Chapter 198: Then I'll Join You!
He clearly remembered attending Moriya Teiji's tea party a few days ago, where he'd solved a riddle—the answer was Momotaro. He felt there was a connection between the two incidents.
He planned to go to Professor Agasa's house after school and ask him to help investigate the identity of the person in charge of the munitions depot.
He suspected that Moriya Teiji was the one who stole the explosives.
Coupled with his detective's intuition, Moriya Teiji was likely connected to the Black Organization—even if he wasn't a code-named member, he was probably an important peripheral member like Miyano Akemi!
In that case, Moriya Teiji might be a breakthrough.
Now that Shirakage Pharmaceuticals was destroyed and Haibara Ai didn't know the location of the Black Organization's other strongholds, the only one who could provide him with clues was Moriya Teiji.
To be honest, he felt that Haibara Ai hadn't told him everything about the Black Organization.
Therefore, he hadn't told her everything he knew either.
For example, about Haibara Ai's sister, Miyano Akemi.
Moreover, Miyano Akemi was currently being held by Japanese Public Security. If Haibara Ai wanted to see her, it would inevitably expose her identity.
If she were to reveal their shrinking, he might also be exposed, so this was a form of self-protection.
"Alright, everyone, put aside what you're doing for now. Before class starts, I'd like to introduce a new classmate."
Conan's thoughts were interrupted by Ms. Kobayashi's voice, and his eyes refocused.
"A new classmate?" All the children in the classroom looked on with anticipation. Kids had a strong interest in such things.
They didn't care why a third transfer student had arrived in just two months—they just felt they would have another playmate.
Both Conan and Anya were quite interesting—Conan was smart, and Anya was... well, unique. Both were well-liked by their classmates.
Now they were especially looking forward to this third transfer student.
The boys hoped for a cute little girl, and the girls hoped for a handsome boy.
Conan was also pulled back to reality.
However, he already knew who it was just by listening.
No need to guess—it was Haibara Ai!
Natsukawa had previously said he would also enroll her in Teitan Elementary School's first-grade Class B. Now it seemed the enrollment process was complete.
Perfect timing! He could finally learn more about the Organization.
He only knew about Gin and Vodka before. Haibara Ai had been mentioned casually without any serious explanation, and even her code name hadn't been discussed much.
Now he could take this opportunity to ask.
"Anya, look! A new classmate!" Ayumi forcefully lifted Anya's drooping head, shifting her perspective from under the desk to the teacher's platform.
On the podium, Ms. Kobayashi gently beckoned, and a little girl appeared in the doorway.
"Wow—"
The students of Class 1-B exclaimed in surprise—it was a cute little girl.
The cute little girl was expressionless, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the class, finally lingering on Anya's face for a moment.
Anya's previously dull and lifeless eyes suddenly widened, and she asked in disbelief, "Ms. Kobayashi, is this our new classmate?"
Isn't this the brown-haired girl Bond foresaw?
She hadn't expected her first appearance would be as a transfer student.
Ms. Kobayashi smiled and nodded. After Ai Haibara walked to the podium, she began the introduction. "New student, would you like to introduce yourself?"
Ai Haibara hummed in response, remaining expressionless, and turned to write three characters on the blackboard.
"Haibara... Ai?"
The students slowly read the name, following Ai Haibara's writing speed.
"What an unusual name."
Genta rubbed his head, somewhat teasingly looking at Mitsuhiko, who was staring intently. "Mitsuhiko, you wouldn't happen to like this girl with such an unusual name, would you? Look at her expression—she never smiles, and her name is so weird."
Mitsuhiko ignored Genta. Although the girl didn't smile, it was precisely this quiet demeanor that attracted him.
Calm and well-behaved—she seemed very obedient.
He liked this type.
"Whether her name is unusual or not doesn't matter. She's very cute—haven't you noticed?
Genta, go sit next to Conan. Let the new student sit here."
Mitsuhiko was practically drooling, pushing Genta, trying to get him to move next to Conan.
However, given Genta's size, Mitsuhiko couldn't budge him at all. Instead, he himself moved back a bit, chair and all.
"Haibara-san, where would you like to sit?" Ms. Kobayashi pointed to several empty seats. "Any of these seats are fine."
"Hmm."
Ai Haibara glanced at Anya and noticed there was already a girl sitting next to her. Her gaze shifted to the seat across the aisle to Anya's left. Sitting there would be perfect—right next to Conan.
"Here!" She pointed, and without waiting for Ms. Kobayashi's approval, she took off her backpack and went straight to the empty seat next to Conan.
"Huh!" Anya's eyes were fixed on Ai Haibara's backpack, and three question marks popped into her head.
This backpack was exactly the same as the one she'd seen this morning.
She remembered that her father had put a similar backpack in the car when he took her to school. How did this backpack end up in this new classmate's hands?
Also, wasn't this new classmate the girl from Bond's vision?
Brown hair, expressionless face, extremely cold demeanor—it was definitely her.
Sherry hadn't appeared yet, but this little girl with brown hair had shown up first, carrying her father's backpack and in the same class as her.
Something felt very wrong.
Caught off guard, Anya panicked. She racked her brain trying to think of a solution, only to realize that her previous plan only had a title.
The content was completely blank. Every time she tried to write something, something else would distract her—sleeping, eating, watching TV, and so on...
She stared at Ai Haibara for a few seconds, then couldn't help but swallow hard. Seeing Ai's face involuntarily conjured up images of a fly swatter in her mind.
That thing hurt no matter where it hit!
Now the girl was just inches away from her.
Conan's seatmate was actually right next to her position.
She used to occasionally sit in that spot, even thinking she had an advantage over others by having access to two seats.
She used to think it was great, but now it seemed that seat shouldn't exist.
Ai Haibara passed by Anya, creating a cool breeze—a breeze that chilled her heart as well.
Anya noticed that after sitting down, the girl glanced at her intentionally or unintentionally, her eyes clearly scrutinizing her.
Then, a flat female voice echoed in her mind: "Is this Natsukawa's daughter? She seems quite cute and doesn't seem difficult to get along with..."
Anya caught Ai Haibara's thoughts, and Anya, who was about to ask something, was instantly speechless. This girl really knew her father and seemed quite familiar with him.
At the same time, she was completely certain that the backpack was the same one she'd seen in her father's car that morning.
It seemed her father and she had a good relationship—he'd even given her a backpack.
Plus, Conan knew her too.
Could her father have been busy with Ai Haibara's affairs these past few days?
That wretched Conan! He was involved without telling her. She'd get him back for this.
She'd thought it was a good thing her father hadn't been paying attention to her for days, letting her do as she pleased, but now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
"I thought you'd have to wait until next week to start school. I didn't expect Uncle Natsukawa to be so efficient.
Where is Uncle Natsukawa? Didn't he come with you?"
Conan peeked down the corridor but didn't see him.
"He had something to do and left already."
She couldn't bring herself to call him "father" yet, so she'd just call him "uncle" like Conan did.
With that, she started organizing her backpack, taking out the textbooks she needed.
She ignored the greetings from her other classmates.
Ai Haibara didn't want to talk much. She hadn't spoken much while doing her research, and over time, she'd become less talkative.
And these were just elementary school students—she had even less interest in interacting with them.
Conan wanted to ask about the explosion at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals and Teiji Moriya, but before he could speak, he saw Anya perk up her ears, her face almost touching Ai Haibara's. He was speechless.
"Anya, what are you doing?" Ai Haibara turned to look at Anya, speaking in a familiar tone. "You have no manners. I'll tell Uncle Natsukawa when we get back."
"Tell him what?" Anya was taken aback.
"Of course, about you daydreaming in class. From today onwards, we're sisters, and we'll walk home together after school!" Ai Haibara smiled at Anya.
"Sisters???"
Anya's voice became sharp and loud, drawing a disapproving look from Ms. Kobayashi, who was just about to start the lesson.
"Anya, class is starting. Go back to your seat!" Ms. Kobayashi said coldly.
It wasn't that she wasn't friendly, but Anya wouldn't listen unless you spoke to her in that tone. Sometimes she had to threaten to call her parents before Anya would obey.
The little girl silently moved back to her seat, her eyes vacant, Ai Haibara's words echoing in her ears—"From today onwards, we're sisters, and we'll walk home together after school."
This... this can't be happening!!!
Anya muttered to herself for a long time, but because class had started, no one paid her any attention.
This state continued all morning.
She didn't hear a word the teacher said, only knowing that her plan to oppose the brown-haired girl had failed before it even began.
Her father was so terrible—he hadn't even told her that Ai Haibara had moved into their house!
So the reason her father called the department store to buy a bed this morning was for this Ai Haibara.
While feeling utterly devastated, she couldn't help but glance at Ai Haibara a few more times.
Her face was unsmiling, her conversations with classmates were equally bland, and the aura she occasionally exuded when speaking was incredibly intimidating. If Ai Haibara moved into her house...
Bond's premonition resurfaced in her mind.
It even escalated—the fly swatter had become a wooden sword, and if she didn't do her homework diligently, the sword would fall on her.
A demon, a devil—life would be hell.
"No, we absolutely can't let her move in!" Anya gritted her teeth, glancing at Ai Haibara who was talking to Conan, and activated her telepathy to eavesdrop on her thoughts.
The school was noisy with too many children, making the thoughts a bit complicated, but Anya still managed to hear something.
[The exams shouldn't be far off. I'll tutor Anya when we get back. The new fashion items I saw yesterday will be available for pre-order next week. I can't let Anya hold me back.]
(╥﹏╥)
"Exams?" Anya suddenly realized—it seemed the exams were next week.
Sure enough, this girl was the spy her father sent to supervise her studies!
"Tutoring? I don't want to!
There shouldn't be a full moon next week. I can just copy Conan's answers. I don't need tutoring—"
Ayumi looked strangely at her muttering seatmate.
Ever since Ai Haibara came to the class, Anya had become strange, as if she knew her.
But if they knew each other, why did Anya have that expression? It didn't look like she'd met a friend—it looked more like she'd met an enemy.
After class, Genta, Mitsuhiko, and a group of classmates surrounded Ai Haibara, chattering incessantly, displaying the typical enthusiasm of elementary school students for a new classmate.
Well, what could they do? The new classmate was just so cute.
"Haibara-san, how about joining the Detective Boys? Our club hasn't been around for long, but we've already solved countless cases.
The most amazing one was when we found a whole bag of arcade tokens! We still haven't finished using them all!"
Mitsuhiko was incredibly enthusiastic, showing signs of being quite the ladies' man even at such a young age. He'd already had three crushes in just a few months of elementary school.
"No interest."
Ai Haibara subtly rolled her eyes. She had no interest in children's pretend detective games.
"Don't be like that—Conan's a member of the Detective Boys too."
Genta, being the smarter one this time, noticed that Ai Haibara seemed to know Conan and gestured towards him. "Conan, why don't you try to persuade Haibara-san too?"
"Hmm?"
Ai Haibara looked at Conan with a half-smile.
Genta's words reminded her that Professor Agasa had mentioned this to her.
She never expected a high school detective to participate in such childish games. Did he really think of himself as a child?
But then again, his disguise was truly convincing. No wonder he was a famous detective—he'd even convinced himself. No wonder he'd helped Kogoro Mouri solve so many cases and made headlines repeatedly, yet Gin still hadn't noticed.
Oh wait, Gin probably considered Kudo Shinichi beneath his notice anyway.
After all, Gin usually didn't remember the names of his victims after killing them, which was a major reason why Kudo had survived this long.
"It's... not so bad, actually."
"Hehe, actually it's pretty fun. The Detective Boys have helped the police solve many cases, including murder cases, missing person cases, and even haunted house cases."
Conan felt a little uncomfortable under Ai Haibara's knowing gaze and forced an explanation.
"Is that so?"
"Of course!" Mitsuhiko grinned, leaning closer. "Genta's shoe locker is our Detective Boys' mailbox. Every day, many classmates encounter problems and come to us for help."
"Tell me about them?" Ai Haibara's interest was piqued.
"Last week, we helped Tasaki from Class 3-C find his lost 1,000 yen.
And Uemura from Class A next door—we found his lost dog in one night.
Before that, a fourth-grade boy came to us to solve a case, and we found the pervert who stole his mother's underwear.
I won't list all the earlier ones.
In short, there are countless cases."
"Uh..." Ai Haibara raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Conan, who looked like he wanted to disappear into the ground.
Although it was somewhat embarrassing, it was also... interesting.
Seeing the expectant looks in Genta and Mitsuhiko's eyes, she nodded and said, "Sure, then I'll join you."
(End of Chapter)
[Milestone: 500 Power Stones = +1 Chapter]
[Milestone: 10 Reviews = +1 Chapter]
Enjoyed this chapter? Leave a review.
30+advanced chapters on P1treon Soulforger