People are in Conan, but Ace Attorney

Chapter 1020 Fragile Cooperation

Günter von Goldberg II.

The world's number one illusionist, so famous that even Kaito Kuroba has a ticket to book a performance—of course, Kaito Kuroba himself doesn't think much of illusions.

However, Aoko Nakamori is very interested in illusions.

This is why Kaito Kuroba has a ticket to the Illusionist performance; not only does he have one because he's going to see the show with Aoko Nakamori, but Akako Koizumi, who's also going with him, has one too.

This may be the only time in the world that a great magician, a great sorcerer, and a great illusionist have gathered together.

"You mean... illusions?"

"Illusion is essentially a branch of magic, using light, sound, and movement to create hypnotic effects. If used properly, it can even cause mass hypnosis."

Kuroba Kaito stroked his chin.

Now that Hakuba Saguru has stopped insisting that he is Kaito Kid, Kaito Kuroba can communicate with Hakuba Saguru in a more normal way, just like now, when he is analyzing the components of the illusion.

—Kaito Kuroba is a world-class magician.

Like his father, Toichi Kuroba, and even in terms of pure magic, Kaito Kuroba, who has repeatedly clashed with magicians like Akako Koizumi, is even more skilled than Toichi Kuroba.

He was naturally very clear about the nature of illusions.

"Are you really sure that so-called spider used illusion magic to kill people?"

As the saying goes, magicians don't perform magic tricks without preparation. However, it's not impossible for a magician to perform a trick like "Three Immortals Return to the Cave," which can be accomplished solely through surgery, without any prior preparation.

But illusionists are different.

Illusionists have extremely high requirements for the environment and equipment. If any one of these elements is lacking, their illusion may fail, causing the hypnotized person to wake up from the hypnotic state.

Therefore, Kaito Kuroba does not believe that the spider mentioned by Saguru Hakuba killed someone using illusion magic.

—Illusion is a type of magic that must leave traces on the scene.

Now that Hakuba Saguru has confirmed that Günter von Goldberg II is the Spider, he should, in his capacity, find traces at the scene that prove Günter von Goldberg II used illusion magic.

This is an incredibly easy task. How could there be a situation where you know who it is but can't catch them?

Hakuba Saguru knows that Kuroba Kaito is questioning his abilities.

To this, Hakuba Saguru simply said in a low voice,

"If you have ever personally experienced the illusion of spiders, you will find that the illusion of spiders is different from ordinary illusions, and does not have such strict requirements for environment and props."

"It's impossible to find any trace of the spider using illusion magic to kill someone at the scene. There's only one way."

"Catch the Spider while he's committing murder, and you'll catch him red-handed—that will require your help, Phantom Thief Kid. The Spider will most likely be after you."

Hakuba Saguru's words made Kuroba Kaito frown.

What bothers him is that Hakuba Saguru still calls him Kaito Kid.

Is changing one's words really that difficult for this famous detective? If what Hakuba Saguru said wasn't so important, he would have kicked Hakuba Saguru out.

—However, since this spider is a member of a mysterious organization.

Given that targeting the spider would draw out the actions of the mysterious organization behind it, Kaito Kuroba had no reason not to do it. His theft of the jewels wasn't just for the sake of making headlines.

His goal was to lure out the mysterious organization.

Now that Hakuba Saguru has given him this opportunity, he will naturally agree. So, he asked,
"So what? Tell me, what do you want me to do?" "However, I must warn you in advance that if you are using the guise of a mysterious organization to lower my guard so that you can arrest me later, then I tell you, your arrest operation is doomed to fail."

"As long as I don't want to be arrested, I will never be arrested."

Kaito Kuroba's words sounded very arrogant.

However, Kaito Kuroba does have the ability to say that. Even when the Queen Celeste was arrested, it was only because Kaito Kuroba did not intend to let the name of Kaito Kid be associated with murder.

It's not just that the police can't catch him, but he can also come and go from the detention center whenever he wants.

Even Hakuba Saguru, who returned from England, wouldn't necessarily have a much better record against Kuroba Kaito than Nakamori Ginzo did against him.

"My plan is simple."

"All I need is for you to tell me the information the moment you encounter the spider, and I will come to help you. Other than that, you don't need to do anything. You just need to steal the gems according to your original logic."

"Your new target should be that world's largest pink sapphire, right?"

Hakuba Saguru said this.

The gem he mentioned was indeed Kaito Kuroba's next target for theft. However, Kaito Kuroba was not surprised that Saguru Hakuba could see through this.

It is clear that the world's largest pink sapphire was exhibited for a very short time.

If you miss this chance, it will be impossible to get your hands on that pink sapphire again. Nobody knows where the wealthy man will hide it to ensure its safety.

He will definitely steal that gem; it's just a matter of time.

"I see."

"But you have to give me something useful in return, right? At least give me the map of the defenses over there. I can't help you deal with the spiders, and then I have to go and scout the site myself, can I?"

—That makes perfect sense.

Hakuba Saguru nodded slightly and said...

"I will send the picture to your text message before noon tomorrow. Remember to check it yourself then."

"Of course, I know you definitely won't believe my picture is real and will definitely go to the site to scout it out, but I don't care about that. I just need to make sure you're going to steal that gem."

------

The detective and the phantom thief parted on bad terms as usual.

Clearly, Hakuba Saguru's deal with Kuroba Kaito only addresses the potential problem of dealing with the spider. They only need to deal with the spider or confirm that it doesn't exist.

Then the two sides will not hesitate to fight again.

It's like the phantom thief and detective in the movie "Reversal Studios" next door.

Although it was just the detective acting on the other side, neither side were good people.

"Kaito Kuroba, Akako Koizumi asked me to pass on a message to you."

Xiang Yuanguang turned to look at Kuroba Kaito.

He recounted the instructions that Koizumi Akako had given him through the magic crystal ball.
"Koizumi Akako said that she saw in her prophecy that your next action would encounter an unexpected major crisis. If you are afraid, go to Koizumi Akako and beg for mercy. She may consider helping you."

Kaito Kid: Huh?

(End of this chapter)