As Luo Shu and the two girls entered through the iron gate and approached the front door, it swung open from within. Kochiyo Rurukawa, slightly out of breath, hurried out to greet them:
"Welcome back, Madam, Miss Eriri."
Sayuri Sawamura smiled and nodded upon seeing them. She glanced at Kochiyo Rurukawa, who was panting slightly. Though puzzled by her condition, she maintained her smile as she asked:
"I'm home, Kochiyo. Has everything been alright here?"
"Kochiyo-nee." Eriri called out to Rurukawa before asking curiously, "Are you alright? You seem exhausted."
"My apologies. I was just attending to the master's guest and had to rush here from the reception room."
Rurukawa explained while opening the door, simultaneously smiling at Eriri:
"Ah, yes, welcome home, Miss Eriri."
This was her greeting to Eriri, who had been away from home for several days.
"I've told you not to call me 'Miss'," Eriri muttered, having corrected Rurukawa about her address multiple times before.
At this moment, Sayuri expressed surprise:
"Robert has a guest today? He didn't mention anything about it."
She had thought Robert deliberately kept his afternoon free to play newly released single-player games, and had planned to surprise him by bringing Luo Shu and Eriri along.
Now that he was entertaining guests, surprise plans would have to wait!
"It was an impromptu meeting with a guest. I only received the notice shortly beforehand."
Rurukawa stepped aside to make way, her expression unchanged as she glanced at Sayuri, adding:
"It's a detective named Kogoro Mouri and his family."
As a retainer of the Sawamura family, Rurukawa naturally sided with Sayuri and thus wouldn't keep the master's secrets from her.
"A detective?" Sayuri immediately became alert, looking straight at Rurukawa: "Kochiyo, tell me more?"
Sayuri's interest was piqued, her excitement barely contained:
"What kind of detective is this Kogoro Mouri?"
"A detective... he couldn't have been hired to investigate me, could he..."
Hearing her mother's eager tone, Eriri panicked. Whenever Sayuri got like this, it always meant trouble was coming her way - she'd developed a reflex reaction by now.
Had her father really hired a detective to investigate her absence over the past few days?
'Please don't do this to me!!'
Just as Eriri was fretting, a slightly surprised voice chimed in from the side.
"Kogoro Mouri?"
Luo Shu, who had been quietly observing the Sawamura family's exchange, showed surprise:
"If it's him, I actually know a bit about him."
"A former investigator from the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Affairs Division. Quite skilled in marksmanship and judo, excellent at surveillance. He was considered an elite during his police days, highly regarded by the director when dealing with high-risk criminals."
'Excellent at chasing criminals, but extraordinarily useless at actual detective work and reasoning...' Luo Shu mentally added the rest but kept it to himself.
After all, he wasn't so crass as to badmouth acquaintances behind their backs.
"Why would Mr. Spencer seek out Kogoro Mouri of all people?"
Sayuri, beside him, looked somewhat surprised:
"So Luo Shu knows this Mr. Kogoro Mouri?"
This just made things even more interesting, didn't it?
Sayuri Sawamura was in high spirits, her eyes occasionally stealing glances at Eriri with the look of someone ready to enjoy a show.
"You actually know a detective?" Eriri asked blankly.
Hearing this, Luo Shu nearly saw black. He shot Eriri an exasperated glare before snapping:
"Don't forget your own position, Inspector Sawamura."
"Also, do you think someone like me, a Police Inspector of the Metropolitan Police Department, wouldn't know any detectives?"
It was basic knowledge that the SDS members all held formal inspector credentials to facilitate their work. Yet this girl was asking how he knew detectives?
Was this something that could be explained simply by 'knowing'?
Idiot!!
Only then did Eriri react to Luo Shu's words, letting out an "Oh":
"Right, I almost forgot... I seem to have an inspector title too..."
"Inspector?" Kochiyo Rurukawa looked puzzled. How had the young lady she served suddenly become an inspector?
But as a maid, she merely tucked her curiosity away, though she couldn't help sneaking a glance at Sayuri Sawamura.
What met her eyes was a profile etched with weariness and resignation.
"Eriri..."
Sayuri looked at Eriri, then at Luo Shu, before covering her face with a hint of sorrow:
"Never mind. Since Luo Shu knows this Mr. Mouri, we might as well meet him."
"Kochiyo, please go ask that Mr. Mouri for me."
"Yes." Kochiyo Rurukawa gave a slight bow before heading to the reception room.
Soon after, Kogoro Mouri, in the reception room, froze upon receiving the message:
"Lady Spencer wants to meet me? And she's bringing someone from the Metropolitan Police Department who knows me?"
"Could it be Inspector Megure?"
Beside him, Ran Mouri looked curiously at Kochiyo Rurukawa. In her memory, the only person Kogoro knew at the Metropolitan Police Department was that portly Inspector Megure. Had the inspector come to visit the Sawamura family?
'Uncle Mouri's acquaintance at the Metropolitan Police Department? Inspector Megure?'
Conan glanced at Kogoro Mouri and noticed his expression seemed off, clearly having guessed something. A possibility immediately occurred to him.
'Looks like there's going to be some fun...' Conan thought to himself, adding fuel to the fire: "Aha, since the lady has returned, shouldn't someone inform Mr. Spencer?"
Hearing this, Kogoro Mouri's already uneasy expression darkened as he glared at Conan:
"Brat, just sit there and eat your cake quietly. No one thinks you're mute."
Straightening his collar, Kogoro let out a heavy sigh:
"Though you did remind me—I should probably speak with Mr. Spencer first."
"Ran, wait here. I'll be back soon."
With that, Kogoro Mouri stood and quickly left the reception room.
"I'm coming too!" Eager to investigate their previous secret meeting spot, Conan hurried after him, completely ignoring Ran's calls.
Walking ahead through the winding corridors, Kogoro nearly shook off Conan before arriving at the prayer room they'd visited earlier and knocking on the door.
Knock knock
"Mr. Robert, are you still there?"... Kogoro Mouri called out twice, then noticed the possibility of someone following and immediately said irritably:
"You brat, why are you tagging along too?"
"I came to help." Conan played dumb as he spoke, also knocking on the door and calling out: "Is anyone inside?"
"This brat..." Kogoro clicked his tongue, then knocked on the door again.
After knocking three or four times in succession, both began to feel something was amiss.
"Uncle Mouri, is the person really inside?" Conan asked warily, faintly sensing an unusual smell.
Something like... the scent of iron?
"Mr Robert said he wanted to pray for a while..."
Kogoro frowned, grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. The door opened directly under his hand.
"It wasn't locked?"
Kogoro muttered as he opened the door and peered inside. Instantly, his pupils contracted violently.
Meanwhile, the short-statured Conan turned ashen-faced at the sight of the figure lying in a pool of blood beneath the statue.
"Conan."
Kogoro took out a cigarette from his pocket, trying to calm himself:
"Go inform Ran, tell her to call the police."
"And notify Miss Rurukawa, have her..."
Originally intending to say only the mistress should come, Kogoro reconsidered and amended:
"Never mind. Have Miss Rurukawa bring both the mistress and Director Luo."
As he spoke, Kogoro lit his cigarette, then said calmly:
"This seems to be serious trouble!!"