"The high school detective Masumi Sera assisted the Metropolitan Police Department in solving the Chiyoda district falling case.
The killer was successfully captured yesterday. His true identity turned out to be the deceased's college classmate. According to the killer's description, they had been part of the same university club."
"The Minato Film Festival will hold its opening ceremony today at 1:00 PM. Mr. Jirokichi Suzuki stated that this will be the most important film festival ever held in Japan."
"The Minato Film Festival lasts for ten days. Will this festival be able to break previous attendance records for domestic and international visitors? Let's wait and see!"
Inside a moving taxi, the radio buzzed with the latest news.
In the back seat of the taxi, the artist Akikawa Kyusuke turned to look out the window while his manager, Misaki Itakura, scrolled through her phone.
Today was the fourth day since the performance of the play The Lost Lady: The Voice of the Dead.
Akikawa Kyusuke and Misaki Itakura had been invited to attend the opening ceremony of this reversed and grand film festival organized by the Suzuki Foundation.
From the moment she received the invitation ten days ago, Misaki Itakura had been marveling at how lucky she and Akikawa Kyusuke were.
It turned out that after just starring in a play, they received an invitation to such a significant event.
For today's film festival opening ceremony and evening dinner, Misaki Itakura had specially taken Akikawa Kyusuke to customize a rather expensive suit.
She hoped that Akikawa Kyusuke could take advantage of this opportunity. If he managed to gain recognition from some well-known directors, he might land excellent roles in the future.
"Wow, I feel a little dizzy. There are so many important figures attending this time—it's really overwhelming," Misaki Itakura suddenly exclaimed, covering her eyes and reclining in the car seat.
It was unclear whether she felt nauseated from using her phone during the ride or overwhelmed by the sheer number of industry leaders listed as guests at the festival.
"Speaking of which, Mr. Akikawa, you must be quite wealthy!"
"You bought a suit worth hundreds of thousands of yen without even batting an eye. That's incredible," Misaki Itakura sighed, her curiosity piqued.
She couldn't help but wonder to herself:
Was Akikawa Kyusuke this wealthy thanks to Okino Yoko?
"Fortunately so. After all, Miss Itakura, you mentioned that this time we should dress more formally," Akikawa Kyusuke responded calmly.
"That's amazing," Misaki Itakura sighed again.
"Speaking of which, Mr. Akikawa seems to live in Shibuya. You only need to walk to the company every day."
"That's right."
"It must be nice to have money! By the way, what do you usually do during your days off?"
After the play, Akikawa Kyusuke had taken a brief two-day break.
Beyond relieving Akikawa Kyusuke of exhaustion from completing his first work, it was meant to recharge him so he could be in peak condition for today's opening ceremony and dinner, filled with prominent figures.
"I visited an electronics store for a while and then stayed home."
"Wow~ Mr. Akikawa really likes visiting electronics stores. What did you buy?"
Misaki Itakura, originally a programmer who studied computer-related fields in university, was quite interested in computer accessories and innovative electronics.
She didn't expect Akikawa Kyusuke to also enjoy electronics stores.
While she eagerly anticipated him discussing the latest popular smart appliances, she heard Akikawa Kyusuke reply slowly:
"A camera."
Misaki Itakura: "?"
She hadn't expected such a mundane answer.
People usually buy cameras for two reasons:
One, to connect to a computer for video chats.
Two, for business purposes, like monitoring a store's premises.
Since Akikawa Kyusuke wasn't running a store, Misaki Itakura assumed he must have bought the camera to record videos with Okino Yoko.
Her curiosity dissipated instantly.
A few moments later, the taxi finally arrived at the harbor area where the film festival was being held.
After Misaki Itakura paid the fare, she followed Akikawa Kyusuke out of the car.
The two of them then followed the staff's guidance toward the film festival's opening ceremony venue.
Knowing there wouldn't be enough seats for herself and Akikawa Kyusuke, Misaki Itakura had arrived an hour early.
However, upon arrival, she discovered that the opening ceremony site was already crowded with people.
As Akikawa Kyusuke and Misaki Itakura followed the staff toward their designated spot, a young woman's voice suddenly called out:
"Mr. Akikawa~ Miss Itakura~"
Akikawa Kyusuke and Misaki Itakura turned toward the source of the voice.
They saw a short-haired girl with a headband running toward them excitedly while waving.
The girl was holding the hand of another with long black hair tied high on her head.
Akikawa Kyusuke didn't recognize either of them.
However, behind the short-haired girl and the black-haired one, he spotted two familiar figures:
Conan and Masumi Sera.
Akikawa Kyusuke: "..."
Conan and Masumi Sera: "..."
Akikawa Kyusuke and the two detectives exchanged glances, both internally groaning at the coincidence.
It was clear the pair in front of him shared the same thought as Akikawa Kyusuke—
"Why are we running into this guy again?!"
After briefly glancing at Conan and Masumi Sera, Akikawa Kyusuke quickly averted his gaze.
Similarly, Conan and Masumi Sera felt awkward under Akikawa Kyusuke's conflicted gaze.
However, Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran, leading the way, were unaware of Conan and Masumi Sera's inner thoughts.
Suzuki Sonoko dragged Mouri Ran along as she ran excitedly toward Akikawa Kyusuke and began introducing herself:
"Hello, Mr. Akikawa. I'm Sonoko Suzuki, and this is Ran Mouri beside me."
"Hello, Miss Suzuki, Miss Mouri. I'm Kyusuke Akikawa."
After Suzuki Sonoko's introduction, Akikawa Kyusuke realized he had heard their names before.
Although Akikawa Kyusuke had barely watched Detective Conan in his previous life, he still vaguely remembered Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran.
One was a super-rich heiress, and the other was a high school student with excellent martial arts skills.
Akikawa Kyusuke greeted Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran as though meeting them for the first time.
After their brief introductions, Akikawa Kyusuke heard an excited Suzuki Sonoko say:
"By the way, I saw Mr. Akikawa's play before, and your performance was absolutely amazing!"
"That's why I wanted to meet you no matter what, so I invited you, Mr. Akikawa!"
Suzuki Sonoko beamed at Akikawa Kyusuke and continued,
"I hope Mr. Akikawa has fun at this film festival and makes wonderful memories!"
Volume 3 officially begins!
(End of Chapter)