Yuji Kudo, the manga artist behind Detective Conan.

"Mr. Kudo, please come this way."

As he led Shinichi Kudo through the canyon-like deck, Taikei Segawa kept observing this middle-aged man, who was quite famous in Tokyo. He noticed that the man only glanced at the open-air bar, while ignoring the young girls playing in the swimming pool.

"Speaking of which, I'm actually a fan of Mr. Kudo," Segawa Taikei said as he pressed the elevator button for the seventh-floor banquet hall, telling Shinichi Kudo that he had once received an autograph from the late Mr. Kudo.

“I remember my dad taking my brother and me to Beika Town to buy the newly released novel, but the book signing event was already over, and I was very disappointed.”

Segawa Taikei straightened his hair in front of the gleaming elevator wall: "But Mr. Kudo Yusaku saw me when he left, and he even signed his autograph for me."

“It sounds like Mr. Segawa’s past life wasn’t as fulfilling as it is now.” Shinichi Kudo did a rough physical analysis of the man and found that he was very healthy and didn’t seem like a typical rich kid who only knew how to have fun.

“I know you have a close relationship with the chairman of the Suzuki Group. You were the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era. When you first became famous in Japan, my brother was just a fishmonger in Beika Shopping Street, and my father spent nine out of ten days on a tuna fishing boat, smoking the cheapest cigarettes and not even being able to afford cold medicine when he was sick.”

Shinichi Kudo raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat unsure of what Taikei Segawa meant by saying all this.

In Japan, very few people actively participate in tuna fishing trips because to catch high-quality tuna, one must go to dangerous waters with strong winds and high waves. Even the captains of the boats never go onto the deck after reaching the designated area, and almost every time, crew members are swept into the sea by the waves.

Only one type of person would frequently participate in tuna fishing: debtors and gamblers, coerced and lured by debt collectors to go fishing on the boats. And Segawa Taikei's father certainly wasn't a well-known company owner in Tokyo, so he couldn't be a debtor.

He was deliberately revealing that his father was a gambling addict...

Segawa pointed to the cruise ship at his feet: "He once came back from fishing and said that he saw the Karasuma Group's cruise ship from afar. He got drunk and said that if he could waste a whole day on the ship, it would be worth dying for." "Then your father doesn't need to pay such a high price now. I think Chief Segawa of the Economics Department will naturally fulfill your father's small request."

The elevator doors opened, revealing a corridor decorated in a golden French style, directly opposite the entrance to a banquet hall the size of an entire stadium.

"Then you have to blame my brother for not establishing the Segawa Group until twelve years ago. My father ate leftover tuna scraps from fish shops until he died."

"Detective Kudo, this kid must have been telling you some boring things from the past again."

A man with a small mustache, but who looked to be only in his thirties, walked out of the hall, speaking in an official tone.

"It's a real pity that the Prime Minister received the invitation but didn't come. He only said that the jade chess pieces I sent were quite nice, and then had Chief of Staff Amuro send a batch of plaster statues to fill my banquet hall."

Shinichi Kudo felt somewhat uneasy looking at the statues that filled the entire hall.

"Look at me, why should we discuss you and your husband here? Just like I know about the anniversary celebration, let's go to the room. I've arranged some exciting entertainment for you."

Segawa Shoichi put his arm around Kudo Shinichi's shoulder and led him back to the elevator: "The arrangements are all things that the Prime Minister said you like the most, so I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

"Huh?" (End of Chapter)