Chapter 29: Taeko Mamegaki’s Guide to Makeup

The next morning.

Gao Mo, who had spent the night reading "Makeup Guide" with the lights on, was awoken by the sound of vehicles. He climbed out of bed and looked out the window to see the film crew packing up their equipment and loading it onto trucks. They were preparing to leave. It made sense; with the lead actor, Shingo Nachi, taken into police custody and the accompanying photographer killed by a car, it was impossible to continue filming. Furthermore, the entire television series would be tainted by Nachi’s scandal. Fortunately, he had finished his scenes the day before and received his pay, unlike the mustachioed detective who was currently suffering.

"Kido, kid!" Kogoro Mouri walked out into the corridor while yawning and bumped into Gao Mo. "You didn't sleep well either, did you? You look pretty drained."

"Yeah." Gao Mo’s entire body ached. In truth, he hadn't dared to sleep at all last night, only catching a few minutes of shut-eye in the morning. The case itself wasn't the issue; the terrifying part was the unpredictable Grim Reaper lurking behind the scenes. That entity seemed capable of sensing him—or rather, it seemed capable of sensing the presence of the system. If he weren't careful, it could bypass the system's protections and affect him directly.

He didn't leave the inn immediately. Gao Mo habitually used his Eagle Vision to scan the surroundings, and only after confirming there were no dangerous elements did he follow the detective downstairs. As the night passed, the aura of death seemed to have dissipated completely, and his shoulders felt much lighter, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

"It made the papers already," the detective remarked, grabbing a newspaper from the front desk. The front page featured a photo of Shingo Nachi being led away by police. The details were vague and speculative, but the affair between Nachi and a married actress had been fully exposed. "Popular Idol Secretly Meets Ritsuko Akiyama!" "The Secret Path to Stardom for Shingo Nachi..."

Gao Mo grabbed a copy as well. He had to admire the reporters in this world; he was glad he had left quickly yesterday, or he surely would have been photographed too, leading to who knows what kind of headlines.

"Photographer's Death Suspected to be Divine Retribution; Life Reaped by the Grim Reaper!" "Accident or Destiny?" Turning the page, the report also detailed the extortion scheme involving the photographer, Anzai. Taeko Mayugaki was not mentioned; the entire spotlight had been stolen by the unfortunate Shingo Nachi.

Additionally, the film crew... Gao Mo keenly noticed reporters swarming outside the inn—the news that Yoko Okino had been filming here had leaked. It looked like the crew wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"Miss Yoko is truly clever," the detective sighed repeatedly. "It's fortunate she left with her manager overnight, or it would be chaos here." Turning to see Gao Mo still immersed in the article about Anzai, the detective scoffed, "These guys really know how to talk nonsense. They turn an accident into some kind of Grim Reaper story. Where on earth is there such a thing as a Grim Reaper? If you ask me—"

"Ahem!" Gao Mo cut him off. While it wasn't a major issue, he was in a sensitive state right now and preferred to keep a low profile. "I’m going back to sleep for a bit... Ma'am, could you please prepare some breakfast for me?" he called out to the innkeeper, who was busy cleaning.

"You're not heading back?" the detective asked, stunned as he watched Gao Mo head upstairs with the newspaper.

"No, I'll stay for another two days."

"Dad!" Ran arrived from outside with Conan in tow. Conan, who had been busy all night, looked at Gao Mo with a resentful expression. He had tried to probe Taeko Mayugaki for information but had come up empty-handed. He only knew that Gao Mo had appeared in time to stop Taeko from committing murder, and that the 1,000 yen had been given by Gao Mo, though that explained nothing. If Gao Mo had really wanted to kill Anzai, he could have just stood by and watched Taeko do it. It was impossible to believe that Gao Mo could control crows to make Anzai slip exactly when he did—and even then, timing the arrival of Nachi's car would be nearly impossible to orchestrate. Each condition was a low-probability event, let alone all of them happening in concert. It was beyond human control. Unless Gao Mo was the Grim Reaper—but how could that be?

"Ran, let's pack up and get ready to go," the detective said, not understanding Gao Mo's plans but deciding not to press. He was heartbroken over losing the 300,000 yen consulting fee because of this mess. Looking at the crew, he wasn't even sure if they would pay him.

"Let's go, Conan," Ran said, pulling Conan upstairs to pack. There wasn't much to take; they hadn't planned on staying overnight, so they only had a thermos, some snacks, and an autograph board. "Ah!" Ran gasped, her eyes turning into dots. "I forgot to get an autograph!"

"Wouldn't it be better not to have Shingo Nachi's autograph?" Conan replied indifferently.

"I meant Miss Yoko! Sonoko and the others said any star would do..." Ran felt frustrated for a moment before turning her gaze to Gao Mo, who was accepting breakfast from the innkeeper.

"?" Gao Mo took a bite of bread. "Don't get any ideas. If I have the chance, I'll get a few extra autographs from Yoko for you."

"Yeah, Sister Ran," Conan chimed in. "It’s better if others don't know about Brother Kido’s business." Especially that gossip Sonoko, Conan added to himself. Now that Gao Mo knew his identity, regardless of how he found out, they were essentially on the same side. If Gao Mo attracted the attention of the Black Organization, he wouldn't be able to stay out of it either. Helping Gao Mo was helping himself.

"Ahem." Gao Mo took a sip of hot milk. Conan seemed to have misunderstood something. He had spent the night organizing his thoughts and had gained some insight into the main mechanics of the Grim Reaper. With death events and the system helping to hide him, his normal life shouldn't be too affected; he didn't need to hide and "play dead" like Conan/Shinichi Kudo. Last night’s entanglement was largely because he had intervened personally. The real trouble right now was that the Grim Reaper's mark could trigger and even amplify malice. Small amounts of everyday malice were harmless, and he could just avoid them.

The reason he wouldn't return to the public eye was the fear that the malice would spiral out of control, at which point he wouldn't be able to hide at all. Stars were too prone to attracting malice; if nothing else, if there were a few more obsessive fans like Aya Matsumoto, he couldn't handle it. With the Grim Reaper's mark, he could easily imagine what kind of bizarre things unhinged fans might do. And if it wasn't fans, there were peers... Gao Mo thought of Yoko Okino’s situation, and his desire to create a persona grew stronger. With a mask, even if others had ideas, they wouldn't be able to find the real him.

"Mr. Kido!" Before Ran and Conan could head downstairs, Taeko Mayugaki and her fiancé, Yuji Shimazaki, arrived and nearly knelt before Gao Mo on the spot.

"I heard everything from Taeko," Shimazaki said, gripping his fiancée's hand tightly while holding the morning paper about Anzai in his other. "It was that guy Anzai's fault to begin with... If it hadn't been for you, Taeko really would have been ruined by him!" Even now, Shimazaki felt a lingering fear. He didn't care about the past; he was only afraid that his fiancée might do something foolish. "Really, thank you!"

"I don't know how to thank you..."

"It's nothing. Don't mention this to anyone else," Gao Mo said, almost startled by the young couple. "Just start your new life well."

"Would Mr. Kido be willing to attend the wedding next month?" Shimazaki asked.

"It's hard to say. I might not have the time." Gao Mo wasn't interested in attending weddings. Thinking of the "Makeup Guide" and his upcoming role as a museum staff member, he turned to Taeko Mayugaki. "Miss Mayugaki, could you give me a set of makeup tools?"

"Is Mr. Kido interested in makeup?" Taeko asked with surprise, then nodded. "You can have my current toolkit, and there's a notebook that should be helpful. I'll go look for it..."

"Don't go to any trouble, I just need the tools." Gao Mo had already roughly mastered the "Makeup Guide." Although it was also a 4-star professional book, the difficulty was far lower than the detective's "Shooting Guide." It was likely because Taeko was just an ordinary makeup artist. The rest was just a matter of time and experience, which was enough for him to apply to his disguises.

...

At the Teitan Hotel.

Rei Furuya sat by the window in a high-end restaurant, flipping through reports about Shingo Nachi with mild interest. Seeing exaggerated headlines about the "Grim Reaper," he couldn't help but chuckle. The table was elegantly set, and there was a place setting opposite him. The reflection in the wine glass revealed a blonde woman with a large bust, her face obscured by a hat.

"How rare, Bourbon. What has you so happy?"

"An interesting piece of news," Rei Furuya said, casually putting down the newspaper. "What about you? How do you have time to visit Japan? Does it have anything to do with the organization’s sudden recruitment drive?"

"I just get restless when I stay in one place for too long." The blonde woman lit a cigarette. "I heard you wanted to recruit an washed-up idol. Don't get dragged down with them; quite a few candidates have run into trouble lately. If it's discovered they are spies..."

Rei Furuya's expression turned cold for a moment as he recalled the death of his friend. "Rather than worrying about me, you should think about how to complete the task that 'that gentleman' assigned to you."