As in the original, Ran easily won the tournament. We celebrated Ran's victory and had a simple meal at a family restaurant before returning.
Two days passed like that, and the weekend arrived. I was just lying around at home, rolling about.
"Ah~ I really don't want to do anything intense."
Knock knock knock!
While I was diligently playing dead, the housekeeper knocked.
"What is it?"
"Young master, someone is here. They said they're a classmate."
"Really?"
Looking at the time, it was evening, and I was surprised since no friend would visit this late, and few people knew my address. I looked out the window and saw Ran, Sonoko, and Shinichi transformed into Conan outside the gate.
"What brings you here on the weekend? And how did you know where I live?"
I opened the gate and went out to greet Ran, Sonoko, and Conan. Sonoko answered my question.
"It's just that Shinichi is missing, and I remembered what you talked about last time, so I got worried."
"Is that so? Come in first."
I guided them to the living room, served them tea, and gave Conan a drink. Ran and Sonoko looked around my house and said,
"Wow, Cassian, you're well-off. I've never been to such a big house except for Sonoko's."
"Yeah."
I knew Conan's identity, but I pointed at him and asked the girls,
"But who is this kid?"
Ran answered,
"This is Conan. Dr. Agasa from next door asked me to look after him for a while, so I'm taking care of him temporarily."
"Is that so?"
I stared at Conan intently. Conan broke out in a cold sweat, avoided eye contact, and just slurped his drink through a straw. It was a bit funny, but I pretended not to know and asked how they found my house.
"But how did you know where I live?"
This time, Sonoko answered,
"Ah~ it's famous among wealthy people. And around here, there's only one big house like this, so it was easy to find."
"I see. So, Shinichi is missing?"
Ran explained in detail. She said that yesterday, she was with Shinichi at Tropical Land when an incident occurred. Shinichi solved it with his deduction, but after they parted, there was no news from him. They searched everywhere and, with Sonoko's help, came to my house together.
"I see... But isn't it too early to say he's missing? It's only been a day. Since it's the weekend, maybe he went out with friends?"
Ran said with a serious face,
"No, he doesn't have any close friends other than us, and it's the first time he hasn't come home for this long without contact."
'Did Shinichi really not have any close friends other than girls?'
"Alright, let me try fortune-telling."
"Thank you. And..."
Ran took out money from the bag she brought and handed it to me.
"I heard that in such cases, you need to receive a fee for it to be effective, so I prepared this. I really want to find him."
The money she handed over was a considerable amount. I knew that before Mori Detective became famous, their family finances were tight, so seeing such a large sum prepared, she must have been really desperate. I handed the money back and said,
"No, the money is unnecessary. Since you'll be my future wife, I'll look into it for free."
"Huh?? Wasn't that just a joke to tease Shinichi?"
Hearing my words, Ran blushed and panicked. Seeing that, Conan glared at me.
"No, it's true. Honestly, I was surprised too. I prefer tall and busty Western beauties, you know."
Hearing that, Sonoko suddenly stood up and hit my back.
"Oh, come on!"
Slap!
"Ouch! Why?"
"Anyway, men... Just do the fortune-telling."
"Y-yeah..."
I got up and guided them to a spacious room I had decorated to look like where an onmyoji performs fortune-telling. Talismans were plastered all over the walls, and the middle of the room was set up like a Japanese shrine, giving off an eerie feeling. I decorated it carefully so that wealthy people would feel it was authentic.
"Ugh... This place is a bit creepy."
Seeing the room, Sonoko looked scared and clung tightly to Ran.
"Wait here for a moment."
I went to the adjacent room, put on my onmyoji outfit, and returned to the room. Sonoko admired my appearance and said,
"Oh~ dressed like that, you really look like an onmyoji."
"I am a real onmyoji."
"Ahaha, r-right..."
I lit incense in the middle, sat in front, assumed a posture as if concentrating, and recited a spell. This time, I pretended to recite it carefully in Sanskrit. "Shunguri dangdang" sounded childish, so I had no choice. It was kind of fun though...
"ॐ नमः सर्वेषां जनानां दर्शनं कुरु कुरु स्वाहा। Huhup!"
As I proceeded seriously, Ran, Sonoko, and Conan swallowed nervously and watched with tense expressions. After a while, I opened my eyes and said,
"Hmm... This is strange..."
"Huh? Is there a problem?"
"It shows that there is no person named Shinichi Kudo in this world right now. That means he's dead."
"What!!?? What did you say!!!??? Is that true???"
Sonoko and Ran were shocked by my words.
"Wait, calm down and listen."
I calmed them down first and continued.
"The strange thing is, when a person dies, their soul should be visible normally. But in Shinichi's case, no matter how much I search, it doesn't show. In such cases, it usually means he changed his name and is living as another person. In the onmyoji world, names are considered important. So, sometimes it turns out like this."
Hearing that, Ran and Sonoko finally sighed in relief and said,
"Ah... Thank goodness. I thought something really bad happened."
"Yeah, for a moment, I thought my heart would drop out."
"But why did it show that he changed his name? He's not even coming home, what on earth is Shinichi doing!"
Ran looked at me and said,
"Can you find him?"
I pretended to think for a bit and said,
"Hmm... If I knew the new name, it would be easy, but I'll try."
I sat down again, held a talisman, pretended to concentrate, and shouted.
"यः तं प्रार्थयते तस्य समीपं गच्छति।! Hap!!"
Then, I got up, closed my eyes, and acted as if guided by the talisman, slowly walking towards Conan. Conan panicked and started stepping back. As I kept following Conan, he broke out in a cold sweat and, perhaps realizing his short legs weren't enough, suddenly started running away.
Patter patter patter~
"Ahhh!"
Seeing that, Ran scolded Conan.
"Conan! You shouldn't run in a place like this!"
"Ahaha, it's just that..."
Thump!
I stuck a talisman on Conan's forehead while he was momentarily stopped by Ran's scolding.
"Huh?" "What?"
Ran and Sonoko were confused by the sight. I wanted to laugh inside, but I pretended to be surprised and said,
"Huh? Why did this stick here? This talisman is supposed to find people... Did it fail? Let me try again."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Pretending to search a few more times, I kept sticking talismans on Conan's face. Conan seemed to have given up on running and just stayed still. While sticking the talismans, I looked at Conan's face; it was really amusing to see him sweating and panicking, unable to escape. Moreover, the talismans stuck well due to the sweat, making it even funnier.
"This is strange... This means this kid knows where Shinichi is, so let me read his soul..."
As I raised my hand to touch Conan's head, Conan, perhaps realizing it was no use, hurriedly ran outside.
"Big sis, if you don't go home this late, you'll get in trouble! I'll go home now~!"
Patter patter patter!
"Conan! Wait~!"
Ran called out urgently, but he was already gone.
"Why is he acting like that? And Cassian, why did you stick talismans on Conan's face like that?"
"The key to finding Shinichi is held by that kid Conan. So, I tried to read his soul, but..."
"Is that so? Then can I ask again tomorrow? I'll bring him."
"No, I'll go. It's late today, so I'll walk you home."
I changed clothes, came out, rode my bike, dropped off the closer Ran first, then took Sonoko on the back and moved to her house.
Vroom vroom vroom~
"Hey, you know... that..."
"Huh? What?"
"The fortune that said you'll marry Ran in five years, was that not a joke but the truth?"
"Yes. Their destinies are tightly connected, so if nothing major happens, it will likely be that way."
"But still... you said the future isn't set in stone. So, isn't it possible that he might end up with someone else?"
"Right, the future isn't set in stone. That's why I said 'if nothing major happens'."
"What do you mean by major?"
"Hmm... a big accident that could change destiny, or if I use magic to slightly alter fate."
"I see... But Shinichi and Ran get along well..."
"I don't mind. Before I become an adult, I'll meet many women, so I can't demand that a woman only looks at me. And it's just destiny; right now, they're just friends, nothing more. There's still plenty of time."
"Still, somehow, thinking that the person you'll marry in the future is meeting other people of the opposite sex feels strange."
"Not really. As I said earlier, I prefer tall and busty Western beauties."
Suddenly, Sonoko hit my back again with her palm.
"Oh, come on!"
Slap!
"Ouch! We might have an accident!"
"Really! Men!"
Anyway, after dropping off Sonoko like that, I returned home. The next day, the weekend ended, and I went back to school. As expected, Shinichi was absent. Seeing that, Ran rushed over, grabbed me, and shook me while saying,
"Shinichi is really okay, right? Right?"
"Whoa, calm down. The fortune said he's still alive. After classes today, let's go see that kid Conan."
Until classes ended, Ran was restless. Sonoko also looked worried seeing her. After classes, I rode my bike with Ran to Mori Detective Agency. As soon as we entered, Mori Detective welcomed me warmly.
"Oh~ Son-in-law, come on in, fuhahahaha! I heard the story!"
"Nice to meet you, Detective Mori."
Hearing that, Ran panicked and said,
"Oh, come on! Dad! It's just what the fortune said."
It seemed Mori Detective had heard about the fortune from Ran.
"It might be good to get married early. He's super rich and famous, hahahaha!"
I wondered why he was like this. Since he's not famous yet, he might be struggling financially. Ran seemed to give up explaining and just silently served tea. I sat on the sofa in the office and looked around; it seemed like it hadn't been cleaned, with trash bags scattered here and there, and cigarette butts piled up in front of the TV. Then, I noticed Conan wasn't there.
"Where's Conan?"
"He must have gone out somewhere."
I thought he was probably at Dr. Agasa's place. Since he hasn't started school yet, that's the only place to go. Then, Mori Detective asked me to tell his fortune.
"By the way, lately, I haven't had any clients, so can you tell my fortune?"
"Of course, since you're my future father-in-law."
"Fuhahaha, that's my son-in-law for you."
I pretended to concentrate for a moment and then told Mori Detective his fortune.
"Hmm... It shows that recently, a big windfall has come in. If you don't kick it away with your foot, you'll have some financial luck going forward."
"Oh~ Is that so? Then that windfall must be you!"
I was talking about Conan, but what a misunderstanding.
"It doesn't seem to be me."
"Hahaha, how could that be? It must be you."
'What a person who doesn't listen... Now I understand why Ran struggles because of the people around her.'