forever lv.0

"Let's meet up"?

what is this?

Kuroba read and reread the simple pixel-style text on the screen, split and reassembled the pseudonyms, and even planned to disassemble and reassemble all the strokes. What does "Let's meet" mean?Some kind of seasoning for paella?Or some kind of spell that will destroy the world if spoken?

He clearly knows what the other party is talking about, and he can fully understand every symbol on the screen, but he just can't admit it, and can't face the established facts that still exist openly.

So the detective is speaking to "him".Not to the game character "Kuroba", nor to the pixel villain on the screen, but to Kuroba Kaito who is staring at the screen dumbfounded at this moment?

He is talking to me.

After acting as a character for a long time, Kuroba has almost forgotten what kind of standpoint the player as the controller should use to think.He hides his existence behind the character, playing role-playing games (RPG) in a real role-playing mode.

"RolePlayingGame".

True to its name.

But now, all balance is broken.The detective realizes that this "Kuroba" is just a boring real person, and invites him to meet him in the real world.Just thinking of this step, the uncontrollable trembling made Hei Yu so entangled that he couldn't continue thinking.

The detective realizes that "Black Feather" does exist in reality.In other words, those acting-like disguises before have been thoroughly seen through.I just staged a most exquisite double reed, but when the script is released, all the details hidden behind the scenes are presented to the audience. The superb skills and excellent lines are just carefully calculated jokes.

When did he realize it?It was only now that Kuroba began to seriously recall the "lines" he had said, and tried to find out which sentence exposed the existence of "Kuroba Kaito".Immediately, he discovered with black lines all over his face that most of the time he didn't have the consciousness of being a "game character" at all, and sometimes he was speaking freely according to his own will.

The famous detective... shouldn't have figured it out a long time ago?Kuroba, who realized this, felt the reversal of his position at that moment.If it is said that Kudo had realized that Kuroba in front of him was just playing a role in a game to play with him a long time ago... Could it be that he has not exposed it all this time because it is fun? !Could it be that it was the detective and not himself who watched the show in silence all this time?

So... so shameful... Feeling the tip of his ears burning, Kuroba let the game run without moving.

"Hello?" It was the detective who couldn't hold his breath first. "Answer? Haven't thought about it yet?"

Really persevering...

Sighing deeply, Kuroba struggled for a long time before moving his hands back to the keyboard.

"You mean...with me?"

"Are you still denying the matter now?" The detective replied quite directly. "I was really tricked by you... It's too late to deny it now, okay?"

Damn, absolutely passive situation.Resisting the urge to smash the keyboard again, Kuroba typed out a reply.

"But, detective," his hand paused, "this is just a game..."

"Are you used to calling me 'Detective'?" The speech that suddenly appeared on the screen made Kuroba tremble and hit the wrong key.

Is this also considered a temptation?He repeatedly emphasized in his heart that this is just a game, and no matter how sensitive and advanced the detective is, he will not think of that step. Hei Yu affirmed the other party's statement.

"Yeah, I'm used to it."

The detective seemed relieved. "Then, it's up to you to decide where to meet, so I can determine the departure time."

This... Is this confirmed?Deeply impressed by the opponent's ability to act, Hei Yu always felt that he was trapped in some terrible logic.Even if the teammate in the game is confirmed to be a real person in reality, and the distance between the other party and oneself is not far from the reasoning, it does not mean that the two parties must meet.Even if you don't know what kind of character the other party is, it will not affect the normal progress of the game at all.

That famous detective must have misunderstood the concept of "game".For him, this is also a part of the game... He slumped his shoulders helplessly, and Kuroba began to consciously or unconsciously think about where to meet would be more conducive to not revealing his current address.

"By the way, for easy identification," the detective seemed to be more thoughtful, "don't forget to bring some iconic objects on your body, such as holding a book or wearing a hat."

What the target person looks like can be seen at a glance after one stop in the center of the square.Subconsciously wanting to complain about "it doesn't need to be so troublesome, the faces all look the same anyway", Hei Yu is glad that he stopped his hands rationally enough.Now he can't easily admit the fact that "Kuroba Kaito knows Kudo Shinichi".Although putting the two elements of "Kudou" and "Detective" together seems to only lead to the conclusion that "this person is Kudo Shinichi"...

"Just do as you say."

"I didn't expect to come here..." On the day of the invitation, Kuroba rushed to the appointment place early in accordance with Kudo's instructions, wearing a conspicuous red scarf. "Sure enough, let's go back."

When he was 500 meters away from the appointed place, he thought in his heart that he might as well let go of the detective's pigeon and go back home, but his intuition told him that running away might be the worst route choice.He also considered playing as a female player directly to implement a player-to-player counter-strategy, but the feasibility of this operation is basically zero when the opponent has childhood sweethearts and absolutely no lack of admirers.

Going to the appointment with an identity other than "Kuroba Kaito" may only cause unnecessary trouble.If the other party is that famous detective, it will definitely be exposed in a short time.Even if it is not discovered, the "friendly communication between players" will be carried out smoothly, and I may feel like a little mermaid who can't speak at that time, and I really hope that my true identity will be discovered in my heart.

Shaking his head to forget the unlucky metaphor, Kuroba scanned the surroundings, and his eyes caught a figure not far away who was also wearing a red scarf.He waved to each other.

"Hello—" The tone and voice were quite ordinary.

Ignore the words that he uses in exactly the same voice as the other person.

Perhaps because of the similar voice, the other party quickly noticed it.As the distance drew closer, Kuroba was finally able to closely observe the detective's subtle changes in expression.

In reality, people who are caught off guard and face-to-face with similar faces may not be able to hide their surprise in the first place.Watching the detective shrink his pupils in a good mood, Kuroba spoke again.

"Kudou-san... isn't it?" He tilted his head and smiled, "Fortunately, I didn't admit my mistake."

"Kudou," he decided in his heart that the boy in front of him hadn't figured out how to write "Kudou" in Chinese characters, and Kudou thought it necessary to introduce himself in detail. "Kudou, that's my real name."

"I didn't expect it was really that famous detective (accent) Kudo Shinichi." He sighed in earnest, and Kuroba thought that he should show more admiration.However, his self-esteem told him that lowering his posture at this time would be regarded as admitting defeat in advance. "Super unexpected."

Your tone of voice doesn't correspond to your lines at all... It seems that the too obvious reality of similar looks is not suitable to be emphasized at this moment, so Kudo forcibly ignored it.Except for the face he was so familiar with that he would see in the mirror every day, the boy in front of him was not much different from the "Black Feather" he remembered.

"Kuroba...can I call you that?" Calling each other by names on the Internet always feels a bit radio-based... Kudo didn't know if it was appropriate to ask each other's real names at this time.It seems that many people are not comfortable revealing personal information to others outside of virtual reality.Asking rashly may be interpreted as an invasion of privacy...

The boy in front of him laughed without warning.

"Hei Yu," after the laughter stopped, he didn't explain why he just laughed without any scruples. "Hei Yu, that's also my real name." After taking two steps back, the boy named "Hei Yu" put on a serious expression.

"Then, introduce yourself again."

"I am Kaito Kuroba, please give me your advice on future adventures."