He laughed much louder than he had intended and tried to calm himself down quickly. It wouldn’t be good to offend him.
“Yes, I know it well. My best friend lives there but you should know that. You’ve met her.”
It wasn’t so much a slip as a carefully placed observation. It wouldn’t be too odd for him to know something like that. “I believe it was some sort of case involving the Sunset Mansion? She commended you on your acting skills.”
He… was laughing.
While it was a wonderful sound in some ways, it was devastating in others. Hakuba sheepishly shuffled, pushing his hands into his pockets.
“Ah, yes… we’ve met. I didn’t realize that you two were friends, however. I suppose you’re in the same school district as her, aren’t you?”
Why hadn’t he put that together before? Actually, he likely had when adding the database entry for Ran, but it had never occurred to him that it would be remotely important.
“I’m pleased to hear that she mentioned the case to you, however."
The excitement, replaced with sheepish reservation, left the foreign detective with a feeling of unease.