Chapter 57: Out-of-Print Vintage

Goro... Akechi.

Conan tightened his grip on the book in his hand.

"Going to ask Karasawa for a book" was his most frequent and most effective excuse for coming downstairs, and Conan had run out today using that exact reason. The book he held in his hand was none other than *The Fiend with Twenty Faces*, which Karasawa had given him earlier when he ran into妃英理 (Kisaki Eri).

As a die-hard fan of mystery novels, Conan had naturally read the works of Edogawa Rampo and was very familiar with the master detective "Goro Akechi" created by him.

In fact, the name of the "Junior Detective Agency" that he and a few elementary school classmates formed also came from a related series of works, proposed by Conan and eagerly adopted by the troublesome kids.

Seeing Conan's reaction, Goro Akechi openly pointed at the book in Conan's hand. "Have you read this book too, little brother? My father is a loyal fan of this series, which is why he gave me such a name. It's very similar to the detective in the book, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Conan flashed a goofy, foolish smile, but deep down, he didn't completely believe it.

He thought of the night he had shrunk. When he met Ran at home who had come looking for him, in his panic and haste, he had glanced at the bookshelf and given himself the alias "Conan Edogawa."

The way this person stated his name didn't sound like a self-introduction at all; it felt just like a fake name casually made up on the spot after seeing the book in his hands.

"I'm back... Eh?" While Conan was still exchanging awkward smiles face-to-face with Goro Akechi, a familiar voice echoed from the doorway.

Karasawa was back.

Goro Akechi immediately turned his head toward the direction of the voice, scanning the entering Karasawa with a scrutinizing gaze.

When Karasawa clearly saw Goro Akechi's face, there was not a trace of a smile left on his face.

Conan had rarely seen such a gloomy expression on Karasawa's face; the current Karasawa made him feel somewhat unfamiliar.

"It really has been a long time, Akira Karasawa." Goro Akechi stood up directly and walked straight toward Karasawa.

"Why are you here?"

"What else could it be for? You should ask yourself that."

Goro Akechi still maintained a gentle smile, but the words he spoke were somewhat grating.

As for Karasawa, as if unable to control his emotions, he glared fiercely at Akechi in front of him with a ferocious expression.

"I don't like seeing that kind of expression on this face." Akechi closed in on him by another step. "Control yourself, Akira."

The atmosphere between the two of them was visibly tense, and sparks seemed to fly between their gazes as they glared at each other, neither willing to back down.

"Ah, customer, your sandwich..." Enomoto Azusa walked over holding a plate, looking somewhat at a loss at the scene before her.

Karasawa snapped out of it, glanced briefly at Enomoto Azusa and Conan, glared one last time at Goro Akechi, and then turned away, grabbing Akechi's wrist and pulling him toward the outside of the shop.

"Karasawa-kun..." Enomoto Azusa watched helplessly as Karasawa dragged the new customer away directly. She put down the sandwich, wondering whether she should chase after them, and asked Conan in a low voice, "What's wrong with this? Did Karasawa get into an argument with him?"

Conan was running his brain, blinking his eyes as he sorted out some clues, and replied in a low voice, "It seems to be someone Karasawa-哥哥 used to know... They don't seem to have a good relationship."

"They aren't going to start a fight, are they?" Seeing Karasawa lead the person into the side alley, Enomoto Azusa looked worried.

"Probably not," Conan said uncertainly, pondering whether he should follow them to eavesdrop.

————

Fortunately, after a short while, Karasawa returned.

He came back alone, seemingly having composed his emotions and returned to his usual state, greeting Enomoto Azusa and Conan with a smile.

Enomoto Azusa stood on tiptoe to look at the empty doorway and asked, "Where is the customer from just now? That... 'Akechi'-kun?"

"Never mind him, he won't be coming back." Karasawa's tone was unkind.

"But he already paid. This sandwich..."

"I'll eat it for him." Karasawa unceremoniously pulled the plate toward himself. "It would be a waste to give it to him."

Enomoto Azusa rarely saw Karasawa look so emotional, and she couldn't help finding it a bit amusing. "Is he someone you knew before? A classmate? You two don't get along?"

"Not a classmate." Karasawa only answered that question, then curled his lip. "Next time you see him, don't let him in. Just throw him straight out."

Karasawa seemed reluctant to talk about this matter further.

Yet the more he avoided talking about it, the more Conan's curiosity was piqued.

Although Karasawa seemed heavily emotional, he hadn't truly escalated to a physical conflict. Based on Conan's past understanding of Karasawa, when Karasawa genuinely detested someone, his emotions were actually quite internalized; he would coldly gaze at that person with a lingering look, but he wouldn't hurl verbal abuse or express his dissatisfaction so straightforwardly as he did today.

However, if they were frenemies, the intensity was a bit excessive. Karasawa wasn't someone lacking in boundaries, and he wouldn't display such an unfriendly attitude toward a friend.

Could it be that he was a friend from Karasawa's past? Had the two of them had a principled disagreement and fallen out? But Karasawa still trusted him, which was why he was willing to communicate with him and have private conversations?

After a chaotic bout of analysis in his head, Conan's gaze fell back onto his book.

"So his name really is Goro Akechi?" Conan found it somewhat unbelievable. "Would any parents give their child a name like that?"

"‘Conan Edogawa’ isn't exactly normal either, little Conan," Karasawa retorted.

Conan opened his mouth to retort that this wasn't his real name, but upon seeing Enomoto Azusa just two steps away, he swallowed his words back down.

"So what on earth is the situation?" Conan leaned close to Karasawa's ear and lowered his voice to ask.

Karasawa pouted and reluctantly replied, "Just an annoying guy."

"Your relationship with him doesn't look that bad, though."

"Don't talk nonsense. It's either him or me, there's no room for both," Karasawa rolled his eyes and said petulantly, "...However, if you happen to run into him outside and truly have no other choice, you can ask him for help. He's an annoying guy, but his abilities are decent. He's not useless."

An annoying guy, yet trustworthy; an annoying guy, but not useless.

Such a twisted evaluation and relationship left Conan—who had never witnessed such a peculiar interpersonal dynamic—completely dumbfounded.

"Stop talking about such a buzzkill..." Karasawa sighed dejectedly, took out his phone, and opened a news article. "I briefly checked. Mantendo is holding a new product game release event this time. On the eve of the event, their company received multiple threat letters warning them to immediately cancel the release event. However, it seems they frequently receive similar threats and don't take these letters seriously, so the release event is proceeding as scheduled."

Conan leaned over to read the news webpage Karasawa had pulled up, recalled Joker's message, and shook his head. "I'm afraid this isn't a simple threat."

"Don't worry, Joker—no matter what he's thinking, ever since he burst onto the scene, he hasn't actually harmed anyone yet. Perhaps he discovered something, found it inconvenient to show his face himself, and therefore lured you over," Karasawa shifted the blame onto his alter ego smoothly, his face neither red nor breathless. "Didn't you say he discovered your identity?"

"Isn't that even more reason to worry?" Conan crossed his arms and sighed. "That chuunibyou who constantly preaches about 'cleaving through evil' still has quite a few tricks up his sleeve. If even he couldn't stop the attack, what use is it for me to go instead?"

Who are you calling a chuunibyou? Karasawa slanted his eyes, curled his lip, and said, "Maybe it's precisely because he couldn't stop it that he's calling you over to collect the victims' bodies..."

Conan glared. "What do you mean by 'collecting the victims' bodies'?"

"Fine, fine, alright, alright. You're a master detective; you'll definitely be more amazing than Joker and successfully prevent the accident in time." Karasawa perfunctorily patted him on the back.

Who knows who it was that used to find corpses so often it became second nature, to the point where even Mouri Ran eventually grew numb and stopped screaming altogether.

Conan wore a disgruntled half-moon eye, huffed, and said, "You're coming with me too. If a kid like me speaks up, they won't believe me, and even if I discover something, I won't be able to stop it."

"Alright, whatever you say." Karasawa looked helpless on the surface while feeling gleeful on the inside.

This was locked in now; his bar could finally stock some tequila.

A discontinued achievement, one of a kind—he definitely couldn't miss out on this.