Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

"I didn't expect I guessed wrong... I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it." He bowed politely in apology.

"Is this the girlfriend you said you were going to bring?" Araki Yoshino continued to ask.

"Ah, right?" Toru Tono said dismissively, glancing to the side. Sure enough, he saw Sonoko Suzuki's cheeks rapidly heating up. If this were the world of anime, she would probably be steaming hot from head to toe.

I didn't even blush this much when I heard that I'd been caught pretending to be a boy.

So, this was your real purpose?

Miss Suzuki, you rascal...

"This is really a headache. It turns out it was a grown man pretending to be a girl pretending to be a grown man... You really fooled us." Naoko Kuroda, wearing a pink sweater and square-framed glasses that covered half of her face, walked over and said a long string of tongue-twisting words.

He seems to have good speaking skills.

"Indeed, she's really good at pretending." Hamano Toshiya, who had walked over with her, nodded in agreement. "Just like Ms. Tanaka."

"Ah, I don't mind speaking in a man's tone." Kikue Tanaka, wearing a blue shirt with the top button fastened, walked over from the living room.

"As for myself, I always thought 'the vanished Barney' was a girl."

"Is that so? Then I deliberately blurred the lines..."

“What do you mean by deliberately obscuring it? I was still discussing underwear with this person in emails.” Naoko Kuroda blushed.

"Yeah, I was practically spitting blood back then," Hamano Toshiya said openly, without the slightest embarrassment.

What a gathering of talents!

Tono Toru couldn't help but sigh as he listened to their "glorious deeds".

This group of people is a bit like the players in a game he played as a kid called "CrossFire"—all of them are elementary school kids with cross-dressing accounts, who log in and immediately ask their older brothers to carry them...

"Has the 'Red Scarlet Fish' arrived here?" Toru Tono recited the lines that Sonoko Suzuki had prepared for him.

"He's already upstairs."

"He's coming down."

With heavy footsteps, a figure even more robust than Professor Agasa slowly descended the stairs.

Then he paused.

Tohno Toru could feel that Tohno's gaze suddenly locked onto him, and his body stiffened slightly.

He turned his gaze over and sized up the person.

"hello."

Tohru Tono silently mouthed the words.

Chapter 85 Kaito Kuroba is a kind-hearted phantom thief

After a moment of stunned silence, Kaito Kuroba, who had come down from upstairs, returned to normal and walked over as if nothing had happened.

The phantom thief, disguised as Doi Takaki, pretended not to see Tohru Tono's smiling face.

Silently repeat to yourself: You don't recognize me, you don't recognize me...

"...I am Doi Takaki."

Poker face, poker face!

Kaito Kuroba follows his father's teachings meticulously, and his acting is flawless.

A look of confusion appeared on Doi Takaki's face, which was filled with excess fat: "You are...?"

“Oh my, he’s the ‘Magician’s Apprentice’—you didn’t expect that, did you? We were all quite surprised.” Naoko Kuroda, being the more outgoing type, introduced him to Takuki Doi with a smile.

“…I really didn’t expect that.” Kaito Kuroba glanced at Sonoko Suzuki standing next to Toru Tono out of the corner of his eye and suddenly realized.

It must have been this young lady chatting online, and Tohno Toru somehow ended up taking the blame.

"I thought 'The Magician's Apprentice' would be a high school girl, but I was fooled by you." Doi Takuki scratched his head and let out a hearty laugh.

"Strange... Doi Takaki, right? Nice to meet you."

"..."

Haha, I was recognized after all.

Kaito Kuroba felt a chill run down his spine, reasonably suspecting that the other party was deliberately trying to summon Kaito Kid.

Hmm, Kaito could be one of them too.

'Fine, anyway, Tohno Toru probably won't bother exposing me for no reason. I'll figure out what's going on with this Kuroda Naoko and then stay far away from her...'

He thought to himself secretly.

Kaito Kuroba actually came to this magicians' gathering because of the ID "Deceive the Child".

Because "Deception Child" was actually the name of a magician who had died unexpectedly—Harui Fuden—before his debut.

Kaito Kuroba, who knew all the masters in the magic world like the back of his hand, sensed something strange the moment he entered the chat room.

Why would someone still be communicating under the name "Deceiving Children" even though Harui has passed away?

Upon first seeing Kikue Tanaka in her blue coat, he recognized her as the granddaughter of Kazuki Harui.

However, Kaito Kuroba is still secretly investigating her purpose.

'With the famous detective Toru Tohno here, hopefully nothing unexpected will happen.'

......

"By the way, who are you all?"

The villa's owner, Araki Yoshinori, then noticed that Tono Toru and Sonoko were followed by three figures—two adults and one child—and hurriedly went out to greet them.

"I was brought along by her, Ran Mouri. Nice to meet you." Ran was very polite, and her smiling eyes made her instantly likable.

“I’m her father, I brought her here.” Kogoro Mouri’s expression wasn’t so pleasant; he squinted and looked uninterested.

"Oh, so you're that girl's best friend." Araki was charmed by the high school girl's cute smile and didn't care that the "magician's apprentice" had brought his whole family along. You couldn't have too many beautiful girls like that!

"That's very rude of you, please come in."

He walked down with a smile, ready to take the luggage from Kogoro Mouri's hands, but instead, Kogoro Mouri grabbed his collar.

"You better understand, you'd better not try anything with these two girls."

"Dad!" Ran Mouri turned around and called out helplessly.

"Don't worry..." Araki Yoshino was startled.

Tohno Toru happened to see this scene when he was taking off his coat in front of the door, and his first reaction was that it was a bit of an overreaction.

However, considering the security situation in Tokyo... all I can say is that although Kogoro Mouri seems unreliable, he is indeed a responsible and good father.

While he was at it, Kogoro grabbed Conan by the back of his collar like a cat, who was trying to sneak into the villa despite having a cold. Amidst several questioning glances, Kogoro bid farewell to everyone.

......

Tohru Tono, dressed in a pure black sweater, sat at the square beechwood table, feeling a bit stuffy.

Perhaps because there were many ladies present, the coffee served to the guests was a latte.

He took a sip, and the milk flavor was so strong that he didn't quite like drinking milk outside of breakfast.

"So, the only ones who haven't arrived yet are the chat room administrator 'Escape King' and 'Shadow Mage'."

Kikue Tanaka, with a gentle demeanor reminiscent of a Yamato Nadeshiko, stood by the window, holding a list of attendees and explaining the situation to everyone present.

"Eh, the 'Shadow Mage' is coming this time too." Suzuki Sonoko was surprised, but she didn't forget her identity as the "girlfriend of the 'Magician's Apprentice'", so she lowered her voice, blushed, and whispered to Tohru Tono.

The words that came out were steaming hot, making Tohno Toru feel slightly uncomfortable.

He subtly moved a few centimeters away, but before he could even respond, Xiaolan, who was also sitting very close by, spoke up.

"Who is the 'Shadow Mage'?" she asked, lowering her voice as well.

“He’s a very strange person.” Sonoko Suzuki frowned, having a very bad impression of him. “Because every time we’re chatting, he says things like ‘I’m going to fly away’ or ‘I can disappear without a trace at any time.’ Every time he says something like that, it’s terrifying.”

"Isn't that just internet chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)...?"

"What disease?"

"It's nothing." Tohru Tohru didn't find this kind of person scary at all. In his previous life, which of the RZ group members on the internet didn't possess unique skills?

"The chat room administrator hasn't come... What should we do?"

Kikue Tanaka's expression was also somewhat worried. Why wasn't the group admin posting anything?

Does anyone know how to contact the "Escape King"?

“I do know his phone number and real name,” the villa owner said.

He then walked to the landline and dialed a number.

“Oh, it’s an answering machine.” Araki sighed. “In that case, let’s play by ourselves until he gets here.”

"I'll prepare dinner. You can go to your rooms and change your sheets first."

“Okay,” the group of people, who were looking forward to a pleasant gathering, replied happily.

......

After tidying up the room, Sonoko and Ran leaned against the balcony railing, looking at the snow-covered scenery outside the window, feeling happy.

"We really made the right choice coming here," Xiaolan said happily.

"Yes." Sonoko was initially very happy, but then she suddenly remembered something and leaned on the railing, looking melancholy.

"If Doito thinks the same way I do, then I won't have any complaints."

In her imagination, Doi Takaki should be a tall, handsome prince charming, how could he be a fat otaku...?

"Ah, Tohno Toru came with you, didn't he? You can't be too greedy."

"That's true..."

"Oh, right, where did Tousan go?"

"Oh right, didn't we tell him to come and meet us after he finished tidying up his room?"