Chapter 314: Gathering of the Three Gods
Sayu fought a losing battle against her drooping eyelids, a massive yawn escaping her lips. "My Lord..." she mumbled, her voice muffled by the thick collar of her hood. "I searched every corner of the Takahashi Family's estate today... especially the study. This is some of their confidential information."
Sluggishly reaching into the folds of her ninja robes, she retrieved a thick, worn notebook and offered it to Kamisato Ayato. The pages were densely packed with scrawled notes and ledgers—a clear physical manifestation of the little ninja's exhausting night of espionage.
Ayato accepted the book with a graceful sweep of his hand. His lips curved into a faint, impeccably polite smile. "Thank you for your hard work, Sayu," he murmured, his tone as smooth as silk. "This operation was quite successful. With this intelligence in our hands, and given the rather... unfortunate passing of the Head of the Takahashi Family, our Kamisato Clan will be able to smoothly transition the majority of his assets into our care." His eyes, however, held a sharp, calculating glint that contrasted entirely with his gentle voice.
Meanwhile, Conan's sneakers slapped against the pavement as he sprinted in the direction the mysterious figure had vanished. He pushed his small frame to the limit, scanning the shadows, but the trail had gone entirely cold. The night air was still, offering no clues.
Just as he slowed his pace, his chest heaving as he debated whether his eyes had played tricks on him, a soft, warm glow caught his attention. Not far ahead, a traditional pavilion sat bathed in the light of a hanging lantern. Inside, the silhouettes of two adults and a small child were cast against the wooden pillars.
Conan's brow furrowed. 'Could they have wandered off over there? Is that Genta? Or Ayumi?' The smallest silhouette did bear a passing resemblance to Ayumi's stature. Without wasting another second, he adjusted his glasses and hurried toward the illuminated structure.
As he closed the distance, the flickering light gradually revealed the faces of the pavilion's occupants. Conan's footsteps faltered, his eyes widening behind his lenses.
"Miss Raiden? Mr. Zhongli? And..." Conan's gaze snapped to the little girl dressed in green and white. His jaw practically hit the floor. "Nahida?! What are you all doing here?"
Zhongli, entirely unbothered by the sudden intrusion, slowly lowered the porcelain wine cup from his lips. He turned his head, his amber eyes settling calmly on the young detective. A faint, elegant smile touched his features as he gave a measured nod. "It is indeed one of life's great pleasures to occasionally gather with old friends," the man rumbled, his voice a deep, soothing baritone. "We are simply sharing a few drinks and partaking in the beauty of the night sky."
"No, wait..." Conan shook his head, trying to organize the chaotic swirl of questions in his mind. He pivoted toward the small girl. "I mean, Nahida, did you already know Miss Raiden and Mr. Zhongli?"
A sudden spark of realization hit the detective. He remembered the golden Vision resting on Zhongli's attire—a gem identical in design to the one wielded by Miss Ningguang. His mind raced back to the 'Cocoon'press conference.'Miss Ningguang mentioned that Nahida was a friend of one of her elders...'
Conan's head whipped back toward the tall, dark-haired man. "Could it be... that the elder Miss Ningguang mentioned is you, Mr. Zhongli?!"
"That is correct," Zhongli affirmed with a serene nod.
The corner of Conan's mouth twitched. 'What kind of absurdly tangled fate is this?'he sighed internally.'How did all these high-ranking, secretive elders end up casually drinking together in a park pavilion?'His gaze drifted back to Nahida. She sat perched on a wooden stool between the two imposing adults. Her short legs dangled over the edge, swinging back and forth in a carefree rhythm since they couldn't reach the floor. A wild thought suddenly flashed through Conan's hyper-analytical brain.'Wait... if she's sitting at the same table as them... could her seniority actually be just as high?' The sheer incongruity of the child's appearance versus her potential status made his curiosity spike.
Right at that moment, Nahida stopped swinging her legs. Her bright, verdant eyes locked directly onto Conan's.
Startled by the sudden eye contact, Conan flinched. He immediately tried to play the fool, awkwardly scratching the back of his head and looking around the pavilion with wide, innocent eyes, mimicking a clueless child.
But Nahida simply offered a gentle, knowing smile. "You guessed correctly," she chimed, her voice melodic and sweet. "Although I appear much younger than these two, if we are strictly speaking of seniority, I can indeed be considered an elder to Kaveh and the others."
Conan froze, his 'clueless kid' act shattering instantly. "...I didn't say any of that out loud, did I? How did you know what I was thinking?"
Nahida let out a soft, tinkling laugh. "Because Conan is still just a child. That is why you are looking around with such obvious curiosity." A mischievous glint danced in her green eyes, making it painfully clear she had seen right through his childish facade. She leaned forward slightly. "Besides... I can hear your inner thoughts."
She punctuated the impossible claim with a playful wink and another bright laugh.
Conan felt a chill prickle the back of his neck. He naturally dismissed the idea of actual mind-reading as a fairy tale, but her terrifyingly accurate deduction proved one thing: Nahida possessed a razor-sharp intellect capable of peeling back a person's psychological layers with terrifying ease.
Uncomfortable under her piercing gaze, Conan quickly averted his eyes, desperate to break the connection with the girl who seemed to look straight into his soul.
As he turned his head, his gaze landed on the third figure at the table. Miss Raiden. He suddenly realized that since he had stepped into the pavilion, the imposing woman hadn't uttered a single syllable.
Recalling the chaotic events of the day, Conan blinked, his detective instincts flaring up once more. He tilted his head, addressing her directly. "Big Sister Raiden? When I went to the Takahashi estate with Brother Hattori to investigate the case today, I thought I caught a glimpse of you. Were you there?"
Raiden Ei sat as still as a statue. Originally, she had fully intended to brush the boy off with a flat denial. She had already provided a flawless alibi to the local police; there was absolutely no logical reason to invite unnecessary scrutiny by admitting the truth to a nosy child.
But as she looked at him, something shifted. Her violet eyes narrowed fractionally. She closed them for a brief second, the ambient light catching the faint purple glow of her braided hair. When her lashes fluttered open, her gaze locked onto Conan with the weight of an approaching storm.
The temperature in the pavilion seemed to drop several degrees.
"So," Ei spoke, her voice carrying a cold, quiet authority that demanded absolute silence. "You saw me..."
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