No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Okay. I understand."

Ai Haibara wasn't averse to the idea of ​​finding the cat, since she genuinely loved cats. However, Conan, standing nearby, was getting restless. "Kiba Masaki, what's with telling Haibara this? Do you think I can't even handle something this simple?"

I'm so annoyed, but I don't dare to argue too much.

"Then, Conan, go to Amuro Tooru's detective agency and find a couple of cases involving finding lost cats or dogs. I think he should have quite a few of those cases."

"Eh? Going to Mr. Amuro's place?"

"That's right. As an intern, you have to start with these small things. The most important thing is to tell him about today's case and see what his opinion is."

"Is he also a skilled detective?"

"His main job is similar to that of a detective, and I think you can definitely learn a lot from him."

Amuro Tooru was very welcoming to these kids. As a detective, one of the identities he used to cover up his work with the Public Security Bureau, his agency mostly took on small cases, which were perfect for these kids to handle.

Moreover, it just so happens that the clever boy who doesn't seem like a child, and the little girl who looks like an old friend, are both there... How come Kitahara Maki has so many interesting people around him?

Surprisingly, most of the backlog of cases at the agency were completed in just one week. Although they were just cases about finding cats and dogs, these kinds of cases actually take more time.

How did you manage to finish so quickly?

As a thank you gift, in addition to the children's due payment, Amuro Tooru specially made a lot of sweets to reward them. He also asked them how they quickly found the lost cats and dogs.

"We first drew a general area on the map to estimate where they might go, then we went to the surrounding houses to ask the elderly people living there, and finally, with the pet food we bought, we easily found most of the small animals. However, there are still some lost little turtles, birds, and pangolins, and we still have no clue about these more special animals."

Conan ate his dessert while answering Amuro Tooru's questions. While he couldn't conduct his deductions in public due to his current size, he at least had to put on a show for the children. Besides, finding and returning a lost pet to its owner did bring him a considerable sense of accomplishment—after all, his clients called him "Little Detective," even though the word "little" was redundant.

“Ayumi also helped a lot.”

"Me too!"

"I want to eat eel rice. Can you make it for me, Amuro-nii? Desserts are fine too, they're all delicious."

Compared to the four people who were happy to have successfully completed their mission, Haiyori pulled out the receipts for the cat treats and dog food, as well as her transportation records, and asked:

"Mr. Amuro, are all of these expenses reimbursable? And how much will we receive as compensation? Do you want to give Kitahara-san a commission? If we still want to help, can we call us?"

Hearing such a realistic question, even Amuro Tooru was a little embarrassed. Are kids these days so precocious?

"Don't worry, I've already discussed this with your parents. I'll transfer the payment to them via bank transfer. Here's a record sheet showing the payment you're owed. Reimbursements are fixed amounts, so you don't need to rush. You can take your time."

"That won't do! Pet owners will worry. If their pets haven't come home, they'll wonder if they're eating and sleeping well. That's why our Junior Detective Club will continue to help those who are in distress!"

"I see." Hearing these innocent words that he hadn't heard in a long time, Amuro Tooru couldn't help but smile with relief. These children were indeed worth nurturing, and they also had a desire to move forward.

Perhaps Kitahara Masaki brought them here for this very reason.

"Officer Kitahara, I wonder what you want me to teach them?"

Amuro Tooru called Kitahara Masaki, intending to ask this peculiar police officer for his opinion first.

Let's play football.

"Huh? Playing soccer?"

"Yeah, do you expect me to teach them karate, trace evidence analysis, micro-expressions, and the like? These forensic techniques are too early for them. They should be getting some exercise through play first. Hmm... or baseball would be fine too. If you want to teach indoors, you can teach them how to assemble a computer or fix a bicycle. In short, at their age, we need to find some activities that can expend their energy, otherwise they'll be staring at the screen all day wondering if any cases are happening."

Kitahara Masaki's reasoned explanation made Amuro Tooru realize that he had indeed been a bit too hasty, and then he smiled and took the group of kids to play ping-pong.

Chapter 76 My workload depends on Death

"What? You're inviting me to a movie?"

"Yes, because Kitahara-nii introduced us to the request, and we were just planning to see Gomera's movie, so I wanted to ask Kitahara-nii if you have time?"

Kitahara Masaki does have time. Several major cases have come to an end, and given his position in the First Investigative Division, he can naturally continue his vacation if he wants.

Well, since Japan promotes happy learning in schools, it should also promote happy working policies in society. Wouldn't that solve the domestic problems of high consumption and low birth rate?

Kitahara Masaki, who was asking for leave to slack off, immediately agreed. After all, it was the kids' good intention, and he had never actually seen the Gomera series of movies from the Detective Conan universe.

"I'm coming now, you guys buy your tickets first."

"Kitahara-nii, don't you have work?"

Haibara suddenly felt that Inspector Kitahara Maki was really idle; it seemed that he could only be seen working seriously at crime scenes.

"Whether we have a lot of work or not depends on Conan. If Death thinks that enough people have died today, maybe there won't be any more murders in Tokyo."

"Okay, but you're not..."

Haibara didn't continue speaking; she felt that Kitahara Masaki understood what she meant.

"So what? Work is work, and life is life. Never confuse the two. I'm a man who can keep work and life separate."

In short, Kitahara Maki is going to see a movie today.

Upon arriving at the movie theater, Kitahara Masaki noticed that it seemed rather old; the paint on the exterior walls was peeling off, and there was only one young woman at the front desk acting as a ticket seller and popcorn vendor.

Is this an old movie theater?

"Yes. This is indeed an old movie theater. I watched Gomera here when I was a child."

Hearing Conan say this, it means that this movie theater has been around for about twenty years.

They accompanied the children into the screening room, where there were basically only a few of them in the audience. Only someone like Kitahara Masaki, who dares to take a weekday off to watch a movie, could be so relaxed.

However, a guy with an arrogant look on his face sat in the back seat. Even when the movie was about to start, he was still smoking, and the smoke from his cigarette blurred the image of the projector.

"Sir, may I go outside for a smoke?"

"Huh? Don't you know this movie theater is about to go out of business? If you're taking the kid to the movies, wouldn't it be better to go to a more upscale theater?"

After saying that, he blew a puff of smoke into Kitahara Masaki's face.

The refined and easy-going Kitahara Masaki immediately grabbed him, pinned him to the ground, and handcuffed him.

"Okay, you showed offensive intent while I was giving you a safety talk, so you are now being formally arrested for obstructing official business."

Upon seeing Kitahara Masaki pull out his police notebook, this outwardly tough but inwardly weak guy immediately cowered and shouted:

"I'm innocent, officer. Please forgive me. This movie theater will be closing down tomorrow. I own a real estate agency nearby, and I bought this movie theater."

"So what? This is still a public place, and there are children here. If a fire breaks out, can you take responsibility? The Fire Protection Law stipulates that smoking in a business premises where smoking is prohibited is illegal. The current Fire Protection Law stipulates that smoking or using open flames in places with fire or explosion hazards is punishable by up to 5 days of detention. You should go and reflect on your actions for a few days. I will have the police station give you a good talking-to."

"Brother Kitahara, are you going to take this person to the police station?"

"Well, you guys can just stay here and watch for now. We're going to watch three games anyway, aren't we?"

After taking this idiot away, Kitahara Masaki looked at Conan speechlessly.

"Why did you follow us here? Wouldn't it have been better to go back and watch a movie with them?"

"Ah, I was originally planning to watch a mystery movie, and I already watched those Gomera movies back in elementary school. So I might as well be your witness, since I'll have to give a statement at the police station later, right?"

Conan, not wanting to watch Gomera, went to the police station with Kitahara Masaki. However, the moment the patrol officer recognized Kitahara Masaki, he immediately said he would teach the boy a lesson, saving him the time of taking a statement, and even saluted him, saying:

"I will investigate this guy thoroughly today and then present the findings to you."

"Oh, okay, thank you."

Seeing how enthusiastic the police officer was, Kitahara Masaki didn't have the heart to say that the guy was just an ordinary thug.

“Go back, kid. I still want to see Gomera’s movies. I had a tough time in the US before. There were basically no movies to watch, and I had very little entertainment.”

"Oh? By the way, Kitahara-kun, why did you choose to become a policeman in Japan?"

Why... I also want to be a good person, but I have no choice.

"Because I saw an opportunity. When I saw that the First Investigation Division, which should be full of top criminal investigators, still needed detectives to solve cases, I knew I had a chance, and it turned out to be true. To tell you the truth, I estimate that in a little over a year, I will be promoted to superintendent."

"Wow, that's impressive. But if Kitahara-kun is only after a promotion, there's no need for him to get involved with a dangerous criminal organization like the Black Organization."

"Hmm, how should I put it? Sometimes a man is just supposed to do a certain thing."

Following the example of the male protagonists in crime dramas, Kitahara Masaki uttered what he considered absurd words without batting an eye.

Although the ordinary cases were handled quickly, by the time Kitahara Masaki and Conan returned, the first season of Gomera had already finished airing.

"Thank you, Officer Kitahara. That guy has always been doing whatever he wants, and our theater's business has suffered because of him."

"Ahem, let's not talk about these things with our guests."

"Manager! That's exactly how it is. Every time that guy watches a movie here, he gets into fights with some customers when they leave. I think he's doing it on purpose, using such underhanded tactics to buy our cinema at a low price."

The elderly shopkeeper sighed and said:

“Even without his interference, our cinema wouldn’t last long. Nowadays, young people are going to big cinemas to watch 3D movies, and computers and mobile phones are taking away a lot of our customers.”

Kitahara Masaki didn't feel anything. As an old movie theater, it was inevitable that it would be eliminated by technological updates. What was most speechless was—why didn't you call the police when this happened before?

If you're worried about the police affecting your business, then you should deal with that guy first.

"Well... in short, he'll definitely be in the police station for a few days. If you're reluctant to let him go, you can work for a couple more days before you graduate."

After saying that, Kitahara Masaki went back to watch the movie. It's not a problem to watch the second movie of Gomera without having seen the first one. You could say it has the feel of appreciating an old-fashioned tokusatsu film.

However, this comfortable moment was soon interrupted by a message.

Chapter 77 He Couldn't Forget That Texas Night

"Zhang Tianzheng is the owner of a real estate agency, but he himself has a lot of debts, and recently his company was rejected by the bank for a loan. So his acquisition of this old movie theater is still one last payment away."

"So, this movie theater can be preserved?"

"It's just that it won't be bought by that thug. Besides, this movie theater has some serious problems with its business strategy and is probably always losing money. Even if it can be kept, there won't be much money left to pay salaries."

After hearing this answer, Conan scratched his head. He was confident in his reasoning skills, but he knew absolutely nothing about business.

"So there's nothing we can do to help them?"

"Hmm... there is a way, but I don't know if the owner here will accept it. After all, judging from the old man's behavior, he seems to be a fairly conscientious person."

"Conscience? What does this have to do with conscience?"

"Because any method that can revive such an old cinema is a vicious scheme, and if it's not handled properly... hehe, it could be another murder case."

For example, collaborating with certain associations in the United States and then applying for cultural subsidies from the Japanese government; or luring college students to work here with internship certificates and having them develop plans to attract young people to watch movies...

Such methods are generally against one's conscience.

"Ahem, anyway, now that the movie is over, I should take you back."