Conan and Gin are both my brothers, what's wrong with meeting them once?

Hijikata Kosaburo was the first to rush to the next room.

"Okita! Come out here!"

He pounded on the door that had the nameplate "502 Okita" on it.

Kudo Kazuma tilted his head and said, "Ran is a karate expert. Mrs. Hijikata doesn't know what's going on yet. If that guy won't open the door, let her kick it open."

Ran had already guessed that Hijikata Kosaburo might be involved after listening to Conan and Kudo Kazuma's analysis, and upon hearing this, she immediately stepped forward and said, "Excuse me."

She wasn't putting on an act to gauge Hijikata Kosaburo's reaction; she genuinely wanted to kick the door open and see if Nagakura Yumi was beyond saving.

Hijikata Kosaburo was clearly startled and quickly said, "Wait! The building staff downstairs have a spare key. Would you mind making a trip there, Miss Mori? And Mr. Mori, the police station is downstairs. I'll have to trouble you with this."

"You guys go quickly, I'll stay here and keep watch, lest that guy Okita gets away."

Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri and Ran hurriedly prepared to go downstairs, but Kazuma Kudo and Conan didn't move at all. They stood to the side with their hands in their pockets, watching Kosaburo Hijikata.

Ran stopped in her tracks: "Conan?"

Hijikata Kosaburo frowned slightly: "Time is of the essence, you all go quickly! I'll stay here and keep watch."

“What you’re saying, Uncle Mori and Ran can do it themselves. We don’t need to leave at all.” Conan’s cute voice sent a chill down Hijikata Kosaburo’s spine. “Mr. Hijikata, why do you insist that we both leave?”

Kudo Kazuma shrugged: "Besides, you were practically jumping off the balcony to check on your wife just now, how can you be so patient as to wait here? I think I'll just kick the door open for you, and I'll pay for the replacement door later."

Hijikata Kosaburo's expression remained unchanged, but his voice actually stiffened: "What are you two talking about? I'm just afraid Okita will run away."

Ran had already realized what was happening and immediately strode over. When Hijikata Kosaburo tried to stop her, she dodged him, gathered her strength, and kicked him...

Inside the room, on the balcony, lay Nagakura Yumi's body, straddling the space between the balcony and the room. A thin fishing line, not yet retrieved, clung to her body, swaying in the breeze.

To their slight surprise, there was no one else in the room besides the deceased, Yumi Nagakura—let alone Hajime Okita.

Kogoro Mouri examined the deceased's condition and sighed, "Ran, Kazuma, you two stay here and don't let this suspect leave. I'm going downstairs to call the police."

"Uncle!" Conan reminded Kogoro Mouri before he went downstairs, "When you bring the police up, remember to have some take the stairs and some take the elevator... cough, that's what Kazuma said. He said that way we'll know how Mrs. Hijikata was killed."

Kudo Kazuma, who had just absorbed the spiritual essence and was staring intently at the pale-faced Hijikata Kosaburo to prevent him from escaping, was speechless upon hearing this.

No, you're falsely conveying an imperial edict to someone's face, right?

That unlucky guy is really something!

Before long, the police split into two groups and went upstairs, where they also learned the truth.

It turned out that the decoration, layout, and furnishings on the fifth and sixth floors were exactly the same. When going upstairs, Hijikata Kosaburo deliberately blocked the floor information in the elevator, making them mistakenly think they were going to the fifth floor when they were actually going to the sixth floor.

Moreover, the house number was specially changed by Hijikata Kosaburo—the so-called Okita family next door was not 502 at all, but 602.

Now that things have come to this, Hijikata Kosaburo has confessed everything.

His plan was to use this method to lower the body from room 602 to the balcony of the Okita family's house in room 502 after Kogoro Mouri and the others left. Then, when they went upstairs, he would block the elevator, forcing them to take the elevator to the fifth floor.

Seeing the same layout on the fifth floor, who would have guessed that they were previously on the sixth floor?

Using spatial displacement to kill Nagakura Yumi, frame Okita Hajime, and still get his wife's insurance money—isn't that the best of both worlds?

Unfortunately, the plan was too naive and had too little room for error.

He encountered the unpredictable Kazuma Kudo right from the start, then Conan who could deduce a lot from the slightest clues, and finally Ran, with her superior strength, kicked open the door to the crime scene, shattering all his plans...

On the way back, Kazuma Kudo said to Conan, "See, sometimes when you don't play by the rules, the case might take an unexpected turn."

Conan nodded without saying anything.

Although this case still followed his usual style, he always remained calm after sensing something was wrong, and then delivered a fatal blow to the murderer with just a few words at the crucial moment.

Just like the case of the ex-fiancé murdering someone I encountered on the beach last time.

Why is it different this time?

Could it be that this kid has realized I'm suspicious of him?

But the more they act this way, the more obvious it becomes, doesn't it?

Conan unconsciously raised his hand to support his chin...

Kudo Kazuma simply shrugged without making a sound.

He'll go back to the base or safe house for a few days and let Conan deepen his suspicions. Then he'll have Kurosawa and Kudo Kazuma appear together, which will surely leave a deep impression on the guy.

Having decided on what was actually a way to "deepen the impression" but was actually just a way to be lazy, Kudo Kazuma spoke up.

"I'll be busy these next few days and probably won't be in Tokyo. If anything comes up, remember to call me."

As he spoke, he solemnly said to Ran, "Conan is now in your hands."

Ran picked Conan up and placed him on her lap, smiling as she said, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him, both for his safety and his homework."

Conan, who had just been feeling smug, suddenly turned pale.

The homework issue doesn't really need to be mentioned...

Over the next few days, Kudo Kazuma spent two days at Base 4. After discovering that Gin didn't seem to have any intention of giving him any missions, he went to Base 3 to check on Nakahara Kaori.

As per his orders, Kaori Nakahara had to come here to train for an hour every night, and also to train for a whole day every weekend.

Kaori Nakahara is now considered a fairly qualified peripheral member, but Kazuma Kudo doesn't really have any concrete ideas on how to place her in the future Kurosawa Group's projects. Ai Haibara might not be a suitable candidate for her.

Forget it, I'll just take a temporary job as an outside worker for now.

After confirming Kaori Nakahara's condition, Kazuma Kudo went back to his safe house.

After a few days of peace, Kudo Kazuma received a call from Conan, saying that Hattori Heiji had invited them to Osaka.

Of course he'll go.

"Let's meet in Osaka. I'll take the train there myself tomorrow."

I had just hung up the phone when I received a message from Gin on my phone.

[The escaped experimental subject, Numabuchi Kiichiro, has appeared in Osaka. Defeat him within three days.]

At the same time, Gin, one of Bond's friends, also sent a message.

The quest was given by Rum.

Kazuma Kudo tilted his head.

What, could it be that Heiji Hattori and Rum made a plan this time?