Chapter 184: The Game Case
"Haibara-chan, what's wrong?" Ayumi asked, her voice laced with concern as she noticed her friend's strange behavior. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Haibara simply shook her head, a silent signal to assure Ayumi she was fine.
"Oh, good! Then come on, hurry!" Instantly relieved, Ayumi beamed and tugged Haibara by the arm. "Albedo-niichan brought a new game! Let's all play together!" She pulled her over to where Genta stood, proudly pointing at the box in his hands.
Ran and the others, their curiosity piqued, gathered around the children. Ignoring Genta's indignant squawk of protest, Sonoko snatched the game case right out of his hands.
She scanned the description on the back, and her face fell in disappointment. It was just some ordinary logical reasoning game. With a distinct lack of handsome guys on the cover, she was sure it would be a total snooze-fest. As expected, she thought, it was the kind of thing only these little brats would enjoy.
Sonoko tossed the case back to a grumbling Genta. By then, Albedo had already finished importing the game data onto the console. Mitsuhiko and Klee, controllers clutched in their eager hands, were already poised to begin.
The game, titled 'A Guide to Case Investigation,' was a two-player affair with a rather uninspired ring to it.
The players took on the roles of two police officers: one, an experienced and careful veteran; the other, a rookie fresh from the academy, prone to careless mistakes. The premise was simple: to train the rookie's abilities, the department leadership had assigned the veteran to mentor him. As it happened, a series of cases had just broken out, and the duo was tasked with taking over the investigation and finding the culprits.
'What a cliché plot,' Conan thought, feeling his initial interest wane. He was far more intrigued by the recent arrivals, Diluc and Albedo.
But their attention was clearly fixed on Klee. Even Diluc, his expression as stoic as ever, stood silently to the side, his gaze tracking Klee's every move as she played, a silent guardian of her gaming experience.
There wasn't much Conan could do in a situation like this. With a quiet sigh, he turned his attention back to the screen, resigning himself to watching Mitsuhiko and Klee play. Maybe, he mused, he could at least offer them a few hints.
The game's introductory cutscene had just ended, and the two digital protagonists were now investigating their first case.
The mention of a case finally made Conan's ears perk up.
Onscreen, the two police officers had stumbled upon a murder and body disposal. The veteran, controlled by Mitsuhiko, was in charge of examining the scene, while the rookie, controlled by Klee, was tasked with questioning the person who had reported the crime.
Conan noted that the game's art style had clearly been sanitized, likely to make it more suitable for children. The crime scene was a far cry from the grisly reality he was used to.
Although, he mused, given the courage—or perhaps recklessness—of these kids, they probably wouldn't have been scared even if it were a photorealistic depiction.
With Genta and Ayumi chirping suggestions over his shoulder, Mitsuhiko quickly finished investigating all the available clues at the scene.
The deceased had no clothing or identification. Beyond that, the investigation yielded a total of four clues: a tattoo on the victim's foot, a red string tied around their ankle, three playing cards placed near the body, and the state of the post-mortem lividity.
A menu popped up, prompting Mitsuhiko to choose which of the four clues to pursue first.
"I think the anklet is the most important!" Ayumi declared. "It's the only thing the person was wearing. It has to be connected to the murderer, right?"
Mitsuhiko, not having any strong feelings himself, decided to follow her suggestion and selected the anklet.
Conan opened his mouth to object, but after a quick glance at the other adults in the room, he held his tongue.
A line of text appeared on the screen: [Unfortunately, after a great deal of effort, you traced the origin of the anklet. It was merely a cheap, common accessory the deceased bought casually and holds no special meaning. The investigation has been delayed.]
Having picked the wrong option, Ayumi's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Genta puffed out his chest. "I told you we should have picked the tattoo! It must have some special meaning."
"No, you didn't! You didn't say that at all!" Ayumi retorted, indignant. "Besides, I think the playing cards are way more suspicious than the tattoo now."
Haibara took no part in their discussion, instead making a point to stand as far away from Eisuke Hondou as she possibly could.
Eisuke watched the children debate the in-game clues with such earnest intensity, a slightly dazed look in his eyes. Have kids' games really reached this level nowadays?
"I agree, those three playing cards are quite suspicious," Eisuke analyzed thoughtfully, joining the conversation. "Usually, something like that is either a calling card left by the culprit or a clue left by the victim to point to their killer. What do you think, Conan-kun?" He finished his analysis by passing the question directly to Conan.
Conan rubbed his chin, his mind already racing. Three playing cards appearing next to a body was certainly abrupt. A 5 of Diamonds, a King of Spades, and a Jack of Spades... what could they represent?
'Numbers?'he thought.'Converted, that would be 5, 13, and 11... No, a Jack is 11, a King is 13. So, 5, 13, 11. What about letters? Based on the English alphabet, that would be E, M, K. Or E, K, M if you reorder them.' He mulled it over, but no obvious meaning jumped out.
"That's right, Conan!" Genta chimed in, looking at him with wide, expectant eyes. "You're always super fast at figuring out these dying messages!"
"Haha, not at all! Those were all just coincidences, haha... just coincidences," Conan stammered, waving his hands dismissively as he felt every eye in the room fixate on him.
"But," he added, unable to completely suppress his detective instincts, "I do think the playing cards are a little suspicious."
'Better not say too much,'he warned himself,'or Haibara will chew me out again when we get home.' Still, he couldn't help but voice at least that much.
Mitsuhiko scratched his head, feeling completely lost. Which of the remaining three options should he choose? How could the very first choice be this difficult?
Then, a spark of insight cut through his indecision. He turned to look at the calm figure standing behind Klee, patiently guiding her through the controls, and called out, "Albedo-niichan!"
Albedo looked over at Mitsuhiko, his teal eyes questioning what the matter was.
Having called out to someone he barely knew on a sudden impulse, Mitsuhiko felt a brief pang of regret. But Albedo's kind and approachable demeanor immediately put him at ease. "Do you know any hints for the game?" he asked.
"I'm sorry," Albedo replied gently. "This game was a gift from someone else. I'm not actually familiar with the content. I've only heard her mention that it was adapted from real events."
He then turned his gaze to the man beside him. "Diluc, what are your thoughts?"
Every head in the room, including Conan's, swiveled curiously toward Diluc.
Diluc's expression was as impassive as ever, but he gave Albedo's question his serious consideration. "I have no particular view," he stated, his voice a low baritone. "I just think these clues are a bit ostentatious. They might not be useful at all."
Kaeya clapped his hands together with a theatrical flourish. "Master Diluc is absolutely right! Who's to say that items found near the deceased must be useful? Perhaps the culprit simply dropped them by accident."
For some reason, even though Kaeya was agreeing with Diluc, everyone in the room could hear the thick layer of sarcasm dripping from his words.
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