A bomb threat calls for a covert mission aboard a luxury cruise ship in Syd Craft: Love is a Mystery chapter 7 as Syd and Souffle board under the pretext of a honeymoon. This only serves to highlight what this series truly is, however, alongside some surprisingly competent mystery storytelling.

Even back when chapter 1 first launched, it was obvious that Syd Craft was no ordinary mystery series. Despite being drenched in the trappings of Sherlock Holmes and other classic detective series, romance was really its main focus as the main character himself preferred love stories over mysteries. What’s more, subsequent chapters have worked hard to establish a definitive harem of beautiful girls around the protagonist, one of whom is the main focus this week.

Given that the bomb threat was initially delivered to the police, detective inspector Souffle Flamberry is joining Syd on this particular mission as they attempt to track down the explosive before it causes another great tragedy at sea. It was already established in the first chapter that Syd is actually Souffle’s childhood love, lost to the passage of time, which only makes her actions in Syd Craft chapter 7 that much more entertaining. Does she play up the act of her and Syd being newlyweds from a professional stance to sell their cover story, or does it actually come from an unconscious desire to be close to him?

Aside from the romantic shenanigans, the way that Syd Craft chapter 7 ties up the bomb threat is also surprisingly solid. In true detective fashion, Syd explains how he figured everything out once the culprit shows up and demands an explanation: the decision to use visual clues here means that the reader can go back and see for themselves how Syd came to this conclusion. The possibility of working out the mystery for yourself before the protagonist is a key part of what makes mystery stories so engaging, so it’s good to see that Taishi Tsutsui is trying to replicate this in a way that works best for the manga format.

Nevertheless, the romantic melodrama still plays a large part in Syd Craft chapter 7, particularly because Elio has also snuck aboard as part of the band to witness Syd and Souffle’s lovey-dovey act. Will seeing these sparks fly cause Elio to act on her desire to get close to her employer? Given that Tsutsui’s last series took a good 100 chapters before something similar happened, this is unlikely, but this work should continue to prove entertaining if it can balance romance and mystery in the right way.

You can read Syd Craft: Love is a Mystery chapter 7 in English for free via VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.