Noon. Mouri Detective Agency.
Kurosawa Hoshino and the others were back.
"It's so comfortable at home." Ran lay on the sofa and stretched lazily.
Kogorō Mouri said weakly, "Ran, hurry up and prepare lunch. I'm starving."
If he hadn't mentioned it, fine. But as soon as he did, Ran's anger flared.
"You have the nerve to say that! We agreed it was noon and we might as well eat out, but you insisted on eating at home. You got a check for five million yen—how much can eating out possibly cost?"
"That brat has thirty million." Kogorō turned his frustration toward Kurosawa.
Kurosawa shrugged innocently. "I said I'd treat, but Ran didn't agree."
"Why should she agree?" Ran was now like a tigress. "Hoshino eats at our house, and you're already getting paid, Dad. How could you let Hoshino treat us outside? And Dad, you got that five million yen check thanks to Hoshino!"
Kogorō, annoyed beyond measure, immediately raised his hands. "I surrender! I'll treat you to a big meal tonight, alright? Fine, hurry up and prepare lunch. This brat and this little devil are starving."
"I'm not hungry," Conan immediately said.
"Dad, remember what you said." Ran finished speaking, turned, and went upstairs.
"Ran, I'll help you." Kurosawa followed her out.
Suddenly, only Kogorō and Conan remained on the second floor.
Oh no! Conan sensed something was wrong. He stiffly turned his head to meet Kogorō's cold gaze.
"Ow—!" Before he could finish speaking, Conan screamed, clutching his head and crouching on the ground, tears welling in his eyes.
Kogorō snorted coldly, slowly withdrawing his fist. "Kid, you're not hungry, but do you think I'm not? You dare to contradict me. Remember next time—if you contradict me again, I'll beat you up. Got it?"
"I—I got it." Conan stood up, grimacing, and quickly ran upstairs. He felt it was too dangerous to stay with Kogorō. He needed to stay with Ran and the others.
But as soon as he reached the third floor, he regretted it.
"Conan, you've come at the right time." Kurosawa came out of the kitchen and ordered, "Take the socks from my shoes at the entrance and wash them—along with the socks I left in the bathroom basin."
Hearing this, Conan's face turned green. His body stiffened. For a boy, the most unacceptable thing is washing another boy's socks. Regardless of whether they smelled bad or not, it was torture for both body and mind.
"What?" Seeing Conan hesitate, Kurosawa's tone hardened. "You don't think I was lying about training you last time, do you?"
That was clearly punishment. Conan didn't dare say it aloud—only in his heart.
"Alright, hurry up."
"Um, Hoshino-nii, can I eat lunch before I go?"
"You can eat after you wash them. Lunch won't even be ready yet. I don't want to say it a second time. Hurry up."
Conan didn't dare say another word. He silently turned, went to the entrance, looked at Kurosawa's shoes, and stared at the socks inside. Even though he didn't smell any stench, the thought of having to pick them up later made him nauseous.
Ugh—
No, I need to find a pair of gloves.
Soon, it was four o'clock in the afternoon.
Conan, forced by Kurosawa, was hunched over the coffee table on the second floor, writing his homework. Every few minutes, he would subconsciously pull his hands away from his work, his expression grim.
Kurosawa lay bored on the sofa, waiting for Sonoko's call, wondering if things were going smoothly for her.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
Kurosawa didn't answer immediately. He got up and went to the stairwell outside to take the call.
"Sonoko, how is it?"
"Hoshino—" Sonoko said dejectedly. "I just received a call from the people who went to Shiki Island. They found a large hole at the bottom of a cliff by the sea. But when they went in, they saw fresh footprints on the ground. They searched everywhere but didn't find any gold. Someone must have gotten there first."
"Got there first?" Kurosawa raised an eyebrow. This hadn't happened in the original story.
"It's true." Sonoko, perhaps afraid Kurosawa wouldn't believe her, said anxiously, "My dad recorded the whole thing when he sent people over. There's absolutely no embezzlement of gold or anything."
"Sonoko, that's not what I meant." Kurosawa reassured her. "So what if someone beat you to it? After all, there are probably quite a few people who would think of that."
"I'm sorry."
"You really don't need to apologize. It has nothing to do with you."
"But—"
For the next half hour, Kurosawa practically wore himself out trying to persuade Sonoko. Finally, he dispelled all her doubts and convinced her that he truly believed her.
After hanging up, Kurosawa exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling utterly helpless. Sonoko, usually so carefree, was surprisingly concerned about his attitude this time. It was quite unexpected.
Should I go check it out?
With his Scene Rewind superpower, he could find out who took the gold once he arrived at the scene. Unfortunately, it was too far. After thinking about it, he gave up. He wasn't really short of money—he just wanted to pick up some unclaimed wealth. Since someone else had gotten there first, he'd let it go.
Just then, his phone beeped.
Kurosawa took it out and opened the text message—it was from the bank. When he read the contents, his eyes narrowed.
One hundred million yen? Could this guy have embezzled it? He'd never received this much before. This sudden huge sum made him suspicious. Was the relative who had been transferring him money doing something shady? Otherwise, how could he suddenly have so much? Before, it was at most one or two million, maybe three or four. This sudden amount was bound to raise suspicion.
Never mind. I'll wait until I get a Lie Detection superpower. Then I'll see if you're really Gin.
Kurosawa put away his phone, turned, and went inside. As soon as he entered, he saw three people staring at him curiously.
"What's wrong?" he asked, puzzled.
"You've been on the phone for a while," Kogorō said, shifting his position. "We heard some noise. Were you trying to win over a girl?"
"To Sonoko," Kurosawa blurted out.