Chapter 23: The Partner Became Famous

"Swish, swish, swish!"

The sky darkened in the blink of an eye, and the rain intensified, the heavy storm clouds seemingly dumping water onto the earth. The white sports car sped through the downpour, fast and steady, completely unaffected by the deluge.

Kido Gao felt fortunate that he hadn't stood on ceremony. Had he been caught in this weather, a cold would have been inevitable. Along the road, he could see poor souls scrambling, unable to find anywhere to shelter from the rain. One man, his back bearing a striking resemblance to Kogoro Mouri, ran so fast he tripped and landed hard in a puddle.

"What sort of work is Mr. Kido doing lately?" Furuya Rei’s question interrupted his observations. "I haven't seen you in a few days."

"I suppose I enjoy staying home," Kido replied calmly. "A friend introduced me to some freelance work. I’ll likely be playing bit parts at the television station for a while."

Given the Public Security Bureau's intelligence capabilities, his involvement in the "Hatamoto Case" under a fake identity could not possibly remain hidden. If nothing else, the Suzuki butler's mailing address—Room 1604—was easy enough to trace. It was just a matter of whether the police would bother to check—and unfortunately, this guy Furuya Rei had inexplicably set his sights on him. That was a significant problem.

Kido’s thoughts drifted. For now, it was fine; nothing major. His goal was simply to keep the name "Kido Gao" out of the spotlight and minimize the attention of the "God of Death." Furuya Rei, who possessed a multitude of personas himself, would at most find him a bit peculiar. However, his professional role-playing involved interfering with reality, and he might need even more aliases in the future. Some of those personas were not suited for the Public Security Bureau to know about.

"Bit parts, you say?" Furuya Rei maintained his smile. "What is your opinion of this country, Mr. Kido?"

"There are good points and bad. I don't care much for the people at the top." Kido answered casually, not wishing to discuss national affairs. Fortunately, Furuya did not press further.

Furuya Rei viewed this country like a lover, but Kido only saw it as a place to survive. If he didn't need to encounter death cases, he would certainly move to a country with fewer incidents once he was settled. No one enjoyed living in a region where explosions served as the morning alarm clock.

"Hello?"

Just as they were about to reach the apartment's underground parking garage, Furuya Rei suddenly received a call. His expression changed almost immediately. Kido barely caught the word "informant."

"My apologies, Mr. Kido," Furuya Rei said, turning the car to pull up at the apartment entrance, his usual cheerful mask back in place. "Something has come up. Let's chat again when there's another opportunity."

"It’s fine. I owe you for the ride."

"Also, this," Furuya Rei reached over to the passenger seat, picked up a laptop, and handed it to Kido. "The freelance task from last time is valid for one month. If you have time, feel free to try it... just remember not to connect to the internet, and don't share it with anyone."

"I'll do my best."

Kido nodded and stepped out of the car, waiting until the white sports car vanished into the curtain of rain before turning to head upstairs. Furuya Rei had clearly been probing him. And this... Kido looked down at the slightly heavy laptop in his hands. Why did this not feel like a simple outsourcing job? It felt more like espionage.

Shaking his head, Kido decided not to dwell on it. He would act as if he knew nothing and treat it as a simple side job. Furuya Rei couldn't keep his eyes on him forever. Between being a police officer and a core member of the organization, the guy didn't have that much spare time.

...

A few days later.

The weekend arrived in the blink of an eye. Early in the morning, just after waking up, Kido was notified that he was needed to film an outdoor scene for a drama at Beika Shrine. He was cast as a bearded murderer. The pay wasn't much—only 100,000 yen—and that was only because of Yoko's influence. Since he was a washed-up idol and his face wouldn't even be shown, it was acceptable.

"I understand. Is it alright if I bring a friend?" Kido asked during his call with the director. "It's no one strange; a detective friend of mine happens to be a fan of Yoko... Yes, that's right, Kogoro Mouri."

"Oh! You should have said so earlier!" The director's tone instantly softened, and he chuckled with a hint of excitement. "The famous detective Kogoro Mouri coming here? That’s no problem at all! Honestly, we were just thinking of looking for him to act as a consultant!"

"..."

The director's shift in attitude left Kido speechless. "Famous detective," he scoffed. In this world's timeline, which leaned closer to the Conan manga, the mustache-wearing man hadn't actually solved that many cases yet. Only the "Chairman’s Daughter Kidnapping Case" had been reported, and just recently, the "Red Demon Village Fire Festival Murder Case"...

"That Hatamoto family case was truly brilliant! If the script hadn't already been finalized, we would have loved to adapt and remake it!" the director gushed. "Please, do bring Mr. Mouri. Our budget isn't huge, but we can set aside 200,000 yen as a consulting fee. It won't take much of his time; he just needs to check the script on-site and lend his name to it."

200,000 yen for a consulting fee... Kido’s eyebrows twitched. It was twice his own paycheck. Was there any justice in this world?

"Is that not enough?" the director hesitated. "I can personally chip in another 100,000. That’s 300,000 in total."

"Then 300,000 it is."

Kido bit the bullet and accepted on the mustache-man's behalf. Seeing that unreliable uncle make money so easily felt worse than losing money himself.

"And one more thing," the director added sheepishly, "could Mr. Mouri's partner come along as well?"

"Partner?"

"You know, that mysterious detective, Mr. Kindaichi, who works cases with Mr. Mouri. They say he's the Sherlock Holmes behind Mr. Mouri... If Mr. Kindaichi could come, the consulting fee could be 300... no, I can authorize up to 500,000!"

Kido nearly dropped his phone.

"Hold on a moment."

He didn't reply immediately. Kido turned to his computer and quickly scanned the recent news. He had been so busy with physical therapy and training at Kageyama’s place that he hadn't paid much attention to the outside world. Sure enough, there were quite a few reports about the mustache-man online. The "Kindaichi" alias seemed to have been mentioned by the uncle himself at a police press conference, and the police hadn't denied it.

Fortunately, no specific information about him had been exposed. That was a close call. If he were suddenly exposed and caught the attention of the "God of Death," and he didn't have countermeasures in place, the consequences would be unimaginable. Conan had exposed his identity while using the uncle, but he wasn't in as much danger—at least when facing the Black Organization, one could apply for special protection from the police or the FBI.

"How is it?" The director asked, sounding anxious after a long silence.

"No, he can't be found. You'd better give up on that idea," Kido said, calming himself down.

Beyond physical training, he needed to find a way to improve his disguise skills. The identity of "Kido Gao," no matter how washed-up, was still that of a former idol; it was easy to attract widespread attention, and neither positive nor negative publicity was good for him.

"It's not possible?" The director sounded disappointed but didn't push it. "If you can bring Mr. Mouri, your pay can be raised to 150,000."

"No problem."

Kido’s mind was still on his aliases; he had lost interest in the drama cameo altogether. As for the mustache-man... he wasn't worried at all. Unless he was suddenly dragged into a case, the uncle wouldn't dream of missing this opportunity. Not to mention the 300,000 yen consulting fee. It was equivalent to the payout from the Yoko case. Kido felt his heart ache all over again.