Conan: Science Cartoonist Kudo Yuji

"Hey, old man, why do I have to drink with you at the izakaya? I want to keep Sayoko company... my sister."

Watching Uncle Kudo across from him, who was drinking so much he was practically breathing out hot air and seemed completely detached from reality, Higashino III was frantically scrolling through news about the West Ward explosion on his tablet, and casually asked Dr. Hiroki to help him hack into the Osaka Police Headquarters' database.

However, this place is indeed not as good as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. In the police system, most of the serious cases are old cases, and the latest cases are short and relatively simple. This makes San Shi seriously suspect that it is because the police in Osaka do not want to type out statements.

"Hmm? There was just an update on the Sasaki memorial service murder case! Is it the one Sayoko and the others went to?"

Pushing up his Conan-style glasses, the Third Generation immediately used his simulated identity to access the case details and began reading through the case details from top to bottom. He discovered that the culprit's true identity had not yet been confirmed, and frowned, complaining, "What's going on? Are the Osaka police so incompetent that they can't even handle a case like this?"

According to Sanseki, none of the three suspects mentioned in the transcript—Sasaki's wife, Sasaki's daughter, and Sasaki Kiyose himself—should be the murderer.

First, there's Sasaki Kiyose himself, a man who clearly wants to break free from the control of both Tokyo and Kyoto, yet he doesn't dare to completely break free. So, his faked death is obviously a subtle way of testing the Prime Minister and the major families of Kyoto.

If Tokyo really sends someone to investigate, or if the major families send their confidants who are actually in power, the Third Generation thought that Sasaki Kiyose would immediately jump out and then laugh it off.

"Who are these people? Direct descendants of several powerful families, and there's even someone impersonating the Prime Minister's daughter..."

The Third Generation had met the eldest sisters of the Kudo family before, so why would he be so bored as to come all the way to Osaka to attend the funeral of an ordinary capitalist? Nine times out of ten, the Prime Minister just randomly picked someone to attend.

Secondly, Sasaki's wife and daughters are even less likely to be involved. What legitimate wife and heir would actually argue with a mistress and then kill her? At most, they would just tolerate it and go their separate ways. But if they actually did it, wouldn't they be sending themselves to prison?

"Unless the woman is love-struck, which isn't unheard of..."

After hesitating for a long time, the third generation ruled out this possibility because the record showed that the third party had also given birth to a son of Sasaki Kiyose who was already in high school.

What love-struck person would wait until the other woman has a 17-year-old son before killing her? That's a full 17 years in between.

"No, let's double-check." Third Generation put down his tablet and nudged Shinichi Kudo: "Ou-chan, do you know what kind of person that Mrs. Sasaki is?"

"Hmm..." Shinichi Kudo smacked his lips, blinking his hazy, drunken eyes. "It's quite attractive."

"...That's not what I'm asking. By the way, what do you find attractive about her?" Her pupils blinked like a kitten's eyes, and San Shi sensed that she could occasionally have some fun with the older man.

"She...she reminds me of Xiaolan, she looks a lot like her when we first got married..."

[Damn it, now I can't control him at all...] ​​Shinichi Kudo slammed his head on his arm, forcefully exhaling the smell of alcohol, and slammed the call button on the table loudly.

"Guest? What would you like? You can press the button once and we'll know we're calling."

"Where's the wine? Hurry up and bring me the wine..."

"Hi, the drinks will be here shortly... Wait! Sir, please do not enter someone else's private room."

The sliding door was suddenly pushed open, revealing a flustered shop assistant holding a bottle of whiskey who was pushed away by the woman, and a karate master who looked like he had rushed a long way, looking at his husband who was drunk and looking like a lump in the ground, and getting angry.

"Sir, do you know that gentleman?" The clerk anxiously approached Ran Mouri, afraid of being scolded by the manager.

“Ah, this guy is my husband.” Ran Mouri glanced at Higashino III, who was sitting opposite Shinichi Kudo.

"Aunt Lan?! What are you doing here?"

"Of course I was worried about you guys. It's all your fault for being in Osaka. As soon as I saw the breaking news, I drove here." Ran Mouri put her hands on her hips and told the clerk to return the wine. Then she took off her shoes and sat down next to Shinichi Kudo. Just as she was about to pull his ear, he pulled her hand into his arms and hugged her.

"Xiaolan, I'm so sad, I... I can't do anything..."

"I understand, let go of my hand quickly. There are children watching from across the street."

Honestly, this scene looks so familiar.

"By the way, where is the Third Incarnation?!"

Ran Mouri watched the little boy disappear into the private room, then peeked out and saw a figure in blue clothes and red and white sneakers running frantically out of the store.

"Auntie, Uncle Kudo just said he's made a discovery in this case, and he asked me to tell Uncle Hattori so he can ask you to look after him! That's all!"

"This looks...familiar." (End of Chapter)