[Lord of Mysteries]

  [Obtained Sequence 9 Potion: Marauder]

  "Not bad. My diary rewards are still only giving me Sequence 9 potions."

  "But with this 'Marauder' potion, I've now pleted the three foundational paths of the Lord of Mysteries."

  The road to the Lord of Mysteries had been id before him.

  Now, all he had to do was keep walking down that path.

  Ren wasn't particurly surprised.

  He picked up the bottle and dows tents in one gulp.

  As always, the taste was absolutely terrible.

  But this time, after ing the Marauder potion, somethi different.

  A tingliion spread through his wrists and fingers.

  The skin on his palms and fingers began to crack, peeling away to reveal new skin underh.

  The freshly grown skin was as smooth and soft as a newborn's.

  His hands were no longer rough like a worker's, they had bee slender, pale, and delicate, almost feminine in their refi.

  "…So this is the perk of being a Marauder?"

  Unlike Seer and Apprentice, which focused on perception and adaptability, the Marauder relied oerity and finesse.

  This ge made his hands unbelievably flexible.

  "These hands could probably be used for a hand modeling career."

  Ren chuckled at the thought.

  Of course, that wasn't happening. Even if he got a job, being a hand model wasn't in the cards.

  "No wohey say a thief's hands are their most important tool. That wasn't just a figure of speech."

  Now that he had firsthand experience, he uood why master thieves were said to have such refined hands.

  Beyond the physical transformation, he also gained a new sense of judgment.

  He picked up the Maple Leaf gold he had acquired earlier.

  Aside from its natural golden shine, a faint blue glow now surrou.

  It was as if his vision had been enhao highlight valuable objects.

  "…This is pretty useful."

  If he ever came across items of unknown value, this ability would allow him to judge their worth at a gnce.

  Whether in aimes or the modern era, an ability that reveals hidden value is always in demand.

  "If this were an ordinary world, I could probably turn this into some 'I have goldeype of story."

  The thought amused him.

  Ren smiled and shook his head.

  But now, there was another issue—Ran.

  "…It's been two days. What exactly happehat made her take two days off?"

  "Should I che her?"

  It was unusual.

  Ran taking two days off from school was a sign that something was wrong.

  With that in mind, he pulled out his tarot ded performed a reading.

  Nine of Wands, Seven of Pentacles, Two of Wands.

  "…Huh?"

  He stared at the results in surprise.

  "Shinichi suffered a serious head injury, a massive lie, and… disappoi?"

  "…Did Shinichi lie to Ran because of special circumstances, and now she's deeply disappointed?"

  "…Wait. Did Ran find out that Shinichi faked his death?"

  That shouldn't have happened.

  Under normal circumstances, something like that should have been impossible.

  A high school student turning into aary schooler? It was too absurd to believe.

  Ran never even sidered the possibility before because it was simply unbelievable.

  And with Yusaku and Yukiko c for Shinichi, she shouldn't have been able to find out.

  Unless…

  She learhe truth from another source.

  Ren looked down at his diary.

  "…I see."

  "It looks like my guess was right. Ran really has the diary."

  He took a deep breath.

  "Which means… there are now three firmed diary holders."

  "Shinomiya Kaguya, Sanzenin Nagi, and Mouri Ran."

  "They all have something in on, they're the heroines of their respective stories."

  "And now, their life trajectories are shifting because of the diary."

  "Well, we know this for sure with Kaguya. As fi and Ran, it's still uain."

  He hadn't had any direct tact with Sanzenin Nagi yet.

  But Ran's situation was already exposed.

  If her life had deviated from its inal course, he could firm it with another reading.

  He shuffled the tarot deck again and pulled three more cards.

  The Star (Upright), Justice (Reversed), The Lovers (Reversed).

  "…Yikes."

  These results were bad.

  "Tsk, tsk… Shinichi, you really messed up this time."

  All three cards indicated a massive breakdown iionships.

  "The fallout from the deception was too big."

  "The diary's influen Rao be far greater than I expected."

  "…So her two-day absence was her respoo Shinichi?"

  "…Then, did Shinichi still move into the Mouri household?"

  The first two readings were already messy, but curiosity pushed him to perform o divination.

  High Priestess (Reversed), The Queen of Pentacles (Upright), Wheel of Fortune (Reversed).

  "…Oh."

  "A selfish pn was uncovered, he successfully moved into the Mouri household, but the pn pletely fell apart."

  "Did Ran… move out and start living with Kisaki Eri?"

  "…Shinichi, your pn is in shambles."

  Re out a low chuckle.

  This rime drama.

  But Ran's decision wasn't surprising at all.

  If she had figured out that Shinichi wasn't dead, and if she had realized that he deliberately moved into her house for selfish reasons, then it was pletely logical for her to leave.

  "Ran is still a kind person."

  "She didn't expose Shi identity."

  "Instead, she chose to remove herself from the situation and live with her mother for now."

  "Holy, that was the best possible choice for her."

  "…Though Kudo might not see it that way."

  Meanwhile, in the Mouri household, in Ran's former room, a bespectacled elementary schooler sat alone.

  "Ah…"

  Gazing out at the moon, Edogawa —formerly Kudo Shinichi—was deep in thought.

  Everything had backfired on him.

  He had disguised himself as a child so he could stay close to Ran.

  But in the end…

  His own pn had driven her away.

  "…I should have sidered how Ran would react if she believed I had died."

  The two of them had grown up together.

  Of course his "death" would impact her deeply.

  But what he hadn't expected was for that impact to explode in his face she discovered the truth.

  "In the end… Ran knows me too well."

  If they hadn't been so close, she might have been able to accept things more easily.

  But because of how well she knew him, it was impossible for her to ig.

  "…Well, I just hope she e to terms with it soon."

  "For now, I o focus on iigating the anization."

  But as he thought about his current situation, let out a sigh.

  The Mouri Detective Agency wasly the most promising pce for an iigation.

  "…Yeah. I really o e up with a new pn."