This Phantom Thief, You Wouldn't Want To

The fat man's footsteps were very light, which was disproportionate to his size.

Fujino sized up the fat man and rubbed his chin.

Based on his initial deduction, this guy should be the Kaito Kid in disguise.

Kuroba Kaito, that kid, if you're going to pretend, at least do it properly.

What's with pretending to be a fat guy who looks like he weighs 200 pounds?

When Kuroba Kaito saw the crowd downstairs, he was completely dumbfounded.

Fujino!

It's that guy again!

And that soccer prodigy!

How come I keep running into this guy everywhere I go...?

Could this guy be someone from the chat group too?

Also, why did that girl from the Suzuki family and that girl who looks a lot like Aoko both come?

A family trip?

Why do I feel like I'm running into these people more and more often lately?

Despite his inner surprise and a sudden, inexplicable sharp pain in his skull, he maintained a poker face, pointed to himself, and gave Suzuki Sonoko a simple, honest smile, "You're the magician's apprentice? I'm Doi Taku. It's so great that you're a girl."

Fujino wanted to see Suzuki Sonoko's reaction to seeing the Buddha statue.

Turning my head, I saw the smile on her face gradually stiffen.

Suddenly, Fujino seemed to hear a breaking sound.

It's Girlish Heart!

Sonoko's Girlish Heart is broken!

This person is the first to experience a heartbreak after meeting their online lover in person.

After a brief exchange, Fujino Ran Sonoko to their respective rooms.

Because there weren't enough rooms, Ran and Sonoko were assigned to the same room.

Conan was also assigned a room, and he shared a room with Fujino.

Fujino placed the travel bag on the bed, then threw the bedding on the floor. "Little Brother Conan, I'll trouble you to stay downstairs tonight."

Why do I have to live down there?

Conan looked at Fujino, speechless and somewhat unconvinced.

Normally, shouldn't children sleep in beds and adults sleep on the floor?

Why did Fujino turn around and chase him down?

He has a cold!

"Sleeping on the floor can help treat a cold."

Fujino opened his travel bag, took out Okamoto 0.01 Wooden Sword, and touched the tip of the blade. "So, Little Brother Conan, what do you think?"

"No... no."

Conan looked at the Wooden Sword in Fujino's hand and swallowed hard.

His face looked like he'd been bitten by a dog.

Damn it, why does Fujino carry a Wooden Sword with him everywhere he goes?

It's one thing to perform a magical little trick that turns into Wooden Sword, but why bring a Wooden Sword with you when you go out to play?

Do you have paranoia?

Recalling the criminals that Fujino had subdued with Wooden Sword in the past, a sharp pain shot through the top of his head.

He didn't want to be stabbed in the back by Fujino.

While it might not be that serious, Conan believes that Fujino is indeed capable of doing something like this.

"Alright, you should lie down for a while."

Fujino casually pulled a bottle of cold medicine from his pocket and tossed it to Conan, saying, "A bad cold can be fatal."

"Ah?"

Conan took the cold medicine and looked at Fujino with surprise.

He was a little confused.

Could it be my imagination?

Fujino is actually a pretty nice guy, isn't he?

Ignoring Conan, Fujino put the Wooden Sword back into his travel bag.

Then he turned around, pushed open the door, and came to the other side of the room, to the door of Doi Takuki's room.

Well, if he remembers correctly.

Besides the one million yen, I should be able to get some money for free this time.

He's a wanted phantom thief.

Why not take the money if it's free?

"Knock knock knock!"

"They're here!"

The door to the room was opened quickly.

Blackfish Kaito still had a simple and honest smile, "Detective Fujino, why are you here?"

"I need to talk to you about something."

Fujino gave the large, fat man in front of him a meaningful look. "Want to chat?"

"Shall we chat?"

Kuroba Kaito was clearly taken aback. "Please come in."

"You must be Kaito Kid, right?"

After Fujino sat down, he got straight to the point.

"You must be joking. How could I possibly be Kaito Kid?"

Kuroba Kaito tried to appear calm, but he was inwardly astonished.

"Is that so?"

Fujino smiled, her fist clenched like that of an Iron Fist Saintess, displayed before him. "Then if I punch you, your face shouldn't collapse, right?"

"Forehead..."

Kuroba Kaito glanced at Fujino's fist, swallowed hard, and his tone suddenly changed. "I didn't expect you to see through that. As expected of you."

"I'm curious, how exactly did you find me?"

"The name itself gives it away. Doi Takuki, if you think about it carefully, it's probably just a jumbled mess of pronunciations of Kaito Kid, right?"

Fujino chuckled, "Besides, the sound your weight makes when you go downstairs is obviously different. Do you think the wooden staircase won't creak when a fat person weighing over 200 pounds goes downstairs?"

"So that's how it is."

Kuroba Kaito nodded, looked at Fujino, and couldn't help but exclaim, "You're really terrifying."

"It has to be scary. If it's not scary, there's no way to fight against a phantom thief like you."

Fujino silently withdrew his fist, then looked at Kuroba Kaito's honest face, "So, what exactly is your purpose in infiltrating here this time?"

He smirked. "Could it be that you just came to see Sonoko?"

At this point, Fujino shook his head, "Although Sonoko's family is indeed quite wealthy, you wouldn't go to such lengths for money..."

"Of course not."

Kuroba Kaito explained, "My purpose in coming here this time is for Ikasama Douji."

"Ikasama Douji, that mature woman named Tanaka Kikue."

Fujino feigned confusion, then looked at Kuroba Kaito with some disdain. "Are you planning to become a womanizer?"

Kuroba Kaito: "?"

"She is indeed quite beautiful, but you don't need to make such a fuss over something like this..."

As he spoke, Fujino patted Kuroba Kaito on the shoulder.

"Hey! What kind of image do I have in your eyes?!"

Kuroba Kaito retorted, feeling utterly speechless.

Good heavens, how did he become a womanizer?

"A thief with no regard for the law, who enjoys harassing women."

Kuroba Kaito: "?"

"Based on the information I currently have and my impression of you, I wouldn't be surprised if you went to peep into the women's changing room."

Kuroba Kaito: "?!"

"After all, you're such a convincing woman, especially when you're impersonating Ran. If I hadn't been so observant, I would have been fooled by you... To have mastered such a skill, I think you must have been spying on the girls changing clothes in the women's changing room quite a bit."

Kuroba Kaito: "..."

Fujino was immediately rendered speechless by Kuroba Kaito.

He remained silent for a long time, then took a deep breath.

He forcibly suppressed the urge to pull out a playing card gun and shoot this outrageous guy in front of him.

He sighed before explaining, "Ikasama Douji was Murai Kazumasa's stage name a long time ago. I knew he was Murai Kazumasa from the beginning, but Murai Kazumasa is dead. I was curious about who was continuing to chat with us, so I decided to come and see."

"So that's how it is."

Fujino nodded in sudden realization, then asked with a serious expression, "So, what are your thoughts on Ms. Tanaka Kikue?"

"Of course not!"

Kuroba Kaito shouted speechlessly.

Why does this guy always seem to have feelings for that woman?

Does he really look that much like a womanizer?

He admitted that he did enjoy harassing respectable women when he was stealing.

But that's all. He's a minor, how could he possibly do something illegal?

Even if they did it, it's the other party who broke the law!

"Okay, enough joking around."

Fujino got back to the main topic, his expression turning serious once more. "What do you think of that Tanaka Kikue?"

"I've already said, I have no feelings for her."

Kuroba Kaito waved his hand listlessly.

What are you thinking about?

Fujino glanced at Kuroba Kaito with a hint of disdain. "You really are that kind of frivolous guy."

Kuroba Kaito silently pulled out a playing card gun.

"Kaito Kid, shut up."

Fujino threw a punch.

The playing card gun broke.

"?"

Kuroba Kaito revealed his beady eyes.

Outrageous!

His deck gun! It's broken again! It just broke a few days ago!

Hateful!

I'll have to spend another million yen to commission Terai Konosuke to find a doctor he knows to order one.

—A certain Mediterranean PhD gave an unkind laugh.

The recovery of two million yen has been completed.

"Now can we have a proper talk?"

Fujino withdrew his fist and spoke calmly.

All I can say is, he truly lives up to his reputation as that woman's student.

She has truly inherited the Iron Fist Saintess's skills!

"Go ahead and ask, as long as it's a normal question."

Kuroba Kaito somewhat helpless.

Is there anything strange about her?

Fujino asked, "I mean, based on her behavior since she came here, I think she might be involved in a murder case."

"As for strange things, I didn't feel anything unusual."

Kuroba Kaito frowned slightly, pondering for a moment. "But a murder case? Which one are you referring to?"

"It was that incident this morning..."

Fujino glanced at Kuroba Kaito's puzzled expression, then suddenly remembered something. "I almost forgot, the police haven't released this information yet."

Recalling that he had asked the police not to release information about the case, he explained, "This morning, a male corpse was found in an apartment in Haido Town. The deceased was named Tsutomu Nishiyama. The police found a coded message left by the murderer in his home: 'This is just the first one— Shadow Master.'"

"Shadow Master?"

Kuroba Kaito recognized the name. "Could it be that Shadow Master from the chat group?"

"That's right, it's him."

"That..."

Kuroba Kaito frowned immediately, swallowed hard, and said in disbelief, "The person who was killed, could it be the Escape King who hasn't arrived yet?"

"That's right, I logged into his account and checked, he is the Escape King."

Fujino gave him a look that said, "This kid is teachable."

"Do you suspect that Tanaka Kikue is the one who killed the Escape King?"

Kuroba Kaito's expression also turned serious.

"It's just a suspicion."

Fujino rubbed his chin and said evasively, "Based on my reasoning, Tanaka Kikue is indeed my primary suspect, but she's not the only one I suspect. It's just that her behavior is what bothers me... After all, you also said that the account she took over belonged to a dead person."

"This time, the murderer was the Shadow Master, whose account was Ikasama Douji. If it wasn't her, then the murderer must be one of the people present."

"Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that the Shadow Master is someone who hasn't arrived yet. If he hasn't arrived, then that would be quite terrifying."

"Fear?"

Kuroba Kaito looked somewhat puzzled.

Fujino nodded seriously. "If that person is someone who didn't show up, I think the Shadow Master might be trying to wipe out everyone in our chat room from the outside."

"Are all detectives this good at making up stories?"

Kuroba Kaito looked at Fujino with a strange expression.

"This is just based on reasoning."

Fujino explained.

"Then why can't I deduce it?"

Kuroba Kaito looked somewhat helpless. "Where's the evidence? How did you deduce that?"

"Evidence..."

Fujino shrugged. "No."

"If you don't have it, how do you deduce it?"

"I call it idealistic reasoning: reasoning with the mind and feeling with intuition."

Kuroba Kaito Fujino looked at Fujino speechlessly.

He obviously didn't know what it was.

After all, even Fujino, the spoiler, didn't know what kind of nonsense he was making up.

In the words of my past life, let's call it "the Power of Thought".

"Ahem."

Fujino coughed lightly, "The Shadow Master left a message that this is only the first one, so this time, apart from the Escape King, there will definitely be others who will be killed..."

Will anyone else be killed?

Upon hearing this, Kuroba Kaito frowned. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that Fujino's words, though not entirely clear, seemed to make sense.

Is this what a detective is like?

That's terrifying.

"Do you have any way to stop that Shadow Master from killing people?"

After thinking for a moment, Kuroba Kaito looked at Fujino with a serious expression.

"I do have some leads now... and I'm fairly confident I can prevent anyone else from being killed."

Seeing that Fujino Kuroba Kaito, Fujino nodded in satisfaction and said, "However, I need a little help from you."

"Help?"

"Yes, I need you to tell me some information."

Fujino nodded and explained, "In addition, I need you to pay me a commission fee of 500,000 yen."

"There's nothing special about the Shadow Master... but what's with the commission fee?"

Kuroba Kaito looked at Fujino with a puzzled expression.

"Normally, I couldn't just ignore a phantom thief like you. The reason I came here today is actually to arrest you..."

After a pause, Fujino looked troubled. "But due to the special circumstances today, I can't take action against you for the time being. Taking action against you would definitely affect my operations, but not taking action against you would violate my professional ethics. So I came up with a compromise: you become my client. The protection fee is 500,000 yen. If you entrust me with this, I cannot take action against my client."

"So you lost out and I gained?"

Kuroba Kaito's lips twitched involuntarily. "Why do I feel like you're taking advantage of my misfortune?"

Recalling the way that money-grubbing lay Buddhist had acted last time, he suddenly felt as if he had fallen into the trap of this guy the moment he opened the door.

Fujino didn't like hearing that. What did he mean by taking advantage of someone's misfortune?

Don't you have any idea how many countries have issued arrest warrants for you?

Fine, if you won't listen to reason, then just do it.

Fujino sighed, a slight smile playing on his lips, "This phantom thief, you didn't want this either..."