The Naive Girl and Her Rotten Best Friend

Fujino felt that what Koizumi Akako said always gave people the feeling of a fortune teller. She was talking about myths, but she could still make people feel a special sense of identification with her.

But unlike those con artists, the woman before me is truly a genuine witch...

The witch quit fortune telling and switched to being a fortune teller.

Because she was a witch, Fujino trusted Koizumi Akako more.

However, as an atheist, he had no feeling about the concept of God.

If there truly is a God in this world, it might be the Grand Unified Equation of the Universe.

But this is the Conan World, so it's really hard to say.

That Aoyama Gosho might actually be a god.

Then, Fujino became curious about what kind of god Koizumi Akako saw in the eyes of this witch, and asked curiously, "So what exactly is a god, and is it related to witches?"

"God is God, like the gods in mythology. They might be powerful ancient life forms or civilizations. After all, we are not in the same system. We witches and the gods of our inheritors don't have much connection."

Koizumi Akako pondered, "Regarding your lineage, although I couldn't find more detailed information about that organization, not even its name, I did organize the records of us Red Magic and came up with some general guesses."

"That Assassin Organization was built around the inheritors of God. Using the power of their own inheritance, they fought against the Holy See for thousands of years. Because of the advantages of the inheritors, they lasted longer than we witches. However, now they may have been completely wiped out by the Holy See, just like us witches. Perhaps a small number of them have gone into hiding like me."

"One of our Red Witches once speculated that the inheritors of the gods are those who have inherited the bloodline of the gods, and generally possess extraordinary intelligence and superior physical constitution... People's sixth sense and precognitive dreams may be caused by having the bloodline of the gods."

Hongzi rested her head on the pillow and explained softly, "But that's not important. What's important is that if that's the case, I think what you've obtained is the inheritance of that organization's god. To be more specific, it's—the moon goddess Minerva."

Fujino accepted the fact that he had inexplicably become the successor of the Goddess.

After all, he had only half-heartedly allowed the witch to investigate.

Now that it's been found out, we can't just throw away the bowl after we've finished eating, can we?

Moreover, becoming the successor of the Goddess makes it easier for the other party to accept one's identity.

"Oh, right, Valentine's Day is in a couple of days!"

After finishing their business, Koizumi Akako added meaningfully, "Would you like me to make you a piece of chocolate myself? My chocolates are really delicious~"

"Forget it, I wouldn't dare accept chocolate from the witch."

"It would be terrible if some kind of magic was cast."

"Tsk! How could you, blessed by the Goddess, be affected by magic... Never mind, I'm going to sleep!"

The call ended, Fujino glanced at the time; they had been chatting until eleven o'clock without realizing it.

Valentine's Day is February 14th, but today looks like February 8th.

Actually, it's been a few days, who knows?

"The Holy See, Assassin Organization..."

Fujino put his phone in his pocket, started the car again, and began to think.

If Koizumi Akako's conjecture is correct, then this legend sounds more and more like a certain creed.

God is the first civilization to appear on Earth, the Assassin Organization is the pioneers, and the Holy See is the Templar Knights.

Given the Templar Knights' desire for a perfect world and their extreme ideology of control, it's entirely plausible that they would go so far as to hunt down cute witch girls...

The Pandora's Gem that Kuroba Kaito mentioned, which could grant immortality, is very similar to the relics of the Forerunners.

Could it be that fraternities really exist in this world?

However, he doesn't intend to delve into it further; he'll just treat it as a story.

If that's true, it will cause a lot of trouble.

If it's fake, that's even better; nothing will happen.

The next day, snow fell silently.

The snowflakes are hexagonal in shape, pure white, and shimmer with a silvery light under the sunlight.

Valentine's Day is almost here...

Fujino turned to look out the window, rested his chin on his hand, and sighed deeply.

The classroom was bustling with noise, almost everyone was discussing Valentine's Day.

For example, is there anyone you want to give chocolates to, or someone you like?

After all, they were still high school students, and they were always unusually enthusiastic about their budding romance.

"Ran, Valentine's Day is in two days!"

Sonoko teased Ran as always, "If you ask me, you're probably going to give Kudo that heartfelt chocolate again this year, right?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Sonoko."

Ran blushed slightly. "It's just a regular obligatory chocolate..."

"Whoosh~"

Sonoko blew on her breath, looking gossipy. "You always give me plain homemade chocolates every year, right?"

"And what about you, Sonoko?"

Ran blushed at his words and retorted, "Do you have any chocolates you want to give as a gift? You're probably just buying whatever's too much trouble, like you always do in previous years, right?"

"Well..."

This time, Sonoko was a little shy. She hesitated for a moment, then changed the subject, saying, "Anyway, do you want to come with me to the Fukutō Sansō Villa, which is deep in the mountains outside the city, tomorrow?"

"A mountain villa in the suburbs?"

Ran asked in confusion, "What are you going to do deep in the mountains?"

"Of course we're going to see the snow!"

Sonoko said in a serious tone, "The scenery there is really beautiful when it snows, and there are also many cute little animals!"

"Small animals?"

Ran blinked, clearly showing some interest.

"That's right, that's right! You can even hear all sorts of small animal calls at night!"

"..."

Fujino glanced at the two people not far away and fell silent.

That wicked best friend is fooling that naive young girl again.

What are the sounds of small animals?

One glance at the Sonoko reveals a thimble, a snow leopard, and a relic, right?

I could believe you if you said Northeast China, but what kind of animals could possibly be in the outskirts of Tokyo, this crappy place?

You probably won't even see a silly roe deer.

After school, the Ford Taurus drove through the snow-covered streets.

"What Valentine's Day...?"

Conan leaned against the car window, gazing at the bustling crowds in the shops along the street. "This kind of boring holiday is probably the happiest thing for these chocolate merchants."

"You can't say that!"

Sitting to the side, Mitsuhiko retorted, "The person who receives the chocolate will be just as happy!"

"That means I'd be very happy to receive delicious chocolate!"

Genta couldn't help but chime in, then looked at Conan and said, "I think you're only saying this because you don't get any chocolate."

'Heh... you little devils who collect chocolates aren't even born yet!'

Conan gave a deadpan look and didn't say anything more to the group of kids.

What a joke! Kudo Shinichi receives a ton of chocolates every Valentine's Day!

Now, at most, I'll just receive a consolation prize from Ran, a childishly designed item.

It's all the fault of those bastards in Black Organization!

Thinking of this, his fist suddenly hardened.

Ai Haibara, sitting in the passenger seat. "..."

It's really baffling.

Why does this guy always act so childish and sulk over some weird things?

However, this time she's on Conan's side.