Out-of-control players in the world of Detective Conan

"Has something happened to you?"

Nevertheless, Hattori Shizuka still noticed something was off about Hattori Heiji's tone.

After all, she's a mother, and the mother of detective Hattori Heiji, as well as the wife of the Osaka Metropolitan Police Department Superintendent. This woman is no ordinary person.

"Oh, what could be wrong? It's just that this case is a little tricky."

"Really... By the way, Heiji, you must have seen that news too, right? It said that the airship carrying the virus is approaching Osaka."

"Ah, I see. You're in Osaka right now, right? There's no need to be too nervous. After all, this airship is completely sealed, so the virus will definitely not leak out."

"Besides, the airship won't land in Osaka anyway, so there's even less of a problem."

Hattori Shizuka nodded slightly, unlike ordinary people, she did not feel panicked.

"Yes, I know. I called you to tell you not to worry about us."

As she finished speaking, Hattori Shizuka added with a hint of resentment.

"But it seems my son doesn't care about us at all; he doesn't even call."

"Hehe, I just didn't think of a way to appease you guys for the time being."

"Heh, alright, go back to what you're doing."

"Okay... wait a minute."

Just as Hattori Shizuka was about to hang up, Hattori Heiji suddenly called her back.

"what happened?"

"That means..."

Hattori Heiji's dark skin was instantly covered with a deep red.

After all, dark skin and crimson are not compatible.

After hesitating for a long time, Hattori Heiji finally spoke.

"Um, I love you, Mom... Okay, that's all for now, I'm hanging up."

Without waiting for Hattori Shizuka to speak, Hattori Heiji immediately hung up the phone.

Everyone loves their parents, but it's all kept deep in their hearts. After all, saying those words to your parents would make you incredibly shy, and it's more powerful than any sweet talk.

On the other end of the phone, Hattori Shizuka was also staring blankly at the screen, a smile unconsciously appearing on her face.

This seems to be the first time Hattori Heiji has said this to himself so openly since he became aware of things.

However, Hattori Shizuka's brows furrowed again after a moment.

She was overjoyed to hear her son say "I love you" to her.

But as the saying goes, something unusual must be going on, and Hattori Shizuka always felt that there was something strange about her son.

Her son is a detective, and a very dedicated one at that.

The airship carrying the virus is flying back to his hometown, but he doesn't seem worried at all.

Moreover, why was he so sure the airship wouldn't land in Osaka?

A sense of unease rose in Hattori Shizuka's heart.

On the airship, Hattori Heiji took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and then called his father.

The communication between father and son was quite simple. In addition, Hattori Heizo was busy dealing with the chaos in Osaka, so he didn't notice anything amiss in Hattori Heiji's tone.

"Then I'll hang up, Dad. You can go ahead and get busy."

"By the way, Dad, I love you."

"……What did you say?"

Hearing Hattori Heizo's surprised and puzzled voice, Hattori Heiji hung up the phone just as decisively as before.

After staring at his phone for a long time, he finally called Toyama Kazuha.

Meanwhile, in Qi Ming's room.

"……What’s wrong with you?"

Ai Haibara's expression as she looked at Qi Ming suddenly became strange.

Because the other person was blowing their nose at that moment, and their eyes looked slightly moist.

"A sword, a katana, I'm so moved I'm in tears."

"..."

Tears are fine, but why did you have to add a swear word? It completely ruined the atmosphere!

Besides, there was no knife wound. No one was infected with the virus, and no one will die.

Qi Ming turned his head and glanced at Ai Haibara, whose face remained completely expressionless, and directly retorted angrily.

"You cold-hearted woman, don't you feel anything at all?"

"..."

Ai Haibara really wants to say "You're a lunatic!"

What's with getting emotionally moved by the drama you directed and acted in yourself?

However, she ultimately swallowed those words.

She certainly felt it too, but she just wasn't good at expressing it.

The television screen continued showing Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha talking on the phone. Hattori no longer seemed as reserved as when he was talking to his parents, and he was chatting casually.

They briefly discussed the airship incident and the current situation in Osaka, and then, at the same moment, they both stopped talking.

After a while, Toyama Kazuha gave a light hum and spoke to Hattori Heiji.

"That's settled then, you stinky Heiji. If everything's alright, I'll hang up."

"Oh right, because of this, the school will be closed for the next few days. I'll come over to your place tomorrow to hang out and see Xiaolan and the others."

Hattori Heiji's expression froze upon hearing this, and he smiled with a slightly bitter expression.

"Tomorrow might not be possible, how about three days from now? I'll contact you then."

"Three days? Why is the timeframe so specific?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's because I'm currently dealing with a very important case, and it will take this long to resolve!"

"Really? Okay then, contact me when the time comes."

"Ah."

Suddenly, Hattori Heiji changed the subject, becoming somewhat hesitant: "By the way, Kazuha, I... I have something I want to tell you."

Kazuha Toyama asked curiously on the other end of the phone, "What's wrong?"

Hattori Heiji's face turned deep red again, and he took a deep breath and slowly opened his mouth.

"I, I actually, actually, I like, I like."

"Hurry up and tell me."

"Wait a minute, let me catch my breath."

Seeing Hattori Heiji's extremely awkward manner, Toyama Kazuha on the other side also realized something, and a blush appeared on her fair skin.

The air suddenly fell silent, and then Hattori Heiji finally made up his mind and spoke.

"I like you……"

"Ah, oh, yes, is that so?"

With that one sentence, both the person on the other end of the phone fell silent, simply listening to the slightly uneven breathing coming from the other end...

Inside the room, Ai Haibara watched with great interest, her eyes sparkling.

She turned her head to look at Qi Ming again, wanting to see if he felt anything.

To her surprise, she soon discovered that Qi Ming had already started playing on his phone and wasn't watching the screen mirroring at all.

"……What are you doing?"

"As you can see, playing on your phone."

"You were so moved just now, don't you feel tears welling up when you see this confession amidst life and death?"

Qi Ming glanced at the screen and snorted coldly.

"He was about to die and only exchanged a few words with his parents, but then he talked to his girlfriend for so long. I'm already being lenient by not scolding him."

"...You cold-hearted man."