Chapter 188: The Color and Frames of Visions
"Heh. I refuse." Camus rejected Curaçao's suggestion without a moment's hesitation.
"Why?" Curaçao's brow furrowed. "Give me a reason."
"I have no desire to be startled by someone materializing behind my back ever again," Camus replied, his tone clipped and final.
To be honest, he still hadn't the faintest idea how that woman, Keqing, had appeared behind him. At the time, even while focusing on the combination lock, he had kept a portion of his awareness trained on his surroundings, specifically to prevent anyone from discovering his work.
He could swear on his life that before Keqing spoke, there hadn't been a single footstep. No, not just footsteps—not even the whisper of a breath. It was so unnerving he almost suspected she was capable of teleportation.
Then there was the attack that had sliced open his face; he had no clue how she'd done it. Until he could analyze and understand these new variables, he had no intention of infiltrating the Jade Chamber again.
Besides, that Miss Ganyu had simply let them go, not even bothering to watch them leave. It was an unnervingly confident gesture, one that strongly suggested she had already set a trap and was merely waiting for them to walk right into it.
Speaking of Ganyu, she had a gentle and placid appearance, but her actions betrayed an unnerving coldness. He had walked for so long with an open wound on his face that the blood had dried and caked, yet she hadn't so much as glanced at the injury.
Hearing Camus's reasoning, Curaçao lowered her head in thought. After a moment, she conceded the point. There was no need to stir up unnecessary trouble. She abandoned her proposal.
On the other side of town, the video game session at Natsume's house reached its climax. After a long and arduous investigation, Mitsuhiko and Klee finally identified the culprit of the first case.
Having learned the victim's time of death and their last known whereabouts, the two young detectives had painstakingly followed the trail of clues, eventually uncovering the victim's identity and residence. A thorough digital investigation later, they finally cornered their suspect: the victim's live-in boyfriend.
With the case closed, both Mitsuhiko and Klee collapsed onto the sofa in a heap, utterly spent.
It had been a genuine struggle. Neither of them had anticipated just how time-consuming and mentally taxing a proper investigation could be. Mitsuhiko's poor choices early in the game had significantly delayed their progress, giving the virtual criminal enough time to sense the encroaching net and flee before the police could apprehend him.
Left with no other option, they had been forced to hunt for a new set of clues to determine the fugitive's escape route. It was a long and frustrating detour, but it ultimately led them to their man.
As the "CASE CLOSED" screen flashed, Mitsuhiko let the controller fall from his limp fingers. It was clear he had no intention of playing another round.
Just then, Ran Mouri noticed the late hour and began gathering the children to say their goodbyes to Klee, Kaeya, and the others.
On the walk back, Ai Haibara had been about to say something to Conan, but a flicker of movement in her peripheral vision stopped her. Eisuke Hondou was slowly drifting closer, positioning himself right at Conan's side. Reading the situation instantly, she aborted her approach, sidling over to Genta and using his larger frame to subtly shield herself from view.
"Conan," Eisuke leaned in, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. "Why are you paying so much attention to Kaeya? Did he do something strange earlier?"
Eisuke had noticed. While everyone was engrossed in the game, Conan had consistently kept one eye on Ran's group. His gaze had drifted toward Kaeya in particular no less than ten times—far more than he had even looked at Ran.
'Heh, does being in contact with the Black Organization count as something strange?' Conan thought wryly.
Of course, he couldn't voice any of that. He quickly cobbled together an excuse to deflect Eisuke's suspicion. "O-Of course not! I was just a little curious about the eyepatch Big Brother Kaeya wears. I thought it looked really cool, so I couldn't help but stare a few times. Haha."
Seeing that Eisuke didn't press the matter, Conan breathed a silent sigh of relief, believing he'd successfully thrown him off the scent.
He had also noticed Haibara trying to get his attention earlier. As they prepared to part ways, he seized his chance. He began to whine, complaining that he hadn't had enough fun and wanted to go to Dr. Agasa's house to keep playing, intending to stay the night.
His performance earned him a light bonk on the head from Ran and a classic complaint from Sonoko—"Honestly, that four-eyed brat can be so selfish sometimes! Ran, you really shouldn't spoil him so much"—but it achieved its purpose. He successfully separated from the main group.
Once inside Dr. Agasa's house, Conan wasted no time. "Haibara," he said impatiently, "what was it you wanted to tell me on the way here?"
Just then, the sound of their entry drew Dr. Agasa from his workshop. He had heard the front door and came out expecting to see only Ai, so he was surprised to find Shinichi there as well.
His mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario. "Shinichi! Why are you here?" he asked, his expression laced with worry. "Did something happen while you were playing with Klee today?" He directed the last question to both of them.
"Nothing happened, Doctor. Don't worry," Haibara answered first, reassuring the flustered inventor. She then turned her gaze to Conan. "What I wanted to ask you earlier was this: what do you make of the relationship between Kaeya and Diluc? Do you think Diluc knows that Kaeya is in contact with the Black Organization?"
"I'm... not sure."
For once, Conan was uncharacteristically indecisive.
Based on Kaeya's attitude when he'd mentioned Diluc before, Conan had initially assumed the two brothers were on bad terms. By extension, he'd figured Diluc had no connection to this mysterious new organization.
But after meeting Diluc today, he knew that assumption was wrong. And with Klee's "brother" also being a member, the sudden proliferation of Vision holders was starting to make his head spin.
Logically, seeing that Diluc also possessed a Vision should have led Conan to assume he was aware of Kaeya's activities. And yet, the time they'd spent together had left Conan utterly confused. The impression Diluc gave off was... contradictory.
Through their interactions, and especially from Diluc's opinions on certain moral choices within the game, Conan felt that the man was like a knight, burning with an incorruptible sense of justice—a righteous flame eager to incinerate all evil. In short, he was the complete antithesis of the secretive, calculating aura Kaeya projected.
They were like fire and ice—fundamentally incompatible.
'Wait a minute...' A thought sparked in his mind. The colors and patterns of their Visions corresponded perfectly to their personalities. He considered the others: Klee and Xiangling, who shared the same fiery red color as Diluc, were both optimistic and cheerful. Could it be that the color of a Vision was a direct reflection of its owner's personality?
Excited by the potential breakthrough, Conan quickly shared his discovery with Haibara.
She listened, her expression thoughtful, and after a moment, she nodded. It made a strange sort of sense. "I don't know why a Vision's color would be tied to personality," she mused, "but the line of reasoning is sound."
If they had a solid lead on the colors, then the frame of the Vision must hold a different meaning.
Haibara's mind immediately drew a parallel to her past. "I'd guess it's related to factions," she theorized. "Just like in the Black Organization, we had divisions for intelligence, operations, and research. It stands to reason their organization would have a similar structure."
Dr. Agasa and Conan both recalled their observations. People with the same style of Vision frame, like Kaeya, Diluc, and Klee, all seemed to know each other. Those with different frames, like Xiangling, seemed less familiar. They both nodded in agreement with Haibara's hypothesis.
But even with this new framework, the central question remained. What was Kaeya's purpose in contacting the Black Organization?
Conan still leaned toward one conclusion: Diluc knew his brother was consorting with their enemies, but for some unknown reason, he was choosing to let it happen.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]