"Oh, I see—" Ran suddenly realized. Then she snapped back to the present and noticed the ambiguous position they were in.
The next moment, Kurosawa Hoshino felt a massive force shove him backward. He nearly flew off his feet.
"Hiss—" He gasped and rubbed his chest where he'd been pushed. It felt like his ribs had almost cracked.
Looking at Ran, who was blushing with embarrassment, he twitched his lips and said helplessly, "Why such a big reaction?"
"You have the nerve to say that." Ran's face grew even redder. "You were too close. You scared me."
Kurosawa was speechless. He took a few deep breaths before he started feeling better.
After a moment, he said, "Alright. Are you going home, or do you want to buy another copy of Detective Samonji?"
"No need. The one Ms. Shinmei gave me is enough." Ran hugged the book to her chest like a treasure, not minding that it had been read before.
"Then let's go back."
"Okay."
Soon, the two returned to normal. The little incident hadn't affected their relationship at all. It was just a slightly ambiguous moment, not a full-blown kiss. Ran recovered quickly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Professor Agasa was keeping his word. He'd brought a group of kids to see an old friend—the director of Gomera, a man named Mikami Daisuke, an elderly gentleman.
Gomera was incredibly famous. If Kurosawa Hoshino were here, he'd recognize it as a tribute to Godzilla from another life. However, in Conan's world, although Gomera was ten years old and somewhat dated, it still held god-like status in children's hearts—just like Kamen Rider. Extremely popular.
Ayumi and her two friends were especially excited to be going to the Gomera filming location.
Of course, unsurprisingly, a series of events ensued. Eventually, it escalated into a murder case.
The one handling this murder case was none other than Inspector Megure.
He stared at the group of young witnesses before him and asked seriously, "You're saying Gomera killed someone? Then he ran to the rooftop, jumped off, and his suit caught fire?"
"Yeah," Ayumi nodded. "It was super scary."
Genta and Mitsuhiko gestured dramatically. "He used a sharp knife and stabbed that uncle to death in one go."
Megure sighed. He felt he shouldn't have had any hope for these three kids. As for Conan and Haibara, he didn't plan to ask any more questions. He turned to have his subordinates investigate.
Soon, they found the witnesses and suspects. One woman and three men.
First, the woman: Sakaguchi Yumi. She had encountered Gomera leaving the scene after the murder in the corridor outside the filming location.
Then, the three men.
First: Adachi Ryota, the set designer. The police questioned him about why he'd left a bucket of green paint on the filming location.
Second: Director Mikami Daisuke.
Third: Matsui Hidehiro, the suit actor for Gomera. He was the first person attacked by the killer. Stabbed in the thigh. It was after hearing his screams that Conan and the others rushed in. Following the direction he pointed, they finally witnessed the murder.
The victim's name was Kamei Osamu, a film producer. Before his death, he'd made various disparaging remarks about Gomera—remarks overheard by everyone.
In other worlds, that might not seem like much. But in Conan's world... one could only say his death was not unjust.
"Just the four of you." Inspector Megure looked at the notes in his hand. "First, Mr. Matsui and Ms. Sakaguchi—you're out for now. Mr. Matsui's thigh is injured, so you couldn't have killed anyone. Ms. Sakaguchi encountered the killer in the Gomera suit outside the corridor, so she couldn't be the killer either. So..." He turned to the remaining two. "Mr. Adachi, Director Mikami. Tell me your alibis."
Mikami Daisuke wiped sweat with a towel. "I was in the studio room doing final storyboard checks. There were no witnesses."
Conan leaned in, innocently asking, "Director, why are you so sweaty?"
Inspector Megure narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "The Gomera suit is thick. If someone wore it to kill someone, they'd be covered in sweat too."
Of the four men, only the director was sweating profusely. Suspicion was inevitable.
Mikami Daisuke said helplessly, "I sweat very easily. Others can confirm that."
Hearing this, Adachi Ryota and the other two nodded, each adding a comment—essentially saying that their director was indeed like that, and that everyone knew he sweated easily.
Just as Inspector Megure was about to question Adachi Ryota, a clear voice rang in his ears.
"Inspector Megure, why don't you just call Kurosawa Hoshino for help?"
"Hmm?" He looked down. A cool-faced little girl stared back at him. He knew her name—he'd asked before arriving. Haibara Ai.
"Little girl, Hoshino-kun—"
"Don't you two appear in newspapers and on the news together all the time?" Ai interrupted him. "Since you're so close, why don't you just call him?"
"Uh—" Megure was quite embarrassed by the question. Still, he had to answer. "Well, I heard Professor Agasa call you Ai, so I'll call you Ai too. Ai, although Hoshino-kun is very good at deduction, we police can't rely on him for everything. If we called him every time there was a case, what would be the point of us? So I only actively seek his help for cases that Hoshino-kun personally encounters."
The truth was different. He was afraid that Kurosawa would think he was incompetent—calling all the time, using him as a tool—and then stop answering. That would strain their relationship, a huge loss.
So when there were no cases involving Kurosawa, Inspector Megure tried his best to let the police handle it themselves. He resolutely avoided bothering Kurosawa unless Hoshino offered to help. Alternatively, if someone Kurosawa knew was at the scene, that person would call for help. For example, in the coffee shop murder case, when Megure knew Kurosawa wasn't there, he didn't have Ran call. Ran called herself.
"Is that so?" Ai stared intently at Inspector Megure. He started sweating, his eyes darting nervously left and right.
Suddenly, she said, "Inspector Megure, I'm quite familiar with Hoshino-nii. Could you lend me your phone so I can call him?"
"Huh? Cough, isn't that a bit much?"
Even as he said it, his hand involuntarily took out his phone and handed it to her.
Ai hadn't wanted to come today. Now there was a case. She just wanted to resolve it quickly and go home. So she decided to call a professional.
She took the phone, walked over to Conan, and asked casually, "You have his number, don't you? Since you live together. Tell me. I'll call him. I believe with his deductive skills, he should be able to solve this easily."
Conan's face darkened. His teeth ground together. He desperately wanted to refuse—to say he didn't know. This was a rare case where Kurosawa wasn't around, and he desperately wanted to solve it himself.
But looking at Inspector Megure's expectant eyes, Conan ultimately didn't dare lie. He really did have Kurosawa's number saved. If Megure and Kurosawa talked about it someday, he'd be exposed. He couldn't take that risk.
Back at the second floor of the Mōri Detective Agency, Kurosawa Hoshino lay on the sofa, staring at his system panel. When he saw the Origin Points change from 18 to 19, he knew Shinmei Kaori had met her father.
"Hehe." Kurosawa chuckled, in a very good mood.
He took out his phone, about to browse the news, when a call came in. Seeing the contact name—Megure Juzo—he answered. "Inspector Megure, what's up?"
"Hoshino-nii—it's me." A reluctant little girl's voice came through.
"Ai? Why are you calling me on Inspector Megure's phone? Wait—don't tell me you're in a case?"
Kurosawa Hoshino realized he was only one Origin Point away. His eyes lit up as he eagerly awaited her reply.