While we were having a light-hearted, joking power struggle, the sound of a car arriving at the mansion was heard, and Chairman Suzuki Shiro and his eldest daughter Ayako came in together. Tomoko greeted them warmly, and we stood up from the sofa for a moment.
"Oh~ It's been a while, Jin-kun. And your little sister Ai-chan came too. And this handsome young man must be Morgan West-san."
"It's been a while, Chairman."
"Hello. I'm Haibara Ai."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Morgan West."
"Everyone, please sit down."
After Chairman Suzuki and Ayako sat on the sofa, we sat down as well. Then the chairman immediately stated the reason he had called us.
"Jin-kun, do you happen to have any spare rooms for this yacht trip?"
"Yes, I do."
"Good. Then I'd like Ayako and her fiancé Tomizawa Yuzo to join as well."
"Personally, the more the merrier. And I'm not exactly a stranger to Ayako-neesan and Tomizawa-san."
"Thank you for saying that. It's because Sonoko has been bragging so much. I wanted to send Yuzo-kun and Ayako, who haven't been on a decent trip in a while."
Saying that, the chairman suddenly handed me a thick envelope.
"This is..."
"A travel subsidy."
I immediately used my [Clairvoyance] ability to check the envelope. Inside was 5 million yen (about 50 million Korean won). But I handed the envelope back to the chairman.
"I can't accept this. I'm going on this trip with a light heart with close people. If I take this money, I feel the trip would become heavy."
"Ah~ I see. Understood. You really are desirable. If I had one more daughter..."
The chairman seemed to quite like me. Then Sonoko said.
"Dad, Jin already has Ran."
"That's right, I forgot. My apologies."
"It's fine."
To be honest, I thought about just accepting it, but I wasn't short on money, and it felt like it would become too businesslike, so I refused.
At any rate, I had a pleasant conversation with the Suzuki family for the first time in a while and explained what to prepare for the trip. This was the same thing I had told Ran.
"Sonoko, Ayako-neesan, please make sure to bring aqua shoes. On beaches with coral, the coral fragments can hurt your feet."
"Okay, Jin-kun."
The chairman, who had been quietly listening, said.
"Listening to you, I'd like to go too."
"Then please come along. There's one more spare room."
"Unfortunately, I have a lot of work at the company. I was going to send at least my wife... She said it would be pitiful for me to stay home alone."
"I see. It's good to see you have a good relationship with your wife."
"Haha, thank you."
Seeing the chairman say this, unlike the first trip, he seemed reassured. Still, just in case, he urged me to contact him if anything happened.
While we were talking about the trip for a while, Tomoko came and said.
"I'm sorry to interrupt while you're enjoying your conversation, but let's eat first and continue. We had a lot of guests today, so I put some care into the meal. You can look forward to it."
"Oh~ Time has already come. Let's eat first and talk again. If my wife put care into it, it'll be delicious."
We moved to the dining table and started eating. Indeed, because she had put care into it, we ate very well. After the meal, the chairman, while eating dessert, also asked Ai-chan and Morgan various questions and chatted.
"I enjoyed today's conversation. Have a safe and good trip."
"I will take responsibility and ensure everyone returns safely. Then I'll see you next time."
We finished our greetings and returned home. Then Haibara said to me.
"That's surprising. From what I heard, the Suzuki family seems quite down-to-earth, and they're good people. I think I understand why Sonoko is the way she is."
"Right? The Suzuki family are good people. The group also does a lot of donating and charity events."
"I see. Honestly, I thought all corporate operators were parasites sucking the blood of the common people, but it seems not all of them are like that."
Certainly, there were people like that, but strangely, in the Conan universe, there were far more good people among corporate operators. Perhaps it was because the Conan universe, with villains like the Black Organization and various money-related issues, was often intertwined with cases.
Two days or so passed after that. Morgan informed Sonoko that he would be going abroad for a while, using the excuse of bringing the yacht. Then Sonoko said tearfully.
"Please come back safely."
"You're not going to a battlefield. You'll see me again in a few days, so calm down."
"Even so... Shall I follow you to the airport?"
"No, I'm just going for a short while, so you don't need to go that far."
It would be a problem if she followed. Actually, I wasn't really going abroad.
"Then I have a request. From now on, let's speak comfortably with each other."
"Alright, let's do that."
After a whole production with Sonoko, I finally managed to send Morgan off. I planned to summon Morgan again later when I went far out to sea and took the yacht out of inventory.
Two days passed like that. I was looking through applications from part-time crew applicants. Since I was famous, many people had sent applications, and it took quite a while just to look through them. Then I noticed applications from people I knew. They were none other than 'Toda Kiwako' and 'Matsuzaki Harumi', members of their university's scuba diving club.
These two were characters from the 'Scuba Diving Murder Case' episode. I had never actually met them, but Conan knew them through that case.
To briefly explain the 'Scuba Diving Murder Case': Matsuzaki Harumi had a brother. He wasn't her biological brother but had become family through remarriage. However, she fell in love with her kind brother, and jealous of 'Toda Kiwako', who was engaged to him, she tried to kill Kiwako using sea snakes when they went on a diving trip together.
But thanks to Conan and the others, 'Toda Kiwako' didn't die and barely regained consciousness in the hospital. She ended up forgiving 'Matsuzaki Harumi', who had tried to kill her. Both were in the same club and were close friends, but since they loved the same person and various misunderstandings had accumulated, the case ended amicably without police involvement.
'They must have become close again after that incident, since they applied together.'
I decided to hire these two and interview them. Because both were members of the scuba diving club, they could teach snorkeling to the travelers, and Conan knew them, plus both were beauties.
So I contacted them and arranged to meet at a café in the city.
"So we help with mooring the yacht, carry the food during mealtimes, and in the evenings, just gather the trash and laundry?"
"Yes, and for about one day, please teach everyone snorkeling. It's not deep diving, so just explaining precautions and the basics should be enough. In your free time, you're free to enjoy the trip or hang out with everyone."
"The work doesn't seem that hard."
"Yes, actually, the first mate and I were going to do everything, but there are many people on the trip. The day before we depart, please come to the yacht and learn knotting, how to use fenders, and how to use safety equipment. It's not difficult, so you should pick it up quickly. As for compensation..."
The work was a little over a week, but since they couldn't go home and had to teach snorkeling, I offered 300,000 yen. This was far more than a month's part-time salary at a convenience store, so I thought it would be enough.
"Wow~ You're paying a lot."
"And if you get injured while working, we will cover all medical expenses, so you don't need to worry about that."
Of course, that was lip service. As long as I was there, they wouldn't get seriously injured.
"Understood."
After that, I handed them the employment contract, and they read it carefully before signing. With that, the crew was secured.
A few days passed. Two days before the trip, I went far out to sea, summoned the yacht from my inventory, and summoned my clone (Morgan). Then I piloted the yacht and docked it at the marina.
So far, there were no problems, but the next day, my yacht was photographed and appeared prominently in newspapers and on the news. Apparently, a young celebrity operating such a yacht became a hot topic in Japan. To train the crew, I headed to the marina with Haibara and Sonoko.
Haibara didn't want to be alone, so she decided to leave a day early with me. Sonoko packed her bags wanting to see Morgan quickly, so the three of us headed to the yacht together.
But there was an enormous crowd of people gathered at the marina to see the yacht. I carried the luggage and moved. Haibara and Sonoko, perhaps a bit embarrassed, covered their faces and followed slowly. When we appeared, reporters swarmed, taking photos and conducting interviewsâit was chaotic.
"What is this..."
Haibara was greatly flustered.
"We're famous, so it can't be helped. Just enjoy it."
"Hah... Really..."
I was used to this kind of thing, but Haibara wasn't. Sonoko, as soon as she saw Morgan guarding the yacht, entered lovey-dovey mode. She was only a little self-conscious at first, but then seemed fine.
Sonoko and Haibara walked around the yacht and looked at it.
"Wow~ It really is big."
As Sonoko said, it was a large yacht. Yachts of 24â50 meters are called superyachts, 50â100 meters are megayachts, and over 100 meters are gigayachts. My yacht was top-of-the-line among superyachts. Megayachts and gigayachts were owned by the world's richest people or dictators. The Odyssey, the Avengers' airborne base in the Marvel universe, was also a gigayacht.
While Morgan and I were inspecting the yacht, the marina became noisy. When I went out, Toda Kiwako and Matsuzaki Harumi had also arrived with their luggage. Reporters were attached to them, firing questions, and they looked very uncomfortable. I immediately brought them onto the yacht.
"Ugh... Is my face going to be on the evening news?"
"I know, right... What will my mother say if she sees..."
I guided them to the crew rooms. In this situation, teaching outdoor work seemed difficult, so I first taught them what could be done inside. I also prohibited filming the interior of the yacht. Because it was so different from standard yachts, it could cause problems later, but I simply explained it as a privacy issue.
I thought about buying ingredients, but there were too many people outside, so I gave up and took ingredients from my inventory to stock the kitchen. After that, we ate on the yacht and were resting. Sure enough, the evening news reported on my yacht.
'I bought it because I liked the design, but maybe I bought a yacht that's too flashy.'
Certainly, the overall gold color and flashy design made it stand out. But the 'Palmer Johnson Khalilah' I purchased in Morocco was a yacht that possessed both speed and long-range cruising performance, so it was an unavoidable choice.
The next day, the people who would be joining the trip began to arrive one by one. The first to arrive was 'Kisaki Eri'. I immediately moved Eri's luggage.
"Jin-kun, it's been a while. Nice to see you."
"It's been a while."
"Honestly, after seeing this situation yesterday, I wondered if I should come."
Eri said, looking at the reporters gathered at the marina. The number of interviews had decreased a bit, but they were still taking photos.
"Wouldn't becoming more famous be a good thing for you? You'd get more law cases."
"I can expect a publicity effect, but this is a bit excessive."
"Haha, is that so?"
The next to arrive were Ayako and her fiancé Yuzo. They were coming into the marina covering their faces, and again I carried their luggage.
"Ugh... Jin-kun... forget the greetings, let's get inside quickly..."
Ayako and Yuzo seemed quite burdened by this situation.
Next, Ran, Kogoro, and Conan arrived. Kogoro had brought a full fishing setâcompletely armed. It showed his strong determination to catch a big one this time. Not only that, he was cheerfully enjoying interviews with the reporters. Ran and Conan, standing beside him, looked very embarrassed.
"I will catch a big fish this time! And I will take responsibility for these children and ensure they have a good trip!"
"So, Detective Mori, are you the leader of this trip?"
"Of course! Call me Captain Mori! Uhahaha~!!"
Hearing that, Ran and Conan looked at Kogoro incredulously. I moved their luggage.
After Ran, Conan, and Kogoro boarded, they recognized the crew members 'Toda Kiwako' and 'Matsuzaki Harumi' and were very pleased.
"Huh? I feel like I've seen these young ladies somewhere before... Ah! At Izu Beach during the sea snake incident!"
"Hello, Detective. Thank you for back then."
"Long time no see."
"Didn't Toda Kiwako say she was going to marry her childhood friend?"
When Kogoro asked Kiwako, she answered.
"Originally that was the plan, but due to the aftermath of that incident, it was postponed for a year."
"That's unfortunate."
"But now I'm healthy again."
"That's a relief."
After finishing their greetings, everyone gathered in the saloon, and I spoke.
"First, we need to assign rooms..."
I could have arbitrarily assigned them, but seeing Eri and Kogoro glaring at each other, I felt that wouldn't work.
"Caught again. Ran, you said this person wasn't coming because he had work."
Eri protested to Ran, and Ran said awkwardly.
"Ahaha, well... he had work, but then it got canceled~"
"It's the same for me. I never dreamed you'd be coming along."
Kogoro also looked incredulous.
"Then shall the two of you share a room..."
"No way!"
"I don't want to either!"
Both refused firmly.
"Then it can't be helped. Lawyer Kisaki and Ran in one room, Detective Mori and Conan in one room, and Ayako-neesan and Tomizawa-san in one room. Neesan and Tomizawa-san's room has two single beds, so there should be no problem sharing. Does everyone agree?"
Then Sonoko asked me.
"Can I just use my original room?"
"Yeah. Originally I planned to have Ai-chan share a room with you, but Ai-chan didn't like it. She said you hug her like a doll and she can't sleep."
"Ahaha, did I do that?"
"Anyway, Ai-chan will share a room with me."
Then Sonoko, her face red, fidgeted her fingers and said to me.
"I want to... just... share a room with Morgan-san..."
Hearing that, Ayako was shocked and slapped Sonoko on the back.
Smack!
"Aya!"
"This girl has lost her mind!"