"Pfft…hahahaha..."
"Hmm?" Enomoto Azusa, who had been laughing, turned around in confusion and saw Amuro Toru with his fist to his lips, clearly still trying to hold back laughter. "Why are you laughing like that… Did Akechi-kun say something wrong?"
"It's nothing." Amuro Toru waved his hand, trying to suppress his laughter. "Just remembered something funny. Don't worry about it. Just watch the show."
Whether considering Mingzhi's identity, or that of Kazawa or Kumail, Amuro Toru—who could be considered family—was currently watching the live broadcast from the Polo Cafe.
If you ask whether Akechi has ever had a broken expression… he has. And Amuro Toru has the evidence.
That video where Kazawa staged his own death was still on his phone. He could easily pull out a hundred or so screenshots of all the terrible expressions Kazawa made during it.
How about posting a few of those on SNS to give his fans a broader view?
But really, how did Kazawa train his acting skills? To manage his micro-expressions with that kind of precision throughout the entire show?
Should we bring him into the Zero Division for training? Kazami and the others' ability to control their expressions… well, it's not great. It can only be described as utterly hopeless.
If Kazawa were to evaluate the thoughts of Conan and Amuro Toru right now, he'd probably say, "Isn't that obvious? How else could someone in their twenties pull off deep-cover work?"
Ever since accepting that the Nichiren TV reporter might be a Kryptonian, Kazawa had resumed maintaining the same level of expression management intensity as during his undercover years.
In the realm of science, you can be poor, you can be evil—but you can't be ugly!
After over ten minutes of back-and-forth conversation, the staff signaled to the two hosts that the screen had cut to a commercial.
Several PDs in the audience rushed onto the stage, quickly powdering Nagai Ayako's face and handing both hosts the updated script.
"Mr. Matsuo, the improv segment will start after the video…" Nagai Ayako turned to her co-host, only to see him hunched over with a pained expression. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Ah, just a bit of a stomachache." Matsuo Takashi winced, turning to the nearby PD. "Where's Suwa? I haven't seen him all day."
"That's right… Mr. Suwa didn't show up today." Nagai Ayako glanced around, also puzzled. "He usually handles on-site coordination… Maybe he's in the control room?"
"Could you help check where Suwa is?" Matsuo Takashi asked the PD.
"Akechi-kun." The accompanying PD, Umemura, walked up to Kazawa with a somewhat nervous look, blocking his view of Matsuo. "Do you need help with your makeup? Um, should we not call that makeup artist again…?"
"It's okay, I'm good." Kazawa smiled and rubbed his face with his gloved hand, showing that his makeup was still intact. "I don't sweat easily. Ms. May isn't that scary, is she?"
He glanced at Miyano Akemi, who was seated among the audience.
Miyano Akemi was watching her "younger brother" on the show with full seriousness, but unfortunately, her rather aggressive appearance today seemed to keep nearby audience members at a distance.
"Mr. Matsuo said they might add a new topic later, so we need to confirm the updated script." Umemura relaxed, smiled again, and handed over the revised pages to Kazawa.
Kazawa skimmed through them, raised his eyebrows, and looked quite pleased.
"No problem." After reading the lines, Kazawa returned the pages and asked, "Are you preparing the props?"
"Props?" Umemura looked confused and checked the page again.
"That is…"
"Welcome back to the Japanese Detective Agency live show!" Takashi Matsuo appeared cheerful again, his tone lively as the cameras resumed rolling. "Earlier, we discussed whether detectives should carry firearms. Nowadays, most domestic detectives tend to be 'armchair detectives' who rarely deal with violent criminals directly, so gun-carrying is becoming rare."
"Coincidentally, both of our guests today happen to be 'gun-carrying detectives'." Nagai Ayako made a cute surprised face and directed the camera to the two guests.
"About that…" Kogoro Mori chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. "I used to be a criminal investigator, so I do have a license to carry. But my shooting skills are honestly not that great."
Kazawa glanced sideways at Kogoro Mori while the camera wasn't on them.
Really? Best marksman in the police academy. Even Superman couldn't beat you. And now you say you're not good at shooting?
"Oh, speaking of shooting, Matsuo-san's marksmanship is excellent!" Nagai Ayako smoothly shifted the focus and cut to the two hosts.
"Eh? Me?" Matsuo raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised.
"I heard Matsuo-san often practices shooting abroad. Your skills are as good as a pro's!" Nagai Ayako crossed her arms, half-joking.
"No, no, not at all…" Matsuo raised his hands—then suddenly stood upright and declared dramatically, "You flatter me too much!"
The audience burst into laughter at his antics.
"But compared to me, Detective Akechi is more impressive, right?" Matsuo sat down again and looked toward Kazawa. "After all, both Detective Mori and I are older guys, but Akechi-kun is still a minor! And you have a legal gun license too, right?"
"Yes." When the screen turned to him, Kazawa already wore his perfect smile. "Unlike what most people think, gun laws vary a lot between states in the U.S. The one I lived in was an 'open carry' state—meaning as long as any three sides of your gun are visible at all times and you're not threatening anyone, you're allowed to carry without a permit."
"So... anyone can carry a gun?" Nagai Ayako looked surprised.
"Yes. So I actually applied for a concealed carry permit, which does require training and a license. It's not as crazy as it sounds." Kazawa shrugged. "In the U.S., shooting is like martial arts in Japan—it's considered a basic self-defense skill."
"Oh..." Matsuo was stunned by this "American martial arts" explanation and nodded slowly.
Nagai Ayako, listening to the director through her earpiece, hesitated, then smiled and raised her arms. "Since I'm the only newbie here… why not give us a little demonstration, marksmanship masters? It's rare for a variety show like ours to have a talent show moment! Audience friends, treasure this opportunity!"
As she cheered, staff rolled out cardboard bullseye targets and prop guns onto the stage.
Kazawa narrowed his eyes and smiled, relaxed. He turned to look at Kogoro Mori with interest.
Standing on your left is a former criminal investigator who can snipe someone in the head with a pistol from ten meters away.
Standing on your right is a cheat-code marksman with Shuichi Akai's sniper-level skills.
And you—a shooting legend at the academy—are about to pretend you're a rookie in this kind of setup?