Chapter 213: Albedo's Information
"If Klee says the business is stable, does that mean the Black Organization can now get a steady supply of those potions?"
The thought sent a chill through Conan. This was decidedly not good news. With Lisa having left, the production of the Vitality Potion had been handed over to Albedo.
Conan, worried that pressing the issue would make Klee suspicious, held his tongue. Instead, everyone turned their attention back to the magnificent spread of the buffet.
But of course, a day with the Detective Boys could never proceed without incident. Not long after they resumed their meal, the piercing wail of sirens sliced through the restaurant's cheerful ambiance.
Every head in the room turned towards the sound. Outside, two, then three police cars screeched to a halt in front of the high-rise building. A familiar figure scrambled out of one of the vehicles—Officer Takagi.
Conan immediately darted out to intercept him and, with practiced ease, learned that a murder had just occurred in the hotel. On the 39th floor, the president of a foreign talent agency had been killed in his office.
The moment the word "case" was uttered, Conan and the Detective Boys lit up. They were nearly finished eating anyway, so they decisively abandoned their plates and followed Officer Takagi upstairs.
When they arrived, they were greeted by the sight of Inspector Megure, who shot Takagi a look that screamed exasperation. It was clear the inspector was less than thrilled that his subordinate had once again blabbed case details to a group of children.
Before long, the police had identified three primary suspects. To Conan's absolute shock, one of them was the very same FBI investigator he had met only yesterday: Andre Camel.
As Conan had feared, the subsequent questioning did not go well. When pressed about his profession, Camel was unable to provide a straight answer, and the cloud of suspicion around him thickened with every evasive word.
Left with no other choice, Conan slipped away to make a call. He contacted Jodie Starling, who was still at Beika Central Hospital handling the aftermath of their recent operation, and urged her to come and help get Camel out of this mess.
Jodie arrived at the crime scene with impressive speed. She calmly informed Inspector Megure that Camel, like herself, was an FBI investigator. To sell the story, she claimed they were a couple and that he had come to Japan to spend his vacation with her.
While her explanation raised a few eyebrows—particularly the part about them being boyfriend and girlfriend—it was technically unrelated to the murder. Inspector Megure, focused on the case at hand, decided not to press the matter.
Klee, who had been observing from the side, tilted her head. She watched the two agents, who were now standing a bit too stiffly arm-in-arm as they answered the inspector's questions. A puzzled expression slowly formed on her face.
She pursed her lips, then padded over to Conan. Lowering her voice, she spoke with a hesitant tone, her expression a mixture of confusion and conflict. "Conan, Klee doesn't think they look like a real couple. They don't look like they know each other at all."
A flicker of panic went through Conan, but it was Klee's next words that caused beads of cold sweat to form on his brow.
He heard her continue, tapping her chin with a tiny finger as if she were a master detective herself. "They're tricking the police officer and faking their relationship... Could it be that Investigator Camel is today's murderer, and Teacher Jodie is lying to help him get away with it?"
"Mm-hmm, Klee is very sharp," Haibara, who had overheard the exchange, chimed in with a nod of solemn praise.
Conan shot a sideways glare at Haibara. Please, Haibara, not now! Don't make things worse!
But it was too late. Sparked by Klee's deduction, the other Detective Boys immediately shifted their focus to Camel, rubbing their hands together as they began searching for clues to expose his "crime."
Seeing the situation devolving, Conan redoubled his own efforts, hoping to solve the case and put an end to this headache-inducing sideshow as quickly as possible.
The sky slowly bled into shades of orange and purple as dusk descended. The afterglow of the setting sun shimmered across the surface of the sea.
Kir had just finished her resignation call with the TV station. As she lowered her left hand, her entire body went rigid. The cold, unmistakable pressure of a gun barrel was pressed firmly against her back.
It was Gin.
Facing his silent questioning, Kir took a deliberate step forward, creating a small space between her back and the weapon. She turned around slowly, a faint, unreadable smile on her lips. She lifted her left hand, revealing the sleek watch on her wrist.
"With this special terminal on my hand that integrates eavesdropping, video recording, and location tracking," she said, her voice a calm, even murmur, "plus the fact that I'm being watched twenty-four hours a day..." She let her gaze drift pointedly toward the nearby corners, where she knew unseen eyes were always present. "What more could I possibly do under these circumstances?"
Gin offered only a cold sneer in response, his silence more menacing than any threat.
Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, Kir broke the silence again. "Gin, you came to find me. Does this mean my mission is about to begin?"
"Yes," Gin replied, his voice like gravel. He produced another handgun and handed it to her. "Use this to eliminate Shuichi Akai. It's the only way to prove your loyalty. The only way the organization will ever trust you again."
In the parking lot of Beika Central Hospital, Shuichi Akai ended the call from Mizunashi Rena. He raised a hand, stopping James Black, who was already moving to notify Jodie.
A moment later, a new message arrived from Rena, designating the meeting point: Raiha Pass. Without a word, Shuichi climbed into his red Chevrolet and drove off into the fading light.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Conan had successfully identified the true murderer, clearing Andre Camel of all suspicion.
The incident was considered successfully concluded, save for one final, awkward episode where Klee ran up to Jodie and asked her directly, "Do you really, really like Mr. Camel?" The question sent a mortified blush creeping up Jodie's neck.
By now, it was getting late. Worried about Klee's safety, her brother Albedo had come to the restaurant personally to pick her up.
For some reason, Conan couldn't shake the feeling that Albedo gave off a strange, unsettling vibe. He glanced over at Haibara, who was doing her best to hide among the other children, clearly trying to avoid any contact with the newcomer. It was obvious she felt the same way.
From his observations, Haibara seemed even more wary of Albedo than she was of Kaeya.
Not far away, Jodie watched Albedo's retreating figure, her expression complicated.
After the warning from Kaeya and Tartaglia, the FBI had indeed stopped their close surveillance of personnel related to Teyvat. But they hadn't abandoned their watch completely. They were aware of the recent arrivals of Diluc and Albedo, two individuals who were clearly close to Kaeya.
The FBI had, of course, investigated their backgrounds. There wasn't much to say about Diluc. His identity and history were complete, his origins transparent—far clearer than Kaeya's own file.
The real mystery was Albedo. The information they had on him was not just sparse; it was entirely superficial.
They couldn't find any record of his parents or relatives. The file only stated that Albedo had been entrusted to his adoptive mother by a friend, and the identity of this "friend" was a complete unknown. His adoptive mother was a world-renowned adventurer who roamed the globe, but she was currently listed as missing.
This meant that, for all intents and purposes, the only person Albedo was remotely close to was Klee, the little girl he treated as a younger sister.
As for how Albedo had met and befriended Kaeya, the FBI knew absolutely nothing.
Based on this gaping void of information, however, they could draw one firm conclusion: Albedo, just like Kaeya, was most certainly from Teyvat.
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