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"How... how do you have the key to my house?"
Miyamoto Yumi lay sprawled on the couch in the living room, still slurring her words.
Her flushed cheeks, reddened by alcohol, took on an extra layer of allure under the soft glow of the moonlight.
"Akira..."
"Do you... know?"
"Those guys from the police headquarters… they actually wanted me to seduce you."
Akira raised an eyebrow slightly.
Well, now this is interesting.
"Why would they want you to seduce me?"
His curiosity was instantly piqued.
At that moment, Yumi wobbled as she sat up from the couch. Her slender, pale arms wrapped around Akira's neck again, her breath brushing softly against his face.
A faint scent of alcohol mixed with a unique feminine fragrance.
"Because..."
"Because they don't want you and Sato Miwako to be together."
"Right now, you're basically Tokyo Metropolitan Police's number one public enemy."
"So... so..."
Before she could finish speaking, Yumi suddenly fell silent, burying her face into his chest and rubbing against him.
Even though she didn't complete her sentence, Akira had already figured it out.
Those guys at the Tokyo Police Department wanted to use Miyamoto Yumi to sabotage his relationship with Sato Miwako.
Hah—
How ridiculously naive.
"Akira..."
"Did you know?"
"I actually kind of like you too. It's just… just that Miwako got to you first."
"Seriously…"
Drunken words, sober thoughts!
Akira believed every word Yumi was saying.
If it weren't for the fact that she'd downed two bottles of beer tonight, he probably never would've heard her honest feelings.
He looked down at the woman in his arms…
Her sensual body was pressed tightly against him, her long legs practically coiling around his waist like the roots of an old tree.
Seeing this…
Akira suddenly scooped her up and carried her straight toward the bedroom.
When a woman who likes you throws herself at you…
If he didn't do something about it, could he even call himself a man?
With a swift kick, he knocked the bedroom door open and tossed the drunken Miyamoto Yumi onto the bed.
Gotta admit—
A woman in her early twenties like Yumi might lack the fresh innocence of someone like Mori Ran, but in exchange, she exuded a mature allure that an eighteen-year-old high school girl simply couldn't possess.
"Yumi..."
"I like you too."
With that—
Akira transformed into a reckless knight.
...
Beika Town, 2-Chome, Block 22.
"Hello—"
"Inspector Megure?"
"It's me, Kudo Shinichi."
At that moment…
The shrunken body of Kudo Shinichi held a bowtie voice changer in one hand and a phone in the other.
"Oh—"
"Kudo, my boy!"
"It's been a long time!"
Hearing Inspector Megure's hearty voice over the phone, Shinichi's mouth twitched slightly.
He really wanted to stand among the detectives at the Tokyo Police Headquarters, solving cases like before.
But he couldn't…
Ever since his body shrank, he could no longer appear as Kudo Shinichi.
The most frustrating part was that without Dr. Agasa's bowtie voice changer, he couldn't even make a simple phone call like this.
"Inspector Megure."
"I have something very important to ask you."
"I need some information on Akira, the manager of the CLOVER convenience store."
He wasn't giving up!
Even though Ran was now completely taken in by Akira, he still had to figure out who this guy really was.
Most importantly…
With his extraordinary detective brain, he just couldn't wrap his head around how, in just half a month, Ran had willingly brought another man home to the detective agency for the night.
"Akira?"
"Akira…?"
On the other end of the call, Inspector Megure's voice was filled with confusion and contemplation.
Clearly—
The name sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't place it immediately.
"The convenience store robbery at 5-Chome a while back."
"Akira was the manager involved in that case."
Shinichi's tone was filled with helplessness.
Without his help, the police couldn't even remember a key person from a major case.
That's why…
He needed to find a way to return to his original body as soon as possible—so that Kudo Shinichi, the genius high school detective, could step back into the public eye.
"Ohhh~~"
"So you're talking about that guy."
Shinichi's reminder made Megure suddenly realize.
No wonder the name sounded so familiar.
Akira wasn't just involved in the CLOVER convenience store robbery. Just a few days ago, he had also been present at the murder scene in the home of the famous actress, Yoko Okino.
"Huh…?"
"Kudo, why are you suddenly asking about this guy?"
Inspector Megure sounded puzzled on the other end.
Could it be…
This guy was involved in some shady business?
But based on their previous investigations, Akira had been confirmed as a completely legal citizen.
"He's connected to a case I'm investigating, so I wanted to get some details about him from you."
"....."