Conan could barely hold his schoolbag. At this moment, he looked utterly exhausted—like a weary old dog.
At the school gate, Ran, dressed in her school uniform, was playfully spinning Akashi in circles.
The two of them laughed together, their interaction so pure and carefree—it was a beautiful sight.
Conan clenched his fists, grinding his molars.
That's my place!
But Ran, completely absorbed in Akashi, didn't even notice the big, blue-skinned "mouse" lurking behind them.
Oblivious to Conan's frustration, she gently took the little succubus shota's hand and strolled out of the school gate.
Conan immediately followed, his short legs working overtime to keep up.
"Sister Ran! Sister Ran!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Ran stopped and turned around.
"Oh, it's you, Conan! Are you feeling better from your cold?"
Conan's heart skipped a beat.
Ran cares about me?!
He quickly responded, "Not yet! I'm still sick!"
But instead of concern, Ran's expression changed. She immediately scooped up Akashi and took a few cautious steps back, her face full of wariness.
"If you're still sick, stay further away! I don't want you to infect Akashi."
At her words, Conan's entire body stiffened as if he had turned to stone.
Somewhere in his mind, a dramatic soundtrack began playing—snowflakes falling, the north wind howling.
His expression darkened, even worse than a beaten ass.
Meanwhile, the succubus shota clinging to Ran's snowy neck couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Ran, having warned Conan, didn't give him another glance and simply continued forward.
As she walked, she gently rubbed Akashi's smooth, porcelain-like face and asked with a warm smile,
"Akashi, is there anything you'd like to eat today?"
"Let's see if your sister can impress you with her cooking!"
However, Akashi's gaze shifted toward the direction they were heading—Eri's residence.
It wasn't exactly the best place to go right now.
After all, when Akashi left this morning, Yukiko was still unconscious.
She had provided an enormous amount of yin energy, and by the end, her eyes had rolled back as she let out a final, breathless scream before fainting.
Shota wasn't sure if Yukiko had recovered in the past few hours.
It would be… problematic if Ran ran into her before she had a chance to wake up.
So Akashi quickly suggested,
"Sister Ran, it's only a little past three. I'm not in a hurry to eat just yet."
"Auntie Eri isn't home from work, so why don't we go to the detective agency instead?"
"I'm a little curious about where Sister Ran lives!"
Ran nodded with a smile.
"That sounds good! When we get there, you can come into my room and play."
At that moment, Conan—who had been trailing behind them—felt his heart shatter into pieces.
I've been staying at the agency for so long… and I've never even stepped foot inside Ran's room.
Why does this guy get to?!
His gaze darkened as he stared at the young shota ahead of him, jealousy written all over his face.
The three of them continued walking—though in reality, it was just two people having fun while one fumed in silence.
Soon, they arrived at the detective agency.
But the moment they stepped inside, they were met with an unexpected sight.
Two uninvited guests were waiting in the office.
One was a dark-skinned young man, wearing a hat. His sharp eyes gave off the impression of a high school student.
The other was a strikingly beautiful girl with a high ponytail tied with a ribbon.
Her large, aqua-colored eyes sparkled with energy and life.
Her face, still youthful with a slight roundness, had a touch of baby fat, making her look incredibly cute.
Kogoro, on the other hand, looked as arrogant as ever.
"You two are so rude! You've been here all this time, and you haven't even introduced yourselves!"
Seeing this unmistakable duo, Akashi recognized them instantly.
It must be Heiji Hattori and Kazuha Tōyama!
The moment Hattori spotted Ran, he stepped forward eagerly.
"You must be Ran Mōri—Kudo Shinichi's classmate!"
"Can you tell me where that guy Kudo is?"
Beside him, Kazuha's eyes immediately locked onto Akashi.
Her aqua-colored eyes sparkled with excitement.
This little boy is just too cute!
So adorable!
I really want to hug him!
Meanwhile, Ran looked at Hattori with a puzzled expression.
"Shinichi? I haven't seen him in a long time."
"Who said I knew where he was?"
Hattori crossed his arms and replied,
"I went to your school to ask around. A girl named Sonoko told me—"
"She said that if I wanted to find Kudo Shinichi, I should come to you first."
"Apparently, you're the only one who can contact that guy!"
As the conversation continued, Akashi wriggled out of Ran's warm embrace.
He didn't need to hear the rest—he already knew the plot.
Hattori is just here to ask Ran about Shinichi.
As the famous detective of Kansai, he wants to challenge Kudo Shinichi to a battle of wits… How boring.
Having no interest in their business, Akashi shifted his attention elsewhere. He glanced around the detective agency, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Mōri Detective Agency… One of the most iconic locations in the original story.
I wonder how many lives have been lost within these walls. The sins tied to this place must be enormous.
With a place like this, I should be able to draw something good!
With that thought, Akashi activated his system and checked in at the detective agency for the first time.
Suddenly—click!
The system's check-in interface flashed, displaying internal images of the second-floor office.
Kogoro, Hattori, Kazuha, Ran, and Conan all appeared in the photos.
But in the next moment, the entire interface was flooded with a brilliant purple glow.
A treasure chest materialized in the light and opened automatically.
Several streams of energy surged into Akashi's body.
[Ding! Check-in successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Grasp of Immortality Lv1! Voice Changing Lv1! Disguise Lv1!]
[Ding! Congratulations! The Voice Changing skill has been upgraded to Lv2!]
Three skills at once!
Not bad! Even the check-in system delivers big rewards in a place like this!
He quickly examined his new abilities.
[Grasp of Immortality Lv1: Can only be used on high-quality members of the opposite sex. By firmly "grasping" their energy source, you can absorb 0-3 points of their physical attributes. Can be triggered up to three times per day.]
[PS: What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger!]
Reading this skill description, Akashi's face instantly darkened.
What kind of ridiculous ability is this?!
There were so many red flags that his blood pressure spiked on the spot.
Shaking off the unease, he quickly checked the other two skills.
[Voice Changing Lv2: Your ability to mimic voices has reached a near-perfect level. Even when speaking alongside the original voice, yours will sound even more authentic!]
[Disguise Lv1: No explanation needed. However, due to your succubus shota body, you can only disguise yourself as a boy or a girl.]
Fortunately, these two seemed far more practical.
Akashi sighed in relief.
Overall, the skills were quite useful…
But that Grasp of Immortality—
Is the system seriously trying to turn me into a perpetual motion machine?!
As he silently processed his new abilities, a sudden voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Huh? How long are you planning to make me wait?"
"I've knocked so many times—didn't any of you notice?"