Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

"I'll ask my 'boss' to adjust the time for me. It would also save me some trouble if it's near my part-time job. As for the money, don't worry. Mr. Kujo actually gives me some pocket money, but I don't want to simply take money from Mr. Kujo. Besides, if we can really solve the case, there should be a 'bonus', right?"

Looking at Lan Ke who was trying hard to find excuses for himself, Kudo Shinichi suddenly wanted to laugh.

It’s not that I’m joking with Lan Ke, but I’m just in a good mood.

At first, he was interested in Lan Ke purely out of curiosity. Later, he got along with Lan Ke more because they were childhood sweethearts. But now, he found that he seemed to like her a little.

After all, no matter whether it is for "repaying a favor" or the so-called "bonus", it cannot change the fact that the other party is willing to sacrifice personal time to help you catch the "suspect".

And he... doesn't hate people with a sense of justice.

Thinking of this, he looked at Lan Ke straight in the eye for the first time and stretched out his right hand.

"Then I'll trouble you, Narukami-san."

Although Kudo Shinichi in front of him seemed to be normal, he didn't know why he always felt that there was something different about him, but he still instinctively shook the hand he offered.

Almost at the same time as he held the other person's hand, a strange sound of waves was heard...

Chapter 29 Tarot: Justice

"I am you...you are me...

Here you have a new lease

As the saying goes, firewood is the firewood that is reborn from the ashes.

I, the Mask of Justice, was born bathed in the wind of blessing.

We will provide further support for pioneering the future..."

Along with the sound of waves, there was also a soft female voice.

During his assistant's previous 'Tarot Awakening', he didn't hear the sound clearly because he was already fuzzy-minded. He just felt that the sound was very nice. But this time it was different. He heard it very clearly.

The gentle whisper was like a whisper in his ear in his sleep, making him feel extremely "at ease".

If I have to use a metaphor, it would be that the owner of this voice feels that she can be his own mother.

Yes, it’s this strange feeling of security.

But compared to Lan Ke's surprise, Kudo Shinichi simply felt that Lan Ke was a little strange.

Why did the other person suddenly freeze after I shook hands with him? Is there something wrong?

As if noticing Kudo Shinichi's doubts, Lan Ke quickly let go of his hand.

"I can only do what I can. I hope I won't be a burden to you, Kudo-san."

Facing Lan Ke with a smile, Kudo Shinichi's expression was extremely serious.

"No, with your help, Narukami-san, we might be able to identify the 'suspect' before the next 'victim' appears. That would be a huge help."

"I will try my best."

Regarding the area he is responsible for visiting, Lan Ke said that he will bring a specific map and make specific assignments tomorrow.

Kudo Shinichi didn't care too much about this, or rather, it would be a good thing for him if he could be more rigorous. But what he didn't know was that Lan Ke said this purely to make up his 'place of work'.

That's right, although he skipped half of the Kendo Club's training in the name of "working", in fact, Lan Ke hadn't even figured out where he was "working".

What he took advantage of was nothing more than everyone's 'habitual thinking'.

First of all, Lan Ke has the image of a "good student" in school. His classmates are not interested in him, and the people in the kendo club naturally will not suspect him casually. The only person who may notice the problem, Fujimura Taiga, mistakenly thinks that Lan Ke is "arrogant". Fujimura Taiga, who is determined to become a "good teacher", naturally will not inquire about it privately.

As for Lan Ke himself, he has been staying in the "impression space" during this period of time, so naturally he will not be exposed.

But now, in order to take advantage of Kudo Shinichi's reasoning, he had to take the initiative to get close to the other party. The other party was not someone who would be affected by inertial thinking.

So he needs to patch up his 'lie'.

But he didn't plan to draw this range randomly. He just wanted to buy some "arms" for himself, so he planned to search online to see which area marked by Kudo Shinichi contained a "gun and toy store".

Although it takes some thinking, contacting Kudo Shinichi was one of Lan Ke's original plans. After all, even if this world is a fusion of countless worlds, it is not a bad thing to have a better relationship with the "God of Death" and avoid being targeted.

But just when Lan Ke, who was in a good mood, was saying goodbye to Kudo Shinichi, he suddenly found that the lights in the "Kujo Residence" were on?

In an instant, Lan Ke had a bad feeling.

When he noticed the figure by the window, he had the illusion of cardiac and respiratory arrest.

Because there is only one person who will appear in the 'Kujo Residence'——————Jotaro Kujo.

So there is no need to say more about who is waiting for me.

With great suspicion in his mind, Lan Ke pushed open the door.

"I'm back……"

As expected, Jotaro Kujo, who was originally standing by the window, had "disappeared", but the lights in the restaurant were already on. When he looked over, he happened to see Jotaro Kujo walking out of the restaurant with a lunch box.

"Let's eat first."

"Yes……"

Although Jotaro Kujo seemed to be calm, Lan Ke was unconsciously a little nervous.

"Crack~"

As the lunch box was opened, a light white mist rose up. Lan Ke saw the large piece of hamburger meat at first glance. However, perhaps because it had been covered for too long, the gravy of the hamburger meat had completely seeped into the rice.

The aroma of rice mixed with meat made Lan Ke's stomach growl at the right time after he had been busy all night.

"Goo~~"

Obviously, although the 'Cat Alarm Clock' can help him rest well and restore his strength, it cannot change the fact that he is hungry.

Although it was a bit embarrassing, Lan Ke still sat down quickly under the pretext of eating and pretended to be fully focused on eating.

Just as he guessed, this lunch box was definitely not comparable to the 'half-price lunch box' he bought yesterday. The lunch box that looked expensive was an indication of this. What was more important was that this lunch box was not only good-looking, but it had been on the shelf for who knew how long. The rice, which was so delicious even when chewed raw, and the rich gravy were even more delicious than he had imagined.

This undoubtedly made Lan Ke salivate.

If he was just trying to cover up the embarrassment at first, then Lan Ke was really impatient at this time.

"Pah~pah~"

The chopsticks and lunch box made crisp sounds because of the chopsticks in Lan Ke's hand, while Jotaro Kujo, who was sitting at the other end of the table, looked at Lan Ke silently.

Although the other party didn't say a word, Lan Ke felt a little depressed.

If I have to make an analogy, it's probably like a prisoner who knows he is going to be sentenced to death but has to wait.

But what Lan Ke didn't know was that Jotaro Kujo was not angry at all.

Not to mention that he had already read all of Lan Ke's "information" when he decided to be Lan Ke's guardian.

According to the information, 'the former Ming Shanglan' was a young man who was a little autistic but actually had a very serious personality. Although he was later expelled, it was also for the sake of helping others.

It can be said that Jotaro Kujo had a high degree of favorability towards Lan Ke from the very beginning, not to mention that he had not only seen Lan Ke but also Shinichi Kudo before.

Jotaro Kujo is actually very self-aware. He knows that he doesn't know how to take care of a child, so he first asked his mother to help take care of his daughter, and now he has asked his friends to help look after her.

Even though he snatched the custody of Lan Ke from Kakyoin this time with the idea of ​​giving it a try, it does not mean that he does not value Lan Ke or that he treats Lan Ke as a guinea pig.

He really wants to learn how to be a qualified father. After all, his daughter is so old now, and he can't always be in a cold war with her. As for Lan Ke, in some ways, he is more patient with her than with his own daughter.

You know, Lan Ke’s parents can be said to be the benefactors of the "Jostar Clan".

So when he first returned home and didn't see Lan Ke, he was more surprised and nervous than angry.

After all, as a graduate of Teitan, he was very clear about the schedule of Teitan club activities and also realized that something was wrong.

It wasn't until Lan Ke and Kudo Shinichi appeared in his sight that he truly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, no matter how much he dislikes socializing, as they live in the same community, Jotaro Kujo naturally knows Yusaku Kudo. From a certain perspective, Kudo Shinichi can be said to have grown up under his care. He is relieved that Lan Ke is with Kudo Shinichi.

Thinking of this, he spoke again.

"Was that the child from the Kudo family just now?"

Chapter 30 Upright? Reversed?

"Crack~"

The chopsticks that had been constantly moving in the lunch box suddenly stopped. It was obvious that he had been trying so hard to eat not only because it tasted good, but also because he was thinking, "If Jotaro Kujo doesn't ask, I'll take the opportunity to run away after eating." Unfortunately, it seems that he can't run away for the time being.

"Yeah, I came back with Kudo-san."

This answer was not beyond Jotaro Kujo's expectations. He just nodded silently and then spoke again.

"I know the child of the Kudo family. Like his father, he is a man with a strong sense of justice. If there is anything you don't understand at school, you can ask him. I believe he should be able to help you."

"Well, actually it was Kudo-san who spoke to me first yesterday. He even said he would take me around Tokyo after club tomorrow."

Lan Ke naturally would not say that Kudo Shinichi spoke to him because he thought he was suspicious, but the "perfect lie" is one that does not contain a single lie but can still make the listener misunderstand. In fact, Jotaro Kujo did nod as Lan Ke expected.

They had no idea that the so-called 'strolling around Tokyo' actually meant that the two of them would investigate a case together.

Jotaro Kujo did not comment on this but did not object either. He just reminded Lan Ke to remember to send a message if he came back late, to which Lan Ke naturally agreed happily.

"Just leave the lunch box in the kitchen. Someone will collect it tomorrow."

Finally, at the reminder of Jotaro Kujo, Lan Ke packed up and returned to the attic.

It was not until then that Lan Ke truly breathed a sigh of relief, and then he secretly felt fortunate.

Anyway, he had passed this level of the guardian, but it was a pity that this method would not last long. To make full use of the time to "swallow monsters" or "steal hearts" in the impression space required sufficient time, and what he lacked most was time.

"How about trying to go directly from the 'Impression Space' next time?"

But doing so is too dangerous. The impression space is different from the material space. Who knows if you will accidentally rush into a pile of monsters.

Although it is possible to use the 'Other World Navigation' to return to the material space, it is even more difficult to explain if a sudden 'surprise' occurs outside.

Thinking of this, Lan Ke sighed silently. It seemed that he still needed to work hard in his career as a phantom thief.

While sighing, Lan Ke skillfully took out his cell phone to search for possible useful clues.

But before searching for clues, there was one thing he wanted to confirm.

That is 'Kudo Shinichi's Tarot'.

The back of the Tarot was the same as always, but the front of the Tarot made Lan Ke frown slightly.

The first thing you see is a huge open door, and standing at the door is a man whose face cannot be seen clearly. Behind him are countless lines representing "light".

However, what really caught people's attention were the corners of the Tarot. Those were the figures of people constantly burning in the 'light', and many of them seemed to be in great pain.

At first, Lan Ke didn't understand what was going on.

After all, the feeling given by this Tarot card was not very good, which was completely different from the feeling given to him by the "Strength" card given by his assistant before.

He even felt that it did not fit in with Kudo Shinichi's personal image. After all, apart from being a little proud, the other party was essentially a very enthusiastic young detective.

But after thinking about it carefully, he seemed to guess the reason.

Kudo Shinichi, or more accurately, Conan, had an obsession with the "truth" at the beginning that was difficult for ordinary people to understand. He was willing to do anything to pursue the "truth".

In fact, many of the 'victims' of the cases solved by the other side can be said to have brought this upon themselves.

If it were Lan Ke, he would probably choose to remain silent after finding out the truth, but the other party chose to be ruthless.

"Will an overly scorching 'justice' burn everything around it indiscriminately? The only good news is that this tarot card is at least not 'reversed'..."

Lan Ke, who probably guessed the meaning of the pattern on the Tarot card, couldn't help but sigh.

However, he was powerless to solve this problem. After all, in the original work, Kudo Shinichi's transformation came from his self-reflection after witnessing the "death" that he could not save again and again.

Lan Ke didn't know if he could change the other party's mind, but he didn't intend to give up.

After all, his goal is to 'heal' the world, and the other party is undoubtedly a part of this world.

But there is no point in thinking too much. After all, no matter how grand the dream is, it can only be realized by accumulating step by step.

Instead of having any random thoughts, it is more important to solve the case at hand!

After "crushing" Tarot and integrating it into his body, Lan Ke took out his mobile phone and began to search for possible useful clues.

Although Kudo Shinichi was able to locate the area where the criminal might be active simply by visiting the victim when the victim was unwilling to cooperate, Lan Ke still obtained some "exclusive information" by using the "impression space", such as the "suspect" of this crime is very likely to be Ito Makoto's father, and that Ito Makoto actually witnessed a "case" that no one reported.

So Lan Ke directly drew another circle on the map where Kudo Shinichi had drawn a circle and connected it into a line.

As expected, the circle is also located on the line drawn by Kudo Shinichi.