Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 176 The Magician's Curtain Falls
"Miss Yumi!"

The hotel seemed to be paused like a movie, and even Inspector Megure, a police officer, couldn't react immediately.

"Oh..."

Yu Hai, trapped under the statue, had bloodshot eyes and was spitting out blood. Her face still showed a trace of anger and disbelief, as if she did not understand what had happened.

The crowd was so shocked by the bloody scene that they were speechless.

Although both are deaths, Yuumi's death was more horrifying than Yurama's.

"She...she's dead..."

"Was this also done by the Hell Puppet Master?"

The clown, Sakonji, trembled violently, as if he could already see his own end.

He seemed to have spoken a little too loudly just now...

"It must have been an accident." Megure stepped forward to examine the body with a furrowed brow.

Thick blood spread along the floor, and Gao Yuanyao carefully followed behind Megure and the others to examine the corpse.

The beautiful woman was stabbed in the neck and then struck by the statue, so she died almost instantly and had no chance of survival.

Her voluptuous body was draped in a blood-stained nightgown, and the sensual glimpse of her neckline, set against the backdrop of blood, only evoked fear.

Gao Yuanyao stepped on something with her shoe and looked down to find a glass marble that had rolled into a corner.

Some vague, blurry images flashed through my mind.

Guests rushing to the theater to see a magic show, a playful child dropping a marble, a statue knocked over and then put back up, a decorative sword being put back...

"call!"

When I came to my senses, the surroundings were noisy again, with screams mixed with faint sobs and the shouts of the police.

Before the scene was properly cleared, all personnel involved in the case were still required to wait in the manager's office.

“Mr. Kirishima,” the apprentice magician reminded him, “everyone’s gone to the manager’s office…are you alright?”

Gao Yuanyao looked around as if she had just come back to her senses, then quickly lowered her head to hide her expression.

They are ordinary scenes of daily life, but when put together, they become terrifying upon closer examination.

It's not a coincidence that seems like a coincidence.

Murder without a killer...

Does the Grim Reaper really exist in this world?

Gao Yuanyao pushed up her glasses with one finger.

After calming down, I was surprisingly able to accept it; in fact, it's normal for death to exist.

That makes it even more interesting.

But that person...

Takato Yoichi observed Hattori Heiji again in deep thought, subconsciously putting his hand into his pocket. His face stiffened for a moment, and then his fingers pulled out a folded piece of paper that recorded magic tricks.

It looked like it had been torn from a notebook, and the handwriting was exactly the same as the notes his mother, Reiko Chikamiya, had left him.

Additional magic?
Gao Yuanyao unfolded the folded paper by the aisle.

His mother was Reiko Chikamiya, who possessed perfect magical talent, and the Magic Notebook was actually a gift prepared for his 18th birthday.

It was originally in his hands, and the magic on it only went up to the living puppet.

After watching the new magic trick, Gao Yuanyao's eyes widened in shock.

With his skill in magic, he could see through the trap of the new magic trick at a glance, but at this moment he didn't care about anything else.

Someone managed to slip something into his pocket silently, without him even noticing...

Gao Yuanyao clenched the paper, then suddenly noticed the chat room address added at the end of the magic trick. He paused, then folded the paper again and stuffed it back into his pocket.

Agent of Death?

It seems that this Grim Reaper has some limitations and needs one or more assistants.

They didn't even ask for his opinion...

He truly is the aloof and powerful Grim Reaper.

If he wasn't selected, he would most likely die unexpectedly in the end, right?

Gao Yuanyao turned around and looked at Xi Hai's body, which was covered by a white cloth.

This is both a demonstration of the Grim Reaper's power to him and a warning to him.

However, he didn't really care that much.

He has never been interested in death and always felt that life was too boring. It's hard to say what he would have become if he hadn't had such a deep love for magic.

His mother's disciples could be said to have severed his only ties.

Being an agent of the Grim Reaper in the future would be a good choice.

"Da da!"

Gao Yuanyao straightened his back and walked towards the manager's office, a far cry from his previous cowardly demeanor.

Even if he wants to leave, he should decide how he leaves.

The manager's office consisted of a desk and several large sofas.

Looking at the dwindling Fantasy Magic Troupe, Gao Mo couldn't help but think of the Magic Train journey to Hokkaido.

When the passengers were performing impromptu magic tricks, they probably never imagined things would turn out this way.

The Fantasy Magic Troupe is most likely to disband.

The story begins with the death of Reiko Chikamiya five years ago, and ends five years later in the same place...

Fortunately, he has basically accomplished all the objectives of his trip.

They found the Hell Puppet Master and confirmed that the invitation was just a false alarm. Takato Yoichi hadn't yet become a Death Agent and didn't know his true identity.

It was nothing more than a pointless farce orchestrated by Kidd.

Gao Mo ignored Shiratori Ninzaburo (Kid)'s probing gaze.

I wonder what this guy is thinking. Is it really necessary to care so much about "Kuroba Rokuro," whom he just met by chance?
He's just a thief, not a detective...

“Kido-kun,” Hattori Heiji asked in a low voice, “Kindaichi is here too, right? Isn’t he the Nagasaki manager? I knew the investigation request would be directed to you… it must have been Mr. Kindaichi who sent you!”

"Well."

Gao Mo didn't know how to respond.

He hadn't received any commissions at the firm.

"So how far has he gotten in his investigation?" Hattori Heiji's eyes blazed with competitive spirit again, as if trying to salvage his pitiful pride. "As expected of Kindaichi-sensei, he actually thought of starting with a case from five years ago..."

"I have a feeling that we're not far from uncovering the Hell Puppet Master's identity!"

"..." Gao Mo remained silent.

Just then, Gao Yuanyao arrived at the manager's office.

It was the same face, but the feeling it gave was completely different—it was as if he had suddenly transformed from a timid and fearful student into a cold-faced teacher who inspired fear.

It seems they've seen the note he passed over with his magic hand and believe in his existence as "Death."

The best proof is the change in its projected text.

The original goal of "performing the greatest magic show of one's life" has been changed to "becoming an agent of death" and "uncovering the secrets of death".

He's definitely a dangerous guy; he can't be controlled easily.

Fortunately, he was just planting a nail and wouldn't have much contact with this guy.

The reason for providing the chat room address is that the Death Shadow account was not reclaimed after the incident; only all traces were cleared, so it can still be used as an online alias.

Considering the need to maintain contact with Takato Yoichi, he changed his codename and had Ai create a new private chat room.

The new codename is also being managed by Ai, named "Shadow" from "Shadow of Death".

Kirishima?

The clown, Sakonji, glanced at Takato Yoichi with surprise.

"You've come at the right time. Help me pack my things. I can't stand this awful place anymore. I'm leaving with the police tomorrow."

"Mr. Sakonji..."

The apprentice magician tried to speak but was interrupted by Sakonji's disgust.

Sakonji was particularly wary of the remaining two magicians.

"You two should find another way out. I don't want to be with someone who might be a Hell Puppet Master... Besides, that magic notebook is indeed missing. Whether you did it or not, this is the end of it."

"You've got it wrong, Sakonji."

Gao Yuanyao suddenly took off his glasses and casually tossed them away as a cluster of rose petals.

"I am the Hell Puppet Master you are looking for."

"Huh?" Sakonji seemed to have heard a joke. "How could that be? Don't be ridiculous, Kirishima. The reason I made you manager was because you didn't have any talent for magic, right? The Hell Puppet Master can perform a complete puppet show..."

"It feels really strange to be told by someone like you that I have no talent for magic."

Gao Yuanyao smiled with a hint of mockery.

"Don't you understand? I joined your magic troupe to investigate the cause of Reiko Chikamiya's death. The reason I became the manager is to make the investigation easier... I have the blood of the peerless genius magician Reiko Chikamiya flowing in my veins, how could I possibly not have magical talent?"

Sakonji stared in disbelief, his mouth agape: "What's your relationship with Chikamiya-sensei? I've never heard of Chikamiya-sensei having a child..."

“Of course you haven’t heard of this. Even I only found out about it six years ago. Although I had a vague feeling from the first time I met her when I was a child that she was my real mother.”

Gao Yuanyao's calm gaze concealed a murderous intent.

"I planned to reunite with her as a top-tier magician, so I studied magic in Italy. However, a year later, I learned of her death. Two years ago, on my 18th birthday, I received the magic notebook she had prepared for me, but..."

"When I returned to Japan, I discovered that the magic tricks performed by your disciples were exactly the same as those in the notes. All the so-called original magic tricks were plagiarism!"

Sakonji retreated in terror: "Officer, arrest this guy right now!"

Takato Yoichi chuckled lightly, ignoring Sakonji's shouts, and calmly faced Inspector Megure's stern face: "I guess I can't leave today? Can I rest for the night?"

“I don’t understand,” Hattori Heiji had never encountered such an unpredictable criminal before. “Why did you suddenly reveal your identity? You probably also want to kill Mr. Sakonji, right?”

“That’s right, Sakonji is also my target, but someone has seen through my death magic.”

Takato Yoichi looked at Hattori meaningfully.

"Once a magician's magic trick is seen through by the audience, he must simply pull down the curtain... This is also a lesson my mother taught me."

"Who is it?" Hattori Heiji's forehead twitched.

He still had several mysteries to solve, and then someone went straight to the murderer?
Judging from Gao Yuanyao's appearance, he must have met that person in private.

"Good luck, Detective Gao Yuanyao left the manager's office with a riddle-like smile."

Although it was considered a surrender, just to be on the safe side, Inspector Megure still handcuffed him and temporarily locked him in a hotel room until the train arrived the next day.

"Shiratori, I'm leaving this to you."

"Ha ha!"

Sakonji let out a long breath, and after confirming that Takato Yoichi wasn't playing a trick, he burst out laughing.

"So he surrendered himself just because his magic trick was exposed? What a hellish puppeteer he is... Now I can finally get a good night's sleep! Hahaha!"

As he spoke, Sakonji regained his confident demeanor.

"Everyone, I'm planning to hold a special magic show in Tokyo in a month, as a farewell to the Fantasy Magic Troupe. If you have time, you're all welcome to come and support me. I'll be performing the last magic trick left by Mr. Chikamiya."

(End of this chapter)