Chapter 41: The "Poor" Astrologer
"Alcohol?" Conan didn't quite follow — what did that have to do with anything?
"Precisely. And the reading shows you'll be running into the other party again very soon." Mona pronounced it with absolute certainty, then added one more detail on top.
"Really?! Then when will I meet those two? And do you know exactly who they are?..." Conan's eyes went wide as he pressed on, question tumbling after question, unable to mask his eagerness.
"I'm afraid I couldn't say. The hydromancy disc revealed only that much."
In truth, the disc had shown her even less — the extra details were pure guesswork on Mona's part. After all, the protagonist of this world was bound to cross paths with the Black Organization again before long. Just a few days earlier, when Mona had found herself flat out of cash and gone to the bank to make a withdrawal, she'd noticed that the teller handling her paperwork was a woman named Hirota Masami — which could only mean the billion-yen bank robbery was just around the corner.
In fact, once Xiayu learned of it, even she had wavered over whether to save Hirota Masami — better known as Miyano Akemi. The woman's web of connections was formidable: elder sister to Sherry, developer of APTX4869, and the ex-girlfriend — and cousin — whom Akai Shuichi, the first Silver Bullet, would forever feel he had failed. Saved, she could prove enormously useful down the line.
In the end, though, she still hadn't committed to anything. She would take stock of the situation when the time came — or perhaps leave it to whatever character she happened to pull by then. If she could save her, she would; if not, then Miyano Akemi simply had rotten luck, and that was all there was to it.
At any rate, her own organization's strength was nowhere near sufficient yet, and she had no intention of exposing herself to the Black Organization this early. If they were ever going to deal with each other, that could wait until her organization was powerful enough.
"Ahh..." A flicker of disappointment crossed Conan's face.
Seeing him so deflated, Sonoko offered not a shred of sympathy — quite the opposite, she cackled with undisguised glee.
"Oh-hohoho~ Now, which little brat was it who didn't believe in astrology, hmm? I distinctly remember someone declaring it was all a con. So who was the one hanging on every word of the reading just now?"
Sonoko, that little—! The disappointment evaporated on the spot. Conan clenched his fists, gaze brimming with resentment toward her.
"Come on, Sonoko — Conan's still just a little kid." Ran hastily stepped in to smooth things over and steer the conversation elsewhere. "Besides, we've all had our fortunes told, and it's getting late. Why don't we head home?"
"Wait just a moment, ladies — ahem. I couldn't help noticing your interest in astrology. Might you care to purchase a copy of Introduction to Astrology? With it, you could study the science of the stars on your own — and perhaps one day cast divinations of your very own!"
Before Sonoko could get a word out, Mona had hurriedly cut in. She'd finally stumbled across not one but two customers with a genuine interest in astrology — naturally she intended to make the most of it. Ah, with one more mouth to feed these next few days, the household could barely afford its meals as things stood.
"Oh! Really? Then I'll take it!" The moment Sonoko heard she could read fortunes herself, she was sold. She'd always been curious about such things, and Mona's earlier reading had won her over completely — she decided to buy without a moment's hesitation.
Hey, hey — isn't this just a hard sell in disguise? Watching Mona's expression now, so openly hungry to move her merchandise that every trace of that mysterious, unfathomable air had vanished, Conan couldn't help wondering whether the divination had really been accurate at all.
"Come, come, this way! My home is just around the corner. I don't have any copies on me today, so you can come pick one up at my place — and I have a few astrolabes at home as well. If you're interested, I could let one go at a discount."
The instant Mona heard the sale was as good as closed, she packed up her things, seized Sonoko warmly by the arm, and swept her off toward her house, granting the girl no opportunity whatsoever to back out.
Ran and Conan watched the two of them stroll ahead, chattering away in rising excitement about everything divination-related, and trailed after them in weary resignation.
Before long, the group arrived before a small two-story house. Mona walked up to the front door — but before she could so much as reach for her key, the door swung open.
"Miss Mona, welcome home! The vegetable salad has been prepared — when were you planning to eat?"
All Conan caught was a soft, clear woman's voice drifting out from within. So the astrologer had herself a maid, of all things. Though... vegetable salad? Wouldn't a dinner of just that leave anyone starving?
"Miss Mona, won't you be hungry eating only vegetable salad for dinner?" Ran asked, unable to keep the concern from her voice.
Mona ushered everyone inside, saw to a round of brief introductions, and then offered her explanation. "Ahem. Food that is too delicious makes one forget how much nourishment it holds, and scenery too beautiful conceals the plainest of truths. I live this way precisely so that I may see through to the true nature of the world."
Heh. In other words, she just can't afford anything tastier. No wonder she got so fired up the second Sonoko said she'd buy something. But if she can't afford to eat, how can she afford a maid?
"Ohh~ I see." And just like that, Ran accepted the explanation without a trace of doubt.
"Please, have a seat over here for a moment. I'll go upstairs and fetch the book and the astrolabes." Mona showed the group to the sofa, had her newly hired maid — Noelle — pour everyone some water, and headed up to collect the goods herself.
While they waited, Conan took stock of the house's interior. The decor was distinctly European; the furniture was on the old side, but the whole place was clean and orderly, looking as though it had been given a thorough cleaning quite recently.
Just as Noelle bent down to pour the water, Conan's eye caught something painfully familiar on the ribbon bow at the small of her back — one of those glass beads, the very same kind Xiangling and Lisa carried.
No — more precisely, the same kind as Lisa's. The frames of their two beads were identical down to the last detail; only the color of the stone and the emblem within differed. Lisa's was purple, while the bead worn by this maid called Noelle was yellow — yet the emblem inside it looked oddly like the frame of Xiangling's bead. There had to be some connection between them!
"Ahh—!"
Conan had just been working out how to coax a few roundabout questions out of the maid when a startled cry rang out from overhead. The questions could wait — he shot up the stairs without a second's delay.
On the second floor, all he found was Mona standing with her back to him before one of the doors, one hand braced against the doorframe, staring unblinkingly into the room.
Seeing that she was unharmed, Conan let out a breath of relief and edged forward, trying to get a look inside.
Scuttling around Mona's side — his height made that much easy — he slipped through the doorway without the least obstruction.
It was unmistakably a study. Bookshelves lined the walls, packed to bursting, with several more piles of overflow heaped on the floor where the shelves had run out of room, and every sort of strange astrolabe was arrayed across the desk. So this was the study Mona had meant when she said she'd fetch the book.
Then Conan's gaze shifted to the man standing so abruptly in the middle of the room. He looked young — a high schooler, by the look of him — with somewhat long hair, and he was explaining to Mona, with more than a touch of urgency, just why he had appeared here of all places.
"My books! They're out of print—"
But Mona wasn't listening to a word of it. Her eyes saw only the books laid out on the desk, gouged over and over by a knife until they looked all but ruined.
Just then, Sonoko and Ran arrived on the scene as well. The instant Ran spotted a strange man in the room, she stepped sharply in front of Mona, who still stood frozen in a daze.
Conan had already pieced together the broad shape of it: this man had somehow turned up inside the study, slashed Mona's books, and then — before he could make his escape — been caught red-handed by Mona herself. Whether that was truly what had happened, though, Conan couldn't yet say.