Chapter 701: Going to Participate in the Next Theatrical Version

“Yes.” Conan calmly stirred the ice in his glass with a straw. “But he did it only because I saved his pigeon.”

“Oh…” Behfinger blinked and spread the wings of the pigeon in his arms.

The pigeon cooed a few times, not understanding what was going on.

So Behefinger loosened its wings and patted its head, then suddenly whispered, "I wonder what pigeon soup tastes like?"

Pigeon:! ?

One sentence was enough to frighten it so much that it ran away from his arms and hid behind Conan.

Behrfinger burst out laughing instantly. "Just kidding~ Don't be scared."

Conan's lips twitched slightly, then he put down the cup, picked up the pigeon, and stroked its head idly, his mind still replaying the gaze he had felt back then.

Although that gaze wasn't malicious, Conan still felt like he was being seen through...

The skeleton in the castle's basement had been removed, making the space feel much more spacious.

Kaito Kuroba, who had followed out of curiosity, looked around, somewhat puzzled as to why they had come here.

What are you planning to do?

He moved closer to R, asking him a question while glancing at X, who seemed to be doing something where the coffin had originally been placed.

"I just wanted to grab something," R said with a faint smile.

At this moment, X is holding a glass bottle containing a liquid that looks somewhat like blood, but it is not as thick as blood; it appears to be just an ordinary red liquid.

But Kaito Kuroba never considered anything in their possession to be ordinary.

X tilted the bottle and poured the red liquid onto the ground, creating a pattern.

The bottle was only that size, but the liquid inside seemed endless. Unable to resist his curiosity, Kaito Kuroba leaned closer to take a look.

R glanced at him, a hint of a smile playing on his lips, and then spoke gently, "If you want to become a dried-up corpse, you can come a little closer."

Kaito Kuroba quietly withdrew his outstretched foot little by little, scratched the back of his head, and chuckled sheepishly, "I suddenly think that this view is actually quite good."

Since he couldn't get close, he stood on tiptoe and craned his neck to try and see more clearly.

However, he barely saw anything; the liquid that X had poured on the ground lit up with a bright red light, with an indistinct blue light spot flickering in the center.

Upon noticing that color, Kaito Kuroba immediately understood.

I see.

No, wait a minute.

"You didn't make me do this just so you could move that coffin, did you??" Kaito Kuroba suddenly realized something, turned to look at the young man beside him, and stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

R's smile remained unchanged. "Actually, we can get the fragments even without moving them. We just wanted to give you something to do."

Kaito Kuroba: ...

"I don't care, I'll just consider it as doing you a favor, and I need a tiny bit of compensation!"

He raised his hand and made a 'little bit' gesture with two fingers.

R's smile deepened slightly, and his tone was gentle, "Of course, what would you like, my dear student?"

Kaito Kuroba felt a chill run down his spine for no reason and almost changed his mind about not wanting the reward. But then he thought about how hard it was to get something from Mr. R, so he straightened his back and ignored the chill. "I haven't decided yet. Give me some time to think it over."

R smiled but didn't urge him. Instead, he looked at X, who was putting away the fragments.

The magic circle, having lost its light, turned dark and eventually disappeared, as if it had never existed.

X handed the fragments he had obtained to R and said softly, "So far, we are still estimated to be short twenty-one pieces."

R nodded, put the fragment away, and glanced at Kaito Kuroba. "Let's go. Besides, didn't you make plans to go to the amusement park with Aoko today?"

Kaito Kuroba, who was racking his brains trying to figure out what he needed, suddenly snapped back to reality upon hearing this. "Ahhh! Oh no! I forgot about that!! Teacher, let's hurry!"

He wailed and pitifully tugged at R's sleeve.

R smiled and led him away from there.

However, instead of showing up outside the amusement park, they took him home and then quickly left.

"Remember to wear something nice when you go to see the girl you like."

Kuroba Kaito, who thought what he said made sense, glanced at the time and hurriedly changed his clothes in a flurry of activity. Then, he took the gift he had prepared for Nakamori Aoko and ran to the amusement park.

...

Even though the number of people has increased recently, the church remains quiet and solemn, as if no matter how much time has passed, it will not change due to external changes.

R and X walked deeper into the church and arrived at a place that the church members called the 'forbidden area'.

The heavy, carved doors opened automatically, revealing a tranquil and quiet interior filled with a faint fragrance.

After the two entered, the door closed again, cutting off the outside light.

Apart from a ray of light shining down from above onto a small round table, the rest of the room was completely obscured.

On the round table sits a glass dome containing a dark blue gem, but with dim light. However, only one-fifth of it is visible at this moment; the other four-fifths have yet to be found.

R placed the shards he had just obtained inside through the glass.

The gem fragments flashed briefly, then slowly came back together. Their brilliance seemed to increase slightly, yet it appeared to remain largely unchanged.

Gazing at the gem, R narrowed his eyes slightly. After a long while, a cryptic smile appeared on his face before he turned and left.

"Twenty-one more times should be enough."

After leaving the 'forbidden area', R and X did not rush to leave the church.

So Morataya ran into the two of them as soon as she came out of her room.

She raised an eyebrow slightly, then tossed them a small cloth bag. "Perfect timing! Take care of these, I'm off to the next movie~ Bye-bye~"

"..."

X reached out and caught the small cloth bag that was tossed to him. When he opened it, he found that it was full of sparkling gems.

However, none of these gems emitted any magical energy.

Originally planning to take Morataya along while dealing with these issues, Morataya happily cast a teleportation spell on herself.

After entering the apartment, she glanced at the situation on the main characters' side.

The theatrical version has just started, so it has nothing to do with her for now.