BWDC:SDDK Chapter 62: Special Mission Accomplished
Ren Ichimonji got straight to the point.
Immediately, the underlying code for Conan's reflection and the underlying code for his deduction began to conflict once more. He froze briefly before finally answering.
"Everything is going smoothly. Miss Masami Hirota seems to be building good relationships with the other staff members at the bank."
"If, as you said, Miss Masami Hirota plans to rob the bank later... then right now, she should be making preparations for it."
As Conan spoke of official business, he reached up and rubbed the frame of his plain-glass spectacles. Instantly, a red dot representing a tracker appeared on the lens.
According to his previous calculations—given this angle and distance—the vehicle should still be over by the Yotsubishi Bank. It hadn't moved. ] [ This was normal. It would be strange if it had moved; it wasn't even the bank's lunch break yet.
However, it was only then that Conan finally noticed the black cape on Ren Ichimonji. He didn't recall seeing a cape on him while they were in the car heading to the Tokyo Budokan.
Where did he swipe that from? Backstage?
Just as Conan was about to ask, Ren Ichimonji provided the answer.
"This is a protective cape. If there really are explosives on stage, I can use this to minimize the damage from the blast."
This was the cape from the Batsuit developed by Professor Agasa. To ensure safety in case there actually were explosives on stage, Ren had specifically retrieved it from his utility belt and put it on.
The technical complexity of this cape was immense—at least four or five stories high, so to speak. If a physicist from Ren's previous life saw it, they would probably claim that the laws of physics no longer existed.
In Ren Ichimonji's eyes, rather than calling Professor Agasa "Robin," it was more accurate to call him the technical director, Lucius Fox. Once he established his own industry in Beika Town, he fully intended to hire Professor Agasa as his Chief Technology Officer.
As for the specific timing... it would likely have to wait until Noah's Ark was completed.
Ren's Oracle state did indeed grant him top-tier computing capabilities for a short duration. However, that was time-limited; he could only use it for hacking through firewalls. Because of the physical limitations of his hand speed, he couldn't use it for regular, long-term development.
But Ren Ichimonji had a solution.
Hiroki Sawada intended to dismantle Noah's Ark after fulfilling his wish anyway. When the time came, Ren would simply copy the core program of Noah's Ark, use his Oracle state to modify the permissions, and refine the code slightly to bring it under his direct control.
At that point, electronic technology would no longer be his shortcoming. Ren could use the modified Noah's Ark as a springboard to build his own top-tier IT enterprise and set sail. ] [ Though... that was still a bit far off.
"I see... are you a magician?" Conan asked somewhat abruptly, nodding in realization. "You always seem to approach people soundlessly, and you can pull out various gadgets with hand speeds exceeding normal humans. If your behavior wasn't completely different from Kaitou Kid, I'd suspect you were him."
A magician?
Ren Ichimonji raised an eyebrow.
That had indeed been his profession in his previous life. However, because his health hadn't been great, he mostly performed sleight-of-hand and technical tricks rather than grand illusions like making people disappear or escape artistry. Still, he was quite skilled at setting an atmosphere and using misdirection to draw attention away while completing a trick (or punching someone).
But when it came to the magic of Kaitou Kid, his attitude was the same as most people: he couldn't understand it at all.
There was a massive chasm between a "realistic" magician and a "fantasy" one.
As they talked, the sound of the performance on stage gradually faded. Soon, Minami Takayama's voice reached the staff area in the corner.
"Everyone! It's intermission time! The show will resume in one hour!"
An intermission? Concerts have those?
Ren Ichimonji, who had never attended a concert before, looked up in surprise. Beside him, Conan acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"This concert was scheduled to last until 5:00 PM; it's an endurance performance. Even if the audience doesn't need a break, the singer does. Who can sing non-stop on stage forever?"
"Anyway, can you put that cape away? When you swing it around, you end up covering me completely!" the Reaper Brat grumbled.
Ren Ichimonji stood up without argument and gathered his cape. With a sudden turn of his body, the cape dropped from his shoulders. As if in a magic show, the cape fell toward the floor, was folded perfectly in mid-air, and vanished into a hidden compartment of the utility belt in an instant.
The entire process took only a few seconds.
Aside from Conan, who was standing right next to him, no one else saw where the cape went. All they saw was Ren Ichimonji flicking his cape, turning around, and the fabric vanishing into thin air after a brief flutter.
Conan: "?"
You born-evil Bat-freak, why do you have to act so cool even just putting away a cape? Can't you be normal?
Conan sighed and shook his head, seemingly speechless at Ren's behavior. Ren Ichimonji himself paused, intending to sit back down as if nothing had happened. ] [ This... was a professional habit.
Why learn magic if not to show off? For livestreaming sales? That would work too, but he had learned magic specifically to show off his skills, so that move had just been second nature.
However, the moment Ren Ichimonji went to sit down, the system screen popped up before his eyes again.
[Special Mission: Bane · Origins] [Status: Completed!] [Reward: Special Item · The Kind Holy Sword of Physics!]
Ren Ichimonji: "?"
What does this mean? My special mission is done? I didn't even know I was doing a special mission! What happened?
A crowbar with a faint scent of blood appeared out of nowhere in Ren Ichimonji's hand. Beside him, Conan looked up at the crowbar and said helplessly, "Alright, alright, I know you're a magician. You don't have to keep showing off one trick after another, okay?"
Showing off my foot—I didn't make this appear!
Ren Ichimonji grumbled inwardly, but on the surface, he remained calm and swept the "Holy Sword of Physics" past his storage belt. Instantly, the crowbar vanished without a trace.
Only then did a voice come from behind them.
"So... so amazing! Is that magic-like sleight of hand?!"
It was Sonoko Suzuki's voice.
Ren Ichimonji turned to see Sonoko rushing toward them. He instinctively took half a step back before realizing—Wait, I'm Batman, what am I afraid of? He then silently stood his ground.
Just as he was about to say something, Sonoko quickly leaned in close and whispered cautiously, "Actually, you're that legendary phantom thief, aren't you? Phantom Thief 1412? Don't worry, Ran and I will keep your secret!"
Ren Ichimonji: "?"
Am I the Riddler now?!
End of Chapter
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium