[Conan Doujin] The Mystery of Theseus

The person outside the door of Puzzle34 is □□.

The guy disappeared.

It took Edogawa a while to realize this.

Both the physical level and the social level have disappeared.

The reason why you realize that it has "disappeared" is because it "always existed" before.

The reason why I know that person "has always existed" is because there are fragments of getting along with him in my memory.

but……

The detective who believed in science and matter was shaken in his heart.

He dared to say that the strange thief existed, just because he had the memory of "being with the other party".

Then, when they are not together, when he is not looking at him, how can we judge that the other party really exists?

Any attempt to test is subjective, and completely objective observations simply do not exist.So Edogawa stopped trying, and tended to believe that this was just the same as before, a short-term signal shielding.

Maybe he has something important recently, maybe he has been involved in some incident that can't be finished within three episodes these days.When the matter is over, he will definitely come back.

The detective who was looking for the steps for himself breathed a sigh of relief.He even couldn't wait to hear what kind of fairy tales the guy who was always playing and disappearing would tell after this short blank period was over.That scene must overlap perfectly with the picture in my memory—sitting comfortably in a cafe and ordering two cups of ice cream, while listening to the person sitting opposite talking about mountains with a metal spoon in his mouth.

In fact, this is what Edogawa remembered when he saw Kuroba for the last time.That day, Kuroba also went to look up the information that he could not bring out, and then he invited him to a nearby coffee shop.He doesn't even remember what drinks they ordered that day, and he can't even remember a single word about what they talked about later.During the chat, Kuroba may have mentioned what unknown reports he had seen in the data, and he seemed to have mentioned that he might consider accepting cooperation and selling favors to the seniors of the FBI, so that some of them can help him in the future defender.

He said a lot, and it seemed like he didn't say anything.What Edogawa could clearly remember was Kuroba's subconscious answer after he proposed "go to the nearby shop for a while".

"What are we going to talk about this time?"

His reaction looked like he was going to a meeting.

"No," Edogawa didn't understand why he said that, "just to sit down—"

He suddenly couldn't understand himself.He was not familiar with that store, and he was not in the state of wanting to drink at all at that time.It was too late for afternoon tea at that time, and it was too early for dinner.

Probably just wanted to chat suddenly.

"I think... just to find a reason for chatting," Edogawa looked down at the tight and tight laces on the canvas shoes, "Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing." Kuroba unconsciously scratched the lower part of the nose with his index finger, "I just think that every time we meet, we either have dessert in a certain coffee shop, or find a special place to talk about things."

"It seems... that's true," Edogawa couldn't find any words to refute. "Isn't this what friends usually do?"

"Among friends?" Hei Yu frowned and looked down at him, "What do you usually do, what you call friends?"

"Let's go to the game center to play games together, go to the library to do homework," Edogawa cites with his own experience, spreading his fingers apart, "Or go to sing K... No, that won't work. "

"...I say, detective."

"Ok?"

"Why do we have to do 'what friends do' when we meet?"

"Aha?"

"As long as we meet, we must make an appointment at a certain place. If we want to have a conversation, we must discuss a specific thing." When speaking, Kuroba's tone was inexplicably emotional, "It was not like this before."

What is this person trying to say?

Maybe it was because he wasn't thinking, and Edogawa gradually couldn't figure it out.

"Even if you don't do that in particular, friends are still friends, right?"

"..."

"When you want to chat, you just need to stand where you are and talk. If you want to discuss something, just write an email." Hei Yu put his hands in his trouser pockets casually, and his limbs looked extremely relaxed. "If you If the so-called 'rules of the world' want to create a sense of ritual, there is no need to do that."

He was right.This is probably the sequelae caused by the occasional interruption of contact.Regardless of what to do, whether it is friends or companions, whether these connections exist or not seems to be unknown.

"Who knows if that damn rule really exists? Who made it? What is it for? Does that person's interests have anything to do with you as a detective?" Without waiting for Edogawa's response, it seemed unnecessary His reaction, Kuroba continued, "Since following the rules has nothing to do with the detective's interests, when you want to do something, just do it."

"But......"

"If I receive your call, as long as it is not a special situation, I will answer it as soon as possible. When I receive a text message, I will reply as soon as possible. If you are not sure whether I really exist, then just give a shout out." Yes," Hei Yu pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled, "I'll answer you with a yell too."

"...I'm too lazy to do such a cheap thing."

"Haha, I think so too." After laughing, Hei Yu started to walk towards the place against the sun.

"Are you going to...?"

"Well, didn't you say you wanted to sit somewhere?" Hei Yu turned around, "Since you have invited me so seriously, of course I have to take the invitation seriously~"

However, without an accepting party, the invitation cannot be established.

After that, Kuroba never appeared again.The accounts on social networking sites seem to have been cleaned, and his name cannot be heard in other people's conversations.In Edogawa's impression, the day he saw Kuroba for the last time, he seemed to have talked with other people as well.But even if he asked Mr. Akai who had direct contact with Kuroba that day, he couldn't get the slightest clue.

The words seem to be covered with a very confusing fog. No matter how you find the right direction, you will eventually be led in the wrong direction and miss your target without knowing it.It felt like premeditation, as if at the same time, people all over the world had agreed not to mention the existence of that person.

In front of him stood an invisible wall.Any clues that might lead to Hei Yu's existence were completely and completely sealed off from the other side.

What happened to him?Was it his "little mission with the FBI" as he said earlier?That's why they kept silent about what happened next?Why can't I know?Why only I don't know?

As for whether the opponent is alive or dead, Edogawa deliberately skipped this question.

That can only have one answer.

Speaking of which, regarding the "little cooperation" that Kuroba accidentally mentioned, Edogawa had never heard anything from anyone else.He only thought it was a mocking joke, and to this day he couldn't find out if it was true.

The thread was broken, and the end of the kite line was empty.

Still, the world turns.

Regardless of whether or not Kuroba Kaito disappears, the world where Edogawa Conan lives is still turning.Frequent incidents and unsolvable mysteries still exist, and there is absolutely no information about the disappearance of male high school students.

He still exists somewhere.

Edogawa believed so.

It's just that I can't see it.

He must have existed, because—

"Black Feather?" I don't know how many times it was, Haibara already had a headache to the point of throwing the test tube, "No matter how many times you ask, my answer is the same, how can I forget that kind of guy with a strong sense of presence. "

She does want to.The sound and picture of fragile and transparent glass products shattering on the ground must be very decompressing.

"Since you still remember, we all remember," Edogawa already wanted to give up, "Why is he still the same as missing?"

"Because it only exists in memory." Resisting the urge to drop the test tube, Haibara carefully put the reagent back on the test tube rack, "If you don't update the information, the Kuroba Kaito you know only exists in In memory."

"You mean...the channel for updating information has been cut off?" Edogawa looked at the reagent that might be useful in the future, "That's right, no matter who you ask, you can't find out about that guy's recent situation." " He raised the corners of his mouth half-jokingly, "Could you have discussed it to keep me in the dark?"

"How is it possible?" Huiyuan glanced at him with some distaste, "I have never received such instructions."

"Haha, that's right," Edogawa felt that he was thinking a little too much, "If you really want to do something, you will start to doubt it as early as you met Kuroba at my door."

He thought he was talking about a fragment of their memory that they both had in common.

"Indeed," Haibara nodded, "I just went for a routine on-site inspection, and suddenly saw a boy who looked like Kudo Shinichi near Kudo's house. Even I was shocked at that time."

Listening to her words, Edogawa vaguely felt that they were not talking about the same thing.

"If you're talking about the time when you came to my house as Miyano Shiho..." He frowned, "If I remember correctly, we should have talked at that time?"

"Us? What are you talking about?" Haibara's tone didn't sound like he was lying, "I don't remember talking to anyone at that time."

"Can--"

Edogawa clearly remembered Kuroba's inquiring eyes at the time, and his complaints about the science seniors afterwards.

"If you're talking about 'meeting near Kudo's house'," Haibara spread his hands, "I'm sorry, I just saw 'him' alone." Her pupils didn't shift at all, "As for what happened I don’t have that kind of impression at all.”

"You said there was no dialogue?" Edogawa only felt a chill gathering around him, "Then what we saw at that time was—"

At this time, there was the sound of the doorbell ringing.The doctor happened to be away, so Edogawa got up to answer the door, and Haibara followed behind him.

"Ah, long time no see."

The people outside the door greeted him with familiar voices.

Recognizing that person's voice and seeing that person's face clearly, Edogawa's pupils shrank sharply, which was a kind of panic when facing the unknown.

"At this time," Huiyuan approached him from behind, "Who is—"

"Hui Yuan, stay inside and don't come out!"

Almost roaring, Edogawa called out instructions.It was an intuitive instruction without thinking, because if he thought about it carefully, he would not know what he should do now.

Something is wrong, nothing is right.

Edogawa felt that he could not understand the situation at all.He raised his head and looked into the man's eyes.

"You shouldn't be here."