Chapter 48 (Chapter 47): Your Guardian is Online
Architecture is frozen music.
---Gothic
Kenji Hagiwara stood at the church entrance, looking up at the soaring pointed arches atop the marble building. The heavy stone spires and flying buttresses, when illuminated by the sunlight, gave off a light and slender sense of flight.
He found the perfect angle, pointed the camera at the medieval-style orphan in front of him, and snapped a picture. Matsuda Jinpei's silhouette, tilting his head to the side, was perfectly framed in the third of the photo, creating a harmonious and beautiful image.
"Wow, so handsome." The man with medium-length hair looked down at the photo, secretly admiring his own superb photography skills.
Unlike the Mori group, who rested at the hotel for a day because Zhuge Tongzhi was sick, Hagiwara Kenji, after finishing a request from a public security chief, dragged Matsuda Jinpei along to explore the famous sights of Osaka on a free trip.
The gorilla's incredible stamina, combined with a meticulous travel plan, ultimately resulted in the diverse range of photos that Kenji Hagiwara showed to everyone—so they had basically explored most of Osaka.
According to Kenji Hagiwara's original schedule, today, as the last day in Osaka, was supposed to be a magical journey filled with both childlike fun and thrills, with a goal of visiting Universal Studios.
But after the two officers leisurely returned from their late-night snack last night, they came across a large number of travel blogs on the forum featuring huge crowds of people. After a moment of silence, the two officers wisely decided to cross this item off their itinerary.
So, the two independent travelers, who had no specific destination in mind, randomly joined a day trip group in Osaka and, led by Heiji Hattori, arrived at this retro-style Gothic church.
Kazuha Toyama, also from Osaka, didn't quite understand why she would bring someone to this little-known church, but Heiji Hattori quickly explained it back, so she didn't pay much attention to it.
High school students strolled around under the towering dome, while Zhuge Tongzhi quickly glanced at the stained glass windows inside the church before running over to the council members and leaning over the information desk to inquire about the rose window.
"Hey, Uncle, it's this kind of super pretty round rose window." The girl leaning on the counter showed the bespectacled uncle who was looking down at her the screen on her phone, which displayed various pictures of rose windows collected by Noah's Ark.
"These rose windows are only found in large churches. Our small church only has those other types of stained glass windows," the bespectacled man said, pointing to the walls of the corridor on either side of the rows of pews in the church, where stained glass windows depicting religious scenes were inlaid.
"Uncle, do you know where the most famous large rose window in Japan is?" Zhuge Tongzhi turned his gaze away from the colorful halos projected on the ground and gestured with his hands as he said, "Or rather, the kind of magnificent and large rose window that is installed on the archway."
“If you’re just talking about rose windows, you can visit these places.” The bespectacled man, who works in this field, pondered for a moment, then pulled over a piece of white paper and wrote down a few addresses on it. “But most of them are arched rose windows; round rose windows are generally found in Europe.”
As he handed the paper to the little girl, he patiently answered her questions: "And I think, based on your description, you should perhaps go see the rose window inside Notre Dame Cathedral."
"That is the oldest and best-preserved stained glass artwork, and also the most famous and widely known rose window in the world."
"Only art that uses color to its fullest extent can create a sense of awe that lingers in one's memory."
Zhuge Tongzhi waved goodbye to the bespectacled man, then looked down at the church addresses on the slip of paper in his hand. Noah's Ark in his earphones was broadcasting the specific addresses and rose window dimensions of each church one by one.
This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Listening to the unrelated data, she folded the paper in frustration, put it in her pocket, and shook her head at Conan to indicate she hadn't found anything.
Are we going to Paris, France? The non-native silently counted the documents he had taken stock of, thinking: Come to think of it, do I have a passport?
"Don't rush, maybe the rose window isn't the answer." After listening to Zhuge Tongzhi's somewhat dejected summary, Conan pushed up his glasses and calmly thought, "Just like that uncle said, the shock that art brings to people is also a profound memory."
"Did you see anything else at that time?" he tried to guide his friend to recall more things. "Before you saw the rose window, did you remember anything?"
Zhuge Tongzhi thought for a moment, omitting the entanglement between ale and Scotland and bourbon in his memory, and said to Conan, "I heard a woman call me 'Tong'. She told me to go build a snowman, and then told me to hurry up."
"But I can't remember who she is." The girl with short, frizzy hair rubbed her hair in frustration and complained, "I don't know if it counts, but my immediate feeling was that I was going to be cooked."
No, it's probably because you had a high fever at the time. Conan is also a bit troubled by his friends' memories, which are as fragmented as cookie crumbs, but just like the advice Al gave him, he must learn to endure in the face of darkness.
"It's alright, Hattori has already gotten the shop owner's contact information." He immediately clenched his two small fists with renewed vigor, his bright blue eyes blazing with a determined spirit, and said to Zhuge Tongzhi, "Let's buy alcohol in Uncle's name and conduct more experiments. We'll definitely find the right direction!"
Should we conduct more experiments? In an instant, Zhuge Tongzhi thought of the extreme pain of his body growing larger and smaller. Remembering the damage that would cause, his body instinctively shuddered, and a sense of resistance quickly overwhelmed him.
She really didn't want to go through this again, but the child in front of her had an urgent need to turn back into Shinichi Kudo.
Zhuge Tongzhi looked at Conan, who was full of energy and had already started discussing buying alcohol with Hattori Heiji, with complicated feelings. He thought of how this man had taken growth-enlarging drugs several times in order to go on dates and confess his love, and was willing to endure the pain of shrinking his bones to keep the appointment.
Is this what it feels like to be waited for?
The girl with short black hair looked up at the solemn church. The mysterious and sorrowful atmosphere of the medieval somber mood was fused into the sublime feeling brought about by the dome covering her head. She stood on the central axis of the church, and the magnificent halo of light shining through the stained glass windows spread out from her side all the way forward.
"Kiri-chan, want to take a picture?" Since loud noises were not allowed in the church, Kenji Hagiwara took a few long strides and walked over to the girl, asking in a low voice with a smile.
"Okay, okay, can I take a picture with Officer Matsuda?" The girl, who had become less shy in their interactions, made her own customized request and turned to follow Kenji Hagiwara out of the church.
"Hey, Kiri-chan doesn't want to take a picture with Kenji-chan? Kenji-chan is going to be sad!"
"Isn't Yanshen a photographer? As we all know, the photographer is something else entirely, outside of the photograph itself."
"How cunning you are, Zhuge!"
The two walked out of the church chatting and laughing. After adjusting the scale of the photo in his hand, Kenji Hagiwara told Tongzhi Zhuge to wait there while he went to find Jinpei Matsuda, and then walked into the crowd coming and going at the church.
With his towering height, he quickly found Matsuda Jinpei standing next to a sculpture. After walking over and putting his arm around his childhood friend's neck, he noticed the golden head in front of him.
"Yo, Furuya-kun." Kenji Hagiwara blinked his deep purple, droopy eyes at Rei Furuya, whose expression was inexplicably sour. He looked down at his childhood friend's face and chuckled, "What's wrong? Did you two have a fight?"
"This guy has been following Boss Jing all this way." Matsuda Jinpei crossed his arms and said to Furuya Rei in an unfriendly tone, "I'm telling you, the Public Security Bureau's mission was over a long time ago. You're violating the privacy of residents."
Kenji Hagiwara reluctantly raised his hand amidst the rather aggressive tone. He had also noticed the two silent followers, but his reaction was not as intense as Jinpei Matsuda's.
After all, Jinpei Matsuda had always disapproved of the gray-area law enforcement practices of the public security department. Kenji Hagiwara tried to ease the tension, but Rei Furuya was clearly no pushover either, crossing his arms and glancing sideways at Jinpei Matsuda.
"That means you don't know enough about the police, Curly." The blond, dark-skinned man, wearing a baseball cap, raised his chin, casting shadows over his purplish-gray eyes, adding a touch of sarcasm.
"Are you referring to your illegal behavior, blondie?" Matsuda Jinpei's brow twitched. He took a step forward but was stopped by Hagiwara Kenji. The half-long-haired man, unable to get a word in edgewise, sighed and tidied up the conversation that had escalated too much.
“Kuroya, we don’t understand why you’re so wary of that girl,” Kenji Hagiwara said in a low voice. He clearly knew what his four colleagues had been talking about by his bedside, and now he said meaningfully, “She’s a well-behaved and sensible child, and she’s sick.”
Sensing that his colleague wanted more information, Furuya Rei shook his head and refused, saying, "I'm sorry, Hagiwara, only members of the Zero Action Group can know this."
Matsuda Jinpei snorted coldly from the side.
“But you involved us in this operation, didn’t you?” Kenji Hagiwara was not convinced by this cold rejection.
He opened his empty palm, using gestures to imply his honesty, and without hesitation used his emotional appeal, pressing the other person further: "Xiao Zhenping and I came here as soon as we received the request."
"Hagiwara, we're not on guard against her."
A gentle voice joined the conversation. Morofushi Kagemitsu, his baseball cap pulled low, walked over to Furuya Rei, placed a hand on the blond man's shoulder, and looked up at his two contemporaries: "I admit, Morofushi Tōshi will be our partner."
“But her condition is very unstable for some reasons I don’t understand.” Morofushi Kagemitsu reached out and tapped the side of his head, then said to Hagiwara Kenji, who looked thoughtful, “This is indeed surveillance, but it can also be a form of protection.”
"Hiro, you're starting to look like a policeman now." Matsuda Jinpei remarked sharply, having confirmed that he couldn't extract any more information from him. He then dropped the subject and said simply, "Hagi and I are here, so you don't need to worry at all."
"Kijinpei is right, gentlemen, there's no need to be so nervous." Hagiwara Kenji joked with a smile, then handed his phone to Furuya Rei and said, "Kiri-chan wants to take a picture with us, so please ask this kind passerby for help."
After saying that, without giving Furuya Rei a chance to refuse, he followed Matsuda Jinpei, who had turned and left, and waved to the girl sitting on the steps by the door looking at the sky. Zhuge Tongzhi also raised his hand in response.
"It would be really scary if I took the picture." Furuya Rei muttered helplessly as his childhood friend, who was standing in the shadow of the statue, nudged his shoulder while holding his phone. He could only take a few more steps.
"Okay, okay, she probably knows someone is following her now."
After all, she had changed her clothes after turning back into a child, and the tracker that was originally stuck to the collar of her sportswear was still properly placed on Zhuge Tongzhi.
Furuya Rei casually switched the photo mode to professional mode, adjusted the parameters, and then went out to take photos of the three people who had already started looking for a place to stand.
Seeing Furuya Rei raise his phone at him, Zhuge Tongzhi, who indeed knew from Noah's Ark that someone was behind him, remained calm and naturally stood between the two police officers, tightly gripping the hands of Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei.
The short-haired girl raised her head, looked at the police chief who had pinned her to the ground in just a few moves, and gave him a sweet, obedient smile.
Please, I've given you Ireland.
If you arrest him, you can't arrest me.
"eggplant---"
As Kenji Hagiwara's cheerful voice rang out, Jinpei Matsuda's lips curled slightly as he placed a hand on the girl's head. Zhuge Tongzhi couldn't help but grin, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons.
The two of them, along with Kenji Hagiwara who winked at the camera, were captured in that bright and sunny photo with the click of a phone.
Rei Furuya handed the phone back to Kenji Hagiwara, glanced at Kirito, who was hiding behind Jinpei Matsuda's legs, adjusted his baseball cap, and walked towards the church exit.
Zhuge Tongzhi watched his figure disappear into the crowd and leave with a green dot marked with the name of Morofushi Kagemitsu before he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Before she knew she was El, she felt no guilt at all when she went to the Poirot Café to watch the play. She thought bitterly, now she didn't even dare to get close to Amuro Tooru.
"What are you afraid of? He won't arrest you for no reason." Matsuda Jinpei patted Zhuge Tongzhi on the back and said lazily, "Just have a clear conscience and do your best."
Hmm... but it seems like I was the one who reported Scotland, even though it was to save someone. Zhuge Tongzhi fiddled with his fingers, then turned to look at Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji.
These two must have heard what Furuya Rei said about her, and they probably don't even know what their image looks like now.
Seeing Furuya Rei suddenly reminded him of this incident. Zhuge Tongzhi then thought about his confirmed criminal identity and suddenly felt a little broken.
"Let's exchange contact information, Kiri-chan. I'll send you the photos." Kenji Hagiwara squatted down to show off Bourbon's excellent photography skills, then deliberately lowered his voice and whispered, "If anyone bullies you, you can message me."
"Ah, okay." Zhuge Tongzhi handed over the phone, watched as Hagiwara Kenji's fingers deftly pressed a few buttons, and when he took it back, he had a phone that had added Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji as friends.
"Target detected. Emergency contacts have been added for you: Kenji Hagiwara, Jinpei Matsuda"
A blue and white navigation box popped up simultaneously, flashed in the air for a moment, and then turned back into a real-time record of the daily route.
The newly released phone chimed, and a group photo of the three of them appeared in the previously blank chat box. Zhuge Tongzhi quickly clicked to save it.
"Contact me if anything comes up." Matsuda Jinpei waved his phone screen and said, "Hagi and I have to catch our train."
"Well, goodbye, Officer Matsuda and Officer Hagiwara." Zhuge Tongzhi said, holding his phone, with a hint of reluctance.
"Ugh—I really don't want to go to work." Kenji Hagiwara complained a couple of times, then said goodbye to the high school students who were also planning to leave the church for the next stop. He and Jinpei Matsuda broke away from the group at the church entrance and headed to the station.
"No need to be so reluctant to part," Conan said, hands in his pockets, standing next to his friend whose eyes were already peeking out. "You guys saw each other three or four times last week, right?"
"Oh, right." Zhuge Tongzhi instantly withdrew her emotions of emotion and reluctance. Given the frequency with which Conan was involved in cases, the probability of her meeting the eight eggs was the same as the probability of meeting the two bomb disposal officers.
Thinking this, she turned to look at Conan with less disdain.
"Edogawa, from this perspective, I'm still happy to call you Conan." She patted Conan's shoulder with satisfaction, ignoring the boy's unspoken gaze.
"Let's go, everyone. Before we leave, I'll take you to see a nice place." A clear male voice with a Kansai accent rang in his ears, and Zhuge Tongzhi was led outside by Mouri Ran.
After visiting several nearby attractions and sampling Osaka's local delicacies, the group met up with Kogoro Mouri at the station and boarded the train bound for Beika Town.
After three busy days together, Conan waved his phone to Heiji Hattori and, urged by Ran Mouri, jumped onto the Shinkansen.
Thus, my spectacular trip to Osaka came to an end.
…
At dusk, next to Teitan Elementary School in Beika Town.
Having arranged to meet Conan at Professor Agasa's house after dinner, Zhuge Tongzhi waved goodbye to the Mori family who had escorted her back to the entrance of her apartment complex and stepped into the building.
"Then let's make a call during dinner." Zhuge Tongzhi looked down at his phone and chat history with Conan, estimated the time he would need to prepare dinner, and then discussed meeting Hiroki with Noah's Ark through his earpiece.
“When the time comes, I…” She inserted the key into the keyhole, talking to Noah’s Ark as she turned the lock and pushed the door open. Her relaxed voice stopped abruptly when she saw the bright light inside.
The girl instinctively put the phone to her ear and said, "...I...I'll bring the materials to you tomorrow to finish my craft project, bye Conan."
Zhuge Tongzhi pressed the hang-up button, put down his phone, and Noah's Ark automatically changed the chat page on the screen to the page indicating the end of the call.
The reliable artificial intelligence sensed something was wrong and immediately canceled tonight's meeting with Conan via the chat software.
"Xiaoguang, why are you back?" Zhuge Tongzhi stood at the door, looking at Zhufu Jingguang chopping vegetables in the open kitchen of the apartment, and asked with forced composure, "Is the research activity over?"
Shouldn't you be busy interrogating Ireland?
If you catch the codenamed member, you'd better take him seriously!
Isn't such a big gift enough to distract you?
Morofushi Kagemitsu watched the girl with the backpack dawdling as she changed her shoes at the door. With a gentle smile on his face, disguised as Midorikawa Hikaru, he said, "Well, the place we were researching was too remote and there was no signal. I only received Mr. Mori's text message after I came out."
Are we going to settle scores with her? Judging from her previous demeanor, I don't think so.
Is that just routine concern, perhaps leaving a few rice balls as before, and then going to interrogate Ireland?
Zhuge Tongzhi slowly changed his shoes, put his schoolbag on the sofa, reached into his pocket and touched the big lucky card, silently praying: Please, I can do without rice balls, but please let it be the latter.
“I heard from Ms. Mori that you had a cold for the past week, and when you were in Osaka, you even had a high fever and fell into a coma. You were taken to the hospital and slept for a whole day before waking up.” Morofushi Kagemitsu said with a sigh, his hands moving quickly as he chopped vegetables, the crisp chopping sound echoing throughout the apartment.
Zhuge Tongzhi's heart pounded with each click, and he swallowed hard. Then he heard Zhu Fujingguang say with a worried voice, "What should we do? I told you to be careful and take care of yourself last time, but now you're sick again."
"You're making me so worried." The girl with her short hair sticking up involuntarily sat on the sofa. Upon hearing this, she gave an embarrassed smile, and her slightly hunched back straightened immediately.
“I just finished my research at the University of Tokyo and then went on vacation.” He smiled at the girl, his cleaver scraping the cutting board as he deftly scooped up the fruits and vegetables, making a loud scraping sound. The young man, who looked like a college student, said gently, “I will take care of you here during this time.”
Zhuge Tongzhi's heart skipped a beat.
"Let's go to the hospital for a check-up on your arm tomorrow." Morofushi Kagemitsu calmly poured the vegetables into the pot and turned on the stove. "Then you can go and finish your craft project with your classmates. Remember to let me know before you go home, Kiri-chan."
"Dinner will be ready soon." Morifushi Kagemitsu smiled at the girl sitting upright on the sofa. "Wait a moment."
In the gentle and considerate voice, Zhuge Tongzhi, whose back was sweating even more, swallowed again and raised his hand, saying, "Xiao Guang, I... I'm going to put something away."
"Hmm, no rush." Hearing this, the short-haired girl grabbed her schoolbag and rushed into the bedroom as if her pants were on fire, leaving the door slightly ajar but not completely closed.
Zhuge Tongzhi turned on the computer, plugged in the USB drive, and gestured for Noah's Ark to quickly copy the video data out, pack it up, and throw it to the Investigation Division. At the same time, he painfully slammed the auspicious fortune slip on the table, raising his hand extremely high and then dropping it very lightly to pat the black and white words on the slip.
No, absolutely not!
Didn't we agree that my wishes would be fully fulfilled?
Even though I'm on holiday, there's still a curfew!
-----------------------
Author's Note: Morofu Kagemitsu: He's always causing trouble if I don't keep an eye on him.
Zhuge: QAQ
…
Thank you for watering!
Thanks for the landmine, hehehe, I'll definitely add another chapter!
Mwah
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