Everyone already knew Ada was rich, but Sonoko and Ran were still shocked.
The place Ada had picked was a penthouse villa with a sky courtyard. From here you could look down over Tokyo, gaze far at Tokyo Tower, and even stroll among pavilions and water gardens floating in the sky. It was the perfect mix of modern and classical style.
"My house doesn't even have a villa like this," Sonoko said. True, though her family owned estates at every resort in Japan.
"Baby, Mommy's home."
"Mommy~~" A childish voice came from inside.
"Miss, you're back."
The one holding the child was an old British lady, stiff and proper. She spoke several languages. Ada had paid a fortune to hire her as a tutor—or rather, as both nanny and housekeeper.
"Mary, I'm back. Has Nono been good?"
"Little Miss has been very good." Mary had once been a nurse and a teacher. With her noble background and education, she had plenty of experience teaching children. But this was her first time seeing a child this smart. Not only could the girl already express herself fluently, her ability to learn was amazing. A genius.
Mommy??!!
Sonoko and Ran felt like today was too full of surprises. First, Liu A'dou's shocking words. Then, finding out their young, beautiful teacher was already a mother.
"Mary, go prepare dinner. Today we have two students dining with us."
"Yes, Miss."
Ada picked up her daughter. "Nono, these are Mommy's students. Say hello to Sister Sonoko and Sister Ran."
"Hello." Nono spoke softly, her face red, but she was very polite.
"Hello," Sonoko and Ran answered warmly. They never expected Ada's daughter to already be this big. Well, at least this should make A'dou give up.
"Alright, Nono, go play with Grandma Mary. I need to tutor the two sisters."
"Okay, Mommy."
So sweet. Sonoko and Ran were melted on the spot. How could there be such a well-behaved little girl? She was just like a doll—they wanted to pinch her cheeks.
Being the good daughter she was, Ran called Kogoro to say she wouldn't be home, and that he and Conan should eat on their own. Kogoro grumbled, but what could he do? "Fine, I'll head to the izakaya then." He didn't worry about bringing Conan along—after all, izakayas only served side dishes, not full meals.
Conan's face looked like that of a bullied daughter-in-law. His father-in-law was too unreliable. He was still a child now, for crying out loud. And why wasn't Ran coming home? Was she out with that pretty boy again??
Conan was just too suspicious.
Knock, knock.
"Who is it? It's late, I've already closed up. Come back tomorrow."
"Mouri-kun, it's me."
It was Inspector Megure's voice. Kogoro didn't dare be careless. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't know it was you, Inspector Megure."
Megure Jūzō came in, along with Shiratori and Takagi. Conan wondered—was there another case that needed his uncle's help? If so, he couldn't leave. Everyone was already used to Conan tagging along and listening in.
"Mouri-kun, I didn't want to bother you so late, but this is from higher up."
"What happened? Is it something big?"
Megure's face was serious. "This matter involves you too. You should already know—Mount Fuji has disappeared."
After Kaitou Kid stole Mount Fuji, such an impossible event of course had to be explained by scientists. But even scientists couldn't make sense of it. The priority now was finding Mount Fuji. The government had called the police together for meetings, but no one wanted to take the case. It was too difficult. Practically a supernatural event. And if they couldn't handle it, they'd lose face badly.
So someone suggested gathering all the smartest detectives in Japan to investigate Kaitou Kid's case. That way, if the detectives failed, it wouldn't be embarrassing. They were just hired to do a job. The police could still save face—if even detectives couldn't solve it, then of course the police couldn't either.
In this world, detectives were far more capable than the police. Just look at Kudo Shinichi. He was called the savior of the Metropolitan Police Department. That alone showed how useless the police were.
The higher-ups thought it made sense. If the police investigated and found nothing, their credibility would drop. Better to let detectives handle it. If even detectives couldn't do it, then the case would just end there. Sure, it was a shame Mount Fuji was gone, but judging by the government's attitude, it was no wonder the police were so incompetent.
"Inspector Megure."
Kogoro suddenly laughed, surprising everyone. Then he loudly declared, "Leave it to me! I will definitely find Mount Fuji and arrest Kaitou Kid. With me, the great detective Mouri Kogoro, there's absolutely no problem! Hahahahaha~~~"
The police didn't even care whether he had the skill. They blindly believed him. "Then we'll leave it to you, Mouri-san."
"Don't worry, hahahaha~"
"As expected of the Sleeping Mouri Kogoro," Takagi said with admiration.
Conan couldn't even complain anymore. What the hell was this? No investigation, no clues, and already making bold promises? Uncle Kogoro, seriously?
The police left. Kogoro seemed thrilled at the thought of becoming famous again, so he told Conan happily, "Kid, today we'll go eat a big feast to celebrate."
Conan's eyes turned into dead fish eyes. Celebrate what? There wasn't even a result yet. Way too early to celebrate. Then again, maybe it made sense. If they didn't celebrate now, they might not get the chance later. Kaitou Kid's theft was just too bizarre. Conan still had no idea how he managed to move Mount Fuji. Was Kaitou Kid actually Amaterasu?
Conan had never faced anything like this. It was like falling into a maze with no exits, every path blocked. But he refused to believe in a perfect crime. He had to solve this case.
When Ran came home, she found the house empty. She thought, 'Where did Dad take Conan to eat? Hopefully not drinking with him.' Sure enough, no one knew Kogoro better than his daughter. Ran understood him too well.
Not only had Kogoro drunk, he had drunk too much. The taxi driver had to carry him inside.
"Seriously, drinking again? Conan, why didn't you stop him?"
Conan thought, 'Like I could stop him.' Then he said out loud, "Ran-neesan, what were you doing today? You didn't go eat with that transfer student again, did you?" His skill at changing the subject was first-rate.
"Of course not. Sonoko and I went to our new chemistry teacher for tutoring."
"New chemistry teacher?" Conan blinked. He wasn't even at high school and they already changed teachers?
"That's right. And let me tell you, our new teacher is a total beauty—and super rich." Ran's voice was lively as she told Conan about school.
'As long as she didn't go out with a guy, that's fine,' Conan thought. His little thoughts were obvious. He wouldn't admit his relationship with Ran out loud, but in his heart he cared more than anyone else. He wouldn't allow anyone to come between them.
"Conan, what's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face?"
"No, no." Conan's cheeks turned red, and he waved his hands quickly. But inside, he thought, 'When can I finally turn back into Kudo Shinichi?'