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

Chapter 425 Matsuda Jinpei's Second Chance Encounter

Matsuda Jinpei and Furuya Rei were experiencing various games at the venue.

—Matsuda Jinpei was the main player, while Furuya Rei had little interest in the game and just accompanied him throughout. Sometimes, during single-player games, he would take out his phone to check the screen.

Still feeling unsatisfied, Matsuda Jinpei got up from in front of a fighting game machine, looked around, and noticed a game not far ahead that was surrounded by a lot of people.

The machine's casing was a bright red, with a boxer's image printed on the outside. A burly man stood in front of the machine, gathering his strength, and then suddenly threw a punch at it.

A collective gasp of regret rippled through the crowd. A bespectacled employee of Mantiantang, standing next to the machine, looked up at it and said with equal regret, "Alas, what a pity. If it exceeded 250, the sound effect would have been even louder."

Is it boxing?

Matsuda Jinpei, who had been boxing since childhood, was interested and pulled Furuya Rei along to go with him.

The bespectacled man didn't notice their arrival, treating them only as ordinary players. His gaze swept across the crowd, and he called out to another employee with a middle parting who was observing from the next game room: "Nakajima, do you want to give it a try?"

"Huh?" The man with the middle parting was taken aback.

"Several people in a row have failed to produce the special effect. Everyone else is starting to wonder if the machine is broken. Why don't you give it a try?" the bespectacled man said with a smile.

"Oh fine."

The man with the middle parting stretched his neck and walked over, took off his coat and casually tossed it to the man with glasses, who smiled and took it, then put on the gloves that came with the machine.

Matsuda Jinpei sized up the man's slightly muscular arms and roughly estimated his skill level.

"Hallelujah!"

"Buzz-"

The sound of the middle-parted man slamming his fist into the machine overlapped perfectly with the ringing of a cell phone next to Matsuda Jinpei.

Matsuda Jinpei knew it was Furuya Rei as soon as he heard it. He turned his head and, sure enough, saw his always-busy friend take out his phone.

For some reason, Rei Furuya's relaxed expression changed slightly as he saw something.

Noticing this change, Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow. Out of politeness, he didn't peek at his phone and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Furuya Rei didn't answer immediately. He looked up and glanced around in the crowd, paused for a moment in a certain direction, and then pulled Matsuda Jinpei up and walked towards a less crowded corner.

He walked to a corner where there weren't many people around, and started typing on his phone.

Matsuda Jinpei was a little confused, but he still stood there patiently waiting.

Rei Furuya typed very quickly, pressing send in less than a minute. Even after sending the email, his expression didn't relax.

"...Furuya? What happened?" Matsuda Jinpei couldn't help but call out again.

Rei Furuya turned to look at him, sighed softly, and handed him his phone: "You can see it yourself—it's okay, you can read this email."

Matsuda Jinpei took the phone, completely bewildered. The screen displayed the email that Furuya Rei had just received.

I apologize for disturbing you.

Just now at the meeting, I ran into Ambassador Bisignano's son [photo.jpg]. He doesn't speak Japanese and wasn't with any bodyguards. Conan-kun's words just now unintentionally offended him, and I can't provide him with close protection at the moment. Do you currently have any subordinates available?

PS: When I spoke with him just now, he told me that the president of Mantendo Corporation was acting a bit strangely. Please keep a close eye on that.

Email sender: Aoyagi Akimitsu.

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

His first reaction was dissatisfaction: "Is he treating you like a bodyguard who's always on his call?"

As a detective who had worked in the Metropolitan Police Department for many years and had dealt with transnational crimes, he knew very well that some foreign agents—specifically the FBI—liked to act like big shots and boss around on the scene, and his superiors never resisted, even instructing them to put up with it.

Judging from Furuya Rei's expression, he was also in a bad mood, but the policeman didn't lash out.

“…That’s a close relative of a high-ranking diplomat, a special status. We do need to provide protection if necessary,” Furuya Rei said calmly. Matsuda Jinpei, though short-tempered, understood basic principles. He handed the phone back: “Are you calling for help now?”

Rei Furuya nodded, took the phone, and opened his contacts: "The ambassador's son is not usually in Japan. He must have flown here specifically for this press conference. I'll have someone escort him back to his hotel. They can handle the rest themselves."

Matsuda Jinpei wasn't surprised that the police would know about the family situations of some important diplomatic personnel.

Seeing that Furuya Rei was starting to contact his subordinates in the Public Security Bureau, he felt he should avoid the situation: "Then you make the call, I'm going to the restroom."

Furuya Rei glanced at Matsuda Jinpei.

Seemingly certain that the area was relatively safe, he ultimately refrained from making the outrageous request to go to the bathroom with his friend: "I'll wait for you here."

Matsuda Jinpei waved to him and walked outside.

……

The venue was packed with people, but there weren't many people outside.

After relieving himself, Matsuda Jinpei dried his hands and left the restroom. He didn't plan to go back immediately; he wanted to find a place to have a smoke first.

Just as he stepped outside, the middle-parted man he had met briefly in front of the boxing game machine earlier brushed past him, rubbing his chin.

Another employee with a coral-head hairstyle was also with the other person, who scoffed:
"Nakajima, did you work too long yesterday and your brain is all foggy? You were just knocked to the ground by someone. That man didn't even look strong."

The man with the middle parting lowered his hand, ignored the person, and strode into the restroom.

Matsuda Jinpei glanced back at them subconsciously, but he wasn't interested in such a normal bickering between colleagues, and quickly looked away.

He walked for a while and arrived at the entrance of the exhibition, where there was no longer a queue.

He wanted to go to the front desk to ask where there was a smoking room nearby, but the moment his eyes swept over the front desk, he froze on the spot.

"Hello, I'm here to pick up something."

A man with short black hair and reddish-brown eyes stood there, handing a number plate to the receptionist.

Matsuda Jinpei was extremely familiar with that face and that voice.

It was the man he met on the streets of Shibuya last Saturday!
Caught off guard by the man who had put him under police surveillance for almost a week, Matsuda Jinpei's first reaction was to rush over and apprehend the suspicious individual.

However, before he could act, he noticed that there was another person following beside the man... no, to be precise, beside his legs.

"Uncle, are you also an employee here?"

Matsuda Jinpei's eyebrows twitched violently.

It's Conan Edogawa!

The elementary school student who had met them in the parking lot not long ago was standing in the spot where the man could easily grab the hostage, and asked questions with a face full of curiosity!

...What's going on? Just now in the email, Aoyagi was expressing his helplessness at being unable to leave his child to become a bodyguard, but in the blink of an eye, the child is wandering around these suspicious people all by himself?!

Matsuda Jinpei cursed a certain FBI agent in his mind.

It was inconvenient to make an arrest at the moment. Seeing that the other party did not seem to notice him, he planned to hide to the side for the time being, while quietly taking out his phone to send a message to Furuya Rei.

Unfortunately, fate played another trick on him. Just as he took out his phone, Conan Edogawa's gaze happened to turn towards him.

"Officer Matsuda?"

A surprised child's voice rang out.

Matsuda Jinpei: "…………"

When the man turned and looked at him, only one thought remained in his mind:
Will spanking a naughty child get him fired by the Metropolitan Police Department?! If it's just writing a self-criticism, he'd be willing to give it a try!
(End of this chapter)