The cross-dressing master in the world of Detective Conan

"It's rare to see Sister Xiao Xun so energetic!"

"Yes, she's usually quite lazy, and it's rare for her to actually go out and have fun."

Akemi and Ran got along quite well, which was something Kazama Kaoru had expected. The two had similar personalities and interests, so they should be able to become good friends, but there was no chance for them in the original story.

However, Kazama Kaoru did not expect that he would become the topic of conversation for the two of them to get closer.

"Boss, do you sell toys for children here?"

Kaoru Kazama ran into a retail store, but all she could see were swimming rings, swimsuits, and snacks. She wasn't sure if there was anything she wanted.

"Yes, may I ask how old your child is?"

Although the boss was very attentive, Kaoru Kazama still had a lot of black lines on his forehead.

"I don't have children yet. This is for a friend's younger brother, who is about seven years old. However, he's quite precocious, so I wanted to pick out an educational toy for him to play with, something around the age of twelve."

Kazama Kaoru wasn't sure how old Conan was at this time. Although half a year had passed, the boy still looked like he was in elementary school, as if time had stopped.

Given this situation, she strictly followed the principle of taking the average, summing up Conan's physical age of seven years and his mental age of seventeen years and then taking the average of twelve.

"For a twelve-year-old, the Rubik's Cube should be quite suitable. It can not only improve a child's hands-on skills and develop their thinking ability, but it is also less likely to cause injury."

"A Rubik's Cube, that works too, let's go with this one."

Kaoru Kazama paid the bill readily and then returned to the Sea House restaurant along the same route.

"Xiao Xun, where have you been?"

It's rare that Sonoko has actually shifted her attention; she was just thinking about her Prince Charming a moment ago.

"Oh, didn't we just say we were going to go to the hot springs together? Conan is a boy, so it wouldn't be very convenient for him to go. But he would definitely get bored staying at the hotel alone, so I just went and bought him a toy to keep him entertained."

As Kaoru Kazama spoke, she picked up the bag in her hand and glanced at Conan.

The kid's face was as interesting as if he had eaten shit, but under Ran's urging, he could only accept the toy with great reluctance and properly thank Kazama Kaoru.

Xiaolan has done a very good job in educating her child.

Kaoru Kazama thought to herself.

Chapter 208 Conan: "The Rubik's Cube is so much fun!"

"Alright, now we can go soak in the hot springs without worry."

Kaoru Kazama was delighted to see Conan's utterly miserable expression as he held the Rubik's Cube, and cheekily asked:

"Does Conan know how to play this? Do you want me to teach you?"

This made the great detective, whose IQ was 220, feel that his personality had been insulted. He had only spent one day figuring out this thing after receiving it on his fourth birthday, and then he had just put it aside.

He didn't expect Kazama Kaoru to be so bored that she would go to such lengths to buy him a gift.

Of course, the main purpose was to prevent this pervert disguised as a child from sneaking into the bathhouse to peep.

He didn't believe this great detective had any morals in this regard. Bathing with Xiaolan wasn't a one-off occurrence; he wondered if Xiaolan would be furious and strangle this pervert when she found out his true identity.

Kaoru Kazama guesses this might be one of the reasons why Conan doesn't dare to tell Ran his true identity. After all, they once bathed together and even shared a bed. Given Ran's personality, it's hard to say what she might do.

After settling Conan, that little pervert, down, Kaoru Kazama followed Ran and Sonoko toward their hot spring inn.

————Soaking in hot springs——————

"Sonoko, no matter what, you don't need to be in such a hurry, do you?"

"I can't wait to see Masahiko."

Sonoko was the first person to come out of the hot spring. As soon as she saw that it was getting dark, she couldn't stay any longer and ran out before she had even completely dried herself off. She was in such a hurry.

"No need to rush, be careful not to fall."

Xiaolan is destined to be a worrier, because the people around her are not very reliable.

When Kaoru Kazama came out, he was surprised to find that Conan was engrossed in playing with a Rubik's Cube.

At first, they didn't even notice Kazama Kaoru coming in. It wasn't until he solved the 3x3 Rubik's Cube that they turned around and suddenly realized that Kazama Kaoru had been standing behind them watching for quite a while.

Why aren't you saying anything?

Conan's face flushed red and then turned pale. It took him a long time to finally blurt out this sentence. He couldn't face the fact for a while.

"You seem to be having a lot of fun. As expected, famous detectives are all two-faced."

"Where did you get that word from? And are you all done washing up? Can we leave now?"

Conan frowned, forcing himself to act as if he wasn't really interested in the Rubik's Cube, but was just impatient and playing with it.

"We're leaving soon, so hurry up if you need to change your clothes."

Kazama Kaoru glanced at his beach clothes. Clearly, this kid had been playing with the Rubik's Cube ever since he returned to the hotel, and hadn't even bothered to change his clothes.

Actually, it gets a bit chilly here at night. To enjoy the sea view, most of the restaurants are located right next to the beach. If you don't dress warmly, you might catch a cold from the sea breeze.

"Uh, I'll change right away."

A light drizzle started outside, even though it was quite sunny in the morning.

Kaoru Kazama frowned, looked at the muddy road soaked by the rain, and sighed. The place Sonoko chose was really natural.

About ten minutes later, Xiaolan and the others rushed downstairs in a panic, repeatedly apologizing for keeping them waiting.

Kazama Kaoru's mindset is probably similar to that of someone waiting for their girlfriend outside a girls' dormitory.

"crash"

Just as Ran and Kaoru were about to leave with their umbrellas, the wooden door behind them was suddenly pulled open.

The man with the gloomy face and dark skin leaned half his body out of the door, silently placed a black umbrella outside the door, and then closed the door. This action left everyone completely bewildered.

"Is this... for us?"

Sonoko looked at everyone in confusion, but unfortunately she didn't get an answer. Conan, on the other hand, lowered his head and began to think.

This guy, with an emotional intelligence of 052, still couldn't quite understand this unusual way of flirting.

That's right, this burly, dark-faced man was actually flirting with a girl, but perhaps because his methods weren't skillful enough, he didn't exchange a single word with his target during the process. It has to be said that this has gone beyond the realm of a typical straight man; he's a diamond-level straight man.

"I think he's trying to make a move on you, Sonoko. Didn't he remind you to be careful about what you wear before?"

Kazama Kaoru's words also carried a hint of uncertainty. He sensed that the burly, dark-faced man was interested in Sonoko, but this stiff attempt to be friendly could easily be mistaken for someone looking for trouble. Just how bad was this guy at flirting?

If it weren't for his enhanced senses, which allowed him to perceive obvious emotional fluctuations in others, he might have thought that this guy disliked their group.

"Forget it, I'm not that attractive."

Upon hearing Kazama Kaoru's words, Sonoko trembled, as if she were terrified of the possibility.

Seeing her reaction, Kaoru Kazama could only feel sorry for this guy's little scheme. His skill in flirting with girls in reverse was quite adept. If he put in a little more effort, he might even escalate the situation to the point of being mortal enemies.

"Xiaolan, what's wrong?"

"No, I still feel like I've seen this person somewhere before."

Sonoko had just run upstairs to get something she forgot, leaving only Kaoru Kazama, Akemi, and Ran standing in front of the hotel.

Based on the average height and weight of the group, Conan is at most half a unit in terms of size.

"Sister Xiaolan, have you really seen this person before?"

"Remember it quickly!"

For some reason, Conan suddenly started impatiently urging Ran to continue her flashback.

"Why hasn't Yuanzi returned yet? Let's go up and check."

It's been almost five minutes since I came up from the garden; it shouldn't take this long to get something.

Kaoru Kazama frowned, sensing something was wrong, and immediately turned and ran towards Ran's room.

"Da da da"

"Click"

In her haste, Kaoru Kazama wasn't paying attention and unleashed a burst of superhuman strength under her feet. Although she managed to stop in time, it still caused a large crack in the wooden staircase.

"This...this is terrifying!"

Because Kazama Kaoru stopped in time, and because Tsunade's cosplay wasn't even up to par this time, the monstrous strength's destructive power wasn't particularly astonishing, but it was still enough to amaze Conan.

Moreover, the main problem right now is that none of them can go up there.

The wooden staircase of this hot spring inn was already quite eerie due to its long-term disrepair, and with Kazama's smoking causing such a large crack, people who care about their lives probably wouldn't dare to step on it.

"Excuse me, excuse me, I'll go upstairs and take a look first, you don't need to rush."

At such close range, Kaoru Kazama could already vaguely sense the presence of a stranger.

Then came a few thumping sounds, clearly from the noise Kazama Kaoru had just made, which caused the other party to flee in panic.

Kaoru's exceptional hearing allowed her to visualize the scene in her mind, so when she entered the room, she saw a chaotic mess and Sonoko sitting on the tatami mat, clutching her neck and wincing in pain.

"pat"

Kaoru Kazama entered the room and turned on the wall lamp, making it even clearer.

Sonoko had a pained expression on her face, her hands tightly covering her neck, and through her fingers, one could vaguely see the purplish marks on it.

Was this... being choked?

"Sonoko, what happened? Are you alright?"

"Cough, cough, cough."

Sonoko, who hadn't opened her eyes at first because of the bright light, burst into tears and threw herself into Kaoru's arms after hearing her voice. She recounted what had just happened in a choked voice.

Chapter 209 Two Suspects

Hearing Sonoko's tearful voice recount what had just happened, Kaoru Kazama finally understood.

A thug just broke into the room and started rummaging through Xiaolan and the others' belongings. When he saw Yuanzi come in, he quickly covered her mouth as she was about to scream, and pulled her back into the room, intending to kill her with a knife.

Fortunately, the loud noise that Kazama Kaoru had just made, coupled with the fact that the thug was already feeling guilty, caused him to flee in panic after hearing the noise.

"That person must be a lingerie thief, how awful."