Chapter 62 One Should Not Be Too Tsundere

Conan grumbled frantically in his heart, then took the microphone in a fit of self-abandonment and began to sing.

(｡-ω-)-ω-)-ω-)

As Conan's tone-deaf singing rang out, the atmosphere in the entire private booth instantly turned bizarre, and everyone couldn't help exchanging bewildered glances.

Actually, Conan's voice wasn't particularly unpleasant, but every single note he sang was out of tune, which was nothing short of absolute torture for anyone with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Although Suzuki Seimei and the others didn't suffer from OCD, the more proficient one was in music, the harder it was to endure Conan's off-key crooning.

Seimei had originally intended to play a prank on Conan, but he never expected that his own ears would end up paying the price.

It was a classic case of inflicting eight hundred casualties on the enemy while sacrificing ten thousand of one's own.

Sonoko covered her ears and said speechlessly with a twitching mouth, "Ran, I used to think having one tone-deaf person like Shinichi in this world was quite enough, but I never imagined this brat could rival him. Could the two of them be related by any chance?"

"M... Maybe~" Mouri Ran replied with an awkward smile.

Mari Terahara, sitting next to Tatsuya Kimura, saw him drinking endlessly and couldn't help advising, "Tatsuya, drink a little less. Too much alcohol is bad for your vocal cords."

"You are so damn annoying! Ugly woman, I know what I'm doing." Hearing this, Tatsuya waved his hand impatiently.

"Ugly woman?"

Mouri Ran and Sonoko were slightly stunned, wearing perplexed expressions.

After all, Mari Terahara was an absolute beauty; by no stretch of the imagination could she be considered ugly, right? Was he really that drunk?

"Tatsuya, how can you say something like that? Mari is our band manager, and she's only saying this for your own good!" Katsumi Yamada, the drummer wearing dark sunglasses, couldn't help speaking up to defend Mari.

Seeing Katsumi stick up for Mari, a flash of annoyance crossed Tatsuya's harsh eyes as he let out a cold snort. "Let me ask you this instead: as our drummer, have you been pulling your weight and doing what you're supposed to do?"

Before Katsumi could offer an explanation, Tatsuya turned his head once more to look at the band's guitarist, cursing with visible displeasure, "Mieko, and you're no better. What on earth are you playing at today? I've had it up to here with your amateurish guitar playing."

"I... I'm sorry..."

Hearing this, Mieko Shibasaki, who wore short red hair, changed her complexion slightly and apologized in a pitiful tone.

***

ε=(´ο｀*))) Alas...

Seeing this scene, Suzuki Seimei let out an inner sigh.

If he wasn't mistaken, the victim of this upcoming case was bound to be Tatsuya Kimura; the classic signs of someone about to meet an untimely demise were simply too obvious.

Perhaps Tatsuya was indeed somewhat intoxicated, but the things he said were truly hurtful.

To say nothing of the people directly scolded by him, even Suzuki Seimei as an onlooker found it difficult to watch.

Even if Tatsuya wanted to establish his authority within the band, there was no need to humiliate his own bandmates so harshly in front of outsiders like them!

Sensing the heavy and oppressive atmosphere settling over the room, Mari hastily changed the subject. "Mieko, it's your turn to pick a song."

"Ah~~ Ah~~"

Hearing this, Mieko stood up, walked to the front, took the microphone handed to her by Conan, and began to hum softly.

However, what Suzuki Seimei found rather strange was that the song Mieko was humming had a cheerful and upbeat melody, yet tears were streaming down her face.

"Why is this big sister crying while she sings?" Seimei asked with a puzzled expression.

Upon hearing this, Tatsuya's expression turned somewhat sorrowful. He set down his beer mug and deliberately assumed a carefree, nonchalant tone. "Because I'm about to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to Mieko, and saying goodbye to the band."

"No way! You mean Rex is breaking up?" Sonoko couldn't stay seated any longer upon hearing this and blurted out in shock.

"That's right. Once this tour is over, I'm leaving the band. They all know about it anyway. Besides, I've had enough of this lousy drummer, this kindergarten-level guitarist, and that annoying band manager."

Even though Tatsuya acted as if he didn't care at all, Seimei could clearly sense the contradiction between his words and his true feelings.

"Could this guy..."

Seimei stared at Tatsuya for a moment, his expression turning somewhat peculiar. "Is he a tsundere?"

Just a moment ago, Seimei had thought Tatsuya's words were vicious enough to invite murder.

Yet, upon learning that Rex was about to disband, and combining that with what Tatsuya had just said, Seimei suddenly formed a new hypothesis.

***

Perhaps Tatsuya simply didn't want the others to feel too heartbroken, so he intentionally spoke those hateful words before the band's dissolution to make them numb to the pain of parting ways.

Seimei muttered inwardly, "If that's the case, then this whole incident is probably just a misunderstanding. I'll have to find a way to prevent this tragedy."

For criminals who truly deserved death, Seimei wouldn't feel an ounce of sympathy.

However, when it came to a tragedy born purely of misunderstanding, he felt compelled to stop it if possible; otherwise, his own conscience wouldn't let him rest.

Without drawing any attention, Seimei took out a five-hundred-yen coin, utilized his "Cash-Powered Ability" to convert its value into financial energy, and channeled it directly into his nose.

Boosted by the financial power of the five-hundred-yen coin, Seimei's sense of smell was drastically enhanced. With a gentle sniff, every single scent in the private booth flooded into his nasal cavity.

Aside from perfume, body odor, and the aroma of food, Seimei caught the scent of a pungent, stinging chemical.

And the source of that pungent odor was none other than the jacket Tatsuya was wearing—more precisely, it seemed to be emanating from the sleeves.

Although Seimei had already figured out the culprit's method of execution, he couldn't simply blurt it out to everyone.

After all, there was no way he could tell them that he had used a supernatural monetary ability to supercharge his olfactory senses and thereby detected the trace of poison!

"I've got it!"

Seimei pondered briefly in his heart and quickly devised a solution.

Since the root of this case was a misunderstanding caused by Tatsuya's dishonesty with his own feelings, all Seimei needed to do was find a way to make him speak his true thoughts, and the tragedy could likely be averted.

Seimei sidled up next to Tatsuya and asked with a curious expression, "Brother Tatsuya, honestly, do you really want the Rex band to break up?"

As Seimei quietly activated his "Spiritual Word Technique," a burst of mental energy instantly merged into his voice, carrying an inexplicable, compelling magic that poured straight into Tatsuya's ears, filling him with an irresistible urge to spill the truth.