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Inside the performance hall, the audience seating.
After Steven left, Steven and the others watched the show together.
Thanks to Yukiko's arrangements, they were seated in the VIP box.
Yukiko sat to Steven's left, Ran to his right, with Conan stuck all the way at the far end.
As gentle music filled the hall, pairs of men and women danced gracefully across the stage. Combined with the luxurious, high-end set design, the scene was breathtaking.
"This is amazing," someone murmured.
Ran Mouri watched the dance on stage, unable to hide her genuine admiration.
"Yeah… you really don't see anything this grand back home."
That was exactly why Yukiko had made a special trip all the way back from New York.
"Yaaawn—"
Conan was half-asleep, eyes narrowed as he yawned again and again.
Sure, he had perfect pitch, but musicals? He knew absolutely nothing about them. No matter how hard he looked, he just couldn't see what was so impressive about the performance.
Ran and Yukiko turned their heads at the same time and rolled their eyes.
"What a waste. There's always someone who can't appreciate the value of art."
"Conan, we finally came all this way. Could you at least try to pay attention?"
Honestly, Conan wasn't the only one bored.
Steven couldn't get into musicals either.
To him, it just looked like a bunch of people flailing around wildly. Not even remotely interesting.
His reason for coming to Okinawa this time was Yukiko.
Judging by how things were going, finishing his original plan was turning out to be harder than expected. Instead, his relationship with Ran was getting closer and closer.
But that was fine. Steven wasn't picky.
He wanted both of them anyway.
Who he got first didn't really matter.
"What's so great about this?" Conan rubbed his eyes and scoffed. "It's just a romance story adapted from Greek mythology."
"Oh please," Ran pouted, clearly unhappy with his attitude. "You talk like you're some expert on love. Fine then—tell me, which Greek myth is it adapted from?"
"The golden apple."
Conan clasped his hands behind his head and started explaining, completely unbothered.
"Legend says there were three beautiful goddesses in heaven—Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. One day, they all received invitations to a banquet."
"But there was another goddess named Eris who didn't get invited. So she got angry and tossed a golden apple to the three of them, with the words 'To the most beautiful goddess' written on it."
As he spoke, the story flowed effortlessly from his mouth.
"Hey, isn't that just like what happened earlier—" Ran suddenly realized something. "With the actress receiving the golden apple?"
"Exactly," Conan nodded. "So the three goddesses went to a Trojan prince to judge who deserved it."
"They each offered him rewards. The actor on stage playing the poor noble? He's basically the Trojan prince."
"As for the rich widow, she represents Hera—Zeus's wife, the goddess who governs marriage and holds the highest authority."
"The tough-looking actress from the island nation is Athena, the goddess of wisdom who grants military glory. And the one shamelessly flaunting her charm? That's Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty."
"..."
Conan just kept going, nearly spoiling the entire ending in one breath.
"Stop! Spoilers are the worst!" Ran cut him off and turned to Steven beside her."Steven, have you heard the story of the golden apple?"
Steven knew a bit about Greek mythology, but not in great depth.
Since Ran had taken the initiative to talk to him, there was no way he'd awkwardly let the conversation die and miss a chance to build their relationship.
"I've heard of it," he said with a smile. "But personally, I prefer the stories passed down in Huaxia. They really let you feel the depth of the culture."
"The golden apple story actually has a similar idea to the Huaxia tale 'Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors.' Both are about vanity and wounded pride, and how they eventually lead people to destroy each other."
Once the topic turned to Huaxia culture, this was clearly Steven's home turf.
"I like Huaxia culture too!" Ran's eyes lit up. "I especially enjoy reading Huaxia history—Spring and Autumn Annals, Records of the Grand Historian, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, things like that."
"But a lot of it is really profound. I only half-understand most of it."
"Steven, you seem really knowledgeable about Huaxia culture. If you don't mind, could we exchange contact info? That way, when I run into something I don't understand, I can call and ask you."
As she spoke, Ran took out her phone and handed it to him naturally.
"Huaxia literature is vast and deep. I only know a little myself," Steven replied modestly. "Asking for advice might be too much—but discussing and learning together sounds great."
Beep beep beep!
He took the phone, smoothly typed in his number, and dialed it.
Good thing he'd bought a new phone and SIM card before coming to Okinawa, just in case he needed to contact Vermouth. Otherwise, this would've been painfully awkward.
Off to the side, the neglected King of Vinegar—Conan—watched the scene with a dark expression, his face so sour it looked like someone owed him millions.
Perfect.
The more unhappy Conan was, the happier Steven felt.
Serves you right, he thought. Always so self-righteous. You even accused me of murdering a girl. This is just the beginning. We've got a long road ahead—plenty of chances for you to be furious.
With that, he handed the phone back to Ran.
After saving each other's contact info, the two of them continued chatting about Huaxia culture.
Conan tried to butt in several times, only to be shut down by Steven using obscure classical phrases he couldn't easily refute.
Meanwhile—
On stage.
"Listen, mortals! My name is Mikel!"
The blond actor shouted his lines as thick fog created by dry ice rose around him.
At a glance, the stage looked like a fairyland.
"I will give you the answer now!"
The fog spread, swallowing the stage and obscuring the actors from view.
At that exact moment, Steven caught a brief flash of red infrared light.
The next second—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshot-like sounds rang out one after another.
"Wow… so realistic…" someone in the audience murmured.
Everyone thought it was part of the performance.
Everyone except Steven.
He knew a murder had just occurred.
Solving cases was the detective's job, and dealing with it was for the police. He had no intention of stopping it, nor did he feel like exposing the truth just to show off.
As the fog slowly dispersed, Eisuke—dressed in an angel costume—rose rapidly from the center of the stage.
Clatter.
Something fell, the sound jarringly out of place.
Drip.
Blood stained Eisuke's white costume, dripping down from the hem onto the stage.
The sudden change stunned all the performers.
"Ah—!"
Once they realized Eisuke was a corpse, terrified screams erupted throughout the theater.
"Eisuke…"
"This can't be real!"
"Yeah… this has to be a joke, right?"
"No," someone said shakily. "This isn't a joke. He's been murdered."
The actors on stage stared in disbelief.
"A gun!"
One of the actresses screamed, her eyes fixed on the silenced pistol lying beneath the body.
A murder had occurred. The performance was halted.
Fearing they might get caught up in the incident, the audience began to stand and leave.
"Everyone, please remain calm!" Kogoro Mouri shouted as he rushed onto the stage. "With me, the great detective Kogoro Mouri, here, I promise the killer will be caught! Please stay and cooperate with the investigation!"
Tasked with protecting Yoko Okino, Kogoro revealed his identity and instructed the staff to lower the body.
He immediately began surveying the scene, searching for clues.
In the audience—
"He was shot…" Ran's eyes widened, fear and sympathy mixing together.
"Yes. That seems very likely," Yukiko said calmly. "In my opinion, we should leave as soon as possible."
No one could guarantee the killer wasn't acting randomly. Getting out of this place fast was the safest choice.
"Aunt Yukiko, I'll leave Sister Ran to you!"
Conan hopped off his chair and ran straight toward the stage.
Compared to his sleepy self earlier, he was suddenly full of energy.
"Conan—!"
Ran tried to stop him, but he was already gone.
Watching his small figure disappear into the crowd, she felt completely at a loss.
"Ran, let's listen to Yukiko and leave first," Steven said as he stood up, deep in thought.
With Conan fully focused on the case, this was the perfect chance to slip away with Yukiko and Ran.
Who knew—maybe something romantic might even happen.
"But my dad… and Conan…" Ran looked toward Kogoro on stage, worry written all over her face.
"Kogoro's a detective. Of course he won't ignore a murder," Yukiko said gently. "And that kid clearly loves solving cases. With Kogoro watching him, you don't need to worry."
"If we stay, we'll just distract them. Better to leave so they can focus."
She glanced in the direction Conan had gone, her expression heavy.
Unable to stop her precious son from charging into danger, all she could do was pray nothing went wrong.
"…Okay."
After hesitating for a moment, Ran finally agreed.
The three of them soon made it outside the theater.
The rain hadn't stopped.
Ran and Yukiko had left their umbrellas backstage, leaving Steven as the only one with an umbrella.
Sharing it made things… crowded.
The distance from the theater entrance to the parking lot wasn't far, but for Steven, it felt like the greatest trial of his life.
On his left—Yukiko, full and overwhelming. On his right—Ran, delicate and youthful.
The occasional brushes, mixed with the scent of a mature woman and a girl on the verge of blooming, sent his hormones into overdrive.
Pure torture.
"....."