After dinner, Kurosawa Hoshino led Conan to the apartment across from the Mouri Detective Agency.
The building was also three stories. Hoshino's rented place was on the top floor.
"Conan, here's your key. That room is yours—it's all set up."
Handing a key to the boy, Hoshino pointed to a bedroom before yawning and retreating to his own room, flopping onto the bed to scroll through his phone.
The device was a touchscreen smartphone, nearly identical to those from his past life. He could browse the web, check news, and watch short videos.
Of course, this was a world themed around Detective Conan, where technology was… fluid. For cases requiring old flip phones, only flip phones would appear; when not needed, everything reverted to modern tech. Even in the first episode, the art style had shifted later—when Gin shattered the "River of Time," it was with a baseball bat initially, then later with a police baton.
Beep.
A message notification lit up the screen.
It was from Sonoko, that energetic heiress.
"Hoshino, heard you got targeted AGAIN?"
"Yeah," Hoshino typed back.
"Ran told me it was a high school senior this time? Nitta Takeya, or something?"
"If you want to laugh, just laugh. No need for the pretend concern before the cackling."
Sonoko didn't reply with text. Instead, his phone rang.
Puzzled, Hoshino answered—and his expression immediately darkened. Unrestrained, breathless laughter roared from the other end, pure, undiluted glee.
"That's enough. Stop."
"Cough… ha… haha…! Sorry, I can't help it! You're just so unlucky! Three times! Three times in one month!"
"Sonoko. The investigation. Any progress?"
"Wheeze… ha…"
On the other end, Sonoko struggled to compose herself. After a moment, her tone turned serious.
"Hoshino, I'm sorry. I couldn't trace who's depositing money into your account every month. Also, your mother, Kurosawa Megumi… she wasn't using a fake identity. She really did grow up in an orphanage."
"Nothing unusual? No skipped details?"
"Let me think… Oh. This wasn't her first pregnancy. It was her second. Records show she had a miscarriage the first time. That's the only odd note."
"Okay. Thanks for your help."
"Hey, we're friends!"
"Right. I'll hang up now."
Hoshino ended the call, his mind swirling with thoughts of his mother.
She had passed away when he was twelve, before his past-life memories awakened. He never understood how she had money without working. Only when he started living alone did he notice the regular monthly deposits—sometimes one or two million yen, sometimes three or four million.
As for his father… he had no idea. Hence, he hadn't even mentioned him.
After his memories awakened a month ago, drawing on his past-life experience, he sensed something was deeply off. Meeting Sonoko provided an opportunity, and he'd asked for her help.
Yet, even the Suzuki Group's resources had hit a wall. That meant the situation was more complicated than he'd imagined.
Forget it. I'll figure it out when the time comes. Right now, I need to focus on earning more Source Points. With enough abilities unlocked, the truth will come out.
Putting his phone aside, Hoshino pulled the covers up and closed his eyes.
…
…
The next morning, Hoshino woke early. Checking the date confirmed the jump: yesterday was Sunday, but today was Wednesday.
He had breakfast at Ran's house.
After meeting Sonoko downstairs, the trio walked to school together.
But at the school gate, they realized something was off. The three of them seemed to have morphed into exotic creatures. Everyone, from first-years to third-years, was stealing glances and whispering behind their hands.
"Is there something on our uniforms?" Ran looked down at her own, then at her friends', but found nothing amiss.
"Leave this to me!"
Sonoko strode confidently toward a cluster of girls nearby.
A few minutes later, she returned, lips pressed together to stifle a laugh, her sparkling eyes locked on Hoshino.
"…"
Hoshino felt a prickling discomfort under her gaze. A possibility dawned on him. "Don't tell me… last night's incident is already all over school?"
"Haha! Bingo!" Sonoko's laughter burst forth. "They're all looking at you, not me or Ran. I even heard someone's given you a nickname already. 'Unlucky Star' or something."
"Sonoko, keep it down," Ran chided, though a chuckle escaped her too.
"Right, right." Sonoko tried to sober up.
"Sigh…"
Hoshino was speechless. So now it's 'Sleeping Kogoro' and 'Unlucky Hoshino,' is it?
"Let's just get to class."
Straightening his uniform, Hoshino marched toward the school building, Ran and Sonoko quickly falling into step.
At the first-floor shoe lockers, they found a short-haired girl waiting for them.
"Kurosawa-kun."
"Kamisama-senpai," Ran and Sonoko greeted in unison.
"Tsukamoto-senpai." Hoshino gave a nod. He recognized her, of course—she'd even appeared in the original series.
"Junior, I'm so, so sorry." Tsukamoto Kazumi's face was etched with guilt. "I heard everything. I had no idea Nitta would go that crazy. I only glanced at him once, and he built up this whole delusion…"
Hoshino waved a hand. "It was a misunderstanding, Senpai. He's with the police now and will face the consequences. Please don't worry about it."
But Tsukamoto Kazumi wouldn't accept that. In her mind, if Hoshino hadn't dodged and had been hurt, she'd bear the guilt forever.
She insisted on making amends, even proposing to treat him out sometime to make up for the scare.
With no escape, Hoshino reluctantly agreed—the only way to extricate himself from the prolonged apology and finally make it to his classroom.