"Suzuki-san, here you go."
After school in the afternoon, Ema led the group back to his home and returned the briefcase to Sonoko. "You should check it."
This made Ran, who had tagged along, smile slightly. She was very happy!
To see a classmate turn back from the brink, she felt an indescribable sense of fulfillment and relief.
Shinichi, who had also come along, opened his mouth, wanting to tell Sonoko to check the cash.
To see if that guy had pulled a fast one and secretly swapped in some fake bills.
But after a thought, he decided against it.
Looking at Sonoko's infatuated state, she would probably just ignore him anyway!
"Oh, no need to check! I trust you're not that kind of person, Shiraishi-san," Sonoko said with a grin as she accepted it, with no intention of checking.
This made Shinichi scoff internally. He knew he was right!
"Sonoko, this case is so heavy, let me help you with it!" Shinichi said, finding an excuse to take the briefcase from her.
He then opened it, let out a "Wow," and said, "One hundred million yen! I've never seen so much money in my life!"
While pretending to be amazed, Shinichi randomly checked the bills.
After checking more than a dozen times and finding no fakes, he finally started to believe that Ema had truly turned over a new leaf.
However... it couldn't be ruled out that the other party was playing the long game to catch a big fish!
If that was the case, then Shinichi was powerless!
If Sonoko wanted to be scammed, there was nothing he could do!
Who told her to be so boy-crazy?
"Shiraishi-san, you can just call me Sonoko. All my friends do!" Sonoko said familiarly. "Calling me Suzuki-san all the time feels too distant."
"Okay, then you can just call me Ema," Ema wouldn't refuse this chance to get closer.
He suggested, "I know a good dessert shop nearby. How about we go for some afternoon tea?"
He wanted to get familiar with the main group as soon as possible, which would make it easier to get involved in cases later.
"Okay, okay!" Sonoko agreed without hesitation.
"Ah... um... I'm afraid I don't have time," Ran said apologetically. "I promised Shinichi I'd go to the bookstore with him to buy mystery novels."
"Huh? We did?" Shinichi didn't react, looking suspiciously at Ran, not remembering when he had said that.
"Yes, we did! We talked about it on the phone yesterday, did you forget?" Ran quickly gave Shinichi a meaningful look.
"Ah! Right, right, right, I almost forgot," Shinichi finally realized Ran was deliberately creating an opportunity for Sonoko and quickly played along.
Seeing that Shinichi understood her signal, Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
She rolled her eyes at Shinichi, wondering if his entire IQ was dedicated to deduction.
He was so brilliant at deduction, but when it came to these things, he was as dense as a block of wood.
"Aww~ In that case, it'll just be me and Ema," Sonoko said, winking at Ran. Her gratitude was all in that look.
She believed that with their many years of friendship, Ran would understand!
And Ran did understand, responding with a smile.
Ema silently watched them exchange glances.
He pretended he was blind and saw nothing.
After leaving the apartment building, the group walked along the road, planning to go their separate ways after leaving the residential area.
However, just then, a black van suddenly drove up and stopped in front of the four of them.
Clang!
The door opened, and a masked robber raised a pistol and fired two shots into the air, shouting, "Don't move! This is a kidnapping!"
"What? Kidnapped again?" Sonoko was stunned.
She was kidnapped just yesterday, how could she be kidnapped again today?
Was she just fated to be kidnapped?
"What do you want?" Ran immediately stood protectively in front of Sonoko. "If you leave now, we can pretend nothing happened!"
"Huh?" The masked kidnapper looked at the high school girl with confusion, thinking there was something wrong with her head.
They had carried out this operation after meticulous planning, and she thought she could send them away with just one sentence?
"Get lost!" The masked kidnapper impatiently got out of the car, waving Ran away. "My target isn't you, it's Sonoko Suzuki!"
"I won't go! You can tie me up too!" Ran was determined not to abandon Sonoko.
"Fine! Then you can collect the ransom for me!" The masked kidnapper thought it was a good idea and readily agreed.
He urged, "Get in the car now!"
Shinichi, standing to the side, was frantic and wanted to do something.
However, he was being closely watched by the driver, who was holding a gun, and didn't dare make a move!
Just then, Ema spoke up. "Wait a minute... I don't think you need to go through all this trouble."
"Who told you to speak, kid?" The masked kidnapper suddenly pointed the gun at Ema, clearly annoyed by people who complicated things and ruined their plans!
"I certainly don't want to... You want money, right? I don't think kidnapping is necessary," Ema said, raising his hands and looking at the briefcase in Shinichi's hands. "There's one hundred million in that case."
The clever Shinichi immediately understood. He snapped open the briefcase to show the kidnappers clearly. "That's right! You can just take the money and go. That way you won't have to take the risk of kidnapping!"
The masked kidnapper was stunned when he saw the money. "So much money?"
"Baka! Rich people are different, carrying around a hundred million when they go out!"
"But... if I kidnap Sonoko Suzuki, wouldn't I get even more money?"
As he said this, a greedy glint flashed in his eyes.
Shinichi quickly used his words. "If you do that, you'll face the retaliation of the Suzuki Group! No matter how much money you have, you'll have nowhere to spend it!"
"Mr. Kidnapper, I don't think either of you wants to live the rest of your lives in fear of being hunted by the Suzuki Group, right?"
"I suggest you take this hundred million yen, drive away, and we'll pretend this never happened."
"One hundred million yen is not a small sum... if you spend it wisely, you can live without worry for the rest of your lives!"
The driver was persuaded.
So what if they got more money from kidnapping Sonoko Suzuki?
If the Suzuki Group was after them, they wouldn't even be able to sleep peacefully. It was better to quit while they were ahead!
"Big brother, I think he's right... I think we should just take the hundred million and go!" the driver began to persuade.
"...Fine." The masked kidnapper also suppressed his greed and accepted Shinichi Kudo's proposal.
"Should I bring the money over, or will you come get it?" Shinichi said, closing the briefcase.
"You don't need to bring it over! Who knows what tricks you, Shinichi Kudo, have up your sleeve!" The masked kidnapper snorted, clearly not trusting him.
Shinichi was a little helpless. Sometimes being too famous wasn't a good thing; people were always on guard against him.
"I'll do it," Ran bravely volunteered.
"Ran Mouri, started learning karate at the age of 10, now the captain of the Teitan High School Karate Club! I know you're a good fighter!" the masked kidnapper rattled off Ran's details. He sneered, "Did you think I wouldn't do my homework before kidnapping Sonoko Suzuki?"
"..." Ran had no choice but to give up her little idea.
"You're not letting Sonoko bring it to you!" Shinichi directly shut down the idea. "Come and get it yourself!"
The masked kidnapper ignored Shinichi. He looked Ema over and nodded in satisfaction. "You, kid, look pale and delicate, not a muscle on you. You're clearly one of those pretty boys who lives off his looks!"
"You. Bring me the briefcase!"
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (111 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (220 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (220 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (90 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (100 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (260 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (98 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (100 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(57 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (100 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (100 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (70 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (61 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (70 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (50 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (50 Chapter)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (30 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (30 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.