The big cleanup was over.
It was now noon.
At a nice restaurant.
"Wow, this lobster is really good," Aoko said, chewing her food while still giving her review.
It wasn't just her—Ayumi and the other two kids were also eating with greasy mouths, praising the food nonstop.
Kurosawa Hoshino and the others were all very satisfied with the meal. Only one person had a green face, twitching hard every time he watched them take a bite.
Finally, Kogoro Mouri couldn't take it anymore. He complained to his daughter, "Ran, didn't you say you were going to prepare a feast? And it turns out you just made me treat everyone? Do you know how much this meal costs?"
"But I didn't expect Ayumi and the others to come either. Eating at home would have been too crowded, so we just went out. Besides, you're the dad, and the oldest one here, so of course you have to pay."
Ran's reasoning was sound.
"Pfft~" Kogoro Mouri nearly spat blood. He pressed a hand hard against his chest, in so much pain he could barely breathe.
Kurosawa Hoshino smiled. "Uncle Mouri, just think of it as paying for cleaning services. You'll feel better."
"You brat, you have the nerve to say that?" Kogoro Mouri said viciously. "You're the one who got the free ride and didn't pay a thing. Does that make any sense?"
"It does," Kurosawa Hoshino nodded.
"..."
Kogoro Mouri glared, increasingly convinced that Kurosawa Hoshino's skin had gotten thicker.
Sonoko turned to the two girls. "Ran, Aoko, want to go shopping after this?"
"Sure," Ran and Aoko nodded.
Ayumi heard this and immediately said, "Sonoko-neechan, I want to go shopping too."
Sonoko waved her hand grandly. "All right. You guys helped out today, so you can come along. Buy whatever you want—it's on me."
"Yeah!" Ayumi and the others cheered.
"Shopping, huh." Kurosawa Hoshino muttered inwardly, feeling that today's shopping trip probably wouldn't happen. With so many people here, including Ayumi and the others, according to the rules of this world, if nothing happened this afternoon, he'd beat Conan up. And most likely, it would randomly connect to an original case, just like yesterday.
"Looks like I'll be earning Source Points today too." With that thought, Kurosawa Hoshino sped up his eating, just waiting to go shopping.
After lunch, everyone happily left the restaurant. Only Kogoro Mouri walked at the back, staring painfully at his empty wallet. "I was planning to have some fun at the pachinko parlor this afternoon. Now I don't even have this week's allowance."
"Dad." Ran heard her father's muttering and warned, "No secretly taking money from home. We agreed you get an allowance once a week. You can't break the rules."
"Then I'll withdraw from my savings account," Kogoro Mouri said unwillingly.
Ran said quietly, "Dad, you said it yourself—the money in the savings account doesn't get touched. It's for when you really need it. Are you sure you want to withdraw?"
"..."
Kogoro Mouri stopped talking, sighed, and didn't mention the savings account again.
"Honestly. Here~" Ran took out five ten-thousand-yen bills. "This is all I have. Spend it sparingly, Dad."
"Ran~" Kogoro Mouri looked at his daughter, touched.
Then Ran took back four of the bills. "That was a bit too much. Ten thousand yen is enough for you, Dad."
The atmosphere instantly fell silent.
Kogoro Mouri's touched feeling vanished. He snatched the ten-thousand-yen bill, stuffed it into his wallet, and said angrily, "How is ten thousand yen enough?"
"Then give it back to me." Ran puffed out her cheeks.
"No. Hmph, I'm leaving."
Kogoro Mouri, face dark, turned and strode away, leaving everyone behind snickering.
Kurosawa Hoshino smiled. "Ran is more like the parent than Uncle Mouri sometimes, isn't she?"
Hearing that, Sonoko and the others laughed even harder.
Ran's cheeks flushed. She quickly explained, "I don't do it on purpose. It's just that my dad is too unreliable sometimes, and I have to remind him."
Just then, five police cars sped past them.
"Did a case happen somewhere?" Conan said quietly.
"Oh, the police cars are coming back!" Ayumi suddenly pointed ahead and shouted.
Kurosawa Hoshino and the others looked. Sure enough, two police cars turned around and stopped in front of them.
Seeing who got out, Conan's mouth twitched hard, and he understood why the police cars had come back.
"Brother Hoshino!" Inspector Megure got out of the car and ran over with big strides. He said earnestly, "Brother, I didn't expect to run into you here. I've got a case and wanted to ask for your help. Of course, if you don't have time, that's fine. I won't force you."
Kurosawa Hoshino had already been thinking during lunch that something would happen today, given how many main and supporting characters were around. But he hadn't expected it so soon—right after leaving, they ran into it with no warning at all. He just didn't know if this case was from the original story.
"Inspector Megure, is it serious?" Ran asked.
"Sigh—" Inspector Megure sighed. "At the Beika Theater near Beika Station, someone from the traveling theater troupe that's preparing to perform there was killed."
"Huh~" Ran and Sonoko exclaimed.
Aoko asked, puzzled, "What, have you heard of this place?"
Kurosawa Hoshino also asked, "Is there someone you know in the troupe?"
"Yes," Ran and Sonoko said in unison.
"Uh, Ran, you explain," Sonoko glanced at her best friend and shut her mouth.
"Okay." Ran nodded. "Hoshino, the current leader of the troupe at Beika Theater is our classmate Ito Tamanosuke, who transferred in around the same time as you."
"Him." Kurosawa Hoshino understood. If it were anyone else, he might not remember, but this guy he remembered quite well. Because this Ito Tamanosuke looked a bit like Shinichi Kudo.
Inspector Megure was delighted. "Brother Hoshino, since the case happened with your classmate, want to come along?"
"What about you guys?" Kurosawa Hoshino didn't decide on his own and looked at everyone.
Aoko said quietly, "I'm fine either way. And you solve cases so fast, Hoshino—we can still go shopping after you're done."
Ran and Sonoko had no objections either. Conan, needless to say, was eager to go, and Ayumi and the others were the type to enjoy the show.
"Inspector Megure, let's go then." Kurosawa Hoshino nodded at Inspector Megure.
"Oh~ Police car ride!" Ayumi and the others couldn't wait and ran to the car doors.
Fortunately, there were two police cars. Inspector Megure had probably seen how many people there were and figured they'd all come along, so he had ordered an extra car to follow.