(Why is there a banana peel?!)
Saiki remembered he definitely hadn't seen one earlier.
But there was no time to think about it. He instinctively used psychokinesis to quickly shift it to the side, then steadied himself.
Saiki let out a sigh of relief, but Kubo Nagisa, who had come running from around the shoe locker corner to join the commotion, stepped right on the banana peel and slipped.
"Ah!"
Kubo Nagisa hit the banana peel, slid backward, and instinctively closed her eyes.
(Why is Kubo-san here of all places?!)
Saiki quickly reached out, grabbed Kubo Nagisa's left hand, and pulled her forward.
Kubo Nagisa was pulled back and bumped into Saiki's chest. Saiki swiftly steadied her. Just as he relaxed, he realized he had touched someone.
Sure enough, as soon as Kubo Nagisa opened her eyes, she saw herself pressed against Saiki's chest and knew Saiki had saved her again.
Kubo Nagisa showed a slightly dazed expression. "Saiki-kun..."
(Oh shit!)
The group ahead, who had been chatting about all sorts of random things, heard the noise, turned around, and looked.
They saw Kubo Nagisa leaning against Saiki's chest, with Saiki wearing a very ╭(╯^╰)╮ expression.
"Found him!"
"Saiki!"
"Saiki-kun!"
"Saiki-shishou..."
Everyone pressed forward, surrounding Saiki in a circle. Especially Shikimori and Umaru, who squeezed Kubo Nagisa, who had been right next to Saiki, out of the way.
Yoshii Akihisa: "Saiki, about that new show from Kindergarten Car Teacher..."
Izumi Yuu: "Saiki-kun, last time I invited you over, you fell asleep. I'm really sorry. This time..."
Shiraishi: "My new game console..."
Tsuchiya Kouta: "Saiki, let me tell you a secret quietly. There's something up with the girls' changing room. I need to discuss it with you..."
Shikimori: "The teacher asked me to give you these documents, and also..."
Umaru: "Saiki-shishou, you said next time you wouldn't stand me up. You have to listen to me. You can't refuse..."
(But what am I supposed to do? Someone save me.)
Kubo Nagisa finally recovered from being pushed out of the crowd. Seeing Saiki in trouble, she kindly went behind him and poked him.
When Saiki turned around, Kubo Nagisa smiled. "Thank you, Saiki-kun. To repay you, I found this really good coffee shop. Do you want to..."
(This person isn't here to save me.)
Everyone: "Do you have time later? Saiki..."
In the corner, watching the lively scene ahead, Gotoh Hitori didn't dare approach. [Ah, I was originally going to look for Saiki. Now that I've found him, there are so many people. He looks really busy...]
(I was wondering why one was missing. So you're hiding in the back.)
...
[Yare yare, what a pain. Dealing with that group was exhausting.]
Saiki opened the door to his house and walked in. He saw Shiina Mahiru sitting on a stool, holding a copy of the Famous Detective Conan novel.
Shiina Mahiru noticed Saiki too. "Saiki-kun, you're back. Weren't you going to watch the show? Why are you so late? Your Famous Detective Conan is about to start airing."
"Sigh."
Saiki put down his bag, sat on the sofa, sighed, and checked the time on his phone.
[It was a bit troublesome, but I managed to deal with it. And I made it back with 10 minutes to spare.]
Saiki noticed the novel in Shiina Mahiru's hands.
[So you got interested in this after all?]
Shiina Mahiru nodded. "Mm. After you talked about it this morning, I suddenly got really curious and wanted to check it out. I just went out to buy it and came back. I haven't started reading yet. I just skimmed the summary. Can I watch it with you?"
Saiki nodded.
[Of course. This is going to be fun. But since the anime is about to start, let's watch that first.]
Shiina Mahiru set the novel aside and went to brew tea.
"They say it's best to read the original before watching adaptations like manga or anime. And I heard this anime isn't exactly the same as the original. It changes some parts."
[It's fine. Kindergarten Car Teacher won't let anyone mess with the original carelessly. Even if there are changes, they'll be minor ones. No big alterations or weird twists.]
Saiki said this with complete confidence.
"Really? Then I'll look forward to it. Oh, it's time."
Shiina Mahiru finished brewing the tea, poured a cup for Saiki, poured one for herself, and sat down.
Saiki eagerly picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and stared at the screen with full excitement.
The broadcast on TV began:
In the top left corner, it read: This story is purely fictional. Please do not take it as real. This is a comedy anime.
After a bunch of disclaimers and sponsor messages, the scene appeared.
An old man with white hair, wearing a pink suit and sitting in a wheelchair. One of his legs was wrapped in bandages.
There were waitstaff, suited guests, and even police around him. The old man was facing the police and loudly questioning them. "Go ahead and tell me. Why would the culprit be me? And with my bad leg all bandaged up, how am I supposed to commit murder?"
The chubby police officer opposite him raised a hand to signal for calm. "Please calm down first."
The white-haired old man huffed indifferently. "Hmph. Without a great detective, you police are nothing. If you've got the guts, show me proof and accuse me."
"This..."
The officer in front of him was clearly troubled. Even though he heard the old man's insults, he didn't take them to heart. At that moment, a voice came from outside the door.
"Let me handle this, Megure-keibu."
Everyone turned toward the voice. It was a handsome young man in a suit walking in while speaking. "There's no point wasting words on an old geezer like you."
This was the protagonist, Kudo Shinichi.
White-haired old man: "What do you mean? Who the hell is this brat?"
Megure-keibu, uneasy, spoke up. "Hey, Kudo-kun, did you really find evidence?"
"Ah, of course not."
...
After Kudo Shinichi finished talking with Megure-keibu beside him, he turned to look at the old man. "I'll just ask you straight. Are you the culprit or not?"
The white-haired old man, still in his wheelchair, smiled as he answered. "You're kidding, right? How could I possibly say 'yes' at a time like this?"
"Playing dumb, huh!"
Kudo Shinichi ignored him, picked up a nearby globe, and threw it at the white-haired old man.
The old man was startled, turned his head, stood up using his other unbandaged leg to dodge, then sat back down and questioned. "Where did you find this brat? He's way too rough!"
In response, Kudo Shinichi threw another globe at him.
This time the old man dodged again, sat back down angrily, and said, "Are you here to solve the case or commit one?!"
Kudo Shinichi had one hand in his pocket, the other pointing a single finger at the white-haired old man as he scolded. "Shut up and confess already!"
But the white-haired old man kept denying. "Damn it, it's really not me!"
"If it's not you, then is it me?!"
Seeing the old man still making excuses, Kudo Shinichi threw yet another globe at him.