Chapter 63: The Grim Reaper Sneaked into the Detective Circle

Night fell.

The Haido City Hotel.

A stream of luxury cars drove up, carrying a gathering of celebrities. Even before entering the hotel, acquaintances formed small groups, chatting and laughing as they walked together.

Kido Mo and Kogoro Mouri, who arrived last in a taxi, looked particularly out of place among them, especially Kido Mo, who was wearing a cheap, off-the-rack suit.

As they passed through the revolving doors, they could clearly feel the inspecting yet quickly averted gazes from the surroundings.

The opposite of the spotlight...

Yet the little mustache beside him was completely oblivious, wrongly assuming his own aura of fame was at work.

Kido Mo lagged half a step behind.

Good grief.

No one had told him it was such a formal occasion; he had thought it was just some sort of industry briefing or seminar.

Fortunately, he hadn't used his Kindaichi disguise, coming instead simply as a newly minted detective, leaving the famous detective with the mustache to take the front line.

"I say, Kido kid," Kogoro said, completely unfazed. The moment he entered the hotel, his eyes were darting around at the various women. "What are you so afraid of? Just think of it as coming out to broaden your horizons. I've got everything covered."

I'm not scared, I'm just embarrassed.

Kido Mo glanced out of the corner of his eye at the mustache, who looked like he was about to drool.

Following this guy around seemed even more embarrassing...

"In the detective business, you've got to have thick skin and be able to hold your own in any situation," Kogoro boasted about his past like a seasoned veteran. "When I first switched to being a detective, what kind of looks didn't I get? Heh, didn't I pull through slowly? Being where I am today is thanks to those hard times..."

Kido Mo didn't want to bother with this rambling, lecherous uncle.

Thick-skinned, that much was true.

Before Shinichi Kudo shrank, the Mouri Detective Agency was on the verge of shutting down at any moment.

The only reason it managed to take off was practically due to his future son-in-law bringing him good fortune.

...

The Haido City Hotel Banquet Hall.

A lavish buffet had been prepared early on a long table.

Kogoro, who had just been bragging about his glorious history, lit up with excitement. Ignoring even the beautiful women, he marched straight over to the spread and began stuffing his face.

"High-end wine and so much good food... What a steal!"

Amidst the stiflingly amused glances of the surrounding guests, Kogoro threw himself completely into the glory of the food.

"What are you standing there for, Kido? Normally you'd have to spend a pretty penny to eat stuff like this..."

"Pfft!"

Finally, someone couldn't help but laugh out loud, causing even the thick-skinned Kogoro's old face to flush.

Whether intentional mischief by the organizers or not, the spotlight happened to focus precisely on the food station, making Kogoro as conspicuous as a lightbulb in the dark.

"Isn't that the recently renowned great detective, Kogoro Mouri?"

"It seems Mr. Mouri simply couldn't wait."

"Hahahaha!"

Over on the other side, Inspector Megure, who had also arrived, found it too painful to watch and repeatedly pressed his hand to his forehead in embarrassment.

"That guy Mouri, truly, still just as incapable of reading the room."

Compared to the mustache, Kido Mo was so low-key he was practically invisible; almost nobody in the hall paid him any attention.

Only a few female guests occasionally glanced his way, seemingly wondering why a washed-up idol was present.

"Brother Kido," Megure squeezed through the crowd to reach Kido Mo's side. "I heard you're opening a detective agency. Is that true? I thought you were going to be Mouri's assistant."

"I don't like the feeling of having a boss."

Kido Mo poured a glass of juice in a corner.

"It's better to maintain a cooperative relationship with Uncle."

"Your choice is the right one," Megure agreed. "If you really became his assistant, it might turn into a nightmare for you."

"Are you bad-mouthing me again?" Kogoro huffed, stepping away from the spotlight with a dirt-common, dejected look. "Inspector, why are you here too? Weren't you supposed to be very busy?"

"It's precisely because I'm busy that I had to come," Megure complained crossly. "With jinxes like you around, how could I dare go anywhere else?"

"Who are you calling a jinx?"

"You're the strangest one of all. It feels like I run into you everywhere... Come to think of it, ever since a certain someone became famous, the number of cases has just kept increasing."

Megure also picked up a glass of wine. While chatting casually, his peripheral vision constantly patrolled the banquet scene.

"That seems to be Superintendent Matsumoto, doesn't it?" Kogoro noticed the tall, burly man in a suit walking in through the banquet hall entrance.

He had a fierce horse-like face, a crew cut, and a thin scar across his left eye.

"Yes, he's our First Division's managing superintendent now."

Megure followed his gaze to his superior.

"Right, I heard his daughter is getting married next month... She's Ran and the others' teacher, right? The groom is the heir to the Takasugi Group."

"The young master of a wealthy family might not necessarily be a good catch."

Muttering under his breath, Kogoro was about to return to chugging high-end wine when a large hand suddenly pulled him aside.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair, a broad build, a carefully groomed upturned mustache, and very deliberate attire—a white suit paired with a green bowtie, looking quite dashing.

"Step aside," the middle-aged man said as he passed by with an unfriendly expression. "Gourmet food in the mouth of someone like you is nothing short of pearls before swine. A wild boar can't taste fine rice, hmph!"

"Who the hell is this guy?" Kogoro was stunned by the blunt rebuff. "What's his problem? What does my eating have to do with him?"

"He's a detective too," Megure recognized the grumbling middle-aged man who had just walked off. "The gourmet detective who claims that only fine food and murder can stimulate brain cells—Shuzan Oue, an obnoxious fellow."

"A gourmet detective?"

"Yes, his primary profession is as a food critic, and he's quite famous overseas. Lately, it seems he's drowning in debt; he probably couldn't borrow any money, which is why his temper is so foul."

Shuzan Oue?

Kido Mo looked across the crowd at the middle-aged man tasting the food.

If he remembered correctly, the Karasuma family's Twilight Mansion was currently in the hands of this gourmet detective.

Later on, unable to bear the crushing debt and trapped in a corner, he would end up organizing a group of famous detectives to investigate Twilight Mansion.

"Mr. Oue..."

Thinking to introduce himself first, Kido Mo took out a business card and walked up to greet him, only for Shuzan Oue to snatch a glass of red wine and whip his face away in disgust. "Who invited all sorts of riffraff? A washed-up idol coming over to freeload and chase trends?"

"Pay him no mind, Kido," Kogoro's opinion of Oue plummeted even further. "Some gourmet detective—just a guy with a flashy exterior and mountains of debt. Definitely not a good person either."

With that, he eagerly pulled Kido Mo along to scout his own networking circle. "Come on, let me introduce you to some people. If you want to last in the detective business, connections are indispensable, especially since you're just starting out... Speaking of which, are you sure you won't take infidelity investigations?"

"Your circle, it's all yours."

Kido Mo helplessly set aside his other thoughts for the moment.

He didn't the strength right now to covet Twilight Mansion anyway. A case that could bleed a famous gourmet detective dry of all his savings while leaving him drowning in unknown debts—he wasn't even qualified to take it on.

"Then what do you plan to make money from?" Kogoro asked uncomprehendingly. "You're picky about this and that right at the start. What's wrong with infidelity investigations? We all earn an honest living by our skills. I won't blame you for stealing my business—heh, though you might not be able to beat me to them."

"Rest assured, I definitely won't starve."

Kido Mo replied offhandedly.

Infidelity investigations were the primary source of commissions for small detective agencies; how could he turn his nose up at them?

There was no need to pick a fight with money.

Even if he didn't do them himself, he could hire people to handle them.

However, after reading Kogoro's "Detective Notebook," he had decided to minimize his involvement in that kind of commission, which so easily attracted malice.

At worst, the mustache just got beaten up.

If it happened to him, his detective agency might end up burned to the ground.

Ah, that reminded him of that inexplicably exploding supermarket.

"Wait a minute, Brother Kido!" Megure suddenly trotted over again. "I almost forgot, that Maru family case is already closed, and Yuji Suwa insists on handing over Kikuchiyo to you... What do you plan to do about it?"

Kido Mo frowned slightly.

A permit for carrying blades wasn't easy to obtain, and furthermore, the person Yuji Suwa actually intended to gift the sword to was "Kindaichi." What sense did it make for him to take it?

It wouldn't be easy to sell either, and he didn't have the hobby of collecting antique samurai swords. Could he possibly use it to commit murder...

He had no idea what Yuji Suwa was thinking; the notion of "not wanting Kikuchiyo to fall into foolish hands once more" was thoroughly unreliable.

"Ignore him," Kido Mo pondered. "If all else fails, help me send the sword to the Beika Museum. That's a good resting place for it."