宝石商リチャード氏の謎鑑定 輝きのかけら

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

by Nanako Tsujimura, Utako Yukihiro (Illustrator)

大学卒業後、岡山の中学校教師として理科部顧問を務める谷本晶子と生徒の日常(「結晶の姫君」)。
ヴィンセント梁が香港でリチャードの助手として働きながらもリチャードを裏切り、ジェフリーと通じていた時代(「龍の季節」)。
正義とリチャードと下村の他愛ない日常(「楽しい日」)。
スイスの全寮制学校に在籍していた頃のリチャードとジェフリーの思い出(「エドワード・バクスチャーの数奇な半生」)。
若きオナラブルとしての仮面の下に鬱屈を抱えたジェフリーとヨアキムとの運命的で数奇な出会い(「悪魔を憐れむ歌」)。
「宝石商リチャード氏の謎鑑定」シリーズに登場した欠かすことのできない人物たち、それぞれの過去とその後を収めた珠玉の短編集!
「結晶の姫君」「悪魔を憐れむ歌」に加え、「Ca, c'est Paris」「輝きのかけら」、4編の書き下ろし作品を収録。

Genres: Light Novel, LGBT, Manga

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2025

Reviews

[lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is different from the previous instalments, being a short story collection instead of the usual plot. There are seven stories in total and if I'm being honest, most of them don't add anything new to the universe. My take is that this collection just exists at all to tell the backstory about something that was revealed about Jeffrey in volume 10 (and that's also the indisputable best of all them, Sympathy for the Devil).

There's very little of Richard and Seigi, unfortunately, and too much of Vince. I don't know if I'm alone in my Vince hate, but I just want him to go take a hike and disappear from this narrative.

I have a bit of a technical problem with this volume about time jumps. Sometimes months or years would go by from one paragraph to the next without any marker. If you don't have the plot fresh in your mind, some stories might be a bit frustrating to navigate.

All in all, it's a weaker addition to this series, but it's more of an extras bundle. Still had its good moments.

[Nidhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Add another edition to the ancient texts of the tsujimura religion because i wanna bow down at her feet because wdymmm she can write like this hello????

[ReadWithKate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows us snippets and short stories of the lives of our beloved characters.
The first story focuses on Tanimoto as a teacher finding Yue, a student with a passion for rocks as big as hers. Tanimoto encourages Yue to come participate in a gemstone experiment with her science club, which made Yue join. This shows us how important teachers are when it comes to students' interests. Tanimoto, who's described as being as angelic and friendly as ever, helped Yue understand her interest in rocks and gave her an outlet to enjoy it. Not only that, but this story also mentions the importance of women in STEM and how one should pursue their interests regardless of gender!
The second story shows us Vincent back when he worked with Richard in Hong Kong. He's secretly selling info on Richard to Jeffrey to get enough cash to leave for the US, once his father dies. Turns out, both Richard and Saul knew the whole time. Richard can't find it in himself to hate Vincent and so Vincent has a huge dilemma about selling out someone he admires, someone he can't bring himself to hate.
The third story focuses on how Seigi and Shimomura became friends! It was so cute.
The fourth story shows us Richard and Jeffrey in boarding school and the shenanigans that led to the creation of their "fake identites". They ended up deciding to be James and Edward Ya'aburnee, brothers just as they are in life. Richard really looked up to Jeffrey, that's his big brother, his best friend. So years later, when he needs to use that name again, but changes the last name to Baxter and tells Seigi Edward has no surviving relatives, it really shows how betrayed and hurt Richard was by Jeffrey's actions with Deborah. It's heartbreaking how that bond broke, even if it's slowly being repaired now.
The fifth story talks about how Jeffrey and Joachim's relationship started. It focuses a lot on Jeffrey, how he feels about this stripper he's falling for, how he's not fully ou and can't come out beacause of his status. He hates himself for betraying Richard and he's afraid that Richard is bisexual due to Jeffrey's homosexuality "rubbing off on him". Jeffrey's story truly is tragic, he had to grow up and spend many years of his adult life lying and pretending to be someone else. It also shows us how Laurent, the butler blackmailed him so he'd marry a woman (which thankfully never happened). Joachim is also a tragic character who get's harassed by and ex's brother, since the ex died during a crash when Chim was driving. In th end, this story is about two men who get to choose to let go of the past and be happy together, who choose love instead of sorrow.
The sixth story shows us a little vacation that Jeffrey and Joachim spend as a couple in Paris. It's mainly about how they're learning to merge their very different lifestyles, since their backgrounds are opposites. It's adorable.
The last story happens about one year since the first one. We finally see Richard and Seigi, who now live and work together. Seigi reads Tanimoto's science club blog and he sees a post from the little girl from the beggining explaining why she joined and presenting three new female members for the science club! It was great to see that Tanimoto keeps inspiring girls and boys to discover mineralogy and the love for gemstones! It was also nice to see how Richard and Seigi are faring in their new dynamic, since Seigi is now Richard's personal assitant and life-partner. I can't wait for the next full-lenght novel!

TW:implied sexual content, illness, talk of death, homophobia, internalized homophobia, abusive relationships, stripping, mentions of car crash and associated death.

[Calden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why it says this is a pre-publication review, seeing as the book came out the first week of december??
Regardless

While the stories presented in this novel were interesting, there was not nearly enough seigi and richard #TBH
the novel itself was more dedicated to the side characters in the series, to expand on their lives without being connected to seigi and richard. Which for some people that would be awesome, because these side characters rock! But for me, I just like the main couple too much... On the other hand, exploring different relationships and the impact they had on these characters, as well as the feelings that Jeffery and Joaquim have for each other was really fun. I feel like I always come away from these novels with a new understanding of how relationships work.

[Tyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit this collection of short stories starts a bit on the weaker side. It's nice to know what Tanimoto is up to, but the story is just very... light, lacking depth. However, the later stories are more interesting; I quite enjoyed the story that delves more into Vince's psyche, but Jeffrey's story is deservedly the longest and basically the centerpiece of the book. It's nice to finally read more about him. But I felt quite anxious while reading it, honestly... Worrying about how it would end (because, as I said in my review of volume 10, I had mistakenly read volume 11 before volume 10, so I didn't know yet that Jeffrey and Joachim ended up a couple).

All in all, nice additions to the universe of Jeweler Richard, but those wanting to see more of Richard and Seigi have to wait until volume 12.

[gumis.divine.dogs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was a compilation of chapters from the point of view of other characters than simply Seigi. It goes back and forth between past and present, sometimes set during key events. As always, I'm in love with the writing style and the way the author takes the time to flesh out the side characters and make them feel as important and as necessary to the plot as Seigi and Richard.

My favorite chapter was "Sympathy for the Devil" which is written from Jeffrey's point of view - it left me emotional and it deals with a lot of topics that should be addressed (outdated traditions, homophobia, guilt and self-punishment).

[toria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet little breather between parts 2 & 3 of this series. The highlights of this volume are definitely Jeffrey and Joaquim's story and I love how different their relationship functions than Seigi and Richard's. Lots of nice stories about the side characters too. Can't wait to read part three in English later this year!

[˗ˏˋ maddie ˊˎ˗ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5. I wish I'd known this was related short stories and not an actual continuation of the series. I loved seeing Tanimoto again but otherwise I just wanted Seigi and Richard and they were very light on the ground, unfortunately.

[Kendra Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy this series, and backstories can be fun, but this didn't really add anything. it was like the author was just making a "filler" novel with this anthology. I dnfed, but I am looking forward to vol 12!

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. It was mainly Jeffrey and Joachim's story but I personally didn't connect with them therefore, I found this boring.

[Josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 🌟 / 5.0 🌟