Conan’s Unscientific Detective Chapter 183

Chapter 182: A Firm Grip

“My dear phantom thief, you wouldn’t want someone to be killed by the Shadow Mage while I’m arresting you, would you?”

Fujino’s lips curled slightly, and he clenched his fist, showing it to Kaito Kuroba.

“…………”

Kaito Kuroba glanced at Fujino’s fist, which was as big as a sandbag, swallowed his saliva, and was speechless.

Well, this guy must be extorting him, right?

No, not ‘must be,’ this is definitely extortion!

Even though he could tell that Fujino was clearly extorting him, he still planned to pay 500, 000 yen.

There was nothing he could do. Although it felt like being ripped off, what the other party said made a lot of sense.

Every profession had its own code of conduct.

He had his own code as a magician.

It had to be said, Fujino, that cunning fox, had a firm grip on his psyche.

His purpose for coming this time was to comfort Murai Kazuma’s family.

If he wasn’t mistaken, then the woman named Tanaka Kikue should be Murai Kazuma’s daughter or granddaughter.

Of course, the so-called comfort was just encouragement and nothing more.

Hmm, he didn’t want to see anyone die at this gathering. He was definitely not giving in due to the other party’s… violence.

“I don’t have 500, 000 yen in cash right now…”

“No cash?”

Fujino frowned.

Well, 500, 000 yen wasn’t too much, but if converted to cash, it would require at least fifty 10, 000 yen bills.

Most people wouldn’t carry that much cash on them.

After a pause, Fujino continued to ask, “Do you have a bank card then?”

“Bank card?”

Kaito Kuroba was stunned. “I do have a bank card.”

“That’s good.”

Fujino pulled out a black mobile POS machine. “I support mobile payments here.”

Kaito Kuroba: “…………”

Good heavens, good heavens.

Do you carry a mobile POS machine with you?

No, where did you even pull out that mobile POS machine from?!

Watching Fujino pull out a mobile POS machine from who knows where, just like he would, Kaito Kuroba was speechless.

Aside from being speechless, he also pulled out a bank card from who knows where, swiped it on Fujino’s mobile POS machine, and entered his password.

As a phantom thief, his bank card was, of course, encrypted and not registered under his identity as high school detective Kaito Kuroba, so he didn’t believe that swiping his card would expose his identity.

Even if the other party traced it through the bank card information, it would only lead to an empty account at a Swiss bank.

[System balance received: 500, 000 yen]

A pleasant notification sound rang in Fujino’s ears.

The smile on Fujino’s face gradually softened. After putting away the mobile POS machine, he patted Kaito Kuroba’s shoulder: “Happy cooperation, customer.”

“Haha…”

The change in attitude was truly quick.

Kaito Kuroba asked Fujino, “So what information do you need me to provide?”

“You joined the group quite early, so I think you might know some things about the Shadow Mage.”

Fujino asked, “Did the Shadow Mage and the Escape King have any conflict before I joined the group?”

“Conflict?”

Kaito Kuroba pondered for a moment and replied, “As for conflict, they did indeed have a big argument over Murai Kazuma’s matter before. It was probably just before you entered this chatroom. The Shadow Mage suddenly said something like: ‘This great magician will die, and it’s all your fault.’ I can understand that. Ikasama Douji is Murai Kazuma. Half a year ago, we discussed escape magic, and then, possibly due to the expectations of the people in the chatroom, Mr. Murai held his last magic show shortly after.”

“Last magic show?”

“That’s right. In that escape magic show, Mr. Murai died due to an accident…”

At this, Kaito Kuroba suddenly frowned.

Clearly, as a magician, he also deeply regretted the death of that magician.

“Judging from the current situation, the culprit is very likely a magic enthusiast of Mr. Murai. After learning that Mr. Murai died because the people in this chatroom requested him to perform magic again, he is retaliating against everyone in the chatroom to avenge Mr. Murai.”

Based on the evidence currently at hand, Fujino disregarded any spoilers and gave his current deduction.

“Knock knock!”

At this moment, there was a knock on the door: “Mr. Doi, we have prepared dinner.”

“I know!”

Kaito Kuroba reverted to Doi Takashige’s voice and responded.

“Alright, let’s go eat.”

Fujino turned around and pushed open the door.

“Do you still have an appetite?”

Kaito Kuroba stood up from the bed he was sitting on. “There’s still a murderer lurking in the shadows, trying to take our lives.”

“Man is iron, food is steel.”

Fujino waved his hand indifferently. “In this situation where the enemy is clear and we are hidden, we can’t take the initiative. We can only wait for the Shadow Mage to expose himself. With you, the versatile phantom thief, and me, the dark detective, the Shadow Mage will be exposed with the slightest movement.”

“That’s true…”

Kaito Kuroba recalled the scene that night when Fujino, holding a wooden sword, leaped two or three meters, chasing and slashing at the spider, and couldn’t help but nod.

It was laughable. Who would be so blind as to make a move in front of this guy?

Time came to the afternoon.

Since it was winter, with short days and long nights, it was already getting dark before six o’clock.

Everyone gathered at the dining table, except for Conan.

Because Fujino had fed Conan two magical cold medicines beforehand, he was now sleeping like a dead dog under the effects of the medicine.

At the dining table, the members of the magic chatroom began discussing their favorite Japanese magicians.

“As for magicians, Kaito Kuroba, perhaps.”

Fujino casually mentioned the magician he was most familiar with.

“I also like Kaito Kuroba.”

Arayoshi also said so.

Kaito Kuroba had ostensibly died eight years ago.

Although he had been dead for many years, as a representative of a magic era, he still had a large fan base of magic enthusiasts, especially people of Arayoshi’s age.

Kaito Kuroba looked at Fujino in surprise, not expecting Fujino to be a fan of his father.

After a pause, he echoed, “I feel the same way.”

“I admire Kinoshita Kichiro, who accumulated many titles by the age of twenty.”

Hamano Toshiya said so.

“Why do you all like dead magicians? I prefer the living Sanada Ichizo.”

Kuroda Naoko complained, then asked Ran and Sonoko, “Do you two have any favorite magicians?”

“As for my favorite magician…”

Sonoko paused, a maidenly blush appearing on her face. “That would definitely be Kaitou Kid!”

“But Kaitou Kid is a thief…”

“And it’s not even certain he’s Japanese.”

“I’ve crossed paths with him twice.”

At this, Fujino suddenly said, “I can confirm he’s Japanese. Although his disguise is very good, my intuition tells me…”

After a pause, Fujino continued, “And from the perspective of magic techniques, Kaitou Kid’s magic is indeed very impressive. As for whether he’s a magician… I don’t think only those who perform on a magic stage are magicians.”

With that, Fujino looked at Kaito Kuroba meaningfully and asked, “Isn’t that right, Mr. Doi?”

“Haha… I think so too. The stage for magic isn’t singular.”

Kaito Kuroba chuckled awkwardly.

…………

After dinner, after tidying up the dishes, everyone began discussing the arrangements for the after-party entertainment.

Originally, it should have been arranged by the organizer of this gathering, the Escape King.

But the Escape King was already dead and had not arrived.

The phone line had also mysteriously been cut.

So, under Hamano Toshiya’s leadership, everyone decided to use magic to make decisions.

Sonoko was blindfolded and marked cards with names on them, representing who would be the proxy host of the gathering.

Afterward, Hamano Toshiya performed a prediction magic trick.

Kuroda Naoko was the proxy host—he guessed correctly.

Tanaka Kikue was in charge of heating the bathwater—he also guessed correctly.

However, when guessing who would be in charge of the entertainment program, he guessed wrong.

He had originally guessed that Doi Takashige would be responsible for the entertainment program, but in reality, it was himself.

After making the decisions, everyone went to do their respective jobs.

Ran and Sonoko went to check on Conan, who was still sleeping with a cold. Hamano Toshiya went upstairs to prepare the program. Arayoshi planned to get some red wine from the wine cellar. The college student working part-time went to the kitchen to prepare snacks, and Tanaka Kikue went to the outbuilding to heat water.

“You must have noticed something about that magic trick earlier, right?”

Fujino slowly approached Kaito Kuroba and asked.

“Yes, a very simple magic trick.”

Kaito Kuroba nodded. “If I’m not mistaken, Tanaka Kikue, who performed that magic, must have been an accomplice. Before Hamano prepared the magic, Tanaka Kikue had already fixed the people assigned to those tasks on the cards.”

“Don’t you find it strange?”

Fujino suddenly asked.

“Strange?”

“If the people were fixed beforehand, then why would Hamano Toshiya say that you were in charge of the entertainment program?”

Kaito Kuroba was stunned upon hearing this and looked at Fujino in surprise: “Are you saying…”

“If I’m not mistaken, then the person who was originally supposed to prepare the entertainment program was you, but for some reason, it changed to him.”

After a pause, Fujino continued, “And the only person who could make such a change is Tanaka Kikue, the accomplice who made preparations beforehand. But why would she change the person who was originally fixed? Was there some necessary purpose for doing so?”

“Are you saying?!”

Kaito Kuroba swallowed his saliva: “Tanaka Kikue is the Shadow Mage?”

“We don’t know that yet.”

Fujino shook his head, then turned his gaze upstairs. “We’ll know if we go up and see.”

(End of chapter)