Hondo-kun Is Forced to Max Out His Detective-Novel Character Setting

Years after drifting far from the main story, Yingyou graduated from college and finally managed to join the CIA. Only then did he learn the terrible news:

The Black Organization had been destroyed the very year he left Japan, and his older sister Yinghai, who had been undercover in the organization, had died in that final battle.

Before Yingyou could come to terms with it, a System claiming it could bring his sister back found him.

[This world is based on a manga, and your sister died because she wasn't popular enough in it.]

Yingyou stared at the manga ending the System had put in front of him. "So what am I supposed to do?"

[Obviously, enter the manga while it's still being serialized and get enough popularity for both you and your sister! In the manga world, even people who have already died can be brought back to life if they build up enough popularity. Saving someone who's still alive should be a piece of cake, right?]

"And how am I supposed to get enough popularity?"

The moment Yingyou asked, the System got as excited as if it had just been injected with adrenaline.

[Easy! Just be both a rising star in law enforcement and a member of the organization, constantly switching between your two identities. Then have at least one dead first love, a memorable shared memory, a misunderstanding that drives you and someone apart, a sympathetic past, and complicated family ties connected to the organization... Oh, and would you mind riding the hype and becoming the sixth member of the police academy crew?]

?

Yingyou slowly typed out a question mark.

Yingyou later: Stop piling on every character trope you can think of, System! I have way too many relatives, childhood friends, and close friends now!

The whole Hondou family is about to have the same complicated relationships as Dream of the Red Chamber!

Please note before reading:

1. He isn't literally the sixth member of the police academy crew, just a friend or relative piled high with character tropes (literally). He's got so many tropes that you could say he's suffering from amnesia. I'm currently trying to work out a logical way to complete the full Detective Conan formula of a brilliant, beautiful, strong, and tragic character. Pure Detective Conan.

2. The protagonist is both a genuine member of the organization and a staunch member of the good guys. That may sound strange, but that's genuinely his background. Since we haven't gotten to that part yet, for now you can think of him as watered-down liquor or fake liquor. The ending may be more or less the same.

3. This is going to be a massive OOC extravaganza, as you can probably tell. The changes to the original characters' relationships may go beyond anything you imagine. The inspiration comes from The Million-dollar Pentagram. In short, expect a very complicated family tree based on the idea that people who look alike must be related, along with lots of unsubstantiated main-plot conspiracy theories... The organization is getting a major power-up.

4. All five police academy friends will be saved, but the story includes popular tropes like brainwashing and turning evil.

5. Slow burn, just like the original. Key plot points are woven into the cases. The protagonist really is trying to become a rising star in law enforcement (that is, by solving cases).

6. More or less updated daily. If there's no update one day, I'll try to post two the next.

*

Short skit:

Yingyou was walking along when he suddenly tripped over something invisible...

Yingyou passed beneath the eaves and got hit on the head by a huge chunk of snow...

Yingyou stepped into thin air and fell into a deep pit dug to trap animals...

[Wait, are you really that clumsy?] the System finally asked.

"The clumsiness is up for debate, but I'm definitely unlucky," Yingyou replied helplessly.

But...

The invisible thing was a murder trap a passing killer hadn't finished setting up...

The huge chunk of snow concealed evidence the killer hadn't disposed of yet...

And the pit was hiding bloodstained clothes and the murder weapon...

[I'm starting to think your bad luck is fake too...] the System muttered. [Could it really be like they say on the forum, and you've been designing these cases behind my back?]

Yingyou suddenly wanted to type another question mark.

*

Theme: Popularity isn't everything. What matters is the person themselves.