"Eh? What's going on?"
Upon hearing the man's words, Yoshihiko Negami looked at him and said, "Furumura, what happened?"
"It's nothing much, just that Mr. Karata said there's more work than expected, so it'll take a bit longer. It will probably be complete around eleven o'clock..."
The man named Furumura yawned, "But it doesn't concern me anyway..."
"You look sleepy again." Akira Hojima looked at the man with a helpless smile. "Did you stay up late playing mahjong again? You should take care of your health."
"It's fine, it's fine." Furumura waved his hand nonchalantly. "For us, staying up late is quite common, you know? We're used to it."
Meanwhile, Yukiko, who was listening to their conversation, became somewhat distressed. "This is troublesome... If it's going to be eleven o'clock, I'll miss my scheduled flight..."
"It's okay, leave it to me," said Senichi with a smile. "If we can stay overnight, I'll take care of them."
"But even if the kids can stay here, there's nowhere for them to spend the night, right?" Yukiko said with a headache.
As the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes, and it's exactly like this. She had only planned to bring her own child and his few friends to see a movie before leaving, but unexpected incidents kept occurring one after another.
First, there was someone following them, and then the movie screening didn't go smoothly, making Yukiko suspect she had left at an unlucky time...
"It's okay, let the kids stay at my place."
After hearing the conversation between the two, Akira Hojima smiled and said, "My apartment is nearby. If you don't mind, they can sleep over there now and go back after watching the movie."
The kids naturally unanimously agreed to stay over, after all, the movie "Kamen Yaiba 2" was an irresistible temptation for them.
After making phone calls to their parents, the kids all ended up staying.
"Well, then we better get into character quickly, finish our work, and then we can have a good sleep." Furumura said with a smile.
"After we're completely done, we can have a long-awaited all-nighter session." Akira Hojima added with a laugh. "Just thinking about it feels exciting!"
"All-nighter?" Upon hearing the two, Genta asked with some confusion, "Does that mean it's very troublesome?"
"Hahaha... Not really." Akira Hojima chuckled awkwardly. "It's just a shortened term for staying up all night playing mahjong."
"Oh, I see." The others responded with diminished interest.
"Well, I should be off now." Beside them, Yukiko waved goodbye with a smile. "Be good and listen to Detective Senichi, don't cause any trouble for everyone~"
"We know~" The kids waved back with smiles as Yukiko departed.
Once Yukiko had driven away, the group finished up their work and left the Tohto Film Development Studio, heading towards Akira Hojima's residence.
"How about we grab dinner together? It's on me."
As they stepped out, Senichi proposed with a smile, "After all the busy work, I bet none of you have had dinner. Since I've got the kids with me, why don't we all go grab dinner together first?"
"You don't have to do that..." Akira Hojima waved his hands repeatedly.
"Don't be shy. We're staying at your place tonight anyway," Senichi insisted warmly. "I'm just wondering if there's a barbecue joint nearby. Been craving that lately."
"That shouldn't be a problem... There's a little joint near my place, pretty good food," Akira Hojima exchanged glances with the others and, with the kids chiming in, they eventually agreed.
In the end, they chose a grilled chicken restaurant near the apartment. The owner even had to push tables together to accommodate their large group.
"I want grilled chicken!" Genta exclaimed eagerly as he took his seat.
"Easy there, Genta. Since we're at a barbecue joint, of course we'll be having grilled chicken!" Mitsuhiko reassured him, seeing his impatience.
"Hehe, just talking about it is making me hungry..." Genta rubbed his belly sheepishly.
After handing the kids menus to pick their favorite foods, Senichi ordered beer for the adults and then let them choose the dishes.
This Japanese barbecue joint was a bit different from the one near Senichi's old house; the main specialty here was grilled chicken.
Of course, the grilled chicken was cut into bite-sized pieces, brushed with sauce, and grilled to perfection.
You could say it was a full-on grilled chicken feast.
Chicken thighs, wings, and breast meat are naturally everyone's favorite parts, as for other parts, it's a matter of personal preference.
For example, chicken liver, skin, and comb, these are still considered minor, but some truly feel like they belong to the realm of dark cuisine.
For instance, chicken buttocks, certain indescribable parts...
Anyway, every part of a chicken that can be eaten can be used to make grilled chicken.
Of course, if it were just grilled chicken, running a shop would be economically limiting, so besides grilled chicken, there are many other dishes available.
Even grilled chicken itself is constantly evolving with the times, sometimes incorporating vegetables or fruits.
And what pairs best with barbecue is naturally beer, which is why Senichi chose this kind of establishment.
With a bit of chili and Senichi's insistence on drinking, even before they finished a few skewers of grilled chicken, each person had already downed two or three beers.
After a few rounds of drinks, despite not eating much, under Senichi's persuasion, they had definitely consumed quite a bit of alcohol. Plus, after a long day's work, all three of them seemed a bit tipsy.
Seeing this, Senichi knew it was time to get down to business.
"Speaking of the Tohto Film Development Studio, I quite liked that TV drama of yours."
Because he couldn't remember the TV drama that caused Yoshihiko Negami's murderous intent, Senichi pretended to struggle to recall. "Hmm... I'm having trouble remembering... What was it again?"
Senichi feigned a contemplative look, appearing troubled. "I'm really having trouble remembering now...
But I do remember there were rumors at the time about it being remade a second time, and then some actor got into a car accident, resulting in his scenes being cut...
It's a shame, not seeing the original version... It's quite disappointing, really..."
With Senichi's words, the previous harmonious atmosphere among the "adult group" instantly vanished, replaced by a solemn silence.
Seeing this, Senichi pretended to be embarrassed by his words. "Uh... Did something happen...?"