Chapter 8: The Death God Squad Gathers
"Hello, I'm Hattori Heiji." The dark-skinned youth walked over and greeted Hikigaya. "Have we met somewhere before?"
Hikigaya was momentarily surprised. Although he had been observing them, he wondered if Hattori's reaction was a bit too sharp. Many people feel slight discomfort when being watched by a stranger, which was why Hikigaya hadn't overdone it—he'd only looked for a few moments.
"We haven't," Hikigaya spoke the truth. Then he smiled.
He saw the "Death God" primary schooler walking over with a look of misfortune, led by his guardians.
"I have, however, met this young man before. Right, Conan-kun?" Hikigaya squinted with a smile at Kudo Shinichi, who was currently sprinting down the path of pretending to be a child.
This guy was the true embodiment of the "True Fragrance Law." Hikigaya remembered that in the manga, when Kudo first turned into a child, he was full of disdain. Then, after taking a bath with his "horned" childhood sweetheart, it became "fragrant." By now, he'd probably be uncomfortable if you forced him back into being a high schooler.
Since that was the case, Hikigaya would fulfill his wish and call him Conan.
"Haha, Big Brother really likes to joke. We clearly haven't met before!" The Death God child, alias Edogawa Conan, gave a dry laugh. He then pretended to look away casually, though he was actually rolling his eyes on purpose.
"Conan, don't be so rude." The female student with the "horn" criticized him with a stern facade, then spoke politely to Hikigaya. "I remember now. You're the person we met at the museum last time."
"I am Hikigaya Hachiman." Hikigaya kept his smile.
Internally, he was wondering: Could Hattori Heiji, this Kansai detective, become a customer for the Odd Jobs shop? Being born in Kansai, where yokai culture is so rich, it's not entirely impossible.
"I am Mori Ran. Nice to meet you, Hikigaya-kun. You seem quite familiar with this child; did you run into him again later?" Mori Ran was smiling. Hikigaya felt she had completely stepped into the role of a single mother.
She had suspected this brat's true identity several times, but unfortunately, the author gave him "cheats," so he managed to trick his way through every time. However, Hikigaya felt her IQ was above average, so she probably still had her suspicions—she just lacked evidence. The "bathing together" activities had definitely been cancelled long ago.
"Ah-re? So you guys knew each other? No wonder you were looking over here earlier," Hattori Heiji realized. He then introduced himself properly, and finally, introduced his girlfriend.
Though he looked a bit embarrassed to introduce her like that: "This is my classmate I grew up with, Toyama Kazuha. Ah... she's really a talkative woman."
"Who are you calling talkative!?" Kazuha was indignant, but she maintained her manners in front of an outsider. "I am Toyama Kazuha. Pleased to meet you."
"Hello, pleasure to meet you." Hikigaya returned the courtesy, then turned to the grumpy-looking middle-aged man. "And this must be the famous detective, Mori Kogoro?"
The middle-aged man's sour expression vanished instantly.
"Wahahaha! Am I really that famous? I didn't even know! Hahahaha!"
Famous indeed. Countless people probably wonder exactly how many needles have accumulated in the back of his neck.
Mori Ran gave her father a smiling glance, looking quite proud. She then pulled the other girl over to introduce her to Hikigaya. "This is Suzuki Sonoko. Hikigaya-kun met her last time as well."
"Right, right, we met last time! By the way, Hikigaya-kun, did you see Lord Kid after that?" Suzuki Sonoko was a wealthy heiress whose path to love was rather bumpy, but undeniably, her personality was great. Of course, she should have a very good boyfriend by now.
Hikigaya remembered that Sonoko's boyfriend was also a martial artist. Looking closely, the Death God child's social circle was quite formidable: fighters, geniuses, celebrities, and the ultra-wealthy. For an ordinary person, this was a luxury configuration.
"I didn't run into him, but my friend did." Hikigaya laughed. He actually quite admired Suzuki Sonoko. Good upbringing should look like this—not just knowing social etiquette, but being like Sonoko.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have contacted Alexander again to talk him out of the idea of running to the Suzuki family to "borrow" things. What for? It's not like they're short on money, and the Suzuki family isn't some magic association. If they really had something you wanted, would they refuse to sell it if the price was right?
"I'm so jealous! I really wanted Lord Kid's autograph too!"
"No, you misunderstood. That guy is British and also a magician. He should have visited your house."
"Eh!? You mean that British lad? That guy was indeed a magician..." Suzuki Sonoko seemed to recall something unpleasant, but she immediately brightened up with the face of a fangirl. "But Lord Kid is definitely more amazing! Because Lord Kid is a Wizard!"
"Haha..." Hikigaya gave a strained smile to match the mood.
He didn't notice, however, that Hattori Heiji was watching him with suspicious eyes. Hattori felt like he had seen Hikigaya Hachiman's face somewhere before. His memory was sharp; if he had this feeling, he definitely had seen him.
"And this elderly gentleman, how should I address you?" Hikigaya looked at the stout old man, even though he already knew who he was.
The old man looked exceptionally kind, but the little blonde girl next to him lacked even a hint of childhood innocence. Instead, she looked exactly like the researchers from the dark underworld—indifferent to everything, seeing everyone as "material." She hadn't reached that level of coldness yet, but the vibe was there.
"Oh my, you're very polite. I am Professor Agasa."
Sure enough, just like the setting Hikigaya knew, he was a man who loved calling himself "Professor."
"Hello, Professor." Hikigaya addressed him by his preferred title. Even though the man liked the title, Hikigaya didn't look down on him. Professor Agasa was a man who truly loved inventing; even if he didn't have a PhD, he was better than a crowd of "paper-only" doctors. His inventions were practically fantasy.
"I'm so hungry," among the children, a chubby boy rubbed his belly and whispered to his friend, only to be shushed.
"Is that so? Actually, Big Brother is hungry too." Hikigaya found it amusing; these kids clearly didn't remember him at all. "How about Big Brother treats you to some food?"
There was no shortage of dining in Universal Studios. Aside from being more expensive than outside and having less variety, there weren't many downsides. At least it wasn't both expensive and disgusting.
"Ah, we can't let Hikigaya-kun spend his money. Let us handle it," Mori Ran said hurriedly.
The other children didn't think that much. In their simple worldview, acquaintances were friends, and it didn't matter who paid; the point was whether the food was good. They were already impatient to eat.
Except for Conan and the little blonde girl, both of whom looked at their companions with helpless expressions.
"It's fine, it's just a bit of food. It's rare to meet again, so please give me some face and don't try to save me money." Hikigaya looked around and pointed to a small Western restaurant nearby. "How about that one?"
Seeing him say this, Mori Ran and the others stopped being formal. Pushing and pulling over a bill wasn't a good look anyway, and since it was only noon, they could just find a chance to return the favor later.
And so, the group followed Hikigaya toward the restaurant.
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