At the present moment, when police officers were called to the scene to interview a group of children from 1-A class, they were not expecting much.

In a way and by some miracle, naturally, the chances that all of the children from the 1-A class managed to get out of the school alive after narrowly escaping from a craze serial killer were zero to none. But that was what unexpectedly happen.

As the officers arrived at the luxury Mayfair at Brampton Hotel, they were greeted with a shocking sight. Originally adorned with elegant furnishings and decor, with plush sofas and armchairs for the guests to relax in, the lobby is right now in a very chaotic and messy scene. The hotel lobby was in disarray, with overturned furniture, broken glass, and scattered debris littering the area.

It was as if a group of teenagers stormed into the hotel and trashed the once opulent hotel.

But all of that is nothing, compared to how thick the air felt, with the smell of fear and panic emitting from the children.

The children were all shaken and traumatized, but alive, having gathered in the hotel lobby, huddled together in groups, still trembling from the shock of the attack. Some are crying, while others are in a state of shock, unable to process what has just happened. Something the officers were used to as they were briefed by the police academy on how to handle them when it comes to domestic violence, but to see so many children in this state was not what they were expecting.

Some of the children had injuries from the escape, with cuts and bruises on their arms and legs. There were also a few who were in shock, staring blankly into space, still trying to process the trauma they had just experienced.

In the midst of this chaos, the hotel staff were doing their best to provide comfort and support to the children. They had brought out blankets and pillows, trying to create a comfortable space for the children to rest and recover. But despite their efforts, the scene was still messy and disorganized. There were papers and backpacks strewn across the lobby, and the smell of fear and panic hung heavily in the air.

Then, the cops decided it was time for the dreaded interview. From one child to another, with their respective parent or adult accompanying them, some of them either answered in a haste, some remain spaced out and remain silent, while the others couldn't say a word and shed tears, begging the officers that they wanted to go home. The officers listened patiently, making notes and trying to console the children as they shared their traumatic experiences.

As the interviews continued, the officers began to realize just how traumatized the children were. Each child had their own story to tell, and each story was more harrowing than the last. It was clear that they had all been through an unimaginable ordeal, and the officers couldn't help but feel sympathy for them.

While the response was filled with tears, the officer's next batch of children they were going to interview...took a rather angry turn. But all of the complaints had something in common with the previous batch of children.

"Tell us exactly what went wrong with this camping trip." The officer finds himself asking every single child who sits opposite them in some meeting lobby.

"A lot of things went south even before we began to experience camping life," 6-year-old Reina answered in disapproval, looking dishevelled after having fled through the forest with her boyfriend earlier to seek help, "...Before all of this took place, some of us suffered bug bites, dirty water, bad weather out in the woods....things got so bad, that Ranran, my friend, was smart enough to check herself into a hotel not far from here even before day 1 progressed on its own. When she did that...I assumed she was acting a little pompous like any child from a rich family would. But who knew....when the murders began to pop up one after another..."

The cops then watched as Reina began to crumble.

"Then one murder after another took place before I knew it...it became what it is now. Ranran...I am so sorry...I should've listened to you...." Reina sobbed to herself.

"When I was expecting the happiest camping trip, it became the nightmare and epitome of hell," Takuma's interrogation was ongoing with the other officers as he spats bitterly, rubbing his face as he was exhausted dealing with all of this later on while adding, "And I ain't going camping after this episode happened for good! God, Ranran was right! Who knew camping is dangerous as hell?! We barely made it out alive because I couldn't even call for help! In the wilderness!"

"I don't ever want to go back to that hellish place ever again!" Sonoko wept with tears in her eyes while saying all of this before the cops, still shaken from the events of that day as her mother accompanied her, "I thought after all of the hell I had dealt with thanks to Ranran, nothing could be far worst off than this. But now that I look back, I was dead wrong! God...why was I stupid to believe camping would be fun! Ranran...I seriously need that foresight she has."

"Normally, I don't agree with every single thing Ranran, our association leader said when it comes to camping since she tends to be dramatic. But...after today," 6-year-old Mouri Ran also wept with grief, "No more...I don't care if my parents told me to go, I refuse to go camping ever again! Maybe even up till my adulthood."

The officers were taken aback by the children's anger and resentment towards the camping trip.

But their response wasn't as shocking, compared to the 6-year-old blue-eyed boy who showed up with bruises around his face.

In appearance, the little boy before them had a handsome face with bright blue eyes, despite being covered with bruises and cuts all over, his face. Fortunately, he was medically treated by the medical team upon arrival, as soon as the call for emergency reached their ears, so he is spared from having to do any plastic surgery since his face ain't deformed.

"What exactly happened on the camping trip?" one officer probed gently.

"It was crap," Shinichi groaned, rubbing his face where the medical staff treated his injuries earlier, "Crap written all over."

"We understand, and again, we are sorry about the harrowing experience you went through earlier."

"You mean the part where I almost fell off a cliff when the killer almost struck me?"

The officer nodded, "Yes, that part."

Shinichi let out a bitter laugh, "Yeah, that was just great. And then there was the part where we were running for our lives through the forest, and I had to fend for myself, with that maniac chasing me all over the place. I didn't think I was going to make it out alive if Ranran haven't saved me."

The officers listened intently, making notes and trying to console the young boy as he recounted his experience. It was clear that he had been through a lot, and the officers couldn't help but feel sympathy for him.

Then again, he was unusually calm for someone who went through a lot.

Had they not been notified that Shinichi runs 'Tantei Association', a well-known detective agency run by 7 elementary-school-going children that solve cases of dark nature, they would've thought he is naturally immune to violence. A lot of police stations across Japan had heard stories about that association, and they were well aware of the reputation of its members, including Shinichi. Despite their young age, these children had a remarkable talent for solving mysteries and cracking cases that even some professional detectives struggled with.

The officers couldn't help but wonder if Shinichi's experience in the Tantei Association had helped him remain calm during the harrowing events of the camping trip. Perhaps his training and experience as Ranran's apprentice had taught him how to keep a level head and think rationally in dangerous situations.

"Officer, is Ranran alright?" Shinichi found himself asking with concern, "She was badly beaten up compared to what I had to deal with."

The officer nodded, "Yes, she is being medically treated now, but she's going to be discharged and join yours shortly."

Shinichi let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness...Ranran was right, this camping thing our parents arranged for us to go was the worst mistake they could've ever made for us kids."

Deciding they must get to the bottom of this, one of the officers questions the boy, "Let's get back to the interview. Allegedly while you were fleeing from the criminal, how did you end up dangling around the cliff?"

Shinichi sighed, "I was trying to get away from him, but I wasn't watching where I was going. I tripped and fell over the edge. I was holding onto a branch, and I thought I was going to fall to my death."

The officer nodded, "And how did you get out of that situation?"

"Ranran..." Shinichi was hesitant, but he knew he had to continue. "Push the killer off the cliff, then later pulled me up."

The officers looked at each other, surprised. "Your friend Ranran pushed the criminal off the cliff? Are you sure about that?" one of them asked.

"How is it possible? She is six years old."

"I stop asking that question after becoming her apprentice," The boy sighed, drinking a bottle of water placed on the table.

The officers exchanged a look of disbelief. It was hard for them to imagine a six-year-old girl pushing a grown adult off a cliff. However, they knew better than to doubt Shinichi's word. They had heard about the Tantei Association's exploits and the incredible skills of its members. Especially one little girl in particular name Kudo Ranran.

"And is that how we later discovered their corpse beneath the cliff?"

Shinichi nodded, "Yes."

The officers sat back in their chairs, processing the information they had just received. It was clear that they were dealing with some very capable children, and they couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by them. "According to the autopsy," The officer flipped through the files, "The suspect is alleged to have drugs in their system."

"How is that any relevance to this interrogation?" Shinichi can't help but ask.

"According to the suspect's relatives, the person doesn't do drugs."

Wait, what does this have anything to do with-

Right, Shinichi almost forgot: This killer had an unusual life after all.

The killer's life was so unusual, that it was no surprise why this question had to resurface regardless. No wonder the relatives of the killer probably contacted someone who lived around here to press Shinichi about this after learning what had happened. "According to several witness accounts, while the murderer was holding an axe and chasing after all of your schoolmates at the hotel, their eyes seemed to be all over the place."

"So...what are you trying to imply?"

"So!?" The police exclaimed before frowning deeply at the boy, "Did it not occur to you that someone could've spiked his drink that led him to endanger all of you in the first place?"

"Well, people change," Shinichi calmly answered and replied, "Did you not see how they tried to kill me and Ranran, sir? Let alone, figure out the amounts of people they killed throughout the days we were out camping. Does this not define what a true definition of a serial killer is?"

The officers looked at each other, unsure of how to respond. "Speaking of Ranran, she is your mentor, correct?"

"What about it?"

"Was she not with you when you were both hunted down by the killer?"

"She was, and then she scream at me to flee on my own to call for help."

"Don't get me wrong, but the entire reason all of this took place...was because you two became nosy over an accident that took place years ago?"

"What is your point?"

"I mean...I heard stories about your mentor."

"Like what? Be more specific?"

"You know...spiking drinks onto others?"

Absorbing all of this information, the first thing Shinichi did was give the officer a sceptical look, "Sir, it's one thing that drugs while I will admit doing influence us to do bad things, but it's another when you are implying Ranran would do such a thing."

Honestly, Shinichi would be lying if he said Ranran would never do so. He knew of the many times she did.

Then again...he knew Ranran didn't do it directly to the killer. At least for this round.

"But she hated camping since the beginning of this trip, no?" Another adult confronted the child, "Could she not have spiked the killer's drink after learning of their identity, caused all of this nonsense and trauma so that camping is gone for good?"

Shinichi's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "I am sorry, how did this idea even come about?"

"Your other member Mouri Ran mentioned that she personally witness the two of you the other day at the main HQ, where Ranran was allegedly giving you math lessons on how to calculate weed."

Right, he almost forgot how Mouri Ran dislikes Ranran, let alone, is still looking into Ranran's alternate identity as The Fox, a child detective who vanished from the spotlight. Which made Shinichi wonder...why did she bring this up?

He then thought about 'that incident' during the camping murder investigation.

Right...that made sense.

No wonder that was enough for her to casually say nonsensical stuff about his mentor. "Mouri Ran although had reasons to suspect that, I am afraid she misjudged the situation. I am certain..."He gave the officers a calm stare, "If you all do your investigation professionally, you will all see why...she made such a careless statement."

The police officers exchanged glances, clearly taken aback by Shinichi's response. One of them cleared their throat before speaking, "Thank you for your input, Shinichi. We will certainly take all factors into consideration during our investigation."

Shinichi nodded in response, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. He knew that they were just doing their job, but it was frustrating to have his mentor's character questioned like this thanks to that Mouri Ran.

Honestly, confronting her would've done wonders for the association.

But it will make him look pathetic, confirming Ran's suspicions that he is covering up for Ranran as The Fox. He owed it to Ranran for teaching him politics, otherwise, confronting Ran would mean everyone would realise that Ranran had upfront lied that she was never The Fox and that she framed Sonoko to be punished despite knowing this.

Speaking of this, what led Ran to suddenly reveal to the cops that Ranran had a history of spiking drinks? Did she intentionally want to get Ranran into serious trouble?

Although Mouri Ran may not have gotten along with the founder to the point she can be meddlesome, she didn't have it in her up to a point that it would push Ranran to her death. Yes, she did pray for Ranran's death, but Shinichi knew better that Ran is a shot-fused girl, she would say anything, even if it wasn't true and hurtful to someone she dislikes strongly.

If Ran intentionally did this to check whether Shinichi knew Ranran is The Fox, that ain't like Ran to think far ahead. Mouri isn't intellectually far ahead compared to himself, let alone, Ranran. This was a proven point thanks to multiple incidents with Ran's nagging to get Shinichi to quit. Although Ran had remained silent for now, it was evident that this statement Ran made about his mentor indicated that Mouri was not going to quit the association until Shinichi leaves.

That could only mean one thing: Someone is manipulating Ran to do all of this.

And it could only be none other than Ishibashi Mamiko.

Seriously, Mamiko is such a despicable girl. Her obsession with him...such a toxic twisted being. Before, Ranran was to Shinichi a twisted delusional child, but now that he looks back...Mamiko is far worst than Ranran.

For her to go after a child who is busy tackling the corruption of Beikai District, even if Mamiko was aware that Ranran is The Fox, Shinichi is certain Mamiko wouldn't even care if Ranran is doing good for society. All that Mamiko ever cared is controlling anyone to her personal satisfaction like a puppet, which is why she schemed on sowing discord between him and Ranran in the first place.

He had a very uneasy feeling, Mamiko definitely use someone to convince Ran and Sonoko to do this to Ranran. Mamiko needed someone that Ran and Sonoko would blindly trust, and it has to be someone who not only hates anyone who is hurting Ran and Sonoko, but also someone who would pull too great lengths to make the person suffer, because this person cares for those two deeply.

And he had a nagging suspicion over who did Mamiko manipulate to convince those two morons to do this to Ranran. Only that kid is trustworthy enough for Ran and Sonoko to simply throw their trust and believe in him.

Fishing out his smartphone, he dialled the number to contact a number he knew from the heart and waited till the phone picked up, "Michio, it's Shinichi here. Did you manage to look into what I said the other day?"

"I did." The other male confirmed over the phone, "And you are right, Mamiko has been meeting this kid in particular for several days."

"Continue to send me photos and videos of them, and make sure you don't get caught," Shinichi whispered over the phone, eying that Ran and Sonoko are approaching him now.

"Shinichi, I know we discuss no questions asked about this investigation outside the association, but why are we not telling the rest of the members? Including Ranran?"

Shinichi let out a serious stern voice, "Because Ranran's life is on the line."

At first, the receiver didn't say a word till he replied, "I know Mamiko attempted to stab Ranran with a pocket knife the other day, but don't you think you are overthinking that she might be plotting to murder her again by misusing Ran and Sonoko misguided hate toward Ranran? All because you cut all ties with Ran and Sonoko."

Shinichi sighed, feeling frustrated that he had to explain this to Michio, "I overlooked Mamiko last year when I was 5, and guess what happened, Michio? I not only blamed an innocent girl who is struggling to restore Beikai District back to its peaceful state, but I also didn't even stop Ran and Sonoko when the two rushed over to ruin her late mentor's funeral because I didn't get the whole picture over why Ranran framed me."

"Kudo-"

"Michio, in your honest opinion...would I have not become a killer or a bad guy had I continued to blindly believe in Mamiko's manipulation?" Shinichi waited patiently for a response, but none came. He knew that Michio understood his point. "If I make the same mistake again, I won't be able to forgive myself if Ranran dies, Majima." Shinichi continued, "Also...it was my own wrongdoing that led me to this point. If one makes a mistake, one must fix it."

There was a pause before Michio finally replied, "You are playing a dangerous game, Kudo. It's one thing you can't convince Ran and Sonoko that they were being manipulated, but it's another that Ranran has no idea her days are being numbered because she confronted Mamiko."

Shinichi nodded solemnly, "I know the risks, but I have to protect Ranran at all costs. I owe it to her for everything she's done for me. Just keep sending me the intel, Michio. I'll handle it from here."

With that, he ended the call and pocketed his phone before heading over to pay Ranran a visit.

........................

Weeks ago, Shinichi and the rest of the kids were not thinking about hating camping.

In a way, Shinichi didn't like camping, but not as much as Ranran does while they remain on the bus. Suddenly, the bus stopped midway to pick up a couple of adults.

An hour ago, the kids of 1-A had observed their substitute form teacher, Arima Nao, in her 20s, speaking to one of the adults over her smartphone while they were on the bus, telling the other teacher who was with her that time that the man sounded nice, then she hoped the guy is good looking since her single life is lacking.

Arima Nao was a teacher unlike any other, often seeking to get married as early as possible. Perhaps it was due to her parents supposed awesome 'love story' at Teitan Elementary school, where they are both kids when they first met and had been happily married for over 27 plus years, Arima was determined to find that sort of love.

But in Ranran's opinion, that would be overly ambitious.

Thinking back on her late mentor when he shared with her his dreams of having his own family after Fox and Deer has ended, it brought nothing but bitterness to Ranran.

He didn't even reach his teenage years to date anyone....how tragic.

It was naive, but a dream is still a dream after all. When Ranran was younger before wanting to become an actor, she dreams of wanting to live in a mansion without working, playing video games all day and having a family of cats. Looking back, this dream is...too outrageous for her.

There is nothing wrong with wanting someone to wait at home for you to love you and no one else. Though realistically speaking, Ranran honestly thinks this is a very high-risk dream. One can just simply divorce and betray you behind's one back.

She shouldn't be cynical about this. Although Ranran's parent's marriage is a shotgun marriage, unlike most of the Edgewood Academy children where parents rarely married in the name of love, Ranran was one of the lucky few whose parents had genuine feelings for one another. Despite this, however, working as The Fox from the age of 3 till she retired around the age of 6 has taken a toll on her beliefs regarding love and marriage. In a way, she witnessed far too many brutal things humans are capable of to deter her from walking that sort of dream her late mentor aspires to have.

"I am going to bet the instructor is average looking." One of the kids who are sitting behind the bus could be heard saying to the other, breaking her thoughts.

Speaking of which, although their substitute teacher Arima has never once shared anything about her dating life, she has become the Taylor Swift of the entire school among kids, since there has been a total of 84 reported breakups throughout 27 years of her life. That is if you count in her kindgarten days, elementary school, high school and college days as well.

Oh yes, as well as overseas boyfriends that last only a week.

"No way, maybe this time Sensei will have it lucky this time!" A girl disagrees.

"Lucky? She broke up with I think more than 84 guys she met throughout her life! Hell, it didn't even make it to a point that one would purchase a house and live together!" Takuma could be heard telling them.

Ranran been quietly listening the conversation, couldn't help but wonder why Arima sensei was so desperate to find love. Was she unhappy being single? Did she feel lonely? Ranran couldn't relate to her at all. Even Shinichi who is sitting next to her, at some point whispered, "That teacher needs to get a life besides seeking out men."

"I agree." Ranran nodded back to him.

"There are things to pursue in life besides romance," Shinichi rolled his eyes at the teacher from afar. Shinichi doesn't see the reason why does this matter, one can easily be perfectly content with one's life, just like his with no desire for a romantic relationship.

"Takuma, does that actually matter when one buys a place and lives together?" Sonoko who is hearing this was shaken to the core, wondering what that part had anything to do with falling in love.

"Yes, it does!" Takuma insists before explaining, "This is what I heard from my paternal grandfather when one lives together under the same roof, it is a serious relationship towards marriage!"

"Really!?" Sonoko and the rest grew wide with their eyes.

"Of course! Or else how do you think my parents ended up together?" Takuma proudly grins while rambling, "Before, my tousan was a playboy. But after he met my mother, moved in together, got married and had me."

"Now that you mentioned it," Ran who was sitting next to Sonoko thought hard about it, "My parents too used to live together before they got married."

"My parents...I ain't sure if they even do such a thing," Sonoko frowned.

"Not completely true, not for my mom at least." Reina, Takuma's girlfriend had her arms folded.

"I mean she had you then later split up with your real dad, so it may not be appropriate for her to take your step-dad who was her boyfriend at that time over to live together when there is you around until they get married, right?"

"True." Reina nods, and then curiosity fell onto the Kudo children, namely Ranran and Shinichi. "Neh guys, do your parents live together before getting married?"

Shinichi hesitated to answer the question, knowing that their family relationship was complicated. "I don't know," Shinichi said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Neither do I," Ranran remained her unchanging expression, "My parents rarely talked about their younger days. Aside from our families living together before marriage," Ranran skillfully switch back to the main topic, "What do you think the guy the bus is about to pick up gonna look like? The one that Arima sensei is crushing on just by voice alone?"

Shinichi is impressed at the way Ranran handles this sensitive topic, in a way...she is good when it comes to deflecting specific issues. Even if there happens to be an obvious elephant in the room...Ranran could easily have it murdered before selling its parts to the black market and pocket herself some money, then have the corpse vanish into thin air with no traces of blood, and no one would even think that the elephant was there in the first place.

"I bet he's super tall with long arms and legs like a spider!" one of the kids exclaimed.

"What the hell do they think exists now? Spiderman? In real life?" Shinichi's nerves grew in agitation.

"It ain't possible," Ranran dismisses one of their classmates.

"I bet he's a really handsome prince from a faraway kingdom!" Sonoko said dreamily.

"You must be joking, this ain't Edgewood Academy." It was Ranran's turn to snicker at that thought.

"Wait, your old school actually have real-life royals as well!?" Shinichi's jaw dropped.

"Yes, we have plenty of those." Ranran shrugs, not sensing every since child's jaw dropped at her response, "In Edgewood, I see them every single day without fail."

"Eh!? Really!?" Sonoko grew envious, "That is awesome! You get to see good-looking princes every single day at school!"

Shinichi rolled his eyes at Sonoko's remark, "I highly doubt they're all good-looking. And even if they are, Ranran's just exaggerating."

"I wish I was, at least I don't have to see their idiot self-entitled behaviour at Edgewood on a daily basis." Ranran cocked her head to the side in disapproval, "Everyday without fail, if a royal prince or princess walks anywhere within the campus, there will be an entourage of idiot followers catering to their every need with hidden bodyguards all across the school campus. And when that happens, if say I meet one of those kinds who are arrogant, they would intentionally walk slower. When that happens, their little harem does the same, resulting in the hallway or any venue to be blocking other kids from getting to whatever venue they need to head to."

The children listened in awe as Ranran described her experiences at Edgewood Academy. "Damn, that sounds like a dick move." Takuma found himself saying.

"But...at least the headmaster must have done something to fix the problem, right?" Ran thinks.

"You wished, when you have students studying under the school you are in charge of, especially if they are kids of nobles or royals, if the headmaster isn't higher rank, you are screwed," Ranran replied, shaking her head, "It didn't help that our stupid school rules became a huge problem when those idiot royal children kept using it to remind others on showing respect and hospitality to foreign dignitaries, which is why they get to keep their entourage and special treatment."

"That's not fair!" Reina protested.

"Damn," Shinichi felt bad for his mentor, "I supposed you had to deal with this nonsense for a long time."

"No, I took care of the problem in such a way...no one ever dared to do it ever again," Ranran formed a sinister red-lip smile.

The children stared at Ranran in shock and awe. "What did you do?" Takuma asked, curious.

"Something that could easily ruin their damn pride," Ranran replied with a sly grin. "It cost them tons of money, but it was so worth it."

"What kind of trick?" Sonoko asked, leaning in closer.

Ranran leaned in closer to the group of children as if sharing a secret.  "I called in a favour from one of the bodyguards, nicely asked them to take me to those idiot royals' wardrobe," she whispered, her eyes gleaming mischievously.

The children gasped in surprise. "Why would they bother to tell you? Won't they get into serious trouble?" Reina asked, wide-eyed.

"That would be a story for another time," Ranran shrugged nonchalantly before she continued, "I later made their clothes a little more 'interesting'."

The children leaned in, their curiosity piqued. "What do you mean by 'interesting'?" Ran asked.

"I swapped out their designer suits and dresses with tacky, cheap knockoffs," Ranran chuckled, "The kind you can find at the discount stores. I then later quietly sold the clothes one by one and made money out of it."

"Wait, how much are those clothes worth enough to make you some money?" Reina found herself asking, "I mean you were in the U.K. when it happened, right? I ain't sure how much would it be in pounds if converted to yen."

"Well, some of their clothes were worth thousands of pounds each," Ranran replied, "And I sold them for a fraction of the price, but still made a pretty penny."

"How much is thousands of pounds in yen?" Ran asked.

"Roughly thousands of pounds would be equivalent to hundreds of thousands of yen." Shinichi calculated.

"What!?" Takuma's eyes widened in disbelief. "Do you know how much we can do with that amount of money!?" His mind was soon raced with scenarios of what he could've done with hundreds of thousands of yen, "I could easily hire an IT clown to follow the senseis I hate around all day so they can no longer sleep and give us homework!"

"Tak-san, you do know that is considered stalking and harassment, right?" Shinichi reminded this.

But it was evident the athlete wasn't listening to the apprentice, "No, wait," he continued, "I could even fill the entire school with elephant glue as Mr Beast did with his brother's house!"

"Hold on a minute," Sonoko grew sceptical of Ranran's story, "I thought some of them had customized clothes that will never be made available for sale. So how were you able to find a tackier version of those clothes?"

"Simple, I had-" Ranran refrained from revealing that her 7-year-old friend Walter was behind this, "...a friend who is good at designing clothes. It was as close as the real deal, except I gave him cheaper clothes to make it, then quietly switch it. By the time they know of this, it was around 2 years later," Ranran giggled. "It was a small thing, but it caused a big commotion. They were so embarrassed, even their idiot entourage was in disarray trying to fix the problem."

The children burst out laughing. "That's hilarious!" Takuma exclaimed.

"I wish I could have seen their faces," Shinichi chortled.

"I bet they were so embarrassed," Reina added.

"Oh, they were," Ranran grinned, "They showed up to class looking like clowns. It was the talk of the school for weeks."

The children laughed even harder, and Shinichi couldn't help but smile at the cunningness of his mentor. "You're a genius, Ranran," he said, patting her on the head.

"I got to do what I had to do." Ranran smirks before ending the story with, "They look so horrendous in it despite being good-looking, I have decided that the guy that Sensei seems to be interested in after talking over the phone, the man probably...have a pudgy-like face."

"Eh!?" Ran and Sonoko reacted in dismay, "Ranran, that is so pessimistic of you!" The heiress exclaimed.

"This is the real world, deal with it. One doesn't simply meet a prince out of nowhere like Disney," Ranran muses.

Shinichi couldn't help but chuckle at his mentor's bluntness.

Though Ranran's answer was in wrong, it can't be said that her prediction wasn't that far off.

The first time the children saw one of the instructors in charge of the children's camp activities, they were a bit taken aback by his appearance. The moment all of the children laid eyes on Eiji Ishida, his face was a mess of scars.

For a second, one of the kids assumed thought it was a mask at first. In a way, Sonoko was literally praying to Kami-sama for the man to unmask himself, and announced "April fool!"

But then Sonoko realized it wasn't April, but February.

If 1-A Teitan Elementary kids were raised poorly, one would scream or gasp at the sight of Eiji. But fortunately, they did not. Even so, they couldn't help but react, Shinichi was no different as well.

For Ranran however, she didn't react much – not visibly to say the least.

But her eyes said otherwise, Arima Nao, on the other hand, was embarrassed.

First, she expelled a sharp breath. Then she tried to cover it up by gabbling at him.

Hoping to cover up this idiot mistake, the 2nd teacher who was with the form substitute teacher took over and introduced one of their camping instructors to 1-A, "Mina-san, this is Eiji Ishida, one of your camping instructors for the day."

The children greeted Eiji with a chorus of "Hello" and "Nice to meet you." Shinichi noticed that Eiji's scars seemed to fade a little bit as he smiled warmly at the children, not bothered by the stares of others. Shinichi assumes he has grown used to such nonsense with the scars on his face.

Before one of the children was about to ask where he got those scars, he gave me a friendly wink and then said, "If you're wondering about why my face turned out the way it did... I was involved in a severe accident a few years ago. I had to have plastic surgery, but it didn't work well in my favour I'm afraid. Makes me look like The Joker, I know, but I'm a regular guy underneath."

"Oh, I'm sure you are." The substitute form teacher turned red and attempted to calm herself. "Are you a friend of Jun-kun and Miki?" she asked a little bit more normally.

"The ones who run the centre?" he replied, eyeing the substitute form teacher with interest. "Why? Do you know them?"

"No," answered her. "I don't know Jun-kun, but I roughly knew Miki through a mutual friend."

"Yeah, same here," Eiji said, sounding faintly relieved. "I've never met them before. I'm kind of a late addition, I guess. Standing in for a friend of theirs who couldn't make it. I've heard a lot about them though. Everyone says they're really nice."

The children sat there for a bit while Eiji and the bus driver did grown-up things like checking the oil and water and adjusting the tyre pressure. Sonoko buried herself in a fashion magazine with Ran next to her; Shinichi sat in his seat, watching Eiji with curiosity. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of person he was, aside from the obvious physical scars on his face. He seemed friendly and approachable, and the children seemed to like him.

As they drove to the campsite, Eiji made small talk with the children, asking them about their interests and hobbies. He even shared a few stories of his own childhood camping experiences, which made the children laugh and listen intently.

Shinichi noticed that Ran was observing Eiji as well, though she tried to hide it. He wondered if she was also curious about him, or if she was just being polite.

At last, Eiji then gave the bus driver the green light to start the bus engine, and they headed their way.