Solving Cases at Light Speed

Inside the brightly lit restaurant.

"How lucky..."

Kawabata Shiro raised his glass and downed the drink in one gulp. "I never expected to run into the Great Detective Fujino just because I went out for dinner."

"No, no."

Fujino wore a professional fake smile, picked up the drink on the table, took a sip, and responded politely.

He wasn't interested in these kinds of social niceties.

It was mainly for social occasions.

When a stranger offers you kindness, it's either because they have ulterior motives, are a thief, or want something from you.

He was curious to see what the producer wanted to commission him to do.

I'll also get a free dinner.

As Fujino had anticipated, seeing that the time was ripe, Kawabata Shiro made his request. "Actually, there is something I would like to trouble you with, Detective Fujino."

Fujino picked up his drink, took a small sip, and said calmly, "Would you mind telling me the details of the request?"

That's right.

Seeing Fujino's reaction, Kawabata Shiro knew that his little scheme had been exposed. "We are currently preparing to shoot a movie, but the female lead broke her leg in a car accident... So I would like to ask Detective Fujino to help me find a 'skilled and cute' girl from among my acquaintances to play the female lead."

"I advise Detective Fujino that you'd better not introduce him to anyone."

Nearby, a man with fox-like eyes suddenly quipped, "Some idiotic producers will go against the spirit of the original work just to make money, adding a lot of sex scenes and irrelevant romance plots to the film."

"Ahem."

Kawabata Shiro coughed awkwardly. "Mr. Kitaura, the person you're talking about isn't me, is it?"

The man named Beipu turned his head and chuckled softly, "Who knows?"

"If it were just a romance story, it would be fine."

A man with a thick beard and glasses suddenly said, "If you're unlucky, you could die on the spot while filming this guy's movie."

"You shouldn't say such things."

Kawabata Shiro was a little embarrassed. He was about to pick up his wine glass when he accidentally knocked over his soup bowl, spilling some of the soup onto Fujino's pants.

I almost burned the oregano.

"I'm so sorry, Detective Fujino!"

Kawabata Shiro quickly grabbed his wet towel and wiped his jeans, then wiped Fujino's as well.

Then, a little blue stain appeared on Fujino's pants.

Fujino looked up: Are you deliberately picking a fight?

"Forehead..."

Kawabata Shiro glanced at the blue stain on his jeans and immediately felt embarrassed, scratching his toes.

"I'll do it."

Ai Haibara skillfully picked up a towel and bent down to wipe the soup stains off Fujino.

Fujino glanced at his casual pants with a pained expression.

This guy's jeans are fading!

The Tokyo night sky gradually darkened.

Before long, a light rain began to fall, like willow leaves.

The pedestrians on the street stirred and hurried to nearby shops to take shelter from the rain.

After ordering, all the dishes on the table were finally served.

Everyone sat around the dining table.

This time, besides Kawabata Shiro and Fujino Ai Haibara, there were three other people sitting at the same table.

They are assistant director Ito Mototsugu, author Kitaura Kyogo who has a square chin and squinty eyes), and the film's director Isoami Kuraizo.

The group of people belonged to the same film crew, and they came out this time to discuss the female lead in the film.

After an awkward silence, Kawabata Shiro seized the opportunity and asked Fujino, "By the way, Detective Fujino, do you have a suitable candidate for the matter I just mentioned?"

"As for candidates, I can't think of anyone right now... How about this, I'll call you when I find someone."

Fujino glanced at the thick lines on Kawabata Shiro's face and said this.

As for candidates, he does have one in mind: Hiratsuka Shizuka would be quite suitable.

He can vouch for his skill level, but as for being young and cute...

Isn't Jing Ke'ai adorable?

It's probably because I'm almost thirty, and my temper has gotten a bit worse due to my age.

However, Fujino has no intention of pushing the Iron Fist Saintess out.

Even if they were to release it, they wouldn't give it to a producer who seems like the male lead in a crazy movie.

"Haha... no problem."

Kawabata Shiro smiled and nodded, knowing full well that Fujino was playing coy.

But I just offended them, so it's normal for them to be unhappy.

As he spoke, he tried to serve Fujino some food.

However, when he saw the dishes on the table in front of him, he complained, "Who ordered the preserved egg tofu and crab meat scrambled eggs? Didn't I just say not to order these two dishes?"

"It must be someone who was traveling with you."

Fujino picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork. "I just ordered Ai and sour pork, and Ai, who came with me, ordered xiaolongbao."

"Well..."

Kawabata Shiro sighed softly, "These people are really something. They know I hate eggs, yet they still order them."

"You dislike eggs?"

"That's right."

Kawabata Shiro turned the two dishes away from him. "I've felt like throwing up whenever I saw egg-based foods since I was a child."

"It should be a rare physiological symptom. If you force yourself to eat it, it may cause poisoning."

As she spoke, Ai Haibara picked up a small steamed bun and placed it in Fujino's bowl, saying in a flat tone, "I heard their steamed buns are very good. Try them and see if they suit your taste."

Fujino picked up a xiaolongbao, took a bite, and commented, "It's pretty good. The chef must be Chinese."

"I'll go get the soy sauce."

Ai Haibara nodded, turned the table in front of her to grab the soy sauce, but before she could get it, the soy sauce was suddenly turned away.

Ai Haibara: "..."

She turned again, and then was moved away again.

Ai Haibara: I'm a little angry.

Fujino looked up and glanced around, then this time he reached out and turned his hand.

Sitting opposite him, Isoami Kuraizo spun the roundabout back.

"..."

Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly, and an invisible aura seemed to emanate from his body.

Isoami Kuraizo suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up and saw the detective staring straight at him.

He swallowed hard, picked up a piece of preserved egg, and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

Seeing this, Fujino silently turned the rotating table around, took the soy sauce down, poured some into Ai Haibara's bowl, and put it back in its original place.

"Peking duck is here!"

At that moment, a waiter pushed a food cart over.

On the food cart, there was a roast duck that looked and smelled delicious.

It's not sliced, it's a whole one!

"We've finally arrived! Their Peking duck is absolutely delicious."

Kawabata Shiro said expectantly, then turned to Fujino and asked, "By the way, Detective Fujino, do you have a favorite female celebrity?"

"Sharon Vineyard, please..."

Fujino thought for a moment and then gave his reply.

Sharon Vineyard is none other than Vermouth, the woman dressed in black and known as the Thousand-Faced Witch, whom Vermouth encountered during his last rescue of Ai Haibara Fujino.

I just don't know if Vermouth is currently impersonating Tomoaki Araide.

If they're in disguise, maybe they could have a showdown between the Iron Fist Saintess and the Thousand-Faced Witch. I wonder what kind of sparks they'd create.

We can test the waters when we go to school in a few days.

"A new System Task has been detected. Please check it!"

Just as Fujino was thinking about Vermouth, a system notification suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

He snapped out of his daze and saw a system notification suddenly appear before his eyes:

Detective Profession Mission: (The Phantom in the Rain on Chinatown)

Mission Objective: Solve the case of the Phantom in the Rain on Chinatown.

System Rewards: 1 million yen, 200 Detective Reputation Points

"Phantom in the Rain on Chinatown..."

Fujino looked at the System Task in front of him and was speechless for a moment.

Even going out for a meal can lead to a case.

No, that's not the point. The point is, how did this case end up in Tokyo?

Shouldn't it be in Kanagawa?

"Ah!"

Before he could think any further, a painful sob came from the side.

He turned his head and saw Kawabata Shiro grabbing his neck, foaming at the mouth, and slamming his head directly onto the table.

Fujino: "..."

The absence of screams feels a bit strange.

"Ah!!!"

At that moment, a girl at the next table noticed Kawabata Shiro suddenly collapse and let out a scream.

Hmm, this time it's working right.

The restaurant suddenly descended into chaos upon the appearance of the dead body.

Fujino followed the usual detective procedure to ascertain Kawabata Shiro's situation.

"How about it?"

Ai Haibara walked over. "Is there any hope for him?"

"Cyanide poisoning."

Fujino replied, "The deceased has passed away."

"I'm going to call the police..."

Ai Haibara took out her phone and dialed the police.

The people sitting around the dining table also stood up and gathered around.

Amidst the chaos, Isoami Kuraizo slowly approached the body with a towel in hand.

Just as he was about to switch his wet towel with Kawabata Shiro's, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

Fujino grabbed Isoami Kuraizo's arm and asked, "Mr. Isoue, what are you trying to do?"

"Forehead..."

Isoami Kuraizo was stunned. "I want to see if he's really dead."

Fujino was somewhat speechless.

I want to see if he's really dead.

That reason is somewhat reasonable.

Coming to his senses, Fujino looked at the towel in his hand and said in a deep voice, "You must be the murderer, Mr. Isoue."

Isoami Kuraizo: "Is there any evidence?"

Fujino: "The towel in your hand is the evidence."

Ai Haibara: "I saw you change your towel too."

Isoami Kuraizo: "..."

Soon, Juzo Megure and his team arrived at the scene.

"Brother Fujino!"

Juzo Megure approached Fujino, greeted him, and glanced at Isoami Kuraizo: "Is he the murderer?"

"Um."

Fujino nodded and explained, "The victim's Kawabata Shiro, a producer. The cause of death was cyanide poisoning."

As he spoke, he nudged Isoami Kuraizo, whose arm was being held by his. "The murderer is this man, named Isoami Kuraizo. He's a director. His method was to use a towel soaked in cyanide to contaminate the turntable and take advantage of the victim's aversion to eggs to kill him."

"But I caught him just as he was about to switch the victim's towel."

As he spoke, Fujino handed the white towel to Juzo Megure: "This is the towel I confiscated from him back then."

"So, that's the end of the case?"

Juzo Megure glanced at the corpse, then at the bearded man Fujino was dragging, his expression complex.

This guy seems to be involved in murder cases quite frequently.

While camping during the day, a murder case occurred. One man single-handedly fought three ruthless thugs, resulting in one death, one injury, and one mental illness.

The patient with mental illness has now been sent to Aoyama Psychiatric Hospital for evaluation.

I went out for dinner and stumbled upon a murder case. Before the murderer could even change the evidence, I caught him red-handed.

Solving the case at the speed of light...

I don't know if he actually listened to my advice and went to the shrine.

Coming to his senses, Juzo Megure waved to the police officers behind him. "As Fujino- kun said, take this Mr. Isogami back to the station for questioning, and also have the towel tested..."

"Speaking of which Inspector Megure."

Fujino glanced at Isoami Kuraizo, who was being led away by two policemen. "This time, I won't have to give a statement, right?"

Juzo Megure: "..."

It seems like Fujino caught the criminal on the spot just to avoid making a statement.

Seeing that Juzo Megure did not reply, Fujino asked again, "Inspector Megure?"

"Ah, the statement."

After regaining his composure, Juzo Megure coughed lightly and said seriously, "It is still necessary to take a statement, but if we catch the suspect red-handed, we should only need to obtain a statement, which should not take long."

"Tsk..."

Fujino clicked his tongue, somewhat disappointed.

Juzo Megure: "..."

So you arrested the murderer directly so you wouldn't have to take a statement, right?

When I came out of the Metropolitan Police Department, it was completely dark.

It was 11 p. m. when the time came.

Fujino sat in the driver's seat, staring at the road ahead. "Ai, are you still hungry?"

There was no response for a moment. Fujino glanced at the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye and saw that Ai had already leaned against the car door, hugging the xiaolongbao she had just taken from the restaurant, and fastened her seatbelt and fallen asleep.

Her short, light brown hair fell naturally, and her fair face was illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the window, appearing translucent and slightly flushed. Her nostrils trembled slightly, and a faint breathing sound could be heard.

'Even though the mind is that of an adult, is the body still like that of a child?'

Fujino glanced at her sleeping face and chuckled softly.

He pulled his coat from the back seat and gently draped it over her, then turned his gaze back to the road in front of him.

[Detective bounty mission: (Arrest Bank Robbers) has been completed]

[Mission Rewards: 1 million yen, 300 Detective Reputation Points, and 1 All Profession Points have been awarded]

[Detective Profession Mission quest: (Phantom in the Rain on Chinatown) has been completed.]

[System Reward: 1 million yen and 200 Detective Reputation Points have been issued]

Current balance: 8.68 million yen

[Current Detective Reputation: 610 | 1500]

"Is it 8.68 million yen?"

Fujino stared at the system balance and murmured to himself.

Speaking of which, if you include the four million he donated before, he should have more than ten million on hand after the gala ends.

However, he didn't regret it...

In fact, Fujino didn't know why he had such a brain fart as to donate that money.

Perhaps... it's just a pathetic search for redemption.

Although he killed criminals, from the moment he committed the murders, many things could not be undone.

In a sense, he also became a so-called "murderer".