"Why were you in the trunk?" Now that Conan had figured out Takayanagi Ichiro's little trick, he found it a bit dull—he had thought Ichiro had actually deduced it.
But the three kids had only praised Ichiro without answering his earlier question.
"We wanted to be friends with you, Conan," Yoshida Ayumi reiterated, just as she had said back at Teitan Elementary.
"That's what Ayumi said, so I came along," Kojima Genta muttered reluctantly. Ayumi was his goddess, and the fact that she was actively trying to befriend the new transfer student Conan filled him with a deep sense of crisis.
"I think we'll be good friends," Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko said. Like Genta, he admired Ayumi, but unlike him, he supported the idea of befriending Conan.
Their answers left Conan helpless. If he really were a child, facing three enthusiastic classmates, he might have agreed.
But Conan was a high school detective, only shrunk due to the Black Organization's mysterious drug. Once Professor Agasa found a cure, he'd return to being the famous high school detective Shinichi Kudo—there was no way he'd befriend three elementary school kids.
Seeing Conan still unwilling, Genta grew unhappy, but Ayumi stopped him. "If we don't follow now, we won't know where Uncle Mouri and the others went."
Hearing that, Conan's heart skipped a beat. He wanted to close the trunk before leaving, but he couldn't reach because of his height. Genta had to help him.
"Thanks," Conan said before quickly hurrying after Mouri Kogoro and the others, keeping some distance because the three kids were tagging along.
…
Ichiro returned home and, upon opening the door, found a woman sitting on his sofa, as if she had been waiting for him.
"Hotta Miki, here to mortgage something with you," the woman introduced herself, standing to shake his hand as he entered.
"I wonder what Miss Hotta intends to mortgage. If possible, I'd appreciate it if you could call ahead to make an appointment next time." Ichiro shook her hand in return.
To his surprise, although she looked like an ordinary office worker, her hand was soft—not like someone who worked with her hands all the time.
"When I arrived, I noticed your door was unlocked. I came in to help keep an eye on your home. I hope you don't mind," Hotta explained.
Ichiro didn't believe it for a second. He was sure he had locked the door before leaving earlier with Yoko and the others. For her to get in so easily, she was clearly not ordinary—and the fact that she hadn't attacked him meant she truly had a request.
"Then thank you," Ichiro said politely. He poured a cup of coffee, set it on the table in front of her, and asked, "So, Miss Hotta, what do you want to mortgage? I deal in loans, not pawnbroking—there's a difference."
Ignoring the coffee, Hotta pulled a document from her bag and handed it to him. "Take a look. If I use this as collateral, how much can I borrow from you?"
Ichiro glanced through it and was shocked—it was stock in Japan's largest telecommunications company, along with affiliated mobile phone R&D and manufacturing enterprises.
"I only handle loans. Something like this has little value to me. If you want to calculate it at market value, that's not going to happen," Ichiro stated firmly.
"Ten billion yen. These shares will be entirely yours, as long as you don't interfere with the telecom company's operations. You can do whatever you want otherwise," Hotta replied, unfazed.
Ten billion yen—no small amount. Until now, his biggest loan had been three billion to Mizukami Naoto.
Hotta hadn't even bothered to address the question of whether the documents were genuine, which only deepened Ichiro's suspicion.
"Expanding into other industries isn't what I'm aiming for right now, and even if I wanted to, I can't gather ten billion yen at once," Ichiro said honestly.
"If Mr. Takayanagi agrees, I can do something for you for free," Hotta offered.
Looking at her unremarkable figure, Ichiro asked, "Such as?"
"I can help you get rid of your uncle and your cousin, making you the sole heir of the Takayanagi family. Then you'd have the final say in the family and enough money to lend us," Hotta said, leaving Ichiro stunned.
(End of Chapter)
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