"Invite me to be the MC?" Kazawa looked at Ayako Nagai in surprise.
"Yes, Akechi-kun. I think you're great at keeping the rhythm of the show, and your performance today was excellent. Plus, you're a detective—we really need professional input for the upcoming scripts and planning," Ayako Nagai said, her demeanor entirely different from her bubbly on-screen persona. Dressed in a professional suit, she now looked like a capable and assertive producer. "Don't worry, we won't ask you to appear every week. Just be a permanent MC. We can discuss the pay later."
Kazawa thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "You're negotiating with me on behalf of the production team… Looks like even without Mr. Matsuo and Mr. Suwa, the show isn't going down that easily."
Ayako Nagai smiled as if she didn't catch the deeper meaning of his words. "Yes, I can speak on the team's behalf."
"Then congratulations, Producer Nagai?"
Ayako chuckled softly behind her hand. "Thank you for the compliment, Akechi-kun. So, what do you think?"
The unhappy producer had passed, and the supposedly grief-stricken co-producer turned out to be the killer.
Whatever the story was with those two, Ayako Nagai was in a very good mood now. It was like both the emperor and the crown prince died in front of her—and she got the throne for free.
"Hmm..." Kazawa tilted his head and didn't answer directly. "Let me think about it."
"Please let me know once you've decided." Ayako Nagai took out a business card from her handbag and handed it to Kazawa. She bowed slightly and turned away, walking off in confident strides.
Okino Yoko was currently filming in the studio downstairs. She needed to grab the opportunity to talk to her and try to invite her on the show as a guest.
With one producer dead and the other arrested, and the case's resolution aired live during prime-time news, the show was receiving a lot of attention. Now was the perfect time to get big-name guests. It was an opportunity not to be missed.
Watching Ayako Nagai striding away in her heels without any difficulty, Kazawa looked down at the business card in his hand. The title "Program Producer and Chief Producer" gleamed above the name Ayako Nagai.
"So this is what a media person looks like..." Kazawa sighed.
——
"This is actually pretty good," Ran whispered to Conan. "I thought if it suited Akechi-kun's taste, we wouldn't like it at all..."
"Don't complain about food that someone treated us to," Kogoro Mouri said, his face flushed red from the alcohol. He waved his hand drunkenly. "These cocktails are well made. Let's come again next time, hic!"
"Dad! You know we're being treated, and you're still ordering drink after drink!" Ran scolded him with a glare.
"What's the problem? Look at his car—he's clearly rich… huh?" Mouri's finger paused halfway through pointing. He squinted for a moment and said, "Did he just get in the passenger seat?"
"Uh..." Ran twitched her mouth, not knowing what to say.
Ms. May and Goro Akechi walked out of the restaurant, chatting and laughing. Akechi then opened the passenger door and got in.
Ms. May, dressed in a striking and modern outfit, took off her sunglasses and placed them on the dashboard. Her bright, sharp blue eyes softened as she looked at Kazawa. The atmosphere in the car looked relaxed and warm.
...Except it really did look like a wealthy older woman with her young lover.
"Wow, a makeup artist driving a Lamborghini..." Kogoro Mouri chuckled, narrowing his eyes as he muttered, "No wonder… this guy might actually be pretty clever..."
"Dad!" Ran slapped him hard on the back, almost knocking the swaying Kogoro into a nearby telephone pole. "What are you thinking?! Maybe she's just giving him a ride. Don't spread weird rumors!"
Honestly, that was probably the truth.
"Why are you rushing back to the café this late?" Akemi glanced at Kazawa, whose face now looked tired without makeup. "You should go back to the villa. The café must be closed, right?"
"Forget it." Kazawa shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. The once-sleek hairstyle instantly returned to his usual fluffy, tousled look. "I haven't returned a single call yet. Mr. Amuro must have a lot of questions. I have to explain."
"You..." Akemi shook her head helplessly. As the light ahead turned green, she focused on the road. "And now you want to be a regular guest on a variety show? Don't you think you're already busy enough?"
To her, Kazawa was running himself ragged every day.
As a high school student still under probation, even if he could have Hoshikawa Teru do his homework, he still had to attend school himself.
Then add on the identities of Kazawa, Akechi Goro, and Kumail in the organization, plus his role as the Phantom Thief of Hearts… Just watching him juggle everything made Akemi feel tired.
But Kazawa always seemed to enjoy it. She really couldn't understand where he got all his energy.
"There's nothing wrong with being busy, right?" Kazawa yawned and stretched lazily. "A busy life feels more meaningful..."
He wasn't afraid of being busy. What he feared was having nothing to be busy with. He'd already had enough of a stagnant, idle life.
"And if I'm really too busy, I can just send Xingchuan to appear on the show." Kazawa grinned mischievously. "He stays inside all day—he needs some sun."
Akemi gave him a helpless but indulgent smile. "Stop bullying Xingchuan..."
Ever since moving into the villa, she had seen Hoshikawa Teru daily and quickly discovered his deeply introverted, borderline reclusive personality.
Given what she knew of his life in the organization, she wasn't surprised.
What did surprise her was how someone as gloomy and socially anxious as Hoshikawa Teru would choose to follow someone like Kazawa—who seemed determined to stir up chaos wherever he went.
Maybe it was intentional, but Kazawa had built the Akechi Goro persona to be the complete opposite of Hoshikawa: cheerful, outgoing, a good dancer, but deeply calculating and a bit unhinged...
The character was incredibly convincing. His backstory and personality were so well-crafted that Akemi felt unsettled every time she saw Teru's face now.
"You're really something, Zhao." Akemi shook her head again. "You'd even use yourself as a pawn without hesitation."
"Haha, that's unfair." Kazawa laughed, images of different faces flashing through his mind. "But come on, Sis, you're the same type too. I just plan a little more. Maybe it's in our blood?"
Akemi couldn't help but laugh, thinking about how she once disguised herself to approach Mouri Kogoro.
Meanwhile, Kazawa's thoughts turned to Akai Shuichi.
Faking deaths, disguises, mysterious personas—these seemed to run in the Sera family's blood.
In that sense, the world had chosen the perfect character card for Kazawa.
He smacked his forehead and took out his phone, beginning to type.
[Brother Xiu, can you help me out with something~]
[What is it now?]
[The organization gave me a fake identity: "Akechi Goro." Can you help flesh out the U.S. background for it, make it more believable?]
[?]
The reply's single punctuation mark fully captured Akai Shuichi's confusion.
No matter how much imagination he had, he likely never thought that one day, after being exposed, he—a full-fledged FBI agent—would be helping the organization fabricate one of its members' identities.
His cousin never failed to surprise him...
[Don't think too hard about it…]
[…Just make sure the CIA can't tell if it's fake or not.]
[???]