GOAL BONUS CHAPTER #3
Jiang Xia wasn't concerned about Conan. No matter how angry Conan got, he wouldn't actually kick anyone to death—though he might kick them out with a little murderous intent…
The coffee on the tray was ordered by Kisaki Eri. Jiang Xia walked over to her table and placed the cup down. Kisaki Eri looked up and was a little startled when she saw him.
Jiang Xia nodded at her and greeted her with a smile: "Eri… hello, elder sister." Since he used to call Kudo Yukiko "elder sister," and Kisaki Eri was Yukiko's peer, he figured it was better to use the same title. It would be awkward in the future if he called one of them "aunt" and the other "elder sister."
Conan's sharp ears picked up on this, and he turned to look at Kisaki Eri, completely shocked.
Kisaki Eri didn't seem to notice anything unusual about the child. She recognized Jiang Xia and greeted him cheerfully, "Long time no see." She didn't correct his "elder sister" title.
They exchanged a few pleasantries, and just as Jiang Xia was about to leave, he saw Conan suddenly get up and try to sneak toward the door, clearly planning to escape.
Jiang Xia smiled at Kisaki Eri, waved goodbye, and then quickly walked over to grab Conan, who was attempting to slip away.
"Let me go! I really need to leave!" Conan struggled, whispering, "I just remembered I've got something to do today."
Conan had overheard the name "Eri" and immediately realized that Kisaki Eri must be the "important person" Ran was meeting. The confusion cleared, and now he felt confident he could leave.
But Jiang Xia wasn't about to let him go.
The shop owner glanced at them and noticed that Jiang Xia was stopping the child from running around. Instead of intervening, the owner gave him a supportive nod.
Conan was reluctantly dragged back into the store, still puzzled. He couldn't figure out why Jiang Xia wasn't letting him go. After a moment of thinking, he grudgingly decided that maybe Jiang Xia was also intimidated by Kisaki Eri and wanted to keep him close to avoid trouble… But Jiang Xia had always been disciplined, and Kisaki Eri had never scolded him as a child.
Just as he was mulling this over, a terrified scream suddenly came from the bathroom.
Conan froze and turned sharply. Almost at the same time, Jiang Xia released his grip.
Conan straightened his collar, not giving it much thought. He figured Jiang Xia had let him go because there was an emergency.
The two rushed toward the bathroom, and when they arrived, they saw the regular customer sitting on the floor, pointing at a toilet stall, unable to say anything. Following his gaze, they saw a large pool of blood slowly seeping out from under the stall door.
Kisaki Eri frowned, set her coffee down, and followed them.
Originally, she had just planned to observe the situation, but for some unknown reason, her gaze kept drifting toward Jiang Xia as she stood next to him.
She reached out to brush a piece of thread off Jiang Xia's back, intending to tidy up his clothes, but just as she did, Conan suddenly rushed toward the blood-stained stall. Kisaki Eri was startled and quickly went to stop him.
Jiang Xia noticed Kisaki Eri's actions but didn't think anything was off. In his experience, middle-aged mothers in this world were usually so warm and friendly. Compared to others, Kisaki Eri was fairly even-tempered.
While Conan dashed toward the cubicle, Jiang Xia followed him.
The elementary school student pushed on the stall door, but it didn't budge. He then jumped, trying to grab the top of the door to peek inside.
But halfway through his leap, Jiang Xia smoothly intercepted him.
Jiang Xia grabbed Conan by the collar and slid him aside. "Don't mess up the scene. What if you break the door?"
Ignoring Conan's protests of "I'm light!" Jiang Xia tested the door himself, and sure enough, it wasn't locked but appeared to be blocked by something from the inside.
He then asked Kisaki Eri for a mirror and extended it over the top, first focusing on a bloodstain near the door and then using it to glimpse inside.
Inside the stall, a young woman's body lay slumped against the door, blood pouring from a wound in her chest. Her bag's contents were scattered all over the floor, and a blood-stained knife was among them.
At first glance, it looked like a robbery gone wrong, with the killer stabbing her in the stall, dropping the knife, and fleeing through the top of the door.
Jiang Xia nodded to himself, feeling satisfied. He had seen everything that needed to be seen. The spoilers were now ready to be edited in.
Conan spun around at Jiang Xia's feet, shouting, "Let me see! Show me!" After a few more attempts, he was successfully treated as a troublemaker.
Kisaki Eri sighed and stepped forward, pulling Conan away from the crime scene to prevent him from witnessing any further trauma or disturbing Jiang Xia's investigation.
In this world, detectives were well-known, and Kisaki Eri, being both a lawyer and the wife of a detective, was accustomed to keeping an eye on these things.
She had noticed Jiang Xia's recent activity in the detective world, which was part of the reason she recognized him so quickly after not seeing him for many years.
Kisaki Eri understood that a detective's job could become much harder with a troublesome child running around, especially if the child interfered with the evidence. That's why she stepped in, even though Jiang Xia seemed capable of handling things on his own.
In Kisaki Eri's eyes, Jiang Xia was a model detective. He never needed to wander around or handle evidence directly—he simply needed to stand next to the body for a moment, and everything would fall into place. That's why she silently supported him now.
Conan, who was being dragged away, stared longingly at the crime scene. If anyone else were pulling him away, he would've run off. But because Kisaki Eri had scolded him so many times as a child, he couldn't help but obey. It was a reflex, and though he was desperate to solve the case, he felt like a cat being carried by the scruff of its neck.
Eventually, Conan sighed in frustration. It wasn't as though his detective skills couldn't match Jiang Xia's—it was just that Jiang Xia was faster! But Conan could still enjoy the process of reasoning through the scene, even if he couldn't witness it directly.
However, when he noticed the customers in the store, Conan's spirits lifted. He might not be able to see the crime scene, but he could still observe the suspects! If one of them made a slip-up, he might be able to find the murderer even faster than Jiang Xia!
Kisaki Eri led Conan into the main hall, where a few police officers had just arrived, led by the Inspector Megure, her old acquaintance.
Kisaki Eri nodded to him and greeted him, then released Conan.
Conan immediately perked up.
He set his sights on the few customers who had entered the bathroom just before the crime, intending to question each one. But just then, Jiang Xia emerged from the bathroom.
When Inspector Megure saw Jiang Xia, he was tempted to say, "It's you again…" But he had already said that too many times and it felt strange. So he switched it up.
"Have you found the murderer again?"
"Yeah," Jiang Xia nodded. "Though some details still need to be confirmed, the murderer is likely Mr. Juzo Tonoyama." He pointed to a buff man sitting at the bar who had been chatting with the boss earlier.
Jiang Xia spoke in a normal volume.
Tonoyama: "…"
Conan, who had just been about to speak with him: "…"
He stopped, expressionless, pulled out his notebook, and wrote down a few words: soundproof earplugs.
Next time he encountered a murder case, he was definitely going to put those earplugs in the moment he saw Jiang Xia.
Anyone who tried to talk him out of it would be wasting their breath!
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 3/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:0/10*