A few days later, news broke that a counterfeiting ring had been arrested.
'Ah! This is the Female College Professor Murder case. Looks like it got resolved.'
The 'Female College Professor Murder from the Black Organization' episode was one where Conan and Haibara tead up to take down a professional counterfeiting ring. Seeing it resolved without Haibara, it seed that the Detective Boys were carried by Conan, as expected.
'Apart from Turbo Ayumi's exceptional intuition, Conan handles everything.'
It wasn't Conan I was worried about. Since this was a vacation, I wanted to go sowhere, but the transportation issue was giving a headache.
'Yachts are the sa. I want to buy nicer ones and travel more, but I can't.'
I had many yachts in my inventory. The Odyssey, a luxury yacht I built as an Avengers base in Marvel, could comfortably accommodate 30 people and could sail at over 200 knots, an impossible speed in the Conan world. That's faster than a hovercraft. It could even fly, reaching anywhere on Earth in hours.
'Hah... I've built them, but I can't use them... If I could use the Odyssey, I could take the kids to Hawaii for a day trip.'
Haibara found deep in thought.
"What are you thinking about?"
"You wouldn't want to know."
"Always so full of yourself. I'm hungry, let's eat."
"Okay."
The day passed. The next day, I had a TV appearance. When I told Haibara, she wanted to co along, so we took my manager's car to the station.
"Why didn't you just stay ho?"
"I was bored. I wanted to see a variety show being fild."
"Really? Then be quiet."
"Okay."
We waited in the green room. It was strange. It had various devices and many caras.
'This is a hidden cara.'
Japanese variety show pranks are notoriously over the top. Shoving idols into mud pits, framing them for pickpocketing, etc. And if they complain, they risk losing future appearances. It was worse for rookies. I had no intention of being pranked.
"Haibara."
"Huh? Why?"
"Co here. Let hug you."
"Wha-What are you saying, pervert."
Haibara was very flustered.
"You'll regret it."
"What?"
SPLAT!
Whipped cream flew from all directions. I dodged it all. Haibara didn't. Her face and clothes were covered. My manager got hit too.
"Ugh... What the hell!"
Haibara wiped the cream off her face. The green room door burst open, and codians with caras ca in.
"Ta-da! It's a hidden cara! Huh? But Jin-san, you didn't get hit at all?"
"Of course. I'm an onmyoji. I can predict this much."
"Ah~ I see. As expected of a great onmyoji. But this girl, is she your little sister? You could have protected her a little..."
"I tried to hug her, but she refused."
I glanced at Haibara with a smirk. She scowled, grabbed a handful of cream, and threw it at . I dodged.
"Hey! You over there!"
"Whoa! Your little sister seems really mad!"
I ran into the hallway. Haibara chased , throwing cream. She didn't land a single hit. Staff eventually cald the situation. My manager and Haibara showered and changed into clothes provided by the station.
"Damn! I shouldn't have co."
She grumbled all the way ho.
A few days later, the hidden cara segnt aired and was a national hit, praised for showing 'real siblings'. The station was flooded with requests for us to appear together in comrcials. I told Haibara.
"Want to be in a comrcial with ? They want us together."
"No!"
She was still mad.
"Are you sure? I get 40 million yen per comrcial. If you join, they'd probably pay 50 million. After splitting with the manager and taxes, your share would be over 6 million."
"R-Really? Let's do it!"
Haibara, nearly broke, was eager. We spent the next few days shooting comrcials. My manager was happy with the bonus inco.
"Here's your bankbook and card. I've sorted out your identity and opened an account. Now you're officially my cousin."
"I see. Okay."
"But it's a child's account, so there's a daily withdrawal limit. 200,000 yen, I think."
"Damn, being a kid keeps causing problems."
I could say the sa.
"Do you even have anything to buy? 200,000 yen is a lot."
"I want to buy a computer and so books. You have internet here?"
Haibara was bored at ho.
"Yeah. And since you're a celebrity now, a maid will pick you up after school. This neighborhood has a lot of murders."
"I know. Fine."
Haibara agreed. The 'god of death' lives nearby, but she didn't know that.
While sorting out Haibara's identity and bank account, I learned that my birthday was in two weeks. I hadn't known. In two weeks, I could get my driver's license.
'Thank goodness. I was thinking of hacking the registry to raise my age.'
I put the Azimut Atlantis 45 up for sale at the marina. Not the modified arc reactor version, but the one kept for inspections.
'I'm 18 now, so I don't need it anymore.'
It was in excellent condition, so it should sell well even at the sa price.
There was a reason for wanting a new yacht. With two rooms, trying to sleep Ran, Sonoko, Kogoro, Conan, and myself was impossible. The living room chairs could convert to beds, but there was only one shower. And now Haibara was joining, so at least three rooms were needed.
So I planned to upgrade my license and get a luxury yacht, paying the taxes, that could be operated by a single person. And I'd have two cars: a small Hustler for daily use and a Wrangler for travel.
'All this because of my age...'
I realized again: unless you're going to break the law, modern-world settings are tricky. Minors have too many restrictions.
I had no desire to buy a plane. Japan is small, and I wouldn't use it much. Plus, parking would be at an airport. If I had to go to the airport anyway, I'd rather fly comrcial. And with a yacht, owning a private plane would be a tax nightmare. Even if I earned a lot, maintaining it would be difficult.
A few days later, I got word the yacht had sold. It sold quickly, as expected. The condition was too good for its age.
'Good, it sold fast.'
At school, while thinking about yachts, Ran approached .
"Jin, your birthday is coming up, right?"
"How did you know?"
I was surprised.
"I was helping the teachers and saw your records."
"Ah, I see."
Sonoko asked excitedly, "So, party at your place?"
"Yeah. I'll make good food, so co over."
"Your cooking is the best. I'll skip lunch."
Ran laughed and agreed. " too. You're a great cook. I'll skip lunch too. Oh! Can I bring Dad and Conan?"
"Of course."
I told Haibara.
"A party?"
"Yeah. So it'll be noisy. And Conan's coming."
"Okay."
I had no intention of interfering. Ran was my girlfriend, so Haibara eting Conan was inevitable. It was just a matter of ti. And Haibara lived with now and had given up on revenge, so she'd likely ignore him or only give minimal information.
The day of the party arrived. I had prepared the food in advance, using high-quality ingredients. It was a thanks to Ran. Soone unexpected was very happy.
"Wow~ This is caviar! And expensive truffles!! Two of the world's three great delicacies in one place!!"
Kogoro started eating like a madman. Ran was embarrassed.
"Dad, you're so embarrassing!"
Munch, munch~
"This isn't sothing you can eat anywhere. You eat too."
I laughed. "There's plenty, so eat slowly. There's more coming."
Actually, I had brought premium ingredients from Marvel and duplicated them, so it didn't matter how much they ate.
"Oh~ So good. Jin, you're such a good cook."
Unable to resist, Sonoko sat down and ate. Ran and Conan joined.
"Ugh, I ate too much..."
When Kogoro ate so much that food ran low, I brought out a king crab dish.
"Gasp! King crab..."
"Live Alaskan king crab. They're sweet and delicious. There's plenty, so eat up."
But Kogoro was full. He just held a leg, staring at it.
"Ugh... king crab..."
"I told you to eat slowly..."
Ran scolded him, but Kogoro couldn't give up. "Son-in-law, can I take so ho?"
"Well... if there's leftovers, sure. But..."
Everyone was enjoying the crab. There wouldn't be leftovers. Kogoro saw that.
"Sob... Damn!! I'll eat until I burst!!"
He started eating another leg. Ran worried, "Dad, don't overdo it."
Suddenly, Kogoro covered his mouth. "Urgh! Bathroom!"
I rushed him. He grabbed the toilet and vomited. He was throwing up all the expensive food. He ate too fast.
"Bleh..."
Ran ca, patting his back. "I told you to eat in moderation. You're hopeless."
When Kogoro returned, the king crab was gone.
"Ah... my king crab..."
I tried to comfort him. "There's still birthday cake..."
"Damn... king crab..."
He didn't seem to hear.
The party started, albeit out of order.
"Jin, happy birthday~!"
"You're an adult now, Jin. Happy birthday~!"
"King crab..."
"Happy birthday, big brother."
"Happy birthday, big bro."
I blew out the candles and cut the cake. Ran was impressed.
"Wow~ The cake is delicious too. Where did you buy it?"
"I made it."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah."
Actually, it was a gacha item.
"Wow~! Amazing... Better than store-bought."
"I know. This is like... are we at a birthday party or a fancy restaurant?"
We ate cake and chatted. Kogoro ate his cake with tears in his eyes. In the end, all he'd had was a slice of cake. I understood his sadness. Conan looked at him and said, "Too much is as bad as too little. That proverb fits this situation."
Thwack!
"Ow!"
"Shut up!"
Conan always got hit.
"Jin, this is your birthday present."
Ran gave a knitted scarf.
"Oh~ Thanks."
"I'm glad I finished it. Actually, you seem to have everything, so it was hard to choose."
"Don't worry. Anything from you is fine."
Ran blushed.
"Sorry to interrupt, but here's my present!"
Sonoko gave binoculars.
"You like yachts, so I got you these."
"Oh~ Thanks."
It wasn't yachts I was interested in, but how to have fun on vacation. The yacht was just a ans.
"Here, big brother. You said you liked curvy won, so..."
Haibara gave a poster of a curvy foreign actress in a swimsuit.
"Uh... thanks."
This was probably revenge for the 'bear panties' teasing.
"Oh~ Jin, that's your type? Well, Ran has a good figure."
Sonoko said with interest.
"Sonoko..."
Ran was flustered.
No one else brought presents. I expected that, so it was fine. We chatted until late, then they left.
"Thanks for the food. See you tomorrow~"
"Thanks for the al~ Chef Jin."
"King crab..."
"Thanks for coming. Sonoko, I'll take you ho. It's dangerous to go alone this late."
"Oh~ Thanks. You're such a gentleman."
I took Sonoko ho on my bike, then returned and cleaned up.
'It wasn't my actual birthday, but this wasn't so bad.'
The next day, Conan ca to our house alone, looking serious.
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