Chapter 233

That day, after waking up, Usakabe Saiki slowly walked downstairs and found Hagiwara Kenji sitting leisurely in the chair in his first-floor room, which he used as a consultation room, engrossed in reading the book he had been reading the night before.

"...When did you arrive?" Usakabe Saiki slowly walked over, picked up the water that Hagiwara Kenji had poured for him, and drank it.

"It won't be long. I just brought you breakfast. I'm leaving soon if you don't come down." Kenji Hagiwara closed the book in his hand. "When did you start reading...philosophy books?"

Usoya Saiki replied casually, "Someone thought I would like the gifts I received. I was bored last night, so I just flipped through them."

I often receive strange things in the mailbox by the door; books are now considered fairly normal gifts.

Kenji Hagiwara paused for a moment, then said, "...I guessed so."

Sending someone a book like this clearly shows they don't understand Xiao Shenliu at all.

How about giving him some cookbooks? Although Shinryu doesn't like cooking himself, he likes looking at food pictures! If he really wants to try something, he'll search for it online and find a place to eat it. It's definitely more effective at building goodwill than philosophy books.

Usaku Saiki had just woken up, his eyes still a little dazed, when Hagiwara Kenji stuffed the sandwich he had brought into his hand.

"Hurry up and eat, it's already this late, just have this as lunch... Your sleep schedule is hopeless."

Clearly, Kenji Hagiwara is closer to the truth than those who are unaware of the facts guess that the "office" only operates at night—the homeowner has a terrible lifestyle, likes to wander around during the day, and only comes home at night.

Therefore, Usui gave the key to the first floor to Kenji Hagiwara so that Kenji Hagiwara wouldn't be locked out when he came to visit him.

At first, Saiki Usaba was quite nonchalant, saying that Kenji Hagiwara could just pick the lock and get in. He even considered the possibility, saying, "If you don't know how, I can teach you. It's not harder than defusing a bomb, so you'll definitely be able to learn."

But Kenji Hagiwara refused, looking exasperated: "What if someone we know sees us..."

Unlike Shinryu, who has already resigned and is now living a carefree life, he is still a serving detective!

It's just too much to keep trying to break into a friend's house!

He wouldn't just stand outside like an idiot. If he found that Xiao Shenliu hadn't gotten up, he would definitely go for a stroll around the neighborhood before coming back.

As for why she didn't make a phone call, it's because she didn't want to wake anyone up; Xiao Shenliu has a pretty bad temper when she wakes up.

Kenji Hagiwara's thoughtfulness stirred even the rare conscience of Saiki Usuiba, who ultimately simply gave him the key.

Kenji Hagiwara didn't stand on ceremony either, since Jinpei also had a spare key to the apartment with him anyway, and friends didn't need to worry about such details.

As it turns out, he really got the right key. He used it a lot. Sometimes he would bring breakfast over, thinking it would be enough for Xiao Shenliu's lunch, and leave it on the table. But when he came back in the evening, he would find that it had ended up being dinner. It was quite absurd.

By this time, Usoppei had eaten half of his sandwich and his mind was finally fully clear. He asked, "Are you on vacation?"

"Yeah, I've been working overtime for a while, so I just took a few days of annual leave to rest." Kenji Hagiwara put down the book he wasn't particularly interested in and casually said, "Do you remember that time we helped that Italian criminal gang decipher a code a couple of days ago?"

Bo Yezhai's memory wasn't that bad, of course: "I remember, so what?"

Kenji Hagiwara quipped, "You called the police in time. When we got there, there were a few elementary school students there for some reason. If we had been any later, they might have been silenced... But that's not the point. The point is, one of the kids was named Conan Edogawa!!!"

“…Oh.” Usakata Saiki’s reaction was indifferent.

"There are actually people named Edogawa Conan. Don't the parents think that's too childish?"

Kenji Hagiwara said incredulously, "Then I ran into Mr. Mori again at the crime scene yesterday... you know Mr. Kogoro Mori, right? The one Instructor Onizuka praised for his exceptional shooting skills, the genius who's now a detective. They just let him, a little kid, run around the scene... Ms. Mori said it's because Conan likes to play detective games... He really admires Mr. Mori."

Bo Yezhai: "…………"

If Conan Edogawa heard this, he probably wouldn't be able to eat.

“But Mr. Mori… how should I put it, based on Instructor Onizuka’s description, I thought he would be some kind of amazing senior, but he was a complete mess when solving the case yesterday.” Kenji Hagiwara frowned. “Only at the end did he suddenly calm down, as if he had fallen asleep, but he was still able to reason normally… no wonder he’s called ‘Sleeping Kogoro,’ but I don’t quite understand why he has to be asleep to be able to reason.”

Without hesitation, Usakabe Saiki said, "It's for the sake of the character design."

Hagihara Kenji: "...?"

“Simply having strong reasoning skills is useless; having a unique style is what makes someone memorable, so that customers can think of him first when they want to find a detective,” said Saiki Usaba. “For example, high school detective Shinichi Kudo, Kogoro Mouri, Heiji Hattori—who would you choose?”

Kenji Hagiwara pondered: "First, let's rule out Heiji Hattori, he seems too ordinary... I understand, you're right, but who is this Heiji Hattori?"

"You even met him a couple of years ago when he encountered a case while skiing."

Kenji Hagiwara suddenly realized, "Oh, that kid, is he a proper detective now?"

"They're quite well-known in the Kansai region, aren't they?" Taking advantage of the sensitive nature of his current job, Usakabe Saiki no longer bothered to conceal his intelligence sources.

Kenji Hagiwara didn't ask any further questions: "I see... Oh right, I mainly came to ask if you want to go out tomorrow."

Where to?

Moonshadow Island.

Bo Yezaki was taken aback: "Why do you suddenly want to go to Moonshadow Island?"

Kenji Hagiwara said, "Didn't I run into Mr. Mori yesterday? He mentioned that he received a request from Tsukikage Island. I felt something was off, so I wanted to go check it out."

"...Is this how you take a vacation? Go wherever there's a problem?"

"It should be quite interesting for you, right?" Kenji Hagiwara knew Saiki Usubaba well. "A mysterious invitation, a return to familiar places, it might be related to a case you've been handling... Don't you want to go?"

Usakabe stared at Hagiwara Kenji for a few seconds before admitting, "I want to go."

"That's fine. I'll pick you up tomorrow, and Xiao Jinping will come too."

As a qualified detective, Kenji Hagiwara is a little sensitive to things that might be related to cases he has handled, and it would be great if Shinryu was willing to go too.

If nothing else is happening, just treat it as a vacation. Tsukikage Island has pretty good scenery and is close to Tokyo. If something does happen…

...I doubt that Shinryu would want to work overtime, but with Mr. Mori around, he and Jinpei will at most be doing some helping out.

Having already made plans for the next day, Kenji Hagiwara spent a long time reminding Saiki Usui to go to bed early today, so that he would at least wake up by noon tomorrow, before leaving to do his own thing.

The next day, Usakata Saiki didn't get up late, but he slept the whole way, sleeping on the boat and when he arrived at his destination, much to Matsuda Jinpei's dismay.

"What time did this guy go to sleep last night? Is traveling just about sleeping in a different place for him? He wasn't like this before he quit his job!"

Kenji Hagiwara offered an explanation: "With her schedule already like this, she can't fall asleep even if she goes to bed early. Fukaru is probably doing her best..."

Previously, Matsuda Jinpei thought that Hanakawa Shinryu was doing a good job after resigning, but now he deeply felt that Hanakawa Shinryu should not have resigned. His work schedule was simply inhuman: "So what do we do now?"

“Don’t worry about him, let him sleep. Let’s go out for a walk.” Kenji Hagiwara made the decision calmly. “It’s been several years since I last came here. Let’s see what’s changed and ask Mr. Mori if he’s arrived yet.”

Matsuda Jinpei sighed, "Alright."

So the two on-duty police officers went out for a stroll.

When they arrived at the Moonshadow Island Clinic, they saw someone they knew.

Kogoro Mouri, Ran Mouri, and Conan Edogawa, the kid who's staying at the Mouri house, are talking to a doctor in a white coat.

"...Because the village chief election is coming up soon, the village has been a bit noisy lately..."

As the doctor was speaking, he suddenly noticed Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda, and his eyes immediately shifted: "Uh... um... what was I going to say?"

The Mori father and daughter, along with Conan Edogawa, turned their heads at the same time and spotted the two people.

"Ah, Mr. Mori, Ms. Mori, Conan-kun, and Dr. Asai, it's been a long time." Kenji Hagiwara spoke first without hesitation.

"Yes...it's been a long time, officer." Asai Narumi's smile was somewhat forced.

Conan Edogawa noticed Narumi Asai's expression and was somewhat puzzled, but Kogoro Mouri asked him the question for him.

Do you know each other?

"Yes, this police officer was the one who solved the case when the former village chief died."

Kogoro Mouri's expression turned serious: "The former village chief was murdered?"

“…No, it was a heart attack. The case I solved refers to the drug trafficking case that was linked to the former village chief…we arrested the village chief's secretary.” Asai Narumi sighed, then composed herself and smiled at Hagiwara Kenji. “Officer, what are you doing here? Did something happen?”

Kenji Hagiwara laughed and said, "It's just a holiday, so I just found a place near Tokyo to rest."

"I see." Asai Narumi glanced at Matsuda Jinpei behind him. "Where's your partner? Didn't he come this time?"

Kenji Hagiwara didn't bother explaining that he had changed partners: "He's here, but he's still in the hotel and hasn't gone out yet. He needs to rest."

"I see." Asai Narumi's eyes were filled with complicated emotions. "Well then, have a pleasant trip, everyone. I have some things to attend to at my clinic, so I'll go in now."

With Asai Narumi's departure, only a few acquaintances or friends of acquaintances remained. After introducing themselves to each other, the high concentration of police officers made Ran Mouri feel an overwhelming sense of security.

Conan Edogawa asked curiously, "Mr. Hagiwara, what's the situation with the drug trafficking case that the former village chief is involved in?"

Without hesitation, Kogoro Mouri punched him: "Why is the kid asking this! Go away, stay away!" Then he turned to them and asked, "Since you've been to Tsukikage Island, do you know Keiji Aso?"

Kenji Hagiwara: "I know, he's been dead for years, right? What, is he haunted again?"

Conan Edogawa: "...???"

"...What's this about ghosts? The invitation I received listed Keiji Aso as the inviter."

Kenji Hagiwara knew about the invitation, but he'd never heard of the signature on it before, and a look of confusion crossed his face: "How could this be? I thought that after Fukami arrested the person spreading the rumors, there wouldn't be any more rumors about Keiji Aso..."

"Shizuka (Fukami)?" Ran Mouri asked in confusion, "Is Inspector Hagiwara's partner a girl?"

Matsuda Jinpei retorted, "No, that guy is a man, and he doesn't fit the nickname at all."

Conan Edogawa's lips twitched.

Ah...it really doesn't match at all.

A few days ago, during the gold coin case, he met Officer Hagiwara's partner, a particularly burly and strong man. Officer Hagiwara clearly called him "squad leader"... how could he call him such an embarrassing nickname in private?

However, the other party seemed to be a very serious and responsible police officer, so perhaps they could be of help if there was anything wrong.

Furthermore, it seems that both Officer Hagiwara and Officer Matsuda are reluctant to answer questions about the "advisor," and it's unclear whether the seemingly straightforward "squad leader" would be willing to answer.

Conan Edogawa was starting to look forward to meeting the other person.

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Extra chapter tonight

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In the next chapter, Conan will be able to meet Hankawa.

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Hagiwara's current partner is the class president...

Conan had absolutely no recollection of Shinryu Saikawa...