By the time they finished their bath, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.
"Oh no! I wonder how Dad and Conan are doing."
After getting dressed, Ran suddenly cried out.
Heiji was eating a rice ball. He glanced at Ran and asked calmly, "Do they have any money on them?"
"No," Ran said, shaking her head.
"Then there's no need to worry."
Ran looked at Heiji, confused.
"They didn't have any money, and they aren't out searching the streets for you. That means someone is already taking care of them. Otherwise, the two of them would be so hungry they'd be crawling on the ground by now."
Heiji took a sip of hot tea and explained calmly.
"For once, Heiji is right. Ran, don't worry."
Yukiko's words still had a sharp edge to them.
"But I still want to go check. Dad cares a lot about his reputation. Since Ms. Yukiko is here, he would definitely be too embarrassed to come looking for me."
Ran stood up, preparing to head out.
"Ran, let us go with you. You aren't familiar with this place. What if something happens?" Kazuha offered.
"No, it's okay. You guys stay at the hotel. I'll just go take a look and come right back."
After walking all day, Ran knew Kazuha and the others had to be hungry. She didn't want to trouble them.
"Ran, let Heiji go with you."
Heiji was startled for a moment. He looked at Kazuha, then nodded. "I'll go with you."
Ran smiled. "No need. Heiji, stay here and eat."
Heiji shrugged and stood up. "If you don't let me go with you, you're actually making things harder for me."
Ran looked completely confused.
"If Kazuha and Sonoko team up and refuse to let me into the room later, I'll have to sleep on the sofa. Isn't that making things harder for me?"
Instantly, Kazuha and Sonoko's faces turned bright red. They gave Heiji a fierce glare.
Ran was stunned for a second, then she smiled gently. "Then I'll be back soon."
On the way there!
The night sky was cloudless, and a full moon hung overhead.
The surroundings were very quiet. Naturally, there were no streetlights along the roads of these small islands, so it was quite dark.
Heiji and Ran walked side by side.
"Heiji, I heard something big happened in Osaka recently."
"Yeah. A national treasure was stolen."
"A national treasure was stolen?!"
Ran suddenly let out a startled cry. She quickly realized what she had done and covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes darted left and right, afraid someone might have heard her. She looked very cute.
Heiji looked at Ran strangely. "What's wrong?"
"If a national treasure was stolen, that's definitely something you can't let other people know about, right? Heiji, you told me... what if the news gets out?"
Ran deliberately lowered her voice.
Hearing this, Heiji couldn't help but laugh. "I trust you, Ran. You wouldn't do that."
Ran gave Heiji a look. "That just makes me feel more pressure."
"I won't tell anyone."
Her voice was soft, but her tone was very firm.
Heiji nodded and smiled faintly. "I've always trusted you, Ran."
Ran was slightly taken aback, then she smiled sweetly.
Soon, her smile faded. "But Shinichi... he never tells me what he's doing. Maybe it's because he doesn't trust me."
Heiji shrugged but did not say anything.
The two of them soon arrived at the house from earlier.
Red and blue lights were flashing. Many police cars were parked out front.
"Did something happen?"
Ran was startled. She immediately ran forward.
Heiji followed behind at an easy pace.
[With that elementary school Grim Reaper around, there's never any shortage of murder cases.]
Inspector Megure was inside the house, conducting an interrogation of the suspects.
"From 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM tonight, where were you, Ms. Kuroiwa?"
A woman wearing a black formal dress suddenly glared at Inspector Megure. "Officer, are you suspecting me of killing my own father? One of the two victims was my father!"
Inspector Megure looked at Reiko Kuroiwa seriously. "This is just procedure."
Kogoro Mori and Conan were sitting outside, their expressions grim.
"Dad, Conan! Are you guys okay?"
Ran ran over.
"Ran, I'm fine."
"Ran, we're okay."
Seeing that the two of them were unhurt, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hattori, why did you follow her here? Dammit."
When he saw Heiji behind Ran, Kogoro Mori's expression changed immediately. He looked very annoyed.
Heiji shrugged. "Mr. Mori, it looks like you've run into some trouble."
"This is my assignment. I can handle it alone."
Kogoro Mori was terrified that Heiji would intervene.
Heiji gave a faint smile. "Don't worry, Mr. Mori. I really am just here for a vacation this time. I don't want to deal with cases."
[Heh, who would believe that?]
Conan curled his lip from the side, his face full of disbelief.
"Kid, don't look at me like that. I like solving cases, but I've been doing high-intensity deduction lately, and I'm a bit tired. I'm not like Shinichi, who is a total deduction freak."
Faced with Heiji's blunt lecture, Conan could only curl his lip. However, he also knew that Heiji had indeed been solving cases non-stop lately, so he didn't have any real doubts.
"Mr. Mori, you don't seem to have introduced this handsome guy to me yet."
At that moment, Narumi Asai walked over. She looked at Heiji with a smile.
Something clicked in Heiji's mind. He gave Narumi Asai a discreet look.
[This person... is she really a woman?]
"Dr. Asai, he's just a brat. Don't mind him."
Kogoro Mori quickly changed the subject.
"But he looks very familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Narumi Asai stared at Heiji, looking quite interested.
Ran's brows furrowed. Strange. It feels like Dr. Asai has suddenly turned into a different person.
Heiji gave a faint smile. "Dr. Asai, you must be mistaken."
"Is that so? Perhaps."
Narumi Asai turned to leave. As she did, there was even a teasing look in her eyes.
Heiji's brow furrowed. Why does the feeling this woman gives me seem so familiar?
"Strange. I haven't seen her since this afternoon, but I feel like Dr. Asai has changed. She doesn't seem as gentle as before."
Kogoro Mori muttered to himself as he watched Narumi Asai's back.
Hearing Kogoro's words, Heiji's heart stirred. A sharp glint suddenly flashed in his eyes, and a smile curled onto his lips. So that's how it is.
Just then, his sleeve was tugged.
"Hey, Hattori. This is a serial murder case. Two people are already dead," Conan said in a low, heavy voice.
"Also, the methods used in these killings are very different, but the common point is that the song 'Moonlight' was playing nearby."
"But the strange thing is, these people don't seem to have much of a connection."
"I think..."
Suddenly, Conan stopped talking. He looked up and glared at Heiji. "Hattori, are you even listening to me?"
Heiji glanced calmly at Conan. "Watch your cover. You aren't Shinichi Kudo right now. You are Conan Edogawa."
"Hattori, you are really such a nag."
Conan walked directly toward one of the rooms.
[A nag?]
Thinking about that person's true identity, a wicked smile curled on Heiji's lips. Maybe letting that person know Conan's real identity wouldn't be so bad. Life would probably become much more interesting.
Narumi Asai came back again. She sat down and watched Heiji with interest, without saying a single word.
About half an hour passed.
A sharp, piercing scream rang out.