"Hello? Hattori?" Conan rattled on for quite a while, yet received no response. He stopped, listening suspiciously for any movement, only to realize that his Osaka classmate had actually drifted off into space.
"You..." Conan was speechless. "I'm talking about something important. Can't you pay a little attention?"
Hattori Heiji fell silent for a moment, unsure how to explain the sudden suspicion that had crossed his mind. He scratched his head awkwardly and changed the subject. "We're detectives, not riddle-solvers—if we don't know anything, there's no point in just guessing."
As he spoke, he checked the time. "How about this? I happen to be free these next few days. Once I finish my assignment, I'll come over and see what's going on."
The two High School Detectives happily reached an agreement.
After finishing the call, Conan felt much better. His wariness toward Vodka and that "mysterious client" also eased somewhat now that someone else was sharing the burden.
He stood up from the toilet lid and headed briskly for the restroom exit. But when he pushed the door, it would not budge.
"?"
After a moment of confusion, Conan's heart lurched as he suddenly realized something. He snapped his gaze toward the door crack and saw a shadow cast through it—someone had appeared outside the door without him noticing!
Conan: "?!!"
His ears rang. In an instant, Vodka's gloomy face appeared before his eyes. Conan swallowed soundlessly, as though he could see a pitch-black gun barrel aimed at his forehead through the shut door.
As he desperately replayed everything he had said, he looked frantically around for a way to escape or hide. But at that moment, the tightly closed door suddenly creaked open from the outside.
His last remaining Barrier had been stripped away. Conan froze on the spot,