In the Marvel Universe: I can summon items from all dimensions.

Chapter 112 The Riddler, awesome!

"Ah, it's already pretty good that a few FBI agents located overseas can make some arrangements with the help of local military bases. What you're talking about is a bit of an exaggeration."

Vermouth chuckled slightly exaggeratedly, "See, we've shown our sincerity. Hopefully, you won't suddenly pull out some strange magical artifact to kill us."

"If you wanted to kill me, why did you let me in?"

As Mason spoke, he strolled over to Paracelsus, pointed at him, and said, "This is my good friend. Since he's quite skilled in alchemy, you can call him Hohenheim."

Although Paracelsus had been released once before in the safe house, this was the first time he had met Conan and the others.

So, this is also a magician.

Before they arrived, they consulted Kuroba Toichi, who advised that if Mason's appearance matched his age, then the large amount of alchemical materials he purchased were probably not for his own use. Alchemists are highly specialized clerical workers who need to spend a huge amount of time reading ancient texts, conducting experiments, and concocting potions, and it is unlikely that they would have the energy to hone their combat skills, unless this young-looking guy was actually an extremely old man whose age was measured in centuries.

Conan and Shuichi Akai exchanged a glance, then the former spoke up: "Ahaha, Hohenheim—is this some kind of tribute?"

"It's hard to say. What if he really is that Paracelsus von Hohenheim?"

Conan: "————"

Mason made an unsettling joke in an ambiguous tone before speaking more seriously, "You see, I didn't intend to do anything bad. I even introduced my friends to you. Shouldn't that be considered a sign of sincerity?"

That's right.

Conan rubbed his forehead and sighed, then went straight to the point again: "So please tell us, what was your reason for making that phone call?"

"It's okay if I tell you the reasons."

Mason found a chair and sat down, then rested his chin on his hand and said leisurely, "But our positions are ultimately conflicting. For example—Edogawa, would you choose to kill someone when you have no other choice?"

"How is that possible?" Conan answered without even thinking.

Yeah, if you were to turn to the dark side, you'd definitely be able to snag a high-ranking position in Gotham, and even Batman would give you a thumbs up.

"Right?" Mason said, raising his head. "You have your principles, and those principles conflict with what I'm going to do, which makes it impossible for you to be my accomplice. If I tell you my reasons, you'll be forced to make a choice—I don't like forcing people."

"Please provide some useful information, thank you."

Vermouth interrupted Mason's rambling, squinting as she said, "None of you here are fools; beating around the bush would just be pointless."

"Is this information useful?"

Mason shrugged. "Of course I can't tell you—you're not going to come with me to attack Capitol after you hear it, are you?"

"Who knows?" Vermouth smiled with interest. "Putting aside our positions, I think this kind of thing is quite interesting."

At this moment, Shuichi Akai stood to the side, his head throbbing from the chaotic scene.

Unlike ordinary citizen Conan Edogawa, and unlike former gangster Vermouth, he came here with a specific stance.

Of course, as a Japanese man born in the UK and who joined the FBI, his stance is rather complex, and it's hard to say which side he's working for. But all things considered, he's probably closer to being a "partner of justice."

That's why he was able to barely keep his composure. His mindset was similar to when he was an undercover agent at the distillery. Even if he wanted to do something, he had to wait until he had gathered enough intelligence.

However, it was fortunate that it was him instead of someone like Amuro Tooru. If Furuya-san, a self-proclaimed "Japanese wolf warrior," had heard someone openly discussing a plan to overthrow the country's regime, it would have been an ultimate insult in another form—wasn't he supposed to be the country itself? So, rounding down, a coup plan that would harm national interests could be considered an "infringement."

There are cows! There are cows!

This was much harder than when I was undercover at the distillery.

In contrast, Shuichi Akai wasn't particularly sensitive to this. He just needed to figure out what the magician was planning to do. However, he was, after all, Japanese by blood—so the pistol at his waist was itching to kill the man who had uttered such shocking words right there and then.

Unfortunately, it's not advisable to fight him, because even if we did, it seems we couldn't kill him.

In short, calm down and find a time machine—no, I mean observe the situation.

"Let me tell you the truth."

Mason said, "The reason I'm openly announcing what I'm going to do in advance is to give you a heads-up, so you won't be too shocked by what's going to happen in a few days. In other words, it's to leave some room for each other. You don't want me to cause too much trouble without any warning, do you?"

"It sounds like the difference between immediate execution and probation."

Vermouth adopted a stern tone, saying in a somewhat sharp voice, "If you make a declaration in advance, aren't you afraid those Americans will request fire support from their homeland?"

"How do I apply?"

Mason turned to Shuichi Akai and laughed, "What kind of report can you write for your superiors about something like this? Saying a magician intends to launch a terrorist attack on a country's capital? Before I actually make a move, how are you supposed to assess my threat level? What kind of fire support should you request? Where should you deploy your defenses?"

"That's a really pointed question—"

Shuichi Akai chuckled awkwardly. Mason's words had hit the nail on the head, precisely the problem that had been troubling these FBI members for the past few days.

The same question remains: no matter how much America's lackey Japan is, it is still a sovereign developed country, and geographically too close to a certain unnamed Eastern power. Under these circumstances, even if the US military has several military bases directly on the Japanese mainland, it still needs a clear reason to send troops.

This isn't the Middle East or Latin America. It's one thing for the Pacific Fleet to randomly operate near the first island chain to annoy people, but to conduct military activities without a reliable reason is tantamount to handing a knife to China and Russia. It's a completely unprofitable business. How could capitalists possibly do that?

So for the past few days, several FBI agents have been worried sick—after all, Mason is not the kind of traditional armed reactionary organization with few guns and only one swordsman as manpower—and now there's an alchemist added to the mix. It's certainly possible to get the police involved if they say they're planning to commit crimes, but to mobilize the military to deal with them—you tell me, how are we supposed to write this report?

Yes, Shuichi Akai applied for a rapid response unit, but including logistics, it only had about thirty people, and they were temporarily brought in under the guise of the Japanese police for riot control. It might be enough to deal with criminals like the liquor company, but what if they were to face someone like Mason who was shrouded in mystery from beginning to end?

Shuichi Akai only hoped that if the worst-case scenario really happened, that the squad wouldn't be treated like a straw and easily cut down.

Some might argue that since Mason displayed superpowers that were practically immortal, wouldn't the US military want to capture him for research?

Of course they wanted to. A few days ago, when the FBI report was sent to the United States, it attracted a lot of attention. The US military base in Japan and Shuichi Akai and others also received orders to take down Mason. However, unlike the plots in many movies where the protagonist reveals his superpowers one day and a large number of troops rush to capture him the next, the orders given by the United States were not urgent. They were basically at the level of "you do your best to do it".

This is because supernatural forces in the Detective Conan universe are not particularly rare. Since ancient times, high-ranking officials of various countries have basically known that real magicians exist in this world. After thousands of years, there is nothing to be surprised about. There are quite a few magicians serving the governments of various countries, and research on magic has been ongoing.

However, magic in the Detective Conan universe isn't that powerful. Take Makoto Kyogoku as an example. Putting aside moral issues, in a close-quarters battle, he could basically crush all the magicians in the world. He could just charge in and kill them with a single punch.

Given the common perception that magicians are not very strong, even if Shuichi Akai and others truthfully wrote that "a magician is planning a big operation in Tokyo," they would most likely only receive symbolic firepower support, and they would have to do it secretly so that no one would find out. They would be subject to various constraints, and it would be better than nothing.

"I understand what you mean."

Mason raised his chin and said calmly, "I will only explain once that my ultimate goal is to defeat Karasuma Renya, but he has obtained very troublesome power. In order to fight against him, I have no choice but to use some extreme methods."

"If that's the case, you could have discussed it with us—" Conan said reflexively, "Why make such a fuss—"

"You're a good person, Edogawa."

Mason interrupted Conan, his attitude turning serious: "But I'm not. When faced with the same situation, you and I would definitely choose completely different ways to handle it, so I'm not going to explain anything to you right now."

"What—?"

Conan was stunned for a moment, but with his intelligence, he naturally quickly deciphered the subtext in Mason's words.

Not planning to explain "now"?

"I really dislike those guys in movies who know exactly what's going on but just keep quiet," Mason continued, ignoring Conan's reaction. "But when it comes to yourself, you realize you can't just blurt everything out, right? I'm willing to explain, but after I do, you have to come with me to fight the Capitol. How about that?"

Hmph, do you really think you, a partner of justice, would agree to such conditions? This isn't about helping cover up a crime or writing a script for the showdown between the FBI and the Black Organization; it's a matter of national crisis. Based on Mason's understanding of Conan, he would never agree to such a thing.

"this----"

As Mason expected, Conan immediately leaned back tactically, his face showing a momentary struggle before quickly hardening.

"—At least change the terms?" He tried to stall for time using roundabout tactics.

What a pity, I was hoping to see the Parliament House that was blown up by a football.

"Hehe, if it weren't for that situation, I wouldn't mind compromising a little."

Mason shook his head, then looked at the other two who seemed to want to say something: "These are the conditions for Edogawa, so you two shouldn't get involved. Of course, I refuse to cooperate with the FBI. As for Vermouth—it's a pity, you can't even walk with crutches now, so you can't participate in what I'm going to do next."

"Don't make it sound like I really want to participate!" Vermouth rolled her eyes. "I was practically forced to come here, I have no interest in risking my life with you."

"Heh, weren't you just saying this kind of thing was interesting?"

"It would be fun as a spectator," Vermouth replied without hesitation, "but if it were to happen in person, I'd rather not."

"As expected of you."

Mason gave her a thumbs up, then looked back at Conan and said, "That's right. Being forced to take sides is never a good thing. You can't force a melon to ripen. Rather than bringing someone on board who has huge disagreements with me from the bottom of their heart, why don't I just do it myself?"

".."

Having said that, Conan was truly at a loss for how to respond.

"If you understand, then you can go back now." Mason waved his hand and said, "I have no interest in fighting with you here. If you don't want to fall out with me, then you'd better go back now. You'll be able to see me on TV the day after tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing this, Shuichi Akai's eye twitched slightly.

Judging from this attitude, there seems to be no room for negotiation.

Do we really have to wait until this guy causes some big commotion?

Why don't we just explode at him right here?

His extensive combat experience made him subconsciously tense his muscles and adjust his posture to be ready to draw his gun and fire at any moment. But before he could do anything, a sense of threat from his sixth sense surged into his mind.

Looking in the direction from which the sense of danger came, he saw a kind-looking magician with long gray hair staring at him.