The alcohol ignited rapidly, and in an instant, the entire bar was engulfed in flas.
Furniture, the counter—everything was set ablaze, and the fire quickly spread from the bar to consu the entire top floor.
An intense sll poured out of the ventilation shafts, thick with smoke and the scent of burning wood dust.
'What a strong sll. These guys actually set the place on fire too.'
Covering her nose in displeasure, Natsu Sonoko coughed as the pungent odor hit her, imdiately using her ability to disperse the thick smoke billowing relentlessly from the vents.
'This Black Organization is really full of surprises. Their efficiency leaves the Academy City Board of Directors in the dust.'
She recalled that barely ten minutes had passed since the explosion at the Baker Hotel, and here they were, already almost done cleaning up.
Not only had they torched the place, but they'd also taken all the useful materials with them in one go.
That group even had the ti to haul away a hefty-looking silver safe, stuffing all sorts of docunts inside. They'd probably already escaped via the stairs by now.
The building's fire alarm was blaring at full volu, and staff had started arriving at the top floor to assess the situation. But the fire was simply too fierce; individual fire extinguishers were useless, and they could only focus on evacuating everyone.
Just as everyone was busy evacuating the top-floor custors, soone noticed with astonishnt that the flas, which had been on the verge of consuming the entire floor, suddenly halted their advance as if hitting an invisible wall.
At that mont, Natsu Sonoko was hovering mid-air, ticulously controlling the airflow around her. By manipulating temperature, she cut off the air supply around the flas.
With no oxygen getting in from the outside, the fire quickly began to suffocate from lack of fuel.
The flas gradually shrank, and once the trapped air inside had mostly burned away, the fire finally reached a manageable level.
As the last small ember flickered out, Sonoko, rather pleased with her good deed, wore a triumphant expression.
The wind up in the air was quite strong, but she remained perfectly steady, even feeling like the wind was a bit too 'rowdy'.
Her gaze drifted sowhat curiously to the dark mass of the Daiho Building below, where the people on the ground looked like tiny ants.
Yet, the observant Natsu Sonoko still managed to spot that kid Conan, who had already reached the base of the Daikoku Building and was about to take the elevator up.
No ti to worry about that little runt Conan. Sonoko circled the area around the building and finally spotted those not-yet-far-off mbers of the villainous organization—the very arsonists—in a certain corner.
One minute later, Sonoko erged from the alleyway carrying the safe, leaving behind a scene of the organization's mbers lying scattered and unconscious on the ground.
They were a pitiful sight, each sporting a large, prominent bump on their head as if they'd been clocked by sothing. They had all fallen unconscious, faces flushed and bodies slightly stiff.
The surprise ca too suddenly. Conan never would have imagined that after rushing to the top floor only to find the Black Organization mbers had already fled, they would be discovered just minutes later in a nearby alley.
However, every single one of them was unconscious, whisked away by ambulance to the hospital. Inspector gure, who happened to be in the area, was dispatched to handle the arson case.
"Conan, where did you go all this ti?"
Mori Ran hurried over, her face overflowing with worry.
"Ran-neechan, I just saw Mitsuhiko and the others nearby, so I went to say hello," Conan said, tilting his head with an air of childish innocence.
"Oh, I see. But you can't go running off on your own like that anymore," Ran said, a slightly angry expression on her face that didn't really seem like a scolding. "By the way, Conan, have you seen Sonoko?"
"Ran-neechan, I'm right here."
Suddenly appearing within the crowd, Natsu offered a sweet smile and waved in the direction of Conan and the others.
-- --
Nightti, at the Mori Detective Agency.
Natsu Sonoko held a stack of docunts in her hands, her eyes filled with astonishnt.
"So the so-called 'shrinkage drug' is really treated as a poison within this organization, with a fatality rate close to one hundred percent."
She suddenly spaced out, seriously pondering the matter. That Conan guy must really have so insane luck.
The safe had been stashed away who-knows-where by soone. The docunts inside were a bit nurous, and she hadn't had ti to read through them all yet.
"Sonoko, it's very late now. Rember to get so sleep." The voice of Ran-neechan ca from outside the door.
"Okay, I'm going to sleep now."
-- --
The television programming in Tokyo was quite varied. Early in the morning, a drama starring TV idol Yoko Okino was already playing.
Natsu Sonoko, Uncle Mori, and the others sat gathered around the TV, a simple breakfast laid out on the small table in front of them. Uncle Mori stared, srized, at the actress on the screen, his excited gesturing making it seem like he wanted to hug the television itself.
Conan, as usual, rolled his eyes, then turned his gaze towards Natsu Sonoko, who was staring blankly at the TV.
Having kept up with the tis in Academy City, it had been quite a few years since Natsu Sonoko had last watched a proper television.
But the date displayed on the TV today seed a bit strange. Could the station have made a mistake?
"Ran-neechan, isn't there sothing wrong with the date on the TV?"
Pointing at the ti display in the corner of the screen, Natsu Sonoko put down the bowl of millet porridge she was holding.
"Hmm? No, there's no problem."
Ran checked the calendar on Kogoro Mori's desk before speaking up.
Sonoko was imdiately confused. She pulled out her phone to check the ti, only then realizing that her phone's ti was basically the sa as the TV's.
'Impossible. Sothing must be wrong sowhere.' A baffled expression appeared on Natsu Sonoko's face as she propped her chin on her hand and furrowed her brows.
"Hello, Inspector gure? What's happened now?"
Just as he was gleefully watching Yoko Okino's drama, the ringtone from Kogoro Mori's phone, placed nearby, started blaring. Glancing at the caller ID, he reluctantly answered the call.
"What did you say! Everyone from the Cocktail Bar was killed last night?"
Kogoro Mori shot to his feet, exclaiming in shock.
Beside him, Conan's face also drastically changed, his pupils dilating sharply, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.
"Ran, I have to go deal with sothing for Inspector gure. I'm leaving the house to you."
His face instantly switching to a serious deanor, Kogoro Mori quickly suited up and hurried out the door.
"Uncle Mori, I'm coming too!"
The kid Conan, who had been sitting nearby, shouted after him and darted out in a flash.
"Honestly, causing worry first thing in the morning."
After finishing breakfast, Ran-neechan busied herself clearing the dishes, while Natsu focused entirely on replying to ssages.
[Natsu-san, my phone, computer, and even the satellite data at Judgnt Branch 177 all indicate the current ti is July 25th, 8:20 AM. It's the third day since you left Academy City.] Shirai replied.
[Uh... this! I'm suddenly a little confused.]
After double and triple-checking, then looking again at the August 30th date on her phone, Natsu Sonoko's expression turned serious.
The ti ntioned by Shirai actually matched Sonoko's own mory perfectly. Counting the day she left Academy City, today should indeed be the third day.
'It's possible sothing has altered everyone's perception of ti. Not only has no one noticed, but they've all accepted it as normal.'
Just a short while ago, Natsu Sonoko had tried asking Ran-neechan a few more questions.
To Sonoko's surprise, the dates for the previous few days were perfectly normal: the day before yesterday was July 23rd, yesterday was July 24th.
But today had beco August 30th. Tomorrow was April 15th, the day after was another random date, and it wasn't until four days later that it finally reverted to July 25th.
It was as if these four days had been abruptly inserted into the tiline. [A/N: The previous explanation was too complicated. The current ti disorder is simply normal days with so originally non-existent days inserted into them.]
But even on this extra, inserted day, she could communicate with the outside world without any issues.
'If these four days aren't counted in the normal flow of ti, does that an my vacation has been extended, in a way?'
Natsu Sonoko blinked, unable to quite figure it out. Her vacation was really proving to be full of twists and turns.
If she sent ssages to Shirai over the next few days, what would the situation be on her end?
-- --
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.
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