A lone cherry blossom tree stood atop the hill—the very place where Queen Sakura and Prince Gill had lost their lives. Having accepted the c
A lone cherry blossom tree stood atop the hill—the very place where Queen Sakura and Prince Gill had lost their lives.
Having accepted the commission, Hayashi Yoshiki figured he should at least make a show of investigating.
But he had barely arrived at the base of the tree when a small yellow car came driving up in the distance.
Out stepped a girl in a Teitan High School uniform—Ran Mouri.
She was clearly startled to find someone already under the tree.
"Weren't you the one at the banquet last night…?"
"Good day, Princess Mira," Hayashi replied politely. "My name is Hayashi Yoshiki. I'm only here because I accepted a commission from Mr. Keith to investigate the truth behind this 'accident.'"
"Truth?" Mira's expression changed subtly.
Regarding the queen and prince's deaths, Gerard had been the first witness. According to him, the prince accidentally shot his mother during a hunting trip and, unable to accept what he'd done, took his own life. Having been so well protected by the queen her whole life, Mira had never thought to question her uncle's version of events.
"Prince Gill was left-handed, wasn't he?"
"...How do you know that?"
"So it's true then." Hayashi smiled. "Well, I've already looked into what I needed here. I'll leave you to your remembrance, Princess."
"What do you mean by that? Hey—what is the truth, exactly?"
"I don't have the evidence yet, so for now it's all speculation. If nothing unexpected happens, the truth will come to light tomorrow…"
With a wave, Hayashi Yoshiki turned and left.
Princess Mira stood frozen, slightly frustrated. But when she turned back and saw the cherry tree swaying gently in the sudden wind, the sorrow welling up in her chest made her stop both her voice and her steps.
She didn't want anyone to see her in such a vulnerable state.
Hayashi walked toward the yellow car.
"Well, fancy seeing you again, handsome~"
Leaning against the tiny yellow Beetle was Fujiko Mine, who greeted him with a sweet smile.
Lupin III squinted. "Who the hell is this guy now?"
"Yes, it seems we meet again, Miss Fujiko Mine."
"Oh? Do you recognize me? Don't tell me—you're a fan?"
"If you ever did a photo book, I just might become one."
"Oho!!!"
That fired Lupin up instantly. His eyes gleamed with mischief as he turned to Fujiko. "That's not a bad idea, Fujiko~ Why not do it for the benefit of mankind?"
"And if I did do a photo book, how much would you pay me, Lupin?"
"Why would I pay you?"
"Because with this body, doing a photo shoot would be selling myself short. If there's no decent price on the table, I won't even consider it. But if you make it worth my while… who knows?"
Fujiko Mine was nothing if not vain.
Or rather, she knew exactly how stunning she was—and used her beauty to seduce and manipulate others to her advantage.
Hayashi couldn't help but fall silent at the scene.
Fujiko turned her gaze back to him. "So, mister, still haven't told me how you know me."
"Let's say I learned of you through Mr. Keith's commission and heard of your dealings with him. Would that explanation suffice?"
"No problem at all. But I do know you're lying."
Fujiko grinned. "You strike me as the gentlemanly type in public—soft-spoken, reliable—but behind that nice-guy act, you're full of schemes and sharp instincts. Like a snake. People won't even know what hit them until it's too late."
…What a troublesome group of people.
"But," she added with a smirk, "I get the feeling you're a good person, deep down."
She was rarely wrong about people.
"I don't get along with guys like him," Lupin said as he stretched lazily.
"Well, we do come from different genres," Hayashi replied with a chuckle.
—Comedic characters were always the hardest to deal with as enemies. All they brought was headaches.
Fujiko nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Like humans and… primates."
"Wait. Are you calling me a primate?"
"My, my! Aren't you clever, Lupin~"
"You damn woman…"
Lupin shot her an annoyed look.
"This time, Gerard probably hired some troublesome assassins. You'd better be extra cautious when it comes to the princess's safety," Hayashi warned.
With that, he swung his leg over a motorcycle and sped off.
It was a vehicle on loan from the Vespania royal palace.
From his talk with Lupin, Hayashi had confirmed that the monkey-faced thief wouldn't act based solely on words or requests—he only moved for things that interested him.
As for Fujiko, money could sway her—but you had to be careful. Betrayal was her specialty. She loved turning on people just when they thought they could trust her.
Vrooom!
The motorcycle roared to life, and Hayashi Yoshiki quickly disappeared from sight.
Fujiko watched him go and smiled. "So, what do you think, Lupin?"
"He seems like a dangerous and annoying guy… Better keep our distance," Lupin muttered—though he quickly stopped caring.
Hayashi returned to the royal palace.
Conan and Jigen had gone out pretending to be father and son to investigate. Kogoro Mouri was digging around in the palace's armory. Meanwhile, Zenigata was busy negotiating with the palace guards in charge of the treasury—Lupin had his eyes on the royal crown, and he had almost certainly already scoped it out.
At the same time, someone else had infiltrated the palace.
Disguised and walking through the vast halls, Vermouth quietly observed her surroundings.
She was identifying spots ideal for sniping or close-range attacks.
After a while, she took out her phone and sent a report to Gin, along with stealth photos of the palace interior.
Soon, a reply came:
Gin: "We move tonight."
Vermouth: "That soon?"
Gin: "No point in waiting."
Vermouth: "Alright. I'll stay hidden and give the signal when the time comes."
Knowing Gerard's dangerous ambitions, Keith and the others were now hyper-focused on the princess's security. They rarely let her be alone.
So the best option was clearly a long-range sniper attack.
Now to find a way to lure the princess into a sniping-friendly location, Vermouth thought.