Chapter 51: Matching Wits

Today's event aboard the Queen Elizabeth was a grand banquet celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Suzuki Consortium. Shiro Suzuki, the slightly plump chairman, stood at the front of the venue holding a glass of champagne to deliver his opening speech.

Karasawa stood between Toru Amuro and Conan, holding a glass of orange juice as he sized up the smiling, endlessly eloquent "Shiro Suzuki."

If he remembered correctly, the real Shiro Suzuki had not even boarded the ship yet. The person standing right before them was already Kaitou Kid in disguise.

Glancing sideways at an utterly oblivious Conan, Karasawa had no intention of exposing him on the spot.

Better to let Kid's plan proceed smoothly and let Conan play the role of the "heroic boy who stops Kaitou Kid." Joker would thank him for it.

Soon, Sonoko's mother, Tomoko Suzuki, arrived as scheduled. Holding a small, exquisitely crafted jewelry box, she announced her decision to create replicas of the "Dark Star" and have every guest wear one pinned to their chest as a challenge to Kid.

Karasawa opened his box, casually took out the replica, and pinned it to his chest. Today, he was wearing an off-white suit sponsored by Toru Amuro, which matched the eye-catching, lustrous faux black pearl quite well.

"Aren't you worried you might have been given the real one?" Toru Amuro asked, startled by Karasawa's careless movements.

"How could this possibly be real? Pearls aren't like colored gemstones. Even with the most meticulous care, a sixty-year-old pearl couldn't possibly retain such a dazzling, smooth surface. Pearl nacre is easily worn down." Karasawa flicked the pearl brooch with his finger. "Still, it's pretty."

Toru Amuro narrowed his eyes at him and suddenly reached out to pinch Karasawa's cheek.

"Ouch! What are you doing?" Karasawa covered his assaulted cheek, sensing that the strength behind the pinch was far from a simple check for disguise; it carried at least a hint of personal vengeance.

"Seeing you talk so eloquently about jewelry makes you look like the fake one." Toru Amuro withdrew his hand with satisfaction. "Kid is most likely already mingling among the guests. If you run around and get caught and replaced by Kid, you'd better watch out for being tossed overboard."

Trying to scare a kid with Kaitou Kid, is he? Karasawa gave a disdainful snort and turned his head to look at "Ran Mouri" walking in from the corridor outside.

The news that Chairman Suzuki was still safely at home had already reached the deployed police officers. Amidst a flurry of chaos, the clothing and masks used for the disguise had been found in the restroom. Ginzo Nakamori of the Second Investigation Division picked up a microphone, stepped onto the stage, and announced that Kid had already sneaked aboard the ship.

After the hired magician performed a vividly narrated shooting act with Mrs. Suzuki, Karasawa cast a sideways glance at "Ran Mouri," who was eager to step forward and participate in the card magic, and said to Toru Amuro, "This is getting a bit boring. I'm going to the restroom to catch some fresh air. Are you coming, Amuro-san?"

"No thanks. Besides, the outer corridor is crawling with police; you won't be attacked by Kid." Toru Amuro glanced at the Second Investigation Division officers and then looked around the hall with a curious glint in his eye, observing the guests.

Knowing that an international master thief was lurking among the people present, everyone was whispering to each other with a sense of vigilance. This atmosphere made him eager to observe and analyze as well.

So Karasawa walked out alone. As he passed "Ran Mouri," the back of his hand brushed almost imperceptibly against her gloved hand.

Through the special vision of Karasawa's "Third Eye," a playing-card-sized piece of paper on the inside of Ran's glove was currently flashing with a red light. Without even needing to stare directly at it, Karasawa finished his little trick in a flash.

The "Third Eye" was a skill gifted to Karasawa by Lyon's Tarot, and it was also an ability native to the original Persona 5 universe. It was a special kind of visual perception akin to Eagle Vision, in which RPG puzzle elements like mechanisms, footprints, and crucial clues were highlighted.

It was completely imperceptible, painless, and free of toxic side effects; the only drawback was that his eyes would emit a faint red glow when using it, so he had to be careful not to draw anyone's attention.

Karasawa felt zero embarrassment about using a cheat to crush Kaitou Kid down a dimension. If you're going to fight a cheater, you have to cheat yourself—that's what you call a clash of immortals.

Flipping frantically through the guest list with his deduction program running at high speed, Conan paid no attention to Karasawa's departure. His burning gaze was fixed on Tomoko Suzuki, certain that the genuine "Dark Star" was pinned to her chest. As long as he kept a close eye on the pearl on Mrs. Suzuki's chest, Kaitou Kid would have nowhere to hide.

Over by the stage, magician Zenjiro Sanada's card magic was reaching its climax. Sonoko Suzuki and "Ran Mouri," called up to the stage to draw cards, reached out full of anticipation and drew a card from the top of the deck.

When they flipped it over, the face of the card bore no suit, but rather a message.

"Like Julius Caesar falling under the charms of Cleopatra, I have already come to your side. Kaitou Kid." Sonoko Suzuki read the words aloud and let out an exclamation. "Kid! It's Kaitou Kid!"

"Ran Mouri," playing along with a look of utter dismay, handed the card over to the sprinting Ginzo Nakamori.

A grim-faced Nakamori took the card and raised it for a closer look.

As he lifted the card, its back was exposed to everyone else.

"Ah, look! There's something on the back too!" Sonoko Suzuki covered her mouth, crying out in a mix of pleasant surprise and shock.

"Ran Mouri," who had completely not anticipated this development, froze. Seeing the back of the card made her hair stand on end.

Inspector Nakamori flipped the card over, and in the middle of the vermilion pattern on the back, a small slip of paper had been pasted, bearing three flowing lines of cursive lettering: "Round 2, ready. Joker."

"Ran Mouri" felt a faint sheen of sweat break out across her back, and she quietly tightened her grip on her silk glove.

When on earth was this written?

No one knew better than the illusionist himself, who had performed this sleight of hand, that he had been concealing this card in his hand ever since he entered the banquet hall. Just as he had silently upstaged Zenjiro Sanada and replaced the man's cards without anyone noticing, Joker had similarly upstaged him without a sound, drawing his own message directly onto the back of the prop he had meticulously prepared.

"These two guys really both showed up." Inspector Nakamori, who had already witnessed a standoff between the two phantom thieves once before, experienced yet another wave of angry frustration at being utterly ignored.

"Ran Mouri" scanned her surroundings without a trace, failing to spot any suspicious individuals, and frowned to herself.

He had originally planned to wait until the cruise ship was about to enter Tokyo Bay before making his next move, as the ship would be closer to the shore then, making it relatively easier to create chaos and more convenient for Grandpa Terai to pick him up. But now it seemed he had to accelerate his timeline. Having an adversary lurking in the shadows—one who seemed to know either him or his father—would introduce too many variables into his plan. The more time he gave the opponent to prepare, the greater the risks would likely be.

Weighing the options for a moment, he decisively fiddled with his brooch, quietly detached the pearl, and then gently tossed out a prepared smoke grenade shaped like a pearl.

The soft "clatter, clatter" sound snapped Conan, who had been laser-focused on Tomoko Suzuki, out of his deep thoughts. Watching the pearl roll away, a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him.

"Ran, where did the pearl on your chest go?" Sonoko Suzuki pointed it out right on cue.

"Ah, when did..." "Ran Mouri," feigning ignorance, panicked and turned her head to search.

The rolling pearl came to a stop. Conan hurried over, intending to pick it up and inspect it, only to be choked into a coughing fit by the thick white smoke suddenly erupting as it split open.

Before the guests could even react, more smoke grenades resembling the "Dark Star" were scattered across the floor, and billows of white smoke rose one after another in rapid succession. Crying out "It's a bomb!" and "The pearl exploded!", the panicking crowd fled pell-mell toward the deck outside the banquet hall. Tomoko Suzuki, unable to dodge in time, was knocked to the ground, only managing to sit up with the help of Sonoko Suzuki and "Ran Mouri."

The moment she looked down, she saw the empty brooch mount on the front of her gown.

"Ah! The 'Dark Star' has been stolen by Kaitou Kid!"

The plan had gone swimmingly; every single step was executed to perfection. Apart from Joker's provocative message on the playing card, everything seemed to be entirely under control.

However, "Ran Mouri," who was helping Tomoko Suzuki to her feet, couldn't relax at all. The spine-chilling sensation of being watched made her even more vigilant.

Someone had been staring at her the whole time, and from more than just one direction. Where was that person...

Inspector Nakamori locked his gaze onto the scattering guests and roared at the top of his lungs, "Don't let him get away! Stop the guests running outside! Kid is right among them!"

"Ran Mouri" clutched the "Dark Star" tightly, casting an uneasy glance around her. Then, through the lingering white mist, she caught a glimpse of a flash of crimson fabric sweeping past.

Kid: "!" It's that Joker!

Before he could even react, the elementary schooler—whose glasses gleamed with a glare as he kept his head bowed—lifted a sunny, smiling face and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go, Ran-neechan!" Conan beamed with adorable brilliance. "We're going to catch Kaitou Kid too!"