The Intelligent Quest System
Wow, is Conan's acting really this bad? It's so obvious he's feeling a little guilty — that just won't do. Xiayu thought to herself. There are going to be plenty more situations like this where people get suspicious of him. If he can't keep a straight face under pressure, his identity will be seen through in no time. Really, I'm just training Conan — sharpening his skills in this area for his own good.
Yes, yes, Xiayu nodded inwardly. How kind of me to put this much effort into Conan's education.
Listening to Xiayu, Conan's heart pounded faster and faster — especially when she voiced her guess that "Connan was really Kudo Shinichi." He only managed to breathe again once she finished her sentence. It wasn't as if she could possibly stumble onto the truth, he told himself. No ordinary person would ever imagine that a grown man had been turned into a little kid.
And yet, ever since he'd met her, Conan had noticed that Xiayu had an unusual sharpness about certain things — and an astonishingly quick tolerance for strange phenomena. Who was to say she wouldn't hit on it someday?
Fortunately, his transformation into a child was simply too outlandish. Xiayu hadn't gone down that path at all; she had merely concluded that he and Kudo Shinichi were relatives.
"Y-yes! Shinichi — I mean, Big Brother Shinichi — is a distant relative of mine. That's why we look a little alike. Ha, haha." Conan laughed, a trace of guilt creeping into his voice.
"Honestly, what an irresponsible young man," Xiayu said, seizing the moment to plant a seed of caution in Sayuri Matsumoto's mind. "He dumps his own little relative on his childhood sweetheart and doesn't even show his face once. Miss Matsumoto, a man being your childhood sweetheart isn't enough when you're choosing a partner. You need to keep your eyes open and pick someone who actually takes responsibility." She still found the groom suspicious.
This... it's not like I wanted this... Conan clenched his fist. It's all the fault of those men in black! One day, I'll catch them, get that drug, and turn back into Kudo Shinichi.
Ran — just you wait for me!
At that moment, a man dressed in a white wedding suit was pushed through the door of the waiting room. He straightened up with a flushed face, scratched his head, and turned to his bride. "Sayuri, you look beautiful!"
So this was the groom — Miss Matsumoto's first love. He seemed good-natured enough. But did he truly love her?
Xiayu watched him take the lemon tea out of Sayuri Matsumoto's hands, gently chiding her for still drinking something with no nutritional value whatsoever.
Wait a second! What did that groom just do? Did he slip something into the lemon tea? And at that angle— Xiayu slowly turned her head toward Miss Matsumoto. She should have seen at least part of it, right? So why isn't she saying anything?
Conan noticed Xiayu's slight frown and the sharp look she was pinning on the groom. Strange. Why is she staring at him so seriously?
He followed her gaze, but all he could see was the lemon tea, half-hidden behind the groom's hand. Conan sighed inwardly. This was the one downside of being a kid — it was far too easy for his line of sight to be blocked.
Watching Sayuri Matsumoto's expression, a suspicion slowly took shape in Xiayu's mind. Wait! Don't tell me she knows the groom drugged the tea — and she's actually planning to drink it anyway!
Why?
There were times when Xiayu genuinely felt she couldn't understand the way people in Conan's world thought — the murderers and the victims alike!
Then she caught Conan staring at her with a look of sheer disbelief after she'd spent another long moment studying the bride. His curiosity burned all the brighter for it. Damn it! What exactly did Xiayu see?! Why is she making that face?
I was standing right there too — so why does it feel like she's seeing something I'm not?! Could I really be falling behind her?
No. Kudo Shinichi, don't doubt yourself. You only missed a few clues because of this child's body. You'll figure out what Xiayu discovered. You always do.
Around then, Sonoko and Ran returned from their errand with the batteries.
The moment Sonoko opened the door and laid eyes on the groom, she gasped. "You're the heir of the Takasugi Group, aren't you!"
The groom clearly recognized her too, instantly identifying her as a daughter of the Suzuki Financial Group.
Xiayu also caught Sonoko's assessment of the groom — indecisive, not terribly dependable, and word has it the Takasugi family will come to an end in his hands...
Sonoko had whispered it right next to Ran's ear, of course. Good hearing was simply beyond her control.
Xiayu watched the bride throw herself at the groom with a complicated expression, her suspicion hardening into certainty — she really does intend to drink that drugged lemon tea.
"The ceremony will be starting shortly," someone announced, coming to fetch the bride and groom.
Sayuri Matsumoto asked the groom to go on ahead — she would follow right away.
One by one, the groom and the others filed out of the waiting room.
Xiayu followed behind them, and once everyone had left, she pulled the door shut. Sonoko and the others exchanged puzzled looks — but a moment later, the door opened again.
They saw Xiayu lean toward Sayuri Matsumoto, who stood dazed inside the room, and say, "Don't forget your promise to me."
Sayuri Matsumoto nodded slowly.
Sonoko's curiosity got the better of her. "Xiayu, what were you and Miss Matsumoto whispering about in there? And what did she promise you?"
Xiayu didn't answer directly. "You'll find out soon enough."
They hadn't taken more than a few steps when a crash echoed from inside the waiting room. Worried that something had happened to their teacher, Ran and the others spun around and rushed back.
The instant they flung the door open, they saw Sayuri Matsumoto sprawled on the floor of the waiting room, a thin trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth — and beside her, a bottle of lemon tea that had fallen and shattered.
At that very moment, Paimon's voice chimed in Xiayu's mind: "Traveler, the world quests just refreshed~"
Xiayu found it a little odd that the world quest had only appeared now — but on second thought, it made perfect sense. The case hadn't happened yet, so naturally there was no quest. In the past, she'd always arrived after the fact, with the deed already done; it was only natural that the quest would trigger the moment she came into contact with the people or objects involved.
She pulled up the world quest list — and found that this time, the requirements were different from anything before. Every previous quest had asked her to solve a case, identify the culprit, something along those lines. This one read a little differently:
The June Bride Murder Case
A bride on the verge of the happiest moment of her life collapsed just before the ceremony — or rather, the clever Traveler arrived in time to stop the tragedy from unfolding, and even identified the culprit in advance. But did she truly prevent the tragedy?
🎁 Objective: Uncover the truth behind the case, and witness the bride's choice.
Would you look at that — this system is actually pretty intelligent. It even adjusts the quest requirements based on how things play out in reality.