"Next week we'll be going on our school trip, so before we leave we need to divide up the responsibilities for the trip. You can apply for the roles yourselves."
A school trip? That hadn't come up before. Must be some scripted event in this world. Every September or October, Japanese schools organized these cultural exchanges in the form of travel. Basically, it was just like a spring outing.
But in this detective world where time always stood still—holidays kept repeating endlessly—events that marked graduation or promotion never happened. Unexpectedly, this world actually had a school trip. Interesting.
It was best to settle everything during homeroom. The homeroom teacher was satisfied with the students' attitude, since many were still willing to contribute.
But the result wasn't great. These students were too spoiled and all picked the easy jobs. "This won't do. We still need someone to collect everyone's trash. We have to make sure we don't harm the environment. Who's willing to handle garbage disposal?"
Nobody wanted that dirty and tiring task. That job meant dealing with trash for the entire trip.
But just because nobody liked it didn't mean nobody would do it. Liu A'dou raised his hand. "Teacher, I'll do it."
This was selflessness, sacrifice, righteousness… well, maybe a bit exaggerated. Still, him volunteering earned real respect. The teacher kept nodding—students like this were rare.
Ran and Sonoko screamed inside, 'Don't be fooled by his looks!'
"Very good. Now that tasks are assigned, here's more good news. Joining us will be your favorite chemistry teacher, Ada Wong."
The boys cheered. Liu A'dou thought, 'What the hell are you excited about? Ada-jie is destined to be mine.'
Everyone was excited for the trip, though it wouldn't happen until next week.
Hattori Heiji returned with Mouri Kogoro, both exhausted. Once at the scene, they realized there were no clues at all. Nothing left but a giant crater. Mount Fuji was gone, just vanished. Only gods or demons could have done that.
Kogoro knew his earlier bold promise was impossible now. This case couldn't be investigated.
"Uncle, I'll take the kid out for a snack. I'll bring him back tonight," Hattori said. He needed to discuss things with Conan.
They found a remote ice cream shop and whispered like conspirators.
"I took photos, but there are no clues at all."
"Let me see first."
Conan studied them carefully. There really wasn't much to say—just a ridiculously large crater. "This is all?"
"No, there are more photos from the police. They should arrive tonight. You should've seen it—an entire mountain gone. I don't believe Kaitou Kid did this, unless he's an alien." For the first time, Hattori faced a case that felt impossible.
"I can't figure out how Mount Fuji disappeared either. By the way, was there any lighting equipment? I remember before it vanished, there was a huge flash, like daylight."
Hattori shook his head. "How could there be? Even the strongest searchlights can't create something like that. Oh right, don't you have that inventor friend? Ask him if there's any tech that could make a whole mountain vanish."
"I already asked. He doesn't know either." Even Professor Agasa was shaken. As a great inventor, he couldn't think of any way this was possible. If such powerful tech existed in the world and he knew nothing about it, that was crushing.
"This is tough. Kaitou Kid is too freaky."
Conan frowned. "Right, we can ask Miss Sawaguchi. See how Kid managed to impersonate her."
Hattori slapped his thigh. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"
"I'm afraid even if we check, it'll be useless. Kid never leaves witnesses."
"No matter what, we still have to check." Hattori said firmly. "I'm going right now."
"I'll go with you."
And just as Conan expected, during the party Sawaguchi had been asleep at home. She had no idea what happened, not even seeing a single suspicious person.
The two returned disappointed, standing under the flickering streetlights in silence.
Both were deep in thought. This case was outrageously bizarre, impossible to explain with common sense. Their two shadows, one tall and one short, swayed in the dim light like clues that refused to be grasped.
"Hey, Kudo, do you think Kaitou Kid might really be an alien?"
"Impossible. Are you an idiot?" Conan shot it down without hesitation. "Kaitou Kid must've used some unbelievable method to make the mountain disappear."
"But could current human technology even pull that off?" Hattori asked.
"Maybe. I mean, didn't I change from a high schooler into an elementary schooler?" Conan replied.
Suddenly both fell silent, staring at each other. In their eyes, light flashed. Right—what if Mount Fuji had been shrunk?
Two sharp detectives reached the same thought. They didn't know the method, but this possibility seemed the most plausible.
"I remember a homeless guy said he saw a flash of light cover the whole mountain that night," Hattori recalled.
"That light might've been what illuminated the mountain—maybe the secret behind its disappearance." Conan's voice grew excited. "If the mountain was shrunk, then Kaitou Kid could've taken it away easily. We need to go to the scene."
"No problem, leave it to me." Hattori pulled Conan along and they rushed to catch the shinkansen. Only after boarding did he call the Mouri Detective Agency.
It was already done—Ran might think it was wrong for Hattori to drag Conan out at night, but she had no way to stop them now.
"Kudo, I think we've finally caught onto Kaitou Kid's weakness." The pressure on Hattori had been huge all day. Now with a breakthrough, he wouldn't let go.
Conan agreed. If they could find proof that Kaitou had shrunk the mountain, they'd have much more confidence in taking him down. And maybe—just maybe—it could lead to him finding a way to turn back into a high schooler. Kaitou Kid, Kudo Shinichi will catch you, and burn away your moonlit tricks.
The two carried out a carpet search around Mount Fuji under the night sky. Careful, patient, not overlooking a single anomaly.
"Kudo, look."
On the ground was a pressed-in mark. Strange—and strange meant suspicious. That was exactly what they were looking for.
"This mark isn't something ordinary that could press it down. Hattori, there's another one here."
Sure enough, more marks of varying sizes. Hattori examined them. "These are gas tank imprints."
Conan nodded, a rare smile spreading across his face. "Keep looking. Maybe we can find more clues."