Chapter 183: Conan - I'm Not an Outsider
Natsukawa understood completely. After all, spending eight billion yen on his beloved dog's safety was something Suzuki Jirokichi could readily accept. To prevent the police from interfering, kicking them out was entirely reasonable.
Although Inspector Nakamori always managed to recover stolen jewels, wasn't it always Kaito who returned them voluntarily?
As a top-tier wealthy individual in Japan's elite circles, Suzuki Jirokichi was well aware of this, so he didn't take Inspector Nakamori's capabilities too seriously.
"However, Inspector Nakamori isn't the type to give up easily. He probably has other plans."
"You guessed right." Franky continued, "After being kicked out, Inspector Nakamori had someone reinstall a wiretap on the Suzuki family's telephone line."
"Is there any way to deal with it?"
The Tequila persona had just become Gin's subordinate. At this moment, Natsukawa didn't want any complications. Even if it was just the Metropolitan Police Department, he had to be meticulous.
"Isn't it fortunate? His telephone line just happens to be connected to my monitoring equipment. If I wanted to, he wouldn't know whether Suzuki Jirokichi had answered the phone or not."
Inspector Nakamori was truly unlucky.
However, this kind of thing had happened before, because Franky's eavesdropping device was disguised extremely well as a telephone junction box, making it quite plausible that it could be mistaken for one.
"Excellent."
Franky was thorough in his work, and Natsukawa felt completely reassured.
Additionally, when Vodka delivered the notice, he'd also included a burner phone, so they would most likely communicate via cell phone, rendering the landline basically unnecessary. Franky was just adding an extra layer of security to the operation.
It was almost two o'clock when he left Franky's house.
As he passed by Professor Agasa's house, he noticed the lights were still on.
"The scientists in the Detective Conan world are truly dedicated. It's this late, and Professor Agasa is still working overtime?"
Natsukawa shook his head and sighed. After witnessing the seamless 24-hour shifts at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, he'd discovered another industrious worker bee.
There was a reason they could develop so many scientifically impossible gadgets.
In short—
Have you ever seen Tokyo at two in the morning?
Others might not have, but Professor Agasa definitely had!
Natsukawa glanced back into the distance, and then noticed—oh, Tokyo Tower was already dark at two o'clock?
Oh well.
Just as he arrived home, before even stepping inside, Natsukawa noticed something rather peculiar.
A dark figure was sliding down what appeared to be a makeshift rope. As soon as Natsukawa spotted the figure, the figure noticed him too, stopped its descent, and hung suspended on the exterior wall of the Mouri Detective Agency, completely obscuring the character "毛" in the agency's sign.
This intruder at the Mouri Detective Agency was not only rude but utterly reckless. Breaking into the Mouri household—was he trying to get himself killed?
Natsukawa parked his car, got out, and shone his flashlight on the motionless figure clinging to the second floor.
"Huh?"
A blue suit jacket and shorts, glasses reflecting the light.
This wasn't some burglar, but—the famous detective Conan.
"Conan, you really shouldn't be rock climbing so late at night. If you accidentally fall, no one would even notice."
Natsukawa slowly walked to the base of Café Poirot, looking up at Conan dangling from the second-floor exterior wall.
Conan tried to shield his eyes from the flashlight beam, but both his hands were gripping a rope made of bedsheets. Letting go of either hand risked him plummeting to the ground.
He definitely needed Professor Agasa to develop some kind of rope gadget that would let him go up and down freely. This situation was just too embarrassing.
"Natsukawa-san, turn off the flashlight! It's blinding me!"
"Oh!"
Natsukawa switched off the beam but continued staring at Conan, waiting for an explanation.
Conan cursed his terrible luck internally, but he forced himself to remain calm and changed the subject. "Natsukawa-san, did you catch any fish?"
Not wanting to answer Natsukawa's question, he forced a different topic.
Since Natsukawa enjoyed fishing, talking about that seemed like a good diversion.
"I caught several grouper. Come to my place for dinner tomorrow."
Natsukawa pointed to the GT-R's trunk, his face full of pride, as if asking: Aren't I impressive?
Conan wasn't concerned about why grouper, typically found in southern tropical waters, could be caught in Tokyo Bay. He just wanted to get down quickly—his hands were about to give out.
Moreover, what if Mouri-san heard Natsukawa speaking so loudly?
He'd gone to great lengths to find an opportunity to sneak out, and he absolutely couldn't let it all go to waste now.
"Natsukawa-san, catch me!" Conan pushed off with his feet against the window, leaving two footprints on the glass, then descended about fifty centimeters to ensure Natsukawa could catch him at this angle. Then he let go and launched himself toward Natsukawa below.
"Hey, that jump was way too reckless."
Despite saying that, Natsukawa still took a step forward onto the flower bed steps of Café Poirot, then leaped up more than a meter high, catching Conan around the midsection and performing a spinning motion to absorb the impact upon landing.
Conan, weighing around twenty kilograms, jumping from three or four meters high and falling like a brick—if he hadn't caught him, he'd definitely have ended up bruised and battered.
How much trust did this kid have in him to dare attempt something like that?
If Natsukawa weren't worried that Conan dying on the spot would cause the entire Detective Conan universe to collapse, he wouldn't have bothered catching him at all.
Conan, bracing himself against Natsukawa's arms, landed on his backside, feeling a bit dizzy from the spin.
He rubbed his bottom, glanced up at the third-floor window, and after confirming that Ran and Mouri-san hadn't noticed anything, breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, what kind of mischief are you planning?" Natsukawa asked.
Staying out this late at night—it couldn't be some delinquent sneaking off to an arcade, could it?
Conan wasn't that type. But Natsukawa going out at this hour meant he had secrets too.
Maybe it was related to today's billion-yen heist.
Had he forgotten something about Miyano Akemi?
Probably not. He'd been to both of Miyano Akemi's residences beforehand, taking everything that needed to be removed from the Organization's reach, except for one USB drive.
"I just suddenly remembered something and was heading to Professor Agasa's house."
"Two in the morning? What's so urgent that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"
Conan didn't want to explain.
Natsukawa's identity was becoming increasingly suspicious. It seemed even the police knew him.
He'd overheard Officer Takagi mention this at the warehouse entrance. Though Officer Takagi had only briefly mentioned it, Conan had taken it to heart.
That police officer named Kazami Yuya seemed to know Natsukawa.
Although Kazami Yuya never explained why he knew Natsukawa, it was already a point of suspicion.
Perhaps Natsukawa was also part of some official Japanese organization.
He didn't know exactly what organization, but it certainly had some level of authority.
Originally, he'd considered revealing his identity to Natsukawa, but now he hesitated.
Before Natsukawa's identity was confirmed, he needed to be cautious. After all, something as absurd as shrinking could easily get out, and he might end up dissected on an operating table.
However, not explaining wasn't an option either. Seeing Natsukawa's restless expression, it seemed as if he was about to summon the devil—Mouri-san—if he didn't provide a reasonable explanation.
When they'd returned earlier, Mouri-san had even asked Ran to take him to buy several kilograms of practice workbooks the next day—that man was definitely a demon!
Furthermore, when he'd suggested going to Professor Agasa's house, Mouri-san had firmly refused, which was why he still had to climb through the window at this ungodly hour.
"My homework is at Professor Agasa's house, and I need to turn it in to my teacher tomorrow. If I don't retrieve it now, it'll be too late by tomorrow morning.
Professor Agasa usually goes to bed very late, so he wakes up relatively late too. By the time I leave for school, he'll definitely still be asleep.
I can't very well disturb him before he's fully awake, so I thought I'd go get my homework while he's still up."
"I see."
Natsukawa looked at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, then at the time, and suggested, "It's so late—walking there will take too long. Let me drive you."
Without waiting for Conan's refusal, Natsukawa picked him up and headed toward the GT-R.
The car made a U-turn and started moving again.
The interior was quiet, and Conan in the back seat scratched his head, thinking about how to arrange staying at Professor Agasa's house.
"By the way, isn't today Saturday?" Natsukawa asked, glancing at the rearview mirror.
"Yes, so tomorrow is Monday. Is there a problem?" Conan asked, surprised, as if this question shouldn't have needed asking.
"..."
"No, just asking."
Natsukawa dropped the topic. Sure enough, this wasn't the mysterious realm he should be venturing into—the eternal elementary school student's perpetual Monday.
"By the way, Natsukawa-san, do you know anyone in Public Security?"
Conan thought for a long time, unable to find an excuse to stay at Professor Agasa's house. His thoughts shifted direction, and he voiced his doubts.
"Public Security?"
Natsukawa rubbed his nose, his eyes darting around briefly. "I don't know them personally, but we might have crossed paths at some event. Perhaps they're investigating the Yabumoto Group. I heard about the assassin incident last time, which attracted Public Security's attention. Maybe they noticed us then."
The Yabumoto Group, the assassin... I see!
Conan nodded in understanding.
The Yabumoto family's luxury cruise ship murder case had involved a mysterious assassin, and the deceased Yabumoto Gozo was a well-known Japanese businessman, naturally attracting Public Security's investigation. He'd heard Mouri-san mention this before.
Moreover, on the day of the Yabumoto family's funeral, he had spotted several people who resembled Public Security officers.
No wonder Jodie knew his identity—this now made sense.
He hadn't believed her claim about seeing him in the newspaper.
After all, newspapers always featured Mouri-san's photo, never his own, and he disdained being photographed and avoided it.
Following Natsukawa's line of reasoning... thinking about it carefully, he realized that he and Mouri-san had probably been noticed by Public Security on the day of the Yabumoto family's funeral.
This thought suddenly made him a little anxious.
Could Public Security have discovered his secret?
He thought about it again and realized it was impossible. Given Public Security's resources, if they'd found something wrong with him, they certainly wouldn't let him roam around freely.
And since no one had been secretly following him, Public Security probably hadn't discovered his true identity.
Fortunately, he was just a child in appearance—that persona wouldn't attract much attention. Plus, Professor Agasa had used his connections to get him properly registered.
With both factors combined, Public Security would never guess that he was actually the missing high school detective—Shinichi Kudo.
"I see."
Conan stroked his chin thoughtfully, considering whether to reveal his identity to Natsukawa.
After all, this was a capable ally. If he revealed his identity and recounted his predicament, perhaps Natsukawa would help him.
However, first he needed to determine Natsukawa's actual profession.
Since things had already progressed to this point, and he'd just experienced the Black Organization incident firsthand, the sense of urgency made him extremely uneasy. He desperately needed reliable backup.
"Natsukawa-san, speaking of which, what do you do for a living?"
Such impressive combat ability, calluses on his hands—he must be an experienced firearms user, ruling out casual shooting enthusiasts.
Bounty hunter, assassin, spy, or perhaps some government operative.
"Why the sudden interest?"
Natsukawa glanced at the rearview mirror again, finding Conan also looking at him through it. Their eyes met—a bit awkward.
"Because I'm really curious."
Conan put on his cute act again, using a voice that sent chills down Natsukawa's spine, comparable to having Gin point a gun at his head.
It would be fine if he didn't know Conan's true identity, but the problem was he did.
So the voice just sounded rather disturbing.
"My profession is classified. It can't be known by others—otherwise it won't be good for me or Anya."
Oh?
Conan's eyes lit up, unconsciously shifting his position, sticking his head out through the gap between the front seats.
"I'm not an outsider, Natsukawa-san. We've been through so many cases together—you should trust me."
What do you mean you're not an outsider? Conan was getting a little too bold.
If an adult said this seriously, it would be more convincing.
But coming from a child, it seemed rather inappropriate.
Seeing Conan's gossip-hungry expression, Natsukawa smacked his lips. "You're just a kid. If I tell you, you might accidentally let it slip one day. Then Anya won't be able to go to and from school with you anymore."
That serious?
Natsukawa-san was definitely not a simple character—he needed to hide his identity. Now Conan was even more interested!
"No way, I'm known for keeping secrets. What you tell me will definitely stay secret."
Conan's face was completely serious.
I don't believe you for a second!
Natsukawa wouldn't be easily swayed. Conan's mouth was like a sieve—he spilled everything when there was a case involved. Aside from his own identity, which he knew to protect, he had absolutely zero credibility.
His words were worthless, his promises meaningless.
No, wait—he couldn't even keep his own identity secret properly.
Hattori Heiji discovering his identity was a perfect example.
When faced with a case, he forgot everything else. He couldn't even hide himself properly. Who knew what case would expose him next time?
Actually, it wasn't like Natsukawa couldn't reveal anything.
Of his three identities, only one could be revealed openly.
The "Twilight" identity was out of the question.
If he revealed that to Conan, the police might come arrest him tomorrow. He completely trusted Conan's overzealous "sense of justice"—the kid was practically a righteous crusader.
The "Tequila" identity was even worse. Telling Conan he was undercover in the Organization would likely make Conan act recklessly, and Natsukawa would constantly be cleaning up after him.
That scenario was too troublesome—Natsukawa didn't even consider it.
The only identity he could reveal to Conan was that of a Special Investigator for the National Tax Agency.
However, this identity couldn't be casually revealed to Conan either.
Just as enlightenment required trials and tribulations, even though he wanted to share this information, Conan still needed to work for it a bit first.
Author's Note ✍️
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