Heiji opened his eyes. The two girls beside him had already gotten out of bed. They had washed up, brushed their teeth, gotten dressed, and left the room.
Breakfast had already been prepared.
During the morning, the girls explored Tsukikage Island all over again.
Heiji did not go with them. Three women were enough to be noisy, four were a whole show, and he didn't even want to imagine what five would be. He absolutely refused to suffer through that.
At the port of Tsukikage Island, the Alice was bobbing up and down with the waves in the distance. Heiji was lying on the deck in swim trunks and sunglasses, looking completely relaxed.
The phone beside him suddenly rang.
Sonoko's voice came through.
"I'm on the Alice."
Right away, there was a commotion on the other end.
"Oh my, you actually went to enjoy yourself alone! You really have no manners at all."
Yukiko's voice cut in.
"Are you all done sightseeing?"
Heiji couldn't be bothered to argue with her.
"Yeah. We're coming over right now. Hurry up and prepare some drinks—we've been walking all morning and we're thirsty."
After saying that, Yukiko hung up immediately.
The midday sun was strong. After sunbathing for a while, Heiji's skin turned a bronze shade. But it was only temporary—by tomorrow, it would be back to normal.
He took some fruit wine out of the freezer and poured it into a glass pitcher. Then he set out some sweets and placed everything under the sunshade on the deck, waiting for Kazuha and the others to arrive.
Several women wearing straw hats walked over from the town, laughing and chatting.
Kazuha took out her phone and started to dial Heiji's number.
Suddenly, the Alice moved closer and lowered its gangway.
"V, Ran, let's go up."
Sonoko led Vermouth and Ran onto the ship.
"Ran, your dad and Conan really aren't coming?" Kazuha asked curiously.
"Yeah. They said they're heading straight to Osaka, so they're not coming," Ran replied with a gentle smile.
"That's a shame," Kazuha said with a small smile.
"Oh my, what's a shame about it? It's better if they don't come—no one will fight us for food," Yukiko said proudly.
After the girls boarded, the gangway slowly retracted.
The ship moved and returned to its original position.
Kazuha and Sonoko searched the entire deck, but they couldn't find Heiji anywhere.
"Maybe he's asleep in a cabin. Call him," Yukiko said casually.
Kazuha quickly took out her phone and dialed.
A ringtone immediately sounded nearby.
"Heiji left his phone here."
Sonoko looked at the table. The fruit wine and sweets were ready, and Heiji's phone was sitting there too.
"Could something have happened to him?"
Vermouth's words made Kazuha and Sonoko go pale. Worry rose sharply in their eyes.
"Sharon, don't scare them."
Even as she said that, Yukiko's face looked a little pale too.
Ran didn't speak, but worry showed on her face as well.
Vermouth scanned the deck. Her brows tightened slightly. She walked to the table and touched a teacup. "This tea is still hot. He can't have been gone long. Maybe he's asleep somewhere?"
Hearing that, Kazuha and Sonoko immediately ran toward the cabins. Soon, they came back with tears in their eyes.
"We searched every room, but we didn't see Heiji."
Yukiko and the others' expressions changed instantly. Panic spread across their faces.
"Kazuha, help me out—throw me a bottle of fruit wine."
Heiji's voice drifted over faintly.
Kazuha and the others froze, then rushed to the railing and looked down.
Heiji was floating on his back in the sea, rising and falling with the waves.
The girls looked at each other, and anger immediately flashed in their eyes.
"Hmph! There's no fruit wine left!"
"We're not giving you anything, you idiot!"
Kazuha and Sonoko turned and stomped off, furious. They had almost been scared half to death.
Heiji looked confused. Did I do something to offend them?
"Oh my, Heiji, you're really relaxed—floating out there like that."
Yukiko leaned on the railing and looked down at him with a teasing smile.
"Are you going to toss a bottle down to me?"
"Oh my, how could I? I just think you look ridiculous like this."
Heiji closed his eyes and ignored her.
Ran smiled faintly and turned back toward the table.
"Ran, what are you doing?" Sonoko asked curiously. She had already changed into her swimsuit and was lying on a lounge chair.
"Ran, you're not allowed to give Heiji fruit wine!" Kazuha pouted, clearly unhappy. "He scared me to death just now."
Vermouth had changed into a black bikini. With black sunglasses on, she lay on a lounge chair, stretched out comfortably. Hearing Kazuha's words, she gave a light, amused smile. "Maybe he did it on purpose."
That was clearly meant to stir things up.
Yukiko walked over and smiled. "Could be."
She was adding fuel to it.
Ran just smiled. She picked up a bottle and walked to the railing. "Heiji, here."
Splash!
The bottle hit the water.
"Ran, you're too nice to him," Sonoko said, giving her a look.
"But Heiji has helped me a lot. Of course I should be nice to him," Ran replied gently.
Yukiko came out after changing into her swimsuit. Hearing Ran say that, she froze briefly, then shook her head. I must be overthinking it.
In the small pool on the deck, the girls swam around and played.
An hour later, the Alice started up.
Time passed.
"Heiji, you have to come to Tokyo and see me a lot," Sonoko said.
She hooked her arms around Heiji's neck, rose onto her toes, and kissed him firmly.
Heiji let go of Sonoko and smiled. "Alright. I'll come to Tokyo in a few days."
"Really? Heehee, you're the best!"
Sonoko was thrilled.
"Heiji, remember to message me when you get to Tokyo," Ran said with a small smile.
Heiji smiled faintly and nodded.
"Oh my, Osaka and Tokyo aren't even that far. Do you really have to act like this?" Yukiko said as she walked out, arms crossed, looking exasperated.
Sonoko shot Yukiko a look, then turned to Vermouth. "V, come to Tokyo when you have time. I'll take you around."
Vermouth smiled. "When that happens, I might eat so much that even a rich girl like you goes broke."
Sonoko kissed Heiji one more time and climbed into the car. "Ran, hurry up."
Ran gave Heiji and the others a small smile and got into the passenger seat.
The car drove farther and farther away.
"You two, it's early. If you don't sleep enough, you'll regret it," Heiji said, glancing at Yukiko and Vermouth. Then he turned and went back inside.
Time flew by.
Five days had passed since Tsukikage Island.
"Yukiko, are you sure you're not going to Tokyo?" Vermouth asked from the driver's seat.
Yukiko leaned against the door and shook her head. "I'm not going. I have something else to do."
"Then forget it. I'll go on my own."
The black Mercedes started up.
Vermouth parked in a public lot. She stepped out in a long black dress, her posture calm and confident.
Vring— vring—
"Gin?"
"Vermouth. The boss wants you back."
"Immediately."
"I'll finish one thing first. I'll explain it to him myself."
Vermouth hung up. A cold look flashed in her eyes.
"Teitan Elementary School!"
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The novel has 690 chapters and is available on my Patreon: LIZBETH1242