Chapter 79: The Bomber from Three Years Ago
Conan Edogawa adjusted his glasses, putting on his best childish smile. He pointed a small finger at the bright red gem dangling from Klee's backpack. "Say, Klee, what is this bead on your bag? It's so pretty! I want to buy one too. Do you know where they sell them?"
Ayumi leaned in, her eyes sparkling with genuine admiration. "Yeah! It really is beautiful. It's bright red, just like a real gemstone."
Klee turned her head, following their pointing fingers. She patted the gem proudly, her twin tails bouncing. "This is a Vision! You can't buy them outside."
'A Vision?'Conan thought, his mind racing.'The eye of a God? Is this some kind of religious terminology?' Out loud, he kept his voice light. "Oh? Then how did Klee get this Vision?"
"It just appeared suddenly right in front of Klee!" She threw her hands up in a wide gesture. "It means Lord Anemo Archon Barbatos recognizes Klee's abilities."
'Barbatos? One of the seventy-two demons of Solomon...'Conan's smile tightened slightly.'Could this group really be tied to an underground religious cult?'
Genta crossed his arms, looking impressed. "Whoa, that sounds so cool. If only we, the Detective Boys, had a proof like that too."
Mitsuhiko frowned, adjusting his own collar. "Genta, don't we have our Detective Badges? Isn't that our symbol?"
Ayumi nodded vigorously. "Exactly! Besides, the Doctor made those badges specially for us. Doesn't that mean he recognizes us too?"
Genta scratched the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly. "I guess that's true."
Conan pressed on, unwilling to let the topic drop. "Klee, I noticed that Brother Kaeya also has a Vision. Do you know how he got his?"
Klee shook her head. "Klee doesn't know. But Klee knows Brother Kaeya's Vision must have appeared suddenly too!"
"Then does Nahida have a Vision?" Conan found it highly suspicious that the older girl lacked one. If this was a uniform identifier for their group, she ought to carry one as well.
"Klee doesn't know. Klee only met Nahida today." Klee tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But Klee knows Nahida is very smart! She knows a whole lot of things that Klee doesn't."
Conan suppressed a sigh. It seemed the little girl really was just a child, kept entirely in the dark by the adults around her. He watched helplessly as Klee and Ayumi shifted the topic, their chatter growing louder until they were enthusiastically making plans to go catch fish together next time.
In the adjacent Ferris wheel cabin, another lively conversation was taking place. However, Natsume was not the one doing the talking. It was Nahida and Haibara.
At first, Natsume tried to follow along. But as the terminology grew increasingly complex, crossing into advanced theoretical physics and programming, her eyes glazed over. Eventually, she abandoned the effort entirely, resting her chin on her hand and staring out at the sprawling Tokyo skyline.
Soon, the giant wheel completed its rotation. Klee hopped out of the cabin, finally satisfied with the altitude, no longer demanding to queue up for another round. Seeing that Klee loved high places and that the afternoon was still young, Natsume decided to take her and Nahida to Tokyo Tower for a better view. They waved goodbye to the Detective Boys and parted ways.
Haibara strolled up to Conan, her hands tucked casually into her pockets. "Well? Did you manage to extract anything useful?"
"Not much," Conan muttered. "Just that the bead is called a Vision, and it was given to Klee by someone named Anemo Archon Barbatos. Nothing else. What about you? What did you talk about with Natsume? Or did you just sit there in silence?"
"Why are you so fixated on that glass bead? It is likely just a trinket used to coax children." Haibara brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "As for me, I had quite a productive chat over there. Nahida is certainly no ordinary child. She possesses an extensive reservoir of knowledge, particularly regarding virtual reality."
Conan narrowed his eyes, his old suspicions flaring up. "Do you think she might be like us...?"
Haibara cast a sidelong glance at him. "Unlikely. While I conversed with Nahida, I kept a close watch on Natsume's reactions. She displayed absolutely no surprise or tension at the depth of our discussion. To her, it is perfectly normal for Nahida to possess such intellect. The girl is simply a prodigy. You of all people should know this world has no shortage of geniuses."
Conan's mouth twitched. 'Heh. Is that so?' He couldn't shake the feeling that Haibara was subtly calling him an idiot.
The group hadn't walked far from the amusement park when they bumped into Officer Sato. She had intended to treat the Detective Boys to a meal as a reward for their previous assistance. To everyone's surprise, they also ran into Officer Shiratori and Officer Takagi, who were in the middle of a bomb investigation.
As they exchanged information, a shocking piece of gossip surfaced. Miwako Sato and Jinpei Matsuda had actually dated three years ago, though the relationship had been brief.
Conan recalled running into Officer Matsuda a few times recently. He never would have guessed that Sato once harbored feelings for such a brash, arrogant man—the complete polar opposite of the mild-mannered Takagi. It seemed Takagi's road to romance was going to be an uphill battle.
"I'll admit, Matsuda is sharp. His reflexes are top-notch," Sato said, her tone carrying a mix of fondness and exasperation. "But he is entirely too stubborn. It was fine at first, but after a while, I just couldn't tolerate his attitude." Her voice dropped, the cheerful edge fading into something heavier. "And I know he never truly moved past what happened seven years ago. Honestly... I haven't either. He really almost died back then."
Noticing the children's wide-eyed curiosity, Sato provided a brief rundown of the serial bombings from seven years ago, and the subsequent incident that occurred exactly three years ago today.
"I had no idea Officer Matsuda went through something like that," Conan said, his brow furrowing. "How did he manage to escape with his life under those conditions?"
"It was nothing short of a miracle." Sato shook her head slowly. "Matsuda fell from the Ferris wheel and somehow walked away with only minor injuries. He claimed someone saved him, but the forensics team found zero trace of a second person at the scene. It was likely just his imagination playing tricks on him due to the stress."
"So there is a high probability the bomber will strike again today?" Conan asked, his voice dropping to a serious whisper.
Sato let out a heavy sigh. "I can't say for sure. But Matsuda is planted right next to the fax machine at headquarters again today. He has done the exact same thing every single year since that day three years ago."
The peaceful afternoon shattered moments later.
A deafening roar ripped through the street. Flames engulfed Officer Shiratori's car, the shockwave throwing him violently backward. Panic erupted. Paramedics arrived swiftly, confirming that while his injuries were severe, they were thankfully not life-threatening.
Just before being loaded into the ambulance, Shiratori weakly pressed a torn piece of paper into Sato's hands. He had pulled it from the car right before the detonation.
Sato unfolded the scorched paper. Her breath hitched.
'I am a major league batter...'
She recognized the taunt instantly. The bomber from three years ago had returned.
Simultaneously, the fax machine at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department whirred to life. Jinpei Matsuda, who had been staring at the plastic tray for hours, snatched the paper the second it printed. His eyes scanned the familiar, mocking text. One location immediately flashed through his mind.
'Minami-Haido Station.'
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the unfolding crisis, Natsume led Klee and Nahida to the base of Tokyo Tower. It was Natsume's first time visiting the iconic landmark as well, giving her the perfect excuse to act like a tourist alongside her companions.
"Wow! A giant red tower! It's so tall!" Klee shouted, using one hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she leaned back to take in the sheer scale of the structure.
The trio eagerly purchased their tickets and rode the elevator up to the observation deck. They spent a long time wandering the circular viewing area, pointing out tiny cars and buildings, snapping dozens of photos against the glass. Even as they finally prepared to take the elevator back down, Klee's eyes still lingered on the horizon, hungry for more adventure.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]