The testimony matched Conan's.
Inspector Shiratori let out a long sigh of relief. That meant Satou wasn't the one who pulled the trigger. The entire First Investigation Division could finally relax. Satou would still be their goddess.
"Then Officer Satou, please get some rest." Shiratori left, and Conan stepped inside.
Conan had originally come to help in case Satou had trouble giving her statement. But to his surprise, she had already bounced back. He was puzzled. "Officer Satou, you seem… different."
"Because Kaitou Kid came to see me yesterday. He showed me something incredible," Satou said.
"What was it? Officer Satou, what did you see?" Conan asked curiously.
"My father's soul… and Matsuda's soul. They both told me not to dwell on what happened and to face the future properly."
So it was Kid's doing. Conan didn't believe they were real souls. Kid had special effects good enough to blow up a school, so faking a couple of ghosts was nothing. Probably just another trick to fool Satou. But Conan had grown. He now knew that talk like 'equality of life' and 'justice of the law' was just idealism. In the end, what mattered was your own conscience. Like Kid said: justice lives in people's hearts.
If a thief like Kid could think like that, Conan could too.
"Finally done with exams!" Sonoko stretched. "Ran, got any plans for Sunday?"
The tests were over, and Sunday was just around the corner.
"Not really," Ran said, feeling relaxed.
"Then let's go to my uncle's airship launch party," Sonoko said.
"Airship launch?"
"Yup! My Uncle Jiroukichi just got back from overseas. I haven't seen him in years," Sonoko explained. "And he moved the airship's first flight ceremony here to Japan. We might as well go!"
"Really? We can go?" Ran was tempted, but then remembered she had to look after her dad and Conan. "But my family..."
"You mean Detective Mouri and Conan? Bring them too! I'll talk to Uncle Jiroukichi, no problem at all." Sonoko, the ultimate rich girl, waved it off. "Just imagine soaring through the sky—it's gotta be so romantic."
Ran was already daydreaming.
The Bell Shirley II—the biggest, most luxurious airship in the world—was a private project funded by Suzuki Jiroukichi. As a senior advisor to the Suzuki Financial Group, he was already over 70, still going strong, and absolutely addicted to extreme events and flashy public spectacles. His greatest hobby was making headlines.
Besides the airship's maiden voyage, a legendary treasure would also be on display.
"The Lady of the Sky." Liu A'dou remembered that in his first detective world, he had missed out on stealing that gemstone because he was sick at the time.
But this time, maybe he'd get a shot at challenging the Suzuki Group's consultant and his traps. Plus, he could bring Haibara along. "Haibara, want to go steal something with me?"
Haibara didn't even know what kind of face to make at her adoptive father. He'd tried to raise her into a phantom thief how many times now?
But Haibara was learning magic tricks. She still had a long way to go before she could actually steal anything, but she could at least experience what it felt like to move through the shadows.
"Okay," Haibara Ai thought it over for a few minutes and nodded.
"Great. I'll prep your gear right now. From now on, you're a lady phantom thief! You want to keep using the code name 'Sherry,' or pick something else? I think Sherry sounds great—Phantom Thief Sherry!"
Phantom Thief Sherry. Haibara Ai's heart skipped a beat. It sounded... cool.
Seemed like she really liked it.
The female thief uniform—just swap the pants for a skirt, and the rest could stay the same. Liu A'dou's design logic was super straightforward: that's how you distinguish them.
As for the skirt type? Pleated or pencil? How long should it be? Super short or knee-length? So many things to figure out. Liu A'dou dove headfirst into his work as a tailor.
With everything ready, Liu A'dou was finally about to formally introduce Haibara to the essential gear of a phantom thief.
Spread out in front of Haibara was a chaotic pile of gadgets. Her eyes were overwhelmed—she had no idea what half of these things were for.
"Haibara, let me start by showing you the number one tool for a phantom thief—the magic card gun." Liu A'dou handed her a gun. "This is pneumatic. It shoots out cards, usually calling cards or playing cards. But since playing cards are overused by others, I fire phantom thief cards instead." Jokers, aces—too many people use those. Kaitou Kid had to have his own style.
"You can adjust the air pressure to control the force. And besides shooting, this thing can also launch ropes or tranquilizer darts. Just swap out the muzzle attachment."
"Next, let me explain the uses of these cards. The red ones are explosive cards. Yellow are hypnotic. Green are interference cards. Each one has its purpose. If used right, they let a phantom thief move like a ghost in the night."
"What's this white ball?" Haibara asked.
"That's a hypnosis gas pellet. The ones with black rings are smoke bombs."
Only now did Haibara realize how much gear a phantom thief had to carry. Wasn't this more like gearing up for battle? And with all that loaded on, could she even move? It had to be heavy, right?
"Now, this next thing is just as important—the phantom thief's glider wings." He pulled back the cloth on the uniform, revealing a white suit prepared just for Haibara.
A skirt? It was a straight skirt down to the knees—very conservative. But Liu A'dou thought it suited Haibara. "This cape is made of memory fabric. When electrified, it stiffens into shape. The trigger's in the sleeve."
He pressed it, and the cape unfurled. A mechanism inside the suit activated and opened into a triangular frame to support the cape. "Lightweight metal—nearly weightless, but super strong. You could roll a steamroller over it and it wouldn't bend."
"And the fabric for the suit? Custom-made. Bulletproof."
This was sounding more and more like military gear.
But Liu A'dou was clearly enjoying himself. "There's also a monocle, a voice changer, and disguise gear."
Especially the disguise gear—that one was important. Haibara didn't know makeup yet, so this was a special optical camo device from Mars World tech that let her appear as someone else.
A lot of this stuff, Haibara had never even seen back when she was still with the Organization. She started to wonder—was there another secret organization behind Kaitou Kid?
"Even though you're still a beginner and haven't mastered magic tricks or voice mimicry yet, with all this gear, you'll be fine shadowing me on a job." Liu A'dou was very satisfied with his prep work.
"I have a question," Haibara said.
"What is it?"
"This uniform… seems kind of big." At her current size, she only reached Liu A'dou's waist, and this outfit was clearly made for an adult.
"I've prepared a temporary antidote for you. Once you take it, you'll turn into an adult for 12 hours."
"..." It really felt like Liu A'dou knew everything.
"Don't look at me like that. Some things I just know—I can't help it. But as your adoptive father, I'd never hurt you," Liu A'dou said.
Haibara knew she was safe here. Still, her adoptive parents had way too many secrets, and that naturally made her curious. But one day, she'd learn it all—for they still had a very, very long future together.