Solving cases with Detective Conan's science? No, I'm a cultivator!

A steaming hot pot sits on the table.

This was prepared by Ikenami Shizuka for Hattori Heiji and the others who hadn't eaten yet; the others treated it as a midnight snack.

"This hot pot is absolutely delicious!" Kogoro Mori exclaimed as he ate.

Hattori Heiji laughed and said, "Of course, my mom's pufferfish hot pot is the best in the world!"

There was no sign of anything amiss on his face; he seemed to have already recovered from his disappointment.

Hattori Heizo raised his glass. "I must thank Mr. Kitagawa and Mr. Mori for their cooperation today."

Unlike at work, Hattori Heizo had a smile on his face when he returned home.

Kogoro Mouri was somewhat bewildered, but he raised his glass in response to Taki Kitagawa.

He just wanted to go back to the Hattori family to see Hattori Heizo, but he waited for several hours and still didn't see him.

What did he cooperate with?

Ginjiro Toyama clinked glasses with the others. "Yes, if we alert them, it will be difficult to wipe out the entire bandit group in one fell swoop."

"As long as it didn't affect the police's deployment."

Kitagawa Taki smiled, understanding in his heart that Kazuya Yuhiro was probably a member of the bandit group.

Kogoro Mouri felt somewhat embarrassed. The way the group spoke so mysteriously and without explaining themselves clearly made him feel uneasy, as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat or a thorn in his back.

Fortunately, the topic ended quickly.

"I heard that Mr. Kitagawa is an exorcist?" Hattori Heizo asked.

“Yes.” Kitagawa Taki nodded, waiting for Hattori Heizo to continue.

"Many years ago, I met an Onmyoji named Yamashita Mitsuei. I wonder if Mr. Kitagawa knows him?"

"do not know."

Koei Yamashita? Kitagawa Taki had never heard of that name before.

Hattori Heizo nodded silently and said nothing more.

Ginjiro Toyama joked, "Heizo, you actually know a lot about this?"

"It was just a coincidence, and I only heard about it secondhand."

Hattori Heizo raised his glass again.

Ikenami Shizuka glanced at Hattori Heizo; it was the first time she had ever heard him mention this.

……

After the meal, Ikenami Shizuka found Hattori Heizo in the study.

"Heizo, today is Heiji..."

Before Ikenami Shizuka could finish speaking, Hattori Heizo interrupted her.

"Jinghua!"

Hattori Heizo looked up at Ikenami Shizuka and said, "Heiji is still too inexperienced. If he could see through the kasuya, he wouldn't be in danger."

Ikeba Shizuka frowned. "Then there's a completely different way."

Ultimately, she still felt that Hattori Heizo was too strict with Hattori Heiji, and that the father and son could have a different way of getting along.

In front of everyone, he punched Hattori Heiji to the ground and berated him. Luckily, Hattori Heiji wasn't easily embarrassed.

What if Hattori Heiji gets into trouble by going through this?

"There's no need to say more about this."

Hattori Heizo showed no intention of continuing the conversation and lowered his head to look at the documents.

Chibo Jinghua bit her lip and silently left the study.

……

The next day, the group spent another day in Osaka before returning to Beika Town.

"I need to discuss something with you two." Kitagawa Taki called the two sisters into the living room.

"Taki-kun, what is it?"

Akemi Miyano sat up straight, thinking that Taki Kitagawa had something important to announce.

Ai Haibara also kept a straight face and looked at Taki Kitagawa with a serious expression.

"Don't be so serious!" Kitagawa Taki said, somewhat amused. "I just wanted to discuss moving to a different house with you."

"Huh? Moving houses?"

“Yes.” Kitagawa Taki nodded. “This place is a bit too small now. We should move to a bigger place. Also, I think it would be better if the office and the living quarters were separate.”

Kitagawa Taki then asked, "What do you guys think?"

“Okay.” Miyano Akemi has always supported Kitagawa Taki’s decisions.

"I'm fine."

Ai Haibara spoke calmly, but she was somewhat moved. She thought there was something serious that they needed to discuss together!

It turned out to be just a matter of changing houses. Normally, Kitagawa Taki only needed to make a decision and tell them about it.

The fact that Kitagawa Taki specifically asked for their opinions shows that he truly considers them family.

This allowed Ai Haibara, who had been homeless for many years and had no real home, to experience the feeling of having a home.

"Then it's settled."

Kitagawa Taki's target area is still within Beika Town, where the spiritual energy is more concentrated.

……

Over the next few days, Kitagawa Taki was busy looking for a suitable house.

Finally, they found an elderly couple who wanted to sell their house because they were going abroad.

The house is located in Beikacho 2-chome, not far from the Kudo family and the Dr. Agasa family's house. It is a villa with three floors above ground and one floor below ground, with a small courtyard. The area is more than 400 square meters, and the total price is 600 million yen.

Because the house is too big, the elderly couple doesn't usually live here.

Kitagawa Taki was quite satisfied with the place; it was close to his office, so they quickly reached an agreement.

It still needs some renovation and refurbishment, and it's not ready for immediate occupancy.

……

In the past few days, Sonoko and Ran mentioned something to Kitagawa Taki, which caught his attention.

According to the two girls, a new transfer student joined their class and quickly became friends with them.

The man said he went to live in the United States with his parents three years ago and only recently returned alone.

He claimed to be a detective and paid special attention to Shinichi Kudo's affairs, frequently asking the two about Shinichi Kudo and inquiring about his whereabouts.

Since they were equally ignorant, they naturally had nothing to tell that person.

After hearing the two men frequently mention Kitagawa Taki, she developed a great interest in him and even asked them to take her to meet him.

After hearing about this, Kitagawa Taki had some guesses in his mind.

Upon asking, he found out that, just as he had guessed, the person's name was Sera Masumi.

So they agreed to let the two of them bring her to the firm.

Since Sera Masumi came to Japan, then Ryoumi must have come too.

……

Saturday.

After meeting up with Sera Masumi at the hotel where she was staying, Sonoko and Ran took her to the Kitagawa Exorcism Office.

"Sera, do you think your female identity will be discovered?" Sonoko asked Sera Masumi with great interest.

When Sera Masumi first transferred to the school, both she and Ran mistook her for a boy and were shocked to see her wearing a girl's school uniform.

Sera Masumi herself didn't seem to care at all. She touched her cheek with her finger and laughed, "Mr. Kitagawa is so amazing, he must have seen through it!"

"Ran, what do you think? Will Taki notice?" Sonoko nudged Ran's arm.

Ran glanced at Sera Masumi's rather masculine attire and said, "I don't think it's necessarily true. Everyone's misunderstood, haven't they?"

Aside from the two of them, everyone around them who was seeing Sera Masumi for the first time had a misunderstanding.

Chapter 281 My Mother Has a Broad Mind

When the three arrived, Kitagawa Taki was slacking off.

Kitagawa Taki turned off his computer and stood up.

"This must be Sera, right?"

Kitagawa Taki looked him over and found him to be quite ordinary.

"Hello, Mr. Kitagawa!" Sera Masumi nodded.

Kitagawa Taki smiled and said, "You're Ran and Sonoko's friend, so just call me Kitagawa."

“Yes, don’t be shy.” Sonoko pulled Sera Masumi to sit down on the sofa.

Kitagawa Taki sat down opposite him.

Sonoko asked eagerly, "Taki, can you guess if Sera is a boy or a girl?"

Kitagawa Taki couldn't help but chuckle. "Sonoko, since you specifically asked that, there's no need to guess. It's definitely a girl."

"Ah..." Sonoko looked annoyed, feeling that she had asked a stupid question.

Ran and Sera Masumi, the person involved, both laughed along.

Sera Masumi has short hair, wears masculine clothes, calls herself "boku" (僕), and has an outgoing and generous personality, which makes her easy to misunderstand.

However, even if Kitagawa Taki didn't know this person, he wouldn't be misled.

"Okay, actually, even if you hadn't asked that, I would have noticed it," Kitagawa Taki comforted Sonoko.