The push of the video store door broke the afternoon's tranquility.
Rin was idly flipping through a detective comic when she looked up at the sound and saw several familiar small figures entering in a neat line.
It was the four little members of the Detective Boys, including Conan, and a cool-looking, tea-haired little girl.
"Rin-neechan!" Ayumi cheerfully greeted her.
"Oh? It's you all."
Rin put down the comic and smiled.
Her gaze swept over the new face, the short-haired, tea-colored little girl, recognizing Haibara Ai, whose demeanor was completely different from the other little brats.
But she still pretended not to know her and asked, "Oh my, a new face, and who is this pretty little friend?"
"Her name is Haibara Ai!"
Ayumi proudly linked arms with Haibara Ai, introducing her with a sense of honor, "She's the new member I brought into the Detective Boys! Haibara Ai is very smart!"
Haibara Ai didn't speak, just nodded as a greeting.
Conan, on the other hand, craned his neck, looking around the store.
"Rin-neechan," Genta announced loudly, puffing out his stomach, "Today, I'm here to treat everyone to a meal! To repay you for the ice cream you treated us to last time, you should come too!"
"Huh?!" Mitsuhiko pushed up his glasses, looking terrified, "Genta, you gathered us all to treat us?! Has the sun risen from the west?!"
"Genta... you're treating?" Conan looked as if he'd seen a ghost, stammering his words.
Was this still the same Genta who would pick up and eat snacks that other children dropped on the ground?
He felt a little unfamiliar now.
Rin raised an eyebrow, looking at Genta's smug "I'm rich" expression, finding it a bit amusing and piquing her interest.
"Oh? Genta-kun is so generous today? Then I, as your neechan, won't be polite."
She turned and called out to the back room, "Sjal, please watch the store!"
"Okay, Manager!" Sjal responded while tidying video tapes.
And so, the group set off cheerfully.
Led by Genta, they took several turns and finally stopped in front of a Restaurant with quite elaborate decor and an impressive facade.
Through the glass windows, one could see elegant private rooms and waitstaff in kimonos.
"Genta, are you sure it's here?" Mitsuhiko gasped, looking at the price list hanging at the entrance, "This place looks so expensive!"
Ayumi also worried, "Genta, should we find a cheaper place?"
Haibara Ai and Conan didn't speak, but their eyes were also full of doubt.
"Hmph! You underestimate me!"
Genta thumped his chest, full of confidence,
"Eat to your heart's content! When I, Genta-sama, say I'm treating, I can definitely afford it! Follow me!"
He puffed out his chest and was the first to push open the door and enter.
Seeing Genta's confidence, everyone exchanged glances and followed him in.
Once in the private room, Genta's behavior became even more extravagant.
He barely looked at the menu, pointing at dishes with "selected" and "limited" labels and ordering wildly.
"This! This! And this! The sashimi platter, the biggest one! The sushi platter too! Grilled wagyu! Snow crab! Sea urchin rice bowl for everyone! And the most expensive juice for drinks!"
His demeanor was as if he wanted to order every signature dish in the restaurant.
The waitstaff couldn't help but confirm several times, "Little ones, can you... finish all this? These prices..."
"Nonsense! I can afford it! Hurry up and serve!" Genta impatiently waved his hand.
Rin thought, could Genta have won the lottery? He's spending money without a care.
Conan, Haibara Ai, and the other two actual children exchanged glances, all seeing deep suspicion in each other's eyes.
But seeing Genta's confident demeanor and the continuously served, exquisite dishes that clearly looked expensive, everyone had to temporarily suppress their doubts and focus on enjoying the delicious food.
It must be said, there's a reason for the high price, the ingredients were fresh, and the taste was indeed first-class, even Haibara Ai quietly ate quite a bit.
After a whirlwind meal, everyone was satisfied and full, their bellies round.
"Burp~" Genta let out a loud burp, patting the table smugly, "Waitstaff, check please!"
The cashier in a kimono came in with the bill, a professional smile on her face. "Hello, that will be 86,500 yen." (T/N: BRO! That's way too expensive. You know my PC setup only cost 31,900 yen and it can still run games like ZZZ, HSR, WuWa, and Genshin. Meanwhile, just eating here costs 86,500 yen—like, bro… even my monthly food expenses don't come anywhere close to that.)
This number made everyone except Genta secretly gasp.
Rin had already quietly reached into her purse, ready to step in at any moment.
"No problem!" Genta grandly pulled out a stack of brand-new thousand-yen bills from his pocket, without counting, he pulled out a thick wad and slapped it on the table, "Here! Keep the change!"
My goodness, could this kid really have won the lottery? Such a show-off.
Rin's eyes widened, somewhat disbelieving.
If Ran had won the lottery, she wouldn't doubt it for a second, but Genta clearly didn't have such a setting.
The stack of bills did look very new, in bundles, with neat edges.
The cashier maintained her smile, picked up the bills, and began counting them. However, after counting just a few, her brow furrowed slightly.
She held one bill up to the light for a careful look, then used her thumb and index finger to firmly rub the edge and patterned part of the bill.
On her fingertips, a trace of green ink was clearly visible.
This money, it was bleeding color!
And even more absurdly, some of the bills even had the Kanji characters for "Japan Children's Bank" written on them.
The cashier was utterly speechless, she looked up at Genta, her voice turning cold. "Little one, these bills are counterfeit."
"Wh-What?! Counterfeit?!"
Genta's smug expression instantly froze, turning somewhat flustered.
"This money bleeds color," the cashier showed the green stain on her finger to everyone, then picked up a bill and held it against the light,
"And the watermark is blurry, and the security thread is in the wrong place. These are fake bills, and the kind that are obviously fake."
Silence fell in the private room.
Ayumi and Mitsuhiko's eyes widened, looking at Genta in disbelief.
Conan immediately picked up one of the fake bills from the table and examined it carefully, indeed finding several crude signs of forgery. It couldn't be any faker.
Haibara Ai, on the other hand, looked at Genta's instantly fallen face, a barely perceptible smirk playing on her lips.
Genta's face turned from red to white, then from white to green, large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he slumped down like an octopus.
"Oh dear, it seems our Genta-kun has run into a bit of trouble."
Rin sighed, breaking the awkward silence.
She deftly pulled several real ten-thousand-yen bills from her purse and handed them to the cashier,
"I'm sorry, the child doesn't know any better. Please use these to pay, and you don't need to give change. please consider it compensation for the trouble we caused."
The cashier breathed a sigh of relief, took the real bills, and her attitude softened considerably. "Thank you for your understanding."
After the payment, the matter was settled.
Leaving the luxurious Restaurant, everyone's gaze towards Genta became strange.
Genta hung his head, his shoulders shaking, and he began to sob softly.
"Genta, what exactly is going on?" Ayumi asked worriedly.
"Where did you get that money?" Mitsuhiko also pressed.
"Wah—!"
Genta finally couldn't hold back and burst into loud sobs,
"I was tricked, that seller cheated me, That guy cheated me! He's a bad person! No integrity at all! Those in their line of work, doing business, they don't value credibility.
How hard is it for a child to save up some pocket money! And then the money I bought can't even be used! I lost big, boo hoo hoo..."