On the Suzuki family's private cruise ship.
Knock, knock, knock!
The sound of knocking echoed through the room.
"Coming!" Ran called out, hurrying to open the door.
"Nice! That expression—I caught it!" Mr. Ryu Hikawa, the man who never parted with his camera, snapped a close-up of Ran's slightly startled face before turning and sauntering off with a flourish.
From the looks of it, he was just pulling a prank for the fun of it.
Conan gave an exasperated roll of his eyes.
What is this guy even doing…?
Hope you don't knock on the wrong door and disturb someone's nap…
"Ran, we're here to hang out!" Sonoko strode over with a grin.
"Miss Natsumi and Mr. Nishino are here too. Please, come in," Ran said, stepping aside to welcome the three guests.
"Pardon the intrusion."
Mr. Nishino, still smiling as he entered, froze the moment a certain pigeon flapped its wings.
"I-I think I'll head back!" Covering his mouth and nose, he bolted out of the room.
Sonoko's face twisted in confusion before lighting up with realization. "Oh, I get it! Too many beautiful ladies—he must be shy!"
The great detective, however, didn't think Nishino's behavior screamed "shy" at all.
"Speaking of beautiful ladies, we forgot one! I'll go get her!" Sonoko grabbed Conan's wrist, dragging him out the door.
"Do I have to come too?!" Conan blurted, bewildered.
"Of course! You expect a beauty like me to go alone?" Sonoko nodded firmly.
She needed someone to tag along.
Since Ran had to stay and entertain Miss Natsumi, this little kid would do!
Sonoko hauled Conan to Seiran Urashi's door and knocked.
Miss Seiran, dressed in a red qipao, opened the door.
Her qipao wasn't quite like the ones most people were used to…
Maybe a fabric shortage? The hem barely reached past her thighs.
And even with such a short hem, it had slits on both sides!
"No problem, thank you!" Seiran seemed delighted by Sonoko's invitation. She stepped back inside to grab her purse.
"Grigory?" Both Sonoko and Conan noticed the photo frame on her table.
Though they couldn't see the picture, they could make out the name written on the back.
"Is that her boyfriend?" Sonoko instantly conjured up a dramatic romance in her head.
Seiran let out a puzzled hum, then smiled and nodded, casually flipping the frame face-down before grabbing her purse and following them to Ran's room.
…
"So, Miss Natsumi, you've been living in Paris since you were twenty?"
The table was set with tea and pastries, and the four women launched into a lively tea party.
Conan, clutching a glass of juice, felt painfully out of place.
He wanted to track down Tsuneo to talk about the APTX4869 antidote and Kaitou Kid.
But the repairman was probably still napping, and bothering him now would definitely not end well…
"Yeah, that's why my Japanese sounds a bit off," Kosaka Natsumi said with a smile, nodding. Then, as if recalling something, she added, "Speaking of odd Japanese, I remember a phrase from when I was a kid. It stuck with me."
"Barushe Nikukadame."
"Huh?" The group looked baffled.
"I think it means 'Did Barushe buy meat?' but I don't have any memory of that name," Natsumi explained with a laugh.
"Miss Natsumi, what color are your eyes?" Conan asked, curious.
"Gray, that's right!"
"My mother and grandmother had the same color. I guess it's inherited from my great-grandmother," Natsumi said, nodding.
"Speaking of which, Miss Seiran's eyes are gray too!" Ran pointed out, spotting a connection.
Seiran smiled but said nothing.
"Hey, Miss Seiran, do you know what 'Pok Gai!' means?" Conan looked up, asking with innocent curiosity.
The great detective mimicked the repairman's tone, tossing out the phrase.
Seiran: …
She froze for a moment, then laughed. "It's a dialect term. I think it's better if you don't know what it means."
Conan fell silent.
As expected, it's some kind of insult, right?
"Miss Seiran, your name means 'blue orchid,' doesn't it? My name has 'orchid' in it too!" Ran said, delighted by the coincidence.
Seiran launched into a quick lesson on Chinese pronunciation.
As soon as she finished teaching Ran, Sonoko leaned in. "What about me?"
"Your Chinese name would be 'Suzuki Meatball.'"
"Suzuki Meatball…" Sonoko repeated, as if trying to carve the pronunciation into her brain.
Conan frowned at this.
Her accent was completely different from Tsuneo's—almost awkward to hear.
Was it because of dialect, too?
"Miss Seiran, you seem about my age, right?" Natsumi asked curiously.
"Yes, twenty-seven," Seiran nodded.
"Same as me!"
"When's your birthday?"
"May. May fifth."
"I'm May third! Just two days apart!"
Conan chimed in with a grin. "Then you're both only a day off from me!"
Understandable.
One's gorgeous, and the other's qipao has slits practically up to her waist. No wonder the great detective was getting swept away.
Ran jolted, staring at Conan in disbelief.
May fifth and May third—both one day off.
That would be May fourth!
The same as Shinichi's birthday.
Could it be… could Conan really be…?
She shook her head, crestfallen.
No way that's possible. It's just me clinging to him as always.
What an idiot. I'm such an idiot.
Meanwhile, Conan kept chatting with the two women whose birthdays were a day apart from his, lounging on the sofa with his legs swinging.
At that moment, Tsuneo strolled by the room, yawning.
Since there were no other passengers on the ship, the door was left half-open.
The repairman caught sight of the five people chatting over tea.
"What's with that qipao…?"
Might as well have slits up to her armpits.
No wonder that Hikawa guy was always filming her—must be art…
"Tsuneo!" Ran spotted him and called out, rushing to stop him.
Under the group's watchful eyes, she stepped outside and pulled him aside.
"Something's up!" Sonoko said, rubbing her chin with a gossipy grin.
"Are they a couple?" Natsumi asked curiously.
The guy looked a few years younger than her, tall and handsome, with a warm smile—though his words were a bit odd.
Conan: …
Outside.
"Tsuneo, you might know… Conan, could he…?" Ran trailed off, hesitating. "No, that's impossible…"
Tsuneo took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, he wet the bed last night!"
(End of Chapter)