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

The group sat back down in their seats.

On stage, just as Kitagawa Taki said, when another staff member brought an axe, the curtain was pulled back, and Hoshikawa Dogo, soaking wet, leaned against the water tank, looking like he had just escaped with great difficulty.

Upon seeing this, the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

As Xiaolan and her companion were once again engrossed in the spectacular magic show.

Kitagawa Taki moved to the right, closer to Hattori Heiji, and whispered, "Hey, Hattori, there's something I need to ask you."

"Hmm." Because of what just happened, Hattori Heiji didn't really want to talk to Kitagawa Taki right now, even though it did seem like an accident.

"Could you arrange a meeting with your mother for me?" Kitagawa Taki said, surprising everyone.

"Huh?" Hattori Heiji immediately sat up straight upon hearing this ambiguous statement.

Kitagawa Taki explained in a serious tone, "I have a friend who is very interested in karuta. I heard that your mother was the previous karuta queen, so I would like to ask her some questions in person and see if I can become her apprentice."

Hattori Heiji winked at Kitagawa Taki: "Your friend is probably a woman, isn't she?"

The sound was so loud that the two women next to him could hear it.

He was quite looking forward to seeing how Xiaolan would react, but Xiaolan just glanced in his direction before looking away and continuing to focus on watching the magic show.

Kitagawa Taki found it amusing; the young man was trying to trick him.

Hattori Heiji immediately lost interest and said, "Alright, how about tomorrow morning?"

Anyway, his mother doesn't have to work, so she has plenty of time.

Kitagawa Taki shook his head: "Tonight, we're heading back to Tokyo tomorrow morning."

"Okay, I'll contact them for you right now."

Heiji Hattori took out his phone and sent a message to his mother.

Chapter 484 The Sensitive Lady Jinghua

cafes.

Shizuka Ikenami was still wearing a kimono.

The deep purple kimono, embroidered with silver reed patterns, looks serene and elegant.

"Heiji told me that Kitagawa wanted to ask me some questions about karuta."

Her tone was as gentle and calm as ever, exuding the poise and composure of a lady of high birth.

Kitagawa Taki explained, "Actually, I have a close friend who has been practicing karuta, but she is currently stuck at a bottleneck and cannot make progress, so I wanted to ask the lady for some tips on her behalf."

Ikeba Shizuka nodded: "Tell me, what is it that she finds troublesome?"

"She often said that she had memorized the Hyakunin Isshu by heart and knew the positions of the cards, but when someone read the first line, she would always have to wait for five or six words to finish before she could react."

Thanks to a certain young lady, Kitagawa Taki wasn't completely ignorant about karuta.

Ikeba Shizuka slowly said, "This is a very common problem; it's because she memorized it incorrectly."

"Most people practice chorus by memorizing the songbook, breaking down each line to memorize it. So they have to wait until the sounds of the words are put together to match the cards in their minds."

"The real karuta game is not about memorization, but about familiarity with the sound of the characters."

"..."

Kitagawa Taki asked several more questions, which Ikenami Shizuka patiently answered one by one.

"Madam truly lives up to her title as the former Karuta Queen. I thank you on her behalf." Kitagawa Taki made no attempt to hide his admiration for Ikenami Shizuka.

However, this kind of appreciation made Ikenami Shizuka somewhat uncomfortable. She couldn't see the proper attitude of a junior towards an elder in Kitagawa Taki's eyes.

"You're too kind." Suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, Shizuka Ikenami continued, "If she has the opportunity to come to Osaka, she can come to me and we can talk about it in person."

"I'll definitely do it next time." Kitagawa Taki smiled.

After a moment of silence, Ikenami Shizuka spoke again: "Kitagawa, is there something going on between you and Kazuha?"

The last time she chatted with Toyama Kazuha, they inadvertently mentioned Kitagawa Taki, and Toyama Kazuha's strange behavior at the time made her very concerned.

After some subtle probing, she became certain that something must have happened between the two of them.

But no matter how they asked, Toyama Kazuha refused to say.

Kitagawa Taki remained calm: "What could possibly happen between Kazuha and me?"

"That's good." Ikenami Shizuka smiled and gave Kitagawa Taki a deep look: "Kitagawa, don't you dare bully Kazuha."

"How could I possibly bully such a cute little girl like Kazuha?"

Kitagawa Taki thought to himself, "It's just that the little girl heard something she shouldn't have heard, so I'm just trying to scare her."

He then changed the subject, saying, "By the way, Madam, I heard that the head of the Ministry of Justice is getting a promotion?"

Ikeba Shizuka's expression shifted slightly. "I wonder where Kitagawa got this information from?"

"I heard it from Kazuha tonight."

Kitagawa Taki glanced at Ikenami Shizuka; it seemed that she, like Hattori Heiji, was unaware of the news.

Upon hearing this, Ikeba Shizuka nodded slightly.

There's only one possibility for Hattori Heizo's promotion: he'll be transferred back to the National Police Agency.

In this way, Ginjiro Toyama is very likely to become the successor, and it is not surprising that Kazuha Toyama would know this news.

Although she remained outwardly calm, she felt a pang of bitterness inside.

As his wife, she actually had to learn about his situation from outsiders.

Kitagawa Taki picked up his phone, glanced at it, and looked up, saying, "It's getting late. Shall I take Madam home?"

Ever since Ikeba Shizuka came to the coffee shop, he had a vague feeling that he was being watched, but he didn't find anything when he scanned the area with his divine sense.

Ikeba Shizuka declined, saying, "No need, I'll just take a taxi back."

The two left the coffee shop and waited for their car by the roadside.

As a bustling area in Osaka, it remains busy with traffic even at night.

The traffic was loud, and Ikenami Shizuka moved closer to Kitagawa Taki, lowering her voice to say, "Kitagawa, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

During this time, she realized that someone was secretly watching her, but the person's tracking methods were so sophisticated that even she couldn't find them, so she could only stay at home as much as possible and reduce going out.

Today, upon hearing the news of her husband's promotion from Kitagawa Taki, she immediately realized that the other party was likely after this.

After much deliberation, she finally decided to seek help from Kitagawa Taki, a man who always seemed to have magical methods.

"So it turns out that Madam had already discovered it. I was even thinking of sending Madam away and waiting for the person hiding in the shadows to show up on their own."

Kitagawa Taki sighed, realizing that none of the wives in Detective Conan were mere pretty faces.

Ikenami Shizuka trembled. Kitagawa Taki was too close; she could clearly feel his masculine aura, even the heat from his breath when he spoke.

Her reaction naturally didn't escape Kitagawa Taki's notice, and as he spoke, he moved even closer: "Madam, I think we should do this..."

After he finished explaining his plan, a thin blush had already settled on Ikeba Shizuka's face.

A ripple stirred in Kitagawa Taki's heart, and he couldn't help but scan it with his divine sense. This... this was a bit too sensitive, wasn't it?

"Let's do it the way Kitagawa said." Ikenami Shizuka suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and moved to the side without making a sound.

As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them waited for a taxi.

The two got into the back row one after the other.

Ikenami Shizuka gave the driver the name of a hotel, while Kitagawa Taki kept an eye on his surroundings.

Shortly after the taxi started moving, Kitagawa Taki noticed a black car following them from a distance of several dozen meters.

Speechless all the way.

When the taxi arrived at the hotel entrance, the unlicensed car did not follow, but instead stopped at a distance at the street corner.

The two got out of the car and walked into the hotel lobby.

Ikeba Shizuka asked in a low voice, "So, Kitagawa, have you found anything?"

“Found it.” Kitagawa Taki’s lips curled up slightly. “Madam, please go upstairs and get a room for me.”

Kitagawa Taki's ambiguous words made Ikenami Shizuka frown, but she still did as he said.

……

Street intersection.

The man in the black car was looking down at the results on his camera when suddenly, with a click, the car door was opened from the outside!

The man's eyes widened; he had clearly locked the car doors.

The person outside was none other than Kitagawa Taki.

Kitagawa Taki glanced at the man's equipment and nodded, saying, "Hmm, very professional, you even brought a telephoto camera."

The man's expression changed, and he instinctively reached for the gun at his waist.

But Kitagawa Taki was much faster than the man, punching him in the stomach and getting the pistol into his hand.

"Come with me."

The man hunched over, knowing he'd met his match tonight.

Kitagawa Taki put one hand on the man's shoulder and used the other to look at the photos in the camera.

The photos show the two talking in a coffee shop, exchanging more intimate moments on the roadside, and appearing side-by-side at the hotel entrance.

The angle was good, and the timing of the shot was also quite good.

If the man hadn't been caught, it probably wouldn't have been long before the news would be reporting that the wife of a high-ranking police officer in Osaka was having a late-night rendezvous with her young lover.

Chapter 485 Mr. Rum, This is Very Indecent

Hattori family.

study.

Hattori Heizo snorted coldly upon seeing the photos in the camera that Ikenami Shizuka had brought back.