Multiverse , Leveling Up in the World I Created

"Huh? Wait a minute, that old bald guy next to the skinny man is also a murderer. He killed three people."

"What? You’re saying that many vengeful spirits are attached to him?"

"Yeah."

Heiji and Conan were seriously thinking about my words, but Ginshiro still couldn’t follow the conversation.

"I’m going to let Ran know we’ll be a little late. I don’t want to, but since we got caught up in a murder case anyway."

After saying that to the group, I contacted her by phone.

Since I had bought Haibara a phone in advance just in case something like this happened, there was no problem getting in touch.

"Just bring him back when you’re done. What the hell are you doing on a trip instead of having fun..."

"Got it."

Haibara grumbled as soon as she heard the situation.

She seemed quite displeased with this situation too.

"I contacted them, and they’re not happy at all. They’re telling me to drag Conan back no matter what."

At those words, Conan looked very troubled.

"Sigh... I was just starting to get a lead..."

As expected, this guy prioritized cases above everything else.

"Just marry a case already. Just accept it and move on. Admit that you like cases more than people. You don’t even think about how Ran, your guardian, is worrying because you disappeared, and you have no concern for the group that came on a fun trip and ended up getting dragged into this. Honestly, I’m pretty fed up too. Why do I have to come all the way here to look for you? If this is how it’s going to be from now on, how about you stop coming on trips and just focus on cases all by yourself?"

I let out a sigh and added one more thing.

"Man... I feel sorry for Ayumi, who’s going to have a hard time with you in the future."

When I said that, Conan looked at me with a bewildered expression and asked.

"Why does Ayumi suddenly come up there?!"

"You and Ayumi are destined to get married. Honestly, Ayumi is too good for you. It seems like you’d cause less trouble for everyone if you just married a case and lived your life doing whatever you want. Let me give you some advice—stop talking nonsense about focusing on Ran, put your hand on your heart, and sincerely think about what’s more important to you."

"Sigh... I’m going crazy..."

At that, Heiji tried to calm us both down.

"Okay, okay, let’s not do this here. The statements are done, so let’s just head back. We were in the wrong, after all."

Heiji seemed a bit put off by us arguing, so he suggested we go back first.

In the end, we all got into the rental car and returned to Intex Osaka.

"You little brat! What were you thinking, disappearing like that! Do you know how worried we were!?"

"Conan, you can get around quickly in Tokyo because you know the place, but here you don’t know anything. So you have to stay with us. What if you got lost and couldn’t find your way back?"

Sure enough, as soon as he returned, Conan had to endure a long scolding from Kogoro and Ran.

Heiji, who would also be scolded when he got home, watched with a gloomy expression, as if he felt the same way.

"Hmm... We still have time, but it’s too early for a meal. At the same time, we don’t have enough time to go sightseeing anywhere..."

When I said that, Heiji came up with an idea.

"How about we go to Dotonbori in the evening and have dinner while looking around? As you all probably know, there’s a lot to see there, and it’s famous for having lots of great restaurants."

"That’s not a bad idea. It’s quick since we just follow the river."

Everyone agreed, and we headed back to the rental car and drove to Dotonbori.

When we arrived at Dotonbori, we first took commemorative photos in front of the famous Glico Running Man sign and walked around enjoying the sights.

After that, we rode the big Ferris wheel to get a panoramic view of Osaka, then came back to the Dotonbori area.

It seemed like all the walking around had tired Haibara out, so I had to carry her on my shoulders again while we walked around Dotonbori with the group.

After sightseeing enough, we went to Kanidoraku, famous for its giant crab model sign, and enjoyed dinner.

"The crab dishes are delicious since I haven’t had them in a while, but aren’t they expensive?"

Ran was worried about the price since it was crab.

So I reassured her.

"No, it’s a set menu that comes with the meal, so it’s not as expensive as you might think. And don’t worry about the money. I’ll pay with what I got from selling that gold watch last time."

It was true that the restaurant had expensive items, but the set menu was reasonably priced at around 4,000 yen per person.

Besides, the yacht mooring fees cost much more than what we’d spend here.

"Phew... That was a good meal. Still, I had good food and a pretty good time coming to Osaka this time."

When Sonoko said that, Heiji looked relieved.

"I’m glad. I was worried I couldn’t treat you properly because I was distracted by everything going on."

"You really didn’t treat us properly, though. We came to cheer you on, but we didn’t even get to see the match properly, and then you disappeared, so Jin ended up treating us in your place."

At those words, Heiji apologized, feeling sorry.

"Ahahaha... Sorry... So many things came up all at once..."

But at that moment, I felt like someone was watching us.

And it wasn’t just one or two people.

Considering they had hostile intent, they weren’t fans either.

"I don’t like this feeling. Let’s go back."

"Really? I don’t know what’s going on, but okay. We’ve seen everything anyway."

Since Ran and the others trusted me completely, they followed without argument, and we quickly moved to the parking lot where we had left the rental car.

But right at the parking lot, things escalated.

Several rough-looking men began to surround us.

"Jin, what do we do..."

Ran looked worried at the sight.

"Don’t worry. Nothing bad will happen."

I said that to reassure Ran, then asked them.

"Who are you?"

Then an old man came out from among them and looked at me.

"You really are Jin. You’re going to have to help us out. I was really surprised, you know. Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when you guessed I killed three people?"

Then Heiji recognized the old man and exclaimed in surprise.

"You’re Kasuya-san!?"

That person was the bald old man we had seen at Osaka Castle.

It seemed he had heard what I said about him killing three people.

"Why are you doing this to us?"

"I’m not interested in you. I’m only interested in Jin. Honestly, I never believed in superstitions, but you really are Japan’s greatest onmyōji. So here’s the thing—you’re going to help me find Toyotomi’s treasure."

"You mean the Tenshō gourd."

"You know it well."

The "Tenshō gourd" was a treasure that was said to have originated from Toyotomi Hideyoshi making ceramic gourds and attaching them one by one to his umajirushi (war banner) every time he distinguished himself on the battlefield.

Each gourd was small, but since they were all filled with gold and there were supposedly a thousand of them, the value of the gold alone would be enormous.

And if you added the historical value on top of that, it would be an immeasurably great treasure.

However, since it had never been discovered and was only passed down as a legend, it wasn’t even certain whether it actually existed in the first place.

"But even if you find such a historical treasure, Japan doesn’t recognize private ownership, so it would be immediately seized... Wait, are you planning to just take the gold and sell it..."

"Isn’t that obvious? Do you have any idea how much we’ve struggled for that treasure until now? Not to mention the enormous funds we’ve wasted. So I can’t just hand it over to the state. Anyway, if you don’t want to get hurt, cooperate quietly."

I chuckled at those words, folded and rolled up the umbrella I had been holding, and said.

"You guys made a mistake."

The old man asked, puzzled.

"What mistake did we make?"

"Showing up in front of me."

With those words, I instantly closed the distance and started striking their heads with my umbrella clad in [Armament Haki], knocking them out or breaking their legs.

Thwack! Thwack! Crack!! Snap!!

"Ugh!"

"Gah!"

"Aaaargh!!!"

"M-my leg!!!"

And I wasn’t the only one moving.

My clone Morgan was also striking them down with kickboxing, and Heiji wasn’t staying still either.

I don’t know where he got it, but he was holding a burlap sack and working hard to subdue them.

Plus, one guy who tried to take a hostage was knocked out cold by a single kick from Ran.

They had truly picked the wrong people.

"Y-you bastards!!"

The old man panicked at the sight and suddenly pulled a gun from his pocket, trying to shoot, but I was faster.

Crack!!!

"Aaaaargh!!!"

Before he could fire, I struck his arm down hard with my umbrella.

His arm bent at an unnatural angle, and the gun he was holding fell to the ground.

But at that moment, police suddenly swarmed in.

"Everyone drop your weapons and surrender!!"

It was Heiji and Kazuha’s fathers, Heizō and Ginshiro, leading a group of police officers.

However, they were surprised at the scene.

Everyone had already been subdued.

"I-Impossible..."

"Father, you’re too late! You should have come faster..."

"Did you all subdue them?"

"Yes. Jin and Morgan are no ordinary masters. And I lent a hand too."

"Th-that so... Anyway, I’m glad no one was hurt. We were also tracking them to catch them all in one sweep."

"So that’s how you were able to swarm in all at once."

"Yeah, something like that."

While Heiji was talking with the police, Sonoko was causing a commotion in the back.

"Morgan, that was amazing! I heard you did kickboxing, but I never thought you’d take down the bad guys so coolly. I’m totally in love!"

"It’s no big deal. I’ve been training for quite a long time, that’s all."

"Don’t say it’s no big deal. It was so reassuring."

Ran also came over to me and said with a smile.

"Good work, Jin. At first I wasn’t sure what would happen, but as expected, no one can beat you in swordplay."

Honestly, since I was moving at a human level, there were clear limitations.

That’s why one got away, but I trusted that Ran, who was no ordinary fighter herself, could handle it.

"I’m glad you blocked them well, Ran. You must have been surprised too."

"No, it was nothing compared to you, Jin."

Just as the mood was starting to get better, Conan suddenly cut in.

"Ran, let’s go back now. I’ve been walking around too much and I’m tired. I need to rest."

"O-okay, I understand."

The police said they would handle the cleanup, so we were able to return to the yacht without any major issues.

However, they mentioned we might have to appear as witnesses during the trial later, which was a bit of a hassle.

Back on the yacht, we each had an ice cream and rested.

Meanwhile, Heiji began telling us the full story of the case that he had heard from the police.

The people who attacked us had been looking for the Tenshō gourd, even killing people to get their hands on it, but so far they hadn’t found anything substantial.

Then they saw me, Japan’s most famous onmyōji, and thought I might be able to find the Tenshō gourd, so they planned to kidnap me.

Furthermore, the skinny guy had his own agenda.

He knew that his grandfather had been killed by that old man, and in order to get revenge, he had been pretending to feed the old man clues about the Tenshō gourd while killing off his associates one by one.

"So that’s how it was."

"But by the way, can’t you use onmyōjutsu to find the Tenshō gourd?"

Heiji asked curiously, and the others’ attention also focused on me.

They seemed very interested as well.

"Hmm... I think it might be possible?"

I said that, then pulled out a talisman and pretended to chant a spell.

Then I threw the talisman.

It simply burned up on the spot and vanished.

"Hmm..."

"Jin, did you find out something?"

"No. It’s because this case doesn’t exist in the world. Honestly, there’s no way Ieyasu would have left Hideyoshi’s treasure untouched. If it still exists to this day, wouldn’t that be a miracle?"

At those words, everyone looked quite disappointed.

"Aww... What a letdown... I was kind of expecting it."

"Yeah, I was hoping you might be able to find the treasure too."

To be honest, even if the Tenshō gourd actually existed, I had no intention of finding it.

Unlike other countries, Japan has laws that, in principle, make any discovered artifacts the property of the state.

The problem is that the discoverer receives no significant compensation.

That’s why, even when important artifacts are found at construction sites, it’s common for people to secretly destroy them or sell them elsewhere to avoid delays rather than stopping work and reporting them.

So even if I were to excavate it myself, there would be no benefit to me, so there was no reason for me to help find it.

"Japanese laws are a bit strange, I suppose."