"Like Caesar ensnared by Egypt's queen, I'm already at your side. Kid the Phantom Thief arrives…"
As Ran read the words on the card, the banquet hall erupted into chaos.
"Kid!"
"It's the phantom thief!"
"Kid the Phantom Thief!"
Officer Chaki, seeing the panicked tycoons, raised his voice to calm the guests, urging them to verify secret codes with those nearby.
"Officer Nakamori, you don't think he's already stolen the black pearl, do you?" Chaki asked, knowing Nakamori's expertise on Kid surpassed his own.
"That guy hasn't stolen a thing yet, nor has he left this place. He's just trying to shake us up, luring us into his trap," Conan said, a knowing smirk spreading across his face. "This time, I'll catch him. He's no magician—just an ordinary trickster."
Unlike the stunned Officers Chaki and Nakamori, Tsuneo glanced at the black pearl pinned to his chest, said nothing, and kept eating.
It was the Suzuki Consortium's sixtieth anniversary, after all. The food and drinks on this cruise were top-notch, but the portions? Way too small.
Thumbs down!
…
"Inspector, the ship's thirty minutes from Tokyo Bay!" an officer reported, rushing into the banquet hall.
"Good. Guard every entrance and exit to this hall—no one gets in or out!" Nakamori barked, locking down the venue.
With only half an hour left in the three-hour voyage, Kid had revealed that card to sow chaos among the guests, creating an opportunity to strike.
"See anything?" Conan asked, looking up at Tsuneo, who'd finally eaten his fill.
The Suzukis invited you to help, not just to freeload, right?
"Crystal clear," Tsuneo nodded, his peripheral vision catching a certain shawl-draped woman.
"What?" Conan asked, puzzled by what Tsuneo might've noticed.
"It's almost time," Tsuneo said, scanning the jittery tycoons and CEOs around them.
Regular folks wouldn't care much about some phantom thief.
The richer they were, the more paranoid they got.
Except Sonoko, of course—she always had her own weird ideas…
"Ran, where'd the pearl on your chest go?" Sonoko asked, confused.
Even if it was a fake, her mom had it specially made. How could it just be a silver mount with the black pearl missing?
"No way!" Ran looked down, realizing her pearl was indeed gone.
But then she spotted a black pearl rolling on the floor nearby.
"Sorry, could someone pick that up for me?" Ran called toward the pearl's path.
A middle-aged man a few meters away smiled and bent to retrieve the rolling pearl.
Then, chaos struck.
The black pearl suddenly spewed pink smoke, followed by a flash and a bang as it exploded.
The blast wasn't massive, but the suddenness sent the man stumbling back, collapsing in shock.
"What?!"
"What just happened?"
Guests turned toward the noise, the hall buzzing with renewed panic.
"It was the pearl! That black pearl exploded!" the man shouted, his face pale with fear.
Before anyone could process, a dozen more black pearls appeared from nowhere, rolling underfoot and popping off in a crackling frenzy.
"Are you kidding me?!" Nearly everyone tore off their chest-pinned pearls, tossing them to the floor and rushing toward the banquet hall's doors in a frantic stampede.
"Please, everyone, stay calm!"
"Calm down!" Officer Chaki pleaded, but the crowd surged past, overwhelming the few officers trying to maintain order.
Dozens of guests had already barreled out of the sealed hall.
"Mrs. Suzuki, you okay?" Tsuneo asked the woman who'd chosen to hunker down with him in the corner.
"I'm fine," Tomoko Suzuki replied, nodding, her eyes warily scanning the chaos.
Ran and Sonoko, tugging Conan along, hurried over.
Ran, unable to spot Uncle Mouri anywhere, leaned toward Tsuneo. "Tsuneo, what do we do now?"
"Just stay put," Tsuneo said coolly, his gaze locking onto someone's restless hand. "If that thief dares touch me, I'll break all four of his limbs and toss him into the sewer."
"Uh…" Ran froze, her expression stunned.
"Ran, Kid might've slipped out with the guests. Let's go after him!" Conan said, pulling her hand and racing for the door.
"Wait!" Ran sighed helplessly, dragged along by the young detective.
…
In the deserted engine room of the cruise ship:
Ran had been led here by Conan.
"Conan, do you really think Kid the Phantom Thief would hide in a place like this?" Ran asked, hands behind her back, smiling.
Conan balanced a soccer ball on his knee, his back to Ran, a grin spreading across his face. "Ran, what kind of person do you think Tsuneo is?"
"What kind?" Ran asked, puzzled.
"He's the kind of guy who wouldn't put down his plate to clap, even if a superstar was dancing right in front of him," Conan said, bouncing the ball onto his head, arms outstretched for balance.
"Y-yeah, I guess so," Ran said, pursing her lips and nodding.
"But you told him to stop eating and watch a magic show?" Conan's mouth curled into a smirk as he turned to face the girl in the red gown.
Not even Sonoko, who knew Tsuneo well, would say something like that. At most, she'd tell him to eat while watching.
"Because Mr. Sanada's a rare genius magician," Ran countered, citing the performer's reputation.
"Heh."
"Only the Magician Under the Moonlight could slip one past a genius like him."
"Using the card shuffle to hide that note, sticking on that taunting message, and pulling it off with a flourish."
"And you've probably already figured out who's got the real Night Star."
"Right, Ran?"
"Or rather, Kid the Phantom Thief!"
Conan's glasses glinted as he spoke.
(End of Chapter)
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