Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

"Then, following the direction indicated by the black piece, rotate counter-clockwise..."

Mutsumi Nishikawa pushed the portrait hard and, sure enough, saw the hidden passage.

"Treasure, treasure..." She climbed up the metal ladder like a cockroach, her mind filled with only the thought of "treasure".

"Want to go up and take a look? The scenery is really nice!"

Tohno Toru smiled and said to the children behind him.

......

Mutsumi Nishikawa pushed open the top-floor window and stared blankly at the setting sun shining obliquely down outside.

Wow! It looks really good!

Ayumi, who had climbed up next, saw the view outside and exclaimed excitedly, "You can even see the lake from here!"

"Treasure...my treasure..."

Mutsumi Nishikawa noticed the inscription on the window: "I would like to give this castle and this view to the first person who finds this place."

She collapsed to the ground and began to weep bitterly.

Perhaps it's disappointment, or perhaps it's regret?

Tohru Tohno couldn't understand her current emotions, but belated repentance was worthless.

......

Inspector Megure is as swift as the wind, showing that he doesn't let his guard down even after get off work hours.

However, Tohno had already caught the suspect this time, so even the usual time spent solving the case was saved. He could just come over, handcuff the criminal, and go straight back to report, which made Inspector Megure very happy.

Originally, Tohru Tono and his group were going to go back with the police car, but the castle owner insisted on keeping them there because he was grateful for their hospitality, so they reluctantly agreed to stay overnight at the castle.

The next day.

Driving his sports car, Tohru Tono followed the car led by the butler out of the woods where the castle was located.

We waved goodbye halfway and continued driving into Tokyo.

"Ha~"

"Ah~" The morning sun shone on the car's sun visor and fell on my shoulders, feeling warm and cozy.

The two people sitting in the car yawned simultaneously.

"Hey, don't copy me." Tohru Tono turned his head to look at Shiho Miyano, who was rubbing her eyes.

"Oh dear, the inventor's skin is as thick as ever."

Two researchers with reversed sleep schedules, who couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and happened to meet outside the door, smiled at each other.

......

"Hello? Hattori Heiji?"

Tohno Toru was driving towards Beika Town when he suddenly received a phone call from Hattori Heiji.

"Tono! I'm at Tokyo Station now, come pick me up quickly."

"you are?"

"...Didn't you call me by my name already? Don't play dumb!"

"Oh, excuse me, high school detective from Osaka—don't you have classes?"

"It's Saturday today, time to rest, rest! Who has classes on the weekend?"

"Huh? Is that so?" Toru Tono looked at Shiho Miyano and successfully earned an eye roll in return.

He lived in the Conan world for twenty years, but eventually, as Conan shrank, he lost track of time.

Logically speaking, this should be called "mild cognitive impairment" or "time perception disorder," which are symptoms of schizophrenia or Alzheimer's disease.

"Stop pretending to be stupid... Never mind, are you free today? If not, come pick me up. I also called Kudo."

Heiji Hattori hung up the phone quickly, giving Toru Tono no chance to refute him.

"Tsk." Tohru Tono put away his phone.

"Take me home first." Shiho Miyano didn't care about his business; she just wanted to go home quietly and do her research.

The objective of observing the experimental subjects has been achieved; we cannot waste time.

"Hey, you know that Tokyo Station and Beikacho are in opposite directions, right?"

"So what?"

"...Can't you just take a taxi home yourself?"

"What do you think?"

Shiho Miyano looked out the car window. Since they hadn't entered Tokyo, the area was still in the middle of nowhere, and it was almost impossible for a taxi to pass by.

"Troublesome," Toru Tono sighed.

"How about I give you another day off and you come with me to the station?"

"No, I need to rush back and continue my research while I still have ideas."

"...Conan will probably go there too, let's observe for another day."

"Salaries will be paid as usual?"

“…Send it as is.” Tohno Toru squeezed out these two words through gritted teeth.

"Alright." Shiho Miyano looked at Toru Tono's pained expression, a smile appearing in her eyes.

Toru Tohno angrily slammed on the gas pedal, and the silver Bentley Continental shot off like a gleaming arrow.

Although it's just a drop in the ocean, the thought of the money I didn't spend on myself is painful.

......

Traffic in Tokyo at the beginning of the 21st century was extremely congested, and it took the two of them quite some time to reach Tokyo Station.

After getting off the car, the Mori family and Hattori Heiji were already sitting on a bench by the roadside chatting.

Chapter 102 Not a Master of Ideas

"It's so slow." Hattori Heiji, his face as dark as charcoal, complained in an Osaka accent as he saw Tohno Toru approaching.

“That’s how it is in Tokyo.” Tohru Tono bypassed Heiji Hattori and greeted Kazuha Toyama, who was standing next to him, “Ms. Toyama, right? Hattori often mentions you.”

"Eh? Is that so?" Kazuha Toyama was overjoyed upon hearing this, and her expression immediately became lively.

"Did I?" Hattori Heiji scratched his head, unable to recall for a moment. "But even if I did, I probably just casually mentioned the stupid thing this guy did, right?"

"Hey! Heiji!" Kazuha raised her eyebrows and looked at him.

"a ha ha ha."

Leaving aside the flirtatious banter between childhood sweethearts, Tohru Tono casually greeted Ran and Mori, whom he was already very familiar with, and winked at Conan.

"We meet again?"

"Heh." Conan scoffed.

"But you guys really left quickly; you were nowhere to be seen when I woke up this morning."

"Isn't it because you two woke up too late? Who sleeps until the sun is high in the sky?"

"Weekends are for sleeping in until you naturally wake up!" Toru Tono declared righteously, having just learned that it was the weekend.

"I think he went out to do something during the night."

Conan casually made a comment, but suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was shining brightly, and Tokyo's weather was still warm enough to wear a short skirt without feeling cold.

strangeness.

"Who is this?" Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha were bickering, Mouri Kogoro and Conan were looking up at the sky, and Ran naturally focused her attention on Miyano Shiho.

"Oh, she's my new assistant, Ai Haibara." No matter how many times I say it, I still feel that the name is a bit strange.

"Hello, Ms. Haibara, I'm Ran Mouri." Ran smiled gently and extended her hand to Shiho Miyano.

Shiho Miyano sized her up for a moment, then quickly lost interest.

She felt it was difficult to communicate with this cheerful girl who clearly had grown up in the sunshine.

So he only shook hands briefly before retreating behind Tono Toru.

Ran Mouri looked at her with some concern, tilting her head slightly.

"I said, what exactly do you want from here?" Uncle Mori squinted at Hattori and Kazuha who were bickering, and finally couldn't stand it anymore and said, "You've been talking about things that don't get to the point from the very beginning."

"You're the one who can't find the key point when you're solving cases," Conan said, looking at the old man with dead fish eyes.

"Ah, didn't I tell you?" Fu Du suddenly seemed to remember, revealing a hearty Osaka-style laugh. "Actually, I'm here to attend my mother's wedding and the son of one of her classmates, and I just happened to come and see Tokyo."

"My mother originally wanted to come by herself, but unfortunately, while she was grilling takoyaki, the hot plate accidentally hit her foot, and she ended up fracturing her foot."

"It hurts so much." Xiaolan twitched her toes, her empathy making her feel a pang of pain herself. "So you and He Ye came to the wedding in her place?"

"That's right, but she's redundant."

"No, that's not it! His mother insisted that I come along. I didn't really want to come."

"That sounds nice, but I wonder who's been clamoring to go to Shibuya to buy clothes."

"Mind your own business!" Kazuha glared fiercely at Hattori Heiji.

"Okay, let's go to Shibuya first and check out some shops I know," Ran said, naturally wanting to be a good host as a local.

After saying that, she turned her head towards Shiho Miyano and asked, "Miss Haibara, would you like to come along?"

Shiho Miyano instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she paused and thought that if she didn't go, she would be the only girl left there, which seemed a bit strange.

After hesitating for a long time, he slowly nodded in agreement.

"Okay! Let's go to Shibuya to look at clothes first!" Ran was full of energy, grabbing one of them with each hand and walking towards the train platform.

The four men looked at each other in silence, and finally sighed in unison.