36: Chapter 36: Sonoko's Invitation

"Dad!"

Ran sighed, exasperated.

"I told you not to drink so much, but you never listen!"

"Mind your own business!"

Kogoro Mouri slurred belligerently.

"I'm talking with your Uncle Fujino... hic... kids shouldn't interrupt..."

"Fine! I give up!"

Ran huffed, though she was clearly used to her father's drunken antics.

She turned back to Fujino, sighing again.

"I'm so sorry you had to see my dad like this, Senpai..."

Then, she pulled a small box of cold medicine from her pocket and handed it to Fujino.

"Take this back with you, okay? Remember to take it. You're already not feeling well, Senpai. It'll be troublesome if you catch a bad cold."

"Thanks..."

Fujino looked at Ran, touched by her concern, and nodded, accepting the medicine.

Back home, Fujino couldn't stop thinking about something.

His detective agency's reception area! Or rather, the lack thereof.

His visit to the Mouri residence had sparked an idea. He could totally use part of his building as both his living space and his office!

Honestly, he'd considered it before... but lacked the funds.

Now, however, things were different.

He currently had 3.2 million yen sitting in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his system account!

That was a huge sum in this era. More than the average office worker earned in an entire year!

Renovating a proper reception area would be easy!

But first... one more pull...

The next day, Teitan High School, Staff Room.

Hiratsuka Shizuka sat slumped in her chair, gripping a newspaper, looking utterly exasperated.

"So, when you asked for leave, it was actually to go bust a drug ring?"

Fujino scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, yeah, basically."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!"

Before he could elaborate, Shizuka suddenly stood up, her eyes flashing with anger.

She stared directly at Fujino, her voice rising.

"Setting aside where you learned to defuse bombs, don't you realize that with either of those incidents, one wrong move and you could have been killed?!"

"This is why problem students like you give me such headaches!"

She wasn't entirely unsympathetic to his situation. Being an orphan, maybe he felt he had nothing to lose, leading him to act so recklessly. But that wasn't sustainable... That kind of fearlessness was actually heartbreaking...

She sighed, her anger fading, and gently placed a hand on Fujino's shoulder.

Her expression softened.

"You know, it's not just family who cares about you in this world. Before you do dangerous things like that, you should really consider how it affects the people around you..."

Fujino blinked, taken aback.

She's not lecturing me... she's worried about me?

This tough teacher, despite her sharp edges, had a surprisingly gentle side...

He collected his thoughts and offered a small smile.

"Understood, Hiratsuka-sensei. Next time I'm tackling something high-risk, I'll definitely think twice..."

Maybe, Fujino added silently.

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a distinctive red and gold cigarette pack, handing it to Shizuka.

Shizuka stared at the ornate packaging, recognizing the characters for "Chunghwa" printed beside an intricate design. She blinked. This looks expensive... and imported from China. A pack like this must cost a fortune.

Her brow furrowed suspiciously.

She shot Fujino a sideways glance.

"Are you trying to bribe me with expensive cigarettes?"

"Of course not,"

Fujino quickly shook his head.

"An acquaintance just happened to give them to me. I thought they were pretty good, so I figured I'd share a pack with you, Sensei."

"Hmph. Fine..."

Shizuka accepted the fancy-looking pack of Chunghwas, tucking it away.

She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"But if you ever lie to me about taking leave for something like this again, I won't approve it!"

"Understood..."

Fujino breathed a sigh of relief.

Looks like future 'sick days' are still possible.

Genuine Chunghwas were hard to come by in this era, especially this premium version which technically wouldn't even be released for years.

How did he get them?

He'd tried another 900k ten-pull yesterday. Mostly junk. Aside from a few boost cards, the infinite cigarettes were the only decent thing he got.

Still, not bad. Useful for bribing certain teachers, and definitely looked impressive.

"Hey, hey! Fujino-senpai!"

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

He turned to see Sonoko Suzuki waving and jogging towards him.

"Sonoko-san?"

Fujino asked, slightly surprised.

"Where's Ran?"

"Ran went off to karate practice..."

Sonoko frowned playfully.

"Hey, how come the first thing you ask when you see me is where Ran is?"

"Am I that much less interesting than her?"

She spun around dramatically in front of him, her skirt flaring out.

"No, that's not it... Sonoko-san, you're very pretty too,"

Fujino replied honestly, taking a moment to actually look at her.

Sonoko Suzuki was objectively attractive, but her loud, often abrasive personality tended to overshadow her looks. Like certain streamers from his past life – nice to look at, but you wouldn't recommend dating her to your bros.

He quickly clarified,

"I was just curious. You two are usually together. It felt a bit strange seeing you alone, that's all."

"Oh, I see!"

Sonoko beamed, her face lighting up.

Senpai called me pretty! He actually noticed! It might have been the first time a guy had genuinely complimented her looks like that.

"So, Senpai, are you free this weekend?"

Fujino thought for a moment.

"Is there something going on, Sonoko-san?"

Sonoko blushed slightly.

"Well, I was planning to invite Ran up to my family's mountain villa this weekend... and I was wondering... if you had time, maybe you could come too?"

"A villa?"

Fujino blinked.

"If it wouldn't be any trouble for you, Sonoko-san, then sure, I'd love to."

"Great! Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it's settled!"

Sonoko grinned, ecstatic.

"Remember to call me Saturday morning... I'm worried I might oversleep and make you wait."

"Got it!"

This weekend, Sonoko thought determinedly, I'm definitely going to win Fujino over!