How to Survive With a Death-Flag Character Setting in Detective Conan - Chapter 14

Higashino Hiromu still did not realize that he now looked like “wet body temptation.” When he saw Hatori Yuiichi standing at the door, he immediately walked over with a smile and said, “You finally came. Unfortunately, the party is over.”

Hatori Yuiichi’s fingers twitched a few times, then he took off his sports jacket and draped it over Higashino Hiromu.

Higashino Hiromu was baffled by his action and quickly refused, “No, no, no, your clothes will get wet!” He tried to take the jacket off and return it to him.

Hatori Yuiichi pressed down on his shoulder and said, “It is already wet. Just wear it for now.” He gestured for Higashino Hiromu to lower his head. “You don’t want to go out like this, do you?”

Higashino Hiromu looked down, and his mind buzzed.

Today, he was wearing a white cotton T-shirt and sweatpants, neither very thick. After being soaked with water, they clung to his body, not only outlining the lines of his abs and hips, but even faintly revealing the two points on his chest!

He could hardly imagine how he had just looked in the eyes of others!

Higashino Hiromu felt his whole body flush with heat, as though he were about to turn into a boiling teapot, steaming the next second!

Hatori Yuiichi saw him lower his head, too embarrassed to look up, and found it a little amusing.

Suppressing his laughter, he said, “We can ask the hotel for a room. Change into a bathrobe first, then have your clothes and shoes dried.”

Higashino Hiromu took a deep breath to calm himself and accepted Hatori Yuiichi’s suggestion.

He put on Hatori Yuiichi’s jacket, told the hotel manager his request, and was immediately given a room.

Before leaving, he gave Adachi Shizuku the room number, telling him that if the police came looking for him, he should have the front desk call the room phone, since his cell phone was damaged.

Hatori Yuiichi said he could accompany him and gave his phone number to Adachi Shizuku.

“I’ll go with you, so Adachi senpai can contact us at any time,” Hatori Yuiichi said. “And if Senpai needs anything else, I can help.”

Higashino Hiromu thought about it and agreed. After all, Hatori Yuiichi’s jacket also needed drying, so they might as well go together.

When they arrived at the guest room, Hatori Yuiichi said, “Senpai, take off your clothes first. I’ll have the staff come get them.” Then he went to the bed, picked up the room phone, and called the front desk to request drying service.

Higashino Hiromu was embarrassed to change clothes in front of him, so he grabbed a bathrobe and hid in the bathroom.

But when he took off his pants, his movements paused, and he suddenly fell into inner conflict.

Should he change the innermost one or not?

If he changed, his underwear would have to be washed together with the clothes; if he didn’t, when going back, he would be… going commando!

Ah! Why did my phone have to break?! Otherwise, I could have just gone online and bought a new pair with express delivery!

Higashino Hiromu hesitated for a long time between changing and not changing, but in the end, he could not overcome his discomfort and did not want his underwear washed together with others’ clothes.

Hatori Yuiichi knocked on the door to remind him that the staff had come to collect the clothes. Higashino Hiromu handed the small basket with his clothes and shoes out through the crack of the door.

The staff told them that the washing and drying would take about half an hour and asked them to be patient.

After the door closed, Hatori Yuiichi noticed that Higashino Hiromu still had not come out and felt puzzled. He knocked and asked, “Senpai, what happened? Why aren’t you coming out?”

Higashino Hiromu: Nothing happened, I was just wondering if the pants would chafe on the way back…

He thought it over and decided it was indeed necessary to buy a new pair. His phone could not be used, but Hatori Yuiichi had his! He could ask him to buy it, and later transfer him the money! Anyway, they were both men, so helping buy a pair of underwear was nothing.

He had completely forgotten about his outwardly presented sexual orientation.

After making up his mind, Higashino Hiromu opened the door with an embarrassed expression and said, “Hatori, can I trouble you with something?”

Hatori Yuiichi nodded readily. “Of course.”

Higashino Hiromu scratched his face and said in a low voice, “Could you help me buy a pair of underwear online?”

Hiss, why does saying that feel so shameful?!

Higashino Hiromu’s voice grew quieter and quieter, but Hatori Yuiichi still heard it clearly. His eyes widened slightly as he let out a questioning sound, “Ah?”

Thinking he had not heard, Higashino Hiromu raised his voice and repeated, “My phone got water-damaged, right? I’d like to ask you to use a delivery app to buy me a pair of underwear. I’ll transfer you the money later.”

Hatori Yuiichi pressed his lips together and struggled hard to hold back a laugh. Clearing his throat, he said, “Sure. No need to use a delivery app. This hotel has shops that partner with it. We can place an order and have it delivered to the room.” He took out his phone, opened the interface, showed Higashino Hiromu, and asked, “Is this brand okay?”

Higashino Hiromu nodded. “Yes, I usually wear that brand.”

Hatori Yuiichi then asked, “What color do you prefer?”

Higashino Hiromu thought for a moment. “Anything is fine, you choose.”

Hatori Yuiichi’s scrolling finger paused, then he said, “I’ll get black then.”

Higashino Hiromu: “Yes, that’s fine.”

“What about the size?”

Higashino Hiromu: “The largest size.”

Hatori Yuiichi glanced downward and asked, “Isn’t that too big?”

Higashino Hiromu fixed him with a sharp look and said coolly, “Do you want me to show you?”

Hatori Yuiichi coughed lightly. “That won’t be necessary.”

After placing the order, Higashino Hiromu finally let out a sigh of relief. “Luckily, the shop is still open at this hour and there are still people delivering, otherwise I’d be going commando.”

Hatori Yuiichi rubbed his nose and said, “Even if no one delivered, I could have gone out to buy it for you.”

Higashino Hiromu smiled and patted his shoulder. “Thank you so much! Good thing you came with me. Otherwise, if I had to directly ask the hotel front desk, I would have been far too embarrassed!”

Hatori Yuiichi smiled and said, “No need to thank me.”

After a while, the new underwear was delivered.

Higashino Hiromu took it and went back into the bathroom. He thought, since he had already taken off his clothes, he might as well take a shower.

After all, coming out of the hot spring pool, he should have showered anyway, so he was just making up for it now.

Hatori Yuiichi heard the sound of running water from the bathroom and widened his eyes in disbelief.

Did Senpai not know that in this hotel’s king-sized rooms, the shower has a one-way glass wall? And it directly faces the bed and sofa. Anyone taking a shower would be completely visible.

If he did not trust Senpai’s character, he would have suspected this was intentional.

Hatori Yuiichi had no choice but to turn his back toward the bathroom, not daring to look.

The splashing sounds behind him seemed to pound on his nerves. To keep his thoughts from wandering into inappropriate images, he had no choice but to take out his phone and start chatting with others.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Higashino Hiromu had only intended to rinse off quickly, but a sudden system notification caught his attention.

One was a notice.

【 Successfully rescued Hoshimoto Kana. By saving a life, you have received a lottery ticket *1 】

Another was a task update.

【 Upcoming Event 】: Attack resulting in death at Haido City Hotel

【 Murder Weapon 】: 5 cm blade

【 Cause of Death 】: Excessive blood loss

【 Suspects 】: Iizawa Isamu, Arisumi Hiyomi, Nagao Shu, Kaneda Hajime

【 Death Countdown 】: 03:29:59.59

Higashino Hiromu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

The third time. His mood now could only be described as utterly calm.

When he met Edogawa Conan today, he had wondered who would be more unfortunate, himself or Hoshimoto Kana. In the end…

Ha, neither of us managed to escape!

He glanced at the suspects and only recognized Kaneda Kaichou.

Speaking of which, Kaneda kaichou’s name was Kaneda Hajime, which sounded like someone good at solving cases.

Higashino Hiromu had never watched the anime “The Kindaichi Case Files,” but he did know about “The Kindaichi Detective Series” written by mystery novelist Yokomizo Seishi, which he had once borrowed from the library back in the day.

He wondered whether Kaneda kaichou’s parents had been fans of Yokomizo Seishi.

Higashino Hiromu tapped on their names to look more closely.

【 Iizawa Isamu 】: Hoshimoto Kana’s ex-boyfriend. He had some emotional conflicts with Hoshimoto Kana and seemed displeased about you rescuing her.

【 Arisumi Hiyomi 】: Hoshimoto Kana’s friend. There were some misunderstandings between her and Hoshimoto Kana, and she seemed displeased about your rescue.

【 Nagao Shu 】: Hoshimoto Kana’s friend. His relationship with Hoshimoto Kana was somewhat special, but he was not displeased about your rescue.

【 Kaneda Hajime 】: Former president of the Criminal Psychology Research Club. Hoshimoto Kana liked him very much and once pursued him madly. He disapproved of some of her behavior, and he was not displeased about your rescue.

So, his “death crisis” existed simply because he had saved someone!

Wasn’t this just transferring their hatred of Hoshimoto Kana onto him? Could the murderers not be a little more reasonable? What did it have to do with him? Just because he had acted bravely, the one who was going to die had become him? Couldn’t the murderer just wait for another chance to strike (bushi)?

Higashino Hiromu was so angry that his head felt dizzy.

No, no, I should not think like that. No matter what, killing is wrong, and dragging innocent bystanders into it is even more wrong!

He pinched the bridge of his nose and thought, Later, I must stick close to Conan, borrow some of his protagonist aura, and help him catch the culprit!

To be safe, he switched 【 Photographic Memory 】 to 【 100% Barehanded Blade Catch 】, at least giving himself some protection.

Then he dried his body, put on the new underwear, wrapped himself in the bathrobe, and walked out.

The sound of water in the bathroom finally stopped, and Hatori Yuiichi let out a long breath, his straightened back relaxing at last.

While towel-drying his hair, Higashino Hiromu asked, “Does this room have a hairdryer? There doesn’t seem to be one in the bathroom.”

“They’re usually in the drawer under the wardrobe,” Hatori Yuiichi said, pulling open the drawer. Inside was a velvet pouch, which indeed contained a hairdryer.

Higashino Hiromu took it with a puzzled look and asked, “Why would they put a hairdryer here? Are they afraid the guests might actually find it?”

Hatori Yuiichi chuckled softly, then shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe it’s to save electricity?”

Higashino Hiromu opened his mouth but had no words for such behavior.

He plugged in the hairdryer and started blowing his hair wildly. His left hand yanked at his hair roughly while his right hand shook it violently, his actions extremely harsh.

Watching him, Hatori Yuiichi felt his own scalp go numb. He asked, “Doesn’t it hurt to pull your hair like that?”

With the noise in his ears, Higashino Hiromu did not hear him.

Unable to stand it, Hatori Yuiichi took the hairdryer from his hand and said, “Let me do it. At this rate, your hair will either burn or fall out.”

Higashino Hiromu looked dumbfounded as Hatori Yuiichi lowered the temperature and began to dry his hair for him.

Hatori Yuiichi’s fingers threaded through his hair, a hundred times gentler than his own rough movements.

And not only did he blow-dry his hair, but he also massaged his scalp lightly with his fingertips. The tingling pleasure made Higashino Hiromu involuntarily close his eyes.

Higashino Hiromu thought, Did Hatori use to work in a barbershop? His technique is amazing! I even want to book another session!