Sunaoka Kazuyoshi seemed genuinely dissatisfied with the scriptwriter.
The faint smile that had just appeared on Tahara Toshiaki's face vanished; he gloomily sipped his iced tea.
"Sunaoka, stop it." Tanigawa Noe reached out to hold him back.
"Lately the audience always solves the mystery before I do. How the hell am I supposed to act like that?" Sunaoka gripped his glass, laughing as he let the words spill out.
Tsuneo listened curiously, wondering whether the actor was truly drunk or just pretending.
If it was an act to voice his grievances, the performance was pretty impressive.
"Mr. Sunaoka, when I write the scripts I have to tailor them to your personality. Think about me a little too," Tahara retorted, voice low with irritation.
Producer Nagatsuka Katsumi sensed the tension and quickly stood to smooth things over. "Come on, come on. We came here to make the show more watchable and strengthen team bonds. Don't ruin the mood over little things."
That only made it worse; Sunaoka rounded on him next.
"You talk like you're above it all, but money's the only thing in your head. I heard you've been pocketing part of the production budget, haven't you?"
Nagatsuka hurriedly waved his hands. "You can't just say that! It's all rumors!"
"Off-stage is way more dramatic than on-stage," Tsuneo muttered. Film these people behind the scenes and the ratings would probably skyrocket.
Uncle Maori quickly patted the repairman's shoulder, signaling him to shut up, then stood to calm everyone down.
"Sunaoka, you've had too much. Go back to your room and rest," Tanigawa Noe said; as his manager, she couldn't watch this anymore.
"No way, I still want to chat more with the great detective Maori!" Sunaoka shook off her hand and draped an arm over Uncle Maori's shoulder.
Uncle Maori rolled his eyes desperately toward Tsuneo, Ran, and Conan.
Somebody get this drunk off me…
"Brother Tsuneo, this meat is really good!" Ran's eyes lit up as she nodded.
"Right? The owner said every guest orders it." Wherever Tsuneo went, he always looked forward to the local specialties.
Of course, tourists like him were easy to please.
Conan glanced at Uncle Maori.
The two people beside me are completely oblivious. You're on your own, old man…
"You're always scolding me, but soon I won't have to put up with your face anymore. A big production company offered me a huge sum to jump ship."
"What are you talking about? We already discussed this," Tanigawa snapped.
"Stop it and go rest." She was getting angry now.
With that, the beautiful manager hauled Sunaoka toward the villa.
"If this cash cow moves pastures, you won't last in the industry either."
"Detective, let's talk tomorrow."
"And if you're unhappy with me, I can leave anytime, Master Tahara."
Sunaoka kept talking even as he was dragged away.
"Eh?!"
"If Sunaoka leaves, our company has no selling point! President Tanigawa, talk him out of it!" Producer Nagatsuka jumped up and chased after them.
"Who would've thought the gap between the drama and real life is this big…" Ran felt the contrast was huge.
In the show he's the crime-fighting City Hunter; in real life, once drunk, he's basically just like Dad.
"Tell me about it," Conan glanced at Ran.
Let's see if you're still obsessed with that drama now.
"His acting's pretty good, though," Tsuneo offered a different opinion.
The way he walked didn't look drunk at all; probably just using the alcohol as an excuse to say what he really thought.
After instructing President Tanigawa to calm Sunaoka down, Nagatsuka quickly returned.
"Sorry you had to see that. Sunaoka's actually very serious and passionate about the show. He just can't hold his liquor and says whatever comes to mind when drunk."
He sat down and explained to the outsiders.
"Y-yeah, keep up the good work," Ran encouraged.
"Thank you! Now, let's keep drinking!" Nagatsuka reached for the bottle, only to find the table empty.
"I'll go get more."
Tahara stood and headed inside.
The drinking continued. Without the lead actor spouting drunken nonsense, the mood improved a lot.
"Here, soda for you all." Tahara smiled and passed over a few bottles.
"Thank you…" Ran and Conan suddenly found him much friendlier.
"And Mr. Tsuneo, I ordered some more food for you from the owner." Tahara personally refilled Uncle Maori's beer.
"Nothing weird's going to happen at this villa, right…?" Tsuneo muttered, soda in hand, glancing at Conan.
With this Grim Reaper around, it's hard to relax.
Then again, they met tons of people on every trip; it's not like everyone they met dropped dead.
"Weird?" Conan looked at the repairman.
Getting nearly killed by a stray arrow earlier—does that count as weird?
"Sorry, excuse me for a moment!" Tahara suddenly stood and moved to a table in the corner of the garden restaurant.
"I just thought of a great murder method; I need to write it down fast!"
"Writing scripts really isn't easy," Nagatsuka laughed, then clinked glasses with Uncle Maori.
Before they could drink, the villa owner pushed open the door.
"Mr. Nagatsuka, telephone call for you from Tokyo."
Nagatsuka checked his watch, puzzled. "It's already eight—who could it be?"
"I'll be right back!"
The producer hurried inside to take the call.
Now only Tsuneo's group of four remained at the table.
"What the heck, in the end I'm still drinking alone…" Uncle Maori looked at Tsuneo, Ran, and Conan, glass in hand.
So, who's joining me?
"Ran-neechan and I can't drink!" Conan saw right through him.
"If I get drunk I might drag you into a judo match," Tsuneo said, actually tempted to spar.
Uncle Maori shuddered.
"Just… focus on eating…"
(End of Chapter)
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