Chapter 32: Conan, Look, It's Your Mother

Three cases in two days—perhaps the quota for incidents had been temporarily overdrawn. In the time that followed, Karasawa spent his days quietly at school. While growing closer to Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki, he finally enjoyed a few days of normal high school life without any cases to solve.

Speaking of which, the business card he had previously handed to Kazuo Ohara was just one of dozens of templates Karasawa had made, much like the flyers one finds jammed into door frames.

Considering the overly simplistic nature of Beika Town—a place surrounded by Palaces, cases, and budding criminals—Karasawa had prepared several strategies. If a Palace existed and time permitted, and he felt motivated to intervene, he would stage a grand, custom-made calling card announcement to the world, building the reputation and flair of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. If a case couldn't be prevented, or if he didn't want to prevent it, and he happened to stumble directly upon a corpse, he would simply hide behind his detective persona and make as much contact as possible with the new characters appearing on the side of justice.

As for cases like a truck crashing into a shop—whether the crime was attempted or completed, and if the perpetrator didn't deserve death—he would try his best to save the victims and use a warning letter from the Phantom Thieves to encourage the culprit to turn over a new leaf.

Whether they actually turned over a new leaf or not, you couldn't deny he had at least suggested it!

So far, all his strategies were working well. By stripping away Conan's disguise—or rather, his identity—Karasawa had successfully bound himself to the "Red Team." Next, he would simply wait for the various characters to take the stage. He still had plenty of Tarot slots left; everyone could be his wingman!

In the world of "Conan-logic," peaceful days are never meant to last.

After half a day at school, hearing that there would be a three-day weekend starting that afternoon, Karasawa had a premonition: it was coming.

Sure enough, while eating lunch at the cafe and doing his homework by the window, Karasawa looked up and saw the Mouri father and daughter leading Conan downstairs. With them was a plump woman dressed in a black formal suit.

She opened the back door of a small Volkswagen Beetle, and Conan was unceremoniously shoved inside.

The woman slammed the door shut and bowed politely to the two of them. "Thank you for taking care of Conan all this time. We will certainly visit again soon to express our gratitude..."

Ran Mouri waved at Conan in the car with a smile. "Make sure to email us often when you get to America, Conan!"

Inside the car, Conan sat upright, looking far from willing. He slapped and pounded on the window, his face turning red with anxiety.

Ah... another very familiar episode. The Kudo parents had arrived.

Yukiko Kudo was disguised as "Fumiyo Edogawa." Karasawa stared hard but couldn't find any trace of makeup or prosthetics. He reasonably suspected that the art of disguise in this world was closer to magic than stagecraft; it was simply absurd.

In the later stages of the main story, the battle of wits was never without the shadow of disguise. It was a constant game of "the Black Organization has a master of disguise, the Red Team has a master of disguise." Everyone was disguised, and at critical moments, they would engage in face-ripping contests where everyone could peel off their skin...

If he got the chance, he would definitely have to learn this skill. He wondered if Yukiko Kudo held a Tarot card. Given that this couple spent all their time abroad and didn't appear often, he felt it was unlikely. However, Karasawa hadn't placed his hopes on her anyway; he had reserved more preparations for the future appearance of Kaito Kid.

Today was an opportunity for contact, and Karasawa naturally wanted to test the waters.

As Conan, finding no other way out, pressed his face against the window like a specimen in a box, gesturing silently, he suddenly felt a gaze upon him. He looked past the oblivious Mouri father and daughter and locked eyes with Karasawa’s expression of shock and concern.

This neighbor, the only one who knew his identity, had actually noticed! Yes! Get me out of here! Karasawa, go! Conan looked at Karasawa and pounded on the window with all his might.

...It didn't budge. He wondered how Karasawa managed to smash car windows with his bare hands.

"Mr. Mouri, Ran," Karasawa abandoned his homework without hesitation, stood up, and walked out of the shop toward the three people chatting. "And who is this?"

"This is Conan's mother! Ms. Fumiyo Edogawa!" Ran was happy that Conan would soon be reunited with his family. As she introduced her, she added, "She's here to take Conan to America!"

Karasawa hesitated, looking warily at "Fumiyo Edogawa." He walked toward the back seat where Conan was, reached out to grab the handle, and pulled hard, saying, "Leaving so soon? Come out and say hello to your big brother. You haven't finished the books I lent you yet, have you?"

However, the moment she had gotten into the car, Fumiyo had engaged the child locks on the doors; it was impossible to open them. Karasawa looked at her as if asking for permission.

"I'm sorry. I would love to chat under normal circumstances, and I must thank Mr. Mouri for looking after my son," Fumiyo checked her watch and said, "but our flight leaves in four hours. We are quite short on time, so I hope you understand."

She gave Karasawa a subtle, measuring look, bowed once more, and sat in the driver's seat to start the car.

Karasawa frowned. Seeing the car pull away, the Mouri father and daughter turned to head back home. Seeing Karasawa standing still, they kindly consoled him, "You really like kids, don't you? Haha, I find this brat annoying. It's better for Conan to be with his parents anyway."

Conan moved from the side window to the rear windshield. He saw Karasawa clench his fists, put on a determined expression, and stare at him with firm blue eyes.

Then, to his shock, Karasawa pushed off the ground and began to chase the car on foot.

Conan quickly pulled back and began talking to the strange woman, trying to distract her so she wouldn't notice Karasawa. "Who on earth are you?!"

Fumiyo Edogawa pushed up her glasses, letting the reflection hide her eyes, and said enigmatically, "I am your mother, Nan-chan."

"You are not! My mother, she..."

Conan's retort was interrupted by Fumiyo: "...is Kudo, Yukiko Kudo, isn't she?"

With his true identity laid bare, Conan's face drained of color. Fumiyo, meanwhile, spoke as if reciting a biography: "A world-renowned genius actress at 19, winner of numerous prestigious awards, famous for her superb acting and stunning beauty. She retired at the height of her career to marry the novelist Yusaku Kudo. The two have lived abroad for a long time and have a son, who is none other than..."

"...you, Shinichi Kudo."

Conan was in a state of total panic. He couldn't process how bizarre this self-aggrandizing, superlative-filled introduction was. All he could think was: Is this person an accomplice of the man in black who knocked me out?!

Fumiyo pulled a small lady's pistol from her pocket. The loaded weapon was pressed firmly against Conan's forehead. She said in a chilling tone, "Don't think about running away, kid. Bullets don't have eyes. Just come with me to a certain place, nice and quiet..."

How could he just surrender? Thinking of Karasawa's actions in the past few days, Conan gritted his teeth. As the car passed through an intersection, he slammed his foot down onto the pedal under Fumiyo's feet!

The small Beetle swerved into traffic. Fumiyo slammed on the brakes, narrowly avoiding a pile-up.

Conan seized the moment to unlock the door, flung it open, and fled as fast as he could.