The Preliminaries Begin
Thoma gave a nod, and the two of them went on to discuss the flow of the finals and the finer points of their collaboration with Jade Chamber Corp.
Shuichi Akai judged that listening any longer would yield nothing more of use—and, worried that lingering too long might get him discovered—he eased away from the window, withdrawing from the study's vicinity with scarcely a sound. He slipped back down the path toward the bathroom, and from there returned to the room where Xia Yu, Ran, and the others were busy making their cheer gear.
Inside the study, Thoma glanced sidelong at the window, then turned to Kamisato Ayato. "My lord, that person has left. Was it really Akai Shuichi?"
Ayato gave a slight nod, his tone unruffled. "Indeed it was. The ace of the FBI."
"Then what could bring him here?"
"Hmm... a fine question. Still, for a man of his abilities, slipping past the household staff and approaching this room unnoticed would hardly be a challenge."
Ayato picked up the book he had set down moments before, reading as he spoke.
"I do hope those words of mine steer him and Conan toward keeping their attention on the burned-down finals venue—and away from our dealings with Jade Chamber Corp, at least for now." Thoma's expression carried a note of worry. In his experience, wherever the main players gathered, trouble was sure to follow, and he dearly hoped the event they were hosting tomorrow would proceed without a hitch.
"Rest assured—they won't give up easily. And that boy Conan will do everything in his power to find the culprit before we do. After all, what I said just now was hardly flattering to whoever burned that venue down." A soft laugh escaped Ayato, and a glint of amusement flickered in his eyes.
The next morning, everyone rose early to cheer their friends on.
Kamisato Ayaka thoughtfully provided them with breakfast, then arranged for Thoma to escort the whole group to the preliminary venue.
By the time they arrived, they still had time to spare, so they stopped by to see Kazuha and Barbara first.
As for Nilou, she seemed to be occupied with her friends, helping to prepare the stage props and set pieces for today's performance, so she was unable to come out and greet them.
After a bit of chatting and some words of encouragement, everyone made their way to the stands and settled into the seats they had reserved.
"Whoa, look at all these people who came to watch!" Genta craned his neck this way and that in excitement, marveling at the bustling crowds and the charged atmosphere. Eyes wide, he peered curiously into every corner.
"Yeah, there sure are a lot," Mitsuhiko agreed with a nod.
"It's not just the audience, either—there are plenty of security guards here at the venue too," Haibara observed coolly. She had noticed a guard posted every few steps along the corridors, each one solemn-faced and keeping constant vigil.
Beyond them, staff members were busy maintaining order, making sure the audience filed in and out smoothly. Everything about the arrangements spoke to how seriously the organizers took this event—and how closely they were guarding against any threats to its safety.
"Probably to stop anyone from sabotaging the competition," Hattori Heiji speculated. The memory of the destroyed finals venue from a while back surfaced in his mind, and a thread of unease tightened in his chest. This tournament was bigger and drew far more attention; if something like that happened again, the consequences didn't bear thinking about.
"Ugh, I just hope Ayato and his people can track down the culprit soon," Xia Yu sighed, a faint shadow of worry on his face as he murmured a quiet prayer.
At the mention of Ayato, Conan's thoughts turned to the email he'd received yesterday from Mr. Amuro—no, from Amuro's neighbor, Subaru Okiya—summarizing a conversation he had overheard the night before.
Judging from what had been said, Kamisato Ayato was clearly planning to do something about the culprit behind the burned-down finals venue.
It worried Conan. Vigilante justice was a line that shouldn't be crossed—but he had neither the means nor the standing to stop the Kamisato family from continuing their investigation.
So after turning the problem over in his mind for much of the night, Conan had arrived at the only solution he could think of: beat the Kamisato family to the punch, find the culprit and the evidence first, and get the perpetrator behind bars before they could act. That way, Ayato and his people would have no one to take revenge on, and the law would mete out punishment in due course.
Trouble was, Conan still knew precious little about the incident even now. Thankfully, it had happened in Osaka—the police there were bound to be sitting on plenty of leads.
His plan was to watch today's performance first, then ask Hattori for the relevant information and get to work.
For now, supporting his friends' performance mattered more.
With a resigned sigh, Conan looked down at the cheer uniform Sonoko had just thrust into his hands.
The spectators filed in one after another, and before long the stands were nearly full. The time for the competition to begin was almost upon them.