The "lick" in "licking dog" (a sycophant) is a noun, but sometimes it can also be a verb.

A 16-year-old high school girl in the prime of her adolescence is at her liveliest and cutest stage.

Also, very pure.

Like a freshly steamed white bun — smooth and plump. Getting closer, one could sense a faint sweet aroma, and even without light, her rosy complexion was visible.

At this age, a girl's reactions are full of confusion and wavering, yet extremely shy — something even Hayashi Yoshiki felt intensely.

He smiled slightly.

Early the next morning, waking alone on the tatami, Hayashi Yoshiki left the room.

The previous night, Kogoro Mouri had drunk who knows how much; when he returned to the inn late at night, he went straight to his room and fell into a deep sleep without even closing the door.

But not long after Hayashi Yoshiki finished washing up, Heiji Hattori hurried out.

"Kudo is missing!"

He shouted anxiously.

Startled awake by the noise, Kogoro Mouri rubbed the back of his head, sat up groggily, and yawned lazily.

Hayashi Yoshiki quickly approached and asked what was going on.

Heiji immediately said he'd noticed that early this morning, Shinichi Kudo's bed was empty... Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but this guy had lost all his memories, and on top of that, was despised by the entire village.

Ran was also woken up.

At first, not knowing what happened, her face flushed crimson upon seeing Hayashi Yoshiki, and she seemed too shy to speak, often lowering her head.

...

She didn't even know how to face Hayashi Yoshiki right now.

Biology lessons had already been taught at school, but Hayashi Yoshiki's behavior left her at a loss for words.

What did it mean to want to see proof that she liked him...?

Doing such a thing was just too strange!

She stayed there, blushing and shy, for a long time, until she finally realized Heiji was talking about Shinichi Kudo's mysterious disappearance.

Seeing that she still seemed out of it, Hayashi Yoshiki gave a straightforward order:

"Don't rush. Uncle Mouri and Ran, wash up first. Then Heiji and I will go look around."

"Okay."

No one refused the suggestion.

Heiji promptly ran to ask the villagers around the inn, and soon got a reply that someone had gone early in the morning to the former residence of Mayor Hinata.

Heiji, thinking his good buddy had miraculously regained his memory overnight, rushed there excitedly, only to see Shinichi Kudou standing in a house that was now unlivable, blood-stained on his hands, holding the murder weapon, in front of a fallen woman.

The mean-faced female reporter, Fukae Kawachi, was lying in a pool of blood. Her chest was soaked with blood, but she was still breathing...

Shinichi, standing next to her, held a knife and looked shaken by the scene.

Soon, Hayashi Yoshiki and the others arrived.

After quickly assessing the scene, Heiji insisted on calling only an ambulance and not the police — he believed Shinichi couldn't have committed murder, that someone was trying to frame him.

Also, if the police took Shinichi away and the effects of the medicine he was under wore off during custody, causing him to suddenly shrink, everything would be ruined.

"Uncle Mouri, could you please bring my car here? We'll hide Shinichi inside first."

"Sure, sure... but... forget it, just leave it to me."

Kogoro hesitated, but took the car keys and hurried out.

Heiji turned to shake Shinichi's shoulders, trying to get answers, but Shinichi only replied that he didn't know, then suddenly started holding his head and shaking it wildly.

After nodding slightly to Ran, Hayashi Yoshiki walked over to Fukae Kawachi.

The middle-aged woman had lost a lot of blood and was already unconscious.

Back turned to Heiji and the others, Hayashi Yoshiki knelt in front of Kawachi.

This kind of media person, who's good at hinting and trying to make those they threaten slip up so they can profit... she was only stabbed in the chest, not the heart.

A pity.

Though a pity, the smile never left Hayashi Yoshiki's eyes.

He figured this woman probably didn't have much info on him, but just in case...

"I'm calling the ambulance now."

Ran took out her phone, ready to call — but at that moment, there was no signal.

She tried to run outside to find a landline, but suddenly the sound of sirens from an ambulance and police car came from afar, definitely heading straight here.

"Police and ambulance...?!" Heiji blurted out, startled, "What's going on? Who called them?"

"Besides Kawachi lying on the floor, only the four of us are here... Judging by Kawachi's blood loss, the injury isn't old. The police and ambulance arrived suspiciously fast."

"So someone really wants to get Shinichi thrown into jail?"

"Let's not get caught up in that now. Uncle Mouri is here. Let's hide Shinichi in the car first."

"That's right."

Heiji hurried.

He, as a close friend, was terribly worried about Shinichi.

Ran, who was thought to be Shinichi's partner, was slower to react, but after Kogoro parked the car nearby, she quickly pushed the confused Shinichi into the vehicle.

Soon, the ambulance and police arrived.

Fukae Kawachi was rushed to the hospital, and the police sent to Okuho village were strangers but seemed very capable.

They found no suspicious persons inside the house, but they did find the murder weapon — the knife Shinichi was holding.

"None of you saw anyone suspicious? Well, with the weapon here, we'll check the footprints at the door later. The culprit should be obvious soon enough."

"Looks like there's no room for detectives to get involved after all."

Faced with the police casually holding the evidence bag, Hayashi Yoshiki seemed somewhat speechless.

Because of Hayashi Yoshiki's notoriety, the police obviously knew him and greeted him cordially.

Suddenly, Hayashi Yoshiki looked out the window.

He seemed to see nothing, then turned back again.