Kyoto People Have Always Been Pretty Good at This

"What...?"

Hattori Heiji smacked his lips, sensing that Fujino's words had a hidden meaning.

It seemed like they were mocking him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

"Hey, where are you all from?"

"Could it be Tokyo?"

At that moment, two frivolous male voices came from behind.

Fujino turned around and saw two men approaching Ran Kazuha and the others, striking up a conversation.

Fujino took a closer look. One of the two was wearing a green tank top and had long, non-mainstream black hair, while the other had dark skin and was wearing a sleeveless white tank top.

It's obvious at a glance that these two guys are just local thugs from the surrounding countryside...

"It's that same old story of a petty thug hitting on a girl again..."

Fujino couldn't help but sigh, and reminded Hattori Heiji beside him, "Heiji, do you want a wife?"

"Ah?"

Hattori Heiji turned around, bewildered. "What wife?"

"It's Kazuha."

Fujino looked over there. "Isn't that my wife?"

"They were childhood sweethearts!"

Hattori Heiji blushed slightly, his dark face turning red. "Don't talk nonsense, okay?"

"Ah, yes, yes, childhood sweethearts."

Fujino nodded. "Then your childhood friend got hit on."

"Ah?"

Hattori Heiji exclaimed in surprise, then looked over and his expression immediately darkened.

"That's right, I came from Tokyo."

"I am Osaka."

"Kyoto."

The girls didn't think much of it, assuming the two people in front of them were genuinely curious about where they came from, so they gave a brief response.

"Oh, I see!"

The dark-skinned, blond-haired man nodded, then enthusiastically invited, "How about we go scuba diving together after filming tomorrow?"

"Yes, we were just about to go diving."

The unconventional young man next to him chimed in, "We live around here and know a lot of great diving spots!"

"Well..."

"Us..."

Ran and Kazuha were both stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and were thinking about how best to refuse.

Momiji, sitting to the side, blinked and glanced at the two of them.

She and Fujino came to the same conclusion—the two men were both country bumpkins.

He probably hasn't seen many attractive girls before, which is why he came up to chat them up, hoping to have a romantic encounter...

Ooka Momiji instinctively felt a sense of disgust towards these petty thugs.

However, she thought about it for a moment first, then pretended to be interested. "Diving? It does look quite interesting."

"Yes, yes, it's very interesting!"

"But it seems we don't have time."

Momiji changed the subject, offering a clear yet polite refusal. "We came with our companions, and it wouldn't be appropriate for us to go out and hang out with others on our own. However, thank you for your invitation anyway."

"Well, what does it matter!"

The short-haired man clearly didn't understand the Kyoto people's linguistic skills and continued to pester them, "It's just going diving, it won't take long, it's just for fun."

"Are these guys never going to stop?"

Hattori's face darkened, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to step in and help.

Conan also nodded slightly, intending to go up and give those two guys a piece of his mind as a child.

"Well, wait a moment."

Fujino stopped the two who were about to unleash the fierce dog. "Our Kyoto people are about to start their performance."

"A native of Kyoto?"

Hattori Heiji upon hearing this, then said, "That's alright..."

After thinking about it carefully, the older woman who came with Fujino does seem to be from Kyoto.

Hattori Heiji suddenly realized something and decided to continue to observe.

"Well..."

Momiji looked at the two people who were chatting and laughing in front of her and couldn't help but sigh.

So, wasn't what I said clear enough?

As a refined and polite Kyoto resident, she felt that directly revealing her identity was rather impolite.

But the other party took advantage of the situation and continued to push their way in...

Miss Momiji was a little helpless, so she spoke in a low, impatient and rapid tone at a volume that the two people could just barely hear. "It's really troublesome to talk to country bumpkins who don't know how to read people's expressions... I've already made myself very clear, but some people, do they really think it's because they're traveling with me that they're not available...? Did they really not understand, or are they doing it on purpose?"

"Well?"

The two people in front of them exclaimed in surprise and looked at Ooka Momiji in bewilderment.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered some old-fashioned pickup lines."

Momiji smiled slightly, as if she had accidentally spoken her mind, and continued politely in a low voice, "For example, using knowledge of special places to trick girls into going diving, and then further developing the relationship to take advantage of them... Surely no one still thinks that can successfully pick up girls like that?"

As she spoke, she twitched her chin and said, "I reckon that only frivolous and unscrupulous people like those who use this method would fall for this kind of trap..."

At this point, she looked up at the two of them, covering her face with a surprised smile, "You two aren't the kind of frivolous people who casually flirt with girls, are you?"

"..."

After a series of attacks, the duo of thugs were immediately rendered speechless, their faces alternating between pale and dark.

They could tell that the other party was rejecting them, but they still decided to keep pestering them.

After all, what if?

They simply overturned the table, then pretended to be nonchalant and politely exchanged pleasantries, without explicitly stating that it was the two of them.

If you were to refute that, wouldn't that be like running headfirst into something?

Who plays like that?

Isn't this just digging a pit for them to fall into?

"That lady... she's really something."

Hattori Heiji gave an awkward smile, "Truly worthy of being a Kyoto native!"

Fujino nodded in agreement, "Right?"

After wandering around Kyoto, Fujino noticed that the people of Kyoto speak very 'euphemistically'.

For example, when it comes to refusing, they usually don't say it directly, but rather smile and find a reason to refuse indirectly.

If the other party doesn't understand the meaning and thinks it's completely the opposite, they will silently label the other party as someone who doesn't know how to read between the lines, and might even start mocking them.

Although the purpose is to avoid embarrassment for both parties, it would be awkward for the other party if they couldn't understand.

The effect is similar to saying things like "You're awesome," "Yeah, yeah, yeah," or "Sweating soybean man."

It can only be said that Kyoto people have always been very good at the art of reading between the lines.

Just like the Genealogy Sage who fights to protect the family tree in Zuan, the 'Air Sage' who can read the air and fight back against it is the highest praise for the people of Kyoto.

As for people from the countryside...

It can only be said that as people from Kyoto, the ancient capital that was the capital a hundred years ago, they have always considered themselves superior and that anywhere outside of Kyoto is the countryside.