A few days later, news broke that a counterfeiting ring had been arrested.
'Ah! This is the Female College Professor Murder case. Looks like it got resolved.'
The 'Female College Professor Murder from the Black Organization' episode was one where Conan and Haibara teamed up to take down a professional counterfeiting ring. Seeing it resolved without Haibara, it seemed that the Detective Boys were carried by Conan, as expected.
'Apart from Turbo Ayumi's exceptional intuition, Conan handles everything.'
It wasn't Conan I was worried about. Since this was a vacation, I wanted to go somewhere, but the transportation issue was giving me a headache.
'Yachts are the same. I want to buy nicer ones and travel more, but I can't.'
I had many yachts in my inventory. The Odyssey, a luxury yacht I built as an Avengers base in Marvel, could comfortably accommodate 30 people and could sail at over 200 knots, an impossible speed in the Conan world. That's faster than a hovercraft. It could even fly, reaching anywhere on Earth in hours.
'Hah... I've built them, but I can't use them... If I could use the Odyssey, I could take the kids to Hawaii for a day trip.'
Haibara found me deep in thought.
"What are you thinking about?"
"You wouldn't want to know."
"Always so full of yourself. I'm hungry, let's eat."
"Okay."
The day passed. The next day, I had a TV appearance. When I told Haibara, she wanted to come along, so we took my manager's car to the station.
"Why didn't you just stay home?"
"I was bored. I wanted to see a variety show being filmed."
"Really? Then be quiet."
"Okay."
We waited in the green room. It was strange. It had various devices and many cameras.
'This is a hidden camera.'
Japanese variety show pranks are notoriously over the top. Shoving idols into mud pits, framing them for pickpocketing, etc. And if they complain, they risk losing future appearances. It was worse for rookies. I had no intention of being pranked.
"Haibara."
"Huh? Why?"
"Come here. Let me hug you."
"Wha-What are you saying, pervert."
Haibara was very flustered.
"You'll regret it."
"What?"
SPLAT!
Whipped cream flew from all directions. I dodged it all. Haibara didn't. Her face and clothes were covered. My manager got hit too.
"Ugh... What the hell!"
Haibara wiped the cream off her face. The green room door burst open, and comedians with cameras came in.
"Ta-da! It's a hidden camera! Huh? But Jin-san, you didn't get hit at all?"
"Of course. I'm an onmyoji. I can predict this much."
"Ah~ I see. As expected of a great onmyoji. But this girl, is she your little sister? You could have protected her a little..."
"I tried to hug her, but she refused."
I glanced at Haibara with a smirk. She scowled, grabbed a handful of cream, and threw it at me. I dodged.
"Hey! You over there!"
"Whoa! Your little sister seems really mad!"
I ran into the hallway. Haibara chased me, throwing cream. She didn't land a single hit. Staff eventually calmed the situation. My manager and Haibara showered and changed into clothes provided by the station.
"Damn! I shouldn't have come."
She grumbled all the way home.
A few days later, the hidden camera segment aired and was a national hit, praised for showing 'real siblings'. The station was flooded with requests for us to appear together in commercials. I told Haibara.
"Want to be in a commercial with me? They want us together."
"No!"
She was still mad.
"Are you sure? I get 40 million yen per commercial. If you join, they'd probably pay 50 million. After splitting with the manager and taxes, your share would be over 6 million."
"R-Really? Let's do it!"
Haibara, nearly broke, was eager. We spent the next few days shooting commercials. My manager was happy with the bonus income.
"Here's your bankbook and card. I've sorted out your identity and opened an account. Now you're officially my cousin."
"I see. Okay."
"But it's a child's account, so there's a daily withdrawal limit. 200,000 yen, I think."
"Damn, being a kid keeps causing problems."
I could say the same.
"Do you even have anything to buy? 200,000 yen is a lot."
"I want to buy a computer and some books. You have internet here?"
Haibara was bored at home.
"Yeah. And since you're a celebrity now, a maid will pick you up after school. This neighborhood has a lot of murders."
"I know. Fine."
Haibara agreed. The 'god of death' lives nearby, but she didn't know that.
While sorting out Haibara's identity and bank account, I learned that my birthday was in two weeks. I hadn't known. In two weeks, I could get my driver's license.
'Thank goodness. I was thinking of hacking the registry to raise my age.'
I put the Azimut Atlantis 45 up for sale at the marina. Not the modified arc reactor version, but the one kept for inspections.
'I'm 18 now, so I don't need it anymore.'
It was in excellent condition, so it should sell well even at the same price.
There was a reason for wanting a new yacht. With two rooms, trying to sleep Ran, Sonoko, Kogoro, Conan, and myself was impossible. The living room chairs could convert to beds, but there was only one shower. And now Haibara was joining, so at least three rooms were needed.
So I planned to upgrade my license and get a luxury yacht, paying the taxes, that could be operated by a single person. And I'd have two cars: a small Hustler for daily use and a Wrangler for travel.
'All this because of my age...'
I realized again: unless you're going to break the law, modern-world settings are tricky. Minors have too many restrictions.
I had no desire to buy a plane. Japan is small, and I wouldn't use it much. Plus, parking would be at an airport. If I had to go to the airport anyway, I'd rather fly commercial. And with a yacht, owning a private plane would be a tax nightmare. Even if I earned a lot, maintaining it would be difficult.
A few days later, I got word the yacht had sold. It sold quickly, as expected. The condition was too good for its age.
'Good, it sold fast.'
At school, while thinking about yachts, Ran approached me.
"Jin, your birthday is coming up, right?"
"How did you know?"
I was surprised.
"I was helping the teachers and saw your records."
"Ah, I see."
Sonoko asked excitedly, "So, party at your place?"
"Yeah. I'll make good food, so come over."
"Your cooking is the best. I'll skip lunch."
Ran laughed and agreed. "Me too. You're a great cook. I'll skip lunch too. Oh! Can I bring Dad and Conan?"
"Of course."
I told Haibara.
"A party?"
"Yeah. So it'll be noisy. And Conan's coming."
"Okay."
I had no intention of interfering. Ran was my girlfriend, so Haibara meeting Conan was inevitable. It was just a matter of time. And Haibara lived with me now and had given up on revenge, so she'd likely ignore him or only give minimal information.
The day of the party arrived. I had prepared the food in advance, using high-quality ingredients. It was a thanks to Ran. Someone unexpected was very happy.
"Wow~ This is caviar! And expensive truffles!! Two of the world's three great delicacies in one place!!"
Kogoro started eating like a madman. Ran was embarrassed.
"Dad, you're so embarrassing!"
Munch, munch~
"This isn't something you can eat anywhere. You eat too."
I laughed. "There's plenty, so eat slowly. There's more coming."
Actually, I had brought premium ingredients from Marvel and duplicated them, so it didn't matter how much they ate.
"Oh~ So good. Jin, you're such a good cook."
Unable to resist, Sonoko sat down and ate. Ran and Conan joined.
"Ugh, I ate too much..."
When Kogoro ate so much that food ran low, I brought out a king crab dish.
"Gasp! King crab..."
"Live Alaskan king crab. They're sweet and delicious. There's plenty, so eat up."
But Kogoro was full. He just held a leg, staring at it.
"Ugh... king crab..."
"I told you to eat slowly..."
Ran scolded him, but Kogoro couldn't give up. "Son-in-law, can I take some home?"
"Well... if there's leftovers, sure. But..."
Everyone was enjoying the crab. There wouldn't be leftovers. Kogoro saw that.
"Sob... Damn!! I'll eat until I burst!!"
He started eating another leg. Ran worried, "Dad, don't overdo it."
Suddenly, Kogoro covered his mouth. "Urgh! Bathroom!"
I rushed him. He grabbed the toilet and vomited. He was throwing up all the expensive food. He ate too fast.
"Bleh..."
Ran came, patting his back. "I told you to eat in moderation. You're hopeless."
When Kogoro returned, the king crab was gone.
"Ah... my king crab..."
I tried to comfort him. "There's still birthday cake..."
"Damn... king crab..."
He didn't seem to hear.
The party started, albeit out of order.
"Jin, happy birthday~!"
"You're an adult now, Jin. Happy birthday~!"
"King crab..."
"Happy birthday, big brother."
"Happy birthday, big bro."
I blew out the candles and cut the cake. Ran was impressed.
"Wow~ The cake is delicious too. Where did you buy it?"
"I made it."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah."
Actually, it was a gacha item.
"Wow~! Amazing... Better than store-bought."
"I know. This is like... are we at a birthday party or a fancy restaurant?"
We ate cake and chatted. Kogoro ate his cake with tears in his eyes. In the end, all he'd had was a slice of cake. I understood his sadness. Conan looked at him and said, "Too much is as bad as too little. That proverb fits this situation."
Thwack!
"Ow!"
"Shut up!"
Conan always got hit.
"Jin, this is your birthday present."
Ran gave me a knitted scarf.
"Oh~ Thanks."
"I'm glad I finished it. Actually, you seem to have everything, so it was hard to choose."
"Don't worry. Anything from you is fine."
Ran blushed.
"Sorry to interrupt, but here's my present!"
Sonoko gave me binoculars.
"You like yachts, so I got you these."
"Oh~ Thanks."
It wasn't yachts I was interested in, but how to have fun on vacation. The yacht was just a means.
"Here, big brother. You said you liked curvy women, so..."
Haibara gave me a poster of a curvy foreign actress in a swimsuit.
"Uh... thanks."
This was probably revenge for the 'bear panties' teasing.
"Oh~ Jin, that's your type? Well, Ran has a good figure."
Sonoko said with interest.
"Sonoko..."
Ran was flustered.
No one else brought presents. I expected that, so it was fine. We chatted until late, then they left.
"Thanks for the food. See you tomorrow~"
"Thanks for the meal~ Chef Jin."
"King crab..."
"Thanks for coming. Sonoko, I'll take you home. It's dangerous to go alone this late."
"Oh~ Thanks. You're such a gentleman."
I took Sonoko home on my bike, then returned and cleaned up.
'It wasn't my actual birthday, but this wasn't so bad.'
The next day, Conan came to our house alone, looking serious.