Chapter 28: Searching for a Cat is the Origin of the World

"I hereby formally announce the establishment of the Detective Boys!"

During their lunch break, a few elementary school students snuck into the broadcasting room to make their declaration. Even though they were punished afterward, they still could not suppress their fantasies about a bright future: becoming master detectives, earning a fortune, and receiving commendations.

"You seem quite well-adjusted to life as it is now," Ai said to Conan, her greeting as lukewarm as ever, once the group returned.

Even though he knew this behavior was actually quite embarrassing, Conan retorted for the sake of his pride: "You're the one who doesn't act like an elementary school student at all!"

Ai did not respond.

And so, it was time for school to end. Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi slumped over their desks, complaining that no one had come to them for help all day. Conan was off to the side juggling a ball, while Ai was already preparing to head home.

"Haibara-san, you should come back with us!" Ayumi regained her energy.

Mitsuhiko also leaned in and asked enthusiastically, "Where do you live? Did you just move here?"

Before Haibara could reply, a young boy pushed the door open: "I have a request for you..."

The three elementary students were instantly energized.

"Murder?"
"Extortion?"
"An affair?"

After some explanation, the three finally realized it was just a search for a lost cat. Even though they were initially unimpressed, their attitudes shifted instantly once the boy produced a rare Kamen Yaiba gold card.

"Haibara-san, you should join us too!" Ayumi decided to pull in their new classmate.

"Oh, I heard at noon that Edogawa-kun is also one of you, right?"

Conan felt as though this was another jab at him. But Ai followed along anyway.

Just like that, the group searched for a long time, yet they came up empty-handed.

While they stopped to figure out their next move, the cat, named Hikari, suddenly bolted from the second floor of a nearby house, covered in blood. Following the trail, the group immediately discovered a corpse in the house's bathroom.

By the time Kiichi arrived at the scene, he saw Conan sitting on top of a phone booth.

"After we discovered the body, we didn't see anyone enter or leave the house," Conan explained the situation earnestly.

The man who opened the door appeared to be a middle-aged man who had just finished bathing.

"What is it? You're being noisy," the man said, looking impatient.

"Excuse me, we received a report that a body was found in your bathroom," Kiichi said, flashing his police badge and stating the situation.

The elementary students chimed in, though Ai just stood off to the side, cold and detached.

"Nonsense! I just finished my bath. I think you kids are just playing pranks!" the middle-aged man retorted angrily.

"Oh, in that case, I assume you wouldn't mind if we went in to check, right?"

"It's the room at the end of the hall..." The man wanted to refuse, but unable to find a reason, he let Kiichi in.

Pushing open the bathroom door, they found it spotless—there was nothing there.

"See for yourselves. Where's the body?" the man said, looking quite irate. "It must be these kids playing a prank."

"But a man covered in blood was lying right there in the bathroom!" Conan was anxious; he had been watching the whole time, so how could the body have vanished?

"From the time the report was received to our arrival, about 15 minutes passed. While the time was tight, it was still plenty to clean up the scene. May we conduct a thorough search of the house?"

"Suit yourselves. If you want to be suspicious, search all you want. There’s nothing shameful in this house anyway. I’m going upstairs to sleep." The man walked off toward the stairs, throwing a vicious parting remark over his shoulder: "I have no time for a fool of a police officer who takes the words of children seriously."

Conan was furious, but Kiichi didn't feel a hint of anger.

Setting aside normal people, even a typical resident of Beika wouldn't say something like that. If someone found a corpse in their house, whether it was real or not, a normal person would panic. Even if they found nothing in the bathroom, would they really let the police search their house while they went upstairs to sleep?

By implying the children were pranksters and trying to goad him, wasn't he just trying to get the police to leave?

Kiichi loved this type of performance-oriented killer who thought their methods were flawless.

"In that case, we'll start our search on the second floor. Once we've finished, we won't disturb your rest," Kiichi said with a practiced, fake smile.

Cold sweat immediately broke out on the man's brow.

"Th-that being the case..."

"Alright, sir, please step aside." Kiichi brushed past him and headed upstairs. "It won't take long; you'll be able to rest soon."

Without giving the man a chance to protest, he went up and entered the room. Inside was a bare room with only one man sitting on a recliner, the television on in front of him.

"Haha, this is my brother's room. He likes peace and quiet, so he set it up like this. He's sleeping soundly..." the man rushed up, trying to explain.

"Oh? Is that so?" Kiichi had already reached the man. "You two look quite alike."

Before the man could respond, Kiichi gave the chair a gentle push, and the person in it slumped to the floor.

"You've got a lot of nerve, leaving a corpse here so brazenly. Do you really take me for a fool?"

The man froze.

"You must have seen the children running off to call the police, cleaned the bathroom, moved the body upstairs to stage a nap, and then pretended you were just finishing a bath when you opened the door for us," Kiichi said coldly. "Thinking you could fool the police like this—aren't you looking down on us a bit too much?"

"Damn it..." The man gritted his teeth. His carefully prepared trap hadn't even been triggered before it was seen through.

"It’s all that good-for-nothing scum’s fault! He was a freeloader who kept blackmailing me because he found out I was forging stocks. I’m getting married soon! I had to kick him out of the house!" the man roared.

See? These kinds of cases were quite satisfying. The killer wasn't a good person, and the victim was scum.

Kiichi didn't bother wasting his breath; he had the man taken away.

After handling the situation, he squatted down in front of the elementary students.

"Come to the Metropolitan Police Department tomorrow to give your statements. We will explain the details to your parents and school teachers," Kiichi explained. "You all did well this time. In the future, if you encounter similar situations, report it to us immediately. Detectives must first learn to protect themselves."

These kids were hanging around Conan, so they were in for a long road ahead. Even though they had the "Grim Reaper" watching over them, it was better to get them into the habit of calling the police. Thankfully, this was a manga; if it were a TV show or a movie, they would be courting death in ways no one could stop.

And so, the Detective Boys' first case came to a smooth conclusion.

However, they still weren't getting any interesting requests. Only the cat named Hikari continued to play hide-and-seek, making his owner a long-term client of the Detective Boys.