The waitress hesitated for a moment, then asked,
"Are you looking for someone named Natsume Natsuyu?"
"Huh?" Conan hadn't expected the very first person he asked to know her.
"You know Sister Natsuyu?"
"Yes," the waitress nodded. "Natsume worked part-time here a few days ago. If you're looking for her, you can wait here for a bit. She came to see the manager about something today—she should be back soon."
…Seriously?
Conan was momentarily stunned.
Wasn't this a little too smooth? They'd found her already?
Not long after, Ayumi suddenly tugged at Conan's sleeve.
"Conan, look! It's Sister Natsuyu!"
Conan looked up just in time to see a familiar figure step into the café.
After finishing her conversation with the manager, Natsuyu turned to leave. Conan immediately hurried over and called out,
"Sister Natsuyu!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Natsuyu paused and turned around—sure enough, it was the Detective Boys.
She blinked, mildly surprised.
Why were they suddenly looking for her?
…They weren't actually suspecting her over yesterday's missing coins, were they?
"Oh, it's Conan—and Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko too. What a coincidence, meeting again so soon." She smiled warmly.
"I just got my paycheck. How about I treat you all to some cake?"
The kids instantly lit up.
"Yay!"
"Thank you, Sister Natsuyu!"
Watching their lively reactions, Natsuyu couldn't help but think that when they weren't charging ahead recklessly, these kids were actually pretty adorable—polite, too.
The cakes were served quickly.
"Na—" Conan was just about to speak when Ayumi beat him to it.
"Sister Natsuyu, where do you live? If you're free sometime, can I come play with you?"
Ayumi rarely met someone so pretty and gentle—someone who had protected them in the cave and even treated them to cake. She genuinely liked Natsuyu and wanted to see her again.
"Of course," Natsuyu replied without hesitation.
"I live at 39-10, Beika Town, Fifth District. You're welcome to visit anytime. That goes for Genta, Mitsuhiko—and you too, Conan."
She had no reason to refuse.
In fact, she'd planned to get closer to the protagonist group anyway.
After completing two world quests, Natsuyu had realized something important:
these world quests all revolved around cases Conan experienced.
Which meant—
As long as she stayed close to the main cast, the probability of triggering new world quests would increase.
No more relying on daily commissions bit by bit to save up Primogems.
Upon hearing her address, Conan felt a flicker of unease.
That location…
It was very close to the Mouri Detective Agency.
Wasn't that a little too coincidental?
After thinking for a moment, Conan tugged lightly at Natsuyu's sleeve and asked in an intentionally innocent tone,
"Sister Natsuyu, yesterday you said you were looking for a cat… does that mean you're a detective?"
Natsuyu looked down at him.
The way he deliberately softened his voice almost sounded like he was acting cute—
which felt strange, considering she knew there was actually a high schooler hiding behind that child's body.
Instead of answering directly, she tilted her head.
"Why do you think that? Couldn't I just be looking for my own cat?"
For a split second, Conan felt like her gaze had changed when he spoke—but when he looked again, everything seemed normal.
…Probably just my imagination.
He quickly explained,
"Well, your clothes were very clean. This season, cats shed a lot—if you owned one, there'd definitely be some fur stuck to you. And when you said you were looking for a cat yesterday, you didn't seem anxious at all. If it were your own pet, you'd definitely be worried."
"So I figured… the cat you were looking for wasn't yours, but part of a detective job."
Natsuyu listened quietly, amusement flickering in her eyes.
Every time Conan started reasoning, he completely lost control.
Honestly, the fact that he'd managed to hide his true identity from Mouri Ran for so long was nothing short of a miracle.
A first-grader with logic this sharp, constantly hanging around crime scenes… and nobody questions it?
"You're very sharp, Conan," she said with a smile.
"And you're right."
Helping people with odd requests did count as detective work in this world, after all.
Only then did Conan realize he'd gone a bit too far.
"Haha… I just saw it on TV!" he added hurriedly.
Hearing that Natsuyu was a detective, Genta puffed up with pride.
"Sister Natsuyu, we're detectives too! We just solved a case yesterday! We're—"
Ayumi and Mitsuhiko joined in immediately, along with a slightly reluctant Conan:
"The Detective Boys!"
Natsuyu clapped enthusiastically.
"Wow! That's amazing!"
Mitsuhiko blushed.
"H-Heh, it wasn't that big a deal…"
Once they finished their cake, Natsuyu smiled and said,
"Since you're done eating, how about coming to my place for a bit? You can get familiar with the route."
"Okay!"
"Yeah!"
They agreed without hesitation.
As they walked, Conan asked casually,
"By the way, Sister Natsuyu… did you find the cat yesterday?"
Paimon's voice echoed anxiously in Natsuyu's mind:
「Traveler, do you think Conan's suspecting you and trying to test you about the coins?」
Maybe a little, Natsuyu replied mentally.
After all, I did see the treasure map. But it's fine—I didn't leave any evidence.
"Yes," she said aloud calmly.
"That cat was very good at hiding. I didn't find it until after dark. Luckily, the owner lived nearby, so I wasn't home too late after returning it."
Conan finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
That was an easy thing to verify—there was no reason for her to lie.
And from that street to the building, there simply wasn't enough time for her to take the coins and replace them with stones before they arrived.
Looks like I really did overthink it.
Letting the matter go, Conan finally took the time to observe his surroundings.
…Just as he thought.
This place really was close to Uncle Mouri's house.
When they arrived, Natsuyu said,
"I haven't decided what to do with the first floor yet—it's pretty empty. Let's go up to the second floor."
"Okay!"
Conan gave the first floor a quick glance—it really was mostly bare.
Upstairs, Natsuyu had the kids sit on the sofa to rest, then brought out some lotus pastries she'd tried making that morning.
Ayumi stared at the delicate pastries, almost reluctant to eat them, while Genta grabbed one immediately.
Mitsuhiko picked one up and examined it closely.
"Sister Natsuyu, this looks like a dessert from Z-country. It's really good!"
"You're very knowledgeable, Mitsuhiko," Natsuyu laughed.
"Yes, it's a traditional Z-country pastry. I tried making it myself—I was worried it wouldn't taste good, so I'm glad you like it."
Conan sampled one as well.
The pastry resembled a lotus bud just beginning to bloom. It wasn't overly sweet, and there was a faint, elegant fragrance.
After a moment, Conan asked curiously,
"Sister Natsuyu… why did you suddenly decide to move here? Was there a reason?"