“With my help, Uncle Mori’s reputation has really taken off.
He's getting more and more cases. Finally, he's not just dealing with missing cats and dogs anymore.”
Conan and Akitsuki Makoto were talking about a case that Mori Kogoro had taken on a couple of days ago.
The son of a surgeon had nearly been killed by the family of a patient who was causing trouble.
Fortunately, with Conan's guidance,
Mori Kogoro found some clues.
This surgeon had a child who died a few years ago during surgery because the child was brought to the hospital too late.
But the patient's father refused to accept his own responsibility.
Instead, he blamed the doctor and wanted to kill his son for revenge.
Thanks to Conan and Mori Kogoro’s timely arrival, the surgeon's son was saved.
Afterwards, Mori Kogoro received a substantial fee from the grateful doctor.
Sure enough, with his wallet bulging, Mori Kogoro immediately ran off with the money to play pachinko.
To avoid missing any cases, Conan would usually go to the Mori Detective Agency on weekends.
Even on school days, after school at Teitan Elementary,
he’d come by and see if there were any cases.
This had Mori Kogoro regretting taking on this apprentice.
Though, since Conan became his apprentice,
it was as if his luck had changed.
He had completed all his cases successfully.
And new cases kept coming in, one after another.
Plus, they were all serious cases. He was getting clients like the famous actress, Yoko Okino, and the rich surgeon.
At least he didn’t have to spend his days searching for missing cats and dogs anymore.
However, for a lazy bum like Mori Kogoro,
this unexpected busy schedule was a pain. He was constantly dealing with cases.
Mori Kogoro longed for the days when he could gamble on horses and play pachinko during the day and go drinking and visit nightclubs in Ginza at night.
“Hey, Conan, you’re here again?”
Ran Mori was used to seeing Conan at the agency now, even when she came back from the supermarket.
Mori Kogoro’s apprentice seemed more invested in the agency’s business than even Mori himself.
But, she had heard from Akitsuki Makoto that Conan had a great passion for deduction and loved being a detective.
Ran didn’t find it unusual. She just thought Conan was like Shinichi Kudo, a detective enthusiast.
Speaking of which, Conan, Dr. Agasa’s relative, did look like Shinichi Kudo.
She had curiously asked Dr. Agasa once, and he had lied, saying that Conan was also related to Shinichi Kudo.
This was the first time that Ran Mori realized that Dr. Agasa was actually related to Shinichi Kudo.
Since a substantial amount of tuition fees had been paid,
Ran would also prepare a meal for Conan when he came on weekends.
“Conan, you can’t be too reckless. My old classmate, Shinichi Kudo, was a famous high school detective.
He ended up running away to a foreign country because of a big case and is scared to death now.”
Hearing Ran’s serious statement, Conan rolled his eyes and looked at Akitsuki Makoto.
“…”
He knew that this was the excuse Akitsuki Makoto had come up with for his disappearance and told to Ran and Suzuki Sonoko.
But to say that he had been scared into fleeing to a foreign country made him sound too weak.
“By the way, Makoto, we’re going to the Medieval Art Exhibition, as planned. Let’s go!”
Ran had heard that the security guards patrolling at night at the Medieval Art Museum had reported seeing the suits of armor moving on their own.
The rumors had spread around the area.
Although Ran was secretly afraid of ghosts, she was curious and wanted to see for herself.
She invited Akitsuki Makoto along.
However, before they left, she saw Conan sitting bored on the sofa, reading a detective novel.
“Conan, why don’t you come with us?”
Although her original plan was to have a date with Akitsuki Makoto,
Ran, being kindhearted, realized that her father, Mori Kogoro, had gone out to have some fun again.
She had no idea when he’d be back at the agency.
It wouldn’t be nice to leave Conan, a child, all alone.
“I’m okay, Ran-nee, I…” Before Conan could finish,
Akitsuki Makoto picked Conan up and said, "Death God, let’s go.”
He remembered that there was a case, so he brought Conan along for safety’s sake.
“Hey, hey…” Conan, unable to resist, dropped his book on the sofa.
When they arrived at the Medieval Art Museum,
Ran was very happy to see all the medieval paintings and was admiring them.
“I have to say, Death God is a pretty strange name…”
Conan and Akitsuki Makoto weren’t interested in these artworks at all.
However, he remembered the name that Akitsuki Makoto had called him and felt speechless.
“Wherever you go, death follows, right? That’s what a Death God is,” Akitsuki Makoto smiled.
“…” Conan felt like he was being slandered.
Then, the three of them saw the museum’s director, Ochiai, an elderly gentleman.
They also saw him angrily scolding the staff member, Wada, for not wearing gloves while moving the paintings.
“I have to say, deduction is much better. Going out with girls is so boring, right?”
Looking at Akitsuki Makoto's bored expression, Conan said with a mocking tone.
Hearing Conan’s lonely declaration, Akitsuki Makoto gave him a thumbs-up.
Although it was indeed boring, it was worth it for the ride.
But Conan’s expected deduction portion came very soon.
The owner of the museum, Majima, was found murdered in the Hell Exhibit.
Ran and Akitsuki Makoto discovered it.
——————
“It’s you again, Akitsuki.” Mōri Kogorō looked at Akitsuki Makoto with a strange expression.
He wondered if Akitsuki Makoto had gotten involved with some kind of bad luck recently.
He was constantly encountering murder cases.
The last time he attended a Valentine’s Day party, the host, Kaikava Katsuhiko, was poisoned by his aunt.
He remembered the rollercoaster incident, the suicide of Yoko Okino's ex-boyfriend.
While the police officers were securing the scene and gathering evidence,
Mōri Kogorō discreetly approached Akitsuki Makoto.
“Say, Akitsuki, I heard you went to Kyoto recently. Did you visit a temple and pray? You’ve been running into murder cases a little too often lately.”
Conan, who was listening from the side, burst out laughing.