"Hey! What's wrong with you?!"
Sonoko looked at Michiwaki Tadahiko's scalded hand, both surprised and angry, and immediately accused Kyogoku Makoto,
"The service is terrible! You burned a customer! And your apology is so insincere! I'm going to complain about you!"
Kyogoku Makoto remained expressionless, but his tone softened slightly.
"I apologize. However, Miss, I suggest you don't go to such secluded places with strangers at night."
He paused, lowering his voice, but loud enough for everyone at the table to hear,
"It's not peaceful around here lately, a Pantyhose Thief has appeared."
"Pantyhose Thief?" Ran, Kazuha, and Sonoko all repeated in surprise.
Rin raised an eyebrow, and Ellen's tail tip wagged slightly.
Alice's eyes widened in curiosity, while Yuzuha began to ponder the possibility of secretly taking Alice's pantyhose and framing the Pantyhose Thief.
"Hmm."
Kyogoku Makoto nodded, glancing at Michiwaki Tadahiko, who was still shaking his hand with a displeased expression, and continued,
"This villain specializes in breaking into empty homes, targeting women's underwear and panties left outside… especially pantyhose.
He's incredibly brazen, I hear that within a five-kilometer radius, anything left outside is stolen. The police have already received several reports."
"What?! Stealing… stealing pantyhose and… that?!"
Sonoko's face flushed, and the excitement of being invited was instantly replaced by a shiver of dread; she instinctively hugged her arms.
"That's right." Kyogoku Makoto affirmed, "Besides stealing, that Pantyhose Thief also likes to rob people at night, naked, in secluded places.
So, young girls like you, absolutely do not go out at night, especially to secluded places; it's very dangerous."
Kazuha, Sonoko, and Ran all started to get scared.
Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan, however, became excited.
"A thief who specializes in stealing pantyhose and underwear?"
They spoke almost simultaneously, their eyes lighting up, and the bumps from being beaten seemed to no longer hurt.
This bizarre case stirred their detective instincts.
"When exactly did this start?"
"Is there a pattern to the modus operandi?"
"Do the households that were robbed have anything in common?"
"Are there any witnesses?"
Edogawa Conan and Heiji peppered Kyogoku Makoto with questions, their bodies instinctively leaving their seats, looking ready to rush out and investigate at any moment.
Just then—
"Ah—!!!"
"T-there's a dead body!!!"
A shrill scream came from not far away, instantly shattering the peaceful atmosphere of the beach.
The crowd enjoying their holiday on the beach began to stir.
"What? Someone's dead?!"
Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan's expressions changed, instantly forgetting about the Pantyhose Thief.
"Where?" Edogawa Conan asked urgently.
"The sound seems to be coming from the small woods over there!" a passerby shouted, pointing in the direction.
"Let's go!" Hattori Heiji called out, taking off running towards the direction of the scream.
"Wait for me!" Edogawa Conan immediately followed with his short legs.
After running two steps, Hattori Heiji habitually looked back and shouted, "Kudo! Hurry up!"
This shout scared Edogawa Conan quite a bit.
He stumbled, almost falling flat on his face. This Kansai idiot! Why is he shouting Kudo in this situation! Edogawa Conan stopped in his tracks and looked back at Ran, his heart pounding.
Fortunately, Hattori Heiji rushed to the crime scene without looking back, and Ran seemed not to have noticed the name Kudo.
Edogawa Conan then relaxed and quickly followed him to the crime scene.
After he left.
Toyama Kazuha looked at the others with a puzzled expression, asking in confusion, "Heiji… did he just shout 'Kudo'? It sounded like he was calling Conan. But isn't Conan's name Edogawa Conan?"
Rin secretly observed Ran's expression.
She found that Ran didn't seem surprised.
Could it be that Ran already knew the truth, and Edogawa Conan's identity had been revealed?
Just as Rin was thinking this.
Ran showed a gentle smile and said helplessly, "It seems Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan are really good friends."
She looked at Kazuha, her tone tinged with emotion,
"You see, even the secret Edogawa Conan wouldn't tell me, he's willing to tell Heiji."
"Secret?" Rin was startled, becoming even more nervous. Did Ran really know something?
Ran lowered her voice, leaned closer to the others, and spoke in a tone of sharing a secret.
"Actually… I'm increasingly convinced that Edogawa Conan is Uncle Yusaku's illegitimate son, which means Shinichi's younger brother."
"Ah?" Rin couldn't help but let out a sound. Sonoko's eyes also widened.
Ran continued, oblivious.
"Because of this, I actually secretly asked my dad for help. Dad knows quite a few… well… you know, most of Dad's requests are for investigating infidelity, so he has a lot of connections in that area.
One of his doctor friends is willing to help us privately with a paternity test at his hospital." She sighed, a hint of trouble on her face.
"But the problem is, Uncle Yusaku has been abroad, and I can't get his DNA information for comparison at all. I'll have to find another opportunity." Ran's gaze became firm,
"If it's a misunderstanding, that's best. But, if Edogawa Conan really is Shinichi's younger brother, no matter what, I hope Shinichi can accept him. Otherwise, Edogawa Conan would be too pitiful."
Rin: "…" Oh no, this has completely gone off the rails.
Ellen expressionlessly picked up her cup and took a sip of her drink.
Yuzuha's mouth twitched, trying hard to suppress a laugh.
Sonoko's image of Yusaku Kudo as a good man was shattered into pieces… meanwile at the crime scene, in the small woods.
Detective Sangoro Yokomizo, with his coral-shaped hair, was gravely directing the forensic personnel.
Outside the cordon, the onlookers were buzzing with discussion.
Edogawa Conan and Hattori Heiji pushed their way to the front, using their identities as a child and a detective.
A young woman lay on the ground, her brown hair disheveled, with clear ligature marks on her neck, a gruesome sight.
"The victim's identity is still being confirmed, but the time of death is initially estimated to be between 8 PM and 9 PM last night."
The assistant was reporting to Detective Yokomizo, "The cause of death is mechanical asphyxiation; the weapon appears to be a thin rope or wire. What's most noteworthy is…"
He pointed to the victim's hair, "Like the case a year ago, the victim also had long brown hair."
"Long brown hair again?" Detective Yokomizo's face was filled with worry.
Just then, the corner of Edogawa Conan's eye caught sight of two out-of-place black figures on the outer edge of the crowd.
The familiar black trench coat, fedora, and that striking long silver hair— Gin!
And beside Gin, the burly figure was Vodka.
They seemed to be just passing by, glanced at the crime scene, and were about to leave.
Edogawa Conan's heart sank.
'Why are they here?! Could it be… this case is related to them?'
"Hey, Kudo, what's wrong?" Hattori Heiji noticed Edogawa Conan's suddenly tense body and constipated expression, asking in a low voice.
Edogawa Conan pulled Heiji to a secluded spot behind a tree and said in a low, serious voice:
"Heiji, do you see those two people in black over there? The one with silver hair is Gin, and the big guy next to him is Vodka! They are members of the Black Organization I've been tracking! Extremely dangerous!"