Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Conan tugged at Sano, who was standing still staring at the bald man, and asked suspiciously, "What, are you a fan of that guy like Ran?"

Sano glanced at Conan but ignored his question. He quietly threw out Erhei and sent it into the bald man's room to observe the situation. Then he followed the main group ahead.

"I never expected to run into him here. I'll have to get his autograph later."

They entered that familiar room again.

Ran Mouri was marveling at her good luck, while Sano glanced at the first room door next to the entrance... and could vaguely hear breathing.

Is it supposed to be posted at the door for "observation"?

Sano looked at the four women walking toward the balcony together... let's just call them four women for now.

"Wow, it's thirty stories high, the view from there is so beautiful."

Ran Mouri leaned lazily against the railing and exclaimed, "Only at times like this can I truly feel that the earth is round."

“I can’t enjoy this view from my room on the eighth floor.”

Asai Narumi smiled and agreed.

"..."

Sano sat back in the same spot where he had been talking to Mary Akai.

He looked around.

...This blonde old loli is quite quick and efficient; she's already tidied up.

It's likely that Sera Masumi contacted them beforehand.

"...Didn't you receive any messages?"

Thinking of this, Sano suddenly asked Sera Masumi a question, which left her looking puzzled.

"What news?"

...So it seems they really don't know yet.

As soon as the two met downstairs, Sano noticed that Sera Masumi's reaction was too indifferent, as if she didn't know that her mother had been teased.

Now that it has been confirmed, Sano turned his back on Sera Masumi and stopped paying attention to her.

Typical, yeah, flirt and run.

...As long as he gets the information he wants, Sano doesn't care whether Sera Masumi is interested or not. Isn't Akai Mary the same?

Seeing that Sano was ignoring her, Sera Masumi could only feel annoyed but couldn't say anything... she couldn't very well grab him by the collar and beat him up.

Even if that were the case.

Sera Masumi also realized that she probably wouldn't be able to beat him.

After Sera Masumi returned to the house and sat down, looking rather dejected, the others outside on the balcony followed suit and sat down as well, bringing up one topic after another.

Soon they arrived at the topic that women love most: romance. Naturally, the most frequent topics of discussion were the already confirmed relationship between Sonoko Suzuki and Makoto Kyogoku, and the relatively confirmed relationship between Ran Mouri and Shinichi Kudo.

That guy.

The two girls were so happy one minute and shy the next, it was so cheesy!

Sano, listening from the side, felt extremely uncomfortable. Naturally, the topic couldn't just revolve around these two. After all, while being teased on the spot could easily lift one's spirits, it couldn't stay on the spot forever; awkwardness and boredom were inevitable. So, Ran Mouri quickly shifted the conversation to Conan, asking with a grin.

"By the way, Conan, what about you?"

"what?"

Conan, who had been idling like Sano, snapped out of his daze and looked completely bewildered.

"What am I?"

"Of course, it's the girl you like."

As soon as Ran Mouri finished speaking, Sonoko Suzuki waved her hand and said, "You don't need to worry about him. This kid has probably already made a secret commitment with that girl, just like you and Kudo, future childhood sweethearts..."

"The garden!"

Teasing her again, Ran Mouri could only cough and roll her eyes coquettishly before turning to Conan with a smile: "But I think so too."

"Right, right? He's always sticking to that little girl, it's so embarrassing."

Conan, watching the two of them singing in unison, could only stare blankly with a deadpan expression.

Who are you two talking about?

"Of course I'm talking about Ayumi/Ai."

Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

Open at the same time.

Unexpectedly, the two of them, who both thought they would give each other a perfectly in sync and in unison, gave completely different, even contradictory, answers.

"...How could it be Ayumi?"

"I don't think Ai is very likely to be involved."

The two best friends squinted their eyes, then simultaneously straightened their backs, looking as if they were about to get serious and have a proper discussion and debate.

This made Conan's dead fish eyes even more lifeless.

...There are just too many things to complain about, so much so that Conan didn't know how to even begin to comment. First of all, why is it so fixed that the girl he likes is always one of these two first-grade elementary school students?!

Even though one of them wasn't actually a first-grader, at least the three of them appeared to be first-graders, right?

Normally speaking, what first-grade elementary school student would talk about love?

...Oh, Ayumi, that little girl, seems to really be a bit love-struck.

Is this really how the world is now?

Even if that's true, then let's leave aside our own side for now. Don't these two even consider the thoughts of the target they're eyeing? In their eyes, are they really that charming that those two lolis, one real and one fake, would definitely be interested in them?

last of the last.

Why are you being so nosy about a first-grader's love life?!

They were both so serious, it didn't feel like they were joking. It felt like these two guys had put themselves in the sons' shoes and were choosing their daughters-in-law... or like the mothers of those two little girls were vying for their sons-in-law. It was so awkward.

Embarrassed and feeling an itch in his butt, Conan instinctively moved to the side.

As a result, when Conan glanced over, he noticed the phone in Sano's hand... the phone's camera was pointed in their direction.

"...Seriously? You're going to record this too?"

Conan stared in astonishment, asking Sano in disbelief.

"Why can't we record?"

Sano waved his phone, then put it back in his pocket: "Just recording the good things in life."

……fart!

Conan's lips twitched. He knew what Sano was up to, but there was nothing he could do... He definitely couldn't win by snatching the phone. Logically speaking, it was like what he did during the parent-child dance performance last time.

Conan doesn't believe that Sano has forgotten.

Of course, the most important thing is that Conan doesn't think what happened earlier was a big deal.

So what if it's recorded? Can it be compared to those embarrassing things from before?

As the saying goes, having too many lice makes you less itchy.

"By the way, you shouldn't be interested in this kind of topic, so why are you following along with Sonoko... Or are you really interested in Sera?"

Conan, perhaps to change the subject, asked Sano a question.

Hmm... the interest Conan is referring to here is definitely not the same as the interest Sonoko Suzuki mentioned earlier.

Rather, it refers to other aspects.

Sano twitched his eyelids: "So, you're interested in this kind of topic?"

Conan, who was asked the question in return, remained silent for two seconds.

“In an earlier case where you weren’t around, I saw a girl on Shi Liang’s phone… to be precise, on her phone’s screen saver.”

Conan paused for a moment, then said, "A girl who looks like she's only in middle school, and is most likely a foreigner, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Did you see someone like that when you were having lunch here with Ms. Narumi?"

...Well, not only did they see it, they also beat it up and threatened it.

Sano looked away and rested his chin on his hand: "Oh, so you're not interested in first-year girls, nor in high school girls like Sera Masumi, but only in middle school girls... right?"

Conan: "...?"

What the hell?

Conan, who was almost out of breath, turned his head in frustration and chose to mute himself.

Seeing this, Sano stopped mocking him.

...Conan accidentally saw a photo of the blonde loli on Sera Masumi's phone and became interested. Was it an accident or a "trap"?

It's hard to say about Sano.

However, I personally prefer the latter.

Even if Sera Masumi and that blonde loli are mother and daughter, she's not stupid. She should be well aware of her current situation. How could she possibly be so careless as to set her photo as her screensaver?

He deliberately lured Conan over.

The probability of them confirming Conan's true identity is probably quite small.

After recalling the blonde loli's behavior, Sano roughly understood what was going on.

Is it a trust issue?

"...And what about Ms. Narumi?"

Just as Sano was getting distracted...

The conversation then turned to Asai Narumi, whom Ran and the other two had either just met today or had only seen twice by chance.

The closest I'm ever been is just casual acquaintances... It's about the same level as Sano's true identity, so aside from feeling a little distant, or rather, just being polite, I'm genuinely curious.

"Miss Narumi is so beautiful and a doctor, she must have a lot of suitors. Is there anyone you like? We can give you some advice."

Seeing Suzuki Sonoko's eyes darting around, Asai Narumi smiled and replied, "Maybe it's because I don't seem very approachable. At least among my colleagues, none of them seem to be actively pursuing me..."