Eishin Itou's face was pale, sweat constantly beading on his forehead, but he still handed his phone to Inspector Sato.
Miwako opened the phone's call history. There was indeed an unknown call at 11:20, but it hadn't connected.
"So, Mr. Eishin, after you killed the victim, you must have taken her phone, removed her case, and put it on your own phone."
"Then you wedged your own phone into the door gap to hold it open. After leaving, you found a payphone and called your own number so no suspicious calls would appear on the victim's phone."
"Miss Yonehara just mentioned that she never touched your phone."
"But if her fingerprints are found on your phone, I believe that will be the most conclusive evidence."
Having heard the entire deduction, Eishin Itou closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
"Ah! I really couldn't hide it from you, Consultant Hoshimiya. The moment I saw you arrive, I had a premonition this would be the outcome. I didn't expect it to actually come true."
"Yasuie, I'm sorry. I killed your mother."
"Why?! Why?!"
Yasuie Itou's eyes were bloodshot. He rushed forward agitatedly, grabbing his father by the collar, completely unable to accept it.
Behind him, Detective Chiba hurriedly stepped in to restrain him.
Tears welled up in Eishin Itou's eyes as well. "I had no choice. I had no choice. I couldn't talk sense into your mother."
"Our family has been deep in debt for a long time. Your mother lost a lot of money playing the stock market, but she refused to stop."
"She was too confident. Ever since she survived that plane crash four years ago, she kept repeating that she was blessed by heaven, believing that the more danger she fell into, the more she could turn bad luck into good."
"She even wanted to mortgage our house and put all the borrowed money into the stock market."
"This house is the only property I can leave to you. How could I let her do that?"
"So I... so I..."
At this point, Eishin Itou broke down sobbing, and his son collapsed to the floor once again.
Seeing this, the others couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
The culprit was escorted back to the police station, and the case finally came to a close.
Sakurako Yonehara hugged Naeko Miike's arm and asked with a confused look, "Naeko, thank you for coming all this way to help me. Eh, why are you looking at Consultant Hoshimiya?"
Naeko instantly panicked slightly.
"Ah, I'm not! You saw wrong. But Sakurako, what are you going to do about work now? In this family, one is dead and the other is arrested. Do you have to look for a new job?"
Yuu, standing nearby, overheard this and couldn't help but interject. "Sakurako-chan is an excellent maid. She's meticulous and observant. If it weren't for her testimony today, we probably wouldn't have found the killer so easily."
"A maid this meticulous is rare on the market. How about it, Sakurako? Come work at my house. My house happens to be very large and I need someone to help with the chores."
Yuu had many beautiful confidantes, but most of them had their own things going on. The housework had always been handled by him and Ran together.
Of course, saying they did it together meant Ran mostly cleaned while he just helped out on the side.
To be honest, there was no need to do everything themselves, but Ran seemed to enjoy it. And since they hadn't found a particularly suitable housekeeper, Yuu had never brought it up.
Now, by a stroke of luck, he had met Sakurako Yonehara—a cute, beautiful, and clever little maid who fit all the criteria. Yuu naturally took the opportunity to offer.
Hearing Yuu's words, a look of temptation flashed across Sakurako's large eyes.
If I go work at Consultant Hoshimiya's house, I could collect so many of his autographs just by emptying the trash cans!
If I auction those autographs online, I'll definitely make a lot of money. Then I can buy back the old house my mom always missed!
At this thought, Sakurako's eyes instantly turned into money symbols, literal dollar signs appearing in her large eyes.
However, Miwako heard this and immediately pointed out, "Yuu-kun, I think you just saw how cute the girl is and want to abduct her to your house."
Hearing this, Sakurako's small face flushed instantly. She lowered her head, her small hands gripping her worn apron even tighter.
Yuu didn't try to hide it. He laughed heartily and admitted candidly, "That's also a key factor."
He then turned to Sakurako and tempted her, "Sakurako-chan, if you're willing to be my girlfriend, you'll never have to worry about money again~~"
Hearing this, Yumi Miyamoto and Miwako Sato couldn't help but roll their eyes, though they didn't say anything more.
Meanwhile, Naeko Miike, Shukichi Haneda, and Sakurako Yonehara were stunned.
What's going on? Yuu Hoshimiya is flirting with another woman, and Yumi-mi isn't jealous at all? How is that possible?
Oh, I get it! Hehe, the truth is out! Yumi-mi, you don't even like Yuu Hoshimiya!
He's definitely just your fake boyfriend, and you're trying to use him to make me jealous.
I knew it! How could my Yumi-mi change her mind so easily?
Yumi-mi, you're too naughty!
Shukichi Haneda instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
His brain was indeed smart, and his imagination was extraordinarily rich. He instantly scripted an entire drama in his head.
Unfortunately, his thoughts were completely off track.
This was normal. No matter how fast his brain worked, he would never have imagined that Yumi Miyamoto would accept being Yuu's woman alongside other women.
After their initial surprise, Naeko Miike and Sakurako Yonehara quickly accepted the fact.
A man as young, handsome, wealthy, and capable as Consultant Hoshimiya having a few more girlfriends seems... not so problematic...
As they thought about it, the two women exchanged a glance, their faces flushing slightly in unison.
The little maid Sakurako blushed and said, "Thank you for the opportunity, Consultant Hoshimiya, but I must disappoint you."
"I've already promised someone else. Actually, this employment was meant to be short-term, ending when the Madam's arm healed. I didn't expect the Madam to have an accident."
"But everyone doesn't need to worry about my employment. I'll be going to the Wakamatsu household, where my mother used to work, to continue serving as a maid."
Hearing Sakurako say this, Yuu felt it was a bit of a pity.
But it wasn't a big deal. This cute little maid, Sakurako Yonehara, still had some role to play.
If he remembered correctly, not long after Sakurako went to the Wakamatsu household, a murder case would happen there too.
Having murder cases occur in two consecutive households she worked for, this little maid would probably have a very hard time finding another job.
When that time came, it would be easy to abduct this cute maid to his house.
Just then, the chubby Detective Chiba wandered over.
He seemed to recognize Sakurako and couldn't help but say, "Huh? Aren't you Sakurako? Why are you here?"
Seeing Chiba approach, Naeko Miike hurriedly hid behind Sakurako, pulled her hat brim down, and lowered her head.
Seeing this, Yuu instantly recalled the situation between Naeko Miike and Kazunobu Chiba.
Both Naeko and Chiba attended Teitan Elementary School and were considered childhood sweethearts.
It was yet another childhood sweetheart trope that Gosho Aoyama loved to use...
However, Naeko transferred schools later, and the two hadn't contacted each other in thirteen years.
And upon reuniting, Chiba somehow couldn't recognize the Naeko from back then.
Even though Naeko's appearance hadn't changed much from when she was a child.
Looking at the current situation, with Naeko acting so nervous, it seemed she still had feelings for Chiba.
This is quite interesting!
Yuu's deep red eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Childhood sweethearts are great. Conquering them gives an even greater sense of accomplishment.
He had already broken up more than one pair of childhood sweethearts. Even if he hadn't reached the point where "practice makes perfect," he definitely had a lot of experience.
Naeko Miike seemed to notice his gaze and couldn't help but grow nervous.
She placed her index finger to her lips in a 'shushing' motion, seemingly wanting Yuu not to mention her, and perhaps also hoping he wouldn't misunderstand.
Seeing this, Yuu chuckled and didn't expose the matter.
The little maid Sakurako, however, had an excellent memory and recognized Chiba as well. She said happily, "Oh! You're Chiba! I remember you weren't this chubby when you were a kid."
Chiba rubbed his large belly. "Hehe, the food at the MPD is pretty good. I accidentally gained some weight."
At this, Miwako smiled teasingly, "Detective Chiba, are you very free right now?"
"Shouldn't you be heading back to take Mr. Eishin Itou's statement? Also, what about the theft case we've been investigating all morning? Don't you need to continue organizing the files?"
Hearing this, Chiba immediately responded powerlessly.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Sakurako, let's catch up next time. I still have a lot of tasks to do."
With that, he turned and walked out of the apartment.
Miwako waved her hand. "Thanks for your hard work, Detective Chiba!"
Miwako had already made arrangements with Chiba that morning.
She had him help out with her afternoon workload so she could free up time to go to Yumi's house.
Seeing Chiba leave, Naeko Miike finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Miwako stretched lazily and said, "Alright, it's finally time to rest. Yumi, we should head to your place now. Didn't you say there's a lot to clean up?"
Hearing this, Naeko Miike also remembered.
"Right! Senior, I'll go help you too. Our patrol duties are finished anyway."
Yumi Miyamoto's expression changed instantly. She offered an awkward smile. "Naeko, there's no need. We can handle it ourselves."
Having Naeko Miike, an outsider, present would make things incredibly awkward.
But Naeko Miike was very stubborn. She glanced at Yuu and Shukichi Haneda.
"No way, Senior! I've caused you a lot of trouble today. Let me do what little I can to help!"
Without waiting for Yumi's response, Naeko turned and ran out of the apartment to start up the mini patrol car.
Seeing this, Yumi let out an exhausted sigh.
Yuu said, "Alright, stop sighing. It's time for us to get going too."
"Sakurako, whenever you change your mind, you can come find me. Until next time!"
"Bye-bye!"
Hearing that extremely childlike baby voice again only strengthened Yuu's resolve to abduct this little maid.
The three of them walked out of the Itou residence together, and Shukichi Haneda, who had been ignored the entire time, hurriedly followed behind.
As the trio walked out of the Beika Building, Yuu glanced behind him, an inexplicable smile flashing across his lips.
Beside the glass doors sat an elderly security guard. Shukichi Haneda was leaning on the old man's lap, peeking at them through the glass doors.
This guy is terrible at trailing people. His skills are far inferior to his brother, his mother, and his sister.
Considering his photographic memory and his accomplishments in the Shogi world, it seemed the second Akai brother was only good with his brain.
Miwako also noticed and warned him, "Yuu-kun, your rival in love is still sneaking around behind us!"
With that, she strode on her long legs and got into her beloved red Mazda.
Yumi Miyamoto couldn't help but say, "Yuu-kun, wait for me a moment. I'll go tell him to stop following us right now."
Yuu chuckled, "No need to go through so much trouble."
He wrapped one arm around Yumi's slender waist right there on the street, next to the Lexus, and leaned down to kiss the beautiful and alluring traffic cop's pink lips.
It was too sudden. Yumi's eyes widened in a daze.
But feeling Yuu's passionate kiss, she couldn't help but wrap her arms tightly around his waist, pressing her body against his as she responded with total abandon.
Then, Yuu's hot, large hands began to roam without any reservation.
Inside the apartment building doors, Shukichi Haneda watched this scene, his pupils trembling violently.
His woman was being ravaged at will in the arms of another man! No man could endure such a situation.
Yumi-mi, to make me jealous, how could you sacrifice so much?
Damn it! Where is that guy grabbing?! I'll chop his paws off!
But before Shukichi could get up and charge over, he received a sharp knock on the forehead.
The wrinkled old security guard opened his mouth, revealing two large front teeth, and spoke with a thick country accent.
"Young fella! Yer grabbin' me too hard! Gentle now, gentle... We're in public, it don't look good!"
Shukichi snapped back to reality, only then realizing his hand was inexplicably grabbing the old man's crotch.
He looked up, and the old security guard gave him a suggestive smile. Shukichi shuddered violently, as if he had been targeted by some sickening entity.
Terrified, he scrambled off the old security guard's lap, looking utterly traumatized.
Out on the street, the mini patrol car drove up. Naeko Miike, inside the car, saw the two of them entangled on the sidewalk and her small face flushed red.
Senior and Consultant Hoshimiya are too bold! This is a public street. If someone takes a picture, it'll definitely be front-page news.
Just then, the rear window of the Lexus rolled down. A small hand reached out and pinched Yumi right on the waist.
Crying out in pain, Yumi hurriedly pushed Yuu away. Rubbing her waist, she glared at Sumiko Kobayashi in the back seat.
"Sumiko! What are you doing?"
Sumiko Kobayashi, her face rosy and looking exceptionally beautiful, chuckled softly.
"I saw you two kissing so passionately. If I didn't stop you, you might have started doing it right here on the street. That's why I reached out to separate you. Aren't you going to thank me?"
"You... you..."
The beautiful teacher stuck out her tongue playfully and made a face.
In broad daylight, Yumi couldn't really blow up. She glared at Sumiko in her pink body-con dress.
"Hmph. Dressing so slutty... Wait until we get home; see how I deal with you."
"Who's afraid of who?"
Watching the two women at each other's throats, Yuu spoke up, "Alright, alright. It's almost one o'clock, and we haven't even had lunch yet. Let's go home first, and I'll cook for you."
"If you want to fight, do it after we eat!"
At Yuu's command, the two women instantly quieted down.
Seeing Naeko Miike's patrol car pull up behind them, Yumi got into the patrol car.
Yuu started up the Lexus, and the three cars headed toward Yumi's house one after another.
Seeing this, Shukichi Haneda quickly ran out of the building, intending to hail a taxi to follow them.
From behind, the old security guard called out, "Young fella! I'll remember ya! You're the one from the 18th floor, right? I'll come find ya when I have time!"
Hearing this, Shukichi was so terrified he tripped and fell flat on his face.
The cars parked one after another in front of the apartment building where Yumi lived. In the taxi trailing behind, Shukichi Haneda ducked his head, telling the driver to pull over, terrified of being spotted by Yuu and the others.
Soon, he saw Yuu get out of the car with his arm around Sumiko Kobayashi, and he rubbed his eyes in confusion.
When did Inspector Sato change her outfit?
Sumiko Kobayashi and Miwako Sato looked too much alike. It wasn't just Shukichi who misunderstood; even Naeko Miike, upon getting out of her car, was stunned when she saw the two women, completely unable to tell them apart.
However, seeing Yuu and his large group head upstairs, Shukichi breathed a slight sigh of relief.
With so many people around, they probably can't do anything!
Soon, the entire group arrived at the apartment on the second floor, while Shukichi Haneda began to patrol the vicinity.
He quickly found an abandoned building directly facing the apartment's balcony. He hurriedly got out of the taxi and ran toward the building, preparing for a new round of surveillance.
Right now, Shukichi was just waiting for Yuu to leave so he could explain everything clearly to Yumi and win back his lost love.
In Shukichi's mind, Yumi Miyamoto wasn't a lost love; she was still his girlfriend. She had just found someone to play her fake boyfriend to make him jealous.
The door to apartment 202 opened. Seeing the chaos inside, the one man and three women outside were dumbfounded.
To say it was a "mess" was an understatement; it looked like it had been ransacked by robbers.
Boots and shoes were scattered all over the entryway. The walls were actually pitted and currently shedding plaster dust.
The sofa was covered in various articles of clothing piled like a mountain, and hats were folded and stuffed into the lampshade.
The carpet had been torn apart and emitted a foul stench. A potted plant from a cabinet had been smashed to the floor.
The hanging LCD TV looked as if it had been chewed on, its protective film peeled back.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
At that moment, two dogs dashed out, circling Yuu's legs, wagging their tails incessantly, trying to curry favor with him.
Yuu recognized both dogs; they were both females.
The Husky was named Hachi, and the Akita was named Star. Both were raised by Yumi Miyamoto.
The Akita originally served as a police dog, but her leg was broken during an arrest operation. After retiring due to injury, she was adopted by Yumi.
The Husky, Hachi, was abandoned by her owner for being too mischievous. Yumi found her while on patrol and brought her home.
Originally, both dogs were very hostile toward Yuu, especially the first time he visited.
While he and Yumi were having SEX in the bedroom, the Husky outside barked frantically and howled like a wolf from time to time.
Later, Yuu used magic to "discipline" the Husky and used healing magic to cure the Akita.
After that, these two dogs became incredibly obedient.
Now, they were even closer to Yuu than their owner, Yumi. The moment they caught his scent, they ran over to act affectionately.
Yumi bowed slightly, clasping her hands together, an embarrassed smile on her face.
"I'm so sorry. Originally, I wouldn't have needed everyone's help; I could have cleaned it up myself."
"But the night before yesterday, Hachi suddenly staged a prison break with Star. She chewed through the door of the dog room I set up for them, and they escaped."
"I finally understand what it means when they say Huskies will 'demolish the house.' In just one day, they tore my house apart like this. Except for the closed bedroom, everything else was ruined."
"And with so many assignments from above these past two days—I spent all of yesterday dealing with traffic accidents—I couldn't handle it alone. That's why I asked for your help."
Miwako glanced at the mountain of clothes on the sofa and the hats and bags stuffed everywhere. She couldn't help but point out, "Dogs wouldn't pile clothes up like that!"
Yumi hurriedly defended herself. "I live alone! Clothes are meant to be piled up and washed all at once to save water! Look how frugal I am!"
"Yuu-kun, you won't despise me for this, will you?"
Yumi immediately clung to Yuu's arm and acted spoiled, rubbing her soft breasts against him. The sight made Naeko Miike blush.
"No acting up." Yuu's large hand slapped Yumi's perky butt.
He didn't despise her. In fact, if Yumi hadn't refused, he could have sent several maids over to take care of her daily life at any moment.
Not just the ones he could hire with money, but many of the beautiful, cute, and sexy maid girls he had "lock-chained" were quite free.
So, no matter how lazy Yumi was, Yuu didn't mind. When they lived together in the future, there would be plenty of people to handle these trivial matters.
Besides, beautiful women are usually a bit lazy; it was harmless.
Furthermore, Miwako, with her strong career-woman style, was in a similar state at home. Among the three, only Sumiko could be considered domestically virtuous.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!"
The two dogs jumped up and down, lunging at Yuu's long legs, constantly trying to make their presence known.
Yuu reached out and rubbed the heads of the two large dogs, then commanded, "Quiet. Go face the wall and reflect on your actions."
"Mmm-woo! Woo-woo!"
"Woof-woo!"
A faint ripple of magic spread out. The two dogs, already highly intelligent, acted as if they completely understood human speech. They ran to the wall, sat down, stared at the wall, and made no more sound.
The three women nearby, excluding Yumi, were all dumbfounded.
Naeko Miike's mouth hung open, her cat-like eyes wide. "That's amazing! How did you do that?"
"Aren't Huskies supposed to be very dumb? How can she follow commands?"
"Wait, that wasn't a command... Can they understand human speech? Senior, where did you buy these dogs? They're so smart!"
Yumi quickly said, "It's not the dogs. It's because Yuu-kun trained them well."
The twin-tailed traffic cop looked at Yuu, her eyes shining with amazement.
Then, Yumi clutched her forehead in frustration. "But they only listen to Yuu-kun. Otherwise, they wouldn't have demolished the house this time."
Yuu took the lead and walked into the apartment.
"Alright, enough chitchat. I'll go to the kitchen and start cooking. Who's going to be my helper?"
Hearing this, Miwako looked up at the ceiling, and Yumi looked down at her shoes.
Sumiko glanced at the two women, about to respond, but Naeko spoke up first. "My cooking skills are decent. How about I help you?"
"That works."
Yuu nodded and issued his next command. "Then you three clean up the dining room first. Don't leave us without a table or chairs to eat on later."
"Naeko, come with me. We'll head to the kitchen and make lunch."
The two of them walked into the living room one after another, navigating through the heavy obstacles until they finally reached the kitchen.
The first thing that caught their eyes was the large refrigerator, heavily chewed and pitted.
Infuriated, Yuu cast his magic again and scolded, "Both of you, balance a slipper on your head and face the wall."
Naeko peeked her head out and saw the two dogs obediently pick up slippers in their mouths, balance them on their foreheads, and sit back down facing the wall.
"This is way too magical! Consultant Hoshimiya, how do you do it?"
Yuu didn't even blink as he began to bluff.
"All things possess a spirit. As long as you communicate with them using genuine sincerity, they will naturally understand!"
Hearing this, Naeko Miike half-understood, but her eyes were full of worship as she looked at Yuu.