"Is it really possible for one man to design three different types of software simultaneously?" Detective Mori asked, his voice thick with skepticism as he crossed his arms.
"That's exactly why we're in such a hurry to find him and get the truth!" one of the men exclaimed.
"The nerve of that guy... when our company hired him, he had the audacity to act like everything was fine. He told us he hadn't signed with any other firms and that we could rest easy."
The three clients began to vent their frustrations in unison, each feeling more cheated than the last.
Standing off to the side, Conan let his head droop. This disappearance case sounded incredibly dull at first glance. However, from the sounds of it, this Suguru Itakura was a highly skilled developer—a hot commodity in the tech market.
"To be honest, we didn't know the truth ourselves until we received this email," Teiping Naito said, pulling a laptop from his briefcase and setting it on the table.
The email contained a video file.
On the screen, a man sat upright, facing the camera. He wore glasses and possessed the sharp, shrewd expression seen in the photographs: Suguru Itakura.
"Taking on three projects at once has turned out to be a bit more than I can handle," Itakura said in the video, his tone deceptively calm. "My heart has been feeling better lately, so I've decided to put my work aside for a while. I'm going to take a proper vacation and get some rest for a few days..."
In the footage, Itakura appeared to be in good spirits, composed as he effectively resigned—or rather, went AWOL—from all three companies simultaneously.
"Suguru Itakura... no wonder that name sounded familiar. Isn't he the one who became famous for CG production?" Ran asked, leaning in closer to the screen.
"Yes," Katsumichi Sugai nodded. "He usually wears contact lenses when he's in the public eye, so it's hard to recognize him at a glance."
A few years ago, Itakura's name was a staple in movie credits. However, after his vision began to fail three years ago, he abandoned CG work and transitioned into developing game software.
"Since he's so famous, is it possible he was kidnapped?" Kogoro asked. If even his own daughter recognized the man, it wasn't far-fetched to think some criminal had targeted him as a high-value ransom prize.
"I doubt it..." Teiping Naito shook his head.
Itakura was a master of the "disappearing act." During the first two instances, they had actually called the police. Every time the authorities tracked him down, they ended up lecturing the clients for wasting resources—all because the man was simply sitting in an air-conditioned room, engrossed in his computer.
"Speaking of such things, I just remembered someone," Ryosuke Soma said, his expression turning pensive as he recalled a memory. "I remember going to Mr. Itakura's office two years ago. I saw a hulking man with a mustache and a thick Kansai accent talking to him."
He paused, then added, "And then, at the Mantendo software release party earlier this year... that same guy showed up."
Conan's expression shifted instantly. His heart skipped a beat.
A hulking man with a mustache and a Kansai accent? At the Mantendo convention?
Tequila!
"That man! What was he doing at Mr. Itakura's office?" the Great Detective-in-training rushed forward, his voice urgent.
"I don't know exactly what he was there for," Soma shook his head, looking slightly unsettled. "I only overheard him say: 'You've outlived your usefulness,' and then he left."
Even after all this time, the memory of that man's cold expression and chilling words still sent a shiver down Soma's spine.
"Was that all?"
"Did Mr. Itakura say anything else...?" Conan tried to press for more, but Ran stepped in, hoisting him up by the collar and pulling him back.
Kogoro glanced at the meddlesome brat with an annoyed sigh before turning back to the clients. "That man does sound suspicious, but during that software release, the individual you're describing was killed in an explosion on the spot. It shouldn't have anything to do with him now."
Even the muddled detective remembered a man with such distinct features. Currently, the most pressing issue was locating Itakura. The only clue they had was the vacation video he had recorded.
"I imagine he's staying at a hotel somewhere," one of the men mused.
"Even if he is, hotels won't disclose guest information to protect their privacy."
"Heh, knowing Mr. Itakura, he's probably checked in under a fake name specifically to avoid us."
As the representatives from the three companies analyzed the situation, Conan turned to Ran, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Hey, Ran-neechan! For dinner tonight, I really want to eat sashimi, Tenshinhan, and maybe some beef consommé. That would be the best!"
"That's impossible, Conan-kun," Ran said with a helpless smile. "You're asking for Japanese, Chinese, and Western dishes all at once. You won't find a restaurant that serves all three."
Kids really could be unpredictable when it came to their cravings.
"Then, if someone ordered all three of those things at once, they'd be a very strange guest, wouldn't they?" Conan asked, smiling innocently.
"Well, it's hard to find a guest as picky as you..." Ran muttered, already mentally scrolling through a dinner menu. Forget it, we'll just eat whatever is in the fridge.
"Sashimi, Tenshinhan, beef consommé?" Kogoro echoed. He didn't think much of the boy's babbling at first, turning his attention back to the video.
Wait.
Chess, Go, Shogi!
Kogoro's eyes sharpened as he looked at the background of the video next to Itakura.
"Everyone, look. If Mr. Itakura went on vacation to rest, he wouldn't carry three different types of game boards with him, would he?" Kogoro pointed at the screen.
If he were actually lugging around those boards and pieces, he'd need a massive suitcase. It wasn't practical.
"Mr. Mori, what are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting..." Kogoro walked to the window and pulled out his mobile phone. He began dialing the major hotels in the area.
Adopting the persona of a boisterous, disgruntled drunk, he began complaining to the front desk clerks, claiming he was a guest who had borrowed three different sets of game boards.
Watching from the side, "Director Conan" nodded with a smirk. The old man's acting was impeccable; he played the part of a drunken nuisance perfectly. If those items had been requested from the hotel, the staff would certainly remember such an unusual guest.
"Hello! I'm the guest who borrowed the Chess, Shogi, and Go sets! The phone in my room is broken! What's going on over there?!"
Kogoro pinched his nose, disguising his voice as he called the Beika Hotel.
"Ah, you must be Mr. Itakura in Room 2004," the receptionist replied immediately, recognizing the specific request. "I can send a staff member up right now to look at it, if you'd like?"
Kogoro quickly scribbled down the room number. "Oh, wait! Sorry, I just looked again. The cord was just loose. Never mind!"
Checkmate.
It was that easy. Beika Hotel, Room 2004.
The group immediately piled into cars and sped toward the hotel.
Inside the Virtual World
"How's it going?"
"Finished yet?"
Hiroki walked over, shouldering a fishing rod, and looked down at the NPC lying on the ground, barely clinging to life.
While Hiroki had spent his time creating a small pond to enjoy a fishing mini-game, the "Fixer" had been engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat session with various enemies. It had been quite the spectacle.
"Should we go eat?"
Tsuneo checked the time and opted to log out of the game.
While training in the virtual world was essential, his body in the physical world was his true capital. He had to keep it well-maintained.
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