The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

"Of course, I replied right away." Kogoro Mouri muttered as he checked the text messages, "I just sent several messages to him who was waiting here, but I haven't received a reply yet."

Amuro Toru said, "I see..."

There was nothing I could do but wait here a little longer.

Just as Amuro Tooru was considering whether to get another cup of coffee.

While scrolling through his phone, Kogoro Mouri finally noticed something was wrong. "The text message from the client that came in last night is from a different number than the one in the text message we just received."

Xiaolan put down her coffee cup, tilted her head, and guessed, "Could it be because his own phone was charging, so he borrowed a friend's phone to hurriedly send the text message?"

Amuro Tooru timely picked up where Ran left off, saying, "His friend might just have turned off his phone again."

Kogoro Mouri glanced at the text message history on his phone. "The text message I sent to reply 'OK' was sent to the phone I just saw."

Conan rolled his eyes in exasperation. "So maybe the other person didn't know you replied 'OK,' and just kept waiting there..."

Because the waitress had gone to attend to other customers, Aragaki Yu, who had finally returned, suddenly appeared behind Kogoro Mouri and Tooru Amuro and suggested to everyone, "In that case, why don't we head over now and go to the detective agency we agreed to visit from the beginning?"

Kogoro Mouri: ∑(O_O；)

Toru Amuro: ∑(;°Д°)

Amuro Tooru and Mori Kogoro, who hadn't noticed when Aragaki Yu had walked behind their seats, were startled by the sudden sound.

Amuro Tooru, in particular, almost instinctively drew his gun and emptied Aragaki Yu's magazine.

This guy……

How can you walk without making a sound?!

The same thing happened at the Mouri Detective Agency. Before entering the agency, I had clearly looked around the place, but I completely overlooked Aragaki Yu, who was sitting at the table.

This time too.

The ability to foresee danger that he had cultivated over many years while infiltrating the organization seemed to completely fail in the face of this boy.

Dangerous guy!

Unlike Gin, who sends chills down your spine just by standing next to him, the unassuming presence of Yu Aragaki actually makes Tooru Amuro more wary.

Amuro Tooru looked at the handsome, harmless-looking boy in front of him and his eyes narrowed slightly.

……

Ten minutes later, at the Mori Detective Agency.

"Huh? There's nobody here!"

"That's right."

After Aragaki Yu opened the door, Mouri Kogoro, who was following behind him, looked around but did not find any clients there.

Left with no other option, Kogoro Mouri had to take out his phone again to double-check. "Just in case, I also sent a text message to the original number saying I'd be right back."

Xiaolan looked around. "They should be getting back to you soon, right? Why don't we just drink some tea and wait?"

After saying that, she walked towards the kitchen.

"No need, I've already had a lot to drink at the Columbus Restaurant." Kogoro Mouri shook his head. Now he just wanted to see his client, who was never punctual. "Oh, right, I need to go to the restroom first."

"Ran, if you want to make black tea, I'll help you!" Amuro Tooru, who was standing next to the sofa, glanced at the coffee table, exchanged a look with Aragaki Yu, who had been standing at the entrance of the agency after everyone else had entered, and then immediately followed Ran.

"Okay, could you please take the teacups out of the cupboard for me?"

Amuro Tooru nodded. "Okay, I'd be happy to!"

On the other side, just as Kogoro Mouri reached the toilet door and was about to open it, his cell phone suddenly rang.

"Ugh?"

Kogoro Mouri took out his phone with some confusion, glanced at it, and then his expression finally turned to joy.

"Oh, the client finally replied to my text message!"

Chapter 774 The Strange Things at the Mori Detective Agency

"well!?"

Conan, who was following behind Kogoro Mouri, looked up in surprise at the phone in his hand.

He said he had just arrived in Columbus and asked us to come over as soon as possible if it was convenient.

"Then we'd better hurry!" Ran, who hadn't even had time to make tea, poked her head out of the kitchen and warned Kogoro Mouri.

There was nothing Xiaolan could do; she knew perfectly well what was going on.

If I don't keep a close eye on things, given my dad's personality, he might just find the client too troublesome and give up on the case.

"Okay, okay..."

As Ran had predicted, Kogoro Mouri's answer was somewhat hesitant.

"Wait for me, I want to come too!" Under Kogoro Mouri's disapproving look, Conan scratched his head and continued somewhat embarrassedly, "Wait a minute, I need to go to the bathroom first!"

However, no sooner had Conan finished speaking than Kogoro Mouri's cell phone rang again.

"The client sent another text message, saying hurry up and everyone come together!"

Upon hearing this, Conan, who had been saying he was in a hurry to go to the toilet but hadn't shown any other intentions, narrowed his eyes slightly and revealed an expression that said, "I knew it."

"Everyone come together?" Ran, who came out of the kitchen with Amuro Tooru, looked a little confused. "Do you specifically want us to come too?"

Kogoro Mouri said impatiently, "Who else could it be!"

"Let's go to Columbus together now!"

"Huh!?" Ran glanced at Amuro Tooru beside her with some surprise, wondering why his voice suddenly seemed a little louder than usual.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, move faster!"

However, before Ran could think it over carefully, Amuro Tooru urged her on and led the way, jogging towards the door.

Even Conan didn't hesitate to run with Amuro Tooru this time, "If we don't hurry, the client will get really impatient!"

As for Aragaki Yu, who was originally standing at the entrance of the agency, he had already opened the door for everyone and was the first to walk out of the agency.

Ran and Kogoro Mouri: (o?_o?)?

Seeing the three of them suddenly become incredibly enthusiastic, Kogoro Mouri and Ran exchanged a somewhat bewildered glance.

Wait a moment……

It seems like I'm the main character in this case, so why are these guys being more enthusiastic than me?

"Seriously, I can just go by myself!"

Helpless, Kogoro Mouri could only grumble as he and Ran left the office.

"Okay, okay, they said they wanted us to go together!"

As Ran comforted him, Yuya Aragaki, who had just left the office and was standing at the top of the stairs, closed the office door behind him.

Shh... everyone, please be quiet.

At the same time, Amuro Tooru, who had seemed impatient, immediately gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"Hmm?" Kogoro Mouri and Ran, who were about to go down the stairs, were slightly taken aback when they saw Yuu Aragaki and the other two who had not made any other moves after leaving the room.

“I think that’s how it is…” Amuro Tooru lowered his voice and explained to everyone, “Someone may not want the client to meet with Mr. Mori, so they sent a fake text message to change the meeting place and drive Mr. Mori away. Then, in an empty office, they met with the client themselves as an employee of the office to discuss matters.”

"Ah...woo!?"

Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri and Ran's expressions changed instantly, and they almost cried out in surprise.

Fortunately, Aragaki Yu was prepared for this and immediately covered their mouths with one hand each.

After Kogoro Mouri and Ran came to their senses, and Yuu Aragaki released his hand from their mouths, Tooru Amuro continued, "The evidence is the keychain on this doorknob..."

Amuro Tooru pointed to the doorknob behind him, "There are obvious signs of it being pried open."

Kogoro Mouri and Ran looked over and, sure enough, found countless scratch marks on it.

After Ran and Kogoro Mouri confirmed this, Tooru Amuro suddenly looked at Yu Aragaki, squinted his eyes and smiled, "I think that's why you, Mr. Aragaki, made that somewhat presumptuous move of being the first to enter the house before the owners, Mr. Mouri and Ran, had even entered the office."

"As for your action of standing at the entrance after you walked into the office and looked around without making a sound, that's also quite intriguing. I think it's probably because you noticed that there was someone else still in the office, so you stood guard at the entrance to prevent them from escaping."

In response, Yuya Aragaki simply shrugged and grinned at Tooru Amuro.

Indeed, he had noticed this even before he entered the firm.

Amuro Tooru and Conan probably noticed these things around the same time as him, which is why they gave him a strange look back then.

"Also, I found a teacup with a slight water stain on it in the kitchen cabinet. I don't think Xiaolan would put a teacup that wasn't dried in the cabinet."

Amuro Tooru responded to this as if it were just a casual remark, and then steered the conversation back to Ran in his next sentence.

Even so, Aragaki Yu noticed the thoughtful look in Amuro Tooru's eyes when he looked away from him.

Seeing Amuro Tooru looking at her, Ran nodded slightly and said, "Yes...yes..."

"And also," Conan chimed in, reminding everyone, "when we left the office, the cigarette ash that Uncle Kogoro dropped on the coffee table was wiped clean. Someone must have cleaned it up during the time we left and came back."

Amidst Kogoro and Ran's bewildered expressions, Amuro Tooru summarized, "In other words, these are traces of someone inviting clients in while Kogoro-sensei wasn't at the office, wiping the table, and serving tea. The teacups weren't completely dried before being put in the cupboard, which is why they still look damp..."

After Amuro Tooru finished speaking, Ran asked, somewhat confused, "But why do we have to do this? The client just asked us to help find a locker, didn't they?"