Chapter 11 Cleverness Backfires
Live well, and find new joy every day.
"Eh..."
Zhuge Tongzhi stopped in his tracks and watched as Kogoro Mouri, sporting his classic middle-aged man smile, walked into the restaurant with Inspector Megure, his head tilted back so much that one could almost see the little tongue in his throat.
It's Kogoro Mouri!
Zhuge Tongzhi, like everyone else in the restaurant, was excited about the arrival of the legendary "Sleeping Kogoro".
However, she wasn't interested in Kogoro Mouri's reasoning that always avoided the correct answer.
The girl looked at Conan beside her. The boy with glasses was lost in thought, his right hand unconsciously turning the watch on his wrist, which contained a tranquilizer dart that could instantly anesthetize others.
Wow, wow, can we see a live version of how Kogoro falls asleep today?!
Thinking of this, Zhuge Tongzhi's eyes instantly sparkled with bright stars, which hit Conan beside him, causing the boy to turn his head to look at the girl's gaze.
Ah, it's Uncle Mori!
It seems Zhuge really is new to Beika Town. Conan's half-moon eyes must have been from reading those reports that raved about Sleeping Kogoro.
Those were clearly all his achievements, but... the elementary school student pushed up his glasses, and a reflection obscured the emotions in his blue eyes, making it easier for him to reveal the truth.
Kogoro Mouri, rubbing the back of his neck, exchanged pleasantries with Inspector Megure, confidently making his promise, and walked over to Wataru Date. He gave the unfamiliar officer a strange look, "And who is this? Isn't the beautiful Officer Sato here today?"
"You're as lecherous as ever," Inspector Megure said, revealing his crescent-shaped eyes as he introduced the two.
She then waved her hand, indicating that Miwako Sato was dealing with another incident, and that Wataru Date and Wataru Takagi had just happened to be nearby and had come over first.
"That's a real shame, after all... cough cough."
Kogoro Mouri pulled back from the brink amidst Inspector Megure's cough, turned to the four suspects, and, with the air of a detective, demanded that they each recount what they had done that morning.
The four people reacted differently upon seeing the famous detective. The shop owner, Daisuke Nakagawa, hesitated, the shop assistant Nishimura, who was responsible for delivering the food, waved his hands frantically and insisted that he was innocent, while the waitress, Mimi Hirata, was terrified.
Only Chef Yuichi Ikeda scoffed at the so-called detective. This renowned chef, who was much older than Kogoro Mouri, sneered and said, "What sleeping Kogoro? My restaurant is not a place for you to sleep!"
Kogoro Mouri leaned back to avoid the spittle that sprayed out as he spoke. Before he could react, Daisuke Nakagawa preemptively pointed the finger at Yuichi Ikeda, "Stop changing the subject, Ikeda. You were the one who planted that fake bomb to scare me because you were afraid I would sell the shop."
"I found this when I opened the shop this morning!" The man with the goatee angrily pulled out a piece of paper and slammed it on the table in front of everyone. The paper had a threatening message written on it, which basically said that if you sold the shop, you would suffer misfortune.
"You're just trying to threaten me with this bomb! If I sell the shop, you'll kill me!" Nakagawa became agitated, pointing his finger at Ikeda Yuichi's nose and yelling, "I've already told you why I'm selling the shop, so why are you still doing this?!"
"Bullshit!" Yuichi Ikeda, true to form, expressed his opinion in a short and forceful manner: "I didn't write the note, and I didn't plant the bomb."
"Well, but there's oil on this paper." Kogoro Mouri picked up the strip of paper that was hidden in the shadows of the crowd, held it up to the light, and the translucent paper quickly became clear, revealing clear fingerprints. "Looks like the person who wrote the letter accidentally left a clue."
Conan glanced at them for a moment and noticed the sudden change in the expressions of the four people.
"Please have everyone check your fingerprints." Kogoro Mouri gave a confident smile. He had grasped an important clue and would soon solve the case.
As instructed, the four suspects placed their hands on the paper one by one. The final comparison showed that only Ikeda Yuichi, with his large knuckles, perfectly matched the fingerprint on the paper.
"Ha! You're the one who planted the bomb!" Kogoro Mouri slammed the note on the table, definitively concluding the case, while Conan quickly tiptoed and snatched the note from the table.
Great, now it's a three-way choice. Zhuge Tongzhi quickly ruled out the head chef from the list of suspects, thanks to Kogoro Mouri for clearing out the potential problem.
Conan stared at the note in deep thought, while the Junior Detective League and Zhuge Tongzhi gathered around to examine the ink stains on the note against the light.
"What is this? It's just ordinary oil." Genta Kojima was a little confused about what they were looking at. "Just like Uncle Mori said, whoever's fingerprint matches is the winner."
“No, Genta, this isn’t Cinderella’s dancing shoes,” Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, the most knowledgeable member of the trio, began to enlighten his companion. “Besides, if you want the ink print to be bigger, just apply more ink and let it spread.”
"But this paper smells really strange." Ayumi Yoshida sniffed the paper lightly and wrinkled her nose. "It's completely different from the rapeseed oil at home. It doesn't smell nice at all."
"No, it's precisely because rapeseed oil contains unsaturated fatty acids that it leaves a rancid smell after oxidation." Ai Haibara spoke in terms that elementary school students wouldn't understand, pointing vaguely at the pale yellow oil stains. "Moreover, it will turn yellow due to oxidation."
Oh, right, oil!
A sudden idea flashed through Conan's mind. He quickly broke away from the adults who were already arguing noisily and ran towards the kitchen of the restaurant. He wanted to check what kind of oil the restaurant used.
"Seriously! Conan ran off again." Ayumi Yoshida stomped her foot, grabbed Ai Haibara and Kirito, and led her friends to chase after him. "Let's go too!"
“Okay.” Zhuge Tongzhi followed the energetic girl and ran towards the kitchen, following the arrow on the O-do navigation.
"50 meters, 26 meters, 12 meters..."
She stepped into the kitchen and gently pulled Ayumi, who didn't know which way to go, towards a shelf in the corner, which was filled with many glass bottles and jars.
"6 meters, 2 meters, 1 meter"
"Soy sauce, vinegar, mustard... Strange, there doesn't seem to be any rapeseed oil here?" Yoshida Ayumi said, counting the condiment bottles on the shelf with some surprise.
Zhuge Tongzhi braced his hands on the table and carefully took out two small square-mouthed bottles from the complicated shelves. Inside were white and yellow semi-melted solids, and the open bottle caps released a faint, oily, and sweet aroma.
"Pathway: The Layman's Cleverness Backfires (Completed)"
“He uses lard and butter,” Zhuge Tongzhi explained, showing two small bottles to his companions. “When I was having lunch here just now, I felt that his dishes smelled especially good.”
"Eh—so that's how it is." The three elementary school students looked at this unusual kitchen option with surprise. Genta Kojima patted his stomach, which hadn't been able to eat eel rice, and said with a little drool, "Then my family will cook like this from now on."
"No way." Ai Haibara put her hands in her pockets, raised her icy blue eyes and looked at the little rascals who had turned their heads away. "Lard is rich in saturated fatty acids, and excessive consumption is unhealthy for obese people and those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or high blood sugar."
"Well, rapeseed oil does have its problems, but as long as you control the combinations in your daily meals, there won't be any issues." Seeing the puzzled looks on the four children's faces, the genius PhD, who was well-versed in biochemistry, had no choice but to switch to more everyday language.
"Wow—Ai knows so much!" Finally understanding, Ayumi Yoshida stepped forward and grabbed Ai Haibara's hand, praising her directly. Her three friends nodded in agreement behind her.
Zhuge Tongzhi: What? You're asking me why I, as a college student, don't know?
Come on, stop fooling around. The college entrance exam is the pinnacle of my intelligence and knowledge.
Right now, I'm just an illiterate student in class (laughs).
The girl, completely unashamed, looked up at O's new clue; the next waypoint pointed to the outside of the restaurant.
Following Conan's lead, the Junior Detective League, questioning the police officers along the way, ran towards the restaurant.
"Keep to the right, please be aware of oncoming traffic."
…
Inside the store, at the table
Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow at the stranger in front of him, who was frowning as he recounted what he had seen and heard, his face showing difficulty as he spoke.
"I'm so sorry, I was talking to my child at the time." Midorikawa Hikaru lowered his eyebrows in distress, looked apologetically at the two police officers at the table, and gave a wry smile. "I rarely talk to children, so I didn't pay attention to my surroundings."
Matsuda Jinpei stared intently at Midorikawa Hikaru without saying a word, so the officer beside him quickly helped his captain patch up his wounds, saying, "It's alright, Mr. Midorikawa. Now we have a pretty good understanding..."
Is it over? Morofushi Kagemitsu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He was getting a little creeped out by Matsuda Jinpei's gaze.
This guy, even after leaving the police academy, hasn't improved at all in his interpersonal skills.
Midorikawa Hikaru's expression remained unchanged as he politely exchanged the same old social pleasantries with the other person, essentially bringing the conversation to a close.
At that moment, Matsuda Jinpei made his move.
With his curly hair disheveled from removing his helmet, the imposing police officer slammed the helmet he was carrying onto Morofushi Kagemitsu's desk, the loud click interrupting their conversation.
"Captain Matsuda?" The accompanying police officer's eyes twitched. He could never quite grasp the thoughts of this superior who was always so blunt in his actions.
The officer, entrusted with this important mission by Commander Takahashi, felt bitter inside, wondering why he hadn't asked Kenji Hagiwara to come along. What was a task that was like grabbing a tiger by the scruff of its neck for him was just grabbing a kitten for Hagiwara.
Matsuda Jinpei looked down at Morofushi Kagemitsu, making no attempt to hide the probing in his eyes, and asked in a low voice, "Midori Kagemitsu? Are you Morofushi Kagemitsu's guardian?"
“Ah, yes, she is my sister’s daughter.” Morofushi Kagemitsu answered calmly, following the legal relationship, but he didn’t know why his fellow police academy classmate would know a strange elementary school student who had only been in Japan for half a year.
"So it was you who let a six-year-old girl live alone?" Matsuda Jinpei's gaze sharpened, and the police officer beside him was also taken aback.
Upon hearing this familiar question, Morofushi Kagemitsu suddenly recalled the phone call he received this morning when he landed in Japan. The policewoman on the other end of the line identified herself as the head of the Tokyo Women and Children's Health Association and said that she had received a related report.
The report alleges that he failed to fulfill his guardianship responsibilities and is suspected of abusing a child who is not his biological child, therefore it is necessary to verify his relevant circumstances.
Zhu Fujingguang was completely confused when he heard this, so he hurriedly sent over the itinerary he had prepared in advance and contacted Zhuge Tongzhi's class teacher as soon as possible to inform her that he would come to visit the child.
At this moment, combined with Matsuda Jinpei's questioning and Morofushi Tōshi's description of daily life, Morofushi Kagemitsu quickly understood who the so-called report came from.
"So that phone call?"
His voice was a little weak, and his feelings were even more complicated. He never expected that he had been killing people and carrying out bombings in the black organization without a single bad review or complaint, but once he returned to his normal identity, he was immediately reported by the police.
“It seems Sato hasn’t forgotten.” Matsuda Jinpei nodded and sat down directly in front of Midorikawa Hikaru, stating his thoughts frankly, “Let’s talk about your situation.”
This was certainly not a conversation aimed at parenting education. Matsuda Jinpei kept observing the man in front of him, whose every move seemed natural and reasonable, but his intuition kept telling him that this person was too strange and something was wrong.
Especially those eyes, which were undeniably similar to Hagi's, giving Matsuda Jinpei an indelible sense of familiarity.
But there are many people who look alike. During his growth, Matsuda Jinpei also saw countless men and women with the same eye shape as Hagiwara Kenji.
Perhaps there aren't many people as approachable as Hagi and the person in front of him, Midorikawa Hikaru, but his intuition told him that these eyes and demeanor were not the source of familiarity.
There are secrets about this person.
The virgin police officer with messy hair sat opposite Hikaru Midorikawa, who had an awkward smile on his face.
Oh no! Morofushi Kagemitsu thought of that assessment again in just one hour. He looked at Matsuda Jinpei, whose real intentions were not Zhuge Liang, with some unease, and sensed a change in the other's attitude.
He had intended to do the opposite, blurring the other person's familiarity with him out of friendship to a familiarity with his similar appearance and temperament. However, when faced with Matsuda Jinpei, whose intuition radar was on high alert, he ended up being too clever for his own good.
I'll say it again, he really, really doesn't want to face his perceptive contemporaries!
A note from the author:
----------------------
Zhuge: If I take a picture of Conan murdering his father-in-law, I can force the great detective to grant me one wish.
Conan: Hey!
…
Haibara: Attempting to popularize science
Junior Detective League: Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?
Zhuge: Knowledge flies by, but the mind is empty.
…
Regarding whether lard is healthy or not, I can only say that there are really many conflicting opinions online.
I'm too lazy to look up the book again, I just want to say that dishes cooked with lard are really delicious!
…
I hope everyone will leave lots of comments (shyly)
Gradually becoming more skilled at grabbing Conan and making a heart shape (jpg).
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