Chapter 83
After cleaning the house, Usuha Izuki had originally thought that Hagiwara Kenji, who had been so angry in his previous phone calls and emails, wasn't even mentioning the bomb disposal incident now. But when dinner time came, he realized he'd guessed wrong.
Probably because the delay tactics had succeeded, Hagiwara Kenji felt the optimal timing had passed and it would be awkward to bring it up again, so he called Matsuda Jinpei over to have the still-legitimately-positioned Matsuda Jinpei from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit deliver a lecture.
Fortunately, Matsuda Jinpei had also passed his angriest phase, and since Samukawa Shinryu was now with the Mobile Investigation Unit, this time it was mainly educational from the angles of "what police can and can't do," "certain things the Police Academy didn't teach but will get you disciplined if you do them," and "you don't want to finally graduate only to lose your job, right?"
"Thanks for your hard work, Little Jinpei." Hagiwara Kenji handed a drink to the parched Matsuda Jinpei. "Little Shinryu really needs education."
Matsuda Jinpei complained: "Then your Police Academy needs to seriously reflect—this should have been a problem for the academy to correct, right?"
"...Look, you and I graduated normally..."
Matsuda Jinpei was silent for a moment, then changed the subject: "No matter how much you say, if this guy doesn't take his own life seriously, similar problems will occur in the future."
Being watched by both, Usuha Izuki calmly sipped his tea: "Of course I treasure my own life. I only do that when I'm confident."
"Listen to that, Hagi." Matsuda Jinpei felt his fists hardening again. "I feel like I can't stand hearing the pronunciation of 'confident' lately!"
It was practically no different from "I'll do it again next time"!
Date Wataru, who had also been called to the gathering, laughed heartily twice: "You can't expect Samukawa-kun to obediently admit fault like an elementary student. At his age, being lectured like this would make anyone defiant—especially you, Matsuda."
Matsuda Jinpei clicked his tongue.
Hagiwara Kenji just wanted Usuha Izuki to think more carefully next time he did such risky things that could easily be reported and criticized. He wasn't expecting to change his mindset immediately, so this was about enough. He didn't plan to continue making a big deal of it and let the topic pass.
"Speaking of which, didn't the Squad Leader solve a case a few days ago? I saw it in the newspaper—something about police case-solving efficiency improving greatly."
"Ah... that one."
Though it should have been something to be happy about, when it was mentioned, Date Wataru lost his smile instead: "Actually, I didn't solve it."
Hearing this, Usuha Izuki knew which case they were talking about, so he maintained Samukawa Shinryu's persona and kept high-quality silence.
Matsuda Jinpei's attention was also drawn over: "Was it Squad Leader's partner who solved it?"
"No." Date Wataru frowned. "It was an unknown detective who called himself Great Detective Conan."
"...Self-proclaimed great detective?" Matsuda Jinpei's mouth twitched. "Sounds like a very flamboyant guy."
Date Wataru sighed: "Indeed very flamboyant. Just wearing that outfit takes a lot of courage. I really don't understand the fashion young people chase nowadays... And it was especially distracting. I don't even know if I properly looked at his face clearly. When I recall, all I remember are various reflections. It's really police incompetence."
Strangely, when he recalled other people he saw that day, there were no problems. He could only attribute it to insufficient training—he couldn't even eliminate interference to properly observe a target's appearance.
Usuha Izuki silently drank water.
System: [Look what you've done to this fine, excellent detective—you've made him question his very existence.]
[The props work well, why shouldn't I use them?] Usuha Izuki said righteously. [I'm never taking off that four-leaf clover earring from now on! It even matches my four-leaf clover hair clip!]
That was a prop he'd drawn half a year ago with the simple effect of [Attracting attention, adding affinity].
Supposedly on the favorability system side, this prop sold very well. It could make others' gazes unconsciously linger on the earring a bit longer, then naturally start conversations like "Why are you looking at me?" or "Do you like four-leaf clovers?" to begin romance routes.
Usuha Izuki got it free from daily lucky bags—what a bargain.
He didn't need to romance anyone, just needed people trying to observe him to unconsciously focus on this earring instead of his face.
First-time strangers basically fell for it 100%, with effects gradually weakening over time. For people already very familiar with his appearance, it wasn't necessary, so when Usuha Izuki said "I'm never taking it off," he'd actually still choose usage occasions carefully.
As for the added affinity attribute, it could only be said that most of it was offset by Usuha Izuki's bizarre outfit and flamboyant behavior, weakened to the point where no one noticed...
Usuha Izuki knew the reason for Date Wataru's mistake, but Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji didn't. They both comforted Date Wataru while asking about the case details.
"...Should be people related to violent gangs, but unrelated to the case. Probably just wanted to get away quickly to avoid bigger complications, so they actively helped solve the case."
Date Wataru said hesitantly: "But the culprit said she was persuaded to confess by that detective... If they really were gang members, then this guy has a rather strange personality... Sigh, dressing like that, his personality is obviously very strange. I'm really talking nonsense."
Usuha Izuki slowly put down his teacup: "............"
System: [Hold it in—that was your goal, wasn't it! Besides, plenty of people in the organization call you strange too! Your acting has held up until now—don't ruin it all over this!]
[They usually don't say it to my face! Even if they did, I could argue back right there! Where's the rule about not being allowed to retort!]
Though very annoyed, for the greater good, Usuha Izuki reluctantly endured it.
Hagiwara Kenji looked at Usuha Izuki puzzledly, feeling like his emotions seemed off just now... Ah, it was because Squad Leader mentioned violent gangs, right?
For Little Shinryu, who had been forced to join violent gangs, having emotional reactions to such topics was normal.
Because Hagiwara Kenji suddenly turned his head, Date Wataru also unconsciously glanced in that direction.
Samukawa Shinryu had both hands on the table, holding his teacup, seeming uninterested in this topic and absent-mindedly looking at a poster on the wall.
Under the cool-toned lighting, his jade-like pale profile caught Date Wataru's eye, the contours seeming to suddenly overlap with something in his memory for an instant.
But when he thought carefully, he couldn't remember anything.
"Squad Leader?" Matsuda Jinpei tapped his glass. "Then what? How did the case end up being solved by you guys? Was it orders from above?"
Date Wataru came back to his senses: "No, it was that Detective Conan's idea. Probably inconvenient to show his face, so he gave us the credit."
He actually wanted to tell his old classmates about seeing Morofushi Hiromitsu and that he was doing dangerous work, but with an outsider present... Even Date Wataru, who didn't particularly suspect Samukawa Shinryu, didn't dare bring up such topics in front of him.
Matsuda Jinpei snorted: "Hiding his identity, what Detective Conan... I might as well be Edogawa Ranpo!"[TN: Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction.]
"Alright, alright." Hagiwara Kenji said. "Anyway, solving the case is good news..."
"Ah, actually it's not completely over. This case led to more troublesome matters that have been handed over to the Organized Crime Countermeasures Department." Date Wataru said. "It's about drug problems that have been rather rampant in Tokyo recently—packaged to look like candy, then gradually you feel unsatisfied, and finally..."
Hagiwara Kenji was startled and quickly asked: "Packaged like candy? Is it 'Ring Candy'?"
"Right, that's what they call it internally... What's wrong?"
Hagiwara Kenji said: "Someone commissioned Little Shinryu with a case also related to this 'Ring Candy'—even high school students are dealing it. The situation is serious."
Ah, he was talking about the person Kokonoe Yoto commissioned him to find.
Usuha Izuki caught on and cooperatively nodded: "If Date-san knows anything, could you tell us?"
Date Wataru didn't know much either, but he told Usuha Izuki everything he knew and could share.
Finally, he warned: "This involves gang-related matters behind it. Don't act rashly."
Matsuda Jinpei was speechless: "If you're worried about him acting rashly, you shouldn't have let him take this commission, and you shouldn't tell him these things... Who would commission this kind of thing to an intern police officer anyway?!"
Hagiwara Kenji was silent for a moment: "Little Jinpei doesn't know about that legend yet, does he?"
"What?"
"'When you have no leads, follow the Moriarty among police. Even if your own case makes no progress, you can pick up other achievements'... something like that."
Date Wataru: "...???"
Matsuda Jinpei: "...I really haven't heard of that. 'The Moriarty among police'—what kind of chuunibyou nickname is that? It should only be spreading in small circles, right?"
Facts proved that no matter how small the circle, if you specifically inquired, you could find out.
The next day when Usuha Izuki went to work at the Mobile Investigation Unit, he was greeted by Officer Shima's strange expression.
Officer Shima had investigated Ibuki Ai before partnering with him. Previously too busy, he'd forgotten about the intern and hadn't investigated Samukawa Shinryu, only having exchanged information with the equally clueless Hagiwara Kenji that day.
But when free after work, he remembered that Samukawa Shinryu had helped solve quite a few cases, so he asked around with acquaintances and heard such ridiculous rumors.
Thinking about how they solved a murder case at noon that day and caught a theft gang just ordering takeout in the evening—two achievements in one day... Officer Shima felt that while these rumors sounded unscientific, they must be based on experience...
Though achievements were tempting, for Officer Shima, having no incidents at all was best, meaning people in that area were living peacefully.
So before patrol, Officer Shima patted Usuha Izuki's shoulder with a heavy tone: "Restrain your supernatural powers and let today pass peacefully."
Ibuki Ai, passing by, didn't understand: "What supernatural powers? Are you asking Samukawa-kun to solve more cases today? Then we need offerings, right?"
Saying this, he handed the melon bread in his hand to Usuha Izuki.
Usuha Izuki: "............"
Fortunately, Ibuki Ai's jinx didn't come true. During this 24-hour patrol, there were only daily trivial matters—cats stuck in trees that couldn't get down, elderly people who fell at home and couldn't get up, some that shouldn't even warrant police calls. There were no murder cases requiring their presence, and they didn't encounter new criminal groups during the night.
By 9 AM the next day, when everyone returned to the station to hand over to the next shift, Officer Shima finally breathed a sigh of relief—rumors were just rumors after all. People should believe in science. How could you encounter cases so easily!
Kokonoe Yoto was also at the station: "Samukawa-kun, aren't you going home now?"
Others looked over curiously, not understanding when these two had become so familiar.
Usuha Izuki was somewhat speechless at Kokonoe Yoto's persistence, though he didn't particularly dislike people with such strong sense of responsibility: "No, I'm going to see a friend... I remember your commission."
"...I'm very sorry for troubling Samukawa-kun." Kokonoe Yoto bowed to him.
Usuha Izuki waved his hand and quickly escaped.
Vodka had given Miyano Akemi his email address. Miyano Akemi had emailed yesterday to confirm the time for coming to clean, and today he needed to at least give her the key. He had to switch personas.
Moreover, he needed to use [Universal Navigation] to help Kokonoe Yoto find that uncaught student who might be mixed up with drug dealers, so Kokonoe Yoto would move away from next door quickly.
But just as he found a place to switch back to his main body, he received an email from Miyano Akemi.
[Very sorry, Botanist-san. On my way driving over, I accidentally hit someone and am now planning to take them to XXX Hospital...]
Usuha Izuki's eyes lit up and he immediately replied: [Wait, I'm coming too.]
—This was definitely Akai Shuichi! Miyano Akemi had just been assigned to him, and this FBI undercover agent delivered himself to the door. How considerate!!!