In the lounge area on the first floor of the Beika Grand Hotel, near a secluded corner, Ritsu waved over a waiter and ordered two cups of warm espresso, quietly waiting for his guest to arrive.
Yukiko was wearing oversized bug-eyed sunglasses and a mask covering the lower half of her face as she sneakily made her way over and sat down across from Ritsu. After confirming that no one was paying attention to them, she removed her mask.
Lowering his crossed leg, Ritsu interlaced his fingers atop his knees and said gently,
"I wasn't sure what your preferences were, Kudo-san, so I took the liberty of ordering this. If it isn't to your taste, please let me know."
"Please, call me Yukiko. And your taste can't be bad."
Taking a sip from the cup, Yukiko's eyes lit up in surprise. "Espresso. That's exactly the kind of coffee I like."
After a brief pause, she smiled.
"I never expected Onizawa-san to be a fan of mine. To actually remember a coffee preference I casually mentioned during a magazine interview more than ten years ago."
After coming into contact with Shinichi, Ritsu had thoroughly investigated his background information, naturally memorizing details such as personal preferences. The reason he ordered espresso was to test whether the woman before him had already guessed that his identity was far from ordinary.
As expected, things aligned with his assumptions.
But one thing he was certain of was that she held no hostility toward him.
"Heh. Yukiko-san, let's stop beating around the bush. You want to know whether I'm aware that Conan is actually Shinichi, correct?"
Getting straight to the point had always been Ritsu's style.
Yukiko hadn't expected the man to admit it so quickly. Blinking twice, she set down her coffee cup and smiled.
"You really smart, Onizawa-san. Then you should also know the other question I want to ask, right?"
The Kudo couple becoming involved would certainly benefit him. However, his identity still wasn't something that should be known by too many people.
Humans were selfish by nature. If Shinichi were ever placed in real danger, who knew whether they might sell him out to protect their own interests?
After walking this path for so long, Ritsu had seen too much. There was little left he could afford to lose, and almost no room left for mistakes.
Slowly standing up, he walked behind Yukiko and stopped. His thin lips parted slightly.
"I'm on Sherlock Holmes' side. Is that answer satisfactory?"
'So he was only willing to hint at his position indirectly?'
Turning her head to watch the tall figure walking away, Yukiko smiled faintly.
It was exactly as Yusaku had predicted.
He wouldn't reveal his true identity.
Not only that, he was incredibly cautious.
The coffee on the table hadn't been touched at all. He was probably worried she might extract DNA from it and discover who he really was.
Taking out her phone, Yukiko sent an email. As Ritsu's handsome face flashed through her mind, she grinned.
"He's handsome too~ Ah, Shin-chan is still a bit too green. Mature handsome men really are better."
[Yukiko: It's exactly as you predicted~ As expected of the husband of the world-famous beauty and Japan's number-one actress, Yukiko-chan! But Yusaku, will he really help Shin-chan?]
Reading the email, Yusaku couldn't help but smile.
Yukiko was still just as narcissistic as ever. But that was part of what made her adorable.
His gaze drifted toward his son, who was sprawled on the sofa still sulking. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe.
Recalling the effortless way Onizawa had restrained Yukiko earlier, Yusaku rapidly typed a reply on his phone. After confirming it had been sent, he put the device away.
[Yusaku: Onizawa Takashi is someone worthy of trust. There are many things Shinichi could learn from him.]
Walking to the window, Yusaku pulled back the curtain and looked down at the navy-blue Bugatti leaving the Beika Grand Hotel.
His gaze was contemplative.
Not only that...
Ritsu might be someone who stood somewhere between the Heisei-era Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty.
Or perhaps not.
And that stubborn boy who refused to leave with them probably needed his help very much.
...
Driving his Bugatti aimlessly through the streets, Ritsu replayed everything that had happened.
He let out a long sigh.
For some reason, he felt as though Yusaku had completely played him.
Did Yusaku truly know nothing about his existence and simply create this whole situation by coincidence?
Or had it all been a deliberate test to determine whether the person standing beside his son was beneficial or dangerous?
Pulling over to the roadside, Ritsu rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag before exhaling.
The route from the Mouri Detective Agency to that three-story villa earlier had been completely opposite directions.
When Yukiko reached that intersection, it almost felt as though she intentionally wanted him, on his way home from work, to encounter that little performance.
As expected of a legendary figure in detective fiction.
Fortunately, someone like that was on his side. If he were an enemy, he'd be a nightmare to deal with.
Ding.
His train of thought was interrupted.
Taking out his phone, Ritsu glanced at the screen and discovered that his newly registered LINE account had been added to a group chat by Hayasaka.
The group name made him chuckle.
[Beika Town Needs the Pretty Girls of First Division, Third Unit to Save It]
That said...
Was this really a group he was supposed to be in?
The name certainly didn't seem appropriate.
[Yuna Wants Mamoru Chiba: The pretty girls' group of First Division, Third Unit is officially born ()!]**
[Miwako: Then why is Yumi in here?]
[It's Yumi-Yumi: Because my heart is with you, Miwako~~ (ω)]
[Yuna Wants Mamoru Chiba: Actually, the group needed at least three people, so I added Yumi.]
[It's Yumi-Yumi: Seriously? Yuna-chan, how did Miwako corrupt you so fast? You weren't like this when we first met!!]
[Yuna Wants Mamoru Chiba: (,; ⩌ ;,)]
[Miwako: So... why is Inspector Onizawa in this group?]
Ritsu's mouth twitched.
So he really had been added by accident. In that case, he'd just leave the group voluntarily before Hayasaka kicked him out.
[It's Yumi-Yumi: Inspector Onizawa? Where?! He's been ranked number one for months as the male officer women at the MPD most want to marry! I can't believe you have his LINE account, Yuna!]
[It's Yumi-Yumi: So can you sell it? His account, I mean.]
[Onizawa: ...]
[It's Yumi-Yumi: Does that period mean yes?]
[Miwako: I think it means he's speechless.]
As expected of Miyamoto Yumi. Ritsu had heard Sato talk about her before.
A woman with an incredibly wild imagination and absolutely no sense of direction when it came to normal thinking.
Whoever ended up snatching her away in the future would probably be one very honest man.
As Ritsu was about to send a "?" to the group, a notification popped up.
[You have been removed from the group chat by the group owner, "Yuna Wants Mamoru Chiba".]
"So I really was added by accident."
He had no intention of spying on a group chat full of women anyway.
Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, Ritsu drove off.
Thinking back on everything that had happened today, the funniest part was probably...
He had come dangerously close to turning Shinichi into a kid without a mother.
----
bonus chap every 20 PS
read ahead on my pa-tr3on.com / Siamus404