Before long, everyone—whether happy or not so happy—had climbed into Professor Agasa's Beetle.
The car set off, heading toward the fresh-aired suburbs.
Haibara Ai watched them leave, then turned to head back inside alone. She looked up at the spacious house and suddenly felt how empty it was. Just then, her phone vibrated with a new message.
Haibara Ai paused, opened her phone, and found that the message had actually come from Jiang Xia, who had just left:
[I guessed your cold would get worse, so I contacted Ran in advance and asked her to take care of an elementary school student who was sick and home alone.
[She'll be coming to pick you up soon. Pack your things beforehand. The Mouri Detective Agency is very safe. Remember to stay with Ran at all times.]
Haibara Ai: "...?"
Although she looked like a child, Jiang Xia should have known that she was actually an adult. A minor illness like a cold did not need anyone else's care.
Although Mouri Ran's personality and long black hair always reminded her of her sister, and being around Mouri Ran felt comfortable... she still should not trouble someone else.
Haibara Ai had intended to reply like that, but before she could send it, the screen refreshed, and the email destroyed itself.
"?!"
Haibara Ai's heart skipped a beat. Then she realized that this was probably one of those "burn after reading" settings Jiang Xia had tinkered with...
"Jiang Xia likes this feature a lot, but he rarely uses it when sending me ordinary emails." Haibara Ai pondered. "Could the contents of this email actually need to be kept secret?... Is there something else going on behind this arrangement?"
With that thought in mind, she had no choice but to get her somewhat foggy, cold-addled