Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 343, Section 337: Starting Today, I'll Be an "Assistant"

"It should be a girl," Conan replied casually. "The handwriting on the envelope and the letter is very delicate, and so is this."

Conan held up the envelope, deliberately showing Ryoma the position of the stamp on it.

"This is... lipstick residue?" Lin Longma noticed lipstick residue on the back of the stamp, clearly left accidentally when it was affixed.

Elegant handwriting alone doesn't prove anything. Many men have elegant handwriting, but the combination of elegant handwriting and lipstick marks on the back of the stamp—unless Nakamura Misao is effeminate, the possibility that she is a girl is very high.

"Um, who are you?" Lin Longma had just knocked on the door knocker of the villa, but the person who opened the door was not the woman named Nakamura Misao, but a middle-aged man with a mustache.

Lin Longma was surprised to see the man with the mustache, and the man with the mustache at the door was equally surprised to see Lin Longma.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that? And who are you people?" The man inside the room looked puzzled and asked Lin Longma.

"That's right, we are assistants who came to visit on behalf of the famous detective Kogoro Mouri."

Lin Longma immediately replied, "My name is Lin Longma, and I am Mr. Mori's assistant. This is Ms. Mori Ran, Mr. Mori's daughter, who has recently been studying deduction with Mr. Mori."

This is Conan Mori, Mr. Mori's youngest son. Because Mr. Mori still has some finishing touches to complete on a project, he asked us to come here first to do some preparatory work.

After listening to Lin Longma's "nonsense," the man with the "two small mustaches" standing at the door was filled with respect.

He didn't question Lin Longma's words at all: "Oh?! So you are Mr. Mori's assistant and children. Oh, what an honor! Please come in!"

As a top detective in Japan, is it too much for Kogoro Mouri to have one or two assistants?

It's not excessive at all; it's perfectly normal.

Leaving aside other detectives, don't famous painters and novelists in island nations all have their own assistants?

Some assistants are nominally assistants, but in reality, they are the heirs of these painters and novelists.

In the eyes of "Two Little Mustaches", Ryoma Hayashi, who could take Kogoro Mouri's "son and daughter" around everywhere, was this kind of assistant who was a successor.

Also, even though Ran Mouri looks so young, why did Ryoma Hayashi say that she was learning deduction from Kogoro Mouri, while "the man with the mustache" didn't suspect anything at all?
In island nations with rigid class divisions, it's common for sons to inherit their fathers' businesses. It's not uncommon for children to take over the family business after graduating from high school.

Therefore, it is not unreasonable for someone to start learning how to handle delegation and reasoning in high school.

As for the fact that they have a child with them, as long as the child's surname is Mori, there will be no problem at all.

It's the same whether you're herding one sheep or two. The fact that both children were brought out by Ryoma further proves Kogoro Mouri's complete trust in his assistant!
As for Conan turning into Conan Mouri, Ryoma Hayashi is definitely the one who started it all.

Ran Mouri repeated the name to herself twice and felt there was nothing wrong with it.

As for Conan, who was pouting and somewhat dissatisfied, his opinion was not important.

Lin Longma was completely immersed in his role. After changing into slippers in the entryway, he asked the man with the small mustache:
"By the way, are you Mr. Nakamura, the one who mailed the letter of authorization to Mr. Mori? Would you like me to explain Mr. Mori's fees to you?"
Additionally, due to space limitations in the letter of authorization, please also state your authorization to us so that we can assist you in resolving the issue.

"Oh no, no, no, this letter wasn't written by me, but by my younger brother, Ah Cao, who is three years younger than me."

Just as the man with the small mustache finished speaking, a man with a cast on his arm stood up and scratched the back of his head with his other hand.
She seemed a little shy. "Hello everyone."

"Oh, so you're Nakamura Misao!" Ryoma Hayashi's smile was particularly bright.

"It's me, I'm so sorry to have caused you all trouble." The one-armed "Nakamura Misao" said to Lin Longma and the other two.

"There's nothing to worry about. Isn't the job of a detective to solve the problems of their clients?"
This is what we should do—by the way, Mr. Nakamura, in your letter of request you only said that you recently encountered some trouble and needed a famous detective to solve it.

But you didn't mention any specific requests, so may I ask what kind of trouble you've encountered?

Lin Longma took out a notebook and a pen, and asked "Nakamura Misao" in a serious manner.

As for Ran Mouri and Conan, they were being led around the villa by "two little mustaches".

"That's right, because this villa was inherited from my maternal grandfather. When he inherited the villa, my maternal grandfather told me that he had left me another inheritance."

He simply hid the inheritance. I'm pretty sure my grandfather hid it in this villa as a treasure.

Therefore, I hope Mr. Mori can help me find this inheritance.

After Nakamura finished speaking, he looked at Ryoma Hayashi expectantly: "So, Mr. Mori, do you have this kind of business?"

“Of course, that’s exactly what Mr. Mori excels at.” Ryoma Hayashi smiled confidently at just the right moment and said to Nakamura Misao.

"Then I will introduce to you Mr. Mori's fee schedule for different commissions."

First, there's the most basic commission. Mr. Mori's minimum price for accepting a commission is 20 yen, and the commission period is usually 1-2 days.

Such requests are usually about finding cats or dogs, you know. While this kind of work doesn't really showcase Mr. Mori's abilities, many wealthy people still prefer more famous detectives.

Lin Longma spoke very politely, but Nakamura Misao dared not listen with the politeness in return. Because according to Lin Longma's statement, Nakamura Misao was not sure if they could afford to pay Kogoro Mouri's commission fee.

Finding a cat or dog costs 20 yuan, and that's only for a day or two. How much would it cost to find treasure?

"Ahem, Assistant Lin, if I were to ask Mr. Mori to help me find the inheritance left by my grandfather, how much would the commission be?"

"Nakamura Misao" asked cautiously.

"Under normal circumstances, Mr. Mori's starting price for this kind of treasure hunt commission is 200 million yen."

The final cost in yen depends on the environment and difficulty of your treasure hunt.

Ryoma Hayashi stood up, looked around, and continued, "If you can confirm that the inheritance your grandfather left you is in this villa, then 200 million yen should be enough."

Of course, if you don't have the money on hand, you can pay a deposit first, and the rest can be given to Mr. Mori after you receive the inheritance.

(End of this chapter)