[Conan Doujin] The Mystery of Theseus

Puzzle7's sincere help is based on the premise of love.

What did I say...

Kuroba looked at Hattori Heiji who was sitting opposite him and claimed to be Hattori Heiji who "came all the way here".

There is nothing unusual about a detective... In this unscientific world, the detective has indeed become a bad street character.Compared with the truth-seekers whose elements overlap and make noise, the gorgeous and flamboyant Phantom Thieves are more topical.

The meeting place chosen by Edogawa is naturally a coffee shop that is "not suitable for elementary school students to enter and leave".In order to make the picture look more natural, or in other words, more in line with common sense and logic, Hattori naturally put the ice cream ordered by Kuroba in front of Edogawa.

"Do I look that much like a child?" Edogawa raised half of his eyebrows slightly uncomfortably for this obvious act of taking care of children.

"It's not 'looks like'," Kuroba moved his portion of ice cream back in front of him, "You're just a kid."

Facing the brotherly interaction between the two, Hattori has been observing with folded arms from the beginning to the end. During this period, he used his mobile phone to open the webpage and searched out the article titled "There is only one truth! High school detectives have outstanding achievements!" , both the content and the pictures are like the news reports of a second-rate entertainment magazine. I read it carefully, and raised my head from time to time to compare the "Kudo Shinichi" in the photo with the Kuroba Kaito in front of me.

After the waiter delivered the second ice cream, believing that he had fully sorted out the relationship between the characters and the context of interests, Hattori suddenly realized and clapped his hands: "That's how it is!"

Edogawa who pushed the ice cream in front of Kuroba once again raised his head. "……What?"

The flat lens flashed for a moment with his movements.

"I don't know if it's because of some conspiracy or something else," Hattori pointed to the two people sitting side by side, "You two have the same face, and the result is already doomed!"

...the cause and effect between these seems not quite right.

Received unanimous questioning looks from two people, one big and one small, on the opposite side, Hattori continued his inference as if he didn't care at all. "Do you think that by coincidence in this world, two people who live so close to each other are exactly the same from appearance to childhood sweetheart? Of course it's impossible," he nodded with feigned deepness, "So, there must be someone I have already foreseen that the current situation will happen, so I let you know in advance and prepare early."

...Can you prepare in advance even if the appearance is exactly the same?

"In this way, even if you, Kudo, can't appear in your own name, Kuroba can do it for you," Hattori continued to state his reasoning that had gone astray at some point, "Many crises that cannot be present due to 'disappearance' can be It's easy to solve. In addition, Kuroba is not a detective, so the risk of being recognized by outsiders is much smaller." Leaning forward excitedly, Hattori concluded:

"In other words, now Kuroba is helping Kudo as a substitute assistant at any time?"

"Stop, stop," raised his hands to signal him to stop, and Edogawa, who lowered his half-moon eyes, could no longer restrain the twitching of his mouth, "Leaving aside how you got your understanding of 'preparing early'," he said He helped the glasses frame that almost collapsed, "I didn't ask Kuroba to help me solve the missing problem."

"It's not a last resort... that's what we discussed." Hei Yu interrupted, "With the voice changer developed by the doctor, it's enough to make a phone call from time to time to feel more present."

"How can we do it just by phone?" Hattori retorted, "Just a few phone calls can support the fact that 'Kudo Shinichi is not missing'? How could that Miss Lan believe so easily—"

"Kudo Shinichi is indeed not missing," Edogawa interrupted him suddenly, "I'm here. What's more..." He raised his chin slightly, "After you return to Osaka, you are nothing to us It's just the voice on the phone and the telecommunication on the Internet."

Feeling that what he said was reasonable, Hattori did not object.

"In this world, the existence of many people is piled up by these pieces of information." Taking out the mobile phone belonging to "Kudo Shinichi", and freezing the screen on the email communication interface with Mao Lilan, Edogawa flattened the mobile phone. Put it on the table, "Let her know that I still exist...isn't that enough?"

There was a slight stagnation in the air.

"Well, all in all, we are all here." As the atmosphere sank, Kuroba felt that he, who was not a detective, should say something to ease it. "If there is any special situation or if you get any new information, you can contact me at any time. What do you think?"

This is a meaningless compromise proposal—when the collective contradictions are consistent, it is natural to maintain dynamic contact with new information when encountering new situations. This is a fact that everyone understands.However, at a time when the topic was already somewhat frozen, it could indeed effectively divert attention.

After all, motion can push thinking forward.

"Kuroba is right." Edogawa Shenxia's shoulders were already a little tense, "We are still in the fog of ignorance, and we can't rush forward. So it's still..." He and the other people present The two exchanged glances.

"Take one step at a time."

That day they parted at an intersection near the block where the cafe was located.Edogawa was going to send Hattori to the station, and after Jane answered goodbye, they walked in the opposite direction to Kuroba who was rushing home.

"Let me tell you, Kudo." In the swaying carriage, Hattori pulled the ring and looked at Edogawa beside him, "I'm not as familiar with Kuroba as you are, but I always have a feeling..."

When the tram arrived at the station, the door opened, and there was a short period of silence in the carriage after it stopped, allowing Edogawa to clearly hear the voice of the companion who had not known him for a long time.

"Kuroba... is he hiding something?"

Edogawa had no immediate comment.He didn't reply until the tram started to move again.

"……Why do you say that?"

"In terms of 'helping you', he has always been very active." Hattori's gaze shifted to the electric poles passing by outside the car window, "As an outsider, there is no need for him to do this step."

"Aren't you the same?" Edogawa raised his head and gave him a blank look, "To be honest, I didn't intend to involve you in the beginning."

"It's not the same," Hattori shook his head, his tone didn't sound like a joke, "Even if it's me, I still know when to say 'no'."

"Kuroba also—"

"I don't think he knows."

"……Aha?"

"Although this is just my personal opinion," Hattori turned his gaze back out of the car window, "If it wasn't for hiding something, he probably wouldn't have acted so proactively."

"I think you think too much."

"Don't you think so?"

The running tram and the reverse carriage passed by in an instant, and the whistling sound filled all the hearing.

"...I don't think so." The tram arrived again, Edogawa walked towards the door, and Hattori followed. "I'm not that familiar with Kuroba. Based on the information I have now, it's still too early to make any inferences."

If the preconditions are not complete, the reasoning cannot be carried out.If possible, it is best not to even formulate propositions.

If you don't know anything, you won't notice anything.