Chapter 71 – With a Classmate's Mother at the One Day Hotel (Patreon)

As some of you may already know, this novel was blocked and removed from Webnovel. I’m currently uploading it again under the new title I’m An Incubus with A Lewd Ability Every Day!

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Thank you for continuing to support the novel despite everything that happened.

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The Yukinoshita family!

Akemi had, of course, heard the name before.

Back when she worked at the bank, the Yukinoshita family's affiliated companies had been some of their biggest loan clients. As one of the country's real estate giants, the Yukinoshita family commanded immense wealth and influence.

She knew perfectly well—she was just an ordinary person.

On her own, even if she changed her face and identity, she'd never be able to evade the Black Organization's pursuit.

But if she could secure the Yukinoshita family's protection...

That, at the very least, would give the Black Organization pause. Enough to keep herself alive.

Maybe even...

If she could steadily build up power, there might be a chance to save her sister from the Organization's grasp.

Of course.

She was also well aware of what she brought to the table.

Aside from the one billion yen she'd stolen, the only thing she had left... was herself.

"Mrs. Yukinoshita—I truly am deeply sorry for dragging Kouma-kun into something so dangerous..."

"If there's anything at all I can do to cooperate, I will give it everything I have."

Akemi looked at the commanding, elegant woman before her, her expression grave.

Mrs. Yukinoshita narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, sizing Akemi up.

Black hair reaching her waist. An innocent, pure-featured face. A beige dress. Flesh-toned pantyhose...

Well, her looks and figure definitely passed muster.

"Have you ever been in a relationship?"

Mrs. Yukinoshita's calm question caught Akemi completely off guard.

Huh? That's the first question?

Confused, Akemi paused for a beat, then answered honestly.

"No, I've never been in a relationship."

"And your family situation?"

"All that's left... is my little sister."

"How old is your sister?"

"She just turned eighteen last month."

She'd been expecting an interrogation of a far more severe nature. Her entire rhythm had been thrown off; she was visibly flustered.

After that, Mrs. Yukinoshita asked her about her skills.

Akemi answered each question in turn, and the proceedings finally began to feel somewhat more normal.

"An ordinary person with not much in the way of specialized training..."

Having finished her questions, Mrs. Yukinoshita's beautiful eyes flickered thoughtfully.

If Kouma was the one who brought her home, then she could be trusted.

Ordinary, yes—but that also made her more controllable.

And as someone who'd once worked at the ground level of a criminal syndicate, she'd likely have a higher tolerance for the darker sides of society anyway.

As it happened, Mrs. Yukinoshita had been building up a force loyal exclusively to the Yukinoshita family of late. This Akemi could certainly be added to the candidate list.

Half an hour later.

Akemi stepped out of Mrs. Yukinoshita's study.

"So? Did she say yes, Akemi-nee?"

Kouma, waiting in the living room, poked his head out the moment he saw her emerge.

Akemi nodded, her expression still a little dazed.

Mrs. Yukinoshita had agreed to give her shelter.

She'd even promised to help her rescue her sister someday.

The condition: she had to work for the Yukinoshita family.

Akemi accepted gladly.

Compared to the Black Organization, the Yukinoshita family was, at the very least, a legitimate financial conglomerate.

Countless people begged for a chance to work at a Yukinoshita company and couldn't get in.

And on top of that, she wouldn't have to kill, set fires, or rob anyone.

As long as she didn't have to do those things—as long as she could get her sister out of the Organization—she'd do anything.

Akemi had come in with that very resolve. Yet the task Mrs. Yukinoshita assigned her was nothing particularly demanding.

"For now, you'll stay at Kouma-kun's side and attend to him. Report any situation to me directly."

Recalling those words now, Akemi looked at Kouma's handsome, well-behaved little face. A strange feeling rose inside her.

So... she was now Kouma's personal maid?

"Though... maybe this is a test?"

She'd heard that the wealthy and powerful liked to place people beside their family and friends first—test the waters, so to speak, before granting greater responsibilities.

Back when they were in Miyako's car, Miyako had mentioned that Kouma was only an adopted child of the Yukinoshita family.

But from the look of things, adopted or not, Mrs. Yukinoshita was clearly very fond of him.

No sooner had she stepped out of the study than a thought struck her.

"Mrs. Yukinoshita—we need to retrieve that cash as soon as possible. The two accomplices were killed by the Black Organization, but I did hire a private investigator earlier. I'm worried about... complications."

"Where is the money hidden?"

"In a room safe at the One Day Hotel," Akemi said.

"The Yukinoshita family holds a stake in the One Day Hotel. I'll make a call. You can go and retrieve it now."

Mrs. Yukinoshita's reply was direct.

Akemi blinked, slightly stunned.

She had deliberately told Mrs. Yukinoshita the location without offering to fetch it herself, hoping to avoid any suspicion that she might take the money and run.

She hadn't expected Mrs. Yukinoshita to trust her so readily.

Just then, a young voice piped up from the doorway.

"A detective? Which detective?"

Akemi looked down at Kouma and answered gently.

"Kogoro Mouri. A detective who's been making quite a name for himself lately..."

Kouma's eyes flickered with a glint of sharpness.

As he'd thought. It was Kogoro Mouri.

In this world, Ran spent most of her time living with Eri, which meant Kogoro poured more of his energy into his work. Conan didn't live at the Mouri Detective Agency, but with the inherent properties of a shinigami-grade elementary schooler, he still ran into Mouri at crime scenes often enough.

He already knew the man, and with a recommendation from Professor Agasa, Mouri regularly looked after Conan in daily life. Over time, the legend of the "Sleeping Kogoro" had come into being regardless.

"Auntie Yukinoshita—let me go with Akemi-nee," Kouma said.

Anywhere Kogoro and that pint-sized shinigami were lurking, the odds of something unexpected happening were high.

Better safe than sorry. Kouma figured tagging along himself was the right move.

Mrs. Yukinoshita met his eyes.

A trace of worry surfaced in her beautiful gaze. But Kouma had spoken up of his own accord, and she wasn't about to refuse.

"It's so late already. I can go alone..."

Akemi began gently, but before she could finish, Mrs. Yukinoshita cut her off.

"Let Kouma-kun go with you."

Mrs. Yukinoshita's voice was soft.

Akemi paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, Mrs. Yukinoshita."

"I'll take good care of Kouma... of the young master."

Akemi was already easing into her new role.

Soon after, Akemi drove a somewhat larger five-seater, ferrying Kouma toward the One Day Hotel.

The Yukinoshita family had its hands in many industries. But their strongest suit remained real estate. Through years of steady cultivation in that field, they'd grown into a titan.

Housing, hotels, shopping centers, even amusement parks—they had a stake in all of it. The One Day Hotel was one of the hotel properties the Yukinoshita family had co-developed.

The hotel catered primarily to the high-end market.

On an ordinary day, the driveway and entrance were lined with luxury cars.

Tonight, however, what sat parked out front were several police cruisers.

"Mouri-kun—are you absolutely certain the stolen billion is hidden in this hotel?"

"Come on, Megure-keibu—you still doubt my reasoning skills?"

"The robbers, before they tried to flee with the cash, rented a room here. There's a very good chance they stashed it here."

Kogoro thumped his chest in self-assurance.

Megure Juzo studied the opulent hotel lobby and felt a headache coming on.

The backers behind the One Day Hotel wielded tremendous power, and the people who stayed here were either wealthy or highly connected. Conducting a search would be difficult.

But it had already been several days since the billion yen was stolen. The two robbers they'd tracked down had both died under mysterious circumstances. If they didn't get results soon, he'd likely have to shoulder the blame.

Whatever the case, they'd search the place first.

"Sato-keiji, Takagi-keiji—go inside and start investigating," Megure said to the man and woman beside him.

"Yes, sir!"

At his words, Miwako Sato led Wataru Takagi toward the front desk with brisk, efficient strides.

Meanwhile, Kogoro turned to the contemplative child beside him.

"Hey, shouldn't you get Professor Agasa to come pick you up and take you home?"

His train of thought interrupted, Conan looked up. As he took in the One Day Hotel before him, something suddenly occurred to him.

"Oh, I just remembered—my mom... I mean, a cousin of mine is actually staying at this hotel right now. Don't worry about me, Mouri-ossan. I'll just go find her later."

Kogoro glanced at the lavish hotel lobby, then back at Conan with a look of deep skepticism.

"For real? Your cousin's staying at a place like this? Her family must be loaded."

"She is... pretty well-off, yeah."

Conan laughed awkwardly.

The "cousin" part was a lie. The money part was true.

His mom had been a nationally famous actress back in the day. Of course she had money.

Even after being out of the spotlight for years, the first thing she'd done upon returning to Japan was book a room at a luxury hotel like this.

"Must be nice... I've never even stayed at a place like this."

Shaking his head wistfully, Kogoro ambled into the hotel.

Smile still plastered on his face, Conan followed him in, though his gaze swept the surroundings with practiced alertness.

He quietly edged closer to the front desk, eavesdropping on Sato-keiji's conversation with the staff.

At the same time.

In the hotel's underground parking garage.

The hotel manager, a woman in sharp, immaculate makeup, was staring intently at the entrance.

A black SUV slowly pulled in. The manager squinted to confirm the license plate. A gleam of recognition lit up her eyes.

"That's the one."

The moment the vehicle came to a stop, she hurried forward. Sweeping a quick glance over Akemi and Kouma as they stepped out, she lowered her head respectfully.

"Everything has been arranged by Mrs. Yukinoshita. Please, follow me."

Akemi hesitated briefly.

"Let's go, Akemi-nee," Kouma said.

The two of them followed the manager into a concealed elevator.

"This elevator bypasses the front desk. It goes directly to the restaurant on the sixth floor."

With people constantly coming and going, emerging from the restaurant would indeed draw far less attention.

Akemi marveled inwardly.

This was the advantage of having the massive Yukinoshita family's backing.

No matter what you did, you had support.

"Here's a universal room key, and our staff uniform."

The manager produced a card and a brand-new set of clothes.

Akemi took the uniform. She was just about to change into it when she suddenly remembered the little boy still standing in the elevator with her.

"Kouma-kun's just a child... what am I even thinking?"

Shaking her head, she pushed the strange feeling aside and decisively began changing into the hotel uniform.

Naturally, Kouma politely lowered his gaze.

It was then that he noticed the compact pistol still strapped to Akemi's thigh.

Akemi peeled the flesh-toned stockings down from her long legs, then slowly, smoothly sheathed those lambskin-fair limbs in sheer black—a process Kouma unavoidably witnessed in its entirety.

With her uniform changed and her waist-length black hair coiled up and pinned at the back of her head, Akemi's entire aura was transformed. At a glance, even someone fairly familiar with her would struggle to recognize her.

"These are dedicated comms. If anything comes up, just call directly."

The manager handed them each an earpiece-sized device.

Kouma and Akemi took the earpieces and stepped out of the elevator.

Pushing open the hidden door, they emerged into the restaurant's supply room.

Nearby sat a hotel housekeeping cart, the kind used to swap out linens and bathroom supplies.

"The room is on the tenth floor."

Pushing the cart, Akemi exited the supply room. Kouma followed alongside her.

As they passed through the restaurant, Kouma suddenly heard a familiar, delighted cry.

"Kouma-kun?"

His steps slowed. He'd barely turned his head before he saw Yukiko in casual clothes, holding a tray and heading toward him, her face lighting up with pleasant surprise.

"Kouma-kun! What are you doing here?"

Overjoyed, Yukiko scooped him up with practiced ease. Drinking in the scent of him, sheer contentment filled her beautiful eyes.

"Yukiko-nee... your milk..."

Kouma watched helplessly as a glass of milk on Yukiko's tray tipped over with a wet smack and spilled right onto him.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry—I didn't notice!"

"Having milk dry on your skin feels awful and sticky. Just come to my room and take a bath, Kouma-kun."

Yukiko pressed a slender hand to her crimson lips, her tone deeply apologetic.

But Kouma couldn't shake the feeling that this woman had done it on purpose.

"Kouma-kun..."

Nearby, Akemi glanced over, a note of concern in her voice.

Kouma let out a long-suffering sigh, then turned to her.

"It's fine. Yukiko-nee is very good to me."

"Keep working, Akemi-nee. If anything comes up, just contact me."

Akemi nodded. Her eyes swept briefly over the stunningly beautiful older woman before she pushed her cart and departed.

"My, my—Kouma-kun knows one of the pretty ladies working at this hotel?"

Yukiko's tone carried an inexplicable note.

In that brief moment of eye contact, she'd caught the wariness in Akemi's gaze.

"This hotel is one of the Yukinoshita family's properties," Kouma said.

Yukiko paused, a delicate index finger slowly tracing across the little boy's lips.

"So... does that mean if I get a room here with Kouma-kun, I don't even have to pay?"

"Ah... no, you'd still have to pay."

"Yukiko-nee, I can walk on my own..."

"Don't worry about it—I'm not tired at all."

Not once loosening her grip, Yukiko carried the boy all the way back to her room.

"All right. I was the one who accidentally spilled milk all over your clothes, after all."

"So it's only right that I take responsibility... and give you a bath."

Yukiko nodded gravely, as if stating an indisputable fact.

At that moment.

The One Day Hotel lobby.

Sato-keiji and the others were still in the thick of negotiations with the front desk.

Conan hadn't spotted any clues in the lobby.

From the look of things, Sato-keiji's end was going to take a while yet.

"Mom's been staying here for a few days now... maybe she's noticed something."

The thought crossed his mind, but he didn't move.

Checking in with Yukiko could wait until the end. The priority right now was staying close to the front desk to see if they could uncover any key leads.

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