Chapter Forty-Six: BOOM

The strong gust from the high-speed collision seemed to blow right into his face. He drew his card gun and fired repeatedly, only to be shocked to find that whenever the cards reached the silver-haired detective, they were either deflected by his sword point or bounced off as if hitting something invisible. In the next moment, Moray was about to crash into him head-on!

The medal on his chest emitted an inexplicable gray glow, and a wave of drowsiness invaded Kaito Kuroba’s mind.

Hypnosis? Since when... What exactly was the mechanism?

Of course, the medal had no mechanical trap; it simply carried an embedded hypnotic spell.

But under the current circumstances, he had no time to ponder. He could only toss the pearl behind Moray. Moray’s eyes sharpened; he spun mid-air and caught the pearl. By the time he landed, Kid had already vanished into the smoke.

Yet his voice echoed from all directions: “You win this time, Moray.”

“This Dark Star is not the treasure I seek, so I shall not rob what others cherish.”

“Let everyone present give a round of applause to Moray, thanking him for his splendid performance—”

With that, Kaito Kuroba cut off the microphone and let out a big yawn.

Applause gradually rose from the audience, swelling into a continuous murmur. Conversations buzzed among the crowd.

“What was that just now? It was quite entertaining!” said an engrossed spectator.

“No, that Moray—his physical abilities—could he really be human?” marveled someone stunned by Moray’s display.

“Kid Kaito said he’s a magician too, right? It’s just some props he used, nothing special,” said a disdainful expert.

“Both Kid and Moray are so cool, it’s so hard to choose—” exclaimed Sonoko Suzuki.

“Wait, what happened? Why did it all end so quickly?” asked Conan, clutching the clothes from earlier, returning to the hall with Ran Mouri.

Kaito Kuroba had been quite gentlemanly; he hadn’t stooped to undressing a lady’s clothes. He merely did some prior reconnaissance and procured a set of identical clothing.

Moray brushed the dust off his clothes, stepped down, and handed the gem to Tomoko Suzuki.

Casually brushing off her thanks and the crowd’s admiration, he pondered Kid’s earlier words in his heart.

‘To give the audience the ultimate visual experience—that’s what a magician should do,’ right?

He’s not like me, a magician who only uses subtle enhancements that nobody notices. His magic should have strong visual effects. Showing it openly to the public...

Wouldn’t he worry about diminishing the mystery of magic?

Mystery—the concept embedded in Moray’s original world’s magic system. Simply put, the more people who know about a magic trick, the weaker its power becomes. Thus, magicians do everything possible to keep their secrets from being uncovered.

Using fatigue as an excuse to dismiss those who came to chat, Moray raised a glass of wine.

Once back, he decided to ask Koizumi Beniko properly.

...

Moray’s performance that night, combined with Kid’s flamboyant show and the dramatic exit Kid made, caused Moray to become the talk of the major newspapers, boosting his fame.

Unfortunately, no video footage was preserved that night, leaving many viewers feeling regretful. After all, merely recounting the event made it hard for others to grasp just how spectacular the duel was.

Yet Moray, at the center of the storm, paid no attention to the heated discussions about him.

“What?!” He found it hard to believe. “Kid doesn’t do magic?”

“No, he’s a master magician,” Koizumi Beniko said, watching the pot bubble in front of her. “But he doesn’t do sorcery.”

“Well, I don’t do sorcery either!”

“That’s sorcery!” Beniko snapped, exasperated. “What’s the difference between magic and sorcery? Isn’t a technique powered by magical energy sorcery?!”

“Sigh, you’re a person from the declining age of magic, I can’t blame you,” Moray pretended to sigh.

Beniko took a deep breath.

“But since that’s the case, it explains why the kid doesn’t fear the loss of mystery.”

“Loss of mystery?” Beniko frowned.

“The power of magic weakens as more people understand it. Don’t tell me modern magicians don’t even know this?” Moray was baffled.

“...” Beniko was silent for a moment. “Now I’m starting to believe you really came from a parallel world.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve never heard of this ‘mystery’ concept. The power of magic only relates to the composition of the technique and the amount of energy used.” She flipped through several centuries-old manuscripts. “I have hundreds of manuscripts dating back hundreds of years. None mention ‘mystery’ like that.”

“How could that be?” Moray muttered. “Could it be that the Holy Grail really threw me into a world completely unrelated to my own timeline?”

Then why is the civilization here still dominated by purebred humans, exactly like in my world? Does that make sense statistically?

“Anyway, think it over yourself. From a common-sense perspective, you really are at a parallel world level,” Beniko said, rubbing her forehead. “Oh, and you’re stuck with an ancient person’s mindset, too, really...”

She glanced at the pot, sighed, and casually poured its contents into the waste container.

“Are you stewing your tonic soup again?”

“No, this time I’m refining medicine. If nothing else, I’ll hang up.”

After ending the call, Moray still felt somewhat incredulous.

As far as he knew, the Holy Grail shouldn’t have the power to send him this far.

—In truth, it didn’t. This was the planetary will itself flushing him away.

Moreover, pinpoint teleportation demands high precision, and locating a world in the void where humans are the main civilization with nearly identical historical development...

—Actually, there was no precise targeting. Moray was simply swept away from an abandoned hole while spinning. Ending up in this world was pure luck—a curse spanning a thousand years.

Though skeptical, Moray could only accept this fact for now and decided to verify it later. Now was a joyful time for learning!

Moray pulled several borrowed books from the shelf—some computer and programming monographs recommended earlier by Professor Agasa—and was about to read when his phone rang.

He checked the caller ID: Gin.

Once I take control of the organization, I’ll make sure you’re on missions every time you go to the bathroom!!!

Grumbling, Moray answered the call.

“What is it?”

“This afternoon at the Mihana Grand Hotel, Mantendo Company will hold a launch event,” Gin said, unaware of Moray’s prior arrangements and feeling pleased with his straightforwardness. “The organization has decided to send you for the deal.”

“Ah?” Moray was truly stunned. “But I promised some friends from my cover identity that I’d attend that launch in the afternoon, so it might be inconvenient.”

The invitation had come from Sonoko Suzuki that very night.

On the other end, Gin considered for a moment.

The organization had investigated Moray’s friends.

Kogoro Mouri, famous detective, had some surveillance and utilitarian value.

Professor Agasa, engineering doctorate, judged to be a harmless target.

Sonoko Suzuki, scion of a conglomerate, of considerable value, potentially useful for control.

Though some within the organization had their own designs on Moray’s “friends,” they had no intention of interfering with his social life. This arrangement suited them well.

Besides, the mission didn’t strictly require Moray, so Gin readily approved his leave.

“Who’s the other party? I’ll keep an eye on things. Also, who’s covering my shift in the organization?” Moray asked, multitasking by studying the monographs word by word during the call.

“The other party is an employee named Hideaki Nakajima. Your replacement is a veteran of the organization, Tequila.”

...

That afternoon, at the Mantendo game launch event.

Kogoro Mouri and his family, Moray, and Sonoko Suzuki were lining up to check in their bags.

“If not for Mantendo co-developing a game with me, I wouldn’t have come,” Kogoro whispered to Moray.

“I was planning to go to the horse races this afternoon... Have you ever tried it?” he nudged Moray with his elbow.

“Horse racing?” Moray frowned. “I’d better not. I advise you to quit too. Unlike mahjong, the house always controls the betting. Trying to make money this way is futile. But watching the races is fine.”

This kind of thing had long left the realm of probability theory. Even with Moray’s mathematical insight, he wouldn’t touch it.

“Detective Mouri, good afternoon!” Someone approached from behind the line. “And you must be Detective Moray, who’s been quite popular lately, right?”

Moray nodded in acknowledgment.

“Thanks to Detective Mouri providing your background, we managed to develop such an excellent detective game. Speaking of which, Moray-san has been quite the sensation lately. Would you be interested in collaborating with us to develop a game based on your duel that night?”

“May I ask your name?”

“I’m Hideaki Nakajima, from Mantendo’s development department.”

Moray raised an eyebrow. So this was his trading partner?

“Hey, isn’t this the plagiarism master Nakajima?” His colleague Koji Ueda came forward disdainfully. “Three days ago, I accidentally let it slip that using Detective Mouri’s name would guarantee success for a game. Didn’t expect you to propose exactly the same plan just days later.”

“But now, seeing you just try to retrace the path to success, I’m relieved. You’re nothing but a copycat with no original ideas.”

“Ueda, you don’t have to be so harsh...” Another colleague, Hironobu Takeshita, tried to mediate but was mercilessly exposed by Ueda: “Don’t pretend; you hate him even more than I do. I was just robbed of a plan, but he stole your woman!”

Takeshita was silent for a moment and murmured, “That was back in college. I’ve long forgotten.”

Though tensions existed among the three, they maintained a semblance of collegiality in public.

As staff were allowed early entry, they apologized and cut in line to check their bags, receiving consecutive ticket numbers 97, 98, and 99.

Conan dragged Ran Mouri to play a fighting game; disinterested, Kogoro and Moray stepped outside for a smoke.

Suddenly, Moray caught sight of a tall man in black near the front desk.

Wasn’t that the same black three-piece suit, trousers, and hat as Gin and Vodka?

Using magic to enhance his hearing, he faintly caught the front desk clerk’s voice: “Your luggage... guest number 98...”

Number 98—he recalled that was Hideaki Nakajima’s tag. So this must be Tequila?

I’ll see what the transaction is all about—

Moray stubbed out his cigarette, greeted Kogoro, and followed Tequila.

He subtly emitted magical energy to sense the surroundings—

Then stopped abruptly.

“...” Moray fell silent.

The organization...

Spending a fortune.

Buying a package bomb?

Forget it, I’ll call Gin.

Conan, seeing Moray fixated on the man walking away, became curious and followed.

Though Moray was highly capable, Conan hoped to keep him out of the organization’s affairs.

Moray found a secluded spot, ensuring no one was around, and dialed Gin.

“Urgent—notify Tequila to abort the deal.”

“Oh?” Gin was killing time at the organization’s bar, sipping his drink. “He just called me, saying he got the target. Why abort?”

“What’s the deal about?”

“Why do you ask?” Gin frowned.

“The box he got contains explosives.”

Gin’s eyes sharpened. He lifted the receiver to call Tequila, but suddenly a loud explosion echoed through the phone.

“...Tch.” His expression darkened.

“I informed you immediately,” Moray shook his head with a sigh. “Should Nakajima be dealt with?”

“The organization will send reinforcements.”

“Good.”

Moray hung up.

Elsewhere.

Perhaps Tequila had grown complacent after many missions without incident, as Conan overheard the entire conversation.

But with Tequila killed by the explosion, this lead was cut off. Conan stared helplessly at the black smoke drifting from the room, pounding the ground in frustration.

Damn it...

The police arrived swiftly, cordoned off the scene, and began an investigation. They soon concluded it was likely an indiscriminate attack involving a bomb planted on the restroom door.

However, after Conan’s tip-off, they discovered the bomb was actually inside the luggage.

Watching the police busily investigate the bomber, Moray felt like laughing.

From the bent medal on the box, the direction of the distortion clearly showed the bomb was inside the luggage. How could they have thought it was a bomb on the restroom door?

Without Conan’s reminder, they might have started a citywide lockdown.

Yet seeing Tequila shattered beyond recognition, Moray also felt a pang of sorrow.

He had thought Tokyo’s high crime rate was due to the organization, but now its key members were blown to bits; and if this attack was the work of hostile forces, that would be one thing—but if it was collateral damage...

Moray returned to the hall, observing the trio of Ueda, Nakajima, and Takeshita. Each had reclaimed their suitcase: Ueda had number 97, Nakajima 124, and Takeshita 99.

Nakajima’s number was originally between 97 and 99, so 124 must be Tequila’s tag? They swapped numbers to complete the deal; Tequila took Nakajima’s suitcase, which then exploded?

Currently, two possibilities existed:

1. Nakajima intended to kill Tequila.

2. Someone wanted to kill Nakajima but mistakenly killed Tequila instead.

Information was insufficient... In plain sight, Moray couldn’t confront Nakajima as a member of the organization.

However, looking at the thoughtful Conan beside him, Moray felt the matter should be resolved quickly to prevent the boy from uncovering anything else.