Chapter 244: A Choice of Three
Kazuha's shoulders slumped with a flicker of disappointment, but the presence of her friends was a quick remedy. Her mood brightened, and she shot a pointed look at Heiji. "Heiji's right about one thing, though," she interjected, her voice regaining its usual energy. "From what I know, the victim—the contestant—is absolutely incredible. Her dancing is gorgeous. I'd say she's one of the best dancers I've seen in all the preliminary rounds!"
"I happened to pass by her practice room once and caught a glimpse through a crack in the door," Kazuha continued, her eyes distant with the memory. A soft, genuine admiration bloomed on her face. "The way she moved... it was captivating."
"Really?" Heiji sounded a bit skeptical, despite Kazuha's high praise.
"Of course it's true!" she insisted earnestly. "I saw it with my own two eyes!"
Conan lowered his head, his small hand stroking his chin in thought. "In that case, it's highly likely someone was jealous of her and decided to do this."
"That's just a guess for now," Okiya Subaru said, his voice calm and measured. He turned his gaze to Kazuha. "Miss Toyama, I was wondering, are outsiders normally allowed to enter the competition venue?"
Kazuha shook her head. "Generally, no. They try to avoid unnecessary trouble. That's why I had to come out to meet you all today, but..."
Just as the Detective Boys began to look crestfallen, Heiji Hattori cut in with a confident smirk.
"However," he continued for her, "I think I have a way to get us in. Just wait here for the good news."
With that, Heiji strode over to the police officer stationed at the entrance. The group watched as he exchanged a few quiet words with the man. A moment later, Heiji turned back and gave them a sharp wave, signaling for them to come over.
In the end, thanks to Heiji Hattori's connections, the entire group successfully gained entry to the preliminary competition venue.
Once inside, Heiji looked at Kazuha. "Do you know which room the incident happened in?"
"I don't know the exact one," Kazuha admitted, shaking her head. "But I do know where Nilou—oh, that is, the contestant—usually practices. There's a locker in that room. Everyone puts their personal things in the lockers of the rooms they use most often, so I think her dance shoes, the ones that were tampered with, should be in there. That must be the crime scene."
"So the contestant's name is Nilou," Sonoko noted, nodding.
"What a lovely name," Ran added with a gentle smile.
"Nilou!" Natsume's voice was a sharp, involuntary exclamation.
She had already suspected it when Kazuha began praising the dancer's skill, but hearing the name spoken so clearly still sent a jolt of surprise through her.
[I didn't expect the victim to be Nilou!] Paimon's voice echoed in her mind, laced with worry. [Is she okay?]
'Don't worry,'Natsume silently reassured her.'Didn't you hear Kazuha? She said Nilou discovered the trick in advance. She must be fine.'[Oh, that's good, that's good.] Paimon let out a mental sigh of relief, which quickly morphed into a tiny, indignant huff. [But the person who did this is so mean! How could they have the heart to hurt a sweet girl like Nilou? Traveler, you have to catch the culprit this time and teach them a lesson!]'Of course,' Natsume agreed without a second's hesitation.
Her surprised reaction had not gone unnoticed. The others all turned to look at her.
"Natsume, don't tell me this is another one of your friends?" Sonoko asked, the corner of her mouth twitching as she shot Natsume a sidelong glance.
"If I'm not mistaken, yes," Natsume confirmed with a nod.
Okiya Subaru and Conan Edogawa exchanged a look, their expressions unreadable but their gazes sharpening. This case had just become significantly more interesting to them.
Soon, the group followed Kazuha to the practice room in question. The door was wide open, revealing a space crowded with people—other contestants, police officers, and event staff all milled about.
Just then, Natsume's eyes landed on a familiar figure. She blinked in surprise. 'Ayaka? Logically, shouldn't she be at the Kamisato Estate right now, entertaining Zhongli and the others with her brother?'
"Ayaka, over here!" Natsume called out, giving a small wave.
Inside the room, Kamisato Ayaka was in the middle of explaining the situation to an investigating officer. Hearing her name, she turned her head, and a pleasant surprise lit up her features when she saw it was Natsume. Ayaka offered a slight, graceful curve of her lips and a subtle nod, a silent promise to join her once she had concluded her business.
At this point, Ran and Sonoko were completely unfazed by Natsume running into yet another acquaintance. They had grown used to it.
Conan and Okiya, however, exchanged another meaningful glance before turning their full attention forward. They observed the girl who, based on her name, was likely the famed young lady of the Kamisato Clan.
The Shirasagi Himegimi possessed a pair of serene, gray-blue eyes and hair the color of fresh snow, tied back in a high ponytail. She wore a gradient blue haori over a dark blue pleated skirt, the fabric adorned with delicate patterns of falling cherry blossoms and flowing water. From a distance, she was the very picture of beauty, elegance, and poise—the perfect embodiment of a high-born lady. A red rope was tied around her waist, and nestled in the center of a blue-purple bow on her back was a Cryo Vision, its icy blue light pulsing faintly.
'Based on our intelligence, that should be a Vision representing ice and snow,'Conan thought, his eyes narrowed in analysis.'But the frame is a new design. It's very likely she belongs to a recently established department within the Teyvat Organization.'
Seeing that Ayaka would be occupied for a while, Natsume decided to join Heiji and learn about the incident first.
Heiji Hattori, true to his reputation as the son of the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief, moved with an easy familiarity among the officers. In just a few words, he had already gotten a detailed account of the incident.
The victim, Nilou, had used her dance shoes and placed them in her locker just before leaving the practice room to go to the cafeteria for lunch. At that time, there was definitely nothing wrong with them.
In other words, the culprit had tampered with the shoes within the roughly one-hour window between Nilou leaving at 11:00 AM and returning at 12:00 PM.
According to the surveillance footage from the corridor, only three people had entered the practice room during that period who could have possibly committed the crime.
"In that case, the scope of suspects has narrowed down significantly," Conan analyzed, rubbing his chin as he and Okiya Subaru, having finished their own initial survey of the room, joined Heiji by the police officer.
"Indeed," Okiya nodded in agreement.
"So, who are the three suspects? Uncle, please tell us!" Genta, who had been listening intently, tugged on the officer's sleeve when he paused, urging him to continue.
"Ah! Oh, right. The three individuals are..." The officer collected himself and went on.
From him, they learned the identities of the three suspects.
Suspect Number One: a fellow contestant named Mizuno Ai. She was also performing a dance in the preliminaries and was a direct competitor of Nilou.
Suspect Number Two: a staff member named Murata Yoko. She had apparently gotten into a dispute with Nilou regarding the stage setup.
And finally, Suspect Number Three: another contestant, named Barbara.
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