Conan: Science Cartoonist Kudo Yuji

"Me, make... French lemongrass foie gras? Are you kidding me?!"

Looking at the man who called her name, Kudo Sayoko's eyes widened. Amidst the pitiful expressions of the crowd, she picked up the clips with trembling hands.

Let's go back an hour. Before Okahara Mi arrived at the Sasaki family manor, the second-generation detective, who had infiltrated the manor using money as a means of entry, encountered their first problem when they sent Conan to investigate.

"Can anyone tell me how you all managed to sneak in!"

The head chef took off his hat and threw it to the ground, then proceeded to berate his four assistant chefs. Meanwhile, the twenty-odd kitchen helpers standing behind the assistants looked at each other in bewilderment, and those who knew each other greeted each other beforehand.

"Isn't this from Elite High School? By the way, your entire club is involved. Can the club budget handle it?"

"Come on, what are you doing here at Zuoquan Middle School? Weren't you supposed to be investigating some kind of police error case compilation?"

"Minister, our junior students from the secondary school section of our high school have also come in. Will they ask us for funding this time?"

"Hey, isn't that one of your ministers from a few previous terms? The girl next to him is so pretty!"

"Wow, it's Hattori-senpai! Wasn't he in college? Is he bringing his girlfriend here to reminisce about his youth?"

The entire lobby was instantly filled with youthful energy, which turned the chef's face completely black.

He wanted to say something vulgar, but realized that these spirited high school students had paid to come in as kitchen helpers to experience life, and that scolding them might cause a disturbance and be discovered by the Sasaki family, so he immediately gave up the idea of ​​cursing.

"Damn it, this time I'm going to take 20% more!"

After cursing at his assistants, the head chef coughed twice, and the assistant who brought Sayoko and the others in immediately turned around and said, "Students, please be quiet. Now, please let the head chef say a few words."

"Ugh, I have to talk again, so annoying..."

Although unwilling, a group of students still subconsciously lined up neatly as the school had done.

"I think everyone is well aware that Sasaki Kiyoyori's death was suspicious, which is why you all went to great lengths to get in."

The head chef said seriously, "However, if the Sasaki family finds out that a large group of detectives is approaching their mansion, I'm afraid you will all have to return empty-handed today. So I hope everyone will cooperate with our work so that today's detective activities can proceed smoothly."

"The chef is right, we'll all listen to you!" a middle school student shouted. Although the high school students remained silent, their expressions showed that they agreed.

"Alright! Then those of you with cooking experience and an interest in cooking, please stay behind. The rest of you, go out and investigate the situation with your companions."

As soon as he finished speaking, the chef saw a group of kids walking out in a line, chatting and laughing. Realizing that he had been watching, he pretended to be very busy.

"Hehehe! You can't do this?!"

The head chef nimbly moved to the kitchen doorway, spreading his arms as if to refuse the eagle peeking at him from behind.

“You can’t all abandon the five of us and go out to gather information. You have to leave some of your men behind.”

"Who said that? We left those two people behind."

The student in the lead pointed at Sayoko and Hattori Mamoru: "Besides, if we stay, you'll definitely regret it. In this new era, if students want to cook, they can just buy pre-made dishes from the supermarket. Who would cook by hand?"

"you……"

The students who were willing to pay didn't care about the chef's task; they bypassed the head chef and prepared to compete with another group of high school detectives who had entered the manor disguised as waiters for the job.

"Everyone, let them see that the chefs who serve wine with trays are no worse than those in vests. Even if we don't spend as much money as those guys, we can still get on the same starting line with them through our intelligence!"

Soon, only five real chefs and two people were left in the kitchen to make up the numbers.

"What's going on? Why did all the chefs go out? Did they all go to the restroom?"

Sano appeared at the kitchen door, looking at the departing chefs with a puzzled expression, and then pointed to the prettiest one, Kudo Sayoko.

"You... you spent so much money hiring a chef for this memorial service, you should know how to cook French food, right? Make me a pan-fried foie gras, and some garlic bread rolls too. I want to have a couple of drinks."

"Huh?! Me!" (End of Chapter)