"I see."
After Curator Ochiai's explanation, Fujino understood the sequence of events.
Eri Kisaki, truly deserving the title 'Queen of the Courtroom', had helped Curator Ochiai win the lawsuit after Fujino introduced them.
The final judgment invalidated the transaction between the previous owner and the museum director.
However, Ochiai faced a new problem.
The museum had few visitors; without a new owner, it couldn't continue operating.
Then, about a month ago, things suddenly took a turn.
The Suzuki Financial Group acquired the Medieval Museum.
Only when the contract arrived did he realize that the person who frequently visited to buy insignificant, quirky artifacts was Suzuki Jirokichi, advisor to the Suzuki Financial Group.
After the acquisition, he even met the younger daughter of the Suzuki family.
It was the young lady named Sonoko who had come with Fujino that day – the heiress of the Suzuki family!
Ochiai began connecting dots that weren't there.
And then, the situation somehow spiraled into extreme overthinking.
"Ahem, Curator Ochiai, that really wasn't my doing."
"I understand, I understand."
Curator Ochiai nodded, an expression full of deep meaning crossing his face, much like that night in the museum. "Even if it wasn't Mr. Fujino's doing, simply stopping me from making an irreversible mistake is already an immense kindness. If it weren't for you, I might never have seen my museum again."
Fujino: "..."
Alright, explaining was useless now, wasn't it?
Fine, whatever.
Fujino sat on the sofa, took a deep breath, then turned his gaze to the other elderly gentleman who had arrived with Curator Ochiai. "I forgot to ask earlier, and this is?"
"My name is Arima Kousei, director of the Ekoda Museum. Please take care of me."
Arima Kousei stood up and handed Fujino a business card.
"Ah, Director Arima."
Fujino accepted the card. It bore Arima Kousei's name, contact number, and the address of the Ekoda Museum.
'Ekoda Museum?'
Fujino's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the address on the card.
He remembered Kuroba Kaito lived in Ekoda.
Was this museum located in Kaito's hometown?
"Director Arima is a friend I've known for many years."
Curator Ochiai spoke up. "Just yesterday, Director Arima's museum received a notice from Kaito Kid. The notice states he plans to steal the Bronze Statue with Violet Eyes tomorrow night at eight."
"Kaito Kid?"
Fujino's eyes narrowed upon hearing this.
Not only was it in that kid Kaito's hometown,
but the kid actually planned to steal from his hometown museum.
He was practically stealing from his own neighborhood.
"If possible, I hope Mr. Fujino can help deal with Kaito Kid."
Director Arima suddenly stood up, making the request to Fujino.
"Deal with Kaito Kid?"
Fujino pushed up his glasses upon hearing this, frowning slightly, and said, "If it's Kaito Kid, protecting the item is manageable. As for catching him... even I don't have a high chance of success."
Catching Kaito Kid wasn't impossible, actually.
Just unnecessary.
If Fujino wanted to catch Kaito Kid, it only required two steps.
Step one: Block him at his school gate. Step two: Knock him out and carry him away.
But doing so was simply too troublesome.
That Kaito Kid was slippery as an eel, and even Fujino was sometimes helpless against his wondrous little magic tricks...
Besides, keeping him around was quite beneficial.
The Suzuki family gave him five million last time, this museum offered one million, and even encountering him during vacation could yield some pocket money through extortion.
From the current perspective, that rascal Kuroba Kaito had become his money tree.
Wanting him, Fujino, to cut down his money tree? Don't even think about it.
Unless the price was right.
"Catching him isn't necessary. Just ensuring our museum's treasure, the Bronze Statue with Violet Eyes, is protected is enough. The police have been trying to catch Kaito Kid for so many years; if they could catch him, they would have already."
Director Arima paused, then continued, "I didn't expect you to know Ochiai, Detective Fujino. Since you once helped the Suzuki Financial Group against Kaito Kid, Mr. Fujino, you should surely be able to protect the Bronze Statue with Violet Eyes, right?"
"Mhm, if it's just protecting the item, I can do that."
"That's wonderful."
"However..."
Fujino hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then spoke again, "Regarding the commission fee..."
"If Detective Fujino, you can protect the Bronze Statue with Violet Eyes, our Ekoda Museum will pay one million yen as a token of gratitude."
Seeing Fujino bring up the fee, Arima Kousei immediately stated.
"One million yen?"
Fujino's ears perked up.
Although not as much as the Suzuki family's five million, one million yen was still a considerable temptation for Fujino.
It could be considered a substantial commission fee...
—— But what was the catch?
Fujino understood that not everyone was a fool throwing money around.
For the other party to offer such a high fee without him even trying to persuade them...
Without even haggling.
There must be some hidden secret, right?
Of course, it was also possible he was overthinking...
After pondering for a moment, Fujino decided not to dwell on it further and agreed, "I actually have some unsettled scores with Kaito Kid. Since your museum is showing such sincerity, I accept this commission. Rest assured, I will do my utmost to prevent that fellow Kaito Kid from stealing the bronze statue."
"Thank you very much."
Arima Kousei bowed his head in gratitude.
After signing the contract, Fujino watched Curator Ochiai and Director Arima drive away, nodding.
Connections really were a wonderful thing sometimes.
You never knew when someone might bring an acquaintance to you for a commission.
Curator Ochiai's situation seemed to be just like that.
Hmm, thank you, Taro. (Note: Taro is likely a nickname/reference, kept as is)
The next day was Sunday.
Alright, a welcome day off.
Early in the morning, Fujino changed into sportswear and went out for a morning run.
Ai Haibara, although not staying at Dr. Agasa's house, still frequently visited him.
Was she researching the antidote for APTX4869?
Who knew.
Heaven knows how that brat Conan convinced Ai Haibara.
Beika Park. The weather was clear, a gentle breeze blew, and tree shadows dappled the ground.
It was still early morning; the park was empty except for Fujino doing his morning workout.
Fujino sat on a park bench, lightly wiping the tiny, almost invisible beads of sweat from his temples, remarking inwardly, "The growth in physical ability and constitution is visibly apparent..."
Physical ability determined constitution, and constitution likewise determined physical ability.
The two were mutually reinforcing.
Suddenly, Fujino realized he was no longer the physically frail young man he once was.
"This might be the most direct change brought by the system."
Fujino stood up from the bench, glancing around.
Seeing no one nearby, he walked over to a large tree.
"My current base strength is already enhanced by 300%. I wonder what the effect is like."
Fujino pondered, then extended his hand and slammed it hard against the tree trunk before him.
Thump!
With the sound,
birds in the surrounding trees scattered, and small animals on the ground fled in all directions.
The bark of the tree Fujino punched now had a small indentation.
Retracting his fist, Fujino examined the injury on his knuckles.
Not even broken skin.
"Should be the effect of the defense boost from the all-attribute increase, right?"
Fujino looked at his unharmed hand, murmuring.
The all-attribute increase was currently his most cost-effective enhancement effect.
Although it couldn't boost learning ability or some special attributes, it could strengthen physical capabilities, perception, and reaction speed.
Defensive ability was naturally included.
A 180% increase in defense was already enough for him to punch people without injuring himself from the relative force.
The Fisherman's Hat did offer another 50% defense boost.
But that thing was rather useless.
It was fine against unarmed opponents.
But against someone with a gun, attracting them to shoot at his head would mean instant death.
"I wonder what the effect is like when I go all out now..."
Putting his thoughts aside, he took out a Strength Enhancement card from his pocket dimension and also activated the Detective Enhancement.
His original 270% strength, plus the 425% temporary boost, brought his current strength to 700%.
Enhancements complete, Fujino extended his hand and punched the tree directly.
His fist cut through the air, followed by a heavy thud.
In the next moment, due to the punch, leaves from the treetop began to drift down continuously.
"That terrifying?"
Amidst the falling leaves, Fujino looked at the large crater he had punched into the tree, his brow furrowing.
Stunned for a moment, he rubbed his hand.
A few small cuts, slightly painful.
Even with the defense buff and fighting techniques to mitigate self-inflicted damage,
punching a tree still caused injury.
This was actually the downside of enhancement – like a Super Saiyan suddenly powering up, the abrupt surge in strength.
The inability to properly control his power.
Gaining sudden power naturally came with a price.
Fujino's price was the momentary inability to adapt to his suddenly enhanced strength.
This price wasn't obvious, but Fujino found it somewhat unsettling.
He didn't like the feeling of his body being uncontrolled.
Fortunately, after observing for some time, he discovered that through training, he could infinitely shorten the feeling of sudden power surges.
Therefore, Fujino's morning exercises, besides strengthening his body, also served the purpose of adapting to his physical strength.
Now, through kendo training and morning exercises, he had completely overcome this drawback.
After a brief morning workout, Fujino headed to the Konoha Kendo Dojo and began his day's training.
The day passed quickly. After training at the Konoha Kendo Dojo until evening, Fujino drove to the Ekoda Museum.
By now, the Ekoda Museum was surrounded by reporters.
Fujino took a baseball cap from his pocket dimension, put it on, took out his phone, and dialed Arima Kousei's number.
After a short while, Arima Kousei came out and welcomed Fujino inside.
Upon entering the museum, Fujino immediately spotted the target of this commission: the Bronze Statue with Violet Eyes.
The bronze statue was large. Externally, there wasn't anything particularly special about it.
The most unique feature was its eyes.
They were incredibly beautiful purple diamonds.
Honestly, such diamonds were indeed quite tempting.
"Tonight is the moment to showcase the strength of our Japanese police!"
In front of the statue, Nakamori Ginzo was delivering a grand speech. "Eight police helicopters are deployed overhead, two hundred officers are stationed inside the museum, and the basement is equipped with infrared sensors and cameras! Not even Kaito Kid, let alone a mouse, can break into this museum today!"
A row of uniformed police officers stood before him in formation, while nearby, a camera crew broadcasted the entire process live.
"Squeak squeak squeak!"
Just then, a sound was heard.
Fujino looked in that direction and saw a mother mouse leading a large group of baby mice scurrying past the side of the bronze statue.
Fujino: "..."
Everyone else: "..."
"You bunch of idiots!"
Nakamori Ginzo, having his face slapped by mice, flew into a rage, pointing at the escaped mice, stomping his feet furiously. "Quickly go catch those damn rats and throw them out!"
"Inspector Nakamori, long time no see."
Only after things calmed down and Nakamori Ginzo had cooled off did Fujino walk over and greet him.
"Ah, Fujino."
Nakamori Ginzo glanced at Fujino, paused for a moment before remembering, then continued, "By the way, how did you get in here?"
Saying this, Nakamori Ginzo felt somewhat exasperated.
He had just declared that not even a mouse could get in, and then got embarrassed by mice.
Then Fujino walked in, and he got embarrassed again...
Oh well, he had been embarrassed many times over the years; he was numb to it.
"I invited Detective Fujino here to protect the Bronze Statue with Violet Eyes."
Director Arima Kousei, nearby, stepped forward and explained.
"You don't trust our police force?"
Nakamori Ginzo leaned closer, whispering, "Agreeing to broadcast the capture attempt of Kaito Kid was already our bottom line. Now you've even brought in a high school detective? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
"There's nothing inappropriate."
Arima Kousei waved his hand dismissively. "I believe that with police and detectives cooperating, the success rate can be greatly increased. Last time, didn't Detective Fujino repel Kaito Kid alongside you?"
"That may be so..."
Nakamori Ginzo wanted to say more, but paused, then fell silent.
He walked over to Fujino's side, glanced around, saw no cameras filming him, then asked, "Fujino-kun, how do you think that fellow Kaito Kid will make his entrance tonight?"
"Well, I'm not sure either, actually."
Fujino chuckled lightly. "Figuring out where Kaito Kid will infiltrate isn't really important. What's important is that we know what Kaito Kid will steal. No matter how he gets in, the end result is just stealing the announced treasure. Right now, we just need to wait for him to deliver himself to our doorstep."
"Easier said than done."
Nakamori Ginzo pouted. Although he knew Fujino wasn't wrong,
hadn't he always done that?
And didn't the guy still escape every time?
"Alright, let's synchronize our watches now..."
Nakamori Ginzo glanced at his watch, then called out to the surrounding police officers, "The current time is..."
"September 2nd, Sunday, 6:12 PM, 16.09 seconds."
Just then, a slightly arrogant voice sounded from behind.
Fujino turned around and saw a blonde figure wearing a Sherlock Holmes-style cape, hat, and even a cloak.