"Ah, I remember you. You're a fan of Mori Detective, aren't you?"
Hoshikawa Teru, standing across from Eisuke Hondou, wore a polite, practiced smile while rolling his eyes inwardly.
Just as Tangze had said, Eisuke Hondou had indeed come to Haido Central Hospital.
After learning that Rena Mizunashi was very likely his sister, and that their years of separation had likely happened for a reason, there was no way Eisuke Hondou could sit still after seeing footage of Rena Mizunashi caught in the explosion.
Fortunately, Kumeru had arrived at the hospital first. And fortunately, Tangze had long been prepared for the person Gin had sent to gather intelligence.
"Detective Akechi. What a coincidence..."
Eisuke Hondou, dressed in a hospital gown, let his gaze drift between him and the man behind him a few times. Soon, he put on his usual sunny smile, as though he were genuinely just remarking on their chance encounter.
"Did you come to the hospital today because you ran into a case too?"
It might not have been fair to think that way about everyone, but with Rena Mizunashi still missing, he had to be wary of anyone approaching his sister with possible ulterior motives.
"Something like that. I came to visit a patient." Keeping his answer deliberately vague, Hoshikawa Teru lowered his head to look at Eisuke Hondou's bandaged foot. "Were you hospitalized because you got hurt?"
"I went to Shibuya on Halloween to join the festivities, but during the evacuation, someone accidentally shoved me into a flower bed... I've always had bad luck, so there was nothing I could do." Eisuke Hondou pulled out the excuse he had prepared long ago and gave a foolish little laugh, though his eyes had subtly shifted toward Hoshikawa Teru's hand still holding his phone.
This man claimed