believe in the supernatural possibility: “well, maybe it is…haha, just kidding”.
養子
Well, it kind of is the adoption case, more specifically 婿養子, where a family with only a daughter adopts the husband into the family to continue the family name and/or business. Nogami starts with the default assumption that because this is still the 小野 residence that the woman who answers the door is the wife of an 小野 son, but it turns out to be the rarer case where she’s the family member and her husband has taken her name.
With how much detail they are going into about the 後鳥羽法皇伝説 it has to be relevant to the case, right? Well, I mean, I guess they went into a kind of ridiculous amount of detail about bus timetables as well. But anyway, I wonder how it ties in. I hope it’s something more unexpected than “jealous scholar steals her work” …
Probably but it feels like the most random legend to base a murder case on! Like the explanation in the book felt so lacking I was like, ‘ok lemme look up the real thing’ but no, that’s it. That’s the legend.
Also I’m finished with this week so:
Ok so our witness is now dead, does this mean the news of him spilling about the book got to the killer? Or the killer saw him and then later caught up with him?
On a completely unrelated note:
The young and super successful 刑事部長 being named 桐山 keeps making me laugh because a very different genre of book I read some time ago also had a very young and successful 部長 named 桐山 and I’m like ‘ah, this must be a very successful name!’
Finished with this week as well (like I said, I had some days off )
Honestly the book gives much too much information for me to build any kind of theory.
Next to it feeling like a history book sometimes (that part whopped my ass) I also now feel like I need a map to actually visualize all the places we visit, or the 法皇 visited . You know, the kind you’ll find in the beginning of fantasy books. I think this book would have benefited greatly from a map!
I found it interesting that the landslide apparently only hit exactly the two girls. I was instantly a little suspicious as I heard that, and thought of pocketcats swapping theory again. 野上 apparently also found it strange and asked it if was 天災.
Her being ugly does only seem to helping the 目撃者 to remember they met her. Nothing else for now. Really hope it comes into play in some other way as well, as others already pointed out last week.
1 month passed already, and the boss didn’t seem to even be interested in entertaing the book theory… I can totally understand why 野上 feels dejected and checked out completely.
When I read the TV newscast, I first thought the bookstore owner was the one who died. But that wouldn’t mean anything to 野上.
It is interesting how the death is related to our case for sure. If the killer saw him why would it take 1 month to kill him? I honestly have no theory at the moment why the killer even wanted to kill him as well. He already spilled the information about the book to the police, and it is not like he saw the murder!
I don’t get it. What’s funny here?
)
. You know, the kind you’ll find in the beginning of fantasy books. I think this book would have benefited greatly from a map!
