After dealing with the two Stand-using rats, Jotaro specifically called the SPW Foundation, asking them to investigate the mastermind behind creating these rat Stand users as quickly as possible.
He was certain that besides Nijimura Keicho's older brother, someone else in this town possessed a Stone Arrow and was continuously using it to create Stand users.
…Yare yare daze.
Jolyne grabbed Lucky, preparing to put it back in the backpack, but was met with a firm refusal. It seemed it wanted to be carried back.
"Really, what am I going to do with you." Jolyne ultimately couldn't resist the cat's charm. She held its front paws with one hand and supported its bottom with the other, lifting it steadily. With this matter resolved and seeing there was still plenty of time, she planned to go to a pet store first to buy some dried fish and such. Coincidentally, Josuke was also planning to go with her.
"Mr. Jotaro, Jolyne and I are going to the pet store. Do you want to come?" Josuke invited Jotaro.
"No, I have some other matters to attend to." Jotaro declined as expected. However, before leaving, he very generously gave Jolyne a credit card. "You worked hard today."
Jolyne and Josuke's eyes instantly lit up, unable to believe what they were seeing. Was this… a Chartered Black Card?!
This was the legendary black card only available to top-tier clients with daily transaction volumes exceeding 120 million yen!
"M-Mr. Jotaro, i-is this our payment?" Josuke asked incredulously, his eyes glued to the black card. He had scrimped and saved for a whole semester just to save twenty thousand yen, and he was still a full eighty thousand yen short of the dress shoes he wanted. Did this mean he could finally buy those shoes today?
Jolyne was no less surprised than Josuke. Was her father really this generous? Handing over a black card just like that? One must know that black cards have no spending limit; you can spend as much as you want…
Jotaro nodded. "Go buy something you like." They were just kids. How much could they possibly spend?
Jolyne, quick as lightning, snatched the black card first and slipped it into her pocket. "Well, I'll hold onto it then." She turned to Josuke with a serious face. "Don't worry, Josuke, I'll keep the card safe."
Jotaro, who saw everything: "…Yare yare daze." No matter how capable, they were still just underage kids.
The two humans and one cat hummed a cheerful tune as they walked along the path in the outskirts. The sky was so blue, the scorching sun felt so warm, and even the weeds by the roadside looked pleasing.
Back in town, the two immediately disagreed on where to go first.
"The shoe store." Josuke had been looking forward to those shoes for ages, practically stopping to stare at them in the shop window every day he passed by. Once, Rohan Kishibe had even seen him and mocked him for looking like a pervert. This time, he absolutely had to buy those shoes quickly and then go show off to Rohan!
"The cosmetics store." Jolyne was a loyal customer of this cosmetics brand. She had had her eye on their latest new release, a green lipstick. But due to financial constraints, she had never bought it… Now, no matter what, she was going to buy that green lipstick!
"Meow!" [Human, buy the cat's dried fish first!] Lucky reached out a paw and scratched Jolyne's sleeve, trying to remind her of her earlier promise.
Humans can't understand cat language, but Stand users can communicate through their Stands. Even though Jolyne and Josuke couldn't understand the meows, the meaning contained within automatically entered their brains, allowing them to comprehend.
The two humans and one cat were at a stalemate, neither willing to give in.
Finally, Jolyne took the initiative to concede, displaying the magnanimity expected of a human, and agreed to go to the pet store first.
Seeing Jolyne give way, Josuke also felt a bit embarrassed. He displayed the magnanimity expected of an elder and agreed to go to the pet store first, then the cosmetics store, and finally the shoe store.
The two humans and one cat finally reached a consensus.
Lucky happily jumped down from Jolyne's arms, stretched on the ground, its tail held high as it led the way.
"Welcome! How can I help you two today?" The pet store clerk greeted them with a standard smile, which gradually became more genuine when she saw Lucky. "Oh, are you two here to buy supplies for Lucky?"
"You know this cat?" Jolyne was puzzled.
"Yes, everyone who works here knows Lucky. It often comes to the store by itself to shop, and even pays on its own! It's such a smart and likable little cat!"
The clerk started talking non-stop about Lucky, becoming unusually excited. It was clear she really liked this cat.
"Meow."
Hearing the call, the clerk quickly walked over, casually petting the furry cat head. "Happy to serve you. What would you like today, customer?"
Lucky then walked ahead, its little paw touching item after item. The clerk took down each one. The final result was… it picked out every single type of cat food and treat.
The clerk scanned each item. "That will be one hundred and twenty-two thousand, five hundred yen. Will that be card or cash?"
"…Card." Jolyne handed over the black card, frowning at the small mountain of cat food. There was no way they could carry all of it with just their four hands.
Seeming to sense her worry, the clerk smiled and said, "Don't worry, miss. Our store has dedicated delivery service; we can deliver it to your home~ And with your purchase amount, delivery is free."
"That's a huge help," Jolyne said.
Josuke, squatting nearby, poked Lucky's face hard. "You really don't hold back, do you? Spending so much money, it hurts my heart." Even though he said that, there was no real anger in his tone, so the cat in question didn't care at all.
Leaving the pet store, Jolyne and Josuke prepared to go to their next destination. Why just the two of them? Because Lucky's laziness kicked in, and it hitched a ride home with the delivery driver.
This actually saved Jolyne some trouble; she didn't have to make an extra trip.
Next came the shopping spree. No girl can walk out of a cosmetics store empty-handed, and Jolyne was no exception.
Jolyne loved uniquely colored lipsticks, eyeshadows, and the like. Coincidentally, this store excelled in that area, and every product hit the mark for her. Suddenly, she could empathize with Lucky's earlier behavior.
What happened next was predictable; she bought almost the entire cosmetics line…
Looking at the enormous total, she felt a bit embarrassed. But she quickly got over it. She was spending her own father's money! And her father only had one child. Wasn't it right for all the money to be spent on her?
Later, Josuke in the shoe store had the same thought. Come on, he was spending his nephew's money, not some stranger's. Besides, Jotaro only had one uncle. Wasn't it right to spend a little on himself?
Laden with shopping bags, the two planned to go to Tonio's restaurant for a big meal. Speaking of Tonio's, Josuke felt a twinge of regret. The first time he and Okuyasu went, he had been so suspicious he barged into the kitchen and was punished by Tonio to clean the entire kitchen!
Even worse, after cleaning, he still didn't get to eat a single bite! This time, he was determined to enjoy a proper meal!
However, as they passed a café, they ran into Okuyasu, Koichi, and… Yamagishi Yukako, who had recently confirmed her relationship with Koichi. The three seemed to be discussing something important and waved them over enthusiastically.
Oh well… The dining plan was aborted.
"Yo, Josuke, where have you been? I haven't seen you all day?" Okuyasu said. "And Miss Jolyne is here too? You two weren't on a date, were you?"
Jolyne was utterly speechless. With his IQ, he could only think of that.
Out of curiosity, Jolyne had once asked Josuke about Okuyasu's intelligence. Josuke told her that Okuyasu had smacked his own head when he awakened his Stand.
If anyone else did that, it might be fine. The key point was that Okuyasu's Stand ability was to erase space…
"Ah… that guy probably erased part of his own brain back then," she remembered Josuke saying.
Jolyne sat in the empty seat next to Yukako, while Josuke sat next to Okuyasu.
"I heard from Mr. Jotaro that you've been hunting Stand-using rats recently. How did it go?" Koichi asked.
He had heard about the murder at the Morioh Grand Hotel a couple of days ago. He was shocked at the time, wondering who would be so bold as to kill in a public place. Later, he thought of the serial killer hiding in town, never expecting the culprit to be rats.
"They've been eliminated," Jolyne replied. "By the way, any progress on the serial murder case you're investigating?"
Recently, due to the rat incident, Jolyne had put her investigation on hold. She was quite interested in the progress now.
Koichi's face fell. "That guy is hiding very well. We can't find any information at all."
"What about Mr. Kishibe? Any progress from him?" Even though Jolyne's impression of Rohan Kishibe wasn't great, it was undeniable that his Stand ability was unmatched for gathering intelligence.
If her own Stand had the ability to read people's memories, she'd use it on everyone in town. That would definitely smoke out the killer.
It wasn't nice, but it was the only way.
"I'm not really sure either," Koichi said, even more dejected. He was the closest to Mr. Kishibe among them, but since they returned from the haunted alley, he hadn't seen him. He didn't know what he was busy with.
"Eh? Jolyne big sister!"
Jolyne looked down and finally saw the owner of the voice. "It's Conan. What a coincidence."
Jolyne smiled and greeted him. She hadn't expected to run into Conan here. But why was this child out alone? Wasn't Miss Mouri with him?
Or perhaps… "Conan, are you looking for the culprit?"
***
N: Its finally done, from 3AM to 6AM, alright, this is it for this week, see you next week.
A review or stone would be appreciated.