When he got home, Shimizu Koji took off his coat and hung it on the rack by the door. Slipping into his slippers, he walked to the sofa, turned on the TV, and switched to a replayed program.
He hadn't even been sitting for a minute before he stood up again, went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed an ice-cold drink. Only then did he return to the sofa, satisfied, legs crossed, eyes back on the screen.
It wasn't even eight o'clock yet. Night had already swallowed the sky outside, but Koji never bothered turning on the lights. With the curtains drawn open, the neon glow from outside was more than enough to illuminate the room.
The news was boring, as usual—no real details. Still, when the anchor announced that there had been no casualties in the robbery case, Koji finally relaxed.
He'd thought the robbers might have killed someone. That would've explained why Hirota Masami had seemed so shaken today. Now it seemed more likely she'd just been frightened—after all, she was just an ordinary woman living in the city.
"Come to think of it… tomorrow's a day off, right? No school, no work…"
Muttering to himself, Koji reached for the calendar on the table and flipped the page.
Then he froze.
(Dates are fictional)
April 20th, Thursday.
He flipped again.
June 2nd, Sunday.
"…That's not right, is it?!"
The sound of pages flipping filled the room. At first, confusion flickered in his eyes—but slowly, in the dim light, his brows twisted into a deep frown.
No. No, this isn't right. Flip again.
Staring at the bold numbers 6-02, Koji fell silent. Then, suddenly, he started flipping faster.
Page after page.
3-23. 8-07. 12-14.
The gaps between dates made his scalp prickle. Time in this world was completely broken.
And yet… he hadn't noticed anything strange at all. He hadn't even questioned the fact that there had been two winter breaks within a single "week."
He had accepted it all as normal.
Which meant only one thing—his perception of time had been subtly rewritten.
Koji swallowed hard. His hands and feet felt cold.
A terrifying thought crossed his mind.
Could it be… that I stopped reincarnating because this world doesn't even have a complete week?
It was possible. But not certain.
Even now, Koji still didn't understand why he had kept dying and reincarnating over and over again.
Maybe… he'd just died too quickly before? Maybe he hadn't had one of those so-called "cheat abilities"?
And then—his thoughts stopped.
A sudden idea struck him.
My swordsmanship.
The moment he focused on it, something felt deeply wrong.
Living alone, one had to find hobbies. He'd always treated kendo as nothing more than a casual pastime. But looking back now…
His sword skills were abnormal.
When he was serious, he could cut straight through a bamboo sword with another bamboo sword.
Not smash it.
Cut it.
And he'd always felt—without ever questioning it—that if he kept improving, cutting through steel wouldn't be difficult either.
…Steel.
Koji pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head hard.
"What's wrong with me…? Why do I instinctively accept something this ridiculous as normal?"
This world showed no signs of superpowers. None at all.
He'd thought it was a peaceful, everyday world—just like the one he used to live in.
Now?
Something was very, very wrong.
The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it became. Yet no matter how deeply he analyzed it, nothing made sense.
Ding-dong—
"Hm?"
At this hour? Someone visiting?
No—that didn't make sense. Even during the day on weekdays, no one ever came by.
Koji stared at the door, baffled. Honestly, the fact that the doorbell still worked was strange enough—he hadn't changed the batteries in three years.
…Wait.
Were those three years really three years?
Ding-dong—
The bell rang again, snapping him back to reality.
Narrowing his eyes, Koji walked to the door. At this hour, the only possibility was Hirota Masami.
But when he looked through the peephole—
Nothing.
No one was there.
Delivery? Too early. Too fast.
…Had he uncovered the truth of this world and attracted the attention of some kind of superpowered enforcer sent to silence him?!
His imagination spiraled wildly. After hesitating, Koji reached into the cabinet by the door and took out his bamboo sword.
Ding-dong—
Outside, an elementary school boy wearing a blue blazer and shorts jumped up and pressed the doorbell again. If no one answered this time, he'd just move on.
The apartment was clearly occupied—and it belonged to Hirota Masami's neighbor. If possible, he wanted to gather information about her from next door.
Just as he turned to leave—
Click.
The door opened a crack.
"—!!!"
Conan's eyes widened as he instinctively stepped back.
From the pitch-black gap in the door, a single eye—clear black and white—appeared, staring straight at him.
The sudden sight startled him.
That tiny step backward was what finally caught Koji's attention.
…A kid?
Relaxing, Koji unhooked the chain and opened the door fully.
"Uh—ah—haha… s-sorry to bother you, big brother."
"What do you want?"
Koji frowned at the awkwardly laughing boy scratching his head.
"…Um—could you maybe put the sword down? I just… have a few questions."
Conan felt uneasy. He'd been startled when the door opened—and even now, despite the young man's handsome face, his guard didn't drop.
Especially not when he noticed the bamboo sword in Koji's left hand.
His instincts placed Shimizu Koji at the same danger level as Ran.
"Oh. Sorry. I was practicing kendo."
Koji turned to put the sword away.
The next second—
The kid slipped past him like an eel.
"…!"
Koji stiffened.
Watching the boy casually change into slippers and start looking around his living room made a sharp sense of intrusion crawl up his spine.
Whose brat is this? Where are his manners?
For the first time in a long while, Koji felt his calm waver.
"Hey. What are you looking at?"
"Ah—n-nothing! I've just never seen an apartment like this before. Got curious."
Conan waved his hands, laughing awkwardly. The moment he'd entered, his detective instincts kicked in—he couldn't help but inspect a man who gave him such a bad feeling.
Koji stared at him for a few seconds, then walked to the fridge and took out a milk drink.
"Here. Sit on the sofa. Whose kid are you, and what do you want?"
To Koji, he was just some child from the building. Give him a drink, calm him down, and send him home quickly.
"Thank you, big brother!"
Conan sat obediently, took the drink, and thanked him in a childish voice.
Seeing Koji ignore him, Conan decided to get straight to the point.
"My name is Edogawa Conan! I'm the assistant of Detective Mori Kogoro! I have a few questions for you."
"Detective? Mori Kogoro?" Koji raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?"
That single sentence left Conan completely stunned.
…This guy really doesn't know?
"Mori Kogoro… I think I've heard that name…" Koji muttered. Then his eyes lit up. "Ah—wasn't he mentioned in the robbery news earlier?"
He turned slowly to Conan.
"What do you want to ask?"
"Well—actually, Uncle Mori asked me to investigate. Um… big brother, are you close with your neighbor, Miss Hirota?"
"Don't know her. Not close."
"…Huh?"
Conan stared at him, reassessing everything.
Before coming here, he'd already visited several neighbors. Almost everyone said Hirota Masami took especially good care of Shimizu Koji—like an older sister.
And you say you're not close? Who are you fooling—a kid?!
Just as Conan prepared to unleash his reasoning—
Suddenly, his body lifted off the ground.
A familiar pulling sensation seized the back of his neck.
"Eh?! Big brother?!"
"It's late. You should go home," Koji said calmly. "There are devils in these alleys who love eating kids like you~."
Before Conan could struggle, he was deposited outside. The moment his feet touched the ground—
Bang.
The door slammed shut.
Staring at the cold, unyielding door, Conan clicked his tongue, straightened his messy clothes, and walked away helplessly.
Inside the apartment, Koji turned on his bulky desktop computer and began searching for information on Mori Kogoro.
That rude little detective had left a bad taste in his mouth.
Investigating Hirota Masami? Using him to do it?
The thought irritated him for reasons he couldn't quite explain.
"Mori Kogoro? Conan?"
"…Who the hell are you people?"