13: Chapter 13: Detective Enhancement

Back home, to celebrate earning his first real chunk of change, Fujino cracked open the bottle of premium whiskey he'd bought for Kogoro and poured himself a generous glass. Then another.

Okay, maybe underage drinking is illegal, but I'm in my own home, right? What's the harm?

Honestly, forcing his adult, transmigrated soul to abide by Japan's stricter rules felt... weird.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Fujino splashed cold water on his face, trying to shake off the lingering effects of the alcohol. But the dizzying fog of intoxication clung stubbornly to his brainstem.

"Ugh, knew I shouldn't have drunk so much..."

he groaned, stumbling towards his bed and collapsing onto it.

[Congratulations Host! Bloodstained Idol Murder Case Task Complete! Detective Reputation +50]

[System Bounty Distributed.]

[Detective Rank Increased: Basic 1-Star]

[Congratulations Host! New Detective Profession Skill Acquired: Detective Enhancement!]

[Congratulations Host! Student Profession Task Complete! Student Proficiency +50]

[Student Profession Rewards Distributed.]

[Student Rank Increased: Intermediate]

[Congratulations Host! New Student Profession Skill Acquired: Natural Scholar!]

A flurry of system notifications suddenly flooded Fujino's mind.

"Detective Enhancement? Natural Scholar?"

He blinked, slowly sitting up, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pulled open the system interface:

[Name: Fujino]

[Current Classes:]

Primary: Detective (Rank: Basic, 1-Star)

(200 Reputation needed for next Rank Up)

Skills:

Professional Focus: Earn bonus Bounty & Reputation for cases/commissions.

Zone of Concentration (Basic): 60s uninterrupted deduction. (Upgradeable)

Detective Enhancement:

(Enhancement - Basic): Boost physical capabilities by 100%. (Upgradeable)

(Duration - Basic): Enhancement lasts 1 minute. (Upgradeable)

Available Skill Points: 1

Sub-Class: Student (Rank: Intermediate)

(200 Proficiency needed for next Rank Up)

Skills:

Student Discount (Basic): 5% discount on all system functions. (Upgradeable)

Natural Scholar (Basic): Enhance learning ability by 100%. (Upgradeable)

Available Skill Points: 1

[Current Funds: 1,652,000 Yen]

(Sufficient for 17 Profession Orb Draws)

"Damn, I really cleaned up."

Fujino walked out onto the balcony, gazing at the impressive sum displayed in his system account.

Five hundred thousand from the Haunted House case, a million total from the Bloodstained Idol case (Yuko's initial 600k + Yoko's 400k), plus the hundred thousand from the 'bonding with Kogoro' student task. He now had over 1.6 million yen! Enough for seventeen Orb pulls.

He almost instinctively went to cash them all in, but paused. Seventeen single pulls... that's risky. As a self-proclaimed F-rank luck player in gacha games, Fujino didn't believe in single-pull miracles.

Better wait until Ikegami Yuko's remaining payment comes through. He needed enough for a proper ten-pull guarantee.

Putting the gacha thoughts aside, Fujino focused on the new skills.

"Detective Enhancement... basically a permanent version of that stat boost card."

He reread the description.

"A one-minute 'superman mode.' Exactly what I need."

The original Fujino's body was pathetically weak – susceptible to dying from a common cold, apparently.

In the Conan-verse, being a detective required a well-rounded skillset.

Not every culprit broke down crying when exposed; many fought back, potentially taking a few bystanders with them.

Subduing suspects often fell to the detective. The police in this town? Useless.

Don't even get me started.

"With Detective Enhancement, I at least have a trump card for survival."

He then looked at the Natural Scholar skill.

"This description is a bit vague... but since it's a Student skill, I'll probably figure out its specifics once I'm actually studying."

His attention shifted back to the upgrade options for Detective Enhancement. Leveling up a profession granted skill points for that specific class.

With a thought, Fujino allocated his points.

[Detective Enhancement (Duration - Basic 1-Star): Enhancement lasts 2 minutes.]

No points left for Zone of Concentration, but whatever. If I can just beat the suspect into submission first, I can deduce all I want afterward, right?

He then allocated his Student point to the discount skill.

[Student Discount (Intermediate): Enjoy a 5% discount both within the system AND in real-world purchases!]

Wait, real-world purchases too?!

Fujino blinked.

If the description was accurate, this wasn't just a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠system discount anymore. He could save money on everything.

That means more cash for Orbs... This skill is totally broken!

The next morning.

Fujino woke up late, head pounding from the whiskey. Still groggy, without even washing his face or changing out of yesterday's suit, he rushed off to school.

He arrived late, naturally.

And was promptly summoned to Hiratsuka Shizuka's office.

"Alright... explanation. Why are you late?" Shizuka sat at her desk, cigarette dangling from her lips, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Would you believe I overslept?"

"You expect me to believe someone who shows up late, still wearing yesterday's clothes, and reeking of alcohol... just 'overslept'?"

Shizuka's frown deepened, her voice tight with suppressed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anger.

"Alcohol? What alcohol?" Fujino played dumb.

"Must be your imagination... Yeah, definitely."

"You little..." Shizuka rubbed her temples, then grabbed a newspaper from her desk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and shoved it in Fujino's face.

"Our star detective cracks a big case last night, then shows up reeking of booze the next morning. You really think I'm that easy to fool?"

The headline read: [High School Detective Fujino Douji Solves Baffling Case! Victim Revealed as Perpetrator...]

"Ah, this..." Fujino stared at the article, momentarily stunned. Right, still not used to the 'Douji' part of the name.

Seriously though, how are the newspapers here so fast? The case was solved late last night! How did these reporters get all the details already? Something's fishy...

"Ahem." Fujino coughed, trying to regain composure.

"Okay, okay, let me explain..."

"Forget it." Shizuka waved a dismissive hand, sighing.

"I suppose getting your name in the paper is exciting. Just... don't let me catch you smelling like a bar again."

"Understood."

Fujino breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, right." Shizuka suddenly pulled a bag out from under her desk and handed it to him.

"Take this to the changing room and try it on."

Inside was a school uniform.

"It's a used one I got from a graduating senior," she explained.

"It's old, but still in good condition. Use this until your new one is ready."

"Uh..." Fujino took the bag, feeling a strange mix of emotions.

"What? Too good for hand-me-downs?"

"No, not at all."

Fujino shook his head, a genuine, small smile touching his lips.

"Thank you, Hiratsuka-sensei."