Mouri Ran: "What?"
Suzuki Sonoko's voice came from the quiet phone, "Why is this kid so hostile to Mr. Mirai?"
She was suspicious, "Something's wrong."
"Hmph, he's a real pain in the ass, almost as bad as that famous detective!"
After a few moments of pause, "I thought I saw you. My car was in front of yours."
The gathering was in an upscale residential area, and the neighborhood was usually filled with all kinds of private cars, with very few cabs.
Mouri Ran looked forward and saw a taxi stopped in front of the villa. A slender figure with short hair got out of the car. "Hey, I saw you too."
Suzuki Sonoko didn't answer.
The figure in front of the villa shifted a few times, and as the cab approached, Mouri Ran realized that there was also a young male figure standing in front of the door.
It was Ichijō Mirai.
His nonchalant voice came indistinctly over the phone, "Happy Valentine's Day, here's a gift."
Followed by Suzuki Sonoko's stuttering voice, "Gift, gift?"
Huh?
As the cab got closer to the villa, Conan leaned over the window and looked at the absolutely mysterious figure with extra caution: he looked young, maybe twenty-three or twenty-four years old, not bad for a target of Suzuki Sonoko's, and was indeed quite handsome, with black hair and red eyes, and his hair was a bit shaggy, so it was a bit messy.
He seemed to be in a good mood, and was smiling as he handed Suzuki Sonoko a palm-sized black velvet box, which was supposed to be a 'bracelet'.
...Something's wrong, something's very wrong.
After actually meeting him and confirming that 'Mr.Mirai is really handsome', Conan frowned even more... Isn't it interesting that he's giving a gift? There's definitely something wrong with Suzuki Sonoko!
He scrutinizes every detail of Ichijō Mirai and Suzuki Sonoko's relationship, trying to find out what's wrong.
Ichijō Mirai sensed the sight and controlled his gaze with a gentle sideways glance, he smiled and raised an eyebrow as he took a few steps forward and pulled open the door of the cab, "I'm sorry to trouble you both separately, Happy Valentine's Day, Ms. Mouri."
He handed Mouri Ran a black box once more, saying easily, "A Valentine's Day gift."
Taking a few steps back, he added, "It's a pair."
"It's a commission, but it's Valentine's Day after all, so I've prepared two gifts," Ichijō Mirai added again, "A couple's style bracelet."
"Happy Valentine's Day."
Suzuki Sonoko: "?"
Mouri Ran: "??"
Conan: "???"
Suzuki Sonoko, who was already blushing and shy when she received the gift, opened the box subconsciously and hooked out a silver bracelet with her index finger: a thin silver bracelet with a half heart pendant, the chain and bright diamonds glittering in the sunlight.
Mouri Ran also subconsciously opened the box and took out a silver bracelet: a thinner chain with another half heart-shaped diamond bracelet.
The charms of the two diamond bracelets were combined to form a heart in the shape of a snake wrapped around a forbidden fruit.
It's a beautiful design, perfect for Valentine's Day confessions, but: "?????"
Ichijō Mirai: "What's wrong?"
He's still smiling, he looks quite good-tempered, with some foreigner's innocence, "I've just come to Japan, I don't understand some customs, can't you give a gift to the opposite sex on Valentine's Day for a normal relationship?"
"I'm sorry, please forgive me."
Gifts are allowed.
But to give a gift to two people, who are still friends, and to give a couple's style gift, that's...
It's not at all ambiguous, it's a polite way of saying that you're only here for the commission.
Conan, who had been extremely wary, instantly dropped his guard: Okay, it's not that there's a handsome guy interested in Suzuki Sonoko, it's that there's no interest.
Normal!
"..." Suzuki Sonoko understood, rather grudgingly put on the bracelet, "No, not rude, I also prepared a gift for you in advance."
She didn't really care, she put on the bracelet and then got happy for a second, "Mr. Mirai arrived early?"
"Well, I've done a preliminary check of the villa," Ichijō Mirai only talked about business, "There are seven of them now."
"Three of them are Mrs. Minagawa, Mrs. Minagawa's two sons, one of them is your age and is the gentleman who invited you to the party, he also invited others, two male friends of the same age and two female friends of the same age."
"Together with the four of us, there are only eight suitable participants for the Valentine's Day party, four men and four women."
"But if I don't attend, it's three men and four women."
It's not a normal association to have someone left out.
Ichijō Mirai finished his brief introduction, and added, "There are no suspicious people."
"I checked the neighborhood, and there are no binoculars or anything nearby."
"When we were at the door just now, there were no other suspicious people watching us," he paused, glanced at Conan, and emphasized, "no outsiders."
No outsiders were watching them with a critical eye.
But this little guest who had come with Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko...
I don't know why, but Ichijō Mirai felt a subtle sensation, like a cat's claw scratching at his heart, and something was about to break through and come out.
The watch in his right hand vibrated.
Ichijō Mirai collected his thoughts, raised his hand and glanced at it, realizing that it was an alert that the game had been patched and updated, so he lowered his hand again, and inquired without any sense of abnormality: "Did you two encounter any suspicious people while you were on your way here? Or the same road more than three blocks away from the car?"
The long list of explanations and inquiries was very intimidating, like a professional detective.
Suzuki Sonoko replied obediently, "I didn't pay much attention, and I didn't feel anything like I was being followed."
Mouri Ran shakes her head, "I don't seem to have met anyone suspicious."
Conan: "..."
He tries to control his expression as he listens to them discussing the 'stalker' without looking away.
Ichijō Mirai: "OK."
He also didn't notice any suspicious characters on the way in, and didn't notice any surveillance eyes when he intentionally delayed his stay at the door by giving them a gift in plain sight, so he expected them not to notice any suspicious characters on the way in, "Then I'll take you in first."
"I've only been here for about half an hour, I've only had a brief look around, I'm a complete stranger just like you, so don't be too nervous."
After entering the gate, there was a spacious courtyard and greenery, and it took a few more steps to get into the villa.
Ichijō Mirai was at the front of the line, pushing open the door to the villa.
Suzuki Sonoko followed quickly with her skirt lifted. Mouri Ran was about to lag behind. She vaguely heard the sound of a car and unconsciously turned her head to take a look. She found a private car passing by the villa.
The driver, a man wearing a knit cap, seemed nothing out of the ordinary, just a passer-by, so she withdrew her eyes and followed him into the living room.
The living room was full of people, a table in the center with cushions placed randomly around it, and they were talking animatedly about something.
A handsome man in a brown suit pulled out a cigarette, lit it carelessly, and turned around at the sound of his voice, "You're here."
"Everyone's here," said another stout man in red, his spirits lifted, "so let's get this party started, shall we?"
He gave a pep talk, "There are people from outside the club today, and it's a Valentine's Day dinner, it's a bonding event, so let's all be on our best behavior, and maybe we'll start a wonderful relationship."
"Minagawa, you're the president, so you should introduce yourself first!"