Chapter 1: First Meeting

May 1st, Japan's Golden Week.

The weather in Japan on this day was clear, and the light coming from the sun was bright. It was a perfect day for an outing.

Early in the morning, Ran Mouri, with her face full of excitement, set off with her best friend, Sonoko Suzuki and a little glasses-wearing boy named Conan Edogawa.

They took the subway, ready to head to the suburban park for a day of hiking and fun.

Due to it being Japan Golden Week, the Tokyo subway was even more crowded than usual, making the trio struggle a lot just to stand together.

After a few stops, the crowd thinned out, and Ran managed to find a vacant seat. She intended to let Conan sit down when she noticed an elderly man carrying a heavy bag.

"Sir, please have a seat," she said with a slight smile.

The old man nodded and was about to sit down when suddenly, someone rushed ahead and took the seat.

Ran furrowed her brows in dissatisfaction.

She looked closely and saw that the person who took the seat was a young man not much older than herself. He appeared to be in his twenties, with neatly parted hair, a youthful face, and a well-fitted suit, giving him a distinguished appearance.

At that moment, he was engrossed in some documents, seemingly oblivious to the disapproving glances from other passengers.

Seeing this, Ran couldn't help but clear her throat.

"Um... Would you mind giving up your seat?"

However, the young man continued to keep his head down as if he hadn't heard the question.

A trace of annoyance crossed Ran's face, but she refrained from saying anything due to the public setting.

On the other hand, Sonoko didn't hold back and reached out, giving the young man a firm pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, we're talking to you! Don't pretend you can't hear us!"

The young man finally reacted, raising his head with a look of surprise as he gazed at the two girls in front of him.

"Are you talking to me?"

"It's not like there's anyone else here!" Sonoko said with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "I mean, seriously, you're a grown man, and you're snatching a seat from an elderly person. Have you no shame?"

The young man glanced around and seemed even more puzzled.

"Why do you say 'snatching'? If I'm not mistaken, this isn't a reserved seat for the elderly or disabled, is it? Or did he purchase this seat?"

"Um..." Sonoko was momentarily at a loss for words.

Ran and Sonoko exchanged a glance, and Ran spoke in a gentle tone, "In Japan, it's considered common courtesy to give up your seat to those who are physically weaker or to our elders. Doesn't that sound like a reasonable guideline?"

"Weaker or elders, you say?" The young man took a look at the old man and then back at the serious-looking girls in front of him. "How do you determine that? Based on age and appearance? Well, what if I told you that, despite looking perfectly healthy, I am actually a seriously ill heart patient who doesn't have much time left to live? Would that make me the weaker one or the stronger one?"

"Uh, is that so?" Ran immediately lowered her head, apologizing, "I'm sorry, I..."

But before she could finish her sentence, she heard the young man's teasing voice.

"Sorry, I was just kidding."

"..."

"..."

Ran took a deep breath, glaring at the young man whose edge of his mouth tipped slightly upward.

"You're an adult; you should at least have some moral conscience. Please give up your seat!"

The elderly man beside them shook his head at this point and said, "Let it go, young lady. I'll be getting off soon..."

"How can you just let it go!" Ran was furious, her face turning red. "This person, this person..."

The man glanced at her and then leaned over, reaching out to touch the bag carried by the elderly man.

"Little lass, listen, although this old man looks small in stature, he's actually quite strong. Don't believe me? Try to take a look at him, you can tell it from the fact that he can easily carry a heavy bag like that, that huge bag is at least weigh over twenty kilograms, and the fact that he is able to carry that without showing any strain means he is a man who exercises regularly."

The man then patted the old man's chest, back, and thighs.

"And look at his well-developed pectoral muscles, firm abdominal muscles, and the relaxed state of his calf muscles. You can even feel them through his pants. Compared to me, who works tirelessly day and night to earn a living, he's already enjoying a comfortable retirement with his pension. He seems to be in excellent health!"

"Um..." Ran and Sonoko exchanged puzzled glances.

The man continued, "Furthermore, you heard the man, he's getting off soon. Haven't you noticed? He's carrying fitness equipment in his bag, and the next stop is Kappabashi Park, where a bunch of elderly folks always gather for exercise during this time. A mere two-minute ride, not to mention giving up a seat, even having me standing up would be unnecessary, don't you think?"

The man continued to speak, and it seemed like he wouldn't stop anytime soon. Ran's face grew darker as she listened.

As the man finished speaking, the subway came to a halt.

The elderly man beside them glanced at the group, then lifted his bag and stood tall, exiting the train energetically.

The two girls on the train watched him go, their mouths agape, unable to say a word.

Clearly, the man's words had hit the mark.

After a while, Ran stomped her foot and muttered, "How can there be such an annoying person!"

The man chuckled lightly, casting a casual glance at the group before lowering his head again to focus on his documents.

At that moment, Conan, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up.

"Uncle, are you a lawyer?"

The man raised an eyebrow, looking at the young boy in a blue bowtie.

"Why, yes I am, how did you know?"

"It's quite simple!" Conan spoke with his childlike voice. "Uncle, today is a holiday during the Golden Week, yet you're wearing a bright work suit and riding the subway, which is usually crowded with commuters on weekdays. In this situation, you're either a traveling salesperson or a government worker doing overtime, or maybe a freelancer."

"And the documents you were holding had addresses and family information of certain individuals, along with their work details. This suggests that you work in a profession that requires gathering a lot of information, possibly a detective or a salesperson."

"From your fluent and sharp words earlier, it's also possible that you have a job that involves frequent debates, so you could be a lawyer or a prosecutor."

"Of course, the most crucial evidence is..." Conan pointed to the badge on the man's chest.

There was a well-crafted copper emblem with a balanced scale in the middle, representing fairness.

"You're wearing a lawyer's badge! So you're a lawyer!"

After listening to Conan's words, the man burst into laughter and applauded.

"Very good! This is the first time I saw someone this observant, from a kid at that."

He leaned in closer to Conan, squinting his eyes.

"Conan! you- ," Ran said, her face still flushed with embarrassment. "You should have said that you see his lawyer badge right away, and you know what it means, so why did you go on with that lengthy and nonsensical reasoning? And stop pointing your finger at others! It's rude"

"Please, just ignore him. He just enjoys pretending to be a detective!" Sonoko said, pressing Conan's head down to prevent him from speaking further, while gazing at the man with stars in her eyes.

She had followed Ran's lead earlier and hadn't noticed the man's appearance, but now that she looked closely, she realized that he was quite a handsome guy.

"If it's convenient, can you give me your contact information?" she asked.

"Of course," the man replied, smiling as he took out a business card from his pocket.

His name was written on it: Kensuke Komemon.

"I'll gladly accept it!" Sonoko happily tucked the business card into her pocket and exchanged her email address with him.

"Sonoko!" Ran scolded her with a stern look.

"What's the big deal!" Sonoko shrugged, laughing. "And besides, what he said just now actually made sense, didn't it?"

"No, it's all nonsense!"

"Alright, alright, don't be so angry!"

While the girls bickered, Kensuke narrowed his eyes and once again focused his gaze on the young boy who had spoken earlier.

"It seems like you really enjoy playing detective games, don't you?"

Looking at the man's half-smiling gaze, Conan's heart skipped a beat, but he maintained a bright smile on his face. "Of course, I love solving mysteries! I want to become a detective when I grow up!"

"Is that so? Well, that's not such a good thing."

The man playfully raised a finger and shook it in front of Conan's eyes.

"Detectives are the most wicked profession in the world. They always use the guise of justice to employ all sorts of underhanded methods, such as invading others' privacy, in their pursuit of what they consider the truth. Then they stand on their moral high ground to criticize and educate people, all for the sake of their own game or the sense of achievement they get from standing on others' heads... Little boy, you wouldn't want to become such a person, would you?"

This guy...

The man's words were rather harsh, causing Conan to instinctively furrowed his brow.

He wanted to retort, but on the surface, he couldn't find the right words to say. Instead, he awkwardly rubbed his head and put on the silly smile that only a child could manage.

"Eat that, hahaha! He's right, you know! Who asked you to act all cool and hog the spotlight like that, just like that detective maniac!"

Sonoko giggled and poked Conan's head with her finger.

Conan sighed inwardly and shot a somewhat displeased glance at the man. He couldn't understand why the man had said such things. After all, he was just a kid, and no matter how you look at it, it's wrong to just suddenly shoot down a kid's dreams right away like that.

Not long after, the subway came to a stop again.

With Ran leading the way, Conan and Sonoko got off the train in a huff.

"Mr. Lawyer~ don't forget to contact me!" Sonoko said with a cheerful wave before they left.

Kensuke raised an eyebrow, glanced at the departing figures outside the window, and his eyes twinkled with an enigmatic light as he seemed lost in thought.

Then, he chuckled softly, lowered his head, and returned his attention to the documents in his hands.

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