Just as Ran and Hoshimiya Yuu were chatting by the door, Mouri Kogoro woke up.
Hearing the commotion from the third floor, Hoshimiya Yuu, having confirmed the competition venue and time, took his leave first.
Saying he was going for a walk earlier wasn't an excuse.
After passing the interview, he had moved to this neighborhood, and the past few days had been busy with moving, so he genuinely hadn't familiarized himself with the surroundings.
Furthermore, he had already interacted with Mouri Kogoro last night, but it hadn't triggered a System reward.
Excluding the contents of his hazy memory, slobbish, fond of drinking, addicted to gambling, lecherous, and lazy—these were the initial impressions Mouri Kogoro gave Hoshimiya Yuu.
If he couldn't trigger a System reward, there was really no need for extensive interaction.
Hoshimiya Yuu wandered around the neighborhood, familiarizing himself with the environment he would likely be living in for a long time.
During his walk, he unexpectedly discovered a small alleyway.
Taking this alley would cut the travel time from his apartment to the Mouri Detective Agency in half.
Once he had walked enough, Hoshimiya Yuu set off on foot for the Beika Gymnasium.
Upon arrival, he bumped into Suzuki Sonoko right outside the entrance.
"Mr. Hoshimiya, over here, over here~"
Seeing Hoshimiya Yuu, Suzuki Sonoko immediately jumped up and waved to signal him.
After they met up, Suzuki Sonoko led Hoshimiya Yuu to the Mouri family waiting by the entrance.
Perhaps because today was very important to Ran, Eri Kisaki and Mouri Kogoro, who had been separated for years and were constantly bickering, were thankfully not arguing upon meeting.
However, they still weren't giving each other pleasant looks.
Ran was constantly trying to mediate between them, attempting to fix her parents' relationship.
Watching her careful demeanor made Hoshimiya Yuu feel exhausted.
"Auntie Eri, Uncle Mouri, let me introduce you."
Suzuki Sonoko was long accustomed to this atmosphere and, completely unconcerned, pulled Hoshimiya Yuu forward to introduce him.
"This is our new Health and P.E. teacher, Hoshimiya Yuu."
It was then that Hoshimiya Yuu saw the most popular Oba-san in the Conan World, the undefeated Queen of the Legal World—Eri Kisaki.
Compared to his fuzzy memories, the real Eri Kisaki was even more stunning.
Eri Kisaki had, for once, not worn a business suit but a light purple dress.
Her brown hair was styled in a bun behind her head, revealing a delicate and flawless face.
She wore open-toed high heels and stood perfectly upright beside Ran.
Even the conservative, loose-fitting dress couldn't hide her stunning figure.
Mother and daughter shared a seven-tenths resemblance, but compared to Ran's youthful vitality, Eri Kisaki leaned toward mature sexiness.
Eri Kisaki, nearly forty, was impeccably maintained, looking exactly like an alluring woman in her early twenties.
Yet, every gesture was filled with the captivating charm and allure only a mature, married woman could possess, like a perfectly ripe peach.
While Hoshimiya Yuu was observing Eri Kisaki, she was also examining this "Hoshimiya Nii-san" whom her daughter hadn't stopped talking about today.
They had only known each other for two days, yet Ran was already so concerned about him.
She noted that Ran rarely brought up the Kudou boy, even though they had known each other for over a decade.
The young man before her had neat black tousled hair, a handsome face, and a slender build.
Purely based on looks, he might not surpass a top male star, but he wasn't far off.
The young man's deep red eyes reflected her graceful figure, filled with admiration, amazement, and an easily missed hint of affection.
Eri Kisaki didn't find this strange; she was well aware of her own charm.
What was strange was that while Eri Kisaki usually felt discomfort and repulsion toward such gazes, she felt none when facing Hoshimiya Yuu. Instead, there was a subtle sense of pleasure.
It was the feeling of a woman dressing up for someone who appreciates her.
Eri Kisaki was startled by her own thought and quickly banished the strange idea.
Actually, it wasn't strange at all. Humans were visual creatures; being admired and liked by a handsome young man was completely different from being leered at by an ugly man.
Ran had also said many good things about Hoshimiya Yuu in front of her earlier. Combined with Eri Kisaki herself being at a sexually vibrant age and having been abstinent for many years…
Her lack of aversion and even subtle pleasure toward Hoshimiya Yuu was completely normal.
At the same time, a prompt sounded in Hoshimiya Yuu's mind.
[Successfully interacted with Eri Kisaki with Goodwill. Draw count +1.]
"Mr. Hoshimiya, this is Ran's mother, Eri Kisaki. She's the famous Attorney Kisaki, you know."
"As for Uncle Mouri, you already met him yesterday, so I won't introduce him."
Suzuki Sonoko was still enthusiastically introducing him, more proactively than Ran herself.
Mouri Kogoro paused and said nothing, implicitly agreeing with Suzuki Sonoko.
In reality, he had been drinking heavily last night and had no recollection of Hoshimiya Yuu.
But since Suzuki Sonoko said so, he couldn't very well admit that he was that drunk at home, otherwise, he would definitely be ridiculed mercilessly by Eri Kisaki.
He couldn't stand that humiliation.
At this moment, hearing the System reward notification, Hoshimiya Yuu's lips curved slightly.
Sure enough, interacting with Eri Kisaki could grant a talent draw opportunity.
His reasons for coming today, besides continuing to farm Ran's goodwill and asking Suzuki Sonoko for money, were primarily to acquire more talent draw counts.
Since this final was so important to Ran, both Eri Kisaki and Mouri Kogoro were bound to be present.
Although he didn't understand why his interaction with Mouri Kogoro last night didn't count, it didn't stop Hoshimiya Yuu from trying again.
With all his initial objectives achieved, Hoshimiya Yuu was in a good mood and greeted them with a smile.
"Attorney Kisaki, Detective Mouri."
Eri Kisaki also composed herself and nodded slightly. "Mr. Hoshimiya, pleased to meet you. Thank you for looking after my daughter these past couple of days."
"Huh?"
Briefly confused, Hoshimiya Yuu quickly realized that Ran must have told Eri Kisaki about him helping her with the sleep-inducing massage.
"It was nothing, just a small matter. Besides, Suzuki-san paid me for it."
After a moment of feigned humility, he turned his gaze to Suzuki Sonoko. "Isn't that right, Suzuki-san? You promised me your family's masseur's daily wage, remember?"
Suzuki Sonoko covered her face. "Wow, Mr. Hoshimiya, you actually remembered! Here, here, here, I'll give it to you now."
She casually pulled out a few Fukuzawa Yukichi bills, didn't bother to count them, and handed them directly to Hoshimiya Yuu.
Hoshimiya Yuu accepted them matter-of-factly.
Eri Kisaki and Ran, watching this, not only didn't judge him but became even more curious about him.
It was earned income, legal and reasonable, and Suzuki Sonoko had offered it herself.
That was the logic, but very few people could actually do it.
Especially in public, in front of beautiful women, how many men suffer because they prioritize saving face?
Hoshimiya Yuu, however, seemed completely unbazed.
"Hmm, Ran was right. Mr. Hoshimiya is truly a… well, a principled person."
Eri Kisaki covered her mouth and chuckled, her beautiful purple eyes curving into crescent moons.
"Principled, you say…"
Hoshimiya Yuu repeated the word softly, not refuting it, and shrugged. "Perhaps."
"Alright, Ran needs to go prepare, and we should head to the stands," Mouri Kogoro, who hadn't managed to get a word in, said impatiently.
"Dad, wait a minute. Shinichi hasn't arrived yet."
Ran checked the time. "We still have some time, let's wait a little longer."
"Has that kid forgotten about your finals today?"
Mouri Kogoro, watching Hoshimiya Yuu interacting harmoniously with Eri Kisaki, felt immensely irritated. He just wanted to get inside quickly and separate Eri Kisaki and Hoshimiya Yuu.
In this moment, he seemed to forget his own habitual behavior of flirting with and being ambiguous with women.
He could completely disregard Eri Kisaki's feelings, but he couldn't stand seeing her enjoy herself with another man in front of him, especially one who was handsomer and younger than him.
[Successfully interacted with Mouri Kogoro with Jealousy. Draw count +1]