The taxi stopped in front of an apartment building.
Tetsu Watanabe paid the fare, while Mitsuhiko and Genta helped Ayumi carefully out of the car.
The four of them walked toward the building together.
When they reached Ayumi's floor and pressed the doorbell, the door opened almost instantly.
"Ayumi, you're home—"
A beautiful woman in her early thirties appeared. Her glossy black hair was pinned up neatly, and she wore a simple yet finely tailored white dress that highlighted her graceful figure. She greeted her daughter with a warm smile—
But the moment she noticed Ayumi lifting one leg, supported by two boys, her smile vanished, replaced by alarm.
"What happened?!"
"Ayumi's mom," Tetsu explained calmly, "Ayumi twisted her ankle during PE."
"Ah?!" Mrs. Yoshida gasped, immediately crouching down to check her daughter's injury.
She fussed non-stop, "How did this happen? Did you fall? Does it hurt? Should Mommy take you to the doctor?"
"Don't worry, Mom," Ayumi reassured her, "Dr. Miyazaki said it's not serious. I just need to rest for two days."
"That's good…" Mrs. Yoshida exhaled in relief, then turned to the boys with a grateful smile.
"Thank you for bringing Ayumi home. I just finished baking a cake—if you don't mind, come in and have some."
The moment they heard cake, Mitsuhiko and Genta's eyes lit up. They accepted without hesitation.
"We'll gladly intrude!"
The bright living room was spotless. Plush carpet on the floor, cute stuffed cushions on the sofa—it felt warm and cozy.
Mrs. Yoshida brought out slices of cake, placing them on the coffee table.
"Try it," she said with a gentle smile. "I hope you like it."
The rich aroma of fresh cream made Mitsuhiko and Genta swallow hard. After politely saying, "Itadakimasu!", they dug in with their spoons.
"Wow! It's delicious! Tastes just like the ones from cake shops!"
"Ayumi's mom is amazing!"
Hearing the praise, Mrs. Yoshida's lips curled in a shy smile.
"Really?"
She pulled out a tissue and wiped the cream from Genta's mouth.
"Eat slowly now—don't turn into a little cream monster."
"Mom," Ayumi suddenly remembered, "we took a taxi home, and Tetsu paid the fare. You should give him the money back."
"I know." Mrs. Yoshida nodded, looking toward Tetsu with a warm, appreciative gaze.
"Thank you, Tetsu."
"No need to be polite. We're friends, after all. And friends should help each other."
"Yes," Mrs. Yoshida said with a soft laugh, "they should."
After finishing cake and juice, it was getting late. Mitsuhiko and Genta wanted to hurry home to catch their favorite cartoon show. The three boys shared a silent understanding, each with their own motives, and politely declined Mrs. Yoshida's invitation to stay for dinner.
The trio then left Ayumi's home together.
When Tetsu got home, he went up to the second floor first. The detective agency was empty—Kogoro Mouri was nowhere to be seen—so he headed to the third floor.
Ran was already home, preparing dinner in the kitchen.
Seeing Tetsu walk in, she said gently, "Welcome back, Tetsu. Remember to wash your hands and rinse your mouth."
"Got it, Ran-neechan."
Tetsu put down his backpack and headed for the bathroom.
"Oh, right—Ran-neechan, do you know where Uncle Mouri went? He wasn't downstairs."
"No idea. He's probably out handling something."
"That makes sense."
After washing up and confirming Ran didn't need any help, Tetsu returned to the detective agency.
It had been two days since he posted the assassination request. If everything went smoothly, there should be results by now.
He logged into the website—and sure enough, the Mediator had sent him a message.
Not only did it confirm the task was completed, but it also included several photos of Tanaka Kentarō's corpse. Once Tetsu confirmed them, the commission would be transferred to the assassin.
If the employer didn't respond within a month, the Mediator would consider the task automatically accepted as completed.
At 7 p.m., Kogoro Mouri finally returned home.
Noticing his unusually spirited expression, Ran asked during dinner,
"Dad, did you get a case today?"
"That's right!" Kogoro said proudly—this was the first client he had gotten in nearly three months, aside from Tetsu's matter.
Ran was genuinely happy for him.
"What kind of case was it?"
Kogoro hesitated for a moment.
"I helped the client find something worth three hundred thousand yen."
"Wow!" Ran exclaimed. "What was it? Jewelry? An antique?"
"…A purebred imported cat."