Chapter 62: Kido Detective Agency

"By the way, A-Mo."

Dr. Agasa returned to the living room holding a document.

"I've had my friend take care of everything... When are you planning to open your detective agency?"

"Probably tomorrow. We don't need any grand ceremony; we'll just prep a small banquet and invite everyone over for a meal," Kido Mo replied as he took the document.

"You shouldn't go out for the next couple of days, Doctor."

"I don't really go out much anyway..."

Dr. Agasa muttered, glancing at Haibara Ai, who kept her head down in silence.

He actually loved children and had once fantasized about having a well-behaved daughter.

Yet, the shrunk Haibara Ai seemed somewhat afraid of him.

"Is this child alright?" Dr. Agasa asked with concern. "Shinichi is also trying to figure out a way to investigate those people; you'll definitely have a chance to return to normal in the future."

"She's fine, just a bit shy around strangers," Kido Mo didn't elaborate for the moment.

Until they returned to the Kudo residence, Haibara Ai did not speak again. She walked back to her room with a trace of faint sorrow lingering on her face.

The name "Haibara Ai" was originally supposed to be "Haibara Love," but the girl herself had replaced the character for "love" with the one for "sorrow."

Now, she had adopted it directly... and this immense sorrow seemed even heavier, like a surging wave crashing down, only to turn into a profound, soundless silence.

Kido Mo stood at the doorway, wanting to knock, but his fingers paused mid-air.

He had originally meant to test the waters, so how had things turned out like this?

"Ai, call me if you need anything," Kido Mo muttered, scratching his head.

The Moustached Uncle was right; he was far too lacking when it came to matters of the heart.

Although he didn't quite understand, it was probably best to give her some space right now.

He still had plenty of things to busy himself with today—the custom-made agency sign, the newly purchased furniture and office equipment...

Back in the main hall.

Before Kido Mo could dwell on it for long, Ran and Sonoko, who were enjoying their Saturday holiday, suddenly dropped by.

Both high school girls had dressed up prettily, looking youthful and adorable.

Naturally, Conan was tagging along right beside Ran.

"Mr. Kido," Ran said, pulling a nervous Sonoko along with a smile. "Dad told me all about it—that your agency is opening tomorrow—so I thought I'd come over and see if I could help out with things like cleaning... Shinichi's place tends to gather dust easily."

Clutching the edge of Ran's sleeve and hiding behind her, Sonoko met Kido Mo's gaze and hurriedly nodded in agreement. "That推理狂 (deduction maniac) has never been big on cleaning!"

"Heh."

Conan, standing nearby, let out a dry, twitching smile.

Had he known there was going to be a deep clean, he wouldn't have tagged along.

Not only might he lose the opportunity to ask "Shiho Miyano" about the organization and that specific drug, but he was also likely to be roped into doing physical labor.

And he was technically the landlord here, after all...

"There's no need to be so polite," Kido Mo said, leading them into the house. "You can just call me Brother Kido from now on; I'm only a few years older than you."

Conan thought to himself: *Eight or nine years older.*

"Have a seat for a moment, I'll get you some water."

"No need, we're not guests."

Ran grabbed Conan, who was trying to sneak away behind Kido Mo.

"I used to help clean up when Shinichi was still living here... Let's start with the study first; the second floor can wait for another day."

Sonoko wore a bitter expression as she looked at her best friend, who was already searching for a mop and bucket.

She hadn't gone through the trouble of dressing up nicely just to get covered in grime.

She had never done this kind of work in her life...

Kido Mo felt somewhat awkward under Conan's intense stare. "I can just hire a professional cleaning service for the cleanup. How could I possibly trouble you guys?"

"It's no trouble at all, no trouble," Ran said cheerfully, turning to Sonoko and Conan. "Right?"

"Right..."

"Ding-dong!"

The doorbell rang outside again. It turned out that the delivery services for the groceries, furniture, and equipment had all arrived at once.

"I'll go see to that," Kido Mo said quickly as he changed his shoes. "If you really want to help, go clean the study. I wouldn't trust a cleaning service with that room."

"Okay."

Ran nudged Sonoko, who was gazing longingly at Kido Mo as he headed out the door.

"Everything has a starting point, Sonoko. Gather your energy and show Mr. Kido a different side of you."

"You're right," Sonoko rolled up her sleeves as if preparing for battle, putting on a do-or-die expression. "Let's begin! Dust, grime, whatever you are—here comes Lady Sonoko!"

"It's not that dramatic, Sonoko," Ran smiled awkwardly. "It's just cleaning..."

The group fetched a bucket of water, grabbed rags and mops, and headed into the study inside.

"First, brush the dust off the bookshelves down onto the floor, starting from the second tier. Conan, hand me that rag..."

Haibara Ai opened her bedroom door just a crack. Listening to the sound of Ran directing things in the study, she straightened her clothes, bit her lower lip slightly, and appeared at the study doorway.

"Is that the child from before?" Ran was the first to notice Haibara Ai. "She looks much better today, so cute."

Haibara Ai unnaturally turned her head away. "I—I'm here to help."

"Who is this child?" Sonoko's mind went *ding*. "Could it be..."

"It seems she's the child of one of Brother Kido's friends," Ran explained. "She caught a cold and ran a fever after getting caught in the rain the other day."

Behind them, Conan wore a solemn expression. He didn't let down his guard simply because of Haibara Ai's adorable appearance.

Anyone coming out of that kind of organization could hardly be considered a simple character.

"What's your name?" Ran asked gently, bending down to get closer.

"Haibara... Haibara Ai."

...

In the front yard.

Kido Mo directed the workers as they moved the equipment into the house.

In truth, there wasn't anything particularly out of the ordinary—just the standard equipment for a private detective agency.

A landline telephone for receiving clients, a filing cabinet, a toolkit, and a work computer.

Then came the arrangement of the hallway leading directly from the main hall to the study.

A few desks had been placed in the main hall in advance. Although there were no employees recruited yet, it was best to have them ready in case they were needed.

As for disguises, costumes, and makeup props, he would have to find time to purchase them himself.

For now, he only had the conventional tools used by detectives—universal, standard, mass-market items. The advantage was that they didn't draw unwanted attention.

A sensible detective generally tried not to stand out while investigating.

Only a handful of rookies loved wrapping themselves up tightly, terrified that people wouldn't suspect them—*Excerpt from Kogoro Mouri's Detective Notebook*.

"Just put that over here."

Once all the groceries had been moved into the large refrigerator, the custom-made sign was delivered as well.

*Kido Detective Agency*

Combined with the style of the Kudo residence, it possessed a rather modern, stylish flair.

Covered with a red cloth, it was installed right beside the doorbell at the courtyard gate, waiting for tomorrow's grand opening.

As for flyers... Kido Mo had no intention of handing them out just yet.

As he had mentioned before, he wasn't planning on getting involved in infidelity investigations, and until he hired some staff, he wasn't interested in petty, trivial cases either.

For now, his main approach was to cooperate with the police, using the "Kindaichi" persona to handle some consulting work, and only tap into corporate business once his reputation was established.

Only that moustached fellow Kogoro still took on cases looking for lost cats, dogs, and chasing cheating spouses even after becoming a famous detective.

"Ring-ring!"

No sooner had he thought of the Moustached Uncle than a phone call came right on schedule.

"Kido kid, remember to come with me to a party after you're done with your stuff! Lots of association members and other private investigators are going to be there."