The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

"Didn't Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Ayumi complain to me just a few days ago that there wasn't anything interesting to do during summer vacation?" The professor scratched his head and explained with a smile.

"So I'm planning to arrange a treasure hunt for them in a couple of days. Could you come with me tomorrow to buy some toys that those kids like?"

"Well... Doctor, I'm busy with my experiments." Ai Haibara hesitated for a moment, a look of disinterest on her face. "You should ask Kudo about this."

“Okay…” Professor Agasa nodded, stood up from the sofa, and was about to walk to the telephone to make a call to Shinichi.

Unexpectedly, Ai Haibara, who was walking towards the basement, suddenly turned around and changed her mind. "Wait a minute, Doctor, let me go with you."

"what?"

Upon hearing Ai Haibara's words, the Doctor was visibly taken aback.

Having already learned a fair bit about Ai Haibara's personality, the Doctor wasn't particularly surprised that she had refused his invitation.

The fact that she actually agreed now surprised the doctor a little.

"If you let Kudo go shopping with you, he'll probably accidentally let it slip to those kids before long," Ai Haibara said, shrugging as she explained to Professor Agasa why she had agreed.

"That's true!" The doctor also thought of Shinichi's unreliability to some extent at this moment.

Indeed, compared to Kudo, Ai makes him feel more at ease.

If what Ai said is true, and Kudo accidentally let it slip to those kids, then the adventure and treasure hunt game that he carefully arranged for them will all be ruined!

"Ai, I'll have to trouble you tomorrow!" With that thought, Professor Agasa asked Ai Haibara for help again.

"However, Doctor, I think it would be better to ask your neighbor to go with you tomorrow!"

Just as the professor was starting to worry about what toys to buy tomorrow, Ai Haibara's voice suddenly reached his ears.

"Oh, a neighbor?"

Dr. Agasa looked at Ai Haibara, who was still teasing and playing in the living room, with some surprise.

He assumed that Ai Haibara would return to the basement immediately after accepting his invitation, as usual.

Noticing the doctor's surprised gaze, Ai Haibara also walked to the refrigerator, opened the refrigerator door, and took out a can of coffee.

At the same time, she casually explained, "It's that boy named Aragaki Yu."

"Aragaki Yu?"

The doctor paused for a moment, wondering why Ai Haibara would suddenly bring him up.

"He seems to get along quite well with those kids, and he probably knows what kind of gifts they'd like! Otherwise, Doctor, have you decided what toy prizes you want to buy?"

Having received the coffee, Ai Haibara headed towards the basement, explaining her reason to Professor Agasa without turning back.

However, because she was facing away from Professor Agasa, he did not notice the fleeting glint in Ai Haibara's eyes.

"There's...some truth to that!" The doctor nodded hesitantly.

"Furthermore, if it's to be considered a treasure, Doctor, you can't buy too little, so tomorrow's items will be very heavy, and you'll need someone to help carry them!"

Sensing Professor Agasa's hesitation, Ai Haibara immediately offered another reason to persuade him.

"Yes...yes!"

Upon hearing this, Professor Agasa, though feeling a pang of regret for his wallet, still agreed with Ai Haibara's statement.

Moreover, in Professor Agasa's view, Aragaki Yu is indeed a very enthusiastic boy, and one of the few good neighbors who appreciates his inventions.

Therefore, his feelings towards Aragaki Yu were truly very positive.

He also believed that if he really asked Aragaki Yu for help, the other party would definitely not refuse as long as he was available.

Having made that decision, Dr. Agasa didn't hesitate any longer and went straight to the telephone to start looking through the contact list.

He remembered that once when Aragaki Yu came to visit, he must have left his number on this.

"Wait a minute, Doctor!"

However, just as Professor Agasa found Aragaki Yu's phone number and picked up the receiver to dial,

Ai Haibara stopped him once again.

Dr. A Li: "..."

He held the microphone somewhat awkwardly, looking coldly at Ai Haibara, whose expression was a little strange.

For some reason, he felt that Ai seemed a little strange today.

"Doctor, on my way back, I saw that Aragaki Yu looked like he had just come back from outside, and he looked very tired."

Seemingly afraid that Professor Agasa would notice something was wrong with her, Ai Haibara immediately suppressed the strange expression on her face and explained to Professor Agasa in a serious tone, "I think he probably just finished buying his work and is going home. He's probably resting now. I'm sorry if I disturb him."

Ai Haibara paused for a moment, trying hard to keep her expression from changing, "So I think I should go to his house to invite him again tomorrow morning, that way it will seem more formal."

"Oh? Is that so? It's really kind of him to come all this way!"

Upon hearing Ai Haibara's words, the Doctor's expression turned regretful.

Professor Agasa naturally knew about the sudden passing of Aragaki Yu's parents, and he also had some knowledge of the reopening of the Aragaki Family Yin-Yang Shop next door.

It's worth noting that after Professor Agasa reopened the Yin-Yang House, he even took the time to deliver his gift.

Professor Agasa believed that Aragaki Yu was simply doing this out of necessity to support himself.

Professor Agasa felt a pang of sympathy for this boy who had to balance his studies with the pressures of life.

Therefore, upon hearing Ai Haibara's words, Professor Agasa naturally felt embarrassed to disturb Yuu Aragaki, who had just returned from work, from his rest.

Furthermore, because Professor Agasa was focused on Yuu Aragaki's work, he didn't notice that Ai Haibara had mentioned that she would invite Yuu Aragaki the next morning.

You should know that Ai Haibara would never normally want to do something like this.

Seeing that Professor Agasa nodded in agreement, Ai Haibara finally walked into the basement with satisfaction.

A smile involuntarily crept onto her face. "I wonder if I'll be able to see my sister again tomorrow."

Now that she knows her older sister works for Aragaki Yu, Ai Haibara naturally wants to visit her more often so she can spend more time with her sister.

But if I go there too many times without a reason, I'll definitely arouse suspicion from Aragaki Yuuka's sister.

Therefore, some reasons for the visit are naturally indispensable.

That's why Ai Haibara suddenly agreed to Professor Agasa's invitation to go buy toy prizes together, and even took the opportunity to ask Yuu Aragaki to go along.

Of course, this is in Ai Haibara's mind.

It would be even better if I could bring my older sister along when I invite Aragaki Yu to go shopping tomorrow.

Ai Haibara, sitting in front of the computer, surprisingly didn't immediately immerse herself in work. Instead, she happily began to daydream.

……

ding dong~

Ding-dong, ding-dong~

Half-asleep, Yuu Aragaki reluctantly ran downstairs and opened the door, urged on by Yuki-onna, who was sleeping above him and frowning at the doorbell. To his surprise, he found Ai Haibara standing prettily in the doorway.

She wore a pink sleeveless dress and pink ankle boots, looking exceptionally cute; her outfit was clearly carefully chosen.

To be honest, Yuu Aragaki had seen various outfits of Ai Haibara while watching anime in his previous life, but such a pink and girly outfit like today is really rare.

I feel like something doesn't quite fit her persona.

However, Yuya Aragaki guessed that Ai Haibara's outfit was probably meant to leave a good impression on Akemi Miyano.

Because while he was cooking yesterday, he seemed to vaguely hear Miyano Akemi saying to Ai that girls should wear cute clothes.

Clearly, Ai Haibara remembered them all.

"Good morning!" Ai greeted Yuu Aragaki, who looked a little sleepy.

However, at the same time, his eyes kept uncontrollably glancing towards the room.

Yuu Aragaki naturally knew that Ai Haibara was looking for her older sister.

Unfortunately, Akemi Miyano didn't come here this morning.

Noticing Ai Haibara's anxious expression, Yuu Aragaki couldn't help but chuckle and replied, "Good morning, Ai. Please come in. Is there something you need so early?"

As he spoke, he stepped aside from the doorway and invited Ai Haibara into the house.

Seeing this, Ai Haibara didn't hesitate for long. She changed into slippers in the entryway and followed Yu Aragaki into the living room.

Although she had mentally prepared herself, Ai Haibara couldn't help but show a disappointed expression when she didn't see her sister in the living room.

"You should rest for a while, I'll go tidy up first!" Yu Aragaki led Ai Haibara to the sofa, gestured for her to sit for a bit, and then went upstairs.

When Ai Haibara saw Yu Aragaki run up to the second floor, she couldn't help but start looking around.

This wasn't Ai Haibara's first time here, but it was the first time she had been picked up by Yuu Aragaki.

Even yesterday, Ai Haibara didn't have time to properly observe this place.

The first floor is simply furnished, with a living room that serves as a reception area, and a kitchen and dining room on the other side.

"Is this where my sister works now?"

Ai Haibara looked around, and then suddenly frowned, as if she had just thought of something. "I wonder if Yuu Aragaki will take advantage of work to bully his older sister."

You know, recently Ai Haibara has seen quite a few news stories like this online—for example, a boss speaking maliciously to his female subordinate, "You don't want to lose your job like this, do you!"

……