The next day, Ran and Sonoko arrived at Dr. Agasa's house to continue their tour with Gustave and his group. They decided on a park barbecue, and this time Kogoro insisted on joining them. As expected, with more people around to impress, he managed to get even more spectacularly drunk than usual, forcing Gustave to practically carry him home when the day ended.
After dinner, Tezuka's fear of Sonoko reached new heights, and he hastily excused himself to return to his world. Seeing their captain's strategic retreat, Fuji, Eiji, and Sengoku quickly followed suit with their own polite goodbyes.
Only Gustave and Yang Chan remained behind—after all, Gustave was still waiting to collect his new car.
On the third morning, Sonoko could barely contain her excitement as she rushed to Dr. Agasa's house and rang the doorbell repeatedly.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Why do we have visitors so early? Don't you know elderly people need their rest?"
Dr. Agasa shuffled to the door in his pajamas, still half-asleep from the previous night's festivities. But when he reached the hallway, he was surprised to see Gustave already busy in the kitchen, the rich aroma of breakfast filling the house.
"Dr. Agasa, Ai and Chan'er went to answer the door. You can freshen up while I finish breakfast."
Gustave called out with a cheerful smile, expertly flipping what appeared to be perfectly golden French toast.
"Oh! I'm really sorry about this."
Despite his apologetic words, Dr. Agasa's face lit up with genuine happiness. The few days since Gustave's arrival had been the most comfortable he'd experienced in years—eating incredible meals and sleeping soundly without a care in the world. If it were possible, he'd gladly have Gustave move in permanently.
Meanwhile, Ai and Yang Chan had reached the garden gate.
"Ai, Chan'er, where are Tezuka and the others?"
Sonoko's face fell when she saw only the two girls greeting her.
"Um, Sonoko-nee, Tezuka and the others had to leave," Ai said reluctantly, delivering what she knew would be unwelcome news.
"Last night after dinner, Tezuka-nii got an emergency phone call about something happening at home," Yang Chan added with perfect innocence, reciting the white lie Gustave had coached her to tell. "He left immediately, and Fuji-nii and the others went with him."
"What? A family emergency and he left without telling me?"
The disappointment on Sonoko's face deepened. She'd been planning to invite Tezuka and his teammates to her private beach resort for the day.
Seeing that her target was nowhere to be found, Sonoko turned to leave with dejected shoulders.
"Sister Sonoko, wait! Brother Gustave already made breakfast—let's eat together!"
Yang Chan quickly grabbed Sonoko's hand before she could escape, practically dragging the older girl toward the house. They ran all the way to the kitchen, where the enticing smell of fresh coffee and warm pastries created an irresistible atmosphere.
"Sonoko, perfect timing! Please, have a seat."
Gustave looked up from arranging dishes on the dining table, his warm smile instantly lifting some of Sonoko's disappointment.
Somehow finding herself seated at the table before she quite realized it, Sonoko watched as Gustave continued bringing out an impressive spread of breakfast dishes.
A few minutes later, she scooped up Yang Chan and planted a kiss on the little girl's adorable cheek.
"Thank you, Chan'er. You're such a sweetheart."
"Hehe, Sister Sonoko, now you have to eat!" Yang Chan giggled.
"Alright!"
Sonoko channeled her grief and frustration into appetite, proceeding to consume what would normally constitute breakfast for three people before finally feeling satisfied.
Today was car pickup day, so after breakfast, the group piled into Dr. Agasa's faithful yellow Beetle and headed to the dealership where they'd made the purchase.
On the other side of town, Conan had risen early and was persistently nagging Kogoro awake.
"Conan, why are you up so early today?"
Kogoro yawned massively and regarded the young detective with confusion. Usually the kid woke up when he did, but today was different—not only had Conan risen at dawn, but he was actively trying to rouse his guardian.
"Uncle, hurry up! After breakfast, we need to meet up with Gustave and the others to go pick up the car."
"Pick up a car? Whose car are we picking up?"
Kogoro scratched his head in bewilderment. Who had bought a car? How had he missed this important information?
"Gustave's car, of course."
"Oh, so it's that boy Gustave! Got it."
Upon hearing his new drinking buddy's name, Kogoro's attitude shifted completely. He slowly hauled himself out of bed and began getting dressed with unusual care. After all, he and Gustave had shared quite the bonding experience over sake the previous evening, and such a relationship deserved proper respect.
After getting ready, Conan, Ran, and Kogoro hailed a taxi and headed directly to the dealership to rendezvous with Gustave's group.
As a detective, particularly one who'd become famous since Conan's arrival—Kogoro maintained a surprisingly healthy bank account despite his usually sloppy appearance. Combined with the generous child support payments from Conan's parents, money shouldn't have been an obstacle to car ownership. Yet Kogoro consistently chose to either rent vehicles or take taxis for transportation.
Why? In Kogoro's own words: "A detective can't drive the same car for too long, or they'll be easily spotted when tailing suspects."
While this was partially true, the real reason was more practical. When Kogoro worked cases, vehicles had an alarming tendency to meet violent ends—explosions, cliffs, high-speed chases, you name it. His heart couldn't bear the thought of watching his own car meet such a fate, but rental cars.
Those were someone else's problem.
The taxi pulled up to the dealership right on schedule.
"Wow, Gustave! I had no idea you were so well-off. You actually came to a place like this to buy a car!"
The moment Kogoro stepped out of the taxi, he immediately linked arms with Gustave as if they were lifelong friends. It seemed incredible that these two had only officially met the day before, but alcohol had a way of accelerating certain relationships.
"I had some spare money lying around," Gustave replied with an easy smile. "When I passed by here a few days ago, I saw something that caught my eye, so I decided to treat myself."
"Really? What kind of car? I can't wait to see it!"
Kogoro could barely contain his excitement, practically bouncing on his toes.
"Let's head inside and I'll show you."
The group made their way into the showroom, where the manager had been waiting anxiously. After all, this was his moment to shine. The instant he spotted Gustave approaching, his face split into a professional smile as he performed an elaborate bow.
"Mr. Gustave! Miss Sonoko! Welcome back!"
"Manager, is the car ready? We'd love to see it."
"Absolutely, Mr. Gustave. Please, follow me."
Led by the enthusiastic manager, the group proceeded to the delivery area. There, adorned in tasteful tricolor ribbons and elegant décor reminiscent of a French celebration, stood the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato that Gustave had purchased.
During the contract signing process several days earlier, the manager had learned that Gustave was a "French international student," so he'd arranged the pickup ceremony according to French customs and traditions.
"Thank you so much for all this effort, manager."
Gustave expressed his genuine appreciation while thinking to himself: No wonder this guy made manager—his attention to detail and customer service are absolutely impeccable.
"You're too kind, Mr. Gustave. Shall we begin the unveiling ceremony?"
"Absolutely."
After completing a series of traditional car-pickup rituals, Gustave finally pulled away the silk covering. The silver Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato gleamed magnificently under the showroom lights, its sleek curves and aggressive styling commanding immediate attention.
"Holy... Gustave, that car is absolutely gorgeous! This must have cost a fortune, right?"
Kogoro's eyes practically glowed as he took in the vehicle's stunning appearance. His mind was already racing with thoughts of borrowing it for future cases—surely their newfound friendship would extend to such favors?
"The total came to $812,000. That includes tax, if I remember correctly?"
Gustave spoke with casual uncertainty, as if the astronomical sum were pocket change.
"Yes, exactly right, Mr. Gustave. $812,000, tax included."
The manager confirmed with obvious pride at facilitating such a significant sale.
"Wait, how much would $812,000 be in yen?"
Kogoro wasn't particularly sharp with international exchange rates, but something about that number was making him nervous.
"The exchange rate has been fluctuating recently, but converted to yen, that's at least 120 million," the manager explained helpfully. "That's with the benefit of Mr. Gustave paying directly in US currency. If purchased with Japanese yen, this particular model would cost 208 million yen."
"What? Two hundred and eight million?!"
The color drained from Kogoro's face as the number sank in. He immediately jerked his hand away from the car's pristine surface as if it had suddenly caught fire, terrified that even touching it might somehow damage the vehicle and cost him hundreds of thousands in repairs. As for borrowing it? That fantasy died a quick and thorough death.