Chapter 24: Glass Beads
The night had grown deep by the time they arrived at the restaurant, leaving the streets of Beika quiet and the dining room nearly empty. Inside, the warm, inviting glow of the overhead lights chased away the evening chill.
The group huddled around a large wooden table, eagerly scanning the menu before placing their orders. It did not take long for the kitchen doors to swing open, releasing a cloud of rich, mouth-watering aromas. Natsume rolled up her sleeves and stepped behind the counter to help carry the steaming plates to the table. Seeing that the dinner rush had completely died down and there were no other customers to attend to, she pulled out an empty chair and warmly invited Xiangling to sit down and join them for the meal.
"Wow! These dishes taste absolutely amazing." Mouri Ran's eyes lit up the moment the first bite hit her tongue, her face breaking into a delighted smile.
Kogoro Mouri did not offer any verbal praise, entirely because his mouth was too full. He was practically inhaling his food, his chopsticks moving in a furious blur as he wolfed down rice and meat with zero regard for table manners.
Sitting beside him, Conan let out a quiet, hidden sigh of relief. He scanned the spread of normal, appetizing food on the table. Fortunately, none of those bizarre specialty dishes were on the menu tonight. While Xiangling's more experimental cooking actually tasted surprisingly decent, the visual presentation of glowing blue ingredients and strange, gelatinous textures was simply too much for his modern sensibilities to handle.
Seeing the genuine enjoyment on her guests' faces, Xiangling beamed, her energetic nature bubbling to the surface. "Thank you so much for the compliment! You guys have to come back often. When I have a bit more free time, I can whip up some of my super secret specialty dishes for you to try. And considering that you know Lu—ahem, that you know Natsume, I can definitely give you a special discount!"
Ran nodded enthusiastically, completely missing the slight stumble in the chef's words. "With a restaurant this delicious, we will definitely be regulars."
Conan, however, missed nothing. His sharp ears caught the subtle slip of the tongue. He noticed that when Xiangling addressed Natsume, she had almost mispronounced the first syllable. She corrected herself with a cough almost instantly, but the phonetic shape of the interrupted word sounded nothing like 'Natsume'. It was as if Natsume had another name, an alias or a true identity, that this young chef was far more accustomed to using.
He also could not shake the persistent, nagging feeling that there was a hidden link between the bubbly chef Xiangling and the languid librarian Lisa.
"Ah! I totally forgot I still have soup simmering on the stove. I'll go serve it right now!" Xiangling suddenly gasped, clapping a hand to her forehead. She pushed her chair back and hurriedly jumped to her feet.
As she moved, the heavy, square-framed accessory tied at her waist swung forward, bumping against the edge of the wooden table with a crisp, distinct clink.
Conan's gaze subconsciously dropped to the ornament at Xiangling's waist. It was a glowing crimson gem set inside a diamond-shaped golden frame. A sudden spark of realization flashed through his mind. He abruptly turned his head, his eyes locking onto the chest area of Lisa's dress.
That was it. Both Xiangling and Lisa wore strikingly similar gem accessories. There absolutely had to be a connection between them.
Several days had passed between Conan's first encounter with Xiangling and his introduction to Lisa. Combined with the fact that the glowing gems were completely different colors and set in entirely different metallic frames, his brain had not immediately linked the two items. But seeing them both in the same room tonight, the similarities were glaringly obvious. They were clearly artifacts from the exact same series. Both were slightly transparent, jewel-like orbs containing a distinct, glowing elemental symbol suspended deep within the glass.
Conan's detective instincts flared. He had a gut feeling that those internal patterns held a highly specific meaning. He leaned forward slightly, squinting, desperately trying to get a clearer look at the purple pattern trapped inside the gem resting on Lisa's chest.
Unfortunately, Conan was so absorbed in his deduction that he completely failed to notice the dark, terrifying shadow falling over Mouri Ran's face.
Ran watched the little boy staring intently at the librarian's cleavage, her grip on her chopsticks tightening until her knuckles turned white. Finally, her patience snapped. She reached over and delivered a swift, forceful bonk directly to the top of Conan's head.
"Conan, exactly where are you looking?" Ran asked, a terrifyingly sweet smile plastered across her face. "You haven't been hanging around a certain lecherous uncle for too long and letting him teach you his disgusting habits, have you?"
Hearing this, Kogoro Mouri swallowed a mouthful of food and glared across the table, highly dissatisfied. "Hey, how does this involve me? Keep me out of it. Besides, this brat has always been a precocious little weirdo. Maybe he's just a natural-born lecher."
Having finally filled his stomach enough to take a breather, Kogoro set his chopsticks down and smacked his lips. Craving a drink to wash down the rich meal, he turned toward the kitchen doors just as Xiangling trotted back out with a large, steaming tureen of soup. "Hey, Boss, do you happen to sell any alcohol here?"
Hearing her father ask for booze, Ran instantly dropped her interrogation of Conan and pivoted to scold her father. "Dad, absolutely not. Do not start drinking this late at night, you'll just complain about a splitting headache tomorrow morning."
Before Kogoro could even attempt to argue back, Xiangling set the soup down and cheerfully informed him that they did not stock any alcohol on the premises. The older detective immediately slumped down in his chair, groaning in utter defeat.
Seeing that the threat of her father getting drunk was neutralized, Ran turned her sharp gaze back to the little boy beside her, fully prepared to resume her lecture.
Sensing the incoming danger, Conan threw his hands up and hurriedly defended himself. "Ran, wait, I was just looking at Lisa's necklace! I just thought the glowing bead on it was really special, that's the only reason I kept staring at it. I swear I wasn't looking at... looking at, um... that!"
To sell the lie, Conan furiously scratched the back of his head, widening his eyes to look as innocent, pure, and childish as humanly possible.
"Really?" Ran blinked, her terrifying aura instantly dissipating. She actually believed him without much resistance. After all, what would a first-grader like Conan really know about such things? It was entirely her father's fault. Kogoro's constant inappropriate behavior had simply conditioned her to expect the worst and overthink the situation.
"Mm-hmm!" Conan nodded his head vigorously, keeping his big eyes locked on hers.
Ran's expression softened into guilt. She gently patted the spot on Conan's head where she had just hit him. "Conan, I am so sorry, I completely misunderstood you. But you really need to be careful in the future. You cannot just stare intently at girls like that, people will get the wrong idea." Even while apologizing, she could not help but tack on a tiny lecture. She was determined to ensure Conan did not grow up to mirror her father's flaws.
Turning her attention across the table, Ran offered a polite, apologetic bow of her head to the librarian. "I am so sorry about that, Lisa."
"Oh, it is quite alright. Kids will be kids." Lisa rested her chin on her hand, a soft, teasing smile playing on her lips. "It is perfectly normal to be captivated by pretty, shiny beads."
Raising her free hand, Lisa lightly pinched the purple gem resting against her collarbone, holding it up slightly to catch the warm light of the restaurant.
Ran found her own gaze drawn to the object in Lisa's fingers. It was a striking, deep purple—a beautiful shade that radiated a sense of noble mystery. The pattern suspended inside the glass was vaguely visible. It was not entirely clear from a distance, but looking at it sent a strange thrill through Ran. For some reason, the glowing purple shape reminded her of a violent, beautiful flash of lightning streaking across the dark sky during a heavy summer thunderstorm.
Noticing Ran's captivated expression, Lisa chuckled softly. She reached behind her neck, unfastened the clasp, and casually held the necklace out across the table. "Is Ran interested in it too? Would you like to take a closer look?"
Ran's eyes widened in surprise, and she reached out with extreme care to accept the offered jewelry. "Eh? Is this really okay? Something this beautiful must be incredibly valuable."
She took it off just like that?
Conan sat frozen in his seat. He had originally assumed Lisa would be highly protective of such a strange, clearly magical artifact. Yet she had unclipped it and handed it over to a high school girl without a second thought. Could his deduction be wrong? Was the item actually unimportant?
No. Conan narrowed his eyes, his confidence returning. He still believed in his own judgment. This necklace absolutely held a secret.
Leaning in close to Ran's hands, Conan finally got a clear, unobstructed view of the gem. Suspended deep inside the slightly transparent purple orb was a distinct, three-tomoe shaped symbol, its sharp edges perfectly mimicking the jagged strike of a lightning bolt.
He then analyzed the metallic casing holding the gem. The frame was carefully carved, extending outward in a shape that distinctly resembled a pair of spread wings. His mind raced back to the accessory at Xiangling's waist. He clearly remembered that the frame holding her red gem was a rigid, geometric square.
What was the hidden meaning behind the different frames? Why did Lisa have wings while Xiangling had a square? And what did the internal patterns represent? Did the purple tomoe stand for lightning? Did the red one stand for fire?
As the gears in the young detective's head spun furiously, Lisa casually picked up her teacup, took a slow, elegant sip, and smiled nonchalantly.
"Heh, it is just a simple glass bead," Lisa purred, her tone entirely dismissive. "I only wear it because it holds a bit of sentimental significance to me. The item itself is not worth much of anything."
Ran and Conan both snapped their heads up, staring at the librarian in sheer disbelief.
"A glass bead?!"
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