MTLNOVEL Chapter 2: "Trapped in CLOVER"
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"Welcaome!"
The moment Mori Ran stepped into the convenience store, the sensor above her head was
triggered.
At the same time...
She finally understood why she had only just noticed this convenience store, named "CLOVER,"
today.
"It's newly opened," she muttered.
Ran had just had a long conversation with Sonoko, which had left her parched, so she walked
straight to the refrigerated section and grabbed a bottle of mineral water.
At that moment...
A figure outside the convenience store suddenly caught her attention.
"Mom???"
She wasn't sure if she had seen it right, but something inside her drove her to rush out the door
without thinking.
[Warning! Warning!]
[Someone is trying to skip out on the bill!]
[Someone is trying to skip out on the bill!]
[...]
As soon as Ran stepped out of the store, the system in Akira's mind immediately went off with
an alarm.
Of course, he had seen it!
To be honest, ever since Mouri Ran walked into the store, Akira had not taken his eyes off her
for a single moment.
Ran was one of the most essential female characters in the Detective Conan world, and she was also
the very first customer at CLOVER convenience store.
How could he possibly miss her?
Akira didn't think Ran would intentionally skip out on her bill.
But...
If he didn't do something now, the system would definitely mark him as a "weakling."
"Stop!" Akira shouted as he rushed out after her.
He covered the distance in a few quick strides and successfully stopped Ran at the street corner.
"Trying to skip out on the bill, huh?"
The system had detected it correctly.
She had taken the item without paying and walked out, which definitely counted as skipping out on
the bill.
This was his first business transaction since he had come to this world!
He absolutely didn't want it to start off badly.
"I'm sorry~~"
"I… I just saw my mom, and I..."
"I'm sorry!"
"I'll pay right now."
"..."
Ran apologized sincerely as she followed Akira back into CLOVER convenience store.
Whether or not the figure she had briefly seen outside was really her mom didn't seem as
important now.
However...
As she prepared to pay, an even more awkward situation arose.
"Huh?"
"My wallet... where is it?"
Ran stood at the checkout counter, frantically searching through every pocket.
Her brain was spinning rapidly, and then came to a conclusion: she must have lost her wallet while
riding the roller coaster at Tropic Park.
It had to be that!
"I'm sorry~~"
"Can I... not buy it for now?"
Akira looked at the awkward Ran standing at the counter and suddenly had an idea.
Who was he?
He was the manager of CLOVER convenience store!
Before coming to this world, he had seen at least ten movies about convenience store managers
punishing customers who tried to skip out on their bills.
Yeah...
The plot was pretty much the same every time: they dragged the girl who tried to skip out on her
bill into the back storage room and gave her a good scolding.
Akira stared at Ran…
Damn!
If he didn't follow the script, how could he call himself a convenience store manager?
"No money?"
"So you were planning on skipping out on the bill from the beginning, huh?"
The moment he said that...
Ran's expression shifted from embarrassment and apology to one full of resistance.
"No... I wasn't."
"My wallet fell at Tropic Park."
Ran's voice was sincere and anxious.
She really wanted to earn Akira's trust!
She didn't want to be labeled a "thief" just for a 100 yen bottle of mineral water.
"Your wallet is gone?"
"So you thought you could just take the mineral water without paying?"
"If I hadn't run out and stopped you, you were just going to walk off with my store's goods, weren't
you?"
"..."
Akira's firm statement left Ran unsure of how to explain herself.
Because...
From Akira's perspective, it did look like she had intended to skip out on the bill.
If she could pay right now, that would solve everything, but the problem was she couldn't.
She glanced at her phone...
Uh-oh!
It was dead.
She couldn't even ask Sonoko for help now.
"Come with me." Akira saw Ran hesitate and added, "You wouldn't want the customers
coming in soon to find out about this, right?"
Without waiting for her reply, he led her straight to the back storage room.
Before entering, he even hung up the "Closed for Business" sign outside the convenience store.
….