"This mystery short film is very interesting," Nagai Ayako said with a smile, turning to her co-host. "Mr. Matsuo's scripts are always... eh? What's going on, Mr. Matsuo? Why are you sweating so much?"
Takashi Matsuo laughed heartily a few times, clearly trying to brush it off: "Ah, I just went to the bathroom. I'm fine now..."
"The movie's almost over and you're drenched..." Nagai Ayako sighed helplessly and quickly signaled to the staff to touch up his makeup.
Her long-time co-host always seemed to have some kind of issue here and there...
Both Takashi Matsuo and Michihiko Suwa were well-established, meticulous producers. Although Nagai Ayako was young and listed among the production staff, her input had little real weight.
Suwa had always positioned her as the "cute, process-pushing flower vase." At one point, there had even been rumors that he was looking to bring in some popular idol actresses to replace the now-familiar Matsuo Takashi. Clearly, he wasn't very reliable either.
For a long time, Nagai Ayako had her own share of frustrations with these two supervisors, each with their own chaotic plans and conflicting goals.
She only hoped things wouldn't fall apart between them and drag her into more trouble.
On the big screen, the short film had reached its end, and the portraits of several suspects were shown. Nagai Ayako smiled sweetly and looked at the camera.
"This short film was really interesting." Watching intently, Mouri Ran turned to Conan beside her. "Who do you think the murderer is?"
"The murderer must be..." Conan paused the answer on his lips. He looked at Ran, then at the hosts now analyzing the film, and casually said, "Yes! The butler! He's the most suspicious one!"
"You think so too?" Ran picked up the voting keypad in her hand, ready to press the corresponding button.
"Ah! What's that? I want to try it too!" Conan rolled his eyes, then put on a mischievous act and reached out to press a different button on Ran's keypad. "Is this how it works, Ran?"
"Oh, Conan...!" Ran raised her eyebrows, but when she saw his goofy grin, she couldn't get angry and just let out a sigh.
Conan chuckled and sat back, playing innocent with a smug expression.
"Alright, time to reveal the answer!" Nagai Ayako lifted the board in her hand, slowly peeling off the tape as the background music picked up pace. "The answer is... the murderer was the victim's sister! Congratulations to the two detectives!"
Mouri Kogoro looked at the whiteboard in his hand with delight: "Ah, I got it right! Ahem, the detective's intuition still works, after all."
Kazawa smiled and acted like he hadn't heard that at all.
"Eh, it was her?" Ran looked at the keypad in her hand and found, to her surprise, that the button Conan had pressed was actually the correct one. The keypad was flashing, indicating she had selected the right answer. "Nice guess, Conan."
"We got it right? Hahaha..." Conan laughed innocently and glanced up at the prize on stage.
Today's live raffle was offering the newest volume of Detective Samonji... Based on Ran's past luck, the odds were still decent, right?
"Let's move on to today's final segment," Nagai Ayako said, clapping her hands and pointing to the large screen. "Let's check out the rankings of topics the audience most wants to discuss on the website—"
Kazawa raised an eyebrow.
This segment hadn't been in the original case flow. He and Mouri Kogoro turned around at the same time, curiously watching the entries scroll on the screen. Then, both of their expressions subtly shifted when a very familiar entry appeared. They slowly raised their eyebrows.
"This is the question that received the most votes today. The audience submitted it live, and it's something they're dying to ask our detectives," Nagai Ayako said brightly, gesturing as the camera turned to the guest seats. "Could the two detectives share your opinions on this?"
Mouri Kogoro's thick eyebrows twitched, and he curled his lips: "'The Phantom Thieves of Hearts'..."
"Let me explain for viewers who aren't familiar," Takashi Matsuo jumped in, glancing at the countdown clock as he spoke to buy time. "'The Phantom Thieves of Hearts' is a mysterious group that began appearing a few months ago. They call themselves justice thieves and have sent out many so-called 'repentance letters.' The targets of these letters were all later exposed for committing crimes or illegal behavior, which has sparked wide attention."
"Many media outlets have compared their actions to your own rise, saying they've deliberately targeted you, the famous detective. Several of the people they've acted against were once your clients or had dealings with you. Detective Mouri, what are your thoughts on this group?" Nagai Ayako's eyes sparkled as she eagerly turned to him.
She hadn't expected the final segment would touch on this... Whether it was really voted on by netizens or a backstage setup by the producers, it was hard to tell.
But either way, inviting both of them was clearly the right move. This episode had so many explosive moments—it was bound to go viral.
"My thoughts... Honestly, I don't really understand why they're targeting me, nor do I know how they choose their targets. As a detective with a certain reputation, I'm always busy, and it's unfair to imply that all my clients are problematic."
First, he subtly elevated his status as a renowned detective to fend off any negative implications. Then Mouri Kogoro cleared his throat and said, "As for the group, they might just be some young people with a strong sense of justice. But I don't agree with their methods. If they uncover illegal activity, they should inform the police or contact me. Resorting to vigilante justice is not the way."
"So you're against them? Akechi-kun, what do you think?"
Here it comes—this was the famous scene.
Kazawa's eyes passed over the shocked expression on Miyano Akemi's face, then settled on the camera in front of him. He figured Hoshikawa Teru was probably sitting in the villa watching this scene too.
…How did this bizarre "stitched together" scenario emerge from the butterfly effect?
Could it be that the combination of "three members in the Phantom Thieves," "TV station," and "Akechi Goro" were the strange trigger conditions?
Kazawa was full of questions, but on the surface, he smiled and smoothly delivered his line:
"If they're truly heroes of justice, then I hope they really exist." He squinted and smiled. "That would be a dream, wouldn't it? Even though I'm a detective, even now, I sometimes think—how nice it would be if Santa Claus were real."