Having finally extricated himself from the media's encirclement, Tangze was immediately surrounded by a chattering swarm of children. The few kids who had caught a fleeting glimpse of the two paintings in the elevator were especially excited, clutching at his sleeves and bombarding him with questions without pause.
Unable to shake them off, Tangze could only first try his best to tug his wide cuff free, picking and choosing among their overexcited questions as he answered.
"Yes, I painted them that day in the building. What I handed to my teacher was... Yes, that's why I wanted to invite you here to see them... Mm, thank you for taking care of him that day..."
Seeing Yusuke Kitagawa's expressionless face after being thoroughly worn down by the noise, Sonoko Suzuki quietly laughed, then suddenly felt relieved. "So that's why. I was wondering."
She had been wondering why even this bunch of little brats had been specifically invited. Yusuke Kitagawa clearly did not have the kind of personality that got along with children.
...Though judging by the way he usually spoke, he might have been the sort who could not get along with anyone.
"Mm. In the skyscraper that day, these children took the last elevator down with Mr. Kisaragi. When I saw them, they were even helping the old gentleman walk." Ran Mouri agreed with her assessment.
At the time, having come down slightly earlier, she had been anxiously waiting for Conan. She had been paying close attention to the elevators coming and going, so naturally she had seen it.
As the first people to witness those two breathtaking works, it was only natural that they received Yusuke Kitagawa's special attention.
"This won't be over anytime soon. Let's go take a look around the exhibition ourselves first, Ran." Seeing that more