A crisp knock sounded on the door.
A few seconds later, Ran's gentle voice came from outside. "Hoshino, wake up."
The blankets stirred. Kurosawa Hoshino turned his head to the side, revealing his handsome face. After a groggy moment, he slowly sat up and yawned. Rubbing the corners of his eyes, he said weakly, "Come in."
The door opened. Ran stood quietly in the doorway, wearing an orange short-sleeved shirt and white shorts that reached her thighs. A beautiful smile curved her lips.
"Sleeping in again?" She walked briskly to the window and pulled the curtains open completely. Sunlight flooded the room, chasing away any lingering laziness.
"No school today. I'm sleeping in a bit longer."
"Lazybones."
"I'm the lazybones, and you're the little lazybones. So coming over this early means you're going out again, right?" Kurosawa Hoshino's expression was certain.
Though they hadn't known each other long, he had a pretty good grasp of Ran's basic habits. Every time she came to wake him in the morning, it was either because she had something to do or she was going out.
"Hehe." Ran smiled shyly, her beautiful lavender eyes blinking as if she were flirting with him. "A novel recently got a new volume. I wanted you to come with me to buy it."
"So that's why you woke me up and won't let me sleep in?" Kurosawa closed his eyes and lay back down, looking like a complete lazy bum.
"Oh, come on." Ran came over, grabbed his hand, and pulled it up forcefully. "Hoshino, come with me! Sonoko can't come—she's at a banquet. If you come with me, I'll clean your house this afternoon."
"Cleaning? Not impossible." Kurosawa swore to the author that he wasn't agreeing because he was lazy.
"Then get up quickly."
"Okay. You go out. I'll change."
"Hurry up. That novel is very popular. If we go too late, it might be sold out, and we'll have to go somewhere far to buy it." Ran finished speaking and left the room, closing the door behind her.
About two minutes later, the sound of a door opening came—but this time, two voices. Conan also came out.
He looked at Ran busy in the living room, paused, and asked, "Ran-neechan, are you going out again?"
Conan knew very well that whenever Ran came over, she was almost always going out.
"Yeah." Ran smiled, then looked at Kurosawa standing at the door and urged, "Hoshino, hurry up and wash up."
"Ran-neechan, Hoshino-nii, I'm going out now."
Kurosawa, about to wash up, glanced at Conan with surprise.
Something's not right. Very not right.
Before, Conan had tried every means to go with them. This time, he was leaving on his own initiative. Something was wrong.
"Where are you going?" Kurosawa asked calmly.
"Professor Agasa's house." Conan thought of the phone call he'd received last night and felt a wave of helplessness. Since he'd already agreed to go out with the professor, he couldn't go with Ran and the others.
He knew that if he didn't go, Professor Agasa definitely couldn't keep an eye on Ayumi and the other two children. As for Haibara? Thinking of her cold face, he knew she wasn't good with kids. After thinking it over, he realized he had to take matters into his own hands.
"Professor Agasa's house? Go ahead." Kurosawa lost interest immediately and turned to go to the bathroom.
Conan walked toward the door, glancing back at Ran every few steps. Watching her start cleaning again, he remembered what Kurosawa had told him long ago—that this was something only the female lead did. His heart ached slightly.
Reluctantly, he left, quickly going downstairs and running toward Professor Agasa's house.
Half an hour later, at a bookstore in Beika Town.
Ran ran up panting and saw the shop owner tidying the bookshelves. "Excuse me, do you have the latest Detective Samonji?"
The owner, a chubby old man, shook his head. "Sorry, sold out. The next batch won't arrive until tomorrow. Miss, why don't you leave your number? I'll call you when it comes."
"Thank you, but no. I'll check other shops." Ran said dejectedly, then abruptly turned and glared angrily at the nonchalant Kurosawa Hoshino.
Kurosawa casually shifted his gaze to the street, pretending to admire the scenery.
Ran walked around to face him.
Kurosawa turned his head again.
Ran walked around to face him again.
The shop owner watched this scene, recalling his own lost youth. A smile of schadenfreude spread across his face. Youth is truly wonderful...
"Alright." Kurosawa smiled helplessly, looking at Ran's puffed-out cheeks. "This time it was my fault. I was delayed on the way. How about this—I'll treat you to dessert after school next time?"
"You said it." Ran stopped puffing her cheeks, her emotions calming.
"Don't worry. I said it."
"Okay. Let's go to the next place."
Just then, a gentle voice came from beside them. "Miss, if you don't mind that I've already flipped through this book, you can have it."
Kurosawa and Ran turned to look at the speaker.
It was a woman with long, flowing brown hair. Dressed simply and neatly, she looked gentle and elegant. She held a book in her hand—the very Detective Samonji novel Ran wanted to buy—but her expression seemed somewhat sad.
"Miss, that's okay. We can buy it at the next store." Ran gently refused.
The woman gripped the book slightly tighter, her knuckles becoming more prominent. She looked at Kurosawa Hoshino and said softly, "Actually, I mainly want to ask Kurosawa-kun for a favor. It's abrupt, I know, but I have no other choice."
"Ah?" Ran exclaimed, looking at the seemingly frail woman. She gently nudged Kurosawa beside her and whispered, "Hoshino, this lady seems to be in real trouble. Why don't you help her?"
"Let me ask." Kurosawa replied.
He wasn't surprised to be recognized by a stranger. He recognized the woman before him. He also knew what favor she wanted from him.
At the same time, he couldn't help but admire Ran's good fortune. They had unexpectedly encountered some Origin Points delivered right to their doorstep.
He wasn't about to let them slip by.