After a few quick bites, Kogoro let out a long sigh, savoring the beauty of life, then promptly finished the rest of his lunch.
There was no doubt that men ate fast, especially when Kogoro and Conan had been living off instant noodles for a whole month. Now that they were finally eating real food again, how could they hold back?
The entire meal was gone in less than five minutes.
"Burp~"
Kogoro burped contentedly, convinced this was the best meal he'd had in recent memory.
"Ran, how's school been lately?"
"Pretty good. I still attend classes like normal, but I joined one more club than before. Recently, we've been going out a lot more for outdoor activities organized by the club."
The last time they ran into trouble was on Tsukikage Island, and now they had run into it again on a private cruise ship.
"There are so many rich girls in your club, and they're all so strong. I thought Sonoko was enough, but it turns out the others are just as impressive."
Kogoro was truly amazed, but also a bit confused.
"Still, Teitan High already having someone like Sonoko is rare enough. Why are so many young ladies suddenly transferring to Teitan?"
"Dad, I can't just go around asking these girls why they enrolled at Teitan, right?"
Kogoro nodded slightly at his daughter's complaint.
"Yeah, that would be inappropriate."
The decisions those girls made weren't something they needed to question. Besides, the transfers were clearly voluntary. It's not like someone could force a bunch of high-society daughters to transfer schools. Who would even have the power to do that?
It might be inappropriate, but it was definitely strange.
Conan also found it odd, but without more clues, there was no way to deduce the reasoning behind it.
"Is that so?"
As they spoke, Ran began cleaning up the lunch boxes.
"Even though I don't know the exact reason, the club's atmosphere is really good. We go out for club activities every weekend, and sometimes even during free afternoons."
"Free afternoons…"
Kogoro couldn't believe that regular students had that kind of flexible time in the afternoon.
"Doesn't the school object to you leaving so often?"
"Of course not. Not only has Shinomiya-san invested in the school, but she and her classmates all have outstanding academic records."
"At Shuchiin, Shinomiya-san's grades are consistently second place. The others aren't far behind either. Sonoko and I have been keeping up academically too. The only one struggling with studies is Ren."
"Ren?"
Kogoro thought, he couldn't place who that was.
Seeing her father so lost, Ran gave him a hint.
"Back on Tsukikage Island, there was a boy with Sonoko and me. His name is Amamiya Ren. Sonoko and I have known him for a while. And… Ren and Sonoko are dating."
"Oh!"
At first, Kogoro thought his daughter had found someone new, but it turned out to be Sonoko.
"No wonder he's the only boy in your circle."
I knew it… Conan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had suspected one of the rich girls might be dating someone, and the first one who came to mind was Sonoko. Looks like he guessed right.
He never imagined that someone like Sonoko, who talked non-stop, would have someone fall for her. It really was surprising.
She was kind of careless, a bit of a fangirl too. Those traits alone were usually enough to turn guys away.
After learning about Sonoko's background, Conan figured it was possible that someone was just drawn to her for her money. In the end, maybe this guy didn't like Sonoko as a person, but was just chasing after the wealth of the Suzuki family.
It wasn't just paranoia. He'd seen that kind of thing happen before, so he had reason to suspect it.
And considering what he knew, Sonoko would most likely inherit the Suzuki Zaibatsu someday. That meant whoever married her would also take over a massive business empire. Of course that would impact her future relationship choices.
In the end, it was very possible her partner would be selected for her.
If that really happened… Sonoko would be miserable. A breakup would be inevitable.
No matter what, Edogawa Conan couldn't bring himself to be optimistic about this boy named Amamiya Ren.
"Alright then, Dad, Conan, I'm heading back."
After cleaning up the lunch boxes, Ran prepared to leave. Her purpose in coming today had been fulfilled—and she'd managed to upgrade her father's dinner situation.
From now on, whenever she had time in the afternoon, she'd try to bring dinner over for her father. That way, he wouldn't have to rely solely on instant noodles anymore.
Kogoro glanced outside at the fading sky, then reminded her,
"Ran, don't stay out too late."
"Don't worry, Dad."
Ran smiled, waved goodbye, and left the office with the bag holding the empty lunch boxes.
As she walked down the stairs, she could feel a pair of eyes watching her from above—the second floor window of the office. But she didn't care and simply kept walking toward Station 137 without looking back.
The one peeking out from the window, of course, was Edogawa Conan.
"Hey, kid, what's the matter? Are you smitten with my daughter?"
Kogoro, sitting on the couch and lighting a cigarette, teased him with a grin.
"Ran-san… seems to really dislike me."
"Well, she doesn't hate kids. It's just that your face looks too much like that brat. If you didn't resemble him so much, she wouldn't react so strongly to you."
Kogoro understood that this was tough on the kid. Even if Conan was smarter than Shinichi ever was, he was still a child—fragile and sensitive. These things could weigh heavily on him.
"A month probably wasn't enough time, but judging from how Ran treated you today, she's moved on."
"What happened with your brother really shook her up. But the dead are dead. The living have to keep moving forward. It's good that Ran can finally accept reality."
"Don't blame her for being cold to you, alright?"
"…Yeah."
Listening to Kogoro's words, Conan could only nod and quietly endure the ache in his heart.
(To be continued.)
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