Chapter 333: Engagement Celebration

After some laughter and greetings, everyone changed into slippers under Kaoru Kusano's hospitality and entered the room.

While admiring the interior of the house, Ran couldn't help but look curiously at Kaoru Kusano beside her and asked, "Um... is Yoko-san's friend Miss Kusano, then? Does that mean..."

Ran turned her head and glanced at Osamu Kenzaki, leaving her meaning unspoken.

"That's right, it's just like that," Kaoru Kusano answered, unabashedly, as she walked up to Osamu Kenzaki, hugged his arm, and smiled sweetly. "We've decided to have our wedding next spring."

"Although it hasn't been officially announced in the media yet, it's only a matter of time," Osamu Kenzaki added with a smile.

"I remember Miss Kusano appeared in Mr. Kenzaki's show 'Detective Samonji' right? Could it be that the two of you bonded over that?"

In an era where computers weren't prevalent, the only type of media that could capture Senichi's attention was detective-themed productions, and coincidentally, this detective show that both of them acted in was one of Senichi's favorites. Hence, the question.

"That's right!" Just then, a woman with long brown hair walked out. "So, one of the activities at our party tonight is to watch 'Detective Samonji' together and tease these two while offering our blessings to this enviable couple."

"Wow! It's Yuki Takeno! I didn't expect you to be here!" Ran exclaimed with delight upon seeing her.

"Hey, long time no see." Osamu Kenzaki smiled and greeted her with an outstretched hand, when he noticed her raised hand. "By the way, your nail art is as glamorous as ever, Yuki."

"Hehe, isn't my new nail art quite nice?" Yuki Takeno laughed and extended her hand to show off her freshly done nails.

Her nails were a bright red, a classic nail polish color, but what really impressed Osamu Kenzaki wasn't the color but the length of her nails.

Yuki Takeno had long nails, approximately a centimeter past her fingertips, with a sharp, pointed tip. They looked extravagant but harmonious when combined with her hands.

"Well... it's a bit of a pity," Kogoro Mouri commented as he looked at Yoko Okino beside him, then at Kaoru Kusano and Yuki Takeno. "Now, we're missing just one person to have everyone here..."

"Hehe, it seems like someone's calling for me,"

Just as Kogoro Mouri was expressing his thoughts, a woman's voice suddenly sounded from behind him. When Kogoro Mouri turned around to look, he saw a woman with a cigarette in her mouth approaching from the doorway.

She had her hair tied in relatively short braids and was dressed in a black blouse with a women's suit jacket draped over her shoulders. With the cigarette in her mouth, she exuded a strong and handsome aura.

"Terumi Hoshino!"

Yoko Okino greeted the newcomer with a delighted wave. "Long time no see! You're here!"

"Wow, Big Sis Terumi is here too!" Kaoru Kusano welcomed her with a smile.

"Yeah, Yoko specially asked me to come, no matter how busy I am," Terumi replied casually upon hearing her words. "If it's inconvenient for you, I can leave."

"How could that be possible? Welcome!" Kaoru Kusano pushed Terumi inside while still smiling and said, "This is a rare gathering of our EARTH LADIES~"

"EARTH LADIES?" Conan, who was nearby, heard their conversation and asked curiously.

"Hehe, a little kid like you wouldn't know" Kogoro Mouri, taking on the role of a senior, explained to Conan, "It's something from a long time ago.

Miss Kaoru Kusano represents the boundless and fragrant grasslands.

Miss Yuki Takeno represents the pure white snow on the mountain peaks.

Miss Terumi Hoshino represents the sparkling stars in the night sky.

And Miss Yoko Okino represents the shimmering blue ocean with its glimmering waves."

With that, Kogoro Mouri had a proud expression on his face and an expression that was slightly nauseating as he continued, "This is the 'Earth's Ladies group- EARTH·LADIES,' a dreamy group made up of four members!"

"Ha... so their names are symbolizing different natural beauty spots on Earth," Conan mumbled, rolling his eyes and silently critiquing Kogoro Mouri's enthusiastic fanboy behavior, "He's already a grown man, and he still can't act mature..."

But while Conan was internally critiquing, Senichi, who had been observing the group, was silently thankful for Kogoro Mouri's explanation.

Once he entered the room, Senichi's heightened sense of smell remained active, alert for potential scents of blood, poison, dangerous substances, and the like. Simultaneously, he observed and gained a preliminary understanding of the direct interactions and relationships among the people.

For instance, the relationship between Yuki Takeno and Osamu Kenzaki appeared to be quite good. Details such as Osamu Kenzaki calling her "Yuki" when greeting her and discussing her nails suggested that they were familiar with each other. These were typical behaviors between acquaintances.

On the other hand, although Kaoru Kusano and Osamu Kenzaki were a couple, their public displays of affection seemed somewhat awkward. For example, when Kaoru Kusano hugged Osamu Kenzaki, he appeared entirely passive, as if he didn't dare to make any movements.

If Ayako hugged Senichi's arm, he would naturally reach out and touch her hand. Even if they later felt shy with the position and let go, these brief moments of intimacy happened naturally and subconsciously.

However, Osamu Kenzaki, apart from that one instance of arm-hugging, showed no signs of intimacy. Typically, men would take the initiative in physical contact, and Osamu Kenzaki didn't seem like the type who required the woman to be more forward.

Thanks to his focused concentration, combined with Senichi's powers of observation, microexpressions, and the body language of all parties involved, Senichi was able to deduce so much information from this short moment of interaction.

Of course, not all information needed to be deduced in such an exhausting manner. For instance, the strained relationship between Kaoru Kusano and Terumi Hoshino could easily be discerned from their conversation.

Subsequently, Yuki Takeno confirmed this when she mentioned their previous disagreements. The "EARTH·LADIES" had disbanded due to their arguments, leaving only Yoko Okino still singing, while the others pursue different career paths.

However, based on their later conversations, it seemed that both parties had moved past their past quarrels. And the reason Senichi was grateful for Kogoro Mouri's explanation was that it triggered his memory of the general plot of this case, combined with the information that Osamu Kenzaki and Kaoru Kusano might have a fake engagement.

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