"Oh? Your application was approved?"
"Yes," Kazawa licked away half of the ice cream cone and pushed the documents in his hand to the center of the table. "I can go to Izu with you this time."
It was an application for a short-term leave from Tokyo.
Conan looked at the row of bright red seals on the document, read it carefully, and soon noticed something odd.
Aside from the target location "Izu City", the timeframe listed was very broad. Compared to the time Karasawa once applied to go to Kyoto for a single day and wasn't approved, this kind of leniency was clearly unusual.
He frowned, pointed at the word "Izu" on the form, and asked, "You applied to return home before and got rejected, but now you're allowed to travel—plus the time frame only says 'this month', without specifying start or end dates…"
"Because it's summer vacation," Kazawa shrugged. "Even juvenile delinquents are still students. It's reasonable for a student to want to travel during break, right?"
"Still…" Conan rubbed his chin, clearly suspicious.
"It's a good thing it got approved, isn't it…" Kazawa dragged the document back toward himself, pushed another ice cream over to Conan, and smiled. "Eat it before it melts."
No need to look too deeply into this. Yuya Kazami was already busy enough—he didn't have time to explain the full story behind this travel request. Please understand and have mercy.
Conan quietly picked up the spoon and scraped a scoop off the side. He glanced at the towering ice cream structure in front of Kazawa and shook his head—he was almost used to this man's absurd sweet tooth.
"Are you really planning to join that 'Izu Mysterious Tour' event?" Biting the silver dessert spoon, Conan asked through a mouthful of ice cream, "This might have something to do with the organization."
"Then shouldn't I go?" Kazawa scooped another bite of ice cream and bit the spoon. "I still have a lot of old scores to settle with them…"
Tracking the organization's trail through programmers was also one of Kazawa's current urgent goals.
Thanks to the butterfly effect caused by the distorted world, his parents' involvement had apparently made the organization's medical abilities stronger than before.
Aside from black-tech items like Drug A, the organization now had brainwashing technology whose principles were completely unknown.
According to what Kazawa and his wife left behind, in addition to drugs, the organization also had medical devices that helped enhance mental control…
So, when investigating software and electronics, the level of integration between the organization and cognitive science was extremely important.
If they really created something like the AI dream file's machine that could scan eyeballs and read memories directly—then every undercover agent would be at risk.
Conan seemed to misunderstand him slightly. His eyes filled with sympathy as he looked at Kazawa.
"Have you figured out how your parents died?" Conan asked, recalling what Kazawa had told him before.
Kazawa understood what Conan was thinking almost immediately. He sighed inwardly—Red Party members were truly Red Party members. Lowering his head so his bangs covered his eyes, he said, "I don't know. I don't even know where their bodies are. But after learning about the organization, I finally understand why they abandoned me for so many years."
Conan was clearly moved. He gently patted the back of Kazawa's hand, not sure what to say.
Phrases like "my condolences" or "they must be watching over you from heaven" felt empty and powerless in that moment.
"I'm fine." Kazawa looked up and smiled faintly. He took another spoonful of the soft ice cream. "These questions will get answered one day. It's just a fog for now. I won't give up so easily. You too, great detective—stay sharp and prepare for what's coming."
After confirming that Karasawa truly seemed to be doing better and wasn't just pretending, Conan shifted his focus back to the Izu trip.
Originally, the participants in the event included Dr. Agasa and some of his programmer friends, but Agasa had transferred his travel slots to the Mori family trio.
Kogoro Mouri had been lured in by the promise of a free vacation and quickly decided to bring Ran and Conan along.
"There are quite a few people signed up for the event, right?" Conan asked. "You weren't invited… is it okay for you to attend?"
"Well, it's just a casual event for people who signed up through a website, right? The main reason it attracted so many programmers is because the organizer offered a top-secret computer virus." Kazawa had it all planned out and said easily, "If I'm not officially a guest, I can still go to the hotel at my own expense and stay there. That's my own business."
Oh right—almost forgot. Even if Kazawa's life was full of tragic events, he was still loaded.
Conan quickly pulled his hand back from Kazawa's.
"Then… are you going with us?" Conan asked. "Uncle Mouri should be able to drive this time…"
"No need." Kazawa waved his hand. "I'll get there on my own. I don't want to trouble you guys."
"Huh? Are you planning to take the 'Dancing Girl' train?" Conan paused, recalling some classic tourist routes in Izu. "That's true… If you've never been to Izu, you should try it…"
That wasn't the reason at all. If he wasn't sightseeing, he had no need for trains.
First of all, Kazawa was no longer a lone wolf.
The Izu Mysterious Tour was where the case would occur, so there was no reason to leave two teammates at home doing nothing while he ran out to fight alone.
Since Kumail was heading to Izu, Goro Akechi and Akira Karasawa no longer needed to remain in Tokyo. Kazawa planned to pack up Hoshikawa Teru and Miyano Akemi and bring them along to avoid unexpected meetings or trouble.
And second…
Halfway through demolishing his ice cream tower, Kazawa peered through a donut perched atop the scoop and looked at the elementary school Grim Reaper sitting across from him.
If he didn't want to keep performing and switching identities mid-scene, better to not follow those three around.
Who knew if their car would break down and end up in a typical villa/castle/mansion murder case, forcing Kazawa to play both Tang Ze and Joker at once…
Forget it. Let the Phantom Thief boss have a breather for once.
"Anyway, let's meet at the Izu Princess Hotel. Whoever gets there first, send your room number," Kazawa said as he scooped up the donut and bit into it, chocolate shell cracking noisily. "We'll stay in touch. Relax, kid. These people don't have any strong ties to the organization. Treat it like a side quest or puzzle-solving mission. The summer beach is still worth enjoying, right?"
After all, those two unfortunate teammates who'd been under the organization's thumb since childhood probably didn't get many chances to go on vacation.
This was the perfect time to let them soak up some sun and take a swim.
Even underground organizations need team-building trips sometimes, right?