Chapter 51: An Unexpected Investigation Commission

After a bit of small talk, Hiratsuka Shizuka finally agreed to Fujino's request.

She even promised: "I'll go to the school infirmary tomorrow and get you a medical leave note."

Most likely, Shinide Tomoaki would soon be coerced into writing yet another questionable medical report by a certain approachable yet violent beauty.

After hanging up the call, Fujino couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He didn't know all that much about Hiratsuka Shizuka.

All he knew was—she was a violent beauty.

Sometimes violent, sometimes surprisingly approachable…

Maybe it was out of sympathy, guilt, but regardless of her motives—she was one of the very few people in this world who genuinely cared about his well-being.

"New Detective Profession Mission detected! Please check!"

At that moment, a system notification interrupted his thoughts.

"Again?!"

Fujino raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Looking up ahead, he saw several police cars blocking the road, with the whole scene reeking of crime scene energy.

Immediately, he opened the system's mission interface:

[Detective Profession Mission: The Disappearing Corpse Murder Case]

Mission Objective: Solve the Disappearing Corpse Murder Case

Mission Reward: 500,000 yen, 50 Detective Reputation Points

Mission Location: A residential house 50 meters ahead of the host

"So it's a disappearing corpse case."

Fujino glanced at the mission screen, rubbing his chin thoughtfully before parking the car by the roadside.

Getting out of the car, he walked straight toward Inspector Megure, who was standing at the entrance of the house, and asked,

"Inspector Megure, another murder case?"

"Fujino, my boy?"

Megure turned around and was briefly surprised to see him.

Then he pointed toward a group of kids standing nearby.

"It's these children—they said they saw a corpse in the bathroom of this house. We were just about to go in and investigate."

"I see."

Turning his head, Fujino spotted none other than the Trouble Magnet Squad—Conan, Mitsuhiko, Genta, Ayumi, and the rest.

With a sigh, he withdrew his gaze and then suggested to Megure,

"How about I go in with you? Maybe I can be of some help."

"That would be perfect, Fujino!"

Hearing this, Megure looked delighted and patted Fujino on the shoulder.

Soon after, he led Fujino and the forensic team toward the entrance of the house.

Bang!

"What's with all this noise?! What do you people want?!"

The door swung open to reveal a man in his thirties, hair disheveled, wearing a bathrobe, clearly fresh out of the shower.

"I'm with the police."

Megure gestured toward the children behind him and explained,

"These kids said they saw a corpse in your home…"

Before Megure could finish speaking, the kids began chiming in excitedly, cutting him off:

"It's true!"

"There's a dead man in the bathroom!"

"Covered in blood!"

"Corpse?"

The man frowned and pointed toward a room at the end of the hallway,

"The bathroom's that room at the end. Go ahead and check if you want!"

"In that case, forgive the intrusion."

Without hesitation, Megure entered the house.

Conan and the others naturally wanted to follow along.

But just as they were about to step in, Fujino stopped them cold with an outstretched arm.

"Children shouldn't be entering a crime scene."

"But we're the ones who found the corpse!"

"Yeah! Fujino-oniichan must be trying to steal our credit!"

Being stopped, the Trouble Magnet Squad voiced their dissatisfaction, complaining loudly.

"Fujino's right!"

Megure, who had just stepped inside, turned around,

"It's not appropriate for children to go poking around a crime scene."

"You kids wait outside. If there is a corpse, you'll get credit for the discovery."

"Okay…"

With the Inspector speaking, no matter how unwilling they were, the Detective Boys had no choice but to obey.

But Conan frowned, staring intently at Fujino with a strange expression.

This was already the second time.

Why did this guy always seem to be working against me?

So annoying.

"There! See?! No corpse at all!"

The disheveled man stood at the bathroom door, glaring at Fujino and Megure,

"I'm telling you, those kids are just pulling a prank!"

"That's strange. They clearly said the body was in the bathroom,"

Megure shot the man a glance but ignored him, then turned to Fujino,

"What do you think?"

"Inspector, how long did it take you to get here?"

"Let me see…"

Megure checked his watch.

"From dispatch to arrival… about fifteen minutes."

"So you think he moved the body?"

Megure asked, his tone serious.

"That's likely the case."

Fujino nodded.

"And besides, Inspector—haven't you noticed the stench in this bathroom?"

"Stench?"

Megure sniffed the air and suddenly realized,

"You're right—it does smell bad!"

"Exactly."

"If I'm not mistaken, that's the smell of blood. Fifteen minutes isn't much time—sure, you can wipe away visible stains, but that metallic, bloody odor lingers in the air for a long time… If we test with luminol, we'll find traces."

"I see now."

Megure suddenly understood, then called over to the forensic officers outside,

"Did you bring luminol?"

Moments later, a blue-jumpsuited forensic officer came in,

"Sorry, Inspector—we didn't bring luminol. Everything happened so suddenly…"

"Then go back and get it, now!"

Megure's face darkened as he barked the order.

"Yes, sir!"

Once the officer left, Megure sighed,

"Looks like we'll have to start searching for the body first while we wait for the luminol to arrive."

Watching this scene, Fujino couldn't help but feel exasperated.

The Tokyo MPD's forensic team going to a murder scene without luminol…

Only in Conan's world.

"Hmph!"

Standing by the bathroom door, the messy-haired man let out a cold snort,

"Search all you want! I'm going upstairs to bed."

"You're okay with us searching your home freely?"

Megure raised an eyebrow.

"Why should I care?"

The man turned around with a mocking grin,

"You people believe some childish prank, and you still think you can solve crimes? What a joke."

"Search! Tear this place apart if you have to! Find that body!"

By this point, Megure was thoroughly pissed off.

With a loud command, the forensic officers swarmed the house, starting a thorough search from top to bottom.

(End of Chapter)