Kanjuro listened to the voices behind him—some resentful, some questioning, some sorrowful, some worshipful—without pausing his steps in the slightest, not even turning his head. He needed no explanation, nor did he care. Their joys and sorrows, their loves and hatreds, were perhaps to him merely interesting embellishments in his long life, different glimmers on his collection.
The moonlight stretched his shadow long, enveloping the group of women behind him whose fates had been utterly changed by him, each with different states of mind.
He remained that enigmatic eternal youth, carrying his dark bible and demonic contract, walking toward the next unknown chapter. Left behind were Kitami's bitter satisfaction, Saeki's utter madness, Minase Aoi's icy questioning, Imari's desperate love, and Shiraki Rie's twisted worship.
This farce in the name of'salvation' ultimately carved distinctly different, yet equally profound marks in the heart of every participant.
That sacrificial ritual that swept up the life energy of a thousand people and invoked the true dark bible was like a massive stone thrown into a lake. After stirring up earth-shattering waves, the lake's surface returned to calm at a speed beyond reason. Apart from the core few participants, no one at Sobu High School remembered exactly what happened on the field that night. Most girls only vaguely recalled participating in a grand, somewhat chaotic group activity, the details blurred like morning dew evaporated by sunlight. Life continued along its set track—classes, clubs, exams—everything as usual.
Saeki Kaori's hatred for Kanjuro was like a poisonous vine, deeply rooted in her heart, but having witnessed Kanjuro's inhuman power, she dared not act rashly again, suppressing this hatred beneath a twisted smile, occasionally casting a cold glance when they met in the hallway. Kanjuro paid no mind to this; to him, Saeki was merely a chess piece that had lost its interest.
Kanjuro resumed his daily life at Sobu High School as the eternal eighteen-year-old. Still that outstanding student with excellent grades, striking looks, and an air of mysterious aloofness, surrounded by 'collectibles' he had marked like Yui Yuigahama and Yukinoshita Yukino. He seemed to enjoy this sense of control hidden beneath ordinary daily life.
After school that day, the sunset dyed the streets gold.
Kanjuro walked alone on the way back to his apartment, his posture leisurely. Yet, an extremely subtle but undeniable sense of being watched, like cold spider silk, quietly wrapped around his back.
(Being watched?)
Kanjuro's steps showed no disturbance, not even a change in his breathing rhythm, but his keen perception from the Eye of Truth and the dark contract had already locked onto the source of the gaze like radar. He casually turned at a street corner, his gaze precisely targeting a spot not far behind.
There stood two people. One was a high school student wearing Teitan High School's uniform, tall and straight, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's, hands in his pockets, exuding an aura of confidence and inquiry.
Beside him stood a girl wearing the same school uniform, with flowing long hair and a clear, beautiful face. Her clear purple eyes held a trace of curiosity and... an indescribable sense of familiarity as she looked at Kanjuro.
The moment Kanjuro's gaze met the girl's, the dormant power within him, belonging to the dark bible's origin, uncontrollably produced an extremely faint tremor!
A vague yet familiar resonance from the depths of his bloodline, like an ancient zither's strings being plucked from slumber!
(This feeling... this temperament of purity with resilience, gentleness harboring strength...)
(Eri Kisaki...?)
(No, that's not right, too young. Is it... her daughter?!)
A name and figure sealed away for eighteen years surfaced in Kanjuro's mind. Eri Kisaki, then a high school girl, deceived into the Old School Building, the woman who had relations with Kanjuro—that calm, wise, and proud woman, also one of those he had crossed paths with during the chaotic hundred-person ritual eighteen years ago. He hadn't paid attention at the time, given the numbers. But now it seemed... (Could it be... she was also... and...)
Kanjuro's gaze deepened as he carefully observed the girl, increasingly noticing the striking resemblance in the spirit between her brows and eyes to the Eri Kisaki in his memory, only softer, more sunny.
And that inexplicable sense of familiarity was precisely the faint call from shared bloodline!
(Interesting... truly interesting!)
(A 'daughter' left adrift, appearing before me in this way?)
At that moment, the sharp-eyed high school student stepped forward, blocking the girl and cutting off Kanjuro's probing gaze.
He pushed up non-existent glasses on his nose (a habitual gesture), a confident smile with a detective's scrutinizing air appearing on his face as he spoke:
"Hello, are you Kanjuro-kun from Sobu High School? Pardon the intrusion, I'm Shinichi Kudo from Teitan High School." He pointed to the girl beside him. "This is Ran Mouri. We have some matters we'd like to ask you about."
Ran Mouri... Ran... Kanjuro silently repeated the name in his heart, but his face quickly switched to a slightly puzzled and polite, standard top-student expression.
He nodded slightly, his gaze seemingly inadvertently sweeping over Ran Mouri behind Shinichi Kudo again, sensing that the girl's sense of familiarity seemed to grow stronger upon hearing his name, though she clearly didn't understand why she felt this way.
"I'm Kanjuro. Classmate Kudo, Classmate Mouri, what can I do for you?" Kanjuro's voice was gentle and pleasant, impeccable.
Shinichi Kudo stared intently at Kanjuro's eyes, as if searching for any flaw: "We've been investigating some... unusual rumors about your school recently. Especially regarding a club called the 'Occult Research Society,' and... the disappearance case of a student named Minase Taki. I've heard that Kanjuro-kun, you seem to have some connection to these matters?"
His words were like a precise scalpel, striking at the core.
Kanjuro inwardly sneered, but his face remained that impeccable calm.
He glanced at Shinichi Kudo, then at the 'daughter' Ran Mouri behind him who held a special attraction for him, the corner of his mouth curling into an almost imperceptible arc.
(A detective game?)
(Bringing my unclaimed 'daughter' along too...)
(This chess game seems to be getting more and more interesting.)
The gears of fate began turning anew because of a persistent high school detective and a girl with a special background. A battle of wits and a collision with darkness hidden beneath the sunlight were about to begin.
Facing Shinichi Kudo's nearly accusatory question, Kanjuro's expression showed no change, still that cloud-and-wind lightness, even carrying a touch of Just right innocence. He tilted his head slightly, his tone peaceful, as if merely discussing a difficult math problem:
"Classmate Kudo, you seem to have quite a few questions. How about you finish all your guesses or 'discoveries' in one go?" He made a "please" gesture, his composure so calm that Shinichi Kudo couldn't help but frown.
Shinichi Kudo took a deep breath, his eyes growing sharper, like a leopard locking onto its target, throwing out another bombshell:
"Fine! I'll be direct. Besides Minase Taki's disappearance case, I've also noticed another incident—during a School trip in Kyoto, with a group of elementary school students accompanying your school, aside from a girl named Tsurumi Rumi surviving, everyone else in the camp, including students and teachers, died mysteriously! There were no signs of homicide at the scene, as if they all died naturally, but that defies all logic!"
He stared tightly at Kanjuro's eyes, not missing any subtle changes: "I've investigated the records from that time, Kanjuro-kun. You were in that School trip group too, and someone saw you near the elementary students' camp on the night of the incident! Both events involve the supernatural, disappearances, and deaths, and you were exactly present! Is that merely a coincidence?"
Facing this more direct accusation, Kanjuro not only showed no panic but chuckled lightly, the laughter carrying a hint of have no choice, as if listening to a clumsy story.
"Classmate Kudo, as a detective, having a rich imagination is good, but solving cases ultimately requires evidence." He spread his hands, his tone With a hint of innocent teasing,
"What you've said really sounds bizarre. But suspecting me based solely on 'being present' and 'coincidence' seems too Arbitrary, doesn't it? Do you have any direct evidence linking me to those tragedies? Like... fingerprints, hair, surveillance, or any physical evidence pointing to me?"
His counter-question was Leak-proof, pulling the core issue back to the detective's most basic principle—evidence.
Shinichi Kudo's face darkened slightly. He indeed hadn't found any direct evidence linking Kanjuro to those cases. Everything was based on speculation and strong intuition from Connecting the Clues.
He gritted his teeth, coldly: "I don't have conclusive evidence now, but Kanjuro, I'm telling you, I've got my eye on you! This is just a warning—I will find your flaw!"
These threatening words, however, made a flicker of understanding pass through Kanjuro's eyes.
He paid no mind to Shinichi Kudo's warning, instead focusing his attention on Shinichi Kudo himself.
Through the subtle perception of the Eye of Truth, he keenly captured that Shinichi Kudo's bloodline breath... did not Perfect match with the lively, cunning high school girl in his memory—Fujimine Yukiko, who had also left traces in the hundred-person ritual eighteen years ago! It lacked that Extremely obscure but The existence of homologous fluctuations indeed originates from the dark ritual's baptism.
(really... Shinichi Kudo and Yukiko are not biological mother and son?)
(It seems after Yukiko left back then, she adopted or obtained this child through other means?)
This discovery made Kanjuro find it even more interesting. Looking at this Full of a sense of justice high school detective trying to threaten him, the arc at the corner of his mouth deepened slightly.
Just as Shinichi Kudo thought Kanjuro would refute or continue excuse, Kanjuro suddenly shifted topic, asking in a tone Like chatting with an old friend, With nostalgia:
"Speaking of which... Classmate Kudo, how has your mother Yukiko been lately?"
"—!?" Shinichi Kudo jolted violently, as if struck by lightning! The confidence and sharpness on his face were instantly replaced by Huge astonishment, his pupils involuntarily contracting, blurted out subconsciously: "You... how do you know my mom?! Who exactly are you?!"
Kanjuro looked at Shinichi Kudo's Shocked and bewildered, He smiled with satisfaction.. He didn't answer Shinichi Kudo's question, She just looked at him with an inscrutable gaze., The tone was understated, However, it contains a huge amount of information.:
"Your mother and I... are He was also an old friend.. It seems she hasn't told you many things." He paused Meaningful, his gaze sweeping over Ran Mouri beside him who also showed surprised expression, finally returning to Shinichi Kudo,
If you're truly curious about many things, perhaps... you could go back and ask her. Ask her about eighteen years ago, about... some 'past events' that happened in the Old School Building of Sobu High School.
After saying this, Kanjuro paid no further attention to Shinichi Kudo, frozen in place, and Ran Mouri, looking utterly bewildered. As if he had merely completed a casual greeting, he gracefully turned around, waved his hand, and continued walking forward along the street bathed in the setting sun.
He left Shinichi Kudo standing there dumbfounded, Kanjuro's words echoing repeatedly in his mind.
(Does he know Mom? Or is he an 'old acquaintance'? Eighteen years ago? The Old School Building?)
(What exactly has Mom... been hiding?!)
(This Kanjuro... just how much does he know?!)
A chill, stronger than when facing any murder case, quietly crept up Shinichi Kudo's spine.
He realized that he might have inadvertently touched the edge of a whirlpool far deeper and darker than he had imagined. And Kanjuro, this seemingly ordinary high school student, was undoubtedly the most mysterious and dangerous presence at the center of this whirlpool.
The setting sun elongated Kanjuro's silhouette. His steps were unhurried, as if he had just casually sown a seed of doubt and confusion. He knew that, given Shinichi Kudo's personality, he would never let this rest. And this game, because it involved 'old acquaintances' from the past, seemed to have become even more interesting.
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