Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 400, Page 394: The Swift Blade of Truth
"Scumbag? No, no, no, it's probably more serious than that." If it were just a simple scumbag, Lin Longma wouldn't bother with such a thing.

Just watch the show from the sidelines and make sure Sonoko Suzuki doesn't suffer any losses.

The problem now is that Masahiko Waki ​​might be a serial killer, and his targets are girls with brown hair.

Sonoko Suzuki happens to be a girl with brown hair. This guy's approach to Sonoko Suzuki is more than just malicious.

That's absolutely malicious!
"Even worse than a scumbag boyfriend?" Sonoko Suzuki thought for a moment, "Could it be that he knew my identity and came with some special purpose?"

This kind of thing is actually quite common for Sonoko Suzuki.

Ever since the sisters made their appearance at the banquet, countless young men have been eager to rise to the top.

They figured out each other's preferences and catered to them. High-quality seduction tactics were used on the sisters as if they were free.

Fortunately, Tomoko Suzuki had anticipated this. During that period, Tomoko Suzuki not only kept a close watch on the two sisters, but the people around the Suzuki sisters were at least on high alert in three shifts a day.

Thanks to their experiences during that period and the Suzuki family's good family traditions, both Ayako Suzuki and Sonoko Suzuki had an exceptionally high resistance to so-called "honey traps".

At this moment, Masahiko Michiwaki's image in Sonoko Suzuki's heart took a sharp turn for the worse; her "passionate love" came and went quickly.

If Ryoma Hayashi nods in agreement, saying that Masahiko Michiwaki did indeed come with ulterior motives, then Masahiko Michiwaki would probably become the person Sonoko Suzuki hates the most right now.

"This Masahiko Michiwaki might not have any special purpose; he might just simply... simply want to kill you?"

"ha?!!"

Looking at Suzuki Sonoko, whose expression was slightly broken, Ryoma Hayashi didn't know what to say.

This girl is incredibly unlucky. At most, a girl from an ordinary family who gets hit on by a guy is just encountering a jerk.

But things are different with the second young lady.

Encountering a scumbag is the least of your worries. Then there are those who covet the Suzuki family fortune, and now it's escalated to the point where they simply want to kill Sonoko Suzuki.

To be honest, Masahiko Michiwaki didn't actually have any ulterior motives towards Sonoko Suzuki. He was attracted to Sonoko's brown hair and simply wanted to kill her.

“You were there when Ran was investigating the scene of that body, weren’t you? I have reason to suspect that the serial killer is Masahiko Michiwaki.”

"The serial killer?! No. But why me?" Sonoko Suzuki believed about 80% of what Ryoma said.

To reiterate, Lin Longma had absolutely no reason to deceive her.

Moreover, Sonoko Suzuki wasn't simply blindly following orders; the Suzuki family would naturally have someone investigate the matter thoroughly afterward.

If Ryoma Hayashi is right, the friendship between Ryoma Hayashi and the Suzuki family will deepen; if the investigation reveals that Ryoma Hayashi has ulterior motives, the Suzuki family will not outwardly react.

However, everyone in the Suzuki family, including Lin Longma, was wary of him.

At this moment, Sonoko Suzuki probably felt more resentment and confusion.

It's bad enough that I only run into jerks all the time, but now I'm even attracting a serial killer just by going out for a stroll on the beach?!

How can my already absurd physique require super evolution?
"Why? I'm wondering about this too," Ryoma Hayashi couldn't answer Sonoko Suzuki's question.

According to the killer's normal modus operandi, he only kills one brown-haired woman on the Izu beach each year.

But this year he set his sights on Sonoko. It can't be because Sonoko Suzuki's brown hair color is too authentic, so that Masahiko Michiwaki couldn't resist making a move.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Longma suddenly realized something.

"By the way, Sonoko, did you pass by the path near the scene between 8 and 9 pm last night?" "Eh? I think I actually did walk that path." Sonoko Suzuki frowned slightly.

"That road was my shortcut back to the hotel. Although it was a shortcut, it was right after the fireworks festival had ended."

Quite a few tourists take this route.

Sonoko Suzuki's implication was that even if she might have passed by the scene when the murderer committed the crime.

With so many people passing by, even if Masahiko Michiwaki wanted to keep an eye on her, he couldn't possibly only be watching her.

Just when Ryoma Hayashi and Sonoko Suzuki were at their wits' end, Ran Mouri finally arrived at the coffee shop with her loyal follower Conan to join them.

"Hey, Ran and Conan are here too!"

"Uncle Lin?!" Ran Mouri and Conan were quite surprised to run into Ryoma Lin at the coffee shop, and he was with Sonoko Suzuki.

"I'm here on vacation, and I just happened to run into Sonoko, so we ended up together." Ryoma Hayashi explained simply why he was at Izu Beach.

As the president of a company, it's perfectly reasonable for him to take a vacation amidst his busy schedule.

Ran Mouri and Conan nodded in acceptance of Ryoma Hayashi's explanation. When they looked at Sonoko Suzuki again, they found that Sonoko was frowning, her face full of worry.

What happened?
Ran Mouri found it strange.

How could she not know what kind of person her best friend was? To describe her as heartless would indeed be a bit of an exaggeration.

But it's absolutely true that she has a big heart.

My best friend, who's usually so carefree, is looking so worried, especially at the beach. Could it be that she's heartbroken?

Ran Mouri smiled inexplicably—even if you're heartbroken, you still need a boyfriend first. Without a boyfriend, it doesn't really count as heartbreak.

"So, what exactly happened to Sonoko-neechan?"

When Conan innocently asked the question that both he and Ran wanted to know, he received a sorrowful answer from Sonoko Suzuki.

"Someone hit on me and then confessed their feelings."

Sonoko showed no sign of smugness at this moment. He was trying to kill her by flirting with her and confessing his feelings. What was there to be proud of?

But Conan overheard this and was immediately alarmed. His expression changed drastically, as if he had witnessed something terrifying!
"Impossible, there's no way anyone could be interested in Sonoko-neechan!"

"Fuck you!"

Lies are never a sharp blade; only the truth is a bloody, swift knife.

In a sense, Conan's words were a stark truth. Upon hearing this truth, Sonoko Suzuki's already wounded heart was further pierced by Conan's bluntness.

"Conan! You can't say that to Sonoko-neechan!" Ran Mouri was genuinely angry.

If Conan were truly an elementary school student, she could dismiss it as innocent childish talk. But this kid wears the skin of an elementary school student, yet is a high school student inside; such words are truly hurtful to Sonoko.

Besides, Ran doesn't think Sonoko would be unpopular. From Ran's perspective, her best friend is an exceptionally talented and wonderful person.

(End of this chapter)