Beep beep beep~
The phone rang. Kurosawa Hoshino took it out, glanced at the screen, and answered.
"Kurosawa-kun, I'm downstairs at the Mouri Detective Agency. Could you come down for a moment?"
"Wait for me." Kurosawa hung up, told Ran and Kogorō, and headed for the door.
Kogorō pouted. "You always have so much going on."
Before Kurosawa could even open the door, it opened first. Conan walked in, looked at him, paused for a moment, and obediently greeted him. "Hoshino-nii."
Kurosawa nodded, walked past him, and quickly went downstairs.
Seeing him in such a hurry, Conan peered downstairs curiously. A woman was hugging Kurosawa tightly, tears welling in her eyes, her mouth moving as if she was saying something.
Conan's eyes lit up. Great opportunity! I have to tell Ran.
He'd been thinking about how Ran and Kurosawa's relationship had grown increasingly close lately. He hadn't had a chance until now. Though he didn't know the exact nature of their relationship, seeing them embrace meant it was definitely something special.
He quietly slipped back inside and announced loudly, "Hey, Ran-neechan! Hoshino-nii has a girlfriend!"
"Hmm? Girlfriend?" Kogorō immediately turned to look.
"Conan, how do you know?" Ran blinked her lavender eyes, curious.
"There's a very pretty, very gentle-looking older sister downstairs hugging Hoshino-nii."
"Really?" Ran remembered the phone call Hoshino had just received.
Kogorō was already pressed against the windowpane. "Dammit, I can't see anything!"
He could just open the window and look out, but as an elder, he couldn't do something so tasteless. He could only peek discreetly, without revealing himself.
"Ran-neechan, aren't you going to take a look?" Conan asked.
"I'll take a look." Ran nodded, went to the door, and peered down the stairs.
She froze at what she saw. Then she went out and hurried downstairs.
Conan was puzzled. Why did she go down?
He crept closer and cautiously peered down—only to see the beautiful older woman holding Kurosawa's and Ran's hands, one on each side.
What's going on? Seeing that things weren't developing as he'd imagined, Conan decided to stop hiding. He tiptoed downstairs.
Halfway down, he overheard the three talking.
"Ms. Shinmei, is your father alright?"
"He's been taken to the hospital. I'm so grateful to Kurosawa-kun for deciphering his code. He laughed so loudly—his complexion seemed to improve immediately. But—" Shinmei Kaori's face couldn't hide her sorrow. "My mother said that Dad is beyond cure. The hospital can only alleviate his pain."
"I see—" Ran glanced at Kurosawa, surprised that he had been right. Shinmei Nintaro's time had indeed come to an end.
"So thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to see my father one last time. I'm sorry, I can't stay any longer. I have to go to the hospital." Shinmei Kaori gave them one last hug and got into her car parked by the roadside.
After the car drove away, Ran sighed, her spirits low. "I'll never be able to read Shinmei-san's novels again."
"You can still read the novels," Kurosawa replied with a smile.
"Didn't you say there was no cure?" Ran turned and stared at him.
"When you came down, Ms. Shinmei told me that she's going to take over Mr. Shinmei's pen name and finish writing this novel."
"Really? That's great!" Ran's face lit up again.
"Ran-neechan, Hoshino-nii." Conan's voice came from behind them.
They turned. Conan had climbed the last step and stood before them.
Ran smiled. "Conan, don't make such a fuss next time. Ms. Shinmei isn't Hoshino's girlfriend."
Conan's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected Ran to say what he'd just said.
"Oh? Girlfriend?" Kurosawa smiled brightly and stared intently at Conan, making the boy nervously look away.
"Yes. Conan said—" Ran thought it was just a misunderstanding—nothing serious—so she repeated what Conan had said upstairs.
Kurosawa's smile widened. His laughter became even more cheerful. But to Conan, it was a devil's smile, a devil's laughter. A bad feeling lingered in his heart.
"Not bad, Conan. You seem quite concerned about me." Kurosawa said languidly, patting the boy's head.
"No, no—" Conan didn't dare speak loudly. A premonition rose in his heart that Kurosawa might have already sensed his true thoughts.
"Conan, do you really like being a detective?"
"Well—" Conan hesitated, unsure how to answer.
"Don't worry. I have high hopes for you. I've decided to give you some training. For the next seven days, you'll be washing my socks."
"Huh?" Conan and Ran both exclaimed in confusion.
Ran said weakly, "Hoshino, why does becoming a detective start with washing socks?"
Kurosawa flicked her forehead and laughed. "Don't pry into our detective business."
Ran rubbed her forehead, understanding that Kurosawa was punishing Conan. She stopped interrupting.
"Hoshino-nii, I—"
"What, you don't want to?" Kurosawa interrupted, his eyes narrowing. He leaned forward slightly, staring down at Conan with an imposing air.
Conan's face turned green. Still, he tried to plead. "Hoshino-nii, actually I don't want to be a detective. I don't want this training."
"You do."
"I—"
"I'll say it one last time. You do. Understand?"
"I—I understand." Conan heard Kurosawa's increasingly harsh tone. Thinking about having to wash his smelly socks for seven days, he was furious—but in the end, he had no choice but to give in.
"Not bad." Kurosawa smiled with satisfaction.
Ran glanced sideways, shook her head, and muttered, "He just likes to bully kids."
"By the way, Ran-neechan, what happened just now?" Conan knew the matter of his careless words was over, so he asked about what had just occurred.
If you're dying to know what happens in Chapter 94 and beyond, consider supporting the mystery on Patreon! patreon.com/WangLing338
Why join the Investigation?
Advanced Access: Patrons are currently [5] chapters ahead of the public release.
Exclusive Intel: Get access to character profile deep-dives and plot teasers.
Support the Case: Your support helps me dedicate more time to writing high-quality updates!