The next day.
On the way to school.
"Ahhhhh!"
"It's Kurosawa-kun! Quick, quick, he's over here—don't let him get away!"
"He ran into that store—hurry, cut him off!"
Listening to the chaos behind them on the street, Ran and Sonoko exchanged a helpless look and smiled wryly in perfect sync.
Sonoko sighed. "How many times has this been now?"
Ran counted and answered, "Four times."
"That's terrifying." Sonoko shuddered and clung tightly to Ran's arm, lowering her voice. "I can't speak for other places, but in Beika Town, the odds of Hoshino not being recognized are way too small. Especially after yesterday's live broadcast—his fame's only grown."
"Yeah." Ran agreed completely. They were just on their way to school, and Kurosawa Hoshino had already been recognized by passing fans four times. And every time someone shouted, the other pedestrians would get fired up like they'd been injected with adrenaline, transforming into ten-year die-hard fans, swarming Kurosawa Hoshino for autographs and photos—some even wanted kisses. There were even guys who wanted to kiss him, which was honestly chilling to watch.
"Should we go help him?" Sonoko sneaked a glance back at the supermarket Kurosawa Hoshino had ducked into.
"How?" Ran asked.
Sonoko couldn't answer. Were the two of them supposed to force their way in and drag Kurosawa Hoshino out? That seemed a bit unrealistic.
"Cough, cough." Suddenly, a cough came from ahead.
The two girls turned and saw a boy in the Teitan High School uniform, wearing a hat, standing by a utility pole on the side of the road, waving at them.
"Huh~" Ran and Sonoko exclaimed in surprise and happily ran over.
"Hoshino, how did you get out?" Sonoko patted his shoulder, then reached to lift his hat.
"Don't!" Kurosawa Hoshino shouted. "You want me to get surrounded again?"
"Uh—no." Sonoko awkwardly pulled her hand back.
Ran said, "Hoshino, you still haven't told us when you got out."
"Right when they pushed me into the supermarket, I bought a hat and went out the back door."
Kurosawa Hoshino still felt a lingering fear—fans were truly terrifying. At the same time, he was grateful for the rules of this world: as long as he wore a hat and wasn't someone close to him, other pedestrians wouldn't recognize him.
"Oh, oh~" The two girls nodded in understanding.
"Let's not talk about it. Hurry up and let's get to school first." Kurosawa Hoshino turned and walked forward with the two girls.
But they had only gone one street when a group of seven or eight girls screamed ahead and charged straight at them.
"Hm? Is the Conan-rule not working anymore? Have I been recognized?" Kurosawa Hoshino wondered.
Ran stepped directly in front, spreading her arms wide. With a tragic tone, she said, "Hoshino, go! I'll hold them off!"
"Right, go!" Sonoko stood firmly beside her best friend.
Kurosawa Hoshino nodded, turned, and ran. But after only a couple of steps, he sensed something was off and turned to look at the group of girls.
He realized they had no intention of chasing him. Instead, they had surrounded Ran and Sonoko, chattering away. The topics made him blink in confusion.
"Lady Ran, Lady Sonoko, please teach us how to capture the heart of an outstanding man!"
"Lady Ran, please give me your autograph."
"Lady Sonoko, how far have things gone between you and Kurosawa-kun?"
"Excuse me, is Kurosawa-kun two-timing—no, three-timing? Yesterday there was another girl who looked exactly like Lady Ran."
Ran and Sonoko were stunned for a moment, overwhelmed by the barrage of questions from girls their own age. It took them a while to collect their thoughts, but even then, their cheeks flushed red, and they didn't know how to answer.
In the end, they had no choice but to make things up. After all, if they said they had nothing to do with Kurosawa Hoshino, these girls wouldn't believe it at all.
Not far away.
Kurosawa Hoshino pulled his hat down and thought, Looks like yesterday's live broadcast didn't just make me more famous—Ran and Sonoko seem to have become famous in Beika Town too.
After thinking for a moment, he shouted loudly, "Kurosawa-kun is on the next street over—he got cornered by fans in a supermarket!"
Hearing that, the girls stopped surrounding Ran and Sonoko and happily ran off in the direction he'd pointed. Even some passersby's eyes lit up, and their pace quickened.
"Let's go." Kurosawa Hoshino stepped forward, grabbed them, and ran quickly ahead.
Only when they were one street away from Teitan High School, surrounded by students in uniforms heading to school, did he breathe a sigh of relief. He looked at the two girls, whose faces were still slightly red, and sighed. "Looks like this won't die down for a few days."
"Mm~" Ran responded quietly, still embarrassed by the girls' questions.
Sonoko said cheerfully, "It's great. I have fans now too."
"Yeah, you're famous too."
Kurosawa Hoshino wasn't panicking anymore. He walked slowly forward, and with the hat on his head, it was even easier.
"Oh, Dr. Araide." Ran gestured toward Dr. Tomoaki Araide, who was crouching by a grassy patch ahead.
As the three approached, they heard a "meow, meow."
It turned out that Dr. Tomoaki Araide—who was actually Vermouth in disguise—was feeding a stray cat with ham sausage and bread.
Sensing someone approaching, Araide stood up and looked back. A smile appeared on his face. "Ran, Hoshino, and Sonoko. It's you. Good morning."
"Good morning, Dr. Araide. Why are you feeding a cat here?" Sonoko asked softly.
"I just happened to run into it." Araide looked down and stroked the cat, which was busy eating. "She's pregnant. She must have been starving, which is why she dared to boldly beg me for food."
Ran looked closely and said in surprise, "Really, her belly is so big. She's a cat about to become a mother."
"Yes." Araide nodded, glanced at Kurosawa Hoshino, and said, "Hoshino, I watched your live broadcast yesterday. It was amazing. I thought your deductions were truly incredible."
"It was all right." Kurosawa Hoshino knew this was Vermouth putting on an act and didn't expose her.
"Oh, right—Hoshino, Ran." Sonoko spoke up. "I recently joined a magician hobby group, and they're having an offline meetup. I kind of want to go. Can you two come with me?"
"Sure," Ran agreed.
"Okay," Kurosawa Hoshino agreed as well. He mainly figured that what Sonoko was talking about was probably the magician enthusiast murder case from the original story—and Kaito Kuroba might even be mixed in with them. Besides, he wasn't about to miss a chance to earn Source Points.
"Great!" Sonoko said happily. "I heard the place is a bit out of the way. I wouldn't dare go alone."
"Where is it?" Ran asked curiously.
"It's at—"
Araide listened to their conversation while stroking the cat, his eyes flickering.