Chapter 230: An Elder Comes to Visit
"The squinty-eyed big brother who likes the professor and little girls — Subaru Okiya-onii-chan."
In that instant, the entire scene fell into absolute silence.
Likes… little girls?
Conan's mouth couldn't help but twitch. Something about that description just felt deeply off.
Subaru Okiya: "…"
He stood rooted in place, a dark line of exasperation creeping across his face, as three little girls — Haibara Ai included — turned to regard him with eyes full of wariness. A wave of speechlessness washed over him. Never in his wildest imaginings had he expected to be treated as a suspicious character by a pack of small children.
It left him utterly helpless, and there was no way to explain himself, either. After all, as far as anyone here knew, he was nothing more than an ordinary tenant.
And if Haibara ever learned the truth, it would almost certainly stir up trouble no one needed. With that thought, Subaru could only sigh in resignation, silently lamenting to himself, Well, there goes my reputation for today…
And yet, Subaru had no intention of giving up on moving into the Kudo residence.
After all, this place let him keep a far closer eye on Haibara and the others, making it that much easier to protect the girl — and to notice right away if anyone from the Organization ever appeared at her side.
So despite the suspicion and curiosity written across every face around him, Subaru resolutely chose to stay, deciding to move into the Kudo house next door.
Fortunately, Professor Agasa seemed entirely indifferent to the note Qiqi had written and raised little real objection to his moving in — and at that, Subaru finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.
In the end, Subaru Okiya settled into the Kudo residence without a hitch.
Several days later, on the way to Kudo Shinichi's house.
Suzuki Sonoko let out a long sigh. "Aaah, that scatterbrain's already left Japan to study in America. It's weird not seeing him around all of a sudden."
"I know. I wonder how Eisuke's doing over there," Ran said, her expression tinged with worry.
But the mention of leaving Japan made her turn toward Xia Yu, who was walking alongside them, and ask curiously, "Oh, right — I heard Lisa's leaving Japan too. Has she gone already?"
"Mm-hm." Xia Yu nodded. "She left just a couple of days ago."
"Wow, she sure didn't waste any time~." Watching one friend after another drift away, Sonoko couldn't help feeling a little downcast.
Xia Yu gave her shoulder a gentle pat, comforting her softly. "It's okay — it's not like Lisa's never coming back. When she returns, we'll all get together again."
"That's true." Sonoko nodded, a small smile surfacing on her face.
Then Xia Yu turned to Ran and Sonoko, her eyes brimming with anticipation. "By the way, an elder of mine is coming to visit in a couple of days. Ran, Sonoko — could I ask you two to show us around? Honestly, to this day I still have no idea what sights are even around here." With that, she scratched her head and laughed a little sheepishly.
Ran and Sonoko exchanged a glance, then answered with smiles. "Of course! We'd be happy to play tourguide!" They gladly accepted her request.
Xia Yu lit up with delight. "Wonderful! Thank you so much."
Ran waved a hand. "Oh, it's nothing. Besides, Xia Yu, aren't you coming with us to help clean Shinichi's place today? That's what good friends are for — helping each other out."
Sonoko nodded vigorously. "Exactly, exactly."
With that topic settled, the three of them continued on toward the Kudo residence.
Meanwhile, at Teitan Elementary School, Edogawa Conan had already heard from Mouri Kogoro that Ran would be heading to his old house today to clean. Remembering that Subaru Okiya now lived there, he couldn't help worrying about what might happen if Ran suddenly ran into the man.
He was still weighing whether he ought to warn her when, at that very moment, his phone rang.
He snatched it up and checked the screen — and the name displayed there made his spirit leap: Hattori Heiji!
Conan recalled the information he'd asked Hattori to look into, a flicker of hope rising in his chest. He hastily pressed the call button and fired off his question before the other boy could even finish greeting him. "Hattori, well? Did you find anything?"
A hearty laugh came through the receiver. "Haha, Kudo! It's been ages — did ya miss me?"
"Hattori." Conan's voice dropped a shade colder.
"Ahem." Catching the warning in Kudo Shinichi's tone, Hattori cleared his throat and finally got down to business. "I dunno why you suddenly wanted me to dig into that Lisa lady, but I did turn up some useful information. Although, well…"
He deliberately let the words hang, milking the suspense for all it was worth.
Conan pressed impatiently. "Just spit it out already! Quit stalling!"
Only then did Hattori Heiji drawl on at his own leisurely pace. "According to what I dug up… that Lisa lady does have some sort of connection to the Black Organization, y'know."