Unable to fend off Shinichi's persistent pestering, Ritsu could only agree to tell him about a few recent boring cases he had solved before bed that night. Seeing the excited look on Shinichi's face left him feeling helpless.
'Why is this guy acting like a little kid? It's like a father promising his son a bedtime story tonight… Wait, why does this feel like a father-son relationship again?'
Ritsu narrowed his eyes, stroking his smooth chin in confusion. Could it be that he was getting older, and that was why he kept having thoughts about becoming someone's dad?
The villa door hadn't been closed. Shinichi pushed it open directly and immediately saw Yuzo sitting in the living room alongside two unfamiliar faces.
But from the earlier conversation, it was easy to tell that the middle-aged man with the lively complexion before them was the chairman of the Tomizawa Financial Group — Tomizawa Tetsuji.
As for the young woman beside him, she had to be Suzuki Ayako, Sonoko's older sister. He had met her a few times before.
"Oh? So there are two more guests," Tetsuji said with a smile after looking at them, appearing completely warm and approachable. Turning to his son, he said, "Yuzo, are these two your friends? Why don't you introduce them?"
Yuzo gave an awkward laugh. "They're not my friends. They're both friends of Sonoko's."
Sonoko's friends?
Now it was Ayako's turn to be puzzled. She recognized the younger-looking boy in swim trunks, he was Ran and Sonoko's childhood friend.
But she had absolutely no impression of the tall, handsome white-haired young man beside him.
Shinichi immediately stepped forward and introduced himself enthusiastically.
"Hello, Uncle Tomizawa. I'm Kudo Shinichi. Sonoko invited me here for vacation, and the person beside me is my mentor."
'Mentor?'
Ritsu really wanted to kick Shinichi square in the butt, but considering the situation wasn't appropriate for it, he could only maintain the smile on his face and accept this "student" who had forced the arrangement on him without permission.
"His name is Onizawa Takashi. He's an inspector from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division. He's solved a ton of cases despite working there for less than half a year!"
Shinichi looked incredibly proud, as though he had solved all those cases himself.
"Oh? A young inspector, huh? Hahahaha, young people these days are really impressive. Yuzo, you should learn from him instead of playing around with your paints all day."
"Father, could you not put me down in front of guests?"
Ayako smiled warmly. "Sonoko really should've told me she invited one more person. Please continue chatting, I'll head to the kitchen and prepare a few more dishes."
"Then I'll help you, Ayako."
Naturally, Yuzo had his own little motives. If he stayed in the kitchen, his father wouldn't lecture him, and more importantly… he could spend time alone with the woman he loved.
Tetsuji seemed quite interested in Ritsu. Smiling, he patted the sofa and said,
"You two young men, come sit over here. Onizawa-san, could you tell me a little about investigative work? I'm rather interested in it. Even though I'm a businessman now, when I was younger, I wanted to become a police officer serving the public."
"If you'd like to hear about it, I can share a few stories. Though some details can't be disclosed publicly, so I hope you understand."
"Hahahaha, naturally. I'm not the type to make things difficult for people."
Ritsu glanced at Shinichi and grumbled inwardly, 'Hear that? Someone who doesn't make life difficult for others.'
Sonoko and Ran, who had gone upstairs to change clothes, walked downstairs and saw the three men chatting animatedly in the living room. Seeing Shinichi happily discussing cases, Ran leaned toward Sonoko and whispered,
"When boys start talking about something they like, they really can't stop, huh?"
"I'm honestly surprised Uncle Tomizawa is interested in detective stuff too. I always thought he only liked golf and baseball."
"Huh? Uncle Tomizawa plays baseball too?"
Sonoko nodded.
"You might not guess it from looking at him, but he was actually an amazing batter back in high school! If I remember right, Yuzo-nii said Uncle made it all the way to Koshien when he was in high school."
"Koshien? That's really impressive."
Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Sonoko and Ran headed into the kitchen to help. Realizing there was no chance for a private moment anymore, Yuzo showed a disappointed little expression.
Ayako noticed and lightly tapped his nose with her finger while smiling. The sight made the two single high school girls feel full before dinner had even started.
They really shouldn't have come into the kitchen. This lovey-dovey atmosphere… was surprisingly sweet.
As dinner time approached, Ritsu, being a guest, didn't continue sitting around in the living room. Instead, he politely headed into the kitchen to help set the tablecloth, utensils, and other items in advance.
Salt-grilled cutlassfish, sea bream sashimi, grilled chicken skewers with Kyoto green onions, sea urchin sushi, miso-glazed pork ribs, and shiso rice. It was obvious Ayako was an excellent cook.
After taking a bite of his favorite drinking snack, the salt-grilled cutlassfish, Tetsuji praised, "Yuzo, you lucky brat. You'd better treat Ayako well in the future."
Yuzo scratched his cheek shyly and looked seriously at Ayako beside him.
"Don't worry, Father. I'll definitely treat Ayako well."
What a loving couple. They weren't even trying to hide the affection at the dinner table.
Shinichi couldn't help leaning closer to Ritsu and whispering, "Sensei, are you and your girlfriend like this too?"
After arbitrarily making him into his deduction teacher, Shinichi had started calling him "Sensei."
Ritsu calmly took a sip of iced lemon tea and replied, "Don't gossip about your mentor's private life. Isn't all this good food enough to keep your mouth busy?"
"…Okay, I was just curious."
Shinichi picked up a piece of sea urchin sushi and stuffed it into his mouth, his gaze quietly drifting toward Ran. In his mind, he couldn't help imagining Ran cooking for him someday.
"Hehe."
The mere fantasy was enough to make him giggle foolishly.
Fortunately, his voice was quiet and everyone's attention was on the food. Otherwise, if someone saw that lovestruck grin on his face... Ritsu would absolutely raise both hands in surrender and declare that he had no such student.
After everyone had eaten their fill, they helped carry the dishes back and forth into the kitchen.
Although he couldn't cook, Ritsu was extremely skilled at washing dishes. After cleaning everything spotless, he dried his hands and returned to the living room, only to discover Tetsuji sitting on the sofa watching a baseball game.
'Baseball, huh? That really brings back memories.'
Back during his time at Beika High School, he had once been a core player on the baseball team.
Ritsu suddenly remembered that one of his teammates had a younger brother who loved coming to watch their club practices.
The kid had once told him, that when he grew up, he wanted to become a cool pitcher and make it to Koshien.
Judging by the boy's age, he should be in high school by now. He wondered whether the kid had managed to achieve that dream.
Koshien…
What a shame.
He never got the chance to play there himself.
Ritsu lowered his head to look at his left hand.
That hand had once thrown everything it had into every pitch.
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