Two days later, near a newsstand on a street corner in Beika Town.
Fujino leaned against his car, holding a freshly printed newspaper.
"Master Detective Fujino cooperates with the police again, single-handedly destroying a drug manufacturing and trafficking den..."
"High school detective solves a secret murder case from twenty-seven years ago, the secret hidden in Rokkaku Village, the culprit turns out to be seeking revenge..."
"Aomori Prefecture presents Master Detective Fujino with a letter of appreciation and a 3 million yen incentive payment at a press conference, also conferring upon him the title of Honorary Citizen of Aomori City."
"Aomori Prefectural Police Headquarters states they will strengthen anti-drug efforts and strive to investigate the lower ranks of the marijuana smuggling and cultivation organization..."
"Shocking! Master Detective Fujino and the local beautiful, wealthy madam of an inn in a remote mountain village have a secret that can't be told..."
He scanned the headlines below the color photos of himself in the newspaper, feeling utterly speechless. "This Goto... could he be a transmigrator or something?"
He was already used to Goto's sensational, borderline news reports.
After all, besides Goto, no one else could write such unbelievably disruptive articles.
"A beautiful, wealthy madam's secret that can't be told."
Seriously, the guy can really make stuff up...
Especially that "Shocking!" – it just had that certain *flavor*, you know?
It was hard not to suspect that some internet content creator who died from overwork had transmigrated.
But considering he'd previously gotten a few million yen from dealing with him...
He decided not to fuss about it too much.
Two days had passed since the incident in Rokkaku Village.
He had just gotten out of school today and, having nothing else to do, stopped by the newsstand to see the reports about himself.
Just as the newspaper said, after solving that case, Fujino was handsomely rewarded by the Aomori Prefectural Police.
A 3 million yen reward, a letter of appreciation, and a fancy bronze plaque that came with the title of Honorary Citizen of Aomori City.
Adding the system's reward and Ooka Momiji's commission, Fujino's earnings this time reached a staggering 10 million yen, plus 1000 Detective Prestige points.
His balance was now 25.08 million yen, and as for prestige, he was just 450 points away from leveling up his detective rank.
Besides the tangible rewards, something Fujino found a bit confusing was the Honorary Citizen of Aomori City award.
He heard there were some benefits in Aomori City or something...
Anyway, Fujino felt it wasn't really useful, so he didn't listen closely.
All in all, this reward made Fujino quite comfortable.
Much better than certain places that don't even reimburse transportation fees.
"Fujino-senpai!"
Fujino put down the newspaper and turned his head to see Ran and Sonoko, still in their school uniforms, waving and walking towards him. Behind them was that little 'Shinigami' elementary schooler.
"Ran, Sonoko... and little Conan-kun."
Fujino lowered his gaze to look at Conan for a moment, then looked back up at the two girls. "Speaking of which, where are you two taking Conan?"
He glanced in the direction they were heading. "This isn't the way home from school, is it?"
"Actually, we wanted to go to an arcade nearby," Sonoko stepped forward to explain, then looked at Conan behind her with a resentful expression. "But this little brat insisted on tagging along. It's really annoying!"
"Haha..." Conan chuckled awkwardly, muttering in his heart, '*Sorry for not trusting you, the flirty one, to take Ran out alone without me.*'
"Oh, right, Fujino-senpai," Sonoko turned back to Fujino. "That arcade has the newest video games. Wanna come play with us?"
"Video games..." Fujino stroked his chin.
He felt like he had some sort of impression of that.
*So, you're feeling pretty bold, huh?*
...
Soon, after a short walk, they arrived in front of an arcade.
Conan got out of the car resentfully, glancing at Fujino.
This guy... he really does stick his nose into everything, doesn't he?
"Wow... this is so cute!" Ran held up a sticker photo album, looking at Conan's picture decorated with little thieves, giggling uncontrollably. "This place Sonoko recommended really is great."
Conan: "Haha..." *I knew I shouldn't have come.*
"See? I told you! This place is far from school, only someone who knows the way like a pro can find it!" Sonoko stepped closer, smiling. "But Fujino-senpai, why do you always have such a serious face? It doesn't feel like the right atmosphere for taking sticker photos at all."
"Haha... I don't really like having my picture taken, so I'm not very good at these sticker photos or anything like that," Fujino chuckled sheepishly.
Sticker photos, huh...
Come to think of it, he had heard about them a long time ago.
But he'd never actually taken one because he didn't really like having his picture taken – he was the type who'd *never liked having his picture taken* his whole life.
Later, as times changed, those sticker photo booths completely disappeared.
"Is that right?" Ran touched her chin. "But on the news headlines, Fujino-senpai, you looked pretty good, though?"
"Occupational habit," Fujino explained. "After all, you never know when a reporter might sneak a picture, so I'm quite sensitive to the camera and always unconsciously straighten my face."
"That makes sense, huh..." Sonoko rested her forehead in thought. "After all, Fujino-senpai is a famous person. If you were caught in an unflattering photo and it ended up on the front page, that would be super embarrassing..."
Conan also nodded in agreement.
Shinichi Kudo had certainly been caught in similar shots before.
Even though he was a total hunk, he'd definitely had his share of awkward moments.
"Hey, hey, Sonoko!" Just then, Ran suddenly looked to the side. "That looks like a wedding photo booth over there."
"Huh?!" Sonoko followed her gaze. "I remember it wasn't here when I came yesterday..."
"I'll go take a look..." Ran pulled back the curtain of the photo booth and gasped, looking at the wedding dress templates inside. "Wow~ So cute!"
"Then let's take photos with this next!" Ran turned and smiled at Sonoko.
"Whoa... wait a minute..." Sonoko froze. "Sometimes it's nice to take pictures separately, you know?"
*The latest novel is first published on li u 9 s hu ba.*
"Oh~ I know, you must want to put the photo on a letter and send it to Araide-sensei or some other handsome guy, right?" Ran covered her mouth and chuckled slyly. "I remember last time when I was checking the mail, someone mentioned (Is it really popular among girls these days to put sticker photos on letters?), and you were there too, weren't you?"
"So, wouldn't you be the only one who'd think of something like that?" Sonoko retorted, a bit speechless. "It would be way too embarrassing to give someone a sticker photo of yourself in a wedding dress..."
Then, she touched her chin again, thinking. "But Araide-sensei really works hard. He just finished with the basketball club and now he's in the drama club. With that annoying guy gone and Fujino-senpai keeping a low profile, all the popularity in the school is focused on him alone..."
"Being popular is certainly tough," Fujino nodded, having some understanding of the situation.
Vermouth definitely wouldn't be very interested in a bunch of inexperienced kids playing basketball.
After quitting the basketball club, she went to the drama club to practice her old profession of acting.
With her looks and exquisite acting skills, she still became one of the popular figures at school.
"I don't think that's quite right..." Ran brought up. "Isn't the new English teacher, Jodie-sensei, also really popular lately?"
"That's different... only the guys like her," Sonoko clicked her tongue. "She always wears revealing clothes to school and shows off. I think she's just messing with those high school boys."
"But she's actually really good, though," Ran said. "She teaches in a way that's easy to understand, both thorough and clear."
"That's why I said she's messing with those guys," Sonoko continued, still a bit resentful. "She's usually quiet and pretends to be refined, and she won't go out for bubble tea after class, acting like she's some sort of proper lady. When a foreigner finally comes, they should be more humorous and fun, you know?"
"The atmosphere in America is quite open, that's true," Fujino chuckled lightly. "But after all, she is a teacher, right? If she were too humorous and fun, she wouldn't have any authority..."
"Hmm... even Fujino-senpai is saying good things about her," Sonoko looked at Fujino, becoming even more resentful.
Fujino: "..."
What Sonoko said definitely had a bit of personal grievance mixed in.
As for Jodie, since she's an FBI agent, her trained physique is certainly good, and her appearance is also commendable.
With her open style of dress and the label of a foreign teacher, she indeed became one of the popular targets among the guys.
Fujino, however, didn't feel much about her, after all, she was with the FBI.
A quick glance tells him she's not as good as Hiroshi Agasa's Aston Martin.
He could only say that unlike other high schoolers, he was past that naive age...
"Hey, come on!"
Just then, a slightly strange-sounding phrase suddenly came from somewhere.
They all turned to look and saw Jodie, wearing a short red ruffled dress and a blue jacket over it, standing in front of a shooting arcade game, playing.
Sonoko's face immediately darkened.
Question: What do you do when you're badmouthing someone behind their back and they suddenly appear right there?
After one round of the game, Jodie, being a professional, completely crushed the high score using various flashy shooting techniques.
After finishing the game, she didn't forget to blow on the barrel of the virtual gun and strike a cool pose for the game enthusiasts watching around her.
Sonoko and Ran were startled by her moves.
Fujino, meanwhile, quietly observed Jodie's movements.
Even though it was a shooting game, Jodie couldn't forget her ingrained skills.
Standard gun-holding posture, standard aiming method.
Just one look, and you could tell she wasn't simple.
...
At the arcade's rest area.
"Teacher, do you come to this arcade to play games every day after school?" Sonoko looked at Jodie in surprise, as if she had discovered a new continent.
"Yes! Japanese video games are so fun! The arcade machines imported from Japan to America always have long lines, and sometimes you can't even play them," Jodie said with her slightly strange accent, mixing in a few English words with a laugh. "The reason I came here to teach is so I can play fun video games every day!"
"Oh, I see," Sonoko suddenly understood why she'd been refused when she invited Jodie for bubble tea. Her resentment lessened considerably, then she asked curiously, "But then, why are you so strict during class?"
"It's really hard for foreigners to find work in Japan, you know!" Jodie explained. "If I mess up, I could get fired... So, please don't tell anyone that I play video games here! I'm counting on you, Mouri-kun, Sonoko-kun, Fujino-kun!"
"Okay!" Ran nodded. "But you looked really cool just now, sensei!"
"Yeah!" Sonoko echoed. "Just like Billy the Kid!"
(End of this chapter)