134: Chapter 134: Conan: Holy Crap!!

"A grand prize?"

Fujino's ears perked up at the mention, but after a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment's thought, his interest waned.

He wasn't an Ekoda High student; even if there was a prize, it wouldn't go to him.

Besides, the event required male-female pairs. Finding someone who didn't mind wasn't appropriate.

The concept of 'early love' was unique to China.

In Japan, there was no such notion.

Girls could marry at sixteen, boys at eighteen. What early love? They could get legally registered.

"Hey, hey! Teacher, can students from other schools participate?"

Suddenly, a girl's voice called out from the crowd.

"Students from other schools?"

Konno Erika stroked her chin. Honestly, if it were just the students from her class, even including herself, there wouldn't be enough partners...

Ahem, she meant, the students wouldn't have enough partners.

After thinking for a moment, she replied, "Finding partners from other schools or classes is also okay! Of course, at least one person must be from our class!"

The moment she finished speaking, several Ekoda High girls rushed towards Fujino.

Fujino frowned and quickly retreated behind Konno Erika.

Seeing this, the girls couldn't press forward and reluctantly backed off, waiting for another chance to invite him.

"Speaking of which, Konno-san, what is the grand prize for this event?"

Fujino asked Konno Erika curiously.

"Eh, Fujino-kun, are you interested too?"

Konno Erika looked Fujino over. Black eyes, black hair, exuding a cool, mature aura... Honestly, quite handsome in a uniquely aloof way.

Could this kid be planning to invite me?

No way, no way... Although she did organize this skiing event with some ulterior motives...

But a high school student... well, he wasn't her student anyway, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad?

Lost in her fangirl thoughts, Konno Erika blurted out, "This event is co-hosted by our school and this ski resort. The winning couple gets a complimentary stay voucher for here, plus about fifty thousand yen in prize money."

"Is that so?"

Fujino's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. "Thank you, Konno-san."

Then, Fujino turned and walked away.

Watching Fujino's departing figure, Konno Erika looked somewhat surprised.

So he was just asking about the prize, not inviting her?

Sigh... what's with this feeling of disappointment?

She should be used to it by now.

Meanwhile, Fujino, having learned about the prize, began to ponder.

"Fifty thousand yen, plus a resort voucher. Probably worth over a hundred thousand yen in total?"

"Just enough to cover the financial gap created by buying this ski gear... But participating means finding a girl to act as a tool... feels a bit troublesome. Maybe Ran or Sonoko..."

Fujino ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shook his head. "Doesn't seem possible. One of the two participants must be from Ekoda High, Class 2-B."

"Outsiders can join this event too! Ran, Sonoko, are you interested?"

After the crowd dispersed, Aoko asked Ran and the others.

"I can't,"

Ran waved her hand. "Participating requires finding a guy I know, and I don't know any of your classmates, Aoko."

"Me neither."

Sonoko nodded, then looked towards Fujino nearby.

If Fujino could participate with her, she might be slightly interested.

But since one person had to be from Aoko's class...

It wasn't interesting anymore.

"Speaking of which, Nakamori-san, do you have a partner for tonight's event yet?"

Fujino observed Nakamori Aoko for a moment, then suddenly asked.

"A partner?"

Aoko looked surprised. "Not yet."

Sonoko looked astonished. "Aoko, aren't you participating with that childhood friend of yours, Kuroba Kaito?"

"Kaito already has Hong... already has a better partner." (She almost said Akako Koizumi's name).

Aoko chuckled lightly. "Even if I invited him, he wouldn't agree. He'd definitely say something like, 'You're terrible, I'm not teaming up with you'."

"That guy really is the worst,"

Sonoko complained. "I thought that deduction freak (Shinichi) was bad enough, but I didn't expect someone even worse existed."

"Don't say that, we're just childhood friends, after all,"

Aoko replied without resentment, explaining instead, "I've only just started skiing. If I participated with him, I'd definitely hold him back."

"Wait, Aoko, you can't ski?"

Sonoko suddenly asked, recalling the face-plant incident earlier.

"That's right,"

Aoko smiled sheepishly. "Honestly, this is my first time skiing."

"I see..."

Sonoko suggested, "In that case, how about Ran and I teach you?"

"Is that okay?"

"What's the big deal!"

"Thank you so much, Sonoko, Ran!"

Subsequently, the three girls began heading down the slope, teaching and skiing together.

Fujino and Conan were left standing awkwardly aside.

"..."

Both wore rather speechless expressions, or more accurately, dead-fish eyes.

"Hey, hey! Fujino-niichan, how about we go skiing too?"

Unable to bear being excluded from the girls' conversation, Conan was the first to suggest.

"I think I'll pass,"

Fujino glanced at the snowy scenery. "I'll just enjoy the light snow here."

"Eh? Really?"

Conan put on his childish facade, a playful glint in his smile. "Could it be... you don't know how to ski?"

Fujino: "..."

Just as Fujino was about to retaliate with some prank on Conan, several girls' voices sounded from behind.

A group of girls, varying in appearance, were heading towards him.

Likely intending to invite him to the evening skiing event.

"In that case, I guess I'll take you for a spin..."

Fujino silently averted his gaze back to Conan. "Hold on tight. My driving skills are top-notch. Just bear with it."

Conan: "?"

Take me for a spin?

Hold on tight?

Bear with it?

What does that mean...?

Then, before he could fully process it, Fujino swiftly scooped him up, tucked him under his arm, stepped onto his black snowboard, and shot down the slope.

[Overclocking activated for Host. Current Overclocked Item: Snowboard]

As the system's voice sounded, the snowboard under Fujino's feet suddenly accelerated dramatically.

Against the white snow, Fujino's black figure shot forward at incredible speed, becoming a black blur.

When he reached a certain speed, Fujino bent his knees slightly, then powerfully exerted force!

With a whoosh, Fujino launched himself and the snowboard high into the air.

"Holy Crap!"

Tucked under Fujino's arm, Conan was terrified, letting out a pig-like squeal.

The snowboard spun rapidly mid-air, carving a beautiful white arc.

Then, with another thump,

the high-speed snowboard landed steadily back on the snow, continuing straight down the mountain slope.

Before reaching the end of the run, Fujino executed a sharp side-slip, spraying a massive cloud of snow, and came to a stop.

Fujino set Conan down from under his arm.

Conan stood there stunned, completely terrified by Fujino's maneuver moments ago.

He looked like a thoroughly frightened child. If not for his strong willpower, he probably would have wet himself.

After all, that stunt was terrifying! One wrong move could have been fatal!

The surrounding people also noticed Fujino's feat. Automatically ignoring the husky tucked under his arm, they were all stunned by Fujino's skiing skills.

Of course, the original Fujino couldn't ski.

His ability to ski, and perform such high-difficulty maneuvers, was entirely due to the Old Driver trait and his own immense strength.

Yes, a snowboard also counted as a vehicle.

It should be said, most things Fujino could operate could be considered vehicles.

For ordinary people, such moves might be difficult and dangerous.

As for Conan... that was uncertain.

But this kid could get blown up by a bomb and be running around again in a few days.

Probably wouldn't matter much even if he took a tumble.

Nearby, Conan recovered from his shock, glaring at Fujino with husky-like resentment.

That guy Fujino was definitely pretending he couldn't ski just to get back at him!

Definitely!

Damn it, wasn't it just a teasing remark about his name a long time ago?

Why hold a grudge for so long?

"Senpai, where did you learn such high-level skiing?!"

"Amazing!"

As soon as Fujino stopped, several young girls who had just come down the slope gathered around, chattering excitedly.

"I learned from my old man,"

Fujino replied smoothly, once again invoking his 'father'.

He then turned to Nakamori Aoko and asked, "Nakamori-san, would you like to join me for the evening event?"

"Eh?!"

Several astonished gasps arose as everyone turned to look at Fujino, then at each other.

Aoko waved her hands. "Inviting me... wouldn't that be bad...? You saw my skiing skills."

"It doesn't matter. Skiing is like that, just need one person to lead..."

Fujino explained dismissively. "Besides, I'm quite interested in the grand prize from Ekoda High this time. I heard it's fifty thousand yen and a resort voucher. Plus, the only person I know from Ekoda High is you, Aoko-san."

Correct, his interest lay solely in the prize. Participating required finding a tool.

The only available and familiar tool currently was the single Nakamori Aoko.

Nearby, Ran and Sonoko understood Fujino's intention for participating in the skiing event.

So it was for the money.

Neither of them had ever worried about money.

Ran, despite her unreliable father, lived comfortably. Sonoko, needless to say, was incredibly wealthy.

Thinking about it, among the three of them, only Fujino seemed self-reliant.

This ski trip alone probably cost him over a hundred thousand yen.

Senpai probably doesn't earn much from a single case...

He must have spent most of his living expenses for the month already, right?

That's why he wanted to join the event to earn some living expenses.

Pondering this, the two understood Fujino's motive.

"But..."

"What 'but'?!"

Understanding Fujino's need for money, Sonoko played wingman. "Just go with Fujino-senpai! If it's Fujino-senpai, he'll definitely show that 'Kuroba Kaito' a thing or two!"

Ran also nodded. "With Fujino-senpai's skills, Aoko, you'll definitely win."