Conan Was a Real Pain in the Neck!

Tsukamoto Kazumi stood up, delight still on her face. "I never expected to see you here, Yunwen. Are you finished with your business?"

Shu Yunwen scratched his head. "Not yet. I ran into these four kids near Tokyo Tower, and since it was lunchtime, I figured I might as well treat them to a meal."

"Hello, Kazumi! Hello, you two!" the four kids greeted them politely.

"Hello to you too!" Tsukamoto Kazumi replied, then said, "Yunwen, Matsushita, and you four little ones, have a seat. The food at this family restaurant is really good."

The table was long enough to seat seven or eight, so even with six adults and children altogether, Shu Yunwen's group had plenty of room.

Once everyone was seated, a server came over and bowed slightly. "What would you like to order?"

Shu Yunwen pointed at the four kids. "Do you have kids' meals? If so, bring them four."

"Yes, sir," the server replied. "Four kids' meals, then?"

Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi sighed together. "Are kids' meals the only thing we can get for a big meal?" Genta added with particular emphasis, "I won't get full at all."

Shu Yunwen ignored the three kids' complaints. Tsukamoto Kazumi smiled and said, "The tonkatsu and pickles here are both delicious, and they can serve them on separate plates."

"Then bring two orders of each, and serve them separately for the four kids," Shu Yunwen said casually. He and Matsushita ordered their own meals, then waited for the food to arrive.

Taking the opportunity, Tsukamoto Kazumi gestured to the two classmates beside her and introduced them. "This is Matsushima Kōran, and this is Kawasaki Sayuri. They were your classmates in your first year of high school, too!"

"Really? I'm sorry. I've forgotten a lot of things since I woke up," Shu Yunwen apologized quickly.

"Don't worry about it, Shu-san," Matsushima Kōran and Kawasaki Sayuri said.

After they chatted for a while, Tsukamoto Kazumi suddenly said, "By the way, earlier, when you asked where Genta and the others were outside the art museum, you looked so worried that I thought you were looking for them for some reason..."

Shu Yunwen smiled and interrupted her. "Actually, I was just passing by and thought I'd check."

The curious Conan took the chance to ask, "Brother Yunwen went to the art museum and specifically asked where we were?"

"That's right," Tsukamoto Kazumi replied.

Matsushima Kōran chimed in, "Shu-san really did look worried at the time..."

Conan pressed him again. "What exactly did Brother Yunwen ask? Can you tell me?"

Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes and reached out to tug Conan's cheek. "You're awfully curious, little guy!"

This kid sure asked a lot of questions.

Just then, the food finally arrived. Meanwhile, the three members of the bandit group who had been following them sat down at a distant table, still pretending to be casual as they kept an eye on Shu Yunwen and the others.

Shu Yunwen didn't pay them much mind. Unless those three were out of their minds, they wouldn't try anything with so many people around. Well, they could just be part of the lunchtime scenery.

Shu Yunwen and the others chatted as they ate. Just as he was nearly finished, the cell phone beside Matsushita suddenly rang. Matsushita hurriedly answered it and murmured a few times before covering the mouthpiece and saying to Shu Yunwen, "Lord Yunwen, the call's from the agency. Secretary Adachi says that Yamagishi Eiichi, Miss Ono Yoko's manager, is at the office now. He seems to want to talk about Miss Ono, and he looks very anxious..."

"Yamagishi Eiichi?" Shu Yunwen paused.

Of course he remembered him!

Ono Yoko's manager had gone to the agency. That meant Ono Yoko's situation probably wasn't looking good.

Well, it seemed a business opportunity had come knocking.

Shu Yunwen took the phone. "Hello, this is Shu Yunwen. Vice President Matsushita and I will be right back at the agency. Please tell Mr. Yamagishi Eiichi to wait a little longer."

"Understood, Lord Yunwen," Secretary Adachi replied from the other end.

After hanging up, Shu Yunwen looked apologetic. "Kazumi, I'm sorry, but there's a client waiting at the agency, so I have to get back right away..."

A flash of disappointment crossed Tsukamoto Kazumi's face, but she still smiled. "It's all right, Yunwen. The agency's business is more important. You should go."

She'd thought she might get to spend the afternoon with Shu Yunwen, too.

"I'm really sorry," Shu Yunwen said again, then turned to Genta, Conan, and the others. "And there's Genta and the rest of you. I saw the news today about members of an Italian bandit group on the loose in Japan. It's far too dangerous to let you kids wander around on your own..."

Tsukamoto Kazumi immediately smiled and said, "If you're worried, Yunwen, you can leave them with me. I'll take them home."

Shu Yunwen got the answer he wanted and quickly said, "Really? That's very kind of you, Kazumi. I've paid for lunch. And if I get the chance, I'll treat you to coffee sometime to thank you."

Those three bandits were still sitting right there! He'd better get the four kids somewhere safe first.

"Hey! We don't want to go home!" Genta protested at once.

"We're going treasure hunting this afternoon!" Mitsuhiko said.

Ayumi added, "Ayumi wants to use the treasure money to travel around the world!"

Conan, on the other hand, agreed with Shu Yunwen. "It really is dangerous for kids to be out without an adult watching them, so..."

But Genta and the other two completely ignored him.

Tsukamoto Kazumi looked surprised. "You're going treasure hunting?"

Mitsuhiko took out the treasure map. "That's right! We found it outside the art museum. There has to be a huge treasure!"

Tsukamoto Kazumi took the map and looked it over. Seeing the simple sketches, she smiled with narrowed eyes. "It really does look like there might be a huge treasure! How about I come along and help you look for it this afternoon?"

Beside Tsukamoto Kazumi, Matsushima Kōran and Kawasaki Sayuri frowned in unison. "Kazumi, we still have homework to do, so we have to go home and work on it this afternoon."

"That's all right. You two can go ahead. I've already finished my homework, so I can keep the kids company," Tsukamoto Kazumi said.

"In that case, I'll leave them in your hands, Kazumi," Shu Yunwen said after a moment's thought. With Tsukamoto Kazumi accompanying them, they should be safe enough. Besides, even if he sent the kids home, they might sneak back out to keep searching. Better to have Tsukamoto Kazumi go with them and avoid any trouble.

Once it got dark, he could rely on his memory to find the treasure faster than Conan and the others.

Those three bandits would surely keep watching Conan and the others. Once he had the treasure, he could find out where Conan's group was and make an anonymous call to the police. When the police arrived, the danger would be over.

Shu Yunwen turned and reminded Genta and the others to behave, then handed his cell phone to Tsukamoto Kazumi. "Kazumi, take this phone for now. It'll come in handy if anything happens. My pager number is XXXXXXXX. If you need anything, just call me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Uh... all right." Tsukamoto Kazumi took the phone.

After a few more words, Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo hurried off. Before leaving, Shu Yunwen casually glanced at the three bandits. They were still watching the piece of paper in the kids' hands and hadn't noticed him looking.

Once they were out of the family restaurant, Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo got into the car. After it started, Shu Yunwen took out the photo he'd snapped with his Polaroid camera, studied it carefully, and tried to recall the details.

Matsushita Heisaburo glanced at Shu Yunwen, puzzled. "Lord Yunwen, is that piece of paper they have the clue to the Maple Leaf Gold Coins? But aren't you being a little too cautious? They're just kids. They wouldn't care even if you took a picture right in front of them, would they?"

Shu Yunwen smiled and put the photo away. "Matsushita-kun, they are just kids, that's true. But there's one kid among them who's a real handful. If I leave any clues in front of him, he might keep chasing after them..."

Kudo Shinichi... no, Conan. That kid was a detective!

When detectives came across a mystery, they'd pursue it relentlessly.

As far as the Maple Leaf Gold Coins were concerned, Conan was a real pain in the neck.