Chapter 159: Conan: Codename? Or how about you just directly read out my ID number instead?
〜Zenless Zone Zero World〜
"What's wrong with his looks? I think Luocha is quite handsome!"
Recalling Luocha's almost flawless face, Caesar couldn't fathom why "looks" themselves would be a target of Mr. Welt's suspicion.
Luocha was even more dashing than the male leads in those shoujo films she secretly watched; he didn't need to strike a pose or be framed from a special angle to highlight his features.
Simply standing there, with the wind rustling his white garments, a faint smile gracing his lips in the sunlight, was a devastating charm beyond compare.
Compared to him, those movie stars were nothing but common, painted beauties.
"You idiot, Caesar! Mr. Welt wouldn't simply suspect someone based on their looks."
Lucy chuckled.
"Didn't you notice? This Luocha clearly has a significant connection with Mr. Welt, though what it is remains unclear… But I, your humble servant, can assure you, this Luocha is absolutely brimming with ill intentions!"
"Hmm… really?"
Though Lucy's judgments were usually spot-on, this time Caesar chose to trust her own intuition!
Words might deceive, but the gentleness and thoughtfulness Luocha displayed were far more convincing than any language!
—
「 "Uncle Yang! I thought you were going to reveal some earth-shattering secret, but it turns out you're just judging a book by its cover. Uncle Yang, judging by appearances, isn't good, you know." March 7th feigned the air of a seasoned veteran, incredibly turning the tables to lecture Uncle Yang.
Stelle: "I think he's quite handsome, though…"
"My apologies, what I meant was… well, it's hard to explain. Let's just say my 'gut feeling' tells me that this Mr. Luocha might be problematic…" Welt tried to rephrase it in a more palatable way, but seeing Stelle and March 7th's bewildered expressions, he simply gave up.
"I'm sorry, it's just my conjecture."
"No problem, intuition is also an important partner for the Realm-Keeping Commission in investigating cases. You say anyone with his face must be a bad person? Fine, I can accept that. But… as an official, I can't go bringing someone in based on a villainous appearance..." Dahao seemed a bit troubled.
"If you're dismissed from the Commission due to a complaint, it'll leave a blemish on your record, making it hard to rise again for several centuries," Jingyan explained thoughtfully from the side.
"Yes, exactly… No! What are you talking about… Anyway, if you wish to investigate, I can make an exception and grant you access to the Foursquare Mirror."
The Foursquare Mirror contained several images related to Luocha. After Stelle rearranged and recombined them, March 7th was surprised to find one particular image, "two dark figures tailing a little girl," looked remarkably familiar: "Huh? This? Isn't this a scene from 'The Angler Mystery'?"
Stelle looked confused: "What scene are you talking about?"
"'The Angler Mystery,' that detective novel. There's a scene in it that's identical to this footage."
March 7th, patiently explained to Mr. Welt: "The angler's origin story, of course. He's a healer from the Alchemy Commission who gets on the wrong side of a mysterious organization called the Tea Society. Two agents in dark clothing wait for him to be alone and then poison him."
"The drug has the same de-aging effect as the Vidyadhara's hatching rebirth— the angler gets younger and turns back into a child. From there on out, the angler pursues the Tea Society while solving all kinds of strange cases." 」
「 .....」
〜Detective Conan World〜
Haibara Ai covered her mouth with a chuckle, glancing at Conan beside her:
"Speaking of which, this Angler wouldn't happen to be living with his childhood friend, would he? And have a watch-shaped tranquilizer gun?"
"How could there be such a coincidence?"
Cold sweat beaded on Conan's forehead. When March 7th spoke of the Angler Mystery story, it was as if she were reciting his past experiences.
Sweating bullets, my comrades…
"Hmm, I do think there's a possibility."
Haibara Ai propped her chin, pondering slightly:
"The technology of the Xianzhou is far beyond Earth's. Perhaps they've been observing us from a place we can't detect? Although we don't usually feel it, everyone is actually being monitored every day…"
Haibara Ai tilted her head, smiling softly:
"And… Kudo, you're the primary target of that monitoring, aren't you?"
"Let's just drop that kind of third-rate sci-fi novel premise."
Conan forced a smile.
"It should… uh, just be a coincidence, right?"
—
「 "Why would a tea party be so vicious…" Stelle muttered helplessly.
Welt nodded in agreement: "Indeed, it feels like their tea might be similar to Himeko's coffee…"
"The Tea Society is just a code name. Did you think they'd call themselves the Evil Society? They have to have a nice-sounding name to conceal themselves!"
Welt mused briefly: "So, Little March means that those two men in black are members of the Tea Party, and that little girl is… a rejuvenated Luocha?"
March 7th frowned, lowering her voice with a serious air: "It might even be an imitation crime committed by an avid reader of 'The Angler Mystery.' Luocha, after being shrunken, then followed these two people… The case is getting more and more terrifying; it might even be a kidnapping!" 」
「 .....」
〜Genshin Impact World〜
Teyvat, Inazuma—
"Hmm… I can see now that if Little March were a detective, half of Inazuma would probably end up in the Tenryou Commission's dungeons."
"However, she does remind me of Paimon. Last time Paimon read a Fontaine mystery novel, she also claimed she wanted to solve cases with me."
Inside the Tenryou Commission, Shikanoin Heizou was leisurely sipping tea with Kujou Sara, listening to March 7th's "amusing" deductions, almost spitting out his tea in an uncontrolled burst.
"Didn't you claim that solving cases relies most on intuition?"
Kujou Sara said blandly,
"Then, in your opinion, what is the truth behind Luocha?"
"Whoa, whoa, I'm not a god. How could I see the truth through a light screen? No, no… that's something even gods couldn't do, right?"
Shikanoin Heizou shook his head.
"In any case, that little girl and Luocha probably have no connection, and it's even less likely they're the same person. Not to mention hair color, the gender alone doesn't match up at all."
"There are still too few clues. If there were more footage, perhaps I could give it a try."
—
「 "Hold your horses, everyone... I recognize this child now. That's Yinshu, the young shopkeeper at Spare Time Book Shop." Jingyan only reacted after scrutinizing for a long time.
Welt retrieved nearby video records, but found no more valuable content. He decided to take the two to the scene for investigation, to see if Yinshu had any more clues.
Yinshu was near the bookstore. After being told the full story, she did have some recollection of that footage.
She had seen the two men in black and a blonde outworlder in an open space. Later, she went home to read, and the two men in black simply left together on the same path. As for the blonde outworlder… her mind was solely focused on reading, so she hadn't observed him too closely.
However, he did eventually visit the bookstore, and after flipping through a few books, he handed one to Yinshu. That book was a paper book… none other than 'The Angler Mystery' which March often mentioned! 」
「 .....」