It was another afternoon in a brand-new day.
Today was a workday, and it was currently the peak of the evening rush.
Autumn had arrived without anyone quite noticing. The wind blowing along the road now carried a distinct chill, mixed with the bleakness of fine rain.
Under the eaves of a convenience store stood several young women and three children, sheltering there for the moment from the rain. It had come suddenly, catching many people off guard and leaving them looking a little bedraggled.
The girls were chatting quietly among themselves, all wearing somewhat annoyed expressions, apparently complaining that this sudden autumn rain had disrupted their original plans.
Until one of them suddenly let out a soft “Ah.”
Her two companions looked in the direction she was indicating, immediately understanding what had made her gasp, and unconsciously stopped talking as well.
Even the three grade-school children beside them cast curious glances over there.
It only took one look to catch sight of the young man who stood out so strikingly in the crowd.
The passersby coming and going all hurried along, more or less carrying a trace of disarray.
That man held a black umbrella and moved through the crowd at an unhurried pace. A crow, black from head to toe, stood quietly on his shoulder.
Veiled in misting rain, he seemed like a distinct yet hazy silhouette rendered only in black and white.
As though he had noticed the gazes from this side, the young man lifted his eyes and looked over. Pale fingers held the umbrella handle, and as the edge of the umbrella tilted slightly upward, his handsome, bloodless face was revealed without concealment.
He was impeccably dressed, wearing a fine black overcoat on the outside, a gray V-neck vest beneath it, then a white shirt, with a dark brown tie neatly set inside his suit.
Simply by standing there quietly, he seemed to have brought London’s rain with him.
The young man—[London]—paused for a brief moment, then walked with clear purpose toward the convenience store.
Toward the three children.
He first gave the women who had been staring at him a faint smile, a polite greeting in passing.
The girls seemed to come back to themselves only then, hurriedly withdrawing their gazes, somewhat annoyed with themselves for having stared so long without manners, yet unable to stop stealing glances his way again.
The young man turned to the three children and spoke very softly. “Forgive the intrusion, young sir, but are you Kudo Shinichi?”
Before little Kudo Shinichi could answer, Suzuki Sonoko, standing on his right, eagerly jumped in first. “Yes, sir! He’s Kudo Shinichi, then she’s Mouri Ran, and I’m Suzuki Sonoko!”
Kudo Shinichi secretly shot his friend a small look. She had shown signs of being boy-crazy since she was little—what if this person was a bad guy? How could she just sell them out so readily??
Suzuki Sonoko was not about to lose either and jabbed him with an elbow in return.
Someone that good-looking could not possibly be a bad person!
Beside them, Mouri Ran was curiously watching the crow perched on the young man’s shoulder, its eyes a vivid crimson.
“I’m sorry. I may have frightened you.” He lowered the black umbrella, which looked rather heavy, and his eyes held a trace of apology. There was not the slightest hint of carelessness in his attitude just because they were children; he remained gentle and perfectly courteous as he explained, “My friend, Yuki Mu, whom young Mr. Kudo may know.”
Kudo Shinichi hesitated, then nodded.
“He said it was raining today, and that you might get soaked on the way home and perhaps catch a cold. As it happens, I came to Beika Town today as well, so I stopped by on the way to take you home.”
Kudo Shinichi, somewhat weary, stopped Suzuki Sonoko from agreeing with obvious enthusiasm and asked seriously, “...What evidence do you have to prove that what you’re saying is true?”
The young man seemed to think for a moment.
He crouched down so that his line of sight was level with the three children and said with complete seriousness, “I am... Christie London, a professor of criminal psychology at Oxford University, and I also work part-time as a criminal profiling consultant for MI6.”
As though afraid the two girls might not understand, he smiled a little shyly and explained in some detail, “MI6 is the abbreviation for Britain’s Military Intelligence, Section 6... though it isn’t exactly a very admirable thing either.”
At the last three words, the crow on his shoulder let out a hoarse cry that sounded almost like agreement, drawing from the young man a gently chiding yet affectionate stroke to its head.
The next moment, however, he withdrew his hand, turned his head slightly, and as though unable to bear it any longer, covered his mouth and coughed for a while. “Cough... cough... cough.”
His breathing grew a little uneven, and a flush was stirred to life on his pale face from the force of it. He gave a small wave of his hand, as though long accustomed to occasional coughing fits, and offered the worried children a soothing smile. “Mm... I’m fine. My throat is only a little itchy.”
“So.” The young man seemed utterly unconcerned by the bout of coughing that had, in truth, been rather severe. He only hesitated over what to say next, his voice still carrying a faint rasp. “...I know Sherlock Holmes.”
Kudo Shinichi: “......”
Kudo Shinichi: “All right. I believe you.”
After all, the man was only taking them home. It was not as though he were trying to lure them somewhere strange... and besides, from what Shinichi had just observed, the man had not been lying.
And even taking ten thousand steps back—...if he had no weapon, whether this young man could actually beat the three of them in a fight was another matter entirely.
Not to mention that Ran practiced karate.
When the young man heard Kudo Shinichi’s reply, he pressed his lips together in a smile. Even the way he smiled seemed quiet, carrying a kind of elegance and weight that had been tempered by time, a unique splendor in its own right.
“Then let us be on our way.”
He opened the umbrella once more and stepped into rain that had grown heavier than before, the soles of his polished shoes touching down without the slightest haste.
“Do not worry.”
He smiled again. His pale gray eyes looked like translucent jewels, and when he smiled, it was as though starlight had shattered within them.
“...So long as you remain beneath my umbrella, neither wind nor rain will be able to touch you.”
Kudo Shinichi found the phrasing somewhat strange, but in the end he merely chalked it up to the British habit of indirect, elegant expression. No matter how he looked at it, what the man had just said sounded oddly tinged with magical realism— just a little too exaggerated.
*
At that very same moment, inside the Kudo residence.
“They should be back soon.” The dark green-haired Public Security officer was sitting on the sofa now, with the Kudo couple seated opposite him. “Shinichi and the others probably didn’t bring any rain gear... A friend of mine happened to be nearby, so I asked him to take them home.”
System: 【Oh, “happened to be nearby.”】
Which [Character Card] was it, exactly, whose initial deployment point had been London, England, and who, after spending the middle of the night controlling that [Character Card], handling a whole series of matters and laying down follow-up groundwork, had then rushed all the way from England to Japan in a tearing hurry?
And after coming back, had immediately gone without pause to pick them up near Teitan Elementary School and escort them home—
The system sighed with feeling. 【You really do love that child, Shinichi.】
Yuki Mu: 【Enough. That child Shinichi really has had it hard. Carrying so many people’s hopes on his shoulders at times is exhausting too... So what if I like him?】
The system silently surrendered. 【...N-no, nothing at all. Though speaking of which, before this, [Hawaii] also came charging to Japan in dramatic fashion by plane just to find you... and now [London] flew over too without wasting a second.】
【?】Yuki Mu first defended himself properly. 【The one who made [London] do that was actually [Beika]. With [London]’s temperament, even losing his afternoon tea time is enough to make him unhappy. Make him work overtime? Dream on.】
【Oh, and do I need to remind you again that all three of these [Character Cards] are currently being controlled by me?】
System: 【N-no need.】
But it still could not help asking, 【If [London] is unwilling to work overtime, then when you used [London] in England before, didn’t that break character?】
While feeling gratified that the system finally seemed to be getting a little smarter, Yuki Mu leisurely replied: 【Break character? How could that possibly happen.】
【What I just said referred to London during the day.】
And London at night... had an execution ability so high it bordered on the unbelievable.
That was the mysterious, taciturn night watchman who could speak with the dead, even command the dead.
...It was only that his built-in affliction was somewhat troublesome as well.
【Character Card: [London]
[Triggered Affliction]: Consumption (Incurable)
—The pollution of the Industrial Revolution ultimately left an indelible mark on this city.】
“When that friend of mine returns, he and I will explain the full situation to you in detail.” Yuki Mu’s face remained cold, but for once a sharp edge surfaced in his emerald eyes. “—About the summit three months from now.”
It was also the operation that [Hawaii] and the rest of the Organization had, unusually, begun preparing for a full three months in advance.
Because it involved too many people, all with complicated backgrounds of their own—and all of them were highly influential figures—it had already begun to churn the already muddy waters of politics into even greater disorder.
To the extent that subtle changes in the overall landscape had already begun to emerge—there was a distinct feeling of a storm gathering.
That was why [London] had been able to come over smoothly under the name of MI6, bringing along Sherlock Holmes as well, whom his elder brother—Mycroft Holmes, who in some sense represented the British government itself—had practically packaged up and sent along with him.
When one was fishing in troubled waters, naturally, the more people involved, the more interesting it became.
—So over these next three months, Shinichi could also use the time to properly interact with his idol.
“Mr. Kudo, I presume you have already heard some wind of it.” Yuki Mu interlaced his fingers lightly and inclined his head a fraction, though the expression on his face remained entirely unmoved. “The summit three months from now.”
“—It will also be the first formal appearance of the 【Special Operations Section】.”
Let the waters grow muddier still.
There came a knock at the front door.
Yuki Mu turned his gaze toward it and, through that single barrier, met [London]’s eyes.
Elsewhere, at that very same moment, Blue Hawaii—currently spending the Organization’s funds lavishly with Vermouth in a Michelin-starred restaurant—felt something too. His hand paused, almost imperceptibly, in the middle of cutting into his steak, and the smile in his amber eyes deepened.
On matters like this, Their objective was always the same.
Three pairs of eyes, each a different color, passed across the same emotion.
—No matter the circumstances, the initiative had to remain in Their own hands.
Beika thought expressionlessly.
For example, things like bombs... absolutely could not be allowed to appear.
They hurt, all right? :)