The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 286 The Puppet Show Ends (Seeking monthly votes at the end of the month!)
Perhaps it's because Conan is relatively small in size.

Perhaps it's for some deeper reason—

For example, the ever-tightening spider silk itself evokes fear of its own mission to entangle the detective named "Edogawa Conan".

In short, Conan was surprised to find that the thin lines that stretched out like living things did not completely bind him.

He still has some freedom of movement; in fact, he could almost try to "climb over" the chair back and escape his restraints.

"Don't do that!"

An anxious shout interrupted Conan's actions.

It was Ikumi Gunda who spoke.

"There are weight sensors installed under the chair!"

When her gaze fell on the third page, which she had just opened, the information written on it made her pupils shrink and she looked up sharply.

She immediately explained to a detective who was trying to escape.

"The letter said that if the sensors detect someone trying to force their way through before the ropes are untied, poison needles will pop out from under the chairs of the other people!"

Conan immediately froze, unable to move.

Even others who were also trying to cut or break free of the ropes stopped what they were doing.

But then Conan realized another layer of meaning in Gunda's words.

"Untie?"

He looked down and saw that the spider silk ropes were tangled together near the back of the chair—a long, rectangular combination lock, about three fingers wide, was hanging at the point where the ropes were joined.

"It seems that the way this baron wants to see us kill each other is quite simple."

Hakuba Saguru waved the letter in his hand, adding some information:
"It says here that the password on each person's rope has been scrambled and placed in each piece of paper."

"What I need to do is use the deduced, false clues to trade for the real password on this chair of mine."

"Moreover, if you make a mistake even once, a poison needle containing lethal poison will pop out from under the chair."

But Hakuba Saguru's expression still looked relaxed.

"But don't worry."

After everyone turned to look at him, he gave a confident smile.

“I had already sent my Watson to call the police before we even entered the restaurant.”

“Watson?” The other detectives’ gazes sharpened.

However, besides calling the police, their focus was also on something else.

"You brought an assistant?"

Hakuba Saguru immediately realized the meaning behind the others' words.

Especially Da Shang Zhushan, whose eyes almost revealed obvious suspicion.

"Hey Hey hey--"

The son of the Metropolitan Police Department's Superintendent General shrugged and even leaned back in his chair to make himself more comfortable.

"You don't think I orchestrated this case, do you?"

"The Watson I'm talking about is my pet eagle. I made a special mark on the car before I came here."

Hakuba Saguru tugged hard at the rope binding him, then glanced at the mechanical lock that held the rope in place.

"So it seems all we need to do is wait for the police with their tools to arrive—"

"That's hard to say."

Chima Kazuyo looked up, and a flash of white light appeared under her reading glasses.

"After all, on the third page of my letter, it says—if no one finds the treasure before midnight, even if they sit still, they'll die from the traps..."

"Yes."

Sitting next to Senjō, Daisho nods.

"After all, all that information you just mentioned—I didn't write anything about in this letter."

These calmly spoken words caused everyone's expressions to freeze.

The restaurant lights seemed to dim instantly, and in this silent atmosphere, Kogoro Mouri summarized the scene before him.

"From this perspective, the killer's motive is quite clear."

he whispered.

"He wants to see each of us suspicious of one another because of potentially false clues, and in this distrust..."

"After all, everyone was promised the treasure in advance, wasn't they?"

Harufumi Mogi directly points out this most crucial point, which is also the origin of the distrust.

"Time and space constraints prevent us from knowing the exact clues that others have."

"Unless someone is willing to voluntarily pass on the clues they have to others so they can review them themselves, otherwise..."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"Otherwise, we either gamble on whether the police can arrive before midnight, or risk our lives to see if the clues provided by others are correct."

“But this password seems to be quite simple,” Conan finally spoke.

Because of his size, he could even turn around and face the combination lock.

He casually turned the roller on top and watched the English letters scrolling by.

"The three pivots correspond to three characters, and if I'm not mistaken, Uncle Mori should be quite good at deciphering this kind of simple combination lock, right?"

Conan's gaze was fixed on Kaito Kid, who was disguised as Kogoro Mouri, and he actively added "firepower" to him.

Kogoro Mouri refused Conan's request.

"It's true that I'm good at cracking these kinds of mechanisms."

He reached out and tugged at the rope that bound him tightly to the back of the chair.

"However, I can't put my ear to the latch right now to find the real password, and if it's really like what the White Horse Boy said, there won't even be a chance to try and fail..."

Kogoro Mouri's gaze swept over the detectives present.

"I don't think anyone would willingly hand their life over to me."

……

For a moment, the restaurant fell into a deathly silence.

Some may wonder why no one tries to cooperate as Harufumi Mogi suggested.

after all--

Since everyone's hands weren't tied thanks to Kogoro Mouri's final hint...

Wouldn't it be better to just pass around the letters that everyone has?
If everyone just honestly exchanges the clues they have, wouldn't that not only expose the evil intentions of the wicked person hiding behind the mask, but also allow them to work together to find the so-called "treasure"?

However, no one moved.

On the third page, the allure of the "treasure" lies like a gilded trap, quietly lurking at the end of each letter.

Just like now, Ikumi Gunda slowly lowered her gaze, her expression becoming somewhat obscure.

For Ikumi Gunda, the words on the second page, which seemed to peer into the depths of her soul, made her breathing quicken.

It's as if someone has personally witnessed their own past.

It's as if another version of myself wrote down those deepest secrets of my heart on that piece of paper.

But when she turned to the third page...

When you see the "treasure" that the "phantom thief" or the "baron" brought you...

Ikumi Gunda was undoubtedly deeply shaken.

On the third page is a promise.

An irresistible possibility.

Who doesn't have some regret or remorse about the past?

The existence of this self-proclaimed "Baron of the Night" offers a real and miraculous possibility.

The passwords on the second page, which he had never mentioned to anyone and the information he had never recorded anywhere, added a layer of credibility to the promise on the third page.

If she's willing to follow that "script"...

Or--

Ikumi Gunda hoped it was true, like a drowning person grasping at a last straw, clinging tightly to that sliver of possibility and unwilling to let go.

Then she realized that the baron's claim of using "magic" to trap them there was not some kind of humble excuse.

Because obviously, no one would willingly hand over the contents of a letter to someone else to read, let alone the "possibility" of salvaging everything mentioned by the treasure.

If in the end only one person can get the treasure...

It has to be her—

"boom!"

Ikumi Gunda slammed the stack of letters, which looked like a devil's contract, onto the table.

Then, I subconsciously turned my head away from it.

Her lingering fear and sudden actions drew the attention of everyone present.

"I……"

Ikumi Gunda's throat bobbed, her voice a little dry.

Everyone could hear the trembling and hesitation in the former coroner's voice.

She took a deep breath and turned the third page, which she dared not look at, face down on the table—otherwise, she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't change her mind.

Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, she used a silver knife to cut off the last small section of the letter.

Ikumi Gunda was not indifferent to the treasures that the Baron had asked her to "choose".

But her past experiences with coroners made her value life even more.

— Value the present more than the past.

Therefore, even though there were some absurd yet real miracles written on the letter paper, she resolutely gave up that most precious treasure.

She picked up a small fragment of the page.

"I think everyone should have written a letter and a sentence on the last page."

“Those should be…the key to piecing together these ‘clues’ about the treasure, and also about us.”

Staring at her somewhat delicate reflection in the note, Ikumi Gunda slowly spoke.

“One of my letters should be E, and the clue is—'Her last smile was a pain that was never shown.'”

Conan was startled by Ikumi Gunta's words and immediately picked up the Joker card that was placed in front of him.

—"DEMON".

"The password must be related to demons!"

Conan immediately stated his discovery: "The first card on the deck of cards in front of me is the Joker."

He picked up the card that had been painted black and showed it to the others.

"The text here says DEMON, which means that our password should be related to the five English letters D, E, M, O, and N."

Five letters?

The note began to be passed around among the people, and everyone's gaze shifted from her face to the small piece of paper.

The detectives present all began to think.

……

By the time the note was returned to Ikumi Gunda, the atmosphere in the restaurant had subtly changed.

The expressions on everyone's faces were no longer the same.

A calm, or perhaps inexplicable, glint appeared quietly in some people's eyes.

"The letter 'E'?"

Da Shang Zhu Shan murmured repeatedly, unconsciously biting his nails with his right hand.

"If each person's clue contains a letter and a phrase as a hint..."

"If everyone's letter paper had a different letter written on it, along with a prompt saying 'guidance'..."

He squinted and began to piece together the clues in his mind.

"In this way, we are like being assigned a small piece of a puzzle. As long as we work together, the whole code will be revealed."

As he said this, a barely concealed smile appeared on his face—the kind of smile a hunting dog gives when it sees its prey.

As for Daisho Shushin, who had seen the third page of the letter in advance, he had been pondering the clue written at the end of his life for a long time.

He had already read his own suggestion:

"E, her last echo was the sound of the wind at the end of the world."

For Da Shang Zhu Shan, he originally thought his answer should be "END" or "ECO", which is an abbreviation of "Echo".

However, Ikumi Gunta's letter and the words of the child-like detective changed his mind.

"If you can only choose from the five letters D, E, M, O, and N, choosing 'End' as the answer would be incredibly foolish."

"Furthermore, if my answer is 'END', then it would be semantically redundant with the hint given by that woman, Gunda."

"Now it seems that the subject of the clue should be a woman expressing her grief... which also connects to the weeping princess."

Considering what was written on the second page about his original plans and his "desire" to erase those dishonorable records.

"If only one person can take the treasure in the end..."

A gloomy expression flashed across Da Shang Zhu Shan's face for a moment.

He began to think about who he should get the next lead from.

He ruled out Ran Mouri first.

After all, the child named "Ran Mouri" had his adults with him.

And that guy called "Kogoro"...

Da Shangzhu glanced at the man who looked like he was not to be trifled with out of the corner of his eye.

Whether it was the name he had heard about "Sleeping Kogoro" or the reminder he had just given himself to free his arms from the ropes beforehand.

"Maybe after I get the treasure, they can still sit in the chair and wait for the police to come and rescue them."

"Let them live a little longer."

With this "goodwill" and "pity," Ooue no Sukizen subconsciously avoided the famous detective who had just helped him.

Immediately afterwards, he "subconsciously" ignored the child named [Edogawa Conan].

Now only Hakuba Saguru remains.

This youngest high school student is undoubtedly the best choice.

"Hey, White Horse Kid! Could you share your clues with me too?"

Da Shang Zhu Shan turned his head and looked at the youngest, Bai Ma Tan.

In his view, what regrets or wishes could a high school student possibly have?
Not to mention, he's the son of a warning director.

Perhaps his reputation was deliberately created by his father to pave the way for him...

His voice carried a subtle provocation.

"Could that guy have written something detrimental to Director White Horse on your letter?"

Hakuba Saguru and the surrounding detectives all looked up at Oogami Shuzen's words.

He didn't argue with the man whose eyes were darting around and whose mind was full of cunning.

He carefully cut off a corner from the end of the letter, hesitated for a moment, and then handed the small note to Daikami Shuzen, who was sitting between the two of them.

"My tacit praise is an affirmation without words."

These words were like the fuse of some ancient script, instantly igniting the long-suppressed emotions within Da Shang Zhu Shan. Excellent, that's it!
His hands trembled slightly, but he tried his best to make himself look like he was carefully analyzing the contents of the paper.

Now he knows how to deduce the clues to his combination lock!

If his judgment is correct, everyone's script slips are being compared to each other.

Moreover, it is highly likely that the clues are formed by the three pronouns "I", "she", and "he".

"I" am the last one to survive, the "King";
"She" is the "princess" who prayed with tears in her eyes;
"He" was a soldier, the one who tragically committed suicide with his sword.

The person who truly left alive was the one who "escaped with the treasure." Therefore, the pronoun "I" must have been a record personally left by the person who "survived."

Thus……

"Her last echo was the sound of the wind at the ends of the earth."

"Her final smile was a mask for unspoken pain."

Combining the two clues, the subject of both the clues about oneself and Gunfield is "she," and the theme of both is related to the "sadness" of the "princess."

The sound of the wind symbolizes a dissipating sound, representing a fading sorrow.

But why would the final "king" praise it?

Because “ODE” is the same as “ōd”.

Although it means "ode", in English it often refers to a mournful poem or elegy.

The password that all three clues ultimately point to must be this!

"Hey!" Kogoro Mouri said impatiently, "How much longer are you going to hold onto that note?"

Da Shang Zhu Shan did not respond; everything was going too well.

For a fleeting moment, he couldn't help but smile.

This was a sumptuous dinner that whetted the appetite of this "food detective".

He didn't even feel hungry.

He simply reached out slowly, and then, amidst the somewhat unreal voice of protest in his ear, he lowered his head and stared at the combination lock in front of him.

The "food detective" then picked up the "knife and fork".

The first course was a fragrant piece of bread called "O".

The second course was a juicy steak – “D”;
However, the third course was the final dessert.

As the great blessing was bestowed, "the knife and fork fell."

"Click——"

The lock made a soft click.

As the gears turn, a sharp spike pops out from the back of the chair, its poisonous liquid flowing into the heart through the ruptured blood vessels.

"Ugh—!"

His body shuddered violently, his pupils dilated suddenly in excruciating pain, and his remaining consciousness dissipated like a bird in the forest.

The detective, wandering through the "woodland" of mystery, chose a fruit brimming with poison.

Da Shang Zhu Shan then entered the password that killed him.

……

Senma Kōdai turned his head and read out the incorrect password he had seen.

He believed the password was 'ODE'.

Meanwhile, Kogoro Mouri tried to reach for the letter that was placed next to him.

"Hmm... let me see..."

Finally, panting, he spread the letter out in front of him.

He then read out the clue from the last page of the Great Blessing.

"Her last echo was the sound of the wind at the ends of the earth."

"A lamentation hymn?"

Harufumi Mogi repeated the sentence in a low voice thoughtfully, then chuckled softly.

This person then felt pleasure at a certain logic that had become clear.

Hmph, Great Lord Zhushan—this guy actually died because he overthought things a few steps.

He slowly shifted his gaze from the letter, sweeping it over the others present, his tone suddenly turning sarcastic and cold:
“I said, there’s no need for everyone to pass around the letters now.”

"After all, what if someone else, like this senior, misunderstands their clues and enters the wrong password..."

“After all, there are elderly people and children here, aren’t there?” He looked at Senma Kazuyo and Mouri Ran sitting at the table. “It wouldn’t be good if the papers accidentally fell to the ground.”

Harufumi Mogi then looked at the third page in his hand.

"The letter I got was M, and the sentence was—I'm not an actor, but the one who adjusts the background."

Harufumi Mogi looked up and surveyed the still somewhat bewildered crowd.

"The answer is obvious, isn't it?"

Harufumi Mogi explained his understanding of the Great Prayer Ceremony to the others, then looked at Yoshiro Senma opposite him, his voice full of confidence.

"If I'm not mistaken, the subject of the clues you have should be 'him,' right?"

“That’s right.” Chima Kazuyo nodded. “My letter is 'D,' and the clue is—”

His whispers at night could not persuade the flame.

Ran Mouri then chimed in at just the right moment: "My letter is also E. The clue is that behind his brilliance lies the shadow of a person."

"From this perspective, Oojin Shuzen's reasoning is actually not wrong."

Chima Kazuyo put all the clues together.

“Looking at it this way…” Hakuba Saguru stroked his chin, his gaze slightly darkening, “Daishō Shōzen’s interpretation of ‘ODE’ is actually correct.”

Senma Kazuyo nodded.

"He just overcomplicated the password. We only need to focus on our own corresponding pronouns and find the corresponding password."

The old man, who could solve cases simply by listening to other people's descriptions while reclining in his rocking chair, then pointed out the other people's passwords.

"The clue in Da Shang Zhu Shan's words, 'the sound of the wind at the end of the world,' refers to the end of life, to disappearance, to 'the end.'"

"So his password is—END."

"The clue to Mogi is 'the person who adjusts the background,' the director, the manipulator, the 'master.'"

"Therefore, his password is—DOM."

"What the White Horse Boy said..."

Hakuba's eyes lit up, and he took the initiative to continue, a smile spreading across his lips.

"My password should be 'NOD,' which means nodding in approval."

Then he turned to look at Ran Mouri.

"As for Miss Lan, your statement, 'Behind his brilliance lies the shadow of another...'"

"It refers to a weak, hidden, dependent, and protected existence."

"Your password should be - DOE."

"That is, a female fawn."

Ran Mouri's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't refute, only nodded gently.

In the end, everyone's eyes fell on the "detective" who had been silent for a long time—Kogoro Mouri.

He shrugged, as if he were simply stating an answer unrelated to himself: "Then my password can only be the fourth pronoun."

"It should be—D, E, M."

He smiled and added the last word.

"demon."

Kogoro Mouri slowly reached out and placed his hand on the combination lock behind the chair, which he hadn't yet touched.

……

After a moment of silence, everyone chuckled softly almost simultaneously.

That smile was like a release after suppression, or a chorus before the coming judgment.

“It seems so,” Ikumi Gunta said first.

A bright, yet ironic smile appeared on her face.

"It is now obvious who directed this whole farcical drama."

She revealed the person who was about to "witness" them killing each other.

"Or rather—Mr. Phantom Thief Kid, am I right?"

"You expected that we would fall into suspicion because we each have incomplete clues."

"If everyone here does as you intend, conceals their clues, and tries to exchange clues individually—"

"After the first victim cried out in agony, everyone's fragile trust was shattered."

Hakuba Saguru had already reached for the combination lock behind the chair.

As he tried to rotate the reel to the correct password, he pointed out Kidd's biggest mistake.

"Unfortunately, Da Shang's death is taking longer than you expected!"

"And the trust between us is much stronger than you think."

As he spoke, he snapped the first character into place.

"I guess you realized things were going off track when Ms. Gunda cut the letter into pieces and passed them around."

"So you have no choice but to find a way to set up another trap on the spot."

“But after all, you are already in an invincible position,” Harufumi Mogi added.

"That's why you chose Osaka as your first target."

"Because he's right beside you, as long as you wait until we realize something's wrong, or until the final winner gathers all the clues."

"You can enter the password before him and then get up. Then, just use the dead Mr. Osaka as a mechanism to move his body."

"In that case, the rest of us will..."

Kogoro Mouri sighed softly.

His tone carried a hint of helplessness, and also a hint of regret.

"Indeed, nothing can fool you detectives..."

"Unexpectedly, what was supposed to be an interesting drama turned into a contest of speed in manipulating mechanisms."

And just as that line fell—

Click! Click! Click...!
Six crisp and melodious mechanical sounds rang out.

The next moment, six sharp "bee stings" shot out from the back of the chair, hurtling towards the six trapped people at extremely high speed—

The air freezes.

The banquet, which had initially resembled a stage for a mystery, finally unfolded within the Baron's carefully laid timed script—

It turned into a real dead end.

Everyone slumped down as if asleep, like sleeping lambs.

Conan Edogawa then looked at the baron who was still standing in the same spot.

He then read out the true answer that he had already deduced.

"One Demon END".

When the famous detective deduced the real answer, he realized that he would be the only survivor.

after all--

He is a viewer of the "script".

He then quietly recited the story the Baron had told not long ago.

"Finally, after this nightmarish night, only six guests remained in a coma at the auction."

And to give that story a sequel.

"And—the rest of the demons who killed everyone else."

He raised his head and looked at the "Baron" who stood there like a machine.

"Whether I eventually figure out the real answer or not, you will kill everyone."

"Your goal is simply to have me deduce the location of the fifth pointer, and then catch everyone who knows about the pointer and the watch in one fell swoop, right?"

"—Karasuma Renya."

So, the detective, who had already solved the problem, despairingly entered the wrong answer onto the combination lock.

I felt a kind of needle-like sensation piercing my body from my back.

In the last second before losing consciousness, Conan uttered his final wish in his heart.

"Please, Hattori... you absolutely must get the fifth pointer..."

As the clock struck 12:00, the play came to an end, and the curtain fell on the stage.

……

And look at Conan and everyone else who are fast asleep.

The "Dark Baron," who had been standing still and whom everyone thought was just a loudspeaker robot, slowly began to walk.

He glanced at the three playing cards that had fallen to the ground, symbolizing the King, Queen, and Soldier, representing K, Q, and J respectively, and the three suits of diamonds, hearts, and spades.

The baron picked up a playing card and saw the hole that had been pierced on the back of the card with a needle.

He smiled with satisfaction.

This person had already discerned the child's final thoughts.

Conan's plan is simple.

Since the eagle raised by Bai Ma has already gone to report to the police, then as long as he leaves enough clues, he can continue.

Then Heiji Hattori, the detective who never revealed his knowledge of the watch, was able to find the crucial fifth hand by following the clues he left behind.

"The detective's sense of justice and willingness to sacrifice..."

The baron nudged the two guys who were pretending to be asleep.

His gaze swept over the letter in Kogoro Mouri's hand.

There is indeed a fourth pronoun, but it's not "it," which symbolizes "the devil," but rather—

On the last paragraph of Kogoro Mouri's third letter, he wrote:

"His judgment falls on the oldest clock."

—The letter in "Kogoro Mouri" is actually "O".

P.S.: I suddenly realized I forgot to write the wrong answer for Gunfield. It should be "MEM", which is short for "memory".
-
I'm having trouble naming the fifth pointer, so I'm soliciting suggestions here:
The puppet show ends;

Dark Star;

The sins of death;

Golden Shadow;

The Detective's Regret;

A compassionate heart;

Dusk and Dawn;

The radiance of repentance;

Or if you have a better name, you can write it here.

(End of this chapter)