Getting Close to the Protagonists
"So the person you're looking for — would that be Natsume Xiayu?" the waiter asked.
"Eh?" Conan hadn't expected the very first person he asked to actually know her. "You know Xiayu-neesan?"
"I do," the waiter admitted with a nod. "Natsume-san worked a part-time shift here a few days ago. If you kids are looking for her, you're welcome to wait — she's got some business with the manager today, so she should be along shortly."
Huh? Conan could hardly believe it. This is going way too smoothly. We found her just like that?
Before long, Ayumi spotted a familiar figure walking into the café.
"Conan, look! It's Xiayu-neesan!"
Conan saw her too. The moment she finished her conversation with the manager and turned to leave, he darted forward to block her path. "Xiayu-neesan!"
At the sound of that familiar voice, Xiayu turned — and sure enough, there stood the little Detective Boys.
What could they possibly want with me all of a sudden? Don't tell me they actually suspect I had something to do with those gold coins vanishing yesterday?
"Oh, it's Conan — and Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko too. What a rare coincidence, running into you all again. Perfect timing, actually — I just got my paycheck, so let me treat you to some cake."
Genta and the others erupted into cheers on the spot. "Yay! Thanks, Xiayu-neesan!"
Watching the children bounce around so energetically, Xiayu decided that when they weren't being reckless little troublemakers, they were actually rather endearing. Polite, at the very least.
The cake arrived in no time.
"Xia—" Conan had just opened his mouth to speak when Ayumi cut in ahead of him. "Xiayu-neesan, where do you live? If I have time, can I come visit you?"
Ayumi had rarely met such a pretty, gentle big sister — one who'd shielded them in that cave and was now treating them to cake. She adored Xiayu-neesan already, and she hoped they could spend much more time together from now on.
"Ah, of course you can. I live at 39-10, 5-chome, Beika-cho. You're welcome to drop by anytime, Ayumi — and that goes for Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Conan too."
Xiayu, naturally, had no intention of refusing. Getting closer to the main cast had been her plan all along.
These last two world missions had made one thing clear: the quests all revolved around cases that Conan — the protagonist of this world — experienced firsthand. Which meant the closer she stayed to his little group, the more likely world missions would appear. No more scraping together Primogems one daily commission at a time.
Conan, meanwhile, had gone quietly rigid at the mention of her address. That's right next to the Mouri residence. What are the odds?
After a moment's thought, he tugged at Xiayu's sleeve and asked in his best innocent voice, "Xiayu-neesan, when you left yesterday, you said you were looking for a cat, right? So... are you a detective?"
Xiayu watched him deliberately sweeten his voice for her benefit and couldn't help feeling like he was wheedling her — which was more than a little strange, knowing there was a high schooler behind that cherubic exterior.
She didn't answer directly. "Why do you think that, Conan? Couldn't I have just been searching for my own cat?"
Conan got the odd sense that she was looking at him strangely after he'd spoken, but when he studied her face more carefully, there was nothing there. Probably just his imagination, he decided.
He went on with his explanation. "It's because your clothes are so clean, Xiayu-neesan. Cats shed a lot this time of year, so if you kept one, some fur would've stuck to you for sure. And yesterday, when you said you were looking for a cat, you didn't seem worried at all. If it were your own cat that was missing, you'd definitely be anxious. So my deduction is — the cat you were looking for wasn't yours. You took the case as a detective, didn't you?"
Xiayu regarded this boy who simply could not stop himself from showing off once deduction was on the table, and marveled anew that he'd managed to hide his identity from Mouri Ran for so long. Truly a miracle.
Honestly — a first-grader who talks this logically and keeps sneaking into crime scenes, and no one finds him suspicious?
"Conan, you're so clever! That's exactly right." Running around solving commissions for people was probably as close to detective work as this world had to offer, after all.
Conan realized he'd let his mask slip and scrambled to cover it. "I just saw it on TV, that's all~"
Genta, hearing that Xiayu was a detective, couldn't wait to brag. "Xiayu-neesan, we're detectives too! We just cracked a case yesterday. We are the—"
"Junior Detective League!" Ayumi and Mitsuhiko chorused, joined by one notably reluctant Conan.
Xiayu applauded obligingly. "Wow, you all are amazing!"
Mitsuhiko flushed at the praise and waved a hand. "Heh, it was nothing."
"Now that the cake's finished," Xiayu offered, "how about you little detectives come over to my place? You can relax and get familiar with the neighborhood."
The children agreed with instant enthusiasm. "Yeah—!"
On the way there, Conan asked with feigned casualness, "Xiayu-neesan, yesterday you said you were looking for a cat — did you ever find it?"
Hearing the question, Paimon grew a little worried. "Traveler, do you think Conan suspects you took the gold coins and is testing you?"
Maybe a little, I suppose — I did look at that treasure map yesterday. But it doesn't matter. I didn't give anything away.
"Mm, I found her. That little cat was a master hider — didn't turn up until after dark. Thankfully her owner didn't live far, so it wasn't too late by the time I dropped her off and got home."
Conan exhaled in relief. Something that easy to verify had to be true — which meant Xiayu probably wasn't the one who'd taken the coins. From that street to the building, there simply hadn't been enough time for her to reach the coins ahead of them and swap them for stones. He'd been overthinking it after all.
With that weight off his mind, Conan finally had the leisure to take in his surroundings.
They really were close to Uncle Mouri's place.
When they arrived at the Natsume residence, Xiayu led them inside. "I haven't decided what to do with the first floor yet, so it's pretty bare. Let me take you up to the second floor."
"Okay—!"
Conan glanced around and confirmed that the first floor was indeed empty.
Upstairs, Xiayu settled the children onto the sofa to rest and brought out the lotus pastries she'd spent the morning attempting to bake.
The pastries were so delicate that Ayumi hesitated to even take a bite, while Genta had already snatched one up without a second's delay.
Mitsuhiko picked one up and examined it closely. "Xiayu-neesan, this looks like one of those pastries from China. It's so good!"
"Well, aren't you knowledgeable. Yes, it's a Chinese pastry — I tried making it myself. I was worried it wouldn't turn out, but as long as you all like it, that's what counts."
Conan sampled one or two of the lotus pastries as well. They really were excellent — shaped like lotus blossoms just beginning to unfurl, delicately fragrant, and not overly sweet.
"Xiayu-neesan," he said, "why did you suddenly decide to move here? Is something going on?"