Strange Request

The next morning, Snow King Ice City.

"Wow--!"

"So cute!"

"She looks just like everyone else!"

Are all of these going to be given to us?

The little ones gathered around the dining table, looking at the cute chocolates on the plate, and asked Ran, who was sitting next to them, questions.

"That's right."

Ran nodded slightly, then smiled knowingly at the children, "I went to the resort a few days ago and made a portion for everyone."

"Did Ran make all of these?"

Just then, Akemi Miyano walked over carrying a tray with several drinks on it, and said with a surprised look, "You can even make chocolates so cute. As expected of you, Ran."

"Where can I find it..."

Ran blushed slightly, stood up, and accepted the drink.

"And me, Fujino Minaho Honami."

Akemi Miyano glanced at the chocolates and suddenly saw a business opportunity. "If you can put these kinds of chocolates on the counter for sale, could you teach me how to make them?"

"If Sister Akemi wants to learn, I can teach her sometime."

"Hmm..."

Akemi Miyano fell silent upon hearing this, recalling the kitchen she had burned down. "Let Minaho and Honami learn instead."

"But when was this made?"

Conan looked at Ran with some confusion. "I didn't see any of these on the dining table in the kitchen."

"This is what I tried to do at the beginning."

Ran placed the drink on the table and replied, "I put it directly into the refrigerator after it was made."

"Look at her like this..."

Ai Haibara picked up a chocolate shaped like herself and looked at Conan beside her. "You should have somehow gotten the chocolate from your girlfriend who looks a little sad, right?"

"What are you talking about, and what do you mean by sadness?"

"A creator's items often reflect the creator's state of mind."

Ai Haibara picked up the chocolate, glanced at it, and said calmly, "Look, although these chocolates all have smiling faces, don't you think these smiling expressions look very sad and incongruous... more like bitter smiles than genuine smiles."

"Now that you mention it..."

Conan picked up his chocolate and glanced at it. "It does seem a bit out of place."

"Just realized that?"

Ai Haibara looked at the chocolate in her hand. "That's right, someone like you with no emotional intelligence wouldn't be able to tell."

"What do you mean by lacking emotional intelligence?!"

Conan was speechless upon hearing this.

"Professor Agasa, here's your oolong tea and Fujino's Green Tea."

Akemi Miyano placed the two cups on the plate onto the table, and casually handed a piece of chocolate to Fujino: "Ran made this. Isn't it cute?"

"Um..."

Fujino took the chocolate and looked it over. "It is indeed quite cute."

"Ran has always been quite skilled since she was little."

Professor Agasa picked up his oolong tea and took a sip. "Speaking of which Fujino- kun, I'm really sorry to have troubled you with taking care of these children lately."

"It's nothing, after all, it was something Professor Agasa asked me to do."

Fujino chuckled lightly, "Besides, these kids usually come here to play, so it's just a casual thing to do."

Then he looked at Professor Agasa and asked, "But, Professor, how's the game Cocoon that you helped develop going?"

"The game is already finished, and we'll probably hold a press conference in a few days."

Professor Agasa responded, then suddenly remembered something and pulled an invitation from his pocket. "I got a few more invitations from the organizers. Consider it payment for taking care of these kids for me these next few days."

"An invitation?"

Fujino took the invitation and was taken aback. "Do we need an invitation to visit this press conference?"

"Yes, I'm not too clear about the press conference, but it seems like there's been a lot of people trying to steal secrets lately."

Professor Agasa explained, "Therefore, the organizers were extremely strict, and I was only able to get the invitation because I participated in the game's development."

Fujino paused for a moment upon hearing this, opened the invitation and examined it, then looked through his Pocket Dimension.

No!

The invitation Noah's Ark sent him previously only contained a hard drive, a few medals, and several million dollars in cash.

There doesn't seem to be an invitation letter?

If it weren't for Professor Agasa, he would have almost forgotten about this!

"So what's the point of this Noah's Ark? Sending out invitations but not actually giving them out..."

Suddenly, Fujino seemed to realize something. He looked at the invitation in his hand, frowned, and wondered to himself, "Could it be that Noah's Ark had already predicted that Professor Agasa would send me an invitation?"

Artificial intelligence is incredibly cunning!

"Hmm..."

Ooka Momiji came downstairs and yawned.

She glanced around and noticed the little ones she'd met during her last trip to Okinawa, and greeted them, "You guys are here too?"

"Ooka-neechan, you've come to Tokyo?"

"Yes, I arrived yesterday and am staying here for the night. I plan to do some sightseeing in Tokyo with Fujino before heading back today."

"Thank you for your help last time in Okinawa. How about we show you around Tokyo this time?"

The little ones crowded around and greeted them warmly.

"These kids..."

Looking at the little ones snuggling up to the rich woman, Professor Agasa couldn't help but sigh.

It's only been a few days, and I already feel like a lonely old person who's grown tired of the old and craves the new...

"Ring ring!"

Just then, the shop door opened, and a square-faced man with a middle parting and wearing a suit walked in. Shimo-kasu Minaho greeted him warmly, "Welcome! What would you like to order?"

"I don't have anything to order..."

The square-faced man said awkwardly, "I just wanted to find the detective upstairs."

"That's me."

Fujino glanced at the children and Ooka Momiji, then looked away and stepped forward to ask the man, "May I ask what brings you here?"

"Well, I have a favor to ask you."

Upon seeing that he was the client, Fujino led the square-faced man to sit down and inquired about the details of the commission.

The man's name is Hōda Hideno, and this time the request is to find a lost item.

Fujino picked up his Green Tea and confirmed the details of his request. "So, you want me to find the late lady's watch?"

"That's right, it's an old wind-up watch, a gift I gave to my wife a long time ago."

Masuda lowered his head. "Actually, the watch I'm looking for seems to have been lost at my house, but I'm a bit confused and have forgotten where I put it. I just went to the Mori Detective Agency across the street... I hope you won't refuse just because it's a small request."

"Of course not. Even small requests from clients must be considered."

Fujino smiled politely, but felt a little speechless inside.

It's really a bit much for Uncle Mori to refuse just because the request is too simple.

But then Fujino felt something was off.

Do clients really hire detectives because they can't find something at home?