Chapter 30: Could He Be Conan's Brother?
After Inspector Megure left, the doctor finished his diagnosis.
He simply stated it was a common cold, and the reason Conan had fainted was probably because he'd consumed some alcohol.
Hattori nearly got punched by Ran for that comment, but fortunately Natsukawa intervened just in time.
Alcohol could indeed worsen a cold, but one sip wouldn't be enough to cause this reaction.
Natsukawa carefully explained the medicinal properties of certain alcoholic beverages, including their ability to relieve cold symptoms, suppress coughs, and promote blood circulation.
He narrowly saved Hattori Heiji's life with that explanation.
The doctor was clearly a Western medicine practitioner and didn't understand the more traditional Eastern medical perspectives at all. Natsukawa had simply filled in the gaps in his knowledge.
The doctor nodded repeatedly, taking it all in. If nothing unexpected happened, the price of certain medicinal liquors in Beika Town might actually increase.
"I didn't expect Natsukawa-san to have such deep knowledge about traditional medicine. That's quite impressive."
Hattori Heiji, having dodged Ran's wrath thanks to Natsukawa's intervention, took the opportunity to probe further, curious about Natsukawa's background.
"Take a guess."
Natsukawa didn't answer directly, but smiled ambiguously.
Hattori snorted, somewhat helpless at the non-answer.
Ran, however, gave Hattori a strange look. Wasn't this guy here to see Shinichi? Why hadn't he mentioned Shinichi even once since arriving at the Tsujimura residence?
Was he really just like Shinichi? Completely obsessed with cases above all else?
"Papa, let's go home and sleep." Anya had been playing for most of the day and then followed Ran around the first floor for another few hours. Now she was as tired as could be, clinging to Natsukawa's back and refusing to move.
She really should have brought her portable soft bed—Bond—with her.
"Then let's head back." Kogoro waved his hand, looking somewhat dejected.
The case was solved, but it had nothing to do with him.
He felt oddly lost. It was strange that he hadn't fallen asleep during the investigation today.
And then there was the commission fee—it had only been a verbal agreement, no contract signed. The client had been arrested, and now the entire Tsujimura family was going to be audited by the tax agency. This whole trip had been a complete waste of time.
Because there were so many people, Kogoro and Ran carried the unconscious Conan into a taxi, while Hattori got into Natsukawa's GTR.
Hattori originally wanted to sit in the passenger seat because he had several questions for Natsukawa, but as soon as he opened the door, Anya kicked at him.
"This is mine and Mama's seat! No one else is allowed to sit here!"
Anya, acting like a possessive little puppy, had a sulky yet serious expression that was quite adorable. However, Hattori clearly wasn't a fan of children, so he could only climb into the back seat with a dark expression.
Of course, it was possible he wasn't actually frowning—his complexion was naturally dark, and combined with the dim lighting in the car, he appeared even darker.
Natsukawa, relieved that they hadn't received a parking ticket, smiled and patted Anya's head before glancing at Hattori in the rearview mirror. "Sorry about that. Anya can be a bit territorial."
"It's fine." What could Hattori say? What was there to argue about with a child? That didn't fit the image of a famous detective.
The car drove through the brightly lit streets of Tokyo. This area was undeniably more lively than their neighborhood, with a more vibrant, bustling atmosphere at night.
Compared to Beika-cho 5-chome, where Natsukawa lived, this was clearly a more popular spot for young people to hang out.
Of course, this might also be due to Beika-cho's... unique character.
Inside the car, Natsukawa glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror several times and noticed Hattori's somber expression, as if he were deep in thought about something.
Suddenly, Hattori looked up and met Natsukawa's eyes in the mirror. "Natsukawa-san, is Conan related to Shinichi Kudo?"
"Hmm? Why would you ask that?"
Natsukawa's eyes widened in surprise.
The great detective Shinichi hadn't appeared at all today, so why was Hattori connecting Conan and Kudo?
Was this the power of plot correction? Even if he made changes, would events inexplicably revert to their original course?
He'd had this exact concern when he'd knocked Shinichi unconscious earlier.
It wasn't just about witnessing the transformation.
"After observing Mouri-san today, I found that he's not nearly as brilliant as the newspapers claim. Plus, when Shinichi called Ran earlier, he didn't seem at all concerned about her wellbeing, so I actually suspect that Shinichi has planted a spy at the Mouri Detective Agency!"
"All the cases Mouri-san has solved are very likely connected to Kudo Shinichi somehow."
"Tonight, after Conan fainted from his cold, Mouri-san didn't fall into his usual 'Sleeping Kogoro' deduction state. So Conan is definitely related to Mouri-san's sleeping episodes."
At this point, Hattori smiled confidently. "Conan must be secretly in contact with Kudo Shinichi. Every time a case is solved, it's definitely Shinichi pulling the strings behind the scenes. Although I don't know why he's hiding, it's definitely him."
"This is my detective's intuition!"
Hattori's smile grew increasingly confident, his fist clenched with determination. "It has to be!"
Natsukawa stared at Hattori for a long moment through the rearview mirror, then spoke quietly. "What you see with your own eyes might just be what others want you to see. Didn't you just say that yourself? Have you already forgotten your own words, Hattori-kun?"
"Uh! (⊙o⊙)..." Hattori's confident smile froze on his face.
But based on what Natsukawa just said... did he actually know something?
Did this mean—Kudo Shinichi was deliberately misleading him?
Anya sat in the passenger seat, her mind filled with questions.
"Papa, who is Kudo Shinichi?"
When she'd arrived in Japan, Kudo Shinichi had already disappeared, and she couldn't really read the newspapers well yet. Recently, there hadn't been any news about Kudo Shinichi on TV either. Anya was filled with curiosity about this mysterious person she'd only heard about but never seen.
She'd heard Hattori mention him many times today.
Moreover, this Kudo person seemed to be related to Conan. Conan often thought of himself as "Kudo Shinichi" in his mind.
Was Conan some kind of amazing person too?
Her papa was a spy, Uncle Franky was an information broker, Uncle Mouri was a famous detective, and Ran, according to Conan's thoughts, was practically invincible at karate. Now even Conan had a hidden identity?
Could it be the seventeen-year-old version of Conan she'd just glimpsed in her papa's thoughts?
"A high school detective." Natsukawa didn't elaborate further.
"Here, this is him!"
Hattori reached into his bag and pulled out a newspaper clipping, handing it to Anya. It showed Shinichi Kudo, the former savior of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
It really was him!
Anya's pale green eyes sparkled with recognition, and she felt her life had just become a little more interesting.
"Wow! He looks just like Conan! If Conan took off his glasses, he'd look exactly like this big brother. Could he be Conan's older brother?"
"Wait! You're saying Shinichi Kudo might be Conan's older brother?"
Hattori suddenly froze. Anya's innocent observation kept echoing in his mind, and gradually, his mental gears started turning. His forehead might as well have been smoking.
Natsukawa suspected that the reason Hattori was so dark-skinned was probably because his CPU constantly overheated during detective work, literally burning his complexion darker.
"But... I don't remember the famous mystery novelist Kudo Yusaku and the famous actress Kudo Yukiko having a second son. They only ever had one child—Kudo Shinichi."
Seeing Hattori's complete bewilderment, and worried that the detective's overworked brain might actually short-circuit, Natsukawa "kindly" added, "Who knows? They've been in America all these years. Things might have gotten... complicated. Maybe Conan was an unexpected addition to the family."
Natsukawa was essentially running with Anya's innocent suggestion to Hattori, and honestly, the possibility wasn't completely impossible.
"Is that so?"
Clearly, Hattori had taken the bait. Although he felt there were some logical holes in the theory, what Natsukawa said did make a surprising amount of sense.
And after Anya's comment, Kudo Shinichi really did bear a resemblance to Conan.
If they just removed Conan's glasses, everything would become clear. And since Conan was still unconscious, it was the perfect opportunity to test this theory.
"Anya-chan, thank you!"
Hattori looked genuinely delighted, feeling he'd discovered an important truth. He opened his backpack, retrieved something, and handed it to Anya.
"Here, this is a gift for you—a reward for that brilliant observation!"
"Thank you, Hattori-niisan!" Anya happily accepted it with both hands.
Natsukawa glanced over, and his face immediately darkened.
Damn it, how many bottles of that medicinal liquor did this guy bring with him? And who gives alcohol to a child?! A lollipop would have been perfectly fine! In Japan, it's illegal for minors to consume alcohol!
"Anya, children aren't allowed to drink alcohol."
Natsukawa reached over to confiscate the bottle.
"Alcohol? This is that special drink?"
The little girl suddenly remembered the seventeen-year-old version of Conan—the one who'd grown tall after drinking that strong liquor!
She could turn into a seventeen-year-old beauty by drinking this!
She was absolutely determined to keep this bottle.
(End of Chapter 30)
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