Temperature Control in Academy City

"Is this place connected to reality? Did you come here specifically to solve the anomaly?"

Natsume Sonoko showed the appearance of a curious baby, flapping her wings and flying in the air, struggling to follow the speed of Kanzaki Kaori. Even if she flew, she still couldn't compare with her.

"This magic is based on reality, and just like you said, this magic circle can still maintain normal communication with the outside world, which means it is connected to the outside world and there is a medium to enter here. The reason I came here was that I accidentally discovered a stone tablet with the name of ancient magic. I just explored the magic traces on it, and I was immediately pulled in."

"What's a magic name?"

"You can understand it as the reason for learning magic, which is the goal a person wants to achieve by using magic. However, magic names are widely used by modern magicians after the end of the 012th century. The ancient magic names before that are rarely seen. The ancient magic name is translated as 'The Torch That Burns the Mundane World'." Kamiya Kaori said. All of this is just the most basic common sense in the magic world, but it is a blind spot for people outside the magic world.

"Oh, so that's how it is." She nodded slightly. To be honest, Natsume Sonoko was actually very confused. Maybe this was just talking at cross purposes.

When we arrived at Beika Town, the people in front of us finally became normal, and all of them seemed to have souls.

According to Kamijou Kaoru, the abnormal area here is the only active center of the magic circle, and all the problems now arise here.

The aura of the formation here is extremely active, and the magic that had long been ineffective is wantonly transforming this area, forming a strange large-scale online gathering.

However, unlike the magician who originally created this place, these unsuspecting people had part of their cognition changed, and they did not notice anything unusual and repeated their lives day and night.

Even Natsume Sonoko, who seemed to have resisted the influence of magic very well and corrected her cognition through soul memory, was powerless in some aspects of cognition. For example, she would also see various abnormal dates and times, indicating that she was also affected, but she could know that these dates were wrong.

"It's very strange. This magic circle has obviously lost its effect. It's impossible for it to pull in so many people at once."

Kamiya Kaori stood on the crowded street, looking at the passing cars with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

Then they walked into a remote alley, Kamiya Kaoru squatted down and began to carve something that looked like some special text patterns.

Natsume Sonoko looked at it curiously for a few seconds, but soon lost interest. What was this all about?

"I will draw magic circles all over the city to locate the source that can restore the broken magic to its original state." As if noticing Natsume Sonoko's gaze, Kamisaki Kaori explained.

Maori Detective Agency.

Natsume Sonoko was sitting on the sofa watching TV. Both the TV and the mobile phone could receive signals from the outside world, so in fact the technological products were not affected much.

According to Kamisaki Kaori, because this is a real and fake area, these technological products originally existed, so it does not affect normal use.

"I didn't expect Miss Kanzaki to have no way out of this weird situation? She is also temporarily trapped here and can't get out."

Natsume Sonoko was bored and changing channels. She didn't find anything interesting after watching more than ten channels. However, her mind was not on the TV. She was constantly thinking about something in her head.

If I don't deal with my own problems before the end of the holiday, when I return to Academy City, I may have to disappear for a while every now and then.

As a result, with herself skipping classes and staying out all night in the dormitory, Natsume Sonoko could already imagine herself being expelled from Tokiwadai Junior High School.

Moreover, the Academy City in the abnormal time is just a puppet city. In order to live a normal life, one has to travel back and forth between Beika and Academy City. Just thinking about it makes me feel that life is full of tragedy and comedy.

But Natsume Sonoko couldn’t understand why so many people suddenly disappeared, and it happened so frequently, but there was no large-scale reporting by the outside world.

But I understood it immediately. Is it because of magic?

"Miss Kanzaki said that she is not good at breaking magic circles, so we must find the source of this broken magic to restore its function. Either make the magic ineffective, or eliminate the influence of the magic on ourselves, in order to leave this abnormal state. In short, all of this must be done first to find the source."

Natsume Sonoko thought secretly that unlike Kamijou Kaori who was searching the streets for the source, Natsume Sonoko quickly identified the target person in her mind.

There is only one truth. No matter how you think about it, Conan's kid meets all the requirements. The only problem is that this guy looks ordinary. How can he pull out an ancient magic circle from some unknown corner?

Chapter 89: Raw Stone

"Conan, have you noticed that Sonoko seems to be worried about something recently?"

Mao Lilan carefully tied Conan's tie, smoothed the folds of his suit, and suddenly spoke something off topic.

"So you've also noticed, Xiaolan-sister, that recently, Sonoko-sister has been going out every now and then, and always comes back very late."

Conan stood quietly in front of the mirror, raised his head and looked into Mouri Ran's eyes, recalling Natsume Sonoko's recent actions and said.

"I have to go out first."

Just when Conan and the other two were still whispering to each other, a clear and loud voice came from not far away, and a familiar figure hurriedly walked out of the door of Maori Detective Agency.

After closing the door, Natsume Sonoko hurried downstairs. She was wearing a light green skirt and looked very youthful.

Today is a very special day. Over the past few days, the entire Beika Town has been covered with Kanzaki's magical words and patterns.

Those magic patterns have a searching and exploring function, which can find the power source needed for the operation of this ancient magic circle.

Natsume Sonoko had just arrived at Kamiya's location and hadn't stopped yet when she saw Kamiya, who was holding a long sword and chanting something.

The magical words and patterns under her feet glowed with a faint crimson light, as if a wonderful chemical change had occurred, and began to blend with this strange space.

Kamiya Kaori held the long sword high in her hand and took steps similar to those of a priestess. Her whole body was shining with starlight, and then the starlight turned into a huge beam of light visible to the naked eye and rushed into the ground.

At the same time, in places that Natsume Sonoko could not see, in various inconspicuous corners of Beika Town, the same patterns were lit up one by one, as if a magical body was gradually being put together.

The special effects of magic are very eye-catching, and the effects that can be achieved are also very outstanding. In the current situation where a person with special abilities is confused, the only way to deal with magic is to rely on magic.

Under the bright light, Beika Town immediately revealed an unusual flavor. The many magic patterns that were lit up also affected most of the sky in Beika Town, dyeing the sky red, like a burning cloud.

The fire cloud did not last too long. Starting from its edge, the red color gradually faded away, as if concentrating in one direction. As its area gradually decreased, the red became brighter and brighter.

Looking up at the changing sky, Natsume Sonoko observed the location where the red was concentrated with some concern.

"That's right, that direction is the Maori Detective Agency."

Natsume Sonoko nodded secretly, which was no different from her own guess.

"Go in that direction." Kamiya Kaoru completed the ritual, retracted the long sword in her hand, and stared at the sky that was already as red as blood.

Natsume Sonoko also took a closer look at the long sword in Kamijou Kaori's hand. It was more than two meters long. It was a prop used in rain-praying ceremonies in some places in Japan. It could also be called a command sword.

Heading towards the area where the red color was gradually getting darker, Kamijou Kaori moved quickly without saying a word, which made Natsume Sonoko inexplicably nervous.

"Mori Detective Agency? Isn't this where you live?"

A confused look appeared on Kamijou Kaori's face, and she turned around and looked directly into Natsume Sonoko's eyes.

The atmosphere became inexplicably awkward. Natsume Sonoko looked at the familiar sign silently with a shy smile on her face.

"So that's how it is. No wonder you said before that you found clues to a similar source. Is it because you live nearby?" Kamiya Kaori paused and understood something.

The deep red sky enveloped the Maori Detective Agency, but as the two stepped into it, all the abnormalities disappeared.

"Sister Sonoko, did you bring your friends over?"

Conan ran out from somewhere in the corner, as usual, with a childish innocence on his face that made people not on guard.

However, with the appearance of Conan, Kamiya Kaori's expression finally changed, and there was suddenly a hint of complexity in her eyes.

The wind was a little strong at night.

"Raw stone? I know a little bit about this term, but what does it have to do with Conan?"

On the rooftop of the Beika Hotel building, Natsume Sonoko looked out at the scenery in the distance. She understood the individual words, but was a little confused when they were connected together.

Rough stones refer to special people who have superpowers without any brain development, also known as people with natural abilities.

It seems that the chance of birth is extremely small worldwide, even more precious than the lv5 of Academy City. The lv5 of Academy City is only the top among million people, but it is just a drop in the ocean compared to the world.

"The birth of magic is to allow people without talent to catch up with talented people. Part of the original magic came from people's idolatry of the rough stone. In other words, we are some of the people who know the rough stone best, and people who worship idols will naturally be more likely to touch the idol's brilliance."

"To prevent any accidents, I verified it several times. He is the original stone. There is no doubt about it. The abilities of original stones are often very strange. Sometimes even the original stone itself is not clear. It does not need to think through the brain, but releases its abilities to the outside world like the body's instinct."

Kamiya Kaori answered seriously, sat down on the edge of the rooftop, and looked at the lights of thousands of homes with a normal expression.

"But even if Conan is a raw stone, normally he wouldn't have anything to do with this magic circle. He probably doesn't know anything about magic."

Natsume Sonoko said doubtfully.

"No, it's precisely because he is the raw stone that he is able to pull so many people into magic, even if he himself is completely unaware of it. This is something that ordinary magicians cannot do. Whether it is for superpowers or magic, the raw stone itself is a miracle." Kamiya Kaori insisted, her tone becoming more serious.

Natsume Sonoko still had a lot of questions in her head, but at this moment she thought of something.

"Kanzaki, do you know how long ago this magic circle was restored to use?"

"Based on the traces of magic attached to it, it should have been two months ago. Of course, I'm talking about two months in real life."

Imitating Conan, Natsume Sonoko slowly paced on the rooftop, held up her non-existent eyes and began to think.

So what is the difference between two months ago and now, and it must be related to Conan.

Isn't this obvious?

Natsume Sonoko suddenly realized that two months ago was exactly the date when Conan came to stay at the Mori family, and before that, Conan was called Kudo Shinichi, a famous high school detective.

The culprit behind the change is the Black Organization, or more precisely, the Black Organization's drug that makes people smaller.

Could it be that something was added to the medicine that causes shrinkage, which caused this change?

However, Natsume Sonoko did not have the small magic medicine in her hand, but she did have some information, so she could only take things one step at a time.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know the reason. I still have many ways to solve the problem." Kamiya Kaori suddenly stood up with a strange look on her face.

"How to deal with it?"

"The simplest way is to directly destroy the carrier of the source." Kamiya Kaori said thoughtfully.

"Absolutely not."

Natsume Sonoko hurriedly stood up and rejected Kamijou Kaori's proposal.

Even though that little brat can be really annoying sometimes, this approach is definitely not acceptable.

"Of course, this method is only the last resort. In fact, other methods can be used instead." With a faint smile, Kamisaki Kaori continued.

"We can put Conan in a box that can block magical induction, and then we can take advantage of this brief gap to escape the influence of the magic circle. However, it will take a lot of time and energy to build such a box, and I am in a hurry now."

"We can also think of a way to eliminate the influence of the magic circle on us. For example, we can use the magic of the ancient magicians to leave after the gathering, or let this broken magic circle voluntarily give up its influence on us."

As soon as Kamiya Kaori finished speaking, Natsume Sonoko looked thoughtful, as if she was trying hard to digest what she had just said.

Chapter 90: Escape from the Abnormality

Countless fireworks rose into the sky, embellishing the scenery like a sea of ​​blooming flowers. The brilliant colors were dazzling, and the surroundings were immersed in this seemingly happy and beautiful atmosphere.

Quietly looking at the fireworks in the sky, unlike the smiling faces of everyone around her, Natsume Sonoko was completely confused, her brain working rapidly without stopping at all.

It is already midnight. On normal days, people should be asleep at this time, but today is a little different. Today is the day to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

The festive atmosphere was very strong. Merchants participating in the festival set up stalls stretching for hundreds of meters along the open space, and the crowds who came to join in the fun filled this not-so-large open space.

At this time, Conan was dragged by three classmates to catch goldfish. Maori Kogoro was drunk in a roadside barbecue stall, and sister Xiaolan was squatting beside him, taking care of him helplessly.

The bells of the temple not far away also began to ring, representing the official arrival of the new year...what the hell.

"It turns out that today is not really New Year's Day. I was so happy for nothing."

Natsume Sonoko covered her head and showed an unhappy smile. The more she knew, the more troubles she would have.

In this magic circle from a thousand years ago, Natsume Sonoko endures the pain of having her cognition modified almost every day. She endures the discomfort in her brain and corrects her cognition. It is as if she has to refresh her three views every day, and her brain keeps reminding herself that she is wrong.

After more than a month, Natsume Sonoko found that her calculation ability had improved significantly, not only due to the "calculation interference", but also had a lot to do with this inexplicable cognitive change.

"It's so uncomfortable, such an awkward feeling."

Just a few minutes into the new day, Natsume Sonoko regained consciousness, but unfortunately the original festive feeling was gone.

Walking in the bustling crowd, Natsume Sonoko withdrew her mind from the lively festival and glanced at the various interesting stalls nearby with reluctance. Then she began to act according to the plan she had made before.

"It turns out that the battle plan has already begun."

Looking at the fireworks in the sky again, Natsume Sonoko reacted immediately.

Based on the results of the previous discussion, Natsume Sonoko took some time to fully understand the meaning of Kamijou Kaori's words, and the two of them verbally formulated a plan together.

Although many things are unclear, one thing is easier to understand, which is to make the magic circle temporarily ineffective or fall into chaos.

The caster of this ancient magic circle has long been buried in history, and the one who makes the magic work now is actually Conan, but he is unaware of all this, and even because he is not the caster, he himself is affected by the magic.

What they need to do now is to let Conan influence the magic circle and cause it to fall into chaos temporarily.

The fireworks in the sky continued to bloom, and some strange patterns and symbols were mixed in the flames. However, since they were mixed in with the fireworks and flashed for only a moment, almost no one noticed them.

The only one who noticed this was a young detective named Mitsuhiko, who looked like a child but was actually smarter than an ordinary person.

"Look, the patterns of those fireworks are a bit weird." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, who occasionally looked up to admire the fireworks, said loudly. He is Conan's classmate.

Several other people in Class B of the first grade of Didan Elementary School also raised their heads at this time, looking at the somewhat incomprehensible Mitsuhiko with confusion.

"It's just ordinary fireworks." Kojima Genta squinted his eyes and watched for a long time, but didn't find anything unusual.

"Didn't you notice the special pattern in the fireworks? Maybe someone is asking us for help." Mitsuhiko said anxiously.