Chapter 193
Kudo Shinichi completely hadn't expected Usuha Izuki to have such a straightforward personality and was stunned for a moment.
Also stunned was the criminal—he even tried to judge whether his comprehension had problems, unable to believe anyone would speak so directly, not understanding where exactly he'd revealed a flaw to be discovered so quickly.
In the second he was stunned, Usuha Izuki flipped the table without warning.
He looked like he had no muscle, but his strength was considerable—the clothing's attribute bonuses were exactly strength, making the table flip much faster than an ordinary person could manage.
This restaurant's tables weren't fixed, and the grills were also movable. With his table flip, he immediately created an artificial crisis.
The criminal reflexively tried to dodge, especially wanting to avoid the grill and the charcoal beneath it—getting hit by that would definitely cause burns!
Just as the criminal's vision was mostly blocked by the table, Usuha Izuki had already pulled the waitress aside with one hand and kicked several chairs over with his foot. Whether by coincidence or careful design, they perfectly blocked the criminal's escape routes.
The criminal, focused on the charcoal and grill, couldn't watch his footing. He dodged clumsily, stumbling and getting hit in the head by a plate.
Though it sounds complex, everything settled in just a few seconds. When everything that should hit the ground had hit the ground and the criminal could finally breathe easy, he suddenly felt something pressing against his back.
"Alright."
The unconventional youth's cheerful voice came from behind him: "Hands up. These bullets are use-one-lose-one—I don't want to waste them."
Criminal: "...???"
Kudo Shinichi: "...???"
Usuha?! Aren't you just an ordinary fan of my mom?! Why do you have a gun?!
"Where did this gun come from?!" Kudo Shinichi couldn't help asking aloud.
The criminal almost thought he was the one asking, since he wanted to know too.
"Borrowed it from the Sumiyoshi Group, which is why I said bullets are limited and I don't want to waste them." Usuha Izuki nonchalantly poked forward with the gun in his hand. "You too—don't you know whose territory this is? Coming to cause trouble on our turf—tired of living?"
The criminal's heart raced, his brain spinning rapidly: "I—I also pay protection money..."
"You're a recently escaped fugitive—where would you get money? It's just from this shop." Usuha Izuki snorted coldly. "Letting you succeed would be slapping our organization's face."
The criminal was very conflicted.
The middle schooler in front of him was obviously a normal person. He'd originally thought that someone who'd bring such an ordinary family's kid out to play shouldn't have reached the level of carrying guns.
But that clicking sound just now really seemed like a safety being released.
Thinking again about those chairs that just happened to block escape routes, it seemed like he really did have rich fighting experience...
They had a saying in their world—don't mess with young people. They were at the age of showing off and being aggressive, especially liking to prove themselves. They acted without restraint, didn't consider future consequences much, got heated easily, and could accidentally kill someone.
The gun's origin was reasonable and logical. From his tone, this guy even felt sorry about the bullets—that regretful emotion didn't seem fake. The problem was only regretting bullets while not caring much about the consequences of shooting—that was very scary.
These details made him very afraid. What if the other party had finally gotten a gun and was eager to try it out, wanting to practice on him... If they shot and ran, as an escaped convict, the police might not really seek justice for him.
Just going through procedures to file a case and send investigators would be time-consuming. During that time, there were no other witnesses nearby—they might really get away.
But the incredulous expression on the teenager across from him gave him hope. What if—what if that wasn't a real gun? Two people eating together, one ordinary and one yakuza member who'd shoot without hesitation—the probability was a bit low, right? What if it was just to scare him?
"Why that expression?" the person behind him suddenly asked the middle schooler. "Don't you know what kind of person I am?"
Kudo Shinichi: "...We've only met twice including today—how would I know what kind of person you are!"
What kind of person brings a gun when going out to eat?!
The criminal's heart immediately sank.
This was bad—this ordinary person didn't actually know the person behind him well, meaning there really might be someone involved with yakuza...
But unlike the criminal, after speaking, Kudo Shinichi habitually thought deeper and suddenly felt—could that statement actually have hidden meaning?
He really didn't know what Usuha did for work, but he knew Usuha was brought by an international superstar. Maybe he worked with film crews, and film crews had prop guns that could be taken or bought after filming with the star's influence... seemed possible?
Was Usuha actually hinting that it wasn't a real gun, telling him not to worry?
Suspicion values flowed in like water, and the system drooled: [Worthy of this world's protagonist—so generous...]
[Let him be even more generous.]
Just as Kudo Shinichi calmed down, the criminal who'd been rolling his eyes and seemed to want to struggle while having concerns suddenly rolled his eyes back and collapsed.
Kudo Shinichi immediately got unsettled again: "...?!"
Wait?! Action so fast?! No wait, I didn't hear gunfire...
As the criminal completely fell and no longer blocked his view, Kudo Shinichi finally saw clearly what Usuha Izuki held in his other hand.
"...Stun gun?"
"Mm." Usuha Izuki put the stun gun he'd just taken from system space into his jeans pocket without changing expression. "Can't really shoot, right?"
Sigh, he'd gotten this thing two or three years ago. Since it had no attributes and wasn't even worth using as decoration, Usuha Izuki had never claimed it from the system. Who knew it would come in handy now.
Kudo Shinichi breathed a huge sigh of relief: "You scared me to death..."
He felt the shock he'd just received wasn't much less than the fallen criminal's.
Usuha Izuki even advised him: "If you want to be a detective, you'll definitely encounter this kind of thing often. Better get used to it early."
Kudo Shinichi: "...I prefer the brain-puzzle-solving parts. I don't really like directly confronting criminals..."
"Holmes could box and such. If your idol is Holmes, you should practice more too."
Kudo Shinichi fell silent.
The image of Usuha Izuki kicking chairs one by one floated through his mind, and he slowly nodded: "...I understand."
—Boxing was out of the question, but his soccer was good. He could practice accuracy with his feet for long-range attacks in the future!
The waitress had already rushed to the back kitchen to rescue the tied-up shop owner couple. Kudo Shinichi took the rope that had bound them and came out to tie up the criminal.
"I already called the police," Usuha Izuki said. "I'll leave the rest here to you."
Kudo Shinichi was startled: "Ah? Leave it to me? What about you?"
He was still just a middle schooler! What decent person would leave a middle schooler at a crime scene and walk away?!
"Of course I'm leaving!" Usuha Izuki said righteously. "I've finished eating—staying here waiting for police would be too much of a waste of time. I still have things to do."
Kudo Shinichi vaguely felt this wasn't right and tried to keep him: "Don't go—the police might arrive soon."
"That's even worse." Usuha Izuki said. "What if the police ask where I got the gun?"
Kudo Shinichi: "...Ah?! Isn't this gun a model?!"
Usuha Izuki smiled: "Guess."
What am I supposed to guess? Kudo Shinichi desperately wanted to check for himself, but his hands were busy tying up the criminal who could wake up anytime. He couldn't let go and could only watch helplessly as Usuha Izuki waved at him, then turned and left.
"Don't go! Usuha! Hey!"
By the time Kudo Shinichi finally finished tying up the criminal and rushed outside, Usuha Izuki's figure had long disappeared.
...Forget it. People connected to the entertainment industry seemed reluctant to meet police.
As for worrying about police asking where he got the gun, that should just be a random excuse to brush him off. Usuha always liked teasing him, even though he wasn't a little kid anymore.
Besides, if it were a real gun, Usuha wouldn't have let it appear in front of others—no wait, Usuha wouldn't have even stayed in this restaurant. He would have left smoothly when he noticed something was wrong.
Though they were strangers, he was willing to help rescue the shop owner couple. Usuha was undoubtedly a good person.
Kudo Shinichi completed a round of self-persuasion.
Soon, the police arrived.
"Model gun and stun gun, right..." The officer wrote quickly. "Why was he carrying these things?"
Kudo Shinichi didn't want to cause trouble for Usuha Izuki, so he offered his speculation: "He's... maybe an assistant or something for a major star. These are probably related to his daily work."
The officer understood: "Oh—props from film crews, plus tools to prevent stalker fans and obsessive followers. I see, got it."
Since Kudo Shinichi's side counted as acting justly, this criminal was originally an escaped convict anyway, no one died in the case, and there were witnesses including the waitress and shop owner couple, the police didn't make things too difficult for him. Seeing he was still a student and it was getting late, they didn't drag things out. After asking a few questions, they planned to let him go home early.
Walking out of the restaurant, Kudo Shinichi still felt something wasn't quite right.
...Though everything else could be explained, Usuha's fighting proficiency, especially calculating the chair-blocking routes... was way too skilled...
But saying he was film crew staff was just his own speculation. To confirm, he'd need to ask...
Sigh, Usuha just liked messing with people. If he knew Kudo Shinichi had thought so much over a model gun, Usuha would definitely be delighted.
Anyway, Usuha probably wasn't a bad person. Plus seeing through the suspicious points at a glance, directly subduing the criminal, that decisive style was quite like Holmes—not being a detective would be such a waste!
As for what his actual profession was and why he carried these things, let him slowly guess. If he directly asked, he'd feel like he'd lost!
Kudo Shinichi clenched his fists secretly.
He'd probe more next time... though he didn't know when they'd meet again.
But he could practice soccer more. When he became a detective, maybe it could be useful like Usuha's chairs...