Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 369 Another Explosion
Monday, October 3.

The explosion at Mihana Port, the 500 million yen heist twenty years ago, the mysterious serial arsonist...

None of this affected Teitan Elementary School.

School officially starts next week, but there has already been some on-campus work this week – pulling up the weeds and tidying up the classrooms, which also gives the children an opportunity for extracurricular education.

Mitsuhiko looked around, puzzled, and asked, "Hmm? Where's Ayumi?"

"She's talking to that transfer student... Come to think of it, she really doesn't like to talk to people," Genta muttered.

"Is there some hidden story? Conan, should our Detective Boys investigate?" Mitsuhiko said with great interest.

"Huh? Forget it, they just transferred schools." Conan looked speechless.

What secrets could a little kid possibly have?
“Conan, actually… I feel like she’s always watching you,” Genta said in a serious, low voice.

"Looking at me? You must be mistaken." Conan said nonchalantly—Back in high school, I was the center of attention, okay? I received so many love letters that I couldn't even open the shoe cabinet!

"Speaking of which... Conan, aren't you dressed a bit too arrogantly?" Mitsuhiko said, pursing his lips.

“When I was in elementary school… cough cough, I’ve always dressed like this!” Conan emphasized.

Not far away, Ayumi was cautiously talking to Ai, probably worried that the transfer student was too lonely.

"By the way! Would you like to join our Junior Detective Club?" Ayumi invited.

"The Junior Detective Club?" Ai's expression shifted upon hearing this. "Who are they?"

Seeing that Ai, who had been indifferent and barely responded, finally spoke up, Ayumi assumed she was interested in deduction and enthusiastically introduced, "Me...and Mitsuhiko, Genta...and Conan!"

"Conan? Sure, then I'll join the... Junior Detective League." Ai said with a slight smile.

Meanwhile, in the school's teachers' office, Kobayashi Sumiko, who had just been transferred there, was reflecting on whether she had acted too fiercely just now...

but……

"It shouldn't be that bad, right? I've heard that the kids in Beika Town have seen it all..." Ms. Kobayashi comforted herself.

Just then, the office phone rang.

"Hmm?" Seeing that there was no one else in the office, Kobayashi disregarded his lack of seniority and went straight up to answer the phone.

"Hello, this is the teachers' office at Teitan Elementary School..."

"I planted a bomb at the school," came the voice from the voice changer.

"What?" Kobayashi exclaimed in surprise—this is rice cake? On my first day at work, something like this happens? Even if it's just a prank…

Hearing the phone go dead, Xiaolin hesitated for a moment, then immediately dialed the police—if it was just a prank, fine, but what if… it wasn't?

……

Meanwhile, in the office of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Mika Police Station.

"Give it to you? This is for them to spend money, not for them to take the money back... Do you understand?" Ash Valley emphasized.

If we're talking about giving them both money, Haiya has no doubt that Miwako Kobe is very professional.

"Anyway... the goal is to create a situation where they both have to spend money, right? I'll contact them while hiding my identity as a police officer, and then find a way to get them to spend money!" Kobe said confidently.

"This..." Inspector Megure hesitated upon hearing this, after all, covert investigations are still very dangerous, especially when it is a female police officer to do it.

“Since Detective Kobe says so, let’s give her a try… but the station will only reimburse meal expenses.” Munakata happened to return to the criminal investigation office at that moment and overheard Kobe’s words.

"Yes, mission accomplished!" Kobe said happily, giving a salute.

"Be careful, don't expose yourself... um, be careful." Inspector Megure originally wanted to remind him not to reveal his identity.

But take a closer look at this young lady...

Even when she's standing here discussing the case with me, I always forget that she's a detective. Even when I salute, I feel a playful sense of my idol being the police chief for a day.

Well, even if her police ID is seen, people will suspect it might be fake, so it's quite difficult to expose her!
"Section Chief, how's the bombing case going?" Ashiya asked with concern.

In Haiya's opinion, if it weren't for the need to "take care" of Miwako Kobe, he should have gone to the bombing site himself.

"I don't know, I just went to the arson site to take a look," Zongfang said matter-of-factly.

"Arson case?" Haiya was taken aback when he heard this, then realized, "Oh, it's the Takada family's case."

However, Ashvalley had some doubts in his heart...

Why would Section Chief Munakata go out of his way to flatter Takada?

Under normal circumstances, it would be reasonable for a former minister to put pressure on the Mihana Police Department for a "minor prank arson," forcing the head of the Criminal Investigation Division to put aside an "important bombing case" and visit them instead.

But Takada hasn't called the police at all!
Why bother to actively "lick" someone's boots?
"I feel... something's not quite right, hmm." Zongfang mumbled vaguely, then, before Haiya could ask any more questions, he glanced at his watch and said, "By the way, I have to pick up my daughter from school today... It's pre-school cleaning day, so I need to go early. Thanks for your help."

"Huh?" Ash Valley was taken aback upon hearing this.

Although Munakata had previously said that "childcare comes first," Haiya clearly did not expect that Section Chief Munakata would be so patient and would not work overtime at this time... and even leave early!

"Don't worry, I've already spoken to the director. I'll also be picking up his sister while I'm at it," Zong Fang said matter-of-factly.

Gray Valley:......

That's a reason that's truly irrefutable!

Seeing the head of the criminal investigation department leave to "pick up the child," Megure felt somewhat embarrassed, as if he had stumbled upon something incredible.

at the same time……

Megure only vaguely recognized the name "Munekata"—although both of them had worked in the Metropolitan Police Department for a long time, the position of "inspector" was not something to be proud of, and Munakata was the kind of inspector who kept his eyes on his superiors; he had hardly ever inspected ordinary people.

"When did Inspector Shiraishi get a younger sister?" Megure asked, puzzled—he remembered that Shiraishi was an orphan.

After all, Ai's identity is sensitive and cannot withstand investigation, so Shiraishi certainly couldn't publicize it everywhere.

"We only recognized each other a while ago. If we hadn't done a genetic test, I really wouldn't have believed that the director's younger sister was so small," Ash Valley remarked.

"I see... He's only in elementary school." Inspector Megure nodded with a strange expression.

What kind of age gap is this?

The section chief, nearing sixty, has a daughter in elementary school; the director, nearing thirty, has a younger sister in elementary school…

So, if I think about it this way, does that mean I can have another child?
Just then, the Criminal Investigation Department's phone rang. Seeing this, Haiya stepped forward and answered, "Beihana Police Station Criminal Investigation Department... What? A bomb threat? Teitan Elementary School? Immediately notify the school to organize an evacuation. We must not enter... Hello? Hello? What? Oh... It's good that no one is hurt... Evacuate through the back door!"

Seeing Haiya's anxious expression and hearing him mention something about an explosion and Teitan Elementary School, the people in the Criminal Investigation Division office also became tense.

"Detective Haiya, what's wrong?" Megure asked hurriedly.

"Teitan Elementary School just received a bomb threat, and... an explosion happened right at the entrance!" Haiya said, taking out his phone to contact Section Chief Munakata.

"What? That..." Megure was also taken aback upon hearing this.

"Fortunately, no one was around when the explosion happened, but we still can't confirm the bomber's intentions... Hello! Section Chief Munakata..." Haiya heard Munakata answer the phone.

"What can't be said via text message?" Zongfang complained.

"There was just an explosion at Teitan Elementary School! But no one was injured... Hey? Hey? Seriously, why are you so impatient at a time like this!" Haiya complained.

But thinking about it, it's understandable. Imagine if it were your own children's school that exploded, you probably wouldn't be able to stay calm either.

“Inspector Megure…” Haiya looked at Megure at this moment.

“The bombing is more important right now. Do you need our support?” Megure said immediately.

At this point, even if the five hundred million robbers were released, the bombing would be more important—especially since it was one of those guys who directly bombed a school!
"Not needed for now, we have a mobile unit..."

Ash Valley did not cause any trouble for Megure and his group.

Although at times like this, there's no need to distinguish between head office and branch offices, let alone tasks or anything like that, but... even if Inspector Megure and the others went, they wouldn't be of any help.

The detectives in the first search unit are just detectives; they're not professional bomb disposal experts, so they're not as useful as the SWAT team in this situation.

"Suzuki, Maki, you two come with me. Kobe... you stay here and continue to lure that robber! Inspector Megure, I'm leaving her in your care..." Haiya said, and ran off.

Megure: ...

You don't need to leave any for me!
"Inspector Megure, let's work out a plan." Kobe surprisingly showed great understanding at this point, and didn't insist on going to the bombing site.

……

Meanwhile, Shiraishi had just changed back into his clothes at UDI and was about to call Ayako to invite her to dinner, but then...

Before Ayako could answer, Shiraishi's phone rang.

"Hello, this is Shiraishi." Shiraishi was also puzzled as to why it was Haiya calling him.

"Chief, please calm down. I have something to report... There was just an explosion at Teitan Elementary School, but there were no casualties, and the children have already taken refuge." This time, Haiya had learned from experience and wanted the chief to calm down first.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi still couldn't remain calm and stood up: "An explosion?"

Good grief, Conan can't protect Teitan Elementary School anymore, huh?

“We don’t know the specifics yet, we’re on our way… Someone just made a threatening call to the Teitan Elementary School office. The first explosion happened just as the teacher on duty called the police, but it occurred at the school gate where there weren’t many people around, so there were no casualties,” Haiya said hurriedly.

"Okay, you guys verify the situation immediately, and I'll head back right away," Bai Shi said hastily.

Although Shiraishi thought that such a small matter as an explosion should not be difficult for Conan, the situation was already very urgent.

After greeting the UDI staff, Shiraishi quickly drove away.

On the way, Ayako called Shiraishi back, probably because she had just seen the missed call.

“It’s nothing… Something happened at Teitan Elementary School, so don’t come over,” Shiraishi emphasized.

News of the explosion at the Yamato-tan Elementary School spread like wildfire, and Shiraishi, fearing Ayako's distress, also came over.

It's still unknown whether there will be any danger, and...

Ultimately, it won't be of much help!
Ayako understood this and immediately agreed. Apart from reminding Shiraishi to be careful, she didn't say anything else to distract him.

More than an hour later, Shiraishi arrived at Teitan Shrine—the very place where the former detective who was killed in the "cannibal resurrection case" had died.

The reason for coming here is that this place is also a refuge for the "Teitan Elementary School".

Because of the earthquake-prone environment of the eastern island nation, the schools are quite proficient in evacuation procedures and know where their refuge locations are, so the evacuation after the explosion was carried out in an orderly manner.

Normally……

This should be!
However, when Shiraishi arrived, he saw the principal, the dean of students, and two teachers, a man and a woman, apologizing to Mori and Ran, as well as another man in a suit, at the entrance of the shrine, almost kneeling down...

"I am so sorry... It's all my fault! That's why Takada-san was taken away..."

"Get up first... and explain what happened."

"He was still there when roll call... It was my fault for not keeping an eye on Edogawa-kun for a moment..."

"Ms. Kobayashi, when Conan disappeared, did he leave on his own?"

Upon seeing Shiraishi get out of the car, the previously chaotic scene finally quieted down.

"It's Chief Mikasa! We're saved!"

"Chief Mika, blow that damn bomber to smithereens!"

……

Shiraishi arrived at the door and asked the principal, "Principal Uematsu, were there any casualties?"

Shiraishi didn't recognize the two young teachers, but Principal Uematsu had seen them before when he processed their enrollment.

“Officer Shiraishi… Sigh, there were no casualties, but after we moved here to take refuge, someone impersonated a police officer and took away Manami Takada.” Uematsu said worriedly, then added after a pause, “Oh, and Edogawa is also missing, but I hope she’s alright.”

"Impersonating a police officer? Takada-kun?" Shiraishi felt that these two words were not put together by chance.

As for the second half of his sentence, Shiraishi didn't bother to pay attention to it—he knew for sure that the guy would be fine.

Shiraishi then looked at the male teacher who was apologizing next to him. He should be Takada's homeroom teacher. As for the other female teacher, she should be Conan's homeroom teacher... well, that is, Ai's future homeroom teacher.

Regarding Conan's disappearance, Shiraishi felt it was best to put it on hold for now...

"This gentleman is..." Shiraishi then looked at the person the male teacher was apologizing to.

The man was dressed in a sharp suit and had a capable demeanor. He was flustered but not panicked, which gave Bai Shi the impression that he was not a simple person...

(End of this chapter)