No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

Kitahara Masaki looked at Vermouth, their eyes met, there was no tension, no passion, only a calm, still reflection.

"Okay, I promise you."

ding ding ding-

Suddenly the phone rang, breaking the silence at the dining table. Looking at the caller ID, it was Conan, that kid.

"Hey, aren't you having dinner with your girlfriend? Oh, I forgot, you're still short."

"Don't talk about me yet! Kitahara-kun, your video has been posted online again!"

"Are you talking about the case at the Tomizawa family's house? It's been going on online for days now."

"No, someone filmed you and Evelyn together!"

Um--

Kitahara Masaki fell into deep thought. Vermouth had only been there a short time, and they had only met in public a handful of times. It was most likely that she was photographed during the investigation of the stalker's poisoning case. That was the only time they met in public, and they didn't make any disguises.

Kitahara Masaki turned to look at Vermouth. This woman must be the one who recorded the video and posted it online. But what was her purpose in doing so, and why did she only post it now?

Whether Kitahara Masaki liked it or not, the three videos about him were inextricably linked, pushing his popularity to an extremely high level. Because the world of Detective Conan was still some time away from fully entering the era of smartphones like in the previous life, these kinds of stimulating and entertaining videos were most likely to attract attention. Crucially, these videos were all filmed from a candid perspective, which made many people willing to believe they were real and not staged.

"Well, it's nothing, anyway, our relationship will definitely be made public."

"Really? I hope Evelyn's family won't be angry about this?"

Haha, although Vermouth's fake surname is Lauder, she probably borrowed a name from a collateral branch. The person whose identity was borrowed is most likely a nobody who is not loved by his grandparents. So even if this video causes a huge uproar in Japan, it will not alarm the original Lauder family in the United States.

"Don't worry, but how popular are these videos online?"

"It has already been viewed by more than 10,000 people, and it is still increasing. I can only say that Kitahara-san, you have really been in the limelight lately."

"What's wrong? Is the former savior of the Japanese police jealous?"

"No, I will beat you one day. Just wait, Kitahara-nii."

"Oh, I'll wait. I'll also record more magic videos of you changing size while I'm at it."

Chapter 49 The Phantom Thief's Announcement

"Dark stars?"

"Yes, the Beika Museum will exhibit it; it's a family heirloom of the Sonoko family. Then the Suzuki family received a pre-announcement letter, a pre-announcement letter from a phantom thief."

During his vacation, Conan called Kitahara Masaki again, telling him that Phantom Thief Kid would reappear in Japan, this time to steal the Suzuki family's treasure.

"Oh, so you're planning to participate in the operation to capture the phantom thief?"

"Well, although he's known internationally as a phantom thief, I think he's just a petty thief. Besides, Kitahara-kun, didn't you say I didn't want to be in the limelight..."

"Haha, this time you can really show off. After all, Phantom Thief Kid has nothing to do with the organization, and this time you're facing someone who can cause a sensation among young people. It's not a bad thing for you, as a kid, to make a splash."

After hearing Kitahara Masaki's affirmation, Conan became excited. He had been suppressing his love for deduction in order to avoid the organization, and now he could finally put his skills to use.

"By the way, Kidd set up some puzzles in the announcement letter, which I haven't solved yet. Kitahara-kun, I'll send them to you now."

Conan excitedly sent the contents of Kid's announcement to Kitahara Masaki, then suddenly remembered something and exclaimed:

"Kitahara-nii! Please don't tell me what you're thinking!"

"What do you take me for? You just sent it to me."

"Anyway, even if you figure it out, don't tell me! Also, Uncle Mori was invited by Sonoko to the Beika Museum to guard the Dark Star with the Second Investigation Division..."

"I'm on vacation right now, enjoying some alone time with my girlfriend, so please don't bother me."

After hanging up the phone, Kitahara Masaki was somewhat expectant, because just like the shrunken wonder of Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid, also known as Touko, was also very cool when he first appeared. Unfortunately, Kaito Kid later became a comedic character.

(On April Fool's Day, when the moon separates the two, under the name of the darkest stars, invited to the waves, I will surely arrive...)

The announcement letter arrived, and its content was indeed quite literary and artistic. Kitahara Maki wasn't particularly interested in the riddles within, so he casually placed it on the table. Vermouth, having seen the announcement letter, picked up her notebook and seemed somewhat intrigued.

"Ah! Vermouth, I remember your disguise teacher was Kuroba Toichi, right?"

"Yes, that's right. But Professor Kuroba disappeared several years ago."

"Haha! Then I must take you to meet this Phantom Thief Kid!"

As Kitahara Masaki pondered how to contact the Suzuki family, another phone call came in. The caller ID showed it was Suzuki Sonoko. Because of the previous Tomizawa Taichi murder case, the Suzuki family had obtained Kitahara Masaki's phone number; it seemed this call was to invite him to capture the Phantom Thief Kid.

However, the content of the call was the same. Sonoko, full of energy, invited Kitahara Masaki to protect their family heirloom, the Dark Star. After learning that Kitahara Masaki had a girlfriend, Suzuki Sonoko did not swoon over the handsome guy as before. Instead, she thought of using Kitahara Masaki's wisdom to catch the Phantom Thief Kid.

"Uh, Ms. Suzuki, aren't you a fan of Phantom Thief Kid? Why did you hire so many detectives to catch him?"

Sonoko is honest and answers every question:

"Of course, although I am a fan of Phantom Thief Kid, I would like to see his true face under the mask."

Sure, if you're a brother, come and chop me up, okay?

"No problem, I'll be on vacation at that time, and I'll bring my girlfriend with me when I go."

"Okay, Kitahara-nii, I'll leave it to you then."

----------------

On the day of the announcement, April Fool's Day, Kitahara Maki and Vermouth arrived at the Beika Museum ahead of schedule.

Upon arriving at the Beika Museum, Kitahara Masaki could only remark on the sheer scale of the operation. There were over a hundred police officers, helicopters circling overhead, and large spotlights brought from the police station. All signs pointed to the police's determination to capture Kid, though whether they would ultimately succeed was another matter entirely.

In fact, for a master thief like Kaito Kid who is skilled in disguise, a large number of people would be of no use; on the contrary, it would give him more people to impersonate.

"Heh, is it only when rich people are about to be robbed that they mobilize so many people?"

"Or is it that they know Kidd won't hurt anyone, so they all became bolder, hoping to get a share of the credit, which is why so many volunteers came?"

Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth each said a sentence, belittling these weaklings to the point of being worthless, and in reality, that was indeed the case. Apart from running around, they were basically busy in appearance but did nothing.

"Kitahara-nii! You're here! And Evelyn-neechan too."

"Hello, Conan! Are you here to see Kid's performance too?"

"No, I'm here to capture Kid! I've deciphered the information in Kid's pre-announcement letter; he'll be appearing on the rooftop of that building tonight!"

After seeing Kitahara Masaki arrive, Conan immediately went up to him and told him that he had deciphered Kid's code, but Kitahara Masaki was completely uninterested.

“Alright, Evelyn, I’ll go check it out.”

"Hey, Kitahara-kun, aren't you curious about how the code in the trailer was deciphered...?"

"I'm not curious why I would spend my vacation time solving a puzzle that has no reward."

Damn it, what he said makes perfect sense.

Conan hadn't shown off his deductive skills in so long that he was practically bursting with pent-up energy. So he started reasoning from thin air, which made Vermouth a little impatient. She whispered to Kitahara Masaki:

"Masaki, is he really the child of someone I know? He doesn't seem to be very smart."

"Haha, he's quite smart, but his brain isn't very sharp."

After all, Conan is indeed good at deduction, but his emotional intelligence is basically negative. He's like a block of wood, and a certain idea in his brain just won't work. If it weren't for Kitahara Masaki's guidance, he and Ran would have been single for another twenty years.

Kitahara Masaki introduced Conan as the child of someone Vermouth knew, so Vermouth's gaze towards the kid was initially filled with scrutiny and expectation, but now it's only pity.

"Tell me quickly whose child he is. It's not gentlemanly to keep women in suspense."

"No, revealing the answer beforehand would be boring. I believe you can guess it."

Because Kitahara Masaki appeared in this world, many of the things Vermouth would have experienced were changed by him. Therefore, Vermouth's feelings for Kudo Shinichi are no longer like a mother looking at her son, but rather a detached feeling of looking at a stranger.

However, after Kitahara Masaki revealed that both Conan and Kaito Kid were the children of her acquaintances, she became interested in the two and was also surprised by Kitahara Masaki's information gathering ability.

My dearest knight, I wonder what other surprises you have in store for me.

Chapter 50 The Phantom Thief's First Appearance

After Conan finished his deduction, Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth exchanged a smile, because Conan's deduction was indeed interesting, and Kid's code was also quite meaningful.

"So you mean Kidd will appear on the roof of the Beihu City Hotel at 12:30 tonight, right?"

Hearing his reasoning summarized into such a simple sentence, Conan nodded unhappily.

"How was it, Kitahara-kun? I was faster this time, wasn't I?"

"Yes, this time you cracked the code faster than me."

Although I didn't bother to decipher it, since no matter what Kid's announcement said, he would still go to the destination to steal the jewel in the end. For Kitahara Masaki, all he needed to do to see the Phantom Thief Kid was stand next to the jewel; there was no need for all that fancy stuff.

Back in the United States, Kitahara Masaki's role was always that of a sniper or assassin. The people he killed before were all in busy urban areas because only in busy urban areas would there be a slight gap in the security around those people. Once they returned to their villas, there would be no chance left. The current electronic security system is too powerful. The era of climbing over walls to kill targets and then climbing over walls again is completely over.

So now, Conan, wanting to indulge his deduction skills, has told Kitahara Masaki where Kaito Kid will appear tonight, saving him the trouble of waiting.

"Well then, see you tonight, little detective."

Vermouth was amused by Conan's smug look, rubbed his head and went back with Kitahara Masaki. After all, Kid wouldn't appear until the early hours of the morning, and who would be stupid enough to wait for him since noon?

"Evelyn, you came to Japan in such a hurry that you probably didn't bring many clothes. How about we go shopping in Ginza?"

"Hmm, you want to try the traditional clothing from Japan, it's called a kimono, isn't it?"

"Yes, and there's actually an unwritten rule about wearing a kimono. Would you like to know it?"

"No, I don't want to know. I can tell from your tone that you have ill intentions."

The two left the Beika Museum hand in hand, completely ignoring Conan. Conan, unable to be affectionate with his girlfriend, clenched his fists and thought to himself that with Kitahara Masaki's skills, he could probably dodge his tranquilizer darts as easily as his friend who was an undercover agent in the organization.

I'm so angry! I can't beat them in a fight, and now I have to be fed dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

"Kid, aren't you leaving yet?"

Kitahara Masaki's voice suddenly came from behind Conan, startling him so much that he jumped up.

"Can't you tell that the dark star is fake?"

The expert appraiser Vermouth immediately recognized the fake item in the glass case, but now Kitahara Masaki is using it to amuse Conan.

"If it's fake, will Kidd still come?"

Kitahara Masaki didn't give him an answer. This time, he really left with Vermouth, leaving Conan alone to reach out his hand, only to find that Kitahara Masaki had disappeared.

Hmph hmph hmph ahhhhhh!!!

Frustrated and enraged, Conan ruffled his messy hair into a completely different mess.