Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Two. I arranged to meet someone here."

After finishing speaking, Takeshita Matsufumi glanced around the izakaya, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
"It's still the same as before, nothing has changed."

"Have you been here before?"

Kogoro Mouri forced a smile.
“My father used to run the izakaya. After he passed away at the beginning of the year, Shuichi took over.”

Takeshita Matsufumi nodded, the wrinkles on his face appearing even deeper under the light.

He walked to the corner on his own, chose the most inconspicuous spot to sit down, and placed his hat on the empty seat next to him.

After he was seated, Kogoro Mouri forced himself to step forward, his voice unconsciously softening: "Teacher, what would you like to order?"

"Just a curry rice will do," Takeshita Matsufumi replied casually, his gaze still taking in the shop's furnishings.

"Yes," Kogoro Mori nodded hastily, and left quickly as if he had been granted a pardon.

After walking to the kitchen counter, he grumbled under his breath with a bitter expression, "Why is that old stubborn guy in the shop?"

He spoke in a very low voice, as if afraid of being overheard.

“Since he’s come to an izakaya, he’s a guest,” Lin Xiuyi said calmly. “Just treat him like a regular guest.”

"How could that be?" Kogoro Mouri wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I get scared whenever I see him. I always feel like he's going to lecture me the next second."

“How about I go and entertain Mr. Takeshita?” Midori Orikasa volunteered.

“Okay,” Kogoro Mori quickly nodded.

Lin Xiuyi quickly prepared the curry rice. The golden curry was poured over the snow-white rice, emitting an enticing aroma.

Orikasa Midori carefully carried the plate over and placed it in front of Takeshita Matsufumi: "Please enjoy your meal."

Takeshita Matsufumi picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in his mouth.

After chewing a few times, he suddenly sighed, and his eyes dimmed.

Midori Orikasa assumed he was dissatisfied with the taste of the food and quickly apologized in a low voice, "I don't know what's wrong with you, we can..."

“The curry rice tastes good,” Takeshita Matsufumi shook his head, his voice filled with an indescribable nostalgia, “but it doesn’t taste the same as it used to.”

"The taste of the past?" Midori Orikasa stood there blankly, at a loss for what to do.

"Never mind, you go do your thing."

Takeshita Matsufumi sighed again, continued eating with his head down, and didn't say another word.

Under the lamplight, his white hair stood out starkly, and his hunched back conveyed an indescribable loneliness.

For the next hour or so, as the number of customers in the store gradually increased, Kogoro Mouri was so busy that he couldn't even keep his feet on the ground and didn't have time to pay attention to Matsufumi Takeshita.

Takeshita Matsufumi silently gazed out the window, lost in thought.

Around 8 p.m., the shop door was pushed open again.

A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair walked in, dressed in a suit and tie, his gold watch gleaming under the light.

It was Ichikawa.

Kogoro Mori instinctively went to greet him, but Ichikawa shoved him aside with a look of disgust: "Get out of my way."

Standing at the doorway, Ichikawa looked around and his gaze settled on Takeshita Matsufumi in the corner. His face immediately lit up with a smile, and he strode over to him.

"Teacher, I'm really happy that you agreed to meet me,"

Ichikawa smiled broadly, deliberately raising his voice as if he wanted everyone in the store to hear.
"But why meet in such a run-down little shop? Why not go to the Mihana Hotel? The ambiance and service there are much better."

“No need, I like it here,” Takeshita Matsufumi interrupted him coldly. “And you? Don’t you have any memories of this place at all?” “Memories?”

Ichikawa paused, looking around at the izakaya's decor, his brows gradually furrowing.

Then, he seemed to remember something, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.
"I remember we used to come here for drinks often; the chef must be Mori."

As he finished speaking, he looked at Lin Xiuyi, who was busy at the kitchen counter, and his brows furrowed even more.

"Why are you so young?"

“Mr. Mori passed away at the beginning of the year,” Matsufumi Takeshita said with emotion. “Now, his son and friends are running this place.”

"I see," Ichikawa replied noncommittally, clearly uninterested in the topic.

He leaned closer to Takeshita Matsufumi and asked in a low voice, "Teacher, why did you call me here?"

Takeshita Matsufumi silently looked at Ichikawa, his aged yet still sharp eyes staring directly at him.

His fist clenched and unclenched under the table, his knuckles making a slight cracking sound.

Under the light, the throbbing veins on his temples were clearly visible.

Ichikawa felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at, and unconsciously leaned back, his smile becoming stiff.

Just as he was about to lose his composure, the old man finally spoke: "Can you stop the acquisition of the shopping street?"

"what?"

Ichikawa paused for a moment, then a slightly amused expression appeared on his face.

"Teacher, you didn't call me here just to talk about this, did you?"

"Yes."

Takeshita Matsufumi nodded, his gaze fixed intently on Ichikawa's eyes, and said, word by word,

“If you are willing to help the residents of the shopping street save their homes, I… I can forgive you for the mistakes you made against Naoko back then.”

When he uttered the last few words, the old man's voice trembled slightly, his fists were clenched tightly under the table, and his face was so tense that it looked like it might crack at any moment. Clearly, he had made a great decision to say those words.

However, Ichikawa failed to notice these details; he shook his head with a feigned helplessness.

“Teacher, there are some things that I can’t stop. Although I’m doing well at Shimadzu, I’m just working for the board of directors.”

He spread his hands, feigning helplessness.

"I have to do whatever they ask of me, or I'll be fired."

"So, you're saying you're not going to help?" Takeshita Matsufumi asked expressionlessly, his voice as cold as ice.

"Teacher, actually selling the land is a good thing for the residents here,"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ichikawa began to persuade him, leaning forward and adopting a sincere and earnest posture.
"If you're not satisfied with the price, we can discuss it further. As long as it's within the company's acceptable range, I will definitely..."

"The land in the shopping street is not only property for the residents here, but also their livelihood and their jobs!"

Takeshita Matsufumi suddenly raised his voice, interrupting Ichikawa.
"Selling the land and houses will indeed bring in a sum of money, but what about afterwards? How will they live?"

The old man slammed his hand on the table, drawing the attention of the surrounding guests.

"Given the increase in Tokyo housing prices over the past few years, will the money they receive be enough to buy a new house and live in Tokyo?"

Ichikawa was caught off guard by the question, and the smile on his face instantly froze... (End of this chapter)