Chapter 40
Jonah's Dilemma
Jonah couldn't keep up with Conan and the others, but he had a solution. He knew that Professor Agasa was being pestered by the children, so he brought them along to visit the castle as well.
Jonah took the opportunity to catch up with them, and with Ai Haibara's help, they successfully entered the castle through another passage.
As Jonah walked deeper into the castle, he noticed that Ai Haibara and her group soon rejoined Kogoro Mouri's group. Jonah continued to trail far behind, feeling as if he had spotted the Scorpion mentioned by Conan Edogawa. There was a figure, just like himself, quietly following behind the main group, only Jonah was even more concealed and careful, avoiding being discovered.
Although he felt his judgment was correct, Jonah, who had just promised Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara to act cautiously, decided to wait and see if he could find solid evidence before taking action.
Then, Jonah saw the figure trying to shoot Kogoro Mouri amidst the chaos, but Conan Edogawa interfered with it with his flashlight and instead aimed at Ran Mouri.
Although Conan Edogawa thwarted both shots, this action undoubtedly angered Jonah.
Jonah ran out of his hiding place and quickly chased after the figure, finally finding it in the castle corridor where it was preparing to burn the place down with gasoline to destroy the evidence.
Without any hesitation, Jonah drew the pistol he had taken from the bodyguard and pulled the trigger at the figure's back.
The bullet struck the man precisely in the back, causing him to fall forward in pain. Jonah did not let the opportunity pass and continued firing, hitting Scrooge in the legs and back.
Jonah wanted to get closer and give Scrooge a quick death, but he hesitated because he remembered his promise to Eri and the others not to kill anyone.
In that brief moment, Jonah heard Conan Edogawa's footsteps approaching.
Knowing that it was best for Jonah not to meet Conan Edogawa right now, he raised his hand and fired another shot, knocking the pistol out of Scorpion's hand, before turning and running out of the castle.
Arriving at the starting point, the driver was still waiting for him. Jonah handed the pistol to the driver.
After opening the magazine and glancing at it, the driver's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked Jonah in a polite tone.
"Young Master Jonah, shall we leave now?"
"Please wait a moment."
Jonah shook his head at the driver and quietly returned to the castle. Looking at the castle burning in the flames not far away, Jonah carefully counted the number of people standing on the grass outside the castle.
Unrelated people didn't care; the Mori family was there, Conan Edogawa was there, Dr. Agasa and Ai Haibara were there, and even the children were there.
Having confirmed that no one was trapped in the fire, Jonah turned and ran, quickly returning to Mihua City in his driver's car.
Jonah was watching TV in the detective agency when, two hours later, he heard Kogoro Mouri and the others return.
Almost the instant he saw Jonah, Conan Edogawa pulled him into the bedroom. After confirming that Kogoro Mouri had gone to the bathroom and Ran Mouri had returned to her room to change into clean clothes, Conan closed the door and looked at Jonah seriously.
"Jonah, you were the one who defeated the assassin Scrooge in the castle, weren't you?"
"I didn't go to the castle."
When Conan Edogawa asked him a question, Jonah blinked and shook his head innocently, which made Conan Edogawa laugh in exasperation.
"Do you think I'd believe that? Who else but you could do something like that!"
With his gaze still fixed on Jonah, Conan Edogawa lowered his voice, his tone filled with seriousness.
"Jonah, tell me, where did you get that gun from!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Conan."
Unfazed by Conan Edogawa's gaze, Jonah remained oblivious, much to Conan's dismay.
He was 100% certain that the person who appeared there to help stop the Scythian was Jonah, but he had no proof.
To be honest, Conan Edogawa didn't want to find evidence, but Jonah firing the gun was a fact, and Conan felt that he had to find out where Jonah got the gun from; this was really important.
Wait a minute.
While he was getting anxious, Conan Edogawa suddenly remembered something and looked up sharply at Jonah.
He remembered that Sonoko Suzuki had gone to Jonah for help before, and the only thing Jonah could do to help Sonoko Suzuki, after thinking about it, was design technology.
When Suzuki Shiro met Jonah, he was very friendly and enthusiastic. It seems that something must have happened the day Jonah stayed at the Suzuki residence!
So, the gun Jonah is holding was given to him by Shiro Suzuki?
Although Japan has strict gun control, for the Suzuki Foundation, obtaining firearms legally is an extremely easy matter.
But why would Shiro Suzuki hand the pistol to Jonah? What was he thinking?
Looking at Jonah's expressionless face, Conan Edogawa sighed and gave up on getting an answer from him.
He had no way to ask Suzuki Shiro, so he could only suppress his curiosity for the time being, run to the bathroom, take a quick shower, and then change into a new set of clothes.
"Jonah, where's Little Orchid?"
When Conan returned to the bedroom, he found Kogoro Mouri lying exhausted on the bed, snoring. Conan looked at Ran Mouri's open bedroom door with a puzzled expression and subconsciously asked her a question.
"Sister Xiaolan went upstairs to take care of the pigeons."
Having given an accurate answer, Jonah watched as Conan Edogawa turned and went downstairs to look for Ran Mouri. He put down his book, lowered his pace, and followed him out.
What Jonah didn't tell Conan Edogawa was that while Conan was taking a bath, Ran Mouri called Jonah into her room and asked him some questions about Conan.
Although Jonah wasn't quick-witted, he learned something from Ran Mouri's question.
That means Ran Mouri is suspecting that Conan Edogawa is actually Shinichi Kudo.
Jonah didn't directly reveal Conan Edogawa's identity because he had promised to keep it a secret. However, Jonah also didn't tell Conan that he hadn't lied when answering Ran Mouri's question.
After all, Ran Mouri didn't directly ask Conan Edogawa to be Shinichi Kudo. She just asked Jonah whether Conan Edogawa usually behaved particularly maturely.
Jonah was also conflicted. He agreed with Conan Edogawa's idea of protecting Ran Mouri and not letting her know too much, but living with Ran every day and always seeing her sad and worried about Shinichi Kudo's "disappearance" made Jonah feel that this was really unfair to Ran.
Jonah didn't know how to choose between the two sides, so he could only let things take their course.
Now, looking at Ran Mouri, who was on the verge of tears in the office, and Conan Edogawa, who was struggling to contain his emotions, Jonah blinked, wondering whether he should rush over to help Conan cover for him.
"Hello, you must be Jonah. Could you make room for me?"
"...Um?"