Chapter 21: The Scent of Blood
Natsume turned around, her gaze sweeping over the familiar trio. "Ran, Conan. What a coincidence running into you here." She shifted her attention to the tall man standing beside them, offering a polite, measured smile. "Mr. Mouri, it's been a while. We ran into that unfortunate incident during the shinkansen trip, so I never really got the chance to properly chat with you."
She continued, her tone perfectly calibrated to stroke the detective's ego. "Besides, I've heard rumors that Mr. Mouri has been solving quite a few high-profile cases lately. As a fellow detective, you are very much my senior in this field. I hope you might offer me some guidance in the future."
Natsume observed the man closely. In the anime, this warrior had taken hundreds of anesthetic needles to the back of the neck without suffering any visible brain damage. Standing here in a crisp suit, his expression temporarily serious, he actually looked the part of a reliable, hard-boiled detective.
That illusion shattered the second he opened his mouth.
"Gahahaha!" Kogoro threw his head back, one hand resting on his hip. "I didn't expect my fame to spread so far that even a beautiful young lady like yourself has heard of my brilliant deductions!" He abruptly choked off his laughter, clearing his throat and adjusting his tie in a desperate bid for humility. "Ahem. Well, my current achievements are hardly worth mentioning. I just got a little lucky on a few cases, that's all." A beat passed. He couldn't hold it in. "Gahahaha!"
Conan stood by his legs, his half-lidded eyes radiating pure, unadulterated deadpan. 'What's with this guy?'he grumbled internally.'Every single one of those cases was solved by me! Left to his own devices, this old man couldn't deduce his way out of a paper bag.'
Once Kogoro finally managed to rein in his booming laughter, Natsume took the opportunity to make the introductions. She gestured to the woman beside her. "This is Lisa, a friend I met a few days ago while reading at the library. When Ran mentioned earlier that there was a rumor about a walking suit of armor in the art museum, I was intrigued. Since Lisa has a deep appreciation for fine art, I invited her to come along."
Hearing the Traveler smoothly use her as a convenient excuse, Lisa merely offered a knowing smile, her emerald eyes glinting with quiet amusement. She didn't expose the lie.
Kogoro's eyes practically turned into hearts the moment they landed on Lisa. He hadn't expected to encounter a woman with such an incredible figure, wrapped in an aura of mature, effortless elegance, at a stuffy art museum. This trip was already paying for itself. He hurriedly smoothed down his lapels, took a confident step toward Lisa, and pitched his voice an octave lower.
"Ahem. Miss Lisa, a pleasure to meet you. To encounter a woman of your caliber in such an artistic venue is truly a matter of fate. I never would have guessed that someone as sophisticated and lovely as yourself would be an aficionado of medieval art. Tell me, which piece in this gallery captures your heart the most?"
A few feet away, Ran's knuckles popped. She stared at her father's back, a dark, murderous aura radiating from her frame as she watched him shamelessly flirt with a woman he had just met.
Conan swallowed hard, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his temple. He eyed the old man, who was currently thinking with the wrong head, and silently prayed for his survival.
Lisa remained completely unfazed by Kogoro's aggressive charm. She tilted her head, her voice a soft, melodic purr. "I wouldn't necessarily say I have a favorite. The medieval artists were heavily bound by religious doctrines and rigid traditions. Because of that, their work pursues a very specific sense of solemnity, mystery, and absolute piety. The heavy religious undertones woven into their brushstrokes are what fascinate me the most."
"Oh? Is that so?" Kogoro nodded sagely, inching even closer to the stunning librarian. "Miss Lisa is interested in religious motifs! What a coincidence. I myself have done quite a bit of extensive research into related historical works. Perhaps I could... ahem... enlighten you on..."
He never finished the sentence. Ran's patience snapped. Her fist shot out, burying itself directly into Kogoro's kidney.
"Guh!" Kogoro folded perfectly in half, the rest of his flirtatious dialogue dying in a choked wheeze.
Without missing a beat, Ran wedged herself firmly between her groaning father and Lisa. She stood like an impenetrable fortress, absolutely determined to crush any chance of her father doing something that would betray her mother.
Watching the fierce, protective display, Lisa couldn't hold back a genuine, musical laugh.
The sound snapped Ran out of her battle-ready state. A flush of embarrassment crept up her neck. "I'm so sorry, Miss Lisa. My father was being incredibly rude just now."
"Not at all," Lisa replied, shaking her head gently. "Mr. Mouri is quite an interesting character. And you, little sister Ran..." She reached out, her gloved hand gently patting the top of Ran's head. "You are incredibly cute. Heh."
Ran froze. Aside from her mother, she had rarely been this close to such a stunning, mature woman. Hearing the genuine praise in Lisa's velvety voice made her cheeks burn a bright, cherry red.
Standing off to the side, Conan found himself unable to look away. The deep blush dusting Ran's cheeks really was incredibly cute.
Since fate had brought them together, the group naturally merged, agreeing to tour the rest of the art museum as a single party. Over the next hour, they drifted through the grand, echoing halls, visiting the Room of Earth, the Room of Heaven, and the Room of Sea in steady succession.
As they walked, Ran filled Natsume and Lisa in on the local gossip surrounding the building.
"Ah, so they plan to gut the museum and turn it into a restaurant," Lisa murmured, her gaze lingering on a beautifully preserved oil painting. She let out a soft sigh. "What a terrible shame for all these magnificent works."
"It really is," Ran agreed, her tone tinged with sadness. "That's why we need to take our time and appreciate everything today. We won't get another chance to see this place as it was meant to be." She turned around, looking for backup. "Right, Dad? Conan? Don't you guys think so too?"
Silence answered her. Kogoro and Conan were lagging twenty paces behind, dragging their feet like zombies. The moment they saw the three women stop, both males immediately collapsed onto a velvet-cushioned viewing bench, completely deaf to Ran's question.
"I'm dying," Conan groaned, his head thrown back against the wall. "Big sister Ran, I'm so tired. Let's just go home."
"The brat is right," Kogoro wheezed, rubbing his aching calves. "I'm starving. We've already walked circles around this place. Can we please leave now?"
Ran planted her hands on her hips, her brow twitching in irritation. "Honestly! You two can't even handle a few laps around a museum? Look at Natsume and Big Sister Lisa, they aren't complaining at all!"
Kogoro and Conan shared a look of utter defeat. They couldn't argue. Natsume and Lisa looked just as fresh and energetic as Ran did. Was this some sort of terrifying biological passive skill? Did women just possess infinite stamina the moment they started browsing?
Before the argument could escalate, Natsume's gaze drifted down the corridor. "Ran, look over there. There's another exhibition hall up ahead that we haven't checked out yet."
Ran followed her line of sight. "Eh? You're right! The No Entry sign that was blocking the corridor earlier has been taken down. We can finally go in." She immediately spun back around, fixing her father and Conan with a terrifying glare that left no room for negotiation.
Grumbling and groaning, the two males were forced to peel themselves off the bench.
The group made their way toward the newly opened hall. But just as they neared the grand arched entrance, Natsume's footsteps abruptly halted. Her Traveler-enhanced senses flared. A thick, metallic tang hung heavy in the stagnant air. She threw her arm out, physically blocking Ran and Conan from taking another step.
"Wait. Don't go in there." Her voice dropped, shedding all its previous warmth. "I smell blood. A lot of it. Something might have happened inside."
The warning barely left her lips before a small blur shot past her leg. Conan. Even with Natsume's honed reflexes, she didn't manage to grab his collar in time. She watched the boy sprint into the dark hall, a dry sigh escaping her lips. 'Truly worthy of the Grim Reaper Kid title,'she thought.'The absolute second he catches a whiff of a crime scene, he charges in blindly.'
Seeing Conan bolt into the unknown danger, Ran and Kogoro panicked. "Conan!" Ran cried out, immediately chasing after him, with Kogoro hot on her heels.
Natsume lowered her arm, exchanging a helpless glance with Lisa. Her attempt to keep them out of a gruesome crime scene had been completely in vain. With a synchronized sigh, the two women followed the Mouri family into the shadows of the exhibition hall.
"Ouch! That hurts!" Conan's pained yelp echoed through the quiet room.
The moment Natsume and Lisa stepped through the archway, they were greeted by the sight of Kogoro Mouri rubbing his fist, aggressively lecturing the young detective who was currently clutching a fresh, smoking bump on the top of his head.
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