By the time Fujino drove back from the crime scene, Sonoko and Ran had already been waiting at Café Poirot for quite some time.
Ran wore a deep yellow sweater dress, layered over a black shirt, with a pink coat draped over her shoulders. Sonoko wore a green sweater and a black knee-length skirt, covered by a brown furry coat, with short black socks covering her calves.
"By the way, where did Amuro-san go?"
As soon as Fujino entered Café Poirot, he heard Sonoko asking puzzledly.
"I haven't seen Amuro-san in a long time either."
Ran glanced around, replying likewise.
Hearing this, Fujino stroked his chin, also realizing.
It seemed he hadn't seen that Amuro Tooru fellow in quite a while.
The last time he saw Tooru, it was probably shortly before encountering Kuroba Kaito at the ski resort last time.
Thinking for a moment, he walked over and asked Enomoto Azusa, who was sweeping the floor, "Enomoto-san, what about the waiter who looks like me? I feel like I haven't seen him in a long time."
Enomoto Azusa was the female waitress at Café Poirot. She had long black hair, blue eyes, a baby face, giving off a neighborly older sister vibe. She usually wore casual clothes, often with a white apron over them.
"Fujino-kun, are you talking about Amuro-san?"
Enomoto Azusa thought for a moment. "He said recently he found some other high-paying job, so he resigned..."
"Resigned?"
Fujino stroked his chin.
The part-time emperor stopped working part-time and left?
Could it be the Organization gave up investigating him?
Fujino couldn't quite figure it out.
Since the other party was willing to use a dump truck to assassinate him and even sent an intelligence agent like Amuro Tooru to investigate him, logically, it shouldn't end just like this...
If they really were the ones who killed his parents, then logically, they shouldn't let him off so easily.
"Fujino-kun, I'll leave Ran to you."
Before leaving, Mouri Kogoro came over and whispered, "I'm really worried about her going to a gathering with a bunch of strangers."
"Leave it to me."
"Thanks for the trouble, Fujino-kun."
Mouri Kogoro patted Fujino's shoulder.
"Ran-neechan! I want to go to the gathering too!"
Just as Fujino was about to turn, get in the car, and drive off, Conan's tender voice sounded beside his ear.
Fujino turned to see Conan acting cute and pitiful with a sickly, weak posture.
"No!"
Mouri Kogoro walked over and picked Conan up. "You're already sick, and you still want to go out? Aren't you afraid your cold will get worse?"
Conan immediately threw a childish tantrum, acting up: "No! No! I want to be with Ran-neechan! I want to go to the mountain villa to see the snow too!"
Fujino stood aside, silently recording this scene with his visual enhancement glasses.
The current Conan was behaving like an elementary schooler with some intellectual issues.
It didn't look like acting at all.
Perhaps if you act a role long enough, it becomes real?
When, many years later, he released the recordings he'd been making with his glasses,
Kudo Shinichi would likely experience social death.
Probably wake up in the middle of the night, recall this embarrassing, socially fatal moment, and shout: Damn!
"Dad, maybe we should let Conan come with us."
Seeing Conan's weak and pitiful childish appearance, the soft-hearted Ran immediately felt sympathetic.
"Don't cause trouble for Ran and the others."
Seeing his daughter speak up, Mouri Kogoro couldn't say much more, just lecturing Conan.
"But the snow..."
Fujino looked up at the dim sky.
Snowflakes drifted down.
Unconsciously, winter had arrived...
He remembered it was summer just a few days ago.
Well damn, truly the Conan world.
On the way to the designated mountain villa.
Fujino, sitting in the driver's seat, glanced at the sickly Conan in the back seat.
"This kid Conan is sick again?"
"He probably caught a cold when we went to Izu a few days ago."
Ran explained. "After coming home from school last night, he suddenly caught a cold."
Fujino glanced at Conan.
This kid caught a cold again?
Could it be some strange side effect of APTX4869?
He remembered the last time they went bowling, this kid caught a cold too. He got sick way too often.
Or was he possessed?
He had encountered things like souls before.
For example, the Soul Lotus.
The Soul Lotus was a Gold item, possessing abilities far beyond reality like most Gold items. The accompanying Lotus Medallion could even absorb the soul power of the deceased to strengthen the Soul Lotus.
Souls... he still hadn't figured them out.
But based on current evidence, the Conan world shouldn't have ghosts or similar entities capable of physically interacting with the world.
And even if there were ghosts or souls, this Conan kid shouldn't attract them.
More likely fear than attraction.
After all, what soul would be blind enough to provoke the shinigami elementary student?
"Having a cold is one thing, but still coming with us to the gathering..."
Suzuki Sonoko, sitting in the back, complained, "Why does this little brat always like to cause trouble for us when he's sick?"
"Cough cough..."
Conan coughed. "Because I'm curious about magic and stuff."
Sonoko shot Conan a speechless look, then ignored him.
She took out a handkerchief, a red string, and a ring from her pocket, starting to perform a magic trick for Ran.
It involved covering the ring with the handkerchief, then making the ring appear threaded onto the knotted red string.
The method was simple, exploiting the common assumption that a ring could only be threaded onto a string through its ends.
This trick was quickly seen through by Conan.
"You little brat, you're so annoying!"
Sonoko angrily put away the magic props, crossing her arms and looking resentfully at Conan.
"Don't mind him."
Ran chuckled, smoothing things over. "This kid has been sulking ever since I mentioned attending this magic gathering."
"Could it be jealousy?"
Fujino chuckled lightly, adding a mischievous comment.
Under his mask, Conan's small face immediately panicked.
"Mhm, I think it's possible."
Sonoko nodded in agreement. "Conan here seems to follow Ran everywhere she goes to play. Ran has almost become this kid's nanny."
"How could that be? Conan is still just a child."
Ran chuckled, changing the subject. "But Sonoko, why did you suddenly start going online and getting into magic and stuff?"
"It's because I met someone really wonderful."
Sonoko covered her face.
"Someone wonderful?"
Ran looked puzzled.
"His name is Doi Toukatsu, twenty-one years old. I met him in the chat room."
Sonoko got a dreamy look on her face. "His wording is very polite, his jokes are sharp and witty, and sometimes he says some arrogant things too. Anyway, he must be a really wonderful guy..."
"A wonderful guy."
Fujino narrowed his eyes, starting to imagine a certain fish-fearing boy peeping into the girls' changing room.
Soon, the group drove to the vicinity of the designated villa.
Fujino was the first to open the trunk and get out.
"Even as a friend, is it really okay for me to attend this gathering?"
Ran opened the car door, sounding somewhat hesitant.
"Of course, it's fine."
Sonoko revealed a meaningful smile. "After all, I said I was bringing my girlfriend along. They'll definitely agree."
"Girlfriend?!"
Ran looked at Sonoko strangely, her face blushing slightly as she swallowed.
"Actually, my hidden identity in the chat room is male."
Sonoko smiled, interrupting her best friend's baseless and outrageous speculation.
"But won't they find out immediately when they see your name, Suzuki Sonoko?"
Ran looked puzzled by Sonoko's words.
"Of course not. Everyone in the chat room uses usernames."
Sonoko explained. "My username is Magician's Apprentice. Doi Toukatsu uses Red Herring."
Saying this, she also looked at Fujino, who had just opened the trunk.
"By the way, Fujino-senpai's hidden identity is a middle-aged office worker uncle named Sun Xiaochuan."
"Sun Xiaochuan?"
Ran looked at Fujino strangely.
"Just a hidden identity."
Fujino cleared his throat lightly, took the long travel bag from the trunk, then looked towards the location of this gathering, the designated mountain villa.
The villa had three stories overall, made of wood. Surrounding the wooden villa was a coniferous forest. Snow weighed down the green pines, yet the pines stood tall and straight.
In front of the villa was a wooden suspension bridge.
This bridge couldn't help but remind Fujino of Sonoko's family villa from before.
Both had wooden suspension bridges, both nestled in mountain forests.
The hobbies of these rich people were truly strange.
Crossing the wooden bridge, Fujino's group arrived at the villa entrance.
Ringing the doorbell, after a short while, a kind-faced middle-aged man wearing a brown sweater and blue trousers opened the door.
"You must be Magician's Apprentice, right?"
The middle-aged man asked with a smile, recognizing Sonoko's identity at a glance.
"Yes, but..."
Sonoko looked somewhat puzzled. "How did you know I was female?"
"It's obvious from your wording." The middle-aged man smiled, then turned towards a man and woman in the entrance hall.
"Trying so hard to act like an old man when you clearly seem like a girl. Am I right, you two?"
"Yeah."
A woman with round glasses, a ponytail, wearing a red dress and black stockings, chuckled, her pure voice sounding slightly mature. "Every time I saw her acting like that, I couldn't help but snicker."
"Me too."
A man in a white suit nearby also chimed in.
Hearing this, Sonoko's face turned red, almost emitting embarrassed vaporwave.
"In that case, this must be the 'girlfriend' you mentioned?"
The woman with glasses looked at Fujino, finding him somewhat familiar but didn't dwell on it.
"No... he's actually also a member of the chat room."
Sonoko, blushing, waved her hands, pulling Ran from behind her. "The friend I brought is this one."
"Also a member of the chat room?"
The woman thought for a moment, her tone somewhat surprised. "Could he be the Sun Xiaochuan you pulled in some time ago?"
"Sun Xiaochuan?"
Just then, a female voice sounded.
A mature-looking woman wearing a light blue sweater jacket over a dark blue short skirt, with a beauty mark near the corner of her mouth, walked over, also looking somewhat surprised. "I thought Sun Xiaochuan was an office uncle. Didn't expect him to be so young."
"Miss Tanaka, your disguise isn't bad either."
The man in the white suit teased.
"If we're talking about the best disguise, shouldn't it be you?"
The woman with glasses looked at the man in the white suit. "I always thought you were female. Didn't expect you to be male... Damn it, I even discussed underwear and perfume with you."
"How can you blame me... you were the one who initiated the discussion."
Amidst the lively banter, everyone introduced themselves.
The woman with glasses was named Kuroda Naoko, username Phantom. The mature-looking woman was Tanaka Kikue, username Ikasama Doji. And the man in the white suit was Hamano Toshiya, username Vanishing Pani.
Yes, this guy was one of the two who flamed Fujino a few days ago.
As for the middle-aged man, his name was Ara Yoshinori, username Silent Ventriloquist.
The one whose child was a fan of Detective Fujino.
This villa was provided by him for the gathering.
Additionally, there was another man dressed all in black.
That man wasn't part of the chat group but a university student hired by Ara Yoshinori for this occasion.
"Ahem."
Fujino cleared his throat lightly. "Hello everyone, I'm Sun Xiaochuan. My real name is Fujino."
Damn it, saying this username still felt a bit awkward.
Should have chosen a different one.
'Ashimoto I', perhaps not bad either.
"Fujino... could you be that famous detective Fujino?"
Kuroda Naoko murmured, then looked at Fujino with sparkling eyes. "I thought you just looked similar, didn't expect it was really you."
"Famous detective?"
Tanaka Kikue paused upon hearing this, her expression stiffening slightly, but the stiffness vanished in an instant.
"Just call me Fujino."
Fujino waved his hand, his gaze lingering on Tanaka Kikue, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"What a coincidence. No wonder Miss Suzuki spoke up for Detective Fujino like that."
Just then, Kuroda Naoko suddenly teased Hamano Toshiya. "Speaking of which, didn't someone write a long critique of Detective Fujino in the chat room some time ago?"
"Uh..."
Hamano Toshiya's expression immediately turned strange. "I didn't know Detective Fujino was in the chat room back then."
Question: After flaming someone online, what do you do when you meet the actual person who busted a criminal organization's hideout at an offline gathering?
Urgent!
"Hahaha, it's alright."
Fujino's lips curled slightly, enunciating clearly, "Ignorance is no crime."
"That expression..."
Conan, seeing the fake smile on Fujino's face, suddenly shivered as unpleasant memories surfaced.
He knew Fujino's style.
The type who wouldn't confront you face-to-face but would stab you in the back later.
Not a single white spot if you cut him open.
He had suffered greatly from it.
Thinking this, he looked at Hamano Toshiya with eyes full of sympathy.
"By the way, where is Doi... Red Herring?"
Just then, Sonoko, having scanned the surroundings for a while, suddenly asked. "Don't tell me he hasn't arrived yet?"
"He's already here, just upstairs unpacking."
Ara Yoshinori pointed upstairs behind him.
A sound of footsteps came. Fujino looked up and saw a chubby man wearing a blue hoodie coming down the wooden stairs from upstairs.