Rimi, a young princess with a passion for cooking, becomes one of the emperor’s many concubines. The envy-filled empire is full of danger, and Rimi must rely on her love of cooking, her natural cheerfulness, and the help of a kind scholar to survive.

Maomao lives happily with her apothecary father—until she’s kidnapped and sold into service in the palace. Can she find a quiet life, or will her powers of deduction and insatiable curiosity bring her ever more adventures, and ever more dangers?

Nestled in Kyoto’s Teramachi-Sanjo shopping arcade is the antique shop Kura, where high school girl Aoi has a part-time job. With the manager’s son, Kiyotaka—the “Holmes of Kyoto”—she helps solve various strange cases brought to them by clients.