Chapter 6: The Unlucky Robbers
Beika Department Store - First Floor Checkout
"Honored Mr. Natsukawa, your total comes to ¥2,320,000. Will you be paying by card or cash?"
The department store manager personally attended to Natsukawa.
For a purchase of this magnitude, the manager naturally had to provide white-glove service, especially since Natsukawa had bought numerous large items requiring special handling.
At this moment, Natsukawa appeared to be a nouveau riche in the manager's eyes.
What normal person bought furniture at a department store? It was significantly more expensive than specialty stores. Only someone like Natsukawa—who wasn't short on cash and hated the hassle of shopping around—would do this.
"Card."
Two million three hundred twenty thousand yen—there was no way Natsukawa carried that much cash on him.
Beep. The card reader chimed.
"Could you have these delivered to my residence?"
"Of course! After we close, I'll personally lead the delivery team to Mr. Natsukawa's address. We'll also include a complimentary travel voucher!"
Natsukawa's eyes lit up. The service at this department store was quite impressive—there was even an unexpected bonus.
However, he definitely wanted to bring Anya along. "One ticket? What about my daughter?"
The manager glanced at Anya, his smile unwavering. "Children under 1.2 meters travel free."
"Ouch!"
The instant those words left his mouth, he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. Looking down, he discovered that Mr. Natsukawa's little princess had 'accidentally' kicked him.
"The travel voucher is actually a family package, allowing up to three people!"
Natsukawa nodded in satisfaction. This way, he could bring Frank along too. That guy could act as a babysitter and help watch Anya. Being a stay-at-home dad was exhausting work.
Wait.
Where's Anya?
Natsukawa turned to take Anya's hand, but when he looked down, she'd vanished. She'd been interacting with the manager just seconds ago—how could she disappear in the blink of an eye?
"Deliver everything to my address first."
Natsukawa felt a spike of anxiety. This was Japan! The probability of a lost child being kidnapped was astronomical.
"Mr. Natsukawa, we're closing now. Please go ahead."
"Manager! Loading is complete. We can depart now. Security is urging us to hurry—closing time."
"Understood."
The manager followed the employee toward the back exit. The child had been nearby moments ago—she couldn't have gone far. He'd deliver the goods first, then wait at Natsukawa's residence for half an hour to demonstrate Beika Department Store's exceptional customer service.
First Floor - After Hours
"Anya!"
Natsukawa was currently searching the first-floor sales area, but since all customers had been ushered out, he quickly confirmed Anya wasn't there.
The lighting had dimmed significantly, and the main entrance was slowly being sealed shut—she shouldn't have exited through there.
He turned toward the elevator, which was ascending.
It finally stopped on the sixth floor.
That was the jewelry department.
Remembering the suspicious elevator operator from that afternoon, Natsukawa frowned. Could she have been kidnapped?
He didn't head upstairs directly. Instead, he moved swiftly toward the security office.
The security station was located on the first floor, directly opposite the manager's office. Natsukawa had memorized the layout when he'd first entered.
No helping it—damned spy habits died hard.
There was a glass window near the guardhouse entrance, with a row of small holes in the lower center for transmitting sound.
Sometimes children got separated from parents, who would come here to inform security through the glass partition and request an announcement to locate their child.
Natsukawa peered through the window.
The righteous Kamen Rider from the afternoon performance had transformed into a robber, standing with his former stage rival discussing something in hushed tones. Three security guards and the red-uniformed elevator operator lay motionless in the corner.
Everyone was accounted for—which meant Anya was still safe somewhere.
Beika Town was wonderful in every way, except for far too many volatile elements.
Natsukawa couldn't comprehend it. With so many valuables on the sixth and seventh floors, and such pathetically weak security—only three guards—who else would criminals target?
But since he was already here, Natsukawa couldn't pretend he hadn't witnessed this.
Knock, knock, knock.
The guardhouse door rattled.
All four people inside went pale! Was someone else still here?
Their eyes met, filled with mutual confusion. Weren't all the guards accounted for?
The men didn't dare open the door, only gripping their weapons tighter.
Knock, knock, knock.
This time the knocking came harder, but the door remained sealed, making them even more nervous.
"Hey! What are you all panicking for!"
The 'kidnapped' elevator operator opened her eyes, her face twisted with annoyance. "Go check it out. Probably just a customer who didn't leave the building in time. Just tie them up."
"But we already searched the entire floor. Everyone's gone, and both front and back exits are locked. There shouldn't be anyone left!"
"Hmph." The elevator operator scoffed disdainfully. "Untie me. I'll check it myself."
She was the mastermind behind this robbery and the team leader. Her word was absolute law, and the others obediently freed her restraints.
Outside the Guardhouse
"You won't open the door? Then don't bother coming out!"
The elevator operator, who had just reached the door and was about to open it, froze at those words. Then the door clicked open, and a small spherical object was thrown inside.
The door slammed shut immediately.
Staring at the small sphere rolling across the floor, then at the closed door, the elevator operator was utterly dumbfounded.
Her accomplices behind her exchanged equally bewildered glances.
The elevator operator dodged around the sphere and tried the door handle.
It wouldn't budge.
Something was blocking it from the outside!
"Look! That sphere is smoking!"
One of the robbers spotted the critical detail, pointing at the sphere on the floor that was now spinning and emitting smoke. A terrible premonition formed in his mind.
The others' pupils contracted. This thing... could it be... a smoke bomb?
"This isn't an ordinary smoke bomb!"
This was a special smoke bomb Frank had prepared for Natsukawa. Not only was it compact and elegant, but the smoke it emitted also contained a sedative agent—enough to keep these robbers unconscious until department store employees arrived for work the next morning.
Moreover, after the smoke dispersed completely, the sphere would automatically decompose. Environmentally friendly and leaving no trace.
Natsukawa dusted off his hands and departed. The robbers should all be contained. Now it was time to find Anya. What a troublesome little thing she was.
Sixth Floor - Moments Earlier
"Look, here it is!" Anya waved the autographed photo triumphantly. Finding something for someone else felt so rewarding!
She'd suddenly heard the Detective Boys' thoughts and run off to help. She'd been with all four Detective Boys members the entire time, having completely forgotten about her father.
"Hey Anya, where's your dad? I remember you came here with your father, right?" Conan asked immediately after the item had been located.
"Huh? Papa? Yeah! Where is Anya's papa?"
After looking around frantically, Anya—realizing her father had vanished—burst into tears, clutching her head dramatically. "Papa is lost!"
A metaphorical crow flew overhead in everyone's minds.
Who's lost? Doesn't she realize?
We're all six years old—why does she seem so different?
Conan slapped his forehead. "You helped us find the autograph, so we'll help you find your lost father."
What else could Conan say? That was the only appropriate response.
Finding that man shouldn't be difficult—he'd surely realized his daughter was missing by now.
"Anya, where did you get separated from your father?"
"Papa... Papa got separated on the first floor. He didn't follow Anya when she left! He's probably in the manager's office!"
Anya's final act of defiance was insisting on who was actually lost. Conan didn't argue and led the group toward the elevator.
Just as they reached the elevator, the doors opened, and Natsukawa stepped out with his hands in his pockets.
"Anya!"
"Waaah! o(╥﹏╥)o Anya was so worried Papa got lost!"
After the customary leg-hugging display, Anya caught fragments of Natsukawa's thoughts.
She hadn't expected her spy father to have already dealt with the robbers! What a shame she hadn't witnessed it.
But she'd played a crucial role too. If she hadn't gotten lost, Papa wouldn't have bothered dealing with the robbery gang. Indeed, she'd been vital to the mission's success!
"What are you all doing up here?" Natsukawa sighed, feigning surprise. "Never mind—come with me. The back exit near the manager's office should still be open."
Conan and the others nodded. They'd been wondering how to exit the building anyway.
Since they hadn't visited the guardhouse, they naturally hadn't discovered the crime that had occurred. They followed Natsukawa out of Beika Department Store.
Seeing them safely to the street, and considering Anya would soon be classmates with the Detective Boys, Natsukawa made a positive impression by driving them all home in a taxi.
Finally, only Natsukawa, Anya, and Conan remained.
In the Taxi - Evening
"Conan is Anya's neighbor!"
Anya was overjoyed upon hearing this revelation, bouncing excitedly for several minutes. She declared she wanted to be friends with Conan and even offered Bond, saying he could ride her majestic Great Pyrenees.
Bond, sitting peacefully at home, was suddenly caught in the crossfire—completely unaware that Anya had sacrificed him in her quest to make friends.
Conan, however, frowned, his expression far too serious for an innocent child.
Right across the street?
He recalled the sensation from earlier that day—the feeling of being watched, which had seemed to originate from across the street, opposite the Mouri Detective Agency. He'd initially dismissed it as paranoia, but now it seemed far more significant.
Why would this man—possibly a police officer—live directly across from him? Was he connected to the Black Organization?
Had he been discovered?
But that didn't make sense! If his cover had been blown, the man would have eliminated him, not played along with this charade.
What was the point of living across the street? To observe him?
And this family was strange.
Natsukawa appeared to be of mixed heritage—blond hair common in Europe and America, but facial features leaning Eastern. His daughter appeared to be pure European, not resembling him as a biological child would.
Of course, it was also difficult to connect the two of them—one adult, one small child—with the Black Organization. After all, it made no sense for the Organization to travel with a child, especially one as clumsy as Anya.
Thwack!
Conan's shin received a solid kick from Anya.
"Sorry! Anya didn't mean it!"
"It's nothing."
The more he observed, the more suspicious everything seemed. Could it be...?
Conan's face suddenly went pale, cold sweat trickling down his spine.
He'd just had a terrifying thought!
Could this girl named Anya standing before him be just like him—appearing to be a six-year-old child but actually a seventeen-year-old high schooler?
[End of Chapter 6]
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