BWDC:SDDK Chapter 4: Doors or Bridges, Just Block Them All!
Ren Ichimonji held a cup of coffee in one hand and slipped his other hand into his pocket, walking toward the exit of the banquet hall with a relaxed expression.
Immediately, Ginzo NakaMouri, who was guarding the entrance, fixed his gaze on him once more.
Just as NakaMouri hesitated over whether to move in and verify the man's identity, he saw the stranger casually toss the Black Star hanging from his chest toward him. NakaMouri froze in a daze; by the time he snapped out of it, the figure had already vanished.
—He even returned the Black Star directly. I guess he isn't Phantom Thief Kid after all?
NakaMouri held up the Black Star, staring at it for a moment.
He found nothing.
He had no expertise in gemstones, and given his background, he rarely encountered such high-end jewelry. Consequently, he couldn't tell if the gem in his hand was real or a fake.
"Well, I'll just return it to Mrs. Suzuki later," NakaMouri muttered, stuffing the Black Star into his pocket.
Then, he heard the shocked voice of a nearby officer.
"Inspector NakaMouri! Your pocket is smoking?!"
NakaMouri: "?"
The imitation Black Star, planted by Phantom Thief Kid, exploded right inside his pocket.
Smoke instantly engulfed NakaMouri. Through the haze, the other officers could only see a silhouette coughing violently, shouting through gritted teeth:
"That damn Phantom Thief Kid!!!"
By the time the smoke cleared, NakaMouri's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Before he could lead his men to chase after the mysterious coffee-drinking man, the sound of dense, chaotic footsteps echoed from behind. He turned around and was instantly stunned.
Huh? What's going on? Why is the banquet hall filled with smoke, and why is everyone running out??
"Quick, NakaMouri! Block the doors! Phantom Thief Kid is still inside! He swapped several people's Black Stars for smoke bombs to facilitate his escape. We can't let him succeed!"
Shintaro Chaki had climbed back onto the high platform with a megaphone, shouting toward the main entrance.
"Ah? Me?" NakaMouri blinked.
Looking at the mountain of people charging toward him, his heart jolted. Finally, he gnashed his teeth and yelled, "Block them! Whether it's a door or a bridge, just block it and be done with it!"
Rank pressed down on him like a mountain. If he was told to block the door, he'd block the door.
Next time... next time I'm definitely ditching this Shintaro Chaki and working alone! He's too much in the way!
The doors to the banquet hall were immediately slammed shut from the inside.
Ren Ichimonji looked back at the tightly closed doors.
He could almost still hear NakaMouri's roars coming from inside. Shaking his head slightly, he took another sip of coffee and headed toward the external stairs, planning to head to the top deck to claim Phantom Thief Kid's hang glider first.
At that moment, other crew members of the Queen Selizabeth noticed the commotion and came rushing over in small groups.
When they saw Ren Ichimonji strolling along with a cup of coffee as if he were taking a walk in the park, they all froze.
Wait, brother, isn't this a high-end banquet? Why are you dressed like that and carrying a coffee cup?
"Uh, sir, excuse me... what happened over at the banquet hall?" the lead crew member asked.
To this, Ren Ichimonji casually replied, "Phantom Thief Kid is causing a scene at the banquet. It's fine, it'll be over in a bit."
"By the way, I have something to tell you. Don't be scared."
The lead crew member looked left and right, stepped back into the group, and asked loudly, "Go ahead. We are crew members of the Queen Selizabeth; what kind of storms haven't we seen?"
"We've undergone rigorous training in all aspects. Sir, just say it, we won't be afraid!"
At worst, the Black Star was stolen. That thief was just a performance artist anyway; he'd return it in a few days. It wasn't a big deal.
"I just saw a woman in red floating around on the surface of the sea at the stern. It was quite terrifying," Ren Ichimonji said calmly, taking a sip of coffee. "Which of you wants to go check it out?"
Suddenly, a sea breeze blew through the dark night, making the crew members turn pale.
—A woman in red? Floating on the sea?
Why don't you just say it's haunted and be clear about it?
They looked at each other, unable to decide whether to go or stay.
Meanwhile, Ren Ichimonji easily stepped past them and headed for the external stairs. By the time he set foot on the steps, the crew had finally made up their minds and headed toward the stern in a large group.
He wasn't actually lying.
There really was a woman in red floating on the sea at the stern. He just didn't mention that the woman was Ran Mouri, the daughter of the famous detective Kogoro Mouri.
Kaito Kuroba is truly something else.
There's no one patrolling the stern anyway; he could have just stuffed her in any corner. Isn't he afraid the lifeboat ropes weren't tied tight? One big wave and Ran Mouri would be off on a "Life of Pi" adventure.
Ren Ichimonji grumbled to himself.
BOOM—!
The doors to the banquet hall were suddenly burst open.
Numerous guests came screaming out of the hall. The officers who were supposed to be blocking the door were forced to pivot to crowd control, making evacuation their top priority to prevent a stampede. Ren Ichimonji's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of Conan and Ran's figures at the back of the crowd.
Good. Next up is the scene where Conan kicks a ball and turns Kaito Kuroba into an accidental paratrooper.
He only needed to sit back and wait for his rewards to arrive.
"Mm, plenty of time, plenty of time."
The system-appointed Batman hummed a little tune as he sauntered onto the ship's roof.
At a glance, he saw the hang glider that Phantom Thief Kid hadn't had time to take away.
It was common knowledge that Kid's gadgets were mostly custom-made by Dr. Agasa. This high-tech glider, which could retract and expand from under his clothes, was one of them.
I'll just buy some paint, turn it black, add a Batman logo, and who's to say this isn't Batman's glider?
In just a few steps, Ren Ichimonji arrived in front of the snow-white glider.
He stared at it for a while, then changed positions and stared some more.
—There was a serious problem.
He had no idea how to fold this thing back up.
In the anime, Kid just pulls a switch to deploy it. As for how it retracts... he'd never actually seen him do it. Kid either flew home with it or ditched it halfway.
"Tsk, I am the Batman of Beika City. I can't handle a glider?"
Ren Ichimonji snorted and began to fiddle with it manually.
Then, he heard footsteps behind him.
He looked up, coming face-to-face with Phantom Thief Kid, who had just appeared on the top deck to retrieve his glider.
Ren Ichimonji: "?"
Phantom Thief Kid: "?"
End of Chapter
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium