Ring ring ring —
In the dimly lit bedroom, on the double bed, a lump was protruding from under the covers. The landline phone on the bedside table was ringing incessantly. A hand with well-defined knuckles reached out from within the lump and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
The man's eyes didn't even open, his voice hoarse. The young man on the other end of the line said helplessly, "Teacher Matsuda—haven't you woken up yet? Today is the deadline. Have you finished your new book?"
Matsuda Naoya had been working on the manuscript until four in the morning and had only just fallen asleep a few hours ago. He forced himself to say, "It's done. Come to my house in two hours to pick it up."
The editor on the other end apologized, "Sorry to trouble you, Teacher Matsuda. It's just that the higher-ups are pressing for it..."
"It's fine, Watanabe, just remember to come..." Matsuda Naoya interrupted him. He didn't really want to listen to such polite remarks. Overwhelmed by drowsiness, he fell back asleep without even hanging up the phone, leaving it off the hook with a continuous busy signal.
Two hours later,
The doorbell of the Matsuda residence rang on time. Watanabe, with a briefcase in the crook of his arm, waited outside the door, while three girls walked by discussing the newly opened Suzuki Tower.
About two minutes later, the front door opened from the inside, and Matsuda Naoya, with a head of disheveled curly hair, let Watanabe in.
"Excuse me for the intrusion," Watanabe said, changing into indoor slippers and following Matsuda Naoya into the study. Matsuda Naoya yawned and stretched, handing a stack of manuscripts on the desk to Watanabe, who was ecstatic and grateful upon receiving them.
He was a new editor at the publishing house, having taken over from the previous editor who had left the company. This was his first time dealing with such a prominent author, and he was particularly nervous.
"Well, if there's nothing else, you can leave now," Matsuda Naoya said, patting the other man's shoulder and showing him out the door.
After seeing Watanabe off, Matsuda Naoya no longer felt like sleeping. He sat on the sofa, dazed for a while, before going to freshen up.
His phone dinged twice. With a toothbrush in his mouth, Matsuda Naoya clicked on the news and, as expected, there was another push notification about the slumbering Mouri Kogoro solving a case. Matsuda Naoya was quite interested in this.
Before becoming a mystery novelist, he had been a police officer for more than a decade. His first book was a collection of cases he had encountered, which unexpectedly became very popular. In the two years since he left the police force, he had published seven or eight books. However, he didn't want to keep relying on old cases; he needed some new ones. If possible, he would like to interview Mouri Kogoro.
Matsuda Naoya quickly tidied up, put away his phone, and left the house.
However, he hadn't even walked two blocks when he saw a child on a skateboard speeding onto the road, about to be hit by a car, and the child was still looking at their phone!
"Danger!"
The sound of car horns blared around him, and he could almost hear the curses from the drivers. To Matsuda Naoya's disbelief, the child on the skateboard seemed to fly into the sky just before being hit by the car.
"!!!"
A flying skateboard!
He must have been hallucinating from staying up late working on the manuscript. This was already at the level of acrobatics!
The child's phone fell from their hand due to inertia and landed not far from Matsuda Naoya.
Watching the child's rapidly disappearing figure, Matsuda Naoya bent down to pick up the phone, thinking he would take it to the police station later. Before he could stand up, a motorcycle roared by, startling him.
He straightened up and looked back, muttering to himself, "Well, today is quite chaotic."
Matsuda Naoya had booked a ticket for the first day of the Suzuki Tower's opening. He had planned to sleep until the afternoon and then go, but now he decided to go ahead and take the phone to the police station at noon.
When Matsuda Naoya strolled under the Suzuki Tower, he saw it filled with police cars. Inspector Megure had just gotten out of his vehicle as the crowd was being evacuated in an orderly manner, and the area was cordoned off with police tape.
"Ah, Inspector Megure, what's happened?"
Megure turned his head and saw a curly-haired man in a black coat approaching. "It's Matsuda."
"Long time no see, the First Investigation Division is still so busy," Matsuda Naoya said, following Megure across the police tape and into the tower.
"Duty calls," Inspector Megure replied with a sigh. "It was reported by Mouri's daughter. I really don't know why my old friend Mouri always encounters cases."
"Old friend?"
"Yes, Mouri Kogoro. I've mentioned him to you before, right? He's your senior from the police academy, a great shot, but he resigned and opened a detective agency."
"Ah, I know, now he's the famous sleeping detective, Mouri Kogoro."
As they conversed, the two of them boarded the elevator, and by the time Megure realized it, he and Matsuda Naoya had already arrived at the crime scene.
However, Matsuda Naoya did not get involved. He had originally planned to leave, but upon hearing that Mouri Kogoro was also there, he decided to meet Mouri Kogoro before departing.
"Um... Excuse me, where is Mr. Mouri?" Matsuda Naoya asked the person who had reported the incident, Mouri Ran, while the police were investigating.
Mouri Ran was taken aback for a moment. She had never seen this person before. Was he a new police officer?
"My dad, he accidentally took the elevator upstairs."
"?"
Matsuda Naoya was a bit puzzled. What did "accidentally" mean?
The girl with short hair next to Mouri Ran teased, "The old man is acrophobic. The floor is transparent, and you can see the ground from here. The old man ran into the elevator to go down, but it was an upward elevator, hahaha—"
Mouri Ran nodded beside her, "That's right."
Matsuda Naoya scratched his face and laughed, "Haha, even a great detective like Mr. Mouri is bound to have such flaws."
"But, are you a new police officer? I haven't seen you before," Sonoko inquired.
"I'm not new. I'm a novelist," Matsuda Naoya said honestly, "I had a reservation for the first day of the Suzuki Tower's opening today. I heard Mr. Mouri Kogoro was also up there, so I came up with Inspector Megure."
"A novelist?" Suzuki Sonoko tilted her head.
"My name is Matsuda Naoya, and I specialize in mystery and detective novels."
Mouri Ran suddenly realized, "So you're the author of 'Avalanche'!"
Matsuda Naoya didn't expect the girl to know his book. Compared to top novelists like Yuusaku Kudo, who are published worldwide, he wasn't very famous; he was only moderately well-known.
Sonoko covered her mouth and whispered to Ran, "Have you read it?"
"Shinichi mentioned 'Avalanche' to me before. He said it's a collection of short stories, and I was curious, so I read a chapter," Mouri Ran said.
"I see," Matsuda Naoya smiled with his eyes.
"I've read the whole thing!" The boy with freckles raised his hand.
"Ah? That's impressive!" Matsuda Naoya crouched down, "But this book isn't really suitable for children. It's better to wait until you're older to read it."
The freckled boy smiled, "It's okay! Because we are the Junior Detective League!"
"The Junior Detective League?"
"Yes!"
The other two children with him affirmed.
"Impressive!" Matsuda Naoya praised, "What are your names?"
The freckled boy said, "I'm Subaru Hoshikawa."
"I'm Ayumi Yoshida!"
"I'm Genta Kojima!" The chubby boy raised his hand high.
"Hello there, I'm Matsuda Naoya, nice to meet you all, members of the Junior Detective League," he played along with the children's detective game, then turned to another child who hadn't introduced herself, "And what about this girl, is she also a member of the Detective League?"
"Yes!" Ayumi pulled the mature-looking little girl and introduced her, "This is Ai Haibara. Ai is also a member of our Junior Detective League. We also have a member named Conan Edogawa; he went after the criminal after the shooting."
"Conan Edogawa? The person who named him must really like Sherlock Holmes," Matsuda Naoya straightened up and laughed.
"Hey, you! What are you doing bothering Ran?!"
A sudden shout came from behind. Matsuda Naoya turned his head, his eyes brightened, and before Mouri Kogoro could react, he excitedly grasped his hand.
"Mr. Mouri! I've heard so much about you! Nice to meet you, I'm Matsuda Naoya!"
This sudden action left Mouri Kogoro quite bewildered: "You..."
"I'm your fan! The famous sleeping detective, Mr. Mouri Kogoro!"
With one sentence, Mouri Kogoro was flattered and burst into laughter.
"Not at all, not at all, haha—"
Mouri Kogoro's personality was different from what he had imagined, but it was within his expectations. He thought that if he could work in Mouri Kogoro's detective agency, it might help with his next book.
And...
His green eyes behind the glasses seemingly casually glanced at the little girl with short brown hair.
He was slightly intrigued...
Ai Haibara was sizing up the man talking to Mouri Kogoro, hiding behind Dr. Agasa. Although she didn't sense any aura of the organization from this man, it was clear that he was no ordinary novelist.
Calluses on his hands, an unnatural left arm... Skilled with a gun, was the arm injured?
"Everyone, the scene has been temporarily secured, and witnesses, please follow me to the police station to make a statement," Inspector Megure came over and led the crowd away.
In the elevator going down, Inspector Megure mentioned that the FBI was also applying to get involved, which meant it was more than just a shooting case; it involved international issues.
He had planned to go with Mouri Kogoro and the others, but as an unrelated person, it would be inconvenient. Moreover, he had a phone to find an owner for.
Matsuda Naoya had come out for the Suzuki Tower, but now that it was sealed off, he could only go to the police station to look for the owner first.
However, he waited until the sun was about to set before the little boy finally arrived.