Chapter 84: Professionals
To be precise, Inspector Nakamori was currently delivering a loud, one-sided lecture. He waved his arms emphatically, desperate to convince the exhibition's host to hand over the gemstone's security to the seasoned police force before the event officially began. The woman standing opposite him merely listened with a serene expression. She offered a polite nod or a brief hum of acknowledgment every so often, projecting the perfect image of an attentive listener while giving absolutely zero ground.
'Hey, Inspector Nakamori sure has perseverance,'Conan thought, observing the exchange from a short distance away.'The other party isn't buying a single word he says, yet he still hasn't given up on trying to convince her.'
Conan scanned the scene before him, easily deducing that the elegant woman enduring the inspector's rant must be the Miss Ningguang that Sonoko had mentioned earlier.
Miss Ningguang possessed striking, rare platinum-blonde hair that cascaded down her back, paired with sharp vermilion eyes that seemed to calculate the value of everything they rested upon. She wore an exquisite qipao woven in elegant shades of gold, white, and black. A heavy, deep-gold fan-shaped ornament rested at her waist. Dangling from it was a familiar sight—a glowing yellow gemstone encased in a metallic frame.
To be completely honest, Conan felt it wasn't even surprising anymore.
Whenever he encountered someone with such a distinct, otherworldly aura, his eyes automatically drifted toward their waist or accessories, subconsciously searching for those strange, glowing beads.
But seeing his suspicions confirmed yet again still managed to catch him off guard. He truly did not expect the person in charge of such a massive, wealthy corporation to also be involved in whatever secret society this was. Did she also believe in that Anemo Archon, Barbatos?
Wait. Conan narrowed his eyes. The bead on her waist was yellow, not teal. What did the different colors and elemental designs represent? Different religious beliefs? Different gods within the same pantheon?
"Miss Ningguang! Did you hear me?!" Inspector Nakamori's voice boomed across the hall, his patience wearing thin. "That thief, Kaitou Kid, is no ordinary criminal to deal with! Your current private security strength is completely insufficient. So, let us experienced police officers handle the on-site security! I guarantee you, we definitely will not let that phantom thief take a single step closer to the gemstone!"
"Inspector Nakamori, please rest assured. I have never taken this matter lightly," Ningguang replied, her tone smooth as silk. Her vermilion eyes shifted, catching sight of Sonoko and her approaching group. A faint, welcoming smile graced her lips, neatly cutting off the inspector's rant. "I have hired professionals to help. Now, if you would excuse me, I have guests."
Leaving the sputtering inspector behind, Ningguang glided over to Sonoko, offering a graceful greeting to Ran and the others.
Before Ran could even open her mouth to speak, a man in a sharp blue suit stepped forward, smoothing his tie with exaggerated confidence. "A very good day to you, Miss Ningguang. I am the famous detective, Kogoro Mouri. It is an absolute honor to participate in this magnificent jewelry exhibition you are hosting." He leaned in slightly, his eyes shining with fervent dedication. "I personally guarantee that I will protect these dazzling gemstones from being stolen by any thieves with ulterior motives—just as fiercely as I would protect you, my dear Miss Ningguang."
Ran's jaw locked. A distinct, throbbing cross-shaped vein bulged at her temple. She stood frozen behind her father, her fists clenching so tightly her knuckles turned white. She forced a strained, polite smile for the sake of the public venue, but her eyes promised absolute violence the moment they returned to the agency.
Conan deadpanned, his half-lidded eyes staring at the older detective. 'Uncle really is something else, acting like this the second he sees a beautiful woman. If he bothered to look back at Ran's expression right now, he would realize he is going to have a very hard time after going back.'
And really, who introduced themselves as a famous detective? Didn't he feel the slightest bit embarrassed? Half the time, the man didn't even know how he actually solved his own cases.
Ningguang blinked, slightly taken aback by the sheer audacity of the introduction. A moment later, a polite, practiced smile returned to her face. "Then I shall have to trouble you, Mr. Mouri."
Just then, a staff member approached Ningguang with a respectful bow, reporting that another young girl had arrived at the entrance. She claimed to be a friend of Miss Suzuki and requested entry.
"A friend?" Sonoko blinked in confusion. She mentally reviewed her guest list. All the people she had invited were already standing right here. "Did she say her name?"
"She said her name is Natsume Natsuki," the staff member replied.
"Natsume?" Sonoko muttered, tapping her chin. "When I invited her a few days ago, didn't she say she had a commission to handle and refused?"
Despite her confusion regarding the sudden change of plans, Sonoko beamed with delight at the thought of her friend showing up. She immediately urged the staff member to bring Natsume inside.
Moments later, Natsume walked into the hall. She quickly offered an explanation for her sudden appearance to Sonoko, stating that her commission had wrapped up much earlier than expected. Since she happened to be in the neighborhood and remembered Sonoko mentioning Kaitou Kid would appear today, she decided to drop by out of pure curiosity to take a look.
Conan stared at the newly arrived Natsume. Something felt off. He tilted his head, scrutinizing her posture and the way she carried herself. She seemed slightly weaker, somehow. Her steps lacked that usual grounded, athletic confidence.
'Is Sister Natsume just too tired from working today?'Conan wondered, lowering his head as a thoughtful smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.'Or perhaps...'
Seeing a lull in the conversation, Inspector Nakamori seized his chance. He hurried right back to Ningguang's side, refusing to drop the previous topic. "Miss Ningguang! You just mentioned you hired professionals. Exactly who are they?"
Sensing the curious gazes of everyone gathered around waiting for the answer, Ningguang decided not to keep them in suspense. "I have heard that Mr. Kid is a master of magic and illusions. To deal with him, one naturally needs to hire masters in the exact same field. As it happens, a famous magician from Fontaine arrived in the city recently to perform, so I invited them and put them in charge of protecting the gemstone."
Hearing Ningguang's words, Sonoko gasped, her eyes lighting up with instant recognition. "Miss Ningguang, are you talking about the Great Magician Lyney?! I went to see his performance before, and it was absolutely wonderful! Oh my gosh, just thinking about seeing a showdown between two superb magicians today makes me so excited!"
Ningguang offered a graceful smile, confirming the heiress's guess.
Standing quietly among the group, Kaito Kuroba—currently wearing the perfect disguise of Natsume Natsuki—smirked inwardly. 'Is that so? Then everyone just wait and see who is truly better between me and this magician from Fontaine.'
"Ah, they are coming." Ningguang spotted a familiar brother and sister approaching and beckoned for them to come over. "Let me introduce them to everyone. These two are the external help I invited—the magicians Lyney and Lynette."
Lyney tipped his top hat with a theatrical flourish, while Lynette offered a quiet, elegant nod. "Hello everyone," they greeted in unison.
Then, their eyes swept across the group and paused. Both of them looked at Natsume with genuine surprise. "Natsume, you came to visit the jewelry exhibition too?"
"Um... ah, yes. I just finished a commission, so I came to take a look. Haha," Natsume replied, her laugh sounding just a fraction too stiff.
Ran looked back and forth between the magicians and her friend curiously. "You guys know each other?"
"Yes, yeah..." Natsume stammered, trying to maintain a casual posture.
Lyney's gaze lingered on Natsume's face. A subtle, meaningful glint flashed in his violet eyes before he smoothly took over the conversation. "Yes, we actually happened to meet Natsume while she was traveling before. She helped us out with some things, and we became friends."
A single, cold drop of sweat slid down the back of 'Natsume's' neck.
Kaito screamed internally. 'What did that look Lyney just gave mean?! Could he have discovered something?!'He had done his research. He saw that this Natsume knew the young miss of the Suzuki family and could easily sneak in. Since he had spent time observing her before and understood her behavior patterns, he disguised himself as her. How was he supposed to know that the person he chose to impersonate this time happened to know this specific magician?! His luck tonight was truly'good.''No, Kaito, do not scare yourself,' he mentally scolded himself, forcing his breathing to steady.'Remember to keep a poker face.'
And the other party might not have discovered anything at all; maybe they were just bluffing. They were just people who met during a trip; how familiar could they possibly be?
After Lyney and Lynette finished their greetings, they excused themselves to check the security situation around the exhibition site.
Just after the sibling duo turned around, Conan's mouth twitched. Nestled securely within the fabric of the bow ornaments on their backs were two familiar Vision accessories.
'Strange,'Conan thought, his brow furrowing.'I did not see those two beads on their costumes when I watched their magic show before. Did they just get them recently, or did they take them off specifically before the performance?'
If they had possessed these items beforehand, what possible reason would they have to remove them specifically before stepping onto the stage?
, despite wearing the exact same type of mystical decorations, Conan could easily see that Miss Ningguang was clearly not familiar with Lyney and the others. Their brief conversation showed a distinct sense of distance, exactly as if they had just met. Up until this moment, Conan had always operated under the assumption that everyone carrying these beads knew each other personally.
He let out a quiet, internal sigh. More and more questions were piling up.
But a sharp, excited grin soon replaced his frown. That was exactly what made this so challenging. The more difficult the riddle, the more achievement one felt when finally uncovering the absolute truth!
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