Chapter 212: What Kaeya Needs to Do
Ignoring the heated debate that had erupted among the three children beside him, Conan's entire focus was now locked onto Klee.
It was one thing for Klee to have overheard his question to Haibara. The real problem was whether she had only caught that single sentence, or if she had been listening to their entire hushed conversation from the very beginning.
"Klee, when did you get behind us?" Conan asked, forcing the corners of his mouth into a stiff, unnatural smile as he approached her. "Besides what you just said, did you... hear anything else we were talking about?"
"I heard it," Klee nodded cheerfully.
Conan's body went rigid. But then, Klee tilted her head and continued, "But Klee wasn't listening very hard. I just heard Conan and the others talking about the FBI, CIA, and stuff. Were you guys watching a TV show?"
A slow, quiet breath escaped Haibara's lips. Klee was incredibly close to Kaeya; if she had truly understood what they were discussing—
Conan relaxed as well, quickly inventing the name of a fictional drama to brush off the topic.
Just then, Ayumi and the others, having failed to reach a consensus on their earlier hypothetical question, turned back to Klee and Conan, their faces alight with curiosity for their opinions.
Conan glanced at Haibara. He was still keen to know her answer, as she hadn't had a chance to give it before they were interrupted.
Unfortunately, Haibara seemed completely uninterested in such a frivolous question. She simply turned her head away, pointedly ignoring the children's expectant gazes.
Helpless, Conan was about to say something to create a distraction when he heard Klee answer in a matter-of-fact tone, "Klee would still hate someone who hurt Klee's important family. It doesn't matter if he's a relative or not. How Klee feels about him won't change."
Conan pressed her, his detective instincts kicking in. "But what if that person is your only living relative? Klee, would you be a little nicer to them then?"
"Of course not," Klee said, shaking her head firmly. "Family doesn't have to be blood-related, and people who are blood-related aren't always family. So, Klee's attitude has nothing to do with whether they're a relative or not."
"Well said."
At some point, Haibara had turned back around, her expression serious as she listened to Klee's response.
"Klee is really good at getting to the heart of the matter," she murmured, giving Klee's little red hat an approving pat.
'Well, that settles it,' Conan thought with a sigh of resignation. It seemed Haibara wouldn't soften her stance just because Shuichi Akai was her cousin, nor would she find any joy in discovering she had another living relative.
After hearing Klee's simple yet deep words and seeing Haibara's reaction, Conan finally gave up. He completely abandoned the idea of telling her that Shuichi Akai was Rye, the former undercover agent in the Organization.
'Besides,'he reasoned,'according to the plan, Shuichi Akai is about to "die" soon anyway. Telling her now wouldn't make much sense...'
The children's chatter and laughter filled the air as they walked on, and soon they arrived at their destination: a buffet restaurant.
"Wow! This is amazing!"
"It all looks so delicious!"
The Detective Boys pressed their faces against the restaurant's large glass windows, their eyes wide with wonder at the vast and colorful array of food displayed within. Even Klee was staring longingly at a row of decadent desserts, looking as if she could hardly wait another second to taste them.
Upon entering, Dr. Agasa gave his customary warning. "Now, don't take too much at once," he cautioned. "Be careful not to get a stomachache." With that, he let them loose to pick their own food.
Before long, everyone had filled their plates and found a table to settle down at.
"What? Big Brother Kaeya is leaving Japan?!"
During the meal, the conversation turned to Kaeya, and Klee casually dropped the news of his impending departure. Ayumi's fork clattered against her plate as she cried out in surprise. A look of genuine disappointment washed over her face, her reluctance to see him go plain for all to see.
Conan was initially taken aback by the suddenness of Kaeya's departure, but seeing Ayumi's crestfallen expression struck him as odd. "Ayumi, you seem really sad that Big Brother Kaeya is leaving," he observed. "But you've only met him a few times, haven't you?"
"But Big Brother Kaeya is so nice," Ayumi said, her voice dejected. "He cares a lot about Klee, and he's always really gentle with me. I don't want to never see him again."
Conan paused, thinking back.
Indeed, Ayumi was right. In their interactions, Kaeya had always been remarkably gentle and attentive toward the children. He was especially kind to Ayumi and Haibara; even Haibara's typically aloof attitude didn't seem to deter his quiet care for them.
Thinking of this, Conan glanced at Haibara and noticed her unsurprised expression. He shot her a half-lidded, weary stare. "Don't tell me you realized this ages ago?"
Haibara gave him a nonchalant look. "Is the great detective only just figuring this out? That Mr. Kaeya—while I remain wary of him—is genuinely good to the children. It's only natural they'd be sad to see him go."
Now that he understood, Conan found it even more beyond understanding. Why would a person like that be involved with the Black Organization?
Though his impression of Kaeya had improved, it didn't stop him from continuing to probe for information.
Feigning childish curiosity, Conan turned to Klee. "Klee, why is Big Brother Kaeya suddenly leaving Japan?"
Klee swallowed a mouthful of food before answering. "It seems like it's because Big Brother Kaeya's reason for coming to Japan is done. The business he was negotiating is all stable now, so he doesn't need to be here in person anymore."
After relaying the reason she had overheard, Klee was about to lower her head and resume her attack on her plate. But before the food could reach her mouth, another thought occurred to her. She looked up again.
"Besides, Big Brother Albedo is here to take care of Klee now, so Big Brother Kaeya doesn't need to stay for Klee's sake. He can go do his own things."
'Things like,'Klee thought to herself,'going from Tsukikage Island to the little island where the Teyvat Organization's base is, to check on how the construction is going.'She'd heard that with Mr. Zhongli's help, the base was nearly finished. Kaeya was going to see if there were any areas that still needed modification. At the same time, he was going to bring Lisa, Nahida, and Noah's Ark with him. They would be staying at the base to set up its network, information center, and the data hub for the terminal that Miss Ningguang was about to release.'And when he comes back,'Klee mused,'he can bring Kaveh and Mr. Zhongli with him. There's not much reason for them to stay at the base anymore.'Meanwhile, most of Conan's attention was fixated on Klee's earlier words, and he paid little mind to her subsequent additions.'Negotiated business...'he pondered.'Could the other party be the Organization? But what kind of business?'
Conan's mind raced, recalling the information Shuichi Akai had shared with him on the hospital rooftop. He wondered if this "business" was related to that peculiar life potion.
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