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"Professor."
"I've figured it out."
"The guy that Ran took to the detective agency that night is the manager of this convenience store."
At this moment…
Shinichi Kudo was sitting in Dr. Agasa's Volkswagen Beetle, staring intently at the CLOVER convenience store across the street.
He had spent an entire day piecing everything together.
Half a month ago…
Akira had opened a CLOVER convenience store in Beika Town's Fifth District. Soon after, Ran became an employee there, working part-time after school.
In other words…
Ran had only known this guy for half a month before bringing him home?
Damn it!
That's way too reckless.
Does she even really know this guy?
"Shinichi."
"Since we've confirmed this, can we go back now?"
Dr. Agasa, though an old bachelor for decades, still understood that emotions shouldn't cloud judgment.
This was too risky!
Until they had more information about the mysterious men in black, they couldn't afford to act recklessly.
"Professor."
"Don't worry."
"Those guys don't know that the drug they gave me shrank my body."
"So even if I appear in front of them as Conan Edogawa, they won't suspect a thing."
Shinichi was resolute.
He wasn't leaving!
He needed to observe Akira in secret and figure out exactly who this guy was—someone capable of captivating Ran so completely in just half a month.
CLOVER Convenience Store.
Ding-dong—
"Welcome!"
A woman walked into the store, dressed in a black wool coat, wearing a black hat and sunglasses.
Even though she was bundled up like a wrapped dumpling, there was still an unmistakable sense of beauty beneath the layers.
"Hello."
"May I ask who you are…?"
Azusa Enomoto's experience told her that this woman wasn't here just to shop.
"Hello."
"Is Manager Akira here?"
The woman spoke while glancing around nervously, as if worried about being seen.
If it weren't for her sweet voice, Azusa might have thought she was one of the shady characters from Beika Town.
"He is." Azusa glanced toward the storage room and called out, "Manager, someone's here to see you."
Before her words even settled…
The woman was already walking toward the storage room, instinctively pressing down the brim of her hat as she moved.
"Who's looking for me?" Akira had just stepped out when he bumped straight into the visitor.
He took a good look and smiled. "Miss Yoko?"
That's right!
The mysterious woman wrapped up like a cocoon was none other than the famous star, Yoko Okino.
Of course, it made sense…
How many normal people would dress like this in early autumn?
"Shh—"
Yoko Okino gestured for silence and quickly slipped into the store's storage room.
She habitually checked outside…
After confirming she hadn't been followed by paparazzi, she finally relaxed and shut the door.
"Whew~~"
"How did you recognize me?"
As she spoke, Yoko began removing her sunglasses and hat, then took off her long black coat.
Even someone as used to the spotlight as her found the outfit suffocating.
But…
She was more curious about how Akira had recognized her so easily despite the disguise.
"Just a hunch." Akira shrugged. "You're not here to settle the final payment, are you?"
"Hmm…"
"I'll get straight to the point."
"Did you take a photo from my bedroom?"
That was why Yoko Okino had come today.
After returning from the police station, she had noticed a missing graduation photo from her room.
After thinking it over…
The only person who could have taken it was Akira.
"Miss Yoko."
"There's a reason you became a household name."
"I bet you were the school beauty back in high school."
As he spoke, Akira walked over to a corner of the storage room and retrieved Yoko's missing graduation photo.
"You…" Yoko hesitated before deciding to confirm her suspicion. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Did you notice the secret hidden in that photo?"
At that moment…
Akira suddenly stepped forward.
The unexpected move made Yoko instinctively take a step back.
She should have been nervous, but when she saw the bright, confident smile on his handsome face, her heart skipped a beat.
"Of course."
"You don't think I'm some weirdo who collects women's things, do you?"
Akira held up the photo again, placing his finger on a rather unremarkable boy in the back row…
"..."