When it came to beauty, who was superior, Kudo Yukiko or Kisaki Eri? That was hard to say.
After all, both were must-haves in Conan fanfiction.
Damn, if you're isekai'd into Conan and you don't go after these two, why even bother?
But when it came to IQ, Eri probably had the edge.
After all, she was a lawyer.
Hearing from Yukiko that her daughter intended to offer herself to Makoto, and recalling how her daughter had just told her that Makoto was planning to help Kogoro find a Devil's heart for his treatment… integrating the information from both sides, Eri understood everything completely!
Eri's hand holding the phone began to tremble.
Her first reaction was anger.
'That colluding duo, Nishikawa Makoto and Ishigami Yu, had schemed against my daughter!?'
But in less than a minute, Eri calmed down, and her second reaction was confusion.
Because after carefully thinking about it, she realized that from Makoto's perspective, there was actually nothing wrong with what he did.
If it were Kogoro lying in the hospital bed next to her, he would absolutely be incapable of such perspective-taking.
But Eri was different... her career as a lawyer had accustomed her to thinking from the client's perspective and identifying key points to defend the client.
If one stood in Makoto's shoes, they would realize… they had no right to blame him.
After all, he was just her daughter's teacher, not her father, so why should he unconditionally help with such a huge favor?
Moreover, to date, it was Ran who owed Makoto a debt, not the other way around.
Add to that the country's universal free healthcare… the people's sun, Commander's kindness knows no bounds!
What more did you want?
"Eri? Eri?"
"Huh? Oh! I'm listening!"
Hearing Yukiko's repeated calls on the phone, Eri barely managed to snap back.
"What do you think we should do?" Yukiko asked, troubled.
Eri couldn't think of a solution either.
Stop her daughter?
Then her daughter would probably be socially ruined, and it might even trigger the rebelliousness of a girl Ran's age, making her even more determined to go.
Negotiate with Makoto?
Damn, what was she thinking?
What right did she have to negotiate with Makoto?
And the food was already at his lips... could she ask him to spit it out?
Dream on!
For a moment, Eri was also at a loss.
After the married women duo had been silent for a long time, Yukiko spoke again: "Um... How about I play role-play with him tonight? Let him pretend to be Yusaku and... do me. Maybe if he's happy, he'll let Ran off?"
Eri: "..."
'No, seriously, do you two normally play that kinky?'
Eri suddenly wondered what Yusaku, who is already on the other side, would think.
Yukiko continued: "Th-That, Eri, don't misunderstand. It's not that I have anything going on with him. I'm just doing this for Ran."
Eri: "..."
'Girl, stop pretending, okay?'
'I've known about your little affair for a long time.'
But hearing her best friend's words sparked an idea for Eri.
After hanging up, Eri went to the hospital room's bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror for the first time in a while.
She hadn't put on any makeup because she'd been busy taking care of the dying Kogoro.
But even so, it couldn't hide the glamorous aura of a mature urban woman.
Eri was well aware of her charm... her nickname [Queen of the Legal World] indicated her popularity in her circle.
Even though she was separated from her husband and had a high school daughter, she never lacked suitors.
Eri gritted her teeth and dialed her best friend's number again: "Yukiko, I need your help."
Nishikawa Residence.
"Mother!"
The Yukinoshita sisters found Mrs. Yukinoshita and called out with complicated expressions.
Mrs. Yukinoshita turned to look at them, her face indifferent: "What do you want?"
The look in her mother's eyes reminded Yukino of Makoto.
From the moment she entered the office until she left, Makoto hadn't looked at her once… that was what hurt Yukino the most. She would have preferred him to mock her.
And now her mother's eyes had a bit of that same quality.
She would rather her mother look at her with disappointment, even blame or scold her, than with this kind of indifference.
Haruno held her sister's hand, signaling her to be quiet for a moment, then stepped forward and said, "Mother, Yukino has really grown a lot. She won't be like before anymore. Let's live together again, like we used to."
Mrs. Yukinoshita quietly watched the two of them, making Yukino and Haruno feel uneasy inside.
"Heh~"
Finally, Mrs. Yukinoshita let out a soft laugh and turned to leave.
"Mother!" They both hurriedly called out, wanting to chase after her.
"Go back." Mrs. Yukinoshita said with her back to them. "You've always been dissatisfied with your past lives, wanting to search for that 'something genuine', haven't you? Now, I won't hinder you anymore. And I... have already found my something genuine."
The Yukinoshita sisters still wanted to chase after her, but several Devils stepped forward and blocked their way.
"Hey, young ladies, it seems Butler Ayano doesn't want to see you."
"Leave now, or don't blame us for being rude."
Seeing these fierce-looking Devils, Haruno had no choice but to take her sister's hand and say, "Yukino, let's go home."
Perhaps this was the best possible outcome for the three of them, mother and daughters.
However, Yukino, being forcefully pulled away by Haruno, still stared blankly at their mother's back, her lips pressed tightly together, thinking about something.
Just as the Yukinoshita sisters were leaving together, Ran happened to return.
Because they weren't very familiar with each other, they merely nodded in passing, not exchanging any words.
"Auntie Yukiko?"
When Ran entered the main hall, she found Yukiko waiting there, as if for someone.
"Ran's here, what's up?" Yukiko asked with her signature bright smile.
"W-Well, I had some ideas about Taijutsu and wanted to discuss them with Sensei." Ran's face reddened slightly as she clumsily came up with an excuse.
After all, she couldn't just say she came to do that with Makoto, could she?
Yukiko glanced at Ran's inexplicably bulging backpack and roughly guessed what was inside.
But on the surface, she remained composed and said, "Makoto-kun is busy with something. Come rest in my room for a while, and I'll take you to him later."
Ran, suspecting nothing, followed Yukiko to her room.
Yukiko poured her a cup of black tea and said with unexpected emotion, "In that other world, I used to take care of Shinichi like this, often giving him my homemade black tea."
At the mention of Shinichi's name, Ran's expression turned slightly lonely, then she forced a smile and said, "That's why we have to live better, so Uncle Yusaku and Shinichi in that world don't worry! Luckily, we have Sensei!"
Hearing this, Yukiko was momentarily speechless. A few seconds later, she grinned: "Yeah... that's right, luckily we have him..."
The atmosphere fell into silence. Yukiko suddenly urged, "Ran, it's getting cold."
Ran suddenly came to, quickly took a sip, and praised, "Mm-hmm! As expected, Auntie Yukiko makes the best tea."
But shortly after saying that, Ran suddenly felt a strong wave of dizziness hit her brain.
"A-Auntie Yuki..."
Before she could finish the sentence, she collapsed completely onto Yukiko's bed.
Looking at Ran, who was just like her son used to be, Yukiko let out a long breath, took out her phone, and said, "Eri, I'm done here."
A few seconds later, she hung up. Unable to contain her curiosity, Yukiko rummaged through Ran's backpack.
'Good grief, she even brought the big ones? Weren't you afraid of getting killed by Makoto?'
Thinking about what was about to happen, Yukiko's face flushed with heat. She swiped a few of the boxes for herself.