Time passed, and the day came for the Queen Elizabeth to depart. I met Ran, Conan, and Kogoro at the harbor.
"Hello, Detective Mouri."
"You're here, son-in-law."
I greeted Kogoro and then Ran.
"Ran, the dress suits you well."
Ran was wearing the dress I gifted her for the day, and since she had on a bit of makeup, she looked even more beautiful.
"Hehe! Are you smitten, Prince?"
Ran was throwing back the joke I had used last time.
"Hahaha, got a hit from Ran."
Hahaha~ Hohoho~
"Shall we go, miss?"
When I extended my arm for Ran to hold, Conan clung to it first.
"Yes!! Let's! Go! Bro!"
Conan said each word sharply and emphatically, grinding his teeth. Ran saw this and thought he was joking again, laughing as she spoke.
"Oh my! Conan, really~!"
I greeted Conan, who was clinging to my arm.
"Conan, long time no see."
"Hmph! Yeah, long time no see."
"Why are you so angry? Are you still sulking because you couldn't win a single round of Tekken with me last time?"
"Yeah!! Be prepared, I won't lose this time!"
Conan snapped back. I was talking about Tekken, but I knew well that Conan was referring to Ran.
"Hahaha, I guess I need to practice hard too."
Then Kogoro looked at his watch and spoke.
"Let's go, we'll be late."
We moved to the waiting line to board the ship. Then Inspector Chaki, who was handling the Kaitou Kid case, and Inspector Nakamori, who was also involved, noticed us while talking and approached with a happy expression.
"Cassian! Glad you could make it."
"Long time no see, Inspector Chaki."
Inspector Chaki apologized to me again.
"Sorry about that. It was our mistake to let the thief escape after you went through the trouble of setting a trap."
"It's fine."
"And this is Inspector Nakamori, who's in charge of the Kaitou Kid case."
Inspector Chaki introduced Inspector Nakamori. It seemed the name Kaitou Kid was now firmly established.
"Pleased to meet you. I've heard a lot about you, onmyoji Cassian."
"Pleased to meet you, Inspector Nakamori."
"I heard you're here on Chairman Suzuki's request to protect the Black Star from Kaitou Kid this time too."
"That's right."
"Our goals are different, but we can cooperate. Let's work together."
"I look forward to it as well. Also, I brought my sword again this time, so I'm mentioning it in case any issues arise."
I showed the cane sword I had brought.
"Don't worry about that. I'll talk to them."
We finished greeting the police and boarded the ship. The police conducted inspections, but since Inspector Nakamori had talked to them, we could board immediately without delay. The Queen Elizabeth was a huge cruise ship. Holding a deck party on such a large ship showed how wealthy the Suzuki Group was.
'Well, they did say it's a global group...'
In the original, Kaitou Kid disguised as Ran to deceive people, but since I'm sticking close, he probably won't be able to do that, so I expect he'll disguise as someone else to come in. Honestly, using my abilities would make catching him easy, but that would be no fun, so I decided to just enjoy it.
Just in case, I called Kogoro, Ran, and Conan to set a password.
"Is that necessary?"
"You never know. Kaitou Kid is a master of disguise."
"Okay."
"Then, um..."
I thought for a moment and looked at Conan, remembering the author of Sherlock Holmes.
"Right! The author who wrote Sherlock Holmes is Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle. So, if the person asking says 'Arthur,' the person answering should reply 'Doyle.'"
"Got it."
This wasn't for me but as a measure to prevent the group from being tricked by Kaitou Kid if we got separated.
On the ship, we met Chairman Suzuki, Sonoko, Tomoko, and Ayako with her lover Yujo, and exchanged greetings.
"Hello, Chairman."
"You've come. I've been waiting."
Unlike the original, Kaitou Kid didn't disguise as any of them this time. Probably after hearing that I could see through disguises, he didn't choose people I would meet.
'This is completely different from the original? Interesting.'
We greeted the chairman's group, and as people gathered in the party hall, the event proceeded.
"Ahem~ Our Suzuki Group has already reached its 60th anniversary this year. This is all thanks to everyone's help..."
While Chairman Suzuki was giving a speech on the stage, I was observing the people around with [Eyesight].
"Tonight, forget about petty thieves and enjoy the 60th-anniversary party leisurely."
"Before that!"
Then Tomoko, Sonoko's mother, went up to the stage and continued the speech.
"Tonight, we've prepared a special sequence. Please open the small box that was given to each of you when you boarded the ship."
Murmur murmur
People had received a box each when boarding after police inspection, with instructions not to open it until the party, so they had just kept it.
When people opened the boxes, they saw that each contained a Black Star.
"What... what is this!?"
As people confirmed the Black Stars, Tomoko continued.
"That's right! It's the Black Star, the symbol of our family that Kaitou Kid has his eyes on! Of course, only one is real! I'm the only one who knows who I gave the real gem to. The rest are all expertly crafted replicas."
If they had just entrusted it to me, it would have been safer, but I didn't step forward to say that. I already knew where it was anyway.
"Now, everyone! Please pin the pearl to your chest! And show it to Kid! Tell him to steal it if he can! Of course, that would be after figuring out which one is real within the three hours the ship is at sea."
Hahaha
Hearing this, people also started laughing, seeming excited.
We also opened the box we received and pinned it to our chests.
'I wonder how Kid will appear.'
The real one is with Tomoko. She probably couldn't entrust such an important thing to someone else. I don't know how Kaitou Kid figured it out in the original, but he disguised as Ran and approached Tomoko to steal it easily. However, Ran was stuck close to me, and I was keeping an eye on Tomoko, so it won't be easy.
We were enjoying the deck party, talking with various people. Since many wealthy people attended, I saw many who frequently requested my services.
"It's been a while. I really owe you a lot from last time."
George Hatamoto from the Hatamoto family, whom I had met before, was there, so we exchanged greetings.
"Pleased to see you. It's been a long time."
"Thanks to Chairman Suzuki and his wife, I was able to expand my shop. As a token of gratitude, I prepared tonight's dinner myself."
"That's good news. I've heard rumors that Mr. Hatamoto's cooking is delicious, so my mouth will be happy tonight."
"Hahaha, I put some effort into it today, so you can look forward to it."
Then a handsome man with tanned skin approached us and spoke. This person was Takuta Mifune, the president of Mifune Electronics.
"So you're the onmyoji Cassian I've only heard about in rumors. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. I'm onmyoji Cassian."
"But does that onmyoji stuff really work? It's hard to believe, you know."
Then George spoke. George was acquainted with Takuta.
"This guy still speaks cynically. You'd be shocked if you saw it for real."
George had been with me during the soul show, so he had no choice but to believe. But I understood Takuta's perspective; if I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it either, so I didn't say much.
I saw Sonoko glaring somewhere, so I looked and saw her sister Ayako and Yujo being lovey-dovey.
"They say late love is fierce, but they're burning up! Burning up!"
"Hahaha, are you that dissatisfied with your sister dating?"
"It's not that, but there's a limit, right? Sticking together every day..."
"I'll definitely say the same thing when Sonoko dates."
Hearing that, Ran laughed and agreed.
"Hehe! I'll definitely do it too."
"Burning up! Burning up! I'll remember that!"
"Hey! You guys really want to do this! I'm going to live miserably as a single person."
Hahaha~ Hohoho~
Then Conan asked Sonoko with a serious face.
"Wh... what did you say?? Can you repeat what you just said?"
"Huh? What? Burning up! Burning up?"
"No, after that..."
"Th... there's a limit..."
"Not that, the next one..."
"I'm going to live miserably as a single... Hup!"
Sonoko realized her mistake and quickly covered her mouth. But it seemed too late. Kogoro laughed and spoke.
"Ohoho~ So you've decided to date now?"
Then Ran quickly made a shushing gesture with her finger and said.
"Dad, shh!! Shh!! Cassian is a celebrity, so we decided to keep it a secret."
Hearing that, Kogoro also spoke quietly.
"Oh, really?? Anyway, congratulations. I had a hunch since you gifted the dress. It's turning out just like the fortune said."
Conan heard the truth directly from Ran and slumped down with a despairing expression.
Thud!
"Ah..."
Ran quickly looked at Conan and
"Conan! Are you hurt somewhere?"
"Ah... no."
"Phew, that's a relief. I thought you were hurt since you suddenly slumped."
Ran helped Conan up and smiled as she asked him.
"Conan, it's a secret that Cassian and I are dating, so don't tell anyone. Okay, Conan?"
"Y... yeah..."
Conan clenched his fists, trembling, and answered Ran. Seeing this, Ran looked worried and tried to touch Conan's forehead.
"Are you really not hurt somewhere?"
Tap!
Conan slapped her hand away hard and said.
"Don't touch me!!"
"Co, Conan!?"
Ran was taken aback by Conan's action, and Conan ran off somewhere.
"Conan!! Wait!"
Sonoko saw that and said.
"Why is he acting like that? Did he fall in love with his sister? Hehehe!"
"Sonoko, we decided to keep it a secret. I really can't stop you."
"Sorry... but only Conan and Detective Mouri know, so I'll be careful from now on."
"But really, why is Conan acting like that?"
Ran looked at me and requested.
"Hey, Cassian, sorry, but can you find Conan? I don't know why, but he seems angry at me... Please do me a favor."
"Sure. Don't forget the password."
"Okay."
I left the party hall briefly to find Conan. I already knew where he went with [Observation Haki]. Conan was looking at the sea from the ship's railing.
"Hey~ Conan, your sisters are worried. Let's go in."
"..."
"Conan?"
Conan was quiet for a moment, then asked me.
"Since when have you been dating?"
"Now, about two weeks?"
"Really? Have you ever been wrong with your fortune-telling?"
"Um... yes. There was a time when my fortune was wrong once. The future isn't set in stone."
"Then, the conditions? How is that possible?"
Conan was desperate.
"I don't know why you're asking that, but for example, let's say A and B are definitely going to marry in two years. But then the whole world ends after one year. Then clearly A and B were fated to marry, but ultimately, they can't get married. In such a case, the fortune can be wrong."
"So the time you were wrong was?"
"I told A's fortune, but B died in an accident. So it was wrong. If I had told B's fortune too, it wouldn't have come out like that."
"What's that! It means someone has to die or something big has to happen."
"Right, so that's why they say fate isn't easy to avoid."
"Like that... Sigh... Bro... I have a request."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Read my fortune."
I thought for a moment. This meant Conan was willing to tell me his truth.
"Okay."
Since nothing will change now, I thought it would be fine and decided to do it. I put my hand on Conan's head and pretended to read his fortune.
"Hmm... Huh? Gasp! Shinichi???"
"Yeah, it's Shinichi."
I tried my best to act surprised.
"That... Shinichi who looks like a squid, can't play soccer, and has a prickly personality???"
"Yeah... Squid... what!!??"