Chapter 92: Epilogue (Part 1)
Fan An’s morning starts at six AM.
Too early. It’s not a time a famous actress should be waking up. It’s all her cohabitant’s fault.
Furuya Rei gets out of bed lightly, replacing himself with a pillow to prevent the girl, who would be left alone, from waking up.
His movements are extraordinary, worthy of his title as number one at the police academy. But Fan An wants to say: Who are you trying to fool? The difference between a pillow and a person is even greater than the difference between a conscious Kogoro and a sleeping Kogoro.
The dark-haired girl furiously pounded the pillow.
The sound of soft footsteps echoed outside the bedroom door, accompanied by the sound of panting. A white shiba inu pushed the door open with its head and peeked in furtively.
An’an moved the pillow aside and secretly patted the empty space beside her. The little dog’s tail wagged like a propeller. It jumped onto the bed and lay on its back, its tail wagging.
Haro was a little dog that An’an and Furuya had found on the street after they had moved.
When they had first met, it had looked very clean and well-cared for. They had both thought it was someone’s lost pet. An’an had squatted down and tempted it with a sausage, while Furuya had called to find the dog’s owner.
The two ignorant humans did not realize that standing before them was the king of stray dogs, the king of survival on the streets of Beika, the undiscovered police dog—the amazing Haro.
“Eh?” The moment she opened the door and saw the little dog sitting at the entrance, wagging its tail, An’an was shocked. “How did you get in?”
The new house was a villa with a garden. Furuya had really put up a protective net around the garden—he was being considerate of any passing thieves. Ahead lies hell.
Kaitou Kid, who had accidentally landed on the roof of the villa and had almost lost half his life, gave it a thumbs-down.
The little dog couldn’t speak. It just wagged its tail, nuzzled against the girl’s ankle with agile movements, and happily ran into the house.
An’an looked at the little dog chasing its tail in the living room, then at Furuya, who was making soup in the kitchen, wearing a cat apron.
“I should have both a cat and a dog,” she said decisively.
Haro: “Woof!”
Haro was a natural police dog. Furuya had tried to teach it simple commands. The little dog had learned very quickly, so the teaching had advanced. The blond Public Security officer had taught Haro to be well-behaved.
For example, not to paw at the master bedroom door in the middle of the night.
For example, not to be curious about why humans like to be so clingy.
For example, not to get on the bed without permission, especially not to brazenly occupy the male owner’s spot—Furuya, who came back from his morning run every day to find no place for himself on the bed, was completely baffled. Haro is clearly very smart and obedient. Why is this the only rule he repeatedly breaks?
Suspect An, who was pretending to be asleep while petting the dog with her eyes closed: zzzzz
Another day of doing bad things the moment she opened her eyes. What a happy day.
…
After sleeping with the warm, rice-scented little dog until the sun was dazzling, An’an, while sending Furuya three photos of the cute little dog’s sleeping face, replied to her work messages.
The directors she had worked with before were all asking about her schedule. The scripts they had sent were also quite good, but An’an hadn’t been able to make a decision.
They were all good, but they were all missing something. Either the script didn’t pique her interest, or the co-stars were uninspiring.
The girl rested her chin on her hand and stared at the screen. Haro, having slept his fill, excitedly bit her sleeve, wanting to play tug-of-war.
An’an played with the little dog for a while. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a new message pop up on the screen.
Eh?
She rubbed her eyes and looked at the sender again.
[Long time no see, sweetie. Does the promise to work with me still count?]
The screen reflected the girl’s pensive expression. A moment later, she replied, “It does.”
An’an was an honest and trustworthy person.
…
Furuya: “Is that your reason for being at the crime scene?”
Suspect An (averts gaze): “…Mhm.”
Backstage at the theater, a chalk outline of a person was drawn on the floor. The flashes of cameras went off all around. Police officers were coming and going. Only the elementary school student detective, who was as tall as an adult’s calf, was staring at the crime scene in deep thought.
The deceased was the star of the theater, an opera singer. It was said that his private life was very problematic. He had been entangled with several members of the same troupe. There were two suspects for a crime of passion alone.
According to the iron-clad rule of “pick one of three suspects,” there was still one person missing.
Edogawa Conan silently looked at the currently popular actress. The deceased had been her avid fan and had lingered outside the ladies’ dressing room for a long time before he had died.
The great detective was used to Suspect An appearing as a red herring in the “pick one of three suspects” lineup. But the problem was…
“Why is Vermouth here?” Edogawa Conan asked Furuya in disbelief. “Wasn’t she arrested?”
Rum was already in prison. Why was the famous actress still a famous actress?
“Vermouth made a deal with the FBI,” Furuya said in a low voice. “She traded information about that person for her own acquittal. But she’s still under surveillance.”
In the corner, a cool guy with long hair and a knitted hat had his arms crossed.
It had been a simple murder case, but the appearance of two fake liquors and one real liquor at the scene had made it complicated.
Furuya accurately identified the culprit who had made the situation complicated. “An’an.”
The girl, who had been called out, looked left and right, up and down, as if she were admiring the beautiful scenery of the theater.
Vermouth, who had been watching the show for a long time, let out a laugh. She walked over gracefully and intimately wrapped her arms around An’an’s neck from behind. “Sweetie, this police officer is so fierce.”
“He looks like the kind of bad man who doesn’t know how to be gentle and loves to lie, who likes to keep things from others but doesn’t allow others to keep things from him,” the blond woman said leisurely, sowing discord for her former colleague. “It’s better to kick him to the curb sooner rather than later.”
“Vermouth,” Furuya said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Edogawa Conan, who was beside him, happened to see the terrifying Bourbon eyes and his hair stood on end.
The girl, who was clinging to the beautiful older sister, shook her head regretfully. “I can’t. I’m already tied down.”
The ring on her ring finger was shining brightly.
Vermouth let out a soft “tsk.” She quickly changed her strategy. “The deceased was An’an’s avid fan. I reasonably believe that her lover has a sufficient motive. Little detective, what do you think?”
Edogawa Conan was drenched in sweat. “Uh…”
Furuya: “My suspicion can’t compare to a certain internationally wanted criminal who is still on probation. By the way, do you know what happened to the last internationally wanted criminal who fell into my hands?”
Vermouth: “Oh my, my every move is under the surveillance of the FBI. Does Public Security mean that the FBI is in cahoots with me?”
Furuya: “After all, it’s the FBI. They’re capable of anything.”
Akai Shuichi, who had been caught in the crossfire, was speechless. “???”
What did it have to do with him?
Edogawa Conan: Enough! Please, the parties involved, do not bring your personal emotions into this.
Clearly, everyone present was a god-like opponent in terms of ability, but when they gathered together, they became pig-like teammates. The life of a great detective is so hard.
An’an’s life was also quite hard. After clinging to one blond beauty, she was immediately snatched away by another.
Furuya: “Is that so? But I think An’an looks like she’s enjoying it.”
“How can you slander an innocent person?” the girl said righteously. “I’m just being true to my own kink.”
Besides, she had a legitimate reason for being here today. She was here for work.
“Sharon has a super good script. A dual-female-lead major film. I get to pick my role first,” An’an said, looking up at Furuya, her eyes sparkling. “It’s an Oscar-level role. Isn’t that great?”
No one could say no to their lover’s beautiful eyes. Furuya’s attitude visibly softened.
He lowered his head, his lips touching the girl’s soft bangs, leaving a powerless threat. “We’ll settle the score when we get home.”
Suspect An had gotten away with it. She secretly flashed a peace sign.
“What a pity,” Vermouth said with regret. “I thought I could steal Bourbon’s girl.”
“But there are plenty of opportunities,” she said, raising an eyebrow flirtatiously. “The movie will be filming for at least half a year.”
Akai Shuichi hadn’t wanted to get involved in such a complicated emotional entanglement, but he couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have a grudge against Bourbon?”
The only true liquor present let out a cold laugh.
The whiskies are no good. Vermouth was looking forward to the Silver Bullet destroying the organization, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t empathize with Gin: Three—three whiskies are all fake liquor! Damn it! Do they have to make her avoid whisky from now on?
Scotch Whisky was even more bizarre. He had died and come back to life, and after half a lifetime, he had returned as a fake liquor.
Vermouth no longer touched whisky. She had PTSD.
The blond woman glanced at the seemingly cold but actually gossipy, reserved Rye. Her red lips curved. “During the filming, the FBI agent in charge of monitoring me will still be you, right?”
“Bourbon won’t allow An’an to be alone with me. He will definitely come,” Vermouth said, her voice sounding like she was on a killing spree. “I’m looking forward to that time.”
Edogawa Conan: Great! I don’t have to go!
The great detective, liberated!
Edogawa Conan had a burst of action. He quickly solved the case and quickly got away from the adults’ mess.
The great detective refused the Public Security officer’s kind offer of a ride, preferring to ride his own skateboard back rather than get on a pirate ship.
“He’s so fast,” An’an sighed.
She also wanted to run, but this was the downside of living together. She had lost the load-bearing wall that couldn’t be knocked down.
…
Suspect An’s afternoon was spent at a crime scene.
At night, it was time to settle the score.
“…You’re not allowed to wake up at six tomorrow,” a broken voice said. The girl was very insistent. “If I don’t get enough sleep, I will be very angry.”
Furuya didn’t say yes or no. He opened An’an’s curled palm and intertwined their fingers. “So, Haro was really the one you called onto the bed.”
Such an obedient little dog, and he had been taught bad habits.
“Don’t you like hugging a pillow?” he murmured. “Then hold me tight.”
…
The new morning did not start at six AM.
—It started at seven AM.
An’an stared at Hiromitsu, who was knocking on her door in the early morning, with a ghostly expression. She chewed her sandwich as if she were chewing on Mentor Scotch’s bones.
Hiromitsu: “An’an, you’re looking at me and it’s making my back cold… but, I have an appointment.”
He had made an appointment last week to see An’an today. The reason was none other than, “I really need to get my household registration.”
Public Security had revoked Hiromitsu’s death certificate, but since he had been resurrected, and it involved complex ability principles, the interpretation of Hiromitsu’s household registration belonged to the Special Division for Unusual Powers.
He had to go to Yokohama to get his household registration.
An’an also had to go to the Special Division for Unusual Powers to update her ability file.
Strictly speaking, Yokohama was An’an’s first hometown. She had been born in the second most unlivable city in the country and had settled in the first most unlivable city. She had an indissoluble bond with the two major crime cities.
Today, Suspect An would return to her long-lost hometown.