BWDC:SDDK Chapter 73: I'm Going to Confront the Grim Reaper Directly!
Konosuke Jii eventually explained the situation.
Kuroba Kaito's mother, Chikage Kuroba.
The legendary "Phantom Lady" of her time, she had made her debut even earlier than the original Phantom Thief Kid, Toichi Kuroba. In fact, if one looked strictly at their capabilities as phantom thieves rather than magical prowess, Chikage Kuroba was arguably superior to Toichi!
However, Konosuke Jii was unaware that Toichi Kuroba was still alive.
The reason Kaito had become the second-generation Phantom Thief Kid was that Jii, not knowing Toichi's whereabouts, had attempted to draw him out by masquerading as Kid. But his performance had been too flawed, and Kaito had seen right through it.
Consequently, Kaito donned the Kid uniform and cornered Jii on a rooftop.
To cover for Jii, Kaito decided to continue operating under the moniker of Phantom Thief Kid, finishing the business Toichi had left behind and searching for the mysterious "Pandora Gem" that a shadowy organization was hunting.
"...Are you sure Mom and Dad are both in Las Vegas, in the United States?"
"Fine. When break starts, I'll fly to Vegas. I'll see for myself if they're actually there."
Kaito leaned back into the sofa and let out a long sigh.
He didn't bother asking how Ren Ichimonji knew these secrets—everyone had their own mysteries, and unless necessary, it was best not to dig into the secrets of another's heart. Doing so often led to very unpleasant outcomes.
Sitting up straight, Kaito spoke seriously, "You want to learn the arts of disguise and quick-change from me?"
"I can see you have a foundation in stage magic, but whether you can truly master this is another matter. Regardless... come here. I'll teach you. But I hope you won't use the magic I teach you to harm others."
"Otherwise, I'll come find you and take back every trick I've shown you!"
Do you possess some kind of memory-wiping magic?
Ren complained inwardly but said nothing. He simply nodded and replied earnestly, "Of course. As everyone knows, I, Batman, am a great guy who absolutely trusts his friends and never harms the innocent!"
"I have two hours before I have to leave. Teach me some basics first."
Kaito looked puzzled. After a brief hesitation, he asked, "Where are you going?"
Ren replied with a grave and solemn expression, "I'm going to confront the Grim Reaper directly!"
Kaito was stunned!
Is it really that heavy of a situation?
Kaito couldn't help but feel a surge of respect. As expected of Batman—though he didn't know who this "Grim Reaper" was, it must be a terrifyingly dangerous opponent.
5:00 PM, Beika Sun Plaza Hotel.
"What are you doing?! Why are you messing up my hair!"
"Why are you exactly like Hattori Heiji!"
The "Grim Reaper" elementary student was fuming with irritation.
However, Ren simply withdrew his hand nonchalantly and asked, "Why are you here? I thought you said the convention didn't start until 7:00 PM?"
"You should have come with Mouri Kogoro and the others around 6:30. Why so early?"
Conan froze for a moment. Then, pushing up his glasses, he replied seriously, "Naturally, it's because I also feel like any gathering Uncle Mouri attends usually results in a violent crime."
"To prevent that from happening, I decided to come early."
What do you mean "I also feel like..."?
When did I ever tell you that I thought things go wrong wherever Mouri-san goes?
Ren's lip twitched.
How should he put it? Conan truly lacked self-awareness. Had he never noticed that wherever he went, tragedy followed?
Without another word, Ren headed deeper into the hotel.
The place was already being decorated, with hotel staff bustling everywhere. Ren only had to look up to see a banner: [World Art Grand Prize Award Celebration].
He narrowed his eyes, recalling the subject of this celebration.
The art that won the World Art Grand Prize this time was floral arrangement.
Though Ren found it somewhat absurd, in Beika Town, anything was possible. Thus, he didn't focus on why flower arranging won the prize, but rather on the person who took the award: Rika Okano.
Known as the founder of "Avant-Garde Floral Art," her masterpiece involved making closed flower buds bloom instantly upon completing the arrangement.
In Ren's view, that wasn't art. It was more like a magic trick.
"Strange..." Ren whispered.
Hearing this, Conan turned to him, confused. "Strange? What's strange?"
Ren didn't answer.
This situation was indeed odd. The strange part was that Ren had yet to trigger a "Public Security Task."
In other words, if a violent murder was truly about to occur here, the incident hadn't even developed to the point where it could be prevented yet.
This was bizarre. Whether the culprit used a blade or a gun, Ren should have been able to find them in advance, yet the system suggested he couldn't detect it.
That meant either the culprit hadn't brought the weapon into the hotel yet, they hadn't formed the intent to kill yet, or the weapon being used was a type Ren couldn't easily identify.
"I guess I have to wait for the celebration to start?" Ren muttered to himself.
His gaze swept through every corner of the hotel, eyes narrowing.
A "Batman" who retreats in the face of difficulty does not exist. Since there was still time before the party, he would search the hotel. At the very least, he had to exhaust every method of investigation before letting events unfold.
The duo of Ren and Conan looked quite out of place there.
Soon, the hotel staff noticed them. After some pointing and whispering, security guards began heading their way, seemingly intending to escort them out.
Seeing this, Conan's heart tightened.
Uncle Mouri had an invitation; they didn't. If the guards caught them, he and Ren would definitely be kicked out. If they left now, wouldn't this whole trip be in vain?
Just as Conan was thinking of a way to handle it, Ren acted as if he hadn't even seen the staff. He walked toward another room.
After a split second of hesitation, Conan missed his chance to follow and was scooped up by a security guard and carried out.
Meanwhile, another guard headed toward the room Ren had entered.
However, just as the guard turned the corner—timing it perfectly—another man in a security uniform, his cap pulled low, stepped out from the other side, completely bypassing the guard's line of sight.
Ren adjusted his cap and scanned the hotel layout.
The investigation starts now.
End of Chapter
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