Just as the two made their way up, they hadn't yet reached the area where the water splashed the most.
Little Shota stepped onto a large, wet stone and immediately felt something was off.
Sure enough, Lv4's 『Pear God Fall』 activated flawlessly!
A startled cry rang out beside him—Akashi turned just in time to see a delicate figure losing balance.
It was Ran!
Duang! Duang! D-uang!
Ran collided headfirst into him, and in an instant, they both went tumbling to the ground.
Her cheek, as if he'd just been slapped by something.
As expected, Akashi was beneath her, taking the full force of the impact.
Fortunately, his physique was more than capable of handling it—even with the pebbles beneath him, he barely felt any pain.
However… this Lv4 『Pear God Fall』 was getting more and more absurd!
When Ran finally came to her senses, her face flushed bright red.
She quickly scrambled up, her expression filled with concern.
"Akashi, are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
Her voice was genuine, filled with guilt.
"It's all my fault—I wasn't standing properly! I didn't hit you too hard, did I?"
She barely even noticed her own discomfort, her only focus on checking him for injuries.
Who could resist a girl this gentle and caring?
Akashi, despite himself, couldn't help but feel a newfound sense of respect for her.
Ran's autumn-like eyes shifted slightly, filled with worry.
At that moment, Akashi beside her spoke up, his tone distressed.
"It looks like I got hit... It's all red and swollen!"
His large, innocent eyes blinked.
"What should we do, Sister Ran?"
Ran froze.
She looked at the seemingly pure and naive little Shota, and a strange glint flashed across her eyes.
Her gaze darted around, ensuring no one was nearby.
Then, in the gentlest, most reassuring tone, she said:
"It's okay. Sister will take care of it. Everything will be fine."
To her, it was simple—she had knocked Akashi down, so she had to take responsibility.
Dwelling on it wouldn't change anything.
Fortunately, Ran handled things properly, preventing any further problems.
The two continued their time in the hot spring, helping each other, enjoying the warmth of the water.
It was a surprisingly pleasant experience.
Later, after drying off, they slipped into bathrobes, stepped into their wooden clogs, and exited the dressing room together, hand in hand.
But the moment they stepped out—
They saw Conan, standing by the railing… silently crying.
His small frame trembled, his hands gripping the wood as if trying to ground himself.
He looked completely defeated.
His mind was so wrecked that he didn't even realize the two of them had just walked out of the same dressing room together.
Conan felt unclean.
Not just his body—his soul.
Everything about him felt tainted.
Someone as proud as him had never suffered this kind of humiliation before.
But there was nothing he could do about it.
After all, Grandma Juzi had only been worried about him drowning.
If he tried to explain what happened, he'd sound completely unreasonable.
The injustice was suffocating.
As if fate itself had slapped him across the face.
Ran, her cheeks still rosy from the hot spring, noticed Conan's strange behavior and frowned slightly.
"Conan, what are you doing out here?"
Hearing her voice, Conan instantly snapped out of his daze.
He forced himself to straighten up, quickly wiping his face.
Then, in the most casual tone he could manage, he replied:
"Oh, nothing. It's nothing serious."
Ran, seeing nothing unusual, didn't question it further.
"Alright, then! If you're free, let's go get something to eat."
Her tone was light, cheerful.
"After soaking in the hot spring for so long, I'm starving!"
Then, as if suddenly remembering—
"Oh, right! We should get Ai too!"
With that, the three of them made their way to the guest room.
There, they found Haibara resting and invited her to join them for dinner at the hotel restaurant.
As they walked together, Haibara's sharp gaze flickered toward Akashi.
She studied him carefully.
But with others around, she said nothing.
She simply followed along, her expression unreadable.
When they passed by the backyard hall, the sound of laughter and conversation drifted through the air.
Among the voices, one stood out the most—
Kogoro's drunken, boisterous shouting.
It seemed like their night was far from over.
Ran led everyone inside.
"Hey, you're Ran! You've grown so much!"
"This is amazing!"
The person who recognized her was a mature woman—a glamorous lady with a voluminous body, wrapped in a bathrobe, her figure elegant and face beautiful.
It was none other than Yumi Horikoshi, Kogoro's former clubmate from college!
Ran smiled politely.
"Thank you, Aunt Yumi!"
Yumi chuckled.
"I still remember when you were just a little girl. Time really flies!"
The bald man beside her, Kazushi Nakamichi, grinned and joked:
"Kogoro, you brought so many kids with you. Did you have another wife?"
Ran quickly shook her head.
"No, Uncle Nakamichi. These are just children staying at our home."
Nearby, Yukio Ayashiro and Noriko Ayashiro, an obviously married couple, laughed.
"With this many kids, Kogoro, are you planning to switch careers and run a daycare?"
"But from what I hear, you've been doing quite well as a detective lately."
Noriko smirked.
"I see your name in the papers all the time—guess you won't be needing a career change anytime soon~"
Kogoro, his face flushed red from drinking, waved his hand dismissively.
"No way! They're just some boarding kids."
He leaned on his old friend, a plump man wearing glasses—Jun Omura.
"Ran takes care of them just fine. Anyway, Omura, let's drink!"
With that, Kogoro threw an arm around Jun Omura and started clinking glasses.
That drunken display instantly set Ran off.
Her expression darkened.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward and grabbed her father by the ear.
"Dad, have you already forgotten what I told you?"
Her grip tightened.
"I said—don't get drunk!"
Kogoro yelped in pain, but didn't dare to struggle.
Seeing this, all his old classmates burst into laughter.
Jun Omura sighed nostalgically.
"Some things never change… It's just like five years ago.
Ran still looks more like the responsible parent in the family!"
He chuckled before adding:
"Kogoro, enough drinking.
There's a fireworks show at six o'clock tonight on the beach—you don't want to miss it.
It only happens once a year, and it's absolutely stunning!"
Hearing this, Yumi Horikoshi's wavy curls bounced as she turned excitedly.
Her eyes gleamed with longing.
"A fireworks show? That sounds wonderful!"
Then she sighed dramatically.
"Too bad fireworks like that are best enjoyed with a specialsomeone."
Yukio Ayashiro, standing nearby, looked puzzled.
"Speaking of which, Yumi… aren't you planning to get married?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"Back in college, you were the Madonna of our judo club.
You had tons of admirers—how did none of them win you over?"
Yumi Horikoshi waved a hand dismissively.
"Ugh, too many! But they all turned out to be scumbags."
She sighed dramatically.
"After a while, I just gave up on romance altogether."
Then, suddenly, her eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Hey, for those of you who are still single—how about we all just pair up and settle down together?"
"What do you think, Kogoro? Omura?"
Hearing this, Kogoro's eyes instantly lit up!
Wait—was this seriously happening at a class reunion?!
But just as his thoughts started to wander, Ran caught on immediately.
Before he could even react, she tightened her grip on his ear.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! That hurts!"
Kogoro, now a bearded, overgrown child, flailed uselessly as his daughter dragged him away.
Another hilarious display of slapstick father-daughter dynamics.
Meanwhile, Jun Omura, sensing danger, wisely stayed quiet.
After all, he had a wife.
With no one responding to her teasing, Yumi sighed in disappointment.
"Ugh, boring!"
She crossed her arms, then suddenly perked up.
"Alright, then! Let's head to the table tennis room. We'll burn off some of this alcohol before heading to the beach!"
With that, she raised her arms and rallied the group.
A lively crowd quickly followed her lead, moving toward the game room.
Ran, however, had no interest in their antics.
Instead, she took the children and headed straight for the restaurant.
"A trip to the beach wouldn't be complete without some seafood!"
And with that, their evening plans were set.