"If that accomplice was in the bank at the time, then they must have been using a phone to communicate with the robber. And when the robber was about to be attacked by the bank staff, that accomplice called to warn him."
"If we redial the number the robber used, we should be able to identify the accomplice in the bank robbery."
"The robber's phone? I'll have Takagi check if the guy is carrying a mobile phone."
With that, Megure Jūzō called Takagi Wataru.
"Hey, Takagi, check if the robber you brought in has a mobile phone on him..."
"He does?!"
Megure paused for a moment upon receiving confirmation, then turned to Fujino, before speaking into the phone, "Pick up that phone right now and press the redial button."
"Beep beep! Beep beep beep!"
The clear sound of a phone ringing filled the air.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
It was coming from the bank employee who had handed Conan throat lozenges earlier—the same one the robber had threatened to pack the money.
Upon hearing the ringing in his pocket, the bank employee froze, his face tightening with a frown.
"Sir, can you explain why, when we redial the robber's phone, your phone is ringing?" Megure asked harshly, stepping toward the employee with a stern expression.
"This…"
"You must be the robber's accomplice, right?" Fujino also approached with his wooden sword, speaking in a deep voice. "You warned the robber before the attacked bank staff tried to escape through the back door. Once the robber entered the bank, as prearranged, he threatened you to pack the money instead of the female employee next to you."
"Because the robber knew you were his accomplice. You were a safer choice than the female staff."
"…"
The bank employee remained silent for a moment.
He had considered fighting back.
But after glancing at Fujino's wooden sword, recalling what had happened to his accomplice earlier, and noticing the eyes of the surrounding police officers on him, he gave up.
With a sigh, he reluctantly said, "Yes, I'm the robber's accomplice…"
Meanwhile, Conan had just found the discarded throat lozenge wrapper.
When he turned around, he saw that Fujino had already solved the case.
The police had taken the bank employee away.
"…"
Conan, looking at the evidence in his hand, wore an expression like a husky whose treat had just been stolen.
Darn it, Fujino beat me to it again!
Why didn't I think to redial the robber's phone?
The evidence I worked so hard to find suddenly felt insignificant.
But just to be sure, he still handed the evidence over to Megure.
…
By the time Fujino returned home, it was almost six o'clock.
Just as he arrived, he saw a familiar figure at his doorstep.
It was Shinmei Kōbori.
Shinmei Kōbori, dressed in a black top and a black pencil skirt, seemed to have just finished handling Shinmei Rentarō's funeral. Although she was only twenty-two, the pain of losing her father had given her an unexpected maturity.
"Miss Shinmei, what brings you here?"
Fujino greeted her as he approached the all-black-clad Kōbori.
"Detective Fujino."
Shinmei Kōbori responded with a nod.
Fujino noticed the large bag she was holding.
Hmm, she's probably here to deliver the payment for the case.
And it looks like it's a hefty sum.
That large bag—there's got to be a few million yen in there, right?
Do bestselling authors make this much money?
Although, as far as he remembered, Shinmei Kōbori hadn't become a bestselling author yet, had she?
Maybe she inherited it?
Guess she's a rich woman now.
Without thinking much of it, Fujino invited Kōbori inside the detective agency.
"I've been busy with my father's funeral, and I forgot to pay the fee for the case I asked you to handle. I'm sorry about that."
Sitting on the couch in the agency, Shinmei Kōbori held the cup of tea Fujino had prepared, her voice carrying a hint of apology.
"It's no problem, the payment can wait. Normally, you can pay whenever you're ready."
Fujino brushed it off casually, then added calmly, "It's understandable, given your father just passed away."
'Detective Fujino is so considerate,' Kōbori thought.
She pulled out a bank card from her bag. "Do you have a mobile POS machine?"
"Mobile POS machine?"
Fujino subtly glanced at the large bag on the coffee table.
After a brief pause, he pulled out the machine from his pocket.
After a few moments of operating the machine, Fujino's account showed a deposit of one million yen.
"One million yen?"
Fujino blinked, feeling like it was a bit less than expected.
So that bag wasn't full of payment?
"I don't know what your usual rates are, Detective Fujino, but I felt that one million yen was an appropriate amount to express my gratitude…"
After swiping her card, Shinmei Kōbori sat back on the couch and smiled slightly at Fujino. "If it's not enough, please don't hesitate to let me know."
"Ahem."
Fujino snapped out of his thoughts and sat back down on the couch.
Although it wasn't as much as he initially imagined, truth be told, one million yen as a payment was still quite a lot. After all, Shinmei Kōbori's case was simply a "missing person" task.
Based on his original price list, a missing person job would normally only cost around 100,000 yen.
Other detectives in the same field might charge about 200,000 yen for the same task.
So, receiving one million yen for this case was essentially a windfall.
With a slight cough, Fujino spoke, "Miss Shinmei, this is more than enough... Honestly, you've paid more than necessary."
"That's good to hear," Shinmei Kōbori sighed in relief, having worried that she might have underpaid.
"These are all of my father's signed copies of *Detective Sōmonji*. I remember last time you mentioned that you were interested in my father's *Detective Sōmonji* series. If you don't mind, please accept them as a gift."
At that moment, Shinmei Kōbori suddenly recalled the large bag.
She took out one of the signed copies and handed it to Fujino.
It wasn't just any book, but one from the *Detective Sōmonji* series.
Of course, she knew that Fujino had never actually read *Detective Sōmonji*.
She also knew that the only reason Fujino had claimed to be a fan of her father's series was to fulfill her father's last wish.
"Signed copies?" Fujino glanced at the stack of books.
"Well, I'll gladly accept them. I was just planning on buying some *Detective Sōmonji* books, so this saves me quite a bit of money. Thank you, Miss Shinmei."
"It should be me thanking you," she replied.
"Thanking me…"
"Hm?"
"Ahem, nothing," Fujino quickly said, brushing it off and accepting the entire collection.
After some pleasantries and seeing Shinmei Kōbori off, Fujino carried the stack of books back to his room and began inspecting them.
"Signed copies, huh?"
He picked up one of the books and opened the cover. Inside was Shinmei Rentarō's handwritten signature along with a short introduction. "Wow, I've really hit the jackpot here."
One million yen was nothing compared to this.
These signed editions were the real treasure.
With Shinmei Rentarō now deceased, his autographed books would only increase in value.
While an author is still alive, signed books might sell for a bit more than usual.
But once they're gone, it's a whole different story.
Every signed copy becomes a rare edition.
And this was the complete forty-volume series.
For most people, it might not mean much.
But for die-hard *Detective Sōmonji* fans?
These books were a collector's dream.
In ten or twenty years, these books could be worth a fortune.
Especially considering the likelihood that Shinmei Kōbori would take the *Detective Sōmonji* series to new heights in the future.
Thinking about it, the prospect seemed rather exciting.
Although Shinmei Kōbori wasn't as rich as he initially thought, she turned out to be unexpectedly wealthy. A simple "missing person" case paid one million yen, and she was perceptive, with a promising future as a bestselling author.
Shinmei Kōbori was definitely someone worth keeping around.
**[System detected: Task completed—Detective profession task: Bank robbery case]**
**[System rewards have been distributed: 1 million yen, 100 detective reputation points]**
**[Current balance: 2.25 million yen]**
Just then, a series of system notifications suddenly rang in Fujino's ears.
"Well, that definitely replenished my funds."
Fujino checked his balance and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After spending on the intermediate ten-draw earlier, his balance had been under one million yen for days.
But now, thanks to Shinmei Kōbori's payment and the system task reward, he was back on solid ground.
Being low on cash had been making him uncomfortable.
"Looks like I need to think more long-term from now on and not just go all-in…" Fujino muttered, suddenly feeling as if he had developed some kind of money shortage anxiety.
Not having at least a million yen on hand made him feel uneasy.
As Fujino pondered this, the system's voice once again chimed in his ears: **[New professional task detected: CEO profession task—please check for details!]**
"CEO profession task?"
Hearing this, Fujino blinked in surprise, then opened the task interface:
**[CEO Profession Task: Startup—Become a CEO]**
**Task summary: As a CEO, you need to own a real business to command.**
**Task objective: Open a store, no restrictions on type, with a startup fund of at least 3 million yen.**
**Task rewards: 3 million yen, 100 CEO profession skill points.**
"Wow, starting a business?"
Fujino stared at the system task, his expression growing a bit strange.
But thinking about it, being a CEO was about leading and managing a business.
So, the task was asking him to open a store to lead, huh?
(End of chapter)