Kogoro talked to the police again this time, so the part about the statement was easily passed over. But people did have a few complaints.
"It feels like we had an exciting adventure, so I feel good about that, but it's a bit disappointing we couldn't go camping."
"I know what you mean. I wanted to play in the water too..."
So I made one suggestion.
"Since today is a holiday, even though we don't have tents, how about we hang out as if we're camping and then go back in the evening? We still have all the groceries we bought."
At that, Sonoko was very pleased.
"Oh~ That's a good idea. Let's do that!"
The others didn't object either, and everyone liked it, so we decided to go in that direction. Then Mitsuru, who had been listening, said he knew a good place and showed us a map to recommend it, so we decided to go there. Of course, we had already contacted the children's families.
"Well then, we'll see you next time. And thank you for letting us stay at the castle."
"Not at all. We're the ones who should be grateful. If you hadn't come, we might have lived our whole lives not knowing the truth."
After exchanging greetings with the castle's family, we moved to the place they recommended. This time, I went in the lead. I didn't think I could trust Dr. Agatha, who gets lost easily.
After driving about 30 minutes, we arrived at a certain valley. There was a wide gravel bed, and the water level was low, so it seemed the children could play safely too.
"Oh~ This is a nice place, isn't it?"
"I know, right?"
The women changed clothes in my car and came out, and the men also went to their cars, changed, and started playing in the water. Conan, as expected, couldn't take his eyes off Ran's figure. Dr. Agatha sat on a table and chairs he had set up. Since his head wound had torn a little when he was hit, it was hard for him to play in the water. Conan only had a bump, but the Doctor seemed to have it worse, probably because he has no hair.
"Wow~ Jin, you really have a great body. I saw it on the last trip too, but it's like a perfect physique. You really are a celebrity."
Sonoko admired my body.
"I keep up with my swordsmanship training."
"I see."
I swam a moderate amount, then seasoned the chicken to prepare beer can chicken and gathered some wood. Ran and Sonoko were playing in the water with the children, and Kogoro was drinking beer and chatting with the Doctor about this and that.
"Ahhh~ It's great that I'm not driving. I can drink beer like this. By the way, what's my son-in-law doing?"
"I'm preparing a dish I always make when I go camping."
"Oh~ Should I look forward to it?"
"Of course."
Of course, without a grill it was hard to control the heat, but I had the [Crackling Fruit] ability, so that didn't matter. I just needed to make a good lid out of aluminum foil to keep the heat from escaping and roast it well. While I was doing that, the children and the women also stopped playing in the water and came out.
"Shall we help?"
Ran came and asked me.
"Sure, wash the vegetables with the children. I'll make a salad."
"Okay."
Ran and Sonoko washed the vegetables with the children and even sliced them. So I sprinkled on the dressing I had made in advance and made a simple salad. And right on time, the beer can chicken was done, so I took it out and put it on the table.
"Wow~ The smell! Doesn't it look delicious?"
Sonoko looked at it with anticipation.
"I've never met anyone who doesn't like this dish. Try it. You can dip it in this."
I put out a sauce made from a base of salt and mustard sauce.
"Thank you for the meal~!!"
Everyone took a bite of the beer can chicken and admired it.
"Wow~ So delicious! To roast chicken this well..."
"I know, right. Look at the juices."
"I already knew my son-in-law was a good cook, but this is truly delicious. Perfect with beer!"
"Onmyōji brother, this is so tasty."
I was glad everyone enjoyed it. Conan and the Doctor, who hadn't eaten yesterday and were hungry, also ate very well.
"But if we eat this much, will we be able to eat curry for dinner?"
When I asked everyone, Sonoko said.
"Well then, let's just have skewers for dinner. And toast marshmallows for dessert. How about that?"
"Sounds good. Let's do that."
We ate and chatted about this and that, then played in the water again. In the evening, we grilled skewers, and for dessert we sat around the campfire and toasted marshmallows.
"Ahhh~ I burned it!"
"You have to turn it while toasting."
I was toasting a few extra for the children who weren't good at it.
"Wow~ Delicious. Everything the Onmyōji brother toasts seems to taste good."
"I know, right. Amazing."
When the children said that, Ran also spoke.
"Really, I don't know if there's anything Jin can't do. Even though he's often absent from school, he's always first in the entire school, good at sports, and a good cook too."
Hearing that from the side, Sonoko spoke as if jealous.
"On top of that, he has a good personality and abilities, so he makes good money too, right? Stop bragging, Miss Ran."
At that, Ran looked embarrassed.
"Honestly, Sonoko~"
We played like that, and when it was time to leave, we cleaned up the area well, got in the cars, and returned to Beika Town. I dropped off Ran and Sonoko, then went home with Haibara.
"How was it? Did you enjoy yourself?"
"I did. Honestly, I've seen people toasting marshmallows in movies, so I was curious what they tasted like. But I almost couldn't toast them properly, didn't I? So I was a little disappointed, but it turned out fine."
In our country too, there was a time when toasting marshmallows was an unfamiliar culture, and there was a period when people mistakenly thought the things being toasted in movies were rice cakes. Because of that, even now there are still some elderly people who think Westerners toast rice cakes when they go camping.
"So you were satisfied?"
"Yes. It was a bit of a hassle to toast them properly, but they were delicious."
"I'm glad."
I wondered whether Haibara had ever gone camping as a child, but I didn't ask. Her parents were very busy people, they also had to be mindful of the organization, and they passed away early, so I thought it might be understandable.
Before long, the vacation season was approaching. The Junior Detective League kids and Haibara had already started their break, but Teitan High School was still on session before vacation. Ran and Sonoko were busy studying for their final exams, and I tried not to disturb them as much as possible.
In the meantime, while also doing some Onmyōji work, I was modifying the new yacht I had purchased on the uninhabited island. Using my [Matter Copy] ability, I made two yachts: one for regular inspection and one for actual use. Since they were large, I set up a camouflage tarp in case they were caught by satellites.
This time, I made the entire hull out of vibranium, and I also changed the propulsion system from the existing propeller (screw) method to a water jet thruster. Generally, large yachts don't use water jet systems due to fuel efficiency issues, but since I was running on electricity, I didn't need to worry about efficiency. Also, with the propeller gone, the ship's draft became shallower, which had the advantage of allowing operation even in shallow water.
After working on the hull, I also redid the interior structure and decoration. Originally there were 2 master rooms, 3 regular guest rooms, and 5 crew rooms, but I reduced the engine room and fuel tank space and removed 2 crew rooms to add one extra room. I also increased the size of the living room between the guest rooms, and remodeled the remaining 3 crew rooms to be as comfortable as regular guest rooms. I changed the interior to be more luxurious, and the wood I used was a type called 'Adam' from the One Piece world, so it was very sturdy.
The reason I put so much care into this was that I intended to use this yacht in other modern-era worlds as well. Next time, if I move to a place with a modern setting, I plan to set things up from the start with all licenses in order and possession of a yacht, so there wouldn't be any problems.
'I can't go through that hardship again.'
Finally, I also installed an energy shield and artificial intelligence. Other people from the world could board it, but I set it so that no one except me could use the conversation function. I also expanded the storage space and loaded not only the boat but also a jet ski and a two-person mini-submarine called the 'Nemo Submarine.'
'This should be enough.'
I made several more copies of the satisfactorily completed yacht and stored them in my inventory.
In the meantime, exam period started at school, and I got perfect scores in all subjects. Seeing those results, Ran and Sonoko reacted as if they were no longer surprised.
"Another first place in the school... It's amazing, but I'm not that surprised anymore."
"I know, right. Anyway, now it's vacation. What should we do..."
When Sonoko spoke worriedly, I said.
"Summer vacation means travel, of course. This time, I plan to go all the way to Okinawa on the yacht."
"Oh~ Really? Ha~ To think I can go on that trip again... I can already see the emerald green sea~"
"Sorry to rain on your parade, but the yacht repairs aren't finished yet, so it might take a little while. Still, we'll definitely go during vacation, so don't worry."
"Okay~"
Sonoko seemed to be full of anticipation. Just then, Ran cautiously looked around and spoke quietly.
"Hey, Jin... Would it be possible to bring my mom along that time? I felt bad because we were having so much fun without her."
"And also to improve her relationship with Dad, right."
When I predicted that and said it, Ran was surprised and asked.
"How did you know..."
"Of course I know. Ran, you want Detective Mori and Lawyer Kisaki to live together again. So of course I have to help."
"Really? Thank you~"
Ran looked at me, deeply moved.
Of course, we could go on the trip as soon as vacation started, but an important episode was still approaching, so I needed to wait a little longer. That was the episode where Sonoko and 'Kyogoku Makoto' first meet. I didn't know exactly when it would start, but I planned to leave on the trip after that story was over.
'I can't skip this one.'
As I was spending time like that, I received a call from the police headquarters.
"Jin-kun, sorry, but it's about the incident at that Castle of the Treasure. Could you give your statement again? The part where you said you knew through Onmyō arts is a bit of an issue."
"I see. Understood."
The next day, I headed to the police headquarters in the Hessler with Haibara. In front of the building were the Doctor, Conan, Ran, Kogoro, Sonoko, and even the children.
"Ah~ It's the Onmyōji brother!"
"Hello, big brother!"
The children spotted me and waved happily.
"You guys came too."
Seeing them, it seemed that everyone related to the castle had been called.
"My heart is pounding now that we're at the police headquarters~"
"Right, this is where they investigate cases~"
The children looked at the police headquarters building with sparkling eyes. Just then, the Doctor and Conan said.
"We're here to give our statements about the incident that happened at the castle last time."
"Yeah, it's not a picnic."
Then Ayumi looked at Conan as if bewildered.
"Conan, you were grinning from ear to ear because you were going to get to hear about a baffling case."
"Did I? Ha ha!"
Just then, a man approached us, greeted us, and spoke. He was a young man with a handsome and earnest impression.
"I've been waiting. I'm Takagi from the First Investigative Division. Now, please come inside."
'Oh~ That's Takagi Wataru.'
In the Conan universe, at first he was just an incompetent police officer (No. 1), but gradually his role grew, and along with 'Sato Miwako', he became one of the characters who played a supporting role as a police couple. Of course, he still lacked ability.
At any rate, we followed Takagi into the police headquarters.
"Ran~ When we're done, shall we go eat something tasty and then go to karaoke?"
"Should we?"
Sonoko seemed to want to go somewhere to hang out since we were all gathered like this.
"That's strange. I thought it would be dirty and full of cigarette ash..."
"You can't tell just from the outside~!"
"Right, right. When we get to the detective's room, it might be a mess."
"Yeah, yeah."
The children seemed to be expecting something strange.
Guided by Takagi, we entered the First Investigative Division. There were several desks, but almost no people. Seeing that, the children looked very disappointed and said.
"There's no one here..."
"I know. I thought the place where the police are would be filled with cigarette smoke every day..."
"And I thought scary-looking uncles would be glaring at us..."
"Right, I'm disappointed."
"Hahaha, you kids watch too much TV!"
Takagi laughed and said. Then the Doctor asked Takagi.
"By the way, where is Inspector Megure? We came because he called us..."
"Ah, the inspector is out on a bank robbery case."
"You mean the case three days ago where someone stole 300 million yen from a bank on Haido Street and ran away?"
"Yes. They say that the inspector's wife also went to that bank at the time and ran into the culprit, getting injured. So the inspector is very on edge right now."
"I see..."
Just then, Conan stepped forward and asked.
"So today, Detective Takagi, you'll be taking our statements instead?"
"Yes, that's right. Then let's go to another room and get started right away."
Conan looked at Takagi's collar and said.
"Huh? Your sleeve button looks like it's about to fall off."
"Oh, really? You're right..."
Then the other children also examined Takagi and said.
"Your collar is dirty too."
"Your shirt is all wrinkled too..."
And then Ayumi delivered the finishing blow.
"Mister, do you... not have a girlfriend?"
"Ugh..."
At that moment, Sonoko said to Ayumi.
"Ayumi, you shouldn't call a solo a solo. Just like you shouldn't call a bald person bald."
"Ah, I see. I'm sorry, mister."
"Ugh..."
Takagi seemed even more shocked by those words. Feeling sorry for him, the Doctor offered.
"Well then, shall I introduce you to my cousin's granddaughter?"
"Everyone, please stop. I'm telling you, I do have someone I like."
Just then, a woman's voice came from behind.
"Huh? Takagi, who are all these people? Oh my! Isn't that Jin? Nice to see you. And Ai-chan too~"
"Nice to see you."
"Hello."
This woman was 'Sato Miwako', who would become Takagi's lover in the future. Miwako had short hair and was quite a beauty. In the Conan universe, she was officially one of the beauties, so that was natural. Among the police, she was treated like a total idol. But she was still single at 28.
'With such good looks, single... She must be someone who puts work before romance.'
While we were greeting each other, Takagi was flustered. Seeing that, Ayumi asked.
"Why are you so flustered? Is the person you like this big sister?"
"Ahhh!"
Takagi's face turned red and he fidgeted. He was probably hit close to home. But unfortunately, Miwako denied it and said.
"That's not true. I'm Sato Miwako. As you can see, I'm a detective in the First Investigative Division, Major Crimes Unit."
When Miwako said that, Takagi looked a little pitiful.