Conan: No, why aren't you following the script?

After saying that, Kitagawa Isao stopped talking and just sat in his seat, constantly examining the exquisitely crafted walking stick.

Across from him, the old man's eyes flickered a few times after hearing these words. Seeing that his identity had been exposed, he simply sighed and stopped pretending.

"As expected of Mr. Kitagawa, you saw through my identity so quickly. I was just thinking about whether to give you a reunion gift later, but now it seems... Hehe, I don't know how Mr. Kitagawa figured out my identity. After all this time, you are still the first person who can see through me."

“Actually, I didn’t see it either,” Kitagawa Isao shook his head. “It’s just that when you were looking at me just now, you stared at me for too long. As soon as I looked up, you looked away. This happened several times, so I had a guess and came here to try my luck.”

"Just because of this?" Kidd frowned, clearly not quite believing it.

However, Kitagawa Isao nodded indifferently. Seeing his expression, Kidd sighed and said nothing more.

However, Kidd didn't actually know that.

Kitagawa Isao's identity was not confirmed because of this.

He only discovered he was being watched by a strange old man because he had leveled up his 'counter-surveillance skills' skill points before setting off.

He knew almost no one in Tokyo, so why was an old man staring at him like he was a prey about to be hunted after he got on the bus?

After thinking about it carefully, he guessed the other person's identity.

However, these words could not be said outright, so Kitagawa Isao, taking into account his own persona, came up with an excuse to deflect the question about Kaito Kid.

Now that the show of force had been successfully delivered, Kitagawa Isao put down his cane, smiled, and looked at Kidd, saying:

"A magician at the end of the century, huh... that's quite a grand gesture. You invited me before at Magic Manor, but you flew too fast then, so I didn't hear you clearly. Now, can you tell me what exactly happened?"

Upon hearing this, Kaito Kid's face darkened.

He really wanted to say that it wasn't because he was flying too fast at all, but because some irresponsible guy had ripped his glider with a throwing knife in mid-air, causing him to lose control and fall into the woods, getting completely disoriented...

However, this matter is in the past, and Kidd doesn't want to bring it up again at this time.

Of course, it wasn't because Kitagawa Isao was sitting so close to him.

"Cough cough,"

He cleared his throat and lowered his voice, saying, "First of all, I need to correct something, Mr. Kitagawa. I am not the magician of the end of the century. That person is someone else. Secondly, I did not invite... well, let's not talk about that now. You should have seen the notice I sent to the Metropolitan Police Department, right?"

"of course."

"Then you should know the code I gave you. To be honest, Mr. Kitagawa, this time the code is..."

"At 7:20 PM, at Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka Castle..."

Kidd: "..."

As expected, he and detectives are just not meant to be. These guys who can see through his code at a glance are really annoying.

Seeing Kid's increasingly grim expression, Kitagawa Isao smiled slightly:

"Alright, your code is actually quite original. At least for now, no one from the Metropolitan Police Department or Detective Mouri has deciphered it, including that kid who caused you trouble."

"Mr. Kitagawa, are you referring to that kid named Conan Edogawa?"

Kidd narrowed his eyes, but some thoughts were churning in his mind.

After suffering a loss at the Magic Villa, he went back to investigate Kitagawa Isao's identity, only to find that the other party had only recently moved to Tokyo. Although he was a detective by profession, he had never made any outstanding deductions.

He was invited to the Magic Manor only because of Kogoro Mouri's invitation. He originally thought that Isao Kitagawa and Kogoro Mouri had a good relationship, but after hearing Isao Kitagawa say this, he felt something different.

Perhaps this guy's identity is much more mysterious than he thought.

While thinking to himself, before Kidd could even speak, Kitagawa Isao continued:

"If you focus all your attention on the police and detectives this time and end up ignoring the really dangerous target, you might end up suffering a great loss."

"Hmm? What do you mean by this, Mr. Kitagawa? Are you trying to interfere with my taking the Egg of Memories?"

"No, I have no grudge against you. I'm only doing this for someone else. Even if I really wanted to intervene, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the time or resources."

Kitagawa Isao chuckled lightly, then his expression turned serious. "I just want to remind you that the Memory Egg that you've set your sights on has an extremely high reputation internationally. Not only the Suzuki Group, but even countless fanatics abroad have long coveted it. If you're careless, you might fall into someone's trap."

"Huh? Mr. Kitagawa, you're really underestimating me!"

Kidd's face darkened. "I'm a world-renowned phantom thief, after all. Even if some of my peers are envious, I've encountered this kind of thing before. Do you think I'd be outmaneuvered by those fellow phantom thieves?"

"No, I'm worried that you'll get yourself killed by your own carelessness. After all, the idea of ​​using a phantom thief to steal is still a bit too romantic for this era. Truly obsessive people will choose methods far beyond your imagination."

At this point, Kitagawa Isao deliberately paused for a moment before saying calmly, "For example... when you successfully steal the treasure, a robber with a gun suddenly appears and double-crosses you on the way. What would you do then?"

"This……"

Upon hearing Kitagawa Isao's words, Kid was taken aback.

He hadn't really considered that question. Although he was nominally the world-renowned Phantom Thief Kid, he was actually still just a high school student.

Of all the people he usually comes into contact with, apart from that strange organization that poses a threat to his life, most of the others, whether it's Inspector Nakamori or his nemesis Hakuba Saguru, just want to capture him alive.

Most of the arrests I encountered were manhunts by the police; I hardly ever heard a gunshot.

When Kitagawa Isao mentioned it, Kid couldn't help but shudder, realizing that his previous plan had been somewhat reckless.

Seeing his expression, Kitagawa Isao knew that what he said had been taken to heart, so he opened his pocket and slapped a printed sheet of paper onto the table in front of Kid.

“Pay attention to this person. It is said that she has been collecting relics related to the Romanov dynasty in Europe. This Egg of Memory that you have your eye on is very likely one of her targets.”

Upon hearing this, Kidd quickly opened the printed paper.

Inside, there was a detailed investigation into a European hired assassin.

And the first line is her name.

Scorpion, the scorpion.