In the world of Detective Conan, however, he was bound to the Naruto System.

Chapter 287 Meeting

Chapter 287 Meeting

"Oh, I see. Uncle Mori and Sister Eri are having a disagreement too. Sometimes, the complicated relationships between adults are really hard to understand."

Akutagawa Hiko, who was invited out by Ran Mouri, listened to her complaints and could understand the doctor's words to some extent. After some conflicts and twists and turns, their feelings would become more profound.

"Right? Mom was worried about Dad, which is why she introduced him to that rich client, but Dad said he didn't want Mom to meddle. Honestly—"

At this point, Ran Mouri actually felt a little guilty.

In order to get Eri Kisaki and Kogoro Mouri back to living together as soon as possible, she has lied countless times, which is quite a psychological challenge for someone like her.

For example, when Ran Mouri contacts Eri Kisaki and mentions Kogoro Mouri, she always describes him as a useless man who can't live without Eri Kisaki, who can only make a living by collecting rent, and whose work and life are a mess.

In reality, Kogoro Mouri lived a much more carefree and comfortable life than more than 90% of the men in the world. Even before Shinichi Kudo became Conan and his career took off, he hadn't suffered much.

However, Ran Mouri wondered if she could ask Eri Kisaki to introduce business opportunities to Kogoro Mouri, so that they could make more contact and ease their relationship. After all, it would be much better than ignoring each other, wouldn't it?

Akutagawa Hiko felt that Ran Mouri was overthinking things. The relationship between Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki was still quite deep. The fact that they didn't divorce when their conflicts broke out, but instead chose to separate, spoke volumes.

Childhood sweethearts often fail to stay together in the end because, during their long relationship, they discover many incompatible issues.

Once they get together, even if they separate, they are still connected like lotus roots, inseparable even if their bones are broken. It is very difficult to sever all ties completely.

These two people have completely different attitudes towards life. Eri Kisaki finds it hard to tolerate Kogoro Mouri's slovenly appearance and many bad habits, while Kogoro Mouri also finds it hard to tolerate Eri Kisaki's domineering control over him everywhere.

This current model of each developing independently while secretly caring for each other is probably a way of getting along that they've figured out themselves.

"But Ah Yan, what you're saying also refers to—"

Hiko Akutagawa chuckled and told Ran Mouri, "Uncle Yusaku has been coming home drunk every day lately because of his social engagements. The last time he was seen, he smelled of perfume and had lipstick marks on him. Yukiko suspects he's cheating on her."

Ran Mouri didn't immediately comment on the relationship between the Kudo couple. Instead, she looked at Hiko Akutagawa with suspicion: "Wait, Shinichi hasn't even told me about this yet. Are you two really that close?"

From Ran Mouri's perspective, before Hiko Akutagawa had made his mark and before Shinichi Kudo was drawn abroad by the long-investigated case, their relationship was only slightly closer than that of ordinary neighbors.

How could I possibly tell Akutagawa Hiko about this? It's somewhat of a private matter.

Akutagawa remained unfazed; his acting skills were far superior to Conan's. He spoke with such ease: "It was Dr. Agasa and Shinichi who mentioned me, so we often exchanged cases across borders, and our relationship naturally became much closer."

Ran Mouri was persuaded, and then became slightly worried about the relationship between the Kudo couple. This worry was amplified by what Hiko Akutagawa had just mentioned.

"Ah Yan, do you think Uncle might really be cheating on me?"

Akutagawa Hiko didn't understand what made Mouri Ran have such thoughts. No matter what, the Kudo couple should be seen as a model couple by others. Kudo Yusaku wasn't some womanizer.

"How could you think that way? It's just a romantic scene between two people. Yukiko started throwing a tantrum because Uncle Yusaku was neglecting her because of work. After he noticed and coaxed her back, their relationship got even better. In Shinichi's words, it's just an old cliché that has been repeated countless times."

Ran Mouri twisted the hem of her dress with her fingers, glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and then whispered in an almost breathless tone, "It's Conan—"

Thanks to Akutagawa Hiko's thorough investigation, Ran Mouri didn't have any wild ideas and suspect that Conan was shrunk from Shinichi Kudo.

However, Ran Mouri still doubted his identity.

I feel that he is definitely not just someone who is a doctor and a relative of the Kudo family.

While Ran Mouri was looking through a photo album, she discovered that if Conan took off his glasses, Conan would look exactly like Shinichi Kudo when he was a child!

Moreover, she took off Conan's glasses while he was asleep today, and Conan was very panicked when he woke up.

Ran Mouri thinks that Conan, being an exceptionally clever kid, might have realized that he is an illegitimate child, so he is particularly concerned about his true appearance being completely exposed.

Hearing this, Akutagawa Hiko simply shook his head: "Ran, you're overthinking it. Yukiko knows about Conan's existence. She and Fumiyo actually have a good relationship. If she were going to suspect him, she would have done so already."

"As for panicking about not having glasses—the world seen by nearsighted people is different from ours. In more serious cases, not only vision but also hearing can be impaired. Not to mention children, adults can also panic because of a lack of security."

Ran Mouri didn't really know much about this.

Recalling Conan's panicked reaction upon waking up to find his glasses missing, she couldn't help but feel a little apologetic. She had actually suspected Conan of being an illegitimate child; that was truly wrong of her.

"Is that so?!"

Regarding the fact that Conan and Shinichi look exactly alike when they were young, Akutagawa Hiko had another trump card to explain it, but since Ran Mouri no longer suspected anything, Akutagawa Hiko didn't mention it.

Akutagawa looked at the dim sky and asked, "Ran, is there anything else you wanted to do for me today? It's almost dinner time, and I'm getting a little hungry."

After chatting for a long time, Ran Mouri realized how late it was and quickly steered the conversation to the main topic. They chatted about this and that, adding a little bit of gossip, and the time passed by too quickly.

"Here's the thing, I asked Mom to introduce Dad to someone, but Mom said Dad's attitude was really bad. Although it's not nice to say it like that, I think Dad might be a bit unreliable, so I wanted to ask you to keep an eye on things."

In short, Ran Mouri is worried that Kogoro Mouri will throw a tantrum and not help others with the investigation, so she wants to invite Hiko Akutagawa to accompany her to ensure that the truth of the matter can be revealed.

Akutagawa smiled and said, "There's no need for a commission fee. Although I don't think it's necessary, I'll go along to take a look. I'd also like to know what the parents of a famous magician are like."