LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 290: Chapter 290: Spearhead
Two days have passed since the incident at Tokyo Big Sight.
Although Akikawa Kyousuke doesn't particularly care about the progress of this case, he knows one thing for certain:
Given the capabilities of the officers in the Second Investigative Division, there's no way they can catch Kaitou Kid.
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During this time, Akikawa Kyousuke hasn't received any messages from the system.
This means that Toru Amuro hasn't revealed his identity to the organization.
However, Akikawa Kyousuke never thought that something of this level would cause an organization bold enough to shoot police officers in the street to suspect Amuro recklessly.
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Instead of waiting for Toru Amuro to expose himself to the organization, Akikawa Kyousuke wants to further intensify the conflict between Amuro and the organization.
If a conflict were to erupt between the police and the organization, that would be ideal.
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Akikawa Kyousuke noticed that Toru Amuro places great importance on the public security officer who was killed by Vermouth earlier.
That's why Amuro didn't hesitate to infiltrate the circle of exhibition guests just to get close to him.
Akikawa Kyousuke thought that as long as he could eliminate Amuro's suspicions,
The only outlet for Toru Amuro's anger would be Vermouth.
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Yet, judging by the current situation, there doesn't seem to be any direct conflict between Amuro and the organization.
It's also evident from the fact that Toru Amuro turned against him after learning that the public security officer under his command was killed.
It seems that Toru Amuro isn't capable of taking direct action against members of the organization.
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Whether it's due to his abilities or his consideration of the bigger picture, Akikawa Kyousuke doesn't know.
However, Kyousuke believes that the primary reason Amuro hasn't acted against the organization is that the conflict between them isn't significant enough yet.
It hasn't reached the point where Amuro would openly oppose the organization.
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'The fact that Toru Amuro managed to investigate so quickly after the hot springs incident and found out that the public security officer had been tailing me before Vermouth killed him…'
'…means his status within the organization is certainly high.'
'In that case, the matter of the Scarlet Shadow's Heart alone might not be enough to shake his trust in the organization or make them doubt his identity.'
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Akikawa Kyousuke isn't in a rush.
After all, a crisis of trust is like a toxin that accumulates slowly in the body.
As the incidents pile up, the cracks in trust will widen until collapse becomes inevitable.
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For things like this, Akikawa Kyousuke always avoids acting personally whenever possible to prevent exposing his capabilities to others.
But sometimes, exposure is unavoidable.
For instance, when dealing with Sera Masumi, or this time, when facing Kaitou Kid.
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Kaitou Kid's level of disguise is extraordinarily high.
From what Akikawa Kyousuke has seen so far, his skill in disguise is no less impressive than Vermouth's, whom he encountered at the hot springs hotel.
However, unlike last time, there was no hydrogen sulfide poisoning to reveal the truth.
This time, Kyousuke couldn't judge Kaitou Kid's disguise by observing his face.
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Of course, he didn't need to.
Akikawa Kyousuke quickly realized that Matsumoto Kenichi was Kaitou Kid.
This time, the incident was resolved through the asymmetry of information between the thieves and the phantom detectives.
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Akikawa Kyousuke knew this:
For exceptionally skilled people, especially those far more capable than the average person, accepting a stranger's proposal is nearly impossible.
Even if the benefits are substantial, they will often feel they don't need to owe anyone a favor in such a scenario.
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Thus, the focus of Akikawa Kyousuke's negotiations with Kaitou Kid was clear:
He had to ensure that Kaitou Kid never realized he was being used.
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This was why Akikawa Kyousuke's final transmission to correct the earlier information was only sent to Location C.
At the same time, there was another critical reason:
Kyousuke wanted Kaitou Kid to see that he could gain substantial benefits from the proposal without owing anyone a favor.
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Of course, Akikawa Kyousuke would never ask Kaitou Kid to do anything with obvious malicious intent.
That would easily break the superficial relationship between them.
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So, the only thing Akikawa Kyousuke asked Kaitou Kid to do was something that aligned with his expectations:
Steal the gem and force the snipers to withdraw.
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When Kaitou Kid went to find Takashi Tsukino, Akikawa Kyousuke sent a transmission to Location C, where the detectives, Toru Amuro, and others were waiting.
This way, Toru Amuro, who was relying on Takashi Tsukino to verify the authenticity of the gem, would still choose to hand over the fake gem to the organization.
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Aside from getting Kaitou Kid's help and increasing the organization's suspicion of Amuro, Akikawa Kyousuke had another motive for contacting Kid.
He wanted to unlock Kaitou Kid's [Character Book].
To unlock a [Character Illustration] in the system, Akikawa Kyousuke needed direct contact with the corresponding character.
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Through this event at Tokyo Big Sight, Akikawa Kyousuke successfully unlocked the character illustrations for "Toru Amuro" and "Phantom Thief Kid."
Now, Akikawa Kyousuke could extract skills and traits from these two individuals.
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Among Kaitou Kid's skills, one stood out to Akikawa Kyousuke:
The ability Kid used to survive after being shot by a sniper at Arena B.
The only regret was that Akikawa Kyousuke didn't have a [Skill Card] that could provide permanent abilities.
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At that moment, Akikawa Kyousuke noticed the phone on his desk light up.
It was his manager, Misaki Itakura.
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Two days ago, after Misaki Itakura learned about the incident at Tokyo International Exhibition Center, she was so terrified she became almost incoherent.
After repeatedly confirming Akikawa Kyousuke's safety, she finally relaxed.
This time, she promised to be more cautious in choosing jobs for Akikawa Kyousuke.
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What Misaki Itakura didn't know was that the real danger likely came from a certain bespectacled elementary school student.
Akikawa Kyousuke answered the phone, and the voice of his manager came through.
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"Mr. Akikawa, how have you been resting?"
"Very well. Ms. Itakura, have you found a new job?"
Akikawa Kyousuke asked.
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"Well, this time, I finally have a decent job for an artist."
Misaki Itakura hesitated before speaking.
"This time, it's a variety show, in a villa in Gifu Prefecture."
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(End of Chapter)