Multiverse , Leveling Up in the World I Created

The next day, Ran’s part-time kimono arrived, so I went to the Mouri Detective Agency to check if the measurements were correct.

When I got there, I saw Conan playing a game.

"Long time no see, Conan. Have you been well?"

I greeted him cheerfully, but Conan just kept playing his game without saying a word.

He must have heard me, though.

"That kid’s busy with his game."

At that moment, Mouri detective came out of his room yawning.

The sun was already high in the sky—he must have been sleeping until just now.

"Oh, son-in-law, you’re here. How’s the yacht repair going?"

"They said they’re just getting started, so they probably haven’t touched it yet. I imagine they’ll order the parts first."

"I see."

Actually, I could have just restored it with my [Restoration] ability and been done with it, so there was no need to send it out.

I was planning to make a few small modifications, so it wasn’t going to take much time anyway.

For now, I had it stored in my inventory.

"By the way, I don’t see Ran."

"Come to think of it, she woke up a little while ago and then went somewhere. I’m not sure where."

At that, Conan said bluntly.

"She went grocery shopping because I came over for the first time in a while and she wanted to make something good."

"Ah, so that’s it."

Kogoro said that and then sat on the sofa, starting to read books about the "powered watercraft operator’s license" and "radio operator’s certificate."

He was certainly working hard.

Since Kogoro was busy, I didn’t disturb him and quietly spoke to Conan instead.

"I haven’t seen you around lately."

"I had my own things to deal with."

Things, my foot—he was just in shock and went into hiding.

"I heard Ran started working at your place? Make her quit."

"I don’t want to. She’s trying to help out with the family finances. There’s no reason to make her quit."

"You shouldn’t have bought the yacht in the first place."

"Could I have stopped him when he was that happy? And if you’re going to say that, you try stopping him."

At that, Conan sighed.

Just then, Ran returned.

"I’m back. Oh, Jin, you’re here too! Perfect timing. I was just about to make sukiyaki—let’s eat together."

"Oh, really? I’m lucky when it comes to food. Want some help?"

"Sure, wash the vegetables for me. I’ll get the bowls and other things ready."

"Got it."

Ran must have bought the ingredients with the money she earned from her part-time job.

It was ironic that Conan was being fed with the wages from the job he had opposed.

"Ahhh! Nothing beats beer with sukiyaki!"

"Dad, it’s daytime—are you sure you’re not drinking too much? And if you’re going to drive the yacht, you should cut back on the alcohol."

"That’s true, but I’m not driving the yacht right now."

"Still, I’m worried you might drink and cause an accident."

"I have enough common sense not to do that, so don’t worry too much."

Ran was getting more and more worried.

After we finished eating, I showed her the finished kimono.

"It’s the same kind as the one Haibara wears. But I didn’t notice before—the fabric has the same color but with lots of elaborate embroidery. It must be really expensive."

"Since we get a lot of upper-class clients, I have to pay attention to details. Try it on. I need to check if the size fits."

"Okay, wait a moment."

Ran went into her room and came out wearing the kimono—it suited her perfectly, and the size was exact.

"Wow, it looks custom-made. The size is perfect."

"Does it catch anywhere?"

"No, it’s comfortable."

"That’s a relief."

That was only natural—I already knew all of Ran’s measurements.

But then Conan came over with a drink and suddenly tripped, spilling it all over Ran’s kimono.

"Ahhh!"

Crash!

Conan’s actions seemed deliberate.

"Oh no... Sorry, sis."

But Ran was kind and didn’t scold him.

"Jin, I’m sorry. What should I do?"

"Don’t worry. It’s waterproof. Watch."

I took out a handkerchief and wiped the drink off Ran’s kimono.

Like magic, the stain disappeared completely, leaving it as clean as before.

"It’s made with a special fabric—it breathes well, and any outside stains can be wiped away easily like this."

"Oh~ I see. So expensive things really are different."

"Since it’s white, they probably designed it with stains in mind."

At that, Conan frowned and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

It seemed he was frustrated that his plan hadn’t worked.

"Tch!"

Ignoring Conan, I explained to Ran how to serve tea.

"Lightly wipe off any tea that might have spilled, and use a saucer to serve it politely. See? Easy, right?"

"Wow... When you do it, Jin, it looks so elegant."

"Want to give it a try?"

"Okay, I’ll try."

Ran, following my example, brewed tea and served it politely to Kogoro.

"Oh, it really feels like I’m being treated! Let’s see... Oh, this is really good tea. The flavor and aroma are excellent."

"I brought some of the tea we serve to clients at work. Since we have many upper-class clients, we have to use good tea."

"Ah, I see."

"I bought quite a lot last time—would you like me to bring you some?"

At that, Kogoro’s face lit up.

He really did love free things.

"I’d love that. Ran, from now on, serve tea this politely at our office too."

"Dad, really... Oh, speaking of which, when was the invitation that came with the 2 million yen check?"

"I think... it was for next Friday?"

"Then I can’t go. I have work. I was curious who sent it, though."

"I don’t really want to go to a suspicious invitation like this either."

"But you received 2 million yen. So you have to go."

"I suppose you’re right."

I wondered if this was the "Gathering of the Great Detectives" episode.

"Could I take a look at the invitation?"

When I asked, Kogoro, thinking I might have sensed something spiritually, immediately took it out from his desk drawer and showed me.

’It’s black, so this is definitely it.’

As I looked at the invitation for a while, Kogoro asked.

"Are you sensing something?"

"No. Nothing at all."

At that, Kogoro let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew... I thought you were going to say someone was going to die or something. So it’s safe to go."

I decided to make good use of this opportunity.

The case that was about to unfold was set at the Karasuma mansion, where a riddle lay hidden.

There was a rumor that an enormous treasure was hidden in that mansion, and the incident began when the owner gathered famous detectives from across Japan to solve the riddle.

In the original story, Conan naturally solved the riddle and found the hidden treasure.

But in the end, Conan and his group got nothing but the commission fee.

I, however, was different.

The owner of the Karasuma mansion would lose his life in this incident.

He had taken on enormous debt to buy the mansion, so if he died, the mansion would likely be auctioned off to cover the debts.

And since it would be a mansion where a murder had occurred, the auction price would be set quite low.

I could acquire the mansion without spending a huge amount.

Then, like in the original, I’d solve the riddle, find the treasure hidden in the mansion, and sell the mansion again.

If that worked out, I could make a massive profit through a legitimate transaction, meaning even if I spent a lot of money elsewhere, I wouldn’t have to worry about public scrutiny.

People would just think a rich person spent money.

’Money’s rolling in.’

But if Ran and Conan didn’t go, the future would change, and Kogoro could be in danger.

So I decided to attach a shadow soldier with good stealth skills to him.

I instructed the shadow soldier to only intervene if Kogoro’s life was in danger, and to leave other attacks alone.

When the next week came, Ran came to my house for her part-time job.

Conan came along too.

"Why are you here?"

"To check what kind of work Ran is doing."

"You thought I might make her do something weird?"

"You never know."

That kid seemed to be getting more suspicious by the day.

"I’ll go get ready."

"Yeah."

Ran came out with Haibara, both dressed in kimonos.

Conan sat in the corner so he wouldn’t get in the way.

When I signaled to the manager that I was ready, a client came in—a woman possessed by an evil spirit, accompanied by her parents.

It had been a while since I’d seen an evil spirit in this world.

Ran served tea politely to the client, just as I had taught her.

"Hmm... Do you happen to dream every night that you’re being raped?"

"How did you know...? Yes, that’s exactly why I came. I had a stalker a while ago and it was really hard, so I reported him to the police. But then the stalker made an extreme choice. After that, he came to me every night in my dreams... Anyway, I can’t even live my life properly anymore."

"That stalker has become an evil spirit and is attached to you. That’s why."

"I see..."

That was exactly the case.

The evil spirit was clinging to the woman, constantly groping her chest and other private areas.

"So what should I do..."

"Exorcise it. It won’t take long. Haibara, the sword."

At my words, Haibara brought the sword.

I had the woman sit in the center, drew a plausible onmyōji circle on the floor around her, took the sword, and pretended to chant a spell.

Then, in an instant, I slashed the evil spirit’s neck.

The spirit vanished without even a scream—completely erased from existence.

"Oh, my body feels so light all of a sudden."

"It’s been exorcised, so you don’t need to worry anymore."

"Thank you, Jin-sensei."

The woman, who seemed to have suffered quite a bit, bowed repeatedly in gratitude and left.

From the next client onward, it was the usual trivial matters—consultations about worries or questions about money.

Conan stayed quiet and just watched without causing any trouble.

"That exorcism was the first one I’ve seen today. To do that even after death... it’s horrible. I even got goosebumps listening."

Ran seemed quite shocked by the first client’s story.

"Sometimes, people with obsessions that strong become evil spirits after death. That woman was just very unlucky. Anyway, let’s clean up first."

"Okay."

After a simple cleanup, I paid Ran and Haibara their wages.

Since we had a lot of clients today, I gave them extra.

"You gave me an extra 10,000 yen today?"

"We had a lot of clients. It’s a bonus."

"I see, thank you."

"Oh, Sonoko came by. Want to go say hi?"

"She’s here to see Morgan again, huh. Okay, I’ll change and be right there."

We changed clothes, said goodbye to the manager, and headed to the mansion.

When we entered the living room, Sonoko and Morgan were sitting side by side watching a movie.

"Sniff, this movie is so sad... Oh, Ran. Are you done with work?"

"Yeah, but I hope we’re not interrupting."

"No, it just ended. Oh, Conan came too."

"He insisted on watching me work, so I had no choice but to bring him."

At that, Sonoko scolded Conan.

"Hey, you shouldn’t follow someone to their job!"

Sonoko said exactly what I was thinking, which felt good.

"Since we’re all together for the first time in a while, why don’t we have a meal before you go? Mouri detective isn’t here today anyway."

"Well... It’s not like I want to eat alone at home. Sure, I’ll take you up on that."

Sonoko was thrilled at the idea of me cooking.

"Wow, so I get to eat Jin’s cooking again? What are you making?"

"Nothing too fancy—just futomaki and some soup."

"Oh, great!"

But Conan looked troubled.

"I, um... I have to eat with Yukiko-aunt..."

"Then I’ll pack you a bento. Call ahead and tell her not to prepare dinner."

"Got it."

Conan called home right away, and I started preparing the meal.

Ran and Sonoko helped, so it was surprisingly quick.

"It’s so delicious! As expected of Jin."

"Yeah, and since we helped, it tastes even better."

"Right, right."

Everyone ate happily, which was a relief.

Morgan offered to take everyone home, so I packed a bento for Yukiko and handed it to Conan.

"Thanks for packing one for my mom too. And from watching today, I think her part-time job is fine. She doesn’t do it every day, it doesn’t seem too hard, and there are lots of people around, so no one can do anything weird."

At that, I was dumbfounded and asked back.

"Come on, what kind of ’weird’ are you talking about?"

"..."

Conan couldn’t say anything.

He still seemed to think that Ran and I had gone all the way back then.

At that moment, Ran called out to Conan from the car.

"Conan, hurry up and get in."

"Yeah, coming."

After they left, I had a beer for the first time in a while and watched TV.

But Haibara caught me drinking.

"Oh my, still a student and drinking alcohol?"

"Beer is a soft drink."

"Really? Then give me some of that soft drink."

I hesitated for a moment, then handed Haibara a can of beer.

It was just the two of us, so I figured it wouldn’t matter.

"Ahhh! It’s been so long since I’ve had beer."

But I immediately regretted it.

Whether it was because her body was smaller or because she was just weak to alcohol, she got drunk on just one can.

"Jin, do you know how much I like you? You don’t? Why not? Do you want to get hit? Waaaaaah!"

"..."