Chapter 29: Oh, Shirley... Where are you going?

Ai Haibara walked through a secluded alleyway. Her schoolbag was slightly damaged from the chaotic surge of the crowd following the recent shooting.

However, she had no heart to care about it.

"The Organization actually knows my identity and has launched an attack against me..."

Her mood was heavy.

"I originally said I would stay here to prevent that foolish detective from investigating Tottori Prefecture, which might eventually implicate Professor Agasa."

"But now it seems that the one who will implicate the Professor is not him, but me... As expected, I should have left here sooner; otherwise, more people will be dragged into this."

As for her identity as a student at Teitan Elementary School, she would just pretend it never existed. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if her classmates were implicated later.

In any case, she was not a real elementary school student.

As she walked, Ai Haibara contemplated where she should go next.

Although she did not know which member of the Organization had discovered her true identity, once it was revealed, she would inevitably be caught in the dragnet of the Organization's members.

Where in all of Beika City was there a place for her to stay? Where could she hide?

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Her solitary footsteps echoed through the alley, sounding exceptionally lonely.

But soon, even those solitary footsteps ceased.

Ai Haibara looked up at the slender silhouette cast upon the wall ahead, her internal Black Organization radar blaring.

Then, the voice she had heard several times—the one she feared most—sounded from around the corner ahead.

"Oh, Sherry..."

The shadow seemed to be approaching.

She heard it.

"...Where are you going?"

It was Gin's voice.

Ai Haibara froze.

Fear rose within her uncontrollably. She almost instinctively turned to run, but she felt as if she lacked the strength.

This was a desolate alley that few people frequented, a straight, narrow path.

She was a sitting duck here.

If it were truly Gin, she would never be able to escape his gun.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

A different sound, unlike leather shoes, grew closer, and the dark shadow began to deepen, becoming more...

Ai Haibara looked nervously toward the corner of the alley, until a familiar, blue-suited elementary schooler she wanted to punch twice appeared.

"Did I scare you?"

Conan lowered his red bowtie.

He raised an eyebrow and said lightly, "Haibara, consider the scare you gave me on the road last night settled."

"Now, you should go back to Professor Agasa's. If you go back too late and don't call him to say you're safe, the Professor will be worried about you."

...That detestable high school detective.

Though she grumbled inwardly, Ai Haibara felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Even though she had been pranked by Shinichi Kudo this time, it was at least better than Gin actually coming to corner her.

As for how he could use Gin's voice, Shinichi Kudo must have memorized Gin's tone, allowing him to use the bowtie-shaped voice changer to mimic it.

"Worrying is still better than being killed."

She had no intention of wasting words, simply tossing this line over her shoulder as she walked past Conan with her damaged bag.

It seemed she had no intention of changing her mind because of what Conan had just said.

However, the "Death-God" elementary schooler added once more:

"What is the point of leaving now? Hasn't the Black Organization already confirmed your identity and launched an assassination attempt?"

"The school registration information at Teitan Elementary probably isn't very secure. If the Organization decides to investigate, they will likely follow the guardian column in your records and find Professor Agasa."

"When you disappear and they can't find you, they will naturally turn their attention to the Professor."

"Haibara, have you thought this through?"

Ai Haibara, who had intended to leave, stopped in her tracks.

She turned to look at Conan and demanded, "Then, do you have a better solution?"

"Even if the Organization investigates the Professor's information, they might not necessarily harm him, because..."

"Because you successfully developed APTX-4869 and you are a successful case yourself, so as long as you can make contact with other members, you can negotiate with the Organization?"

The shrunken Shinichi Kudo stood with his back to Haibara.

He put his hands in his pockets and said without looking back:

"Or perhaps the Organization will simply kill you, and since you, the traitor, have been eliminated, they will see no need for further investigation and abandon their plans for the Professor?"

He shook his head.

"Although we had a huge argument last night and you didn't tell me anything."

"But I contacted Professor Agasa this morning, and he said your real name is Shiho Miyano... Come to think of it, I once met a young lady with the surname Miyano, though her name was Akemi Miyano."

"She worked for the Black Organization, but ultimately died at the hands of its members."

"Are you certain that even if you negotiate with the Organization, they will accept your terms and not harm the Professor? Or even if you are killed by them, will they not also kill the Professor, who is a witness?"

"Thinking like that is too naive, Haibara. Leaving now only adds to the trouble for everyone else."

Conan finally turned around to face her, speaking calmly.

"Although I don't know why, you must be one of the people protected by that urban legend."

"The reason you survived that sniper's attack isn't entirely because of me—after I warned you to get down, I was thinking about how to make the sniper stop and let you escape."

"But while I was speculating, I saw a beam of light shine on the sniper's vantage point."

"The sniper likely couldn't aim because of the glare and stopped. The source of that light was a man, covered completely, whose movements and posture suggested he was between eighteen and twenty years old."

"I noticed that after he used the flashlight on the sniper, he hid his form immediately. That kind of stealth, disappearing in the blink of an eye like a ghost, is something I've only seen from that urban legend."

"So, Haibara, instead of leaving now, you should think about why you are being protected by that urban legend."

"Is it because you have something he wants, so he protects you? Or do you have relatives or friends related to him, causing him to choose to protect you? Or perhaps..."

The "Death-God" elementary schooler pushed up his plain glasses.

"He never considered you a person to be protected at all. He simply confirmed that the Black Organization members would come for you."

"Therefore, he used you as bait to lure the Black Organization members into assassinating you, so that he could draw out and kill the members active in Tokyo... I think the third possibility is highly likely."

He said:

"So, how about we go and have a direct talk with this urban legend next?"