Descending the steps, the group entered an underground chamber with a domed ceiling.
"It's like being inside an egg," Ayumi said, gazing around in awe.
Uncle Maori spotted several candelabras and lit them with his lighter.
A wooden coffin came into view.
"It's Western-style, made of wood, with a large lock on it," Uncle Maori said, bending down to inspect it.
"Right, Miss Natsumi, that key!"
Conan suddenly remembered the brass key Kosaka Natsumi had, its purpose still unclear.
"Here it is!" Natsumi pulled the key from her purse, stepped forward, and turned it in the lock.
With a click, the heavy lock sprang open.
"Can we open it, Miss Natsumi?" Uncle Maori asked solemnly.
The coffin might contain one of her relatives.
Natsumi stepped back, her face grave, and nodded. "Yes."
"It's heavy!"
Uncle Maori and Officer Shiratori worked together to lift the lid.
Inside lay a white skeleton, its clothes tattered from the passage of time.
Its hands were crossed over its chest, and above them rested a red egg embedded with gems.
The egg's design was nearly identical to the Suzuki family's Memory Egg, except this one was red instead of green and adorned with jewels.
Tsuneo didn't approach, instead standing back and counting heads.
Someone was missing again.
Where'd that morally flexible art dealer, Shoichi Inui, run off to?
Kicked the bucket?
"Resting with the egg… Miss Natsumi, is this your great-grandfather?" Uncle Maori asked, puzzled.
If both eggs were crafted by her great-grandfather, then this skeleton…
"No."
Natsumi shook her head, sighing. "I think this is my great-grandmother. There's only my great-grandfather's grave in Yokosuka's cemetery, which I always found strange."
"Maybe because she was Russian, she couldn't be buried with the family ancestors…"
Shiroev Chinnikov stepped forward. "Miss Natsumi, this might not be the best time, but could I examine the egg?"
Seiran Urashi followed close behind him.
"No problem," Natsumi agreed without hesitation, handing over the gem-encrusted red egg from the coffin.
Chinnikov held the egg up, inspecting its base and noticing a small hole. Then, he opened it.
"Empty?"
The group was taken aback.
Unlike the Suzuki family's egg, which contained a golden model of the Romanov family, this one was ornate on the outside but hollow inside.
"Empty…" Conan muttered, puzzled.
"Maybe it's a nesting design?" Ayumi suggested. "I have a doll at home like that, a gift from my dad's friend in Russia."
Uncle Maori looked confused, unfamiliar with such a toy.
"It's a Russian nesting doll, where smaller dolls are placed inside larger ones," Seiran explained to the group.
Matryoshka.
"That's possible. Look, the grooves inside this egg seem designed to hold something," Chinnikov said, observing closely.
"Officer Shiratori, don't you have the other egg? Hurry up and show it—we've got eel rice to eat after this!" Tsuneo said, glancing up at the high walls and patting Genta's head.
"Eel rice?!" Genta perked up instantly.
"Really?" Uncle Maori asked, skeptical, though clearly not about the eel rice.
His questioning gaze landed on Shiratori, who was still carrying his single-piece backpack.
"The egg's right here. I figured it'd come in handy, so I borrowed it from President Suzuki," Shiratori said, pulling the plain green egg from his bag.
"You didn't steal it, did you?" Uncle Maori asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Shiratori faltered, sweat beading on his forehead. "W-What? No way…"
Talk about shocking…
"Let's try it now!" Chinnikov reached for the egg from Shiratori.
Shiratori handed it over.
The green egg was slightly smaller than the red one, its base fitting perfectly into the red egg's grooves, snapping shut as if custom-made.
"It seems Mr. Kiichi didn't make two eggs but cleverly split one into two!" Chinnikov marveled at the craftsmanship.
"Anything else on your minds?" Ai asked Tsuneo and Conan.
That should be it, right? Things are pretty clear now.
"I feel like this egg has another trick—something worthy of the title 'Magician of the Century's End'!" Conan said, nodding, still puzzling over it.
"You're not wrong. This is a true priceless treasure," Tsuneo agreed.
It's not that simple.
This egg was enough to stun anyone who laid eyes on it.
"By the way, that's a huge diamond…" Uncle Maori said, admiring the red egg's gem.
That stone at the top was as big as a pigeon's egg!
"Mr. Maori, it's not a diamond—just ordinary glass," Natsumi said, shaking her head.
It looked impressive but wasn't anything special.
Glass again…
Conan felt his brain starting to spark.
"Mirrors, light, a light sensor, and that stone pedestal in the center!"
That's it!
The glaass in the egg was called a magic mirror!
With that, the great detective stepped forward, calling out to Chinnikov. "Mr. Shiroev, let me borrow the egg!"
"What are you up to now, Conan?!" Uncle Maori growled, ready to rein him in.
Do you even know who you are?
You can't just grab something like that!
As Shiratori held him back, Chinnikov handed the egg to Conan.
Even Shiratori asked, "Need any help?"
"Put the flashlight in that pedestal!" Conan said, clutching the nested eggs and rushing to the stone platform in the room's center.
Shiratori adjusted the flashlight's beam to a tighter focus and placed it in the pedestal's central hole.
"Mr. Shiroev, Miss Seiran, please put out the candles by the coffin!"
Conan, facing the single beam of light from the flashlight, placed the masterpiece crafted by the Magician of the Century's End onto the pedestal.
Tsuneo let out a soft chuckle.
Alright, let's see it!
The Magician of the Century's End!
(End of Chapter)
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