Chapter 185: The Second Collaboration
Ran couldn't help but notice the strange, strained atmosphere that had settled between Kaeya and Diluc. She quickly spoke up, her cheerful voice deliberately shifting the focus and pulling the children's attention back to the detective game on the screen.
After listening to the others' opinions and seeing that Klee's side of the investigation had yet to bear fruit, Mitsuhiko hesitated for a moment before making his choice. His cursor hovered over the playing cards. Based on his past experiences—both in games and in real life—unusual items found near a victim were almost certainly significant. They could even be a dying message.
He clicked the option. The game's text box immediately updated:
> We are sorry. Your investigation reveals that the playing cards were merely dropped by the murderer by accident. They are made of common materials and hold no useful clues., because you focused on such useless details, the investigation has been severely slowed down. Your superior is becoming dissatisfied.
"Dropped by accident?" Conan's mouth twitched as he read the words aloud. The other children stared, just as bewildered. They had never expected such a dismissive, anticlimactic answer.
Just as a heavy silence fell over their little group, Klee's excited voice piped up from the other side of the room. "Mitsuhiko, I think I found a clue about who the person is!"
Though her reading was a little stumbling, Klee, with Albedo's gentle guidance, had managed to question the virtual NPCs and learn that the deceased had been seen on a specific residential street. All they needed to do now was head there to confirm the victim's identity.
Hearing about Klee's breakthrough, Mitsuhiko felt a fresh wave of pressure. He still had nothing. Fortunately, the setback seemed to have cleared his head. He finally made the right choice this time, realizing he should have started with the body itself. A few clicks later, he had finally uncovered crucial information, including the estimated time of death.
With the case finally making progress, the children huddled closer to the screen, their eyes wide with concentration. They were afraid of missing a single clue or making another wrong choice like before, which would only hinder the investigation further.
Sonoko, however, was clearly uninterested in the digital mystery. She took a casual sip of her Berry & Mint Burst, her eyes lighting up when she caught a glimpse of Albedo stepping back from the game, allowing Klee to play more freely with her friends.
She gracefully slid over to Albedo's side. "Mr. Albedo," she began, her voice lowered conspiratorially, "are you Klee's biological brother?"
She had been thinking that Klee and Albedo didn't look very much alike. 'Could he be a cousin?'she wondered.'Or some other distant relative? Does everyone in their family look this good?'
"Hm? I am not Klee's biological brother," Albedo answered truthfully, though he was unsure why Miss Suzuki was suddenly asking. "I was adopted by Klee's mother, Ms. Alice. I consider Klee my own younger sister. Ms. Alice is on a long trip at the moment, which is why Klee was entrusted to my care."
In Albedo's eyes, he was simply giving a serious answer to a straightforward question. To Sonoko, however, it was an entirely different matter. She was certain her prying had touched upon a painful subject, and the practiced smile on her face nearly faltered. She wanted to slap herself. Of all the things to bring up, why did she have to mention family? She had truly put her foot in her mouth.
"Oh! No, I'm so sorry!"
Albedo was a bit taken aback by Sonoko's sudden, frantic apology. He glanced at her expression, a mixture of panic and regret, and correctly guessed the source of her embarrassment. He considered explaining further—that his past was not a source of pain—but decided it would be more troublesome than it was worth. He simply accepted her apology with a calm nod.
Seeing that Albedo didn't seem to mind, Sonoko breathed a quiet sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject. His good-natured temperament made her bold. She leaned closer and asked in a hushed tone, "By the way, I noticed the atmosphere between Mr. Kaeya and Mr. Diluc was a little strange earlier. Do they not get along?"
At the mention of Kaeya's name, Conan, who had been pretending to be engrossed in the game nearby, quietly perked up his ears.
Albedo's gaze flickered almost imperceptibly toward the small detective. He thought for a moment before answering in a similarly low voice, "I'm not entirely sure what their relationship is like now. As far as I know, Kaeya hasn't returned to the Dawn Winery in a long time—not since the passing of the previous head of the Ragnvindr family. Before that, their relationship was actually quite good."
"Sigh... So that's how it is," Sonoko murmured, her expression full of sympathetic understanding.
Meanwhile, at the Jade Chamber's Japan branch.
"Hello, may I ask if you were introduced by Mr. Kaeya?"
Today was a day off. Ningguang's ambitious new terminal project was essentially complete and nearing its market launch, so there was no need for overtime. The only people present in the building were those directly involved in the company's more sensitive operations.
Knowing that the day's arrivals were not to be seen by outsiders, Ganyu had been waiting at the company entrance since early morning. When she saw a pair matching the description arrive, she approached them.
There were two of them, a man and a woman. The woman walked in front, the man half a step behind, making it clear that she was the one leading this collaboration.
The woman had long, silver hair tied back in a low ponytail. Her eyes were a striking blue—though according to the Traveler's brother, she was supposed to have heterochromia. Ganyu surmised she must be wearing colored contact lenses to make her features less conspicuous. Her eyes were large and her features beautiful, but her gaze was exceptionally sharp.
The man trailing her also had silver hair, though his was cut short, reaching his ears. His eyes were a startling red, the color of blood, and his gaze held a mocking disdain for the world around him. He walked with his hands shoved in his pockets, a faint, derisive smile playing on his lips.
Drawing on the information she had been given, Ganyu quickly deduced which one was Curacao and which was Camus. Still, she didn't let her recognition show, maintaining her professional decorum as she confirmed their identities in person.
Once introductions were complete, Ganyu led the two of them to Lady Ningguang's office.
Knowing that Curacao possessed an exceptional short-term memory, Ningguang had specifically chosen her own office for the meeting. The space was open and transparent, with no sensitive information left out that would need to be hidden.
After the two parties met and exchanged pleasantries, they each began to unobtrusively size up the other.
Looking at Curacao, with her sharp gaze and careful demeanor, Ningguang found it hard to believe this was a person who could be swayed by a group of children. She couldn't help but marvel at the miraculous influence of the Detective Boys.
Curacao, in turn, was just as surprised by Ningguang. She secretly wondered how a woman of such obvious power and elegance could possibly have gotten involved with someone like Kaeya, let alone joined the same organization.
They didn't linger on their private thoughts for long, quickly moving on to the negotiation phase.
Camus sat off to one side the entire time, never uttering a word. He would occasionally take a sip of the tea Ganyu had poured for him, his entire posture exuding a listless disinterest. It was as if his only purpose for being there was to accompany Curacao; he was clearly not responsible for anything else.
Midway through the meeting, Camus used the excuse of having drunk too much water to ask Ganyu for the location of the restroom. After politely declining her offer to escort him, he left Ningguang's office alone.
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