"He really is a terrifying guy..." the long-haired man murmured, recalling how the guy looked after being brutally beaten, and couldn't help but gasp.
"So, I advise you to hunt here less often in the future," the old hunter said, taking advantage of the situation. "If you accidentally anger the mountain god, you could be killed!"
Fujino: "..."
He felt his reputation was being unfairly damaged. He was very careful with his strikes, alright? At least he didn't beat the guy into paralysis.
...
Night was falling, and the group's trip came to an end. Everyone successfully ate matsutake, and nobody died on this trip, so it ended quite satisfactorily. The three kids (Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko) seemed especially happy, and just thinking about being able to taste matsutake again soon made them drool uncontrollably.
The group returned to Tokyo. Professor Agasa was responsible for taking the other kids home, while Conan and Haibara rode back to Beika District 5 with Fujino in his car. This time, Fujino's harvest was quite abundant. Although he didn't encounter a murder case to trigger a system reward, he at least picked a large pile of matsutake... Fujino estimated these matsutake were probably worth a million Japanese Yen.
Hmm, why does he always feel like being a detective isn't as good as being a mushroom picker?
...
Night fell, and it was dinner time. Fujino and Ai Haibara were busy in the kitchen, preparing some of the matsutake he had secretly brought back for dinner. Fujino had a rich harvest this time, so he could let Akemi Miyano try some too.
"Dililili!" His phone suddenly rang in his pocket. Fujino took out his phone and saw Inspector Megure Jūzō's name on the screen.
"I'll take care of things here," Ai Haibara said, standing on a stool, wearing a pink apron.
"Okay, thanks, Ai-chan." Fujino turned around, put the phone to his ear, and answered, "Inspector, another murder case?"
"..." Inspector Megure was speechless. What did he mean, "another murder case"? Shouldn't murder cases happen when the young man *calls* him? Why does the young man always think he'll get murder cases from *him*...? Did I become a stand-in?
Shaking his head, Inspector Megure replied, "No, not that."
"Then what is it, Inspector?" Fujino felt a bit puzzled by Inspector Megure calling him for no reason.
"I actually wanted to ask you a question," Inspector Megure said seriously. "Fujino-kun, are you willing to become a Criminal Affairs Consultant for our Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department?"
"Huh?" Fujino was surprised and frowned. "Criminal Affairs Consultant?"
"What's wrong, young man?" Inspector Megure was a bit surprised by Fujino's reaction. Normally, shouldn't someone be excited about something this good? After all, a position like Criminal Affairs Consultant is very relaxed.
"Why did you suddenly think of hiring me...?" Fujino asked curiously. "There are so many detectives, it's quite sudden."
"Because your achievements are right there, young man!" Inspector Megure was very straightforward. "The decision to make you a Criminal Affairs Consultant was made by higher-ups. The document came down, and I'm just notifying you... After all, you need to sign a contract, and since you're over eighteen, it's all according to procedure. Of course, signing it is still up to your personal willingness."
After a moment of silent thought, Fujino focused on the key point. "Is there a salary?"
Inspector Megure Jūzō: "..."
Indeed, the young man was still the same young man. His thinking was very clear. They definitely needed to talk about money.
"Of course there's a salary," Inspector Megure said, straightening his face and adopting a serious expression, clearing his throat. "Since you're hired personnel, you'll definitely have a salary. According to the document, it should be 300,000 Japanese Yen per month. However, when a case occurs, Fujino-kun, you'll need to assist us with the investigation."
"300,000?" Fujino stroked his chin upon hearing the amount. That income would be 3.6 million Japanese Yen a year, almost catching up to the income of a regular police detective. 300,000 Japanese Yen wasn't a huge sum in Japan, but it was definitely not small, considered upper-middle class. Thinking about it, this was definitely a worthwhile deal. After all, if the police called on him for cases, system missions might also be triggered. At that point, he could happily earn from both ends again.
"When do we sign the contract?"
"The contract materials still need to be reviewed. You can just come in tomorrow to sign the employment contract."
"OK!" Fujino replied and hung up the phone.
He agreed to this not because of the 300,000. What he cared about was the official certification! Now that he was also a well-known detective, entering crime scenes was easy. However, this was only the case if the officers on site were police who had a good impression of detectives. If they discriminated against detectives, he probably wouldn't even get near the scene. At times like this, an officially recognized identity would be very useful. With the status of Criminal Affairs Consultant, even if the police disliked detectives, they wouldn't prevent him from entering the crime scene to assist with the investigation.
...
Early the next morning, Fujino woke up and headed to the police headquarters to sign the contract.
"This should be it." Inspector Megure picked up the employment document and then called out to Takagi, "Takagi, please help submit Fujino-kun's employment document."
"Yes, sir!" Takagi took the document and quickly walked away.
"Takagi... truly a professional errand-running tool-man..." Fujino watched Takagi leave, unable to help but feel sentimental.
Then, he started thinking about the contract he had just signed. The contract was for one year. During this year, the Metropolitan Police Department needed to pay him 300,000 Japanese Yen each month, regardless of whether he participated in cases... He was essentially a consultant who could be called upon but didn't have to proactively seek out work. It was like a white-collar salary.
However, thinking again, the salary in this world... was it paid monthly, or based on time? He was still a bit confused. He didn't dare ask, after all, if he asked, people would probably wonder if there was something seriously wrong with him. How did the concept of time feel a bit questionable in this world?
"Congratulations, Fujino-kun, you've actually become a Criminal Affairs Consultant..." Satō Miwako walked over at this moment, smiling and patting Fujino's shoulder teasingly. "But now should we call you Consultant Fujino?"
"Okay, stop teasing me..." Fujino chuckled lightly and waved his hand.
"But Fujino-kun, you really are our youngest consultant," Inspector Megure nodded. "We really should call you Consultant now."
"Youngest?" Fujino asked, puzzled. "Isn't that Kudo Shinichi kid a consultant?"
"No..." Inspector Megure thought for a moment. "Kudo-kun is only seventeen this year, his age isn't enough."
Fujino nodded upon hearing this, suddenly remembering that point. In Japan, working before turning twenty is allowed. However, it's divided into two age groups: sixteen and eighteen. For the sixteen-year-old group, besides needing written materials, there are all sorts of troublesome procedures that are a pain in the neck. For the eighteen-and-over group, it's much more relaxed. He just made the cut-off, which is why he could be directly hired as a consultant.
As for Kudo Shinichi, he was probably more of an assistant who helped with cases. Although he could solve cases, he didn't get paid. He was a complete unsung hero, so to speak. However, for Kudo Shinichi, this small amount of money wasn't really anything. After all, his father was a popular novelist and his mother was a former actress, so he was the young master of a wealthy family.
"Oh, right, Inspector Megure." At this moment, Fujino suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned around, lowered his head, and looked at the small white badge on his chest. "Since I'm a consultant now, shouldn't I also have an ID or something?"
"You mean a work ID?" Inspector Megure thought for a moment and said, "You'll get that after the higher-ups approve it later. At the same time, you'll need to take a headshot photo."
Fujino nodded and didn't say much more. He knew it, there had to be a work ID. Actually, a Criminal Affairs Consultant didn't have much power; in the end, they were just outside personnel. The work ID was the only proof of identity.
Getting into the police headquarters wasn't easy either. Outsiders needed a visitor's pass to move around within the restricted area. But with the Criminal Affairs Consultant ID, he could freely enter and exit the police headquarters. At the same time, he could participate in case investigations with the ID. It could be said that it was a very important item.
"Ding-a-ling!" At this moment, a noisy phone ring suddenly sounded. Fujino turned his head to look at the source of the sound and saw a phone on a desk ringing. Inspector Megure's face immediately darkened upon hearing the sound. Could it be another murder case...? It happens now, of all times, right when Fujino-kun starts his job? Has Fujino-kun been infected by Mouri-kun's bad luck too deeply? Will the probability of victims increase significantly after he joins?
The thoughts of speechlessness lasted only for a moment. Coming back to his senses, he walked forward and answered the phone. "Yes... this is Megure..."
"Yes!" After a brief exchange, Inspector Megure responded seriously, then sighed and turned to Fujino. "Consultant Fujino, it seems you'll be handling a murder case right after starting your job..."
Fujino was surprised. "A murder case?"
"We'll talk about the details on the way..." Inspector Megure didn't say much more. With a wave of his hand, he began hastily counting heads, preparing to head to the crime scene. This time, Fujino was accompanied by Inspector Megure Jūzō and Satō Miwako. They should have also brought Takagi or Chiba, but both were busy with other things, so only these two could take Fujino to investigate his first murder case on the job.
...
The police car, sirens wailing, rushed all the way to the crime scene. This time, the crime scene was near Shimokitazawa Station in Lower Setagaya District. By the time everyone arrived, the nearby wooden shopping street was already ablaze. People from the surrounding shops ran out of the fire, their survival instincts making them disregard their appearances, pushing and shoving, making the scene quite chaotic.
Tall flames leaped up, and at the same time, several fire trucks were parked nearby. Firefighters in thermal suits carrying oxygen tanks were doing their best to extinguish the fire.
"New detective mission detected, please check!" Just as Fujino's eyes were fixed on the fire in front of him, a system notification suddenly echoed in his ears.
Got a job? Fujino lowered his head and looked at the newly issued system mission: [System Bounty Mission: Continuous Arson Cases in Tokyo
Mission Objective: [Apprehend or Kill] Mission Target (the continuous arsonist and murderer who set the fire at this location)
Mission Reward: 2,000,000 Japanese Yen · 100 Detective Profession Reputation]
Continuous arson cases? Fujino raised his head, looking at the towering flames, his eyes slightly narrowed. If he remembered correctly, this should be the case related to the death of Satō Miwako's father, Satō Masayoshi...
The fire didn't burn for long and soon stopped. After the flames subsided like a fierce wind sweeping away clouds, the wooden specialty houses had already been reduced to ashes. After the fire retreated, police officers from Investigation Division One who specialize in arson investigation began investigating the fire scene. Generally speaking, at this time, there shouldn't be any homicide detectives needed. But since someone died, they had to manage it.
At this point, everyone had a chance to go forward and examine the victim's body. Fortunately, the fire was controlled this time. The appearance of the body was acceptable, and they could still make out some things. After identification by the Forensic Science Division, the deceased was determined to have died from excessive blood loss after being stabbed through the chest with a sharp object. Blood was still continuously flowing from the wound in the chest, proving that the body had only died a short while ago.
"The body isn't far from the ignition point... According to the arson investigators, this fire is a deliberately set continuous arson case, and the ignition point is over there," Inspector Megure examined the crime scene, casting his gaze towards the heavily burned area nearby. "It seems this fire should have a certain connection with this murder case."
"Could it be that the victim discovered the culprit setting the fire, and the culprit chose to kill to prevent their identity from being exposed?" Satō Miwako speculated.
"..." Fujino looked at the body in front of him and didn't say anything. Although this was logical according to common sense, this was Beika! Isn't it common to see one or two bodies on the streets of Beika? It would be truly scary if there weren't any. However, this time it was indeed as the two of them deduced. The victim must have discovered the culprit's actions, which is why they were stabbed to death. You could say the police's intelligence increased slightly, but not by much. As for the culprit, he could already confirm who it was. After all, in the mission, besides arson, that guy was also a murderer.
At this moment, Inspector Megure suddenly turned his head. "Fujino-kun, what do you think?"
"Hmm..." Fujino pondered for a moment, also looking at the body. "Based on the distance from the ignition point and the victim's wound, I think you're right. The deceased indeed discovered that guy setting the fire, which is why he was killed."
"Is that so?" Inspector Megure withdrew his gaze, his expression calm. But in reality, at this moment, a inexplicable sense of accomplishment suddenly surged within him. That was because he finally no longer had to be contradicted by a detective, and his thoughts and the detective's opinions were in agreement!
(End of Chapter)