The next day, after Takayanagi Ichiro had finished washing up, Ikesawa Yuko was still lazing in bed. The long night had left her exhausted—mostly because she was a newcomer, an untouched woman until now.
"I'm going back to the main family today. Do you want to come along?" Ichiro asked.
She was the first woman he had been with since his soul had transmigrated into this body, so he gave her a certain level of respect.
Unfortunately, Yuko couldn't even get out of bed today. Wrapped in the blanket, she replied, "I'll stay here and wait for you, Ichiro. If you'll be gone for a while, just give me some living expenses and that'll be enough."
"I understand. Then rest well," Ichiro said, leaving the room.
Once she heard him go, Yuko poked her head out from under the blanket, her cheeks flushed, faint tear marks on her face—a testament to last night.
She had no regrets. She could tell Ichiro wasn't the type to toss someone aside after a night together, yet she also didn't use the opportunity to demand more from him.
She got up slowly—she hadn't wanted to face him in her current state earlier. If he'd wanted another round this morning, she doubted she could have handled it.
Standing caused a twinge of pain, making her wince. Yes, she'd be staying home today.
Instead of washing up first, she went to the living room. On the table was a key and an envelope.
She sat down carefully. The key was clearly for this apartment—Ichiro was letting her choose whether to stay.
Opening the unsealed envelope, she found large-denomination yen bills—about one million in total.
Ichiro hadn't said how long he'd be gone. She had only asked for living expenses, yet he'd given her this much. It was clearly connected to what had happened last night.
At the thought, tears welled in her eyes again—though whether they were from bitterness or something else, even she couldn't say.
…
As Ichiro left the building, his phone buzzed with a text from Eri Kisaki saying yesterday's contract had no problems.
After reading it, he messaged Hotta Miki to say he agreed to the ten-billion-yen loan but only after he returned from the main house.
Takayanagi Musashi was still his elder, after all. Even if it was just for show, he could return for the sake of the headship. Hotta replied that she could wait until he got back.
Driving out of the garage, Ichiro saw Conan standing in the driveway, blocking the exit.
Rolling down the window, Ichiro said, "Isn't today a school day? Did you use the old 'my tummy hurts' trick to skip and wait here for me?"
"Ichiro, what exactly do you know about me?" Conan's body and voice were that of a child, but his tone was deadly serious.
"I already had Ran warn you. You keep being the famous detective, and I'll keep living as a moneylender. Staying out of each other's way is better, don't you think?"
So he really does know… Conan felt a jolt of panic. If Ichiro told Ran the truth, then—he shook his head sharply.
"Whose side are you on?"
"Stop trying to label people. I live for myself. If that's all, I need to get going to the main house." Ichiro tapped the horn lightly.
Conan reluctantly stepped aside, realizing that in his current state he posed no threat to Ichiro at all.
Watching the car drive off, Conan decided he should head to Professor Agasa's, to see if the antidote was ready and to have him dig deeper into Ichiro's background.
The aura around Ichiro wasn't the same as the Black Organization members he'd encountered at Tropical Land, but that didn't rule out private connections.
Just then, Conan thought he saw someone watching from Ichiro's window. But when he looked up, the figure quickly stepped back.
Even so, his memory was sharp—the person in Ichiro's room looked like Ikesawa Yuko from last night's case.
Since the case was already solved and she was cleared of suspicion, her presence here had to be personal. It was disappointing—it wouldn't lead back to Ichiro. Conan turned and headed for Agasa's house.
(End of Chapter)
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