Powered by Fujino's kick, the black and white soccer ball launched from the deck of the Queen Selizabeth.
It carved a clean white arc across the turbulent sea surface, then slammed into the white figure gliding through the night sky.
BANG!
With a loud crack,
the soccer ball struck Kaito Kid's glider wing.
Under the immense force of the impact, the glider's frame instantly buckled.
Caught by the sea breeze, the damaged, faltering glider carried the white figure tumbling erratically towards the churning waves below.
"Phew..."
Having executed this maneuver, Fujino let out a slow breath.
Watching the white figure plunge into the dark sea, his sense of satisfaction grew considerably.
As for that Kaito Kid fellow...
He could only wish him luck.
Isn't he supposed to be a magician?
Perhaps he could perform a live underwater escape act.
"Ran!"
Just then, a child's panicked shout rang out.
Fujino turned to see Conan hastily gathering the... unmentionable articles of clothing Kaito Kid had left scattered on the deck. He then scrambled to his feet and sprinted towards the lifeboat secured nearby.
As if fearing that any delay might result in the tragic green glow of cuckoldry appearing above his head once more.
"He actually believed it."
Watching Conan run, seemingly dropping a piece of lace-trimmed clothing in his haste, Fujino couldn't help but smirk playfully.
He then casually followed.
By the time Fujino and Conan reached the lifeboat, Ran was still fully clothed.
She hadn't lost anything important, contrary to Kaito Kid's implication.
Seeing this, Conan breathed a sigh of relief, the weight on his mind lightening considerably.
Then, beside the brooch pinned to Ran's dress, he noticed an advance notice card.
The card detailed exactly how Kaito Kid had obtained Ran's evening gown.
Apparently, some time ago, when Ran sent the dress out for dry cleaning, the Kid had seized the opportunity...
"Damn it! He tricked me!"
Conan clenched Kaito Kid's notice card, his face contorted with frustration.
"Splash!"
Out on the sea, the damaged glider, having lost lift from the soccer ball's impact,
sent Kuroba Kaito plummeting from dozens of meters above.
Fortunately, thanks to special countermeasures, he avoided being fatally injured by the fall.
However, plunging into the bone-chilling seawater still made him shudder violently.
Not because the water was particularly cold, but because, at this moment, small fish were swarming towards him!
That was the truly terrifying part!
"Young Master!"
Just then, a familiar voice called out from the nearby water surface.
Kaito looked up and saw a dark silhouette...
It was a speedboat, and aboard it, an elderly man with white hair, resembling a certain high-ranking official, was waving at him.
It was Grandpa Jii!
With Jii Konosuke's help, Kaito quickly boarded the speedboat, escaping the perilous sea.
"Young Master, are you alright?!"
Jii Konosuke hurriedly draped a blanket over Kaito's shoulders, asking with deep concern.
"I'm fine..."
Kaito pulled the blanket tighter around himself, his gaze fixed on the receding Queen Selizabeth, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
Just moments ago, he had witnessed his playing cards being sliced in half by a wooden sword.
Then, he was nearly killed by an elementary school kid with a soccer ball.
The physical injuries weren't severe, but the damage to his psyche and worldview... that was another story.
And so, the mission to protect the Black Star concluded successfully.
By the time the Queen Selizabeth docked, it was as if Kaito Kid's infiltration had never happened.
The sharp-nosed media, however, swarmed the dock the moment the ship arrived.
Somehow learning that Kaito Kid had been repelled,
they immediately surrounded Fujino, bombarding him with questions.
Perhaps seeking a more compelling narrative, they even included Conan, who had appeared alongside Fujino, in their reports.
By the time the interviews ended, it was already late at night.
Fujino retrieved his motorcycle from the pocket dimension and rode home.
Pushing open his bedroom door, he collapsed onto the sofa.
Before the seat could even get warm, a system notification echoed in his mind:
[Detected Host completed Detective Profession Task: Protect the Pearl - Black Star]
[System Reward: 2,000,000 Yen Distributed.]
[System Reward: +200 Detective Reputation Distributed.]
[Main Profession Detective Level Up. Current Detective Level: Basic 5-Star]
"Detective level increased?"
Fujino paused, hearing the notification.
He immediately opened the system's profession panel, focusing on the Detective profession details:
[Main Profession: Detective - Basic 5-Star (0/800)]
Full-Time Detective: Receive bonus bounty & reputation rewards upon completing case commissions.
Detective Time: Basic (During deduction, no one can interrupt your reasoning for one minute).
Detective Enhancement: Basic 4-Star (Temporarily enhance physique by 200%), Basic 2-Star (Enhancement duration: 4 minutes).
Detective Aura: When triggering detective effects, automatically exert pressure on suspects. Pressure level varies. Pressured targets suffer a 10% combat effectiveness reduction.
Detective Intuition: Basic (Reasoning ability +25%. Actively triggering Detective Intuition increases reasoning ability by 100%. Note: Active skill duration: 60 seconds).
[Currently Allocatable Profession Points: 1]
[Current Host Balance: 3,600,000 Yen]
"One profession point?"
Fujino murmured, looking at the system interface. He immediately allocated the point to the duration aspect of Detective Enhancement:
[Detective Enhancement Duration increased to: Basic 3-Star]
[Detective Enhancement Duration effect improved. Current enhancement time: 8 minutes]
Fujino stroked his chin, examining the upgraded enhancement duration.
Basic 2-Star duration was four minutes, so Basic 3-Star is eight minutes?
Eight minutes was almost equivalent to an Advanced Enhancement Card.
Crafting an Advanced Enhancement Card required five Basic cards and cost 300,000 yen.
In other words, one Advanced Enhancement Card was worth 800,000 yen.
Achieving an eight-minute duration through the system upgrade essentially saved him multiple 800,000 yen expenditures.
With an eight-minute base duration, plus Advanced Enhancement Cards...
Looks like his 'true man' time could last much longer in the future.
Collecting his thoughts, Fujino shifted his focus back to the Profession Orb gacha interface.
"I have 3.6 million yen now... I could try the Intermediate Profession Orb gacha..."
After a moment's thought, Fujino initiated the Intermediate Profession Orb pull.
[900,000 Yen Consumed for Host.]
[Congratulations Host! Reward Acquired: Virtual Identity Card (Purple)]