It's like the Energizer Bunny
...for those, like me, who didn't realize exactly how old Conan is for this. He's THIRTY.
"After our return, I had wondered if something like this would happen," Haibara, no, Shiho said as soon as Conan had entered the lab.
Conan had frozen as soon as he did, hand still on the door knob as he stared at the woman. "You're..."
"It seems while the Island rewound the time of our present bodies, when it comes to our real ones, time had...I took one of the temporary cures, to see what it had done. We didn't need to make your immunity even weaker to them," Shiho said.
Shiho, who should have been eighteen when they left for the Island. The one they had returned from six months ago. Eighteen, nineteen, that should have been her age.
Instead she sat in her computer chair, a twenty-eight year old woman.
* * *
"It's quite brave of you, to make the game on your own, without asking how to work the magic," Virgilia said, watching the boy with an interested air.
"Magic does not exist," Conan said, taking a sip of his coffee between making notes.
"Even though you have traveled to another Kakera, you still deny it?"
Conan looked up. "...'magic' is something people call an occurrence they do not understand. Something that they can't explain," Conan said. "However, I do not accept it as something like that. If I can't explain something, I'll say I can't explain it, but I won't call it magic."
"So even coming this far for that child, you don't believe in magic at all?" Virgilia asked
Conan met her gaze and it was a moment of deja vu for the witch. A look that did not match his young appearance. It was something she encountered frequently.
But that was only of witches, demons, and angels. Never for a boy who was only given such a status only a few days ago.
"I do not believe in magic of fairy tales. There are no spells that will fix things automatically and do the impossible. I believe a human can do what is deemed 'impossible' as much as someone who claims to be a witch. There is only one type of magic I believe in and it is that knowledge that allowed me to use the Gold," Conan said.
"...you are a curious one indeed. I can see why that child was interested in you," Virgilia said, taking a sip of her tea with a small smile. "Tell me, were you really just made a witch in that trial?"
"Sorcerer is the proper term, isn't it?" Conan asked. "And yes. There is only one person who claims to be a witch in my world and that's the Scarlet Witch. And no, she is not my real identity."
"So that is IT. You are from that KAKERA."
"Yes," Conan said, looking over at the arrival. "Dlanor-san. Virgilia-san, would it be all right to invite her to join us?" He asked, closing his notebook.
"I have no objections," Virgilia said. "As you saw, we are old friends."
"I did, but it'd be rude for me to assume," Conan said. "Since we have no objections, would you like to join us, Dlanor-san?"
Dlanor nodded, sitting down at the table and accepting a cup of tea from Virgilia.
"So, you know of Koizumi-san?" Conan asked, sitting back and cradling his coffee cup. He wasn't much for tea when he could have his preferred drink.
"YES. There was debate on whether or not she would be TRIED. However, since she did not spread the rumors of WITCHES, except to those already in SHADOWS, or as a JOKE, she was left ALONE," Dlanor said.
"Ah, I was curious about that," Conan said. "Then again, she's pretty blunt. A pretty practical person despite the witch idea."
"And yet you used her POWER," Dlanor said. It was just barely not an accusation.
"Yes," Conan said. "Combined with a gift given to me by Beatrice-obaasan."
"And why did you decide to come to see that child?" Virgilia asked.
Conan didn't answer right away, closing his eyes as he pondered his answer. "You both already know that I met her in another place," he started slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. "In that way, I had an unfair advantage over Battler. He had some time with Beatrice-obaasan, but not as long as the time I had. Even if she says it's no time at all to her, to a human, ten years is a long time."
"Ten YEARS? You are ten NOW."
"That place, after it was over, returned people to their worlds the moment they left. Nothing changed except for what was inside. Obvious physical changes were erased," Conan said, pausing briefly. "Of course, even then, Beatrice-obaasan knew the truth of my circumstance. A laughable situation, where I forsook the impossible and yet..." Conan shrugged. "Anyway, in that time, I had gotten to know her well. Did you also know that she left this Kakera? Even if it was twenty four hours only and she might not have been missed, she did."
"There was something at the end," Virgilia mused quietly. "A happy sadness that flickered in her eyes briefly..."
"She had wanted to have fun. I provided," Conan said. "The last few minutes she told me she had died. As I watched her, I could tell something was wrong. I know what Beatrice truly wants, I know why she invited Battler to kill her and for me to do it should he fail. Her expression...I knew it had happened." He sighed and finished off his cup, setting it down. "Battler had failed. And as his successor, I had to come."
"But why did you take that duty?" Virgilia asked. "Even if you know the truth, is that really a requirement?"
Conan chuckled. "Now, now, Virgilia-san. You know it is," he said and opened his eyes, smiling wryly. "For someone to know the truth, they must care for Beatrice. To truly solve mysteries, one must hold love in their hearts, especially so with one like Beatrice. I had to care for her deeply to understand her."
"Do you hope to win with that MINDSET?" Dlanor asked. "Emotions do not solve a MYSTERY. To solve a MYSTERY, you need logic and EVIDENCE."
"Correct. You do," Conan said. "But to only look at facts coldly, without understanding emotion, you cannot win. Because no matter how much you want to stick to logic, people are not logical," Conan said. "Love is a basis for all emotion on some level, it is the element that makes the world. Not only that, one must have a love for the truth to truly be a real detective."
"Then what would you call someone like Erika?"
Conan scoffed. "An actor. A pretender," Conan said. "Oh, she has the potential to be great. I won't say she's not intelligent or observant, but she's a failure as a real detective. She has no respect for the one truth. Any detective willing to accept anything just because it sounds good doesn't deserve the title."
"Those are rather bold WORDS," Dlanora said.
"I would say them to her face if I didn't think it might do her some good to learn it in a more surprising fashion," Conan said. "You don't mind, do you, Dlanor-san?"
"...I will not lie to my MASTER. However, if she does not seek out the TRUTH...then it should not surprise her when she does not know IT," Dlanor said calmly.
Conan smiled. "I see. Thanks," he said.
"One more question, before we move to more pleasant topics," Virgilia said. "What do you plan to ask of Bernkastel, should you win?"
Conan was silent for several moments. "....what else? A miracle."
"After our return, I had wondered if something like this would happen," Haibara, no, Shiho said as soon as Conan had entered the lab.
Conan had frozen as soon as he did, hand still on the door knob as he stared at the woman. "You're..."
"It seems while the Island rewound the time of our present bodies, when it comes to our real ones, time had...I took one of the temporary cures, to see what it had done. We didn't need to make your immunity even weaker to them," Shiho said.
Shiho, who should have been eighteen when they left for the Island. The one they had returned from six months ago. Eighteen, nineteen, that should have been her age.
Instead she sat in her computer chair, a twenty-eight year old woman.
* * *
"It's quite brave of you, to make the game on your own, without asking how to work the magic," Virgilia said, watching the boy with an interested air.
"Magic does not exist," Conan said, taking a sip of his coffee between making notes.
"Even though you have traveled to another Kakera, you still deny it?"
Conan looked up. "...'magic' is something people call an occurrence they do not understand. Something that they can't explain," Conan said. "However, I do not accept it as something like that. If I can't explain something, I'll say I can't explain it, but I won't call it magic."
"So even coming this far for that child, you don't believe in magic at all?" Virgilia asked
Conan met her gaze and it was a moment of deja vu for the witch. A look that did not match his young appearance. It was something she encountered frequently.
But that was only of witches, demons, and angels. Never for a boy who was only given such a status only a few days ago.
"I do not believe in magic of fairy tales. There are no spells that will fix things automatically and do the impossible. I believe a human can do what is deemed 'impossible' as much as someone who claims to be a witch. There is only one type of magic I believe in and it is that knowledge that allowed me to use the Gold," Conan said.
"...you are a curious one indeed. I can see why that child was interested in you," Virgilia said, taking a sip of her tea with a small smile. "Tell me, were you really just made a witch in that trial?"
"Sorcerer is the proper term, isn't it?" Conan asked. "And yes. There is only one person who claims to be a witch in my world and that's the Scarlet Witch. And no, she is not my real identity."
"So that is IT. You are from that KAKERA."
"Yes," Conan said, looking over at the arrival. "Dlanor-san. Virgilia-san, would it be all right to invite her to join us?" He asked, closing his notebook.
"I have no objections," Virgilia said. "As you saw, we are old friends."
"I did, but it'd be rude for me to assume," Conan said. "Since we have no objections, would you like to join us, Dlanor-san?"
Dlanor nodded, sitting down at the table and accepting a cup of tea from Virgilia.
"So, you know of Koizumi-san?" Conan asked, sitting back and cradling his coffee cup. He wasn't much for tea when he could have his preferred drink.
"YES. There was debate on whether or not she would be TRIED. However, since she did not spread the rumors of WITCHES, except to those already in SHADOWS, or as a JOKE, she was left ALONE," Dlanor said.
"Ah, I was curious about that," Conan said. "Then again, she's pretty blunt. A pretty practical person despite the witch idea."
"And yet you used her POWER," Dlanor said. It was just barely not an accusation.
"Yes," Conan said. "Combined with a gift given to me by Beatrice-obaasan."
"And why did you decide to come to see that child?" Virgilia asked.
Conan didn't answer right away, closing his eyes as he pondered his answer. "You both already know that I met her in another place," he started slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. "In that way, I had an unfair advantage over Battler. He had some time with Beatrice-obaasan, but not as long as the time I had. Even if she says it's no time at all to her, to a human, ten years is a long time."
"Ten YEARS? You are ten NOW."
"That place, after it was over, returned people to their worlds the moment they left. Nothing changed except for what was inside. Obvious physical changes were erased," Conan said, pausing briefly. "Of course, even then, Beatrice-obaasan knew the truth of my circumstance. A laughable situation, where I forsook the impossible and yet..." Conan shrugged. "Anyway, in that time, I had gotten to know her well. Did you also know that she left this Kakera? Even if it was twenty four hours only and she might not have been missed, she did."
"There was something at the end," Virgilia mused quietly. "A happy sadness that flickered in her eyes briefly..."
"She had wanted to have fun. I provided," Conan said. "The last few minutes she told me she had died. As I watched her, I could tell something was wrong. I know what Beatrice truly wants, I know why she invited Battler to kill her and for me to do it should he fail. Her expression...I knew it had happened." He sighed and finished off his cup, setting it down. "Battler had failed. And as his successor, I had to come."
"But why did you take that duty?" Virgilia asked. "Even if you know the truth, is that really a requirement?"
Conan chuckled. "Now, now, Virgilia-san. You know it is," he said and opened his eyes, smiling wryly. "For someone to know the truth, they must care for Beatrice. To truly solve mysteries, one must hold love in their hearts, especially so with one like Beatrice. I had to care for her deeply to understand her."
"Do you hope to win with that MINDSET?" Dlanor asked. "Emotions do not solve a MYSTERY. To solve a MYSTERY, you need logic and EVIDENCE."
"Correct. You do," Conan said. "But to only look at facts coldly, without understanding emotion, you cannot win. Because no matter how much you want to stick to logic, people are not logical," Conan said. "Love is a basis for all emotion on some level, it is the element that makes the world. Not only that, one must have a love for the truth to truly be a real detective."
"Then what would you call someone like Erika?"
Conan scoffed. "An actor. A pretender," Conan said. "Oh, she has the potential to be great. I won't say she's not intelligent or observant, but she's a failure as a real detective. She has no respect for the one truth. Any detective willing to accept anything just because it sounds good doesn't deserve the title."
"Those are rather bold WORDS," Dlanora said.
"I would say them to her face if I didn't think it might do her some good to learn it in a more surprising fashion," Conan said. "You don't mind, do you, Dlanor-san?"
"...I will not lie to my MASTER. However, if she does not seek out the TRUTH...then it should not surprise her when she does not know IT," Dlanor said calmly.
Conan smiled. "I see. Thanks," he said.
"One more question, before we move to more pleasant topics," Virgilia said. "What do you plan to ask of Bernkastel, should you win?"
Conan was silent for several moments. "....what else? A miracle."