Chapter 68: The Performance Venue
Back then, Natsume's breath had completely caught in her throat the moment Matsuda Jinpei finished his description. Every physical detail, every subtle mannerism the officer recounted—it all painted a perfect, obvious picture of Aether.
Caught entirely off guard by the revelation, Natsume had stumbled over her words, unable to give Matsuda a definitive answer. She had only managed to offer a vague half-truth: yes, she had a brother, but he had gone missing a long time ago. She hastily added that the person who saved the bomb squad officer might not necessarily be him. Perhaps it was just a bizarre coincidence, a stranger who simply happened to share her brother's face.
That was the excuse she had fed Matsuda Jinpei. Yet, as she lay in her bed later that night, staring up at the dark ceiling, the officer's words echoed relentlessly in her mind. The more she replayed the description, the more a heavy, sinking certainty settled in her chest. It was Aether. It had to be.
But how could that be possible?!
Setting aside the question of whether Aether was even included in her system's gacha pool, wouldn't she know if she had pulled him?, the timeline was completely shattered. Matsuda's rescue happened three years ago—a time when she hadn't even transmigrated into this world yet. What exactly was going on behind the scenes?
Unable to wrap her head around the temporal paradox, Natsume sat up abruptly, the blankets pooling around her waist. She summoned her guide.
'Paimon. Do you know anything about this?'
The little floating fairy materialized, but instead of her usual cheerful demeanor, she refused to meet Natsume's eyes. Paimon twiddled her fingers, her voice dripping with guilt. "Traveler, don't ask me... Paimon isn't too sure what's going on either. May—maybe it's just, just a coincidence that they look alike."
Paimon stammered, her voice dropping lower and lower with each word, before she suddenly puffed out her chest and loudly emphasized, "But I can be absolutely certain that there is only one task-taker in this world, and that's the Traveler!"
Natsume narrowed her eyes. 'Then what's the deal with Matsuda? And what about the person he said saved him?'
Paimon hemmed and hawed, floating nervously in tight circles. Finally, she let out a defeated sigh. "Alright, alright! I'll find a way to ask the 111 System, but I'm not sure when I'll get a reply. After all, logically speaking, we're on a solo mission in this world and can only rely on ourselves. Other systems won't provide help. I'm only bending the rules to ask because this is a special situation, Traveler, so you should thank me properly~"
Hearing Paimon actually agree to investigate, Natsume felt her tense shoulders relax. She didn't intend to press the issue further. 'Fine. Then thank you, emergency food.'
"Hey!" Paimon stomped her tiny foot in mid-air, her face flushing with indignation.
One week later. The grand entrance of the Tokyo magic performance venue buzzed with a massive, chattering crowd.
"There are a lot of people here, so you must stay close to me and Dr. Agasa. Do not run around," Natsume instructed, her tone taking on a strict, motherly edge as she looked down at the energetic children. "If anything happens, find an adult nearby—me, the Doctor, Sonoko, or Ran will do. You must absolutely not leave without saying a word, understand?"
"Yes—!" the Detective Boys chorused in unison, their bright voices cutting through the lobby's noise.
Natsume looked at their obedient, smiling faces, though a faint sliver of unease still prickled at the back of her neck. Still, she reasoned, with five adults watching over them, there shouldn't be any accidents... right?
The group shuffled forward, pulling out their tickets. After a quick inspection by the uniformed staff, they filtered into the dimly lit auditorium. They had secured premium seats right in the first row. To maximize supervision, the adults flanked the children. From left to right, the seating order fell into place: Kogoro Mouri, Ran Mouri, Sonoko, Conan, Haibara, Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, Genta, Natsume, and finally, Dr. Agasa.
The heavy velvet curtains soon parted, and the stage lights flared to life.
Stepping into the spotlight amidst a wave of enthusiastic applause were Lyney and Lynette. The charismatic magician offered a sweeping, theatrical bow, while his assistant offered a polite, muted curtsy. They introduced themselves as a sibling duo from France—the older brother, Lyney, and the younger sister, Lynette.
Sonoko immediately grabbed Ran's arm, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Ran, look, they're siblings! No wonder they look so much alike. And the brother is so handsome! He has such a dashing, romantic aura to him."
Ran smiled, nodding in agreement. "Yes, and the sister is incredibly cute. She's even wearing cat ear accessories."
(Since actual cat ears would shatter the logical foundation of this science-based world, Lynette's physical traits had been smoothly adapted into a highly realistic decorative headband.)
Even Kogoro Mouri, who had been slouching in his seat, suddenly sat up straight. He adjusted his collar, his eyes locked onto the deadpan, adorable assistant with a renewed sense of vigor.
The performance flowed smoothly. The siblings executed a series of classic, flawless illusions—complex card manipulations, lightning-fast quick-change acts, and the sudden, fluttering appearance of white doves from empty top hats. The audience was entirely captivated, erupting into frequent applause and gasps of wonder.
Well, almost everyone was captivated.
Sitting right in the middle of the first row, a certain bespectacled boy rested his chin heavily on his palm. Conan Edogawa stared at the dazzling stage with half-lidded eyes and a thoroughly bored expression, forming a stark, gloomy contrast to the glowing faces of Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko beside him.
Conan glanced sideways at Ran and Sonoko, who were currently cheering. He couldn't help but feel utterly baffled. What's so great about this standard, run-of-the-mill magic? Ran has seen exactly this kind of stuff before. Why is she acting like it's a miracle?
Unable to contain his analytical mind, whenever a trick reached its climax, Conan would lean over and whisper the mechanical secret behind the illusion to Haibara.
"...and the dove was just hidden in a spring-loaded pocket inside his sleeve," Conan muttered.
Haibara merely gave him a flat, speechless side-glare, refusing to dignify him with a response.
Although Natsume was seated a few spots away, her enhanced senses picked up the faint, annoying drone of Conan's voice. A vein pulsed lightly at her temple. Her fingers curled into a tight fist resting on her knee. This brat is really not cute at all right now. If it weren't for the physical distance separating them, she would have absolutely reached over and delivered a sharp knock to his head to shut him up.
Natsume wasn't the only one suffering from a ruined atmosphere. Several rows back, sitting in the dimly lit mid-section of the audience, Aoko Nakamori was experiencing the exact same frustration.
She had been thrilled when her childhood friend, Kaito Kuroba, unexpectedly invited her to a magic show. It felt like a proper date. But reality had quickly crushed her expectations. Ever since the curtain rose, Kaito had been leaning in, casually deconstructing every single trick Lyney performed, completely shattering the magical illusion.
Finally reaching her breaking point, Aoko snapped her head toward him, her voice rising in a sharp hiss. "Do you just not like watching this performance?! If you hate it so much, why did you even invite me!?"
Kaito blinked, startled by her sudden anger. He quickly plastered on an innocent, placating smile. "I... I didn't say I didn't like it! You know I study magic, Aoko. It's just a habit to analyze the techniques when I see other people perform. If you don't like it, I swear I won't say another word."
Aoko crossed her arms, her glare lingering for a second longer before she huffed. "That's more like it."
Kaito let out a silent breath, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. That was close. Good thing I didn't tell her the truth, or she would have exploded.
The truth was, Kaito had only bought tickets because he heard a highly acclaimed new magician from France was making his Tokyo debut. As a phantom thief and illusionist himself, Kaito wanted to size up the competition. But showing up to a magic show alone felt a bit pathetic, so he had dragged Aoko along.
Now, watching the stage, Kaito felt a distinct wave of disappointment. The sleight of hand was smooth, sure, but the routines were entirely conventional. Out of sheer boredom, his mouth had run faster than his brain.
Now forced into silence, Kaito leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. Let's see if this grand finale of yours can actually live up to the hype, 'Lyney'.
Deep in the shadows of the VIP balcony, far removed from the cheering crowds below, the atmosphere was entirely different.
"So, the performance is quite spectacular, wouldn't you agree?"
Kaeya leaned against the velvet railing, a relaxed, charming smile playing on his lips as he turned to the man seated beside him.
Toru Amuro kept his eyes fixed on the stage, his expression carefully neutral, though his sharp gaze missed nothing. "It is excellent," Amuro agreed softly. Then, he tilted his head, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous murmur meant only for Kaeya. "But aren't you afraid she'll notice something? Bringing such a young child to the scene of an underground transaction... if she casually mentions it later, it could be problematic."
Amuro's eyes flicked briefly to the little girl sitting happily on Kaeya's other side, her small legs kicking back and forth in the oversized chair.
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