Chapter 140: Anya Is Indeed Not Simple
"Now that the case is solved, Inspector Megure, we have other matters to attend to. Can we leave now?" Natsukawa asked.
He was genuinely in a hurry and couldn't afford to leave Yuri with a bad impression by breaking their dinner appointment.
Inspector Megure nodded. "Of course! Thank you so much, Natsukawa. I knew I hadn't misjudged you—your deductive ability is just as impressive as Mouri's."
"Having spent so much time with Uncle Mouri, I've picked up a thing or two about solving cases. It's all thanks to Uncle Mouri's influence."
"Hahaha, Natsukawa, don't be so modest! It's mainly because you have such strong learning ability!" Kogoro Mouri, who had been observing the entire time, laughed heartily, his expression absolutely beaming.
"Dad, you should at least try to be a little more humble."
Ran was speechless. Couldn't he tell that Natsukawa was just being polite?
"Natsukawa-san, your deduction was absolutely brilliant!" Suzuki Sonoko looked at him with admiration shining in her eyes. She swore that Natsukawa was now her second male idol!
While both were skilled in deduction, Shinichi Kudo appeared somewhat arrogant, while Natsukawa seemed much more composed and mature.
Besides, the way Natsukawa had looked at Mrs. Minagawa earlier was incredibly cool!
As for her number one idol, that was naturally Kaitou Kid!
That position was unshakeable. Even if she got a boyfriend in the future, she'd still be a devoted Kid fan.
Although Natsukawa already had Yor, what did it matter? Kaitou Kid had been active for twenty years—if he were married, his children would probably be around her age by now.
Admiration and romantic love were two different things entirely.
She admired both Kid and Natsukawa, but didn't romantically love them.
One was an elegant phantom thief, the other a handsome and cool master of deduction!
"And who might you be?"
"This is Sonoko, Ran's classmate. They've been friends since childhood and are very close. She invited Ran and me to make chocolates together today."
After Yor finished explaining, Sonoko said somewhat apologetically, "I didn't expect something like this to happen. I'm so sorry for the trouble."
Natsukawa shook his head. "It's fine, really."
Wasn't it perfectly normal for incidents to occur when you were out with Conan? He'd gotten used to it after so many outings.
Speaking of which, it was quite surprising that Uncle Mouri hadn't punched Conan—who'd been examining the crime scene everywhere—today.
Arriving at the entrance, Natsukawa asked, "Sonoko, where do you live? I can give you a ride home if you'd like."
Actually, Natsukawa didn't particularly want to offer. Time was getting tight. Normally it wouldn't matter, but tonight was important, and there wasn't much space in the car.
However, if he didn't offer, it would seem rather impolite, which didn't align with Natsukawa's sense of courtesy.
If she accepted, Natsukawa would have to make two trips.
Sonoko peeked at the GT-R twice, then shook her head. "It's okay, my driver will be here soon."
There were seven of them total, including herself, which would be way too crowded.
Sonoko was afraid they'd get pulled over by police before they'd even driven two blocks. Even with two children, it would still be considered overloaded.
Overloading in Japan was really unsafe—one wrong move and they could get into serious trouble.
Just then, a Mercedes roared up and stopped right in front of the Minagawa residence.
Kogoro scratched his head, staring intently at the vehicle for several seconds.
This car looked exactly like his limited edition model! If it weren't for the different license plate, he'd think the Hiramoto Group had already repaired his car and delivered it directly here.
"Young Miss!" The driver's side door opened, and a man dressed in professional chauffeur attire stepped out.
"Wow! Sonoko, is this your car? It's the same model as my dad's! I heard it's a limited worldwide edition!" Ran exclaimed in surprise.
She'd seen Sonoko's cars before, but they'd usually been other luxury vehicles. This was the first time she'd seen a Mercedes just like her father's.
"Oh, you mean this one? I don't know why Uncle Jirokichi bought five of them at once. A few days ago, he noticed my old car had been in use for quite a while, so he just gave me one of these."
Everyone fell silent, completely dumbfounded.
Incredibly wealthy! The Suzuki Financial Group truly lived up to its reputation.
Buying five limited-edition luxury cars at once—were they planning to collect them?!
Natsukawa grinned internally. No wonder they were the kind of tycoons who could spend 10 billion yen in the 'Sunflowers of Inferno' incident just to retrieve a sunflower painting from Kid.
If Gin kidnapped Suzuki Jirokichi's beloved pet, he might be able to extort a fortune.
Kogoro's spirits deflated considerably.
His prized Mercedes—they'd bought five of them! The Suzuki family... truly terrifying. Worthy of being Japan's number one conglomerate!
On the way back, Conan suddenly asked, "Natsukawa-san, how did you figure out that Mrs. Minagawa was the culprit? Judging from your expression, it seemed like you knew from the very beginning."
Everyone else looked at Natsukawa curiously, even Kogoro, who had been dozing off, half-opened his eyes, wanting to hear Natsukawa's thought process.
"Mrs. Minagawa's reaction was too excessive. Actually, I was just bluffing at first. I wanted to see everyone's reactions, but I didn't expect it to work so well. She gave herself away completely, which even I didn't anticipate."
Natsukawa continued with a smile, "Looks like today really is my lucky day. Maybe things will go smoothly with Yuri too."
Yor suddenly blushed, hugging Anya and lowering her head in silence.
Ran knew that Yor's younger brother was visiting Natsukawa's house tonight, and sincerely congratulated them, "Then congratulations in advance, Natsukawa-san, on winning over your future brother-in-law!"
"Ran!" Yor's blush spread all the way to her neck. "What brother-in-law?! Our relationship hasn't progressed to that stage yet!"
"Hahaha, I understand, Yor-san."
Conan, squeezed in the middle of the back seat, rolled his eyes internally. Ran was starting to become a bit like Sonoko. Should he keep Ran away from Sonoko's influence and prevent her from becoming a lovesick gossip like her friend?
However, Conan wasn't satisfied with the explanation.
Natsukawa's answer was far too perfunctory—he clearly didn't want to reveal his actual reasoning at all.
Thinking about this, Conan suddenly looked at Anya in Yor's arms.
Or perhaps Anya had secretly informed Natsukawa about everything?
It wasn't impossible. He'd been so focused on the case that he hadn't noticed what Anya was doing.
He remembered Anya had a cell phone. Maybe she'd already reported everything to Natsukawa while he was investigating.
That would explain how Natsukawa was able to immediately identify the culprit upon arrival.
Anya was indeed no simpleton. Explaining a case clearly was no easy feat. The fact that Natsukawa could solve it based on her explanation proved she had strong descriptive and analytical abilities—she hadn't missed any crucial information.
Moreover, she'd helped identify the coffee cup issue earlier too.
That must be it.
Feeling satisfied after solving this mystery, Conan looked at Natsukawa with increasing smugness. Trying to show off in front of the famous detective Kudo Shinichi? Natsukawa-san, you're still too green!
Anya suddenly turned around, winking at Conan with a mischievous grin.
(^_-)☆
Conan: ...?
What does that mean? That sudden wink... does it confirm his deduction?
But that doesn't make sense. These were all internal thoughts—how could Anya possibly know what he was thinking?
However, out of politeness, Conan returned a bright smile.
(End of Chapter)
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