Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

So you just want to take advantage of yourself?

If you keep pulling like that, you'll go bald!

Sano's face darkened at Conan's dissatisfaction.

It's not for any other reason than Conan's line that he's not a rich kid.

So this kid's been spending too much time with Sonoko Suzuki and's started developing cognitive biases, huh?

In this kid's eyes, if you're not rich enough to play with hundreds of millions of dollars, you're not a second-generation rich kid.

You know, Conan... or rather, Shinichi Kudo's parents, although not as famous as Sonoko Suzuki's parents, one is a globally bestselling mystery novelist and the other is a superstar who still holds a very high status even after retiring.

Even disregarding savings and focusing solely on income, it definitely surpasses that of 99% of people in Japan.

Like that villa next to Professor Agasa's house, an ordinary person might not be able to scrape together a down payment even if they worked hard their whole life.

And yet you dare to complain about being poor?

Before Sano could speak, Conan continued resentfully, "Besides, on the first day I arrived, I worked for you for free for so long. If we're talking about wages, it should definitely cover the travel expenses, right?!"

...I've been checkmated.

Sano choked for a moment, and was about to continue looking for "chess pieces" when he saw Ran Mouri coming downstairs. A smile appeared on his lips.

Upon seeing this, Conan immediately had a bad feeling.

"Small……"

"Sano...!!"

Sano's raised hand was pulled down by Conan.

"You can't do that! If this really gets involved with the organization, it will be very dangerous!"

Seeing Conan immediately panic, Sano calmly raised an eyebrow: "What about the travel expenses?"

Conan gritted his teeth and said, "While it's not that I can't give you the money, isn't it a bit too much for you to threaten me like this every time?!"

"So, are you going to accept this threat?"

Sano looked at Conan with a slight upturn of his lips, and after grinding his teeth for a while, the other party unsurprisingly agreed to reimburse the travel expenses.

...There's no way around it. Putting aside whether Conan would dare to gamble with Ran Mouri's safety, even if he did, Sano's thought process is simply not capable of such a gamble.

The key point isn't whether this tour group is related to the organization, but whether this guy will drag Ran Mouri into it just for a little travel expenses.

This made Ai Haibara, who had been somewhat looking forward to Conan standing up to Sano this time, shake her head in disdain... even though she would most likely make the same choice if she were in the same situation as him.

"senior."

However, what stunned Conan and Ai Haibara was that Ran Mouri suddenly approached Sano and said that Sonoko Suzuki was planning to stay in Izu to join a very special tour group, and asked if he wanted to come along...

"..."

Sano and the other two fell silent for a moment.

Although Ran Mouri wasn't entirely accurate, the mere mention of the terms "Izu" and "special tour group" was enough for the three of them to conclude that the two sides must have collided.

Sure enough, things became clear after Sonoko Suzuki came downstairs as well.

...It's probably because, well, someone, that Suzuki Sonoko wants to stay in Izu for a few more days, and she's already told her parents.

But who knew that Makoto Kyogoku was leaving the country today, so there was no point in Sonoko Suzuki staying. However, she had already told her parents and didn't want to go back just like that, so she started looking into what things to do in Izu.

Then, by sheer coincidence, she learned about the Izu Detective Club.

Although all the spots for the tour group had been filled, Sonoko Suzuki didn't intend to join the group; she just wanted to go to the tour group's location to join in the fun.

"...I heard that tour group is going to be really interesting. The organizer will probably give out some clues so that the tourists can figure out his identity, just like a detective game. Although we're not part of the tour group, if we stay at their hotel, we should be able to find those clues too!"

Looking at the excited Sonoko Suzuki, Conan remained silent for a long time before finally asking in a dry voice, "So, Sonoko-neechan, where did you hear about this?"

"I heard it from a friend!"

Sonoko Suzuki said this.

Conan: "..."

Seeing Conan's blank stare as he turned to him, Sano shrugged, indicating both that he couldn't be blamed now and that he was powerless to do anything about it.

Therefore, after Conan's repeated attempts to keep Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki out of the matter failed, the group went to their destination together again.

But before that, there was the farewell between Makoto Kyogoku and Sano.

...Sano was of course aware of Kyogoku Makoto's plans to go abroad.

It seems that Makoto Kyogoku invited Sano this time not only to secretly provide financial support, but also to say a proper goodbye to his "good friend".

"Well, who knows when we'll see each other again next time?"

Kyogoku Makoto looked at Sano and smiled faintly: "I hope that next time we fight, you can show an even more amazing strength. My suggestion is that in addition to practicing hard, actual combat is also very important. I have also seen the strength of that Ran Mouri. The two of you are very suitable to practice with each other and improve together."

Hearing Kyogoku Makoto's words, Ran Mouri and the others next to Sano all showed surprised expressions.

...What does this mean?

Hearing this, it seems that Sano actually fought with Kyogoku Makoto, or rather, practiced with him?

And surprisingly, he even received a rating that his strength was "about the same" as Ran Mouri's?

...In Conan and the others' eyes, Sano is indeed quite formidable, and with the hammer he carries, he possesses an extraordinary suppressive power and sense of oppression when dealing with criminals, but he is not comparable to Ran Mouri.

Isn't that a bit too much?

But Kyogoku Makoto's evaluation shouldn't be wrong... After regaining their senses, Conan and the others gradually accepted the situation.

After all, it's not a bad thing.

After a lot of nagging and chatter, the time for the actual parting finally arrived.

Kyogoku Makoto was probably too embarrassed to act too intimately with Suzuki Sonoko in front of "outsiders," so he focused his main attention on Sano.

"Goodbye."

However, to Sano's surprise, Kyogoku Makoto's farewell wasn't a wave, but rather...

Fist bump.

Yeah, it's like fists hitting fists.

Seeing Kyogoku Makoto's fist reaching out to him, Sano's features couldn't help but furrow... Under other circumstances, a fist bump wouldn't be a big deal.

But it was precisely at this time, in this kind of scene, that it happened.

It's really... way too damn cringey!

I don't want to touch it, but it doesn't seem right if I don't touch it.

So, should we touch it or not...?

"..."

Looking at Sano's face, which seemed to subtly convey "disdain," Kyogoku Makoto initially didn't realize what was going on. But after his fist had been raised for a full ten seconds, even the most obtuse person would start to sense that something was wrong.

...To be honest, Makoto Kyogoku didn't feel embarrassed at all about fist bumps. In his opinion, it was just a farewell ceremony between good friends, which was quite cool.

However, Kyogoku Makoto still felt embarrassed by Sano's behavior.

And as time went by, it got more and more awkward!

It wasn't just Kyogoku Makoto who felt awkward; even Ran Mouri and the others next to Sano gradually became somewhat embarrassed.

Humans are such strange creatures that they feel embarrassed for others.

Seeing Kyogoku Makoto's embarrassment makes Ran Mouri and the others feel awkward too.

Seeing Ran Mouri and the others embarrassed for him, Makoto Kyogoku became even more embarrassed, and then the other side became even more embarrassed... This went on and on, like stacking buffs, almost making the people present dig a magical castle out of their toes.

"cough."

Finally, Makoto Kyogoku couldn't hold back any longer and casually withdrew his fist.

Chapter 345, 344, Perverted Hands

It was as if nothing had happened.

Ok?

Not touching it anymore?

Sano snapped out of his daze and breathed a sigh of relief... Well, he had actually noticed the atmosphere just now, but as the saying goes, as long as you're not embarrassed.

Then it's others who feel awkward.

Anyway, Sano isn't embarrassed; let whoever is embarrassed be embarrassed.

The awkward farewell finally ended, and Sano and his group embarked on a new... journey to Izu.

When I turned around again, Makoto Kyogoku was nowhere to be seen.

Sano asked Kyogoku Makoto why he wanted to go abroad, and the answer he received was—

Makoto Kyogoku has no rivals left in the country.

As Makoto Kyogoku said before, to improve, one must engage in real combat, so he plans to go abroad to challenge top fighters from other countries.

In this way, one can break through their own limits.

Yes, although he is a high school student, he is also the strongest single combatant in Japan.

That makes sense.

Sano thought that after he challenged Kyogoku Makoto with the Black Death suit, Kyogoku Makoto might change his mind, and he might even have planned to invite Kyogoku Makoto to join the Black Death suit in order to raise the limit of the special attack suit.

...Although Sano later discovered that this guy was already a delinquent and there was no need to kidnap him, of course, it would be great if he could work for him, since he was very capable.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the premise that Kokushibo can defeat Kyogoku Makoto.

Of course, Sano has already defeated Kyogoku Makoto, and of course, the opponent still intends to go abroad.

So last night, Sano asked Kyogoku Makoto why he still wanted to go abroad when he already had a stronger opponent like Kokushibo. Did he think that wildflowers were more fragrant than cultivated ones?

...Then Kyogoku Makoto told Sano.

A suitable opponent is not so easy to find.