Fujino didn't dare let his guard down. His fists clenched instinctively, his eyes locked on Toshimasa Tahara, every nerve on edge.
He'd learned from experience—last time, it was a flight attendant who somehow pulled a pen out of nowhere and stabbed the captain dead in an instant.
He'd started noticing a pattern.
Cases he solved had a decent chance of turning the culprit into a "Mihama Good Samaritan."
These so-called "Good Samaritans" would whip out daggers or switchblades and randomly take out a "lucky" bystander.
The atmosphere at the scene grew heavy in an instant.
"Why would you do something like this?" Noe Tanigawa asked, incredulous. "You're usually so quiet and honest."
"It's all because that jerk blamed me for his own problems!" Tahara snapped, his voice dripping with frustration. "It's his acting that's the issue, but he had the nerve to trash my scripts…"
"I really wanted to create a script that no one—not the audience, not the actors, not even a famous detective—could figure out. But in the end, a detective saw right through it."
Tahara's tone turned bitter, and he let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Guess I'm just a third-rate screenwriter after all."
Fujino relaxed a little at that.
Looks like this Fukuoka guy didn't have the same violent streak as those Mihama types.
Still, he couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly.
Was this murder motive for real? It was so absurd. Wouldn't this case make a better script than whatever Tahara had been cooking up?
---
Tahara was soon hauled off by the police, and the case wrapped up.
That night, in a third-floor room at the lodge:
Fujino lay in bed. Downstairs was the crime scene where someone's head had just gotten a new "ventilation hole."
Outside, the forest echoed with faint bird chirps and the distant howls of what might've been wolves—or maybe dogs.
Fujino wasn't scared of ghosts, but something about it still made his heart race a little. He pulled a wooden sword from his luggage and set it by the bed.
Okamoto was made of black peach blossom wood—should be good enough to ward off evil spirits, right?
Musing to himself, he opened the system interface.
The rewards from this mission popped up on the glowing screen:
**[Congratulations, Host, on completing the Detective Mission: The Murdered 'Famous Detective']**
**[System Rewards Issued!]**
**[Congratulations, Host, on earning: 1,000,000 yen, 100 Detective Reputation Points]**
**[Current Balance: 8,350,000 yen]**
"Before I knew it, my little stash of cash got pretty hefty again…" Fujino said, eyeing the balance with satisfaction.
He started thinking about how to spend it.
Then he decided to level up his Doctor profession, which he'd been putting off.
**[267,000 yen consumed for the Host]**
**[Current Balance: 5,680,000 yen]**
**[Congratulations, Host! 'Workplace Doctor' has advanced to 'Good Doctor']**
**[Congratulations, Host, on acquiring profession skills: Advanced Good Doctor Medical Knowledge, White-Clad Archangel, Healer's Compassion, Self-Healing Physician]**
"Good Doctor?" Fujino muttered, his expression turning odd. "Why does this title feel kinda weird?"
It reminded him of a certain grim reaper from his past life—some guy named Shawn.
Crooked grin? Probably cancer. Glowing red eyes? Definitely lights out. A walking casualty wrapped in a cause-and-effect weapon.
"It's not *that* kind of thing, right…?"
He shook it off and pulled up the co-op interface to check his upgraded skills:
**[Good Doctor: Level 1 (160/500) (Upgrade Cost: 1,000,000 yen)]**
**- Advanced Good Doctor Medical Knowledge: Passive Skill (Mastery of advanced medical knowledge—diagnosing, treating, even performing minor surgeries—is a breeze for a Good Doctor with this expertise)**
**- Self-Healing Physician: Level 3 (Boosts Host's physical self-healing by 150%, mental recovery by 60%)**
**- White-Clad Archangel: Level 2 (Increases basic healing effects on others by 100%, mental healing effects by 100%)**
**- Healer's Compassion: Level 1 (Active Skill: Upon use, transfers 5% of injuries)**
**Note:** *This skill can transfer a patient's injuries to yourself or your own injuries to someone else. Cooldown depends on injury severity.*
"White-Clad Archangel and Self-Healing Physician are fine, but this Healer's Compassion… it's wilder than that Shawn guy."
The two upgraded skills—one for others, one for himself—now boosted mental stats too. Next time he faced someone like Spider with their hypnosis tricks, his resistance would probably be through the roof.
And the new Healer's Compassion? A damage-transfer skill. Sure, it was only 5%, but it could level up.
Fujino could already picture it: someone shoots him a few times, he strolls up like, "I bet your bullets didn't hit me," transfers the damage, and takes them out.
Shame about the cooldown, though.
Beyond the new skill and enhancements, Good Doctor also gave him advanced medical know-how. He skimmed the knowledge library in his head and realized he now had the medical chops of a decently well-known doctor.
Not bad. Time to grab a scalpel back in Tokyo and practice on a couple of bamboo rats.
---
The next day rolled around.
The murder case didn't dampen Mouri's spirits one bit. Bright and early, he dragged Fujino to a safe spot nearby, rented two fishing rods, and hit the riverbank.
By noon…
"Damn it!"
Mouri glared at his empty red bucket, eyes bulging. "How have I not caught a single fish?!"
He stared at the deep river ahead. "There's gotta be no fish in here!"
"Yeah, you're right, Mouri," Fujino said, tipping his fisherman's hat and glancing at his own empty bucket. "This river's fish must've all been scooped up already!"
*Splash!*
A sound broke the silence.
They turned to see Ran yank up her rod, beaming. "I got another one!"
Fujino: "…"
Mouri: "…"
Fujino recovered and chuckled lightly. "Must be the spot, right?"
"Exactly! It's all about location!" Mouri nodded eagerly. "Ran's upstream, we're downstream—that's gotta be it!"
"Sis Ran's already caught three big ones!"
Fujino glanced at Ran's overflowing bucket, then at Conan's smug, gloating grin, and his face darkened.
*Fishermen never go home empty-handed!*
Eyeing Conan's cocky look, Fujino stood up, pulled his lucky coin from his pocket, and headed to the nearby restroom.
Screw destiny—he wasn't about to let it win! Sure, he didn't have Ran's "God's daughter" luck, but he'd make his own fate.
**[Lucky Coin Effect Activated!]**
**[Cooldown: 168 hours]**
When he got back, they shifted their butts upstream near Ran.
Barely settling in, Fujino felt his rod twitch.
"Got something!" he exclaimed. "See? It's the spot!"
He yanked hard.
*Splash!*
Up came… a boot.
Fujino: "…"
He'd heard tales of fishermen pulling up boots, but he didn't think it'd actually happen.
*Guess that's lucky in a way.*
He set the boot aside quietly.
No way he couldn't catch a fish, right?
A little later, the rod moved again.
Thrilled, Fujino reeled it in with gusto!
Another boot.
Same style as the last one… now he had a pair.
Crap!
"A boot?" Mouri burst out laughing beside him.
Conan scampered over, giggling. "Wow, Fujino, you're amazing! Even fishing up boots!"
Fujino: "…"
He stood up silently, half-tempted to toss Conan into the river.
Maybe a river god would pop up and say, "Oh, wise and handsome youth, did you drop this golden Conan or this silver Conan?"
That'd be a sight.
But he thought better of it, dumped Conan next to Ran, and kept fishing.
---
An hour later:
Fujino stared at his haul—a steel helmet, two boots, a busted tire, 20,000 yen, and a cute, wriggling little turtle. Propping his chin on his hands, he sank into a dazed stupor.
"Whoa!" Ran leaned over, smiling at the turtle paddling in the water. "Fujino, you caught a turtle? It's adorable!"
"Adorable, huh?"
Fujino glanced at his little turtle.
It *was* pretty cute.
He remembered that loli back home loved animals—turtles probably counted, right?
Wait, adorable turtle? What the heck?
But on second thought, it *was* something from the water.
See? Not empty-handed!
If he couldn't catch fish, it had to be the rod's fault!
"…"
Mouri's bucket, meanwhile, was still bone-dry.
Total bust.
*(Chapter End)*