Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

On the other side, the Metropolitan Police Department.

"This is the final report."

Matsuda Jinpei stood in front of Inspector Megure's desk, handed him the newly printed document, and yawned while covering his mouth with one hand: "I can go home after I finish reading this, right?"

Megure Juzo reached out and took it, then glanced at him with a puzzled look: "Do you have plans tonight? I don't usually see you in such a hurry to leave."

As a single person who lives alone and has only a casual relationship with most of his colleagues and doesn't like socializing, Matsuda Jinpei is not proactive about leaving get off work. Sometimes when he is busy, he will even put a few chairs together and sleep in the Metropolitan Police Department.

Matsuda Jinpei took off his sunglasses, casually put them in his breast pocket, and lazily hummed in agreement: "I have plans with friends tonight."

Knowing how difficult he usually was, Inspector Megure felt inexplicably relieved to hear that he was going out with his friends. He put down the report and said, "Then you can go home now. I have great confidence in your abilities; there won't be any problems with the report."

Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow, then smiled and said, "Thanks then."

A few minutes later, Matsuda Jinpei finished packing his things. He greeted Takagi Wataru in the next seat and strode out of the First Investigation Division's office.

This time of day is when most ordinary office workers get off work, but even in the Metropolitan Police Department, there are still quite a few people standing in the corridor.

As Matsuda Jinpei left his office, a figure flashed past him as he hurried away around the corner. He noticed it but didn't bother with it and headed straight for the elevator.

He didn't go to the parking lot; the elevator went straight to the first floor, and he walked out of the Metropolitan Police Department. Before he could take more than a few steps, a Mazda drove up from the intersection in the distance and stopped in front of him.

The car window rolled down, revealing Rei Furuya in the driver's seat. The policeman was unusually dressed casually today. Jinpei Matsuda walked around the front of the car, opened the passenger door, and expertly got in.

"I thought you'd be late." Matsuda Jinpei fastened his seatbelt and glanced at his friend beside him.

“If you have appointments with other people, the manager will release you earlier,” Furuya Rei said with a hint of helplessness. “Should we go straight to the press conference, or find a place to eat first and then go?”

Matsuda Jinpei glanced at the time on his phone: "Let's go straight there. We can talk about dinner afterward."

Rei Furuya nodded, restarted the vehicle, and the white Mazda merged into the traffic, heading towards Beika Town.

Two friends who don't often keep in touch sat together and quickly started chatting casually. Matsuda Jinpei rested his elbow on the window, propping his head up, and his posture was even more relaxed with his friends than when he was in his colleague's car.

As he spoke with Rei Furuya, his gaze unconsciously swept towards the rearview mirror. After spotting a car following not too closely behind, he clicked his tongue softly.

Rei Furuya naturally heard this voice.

"...How much longer are you going to follow me like this?"

Matsuda Jinpei couldn't help but ask.

……

Matsuda Jinpei discovers that he has been being followed recently.

It started last Saturday.

He didn't get home until very late after finishing his business in Shibuya that day. He doesn't cook, so he usually eats either at the cafeteria or at a convenience store.

That night, he planned to just grab a quick bite, but as he left his apartment and headed to the nearest convenience store, he noticed suspicious people loitering around his building.

Actually, Matsuda Jinpei didn't think too much about it at first. He figured they might be just ordinary people looking for directions, or at worst, thugs or robbers lying in wait for lone travelers. He planned to just go and see what was going on.

Before he could even get close, the man seemed to sense his presence and turned to run away. He escaped incredibly fast, and Matsuda Jinpei failed to catch him once again.

Since nothing had happened and he hadn't seen who it was, Matsuda Jinpei couldn't call for help. He wandered around for a while and finally could only ask a nearby patrol officer for a heads-up before going home.

If this incident could still be considered a misunderstanding, then what Matsuda Jinpei noticed when he went to work on Monday could not be attributed to him overthinking things.

When he was in the corridor, he would feel subtle gazes on him; when he and his colleagues went out on fieldwork, they noticed that a car was following them from a distance. One time, the following was quite obvious, and Sato Miwako also noticed it.

Matsuda Jinpei wasn't stupid. After realizing that he was being so obviously watched even inside the Metropolitan Police Department, he immediately suspected the Public Security Bureau and called Furuya Rei.

Rei Furuya readily admitted, "I'm sorry, Matsuda, I should have told you sooner. The people you met that day are targets that the Public Security Bureau is investigating. You had contact with them, and I'm worried they might harm you, so the Public Security Bureau will be protecting you in the near future."

Matsuda Jinpei wasn't surprised: "It's that couple, right? No wonder they left without giving a statement that day."

“They’re dangerous.” Rei Furuya immediately warned him, noticing his nonchalant tone, “Especially that woman. If you see her, let me know right away.”

He didn't mention what the other party had done, and Matsuda Jinpei knew that this probably involved a classified mission of the Public Security Bureau, so he didn't press further: "I understand."

Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.

Matsuda Jinpei, whose surveillance had not been lifted, received a gift in the morning. His colleagues from the bomb disposal team delivered two tickets to a game launch event, saying it was to thank him for providing a reliable solution for disarming the new collar bomb.

He accepted it, and after thinking for a moment, he contacted Furuya Rei. Matsuda Jinpei didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Someone gave me tickets to the game launch event tonight. Can I go?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, perhaps as they were communicating with someone else, before someone said to him, "Go ahead."

Before Matsuda Jinpei could even feel happy, Furuya Reiichi said a second later, "I'll go with you. I'll pick you up after you get off work."

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

……

Inside the Mazda, Furuya Rei noticed Matsuda Jinpei's rejection and smiled somewhat helplessly.

He knew that his friend wouldn't accept such protection—or rather, surveillance—for two or three days. If the timeframe wasn't fixed, he would definitely be dissatisfied. Matsuda would rather investigate himself and arrest the person himself.

Rei Furuya may have considered it, but he didn't say it aloud: "At least a month."

Matsuda Jinpei scratched his head in frustration. He stared at Furuya Rei's face, who remained indifferent and focused on driving. Unable to force him, he looked away after a few seconds: "...Fine."

His tone was very displeased.

He took the two tickets out of his pocket and started discussing other things: "Actually, if I hadn't called you first, I would have asked Zhu Fu if he had time to go together."

It has nothing to do with personal relationships; it's simply because Morofushi Kagemitsu is also in the Metropolitan Police Department, and he's closer to him.

Matsuda Jinpei mentioned it casually, but unexpectedly, after he said it, Furuya Rei suddenly fell silent.

"What's wrong?" He frowned.

"...Hiro has been resting this week and hasn't gone to the Metropolitan Police Department." Furuya Rei didn't look at him, his eyes fixed straight ahead. "What happened last Saturday had a greater impact on him."

Speaking of this, Furuya Rei felt a little guilty.

Whether as a public security officer handling organizational affairs or as a childhood friend, he should tell Morofushi Kagemitsu about Matsuda Jinpei's encounter with Aniseto, both morally and logically.

But he hesitated.

The mere mention of Aniseto easily triggers the usually composed Morofushi Kagemitsu's emotions. If he knew that Matsuda had confronted her directly, he felt he might do something even more impulsive than the day he almost stormed into the nuclear-contaminated site...

Therefore, Rei Furuya temporarily (emphasis added) concealed the truth from Kagemitsu Morofushi, intending to wait until he had rested and returned to the Metropolitan Police Department before telling him.

Anyway, it's only a few days. The new psychological evaluation report of Morofushi Kagemitsu is normal, so the supervisor only lets him rest for five days. He will have to start working again tomorrow.

……

The game launch event was held at the Mihua Hotel.

The area around the hotel was bustling with activity, and many people were queuing. After Furuya Rei drove his car to the underground parking lot, he circled around before finally finding an empty space.

Matsuda Jinpei tossed his belongings into the Mazda, opened the door, and got out. His gaze swept around and quickly stopped on a car across the street.

It was a beautifully designed red sports car, brightly colored, with a low-slung body and a pair of unique round taillights, making it stand out among a group of ordinary vehicles.

Because of his childhood friend Kenji Hagiwara, Matsuda Jinpei was quite interested in cars. He couldn't help but walk up to this car, look it over from left to right, and was somewhat surprised:

"A Ferrari Dino 206GT? I didn't expect to see it here."

Rei Furuya also walked closer to take a look, and he recognized the car model at a glance as well, and was also a little surprised.

What caught his attention even more was a schoolbag on the passenger seat, which looked like the kind that Teitan Elementary School nearby often uses.

Before Furuya could continue observing, he heard a familiar voice coming from afar.

"...It's rare to see you make such a childish mistake as forgetting the ticket in your schoolbag."

Jianggu Ling: "..."

...Wait, why does this voice sound so familiar?

He sensed something and slowly turned his head to look in that direction. Sure enough, two familiar people were walking towards him.

One was Conan Edogawa, scratching his head and looking embarrassed, and the other was Aoyagi Akimitsu.

He was wearing a long black trench coat over a white shirt, and his long, slightly wavy black hair was loose, hanging naturally over his shoulders. As if sensing someone in the distance, he looked up in the direction of Furuya Rei.

And there was another person following him. (End of Chapter)