'This is getting troublesome...'
Fujino frowned.
Being hit on by mature older women – this was a first for him.
"Excuse me, do you need something with him?"
Just then, Miyano Akemi, having just come ashore holding Ai Haibara's hand, walked over and inquired of the two mature women.
"Nothing..."
The older woman glanced at Miyano Akemi, felt she couldn't compare, and gave up on Fujino as a target.
"Fujino-kun!"
Just as the women left, Mouri Kogoro walked over, asking Fujino anxiously,
"Did you see a ring just now?"
"Is this the ring?"
Fujino paused upon hearing this, reached into his pocket, took the ring from his pocket dimension, and handed it to Mouri Kogoro.
"This ring was found by Ai-chan under the lounge chair you were sitting on earlier. I thought it might be yours, uncle, so I kept it."
"That's it!"
Mouri-san looked quite excited. "Fujino-kun, you really helped me out big time! Lunch later is on me!"
"It's nothing."
Fujino glanced down at his shirt. After consulting with Miyano Akemi and Ai Haibara, he decided to return to the hotel to change and then join them for the free lunch.
"Eh?! Excuse me, are you Detective Mouri?!"
Just as they were about to head back to the hotel, Fujino turned his head and saw Mouri Kogoro chatting with two young girls, wearing an inappropriate expression.
Fujino looked at Mouri-san's behavior and sighed.
Really, Mouri-san.
Although Eri Kisaki was 'middle-aged', she was still quite charming.
Wasn't she better than those two young girls?
Having a beauty like Eri Kisaki at home and not cherishing her, instead looking elsewhere while still eating from his own bowl, chasing after other women.
He finally understood why Ran's plans never succeeded...
Giving a glimmer of hope only to immediately extinguish it.
If he were Eri Kisaki, he wouldn't go back to suffer that either.
Queen Hotel Lobby.
Having just changed back into casual clothes, Fujino and Miyano Akemi's group came downstairs.
Then, they saw Mouri Kogoro still chatting and laughing with those two girls.
Mouri-san was hopeless.
"Ah, Fujino-kun."
Mouri Kogoro noticed Fujino and greeted him.
"Fujino?"
The two girls turned their heads towards Fujino.
"Could it be, you're that high school detective, Fujino?"
"Hello."
Fujino walked over and greeted them.
"You know me?"
"How could we not? We're big fans of your detective work!"
The two girls before him were quite attractive. One looked slightly more mature, the other youthful and lively. The mature one wore a swimsuit similar to Miyano Akemi's, but pink. The youthful one wore an orange cover-up over denim shorts, with a black bikini top underneath.
"Detective Fujino and Detective Mouri know each other?"
After some conversation, the youthful girl asked curiously.
"Of course!"
Mouri-san laughed. "Fujino here lives right across from my place. We usually get along great, friends despite the age gap..."
"Enough! Dad!"
Just then, Ran, sitting nearby, suddenly stood up and shouted dissatisfiedly.
She came on this trip specifically to help her parents reconcile.
But her dad's behavior... really!
Hitting on young girls right in front of Mom.
After Mouri Kogoro's introduction, Fujino learned that the youthful girl was named Matsuzaki Harumi, and the slightly more mature one was Toda Kiwako. Both were university students.
When introducing family members, Mouri-san and Eri Kisaki started bickering again.
"I say, you lecherous old man."
While Mouri Kogoro was still arguing with Eri Kisaki, a dark-skinned man suddenly walked up from behind and patted Mouri Kogoro's shoulder. "You're not young anymore. Don't be so disrespectful, hitting on girls who came with us, okay?"
"Huh?"
Mouri-san paused, surprised.
The man turned around and waved to another man behind him, one wearing a blue shirt. "I say, Masahiko, how can you be so indifferent? Your sister and fiancée are being hit on by this old man, and you're not angry at all?"
"It's alright, you don't need to trouble this uncle like this."
The man named Masahiko said amicably. "Besides, this uncle seems to be someone famous."
"Famous? Him?"
The man shot a disdainful look at Mouri-san.
He felt Mouri-san's lecherous old man demeanor didn't resemble a celebrity at all.
Of course, Fujino felt the same way.
Any normal person would probably think so.
If it were Fujino, he probably would have already gone up and punched Mouri-san duang duang.
After some introductions, the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Those two men were also university students, companions of Matsuzaki Harumi and Toda Kiwako.
One, the honest-looking man in the blue shirt, was named Matsuzaki Masahiko. The other, who clashed with Mouri Kogoro and looked tough, was named Kawazu Kunio.
Toda Kiwako was Matsuzaki Masahiko's fiancée, and Matsuzaki Harumi was Matsuzaki Masahiko's sister.
Later, invited by the group, Fujino and Mouri-san's party went to a nearby restaurant called BIG WAVE for lunch.
Because of the ring incident earlier, Mouri-san had said he'd treat Fujino to lunch.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
At the restaurant, the group ordered a large table full of food.
Fujino, naturally, didn't spend a single yen, enjoying a free lunch.
During the conversation, Fujino learned that these individuals were all members of the same university diving club, and Toda Kiwako and Matsuzaki Masahiko were getting married next week.
"Diving must be difficult, right?"
Sitting at the table, Fujino took a sip of iced tea and remarked.
"Indeed, diving is super difficult."
Matsuzaki Harumi nodded in agreement. "My brother, who can't swim, had quite an ordeal joining the diving club."
"If he can't swim, why join the diving club?"
Fujino asked puzzledly.
"It was because of me."
Toda Kiwako said with a smile. "Masahiko has been unable to swim since childhood. I actually wanted him to join the diving club to learn swimming, but he still hasn't learned."
"Don't say anymore."
Matsuzaki Masahiko scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Swimming... I just don't have the talent for it. No matter how much I learn, I just can't get it."
"Talent is indeed important, but effort is also very important."
Mouri-san nodded, starting to boast, "Take Fujino-kun and me, for example. Among so many detectives, the reason we became famous detectives, besides innate talent, is the result of our tireless efforts."
"Efforts in drinking heavily and hitting on young girls?"
Eri Kisaki quipped from the side.
"What does a lawyer woman like you know about detectives?"
Mouri-san retorted, then directed the battle towards Fujino. "Am I wrong? Fujino-kun?"
Fujino: "..."
Don't drag me into your arguments, hey!
"Alright, you two stop fighting."
Seeing Fujino looking troubled, Ran immediately changed the subject, mentioning Toda Kiwako and Matsuzaki Masahiko being childhood friends to smooth things over.
Then, Mouri-san and Eri Kisaki started bickering again.
Along the way, they even gave the soon-to-be-married couple business cards for their respective law firm and detective agency.
Saying if he suspected his wife of having an affair, go find Mouri Kogoro.
And if she needed to divorce her husband and sue him, go find Eri Kisaki.
This move left Fujino, Conan, Ai Haibara, and Miyano Akemi speechless.
A normal person would probably have lost their temper by now, right?
But just then, Fujino felt something was amiss.
Why did this chance encounter plot feel so familiar?
Could another murder case be about to happen?
Fujino cast a resentful gaze towards Conan.
Being stared at like that by Fujino, Conan immediately felt uneasy.
He thought: Fujino is looking at me strangely again. Did I offend him again somehow?
Recalling the 'windmill adventure' at the ski resort last time, Conan suddenly shivered.
"By the way, Masahiko, where did your childhood friend go?"
Kawazu Kunio, seeing things getting awkward, quickly changed the subject.
"You mean Hiroshi?"
Matsuzaki Masahiko looked left and right. "After we finished diving this morning, he said he was going snorkeling nearby. He hasn't come back yet."
"What's snorkeling?"
Mouri Kogoro, having just finished arguing with Eri Kisaki and taken a large gulp of beer, looked puzzled.
The resident knowledge dispenser, Ai Haibara, explained from the side, "It should be a type of short-duration diving using only a snorkel mask, without oxygen tanks. It helps train lung capacity."
"Little sister, you seem to know quite a lot."
Matsuzaki Harumi smiled and asked Ai Haibara, "Could it be you're also interested in diving?"
"I just saw it on TV."
Ai Haibara shook her head, silently picking up a piece of vegetable.
Conan, hearing this, frowned. That phrase sounded familiar.
He looked at Ai Haibara in surprise, only to receive a deadpan expression in return that seemed to say: So you're allowed to use that excuse, but I'm not?
Fujino, however, frowned upon hearing there was someone missing who hadn't returned yet.
He scanned the faces of the people sitting at the table.
The Mouri family, himself, Miyano Akemi, and Ai Haibara could basically be excluded.
After all, the Conan Death Law perfectly excluded those around the shinigami elementary student.
So, the remaining suspects should be the four people they encountered by chance.
Another classic four-choice scenario.
He wondered who the culprit would be this time.
But why hadn't the system issued a task yet...
Perhaps only after the body is discovered?
It's also possible no murder case occurred.
Maybe he was just overthinking.
"Hey, Harumi, could you help me get a towel from the room?"
Toda Kiwako suddenly stood up, winking at Matsuzaki Harumi.
"Kiwako, you don't mean you want to go now..."
But before Matsuzaki Masahiko, sitting beside her, could finish, Toda Kiwako picked up the diving goggles from the chair behind her. "I just want to go for a swim in the sea for a bit."
"You've had a bit too much to drink. Are you sure it's okay to dive like this?"
Matsuzaki Harumi said worriedly. "Don't rush today; you can go tomorrow too."
"It's fine, I haven't drunk that much."
Toda Kiwako picked up the flippers behind her. "Besides, I'm just doing some snorkeling."
"That's settled, Harumi. Please!"
Saying this, Toda Kiwako ran towards the sea.
"Ms. Toda is in quite a hurry, isn't she?"
Fujino watched Toda Kiwako's departing figure, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Matsuzaki Masahiko nodded, then glanced again at Toda Kiwako. "Kiwako is indeed acting a little strange today."
"Brother, you really don't understand your own wife."
Matsuzaki Harumi laughed. "Kiwako is just like that."
"Is that so?"
Fujino glanced again at Toda Kiwako, who had already entered the sea.
If things proceeded normally, then the currently missing Hiroshi should be this time's victim.
If not the victim, then the culprit.
Toda Kiwako going diving... she should discover the body, right?
"You seem worried about that woman."
Ai Haibara, nearby, noticed Fujino's expression and inquired,
"Did you notice something?"
"No."
Fujino shook his head. "Just feel like something isn't quite right."
"Not right?"
Ai Haibara tilted her small head.
Ten minutes later.
"Hey, you're all here!"
Kawazu Kunio, who had left with Toda Kiwako earlier, returned with another man, arm slung over his shoulder.
That person was Hiroshi – full name Itou Hiroshi, also a member of the diving club.
"This guy isn't dead?"
Seeing Hiroshi return, Fujino started thinking again.
Since this Hiroshi wasn't the victim, then could Toda Kiwako, who went diving, be the victim?
No way, right?
Diving alone shouldn't be dangerous.
"By the way, Masahiko, where did your wife go?"
Itou Hiroshi looked around, didn't see Toda Kiwako, and asked Matsuzaki Masahiko.
"Kiwako went diving."
"Look, she's over there."
Before Matsuzaki Masahiko could finish, his sister, Matsuzaki Harumi, who had just returned with the towel, pointed towards the beach nearby. "She's still waving at us."
"Waving?"
Fujino's brow furrowed instantly upon hearing this.
How do you wave while swimming?
Thinking this, feeling something was wrong, he activated the zoom function of his visual enhancement glasses and looked towards the direction Matsuzaki Harumi was pointing.
In the magnified view, Toda Kiwako was flailing in the water. Clearly, she was drowning.
Alright, murder case even on vacation.
The elementary school shinigami, truly terrifying as expected.