Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 149 The Mage's Disciple
"Yuzo, how can you let Ayako do all the work by herself? Hurry up and help!" Tomizawa Tetsuji shouted at his son.

"I'll do it, I'll do it." Sonoko chimed in, helping out.

"There's still chicken soup in the kitchen to bring out. Be careful, it's hot, don't spill it..."

Lunch was arranged by Ayako Suzuki, and the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.

Perhaps considering the presence of outsiders, Tomizawa Tetsuji refrained from scolding his son and was extremely satisfied with his future daughter-in-law.

When facing Gao Mo, a guest, she seemed to assume the role of the hostess, even more enthusiastic than Ayako: "This must be Sonoko's friend, right? Why don't you introduce him to me?"

“He’s Mr. Kido, who helped Ayako before,” Tomizawa Yuzo explained. “He runs a detective agency in Tokyo and has recently become quite famous in that circle…”

"A detective?" Tomizawa Tetsuji's smile froze slightly, and his attitude became much colder.

"Hello."

Gao Mo didn't pay much attention, but glanced thoughtfully at Tomizawa Tetsuji.

On the surface, he is just an ordinary middle-aged man, but his words and actions reveal his snobbishness.

If the daughter-in-law weren't the Suzuki family's daughter, she probably would have been a completely different person long ago.

Moreover, judging from her attitude towards her three sons...

Could it be that he died at the hands of his own son?
It's really possible.

This world is never short of bizarre motives.

The role he was about to play was one where he was dragged into a murderous situation simply by making a single statement.

[Professional Achievement: Domoto Hajime, 10 stars]

[Storage Pool: 40 Stars]

A series of projected texts interrupted Gao Mo's train of thought.

The influence of the "Domoto Ichi" pseudonym has spread, adding another wave of professional achievement stars.

The actor has reached the required number of stars to advance to level 4, and now all that's left is to achieve an excellent performance.

Gao Mo turned his attention to the projected notes, no longer focusing on Tomizawa Tetsuji.

No matter how this tycoon dies, it has nothing to do with him.

He can't just watch for the other person to get into trouble one day.

……

Had lunch.

Tomizawa Tetsuji hurriedly ran back to the villa next door, saying he was going back to watch his favorite TV program.

Tomizawa Yuzo stayed behind, clearing the table with Gao Mo while inquiring with great interest about the bandaged man incident at the manor.

"Sonoko refuses to tell you anything in detail, so what exactly happened? Did you really fall from the sky and save Sonoko?"

"..."

"Crash!"

kitchen.

Sonoko was helping her older sister wash the dishes when she heard shouts outside. She immediately ran back to the dining room.

"Brother Xiong, didn't I tell you not to ask? If you keep this up, I'm taking my sister back with me!"

"Sorry, sorry," Yuzo Tomizawa scratched his head sheepishly, "It's because I've recently become particularly interested in detective work."

"Never mind him, Kido-kun, come with me first."

Sonoko pulled Gao Mo upstairs without even taking off her apron, and Ai, who was drinking tea by the window, followed quietly.

"I've been preparing for a week, this is sure to surprise you!"

"what?"

Gao Mo was completely baffled by this little girl.

I couldn't help but recall the text information I had previously gleaned—[Find an opportunity to be alone with Kido-san and force myself on him].

It shouldn’t be…right?

How could this guy possibly have the guts?

"look at this!"

Sonoko ran into the bedroom with a little smugness and took out a white handkerchief.

"Hehe, first up is this plain white handkerchief. Look closely, it's completely ordinary with no hidden mechanisms..."

Gao Mo's cheek twitched.

Good guy.

So that's what I showed him.

"Are you going to perform magic?"

“Yes,” Sonoko said, blushing slightly and a little nervous. “There’s been a magic craze lately, hasn’t there? I saw a magic show on the Queen Elizabeth a few days ago, and I found it very interesting. I even asked a magician named Sanada for advice, and he said I have a lot of talent for magic!” “Sanada Ichizo?” Gao Mo had also recently learned about the magic circle and had collected a lot of information out of professional habit.

You wouldn't believe it until you look it up: the popularity of magic in this world is no less than that of mystery solving.

The magic world is even more prosperous than the detective world, with a diverse range of talents and famous magicians everywhere.

Sanada Ichizo is a typical example of this; he studied under Tsukumo Motoyasu, and his entire family consists of top-notch magicians.

"Yes, yes, it's Sanada Ichizo, who's really popular right now. I heard he's just as good as Kaito Kid."

Sonoko nodded happily, then realized what she had done and quickly changed the subject.

"Watch my performance first, Kido-kun!"

"Hmm, what comes after the white handkerchief?"

"Then there was a red line and a silver ring."

Yuanzi cleared his throat and continued his performance with an air of authority.

"Hmph, sir, would you please tie a knot right in the middle of this line?"

"..." Gao Mo turned his head and glanced at Xiao Ai, who was leaning against the corridor.

He already knew what Sonoko wanted to perform.

The most common basic magic tricks on TV are something that ordinary people can perform, let alone his level 3 magic trick.

"What's wrong, Kido-kun?"

"Nothing?" Gao Mo said with a wry smile as he tied a knot in the red thread.

“And then,” Sonoko said happily, manipulating the red thread, “place this knot in your palm, then put the ring next to the red thread, and then cover it with a handkerchief… The demon lurking in the handkerchief has now slipped into my ring, and as long as I chant the spell, the red thread will pass through the ring…”

Gao Mo felt a tickle in his palm, and then he felt Sonoko's soft little hand slip into his handkerchief.

"what?"

Sonoko's face suddenly froze. Confused, she peeled back her handkerchief and discovered that the ring that should have been in Gao Mo's palm had vanished without a trace, and she had no idea where it had gone.

Strange, odd.

"What happened? Where's my ring? It was just here!" Sonoko panicked, scratching her head and looking around frantically. "It was fine during practice..."

"Isn't the ring right here?" Gao Mo opened his palm again.

"what?"

Sonoko rubbed her eyes and, sure enough, saw that the ring and the red thread knot were still in their original state.

Dazzled?
"Ugh~ This is really strange... I'll try again..."

"What's so interesting about this magic trick?" Ai crossed her arms and complained. "Don't they often teach this kind of magic trick on TV? You're going to stuff the knot on the red thread into the ring and pull the thread out with your thumb, right?"

There's no demon at all. If you can make the red thread pass through the ring from a distance, that's what's impressive.

“You’re still so annoying,” Sonoko suddenly lost interest in continuing the performance, her eyelids drooping as she met Ai’s gaze. “I practiced for so long…”

"It's alright, you've already done a great job." Gao Mo returned the red thread and ring to Yuanzi.

"right?"

The garden was radiant.

"Actually, there's a gathering in the magic enthusiast chat room I joined recently, and this is the magic trick I'm planning to perform... Kido-kun, would you like to come with me?"

"Chat room?"

"This is it."

Sonoko opened her phone and logged into her account, "The Mage's Disciple".

“We’re all magic enthusiasts who get along well, but I was too scared to go to the party alone, so I asked if I could bring my girlfriend… because I pretended to be a man online, and when we met offline, Kido-san said he was a magician’s apprentice.”

“This…” Gao Mo opened his mouth slightly.

Sonoko was also a member of the chat room, and like him, she received an invitation to an offline gathering.

"Just consider it a commission, the commission fee is 200 million."

Yuanzi stared at Gao Mo with teary eyes.

"Please, Kido-kun!"

200……

Gao Mo glanced at Xiao Ai, who had turned her head away, with a heavy heart.

He wanted to take the call, but he was simply too busy.

Compared to 200 million, professional acting is more important.

He will definitely prepare another identity to attend the party.

(End of this chapter)