Ke Xue: I picked up a bottle of sherry at the beginning.

Hattori Heiji couldn't help but be dazzled, and the red leaves seemed particularly beautiful to him.

However, he will not be seduced by the beauty and forget the purpose of coming here.

"Is my room nice?"

"Well...it's really nice. It's much more luxurious than my wooden house."

"How about it? Do you want to marry me? Then you and I can live in this little castle that belongs only to the two of us."

"Come on, I'm still a sophomore in high school. How can I possibly get married so early? Even if you're just kidding, you should find a partner too."

Hongye wanted to say something, but was ruthlessly interrupted by Hattori Heiji.

"I don't want to waste any more time on nonsense. In order not to disturb Miss Hongye's rest, I will ask Miss Hongye questions directly."

Ooka Hongye curled the corner of her mouth and said, "Please ask."

"Mr. Nagoro Shikao's match records, such as video recordings, would be ideal, preferably including those from the last few months before his disappearance, as well as from the two to three years before his disappearance." Hattori Heiji put down his teacup, reviewed his needs, and then summarized. "Also, do you know if Mr. Nagoro suffered any physical or mental problems during that final period?"

"Yes," Ooka Momiji's expression, seemingly absorbed in Hattori Heiji, suddenly broke off. "Master's words were from April 1988, about a year before he disappeared. He was diagnosed with a moderately advanced brain cancer, with growths near the nerves involved in vision. With aggressive chemotherapy, he might have lived another 23 years, but his eyes wouldn't have survived that long with such intense treatment."

"So his playing style suddenly became incredibly aggressive?"

"Yes, because his precise and accurate fighting style used to be something he could achieve with ease, but later his eyesight gradually deteriorated, and he even made mistakes during the main competition that were impossible before. Due to this self-pity and frustration, his tolerance for the mistakes of the disciples in the club has become increasingly low..."

I see, such negative comments actually stem from such extreme situations.

"Yes, that's why even the most mild-mannered people find it difficult to maintain their composure." Ooka Momiji nodded. "But in the end, the chemotherapy showed no improvement, and his eye condition gradually worsened. As you may know, he challenged the Satsuki Clan and, the day before, he even visited them privately and challenged them to a private fight."

"What?" Hattori Heiji was surprised.

"The day before Master disappeared, he challenged Lady Satsuki to a private one-on-one duel," Ooka Momiji nodded. "It seems his intention was to prove his strength in a private duel, then deliberately lose the next day."

……

After asking all the questions he wanted to ask, Hattori Heiji walked away, not giving Momiji any chance to approach him.

There is no way, Hattori Heiji is like an iron tree, no matter how you water it, it just won't bloom.

Hattori Heiji returned to the tea room and immediately shared the information he had obtained with Conan and Shiro Quanyi.

"Is there such a thing?" Shiraizumi frowned. "You mean, theoretically, Nagoro Shikao and Lady Satsuki had a secret meeting before the competition, and then Nagoro disappeared?"

"That's right," Hattori Heiji nodded. "At least that's what 5.5 Momiji told me."

"If that's the case, we must meet President Achiha again, because then he will be the last person to see Nagoro." Conan said thoughtfully.

Just as they were about to visit President Achiha again the next day, Momiji, still wearing her kimono, walked out of the tea room.

"But it's already late, isn't it a bit too late to leave?" she reminded everyone with a smile. "My mansion has plenty of rooms for guests. Why don't you consider staying here for the night and then meeting the president tomorrow morning? I'm planning to go there soon, so I can have Iori drive us there."

Drinking with Ooka Momiji

Hattori Heiji immediately refused and said, "There's no need to trouble Ms. Ooka Momiji..."

Ikenami Shizuka, however, thought Ooka Momi was pretty good. She was pretty, polite, and came from a good family. It would be nice if she could become her daughter-in-law.

Ikebo Shizuka said, "Miss Ooka Kouye is so polite, we will respectfully obey your orders."

Since Ikenami Shizuka had said so, it was difficult for the others to refute her. Hattori Heiji was even more afraid to refute her, for fear that his mother would knock him away with a folding fan.

So, everyone moved into Ooka Momiji's house.

Ooka Momiji's house is very luxurious, even the guest rooms are no exception, comparable to a five-star hotel.

Qin Xuan and Conan are in the same room, Xiao Ai and Kazuha are in the same room, Yukiko and Shizuka are in the same room, and Hattori Heiji is in a room by himself.

Qin Xuan was lying on the bed, with Conan next to him.

Conan said, "There must be a reason why Ooka Momiji left Heiji in a room all to himself."

Qin Xuan said, "That's inevitable. Heiji might lose his chastity tonight."

"Not really..." Conan envied Heiji. Ooka Momiji was a beautiful girl no matter from which angle you looked at her. It would be nice to spend a night with such a lovely 27-year-old girl.

"Hehe... who knows?" If he were Hattori Heiji, he would definitely take Ooka Momiji without any scruples. However, according to Hattori Heiji's character...

late at night.

Hattori Heiji lay on the bed, still fast asleep.

Next to his bed, there was a window with no curtains drawn, and someone was looking at him from outside the window.

"Ooka Momiji sat on the lowest and thickest branch of the tree, staring at Heiji's sleeping face in a daze.

Is this probably the last chance? Although even now, there is no chance anymore. After all, by the time I see him again, it might be too late, right? If it were ten years earlier, maybe I would have had a chance.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise from below her. It was obvious that the other party could have come directly to her in a more covert way, but he deliberately made a noise to let her know.

If the sound of movement could even deceive my ears, then only Iori could do it!?

Hongye looked at Qin Xuan in surprise, who had an innocent expression, while Iori, who had an expressionless face, was following behind him.

As for why Qin Xuan was here, and why Iori followed him? It was simply because Shirazumi found Ooka Momiji sitting in a tree in his room. When he came here to check, he was spotted by Iori who was waiting nearby.

"Good evening, Ms. Ooka," Shiraizumi said, glancing in the direction Hongye had just been looking. "Excuse me, but..."

"You think I'm being too impolite, don't you?" Ooka Momiji regained her composure and took a deep breath. "Heiji will be back in Osaka anyway, so I won't have many chances to see him again. So I was thinking, why not take advantage of this moment to see him fully. Oh, and I hope Mr. Bai won't tell him about this, so I can just watch him alone for the rest of the night."

Tears gathered from her eyes and dripped onto the ground in front of Bai Quanyi.

The smell of a loser, this was Bai Quanyi's first reaction.

But why is this happening? Hattori Heiji probably didn't do anything too extreme, right?

"Huh?" Baiquanyi looked at Hongye in surprise, then turned to look at Iori. If he wanted to know why Hongye was crying, it would be easier to get the correct answer by asking the butler directly.

But of course, Iori didn't tell him anything either.

However, Hongye figured out the answer herself.

"You're probably curious, aren't you?" She tumbled down from the tree branch, which was only a little over a meter high, so it wasn't difficult for her. "Anyway, if you can keep it a secret, I can definitely tell you. After all, I'm really feeling down right now, and I desperately need someone to talk to.

"There's a bar right here at my house, do you want to come have a drink with me?"

In front of another building near the building with a thermal power generator that Bai Quanyi had seen before.

"Is there such a thing here?" Bai Quanyi was surprised when he saw what was revealed after the door in front of him was pulled aside.

What appeared before them was an elevator with its doors open.

"Yeah," Ooka Momiji, having adjusted her mood, nodded with a slightly smug look. "Although my family's ideas are rather conservative, the layout of this courtyard still gave me plenty of space. I was quite childish at the time, so I just wandered around the courtyard and made some fun things."

"Also, Iori, you don't have to follow."

"Yes." Iori's voice sounded in the darkness behind them.

Bai Quanyi took a last look at the butler hiding in the darkness behind him, and then followed Hongye into the elevator.

This is a hydraulic elevator, but its speed is faster than a normal hydraulic elevator, probably because of its special design.

"You seem only surprised that the elevator is here, not surprised that I have such a setup underground." Seeing Baiquanyi's calmed expression, Hongye curiously expressed her judgment. "Did you already know there was something underground?"

"I saw that pumping machine, and it seemed larger than the average landscaping machine." Shiraizumi Masu omitted the more complex and superhuman aspects of his analysis, opting for a more intuitive approach. "Plus, the Ooka family is such a wealthy family, so I'm wondering if your mansion might have some of those special luxuries of the wealthy."

"While it's true that only well-off families could build this, it's not something only the wealthy could afford." Hongye shook her head. "From what I recall, this underground complex isn't expensive and is quite practical. Rather than calling it a luxury, I'd rather consider it a place for daily leisure, like a family chess and card room."

"No, you're just flaunting your wealth," Bai Quanyi squinted. "For the average person, this is already a luxury. While it might be as commonplace as breathing to you, a completely everyday necessity, I think it's better for us to adopt the more universal principles of value."

"Well, no matter how you describe it, it won't change the objective properties of this building." Hongye accepted Baiquanyi's request without a care. "By the way, what kind of wine do you like to drink?"

"Dark beer."

With a roar, the elevator suddenly stopped, and the doors of the car slowly opened to the left and right.

A small and exquisite bar appeared before Baiquanyi and Hongye.

I'm a very unprincipled person.

Small and exquisite, with all the necessary organs, but what Bai Quanyi cares about most is

"You don't have to look around like that, do you?" Hongye looked at Baiquanyi, looking around, feeling a little amused. "Even though it's underground, it's just a personal project. The bar itself is nothing special compared to those real above-ground bars."

"I know. So I'm mainly thinking about another question. What exactly is going on in this underground place of yours? I mean, besides the bar, what else is there?"

Although the room is exquisite, its main feature is its artistic value.

"A lot," Ooka Momiji said, walking over to the bar's refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of ice wine with familiarity. "There's a swimming pool, a gym, a cold storage, a storage room. And then there's the ski slopes and the ice rink..."

"Skiing?" Shiraizumi almost choked to death at Ooka Momiji's menu. "No, what about a ski resort?"

"It's not a ski resort, just a ski run," Hongye said, seemingly dismissing the idea as unremarkable. "Kyoto doesn't snow very often, so it's definitely better to do it at home. But underground space is limited, so I built a narrow ski run. The skating rink can then be temporarily covered with snow to create a snowy surface when necessary."

"Uh..." Bai Quanyi felt the full malice of the privileged class. Even if he had the financial resources, he couldn't imagine such extravagant play. "Forget it, just pretend I didn't ask."

"Okay, take it quickly. The wine opener is on the table next to you. Pour it yourself. You can still finish a bottle like this, right?"

"It's just beer. But, seeing how many good bottles of wine you have at home, it would be a shame to have a stout."

"The price is not important. The only important thing is whether the quantity can be obtained in bulk." Ooka Hongye got herself a cocktail that had been prepared in advance.

"So price is really the last thing you care about," Bai Quanyi poured himself a glass of wine. "Is this the difference between the nouveau riche and the nobility?"

Ooka Momiji suddenly slammed the wine glass on the table, and Shiraizumi Mashi immediately stopped talking.

"Why are you envious of me?" Ooka Hongye gave a wry smile. "Are you envious of my family's wealth? But money can't buy everything."

"However, although I do understand your current mood, what is the reason for your sudden depression?" Bai Quanyi took a sip of wine and said leisurely. "What happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Ooka Hongye suddenly drank the wine in the glass in her hand.

"Judging from the fact that you showed up at the place where Kazuha and the others were practicing karuta, you should also know Queen Ikenami Shizuka, right?" Under Shiraizumi Masu's surprised gaze, Ooka Koye changed her previous gentle image and questioned in a loud voice.

"I do know her...but she doesn't have the temper of a queen as you said. Instead, she is a very gentle and traditional woman." Bai Quanyi corrected Ooka Hongye's misunderstanding.

"Really? If you're not going to give me a chance, why are you even showing up in front of me?" Ooka Momiji slammed the bottle even harder on the counter, yelling like a child in a tantrum. "You deliberately let me see you, then filled me with joy, and then let me discover the truth this way. Isn't that even more cruel than not giving me a chance at all?"

"No, this is just your misunderstanding!" Shiraizumi Masu grabbed Ooka Momiji's hand, "Calm down, did Hattori Heiji say something to you?"

"Yes... He showed a great deal of weariness towards me. I could hardly see any hope, even though I was trying so hard..."

Shiraizumi understood that Ooka Koha had gone to Hattori Heiji before, but he must have been sternly rejected. For a Japanese samurai woman like her, who had a smooth life, this seemingly ordinary setback was a huge blow.

Bai Quanyi didn't know what to say, so he picked up the glass and took a sip of beer.

At the same time, Bai Quanyi felt that his swivel chair was kicked by Hongye and turned towards her.

"Hmm?" Bai Quanyi put down his wine glass, but found that Hongye had crossed her legs and supported her chin with her hands. Her eyes, still red and tearful, contained a playful look.

"Bai Quanyi, I remember your name is this, right?" Hongye looked at Bai Quanyi with a playful smile, "Would you like some more?"

"No problem." Shiraizumi picked up the bottle of dark beer and prepared to pour himself another one, but he was stopped by Ooka Momiji.

"Don't hold that glass anymore. Drink straight from your mouth." Ooka Momiji, her face a bit flushed from the alcohol, gently placed her hand on Shiraizumi's glass. Then, as Shiraizumi looked at her in astonishment, she gently caressed his hand and gently brushed it aside. "I think this bottle mouth tastes good too. What do you think, Fu?"

Bai Quanyi glanced at the glossy edge of the bottle. Perhaps due to the action of drinking just now, the entire edge was covered with the lipstick that Hongye had applied tonight.

He turned his gaze back to Hongye, and the response he received was extremely bold.

"Anyway, I think you're pretty good," Hongye tilted her head slightly and looked at Baiquanyi with a smile. "What do you think of me?"

"So gentle, so cute... I can't understand why Hattori would reject you."

"Look carefully, you are much more handsome than Hattori..."

"Don't be like this. I'm a very unprincipled person. Even if I did something, I wouldn't take responsibility."

Bai Quanyi stopped Hongye's aggressive actions and reminded her to stay calm.

However, Hongye had no intention of remaining calm.

Then, Baiquanyi kissed Hongye.

Eat the red leaves of Ooka

Although Qin Xuan thought that Ooka Hongye was drunk and that was why she did such a ridiculous thing, Qin Xuan did not stop Ooka Hongye, but obeyed her wishes.

There is no reason to refuse the meat that is served to you.

As expected, after sobering up, Ooka Hongye cried. She should have given the precious thing to her future husband... but it was taken away by Shiraizumi Masu.

After being comforted by Shiraizumi Yoshi, Ooka Momiji regained her spirits.

Ooka Momiji is a cheerful woman, and she wouldn't be too upset by such a small matter...

"I didn't notice before, but my clothes are a little wet," Bai Quanyi said helplessly, pinching the collar of his casual long-sleeved shirt. "I should have asked you to turn down the air conditioner."

"No, I think it's because you're wearing too much," Ooka Momiji said, breaking with her usual formal attire and wearing only a kimono. "I even think the temperature is a little low."