Meanwhile, Ran, having raced over in a state of anxiety, finally arrived at the detached Western-style house where Shinichi lived.
Just by looking at the impressive scale of this house, it was clear that Shinichi came from a well-off family.
When Ran arrived, Shinichi was just about to step into a police car parked in front of his house.
"Shinichi!"
Ran shouted.
Shinichi, who had just placed his hand on the car door handle, turned around, blinking in confusion. "Ran, what are you doing here so late?"
"You're going..." Ran looked at the police car in front of her, her heart clenching.
Shinichi didn't think much of it and casually explained, "Looks like the surveillance team got a shot of Nishikawa Makoto. They want me to come to the Metropolitan Police Department to assist the investigation."
The number of surveillance cameras here in Japan isn't as dense as in England, but Makoto was strutting around openly on the streets, so it was natural he got caught on camera.
"Don't go!"
Hearing the name 'Nishikawa Makoto' come out of Kudo Shinichi's mouth, Mouri Ran grew even more frantic. She stepped forward and grabbed his arm tightly, her voice tinged with tears.
"Huh?"
Shinichi was taken aback, confused by Ran's intense reaction.
Ran was about to spill everything about the time slip and the terrifying Makoto.
But as she was about to speak, she suddenly remembered the system's rule: do not reveal one's identity as a player, violation results in immediate execution.
Her eyes reddening with anxiety, she could only vaguely warn him, "Sensei... Ni, Nishikawa Makoto has superpowers. You must stop investigating him, otherwise, you will absolutely come to a bad end."
Hearing the word 'superpowers', Takagi Wataru, who had driven to pick up Shinichi, almost choked on his own saliva, then couldn't help but curl his lips into a stifled smile.
Shinichi looked utterly exasperated. He waved his hand and said, "Ran, I'm busy. If you want to joke around, you can do it at school tomorrow."
"It's true!"
Ran stomped her foot in frustration, tears almost falling. "He really has superpowers! Please stop investigating! Shinichi, you really could die!"
"Okay, okay, actually, I have superpowers too. I can kick a soccer ball hard enough to bring down a meteorite. Don't worry about it."
Shinichi replied dismissively, thinking Ran was just being unreasonable.
Having said that, Shinichi opened the rear door and got in nimbly, then said to Takagi Wataru in the driver's seat, "Officer Takagi, we can go."
Ran was still outside the car, pounding on the window, her voice tearful as she shouted, "Shinichi, don't go! Don't go!"
"Just go home!"
Shinichi left these words through the window and rode off in the police car.
He wondered if Ran had been practicing karate for so long that she'd gone soft in the head.
By the time Shinichi arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division office, he found the scene filled with officers laughing heartily, the atmosphere merry.
Amidst this clamor, a mature, beautiful woman in a sharp, tailored OL uniform with a slender, elegant figure stood with a dark expression, completely out of place among the laughing officers.
It was Ran's mother, the [Queen of the Legal World], Kisaki Eri.
Seeing this, Shinichi couldn't help but shiver slightly, a sense of instinctive fear rising within him.
When he was younger, he used to sneak into crime scenes and often dragged Ran along, which greatly displeased Eri. Every time she saw him, she'd give him an earful.
Over time, this left Shinichi with a lasting psychological shadow regarding this aunt.
Shinichi shrank his neck and walked over to Kogoro, who was almost crying with laughter. "Uncle, what's going on?"
Kogoro wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes, pointed at his estranged wife of ten years, Eri, and said in a teasing tone, "Eri just told us that Makoto kid has superpowers and that we should stop investigating. What do you think? Hilarious, right?"
"Superpowers again?"
Shinichi looked in disbelief at Eri, whose face was pale with anger.
'The daughter says it, and the mother says it too?'
Eri's stunningly beautiful face had darkened to its limit.
She had just returned, dropped everything she was doing, and made the effort to come here to warn them about the danger of Makoto, but none of these good-for-nothings believed her.
What angered her the most was Kogoro. Not only did he not support her, but he also joined the others in mocking her.
At that moment, Megure Juzo stepped forward and raised his hand to signal his subordinates to stop laughing.
But even so, he couldn't quite suppress the amusement lingering at the corners of his eyes as he advised Eri, "Sorry, Eri, but it's just that what you're saying is really impossible to believe. Is it because you've been taking on too many cases lately? Stressed?"
Eri couldn't be bothered to waste more words on these people and turned to leave without looking back.
…
On the other side, in the empty classroom of the Shuchi'in Academy's middle school division, Makoto had finished hearing the whole story from Yu.
Although Yu was a child from a wealthy family, a Pure Student, he had never been good at communicating with people and was always an inconspicuous, marginal figure in class.
He harbored a bit of a favorable feeling towards the popular girl in his class, Otomo Kyoko.
However, this feeling wasn't romantic affection… it was simply because Otomo Kyoko was gentle and cheerful, the most popular person in the class and even the entire middle school division. She was kind and friendly to everyone she met, including the socially awkward Yu.
Kyoko was dating another popular, charismatic boy in the middle school division named Ogino Ko.
He was also a Pure Student, had a good family background, was handsome, articulate, and quite popular among the students.
Their relationship was an open secret in the middle school division. Many people blessed this 'ideal couple', including Yu, who genuinely wished Otomo Kyoko happiness.
The school administration turned a blind eye to it… after all, whether in the middle or high school division, Shuchi'in Academy had too many students with impressive backgrounds. As long as things didn't go too far, the school basically didn't interfere.
However, by chance, Yu discovered that Ogino Ko wasn't as glamorous as he appeared on the surface.
Not only was he cheating with other girls behind her back, but he also took intimate photos of the girls he had been with and sold them in dirty, unspeakable trades.
It was the kind of thing you often see in those doujinshi.
When Yu found out the truth, he was furious and immediately confronted Ogino Ko.
But Ogino Ko was not ashamed… instead, he brazenly showed Yu the intimate photos of Otomo Kyoko and even lewdly invited him to join in.
Although Yu was introverted, timid, and inarticulate, he had a strong sense of justice deep down.
Upon hearing this, he could no longer contain his anger. He attacked Ogino Ko, pinning him down and beating him up.
However, afterward, Ogino Ko used his silver tongue, honed in the drama club, to twist the truth.
He maliciously spread rumors to classmates and the school administration, claiming that Yu had harbored unrequited love for Otomo Kyoko and attacked him out of jealousy.
When this story came out, it caused an uproar throughout the middle school division.
The school administration demanded that Yu write a reflection letter and make a public apology in front of the entire school.
Fearing that Ogino Ko would leak Otomo Kyoko's photos, Yu could only remain silent.
His classmates, and practically the entire middle school division, after believing Ogino Ko's lies, completely isolated, ostracized, and gave him the cold shoulder. No one wanted to hear his side of the story… everyone treated him like a shameless pervert.
Yu had consistently refused to write this unfounded reflection letter, unwilling to bow to injustice.
But as time passed, the school administration's pressure increased, and his parents, also believing the rumors, didn't trust his explanations.
Finally, today, his homeroom teacher issued an ultimatum: he must submit the reflection letter by tomorrow, or they would take action, possibly even expelling him.
So, that led to the scene just now.