No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

After confirming their safety, the two had a great time playing around. Kitahara Masaki believed that the two kids would definitely be able to decipher the code, while Vermouth believed that Kitahara Masaki wouldn't be foolish enough to overestimate himself, since Kitahara Masaki was the most self-preserving man she had ever met.

Time quickly came to the end of the second game, but no explosions occurred anywhere in Koshien Stadium, and not a single accident happened.

This was beyond Kitahara Masaki's expectations. Usually, people with this kind of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) would kill someone after laughing loudly, just like the previous person who called himself the Masked Messenger. Why was this person so quiet for so long?

"Brother Kitahara, there's a fire in a building near Koshien Stadium. I asked Uncle Otaki to check it out. They said someone detonated a bomb there. Luckily, it's a public holiday today, so all the construction company's employees are on leave and no one was injured. And the detonation time was right at the end of the second inning."

"I see. Then have Inspector Otaki check if there are any recent cases related to this construction company. The murderer is very likely the person you just spoke to on the phone. Decipher the meaning of the code as soon as possible. This time, it's up to you."

"Hmph! I'll teach that guy a lesson once I find him, and make sure he can't watch the game."

After hanging up the phone, Kitahara Masaki suddenly heard the commentator say:

"This sacrifice fly put the runner on third base on second, with two outs and runners on first and third. It was almost a home run, but it was blocked by the sea breeze and the 96-meter distance between the two wings of Koshien Stadium."

96 meters on both wings? 96? Kitahara Masaki immediately connected the dots, realizing that the first number in the code was 96.

Just as I was thinking of calling Conan to ask, their call came in. It seemed they had also realized the matter and then found a second phone.

"The distance from home plate to the sideline is 96 meters. He wanted to imply a position next to the sideline. The field is divided into left and right sides, and the 7 in parentheses means the player's jersey number. Number 7 is usually left field, so it confirms the left side of the field. The last number is simple; it naturally means the 13th row. Anyway, we got another cell phone, and it only contained one text message: 47, [3], 4."

"Wait, Hattori, you answered the phone before it rang three times, and then the person didn't say anything?"

"Oh, that's mostly nonsense. They're saying you two kids are so funny, running around with a policeman. But the Koshien devil loves that kind of pointless effort."

I see. This person was either a former baseball player or someone connected to baseball. And like Kitahara Masaki and the others, he was watching Hattori and Conan with binoculars.

"I understand. I will continue to search for him through the telescope. You guys continue to decipher the codes."

After hearing the news of the fire at the construction company, Kitahara Masaki immediately asked the Metropolitan Police Department to investigate the company's records, which were related to Koshien baseball games and baseball players.

"Ah! Masaki, I think I saw a man wearing a hat and carrying a bag. He also had binoculars around his neck. He was clearly in the infield."

"What! Where is he?"

Once Vermouth pointed out his location, Kitahara Masaki immediately sent a drone there to carefully examine his bag. If it turned out to be a bomb, then they could proceed.

"Ah—it's not him. The bag is full of water. He must be a coach who brought a group of students to watch the game."

Just as the two of them were eliminating suspicious persons, Hattori and his team found a third cell phone.

"Silver is the 47th element, and the only thing related to silver in Koshien is the silver umbrella used for sunshade in the central area! Then, number three can't be specified in a specific location, but the only person in Koshien who definitely wears the number three jersey is the baseball god—Babe Ruth! And his monument is in the very center to the left, so we found the cell phone in the fourth row to the left of the silver umbrella area. However, this time he didn't say anything, just gave a strange code: [ ], 13. Hehe, I don't know if that guy did it on purpose or what, it's like there was no hint at all!"

Kitahara Masaki also received a text message about that construction company. A month ago, one of their trucks had hit and killed a high school student. The student had accidentally stepped onto the road while riding his bicycle because he was too tired from baseball practice.

I see. Now everything makes sense. The person playing this pointless coded game with Hattori must be the child's father, taking his anger out on Koshien because he lost his son...

Haha, they even got the target of their revenge wrong. It would be better to say that the traffic accident wasn't the driver's fault at all.

Chapter 216 The Cowards of Koshien

Kitahara Masaki wasn't as anxious as Hattori and the others. After all, the drone would only fly away for a while when it was checking suspicious people, and the rest of the time it would just hover around him. Unfortunately, he hadn't found the person who wanted to take his anger out on innocent people yet.

However, Vermouth, who was tired of looking for an older man with binoculars, suddenly noticed something.

“Masaki, take a look at this Koshien map…”

"Did you find anything?"

"Yes, the map shows there are twenty-four entrances here, but entrances 17 and 22 have disappeared, and their locations aren't marked on the map. So, I'm wondering if the blank space above the cipher means that?"

Oh! That's amazing. Kitahara Masaki never expected this. However, the culprit's second code already showed that he was not quite right in the head. Using 47 to refer to the silver umbrella, only Conan could come up with such a random association.

However, a problem has arisen: number 17 is still quite a distance away from them, but number 22 is the entrance that Kitahara Maki and the others entered!

Upon realizing this, Kitahara Masaki immediately pulled Vermouth up and turned his gaze sharply to the back, where a man wearing a hat and carrying a bag was walking towards the 13th row.

Kitahara Masaki didn't say anything more. After quickly making a few hand gestures, he and Vermouth approached the man one after the other.

After confirming the man's identity via drone, Kitahara Masaki, also wearing a hat, slowly approached him and whispered:

"If you don't like Koshien, why are you watching it so seriously?"

"Hmm, what are you talking about?"

“Your son… he should be someone who loves baseball, right? If you do this, he might be very sad.”

The man carrying the bag suddenly became agitated when his son was being talked to, and shouted:

“What do you know! What do you know! That kid—he got hit by a truck because of this ridiculous race! If it weren’t for this place, he would still be here with me—”

"Yes, even though I've never met that child, I can tell from your emotions that he's a serious and hardworking kid. Would such a child really want his father to commit suicide? Sir, I hope you can reconsider. After all, you left so many coded messages—wasn't it so that someone would come to save you?"

click!

Taking advantage of the prisoner's momentary lapse in concentration due to his verbal sparring, Kitahara Masaki swiftly seized the detonator from his hand, while Vermouth immediately handcuffed him. It was all over before he could even react.

"Damn it!!! You actually used my son as a shield! I will never forgive you!!"

When Kitahara Masaki heard such a blatant crime announcement, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Then he thought that even if this poor man regarded himself as the devil of Koshien, it couldn't change the fact that he was just a father who had lost his son.

"Before you forgive me, why don't you think about whether your son will forgive you if you press this detonator! This Koshien stadium holds your son's dreams, and you destroyed it—aren't you just venting your anger on others for your own sake? Before you brought this dangerous thing in, did you seriously consider your son's feelings!"

Kitahara Masaki's rebuke made the prisoner kneel on the ground, completely unlike his previous madness. Now, after Kitahara Masaki tore off his 'Koshien Devil' persona, he was nothing more than a pitiful person unable to properly vent his anger.

After confirming that the prisoner had no other explosives on him, Kitahara Masaki immediately opened the bag. The bomb inside was very rudimentary and easy to disarm, but of course he wouldn't disarm it in such a place. Rather, he had already requested support from the Osaka Prefectural Police, and the bomb disposal team was on its way.

At this moment, Hattori and Conan rushed back to their seats. Having deciphered the code, they were terrified. One of them was shouting "Ran!" in his mind, and the other was shouting "Kazuha!" They thought they would have a difficult confrontation with the culprit, but instead they saw the culprit kneeling on the ground and the smiling Vermouth.

"Sister Evelyn, where's Kitahara-nii?"

"He's taking the bomb out to the bomb disposal team right now. This guy is the criminal, the guy who calls himself the Koshien Devil."

"Oh... Kitahara-nii already deciphered the code?"

"Ahem, I was the first to notice this time."

Heiji Hattori and Conan looked at Vermouth's smiling face and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Could it be that they couldn't even compare to a famous police officer, let alone his girlfriend?

The match was nearing its end, and the commentator's "homerun" signaled the victory of one side and the defeat of the other.

"Sigh, Kudo, I feel like we missed the competition this time, and we lost the case reasoning again. It's like we lost both the competition and the case."

"Feel the same."

Two high school detectives were perched on the fence, their faces beaming with innocent expressions. However, Kitahara Masaki, having already disposed of the bomb, patted them on the shoulder and said:

"Don't look so constipated. Tonight—Hattori! Take me to the best restaurant in Osaka for dinner!!! It's on me!"

Oh oh oh!!!

When a rich guy invited them to dinner, Hattori and Conan exchanged a knowing smile and realized that their troubles were surprisingly weak under the onslaught of delicious food. So, the two of them started watching Koshien matches on their phones.

After finishing his meal, Kitahara Masaki ate dessert and began to think that Osaka's food was actually quite good...

"So, Kitahara-kun, coming to Osaka this time was definitely the right decision, wasn't it!"

"Yeah! That's right. How about we go see a Takarazuka performance next time?"

"Yes, yes! I think Evelyn will definitely like it!"

It has to be said that Vermouth's social skills with women are truly supermodel-level; she and Kazuha are now best friends.

After a satisfying meal, it was natural to stay in a hotel for the night before heading back.

"Shinichi, what are you still writing?"

"Regarding the letter of recommendation, I had a good conversation with Superintendent General Hakuba when I went to excavate the Koshimizu last time, so I think what I said should get his attention. After all, I've solved two cases that happened in large stadiums. Well, the letter of recommendation I wrote to him is about the need for detailed security checks at these places where large crowds can gather. If it goes through, I think today's case won't happen again, and I can finally enjoy a game properly."

"Hmm, but I don't think the boss will be happy."

"I hope he dies of anger, then I'll definitely go to his grave and open a bottle of champagne."

Upon hearing Kitahara Masaki's announcement of opening champagne, Vermouth laughed and hugged him, mischievously adding a message to his text:

Dogs and Karasuma Renya are not allowed inside.

Chapter 217 You can't just touch other people's figurines.

The case won't take a break along with their vacation.

"Hmm, so you've encountered another suspicious person, is that right?"

Ai Haibara felt a little embarrassed after being asked that question. She used to be a quiet, research-oriented girl, never encountering murderers like Conan. But this time, it seemed very likely she had.

“We met that person at seven o’clock in the morning. It suddenly rained for ten minutes, but the person didn’t have an umbrella and didn’t get wet at all.”

"Is it possible that he went somewhere to take shelter from the rain?"

"Yes, but when we saw him, he was running breathlessly, not like he had rested for ten minutes."

Well, actually, Kitahara Masaki was just asking these questions to have an excuse to investigate him, since anyone Conan suspects is basically a suspect.

"Then, when we were heading home in the afternoon, a murder occurred near the place where we met the man in the morning. Police cars have now surrounded the house."

"Okay, I'll make a call and ask."

After learning about the case from Inspector Megure, it turned out that the group of children not only saw a suspicious person, but also his face. Now the police are taking the group of children to the target's address. Because the children found him from a photo of the victim's colleague, it is highly likely that the murderer is this victim's colleague. Moreover, there is a romantic dispute between the suspect and the victim—when the suspect went abroad to study, his girlfriend cheated on him, and the victim is the one who cheated on him.

After greeting Koshimizu, Kitahara Masaki also headed to the suspect's address and met up with Inspector Megure and the others in front of an apartment building.

However, he could immediately tell that Takagi wasn't as energetic as usual; in fact, she seemed a bit down, as was Sato beside her. Could they have had a fight? This was far more interesting than a case.

Seeing that Kitahara Masaki's focus wasn't on the case at all, Haibara Ai, with her crescent-shaped eyes, tugged at his sleeve and asked:

"Kitahara-kun, you're here to solve a case, right?"

"Ahem, Ai, paying attention to the emotional relationships of my colleagues is also something I should do as an excellent police officer. After all, it's part of ensuring harmonious relationships among colleagues."

"Aren't you the head of the First Criminal Investigation Division now? It's not like the emotional lives of the First Criminal Investigation Division members are under your jurisdiction. You should hurry up and solve the case. I still have a show I want to watch tonight, and the doctor likes to find excuses to eat sweets at night. If I don't keep an eye on him, he'll probably sneak some again."

"Fine, fine, I can't argue with you."

Urged on by housekeeper Haibara, Kitahara Masaki finally went upstairs and saw that the suspect named Kato had already opened the door. However, when a fat man yawned and asked what was going on, even Kitahara Masaki was stunned.

"Chiba! What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Inspector Kitahara! But this is my home."

"Ah, this!" Kitahara Masaki's outburst of question immediately woke Chiba from his drowsiness, and he stood up obediently, but because of his size, he looked quite pitiful.

"Ahem, I'm not blaming you, Chiba. I'm just a little surprised. This Kato is a suspect in a recent case. What's your relationship with him?"

"Kato is my friend. He said he wants to stay with me for a while because his girlfriend cheated on him. What happened?"