Chapter 10: Otherworld Navigation Activated

Kazawa glanced around the Mihua Shopping Street and took a photo with his phone.

After all, it was a somewhat well-known spot. This quiet street probably had no idea what awaited it in the future.

Oh well, he lived at Polo Café—he had no right to mock any place's gloomy atmosphere.

Sighing, Kazawa casually picked a clothing store to browse.

He really needed to add some clothes to his wardrobe. The seasons here were quite unpredictable, so having some everyday wear ready was definitely a good idea.

He had plenty of clothes in his inventory, but they all had attribute bonuses. Using those for daily wear felt strange, and didn't really match his usual style.

After all, he wasn't really a high school student. His fashion leaned more toward a sophisticated casual style—he preferred khaki or dark gray jackets and trench coats, paired with black, white, or gray inner layers.

It was just a pity his face looked a bit too youthful, which didn't quite fit the mature fashion vibe.

Once he finished casually completing the shopping task, Kazawa headed toward the newsstand to buy two newspapers, planning to check recent criminal cases and see if Kudo Shinichi had any new developments. Then he'd decide where to go next—maybe even run into the Death God Elementary Schooler.

Just then, a figure suddenly stumbled out from a secondhand shop by the roadside.

Kazawa immediately stepped back, adopting a boxing defensive stance, only to realize it was a skinny middle-aged man being pushed out of the store, staggering backward.

"Careful." Realizing it wasn't an attack, Kazawa steadied the man who was about to fall.

"I've told you not to bother me!" The chubby store manager shouted from behind, hands on hips, "The buyer has already settled on the knife. There's no way to resell it to you. How many times do I have to say this?!"

"But the deadline I agreed with Maru Denjiro hasn't come yet! You have no right to sell 'Kikuchiyo'!" The man, with a long face and two small mustaches on his lips, argued heatedly, face flushed. "This is a breach of contract!"

"You mortgaged it to him, not to me. That's none of my business!" The manager's voice was much louder, "If you step into the store again, I'll call the police!"

With that, the manager turned sharply and slammed the door shut.

The man Kazawa helped grit his teeth and stared fiercely at the shopfront, fists clenched tightly as his chest heaved—his emotions clearly boiling inside.

Kazawa saw him straighten up and released his hand.

The man caught Kazawa's curious gaze, forced a smile, and thanked him quietly.

He then turned toward the intersection. Kazawa watched his slightly bent back and clenched fists, sensing the man's emotions were violently restrained.

"Maru Denjiro…" Kazawa muttered, pinching his chin with thumb and forefinger, putting on the classic detective thinking face. "I seem to remember this name… Either a victim or a culprit?"

Before Kazawa could recall the details, his phone vibrated twice in his pocket.

Strange—he had it on ringtone mode.

Thinking this, Kazawa took out his phone and squinted.

At the center of the screen, the red and black Otherworld Navigation app glowed, popping up a window.

[Name: Maru Denjiro]

A palace? Maru Denjiro actually had a palace?

No way—better find somewhere more discreet. If it triggered a live transformation on the street, that would be quite a spectacle.

Kazawa glanced around to confirm no one was paying attention, then slipped into a narrow alley between two shops.

Otherworld Navigation—just as the name implies—is a navigation app that allows entry into another world.

In the P5 universe concept, humanity's collective unconscious holds a storage space. When someone gains a strong enough wish to distort their surroundings, this subject separates from the collective unconscious and forms a personal, independent space known as a palace.

These individuals often perceive a specific place as something else, and based on this imagination, the corresponding location in the cognitive world appears distorted.

So this app can't just start anytime you want—you have to give it an exact target: who the palace owner is and which place they have warped into what shape.

Since the name Maru Denjiro triggered the app, it meant this person did have a palace.

Kazawa started searching his memory for the name. Combining the argument he just witnessed between the man and the clerk, he quickly identified the case.

Maru Denjiro was one of Conan's highest-risk professions—a company president.

As a wealthy man holding a company, he oddly enjoyed lending money at exorbitant interest. He even sold many mortgaged items before the borrowers defaulted. The angry man just now was probably the culprit of this case, Suwa Yuji, a kendo master. His family heirloom sword, "Kikuchiyo," was sold without permission by Maru Denjiro, which enraged him enough to stab Maru through and through.

But what was even more absurd than the case in Conan were the flashy death details.

For example, Maru Denjiro was stabbed from behind with such force that he was nearly dead, yet he still managed to carve the killer's name on a cabinet with the knife. That cabinet was nearly his own height! If he had that strength, maybe he could have stabbed the culprit back or at least tried to escape and be saved.

Calculating carefully, Kazawa knew his time was limited. Soon, Kogoro Mouri would get the commission and arrive on site. Under the death god's aura radiation, this palace owner was nearly impossible to save.

Recalling the rough case facts, Kazawa tentatively entered a phrase into the second box.

[Location: Maru Residence]

No error message. This was indeed the case.

Only one last question remained—what did Maru Denjiro consider his home?

Kazawa tried several keywords in the location field—bank, vault, safe, and other money-related places—no success. Then he tried entertainment locations, like clubs and bars, but again got a "location does not exist" response.

"Ah, blind guesses are still tricky." Kazawa muttered to himself, continuing to recall details.

Right, he remembered the family was wealthy because they lived in a Japanese-style house with a garden and several servants. The owner had to be rich or influential.

But since it was a traditional Japanese house, maybe it would be some kind of daimyo mansion?

Changing direction, Kazawa tried again a few times, thinking carefully, then had an idea.

[Location: Daimyo Mansion]

As he typed the last character into the box, the tablet's speaker emitted a calm electronic female voice.

"Location locked. Navigation starting."

His vision flickered almost imperceptibly. Kazawa exhaled and peeked cautiously out of the alley.

As expected, the busy shopping street outside was now empty and silent. Kazawa observed for a while before stepping out and finally letting out a loud mutter.

"A money lender who thinks he's a daimyo—Maru Denjiro really has no shame." Kazawa clicked his tongue twice, looked at the route map displayed on the Otherworld Navigation, and headed toward his destination.

Unaware that about a hundred meters away in a building, Akai Shuichi was watching the alley Kazawa entered, frowning when no one came out.

A top sniper's confidence assured him there was no one in the shadows at the end of the alley.

[Target lost visual contact. Are there other personnel deployed nearby?]

[Yes, all have lost visual contact. The target likely has sharp anti-surveillance awareness; those tracking him may have been discovered.]

[Withdraw all personnel. Continuing to follow lost its meaning. Leave monitoring to me.]

Akai Shuichi issued orders, still frowning.

How had Kazawa managed to completely shake off everyone, including a sniper with such a vantage point, within minutes?

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