After finishing dinner, Sora washed the dishes in the kitchen and then mopped the floor.
Even though it was only a rented apartment, regular cleaning was still necessary.
It made living there much more comfortable.
Returning to his bedroom, Sora sat down at his desk and took out his phone to search for videos of street magicians online.
The tricks themselves weren’t important to him.
What he wanted to learn was how these performers controlled the atmosphere.
How they opened their performances.
How they attracted attention.
How they encouraged audience participation.
How they concluded their shows.
These details might seem insignificant, but they would largely determine whether his future livestreams succeeded or failed.
Just as Sora was watching attentively, a notification suddenly appeared.
It was from Kotonoha.
[Kotonoha Katsura: Harumi-kun, I’m sorry!
I was busy cooking just now, and my phone wasn’t with me, so I didn’t see your message!] Sora tapped the notification and opened LINE.
Before he could even type a response, two more messages arrived.
[Kotonoha Katsura: Did you make that dinner yourself?] [Kotonoha Katsura: It looks really delicious!] It was obvious that she cared a great deal about this “friend” she’d only met once.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be replying so eagerly, worried that he might think she was deliberately ignoring him.
Sora began typing.
[Sora Harumi: It’s fine.] [Sora Harumi: Do you cook your own meals too, Kotonoha-san?] [Kotonoha Katsura: Yes.
My mother works overtime every day, so I cook for myself.] [Sora Harumi: I want to see!] [Kotonoha Katsura: Of course!
Please wait a moment!] ——— The dining table was already covered with food.
“Yay!
It’s my favorite fried pork cutlet!” Kokoro cheered and hurried off to wash her hands before returning to her seat.
She picked up a steaming piece of tonkatsu with her chopsticks.
Just as she was about to eat it, she saw her sister hurrying over with her phone, smiling brightly.
Then she heard Kotonoha say anxiously: “Wait, Kokoro!
Don’t eat it yet!” Kokoro tilted her head.
“Huh?
Why?” “Put the pork cutlet back for a second.
I need to take a picture first.” “…Okay.” Pouting unhappily, Kokoro placed the piece of pork cutlet back onto the plate.
Kotonoha carefully adjusted the presentation of each dish with her chopsticks and searched for the best angle before finally snapping a photo.
“Okay, Kokoro.
You can eat now.” “Okay.” Kokoro immediately stuffed the pork cutlet into her mouth.
Mmm!
Tonight’s food was just as delicious as always.
As she ate, she watched Kotonoha continue typing on her phone.
“Big Sis, aren’t you eating?” “I’ll eat in a minute.” “If you wait too long, it’ll get cold.
Fried pork cutlets aren’t good when they’re cold!” “I know.” Kokoro narrowed her eyes.
She remembered the dinner photo she had secretly seen earlier on her sister’s phone.
So they were exchanging meal photos?
Who exactly was this Sora person?
Why was her sister paying so much attention to him?
——— The photo showed a beautifully golden fried pork cutlet, a bowl of tofu miso soup, and some simmered vegetables.
After looking at it, Sora typed his reply.
[Sora Harumi: It looks even better than what I made.] [Kotonoha Katsura: Not at all.
Your fried fish looked delicious too.] [Sora Harumi: Are those chopsticks across from you your mother’s?] [Kotonoha Katsura: No, that’s my younger sister’s.
Her name is Kokoro.] [Sora Harumi: You have a younger sister?
I’m jealous.] [Kotonoha Katsura: She’s very mischievous!] [Sora Harumi: Let’s stop here for now.
I don’t want to interrupt your dinner.] ——— Having a friend willing to chat with her felt wonderful.
Kotonoha reluctantly put down her phone.
Across from her, Kokoro reminded her again.
“Big Sis, hurry up and eat!
The pork cutlet’s going cold!” “Okay, okay.” Kotonoha picked up her chopsticks.
Bringing her hands together, she closed her eyes.
“Thank you for the meal.” Then she began eating quietly.
Although the food had cooled slightly tonight, for some reason it tasted even better than usual.
——— Sora reopened the video of a street magician.
After it ended, a recommended video appeared.
[The Moonlit Magician — Kaitou Kid] Sora tapped it.
Moonlight poured down like a spotlight.
A figure suddenly appeared.
A pristine white suit.
A high top hat.
A monocle chain swaying gently beneath the brim.
A flowing cape billowing behind him like a pair of white wings.
Sora watched the figure on the screen carefully.
The person wasn’t actually Kaitou Kid.
It was a famous cosplayer imitating him.
Sora knew Kaitou Kid’s true identity was Kaito Kuroba.
Like him, Kaito was just an ordinary high school student.
If Sora ever ran short on money, he could theoretically use the same tactic he’d used on Eriri and ask Kaito for some.
Compared to Eriri, Kaito’s secret identity was far more dangerous.
He definitely wouldn’t want it exposed.
Of course, the risks were much greater.
Unlike Eriri, the arrogant phantom thief wasn’t exactly harmless.
He wouldn’t be talked into submission so easily.
After thinking about it for a while, Sora shook his head and abandoned the idea.
There were plenty of ways to make money.
No need to blackmail someone that troublesome.
However, while he lacked the courage to blackmail Kaitou Kid, he had no problem borrowing his popularity.
Looking through the comments beneath the cosplay video, another idea came to mind.
If this cosplayer could imitate Kaitou Kid, why couldn’t he?
Kaitou Kid was famous.
When Sora eventually started his street magician livestreams, he could wear a similar white suit and ride some of that popularity.
Surely Kaitou Kid wouldn’t mind something so minor.
To be safe, Sora searched for more discussions about Kaitou Kid.
As expected, countless people had already cosplayed him.
Comic conventions were filled with Kaitou Kid cosplayers.
This was probably something Kaito Kuroba actually welcomed.
The more people who dressed like him, the harder it became for the police to identify the real thief.
During his search, Sora also found an interesting news article related to Kaitou Kid.
It had happened that very afternoon.
[Mysterious Theft Notice Appears at Jinbo Art Museum — Signed by the Elusive Cat’s Eye] Sora clicked on the article.
Many users in the comments speculated that Cat’s Eye might simply be another alias used by Kaitou Kid.
But Sora knew better.
Cat’s Eye and Kaitou Kid had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
If he remembered correctly, the Cat’s Eye sisters’ first target was the Jinbo Art Museum.
Their goal was to recover a painting created by their father, Heinz, that had somehow ended up there.
“So tonight should be Cat’s Eye’s debut.” Sora silently noted.
He wasn’t interested in their target.
He was interested in their café.
After all, three heroines lived and worked there together.
If he could become a regular customer and eventually befriend them, that would be wonderful.