Chapter 220: The Call Before Departure
"Darling, what a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
From his hiding spot in the shadowed corner of the hallway, Conan Edogawa held his breath, straining to hear every word from Lisa's end of the call.
"Mm-hm, the schedule is confirmed. We'll be setting out by boat from Tsukikage Island shortly. You won't be seeing your big sister for a little while, so do try to miss me, won't you~?"
Her voice was a low, musical murmur, but Conan's focus was absolute.
"A farewell party? Oh, that's not necessary. The signal might not be the best out there, but it's not as if we'll be completely out of touch."
Suddenly, the melodic cadence of her speech cut off. The silence was abrupt, and a cold knot of anxiety tightened in Conan's chest.
'Did she notice me? Or did something else go wrong?'
Just as his mind raced through panicked possibilities, Lisa's light, smiling voice resumed, as if there had been no interruption at all. Conan let out a silent sigh of relief, so consumed by his own near-discovery that he completely missed the lazy, knowing glance she flicked toward the very corner where he was concealed.
"Speaking of which, you must be in a wonderful mood, Darling. You're about to see that esteemed gentleman again, after all."
A brief pause. "However, you should save your money. Use it to host a proper welcome-home dinner for our hardworking architect and that hands-on old gentleman of yours. Compared to the work Nahida and I will be undertaking, they're the ones who truly deserve the accolades."
At the mention of Nahida's name, Conan's eyes shot wide with surprise.
'So my gut feeling was right! Nahida really is part of Teyvat.'The confirmation only sparked more questions.'But then… why doesn't she have a Vision?'The logic didn't track. If the reason was her age, then Klee's own Pyro Vision made no sense. And what about Natsume? She was clearly close with Lisa and the others—Lisa was on the phone with her right now—but she didn't seem to possess a Vision either.'Besides,'Conan thought, frowning,'Nahida is just a little girl. What kind of work could she possibly be doing with Lisa? And why go to the trouble of taking her to some secret location?'
He replayed Lisa's words in his head. A boat. An island. Tsukikage Island. Why did that name keep cropping up? The place was infamous, tied to one of the most haunting cases he'd ever encountered. What could Teyvat possibly want there?
Lost in a storm of unanswerable questions, Conan failed to register the soft click of Lisa ending her call, or the near-silent footsteps that brought her directly to his hiding place.
"Little Brother Conan, what are you doing hiding back here all by yourself? Could it be…" Lisa's voice, smooth as silk, drifted down from directly above him. She drew out the last words, her tone dripping with playful insinuation that made Conan's blood run cold.
His entire body went rigid. He was caught. He'd been eavesdropping, and now she knew. What would she think? What would she do?
Even as panic seized him, a part of his brain couldn't help but file away a frustrated observation: 'Do all the people from Teyvat walk without making a single sound?'
"...Could it be that Ran and the others sent you to come find me?" After letting him stew for a moment, Lisa finally finished her sentence, her voice now laced with amusement.
Seeing that she wasn't pressing the matter, Conan realized she was giving him an out—likely dismissing his presence as simple childish curiosity. He relaxed his stiff posture and seized the excuse she'd provided, nodding vigorously. "Mm-hm! The police are here. Big Sister Ran asked me to come get you, Big Sister Lisa."
Conan wasn't lying. Inspector Megure and his team had indeed arrived at the karaoke bar. Acting on the waiter's testimony, they had already begun reviewing the security footage from the hallway near the crime scene.
By the time Conan led Lisa back to the private room, the initial review was complete. They had identified five individuals who had been near the victim's room around the time of death, a list of potential suspects that included both Lisa and Eisuke Hondou.
"There are five of them?" Lisa murmured, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
She cast a subtle glance at Conan, a private thought crossing her mind. 'Well, I certainly wasn't the killer, and I highly doubt Eisuke would murder anyone. That leaves three other suspects. It fits the classic 'one-in-three' rule perfectly.'
Seeing that all the persons of interest were now present, Inspector Megure cleared his throat and began his questioning.
When it was Lisa's turn, she was forthright, hiding nothing. She stated calmly that she had noticed the victim tailing their group earlier in the evening. Her claim was immediately corroborated when Officer Chiba walked over, holding a stack of freshly developed photos from a camera found next to the victim's body.
Lisa gracefully approached Officer Chiba, her eyes scanning the prints in his hand. "However, I never expected his target was Little Sister Sonoko," she remarked thoughtfully. "From that perspective, whoever silenced him actually did her a rather large favor."
Inspector Megure's mouth twitched. They were familiar enough by now that he felt compelled to intervene. "Miss Lisa," he sighed, rubbing his temples, "do you realize that making a statement like that significantly increases the suspicion on you?" The headache was already starting.
Lisa seemed completely unfazed by the stir her words had caused. She turned to the inspector, her expression suddenly serious. "Of course I know that," she said, her tone matter-of-fact. "But I am simply stating the truth. Besides," she added, her lips curving into a sly smile as she gave a playful wink, "I already know who the culprit is."
Conan's eyes widened, his face a mask of disbelief. He had also been studying the photos, his mind working furiously. He had just managed to deduce that the victim was likely not an FBI agent as he'd initially feared.
He couldn't fathom it. Lisa had just returned to the scene. She hadn't conducted any real investigation, hadn't even examined the room. How could she have already identified the killer?
A sharp, bitter wave of frustration washed over him. He had always been supremely confident in his deductive prowess, but once again, he had been utterly outmaneuvered by her.
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