-----
-----
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
The guard's face went pale as sweat poured down his back.
"This kid isn't talking nonsense."
Steven stepped forward, twirling his fake mustache with one hand as he addressed the crowd.
Hercule Poirot.
Seeing the familiar disguise, Conan immediately thought of a certain figure.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Edgar Christie, detective."
Steven smiled and gave a gentlemanly bow.
He'd deliberately asked Vermouth to help him disguise himself as the classic on-screen image of Hercule Poirot. The name he made up combined the surname of the Queen of Mystery and the name of Edgar Allan Poe.
Conan instantly realized he was lying, but didn't call him out.
"Just because you're a detective, you think you can say whatever you want?"
The guard snapped, glaring at Steven.
The reason he'd escaped unharmed when the shotgun shattered the window wasn't luck. It was because he was working with the robbers and had taken precautions.
A guilty conscience made him desperate.
"The little boy's reasoning makes perfect sense. Firing a shotgun from a blind spot means there's no way to guarantee the safety of the people inside."
"Yet you weren't hurt at all. That leaves only two possibilities. Either you were extremely lucky, or you were working with the robbers and prepared in advance."
"As for which one is the truth, you know it better than anyone."
Although Steven supported Conan's deduction, he had no intention of handing the guard over to the police, so he stopped short of revealing the full truth.
Megure caught the implication, but without concrete evidence, he couldn't order an arrest.
Just as the guard was about to argue again, a sharp voice rang out from behind the counter, drawing everyone's attention.
Watching drama unfold was human nature.
"Miss Hirota, where exactly did you run off to at such a critical moment earlier?"
The bank manager stood with his hands behind his back, his tone harsh.
Ten billion yen had been stolen right outside the bank. When the blame came down from above, he wouldn't be able to handle it alone. He needed a scapegoat, fast.
"I'm very sorry. My shift ended just then, so I went to have lunch."
Miyano Akemi lowered her head. With her gentle, fragile appearance, it was hard to associate her with armed robbers.
"Young people these days really don't think things through. Do you even know what time it is? Is your watch broken? The armored car was being robbed and you—"
Boom!
A flash of insight hit Conan like lightning. His eyes locked onto Miyano Akemi.
While waiting in line with Mouri earlier, he'd noticed her constantly checking her watch, looking anxious and restless…
So that's it.
Steven glanced at Conan, an unreadable smile tugging at his lips.
Finally figured it out, huh?
This time, he hadn't come to interfere with Conan's investigation. If anything, he was more than willing to lend a hand when necessary.
After all, in Steven's plan, Conan, the boy detective trusted so deeply by the police, was the perfect witness to Miyano Akemi's death.
"Inspector Megure…"
"What is it, Takagi?"
Megure Juzo turned around, staring eagerly at the officer who came running up.
"We've received a report. A vehicle that closely matches the getaway car has been found."
"What? Where?"
Megure's eyes lit up. He looked like he wanted to teleport there on the spot.
"It's on the riverbank by the Teimuzu River, near the iron bridge in TR County."
Takagi flipped open his notebook and reported calmly.
The short-legged Conan heard this and immediately tried to slip away. He barely made it around the corner before Steven grabbed him by the collar.
"What are you trying to do?"
"Edogawa Ranpo and Arthur Conan Doyle. Two mystery writers stitched together to make a fake name. It might fool everyone else, but not me, high school detective Kudo Shinichi."
Steven smiled faintly as he exposed Conan's true identity.
What?
Conan's pupils shrank, a wave of fear rushing through him.
Seeing that overreaction felt better to Steven than biting into an ice-cold watermelon in the middle of summer.
Brat. I didn't scare you to death, did I?
"You're one of the men in black—"
"My identity doesn't matter. What I'm curious about is whether you really deserve the title of great detective. The key to this robbery isn't the car. Keeping an eye on the guard might matter more. There's a good chance he'll be a corpse by tonight."
With that, Steven turned and walked away, leaving Conan frozen in place, completely stunned.
At the same time, elsewhere—
"Alright, I'll head over right now!"
"Detective Mouri, you should come too."
As Megure prepared to leave, he didn't forget to invite Kogoro Mouri along.
A performance-boosting NPC had to be present.
"No problem!"
"Ran, take Conan home first."
Full of energy, Kogoro gave his daughter a quick instruction before following Megure out.
"Conan, we're heading back!"
"Conan? Conan…?"
"Where did that kid run off to now?"
Ran looked around, hands on her hips, clearly annoyed when she couldn't find him.
"Beautiful lady, there's no need to worry. Little Conan is perfectly safe. He'll be heading home with Mr. Mouri later."
Steven stepped up to Ran, took her hand, and gently kissed the back of it.
"Mr. Edgar…"
Ran blinked in surprise, a faint blush spreading across her face.
The hand-kiss was a traditional gesture, invented by the Vikings and later popularized in Europe, usually meant to show respect toward a married woman.
Ran wasn't married, so technically, it wasn't appropriate.
But in Steven's eyes, she already belonged to someone.
"We'll meet again, miss."
With that, Steven turned away and left without another glance.
It's him!
Ran suddenly snapped out of it. That familiar voice confirmed his identity.
"I should call Dad and Inspector Megure…"
As her finger touched the phone, she hesitated.
Watching Steven's disappearing figure, she quietly put the phone away.
…
In the outskirts of Beika Town, inside an abandoned warehouse.
Steven stood on the rooftop, waiting for Miyano Akemi to arrive.
This time, the organization's order was simple: retrieve the one billion yen and silence her.
"I want the money. And I want the person too."
After a long moment, Steven made his final decision.
Originally, his plan had been to save Miyano Akemi, then take her and the stolen billion yen back to the organization.
But the more he thought about it, the worse the deal felt.
That was one billion yen. Even converted, it was around fifty million in Chinese currency. Handing it over for nothing made his heart ache.
Better to follow the original plot. Use a fake key to report back, then dump all the blame on Miyano Akemi, who would conveniently vanish.
Rescuing Miyano Shiho later and setting up drug research would require massive funding anyway. The more Steven thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed to give that money to the organization.
Paying for their protection?
Not interested.
"....."