Chapter 17: Your Agency Looks Quite Nice

On his way to get the car repaired, Jiang Xia reflected on the events of the recent period.

So far, he had encountered one ghost pregnancy and one instance of murderous intent that could be fully harvested.

Both had appeared recently, and both were related to cases he had seen in manga.

In other words...

To pick up ghosts, does one need more contact with criminal cases?

Jiang Xia: "..." Speaking of homicide, the best case collector would probably be Conan himself.

But Conan currently lived at the Mouri Detective Agency, making him difficult to lure away.

And Jiang Xia had no desire to become an apprentice to Kogoro Mouri.

After all, he was currently an employee of the Organization.

If he became a famous detective, there might come a day when his agency would be viewed as a useful tool by the Organization, and the people in the agency would inevitably be targeted... in short, it would be a huge disservice to his master.

Furthermore, judging from the incident with Yoko Kinoshita, Jiang Xia could still pick up ghosts even if Conan wasn't present. The "Grim Reaper Elementary Student" was not a necessary condition for picking up ghosts.

After a moment of thought, a spark of inspiration flashed in Jiang Xia's mind.

—Why not open his own detective agency?

If he remembered correctly, all the "handsome high school detective" types in this world were experts at attracting murder cases.

He happened to be a high schooler as well.

Perhaps if he just stacked a "detective buff" on himself, ghosts and murderous intent would come rolling in?

...

He decided to act on it immediately.

The day after his car was repaired, Jiang Xia went to the Beika Library.

There, he successfully found a popular science manual regarding detective work on the professional section's shelves.

In his impression, the current law in Japan set the age of adulthood at 20, but in reality, many things could be done starting from age 18.

For example, taking various legal certification exams, signing certain purchase contracts on one's own, and, of course, watching certain films and playing certain games...

...

Jiang Xia flipped through the detective manual and found it was exactly as he thought: at 18, one could already engage in the detective industry.

However, looking further down, Jiang Xia saw another rule.

—To open a detective agency, one must submit an application for commencement of business to the Public Safety Commission.

Those under 20 must additionally submit a letter of consent from a legal guardian.

A legal guardian?

Jiang Xia: "..."

He thought of the two tombstones of Jiang Xia Tongzhi's parents, and a certain elusive, nominal guardian, and gradually lost his motivation. His grip on the pages loosened slightly, and the detective manual snapped shut with a *thud*.

The serious, old-fashioned cover reappeared before his eyes, seemingly mocking his naivety.

...An 18-year-old minor was indeed still a minor.

Was he forced to find an adult to exploit as an apprentice?

Speaking of adults...

Jiang Xia suddenly remembered something.

He picked up the manual thoughtfully and flipped back to the color pages at the front.

—Just now, when the book snapped shut, he had seen a name that looked familiar.

...

Every profession needs to make a living.

For instance, on the color pages of this detective manual, there were advertisements for several local detective agencies.

Jiang Xia flipped through them, and his gaze quickly stopped on one page.

The photo showed a shop that wasn't large in area, but was very tastefully decorated.

On the sign in front of the shop, it clearly read: "Amuro Detective Agency."

Jiang Xia stared at the two words "Amuro" in the advertisement, falling into deep thought.

The surname Amuro was not common.

When paired with "Detective," it was very easy to associate it with one person.

—Toru Amuro.

Toru Amuro was also a member of the Black Organization, a high-ranking executive with a codename.

Codename "Bourbon," an expert in intelligence gathering.

However, in reality, Toru Amuro was an undercover agent sent by the National Police Agency to the Organization, whose real name was Rei Furuya, and whose heart belonged solely to the country.

Jiang Xia: "..."

If he could find a way to infiltrate Toru Amuro's detective agency, he wouldn't have to worry about the Organization coveting him and the agency once he became a "famous detective," which would subsequently implicate an innocent boss—because "Bourbon" himself was technically part of the Organization.

Moreover, thinking carefully, if he could truly get into Amuro's side, there would be other benefits.

—The identity of a peripheral Organization member had little security and would easily lead to legal sanctions in the future.

But if he became Amuro's teammate... perhaps in the future, he could blend in as a "fake" member of the good guys.

The success rate wasn't very high.

But one must be brave enough to try; there was no loss in attempting it.

And the risk of this attempt was actually quite low.

—As a policeman in the world of Conan, even if Amuro found him suspicious, it was unlikely he would shoot him dead on the spot.

Additionally, even to avoid exposing his identity as Public Safety, Amuro wouldn't allow the police to arrest an ordinary peripheral member who had simply come to visit him.

Coupled with his natural affinity as a medium, which was a notch higher than ordinary people, and the fact that Jiang Xia had always been quite lucky...

The more Jiang Xia thought about it, the brighter his future seemed.

He borrowed the detective manual.

…………

That afternoon, Jiang Xia followed the address in the advertisement and found the Amuro Detective Agency.

To his surprise, upon approaching, he saw a "Closed" sign hanging on the door.

...Well, that was understandable.

Most shops have a "regular closing day," resting one or two days a week. Perhaps the Amuro Detective Agency's closing day happened to be today.

It didn't matter if he didn't see anyone; it was a good chance to go back and refine his wording.

Jiang Xia returned home with a calm mind.

He would go again the next day.

The "Closed" sign was still hanging there, unchanged.

...Closed for two days straight?

Jiang Xia stood in the whistling cold wind for a moment, silently condemning this unprofessional work attitude.

After his condemnation, he waited nearby for a while, but no one came to work.

Jiang Xia could only go home first.

...

A week passed like this, and every time it was "Closed."

Looking at the prime location, Jiang Xia felt a bit bad for the rent.

But then he thought it wasn't necessarily a problem—it was one thing if Amuro was collecting multiple salaries, but he also had two reliable employers to reimburse him; the rent for this agency was likely being billed to the Organization...

...

One week later.

Jiang Xia habitually drove to the entrance of the "Amuro Detective Agency," habitually glanced at the agency, and habitually turned his motorcycle around to leave.

After turning around, he suddenly felt something was off.

"?"

Jiang Xia snapped his head back.

He saw that the lock on the main door was gone, and the heartbreaking "Closed" sign had also vanished.

"..."

Looking at the open agency, Jiang Xia actually felt a bit moved.

It felt like the sensation of visiting a hermit's cottage three times only to finally catch Zhuge Liang at home.

...

Ten minutes later.

Jiang Xia sat on the fabric sofa in the agency.

Acting like a proper detective, Toru Amuro brought over a cup of tea, placed a registration form in front of him, and then sat opposite him with a polite smile

"Our agency is quite busy, so we may not necessarily be able to accept your commission. However, I can recommend other suitable agencies based on your needs—the detectives there are experts in solving related issues."

Jiang Xia: "..." Busy? Your agency is clearly closed and idling 99% of the time.

He silently picked up a pen and filled in his name, phone number, and email on the form.

He left the rest of the commission details blank.

Then, he pushed the form back.

Amuro looked at the large blank spaces and reached out to tap them.

Before he could speak, he heard the person opposite him say: "I'm not here to commission you—I want to work here part-time."

Amuro froze.

A moment later, he picked up the registration form and tossed it into the nearby paper shredder.

Then, he turned to see the guest out: "Sorry, we aren't hiring."

As he spoke, Amuro made a gesture toward the door that looked like "this way, please," but actually read as "get lost."

Jiang Xia remained unmoved on the sofa

"But I feel like your shop is very short-handed—it's been closed every time I've passed by. Yet you insist on advertising in all sorts of places; don't you think that's a waste?"

As he spoke, Jiang Xia placed the borrowed detective manual on the coffee table and began to pitch himself

"My reasoning skills are very strong, and I have no particular requirements for salary; you can pay me the minimum hourly wage."

Amuro silently observed him for a while, then suddenly walked to the door and clicked the lock shut.

When he turned back around, there was a gun in his hand.

His expression had become dangerous, looking exactly like Gin when he caught the scent of a traitor.

Jiang Xia instinctively sat up a bit straighter, his eyes scanning Amuro's person.

Then, he found it disappointing that although their expressions were similar, no murderous intent appeared from Amuro.

"..." *Hah, fake booze.*

The ghost infant on his shoulder also let out a sigh.

Amuro did not have mind-reading abilities and did not know that Jiang Xia was secretly looking down on him.

Seeing Jiang Xia's reaction, he merely thought his intimidation had worked.

Thus, he continued: "Regarding the waste you just mentioned..." Amuro's voice was cold and carried great authority, "If I can hook a little thief with ulterior motives like you, it is actually quite worth it."

(End of Chapter)