Conan: The Phantom Heart Thief

Azusa Enomoto placed a glass of smoothie in front of Kazawa and Conan, and her attention was quickly drawn to the scenes on TV.

"'Yes, I already have a job at an agency.'" On the TV screen, Goro Akechi smiled as he spoke into the microphone, his black-gloved fingers touching the badge on his chest. "'Although people are used to calling me a high school detective, I've already completed my degree. Technically speaking, having a formal job is more accurate now...'"

The camera zoomed in for a close-up of the nameplate on his chest.

Above the name [Akechi Goro], the words [Amuro Detective Agency] gleamed under the lights.

"Wow..." Azusa hugged the tray and sighed as she glanced toward Amuro Toru, who was standing by the bar. "That's really impressive, Mr. Amuro. You actually managed to get Goro Akechi to join your agency."

"It was just a coincidence, really." Amuro Toru nodded with satisfaction and humbly waved his hand. "Actually, Akechi-kun wanted a fixed office where clients could reach him easily. As for detective work, I'm still just an apprentice. The agency mostly relies on Akechi-kun."

"Mr. Amuro, I was so surprised when you told me you were starting a business." Azusa returned to the bar and said with emotion, "No wonder you were so confident—you had a trump card like him."

"I'll be counting on your help in the future... but the agency is still mainly run by Akechi-kun. I won't be there all day." Amuro Toru smiled as always and glanced over at Kazawa, who was sitting with the elementary schooler eating ice cream.

Kazawa turned his head, pretending he hadn't noticed, and scooped a large spoonful of smoothie into his mouth.

"It's really about appearances," Conan said, listening to their conversation and the news on TV. The corners of his mouth twitched.

Kazawa chuckled a few times and clicked on the next interview segment on TV. "He's also going to appear on Nichimi TV's detective variety show... I think Mr. Mouri was invited too. You might see him on the same show."

"If he's on there, I doubt Uncle Mouri will get any screentime," Conan said bluntly. "Compared to someone flashy like him, the station probably prefers to spotlight detectives like Akechi Goro."

"Well... his fame still doesn't quite compare to Mr. Mouri's." Kazawa tried to comfort him, though his mind had drifted to the infamous pancake moment in P5.

If memory served, that dramatic clash between the traitor and the pancake-lover took place at a TV station, right?

Maybe using the alias Goro Akechi on television would bring some bad luck. Either way, Kazawa planned to keep a low profile.

The smiling image of Goro Akechi faded from the screen, and the next news segment began.

"This afternoon, a robbery occurred at Shibuya Central Bank. Three masked criminals armed with guns broke into the vault and stole approximately 1 billion yen before fleeing by car. Police have launched a citywide search and are investigating further. This is currently the largest bank robbery in Tokyo in recent years. Based on surveillance footage, the three suspects are described as..."

"The public security situation is getting worse and worse lately..." Conan sighed as he took a spoonful of smoothie. When he didn't hear a response, he looked up in surprise. "Kazawa? Kazawa? What's wrong?"

Kazawa had turned his head and was staring intently at the TV.

The screen had changed from the cheerful anchor to grainy black-and-white surveillance footage showing three masked robbers wearing hoods and sunglasses. The narration continued to describe the timeline and circumstances of the crime.

Conan watched for a moment, confused, then reached out and patted Kazawa's hand. "You okay?"

Clang—the spoon in Kazawa's hand slipped and struck the edge of the smoothie glass, startling Conan.

"Ah..." The noise finally snapped Kazawa out of it. He picked up the spoon again, patted his forehead, and smiled at Conan, who looked puzzled. "I was just spacing out. Sorry."

"Well, sure, the amount stolen was crazy, but it's not that shocking..." Conan said with suspicion, watching him closely. "Does this robbery mean something special to you?"

"A bank robbery is a serious crime. Don't act like it's some everyday thing," Kazawa said, lips curling. He gave up trying to correct Conan's crime-scale perception and sighed. "I just suddenly felt like life's not so easy. So 1 billion yen is considered a big deal, huh..."

Conan, mid-spoonful, paused and picked up on something in Kazawa's words. "Life's not easy... Oh right, I never asked you, Kazawa—how much money did you bring with you when you came to Tokyo?"

Conan had always assumed Kazawa came from a rich background—he never looked at price tags, for one—but he'd never really investigated what kind of family Kazawa came from or how wealthy he really was.

Kazawa bit the spoon and thought for a few seconds before giving an unexpected answer: "Hmm... I'm not sure."

"You're not sure? What does that even mean..." Conan squinted, sensing something unusual.

"I just don't know. I'm not clear on how much my parents' total assets were. Anyway, I brought my bank card with me to Tokyo. There's probably still a decent chunk of money in the account. Mainly, my parents owned several valuable drug patents. They made about 30 million dollars a year in patent royalties. But since they died overseas, the inheritance process is still ongoing... What's wrong, Conan?" Kazawa waved a hand in front of him when he noticed Conan's blank expression.

"Thir... thirty million... dollars..." Conan repeated stiffly.

"Yeah," Kazawa sighed, clearly troubled, "No wonder they always transferred huge amounts to my account every year..."

Conan's gaze drifted back to the TV, where the screen still showed enlarged photos of the three suspects. The soft female anchor repeated the usual public safety messages, asking residents to report any suspicious persons. The bright red headline "1 Billion Yen Major Robbery" scrolled beneath it.

Suddenly, everything felt meaningless.

But the money Kazawa had was his inheritance. Looking at Kazawa's solemn expression, Conan didn't know what to say. His own face flushed red with awkwardness.

While Conan was still reeling, Kazawa went back to digging into his smoothie. But his thoughts had drifted far from the carefree image of a rich young master ignorant of the world's struggles.

1 billion yen. Bank robbery. Three robbers.

One tall, one average, one thin...

"What is coming will eventually come," Kazawa muttered under his breath. He looked at Conan, who was wordlessly sipping smoothie, and began running through plans in his mind again.

Please hang in there, Sister Akemi.