It was nearly midnight before the fire at the Twin Tower Skyscraper was finally extinguished, thanks to the efforts of dozens of firefighters.
Another two hours passed before Ritsu and Haibara finally saw Akemi arrive.
Staggering over to the small white sedan, Ritsu pulled open the rear door and climbed inside. Unfortunately, his long legs forced him to curl up in the back seat, doing his best to keep his injured back from pressing against the hard surfaces.
Lying face-down across the seat, he still refused to let up.
"The drive from Minato City in Tokyo to Nishitama City only takes about an hour and a half," he complained.
"And that's during rush hour. Where exactly did you go sightseeing?"
Haibara, sitting in the front passenger seat, rolled her eyes so hard they nearly disappeared.
She honestly couldn't understand what her sister saw in this guy. He certainly looked handsome but he was absolutely hopeless when it came to conversation.
'How could someone with such a nice face have such a mouth?'
If he were mute, the line of girls chasing after him would probably stretch from Mount Fuji all the way to the Alps.
Not particularly confident in her driving skills, Akemi stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
"Ever since... that incident, I've been a little afraid of driving. Besides, I've never driven outside Tokyo before. This was my first time leaving the city, so I kept the speed at the minimum the whole way."
"If you'd driven any slower," Ritsu muttered,
"I would've expected a traffic officer to walk over and hand us a speeding ticket."
Unable to take it anymore, Haibara turned toward her sister.
"Onee-san, what exactly do you like about him? With a tongue that sharp, should I make some medicine to permanently silence him?"
The moment Ritsu heard that, he abruptly lifted his head. His eyes widened as if to protest, "I'm still right here! What kind of dangerous thing are you saying?!"
Akemi raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Instead of answering, she asked a question of her own. "You still haven't told Shiho about our relationship?"
Haibara assumed she meant their cousin relationship. Quite open-mindedly, she replied,
"Whether in Britain or Japan, first cousins are allowed to marry. Besides, he isn't actually related to us by blood."
Ritsu had absolutely no intention of explaining things right now.
Burying his face into the soft seat cushion, he quietly wondered whether Shiho was right about him being painfully dense.
'Am I really that much of a blockhead?'
The blockhead himself sincerely asked the question, completely lacking any self-awareness.
Since Ritsu refused to explain, Akemi continued while driving.
"He and I only have a marriage of convenience. We don't have a romantic relationship. And we won't develop one. As far as I'm concerned, he's my little brother."
"...I'm older than you. That makes me the older brother."
"But I still have to take care of your daily life," Akemi said with a smile.
"When you finally learn how to cook, then I'll start treating you like an older brother."
Hearing that, Ritsu wilted like a sprout that had gone without water.
Ever since he had blown up Vodka's brand-new kitchen, he had developed a temporary aversion to learning how to cook.
Haibara folded her arms across her chest, adopting her usual queenly demeanor. With a teasing smile, she said,
"My, my~, so your marriage is fake. That means someone's still been single since birth."
"As if someone else here hasn't been single since birth."
"But you're already twenty-six. I'm only eighteen and not even an adult yet. You're already an old man."
"I'm still young."
Ritsu felt as though countless blades had pierced his back.
One was labeled "Blockhead."
Another read "Single Since Birth."
And now he'd been stabbed by yet another sword named "Old Man."
He had to admit, no matter in the past or now, he simply couldn't out-argue Shiho. At this rate, it would've been better if he'd revealed his identity later.
At least then he could've continued scaring her as Augier.
"...You'll be older than me someday."
"Hm? What did you say?"
Realizing he'd almost revealed something he shouldn't, Ritsu hurriedly changed the subject.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about the mission that still isn't finished.
Akemi, could I trouble you to drive me to that old man's house? I've already sent the address to your phone."
"Of course. I'm heading there now. Should I help you inside and clean up the evidence afterward?" Akemi asked.
She was no longer as resistant to assisting with Organization-related work, provided it didn't involve taking lives.
"I'd appreciate that. But first, why don't you take—"
"I already told Professor that I won't be staying with him tonight. Your bandages need to be changed every eight hours. It'll be more convenient if I stay at your place."
"...All right."
The car fell silent for a while.
Akemi focused on driving.
Wanting to get home sooner, she finally summoned the courage to increase her speed as they headed toward 198 1-chome, Karasu Town.
It was nearly one in the morning when the white Lexus sedan slowly pulled into a nearby parking lot.
Supporting the barely mobile Ritsu, Akemi helped him out of the car. Haibara watched the two of them head toward Pisco's luxurious villa.
During the drive, Haibara had already hacked the property's security system and surveillance cameras.
Of course, the credit wasn't entirely hers. She had successfully done it using decryption software designed by Ritsu.
The pair calmly pushed opens the iron gate and entered the courtyard as though they owned the place.
Before reaching the front door, they carefully slipped shoe covers over their footwear.
The goal was to leave absolutely no footprints, even if they intended to burn the entire place down shortly afterward.
Ritsu immediately found the master light switch in the foyer and illuminated the entire villa. Looking toward Akemi, he issued his instructions.
"I'll search the second floor. You check the first. If there's anything that needs to disappear, destroy it. But if you find records that qualify as criminal evidence, make a backup first."
"Understood."
"Hurry if you can. The police are probably already looking for a medical examiner to identify the burned body from the fire."
"If they determine its Masuyama Kenzo, they'll likely come here very soon."
"I know. You shouldn't push yourself either. Don't tear your wounds open."
Keeping his movements as small as possible, Ritsu climbed the stairs and headed straight for Pisco's bedroom.
Generally speaking, people preferred keeping their most valuable possessions close at hand.
Bedrooms were excellent hiding places.
He thoroughly searched around and inside the mattress, pillows, and surrounding furniture.
Sure enough, he discovered evidence that Masuyama had used his public identity to traffic military weapons through his automobile company.
Even more interesting, none of that income had ever been handed over to the Organization. Pisco had quietly embezzled every cent for himself.
However, after that, Ritsu failed to uncover any additional leads.
He frowned.
Judging from the amount of money Pisco had accumulated, there should've been far more than just this single property. Had he hidden everything somewhere else?
Supporting himself on the banister, Ritsu made his way downstairs. Just as he reached the corner, he heard an unusual clicking sound.
Quickening his pace, he rounded the corner and found Akemi crouching in front of a display cabinet.
She had discovered the hidden switch beneath the foot of a human-shaped figurine.
Leaning closer, Ritsu was about to compliment her when he realized the figurine was actually a model of Pisco himself.
Silence filled the room for several seconds. Then Ritsu slowly remarked,
"I didn't expect the old geezer to be so narcissistic."
Akemi answered with nothing more than a silent smile.
Inside the hidden compartment, stacked neatly together, were property deeds as thick as an English dictionary.
This was where all the valuable assets had been hidden.