Connected to: Price of the Riddler's Fun
"You will know that I am coming
From the jingle of my bell,
But exactly who I am is not an easy thing to tell.
Children, they adore me
for they find me jolly,
but I do not see them when the halls are decked with holly.
My job often leaves me frozen,
I am a man that all should know,
But I do not do business in times of sleet or ice or snow.
I travel much on business,
But no reindeer haul me around,
I do all my traveling firmly on the ground.
I love the time of Christmas,
But that's not my vocational season,
And I assure that is because of a sound economic reason."
Juushiro read the riddle two more times then leaned back against the window. The Riddler had indeed given him a more difficult riddle this time, yet he had 24 hours in which to solve it and the quiet of the night in which to contemplate it. He had figured out much more complex problems under such circumstances. This puzzle would be no different.
After a while of stillness, Juushiro sat up again, turning the lamp up and pulling out paper. Perhaps a visual list would lead to the right item that fit all the criteria. First, he wrote the word bell, yet after a few minutes, he crossed it out. That part of the riddle was hindering him more than helping him. Giving himself space, he added a new word, children. He paused, then added, right underneath, 'What do children adore?' He underlined the word 'adore' twice.
The captain wasn't finished. In another column, he added another question, 'What else can be traced back to me?' That idea had come to him after finding the first riddle in a book. It was a well known fact that he often stayed up late reading and his desk always had at least one stack of books. Furthermore, Retsu had found her first riddle in a coffin, an unfortunate attachment of her job. He didn't think all the riddles were necessarily connected to the person they were intended for, but it was a possibility to explore.
Another word joined the short list, 'sweets'.
The bell in his window chimed as an evening breeze filled the room. He now knew the answer but would have to wait for the morning. The ice cream man didn't work in the night this late in the season.
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