Chapter 147: On the Boss's Confusing Maneuvers...

Chapter 147: On the Boss's Confusing Maneuvers...

[In this pitch-black night, atop the dilapidated old Castle Rooftop, in the chilling Night Wind, two people whispered, and a seed of evil and madness was sown, secretly hidden in the Darkness, sprouting and growing...]

Chi Feichei looked at the words in the book, picked up the Teacup at hand, and took a sip of Tea.

Another day without Work.

Have all the Cats in this area been neutered recently?

Or is it because winter has arrived, and the cats are all lazily hiding at home, not in heat and causing a ruckus?

Mr. Amuro also picked a Book from the Bookshelf, read it for a morning, felt a bit restless, and looked towards Chi Feichei, "Advisor, what's wrong with Hissashi?"

In the Glass Terrarium on the table, Hissashi lay motionless like a corpse, twisting stiffly, like a dead Snake.

"It's Hibernation," Chi Feichei replied.

Yesterday he saw Non-Ink's Surprise, and in the evening Hissashi prepared for Hibernation.

He didn't want to forcibly break Hissashi's habits either, so he helped lower the temperature of the Warm Box and adjusted the humidity to a level suitable for Hibernation, letting Hissashi have a good sleep.

In addition, Non-Ink also freed up its hand and offered to stay with Chi Feichei for a while, making him suspect that these two Pets had discussed it, worried he'd be bored alone, and wanting to leave one to keep him company.

However, with Non-Ink's personality, even if it was accompanying him, it would only wander around nearby, waiting for his summons, and wouldn't be as clingy as Hissashi.

"Hibernation..." Mr. Amuro said thoughtfully.

He thought Chi Feichei's life was boring enough as it was, and now with Hissashi in hibernation, could it be because he had him, his Assistant, for company?

Although in the past two days, the Background Check by those few people was almost done, he should still stay until Hissashi finishes Hibernation before leaving.

"Are you reading the Novel written by Kudo Yusaku-sensei?"

Chi Feichei, unaware of Mr. Amuro's overthinking, replied, "Yes, Baron of the Night prequel."

Mr. Amuro looked at the Time, "It's Lunch Time, Advisor, what would you like to eat today?"

Chi Feichei put down the Book, reached out and pulled open the Drawer, "I brought two Bentos, do you want one?"

There's no cafeteria here, Japan doesn't have that tradition; whether office workers or Students, they're used to bringing their own bento for lunch.

Mr. Amuro chuckled, "I also prepared two bentos. Let's try yours for lunch, and I can save mine for dinner..."

"Gaa—Gaa, Gaa!" A Crow flew past Outside the window.

Mr. Amuro paused, looked Outside the window, and sighed, "There are really a lot of Crows in Tokyo recently..."

Chi Feichei's Mood was a bit subtle, the one that just flew by was Non-Ink, and it said—

Master, that black-skinned guy named Hattori Heiji just entered the building, still on the Phone Call saying he's coming to freeload lunch!

He and Hissashi didn't have Hattori Heiji's Photo in hand, but Hissashi had drawn some Portraits of people for Non-Ink, drawn them on the Computer and then transmitted them to Non-Ink.

He'd seen them, and Hissashi's drawing skills... were simply beyond words!

Proper portraits, yet they looked like Hyakki Yagyō pictures.

Non-Ink could even recognize him from *those*? Could it be mistaking someone else?

With doubts in his heart, Chi Feichei still stood up and walked to the Door, "Mr. Amuro, can I borrow one of your Bentos?"

"Huh? Sure, no problem." Mr. Amuro was puzzled, but agreed anyway, then watched Chi Feichei go to the Entrance, close the door, and lock it...

Chi Feichei returned to the Office Desk again, and handed a Bento to Mr. Amuro, "Eat."

"Okay..." Mr. Amuro took the Bento box, his Mood complicated.

On the Confusing Maneuvers of the Boss...

Is it time for his daily episode...?

Having a boss with a somewhat unstable mental state is a strange experience...

Not long after the two started eating, the Office Door was knocked.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Hassashi-nii, I'm here! Surprise! Surprise!"

Chi Feichei calmly ate Rice, without saying a word.

Mr. Amuro looked at Chi Feichei, then looked at the locked Door, guessed Chi Feichei's intention for locking the door, and didn't get up to open the door either.

"Strange..." Outside the door, Hattori Heiji wondered, "Isn't he here? The person at the front desk downstairs clearly said he was, could he have gone downstairs for lunch?"

It was quiet Outside for a while, and Chi Feichei's Mobile Phone vibrated.

In the Office, two people ate Rice quietly.

Chi Feichei was quite pleased with Mr. Amuro's reaction. Having a smart assistant was indeed great; he was even tempted to poach from Japanese Public Security.

Mr. Amuro ate Rice, curious in his heart.

The Advisor borrowing a bento and locking the door... he must have known someone was coming, right?

When did he know? How did he know? How did he not know?

This maneuver is a bit mysterious.

But he was also curious, what would Chi Feichei do next?

"He's not even answering the phone..." Outside the door, Hattori Heiji was a bit puzzled, paused, sniffed the air from under the door, and became even more frustrated, banging on the door, "Hey, hey, Chi Feichei, you're going too far! I came here hungry to see you, and you're not only not treating me to lunch, but you're hiding and secretly eating?"

Mr. Amuro turned to look at Chi Feichei. The Advisor borrowed a bento because he knew the other person hadn't eaten? How did he know that? When...?

"Freeloading lunch requires ability. Break down the door yourself and come in," Chi Feichei said, and continued eating.

"Huh?" Hattori Heiji shouted Outside the Door, "If you don't open the door, I'm really going to break down the door!"

Chi Feichei was Silence.

Hattori Heiji: "Hey, if you still don't open the door, I'm going to find an Iron Hammer to break down your door!"

Chi Feichei finally got up and opened the door, "Not bad, you didn't immediately resort to violence."

"I'm not stupid. Just by the sound of knocking, I could tell this door is just wood on the outside and iron on the inside," Hattori Heiji said with a grin, tapping the door. "If I really wanted to break it down, brute force would be a bad idea. It's better to find an Iron Hammer and smash it directly. As long as I said I was going to get a hammer, if you didn't open up, the door really would get smashed..."

Chi Feichei went to Mr. Amuro's desk and tossed a bento box to Hattori Heiji, "Bulletproof material. Get acquainted."

If it were Kyogoku Makoto, he'd still have to consider if this door could stop him, but Hattori Heiji? Forget it. Even if you gave Hattori Heiji two hammers, he couldn't break it down...

Bulletproof Material, not afraid of Hammers!

Hattori Heiji caught the bento box, his mouth twitching slightly. Bulletproof material? Really? He then noticed Mr. Amuro. "Oh, you have someone here?"

"My newly recruited Assistant," Chi Feichei introduced.

Mr. Amuro and Hattori Heiji could be considered to have met beforehand, right?

An early meeting of two dark-skinned guys?

"Hello, my name is Amuro Toru," Mr. Amuro said with a smile Self-introduction, "You are the famous High School Detective Hattori Heiji from Osaka, right? Pleased to meet you! I really admire the Detective profession!"

Hattori Heiji's Favorability Level also went up quite a bit, and he was a little embarrassed. "You know me? It's really nothing, I'm just interested in solving cases. We can chat sometime. But Hassashi-nii usually doesn't have much going on, right? What do you need an assistant for? Just two people hanging around for company?"

Mr. Amuro: "..."

This kid accidentally hit the nail on the head.

"What did you come for?" Chi Feichei asked directly.

"Don't say it like that, it sounds like you're not welcoming me," Hattori Heiji said, dragging a chair over to sit, opening his bento box, and pulling an envelope from his Pocket. He handed it to Chi Feichei while shoveling rice into his mouth, speaking with his mouth full, "It's because of this! A week ago, someone sent me this letter, commissioning me to investigate a case in Ogasawara, and they included 100,000 Japanese Yen..."

Chi Feichei opened the Envelope, "My Commission Fee for the Junior Detective League is 500,000 Japanese Yen."

"500,000?!"

Hattori Heiji almost spat out his rice. Was he mocking that his commission fee was less than a bunch of kids'?)

"What Commission requires 500,000 Japanese Yen?"

"Mascot design," Chi Feichei said.

"Okay, in the future, if you have a commission, please be sure to find me!" Hattori Heiji said seriously, looking at Chi Feichei. "Although I don't usually charge commission fees for investigations, I'll definitely accept yours!"

Mr. Amuro watched them for a while and realized their relationship seemed quite good. He began to doubt his earlier judgment; the Advisor seemed to have quite a few Friends, didn't he?

He also knew quite a few Detectives, and thinking again about Chi Feichei helping the Police solve cases...

He was afraid he'd still underestimated Chi Feichei's Abilities.

These high school detectives with considerable reputations, if not arrogant, were certainly proud. If someone's Reasoning Ability wasn't up to their standards, they might be friends, but they definitely wouldn't come knocking with a commission. This was clearly an invitation.

"Are you here to ask the Advisor to investigate a Case together?"

"Yeah, the letter doesn't have a sender's Address. They must have investigated me and then secretly put the letter in my mailbox. And the letter is full of Old Cash, saying that if I take this Cash to the Port and show it to the Staff, they'll let me board the Ship. Isn't that weird?" Hattori Heiji explained, then turned to Chi Feichei. "I was thinking of returning the money to the client after boarding the Ship, and seeing if there's anything more to it. Figured you probably didn't have much going on, so I came to ask you to come along. I was originally going to call Ko... cough, Uncle Mori and the others, but I can't get through to the Detective Agency."

Guchuan Da...

Chi Feichei looked at the signature on the Letter, and guessed which Incident this was.

A complex Case, involving a group of Wanted Criminals who have been Wanted for many years.

It's a pity, ships at sea are even less suitable for action than trains.

Plus, there are very few Guests on that Ship, making it difficult to hide. And with Hattori Heiji and Conan, two High School Detectives, on board, and the most Valuable mastermind Ye Caisan, already dead...

The risk and profit aren't proportional. Not worth intervening.

"How about it? Do you want to go take a look together?" Hattori Heiji eagerly invited.

"Let me tell Doctor Fukuyama first," Chi Feichei said, taking out his Mobile Phone. Sending an email to Zhi Ming Fukuyama was secondary; the main thing was to email Non-Ink and ask.

Non-Ink basically always takes its own Mobile Phone when going out, and should be lying on the Rooftop Terrace now.

Actually, he quite wanted to take Non-Ink along for a trip, but Non-Ink was still busy these days adjusting and experimenting with its Intelligence Network. It might not go...

"Your Situation is really troublesome right now," Hattori Heiji sighed, then asked, "When will you be considered recovered and Discharge?"

(End of Chapter)