Yuji Kudo, the manga artist behind Detective Conan.

After eating three slightly salty and smoky naan breads, the Indian-style curry soup was quickly served by a waiter with a Masala accent. So the three men buried their heads and gnawed at the most eye-catching curry chicken leg in the soup.

"It smells so good... It tastes even better if you soak the naan in it."

Conan noticed that Higashino's gaze had fallen on the southwest direction of the store, and immediately realized that the old Kudo's target had appeared. So he immediately stuffed the remaining bag in his hand into his mouth and turned in that direction like a hamster.

"It's Officer Hagiwara from yesterday! Who's standing opposite her?"

“He’s the famous top lawyer, Mr. Shiratori. His father is the current superintendent of the Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division.” Higashino took a bite of his chicken leg with a strange expression. “But it doesn’t make sense. Why would the two of them be eating alone together?”

"So this is the case I took on at the last minute today. I got it from the Prime Minister's secretary. Apparently, when that guy was secretly smoking in his own bathroom, he overheard his daughter making a phone call to another man in the yard, arranging to have dinner here..."

Old Kudo gave a thumbs up: "By the way, Matsuda will cover all our expenses tonight."

[Still as stingy as ever, Mr. Matsuda, and he even hides in the bathroom to smoke...]

"Ah, waitress, please add another serving of curry beef, and another draft beer!" Old Kudo put his hand to his mouth, a little embarrassed, and cheerfully called out.

"Hey, isn't it easy to get caught like this?!"

Conan slammed his hand on the table, but actually he was disgusted by the guy's Mori-like appearance. Inspector Hagiwara's area had booths and soundproofing because it was a special section. He turned his head and saw Higashino looking through the menu, and asked him curiously.

"what happened?"

"Why aren't there any packing rules listed here? I think it'll be fine if I pack ten portions to take home!"

After making his request to the waiter, Higashino whispered to Conan, "I... an older brother I know said that Inspector Hagiwara is actually dating a famous action star in Tokyo, which is probably why Mr. Matsuda is worried. After all, that actor seems to be an old friend of his." [Your transition was a bit abrupt, kid. You were actually trying to say something about yourself, right? I get it...]

"I see. Your daughter cheated on you, so you probably can't hold your head up in front of your old friends. That's why you're in such a hurry to find... Uncle to investigate."

However, judging from the expression on Attorney Shiratori's face, it seems that he is not completely indifferent to Officer Hagiwara. Thinking about it this way, why do I suddenly want to laugh when Officer Shiratori's son falls for Officer Sato's daughter?

"By the way, who is the stunt actor you mentioned?" Conan was a little curious. When it came to Matsuda's friends, there were only a few people.

“It’s Date Kyo! You don’t know? Which rural village did you come from to Tokyo?” Higashino wiped the second chicken leg he had just finished eating with a wet wipe and placed the canned drink he had taken a sip of next to Old Kudo’s fifth mug of draft beer.

[This guy drank so much without us even realizing it! What about the request?]

"It's that Kyo Date, the guy who always makes those patriotic movies about Japanese police wreaking havoc overseas. Even though the plots are so-so, quite a few people still like him. You've never heard of him?!"

"You mean a man who looks rather burly, has a buzz cut, is about 1.78 meters tall, and wears glasses to try and appear refined?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Conan paused for a moment, then pointed to the entrance of the curry shop.

"No, I just saw a man and another woman walk in from outside, and they went to the northeast corner to find a place to sit down."

(End of this chapter)