The Idol Audition
Shuichi Akai regarded Zhongli with an unreadable expression.
From everything he'd seen and heard before, that Mr. Tartaglia hardly seemed the generous type...
He recalled something Kaeya had once mentioned: "Tartaglia's playing the willing sucker for Mr. Zhongli."
At the time, Akai had assumed there was some exaggeration to it—Kaeya and Tartaglia's relationship didn't exactly seem warm, after all. But watching how smoothly Zhongli put the bill on someone else's tab today, the remark began to look like an accurate description of reality.
It only deepened Akai's curiosity about Zhongli's true standing in the Teyvat Syndicate. What kind of man could make someone as battle-obsessed as Tartaglia open his wallet for him?
Bellies full, everyone rose from their seats and prepared to leave.
Back at the Mouri Detective Agency, Edogawa Conan had already returned home.
When Ran came in so late, even though he already knew she'd been out with Sonoko, Xia Yu, and Shuichi Akai, he asked casually anyway.
And that was how he learned that Xia Yu had two more friends arriving in Beika—two good-looking men, no less, one of whom was apparently the very junior classmate Lisa had mentioned before. Conan's interest sharpened considerably.
Worried that pressing the matter might make Ran overthink things, he didn't ask any further questions.
The moment Ran headed off to wash up, Conan quickly pulled out his phone and sent Akai a message, asking about Xia Yu's friends.
The reply came swiftly: the two men's names and some basic background on each. About Zhongli in particular, Akai emphasized that his position within the organization was very likely a special one.
Conan stared at the words on his screen, brow furrowing slightly. So this Zhongli was an extremely slippery customer—he would have to tread carefully around him, that much was clear.
He resolved to keep a closer eye on the man. Perhaps something useful would surface along the way.
"Oh right, Conan—one thing I should tell you. Next holiday, we're all going to Osaka with Sonoko and Xia Yu."
Ran had just come out of the bathroom, towel in hand, when she spotted Conan brooding over his phone and suddenly remembered. She hurried to let him know, in case the Detective Boys already had plans that day—she didn't want him breaking a promise.
"Osaka? Ran-neechan, why are we suddenly going to Osaka?" Conan was puzzled. When Heiji had sent him his investigation results, he hadn't mentioned anything unusual happening recently.
"Eh?! Heiji didn't tell you?" Ran looked astonished. "But you two are so close—and Kazuha told me Heiji's been texting you lately. Wasn't that what it was about?"
It certainly wasn't. What Heiji had sent him were the results of the investigation Conan had asked him to run—clues about the Teyvat Syndicate and the Black Organization. Definitely not the same thing.
But there was no way he could tell Ran that.
So what on earth was this business she kept mentioning, the one involving Heiji Hattori and Kazuha Toyama? Heiji, that blockhead—when they'd been in contact earlier, he really hadn't breathed a word about it.
"If Heiji didn't tell you about this, then what do you and Heiji even talk about all the time?" Ran muttered under her breath, though she didn't dwell on it.
A bead of cold sweat crept down Conan's spine at her words. Only when he saw she wasn't paying it any more mind did he quietly exhale.
Thank goodness she didn't press further, he thought, feeling genuinely lucky.
Toweling her damp hair, Ran explained: "There's an idol event going on in Osaka. I heard about it from Kazuha—it seems to be hosted by some big, famous family. Kazuha signed up for it, and she actually made it through the in-person preliminaries! The real competition starts next holiday, so we're planning to go cheer her on!"
Conan had been hoping to hear about something interesting, but the instant he realized Ran was talking about an idol event, every trace of enthusiasm drained from his face.
He shook his head helplessly, murmuring to himself, "Ugh, and here I thought a case had come up... That kind of thing sounds more like the old man's cup of tea..."
Still, something nagged at him. Why would Kazuha Toyama suddenly enter a contest like that?
The moment the question formed, he asked Ran—and promptly learned that this, too, circled right back to Heiji Hattori.
If Heiji hadn't mocked Kazuha for having no talents when he first saw the event announcement, she never would have signed up in a fit of pique.
Which meant, when you got right down to it, Heiji's rock-bottom emotional intelligence was to blame all over again.
At that thought, Conan could only wear a resigned expression.