[You mean, he's connected to the organization?]
[Not necessarily, but I think he's closely tied to the robbery. Since he came specifically for the "Night Baron" virus, there must be some connection.]
After reading the email, Kazawa made an "OK" gesture toward Miyano Akemi and turned his attention back to the other participants.
The investor Kaneshiro Genichirō, who pretended to be blind, and the elegant Kamijou Hideko, who was Ehara Tokio's ex-wife though hard to tell at first glance, were now both present, exchanging probing remarks laced with ill intentions.
Whether the others noticed or just didn't care, the hall's focus stayed on them, and it didn't disrupt the rest of the crowd's mingling.
Their conversation had already sparked whispers, and some guests seemed ready to step forward and engage them.
"…What are you all talking about, the baron? What's that supposed to be?" Mouri Kogoro suddenly interrupted, utterly confused and without any context.
"Eh? You don't know?" Kamijou Hideko pushed her colored sunglasses down slightly and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Stop pretending," Jiang Yuan Shinan sneered, clearly not believing him.
"'Dark Night Baron' is the thief character who often appears in Shinichi's father's novels..." Ran Mouri whispered to her father from behind.
"This makes no sense…" Mouri Kogoro muttered, scratching his head. "Forget it, since the room is already paid for, let's go upstairs first."
Kazawa glanced toward Conan and saw him gesture subtly with his chin toward Kamijou Hideko, the woman with the big wavy hair.
Another person on the list—the president of this software company…
Kazawa curled his lips.
He really couldn't understand what the organization was thinking. They had money, so why not just start a shell company and openly recruit some programmers? What's the point of secrecy?
Programmers have no grudge against money. The client gives the specs, and they just write code. Why go to such lengths and keep a hidden list?
While both of them were still scanning the people in the lobby, Ehara Tokio had already staggered over to Ran Mouri, trying to grope her waist and hips with a perverted grin.
Kazawa, anticipating this, narrowed his eyes, bent down, grabbed a sand-covered slipper, and hurled it—smacking Ehara directly in the face.
"Argh! Damn it!" Jiang Yuan Shinan cursed, rubbing the sand from his face. He glared at Kazawa furiously. "What the hell is your problem?!"
Kazawa didn't hold back. The patterned sole of the anti-slip slipper left a clear mark across Jiang Yuan's face. He staggered in pain and drunkenly tried to charge at Kazawa.
Kazawa raised his fists calmly and dropped into a fighting stance.
The deceased had been a pure victim, and the fact that he'd gotten himself killed was entirely his own fault.
If it weren't for the organization's plot needing things to play out this way, Kazawa wouldn't have even intervened in this case.
Even if he did need to save him, Kazawa only planned to do it out of basic responsibility.
…Had the killer not thrown him from such a high place, he might've survived—maybe even ended up disabled for life. That wouldn't have been so bad.
So Kazawa wasn't going to miss a chance to beat up Brother Ni Tian.
"Mr. Kazawa!" Seeing a VIP guest about to brawl, the receptionist—who had been spectating the entire time—finally panicked and rushed to call security.
Bang!
A strong hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed Jiang Yuan Shinan's raised arm mid-swing.
"Ow—!" Jiang Yuan cried out. He was no match physically and screamed from the pain. "You bastard…!"
"Watch your mouth." The tall man behind him frowned, his grip unrelenting. "You were trying to harass that girl just now, weren't you? You deserved to get hit."
"What... what's it to you?" With Kazawa's shoeprint still clear on his face, Jiang Yuan's expression twisted in a funny way as he turned around.
"Ah, are you..." Ran Mouri lit up, ignoring the sleazy Jiang Yuan completely. "You're Maeda Satoshi! Right?!"
"Uh, yes..." Maeda Satoshi looked a little surprised at being recognized and let go of Ehara Tokio, who was struggling in his grip.
"Sis Ran, you know him?" Conan asked dryly. With Kazawa stepping in and now this stranger defusing the conflict, Conan didn't even get a chance to do anything.
"Of course!" Ran Mouri bounced excitedly. "He was the champion of the All-Japan Karate Championship six years ago! He's amazing! I started learning karate because I admired him!"
After realizing she was a bit too excited, she coughed awkwardly, steadied herself, and walked up to Maeda to bow politely. "Hello, senpai. I'm Ran Mouri, the winner of the last Tokyo Karate Tournament! It's such a pleasure to meet you here!"
She instinctively reached for something to ask for his autograph, but then remembered her belongings were still in the room—she only had her swim bag. She pursed her lips.
Well... it's okay. We're staying a few more days. There'll be other chances...
"Ah, are you also part of the 'Izu Mystery Tour'?" Ran finally asked.
"Yeah." A cold female voice interrupted. A short-haired woman in casual clothes stepped forward and stood between Maeda and Ran. "And who are you?"
"Akiko…" Maeda Satoshi scratched his head and awkwardly patted her shoulder. "This is my fiancée, Akiko Sayama."
"Wow! You're getting married, Mr. Maeda?" Ran's excitement didn't fade. She was even more cheerful now, which caught Sayama Akiko off guard. "Congratulations! Oh, and I heard you work at the Electronic Engineering Institute…"
Seeing the two karate champions, Jiang Yuan Shinan's knees began to shake. His drunken courage evaporated. Rubbing the red mark on his face, he quietly shuffled back a few steps.
Having missed his chance to land a punch, Kazawa let his hands drop in disappointment and walked over to Conan.
"This guy too...?" he asked under his breath.
"Yeah." Conan had his hands in his pockets, pouting as he watched Ran happily chatting with Maeda.
"There were supposed to be two doctors and a little girl on the list, weren't there?" Kamijou Hideko glanced around. Seeing two more newcomers, she mentally tallied the participants again, her gaze flicking past Ran and Kazawa. Neither looked like doctors.
"Dr. Agasa and his group had some last-minute issues and couldn't make it, so they asked us to come in their place." Ran fixed her hair awkwardly, feeling like they were freeloading. "My father just checked in. Dr. Agasa recommended him for the event. He said it'd be a good match. My father is a detective..."
"Detective..."
The moment she uttered that word, the previously relaxed atmosphere in the hall froze.
Kazawa, who was only looking around to find where his slipper had flown off to, took note of the reactions of everyone in the room.
Shock. Panic. Blank expressions. Clicking tongues in frustration.
Not a single person looked pleased.
Just one word—"detective"—and this many reactions?
Kazawa thought for a moment, then simply kicked off his other slipper.
It really felt like being back at the beach. The stares came in waves, and the soft carpet beneath his bare feet seemed ready to swallow him up like wet sand.
"Interesting," Kazawa muttered, hands in his pockets. "This is really interesting."
Originally, coming to Izu for an "organization mission" was just the excuse Amuro gave.
But now… maybe they really would uncover something.