Fujino pressed on. "Did you see any fireworks light up the sky?"
"Nope," Sonoko shook her head. "We heard the bang and rushed to the window, but by the time we got there, no fireworks."
"Exactly," Fujino nodded. Sure, Sonoko couldn't tell where the sound came from, but he kept going. "That noise you heard was probably the gunshot when the killer took out Miss Itami. I remember the first round of fireworks was three shots—red, blue, yellow, in that order."
"So you're saying the killer struck *before* the fireworks and used the timing to mask it as an explosion?" Megure nodded, catching on. "Even if they missed the first one, they should've seen the others. No way they saw nothing."
"But even then, that doesn't prove it's me!" Izumi Sano shot back. "If it happened before the fireworks, everyone else should be a suspect too!"
"Is that so? The killer left an obvious clue already—why bother with a second one on the phone? Doesn't matter, though…" Fujino's eyes narrowed, glancing at Sano's skates. "You probably didn't notice, but there's blood from Miss Itami on your skate blades."
"The blades?" Sano peeked at the skates in her hand, her face darkening.
"On the crime scene floor, there's a scratch from a skate blade, right in the middle of a big bloodstain…" Fujino turned, pointing at the spot.
"A scratch?" Takagi hustled over, crouching to check. "Inspector! He's right—there's a scratch, and it was made *after* the blood hit the ground!"
"No way!" Conan tagged along, freezing when he saw it. He whipped around to Fujino, dazed. *How'd he spot that?*
Oh, right—Fujino got up close to the scene. If *he* could've checked it out himself, he'd have nailed it first try too! Yup, totally! Conan pep-talked himself.
Ai stood back, glancing at Conan's conflicted pout, calmly soaking in the deduction show.
Fujino turned to Sano, voice low. "If you're not the killer, mind handing your skates to the police for testing?"
"…" Sano's face twisted further, and her skates slipped to the ground with a thud.
"Izumi… was it really you?" Raiko Komatsu asked, stunned. "Why…?"
"For Narita," Sano said, taking a deep breath, her head low. "I wanted revenge for Narita—he killed himself because of that Chihiro chick. After she dumped him that day, he put a gun to his head. I'd warned him not to mess with a girl like her, but he was all, 'Let's just see how it goes.'"
Raiko frowned. "But killing her over that? That's extreme!"
"If it was just that, I wouldn't have bothered!" Sano snapped. "What I couldn't stand was her two-timing crap!"
"Two-timing?" Everyone blinked.
Fujino blinked too, quietly pulling sunflower seeds from his pocket. In his head, Katsuo Ono's sultry sax started playing. *Time to munch and watch the drama unfold.*
Another classic Mihua confession sesh! Good thing this killer wasn't some psycho ready to shank him. Honestly, it was kinda weird—Conan's deductions always ended with the culprit crying and confessing. Fujino's? They ended with a knife to his throat half the time…
Conan, trained under Fujino's wing, pulled out his own seeds at the same moment.
Ai: "…" *Are these two from the same school of chaos? They're so unserious.*
"Yup, two-timing. You'd know, right, Oda?" Sano crossed her arms, shooting a icy glare at Kuniyoshi Oda. "That day I was home sick, Narita called me from the shooting range, choking back tears: 'It's over. My friend betrayed me. Chihiro's been with Oda—rt stuff. I just don't get it…'"
"Wait," Koji Misawa cut in, shocked. "Wasn't Oda dating *you* back then?!"
"Yeah, he was," Sano gritted her teeth, glaring at Oda. "But this guy *knew* how Narita felt and still two-timed, laughing at us with Chihiro!"
"Hmm?" Fujino cracked a seed, eyeing Oda. *Whoa, this upright-looking dude's a player?* Pure love fans everywhere just shed a tear.
"She's lying!" Oda fired back. "That's her MO—making up stories when she's in a bind!"
"Another twist?" Fujino paused. *Pure love squad's back in the game?*
"Then why didn't you tell him?!" Sano wasn't buying it. "When he called you, you were totally zoned out!"
"True, I didn't really hear Narita that day," Oda admitted, head down. "I was too worried about you, sick in bed."
"Huh?!" Sano froze, stunned.
"Maybe I'm the one who should've died by your hand today," Oda sighed.
"Well, time to head to the station for questioning," Takagi said, wincing at the soap opera vibes but stepping up to escort Sano.
"Can I trust you?" Sano asked Oda as she walked away, not looking back. "No matter how far apart we end up…"
"You can count on me," Oda said firmly. "I'm a loyal, devoted guy."
"Thanks…"
Fujino: "…" *She killed someone over *this*? What a soap opera mess.*
Watching Sano get hauled off, he sighed. "Your circle's wild…"
So, let's break it down: Narita liked Chihiro, Sano liked Narita, Oda liked Sano. Chihiro dumped Narita, used Oda as an excuse, Narita offed himself, Sano thought Oda and Chihiro hooked up, so she killed Chihiro for revenge.
Mihua's a circus. Weird murder motives are par for the course here, but this? Feels like a melodrama for middle-aged housewives. Did the two-timing even happen? Who knows—the only witness is dead, and one-sided stories don't hold up. Case closed, no proof either way.
…
The day wrapped up, and suddenly it was past 9 p.m. The sky was dark, lit by a full moon.
In Dorobiga Amusement Park's parking lot, Fujino led two girls and two fake kids toward his car. Sonoko sulked—she'd planned a fun outing, but not only did it flop, they got a murder case instead. Ran, though, was oddly chipper—rare day out, might as well enjoy it! Conan moped like Sonoko, head down, lost in thought, looking rough.
Ai trailed behind, eyeing Conan's gloomy vibe. "Looks like a certain bumbling detective got smoked this time," she teased.
Conan: "…" *You don't have to say it out loud!*
"It's just 'cause he got to check the scene up close," he grumbled. "If I was my old self, I'd have—"
"Oh? Even the Heisei Sherlock has his stubborn moments," Ai smirked, brushing off his excuses. "You got crushed from every angle."
Conan sighed, glancing at Fujino with a flicker of defeat. *Why do I feel like we're not even in the same league anymore? We're both high school detectives…*
Later, Fujino drove everyone home. Ai took shotgun again, and—bam—traffic jam. Another black car had exploded up ahead.
Fujino: "…" *I didn't even drive a Mazda this time. How am I still hitting car-bomb traffic?*
Mihua's spiraling. After dropping everyone off, Fujino swung by a convenience store with Ai, grabbed some bentos, and headed home. They ate dinner with Akemi Miyano.
It was already 10 p.m.
Fujino had just gotten back to his room and opened the system interface when a chime rang in his ears:
*[Detective Job Mission: "Revived Death Message" completed]*
*[System Rewards: 1 million yen, 100 detective reputation points issued]*
*[Current Balance: 4.56 million yen]*
*[Current Detective Reputation: 1310/1500]*
"Still 190 points short of the next detective rank?" Fujino murmured, eyeing the system screen. "Just one or two more cases, and I'll hit three stars…"
*(End of Chapter)*
---
**Chapter 250: Client Charm**
Late at night.
The stars above Tokyo glimmered faintly like scattered grains of rice, twinkling on and off. A cool breeze slipped through the open balcony window, brushing against Fujino's face.
"Detective rank five stars… What comes after mid-tier? No idea if I can break through, but if I do, it'd probably mean a hefty boost," he mused to himself. "No point overthinking it now, though. I haven't even cracked mid-tier yet. Who knows how much it'll cost to level up the main job? Way too far off…"
Shaking his head, Fujino pushed the thoughts aside, stood from the couch, stretched lazily, and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
*Splash, splash…*
Fresh from the bath, he wrapped a towel around himself, dried off, slipped into pajamas, and strolled to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he found it packed with green tea.
He grabbed a half-finished bottle from yesterday, twisted the cap, chugged it down, and slid it back into place. With a casual wave, he pulled up the system inventory and eyed the portable space upgrade option:
*[Small Portable Space: Store and retrieve items anytime]*
*[Current Size: 2x2x2 meters]*
*[Upgrade Cost: 5 million yen]*
Fujino's gaze lingered on it.
The *[Portable Space]* was the first gold-tier item he'd gotten after crossing over.
Gold-tier stuff defied logic and was crazy handy.
After using it so long, he'd grown a bit attached.
Most of his daily gear—confiscated guns, bulletproof vests, bombs, whatever—got tossed in there.
Even after two upgrades, bumping it from half a meter to a two-meter cube (basically a storage closet), the once-roomy space was getting cramped.
Forget stashing a motorcycle—fitting a person in there now was a squeeze.
Upgrading it would mean shelling out 5 million yen.
His current balance sat at 4.56 million.
With the system discount, he could swing it.
But was it worth it?
Life still had bills to pay.
No way he'd blow his entire stash just for more storage.
Fujino closed the interface with a sigh.
The grind for cash never ends… 😓
After a moment of griping, he opened the *[Portable Space]* again.
If he couldn't splurge on an upgrade, a good old cleanup was the next best thing.
There was a ton of junk taking up room—stuff he didn't need.
Like instant noodles, coffee cakes, self-heating rice, MREs, a soccer ball, designer bags, handguns, and that gift Miyano Akemi had prepped for Shiho ages ago.
Scanning the space, Fujino pulled out the bulkiest item—a designer bag—and set it on the coffee table for a closer look.
It was a sleek shoulder bag, soft gray leather with a ginkgo leaf pattern stamped on it. One glance screamed "expensive."
"A Fushae bag, huh?" Fujino muttered.
He'd seen this style before when shopping with Haihara Ai—the clerk had gushed about it.
Fushae bags always had that ginkgo leaf logo.
Price-wise? Anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of yen.
The fancy ones could hit a few million.
But that wasn't the point.
The real kicker? He remembered the Fushae owner had some old romantic history with Dr. Agasa.
Rubbing his chin, a spark lit up in his eyes. "Could rake in a fat commission… Maybe play matchmaker, hook up Dr. Agasa with some sunset romance. Not a bad gig…"
It sounded doable.
Not now, though—pretty sure that plotline was way down the road.
---
After a quick tidy-up, tossing useless stuff and organizing the rest, the *[Portable Space]* felt a lot roomier.
Done with that, Fujino fished out the *[Client Charm]*.
"Brings high-value clients to my door, huh?" he said, eyeing it with a flicker of excitement.
Per the system, the *[Client Charm]* was a conceptual item that lured in big-shot clients with hefty paydays.
Whether it "charmed" or not didn't matter.
High-value clients? That's the ticket.
"Usage… light it on fire, right?"
Recalling the instructions, he grabbed a lighter from the space.
With a flick, he sparked it and held the flame to the charm.
The yellow paper flared up in a blinding flash the moment it touched the fire.
A second later, the glow faded.
The charm in his hand was now black ash, slipping through his fingers and scattering in the breeze.
*[Client Charm activated]*
*[Host, please keep an eye out for high-value clients in the coming days!]*
The system's voice echoed in his ears.
"A few days, huh?" Fujino brushed the ash off his hands, muttering.
Pretty much what he'd expected.
Just how much cash would this "high-value" client bring?
Guess he'd be glued to the detective agency for the next few days.
Couldn't risk missing the big fish.
---
Nighttime, Fujino's place.
"No high-value client yet?"
Fujino stood out front, watching a client's car pull away. The "high-value" tag still hadn't cleared, and his mind was buzzing.
Four days had passed since he'd used the charm.
Two school days, two holidays.
He'd taken a couple of jobs—cheating spouse case, missing person gig—50万 yen total.
The high-value marker was still active, so those clearly weren't *it*.
Sighing, he checked his phone: 7:30 p.m.
"Dinner time already?" he mumbled, heading up to the third floor where Miyano Akemi and Haihara Ai stayed.
It was routine by now.
Usually, Akemi and Ai handled dinner.
When he had time, he'd cook and teach Ai a few tricks.
After some coaching, the clever little gremlin's skills had shot up.
Still leaned toward light salt and oil—healthy vibes—but he'd tweaked her flavors to something he could vibe with.
*(End of Chapter)*
---
**Chapter 251: Tickets to Okinawa**
Fujino swung by the fourth floor first, grabbed a tote bag, then doubled back to the third.
He pushed open the bedroom door.
Inside, Miyano Akemi was lounging on the couch, sipping an iced cola and watching TV.
"Akemi-nee, where's Ai?" Fujino asked, kicking off his shoes as he stepped in.
"She's in her room," Akemi replied, setting the cola on the coffee table and standing up, a touch worried. "She's been like that lately—holed up in there, probably on her computer… even forgot to make dinner…"
"Maybe she found something fun online," Fujino offered.
He had a hunch what Ai was up to.
Probably burning the midnight oil on APTX research, right?
But forgetting dinner? That wasn't like her…
Could she have cracked the antidote?
He was kinda curious.
Why was she still obsessed with APTX4869 even after he'd swooped in and saved her?
"No worries, I'll handle dinner tonight," Fujino volunteered.
"Thanks, Fujino-kun," Akemi said with a nod, then glanced at the tote he'd set on the table. "What's in the bag?"
"Oh, this?" Fujino lifted it, pulling out the bag. "A client gave me this Fushae bag a few days back. I don't need it, so I figured I'd see if you two wanted it."
"It's so fancy…" Akemi admired it.
She remembered spotting one like it while shopping with Ai—pretty pricey stuff.