The alcohol ignited rapidly, and in an instant, the entire bar was engulfed in flames.
Furniture, the counter—everything was set ablaze, and the fire quickly spread from the bar to consume the entire top floor.
An intense smell poured out of the ventilation shafts, thick with smoke and the scent of burning wood dust.
'What a strong smell. These guys actually set the place on fire too.'
Covering her nose in displeasure, Natsume Sonoko coughed as the pungent odor hit her, immediately using her ability to disperse the thick smoke billowing relentlessly from the vents.
'This Black Organization is really full of surprises. Their efficiency leaves the Academy City Board of Directors in the dust.'
She recalled that barely ten minutes had passed since the explosion at the Baker Hotel, and here they were, already almost done cleaning up.
Not only had they torched the place, but they'd also taken all the useful materials with them in one go.
That group even had the time to haul away a hefty-looking silver safe, stuffing all sorts of documents inside. They'd probably already escaped via the stairs by now.
The building's fire alarm was blaring at full volume, and staff had started arriving at the top floor to assess the situation. But the fire was simply too fierce; individual fire extinguishers were useless, and they could only focus on evacuating everyone.
Just as everyone was busy evacuating the top-floor customers, someone noticed with astonishment that the flames, which had been on the verge of consuming the entire floor, suddenly halted their advance as if hitting an invisible wall.
At that moment, Natsume Sonoko was hovering mid-air, meticulously controlling the airflow around her. By manipulating temperature, she cut off the air supply around the flames.
With no oxygen getting in from the outside, the fire quickly began to suffocate from lack of fuel.
The flames gradually shrank, and once the trapped air inside had mostly burned away, the fire finally reached a manageable level.
As the last small ember flickered out, Sonoko, rather pleased with her good deed, wore a triumphant expression.
The wind up in the air was quite strong, but she remained perfectly steady, even feeling like the wind was a bit too 'rowdy'.
Her gaze drifted somewhat curiously to the dark mass of the Daiho Building below, where the people on the ground looked like tiny ants.
Yet, the observant Natsume Sonoko still managed to spot that kid Conan, who had already reached the base of the Daikoku Building and was about to take the elevator up.
No time to worry about that little runt Conan. Sonoko circled the area around the building and finally spotted those not-yet-far-off members of the villainous organization—the very arsonists—in a certain corner.
One minute later, Sonoko emerged from the alleyway carrying the safe, leaving behind a scene of the organization's members lying scattered and unconscious on the ground.
They were a pitiful sight, each sporting a large, prominent bump on their head as if they'd been clocked by something. They had all fallen unconscious, faces flushed and bodies slightly stiff.
The surprise came too suddenly. Conan never would have imagined that after rushing to the top floor only to find the Black Organization members had already fled, they would be discovered just minutes later in a nearby alley.
However, every single one of them was unconscious, whisked away by ambulance to the hospital. Inspector Megure, who happened to be in the area, was dispatched to handle the arson case.
"Conan, where did you go all this time?"
Mori Ran hurried over, her face overflowing with worry.
"Ran-neechan, I just saw Mitsuhiko and the others nearby, so I went to say hello," Conan said, tilting his head with an air of childish innocence.
"Oh, I see. But you can't go running off on your own like that anymore," Ran said, a slightly angry expression on her face that didn't really seem like a scolding. "By the way, Conan, have you seen Sonoko?"
"Ran-neechan, I'm right here."
Suddenly appearing within the crowd, Natsume offered a sweet smile and waved in the direction of Conan and the others.
--+--
Nighttime, at the Mori Detective Agency.
Natsume Sonoko held a stack of documents in her hands, her eyes filled with astonishment.
"So the so-called 'shrinkage drug' is really treated as a poison within this organization, with a fatality rate close to one hundred percent."
She suddenly spaced out, seriously pondering the matter. That Conan guy must really have some insane luck.
The safe had been stashed away who-knows-where by someone. The documents inside were a bit numerous, and she hadn't had time to read through them all yet.
"Sonoko, it's very late now. Remember to get some sleep." The voice of Ran-neechan came from outside the door.
"Okay, I'm going to sleep now."
--+--
The television programming in Tokyo was quite varied. Early in the morning, a drama starring TV idol Yoko Okino was already playing.
Natsume Sonoko, Uncle Mori, and the others sat gathered around the TV, a simple breakfast laid out on the small table in front of them. Uncle Mori stared, mesmerized, at the actress on the screen, his excited gesturing making it seem like he wanted to hug the television itself.
Conan, as usual, rolled his eyes, then turned his gaze towards Natsume Sonoko, who was staring blankly at the TV.
Having kept up with the times in Academy City, it had been quite a few years since Natsume Sonoko had last watched a proper television.
But the date displayed on the TV today seemed a bit strange. Could the station have made a mistake?
"Ran-neechan, isn't there something wrong with the date on the TV?"
Pointing at the time display in the corner of the screen, Natsume Sonoko put down the bowl of millet porridge she was holding.
"Hmm? No, there's no problem."
Ran checked the calendar on Kogoro Mori's desk before speaking up.
Sonoko was immediately confused. She pulled out her phone to check the time, only then realizing that her phone's time was basically the same as the TV's.
'Impossible. Something must be wrong somewhere.' A baffled expression appeared on Natsume Sonoko's face as she propped her chin on her hand and furrowed her brows.
"Hello, Inspector Megure? What's happened now?"
Just as he was gleefully watching Yoko Okino's drama, the ringtone from Kogoro Mori's phone, placed nearby, started blaring. Glancing at the caller ID, he reluctantly answered the call.
"What did you say! Everyone from the Cocktail Bar was killed last night?"
Kogoro Mori shot to his feet, exclaiming in shock.
Beside him, Conan's face also drastically changed, his pupils dilating sharply, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.
"Ran, I have to go deal with something for Inspector Megure. I'm leaving the house to you."
His face instantly switching to a serious demeanor, Kogoro Mori quickly suited up and hurried out the door.
"Uncle Mori, I'm coming too!"
The kid Conan, who had been sitting nearby, shouted after him and darted out in a flash.
"Honestly, causing worry first thing in the morning."
After finishing breakfast, Ran-neechan busied herself clearing the dishes, while Natsume focused entirely on replying to messages.
[Natsume-san, my phone, computer, and even the satellite data at Judgment Branch 177 all indicate the current time is July 25th, 8:20 AM. It's the third day since you left Academy City.]Shirai replied.
[Uh... this! I'm suddenly a little confused.]
After double and triple-checking, then looking again at the August 30th date on her phone, Natsume Sonoko's expression turned serious.
The time mentioned by Shirai actually matched Sonoko's own memory perfectly. Counting the day she left Academy City, today should indeed be the third day.
'It's possible something has altered everyone's perception of time. Not only has no one noticed, but they've all accepted it as normal.'
Just a short while ago, Natsume Sonoko had tried asking Ran-neechan a few more questions.
To Sonoko's surprise, the dates for the previous few days were perfectly normal: the day before yesterday was July 23rd, yesterday was July 24th.
But today had become August 30th. Tomorrow was April 15th, the day after was another random date, and it wasn't until four days later that it finally reverted to July 25th.
It was as if these four days had been abruptly inserted into the timeline. [A/N: The previous explanation was too complicated. The current time disorder is simply normal days with some originally non-existent days inserted into them.]
But even on this extra, inserted day, she could communicate with the outside world without any issues.
'If these four days aren't counted in the normal flow of time, does that mean my vacation has been extended, in a way?'
Natsume Sonoko blinked, unable to quite figure it out. Her vacation was really proving to be full of twists and turns.
If she sent messages to Shirai over the next few days, what would the situation be on her end?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.