Chapter 6: You're Really Addicted to Acting

Suzuki Sonoko—a true face-con inside and out.

She could travel all the way to a remote mansion just to see a handsome guy, only to run into a snowstorm villa serial murder case. Or she could drag her best friend across Japan just to meet an online friend, only to again run into... a snowstorm villa serial murder case.

Although the endings were always the same, her love for handsome faces remained unshaken.

So when Conan, who had been waiting downstairs in the detective agency and still hadn't seen Ran return from school, came down the stairs, the scene he saw was this: Suzuki Sonoko pulling Mouri Ran into a booth at Café Poirot, gently chatting with a guy across the table.

Mouri Ran knew Sonoko's personality all too well. She could only listen helplessly to the awkward small talk. When she turned her head and saw Conan pressing his face against the glass with wide blinking eyes, she quickly waved at him to come in.

Too awkward. It was just too awkward. Sonoko had already talked from family background to local customs to celebrity gossip. If she didn't stop her now, she'd probably bring up international politics and the financial crisis next.

The classmate named Kazawa was surprisingly patient, politely nodding and responding with "mm," "ah," and "is that so," but Mouri Ran, who had to sit through it all, was curling her toes so hard she could've cracked the floor tiles.

"This is the kid staying at my place, Edogawa Conan. Cute, right?" Ran seized the chance and pushed Conan to the table, cutting off Sonoko's next potential topic.

"Ran-neesan! Who are these big brothers and sisters?" The fake elementary schooler rushed inside, putting on his cute act with a high-pitched voice, while glancing at Kazawa's handsome face out of the corner of his eye—his internal alarms going off.

He had only just turned small two days ago, where the heck did this pretty boy from Teitan High School pop up from?! And what was up with Sonoko dragging Ran along to hit on guys again—can she not be a bit more independent?

The two high school girls didn't react much, but Kazawa was startled by Conan's sugary performance.

Thinking about all the murderers, detectives, and police officers he'd soon encounter, all wrapped up in the fake kid's over-the-top "ah-reh-reh" act, Kazawa got goosebumps.

"This is Suzuki Sonoko-neesan, and this is Kazawa Akira-niisan. They're both my classmates," Ran introduced, reminding Conan to greet them properly.

Conan replied loudly with an "uh-huh!" while keeping a sharp eye on Kazawa.

From the uniform, he was clearly a Teitan student too—but Conan had never heard of him before.

"Oh, this is the kid you mentioned? He is pretty cute! But..." Sonoko leaned down to look at Conan face-to-face, her eyes narrowing slowly. That little face was indeed cute, but for some reason, she just didn't feel good about it. "Why do I feel like this kid looks kind of familiar?"

"Crap, Sonoko's seen me as a kid before too!" Conan tensed up, laughing nervously as he gripped his glasses with both hands, afraid Sonoko—who had been in the same class since kindergarten—might reach out and pull them off. That would make it even easier to get exposed.

At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded, falling on Conan's ears like a blessing from above.

"Are these your classmates, Kazawa?" Amuro Tooru, wearing an apron and carrying a tray, walked over to their table with a warm smile.

"Yes, Amuro-san. This is Mouri Ran and this is Suzuki Sonoko. They're both my classmates."

Conan had just turned his head to look at Amuro, but was quickly drawn back by Kazawa—because his voice clearly dropped in volume. When Conan turned his head back, he saw Kazawa, who was previously calm and relaxed, now bowing his head and gripping the fabric of his pants tightly with both hands.

He looked... very nervous. But why?

The little detective instinctively looked between the two, starting to speculate.

"Nice to meet you, ladies," Amuro Tooru said with his usual perfect service smile, placing a hand on Kazawa's head. "I'm Amuro Tooru. Kazawa-kun is staying with me for the time being. He's a bit introverted and doesn't talk much. If anyone bullies him, please be sure to let me know, alright?"

Kazawa almost broke character the moment Amuro slapped his hand down on his head.

Just because he hid once yesterday, is that really worth holding a grudge over, Bourbon?! Don't flatten my hair!

Trying his best to stay in character, Kazawa could only endure as Amuro messed with his hair, glaring silently at the table.

Conan's suspicion deepened.

Did Amuro-san say something outrageous? Why did Kazawa freeze up like a cat grabbed by the scruff? But the words Amuro used were just normal greetings—there's no reason anyone would get that scared.

Unless... those words carried another meaning for Kazawa.

"Being taken care of by me," "Let me know if someone bullies you"—sounded more like a warning? A warning that Amuro knows everything Kazawa does and he better not step out of line?

Their relationship… was it more like a warden and prisoner?

If Kazawa heard Conan's wild guesses that somehow hit the nail on the head, he'd probably be moved to tears.

Finally, finally someone saw through his acting. Finally, someone understood the character he's been trying so hard to portray.

"Would you all like something to eat? How about a drink?" Amuro asked, remembering that he was still technically on the job. "It's on me. Just a little thank-you for looking after Kazawa."

After politely refusing twice, the two high school girls still excitedly began studying the menu.

Kazawa took the chance while they weren't paying attention to look up and lock eyes with Amuro.

His watery blue eyes were misty, and with his brows slightly furrowed, he wore an expression of pain and helplessness that was immediately conveyed.

Kazawa silently mouthed onegai.

Amuro nodded with a smile, indicating he wouldn't say anything.

So, he's really afraid of his identity as a juvenile offender being exposed... Amuro thought quietly, already planning how to use this to get more information about Kazawa's case.

Wait a minute—this was starting to feel less like a warden-prisoner relationship and more like a kidnapper and hostage situation. Hiding at the side, Conan had his eyes just above the tabletop, his gaze growing sharper.

Kazawa, having acted the entire scene, felt like his objective was achieved. He calmly returned to a neutral expression and affectionately looked toward the two girls still murmuring over the menu.

So useful. Just look at that—every major character in the main plot showed up at once.