"Ouch! Who the heck was it?" Conan groaned, rubbing the back of his head as he struggled up from the bed.
His clothes had been changed—someone had swapped them for a fresh set. Slipping on slippers, he bolted out of the room.
Thud, thud, thud. Rapid footsteps echoed as Conan raced from the second floor to the first.
Azuma Shoyo was on the couch, chatting with Shizuka Marukawa and Chie Morinaga, when he spotted Conan barreling down. "Conan, where you rushing off to?" he called.
"Out to find Ran-neechan!" Conan yelled without looking back.
He swapped shoes and dashed outside.
"That kid's got energy for days," Chie said with a laugh.
"Yeah, just hope it's not too much," Azuma Shoyo replied, a knowing edge to his tone.
Find Ran? More like hunting the killer back at the scene. Azuma Shoyo knew Conan too well—this guy was definitely doubling back.
Still, he wasn't worried. Conan was a former protagonist, after all, loaded with luck. Without it, his constant death-wish antics would've ended him long ago!
Around 5 PM, the maids had dinner ready. Everyone gathered in the dining room to eat.
That's when Ran noticed Conan was gone. "Anyone seen Conan?" she asked, coming back from a fruitless upstairs search.
"He ran out past 4, saying he'd find you. Didn't catch him, Ran?" Chie asked.
Ran shook her head, blank-faced. "Nope. He never came to me."
Her worry crept in as she spoke.
"Call him," Azuma Shoyo suggested. "I remember Conan's got a phone."
"Right! Almost forgot!" Ran pulled out her phone, found Conan's number in her contacts, and dialed.
The line buzzed with waiting tones. After a bit, it connected.
"Hey! Conan, where are you? We're eating!" Ran said into the mic.
On the other end, Conan was panting, running while glancing back. "Ran-neechan, I'm out playing. Be back soon—start without me!" he huffed into the phone.
"Gotta go—grabbing a cab!" He hung up before Ran could press further.
Turning, he checked behind him. No one followed. He let out a relieved breath. "Scared me half to death. What were those things?" he muttered, gulping air.
Turns out, he'd cabbed back to the amusement park, dead-set on nailing whoever knocked him out—likely the murderer. With his stubborn streak, no way he'd let some creep roam free.
But when he got there, the scene was sealed off—no outsiders allowed. Conan being Conan, though? Never one to quit. He'd snuck through a corner to scope it out.
Big mistake—that's when it all went sideways!
Resting a moment, he didn't dare linger. The sun was dipping low on the horizon. He flagged a taxi at the curb, and soon it sped off.
Meanwhile, inside a tall building at the park, darkness hid where sunlight couldn't reach. Several pairs of blood-red eyes tracked the fading cab, glinting with murderous hunger.
By 6 PM, the sun was down. A taxi rolled up to the villa district's gate.
Conan fished out cash from his pocket, paid the fare, then hopped out, sprinting toward the villa.
Maybe it was his imagination, but he swore eyes were boring into his back the whole way—creepy as hell.
Soon, he reached the Suzuki villa. "I'm back!" he shouted, stepping inside.
He swapped to slippers and darted in.
"Conan!" Ran stormed over, fuming.
"Where'd you go? How could you run off alone in a strange place?!"
Seeing her mad, Conan shrank, awkward. "Uh… Ran-neechan, I won't do it again!" he said, head bowed, playing the good kid.
Azuma Shoyo watched, grinning. He barely resisted snapping a pic.
"Next time?!" Ran snapped, hands on hips, glaring at Conan.
She was genuinely pissed this time.
Just that afternoon, she'd learned the world wasn't so simple—beyond normal life, there was a supernatural layer. Not just powered-up good guys, but bad ones too, and things that weren't even human!
Shoyo had told her this island was crawling with demons. Imagining Conan wandering solo on a demon-infested rock? Her heart nearly stopped.
If something happened to him, how'd she face Dr. Agasa? Should've left him behind!
And her dad—when she'd called earlier, women's voices giggled in the background. No guessing needed: Kogoro was off fooling around again.
Ugh! She'd been busting her butt to reunite her parents, and he kept tanking it—always out messing around. How's Mom supposed to come around like this?
Conan eyed Ran's fury, clueless why she was so fired up today. But he wasn't dumb—now wasn't the time to argue.
Head down, sincere apology? Way better than a thousand excuses!
Sure enough, seeing his attitude, Ran's anger fizzled. "Fine. You haven't eaten, right? Come eat!" she said.
--- Translator Note ---
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