"That's what I was thinking too."
Haruna Yūki nodded, agreeing with Fujino's guess.
Then she brought up something else: "Actually, after that, I got a few more weird messages."
"Were they from Mr. Aki Satoru?" Fujino asked. "Like, maybe sent from someone else's pager or something?"
"I don't think so."
Haruna shook her head, lowering her eyes as she explained, "The tone of those messages was really strange. They said things like, 'I need to ask you something, please come alone to this specific place.'"
"Mr. Aki doesn't talk like that, and none of my friends have ever sent me anything like it either, so I didn't go."
She paused, looking a bit shaken. "But then, that same night, I got over a dozen more messages saying stuff like, 'You're a cheating cat' and 'You'll die a horrible death'—just a bunch of nasty things."
"Uh…"
Fujino fell into thought.
Why did it feel like these were the kinds of things an angry wife would say to a mistress?
This lady… could she have been mistaken for someone's online fling?
Fujino mulled it over for a moment before speaking up in a serious tone. "From what you've told me, it sounds like the person sending those messages might be the guy's wife. She probably saw some chat logs and got the wrong idea, thinking you're the other woman."
"The other woman?"
Haruna tilted her head, looking confused.
"Yeah, think about it," Fujino said, taking a sip of his black tea. "The guy's name matches her first love, and that music box means something special. If it were me, I'd probably assume the same thing—that some mistress was trying to steal my husband."
"So that's why Mr. Aki stopped contacting me?!"
Haruna's eyes widened as it clicked, and she quickly took a sip of her tea to calm her nerves.
Now that she thought about it, Fujino's theory made sense.
She *did* seem like the type to get misunderstood.
"If that's the case, I should probably clear things up soon…"
"Yeah, you definitely need to explain it properly," Fujino agreed.
This college girl's nerves seemed a little too chill, he thought.
Maybe that's just how college students are?
Well, naive or not, she seemed like a decent person.
But good person or not, he still had to bring up the matter of the commission fee.
He wasn't sure if she could even afford it.
With that in mind, Fujino continued, "So, we've got a rough idea of what's going on. Now let's talk about the commission fee."
"Oh, right."
Haruna snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.
She actually felt a bit bad that Fujino had to bring it up himself.
"Normally, my fee for a missing person case is 300,000 yen," Fujino said, lowering the price a bit based on past jobs.
From what he could tell, she'd probably been saving up since last Christmas just to hire a detective.
Then again, he wasn't entirely sure *which* Christmas this crazy Conan-world followed.
He paused, then added, "But depending on how tough the search is and how much time it takes, the fee might go up. Finding people can get pretty tricky, you know."
"300,000 yen?"
Haruna lowered her head, thinking it over.
For a college student like her, who relied on part-time jobs to get by, 300,000 yen was a lot.
But luckily, she'd saved up a bit before coming here…
With that in mind, she nodded and said to Fujino, "If you can find Mr. aki, I'd really appreciate your help…"
After signing the contract, Fujino collected a 100,000-yen deposit.
He wasn't about to pull some low-deposit promo like he used to.
After all, Mihua was the kind of place where people dropped dead year-round, and it was crawling with talent. If the client kicked the bucket before the job was done, he'd be out of luck.
He asked a few more questions about the case and jotted down the pager number, then sent Haruna on her way, keeping the music box with him.
"So the only lead I've got right now is this music box?"
Fujino sat on the couch in his bedroom, staring at the music box in front of him, lost in thought.
He wound it up.
A clear, pleasant melody filled the room.
Fujino closed his eyes, listening carefully.
"Is this 'Spring Has Come'?"
He quickly recognized the tune and pulled out his phone, finding the song on a simple search app.
*Haru yo Koi*—he'd heard this song in his past life too. It had popped up on some Penguin app's daily recommendations. He'd liked it enough to save it, so it stuck with him.
In this world, it seemed to be a super popular classic, even showing up in elementary and middle school textbooks.
"La, do, la."
Fujino compared the melody to his mental piano skills and soon pinpointed the missing notes in the music box.
But as for what "La-Do-La" might mean as a code? He had no clue.
After thinking it over for a bit, Fujino set the music box aside.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Megure Jūsan.
When in doubt, call Brother Megure—never fails.
He'd done this a few times before, and it always worked out.
"Hey, Fujino, my man! Another murder case?"
On the other end, Megure Jūsan picked up and got straight to the point.
"Brother Megure, why's it always gotta be a murder case with you?" Fujino teased.
"No murder case?"
Megure sounded surprised.
Usually, when Fujino called, it was either a murder, a gang of robbers he'd just taken down, or some crime syndicate he'd uncovered.
If it wasn't any of that…
Then it was something even bigger.
With a sigh, Megure asked, "Alright, Fujino, what's it this time?"
"Yeah, I've got something I need your help with, Brother."
Fujino nodded and rattled off the pager number he'd written down. "I was hoping you could look up the address of the person who owns this pager for me."
Megure: "…"
Of course. No case, just a favor.
Why can't this guy ever just call to chat or check in?
After a brief silence, Megure sighed again. "Fine, fine. Let me guess—this is another wanted suspect you're after? Alright, I'll have it for you by tomorrow."
"Thanks, Brother Megure!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm hanging up now—got another murder case to deal with."
"Need me to swing by?"
"Nah, there's another detective at the scene. No need to trouble you."
---
### The Next Morning
Fujino drove to the Konoha Kendo Dojo, planning to head to the kendo exam venue with Yūji Suwa and that kendo girl.
Before leaving, he called Shizuka Hiratsuka to ask for a day off.
Oh, and he added a quick reminder: "Don't hit me in the face."
Hiratsuka was thrilled to hear her student was taking the kendo second-dan exam and happily approved the leave. Then she bolted to the infirmary.
At Teitan High School's infirmary…
Belmod, disguised as Chiaki Shinshutsu, sat there, holding photos from the school festival, deep in thought.
*Knock knock!*
"Coming!"
Her eyes narrowed as she stood to open the door, but before she could, it was yanked open with a loud *bang*.
In walked Shizuka Hiratsuka.
"Hiratsuka-sensei," Belmod said, plastering on a gentle smile as she greeted her.
"Dr. Shinshutsu, looks like I'll be troubling you again today," Hiratsuka replied with a friendly grin.
"Troubling me?"
Belmod tilted her head, puzzled.
Was there some connection between Shinshutsu and this woman?
"Hm?"
Hiratsuka noticed the confused look and smirked, her expression turning playfully stern. She rested a hand on Belmod's shoulder. "You're not gonna play dumb and dodge responsibility again, are you?"
Belmod: "…"
Play dumb and dodge responsibility?
Her mind raced through a dozen possibilities.
Did these two have some secret history?
This could get tricky…
"Haah…"
Seeing "Shinshutsu" stay silent, Hiratsuka let out a long sigh.
Fujino had warned her on the phone not to get too rough.
But at this rate, that wasn't looking likely.
She was a gentle woman—why did people always force her hand?
…Two minutes later…
Belmod sat clutching her stomach, gingerly pulling a sick note from the drawer and handing it to Hiratsuka.
"There you go," Hiratsuka said, snatching the note with a satisfied nod. She waved it as she headed out. "Next time, don't play dumb—just get it done quick."
"Wait."
"What now?"
Hiratsuka turned, fist raised, only to see "Shinshutsu" holding out a whole stack of sick notes, neatly offered up.
"Here, take these too."
"Huh, not bad!"
Hiratsuka grabbed the stack, lowering her fist with a pleased grin. She patted Belmod's shoulder. "You're getting smarter!"
Belmod: "…"
Once Hiratsuka left, Belmod lifted her shirt to check her stomach.
No marks—Hiratsuka hadn't hit hard. It was more of a warning than anything.
So… just give the damn sick note next time instead of taking a punch to approve it?
This idiot Shinshutsu—probably a masochist.
---
### Meanwhile, at the Tokyo Kendo Second-Dan Exam
Since it was a dojo-recommended slot, the promotion tournament didn't have too many participants—maybe 40 or 50, judging by the name tags.
The promotion slots had also gone up from 10 to the top 20, making it seem a bit easier than last time.
To Fujino, it looked like the dojos were using this to train their apprentices while snagging promotions on the side.
"Hey, you're that 'Tokyo Kendo Rookie King' Fujino, right?"
A teenage boy in kendo gear stood across from him on the mat, shouting over.
"Tokyo Kendo Rookie King?"
Fujino glanced at the kid, raising an eyebrow. He'd never heard of that title.
Before he could respond, the boy threw out a challenge: "Today, I'm gonna take that title back from you, the so-called 'Most Talented Jerk Around'!"
Fujino: "…"
What the hell were these random nicknames?
"Most Talented Jerk"? Who came up with that crap?
Fujino sighed, twirling the wooden sword in his hand as he sized up the kid.
Yeah, this guy needed a lesson.
"Match start!"
"Haa!"
With the referee's call, the boy charged first, swinging his wooden sword as he rushed at Fujino.
Fujino watched his movements, his sharp senses picking up every detail.
He took a deep breath, timed it perfectly, and stepped forward, swinging his sword.
*Crack!*
With a sharp sound, the boy's sword splintered apart.
Fujino's sword, still intact, smashed into the kid's face guard.
*Boom!*
With a loud crash, the boy flew backward, hitting the ground hard and letting out a groan. His helmet flew off, clattering to the side.
The referee rushed over, checked that the kid wasn't dead, then stood up, raising a flag. "Men, one point! Competitor unconscious. Winner: Konoha Kendo Dojo, Fujino Dōji!"
After the match, the still-conscious boy was carried off on a stretcher.
Since the tournament was full of dojo elites, word spread fast after the first stretcher case. Most of the promotion hopefuls facing Fujino opted to forfeit and wait for the revival round.
Losing was fine—they could bounce back. But getting wrecked by Fujino? That'd shatter their confidence.
Still, a few cocky ones stepped up to challenge him.
They all got crushed.
Cutting through them like butter, Fujino took first place and earned his second-dan rank, complete with an official certificate from the Kendo Association.
After the matches, he somehow picked up even more nicknames from the kids he'd beaten into despair: "Tokyo Kendo Rookie King," "Most Talented Jerk," "Kendo Demon Lord," and so on.
He didn't care much.
The only downside was fewer opponents meant fewer skill points, which left him a little bummed.
---
### Noon, After the Tournament
Fujino stepped out of the venue when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
The screen showed Megure Jūsan's name.
He picked up. "Brother Megure, did you get the info on the pager owner?"
"I called the pager company this morning and got the results," Megure said, flipping through some papers. "According to the registration, the owner's name is Aki Ogata… I'll text you the contact number and address in a bit."
"Thanks, Brother Megure!"
Fujino hung up, and soon enough, the details landed in his inbox.
(End of Chapter)