"The reputation is truly well-deserved!"
"Mr. Mouri, I assume you saw through it from the very beginning as well?"
The crew members were buzzing with excitement. Tsuneo's pinpoint deduction—identifying Ushiro Ruri as the culprit in this episode—had given them a front-row seat to the skills of a genuine detective.
In truth, deducing the killer's psychology from the black-white-grey color scheme wasn't incredibly difficult, especially given how heavily the script emphasized those colors. As the "Great Detective" had noted, it really was child's play.
"So, this is a real detective in action!" Even Nagumo Nobuharu, who had been lying on the floor playing the corpse, couldn't help but open his eyes to offer his praise.
"What are you doing moving around? You're a corpse!"
"Stay down!" Kazami Yoshiki barked, landing a vicious kick directly into Nobuharu's back. His expression was twisted with malice.
Having failed to embarrass the detectives, he had immediately pivoted to find a more vulnerable target to vent his frustrations on.
"Mr. Nagumo, are you alright?" Namihara Kasumi, her short brown hair swaying as she ran over, knelt beside the groaning Nobuharu with a look of genuine concern.
"Oh, Kasumi. Have you already grown tired of that screenwriter and set your sights on this guy instead?" Kazami shoved his hands into his pockets, his arrogant gaze sweeping across the room. He didn't seem to care who he offended.
"My apologies, I forgot. You're the kind of woman who's used once and then thrown away," he added, seeing her stunned, innocent expression.
"You bastard! Watch your mouth!" Nagumo Akira charged forward, grabbing Kazami by the collar.
"I'm telling you, old man—you're the one who should be polite to me. I've heard all about it; you've been sneaking off every night to have secret trysts with your little mistress, haven't you?"
"I don't have the definitive proof yet, but I can take a pretty good guess as to who that woman is."
Kazami ignored the veteran actor's threat, turning the tables by threatening him instead. He brushed off his clothes with a smug, self-important air.
The director and the staff sat frozen, staring at him in stunned silence. With an actor like this on set, anyone involved was destined for a headache.
"What's with those faces? It's not like I care. If this show gets ruined, so be it. What a cursed production!"
Kazami spat out a few more insults at the director, shot a look of pure disdain at Tsuneo—the man who had shown him up—and sauntered out with his hands in his pockets.
"Heh... hehehe..."
Tsuneo's expression was an unsettling half-smile. To those watching, he looked far more terrifying than the arrogant actor who had just left. It had been a long time since he'd encountered someone so convinced that they were the center of the universe.
"Ran-neechan... can we finish the ending credits quickly and get out of here?" Conan asked, turning toward Ran after noticing the "Fixer's" expression.
If they didn't leave soon, there was no telling what might happen if that man came back and opened his mouth again.
"I'm afraid not. They haven't set up the scene for the ending credits yet. We likely have to wait until the episode finishes filming," Ran said, shaking her head. If it were just a quick shot outside the villa like the intro, they would have done it already.
"Who does that guy think he is?" Mouri grumbled, his annoyance reaching its peak. If Tsuneo hadn't stepped in with that deduction, Mouri might have said something wrong in front of everyone and suffered a total social death.
"The show's primary sponsor is a newspaper company. He's the owner's only son," Ushiro Ruri explained, standing close to her old classmate.
That explained why he felt entitled to berate the director, show no respect to his seniors, and halt production whenever he felt like taking a break.
"No wonder he knows so much sordid inside information..." Mouri glanced over at Namihara Kasumi and Nagumo Akira.
Disposable women and veteran actors with secret mistresses...
"Yes, but he's got a loose tongue. He'll blurt it out to anyone who listens. He relies on these gossip scandals to boost the show's ratings," Ruri said with a sigh.
Working with someone like that brought nothing but trouble, but the ratings were too good for the company to let her drop out of the project.
"On the bright side, getting to see Kogoro-chan again was an unexpected bonus!" The actress's tone shifted instantly as she grabbed Mouri's arm with a smile.
The muddled detective immediately dissolved into a giddy, lovestruck grin.
"Alright, everyone take thirty minutes! Let's clear our heads and come back fresh for the shoot!" At the director's command, the staff—who had been milling about awkwardly—finally relaxed.
"Why are you following me?" Tsuneo asked, looking down.
The "Great Detective" was acting very strangely, trailing him like a shadow wherever he went.
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning," Conan replied bluntly, continuing his role as a human anchor.
He had seen that look on Tsuneo's face when he was dealing with Kazami Yoshiki. There was no telling what kind of "fixing" the man was about to perform.
"I'm going up to the roof in a bit. You coming?" Tsuneo asked, seemingly unbothered.
Evil has its own way of being dealt with by the heavens, he thought.
"Yes!"
"You're saying my parents had a massive fight over soy sauce and seasoning?" Ran asked, looking at Ushiro Ruri with curiosity.
"Mhm. It was during a home economics class in elementary school. They got into a heated argument over what to pour on a fried egg."
"Eri believed that fried eggs should be eaten with sauce, while Kogoro insisted that soy sauce was the only way."
"However," Ruri recalled with a smile, "when the teacher had us taste the dishes we'd made, their eating habits were identical. Everyone laughed at them back then."
It was hard to tell if those two were perfectly compatible or completely mismatched.
"That was ages ago. You really don't need to bring it up now..." Mouri said, looking slightly embarrassed.
"It's fine, it's fine! I want to hear more!" Ran laughed.
"Hehe. By the way, Kogoro, where did your disciple and that little boy go?" Ruri asked, looking around.
The two of them had slipped away from the set one after the other. Even though the three of them had walked halfway around the villa, there was no sign of either of them.
"They probably went to the bathroom together," Mouri said dismissively.
"Conan and Tsuneo-san are practically inseparable, aren't they?" Ran remarked. She had noticed Conan being particularly clingy today, even though Tsuneo clearly looked like he wanted some space.
As they walked, the door at the end of the hallway suddenly swung open, and several staff members emerged.
Ushiro Ruri's expression flickered for a brief second. She immediately turned toward the window, drawing everyone's attention.
"Oh, look! It's snowing!"
"Oh, that's right. The weather report yesterday mentioned it might snow today," Ran noted, nodding.
The staff members gathered by the window to admire the view. Sensing the mood, Ruri suggested they all go outside to get a better look at the snow, effectively ushering the group out of the villa.
Her objective was clear: she was helping someone cover their tracks.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"