i am just a student? in Conan world

*Suzuki Modern Art Museum.*

The security outside the museum was tight, and the same could be said for the interior.

Thanks to Sonoko Suzuki leading the way, the group avoided being stopped for a security check.

Walking through the corridors, they arrived at a beautifully decorated room.

When the door was pushed open, they were greeted by the sight of Shirou Suzuki, dressed in a brown suit.

At that moment, Shirou Suzuki was sitting on a red sofa, engaged in conversation with three other guests, each with different appearances.

When he saw the group enter, his large figure immediately rose from the sofa. He greeted them enthusiastically, "Detective Mouri and Detective Fujino, thank you so much for coming all this way."

After a bit of small talk, he also inquired about the identity of the dark-skinned person following the group.

When Sonoko explained that the person was also a detective, he politely extended an invitation to Heiji Hattori to join in protecting the "Egg of Memories."

After all, getting an extra detective for free wouldn't hurt.

"Oh, leave it to me, old man!" Heiji Hattori agreed readily.

"Hey!" 

Before Heiji could finish speaking, Kogoro Mouri couldn't sit still and jumped up, shouting, "You brat! How dare you call the chairman of the Suzuki Financial Group 'old man'...!"

"Alright, alright, Detective Mouri, it's not a big deal," Shirou Suzuki said awkwardly, smoothing things over. He then introduced the other guests seated on the sofa.

The man in the gray suit with a large build and a head full of white hair was named Cyril Chinnikov, a first secretary at the Russian Embassy in Japan. His purpose here was likely to take the "Egg of Memories" back to Russia.

After all, the "Egg of Memories" was a treasure of the Romanov dynasty, specifically belonging to Tsar Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia before the revolution. Though the Romanov dynasty might be unfamiliar to some, many are familiar with Tsarist Russia.

Nicholas II, the last Tsar, was essentially Russia's version of the Aisin Gioro (the Qing dynasty). However, unlike Pu Yi, Nicholas wasn't so lucky and met his end during the revolution.

The man in the red suit with graying hair was Kanichi Inoue, an art dealer invited by Shirou Suzuki to appraise the value of the "Egg of Memories."

Then, there was a woman with short ash-brown hair, wearing earrings, and dressed in a blue professional suit with a touch of Chinese style. Her stunning appearance and long, slender legs stood out. Her name was Pusi Qinglan, an expert on the Romanov dynasty.

"Hello," Pusi Qinglan greeted them in Chinese, albeit with a somewhat awkward accent.

The last person introduced was Ryuu Samukawa, a freelance filmmaker who had applied to document the treasure.

The "Egg of Memories" was valued at 800 million yen, and everyone present was deeply interested in it. However, it was clear that only Kanichi Inoue could actually afford such a sum.

Ryuu Samukawa admitted that even if he spent his entire fortune, he could only come up with 200 million yen.

"Everyone here is so rich," Fujino thought as he listened to their conversation, feeling a bit exasperated. He himself could only muster 6.32 million yen, far from the 800 million.

He shifted his gaze to Pusi Qinglan, lost in thought. Her gray eyes and hair, along with her Chinese-style suit, gave the impression that she was an expert in Romanov history from China.

But Fujino, with his Chinese heritage and upbringing, knew better. While many would be fooled, he wasn't. Gray eyes were more common in Russia, and very rare among Chinese people. He concluded that Pusi Qinglan was actually Russian, and her name was fake.

In fact, Fujino remembered from his knowledge of the plot that Pusi Qinglan was actually an international thief known as Scorpion. She would be the biggest problem in this case.

---

Moments later, after the others left, it was time for Fujino and the rest to admire the treasure they were tasked with protecting—the "Egg of Memories," which Sonoko had once played with as a toy.

Nishino Masahito entered, carrying a wooden box. Under Shirou Suzuki's instruction, he placed the box on the coffee table.

Shirou Suzuki carefully unwrapped the box and opened the lid, revealing a jade-green egg.

The egg was adorned with intricate silver designs, and on its top were large, transparent black gemstones.

The inside of the egg was even more elaborate. Shirou Suzuki lifted the lid, unveiling golden figures of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

He then took out a small key and activated the mechanism inside the egg. Nicholas II's platform rose, and he began flipping through a golden album.

Shirou Suzuki placed an art book on the table next to the "Egg of Memories" and said, "This egg is documented in the Romanov dynasty archives."

He pointed to a picture in the book that looked exactly like the "Egg of Memories." "This egg was translated as the 'Egg of Memories,' which is why the thief's letter referred to it as such."

"The 'Egg of Memories'?" Ran Mouri asked curiously, "Was that translated from Russian to English?"

"Yes," Shirou Suzuki nodded, "The Russian word is ВОСПОМИНАНИЕ (Vospominaniye), which translates to 'Egg of Memories' in Japanese."

"But why is it called the 'Egg of Memories' just because it contains a photo album?" Conan asked, in his childlike voice.

"You fool!" Kogoro Mouri shot Conan a disdainful look and explained confidently, "The emperor showing his children a photo album—that represents beautiful memories!"

"Uncle Mouri is acting a bit strange today…" Fujino thought, narrowing his eyes. Was he sucking up to Shirou Suzuki? After all, Suzuki was the head of the powerful Suzuki Financial Group, one of the elite in Japanese society.

For Mouri, as a private detective, trying to gain favor with such an important figure wasn't out of the ordinary. However, it was a bit too obvious…

But maybe it wasn't so bad. Sometimes being more obvious was a form of wisdom, as it made the intention to curry favor clear to the powerful. This might explain why Shirou Suzuki preferred Detective Mouri, despite his lackluster abilities.

As a traveler from another world with a system, Fujino found this approach lacking. He wasn't one to flatter the rich and powerful.

"Anyway," Ran interjected, "are those shiny things diamonds?"

"No," Shirou Suzuki waved his hand, "they're just glass."

"What?!" Conan exclaimed, "Wouldn't it be strange for something made for an emperor to be made of just glass?"

"Perhaps due to the turmoil at the time," Fujino speculated.

"When this egg was being made, it was during the period between the February and October Revolutions, when Nicholas II was overthrown. Naturally, the Easter egg was made with fewer resources."

At this point, Fujino spoke up: "But for a country in such a crisis to still produce something like this... should we call it romantic or just excessive luxury? No wonder the Russian Empire collapsed."

Fujino's comment drew everyone's attention.

Conan looked at Fujino, frowning slightly.

Those melancholy words strangely reminded him of someone—of Ai.

Last time in the cinema, it seemed like it was the same.

Could it be that Fujino had somehow picked up something weird from Haibara?

"Fujino-senpai, you sure know a lot..."

Under everyone's gaze, Ran was the first to speak, asking Fujino, "These things weren't taught in school, were they?"

"Were they not?" Fujino asked, a bit puzzled.

It took him a moment to realize. It seemed that this kind of content wasn't in the Neon country's (Japan's) textbooks.

Neon was a world ruled by capitalists and elites, and history textbooks in such a world wouldn't include much about the Red history. Even if they did, it would be heavily altered.

That's why Ran and Conan had no idea about this.

This was also why Fujino couldn't outright dominate the rankings at Teitan High School, despite knowing many of the answers.

Even though he knew some of the answers, he wouldn't write them down.

Bringing his thoughts back, Fujino explained, "I learned about this from reading books on the subject. As a detective, it's important to study useful knowledge."

"But speaking of strange things, isn't Kaito Kid's warning letter the real oddity?"

Heiji Hattori chimed in, rubbing his chin as he pondered. "A glowing sky pavilion—why would that refer to the Tenshukaku?"

"Idiot," Kazuha teased Hattori, lifting her chin confidently. "Because the one who built Osaka, Lord Taikō, saw Osaka's development as Osaka's light. Don't you know that?"

"Taikō Toyotomi Hideyoshi, right?" Fujino mused, rubbing his chin.

To be honest, in his previous life, he had been confused when he saw this plotline. Who exactly was Taikō?

But after crossing over, that question was answered.

Taikō was a title Toyotomi Hideyoshi took for himself, but it could also be used to refer to him.

"Kaito Kid showing up at the Tenshukaku is definitely no mistake."

At that moment, Shintarō Chamaki entered the room with Inspector Nakamori Ginzo, followed by two officers in suits.

"But as for the part about 'the clock without a second hand reaching the twelfth word,' we still haven't figured out what it means."

Inspector Nakamori spread his hands in frustration.

"Isn't that just the twelfth character of the Japanese syllabary?" Kazuha suddenly suggested.

"I don't think that's it," Fujino interrupted. "It's summer right now, and if the clue refers to the 'lion at twilight,' four o'clock doesn't match the description of dusk in the code."

"Could it be the twelfth character in the warning letter?"

After a pause, he continued, "From 'the lion at twilight' to 'the maiden at dawn,' the twelfth character is 'ヘ' (He), which corresponds to eight o'clock when considering the clock."

Conan and Heiji nodded in agreement, acknowledging that Fujino made a good point. They didn't try to steal the spotlight since they both cared about appearances.

After all, even as high school detectives, if not for money, they were certainly doing it for reputation.

"Haha, Fujino, you're wrong this time!" Uncle Mōri suddenly laughed. "There's no way Kaito Kid would leave such an obvious clue!"

"Indeed," Chamaki nodded in agreement. "If it really were the twelfth character, that would be far too obvious."

"In fact, I've already figured out the real time!" Uncle Mōri suddenly adopted a mysterious look. "The code doesn't refer to the Japanese syllabary or the twelfth character—it's about the English alphabet."

Raising his watch for all to see, he continued, "The twelfth letter of the English alphabet is 'L,' meaning Kaito Kid will appear at 3 a.m."

After Uncle Mōri's persuasive talk, Shiro Suzuki and Shintarō Chamaki were thoroughly convinced that Kaito Kid would strike at 3 a.m.

Inspector Nakamori rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

"Hahaha!" Uncle Mōri laughed, proud of himself.

Fujino: "..."

Conan: "..."

Heiji Hattori: "..."

Conan and Heiji exchanged glances with deadpan expressions, feeling sympathy for Fujino.

They agreed with Fujino's reasoning.

He had come up with the most logical explanation, but Uncle Mōri stole the spotlight.

And not only that, his explanation was so far-fetched!

It wasn't that different from the Japanese syllabary, after all!

English letters? Come on, Fujino's reasoning made way more sense!

It was ridiculous enough as it was, but now a company president and a high-ranking police officer believed it too...

(End of Chapter)