Chapter Seventy-One: The Devil's Number

“Ah! Mr. Jirokichi, in the pool…”

“Hahaha… hic?”

Jirokichi was laughing, but Child interrupted him.

The old curator pointed in surprise at the pool, and following his finger, they saw a card slowly sinking in the water.

“Ah! Get it out quickly!” Inspector Ginzo urged anxiously.

Kaito Kid’s cards often carry hints—sometimes just for show, sometimes to mislead.

At that very moment, the card slipped into the mouth of the Gyarados dozing in the water. As everyone knows, a Gyarados’s mouth is usually open, only closing to chew or bite.

Irritated by the foreign object, the Gyarados instinctively shook its head and spat, sending a wave splashing from the top of the glass wall, drenching Jirokichi who stood nearby!

But at least the card was swept out by the water. Jirokichi, ignoring his soaked clothes, pushed aside Child, who was supporting him, and picked up the card.

“This is… ‘When the inverted devil returns, I shall walk upon the moonlight’?” Jirokichi muttered, his face filled with confusion.

Meanwhile, Yumi immediately became alert, scanning the surroundings—the card had just appeared, which meant the culprit was likely still here.

“There!” Sonoko suddenly pointed to the ceiling and shouted.

Everyone looked up. On the skylight, a figure with a white cloak was vanishing into the distance.

“Damn it! Those outside, seal off the museum roof! Seriously, did you have to choose an exhibition hall with skylights?” Ginzo shouted into his walkie-talkie, then glared angrily at Jirokichi.

Jirokichi replied disdainfully, “You really don’t understand… Mega Stones with Dark-type energy are most enchanting under moonlight.”

That’s why he specifically chose this exhibition hall with five skylights above and around, letting moonlight stream in!

“But isn’t this bulletproof glass? There’s no sign of anyone opening it,” Yumi said, still suspicious as she looked at those present.

Her gaze settled on Am, and she asked deliberately, “Hey, after drinking last time, when you carried me back to the dorm, where did you put your hands?”

“Huh?” Misty and Sonoko looked over in surprise.

Ginzo gave a knowing expression, gossiping with the younger crowd, while the older Jirokichi and Child remained unmoved.

Am rolled his eyes, “What are you talking about… I clearly released Sta, and it carried you back!”

Yumi confirmed Am wasn’t an impostor, then released Sta and Hajin—Arcanine and Houndoom sniffed at everyone present, especially the card.

“If they could catch anything suspicious, Kid would’ve been arrested long ago,” Ginzo said, annoyed that others underestimated Kid.

Just then, a member of the special unit reported at the door, “Inspector Ginzo, Inspector Yumi, someone outside claims to be Detective Kogoro and wants to come in…”

“Who cares about little five or six? Send him away!” Ginzo said impatiently.

But Jirokichi spoke up, “No, Mr. Kogoro is my guest. Child, go and invite him in.”

“Tch.” Ginzo pursed his lips at this troublesome dog owner.

But after all, this was the Suzuki family museum, and he couldn’t force a lockdown.

And it wasn’t just Kogoro who arrived…

“Ran! Over here!” Sonoko called out.

With Kogoro came Ran… and Conan.

Kogoro adjusted his collar with flair. “Ahem, Advisor Jirokichi, I heard Kid sent a new notice?”

Conan slipped quietly to Am’s side and asked in a low voice, “What’s the situation?”

Though logic often made it hard for him and Am to understand each other, Conan admitted Am sometimes deduced the right answer.

That kind of—deductive reasoning that gets the result by sheer intuition, even when all the clues are wrong!

“If only you’d come half an hour earlier,” Am said regretfully.

“Hm? Did something happen?” Conan asked, confused.

“There was a particularly annoying guy just now. If you were here, he wouldn’t have left alive!” Am said confidently.

Conan: …

Knowing Am was teasing him again, Conan simply rolled his eyes, then asked about the card's contents.

“The inverted devil…” Conan stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Just then, Kogoro suddenly said, “I’ve got it!”

“Huh?” Conan looked over in surprise, a sense of foreboding rising.

“The inverted devil… It must mean Hitmontop! On May 5th, Kid will use Hitmontop to steal the ‘Wrath of Gyarados’!” Kogoro declared with certainty.

Hitmontop, a Fighting-type Pokémon that moves and attacks while balancing upside down on its horn.

“Is that so?” Ginzo felt something was off.

“It must be! Think about it, the upside-down Pokémon—that’s Hitmontop! Hahaha…” Kogoro was full of self-satisfaction, convinced he’d cracked the case.

“But it says ‘when’… And Hitmontop… could it really be hidden?” Jirokichi doubted Kid would “storm” in.

Would Kid enter upside down with Hitmontop, or ride in on it?

Both seemed too conspicuous!

But with a famous detective’s declaration…

At that moment, Conan suddenly said, “Wow, Am, you’re amazing! You even know this…”

Am stared expressionlessly at the little actor.

Conan continued, “Turns out in Galar and Kalos regions, there’s a legend that seven hours, seven minutes, and seven seconds is the divine moment; in Unova, there’s a legend Arceus created the first light at seven hours, seven minutes, and seven seconds; and in Galar mysticism, ‘seven’ is considered a number of magical power…”

Well said—Am was hearing this for the first time, too.

“Kid, keep your chatter down…” Kogoro assumed Conan was spouting nonsense.

Conan lowered his head, glasses glinting, and said, “By contrast, ‘six’ is considered the devil’s number—devil’s hour is six hours, six minutes, and six seconds.”

The others were taken aback.

“Six hours, six minutes, and six seconds? Is it really about time?” Ginzo, prompted, looked again at the card.

“But at six o’clock, the moon isn’t up yet—not the best viewing time…” Child, the curator, puzzled aloud.

“Inverted! I get it! It means nine hours, nine minutes, and nine seconds in the evening!” Jirokichi finally realized.