Chapter 30, Section 29: Noah's Ark: Alice in Wonderland...

Little Lao Tzu grew up so beautifully.

A huge cloud of white smoke exploded around the girl, enveloping her figure so that it was impossible to see clearly. Conan, somewhat dazed, lay on the table, his sleepy eyes staring blankly at the smoke.

As the two watched, a faint, dark silhouette appeared in the dissipating white smoke. The suddenly taller figure swayed as if it couldn't stand still, and then staggered out of the smoke.

Was it because she wasn't used to the height? Kenji Hagiwara, who had been watching her closely, stepped forward to support her, but Zhuge Tongzhi nimbly dodged his hand and took a few steps back to lean against the edge of the wooden table.

The boy in the blue vest and trousers paused, slowly withdrawing his arm that he had intended to support her. His probing gaze fell upon the girl in front of him, who was covering her eyes with one hand and tilting her head back, making it impossible to see her expression.

The girl in front of him was tall, estimated by Kenji Hagiwara to be over 1.7 meters tall, far exceeding the average height of Japanese women. She could see the hair whorl on the top of 80% of the people on the street.

From the age of six to now, around ten years old, Zhuge Tongzhi's originally round and cute childlike face now has the soft angles unique to a young girl. Her fair skin, shrouded in the shade of the tree beside the table, appears somewhat pale due to the dappled sunlight.

The extreme contrast in her figure and appearance as she transformed from a child into a young girl shocked Kenji Hagiwara, but he immediately noticed the sudden change in her aura.

Silent and indifferent, like a wolf lying in wait for its chance.

Danger.

The boy's hand, hanging by his side, clenched slightly. His eyes were fixed on Zhuge Tongzhi's five fingers, which were gripping the edge of the table so tightly that his knuckles turned white. It took half a minute for the grip to slowly relax.

At the same time, the girl who had been covering her eyes lowered her hand from her face, stared at the layered dark green canopy above her for a while, and then slowly lowered her head to look at Kenji Hagiwara, who was looking up in front of her.

The girl in the Alice-inspired blue and white dress tilted her head as she looked at the tense boy. Specks of sunlight filtered through the branches and fell on her messy, black hair, revealing a thoughtful expression on her delicate yet serene face.

“Hagi…Hara…Kenji?” She blinked her dark eyes, then turned to look at Conan, who had finally given up and was snoring softly on the table, and said with certainty, “Edogawa Conan.”

As soon as she uttered those two sentences, the girl's aloof demeanor vanished instantly, like a shattered candy shell, replaced by a curious smile as she examined her own figure.

"Wow, is this what I'll look like when I grow up?" She lifted the light blue skirt that had grown larger with her size, twirled around lightly, and stretched out her long arms, awkwardly adapting to her new figure.

The sudden increase in field of vision can indeed make people feel a little dizzy for a moment, but Zhuge Tongzhi quickly became familiar with his current physical condition and felt every muscle in the stretching movements.

Having regained control of her body, the teenage girl happily stretched her considerably longer legs and danced her way to the table, where she picked up a dark green magician's hat and put it on. She then grabbed a rabbit ear headband and approached the March Hare trainee.

Kenji Hagiwara smiled and took it, pressing the rabbit ears onto his head. Then, following Conan's instructions, who was half asleep, he sat facing Zhuge Tongzhi on either side of the wooden table. Two exquisite British-style tea sets appeared out of thin air in front of them.

Next, all they had to do was brew a pot of tea and wait for Conan the Dormouse, who was hosting the banquet, to give them the next instructions.

The two quickly cleaned the tea set and poured hot water. Zhuge Tongzhi even got up and crossed the table to help the short boy complete this slightly challenging task.

Every move she makes exudes childlike innocence and vitality, as if one can see the unchanging young soul within her through the girl's figure.

However, Kenji Hagiwara's attention was not on brewing tea. While waiting for the tea leaves to unfurl, he concealed his gaze and looked at the girl sitting quietly at the table, her eyes lowered as she looked at the teapot emitting steam.

Quiet and harmless, her precocious personality suited her well with her grown-up body.

But the officer, who was good at reading people, did not miss the change in demeanor just now. A subtle sense of unease was hidden beneath the calm exterior, and every clue was carefully concealed.

Is it just my imagination?

Unsure of the other person's sensitivity to eye contact, Kenji Hagiwara cautiously withdrew his gaze, looking down as the tea leaves in his cup gradually turned a pot of clear water into a red soup, the rich aroma rising with the steam.

According to the rules of that potion, the girl in front of him should be Zhuge Tongzhi when he grows up.

After recovering, she not only accurately called out her companion's name, but also clearly knew that she had grown up after drinking the potion. With a clear goal in mind, she picked up the hat and began to complete the previous task, proving that her memory was coherent.

But could the same person change so much before and after taking a sip of water? Kenji Hagiwara wondered to himself. Meanwhile, Conan, who had taken a nap while making tea, slowly got up.

"The tea is ready, we can start our tea party now." The black-haired, blue-eyed boy said, yawning. His round, large ears drooped down with the movement, then perked up again as his owner roused himself.

“Ask each other a question and answer it, and whether you answer correctly or not, I will tell you where the rabbit went.” Conan’s voice grew softer and softer, and he finally managed to utter the last syllable before collapsing onto the table.

Zhuge Tongzhi stretched out his arm and easily cushioned Conan's head as it slammed straight onto the table, placing him steadily on the table and saving a child's forehead.

“Ah… I need to think about the Mad Hatter problem.” The girl wearing the magician’s hat held the wide brim of the hat in one hand, leaned on the table, and smiled at Kenji Hagiwara, her eyes full of excitement like a star. “After all, role-playing can’t be out of character, right?”

"It has to fit the character setting, then I do remember the March Hare question."

Kenji Hagiwara straightened his slightly slipping bunny ear headband, picked up his black tea and took a small sip of the scalding hot tea. The warm feeling spread throughout his body. He winked playfully at Tongzhi Zhuge and said, "I'll go first then."

The mad hatter, with his strangely shaped hat, took it off, indicating that the stage now belonged to him. The girl's messy hair, disheveled by the hat's alternation, also waved back at him, only to be suppressed by the hat again.

Kenji Hagiwara felt a slight sense of relief. He took another sip of tea, deliberately mimicking the March Hare from fairy tales who never stops throwing parties, and asked, "Do you know what a non-birthday is?"

“I know that everyone only has one birthday a year, but there are 364 days outside of birthdays.” Zhuge Tongzhi thought for a moment, then his memory was quickly awakened by this somewhat absurd celebration. “So… happy birthday to you outside of birthdays!”

As soon as he finished speaking, many dazzling fireworks burst forth from the teapots, cups, and saucers scattered on the table. The colorful flowers that bloomed in the air illuminated Conan's sleeping profile, making people belatedly realize that the sky in the forest had darkened.

“Not Happy Birthday, Miss Mad Hatter.” Kenji Hagiwara looked at the girl who deliberately cleared her throat and followed her hint, asking, “So, your question is?”

As the last, belated firework faded above the wooden table in the tea room, and the silence and darkness of night returned, Zhuge Tongzhi lowered the brim of her magician's hat, casting a shadow that obscured the light in her eyes, and spoke with a rather mysterious air.

“You know…”

The dark tea, with a deeper color than black tea, unfurled in the teacup. Having lost its clarity under the sunlight, the color at the center of the cup appeared even more profound.

The girl rested her hands in a triangle above the teacup, her chin on her interlaced fingertips, a faint smile on her face, and asked softly:

Why do crows resemble writing desks?

The sky, which had dimmed and then began to burn, was shrouded in a blood-red light. The Mad Hatter asked a question that he himself did not know the answer to, his dark eyes as dark as a raven's wings.

Conan beside him was fast asleep, completely unresponsive.

Kenji Hagiwara moved his nimble fingers, turned the teacup in his hand that was gradually losing its warmth, and replied, "There are two answers to this question. One is a Victorian-era decryption question."

“Well, I prefer another romantic answer.” He smiled. “The answer is ‘Because I like you for no reason.’”

"Correct." Having finished the Q&A session, Zhuge Tongzhi instantly switched roles. She took off her hat and placed it aside, then began shaking Conan, who was unusually sleepy today. "Conan, Conan! Tell us where we go next!"

The boy with the big ears swayed back and forth with her movements, but he was still fast asleep, as if he was forcibly trapped in a dream and couldn't get out, and he didn't respond no matter how she called him.

However, as they completed their tea party, the dense thicket in front of the table automatically parted into a path, winding its way into the depths of the forest and disappearing behind a huge ancient tree.

Seeing that he couldn't wake Conan no matter how he called, Zhuge Tongzhi, taking advantage of his height and long legs, simply tucked the little dormouse into his arms and, together with Hagiwara Kenji, embarked on the only way out of the area.

There was no sign of rabbits on the winding forest path, but there were also no forks in the road for them to choose from. So the two people and the mouse quietly continued along the path, which occasionally changed course due to bushes, large rocks, or unknown deep pits.

Once again, Zhuge Tongzhi struggled to climb over the layers of towering trees blocking her way. She straightened her cumbersome, wide skirt and angrily patted the huge tree trunk she was about to cross.

When she was a little girl, I told her not to crawl through, but now that she's an adult, she can't get over it.

"Would you like a cookie?" Kenji Hagiwara suggested, casually bending down as he walked over from under the tree.

The girl paused in her patting of the tree, turned around and made a "hmm" sound. Just as she was about to give an answer, Conan, who had just woken up with a giant snot bubble in his nose, suddenly woke up.

The bubbles that had been growing larger and smaller with each breath burst with a pop. Even though he knew it was just a bunch of data, Zhuge Tongzhi still silently put the sleeping boy on the ground and stood a little further away.

Conan didn't realize what her actions meant, and just rubbed his eyes and said, "You can't eat cookies. The rule is that 'after drinking the beverage, you can only turn back after a certain period of time.'"

“I think you could actually stay asleep.” Zhuge Tongzhi roughly ruffled Conan’s black hair, then picked up the boy, who had been sleeping standing up, and held him up like a doll.

"It's okay, I can still pass the level quickly even without eating cookies." The girl lifted her skirt, and when she found that she couldn't tear it, she wasn't discouraged. Instead, she changed her approach and achieved her goal.

Kenji Hagiwara watched as the girl groped around in the nearby bushes, pulled out a thin, long vine, then folded up the wide hem of her skirt, which would have hindered her leg movement, and wrapped the vine around her waist like a belt.

The soft fabric was obediently folded up to above the knees, revealing the close-fitting white leggings underneath. Zhuge Tongzhi kicked the round-toed leather shoes on his feet to confirm that they were indeed very comfortable.

"Hagiwara-kun, do you want me to take you with me?"

Zhuge Tongzhi, who had changed his outfit to be neat and tidy, pointed to his bare back, indicating that he could carry the short-legged boy on his back, but Hagiwara Kenji decisively refused.

"Okay, I'll go first." The girl in the blue skirt took a few steps back. The shortened skirt no longer restricted her movements. She found a spot and moved her ankles, then tightened her grip on Conan in her arms.

"Won't you feel uneasy holding Conan...?" Before Kenji Hagiwara could finish speaking, the girl burst forward with explosive power, kicked off a rock in front of a big tree, and easily stepped onto the top of the tree trunk, bringing Conan down to a steady half-squat.

Zhuge Tongzhi turned around, gave the speechless Hagiwara Kenji a sly smile, and then jumped down from the tree trunk to the other side.

"……All right."

Thinking back to when I first met this child, he simply grabbed me by the car roof and dragged me out of the window; his remarkable skills remain unchanged.

Having solved their transportation problem, one crawled through a tunnel while the other did parkour, quickly traversing the forest path. Suddenly, a vast rose garden appeared before them in a bright and open view.

Two familiar figures, dressed as two playing card soldiers—one thin and one fat—held red heart-shaped spears and stood at the entrance of the rose garden. A rabbit in a suit was talking to them.

The three clear, childlike voices were quickly cut off upon noticing the newcomers. Ayumi Yoshida waved her gleaming pocket watch at them and ran into the garden.

Two short playing card soldiers blocked the entrance to the Rose Garden. The two cards, crossed together and raised high, were only about waist-high to Zhuge Tongzhi. The red crosses, with their hearts pierced, were pushed aside by the girl with amusement, as if they were toys.

But the two soldiers firmly stated their position. Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya and Genta Kojima looked up, and the two children wearing red heart-shaped hats solemnly said, "Alice, you can't go in now."

"Why?" Zhuge Tongzhi made a move to rush inside, the difference in size allowing her to almost immediately break through the guards of the two elementary school student soldiers. "You can't stop me."

"Zhuge, you can't do this!" Kojima Genta simply threw away the heart and red cross, grabbed one of his grown-up friends' legs and sat down on the ground. His rather heavy body actually restricted Zhuge Tongzhi's movements for a moment.

"Alice, just going in won't do you any good!" Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya was still sticking to the script, dutifully not revealing his friend's real name. He pushed up the hat that had slipped off his head during the shoving.

"The Queen of Hearts is searching for the lost King of Hearts. Only by bringing the King back can one participate in the Queen's trial. The Rabbit has already entered the trial court." The little soldier of hearts slowly explained the rules, and then unfolded a portrait for the Alices.

Above is Ran Mouri, dressed in a grand red gown. The girl, wearing a precious red heart crown, has a delicate face, and the vibrant color gives her a bright and cheerful look that is completely different from her usual self. However, the expression on her face is a somewhat helpless smile.

Beside the beautiful queen was a dark figure slightly taller than her, with a snow-white question mark above it.

Ran Mouri is the Queen of Hearts who is issuing announcements to find the missing king.

“If you can’t find the king, then you must paint all the white roses in the garden red.” Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya pointed to the countless red and white roses in the vast rose garden, which was clearly not an easy task.

"Don't think you can just barge into the garden." Kojima Genta released Zhuge Tongzhi's leg, stood up, pointed to the sky, and saw a huge golden figure flying towards them. He said, "The true guardians of the garden are the Griffins!"

Zhuge Tongzhi and Hagiwara Kenji stepped back a few paces to make room for the massive creature that was approaching with a strong wind to land.

As the group descended, the enormous, golden-brown wings, which blotted out the sky, folded up. The elegant beast landed in front of them, shook its golden-brown feathers, and sat down like a cat, waving its paw at Kenji Hagiwara.

"You've finally woken up after lying there for so long, you brat."

"Sister?" Kenji Hagiwara looked at Chisato Hagiwara, who was dressed as a sphinx, in disbelief. She deftly smoothed her long light brown hair with her claws and nodded slightly in affirmation.

"The Griffin won't let you in so easily!" Two tiny red heart soldiers, their hearts and red crosses raised, stood at the garden entrance blocked by Hagiwara Chisato and said with great arrogance.

"Big sister, please let me in." Kenji Hagiwara, taking advantage of his childlike appearance, began to try to take a shortcut to pass through.

"No, that's the rule." Hagiwara Chisato chuckled and gently nudged her little brother's head with her paw. Her huge wings spread out along with her mood, and each golden-brown feather shone with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

“However, I can give you the king’s hint.” Hagiwara Chisato, in the form of a griffin, retracted her claws and said, “Listen carefully to the riddle, you two Alices.”

"The king had a crystal window that spanned the mountain ridge, which was essential for him to discover the truth."

Crystal Window? Kenji Hagiwara immediately thought of glass or transparent crystals. Was he going to find the king in a place with those characteristics and bring him back here?

The boy with medium-length hair fell into deep thought under his sister's gentle gaze.

However, there are very few prompts.

Such an obvious hint.

Zhuge Tongzhi twitched her lips. It should be said that from the moment she started searching for the King's Red Queen, who was Ran Mouri, it was basically an open-book exam. She thought to herself, looking down at Conan, who was sleeping soundly with snot bubbles in his nose and was completely oblivious to everything.

The lost king may seem far away, but he is actually within reach.

As for the so-called crystal window that supposedly reveals the truth...

The black-haired girl looked at the black-rimmed glasses on Conan's nose that seemed about to fall off, and thought, "This is it."

Finding the king is a piece of cake.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Qiansu is really cool and stylish (coy).

A big sister who makes Xiaolan blush

…

hagi: It's time to test your reasoning skills.

Zhuge: Open-book exam!

Conan: zzz

…

I've been busy with final exam preparation lately, so updates are irregular.

I will challenge myself to do 10,000 hours a day during the holiday (I'm so confident!)

Mwah