i am just a student? in Conan world

Retracting his gaze, Minoru Furuhashi turned around and politely said to Fujino, "I'm really sorry, buddy. Did that guy just pick a fight with you too?"

"Too?"

Fujino asked, "Does this guy come around often to cause trouble?"

"Yeah."

Minoru nodded. "Lately, that guy's been getting bolder. He used to just harass customers, but ever since a while ago, he's started brawling with some thugs after every movie showing, making it impossible for our theater to stay peaceful."

"I'm sure those thugs are either hired by him or work under him."

Yuriko Tomosato chimed in, complaining, "Our theater's reputation has been ruined because of him. Thanks to his antics, we've had fewer and fewer customers, and now we're about to close. At first, we thought they'd cool down, but that guy keeps coming back and stirring up trouble with our other guests."

"No wonder the theater's so empty today."

Ai Haibara recalled the earlier empty theater scene. "Seems like that guy's the main culprit."

"That guy is really annoying."

The kids all agreed in unison.

Fujino, meanwhile, was lost in thought.

Going through his memories, he recalled some details about this theater's backstory.

He remembered that when Masatsugu Tada was planning to acquire the theater, it was all part of a premeditated scheme.

First, Masatsugu sent thugs to mess with the theater's business. Once no one wanted to come watch movies here anymore, he swooped in and bought it at a dirt-cheap price.

As for why he kept causing trouble even after the acquisition deal was agreed upon...

Masatsugu Tada was a gambling addict, and a few days ago, he racked up a huge gambling debt. He gambled away all the money he got from the client who wanted to buy the theater's land.

Now, he's short on funds to complete the purchase of the theater.

Originally, he planned to take out a loan, but the bank refused to lend money to a gambling addict.

In short, gamblers never meet a good end.

With the buyer pressing him to hurry up, Masatsugu thought of stirring up more trouble to lower the final purchase price even further.

This kind of sleazy tactic is often used by the yakuza here in Japan, and it's disgusting.

If someone's bold enough to pull these dirty tricks, the locals are bold enough to deal with him.

Later, during the movie, that gambling dog is going to get himself killed.

"Alright, alright, let's stop talking about this. If Mr. Tada hears about it, he'll come back to make more trouble," Akio Matsumura tried to smooth things over. He then walked over to Fujino, dragging his old body. "I'm so sorry, young man, that you had to deal with all this..."

"It's alright."

Fujino calmly responded, then asked, "By the way, what's that man's company called?"

"I think it's Tada Real Estate."

Akio Matsumura thought for a moment and then told Fujino, "But his company isn't doing so well right now. If you're looking to do business, you might want to try somewhere else."

Fujino shook his head and smiled, "No, I was just curious."

"By the way, after watching movies all morning, I'm feeling a bit hungry..."

Akio Matsumura checked his wristwatch and asked Yuriko Tomosato, "Yuriko, did you get lunch?"

"Oh no, I forgot to buy lunch!"

Yuriko covered her mouth in surprise. "There are usually a lot of people at the convenience store around noon..."

Akio Matsumura suggested, "I'll go buy it then, I don't have much to do anyway."

"No way."

Yuriko shook her head. "Today's our last day in business. You should stay and enjoy a movie, boss."

"Or you could wait until the next movie starts, and then go buy it. There aren't many people here today anyway."

Minoru Furuhashi pointed toward the ticket lady at the door. "If something comes up, the lady at the ticket booth can help."

He glanced at his watch again. Seeing that it was almost time for the movie to start, he hurried back to the projection room. Before he left, he didn't forget to ask Yuriko to bring him back some tea.

"Oh, Yuriko, remember to bring some for this young man and these kids too."

Akio Matsumura said to Fujino, "There's not much left here as compensation, and I noticed you've been here since the last movie, so you probably haven't had lunch yet. Lunch is on us."

"Thank you very much."

Fujino nodded and accepted.

...

As the afternoon movie started, besides Fujino and the Detective Boys, there were four other people in the theater.

A couple, a young man with a camera, and, of course, Masatsugu Tada, the man who had earlier clashed with Fujino.

However, just as the movie began, Masatsugu Tada rudely chased the couple away.

Conan, hearing the commotion, turned around and saw that Fujino had also turned his head. Conan quietly whispered, "Looks like Yuriko was right. The thugs causing trouble must've been hired by him."

"Who knows?"

Fujino glanced over and then turned his attention back to the big screen.

Soon, the night scene in the Gomera movie started.

The giant monster Gomera was about to make its appearance.

On the big screen, the movie flickered for a second during a scene transition.

None of the viewers seemed to notice the flicker.

It was brief enough that anyone would've thought it was just a normal transition.

But Fujino noticed something odd.

With his enhanced senses, he realized that during that flicker, the light from the projector behind the screen had also disappeared for a moment.

There's something wrong with the projector.

Fujino turned to look back at the projection window.

Masatsugu Tada was sitting there, legs crossed, smoking a cigarette, watching the movie with boredom.

Above him were three projection windows. The original one on the far right had shifted to the middle.

With his enhanced vision, Fujino could see what was going on inside.

They were using a mirror reflection trick.

It looks like the killer's plan was underway.

This time, the culprit is likely Minoru Furuhashi.

Fujino shifted his gaze back to the big screen.

Even with the mirror trick, the massive image on the screen hadn't distorted.

Classic Detective Conan.

Sighing softly, Fujino thought.

The kids had invited him for a nice movie day...

The theater owner seemed like a good guy, and the waitress even gave them free popcorn.

Might as well enjoy a crime-free holiday.

Besides, Masatsugu Tada was his target. It wouldn't be polite for someone else to kill him before he had the chance to settle the score.

(End of Chapter)