Conan: No, why aren't you following the script?

"What a weirdo..."

Seeing the phone constantly ringing with busy signals, Kitagawa Isao speechlessly put it back into his pocket.

Just as he had anticipated, his premature alteration of the plot had now caused unexpected complications.

Scrooge's accomplices, who had not appeared in the original storyline, showed up and made direct contact with him.

Perhaps these people originally intended to target Inspector Shiratori, or even the Metropolitan Police Department, but this time, because he personally subdued Scorpion, the mysterious group began to turn their attention directly to him.

This is not a good thing. Kitagawa Isao is not Edogawa Conan. He doesn't want to easily participate in a battle where the timing, location, and people are all on the other side.

In any case, under his protection now, Ai Haibara's safety is not a problem at all, and those people cannot do anything excessive under his nose.

So he really had no reason to go to Hokkaido. Was he going to go and become someone else's dinner?

The mysterious person is currently in control, and we can use a so-called duel of reasoning to fool him. But if we actually get to that ski resort, and the other party gets angry and embarrassed...

Taking down a bunch of henchmen will not only fail to earn you reward points, but will also completely expose your strength to others.

Kitagawa Isao had no interest in trying this kind of unprofitable business that only gained publicity.

As for its origins...

Scorpion is the English word for scorpion, and almost everything that happens in Osaka is intricately connected to Kaito Kid.

This makes it difficult for Kitagawa Isao not to associate Skobing with the organization known as the 'Zoo'.

Once that's known, nothing else matters. Whatever the code name of a gentleman who yearns for medieval intellectual duels is—whether it's an animal or a mysterious man—is irrelevant to Kitagawa Isao.

It's just a matter of what to call it.

Since the other party can't do anything to him now, why should he waste his time and energy doing something that yields no benefit at all?

At worst, we can be cautious for a few days and protect Ai Haibara well. Those people will eventually get tired of waiting and will definitely jump out on their own.

Kitagawa Isao did this primarily to seize the initiative.

Rather than engaging in battles of wits and courage, and being led by the nose time and time again, it would be better to achieve a permanent solution by uprooting the opponent once and for all in an environment where he has the upper hand.

This is the only solution that aligns with his ideas.

Kitagawa Isao thought this way, and he acted accordingly.

Throughout the day, apart from picking up Ai Haibara from Teitan Elementary School in the afternoon and buying some groceries on the way home, he behaved exactly as usual.

Relax, enjoy yourself, let loose, say a few funny things to the little one every now and then, and do some housework and wash the dishes when you get home.

Just as if he hadn't received that phone call at all during the day, even the usually cautious Ai Haibara couldn't detect anything wrong with him.

And time seems to slip away little by little like this.

The next day arrived quickly. Because it was the weekend, both Kitagawa Isao and Haibara Ai got up very late in their rooms.

Perhaps it's because of the saying "one is influenced by one's company," but Ai Haibara, who was originally used to going to bed early and getting up early, started getting up later and later every day under the influence of Isao Kitagawa.

She gradually delayed getting out of bed from 7 o'clock to 10 o'clock, and today she didn't get out until almost 11 o'clock.

Then she opened the door, washed up, and combed her hair...

By the time everything was cleaned up, it was already noon.

……

Since they didn't have anything urgent to do, Kitagawa Isao and Haibara Ai didn't choose to eat out. They simply cooked two small dishes and soon sat down around the table to chat and eat.

"Speaking of which, Kitagawa-kun, how's your income lately? When I was in school, you should have handled some cases, right?"

Ai Haibara ate her food with her head down, taking small bites. Her small, lake-blue eyes would occasionally peek upwards, as if worried that her direct question might cause Kitagawa Isao to feel any resistance.

However, Kitagawa Isao didn't seem to care, stating frankly that he had taken on many cases recently and that she didn't need to worry about that at all.

"Don't worry, Ai. In a while, I plan to install a game console in the living room so you won't have to go to Professor Agasa's house late at night to play games anymore."

Kitagawa Isao patted his chest confidently, but Haibara Ai immediately tensed up:

"Who said I like playing games? I, I'm clearly just..."

"Huh? But aren't all those kids playing the latest Pokémon game lately? I remember when I picked you up from school yesterday, you were looking at Genta's game console really intently..."

"Well, that was just a little curiosity. Besides, playing games is such a childish thing... Anyway, don't waste your money on these unnecessary things. I'm not interested in games at all!"

At this point, seemingly afraid that Kitagawa Isao wouldn't trust her, Haibara Ai emphasized it again.

"I'm really not interested!"

"Okay, okay, I understand."

Kitagawa Isao waved his hand and sighed with a hint of helplessness, "I won't buy it then. But actually, before I picked you up yesterday, I did buy you a gift. I put it in the car to surprise you, but you didn't find it all day. It's really heartbreaking."

"Huh? How come I didn't notice anything?"

Ai Haibara was somewhat surprised. After racking her brains for a while, she remembered that there seemed to be a small box in the back seat of the car.

However, she didn't pay attention to it at the time. She just glanced back and then focused her attention on the fashion magazine she had just bought.

Looking back now, the packaging of that box definitely looked like it was meant to be a gift.

Could it be that Kitagawa-san wasted money again buying unnecessary things?!

Thinking of this, Ai Haibara's brows furrowed sharply, then she looked up at Isao Kitagawa and asked,

"So, Kitagawa-kun, what exactly did you buy? Are you sure it's something we can use right now?"

"Of course, the stuff's in the car anyway. I'll go with you to see it after we finish eating. I promise, it'll be something you'll absolutely love after you see it..."

He had only said half of what he wanted to say when Kitagawa Isao was about to leave the little guy in suspense and tease him a bit.

A rapid phone call rang again from his trouser pocket…

……

This is the second update. I'm a bit tired today! I'll write the remaining two updates tomorrow morning!

My biological clock has been out of whack these past few days, I need to get it back on track as soon as possible!

hee hee~