"Seven-Color Glass Pancake," Xiangling announced, pointing to the second dish.
Conan stared at the pancake. Its yellow surface was covered with a riot of colorful ingredients, making it impossible to tell what anything was just by looking.
Wait, what are these weird ingredients? The red and orange were obviously ham and carrot, but what about the others? And… blue? What ingredient could possibly be blue? This looked even more dangerous than the grilled lizard from before.
"Here, see? This thin layer of egg wraps red ham, orange carrot, yellow frog meat, green lotus leaves, blue butterfly wings, and purple grapes… Ah, don't really want to try it?"
Conan froze. Did she just say butterfly wings?
The other three had no such qualms. The grilled lizard had tasted good, which gave them confidence for the next dish. And despite its colors, the Seven-Color Glass Pancake didn't look threatening to them; the kids eagerly dug in.
Sure enough, the taste didn't disappoint. Even with so many ingredients, the flavors blended perfectly. Everyone raved about it. Genta, especially, took a second piece immediately after finishing the first.
Conan, seeing the others' reactions, cautiously tried a bite himself. How could this be possible? So many random ingredients all mixed together, yet somehow it tasted amazing.
Xiangling watched the children with pride. "Well? Good, isn't it? Hehe, I see my cooking is winning you over~ Now it's time for you to try my latest creation—the final dish: Slime-Smooth Mushrooms. Ta-da!"
Conan looked at the transparent, gelatinous dish in front of him. Wait… this really isn't made from actual slime, right? It looks too much like it.
"Wow! So cool, it looks just like slime!" Genta exclaimed, scooping a spoonful.
"Wait!" Conan couldn't stop him in time. He had to watch anxiously as Genta tried the strange dish. "How does it taste?"
"It's… weird. A bit cold, slightly sweet, and slippery—like actually eating slime!" Genta struggled to describe the sensation.
Mitsuhiko and Ayumi were intrigued, and Conan, curious as well, each took a spoonful.
"Wow! It really does feel like slime!" they exclaimed together. "Xiangling, your cooking is amazing!"
Xiangling scratched her head, slightly embarrassed by the blunt praise. "Thank you! I'll keep working hard and make even tastier dishes," she said with a determined nod.
Conan couldn't help but roll his eyes, staring at the table of unique creations. You've already worked hard enough; most people couldn't even imagine cooking like this. And the Slime-Smooth Mushrooms… how she achieved both that texture and appearance, he had no clue. If slime actually existed in this world, he'd almost believe it was the raw ingredient.
Thinking that, he tugged gently at Xiangling's sleeve and asked innocently, "Xiangling, what's the ingredient for this final dish? Is it really slime?"
Xiangling laughed. "Haha, of course not! It's my secret recipe, so I can't tell anyone—strictly confidential~" She waved him off.
Mitsuhiko explained to Conan, "Conan, there's no slime in this world."
Ayumi added, "Yeah, Conan, you really believe slime exists?"
"Of course not. I—I was just asking," Conan said. He knew slime didn't exist. He was only trying to find out what the dish was made from. Since Xiangling refused, there was nothing he could do. It wasn't crucial, but his curiosity was left unsatisfied.
Paimon: [Traveler, that must be made with Slime Condensate, right?]
Natsuyu, watching Xiangling's awkward smile, replied: "Yes. It's made using the Slime Condensate you get from quests and wishes."
Paimon and Natsuyu both sighed. [Sigh—]
Meanwhile, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, most of the Violent Crimes Division was busy processing the records from the Shinkansen bomb incident from a few days ago.
Although the case had been resolved, and the bomb safely defused without casualties, there were still many materials to handle: witness statements, criminal transaction records, the bomb's origin, and so on.
"Knock, knock."
"Come in," Inspector Megure called, opening the door.
"Matsuda, what brings you here? Is something wrong?" Megure asked, surprised by the sudden visit.
Matsuda had been temporarily assigned to the Violent Crimes Division three years ago and had even been Megure's subordinate for a time. Megure knew he had primarily been investigating the officer Hagiwara's death. Though there had been some incidents, the criminal was eventually caught. Matsuda had been injured and spent some time recovering in the hospital. After discharge, due to manpower needs in the Bomb Disposal Unit and the fact that his investigation had concluded, he was reassigned back.
Megure's impression of Matsuda remained strong—calm under pressure, intelligent, and thorough. During his time in the division, he had been very helpful, though his rebellious streak had earned him few friends. Overall, Megure thought highly of him.
"Megure, may I see the records from the Shinkansen incident?" Matsuda asked.
"Ah, I don't mind showing you," Megure replied. "It's not exactly confidential. But why the sudden interest?"
"Oh, nothing. I just happened to run into someone—I was told by Sato that she's related to the incident, so I came to ask about it," Matsuda said, still thinking about the girl he had briefly encountered on the Shinkansen. She reminded him strongly of the man who had appeared three years ago at the Ferris wheel.
Back then, that man had seemingly appeared out of nowhere at the Ferris wheel, rescuing Matsuda just before the bomb exploded. Matsuda had been knocked unconscious by the blast, waking up in the hospital with only minor injuries. Witnesses had reported that he had been alone at the scene—no one else had been nearby. Matsuda almost thought he had hallucinated.
He had later tried to find his savior, but to no avail. The person had vanished as mysteriously as they appeared.
Now, seeing that girl again, Matsuda instinctively felt she was connected to the person he had been looking for.
He noted the address from the records and planned to check it later. After bidding farewell to Inspector Megure, he left.