Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Standing outside the restroom, Ritsu idly played with his phone while waiting. A message from Rei popped up.
[Zero: Ritsu, Jin told me you went to Beika Town?]
His slender fingers quickly tapped on the keyboard. Most likely a certain Mr. Playboy, who was still squatting inside the restroom, had reported their location to his best friend Jinpei via phone.
But if Rei could use his phone, did that mean he had gone out as well?
[Ritsu: Yeah. Aren't you at the academy?]
[Zero: Nope. Jin and I are out buying some things. Let's have dinner at that super popular soba place in Asahi Town later. Even if we don't have a New Year's celebration, we should at least eat New Year's soba.]
[Ritsu: Okay. I'll tell the others.]
After replying, Ritsu finally saw Hagiwara walk out of the restroom, clutching his backside. Judging by his expression, it looked like he wasn't quite satisfied yet…
Honestly, his acting was pretty good, Ritsu didn't suspect anything at all.
"Rei and the others said they want to eat soba for dinner."
"Hm? Sounds good. Nothing beats a bowl of hot soba soup in winter!"
Chatting and laughing, the two returned to the jewelry store, where they noticed Date already standing outside the entrance.
Ritsu glanced down at his hands. They were completely empty. Thinking about the diamond rings they had tried earlier and their prices, had Date decided not to buy one because it was too expensive?
Seeing them return, Date casually started a conversation. "Let's go upstairs and see if there are any sneakers. Our physical training has increased lately, so our shoes are wearing out faster."
"Sounds good. I actually wanted to look at shoes too."
Hagiwara smoothly picked up the conversation and slung an arm over Ritsu's shoulder as they took the escalator up.
The three of them browsed shoes in a sporting goods store on the second floor. Taking advantage of a moment when the other two weren't paying attention, Ritsu casually said, "I'm going to the restroom," before quickly leaving and heading straight back to the jewelry store on the first floor.
The female clerk greeted him with a "Welcome," then recognized him as the cool, aloof "cat-type" guy from earlier. She smiled and asked,
"Sir, did you forget something here?"
Ritsu stared at several of the diamond rings they had tried earlier inside the glass display case. If the ring was too expensive, it would put too much pressure on Date. But if it was too cheap, it didn't seem suitable for a proposal ring.
After considering for a moment, he pointed to a rose-gold diamond ring priced around the middle range.
"I'll take this one. What was the ring size I tried earlier?"
"Size 15."
"Then give me size 14. Thank you."
The clerk blinked twice. This handsome guy made buying a ring way too decisive. She loved customers like this.
'But why did all the handsome guys already have girlfriends? Sob ╥﹏╥'
Completely unaware that he had been mistaken for having a girlfriend, Ritsu calmly took out his gold card from his wallet. After paying without hesitation, he placed the ring box into his crossbody bag, planning to give it to Class Leader Date later when they were alone in the dorm tonight.
He quickly ran back to the sporting goods store on the second floor. The entire trip had taken less than four minutes and he even bought two pairs of sneakers for himself along the way.
After taking the subway from Beika Town back to Asahi Town in Fuchū City, they followed the address Rei had sent and finally found the small, inconspicuous shop hidden in an alley in Asahi Town 3-chome.
"Shodai" was the name of the shop. Just hearing it made it sound like the place had been operating for many years.
Rei stood at the entrance waiting for them, blowing warm breath into his frozen hands.
"You guys finally made it. Hurry inside."
The difference between the outdoor and indoor air was stark. The warmth instantly lifted their spirits. They sat down on the tatami near a corner, and Morofushi immediately poured them each a cup of warm genmaicha.
The faint tea aroma mixed with the scent of roasted rice. The bitterness of the tea leaves was mild, leaving behind a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Since it was a specialty soba shop, ordering their signature dishes was the natural choice. Because it was New Year's Eve, the restaurant was packed.
Jinpei, Hagiwara, and Date chose a set of handmade cold soba with grated yam. The other three ordered mountain vegetable soba soup with tempura.
"Three bowls of mountain vegetable soba with tempura! Please enjoy!"
The soba broth was clear, filled with various mountain vegetables that gave off a refreshing fragrance. Ritsu lifted the bowl and took a small sip of the soup. The broth wasn't greasy at all and tasted very clean, likely a stock made from bonito and kelp.
The mountain vegetables were fresh, and the noodles had a satisfying chew. After adding some freshly grated wasabi from the small dish, the extra kick of spice elevated the entire bowl of soba. The stimulation was just right.
"Ahh, hot soba soup really is the best in winter. Your whole body warms up instantly," Rei remarked after swallowing a mouthful of noodles.
"Cold soba is the real king, okay? Especially with grated yam—whoa! This is amazing!"
Jinpei vigorously mixed the yam paste, dipped his soba into the cold noodle sauce, then coated it with the yam before stuffing it into his mouth. The silky texture made it irresistible.
As usual, Morofushi carefully studied the dish as he ate. He truly loved researching food.
Meanwhile, Ritsu quietly enjoyed his soba. His chopsticks soon moved toward the golden-brown tempura shrimp. He liked eating his favorite things first because he was afraid that if he waited until the end and was already full, he wouldn't be able to enjoy them.
If you forced yourself to eat something, even if you liked it, it wouldn't taste good anymore.
The tempura shrimp had a very thin batter and was fried perfectly. It was crispy without being greasy, and the shrimp meat was firm and springy. He could almost imagine that the shrimp must have been quite athletic when alive, otherwise the meat wouldn't be this good.
Aside from the shrimp, Ritsu's other favorite was the pumpkin tempura. The crispy exterior and soft interior combined with the natural sweetness of the pumpkin. Dipping it in a little fine salt enhanced the sweetness and made it even more delicious.
"Gochisousama deshita."
'I'm full.'
Ritsu sipped his genmaicha in small gulps while watching the others continue ordering more food. The portions in restaurants were clearly far smaller than the large servings they were used to at the academy cafeteria.
Especially for the biggest eater, Jinpei. After slurping down two servings of soba, he also ate more than half a bowl of tempura rice. When it came to food, his appetite was truly enormous, at least from Ritsu's perspective.
"Don't stuff yourself too much," Hagiwara reminded him. "We're staying up for New Year's tonight. On the way back we'll definitely buy beer and snacks to watch the Kōhaku."
"You guys are planning to watch the Kōhaku Music Festival? Who's performing this year?"
"No idea, but I'll support the Red Team no matter what."
Morofushi asked curiously, "Why support the Red Team?"
Rei, who had already seen the performer list, calmly took a sip of tea.
"Probably because the Red Team's host is Yukie Nakama."
"Hehe, you know me well, Zero! Yukie is a super beauty, her beauty even has a sharp edge to it!"
Ritsu glanced at the five of them excitedly discussing the Kōhaku and interrupted,
"We don't have any equipment to watch it. Are we going to an internet café?"
Jinpei grinned and wagged a finger.
"Heh, don't worry about that. Rei and I already talked to Instructor Onizuka. He made a special exception and lent us a TV. It's set up on the rooftop."
"I see."
"If everyone's done eating, let's go! Kōhaku is about to start!"
"Go, go!"
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