Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

To Sano's surprise, Kyogoku Makoto had already met Suzuki Sonoko before. He thought that he had fallen in love with her at first sight when she came to the hotel.

So it was premeditated all along.

Makoto Kyogoku seemed to be reaching his limit and turned to leave, but after taking only a few steps, he suddenly stopped and said, "By the way, I advise you not to wear that kind of underwear anymore."

As he spoke, Makoto Kyogoku turned to Sonoko Suzuki and said, "Of course, if you take my words as just one of many men who have expressed their affection for you, and as mere joking, then it doesn't matter."

...This is...is this supposed to be a confession of love?

In an instant, the air seemed to freeze, and Sonoko Suzuki transformed into a steam princess. Ran Mouri and the others watching widened their eyes, while Conan muttered to himself.

"Impossible, impossible, how could anyone truly like Sonoko? This guy must have ulterior motives... Besides, what about all those men who expressed their affection? So far, there have only been two..."

Sano raised an eyebrow and turned his head slightly to look at Conan.

This kid can't stand to see Sonoko Suzuki doing well, can he?

But then again.

I never expected that Makoto Kyogoku would be so surprisingly effective in "real combat".

Compared to when they're in front of me, they're like completely different people.

...Wait a minute, if that's the case, then it means this guy isn't actually that stupid.

Could it be that the "hero saves the damsel in distress" scene just now was also deliberately orchestrated by Makoto Kyogoku?

Not only did he understand his own reminder to "seize the opportunity," but he also took the initiative to block the knife at the critical moment, even getting injured in order to stage a "bitter trick."

good boy.

What an honest guy! He's a master at flirting!

Sano secretly gave Kyogoku Makoto a thumbs-up, finally his efforts hadn't been in vain in creating such conditions for the other party.

Well, although it might not be quite right, Sano does have a sense of accomplishment right now, like seeing the pig he painstakingly raised finally devour the cabbage someone else raised.

Comfortable!

……

According to the original plan, Sano and his group should have returned on the third day, and should have arrived in Tokyo by nightfall at the latest. However, due to the trouble caused by Masahiko Michiwaki, they were unable to set off until dark.

Chapter 343, Page 342, Sano: You have a really good eye for people.

They even had to go to the police station to give a statement.

After a while, he ended up staying at Kyogoku Makoto's inn for another night.

After the "hero saves the damsel in distress" incident, Sonoko Suzuki had already exchanged phone numbers with Makoto Kyogoku.

The two chatted enthusiastically... Although Sano didn't quite understand why these two guys, who were clearly in the hotel and could see each other just by opening the door, insisted on staying in their own room to text each other, and the keypad on their phones was practically smoking from all the typing.

The bewildering nature of the operation is astonishing.

Is this considered an online romance with a five-meter distance between you?

That's really outrageous.

Sano, who had just finished watching a silly-smiling steampunk girl in Sonoko Suzuki's room, turned around and saw a black-skinned girl rolling around on the quilt in Makoto Kyogoku's room.

...Suzuki Sonoko's situation is actually alright, but Kyogoku Makoto's situation is...

This is really a bit of an eyesore... Seriously, have these two guys been chatting since last night without sleeping?

After shivering, Sano shook his head and sighed that the two of them were useless. Then he went to the lobby on the first floor... which was actually the restaurant.

They saw the fake child duo waiting for Sano.

"So, you two are still planning to stay in Izu?"

Faced with Sano's question, Conan nodded and shook his head, replying, "To be precise, it's not you, it's us, and it's not two, it's three."

Sano sat down and lit a cigarette: "But why should I stay and keep you company?"

"Isn't a free tour group your favorite?"

Ai Haibara countered with a question.

"...In your eyes, am I really the kind of person who likes to get things for free?"

"...Isn't that right?"

Sano paused for two seconds, then smiled knowingly: "You have a good eye for people."

"Alright, then tell me in detail what's going on. I don't think you two are just bored and that's why you're staying in Izu to join some kind of tour group."

Sano still doesn't know what this so-called "tour group" is all about.

Upon waking up in the morning, Sano received a text message from Conan, instructing him to find an excuse to stay in Izu and not return to Tokyo, and then join a free tour with the fake child duo.

...Well, Sano couldn't sleep no matter what he did. He stared at the text message for a long time before finally managing to glean two words from between the lines—"Case!"

"Actually, it's like this..."

Conan didn't intend to hide anything from Sano and explained the situation in general terms.

This tour group was actually booked by Professor Agasa. He originally planned to come with his friend and his friend's granddaughter, but his friend's granddaughter suddenly developed a fever and couldn't come, so he gave the tour group spot to Conan.

Of course, if it were just that simple, Conan wouldn't have gone to such lengths.

The key point is that this tour group is not an ordinary tour group, but has been given a name like "Izu Detective Club"... Well, you can tell from the name alone.

Including the three members of Sano's group, the Izu Detective Club consists of six groups totaling ten people.

The tour organizer was mixed in with the other seven people.

Only by finding the organizer can the remaining half of the accommodation fee be reimbursed, and a disk that appears to contain the "Duke of the Night" virus be obtained.

...The Duke of the Night?

Why does this thing sound so familiar?

Sano frowned: "Wait a minute, what did you mean when you said that we could only get the remaining half of the accommodation fee reimbursed if we found the organizer?"

"what?"

Conan was surprised that Sano would focus on this first. After a moment of surprise, he immediately explained that the organizer had only paid half of the accommodation fee at the beginning, and only the person who could find out his identity could be reimbursed for the other part of the cost.

"...But you just told me it was free."

Seeing Sano staring intently at him, Conan said with deadpan eyes, "Don't worry, I'll cover half of the accommodation fee first. Even if we're not the first to find out the organizer's identity, I'll still cover that part of the cost."

"What about the meal expenses?"

Sano continued to ask.

"...I paid for it too."

"You have money?"

“Last time I grew bigger, I took some money out of my dad’s card.”

"That's good."

Once he was certain that he wasn't joining some kind of scam group, Sano nodded in relief.

"So, your target is that, what duke? That thing is very important?"

"It's hard to say."

Ai Haibara finally revealed the real reason she came to Izu: "The Dark Duke is a method that the organization often uses to protect internal information. His appearance here is obviously unusual. Although this does not necessarily mean that the organization is related to this tour group, you know this guy. Even if there is only the slightest possibility, he will not let it go."

...So it was an organizational tactic?

Sano stroked his chin, but he had never been exposed to this kind of thing before, so he should have never even heard of it... Oh well.

"So, I still don't quite understand why you two came here early for a tour that's only supposed to start today?"

Sano's gaze was particularly fixed on Ai Haibara. Unlike Conan, who might have been forced to come by Ran Mouri, this fake loli had come on her own initiative.

They couldn't possibly be here just for tourism, could they?

"...It's rare for me to come to Izu, but I have to get involved in such a dangerous thing. Can't I even come a few days earlier to enjoy myself? Anyway, it doesn't cost me any money."

Ai Haibara replied, "So you really are just here to have fun."

Sano didn't think too much about it; he was just more concerned about the claim that "it doesn't cost any money."

When they first set off for Izu, this fake little girl did seem to mention "free," but Conan hurriedly brushed it off.

Sano turned his gaze to Conan, whose lips twitched, and he immediately explained, "On the surface, Professor Agasa paid for her to come here, but actually it was me who paid for it."

Yeah, I knew it.

Although Sano couldn't quite understand what the difference was between Professor Agasa paying for it and Conan paying for it in Ai Haibara's mind, it wasn't like he was the one paying for it anyway.

Why bother caring so much?

Although...

Sano then looked at Conan: "She comes to Izu for free, but I have to pay for it myself. That doesn't seem fair... Don't you think so?"

Conan's lips twitched again: "Don't go too far, Sano. You came here for other reasons, and Kyogoku Makoto didn't charge you for lodging or meals. It's just the cost of your round trip. Why are you being so petty?"

Chapter 344, 343: An Awkward Buff

Even a mosquito's leg is meat.

Sano patted Conan's head: "You don't know the cost of living until you're in charge of the household. How could a rich kid like you understand the suffering of someone like me?"

A person with a tragic fate?

The unfortunate person is a high school detective who stands at the top of the Japanese detective industry and also owns a coffee shop that is considered to be among the top earners, right?

Besides...

"How the hell can I be considered a rich kid?"

Conan's face immediately darkened.

Damn it, it's one thing to cover half of Sano's accommodation and meal expenses, but it's equally one thing to cover Ai Haibara's three-day trip expenses.

But isn't it a bit too much for this guy to ask me for even a small amount of travel expenses?