Chapter 13: Ran, My Ran!
Watchtower - Evening
The evening breeze sweeping across the island was strong and bitingly cold. Natsukawa, embracing his role as Anya's adoptive father, wrapped her snugly in a thick scarf before they ventured out into the night.
As for Conan? Well, considering his actual age was seventeen—and even if he truly were a first-grader, he wasn't Natsukawa's responsibility—he'd have to deal with the cold himself.
"Conan, why are we going to the watchtower this late at night?"
"Anya knows!" the little girl chirped proudly.
Natsukawa smiled warmly. "Then why don't you tell us, Anya?"
"This afternoon, we ran into a weird uncle at the back entrance of the meeting hall, and then there was that really rude uncle too!" Anya began rambling enthusiastically about their encounter, her explanation growing increasingly convoluted until Conan finally couldn't take it anymore and interrupted to finish the story properly.
"So you suspect the watchtower guard, Hamada Koji, is the one who tried to kill Uncle Mouri?" Natsukawa summarized.
Conan nodded vigorously. The summary was perfect—exactly what he'd been thinking.
This daughter is nothing like her father at all, Natsukawa mused with amusement.
"Actually, I also noticed someone lurking around when we were near the Ryujin this morning. It seemed to be the same person."
"So Natsukawa-nii noticed it too!" Hearing this confirmation, Conan felt even more confident in his deduction.
However, the next moment—
"Ow! Anya, what was that for?!"
Conan rubbed his shin, blinking up at Anya in confusion. Why did she keep kicking him? He was going to have bruises at this rate.
"You're the same age as Anya, so you should call him Uncle Natsukawa, right, Papa?"
Natsukawa simply smiled and patted both children's heads affectionately without saying anything.
Conan continued his explanation, "By the way, I also heard from Kinoshita-san that this Hamada Koji isn't originally from the island. He only arrived after the Ryujin disaster."
"Interesting. He's definitely a strong suspect then. Even if this current case isn't connected to him, the Ryujin incident almost certainly is."
They arrived at their destination shortly after.
All three of them tilted their heads back to gaze up at the watchtower structure.
The watchtower doubled as a lighthouse, and at this hour, its beam was incredibly bright, sweeping back and forth across the dark ocean like a massive laser cutting through the night.
"It doesn't look like anyone's here?"
Anya wandered around inside the base of the watchtower, but couldn't spot a single person anywhere.
"Maybe someone else has already been here." Natsukawa crouched down, examining the scattered clutter strewn across the floor.
Whoever had come seemed to have been searching for something specific.
"There's gasoline here!" Anya exclaimed as though she'd discovered buried treasure. She even brought her face close to smell it, then revealed a blissful smile. "Mmm, it smells nice~~"
"It seems the incident this afternoon really was Hamada Koji's doing. Conan guessed correctly."
"Yeah, there aren't any cars or motorcycles here on the island. The gasoline could only have been used to try to kill Uncle Mouri."
As Natsukawa was processing this information, the door behind them slowly creaked open.
"Ah! What are you guys doing here?!"
Hearing the voice from the doorway, Natsukawa didn't even bother looking up.
It was Mikami Rin, who'd been tailing them since they left the guesthouse. Since she was just a seven-year-old girl, Natsukawa had simply ignored her presence.
The startled exclamation she'd just made was obviously deliberate—trying to make it seem like she'd only just arrived. Natsukawa decided not to call her out on the act.
Anya immediately dashed over to Mikami Rin's side, showing absolutely no fear.
Like Natsukawa, she'd already heard the girl's thoughts through her telepathy and wasn't surprised by her appearance in the slightest.
Conan, on the other hand, jumped in fright like he'd been caught red-handed breaking and entering. He hurriedly stammered, "N-no, we... we just came to the watchtower to enjoy the view!"
"Then go up there to see the view! You're rummaging through other people's belongings! You'd better run before Hamada-san gets back, or you're all in serious trouble!"
Hearing this threat, Anya wasn't scared at all. She even lifted her chin proudly like a victorious rooster.
My papa is a super-skilled spy! How could he possibly lose to some watchtower guard?
"My papa is super strong! I'm not afraid at all!"
"Alright, stop showing off. Let's head up and take a proper look."
Natsukawa located the staircase and gestured for the others to follow him.
It was dark and somewhat ominous, but he still needed to keep the children close by.
Good grief. I'm actually getting better at this whole parenting thing.
The once-mighty Spy—Twilight—has been reduced to this...
Top of the Watchtower
The wind whipped fiercely at the top of the watchtower. Natsukawa carefully tightened Anya's scarf to prevent it from being blown away.
Meanwhile, Conan and Mikami Rin were examining the only object positioned at the summit: a telescope.
However, this telescope wasn't pointed toward the ocean. Instead, it was aimed deep into the island's interior.
"It's fixed in place," Natsukawa informed Conan as the boy struggled unsuccessfully to adjust it.
"I know," Conan replied with obvious frustration. Of course he'd realized that—he'd just wanted to try anyway, in case there was any possibility...
That's what detectives did, after all. They had to test every possibility.
"Papa, I want to see the ocean! Pick me up!"
Taking advantage of the request, Natsukawa lifted Anya into his arms and approached the telescope. Up close, it became clear that three characters were engraved on the telescope's support rod: Ryujin.
It seemed this guard, Hamada Koji, was definitely connected to the Ryujin incident from seven years ago.
Kinoshita Goro had already mentioned that no items related to the Ryujin had been recovered, which made this telescope highly significant.
Combining all the previous clues, Hamada must have been involved in the Ryujin's sinking—an insider who at the very least knew where the ship had gone down.
"Anya, your papa is so nice! Can you pick me up too so I can see, Natsukawa-san?"
"No! This is Anya's papa!"
Like a possessive puppy guarding its favorite toy, Anya narrowed her eyes and clung tightly to Natsukawa's neck.
"Hmph! Anya isn't cute at all! I was planning to take you to try Shikishima's local specialties tomorrow, but now I've changed my mind!"
Anya's expression shifted to one of horror. "Wait!"
"Fine! I'll let you hold on with one hand, but only for five minutes!"
The two girls completely ignored Natsukawa's presence as they began negotiating. Mikami Rin even took matters into her own hands, climbing up Natsukawa's pant leg like a koala.
Are all kids these days part koala or something?
"Conan, did you find anything?"
This is seriously uncomfortable!
Conan, seemingly forgetting to maintain his child disguise, pointed toward the island's interior and asked Mikami Rin, "What's located in that direction?"
Mikami Rin pressed down hard on Natsukawa's shoulder, trying to lift herself higher for a better view. After a long moment of struggle, she finally answered, "That should be the Navy Cave!"
"Just as I suspected. When Kinoshita-san mentioned the Navy Cave back at the archives, I had my suspicions. It seems that's where the Ryujin has been hidden all these years."
"But... there are Navy Ghosts there!" Mikami Rin's voice dropped to an ominous whisper. "Five years ago, some scholars came here to conduct research. They all entered the Navy Cave, and they must have angered the spirits. Every single one of them was beheaded. Not one survived."
"They all died?" Natsukawa was genuinely surprised that actual deaths had occurred. "Multiple people dying there?"
Conan and Anya didn't seem particularly shocked—they'd probably heard this story before.
"Did anyone report it to the police?"
Mikami Rin shook her head firmly. "I heard about it from my dad. Apparently, Shikishima's economy was already struggling badly at the time. If news like that got out, it would completely destroy what little tourism we had left."
Natsukawa nodded thoughtfully, though he was still puzzled. Five people had died, yet there'd been no investigation, no media coverage—nothing.
How is that even possible? Didn't the families of those five scholars come looking for them?
"Natsukawa-san!"
Conan's intention was crystal clear: he wanted to head to the Navy Cave immediately.
But didn't this kid realize what time it was? Children should be tucked in bed getting proper sleep by now!
At the very least, Anya should definitely be asleep already.
"Let's head back for tonight. We can investigate the Navy Cave tomorrow morning." Seeing Conan's obvious reluctance, Natsukawa added reassuringly, "Don't worry. It's been fine all these years. One more night won't make any difference."
"Besides, if Hamada really is the culprit, where do you think he'd be right now if he's not here at the watchtower?"
Oh no!
Realization struck Conan like a bolt of lightning, and cold sweat immediately broke out across his forehead.
If Hamada's goal was to prevent Uncle Mouri from continuing his investigation, and he'd failed to stop him this afternoon, then he was probably planning to cause trouble at the guesthouse right now while no one was guarding the watchtower!
"Ran! My Ran!"
Conan took off running like a racehorse that had broken free from its reins.
Natsukawa seriously suspected the kid was wearing those power-enhancing shoes he'd glimpsed before.
Unfortunately, Natsukawa couldn't move any faster himself. With two extra attachments clinging to his arms, even walking normally felt awkward.
"Alright, everyone down. We're not at the watchtower anymore."
"Okay~"
The two little girls reluctantly climbed down from their perches. Mikami Rin and Anya quickly made plans to meet up tomorrow, then the local girl disappeared into the darkness in a flash.
Neither of them seemed to take Conan's concerns seriously at all.
Anya and Mikami Rin's lack of worry was understandable—they were just kids who couldn't think that far ahead strategically.
Natsukawa, however, genuinely felt there was nothing to worry about.
One person was unbeatable at karate, the other had been a judo champion at the police academy—what was there to be concerned about?
If anything, shouldn't Hamada Koji be the one who needed to worry?
Natsukawa idly wondered if the would-be assassin might lose an arm or a leg in the encounter.
Probably not. After all, Uncle Mouri always shows restraint.
But Ran's a different story entirely. If Hamada tries using intimidation tactics...
Anya's eyes widened as she picked up on her father's thoughts.
Is Ran-neechan really that scary? And Uncle Mouri seems so unreliable, but he's actually a judo master?
I should probably be more careful around Conan too. He might secretly know something like Jeet Kune Do!
[End of Chapter 13]
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