The Magic Show

The next evening, at the Mouri Detective Agency.

"A magic show?" Ran and Sonoko asked, peering at the tickets Xia Yu had handed them.

"Mm-hm. You two are always the ones taking me out to have fun, so it's my turn this time. A friend of mine gave me a whole stack of tickets to a magic show recently, and I happen to have that day off — so let's all go together," Xia Yu said.

Sonoko agreed without a moment's hesitation. "Ooh, sure thing! Perfect chance to see whether this magician is any match for my dear Kid. By the way, Xia Yu — besides us, how many other people did you give tickets to?"

Xia Yu counted on her fingers. "Besides you and Ran, there's Mr. Mouri, Professor Agasa, and a few of the kids from the Detective Boys. Everyone together, plus me — ten people in all."

"Oh, right." Xia Yu suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to Ran. "Ran, I heard you had a date with Shinichi last night. How did it go? Is he still around? I've got spare tickets, so if he's still in town, he's welcome to come along."

At the mention of Shinichi and last night's date, Sonoko immediately launched into an indignant complaint. "Don't even get me started! That guy actually ditched Ran halfway through their date the second a case showed up, and now nobody knows where he's run off to. And Ran, you're too soft on him — don't you dare forgive him so easily this time. The next time you see him, you teach him a proper lesson with your karate."

As Sonoko went on, she worked herself up more and more, and turning to Ran, she began offering suggestions that made Conan, listening in from the sidelines, break into a cold sweat.

Much to Conan's relief, Ran ultimately refused to go along with any of Sonoko's ideas.

Still, just to be safe, Conan decided the topic needed to steer away from last night's date. He picked up the tickets Xia Yu had just set on the table — the ones meant for him to bring to school for the other kids — and studied them.

The performance, he discovered, was ten days away, conveniently falling on a weekend, and would be held on an open-air stage. Flipping through the tickets in his hand, he found that every seat was in the first row, all in an unbroken line. Seats like those were normally never sold to the public; they were almost always held back as internal comps. Which meant whoever had given Xia Yu the tickets was an insider connected to this magic show — and someone fairly high up at that. No ordinary staffer could hand out this many tickets in one go.

"Xia Yu-neesan, I took a look — the performers at this show are a duo called Lyney and Lynette. Are they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠famous?" He tugged at Xia Yu's sleeve, cutting off Sonoko and Xia Yu just in time before they could dive back into dissecting last night's date.

"Yes, they're a magician duo from Fontaine. Their substitution-in-a-box trick is quite famous, and apparently they'll be premiering a brand-new illusion this time," Xia Yu said, giving him a brief introduction once she saw his interest. "Though you'll have to see the actual performance with your own eyes to know for sure. Either way, I'm sure that day's show will be spectacular."

"Really? Then I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠officially looking forward to it! Fontaine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠magicians, huh — how do they compare to my dear Kid? Are they more elegant? More mysterious?" Sonoko clasped her cheeks in both hands, lost in a dreamy fantasy.

"Sonoko, don't you already have Makoto?" Ran said.

"What does that have to do with anything? Makoto's overseas — he'll never know. Besides, the handsome guy I'm about to see in person is what matters right now."

"......"

Conan gave Sonoko a flat, half-lidded stare from the side.

Heh. You haven't even laid eyes on the guy yet — how can you be so sure he's handsome? Who says every magician is a looker?

Meanwhile, at Teitan High School, classes had ended long ago. Most of the teachers had gone home, and the building had gone almost entirely dark, with only the occasional lit window revealing a teacher or two still buried in work this late.

"Ms. Judy, I'm all finished — I'm heading out. You should wrap up early too. It's not safe walking home alone at night."

In one of the offices, two teachers had been working side by side. Now one of them had finished and was preparing to leave, offering a parting word to the other.

The other teacher — the one called Judy — answered, "I just started this batch, and I've still got a little to finish. I'll leave as early as I can, don't worry. No problem!"

Once the office held only her, Judy stopped working, rose from her desk, and glanced around outside. Satisfied there was no one suspicious in sight, she shut the office door, took out her phone, and dialed a number.

The call connected almost immediately.

Judy hung up. This time she didn't linger at the office — she left soon after.

That weekend, on the bus bound for the ski resort.

"You kids certainly keep busy on your weekends — skiing this weekend, a magic show the next. Quite the packed schedule," Xia Yu teased the Detective Boys with a smile.

"Kids gotta run around outside lots — that's how you stay healthy! Professor Agasa never exercises, that's why he caught a cold," Genta said, turning around to drape himself over the back of his seat and address the sneezing Professor Agasa.

"Speaking of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠which, Professor, are you all right? If that cold gets any worse, you should go straight to your room and rest once we reach the resort — I'll take care of the kids," Xia Yu said, watching the professor rub his nose red with concern.

Haibara chimed in from the side to lecture him as well. "Exactly, Professor. If you're sick, don't push yourself. You were up past midnight watching instructional videos, of all things."

"Fine, fine, I understand. I won't overdo it," Professor Agasa conceded, looking a little guilty.

Conan watched the whole exchange, at a loss for words.

Hah. The Professor really has zero adult authority around here. Honestly, who's the actual child in this group?

"Next stop: Beika Park."

"Okay, we've got passengers boarding — Genta, sit down properly and no talking," Xia Yu said quickly as the bus rolled to a stop and several people filed aboard one after another.

Still, the scene struck Xia Yu with an odd sense of déjà vu. She'd guessed from the start that with Conan along, this trip was never going to pass peacefully. But could it really be that this case wouldn't happen at the ski resort — but on the road there!?