[Conan Doujin] The Mystery of Theseus

Is Puzzle29 really all right?

Different from unblocking in the ordinary sense, the messages not received during the blocking period will all flood in after unblocking.Even if he got the news of Kuroba again, learned about that guy's recent situation, and missed the information during the period when he couldn't be contacted, Edogawa still couldn't touch it.

Be it the daily information shared by Kaito Kuroba on the virtual platform in his own name, or the information about Kaito's activities during that blank time, he couldn't find it through any means.After so many efforts, perhaps the easiest way is to ask the person himself, Edogawa thought.

However......

Edogawa held the straw in his mouth coldly, looking at the guy sitting opposite him who was chattering at the moment.

"I've been to the dessert shop mentioned last time, and the owner is super nice."

"Lemon and milk can't be eaten together, try it and you'll know why..."

"Can I have another ice cream? Yeah, now I can finally eat—"

"Let me tell you, I didn't know what happened a while ago, the windows of my house were smashed—"

"Why do you say 'now I can finally eat it'?" Edogawa suddenly interrupted his daily chat, and let go of the straw. "Could it be that you couldn't eat ice cream before?"

If the body is not in a special period that requires restraint in food intake, there is no need to have any taboos.

Unexpected entry point, Kuroba, who flipped through the menu, froze for a moment.Before his eyes looked away suspiciously, Edogawa asked another question.

"Window, is it fixed?"

"Huh?" Before he even started to think of an excuse, the other party continued to ask questions without caring about explanations.Putting down the menu, Kuroba's relaxed smile faded away.

"Sorry," biting the straw again, Edogawa looked down at the small ripples in the cup, "I have too many problems."

When one party is talking about daily topics and is getting excited, suddenly several topics that are tricky and unrealistic are thrown out one after another, which is tantamount to pouring a basin of cold water on the head.No matter how much you want to rekindle the wet chatting atmosphere, it will be difficult to restore the previous temperature.

Although the information obtained in this fast-paced chat is enough to fill the gap caused by not being able to meet before, Hei Yu still didn't say a word about what he really wanted to know.Excitedly putting these insignificant routines on the table, while keeping silent about the reasons that may have prevented them from being in touch, can seem like trying to tell others that they are okay.

Could it be that... this guy is completely unaware of the blank period of not being able to contact each other?

Today, I may be too impatient... The juice in the glass quickly bottomed out, and I can't pretend to drink a drink to divert the topic even if I bite the straw.Sighing lightly, Edogawa pushed the empty cup aside.

When the next ice cream arrives, please ask the waitress to clean it up.

Seeing his unclear behavior, Kuroba also pushed the empty ice cream bowl in front of him to the table.The small glass bowl was parked at just the right distance from the edge of the table, in a safe place where it would never fall.

"If you must know," he withdrew his hand, "the window will be repaired the next day, and it will be very cold if it remains broken there." His eyes have completely faded from the mood of chatting, "Why do you ask?"

Hei Yu knew clearly that this little detective suddenly asked him out today without saying a word, and it was definitely not for the purpose of listening to these daily chats.However, once the topic is separated from the daily life, the secrets that are covered with sand and tried to hide in time will eventually be blown away and exposed to the sun.

"When the windows of your house were smashed," Edogawa didn't answer him, and focused all his attention on the question he wanted to know, "Did you see who smashed it?"

"No," Hei Yu shrugged indifferently, "I probably ran away before I saw it."

"From when you heard the glass was broken to when you stood by the window to check," Edogawa completely entered the testimonial collection mode, and Edogawa didn't care about those insignificant details at all, "How long has it been?"

"How long did you ask...?" Facing the successive questions in a daze, Kuroba blinked depressedly.But rather than wondering why the other party asked, answering seriously may be the shortcut to get closer to the answer.He looked up at the ceiling, recalling the experience of that day.

Counting the time it took to put on clothes and leave the room, and to walk down the stairs, probably...

"Probably... more than two minutes."

How long did it take?Calculating the time difference in his heart, Edogawa also simultaneously recalled the actions of that day.If it took more than two minutes just to walk to the window, I was indeed out of sight at that time.But the most critical question is...

"And after that? Didn't you hear anything outside the door after that?"

"Of course not—" the answer came to an abrupt end.The little detective's questioning seems to have no reason, but if a premise is added, everything will be much easier to understand.After cutting off the memories, Kuroba's eyes settled down, "A detective, you would ask this question, as if..."

It's like... was there and witnessed it all.

And is that the reason.

"Finally understand?" Seeing some kind of epiphany from the other party's eyes, Edogawa didn't ask any further.

"So, that stone is you—?!" Hei Yu recognized the prisoner face to face, and slammed the table down, "So it was you who did it!"

"That's right, it's me," Edogawa easily admitted the guilt, and gestured with his hand, "That stone is probably... about this big," he easily pulled the corner of his mouth, "But since the window is the second It will be fixed in a day, and I don't have to worry about anything."

"But why did you do that? It's very troublesome to find someone to fix the windows!" As Edogawa wished, Kuroba put on a frantic expression that he couldn't see at the time, "You won't knock on the door Is it? Send a text message even if no one answers?!" The frantic question suddenly stopped, and Hei Yu understood the little detective's intention at that moment. "Could it be...you have tried all of these?"

"Yes, all of them." Edogawa nodded, and found the communication records of that day on his mobile phone, "For some reason, all the ways I tried to contact you were cut off."

And you know nothing about it.

"I really didn't hear anything at the time..." Looking through the communication records, Kuroba confirmed that he did not receive any news from Edogawa that day.In fact, until yesterday, the records of their contact were completely blank.

While speaking, the second ice cream ordered by Kuroba had been delivered.During the whole process when the waitress put the ice cream on the table and bowed away, neither of them made a sound.

They had already verified what it took to see each other through that nearly wasted trip.So when one party actively creates conditions but ultimately fails to achieve the goal, it is obvious which party caused the situation.

"Did you... get involved in some incident?" Kuroba was about to raise his spoon to seal the words with ice cream, when Edogawa opened his mouth, "Is it an incident that cannot be said?"

One-sided investigations failed, that is to say, as a detective, I did not intervene in the necessary incidents.Afterwards, it developed into inconvenient movement, and he had to cut off contact with the outside world for a long time and even had to restrict his diet. Considering this step, the situation became blood-stained.

The guy in front of him just didn't want to ask for help unilaterally.

And, unconsciously.

"I asked Hattori, but he also said that he couldn't contact you." Not wanting to raise his gaze to see Kuroba's expression, Edogawa's eyes fell on the small metal spoon in his hand.Thin edges reflect subtle light. "Tell us what happened, are you that unhappy?"

Black Feather did not speak.On the untouched ice cream ball, the small melted ice crystals condensed together.

"Obviously you just need to say something," the detective's voice was almost inaudible after a distance from the table, "we will help you."

Why did it develop like this?

Why would he subconsciously refuse to tell them what happened?

Edogawa didn't want to think about this question.

Faced with something that is difficult to accept, perhaps a concept, or a certain object, we only need to add an accessory to it, and it becomes easier to accept.For example, for some people, milk always has an indescribable strange taste, but just use it to soak chocolate cereal, and you can swallow it.At this time, chocolate cereal is an accessory to milk.

Of course, not drinking milk is also an option.

It's just that if you make this choice, you may not even be able to eat chocolate cereal.

——Whether you choose chocolate oatmeal, or give up chocolate oatmeal and the disgusting milk together, these two choices are just changing the external conditions.If you do not start from the perspective of the person concerned, what is unacceptable will not be accepted in the end.

Why did he refuse to ask for help?Why unilaterally cut off contact?

Can I, really, help him, what, what?

When the appendages that make everything easy to accept with strong words are removed, the residue of the answer left in the end will naturally not be easily digested by people.

I will, I will.I will help him.

He murmured silently in his heart, like some kind of magic spell.