Invitation to Twilight Manor

"Well..."

Fujino sighed, thought for a moment, then stepped forward and asked the Minaho and Honami sisters, "So, do you two have any plans for the future?"

"Are you planning to...?"

Honami and Minaho shook their heads. "We don't know either. We'll probably have to ask the orphanage director for help finding us jobs again."

"The Dean?"

Fujino frowned slightly upon hearing this, suddenly recalling that the two sisters were orphans.

Children from orphanages do have a harder time finding jobs.

After all, Japan has a policy that requires people to be independent after the age of eighteen.

Based on this, it's likely that the two of them finished high school in an orphanage at most, and then dropped out to work.

Discrimination based on educational background is severe everywhere.

Without connections, one can probably only do odd jobs, and finding a stable and decent job would be quite difficult.

"The dean is a very good person."

The Shimo-Kasa Sisters explained, "Ms. Su Fang's job, and this job, were both found with his help..."

Is that so?

Fujino nodded, agreeing that the dean was a nice person.

However, given the two sisters' circumstances, they can probably only work in the service industry.

For example, the maids from before, and the waitresses now...

In that case...

Thinking about this, Fujino pondered for a moment, then suggested, "Well, actually you don't need to trouble the dean. If you don't mind, you can come and work for me."

"Detective Fujino's work?"

The two sisters asked in unison, blinking curiously, "Is she the detective's assistant?"

Actually, it's a job at a beverage shop downstairs from us.

Fujino explained, "I opened a beverage shop and handed it over to my sister to manage, but we haven't had any staff to help out. If you don't mind, you can help her with the work."

"Yes, you two sisters can come and help out."

Akemi Miyano was standing to the side, nodded and chuckled in agreement.

She was very supportive of Fujino's suggestion.

After all, he was an orphan...

Yes, she is somewhat empathetic.

Moreover, Snow King Ice City's workload is indeed increasing, and she is finding it difficult to manage on her own.

Ai Haibara glanced at Fujino, then at Akemi Miyano.

He glanced at the Shimokasa sisters, pondered for a moment, and nodded in agreement.

To be honest, she saw a reflection of herself in the two sisters.

"But..."

The two sisters hesitated for a moment. "We don't have a house in Tokyo, and we have nowhere to live."

"Our house is very big; there are empty rooms on the second floor, right across from the detective agency."

Fujino thought for a moment and realized the same thing, so he said, "If you two don't mind, you can stay here."

"That's right, that's right."

Akemi Miyano nodded and agreed, "We still have plenty of empty rooms in our house."

"Since that's the case..."

The two sisters thought about it and decided that it was a good idea. Then, with a slight smile on their faces, they bowed politely and said, "We sisters are going to be in your way."

"It's no trouble at all, just taking what we need."

Fujino waved his hand, then joked, "Of course, since we've provided accommodation, the salary definitely won't be ideal. Be prepared."

"Fujino- kun..."

Akemi Miyano gave Fujino a resentful look.

"It was just a joke."

Fujino smiled awkwardly and said, "However, the wages won't be too high. It depends on the turnover. After all, it wouldn't be worth it if we lost money because of hiring waiters."

"It's okay!"

The two sisters shook their heads, not caring about the salary. "Providing us with accommodation and jobs is already very good."

Fujino nodded, quite pleased with the two sisters.

If you offer a job and a place to live, but still make all sorts of demands, even he wouldn't become a philanthropist.

Turning his head, he looked at Shinobu Shimon, "Miss Shinobu, do you have any plans?"

"I'm staying here because of Guangxing... Since this hotel doesn't belong to him, there's no point in me staying any longer..."

Shinobu Shimon thought for a moment and replied, "I also plan to leave here and try my luck in other places... to see if I can open my own restaurant."

"Well, good luck then."

Fujino nodded, not having much intention of recruiting them.

He currently runs a beverage shop and doesn't need a chef.

Perhaps I can hire him as the manager when I open a restaurant in the future?

But that's all for the future.

The next morning, the people staying at the hotel left one by one.

The Shimo-Kasa Sisters packed their luggage and returned to Tokyo with Fujino and his group.

Before leaving, Fujino left his business card, and Akemi Miyano Shinobu Shimon, wanting to talk more about drinks.

When Arimori was arrested, Shinobu Shimon was actually quite upset.

But even if she wanted to complain, she had no reason to complain about the detective.

After all, Arimori did commit murder.

After returning to Tokyo, the Fujino family.

"This will be your room from now on."

Fujino took out his key and opened the door opposite on the second floor of the detective agency.

What came into view was a dimly lit room filled with dust and clutter.

Fujino glanced at it and smiled sheepishly, "There's still some dust in there. It's been so long since anyone has lived here. Please excuse me."

"This room is so spacious, is it really okay for just the two of us?"

Both Honami Minaho were astonished. They had assumed that the rooms provided were just rooms, since both the hotel and Su Fang Hongzi provided such rooms.

Unexpectedly, the room that Fujino provided, although called a 'room,' was clearly just a house.

The two sisters even wondered if they were just working for free because they lived there.

After all, it's a room of over 100 square meters, and this is a bustling commercial area. Even if you were to rent it out, it would cost a lot of money!

After all, even if it's just one floor of Mori Kogoro's house, it's not as big as the Fujino family's. Even if you have to consider personal relationships, it would still cost 300,000 yen a month.

A room like the one in Fujino that can be used for commercial purposes would probably cost over 400,000 yen in rent alone.

It's no wonder they thought that way.

"It's alright, it's just a room that's not usually used."

Fujino didn't care about any of that and turned to look at the room. "Besides, even if it's empty and no one lives there, we still have to pay taxes every year. I think it's better to have someone living there. Adding some people to live in will improve the feng shui a lot. However, I'll have to trouble you two with the furniture, cleaning, and renovations for this room."

"It's... it's okay!"

The two sisters waved their hands repeatedly.

They would understand if they had to pay for the room, but they would never trouble someone to clean it or even furnish it.

They were already very touched just to be able to stay for free.

"Brooms, rags, mops and such are all available at Snow King Ice City downstairs. You two can ask Sister Akemi for them later."

Fujino handed the keys to the two of them. "Yes, from now on this will be your home."

"Um!"

The two reached out, took the keys, nodded, and felt a warm feeling in their hearts, as if they had found a home.

Seeing how happy the two of them were, Fujino nodded, and his own mood improved considerably.

It should be called empathy, since we are all orphans.

But then he thought about it again and his expression became a little strange.

This building has four floors, and five people currently live inside.

The crucial point is that all five of them are orphans...

The Miyano family's parents are gone, and his parents in this world are gone too. These two sisters grew up in an orphanage.

Can't you find a single parent in an entire building?

Outrageous...

Why not just rename this little building the Seven O'Clock Office Building?

At that moment, Ai Haibara came up from downstairs, glanced at the Shimo-Kasa Sisters, and a thought flashed in her eyes.

She had no objection to the two sisters moving in.

Just like her... If only she could be like those sisters...

It seems everything has been settled...

Fine.

Bringing herself back to reality, she handed the letter she was holding to Fujino: "There's a letter for you."

"My letter?"

Fujino paused for a moment, then took the letter, somewhat curious.

I checked the shipping time of a package.

Fujino: "..."

I have absolutely no idea when it arrived.

"Judging from the time it was sent, it must have been sent five days ago, which is three days before we set off."

Ai Haibara noticed Fujino's expression, thought for a moment, and continued, "Judging from the speed of postal delivery in Japan, it should have been received on the afternoon of the day we set off."

"Two days already?"

Fujino nodded, feeling much relieved.

The more he looked at Ai Time-Reporting Princess became.

At least now we don't have to rack our brains trying to guess what time it is...

Then he opened the envelope.

Inside was a check for two million.

There was also a letter.

Fujino unfolded the letter, and the contents appeared before his eyes:

I have long heard of your wisdom and hope you can spare some time to come and share dinner with me.

Address: Twilight Manor Tottori Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture

Date: November 12th

—The Phantom's Child of God

"The Twilight Manor..."

Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly as he examined the contents of the letter, a slight smile playing on his lips.

It seems this part of the plot is about to begin.

I never expected that even he would be invited.

"What kind of request is it?"

Ai Haibara glanced up at Fujino and noticed the smile on his lips.

She felt that nothing more than a large sum of money entrusted to him could make him show such an expression.

"It's an invitation to a dinner party."

Fujino lowered his eyes and pulled out a check. "The commission is about two million yen."

"Two million yen is just an invitation to dinner?"

Ai Haibara frowned, staring intently at the check, her eyes filled with suspicion.