Tsuneo's nose had indeed evolved to a level rivaling that of a bloodhound.
In the kitchen, a large pot of curry was simmering away, radiating a rich, mouth-watering aroma.
"Whoa!"
"The beef is cut into huge chunks, and the ingredients are top-notch!" Uncle Mouri praised between bites, nodding in approval. The flavor of this curry was easily on par with a high-end restaurant.
"The spice level is just right!" It seemed to be perfectly suited to Sonoko's palate as well.
Conan, however, was stuck eating a bowl of egg-fried rice due to his cold. The curry was simply too spicy for his current condition. Meanwhile, Tsuneo was hunched over his own plate, shoveling food in with such focus that he didn't have time to speak.
"Your wife's cooking is amazing!" Ran remarked to Mr. Akashi, noticing everyone else was too busy eating to offer compliments.
"Actually, I was the one who made this pot of curry," Akashi Hiroto replied. He stood in the kitchen holding a tray, staring into the pot with a nostalgic, melancholic smile. "My wife passed away from an illness three years ago today."
"I'm so sorry..." Ran apologized quickly.
When they had met earlier that afternoon, the group only knew the tennis coach had a wife; they hadn't realized the tragic reality.
"It's alright," Akashi Hiroto said with a gentle smile. "Back when I was a trainer, I often had to prepare meals tailored to the athletes' physical conditions. Honestly, in terms of technical skill, my cooking actually surpassed my wife's."
With that, he gave a polite nod, telling everyone to make themselves at home. He picked up the tray to take a bowl of curry rice up to his father on the second floor.
"Tsuneo-ge, you've already had seven plates..." Sonoko sighed, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him. Watching someone eat can be quite boring, especially when you're already stuffed to the brim.
"I haven't eaten since noon," Tsuneo replied, returning from the kitchen with an eighth helping.
There was still plenty of curry left, but the rice had finally run out.
"Dammit, I wanted another serving too..." Kogoro muttered after checking the kitchen. He shot a speechless glare at Tsuneo.
"We could make curry udon. Just eating rice is a bit one-dimensional anyway," the handyman suggested.
"..."
"It's been over forty minutes, hasn't it?" Ran asked, glancing at the clock on the wall.
She was referring to the time Akashi had spent upstairs delivering food.
"Maybe they're just catching up," Kogoro said, sitting cross-legged at the table and not giving it much thought.
Given that his wife had passed away exactly three years ago, it made sense for the father and son to spend some time reminiscing.
However, Kogoro's attention was drawn to the pull-string for the light switch. It kept swaying back and forth in front of him, which was quite distracting. The end of the string was only about forty or fifty centimeters above the table. It seemed excessively long.
"It looks like it was intentionally lengthened," Kogoro noted, looking up at the knot in the cord.
"I lengthened that cord specifically for my father," Akashi Hiroto said, finally returning to the room. "He mentioned that he wanted to be able to reach the light even with his hunched back."
Kogoro recalled the elderly man who had opened the door and nodded in understanding.
"Mr. Akashi, what took you so long?" Conan asked, turning his head toward the coach.
Leaving unfamiliar guests alone in the living room for forty minutes seemed a bit strange, no matter how hospitable the host was.
"Oh, that. Well, my father and I got into a rather strange conversation, and once we started, we just couldn't stop. He kept saying he didn't want to eat dinner, that he didn't want to live anymore—things like that." Akashi Hiroto shook his head with his hands on his hips, a helpless smile on his face.
"He doesn't want to live?"
The group's expressions shifted instantly. They exchanged uneasy glances. Tsuneo, plate in hand, turned to look at the man.
"Well, he feels like his wife and daughter-in-law both left this world before him. He thinks God must dislike him, so he might as well just die too. But he's fine now. He's currently eating his favorite curry rice, so there's no need to worry." Akashi Hiroto turned back toward the kitchen to get busy.
"I'll help!" Ran said, taking Tsuneo's empty plate and heading to the sink to start the dishes.
"What are you thinking?" Conan whispered to Tsuneo.
"I'm wondering if he's already killed the guy," Tsuneo said, staring up at the ceiling.
It was rare for them to visit a place without something happening; a death here or there felt almost routine by now. This coach felt a bit too... calculated.
"What?!"
"The road is blocked by a landslide! They can't send a car to pick us up!" Sonoko cried out, finally getting through on her phone.
She had called for help using the landline as soon as they entered, and it had taken nearly an hour to get a response, only to find out the roads were impassable. Today was truly, indisputably, a run of bad luck.
"If that's the case, you're more than welcome to stay the night. The guest rooms and futons are all clean," Akashi Hiroto offered.
"Thank you so much," Kogoro said, bowing slightly. A true gentleman, he thought.
"By the way, could you go upstairs and help me collect my father's dishes?" Akashi asked Ran with a smile as she finished the dishes.
"I'll go," Tsuneo interrupted. He didn't know what kind of game this man was playing upstairs. If there was a bloody scene waiting, it was better if he saw it first.
"I'd appreciate it. But my father eats very slowly. If the light in his room is still on, it means he isn't finished. In that case, you can just come back down," Akashi instructed.
Conan shot a look at the coach and followed the handyman out of the living room and up the stairs.
The stairs in this house were well-maintained; they didn't creak at all under their weight. Tsuneo climbed a few steps, saw that the light in the second-floor bedroom was still on, and prepared to turn back.
"Wu..."
"Wu..."
Conan heard the faint whimpering sound as well and scratched his head. It sounded like someone was hiding in the room, sobbing.
Tsuneo reached the bottom of the stairs and paused for a moment. His hearing was sharp; even from the first floor, he could hear the sounds from above.
Something was wrong.
Aside from infants, who makes a continuous "wu-wu-wu" sound like that? Even if you were mourning at a grave, you'd usually wail a name...
The two of them returned to the living room. Tsuneo looked at Mr. Akashi and asked, "He seems to be crying in the room upstairs. Is he really okay?"
"He probably just thought of something sad. It's fine. In times like this, it's actually better not to disturb him," Akashi Hiroto explained, shaking his head.
"I see. As long as you're aware of it."
Tsuneo sat back down at the table and pulled out a deck of cards. In a place deep in the mountains like this, he figured they might as well sit quietly and watch him perform some magic tricks.
"A-choo!" Conan let out another violent sneeze and rubbed his nose, looking at the cards on the table with total boredom.
Just a bit of crying, no big deal, the boy thought.
On the other hand, watching Tsuneo perform these full-of-holes magic tricks was exhausting. If you didn't pay close attention, the guy would get offended.
"Hey, hey! If you're going to look at the cards, at least try to hide them from me!" Kogoro protested from across the table. "This kind of 'mind-reading' is an insult to my intelligence!"
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