Natsuyu opened the quest panel and saw that the world quest she had just completed was now marked [Completed]. The rewards had already been distributed as well.
She let out a long breath of relief. Thank goodness. For a moment there, she'd really thought that finishing the task in that roundabout way might not count.
On the other side, Kudo Shinichi noticed that the blonde young woman from earlier was gone—but he didn't dwell on it. Compared to her, what truly bothered him were the two men in black who had ridden the roller coaster with him. Their eyes carried a cold indifference toward human life, as if they were people who had already killed more than once.
Just then, Shinichi saw one of the two black-clad men dash past him. Unable to ignore the unease gnawing at him, he took off in pursuit, calling back over his shoulder for Mouri Ran to head home first and not wait for him.
Unfortunately, at that exact moment, Ran's shoelace snapped. She could only watch helplessly as Shinichi disappeared from sight.
The gears of fate had begun to turn.
As expected, Kudo Shinichi paid the price for his recklessness. He was forced to swallow poison.
Not long after Gin fed Shinichi the organization's newly developed drug and erased the traces at the scene before leaving, a faint rustling sound came from the grass. A shadowy figure appeared not far away.
By then, Shinichi was overwhelmed by the effects of the poison. His entire body was wracked with agony, as if his bones were melting from the inside out. His consciousness slipped away in waves, leaving him completely unaware of what was happening around him.
Alhaitham stood nearby, watching this iconic moment—the birth of Conan—unfold before his eyes. As he observed carefully, he silently counted the seconds. After all, this was true rejuvenation, something that even the adepti of Teyvat could rarely accomplish.
"Thirty-five seconds after ingesting APTX4869, the body begins to react. Severe pain manifests immediately. The acute pain lasts for one minute and twenty-eight seconds. Physical changes then begin: the body shrinks, and bodily functions regress to a juvenile state. Current observation suggests a regression of approximately ten years. The transformation itself is brief, lasting around fifteen seconds. After the change stabilizes, no further obvious reactions are observed."
After finishing his observation, Alhaitham took out an unused syringe he'd found earlier in the amusement park's medical office. He walked over, crouched down, and inserted the needle into an inconspicuous spot on the inside of Shinichi's arm, drawing a vial of blood.
Once he had secured the sample, Alhaitham left without another glance at the boy still lying there.
He had already heard approaching voices. Someone would discover Kudo Shinichi soon enough—there was no need for him to involve himself further.
Meanwhile, Natsuyu had no idea what Alhaitham had just done to the protagonist. She was still focused on checking the rewards from her completed quest.
Aside from some Mora and experience books, the rewards included a personal identification document and proof of property ownership.
Perfect. She'd been worrying about where to stay once night fell, and now she had both an identity and a house. With that settled, she prepared to contact Alhaitham and head home.
She had already noticed that the system's messaging function allowed her to send messages to specific individuals. At the moment, only two names were listed. Lisa's icon was grayed out—probably because she hadn't been summoned yet—while Alhaitham's icon was lit.
Natsuyu cautiously sent a message to Alhaitham, suggesting they meet at the amusement park entrance. Not long after, she received a reply:
"Understood."
So it really was possible to communicate with each other through the system.
She waited at the entrance for a short while before Alhaitham appeared. He showed no intention of mentioning what he had done earlier. In his view, it was his own matter, part of his own plans. It wouldn't affect Natsuyu, and telling her now would only burden her with unnecessary worry.
Natsuyu checked the address provided by the system—Beika Town, 5-chōme, 39-10—and only then realized that it was right near the Mouri Detective Agency.
If she remembered correctly, the Mouri Detective Agency was located at Beika Town, 5-chōme, 39-1. That meant the system-assigned property was just a few houses away.
When they arrived, that proved to be exactly the case.
The house stood diagonally across from the Mouri Detective Agency. From here, she could vaguely make out the large characters on the office window across the street.
It was a detached three-story building, not directly connected to its neighbors. The first floor faced the street and looked suitable for opening a small shop—though Natsuyu hadn't decided on any specific use yet, so she planned to leave it empty for now.
The second floor was the living area, with two bedrooms: a master bedroom and a smaller guest room. It didn't look like it could accommodate many people, but with just two of them tonight, it was more than sufficient.
The third floor was a small attic. Its window faced the street, and from there, one could see the windows of the Mouri Detective Agency. The view wasn't very clear, but it was enough to tell roughly how many people were inside.
Natsuyu had no intention of buying binoculars to get a better look—that would be crossing into creepy territory. Besides, Conan was far too sharp. If he ever noticed a reflection and realized someone was spying on them with binoculars, she couldn't imagine how she'd explain herself.
After taking a general look around the house, Natsuyu headed down to the second floor to rest. She'd originally planned to take the guest room herself—it was smaller, and she figured it would be cramped for Alhaitham, a grown man.
But by the time she reached the second floor, she discovered that Alhaitham had already chosen the guest room.
"This is your house," Alhaitham said calmly. "There's no reason for the owner to sleep in the guest room. Besides, I don't find it cramped. For me, a place to rest and read is more than enough."
Natsuyu didn't argue. She knew him well enough—if he said that, he genuinely meant it.
Lying in bed, she finally had time to ask Paimon in detail about the system. Earlier, between pulling characters and rushing through quests, she'd had no chance to properly understand it.
There was also something else bothering her.
Where were all the characters she summoned supposed to live afterward?
With just two people, the house was fine. Even if Lisa were summoned next, they could still make it work—at worst, she could share the master bedroom with her. But if more people appeared, the house would be far too small. She couldn't possibly let them sleep on the floor; that was unthinkable to her.
After hearing her concerns, Paimon looked confused.
"Traveler, you didn't know? Characters summoned from the gacha already have their own residences. Only you—because you're an outsider—lack an identity and a place to live, which is why you need to complete quests to obtain them."
Natsuyu was stunned. She'd always assumed that the summoned characters, like her, started out without legal identities and had to earn them through quests.
So she was the only one who was technically undocumented?
Paimon scratched her head sheepishly.
"Traveler, I guess I forgot to tell you. Actually, from the moment a character from a card appears in this world, the world's consciousness helps create a corresponding identity for them. After all, we're helping it too—it's only fair that it provides some assistance, hehe."
She continued, "The background it provides closely matches the character's own experiences, to minimize discrepancies. People connected to them will also have vague memories—like knowing this person exists, but without any particularly clear or detailed impressions."