The crumpled cigarette burned down to the filter's edge as Lupin III flicked the butt away with a careless flick.

A purple van entered the underground parking lot.

As the door opened, Fujiko Mine stepped down swiftly in high heels and threw herself into Lupin III's arms.

"Lupin~"

"Ah~ Fujiko~ They didn't do anything weird to you, did they?"

"No, but I was so scared!"

While the two talked, several black-clad men carrying submachine guns got out of the van and eyed them closely.

Lupin III paid no attention, his gaze fixed on the red glowing bomb collar around Fujiko's neck.

"That ugly necklace on your neck, huh."

With a heartbroken expression, Lupin III then turned to the blond foreigner sitting in the van: "You really have no taste!"

"Finish the deal quickly. Hand the goods to Fujiko Mine."

The man inside showed no interest in chatting, only urged Lupin III to hurry.

The phantom thief wearing a monkey mask pulled from his pocket the item just taken from Mihana Bank—the Cherry Sapphire.

Following orders, he handed it to Fujiko, who immediately smiled sweetly and pulled a ring from a jewelry box, shaking the inside to show it hadn't been tampered with.

"Looks like no tricks."

After confirming this, Fujiko threw the box at Lupin and started walking toward the van, flashing him a smile.

"Sorry about that. You really are working together."

Watching Fujiko approach the men, Lupin III sighed.

Fujiko cheerfully pointed to the collar on her neck, indicating it was fake. She had planned with the men to pretend she was kidnapped, making them send Lupin to steal the Cherry Sapphire, after which the men would pay her a hefty reward.

However, right after receiving the gem, Fujiko suddenly turned hostile, pulled out a gun, and aimed it at the man's head.

"Sorry, but compared to the amount you wrote on the check, I want this thing more."

"Wow, as expected of Fujiko~" Lupin III chuckled, but soon his tone turned serious:

"Though I want to say that, you might have underestimated this time. The bomb on your neck definitely looks real."

"Huh? No way."

Hearing this, Fujiko suddenly lost her strength.

She let the black-clad men take the gun from her hands and tossed the Cherry Sapphire back to the man in the van.

"The deal's done."

The man took the gem with a calm smile: "Once we ensure our safety, we'll remove the bomb for you immediately."

The van promptly left the underground parking lot.

Fujiko stayed behind, annoyed, while Lupin III grinned, watching the vehicle depart.

Hayashi Yoshiki and Kogoro Mouri were escorted directly into the elevator of the Sakura Sakae Hotel.

The manager led them to the front desk on the 28th floor and, as the elevator doors opened, respectfully said, "Everyone is waiting for you in the conference room. Turn left after you exit."

"Oh dear, sorry to keep you waiting," Kogoro Mouri said with a smile as he was the first to step out.

Seeing him walk ahead with hands in pockets, pride beaming on his face, Hayashi Yoshiki glanced at Sonoko and asked:

"This wasn't your arrangement, right, Sonoko?"

"I didn't arrange anything."

The eldest daughter of the Suzuki family looked puzzled and said, "So Yoshiki-kun, you didn't get any invitation either?"

"No, I just arrived here too."

The situation was confusing, but when Kogoro Mouri loudly opened the conference room door, shouting, "Sorry to intrude!" Ninzaburo Shiratori, who was on the phone, stopped and looked surprised.

Busy taking the call, he quickly came out.

Megure Juzo, sitting inside the room, looked astonished at their appearance: "Brother Mouri, and Brother Hayashi?"

"Chief? What are you doing here?"

"Chief Megure, may I ask who these gentlemen are...?"

Opposite Megure sat a well-fed man with black-framed glasses, who looked worried upon seeing Mouri and Yoshiki.

Megure immediately signaled not to worry and prepared to introduce them.

Before he could speak,

"The world's greatest detective, your Kogoro Mouri."

Spotting a beautiful Italian woman in the conference room, Mouri eagerly stepped forward and took out a gold-embossed business card: "Miss."

Startled by his overwhelming enthusiasm, the woman smiled reluctantly and accepted the card.

Mouri tried to say more but was suddenly pulled back by Ran, who grabbed his collar.

Watching her action, which was almost as effortless as dragging a rag doll yet she still managed a smile and apologized to the woman, Yoshiki's smile froze... When he had teased Ran before, he hadn't realized she was this strong.

While Ran pulled her unreliable dad back, Sonoko suddenly appeared next to the popular idol Emilio Baretti:

"I'm your assistant, Sonoko Suzuki! I've always listened to your songs. Please, Emilio-san, give me an autograph!"

She wasn't fangirling excessively, just a typical fan.

After looking around, Yoshiki glanced at an expressionless Conan and smiled, "Looks like the hotel manager downstairs misunderstood."

"Just a mix-up..."

The previous Princess Mira incident had left a deep impression on the hotel manager regarding Yoshiki and Mouri, so seeing them, he assumed it was police-related and invited them to the conference room.

Conan was curious once he saw Shiratori and Megure there.

"So, is there some case this time, Chief Megure?" Yoshiki asked with a smile.

"Otherwise, you'd still be stuck at the police station," Megure said.

"Couldn't fool Brother Hayashi."

Megure didn't hesitate and gestured to the well-fed man across from him:

"This is Luciano Carnevale, the organizer of Emilio's Japan concert."

"Hello," the man nodded.

"And this lady beside him—"

"My name is Claudia Berlucchi."

The short-haired blonde Italian woman cut in immediately—she was Emilio's manager.

"I'm very familiar!"

At some point, Mouri had sat down on Megure's left and enthusiastically responded.

Ran facepalmed.

Her dad's sole reason for coming was to see the manager—ever since he saw her on TV yesterday, he'd been acting all smug.

Though many men did find the manager attractive...

Thinking of this, Ran glanced at Yoshiki, only to find him watching her.

This made her smile faintly.

Then Yoshiki looked at Claudia Berlucchi... her features indeed had that Italian beauty charm, but was it because her hair was so short? Pretty, but just average.

Yoshiki always preferred women with a stronger feminine charm.

"We actually came here because..."

"Chief, is it okay to say it out loud?"

"Don't worry. Brother Mouri may be unreliable, but he's trustworthy."

Megure smiled, patted Mouri's shoulder, and as Mouri protested, turned to Yoshiki:

"As for Brother Hayashi, no need to say—he's our police task force's special consultant."

"The current status of the task force... let's not bring it up here, Chief Megure."

"That's not your problem, Mr. Hayashi."

At that moment, Ninzaburo Shiratori finished his call and returned to his seat, lightly patting Yoshiki's shoulder.

With police endorsement, manager Claudia took out a letter from her bag.

"Actually, Emilio received this this morning."

She opened the letter and showed it to the group.

It was an Italian letter cut and pasted from a newspaper text:

"Cancel the concert, or Emilio's life will be in danger."

Knowing no one there could read Italian, Claudia kindly translated.

Shiratori put on gloves and carefully placed the letter into an evidence bag.

Megure asked who had touched the letter; after confirming only Emilio and his manager had, he said it would be sent for fingerprint testing.

"But since the culprit used cut-up newspaper letters to write it, they probably won't have left fingerprints."

The attendants brought coffee; after thanking them, Yoshiki asked:

"Has Emilio's stay at this hotel been made public?"

"No, it hasn't."

Organizer Luciano replied immediately, "Because Emilio is very popular and it's his first time in Japan, if his whereabouts were public, a huge number of fans would disturb his rest... To avoid this for the concert, of course, we keep it secret."

"Who else knows about this besides hotel staff?"

"Probably just some concert staff..." Luciano wasn't sure.

"But we can't rule out the possibility of an outside culprit."

Shiratori explained, "Some fanatics will use all kinds of methods to find idols' residences and try to get close."

Nearby, Sonoko quietly held several concert tickets, already prepared for the VIP front-row seats.

She silently hid behind her best friend, careful not to make a sound.

"Cancel it!"

Suddenly, Emilio, who had been quiet, spoke up anxiously.

All eyes turned to him as the young foreign idol suddenly panicked:

"I don't want to die! Just cancel the concert!"

"Calm down, Emilio."

"Don't say cancel so rashly. We've already spent a lot on this concert! I even pushed for the renovation of the Tokyo Dome to finish early, and tickets are sold out! Don't you realize it can't be canceled now?"

Under the pressure of his manager and investors, Emilio could only hold his head in frustration.

The idol life wasn't as glamorous as it seemed...

The two girls in the room thought silently.

Ran glanced at Sonoko hiding behind her, noticing the shining tickets in her hand—VIP front-row seats prepared early in the morning.

"I was going to say one for you, one for me, and one for Yoshiki-kun..."

Noticing Ran's gaze, Sonoko whispered only loud enough for the two of them, "Now that I know about this, I don't feel right going."

"Can't help it, no one knew this would happen."

Ran wasn't that interested in the idol, though she sometimes listened to his songs.

"But how come Yoshiki-kun also has a ticket?"

"Hehe~"

Sonoko smiled subtly.

Ran didn't know what to say, feeling a little speechless and a bit jealous...

Maybe she should tell Sonoko?

If she kept hiding it, one day Sonoko would find out about her and Yoshiki-kun and get really angry for taking a spot and not telling her.

But if she told her, Ran would feel awkward too.

Lowering her head, Ran felt conflicted.

While the two girls whispered, Kogoro Mouri suddenly laughed loudly, saying he already knew the truth.

He even shifted the blame onto Lupin III, claiming he stole the Cherry Sapphire to win the heart of manager Claudia, who was upset over the concert troubles...

Everyone else silently facepalmed, but Mouri was totally oblivious.

Ah.

But Hayashi Yoshiki was still humoring him:

"As expected of Uncle Mouri, giving me completely unexpected ideas."

"Ah, Yoshiki, you're great, but sometimes you still have to listen to your senior uncle here."

Watching Mouri get carried away, Ran couldn't stand it anymore.

This time, she hid behind Sonoko and whispered, "Yoshiki-kun, you really don't need to always praise my dad like that."

Sometimes, praising someone too much just makes them a fool.