It was a grinning Majima Michio.

The last time they saw Majima Michio, they put him in a humiliating situation in Beikai Mall by dressing up a little girl mannequin with the questionable big girl pants hanging loosely around the calf, then waited for Michio to approach it to have it trip in front of him, while the females stared at Majima in pure horror as if he was a pervert.

"What are you doing here?"Ranran asks as she and Shinichi were not pleased to see him.

"I was thinking where did that annoying voice come from, didn't think he made it out alive from those women."Shinichi frowned.

"Alive?"Michio's eyebrows raised as he frown at the two first graders, "You mean the time we were at Beikai mall when you made me out to be one?" he huffed at the two putting his hands on his hips, "I was fortunate that one of the old ladies who happen to be my mother's regular client was coincidentally there when it happened. She knew I accidentally hit against it since she knows what my nature is like. Otherwise, I would've been beaten alive by them for all I know!"

"I doubt it, I mean you are a 10-year-old little boy who hit against a mannequin, if you were older it would've been a very different outcome."Ranran commented with a grin, not before she goes, "Why did you approach us? To confront us? I did warn you what to expect from us if you choose to follow us."

"Ah no, I didn't come here to confront you on that."Michio dismissively waved his hand at the two.

"Hah?!"That made the both of them stunned, turning to each other before at Michio, "But you didn't approach us for days after what happened. We're you not avoiding us out of embarrassment?"Shinichi's expression turned puzzled.

"Oh, that? No, I wasn't avoiding you two. It was someone else I was avoiding besides the both of you." he answered.

"Someone else?"Ranran repeated."Like a bully?"

"Ah no, it's someone I know...worst than a bully."Michio averted his gaze.

"I find it hard to believe. A kid out there far worst than a bully? No one stoops as low as Ranran herself."Shinichi couldn't help but stare in disbelief at Majima.

"Hey!"Ranran responded in annoyance, but her apprentice ignored her, his eyes still glued onto Michio, "Again, why are you here?"

"I overheard you two talking about wanting a spot for your detective club, right?"The two Kudos then eyed him suspiciously, wondering where he was heading with this?"Listen, back when my mother was in university, she used to have this friend from the U.K."Michio explained, as he noticed the two young kids are listening to him intently, "Her name is Ruth, but I always refer to her as Ruth Obasan. She once opened a shop around Beikai District, you heard of the store Ruth and co trading?"

"No," Shinichi rubbed his chin as he shook his head at him, "But I recalled mom said that is where she shops for pretty clothes. When I first heard of the name, I was like 'What is with the co trading' part?"

"Yes, that one!"Michio confirmed as he nodded, "It used to be a failing stock trading centre before Okasan's friend remodelled it as a westernized clothing boutique."Ranran and Shinichi's expressions begin to express a look of interest on their faces as Michio continued, "At the peak of her success as a fashion designer, her business was doing so well, she has plans to open a jewellery shop for Okasan as a surprise birthday present."

"Really?"Ranran doubted her eyes," She is a little generous, don't you think? Even for a university friend?"

"Obasan had no family members as she is an orphan growing up, Okasan was her only friend she could rely on, even after she became worldwide famous."Michio speaks fondly of her recalling the memories, "When tousan passed away in an accident, she was the one who mailed money to Okasan to support me for 9 months as soon as I was born. At that time...Okasan was only a housewife as soon she got married, she only had Tousan's income to rely on."

"Ah sou..."Shinichi sympathizes with Majima while Ranran said nothing, instead she asks, "If she was so famous, why is it I never heard of her before?"

"She died of cancer by the time I was around 6 years old."

"Aah, that made sense."Shinichi nodded understandingly.

"Anyway, by the time Okasan found out about the present at that time, she was already working as a sales lady that promote jewellery at Beikai mall. When she found out about the second store...she left it empty as it is now."

"What!? Why?!"The two asked in unison.

"I mean she can't run two shops as she had me to look after. Also, Obasan had plans to build a bedroom within...not sure what she meant by that at that time."Michio thinks hard, "Anyway, it is our storage room. I am sure if we emptied it, you can use it as your HQ. No need to pay rent, water bill and electricity bill."

How tempting, Shinichi couldn't help but think. "...but it isn't without terms and conditions, nah?"Asked a sceptical Ranran, analyzing Michio's expression.

"Of course. Which is why-"

"I pass."Ranran dismissed him.

"Eeehhh!?You haven't even heard it yet!"Michio whined.

"Ranran-"

"Shinichi, can we talk alone?"Ranran signalled Shinichi to wheel her away from Michio at a corner, where he can't listen to their conversation."We should use our house."

"Ranran-"

"Hear me out," She raised her hand, stopping him from saying anything further. Only he clamped his mouth shut, that she proceeded to say, "Majima admitted he is avoiding 'someone'."

"So?"

"So?"Ranran can't believe how much work is cut out for her in training her apprentice, "He mentioned he has someone he is trying to avoid, someone he knows. If we follow his terms, do you not consider the fact that he might have wanted us to get rid of that person he has been so desperate to hide from?"

"I am aware."

"....however?"She prompts him to continue.

"We are running out of time, Ranran. In terms of solving Watanabe's situation. And the circumstances of us solving this case without interference are 0 to none. If this keeps up, don't just say we end up endangering other kids, we are bound to fail to make an arrest on that Echis. Also, after what happened that day, you should know our family will not tolerate any more of our tantei activities if they find out about this."

Ranran wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. Time is not on their side, it is better if they could go somewhere where no one can find them. Unfortunately, Beikai district is considered to be a town, everyone somehow knows someone one way or another. Doing it in their house wouldn't have been a problem, except if their parents found out they be screwed.

Damn it, is this the only way?

"I don't know about this, Shinichi." Ranran tries, but Shinichi shakes his head.

"Whatever terms Majima had, we will deal with it later. Right now, putting Echis in jail is our number one priority."

"I don't think-" She pauses, breaks off, "Do we even have time to check out the area...? With all of the case files and stuff?"

"We should be able to, I already read through 40 percent of it."Shinichi kept quiet before speaking up, "Just think about it, alright?"

Uncertain, Ranran accepts. It won't hurt to look around, even if Shinichi is pretty certain that she's going to refuse. Anything to make progress with the investigation while avoiding death casualties, she is up for it.

....

"Michio, who are these two kids?"

After school, Shinichi and Ranran headed over to Majima's boutique, where his mom runs the shop. Still in a wheelchair, Ranran was a little awe, she knew boutiques are designed specifically for high-end items, but she didn't think the interior had that high-end appearance. One thing that Ruth and Co trading stood out compared to the other boutiques Ranran knows of, she noted the shop seems to have very few high-end items, and some of the items were unexpectedly affordable for an average person to afford.

"You remember the baby-sitting job where you recommended me to the Kudo family?"He then introduces the wheel-chair bound girl and the little boy still holding onto the wheelchair handle, "This is Shinichi and Ranran."

"Hajime-maste (Nice to meet you)."Shinichi bows a little, Ranran just bends a little in her sitting position.

"Ah, the two kids from the family, right? Also..."The woman couldn't help but frown in worry, seeing Ranran in the wheelchair, "I heard what happened back at the party through the news, are you guys coping well?"

"Yeah, we are doing well."Ranran chirped as she nodded cheerfully, "I will be able to walk after my headache subside."

"That's right, she just needs proper rest," Shinichi reassures the woman.

What brave souls these two are. The woman can't help but be sympathetic.

"Ah mom, I better leave now. I want to show them that storage room we spoke about."Michio suddenly cuts in, as he points to the back of his mother, "You got a customer."

"Ah ok, have fun kids!"

Michio waved back at his mother before whisking the two kids away, "So where is it? This additional shop?"Shinichi asks, and he gazes around his surroundings. The way he sees it is a small boutique and slightly cluttered shop, nothing more, nothing less. A bright pink vending machine with neon lights on Shinichi's left caught his eyes, with a cafe sign showing its menu situated next to it." Why is there a cafe sign next to it?" he pointed to the vending machine while talking to Michio.

"Ruth Obasan left it that way."He commented as he headed over to the pink machine, "Watch."

The two kids observed silently as much to their surprise, Michio pushed the 'vending machine', which happens to be a door."What!?"Shinichi's eyes widened in response while Ranran's jaw dropped, "The vending machine is nothing but a shell I see?"Ranran can't help but be impressed, followed with a frown, "I don't see how was this was going to help your Okasan in her jewellery business if she made it look as if it was a cafe?"

"Believe me, neither do I."Michio can't help but feel perplexed over his late aunt," She tends to be...eccentric."

One of Ranran's eyebrows raised, "Eccentric as in-"

"Believe me, if you two happen to come across certain items she left behind before her death, you will see what I mean eventually."

The kids didn't know what to think of that comment.

As Michio guided them through the hallway upon leaving the vending machine shell door open, Shinichi noted Ranran's eyes were still glued to something bright on her lap. Peeking from the back while pushing her wheelchair, he gasp a little in silence as she was on her smartphone, still trying to google about Echis.

So hardworking, even when she is supposed to rest. Shinichi could not help but think.

Shinichi then noticed a staircase to their left after he open the shell vending machine door and he pointed in curiosity as he asks Majima, "Where does that lead to?"

"A roof-garden, washroom, kitchen and some additional empty room. Ruth Oba-san used to be under the same garden club as Okasan back in high school, so Okasan kept that."

As they followed Michio, Shinichi noted, "It feels like some dark alleyway," Shinichi express in discomfort while Ranran still had her attention on the phone, not that he was feeling claustrophobic.

But he was feeling that space was on the narrow side, not to mention, it felt dark. Shinichi doesn't fear the dark as it reminded him of his dark hollow mansion whenever his parents go overseas, neither does Ranran. Still, it reminded Shinichi of those scenes where a victim is running away from a murderer in the alleyway, to a point where she has nowhere to run. Surprisingly, however, it wasn't as narrow as he had imagined as the wheelchair was able to fit through.

He then spotted another door under the staircase to the left. Before he could ask, "My mother always entered through it to update the new set of clothes at the display showroom window you both saw earlier outside the shop."

Ah, that made sense now.

The hallway wasn't that long unlike their school as Michio stopped at the door to their right, with a display of windows. There was a door in front of them as well, where Michio says he keeps the smaller necessities there. Pushing the slide doors open, he then showed the two, "Here you go. Tell me what you guys think."

Upon entering the room, Shinichi noted that the green-wallpapered room had some space, a little dusty with a bookshelf is placed on the left, the windows you can see outside a couple of carparks and a row of shops. Because of its abandoned use, dust patches can be seen on the cement floor. Oddly enough, this room had two shelves far apart from one another.

"Why is there a two-way window place over there?"Shinichi pointed to the out-of-place windows to the right as he wheeled Ranran over to inspect, inching close to the windows."I can see people doing their shopping from the other side! Even your mom as well!"

"Ah, that? When Ruth-obasan bought this second shop, she wanted to split it into two rooms. One is Okasan's jewellery shop, the other is her private bedroom where her bed is meant to be placed near those said windows." Michio explained to them.

"But when we enter the store we didn't see any window beside a mirror-"Shinichi suddenly snapped in realization before turning to Michio," she bought a two-way mirror!?"

"Yup."Michio confirmed his suspicions," Outsiders technically can't see you, but anyone here can. That's the reason why she got it in the first place. In case anyone breaks into her shop, she can identify the burglar."

"Well then, if she was that paranoid, couldn't she just install CCTV then?"Ranran spoke in confusion.

"Well, she is tech illiterate. She didn't know how to set it up."

"I noticed another thing, why is it both of the bookshelves are far apart towards the left side?"Ranran pointed.

"If I recall correctly, one of them is a bed, the other is a door."

"What!?"The two kids snapped their heads at Michio, "Which one is which?"Shinichi demanded.

"No clue, "He shrugs, "Also, I don't even know where is the bed in the first place.

"That is...unexpected."The two children then decided, his aunt is weird.

"So, what do you think?" Michio asks.

Even though she hated to admit the fact regarding the window break-in as the only flaw within the room, she has no problems with this. However, Ranran still has some reserve concerns over the terms Michio has if they agreed to it in exchange for this room.

Shinichi stood by the front door as she looked around, moving excitedly from one corner to another. "Ranran, what do I think? I think it is good."

Ranran then quietly observe their surroundings in the dusty room, before she turned to Shinichi to answer-

.....

A day later," She said no," Shinichi grumbled as he sat next to Takuma while Ranran is away the following day in class.

"What happened?" Takuma asked.

Shinichi then explains how Ranran was being too overly demanding over the specifications for their Tantei storage room, or Tantei agency so to speak. Meanwhile, Ranran is busy catching up on whatever clues she could get from the case."I just think she is too paranoid over the safety of the room we are about to get."

"That explains it, when it comes to safety Ranran had always been like that," Takuma sighs, "I thought you would've noticed this when you broke into her house that day."

"I thought that was her normal reaction! What normal person wouldn't do as she did?"

"Yeah, but 6-year-olds don't hold a gun to torture-"

"Enough of that."He waved his hand dismissively, "I don't ever want to recall what I did that day."

Sensing Shinichi did not want to talk about his petty incident, he switch on to the main topic, "Anyway, you can't truly call her being overly paranoid just because of her high standards with safety."

"Hikari, you don't understand. Who would want to go through such extremes to break into our place!? I mean, we are still school-going kids, they would not have given a second glance that a first grader like us is that capable of our detective work."

"Have you not considered how that jailbird's nephew was able to get those drugs in the first place, Kudo? I mean a 10-year-old kid can't just magically get it out of nowhere."Silence."There you have it, "Takuma has proven his point, "there is that possible since they were capable of hiring a kid to do their dirty business, so don't underestimate them."Takuma huffed.

"When you put it that way, I guess.....she has a point," Shinichi responded, scratching his head, "I guess I try to be more open-mind towards her ideas."

"I know it's difficult with the way she does things, but as soon as you get to know her, it will eventually be easier."

"Mou...with the way things had turned out, how does someone like you become her friend? I mean you both hated each other if I recalled the rumours."

"Not that we hid that from each other back then," Takuma says with a small laugh and glances at Shinichi. "But yeah, we did."

"Sorry it might be poking my nose where it shouldn't belong, but why is it you hated her at that time?"

Takuma directs his attention back to Ranran, who is busy jotting notes and he explains the encounter."She didn't need to have friends to make herself happy, while I did."

"What?!"Ok, he did not see that coming.

"I...struggle to make friends because of the distance between my home and here."Takuma spoke as his eyes gaze down to the ground, while Shinichi silently observes his posture to be a little slouchy, "To be able to afford the large house Reina and I are living in, our parents bought it in a neighbourhood where most of the people living there are elderly folks. There are no kids in that area besides the two of us."

"What!?"Shinichi reacted in disbelief, "How is this possible!?"

"Well, the reason why the house was even affordable in the first place...what the agent didn't bother to tell them it was situated in a retired community."

Now that made sense."Oh...it must be boring as hell!"

"Oh definitely, without a doubt."Takuma chuckles at Shinichi's look of horror as he goes, "To get from home to my school, it takes 1 hour for me and Reina to get here. And the ex-friends I made back then...live closely to each other around where you guys live." Shinichi watched closely as Takuma pauses in hesitation, before he goes, "At that time...my family wasn't doing financially well, so even though I was able to afford attending school daily, it was not convenient for me to hang out with the friends I made here after school. After hearing all of this...you can see why I struggle to make friends."

"Couldn't you have just stayed back after school-"

"I couldn't," Takuma shook his head at him, "Around that same time, travelling through the train during peak hours for us is costly. If I missed out, the worst-case scenario is me walking home all the way."

"What about your ex-friends' parents? Why didn't they offer to drive you back-"

"The traffic to head home even by car is rough, a lot of cars were reported to have broken down whenever one travel there. So you can see why."

"...damn."

"Anyway, one day...I found out Ranran had kicked every single of my ex-friends out of the school, better yet, all those friends were under the same club as me. I..was the only one in the club that remained."

Oh yeah, Shinichi recalled that. There was a huge commotion at that time when one boy after another left the school quietly and hurriedly, as rumours spread that Ranran was responsible for this, though no one could figure out why."Why did she do it?"

"Well...one of them once wrote a love letter to her."

"Eh!? Love letter!?"Shinichi's eyes bawled out, ain't everyone here too young for this? What is with kids and crushes here in this school!? Even he himself is a kid! "Why?"

"I later found out that they trick her so that they could pour cold water on her head."Takuma spoke grimly, "around that time, Tik Tok videos were becoming hype, and we learn that the prank videos were funny. When they found out one can make money through views on a video, they wanted to do the same."

"And they decided to target Ranran of all kids?!"

"Ranran wasn't the most liked kid in this entire school at that time, also, she has an evil reputation, so it didn't matter anyway. I didn't take part because I felt like the views won't earn much. And I didn't stop them, since they were my only friends who didn't complain whenever they couldn't invite me to hang out because of my situation."

"...."

"On the day itself...they finally did it behind this school."

"Poor Ranran-"

"Ah no, you are mistaken. She didn't get soaked wet. My ex-girlfriend did."

"Right, your ex-EH!?"Shinichi reacted shock in response, "you have an ex?!"

"I did, "Takuma nodded, "we were dating secretly cause I didn't want my mom and dad to find out and make a huge deal out of it. We are kids after all."

"Who was your ex?"

"The former principal's daughter."

"Oh!? That girl?!"Shinichi shook at him in distaste, "The one who is often cute just to get my attention, as well as others just so people shower her with gifts and praises."

"Yeah, anyway, I didn't know how she was able to trick her to dress up like Ranran, but she did. And the rest...is history."Takuma shakes his head, "Can you imagine this? I had to find out by losing my friends....back then, I was so angry and sad, I felt like Ranran is a vicious monster for robbing my world overnight. As soon as the ex-principal found out about the Tik Tok situation, I never saw her again after that."

Shinichi is at a loss for words.

"I put all my attention onto becoming a better pro footballer, because I know I can never defeat a she-devil. If I become famous someday, I can ruin her life someday by pulling my world under the rug. Soon, fame went into my head. I love...the high on becoming popular so much so, I could no longer recognize who I used to be anymore."

Shinichi blinked towards Takuma's words.

"....then, there were accusations of me having deflated those American Footballs in our storage room."

Shinichi recognize this, back then everyone was talking about how this disgraced pro-footballer in America did the same thing to have better control over the ball. When word got out in school, the rumours about Takuma were awful.

"They said I did it because I had no actual talent, that I did it to trick those scouts into securing my future as a pro footballer. Suddenly, everyone in school strongly believe I was a fraud."Takuma thinks back as if it was yesterday, "At that time...I was supposed to be in charge of having the football delivered. Instead, I play truant and leave it in the care of someone I thought I could trust. That became my ultimate downfall."

"But at that time...I thought you were already an established football star athlete?"Shinichi frowned at him, "If I recalled correctly, there were even plans made to have you be interviewed through the media as the ambassador or something. Why did you have to do those additional tasks?"

"Teitan Elementary here has this policy, it doesn't matter if you are a star athlete or not, everyone is to be treated equally. You can imagine...I was so tired, juggling school and football practice...I just decided to get someone to do the job for me. Also, because of my cocky reputation back then..."

"Why am I not surprised......"Shinichi sighs, before adding, "I guess back then, I wouldn't be surprised if people think you have something to do with it."He then frowns at Takuma again,"....why didn't you seek my help?"

"Who could I trust? Since everyone around me just befriended me for my fame?"Takuma sighs, thinking back to the cold treatment he used to receive from his schoolmates back then, "Also, that underling deleted the text messages I sent him on orders on delivering the soccer according to Ranran. On top of it all, he was the one who posted those horrible things online."

".....Explain to me how Ranran entered the picture? From what I know about her, she ain't the type to solve such cases for her enemy of all people."

"....Rei-chan was the one who begged her to solve it for me."

"Reina? You mean your current girlfriend?!"

"Yeah."Takuma nodded, "At that time, with my rising stardom, we had a falling out at the end of kindergarten over toys. Didn't think we end up in the same school so to speak. With me being all on my own.....she was the one who came to me. I didn't think my cockiness would end up becoming.....so mess up."

Chills went up Takuma's spine as he recall those horrible days.

"She believed that I was innocent this whole time......anyway, I don't know how she was able to get Ranran over, knowing how calculative she can be. Nor do I know how she found out that Ranran was The Fox, either way, she was able to convince her to do it for me."

"Were you grateful later on?"

"No. Quite the opposite."

"Eh?"

"When she was investigating, I found out that those friends of mine...barely considered me as one."Takuma struggled to put it in words over the most agonizing moments of his life, "After the underling voice out his motive was because I shouldn't be blessed with such talent cause he worked hard more than I do, Ranran actually agreed with him."

"She did what!?"

"I was so mad with what she had done, I yelled at her and said this is why she isn't capable of making friends."Shinichi became appalled, he didn't think the old Takuma back then was that cruel Takuma laughed to himself, before he explained, "when I join the athlete talent program in our school, they were all I had. Back then, when they would ask me to do simple things such as coming over to their birthday party, all those things, I did just that. And whenever I try to get them to do the same, they always....say they couldn't arrive. Of course, I couldn't blame them. After all, I was the only one out of everyone to live quite far from their homes. "

"......I am sorry."Shinichi apologizes with sympathy.

"Don't be."Takuma reassures him, before smiling while his eyes drifted to the sky outside their window where the clouds blow by, "My pent-up loneliness and anger over her isolating her friends from me just spill out like an exploded dam. And the one thing that finally put an end to this was Ranran having said in silence: I pity the pathetic you."

Shinichi's eyes widened in surprise over such a comment.

"It turns out...even after they left school, they remained in contact online...they didn't bother to invite me over."

"!?"

"She said 'You...are one pathetic little boy who can't accept the reality that your friends never treasured you the way you did, and hides behind your pride to nurse your wounds. Real friends....will never let distance keep them apart from one another, and do whatever they can to keep the bond."

Shinichi was at loss for words, he wanted to say something comforting but words could not come out.

"She then headed home to play video games while I was left crying on my own, in tears that evening...I missed the last train, and my mother's neighbour had to end up fetching me home."He smiled sadly, "I made so many sacrifices for them, but they didn't bother to do the same."

Shinichi didn't know what to think of this.

"I always...think that the reason I can't have friends sticking by me was because of our parents' stupid mistake when they bought the house, at some point, I resented them a whole lot. But then now I think of her logic.....it shouldn't be solely their fault alone just because of geographical reasons. No, that be just a mere excuse I made up in my head to think I was part of  the pack when in reality, I was clinging to nothing to feed my pride as a star-athlete."

"Hikari....."

"I then think over why I hated her back then, it wasn't because of what she did to them. The truth was...I envy her being able to make herself happy, without depending on others. Even though yes, I admit, the things she did were cruel. Even so, she didn't sugar-coat the way they did to me."He sits a little to the back, feeling relaxed or relieved that he told this story, "I befriended her later on."

"Even though she made you cry?!"

"It's better than the false lies I was told constantly, I rather hear the harsh truth that made me cry rather than be fed with lies."

Shinichi isn't going to argue with that logic."What do you do to get her to listen? As her friend?"

"As her friend, "He repeated those words, "Offer her a solution."

"Eh?"

"What were Majima's terms if you agreed?"

"Hmm," Shinichi hummed, "He said he wanted to be a member of the club we open."

"Hah? Why?!"

"Caretaker. Our grandparents hired him to look after us, he gets paid through them. If he becomes a member, at least he can keep an eye on us after what we did with Haido Mall. Of course, he will try to convince them to continue this detective situation."Shinichi quickly changed from the word 'babysitter' to 'caretaker', as he didn't want his reputation to be poked fun of.

"Oh yeah...didn't you blow up that mall the other day?!"Takuma pointed in excitement.

"Please don't mention it, "Shinichi cringed at himself, "We ended up having a lawsuit because of this."

 "Anything else?"

"Hm...nothing."

"Are you sure?"Takuma asked in scepticism.

"It's just..."Shinichi was hesitant to speak up, but he then gradually goes, "He has someone he is trying to avoid."

That made Takuma intrigued, "Who?"

"That's the thing, he refused to say."Shinichi rubbed his chin," He said that won't be one of the terms, he will deal with it himself."

"I don't know about this, it sounds sus."

"That's why Ranran ain't on board with it."

Takuma gave it a long thought, only then, did he remark, "I think she should go for it."

"Right?"

"I mean there is no charge to water plus electric bill, as well as rent or stuff. Anyway, "Takuma grins widely, "if you do ever get that spot, could you try to convince Ranran that I want to join as well?"

"Eh?! You wanna join our club?! But aren't you part of a club already!?"Shinichi was startled by Takuma's suggestion.

"Listen, when I found out Ranran was bound to a wheelchair, I seriously felt like it was my fault."Takuma spoke with pained remorse, "No matter what, the fact doesn't change that it was my suggestion for the case that landed her in this predicament. Anyway, our Football schedule isn't as jam-packed as it was anymore, so I can make time to go there if I wanted to."

"Why don't you just ask Ranran then?"

"If I did, I know she'll say no. Ranran doesn't like the idea of me getting involved, let alone, get hurt out of this detective business of hers."He lazily yawned before he stood up from his seat, "Well, I am off to do my thing, let me know if she said yes, alright?

And with that, Shinichi is left racking his brain on how to convince Ranran in taking the deal while at the same time, getting her friend involved in this agency idea.