After paying the bill and walking out of the cafe, Shirakawa and Ran Mouri walked side by side toward the train station.
Along the way, Ran Mouri kept offering words of comfort, telling Mr.
Shirakawa not to worry about his job or the theft.
“Hardships will pass.
You’re such a good person, Mr.
Shirakawa, I’m sure you’ll find a new job very soon!”
“Beika’s public security is actually very good, and the police officers are very responsible.
Maybe they’ll catch the thief and get your things back tomorrow!”
Shirakawa only responded in a low voice, most of his mind preoccupied elsewhere.
On one hand, his plan was already half successful; as long as he handled the rest, he wouldn’t have to worry about a place to stay.
On the other hand, Ran Mouri’s thoughtful concern made Shirakawa’s sense of guilt grow heavier.
There was also the uncertainty about the future.
Before long, the two entered the station and boarded the train.
Probably because it wasn’t the last train rush hour yet, the carriage wasn’t very crowded.
A few people were scattered about, and there were empty seats.
Shirakawa found a place to sit and complimented her casually.
“Luckily I listened to you and came early.
If we were any later, we’d probably have to stand all the way back.”
A casual compliment made the corners of Ran Mouri’s mouth curl up unconsciously, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at Shirakawa.
“Mm!” She nodded heavily and took the initiative to find a topic.
“By the way, Mr.
Shirakawa, my family runs a Detective Agency.
It’s on the second floor.”
“There’s a storage room in the agency.
It’s usually piled with newspapers and magazines my dad doesn’t read anymore; it’s quite dusty.”
“When we get back, I’ll tidy it up, clean it, and move a bed in.
It’s a bit small, but it should be fine for a temporary stay!”
Ran Mouri spoke with increasing enthusiasm, as if she could already see the small room looking brand new, completely unaware that her passion was a bit out of the ordinary.
Looking at her serious profile, slightly flushed with excitement, and hearing her plan a future home for him a “stranger” Shirakawa felt that surge of guilt well up again.
He even felt a bit afraid to look directly into those clear, pure purple eyes.
His gaze unconsciously drifted away, falling on the night scenery racing past outside the window.
Afterward, Shirakawa changed the subject and chatted idly with Ran Mouri, trying to dilute the unease in his heart.
The train ride of over half an hour passed quickly in their intermittent conversation.
The train arrived at the station, and the two got off, walking along the streets of Beika Town at night.
Compared to the bustling commercial district, the night here was much quieter.
Most of the roadside shops were already closed, with only a few restaurants and izakayas still lit up.
When Ran Mouri pointed to a lit three-story building not far ahead and said with a smile, “We’re here, that’s my home,” Shirakawa’s footsteps instantly froze.
It was a building he was all too familiar with.
The first floor was the Café Poirot with its sign hanging, soft light shining through the windows.
On the outer wall of the second floor, a huge sign hung prominently , ‘Mouri Detective Agency’.
The windows on the third floor revealed the warm light of a home.
Everything was exactly the same as the scenes in the manga he had followed for over a decade in his memory.
An intense sense of unreality and trance-like shock instantly enveloped Shirakawa’s entire body.
It was as if the 2D world of the manga and reality had undergone a bizarre overlap at this moment.
He felt his soul somewhat detached, standing blankly on the spot, staring at the building with a void in his mind.
“Mr.
Shirakawa?
What’s wrong?”
Ran Mouri’s call pulled him back sharply from his daze.
She looked at Shirakawa’s stunned expression with concern, thinking he was worried about the living arrangement.
Ran Mouri gave a bright smile and comforted him easily.
“Are you worried my dad won’t agree?”
“Don’t worry, my dad is actually a very good person.
Once I explain the situation to him, he’ll definitely agree!”
These words caused Shirakawa’s heart, which had just been immersed in joy, to sink abruptly, falling into an ice cellar.
“A very good person?”
Listening to Ran Mouri’s evaluation of her father—filtered through eight hundred layers—Shirakawa couldn’t help but have a completely different image automatically surface in his mind.
Greedy for money and lustful, a heavy drinker and gambler, sloppy and lazy…
Shirakawa’s impression of Kogoro Mouri came entirely from that comedic character in the manga who was practically “full of all five vices.”
He knew very well that the real hurdle to successfully staying with the Mouri Family wasn’t that small storage room, Kogoro Mouri.
A young man who was a complete stranger wanting to move into the home of a single father with a beautiful daughter , anyone could guess the other party’s reaction just by thinking with their toes.
Kogoro Mouri would absolutely treat him as a villain with ill intentions, a “scoundrel” eyeing his family’s prize flower , and then use every method to kick him out.
What gave Shirakawa even more of a headache was that Kogoro Mouri was exactly the type he found hardest to deal with , overly familiar, thick-skinned, and acting completely outside the norm.
In particular, Kogoro Mouri was a former detective and knew judo…
Following Ran Mouri up the narrow stairs leading to the second floor, Shirakawa’s mood became increasingly apprehensive.
With every step he climbed, he felt the pressure on his shoulders increase by a notch.
He even started thinking of a backup plan in his head: if Kogoro Mouri resolutely disagreed, he’d probably have to use the little cash he had to find the cheapest hotel to make do for the night.
Finally, the two stood at the door of the agency on the second floor.
From inside the door, the excited voice of a horse racing commentator could be heard faintly from the TV, mixed with the satisfied smack of a man’s lips after finishing a beer.
“Haa—!”
Shirakawa took a deep breath, feeling like a hero about to face the final BOSS, and the door in front of him was the entrance to the final battlefield.
Ran Mouri, however, didn’t notice the man’s tension at all.
She took out her keys, a relaxed smile of coming home on her face, and called out into the room, “Dad, I’m back!”
She reached out and pushed open the door of the agency.
*Squeak—*
The old door hinge made a soft sound as the door was pushed wide open.
The scene inside was also completely exposed before Shirakawa’s eyes.