Conan: Science Cartoonist Kudo Yuji

“Most child abductions happen in towns, so we can avoid them at night.” Kenzo Masuyama gripped the steering wheel, not heading towards Tokyo, but instead driving slightly south, leaving the town behind.

“But that means we’ll have to stay in the countryside or mountains tonight.” Having left the populated area, Yuuji generously opened the curtain on his side of the car door, looking at the deserted countryside.

Sure enough, it was a long time ago. These villages reminded him of the Taiga dramas that appeared on TV before. It seems that the living conditions of ordinary Japanese people have not changed much from the past to the present, or perhaps it is because this place is too remote.

“Those houses are not only dilapidated, but also quite small.”

Most families live in one room, and when they sleep, the bedding can cover the entire house.

"We need to find a bigger place to stay, but unfortunately we don't know any families here, otherwise we could just go to their homes."

Half an hour later, the group finally found a decent-looking shrine at the foot of the mountain; otherwise, they probably wouldn't have been able to see it from inside the car.

"The shrine will be better; it should have some empty rooms."

After turning off the engine, Kenzo Masuyama handed a pistol to Kuromaru and urged the four of them to get out of the car. Once everyone else was out of the car, he took out the keys from his pocket, put Sten back under the passenger seat, and then lay down on the passenger seat and reached under it to lock it.

[It smells...fragrant]

He remembered that there was a beautiful young lady in front of the chair he was leaning on, and he couldn't help but turn around to look. He saw that she seemed to be peeking at him as well, so he coughed to cover it up.

"how?"

Yuuji's eyebrows twitched. This guy had been looking back and forth in the passenger seat since earlier, which made Yuuji's heart jump.

"It's nothing, the car can be parked here." Kenzo Masuyama walked in front of the four, his hand on the bell on the shrine gate. "In this day and age, the shrine gates aren't even closed at night, isn't that too unsafe?" Yuuji noticed that Marina was a little cold, her little hands were a bit red from the cold, so he walked over to her and took her grandmother's hand openly, while casually complaining that she didn't know to wear a coat with pockets.

"This dress is beautiful."

"Older people should cherish their bodies, you know... It hurts so much."

“They’re located at the foot of the mountain. They probably wouldn’t come this way unless it’s a holiday and they’re making a special trip to worship. Besides, it’s a small shrine, and there’s nothing else there except the offering box.” Kuromaru Yata pointed to an old man who came out of the left side of the courtyard through the gate. The old man was carrying a lantern and wearing a thin robe.

[And the door latch is broken.]

"Who are you all...?"

The old man was initially a little wary when he saw that there were three young men in their twenties, but when he raised the lantern and noticed the two stunningly beautiful girls holding hands behind the three men, he relaxed.

"You're afraid bad guys will come to your door, so you leave the shrine gates wide open at night?" Shintaro rolled his eyes. "Then you can just close the gates."

"The bolt is broken, didn't you see? Shut up." Yata pinched Jintaro's mouth shut, manually silencing him: "Kenzo."

“Hmm.” Kenzo Masuyama held a wad of cash. “We’re driving to Tokyo and would like to stay at your shrine for the night. All we need is one room and three sets of bedding.”

It's unrealistic to expect him to produce five more sets of bedding for such a small shrine; bedding was still a valuable item in this era. (End of Chapter)