Chapter 237, Seventy-Third Cycle (67)
"Who exactly is Scotland, Mr. Amuro? Can you tell me?" Conan Edogawa asked.
Although he appeared calm and resolute, he was actually panicking inside, carefully observing the expression of the blond man in front of him, preparing to apologize if he showed any signs of discomfort.
However, perhaps because he had been provoked by Shuichi Akai too much recently, or perhaps because he had experienced it before, Amuro Tooru seemed to be in a good mood when asked about Scotland again.
Amuro Tooru's nerves were tense for only a few seconds when he turned to look at him, then he gave a helpless chuckle, and the tense atmosphere instantly relaxed.
"Where did you get this information? And how did you arrive at this conclusion and decide to ask me?" The blond, dark-skinned man turned directly to face him, his purplish-grey eyes remarkably calm. "I was wondering why your attitude has been so strange lately. Tell me the truth, did the FBI tell you?"
Conan Edogawa shook his head: "I deduced it myself."
Mr. Akai clearly knows something, but he stubbornly refuses to tell him.
Conan Edogawa probably knew what they were worried about, but he really couldn't just sit idly by. Knowing that there was a dangerous person around him, it was unlikely that he would not investigate and make a plan.
“Is that so…” Amuro Tooru smiled and met his gaze. “Then how do you think I should answer your question?”
Conan Edogawa said seriously, "I hope you can answer truthfully."
"Don't say that, it will make me very upset."
The lights made Amuro Tooru's light blonde hair sparkle, but his originally innocent and cute baby face turned dangerous and cunning.
“If I say he’s here, then you can narrow down your suspicions to the 14 people here. If I say he’s not here, then you can eliminate your suspects and focus on testing the others who aren’t here, right?”
Conan Edogawa: "...Hmm."
Amuro Tooru smiled, reverting to his gentle and approachable demeanor: "No matter what I say, it won't work, right? So I'll just not answer you."
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Amuro Tooru suddenly moved closer to him: "However, if you are willing to tell me about Shuichi Akai, I can exchange some information about Scotland with you."
The candlestick he was holding moved closer, the flame flickering between their faces as they drew near, and Conan Edogawa could even feel the heat of the flame.
"He's here too, isn't he?" Amuro Tooru asked with a half-smile.
"...I'm sorry." Conan Edogawa blinked, trying to remain calm. "I can't say either."
“Alright.” Amuro Tooru shrugged, completely unsurprised, and took a step back. “But seeing how hard you’re trying, I’ll give you a little hint about Scotland.”
Conan Edogawa immediately perked up, his eyes sparkling as he looked up at him: "What is it?!"
Amuro Toru smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
“He’s usually a slow-paced, very patient person,” he said. “But recently, because of some things, he’s become very impatient.”
"It's like there's something important that's running out of time."
*
"There's absolutely nothing here," Kogoro Mouri sighed, sitting on a bench in the chapel. "Would you mind if I had a smoke?"
“Of course.” Midorikawa Hikaru looked at the stairs. “Then Master Kogoro, please rest here for a while. I have something I want to ask the priest.”
"About that novel?" Kogoro Mouri took out a lighter.
"Um."
"Go ahead then. Remember to let me know if you find any clues. Don't wander off; there might be danger here."
"OK."
*
Since Amuro Tooru refused to tell, Edogawa Conan investigated on his own.
After confirming that the toilet search was complete, Amuro Tooru wanted to check out the areas where the other people were in charge.
Conan Edogawa certainly wanted to go too, but right now he was more interested in things in Scotland than in the mystery game.
“I want to go see the priest and ask him some questions.” He observed Amuro Tooru’s expression.
“Okay.” Amuro Tooru replied without any hesitation.
As Conan Edogawa walked up the stairs, he was still thinking, "Could it be that I'm overthinking things, and that Takaaki Morofushi is actually not in any danger?"
Conan Edogawa is small, and in this environment, he subconsciously and habitually walks lightly, making almost no sound. Kogoro Mouri didn't even notice him passing by.
When he reached the door of the priest's room, he found it ajar, and light and the sound of conversation could be heard coming from inside.
"A wise man who aims high must be patient; one who strives for greatness must be patient," said Zhu Fu Gaoming.
"But what if there's almost no time left?" Midorikawa Hikaru asked.
Zhu Fugaoming was silent for a while, then sighed, "Time is money, but money can't buy time. If we're running out of time, we should cherish it even more and not miss the last precious moments."
"Does Father really think so?" Midorikawa Hikaru asked. "But you yourself have fought desperately for things that seemed impossible, haven't you?"
"Time is money, but efficiency is life, isn't it?"
This time, Morofuku Takaaki remained silent for an even longer period.
After a long silence, he slowly said, "Great things begin with difficulty, small things begin with ease. If you want to consider the benefits, you must consider the harms. If you want to succeed, you must consider the failures."
"However, such opportunities are rare and easily lost."
Life is short; I don't ask for a life without regrets, but rather a life without remorse.
“…I understand, thank you, Father.”
The moment the footsteps sounded, Conan Edogawa hid in the corner, only peeking out when the footsteps disappeared down the stairs.
Without a translator, Conan Edogawa only understood half of what he heard.
On the surface, it seems the priest is offering guidance to confused believers, saying that the more difficult something is, the easier it is to fail. But life is short; rather than leaving regrets, shouldn't we go for it and not let our future selves regret it?
Conan Edogawa's first thought was that Amuro Tooru had just said that Scotland was in a bit of a hurry because of something.
But upon closer reflection, he realized that the dialogue between Hikaru Midorikawa and Takaaki Morofushi perfectly matched their character settings.
This conversation didn't even go out of character (OOC) at all; it was like they were simply immersing themselves in a scripted performance.
In fact, this kind of rambling, word-by-word dialogue is rather strange in reality; it's more like a performance of a scene from a novel.
But is that really all there is to it?
Conan Edogawa didn't go directly to talk to the priest for the time being; he rested his fingers on his chin and thought seriously.
Masaya Oki's experience was quite tragic and full of regrets, but if there was anything he regretted, it was probably that he fired the gun too late at the beginning, which prevented him from saving his important senior.
In the original work, Okiya also had a similar conversation with Morofuku Kongming.
But in the end, Okiya also died, and Morofushi Kongming stopped being a policeman, leaving behind countless mysteries.
The character Zhuge Liang in the book is a carefree person who said, "Who will wake first from the great dream? I know myself best. I sleep soundly in my thatched cottage in spring, and the sun shines slowly outside the window."* But in many ways, we can also see that even though he is in a remote church, he is still connected to the main storyline.
And what about the real-life Morofushi Takamichi?
Conan Edogawa investigated and found that Morofushi Takaaki graduated first in his class from the Faculty of Law at Toto University and, after regular police academy training, directly joined the Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters. Given his abilities, he could have easily passed the National Civil Service Examination (Category I) and become a professional police officer, the fastest path to promotion. However, he chose the most difficult route: becoming a non-professional. His years working in Nagano fully demonstrated his exceptional abilities, yet he remained a regular police officer, earning him the nickname "eccentric."
However, now that he seems to have connections with the organization, the whole thing can be viewed from a completely different perspective.
In fact, when guessing who the real villain BOSS who controlled everything behind the scenes was, Morofuku Kongming received a lot of votes.
Moreover, Midorikawa Hikaru acted strangely during this conversation.
Conan Edogawa's gaze gradually hardened.
He must find an opportunity as soon as possible to see Midorikawa Hikaru's true colors.
*
"You're deliberately trying to stop us, aren't you?" Hakuba Saguru suddenly said.
"Huh? What?" Matsuda Jinpei turned his head. "Why do you say that?"
Hakuba glanced at his expression, which was mostly hidden by sunglasses, and then looked at Kenji Hagiwara and Wataru Date, who were chatting with Subaru Okiya during the search. He said calmly, "I know you're police officers, and you're very famous. I also know the priest is a police officer, and he's very famous too."
Matsuda Jinpei laughed: "As expected of the son of the Superintendent General of Police, he really knows a lot about the Metropolitan Police Department."
Hakuba Saguru didn't pay any attention and simply asked, "What are you all planning to do by gathering here?"
"That's the question I wanted to ask," Matsuda Jinpei said, rubbing his already messy curly hair. "What are you doing here? It's not just for a novel-related event, is it?"
"I'm here to catch Phantom Thief Kid," said Hakuba Saguru.
Matsuda Jinpei clicked his tongue in surprise: "Huh? No way? That guy's here too? This is troublesome."
He seemed genuinely unaware of the situation.
Hakuba Saguru withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the patterns inlaid in the stained glass on the window.
"That band has problems; they're your target, aren't they?"
After saying that, he took out his pocket watch and glanced at it.
“A week ago, a group of robbers escaped from Tokyo. According to the investigation, they may have fled to Nagano.”
*
Conan Edogawa ultimately didn't go in to talk to the priest; he needed to process the information further and carefully consider and organize the existing intelligence.
He finally found Amuro Tooru in the clock tower next to it.
The clock tower is very tall inside, with a round top.
Conan Edogawa remembers that the circular dome represents people's understanding of the world—that the universe is round.
Looking up, the walls on all four sides are covered with huge, brightly colored mosaics and stained glass windows. The windows are inlaid with various patterns in stained glass, and each window depicts a biblical story.
The wind and snow outside had stopped, and an unexpectedly huge moon appeared.
Tonight is the night of the full moon.
The soft moonlight filtered through the stained glass windows into the church, creating a sense of religious mystery and solemnity, as well as a hazy illusion and an indescribable feeling of oppression.
Inside the clock tower, many old clocks of various sizes are hung, filling the entire tower and creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere.
As the clock ticked away, Conan Edogawa saw Tooru Amuro through the last window.
The blond youth stood in front of the huge window.
He looked up at the pattern above, and the colorful light from the pattern shone on him, as if it were also watching him.
The ticking of the clock echoed continuously all around.
The atmosphere was a bit strange. Conan Edogawa didn't say anything, but he had a gut feeling that Amuro Tooru's condition was off, and he was a little worried.
The black-haired child walked over and stood next to the blond youth, quietly looking up at the window with him.
The wall was carved with various plant patterns and fantastical monsters, but the large stained-glass window was inlaid with two huge butterflies in different shades of stained glass, their shapes resembling the patterns on envelopes.
Beautiful yet eerie butterflies spread their enormous, colorful wings, seemingly in a struggle.
One butterfly is blue, and the other is red.
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