Chapter 111: The Lonely Magician
The gem could only be retrieved after tomorrow's exhibition ended, but the first priority was dealing with Phantom Thief Kid—he absolutely couldn't let that guy lay a finger on the jewel.
As for Eternal Bloom, Natsukawa had already decided where it would go.
Definitely not for sale.
He recalled that Miss Yor didn't seem to wear necklaces.
This Eternal Bloom would be perfect—just a bit oversized.
But big gems and ample assets were a perfect match, right?
His relationship with Yor had progressed quite a bit recently. It was time to find an opportunity to confess to her, Natsukawa thought.
He wasn't like Shinichi and Ran, who took almost thirty years for the audience to see them confirm their relationship—way too drawn out.
The Metropolitan Police Love Story had been filmed for countless episodes, and those two couples were still in the same situation.
Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Natsukawa arrived at Franky's place.
"Can you work with this?" In Natsukawa's hand was Kid's notice letter.
The card wasn't made of PVC plastic or anything ordinary. It was tough and elastic—clearly a product straight out of Detective Conan's world. Natsukawa figured the underworld might be able to source something similar.
He wondered if it was one of Professor Agasa's inventions.
Franky examined the material for a long time, then scanned it with an instrument and sent the analysis report to a dark web database.
Soon, an informant answered his questions.
"Found it! This is carbon-nano material fused with spider silk. It's highly durable and difficult to break—high-speed firing can penetrate some hard objects."
Franky flipped the card back and forth, reading the notice's contents. "Have you gotten on Kaito Kid's bad side?"
"Also, since when do you own gems?"
Franky's eyes widened, waiting for Natsukawa's reply. Could this guy have stolen gems from somewhere?
"Didn't I save Hatamoto Natsue from the Hatamoto Group a few days ago? This is her thank-you gift. Pretty generous, right?"
Natsukawa pulled out a poster from the Greenland Exhibition Center featuring a picture of Eternal Bloom in the center, with bold text declaring: "Star of the Exhibition!"
"Split it with me!"
Natsukawa shook his head, unwilling to argue with Franky, and casually pulled out a few Yukichi Fukuzawa bills to shut him up.
Franky grumbled a bit but since it was free money, he pocketed the cash.
"If you want the same card material, I'm afraid it won't be available anytime soon. It'll take at least several days to acquire."
Natsukawa shook his head—he knew, of course, that it wasn't something available immediately.
"Can you erase the text from this one for me? Is that possible?"
Franky nodded—that was no problem at all.
After spending an hour with Franky, Natsukawa rushed to Ekoda.
It was past 3 PM, and Ekoda High School had obviously already dismissed for the day, with only a few students remaining for club activities.
Natsukawa glanced around briefly before leaving, heading straight to the Kuroba residence in Ekoda.
He parked his car a block away from the Kuroba house and got out, walking into a secluded alley.
His face had now transformed into that of a middle-aged man in his early forties.
Needless to say, he was in disguise.
After reaching the corner of the Kuroba property and confirming no one was around, Natsukawa scaled the wall and slipped inside.
As for surveillance, he wasn't worried about it after his disguise.
Kuroba Kaito wasn't home—he didn't know where the kid had gone.
But this gave Natsukawa the perfect opportunity to operate.
Ten minutes later, Natsukawa climbed back over the wall and left Ekoda.
"Kaito, be serious! I asked for your help studying, so please stop with all this unnecessary nonsense!"
Nakamori Aoko, one of the top students at Ekoda High School, snapped irritably.
If Kaito weren't also among the top students at Ekoda High, she definitely wouldn't have asked him to tutor her.
Explaining problems was one thing, but doing magic tricks and showing off panty shots every few minutes—was that something a normal person would do?
"Life needs joy as a diversion, and studying is the same. 'There's a path through the mountain of books—diligence is the way; the sea of learning is boundless—make yourself some rice porridge.' Stop studying so hard, Aoko, and learn to cook instead! You could be a wonderful housewife!"
Kuroba Kaito leaned back on the sofa, arms relaxed, and with a flick of his left hand, a red rose instantly transformed into a white dove.
"Aoko, want to raise a dove? Doves are super cute."
"Get lost!"
Nakamori Aoko was furious.
She'd seen it clearly.
The dove that just appeared had just pooped on her sofa.
Kuroba Kaito shuddered in fright, and the white dove in his left hand pooped again.
"Kuroba Kaito! Are you doing this on purpose?! I just asked you to help me study! Is this really necessary?!"
Aoko's temper erupted like Mount Fuji, and she kicked and shoved Kuroba Kaito out of her house.
"Get out!"
SLAM!
The door shut firmly, and Kuroba Kaito shrugged helplessly, a smile playing on his lips.
Sorry, Aoko. I have something very important to do today.
Back home, Kuroba Kaito went straight to his room.
Looking at his father's portrait on the bedroom wall, his gaze was resolute.
"Today I'm meeting that Kid. I will definitely uncover your identity, Dad, and the truth behind your death! I'll solve Kuroba Toichi's final magic trick!"
The portrait swung open, revealing a hidden passage behind it.
Kuroba Kaito walked in as usual.
It had been a while since he'd discovered this room, and he'd become completely familiar with all the equipment Kuroba Toichi had left behind.
He'd initially thought his father was the Phantom Thief Kid who disappeared eight years ago.
After all, the timing of Phantom Thief Kid's disappearance coincided with his father's death, and all the equipment in the secret room pointed to his father's identity.
However, today he'd seen on the news that Phantom Thief Kid was about to steal Eternal Bloom from the Greenland Exhibition Center.
This news left him utterly confused.
His father was clearly the Phantom Thief Kid, so who was this imposter?
Had he guessed wrong?
Or was his father still alive and had returned? If so, why hadn't he come home?
"Today I will definitely uncover the true face of this fake Phantom Thief Kid. Even if it's not you, Dad, they can surely provide information about the real Kid."
Inside the secret room, Kaito put on the white cape, donned the monocle, and looked seriously at his reflection in the mirror.
Finally, he picked up the white top hat.
"Well then, fake Phantom Thief Kid—see you tonight!"
He tossed the top hat upward, spreading his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.
Today, he would officially inherit his father's identity!
The top hat tumbled through the air a few times before descending toward his head.
Just then, a white card fell from inside the hat.
"What's this?"
Kaito reacted quickly, catching the hat on his head while snatching the card mid-air with his hand.
The card was pure white with only one line of text:
"Eternal Bloom doesn't belong to you. Give up now, Kaito."
Signed: "The Lonely Magician."
"The Lonely Magician?"
Kaito's lips twitched. A pun on "lonely" and "magician"? What an abstract alias.
It felt like something hastily thought up on the spot.
He muttered to himself.
Then, Kaito's expression turned serious.
The card's appearance was far too abrupt.
This card clearly wasn't left by his father. After all, he'd examined and worn this outfit many times and had never seen this card before.
Moreover, the news about Eternal Bloom's impending theft had only been reported by journalists today.
His father from eight years ago couldn't have possibly foreseen this and left such a message—nor would he have had any reason to.
However, the material of this card seemed identical to the material of the card gun his father had left behind.
This should definitely be a Kaito Kid item, but why?
Who was it from?
End of Chapter 111
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