How to Survive With a Death-Flag Character Setting in Detective Conan - Chapter 20

The entire hot spring inn had been booked, and the owner would not be receiving any more guests.

Mouri Kogoro scratched his head. “Then what should we do? Are we supposed to turn back the way we came?”

“That would go past the time limit for the commission!” Hattori Heiji suggested, “Let’s go talk to them and see if they can spare a few rooms for us. We can pay them afterward.”

As expected of Hattori Heiji, a true social butterfly, he briskly ran over to the group of research club members and asked directly, “Excuse me, could you possibly spare three—no, two rooms for us?”

Everyone turned to Matsuzaki Toru, who was in charge of the arrangements.

Matsuzaki Toru asked, “Does anyone mind?”

Everyone shook their heads in unison. In fact, being able to stay in the same place as Mouri Kogoro was something they could only wish for.

Matsuzaki Toru nodded. “Alright, then we’ll let you have three rooms. But make sure to pay me back later.” The club’s activity funds were everyone’s shared benefit, so saving money was always good.

Hattori Heiji grinned, flashing a row of white teeth, and turned to give Mouri Kogoro an OK sign.

However, with three fewer rooms, it meant some people would have to share.

Higashino Hiromu thought for a moment, nudged Hatori Yuiichi with his elbow, and said, “How about we share a room?”

Hatori Yuiichi raised a brow and replied, “Sure.”

Actually, Higashino Hiromu most wanted to share a room with Conan, but he couldn’t think of a proper excuse, so he went with the person who made him feel the safest—Hatori Yuiichi. After all, he was the only one taller than him in the group!

As for Kaneda Hajime, who was only two centimeters taller, he could be ignored.

After some effort, both groups finally finished assigning the rooms when another car pulled up.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, someone else is coming?” Mouri Kogoro was stunned. “This remote place is doing that well in business?”

The off-road vehicle sped in wildly, and when the driver parked, he even showed off his driving skills with a drift into the spot. Then, a man with inverted triangular eyes and a sharp, mean-looking face stepped out of the car. With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he glanced around and said to the owner, Yumino Ruko, “Yo, looks like business has been good lately. You’ve got quite a lot of guests.”

Yumino Ruko tried hard to control her expression and asked through gritted teeth, “What are you doing here?”

The man said, “I’m still a shareholder here, you know. Can’t I come by to inspect the place?” He glanced over the crowd again and added, “Since you’ve got guests, make sure you treat them well.” With that, he swaggered into the inn, heading straight for a room as if he knew the place by heart.

Yumino Ruko’s expression darkened, and she explained, “He’s my ex-husband, Higashiya Kento. This hot spring inn was passed down from my family. When I rebuilt it, he also invested quite a bit of money, so he’s technically a shareholder. The room he stays in isn’t open to guests, so it doesn’t take up any of your accommodations. Besides, he doesn’t like mixed bathing, so he won’t be getting in your way.”

Only then did Matsuzaki Toru’s expression soften a little.

If they had to give up more rooms, that would’ve been too much. After all, they had booked the entire place, yet so many unexpected issues had popped up!

After much hassle, the room allocations were finally settled.

Toyama Mima shared a room with two new female members. Though it was a bit cramped, they preferred not to stay alone. Higashino Hiromu shared a room with Hatori Yuiichi, and the rest got their own rooms.

When Conan heard that those two were sharing, he couldn’t help glancing at them.

As for Mouri Kogoro’s group, Amuro Tooru shared with him, while the two girls stayed together, and Conan ended up with Hattori Heiji.

By coincidence, the girls’ room was placed right in the middle and directly opposite the others.

Higashino Hiromu managed to snatch the room next to Conan’s.

He comforted himself, Even if I can’t share a room, being close by is still good enough.

Everyone agreed to go to the hot spring together later and first returned to their rooms to unpack.

While folding his clothes, Higashino Hiromu thought that, according to the original flow of the Detective Conan world, the owner’s arrogant ex-husband was probably the victim of this case, and the murderer would be one of the three: the owner or the two employees. But now, with his unexpected appearance, the killer’s hostility might turn toward him at any moment.

All he could do now was act and speak cautiously.

Hatori Yuiichi was quick with his movements. When he saw Higashino Hiromu still hadn’t finished unpacking after a long while, he asked, “Aren’t you going to the hot spring?”

“Of course!” Higashino Hiromu immediately grabbed his yukata and towel and followed him.

When they entered the men’s changing room, the others were already getting changed.

Adachi Shizuku asked, “What took you so long? You don’t seem that eager to soak in the hot spring.”

Higashino Hiromu retorted, “We’re here for vacation, right? What’s the rush? We’re staying for two whole days, so we can soak whenever we want!”

Beside them, Matsuzaki Toru reminded, “It’s not recommended to soak too many times or for too long. If you start feeling uncomfortable, get out right away.”

Hatori Yuiichi said in surprise, “So it’s not good to soak too much?”

Adachi Shizuku turned to look at him. “You’ve never been in one before?”

Hatori Yuiichi nodded.

Higashino Hiromu said, “What’s so strange about that? I haven’t been in one either.” He had only ever gone to a men’s bathhouse, which wasn’t the same as soaking in a hot spring.

“Then you guys probably don’t know how to prepare either, huh?” Adachi Shizuku started explaining the steps for soaking in a hot spring. The two listened while undressing, nodding repeatedly.

As he spoke, Adachi Shizuku suddenly stopped and stared at Higashino Hiromu’s chest in surprise. “Holy crap! Your nipples are actually sakura pink!” he exclaimed, reaching out to pinch them.

Higashino Hiromu reacted quickly, grabbing his wrist and saying through clenched teeth, “Watch it, or I’ll sue you for sexual harassment!”

Before Adachi Shizuku could respond, his head took a direct hit.

Hatori Yuiichi, who was raising his arm to take off his shirt, accidentally elbowed him in the head.

Turning his head slightly, Hatori Yuiichi said without much sincerity, “Sorry, Senpai, I didn’t notice.”

Adachi Shizuku turned around angrily, but when his eyes landed on Hatori Yuiichi’s back muscles, he blurted out another “Holy crap!”

Being from the south, Higashino Hiromu used to feel awkward about being naked in front of others. But after attending university in the north for several years, he had long gotten used to calmly facing the naked bodies of other men.

After all, whatever they had, he had too. What was there to be embarrassed about?

Still, looking at Hatori Yuiichi’s body, he couldn’t help feeling a trace of envy.

That was the kind of physique he had always dreamed of.

He lowered his head to glance at himself.

He had inherited the original owner’s six-pack abs. As long as he maintained them properly, his figure wouldn’t go out of shape—it was still great!

Adachi Shizuku exclaimed in admiration, “The muscles of an athlete really are different from those built in a gym. They look so smooth!”

Matsuzaki Toru felt that Adachi Shizuku was indirectly mocking him. Throwing his towel over his shoulder, he said, “Still better than having nothing at all, Senpai.”

Adachi Shizuku wanted to argue, but after glancing around, he saw that even the two newcomers had faint outlines of abs. Only he had one solid piece of belly with no hint of definition, even when he inhaled!

He pinched the soft flesh around his stomach and comforted himself, “My tummy’s so soft~ I can’t bear to make it all hard and stiff.”

Higashino Hiromu threw his towel at his face. “Then you stay here and admire yourself. We’re going in first.”

* * *

Outside, the group of young men was being noisy, while inside, Mouri Kogoro and the others were already soaking.

Listening to the conversation outside, Mouri Kogoro couldn’t help but sigh, “Ah, youth is such a wonderful thing! This really reminds me of my university days…” Then he started rambling nostalgically about the past.

Tired of listening to the same thing over and over, Edogawa Conan quickly moved to the other side, leaving only Hattori Heiji to keep Mouri Kogoro company.

Amuro Tooru sat down next to Conan and asked, “Do you know all the members of that club?”

Edogawa Conan nodded. “Yeah, I met them during a previous case, the one at the Haido City Hotel.”

“Can you tell me about what happened at the scene?”

Edogawa Conan looked at him in surprise. “Amuro-san didn’t look at the case file?”

Amuro Tooru shook his head. “I didn’t go through it carefully.”

Conan thought to himself, Makes sense, Amuro-san is always so busy, he wouldn’t have time to read through a case handled by the Metropolitan Police.

So he recounted the entire incident from beginning to end, focusing on the involvement of Higashino Hiromu and Kaneda Hajime.

After hearing everything, Amuro Tooru asked, “You said the culprit suddenly attacked at the end, and he was saved?”

Edogawa Conan smacked his lips and said, “You could call it self-rescue, I suppose.” He made a small gesture with his hands. “Like this, he caught it, and then the person next to him helped take away the weapon. The one who was sharing the room with him.”

Amuro Tooru nodded slightly, then asked again, “Are the two of them close? When assigning rooms today, they could’ve just let the two new members stay together.” In a society with strict hierarchies, that would have been the more typical arrangement.

Edogawa Conan scratched his head with a conflicted look. “I think they get along pretty well.” He wasn’t the type to gossip about someone’s private life, especially not about their sexual orientation, since society’s acceptance of that kind of thing was still quite low.

At that moment, Higashino Hiromu and the others walked in, and Amuro Tooru stopped asking questions.

The quality of the hot spring was indeed excellent. After soaking for a while, one could feel their fatigue melting away.

As hot spring first-timers, Higashino Hiromu and Hatori Yuiichi followed the others in, soaked together, came out together, and even drank milk afterward. The whole process felt oddly ceremonial.

“Ohhh~ so this is why people drink cold milk after a bath! It feels amazing!” Higashino Hiromu exclaimed after chugging the bottle in one go.

Adachi Shizuku laughed and said, “But it’s not recommended for people with sensitive stomachs.” He pointed to Hatori Yuiichi. “This Kouhai did it very well. He doesn’t follow the crowd and has his own ideas.”

Hatori Yuiichi hadn’t taken the cold milk; he had chosen warm water instead. Glancing briefly at Adachi Shizuku, he said, “Thank you for the compliment, Senpai.”

Adachi Shizuku suggested, “You could’ve gone for warm milk, actually.”

Hatori Yuiichi shook his head. “I’m used to drinking warm water.”

Adachi Shizuku froze for a second, then muttered, “You sound just like my health-obsessed grandpa.”

As they chatted, Matsuzaki Toru proposed, “The owner built a wooden walkway nearby. You can wear geta and stroll through the forest. Want to go?”

Hearing that, everyone thought it sounded pretty romantic, so they all nodded in agreement.

What was supposed to be a quiet, leisurely walk turned into a group outing instead.

Before leaving, they ran into the landlady’s ex-husband, Higashiya Kento, again. He stood behind the front desk, staring at them for quite a while before smiling and saying, “I hope you all have a pleasant time~” His attitude was completely different from before.

Everyone found it rather strange.

Still, no one could be rude to someone smiling at them, so they smiled back politely.

As they walked past Higashiya Kento, Higashino Hiromu suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine and shivered.

Hatori Yuiichi tilted his head and asked, “Feeling cold?”

Higashino Hiromu shook his head.

When he turned back again, Higashiya Kento was gone.

His sixth sense told him that something bad was about to happen!