Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko widened their eyes in surprise. "Amazing! All the strings were clearly cut... How is it being controlled?"
Conan came back to his senses and casually said, "Of course, there must be other fine strings above its head that are hard to see with the naked eye. Cutting those strings was merely a psychological trick to make the audience think the puppet strings had been severed, but actually..."
As he spoke, Conan suddenly stopped.
—The puppet had actually picked up a rope and begun skipping in front of everyone!
Suzuki Sonoko grinned and deliberately asked loudly, "Hey, kid, what were you saying just now?"
Conan's eye twitched. "Th-the puppet strings might be coming from the hands on the puppet's sides..."
As though it had heard him, the puppet suddenly crossed its arms and swung the rope hard, performing a dazzling X-shaped double jump.
Conan: "..."
...What the hell was wrong with this puppet?! Was it electric or something??
Seeing his expression, Suzuki Sonoko laughed so hard she nearly rolled around in her seat. This brat always relied on knowing a little more than everyone else to spoil magic tricks from the sidelines. She had put up with it for a long time.
Now that Conan had finally encountered a trick he couldn't figure out, Suzuki Sonoko urged him on through her laughter. "Come on, keep guessing."
Conan blushed furiously and gave up. "...I don't know. I'm just an elementary school student."
At times like this, he felt strangely grateful to Gin. If he had been in his high school body, he really would have been too embarrassed to show his face.
However, the elementary school student excuse did not always work. Seeing Suzuki Sonoko continue pressing him, Conan's eye twitched as he shamelessly diverted the trouble.