Chapter 60: The Soccer Player Threat Incident

[Author's note at the end: Apologies for the rough reading experience. I haven't slept in 24 hours and made some oversights due to exhaustion.]

[Plagiarism Scandal Author Chikako Ikeda Admitted to Aoyama Psychiatric Hospital!]

[Author Chikako Ikeda is currently undergoing the latest electroconvulsive therapy under renowned psychiatrist Dr. Fukuyama...]

["Blue Kingdom" pulled from theaters nationwide due to writer Chikako Ikeda's plagiarism scandal]

[High school detective Fujino Toji solves another strange case—what exactly is his relationship with the Junior Detective League?]

[Since Shinichi Kudo's disappearance, will Fujino Toji become the new Heisei-era Sherlock Holmes?]

[Metropolitan Police officer fractures hand while apprehending suspect—as crime continues to rise, should frontline officers receive better benefits?]

"So they already sent her to a mental hospital?"

Early the next morning, Fujino sat on the couch reading the newspaper and couldn't help but remark, "Those companies move fast."

After the plagiarism scandal broke, amid public outrage, Blue Kingdom was pulled from all major cinemas, and the production company suffered massive losses—not just financially, but also in reputation.

To stop the negative fallout from spreading, the company immediately cut ties with Chikako Ikeda and had her committed to a psychiatric hospital.

"But now that I think about it… Aoyama Psychiatric Hospital… and electroshock therapy? Why does that sound so familiar?"

Fujino frowned and muttered, "Dr. Fukuyama the Thunderbolt King?"

Looks like Chikako Ikeda was in for a tough time.

Shaking his head, Fujino took out his phone and checked the date.

"September 12th? What the hell—why is this timeline out of order again?"

Staring at the date on the screen, he grumbled. After a moment, he changed into his school uniform, grabbed his keys, and drove off toward Teitan High School.

—

Teitan High School Parking Lot

"Hey, Fujino!"

As soon as he opened the car door, a familiar female voice called out from a short distance away.

Looking up, he saw Hiratsuka Shizuka stepping down from a red Aston Martin, shouting his name loudly as she walked over.

"Hiratsuka-sensei?"

Seeing her approach, Fujino blinked in surprise.

Then he glanced at the luxury sports car behind her, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

Good grief, an Aston Martin?

Don't tell me this tough beauty is secretly rich too.

"Handled the case already?"

"Yeah, it's done."

Fujino nodded as she reached him. "That case took more time than I expected."

After a pause, he added, "If you hadn't helped get my leave approved, I wouldn't have wrapped it up so quickly. Thanks."

"Hehe, no need for thanks."

Hiratsuka waved her hand dismissively. "Just buy me ramen next time."

"Ramen?"

Fujino blinked in surprise.

But on second thought… yeah, that suited her style.

"Next time, for sure."

—

2nd-Year Class B Classroom

"Fujino-senpai, are you going to the Teitan University School Festival tomorrow?"

Just as Fujino sat down in his usual back-row window seat, Sonoko rushed over, excited.

"Teitan University Festival?"

Fujino echoed, puzzled.

"You don't know?"

Sonoko looked at him, surprised. "Everyone in class already knows about it!"

"Sonoko, you forgot?"

At that moment, Ran walked over and smiled, "Fujino-senpai hasn't been at school these past few days. Normally, he doesn't know."

"Oh… right!"

Sonoko scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"So what's this festival about?"

"Well, it's just a fun event," Sonoko said vaguely, brushing off the details. "I heard there's a pretty good mystery drama being performed... Ran and I are going. We were wondering if you'd come too?"

"Mystery drama?"

Fujino frowned, but agreed, "Sure, I'll come… mystery plays and all that."

Yeah—he wasn't going just to spend the day having fun with two cute high school girls.

He mostly wanted to see the Conan kids mess up on stage.

If he remembered right, on the day of the Teitan University festival, Ayumi gets kidnapped.

Well, "kidnapped" was a stretch. She'd just rudely crawled into someone's trunk, which led to a huge misunderstanding.

—

That Evening

After a full day of classes, Fujino drove home and parked in the underground garage on the first floor.

Just as he came up the stairs to the fourth floor, he spotted a girl standing at his bedroom door.

She looked about sixteen or seventeen, dressed in a white sailor uniform, with short black hair and a slightly anxious expression—like she was waiting for him.

"A sailor uniform?"

Fujino looked the girl over, confused. "From Beika High School?"

When she heard him, the girl turned and immediately asked, "Are you the high school detective Fujino Toji?"

"…Yeah, I am."

Fujino frowned slightly. "Miss, may I ask why you're standing outside my apartment?"

Usually, his clients were adults—working professionals.

He could count on one hand how many high school girls had come to him with cases.

After all, his clients usually came through personal referrals. It was rare for complete strangers to show up.

Weird. Now that I think about it, my business model sounds kinda sketchy…

"I'm so glad I caught you!"

Relieved, the girl let out a breath. "I need your help with something!"

After Fujino invited her into the guest room, she explained her reason for coming.

Her name was Ryoko Naota, a first-year at Beika High.

She had come to Fujino hoping he could help rescue Akagi Mamoru, the younger brother of Akagi Hideo, who had been kidnapped. Mamoru was currently a student at Beika Elementary.

After listening to her explanation, Fujino immediately recalled what case this was—

Wasn't this the Soccer Player Threat Incident?

[New Detective Mission Detected. Please check.]

Hearing the system notification in his ear, Fujino paused briefly before pulling up the system interface. A new mission had appeared:

[Detective Profession Mission: Soccer Player Threat Case]

Mission Objective: Rescue the kidnapped child

Reward: 250,000 yen, 100 Detective Reputation Points

After accepting the mission, Fujino turned to Ryoko Naota (who should have used the alias Akagi Ryoko, but was now using her real name) and asked:

"So the kidnappers abducted Akagi Hideo's younger brother to force him to lose the Giant Bomb Asia Finals—is that correct?"

"Yes!"

Ryoko Naota nodded, then handed him a threatening letter. "If Hideo doesn't lose the match, the kidnappers say they'll kill his brother!"

"Normally, kidnappers ask for money… but they just want him to lose a game…"

Fujino studied the contents of the letter and said seriously, "If I'm not mistaken, this whole kidnapping must've been orchestrated with Akagi Hideo as the target."

(End of Chapter)