Albedo's Painting
A few more steps, and Kaeya and the others spotted Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko standing before a tree, craning their necks to look up into its branches.
They tilted their gaze upward as well, and sure enough — there on the maple tree was Conan, who was supposed to be trailing along at Ran's side.
The moment Noelle saw that the little boy had climbed all the way up the tree alone, she didn't even stop to greet Ran and Sonoko. Worried, she hurried forward a few quick steps to position herself directly beneath him, ready to catch Conan the instant he might fall.
Conan lay sprawled across a branch, staring down at the group that had appeared out of nowhere with a look of astonishment. He'd only been to the hotel to see Klee a few days ago — he hadn't expected to run into Kaeya again out here in the mountains.
His eyes moved over the Visions worn by Lisa, Noelle, and Kaeya as the three walked together, and he confirmed his earlier suspicion once more: the frames of those Visions really might correspond to the faction divisions within the mysterious organization.
Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko were equally surprised by the sudden appearance of Kaeya and his companions.
"Don't tell me you guys came out here because of that super-romantic romance drama too?" Sonoko clasped her hands together and looked up at Lisa and Noelle with an expression full of hope, thinking of her own reason for coming today.
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, little Suzuki," Lisa said with a raised eyebrow and a smile as she explained why her group was here. "Sis only came out this way because a friend mentioned he'd be sketching around here, and that the scenery was especially lovely — so I thought I'd drag everyone along for a little stroll."
"Oh... is that all." Sonoko's shoulders sagged with disappointment.
Seeing her crestfallen at Lisa's words, Noelle recalled a name she'd overheard some schoolgirls mentioning back when she worked at the restaurant, and asked a little uncertainly, "Suzuki-san, would that be the drama Winter Maple Red?"
"Yes, yes, that's the one!" The moment Noelle spoke the title, Sonoko was nodding eagerly, practically bouncing.
Noticing that Lisa and Kaeya both looked blank, she warmly launched into a summary of the plot for their benefit. "It's a romantic love story between the daughter of some corporate tycoon and a young military officer..."
"Sonoko-neechan, I'm still up here, you know. Were you planning to keep looking for your handkerchief or not?" Conan gave the group below a half-lidded stare as they chattered away among themselves. Sonoko especially was so absorbed in her plot summary that she'd clearly forgotten he was up in the tree hunting for her handkerchief at all.
Still — that Sonoko suddenly insisting on coming out here today, carrying a red handkerchief of all things. It really was related to Kyogoku Makoto, then. He couldn't help wondering what kind of scheme she was cooking up this time.
Then he turned a complicated gaze on Noelle, standing directly beneath him. She hadn't taken her eyes off him the whole time, obviously poised to catch him at a moment's notice.
Whether from today's little episode or everything he'd observed before, Conan could say with certainty that Noelle was genuinely a good girl — kind-hearted, always eager to help.
And it wasn't just Noelle. Xiangling, Lisa, Mona — he had never once caught any of them doing anything untoward.
Even Kaeya — apart from that one time he'd caught the man meeting with the Black Organization, he'd found nothing since.
He might not look like a good person, but Conan had to admit that where Klee was concerned, Kaeya really was a good older brother. In any case, the feeling he gave off was completely different from what Gin inspired.
That was one of the biggest reasons Conan had never quite been able to regard that mysterious organization with the same level of wariness.
"Of course we're looking for it — that's a very important keepsake!" Sonoko snapped her head up at Conan's question. "Glasses-kid, look harder! The handkerchief has to be around here somewhere!"
"You mean a red handkerchief? Suzuki-san, isn't that it under your shoe?"
Kaeya had spotted the handkerchief beneath Sonoko's foot the moment he'd drawn near her and Ran. Remembering the shouting he'd overheard earlier, he'd meant to point it out as soon as he saw it, but there simply hadn't been a chance to get a word in.
Now that Sonoko had finally stopped moving, Kaeya seized the moment to tip her off.
At Kaeya's words, Conan swallowed the words "there's a red handkerchief tied to the tree" that had been on the tip of his tongue.
It went without saying that this couldn't possibly be the one Sonoko had lost. A handkerchief carried off by the wind wasn't about to tie itself into a neat knot around a branch, after all.
Since it wasn't hers, Conan saw no reason to bring it up. His guess was that some other fan of Winter Maple Red had tied it there.
With her handkerchief recovered, Sonoko looked up at Conan still perched in the tree, her cheeks going slightly pink as she laughed a little sheepishly.
Conan rolled his eyes from his branch. Yeah, right — like Sonoko would ever do something like this by accident.
Having vented that silent complaint, he didn't dawdle any longer, and scrambled nimbly down the maple.
Seeing that Conan was safely out of the tree, Noelle let herself relax a little.
Then the group set off together, chatting as they walked.
From the conversation, Ran and Sonoko learned to their surprise that the friend Lisa had mentioned — the one sketching somewhere up ahead — was in fact Klee's older brother, Albedo.
Talk about appearances being deceiving. Sonoko had assumed that with his temperament, Albedo seemed more the teacher type — the strict kind of teacher, at that.
She'd had no idea he had painting hidden up his sleeve, though she had no idea how good he actually was.
Then again, with a face that handsome, even a bad painting couldn't be all that bad.
From their description, the girls also learned that the spot where Albedo was sketching happened to be the exact place where the officer and the young lady reunited in the drama.
With both parties headed to the same destination, they proceeded together.
Just as Kaeya had said, Albedo truly was not much farther now.
They'd walked only a short distance when, rounding a cluster of maple trees, they spotted a figure a little way ahead, back turned to them, brush moving across the canvas before him.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Albedo finished the few strokes in progress before slowly turning his head.
When he saw who it was, a flicker of surprise crossed his face. Since when had Lisa and the others gotten this close to the main cast — close enough to arrange an outing to admire the autumn maples together?
After the usual round of greetings, Sonoko's curious gaze fixed itself on the painting in front of Albedo.
Albedo raised no objection, so Sonoko carefully tucked away the handkerchief she'd only just recovered, stepped over to his side, and looked at the work in progress — her eyes going wide with wonder.
The maple grove under Albedo's brush was three times more beautiful than the real thing. He had laid down great sweeping expanses of red, yet the canvas didn't look the least bit cluttered — instead it seemed to brim with vibrant, living energy.
Mouri Ran and Conan exchanged a puzzled glance at the sight of Sonoko standing frozen at the painting's edge, staring unblinking at the canvas before Albedo.
Then they, too, took a few steps forward and followed her gaze to the painting.
"Wow! What a gorgeous painting!" Ran exclaimed her praise without a moment's hesitation.
Once Sonoko came back to her senses, she chimed in from the side with her own chorus of admiration.