“Gentlemen, ladies, welcome to Mihu Auction House. Today, we will be hosting the annual World Treasures Auction Convention.”
At the auction house, not far from the Mihu Hotel, the host finished his opening remarks and began introducing the first auction item.
It was the work of the famous Japanese painter Kano Eitoku, the Matsu-Taka painting, a picture of a pine tree and a hawk.
“Ah—so boring.”
In the back seat, Kuroba Kaito was about to fall asleep.
Nakamori Aoko slapped him, grumbling, “It took a lot of effort to convince my father to bring us here. Can you at least be a little serious, you jerk?”
“Okay, okay.”
Kuroba Kaito looked up, watching the boring bidding, and casually asked, “Aoko, why is your father invited to this auction?”
“It’s because of Kid, of course.”
Nakamori Aoko was a little proud. “Because they are worried about Kid stealing treasures from the auction, they specially invited my father as a security consultant.”
But, he has never caught me.
Kuroba Kaito silently quipped, shaking his head at the treasures being auctioned off.
There are no famous gemstones here.
He wasn’t interested.
“Next up, we have our grand finale.”
Time passed unconsciously, after dozens of treasures were auctioned off, the host excitedly waved his hand and had someone bring up a long sword covered in a black cloth.
“I believe everyone has already heard the news. This auction will feature the katana of Sword Saint Tsukahara Bosen. That’s right, our grand finale is - the Demon Blade, Oni-giri!!”
The moment the host finished his words, he pulled away the black cloth, revealing the famous war sword from the Sengoku period to the audience.
“This is...”
Kuroba Kaito, who had been uninterested, sat up straight, his face unusually serious.
He had just seen a rich flow of bloodlight shimmering on the blade.
Was it an illusion?
...
“Caw caw--”
Outside the auction house, on the crisscrossed power lines, a crow with black wings and red eyes groomed its feathers. Its blood-red pupils reflected everything happening at the auction.
When it saw the collector named Maruzono Jiro buy the Demon Blade, Oni-giri.
It flapped its wings a few times, landed at the entrance of the auction house, and stared at the last item that had just been escorted in.
That was also the highlight of this auction, the Killing Stone.
Legend has it that after the nine-tailed fox, Tamamo-no-Mae, was killed, her body turned into a cursed stone, the Killing Stone.
For a long time, Japanese people believed that the stone at the crater in Tochigi Prefecture was the Killing Stone, treating it as a national treasure.
However, there have been rumors lately that the stone has cracked and is not the real Killing Stone.
So, there have been some precious gemstones suspected to be the Killing Stone appearing at auctions.
This time, Mihu Auction House is auctioning one of them.
“Congratulations to Mr. Maruzono Jiro for bidding 150 million for the katana of Sword Saint Tsukahara Bosen.”
“Now, let’s welcome our final item.”
The host used a high-pitched voice to raise the atmosphere, and the red ruby suspected to be the Killing Stone was personally escorted onto the stage by Nakamori Ginzo and two other police officers.
“Here it is, is that the Killing Stone?”
“It’s so beautiful!!”
Nakamori Aoko excitedly pulled on Kuroba Kaito’s arm, snapping him out of his unusual state.
“Something is wrong.”
He rubbed his temples, thinking to himself, “Whether it was that blade just now or this gem, I saw strange illusions. Are these two things magical artifacts?”
Kuroba Kaito was no stranger to magic.
Because his classmate, Koizumi Hakuba, who often competes with him, is a genuine witch.
Kuroba Kaito had been tricked by her magic.
“No, I have to get to the bottom of this.”
Looking at the Killing Stone that was bought again by Maruzono Jiro, Kuroba Kaito secretly decided that he would follow him after the auction and then appear in a different identity.
...
“I’m back.”
At the Mouri Detective Agency, Mouri Kogoro returned home drunk, only to see that Ran and that little brat were sitting on the couch watching TV, not greeting him at all.
“You’re so awful.”
Mouri Kogoro immediately clenched his fists and walked over, giving Conan a whack on the head.
“Ouch.”
Conan covered his head with both hands, complaining, “Mouri-san, it’s so bad to beat up your kid when you come home drunk.”
“That’s right, dad.”
Ran stood on Conan’s side, “You are not allowed to go out drinking anymore. Our living expenses are already barely enough for this month.”
“No.”
Mouri Kogoro scratched his head, laughing a little embarrassedly. “I went out to handle a case and had some drinks.”
“Really?”
Ran’s eyes were suspicious.
“It’s true.”
Mouri Kogoro nodded, his clever head quickly turning, thinking of what excuse he should make up.
“Beep beep--”
At this moment, the phone rang.
Mouri Kogoro was relieved and ran to answer the phone. After a while, he straightened up, proudly waving the phone and said:
“See, as a famous detective, I’m always busy.”
“Just now, a client commissioned me to investigate his wife. I heard she’s a famous antique collector in Tokyo.”
“Is it Mr. Maruzono Jiro?!”
Ran and Conan exclaimed in unison.
“How did you know?”
Mouri Kogoro was stunned.
“Because it was just reported on TV.”
Ran pointed to the news on TV. “Famous antique collector Maruzono Jiro spent a fortune to buy the katana of Sword Saint Tsukahara Bosen, as well as a red ruby suspected to be the Killing Stone… I heard he spent billions.”
“Is that so? I need to ask for a higher price.”
Mouri Kogoro’s eyes lit up.
As a detective.
He could see at a glance why Mr. Maruzono Jiro wanted to hire him to investigate his wife.
It was a matter of a man’s dignity.
I believe Mr. Maruzono Jiro wouldn’t mind paying a little extra.