Conan's Unscientific Detective

All she can say is that she thinks that Haibara Ai needs someone to take care of her.

Avoid disturbing Fujino's work.

This reason is somewhat familiar.

The Ford Taurus slowly came to a stop.

Fujino pushed open the car door and what came into view was a tall building with a few lights on.

At the top of the building, there is a glowing "University Hall" sign.

"University Hall?"

Looking at the sign on the roof, Fujino murmured.

This university building is not a university library or a university building.

It is a well-known publishing house in the world of science.

If Fujino remembered correctly, when he was watching anime in his previous life, he often saw the name "Shogakukan" at the beginning of the novel adaptation.

He originally thought it was an elementary school, but it turned out to be an editorial agency in Japan.

This university building should correspond to the elementary school building.

"Yes, this is the publishing house where my father's detective story, Sawamonji, is published."

Shinna Kabori heard Fujino's whisper and responded.

"Let's go in without further delay."

Fujino nodded, and then entered the Daigakukan Publishing House with the three girls.

…………

In the elevator, Fujino looked around at the two beautiful girls and a little loli, and felt a little strange.

Why do I suddenly feel like we're all on a family outing?

As he pondered, he suddenly recalled the classic trio.

Come to think of it, he is part of a trio, right?

The classic trio is a childhood sweetheart, her childhood sweetheart's father, and an elementary school student who is their enemy.

On his side are Hun Ou, who was tricked into becoming a sister, and her younger sister...

Conan: It's over, I've become a substitute.

At this time, Huibara Ai, who was standing at the front, suddenly turned her head.

She seemed to notice Fujino's gaze.

A puzzled expression appeared on his cold face, and he tilted his head.

Fujino coughed lightly, then retracted his gaze and turned his eyes to the flashing elevator operation indicator.

……

Soon, the elevator reached the fifth floor, which was the studio where the editor of "Detective Samonji" written by Niina Rentaro was located.

In this era, newspaper editorial offices are the hardest hit by overtime and late-night work.

So even though it was past seven in the evening, the office was still brightly lit.

People in business suits were busy working in the office, obviously working overtime.

Under the guidance of Shinname Kaori, Fujino came to a fat middle-aged man.

"May I ask you are……"

The man looked at Fujino who came with Shinna Kaori and felt that he looked familiar, so he asked curiously.

"My name is Fujino, I'm a detective."

Fujino extended his hand and shook the man politely.

"Fujino?"

The man shook his hand and thought for a moment before he asked in surprise: "Are you the high school detective Fujino?!"

"Yes, I'm here this time... Miss Xinming, can you please tell me the content of the commission?"

Fujino paused and turned his gaze towards Shinna Kaori.

Shinna Kaori nodded in understanding.

After getting the consent of Shinna Kaori, Fujino continued, "I have accepted Miss Shinna's investigation into her father's disappearance, and I have some questions to ask you."

"So it's about Mr. Niname's request..."

The man glanced at Shinna Kaori, then at Fujino, "In that case, if you have any questions that you need me to answer, just tell me."

"Does Mr. Shinmei Rentaro send manuscripts to your editorial office every week?"

"Yes, Mr. Xinming's manuscripts are delivered on time every week."

The man raised his wrist and glanced at the time. "Tonight is the deadline for submission. I think the manuscript will be sent over soon."

"Can you show me the manuscripts?"

"That's not a problem..."

As he spoke, the man walked to the side, took out a few stacks of manuscripts clipped together with paper clips, and handed them to Fujino.

Fujino took the manuscript, glanced at it, and after a long silence, he asked Shinna Kaori, "Are you sure these signatures are from your father?"

What Fujino was referring to was the signature under the title on the far right of the cover of the original manuscript.

In Japan, generally speaking, the author's signature will be left on the manuscript.

"Yes, these are my father's signature."

Shinna Kaori nodded, "I confirmed it the last time I came here."

"Ms. Kaori, you don't have to worry too much."

The man smiled innocently. "If you ask me, Mr. Xinming must have been too absorbed in writing, so he forgot to contact you."

“I don’t think so.”

At this time, Fujino suddenly held up the manuscript and said, "Didn't you notice that the signatures in the sixth and seventh chapters are almost the same?"

"The sixth and seventh chapters..."

Shinname Kaori took the manuscript and took a closer look. "It seems so. The two signatures are exactly the same."

"But what could be the problem?"

The honest man looked puzzled: "Maybe it's just a coincidence."

"It can't be a coincidence."

Fujino's voice sank slightly. "Everyone's autograph notes are almost unique, not to mention this kind of literary signature. Although it is possible to use it many times and make the signature become exactly the same, this is a brush... the brush tip cannot be exactly the same twice."

"The signature is exactly the same, it's obviously printed. If it was to save trouble, they could just use one signature from the first chapter. Why did they start printing from the sixth chapter?"

"Is it because..."

Shinname Kaho showed a worried look on his face, "After the sixth chapter, my father can no longer sign autographs?!"

“It should be like this.”

Fujino nodded.

On the side, Haibara Ai was watching this scene with a hint of confusion in her eyes.

If she remembered correctly, it should have been less than ten minutes from the time they entered the door and got the manuscript.

In just ten minutes, Fujino discovered something unusual.

It's as if I knew there was something wrong with the original manuscript...

How did he do it...

Thinking of this, Xiao Ai narrowed her eyes slightly, feeling that things were not simple.

"are you sleepy?"

Miyano Akemi noticed that Huihara Ai squinted her eyes and said, "If you are sleepy, I can take you back first... It seems that this case will take a long time to handle."

"No."

Huiyuan Ai shook her head and said, "I think this kind of work is very interesting."

"Is that so?"

Miyano Akemi smiled and said, "It seems that you have the talent to become a detective in the future."

"Detective?"

Haibara Ai lowered her head and fell into deep thought.

"In that case, my father..."

At this time, a cry was heard from the side.

Shinname Kaori's eyes gradually turned red and tears welled up.

"Before the truth is revealed, there is no point in being sad..."

Fujino comforted Shinname Kaori, then asked the man, "Has Mr. Shinname done anything unusual recently? Your editorial office should have a conversation with the author when you publish a book, right?"

"Yes, our editorial office did meet with Mr. Xinming several times before publishing the book."

At this time, the honest man revealed a serious expression after learning that this matter was not that simple: "If it is unusual, it may be the matter of Detective Samonji being re-serialized...

After all, we asked Mr. Shinaki to resume the serialization four years ago, but the reply we got was that Detective Samonji was dead... It is impossible for a person to be resurrected from the dead."

"We were originally planning to give up on this series, but two months ago, Mr. Niina called us again and said he wanted to restart the Samonji series...

After we got the news, we immediately stopped a novel that was being serialized to make room for Detective Sawamonji.”

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 145: Telling a Little Lie

"Two months ago. That should be when Mr. Niname disappeared, right?"

If Fujino remembered correctly, what the editor said should be an important breakthrough.

"That's right!"

Shinna Kaori wiped her tears and said, "My father disappeared a week before the publication of the article in the Bungeishi Era."

"So Mr. Niname disappeared after he restarted Detective Sawamonji."

Fujino pondered for a moment, then continued to ask the honest man: "Is there anything weird in Mr. Xinming's book?"

“There are some weird things.”

The honest man nodded and continued, "Mr. Niname said in the preface of his work: 'A warning to all the famous detectives in the country, those who think their reasoning ability is superior to mine, please come and find out the truth of this case!' After the release of this preface, it attracted a lot of feedback from fans... And this time, Mr. Niname also appeared in the book and became an old friend of Detective Samonji... This is the first time since the release of Detective Samonji."

"Does Detective Sawamonji have many fans?"

“Yes, there are a lot of fans, and they are very fanatical.”

The honest man nodded. "Just half a year ago, a fanatical fan threatened us, saying that if we didn't resume serializing Detective Samonji, they would set fire to our editorial office."

"That is to say, Detective Sawamonji has a lot of fans, and even a certain number of fanatical fans."

After a pause, Fujino continued, "Have those fanatical fans reached the point where they are willing to even threaten to burn down the editorial office?"

"Could it be that those fans kidnapped Mr. Niname?!"

The honest man shook his hands and suddenly realized, "If those fans threaten Mr. Niname in order to revive Detective Sawamonji, it is indeed possible!"

"I don't think so."

Fujino said, and asked Shinna Kaori: "If I remember correctly, Mr. Shinna should have decided to restart the Samonji series before he disappeared. Before that, you should have been in contact with the two of them frequently, right?"

"Yes."

Shinna Kaori nodded. "The day before my parents disappeared, I went to their house for dinner... and stayed overnight. It was only the next morning that I found the note that said 'I'll be out for a while.'"

"But if that's the case... then why did Mr. Niname disappear for no reason... If he was kidnapped, then what was the perpetrator's motive?"