The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan.

Chapter 1301 The Phantom Thief of Hearts Has a Bit of Poison in Him

"Green Burning Yuka Qiuyuan Yushan Yuka"

Uta's smiling face————"

Shinichi Kudo sat in the last row of the classroom, subtly observing Asai Narumi and Haga Kyosuke sitting on the other side, seemingly muttering to themselves, while also stealing glances at Akiba Reiko, who had a serious expression on her face and arms crossed, seemingly listening intently to the children singing. For a moment, he was still somewhat dazed.

He was very familiar with Teitan Elementary School, after all, this was his second time attending the school.

The biggest difference is probably that he was a student in Class A when he graduated last time, but this time he transferred to Class B, which still had empty seats. The classroom locations are different, and sometimes he would accidentally go to the wrong place.

But at this moment, he was sitting here as Shinichi Kudo, watching his classmates who had been in class with him just a few days ago nervously practicing their chorus, while the phantom thieves, who were there to watch the fun or had some other schemes, were also getting involved. This scene was so disjointed and awkward that it made him feel very complicated.

"Do you still think it's better this way?" Tang Ze nudged him with his elbow while he was lost in thought. "With you here, the choir competition is probably doomed."

"Hey, hey—" Shinichi Kudo, thinking he was about to say something, rolled his eyes. "I know my singing is pretty average, but is it really that exaggerated—"

"Your off-key singing is so bad that no one around you can sing it anymore." Tang Ze glanced at him with distrust. "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be someone with perfect pitch? Why can't you correct your own pitch? Is there some kind of problem with your bone conduction?"

"That's nonsense," Shinichi Kudo looked away. "I'm just... well, not very good at controlling my vocal cords—"

Compared to correct technique, even if the emotion is not conveyed properly, at least the scales are decent for a good instrument. Vocal music is too difficult for him.

If he were that good at controlling his voice, he wouldn't have needed the voice changer the doctor made for him to dare call Xiaolan. After all, he only shrunk, not changed into a different person. Logically, it should still be his own voice. So, he just doesn't know how.

"And I participated in elementary school choir competitions before." He then protested, "Our class had pretty good grades back then, so it's unlikely we were led astray—"

"Really? Then I think your teacher might have muted your microphone during the competition," Tang Ze teased.

"What? It's just an elementary school choir competition. Everyone's just shouting randomly. It's just a competition to see who can sing the most in unison and the loudest," Shinichi Kudo retorted, looking a little embarrassed. "A small auditorium like Teitan doesn't need microphones at all."

"Oh, is that so?" Tang Ze said casually. "I didn't go to elementary school, so I really didn't know."

He was immediately speechless, not knowing what to say: "..."

The whispering Haga Kyosuke and Asai Narumi were not discussing anything serious, such as phantom thieves or cases, but rather quietly talking about Teitan Elementary School.

"Actually, besides this detective and his childhood friend, there are also their parents, and Professor Agasa next door also graduated from this elementary school." Asai Narumi pointed to Akiba Reiko, who was still looking like she was facing a formidable enemy, "Strictly speaking, this is not a simple school, so she wasn't entirely wrong."

"That's true." Haga Kyosuke nodded in understanding. "Elementary schools built in this kind of location are indeed more likely to attract elite students."

It is undeniable that the area within Teitan Elementary School's catchment area includes a considerable number of affluent and commercial districts. Overall, the educational resources and student body are of high quality. Even if it is not a prestigious private school, it is certainly excellent in all aspects.

"Yes, even Ms. Akemi graduated from this school," Asai Shigemi added.

Unexpectedly hearing such gossip, Yuga Kyosuke's eyes widened: "Wait? I remember you guys mentioning that her background seems to be—"

"Yes, her situation is very special. Her parents had both passed away by the time she was of school age, so her schooling and life were arranged by the organization she had to fight against." Asai Shigemi nodded, confirming his guess.

They had seriously discussed why Tang Ze was assigned to transfer to Teitan High School, and why Amuro Tooru was able to move into Beika Shopping Street so smoothly. Even Rum had the idea of ​​coming here to find out more.

It was at this time that Akemi Miyano revealed that she had actually attended elementary and middle school at Teitan High School.

"I'm quite familiar with the Beika area. I've lived here for almost ten years. That's part of the reason I sought out Detective Mouri to help me find my father," Miyano Akemi frankly stated. "It's not surprising that they would arrange for Karasawa to come here."

The organization has considerable control over Mikasa; they must have established many outposts or similar locations here.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why Shinichi Kudo in his Conan form would encounter members of the organization so frequently, and how Ai Haibara managed to find Ni-chome so easily.

Don't forget that Shiho Miyano was imprisoned in the gas chamber after her argument with Gin, and hadn't eaten for quite a while. Then, due to the effects of APTX4869 and the torrential rain at the time, she developed a high fever and became physically weak.

Given her physical condition at the time, it would have been difficult for her to walk a long distance. The only possibility is that the base was not far from 2-chome.

"That's really something—" Haga Kyosuke nodded with interest, staring intently at the children who were still trying their best to sing.

Is it one of the areas in Tokyo that is tightly controlled by the Black Organization? That's certainly interesting.

The children were of course unaware of the adults' discussion. Under the watchful eyes of these people, they were sweating profusely and sang the song with trepidation.

Even though they haven't been learning the school song for very long, they can't possibly sing it this badly, so why are these people making such strange expressions?

Ran Mouri, who had finished playing the accompaniment, also breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly turned to ask Reiko Akiba, who had taken time out of her busy schedule, "That's about it now. What do you think of the children's singing?"

After confirming several times that they were indeed just ordinary children singing in a choir, Akiba Reiko glanced at Haga Kyosuke with a puzzled look. Seeing that Haga Kyosuke didn't seem inclined to speak, she took a few steps forward.

"First of all, it's you." She pointed directly at Genta Kojima. "Your voice is too loud, completely discordant. Shouting like that easily drowns out the other voices. You need to learn to cooperate with others and have some team spirit."

"Hehe—" Genta Kojima scratched his head sheepishly, "But the teacher chose me because my voice is loud—"

"That doesn't mean you can just shout randomly without thinking," she retorted expressionlessly, then shifted her gaze to Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya beside him. "And then there's this freckled young man. You didn't sing off-key, but you seemed distracted. Was it because you were staring intently at the girl in front of you?"

Upon hearing this, a group of children who had been obediently waiting to be scolded with their heads down looked up and, following Akiba Reiko's gaze, saw Haibara Ai pursing her lips.

"Is that Haibara-san?"

"Mitsuhiko, you bastard—"

The children started laughing, while Akiba Reiko shifted her focus to Haibara Ai.

"You sing quite well, but you seem to rely too much on technique. Relax a bit; that's not how you sing in a children's choir."

"Isn't it good to have skills?" Ai Haibara felt quite innocent.

Although she didn't attend elementary school in Japan, she still needed to integrate into groups and participate in activities in the United States.

Although she wasn't very successful at integrating because she was Asian, she still understood very well how to be a successful student.

"Children should act like children. Overly embellished voices will only affect the listening experience," Akiba Reiko shook her head, unconvinced.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that. I'm not a child." Taking advantage of her status as a child, which made her statement perfectly acceptable, Ai Haibara answered directly, "Even children have to sing seriously, otherwise why would they need someone to coach them?"

Because they understood this logical relationship, all the adults present, except for Akiba Reiko, looked at her with indescribable expressions.

Sometimes it's nice to go back to being a child. Without so much emotional intelligence and social skills to consider, and without the so-called atmosphere issues, you can really yell at whoever you want.

"This little girl, you're not bad." Having seen many arrogant kids in this industry, Akiba Reiko didn't mind and turned to Yoshida Ayumi. "You sang very accurately and with great energy; you performed very well. You could consider changing your position to be the lead singer. You need to have full confidence in your voice and not be influenced by the people around you."

Upon being praised, Ayumi Yoshida immediately straightened her back and beamed with joy.

"You truly have the ears of a musician; you spotted so many problems in just one listen." Sonoko Suzuki said, half in flattery and half in admiration. "If I were in charge, I would have to have them sing one by one to hear the problems."

Inviting Akiba Reiko was obviously for a better-looking nominal appointment, but judging from her attitude, even though she knew that the request was more formal than practical, she was still quite serious about her work.

Or rather, her keen hearing made it impossible for her to be perfunctory; in the face of music, she was so honest and straightforward.

After arresting a few more out-of-tune war criminals, Akiba Reiko stood next to Mouri Ran, stared at the beginner-level piano for a while, and then raised her hand to tap the keys a few times.

"I knew it! Several keys need to be recalibrated, and half of the scales are almost half a pitch lower. The overall pitch sounds really weird, it's terrible. With accompaniment like this, it's easy to go off-key without even realizing it."

"Huh, is it off-key?" Ran Mouri looked down, staring blankly at the black and white keyboard in her hands. "I didn't even notice—"

"It's not a serious problem, but it's definitely not suitable for a performance."

Reiko Akiba turned to the other side, pressed a few buttons, and was about to say something when she remembered the others in the classroom and looked at Kyosuke Haga, who hadn't said a word.

"I almost forgot, when it comes to playing musical instruments, we have real experts here. Mr. Yuhe, tuning is something we'd probably have to do with professionals like you."

"Ah, right, Mr. Haga Kyosuke also has perfect pitch." Ran Mouri snapped out of her reverie, realizing she was showing off her limited skills in front of two such highly accomplished experts, and became even more embarrassed. "I didn't realize Teitan Elementary School doesn't maintain its music rooms very well these days—"

"It's not a maintenance issue." Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Kyosuke Haga felt too embarrassed to slack off any longer. He stood up, leaned over, and tapped the grand piano's case. "It's probably a loose pedal, or the hammers aren't moving properly. Besides, you can't expect elementary school music teachers to be experts in this area."

Strictly speaking, a piano is a delicate and sensitive instrument, requiring specific environmental conditions and humidity levels. Over time, mechanical malfunctions are inevitable for any piano.

Regular tuning and maintenance of various parts of the piano are important aspects of its upkeep, regardless of the occasion in which it is used. It would be unreasonable to expect music teachers to handle all of this work.

"I didn't bring a wrench, so let me just make a simple adjustment."

Despite his humble words, Yuga Kyosuke still opened the piano lid, bent down to check the condition of the tuning pegs, pinched the adjustment knob and turned it slightly. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, he closed the lid again.

"Alright, Miss Mori, try again."

Ran Mouri hesitated as she looked at Reiko Akiba. After thinking for a moment, she didn't play anything, but simply pressed the same few keys that Reiko had just pressed.

Akiba Reiko's brow relaxed considerably: "Much better. Mr. Haga seems to know more about musical instruments than rumored."

"The more you deal with them, the more familiar you become. Since I don't have any tools at hand, I still need to be more meticulous in my tuning."

"It's impressive that you can find problems so easily without the aid of tuning tools."

"No, no, not at all—"

Listening to them launch into pleasantries and flattery, Ran Mouri lowered her head back to the piano keys and couldn't help but ask, "I almost forgot to ask. Mr. Haga, what brought you here today to coach the children in singing—"

Having already confirmed through practice that it was not a secret training camp, Akiba Reiko also turned her gaze to Haga Kyosuke's face.

Indeed, judging from the way he sat in the back whispering with the people he brought, it was hard to tell that he had any connection with these children.

Since they've already invited her, there's no reason for them to invite a master instrumentalist as well. Otherwise, it would seem like they're questioning her professional skills, which would be quite disrespectful to her.

"Someone asked me to do this." Haga Kyosuke smiled and said something surprising. "He said he had a cold and couldn't participate in practice, which would be a bit disappointing. I happened to be free and needed to attend Mr. Domoto's concert, so I stopped by to say hello to Ms. Akiba."

"Did Conan send you here?" Ayumi Yoshida's voice suddenly became louder.

Conan himself, who was sitting right there, was abruptly blamed for everything:

'

No, he remembered that Yuga Kyosuke wasn't like this before. He's only been hanging out with those people for a short time, and now he's started spouting nonsense like this.

Their inner thief is somewhat poisonous.

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