"Professor Agasa, what are you doing here? Is Shinichi home?" Ran asked eagerly, already heading towards the study.
"Shinichi? He's not home; he didn't come back last night. He just called me, saying he'd encountered a tricky case that needed handling, so he asked me to come check if the gas in his kitchen was turned off."
Professor Agasa quickly explained.
"Shinichi has news? Then why didn't he call me? I called him so many times, but he wouldn't answer, and he didn't even reply to a single text."
Ran complained as she pulled out her phone, preparing to dial Shinichi Kudo's number again.
Seeing Ran about to make the call, Professor Agasa quickly tried to distract her: "Oh dear, I haven't even had a chance to ask you, who is this handsome young man standing next to you?"
"Oh, him? He's Hanyu Nan, a classmate of Shinichi and me, and a friend of Sonoko and me." Ran then turned around and enthusiastically introduced Professor Agasa to Hanyu Nan,
"Nan-kun, this chubby old gentleman is Professor Agasa! He's an amazing scientist!"
Hanyu Nan, of course, recognized the kind, chubby old man in front of him at a glance. Many people might mistakenly believe Professor Agasa is called "Professor" because he has a doctorate, but that's not the case—his name is simply Professor Agasa!
Professor Agasa (Agasa Hiroshi) gets his surname from Agatha Christie's "Agatha," and his given name from Dr. Kin, a character in Juzo Unno's novels, who is also a mad scientist known for his strange inventions.
"Hello, Professor Agasa, my name is Hanyu Nan." Hanyu Nan politely nodded, greeted Professor Agasa, and then stood quietly to the side.
"Hello there, young man! Welcome!" Professor Agasa responded warmly with a kind smile, then turned back to continue explaining to Ran.
While the two were talking, Hanyu Nan seized the opportunity to act. He pretended to look around casually, as if searching for someone.
Once he confirmed that the two were temporarily preoccupied, Hanyu Nan quickly moved to a corner out of their sight, quietly activating the Snake Talisman he carried—a magical power enveloped his entire body, making him vanish like a ghost.
Then, Hanyu Nan silently entered the study. As soon as he stepped into the room, he saw a small boy in a blue suit, white shirt, and gray shorts, hunched over beneath the desk, straining his ears to listen intently to the sounds outside.
Undoubtedly, this person was Conan Edogawa, or rather, Shinichi Kudo himself.
Witnessing this scene, Hanyu Nan's lips curved slightly in an amused smile. Then, he walked to the bookshelf behind Conan, casually picking up one of the thicker books. He aimed a corner of the book at Conan, then released it.
"Ouch! That hurts!" The sudden pain made Conan cry out involuntarily.
Outside, Ran, who was talking to Professor Agasa, heard the scream from the study and couldn't help but feel suspicious, quickly turning to ask the Professor:
"It sounds like there's something inside? Is Shinichi in there?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Ran prepared to walk towards the study.
At the same time, Hanyu Nan, having accomplished his task, walked out from behind the two.
As Hanyu Nan walked, he also spoke: "Hmm... I think I heard something inside too. Should we go in and check?"
Hearing this, Professor Agasa's movements of wiping sweat quickened, and a few drops of sweat even fell from his forehead. His tone sounded somewhat unnatural as he feigned composure and said: "Oh? Is that so? But I didn't notice anything just now... Hahahaha."
However, Ran paid no attention to what Professor Agasa was saying.
She walked straight into the study, her gaze quickly drawn to a small boy sitting on the floor, holding his head. A thick book lay beside him.
"Huh? Why is there a child in Shinichi's house?" Ran murmured softly, full of doubt.
As soon as Conan saw Ran enter, his expression suddenly changed, and his mind raced, urgently thinking about how to deal with the situation.
Unfortunately, Ran didn't give him much time to come up with a plan. She had already walked up to Conan, bent down, and softly asked: "Little one, what's your name? And why are you at Shinichi's house?"
Cornered, Shinichi Kudo forced a smile, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. He racked his brain for an escape plan, and as his gaze shifted, he suddenly caught sight of a book on the shelf, and an idea instantly flashed through his mind.
"My name is Conan, Conan Edogawa, and I am a Detective." Shinichi Kudo's tone was surprisingly smooth and natural, as if he had practiced it many times.
Hanyu Nan, who had been watching the show from the side, also walked over. "You're Conan? Conan as in Conan Doyle?"
Before he finished speaking, Conan saw Hanyu Nan reach out and take a work by Conan Doyle from the bookshelf behind him, placing it in front of him.
"Hanyu Nan? Why is he here with Ran? Is there something I don't know?"
Looking at the smiling Hanyu Nan in front of him, and Ran, who was scrutinizing him with a suspicious expression, Conan secretly groaned, quickly forcing a smile and explaining:
"Big brother, you're amazing! You guessed it right away. My parents named me this because they really like Conan Doyle."
"Is that so? I see."
Hanyu Nan wore an inscrutable smile, his gaze fixed on Conan. Being stared at like this, Conan felt a chill, always sensing that Hanyu Nan seemed to have recognized him.
Although Shinichi Kudo didn't want to admit it, the fact was undeniable—as the genius boy Hanyu Nan, who had long held the top spot in the Tokyo area and was far ahead of the second-place, his intelligence was beyond doubt.
But precisely because of this, Conan was now especially worried that Hanyu Nan would see through his true identity.
"Little one, you bear quite a resemblance to a classmate of mine, except he doesn't wear glasses!" Hanyu Nan still smiled, but his eyes seemed to pierce through Conan's inner thoughts.
Upon hearing this, Conan's palms immediately started sweating profusely. No, I can't panic! There are many people who look like Shinichi Kudo, how could it be such a coincidence that it's the same person? Why can't he look like me?
Conan forced himself to remain calm, gave a dry laugh, and asked: "Ha, haha, really? What's your friend's name? How could he look so much like me?"
Just as Conan was trying to explain, Hanyu Nan suddenly leaned down, meeting Conan's eyes directly, staring intently into them, and whispered: "The classmate I'm talking about is named Shinichi Kudo. Do you know him?"