BWDC:SDDK Chapter 52: Difficulty - High
"Oh, so it's about cooking. I thought it was... well, cooking," Suzuki Sonoko said, letting out a long breath of relief as they stood by the station.
She had honestly thought her matchmaking plans had gone up in smoke before they even started. As Mouri Ran's best friend, Sonoko had zero doubt regarding Ran's charms. Every handsome guy they encountered seemed to want to date her. If Ran actually had feelings for someone else, Sonoko knew she stood absolutely no chance in a direct competition!
Though, Sonoko didn't really think she'd ever actually fight Ran for a boyfriend anyway...
"Of course it's about cooking," Ran replied, looking a bit puzzled. "I feel like Ren Ichimonji's mastery of culinary arts is even more impressive than the home economics teachers at school."
Ran hadn't quite processed why Sonoko had been making such a fuss just a moment ago. However, her answer piqued Sonoko's curiosity.
---Even better than the teachers at school?
Sonoko was a bit skeptical. Teitan High School had excellent resources, and the cooking instructors were usually retired head chefs scouted from top hotels. After all, Teitan High was a core pillar of the Teitan educational system. From elementary school through university, the Teitan system had produced countless elites in Beika Town. With such a strong academic foundation, they naturally boasted the best teaching staff in the area.
However, seeing that Ran truly was only talking about cooking, Sonoko's heart finally settled. She chuckled and said:
"Alright, alright. You've got the tickets, right? Let's head to the Tokyo Budokan first."
"Based on the time, the concert starts in a little over an hour. If we don't get there early for the ticket check, we might not even get into the venue!"
Even if everyone else was locked out, there's no way you wouldn't get in. You really have no realistic grasp of your own family's status, Ren Ichimonji thought, shaking his head slightly.
The Suzuki Financial Group's wealth was beyond immense. As the saying went: "Ooka in the West, Suzuki in the East." To outsiders, the Suzuki Group was a representative conglomerate that could rival the historic Ooka family—which had produced a former Prime Minister—simply through sheer assets. As an heiress of the Suzuki family, if Sonoko arrived late, the Budokan staff would probably open a private gate just for her rather than keep her outside.
A taxi soon arrived nearby. Sonoko and Ran sat in the back, while Ren took the front passenger seat. The driver, an old-timer who had survived the bubble economy era, had seen it all. A small group of teenagers was hardly enough to catch his interest. After a quick confirmation of the destination, the taxi set off toward the Tokyo Budokan.
In the backseat, Ran finally realized what Sonoko's earlier outburst had implied. Her face instantly flushed crimson. She leaned in close to Sonoko and whispered:
"Honestly, how do you even come up with these ideas?"
"I've told you before, I'm going to wait for Shinichi to come back. Stop having these wild fantasies."
Sonoko apologized with a sheepish grin, fiddling with her headband to change the subject.
"Ah, Ran, what songs do you think TWO-MIX will perform this time? Besides that new song they teased on the preview show, they'll probably play the ones from that anime, right?"
She was referring to the opening and ending themes of New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz.
The conversation shifted entirely toward TWO-MIX. Ren Ichimonji, however, knew nothing about the group, though the name of the female lead singer, Takayama Minami, sounded hauntingly familiar. He felt like he must have heard that name somewhere before. But he had no real impression of the Japanese music scene, so logically, he shouldn't know her...
"I think it's a voice acting thing... whose voice was it? Conan's?" Ren muttered to himself.
He remembered that the TV production teams often slipped the names of voice actors, writers, and producers into the show. Takayama Minami was likely the same. However, characters like that usually followed a specific pattern: whenever a real-life guest appeared in an episode, they were inevitably tied to a case. They were either the culprit or the victim—and Takayama Minami was likely the latter.
"I'll just go to the venue and keep an eye on Takayama Minami directly; that should work."
He had extra tracking devices in his belt. He didn't mind giving one to Conan's voice actress, just as he had given one to Conan himself. Honestly, outside of a "nice guy" like him, what other hero would be willing to sacrifice their time and energy like this?
Ren pulled a corner of a tracker from his pocket and glanced at it.
---Conan had already arrived at the Tokyo Budokan.
Once he saw what was happening on Conan's end, the mission would likely trigger. He wondered if it would be Medium or Low difficulty this time. Regardless, Low difficulty was fine—even a small mosquito has meat. He'd take whatever points he could get; it was better than nothing.
"Conan, your dark circles are really heavy," Ayumi noted, looking at Conan with concern as they stood near the Budokan. "Didn't you sleep last night? Good kids should be in bed by ten at the latest!"
Genta and Mitsuhiko nodded in solemn agreement.
Conan merely twitched his lips. Easy for you to say. You guys took a car back and went straight to sleep. I had to walk home, then make a round trip to Professor Agasa's lab. By the time I hit the bedroom, it was past midnight. It's not that I didn't want to sleep early; I couldn't!
Conan sighed and said listlessly, "Fine. What are we playing next?"
He just hoped it wasn't another "Great Adventure." If it was, he might actually collapse from exhaustion.
"Well, I haven't really thought about it yet," Genta replied, scratching his head with an embarrassed laugh.
All around them, crowds of people were streaming toward the Tokyo Budokan. Genta's attention was instantly captured.
"Why are so many people heading that way today? Is something happening?" Genta asked curiously. "Let's go check it out!"
Hey, hey... there are promotional posters for the TWO-MIX concert plastered right next to you. Did you seriously miss those? Conan thought, feeling helpless.
Seeing Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko already sprinting toward the Budokan, he sighed again. Fine, he'd follow them just to make sure they didn't get into trouble.
As Conan turned around, he walked straight into someone—quite literally. Given his height, he ended up face-first in the person's midsection.
The young man in a red jacket, wearing a hoodie and sunglasses, was knocked to the ground. The other members of the Junior Detective League immediately ran back, asking if Conan was okay.
"Conan, what happened? Are you alright?"
Conan looked up at the young man in red. The man's sunglasses had slipped off, revealing most of his face.
---It was none other than Takayama Minami of TWO-MIX!
[Warning: A violent incident threatening the public safety of Gotham City has been detected nearby!]
[As Batman, it is your duty to maintain order in Gotham. Please arrive at the scene immediately and apprehend the criminal before they flee, or stop the crime while it is in progress!]
[Difficulty Rating: High. Completion Reward: 100 Points!]
End of Chapter
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium