Chapter 46 Finding Yet Another Matchmaker

Conan felt a slight brush against his pants pocket, and he turned his head sharply just in time to see a crow pulling his detective badge out of his pocket. Subconsciously, he reached out to snatch it back.

The crow executed a sharp zig-zag maneuver to dodge him, let out a mocking 'caw,' and flapped its wings to fly away.

"Oh, stop it! Go away!" Genta was still waving his arms to chase it off when he suddenly realized his own detective badge had been plucked away by a crow. "Huh? My detective badge!"

Clutching the badge in its beak and feeling somewhat annoyed by the earlier shooing, the crow stepped right on top of Genta's head as it took off, making off into the distance as well.

"Wait! Give me back my detective badge!" Genta touched the spot on his head where he had been stepped on and prepared to give chase.

Mitsuhiko quickly grabbed Genta's arm. "Come on, Genta, it's too late to catch it now. Conan's detective badge was stolen too. We'll just have Professor Agasa make new ones for you guys another day!"

Genta struggled forward indignantly. "No way, I'm going to get my badge back!"

Conan looked at the two bickering kids. Though still somewhat depressed about having his detective badge stolen, he advised, "I mean, it's just a badge..."

Haibara Ai looked up in the direction the crows had flown off to. "Having your detective badges stolen by a bunch of black-feathered creatures—that's hardly a good omen."

"Hey, Haibara, you..."

Before Conan could speechlessly turn back to look at Haibara, he was grabbed by Genta.

"Conan, you want to get your badge back too, right!"

"Genta, we have to go check on Ayumi first!" Mitsuhiko tugged frantically on Genta to pull him back. "Right, Conan?"

"No way! We're the Junior Detective League, we have to let those robbers know the consequences of stealing things!"

Being pulled back and forth, Conan wanted to ask Haibara for help, only to find that she was still staring blankly in the direction the crows had flown, her expression gradually growing numb.

My heart is so tired, I suddenly don't feel like speaking anymore...

...

On the way to Aoyama Fourth Hospital, the flock of crows followed at a distance once more.

Not noticing, Mamiya Mamoru freed his right hand and handed a document to Ike Feichi. "Mr. Ike, I fobbed off all the calls from the hospital. Take a look first, so you don't slip up later."

"Thank you," Ike Feichi took the documents.

"You're welcome," Mamiya Mamoru smiled. It was finally, completely coming to an end. What a relief!

Ike Feichi flipped through the papers.

They recorded the times Aoyama Fourth Hospital had called, along with rough summaries of what both sides had discussed.

Most of the calls to Mamiya Mamoru had been from Fukuyama Toshimi, and Mamiya had made up a wide variety of excuses, such as—

He's painting right now... Let him take the phone? He's still painting, it's not convenient to disturb him... He's doing very well, nothing unusual, yes, please call back tomorrow...

He's out in the garden helping the gardener tidy up the plants, currently unable to answer the phone, so sorry... Yes, his daily routine is quite varied...

We're going on a picnic in the forest near the castle, he already left ahead with the servants, and you know what, he can even cook...

He went up the tower to watch the sunrise, yes, the environment here is wonderful...

Aside from the times when Ike Feichi had actually been at the ancient castle and happened to take the phone to speak with Fukuyama Toshimi directly, all of Mamiya's other fabricated excuses had carefully avoided putting him on the phone.

Inventing a vibrant, healthy lifestyle without repeating a single excuse, and even keeping records of them—what a talent!

As he read along, Ike Feichi suddenly heard Mamiya Mamoru let out a snort of amusement. He looked up, fell silent, and thought,

No, perhaps he was a genius whose talents had simply gone undiscovered all this time?

Upon arriving at Aoyama Fourth Hospital, Fukuyama Toshimi had received word and was waiting at the entrance early. As the car came to a stop, he eagerly stepped forward to greet them, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, "Welcome back, Mr. Ike!"

Ike Feichi: "..."

He didn't want this welcome at all!

"Mr. Mamiya, long time no see," Fukuyama greeted Mamiya Mamoru before turning to Ike Feichi. "Mr. Zeninosuke has already explained the situation. The people here to pick you up should be arriving shortly. Oh, and Mr. Ike, what day of the week is it tomorrow?"

Non-chur hidden under Ike Feichi's sleeve shouted, "Master, Saturday! Saturday!"

Ike Feichi originally didn't want to compromise, but under Fukuyama's smiling gaze, he eventually gave in, "Saturday."

Fukuyama Toshimi nodded with a smile. "It seems Mr. Ike has recovered very well recently. Perhaps he will be completely cured soon. Come along, let's go inside and sit down."

Walking through the lobby and down the hallway, Ike Feichi suddenly heard a panicked female voice.

"Mr. Ike, Dr. Fukuyama, watch out!"

Ike Feichi immediately turned his head, following the voice, only to see a cheap bird hopping around the edge of a flower bed: "..."

Why is this wretched bird back here again?!

The bird felt a chill run down its spine under Ike Feichi's stare. "Hi?"

Still saying hi?

Feeling the gaze from Fukuyama Toshimi beside him, Ike Feichi's expression darkened slightly.

Guiltily, the bird flew up to a large tree in the courtyard, perching high up where it felt a bit more secure. "Don't be so petty, I was just making a joke!"

"Mr. Ike?" Fukuyama Toshimi observed Ike Feichi's changing expression and reactions. "Did you hear that bird talking again?"

Mamiya Mamoru glanced at the bird on the tree, strongly tempted to report everything—*Mr. Ike not only hears birds talking, he also keeps a snake, talks to the snake all day long, and living with him is a serious test of one's psychological endurance. For the sake of everyone else's mental health, please don't let him out!*

However, considering all the lies he had told, the brain cells he had burned, and the mental exhaustion he had endured, he didn't want any complications at the very last minute, so he forcibly swallowed the urge to rat him out.

Forget it, at least I'm finally liberated. Good luck to the next person!

"No," Ike Feichi turned his head back, his expression having returned to calm. "I just think that bird is about to have some bad luck."

Fukuyama Toshimi observed Ike Feichi's expression for a moment before giving up. Well, he was still the same familiar, difficult Mr. Ike. "Mr. Ike, do you perhaps believe you possess precognitive abilities?"

Ike Feichi turned his gaze back to the large tree. "It's not precognition..."

By the courtyard wall, a massive flock of crows rushed in noisily, flying straight toward the big tree.

The red-eyed crow shouted imposingly, "My mighty subordinates, clear the field!"

"Caw... caw..."

"Squawk—!"

The swarm of crows charged toward the bewildered bird on the tree, flapping their wings and directly knocking the unresponsive bird aside.

Besides, crows as a species loved pulling feathers off other animals—cats, dogs, lions, tigers, wild wolves, bald eagles... given the chance, there was nothing they wouldn't dare peck. As they chased and mobbed the target, several crows inevitably couldn't resist sneaking in a nip.

"Stop it!"

"Don't pull my tail!"

The bird bolted out of the crow's encirclement, shedding feathers everywhere, and rapidly scurried across to the roof of another building.

Ike Feichi felt thoroughly refreshed. He turned to Fukuyama Toshimi and said calmly, "Just some crows bullying birds and dogs, that's all."

Fukuyama Toshimi looked at the tree completely packed with crows, was left momentarily speechless, and decided not to press further, leading the two of them to his office to sit and chat.

Ten minutes later, Fukuyama answered a phone call and returned with a middle-aged man.

The man wore a brown suit, was tall, and had a high hairline that revealed a forehead representing wisdom. His features were regular, and his beard and hair were meticulously groomed. Even while smiling, his aura was a notch stronger than Mamiya Mamoru's. "Feichi, it's been many years. Do you remember me?"

Searching his memories, Ike Feichi found a vague silhouette—the features and beard were somewhat similar, though the hairline hadn't been quite this high. "Uncle Mikio?"

"Hahaha, I didn't think you'd still remember! We haven't seen each other since you were two or three years old," the man sat down in a chair and looked toward Mamiya Mamoru. "And this gentleman..."

Next came the inevitable self-introductions and polite pleasantries, during which Fukuyama Toshimi verified a few more details.

The man was also a distant relative of Ike Feichi's estranged father, having had some social interactions with Ike's parents in their earlier years.

The vague impression in Ike Feichi's memory came from when the man had brought his family to visit their home as guests.

However, because the Shin’ike Group had been expanding overseas in recent years, interactions between the two families had gradually dwindled, limited to occasional encounters at business gatherings.

As the man signed the guest register, Ike Feichi glanced at the name: Mikio Sonozaki.

Shortly after Mamiya Mamoru took his leave, Mikio Sonozaki also left the hospital with Ike Feichi and got into the car parked outside the entrance.

With the driver at the wheel, Mikio Sonozaki sat in the back seat chatting with Ike Feichi. "Your father will be back soon as well. After we attend my son Kikuto's wedding, he should be picking you up on his way."

Ike Feichi mused quietly: Sonozaki Kikuto?

If he remembered correctly, this seemed to be the murderer who killed his family's butler during a locked-room incident on the eve of his wedding.

Given the Sonozaki family's background, the probability of someone having the exact same name was very low.

Which meant his estranged father had found yet another problematic household for him to stay with?

Mikio Sonozaki didn't mind Ike Feichi's lack of response. "When I visited your house as a guest that year, Kikuto was sick and stayed home, so you two didn't meet. But Yurie came with us. Do you remember Yurie?"

Ike Feichi recalled a little girl slightly older than Ayumi and nodded.

Mikio Sonozaki immediately smiled. "Hahaha, if Yurie knew you still remembered her, she'd be thrilled! She and Kikuto are only two years apart, and they used to fight all the time when they were little, neither one of them standing each other. They only started getting along better as they got older. When Yurie came to your house back then, she actually loved taking care of you since you were so little, and talked about it for ages afterward, saying she wanted a younger brother as obedient as you!"

First stopping by Ike Feichi's residence to pack two changes of clothes, and then heading to the Sonozaki estate, the car drove all the way with a flock of crows trailing right behind them in the sky.

Mikio Sonozaki was a skilled conversationalist. Even faced with Ike Feichi's habit of only occasionally offering a brief response, he kept the conversation flowing naturally the entire way, sharing old anecdotes, discussing the current business climate, and talking about family matters.

Ike Feichi listened the whole way and didn't find it boring at all.

The Sonozaki estate was also built in the style of a European castle, though it wasn't as remote as the Mamiya estate and wasn't even very far from Beihuto Town—a pleasant, quiet spot amidst the bustling city.

Stepping out of the car, Ike Feichi glanced back and saw that the flock of crows had indeed followed them all the way, finding places to land one by one on the nearby trees.

In truth, the environment here was quite nice; there were few people around, and getting around wasn't too troublesome either.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be staying here for long.

Setting aside whether anyone in this family would be in the mood to look after others after Sonozaki Kikuto committed murder, even if he managed to prevent Kikuto from killing, once the wedding took place, it wouldn't be appropriate for an outsider like him to hang around while the newlyweds were enjoying their honeymoon.

And if Kikuto's wedding didn't happen and he let his fiancée go find her own happiness, the family's mood probably wouldn't be very good either.

Besides, his estranged father seemed to only be parking him here as a temporary transition and would be returning soon...

Lost in thought, Ike Feichi suddenly heard fast-approaching footsteps from behind and sidestepped out of the way.

A figure in a red dress lunged past Ike Feichi's side, missed entirely, and after regaining her balance, replaced her dignified expression with a hint of annoyance. "Ike Feichi!"

Recognizing her, Ike Feichi nodded calmly. "Miss Yurie."

Yurie Sonozaki broke character instantly, bursting into a chuckle as the annoyance vanished from her face. "You weren't startled at all! Could you please play along a little? But I'm surprised you actually remember me. Don't tell me my dad already told you?"