"Shiro, this is Lycaon-san, the representative from Victoria Housekeeping."
Suzuki Tomoko voice pulled Kaito Kid back from his shock.
Lycaon nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on Kaito Kid for a moment.
Looking at the other party's seemingly wild red eyes, Kaito Kid swallowed a mouthful of air, feeling as if his disguise had been seen through, his back drenched in cold sweat.
He forced himself to put on the usual smile of Suzuki Sonoko. "Ah, Lycaon-san, hello, hello, I've heard much about you."
"Chairman Suzuki, Madam."
Lycaon performed a butler's bow with elegant manners.
"Thank you for the trust and commission from your foundation. From now on, Victoria Housekeeping will ensure the safety of the black star."
"Hahaha, with Lycaon-san here, those Phantom Thieves won't stand a chance! I have great faith in Victoria Housekeeping's reputation."
Suzuki Tomoko was full of confidence. She turned to Kaito Kid and began to explain her plan.
"Shiro, to ensure absolute foolproofness, I've commissioned 500 exquisitely crafted imitation black pearl brooches."
She pointed in the direction of the guests outside, "The boxes given to each guest when they boarded earlier contain these fakes."
"Oh? 500 fakes? Tomoko, you're…" Kaito Kid tried his best to play the role of a husband who had just realized, though he had already opened one of the gift boxes and discovered this.
"Later, at the celebration, I will announce publicly,"
Suzuki Tomoko lips curved into a confident smile,
"Among these 500 brooches, only one is set with the true black star! The other 499 are all indistinguishable imitations. The real gem is on one of the guests!"
Kaito Kid gasped.
One in five hundred?! What a brilliant trick to pass off fish eyes as pearls! This old woman is too ruthless!
Suzuki Tomoko ignored her "husband's" surprise and continued.
"This way, even if Kaito Kid and that Mockingbird have extraordinary abilities, trying to find the genuine article among 500 identical pearls would be like searching a needle in a haystack! They can only return empty-handed!"
Her gaze shifted to Lycaon.
"As for the real black star…"
She walked to a corner of the VIP room, opened a hidden safe embedded in the wall, and took out a velvet box, smaller than the guest gift boxes but noticeably more luxurious.
She carefully opened a crack, and the world's largest black pearl, known in the gem world as the black star, lay quietly inside.
"The real gem will be personally guarded by Lycaon-san." Suzuki Tomoko solemnly handed the box to Lycaon, "I believe that under the protection of Victoria Housekeeping, it will be absolutely safe."
Lycaon extended his gloved hand and steadily took the box. "Rest assured, Madam. I will protect it within the agreed timeframe."
His tone was calm but full of confidence.
Kaito Kid, disguised as Suzuki Shiro, watched this scene, maintaining a smile on his face, but a storm raged within him.
It's over! The real thing is in the werewolf's hands! How am I supposed to get it back now!
Suzuki Tomoko didn't give Kaito Kid time to think. She checked her wristwatch and urged.
"Alright, Shiro, the celebration is about to officially begin. You're the chairman, it's time for you to go on stage and give the opening speech. Come with me."
She pushed Kaito Kid out of the VIP room without allowing him to refuse.
Kaito Kid had no choice but to be pushed by Suzuki Tomoko into the hall crowded with guests.
After stepping onto the main stage of the banquet hall, Kaito Kid braced himself and began to speak in Suzuki Shiro tone:
"Ahem… Esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen! I'll keep it brief."
He held the microphone, speaking hesitantly as he pondered his words.
"Welcome everyone… uh, to the Queen Elizabeth, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Suzuki Foundation, this… uh, memorable day!"
Blah blah blah.
Kaito Kid droned on, his gaze constantly sweeping over the dense crowd below, calculating how to find an opportunity to escape under everyone's watchful eyes.
At this point, Suzuki Shiro, whom he had knocked out, should be waking up soon.
Just as his gaze swept across the crowd, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.
That werewolf from Victoria Housekeeping—Lycaon—was actually standing casually, completely undisguised, among a group of guests!
Lycaon's pair of white wolf ears were clearly visible under the lights, and his fluffy white tail was even wagging leisurely behind him.
What made Kaito Kid's scalp tingle even more was that the surrounding guests seemed completely unfazed by this.
Some even went up to exchange business cards with Lycaon.
Th-this is impossible?! Are these people blind?! That's a real, genuine werewolf!
Kaito Kid felt his worldview being shattered, and his speech began to stutter. "The Suzuki Foundation's… uh… achievements today are inseparable from everyone's… uh… long-term support and love…"
Just as he was trying to steady himself, his gaze subconsciously swept over the crowd standing next to Mouri Kogoro and Suzuki Sonoko.
Standing there were Rin, Conan, Mouri Ran… and Ellen!
Thump! Thump!
Kaito Kid's heart nearly leaped out of his throat!
Ellen still looked listless, wearing her signature maid outfit.
But at this moment, behind her slender waist, a huge shark tail was swaying slightly from side to side with her body's subtle movements.
A shark! A living shark! And on land!
For Kaito Kuroba, who suffered from severe ichthyophobia, this was a nightmare come true, even more terrifying than seeing a werewolf.
"I, I… uh…"
Kaito Kid could no longer maintain his disguise. Suzuki Shiro leisurely tone vanished without a trace, replaced by a fearful and distorted voice, "Fish… fish… shark! Tail!! The shark has become a Human!"
He pointed in Ellen's direction in terror, incoherently.
The guests below erupted in an uproar, all looking in the direction of "Chairman Suzuki's" trembling finger.
But they only saw a bewildered Ellen, who was yawning, unclear what Kaito Kid was pointing at.
"Shiro?! What's wrong with you?" Suzuki Tomoko asked in confusion.
"Mr. Chairman?" The guests exchanged glances.
Kaito Kid no longer cared about the speech or his disguise. He let out a shriek, threw down the microphone, and like a startled rabbit, at an astonishing speed completely unbefitting Suzuki Shiro age, he stumbled and scrambled down the main stage, bolting towards the banquet hall exit.
With such agile movements, there was no trace of a portly chairman left.
"Stop!"
Inspector Nakamori was the first to react. He forcefully pushed aside the blocking guests, pointed at the fleeing "Suzuki Shiro," and roared,
"He's not Chairman Suzuki! He's Kaito Kid in disguise! Chairman Suzuki can't run that fast! Catch him!"