Ai raised her head and silently looked at Kumiko's serious face, her ice-blue eyes unblinking.
After a while, she smiled softly.
What is this? An authoritarian statement in the style of a CEO? Using your irritating attitude to express your arrogant and awkward concern?
—Huh? What are you talking about, Doraemon?
Keisuke Kumiko immediately denied it.
—I simply don't want such a hardworking employee like you, who doesn't even get paid, to lose your life in vain over an inexplicable investigation. That would be a great loss for me.
—The Organization can't find me in my current state.
Ai extended a hand, pushed away Kumiko's hand that was touching her head, and carefully tucked her messy hair behind her head.
After a period of change, her appearance was completely different from before.
The most obvious difference was her hair. It used to be short, but now it had grown to a slightly medium length. It was thick, fluffy, and casually placed behind her head, dancing like a cute elf in the wind blowing from the hallway outside the door.
—That's not the point. The point is the drug you're researching.
Keisuke Kumiko paused and said:
—When you gave Kudo the formula for the drug, you told him this, didn't you?
People cannot go against the current. If you try to force a change, you will eventually be punished.
Although I don't know exactly what that means, from the context of that phrase, it seems that taking the antidote to this medicine could put your life in danger. If you want to return to your original form, there's no need. Even if a small pill is nothing special, at least it's a pill that's alive and kicking, isn't it?
—I see, you're worried about this...
The corners of Ai's delicate mouth curved slightly.
She paid no attention to the term "small pill" in Kumiko's language.
She simply raised her head and looked at Keisuke Kumiko with interest, with a hint of an inexplicable smile in her eyes.
Kumiko felt a bit strange about her expression and couldn't help but speak.
—Didn't you hear me? As your boss, I order you not to do any more work in the workplace.
—Kumiko Keisuke.
At that moment, Ai suddenly called out Kumiko's name in a very formal tone.
Kumiko looked at her and asked:
—What is it?
—Haven't you realized it yet?
Ai said lightly.
—You, me, and everyone around us have been trapped in the torrent of time for a long time and have been punished.
—You mean...
Keisuke Kumiko frowned slightly, and his expression changed as he thought of something.
—Time around us has already started to become disordered.
Ai said:
—Think carefully, do you still remember what day it was the day before yesterday?
—...
Kumiko said nothing.
He felt a tingling sensation on his scalp and almost lost his breath.
Just as Ai had said, he couldn't remember the exact time of this period at all!
He couldn't help but start recalling his past.
According to the vague memory in his mind, ever since the second lawsuit he handled after his debut, the course of time seemed to have gone wrong.
There were many details.
For example, in the first trial, the prosecution's accusation was normal and marked the time when the suspect committed the crime.
However, starting from the second lawsuit, no specific time was marked in the indictment of any trial he was involved in, whether it was a public trial or a civil lawsuit.
People selectively forgot time and even used "XX year, XX month, XX day" instead.
There were other details in life.
For example, in the first lawsuit, he had said he was going to buy The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, released by Nintendo, which was supposed to come out in May. However, in reality, at least two months and two lawsuits had passed before the game was officially released, and there had been no announcement of a delay during that time.
Additionally, during the Yueshui case, he had visited a ramen restaurant called "Delicious Ramen" multiple times (see Chapter 59). A murder had taken place there, and people had died.
According to his vague memory of the original Detective Conan series, this case had appeared in the anime and should have been a standalone event in the later part of the series.
But this incident had already happened before the Water Cross case.
Various details indicated that the timeline was no longer normal.
—This is ridiculous.
After organizing his thoughts, Keisuke Kumiko couldn't help but sigh.
—It's clearly an urban worldview, so why is it inexplicably turning into science fiction? Or is this what the world of science is like?
—The world of science? Ai asked.
—This is the scientific world, don't worry about these details.
Kumiko paused and looked at Ai in front of him with interest.
Before meeting you, I remember time was normal. I could live like an ordinary person and experience the passing of years. So why did problems start arising in and around me after I met you?
—Because your fate and mine are firmly intertwined.
Ai said lightly.
—Ever since the moment I changed my name to Kumiko Ai.
—I see.
Keisuke Kumiko understood.
He never imagined that his bold decision would completely change his life, like the flapping of a butterfly's wings.
So, the drug you researched not only made you smaller, but it also affected the time of those around you. That's terrifying.
Originally, Kumiko thought it was just a genetic drug commonly seen in science fiction movies, similar to a "biochemical modification agent."
But now, it seemed that calling APTX4869 a "magic potion" was not an exaggeration.
—When I joined the Organization, I had the same idea as you.
Ai said slowly.
—I thought it was some kind of pure rejuvenation, something dreamy.
—But then I realized I was wrong, and what they were actually giving me was another kind of drug.
—They are both God and the Devil.
They want to reverse time and bring the dead back to life.
—This is a foolishness whose value most people in the world cannot understand, just like those Hinamatsuri dolls that exist only for little girls in a small country like Japan.
Ai spoke the classic lines that had appeared in the anime.
—...
At this point, what else could Keisuke Kumiko say?
Kumiko could only nod and utter the following words as a sign of understanding.
—The world of science is very reasonable.
—So now you should understand, Mr. Know-It-All.
Ai lifted the corner of her mouth, as if joking, and looked at Kumiko's sighing expression.
If I stop researching the drug and don't find a real antidote, we will be trapped in the torrent of time forever, unable to move forward until we completely disappear... No, maybe we won't even see the day of our death.
(End of this chapter.)