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Kazuma Asougi walked down the gangplank at Calais, with only a small overnight bag under his arm. The late morning sea breeze blew gently across the port, which was busy with passengers disembarking for their holidays and sailors speaking in thick Russian accents loading and unloading cargo and luggage.
He knew what he had to do...
He stepped onto dry ground, the first time he had done so for the ten hours that the crossing from Dover to Calais took on a steamship that went the top speed of ten miles an hour. Carefully, he scanned the crowd, looking someone who would be able to help him in his mission, the one he would have to do, or else he would never ever be satisfied.
A man walked past, talking to himself in French. From what little French Asougi had learned on the way over through a small phrasebook he purchased at Dover, he could just about tell that he was talking to himself about buying bread.
"Hey! You!" he called as he stepped over to him.
The Frenchman looked up in confusion. He pointed to himself. "Moi?"
"Oui. Parlez vous Anglais?"
"Un peu, oui."
A little? Well a little would have to do. He carefully reached into his bag and took out a small glass bottle. It had long side been uncorked, but still bore it's label, where the mark of La Quantos Restaurant was still very much visible above the other French that was written on it.
He showed the bottle to the Frenchman, asking: "Qu'est-ce que cela dit en anglais?"
The Frenchman fumbled a little, carefully examining the bottle. He squinted at the small slightly worn writing. "Mineral water..." he read in his thick French accent "...sparkling."
So that was what the bottle said!
"M-Merci," said Asougi, reaching into his pocket and handing an English coin to the man, before heading off to the telegram office. There, he sent a quick telegram to an old friend, before he headed back on the ship, his mission complete at last.
"Mr. Naruhodo!" cried Sherlock Holmes, pipe in his mouth as he sorted through the post. "The post's come, and there's something for you. Telegram by the look of things."
"Holmesies!" protested Iris, "I told you to stop reading people's mail!"
Naruhodo read the small postcard that had just been forcibly stuffed into his hand, after almost being dropped on-top of his jam-smothered toast.
"What does it say, Naruhodo-sama?" asked Susato.
Naruhodo gave a small "Ah!" of realisation, before handing it to her to read.
L'Organisation des Télégrammes de Calais
Pour: Ryuunosuke Naruhodo, 221B Baker Street, London NW1
Dés: Kazuma Asougi, c/o Ministry of Justice, London NW1Naruhodo. Found out what the bottle in your trial said. It said: "Mineral Water - Sparkling". (signed,) Asougi
"I guess that clears that one up then..." said Naruhodo, crunching into his toast.