Multiple choice system: Conan World

Haibara Ai originally came to pick up Conan with Dr. Agasa. She wanted to ask what had happened today and why Sera Masumi appeared here.

However, since Akikawa Kyousuke also wanted to return with them, Haibara Ai naturally couldn't ask her questions.

Dr. Agasa was responsible for driving, while Haibara Ai sat in the passenger seat.

Naturally, the backseat was reserved for Akikawa Kyousuke and Conan.

Conan invited Akikawa Kyousuke out of courtesy, but deep down, he felt a little sorry for him.

Although Conan didn't think Akikawa Kyousuke's misfortune had anything to do with him, this morning, after noticing the bag with the smell of a corpse, Conan had used Akikawa Kyousuke to find the body.

As a result, the poor artist, who had already been under house arrest by his mother, ended up witnessing the horrifying sight of a dismembered body and even vomited from the shock.

What happened this time was undeniable.

In fact, Akikawa Kyousuke had been dragged into Conan's case.

---

Originally, Conan thought that Akikawa Kyousuke and he would sit together in the back.

But unexpectedly, Haibara Ai followed as well.

Akikawa Kyousuke, sitting in the far back, didn't say a word and kept staring at his phone.

Conan, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable with the awkward silence.

This uncomfortable silence lasted the entire way.

---

When they arrived at the entrance of Kosen-an and Akikawa Kyousuke was about to get out of the car, Conan suddenly spoke:

"Thank you for today, Akikawa-san."

"Huh?"

Akikawa Kyousuke turned back, confused.

"Thanks for helping us call the police and for reminding us that Kosen-an is sacred ground for programmers."

"Wasn't it you, Conan-kun, who negotiated with the police?"

Akikawa Kyousuke's expression was one of genuine confusion.

"And what's this about a 'sacred ground for programmers'? Where's the gratitude in that?"

---

Conan looked at Akikawa Kyousuke's bewildered and puzzled face and suddenly put a hand to his forehead.

He immediately regretted talking too much to Akikawa Kyousuke. He should have just let him leave directly.

"Uh… anyway, thanks."

"Sure."

Akikawa Kyousuke agreed, still looking perplexed, before stepping out of the car and heading back to the hot spring inn.

Dr. Agasa started the car and parked it in Kosen-an's lot.

---

"Shinichi, what happened?"

Dr. Agasa, who was driving, glanced at Conan through the rearview mirror and asked loudly.

"There was a dismemberment case at the hot spring hotel this morning," Conan said, leaving out any details about the organization to keep Haibara Ai from worrying.

"So, that artist got involved in another case, didn't he?"

Haibara Ai curled her lips into a slight smirk, looking at Conan knowingly.

Conan immediately felt embarrassed, as Haibara Ai had seen through him at a glance.

"Who would've thought Akikawa-san would head to the hot springs at five in the morning?"

"And the dismembered body was thrown into the hot spring pool."

"There weren't any other adults around at the time, so I had no choice but to involve him," Conan explained.

---

"So, Kudo-kun, did you remind Akikawa-san and ask him to tell you the truth?"

The moment Conan heard Haibara Ai mention this, his expression turned into one of pained regret.

"Oh, don't even bring it up."

"That Akikawa-san… he's even worse than Sonoko…"

As soon as Conan said this, he realized it wasn't right to speak ill of others behind their backs, so he quickly rephrased.

"Akikawa-san really isn't suited for reasoning. If Sera-san hadn't shown up out of nowhere, I don't even know how today's case would've turned out."

---

Conan softened his tone, but Dr. Agasa and Haibara Ai both understood from his words that Akikawa Kyousuke didn't seem particularly clever.

"Kudo-kun, why did Sera show up here?"

Haibara Ai pressed again.

"I have no idea why Sera-san came to Hakone. She said she saw a police car while passing by after finishing her work and decided to come over."

"Oh…"

Haibara Ai was clearly dissatisfied with Conan's answer but could also see he wasn't lying.

---

"I'll head up and call Genta and the others now. Afterward, you can head back to Tokyo."

"Huh? Shinichi, why aren't you coming back with us?"

Dr. Agasa asked.

"Well, the case here isn't over yet. I'll return with Sera-san tomorrow," Conan said as he jumped out of the car.

---

Conan called Genta, Ayumi, and the others before heading to Kunio Koizumi's room.

To his surprise, he found Sera Masumi using Koizumi's computer.

Conan was stunned. He was about to ask if using Kunio Koizumi's computer like this might get them discovered by the organization.

But before he could say anything, Sera Masumi spoke as if reading his mind:

"I've confirmed there are no cameras or monitors in the room."

"The computer only has tracking software, not monitoring software."

---

"Sera-san, your efficiency is impressive…"

Conan sighed helplessly before asking, "Sera-san, why did you come to Hakone this time?"

"Nothing special, just came for a walk."

"If it's nothing special, would Sera-san really stay up all night?" Conan questioned, looking directly at her.

---

He knew someone was secretly hiding in the hotel Sera Masumi stayed at in Tokyo.

Unless there were special circumstances, Sera Masumi would definitely return there.

"Sera-san, you arrived at Kosen-an early today and clearly packed a lot of things in your bag. It's obvious you stayed nearby last night."

"Don't casually ask about a girl's privacy."

"Got it."

When Conan heard Sera Masumi's response, he stopped pressing further.

---

"By the way, kid, can you tell me more about Taku Itakura?"

"There have been similar cases before."

Conan explained the case of Taku Itakura in full to Sera Masumi, including the involvement of Tequila, Vodka, Gin, and Vermouth from the organization.

"In other words, the organization has obtained a list of top software engineers in the industry and is forcing them to develop a specific program."

"The unexpected death of Taku Itakura, who was responsible for the core part of the software, hasn't stopped their plan."

"The organization must still be looking for other programmers to complete the software."

---

"This time, we encountered them by chance. But what about next time? According to Taku Itakura, this software concerns the fate of humanity—it cannot be allowed to be completed!"

Faced with Sera Masumi's question, Conan spread his hands helplessly, admitting he hadn't come up with a good solution.

He thought about possibly asking Amuro Tooru for specific details later.

---

Sera Masumi's pure thought was this:

They must take this opportunity to capture the murderer of Ryo Kawasaki and Ryoko Akikawa and then question him about the organization's purpose and foundation.

(End of Chapter)