"How do I see it?"
Kogoro Mouri noticed everyone in the office looking at him. He lowered his head, sinking into a moment of profound contemplation.
"Ahem! Well, I suppose there must be some sort of deity watching over me, helping me from the shadows!"
It was, once again, a load of complete nonsense.
No one could say for sure if a second personality actually existed—one that emerged to solve cases the moment the primary personality decided to take a nap.
"Are you sure it's a deity and not a Reaper?" Yamamura asked, tilting his head.
The legend of "Sleeping Kogoro" was vast, and every tale was inextricably linked to a murder case. At this point, being possessed by a God of Death seemed like a much more plausible explanation.
"What kind of rubbish are you spouting now..." Kogoro grumbled, his face clouding with annoyance.
"I'm going to grab some coffee. Does anyone want anything?" Tsuneo cut in, preparing to head out and find something to eat as well.
The group rattled off a list of snacks and drinks, asking the mechanic to bring them back. Conan quickly slipped out of the police station, trailing closely behind him.
Tsuneo could tell the kid was suffering from a severe case of a guilty conscience. With so many police officers in that office discussing the mystery of Sleeping Kogoro, Conan didn't dare breathe a word, let alone participate in the conversation.
The two of them—one tall, one small—walked into a 24-hour convenience store near the Gunma Prefectural Police Station.
"I've been thinking about something lately," Tsuneo said, shaking his head as he picked up an onigiri and tossed it into the shopping basket.
A triangular rice ball with absolutely no meat in it... who actually eats these things?
"Thinking about what?"
Conan could only reach the items on the lower shelves. He pointed to a loaf of bread on the top tier, signaling for Tsuneo to help him.
"I was wondering," Tsuneo said casually as he tossed the bread into the basket. "What would you do if Sleeping Kogoro has actually been faking it this whole time?"
"...?"
"Did you notice something?!" Conan snapped his head up, looking genuinely terrified.
"Hard to say."
"No... probably not," Tsuneo said, shaking his head.
If the man really was faking his sleep, the implications were massive. It would mean that at some point, Kogoro Mouri had transitioned into an observer who was simply playing along with Conan for his own amusement. And if that were true, the identity of the "brat" next to him had almost certainly been exposed ages ago.
Wait a minute...
"You jerk! Don't leave me hanging, tell me!" Conan grabbed Tsuneo's pant leg, shaking it frantically.
At a critical moment like this, why are you staring at the ceiling with a furrowed brow?
"I just felt like... during the latter half of the deduction, his breathing seemed to fluctuate a bit," Tsuneo admitted, though he couldn't be certain.
After all, the room had been crowded and noisy. Even sitting right next to him, Tsuneo could only say that something felt slightly "off."
"But more importantly," Tsuneo added, seeing the Great Detective's face turning a pale shade of green, "if he knew who you really were, there's no way he'd let you stay so close to Ran."
As a fiercely protective father, Kogoro wouldn't just stand by and let that slide. Therefore, the theory that he had seen through everything still lacked solid evidence.
"Is it possible... he's just acting?" Conan asked.
Even as he voiced the question, he couldn't wrap his head around it. If Kogoro was acting, who was he acting for?
"Who knows? But if he's not going to burst the bubble, we might as well keep the play going," Tsuneo said. Instinctively, he found it hard to trust his own senses on this one.
When he thought back to his nominal mentor, Mouri-sensei—so innocent, so absurdly dim-witted, and so endearingly foolish—he just couldn't see him as some hidden mastermind. If that man was acting, his performance would put actresses like Yukiko or Vermouth to shame.
"True. No point in scaring myself," the detective agreed. It made sense; if the other party was cooperating, he just had to keep up his end of the performance.
Conan paused, looking down at his tranquilizer watch. "Say... do you think I should ask the Professor to increase the dosage?"
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
Since the case in Gunma, Conan had been secretly keeping a close eye on Kogoro.
He really doesn't seem like some hidden powerhouse...
Just two days ago, Kogoro had accepted a ten-million-yen commission. Before even starting the investigation, he had treated himself to a lavish meal at a three-star restaurant. Then, he had recklessly squandered three million yen on luxuries, and finally, he had borrowed another five million yen to bet on horse races.
Now, with a total debt of over eight million yen, he was passed out drunk on the office sofa.
Ran was currently on the phone with her mother, Eri Kisaki.
Conan looked at Ran, then at the snoring old man, his expression a perfect portrait of exasperation.
"The total debt is 8,057,000 yen... What should I do, Mom?" Ran asked into the receiver, her voice filled with worry.
"Stop worrying about that man! Get over to my place immediately!"
Even through the phone, it was clear that Eri Kisaki was fuming.
"But... Dad said in his sleep, 'Eri, come save me... Eri...'" Ran wasn't lying about that. Conan, staring with his trademark dead-fish eyes, could serve as a witness.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Eri told her daughter not to worry and said she'd be there shortly. Ran hung up and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Being caught between her parents was never an easy job.
Conan rested his chin on his hand, still staring at Kogoro, trying to see if there was any hidden truth beneath the surface.
Twenty minutes later, Eri Kisaki arrived at the agency like a whirlwind.
As soon as she entered, she heard the drunken Kogoro mumbling from the sofa: "Come save me... I can't take it anymore..."
Hearing those words with her own ears, Eri's face flushed slightly, and her expression softened into something incredibly tender.
In the next heartbeat, another woman's name fell from his lips.
"I'm full... Yoko-chan..."
"!!!"
Honestly, the moment Kogoro shouted Yoko's name, Conan could feel the sheer, freezing killing intent radiating from Eri Kisaki across the room.
Tsuneo really should be here to see this, Conan thought. Then we could analyze together whether this guy is actually 'acting' or if he's just a natural-born disaster.
Eri composed herself, and for her daughter's sake, decided to take over the case to try and secure that ten-million-yen commission...
Elsewhere, Tsuneo had successfully picked up a passenger.
"I say, why hasn't my son shown up yet?" asked a certain woman behind sunglasses who very much enjoyed acting younger than her years.
"..."
"Did you actually call him to tell him you were coming?" Tsuneo asked, glancing at her.
He had just seen the kid over at Professor Agasa's yesterday. They had been deep in a discussion about tranquilizer dosages; it didn't seem like Conan had any idea his mother was in town.
"I don't think I did. It's more of a surprise this way!" Yukiko said happily, removing her sunglasses.
However, before the surprise, they had to visit the home of one of Yusaku's friends. It was a commission regarding a blackmail incident.
"To think he'd send you..."
Tsuneo realized then that the great author Yusaku Kudo probably wasn't on the best of terms with this "friend" of his.
"You'd better watch your mouth!" Yukiko snapped. She only refrained from hitting him because he was currently driving, settling for a sharp verbal threat instead.
Tsuneo sighed. "Talk about being utterly irresponsible to the client..."
-------------------------
[IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT]
REGARDING THE CESSATION OF THIS PROJECT
Dear readers,
I am writing this today to share a difficult but carefully considered decision regarding the future of this story. I have decided to officially discontinue this project.
Over the course of working on this story, I have come to realize that the content has lost the spark and appeal it once had in the beginning. As time went on, I felt that the plot development and overall quality no longer met the standards I set for myself. I truly do not want to keep pushing out forced chapters that lack genuine engagement and excitement.
To me, respecting your time and reading experience is paramount. Instead of dragging out a story that is no longer at its best, I believe it is right to stop here, reflect, and prepare for much better projects in the future.
Thank you so much for your continuous support, comments, and understanding regarding this decision.