At the same time, the convenience store was bustling with activity.
Conan was walking in the middle of the store, and in his left ear was Suzuki Sonoko's voice.
"Damn it, should we give it away? It's Valentine's Day, and I've been making chocolates for a long time to make the best one."
"I'll pretend I bought it, right? But there's no date of manufacture on this package."
"Ahhhh, why is there a murder! If it doesn't, I'll just hand it out in harmony and pretend it's random!"
"Should I buy a chocolate at the convenience store and give it away, pretending it's unintentional? Help me, Ran--"
In the right ear, Mouri Korogō's voice.
"The special program starts at 8:00, so do you want to drink first or complain about today's unappreciative punk?"
"No one in particular, absolutely no one in particular... I'm a friend of the police... the police department... I'm very perceptive... Even if he's not no one in particular, he's definitely a cold hearted kid... tsk..."
"How much food do you need? I have to carry it home, and I can't buy too much wine."
Conan: "..."
"It's completely different, but the object of concern is the same," he spat with false eyes, also unconsciously thinking, "Is that guy really just a personal habit, or did he realize ahead of time that there's something wrong with the coffee, and that's why he's reluctant to move things?"
"And asking me what I want to be when I grow up is too much like a forced question, isn't it? It's like he has a stake in what I become."
As he walked along, Conan saw the clerk at the convenience store.
The clerk, a young woman in a green convenience store uniform, was standing in front of the candy aisle, enthusiastically recommending sweets to customers.
The customer was half crouching in front of the shelf, most of her body was blocked by the clerk, and Conan could only see part of the half crouching but upright back.
He stopped and heard a somewhat muffled voice, "Is this the most expensive one?"
"Yes, yes, many children have given it a favorable review," the sales clerk curved her eyes, staring at the customer's scarred side face without blinking, not afraid at all, her tone soft enough to make other people feel scared, "you want to coax a child, you can use this one, or you and I say her age, and I'll recommend it for you?"
"Seven," The guest said, "not 'coaxing', but thanking her for her willingness to help me with an ungrateful request."
"And,"
He paused, his voice lowered, and with Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Korogō's voices in the background, Conan couldn't hear what the customer said, but heard the surprised voice of the sales clerk lady, "Hey, I can't believe..."
"Yes, don't worry."
She got firm, "The child you are talking about has the same condition as my friend's sister, she used to go to the hospital a lot, but there was never any treatment, so she had to go to a specialized school."
"Don't worry, I can recommend you one, it's very sweet, she can share it with the other children at school, after all, for them, it's the sweet smile they can see that's the most obvious."
So a few candies were recommended.
Without a case, without the need to go into a lurking state to collect other clues, and with their exchange sounding somewhat private, Conan turned his feet and headed out the door.
As he left the row of shelves, he sporadically heard the customer's voice, "And, please, do you have any candy recommendations for adults."
"It's an adult male who loves candy, but not just sweetness, because he often needs to supplement his sugar intake."
The customer asks, "No hard candies that require biting."
And he says why, "People who aren't very sensitive to pain will bite their tongues."
Conan returns to the center position, and once again suffers from simultaneous left and right sonic attacks.
He sighed heavily and took a few steps in the direction of the store's entrance, his eyes sweeping idly towards the vehicles outside, and just as he was about to retract them, he paused abruptly and looked over again.
By the side of Mouri Korogō's car stood a child who looked to be at most seven years old, and she was gesturing something to Ichijō Mirai.
The child pinched the fingers of her right hand together and gave a condescending gesture under each eye.
The meaning was clear, and Ichijō Mirai recognized it: crying.
The child made another sign with her right hand under her chin, smiled broadly, and folded one hand in a gesture of scratching her nose, her smile not quite so pleasant.
She covered her face shyly.
The meaning is a little vague, so Ichijō Mirai tries to recognize it: ...happy? Shy?
After two unanswered questions, the child's eyes cautiously looked behind his fingers, and with some trepidation he began to gesture again.
Ichijō Mirai interrupts, "I'm sorry, I don't know sign language."
He picked up his cell phone and slowed down, "Do you need to borrow it to ask for help?"
"Police?"
"Parents?"
The child looks blankly at the phone, then tilts his head, looks at Ichijō Mirai, and nods vigorously as his eyes light up again at the word 'police'.
He looked at Ichijō Mirai blearily for a few seconds, shook his head in confusion, and pointed a finger at him.
Ichijō Mirai simply handed her his cell phone, "Just press the button if you want to call anything."
"If it's the police, I'll tell them for you, if it's the parents, I'll say, or send the address."
The child didn't seem to understand, blinking blankly, only nodding vigorously when Ichijō Mirai said 'police' again, reaching out to point at him, then quieting down and looking at him blearily.
Ichijō Mirai: "..."
In all seriousness, this kid looks pretty cute.
And he was so skillful at sign language that he spoke as naturally as a normal person, reminding him a little bit of Morofushi Hiromitsu from the game.
That's how the police academy freshman gestures in sign language.
But cute as she was, Ichijō Mirai really didn't know sign language, and he wasn't pretending.
He followed the normal basic principle of 'call the police' and pressed the keypad of his cell phone in a somewhat rudimentary manner, showing the screen to the child before dialing out.
The child blinked, smiled again, and obediently rested her chin on the car window as she waited.
The call was unusually long.
It took more than ten seconds for the call to be answered.
The officer on the other side was an adult male, his voice a little tight, "Hello, how can I help you?"
"Hello," Ichijō Mirai said succinctly, "There's a child who can't speak who's lost on..."
He glanced at the convenience store, locked eyes with Conan in the store, reported the current address, and politely inquired, "I'll leave her at the convenience store for now, how long will it take for the police to arrive?"
The adult police seemed to be in a bit of a dilemma and mused, "A child who can't speak."
"Sir, I'm really sorry, there was a car accident in Tokyo today, and some of the police force is missing, so I'm afraid the police won't be able to get here in time, do you know sign language?"
"If you or someone close to you knows sign language," he suggested with difficulty, "could you ask the child for her home address and send her home?"