Refuse to allow Conan to join the main storyline

At 12:24 pm on December 6th, the Kudo family’s Christmas dinner party.

All those who came were old friends, but two people were missing: Kuroba Toichi and Sakurai Izumi.

The three little ones were restrained and sat on the sofa, all with disappointed expressions on their faces.

Suzuki Sonoko turned her head and looked at the gate again: "It's already this late, is Sister Sakurai really not coming today?"

The disappointment on Xiaolan's face became even more obvious.

The atmosphere in her family has been very tense recently. Xiaolan is looking forward to meeting Koizumi today, hoping that she can bring those cute cats to heal her young heart.

The end of the year is the busiest time of year, but the cat cafe unexpectedly closed early. Not only that, even Sakurai-san will not show up?

Then who can help her persuade her parents?

Thinking of this, Xiaolan turned her head to look at Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki who were sitting on both sides of her, and she felt so sad that she wanted to cry again.

Little Kudo said angrily, "Really? She clearly agreed to come, but she changed her mind without notifying us? So many of us have to wait for her!"

Before he finished speaking, as if in answer to his question, a few cat meows were heard from the door.

The three children were immediately excited and jumped off the sofa and ran over. However, when they opened the door, they found no one outside, only an envelope on the ground. Judging from the saliva and teeth marks on it, it must have been sent by the cat that had just called.

"A letter?" Ignoring her son's strong protest, Yukiko Kudo took the letter from little Kudo and returned to the house. "Honey, this seems to be a letter from Miss Sakurai."

Little Kudo jumped up and down to snatch the letter from Kudo Yukiko, and shouted, "Let me read it, let me read it!"

He quickly opened the envelope, but there was no salutation or signature on the letter, just a simple "sorry".

Little Kudo was so angry that he stamped his feet: "This guy! This guy! He's the most annoying!"

Kudo Yusaku took the note and looked at it. He found that although there were only a few simple words, the paper was clean and the handwriting was neat. It did not look like it was written in an emergency situation. It should not be that she encountered any dangerous situation.

"Maybe there's something else going on." Kudo Yusaku clapped his hands, "In that case, let's not wait, let's get started."

Kisaki Eri turned her head and looked at Maori Kogoro.

She had noticed it just now. When he heard the cat meowing outside the door, Maori Kogoro was obviously nervous. But after confirming that Sakurai Izumi was not there, his expression became relaxed and returned to normal. It was obvious that he was hiding something.

Thinking about how Sakurai was absent-minded when they had dinner at home last time, Kisaki Eri was even more certain that Maori Kogoro must have said something to her. Maybe even the fact that Sakurai stood everyone up this time was because of her husband's conspiracy behind the scenes.

Why is this? Sakurai obviously helped their family, didn't he? It all started from that dinner that day!

She turned around and smiled, "Speaking of which, has anyone of you seen Sakurai recently? Could it be that she received some incredible commission recently, not only did the cat cafe not care to close early for the holiday, but even her phone has been unreachable."

Kisaki Eri originally wanted to ask the couple from the Kudo family, but unexpectedly, Dr. Agasa, who had been sitting next to her and had little presence, suddenly said, "Ms. Sakurai, I just met her two days ago."

"Eh?!"

Now everyone was surprised.

Under everyone's questioning, Dr. Agasa explained: "She came to visit me three days ago and asked me to make a prop for her. That little thing is not difficult for me. As long as the materials are delivered, it can be completed quickly."

Ah, no, no, no, we don't care what she commissioned you to make, we just want to know...

Little Kudo: "What did she commission you to make?"

Everyone:...

Before Dr. Agasa could speak, Kudo Yusaku spoke first: "Shinichi, you are so rude. Whatever Ms. Sakurai commissioned Dr. Agasa to make is none of your business. Do you just pry into other people's affairs like that?"

Dr. Agasa smiled and waved his hand: "It's okay, it's not a prop that needs to be kept secret. She just asked me to help make a headset."

earphone?

Everyone was stunned.

Kudo: "Why not just buy one? Does the headset she wants to make have any special functions?"

Dr. Agasa recited according to Koizumi's instructions at the time: "She said she had a bit of neurasthenia and couldn't sleep well, so she needed a pair of headphones with particularly good soundproofing. That's it."

Those who knew that Koizumi had extraordinary hearing nodded in understanding without any suspicion.

Only Kudo was still frowning and staring at Dr. Agasa: "Is that really all? Could it be that she asked you to answer like that?"

Dr. Agasa was choked and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Miss Sakurai really guessed it right. Not only was Kudo Shinichi's possible reaction, but even what he would say was guessed clearly.

Because he had prepared in advance, Dr. Agasa was not panicked at all. He said with a smile: "Come to think of it, I almost forgot. Miss Sakurai asked me to ask you, did you solve the puzzle she left for you last time?"

Little Kudo's attention was immediately diverted.

"Yeah, that's right! I wanted to compare answers with her this time!"

Dr. Agasa smiled and said, "Then tell me, she has already told me the answer."

Little Kudo's eyes lit up immediately.

Kudo Yukiko asked curiously, "Hey, when did this happen? What kind of puzzle is it?"

Kisaki Eri smiled and said, "Last time when I took the three of them to visit Beihua Hospital, Sakurai gave him a new question that seemed to be..."

Xiaolan, who had been silent the whole time, raised her head and said, "Sakurai-sister is asking what was in luggage locker No. 293."

Eh?

Kogoro Mori and Yukiko Kudo were both stunned.

This question is too ridiculous, isn't it? It has no beginning or end. How can one answer it?

As someone who knew the inside story, Kudo Yusaku frowned slightly.

Even if luggage locker No. 293 is no longer the undercover meeting place, is it really okay to just casually say it and use it as a puzzle for children?

Dr. Agasa imitated Koizumi's tone and said, "So, Kudo-chan, have you guessed the answer?"

Kudo Shinichi put on a smug expression, adjusted his glasses and said confidently: "Of course! Sister Sakurai is a detective, and that closet No. 293 must be the place where she exchanges information with others!"

Kudo Yusaku's heart was in his throat, and Mori Kogoro's eyes became sharp.

Completely unaware of the turbulent atmosphere in the room, Dr. Agasa smiled and asked, "That's your answer, are you sure?"

Kudo Shinichi nodded: "Yes, that's my reasoning!"

"Answer... Wrong!"

“…………Eh? Eh?!”

Dr. Agasa scratched his head, glanced at the two fathers who also made surprised sounds in confusion, and continued to say to Kudo Shinichi: "I lived in a very tight financial situation for a while after leaving the police academy. Because the house I rented was very small, I stored most of my luggage in the locker of the Tokyo Shinkansen. There was nothing in it except my luggage! Hahaha!"

Dr. Agasa imitated Koizumi's voice and laughed awkwardly: "You think too much, you weirdo! Please just be a good fourth-grade student. Why do you like to stir up trouble so much? Why doesn't anyone control you? If you like making up stories so much, why don't you learn from your father and write novels!"

This is indeed what Sakurai Izumi would say. Although Dr. Agasa's imitation was very clumsy, everyone seemed to see the woman standing in front of them, poking little Kudo's head and laughing at him while teaching him a lesson.

Maori Kogoro:……

Kudo Yusaku:…

Why do I feel like I'm being scolded?

Just when the two fathers were a little confused, the dumbfounded little Kudo suddenly pointed at Dr. Agasa's nose and shouted: "Doctor! You have been bribed by that stinky woman! She had guessed that this situation would happen, so she deliberately made you say those words, right? So she came up with those puzzles just to tease me, right!"

Dr. Agasa rubbed his head and smiled innocently: "Oh, Miss Sakurai is really amazing. She even guessed this step."

Amid the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Dr. Agasa cleared his throat, spread his hands and said, "I had guessed this would happen, so I won't come here in person to annoy people. Merry Christmas, everyone!"

Everyone:...

So this is what the “sorry” in the letter left at the front door meant?

This person, although he didn't come, but...