Chapter 56 Traces of the Past

Tianshan Primary School is located at the edge of the city, and the flow of people is not large. But this is not surprising, most schools are like this.

After finding a spot to park the car, the four of them could see the school not far away.

It was a very ordinary public elementary school, not much different in size from Teitan Elementary School, with an ordinary playground, ordinary teaching buildings, and the usual cherry blossom trees - but due to the month, they were all solitary.

Before entering the school, they were stopped by the security guard nearby and asked about their purpose.

"Hello, we saw this school has high reviews online, so we wanted to come and take a look."

Kudo Yukiko rubbed Conan's head and put on a heartwarming smile: "After all, this child is old enough to go to school."

The guard understood, took out his phone and said a few words, then motioned for them to wait.

Not long after, an elderly man in his 60s walked out of the school, came up to the few people, and extended his hand first.

"Hello, my name is Tatsuto Seto, and I am currently the principal of Tenzan Elementary School."

Kudo Yusaku was a little surprised. He walked up to the other person, shook his hand, introduced himself and the others to him one by one, and then said.

"I didn't expect that you, the principal, would personally receive us. This is really too much trouble!"

"Little things, they are all little things!"

Seto Tatsuto laughed heartily and said, "Anyway, I'm free now, and there's no one who knows this school better than me!"

He squatted down and looked Conan in the eye, then smiled kindly and asked, "How old are you, kid?"

Conan gritted his teeth and replied in a shrill voice: "Grandpa, I'm six years old this year!"

Yukiko Kudo and Ran Mouri couldn't help laughing while watching this.

A few people walked into the teaching building while chatting and laughing.

It is now class time, and the sound of children reciting in unison can be heard from many places.

"This is the teaching building for grades one to four. Grades five and six are elsewhere. Each floor is for a grade, and there are six to seven classes in each grade, with about thirty-five students in each class."

This is indeed a standard public elementary school, and the curriculum is rich enough. In addition to necessary education, music, handicrafts, and physical education are also not left out.

Several people followed him around, and then he led them into his office.

"Take a seat, everyone."

Master Seto brought tea to them and even exchanged it for a glass of juice for Conan.

Then he sat on the single sofa opposite the four people and said with a smile: "You guys just came here recently, right?"

Kudo Yusaku nodded: "We originally lived in Tokyo, but moved here a few weeks ago for work."

"But how did you know that?"

Seto Tatsuto also poured himself a glass of water: "To be honest, it's been a long time since any parent of a student came here during non-school hours."

He picked up the teacup and moistened his dry throat: "When we were relatively famous, there were indeed many parents from other places who would come to investigate before sending their children here."

"But after the recent decline, there are no other sources of students except for locals who choose us because of the proximity... and the locals know us very well. Many families have studied here for generations, so there is no need for them to come here specially."

"That's why I concluded that you must have just moved here not long ago."

Kudo Yukiko pretended to be curious: "Excuse me, your school is in decline...what happened?"

Seto Tatsuto did not hide the fact: "Six years ago, in 1988, two third-grade children died in school."

"That day was March 3th. I remember it very clearly."

He sighed and brought himself back to the day he still couldn't forget: "Because it snowed last night, I came to the school early that morning and wanted to clean up the snow with the cleaning staff before the children went to school."

"But, right after entering the school, I saw a bloody figure lying under the Pegasus statue in front of the teaching building."

Conan couldn't help but interrupt: "Statue? I don't see any Pegasus statue anywhere."

Seto Tatsuto explained: "After this incident, the school sold it because of the blood."

Conan nodded thoughtfully, but Mao Lilan picked him up and said, "Come on, Conan, don't interrupt others when they are talking!"

After she finished speaking, she realized that it was actually Shinichi she was hugging, and her face instantly turned red.

Seto Tatsuto shook his head and blamed himself: "No, it's my fault. I forgot there are children here. I shouldn't have said that."

He looked at Kudo Yusaku and continued, "In short, something like this has happened in this school, and I think as the principal, I have an obligation to let you know."

"Besides, I promise that this will never happen again... Although, it's not very convincing..."

The four of them felt the principal's frankness. He did not hide these things for the sake of another student, but told them everything.

Kudo Yusaku was a little curious about what happened, but this kind of thing could be investigated through the police. The most important thing now was Su Beixun.

So he spoke carefully: "It's like this, Mr. Seto... The reason we came here is because a boy I met in Tokyo recommended this school to us. His name is Su Beixun, I wonder if you still remember him?"

"It's... that child."

Seto Tatsuto was stunned for a moment, a little dazed: "How is he now? He is still studying. With his talent, it is a pity that he does not continue his studies."

It seems that the information released by the Tokyo police is not widely known in Hokkaido.

Kudo Yusaku responded: "Yes, he is currently studying at Teitan Junior High School and his grades are excellent."

Seto Tatsuto smiled, like an elder who heard about the success of his offspring.

He stood up, walked to the cabinet beside the table, opened it and started looking for something: "That child has been a loner since he was young, his background is not good, and his ideas are incompatible with ordinary people. I often worry that he will go astray in the future... Now that I heard that he is still in school, I can put my mind at ease."

——The older generation of educators always think like this, believing that as long as you study in school, no matter how bad it is, it won’t be too bad.

Mao Lilan listened to the old man's ramblings and remembered that Su Beixun had died. She didn't know what to feel for a moment. Conan heard the word "eccentric" and thought about his interactions with Su Beixun, feeling that he really didn't know him that well.

"Ah, found it!"

Tatsuto Seto took out a long photo frame from the cabinet, which contained a group photo with a large number of people.

"Every graduation takes photos, but only the photos of the two most recent classes are hung on the walls of the teaching building. I can't bear to throw them away, so I sorted them all out and take them out to look at them when I have time."

He placed the photo on the table: "This is the group photo of Su Beixun's class when they graduated."

Although they were not interested in this, they couldn't refuse the old man's kindness, so they had to lower their heads and start looking for it.

Hundreds of people are crowded in one photo, heads touching each other, making it very difficult to find someone.

Mao Lilan was still sharp-eyed. She pointed at the figure in the lower middle right corner of the photo and said, "Found it. It's here!"

"so cute!"

Yukiko Kudo couldn't help but exclaim.

The child in the photo is tilting his head. Through the yellowed film, one can see that his bright red eyes are slightly narrowed. There is obvious baby fat on both sides of his cheeks, making him look like a fat little fox.

"That child is really good-looking!"

Seto Tatsuto nodded in agreement.

Conan stared at his palm.

In the photo, Su Beixun placed his hands on his waist and pointed his index finger at his belly.

"What does it mean?"

Seto Tatsuto put on his reading glasses: "Huh? I didn't notice it before... Maybe it's some action that kids like?"

Pointing at his stomach... Does that mean he's hungry?
Conan's eyelids twitched and he began to think seriously.

After a moment, he asked, "Grandpa, can this photo frame be opened?"

Kudo Yusaku nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes, yes."

Tatsuto Seto fumbled with the clasp on the side of the frame, "But what do you want to do, kid?"

“Wait till you open it and you’ll know!”

Conan urged.

There was a click.

The frame opens and closes front and back.

Conan couldn't wait to grab the photo and turned it over.

A line of black pen font came into view.

[I have something, it is the longest and the shortest, the fastest and the slowest, it is incredibly broad and indescribably small, I will throw it away bit by bit until the ship arrives.]

Seto Tatsuto couldn't believe it: "This... there is something behind the photo? Who wrote this?"

"Maybe Su Beixun secretly came back one day to write this... And since there was movement when the photo was taken, it means that when he wrote this sentence, it was not long before he graduated from elementary school."

Conan explained: "He was not pointing at his belly, but at the back of the photo."

Mao Lilan was puzzled: "Is this... a clue he left deliberately? Why?"

Kudo Yukiko was also puzzled: "Is this a riddle? What's the answer?"

"Why did they leave clues? I still don't know..."

Conan's glasses flashed a white light again: "But as for the answer to the riddle..."

"The time ship is a time capsule."

He curled his lips and said, "This is really a riddle at the level of an elementary school student. It's not difficult at all!"

Kudo Yukiko's face suddenly turned dark.

He looked at Seto Tatsuto: "Grandpa, do you know where Su Beixun buried the time capsule?"

Seto Tatsuto scratched his gray hair in distress. "Our school does organize a group burying of time capsules in fifth grade, but it's not mandatory... I remember that kid didn't participate at the time."

Didn't participate? So it was buried secretly?

Conan was suddenly at a loss. They wouldn't take a shovel and dig up the entire school, right?

Seeing that Conan didn't seem to have any thoughts, Kudo Yusaku patted his head and took him out of the office on the pretext of going to the bathroom: "Shinichi, you are indeed excellent in organizing and deducing clues."

“But when there are no clues, you also need to learn to put yourself in other people’s shoes and analyze things from their perspective…Psychology is not something ethereal, but a scientific discipline.”

He guided his son: "Although it is rather one-sided, in your heart, what kind of person do you think Su Beixun is?"

Conan counted on his fingers: "Proud, conceited, crazy, sick..."

"Then do you think that someone like him would bury his things in the ground and have them stepped on by countless people?"

Conan was stunned, thinking: "Dad, you mean..."

Kudo Yusaku said leisurely: "If I were him, I would definitely put my things at the highest point in the school and always look down on others."

(End of this chapter)