Chapter 293: Grand Narukami Shrine
"So, the Huijian Company," Conan began, ticking off points on an invisible list in his mind. "Their business includes construction, and their profits would have been severely impacted by being excluded from the final venue's contract. That gives them a clear conflict with the Kamisato Clan. It's plausible they'd try to take revenge by destroying the very project they were denied."
He paused, his expression growing more serious. "Then there's the Takahashi Group. They have suspected ties to the underworld. They likely wanted to partner with the Kamisato Clan to use this event as a front for money laundering—a way to legitimize certain illicit incomes. When the Kamisato Clan rebuffed their advances, they might have orchestrated the fire as a warning to Kamisato Ayato."
At that point, Conan's gaze shifted, landing on Heiji Hattori with a strange, probing look. "Forget the Huijian Company for a second. Hattori, didn't you say your father forbade you from investigating this? So how did you find out the Takahashi Group was planning to launder money? That's not the kind of information you can just get from questioning the staff."
"Heh, you wouldn't get it," Heiji shot back with a self-satisfied chuckle, a clear note of pride in his voice. "I snuck onto the construction site of the final venue and happened to overhear the person in charge talking about it."
He then let out a regretful sigh. "It's a shame, though. Every time I've tried to visit the Kamisato Clan, the siblings are never there. They supposedly went to a shrine, but who knows if that's true. If I can't track them down, I can't get any more solid clues from them."
"A shrine?" Conan echoed, puzzled. "At a critical time like this? The head of the clan isn't personally overseeing the venue's situation, but instead ran off to a shrine? Are they really not worried the mastermind will strike again?"
"Beats me," Heiji shrugged. "All I know is the Kamisato siblings haven't been back to the residence. This whole time, their housekeeper, Thoma, has been the one handling everything—receiving guests, arranging accommodations, the works."
Heiji gave Conan a pointed look. "In a way, your sister Natsume seems to have a lot of pull with the head of the Kamisato Clan. I mean, he's letting her house this many people at the estate while he's away."
Conan just offered a faint, knowing smile in response to Heiji's discovery. He glanced at the Osakan detective, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I figured that out a long time ago," he said coolly. "And it's not just the Kamisato siblings. Most members of the Teyvat Organization I've met treat Natsume with an incredible amount of respect. That's one of the main reasons I'm convinced she has a deep connection to Teyvat, even without a Vision."
"By the way, Hattori, do you know which shrine the Kamisato siblings went to?" Okiya Subaru interjected, smoothly pulling the slightly derailed conversation back on track. "The top priority right now is to find the arsonist."
He adjusted his glasses, a glint of light obscuring his eyes. "We left early today, so we have plenty of time. Perhaps we could pay them a visit in person. I imagine asking them directly would be more fruitful than speculating. also, we could gauge whether they've already identified the culprit themselves. It would be best to be prepared."
Heiji Hattori and Conan Edogawa exchanged a quick look. After a moment of silent consideration, they both nodded, agreeing to follow Okiya Subaru's suggestion.
The thought had barely settled before Heiji acted. With an astonishing burst of vigor, he lunged forward from the back seat, leaning toward the front and nearly making Kazuha Toyama jump out of her skin.
After a half-hearted apology, he got straight to the point, announcing his intention to split off with Conan. "Kazuha, Conan and I have something to take care of later. You and Ran can go explore Osaka a bit more; you didn't get to see much last time."
"Eh? Wait a—" Kazuha, stunned by his abrupt change of plans, was just about to protest.
But at that exact moment, the car pulled up to the entrance of the Kamisato Residence. Without another word, Heiji grabbed Conan and practically dragged him out of the vehicle.
The occupants of the other car, having arrived moments earlier, were already out and stretching. Thoma was just about to gather everyone to lead them inside to rest when he noticed the commotion around Heiji's car and walked over to see what was happening.
Heiji hesitated for a split second, weighing whether to make up an excuse or just be direct. He ultimately chose the latter; it was no secret that he had been trying to meet with Kamisato Ayato for the better part of two weeks.
Thoma hadn't even had a chance to open his mouth in response to Heiji's plan when Genta, realizing Conan was about to ditch the Detective Boys again, loudly cut in.
"You're going somewhere else? We're coming too!"
Genta's protest was immediately echoed by the others. Ayumi ran straight to Conan's side and latched onto his arm, leaving him no room to sneak away.
Conan felt a wave of helplessness wash over him at the children's antics. He shot a sideways glance at Ai Haibara and Heiji, who were both clearly enjoying his predicament. His mouth twitched, and the faint throb of a headache began to form behind his eyes.
But before he could even begin to formulate a way to persuade the children to stay, he heard Thoma's cheerful voice.
"You want to go to the Grand Narukami Shrine?" Thoma asked, his expression bright and accommodating. "The shrine is up on a mountain, so it wouldn't be very convenient for you to go by yourselves. It's still early, and it seems the children want to go as well. Why don't I just drive everyone there for a visit?"
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