My Miwako Could Never Be Such a Goofball

In front of a public phone booth on a street near Tokyo Tower.

The car pulled over by the roadside. Shu Yunwen got out, entered the phone booth, and dialed his own number.

The call connected, and he immediately heard Tsukamoto Kazumi's voice on the other end: "Hello, this is Tsukamoto Kazumi. You've reached Shu Yunwen's phone. If you're looking for Shu Yunwen, please leave your contact information, and I'll pass it on to him later..."

"Kazumi, it's me, Shu Yunwen!" he announced.

Kazumi immediately replied, "Yunwen! You finally got in touch with me. Are you done with your business? It's getting dark, and we should get the kids home soon. Their parents will definitely be worried if they're not back soon."

"Thanks for looking after the kids, Kazumi. I'm done with my business and will be there shortly. By the way, where are you now? Are the kids with you?"

"Yes." Kazumi nodded into the phone and glanced at the four little brats nearby, happily chatting away. "Since it's dark, I didn't dare let them run around, so I brought them to Mingqi Cafe to rest..."

"Right... You're not standing next to the kids while you're on the phone, are you?" Shu Yunwen asked.

Kazumi nodded. "That's right, I'm standing off to the side... Is something wrong, Yunwen?"

Shu Yunwen smiled faintly. "Nothing. By the way, Kazumi, I need you to do something for me. You have to keep it secret from everyone, absolutely no telling anyone—not even the kids. Can you do that?"

"Um... What is it?" Kazumi hesitated, then agreed.

"Take a look around. Can you see three men in black suits? One's Japanese, and the other two are foreigners. The Japanese man is of average height and has a handlebar mustache. As for the foreigners, one is tall and burly, and the other is rather short. Do you see anyone like that? And be careful when you look—don't let them notice."

Shu Yunwen had observed the three men earlier that day, so he could describe them clearly.

"Let me see..." Kazumi carefully looked around, then lowered her voice. "Yunwen, there are three men like that here. They match your description, and they're inside the cafe. They're even wearing sunglasses indoors."

"Thanks, Kazumi. Now please go back to your seat and wait for me at the cafe. And keep an eye on the kids. Don't let them run off."

"Okay, Yunwen. I'll wait for you."

After the person on the other end hung up, Shu Yunwen hung up too. Then he heard someone knocking on the booth's glass. A young man called out, "Hey, old man, hurry up and get out once you're done! I need to make a call too! Don't waste everyone's time, okay?"

Old man? Why the hell was everyone calling him an old man?

Shu Yunwen's mouth twitched twice. He walked out of the booth and hurried back to the car.

Well, he couldn't be bothered to argue with some young punk.

After having Matsushita Heisaburo drive to an alley near a more secluded public phone booth, Shu Yunwen got out with a mask on and called the police. As soon as the call connected, he deliberately altered his voice behind the mask. "Hello, I'd like to report a crime. I just saw a Japanese man and two foreign men at Mingqi Cafe near Tokyo Tower. They were speaking Italian and discussing escaping the police and finding the Maple Leaf Gold Coins. I suspect they're members of the Italian Bandit Group, who are currently wanted. Please send someone to arrest them immediately."

The operator replied, "All right, sir. We're taking down your report... Could you also leave your contact information?"

Shu Yunwen casually made something up. "My name is Hirasawa Dairo. I study Italian at the University of Tokyo, so I could understand what they were saying."

After finishing his story, Shu Yunwen hung up, returned to the car, and instructed, "Matsushita-kun, please drive to the nearby Mingqi Cafe."

"Yes, sir!"

Ten minutes later, inside Mingqi Cafe.

Tsukamoto Kazumi and the four kids sat on a sofa. Adorable Ayumi held her cup in both hands, took a sip, then looked at Conan, who was still resting his chin on his hand and puzzling over a scrap of paper. "Conan, have you figured anything out?"

"Not yet." Conan shook his head. "...But I feel like I'm close."

Conan stared at the street outside for a while with his big, innocent eyes, then suddenly jumped off the sofa.

Kazumi immediately reached out and gently caught hold of Conan. "Edogawa, where are you going?"

"Uh... I, I wanted to look outside." Conan scratched his head with one hand.

He felt like the missing piece in his mind might fall into place if he looked around outside.

Kazumi immediately put on a serious expression. "Edogawa, you mustn't be naughty! We're staying here until Yunwen gets here, and then we're going home. Got it?"

"I'll only be out for a little bit!" Conan pleaded with a cute grin.

"I said no!" Kazumi refused again.

"Okay..." Conan's spirits sank a little.

"Welcome!" At the counter by the entrance, a young server bowed slightly, a sweet smile on her face.

Kazumi looked up at the entrance and saw five people coming in. Shu Yunwen wasn't among them.

She looked away, disappointed. Then the woman among the group bowed slightly and spoke loudly to the server. "I'm terribly sorry. I came here with a friend yesterday, and she played a prank on me by taking my work ID and hiding it under one of the seats in the cafe. I spent the whole day looking for it. I have something very important to do now, so I need to get my work ID back..."

"Is that so? But we clean very thoroughly every night before closing, and we didn't find anyone's work ID yesterday..." The server looked puzzled.

"My friend must have hidden it really well! Please, I'm begging you!"

After bowing, the woman didn't wait for the server to respond. She and her two companions walked over to the table where the three bandits were sitting. She bowed again. "Gentlemen, I'm sorry to trouble you. We hid my work ID under your seat, so..."

The Japanese man among the bandits cut her off. "All right, you don't need to explain! I heard you just now. What a hassle... Hurry up, please."

The woman hurriedly nodded and bowed at a thirty-degree angle. "Thank you so much."

The three bandits stood up. The woman, still bent forward, changed expression and suddenly reached out to grab the burly foreigner as he passed beside her. With a low growl, she took him down, then flicked open her police notebook, its cherry blossom insignia clearly visible. "I'm Sato Miwako of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division! You're under arrest!"

At the same time, the two men accompanying Sato moved in to arrest the short foreigner and the Japanese man with the handlebar mustache. The short foreigner barely put up a fight and was quickly pinned against a cafe table. The Japanese man, however, cursed and fought back, knocking down another officer. He rushed toward Kazumi's table, where the others were sitting, and shouted at Conan, "Kid! If you don't want to die, hand over that piece of paper right now!"

At the entrance, the two officers keeping watch rushed in. One of them shouted, "Damn it! Sawada Jinmei, surrender now! You can't escape!"

The other, a young officer, called out, "Everyone, please stay calm. Don't panic. We're the police..."

Thanks to the young officer's unhelpful announcement, the customers in the cafe only grew more agitated.

Sawada Jinmei didn't care what was happening behind him. He was just about to grab Conan when Kazumi suddenly threw a punch, hitting one of his arms. The sharp pain made him stop. He turned toward Kazumi and suddenly swung at her, shouting, "Damn it! Get out of my way!"

Kazumi calmly raised her arm to block, then kicked at Sawada Jinmei's stomach.

Sawada Jinmei seemed to have practiced some karate or something. He hurriedly crossed his arms in front of himself to block her kick, then reached into his jacket, trying to pull out a gun so he could take a hostage.

Kazumi had sharp eyes. The moment he drew his gun, she kicked him in the wrist. The gun fell and rolled under a nearby table. With his gun gone and several officers rushing toward him, Sawada Jinmei gave up trying to snatch the "treasure map" from Conan. He spun around and slammed into the officers behind him, knocking them over, then fled toward the cafe entrance amid their shouts.

Kazumi hesitated, then glanced at Conan and the others beside her. In the end, she didn't chase after him.

Just then, the door creaked open and Shu Yunwen walked into the cafe. Sawada Jinmei immediately charged at him and slammed his shoulder into him. "Get out of my way, old man!"

Without using Ghost Sorcery, Shu Yunwen was just an ordinary person.

Caught off guard by Sawada Jinmei's powerful shove, Shu Yunwen was knocked to the ground. "Ouch!"

Damn it! That hurt like hell!

Wait, were the police arresting bandits here? It had only been ten minutes since he'd called them. Since when had the cops gotten so fast?

Of course, that wasn't the important part. The important thing was... What had that guy just called him? Old man? Did he really look that old?

Inside the cafe, Kazumi hadn't planned to chase after the bandit, but the moment she saw Shu Yunwen get knocked down, she flew into a rage.

"Yunwen! Ah! You bastard!"

How dare he knock Yunwen down! Unforgivable!

Kazumi planted one foot on the sofa, leaped onto the table, and raced toward the entrance. She spotted Sawada Jinmei running across the road and reaching for his car door, then sprinted after him, covering the distance in a few quick strides.

Sawada Jinmei had already climbed into the car and was about to drive away when the driver's-side window suddenly shattered with a crash. Someone grabbed him by the neck and dragged half his body out of the car. He looked up and saw who it was.

A girl with fury burning in her eyes.

What? Was she actually on fire too?

No, that had to be an illusion!

Yes, definitely an illusion.

"You bastard!!"

Kazumi suddenly let go, then pushed off hard with one foot and spun around, snarling,

"Ah~~~~ah!"

Her full, 360-degree spinning kick landed squarely on Sawada Jinmei's left cheek. The tremendous force knocked him out cold, and he slumped halfway out of the car, as if his body had gone limp.

Inside the cafe, the four kids pressed up against the window, watching Kazumi's outburst.

"Big Sister Kazumi is amazing!" Ayumi's eyes sparkled.

Genta and Mitsuhiko felt uneasy. Mitsuhiko laughed nervously. "I'd say she's more terrifying than amazing..."

Genta nodded in agreement. "She smashed the glass with her fist and kicked that bad guy unconscious. Is she going to be my future sister-in-law? What if I do something wrong..."

Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta all imagined Genta making a mistake and getting kicked unconscious by Kazumi. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko immediately looked at him sympathetically. "Poor Genta."

Conan ignored the three imaginative kids, but he was also sweating a little as he thought, Her fighting skills are incredible... She might be even scarier than Ran...

At the cafe entrance, Sato Miwako and two officers rushed outside. When they saw what had happened across the road, they breathed a sigh of relief. Sato stopped, while the two male officers hurried over to the other side.

Sato Miwako glanced at Shu Yunwen, who was still sitting on the ground, and turned to say, "Takagi, aren't you going to help this gentleman up?"

The young officer immediately answered and helped Shu Yunwen to his feet. Smiling, he asked, "Sir, are you all right? Would you like me to call an ambulance?"

Shu Yunwen's mouth twitched twice. The thanks he'd been about to offer turned into, "Old man? Do I really look that old?"

"Officer Takagi!" Sato Miwako shot Takagi a glare, then smiled at Shu Yunwen. "Sir, don't listen to him. He's new on the job and doesn't know how to talk to people. You don't look old at all."

Shu Yunwen felt a little better. Look, this was how a pretty woman talked—

Fine! He couldn't be bothered to argue with an officer who didn't know how to speak!

"...You look no older than fifty. In your prime, really..." Sato Miwako continued with a smile.

Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!

A flock of crows flew past.

It felt as if someone had stabbed Shu Yunwen in the chest. The whole world seemed to be filled with malice.

Damn it! What did she mean, "no older than fifty"? Then how old did she think he was?

Damn it! Those two were awful... He was going to file a complaint! He absolutely had to report them!

"What are your names?" Shu Yunwen asked angrily.

"My name is Sato Miwako. Pleased to meet you." Sato Miwako bowed slightly.

"My name is Takagi Wataru. Pleased to meet you!" Takagi bowed too.

Sato Miwako? Takagi Wataru?

Officer Sato? Officer Takagi?

The stars of the Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story?

Shu Yunwen stared at the two of them for a couple of seconds. They did look a bit like their animated counterparts. But...

No way! Get lost!

How could the two goofballs I liked most in the series possibly be these two?

P.S. La la la~ Mwah, Miwako. I love this scatterbrained officer, who's hopelessly slow when it comes to romance~~

So you definitely won't mind that I'm introducing them this early, right?

Who? Who said they minded?

If you have a problem, just say so! As for me... I'm not listening~

Not listening~

Not listening~

Not listening~~

^_^