Hattori Heiji did want Vodka to go alone, but that would make his intentions far too obvious—he couldn't let Vodka know that his identity as an Organization member had been exposed. Otherwise, according to Conan, everyone who knew would face the danger of being silenced.
So, faced with Vodka's question, the Osaka detective could only say reluctantly, "Pick someone to go with you."
The people who had just relaxed: "?!"
The rich lady quickly said, "I'm not going! The flour's too heavy; I can't carry it."
Vodka: "..." Hmph, even if you wanted to go, I wouldn't pick you! You keep going on about membership vouchers—what if you stab me in the back over one of those vouchers?
"By the same logic, that murderer could very well be hiding among these Experience Participants, so none of them can be chosen either—though this group consists of old people and women, and even the younger adults look frail and unable to fight, that may all just be appearances. What if they're hiding their true abilities, or carrying some powerful weapon?"
Vodka thought calmly and quickly: "Vermouth must also be ruled out. Under normal circumstances, that colleague might have been a decent choice, but her attitude has been strange lately—that's dangerous. Compared to the other civilians, that woman's Combat Power is clearly on another level. I have to be on guard."
After ruling out those two groups, Vodka suddenly fell into deep thought.
Once they were excluded, what remained... weren't just Uzo's high school friends?
"..."
Vodka found himself in a dilemma, nearly saying, "How about I just go by myself?" But he barely managed to swallow the words.
—The fate of the three people who had gone off alone was obvious for all to see. Vodka absolutely did not want to become