"This is company-issued?" Sonoko Suzuki's jaw dropped. "Your company's system is way too strict. So old-fashioned."
"Not just the bag," Kazawa's coworker, Hideaki Nakajima, shrugged. "The watch and tie clip too. Honestly, this bag's a pain. It's huge and heavy, not even convenient to carry… These days, it's pretty much only the president still dragging it around."
Ahem!
A deliberately loud cough interrupted them. Nakajima and the others immediately turned toward the source, quickly shut their mouths, and greeted him with, "President! Hello, sir!" Then they practically sprinted into the staff passage.
President Mitando scowled after them, clearly memorizing their faces, then shifted his gaze to Sonoko. The moment he noticed the guest badge hanging from her chest marked "Investor," his expression flipped. He stepped forward with a courteous smile and began exchanging pleasantries with her, then turned to greet Kogoro Mouri as well.
"What a fake grown-up," Conan muttered, half-lidded eyes watching the sudden change in behavior.
"Conan, don't talk like that." Ran tugged on him. As she picked up her cloakroom tag, her eyes lit up. "Number 100! What luck. That's gotta be a good sign, right?"
It sure is. Kazawa nodded in agreement.
"Let's look around the venue a bit," Conan suggested, glancing at Kogoro, who was now fully engaged in a conversation with the president. "He won't be done anytime soon."
"Let's go." Kazawa flexed his fingers with anticipation.
Since crossing over, he'd been constantly dealing with Amuro and Akai one after the other, then there was Conan, Kid, his role as the Phantom Thief of Hearts, and preparations to infiltrate the Organization. There was barely any time for fun—he hadn't touched a game console in forever. He was itching to play.
"Wanna have a match?" His eyes lit up as he looked at the others.
Ran smiled and clenched her fists enthusiastically. "Don't underestimate me. I'm pretty good at arcade games."
That much was true. People with good luck in life tend to land critical hits more often in fighting games… muttered Conan, the unlucky gamer, silently.
"Then let's add some stakes," Kazawa grinned. "Loser treats dinner!"
Two hours later.
"I give up! I give up!" Sonoko tossed her controller aside and shouted, "Kazawa, you're doing this on purpose, right?! With your skills, how could anyone beat you?!"
Kazawa was still casually tapping buttons, his character on-screen leaping and slashing with stylish combos. After one final flurry, the towering boss collapsed. The small crowd gathered behind him applauded.
He rolled his neck, stretched his shoulders, and stood up from the seat with ease. He nodded to the spectators and gracefully stepped away from the now overheated demo station.
"This game's hard? I thought it was pretty easy," Kazawa commented while twisting open a bottle of water. "The art and story are cool. I might buy it when it releases."
"What do you mean, 'not hard'?!" Conan protested. "Everyone else lasted barely ten minutes before getting wiped."
"It's really not that bad. You just need to get used to the mechanics…"
To Kazawa, who had cleared Hollow Knight with four bindings and five chains, this side-scrolling Metroidvania demo was basically a warm-up. He checked "Very Easy" on the feedback form handed to him by the staff, then excitedly grabbed a flyer to scout out his next target.
"No way. If it goes on like this, we're doomed," Sonoko muttered in frustration.
"Yeah, we can't just admit defeat!" Conan agreed.
He wasn't the type to care much about video games, but after being crushed in ten straight matches by Kazawa in a fighting game, his blood pressure was through the roof. All thoughts of Joker or the Crow were long gone.
Ran rubbed her sore hands and gave a wry smile. "It's just a meal, right? Losing isn't so bad…"
"No way!" Sonoko and Conan yelled in unison.
At this point, it wasn't even about the prize—it was about pride.
Sonoko grabbed her own copy of the flyer and began flipping through it seriously. Her eyes suddenly lit up.
"This one!" she declared, pointing to a game. "Let me check where it is."
Conan leaned in, saw what she was pointing at, and immediately nodded.
"A punching machine?" Ran tilted her head, examining the machine in the picture. "What's it for?"
"Exactly!" Sonoko said, eyes gleaming. "You put on gloves and hit it, and it gives you a score! You're our last hope, Ran!"
"E12. Over there!" Conan pointed in a direction, tugging on Kazawa's sleeve before he could get too absorbed in the flyer again.
"Hm? You guys found something interesting? Let's go check it out."
Kazawa heard everything, but he let himself be dragged along by Conan.
This would probably lead him right to that explosive office drone. And with him, his limited-edition liquor wasn't far off.
"There it is!" Sonoko stood with arms crossed, pointing at the arcade machine ahead.
Sure enough, the glasses-wearing employee they'd run into earlier was standing by the machine.
A burly man shouted and punched the target pad with full force.
Neon lights flashed, cheerful music played, and the display lit up with "248."
"Too bad. If you hit 250, it triggers a special effects show," the glasses guy—Takeyoshi Yushin—pushed up his frames and turned to his colleague. "Nakajima! Wanna give it a shot?"
"What?" Nakajima, a bit dazed, turned around.
"Come on, Nakajima," said the third guy who had come in with them, Koji Ueda, slinging an arm over his shoulder. "Didn't you box in college? This should be a piece of cake."
With both of them egging him on, Hideaki Nakajima had no choice but to step up. He removed his blazer and picked up the gloves. "That was a long time ago… I'm pretty rusty now, but I'll give it a shot."
He took a deep breath, adjusted his stance, and threw a punch.
"362" lit up on the screen. The machine flared to life with dazzling lights, triumphant music blaring, and a spotlight beaming down on Nakajima.
He laughed heartily but still said, "Not even amateur level. The machine's cap isn't that high…"
As he took off the gloves, he noticed the four of them standing behind him. With a friendly smile, he offered them to the prettiest one—Ran. "Want to try? It's great stress relief."
She was Kogoro Mouri's daughter—Nakajima wouldn't dare think anything too wild—but showing off a bit in front of a cute high school girl and soaking up some admiration? That, he was more than happy to do.
Kazawa shot him a sideways glance, silently judging.
With pickup lines like that, no wonder the guy's doomed to get blown up.