Chapter 180: Diluc
"She is not my mother!" the Wanderer shot back loudly — the first time, up until now, that his emotions had shown any visible crack.
Gin and the others exchanged noncommittal looks at his outburst.
From the way the Wanderer reacted, they could tell that Cointreau had been telling the truth — and that the relationship between this man and his mother was, by the looks of it, thoroughly rotten. As far as they were concerned, that was excellent news.
They wanted to use the Wanderer to learn about Teyvat, which meant they had no interest in seeing him grow too close to members of the Teyvat Syndicate — the kind of closeness that might one day be turned back against the Organization. Seeing him so thoroughly unwelcome among his own people, Gin's face betrayed nothing, but inwardly he was satisfied.
Vermouth, however, had noticed something else. The Wanderer had a mother who headed her own department, yet he himself — so young — belonged to a different one, and seemed to have been badly deceived by the people inside it. Her thoughts drifted in a direction she didn't much care for.
Perhaps women were simply more attuned to these things by nature. Vermouth found that she couldn't quite look at the Wanderer with the same distaste anymore.
That filter, though, would soon be shattered — she would learn that the sympathy she'd felt for him had been entirely unnecessary.
"Word is, his mother gave him up because he was too fragile." Ignoring the Wanderer's fury-laden rebuttal, Cointreau tilted his head toward Gin and murmured the words just loud enough to carry.
"I! HEARD! THAT!" The Wanderer's hearing was evidently excellent. Even at that volume, he caught every syllable, and he rounded on Cointreau with a glare — his violet eyes lit from within by rage, crystalline and dazzling, like amethyst set aflame.
"Heh. Well, either way, I went and took something very important of hers afterward."
"Oh," said Cointreau, supremely unbothered.
It was Gin who set down his cigarette and turned to study Cointreau. "How is it that Kaeya tells you everything?"
"Because I'm likable?" Cointreau stroked his chin. "Or maybe it's because, in his eyes, none of that counts as classified. From what I gather, Kaeya's Mondstadt has a grudge against the Fatui of Snezhnaya. If the Fatui come out of something worse for wear, he'd probably be delighted — might even stroll over and grind his heel in himself."
At that very moment, the newly mentioned Kaeya sneezed without the slightest warning.
Really, now. Who's badmouthing me? Don't tell me it's Diluc.
Kaeya picked his phone back up and read the message on the screen one more time, confirming he hadn't imagined it — then slumped bonelessly against the sofa, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead with a long, weary sigh.
Ugh. The traveler's show really isn't kind to its audience. Is this my karma catching up already?
After a while, he lowered his hand, tipped his head back against the cushions, and turned to look at Klee, who sat beside him lost in a storybook. "Klee, your big brother Diluc is coming soon. Are you happy?"
Klee whipped her head around at once, beaming. "Really?! Big Brother Diluc is coming too? Klee hasn't seen Big Brother Diluc in so long — Klee misses him so much!"
Then something seemed to occur to her, and her face clouded with worry. "Big Brother Kaeya... Klee caused trouble before. Is Big Brother Diluc still mad?"
Kaeya sat up straight and gently ruffled her hair. "Don't worry. Klee's this cute — how could Big Brother Diluc ever stay angry at her this long? Besides, Big Brother Kaeya already covered all the damages for you. All you have to do is give him a proper welcome when he arrives."
"Mm-hmm!" Klee nodded eagerly, again and again.
Suddenly she scrambled to her feet. "Oh no! Klee just promised Conan she'd join the Detective Boys for their operation! But if Big Brother Diluc is coming, Klee can't go — Klee wants to see Big Brother Diluc the very first second he gets here!"
"And what does Klee plan to do about it?" Kaeya asked, watching her with soft eyes and a smile.
"Hmm..." Klee pondered for a long moment, visibly torn — but in the end, Big Brother Diluc simply mattered more. "Big Brother Kaeya, Klee is going to call Conan and tell him Klee can't play with them anymore."
With that, and after Kaeya's nod of approval, she trotted over to the telephone and began dialing.
At the Agasa Residence, Conan set down the receiver and lowered his head into thought, brow furrowed.
"What did Klee say to put that look on your face? Plotting out the kids' next outing?" Haibara asked, watching him fret over the call with an air of puzzlement. What could a little girl like Klee possibly say that was so serious? Unless... it involved Kaeya?
Conan snapped back at the sound of her voice. "She asked me to apologize to the kids for her. She can't come out to play for a while — she says her big brother Diluc is arriving soon, and she's going to stay home and wait for him."
"Diluc? You don't mean..." Haibara looked at him.
"Yeah." Conan nodded, completing the thought she'd left hanging. "Diluc Ragnvindr. Head of the Ragnvindr family — and Kaeya's sworn older brother."
Why would he suddenly come to Japan? Does it have something to do with the Black Organization? And does he know Kaeya is cooperating with them?
Conan's brow creased deeper as he turned the questions over.
While Edogawa Conan and Haibara Ai debated the purpose behind Diluc's sudden arrival, the interrogation inside the Organization had already run its course — Gin had extracted everything he wanted from the Wanderer.
Sarcasm and barbed needling had been sprinkled liberally throughout, but all things considered, the Wanderer had been fairly cooperative.
Now came the matter of testing his abilities.
Given his standing, he would be joining the Organization regardless of how he performed — but Gin had no desire to work alongside an incompetent partner. Sizing him up in advance would also make it easier to decide where to place him when the operation began.
"Let me handle it," Cointreau volunteered.
He had already reported it beforehand: the Wanderer was hopeless with firearms, but light on his feet, able to reach places ordinary people simply couldn't — and his hand-to-hand combat was nothing to sneeze at.
Which meant that, apart from Gin, Cointreau was the only one present suited to gauging the Wanderer's skills.
Besides, he hadn't gotten his fill of beating the Wanderer earlier. This was the perfect chance to keep at it a while longer — and if he could manage to punch him speechless, so much the better.
Decent-looking fellow. A shame about the mouth.
Gin raised no objection, so neither did anyone else.
"Ohh~ beat me? Do you really think you're capable of that, you little bu—"
The Wanderer alone had opened his mouth before the match began — but before he could finish the sentence, Cointreau's swinging fist cut him off.
Ten minutes later, Vodka and Vermouth watched the Wanderer and Cointreau still trading blows back and forth across the empty lot, their eyes wide with disbelief.