Chapter 12: Conan: You Two Are Accomplices, Aren't You?

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Chi Feichi switched back to his original SIM card and saw over fifty unread messages. More than forty were from Fukuyama Akira, ranging from asking where he was to various motivational quotes. One was from Kitagawa Anda, saying she had received the gift and reminding him to stay safe. The remaining message was from his stepfather, containing only one sentence: “Call me back.”

“Father.”

“Did you go to Osaka?”

“Yes.”

“The person who will pick you up from the hospital has already been arranged. Since you couldn’t be reached these past days, I told him to wait until I contact you again. When do you plan to be discharged?”

“As soon as possible.”

“Then return to the hospital now; he will come by tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

The communication remained straightforward and clear. Chi Feichi was satisfied with the outcome; at least his wandering around hadn’t delayed his discharge. If he could leave the hospital tomorrow, Feichi could stay at home for a day first. Otherwise, bringing the snake back to the hospital would be quite troublesome.

In the room, Feichi was still coiled atop the pillow. Snakes don’t have eyelids, so it was impossible to tell if he was asleep, but absolutely motionless, he must have been. Chi Feichi poked him gently. “Feichi, you stay home alone today. I’ll come back for you tomorrow.”

Feichi lazily flicked his tongue and didn’t move an inch. “Got it…”

He looked nothing like the energetic snake from last night. The red-bellied snake was known to curl up and stay still during the day, slow-moving unless provoked, and was more active at night.

Only now did Chi Feichi confirm that Feichi was indeed a red-bellied snake, sighing quietly. “I prepared fresh water for you, Shimizu. Don’t sneakily eat the hamster.”

Feichi: “Got it…”

Chi Feichi thought for a moment. Snakes probably wouldn’t wreck the place like a husky, so no further warnings were necessary.

He left and headed back to the hospital.

…

That night, at Dr. Agasa’s house.

Conan was startled by Ai Haibara’s words on the way and hurried over, tiptoeing carefully and entering quietly as if putting on a show, only to find Dr. Agasa perfectly fine.

Ai Haibara entered calmly. “I’m back.”

“Welcome back, Ai!” Dr. Agasa greeted her with a smile. “How was school?”

Ai went straight to the table and set her backpack down. “It was quite enjoyable.”

Conan was dumbfounded and then speechless. “So I was tricked by this little brat…”

“That’s because you forgot my address,” Dr. Agasa chuckled. “You only have yourself to blame.”

“How would I know?” Conan retorted. “I’ve never sent anything here before. You live next door, and I haven’t even sent a New Year’s card…”

“Didn’t she tell you? She defected from the organization that shrunk you… oh, right, the package!” Dr. Agasa slapped his forehead and turned to fetch a parcel. “Ai, there’s a delivery for you today. I’ve already received it on your behalf!”

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“Mine?” Ai asked, puzzled.

“The address was filled in as here, but the recipient is you,” Dr. Agasa was also confused. “You and I chose your name together just yesterday, and you’ve been at school all day. I don’t know how a package ended up here today… I was planning to wait for you to return and check. If it was sent by mistake, we’d contact the sender and return it. The shipping label has their phone number.”

Ai took the package and glanced at it. “It was sent from Osaka. When the goods were dispatched, we hadn’t decided on the name ‘Ai Haibara’ yet. It’s probably a mistake, maybe intended for another ‘Ai’ somewhere else, and it just happened to arrive here.”

If it was for ‘Ai Haibara,’ that might not be a coincidence, but ‘Ai’ is a common name…

Dr. Agasa was also baffled but certain only the two of them were present last night. “I’ll contact them…”

“Wait! Doctor, shouldn’t you first tell me what exactly happened with that organization?!” Conan, who had been left on the sidelines, finally snapped, internally frantic.

This involved those dangerous people who caused him to shrink!

And Dr. Agasa only mentioned it briefly, then spent half the time discussing the package issue?

That was far too carefree!

Dr. Agasa paused the call and first explained the situation to Conan. Unlike when Ai collapsed in front of the Kudo household, she was now brought here by someone else, and even forced through threats.

At first, Dr. Agasa was startled, but then Ai shared her story and they even chose a name together…

He recounted everything candidly.

Ai then spoke about her investigations at the Kudo residence and her rough defection from the organization.

“...After I escaped, I had nowhere to go. My only hope... Kudo Shinichi, it’s only you.”

Conan listened gravely.

Ai continued, “But it started raining, and I met that guy on the road. I began running a fever again. He took me back and cared for me all afternoon. Later, I asked him to drop me off at your door. I think since we’re in the same situation now, you must understand what’s happened to me…”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Conan roared. “You, who invented those deadly drugs—how am I supposed to understand you?!”

Ai was stunned, staring at Conan in silence.

Dr. Agasa wiped his brow; that comment was a bit harsh. He quickly stepped in. “Shinichi…”

“Have you figured it out?” Conan continued to question Ai. “Do you even know how many people your drugs have hurt?!”

Ai lowered her gaze, her expression calm. “Believe it or not, I was forced into this. I never intended to create poisons in the first place…”

The initial conversation was rocky.

Dr. Agasa smoothed things over by bringing up the antidote, which shifted their focus.

In the end, Dr. Agasa drove both of them to Professor Hirota’s house to retrieve the data disk.

On the drive to Shizuoka, Dr. Agasa muttered, “It’s 150 kilometers to Shizuoka. Three hours—is that enough time?”

“Doctor...” Conan, sitting in the passenger seat, lowered his voice.

Dr. Agasa turned, puzzled.

“Don’t underestimate that girl,” Conan said.

Dr. Agasa glanced at Ai in the back seat and also lowered his voice. “You mean Ai?”

“Yes. Although she says she defected from the organization,” Conan whispered, “she won’t tell us her real name or age. When asked about her role in the organization, she dodges the question. What she said earlier might just be a lie to deceive us.”

Dr. Agasa said, “I don’t think so…”

“Also, the name Masaki Hirota sounds familiar,” Conan stroked his chin. “And the man who brought her here might be her accomplice. Didn’t you say he was a young man dressed in black with a cold expression?”

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Ai had been pretending not to hear Conan and Dr. Agasa whispering, but upon hearing this, she couldn’t help but say, “He’s not.”

Conan was caught off guard that his secret talk was overheard and felt slightly embarrassed.

“If he were part of the organization, even if he didn’t know my identity when he helped me, he’d have found out about my defection by now. He would have started investigating or come straight here to Dr. Agasa,” Ai explained. “After all, he knows where I am. He wouldn’t just sit still. Besides, I don’t think he’s an enemy.”

Conan ignored her last comment but had to admit the analysis made sense.

“Never thought the great detective would talk behind someone’s back,” Ai said calmly. “But suspicion is very much a detective’s trait.”

Conan felt guilty and confessed, “It’s just normal suspicion. You said you didn’t tell him your identity or ask about him, and you don’t even know his name. Do you think that’s normal?”

“No, but it’s the truth,” Ai replied without changing expression.

Conan: “...”

Finding a drenched little girl on the street, wouldn’t anyone ask about her name, where she lived, or why she was alone?

And if someone helped you in a tough spot, wouldn’t you ask their name?

They had spent some time together—how could they not know each other’s names?

Even liars don’t lie that blatantly!

“Cough,” Dr. Agasa interrupted to ease the mood. “Almost forgot, I was going to call the sender of the misdelivered package. Shinichi, I need to drive, so I can’t make the call. Can you do it for me? The package is in the back seat of the car. Ai can help by looking up the sender’s phone number. If it needs to be returned, you can drop it off at the courier office on your way.”

“Okay.” Conan found the atmosphere too tense and gladly took the cue, pulling out his phone.

Ai didn’t want to make things difficult for Dr. Agasa either, took the package, and read out the number.

Dr. Agasa sighed in relief. He was really worried about these two getting along well.

Conan dialed the number. After a few rings, a woman answered.

“Hello, may I ask if you are looking for Mr. Chi?”

Mr. Chi?

Conan didn’t know the phone number’s owner but explained, “We received this number as the sender of a package, but it seems the package was sent to the wrong address.”

The woman sounded surprised to hear a child’s voice. “Okay, please hold on a moment. I’ll let Mr. Chi speak with you.”

The sound of hurried footsteps followed.

When the nurse arrived at Fukuyama Akira’s office, Chi Feichi had already cooperated with the tests and was boredly listening to Akira’s motivational monologue.

“Mr. Chi, you have a phone call.”

Chi Feichi immediately looked up and turned.

The nurse met his indifferent purple eyes, hesitated, then quietly handed over the phone. “It’s a little boy on the line. He said you sent the package to the wrong address…”

Chi Feichi took the phone. This was why he disliked psychiatric hospitals…

Phones, computers, and other electronic devices were kept as soon as one entered the hospital. Although doctors and nurses wouldn’t casually look through the contents out of professional ethics, one felt like being trapped in a transparent cage, every move closely watched.

“Hello, I’m Chi Feichi.”

“Hello, Mr. Chi,” Conan replied, adopting a childlike tone to sound cute upon hearing the voice on the other end. “You have a package sent from Osaka to 2-22 Beika Town, Tokyo, but it seems it was sent to the wrong address…”