"Yes. I made the poison, took part in murder plans, and now I'm being hunted by the Organization."
"To you, I really am a hateful and dangerous person. You have no reason to accept my presence here—so tell me, will you drive me out?"
Haibara Ai stood up from the sofa, placed the magazine she'd finished reading onto the nearby bookshelf, and spoke calmly. With her back to Conan, she seemed completely unconcerned about whether she would be forced to leave.
By now, Conan had regained a bit of his composure. Hearing her words, he glanced at the professor, then at Shimizu Koji—the one who'd been acting oddly since earlier, and who had been the one to bring Haibara here in the first place.
Suddenly, it struck him that Haibara's question was unnecessary.
In fact… it might even be backwards.
Especially when he noticed the way Shimizu Koji's gaze lingered—subtly but unmistakably—on Haibara. Conan had a strange feeling that if he kept acting the way he had earlier, the one getting kicked out tonight might actually be him.
Of course, that was just a gut feeling. He didn't believe Shimizu Koji had any real reason to do that.
"Ai, you can stay here without worry," Dr. Agasa said warmly.
"Yeah," he added. "Shinichi was just saying things in the heat of the moment. Don't take it to heart."
Conan: Help—my teammates have been charmed by the enemy.
Urgent. Online. Waiting.
"Alright," Conan said, abruptly changing tack, his expression turning serious as he looked at Haibara. "Then tell us—where is the Organization's base?"
Haibara seemed to have anticipated the question. She had already pulled a newspaper from the bookshelf.
Flipping it open to the front page, she turned and held it up.
"See this? This is how they operate."
"Huh?!" Dr. Agasa exclaimed. "Isn't this the pharmaceutical company that burned down three days ago?"
Conan frowned. After a moment's thought, though, it didn't seem surprising.
Only Shimizu Koji's eyes narrowed as everything suddenly connected in his mind. He silently lifted his teacup and took a sip, steadying himself.
So it was her…
Holding up the front page showing the destroyed laboratory, Haibara's gaze skipped past Conan and Dr. Agasa, landing squarely on Shimizu Koji.
"You over there," she said.
Just like that, Shimizu Koji's status dropped—from friendly neighborhood big brother to that gentleman over there.
"May I ask," she continued, "why you were at that place that day?"
Conan and Dr. Agasa both turned to look at him, equally stunned.
He'd investigated that deeply behind their backs?!
"Actually," Shimizu Koji replied, "I was there to apply for a job."
"…Apply?" Haibara echoed, clearly surprised.
Shimizu Koji set down his teacup and casually swept his gaze over Conan's innocent little face.
"Yeah. My landlord knows perfectly well that I'm broke, and yet he still left his huge villa in my care."
He was absolutely doing this on purpose. Conan letting him stay rent-free was already generous enough.
This was just payback—for all the times the kid had played dumb and fed him misinformation.
Sure enough, both Dr. Agasa and Haibara immediately turned their eyes toward Conan.
Conan stumbled, scratching his head with an awkward laugh.
"I—I was just joking! The expenses are deducted from my dad's card every month!"
It was dramatic, but surprisingly plausible. Although she had no idea what Gin had been thinking when recruiting people back then, Haibara finally got an answer to the last lingering question that had been bothering her.
Conan rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, then asked unwillingly,
"So… there really aren't any other clues?"
"None," Haibara said. "Well—no, wait. There is one more."
"Hello? Yes, could you please help me look up the number for Nanyang University?"
After Haibara explained that her sister might have accidentally mailed a disk containing drug data to Professor Hirota at Nanyang University, Conan and Dr. Agasa stepped aside to make some calls.
On the sofa, Shimizu Koji's gaze occasionally drifted toward Haibara, who was standing by the bookshelf.
He was wrestling with a decision—one he couldn't yet make.
After a long while, he sighed. In the end, he decided to wait and see.
Even without firsthand experience, he understood one thing well:
Giving a desperate person a glimmer of hope—only to have it vanish instantly—often results in despair squared.
Though he knew he had no right to make decisions on behalf of someone else's sister, his habit of seeing things from others' perspectives—born from past experiences—kicked in.
Naturally, he tried thinking from Akemi's point of view.
Would Akemi want her sister to see her like that…?
Knowing Akemi's personality, Shimizu Koji temporarily set the thought aside.
At the very least, until he fully understood Haibara Ai's true character, he didn't want to make any rash moves.
What he didn't expect was that when he came back to his senses, Haibara was looking at him too.
The moment he noticed, she calmly withdrew her gaze, as if nothing had happened.
Not long after, Dr. Agasa and Conan successfully got in touch with Professor Hirota at Nanyang University and arranged to go pick up the item immediately.
Naturally, the four of them soon piled into Dr. Agasa's gold-colored Beetle and officially set off.
Inside the car—
Conan sat in the passenger seat. Shimizu Koji and Haibara took the back seat on opposite sides, while Dr. Agasa drove.
Once inside, the atmosphere once again grew strangely tense. Conan and Dr. Agasa openly whispered to each other, words like concealment and lack of trust drifting clearly through the car.
Of course, that was mostly Conan talking.
Haibara showed no reaction at all. She simply gazed out the window, watching the nighttime scenery rush past.
Shimizu Koji couldn't listen anymore. Being cautious was normal—but saying it out loud like that? Even someone with no ulterior motives would start developing them.
He cleared his throat and cut in.
"Oh, right—Conan. Since you're Kudo Shinichi, help me get a driver's license."
Conan whipped his head around, eyes wide with shock. He seriously wondered if he'd misheard.
Help him get a driver's license?!
I'm only a second-year high schooler!
"Didn't you say you're the savior of the Japanese police?" Shimizu Koji continued seriously. "The Heisei-era Sherlock Holmes? Don't tell me you can't even manage that."
Looking at Shimizu Koji's completely earnest expression, the boomerang of time came flying back far too suddenly.
Conan held it in—until Haibara let out a quiet snort of laughter, instantly making his face burn. He quickly turned back to face forward.
"I—I'll try to think of something…"
He could've refused, of course. But thinking it over carefully, getting a license for Shimizu Koji—now firmly on their side—might actually be very helpful.
And he'd already seen Shimizu Koji's driving skills. They were solid.
Where he'd learned them, though… definitely not from the same Hawaiian crash course Conan had taken.
After Shimizu Koji's interruption, Conan finally stopped muttering under his breath.
Shimizu Koji glanced at Haibara beside him, then turned his eyes toward the window as well.
The night was deep and quiet. The car moved smoothly down the wide road—mountains on one side, the distant ocean on the other. Moonlight spilled across the waves, shimmering softly.