Multiverse , Leveling Up in the World I Created

The next morning, Heiji was in a frenzy from the get-go.

"Jin, let’s have a match with swords, come on. I heard from the kids that you mastered a sword technique passed down in your family for generations. I’m really curious."

"No. I don’t have time. After breakfast, I have to drop you guys off, return the rental car, and then leave for Tokyo."

"Oh, come on... Fine. Then let’s make it a promise to have a match next time when I come up to Tokyo or you come down here. It’s a deal!"

It seemed that this guy had developed a competitive urge after seeing me fight yesterday.

For breakfast, I grilled the fish we had caught on the first day and served it as a traditional Japanese morning set meal.

Even though we had consumed quite a lot of fish, there was still a fair amount left.

That was because Kogoro had caught too many small fish while trying to catch a big one.

It seemed better to wrap them up well and give them to the others when they left rather than leaving them behind.

Anyway, after finishing breakfast, everyone exchanged farewells with Heiji and Kazuha.

"See you next time."

"Goodbye, Heiji, Kazuha."

"I look forward to seeing you again, Mori detective."

"If anything comes up, we’ll see each other again."

After dropping them off at their house in the rental car, a loud voice was heard from inside.

It sounded like Heiji was getting scolded by Shizuka.

I chuckled at that sound, returned the rental car, and piloted the yacht back to Tokyo.

And so, after the short Osaka trip ended and we returned to our daily routine, while I was finishing up the work of creating a new identity for Akemi, another incident occurred.

It was nothing other than the arrival of an invitation from the famous singer, "Okino Yoko."

It was an invitation asking us to attend a friend’s engagement party, and Haibara had also received an invitation.

So I let Haibara know about this.

"I’m not going. The fatigue from the Osaka trip we took last time hasn’t worn off yet."

"Really? Alright. But you know, as I said before, you really need to get some exercise. Build up your stamina."

"I’m the type who uses their brain, you know. So what I’m saying is, I don’t need to build up my stamina through brute force."

"Oh, man... For someone who was huffing and puffing after just a little sightseeing, you sure talk big."

With Haibara acting like this, I ended up having no choice but to go alone.

The meeting place was a fairly upscale pension, and when I drove there and arrived on time, Yoko was in the parking lot, along with Kogoro, Ran, and even Conan.

"Oh, so you and Ran were invited too, detective."

When I said that, Yoko explained in my place.

"It’s because the friend who’s getting engaged really wanted to see the detective."

"Ah, I see."

It was true that recently, thanks to solving so many cases, Kogoro’s fame had risen and he was known by many people.

"Well, well, I never thought I’d meet my future son-in-law here."

When Kogoro said that, Yoko suddenly looked surprised and asked.

"S-son-in-law? What do you mean by that...?"

"Oh, I guess Yoko didn’t know. My daughter Ran here and Jin are dating, and apparently they’re fated to get married in the future. It’s definitely Jin’s fortune telling, so it’s reliable, and they get along well, so it will happen. That’s why I’m just calling him my son-in-law. If I had my way, I’d marry her off right away. Hahaha."

At those words, Yoko looked utterly shocked.

"...I-is that so..."

But at that moment, someone called out to Yoko.

"Yoko! You brought him, the famous detective."

The man who called Yoko was quite handsome, and both Ran and Kogoro recognized him, looking extremely surprised.

"Could it be... the actor Kenmochi Osamu, who plays detective Samonji?!"

"Shh, shh! You’ll draw a crowd."

"Ah, sorry... Then, the friend who’s getting engaged..."

"No, I’m the groom. Yoko’s friend is the woman who will be my bride. But I never thought you’d actually bring Mori detective? She’ll be thrilled."

However, Yoko’s expression was not good.

"Huh? What’s wrong? Why the long face?"

"Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s just go up for now."

Following Yoko’s lead, we went up to the pension.

Since Yoko kept a dark expression and said nothing while guiding us, the others had no choice but to follow quietly.

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

When Yoko pressed the bell without any energy, the door of the pension opened and a short-haired beauty came out—it was actress "Kusano Kaoru."

This woman was also a fairly popular celebrity.

"Oh, Yoko, why the long face?"

"It’s nothing. Anyway, I brought Mori detective and Jin."

"Ah, so you brought Jin, the one Yoko is a fan of. He really is incredibly handsome. And Ai-chan is... not here."

I explained the reason for that.

"Ai-chan couldn’t come because she was still fatigued from the Osaka trip last time."

"I see. Please, come in."

With Kaoru guiding us, we entered the pension and talked.

"So, Yoko’s friend who’s getting engaged to Kenmochi is..."

When Kogoro asked that, Kaoru linked arms with Kenmochi Osamu and said.

"That’s me. We’re going to have the wedding next spring!"

"Now that you mention it, Kaoru is also appearing with Kenmochi in ’Detective Samonji.’"

But then, a long-haired woman who had been in another room came out and answered in her place.

"Yes, tonight we’re all going to watch that drama together, tease each other, and celebrate the main couple."

That woman was broadcaster "Takeno Yuki," and she was someone I knew as well.

We had crossed paths many times, as she often appeared as an MC or guest with me.

This woman was also quite a beauty.

"Jin, long time no see."

"Long time no see, Takeno."

At that, Kogoro expressed his disappointment.

"Oh, that’s a shame. Okino Yoko, Kusano Kaoru, Takeno Yuki... if we just had one more, we’d have all four together..."

Just then, a woman who was smoking came out of the room where Yuki had been and spoke.

"Oh, you mean me?"

"Whoa! Hoshino Terumi!"

Hoshino Terumi was also an actress, a beauty with a quite chic, older-sister style.

Since Kusano Kaoru and Hoshino Terumi were actresses, I had rarely met them unless they were filming shows or commercials, so they were people I was seeing for the first time.

"With this, all of the Earth Ladies are gathered!"

When Kogoro got really excited seeing them, Conan, who was beside him, asked.

"What are the Earth Ladies?"

"You’re still too young to know, right? Kusano Kaoru represents the vast grasslands full of the scent of ’grass’! Takeno Yuki represents the white ’snow’ embroidering the high mountains! Hoshino Terumi represents the ’stars’ shining and filling the night sky! And Okino Yoko represents the sparkling blue ’sea’ with its rippling waves! When the four gather, they are the ’Earth (Earth) Ladies’!"

To put it simply, they were a girl group.

The concept seemed a bit forced, but since fans liked storytelling, it seemed they had deliberately incorporated that setting.

At that, Yuki added an explanation.

"Well, because Terumi and Kaoru fought, the Earth Ladies disbanded, and now Yoko is the only one still continuing to sing."

But then Terumi stared at me and said.

"I can see why Yoko fell for you. This is my first time seeing you in person, but you’re incredibly handsome. It’s like looking at a fine piece of porcelain. Plus, you’re really rich too. And since Jin is here, does that mean you two finally decided to go out?"

At those words, the atmosphere around us suddenly turned cold.

Now everyone finally understood why Yoko had made that expression earlier.

"Huh? Why is everyone so quiet?"

Terumi said, not understanding what was going on, and Yoko, unable to hold it in any longer, burst into tears and ran outside.

"Oh no, it’s dangerous for Yoko to be wandering around alone at night... I’ll go after her."

Seeing that, Osamu hurriedly followed Yoko.

"I think I made a mistake... I naturally assumed that since she brought him here, things were going well between them."

"I already explained this earlier, but I’m dating Ran here and we’re even engaged to be married."

"Ah, so that’s how it was... I feel bad for Yoko."

Seeing that Ran also had a bad expression, I sighed and said.

"It seems we’ve ruined the mood, so we’ll be taking our leave now. Oh, and Takeno, I’d like to have a word with you."

"Huh? What is it?"

Takeno Yuki was in love with Kenmochi Osamu.

In the original story, upon hearing that Osamu was going to marry Kusano Kaoru, she felt intense jealousy and attempted to kill Kaoru while also planning to kill herself.

But this was all a complete misunderstanding.

In reality, Osamu and Kaoru had been pretending to be engaged.

Kaoru and her manager, Makuma Atsushi, were mutually attracted to each other, but Atsushi couldn’t easily approach her because he was worried that if their relationship developed, it might hinder her career.

In the end, the two of them—Kaoru and fellow actor Osamu—had devised a plan to advance Kaoru and Atsushi’s relationship.

They pretended that Kaoru and Osamu were engaged in order to provoke Atsushi’s jealousy.

It seemed absurd that a world existed where such a trivial misunderstanding could lead to murder, but I decided to clear up the misunderstanding anyway.

So I called Yuki outside the mansion and talked to her.

"Kenmochi and Kusano are currently putting on an act. I don’t know the exact reason, but the two of them are not destined to be together."

"W-what? Is that true!?"

"Yes, you should ask them yourself. You’ll find that my words are correct. You’ve worked with me for a long time, so you know my onmyōjutsu."

"I-is that so... So that’s why you deliberately stopped me."

"Yes. So you don’t need to worry."

At that, Yuki said with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, Jin, I would have made a huge mistake."

I patted her back reassuringly, then took Ran and the others to a nearby restaurant and treated them to a meal.

It wasn’t really my fault that the party had been ruined, but I felt like I should be the one to pay for some reason.

"You’re so popular, Jin, that must be nice. Even the famous Yoko likes you that much."

Ran said, poking at her food with her fork and grumbling.

She seemed to be trying to act nonchalant, but her tone and actions revealed a subtle jealousy.

"Well, it can’t be helped. When you work in this kind of business, these things happen all the time. So don’t misunderstand for no reason. The reason I even came out here like this is because I was worried about you, Ran. You know that for me, there’s only you."

"I know that... But I can’t help worrying."

Ran hesitated for a moment, then carefully continued.

"When I think that such a famous and pretty older sister likes you... I get anxious without meaning to. She seems like she’d be a much better match for you than me."

"Don’t worry about that. We are bound together by the red thread of fate. As long as the world doesn’t collapse, we will never separate."

At those words, Ran finally seemed relieved and smiled slightly.

"I see... I was worried for nothing."

But Kogoro and Conan’s expressions were not good.

Kogoro was a huge fan of Yoko, and Conan didn’t like seeing Ran jealous.

"I’m really shocked. I never knew Yoko liked my son-in-law that much... I went after Yoko to comfort her instead of Osamu, but that was a mistake."

When Kogoro said that, Ran was dumbfounded.

"Dad, you have Mom!"

"We’re living apart, so what’s the problem? It’s about time I made a fresh start too."

"Dad!"

When Ran raised her voice, a restaurant employee approached and said carefully.

"Ma’am, there are other customers here, so could you please keep it down a little?"

"O-oh, I’m sorry."

Ran, embarrassed by the sudden attention, quickly bowed her head.

Meanwhile, Conan, who was beside me, also poked my side and whispered quietly.

"You and Yoko would make a good match. It’s not too late, you know."

I was equally dumbfounded by Conan’s words.

"Stop talking nonsense and just eat your food."

"Tch! But what was that thing you told Takeno Yuki earlier? The atmosphere seemed pretty serious."

Of course, Conan didn’t just let it go and was curious about that matter.

So I just told him the truth, smoothly dodging by saying I learned it through onmyōjutsu.

"I see... If you had left it alone, that could have been a disaster."

"Yeah. Preventing such misfortune is a good thing, I think."

Thankfully, maybe because I explained it well, Conan didn’t ask any further.

Anyway, after the chaotic meal ended, I dropped Ran and the others off at their house and was finally able to return home.

But the next day, I could hear on the news that Yoko had temporarily suspended her activities.

Because of that, Ran was very worried at school.

"Surely, it’s because of what happened yesterday?"

"I don’t know... I’m not really sure."

"I feel bad about it."