38: Chapter 38: The Beika Death Squad

"Everything's happening at once," Fujino sighed, standing on his balcony, watching Shibasaki Mieko's retreating figure.

If he remembered correctly, Mieko was involved in another case – the Karaoke Box Murder.

And the victim in that case? None other than Kimura Tatsuya, the very guy Mieko had just hired him to investigate.

The killer, however, wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mieko, but the band's manager, Terahara Mari. The 'girl' Tatsuya claimed to be waiting for was actually Mari herself.

Due to a series of misunderstandings, neither ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had confessed their feelings.

Ultimately, fueled by jealousy and misinterpretations, Mari poisoned Tatsuya after their final performance... A complete tragedy born from miscommunication...

"This is getting complicated," Fujino muttered, scratching his head. Why am I stumbling into so many cases lately? Am I developing some kind of Grim Reaper aura myself?

Well, at least these cases hadn't happened yet. There was still time to potentially intervene...

As for the 'friend' who referred Mieko, she hadn't explicitly named them, just vaguely mentioning

'a popular idol whose fame is currently soaring.'

Fujino's first guess was Yoko Okino. She was the only currently famous female idol among his recent clients. Ikegami Yuko? He immediately dismissed the possibility. No way. Absolutely not. That woman, after he'd basically blackmailed her, would sooner hire someone to kill him than give him more business. Unless she'd literally hit her head...

Fujino shook his head, clearing the stray thoughts. Business is business. Doesn't matter who sent her.

He turned back inside, surveying his somewhat cluttered main room. "Right," he murmured to himself, "definitely time to get that reception area sorted out. Meeting clients in my living room isn't exactly professional..."

Meanwhile, in a dressing room at a Tokyo TV station.

"Damn my luck... Hit my head on a door during filming." Ikegami Yuko pressed an ice pack to her temple, sighing. "Hope this doesn't affect the rest of the shoot." She removed the ice pack, wincing as a fresh wave of pain shot through her head, letting out a small whimper.

The next day.

Having accepted Shibasaki Mieko's commission, Fujino didn't immediately start the investigation.

Instead, he headed straight to a furniture store to finally furnish his detective agency's future reception area. Can't keep meeting clients in my bedroom...

Sunset.

"Unbelievable!" Fujino grumbled, exiting a bank near Tokyo Tower, clad in his new black trench coat, his usual deadpan expression firmly in place.

"Said they can't issue me a POS machine because I'm a minor! What kind of crap is that?!"

He'd gone to his usual bank, planning to finally get a mobile payment terminal. But they'd flat-out refused him because he was underage! Seriously?! They were perfectly happy to give him a bank card back when he was the 'Young Master Fujino'! Now that his family fortune was gone, suddenly they were discriminating against an eighteen-year-old?

"Banks... Bunch of vultures," Fujino sighed.

He hadn't walked far when a system notification popped up:

[Detective Profession Task: Italian Robbery Case]

Objective: Apprehend the Italian Robbery gang.

Location: Marked on Host's HUD.

Time Limit:10 Hours

Reward:1,000,000 Yen Bounty, +50 Detective Reputation.

"Italian Robbers?" Fujino's eyes widened slightly at the million-yen bounty. He'd just spent a million furnishing his office, leaving him with only 1.3 million yen. Still a decent amount, but considering the system's gacha addiction (900k for ten pulls!), it wasn't nearly enough. Without hesitation, Fujino accepted the mission. Time to replenish the coffers.

"Fujino? What are you doing here?" A child's voice piped up beside him.

Fujino looked down. There stood Conan, clad in his usual 'battle suit'... accompanied by several other distinct-looking elementary schoolers.

Conan was holding a crumpled piece of paper covered in strange symbols.

"Wow! Big brother, are you the famous high school detective, Fujino?" A little girl with pigtails popped out from behind Conan, gazing up at Fujino with stars in her eyes.

This was Ayumi, the sole girl member of the infamous 'Beika Death Squad' (aka the Detective Boys), and effectively the group's mascot.

"Famous? Not really," Fujino replied modestly.

"Just a passing high school detective."

"A detective! For real!" Ayumi snatched the paper from Conan's hand and held it up excitedly to Fujino.

"Since you're a detective, big brother, you must be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really good at puzzles! Can you help us figure out this trea—"

Before she could finish, the other two boys yanked her back.

"No way, Ayumi!"

"We found the treasure map! If we show it to this detective, he'll steal all the credit!"

"Yeah! And he'll probably want a cut of the treasure too!"

"Why would he..." Conan sighed, exasperated by his friends' antics.

He tried reasoning with them in his 'kid' voice.

"Maybe we should let him look? He might be able to figure something out."

The other kids just stared at him like he was crazy.

"Heh." Fujino watched Conan being dragged away by his well-meaning but clueless friends, an amused smirk hidden by his neutral expression.

Poor Kudo. Babysitting isn't easy...

Though the paper looked like random scribbles, Fujino knew it was a real treasure map. It led to six hundred million yen worth of gold maple leaf coins, stolen by the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Italian robbery gang.

Six hundred million yen... Fujino felt a momentary pang of greed.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

Even if he got his hands on the gold, fencing it would be a massive headache.

Selling it to a legitimate gold dealer would attract police attention instantly.

The black market was an option, but Fujino had no idea how to access it.

And the system's currency conversion? He'd tried converting physical items to system cash before; it didn't work. Not even foreign currency. Unsellable gold was just a heavy, incriminating burden.

"Too bad," Fujino sighed inwardly.

"Can't get the big score, but might as well grab the million yen bounty right in front of me."

He turned his gaze towards a shadowy nearby alley, a cold glint entering his eyes.

"Apprehending internationally wanted robbers... maybe the police will offer a little bonus reward too?"