The Western-style villa on the slope.
Sawamura Residence.
As the white Toyota passed through the gate and came to a stop before the villa's entrance.
A young woman in a black-and-white maid's outfit with neat short hair immediately stepped forward and opened the car door, saying:
"My apologies. I'm Kochiyo Rurukawa, the maid here. Are you the Mouri family who booked an appointment for 3:30 today?"
"I'm Kogoro Mouri."
Kogoro Mouri seemed startled by Kochiyo Rurukawa, pausing briefly before hurriedly responding.
"Um... is parking not allowed here?"
"Not at all. Please leave your car parked here. A dedicated maid will move it shortly."
Kochiyo Rurukawa spoke while giving a slight bow:
"Please follow me inside. The master is waiting in the reception room."
As she spoke, Rurukawa stepped aside, gesturing for Kogoro Mouri to exit the car.
At this moment, Ran Mouri, who had been leaning forward in the car, lowered her voice excitedly:
"Conan, look! A real-life maid!!"
"I know, Ran-neechan..."
Conan's expression twisted slightly at her words.
'Haven't you seen the maids at Sonoko Suzuki's house before? Why so surprised?'
Yet Ran seemed completely oblivious to this thought as she marvelled:
"It's my first time seeing such a young maid. She looks like a high schooler, doesn't she? Working while still in high school?"
'She might be born into service...' Conan thought dryly before pushing the car door open and stepping out.
When Conan didn't respond, Ran didn't mind, quickly exiting the car to follow.
Then, Kogoro Mouri's group followed behind Rurukawa to the reception room, where they met the master of the house, Leonard Spencer Robert.
Robert wore a black suit at home, although without a tie, and appeared quite relaxed.
Upon seeing Kogoro enter, he immediately stood to welcome him:
"Ah, Mr Mouri has arrived!"
"That's me, Lord Robert."
Kogoro quickly stepped forward with an ingratiating smile, shaking Robert's hand before introducing:
"This is my daughter Ran Mouri, and... well, a relative's child, Conan Edogawa."
"So this is Miss Ran and young Conan."
Robert smiled at the two as they bowed in greeting, then gave Rurukawa a slight nod, signalling her to prepare some desserts suitable for younger guests.
At this moment, Conan's nose twitched as he curiously observed Robert.
'This man seems to have a peculiar scent...' Conan glanced curiously at Robert before silently standing aside to observe.
"Miss Ran appears about the same age as my daughter. Also in high school, I presume?" Robert gestured for them to sit as he asked with a smile.
"She attends Teitan High in Beika Town. Her grades are decent - takes after me."
Kogoro sat on the sofa, laughing as he rubbed his head.
'Please don't say that - having grades as bad as yours is nothing to boast about!' Ran felt a pang of despair hearing this.
Beside them, Conan, her former classmate, couldn't help but snort with laughter.
Being a child, the adults merely glanced at Conan before continuing their conversation:
"To be assisting Mr Mouri at such a young age is impressive. Far better than my Eriri."
"You flatter me too much."
Ran smiled awkwardly. She knew her father had used the "assistant" excuse to bring her along, so hearing Robert praise her as superior to his own daughter felt distinctly uncomfortable.
Any reasonable person would know an ordinary high school girl like her couldn't possibly compare to some aristocratic young lady.
So Robert's polite compliments should be taken as just that - politeness, not to be taken seriously.
Just as Robert was complimenting Ran Mouri, Kochiyo Rurukawa entered the reception room with afternoon tea, serving desserts to both host and guests.
At that moment, Kogoro Mouri glanced around the room, noticing Conan had already started eating, and said directly:
"Ran, you stay here with Conan. I need to discuss something with Mr Robert in the corridor."
Hearing this, Robert nodded at Kochiyo Rurukawa, signalling her to attend to the guests, then turned to smile at Ran Mouri before following Kogoro Mouri out of the reception room.
Seeing this, Conan felt rather curious. Though he disliked trivial matters like exposing infidelity, gossip about such important figures still intrigued him.
Especially since both Ran and Kogoro Mouri knew that man called Luo Shu - this made him even more curious.
Or perhaps curiosity was simply human nature, particularly when his current identity made investigations so convenient.
"Ran-neechan, I need to use the toilet."
"Eh? Didn't you just go at the burger shop?" Ran blinked in confusion.
"I can't hold it! Miss maid, where's the toilet?" Conan jumped off the sofa and trotted towards the door.
"The toilet's at the end of the corridor on the right." Kochiyo Rurukawa frowned slightly at Conan's retreating back, seeming somewhat puzzled.
"Wait, Conan, I'll take you..." Ran couldn't stop him and could only sit back down, sighing: "Really, this child has absolutely no shyness at all."
"A rather mischievous child," Kochiyo Rurukawa remarked calmly.
Hearing this, Ran gave a wry smile: "I shouldn't have brought him along..."
Then Ran looked curiously at Kochiyo Rurukawa and asked familiarly:
"How long have you worked here as a maid, Rurukawa-san?"
"Only three months as an intern." Kochiyo Rurukawa glanced at Ran before adding, "Are you curious about me, Ran-san?"
"Yes, yes, yes!!" Ran nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling: "Would you mind telling me?"
"It might be quite boring. Are you sure you want to hear?" Kochiyo Rurukawa looked at Ran expressionlessly.
"Please do tell."
Ran immediately sat up straight, adopting a posture of attentive listening.
As the two conversed...
Conan, having left the reception room, didn't head to the toilet. Instead, following the voices, he peeked around the corridor corner at Kogoro Mouri and Robert's conversation, pressing himself against the wall to eavesdrop.
At that moment, Kogoro Mouri took out over a dozen concealed photos from his suit jacket and handed them to Robert.
Upon seeing the images of his wife sitting opposite an unfamiliar young man, Robert's expression changed dramatically. With unnatural demeanour, he looked at Kogoro Mouri:
"Mr Mouri, is this your discovery?"
Covering his face with one hand, Robert said painfully:
"I thought those rumours from friends were false... I never imagined Sayuri would actually... How could things come to this?"
Seeing Robert's anguish, Kogoro Mouri quickly placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"No, Mr Robert. I actually haven't confirmed whether your wife was truly unfaithful. In fact, these photos don't prove anything. Look, the behaviour of the two people in them doesn't cross any boundaries."
As he spoke these words, Kogoro Mouri was actually harbouring doubts.
After all, the photos were taken during Luo Shu and Sayuri Sawamura's early meetings, and only Kogoro himself had witnessed the final scene where they left arm in arm.
From this perspective, the rumours Mr Robert heard from friends about Mrs Sayuri's infidelity might not be entirely baseless?
Could it be that the other party wasn't Director Luo Shu, but someone else? It seems necessary to observe the situation long-term, then.
With these thoughts churning in his mind, Kogoro Mouri comforted Robert:
"From my personal judgement, I'm more inclined to believe this is a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?" Robert hesitated, looking at Kogoro Mouri with some confusion.
Seeing this, Kogoro took a deep breath and said:
"Given your status, you must have heard of it?"
"The Metropolitan Police Department's rumoured secret division..."
"Those called the Bujin-shū..."