"What?!"
"How could this happen! It's too much!"
Facing Mitsuhiko's astonishment and Ayumi's somewhat angry complaints, Gentasaid angrily, "At that time, I wanted to argue with him, but Conan stopped me..."
"Hey hey... they have the right to decide how much to sell," Conan interjected. "If the ticket seller sells it to you, he might be the one who gets punished."
Conan changed the subject and said: "Enough, enough, let's not talk about this, since we can't buy handshake vouchers.
Let's hurry to the restroom. The second part is about to start, and you wouldn't want to miss the show, right?"
"Let's go, Ayumi. I'll go with you," Haibara also chimed in, timely helping to change the subject, and she led Ayumi toward the women's restroom.
With this diversion, the topic passed, and Genta and Mitsuhiko, along with Conan, headed to the men's restroom.
Boys always move a bit faster than girls. After the three finished their business in the restroom, they waited for Haibara and Ayumi. Soon, the two girls came out with handkerchiefs in hand.
"Let's go, let's head back," Conan, seeing everyone gathered, turned and walked toward the seats. But just as he took a step, Genta pulled him back.
"What's going on?" Conan saw Genta's serious expression, and couldn't help but ask, "Not going back? The performance is about to start."
"It's not too early!" Genta said solemnly with a stern look on his face, "I've made up my mind. I'm going backstage to protest to the person in charge!"
"Eh?" Ayumi expressed some concern after hearing Genta's words. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate..."
"They were the ones who made the mistake first!" Genta complained indignantly, "I'm not afraid of them. Don't you guys want Kamen Yaiba's handshake vouchers?"
This statement had a fatal appeal to the kids. Soon, their concerns were pushed aside, and they stood firmly on Genta's unified front.
"Hey, you guys can't just recklessly barge into someone else's backstage!"
Conan looked at the determined kids who had decided to go backstage and sighed, "If they catch you, you'll be scolded!"
"Humph! I just want to question them!" Genta declared with an imposing demeanor like an angry little wild boar. "Clearly, there are so many handshake vouchers, so why won't they sell them to us?"
"That's right!" Ayumi also echoed, "We're not unwilling to pay. I even brought my saved pocket money for these handshake vouchers!"
"This is the so-called 'hunger marketing'!"
Mitsuhiko also expressed his displeasure, "Kamen Yaiba surely wouldn't mind shaking hands with the kids who love him! It must be the idea of those despicable adults."
Conan felt a headache after hearing their words. Knowing that he couldn't stop it, he looked at Haibara, who remained calm beside him and said, "Hey, Haibara, can you please try to talk some sense into them?"
"What does it matter?" Haibara maintained her usual indifferent expression. "It would be nice to let those adults, whose eyes are filled with money, know how dirty their act of profiting from children's love is. Isn't that just fine?"
"Hey hey..." Conan, with a deadpan expression, looked at Haibara and commented, "You're just enjoying the show, not caring about the consequences. But it might cause trouble for Detective Senichi."
"Hmm..."
Haibara frowned, then turned her gaze toward the three who had already walked towards the backstage. "Then let's follow and see. We'll handle it ourselves."
"Ah, really..."
Conan scratched his head in frustration. He initially thought that involving Haibara would help stop Genta and the others, but unexpectedly, Haibara intended to deal with the situation in her own way.
In a sense, this could be considered as "indulging" the three kids.
If Senichi knew about this, he might actually be pleased.
Even though Haibara had encountered nothing but positive things since escaping from the Black Organization, her vigilance had never waned. Her heart was like a carefully constructed fortress, only open to a few trusted individuals, and she remained cautious with others.
However, the innocence of Ayumi and the kids had subtly influenced Haibara, bringing warmth to her heart and adding a touch of warmth to the desolate landscape.
It was a positive sign. Perhaps one day, Haibara could completely break free from the shadows cast by the Black Organization, without having to be so cautious and defensive towards everyone, allowing her to stand confidently in the sunlight.
As the stage was open-air, there was a noticeable row of buildings nearby, and the three kids quickly arrived at the passage leading to the backstage door.
The backstage entrance was unsurprisingly wide open, and it was not surprising at all. After all, it was the time for the performance, and the staff were bustling about. Who would bother to close the office door?
And so, the kids entered the backstage "openly and aboveboard."
"Hey, something seems off here."
Conan looked at the empty corridor and furrowed his brows. "The first performance had ended by now. Normally, they should be busy preparing for the next performance. But why can't we see anyone around?"
"It seems like everyone is in the hall ahead."
Haibara walked forward a bit and then pointed to the left corner of the corridor. "People are gathered there, it just looks a bit strange..."
"Looks a bit strange..." Conan, feeling curious, walked over and then peeked around the corner to see the hall at the end of the corridor.
He saw the staff standing in the hall, all with somewhat gloomy expressions. Even if they wanted to speak, they only muttered quietly, not daring to speak loudly.
"What's happening here?" Mitsuhiko also leaned over and saw the situation in the hall.
"Maybe something terrifying..." Ayumi whispered, "Those older sisters look really frightened."
"Humph! What's there to be afraid of? This is a great opportunity!"
Unlike Mitsuhiko, Genta, who was beside him, chuckled after seeing the scene in the hall. "Let's go see what trouble they've run into. If we help them solve the problem, getting handshake vouchers won't be a problem. We might even get a chance for a photo and autograph!!"
"How is that possible..." Conan couldn't help but want to pour cold water on Genta's enthusiasm, but before he could finish speaking, Genta had already run out.
Even though Conan quickly grabbed Genta's arm to try to stop him, it was futile due to the difference in their physique.
Genta just ran forward normally, and Conan's small hand involuntarily loosened.
After leaving the corner, Genta's appearance naturally attracted everyone's attention. Conan could only sigh helplessly after seeing the situation and followed Genta into the hall.
Since they had already been exposed, they might as well satisfy their curiosity!