The End of Childhood Trauma

When Tsugawa, the Librarian, turned back with an ugly expression, the elevator had already reached the floor below.

He glared furiously at the changing numbers on the display, then charged toward the stairs, intending to race down to the first floor and block them off.

While Tsugawa, the Librarian, competed with the elevator in speed,

inside the elevator, Conan praised the children for "doing a great job!" while reaching for the elevator buttons, planning to stop it midway so they would not be cornered by the librarian on the first floor.

However, before he could press a button, the elevator's descent had already slowed, as though it were about to stop.

Conan's first thought was that his classmates had finally been clever for once—they knew, without him telling them, that they could not go to the first floor right now.

But when he looked more closely, Conan suddenly realized that none of the floor buttons on the inside were lit.

...In other words, the elevator was stopping on the second floor not because they had selected it, but because someone outside had pressed the button for the second floor!

Conan: "?!"

Tsugawa, the Librarian's gloomy face rose in Conan's mind, and a chill shot down his back.

He had thought his plan would be enough to fool an enraged Tsugawa, the Librarian.

Who would have thought that this time, the librarian had anticipated his anticipation, seen through his plan to get off midway, and was waiting here leisurely for him to take the bait!

Conan's face turned green as he slapped the Closing Door button repeatedly, trying to keep the elevator from opening.

But it was useless. He could only grit his teeth and watch the elevator come to a stop.

Only then did Conan truly understand what it meant to regret not having learned enough when the need arose.

—If only he had casually grabbed a hefty book earlier, he would not be in this predicament of having Enhanced Foot Strength Shoes but nothing to kick.

Under the despairing gazes of the children, the elevator finally stopped on the second floor.

Conan crouched and flipped the switch on his Shoes.

—It could not be helped. Since there was nothing to kick, he could only try a sliding tackle again.

This time, as long as he passed beneath Tsugawa, the Librarian's legs, he could use the Enhanced Foot Strength Shoes to kick him hard in the leg—or somewhere else. There might still be a sliver of hope.

Thinking Like This, Conan pressed himself against the back wall of the elevator car. The instant the doors opened, he kicked off the wall and shot out.

However, before Conan could launch the kick he had been preparing for, a Collapsible Baton lightly nudged him.

Conan's trajectory immediately veered sharply. He flailed as he slid away, then slammed into the nearby wall with a bang.

Conan: "..."

...Wait.

Why did that stick that had shoved him look so familiar?

Conan sprang to his feet and saw, to his delight, that Jiang Xia was standing at the elevator entrance.

Holding an extended Collapsible Baton, Jiang Xia did not ask Conan why he had suddenly decided to moonlight as a floor mop.

He looked at the three children in the elevator and ordered concisely, "Come out."

Mitsuhiko and Genta huddled together. Seeing Conan defeated in an instant, they felt they were no match either and walked out trembling.

Ayumi was calmer than the two boys.

She recognized Jiang Xia as the person who had saved her and Conan from the dungeon last time.

Brother Jiang Xia had appeared again when they were in danger... As Ayumi thought this, sparkles appeared in her eyes.

As the little brats stepped out of the elevator,

Jiang Xia passed by them and entered the elevator.

Then he pressed the button for the first floor.

Under the blank stares of the little brats, the elevator doors gradually closed.

Before the doors shut completely, Jiang Xia glanced at them through the Door Crack. "Stay where you are. Do not make a sound."

The four children instinctively stood at attention and nodded in unison.

In the Library stairwell,

Tsugawa, the Librarian, clutched a Metal Water Pipe, his face twisted viciously as he rushed toward the first floor.

When he sprinted to the elevator, he was delighted to find that it was still descending from the second floor to the first.

He did not stop to wonder why he had run so fast, merely assuming that extreme rage had awakened his limitless potential.

Soon, with a ding, the elevator stopped on the first floor.

Tsugawa, the Librarian, eagerly Reached Out and grabbed the elevator doors as they opened a crack. "Let's see where you can run this ti—"

Thud—

A slender black shadow swept through the gap and struck Tsugawa, the Librarian, squarely on the forehead.

His vision swam. Before he could recover, a heavy blow struck him in the abdomen.

He flew backward, hit the wall, and slid to the floor. Amid the confusion, the librarian saw someone walk out of the elevator with the light at his back—the person inside was not the "weak little brats" he had expected, but someone who looked even taller than him.

...When had this person entered the Library?!

How much did he know about the drugs and the corpse? What was his relationship with those children?? Was there still time to silence him?!

Tsugawa, the Librarian, looked at Jiang Xia approaching, then at the baton he raised, and panicked. "...What do you want?!"

"To return a book." Jiang Xia casually tossed the Detective Handbook onto him. "And to act righteously while I'm at it."

As pages fluttered noisily through the air, the elevator doors closed behind Jiang Xia. The bright elevator light narrowed into a thin line, then vanished completely. The Corridor was plunged back into darkness.

Before the final sliver of light disappeared, Tsugawa, the Librarian, saw the "Ordinary Citizen returning a book" swing the Collapsible Baton in his hand with a whoosh—whoosh—, then lower his head to look at him with a strange, expectant smile curling across his lips.

Tsugawa, the Librarian: "..."

...Don't come any closer!!!

Fifteen minutes later.

Inspector Megure arrived anxiously with his men, only to find a bruised and purple pig in the Library... Ah, no, they found a swollen Tsugawa, the Librarian.

"..." Officer Sato Reached Out and lightly poked Tsugawa, the Librarian. In return, she got a pained howl.

She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was not dead.

Nearby, the three children stood quietly, their eyes unfocused.

The moment Jiang Xia moved, they all jolted, huddling together without daring to make a sound.

Jiang Xia did not walk toward them.

He merely walked over to Sato and said in a low voice, seemingly apologetically, "Sorry. Tsugawa, the Librarian, was shouting that he wanted to silence all the children. The Corridor was very dark, and he knew the Library well. I was afraid that if he escaped, he would hurt the children. I panicked and accidentally hit him too hard..."

The words "you're lying!" rose simultaneously to the lips of the "children."

Then they silently swallowed them again.

"..." They did not dare say it.

Besides, although Jiang Xia was a little cruel, he really had saved them.

Guided by their simple feelings, the children felt they could not betray their benefactor like that.

Sato Miwako did not notice the children's terror.

She patted Jiang Xia on the shoulder and encouraged him. "You did nothing wrong."

To be honest, after learning what Tsugawa, the Librarian, had done, Officer Sato had practically wanted to praise Jiang Xia for "beating him well."

...But unfortunately, police officers could not say such things.

So she could only remind him kindly, "But don't be so impulsive in the future. Otherwise, if a criminal dies, you will be in trouble too."

"Mm." Jiang Xia nodded gently. "I'll be more careful next time."