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Time seemed to pause for an instant.
Vermouth watched Ran as if she were staring at a clown onstage.
Only naïve girls who had never suffered truly believed in gods.
At the same time, Steven retrieved an umbrella from the car and held it over Vermouth's head.
Since he was her assistant in name, playing along cost him nothing.
The scene in front of him felt increasingly familiar.
It seemed that while the original plot had been affected, the changes weren't that big. Mostly different roles and locations. Everything else followed the original story almost exactly.
"Do you think gods really exist in this world?" Vermouth asked suddenly.
"Huh?"
Ran froze, confused by the question.
"If gods really existed," Vermouth continued coldly, "then people who struggle so hard to live wouldn't suffer misfortune."
"At the very least, I know angels would never smile sincerely at me. Not even once."
The corner of her lips curved into a faint, bitter smile, sadness and loneliness intertwined.
It felt like a quiet omen of an approaching tragedy.
"What do you mean by that?" Ran asked, eyes wide. "You said angels would never truly smile at you."
"It just means life itself is bitter," Yukiko chimed in gently, smiling as she explained to Ran.
After that, she turned her gaze to Vermouth again.
"Right, Chris?"
How boring.
Talking about life philosophy for no reason was just a waste of time.
Just as Steven was starting to feel fed up with the two of them, a sudden chill ran down his neck.
He turned his head and met Conan's eyes, sharp with open hostility.
Damn it.
He'd actually caught the Grim Reaper's attention.
If this were the original storyline, there was a good chance he wouldn't make it out alive. Best case, he'd be framed as the killer. Worst case, he'd end up the corpse.
Thankfully, he was a transmigrator, a straight-up bug in the Detective Conan world. Who would counter whom was still up in the air.
After a moment's thought, Steven figured out exactly why Conan was glaring at him.
It was nothing more than the look of admiration Ran Mouri had given him. That look people reserved for the strong.
Cursed charm. Impossible to hide.
"I can't read Steven at all. Why do I instinctively feel that he's dangerous?"
Conan muttered to himself.
Relying on a detective's intuition, he wasn't just jealous. He felt an unmistakable sense of threat.
"Yes. My life has been nothing but a chain of misfortune."
"When I risked everything to step onto the big screen, my parents died in a fire."
"The day after Oscar was taken away, I was in a car accident and nearly had my face ruined. I almost had to say goodbye to the stage forever."
Vermouth's voice was low, her emotions heavy, as if everything she said had truly happened.
Go on, keep lying.
Steven couldn't help admiring her acting. She'd completely fooled Yukiko and the others.
"If you ask me, why think so much?" Mouri Kogoro cut in with a dismissive wave. "Eat when it's time to eat, drink when it's time to drink. Isn't that better?"
"We're here for a festival. The most important thing is to enjoy ourselves. The show starts in an hour. Let's head inside first."
Just like that, he put an end to the gloomy topic.
In the world of Detective Conan, if anyone lived the most carefree life, Kogoro ranked second and no one dared claim first place.
Drinking every day, playing mahjong, chasing Yoko Okino's latest dramas.
Hungry? Ran cooked. Got a case? Conan solved it. He did nothing yet gained both fame and fortune. A true winner in life.
"Life's short and exhausting. If there's wine tonight, then get drunk tonight!"
"As expected of a famous detective. Your understanding of life really is different from normal people," Steven said with a smile, unable to resist teasing him.
Kogoro was the type who looked foolish but was actually sharp. When he got serious, he was terrifying. Most of the time, though, he served as a pure tool.
Contributing nothing but a conveniently placed neck, while Conan did all the work behind the scenes.
"That's only natural. Hahaha!"
Kogoro laughed loudly, his signature over-the-top cackle filling the air.
…
The theater, backstage.
The three actresses about to perform in the musical Golden Apple were busy putting on makeup and reviewing their scripts.
Creak.
The door opened, and Steven's group walked in.
"Huh?"
The three actresses turned around in surprise, then immediately lit up with excitement.
"It's Yukiko! You really came to see our performance!"
"I can't believe what our director said actually came true!"
"This feels like a dream!"
"Let's all have dinner together later!"
Yukiko had won major acting awards at nineteen and taken the world by storm. To these three actresses, she was both a senior and an idol.
It was a pity that she retired at twenty and married Kudo Yusaku in a flash wedding. Otherwise, her achievements would have been even greater.
"I didn't expect you all to admire Aunt Yukiko this much," Ran said in surprise, calling her "Aunt" as smoothly as breathing.
If Conan had said that, he'd probably have already been slapped.
"Of course. Yukiko already knew the troupe's director. Once she said she wanted to come, getting tickets was easy."
"And she's also the most popular female detective right now, Lady Baroness."
Vermouth crossed her arms, completely unconcerned about maintaining a superstar image.
"Lady Baroness?" Ran asked, confused.
She read widely and knew a bit of everything, except detective novels. This title was new to her.
"You don't know? Let me explain," Steven said.
"Because Yukiko is married to Kudo Yusaku, the author of Baron, she once appeared on a special investigative TV program as the wife of a famous mystery writer."
"Her deductions on the show just happened to hit the nail on the head, and they successfully caught the culprit."
"After that, people started calling her the female detective, Lady Baroness."
A neat bit of exposition, and just like that, he closed the distance between himself and Ran.
Knowing the script really was convenient.
Aside from the title, Steven also knew that everything Yukiko said on that show was basically copied word for word from Yusaku's casual comments while reading the newspaper.
"Wow, you know so much," Ran said, impressed. "You must really like detective novels. Just like Shinichi. He's obsessed with them."
She casually brought up Kudo Shinichi and started chatting with Steven on her own initiative.
Watching from the side, Conan felt increasingly uneasy.
He knew exactly what that feeling was.
It was the sense of danger Steven gave off.
As for why, even Conan couldn't explain it clearly. Maybe it was just a detective's instinct.
"Miss Ran Mouri, I actually don't like detective novels at all," Steven said lightly. "I even find them a bit annoying. By the way, who's this Kudo Shinichi you mentioned? Is he your boyfriend?"
"....."