Money! Money! Money!

Money! Money! Money!

Three days later, at ten o'clock on Sunday morning, inside the Keqin Exorcist Agency.

Shu Yunwen had been woken by Matsushita Heisaburo's phone call that morning and hurried over to the Keqin Exorcist Agency.

In the president's office, Shu Yunwen looked at the financial report Matsushita Heisaburo had handed him and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Matsushita-kun, is this really our agency's financial situation? How come we only have five hundred thousand yen left in our accounts? And payday is in three days! Our total payroll is actually thirteen and a half million yen? Has the agency's finances always been like this?"

Matsushita Heisaburo stood respectfully in front of Shu Yunwen's desk and bowed. "Yes, sir! Lord Yunwen, I told you before that two months ago, one of the agency's exorcists made a mistake on a job and failed to handle an exorcism request properly, which resulted in the death of an innocent person. The client was very influential, so our agency had to take responsibility for the deceased and pay nearly twenty-five million yen in compensation. And because the job wasn't handled properly, our agency's reputation took a serious hit. We've had far fewer exorcism requests over the past two months."

"...Of course, we're working on all fronts to turn things around. As long as we get through this rough patch, everything will recover..."

Shu Yunwen furrowed his brows as he remembered.

Matsushita Heisaburo had mentioned this on Tuesday, hadn't he?

Two months ago, a veteran exorcist (bluffer) at the agency had taken a job at a construction site in Beika Town. Strange noises often came from the site at night, and accidents had kept happening ever since construction began. So the project's main investor had contacted the Keqin Exorcist Agency and asked them to deal with it.

In fact, under normal circumstances, noises at a construction site at night and frequent accidents weren't as mysterious as they might seem. The noises could have come from building materials piled haphazardly around the site, sliding down in the middle of the night and crashing into something. Maybe some wild animal had wandered in—or perhaps someone was just messing around at the site. As for the accidents, the workers might have been careless, or the machinery might have malfunctioned.

But Japanese people were generally superstitious, and those in high-risk jobs were especially superstitious. They insisted on bringing in a master to "drive away" whatever was causing trouble at the site. Otherwise, they wouldn't work. So the investors went to the Keqin Exorcist Agency.

After accepting the job, the exorcist prepared a few "tools" and went to the construction site. Then, as usual, he wandered around, picked a random corner, and shouted a few things, mostly along the lines of "Take this, you evil spirit!", "Die, little demon!", and "Behold my magic treasure!" While shouting, he also made a show of fiddling with his "tools," even though he had no idea what the hell they were supposed to do...

Anyway, after making a big fuss for a while, he clapped his hands and told the site manager that everything was taken care of and he'd eliminated the "evil spirit" at the construction site. He then reminded everyone to be careful and avoid dangerous work, followed by a long string of blather. He'd acted like a full-fledged "workplace safety lecturer."

As soon as he finished, the site manager told the workers to get back to work. Seeing that the exorcist had said everything was fine, the workers happily got started. But the moment the construction elevator started moving, a poor bastard was struck by a rock that fell from above and died on the spot.

That was a day in the life of a certain con-artist exorcist.

When it came time to determine liability, the construction company argued that the workers had been injured and killed because the exorcist had failed to eliminate the spirits. They insisted that the agency pay compensation.

That was where the twenty-five million yen had gone.

"Who was the investor behind that construction site?" Shu Yunwen asked, frowning.

Matsushita Heisaburo answered respectfully, "The investor was Daito Construction Company. The person who actually controls Daito Construction Company is Sadao Teito, the fifth-generation leader of the Sumiyoshi-kai. He's also the chairman of its executive committee..."

"Uh..." Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes.

How had the Sumiyoshi-kai gotten mixed up in this?

But as soon as he heard the name Sumiyoshi-kai, Shu Yunwen understood why the agency had obediently taken on the compensation.

They'd run into someone they couldn't afford to mess with.

Of course, Shu Yunwen had no interest in picking a fight with the Sumiyoshi-kai right now. He was only a novice mage. If he tried to go up against the Sumiyoshi-kai, he'd be in way over his head! Well, once he got stronger, he could consider settling the score.

"What's the situation at the construction site now?" Shu Yunwen asked after a moment.

Matsushita Heisaburo answered immediately. "Accidents are still happening there all the time. Over the past two months, they've hired several exorcists and Onmyoji to check it out. They've tried to start construction eight times, and there's been an accident every time. Now the work has stopped completely."

That creepy, huh?

Shu Yunwen was starting to believe there really was something unclean at that construction site.

He shook his head. "Forget it. Let's get to the point. You handed me this financial report to tell me that the agency's out of money, right?"

"Yes, Lord Yunwen." Matsushita Heisaburo nodded. "Since the agency was founded, we've never been late paying salaries. So we need to raise fifteen million yen before payday..."

Shu Yunwen's mouth twitched. "Matsushita-kun, why don't we talk this over? You can be the president instead. How does that sound?"

Damn it! He made it sound so easy! This was fifteen million yen, not fifteen thousand!

As it happened, Shu Yunwen's adoptive father, Shu Keqin, had left him a decent inheritance—two hundred million yen. But there was a will attached: until Shu Yunwen graduated from university, he could only take one hundred thousand yen a month for living expenses. Anything more was out of the question...

Now that was depressing!

After all, this was the world of Detective Conan! Shu Yunwen had been prepared to spend twenty years stuck in his second year of high school.

At this rate, he'd have to come back in his next life to go to college, right?

He'd thought that once he became the agency's president, he'd be able to spend "company money." But all he'd done was buy a big cellphone, and now he had to worry about fifteen million yen. Any way he looked at it, he'd gotten the short end of the stick!

Matsushita Heisaburo replied at once, "Lord Yunwen, you are the agency's president."

Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes and waved Matsushita Heisaburo away. "Forget it. Go on out, and see if you can think of something, too..."

"Yes, sir!" Matsushita Heisaburo answered.

After Matsushita Heisaburo left the president's office, Adachi Roppei came in, poured Shu Yunwen a cup of coffee, and went back out.

Shu Yunwen thought it over for a while. Apart from robbing a bank, nothing seemed like a reliable option.

Shaking his head, Shu Yunwen turned and spotted the remote beside him. He picked it up, turned on the TV in the president's office, and started watching.

The morning news was on. The sweet voice of a female host came through the television:

"...Tino Cabana, the leader of the Italian Bandit Group, was arrested last night in a building near Tokyo Tower. He still hasn't said a word. The police are continuing to search for Cabana's accomplices, who are still on the run, but so far they haven't found any leads. In addition, the fifteen thousand Maple Leaf Gold Coins stolen by the group remain missing..."

"...The Maple Leaf Gold Coins are commemorative coins specially minted by the Italian government. Each one weighs 12.41 grams. The front features a maple-leaf design by a famous artist, while the back depicts the Italian government's office building. They're considered collectible, and each coin is now worth forty thousand yen. That means the stolen coins are worth a total of six hundred million yen..."

Holy crap! Six hundred million yen? If that were mine, I wouldn't have to worry about money anymore... Shu Yunwen glanced at the TV and thought to himself.

But then Shu Yunwen suddenly sprang to his feet, eyes wide. The office chair shot backward, hit the wall, and bounced back.

He remembered!

Those fifteen thousand Maple Leaf Gold Coins had appeared in the anime, too. Conan and the other kids had found a piece of paper somewhere with a drawing of where the coins were hidden. Shu Yunwen remembered the clues to finding the coins very clearly because they'd been interesting. He thought they had something to do with looking for neon sign shapes at night.

That meant he could get his hands on those coins if he found them first!

Shu Yunwen narrowed his eyes, then settled back into the office chair and picked up the intercom. He called Matsushita Heisaburo back in. "Matsushita-kun, did you watch the morning news?"

"I did," Matsushita replied.

Shu Yunwen continued, "Then... did the morning news mention the Italian Bandit Group and the stolen Maple Leaf Gold Coins?"

"It did." Matsushita nodded. "I think there were fifteen thousand coins, worth a total of six hundred million yen..."

Shu Yunwen asked, "Matsushita-kun, if I got my hands on those coins, could you find a buyer for them?"

"You... can find the coins?" Matsushita Heisaburo asked in surprise. Then he continued, "If you can really find them, selling them won't be a problem. Our agency has connections with several groups in Tokyo, and they're good at handling things like this. We'd probably have to pay a commission, though. Out of six hundred million yen, we might only get four hundred million."

A third as commission? That seemed reasonable.

After all, these Maple Leaf Gold Coins weren't exactly legal. Some people might take half, or even two-thirds.

Shu Yunwen nodded and casually instructed him, "Matsushita-kun, go get things ready. You're coming with me."

"Yes, sir!" Matsushita Heisaburo replied and hurried out to get ready.

After Matsushita Heisaburo left, Shu Yunwen tried to remember where Conan had found the treasure map. But after thinking for a while, he slapped his forehead and cursed himself for being an idiot. He picked up the phone and called the Kojima household.

After a few rings, someone answered. Shu Yunwen immediately said, "Hello, this is Shu Yunwen..."

"Yunwen!" It was Kojima Genji's voice. "What's up?"

"Uncle, is Genta home?" Shu Yunwen asked directly.

The treasure hunt had involved four little kids, if he remembered right. So all he had to do was find out where Genta was, and he'd be able to track down the other three.

"Genta? He went out this morning," Kojima Genji said. "He said he was meeting a friend, and they were going to the Beika Art Museum together."

"I see... Thanks, Uncle." Shu Yunwen thanked him.

"Yunwen, why were you asking about Genta? Oh, we're having ramen at home for lunch. Are you coming back?" Kojima Genji asked.

Shu Yunwen smiled. "I was just asking. Anyway, I have something to do at lunchtime, so I won't be coming home."

After hanging up, Shu Yunwen found that Matsushita Heisaburo was ready. He knocked on the door of Shu Yunwen's office.

Shu Yunwen left the office with only Matsushita Heisaburo, got into the car, and told the driver to head for the Beika Art Museum.

At around eleven thirty, the car pulled up in front of the Beika Art Museum. Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo got out and looked around, but didn't see Conan and the others. They were about to go inside when someone called out, "Yunwen? What are you doing here? Did you come to see the art exhibition, too?"

"Uh..." Shu Yunwen turned and saw Tsukamoto Kazumi with several girls who looked vaguely familiar. "Kazumi, what a coincidence!"

Hmm... Why had he run into Tsukamoto Kazumi here?

Why did it feel like he'd been following her?

Tsukamoto Kazumi smiled and greeted him. "Hello, Yunwen. And... hello, Mr. Matsushita."

Shu Yunwen waved a hand and asked, "Kazumi, have you been here at the museum all morning? Have you seen Genta and Conan?"

"You mean Genta, Ayumi, and the other kids?" Tsukamoto Kazumi asked. "I did run into them... I saw them outside the museum just now. They seemed to be holding something, and they were talking very loudly. I think they were heading to Tokyo Tower..."

"Really?" Shu Yunwen's eyes lit up. It seemed they'd already found the piece of paper with the treasure's location on it. "Kazumi, how long ago did they leave?"

"About ten minutes ago," Tsukamoto Kazumi replied.

"Thanks, Kazumi." After a pause, Shu Yunwen continued, "I'm sorry, but I have something else to take care of, so I have to go. I'll treat you to a meal sometime when I'm free to make it up to you."

Tsukamoto Kazumi nodded. "You should go take care of your business, Yunwen. Don't worry about me."

Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo hurried to the car and drove off. A girl beside Tsukamoto Kazumi spoke up. "Kazumi, is that Shu Yunwen? We were classmates with him in our first year of high school, but he doesn't seem to remember us."

"Yeah! And he seems so rude," another girl said.

Tsukamoto Kazumi replied, "Yunwen really is busy. He's the president of an agency now. From the look of things, he must have something important to take care of."

"He's the president of an agency while he's still in high school? That's amazing!"

"It seems to be a family business. Yunwen is an exorcist now," Tsukamoto Kazumi explained.

"I remember you and Shu-san were dating in your first year of high school, Kazumi. Are you still together?" another girl asked.

Tsukamoto Kazumi's expression dimmed. "Ever since Yunwen woke up, he's lost some of his memories. It seems he's forgotten that we were dating..."

"Really?"

"Yes. But I'll do my best to help him remember." Kazumi turned with a smile. "Come on! It's almost lunchtime. Let's go get lunch together. There's a family restaurant nearby that looks pretty good."

"A family restaurant? The one near Tokyo Tower?"

"I've been there once. Their pickles are delicious."

Then the girls chattered on and on...