Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

As they discussed, they followed Keiko Yamazaki toward the museum's exit.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the tall glass doors, casting long shadows on the ground.

As Lin Xiuyi walked out the door, she glanced back at the second floor and saw Director Xin Chuan standing by the office window, silently watching them.

Lin Xiuyi and Director Xinchuan's eyes met in mid-air. Director Xinchuan paused for a moment, then silently turned around and disappeared behind the window.

It was dusk, and the orange-red sunset on the horizon was even more magnificent, casting a warm and brief halo on the museum's gray stone exterior, temporarily dispelling its gloom and loneliness.

In stark contrast, the number of pedestrians on the street gradually increased, and the noisy voices and cheerful laughter returned to the ears.

Most people flocked towards the celebration venue in the city center, their faces filled with anticipation and excitement, ready to welcome the upcoming fireworks display.

"Great! There's still time!" Yukiko took out her watch, checked the time, and said excitedly, "If we go now, we can still get a good spot to watch the fireworks! If we're any later, we'll probably just be stuck at the back of the crowd, only able to see the backs of other people's heads."

Everyone nodded, their faces beaming with anticipation.

The disappointment I felt in the museum just now seemed to have been washed away by the upcoming fireworks display.

……

Inside the Osaka Museum, Keiko Yamazaki locked the main door, hesitated for a moment, then went up to the second floor and knocked on the door of the director's office.

Director Shinkawa was sitting at his desk, holding an old photograph of a samurai sword in his hand, staring blankly at the photo, seemingly lost in thought.

"Director, they've left," Keiko Yamazaki said softly, knocking gently on the office door.

Director Shinkawa snapped out of his reverie, put down the photo, rubbed his slightly sore eyes, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Did they find any useful clues today?"

Keiko Yamazaki nodded, then shook her head: "No, but they did make a guess about the theft of the samurai sword."

"What guess?" Director Shinkawa's eyes sharpened instantly, and he quickly pressed for an answer.

Keiko Yamazaki then told Director Shinkawa everything that Hideichi Hayashi and Heizo Hattori had guessed.

Upon hearing Keiko Yamazaki's account, Director Shinkawa initially dismissed it, simply shaking his head and finding the speculation far-fetched.

But as he listened, his brows furrowed more and more, his eyes widened, and the pen in his hand fell to the table with a "clatter".

Director Shinkawa froze in his chair, his eyes glazed over, muttering to himself, "So that's how it is... So that's how it is... How come I never thought of that..."

He suddenly stood up, strode to a corner of the office, and pulled an old cardboard box from a dusty cabinet.

The cardboard box contained all the information about the theft of the samurai sword years ago. With trembling hands, he pulled out a scene investigation report from that year and stared intently at a line on the report: "Some tin metal blocks were found in a trash can near the scene, of unknown origin."

Upon seeing these words, Director Shinkawa's body trembled violently.

He finally understood that the mystery he had been unable to understand for ten years had such an answer.

"It's actually him..."

Director Shinkawa clutched the yellowed survey report tightly, crumpling the paper into a ball. Memories from ten years ago surged back like a tidal wave, those deliberately buried details churning wildly in his mind, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably.

Keiko Yamazaki stood by the desk, looking at the curator's suddenly pale face, her mind filled with doubt.

She cautiously took half a step forward and asked softly, "Curator? Who is this 'he' you're talking about? Is it the thief from back then?"

Director Shinkawa's throat moved, but he suddenly stopped speaking.

He raised his head, his bloodshot eyes looking out the window, as if staring at something.

After a long while, he slowly withdrew his gaze, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded: "By the way, did they...did they find any evidence to prove this hypothesis?"

“No,” Keiko Yamazaki shook her head, her tone tinged with disappointment. “They said they came today to look for evidence, but unfortunately they found nothing.”

“Is that so…” Director Shinkawa murmured to himself, turning to look at the old photograph of a samurai sword on the table.

The scabbard in the photo has a warm luster, the gemstone on the hilt is still dazzling, and the person next to the photo still has a head of black hair, and their eyes are full of appreciation for the cultural relic.

He remained silent for a while, the only sound in the office being the ticking of the old wall clock, before slowly speaking, "You can go home now, Yamazaki. There's a fireworks display later, isn't there? Don't miss it; young people should go and join in the fun."

As Keiko Yamazaki watched the curator's dejected figure, her doubts deepened. However, she knew the curator's temperament, and since he didn't want to talk about it, there was no point in pressing him further.

She could only nod and reply softly, "...Okay, then you should go back and rest early, Director."

After saying that, Keiko Yamazaki turned and walked out of the office, gently closing the door behind her.

The moment the office door closed, Director Shinkawa slumped into his chair in despair.

He released his grip, and the crumpled investigation report fell onto the table. The line "Some tin metal blocks were found in a trash can near the scene, of unknown origin" was particularly glaring.

Director Shinkawa reached out a trembling hand, picked up the photo on the table, and repeatedly stroked the samurai sword in the photo with his fingertips. Finally, he couldn't hold back his tears and they slid down from the corners of his eyes, dripping onto the photo and spreading into a small water stain.

"I trusted him wrongly. It's all my fault, it's all my fault..."

His voice was filled with regret; ten years of self-blame and guilt erupted at this moment, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

……

In order to ensure that Ono Kayoko wouldn't miss the fireworks display, Hattori Heizo drove back to the hotel first to pick up his companion.

Lin Xiuyi and the others got into Chi Bo's car and went ahead to reserve a spot.

"We can't let Kayoko and Konoe miss such a grand fireworks display." Hattori Heizo gripped the steering wheel, his tone tinged with helplessness. "That Konoe guy is probably still waiting for Kayoko at the inn right now."

Sitting in the passenger seat, Maeda Yoto joked with a smile, "Only Konoe can put up with Yoshiko's aloof personality. Anyone else would have given up long ago."

“Kayoko must be preoccupied today,” Yoshida Aoi said, sitting in the back seat with a slight frown. “She’s been acting strange since this morning. I hope the fireworks will cheer her up.”

Kawada Haeko excitedly pulled out a festival brochure: "I heard there are several new styles of fireworks tonight, and a special themed performance; it's sure to be amazing!" (End of Chapter)