Chapter 26: No, the security door—

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“Yes, that’s him!” Ryoko Akagi glanced at the time on her phone, tears clinging to her eyelashes. “The game started an hour ago. If we can’t find Mamoru soon… What if…”

She naturally lowered her hand, allowing the short Conan—whose low height made him easy to see—to catch sight of the letter he was holding. Karasawa followed Ryoko to the apartment building where the Akagi family lived.

“This is the note Mamoru left behind…” Ryoko picked up a small, irregularly shaped scrap of paper beside the fax machine. “It was on the dining table when I came in this morning. The soccer match—the match has already started…”

Karasawa took the note and hummed thoughtfully for a moment before turning back and switching on the television.

The sports channel was broadcasting the Tokyo Aoyama team’s match live. Karasawa glanced at the game clock and said quietly, “Then we still have half an hour. Miss Akagi, may I search the apartment?”

Ryoko’s gaze remained fixed on Hidewo Akagi’s face on the screen. The commentator was enthusiastically praising the achievements of “Ayu of the Divine Legs,” while Hidewo himself looked solemn, his brow furrowed. He had let his guard down once during the first half and still managed to score a goal. At this moment, he was probably worried that his missing little brother might be harmed because of it.

“Of course, if it can help.” Ryoko anxiously watched the score on the television and paid no attention to Karasawa leading a grade-school child around to search the apartment.

The two of them soon found Mamoru Akagi’s bedroom, which the culprit had turned upside down. Karasawa silently handed the note to Conan and patted him on the back.

“Huh?” Conan had just begun examining the note carefully when Karasawa shoved him toward the center of the bedroom, wearing an expression that clearly said, “Do your best.”

“You want me to search this place by myself?”

Karasawa spread his hands and leaned casually against the doorway. “You’re the detective. I’m merely an innocent neighbor here to provide cover for an unfortunate detective. Naturally, you’re the one who has to do the work. The client trusted you so much that she was even willing to pretend to be your girlfriend just to get Kudo Shinichi’s help. That’s heartfelt faith. Don’t let her down.”

For some reason, Conan always felt that this fellow enjoyed watching him make a fool of himself…

Conan gave Karasawa a half-lidded glare for a while before continuing his search.

Karasawa watched with interest as all sorts of expressions far beyond a child’s age appeared on Conan’s round little face. Then he expertly zoned out.

What a pity. Without Ran around to torment him, it felt as though he had wasted the price of admission. This case itself was not particularly elaborate. The entire plot had been driven by Ran Mouri’s jealousy-powered engine, which had chased Conan until there was nowhere left for him to run. Without that part, the whole thing just lacked flavor.

Should he bring it up at school sometime, pretending to let it slip that “Shinichi Kudo’s girlfriend came looking for him”?

No, that would be too revealing. After all, apart from Conan, he was the only person who knew about it. Conan would come back for revenge. Better not.

Still, there would be plenty of other chances to stir things up. Ran’s suspicions about Conan were the sort of condition that kept recurring.

Nearby, the diligently investigating Conan had already found an empty case. He was searching through the messy pile of belongings for the missing game cartridge as he said, “Stop standing around like an idiot and come help me find this game.”

Karasawa sighed. Rather than walk over to the small mountain of scattered objects, he went to the television, where a game console was plugged in, and switched it on. He pointed carelessly at it. “There’s a cartridge in here. Is this the one?”

Conan suspected that the fellow was deliberately slacking off. He sighed as he walked over. “Look at the cover properly. It has the name right there. This obviously isn’t…”

He stopped short when he drew near. His gaze fixed on the game’s save-data screen, which had appeared after startup. It listed the characters’ levels, classes, and names. The hero’s name was Mamoru, written in the game’s phonetic script. The others were Hidewo, Ryoko, and—

“Naoki!”

Conan threw himself toward the screen. He stared at the final name, then took out the note and compared it again.

“I understand what this note means! It isn’t saying, ‘Big brother, help Mamoru survive.’ The beginning and end were torn away. It’s referring to the game characters! He means that ‘Big Brother Naoki’ has to help the ‘Mamoru’ in his game survive!”

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“Naoki, Naoki… The teammate who joined the club alongside Hidewo Akagi this year is named Naoki Uemura!” Conan abruptly turned toward Karasawa.

Karasawa obligingly struck the classic detective pose, stroking his chin. “Then it seems this is the man who took Mamoru Akagi.”

The two exchanged glances and nodded. They found Ryoko in the living room, staring at the match with her hands clasped together.

“Miss Akagi, do you know someone named Naoki Uemura?” Karasawa dutifully played the role of messenger.

“Yes. He’s a good friend of Hidewo’s. He lives on the sixth floor of the apartment building across from ours.” Ryoko finally managed to drag her eyes away from the screen. “He often comes over to play games with Mamoru. He’s very good at video games.”

As she spoke, Ryoko’s expression gradually stiffened. Clearly, she understood the implication behind Karasawa’s question.

“Then we’d better hurry.” Karasawa smiled. He tucked Conan, who had followed them out, beneath one arm, letting him dangle there like a cat. “We can’t let the culprit destroy the glorious record of ‘Ayu of the Divine Legs.’”

With that, he hauled Ryoko to her feet with one hand, carried the dazed Conan under the other arm, and charged out of the apartment. He did not even forget to swing the heel of his foot back and shut the Akagi family’s front door.

“Wait—”

“Karasawa!”

Their protests were completely ignored as Karasawa broke into a run.

The hand-to-hand combat he had freeloaded from Tooru Amuro had displayed excellent agility and offensive power in battle, but how much it could accomplish in the real world remained to be seen.

His physical fitness, however, had genuinely improved. It now allowed Karasawa to sprint at full speed while dragging two human beings, one large and one small.

Since Ran Mouri would not have the chance to kick down the door, then…

It took only two or three minutes to reach the sixth floor of the building across the way. Karasawa set down the dizzy Conan and gestured for the breathless Ryoko to knock.

Ryoko looked admiringly at Karasawa’s unimposing build and murmured that one should never judge a person by appearances. Then she stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.

“Ding-dong—ding-dong—”

After two or three consecutive rings, a man’s voice finally came through the intercom beside the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Ryoko!” Ryoko clung to the intercom and shouted her reply.

The person on the other side was silent for two seconds before answering in a relaxed tone, “Oh, it’s you, Ryoko… What brings you here so early?”

“It’s urgent. Just open the door, Naoki!”

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The intercom went dead. A long while passed. Ryoko grew so impatient that she was nearly raising her hand to pound on the door when the lock finally turned, and the door opened a crack.

There was a security chain across it!

Conan frowned.

“What is it?” A long-faced man appeared in the gap. He eyed Conan suspiciously, then looked at Ryoko.

Because of the angle, Naoki Uemura could not see Karasawa on the other side. There was only a female high-school student and a child, which put him somewhat at ease.

“Could you let me in for a moment?” Ryoko lunged forward, trying to force open the gap, which was barely wide enough for two hands. “I’m sorry, but could you please open the door?”

“Ah, no, that’s not really convenient. My girlfriend is inside…” Naoki’s heart tightened, and he gave a dry laugh.

Ryoko gritted her teeth and shouted into the apartment, “Mamoru! Mamoru! Are you in there? Answer me!”

“Hey, that’s enough…” Naoki pushed at the door, but failed to force Ryoko away from the opening. A trace of ferocity appeared on his face.

“Miss Akagi.” A hand settled on the agitated Ryoko’s shoulder and pulled her away from the door. “Step back.”

“?” Ryoko turned around in surprise.

“?” Conan looked up uneasily at the stern-faced Karasawa, only to see him exhale and roll up his sleeves.

Wait. Could it be that Karasawa also—

Scenes of his childhood friend’s past feats flashed before Conan’s eyes, and his pupils trembled.

What was going on? Was Shinichi Kudo the only person in the entire world who had never learned martial arts?

If Karasawa had heard his thoughts, he probably would have answered: Yes, exactly. You’re the weakest one on the good guys’ side.

Karasawa gathered all his strength, raised his leg, and kicked the front door.

With a thunderous bang, the entire security door split away from its hinges at the roots. Against such force, the door chain was as fragile as a strand of hair and snapped instantly.

Naoki Uemura, who had been pressed against the back of the door, was sent flying backward with the slab of metal and slammed heavily onto the floor.

“Whew—”

Karasawa leaned forward to inspect the result.

The door was not badly deformed. There was only a slight dent in the middle, and the frame had not been smashed apart. But the entire door had indeed been kicked off its hinges.

Karasawa evaluated the damage and gave his own combat power a rough classification:

Half a step toward Ran Mouri.

Not bad. It would do.

Karasawa nodded in satisfaction.

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