Chapter 49

He must have suffered severe mental torture.

And as a mother, how could she endure others hurting her son?

The old woman’s sudden rage was a normal reaction.

A mother’s instinct to protect her child

is something worthy of respect.

“Don’t! Mother!”

The son in the dungeon suddenly regained his senses.

He stopped his mother’s knife from stabbing Conan just in time.

“Mother, I don’t want to go on like this anymore...”

Conan really did have some protagonist halo.

A son who had suffered mental torture for years could return to normal in an instant.

So,

Conan could survive so many episodes

probably all thanks to heaven’s blessing.

The Haunted House Murder Case was finally over.

The final result of the Detective Boys’ haunted house adventure was getting a good scolding from their parents.

They were still children, and staying out all night

was not allowed.

And for the sake of excitement,

they had specifically chosen to come at night.

If it weren’t for the fact that this mother and son still had a shred of kindness left,

the result awaiting them would have been very dangerous.

But fortunately,

Genta and Mitsuhiko were not in life-threatening danger.

The next morning,

the two were found lying on the lawn outside the house.

The old woman had given them an anesthetic,

letting them sleep on the lawn for the night.

Although following Conan might lead to life-threatening danger at any time,

it was also because Conan was there

that everyone could survive safely.

It was hard to say if it was a blessing or a curse.

Five years ago,

the case of the villa master’s murder was finally closed.

The real culprit had turned themselves in.

What awaited the mother and son

was an endless life in prison.

However,

it was also the beginning of them living under the sun again.

At least they wouldn’t have to suffer mental torture anymore.

Thanks to Conan being there,

Hoshino Ki finally became the owner of this villa.

A 5 million large villa—

he had simply made a killing.

Hoshino Ki returned home

and informed Miyano Akemi of the news about moving.

Miyano Akemi looked at Hoshino Ki with a complex expression.

She had guessed correctly.

Hoshino Ki’s previous life must have been too miserable,

which was why he was so obsessed with money.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have resolutely bought the house

after knowing it was a haunted house.

Ask anyone in this world if they aren’t afraid of ghosts.

To be able to endure ghosts for the sake of the price,

and to be willing to live with ghosts just to buy a cheap house—

one could only say the person had experienced something even more terrifying than ghosts.

And that was “poverty”!

One could tell from his simple little house

that Hoshino Ki’s previous life was truly poor.

Furthermore,

when Miyano Akemi was cleaning the room,

she discovered that he lived alone.

There were no photos of family in the house,

and there were no traces of anyone else having lived with him.

This made Miyano Akemi extremely curious about Hoshino Ki’s background.

Hoshino Ki might be an orphan.

No family,

no partner,

and even fewer friends.

Therefore,

all his sense of security could only come from money.

And his age was the same as Miyano Shiho’s.

Living alone until now

must have been very hard.

Because they were both poor people who had lost their parents,

Miyano Akemi could empathize.

She and her sister could at least rely on each other,

while Hoshino Ki was all alone,

without a single relative to rely on.

In this world,

for him,

the most important thing

was only money left.

Miyano Akemi cast a look of concern at Hoshino Ki as an “older sister.”

“Oh ho! Since that’s the case! Let’s do our best! Young Master Zhao Si!”

Miyano Akemi suddenly became full of energy.

She raised her fist to cheer herself on,

and then focused all her attention on the housework.

She bent down and picked up the vase at her feet.

Her eyes were filled with a passionate glow,

as if she had the momentum to organize all the furniture in this little house before she would be satisfied.

“...?”

Hoshino Ki didn’t know what Miyano Akemi was thinking.

He just watched her from the side, full of passion,

cleaning the room for him.

He looked puzzled.

Today, Miyano Akemi was wearing Hoshino Ki’s light blue hoodie.

Her hair was half-covered by the hood of the sweatshirt.

Because her own clothes weren’t convenient for cleaning,

she had no choice but to take out Hoshino Ki’s clothes.

This woman clearly already treated Hoshino Ki’s place as her own home.

As for Hoshino Ki’s clothes,

she actually took them without asking.

White casual pants,

also Hoshino Ki’s clothes.

Hoshino Ki wasn’t a stingy person.

It was just a piece of clothing.

Besides, she was helping him move.

And so,

he just watched helplessly as Miyano Akemi grabbed the white fabric with dirty hands.

A black handprint appeared on it.

Hoshino Ki’s face turned gloomy.

He turned his gaze to the side.

Out of sight, out of mind.

She must pay for it!

“Zhao Si-kun! What’s wrong with you?”

Hoshino Ki’s eyelid twitched.

Hearing Miyano Akemi call him “Zhao Si” in his ears,

his mood was truly hard to describe.

“Yeah! What is this?”

Miyano Akemi suddenly pulled a cardboard box from under the bed.

Wait!

That is!

“So heavy!”

Miyano Akemi was about to open one side of the box.

“Wait...”

Hoshino Ki reached out his hand to stop her.

But,

it was clearly a step too slow.

Miyano Akemi had already opened the box.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

A scream suddenly echoed through the entire little house.

“Pervert!”

Miyano Akemi pulled out a book from the box!

She swung her arm with force,

and threw the book at Hoshino Ki!

Looking at the cover of that book,

it was a naked blonde Western woman.

It was a color print,

making it look even more explosive.

Presumably, the content inside was enough to make one have a nosebleed.

Taking another look at that spectacular cover,

blood would flow for three feet and then some.

“!”

Hoshino Ki didn’t panic at all.

He was quick-eyed and fast-handed, raising his arm to catch the flying book.

His indifferent expression remained unchanged.

He flipped his arm to face the book cover toward himself,

and then his gaze slowly moved,

shifting to the cover of the book.

“Don’t look at it! You delinquent!”

At this moment, Miyano Akemi’s cheeks were bright red.

She was opening her cherry-red mouth and shouting non-stop to stop him.

Closing her eyes, she threw it with all her might,

and another book was thrown over.

“...”

Hoshino Ki didn’t offer any verbal explanation.

He didn’t even have the desire to step forward to stop her from throwing things around.

He just tilted his head slightly and dodged it.

The thrown book smashed hard against the wall.

A hole was smashed into the wall.

Hoshino Ki looked at the wall plaster that had fallen to the ground.

It’s over!

The deposit paid when renting the house is gone.

“Pervert!”

Miyano Akemi kept throwing books at Hoshino Ki.

Her cheeks were abnormally red,

as if she had associated something in her mind.

Hoshino Ki just dodged the flying books,

watching her indifferently,

patiently waiting for her to calm down.

When the last book flew out,

Miyano Akemi also calmed down.

She bent over, panting heavily:

“Hoo hoo~ Zhao Si-kun! I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine, continue cleaning!”

Hoshino Ki didn’t care at all.

He bent down and picked up the last book.