Ming Ke Theater Chapter 088

Sonoko Suzuki said, “So Ran thought so much back then. If it were me, I would have definitely blurted it out already.”

Shinichi Kudo recalled her detective skills, which rivaled Kogoro Mouri’s, and thought that with her carefree nature, she wouldn’t consider so much.

Ran Mouri said, “It was also through this incident that I realized saying my own deduction required so much courage.” She looked at her childhood friend who had shrunk beside her. “Shinichi, you’re amazing.”

Shinichi Kudo, who was praised directly, blushed. “N-No, it’s nothing.”

This really wasn’t much to him, because that was just his nature. He wasn’t as delicate as Ran Mouri, nor did he overthink things. He wasn’t as amazing as she said, hahaha.

The great detective was secretly pleased.

【…

At this moment, Shinichi Kudo’s call came through, and Ran Mouri couldn’t help but ask him for help.

According to Ran Mouri’s retelling, Conan on the other end of the phone quickly identified the culprit of the case. Just as he was about to say the culprit’s name, Ran Mouri told him to wait and asked him to listen to her own deduction.

Ran Mouri, suppressing her shyness, quickly finished stating her thoughts, then heard laughter from the other end of the phone.

Ran Mouri said, “Hey, hey, didn’t you say you wouldn’t laugh at me?”

Conan said, “Ah, sorry, I’m not laughing at your deduction. I was just imagining your expression of being at a loss even after deducing to this point, and I found it a bit funny.”

Ran Mouri was still a bit shy and said she wasn’t like him, always full of confidence.

The voice on the other end said, “Fool, detectives aren’t omniscient or omnipotent. Most detectives feel uneasy when stating their deductions, because there’s always a chance they might have missed something. So when their deduction hits the mark, that joy is twice as much as anyone else’s.”】

Heiji Hattori nodded. The thrill of being a detective was like that; once experienced, it was like an addiction, and one could never give it up. This applied to Kudo and to himself. However, not everyone could enjoy this feeling. Given Ran Mouri’s personality, she probably wouldn’t like it.

But it was a good experience, wasn’t it?

Presumably, the Conan in the video thought the same.

【…

Conan encouraged Ran Mouri to be brave and try, even if she didn’t know if it was right or wrong.

He guided her, “Isn’t there a very simple way to lure the culprit out right before your eyes? You can imagine, if you were the culprit, under what circumstances would you feel danger and run out?”

Ran Mouri thought about it and actually came up with a method. She borrowed the restroom from the shop owner, went in, closed the door, and shouted towards the ceiling, “Fire! Everyone run!”

The shop owner was startled by her words and quickly knocked on the door, saying, “Hey! Don’t talk nonsense! If it affects my business, I’ll sue you!”

Ran Mouri came out shortly after shouting, leaving the shop owner confused about what young people nowadays were thinking.

“Shh…” Ran Mouri told the shop owner to be quiet and listen carefully to the sounds around them. The shop owner suddenly heard a loud noise from the ceiling, and then a figure suddenly rushed out of the empty restroom. The figure was stopped by Jodie and the others who were blocking the way. Seeing no signs of fire around, the figure knew their actions had been exposed.

Ran Mouri said, “It’s you indeed, the polite office worker-dressed customer.”

Yes, he was the one who stole merchandise at night and made Ayaka take the blame. Ran Mouri stated her deduction, leaving the man speechless. With Shinichi Kudo’s voice adding to it, the thief couldn’t defend himself.

Finally, the kind shop owner took in the customer who had gone astray after losing his job, letting him work in the shop to repay his debt. The two of them apologized to Ayaka, and the ending was a happy one.

“Hey, lady detective…” The person on the other end of the phone spoke up to remind her that there was still someone there and not to ignore him.

“Ah, Shinichi!” Ran Mouri almost forgot him. “By the way, what were you going to tell me just now?”

Conan said, “Never mind, it’s nothing important. Have you been to my house to clean recently?”

Ran Mouri said, “No, why?”

Conan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor of Professor Agasa’s house, looking at his own house. “Nothing, it’s fine if you haven’t gone.”】

Yui Uehara said, “That’s a great idea. Since they guessed the person was hiding up there, they couldn’t see what was happening below and could only listen. And a fire is a very clever thing. Even if you shout ‘fire’ on the street, people inside the house will come out to check, because they’re not sure if the fire will reach them.”

Kansuke Yamato said, “Him coming out by himself also saves people the trouble of going up to catch him, which makes things a lot easier.”

For the Nagano trio, who were good at entrapment, they felt this strategy was very well-suited.

【…

After solving the case, Jodie and the other two took their purchased items home and had a big feast. As a result, Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki were fine, but Jodie, who had been drinking continuously, was already drunk and slumped on the table.

They decided to stay and take care of the drunkard. Ran Mouri called Kogoro Mouri to say hello, then went to the restroom.

Ran Mouri came to the sink, feeling a bit unwilling. Although her deduction was correct, that guy still helped her in the end. But looking at her somewhat shy expression, it seemed it wasn’t just unwillingness.

Huh? What is this?

Ran Mouri saw a corner peeking out from under the mirror and couldn’t help but open the space behind the mirror out of curiosity. But what came into view startled her—there were many photos inside, and she recognized all the people in the photos.

Why did Jodie-sensei take these photos? And why hide them behind the mirror? Could her purpose for coming to Teitan High School not be simple?】

Jodie closed her eyes. “So it really was at this time.”

She had some guesses about this matter, and it was clear her guesses were correct.

Ran Mouri said, “Although it’s impolite to mess with other people’s things, I was really suspicious of you then, Sensei. If you had ill intentions towards the people around me, I definitely wouldn’t have stood by. But I didn’t expect you to be FBI.”

Jodie said, “I also admire your courage, Ran. Not knowing if I was human or ghost, yet still having the guts to investigate me.”

Ran Mouri said, “I was willing to believe that Jodie-sensei, you weren’t a bad person, but I needed to find out why you were hiding those photos. That was the most important thing.”

Jodie couldn’t say she was wrong; this incident was her own oversight. But thankfully, her worries didn’t come to pass. She had previously wondered why Vermouth hadn’t shot her, and now she finally understood, which resolved a doubt in her mind.