"You little brat…"
Just as the two thugs were handcuffed and Senichi came up to the attic, he heard him being the scapegoat. It made Senichi both angry and amused.
But obviously, this time Conan had planned ahead. Taking advantage of the situation where he and Hattori had to conceal the voice changer from Kazuha, he made Senichi come out as an excuse to act as a shield.
Senichi, of course, couldn't reveal the fact that Conan had a voice changer. Otherwise, the Mouri father and daughter might become suspicious.
It was precisely because of this calculation that Conan played the blame-shifting trick so recklessly.
Senichi wore a smile on his face, but in his heart, he had already noted down this incident, waiting for the day to give Conan a "double payback."
However, it could be seen that after being tricked a few times, Conan had put a lot of effort into revenge. His ability to adapt and set up "layouts" had clearly improved significantly.
Perhaps after discussing the plan to gradually defeat the thugs using the voice changer with Senichi, Conan planned to take advantage of the successful completion of the plan to carry out his "revenge."
Clearly, Hattori Heiji was the one who had been thoroughly played, and last time, Senichi, who had made him crossdress, also took the blame.
Senichi could only say that this sharp-eyed Conan had become quite cunning, but it wasn't surprising.
After all, Conan was this world's own son and intelligent, So how could he not find a way to retaliate when pranked by others.
Indeed, novels are just novels. The kind of pranks that Conan endured for thousands of chapters without resistance can only happen in a fictional world.
Although Senichi was unfairly blamed, it didn't affect the relationship between the three. In other words, it was just the three "victims" teasing each other. Who wouldn't allow others to resist when being pranked?
Even a cornered rabbit will bite, not to mention three individuals, each a "deduction freak." It's hard to find someone who can completely crush them in a battle of wits.
But as the mastermind behind the scenes, Senichi was clearly in a favorable position.
Under his leadership, the "hostile" relationship between Conan and Hattori had already been openly displayed. They pranked each other, with Senichi naturally sitting in a stable position, and a little disturbance didn't matter.
Instead, watching the two tease each other was quite interesting.
Moreover, even if Conan didn't play a prank to scare Hattori, Senichi would still have to step forward to help him conceal the use of the voice changer.
Although he had voice-changing skills, it was not high enough to perfectly simulate it just by hearing the voice directly. For the safety of Hattori and Kazuha, the voice changer was a more secure option.
Seeing Senichi about to continue up the stairs, Conan quickly said, "Detective Senichi, both of them are handcuffed, and there's no key upstairs. In addition, Mr. Kusukawa is seriously injured and unconscious. Please call an ambulance!"
After Conan explained the matter of the voice changer to the two, he immediately shifted the topic to the main issue, clearly intending to conclude the previous discussion.
"I understand."
Ignoring Conan's little tricks, Senichi jumped down from the ladder and searched the two bound thugs. He found the key to the handcuffs.
At this moment, Kogoro Mouri, who had come around from the back, also climbed to the second floor and saw Senichi and the unconscious thugs.
"The plan went smoothly, and all the thugs have been subdued. Detective Mouri, please inform the police, and also call for an ambulance," Senichi shouted, then climbed up the stairs to the attic and approached the two.
"Sorry, Kazuya, did I scare you?" Senichi didn't mention Conan's previous words, just asking with concern about Kazuya, who was implicated by Conan.
"My heart almost jumped out."
Kazuya sighed in relief as she saw Senichi. "I didn't know what to do at that time. You guys don't know, if the doorbell hadn't rung in time, Hattori's ears would have been cut off!"
"That was really a close call."
Senichi looked at Kazuya and smiled. "But from now on, I'll need you to play the role of a 'limiter.'
When Hattori's reasoning brain overheats and he ignores danger, remember to stop him in time. Don't put yourself in danger like this time."
"Yeah, yeah!" After the handcuffs were removed, Kazuya rubbed her wrists, nodded heavily, clearly she had learned a lesson from this perilous situation.
On the other hand, Hattori was somewhat disgruntled. "This was just an accident. Kazuya and I were just visiting the address Mr. Kusukawa visited. Who could have known..."
"Visiting a stranger isn't considered dangerous?" Senichi retorted. "Especially when you already know Mr. Kusukawa has gone missing.
At a time like this, every person you visit related to the case could potentially be the culprit behind Kusukawa's disappearance. It's more prudent to prepare for contingencies before visiting, and that's the correct investigative approach.
If you had informed us before visiting Misari Ito, we wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble finding you. If there had been a break in the clues, you could have ended up like this gentleman here."
In the attic, besides Heiji and Kazuha, Mr. Kusukawa was lying on the ground at this moment.
Compared to Hattori Heiji, the man's face had more scars, evidently having endured torment earlier.
Senichi checked him and found that his breathing was relatively stable, putting his mind at ease.
As the ambulance and police cars arrived one after another, Kusukawa and the three thugs were each taken to their respective "places" on the vehicles, finally calming down the case.
"You brat, you're lucky we arrived in time," Kogoro Mouri looked at Hattori, who was dealing with things on the side, and grumbled, "Otherwise, your best outcome would be ending up in the hospital like that idiot Kusukawa."
"It's really great that you're all okay, Kazuha." Ran hugged Kazuha, and the latter still had a terrified expression, apparently not fully recovered from the ordeal.
As for Senichi, after the criminals were taken away, he was in the process of opening the panel to check the rewards.
[Missing persons: Hattori Heiji and Kazuha Toyama.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining 500 Fate Points.]
[Evaluation: Utilizing the increasingly outstanding weapon of your sense of smell, you quickly locate the whereabouts of the two missing people, and with the help of scent-confirmed information about the thugs. You easily resolved the criminals and rescued the hostages.]
Seeing this reward, Senichi whistled happily.
Evidently, this case was a big gain, and Senichi's balance increased to 1200 Fate Points, leaving him with some surplus for a ten-consecutive draw.
However, he planned to wait until the days of the engagement before drawing again, enjoying the good luck of the engagement, maybe even becoming a luck king.
Closing the panel, Senichi saw Hattori, who was being lectured by Kogoro Mouri, he had an impatient yet unwilling to retort expression. He walked over with a smile, handing the two their phones that had been taken by the thugs.
"Alright, alright. I'm sure Hattori has learned a profound lesson by now. The top priority is to have Hattori quickly reassure Ms. Shizuka," Senichi said.
Upon hearing Senichi's words, Mouri finally stopped the lecture.
The two on the side, upon hearing Senichi's reminder, reacted and quickly took their phones, turning them on to call their respective parents to report their safety.