Multiverse , Leveling Up in the World I Created

I decided it was about time to upgrade Kogoro’s yacht.

I went to the uninhabited island like before and carried out the work.

First, I used my [Restoration] ability to bring the yacht back to its original condition, then installed a gyro stabilizer and replaced the batteries and electronics with the latest models.

I also made sure to install a fish finder for Kogoro, who loved fishing.

After finishing the upgrades, I took the yacht to an inspection facility, passed the official inspection, and received the inspection certificate.

I also asked the president of Yokohama Marina to arrange for mooring at a slightly discounted rate.

Since that president was someone I knew through my onmyōji work, he readily agreed to accommodate me.

It was a small marina, but it had everything you needed.

Once that was done, I visited the Mouri Detective Agency the next day to explain everything about the yacht.

With no clients around, Conan was playing games, and Kogoro was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper.

Ran was nowhere to be seen—she must have gone out somewhere.

"Son-in-law, you’re here."

"I come bearing good news. The yacht repairs were finished yesterday, and it’s now moored at Yokohama Marina."

Kogoro was thrilled at that.

"Oh, really?! That’s great news! Let’s go see it right—oh, wait, I don’t have a license... I can’t drive it after all."

"You still haven’t gotten it?"

When I asked, Kogoro made an awkward face.

"Well... I failed. I did get my radio operator’s license, though."

Then Conan sighed and said.

"That’s the second time, right?"

"You little brat! There’s no need to emphasize that!"

From what I gathered, Conan had been going with Ran to watch Kogoro take his license tests every time.

"Still, since I have a license, you can try driving it too. Unlike with cars, if a licensed person is on board, someone else can also take the wheel. Just keep in mind that drunk driving is prohibited, so only those who haven’t been drinking can do it."

"Oh, that’s how it works? So I can try driving it. Then right now..."

"Let’s wait until Ran gets back and go together."

"Oh, right... Yeah..."

I couldn’t help but wonder how excited he must be to forget about his own daughter.

We waited a bit, and soon Ran returned.

She was carrying groceries, so she must have gone shopping.

"Hurry up and get ready. The yacht repairs are finally done. We need to go check it out."

"Huh? But what about dinner..."

"We’ll eat out there. I’ll buy you something good."

At Kogoro’s words, Ran put the groceries in the fridge, quickly went to her room to get ready, and came back out.

I loaded everyone into the Rangler and drove to Yokohama Marina.

The roads were well connected, so it only took about 30 minutes via the expressway.

"Oh, the wood and paint are all new too. It looks brand new!"

"Ugh... You don’t mean I have to ride it again today, do you?"

Kogoro seemed quite surprised by the repaired yacht, but Ran seemed reluctant to board, probably because of her previous seasickness troubles.

"Don’t worry about that. I installed a gyro stabilizer, so it won’t rock as much as before."

"Really?"

At that, Ran looked a bit relieved.

"Come on aboard. I’ll explain everything step by step."

"Yeah, okay."

I started the yacht’s engine and showed them how to use the various electronic equipment.

"Oh, this feature wasn’t here before?"

"That’s the autopilot function. I added it when I installed the gyro stabilizer. It automatically navigates along a GPS route. But you need to be careful—there’s a risk of collision with other vessels, so you can’t just turn it on and go to sleep."

"Oh, I see."

"And this is a fish finder. Since you enjoy fishing, I added it for you."

"Right. I’ve seen those on other boats when I went sea fishing before."

Kogoro checked out the newly installed equipment one by one.

"This is the manual. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can refer to it. And this is the inspection certificate issued after the inspection at the facility."

"Got it. So, can we take it out today?"

"Of course. I’m here, so we can head out. Besides, I’ve filled the tank completely, so fuel isn’t an issue."

After carefully explaining everything, I finished preparing for departure with Kogoro, and we left the marina.

"Wow, you were right, Jin. It really doesn’t rock much at all. At this rate, I won’t get seasick either."

"Right? I installed a good gyro stabilizer. Detective, since we’re out here anyway, why don’t we head to the sandbar off Hōtsu Cape? I’ll guide you."

Kogoro immediately agreed.

"Alright, let me show you what Kogoro Mouri can do. Huh? By the way, what’s that red dot on the navigation screen?"

"That’s a fish farm. If you head that way, you’ll be in big trouble. You could end up getting sued."

"Ah, I see. And this area over here?"

"That’s a military restricted zone. That could also cause serious problems, so be careful. There are also port entry restricted areas, so watch out for those too. I’ve marked everything on the nav system, so if you follow that, you shouldn’t have any major issues."

"Got it."

"And when you get close to shore, you need to watch the water depth. This yacht draws about 1 meter, but to be safe, it’s best not to go into water shallower than 3 meters."

"Okay, got it."

We cruised around Hōtsu Cape, enjoying the scenery, and then returned to Yokohama Marina.

On the way back, I carefully taught him how to use the radio and the docking procedures.

"Slowly, slowly... Good. Now toss the lines to the marina staff."

"Whew... Alright. There’s a lot more to pay attention to than I thought."

"You’ll get used to it quickly."

After finishing the first voyage, we paid our respects to the marina president, who had accommodated us, and then went to a yakiniku restaurant near the marina for a meal.

"I feel a lot more confident now. Maybe I’ll pass the license test this time?"

"Dad, please... You said that last time too, and you still failed."

"This time it feels different. I think I’ll pass easily, thanks to my son-in-law teaching me so well. Anyway, I can have a drink now, right?"

"You won’t be driving anymore, so I suppose it’s fine."

"Great! Owner, give me a beer!"

Kogoro was in high spirits after getting to drive the yacht himself.

Conan looked like he was about to make his usual sarcastic remark, but seeing how genuinely happy Kogoro was, he seemed to hold back.

"Son-in-law, thank you. For going to all this trouble for me."

"Not at all. I just hope you enjoy it safely for many years to come."

"Of course! I’m the one who got it fixed. I’ll use it for another hundred years. Anyway, eat as much as you want—today’s on me! Puhahaha!"

We enjoyed our meal, then returned to the detective agency.

Even on the way back, Kogoro’s face was beaming with happiness.

"Dad, are you that happy?"

"Of course. Before long, I’ll be able to enjoy sea fishing to my heart’s content."

Ran chuckled seeing Kogoro so thrilled, so maybe she wasn’t too worried after all.

Several days passed after that.

I realized Morgan’s mooring period was also coming to an end.

So I moved my yacht to Tokyo Marina, used my [Life Magic] to thoroughly clean Morgan’s yacht, and stored it in my inventory.

As expected, people’s interest in my yacht hadn’t faded yet.

As I entered the marina, a crowd gathered to admire the yacht.

But I figured it couldn’t be helped—yachts this luxurious were rare even in Japan.

I now planned to bring Haibara’s sister back to life as I had previously intended.

So, without Haibara knowing, I quietly called Akemi’s soul, which was attached to her, and spoke with her.

"I’m planning to have you possess a comatose person in a hospital for a long time. But you’ll become a completely different person, and since you’re connected to the Black Organization, you’ll have to cut ties with everyone you know. So I think you should think it over carefully and decide."

At that, Akemi’s soul asked me.

[Then what happens to the soul of the comatose person?]

"It will remain asleep inside you. It may never wake up forever, but there’s also a risk that it could wake up by mistake. If that happens, you’ll be ejected from that body."

Of course, that was a lie.

I was planning to resurrect her in her original body, so none of that would happen.

[I see... But why are you going this far for me?]

"Obviously, it’s because I feel sorry for Haibara constantly crying. I figured having her older sister around to take care of her might help."

[But she won’t even know I’m her real sister...]

"I can’t do anything about that part. All I can do is have you possess someone and hire you to live close to Haibara. You’ll have to figure out the rest yourself."

[...]

At that, Akemi fell silent and began to think.

But at that moment, Haibara rushed into my room and spoke urgently.

It seemed she had felt Akemi’s soul separate from her.

As expected, family is family.

"Just now, I felt like something incredibly precious disappeared. But I can’t figure out what it was! So please help me find it. You’re the only one I can ask to help with something this crazy! Please. It feels like I’ve lost something I absolutely cannot afford to lose!"

At those words, I looked at Akemi’s soul, then signaled with my eyes for her to go back to Haibara.

Akemi made a sorrowful expression and returned to Haibara.

"Oh, oh... What’s going on? Suddenly it feels like something has been filled..."

"Stop talking in your sleep and go get some rest."

At that, Haibara looked completely confused, and after lingering for a moment, she went back to her room.

The next day, while I was having a meal with Haibara, Akemi quietly came to me and said.

[I’ve made up my mind. I’ll give it a try.]

I replied quietly as well.

"Really? Alright. I’ll make the preparations."

But honestly, I didn’t really need any special preparations.

For Akemi, I planned to show her an illusion using my [Sharingan] ability while resurrecting her, then slightly alter her body using my [Musō Tensei] technique.

The only reason it would take time was that I needed to create a separate identity for her.

So while I was working on resolving the identity issue, I received a call from "Hattori Heiji."

"Jin, how have you been? Anyway, our school is participating in a kendo tournament being held in Osaka. Come watch. Our team is definitely going to win."

"Confident, aren’t you? When is it?"

"It’s on a weekend. You’ll have three days off, so you’ll have plenty of time to come. The tournament is being held at Naniwa Central Gymnasium in Osaka."

"Got it."

"Oh, and let Mouri detective and Conan know too. I haven’t contacted them yet."

"Yeah, I’ll tell them."

This was clearly the "Osaka Double Mystery: The Naniwa Swordsman and Toyotomi’s Castle" episode.

That story involved two cases in Osaka, but the first one was already solved by Heiji before Conan even arrived, so I didn’t really need to concern myself with it.

I first told Sonoko, who was hanging out with Haibara and Morgan, about this.

"Oh, really? So are we taking the yacht again this time?"

When Sonoko asked, I thought for a moment and then said.

"Hmm... Naniwa Central Gymnasium is close to the marina, so it’d actually be more convenient. Yeah, let’s do that."

"Then we can also go sightseeing in other places, right?"

"We might have time since it’s a three-day weekend... Oh! Now that I think about it, how about we head to Sumoto Castle on Awaji Island? There’s a nice spot called Ohama Beach there. Plus, it’s on the way to Osaka, so it’ll be convenient."

"Then I’ll stop by my house today and pack my swimsuit."

Sonoko was thrilled at the thought of having fun.

As expected, she seemed to have no interests other than playing.

I, on the other hand, thought this was a good opportunity.

I remembered my earlier promise to Heiji’s mother, Shizuka, that I would take her on the yacht sometime.

So I called Heiji back and told him we’d come by yacht.

The next day at school, I also told Ran about this.

"Got it. I’ll let Dad and Conan know."

I didn’t plan to hire any extra crew this time.

After sailing the yacht myself last time, I realized Morgan and I could handle it just fine on our own, and this time we weren’t going that far anyway.

While I continued working on Akemi’s new identity and going about my daily life, the promised date approached.

I bought groceries and stored them on the yacht, and used my [Life Magic] to clean things up a bit.

Once preparations were complete and the day arrived, I finished school, packed up with Haibara, and moved to the marina.

Since it would take more than eight hours by yacht to reach Osaka, we needed to depart in the evening to stay on schedule.

So Morgan also went ahead to the Suzuki estate to pick up Sonoko.

"There’s still some time before our meeting time, isn’t there? Aren’t we a bit early?"

Haibara didn’t seem pleased about arriving early.

"If I prepare things in advance, people can board as soon as they arrive."

"Good grief... It’s great that you’re diligent, but it seems like the yacht owner is the one who works the hardest."

"Those who have more, naturally have more to take care of."

"Yeah, yeah, you’re so great. Just show me to my room. I need to rest."

I took Haibara to her room and we unpacked.

Sonoko and Morgan also arrived a bit early.

"Long time no see, shiny yacht! Where’s our room?"

"Morgan’s is right next to the helm room, and you’ll share with Ran."

"What?! I want to share with Morgan too!"

"No. I knew you’d say that, so Ayako-neesan already contacted me and insisted you use a separate room."

At that, Sonoko frowned and said.

"Man, my sister is so mean. After she got caught doing weird things at home with her husband, she has no right to lecture me. I’ll give her a piece of my mind later!"

Sonoko said that, and I couldn’t help but be a little curious about what "weird things" she meant.

Anyway, after a short wait, Kogoro, Ran, and Conan also arrived.

"Wow, this yacht is still as flashy as ever..."

"Welcome. Sonoko got here first and is already unpacking in the room you used last time, so you’ll share with her. Detective, you’ll share the room next door with Conan."

At that, Kogoro came over and asked me.

"Son-in-law, will there be time for fishing?"

As expected, Kogoro seemed to only have fishing on his mind.

"Of course. Rest up today since it’s late, and once we arrive off the coast of Osaka tomorrow, you can fish to your heart’s content."

"Alright! I finally get to use the new fishing rod I bought! I’ve got better gear now, so I’m definitely catching a big one this time. Forget the Kogoro of the past! Puhahaha!"

At that, Conan immediately poured cold water on him.

"Having a good rod doesn’t mean your skills improve, you know. Sigh... Another waste of time."

"You little brat!"

Thwack!

"Ugh!"

Conan was getting hit as usual again today.