I am in Mihua, and the ladies all like me

Serabelle nodded in affirmation.

However, Inspector Megure continued to look at Aqua with a look on his face: "Uh... which alibi is that?"

"The alibi for last night's dinner time, somewhere between seven and eight."

Serabelle continued to explain patiently.

In fact, it’s not Inspector Megure’s fault that he’s not smart enough. It’s just that he had only been on the cruise ship for less than an hour, and he had no idea what had happened from the time he boarded the ship yesterday afternoon to noon today.

"So how do we prove our absence..."

"I think we can ask Mr. Naoya Misaki."

Tsujimoto Kaho interrupted cautiously from the side.

"Mr. Misaki Naoya is in charge of the food and beverage on the cruise ship. If any guests left early yesterday, he would definitely know."

Inspector Megure was pleasantly surprised when he heard this: "That's great, please ask Director Misaki Naoya to come over."

"Okay, I'll call him now..."

Kaho Tsujimoto took out her cell phone and was about to make a call.

At this moment, an inexplicable idea suddenly flashed through Serabelle's mind, and she almost subconsciously blurted out a rather sharp question.

"It's a bit strange. As the catering manager, shouldn't he be concerned about the remaining amount of food? Why does he also care about whether the guests leave early?"

"Well..."

Assistant Miss Kaho Tsujimoto's face suddenly became a little embarrassed.

Suzuki Tomoko, who was standing nearby, chuckled when she saw this.

"In fact, there is no big reason. You just need to understand one thing, that is, among the 600 people on this cruise ship, there are only more than 20 people who are truly invited. The rest of you, such as this screenwriter or that artist, are actually invited to show support. So since they are here to show support, you must have the corresponding awareness. At least you can't fill your stomach and then wipe your mouth and leave like a drunkard. That would be too disrespectful."

"So I'm going to write down these things that don't give me face in a little notebook, and I won't invite them next time?"

Serabell's expression was very subtle.

Because yesterday he was the type who just wiped his mouth and left after eating.

“That’s it in a nutshell.”

Suzuki Tomoko responded with a meaningful smile, and it was this smile that made the assistant next to her even more embarrassed. She could only turn around and concentrate on listening to the phone, pretending that she didn't hear the conversation between the two.

"Well, don't worry, this little notebook is only for the Yashiro Group."

Suzuki Tomoko maintained a meaningful smile and glanced at the boy in front of her and Akiba Reiko beside him.

"At least if our Suzuki Group holds an event in the future, we will still invite you, Sera-kun... Of course, Miss Akiba also counts."

"..."

Reiko Akiba did not respond to Mrs. Suzuki's promise, but just frowned slightly.

There's that inexplicably unpleasant feeling again.

She is now very sure that the source of this feeling comes from the noble lady in front of her. She is polite to you on the surface, and everything from her words to her tone and expression seems impeccable, but she gives people the feeling that there is something else behind her words.

If there is something wrong, can't you just say it openly?

So Reiko Akiba was sure that she hated Mrs. Suzuki very much.

While the two were talking, the assistant on the other end had finished her call and put down her phone.

"Director Naoya Misaki said he will be here soon. He confirmed with me who is here and is about to call the remaining people who left early yesterday to come together."

"That's fine, it's more efficient this way."

Inspector Megure readily agreed.

……

Perhaps just a quarter of an hour later, as the door at the back of the conference room opened, a man who looked quite sturdy and honest, wearing a white work suit that looked a bit like a navy uniform, walked in.

Serabelle recognized him at a glance. He was the one who had shouted to open the door at Lady Yashiro's door together with Kaho Tsujimoto, Conan, Kogoro Mori and others.

Following behind him were Sonoko and Ran, and... a little brown-haired boy wearing tinted glasses.

"So it's Lan and Sonoko."

The moment Inspector Megure saw the first two, his eyes widened.

After all, he and Kogoro Mouri have been friends for many years, and Xiaolan and Sonoko have known each other since kindergarten. In theory, he can be considered half-uncle of Xiaolan and Sonoko.

Megure knew very well what his two nieces looked like, and there was absolutely no way they could be suspects of murder.

But this little brown-haired guy with tinted myopic glasses...

Noticing Inspector Megure's gaze, Conan immediately introduced him enthusiastically.

"Ah, this is Mr. Kusaka, who had dinner with us last night. He works as a screenwriter. He told us during dinner yesterday that he is currently writing a script about sea voyages."

"Oh, nice to meet you, Mr. Kusaka."

After a brief greeting, Inspector Megure clenched his fist and coughed lightly.

"It is like this, Mr. Kusaka. Because something happened on the cruise ship, we need you to provide an alibi for the time between 7 and 8 last night."

"Uh, seven to eight?"

Kusaka Hironari seemed to be stunned for a moment, then turned to Serabelle.

"Is it just me who needs it?"

"Yes...ah no, it's all of you who need it."

Inspector Megure almost said yes, but fortunately he stopped himself and changed his words in time.

Otherwise, you will be complained about for unfair judgment.

"Oh, then I'll go first. I had a drink with Mr. Maori during dinner yesterday, so I left the table and went back to my room to sleep." said Kusaka Hironari.

"Is that so, Brother Mori?" Inspector Megure turned to Kogoro Mori.

"I think... yes?"

Kogoro Mori was also very uncertain. After hesitating and thinking hard for a full half minute, he finally smiled honestly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Actually, I forgot about it. I was drunk at that time and I can't remember many things."

Megure: "..."

Okay, that's gross.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Xiaolan stood up to testify: "That's right, Inspector Megure. Yesterday, I helped my father go back to his room to rest. After that, Conan, Sonoko, and Aunt Suzuki and I went to the bar on the third floor."

"Then I remember that after you arrived at the bar, you left for a while, from around seven o'clock until around eight o'clock." Sonoko turned and looked at her mother.

"……Um."

Suzuki Tomoko smiled and nodded to her daughter.

You don't have to mention this kind of thing and not ask about it, but if you do, you must ask about it clearly.

Inspector Megure said in a slightly more serious tone: "If it happened between seven and eight o'clock, Mrs. Suzuki, could you please tell us where it went?"

"I……"

Suzuki Tomoko dragged out her voice slightly, but finally told the truth.

"I had a private meeting with Sera-kun, which lasted almost exactly an hour."

"what?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the person who reacted the most was not Sonoko, but Akiba Reiko.

"What do you want to meet with Bell privately for?"

She was like a female cat protecting her food, her eyes instantly alert and a low warning sound coming from her throat.

"of course--"

Suzuki Tomoko shrugged without changing her smile.

"We talked about Sonoko's lifelong affairs, and asked about Sera-kun's intentions."

Chapter 505: All for My Daughter (True)

The girl's mother personally talks to the boy about her daughter's lifelong affairs. This behavior is considered to be a very solemn and formal matter in any country in the world.

If no preconditions were considered under normal circumstances, Inspector Megure would definitely congratulate his brother Sera first.

After all, Mrs. Suzuki's active invitation is not as simple as just meeting up with ordinary friends for a meal. It is a display of attitude, which means that she has fully recognized you as a person.

To put it bluntly, as long as he passes Mrs. Suzuki's test, becoming CEO and marrying a beautiful, wealthy woman (referring to Sonoko) is basically a foregone conclusion.

That is Japan's leading super chaebol, a position that many people dream of...

However, at the moment, Inspector Megure didn't dare to congratulate him. To be more precise, he didn't even dare to say a word.

As Mrs. Suzuki spoke frankly, the atmosphere in the huge conference room with only a few people sitting at the conference table suddenly became weird.

The most obvious one is Reiko Akiba. If she was just unhappy with Mrs. Suzuki before but still remained restrained, now she has completely failed to conceal her anger.

"...I asked Bell to come over just to discuss Miss Suzuki's lifelong event? What does that mean?"

Reiko Akiba looked straight into Suzuki Tomoko's eyes, and her slightly low voice sounded as if she was biting steel between her teeth.

Her meaning was very clear at this point. Suzuki Tomoko, since you dare to call my fiancé over to discuss your daughter's lifelong event when you know that Serabelle is my fiancé, then you must give me an explanation now!

"It means literally."

Suzuki Tomoko maintained her usual gentle smile.

"If you insist on explaining it, it can probably be understood as... out of pity for the parents in the world?"

"..."

Reiko Akita didn't say anything, but just frowned slightly.

She was not going to answer this question because Suzuki Tomoko had not yet properly answered the question she had asked first. If she started a conversation at this time, it would mean that she would be led by the nose by the other party.

Seeing that Reiko Akiba remained silent, Suzuki Tomoko smiled again.

"To put it bluntly, no matter how big my business is, I am still a mother first. I always want to satisfy my children's wishes as much as possible. To this end, sometimes I can even ignore right and wrong to a certain extent and only care about the position. In fact, last night was the first time that Sonoko knew about the relationship between you, Miss Akiba, and Sera-kun. Because she had always had a great admiration for Sera-kun before, she was greatly shocked by this and didn't even eat dinner."

"As a mother, I certainly don't want to see my child like this, so I tried to make a final effort."

Suzuki Tomoko did not say what the specific outcome of the conversation was, but she spread her hands, and this body movement was enough to indicate what the final outcome of the conversation was.

Reiko Akita was unmoved and continued to frown.

If it was the classic woman in TV dramas who was so blinded by love that she had no tact, she would have turned her anger towards the male protagonist by now, loudly asking him whether he really had not agreed, and even wanting him to kneel down and swear an oath on the spot that he would never have such a conversation in private again.

However, Reiko Akiba was obviously not such a woman. She knew very well that doing so would do no good except to embarrass Serabelle, and she also trusted that Serabelle would never do such a thing.

For example, abandoning her and marrying another woman...

"I already understand your reasons and your position. If you fail, then forget it. I only have one request."

Qiu Ting Lianzi spoke each word clearly, with sharp eyes and refused to give in.

"Just this once, never happen again."

"of course."

Unexpectedly, Suzuki Tomoko agreed very easily and even made a promise.

"I am also very aware that such behavior is very excessive for you, Miss Qiu Ting, so it will only happen once and will not happen a second time."

"……very good."

Reiko Akiba's sharp eyes then slightly restrained.

The atmosphere of confrontation gradually dissipated, and Inspector Megure, Kogoro Mori and others breathed a sigh of relief.

I have to say, the war between women is really terrible.

Xiaolan looked worriedly at Yuanzi who was looking increasingly lonely.

She knew very well that although her best friend always looked careless on weekdays, she was actually very thoughtful.

For example, Aunt Tomoko didn't even tell anyone about her private meeting with Sera-kun last night. I think there is only one reason for this, and that is that even Aunt Tomoko doesn't think Sonoko has much chance of winning.

After all, she is already a fiancée, which is equivalent to standing at the finish line. In comparison, Sonoko hasn't even left the starting line.