Chapter 32: Wednesday Morning
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the dining table in the Natsukawa household.
A father and daughter, one tall and one small, were having breakfast together.
Natsukawa ate while reading the newspaper in his hand.
He had to admire the efficiency—the diplomat murder case that had been solved around 11 PM last night was already making headlines this morning.
However, this time the headline was somewhat... unusual.
["Famous Detectives from Kanto and Kansai Stumped; Six-Year-Old Girl Reveals the Truth; Diplomat Dies at Wife's Hands!"]
Wow.
Uncle Mouri was going to blow a gasket when he saw this. These reporters and editors were masters at stirring up controversy! And where did they even get this information? Their intelligence network was almost as good as Franky's!
Reading further, the article was mostly criticizing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The actual case only occupied a small portion of the piece.
Classic bait and switch.
It seemed this wasn't just a simple news report—there was probably some political infighting involved.
"Huh?" Natsukawa noticed Anya's photo in the article.
The picture looked like it was from Teitan Elementary School's student records. These reporters were more like detectives than actual detectives—in just one night, they'd tracked down Anya's school photo.
Or perhaps it was just politicians being efficient.
"Anya, stop bouncing around! Come look—you're in the newspaper!"
He waved the paper, looking at her with obvious exasperation.
The little girl was holding her rice bowl, glancing around nervously as if searching for something.
"Papa, where did you hide the liquor Hattori-niisan gave me? Today Anya doesn't want cocoa—she wants that special drink!"
She'd been fussing about it all morning, her goal crystal clear: the medicinal liquor she'd been obsessing over.
Natsukawa obviously wasn't going to tell her where it was. Instead, he continued waving the newspaper, deliberately shoving the photo in front of Anya's face.
"Anya's in the newspaper?!"
The little girl's attention was immediately diverted. Who could resist being featured in the newspaper? Well, except maybe people who'd lost their wallet.
"Yep!"
"Give it, give it! I need to show Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko at school!"
Natsukawa asked curiously, "What about Conan? He's also a member of the Detective Boys, your partner."
"Conan wouldn't let me drink the liquor yesterday, so I'm not showing him!"
Well, mystery solved. It was Hattori who'd let Conan drink that liquor yesterday afternoon, and Anya had caught the scent.
"Alright, finish your breakfast. I'll drive you to school today!"
"Okay!"
Anya carefully folded the newspaper, tucked it into her small backpack, and began eating seriously.
Ten minutes later, Natsukawa parked his car in front of the Mouri Detective Agency.
He wanted to check on Conan, and if the boy was well enough for school, he could give him a ride since it was on the way.
"Conan! What were you thinking? How could you secretly drink alcohol!"
Just as he reached the second-floor entrance, Natsukawa heard voices from inside.
The office door was slightly ajar. Natsukawa poked his head in. "Is Conan going to school today?"
"Is Conan coming to school with Anya today? I specially had Papa come pick you up!"
Anya stood proudly with her hands on her hips, looking concerned for her classmate—though Natsukawa suspected she was just showing off having a father to drive her. Was that just his imagination?
"Natsukawa-san! And Anya!" Ran greeted them with a smile.
As soon as they entered, Natsukawa detected a strong smell of medicinal liquor.
He sniffed the air curiously. "What's that smell?"
Given Ran's earlier scolding, Conan had probably tried sneaking some of that liquor.
Did Conan remember turning into an adult last night?
Come to think of it, he suddenly remembered that his phone still had a video of Conan shrinking. After dropping Anya off at school, he'd need to visit Franky's place to transfer it to his computer and analyze the underlying principles carefully.
"It's all Hattori-kun's fault for bringing that strong liquor. Conan seems to have developed a taste for it—he was just trying to sneak some." Ran looked worried. Would Conan grow up to be an alcoholic like his father? How was she supposed to explain this to the Edogawa family she'd never even met? Had he inherited this tendency from his newfound father?
"Where? Where! Anya wants some too! Anya wants to become a beautiful lady like Ran-neechan!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Anya, don't get any ideas! I don't even like strong liquor—I wanted water! It's just that the color looks so similar to water, that's why I grabbed the wrong bottle."
Conan lied through his teeth, glancing at the liquor cabinet, then subtly kicking the step stool he'd used behind the sofa.
Natsukawa: ...
Ran: ...
"Conan's a bad kid who tells lies! (▼へ▼メ)"
Well, even Anya wasn't buying that excuse.
"I swear, I won't drink anymore. That was the last time."
Conan shrugged helplessly.
It seemed he'd need to get Professor Agasa to buy him a bottle so he could drink his fill.
He was certain he'd become an adult yesterday—he was acutely aware of it. Those two intense heart pains were vividly etched in his memory.
However, he still couldn't figure out why he'd fainted after transforming, or who had carried him to the bedroom.
Someone must know his identity. But who?
Hattori? Or Natsukawa standing right in front of him?
Both were highly suspicious. When Hattori was solving the case in the study, could it have been Natsukawa?
No, wait—Ran had mentioned this morning that Hattori asked her to give him his regards. What did that mean?
Damn it! Without Hattori's contact information, he couldn't confirm anything. He desperately wanted to call Hattori and confront him about what he knew.
Ran's gaze toward him today was definitely different—scrutinizing, almost. What had happened during the hours he was unconscious?
At least the Tsujimura murder case didn't result in a wrongful conviction. That was one stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.
"Alright, if Conan's not taking a sick day, I'll drive him to school too."
"Thank you so much, Natsukawa-san."
Ran bowed politely while Conan rolled his eyes.
He'd originally wanted to stay home sick, but Ran had checked his temperature, found it normal, and rejected his request outright.
How could a child skip school?
Those had been Ran's exact words.
Conan felt utterly depressed. He wanted to complain but didn't dare.
Damn it, I'm already a second-year high school student!
That's why he'd attempted to drink the liquor earlier.
He'd wanted to become his seventeen-year-old self again and refuse to go to elementary school.
In the end, he hadn't succeeded. Instead, Ran caught him and he'd spit liquor all over Kogoro's desk.
If Natsukawa knew Conan's thoughts, he'd definitely tell him with a cold smile: It's Wednesday, kid. Even if you're seventeen, you still have to go to school today!
Unless he shrank into a baby in diapers.
Actually, the image of Conan drinking from a baby bottle was somewhat... refreshing and unique.
"Alright, let's get going then."
The GTR successfully transformed into a school bus.
On the way, Anya couldn't resist pulling out the newspaper and placing it in front of Conan.
"Conan, I solved yesterday's case! I, Anya, am still the leader of the Detective Boys!"
The shrunken detective's lips twitched. This little brat who could barely read was actually bragging to him.
He felt quite disdainful of Anya's boasting, but since he only knew about the Tsujimura case through Ran's verbal description, he naturally took the newspaper to check the details himself.
In Anya's eyes, this was a sign of his complete defeat.
I'm the best!
Anya thought smugly.
It was unfortunate that it was a full moon today and her telepathy wasn't working, otherwise she'd definitely want to hear whether Conan was truly impressed.
Soon, the car arrived at the entrance of Teitan Elementary School.
After countless trips, Natsukawa was intimately familiar with the route from home to the school. The journey was incredibly smooth, and the traffic lights seemed to turn green just for him—it was almost magical.
"Anya, pay attention in class, okay?"
Anya, who'd been cheerful and smug moments ago, immediately deflated upon hearing her father's parting words. ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3
It's not that I'm not trying—studying is just really, really hard.
Thinking about today's test, with her abilities malfunctioning again, she was doomed. Even cheating was off the table.
So frustrating.
Conan, who'd just finished reading the newspaper, stared at Anya in shock.
"You... you witnessed the entire murder from the beginning?"
Anya nodded, regaining her composure. "Yep."
"Then why didn't you tell me?!" Conan nearly choked.
Seeing the headline—"Six-Year-Old Girl Sees Through the Truth"—he felt his blood pressure spike. If Anya had told him sooner, he wouldn't have had to force his feverish brain to work overtime and faint!
"Because I was scared I'd end up like you, getting a bump on the head from Uncle Mouri."
Conan: ...
I... I can't even argue with that.
(End of Chapter 32)
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