stonecrandall Chapter 127 The Caged Bird
Chapter 127 The Caged Bird
Chapter 127 The Caged Bird
Akutagawa Hiko was quite magnanimous towards the dying. As long as Yotsuki Reika didn't lose her temper, she would surely be able to live out the last part of her life carefree and arrogantly.
As they chatted, the group quietly took a few steps back to the side.
Ever since President Yoshii announced the start of the banquet, Kogoro Mouri occupied a table by himself and began to eat heartily. In a daze, Hiko Akutagawa seemed to see a red-haired boy from a magic school.
It's not entirely incomprehensible, since neither the food nor the wine are things that Ran Mouri would have a hard time getting his hands on, unless he has a stroke of good luck.
However, Sonoko Suzuki was already eye-catching enough at this banquet, and if such a boisterous middle-aged man were added to the mix, they would probably be overwhelmed by both overt and covert scrutiny tonight.
Perhaps because he drank too much juice, Conan urgently needed to go to the toilet. Granny Nanao, the only person at the scene who could look him in the eye, was familiar with the layout of the villa, so Akutagawa Hiko led Conan to her.
Nanao Mi is a very short old woman. Akutagawa Hiko is quite curious about her physical structure. Even if an ordinary old woman's body shrinks, she wouldn't be as tall as Conan.
Upon closer inspection, Akutagawa Hiko discovered that this old woman was only half a head taller than Conan, which was truly amazing.
Grandma Mi noticed Akutagawa Hiko's rather impolite stare, but surprisingly wasn't angry at all: "Young man, are you bothered by my height?"
Hiko Akutagawa readily admitted it, saying frankly, "You are truly unique, but it's clear you're very healthy."
Grandma Mi smiled and opened the cabinet to take out a candle: "Thank you for your compliment. There are a lot of broken light bulbs in this villa, and we need to replace them."
When Akutagawa Hiko brought Conan back to the lobby, he noticed that President Yotsui was all smiles. They probably reached a few verbal agreements. He wondered if Yotsui would still be able to smile when he found out what happened tonight.
During the banquet, Akutagawa Hiko noticed that the bespectacled man named Ichiji Takashi went out for a while. After silently mourning Amuro Tooru's car for a few seconds, he comfortably began to enjoy the delicious dishes.
In fact, the names of the people involved in this case are quite related: Takashi Ichie, Yuji Nikaido, Takuya Mifune, and...
Yotsui Reika, Gojo Osamu, Rokuta Shoji, Nanao Mi, and Yaeko.
The first character of all the surnames is a number.
Amuro Tooru, who was habitually gathering information, suddenly felt a chill and looked around cautiously, but found nothing.
As the banquet ended, the guests gradually drove away. However, those who were closer to Yoshii Reika, too drunk to walk, or unwilling to leave because they were looking forward to what would happen next, discovered that all of their car tires had been punctured.
Amuro Tooru's expression instantly rivaled Hattori Heiji's. Upon opening the trunk, he found that the spare tire had, unsurprisingly, been punctured as well.
Unlike the previous accidental tire blowout, this time there were definitely signs of human intervention.
However, one car escaped the wreckage: the cheap car that Kogoro Mouri rented. Perhaps Ichigo Takashi, who hated Reika Yotsuhime and Yuuji Nikaido to the core, thought that someone with Reika Yotsuhime's spoiled princess temperament would never ride in an ordinary car.
As expected, President Yotsuji's suggestion to use undamaged vehicles to transport everyone down in batches was rejected.
"No way! Today is my birthday, I don't want to squeeze into someone else's car to get out."
President Si Bing was clearly helpless against his spoiled only daughter and could only let her spend the night at the villa with Aunt Mi.
Left with no other option, Yoshii pulled Akutagawa Hiko and his group aside and pleaded, "I'm a little worried about my daughter staying with them. Could you please let her stay here for the night?"
President Yotsu's words were very sincere. Apart from Amuro Tooru having some reservations, even Suzuki Sonoko agreed to stay, though it certainly wasn't for Yotsu Reika's sake.
As for the Mori father and daughter getting involved with Conan, given Mori Kogoro's drunken state—he could barely walk—he had no choice but to stay, at least until he sobered up before leaving.
Yotsuki Reika suggested playing cards to pass the time, but Mifune Takuya wouldn't indulge her: "Mr. Mori, I'll drive you away in a bit. I'm not interested in this woman."
With her arms crossed, Yotsuba threatened the dark-skinned man with a ponytail, who was quite different from other sycophants, "Go ahead and leave if you want, but in return, my father will no longer have any business dealings with you."
After saying that, the young lady threw down the playing cards in her hand and looked down at Nanami, saying, "Auntie Mi, come upstairs and help me change my clothes."
Before leaving, Yotsuki Reika turned around and made a cryptic statement: "To put it bluntly, you are all just birds in a cage."
If I don't feed you, none of you will survive.
"So you must please your master and not act out of momentary loyalty!"
Sonoko Suzuki was furious when she heard this, but then she realized that she was wearing this dress and had not brought any clothes to change into. Was she going to have to wear it all night?
Akutagawa's impression of this young lady plummeted, and the sales figures that were supposed to bring in revenue couldn't salvage his terrible mood.
After all, the so-called caged bird actually corresponds to a regret that cannot be ignored in Naruto.
There were many people downstairs, including a drunkard, a child, and Takuya Mifune, who didn't want to participate in the sycophantic activity.
That should be enough to fill two tables.
One is a chosen one with incredible luck, the other has a built-in card memorizer. Ran Mouri always manages to get cards that allow her to dominate, while Hiko Akutagawa always seizes the perfect moment to play cards like skipping.
Before long, everyone except Ran Mouri and Hiko Akutagawa had white stripes stuck to their faces.
Having lost to two overpowered players once again, Sonoko threw down her large hand of cards, slumped her head on the table, and started acting like a scoundrel: "It's not fair, it's not fair! I can accept Ran's good luck, but how come you're so lucky, Hiko?"
Amuro Tooru lifted the white paper strip from his face and, relying on his excellent memory, reconstructed the hand pattern from the previous game by Akutagawa Hiko.
This wasn't just good luck. In that round just now, an ordinary person would have already given up, but Akutagawa Hiko managed to win by using his rhetoric and skills to turn the tables on his opponent.
Conan, who was sitting on Ran Mouri's lap watching the game, was already too busy to notice the traps Akutagawa Hiko had set for him at the card table, let alone offer any advice.