Chapter Seventy-Two: Probing

Inside the Nibi Fossil Museum, everyone was engaged in analyzing and discussing Kaito Kid’s time and method of committing the crime, while Amu showed little interest—after all, he didn’t know Kid, and the gemstone wasn’t his…

Sonoko’s eyes darted around, and she stealthily signaled to Ran, Misty, and Amu, planning to leave the small exhibition hall and sneak a peek at the other galleries while no one was watching.

But as soon as the four of them stepped out, Ran noticed that Conan hadn’t joined them. She was about to go back and look for him when suddenly, the sharp clacking of high heels echoed down the corridor.

Sonoko heard it as well and was just about to hide, but it was too late—they were caught head-on.

A woman bearing a striking resemblance to Ayako strode towards them, exuding an air of authority. Her features were most similar to Ayako’s—short hair, a prominent beauty mark beneath her left eye—but unlike Ayako or Sonoko, her gaze was piercing and her presence carried a distinct aura of someone not to be trifled with.

“Sonoko, where do you think you’re going?” Her voice was low and slightly hoarse, with an imposing tone.

“M-Mom! Of course, I was just coming to see you, haha…” Sonoko forced a laugh.

Ran quickly greeted her, “Hello, Auntie!”

Indeed, this was Sonoko and Ayako’s mother, Shiro’s capable partner—or rather, the “capable force behind the scenes”—Tomoko!

Tomoko was hardly the typical stay-at-home wife; she was deeply involved in the management and decision-making of the Suzuki Group, her strong, pragmatic style perfectly complementing Shiro’s affable nature.

In fact, it was thanks to Tomoko that Shiro could maintain his reputation as the kindly patriarch.

“Isn’t this Ran? You just get more beautiful every year. Sonoko’s lucky to have you as a friend; it puts Shiro and me at ease,” Tomoko said with a practiced, almost theatrical warmth, clearly familiar with Ran from before.

“Oh, not at all, you’re too kind…” Ran wanted to respond with the customary, “It’s Sonoko who always looks after me,” but the words stuck in her throat.

“Ah, right—Mom, let me introduce you: this is Misty, and this is Amu…” Sonoko quickly seized the opportunity to change the subject.

She knew her mother wasn’t likely to nag her with outsiders present.

“I’ve heard Sonoko mention you both before—indeed, you’re all quite impressive,” Tomoko said, casting an appraising look over Misty and lingering a moment longer on Amu.

Amu didn’t find this strange. After all, Misty’s father was no ordinary man—anyone who could serve as the leader of one of the six official gyms was certainly remarkable. Yet he himself was arguably even more exceptional: soon to become the youngest expert-level pharmacist, not to mention that Granny Lexie was almost certainly a master-level one.

Of course, Amu doubted Sonoko would have told her mother all of this—most likely just a few amusing anecdotes. Still, it would be easy enough for the Suzuki couple to find out, and they would certainly want to know what sort of people were associating with their daughter.

“I should thank you, Amu, for saving Sonoko before. Now that Daigo has gone to Hoenn and grown his own wings, and her elder sister is about to be married, Shiro and I only have this one daughter left. If anything were to happen to her—not only would it devastate us as her parents, but it would be a huge blow to the Suzuki Group as well!” Tomoko said, her words carrying a certain weight.

“Mom…” Sonoko felt her mother was being a tad dramatic.

Amu, meanwhile, was perplexed—her words sounded overly grave, yet he didn’t sense much actual gratitude. And besides…

Why did it sound as if Daigo and Ayako were already gone?

Ayako was only engaged, and as for Daigo… rumor had it he was making waves in Hoenn, possibly in line to be the next Hoenn Champion!

And what was this about Sonoko being the only one left by their side… Did she really expect Sonoko to be a “little darling daughter” forever?

“Eh? The Suzuki Group isn’t so easily shaken, is it?” Amu replied modestly, almost by instinct.

“Hey!” Sonoko shot him a glare.

If she didn’t already know Amu, she might have thought he was mocking her for being unimportant!

Ran noticed that Aunt Tomoko’s expression also became subtly exasperated, and then she called Sonoko away—evidently, she had some things to discuss with her daughter in private.

Nevertheless, she thoughtfully summoned Director Child to come and show Amu and company around.

What surprised Amu was seeing Conan reappear at Child’s side.

“Really, Conan! We were just looking for you—were you causing trouble for Dad and the others again? You can’t do that…” Ran scolded gently.

Conan could only cover his embarrassment with a sheepish grin.

Ran took him by the hand and listened to Director Child’s explanations.

The three of them were treated to a true VIP experience—not only did the director himself give the tour, but they had the place practically to themselves.

Amu had expected a fossil museum to be dull, but as the tour went on, his opinion changed entirely.

There was so much more here than just fossils…

Or rather, the “fossils” here were mostly Pokémon fossils. There were even living fossil Pokémon!

In recent years, technology had been developed that could “revive” Pokémon from fossils. Though not yet perfect, it was making steady progress, and for several species of fossil Pokémon, the process was now relatively stable.

The museum also featured a live exhibit of fossil Pokémon!

“Director Grandpa, if Pokémon appeared two million years ago, why do these fossils date back a hundred and thirty million years?”

“Director Grandpa, is Anorith a fossil Pokémon?”

“Director Grandpa, why don’t non-fossil Pokémon leave behind fossils? And why don’t they have ancient forms… Did they just appear out of nowhere?”

“Director Grandpa…”

Conan fired off question after question, childlike curiosity in full bloom. Some—Child could answer, but others were genuine mysteries for the Pokémon world, things even scholars had yet to unravel.

“Conan, be good…” Ran noticed the director struggling to keep up and gently put a stop to Conan’s barrage.

But just then—

“Ah! That’s the Omanyte exhibit! I want to see live Omanyte!” Conan shouted and ran off like an excited child.

“Conan!” Ran clutched her head in exasperation and hurried to apologize to Director Child.

“It’s quite all right. Let’s head over there first,” Child replied with a kindly smile.

Amu watched Conan’s retreating figure with suspicion—was Conan probing the director? But for now, it seemed old Child’s knowledge was solid.

Anything he couldn’t answer were questions even the academic world had yet to resolve or explain.

They soon arrived at the “Omanyte Exhibit,” which featured both fossils and live Omanyte and Omastar.

Behind the fossil display was a glass wall, and beyond it lay a corner of the enclosure where the Omanyte and Omastar were kept. From there, they could see the living creatures in their habitat.