Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Three years ago, shortly after Akimitsu Aoyagi returned to the United States from Japan, he was sent undercover by the FBI; a year and a half later, he had obtained enough intelligence that the FBI successfully destroyed most of the zoo.

"Actually, I don't spend much time inside. Most of the time I'm outside. They send me to work as an informant for some wealthy people, to steal maps and security arrangements for villas or exhibitions."

"Sindora Corporation is the one where I spent the second longest time..."

Aoyagi Akira usually infiltrated the organization as a bodyguard. He was very approachable, and within a few days, he could quickly become familiar with his employers and all his colleagues.

On one occasion, he went to the HR department to retrieve some documents for Chairman Sindora and happened to see a young man who had come for a job interview standing outside the door, hesitating to go in. Out of his duty as a bodyguard, he went up to ask him what was wrong.

"Is that Mr. Daniel Bisignano?" Conan Edogawa asked.

“Yes,” Aoyagi Akimitsu replied. “He and his friend developed a game together during their university years. After it was released on the platform, it sold 50,000 copies and had a high approval rating. At that time, he was already a well-known game producer in the industry.”

Conan Edogawa asked, puzzled, "That's a pretty good score, so why is he afraid to go in?"

"Because his family, his father, didn't want him to go down this path."

Aoyagi Akimitsu said in a low voice, "Mr. Bisignano is a diplomat, and he hopes his son will be like him. In his view, making games is a waste of time. It's fine to play around with it in college, but after graduation, he has to follow the career plan he has arranged for him."

"Before applying to Sindora, Daniel had actually received offers from several game companies, but he was turned down. Mr. Bisignano may have done something else to make Daniel actively seek out other companies after he lost those opportunities, but he was rejected by them all."

“Sindora was his last chance. He told me during the job interview that if Sindora didn’t accept him, he would have to go home and obey his father’s arrangements from now on.”

Conan Edogawa remained silent for a few seconds.

His parents were open-minded and allowed him to do what he liked, but he met all sorts of people on his path as a detective, including some who were extremely strict with their children.

Suddenly, he realized something: "So you helped him, right?"

Conan Edogawa remembers clearly that Akimitsu Aoyagi once said he liked music, but in the end he did not pursue a career in music. Instead, he studied law first and then joined the FBI.

"Correct."

Sure enough, Aoyagi Akihiro nodded: "Seeing him reminded me of myself, so I said a few nice words to the supervisor—of course, he was also competent enough—and he successfully got the job and moved out immediately afterward."

Conan Edogawa breathed a sigh of relief, then muttered under his breath, "But Mr. Aoyagi, you were an undercover agent back then, weren't you? How come you had the time to meddle in things outside of your mission?"

Aoyagi Akimitsu smiled and said, "That's what an undercover agent is supposed to do. You say and do what you're supposed to do. An ordinary bodyguard wouldn't hesitate to help someone in trouble."

"Mr. Bisignano took office as ambassador to Japan a year ago. Didn't he happen to run into his father during his visit to Japan this time?"

Aoyagi Akimitsu didn't answer directly this time, but turned his head and looked into the distance through the crowd.

“Not only that,” he said. “Perhaps the ambassador will come personally to find someone, bringing discord to this otherwise wonderful exhibition.”

As he said this, he took out his phone, seemingly unsure who he wanted to message.

Conan Edogawa didn't pay close attention to Aoyagi Akimitsu's tone, but seemed to be thinking: "Strange, since Mr. Daniel knows that his father is in Japan now, and he hates him so much, why did he still come?"

"I just asked about that too, and he said it was to find someone."

"Find someone?"

“A game systems engineer, Itakura Taku.” Aoyagi Akimitsu turned his gaze back to the person in front of him: “He worked at Syndora a few years ago, then returned to Japan and joined Mantendo Corporation.”

"Daniel is currently in charge of the 'Cocoon' project. While organizing the existing materials, he became very interested in a software left behind by Itakura Taku and wanted to invite him back to continue the development. Unfortunately, he just asked the president and was told that Mr. Itakura has resigned again."

Conan Edogawa's curiosity was piqued.

What software?

The surrounding noise was deafening; game sound effects, footsteps, and chatter mingled together. It was because of this noisy environment that their previous conversation had gone unnoticed.

Even in such an environment, Conan Edogawa heard Aoyagi Akimitsu's voice, every single word of which reached his ears.

"—Do you want to communicate with the dead again?"

……

Five minutes later, Conan Edogawa left the exhibition hall.

He wasn't really a child. When he said he was thirsty and wanted to buy a drink, Aoyagi Akimitsu let him come out on his own and even asked him to bring back a can of Coke.

Conan Edogawa looked around and noticed two vending machines in the corridor next to the luggage storage area, with several people buying drinks in front of them. He then walked over there.

There were still several people ahead of him in line. While waiting, he took out his phone and casually searched for the ambassador. Such high-ranking diplomats usually have some information on their official websites.

The page popped up quickly, and Conan Edogawa scrolled down. When he saw a certain title, his gaze suddenly stopped.

A shooting at a U.S. school left 22 people dead; the gunman died from his own gunshot wound. The son of a high-ranking diplomat was among the victims.

22 people died.

Conan Edogawa immediately recalled the shooting incident caused by Anisette, a member of the organization, that Ai Haibara had mentioned to him not long ago.

The number of people matches up. There are indeed many shootings in the United States, but it is not common for the death toll to exceed ten... Could it be the same incident?
His heart skipped a beat, and he focused all his attention on the screen, carefully reading the entire report.

He didn't notice the people in front of him who had finished buying their drinks and were turning to leave. They were chatting and laughing, not looking ahead, and he, with his head down, wasn't looking either, and the two bumped into each other.

The short and weak Conan Edogawa was knocked backward, but he didn't fall to the ground—someone happened to pass by behind him at that moment, and he fell backward, bumping right into the other person's leg.

The man was like a pine tree deeply rooted in the ground; even after being suddenly bumped, he didn't sway at all and reached out to steady him, saying, "Be careful."

Conan Edogawa regained his balance and adjusted his glasses: "I'm sorry, thank you..."

He looked up, intending to thank the kind person who had helped him, but when he saw the person's face clearly, he was stunned.

A pair of reddish-brown eyes stared at him, calm and still, and he could even see his own reflection in them.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

I have an exam next Saturday, so there will be no updates on weekdays. (End of Chapter)