A Murder Case Even on Vacation

'This is a bit troublesome...'

Fujino frowned.

This was the first time he'd ever been approached by a mature older woman.

"Excuse me, what do you need him for?"

At that moment, Akemi Miyano, who had just walked ashore holding Ai Haibara's hand, came over and asked the two mature older women a question.

"Nothing..."

After glancing at Akemi Miyano and feeling ashamed of herself, the older sister gave up on Fujino as a hunting target.

"Brother Fujino!"

Just as the older sister left, Mori Kogoro came over and anxiously asked Fujino, "Did you see the ring just now?"

Is this the ring?

Fujino paused for a moment upon hearing this, then reached into his pocket, took out the ring from his Pocket Dimension, and handed it to Mori Kogoro: "This ring was found by Ai under the recliner you were sitting on. I thought it might belong to you, so I kept it."

"This is it!"

Uncle Mori seemed quite excited, "Brother Fujino, you've really helped me a lot! I'll treat you to lunch later!"

"Nothing."

Fujino glanced down at his shirt, consulted with Akemi Miyano and Ai Haibara, and then decided to return to the hotel to change clothes and go get lunch.

"Huh?! Are you Detective Mouri?!"

Just as the group was about to return to the hotel, Fujino turned around and saw Mori Kogoro chatting with two young girls, wearing a frivolous expression.

Fujino sighed as he looked at Uncle Mori's expression.

Uncle Mori is one of them.

Although Eri Kisaki is past her prime, she still retains her charm.

Isn't she more fragrant than those two young girls?

Instead of cherishing a beauty like Eri Kisaki at home, he's out hunting demons while eyeing what he doesn't have.

He finally understood why Ran's plans had always failed...

They extinguished the slightest hope they had.

If he were Eri Kisaki, he wouldn't go back to suffer that humiliation.

The lobby of the Queen Hotel.

Having just changed back into casual clothes, Fujino and Akemi Miyano and their group came down from upstairs.

Then, they saw Mori Kogoro still chatting and laughing with the two girls.

Uncle Mori is beyond saving.

"Ah, Fujino- kun."

Mori Kogoro noticed Fujino and greeted him.

"Fujino?"

The two girls turned to look at Fujino. "Could it be that you're that High School Detective, Fujino?"

Hello.

Fujino walked over and greeted them, "Do you know me?"

"How could we not recognize you? We're huge fans of your detective stories!"

The two girls in front of me were both pretty. One looked a little mature, while the other was youthful and lively. The mature one was wearing a pink swimsuit similar to Akemi Miyano's, while the youthful and lively one was wearing an orange jacket over denim shorts and a black bikini bra underneath.

"Do Detective Fujino and Detective Mouri know each other?"

After chatting for a while, the young girl asked curiously.

"Of course!"

Uncle Mori chuckled, "Fujino lives right across from my house. We're really good friends, even though we're from different generations..."

"Enough, Dad!"

At this moment, Ran, who was sitting not far away, suddenly stood up and shouted in dissatisfaction.

She came on this trip to try and reconcile her parents.

But the way Dad looked, really!

He even flirted with young girls in front of his mother.

After Mori Kogoro's introduction, Fujino learned that the young girl Harumi Matsuzaki, and the slightly more mature girl was named Kiwako Toda; both were university students.

When introducing family members, Uncle Mori and Eri Kisaki started bickering again.

"I'm talking about this lecherous old man."

Just as Mori Kogoro was bickering with Eri Kisaki, a dark-skinned man suddenly walked up behind him and patted Mori Kogoro on the shoulder. "You're not young anymore, don't be so disrespectful to your age. How about you make a move on the girl who came with us?"

"Ah?"

Uncle Mori was stunned by what he heard.

The man turned around and waved to a man in a blue shirt behind him. "Hey Ya Yan, how can you be so indifferent? Your sister and fiancée have both been hit on by this older man, aren't you even angry?"

"It's nothing, you don't need to cause this uncle any trouble."

The man named Yahiko said amiably, "And this uncle looks like some kind of celebrity."

"A celebrity, him?"

The man gave Uncle Mori a disapproving look.

I always felt that Uncle Mori's lecherous appearance didn't seem like that of a celebrity at all.

Of course, Fujino felt the same way.

That's what most normal people would think.

If it were Fujino, he probably would have already punched Uncle Mori right now.

After an explanation, the misunderstanding was cleared up.

The two men were also university students, and were companions of Harumi Matsuzaki and Kiwako Toda.

One of them, an honest-looking man in a blue shirt, Masahiko Matsuzaki, while the other, who had a conflict with Mori Kogoro and looked intimidating, was named Kunio Kawazu.

Kiwako Toda is Masahiko Matsuzaki's fiancée, while Harumi Matsuzaki is Masahiko Matsuzaki's younger sister.

Afterwards, at the invitation of the group, Fujino and Uncle Mori and his group went to a nearby restaurant called BIG WAVE for lunch.

Just now, because of the matter of returning the ring, Uncle Mori said he would treat Fujino to lunch.

Isn't this the perfect opportunity to treat everyone?

In the restaurant, everyone ordered a large table of food.

Fujino, of course, didn't spend a single penny and got a free lunch.

During their conversation, Fujino learned that these people were all members of a diving club at the same university, and that Takako Toda and Masahiko Matsuzaki were getting married next week.

"Swimming underwater must be very difficult, right?"

Fujino sat at the dining table, took a sip of his iced tea, and spoke.

"That's absolutely true, underwater swimming is really super difficult."

Harumi Matsuzaki nodded in agreement. "My older brother, who can't swim, had quite a bumpy ride when he joined the diving club."

"If you can't swim, why would you join the scuba diving club?"

Fujino asked, puzzled.

"It's because of me."

Kiwako Toda said with a smile, "Masahiko has never been able to swim since he was a child. I originally wanted him to join the scuba diving club to learn to swim, but he still hasn't learned."

"Stop talking."

Masahiko Matsuzaki scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I have absolutely no talent for swimming. No matter how hard I try, I just can't learn it."

"Talent is certainly important, but hard work is also very important."

Uncle Mori nodded and boasted, "Take me and Fujino for example. Among so many detectives, the reason we became Great Detective is not only because of our innate detective talent, but also because of our tireless efforts."

"Are you trying to pick up young girls by drinking heavily?"

Eri Kisaki, standing to the side, retorted.

"What do you, a lawyer, know about detective work?"

Uncle Mori retorted, then turned the conversation to Fujino, "Am I right, Fujino- kun?"

Fujino: "..."

Don't drag me into your argument!

"Alright, you two, stop arguing."

Ran that Fujino seemed a little embarrassed, Ran immediately tried to smooth things over by mentioning that Kiwako Toda and Masahiko Matsuzaki were childhood friends.

Then, Uncle Mori and Eri Kisaki started bickering again.

Incidentally, they also gave the newlywed couple their respective law firm business cards and detective agency business cards.

He said that if he suspected his wife of having an affair, he should go to Mori Kogoro.

Another option is to go to Eri Kisaki when you're getting a divorce and fighting a lawsuit against your husband.

This action left Fujino, Conan, Ai Haibara, and Akemi Miyano speechless.

Most people would have been furious by now, right?

But at that moment, Fujino sensed something was wrong.

Why does this kind of chance encounter feel so familiar?

Is another murder about to occur?

Fujino cast a resentful glance at Conan.

Conan became increasingly uneasy under Fujino's gaze.

I thought to myself: Fujino is looking at me with that weird look again. Did I offend him again?

Recalling his last adventure at the windmill at the ski resort, Conan suddenly felt a chill.

"By the way, Yahiko, where did your childhood friend go?"

Kunio Kawazu was quite slick, sensed that things were not going well, so he quickly changed the subject.

"You mean Ah Yang?"

Masahiko Matsuzaki glanced around. "After we finished diving this morning, he said he was going to go snorkeling nearby, but he hasn't come back yet."

What is snorkeling?

Having just finished arguing with Eri Kisaki, Mori Kogoro, who had taken a big gulp of beer, looked somewhat puzzled.

Science Popularizer Ji Ai Haibara was standing nearby, explained, "It should be a short-duration dive without using an oxygen tank, but only using a diving mask, which helps to improve lung capacity."

"Little sister, you seem to know quite a lot."

Harumi Matsuzaki smiled and asked Ai Haibara, "Are you perhaps interested in diving as well?"

"I only saw it on TV."

Ai Haibara shook her head and silently picked up a piece of green vegetable.

Conan frowned upon hearing this, feeling that the words sounded somewhat familiar.

He looked at Ai Haibara in surprise, only to receive a flat expression in response. "You're allowed to use this excuse, but I can't?"

Fujino frowned upon hearing that Number One had not returned and seemed to be missing.

He glanced at the people sitting at the dining table.

The Mori family, along with him, Akemi Miyano, and Ai Haibara, can basically be ruled out.

After all, the laws of death in Detective Conan perfectly exclude the people around the Shinigami Elementary School Student.

So the remaining ones should be the four people they encountered by chance.

It's that classic four-choice-one-option round again.

I wonder who the murderer will be this time.

But why hasn't the system issued any tasks this time...?

Do we have to wait until the body is found?

It's also possible that no murder occurred.

He's overthinking it.

"Hey, Harumi, could you go to my room and get me a towel?"

Kiwako Toda suddenly stood up and winked at Harumi Matsuzaki.

"Kikazuko, you wouldn't be thinking of... right now..."

Before Masahiko Matsuzaki, who was sitting next to her, could finish speaking, Kiwako Toda picked up her diving goggles from the stool behind her and said, "I want to go swimming in the ocean for a while now."

"You're already a little drunk. Is it really okay for you to go diving like this?"

Harumi Matsuzaki said worriedly, "Don't rush to go today, you can go tomorrow too."

"It's okay, I haven't drunk that much."

Kiwako Toda picked up the foot pedals behind her. "Besides, I'm just doing some snorkeling."

"That's it, Harumi, I'm counting on you!"

After saying that, Kiwako Toda ran towards the sea.

"Ms. Toda, aren't you in a bit too much of a hurry?"

Fujino watched Kiwako Toda's departing figure, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Masahiko Matsuzaki nodded, then turned to look at Kiwako Toda, "Takako is indeed acting a little strange today."

"Brother, you really are something else, you don't even understand your own wife."

Harumi Matsuzaki laughed, "That's just how Takakazuko is."

Is that so?

Fujino glanced again at Kiwako Toda had already gone into the sea.

Normally speaking, then Ah Yang, who hasn't appeared yet, should be the victim this time.

He is not a victim, but a murderer.

Kiwako Toda goes diving, she'll probably find a body, right?

"You seem very worried about that woman."

Ai Haibara, who was standing nearby, noticed Fujino's expression and asked, "Did you find something?"

"No."

Fujino shook his head. "I just feel like something's not quite right."

Something's not right?

Ai Haibara tilted her little head.

A dozen minutes later.

Hey, you're all here!

Just after Kiwako Toda left her seat, Kunio Kawazu, who had left with her, was brought back by a man with his arm around her shoulder.

That person was A-Yang, whose full name was Yo Ito, and he was also a member of the diving club.

"This person isn't dead?"

Seeing that Ah Yang had returned, Fujino began to ponder again.

If A-Yang is not a victim, then could it be that Kiwako Toda, who went diving, is a victim?

Really?

There shouldn't be any danger if someone goes diving alone.

"By the way, Ya Yan, where did your wife go?"

Yo Ito looked around and, seeing no sign of Kiwako Toda, asked Masahiko Matsuzaki.

"Kikazuko went diving."

"Look, there she is."

Before Masahiko Matsuzaki could finish speaking, his sister, Harumi Matsuzaki, who had just brought the towel, pointed to the beach not far away and said, "She's still waving at us."

"Wave?"

Upon hearing this, Fujino frowned.

How do you wave while swimming?

Thinking of this, and sensing that something was wrong, he activated the magnification function of his Vision Enhancement Glasses and looked in the direction that Harumi Matsuzaki was pointing.

In the magnified vision provided by the Vision Enhancement Glasses, Kazumi Toda was seen thrashing about in the seawater; clearly, she was drowning.

Well, even on vacation you can encounter a murder case.

The Shinigami Elementary School Student is truly terrifying.