I readily agreed. Since it was Ran's mother, there was no reason to refuse. All the mothers of the characters in Detective Conan are beauties, so I wanted to meet them at least once. Moreover, she was also a capable lawyer.
"That's a relief. I was worried you might feel burdened. And it's a secret from Dad."
I knew from the original work that Kogoro and his wife Eri were separated, but I pretended not to know and asked.
"Why not from the detective?"
"Well... we had a big fight and are living apart."
"I see. I understand, I'll be careful."
"Thank you."
On the day of the appointment, when I tried to tell Kogoro that Ran and I were going out somewhere, Conan kept trying to follow. He probably thought we were going on a date or something. Or not? In a way, it's similar to a meeting with parents, so should I say he has good instincts?
"I want to go out too!"
"No, Conan. Please bear with it today. Instead, I'll buy you something tasty when I come back."
Seeing that, Kogoro picked up Conan and said.
"You kid! They want to enjoy a cozy date, so you shouldn't bother them!"
"Hahaha, it's not like that. I'm meeting Sonoko today too."
"Really?"
I said it to reassure Conan since he was being bothersome, but actually, I had a date scheduled at the cafe where I was supposed to meet Sonoko.
"Well then..."
When I brought up Sonoko, Conan seemed to give up on following, but as Ran and I greeted Kogoro and left the office for the meeting place, I felt Conan secretly following from behind. He was a Conan who didn't know how to give up.
"Cassian, why did you use Sonoko as an excuse?"
"Ah~ that's because I had a feeling we'd meet today. An onmyoji's intuition is scary. We'll probably meet."
"Does that kind of thing come true too? Onmyoji are amazing... Then, after meeting Mom, shall we go somewhere with Sonoko?"
"Good."
We arrived at the cafe, the meeting place, and went inside.
"Welcome. Two people... Huh? Cassian??"
When I entered the cafe, the staff seemed very surprised. Because of that, all the customers in the cafe looked at me.
"There are more people coming. And please, to a seat inside so as not to disturb other customers."
"Ah, understood. Then this way."
Whisper whisper~
"It's really Cassian!"
"He's incredibly handsome."
"Should I ask for an autograph?"
"The girl next to him must be his girlfriend."
Ran and I sat at an empty seat inside with the staff's guidance. Ran must have heard the surrounding voices too, as she quietly said to me.
"Being a celebrity must be tough. Even when we went to the department store together last time to buy things, it was like that."
"I don't really mind that."
"Really? Celebrities like actors seem to have people's eyes on them and reporters following, so it looks hard to move around. Cassian isn't like that, I guess?"
"I think it's more accurate to say I've gotten used to it."
"I see."
In other countries, I might have been concerned about paparazzi and guns, but since it's this country, it was manageable to move around. And since the places I go are fixed, the people I meet there are always the same ones, so they don't particularly bother me even though I'm a celebrity.
We ordered simple drinks to have and were chatting when I saw Conan peeking through the cafe window from outside.
"Ran, it seems like Conan followed us, doesn't it?"
I pointed at the window and told Ran. Then Ran made a displeased expression and said.
"What? Conan is here? I clearly told him not to come..."
Ran looked at the window with an angry expression, found Conan, immediately got up from her seat, went outside, and brought Conan in.
"Conan! I asked you, not today."
"Ahaha... well... I was bored."
"Ugh~! I really can't handle you~ I'll buy you a cake or something, so take that and go back quietly, okay? Understand, Conan?"
When Ran spoke firmly to Conan, Conan seemed to have no choice and said he would go back.
"Ah, okay..."
Conan answered while sending me a look as if asking for help.
'That kid, if he stays here, he'll only suffer. Choosing hell on his own.'
I decided to help Conan and spoke to Ran, who was about to get up to buy cake.
"Ran, the meeting time is almost here, so let's just keep him with us. Given the situation, there's no choice. If you go buy cake, you'll definitely be late."
"But... sigh... I guess there's no choice."
Ran had no choice but to ask Conan to keep it a secret from Dad since they were meeting Mom.
"Then, why did you come out, brother?"
"Ran's mother wanted to see me."
"What!?"
Conan's face stiffened as if he finally understood the situation. Then, 'Eri Kisaki' was seen entering the cafe just in time.
"Ran, she seems to have arrived, doesn't she?"
A woman who resembled Ran at a glance was seen entering. If you add haughtiness and chicness to Ran, along with mature charm and bright hair color, it would be exactly Eri Kisaki. She was a considerable beauty. I thought it was a waste for Kogoro.
Ran and I got up from our seats and greeted Eri.
"Mom~"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Cassian."
Eri also saw Ran and me and greeted us.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Eri Kisaki."
We were about to sit down again, but Eri noticed Conan and asked Ran.
"But who is this kid?"
"Ah~ this is Conan, a kid we're taking care of temporarily at Dr. Agasa's request. Conan, you should greet her too~"
"Ah, hello."
"Nice to meet you, Conan."
Conan seemed a little scared of Eri. That's because Ran and Conan grew up being scolded a lot by Eri since childhood, so an automatic rejection reaction occurs in their bodies.
After greeting Conan, Eri sat down and said to Ran.
"You came dressed like that again. I told you not to wear miniskirts because they make your stomach cold."
"Mom, really, always that talk. Please stop treating me like a child."
Eri looked at me and spoke.
"Anyway, I heard a lot about you from Ran. So I was curious and wanted to meet you this time."
"I was looking forward to it too. I was curious about what kind of person you are."
"Oh my, you were looking forward to it? So, what do you think? Your first impression of me."
"I wondered why Ran is such a beauty, but it must be because she takes after you. You're quite beautiful. I think many men would make advances if it weren't for the wedding ring."
I said exactly what I felt. Then Eri, perhaps pleased with my words, smiled and spoke.
"Huhu, you flatter me."
At that time, a staff member came to take orders, so Eri asked for coffee, and Conan also asked for cof... then changed to orange juice.
"Let's be honest. I don't believe in onmyoji arts. So, I thought, 'Aren't you trying to deceive innocent Ran with lies?' and decided to meet you directly to judge."
"Ah~ I see. I understand. Then let me tell you simply so you can believe. Today, a murder will happen in this cafe."
"Wh, what did you say!?"
Eri was very startled by the sudden murder prediction. Conan and Ran also had surprised expressions.
"I did a divination before coming here. It's certain."
"What's that... Cassian-kun, that's a bit too much of a joke."
At that moment, a scream came from the cafe bathroom, and as people went into the bathroom, another scream was heard. It seemed the incident was starting.
'As expected, people die every day. No wonder it's the Detective Conan world.'
We also went to the bathroom, checked the corpse, and stopped people. Meanwhile, Eri contacted the police.
After a while, police arrived, and this time too, Inspector Megure came.
"Cassian, long time no see. It's a bit sad to see you at such incidents every time."
"I guess so. Anyway, nice to meet you."
"Thanks for guarding the crime scene. Did you find out anything?"
I didn't want to drag it out.
"Yes, I also identified the culprit."
At my words, Conan and Eri looked at me in surprise. Of course. Until the police arrived, the scene had to be preserved. There wasn't much to see.
"Oh~ really? As expected of the best onmyoji in this country. Then, tell me."
"First, the dead woman went into the bathroom, and the people who went in after her total three."
I pointed out three people in the cafe. The person who went in second after the dead woman was a graduate student 'Yuichi', the third was a university rugby club coach 'Jujo', and the last was 'Shiro', working at an ad agency, who found the corpse and screamed.
Hearing that, Inspector Megure called the three.
"So, the culprit is among these three."
"That's correct. But there's a peculiar point. The bathroom stall where the dead woman was found was locked. Moreover, the knife used as the murder weapon has strange marks of something tied at the blade tip and blood on the handle. If you held the knife and stabbed, blood shouldn't be on the handle."
At those words, everyone checked the knife. As I said, the weapon had marks of something tied and blood on the handle.
"So, does that mean a rope was tied here to kill the victim?"
"No. As you saw, Inspector, it was stabbed very deeply. In this narrow place, connecting a rope to the knife and stabbing so accurately and deeply is impossible."
At those words, Inspector Megure seemed frustrated.
"Then how was it done?"
"The culprit didn't kill in the bathroom stall, but killed outside the stall and threw the corpse inside. Then, by pulling the rope connected to the weapon in advance, they pulled out the weapon, trying to make it look as if the murder was committed inside and then escaped through the bathroom stall window. During that process, blood got on the weapon's handle. The blood on the bathroom stall door is evidence of that. Probably, the culprit tried to make it look like the work of a petty thief after valuables."
Hearing that, Inspector Megure nodded as if understanding.
"I see! No wonder the victim's belongings were scattered in the bathroom! Then who is the culprit?"
I immediately pointed at the rugby coach 'Jujo'.
"That person right there."
"Right! Arrest this man immediately and take him to the station!"
Then Jujo urgently said to Inspector Megure.
"Hey! Wait a minute. Did you see me harming that woman? Can you just arrest me without evidence?"
At those words, Inspector Megure was momentarily taken aback, then turned to me and asked.
"Um, Cassian, you have evidence, right?"
"Of course. That person's finger bandage position changed between when he entered and left the bathroom. He probably used that bandage when pulling out the knife. The victim's blood is likely on the bandage too."
Hearing that, Inspector Megure looked at the bandage wrapped around Jujo's finger and spoke.
"Show me the bandage wrapped around that finger for a moment."
Jujo, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, suddenly tried to run away.
"Move!!"
Thud thud!
"Ugh!" "Ack!"
The police hurriedly blocked and tried to catch him, but Jujo, being a university rugby coach, was large and strong, so he just pushed through with force and tried to go outside the cafe, but Eri blocked the way.
"Move aside, I said!!"
Jujo threw a punch at Eri who was blocking, but Eri calmly dodged the fist, grabbed the arm that swung the punch, and performed a shoulder throw. It was judo techniques learned from Kogoro.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
I could have caught him too, but I wanted to see this scene, so I left it.
'Wow~ Girl crush, cool!'
The police swarmed over the fallen Jujo, caught him, and took him to the police station. Inspector Megure thanked me and Eri and left like that.
"That's amazing. That shoulder throw, did you learn it from Detective Mouri?"
"Well... yes. All I got from that person are that shoulder throw and Ran."
"I see."
Eri now spoke to me comfortably.
"By the way, how did you predict that a murder would happen?"
"I told you. I did a divination."
"I can't believe it..."
Ran also came and persuaded her together.
"It's true. Cassian's divinations have never been wrong."
"Then, the fact that you'll marry him must be true too?"
"Th...that must be so?"
At those words, Ran blushed and answered. Seeing that, Eri sighed and said.
"Sigh~ It seems she's already fallen. And from what I see, Cassian doesn't look like a bad person either."
Ran, flustered, hurriedly tried to change the topic.
"B, by the way, it's been over 10 years since you left home, so please come back to Dad already."
Eri spoke firmly.
"No!! I absolutely hate a man who is lazy, dirty, only chases women, drinks all the time, and is sloppy!!!"
When she spoke so firmly, Ran started to persuade Eri.
"Then why did you marry?"
"Because of the ill-fated relationship of growing up as childhood friends!"
"What about that wedding ring?"
"As Cassian said, to chase away men who cling."
"Ugh~ Stubborn!"
Ran eventually gave up on persuading. Eri looked at Ran sighing and warned.
"Ran, I'm saying this thinking about your future, so listen well. Make sure to avoid childhood friends and detectives. They're useless."
At those words, Conan's face turned like he was chewing poop.
"...Yes."
Eri smiled and said to Ran.
"But Cassian seems fine."
"R, really? Hehe."
At that time, Sonoko approached us, waving her hand.
"Ran~ Cassian~ I see you all here. Oh, Auntie! Long time no see!"
"Sonoko, it's been a while."
Since Sonoko is also Ran's childhood friend, she knew Ran's mother Eri well.
"But what happened here? I see police too?"
"Well..."
Ran told Sonoko about what had happened.
"What!? A murder case??"
"Yes."
"I have a date at this cafe, but it's ruined..."
I decided to warn Sonoko in advance.
"By any chance, is the person you're meeting in their early twenties, with long hair, and looks like a delinquent?"
"The part about looking like a delinquent is hard to agree with, but early twenties with long hair is correct."
"That person was sitting at the table in front of us, making a call somewhere, saying 'I can have as many women as I want to play with.'"
Hearing that, Sonoko asked again with an angry expression.
"Is that, true??"
"Yes, it's not just me who heard it, right?"
Then Ran, who must have heard it too, agreed with my words and said.
"Yes, I heard it too. As a fellow woman, it felt bad. But to think that Sonoko is meeting such a man..."
At those words, Sonoko seemed shocked. That long-haired man was 'Shiro', who entered the bathroom last and found the corpse.
"Ah~ Sonoko, since a case suddenly happened at the cafe, let's go somewhere else and..."
Speak of the devil, Shiro saw Sonoko and rushed over.
Slap~!
"Hmph! I'm not an easy woman!!"
"S, Sonoko!?"
Suddenly slapped without understanding why, Shiro was taken aback, and Sonoko immediately left the place. Seeing that, Eri spoke.
"Sonoko almost got into big trouble meeting a strange man too. Next time, she should meet a good man."
"Yeah..."
"Anyway, I think I should go now. I still have a lot of work left."
"Are you that busy?"
"Yes. Anyway, remember my words well."
"Okay."
Eri also said to me.
"Cassian-kun, take good care of Ran."
"I will."
We said goodbye to Eri and parted ways like that.
"Cassian, today we met Sonoko as predicted by the divination, but because of the situation, we can't go play together."
"No, when such things happen, friends should go play together. That's how you cheer up quickly."
"Really? I understand. But how do we find Sonoko who left?"
"Leave that to me."
I pretended to do a divination and found Sonoko. Actually, I already knew where she went using [Observation Haki].
"Oh, how did you guys find me?"
Sonoko was at a fast-food restaurant, tearing into a burger alone with a displeased expression. She was taking out her anger from earlier on the food.
"With Cassian's divination... Um, Sonoko, if you're okay with it, shall we go play somewhere together..."
When Ran cautiously brought it up, Sonoko thought for a moment and answered.
"Good! Let's go to karaoke. I want to have fun today!"
"Okay~"
That day, Ran and Sonoko sang songs at karaoke until their stamina was depleted. Conan had a face like he was chewing poop until we went home.