Tang Ze had been constantly learning and training with reasoning training cards, and his insights had greatly improved. After all, keen insight was an essential quality for a detective.
Though he wasn't sure how strong Busujima Saeko was in this world, Tang Ze could observe many things from the side. Most of the men and women who had walked out earlier were police officers, and Takagi greeted a few of them with a smile.
However, everyone acted as if they were used to having a young woman as a teacher. Their attitudes toward Busujima Saeko revealed a lot. Tang Ze even noticed that several women exchanged glances with admiration in their eyes, while the men showed respect.
You have to remember that Japan is a patriarchal society. Although men and women are equal on the surface, everyone knows what's really going on. In this context, the fact that Saeko had earned the respect of a group of male police officers was a clear sign of her strength.
While Tang Ze was deep in thought, a few more people emerged from the locker room and sat down, signaling the start of the class.
Busujima Saeko, wearing a white top and black kendo hakama (Note 1), gave off an aura of beauty. However, the sharpness of the wooden sword she held made others instinctively cautious, wary of any ill thoughts.
She began demonstrating various techniques while explaining them, occasionally inviting people forward to demonstrate the practicality of each skill.
Soon, Tang Ze immersed himself in learning. The initial surprise he felt upon meeting her had long since faded. Saeko's techniques, combined with the knowledge in his mind, deepened his understanding of kendo. Her explanations were easy for him to follow.
Over the next few days, Tang Ze continued practicing in his spare time and receiving reasoning training at night. He placed great importance on self-defense. Although the world seemed calm on the surface, danger was everywhere—criminals and even explosions could happen at any time. Improving his strength and agility was the only way to increase his chances of survival.
Tang Ze also participated in an investigation involving a gang of robbers from Italy. He had successfully captured their leader, Kabane, but the rest of the gang remained silent, and their accomplices were still on the run. Even more troubling, the 15,000 stolen gold coins were still missing, and no trace of them had been found.
When the operation was over, Tang Ze realized that this case was part of a plot he was already familiar with.
With that in mind, Tang Ze decided to visit Tokyo Tower on Saturday to meet Conan and the others. He figured he could also take the opportunity to see Tokyo from a high vantage point.
On Saturday afternoon, after finishing lunch, Tang Ze took the subway to Tokyo Tower. He was also thinking of buying a car since having one would make things much more convenient. However, he'd need to purchase a lot of car insurance at once…
Lost in these thoughts, Tang Ze took the elevator to the top of Tokyo Tower.
It was crowded with people, but it felt a little unfriendly to singles. Most of the people were couples visiting together, which made things awkward for anyone who was alone.
Tang Ze borrowed a camera, pretending to be a regular tourist, but in reality, he was looking for Conan and the others.
The observation deck wasn't very large. After a quick scan, Tang Ze saw a girl explaining something to a group of younger children in front of her.
Recognizing them, Tang Ze walked over and greeted them directly: "What a coincidence, Ran-san, Conan-kun, are you also here to visit Tokyo Tower?"
"Ah! Detective Tang Ze!" Xiaolan turned around at the sound of his voice, her face lighting up with happiness.
Don't get her wrong—this was just a task Sonoko had given her, and she hadn't yet figured out how to invite Tang Ze. But now, by chance, they had run into him.
Thinking of this, Xiaolan winked at Conan to remind him.
When Conan saw the hint, he immediately recalled what Xiaolan had told him. He nodded in understanding and put on a "relieved" expression.
"By the way, Brother Tang Ze, why are you here?" Conan greeted him. "Don't you have work?"
"Oh, it's fine. I wrapped up all the cases before the holidays, so I have a normal break for these two days," Tang Ze said with a smile. "And since I'm alone, I decided to go for a walk."
"Conan-kun, are you guys here just to visit Tokyo Tower?" Tang Ze asked.
"Yeah, we're here for an event with some friends," Conan explained. "By the way, Detective Karasawa, I'm glad that the art museum incident ended peacefully."
"Yeah, it's lucky that Detective Tang Ze noticed it when he did," Xiaolan said, feeling grateful. "If it weren't for you, Detective, things could have gotten a lot worse."
"Ah, he looks so familiar! He's the guy from last week's newspaper. Conan, you know him!" Mitsuhiko suddenly exclaimed.
"I've seen these people before. Would you like me to introduce them?" Tang Ze smiled and greeted.
"Ah, they're my classmates," Conan explained, introducing them one by one. "This is Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Ayumi."
Tang Ze smiled and said, "Thank you for the introduction, everyone. I'm Tang Ze Genichi."
"Officer Tang Ze, you're a criminal detective, right? You must handle a lot of cases every day!" the three kids asked excitedly.
"Do you catch bad guys every day?"
"Or solve murder cases?"
Tang Ze was momentarily overwhelmed by their barrage of questions, but he answered each of them one by one.
"Okay, everyone, didn't you want to get the Kamen Rider model?" Conan noticed Tang Ze's predicament and quickly stepped in to divert the kids' attention.
"Oh no, I hope they haven't all been taken!" Genta said in shock, running off without even saying goodbye.
Seeing Genta rush off, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi quickly said their goodbyes to Tang Ze and ran after him.
"Aren't you going to get it?" Tang Ze asked Conan knowingly.
"Ah, I'll go later," Conan smiled. "Oh, by the way, Brother Tang Ze, are you free next weekend?"
"Huh? What's going on?" Tang Ze raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Well, Xiaolan's classmate invited us to her villa in the mountains next week. After hearing that Xiaolan knows you, she wanted to invite you too."
Conan continued, "She's really interested in the art museum case you solved."
"Hmm... a villa in the mountains?" Tang Ze thought for a moment and guessed that the classmate was probably Sonoko.
Though he was surprised that Sonoko had invited him, he quickly made up his mind.
"Of course, I agree!"