Professor Hiroshi Agasa nodded, then put on an air of nonchalance.
"I understand. Ah! I've done so many of these little shows in Tokyo; no need to keep reminding me. It's just a small scene!"
Hearing this, Conan Edogawa twitched his mouth and chuckled, though he didn't expose him.
Soon, however, Conan pointed to a photo in the magazine. A burly, fierce-looking middle-aged man was constantly by Kensuke Achiwa's side. "Who is this guy? Why is he always with President Achiwa?"
Heiji Hattori explained.
"That's President Achiwa's secretary, Togo Kaieda. I heard he used to handle the dirty work for Achiwa Real Estate, but he resigned recently. No one knows where he went!"
Just then, President Achiwa entered the studio surrounded by a crowd, and the staff rushed to greet him.
He had a dignified appearance with grey hair, looking every bit the successful businessman.
His arrival paused the rehearsal on the stage. The two girls stepped down, and Mikiko Hiramoto returned to the table where Yuu Hoshimiya was sitting.
Upon entering, President Achiwa saw the Karuta cards sealed in a glass case in the center of the stage. "You brought the cards out so early?"
The director of the Karuta competition replied, "Yes. Mr. Yajima recorded a promotional segment for these traditional cards earlier, so we brought them out ahead of time."
"Oh. Today we record the exhibition match between Yajima and Momiji, followed by my interview, correct?"
The director nodded repeatedly. "However, we still can't reach Mr. Yajima. We've called him many times, but no one answers."
President Achiwa frowned.
"In that case, call Sekine to fill in so we don't end up with no one on stage."
The director immediately went to do so.
Yuu looked at President Achiwa, fragmented information slowly surfacing in his mind.
This brain-damaged president was the one who would cause a series of explosions. His goal was to destroy this set of traditional Karuta cards.
Why? Because a specific combination of cards in this deck bore the fingerprints of his wife, proving she was a murderer.
To cover up the truth of his wife's crime, he went to such extreme lengths.
First bombing a major TV station, then blowing up a car, and finally destroying the Satsuki Hall.
His actions were insane and heinous, yet his goal was laughably simple.
He could have just opened the safe and burned the cards with a lighter, and no one would have dared stop him. Yet he chose to create all this chaos.
It was the definition of "taking off your pants to fart"—utterly redundant and excessive.
Sometimes, Yuu truly couldn't understand the thought process of these criminals. To become a president, he couldn't be stupid, so why was he so brain-dead about this?
If Yuu knew the exact time and location rather than just a general outline, he would have called the police to arrest him already.
But for now...
He would have to let the Japanese people, who seemed to love "fireworks," watch a few more explosions before catching the culprit red-handed.
Ran and Kazuha weren't at the recording site. Earlier, Genta messed with a camera and got scolded by the staff, so the two girls took the Detective Boys to the break room provided by the station.
Seeing Conan and Heiji busy strategizing for Agasa, Yuu ignored them.
He took Ai Haibara's small hand and walked out of the recording studio toward the break room.
Sonoko Suzuki sidled up to Yuu, putting on a ladylike act as she chattered non-stop.
"Teacher Hoshimiya, how much longer are you staying in Osaka? For spring break, why don't we go to the Maldives? The beaches there are amazing!"
"Just the two of us... it would be so much fun!"
Sonoko clasped her hands together, feigning shyness.
Suddenly, she felt a piercing cold glare. Looking down, she saw the ice in Ai's eyes, sharp enough to pierce her skin.
Even though she was a child, her aura frightened Sonoko.
She quickly hid behind Yuu, blocking Ai's line of sight, and felt a bit better.
Ai opened her small mouth.
"Slut!"
Hearing the insult, Sonoko glared, ready to explode.
But Yuu stopped her.
"Sonoko, it's not good to eat alone. I haven't even had a solo date with Ran on this trip."
Sonoko giggled, not minding at all.
She was just talking; compared to being alone with Yuu, she actually preferred a lively crowd.
Besides, she couldn't satisfy Yuu by herself; she would need someone to share the burden.
Yuu continued.
"As for this Osaka trip, after watching the Karuta match tomorrow, we'll be heading back to Tokyo."
Just then, a girl in a blue kimono walked out of a dressing room—it was Momiji Ooka.
Seeing Yuu, a look of panic flashed across her face. not noticing a puddle on the floor, she stepped in it and slipped instantly.
She fell toward Yuu, landing in his arms and pressing tightly against his chest.
Yuu was immediately hit by a fragrant scent. Feeling the grandeur against his chest, he confirmed once again that Momiji Ooka was a busty beauty.
To have such a cup size at her age was truly terrifying!
Up close, she was astonishingly beautiful, her delicate face carrying an air of nobility.
Momiji's cat-like eyes locked onto Yuu's handsome face. Her pupils contracted, mist filled her eyes, and tears began to fall instantly.
She murmured, "Is this... destiny?"
Yuu held her soft waist to keep her steady, but seeing her sudden tears, he felt baffled.
Is she that conservative? Crying just from a hug? He immediately released her waist.
Momiji wiped her tears, and a soft, delicate voice came from her lips.
"I thought I might meet you... my destined husband, Yuu-kun!"
"Nani?"
Hearing this, Yuu, Sonoko, and even Ai were shocked.
Yuu was very popular with women, but this was the first time a beautiful girl had "face-tanked" him with a proposal on their first meeting.
Even Sonoko hadn't been this aggressive back then.
It seemed Kansai people were indeed bolder than those in Kanto!
Momiji pushed Sonoko aside and hugged Yuu's arm, burying it in softness.
"Yuu-kun, once the recording is over, I'll be free. Let's go for tea together!"
Momiji's approach was incredibly bold, and Sonoko was about to explode.
She didn't care if Yuu was with Momiji or not, but she absolutely could not accept her arch-rival poaching her man right in front of her eyes.
This was intolerable!
Sonoko reached out and pulled Momiji away.
"Hey, hey, hey! That's enough! Is this how Ooka women behave? Throwing yourself at a man the moment you see him? Have you no shame?"
Momiji finally recognized Sonoko. Her aura shifted instantly; the delicate, tearful look vanished, replaced by an overbearing arrogance.
"Oh, if it isn't the Suzuki family's useless second daughter. What are you doing in Osaka?"
"Oh, right. You lost to me in Karuta at the last gathering, so you snuck over to watch my match? Tsk, tsk, tsk. A loser will always be a loser!"
Veins popped on Sonoko's forehead as she glared at Momiji with her amber eyes.
Yuu looked at Momiji and frowned slightly. "Miss Ooka, this should be our first meeting. You were joking just now, right?"
Momiji wrinkled her nose, her demeanor turning soft and sticky again. Her cat-like eyes looked ready to cry once more.
"Yuu-kun, I'm serious. Although it's our first meeting, I've known you for a long time. In the entire empire, only you are worthy of being called a true man."
"Only a figure like you can be my future husband."
As she spoke, Momiji moved forward again, trying to hug Yuu's arm, but Sonoko blocked her.
Sonoko scoffed, "Hey, stop being a fangirl! You're just a little fan dreaming of being my Teacher Hoshimiya's wife? Keep dreaming!"
"I've seen plenty of girls like you. I won't let you get close to Teacher Hoshimiya!"
Momiji completely ignored Sonoko's words and struggled to get closer to Yuu.
Just then, a staff member shouted from the end of the corridor.
"Miss Momiji! Miss Momiji! Mr. Yajima is late. The director wants you in the break room to discuss the program!"
Momiji turned her head, frowning and pouting.
"How can this be? I just met Yuu-kun!"
She waved goodbye to Yuu. "Yuu-kun, wait for me! I'll come find you as soon as the recording is done!"
With that, she took small steps toward her break room.
Sonoko looked at Yuu seriously.
"Teacher Hoshimiya, don't you dare agree to date that girl! She's fickle. don't let her delicate act fool you; she's ruthless! Approaching you definitely hides some unspeakable secret!"
Her arch-rival Momiji made Sonoko grit her teeth, and she immediately started bad-mouthing her.
Sonoko was biased, but Momiji was the granddaughter of a former Prime Minister; her suspicion wasn't entirely groundless.
Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that Momiji was simply lusting after his body.
Recalling his past life memories, Yuu remembered this busty girl being a bold "love-brain."
Yuu smiled and nodded, comforting Sonoko, then led Ai toward the break room.
However, he still needed to make contact with Momiji Ooka. If it was a sugar-coated shell, he would eat the sugar and throw the shell back.
If not...
Then contracting Momiji Ooka, with the help of a former Prime Minister's granddaughter and the support of the Ooka family, would essentially complete Yuu's blueprint.
All that remained would be to use his resources to slowly expand, growing from the island nation of Japan to encompass the entire Conan world.
The three returned to the break room to hear the Detective Boys chanting.
"Buy souvenirs! Buy souvenirs! Buy souvenirs!"
Ran had promised to buy them Osaka specialties, and the kids were excited.
However, the moment Yuu entered, they quieted down.
The break room provided by the station was quite nice, featuring a small kitchenette where Ran was brewing coffee.
Sonoko went into the kitchenette and told Ran about what just happened. Hearing the story, both Ran and Kazuha looked unhappy.
Ran pouted. "How could that happen? Brother Yuu attracts too many butterflies!"
"It's just that girls these days are too thick-skinned! This won't do; we have to think of a way," Kazuha said through gritted teeth, her eyes cold.
Faced with a woman trying to monopolize Yuu and steal their man right in front of them, their united front was only natural.
But before the three girls could come up with a plan, an announcement blared through the station.
"Attention. The Osaka Prefectural Police have just issued an emergency evacuation notice. Please stop all work immediately and evacuate the TV station through the nearest emergency exit."
"Repeating. The Osaka Prefectural Police have just issued an emergency evacuation notice..."
Yuu stood up immediately. Seeing Ran and the others coming out of the kitchen, he quickly gave orders.
"Ran, this is an evacuation. Take the kids and leave now. I'll go find Conan and the Professor."
With that, he opened the door, led the children out, and directed them toward the emergency exit.
Kazuha and Sonoko wanted to follow Yuu, but Ran held them back.
"It's fine. Brother Yuu is amazing; he can handle it alone. We should leave first and not cause trouble for him."
Sonoko and Kazuha understood, but women often subconsciously prioritize their loved ones in danger, leading to mistakes.
It was understandable; not everyone was a "Daughter of Destiny" like Ran or Ai.
While all the staff headed for the exits, only Yuu moved against the flow, jogging toward the recording studio.
His actual goal was to retrieve the traditional Karuta cards, which were key evidence.
The sealed cards were Kensuke Achiwa's fatal weakness. If he managed to destroy them, he wouldn't confess easily.
In the crowd, Momiji Ooka, wearing her blue kimono, muttered, "Evacuating in a kimono... this is a first!"
She soon saw Yuu running in the opposite direction and frowned slightly.
Taking small steps, she left the crowd and followed Yuu toward the recording studio.
The recording studio was in chaos. An assistant shouted to President Achiwa, "President, run! We just heard from the police that a bomb has been planted in the station! If we don't run now, it'll be too late!"
Hearing this, the staff panicked, and everyone scrambled to evacuate.
Conan and Heiji grabbed the chubby Agasa and ran out.
Heiji turned to look at the dazed Mikiko.
"Run, Mikiko! Or you'll get blown up!"
Mikiko was staring at the traditional cards in the center of the stage. As the president of the Kaiho Karuta Club, her dream was to play a match with those cards.
But the situation was urgent, and with Heiji yelling, she instinctively ran out into the hallway.
But halfway down the hall, she stopped. She couldn't let go of the twenty-year-old traditional cards, so she turned and ran back toward the studio.
Heiji and the others had reached the emergency stairs, Heiji supporting Agasa.
Conan noticed Mikiko wasn't following. He told Heiji and turned to run back.
Mikiko turned the corner only to be grabbed by a large hand—it was Yuu, arriving from the break room.
As if he had foreseen the future, Yuu shouted, "Mikiko, you go first! I'll get the cards!"
Mikiko looked confused.
Yuu then scooped up Conan, who had also run around the corner, and handed him to Mikiko.
"Take Conan out for me!"
Mikiko nodded immediately, dragging the flailing Conan toward the emergency exit.
Yuu burst into speed, rushing into the now-empty recording studio.
Everyone had evacuated. Yuu reached the center stage where the cards sat in the glass case.
He put the cards into a box, tucked it under his arm, and ran out.
Just as he exited the studio, a soft body slammed into him and bounced off, falling to the floor. It was Momiji Ooka.
"Ouch!" Momiji rubbed her chest and hip, which seemed to have taken the brunt of the impact.
Yuu reached out and pulled her up.
"Miss Ooka, why are you here?"
Momiji replied, "I saw you running toward the studio and got worried, so I came to check. Oh! Yuu-kun, did you go back for the cards? Do you like Karuta too?"
Yuu shook the box in his hand.
"No, but this is important, so I came back for it. Miss Ooka, let's go, or this place is going to blow!"
"Eh? Explosion? I thought it was a drill!" Momiji's face filled with panic.
Yuu grabbed her hand to run, but Momiji stumbled and fell into his arms again. Yuu felt the softness against his chest once more.
Momiji frowned deeply, looking at her right leg, and said hesitantly, "Yuu-kun, I think I twisted my ankle."
Her expression then turned resolute.
"Yuu-kun, leave me! Go! You can save many people; you're more important than me. Run!"
This earned her a flick on the forehead. Yuu retorted speechlessly, "Do you think we're in a soap opera? 'Leave me and go'? Seriously?"
"Eh? Isn't that how it goes on TV? In a crisis, the hero and heroine have a tearful parting... Oh my, did I mess it up?" A blush rose on Momiji's cheeks.
Then her face filled with panic as she felt herself being lifted. Sensing Yuu's solid chest against her, Momiji blushed even harder.