No one expected Shinichi, the victim, to defend Yusaku Kudo.
He spoke with conviction, "This is a clue tied to the Fountain of Youth. Once the riddle is solved, it could lead to the legendary fountain itself."
"Something that intriguing—I wouldn't be able to resist it either, let alone Dad."
"Dad, I'm on your side."
Yukiko Kudo felt like she'd been punched in the gut. She'd married a mystery novelist obsessed with deduction, and now her son was a deduction maniac too.
For the sake of solving a puzzle, they'd risk their own lives.
Too embarrassed to scold Yusaku in front of everyone, she vented her frustration on her son.
She grabbed Shinichi's ear and yanked hard.
"I'll make you deduce! You couldn't resist, huh? Dare to keep deducing now?"
"Ow, ow, ow, let go, Mom, please let go—my ear's gonna fall off, it's really gonna fall off!"
Shinichi wailed, instinctively looking to his father for help, hoping he'd intervene.
But seeing Yukiko's fury, Yusaku Kudo knew she was truly enraged. He shot his son a look that said, You're on your own, then lowered his head to stare at his tea as if it might sprout a flower.
In that moment, Shinichi felt the world collapse.
I defended you, and you abandon me, you rotten dad?
But the intensifying pain in his ear was too much. Desperate, he turned to Ran for help.
"Ran, help me, Ran, please!"
Ran, still annoyed that Shinichi had prioritized deduction over his own safety, huffed and stood up. "Sonoko, let's go."
Shinichi was dumbfounded.
He knew if Ran left now, his mom would only hit harder.
"Ran, you can't go! I still have something to tell you, Ran!"
Ran replied expressionlessly, "Whatever it is, we can talk at school tomorrow."
She then bowed to Yusaku and Yukiko Kudo.
"We'll be going now, Yusaku-san, Yukiko-nee."
She called Yukiko "nee" because Yukiko disliked being called "san," so Ran had always used the younger title.
Sonoko followed Ran, waving at Shinichi with a gleeful smirk. "Good luck, great detective."
"Sonoko, you busy—AH!!!"
Before he could finish, a scream tore through the air.
It was clear that, with no outsiders around, Yukiko Kudo was not holding back.
Shinichi… was in deep trouble!
As Morpheus and the group left the Kudo residence, Ran, no longer able to suppress her anxiety, grabbed Sonoko's hand.
"Sonoko, can you help me find out what kind of organization the Trinity is?"
Sonoko didn't hesitate. "Leave it to me."
As the second daughter of the Suzuki conglomerate, she had plenty of resources to investigate an organization.
Nanami couldn't help but ask, "Lord Morpheus, do you know anything about this Trinity?"
Ran and Sonoko turned to Morpheus.
Since the Trinity pursued mythical legends, surely Morpheus, as a god, had heard of them.
Morpheus didn't hide anything, calmly saying, "I've heard of the Trinity, but I don't know much about them."
He had played Tomb Raider in his past life.
But who paid attention to the plot in Tomb Raider 9?
Back then, Morpheus had controlled Lara Croft, cutting through Yamatai, slaughtering from the base of the mountain to its peak.
The Sun Brotherhood, Matthias, Storm Warriors, Himiko—all fell before him, defeated by bullets or blades.
He hacked and slashed for days, never blinking.
In Tomb Raider 10, he was even more relentless, mowing down anyone who stood in his way.
That's when the Trinity showed up.
But Morpheus didn't care.
They were just villains, bosses with health bars, and he wasn't polite about it.
After dying countless times, he finally cleared the game.
It felt great.
In Tomb Raider 11, the Trinity's final big boss appeared. Morpheus didn't care about their motives, ambitions, or issues.
He controlled Lara Croft and went on another killing spree. Sure, he triggered a flood that destroyed a city, but it didn't matter.
It was just a game.
In the end, the Trinity's boss got hold of a Mayan artifact, planning to destroy the world.
Then their health bar appeared.
Morpheus wasn't about to go easy.
After failing a dozen times, he finally beat the boss and saved the world.
But the boss's name? Forgotten.
Why they wanted to destroy the world? Forgotten.
The Trinity's origins? Forgotten.
Or rather, Morpheus hadn't cared enough to remember. He'd played the game for the thrill—hack, slash, kill, kill, kill. That was the point.
So, he didn't know much about the Trinity.
He only knew it was an ancient, powerful organization with a ton of armed mercenaries.
Yet even they were steamrolled by Lara Croft under his control.
In the end, Lara completely dismantled them.
So when Nanami asked him about the Trinity, Morpheus genuinely couldn't say much.
Besides, this was a crossover world.
Who knew what changes the Trinity had undergone after being stitched in?
Its origins might even be different.
So Morpheus could only tell Nanami, Ran, and Sonoko that he'd heard of the Trinity but didn't know much. If they wanted to learn more, Sonoko's resources might dig up some real intel.
With the Suzuki conglomerate's power, she might uncover some insider information.
Sonoko nodded. "Guess that's the way to go."
She grabbed Ran's hand, reassuring her, "Don't worry, I'll have people look into the Trinity thoroughly. I'll surprise you with what I find."
Ran, helpless, could only agree.
After all, she was just a weak, pitiful, helpless high schooler.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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