Meeting time, Mouri Ran came downstairs.
The restaurant was already full of people, half of the tables were full and they were drinking tea and chatting.
Mouri Ran remembered the embarrassing scene when he opened the door and slowed down a bit, embarrassed.
At the table, Suzuki Sonoko stood up and waved cheerfully, "Here, Ran!"
"Mr. Mirai and Conan aren't down yet," She said, "it may take a while."
When Mouri Ran was seated next to her, Suzuki Sonoko added in a low voice, "One of the guests went out for a smoke, and, ah, he's back."
The one who had gone out for a smoke was the guest in the third room on the second floor, who had long hair, a forehead with a smudge, a stern look on his face, and who looked like he was holding a cigarette in his hand when he greeted the guest, lazily, and was quite handsome.
Suzuki Sonoko didn't respond.
Because Mouri Ran had asked the question 'why don't you react to handsome men', she simply nodded and withdrew her eyes for a few seconds before explaining in a low, disguised voice: "I don't like boys with long hair, it's too girly!"
Well, that's why you don't react to good looks, that's why.
Mouri Ran: "..."
Is that so?
That's not very believable.
"I don't like chubby boys either," Suzuki Sonoko added, her voice lowered so that only Mouri Ran could hear, "and I don't like men who are too strong."
You like a man who is slender, has black hair and red eyes, smiles a lot, seems to be good-tempered, is polite in speech and behavior, and has a relative who owns a dessert store, don't you?
Mouri Ran held her forehead and raised her eyes to the stairs, "Mr. Mirai, they're coming down."
Ichijō Mirai and Conan were walking side by side, and after just a few moments alone, they seemed to have had a friendly exchange, and were impressed with each other, even holding hands.
Conan grabbed Ichijō Mirai's hand and seemed to be bouncing up and down the stairs in a lively, childlike manner, not so much going down the stairs properly as jumping down them two at a time.
With each jump, Ichijō Mirai held out his other arm, which Conan grabbed just enough to stabilize himself, released, and jumped again.
He also sounded childish, "Wow, so you checked the closet because you watched a horror movie and were afraid of the people hiding in there."
"I thought brother Mirai was checking for bugs, just like on TV!"
"Uh-huh," Ichijō Mirai laughed good-naturedly, stretching out his arm, "it's a horror movie."
"What about turning on the TV?" Conan held his arm and jumped up and down, "You're so good, you're like a hacker, you make the TV flicker!"
"And look at the sockets."
He said in a childish tone of admiration, "It's like in the movies, you can just plug something into a computer or an outlet, and it'll tell you everything in a flash!"
Ichijō Mirai was still smiling, "Uh-huh, it's because I read science fiction, and I'm always worried that there's something not so clean on TV, Ms. Sadako or something."
"I can't help it, I'm afraid of things that science can't explain at the moment, like neon gods and goddesses, snow girls and such."
"I see," Conan nodded and continued jumping down, "didn't Brother Mirai tell Aunt Ishida and the others when he came? I saw you making a long phone call without turning off the TV."
He added, "While walking around the room."
"Uh-huh," Ichijō Mirai was very patient, without changing his color, the third best loving citizen, with a very gentle tone to the child, "I remembered that I didn't talk to Auntie and the others, so I called on the spur of the moment."
"But Mirai brother didn't say anything, right?" Conan said, "It seemed like the other side of the phone was talking the whole time and you were listening?"
Then he asked animatedly, "What is it, a commission?"
"Uncle Mouri is very happy when he gets a commission, but Brother Mirai doesn't seem to get many commissions, does he?"
"I heard from Auntie Ishida that you don't do any cat searching."
"Uh-huh," Ichijō Mirai raised an eyebrow, "You and Auntie are very close."
"I called on the spur of the moment when I remembered there might be a delivery,"
"It just so happened that Aunty had something to tell me on her end, and the conversation got a little long," he added before Conan could follow up, "It was something about purchases and customers, and Aunty wanted me to stop by on my way back to pick up some good quality flour and light cream."
Conan jumps to the first floor of the first floor, "I see."
Ichijō Mirai let go of his hand and rubbed Conan's head again, "Uh-huh, good boy."
He smiled and had a gentle demeanor, like an adult who was very kind to children.
"Brother Mirai," Conan said, his eyes full of admiration, a look of longing for a powerful adult, "is the back of your neck uncomfortable?"
"I see you always touch it from time to time."
He quickly ran up the four or five stairs, peered over, and dutifully pounced on Ichijō Mirai as he turned and opened his arms.
"There's a little bit of red on the back of your neck, a tiny bit, is it blood? Or is it a mole? A birthmark?"
"Uh-huh," Ichijō Mirai said as she carried Conan to the table, "it's a mole."
"I've been up a lot lately, and my neck is a little sore."
When Conan heard that, he obediently lowered his hand around Ichijō Mirai a bit, and only wrapped it around his shoulder, "Did I just ask a lot of questions?"
"Uncle Mouri says that a detective should be full of curiosity and encourages me to ask questions whenever I have them, but sometimes he finds my barrage of questions annoying and beats me up."
"Not annoying."
Ichijō Mirai replied briefly, "It's better to be able to ask a question than to not be able to find it."
He placed Conan in his seat and reached out to touch his head again, "You're very smart, perfect for a detective."
"I look forward to seeing you grow up."
But preferably later, to torture the next generation of criminals.
Conan shifted from side to side in his position as he was touched on the head, and quickly reached out to push down the hand on his head, "Mr. Mirai!"
Ichijō Mirai smiled, withdrew his hand, and took his seat on the other side of the room, nodding to the others who had already arrived.
"Brother Mirai," Conan whispered, leaning over the table, 'you're not 'uh-huh' anymore!"
Ichijō Mirai smiles, "Uh-huh."
The others: "..."
Mouri Ran: "..."
Suzuki Sonoko: "..."
Suzuki Sonoko was in awe, "Temper, temper."
"If I was being questioned by this kid," She lowered her voice, whispering to Mouri Ran, "I'd have to hit him!"
There's no such thing as why!
...But Ichijō Mirai's behavior in those 'why's' is a bit strange, to be sure.
And: "Delivery."
"Huh," Suzuki Sonoko wasn't sure, "is it now?"
She whispers to Ichijō Mirai, "Mr. Mirai, do you want me to deliver the courier to you today?"
"You just said 'express', and according to the note on the delivery note, that means it's ready to be delivered to you, right?"