The Girls' Late-Night Chat
Bourbon frowned, puzzled. Since when had Kazami become this inefficient?
When he'd first asked him to dig into Natsume Xiayu's background, the man had come back with nothing but surface-level information. He'd told Kazami to keep digging, and even now the full dossier still hadn't landed on his desk.
Bourbon decided that the next time he managed to get in touch with Kazami, he would have him hand over everything he could find and take over the investigation himself. Worst case, he'd simply have to be careful — careful enough to slip past both the Organization and Cointreau's watchful eyes.
Aside from the small incident when Haibara had abruptly vanished at the end of the gathering, everyone had made it back to the Kamisato estate without a hitch.
Kamisato Ayato greeted them with his usual gentle smile. "Please, stay the night here at my humble residence. Tomorrow I will have Thoma escort you all home."
One after another, the guests expressed their thanks. It really was late — Kogoro Mouri had been dreaming of his bed for the better part of an hour.
Ayato saw to every arrangement personally, assigning each guest a room with meticulous care. "Should you need anything at all, do not hesitate to call on Thoma or any of the staff," he instructed. "I do hope you all enjoy a pleasant evening under our roof."
Once everything was settled, he did not impose further. With a courteous bow, he withdrew, well aware that his guests would want a little privacy to unwind and rest.
As night settled over the estate, silence gradually spread through its halls.
Everyone retired to their own rooms, each looking forward to this rare moment of peace and quiet.
Kogoro Mouri was already snoring like a sawmill, having been bundled into a room with Okiya Subaru and Hattori Heiji. But the two of them had no intention of sleeping — one sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, turning over the day's events in his mind, while the other, finding sleep impossible, was busy pestering Kudo Shinichi over his phone.
At Miss Suzuki's request, Ayato had put all the girls together in one spacious room.
Sera Masumi and Toyama Kazuha had only just met, and this seemed the perfect chance to get to know each other better.
Partway through the evening, Kamisato Ayaka came looking for Xiayu — and the girls promptly dragged her down onto the bedding with the rest of them.
Kazuha studied the graceful, composed young woman beside her and couldn't help feeling curious about her daily life. "You know, I've been wondering," she began. "In a traditional family like the Kamisato clan, what do you actually do all day?"
Ayaka lowered her head slightly, considering the question for a moment before answering. "I suppose it differs from person to person. In my free time, I devote myself to the arts of flower arrangement, the tea ceremony, and chess — pursuits that refine both mind and spirit. When my brother is occupied, I also assist with the family's affairs, so as to lighten his burden. And of course, our clan's hereditary martial art — the Kamisato Art: Troupe of Blows, the way of the tachi — demands constant, disciplined practice. One cannot afford the slightest lapse." With that, she offered a gentle smile.
Sonoko's mouth twitched. Did noble young ladies really have this much to do every day? This was news to her.
Thank goodness the elders in her own family had never demanded anything of the sort. She'd never have survived it.
Ran looked a little worried. "With that much to do every single day, don't you get exhausted?"
Ayaka blinked, then shook her head with a smile. "Perhaps a little, at first — but in time, one simply grows accustomed to it. Besides, I'm hardly buried in duties every day. I have plenty of pastimes for my leisure hours as well — sampling foreign cuisine, reading the novels from Yae Publishing House..."
"Novels!" Sonoko's eyes lit up at once. "You read novels too, Lady Ayaka? Tell me — what have you been reading? Anything with aching, whirlwind romance?"
"Ah...?" Caught off guard by Sonoko's sudden burst of enthusiasm, Ayaka faltered slightly. She shook her head. "I tend toward light novels, I'm afraid — things like Please Favor My Shrine Maiden Fox, Song of the Coral, The Condemned Princess... They're probably not quite to your taste, Sonoko."
Sonoko looked conflicted. "The titles do sound kind of... weird."
"Oh, that reminds me," Sera cut in. "I've been curious how you and Xiayu met, Lady Ayaka. I'd have thought a high-born lady like yourself rarely got to know outsiders."
The other girls all turned curious eyes on Ayaka and Xiayu.
"Come on, spill! I can't wait to hear this story," Sonoko pressed.
Xiayu burst out laughing. "Sonoko, what makes you so sure it's a good story in the first place? Though honestly, Ayaka and I did, in a sense, get to know each other thanks to a Vision."
She began slowly. "Back then, I was searching for my brother. I'd heard that the Raiden Shogun might know something, so I wanted to ask Ayaka to arrange an audience with Her Excellency — and it just so happened I'd walked in on her collecting Visions..."
"And I had already heard of Xiayu's reputation," Ayaka picked up, "so I hoped to ask for her help in persuading the Almighty Shogun to reconsider..."
Ayaka finished with a smile. "In the end, everything worked out for the best. Xiayu managed to change Her Excellency's mind — and she gave up her pursuit of that hollow, empty eternity." But her voice grew quieter and quieter with the last words, until Sonoko and the others barely caught them at all.
Sera looked baffled. "Are Visions really that big a deal? And why would that Raiden lady go around confiscating them in the first place?"
Ran was just as puzzled. "I remember Lisa and Xiangling have something similar — but they said it was just a decoration, and they didn't seem to care much about it?"