Dandelion Wine
Not long after everything was settled, the police arrived—as expected, fashionably late.
Xia Xi explained the situation, then handed Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi over to the officers to be taken home. As for Conan, since his way back happened to run along her route, Xia Xi offered to escort him home herself.
Before leaving, she phoned Ran to fill her in on everything, and learning that Ran and the others had been too worried about Conan to even cook, she took the opportunity to invite them all to dinner at Xiangling's restaurant.
Ran hesitated at first, worried about imposing, but the moment Mouri Kogoro heard that the restaurant had just stocked new liquor—good food and drinks in the same evening—he accepted on the spot. With her father already committed, Ran had little choice but to agree as well.
When they arrived at the restaurant, it was the same table as before, except that this time Lisa was absent.
"Mr. Mouri, I know how much you love a good drink—try the wine we just brought in and tell me what you think!" Xiangling poured a glass for Kogoro with a warm, welcoming grin.
Kogoro needed no second invitation. He downed it in one swallow. "Not bad, not bad at all! This is decent stuff. What is it? I'll have to pick up a bottle myself one of these days."
He was genuinely curious about the name of a wine he'd never tasted before.
"It's dandelion wine. Xia Xi just brought it back from the department store today."
At the words department store, Conan's suspicion was confirmed—he hadn't been seeing things that morning. That familiar figure in the daytime had been Xia Xi, and she must have bought the wine then.
"Dandelion wine? You can make wine out of dandelions?" Ran had never heard of such a thing.
Conan leaned in curiously too; the brewing method was news to him as well.
He studied the label on the bottle and found the producer listed as Dawn Winery. As far as he remembered, that was a fairly well-known estate in the nation of H—apparently run by nobility, no less. So this wine came from there? Strange that he'd never heard of it before.
"I hear it's brewed from dandelion seeds—probably using some special technique," Xiangling guessed.
Xia Xi poured herself a glass as well. The wine in her glass was perfectly clear, with a faint floral scent drifting up from it—perhaps a few dandelion blossoms had gone into the blend. She took a small sip. It was quite good: soft on the palate, not sharp or biting, with a delicate note of fruit underneath. Delicious, truly. No wonder it was Venti's favorite—it lived up to its reputation.
Accompanied by Xiangling's cooking, Xia Xi ended up downing glass after glass.
By the time Xiangling noticed, Xia Xi was already well on her way to tipsy.
Everything after that existed only as fragments in her memory. She vaguely recalled that once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Ran had invited her to a wedding before leaving—and had mentioned introducing her to a friend, though the details were hazy at best.
Ugh, honestly. Who knew this body could hold its liquor so poorly—I completely misjudged my limit. Getting drunk right in front of Conan, of all people... Still, with Xiangling there, I can't have said anything I shouldn't have... right?
The moment Xia Xi woke, Xiangling hurried over with a cup of honey water, her face creased with worry. "Traveler, is your head aching now that you're sober? Here, drink this—I stirred some honey into it. It should help you feel better."
Xia Xi happened to be parched anyway. She thanked her, took the cup, and drained it in one go, then asked what had happened after she'd checked out last night.
Xiangling gave her a quick rundown, then added that Ran had invited the two of them to attend a wedding in two days—no, wait, that would be tomorrow now—and to meet her good friend while they were at it.
Xiangling admitted she'd turned it down; she had a restaurant to run. But she'd accepted on the Traveler's behalf. "Go, go! A little outing will do you good. You can't just grind away at commissions all the time. And don't think I haven't noticed—you've been on the phone with Diluc every night this week, hashing out the winery finances, haven't you?"
Xia Xi hadn't expected Xiangling to find out. They weren't even in the same room at night. "There's really no way around it. Any business still finding its feet is bound to be messy, and this deal matters a lot for building up the organization's network. I can't just leave it all on Diluc's shoulders. Besides, there's a time difference with H, so nighttime is the only window I have to reach him. I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. Come on, magnanimous Chef Xiangling—forgive me?"
Xiangling planted her hands on her hips and let out a helpless sigh. "Traveler, my point is that you've been working yourself too hard lately. You need proper rest. A wedding invitation from Ran and the others is the perfect chance to unwind—go enjoy some different flavors while you're at it, then come back and tell me all about it so I can learn from their techniques."
Xia Xi eyed her narrowly. "Xiangling. Do you honestly believe that going out with Conan counts as relaxing?"
That stopped Xiangling cold. Her mouth opened and hung there for a while before she stammered, "I-it's not like something's bound to happen! Conan hasn't run into a case every single day lately, you know. Besides, did he even have any wedding-related cases early on?" She thought about it for a moment, but nothing came to mind.
Xia Xi couldn't recall either—which made sense, in a way, since her memories and Xiangling's were, to a degree, one and the same. Whatever Xiangling couldn't remember, Xia Xi usually couldn't either.
But perhaps it was just as well. This was a real world now, and with Xia Xi herself thrown in as a wild card, events would hardly follow the script unchanged. Sometimes knowing the plot could actually mislead you—an obstacle rather than a guide. Better to treat it as a reference and nothing more, never as gospel.
Still, she'd already accepted Ran's invitation, and she had no intention of backing out. At most, she'd simply keep an eye on her surroundings so that if a case did break out, she could help wrap it up quickly and not let it eat up too much time.
The next day, Xia Xi arrived at the Mouri residence right on time.
When her knock was answered and she stepped inside, she found a stranger besides Ran and Conan—a girl with a short bob of chestnut hair held back by a blue headband, wearing the same Teitan High uniform as Ran. This had to be Ran's best friend, Suzuki Sonoko.
Introductions were made all around. Sonoko proved every bit as lively and outgoing as advertised, and within a few exchanges the group had already warmed to each other like old friends.
When Sonoko learned that Xia Xi was actually a few years older than them, she flatly refused to believe it. "No way! Xia Xi, you're older than us?! You've got to be kidding—there's no way I'd ever guess that!" She leaned in close, scrutinizing Xia Xi's face for a long moment. "That face! That skin! You honestly look younger than me—how is that fair?!"
Ran nodded along with an amused smile. "It's true. Looking at Xia Xi, you'd never guess she's already graduated and working."
"So what's your secret?" Sonoko demanded. "Some skincare routine you're hiding from us?"
"No secret at all. I think I was just born this way." Xia Xi delivered the line with perfect calm, sending Sonoko spiraling into fresh heights of envy and despair.
"Ahh! I want skin like that too!"
"......"
Chatting all the while, the group set off together toward the wedding venue, with Conan trailing behind them wearing an expression of utter boredom.
Figures, he thought. Girls really do care about age and complexion more than anything else in the world.