Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Eri Kisaki's gaze fell on Hayashi Shuichi, watching him hold Yukiko's hand tightly and seeing his anxious expression towards her. Suddenly, a strange anger welled up inside her.

"Hmph, it's just a love triangle..."

The girl snorted coldly, her voice filled with obvious sarcasm and dissatisfaction.

Her gaze lingered on Lin Xiuyi's arm, which was being held by Yukiko. Her eyes were like two knives, as if she wanted to chop that hand off.

"If it were me, I certainly wouldn't kill him; that would be too easy on a heartless man!"

Eri Kisaki said through gritted teeth, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth.
"He should be kept alive, made to live in guilt and pain every day, made to remember what he did for the rest of his life! What's murder? It's the end of the story, too easy for him!"

Her gaze remained fixed on Lin Xiuyi's hand, the meaning in her eyes couldn't be clearer.

You better watch out, if you dare to betray me, you'll be sorry!
Lin Xiuyi felt a chill run down his spine when she looked at him.

He couldn't help but recall a scene from not long ago: Eri Kisaki holding scissors and gesturing at him from below.

The girl had the same look in her eyes and the same tone of voice back then, which made him feel really uneasy.

Almost instinctively, Lin Xiuyi quickly let go of Yukiko's hand, coughed lightly, and covered up his embarrassment.

"Inspector Megure."

He turned to look at Inspector Megure, trying to make his voice sound normal.
"Now that the criminal has confessed, let's take her back to the Metropolitan Police Department as soon as possible. If she stays here any longer, something might happen."

Inspector Megure nodded. He had also noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere and knew it was time to end this.

He gestured for the two policewomen to come forward.

The two policewomen understood and walked over to Matsuzaka Yuki, taking her arms on either side.

Yuki Matsuzaka did not resist.

She was still crying, but the crying had subsided considerably, turning into low sobs.

Her body was limp, like an empty shell without a soul, as the policewoman helped her up and carried her toward the door.

As she passed by Eri Kisaki, Yuuki Matsuzaka suddenly stopped.

She raised her head and looked at Eri with her red and swollen eyes.

There was no hatred or resentment in his eyes, only a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

"Thank you," she said softly.

The voice was very soft, almost inaudible, but Eri Kisaki heard it clearly.

After Matsuzaka Yuuki finished speaking, she lowered her head and let the policewoman take her away.

The glass door of the coffee shop closed behind her, blocking out her figure and the low sobs.

A brief silence fell over the coffee shop.

"We should take our leave now." Inspector Megure nodded to Lin Xiuyi and left with his men.

After the police left, Lingzi came to her brother's side, looking dejected.

“Onii-chan…” she tugged at Lin Xiuyi’s clothes.

Lin Xiu looked down at her little cousin and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her chubby little face full of displeasure.

He squatted down and pinched his sister's cheek; the soft touch eased his frustration.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xiu asked with a smile. "Who upset our little princess?"

"Why wasn't it you who solved the case, Onii-chan?" The little girl pouted, her voice filled with obvious disappointment.
"I also want to show Mom and Dad how amazing you are, Onii-chan."

“In previous cases, Onii-chan was always the first to find the culprit, but this time…”

Lin Xiu was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

He ruffled Lingzi's hair.

"Silly girl. This case was solved by Eri-neechan and Yukiko-neechan. They're really amazing."

"It's impossible for Onii-chan to be the first to find the culprit every time. Everyone has their own strengths. It's normal that they did better than me today."

"But..." Reiko was still a little unwilling, "But I want Mom and Dad to know that Onii-chan is amazing..."

“They know,” Lin Xiuyi said with a smile. “Besides, whether Onii-chan is amazing or not isn’t proven by solving cases.”

Lingzi tilted her head and thought for a moment before finally nodding.

"Tsk tsk, you're so unhappy that I solved the case, Reiko?"

Yukiko deliberately made a joke. She squatted down and gently poked Reiko's chubby cheek with her finger, a mischievous smile on her face.
"How was it? Wasn't I amazing today?"

"I just wanted to..."

Lingzi quickly shook her head to explain, her little head shaking like a rattle-drum, her two little braids swaying back and forth.

"I just wanted to show Mom and Dad how amazing Onii-chan is... I'm not upset..."

"Hmph, me? It should be 'us,' right?" Eri Kisaki snorted and pushed up her glasses.

Her gaze swept over Yukiko almost imperceptibly, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

"Moreover, some people don't seem to contribute much to solving the case. From beginning to end, they just run errands and deliver things; the really crucial reasoning is all my own."

Her tone was clearly disdainful, and her condescending attitude was exactly like that of a student who got a perfect score mocking a classmate who only passed.

"Of course there is!"

Yukiko instantly bristled. She whirled around, hands on her hips, eyes wide with shock.

"If I hadn't noticed something was off about Matsuzaka Yuuki's skirt, and if I hadn't found that medicine bottle in the sewer, could you have guessed all that? Could you have deduced it?"

"Girl with glasses, you can't just abandon me after you've served your purpose!"

The girl's voice grew louder and louder, her face turning red; she was clearly quite angry at Eri's words.

She searched diligently for half a day in that stinky alley, but in Eri's mouth, it became "running errands".
"That just means you have a sharp eye."

Eri Kisaki scoffed, her tone even more sarcastic.
"That stinky fox only has sharp eyes. But it was me who actually connected the clues and deduced the whole crime. Without my brain, even if you found a hundred medicine bottles, it wouldn't have mattered."

"Glasses Girl, don't go too far!" Yukiko stomped her feet angrily. "Why didn't you say these things when we were working together? Now that the case is solved, all the credit is yours?"

The two girls argued back and forth, their voices growing louder and the tension rising.

The atmosphere in the coffee shop, which had just calmed down, was instantly reignited.

Seeing the two girls start arguing again, Lin Xiuyi dared not try to mediate this time.

He knew those two girls too well—they were in a fit of rage right now, and anyone who tried to reason with them would be in trouble.

He'd already received several glares from Eri for pulling Yukiko just now; if he spoke again now, he'd likely get a barrage of insults. (End of Chapter)