Afternoon.
School was out.
Kurosawa Hoshino and Ran emerged from the school building, walking slowly toward the gate.
"Actually, I think Jodie-sensei is pretty great," Sonoko said.
Kurosawa Hoshino ignored the furtive glances from the upperclassmen and underclassmen around them and replied casually, "Then who was it that kept badmouthing her this morning?"
"That was you." Sonoko shot him a glare.
"Hehe~" Ran giggled beside them.
"Liars like you better watch out, or you'll never find a boyfriend," Hoshino shot back without thinking.
He thought it was just an offhand joke.
But then he saw it.
Sonoko, who had been glaring at him moments ago, suddenly went quiet. Her expression flickered.
"Wait, you didn't actually take that seriously, did you?" Hoshino asked, amused.
"Hmph~"
Sonoko turned her face away but couldn't help sneaking a glance at him from the corner of her eye. Her voice dropped to a murmur.
"I said what I said. I don't need to lie about something like that. And for the record—I'm not admitting anything because I'm worried about not finding a boyfriend. Got that?"
"That serious?"
Kurosawa Hoshino touched his nose, looked at Ran, and gave her a subtle wink—what's up with her?
Ran shook her head, looking just as puzzled. She had no idea why her best friend had owned up so readily.
"Come on, Ran. Let's go. We're ignoring him." Sonoko grabbed Ran's hand and practically dragged her toward the gate.
"..."
Kurosawa Hoshino shook his head with a helpless smile. Women. All the same. Never know what they're thinking.
He knew they'd be waiting for him up ahead, so he kept his leisurely pace.
But when he finally reached the gate—
Ran and Sonoko were there, yes.
So were four other kids.
"Hoshino, hurry up! Conan and the others need to talk to you," Ran called out.
"You're here."
Kurosawa Hoshino walked up to the four children and looked down at them. "Your elementary school gets out earlier than ours. Shouldn't you be home, or at least out playing? Why are you here looking for me?"
"Probably ran out of allowance and want you to treat them," Sonoko guessed lightly.
Conan gave a helpless smile. "Hoshino-nii, I've been good and done exactly what you said. But these three are about to go do something dangerous—some kind of adventure—so they came to tell you."
"That traitor Conan!"
"Yeah, traitor!"
Genta and Mitsuhiko fumed, while Ayumi put on her best pitiful face, looking up at Hoshino with teary eyes.
"Ah, I see~"
Kurosawa Hoshino nodded slowly, the corners of his mouth curling up. So Conan finally remembered what I told him.
After all the times he'd tricked Conan, even someone as stubborn as him should've learned to listen by now.
The real reason Conan was keeping an eye on them? These kids had a surprising number of storylines. If Hoshino wanted to earn Origin Points, he couldn't afford to miss a single one.
"So," Hoshino said gently, "what exactly were you planning to do after school?"
His gentle tone made the three kids flinch and take two steps back.
Conan kindly added, "You better tell him quickly. Otherwise, Hoshino-nii might call your parents again."
"Hoshino, you're scaring them. Let me handle this."
Ran stepped forward, gently patted Ayumi's head, and said softly,
"Don't be afraid. Hoshino's just worried you might get hurt. Now, tell me—what were you planning to do?"
"Mmm~"
Ayumi looked up, hesitated, then whispered,
"We were going to explore a haunted house. We wanted to see if there were really any ghosts or monsters inside."
"..."
Ran's smile froze. Her whole body went rigid. Her face turned pale.
Too embarrassed to show fear in front of the children, she quietly retreated to Kurosawa Hoshino's side, her legs weak, and grabbed his arm to steady herself.
"Pfft—" Sonoko clapped both hands over her mouth, but a snicker still escaped.
She never expected little Ayumi to accidentally hit Ran's biggest fear.
"Ahem."
Kurosawa Hoshino cleared his throat, hiding his barely suppressed laughter, and gently patted the hand clutching his arm.
Ran, hug Sonoko! Why are you hugging Kurosawa Hoshino?!
Conan's heart silently bled.
"Ayumi, where is this haunted house? And why do you suddenly want to go on an adventure?" Hoshino asked.
"It's in 4-chome—a really big villa. My mom said no one's lived there for five years. But last night when I passed by, I saw flames on the second floor. So I thought I'd go explore with Conan and the others today."
"Five years ago... a villa."
Kurosawa Hoshino murmured, his memory slowly surfacing. He remembered this episode.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Inspector Megure.
"Haha, Hoshino-kun! Calling me—need my help again?"
"Inspector, it's like this..."
Hoshino briefly explained the situation.
He didn't actually need to handle cases like this personally. Just tipping off Megure was enough—the Origin Points would still come.
"Got it, Hoshino-kun. I'll take some officers and check it out right away."
"Oh, and Inspector—make sure to look for any hidden passages or basements."
"Don't worry. We'll be thorough."
"Good."
Hoshino hung up and turned to the four kids. "Alright. I've already asked the police to investigate the haunted house for you. You don't need to go anymore. Now go home and behave."
"Ran, Sonoko. Let's go."
Seeing Ran still hadn't recovered, Hoshino slipped an arm around her waist and helped both girls walk off.
Conan stood frozen, watching their retreating backs. His mouth opened, then closed. In the end, he said nothing.
"Hmph~"
A cold snort snapped him back. He turned to find three pairs of angry eyes glaring at him.
Ayumi sighed dramatically. "I was the one who found the haunted house. And now we can't even go."
"It's all Conan's fault! Traitor!" Genta accused.
Mitsuhiko said nothing, just nodded vigorously.
Conan gave a helpless smile. "Sorry. It's my bad. How about I treat you to something to make up for it?"
"Not lollipops again, right?" Genta's eyes lit up, then narrowed suspiciously.
"Don't worry. Cake shop desserts."
"Wow! Yes!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
The three children instantly forgave him, their anger forgotten as they pushed Conan toward the nearest cake shop.