Chapter Seventeen: We Don’t Laugh Unless We Can’t Help It (Please Vote and Add to Your Collection)

"Tap, tap, tap..."

A series of footsteps suddenly echoed. Wataru Takagi, dressed in plain clothes, walked over with a strange expression on his face. "Miss Tamaka, it seems we made a mistake. Those three men are not kidnappers."

"What? Then why were they secretly following the young master?" Tamaka Kurosaki’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this.

"Officer, you didn't accidentally arrest the wrong people, did you?" Ayumi asked, looking worried.

Takagi gently patted Ayumi’s small head and comforted her kindly, "Don't worry, little one. While those three aren't international kidnappers, they are international robbers currently wanted by the police."

"???"

Except for Seimei Suzuki, who had already recalled parts of the plot, everyone present looked confused, completely baffled by Takagi's words.

"Actually, our police department captured the leader of an Italian robbery syndicate near Tokyo Tower a few days ago, and those three are the remaining members of that same group."

Halfway through his explanation, Takagi couldn't help but chuckle. "The reason they were secretly following you is that the note you found contains clues to the gold coins their leader hid. They were hoping to follow you to find the location of the gold. Hahaha..."

As a professionally trained officer, Takagi wouldn't normally mock others, unless he truly couldn't help himself.

┐(ﾟ～ﾟ)┌

There was no helping it; those three robbers were just too dim-witted!

It was one thing to accidentally lose their treasure map, but to actually expect a group of elementary school students to help them find the gold? Who knew if they even had brains?

In the end, not only did they fail to find the gold, but they were mistaken for international kidnappers by Tamaka and the others and were apprehended in a daze.

Mitsuhiko suddenly exclaimed, "I remember now! Yesterday's news mentioned that the Italian robbery syndicate had stolen 15,000 Maple Leaf gold coins, which is worth about 600 million yen!"

"Six... 600 million!"

Genta’s tongue nearly fell out in shock. His hand, holding the note, began to tremble uncontrollably. "How much eel rice could that buy?"

"Alright! Since this treasure map is useful to the officers, we should hand it over to them," Seimei Suzuki said, snatching the note from Genta’s hand and giving it to Officer Takagi.

"Ding! Congratulations on successfully checking in with Wataru Takagi. Reward: Master-level 'Firearm Accuracy.' You may claim it at any time."

【Skill Name: Firearm Accuracy
Type: Passive Skill
Level: Master-level
Effect: Increases accuracy by 50% when using firearms.
Cost: None
Cooldown: None
Note: Pew, pew, pew...】

After tucking the note away, Officer Takagi praised them generously, "Kids, thank you all for your help. We wouldn't have caught these robbers so easily without you. You're all good children."

"It was nothing! After all, we are the Detective Boys! Hehehe..."

Genta and the others had been quite disappointed to lose the treasure map, but after receiving the officer's praise, they broke into satisfied, silly grins.

Seimei clapped his hands. "Everyone did a great job today. To celebrate the Detective Boys solving a major case for the police, Sister Tamaka said she’s not only treating us to dinner but also taking us to see a movie afterward."

ヾ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

"Awesome! Long live Sister Tamaka!"

Hearing this, Genta and the others stopped thinking about the treasure and began excitedly discussing the latest hit movies.

Seimei glanced around and his gaze landed on Officer Chiba, above whose head the words "Check-in Available" were floating.

"Ding! Congratulations on successfully checking in with Kazunobu Chiba. Reward: +2 Stamina. You may claim it at any time."

Seimei walked past Officer Chiba, pretending it was unintentional, and lightly brushed against his leg as the system prompt echoed in his ears.

With the two new points, Seimei’s stamina had risen to eleven, meaning his physical endurance now exceeded that of an average adult male.

Nicely done!

...

In a deserted alley behind a movie theater near Tokyo Tower.

"Thump!"

A small figure crawled out of the restroom window and leaped down from the second-story ledge without hesitation, landing with a dull thud.

For an ordinary person, jumping from a two-story height might raise concerns about sprained ankles.

However, for Seimei, this height was nothing.

He had spent 500 yen to temporarily reinforce the strength of his feet. Forget two stories; even if it were three, he wouldn't need to worry about spraining his ankles.

"Swish..."

As Seimei focused his mind, his clothes shifted like liquid, transforming from a blue-and-white short-sleeved T-shirt into a black hoodie.

After pulling up the hood to cover his face, Seimei took out the [Pet Summoning Doll].

"Whoosh!"

A flash of gentle white light appeared, and a half-meter-tall adult husky materialized out of thin air in front of Seimei.

Perhaps because Seimei’s mental power was as high as fourteen points, even though summoning the husky cost five points, he only felt a slight fatigue and no significant discomfort.

"Down!"

A pet summoned by Seimei would unconditionally obey his commands, even a husky—a creature famously known as a "home-destroying demon."

"Let's go."

Bolstered by the "Riding" skill, Seimei felt as one with the husky, transforming into a glorious dog-knight as he dashed toward the building where the Maple Leaf gold coins were hidden.

That’s right!

Seimei’s target was those 15,000 Maple Leaf gold coins.

Although the treasure map had been handed over to Officer Takagi, Seimei had long since memorized the patterns on it.

Furthermore, Seimei had recalled enough of the plot to know that the patterns on the map were actually the neon light displays near Tokyo Tower.

As long as Seimei found the gold coins before the police, he could intercept and pocket them ahead of time.

If the stolen goods from the robbery syndicate had been jewelry or similar items, Seimei would certainly have no interest in them.

Jewelry would require fencing to be of any use, and as a young child, it would be inconvenient for Seimei to offload such items.