BONUS Chapter sponsored by the review of "dankoku". Thanks a lot!
Conan was staring at the notice in his hand, trying to decode Kaitou Kid's message. As usual, Kid had written a bunch of florid nonsense, cramming his crime time and location somewhere in the poetic rambling.
Conan had pulled an all-nighter trying to figure it out and still didn't understand a word of it. So today, he came to the scene hoping for a bolt of inspiration.
Just then, he heard Sonoko Suzuki greet Jiangxia Tongzhi. He froze mid-thought, still holding the notice.
A second later, Conan quietly took out the soundproof earplugs he'd just bought and stuffed them into his ears—he bet 1,200 yen that the first thing out of Jiangxia 's mouth would be something like: "I read the letter yesterday. I think Kidd will show up at XX at XX:XX."
But… Jiangxia didn't say a thing.
He simply nodded to Ran Mouri and Sonoko, greeted them politely, walked over to Conan, patted him on the shoulder like a solemn old cadre, and then plopped down silently on the hospitality sofa in the corner.
Conan: "...?"
Welp, lost that bet.
Accepting defeat gracefully, he mentally wrote it off—there was a new volume out today in the "Supporting Detective Characters" manga series, so he'd use the 1,200 yen for that instead.
Bet settled, he happily took off his earplugs and ran over to Jiangxia . Looking at his aloof and tired expression, Conan felt hopeful—surely Jiangxia didn't crack the code either!
…For once, Conan felt like they were finally on equal footing. His competitive spirit ignited.
Remembering how Jiangxia had patted his shoulder just now, Conan returned the gesture, giving Jiangxia's armrest-perched forearm a friendly slap. With a determined grin, he said, "Don't get discouraged. Let's see who solves this riddle first."
"Riddle?" Jiangxia turned and glanced at the note in Conan's hand.
It was a copy of Kid's notice—the original had been shredded in rage by Sonoko's dad, so they'd printed out extras.
Sonoko had handed one to Jiangxia too. He recalled the contents:
[April Fool. When the moon splits in half, I will come to visit the origin of the name of the jet black star at the calling of the waves.]
"Oh, that thing," Jiangxia said blandly.
"Yeah…" Conan replied, but something about his tone made Conan feel uneasy.
He instinctively reached for his earplugs again, but it was too late.
Jiangxia sighed. "Kid's probably saying he'll show up on the roof of the Hotel sometime after midnight, but no later than 4:30 a.m."
Conan, who had just flattened the earplugs but hadn't yet inserted them: "…"
…Could you maybe slow down next time?!
Jiangxia had clearly seen the earplugs.
So when Conan came over to ask about Kid, he deliberately gave away the answer—to save Conan the trouble of wasting his brainpower on side quests, and get him back to doing what a good "Conan" should be doing.
Conan dejectedly shoved the useless earplugs back into their case and reflected on his tactical failure. Earplugs take too long to expand and block sound. By the time they kick in, Jiangxia's already dumped the solution.
Next time, soundproof earmuffs. Hang them around the neck, and slap them on the second Jiangxia opens his mouth.
Conan sighed. He looked again at the note that had robbed him of a night's sleep—it now felt like one of those riddles with the answer printed upside down at the bottom.
His brain, which had been working overtime all night, quickly reconstructed the logic now that he knew the solution.
He flopped onto the couch, eyes hollow, contemplating life. Then a question occurred to him: "Why didn't you tell the police?"
Jiangxia still looked bored. "Does it matter? The letter says 'April fool,' as in Happy April Fool's Day. In addition to saying the action is happening on April 1st, he's probably just messing with us. It's a common move—send out a fake notice to throw people off. Even if Kid shows up, it's likely just for show. He won't actually steal anything."
"April Fool's…" Conan repeated thoughtfully. According to the research he'd done yesterday, Kid was usually pretty punctual and serious about his heists.
If anyone else had said "Kid was joking," Conan would've assumed they were just naïve. But since it was Jiangxia…
Jiangxia went on: "So there's no need to make a big deal out of it. And if we're wrong, it's still fine—Kid always sends a second notice before the real heist anyway."
Conan: "…"
He wasn't sure why, but something about Jiangxia saying this made Kid—usually a majestic figure gliding across the night sky—seem kind of… pitiful. Like a worn-out office worker getting played like a tool person.
As someone who was also frequently persecuted by Jiangxia, Conan suddenly felt a strange kinship with Kid.
But to be fair, Jiangxia wasn't wrong. Kid had committed tons of thefts and never once left behind any solid evidence. Even if the police caught him at the exact time and place listed in the letter, as long as he played dumb, he could just claim to be a cosplay enthusiast role-playing as Kid on a hotel roof.
He hadn't stolen anything yet—so technically, they couldn't arrest him.
If the police took the bait, they'd mobilize a huge force and surround the building. But the Hotel roof was high up—Kid's domain. He could just whoosh away on his glider and hit up the Beika Museum to steal the Dark Star while everyone was distracted.
…Still, Conan was curious about someone who could write a riddle complex enough to stump him all night. He kind of wanted to meet the guy.
Jiangxia, sensing Conan's mood, thought for a moment. After a pause, he said quietly, "If you're that interested in Kid, you can go hang out on the roof during that time."
In short, please keep increasing contact. We need to load him up with some good old Detective Conan universe protagonist energy so Kid starts generating more murderous cases...
…
That said, before leaving, Jiangxia still reported everything to the police.
—Even if he wasn't interested in Kid right now, there would inevitably be murders orbiting around that man in the future. Having some history on the record would make it easier to join the investigation when that time came…
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 5/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:1/10*
Glossary:
Cadre – A stoic, overly serious person who acts like they're part of some official leadership even when they're not.
Tool person – Someone being used or manipulated without realizing it.