Chapter 251, Seventy-Third Cycle (81)
"If the truth is unclear, there may be a ghost."
"Be careful of Conan Edogawa. People change. He's completely different from the boy he was ten years ago."
Sera Masumi sighed helplessly, recalling her mother Mary's words.
Although she really liked Conan Edogawa, since her mother, an elite MI6 agent, had said so, she decided to use a more roundabout approach and investigate the information herself first.
Hmm, let's test the waters with Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara first.
Ideally, an antidote for that drug could be found and given to the mother who was turned into a middle school student, so that she could return to her original body as much as possible...
*
"Conan-kun, I heard you've been reading some time-travel novels and comics lately?"
After school, Sera Masumi walked backwards, a smile playing on her lips, and casually asked the black-haired child who followed behind them as usual, as if they were just casually discussing their recent hobbies.
Conan Edogawa instantly became alert, tilting his head back and revealing a perfectly clear smile as he asked, "Did Sera-neechan hear this from Ran-neechan?"
Ran Mouri turned around and explained that during their break, she mentioned to her two friends that Conan seemed a bit strange these past few days.
Sonoko Suzuki bent down and stared at him curiously: "Yeah, you precocious brat, don't you usually like watching news channels and mystery novels? How come you're suddenly watching this kind of fantasy stuff? I thought you were the type who wouldn't even watch Kamen Rider!"
“How could that be?” Conan Edogawa smiled. “Kamen Rider recently introduced a mysterious female superhero, which has also brought up some things about time travel. Everyone at school has been very interested in this lately.”
He even gestured excitedly like a normal child, saying, "And also, I heard that a new Kamen Rider will be added later. The setting is supposedly something like 'Returning to the origin, the number 1 in a parallel world,' so we've been really interested in time travel and parallel worlds lately!"
Sonoko Suzuki choked for a moment: "Kids these days are really something else..."
Sera Masumi raised an eyebrow and smiled, revealing her little tiger teeth, and continued to ask, "I see. As expected of Conan-kun. So what do you think of novels and manga with the theme of turning back the clock? This can be considered a type of time travel, right? Although only the body travels through time and shrinks."
Conan Edogawa's back instantly tensed, clearly feeling Ran Mouri's gaze immediately upon him. He forced a laugh and said, "I'm not really interested in that. I prefer traveling to different worlds and parallel worlds, like those popular alternate worlds these days..."
Although he wasn't interested in transmigrating to another world, since he had seriously studied it, he naturally knew some things. It was easy to distract him with those funny and outrageous plots.
Sera Masumi didn't press further, but her smile widened, as if she had confirmed something.
It wasn't until the group went their separate ways home, with Conan Edogawa being led by Ran Mouri, that he silently breathed a sigh of relief, his feelings a mix of emotions.
It wasn't because Sera Masumi was clearly testing him by shrinking, but because he had just figured out the complicated relationships within Shuichi Akai's family yesterday.
The investigation into Scotland, Asaka, and Haneda Koji didn't yield much result, but it did teach him about Mr. Akai's family situation.
The main reason was that he remembered that he had actually met Shuichi Akai's family when he was a child.
Apart from Shuichi Akai's father, who disappeared while investigating the Koji Haneda case, Mary, Masumi Sera, Hideyoshi Haneda, and Shuichi Akai were all present at the time, and they even solved the case together.
Although he couldn't figure out why their blood relatives had different surnames, Conan Edogawa wouldn't directly ask Shuichi Akai.
Asking won't get you an answer. In the end, Mr. Akai will definitely smile and exchange information about his true identity and Hiroki Sawada with him.
These are two things he doesn't want to tell Shuichi Akai for the time being, even though that person has probably already guessed most of them.
However, there is one thing that is really awkward.
Conan Edogawa touched his nose.
It's best not to let Mr. Akai know about his previous suspicion that Hideyoshi Haneda was from Scotland.
It's both funny and infuriating. When he heard about Bourbon, he suspected Sera Masumi, Akai's sister; when he heard about Scotland, he suspected Haneda Hideyoshi, Akai's brother...
But you really can't blame him, can you?
Firstly, there were just too many coincidences and their behavior was very suspicious. Secondly, Mr. Akai didn't give him any hints at all, so it's perfectly normal for him to misunderstand!
Moreover... when he subtly probed Mr. Akai about his family, his reaction was somewhat as if he didn't know that his mother, Mary, had also taken the drug and shrunk.
This is really strange, and after several encounters, Conan Edogawa has become somewhat wary of Mary.
Furthermore, regarding the fact that Mary and Haibara look very alike and that Sera Masumi was sent to test him and investigate Haibara, Conan Edogawa also feels that there are still many mysteries and he cannot reveal them directly at this time.
"jingle--"
The door to Poirot Cafe opened, and a blond young man carrying a broom came out. He looked up and saw them, and immediately greeted them with a smile: "Conan-kun, Ran-san, are you having dinner at Poirot Cafe tonight? We've come up with a new dish."
Ran Mouri smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Amuro, but we plan to make it ourselves tonight. Let's try Poirot's new products next time."
Conan Edogawa also looked at the handsome blond youth who had attracted the attention of passersby as soon as he appeared, his gaze probing and deep, but he only received a familiar, perfectly innocent smile in return.
Well, the most troublesome thing right now is Mr. Amuro's side.
He wasn't sure about Scotland yet, but he managed to glean some information about their attitude from Hiroki Sawada and Noah's Ark.
Hiroki Sawada should be the first generation of Sakura, and after faking his death, Noah's Ark became the second generation of Sakura.
Sakura, on the other hand, was clearly an accomplice of the police.
Judging from the relationship between Sakura and Bourbon, he is very likely an assistant to the Public Security Bureau, or even just an assistant to Rei Furuya, a Public Security Police officer.
So it turns out that Mr. Akai was overthinking things; Hiroki and Mr. Amuro were just assistants.
It's important to understand that the relationship between police officers and their assistants can be very deep, requiring absolute trust and shared beliefs and goals. It can be even closer and stronger than that between friends, family, or lovers.
Therefore, it's not surprising that people would misunderstand their relationship based solely on appearances, without knowing that Sakura is actually a child.
However, knowing Hiroki Sawada's and Noah's Ark's positions does not mean the problem is solved.
The church in Nagano left behind too many mysteries, and the answers to these questions can probably only be found in Amuro Tooru.
However, Amuro Tooru seems to have some unspeakable reasons—such as Scotland being closely watching from the sidelines—so he doesn't intend to tell him the answer to the riddle directly.
This is what Conan Edogawa is most troubled about right now.
He also discovered that FBI agents frequently sneaked into the Kudo residence, but when he probed Shuichi Akai, he did not receive a direct and clear answer.
Back at the Mouri Detective Agency, Conan Edogawa sat on the sofa and sighed.
There's a feeling that a storm is brewing, yet he still has so many things he doesn't understand, which is really making people anxious.
He even vaguely dreamed of the future world again.
Unlike his first terrifying dream where Xiaolan almost married Dr. Araide, this time it felt more like a second dream where a very important person died ten years later and many people went to sweep their grave in sorrow.
It's possible that these two dreams, combined with recent events, created a new, extremely chaotic and terrible nightmare for him.
The dream contained a dark and eerie church, holy light descending from the east, and vast swarms of red butterflies.
The version of himself who traveled back from the future, in order to save the world and Xiaolan, actually chose to use the organization's dark technology to sacrifice someone who was very important to him and everyone else in order to save the entire timeline.
Therefore, in this timeline, he confronts and roars at his future self, who appears as Conan Edogawa, but in the end, he only receives a mysterious and bizarre crazy smile. Then the world collapses, and he wakes up in bed.
The bizarre dream and the overwhelming grief and anger he felt at the time left Conan Edogawa in a daze for a long time after he woke up.
Then he realized that the blond, dark-skinned man who was sacrificed to the red butterfly in his dream was none other than Amuro Tooru.
Every time Conan Edogawa thinks about this, he feels a constant sense of unease.
He could only console himself that perhaps it was because Mr. Amuro was still an undercover agent in the organization and was being watched by Scotland. He was currently in the most dangerous situation among all the people around him, and he had also occupied a central position in that church incident, which was why he dreamed of such a development.
This persistent, intuitive unease prompted Conan Edogawa to once again prioritize finding Scotland.
Once he confirms who Scotland is, he'll at least have a better understanding of the situation and be able to devise a series of measures against that person as soon as possible.
Everything eventually returned to its starting point.
Of the suspects he is currently monitoring, only Hideyoshi Haneda has been completely removed from the list of suspects.
Yuki Amami, who is still working as a physical education teacher at Teitan Elementary School, has been behaving very well lately, just like an ordinary teacher.
Police officer Morofushi Takaaki, who is still in Nagano, is highly suspicious, especially since he was clearly the one in charge during the church incident. It's unclear which side he's on, but he poses the highest danger at the moment.
And then there's that Midorikawa Hikaru.
He couldn't see Midorikawa Hikaru's complete appearance clearly, and he wasn't even sure if those blue eyes were upturned.
But to cover it up to this extent, from a certain perspective, indicates that there is a serious problem.
Hikaru Midorikawa's reasons were his social anxiety and his scars, but Conan Edogawa had reservations about this.
Most importantly, Hikaru Midorikawa and Tooru Amuro are getting way too close.
Whether it's the fact that they both became fellow apprentices under Kogoro Mouri and often went out to "study" together, or that they frequently developed new dishes and would always send a portion to the Poirot Cafe next door while chatting with Amuro Tooru, or that they intimately exchanged contact information and even formed a temporary band with Amuro Tooru, Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, and Date Wataru, often getting together to discuss and practice... all of these things reveal a subtle suspicion.
Of course, one could explain it by saying that he really likes his senior, Amuro Tooru, and that Amuro Tooru is a very capable, versatile, and gentle person, which makes him very attractive to a wandering chef who has just returned from abroad... No matter how many reasons there are, Conan Edogawa is full of doubts.
Currently, there are only these three people, and he is considering whether to test the waters further.
At the very least, we need to see what Hikaru Midorikawa looks like in his entirety.
*
Tokyo International Airport.
A man with long, black, curly hair walked out carrying a briefcase. His sharp, upturned blue eyes casually and carefully observed his surroundings as he took out his phone and made a call.
“I’ve already gotten off the plane, Miss.” Iori Muga went into the restroom, put her hair up and tucked it into her hat, and put on a pair of glasses. “He’ll be arriving in Tokyo soon, and I’m heading to the Mouri Detective Agency now.”
"Well, you didn't get to see Heiji's outstanding performance last time, so take this opportunity to observe him properly," said Ooka Momiji on the other end of the phone, looking at her nails painted with red maple leaves.
Iori didn't respond, then plugged her phone into her earphones, secretly put it in her breast pocket, pulled her hat down low, left the airport, and took a taxi to the vicinity of the Mouri Detective Agency.
He was very lucky; when he arrived, Heiji Hattori had just come out of the Mouri Detective Agency. He was talking and laughing with the kid named Conan Edogawa as they went downstairs to the coffee shop on the first floor, seemingly planning to stay there for a long time.
Poirot Cafe, if I remember correctly, that person was here too?
I wonder if he's still lurking here...
"Iori, go in and see what they're talking about." Ooka Momiji's voice came through the earpiece. "I remember Heiji and that kid are very close, and that Edogawa Conan is very smart. Heiji tells him a lot of things he wouldn't normally tell anyone else."
Iori Muga responded, pulled her hat down even lower, and pushed open the door to go inside.
He tried his best not to attract anyone's attention. When he pushed the door open, he didn't make a sound, not even the doorbell.
Heiji Hattori and Conan Edogawa, who were sitting near the door, didn't notice him at all, but the blonde waitress inside, wearing a Poirot Cafe apron, immediately turned around and looked over.
The two stared at each other for two seconds, then tacitly looked away.
The blond, dark-skinned waiter didn't even say welcome or come over to ask what he wanted to order. Instead, he pretended to be too busy to deal with him for the moment and carried the plate to Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan's table.
Iori silently thanked her former colleague for being reliable.
He sat down at the table next to Heiji Hattori and Conan Edogawa, adjusted his posture and pretended to play on his phone, but actually observed the three people next to him without leaving a trace.
The main subject of observation was, of course, Hattori Heiji, whom the young lady had instructed to keep an eye on. However, while they were discussing whether confessing on Friday the 13th would be a bit unlucky, Iori Mujou diverted some of her attention to the blond youth who was smiling, bending down, and talking to the two boys.
Amuro Tooru, Bourbon, Fangtani Rei.
He hadn't paid attention to this person for a long time, and seeing him again suddenly evoked a complex and indescribable feeling.
But before Iori Muga resigned from the Public Security Bureau's [ZERO], Furuya Rei's presence was so overwhelming to everyone in the Zero Group that no one could catch up with him and could only look up to him.
However, Iori Muga is a little special. Because of his position, he knows most of what happened to the other party during his undercover work. He even knows that his police academy classmate, Kazami Yuya, has become Furuya Rei's subordinate. Therefore, his feelings towards Furuya Rei are particularly complicated.
Rei Furuya was a remarkable person from the time he entered the police academy. After joining the Zero Group, he became even more outstanding. He later infiltrated the organization and almost became its second-in-command. It is truly amazing and admirable.
However, only a few people know how much pain and hardship was mixed in with these honors.
Iori Muga was originally in a support role and probably wouldn't even meet Furuya Rei directly; only the pseudonym "Sakakibara" would be known to Furuya Rei.
But by a twist of fate, before Iori Muga resigned from the Public Security Bureau, they met once...
In short, although he still seems to care about what happened before, he seems to be in a good state now, which is good.
Iori Muga is definitely a professional. Even when she was distracted by Amuro Tooru and thought for a few seconds, she was also listening to and analyzing what Hattori Heiji was saying. She subtly adjusted the height and angle of her phone so that Momiji, the young lady on the other end of the video call, could clearly see Hattori Heiji's face.
But during this time, the black-haired child who had been listening helplessly to Amuro Tooru scaring Hattori Heiji with a deadpan expression suddenly turned his head and looked over.
Iori Muga reacted quickly as well. Almost simultaneously, he instantly adjusted his phone back to a normal angle and shifted his gaze downwards to focus on his phone.
Even so, he could still see in the clever reflection of the phone that the child named Conan Edogawa stared at him with wide eyes, his blue eyes filled with shock and vigilance, staring at him without blinking, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Iori Muga: "..."
Iori Muga: "?"
What happened? Were we discovered?
That shouldn't be such a big reaction, right?
What went wrong?
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