A Bar, Dimly Lit — Late Evening
On the TV in the corner, the news was still broadcasting coverage of the afternoon's incident on the Tokyo Loop Line.
"Cointreau is even more famous now,"
Vodka muttered, holding a cigarette between his fingers—though he didn't light it.
He hesitated, brow furrowed.
"But... wasn't that going too far?"
"What did you say?" Tequila turned to him sharply.
"...There were tens of thousands of people on that train line. If anything went wrong, thousands could have died."
Even Vodka, usually calm and indifferent, felt a chill run down his spine.
He remembered what his older brother Gin had once mentioned—Cointreau, real name Hayashi Yoshiki, had been instigating and manipulating others into committing crimes. Then, he'd conveniently step in as a "detective" and solve the case.
It satisfied his desire for control and bloodshed, allowed him to play the hero, and earned him public admiration.
At first, Vodka thought Gin might be overthinking it.
After seeing how flawlessly Cointreau deduced everything, time and again—if those crimes weren't orchestrated by him from the start, Vodka would gladly eat the wine glass in front of him.
Gin remained silent, cigarette between his lips.
What if—this time—Cointreau wasn't playing detective?
What if he'd actually planted a bomb?
The man's actions were becoming increasingly extreme. At first, it was just "accidental" killings. Now, whole city blocks could be at risk.
A knife too sharp is dangerous to its wielder.
With no solution in sight, Gin simply downed his drink in silence.
Meanwhile… Back to Beika Town
Hayashi Yoshiki was behind the wheel, cruising through the quiet city streets when his phone rang.
Asamiya, his excitable editor from Futaba Publishing, was on the other end.
"Thank you so much!! To be honest, I was on the Loop Line today—uwaaaa! When I saw the news, I almost cried!"
"Also! Your popularity's exploded! The president wants to strike while the iron's hot—can we move up the release and do a signing event earlier?!"
Hayashi laughed and agreed without fuss.
He told her to send the updated plan later and ended the call.
Inspector Megure really is a straightforward man.
Of course, the police chief had asked for Hayashi's consent before naming him publicly. It had worked out well for both sides.
Now, there was still one dangling thread—
She hadn't messaged him since the other night. And he didn't plan to bring it up himself.
Let her process that chaos on her own.
Women like her—self-centered and narcissistic—were easy to handle.
Once her pride was cracked, all you had to do was step back. She'd unravel herself without help.
As for that "love chocolate," Hayashi thought as he patted the inner pocket of his coat, I never ate it.
What he had actually eaten at the restaurant was a decoy—ordinary chocolate he'd swapped out that morning.
The real one? Still intact.
He was more curious now: what would happen if someone like Gin ate it?
...Though with Gin's paranoia, he'd never eat something unverified.
Maybe Rum, in his chef disguise, might take the bait. If the image mattered enough.
Either way, for now—the chocolate was safely stored.
The launch date for Hayashi Yoshiki's new novel was now set: ten days from now.
The official announcement had come in last night.
By morning, Futaba Publishing had kicked off a full-scale marketing campaign.
Elsewhere: Detective Jealousy
At home, Mouri Kogoro was flipping through the morning paper, hoping to bask in last night's success.
But when he opened to the front page—
Hayashi Yoshiki's face was there instead.
Worse yet, a feature article had paired him with someone else Kogoro cared about...
"I heard Ms. Yoko is a loyal fan of Mr. Hayashi Yoshiki. Is that true?"
"Yes~ I'm definitely his most loyal fan!" smiled Yoko Okino in the interview. "Mr. Hayashi was our creative consultant during the TV series I starred in. We spoke often—he's incredibly talented."
"So, would you say you're close?"
"Well… let's just say he's the person I admire most. Please support his new book!"
Next to the article was a picture of Yoko—radiant and winking delicately.
Kogoro nearly exploded with jealousy.
"Damn it… Even Yoko-chan supports this guy? If only it were me instead of him…"
His words practically oozed envy.
Across the room, Conan, pale from a cold and masked up, stared at him with lifeless eyes.
And it wasn't just Yoko.
Even Kogoro's father, in a clever nod within "The Earl of Darkness," had inserted an Easter egg linking it to "Kindaichi."
"Because Hayashi-sensei's writing is really good," said Ran, walking in with her school bag. "Lots of my classmates are reading it too."
"Ran-neechan, where are you headed?"
"Didn't I tell you? I'm going to that online chat room party with Sonoko. Yoshiki-kun is giving us a ride."
"Why does he have to drive you?"
Ran thought back to Sonoko's dramatic plea—hands clasped, begging her to invite Hayashi.
She'd agreed out of pity.
Hayashi accepted immediately... and then asked if he could bring a guest.
Ran had to check with Sonoko first. But when she told her—
"WHAT?! Hayashi-san wants to bring a girl?! NO WAY!!!"
A real tragedy for poor Sonoko.
Ran had only offered a wry smile in response… but secretly, she was a bit curious too.
What kind of girl would Hayashi bring to a party?
Conan looked like he'd been struck by lightning.
(Sonoko, you gossiping maniac…!)
He raised his hand firmly.
There's no way I'm letting Ran go off alone with that guy!
"No, Conan," Ran said gently, forming an 'X' with her arms. "You're still recovering from a cold."