"Everyone, if you find out any secrets, you better not keep me in the dark!"
"After all, this is my little brother's first romance. As his big sister, I have a responsibility to be concerned!"
As the group made their way out of the house, Asami chased after them, shouting her final instructions from the doorway.
"Tsuneo-san, what did Mitsuhiko's mom say?" Ayumi asked, her voice tinged with worry.
In her mind, whether it was running away or a secret romance, things would get very scary if a mother found out.
"She said she'd have Mitsuhiko bring me some cake in a few days," Tsuneo replied with a relaxed smile. Mrs. Tsuburaya had indeed been very easy to talk to.
"We should check out that flower shop first…" Conan let out a weary chuckle. He had to admit, having a guy like Tsuneo around was remarkably convenient in certain situations.
"Come to think of it, Tsuneo-san is really popular, isn't he?" Genta noted, walking at the front of the pack with his hands behind his head. "Just the other day, my mom made me go over to his place to deliver some local specialties."
"You should be careful. In nature, the more vibrant and colorful something is, the more toxic it tends to be," Haibara remarked, a faint, playful smirk playing on her lips.
"Vibrant and colorful?"
Genta tilted his head back, thinking hard. "Is she talking about poisonous mushrooms? Doctor, what does that even mean?"
"What Haibara means," Dr. Agasa explained with a chuckle, "is that sometimes what you see on the surface doesn't match the reality. There's a bit of a… contradiction."
"One of these days, I'm going to lock her in a room with Gin," the repairman muttered indignantly.
"Well, you do keep stealing her snacks," the Doctor added, helpless but amused.
"When have I ever done such a thing?"
Tsuneo searched his mind, but found no memory of such a crime.
"When my mom came back last time, she found that out of all the treats she mailed from abroad, the Doctor and the others only received about a tenth of them," Conan interjected, deadpanning. "You're a real black-hearted middleman, aren't you?"
Conan felt particularly slighted. At least the Doctor's side got something; he hadn't tasted a single crumb.
"Think of it as a babysitting fee," Tsuneo said, his gaze drifting toward the clouds as he decisively changed the subject.
While they bickered, the group arrived at a nearby flower shop.
"Mitsuhiko?"
"Are you talking about Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya?"
The third-grade girl helping out at the shop was a head taller than Conan. She wore her hair in twin tails and had a small apron tied around her waist, looking quite professional for her age.
Unfortunately, while she knew Mitsuhiko, there was no secret date planned between them.
"Actually, I think I might have seen him this morning," the girl said, her tone uncertain.
She explained that she had spotted him near the bus stop, but his cap had been pulled down so low she couldn't see his face. When she called out to him, he hadn't responded, so she couldn't be entirely sure it was him.
However, she did provide one vital clue.
As the boy passed her, she had caught a distinct whiff of lemons.
"A lemon scent?" Conan muttered.
"That sunscreen," Tsuneo added, the two of them locking eyes in realization.
"It's likely a blend of lemon fragrance and citronella oil," Haibara noted. As someone who appreciated high-end products, she was familiar with the formula. "It seems that latest sunscreen model is designed to double as an insect repellent."
It was certainly a hot day, but it wasn't so buggy that someone would need to douse themselves in repellent just to walk down a paved street in broad daylight.
"Should we head to the bus stop?" the Doctor suggested. "Since we know exactly what time he was there, it shouldn't be too hard to track down the right bus."
"Oh!"
"The kid who smelled like lemons? Yeah, I remember him clearly!"
After waiting at the bus stop for a short while, the group caught the relevant bus. To their surprise, the driver had a vivid memory of the boy who had boarded at 6:30 AM.
"That kid sat by himself in one of the rows, staring straight ahead like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders," the driver recalled. "I saw him in my rearview mirror; he looked so worried that it actually bothered me."
"Weight of the world?"
"This is bad! He really did run away!" Genta's face paled. "He's probably under a bridge right now, fighting cats for scraps, just like Tsuneo-san said!"
"Calm down, Genta," Dr. Agasa said, resting a steadying hand on the boy's shoulder. "Even if he did run away, I doubt it's come to that yet."
Following the driver's lead, the group moved to the boy's drop-off point: Beika Station.
"I feel like I'm playing some weird riddle-solving game," Tsuneo grumbled. "Running all over the city chasing the ghost of a lemon-scented child. When I finally find him, I'm going to squeeze him into a glass of lemonade!"
"Hey, hey… watch the facial expressions," Conan whispered, nudging him. "You're looking a little terrifying right now."
"A boy smelling of lemons? Doesn't ring a bell," the station attendant replied, shaking his head through the service window.
"No impression at all? He was wearing a backpack and a baseball cap," Dr. Agasa added, providing a more detailed description of Mitsuhiko's outfit. Thanks to Asami, they were now certain the "lemon boy" was indeed Mitsuhiko.
"Wait, I remember now. There was a kid who made a mistake and bought an adult ticket. He was shouting quite frantically for us to help him exchange it."
It seemed Mitsuhiko's nervous behavior had saved the day once again. The attendant's memory suddenly snapped into focus. This was the essence of a Beika citizen—occasionally, their observational skills reached supernatural levels.
"Was the train already at the platform?" Conan asked curiously. Why was he in such a hurry?
"No," the attendant said, shaking his head. "But while he was talking to me, he kept looking over his shoulder, as if he were afraid of being spotted. I even asked him if he needed any help."
Dr. Agasa frowned. "Do you happen to remember which station that ticket was for?"
"It was a 1900-yen adult ticket. The destination would be somewhere deep in the Gunma Prefecture…"
Inside the train car.
"Yes… there's been a bit of a complication, so we won't be back for lunch," Dr. Agasa said into his phone, updating Akemi on the situation.
None of them had expected that a simple morning exercise session would lead to them sitting on a train bound for the mountains of Gunma.
"Do you think he ran into some bad people?" Haibara asked, casting a brief glance at Genta. The memory of the time the boy had been targeted by a killer was still fresh.
"Unlikely," Conan analyzed, resting his chin on his hand. "He boarded the bus of his own volition. His expression was off, but there were no signs of coercion. Besides, if he were in real trouble, he could have easily asked the station staff for help."
"Is his destination somewhere deep in the woods?" Tsuneo asked, recalling Haibara's comment about the mosquito-repelling sunscreen.
"It's highly probable. But with that many rice balls… is he planning on living out there?" Conan wondered, rubbing his temples. Trying to decode the logic of a primary schooler was often more exhausting than solving a murder.
"According to what Asami-san said, that's enough food to last Mitsuhiko two or three days," Genta said, munching on a dango Tsuneo had bought for him. The snack was quiet and didn't have a strong smell, making it a safe choice for the train ride.
"Children these days… their inner lives are truly complex," Haibara remarked, propping her chin on her hand as she watched the scenery blur past the window.
"..."
A nearby passenger looked over, blinking in confusion. Did that little girl just say 'children these days' with the weary soul of a philosopher?
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"