As for the Job Upgrade Voucher, Fujino had used one before. It's this cool thing that randomly boosts one of your job levels, saving you tons of grinding time. Pretty handy!
Now, about the other four purple items and that one blue one…
The *Makeup Knowledge Book* was the same as always—a book with "Makeup Knowledge" printed on the cover. Inside, it's packed with disguise and transformation techniques. Paired with his old makeup kit, he could probably pull off tricks as slick as that Kaito Kuroba kid. *Gotta find some time to study this later.*
The *Fortune Sticks* came in a little wooden bucket filled with several sticks. "Can these really predict my luck?" Fujino wondered aloud. He picked up the bucket, gave it a shake, and silently prayed for tomorrow's fortune.
*Snap!*
One stick shot out and clattered onto the floor. Fujino bent down to grab it. Written on it: **[Tomorrow's Luck: Terrible! Very likely to encounter a murder case!]**
"…"
"Well, damn. Spot on."
Guess it worked just like the system said—specific predictions and all. Just… no clue who's gonna bite the dust. Fujino mulled it over. If these sticks predict luck, what'd happen if he used his *Lucky Coin* afterward? Could he force a change in fate?
No time like the present! He pulled the *Lucky Coin* from his inventory and tossed it high. The silver coin gleamed midair, flipping a few times before landing in his hand—heads.
**[Lucky Coin effect activated!]**
**[Cooldown: 168 hours]**
The system chimed in his ear. Fujino pocketed the coin and shook the bucket again.
*Snap!*
Another stick flew out. He picked it up: **[Great Luck! Tomorrow, you're very likely to encounter a murder case and score a decent reward!]**
"…"
"So the murder case is unavoidable, huh?"
Still, the sticks weren't wrong. Solving a case *did* usually mean a nice paycheck. Sure, it felt a bit like overcomplicating things, but at least he'd be mentally prepped. He stashed the book and bucket away, then turned to the other items.
The *Client Charm* was a yellow talisman, kinda like those zombie movie charms, scribbled with runes he couldn't make heads or tails of. The name sounded… uh, a little sketchy, like something from a shady club. 😂 But based on the description, it seemed like some mystical cause-and-effect thing that'd pull in big rewards.
Fujino decided to hold off on using it. With a murder case looming tomorrow, a client showing up right after would just complicate things. He tucked it away.
Finally, his eyes landed on the *Master Ball*. Yup, it was straight-up identical to the ones from that Pokémon game. Couldn't call it a knockoff—it was basically stolen from the source! Fujino glanced around, his gaze settling on a nearby stool. Channeling his inner Pokémon trainer, he pressed the button in the middle.
*Grrrr…*
The ball expanded in a totally physics-defying way. "Alright, this should work…" Fujino hefted it. Decent weight—definitely needed some arm strength to chuck it. He lobbed it at the stool.
Bullseye!
With a faint red glow, the stool got sucked in. Fujino strolled over, picked up the ball, and couldn't help picturing this: *He whips out the Master Ball, yells, "Go, Death Magnet Kid!" and out pops Conan, firing a tranquilizer dart from his watch.*
Heh, kinda hilarious. 😏
…
**Sunday · Snow King Ice Cream Shop downstairs from Fujino's place**
"It's almost noon already," Ran said, sitting by the window with her chin propped on her hand, staring out at the street. "What's taking Sonoko so long…?"
"She'll probably get here soon," Fujino replied, checking the time on his phone. "I called her earlier, and she said she hit traffic from a car jam."
Conan sat on the inside seat, glaring at Fujino with his classic dead-fish eyes.
"Hmm, seems like you're pretty worried about those two," Ai Haibara teased, glancing at Conan. "Jealous much?"
"Me? Jealous of *that* guy?" Conan huffed, crossing his arms.
"What little secrets are you two whispering about?" Akemi Miyano walked over, carrying grape juice and coffee.
"Haha…" Conan put on his cutesy kid act, taking the juice. "Nothing, Akemi-neechan!"
"Oh, really?" Akemi smiled, handing the coffee to Ai. "Here you go, Ai-chan."
"Thanks, Akemi-nee," Ai said, a rare smile tugging at her lips.
"Whoa, you *can* smile?" Conan quipped once Akemi stepped away, smirking at Ai. "I thought you were permanently stuck in ice queen mode."
Ai didn't respond, just watched Akemi's retreating figure. "She reminds me of my sister," she said softly.
Conan turned to look too. Honestly, he saw it—a little. But he knew better. In his mind, Akemi Miyano was long gone, killed right in front of him.
Realizing he'd hit a sore spot, he sipped his free grape juice through a straw and changed the subject. "Anyway, why're *you* tagging along to the amusement park? Since when do you care about kiddie stuff?"
"What, I can't go?" Ai shot him a flat look. "You're allowed to trail your precious Ran-neechan, but I'm not?"
"That's different!" Conan groaned. Then, with a sly grin, he added, "Wait, don't tell me you've got a thing for Fujino. You two *are* around the same age…"
Ai: "…"
"Keep talking nonsense, and you're paying for that juice."
"No way!" 😅
(End of chapter)
**Chapter 247 - Plus One Tagalong [4k+1k Bonus Update]**
Ten minutes later, a gray sedan rolled up from the distance, parking smoothly outside Snow King Ice Cream Shop. Sonoko hopped out, her white fur-trimmed coat swaying as she moved, looking all youthful and lively.
"Sorry for the wait, guys!" she called, pushing open the door and bounding over to Fujino and Ran's table.
"Sonoko, you're so slow…" Ran said, sipping her watermelon drink and glancing at the time. "It's already noon!"
"I actually left super early," Sonoko said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "But then a car just *exploded* out of nowhere on the way! Traffic was backed up forever."
"A car exploded?!" Fujino raised an eyebrow.
"Yup!" Sonoko nodded, still a little rattled. "It was right in front of us—flames shot up so high, even I could see them from the back seat!"
Ran leaned forward, worried. "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, right?"
"I'm totally fine!" Sonoko twirled, showing off her blue-and-white fur-trimmed coat. "Not even a scratch on my brand-new coat from yesterday!"
Fujino: "…"
*Classic Mihua Town. Even a drive down the road turns into an explosion case.* But Sonoko running into trouble without the death magnet around? That's a new one.
He glanced out the window at the car's logo. Mazda. *No wonder she got stuck.*
After a quick chat, Fujino pulled his Ford Taurus out of the garage. Ran, Sonoko, Ai, and Conan piled in.
"Ran, why's this little brat from your house tagging along again…?"
In the car, Sonoko, sitting in the back, shot a helpless glance at Conan before turning to Ran beside her.
"Well, the moment he heard we were going to an amusement park, he started begging to come along," Ran said with a light laugh.
"Because I wanna have fun at the amusement park too!" Conan chimed in, putting on his best little-kid act with that squeaky voice.
His eyes flicked to Fujino nearby.
*Of course I'm not letting you guys go off alone…*
After yesterday's mess, he was a nervous wreck inside.
"Heh… this kid's curiosity is something else. Everywhere we go, he's gotta follow," Sonoko muttered, rolling her eyes.
Come to think of it, every time she went out with Ran, this little punk always showed up.
Like a clingy shadow—impossible to shake off.
Normally, he strutted around all smug and cocky.
But when it mattered, he'd play dumb like a pro.
She couldn't tell if he was actually clueless or just faking it.
Sonoko let out a long sigh, her gaze drifting to Haihara Ai in the front passenger seat.
And now things were getting worse.
Besides this kid, there was another little girl up front.
Sure, that one was pretty quiet and kept to herself.
But still…
Shadow +1. 😑
…
Fujino drove them to Tropical Land amusement park, arriving around noon.
It was the weekend, so the place was packed—parking lot included.
He circled for a while before finally snagging a spot for his car.
They got out and headed into the park.
The group waited in a line for over ten minutes just to grab tickets and get inside.
Tropical Land was fancy—and the tickets reflected that.
A single adult ticket cost over 8,000 yen.
Luckily, Fujino and the others were students, so they got a 20% discount, bringing it down to just over 6,000 yen.
Plus, Fujino had an extra discount from his "student job" perk.
So, between him and Haihara Ai, the tickets barely cost anything—definitely under 10,000 yen total.
They stepped into the bustling park.
Fujino trailed behind the group, scanning the crowd.
He was on the lookout for the victim and the "little black" killer mentioned in yesterday's divination stick.
After that ten-pull yesterday, he was down to just over 3 million yen.
It wasn't chump change, but for Fujino—who'd once been worth over 10 million at his age—it felt a little light.
Three million yen wasn't gonna cut it for him.
He needed a murder case or something to boost his funds.
Problem was, the park was *swarming* with people.
For now, he couldn't pin down who the next "Mihua Awakener" might be.
Conan led the way, his eyes fixed on the base of the Ferris wheel ahead.
His mind was racing.
That rainy night… that damn blond jerk whacked him with a pipe… did unspeakable things that turned him into this humiliating pint-sized version of himself.
Ugh, one day he'd kick Gin's head clean off with a soccer ball! ⚽
Fujino pulled his gaze back and caught Conan looking all deep in thought.
Following his line of sight, he spotted the Ferris wheel.
As a spoiler-savvy guy, Fujino knew that's where Gin took Conan down…
A smirk tugged at his lips. After a beat, he called out, "Hey, little Conan, I've noticed you staring at the Ferris wheel since we got here. What's up?"
"Huh?" Conan snapped out of it, startled.
"Oh, so Conan wants to ride the Ferris wheel!" Ran grinned. "Let's start there then!"
"…"
Conan went quiet for a sec. He *had* been staring at it… but ride it? No way!
That cursed spot—he never wanted to go near it again in his life!
With that, he forced a goofy laugh. "No need, Ran-neechan! I wasn't *that* eager to ride it… Oh, hey, we haven't had lunch yet!"
He glanced around and pointed at a restaurant nearby. "I'm starving! Let's grab some food over there first!"
"Now that you mention it, I rushed out this morning without breakfast," Sonoko said, clutching her stomach with a weak groan.
"Alright, lunch it is then," Fujino said with a small smile, his eyes narrowing. "We can hit the Ferris wheel after."
Conan: "…"
This guy—Fujino—was dead-set on making him ride that stupid Ferris wheel today, wasn't he? 😤
…
After lunch, they headed to the Ferris wheel.
Ran dragged Conan aboard despite his protests.
Inside the cabin, Ran and Sonoko sat across from them, admiring the view outside.
Sonoko wanted to chat and maybe nudge some romance along, but one look at the two "shadows" beside her killed that idea.
Haihara Ai sat on Fujino's side.
She propped her chin on her hands, staring out the window, lost in thought.
Honestly, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd been on a Ferris wheel.
Ten years ago? Longer? It was all a blur.
Haihara shook her head and instinctively scooted closer to Fujino.
High places always made her a little uneasy…
Conan sat on Fujino's other side.
His eyes were glued to the window too, glaring down at the spot that still made his head throb just thinking about it. Total dead-fish-eye vibe.
He was *convinced* Fujino was messing with him.
This was personal—no doubt about it.
Too bad he had no proof…
After getting off, Haihara walked with her hands behind her back, her mood noticeably brighter.
Trailing the group, she leaned toward Conan and whispered, "Don't you love Ferris wheels? Why the long face?"
"Who loves Ferris wheels…?" Conan muttered, glancing nervously at the base. "That's where Gin ambushed me and forced that shrinking drug down my throat."
Ran turned back just then, noticing Conan's expression—like someone owed him eight generations' worth of apologies. "Conan, why do you look so down?"
"Nope!" Conan perked up fast, throwing his arms out in a big circle. "I looove Ferris wheels!"
"…" Haihara gave him a side-eye. That didn't even feel like acting.
"…" Fujino glanced back too, thinking Conan's skills were getting scarily good.
Was he pulling a Kaito Kid move—slipping into a role and letting loose completely?
…
Tropical Land was huge, split across several little islands.
After hitting the rides on each one, the sky started to darken.
By evening, the ice rink was buzzing with people.
The group rented skates and hit the ice.
"No murder case yet?"
Fujino leaned his arms on the railing by the rink, letting out a quiet sigh as he scanned the ice.
The divination stick *said* there'd be a murder today.
It was already evening—if nothing happened soon, the day would be over.
Could the stick have flopped?
No way…
"Why aren't you skating?" Haihara asked, joining him by the railing in her skates. "Thinking about something?"
"Nah," Fujino shook his head. "It's my first time skating… Oh, hey, do you know how, Ai?"
She nodded.
"Cool, teach me later then."
"Sure…"
But before she could finish, Ran's playful yelp cut through. "I'm not waiting for Shinichi! Stop teasing, Sonoko!"
Fujino turned to see Sonoko squinting at Ran with a smirk. "Oh, come on. You're totally the type to patiently wait for your husband to come home."
"Like a 'Wife-Watching Stone,'" she added.
"Wife-Watching Stone?" Sonoko tilted her head, curious, looking at Fujino as he walked over.
Haihara stepped up too, explaining flatly, "It's an old Chinese legend."
"There's a bunch of versions," Fujino said, digging into his past-life memories. "Basically, it's about a woman standing on a mountain, waiting forever for her husband to return. She waits so long she turns into stone."