Yuji Kudo, the manga artist behind Detective Conan.

"How is this possible?"

Miss Nohara looked at the man in front of her with surprise, confirming that this was indeed Taikei Segawa. Although she still looked surprised, her heart was pounding.

Why didn't the person who should have been killed to make it easier for her to get close to Segawa Masakazu die? Did he successfully turn the tables and kill him, or was there a traitor on her side from the very beginning?

"It scared me to death. My girlfriend, whom I'd been dating for a while, insisted on dragging me into her room, only to lock the door and rush in with a sharp knife." Segawa Taikei patted his chest: "She'd been dating me for a week, and she didn't even notice the calluses on my hands. This spy is too useless."

"...It's a good thing, isn't it?"

Miss Nohara was also speechless. Where did these third-rate people come from? Do they really think going on a mission is a way to get credit?
"But to my recollection, I don't think any young lady looks like you." Segawa Taikei's gaze lingered on the photo on Miss Nohara's phone: "Is this gentleman your father?"

"I'm just an entertainment reporter for the East Metropolis Daily. My main job is to follow up on cases involving the 'Drunken Detective,' just like what my seniors used to do."

"Are you referring to a senior and junior relationship as father-in-law and son-in-law?" Segawa Taikei pointed towards the deck and invited Ms. Nohara to walk with him: "I was quite startled just now."

As the two walked through the pedestrian street in the valley, Ms. Nohara answered his second question.

“Mr. Nohara is my adoptive father. I don’t know who my biological parents are. Anyway, they abandoned me. My father is a seaman. He spends ten months of the year at sea. Even when he comes back, he has to help the other crew members clean up the ship and such.”

When talking about the past, Ms. Nohara temporarily lowered her guard, or rather, she was unable to create a barrier in her heart while recalling her adoptive father.

“He found me at the bottom of the ship. At that time, he had lost the ability to communicate because his head was hit by cargo that fell off during a voyage. His wife had also left him. But he was always a very cheerful person. He wrote me letters on the ship and sent them back to me every time we reached a supply station. The letters had a very nice smell, the smell of the sea.”

Ms. Nohara leaned on the railing, her eyes glazed over: "It smells so good, just like now."

"It's quite a coincidence that our fathers both made a living at sea, but ended up being completely different people."

Segawa Taikei walked over to Ms. Nohara and also leaned against the railing, but his posture was a little off-center, so she immediately noticed. "That woman stabbed me in the arm, and the knife is stuck inside, so I had a chance to fight back."

"It sounds very dangerous, so why didn't Mr. Segawa find a place to rest instead of running into me on the guest room floor? Your and Director Segawa's rooms should be different from ours."

"I was just hungry and too scared to take the elevator. I thought I might run into two police agents if I went in."

Segawa Taikei's words made Nohara's heart tighten for a moment. She joked, "How could that be? If they really had such a plan, they wouldn't have waited in the elevator. It would have been much more convenient to wait at the door. I think those people sent such a spy to annoy you two more than anything else."

“That’s disgusting Prime Minister Kudo, we brothers don’t even come close,” said Segawa Taikei. “I don’t even know where the restaurant is. Miss Nohara, could you take me there? There will definitely be a reward.”

"Okay, but you have to tell me about the thrilling experience."

Ms. Nohara took the lead again, leading Segawa Taikei back. His arms were being blown by the sea breeze, and it felt as if even the wind carried a salty smell, making him wince in pain.

"Mr. Tai-ching, is anyone handling the body in that room? Would you mind if I took a picture and used it in the news later?"

On one hand, she was curious about what the person who assassinated Segawa Taikei looked like, and on the other hand, she thought that Segawa Shoichi might be there now, and since the target was him, she had to seize the opportunity.

"Of course, it doesn't matter to us if your article and photos are ultimately allowed to be published."

Segawa Taikei casually grabbed a piece of cake from a shop he was passing by, and didn't even ask for a fork, eating it directly with his hands, not caring about the cream on his hands.

"Let's go, I'll go back and check on things after I've eaten." (End of Chapter)