"I really didn't expect the situation in the Tozawa family to be quite complicated." Suzuki Sonoko finished her dinner and leisurely commented on the touching scene of the Tozawa family crying and hugging. "But this isn't bad. Brother Yuzo is just a painter, so leaving the company affairs to his second brother seems like a good choice, doesn't it?"
"Sister Sonoko, stop talking about her." Conan glanced at her coldly. "Sister Ayako chose to marry into the Tozawa family. Your family only has you and her, two daughters. Doesn't that mean the company will be handed over to you in the future?"
Suzuki Sonoko was stunned for a moment. She thought about it briefly, then quickly waved her hand indifferently. "Then just hand the company over to the manager. My father only has two daughters, but the Suzuki family has plenty of relatives. They also work in the group and are all reliable. It's no different."
Kazawa, who had just finished typing an email and clicked send, glanced at her silently.
Relatives... does she mean Suzuki Jirokichi?
The type of "reliable" relative who owns shares, does no managing, flies around the world chasing after Kidd, and shouts about it on front pages every other day?
Shaking his head, Kazawa was just about to put away his phone—which had warmed from being held so long—when another email arrived.
"You're in Izu? Near us, right? Tetsuji Tozawa?"
This kid... he's eating, watching a drama, chatting, and still finds time to send emails? Multi-tasking skills on point.
Kazawa stared at Conan's round head for a while, then began composing a reply. He carefully confirmed the email account he was using before sending.
He wouldn't make the rookie mistake of logging into the wrong account, but in moments like these, juggling multiple group chats, he couldn't help triple-checking. The amount of time spent switching accounts was giving him hand cramps.
[Hehe~ Looks like you're still trying to figure out some patterns, little detective.]
Seeing his screen light up, Conan instinctively glanced around.
On one side was Xiaolan, and the other side was Kazawa. Xiaolan was still immersed in the touching family drama. Kazawa had his head down on his phone, and no one seemed to notice.
He discreetly held his phone under the table and opened the email.
[Whether you were following Kazawa or me, you've been near the hotel these past few days, right?
Do you have any clue about Jiang Yuanshinan's whereabouts?]
Clue? It's more than a clue...
Kazawa resisted the urge to type, "I'm handing him over to the organization."
The plot was clearly veering toward movie-level drama. Before things fully kicked off, Kazawa figured it was smart to give Conan some intel to prep with.
When it came to the organization's scientific capabilities, Kazawa had no intention of holding back. He wanted all the facts.
[He's already been taken by the organization.
Right now, he's likely locked in some underground facility, forced to code in front of a computer with a gun pointed at his head.
Or, maybe not a gun… Maybe they're drugging him.
Doesn't matter. Details aren't important.]
Is this guy gossiping or answering a question?
Conan's mouth twitched as he read.
Joker, the self-proclaimed slayer of evil, basically judged people on personal bias. Might as well give up trying to understand this guy's mindset…
How do you describe it like you watched it happen?
[It's not that I "think" he joined the organization. I literally saw it happen. Not with my own eyes, but close enough.]
At Kazawa's request, Vodka had reluctantly sent two photos of Jiang Yuanshinan after his capture—"customer satisfaction proof," so to speak.
Kazawa had been quite satisfied seeing the man suffer in front of a computer, his face a twisted mix of fear and misery.
[You could say he's not exactly innocent.
He idolized the 'Dark Night Baron'... but that virus was developed by the organization.
Now he's chasing his dreams—for real.
He's a guy who's always lived in the gray zone, broken the law, hurt people. The law can't punish him. I'm not interested in hearing him cry for forgiveness.
Let him rot in the organization's shadows and pay for what he's done.]
Conan stared blankly at the screen.
...This was true.
Though the tone once again veered into melodrama. Was Joker hiding in some dark corner, reading manga and writing scripts?
That last bit though...
[Because he lost the right to regret, he just let him fall into hell... Tsk.]
Still, Conan picked up on something from Joker's message.
[I'm not going to comment on your views—just that I don't fully agree.
But your 'method' only gets someone to repent, right? It doesn't make them pay?]
Not entirely true...
The Phantom Thief of Hearts could either reform someone's conscience or completely wipe them out, turning them into corpses leaking black sludge.
There was no middle ground.
If death were enough punishment, there'd be no need for Kazawa to stop Sayama Akiko from killing people.
Kazawa had acted on instinct—he didn't want to see a promising young woman destroyed by one terrible man, or watch Ran Mouri's heart break if her idol fell from grace. But that didn't mean he'd spare the trash either.
He weighed everything... then chose what felt right.
[Is that your initial evaluation of me?
I won't grade your answer yet. Please submit your final essay when it's complete.]
After sending his last reply, Kazawa exited the mailbox and looked at Conan, still glued to his phone.
They were sitting not even 30 centimeters apart—and emailing each other like this...
Tsk. Weird. Also oddly familiar.
"Um, sorry, I'm heading upstairs," Kazawa said softly, careful not to disturb the still-sniffling Tozawa father and sons.
"You're going back to your room right after dinner?" Suzuki Sonoko looked surprised. Her carefully chosen swimsuit might go to waste. "I was thinking of going to the beach. The night view's great. Perfect for a summer night stroll..."
"No thanks. I've been having too much fun. Haven't done any holiday homework yet." Kazawa smiled, rejecting her invitation as he pushed back his chair slowly to avoid noise.
A total lie. Poor Hoshikawa Teru had been doing his homework for days.
At this point, Kazawa didn't even have to worry about handwriting inconsistencies—it was all in Hoshikawa's writing anyway.
"Is that so... Alright..." Sonoko reluctantly let go and watched Kazawa tiptoe away.
"Sigh... I wore this flattering swimsuit for nothing. Kazawa didn't even see it. And the only males around are children." Sonoko tugged at her cover-up and pouted, giving Conan a side-eye. "I didn't put this on to impress a brat."
You think I want to see it? Conan didn't speak, but the look on his face said it all.
"Sonoko, you're wasting your effort," Mao Lilan shook her head. After all this time, she had a decent read on Kazawa. "He doesn't seem like the type who cares about that sort of thing. Have you ever seen him stare at a girl's body?"
"What?" Sonoko thought back and looked shocked. "You're right... Oh god, is he really a high school boy? Don't they usually act like Shinichi—awkward, easily flustered, and obsessed with proving they're hot commodities?"
Conan's eyes widened, jaw nearly unhinged.
What the hell! Who said that about me?!
Mao Lilan just chuckled and shrugged. "Kazawa is... um, more mature and rational, right?"
Elsewhere, the mature and rational Kazawa was squatting on the ground, clutching his head in despair.
"I was wrong, I was wrong!" Kazawa hugged his head and squeezed his eyes shut, shouting, "Stop it, Sister! I was wrong!"