I started a business in Detective Conan Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Prelude to the Fashion Exhibition

Over the next few days, no incidents occurred.

Finally, Friday arrived.

Usually, school would end a bit early on Fridays, and today, they were let out at 4 o'clock.

Keita Yoshida approached the front row where Shinichi, Ran, and Sonoko were seated.

"Kudo, Mouri, Suzuki classmates. Let's go, my mom sent a car to pick us up today."

One of the nearby students, named Tashiro, asked, "Do you have any plans?"

Hidakazu also chimed in, "Going on a group date?"

These two were well-known gossip girls in the class, responsible for about 30% of the rumors circulating around the school.

Guess who's responsible for the remaining 70%.

Keita replied, "Ah, well. My family got a few tickets for the 'Tokyo Fashion Apparel Exhibition.' We're going to check it out later."

"That's awesome, we want to go too. Right, Hidakazu?" Tashiro crossed her fingers and blinked with starry eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." Hidakazu agreed.

"Sorry, but we only have four tickets for this time. However, on the 1st of next month, I have a lot of premiere tickets for the first movie of the famous anime 'Doraemon.' How about we all go together with the whole class?" Keita offered.

"Really? Yay!"

"Hail to Yoshida-kun!"

"Hail!"

The classroom buzzed with excitement. Keita signaled to the three and walked out of the classroom.

On the way, Ran asked a question, "What does Yoshida-kun's family do?"

Shinichi continued, "Doraemon's author, Yoshida Toshio. Yesterday's evening news mentioned that Yoshida Ami, the president of 'Sakura Fashion,' was present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the 'Tokyo Fashion Exhibition.' Yoshida Keita. Yoshida. Hm~" with a slightly arrogant expression.

Sonoko and Ran understood. They surrounded Keita with excitement.

"Are you the son of the famous Yoshida Toshio?"

"The son of Doraemon's author?"

Keita quickly gestured to keep it quiet. "Keep your voice down. If people find out, they'll come to me for my father's autograph. It's annoying. It's because many people at Mihana Middle School, where I went before, knew about this, that I didn't go to Mihana High School."

Sonoko and Ran covered their mouths.

The group quickly left the scene and reached the school gate.

Doraemon had been serialized for nearly ten years, now a national-level intellectual property.

Keita's dream had come true. He truly became part of many people's childhood memories.

The Japan version had been developed perfectly, including manga, anime, figures, dolls, cards, clothing, and more.

This series of products had supported countless people. In recent years, the animated movies had also been well-received. It had previously produced a pilot movie of about 20 minutes in the early 2000s, but Keita found the style and quality outdated after watching, so it was rejected.

In recent years, with technological advancements, preparations had started a year ago, and the production had officially begun last year. The first movie was set to premiere in May of this year.

If it became a big hit, there would be a new movie every May in the future.

"Sign~" Sonoko exclaimed excitedly, revealing herself as a Doraemon fan.

"I knew it." Keita sighed.

"I, I want one too~" Ran shyly added.

"Okay, okay. I'll ask my dad to draw you all a chibi-style portrait and sign it." Keita sighed in resignation.

"Yay!" Sonoko and Ran high-fived in celebration.

"But won't you be exposing yourself by treating your classmates to a movie? Won't that be risky?" Ran worried.

"It's fine. As long as I don't admit it personally, they'll only suspect. After all, the Yoshida family is well-known in Japan." Keita took out his phone and called his mother's secretary, "Hey, Ms. Hirota, where are you? We're at the school gate now. Alright, see you soon."

After hanging up, a commercial vehicle pulled up in front of them, and the window rolled down. It was Ami Yoshida's secretary, Hirota Masami.

Everyone got into the car and headed to the venue.

---

5:00 PM.

In front of Rice Flower Mall.

The group got out of the car.

Keita led them to the Sakura Fashion flagship store on the ground floor.

The mall was bustling with people coming and going. Today, anyone who made a certain amount of purchases in the mall would receive a ticket for the "Tokyo Fashion Apparel Exhibition." As a result, the foot traffic was much higher than usual.

At 7:00 PM, on the top floor of Mihana Mall, the fashion exhibition was about to begin.

Models from manufacturers all over the world took the stage, showcasing their brand's clothing.

Fortunately, they had tickets, so there was no hassle.

They entered the store.

Ami Yoshida was already there, waiting for them.

"Ah, Keita, over here. Welcome, Keita's friends. I'm Ami Yoshida, president and chief designer of Sakura Fashion, and also Keita's mother." Ami warmly welcomed them.

"Let me introduce you. This is Kudo Shinichi, this is Mouri Ran, and this is Suzuki Sonoko. This is my mother, Ami Yoshida."

Keita added, "Don't be formal. Feel free to browse around. Many of Mom's masterpieces are here. Today, you can enjoy an 80% discount with the ticket."

Keita didn't mention anything about a free pass, but none of them were short on cash. If it were free, they might have been overly cautious in their selections.

"Hello, Mrs. Yoshida," the three greeted.

Sakura Fashion mainly focused on women's clothing, with only a few men's styles, mainly designed for Keita and his father. Occasionally, those with good reviews would be put up for sale.

The three girls were already engrossed in conversation.

Keita took the opportunity to say, "Could you please take care of them, Mom? I'm going to check things out with Kudo. Let's have dinner together later."

"Got it, go ahead." Ami waved them away like shooing flies.

Keita exchanged a glance with Shinichi and shrugged before leaving the store.

Shinichi mused, "Women can't resist attractive clothes and beautiful jewelry, no matter their age..."

"True. When shopping, women never tire..." Before Keita could finish, a piercing scream cut him off.

"Ah—"

Shinichi shot out of his

 seat like a bullet.

Damn, seriously? A murder case while shopping? Is this for real?

Keita stood still for a moment, then followed Shinichi.

Behind the first floor, a terrified woman stood near the warehouse entrance, while another woman lay on the ground inside.

Shinichi placed his hand on the woman's neck, checking her pulse.

"No hope, Yoshida. Call the police quickly."

"Okay." Is this his cue to call the police? "Hey, 110? There's been a murder at Warehouse C in Mihana Mall. Send the police over. Yeah, she's already dead. Hurry up."

After hanging up, Keita said to Shinichi, "I've called the police."

Shortly after, the police arrived at the scene, along with the mall manager.

The leader was a chubby officer wearing a hat, none other than the frequently seen officer at crime scenes, Inspector Megure.

Inspector Megure asked, "Who called the police?"

"It was me, Officer." Keita raised his hand.

"Who was the first one to discover the scene?"

"It was me." The frightened woman from earlier raised her hand.

"Hey, kid, don't wander around the scene." Inspector Megure saw Shinichi observing the area and shouted.

Next, the police began investigating, collecting evidence and questioning witnesses.

Soon, they took the three suspects to give statements, a classic lineup.

Keita figured he wasn't involved, so he greeted Shinichi, bid them farewell, and returned to the store.

He wasn't interested in the case; as long as it didn't involve him, it was fine. It was weird, though. While he often teased Conan as the "Death God Elementary School Student," it was all in jest; he never actually blamed Conan for anything. However, after this incident, Keita realized there might be some strange abilities related to Conan.

Back in the store, Ami anxiously watched outside. When she saw Keita, she asked, "What happened? Why are there so many police officers?"

Keita explained, "It's nothing. Maybe they're after a fugitive. Let's go eat now. Kudo is busy playing detective games. I'll email him the location, and he'll join us soon."

"Really?" Ran asked, concerned.

"Really. Let's go, I'm starving. There's a good barbecue restaurant on the fifth floor. Let's all go together."

"Barbecue, barbecue, let's go, Ran. Don't worry about that reasoning idiot. Let's have barbecue together." Sonoko enthusiastically suggested.

The group made their way to the fifth floor.

The aroma of grilled meat filled the air.

Keita's stomach growled audibly. Slightly embarrassed, he said, "Let's get going. My stomach's growling. Today, I'm going to eat like a king."

Ami covered her mouth and remarked to Ran and Sonoko, "This kid is still so energetic."

After they were seated, they ordered a deluxe set for five, with beef, lamb, pork, and fish—everything.

The food was served soon.

Everyone started grilling meat.

While the three girls chatted, Keita, who was famished, didn't hesitate. He picked up a golden-brown and crispy slice of pork belly and took a bite. The juices flowed, and he swallowed, a satisfied look on his face.

Keita sighed in contentment.

As they chatted, he continued to devour the food.

Finally, Sonoko noticed, "Ah, girls. Let's start eating too; Yoshida's going to finish all the meat."

Ami added, "This kid. Whenever he eats meat, if you're not careful, he'll eat it all."

By the time dinner was coming to an end, it was already 6:50 PM.

The highly anticipated "Tokyo Fashion Apparel Exhibition" was about to begin.

Fortunately, a murder had already occurred earlier in the day, so there was unlikely to be any big events during the fashion exhibition. Reflecting on the original Conan stories, whenever Conan appeared, there was never a situation where a case had just been solved, only for another one to occur immediately after.

Keita couldn't help but think, How odd. Even though I used to joke about Conan as the Death God Elementary School Student, I never really thought he was responsible for anything. But given this experience, there might be something unusual about Conan after all.

Leaving the restaurant, they took the elevator to the top floor.