Conan: "..." Unless he was mistaken, Vodka's hat seemed slightly wider in diameter than usual, with something stuffed inside that made it bulge.
"Could it be some smuggled goods?" Conan speculated. "Or tools they need for this mission?—Those two definitely wouldn't wander into the middle of nowhere for no reason. They must be up to something sinister!"
Meanwhile, Calvados also looked over in confusion. Why was Vodka taking so long to remove his hat? Had he really hidden something in it?
Under their expectant or wary gazes, Vodka took off his hat.
...revealing clumps of stiff hair.
"Uh..." The young officer stared at his head in shock. "Y-you used a lot of hair gel."
Vodka had no time to deal with him. He was carefully picking the strands of hair stuck to his hat.
Only after making sure not a single strand remained did he hand the hat to the police officer, making up an excuse for his strange behavior at the same time. "I've been losing some hair lately. Styling it like this makes it look fuller."
The young officer: "..." R-really? This was the first time he had heard of such a thing.
Still, a citizen's personal hobbies were none of his business. So he did not question this Hair Gel Enthusiast further. He merely took Vodka's hat and tipped it over.
Clang! Two semicircular specially made steel plates fell out.
Conan: "..."
Calvados: "..."
"This..." The young officer tapped them in confusion. "Why did you stuff steel plates into your hat? Is that also because of hair loss?"
Then, as if remembering something, his gaze gradually turned suspicious. "Come to think of it, the victim was killed by a bullet through the forehead. Did you know something like this would happen today?!"
Vodka: "..."
He had been