The "Number 11" card was supposed to target Professor Agasa... but.
As it turned out, I—Amuro Tooru—ended up being a target as well.
When I explained the situation to the police, they deduced that the kanji for my name, "Amuro", contains the components (十一) that form the number eleven.
In reality, it probably made no difference to the culprit whether the victim was me or Professor Agasa.
This entire attack was merely a diversion to draw attention away from the real target.
By the way, when I blocked the crossbow bolt with my bare hands, Assistant Inspector Shiratori stared at me in astonishment and remarked:
"C-Can a human actually do something like that...?"
Publicly, the incident was treated as a mere coincidence—that my hand had accidentally struck the bolt while I was waving it, resulting in no serious injury.
It wasn't entirely a lie, but... why was everyone looking at me as if they were seeing a monster?
And so, having landed squarely in the center of the action, I successfully used the situation to tag along with Inspector Megure and his team.
The next target, representing the number 10 in the deck, was the professional golfer Tsuji Hiroki.
When we arrived at the heliport where Mr. Tsuji practiced his hobby, he greeted us with a look of sheer surprise.
"Impossible. This doesn't call for such a fuss. It's only a possibility that I'm the one intended by the number ten, isn't it?"
"Yes, that is true, but..."
He went back and forth with Inspector Megure.
Optimism might be a crucial trait for an athlete, but in a situation like this, you could wind up dead before you even know it.
So, I proposed a compromise: 「Just as a precaution, would you mind if Inspector Megure and I rode in the back seats?」
Mr. Tsuji agreed, albeit reluctantly.
It certainly would have been better to cancel the flight altogether...
But even if we grounded the helicopter, he would just be targeted some other way. Handling the threat here might actually be easier.
As soon as we boarded the back seats, I found that Conan had already climbed into the passenger seat with total innocence.
He put a finger to his lips in a 「Shhh」 motion, asking for silence.
I nodded back, deciding to stay quiet and stare out the window.
For the record, Detective Mouri had already headed to our destination by land with Assistant Inspector Shiratori.
He was terrified of heights, screaming: 「Pass, pass, pass! You take my place, Amuro!」
Inspector Megure gave him a cold look, but there was nothing to be done about it.
Now, let's skip ahead a bit to thirty minutes after takeoff.
Just as I expected, Mr. Tsuji began clutching his eyes, in severe pain from the sunlight.
Naturally, he could no longer keep his eyes open, let alone pilot the aircraft.
As the helicopter began to lose its balance rapidly, Conan shouted in panic:
"Mr. Amuro! Didn't you say before that you can fly planes?!"
"Yeah. I have a license for helicopters too. The last time I flew one was about half a year ago."
"Then switch places with Mr. Tsuji immediately! It looks like he can't open his eyes because of a drug the culprit planted!"
Leaving behind the terrified Inspector Megure who yelled: 「C-Conan, what are you saying?!」, I sat in the pilot's seat.
I asked Mr. Tsuji, whose eyes were squeezed shut, to move to the passenger seat.
I'm not very skilled at driving cars, but flying in the sky is relatively manageable.
Aerial piloting relies more on knowledge and technical procedures than on a driver's intuition and senses.
"Are you alright, Mr. Tsuji?"
"Ah, yes. But the light is so bright, I can't open my eyes...!"
As he groaned in pain, I recalled something and murmured:
"It might be a "pupil-dilating" drug."
"I think so too. The culprit planted it on him."
─── How malicious. If we hadn't been on board this helicopter, it would undoubtedly have crashed.
─── And it would have fallen directly onto the residential district below.
─── We should have eliminated this threat earlier, then.
─── There was no other choice; we didn't expect a common killer to resort to such bold methods.
Inspector Megure shouted, clutching his hat:
"What is this pupil dilator?!"
"It's a medical drug used to widen the pupils. It seems a substance of that sort was mixed into his eye drops."
Most likely, the eye drops he used before takeoff had been swapped by someone with malicious intent.
While Inspector Megure called for an ambulance, I flew the helicopter back to the heliport we had departed from.
Mr. Tsuji was subsequently taken to the hospital.
Inside me, "Furuya" muttered: 「I will allow you to act only in emergencies.」
I answered silently: 「Roger.」
I need to prepare the hook.
We now move to the "Aqua Crystal" marine facility.
When Conan heard the names of the four guests, he narrowed his eyes in concentration.
Because all their names contained numbers.
Even "Furuya" seemed annoyed as he analyzed the situation: 「It's a trap. He is trying to gather the targets in one place to kill them all at once.」
Upon entering, the interior design was luxurious.
A vast space resembling a first-class hotel, featuring a giant aquarium displaying tropical fish.
There was also an eye-catching red sports car on display.
The place looked like a private lounge for the wealthy, but the only ones feeling happy here were the guests, unaware of what awaited them.
Inspector Megure and Detective Mouri exchanged glances, then hurried to inspect the premises.
They needed to ensure no suspicious person was hiding.
After watching them leave, I whispered to Conan:
"Based on my senses, it doesn't seem like anyone is hiding here."
"Oh come on, as if you can sense the presence of criminals hiding in rooms."
"I'm very sensitive to these kinds of things. I can even tell how many people are hiding in the building, you know?"
"Liar."
I am not a liar!!!
Conan's look, which seemed to despise "lying adults," dealt a heavy blow to both me and "Furuya."
Stop looking at me with that face!
When a child looks at me with such an expression, I feel like my heart is tearing apart!
Anyway, after we spent a short period of quiet...
Many things happened; the holder of number 8 was nearly killed by a trap, and we found Mr. Asahi, number 9, floating dead in the aquarium.
I don't remember the exact details of the original movie, but I will at least make sure to save whoever can be saved.
And at that moment.
The power went out, plunging the place into total darkness.
In that pitch blackness, everyone noticed a faint light glowing.
Nails.
The nails of the lady with number 7, painted with luminous polish, were shining with a faint glow.
I moved silently and stood right next to her.
In the darkness, someone was approaching rapidly with clear murderous intent.
The man grabbed the lady's shoulder.
He raised something looking like a long knife with all his might.
I twisted his arm hard and delivered a violent kick to his stomach.
I heard a loud thud.
The culprit flew several meters and landed on the sofa.
He writhed in pain but quickly got up and fled.
It seems I went a little too easy on the force of the blow.
"Furuya" scolded me in an annoyed tone: 「Oi.」 It seems I messed up; I really messed up.
In any case, for me, even without electricity, his location is completely exposed through sensing his presence and the movement of the air.
It is true that the culprit losing his sense of taste due to a "hit and run" accident is indeed pathetic... but targeting Inspector Megure and Professor Agasa is unacceptable.
The circuit breaker was switched back on immediately after that.
The light revealed the culprit still holding the sword... it was the wine expert "Sawaki Kohei," standing in shock, realizing his plan had failed.
I stood behind him and smiled:
"You're the culprit, aren't you? You are the one who committed this series of crimes."
"Wh... What are you talking about?"
Mr. Sawaki seemed intent on denying and dodging even at this stage.
Here, "Furuya" came to the forefront and leveled his accusation with a tone full of superiority:
"The person who fired the crossbow bolt at me used his right hand. Since the suspect 'Murakami' is left-handed, that rules him out."
"Are you treating me as a criminal based on that alone? Don't forget I'm a victim too; my life was targeted!"
"I am not a police detective, so I see no need to list evidence... but that dagger in your hand is quite enough to catch you red-handed, don't you think?"
Mr. Sawaki let out a muffled groan.
There was no way out of this situation, no matter how he tried to dodge.
It was no longer a matter of deduction; it was tangible reality.
On top of that, the lady with number 7, who had just escaped death, began to scream:
"Me! When this man grabbed me, I shoved a cork into his pocket!!"
"!!"
As the cork bearing her mark fell from his pocket, Mr. Sawaki's face twisted into an ugly expression.
When he saw the police officers rushing in shouting: 「What's wrong here?!!」, he realized there was no room left to run.
He threw the dagger from his hand and moved his right hand to press the detonator button to blow up the entire building───.
"Do you think I'll let you?"
I rushed toward him and struck his arm with a sweeping blow.
Since I was using my bare hands, there were no superpowers involved, but the strike was enough to break the bone and force him to drop the controller.
A scream of pain from the broken bone echoed through the place: "Gaaahhh!!"
On behalf of Inspector Megure and his team, who hadn't grasped the situation yet, Conan shouted: 「He's the criminal! He was trying to blow up the building! Arrest him quickly! Quickly!」
Sorry, Conan, I robbed you of your deduction showtime.
I also cancelled the "prophecy of letter A"... meaning the expected kissing opportunity.
Well, you two will have plenty of chances on the school trip, so enjoy your time with your sweetheart there.
However, even though I brought the "hook" with me this time, I didn't get a chance to use it.
Because Conan caught on to the fact that I had the hook, he started watching me with extreme caution.
He didn't ask me outright "Do you have it?", but his sharp gaze directed at my jacket pocket revealed what was on his mind.
I wonder where I was exposed?
─── It doesn't matter. The police have already arrested the culprit. There is no need to kill him without cause.
─── Roger.
I nodded obediently to "Furuya's" words that rippled coldly deep inside me.
Regardless of anything, doesn't it seem like "Furuya" has drifted a bit toward the darkness?
I hummed, "Hmm," and crossed my arms, thinking for a while.